Critical PetsThe Host, a Korean monster movie, garnered ecstatic critical buzz last year but opened to poor box office even for a subtitled picture. What went wrong?
Zodiac is another film that's likely to win a lot of new converts now that it's easily accessible. [my review] For the starry record: Jakey Poo is a Sagittarius. He's surrounded by Scorpios; Mark Ruffalo playing his partner and Chlöe Sevigny playing his wife, his drinking buddy Robert Downey Jr is an Aries, Anthony Edwards is a Cancer.
I don't need to tell you that the man behind it all, auteur David Fincher, is quite f***ing obviously a Virgo; he can't stop analyzing this case. The movie's sign is harder to figure. Plagued by release date shuffling and reshoots, it was some unhold hybrid of a Libra/Capricorn/Pisces. The chart for this movie is crazed and the movie is almost crazy good. I'm a Gemini so my mind has already wandered to the next post but I do plan to watch this again as soon as the Boyfriend whips me up a big pitcher of Aqua Velva, Jake's drink of choice (in the movie). Oh Jake! He even drinks cute.
Other Stuff
The Number 23 Jim Carrey goes berserk while Virginia Madsen continues to pay for some ungodly crime she committed in another life (I'm just guessing --how else to explain the post-Sideways career)
Perfume the Story of a Murderer Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) adapts the Patrick Süskind novel about a sick puppy with an aromatic fetish. It got buried in the glut of Christmas releases. Will it find a second life on DVD?
Reign Over Me Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle star in this drama about a widower who lost his family in the 9/11 attacks.
Renaissance one of last year's impressive looking foreign animated entries for Oscar. It didn't make it (I know people have their Oscar hopes very high for this year's buzzy Persepolis but please point me to one animated film made for adults that Oscar has liked. I'm just saying')
Special Collections
Henrik Ibsen Five BBC adaptations are included in this set including Hedda Gabbler with Ingrid Bergman and A Dolls' House with Juliet Stevenson
Elvis MGM Four films including Kid Galahad
Posts
9 comments:
I remember very weird TV spots for The Host... I think if you based all your info on those, then you'd get it as Japan instead of South Korea, and it's basically a giant water monster or something. I'm still definitely renting it though.
And the Academy could start it with Persepolis. Ya never know... and with such a weak year too (in quanity)...
Nathaniel:I forbid You and "The Boyfriend" to have aqua velvas without me...and I'll be wanting my own pitcher!
oops! I should have signed the above...
Kristoferrobbin!
The Triplets of Belleville is the closest thing of an adult animated film that the Oscar liked.
VS
Wasn't Chloë Sevigny Graysmith's wife...?
yes. i just worded it awkwardly
I'm very depressed about the fact that no one's seen The Host. I want to blame it on the distribution (or lack thereof), cause I never would even have heart of it if not for its playing in midnight screenings in my (former) local theater. They barely released it anywhere, and that's a shame. Especially since it was a huge huge hit in Korea and really was the type of film that should've been able to make money overseas.
Just in terms of pure technique, it's superb. One of THE great monster movies, it's thrilling, a lot of fun, and gloriously bizarre in spots. Wow, this is like a review now. But please see it people! It's awesome!
Except the second time I saw it, 20+ minutes of critical footage were mysteriously missing from the film. I still don't understand that; I've never encountered such a thing before (see my blog review for details).
Sigh... I'm also depressed about Lindsay Lohan. I think I've finally given up. Sad. I thought she was taking her second rehab seriously.
A minority opinion - I still feel that "The Incredibles", while possessing Saturday-morning sensibilities, is still fundamentally adult-oriented fare.
For those who do not regularly peruse the Rotten Tomatoes website, "The Host" ranked #8 on their list of 100 all-time greatest science fiction movies (for what it's worth).
The Host is just one of the best horror movies I've seen in about 20 years or more with a couple of Alien movies right beside it. It's quirky, emotionally involving, and has a real moral heart, which is sadly lacking in most horror flicks now. You actually care about the characters and what might happen to them. I actually started watching it one night and couldn't finish because I got to a part where my concern for the character was so great that I just couldn't watch anymore...those who've seen it probably know what I'm talking about. It took me awhile to watch the rest of it -- let's just say I got hold of a DVD -- but I'm not sorry I did. Great flick and I can understand why the Koreans were crazy about it. Foreign flicks don't carry that much weight in this country usually..let's face it.
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