Hello all,
Ahhh, finally I am here to cover our not last, and not least, April Club Moofie session.
In a new twist for Club Moofie, we had three films up for viewing, 2 new releases and one classic:
“Never Let Me Go”, “Battle of Los Angeles” and “Heat”.
NEVER LET ME GO – 2010, directed by Mark Romanek
Based on the novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro, this dark and disturbing tale brought varying responses from the Club.
Those who had read the novel – and enjoyed it – found the film moving, and dare I say were a little more prepared for the subject matter than the other members. The film deals with a group of children, reared by a special school, only to have their organs harvested in early adulthood for people in need. These special humans have no future, and yet an unquestioning acceptance of their fate is quite palpable. Emotions are stretched when the late-realised love between a donor and carer is clearly, and tragically, doomed by the inevitable.
This, for me, was a very bleak and distressing film. The many unspoken, unexplored ethical implications, as well as the tragic nature of the central character’s relationship, was simply heart-breaking. The film itself was beautifully shot and directed, and explored an unusual mix of science fiction subject matter and old English country period detailing; however, I could not say I enjoyed the experience of viewing this film, and could not recommend it.
The group’s responses were similarly torn – the strength of the film making was clear, yet the emotional intensity appealed in varying degrees. A very interesting choice of film, exemplifying the power of cinema to effect one’s emotions.
Scores:
Wendy -2
Andy – 4.5
Paul – abstain
Beck – 3.5
Gareth (in absentia) – 4
Natalya – 4.5
CJ – 1
Sylvia – 2.5 – and two boxes of tissues. Buy some chocolate to soothe after.
Quotes:
“Carey lost half a point for crying – I don’t buy tears that come straight out from the front of the eye!” – Andy, on Carey Mulligan’s waterworks
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“I hated it, CJ hated it, even our friend hated it” – Wendy
“Initially, it would have been a really low score – but now it’s a two” – Wendy, after the discussion.
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” If you were feeling a little too happy, I would recommend watching this” – Paul
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” You see Tommy, and you go : oh, – aww – Tommy!” – Beck
” This film really stuck with me – I couldn’t shake the film. Callous. Blissed out by the opening – all the colours – and then! ORGAN HARVESTING!” – Beck
“It’s its own character! Like a supporting role!” – Beck, on Keira Knightly’s top lip
Some quotes from our absent-on-the-night member:
“Relentlessly miserable.” – CJ
“Keira Knightly has a very slap-able face.” – CJ
“It all boils down to a premise which is totally impossible to believe” and” the premise feels contrived – a vehicle so the actors could exhibit their cry on demand skills. ” – CJ and CJ.
BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES – 2011, directed by Jonathon Liebesman
I believe the Club voted this film in as our first “Dumb Action Flick” (DAF) – and amidst pre-viewing lambasting of plot, acting and design (and extensive discussion of Aaron Eckhart’s chin), a rollicking time seem to be had by all who braved the reviews to watch this film!
Low expectations prevailed prior to viewing, and perhaps contributing to the surprisingly positive outcome for all concerned (please see Natalya’s comment, below). Having missed this film myself (and yet, no, I have no regrets!), it was great to see the Club animated over a piece of pure entertainment – after all, isn’t that what Moofies are also about, people?? Popcorn, big screens, and a couple of hours of pure escape and fantasy! YAY!
Although there seemed to be no plot development to speak of, and fair-to-middling acting (athough Eckhart and his chin were commended highly for their professionalism), and the distinct feeling that the film was a patchwork of previous features with cliched dialogue, the film proved to be most entertaining to our members, and I have little doubt that the DAF genre will certainly make another appearance in future Club Moofie selections.
Scores:
Wendy – 3
Andy – 3
Paul – 3
Beck – 2
Gareth (in absentia) – 1.5
Natalya – 3
CJ – 3
Sylvia – abstain
Quotes on “Battle of Los Angeles”:
“Battle Whatever! Battle Generico! – Eckhart’s chin is where the command control centre was!” – Paul (? sorry noted don’t record who said this gem)
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“I’m a sucker for alien invasion films – I love the feeling of dread!” – Andy
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” I don’t know – I suppose I was expecting – well – more destruction” – Andy
“Maybe not “Battle” – maybe ‘Fight of Los Angeles’?” – Beck
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” I went in with the lowest of low expectations – how am I going to get through this? – and when your bar is so low, I actually really enjoyed it” – Natalya
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“I was scared, wasn’t I Beck?” – Natalya
“You were – you screamed!” – Beck
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“I like ‘let’s get from point A to point B’ movies – and yeah – guns, man! Explosions!” – Paul
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“But why did they make the film, if it all bits and pieces of other films?” – Beck
“Because they wanted to make money!” – Wendy
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“I ended up quite liking everyone – I kept thinking ‘Come on, boys – we can do this!'” – Beck
And again from CJ:
“No point being a snob about DAFs – just good, pop-corning munching fun – I enjoyed it!”
