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cwfilmbuffDVD 68: El Orfanato
If more horror movies were like this, I might be a bigger fan of the genre. Instead of trying to startle or gross out the audience, the filmmakers made a compelling ghost movie that never sacrifices the quality of the story for cheap scares. Watching this, you are right there with the heroine, concerned for her sharing in her drive to find out what forces are at work in her home. What really impressed me as the pieces came together at the end was how some of the seemingly supernatural occurrences actually had mundane explanations, but when they occurred in the film there was enough else going on that there's every reason to suspect anything but the haunted orphanage is behind them.
DVD 69: Grave of the Fireflies
This is another of those movies that I've heard references to, but never knew much about beyond its reputation as a great film. I knew it took place during World War II, but until I pressed play on the DVD player that was the extent of my knowledge. So I had no idea that I was going to be sucked in by the story of a Japanese teen who is left to care for his little sister after they lose their home and get separated from their mother during a firebombing. The lengths they have to go to just to survive are tragic, but despite that there are beautiful moments of joy throughout the film. I would highly recommend this to anyone - it's one of the most moving animated films I've ever seen.
DVD 70: WALL-E (with Pixar "Geek Squad" commentary)
Since I've already posted twice this year about the movie itself (still in my number one spot for the year), so let's talk about the disc instead. The commentary track I watched was four people who worked on the movie (three animators and a producer, I think) talking about all the various science fiction references and in-jokes they'd worked into the movie. Although they had a tendency to go off on tangents (especially about Star Wars and Star Trek), it was still interesting and entertaining to hear their influences and banter. The other high point of the disc (at least what I've watched so far) is BURN-E, a hilarious short film about one of the other robots on the ship whose job is indirectly made much harder by WALL-E.
DVD 71: Dark City Director's cut
I already thought this was a great movie, but the improvements made in this director's cut are icing on the cake. Like other noir-influenced science fiction, the elimination of the opening voiceover is an immediate improvement; it gives the audience more time to figure out what's going on without having the answers given to them right off the bat. The other notable change is that William Hurt's detective is given more screen time, fleshing out his character and giving more insight to how the story looks to someone on the outside. Even in it's original state (both versions are included on the disc), I have trouble thinking of a more original science fiction film in the last decade.
Book 16: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
Although it starts off a little slow, once it picks up this is a welcome continuation of the Thursday Next series. As is expected in Fforde's books, there are a number of disparate problems thrown at Next, which intertwine in unexpected ways that sometimes help and more often further complicate things. Laced throughout are the usual literary references, social satire, and good bad puns. I don't think it would work as an introduction to the character, but if you've read the other Thursday Next books you should enjoy this one.
If more horror movies were like this, I might be a bigger fan of the genre. Instead of trying to startle or gross out the audience, the filmmakers made a compelling ghost movie that never sacrifices the quality of the story for cheap scares. Watching this, you are right there with the heroine, concerned for her sharing in her drive to find out what forces are at work in her home. What really impressed me as the pieces came together at the end was how some of the seemingly supernatural occurrences actually had mundane explanations, but when they occurred in the film there was enough else going on that there's every reason to suspect anything but the haunted orphanage is behind them.
DVD 69: Grave of the Fireflies
This is another of those movies that I've heard references to, but never knew much about beyond its reputation as a great film. I knew it took place during World War II, but until I pressed play on the DVD player that was the extent of my knowledge. So I had no idea that I was going to be sucked in by the story of a Japanese teen who is left to care for his little sister after they lose their home and get separated from their mother during a firebombing. The lengths they have to go to just to survive are tragic, but despite that there are beautiful moments of joy throughout the film. I would highly recommend this to anyone - it's one of the most moving animated films I've ever seen.
DVD 70: WALL-E (with Pixar "Geek Squad" commentary)
Since I've already posted twice this year about the movie itself (still in my number one spot for the year), so let's talk about the disc instead. The commentary track I watched was four people who worked on the movie (three animators and a producer, I think) talking about all the various science fiction references and in-jokes they'd worked into the movie. Although they had a tendency to go off on tangents (especially about Star Wars and Star Trek), it was still interesting and entertaining to hear their influences and banter. The other high point of the disc (at least what I've watched so far) is BURN-E, a hilarious short film about one of the other robots on the ship whose job is indirectly made much harder by WALL-E.
DVD 71: Dark City Director's cut
I already thought this was a great movie, but the improvements made in this director's cut are icing on the cake. Like other noir-influenced science fiction, the elimination of the opening voiceover is an immediate improvement; it gives the audience more time to figure out what's going on without having the answers given to them right off the bat. The other notable change is that William Hurt's detective is given more screen time, fleshing out his character and giving more insight to how the story looks to someone on the outside. Even in it's original state (both versions are included on the disc), I have trouble thinking of a more original science fiction film in the last decade.
Book 16: First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde
Although it starts off a little slow, once it picks up this is a welcome continuation of the Thursday Next series. As is expected in Fforde's books, there are a number of disparate problems thrown at Next, which intertwine in unexpected ways that sometimes help and more often further complicate things. Laced throughout are the usual literary references, social satire, and good bad puns. I don't think it would work as an introduction to the character, but if you've read the other Thursday Next books you should enjoy this one.
