crisper, posts by tag: netflix - LiveJournal — LiveJournal

10:57 pm - Fair & Balanced NetFlix Reviews #25

05:15 pm - Desolate NetFlix Reviews #24

I'm getting current at last!

KUNG FU PANDA: * * * *

Another request from Liana, of course. She's taking a "kung fu" class after school one day a week - which, as near as I can tell, mostly means they do lots of jumping exercises that vaguely resemble parts of some of the basic forms - so she's interested in the subject. Fairly cleverly done, enough so to be a decent kung fu film in its own right. I look forward to introducing Liana to the more light-hearted and bloodless classics of genuine Chinese cinema someday. (Maybe DRUNKEN MASTER…?)

ONCE UPON A TIME IN CHINA: * * *

I had never gotten around to seeing this classic, even when I was taking in a ton of Chinese cinema in the late 90s. It has some great moments, little bits of humor and slice-of-life, but the way it's edited or something left me feeling like I was missing a lot of whatever was going on. It didn't flow, it sort of jumped along, and there's an inconsistency to the look and feel (different film stock? second unit directors?) that furthered the disconnectedness.

COWBOY BEBOP: THE MOVIE: * * *

The Spike-heavy emo episodes of the regular series were always my least-favorite and, unfortunately, the movie is comparatively Spike-heavy. Faye is fine, but Ed has little function other than a couple of info-finding moments and Jet does virtually nothing the entire film. So, on the whole, a bit disappointing.

DRIVE: * * * *

I didn't love this the way many of my friends did. It hints at emotional depth but ultimately feels sterile. Laurenn McCubbin put it perfectly: It's beautiful but sort of empty. Appropriate for a Los Angeles movie, I suppose, but I wanted to feel like there was real change by the end and, other than a bunch of people being dead now, it's sort of back where it started. "And then he just drives away forever."

SUPER 8: * * *

JJ Abrams pretty much captures Steven Spielberg nostalgia in exactly the way you'd expect. Doesn't really add anything to the mythos that ET didn't accomplish first and better, and it gets increasingly sloppy for the sake of excessiveness as it gets toward the end. And one thing I *really* hate is a space-faring and supposedly technologically superior alien being who somehow can't behave any more carefully or thoughtfully than a rabid panther.

THE TEMPEST: * * * *

A very nice adaptation. The switch of Prospero (father) to Prospera (mother) really changes the tone of the story in a way that… I wouldn't say is "better"… but is certainly worthwhile seeing. The visual implementation of Ariel was sort of WTF at first, but as the film moves along it really grew on me. On the other hand, while I can see the direction (I think) they were thrusting by casting Djimon Hounsou as Caliban - effectively making race the thing that makes him "monstrous" in the eyes of these Europeans, instead of actual bodily hideousness - it didn't work quite as well as their other choices. (You just can't make that dude plausibly into a monster, though I guess it enhances Caliban as a sympathetic character.) Russell Brand is quite enjoyable as a mash-up of the Trinculo character and his own effected persona.

LILO & STITCH: * * * *

A bit different for Disney fare. Liana quite liked it, though on re-watchings she needs to skip the part where the whole house gets trashed - it's a bit too anxiety-inducing for her.

LONDON BOULEVARD: * * * *

I thought this would be another fine Fiasco story, but it's a little different than the usual caper gone wrong. I found the love story a bit implausible, though, as it sort of comes together very quickly and without a lot of good show-not-tell evidence to support the supposed chemistry. Colin Farrell impresses again; this would be a fine double feature with IN BRUGES (* * * *). Ray Winstone also excellent; this would be a fine double feature with SEXY BEAST (* * * *).

AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON: * * * *

While in London, C and I met up with most of my London friends crew at the Slaughtered Lamb, in Clerkenwell. What's the first thing anyone mentions about the Slaughtered Lamb when it comes up? "It's the pub from AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, you know." We're cabbing over there and the driver mentions it. Then he and I experienced a bit of reverie over Jenny Agutter and our respective boyhood crushes (his from THE RAILWAY CHILDREN, mine from LOGAN'S RUN * * * * *). So when we got back, of course, I had to watch it again. Every bit as goofy and weird as I remember. What I'd forgotten was how beautifully well done the torn-up and decaying Griffin Dunne makeup was. Rick Baker is the freakin' KING.

