Netflix Musings Part 41
Been a very weird few days...but I've had a lot of time to watch films and figured I'd do a review set before the list gets too long.
The King's Speech
A best picture nom last year, it is just the type of film you'd expect to get an oscar nomination. It's a very nicely done film with excellent performances. Some of the humor was surprising to find...in a good way. I have some family members and friends with severe stuttering issues so it's interesting to see a little insight into that.
Sucker Punch
Zac Snyder? Why do they keep letting you make films? This was so bad. It's a mysogynistic, sexist film. I wonder if this was what the author THOUGHT the female audience would like...but didn't realize they were pandering to the male audience all along. Decent soundtrack, and some of the scenarios seemed like fun...but things never really made much sense...and you never care for the main character.
Tower Heist
I'll agree with the critics on this one...not a really stretch film for anyone in it. That being said, it's a great slice of true New York life in many ways, and was very funny on a night when I needed that desperately. There are some rampant stereotypes in this...sad because they could have easily avoided them. Still...it was a fun laugh...very popcorn movie.
Shinobi No Moro 3: Resurrection
Apparently the third in a series from the 1960's about 13th century legendary assassin Goeman Ishikawa. Beautifully shot black and white with some impressive stunts for a sixties film. It was remarkably easy to jump into the story...but I'll bet that's because I know a lot about this particular robin hood esque legend and Japanese culture.
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey
I have been dying to see this documentary and it finally started streaming on Netflix instant view. HIGHLY recommended especially if you're into Jim Henson and Muppets. Following the story of Kevin Clash, who is now famous for being the voice and spirit behind Elmo from his start in suburban Baltimore to his celebrity today. It's really REALLY sweet and I loved it to pieces. Also note my not so disguised love of the idea of working for CTW.
Romantico
I was recommended a lot of musical documentaries and I was hoping this one would be more about what it described than what it was. Billed as a story about the Mexican mariachi singers who are under appreciated on the streets of San Fran, they actually don't spend much time on the musical aspects. It's much more about the two men's lives instead. While that's important to a documentary don't get me wrong, I didn't feel a strong balance like there should have been between their story and it's connection to their music.
Portlandia (six episodes for season 1)
AKA so much about all the hipsters I know/see/interact with it's scary. A sketch comedy series about life in uber crunchy Portland Oregon that lampoons a LOT of the things we're weirdly obsessed with nowadays. It's hard to describe but it so very encompasses so many situations I've been in that I do recommend it for that alone.
True Grit
I wasn't quite expecting this out of the Cohen brother's I'll admit. It's very different from the John Wayne version, but at times get's too serious for it's own good I guess? Enjoyable, well shot, and well cast, I can't put my finger on what exactly made it so unsatisfying overall.
School of Surf
Really basic sports (IE surf and ski styled) documentary about a surfing competition for high schoolers. I wanted to watch it because of the poster on the Netflix cue. Beyond that it wasn't much of anything worth recommending.
Reel Injun
Tracing the portrayal of native persons in film over it's existence as a medium was a lot more fascinating than I had expected it to be. I never really considered that early portrayals in particular showed native american's in more than just a simplistic light. That changes and gets worse over the course of the years and very recently has started back on the right path. It's good to see that the community is still vital for telling film stories that way.
ON THE BIG SCREEN
The Secret of Arrietty
Saw this with Doug and it was just as good as any Miyazaki I've seen. Well recommended and beautifully animated. Can't really say more than that.
The King's Speech
A best picture nom last year, it is just the type of film you'd expect to get an oscar nomination. It's a very nicely done film with excellent performances. Some of the humor was surprising to find...in a good way. I have some family members and friends with severe stuttering issues so it's interesting to see a little insight into that.
Sucker Punch
Zac Snyder? Why do they keep letting you make films? This was so bad. It's a mysogynistic, sexist film. I wonder if this was what the author THOUGHT the female audience would like...but didn't realize they were pandering to the male audience all along. Decent soundtrack, and some of the scenarios seemed like fun...but things never really made much sense...and you never care for the main character.
Tower Heist
I'll agree with the critics on this one...not a really stretch film for anyone in it. That being said, it's a great slice of true New York life in many ways, and was very funny on a night when I needed that desperately. There are some rampant stereotypes in this...sad because they could have easily avoided them. Still...it was a fun laugh...very popcorn movie.
Shinobi No Moro 3: Resurrection
Apparently the third in a series from the 1960's about 13th century legendary assassin Goeman Ishikawa. Beautifully shot black and white with some impressive stunts for a sixties film. It was remarkably easy to jump into the story...but I'll bet that's because I know a lot about this particular robin hood esque legend and Japanese culture.
Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey
I have been dying to see this documentary and it finally started streaming on Netflix instant view. HIGHLY recommended especially if you're into Jim Henson and Muppets. Following the story of Kevin Clash, who is now famous for being the voice and spirit behind Elmo from his start in suburban Baltimore to his celebrity today. It's really REALLY sweet and I loved it to pieces. Also note my not so disguised love of the idea of working for CTW.
Romantico
I was recommended a lot of musical documentaries and I was hoping this one would be more about what it described than what it was. Billed as a story about the Mexican mariachi singers who are under appreciated on the streets of San Fran, they actually don't spend much time on the musical aspects. It's much more about the two men's lives instead. While that's important to a documentary don't get me wrong, I didn't feel a strong balance like there should have been between their story and it's connection to their music.
Portlandia (six episodes for season 1)
AKA so much about all the hipsters I know/see/interact with it's scary. A sketch comedy series about life in uber crunchy Portland Oregon that lampoons a LOT of the things we're weirdly obsessed with nowadays. It's hard to describe but it so very encompasses so many situations I've been in that I do recommend it for that alone.
True Grit
I wasn't quite expecting this out of the Cohen brother's I'll admit. It's very different from the John Wayne version, but at times get's too serious for it's own good I guess? Enjoyable, well shot, and well cast, I can't put my finger on what exactly made it so unsatisfying overall.
School of Surf
Really basic sports (IE surf and ski styled) documentary about a surfing competition for high schoolers. I wanted to watch it because of the poster on the Netflix cue. Beyond that it wasn't much of anything worth recommending.
Reel Injun
Tracing the portrayal of native persons in film over it's existence as a medium was a lot more fascinating than I had expected it to be. I never really considered that early portrayals in particular showed native american's in more than just a simplistic light. That changes and gets worse over the course of the years and very recently has started back on the right path. It's good to see that the community is still vital for telling film stories that way.
ON THE BIG SCREEN
The Secret of Arrietty
Saw this with Doug and it was just as good as any Miyazaki I've seen. Well recommended and beautifully animated. Can't really say more than that.