Kubo and the Two Strings. Absurdly gorgeous for stop-motion animation. I’m so impressed. The plot drags at times, but always dazzling in some way or another.
Tag: ralphfiennes
Spectre
Spectre. Nope. I admit that I’m not a huge fan of the franchise, in general, but this seemed especially flavorless.
Strange Days
Strange Days. The last movie I watched in 2014. The setting is a dark and messy L.A. where the go-to underground drug is VR “playback” of other people’s recorded first-person thrills. All the stuff with rampant police abuse, violence for entertainment, and mediated experience seemed relevant today. It’s one of those where I love the world they built in the early parts of the movie, but didn’t have much interest in the story they developed from there. Love the closing song. My Kathryn Bigelow rankings:
- Zero Dark Thirty
- Point Break
- The Hurt Locker
- Strange Days
She’s really damn good.
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Grand Budapest Hotel. I dig it. It’s got the usual fussy-awesome art direction and some technically interesting camera stuff, but what I really liked here: a good heart. Didn’t have much of the rooted dysfunction or cynicism or weariness that made some of his previous movies kind of a drag for me at times. I think I’ll call this my favorite of the Wes Anderson movies I’ve seen.
Skyfall
Skyfall. Uhhh… I fell asleep. There’s some good location porn though. Word on the street is Quantum of Solace is the worst one? Haven’t seen it, but I’m skeptical. I guess Bond in general just isn’t my thing. Casino Royale was pretty good, though.
The Hurt Locker
The Hurt Locker. I’m happy to say that the good parts were very, very, very good. Overall? Just okay.
Mark Larson 