HEAT – 1995, directed by Michael Mann
Nominated by Paul, and also claiming his “top film of all time” title, this classic piece of cinema brings two of the truly great actors of their time together on screen – in the same scenes – for the first time.
Mann visited this territory with his previous film – a TV release – “L.A. Takedown”,1989 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097700/).
The plot involves two men at the top of their professions – one on the right side of the law (Pacino, as top police investigator) and one on the wrong side (de Niro, as master thief), and one could also say that the two actors representing these characters were also at the height of their powers when brought together in this film.
Unlike other police dramas, this film shows considerable personal development for the main characters – family and love relationships (and the desire for these) are explored, along side the nitty gritty of police work, and incredible heists.
The final, extended, edge-of-the-seat scene between the two men shows a surprising tenderness and respect for and between each other, rounding out the characters and showing greater complexity to the situation than one might expect in a lesser film. The pathos of De Niro’s character – his isolated life, his fear of being caught, forcing him to run – is beautifully realised throughout, but particularly brought home in this last scene.
On a different point, the film has dated to a degree – and Pacino’s loud machismo grates at times, being a particularly fine example of 80’s over the top maleness (see Michael Douglas in “Wall Street” ).
Note: Paul and others also found the film comparable to recent release “The Town” (up there as Paul’s No.1 film of 2010 – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0840361/).
Scores:
Wendy – 4
Andy – 3
Paul – 5 ( 10, if possible)
Beck – abstain
Gareth (in absentia) – abstain
Natalya – 3
CJ – 4.5
Sylvia – 3.5
Quotes on “Heat”:
“I was going to leave Club Moofie if this wasn’t picked” – Paul
“Are you still in Club Moofie? Your film score more than a couple of Andy’s put together…” – Beck
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“I wasn’t paying attention – I was looking for his elbow!” – Natalya, on Val Kilmer’s peculiar goitre-type protrusion on said elbow
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“I liked him in ‘Willow’ ” – Natalya, on Val Kilmer
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“A big slice of 80’s ham, chomping on the scenery” – on Al Pacino’s performance – can’t remember who said this! Andy I suspect!
“Al Capuccino!” – Andy, referring to Pacino’s recent coffee ads
” What the Fock?” – Andy, on De Niro in the “Meet the Fockers” series
And also from CJ:
” A superior urban Western”
” Robert de Niro plays it straight for once and he’s pretty good – Al Pacino was a bit over the top annoying, but comes good too, in the end. ”
OTHER MATTERS:
During the course of the evening, we also discussed briefly what everyone had been watching lately, and a few other topics:
Disney in the Vault
This refers to Disney’s policy of releasing certain animated classes for only set periods of time for the home video and DVD market (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_Vault). Prompted by Natalya’s search for “The Little Mermaid” (I think!), an interesting discussion of this came up. I, for one, have not heard of this – a bit unfair! Poor little tikes out there missing out on some classics!
Other viewing:
Other films seen in the weeks prior to this meeting included “The Lincoln Lawer” (Paul), “Thor” (several members, with positive responses all ’round), “Sucker Punch” (Andy, with a recommendation from him to watch out for Oscar Isaac – a potential star in the making), “Buried” (Paul), “Paul” (Paul, Andy – both wished it was “Hot Fuzz”), “Goethe” (CJ – a score of 4 out of 5), and “Inkheart” (Sylvia – 2.5 out of 5 – rather strange, dark children’s tale).
If those of you mentioned would like to contribute any further score for films viewed, please do!
Next meeting – already done and dusted – features two classics – “High Noon” and ” Night of the Hunter” . Reviews to come shortly!
Bye for now,
Happy viewing,
SB.
Night of the Hunter
High Noon
Club Moofie 