STALKER: * * * *

"If SOLARIS was Tarkovsky's Soviet version of 2001, STALKER is his Soviet take on WIZARD OF OZ." When you hear about this film, it almost always involves lavish praise for the crazy, toxic, desolate landscape in which the film takes place. And I always thought, yeah, okay, two and a half hours of nothing happening in a marvelously apocalyptic ruin. Yeesh. But I finally decided to bite the bullet. Holy cow, STALKER is a beautiful film. One of the most beautifully-shot films I have ever seen, I think. Yes, virtually nothing happens through the entire film, but it was still very much worth seeing. I might even watch it again someday, just to soak in the setting and the way in which it is captured. I would honestly like this film even more if it had less dialogue. The best parts of the film are when nobody is saying anything at all.

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For consideration: not really sure what the next ten are going to be; more Disney for Liana, certainly, and a couple more nostalgic movies from thirty years ago for myself, I think

12:29 am - Imminent NetFlix Reviews #23

These were mostly from the end of last year, actually. I'm in no mood to wrestle with LJ-cuts tonight but I don't think there's anything too spoilery here.

ROCKNROLLA: * * * *

Guy Ritchie can go ahead and keep on making the same movie over and over and I'll be just fine watching them. A fully sweet Fiasco.

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA: RAZOR: * * * *

This was all the stuff I liked about the redone BSG series: difficult moral issues in a military context, deeply unsettling awareness of the dwindling human race as a resource to be both conserved and exploited, and big ass spaceships just blowing the holy hell out of each other. No Baltar crying. No faux spacey-crunchy Cylon hybrid baby plan. No occupied Caprica. None of that crap. Just the cold and expedient pragmatism of war for survival.

BRIDESMAIDS: * * * *

As a log-line, totally horribly not something I'd ever want to see. A friend's wedding prompts a woman to reassess her adult life as it all unravels for her? Ugh. But, hey, it turns out to have been all that. Funny, poignant, awkward. Always impressive when a comedy writer writes a great, awkward character and then portrays that character as well - like Jason Segel in FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL (* * *), Kristen Wiig really nails her own messed-up protagonist. And the dress shop scene that culminates with Maya Rudolph out in the street is probably the most horrifying/hilarious ill humor scene I've seen in a year.

UNLEASHED (DANNY THE DOG): * * *

I thought this would be awesome - Jet Li! Bob Hoskins as a bad guy! Weird bondage premise! - but it just leaned a bit too much on the feel-good side. Maybe would have been less touchy-feeling-in-my-heart if they hadn't had MORGAN F'ING FREEMAN playing HIS USUAL ROLE only this time HE'S BLIND AS WELL. Sheesh.

HAPPY FEET: * * *

The girls love it, of course, but I don't think they really understand what happens at the end. Not as great a kids movie as it seems like it coulda/shoulda been.

HERO: * * * * *

Disappointed by DANNY THE DOG, I seek additional Jet Li to satisfy the craving and, boom, this is exactly what I wanted. Each of the fights, throughout, is a different sort of beautiful. Of course it's pretty obvious from the start what is going to be revealed, but the film is no less enjoyable for being unsurprising in that regard. You know a flower will open in the sunlight; when it does so, it is no less magnificent for being predictable.

TROLLHUNTER: * * *

Has its moments, and definitely excels in the low-budget high-value effects, but somehow as found-footage type films go, I felt like it didn't quite hold together well enough. Especially after I saw MONSTERS (* * * *) last year. Amusingly and disturbingly, the eponymous troll-hunting character has a strong resemblance to my writerly friend Warren Ellis (TRANSMETROPOLITAN, CROOKED LITTLE VEIN).

HUNTER PREY: * * *

Remember that fan trailer film that came out a few years ago, with Batman and the Joker and the Alien and the Predators? Yeah. Well, that guy made this little indie film about alien bounty hunters trying to recover their captive after a crash. It was fairly decent work, though it basically ends right in the middle of the story. The surprise reveal partway in, of course, is something you should have guessed in the first few minutes, but it's okay, it's not really the point.

LEXX: SERIES 1: I WORSHIP HIS SHADOW: * * * *

I really dug the later seasons of this show but had never gotten around to watching the original movies. I think the streaming versions on NetFlix are edited for content but that's fine, even with some of the T&A cut out, they managed to keep all of the cheese. I admire their ability to create a universe setting that is both seriously grim and completely goofy.

