I think this deserves some kind of preface. My frequency of visiting the movie theaters has resulted in me seeing the trailer for this movie somewhere between 10-20 times. I thought it was a good trailer, so I was excited to see the movie. So much so, that I actually wanted to see the premiere revealing last friday, but due to lack of enthusiasm, I stayed home and chilled.
My friend however, did go to see it, thinking I would be there to accompany him. He reported back to me the next day, referring to this movie as an "okay movie to watch, nothing special".
I however, was still quite excited to go see this. So fast-fowarding a little less than a week, here I am thursday afternoon, asking my roommates if anybody would be up for watching a french movie I had been excited to see for quite a while.
This request resulted in me spending a lovely evening with one of the before mentioned roommates. She did however have one condition. We would have to bring some beer.
A couple of hours later, here we were. Sitting the theaters, a backpack filled with beer and snacks. Ready for action.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but I didn't care much. I was certain I would at least be entertained, and I had brought beer, so who cared?
Nothing however could've prepared me for what coming my way. People who know me even a little bit should know that I have watched hundreds of movies the last couple of years. But what I experienced this night, only a couple of hours ago, is something completely new to me. Something in years and years of moviewatching has never happened to me before.
I sat there, in my seat, holding a beer, and as the plot was thickening on the screen before my eyes. I actually found myself feeling and thinking; "Oh God, I really hope this ends well."
This might not sound that impressive to most of you, but coming from a guy who watches movies from a 99.9% analytic point of view. This was revolutionary emotional empathy.
Another thing I really loved about this movie was how misleading the trailer was. The one thing that drove me to want to see this movie, was a complete lie. And regardless of that fact I still loved every moment of this film.
As I am writing this, I feel like I'm skipping steps, or maybe not making complete sense. This is mostly due to the copious amounts of alcohol I have consumed during this movie, and partly due to the emotional excitement I have racing through my veins after experiencing this work of art.
As always.
Live long and prosper,
Teun.
donderdag 14 juni 2012
woensdag 6 juni 2012
Moons and pregnancies
Good morning,
This time I thought I would cover my cinematic adventures of multiple days.
Let us rewind to last sunday, after awakening from a drunken slumber my plans were to return to Amsterdam, take a look at my new school building, and move on to the room I have the privilege of calling home. Those plans were slightly altered when more people decided to join me for my journey. Which ultimately resulted in me and two friends sitting with a backpack filled with snacks and beer in the dinnertime showing of "What to expect when you're expecting" a movie probably frowned upon by many. Granted, this movie will not end up in the books of cinematic history, but I still enjoyed myself. Although at one point all the women around us were not-so-silently weeping over the intense emotions oozing off the screen. But luckily, us men have had years and years of thorough training on how to get through tough emotional moments. So we decided to crack open another beer and laugh it off.
For me, the real plan of that night was the 21:20 showing of "Moonrise Kingdom", a movie I had been looking forward to for weeks, ever since they decided to show the trailer before every freaking movie I went to see. Resulting in me seeing it about 10 times in the past month. So after stuffing ourselves full of unhealthy burgers for the 3rd time that day, I entered the Pathe City with a slight feeling of excitement. So far I had not heard that much of the movie, but everything had been positive. What I was not prepared for was that I would absolutely love this movie. This doesn't happen often, but when it does, you'll know it. The combination of oddness and humor reminded me in a way of Amelie, some may take this as an offense, as if I'm calling it unoriginal, but I find calling a movie reminiscent of Amelie a grand compliment. Anways, this movie has a certain oddness to it, that works up to a point where it makes everything more amusing and enjoyable and somehow does not come off as overly weird. That is an amazingly fine balance that they managed to hit spot on.
This is a movie I am certain will be re watched by me and many others. If I know myself even a little, I'll probably go see it in theaters again soon enough.
So, after closing off sunday with such success and enjoyment. I took a day off, no movies for me on monday.
But, tuesday, of course meant time to get back in action. Somewhere in the afternoon I approached my friend if we were planning on raping any cinemas that evening. And after going through what was showing, cross-matching the play times, and even contemplating going to see multiple movies, we decided it was time to go see "Prometheus". A movie I insisted we go see in the Grand Hall of Pathé Tuschinski, a beautiful hall in a most beautiful theater. Definitely my favorite cinema to go to.
It had been maybe 10 years since I saw Alien, it was at a slumber party during one of my visits to the states. We were a group of young boys watching a movie we probably shouldn't be watching. And it made quite the impression.
