to_see_you_smile_again Reviews

Black & White & Sex (2012)

Please go see this movie.

[8/10 · 23 July 2012]

What is wrong with Australian cinema-goers? This is an amazing example of our talented industry: The script, the cinematography and the actresses all blew me away. The director has made a bold statement regarding censorship, about what we can see and hear and why that is. After watching this movie last night, I'm still thinking about it the next morning, and will continue to do so for many days - now that is a sign of a good film. If you've missed it at the movies, wait until it's on DVD and buy it. We need to support our struggling film industry. We need to get behind talented directors and actresses like these, and we need to make more intellectual movies like these.

The Thing (I) (2011)

A confusing "prequel"

[1/10 · 1 June 2012]

I don't understand this prequel at all. The producers stated that John Carpenter's original film was "perfect" hence their decision to make a prequel instead of a remake. But in making this prequel they have completely changed the entire premise of the original film, which is, in my opinion, subtlety, fear, mistrust, suspicion and a good use of the ol' fashioned "whodunnit" storyline. Kim Paffenroth sums up the fear of zombie movies really well, and I think it applies equally as well to the original The Thing: The suspense comes more from how the human characters interact. The movie has the suspense, paranoia, and claustrophobia of a movie about a siege, or a lifeboat full of survivors with limited supplies: the besieging army or the sea is a "given" and is not really the enemy, the real enemy is within the group, with the fear and ignorance that tears them apart and sets them against one another. Whereas the 2011 film seems only interested in trying to shock audiences, showing many graphic alien morphing scenes, and yet, none of them are nearly as frightening, gory, realistic or affecting as its 20-year-old predecessor. For scientist most of the people are complete idiots, and not in the entertaining "don't go in there" kind of way, but more in the face palming kind of way. Been a huge fan of the original, I really didn't enjoy this movie and I knew that I wouldn't. Honestly, it's really not worth a watch. Stick to Carpenter's original.

The Tree of Life (2011)

Rubbish

[2/10 · 17 July 2011]

I just got home from seeing this with friends. I'd been looking forward to it for months. As I sat through this incredibly pretentious movie, all I could do was fidget and check the time. All I was thinking was, "My friends are going to kill me for choosing this!" I study film and literature. So I understand what is visually beautiful and what is a moving story. Sadly, Tree of Life is only one of these. I know it's about the concept of childhood and innocence and all the rest. But this film was completely boring, and a complete waste of time. The 'moving' nature scene went for far too long, and honestly just annoyed me. I found myself craving to see people again. Sadly when I did, they didn't say a word. Which again, annoyed me. I did enjoy Brad Pitt's performance, and Jessica Chastain is absolutely beautiful. But the film was completely pointless, the death mentioned at the start is never completely explained. It seems as if the summer that the filmmakers focused on, had absolutely nothing to do with future event, which again annoyed me! If you like sitting awkwardly for two and a half hours watching half of an imax movie and half of a family drama (without any dialogue) then sure, this is for you!

X: First Class (2011)

2nd best X-men film?

[7/10 · 13 June 2011]

I admit I enjoyed it, but there were a few pretty major problems. Mainly casting, ineffective storytelling plus it didn't add up with the other films. For example, why didn't they just cast Kevin Bacon as the Nazi soldier in the beginning? The two actors looked nothing alike. The film didn't explain itself clear enough either. Now I realise it's a 're-boot' not a prequel. But that's just plain ol' lazy. Overall, it was pretty damn entertaining and impressive visually. I really liked James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender's performance. But I don't understand why Charles had an English accent when born and raised in America?

The Snowtown Murders (2011)

A beautiful, dark story.

[7/10 · 1 June 2011]

I was incredibly impressed by this film. Especially considering that it was the director's first film debut & none of the actors were professionally trained. The film is dark & grim, but considering what actually happened, it was an easy watch. Take this for example, "Frederick Brooks received electric shocks to his penis and testicles, and had a burning sparkler pushed down into his penis; after his toes were crushed and his nose and ears burned with cigarettes, he was allowed to choke to death on his gag." Although a little dark at times, it was filmed beautifully. I love Australian movies, and I am fascinating by serial killers, so all in all, I immensely enjoyed this. If you don't have a weak stomach, and you can patiently watch a story unfold then I recommend this to you.

