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Martha Marcy May Marlene, Sean Durkin. 2011.
This was so good.
Bobby Fischer against the world, Liz Garbus. 2011.
Mirror, Mirror. Tarsem, 2012.
I went to watch this knowing more or less what I was letting myself into BUT I had hopes that because I like Tarsem and I like kids movies, the stars and planets would align and this film would be good. But no, it was just okayish.
I expected the fall meets snow white and what I got was Tarsem meets disney meets Boromir meets not very funny jokes and too many CGI camera movements. Which is a pity because the art and costume design were absolutely amazing.
The best thing: Surprisingly, Julia Roberts!
The worst thing: That I tried really hard to like it and not be bored but I couldn’t help it!
El Libro de Piedra, Carlos Enrique Taboada. 1969.
I must admit that even though I am a sucker for films with diabolical children who practice black magic, I didn’t particularly like El Libro de Piedra. I decided to watch it because I really liked the other Taboada films I had seen but this one perhaps isn’t his best work…
The best thing: That it made me realize that the horror films I really love are those which tell stories that are the typical stories that you and your friends tell each other at sleep overs and then you get so scared that you can’t sleep, EVER. This film had that kind of story.
The worst thing: That for some reason I can’t really pin down, the film didn’t work and it was a little bit boring.
We need to talk about Kevin, Lynne Ramsay. 2011.
After waiting for months to watch this and for years for Ramsay to have a new film out, all I can say is: Thank god for Lynne Ramsay.
Hasta el viento tiene miedo, Carlos Enrinque Taboada. 1968.
I chose to watch this film for two reasons:
a) I really like Veneno para las Hadas, by the same director.
b) It’s incredible awesome title. Every time I read it I wanted to watch the film immediately.
I really enjoyed the film and I was actually quite scared during some parts. Perhaps, the fact that it is a mexican film from 1968 lowered my expectations and increased my tolerance towards some scenes (the striptease?) but overall I loved it. It has all the things I love in a spooky film (suspense, seeing less hinting more, murder, supernatural events and a little bit of kitsch…) plus, the girls had the most amazing 60s clothes & hair.
The best thing: All the small details that kept on making the film spookier and spookier (the shadows, the dead bird, the wind, etc.).
The worst thing: Perhaps its tendency to show scantily clad girls just for the sake of it.
Young Adult, Jason Reitman. 2011.
This film was pretty boring. First, I was completely misled by the trailer which made me think it might be somehow funny (and it is not) and second, this film is basically a warped soulless version of Ghost World. I know you are probably thinking that I am insane for saying this, but, hello? becoming friends with nerds, life being unsatisfying in a small town, sleeping with the wrong person just to feel loved, nobody understanding you, dreaming of running away from your life and becoming another person. etc. etc.
In this film you spend an hour and a half watching the main actress be an asshole and in the end, she learns nothing except that her hometown sucks and that she needs to forget about her past and then she chooses to remain an asshole. I found Juno so boring and I am not sure why I thought this would be better. zzz.
The best thing: The manicure shots.
The worst thing: Apart from everything I have mentioned, the poor dog being stuck in the hotel room. I was fretting thinking “who is walking the dog? who is feeding it? is it okay?!” I know it is a fictional dog, but still… poor dog.
Disturbia, D.J Caruso. 2007.
Why oh why do I do this to myself? I suppose that the answer lays in another question: why do I sometimes eat junk food that makes me feel shitty afterwards instead of eating healthy delicious gourmet-like food?
Last night this was on TV and I just wanted to not think for a little while, so I thought I would watch it as I was enticed by the promise of some scary moments. But it sucked and there was nothing scary in it.
I mean, it is a good example of how technically perfect a film can be (good photography, good sound, good whatever…) but it still sucks because everything about its story sucks.
If it is ever on TV just do yourself a favour and watch Rear Window instead because this is just a modern pastiche of said film but riddled with scenes aimed at horny teenagers.
The best thing: ??!?!
The worst thing: That I watched it, the thought of how much money the must have spent making it and that they try to pass Shia LeBeouf or whatever his name is as remotely attractive.
