0:11:29 into the movie… me, on the very right of the frame…
the circle marks the spot!
Tag Archive for 'movie'
the circle marks the spot!
Alright - so Stefan Ruzowitzky actually did it and brings home the first Oscar for Austria, for “The Counterfeiters”. Finally I can also share the photos I took on set, when it was shot in March 2006 and I played a concentration camp inmate.
Karl Markowics:
Stefan Ruzowitzky:
On Set:
Shot of the day:
…and this would be me:
It was a fun experience
Knowing Frank Miller’s graphic novels - and owning “300″ - I was excited to sit in at a pre-screening of “300″. I was a little reluctant, about how a 2 hour movie would keep the tension and excitement going, when the whole plot can really be told in one sentence. So, there was initial disappointment after the first 10 minutes, since some of the initial scenes seemed somewhat cheesy and not so very professional (i.e. the “Wolf”-scene). Once the movie got rolling, the mood changed - and also the way the initial scenes were shot began to make more sense. There is a lot of action in this piece - which might seem a little surprising for a timepiece. Smart writing adds to the entertainment, as well as the very creative details; they are cruel and bloody, nonetheless creative. The imagery and soft coloring is incredible.
The main characters are well developed and King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) - while initially seemingly a cruel leader - turns out to be a true emperor who backs up his people with all he can give. I loved the special effects - and while I am not a huge fan of battlefield scenes, this movie really takes them to a new level. The effects aren’t obvious, yet make the whole thing so much more enjoyable. Over some stretches, what is shown on the screen can be described as nothing else but a gore fest. Under normal circumstances I would not be in favor of such graphic violence, however, considering the background of what the movie is based on and also how well it is shot, I let that slide and got lost in the story.
Sometimes I wish that certain details were a little more believable (like some of the freaks), bottom line: “300″ to me, is what “Ben Hur” must’ve been to our parents. Russel Crowe and “Gladiator” never could deliver this chill to me, but “300″ certainly does.
5 out of 5 blood drenched battle spears
I cannot say that I heard too much about this movie when it hit the theaters; also the DVD-release seems to have come rather quickly. If this is a sign for this movie to have been a “bomb”, this judgment is completely and entirely undeserved.
While Will Ferrell played a few annoying - yet sometimes funny - characters in recent releases (Anchorman, Talladega Nights), he gives a lot of depth to Harold Crick and delivers an outstanding performance. Maggie Gyllenhaal also performs incredibly well and one would like to believe that she is playing out her real self. Dustin Hoffman adds some dry comic relief to the actually sad story.
As an admirer of “Back to the Future” I am a big fan of parallel-universe ideas; “Stranger than Fiction” feeds off of this idea and gives it a new spin. To prevent the danger of giving away too much - after all, this movie gives the viewer a lot of twists and turns - I will keep this short and conclude with
4 out of 5 wrist watches
Not having heard too much about this movie ahead of time, I was surprised to find myself in a situation that felt like distance learning or an online class. Al Gore gives a 90-minute lecture on the change in our global environment. Mostly clear, concerning in many points, the movie makes a good point in visualizing what has changed in the Earth’s climate over the last 50 years and also shows the connections between various factors. Sometimes it feels like there are almost too many examples to back up the numbers, at other times a little bit of frustration and payback time concerning Gore’s own recent past peeks through (who would blame him). The political stubbornness is shown very well and some examples of lobbies and HR-decisions are just mind-boggling.
I heard about some critical voices about the numbers and scientific cause/result relationships, however, I only found right-wing nutcase-websites that criticized the facts in a way, that is less than compelling (See for instance “shelleytherepublican.com” in her blog-entry from July 6th 2006. One of the highlights: “First of all, let me say that I haven’t seen this movie. I don’t intend to and I urge all my readers to avoid it as well. No doubt whingeing liberals will try and criticize this decision, but I say to them, you don’t need to catch a cancer to know it’s bad for you - and the same goes for drinking up poisonous liberal lies.” Amen.)
Online research showed that there is some kind of criticism about details in the movie, which were not presented 100% clearly, but the general consensus is, that the relationships are portrayed correctly and conclusively.
I recommend anyone to give this a try. I cannot find any political agenda in the way the movie is presented and learning more about science is never a bad idea. Draw your own conclusions and research beyond what is presented to you. On the DVD, the special features are a must, as they give updates and extended information which did not make it into the feature.
4 out of 5 polar caps
Disappointing. While I did enjoy a lot of the old school Ali G skits - especially the ones on Channel 4 - this movie was less than satisfying. For one, the most controversial and funny scenes had already been broadly discussed in the mainstream media, and then even I didn’t feel comfortable with some of the “jokes” Sasha Baron Cohen pulled on his victims. While I am in total favor of showing people their own stupidity (see frat boys, rodeo organizer, jesus freaks,…) there were a few pieces that seemed kind of mean and set up in a way, which the victims really didn’t have much of a chance to escape from (see car dealer, trying to stay friendly). Other scenes were simply gross; while I don’t have a problem with that, I also think of myself being beyond a stage, where I would spend money (or time) to see a fat guy resting his testies on another guys face. If I wanted to see more of that, I’d watch “Jackass”.
All in all I expected a lot more from this and am glad that I didn’t spend any money on watching it.
1.5 out of 5 moustaches
So we watched the DaVinci Code yesterday. I really don’t quite understand what all the fuzz is about that came from the critics after the first showing in Cannes. Yeah, it was stupid that they scrapped the audience screenings, but all over it still turned out to be a decent flick. And also the tension was kept up nicely. Granted, the last 20 minutes drag on a bit, but it’s not like it puts the audience to sleep. All in all I would suggest anyone interested in it, to ignore the reviews and make up their own minds. It makes a few great points and despite - yes, i know - it’s fiction, quite a few theories are being made public, that have been hidden away from the mainstream before.
What does surprise me though, is that the religious right doesn’t freak more. I would like to think that they became more open minded and tolerant, in fact I reckon though, that they just don’t want to add to the publicity anymore and give the theories more credibility by being publicly upset about the movie.
It was a good flick for 4 bucks a piece. The lines were long, the auditorium was packed. And no jesusfreaks in front of (our) theater.