Michael Clayton (2007)

I think this is the first film I've watched George Clooney in a serious character role. "You're so fucked" said to Tilda Swinton's character was quite brilliant.

A really sharp film with very little excesses of dialogue or contemplation. Yet it still manages to find neat ways to tell a simple story, bringing the development of Clooney and Swinton's characters to the fore on opposite sides of a legal prosecution of a mega corporation. The scene of the initial meeting between the two was memorable for its portrayal of the huge gulf separating them.

In the end, a very neatly packaged production, giving a plot that hardly sounds like it would put many on the edge of their seats a rather unexpected edge. Of course, Clooney pumps in plenty of individual charm, but its a very strong ensemble of actors filling out each of their characters in a cleverly crafted script that puts this film apart.

Definitely Maybe (2008)

Quite liked this film. That in itself is somewhat unexpected. Maybe it's how the film managed to mould something fresh out of a well-flogged genre, in its concept to some extent, and definitely its structure.

Strongest part of the film is definitely the writing, script was on the whole very smart, backed in some instances by competent acting. The kid (Abigail xxx) was good, and Isla Fisher as April was very charming. I really love the character, as a whole.

Very heartwarming, very satisfying. Got me thinking a bit, although I probably have issues that run pretty deep when I start taking perspective from a Hollywood offering. But this one, is honestly not bad. It kinda reminded my of When Harry Met Sally. Feels like eons ago now.

Apocalypse Now Redux (2001)

The first version of this film was released in 1979, but the Redux version released in 2001 adds in 49 minutes of footage cut from the original.

The first Francis Ford Coppola film I've watched, and slated a masterpiece work. Certainly deserves a lot of credit for boldness on stylistic matters all over, from the cinematography to the screenplay. Very theme driven type of film, and at its center is the buildup of Marlon Brando's character, COL Hertz, who only actually appears on screen toward the end. And the film is so successful in building up a larger than life image of the character, that Brando has a lot to live up to when he finally comes on.

Darkly disturbing in so many ways, every single motif used pushing the essence of the film ever deeper in its exploration of issues as universally human as they are historical.

Very very heavy stuff, not always my kind of film. But I recognise its brilliance.

fyi

if we can call them friends then we can call them on their telephones
and they won't pretend that they're too busy or that they're not alone
and if we can call them friends then we can call
holler at them down these hallowed halls
just don't let the human factor fail to be a factor at all

don't, don't you worry,
about the atmosphere
or any sudden pressure change
cause i know
that it's starting to get warm in here
and things are starting to get strange

Across The Universe (2007)

Really not my favourite poster, 'All you need is love' plastered at the top with the couple pictured in the foreground really doesnt hit at the core of the film, which is so much more than a Beatles-inspired love story. It's quite obvious that Julie Taymor was trying to hit at something that, while socially conscious, did not try to forcefeed a message or a stand, or even to surface underlying societal problems. It seems to me that at its heart, 'Across the Universe' simply attempts to live and breathe the sixties, and without engagement with the issues of the day the film simply wouldn't get off the ground.

I appreciate very much all the creative work that went into the film, that really credits it as a film musical, which is a difficult type of film to make work, I think. This is one of the best I've seen so far. More human than Phantom of the Opera, more genuine than Rent, and more ambitious than Once (which I still like a lot). I especially liked the Across The Universe/Helter Skelter scene, and the Strawberry Fields Forever scene is simply one of the best. Mindblowing.

And the film is more than arty interpretations of Beatles songs. The Let It Be scene, which was framed by two separate funeral scenes, one emerging from the Detroit riots and the other from the Vietnam war, seamlessly united by the common themes of loss and specifically death, and on an audio-sensory level by the classic Beatles song. I know it kinda sucks to technicalise this, but it's difficult to say in any other words how this scene moved me. It's super genuine. I think that would do.

!!! - Myth Takes

Another one I picked up in Taipei, and I bought this on the strength of just 1 track I'd heard previously. At the centre of !!! is Nic Offer, previously of Out Hud fame (yeah right, what am I saying). And the guy is GOOD, some of the best dance music I've heard, and it's not even that often I like dance. But some of his hooks, in Myth Takes, as it transits to All My Heroes are Weirdoes, are pretty mindblowing. Pretty amazing music to get any party started, I think. The title of 'Bend Over Beethoven' is absolutely brilliant haha, I think I loved the track before I heard it. The Beatles would be pretty happy I think.

Tracks to note: Myth Takes, All My Heroes are Weirdoes, A New Name, Yadnus, Bend Over Beethoven, Infinifold

Windsor For The Derby - Giving Up The Ghost

Picked this up in Taipei's eslite bookstore, which is a real awesome place. They have dedicated reviewers coming up with short descriptions of the records they like, I thought that was quite quaint. And very helpful in this case, because I've hardly heard Windsor for the Derby before this. I think the Chinese description likened them to LCD Soundsystem without guitars, which i found to be ratherr... inaccurate. Haha, so much for helpful descriptions. In reality, Windsor for the Derby, based on this album, which is supposed to be a focusing of the band's ambient, lush sound, is a lot more like Kings of Convenience. The track 'Empathy for People Unknown' is really representative of this, there's that slightly twee sound with hushed, hollow beats in the background. I quite like them, really, I'm going to be looking for 'We Fight Till Death' by them next.

Tracks to note: Empathy for People Unknown, Give Up, Every Word You Said