So I knew who Ridley Scott was when the name appeared to me on the giant movie screen. But I had no real expectations of what Prometheus would bring me. I figured just going to see it and letting it wash over me was a good approach. What I must confess is that I'm actually not that big of a fan of this genre. I think this comes from my very analytical approach to movies, this helps me appreciate a lot of movies a whole lot more. But when it comes to movies that are supposed to have you trembling in your seat, I can never quite get that same thrill that others are getting. Because I'm not looking at the movie in the same way, I can never quite get sucked in to the point of shared fear.
I don't think too much should be said about Prometheus, it looked amazing, although at some points I thought certain design choices made a couple of objects look outright funny, but as a whole, it was incredibly impressive.
My personal judgement of this movie is this: It made me want to go back and re watch Alien.
So, for those of you who have been paying attention, there is a shared theme between these three movies one I realized as I was riding my bike back home last night. Moons and pregnancies. For the Alien fans out there, that should be good news.
As always.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
This time I thought I would cover my cinematic adventures of multiple days.
Let us rewind to last sunday, after awakening from a drunken slumber my plans were to return to Amsterdam, take a look at my new school building, and move on to the room I have the privilege of calling home. Those plans were slightly altered when more people decided to join me for my journey. Which ultimately resulted in me and two friends sitting with a backpack filled with snacks and beer in the dinnertime showing of "What to expect when you're expecting" a movie probably frowned upon by many. Granted, this movie will not end up in the books of cinematic history, but I still enjoyed myself. Although at one point all the women around us were not-so-silently weeping over the intense emotions oozing off the screen. But luckily, us men have had years and years of thorough training on how to get through tough emotional moments. So we decided to crack open another beer and laugh it off.
For me, the real plan of that night was the 21:20 showing of "Moonrise Kingdom", a movie I had been looking forward to for weeks, ever since they decided to show the trailer before every freaking movie I went to see. Resulting in me seeing it about 10 times in the past month. So after stuffing ourselves full of unhealthy burgers for the 3rd time that day, I entered the Pathe City with a slight feeling of excitement. So far I had not heard that much of the movie, but everything had been positive. What I was not prepared for was that I would absolutely love this movie. This doesn't happen often, but when it does, you'll know it. The combination of oddness and humor reminded me in a way of Amelie, some may take this as an offense, as if I'm calling it unoriginal, but I find calling a movie reminiscent of Amelie a grand compliment. Anways, this movie has a certain oddness to it, that works up to a point where it makes everything more amusing and enjoyable and somehow does not come off as overly weird. That is an amazingly fine balance that they managed to hit spot on.
This is a movie I am certain will be re watched by me and many others. If I know myself even a little, I'll probably go see it in theaters again soon enough.
So, after closing off sunday with such success and enjoyment. I took a day off, no movies for me on monday.
But, tuesday, of course meant time to get back in action. Somewhere in the afternoon I approached my friend if we were planning on raping any cinemas that evening. And after going through what was showing, cross-matching the play times, and even contemplating going to see multiple movies, we decided it was time to go see "Prometheus". A movie I insisted we go see in the Grand Hall of Pathé Tuschinski, a beautiful hall in a most beautiful theater. Definitely my favorite cinema to go to.
It had been maybe 10 years since I saw Alien, it was at a slumber party during one of my visits to the states. We were a group of young boys watching a movie we probably shouldn't be watching. And it made quite the impression.
So I knew who Ridley Scott was when the name appeared to me on the giant movie screen. But I had no real expectations of what Prometheus would bring me. I figured just going to see it and letting it wash over me was a good approach. What I must confess is that I'm actually not that big of a fan of this genre. I think this comes from my very analytical approach to movies, this helps me appreciate a lot of movies a whole lot more. But when it comes to movies that are supposed to have you trembling in your seat, I can never quite get that same thrill that others are getting. Because I'm not looking at the movie in the same way, I can never quite get sucked in to the point of shared fear.
I don't think too much should be said about Prometheus, it looked amazing, although at some points I thought certain design choices made a couple of objects look outright funny, but as a whole, it was incredibly impressive.
My personal judgement of this movie is this: It made me want to go back and re watch Alien.
So, for those of you who have been paying attention, there is a shared theme between these three movies one I realized as I was riding my bike back home last night. Moons and pregnancies. For the Alien fans out there, that should be good news.
As always.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
zaterdag 2 juni 2012
Movies of may
Good morning,
I think I'd like to do a monthly summary of what I've watched the past month and a very quick word of judgement. Hopefully I can do this somewhat chronologically.