THE BEAVER: * * *

Did you know this was, at one point, intended to be a Steve Carell vehicle? This was one of a bunch of unproduced scripts that I read a couple years back, and I'm glad they got a genuinely fucked up guy like Mel Gibson to do it instead. It was an interesting sort of script executed reasonably well, if you like films that are trying to be the next AMERICAN BEAUTY (* * * *).

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For consideration: next up, couple more movies for the girls, another Fiasco or two, and Shakespeare

10:07 pm - Variable NetFlix Reviews #22

12:31 am - Hilarious NetFlix Reviews #21

10:28 pm - Nostalgic NetFlix Reviews #20

There's a lot more end of the world in this batch, but on reviewing further I think the dominant theme was the urge to revisit some films I've seen when I was much younger. Dangerous, I know, right? A lot of movies do not age well.

( PEE-WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE: * * *Collapse )
( ICE STATION ZEBRA: * * * *Collapse )
( FLASH GORDON: * * * *Collapse )
( THE GREAT MUPPET CAPER: * * * *Collapse )
( RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE: * * *Collapse )
( TERMINATOR: SALVATION: * * * *Collapse )
( TANGLED: * * * *Collapse )
( HARDWARE: * *Collapse )
( SIX-STRING SAMURAI: * * * *Collapse )
( ENCHANTED: * * *Collapse )

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For consideration: next batch will be all over the map, I think

12:02 pm - Post-Apocalyptic NetFlix Reviews #19

Lots of Great Success in this batch (and lots of end of the world) tempered by two rather unfortunate failures in picking fare for Liana.

( GENTLEMEN BRONCOS: * * * * *Collapse )
( SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD: * * * *Collapse )
( TOY STORY 3: * * *Collapse )
( FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL: * * *Collapse )
( I AM LEGEND: * * * *Collapse )
( MUPPET WIZARD OF OZ: * * *Collapse )
( MARY POPPINS: * * * *Collapse )
( THE QUIET EARTH: * * * *Collapse )
( MONSTERS: * * * *Collapse )
( ON THE BEACH: * * * *Collapse )

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For consideration: next batch is more post-apocalyptic fun

12:28 am - Seasonal NetFlix Reviews #18

These are actually from the turn of the year, December and January. Forgot all about my NetFlix review list! Lots to catch up on so expect a couple more of these soon.

( ELF: * * *Collapse )
( DEATH AND THE COMPASS: * * *Collapse )
( TRIANGLE: * * * *Collapse )
( THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG: * * * *Collapse )
( TOY STORY 2: * * * *Collapse )
( SPLICE: * * *Collapse )
( WRONG IS RIGHT: * * * *Collapse )
( A NIGHT AT THE OPERA: * * * *Collapse )
( ALPHAVILLE: * *Collapse )
( FANTASIA 2000: * * * *Collapse )

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For consideration: coming next, some "hip" and "indie" offerings and a handful of end-of-the-worlds 

08:47 pm - Even-Handed NetFlix Reviews #17

Some old animation, some new live-action. Some pleasant surprises, some expected disappointments.

( MULHOLLAND DRIVE: * * *Collapse )
( THE MUPPETS TAKE MANHATTAN: * * * *Collapse )
( THE HUDSUCKER PROXY: * * * * *Collapse )
( THE SWORD IN THE STONE: * * *Collapse )
( GET HIM TO THE GREEK: * * * *Collapse )
( MODERN FAMILY: SEASON 1: * * * *Collapse )
( MEMORIES: * * *Collapse )
( HOT TUB TIME MACHINE: * * * *Collapse )
( FANTASIA: * * * * *Collapse )
( IRON MAN 2: * * * *Collapse )

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For consideration: next up we have a bunch of things other people told me I really ought to see, most of which paid off

01:43 am - Contemporary NetFlix Reviews #16

Starting to filter in more stuff for Liana to watch, as well. At this point, our three-at-a-time DVD queue tends to be one for just me, one for C and I, and one for Liana. We're also streaming more stuff, of course, and that will be even more the case now that we replaced our ten-year-old original Series 1 Tivo with a new Tivo Premiere that can do NetFlix. Anyway, on to the next batch of movies - these were mostly actually watched in the autumn, I was just too busy grinding out my daily writing to jot down these notes.

