Tuesday, July 19, 2011
at
1:47 AM
| Posted by
Juwen
Second half of the DVDs. Finished watching them for some time now. Top to bottom.
- Kick-Ass - Another comic/graphic novel adaptation in the same year as the awesome Scott Pilgrim. Didn't realize that it is actually quite violent and adult-theme-ish than I expected it to be. In fact, the comic series is even worse. Still pretty good with all it's comic book colours and narration but I'd still pick Scott Pilgrim anytime. It's more geek.
- Dave Chappelle's Block Party - Documentary on Dave setting up a block party in New York, him meeting the different people involved whether on stage or behind the scenes or even just the people living around the area where the block party is located. Mainly about the artists that performed at the party than anything else so I guess this is more of a music DVD rather than comical antics of Dave. Though I may not fully appreciate rap (especially the rap of today) I can certain appreciate their groove. They have always been the masters of groove.
- Dead Space Downfall - EA Games sanctioned two feature length animations to be produced around their critically acclaimed game Dead Space. This is the first one transcribing the events before the beginning of the game in Dead Space. This is supposed to explain a little bit more about what had happened on board the Planet Cracker Ishimura that was the basis of the game. Having played this game, this really falls flat in its purpose. There is nothing really new on offer in the animation so the whole animation feels very redundant. No plasma cutters. No rough investigation why the aliens fall quickly if you dismember them. And certainly nothing new about the Captain. If you've played the game, don't bother. Otherwise, don't bother either.
- Spaced - This short series supposedly launched the career of Simon Pegg all about living in a rather dysfunctional apartment building. It took a long time for the series to warm up to me but some funny stuff in it if you persevere. One really cool thing about the DVDs are the added subtitle option called the "Homage-O-Meter" which lists down every film, TV, comic and gaming reference made in the series. That just tickles my inner geek.
- Fallen Angels - Wong Kar Wai. Again. This was supposedly the third story in my favourite Kar Wai film Chungking Express but was cut out because it was starting to get a bit too long and later decided to remake it into one film. In the same overall style of Chungking Express, there are a couple of stories that are intermingled loosely with one another. Much more noir (side note: I think really good noir story telling on film is a dying art. Such a shame) which I absolutely love and he ups the cinematography by mainly filming on a ultra-wide lens. But the stories don't quite flow nicely like Chungking or say Days of Being Wild and slightly confuses me a bit. Being the third storyline of Chungking, you'll see familiar places here from Chungking which I guess is nice.
- How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying - This is the film version of the 1961 Broadway musical about a man who climbs the corporate ladder as fast as he can with as little effort as possible. Quite entertaining but I get the feeling that there's something missing which I'd probably say the feel of the stage. Without me watching the stage version, I'd probably say it would have been a lot different and probably a lot more enjoyable. Of course there are things for me to like, for example 60's colours and motives and fashion (still love it) and songs. Robert Morse's performance is great as the quirky man seeking corporate success.
- Transamerica - This film touches on so many taboo topics on gender and sexuality that one can not stop and think about the issues that surround it. But the film isn't about those issues but the simple coming of age story. Felicity Huffman's performance was really good and you can hardly believe your ears when she speaks in this ridiculously low voice in the film and eyes as how she portray herself as this person in transition from being a man to a woman. It is hard not to see why she was nominated for Best Actress in the Golden Globes (which she won) and the Academy awards.
- Oklahoma! - Another great musical on film. Many memorable songs here and has good storyline to boot. It seems though that the theme here is that if you like a girl you'd be persistent in making fun of her/bicker at her and likewise. If I did that, I'd most certainly be dead. Shirley Jones is so pretty but the character I liked the most was the one who played Aunt Eller. For some reason she looked more like an Ethel to me. Anyway, great musical.
- Crash - Another really good film on racism told by several smaller stories intertwined together (I seem to have a knack for films like these, don't I?). The subject of racism is not new and probably will continue to affect most of our lives, indirectly or not. This film merely highlight some of the actions we take when we are confronted by a person of another colour or race. If we were really honest with ourselves, we are all guilty of this in one way or another which is what makes this film so confronting.
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