THE DANMAN CAN

Overwrought.

Many people hold Battle Royale  (2000) in very high regard. While I think the film is a lot of fun, it is far from exceptional. Each time I watch it, it means a little less to me. When I saw it in 2000 or 2001, from a bootleg DVD c opy, I thought it was the coolest shit in the world. These days, it's a film I still enjoy, but it hasn't aged as well as many films. Honestly I think it's the same type of popular entertainment that The Hunger Games   probably is (haven't seen it yet), with more gore. But I won't form a true opinion on that, not having seen THG - that film could be terrible and pandering.

My previous post explains how I feel. After a rewatch I actually gave this a 1/2 * less. It's a great film and I'd be very interested to see what the same cast/crew could do with the other 2 films, but this is second tier Fincher for me.

 

Whew. Lots of people consider this the "greatest film ever made". I can't figure out why exactly. I thought it was just "OK". I'm not going to write it off completely, but I have little desire to rewatch it. Smiles Of A Summer Night was made long after this film and reminds me of it, but I enjoyed Smiles much more. Maybe it's one of those films like  Taxi Driver   (my review  here ) , which took me 4 - 5 viewings before I considered it a masterpiece.  Who knows...?

3 reasons to see this film:

One of the coolest movie promo items that I've ever seen, a paper weight that is supposed to be filled with coke, given to me by a former co-worker (thanks Andy!)

Scene 24 Flesh wound Tim

Stunning Dashing (Meowing)

I read a lot of conflicting reviews about this film. Many felt it was a masterpiece and many felt it was a disappointment and that Scorsese has become a "hack". I must admit, it doesn't feel like a Scorsese film at all. It's been appropriately compared to the filmmaking style of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Robert Zemeckis . But I guess I fall in the middle with my opinion about the film. Many things about it did nothing for me and/or felt a bit pedestrian. Other times I quite enjoyed it and felt emotionally stirred. It's too bad that it didn't quite click because it could have been truly something special.  Hugo definitely feels like a film that may improve with repeat viewings though. It's certainly gorgeous and visually interesting.

I had to give Ten$ion  (2012) a bunch of listens to decide how much I liked it. And I've decided "I fink it's freaky and I like it a lot".

This film is included with the new Air album . The version on this DVD includes a soundtrack by Air , from their album of the same name.  It's pretty amazing to watch a film that is 110 years old and hand-colored.