Wake in Fright (1971)
I went into the movie blind, not knowing what to expect. Made during “the golden age” of Australian cinema. They sure get through a lot of beer in this movie. I hated the animal cruelty scenes which I guess shows the recklessness and savageness of the community. There is an imminent threat throughout about what these men are capable of. It balances between utopia and nightmare. The alcohol is almost like a recruitment tool for newcomers to stay, and you sense that he is just one of many who have dropped out of society and are stuck in the small town.
A critic wrote: “The kindness of strangers has never seemed more terrifying. I also like this comment: "Wake in Fright is a monster movie, and the monster is us.”
Favorite quote: “You need a drink” “No, water please” “Water is only for washing, drink it up”
Rating 9/10
A sweet heart-warming Italian movie. Besides being in love with the local woman, the friendship the postman strikes up with the exiled poet is what made the movie special.
Rating 8/10
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
A couple of scenes with Quill stayed with me, introducing the green girl to his music tape, and when he risks his life for her. The prison breakout was also memorable. The blue guy’s arrow is pretty deadly I must say.
A fun blockbuster with a sense of humor, impressive special effects, and enjoyable retro 70s soundtrack. Maybe I would have liked Guardians even more on the big screen. On dvd it’s a different experience.
Rating 7.5/10
Who Framed
Roger Rabbit (1988)
A film I
had watched scenes from just never the whole thing before. Mainly memorable for the combined animation and live action,
which has aged remarkably well. The script is highly quotable, and has
entertainment value for adults too, with cultural references to for example Harvey (1950).
Favorite
quote: “I can’t help it, I was drawn that way”
Rating 8/10
Enemy (2013)
While it is
quite gripping and well-acted by Jake Gyllenhaal in his dual role, I don’t think it’s in the same league as Double Life of Veronique or Mulholland Dr. A good thriller, by a good director(Denis Villeneuve), and
held my attention to the end. Perhaps I need to rewatch this one.
Rating 7.5
I already reviewed four new releases this month: Interstellar (2014), Nightcrawler (2014) 1989 (2014) (documentary), and The Look of Silence (2014) (documentary). You can read them here.
Agree or disagree. Watched anything great in November? As always, comments are welcome!
I enjoyed Guardians so much more on the big screen. Everybody in the audience loved it and we all had a great time watching it. So it's a much better seen in a theater than at home. But at the end of the day it matters that you liked it.
ReplyDeleteEnemy is a puzzle. I'm a big fan of doppelganger films. There were so many released this year By the way, what did you think of the ending? It left me scratching my head.
@Cristi B: Happy you enjoyed Guardians, a pity I didn’t get to see it at the cinema.
DeleteI agree Enemy is a puzzle. The ending (SPOILERS AHEAD) was very different to the rest of the film. It didn’t make sense to me. I see the spider as a metaphor for what the character was going through. There are several youtube videos that attempt to explain the film, so maybe they have a better explanation than I do. Apparently the poster could be a clue.
Hi Chris! Not sure if you saw my Thanksgiving post but I want to thank you for being my Top 25 commenters :D
ReplyDeleteHey, glad I'm not the only one who didn't absolutely LOVE Guardians of the Galaxy. I gave it a 3.5/5 whilst I saw a lot of people gave it a full score. I enjoyed it but it's really not the best superhero movie as some have called it. Btw, my fave film of the month is Birdman.
Hi Ruth, I missed your Thanksgiving post, will be sure to check it out. I did quite like Guardians just I’m generally not a huge fan of blockbuster superhero movies, so was a factor. I don’t know how it stacks up against the other Marvel films because I don’t usually watch them.
DeleteBirdman looks like a different kind of awards-worthy film so I look forward to that.
I wish I can catch Nightcrawler. But the show have been reduced in my city to just two cinemas far from where I live.
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen the movies in this post, but nice that you catch some new releases
@Andina: Nightcrawler is worth it, hope you can see it soon. Yep, this is the time of year when many awards-worthy films usually get released.