( IN BRUGES: * * * *Collapse )

( BURN AFTER READING: * * *Collapse )

( CONNECTIONS 1: * * * *Collapse )

( THE MUPPET MOVIE: * * * * *Collapse )

( HISTORY OF VIOLENCE: * * *Collapse )

( 1001 RABBIT TALES: * * *Collapse )

( QUINTET: * * *Collapse )

( BEE MOVIE: * * *Collapse )

( THE JUNGLE BOOK: * * *Collapse )

( TOY STORY: * * * *Collapse )

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For consideration: next batch, we have some confusing David Lynch, more stuff for Liana, and a pleasant surprise from Russell Brand and P.Diddy

10:59 pm - Heterogenous NetFlix Reviews #15

Couple of things I didn't see when they came out most of a decade ago, filling in a couple of classics I should have seen long ago, and one for Liana...

( PARTY DOWN SEASON 2: * * * *Collapse )

( THE LEGEND OF ZORRO: * * *Collapse )

( MONSTERS INC: * * * *Collapse )

( WET HOT AMERICAN SUMMER: * * *Collapse )

( SOME LIKE IT HOT: * * * *Collapse )

( COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO: * * * *Collapse )

( REVENGERS TRAGEDY: * * * *Collapse )

( BRINGING UP BABY: * * *Collapse )

( INSOMNIA: * * * *Collapse )

( MY NAME IS BRUCE: * * *Collapse )

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For consideration: Next round, we have some violent fiascos and a bunch more entertaining family fare for Liana's benefit

12:54 am - Mediocre NetFlix Reviews #14

Got a couple of matched pairs in this set, older film connected to a recent/current one.

( GET SMART (2009): * * *Collapse )

( ABRIDGED SHAKESPEARE: * * *Collapse )

( IRON MAN: * * * * *Collapse )

( UP IN THE AIR: * * *Collapse )

( PARTY DOWN SEASON 1: * * * *Collapse )

( WITHOUT A CLUE: * * * *Collapse )

( DREAMCATCHER: * * *Collapse )

( FANTASTIC MISTER FOX: * * * *Collapse )

( GET SMART: THE NUDE BOMB: * * *Collapse )

( SHERLOCK HOLMES (2009): * * * *Collapse )

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For consideration: thanks to INCEPTION I will be catching up next on some earlier Christopher Nolan

01:14 am - Meandering NetFlix Reviews #13

Catching up on a bunch of 2009 films that I/we didn't get to see in theaters, mostly, and I take in some more zombies and also wolves.

( IN THE LOOP: * * * *Collapse )

( FUNNY PEOPLE: * * * *Collapse )

( PANDORUM: * * * *Collapse )

( BECKET: * * * *Collapse )

( ZOMBIELAND: * * * * *Collapse )

( XANADU: * *Collapse )

( AMERICAN ZOMBIE: * * * *Collapse )

( UP: * * * *Collapse )

( BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF: * * * *Collapse )

( THE COMPANY OF WOLVES: * * *Collapse )

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For consideration: next up we have some more 2009 movies, some classics, and I think the dumbest Stephen King horror tale adaptation ever made that I am nonetheless really looking forward to laughing at

11:22 pm - Totally Caught-Up NetFlix Reviews #12

From this year, as recently as just last night!

( RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION: * * * *Collapse )

( THE BIG LEBOWSKI: * * * * *Collapse )

( CRANK 2: * * * *Collapse )

( THE WIND AND THE LION: * * * *Collapse )

( THE SILVER CHAIR: * * * *Collapse )

( ROBOT CHICKEN SEASON 2: * * * * *Collapse )

( EXTRACT: * * *Collapse )

( INGLORIOUS BASTERDS: * * *Collapse )

( LET THE RIGHT ONE IN: * * * *Collapse )

( MOON: * * * * *Collapse )

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For consideration: not entirely certain what the next batch will bring - some history both in film and TV series forms, Adam Sandler probably, some '09 stuff I didn't get to see in the theater, some classic stuff from fifty years ago

11:31 pm - Temporally Remote NetFlix Reviews #11

Stuff from the last quarter of last year.

