What I Watched last Week

Visioneers

Zach Galifianakis has become a star seemingly over night. Of course as all success stories such as his he had to put in years of hard work. Visioneers is a lot different then his other work. The movie hinges on a high concept sort of like The Invention of Lying. While Invention of Lying was unable to create anything interesting Visioneers is a smart and intriguing watch. This is a parody of suburban life where people who get too stressed explode. Galifianakis shows that he is very capaply of helming an entire movie that is not just over the top humour.

Casino

This movie should not work, but it does. The movie covers so much ground that it should be overwhelming. It probably would overwhelm if it wasn’t directed by Martin Scorsese. He is in his element with this film. He is directing Deniro and Pesci in a gangster story that he does better than most. This movie is long, talky, and violent. It is one of Scorsese’s best.

C.H.U.D.

The title stands for Cannibalistic Humanoid Underground Dwellers. I was interested in how similar this is to Italian horror films. If this movie was dubbed and didn’t star recognisable faces it could past for Italian. The movie isn’t great, but it is enjoyable. There are a few scenes that seem out of place. At one point a female is showering and the drain plugs. She gets a coat hanger to unplug it and when she does blood sprays all over her and the shower. The next time she is seen she is out of the shower and there is not mention about her being covered in blood. She doesn’t even seem bothered by this. I am guessing that a scene was cut explaining this.

Intolerable Cruelty

This is considered one of the Coen’s brothers lesser works, but I feel that is unfair. This is as close to a modern Preston Sturges film that has been made. The movie is over the top, and it knows it. There are tons of laughs, and the story is great.

Fallen

This Denzel Washington film was pretty cool. This is a supernatural crime thriller with a great performance by Elias Koteas. The director was so impressed with Koteas’s performance that all other actors that had to act possessed were asked to base their performances off him. The ending was a little unsatisfying, and apparently there is a fan edited version of the film that changes it. I might try and check that out.

Troll 2

This is widely considered one of the worst films ever made, and it has gained a cult following over recent years. The movie definitely is terrible. There are no trolls in the movie, and this has nothing to do with the original Troll. Mostly non-actors were used in the film and the real actors weren’t much better. I have watched and loved a lot of bad movies, but I didn’t find this that enjoyable. There were some great parts, but mostly the film was annoying. Think of the worst made for TV movie, and then go down a few notches. Will I ever watch this again? I think I would, but I will be fast forwarding through parts.

The Bridge

This documentary about suicides committed on the Golden Gate Bridge is at times hard to watch, but very interesting. The filmmakers had cameras on the bridge over a year’s time and captured 24 people jumping. There are interviews with the families of those who jumped and it is a fascinating insight into these people’s lives. That these people get to the point where they need to end their lives is very sad.

Che pt 1

This massive epic doesn’t get enough credit. It is understandable as the runtime excludes many viewers. Benicio Del Toro is amazing as the title characters. All of the battle scenes look great and feel realistic. Steven Soderbergh knows better than anyone how to properly use the Red camera, and it shows here. The intercutting of black and white footage is a great touch. I still haven’t seen the entire cut as one film, but I hope to. I will watch part two later this week.