Insidious (I) (2010)

A pretty darn scary film

[15 May 2011]

I have been looking forward to this movie for months, so when I finally saw it I was afraid I would have drastically high expectations for it. But when the film ended I was pretty well satisfied. Let's start with the positives... It is scary. It does what it's supposed to do. I jumped. I hid my face. It's realistic, kind of. The family actually moves house! I've never, in all the scary movies I've seen, seen this happen. It's got some good cast members and crew behind it. Now the negatives... The music is crudely used. I know it's there to help build suspense. But it's loud and distasteful. The film doesn't allow the audience to imagine anything. When you see what's haunting Dalton, you'll most likely laugh. Overall, I liked it. For an Aussie(ish) film it was pretty good. Horror films are hard to get right, and I think James Waan & Leigh Whannel did a pretty good job.

Source Code (2011)

An ordinary film

[7/10 · 13 May 2011]

Initially I thought this film was your typical action movie, but I heard some really great things about it so I went and watched it anyway... Little did I know, film reviewers sometimes tend to have quite bad taste. Let me clarify - it wasn't a HORRIBLE movie. It just wasn't great. Jake Gyllenhall and Vera Farmiga are good in this movie, but their performances didn't exactly blow me away. (Pun definitely not intended) The film was almost comically patriotic and extremely clichéd. Also, there are some pretty major plot holes - assuming that I've understood the whole premise correctly. Like why he can leave the train for example? I think my problem was that I had high expectations for Source Code and it just didn't quite live up to them. As a sci-fi / action film with it's pretty good.

The Mist (2007)

A great adaptation

[7/10 · 3 May 2011]

The Mist is one of my all time favourite King novels so I was nervous when I heard they were making a film adaptation of it. But this is a great horror movie. True to the novel, it does begin rather slowly. But this is crucial, as you are introduced to an array of characters. Also true to the novel, is the truly despicable and wonderfully hated woman Mrs. Carmody. I guarantee you'll love to hate her. For a film made in 2007, the special effects are admittedly lacking. But it is our own imagination that makes this film truly horrifying. The acting is at times, a little cringe worthy. There are also several very awkward conversations. Apart from those little problems, this movie is solid.

The Thing (1982)

Very good for its time

[7/10 · 27 April 2011]

After watching The Thing for a second time, I realised how good this film is, especially if you consider when it was made. The special effects really are very good, they're convincing, creepy and all kinds of disgusting. Not only are the special effects great, but the storyline itself is pretty entertaining and suspenseful. Although of course the characters never learn their lessons and always underestimate the thing by splitting up, doing things by themselves etc. Other than that The Thing is quite a good eighties horror film. If you enjoy movies like The Shining and The Exorcist I'd say you'd probably enjoy The Thing.

I Saw the Devil (2010)

A little too long & a little too repetitive.

[5/10 · 26 April 2011]

I am a huge fan of horror/thriller films, but I couldn't quite get my head around this one... Admittedly, I don't watch many foreign horror films. But this film seemed incredibly stretched out. There was a point during the film where I thought to myself, "Oh it must nearly be over." - But no, there was still haf an hour left... I get the whole 'catch and release' idea, but it almost went too far. I found myself feeling somewhere between almost bored and not entertained most of the time. It's just a little too repetitive for my liking. It is a violent movie, so I'd advise anyone who doesn't like violence/blood/gore not to watch it.

Blue Valentine (2010)

Resonating.

[9/10 · 23 April 2011]

This is by far my favourite film of 2010. I loved everything about Blue Valentine... The acting is quite simply, beautiful. Not only that, it's real. There's none of those corny lines that nobody in real life would ever say. It's just two people falling in and out of live with each other. The music is sweet and sad which matches the understated cinematography perfectly. After watching this a second time the thing that stands out the most is the colours in this film, and how they work so well to portray different feelings, emotions, time frames etc. To anybody who didn't like this movie, I'd say that you were obviously expecting a Romantic Comedy, a movie where everything turns out well in the end and everyone is happily in love. This film is not exactly the complete opposite of that, it's just more honest. If I had to pick one word to describe Blue Valentine it would be resonating. It stays with you long after you've watched it.

Scream 4 (2011)

This movie doesn't make any sense!

[4/10 · 16 April 2011]

As a teenager, I liked the first Scream. But the second and third were just plain silly. And so is this. The dialogue is terrible, the plot doesn't make any sense & the characters are just plain ol' unlikeable. The film claimed to have reinvented the slasher genre, but it is literally just the same thing repeated over and over again... The killer has an incredibly petty excuse to kill everybody - "I just want my fifteen minutes of fame!" This is a generally bad movie. You may laugh, but its for all the wrong reasons. Avoid this at all costs, or at least download it illegally so Wes Craven can't make any more money for making these shitty sequels.