Been busy...

I'm not having much time to update this blog due to exams and stuff... but I wanted to thank you guys for the 100+ follows! I will be back shortly posting more films you gotta see.

Short film you gotta see: Saw

Yep, Saw, the same one that spawned 800 sequels -- it all started with this short film. Did you know it? Enjoy! And Happy Halloween!

Today's Film: Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone! To celebrate, let's watch again the original Halloween movie, by John Carpenter.

This is an awesome movie. From the start, this movie sets the tone: the long pauses that builds the tension, the depiction of the teenagers as they really are (smoking, having sex, lying -- today it seems silly, but back in 1978 it was groundbreaking) and the little twist showing the origin of Michael Myers.

This scene really shocked me the first time I saw it.

And then, there's the tension. John Carpenter shows us for about an hour the life in this neighbourhood. From now on, it all happens, duh, on Halloween. Simultaneously, Michael Myers escapes from a mental institution and Dr. Sam Loomis, the psychiatrist who treated him as a kid, starts chasing him and warning the police.

This film is all about tension.

This is all I will say about the plot, in case you never saw it and want to give it a try tonight. Don't bother with the sequels or the remake: watch this one, the original. It's one of John Carpenter best works, and he knows how to direct an horror movie. It's not about the blood, it's not about the guts, the gore, the explicit shit: it's all about what happens in your head when you watch it.

Rating: 7.5/10

Today's Film: 12 Angry Men

Back to the classics! Today we have a 1957 black and white film.

It's the story of a jury that has to decide if a man is guilty of killing his own father (and going to the chair for it) or not. The jury consists of 12 men with different personalities, some of them are calm, clever, others are ill tempered, and some others just don't give a fuck and just wants to go home.

So you want a claustrophobic movie? 90% of this movie happens in a small, hot room, with 12 guys arguing. Forget Buried, rent this one. It will make you sweat for sure.

Not much to say about this one... just rent it!

Rating: 8/10

Today's Film: Speed Racer

After bashing all those movies that raped our childhood memories, I want to talk about one that, IMHO, had a very good approach.

Usually, when Hollywood adapts anything that's remotely childish, they try to make it more adult, more serious, darker, etc. They even want to translate the cartoon is "to the real world". So this movie was in serious danger of becoming Fast and Furious with a different name.

Problem, officer?

Luckily, the Wachowski brothers opted to leave it as it is: over the top, colourful, wacky and asian. They even kept the monkey! To me, this was a great choice.
Another great thing about it was the cast. It feels just right.

Speed is a little effeminate, just like the cartoon!

Yes, it may not be the best film ever made, it may even be so-so, but I celebrate the approach.

Rating: 6/10

Top 5 Movies that ruined your childhood memories

5) Transformers
This cartoon had a lot of animated movies and different encarnations, but never a live action movie. When this movie was announced, it seemed so right. The CGI were ready for the challenge of recreating Optimus Prime and his friends in 3D.

Why is he a Camaro? Why!?

The outcome: While some people may have liked it, this movie is nothing like the cartoon we all remember and love. They took too many liberties with the character designs.


4) Super Mario Bros
When I heard there was gonna be a Super Mario film, I almost shit bricks. Mario was a huge part of my childhood and the idea sounded great.

Seriously, WTF?

The outcome: They tried to make Super Mario "realistic", giving it a dark look and so. The characters came up just creepy. C'mon, guys, this is not Batman!

3) Street Fighter
Same case as above, I was super excited about this movie as a kid. Street Fighter was one of the best things that happened to my childhood.

The outcome: Same issue that Super Mario film had, but all the way around. This movie needed a darker, more realistic tone, instead of keeping the sillyness of the game (the fighters celebrating like when they win a fight in the game are just odd looking in real life), which is what the Mario movie needed.

This may be the only good thing.
And as a kid, I couldn't even  it.

2) The Last Airbender
No, I didn't watch this as a kid, but I gave it a chance when I was a teenager. It was a good cartoon, and I really liked it. The movie trailer looked cool, and I even felt that the name Avatar was taken from them.

The outcome: An akward movie. Bad acting, clumsy script. Hopefully it won't spawn a sequel.

1) Dragon Ball Evolution
Ok, I could write about this all day, but... if you ever saw Dragon Ball, just look at the picture below and try to name everything that's wrong.

Top 5 Tarantino Films

Yeah, I know: Tarantino has only 5 movies, so the purpose of this list is to rank them. Let me know how you would in the comments!

5) Jackie Brown

Meh. Not my cup of tea, really. Don't get me wrong, it's an enjoyable movie, what's wrong with this movie is the timing: Pulp Fiction was a tough act to follow. And the rest of QT are way better, so it's impossible to watch this without comparing.
Rating: 7/10. Not bad for being at the bottom of the list.

4) Reservoir Dogs

"4th? Are you serious?" Well, yeah, I absolutely love this movie, and plus, it's a classic, but I have to admit that I enjoyed the other ones better. It's just that, just my personal opinion. If you're too young and haven't watch this movie, please rent it tonight. You won't be dissapointed.
Rating: 7.5/10. Really good, but it feels a little old today. It's still a gem, but we know Tarantino can do way better now.


3) Inglorious Basterds / Death Proof

It's a tie! I know, these movies aren't classics (yet), but they're so enjoyable. Death Proof is just a load of fun (read my review on it), and Inglorious Basterds... well, at first I was going to put it in 4th place, but then I remembered something: 

This guy.

Best. Villain. Ever. 


Rating: 8/10. They're both very different to Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs, in a good way. It shows that Tarantino doesn't want to get stucked doing the same thing. Kudos to that.

2) Kill Bill

Yeah, both, they're one whole movie to me. This was my first Tarantino movie that I saw in theatres, and it was a blast. I couldn't wait for Part 2 to be released. And when it was, it gave me more than I expected: it gave me a deep story, a message, something else than just gory action and entertainment. And plus, it had David Carradine developing his character.

Rating: 9/10. 

It's moody, it's fun, it's visually stunning, the acting is great... I know it has some haters, but it's near perfect to me.

1) Pulp Fiction

My all time favourite film, tied with Back to the Future (actually BTTF is kinda "cheating" by using the nostalgia value). Yeah, you can tell I'm quite a Tarantino fan by now. This movie has everything, and that relies on the structure: multiple stories connecting each other, so you get tons of memorable characters and moments, all compressed in just 2 hours of pure fun. I don't think there's one scene that I didn't like, the timing is great here, proving that QT knows how to entertain.

And Uma is so fucking cute in this one.

Rating: 10/10. 

So many great characters, scenes, quotes. Oh, and it has one of the greatest soundtracks ever.

So, what's YOUR QT Top 5?