What Emmanuelle Movie Did You Just Watch?

[BillyG]

Thor actually rode on the performance of Ray Stevenson, and of course he was up to the task.

[Ben Thomas]

Judging by the crowd at the NYCC The Avengers panel, Tom Hiddleston is about to go Fassbenderspheric.

[Ben Thomas]

Just watched Rare Exploits.

Any fan of early Carpenter, Romero or Peter Jackson is gonna lap it up. It suffers ever so slightly towards the end where the scope outreaches the fx budget, but by that point, its earned so much good will, the rough edges are kind of charming. Its an expertly judged sideways take on the legend of christmas, equal parts brooding horror and gothic fairy tale.

Its streaming on LoveFilm in the UK now.

[Captain Russ]

Double dose at the downtrodden drive-in: The Virgin Suicides and Rabbit Hole.

I'd only ever heard the soundtrack to VS, as I'm a big fan of Air. Putting image to sound, it certainly adds to the somber atmosphere of the proceedings. Having said that, I was surprised by the restraint Coppola had in presenting the story of the Lisbon girls. I suppose it is down to genetics, as under the eye of most other young filmmakers, there would be the natural inclination to gravitate toward pretension. Instead, she mostly left the inner workings of the Lisbon girls up to interpretation and speculation (but not to the point of laughable introspection by the narrator) and in so doing made the events of the story that much more impactful and shocking.

Sure, it's another "problems of the affluent adolescent" sort of story, but it is in the way Coppola chooses to tell it that gives it an almost universal relatability (the kinds of things you do as a teen in the face of the things that govern your life up to that point, that first pang of puppy love, the stupid flights of fancy one takes in the name of adolescent desire). Much more affecting than that Marie Antoinette bullshit she did. Glad she went back to the smaller scale and more intimate storytelling with Somewhere. Out of the gate, this was a very impressive debut.

Also: I had to stop tape when I saw Josh Hartnett and his Prince Valiant haircut show up. The sight of that goofy bastard was almost too much.

Now on to Rabbit Hole.

I can't even begin to imagine what would happen in the aftermath of such a horrifying event, and as such, can only speculate. Here, Kidman and Eckhart are both eight months separated from the loss of their four year old son. From the outset, they are both barely hanging onto routine. They go about their days, her in her garden, he at his job, and they seem to confide in each other that they are not ready for a return to normalcy. Deep down, they are as far apart as can be. They privately cope with their torment, never letting the other see the other in their most vulnerable states. And through all of this, John Cameron Mitchell's direction lets us in to their most private thoughts without much overtly explained. Sure, there are signposts, but the rawness can be seen in Howie and Becca through their day-to-day existences and in the increasingly desperate means with which they cope. It takes the running time for them to realize it, but they are now bound to each other through shared weight of their grief, and in the end their suffering will dissipate but never really leave their side.

Very well acted and directed, but in the realm of shared experience, I'm sure that moments in this would absolutely devastate some of the more family-oriented out there.

[Ben Thomas]

I saw We Need To talk About Kevin earlier in the week. I'd be very interested to hear what someone who hasn't read the book thinks. There's a lot that's condensed or skipped over which felt key in the book. But its a very successful paring down of the book's intricate details to visual clues and rich atmosphere. Tilda Swinton is phenomenal and Ezra Miller is the only name that should be mentioned in connection with Akira on the strength of this. I can't help but feel that Reilly is miscast as Franklin, but then a lot of his character from the book is only hinted at or totally skipped over.

I'd say it works best as a companion to the book really, which is why I'd be curious to know what an audience that hasn't read it would make of it. I found it to be an incredibly tense and powerful, often beautiful experience.

[Ben Thomas]

Double post

[PHEDG]

The Descendants

If it didn't take place in Hawaii it would have been too depressing.

[Abraham Smashington]

Source Code. holy shit! Shaun Hocken is in this!

Really like this flick. Like a lot. Jakey Gilly was decent, Michelle was hot, and Vera was smoking in her uniform. Felt like a PKD book come to life.

[Ben Thomas]

Loved Source Code - so much better than its reviews suggested and it (just) managed to stick the landing where The Adjustment Bureau faltered.

Just saw Tintin. The best pure adventure film since the first POTC and Spielberg's most entertaining since Jurassic Park. Even the 3D is pretty good throughout. I doubt we'll ever see Jackson's film - and I actually think he's completely wrong for the material - at least not before 2015, but I'd gladly see another strong genre filmmaker tackle the material. Edgar Wright's already involved on scripting duties, so give him the keys to the Volume and let him go hog wild or - on the strength of the aforementioned first Pirates and the excellent Rango - give Gore Verbinski a shot at it.

The film itself manages to incorporate all the mystery, slapstick and charm of Herge's tomes - that the filmmakers managed to incorporate a Jar Jar-level of pratfalling from Capt. Haddock, not to mention a comedy sidekick dog and never overstep the line in terms of tone is almost magic. But really this is a relentless action adventure in the mould of Raiders and Spielberg's creativity in staging the setpieces ups the ante each time, the standouts being a pretty remarkable pirate ship battle in flashback and the breathlessly inventive Bagghar chase. Its Spielberg's show throughout, his exploration of the technological possibilities demonstrating the man's simplistic genius of staging, his use of the virtual camera and the seemless transitions the digital imagery affords him allowing him to complete unleash his camera and cast from the physical constraints of location filming. All the cutting edge whiz-bang in the world does not detract from the faithfulness the script has to the origins and essence of Tintin the character, however. If you like your films polished and action-packed, you owe it to yourself to check this one out. I don't think you would lose much by seeing it in 2D, but neither does the 3D distract or obscure the on-screen action. And the kids lapped it up.

[BillyG]

Hanna

Well that was pretty much the best movie of the year. Incredible score as well. Loved the British family and the fish out of water stuff was great. "Three bullets" might be the hardest I've laughed all year. I want the prequel called "Eric Bana Fucks Up The World."

[Anderson]

The Descendants

If it didn't take place in Hawaii it would have been too depressing.

Spot the fuck on. It's like Payne's career has been leading to this moment.

[B_Metal]

Finally got around to seeing Centurion with Bassfender and I quite enjoyed it. Everyone else has gone over the details so I'll just echo and say that it's a damned enjoyable film that has a great look to it.

[Martin]

Priest

So average it's barely worth talking about. Setup ain't bad at all, but it lacks definition, characterization and cohesion to make it remotely exciting. It's not bad, just ordinary.

[B_Metal]

Priest

So average it's barely worth talking about. Setup ain't bad at all, but it lacks definition, characterization and cohesion to make it remotely exciting. It's not bad, just ordinary.

Probably the best way to sum that one up. Glad it was a netflix and not a trip to the theater. My wife was DYING to see it when it was out. Luckily I didn't cave on it.

[Martin]

I pity the fools who paid money to see this in theaters.