( THE MOUSE THAT ROARED: * * *Collapse )

( IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE: * *Collapse )

( FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS SEASON 1: * * * *Collapse )

( 2046: * * *Collapse )

( SLEEP DEALER: * * * *Collapse )

( 30 ROCK SEASON 2: * * * *Collapse )

( PLANETES: * * *Collapse )

( ROBOT CHICKEN SEASON 1: * * * * *Collapse )

( FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS SEASON 2: * * * *Collapse )

( THE AVIATOR: * * *Collapse )

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For consideration: coming up we have more zombies and Connery's Scottish accent at perhaps its most misapplied, plus a special visit from The Dude

08:59 am - Insufficiently Rested NetFlix Reviews #10

Turns out having a baby really plays havoc with the ability to watch feature-length films, but here's some stuff from before Alexandra was born.

( IMMORTAL: * * *Collapse )

( OCEAN'S TWELVE: * * *Collapse )

( POLICE SQUAD!: * * * * *Collapse )

(Here, I took a short break from the NetFlix queue to steal locate all of BREAKING BAD season 2 on the internet, since it wasn't yet available on DVD. Easily my favorite television since THE WIRE, no question. Season three cannot happen soon enough.)

( NATURAL CITY: * * *Collapse )

( MAD MEN SEASON 2: * * * *Collapse )

( OCEAN'S THIRTEEN: * * * *Collapse )

( THE STING: * * * *Collapse )

( BOTTLE ROCKET: * * * *Collapse )

( CHRYSALIS: * *Collapse )

( ED WOOD: * * * * *Collapse )

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For consideration: up next, the foreign science fiction run continues... when baby permits

11:36 am - Unsubscribed NetFlix Reviews #9

After the last one of these, I got an anonymous comment from someone who felt they needed to tell me they were no longer "subscribing" to my "blog". You may have won this round, Internet, but I swear I'll get you back someday! *cough*

( TIMECRIMES: * * * *Collapse )

( BREAKING BAD SEASON 1: * * * * *Collapse )

( THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING: * * * *Collapse )

( WALL-E: * * * * *Collapse )

( RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE: * * *Collapse )

( AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS: * * * *Collapse )

( CRAZY PEOPLE: * * * *Collapse )

( KIDS IN THE HALL PILOT EPISODE: * * * *Collapse )

( CASSHERN: * * * *Collapse )

( TOP SECRET!: * * *Collapse )

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For consideration: next time, more style-over-substance foreign SF, some sequels, and more TV

09:06 am - Forgotten NetFlix Reviews #8

This should have been ready to post a few weeks ago - this was all around the time of our Barcelona trip - but I forgot about it until I went back to add notes for the most recent batch of viewings. So the next one will be along shortly as well.

( SOLARIS: * * *Collapse )

( SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE: * * * *Collapse )

( QUANTUM OF SOLACE: * * * *Collapse )

( THE WRESTLER: * * *Collapse )

( JOHN CARPENTER'S VAMPIRES: * * *Collapse )

( TORN CURTAIN: * * * *Collapse )

( VERTIGO: * * * *Collapse )

( RATATOUILLE: * * * *Collapse )

( TOPAZ: * * * *Collapse )

( VALLEY GIRL: * * * *Collapse )

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For consideration: coming up, a mixed bag of SF and humor

09:29 am - Mobile NetFlix Reviews #7

Mixed bag of old and new this time.

( THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM: * * * *Collapse )

( VIDEODROME: * * * *Collapse )

( VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA: * * *Collapse )

( MISSION IMPOSSIBLE II: * * *Collapse )

( ROBOCOP: * * * * *Collapse )

( THE OFFICE SEASON 4: * * * * *Collapse )

( CASHBACK: * * * *Collapse )

( EKSTASE: * * *Collapse )

( EXISTENZ: * * *Collapse )

( CRANK: * * * *Collapse )

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For consideration: more movies watched on airplanes; recent stuff

10:53 pm - Accelerated NetFlix Reviews #6

Yeah, mostly Cold War intrigue and TV series.

( THE GOOD SHEPHERD: * * * *Collapse )

( THE LIVES OF OTHERS: * * * *Collapse )

( THE SPY WHO CAME IN FROM THE COLD: * * * *Collapse )

( PRIMER: * * * *Collapse )

( THE OFFICE SEASON 3: * * * * *Collapse )

( BATTLESTAR GALACTICA SEASON 4.0: * * * *Collapse )

( MAMMA MIA!: * *Collapse )

( 30 ROCK SEASON 1: * * * *Collapse )

( THE FALL: * * * * *Collapse )

( ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE: * * *Collapse )

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For consideration: next time - Spies! Dirtiness! More TV!