Shame (2011) - Very impressive movie, need to rewatch this.
The Avengers (2012) - Superhero-movies are my weakness, and this is an awesome one.
Un Prophète (2009) - Quite nice, and felt different somehow from what you usually see.
Safe (2012) - Bad movie, watch this if you're bored and you need some action.
The Artist (2011) - Great film, go watch this.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2012) - It's alright.
This must be the place (2012) - I like Sean Penn, it's a nice movie, kind of odd tho.
The Diving bell and the Butterfly (2007) - Great movie, second time I watch this. Definitely recommend it.
Zack and Miri make a porno (2008) - Incredibly funny.
The Dictator (2012) - Quite enjoyable
Dark Shadows (2012) - Different from what I expected, but I liked it.
Cabin in the Woods (2012) - I've read great things about this, but I disliked it. Definitely not my thing.
Finding Neverland (2004) - One of Johnny Depp's better performances in my opinion.
Men in Black III (2012) - Very enjoyable, and two stars from No Country for old Men, what more could you wish for?
On the Road (2012) - Around 8-10 people left the theater during this movie, unlike them, I quite liked it.
The Hunger Games (2012) - Have a long version of my opinion on this movie, basically: bad rip-off.
Fetih 1453 (2012) - I've read a lot of praise on this movie, I thought it was terrible.
Iron Sky (2012) - I already knew I'd like this just because of the plot summary on IMDB.
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) - Read below, I thought it had more potential.
As always.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
I think I'd like to do a monthly summary of what I've watched the past month and a very quick word of judgement. Hopefully I can do this somewhat chronologically.
Shame (2011) - Very impressive movie, need to rewatch this.
The Avengers (2012) - Superhero-movies are my weakness, and this is an awesome one.
Un Prophète (2009) - Quite nice, and felt different somehow from what you usually see.
Safe (2012) - Bad movie, watch this if you're bored and you need some action.
The Artist (2011) - Great film, go watch this.
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2012) - It's alright.
This must be the place (2012) - I like Sean Penn, it's a nice movie, kind of odd tho.
The Diving bell and the Butterfly (2007) - Great movie, second time I watch this. Definitely recommend it.
Zack and Miri make a porno (2008) - Incredibly funny.
The Dictator (2012) - Quite enjoyable
Dark Shadows (2012) - Different from what I expected, but I liked it.
Cabin in the Woods (2012) - I've read great things about this, but I disliked it. Definitely not my thing.
Finding Neverland (2004) - One of Johnny Depp's better performances in my opinion.
Men in Black III (2012) - Very enjoyable, and two stars from No Country for old Men, what more could you wish for?
On the Road (2012) - Around 8-10 people left the theater during this movie, unlike them, I quite liked it.
The Hunger Games (2012) - Have a long version of my opinion on this movie, basically: bad rip-off.
Fetih 1453 (2012) - I've read a lot of praise on this movie, I thought it was terrible.
Iron Sky (2012) - I already knew I'd like this just because of the plot summary on IMDB.
Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) - Read below, I thought it had more potential.
As always.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
vrijdag 1 juni 2012
Snow White
Good evening,
As I am writing this it is 2:16 am on a friday night, and I have had a few drinks.
My night started out expecting to go to Moonrise Kingdom, a movie I had been quite excited to go see since its trailer has been shown with incredible frequency in all the movies I've gone to see lately. The downside of this movie was its showtime, it was showing at 19:20 pm, which for me meant I had to rush dinner, which resulted in me eating a bowl of cereal.
I showed up at the theater on time, but due to a 52 hour roller coaster ride of sleep deprivation my friends did not manage to achieve the same result. So, instead of going to see Moonrise Kingdom, we went out and had the before mentioned drinks. Me and my friend were however still longing for our cinema fix, we were craving a friday night movie and darn it, we would have one!
So, we decided to go see Snow White and the Huntsman which was showing at 23:00pm at a local theater. A movie I had not been as excited about, but expected it to be at least somewhat worth watching. The magnitude of me claiming a Kristen Stewart movie to be "worth watching" is greater than you might realize.
For I may have not mentioned this before but within me there is a righteous fury that burns with incredible hatred for a girl called Kristen Stewart and a man called Nicolas Cage (I know I'm not alone on the second one). My hatred for Kristen started when I watched the first twilight movie and I started to realize that she had a very specific way of looking whenever she wanted to appear longing or in love.
