This may be the best film I have ever seen made by a high school student, and I have actually seen a lot. The film is about vampires loose as a sci fi convention. Drawing elements from of today’s vampire and nerd craze, it capitalizes on satirizing contemporary pop culture better than all the films made by the Wayans Brothers combined. A smart and legitimately funny picture, the filmmaking shows real maturity and talent. This filmmaker, Emily Hagins, makes me not only confident about the future of female directors, but film in general.
14. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
I was so hurt by the last Planet of the Apes film, by Tim Burton, I was afraid to open my heart to a new one. Boy did this film redeem the last one. I was very impressed by every aspect of the film, especially the storytelling. The way the film made you invest and understand the, mostly, non speaking characters was amazing. Getting an audience to invest in non human characters is not an easy thing to do, ie Transformers. A truly great sci fi film, I hope they do not make a sequel that would degrade Andy Serkis’ performance.
13. The Dead Inside
This a ghost/zombie musical, I repeat a ghost/zombie musical. I am not ashamed to say that I love musicals, there is something truly special when song is perfectly tied to story. The film is not an “Oklahoma” type musical, it is more in the vain of Sweeney Todd, with its tone and lack of dance numbers. The movie is about an author who becomes possessed by a ghost and how her boyfriend tries to get her back. There is also scenes from the author's zombie book cut in throughout the film. A dark and witty indie musical, this film really shows that musicals are not just for the big studios.
12. Our Day Will Come
Crazy, that is the only way I can describe this movie. The film is about a lonesome red headed boy who befriends another red head, a psychologist played by one of my favorites Vincent Cassell, and how the two go on a cross country spree of debauchery as they try to travel to Ireland, where people with red hair are accepted. The film is even more stranger than that plot summary. Though, no matter how weird this film got, it was still really good with excellent acting and clean directing. I keep trying to think of words in my vocabulary to describe it, but I can’t. This film takes every situation beyond the extreme and is one of the oddest buddy films I have seen. All that being said, see it the first chance you get.
11. 13 Assassins
I love Takashi Miike, but I feel like I always have to justify it to people. Explaining the underlying themes on relationships in Audition or his commentary in violence Ichi The Killer, the genius of Miike is not all that obvious the laymen film patron. However, I no longer have to do that, as 13 Assassins is what I consider to be his first awards worthy picture (and not the Saturn Awards, I'm talking BAFTAs and Critics Choice, however I am sure this film will not receive the nominations it deserves). The cinematography and editing are some of the best I have seen all year, and it has the best swordsmanship since Kill Bill. The story is a take on Seven Samurai, yet instead of defending, the samurai are attacking. It reminds me of films like Braveheart and Gladiator in many ways, I am not sure I can give a better recommendation to a picture than that.
No comments:
Post a Comment