This Week's Watches
Zodiac (2007)
Starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Mark Ruffalo & Robert Downey Jr.
Directed by David Fincher
Rating: ★★★
David Fincher... what a legend. He sure knows how to direct a good movie, and Zodiac is a good movie. Based on a book, also entitled Zodiac, about the real life murders that took place over several years in San Francisco, the film looks at the police and media workers who involved themselves in a very disturbing case. The first half of the film is completely different from the second half: the first half done like a documentary which shows the murders being committed and the police investigations that resulted, the second half being more like a conventional ‘movie’ in that it follows one main character whose obsession with catching the serial killer begins to take over his life. Involving, upsetting and beautifully shot, Zodiac is a film worth watching.
Akira (1988)
Starring Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki & Mami Koyama
Directed by Katsuhiro Ohtomo
Rating: ★
Wow... all I can say is one thing: what the s**t is this film on?? I watched this film because it’s regarded as a ‘classic’ and people say its amazing and everyone says you have to watch it... But now I realise that perhaps people just say this so that other people can watch a film that is well and truly f**ked!! It ‘s like Oldboy all over again (why anyone would recommend that film to anyone else astounds me!!)- I just don’t want to watch stuff that is so messed up that it will give me psychological trauma and destroy my mind! Japanese writers seem to be obsessed with destroying Japan and setting plots in a post apocalyptic future, and in the world of Akira, which also features motorbike gangs and some kind of psychic mutants, we see Tokyo being destroyed not once, but twice! Surely this film has the highest death count of any film?? The only way you could kill more people off is if you blew up Earth! And yes, I see that this film is well animated and that it is ‘unconventional’ and ‘ground-breaking’ and ‘goes against the norm’, but I would be lying if I said I enjoyed any part of it... The whole thing disturbed me!! It has a very scary sequence involving the creepiest teddy bear, bunny rabbit and toy car you will ever see in a cartoon. And just what the s**t was the ending about?? What was going on?!? Maybe I just don’t get it because it’s culturally different, but please, I would love a Japanese person to explain the film to me from a Japanese perspective to see if Akira really did go over my head or if it’s just f**ked. I’m guessing the latter.
Pick of the Week:
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
Starring Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ellen Wong & Kieran Culkin
Directed by Edgar Wright
Rating: ★★★½
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| Scott tries his hardest to impress Ramona... |
Scott Pilgrim (Cera), a geeky bass player, meets a sexy red headed girl called Ramona Flowers (Winstead) and eventually plucks up the courage to ask her out on a date. But what he discovers is that her exes have formed an evil alliance that are all trying to kill Scott, and so he must battle them one by one to be able to continue his relationship with Ramona. The plot itself sounds crazy, and some of the film is, but this geekfest has everything from amazing action sequences to 80’s video game shout outs to lots of indie music. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a visual feast, and Edgar Wright proves that he is a great director by using comic book and computer game images to great effect. The plot is fun and unique and the acting is solid from the main cast, although, I have to admit that Michael Cera just doesn’t ‘do it’ for me: as a fan of Arrested Development I feel that he just plays the same part repeatedly (and does it well- fair enough). The two lead women are excellent: Winstead makes her emotionless goth girl likeable, and Wong makes her character believably fun and sweet at the same time. The rest of the cast are great, including Culkin as Scott’s gay roommate. The best parts of the film are the fighting sequences, especially the ‘battle of the band’ competition including two incredible dragons and a giant monster thing. Saying that, I’m not sure I bought into the whole ‘believability’ of the world: when crazy things start happening (a Bollywood dance??) it is a bit too much too soon (but cool) and so I can see why the film didn’t do very well at the box office- it’s just too ‘different’. But Hollywood should be taking risks and making films like this instead of endless sequels and prequels and remakes. Although judging by the amount of money they make, that isn’t going to happen any time soon.
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