She would slightly close her eyes and open her mouth, and if she really wanted to drive her point home, she would lightly bite her lower lip.
At that moment I had a startling realization. I had seen this look before. I knew this look from a movie that is one of my favorites and that bear some fond memories. The movie I am speaking of is Into the Wild, and upon realizing that this look is some generic acting trick, I can never look at a major part of Into the Wild with the same loving eyes.
And for this injustice, I hate Kristen Stewart with a righteous fury.
So, ignoring this hatred for the sake of cinematic history, I went to see Snow White and the Huntsman, which turned out to be a pre-theatrical release. Close to sold out even, luckily me and my friend had free entrance and just strolled in. The movie kind of disappointed me.
Where I think they went terribly wrong is their general decision making. A great majority of the film feels like some world that reminds me of Lord of the Rings, and if they had went all the way with it I think they could've made a great fantasy re-imagining of Snow White.
But they didn't, from time to time they would pay some small, let's call them... homages. To the original Disney Snow White, and they would break out of their fantasy feeling and throw in some very unfitting cheesy moments. This took the movie for me from a point of "this could be great" down to just "worth watching". In my opinion, they should've either gone for a realistic remake of the Disney Snow White, or they should've gone for a fantasy re-imagining, either way they could've made it into a great movie. But turning this movie into a blend of two contradicting ways of portraying a story doomed this movie from the start.
Ah well, at least Kristen Stewart didn't show us her generic lovey-dovey-look-at-me-I'm-in-love-look.
Believe it or not, but this mediocre film actually improved my view of Kristen as an actress, almost as much as seeing her boobies in On the Road did.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
As I am writing this it is 2:16 am on a friday night, and I have had a few drinks.
My night started out expecting to go to Moonrise Kingdom, a movie I had been quite excited to go see since its trailer has been shown with incredible frequency in all the movies I've gone to see lately. The downside of this movie was its showtime, it was showing at 19:20 pm, which for me meant I had to rush dinner, which resulted in me eating a bowl of cereal.
I showed up at the theater on time, but due to a 52 hour roller coaster ride of sleep deprivation my friends did not manage to achieve the same result. So, instead of going to see Moonrise Kingdom, we went out and had the before mentioned drinks. Me and my friend were however still longing for our cinema fix, we were craving a friday night movie and darn it, we would have one!
So, we decided to go see Snow White and the Huntsman which was showing at 23:00pm at a local theater. A movie I had not been as excited about, but expected it to be at least somewhat worth watching. The magnitude of me claiming a Kristen Stewart movie to be "worth watching" is greater than you might realize.
For I may have not mentioned this before but within me there is a righteous fury that burns with incredible hatred for a girl called Kristen Stewart and a man called Nicolas Cage (I know I'm not alone on the second one). My hatred for Kristen started when I watched the first twilight movie and I started to realize that she had a very specific way of looking whenever she wanted to appear longing or in love.
She would slightly close her eyes and open her mouth, and if she really wanted to drive her point home, she would lightly bite her lower lip.
At that moment I had a startling realization. I had seen this look before. I knew this look from a movie that is one of my favorites and that bear some fond memories. The movie I am speaking of is Into the Wild, and upon realizing that this look is some generic acting trick, I can never look at a major part of Into the Wild with the same loving eyes.
And for this injustice, I hate Kristen Stewart with a righteous fury.
So, ignoring this hatred for the sake of cinematic history, I went to see Snow White and the Huntsman, which turned out to be a pre-theatrical release. Close to sold out even, luckily me and my friend had free entrance and just strolled in. The movie kind of disappointed me.
Where I think they went terribly wrong is their general decision making. A great majority of the film feels like some world that reminds me of Lord of the Rings, and if they had went all the way with it I think they could've made a great fantasy re-imagining of Snow White.
But they didn't, from time to time they would pay some small, let's call them... homages. To the original Disney Snow White, and they would break out of their fantasy feeling and throw in some very unfitting cheesy moments. This took the movie for me from a point of "this could be great" down to just "worth watching". In my opinion, they should've either gone for a realistic remake of the Disney Snow White, or they should've gone for a fantasy re-imagining, either way they could've made it into a great movie. But turning this movie into a blend of two contradicting ways of portraying a story doomed this movie from the start.
Ah well, at least Kristen Stewart didn't show us her generic lovey-dovey-look-at-me-I'm-in-love-look.
Believe it or not, but this mediocre film actually improved my view of Kristen as an actress, almost as much as seeing her boobies in On the Road did.
Live long and prosper,
Teun
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