Chocolate (2008) directed by Prachya Pinkaew
I am so behind in watching DVDs that I have bought, it is pathetic. This is one of them (a bootleg bought from the kiosk in Rosedale Mall, no less.) Skip the bootleg at the kiosk (although the kid has some awesome DVDs for sale) and check out the legit domestic release. The buzz around the film was huge: it looked to be Prachya Pinkaew's next Ong-Bak with a female in the lead. Jeeja Yanin's athelticism was apparent from the first clip released from the film. Although the probably excels in physical action, all signs says the story is maybe not so good. Honestly, I don't care. Just check out this montage!
The Exterminating Angel (1962) and Simon of the Desert (1965) Criterion directed by Luis Buñuel
I'll admit that my Luis Buñuel jag happened years ago, and I am way overdue in watch or re-watching some of these films. I remember loving Exterminating Angel, but what is this Simon of the Desert?! This looks awesome and I have been blissfully (wrongly so) ignorant of its existence. I wish someone would hire me to review DVDs, because I can't afford to buy all of these!
Frozen River (2008) directed by Courtney Hunt
You better check out this movie now before the Oscar party. Then when Melissa Leo for Frozen River is announce (as a nominee, but probably not a winner) you can be one of the only people in the room to say, "I saw that!" Frozen River is a good movie that is genuinely moving because of Leo's performance as a single mom trying to dig her way out of a hole.
Miracle at St Anna (2008) directed by Spike Lee
Not nearly as bad as people made this film out to be, Miracle at St Anna is part parable, part war movie. In some ways it doesn't really work, but in other ways it does. I wanted this film to be better than it was (for my sake and for Spike Lee's sake.) It feels very contrived and some of the plot mechanisms are just off, but I'm open to this film being an interesting film in a genre that is new for Lee.
Blindness (2008) directed by Fernando Meirelles
Unfortunately, this film is probably as bad as people said it was. Despite the terrible reviews, across the board, for this film, I still have the compulsion to see it. It seemed so promising a year ago...
Death Note II aka The Last Name (2006) directed by Shusuke Kaneko
For those who were patiently waiting for the sequel to this mediocre manga adaptation: get a region free DVD player. Actually, I'm probably the stupid on for spending money on the imports that have very little re-watch value. For fans only.
W (2008) directed by Oliver Stone
It just seems like a bad dream. Let's not go back there. Can we just burn all copies of this? Not a bad movie, but at this point, why?
3 comments:
That is just the hell of it, isn't it? It would be so much easier in life if someone would pay for our obsessions. I'm actually going to be receiving my first free book from an author who wants me to review it, but is a far cry from what I need to offset expenses. Thank God for the library.
There is some potential in this list. I won't see W however. I like some of the cast, but I've better things to do with my time!
Hey Kathie,
This is Sam C. Mac from In Review Online-- I looked for an email but wasn't able to find one, so I'm leaving this comment.
I sent a message to you a while ago asking if you would be interested in writing for us and, understandably, you declined because you were too busy with other commitments. I'm giving it another shot now just because I don't think what I'm asking of you would take very much effort.
Our site would love to start doing a feature at the end of every month called 'Home Movies,' which would function in a similar way to posts like this on your blog-- quick little write-ups on maybe 10 of the most relevant DVD releases of the prior month. You could use the same write-ups from you blog, too.
The site starts advertising on Filmspotting next week and we've accumulated a nice staff of talented and knowledgeable film writers. I understand you have other commitments, but since a few of us really enjoy reading your blog I immediately thought of you when I started to plan this feature.
Either way, let me know what you think.
Oh, and feel free to delete that comment and this one explaining it when you're done reading them.
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