In between films of more obvious artistic merit, I like to throw into the mix some movies that are selected just for the fun factor. Think of it as a palette cleanser. Hollywood action movies are obvious choices for this role for many people. But I also have a soft spot for ultra-nerdy movies and This is the End is a great example of that.
Mother is another one of the Korean cinema recommendations from my cinephile friend. This was directed by Bong Joon-ho who also made Memories of Murder which I really liked, though he is probably best known internationally for The Host. It also shares a number of superficial similarities with the former film.
I’m not sure why television shows in the UK are organized by series rather than by season. This post refers to the third series or season of the show that was released early in 2014. In any case, this is a highly unusual show since each season consists of only three episodes and the length of each episode is closer to what is expected of a movie than a television program. Also, each season seems to take two years to make since the first one appeared in 2010 and the previous one appeared in 2012.
Philip Seymour Hoffman impressed me greatly in Synecdoche, New York, so when he passed away earlier this year and various people commented that his best role was in Capote, I knew I had to watch this film. Unlike my wife however, I don’t really read mainstream fiction so I only have the vaguest of ideas of who Truman Capote was. Furthermore, I tend not to like biography films, so I went in with reduced expectations.
The Winter Soldier (I’m not going to use the unwieldy full title) marks the ninth instalment of the ongoing Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s hard to believe that Marvel’s streak of hits has continued for so long but it has, and with this film, it continues to do so. I’m not a big fan of The First Avenger. I liked how it subverted the point of having a superhero but felt that its action scenes were underwhelming and its story too simplistic.
Having won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 2013, 12 Years a Slave surely needs no introduction. It also won Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay. As flawed as the Oscars are, I think it is also illuminating that despite being nominated, it neither won Best Director nor Best Actor, categories which you would normally expect a film like this to sweep up.
This film was one of wife’s picks to add to our regularly maintained “to watch” list. It’s ostensibly an Italian film, with an Italian director, filmed in the province of Venice and making use of a largely Italian crew. Yet it has a Chinese lead and many supporting roles with Chinese actors and actresses. The dialogue is pretty much half Italian and half Mandarin Chinese.