Films, forward and back

[andrewducker]

Top ten films of the last year:
Pan's Labyrinth - looked stunning and was a fantastic cross of fairy-tale and drama set in fascist spain that managed to remain faithful to both stories.
Little Miss Sunshine - Proust, children's talent competitions, depression and family stress made for a fantastic comedy dressed in art-house clothing.
The Prestige - OMG! Best film of last year, no questions asked. I'm gagging for this to come out on DVD so I can watch it again.
V for Vendetta - OK - so it wasn't quite the book, but you can't expect everything, and it was thought provoking, exciting and terribly subversive.
Brokeback Mountain - Gorgeously directed, fantastically well acted, made me cry. Can't really ask for more than that.
A Scanner Darkly - Incredible-looking rotoscoped version of the Phillip K Dick novel. Confusing, but well worth it.
Devil Wears Prada - I know a lot of people didn't like this, but I thought it was cleverer than people took it for, looked amazing, and made me "get" fashion.
Brick - Film Noir in a high school - high concept, terribly well executed. Funny, scary and violent. And the femme fatale is absolutely gorgeous.
Snakes on a Plane - I'm not sure that words can do justice to the sheer wonderfulness of this movie.
Syriana - I'm not _just_ putting this in to make me look clever - it manages to make it obvious how complex the whole Middle East situation is by making the entire audience feel stupid. I really must read the book.

Films I'm looking forward to in January:
The Fountain - I've been looking forward to this for about 3 years. From the director of Pi/Requiem for a Dream, this looks amazing.
Last King of Scotland - a semi-factual thriller about Idi Amin. Been getting great reviews.
Babel - A large cast tell interlocking stories set all over the world.

And blockbusters to look forward to in the rest of the year:
Transformers - because I'm a great big geeky kid. And I like Michael Bay (well, sometimes). And what's not to like about giant robots?
Pirates of the Caribbean 3 - because despite the second one being disappointing I can't help but hope the third one will be fun. And I adore Geoffrey Rush!
Grind House - Tarantino! Rodriguez! Very silly pastiches of 70s/80s horror/action movies!
Shrek 3 - because the first two were great.
Harry Potter and the Kafkaesque Replacement Headmaster - _I_ liked OOTP, even if lots of people don't seem to have done.
Stardust - because the book is one of my favourite short novels. And it has a great cast.
Spiderman 3 - well, not so much, but I'm kinda looking forward to it. I didn't like the first one, but the second was pretty good.

Comments

[pisica.livejournal.com]

The Prestige - OMG! Best film of last year, no questions asked. I'm gagging for this to come out on DVD so I can watch it again.

Oooooh, can I come over and watch it when you get it on DVD? I missed it and am not doing the Lovefilm thing again (too busy, bad service, etc).

[andrewducker]

I'll bear you in mind - won't be happening until after I've moved (next month or two!)

[laserboy.livejournal.com]

Also looking forward to The Last King of Scotland. The trailer made it look nothing like what I've now heard it's about. Sounds good.

[loveandgarbage.livejournal.com]

It's an extremely good novel too. BY some distance Giles Foden's best.

There is an interesting article on the film by Foden in this morning's Guardian Review section. It should be on-line.

[heron61.livejournal.com]

Did you see The Illusionist? I liked it even better than The Prestige (which I loved), in large part because Paul Giamatti's performance was astounding.

I'm very much looking forward to Spiderman 3, I liked 1 and think that 2 was the best superhero movie I've ever seen (in large part due to Alfred Molina's performance as one of the best villains I've seen in years). Also, I'll be seeing Pan's Labyrinth shortly after it comes out, and am similarly excited about Stardust and PotC3.

[andrewducker]

The Illusionist doesn't come out here until February, and I'll definitely be taking it in.

[moniqueleigh]

How did I miss that a movie was being made of Stardust?? *runs off to IMDB*

[thadrin.livejournal.com]

Weird thing:

(ACK! RESADER OF THIS COMMENT: POSSIBLE PRESTIGE SPOILERS COMING IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT,)

last night Swedish TV showed a Sherlock Holmes thing from 2004, "The case of the silk stockings" starring Rupert Everett as Holmes.

The macguffin used to explain the crimes was EXACTLY how the transported man trick in "The prestige" worked.

I felt very let down.

[surliminal.livejournal.com]

Wow -the fake trick a la Christian Bale's character - ot the real trick a la the Hugh Jackman character?