Rigel (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} rigelkitty) wrote,@ 2009-05-28 19:41:00 |
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Video Reviews (5/28/09)
TV: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge [Season 3] (2005-2006)
Rating: ***1/2 out of *****
Movie: Stay (2005)
Review: The story this film tells would be little more than a b-grade direct-to-dvd indie flick if it wasn't for the really cool cinematography and entertainingly wild FX'd transitions between scenes. Elements seamlessly meld into one another in an unnerving shift whenever we want to see another place, a different perspective, or even to just look at another character. It's hard to describe without actually seeing it. Otherwise, we have a mildly creepy psychothriller where we try to determine who this depressed teenager is, why he can predict the future, why he wants to die on Saturday, and why his insanity seems to be leaking into everyone else. There's some great WTF? moments and it all wraps up with a twist that telegraphs itself a little too early to be shocking. It's a neat little thriller-filler for in between other blockbuster rentals.
Rating: ***1/2 out of *****
Movie: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Review: One of those classics that I had never actually seen, Cuckoo's Nest can be described as an epic drama in an insane asylum, albeit a little slow to get going. Mostly, it's a professionally-told tale of a sane criminal who teaches some asylum residents a bit of independence. Most scenes don't seem in much of a hurry to get anywhere, lingering on faces, phrases, or just dragging out events a little too long. If it wasn't for all the expletives, it would almost be a family-friendly film, although the ending, while not so much of a twist, is somewhat unexpected and bittersweet. This is also the debut performances of both Brad Dourif and Christopher Lloyd, as well as very early jobs by Jack Nicholson, Danny Devito, and Vincent Schiavelli, one of my favorite (late) character actors. Quite neat to see what they all could do before they became typecast. Apparently, it's not quite the book it was originally based on, but that didn't stop this film from sweeping all the top awards at the Oscars in 1975. Worth checking out if you never had the chance.
Rating: **** out of *****
Next: Arrested Development [Season 3], Stir of Echoes, The Final Cut
TV: Most Extreme Elimination Challenge [Season 3] (2005-2006)
Rating: ***1/2 out of *****
Movie: Stay (2005)
Review: The story this film tells would be little more than a b-grade direct-to-dvd indie flick if it wasn't for the really cool cinematography and entertainingly wild FX'd transitions between scenes. Elements seamlessly meld into one another in an unnerving shift whenever we want to see another place, a different perspective, or even to just look at another character. It's hard to describe without actually seeing it. Otherwise, we have a mildly creepy psychothriller where we try to determine who this depressed teenager is, why he can predict the future, why he wants to die on Saturday, and why his insanity seems to be leaking into everyone else. There's some great WTF? moments and it all wraps up with a twist that telegraphs itself a little too early to be shocking. It's a neat little thriller-filler for in between other blockbuster rentals.
Rating: ***1/2 out of *****
Movie: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Review: One of those classics that I had never actually seen, Cuckoo's Nest can be described as an epic drama in an insane asylum, albeit a little slow to get going. Mostly, it's a professionally-told tale of a sane criminal who teaches some asylum residents a bit of independence. Most scenes don't seem in much of a hurry to get anywhere, lingering on faces, phrases, or just dragging out events a little too long. If it wasn't for all the expletives, it would almost be a family-friendly film, although the ending, while not so much of a twist, is somewhat unexpected and bittersweet. This is also the debut performances of both Brad Dourif and Christopher Lloyd, as well as very early jobs by Jack Nicholson, Danny Devito, and Vincent Schiavelli, one of my favorite (late) character actors. Quite neat to see what they all could do before they became typecast. Apparently, it's not quite the book it was originally based on, but that didn't stop this film from sweeping all the top awards at the Oscars in 1975. Worth checking out if you never had the chance.
Rating: **** out of *****
Next: Arrested Development [Season 3], Stir of Echoes, The Final Cut
