Until then, the balcony is closed.
Jan. 5th, 2010 03:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dolphingirlI've been extremely remiss in posting about the books and movies I've read/seen lately. I did pretty well this past year with getting into reading books again and getting caught up on movies. I need to be better about posting about them, though, especially now that we've been watching Netflix movies every day!
I'm not really going to review any of them, for the simple fact that I tend to like things for really random reasons, or I get an overall "feeling" about something that can't really be imparted rationally. I also never recommend anything because people can be assholes and I hate when someone reads/watches something I like and then says it was terrible and anyone who liked it has no taste, or when I recommend it and later they're all "Thanks for wasting my time with that piece of crap." So I'm just going to post about it and if anyone wants to see or read it, they can.
Anyway, a few months ago I finally got around to seeing Let the Right One In, or its apparent Swedish name, Let them Rats Come In. I liked it well enough when I watched it, but the more I thought about it afterward, the more I liked it. The movie tended to be mostly about the boy, Oskar, and his relationship with the perpetually 12-year-old vampire girl that moves into his building, but it raised some good questions about the practical issues of being undead. Like, if you don't want to be a totally obvious outcast, how do you assimilate into regular society? Where do you get money, and how do you get a place to live if you're not old enough to do anything? Then, of course, there are the problems of getting the blood you need without being discovered. I like the attitude the movie took toward vampirism; it made it seem really gross and unglamorous, akin to being a rabid animal. There was very little gore for it being a horror movie, which made it more effective when it was there. I think the Swedish setting was excellent, as it was relentlessly gray and grim, and the blood stood out starkly against the snow. The movie uses a lot of long shots, where the main action is happening in the foreground, and then you see something fucked up in the background or on the side and think "Wait, did that just happen?" just as you might in real life. There were a couple of things I could really have done without, and at least one scene that made me laugh out loud when I don't think it was supposed to be funny (cats really don't like vampires, apparently). My only other complaint was that this was a DVD from Netflix, and the version we saw was dubbed; I didn't realize there was a subtitled version on the DVD as well, and the English dubbing was absolutely horrible. So if I watch it again, it would definitely be the subtitled version, and I'm sure I'll be watching it again. There's also the novel it was based on, which I'd like to read.
Another one I finally got around to seeing was The Orphanage, which was produced by Guillermo del Toro but has a different director. It is in Spanish, though, and has a similar feel to del Toro's films. This movie was gorgeous to look at. There's a beautiful ocean cave setting that was used, and even though it's contemporary, everything has a sort of Victorian feel to it. Nothing seemed wasted or ordinary; instead of using a normal brass key to open a door, it's an ornate skeleton key, for instance. If I were to recommend this to someone, though, I wouldn't even begin to know how to describe it. The subject matter is dark, but I wouldn't describe it as a horror movie. It's not scary so much as it is eerie; it's more of the type of being startled by seeing someone standing somewhere they don't belong. Oddly, it winds up being uplifting despite being sad. Very interesting, and I would definitely watch it again--unlike Pan's Labyrinth, which I loved but don't think I could sit through again, because when it was over I felt like I'd been kicked in the gut.
I also came across a movie called Joshua. I had added it on Netflix, but found it On Demand and watched it there instead. It's a pretty standard "little kid is a psycho but no one believes it" movie, but was weird enough to be interesting. It seemed to be trying for a sort of arty feel, and managed to build a decent amount of suspense, even though the plot was pretty standard. The main problems I had with this movie were that the baby screams a lot (which makes my ovaries shrivel), and people kept yelling "Joshua!", which didn't make anything shrivel but was a tad annoying. Overall, though, I found it above average. Sam Rockwell has been growing on me, and the climax of the movie takes place at the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park, so it scored points with me for that :)
I'm not really going to review any of them, for the simple fact that I tend to like things for really random reasons, or I get an overall "feeling" about something that can't really be imparted rationally. I also never recommend anything because people can be assholes and I hate when someone reads/watches something I like and then says it was terrible and anyone who liked it has no taste, or when I recommend it and later they're all "Thanks for wasting my time with that piece of crap." So I'm just going to post about it and if anyone wants to see or read it, they can.
