Snowpiercer is gruesome and unpredictable where the stakes keep rising. Chris Evans gives a solid performance along with a great supporting cast.
The movie isn't necessarily cerebral, yet some of the moments and ideas in it are thought provoking. It's a refreshing science fiction film, jam packed with intense action.
The Guest premiered at Sundance early in 2014 and I've been really looking forward to it after reading all the positive buzz. The tone of the film being compared to John Carpenter's films and The Terminator got me quite excited. I haven't read anything more about the movie's plot beyond the basic premise.
It's directed by Adam Wingard who directed You're Next, he also directed segments of V/H/S and V/H/S/2.
I am hoping this movie turns out to be this year's Drive, while gaining wide attention and appeal.
Here is part of the review by Matt Goldberg from Collider.com, posted in January 2014.
From
1974 to 1988, director John Carpenter was pretty much unstoppable. His
films were scary, funny, strange, and thrilling. Adam Wingard’s The
Guest feels like a lost Carpenter film from the director’s golden age.
The picture effortlessly moves between a nerve-wracking mystery to a
gleefully dark comedy, and at its best it even mixes the two together. While Wingard carries the Carpenter-esque tone by making excellent use
of Robby Baumgartner’s cinematography and Stephen Moore’s score, his
greatest asset is Dan Stevens’ tremendous lead performance. And even
when the picture starts to get away from Wingard, it never ceases to be
an entertaining ride.
The
new film from You’re Next director Adam Wingard and screenwriter Simon
Barrett will be coming to a theater near you this fall. After
premiering at the Sundance Film Festival to positive reviews,
Picturehouse has picked up U.S. rights to The Guest for a fall release,
marking the studio’s second feature film release after making their
debut with last year’s Metallica Through the Never. The Guest stars Dan
Stevens (Downton Abbey) as a soldier who befriends the family of a
fallen comrade and becomes a threat to everyone around him when it turns
out he may not be who he says he is. I caught the pic at Sundance and
it’s a great 80’s throwback that’s kind of like a cross between
Halloween and The Terminator. Stevens is excellent in a dark role that
is the polar opposite of his Downton Abbey character, and Wingard and
Barrett have a ton of fun with the gleefully dark premise.
Steve Weintraub posted the following before posting his interview with the director.
One
of my favorite films at this year’s Sundance Film Festival was The
Guest. Directed and written by the team behind You’re Next (Adam
Wingard and Simon Barrett, respectively), The Guest is fantastic and as
Matt said in his review, it “feels like a lost John Carpenter film from
the director’s golden age. The picture effortlessly moves between a
nerve-wracking mystery to a gleefully dark comedy, and at its best it
even mixes the two together.” Trust me, it’s a film you should be
excited to see and I’m sure it’ll be released sometime this year. The
Guest stars Dan Stevens (in an amazingly dark turn), Maika Monroe,
Leland Orser, Lance Reddick, Chase Williamson, and Brendan Meyer.
Speed was released 20 years ago today on June 10, 1994. I remember seeing the movie about 3 or 4 times in the theatres, I was in the 8th grade and it was few months before I turned 13.
I couldn't get enough of the movie and the epic musical score stayed
with me for weeks. I liked Keanu in the Bill and Ted movies, but I
became a fan after Speed.
I loved the whole elevator rescue
opening as much as the rest of the film, which pretty much led to my
fascination with SWAT teams in general.
As someone who preferred his hair longer I even ended up cutting my hair way too short few weeks after watching this film :).
And I love the fact that Joss Whedon ended up being one of the key
writers of the film, which I only briefly remember reading about years
ago; but his recent interview really dwells on his contributions to the script.
Bryan Singer could probably retire from making X-Men films, cause I don't know if he will be able to top his latest film. Not only is X-Men: Days of Future Past his best film, but it's at par with First Class as the best X-Men film to date.
It doesn't really try to fix the continuity so as to synch with the timelines of all the other films, but at this point it didn't really matter anymore. The movie is entertaining and doesn't have any dull moments, but at the same time it isn't an all out CGI action fest either.
Wolverine is obviously a central character to the story, yet his role didn't take precedence over other characters; in fact he comparatively has lesser big action scenes than the rest, while still binding the narrative with some great emotional resonance along with the rest of the cast..
I was glad to hear John Ottman's X2 theme playing during the opening credits. Lot of great mutant action sequences especially in the future, which are not only very cool but quite brutal as well. Yet, just like First Class what was lacking for me was the rest of the core X-Men team.
After X-Men: Apocalypse, they should definitely consider rebooting the franchise after about 5 years or so.
I enjoyed Godzilla. The movie isn't over the top monster action all the way through, as it has a more grounded and serious approach. There is mayhem and destruction early on but there is lot of tease and anticipation on the monster end, which makes it more effective when Godzilla comes into play.
The more human story elements of the movie might disappoint some viewers, but I think it works and is in line with the original Japanese film. Also really liked Alexandre Desplat's bombastic musical score.
Got my District 9 Christopher Johnson statue today. I missed out on this unique piece when it went up for sale in 2011 and it's been one of my holy grails ever since.
I am now so happy to finally have this in my collection and even more relieved that it arrived in one piece, without any damages due to customs.
The statue is 1:6 scale and measures 14.2 inches in height along with the base. It's numbered #291 of 600.
Update (April 27):
I had also uploaded my District 9 statue
image on Instagram two weeks ago. And now I am little ecstatic knowing
that director Neill Blomkamp also "liked" the image yesterday :D
Captain America: The Winter Soldier was fantastic. In midst of all the exhilarating action, mystery and humor, the movie is also infused with emotional moments.
It was such a well crafted story, along with some terrific fight sequences and great visuals. Many of the supporting characters including the villains get their moments to shine.
It's the best Marvel Phase Two film so far and probably my favourite Marvel film right above Avengers. I plan to see it again soon.
Update:
Saw the movie again yesterday (Apr 05) and it was even better during the second time.
And I just can't get enough of the score by Henry Jackman, which is so energetic and at times eerie.
I love the main Captain America theme which runs through the score right from the opening track 'Lemurian Star' and especially in the ending credits 9 mins track titled Captain America.
The Captain America theme almost makes me want to start exercising and working out. Almost.
I saw only 23 movies of 2013 and I saw 17 of them in the theater. There are some movies which have yet to get released here in India, including The Wolf Of Wall Street, Inside Llewyn Davis, 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle and Her. They are releasing in January and February of 2014.
So my favourite movies of 2013 list feels largely incomplete and probably isn't quite final, as I have also missed quite a number of films which I intended to see, but couldn't due to different circumstances.
But the one film that undoubtedly belongs on the top of my list is Gravity. I don't know how much of repeat value it will have for me on home video, but it remains one of my best theatrical movie experiences in a long time.
It delivered obviously on the awe front, while giving ample instances to resonate with the character moments as well. Gravity is a great example of what going to the cinemas should be about, which is the experience of being transported to a different world.
My top favourite movies of this year are as follows.
1. Gravity 2. Pacific Rim 3. The World's End 4. Frances Ha 5. This Is The End
Honorable Mention: Upstream Color, Iron Man 3, Rush, Thor: The Dark World, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Other movies I liked though it had its share of shortcomings (release date order): Oblivion, Star Trek Into Darkness, The Wolverine, Elysium, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Also check out these two great mashup videos showcasing clips from
various 2013 films. Good choice of music too. (I recommend wearing headphones while watching them). The second video is a tad
longer but has a more wider selection of movies from 2013.
