Extremely late on this...sorry about that...kinda busy in the real world lately...but that's no excuse. So without further ado here are my picks for this week.
Black Moon - Louis Malle
Like I said where would this column be without the Criterion Collection. Black Moon represents a bit of a departure for Louis Malle. This film veers far more into the surreal than Malle had previously done before. It tells the story of a young girl running away from some "war" finding a house in the woods and then well it begins Alice in Wonderland with a strong stance on gender roles. I haven't had the chance to check this out but Malle is a solid director, and I'm curious to see where the director of Au Revoir Les Enfants goes with such a reality bending film. He's got another film coming out this week that deserves your attention, Zazie Dans Le Metro...but I felt this was the more intriguing title.
Zathura - Jon Favreau
I've caught a lot of shit for liking this movie. Fine whatever you don't like this movie and I'm not sure why. Favreau is great at making movies with sincerity and heart. You can really tell how much Marvel was pushing him in how different Iron Man 2 was in tone from the first one. This is the "sequel" of sorts to Jumanji, but aside from that the connections stop there. This has nothing to do with Robin Williams and his horrible movie(see that one I didn't like). I really urge you all to check this out...or give it a second chance...Favreau uses a lot of practical effects to bring this world to life.
His robots feel like they come from the same time long gone from which the game comes. The Zorgons are not CGI and have some real menace to them. Aside from that he manages to pull off a great story about family and growing up. I'm sure you've already made up your mind, but I can't wait to show this movie(now on Blu-ray) to Riley when he's older. Practical effects done right are becoming a lost art, they help so much in transporting us to another world and giving us a sense of wonder. I don't see how you can look at that robot and not smile.
Lord of the Rings Extended Editions - Peter Jackson
Maybe I'll end up doing a Movie Night about the Lord of the Rings at some point, but as for now there's not a whole lot I can provide on these films that hasn't been said already. I recently rewatched The Two Towers and damn, the DVDs looked so crisp, I can only imagine how gorgeous these look. For those of you who heard rumors about their being problems with the transfer well..from what I've read they are just that...rumors. While I was watching The Towers I realized for the first time just how classic these films will become. Still not better than Star Wars, but a damn fine entry into the halls of fantasy filmmaking. The bad news...the extras are all in standard def AND they are simply the same extras that were on the DVDs. A little disappointing but really if you're double dipping it's because you want to get blown away by the beauty of these on your massive 85 inch screen.
That's it for now.
Bence
One last thought - Just for you boss....look now with NEW scenes...can they be enough to show Snyder's talent....I'm going to say .....absolutely not.
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