Anyway, a few months ago I finally got around to seeing Let the Right One In, or its apparent Swedish name, Let them Rats Come In. I liked it well enough when I watched it, but the more I thought about it afterward, the more I liked it. The movie tended to be mostly about the boy, Oskar, and his relationship with the perpetually 12-year-old vampire girl that moves into his building, but it raised some good questions about the practical issues of being undead. Like, if you don't want to be a totally obvious outcast, how do you assimilate into regular society? Where do you get money, and how do you get a place to live if you're not old enough to do anything? Then, of course, there are the problems of getting the blood you need without being discovered. I like the attitude the movie took toward vampirism; it made it seem really gross and unglamorous, akin to being a rabid animal. There was very little gore for it being a horror movie, which made it more effective when it was there. I think the Swedish setting was excellent, as it was relentlessly gray and grim, and the blood stood out starkly against the snow. The movie uses a lot of long shots, where the main action is happening in the foreground, and then you see something fucked up in the background or on the side and think "Wait, did that just happen?" just as you might in real life. There were a couple of things I could really have done without, and at least one scene that made me laugh out loud when I don't think it was supposed to be funny (cats really don't like vampires, apparently). My only other complaint was that this was a DVD from Netflix, and the version we saw was dubbed; I didn't realize there was a subtitled version on the DVD as well, and the English dubbing was absolutely horrible. So if I watch it again, it would definitely be the subtitled version, and I'm sure I'll be watching it again. There's also the novel it was based on, which I'd like to read.
Another one I finally got around to seeing was The Orphanage, which was produced by Guillermo del Toro but has a different director. It is in Spanish, though, and has a similar feel to del Toro's films. This movie was gorgeous to look at. There's a beautiful ocean cave setting that was used, and even though it's contemporary, everything has a sort of Victorian feel to it. Nothing seemed wasted or ordinary; instead of using a normal brass key to open a door, it's an ornate skeleton key, for instance. If I were to recommend this to someone, though, I wouldn't even begin to know how to describe it. The subject matter is dark, but I wouldn't describe it as a horror movie. It's not scary so much as it is eerie; it's more of the type of being startled by seeing someone standing somewhere they don't belong. Oddly, it winds up being uplifting despite being sad. Very interesting, and I would definitely watch it again--unlike Pan's Labyrinth, which I loved but don't think I could sit through again, because when it was over I felt like I'd been kicked in the gut.
I also came across a movie called Joshua. I had added it on Netflix, but found it On Demand and watched it there instead. It's a pretty standard "little kid is a psycho but no one believes it" movie, but was weird enough to be interesting. It seemed to be trying for a sort of arty feel, and managed to build a decent amount of suspense, even though the plot was pretty standard. The main problems I had with this movie were that the baby screams a lot (which makes my ovaries shrivel), and people kept yelling "Joshua!", which didn't make anything shrivel but was a tad annoying. Overall, though, I found it above average. Sam Rockwell has been growing on me, and the climax of the movie takes place at the Alice in Wonderland statue in Central Park, so it scored points with me for that :)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-01-05 02:55 pm (UTC)(A movie, by the way, I'm thoroughly convinced was written by someone traumatized by Watership Down as a child.)
I'm gonna check out The Orphanage though.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-06 08:37 am (UTC)I think you might like The Orphanage.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-06 10:04 pm (UTC)Is it funnier in Hi-Def? I say so. :P
no subject
Date: 2010-01-05 05:45 pm (UTC)I agree... It's like, dude, I'm not getting paid to recommend things to you, so can it.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-06 08:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-05 09:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-06 08:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-06 02:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-06 08:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-06 04:44 am (UTC)Anyway.
Anything that Guillermo del Toro touches is brilliant. He made the underrated and incredibly amazing "Hellboy", which is also filled with small, beautiful touches that would be wasted in any other director's movies.
You gotta watch that Swedish vampire movie again with the subtitles. Always watch the movie with the subtitles. Even Rob, who hates to read and is mildly dyslexic, prefers the movie with subtitles over dubbing. Ever see "Life is Beautiful"? With the subtitles, it's a lovely film. With the English track, it's baffling. Same with "Der Blaue Engel." In German, it's erotic and unsettling. In English, it's annoying.
I must admit now that I'm a fan of foreign films. :p
no subject
Date: 2010-01-06 08:28 am (UTC)I love Hellboy! There was a lot in that movie I wasn't expecting. I also like all the cats :P There's a book he co-wrote that I want to check out.
I keep forgetting to read Ebert's blog. I miss Siskel and Ebert, too, and I tend to respect his reviews the most. I have Your Movie Sucks on my wish list.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-07 03:07 am (UTC)I told Rob not too long ago that when Ebert finally kicks the bucket, I won't know who to trust to tell me if a movie is any good or not. I don't always agree with his reviews, but I know they are written by someone who loves movies as much as I do.
We just picked up "Hellboy" on BluRay. Awesome!
no subject
Date: 2010-01-07 07:36 am (UTC)Hey cutesy!
Date: 2011-01-26 05:18 am (UTC)<3
Re: Hey cutesy!
Date: 2011-01-26 05:23 am (UTC)Re: Hey cutesy!
Date: 2011-01-26 05:31 am (UTC)