28 Days Later (2002)
Date of first viewing: Friday, October 31, 2003
Format: DVD
More Halloween horror. This one really freaked Michael out!
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Format: DVD
More Halloween horror. This one really freaked Michael out!
From Hell (2001)
Date of first viewing: Friday, October 31, 2003
Format: DVD
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The Vanishing (1988)
Date of first viewing: Saturday, October 25, 2003
Format: DVD
Scary movie #2 this week. Yeah, chilling, creepy, logical, all that. But I guess I had heard so much hype about this movie that the terrifying ending was just not as awful as I thought it would be. Maybe because it was so inevitable. The sociopath is relentlessly cold and calculating in his crimes while warm with his family. I found the film to be more depressing than gripping.
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The Ring (2002)
Date of first viewing: Saturday, October 25, 2003
Format: DVD
Halloween is coming. It's scary movie time. "The Ring" is Scary Movie #1. Except it wasn't that scary. And it wasn't that good, despite Naomi Watts. Too many broken links and bits of illogic. And Naomi Watts wasn't that good. She could have been any blonde-haired scary movie actress. Too bad. Now I see on IMDB that The Ring 2 is in production, also starring Naomi Watts. Maybe some things will be explained. But maybe no one will care anymore.
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Julien, Donkey-Boy (1999)
Date of first viewing: Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Format: DVD
Disturbing, raw, difficult. Normally, I would write off this kind of movie as pretentious (or "artsy fartsy," as Julien's father would call it.) Certainly exploitive - of people with disabilities. But then, what films don't exploit people, and why shouldn't disabled people get their few moments of fame? Anyway, this morning I can't get the images out of my head. There is something really compelling about the absolute raw honesty of this movie. And speaking of Julien's father, I found him to be even MORE disturbing than the Dennis Hopper character in Blue Velvet. Because of the naturalness of Werner Herzog's performance, I didn't feel like I was watching a performance at all, but a deranged guy being secretly filmed in his bedroom. Creepy.
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Down With Love (2003)
Date of first viewing: Saturday, October 18, 2003
Format: DVD
Cute, frothy, retro fun. Great colors. A mere wisp of a story.
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The Quiet American (2002)
Date of first viewing: Sunday, October 12, 2003
Format: DVD
One of the WORST examples of VOICEOVER NARRATION!! Why oh why do they do it?!? Don't tell us how we should feel! Make us feel it! Generally, voiceover narration should be used sparingly. There are brilliant examples of effective voiceovers: "About A Boy," "Adaptation," "Fight Club," "The Opposite of Sex." In these movies, the narration doesn't explain what the audience can clearly see for itself on the screen. Instead, it provides a counterpoint to what's on screen or reveals the inner workings and obsessions of the narrator's mind.
Anyway, suffice it to say, this Academy Award nominated film is NOT RECOMMENDED, despite Michael Caine.
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Dopamine (2003)
Date of first viewing: Saturday, October 11, 2003
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Lost in Translation (2003)
Date of first viewing: Saturday, October 11, 2003
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