DeleteReally want to see Wake in Fright. Was a bit underwhelmed by GotG but I didn't see it in the cinema either. Think I believed the hype too much. Can't wait for Enemy.
ReplyDelete@Pete Turner: Wake in Fright is a must-see, I can’t get that film out of my head. On the big screen with a packed audience laughing at the jokes I’m sure Guardians was slightly more enjoyable than on dvd
DeleteLike most people I thoroughly enjoyed Guardians of the Galaxy. Enemy was a disappointment to me. Why the director thought he could improve an award winning story but putting giant spiders in it, I'll never know.
ReplyDelete@Chip Lary: I think I prefer Enemy of the two, though it’s a close call, since GuofTGa was a fun ride.
DeleteI actually thought the story in Enemy was a bit unmemorable. However as a puzzle I think it’s above average, and watching the explanations on youtube has given me a new appreciation of its details.
Roger Rabbit is a classic from my childhood. Vividly remember seeing it for the first time and being genuinely terrified, as a child, seeing the little 'toons get tortured! Such a great film and really holds up years later. The songs are ridiculously catchy.
ReplyDelete@Jaina: Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a lot of fun, and to me still feels innovative today. I wonder why there is no sequel.
DeleteI didn’t expect the songs actually, and I definitely didn’t expect Bob Hoskins’ song and dance number :)
Oh, glad you liked Wake in Fright so much. I couldn't find a place to nominate it in my '71 CinSpecs, but I liked that film a lot. Guardians and Roger Rabbit are a lot of fun, and I love how bizarre Enemy is. I agree it's not as good as The Double Life of Veronique and Mulholland Dr., though.
ReplyDelete@Josh: Wake in Fright is in now in my top 5 for 1971.
DeleteEnemy has the puzzle thing going for it as a strength, and Gyllenhaal’s dual performance is impressive. But it’s not a film that I can remember that well which I think is a weakness. It doesn’t have memorable cinematic scenes for me besides the spider moments.
I've seen only bits and pieces of Il Postino, so I need to sit down and watch the whole thing sometime.
ReplyDeleteWho Frame Roger Rabbit was one of my favorite films growing up and, like you said, it has aged remarkably well. I saw it again not long ago and I was still very entertained by the plot and Roger's quirks.
I may need to watch Enemy again because, for my money, this one is not worth the hype it has received. I prefer Incendies and Prisoners from Villeneuve. I didn't but into the characters and frankly I saw through the whole double personality aspect of it. Also, I didn't care to find out exactly what the giant spider meant, or what some of the details amount to. Nevertheless, it was suggested that I do, and I was still not captivated after all of the explanations. I much preferred Primer and Donnie Darko as examples of films that make little to no sense the first time you watch.
@niels85: Il Postino was better than I expected, definitely worth seeing. Yep, Who Framed Roger Rabbit has aged very well.
DeleteEnemy is divisive, a great puzzle though. I also prefer Incendies. Prisoners I would put on the same level as Enemy.
Donnie Darko and Primer are interesting puzzles, which I didn’t understand no matter how many times I saw them :)
Awesome that you checked out and enjoyed Wake in Fright! You are spot on with this line: "It balances between utopia and nightmare." Everything seems way too nice at first, and I was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. It got pretty damn terrifying after a while. I can see why Scorsese went nuts about it during its Cannes screening in the 70s.
ReplyDeleteGlad you were able to catch up with Enemy, too. I had the same reaction as you at first, but I fell in love with it after watching this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9AWkqRwd1I
It's a little long, but the theory he presents makes a lot of sense, and it made me look at the film in a new light.
Eric @ The Warning Sign: Your 10/10 review of Wake in Fright had a lot to do with my decision to give it a watch. Definitely among my favorite Australian films now.
DeleteThanks for the link. My appreciation of Enemy also grew after having watched a couple of those explananion vids, had no idea the details were so important!