tFilm or not tFilm

tFilm, definately... erm I am silently celebrating my 1000th film reviewed on IMDB by-- um... watching more movies (and if judged on recent choices, slowly denigrating any last remnant of intelligence I care to project).

www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=14924202

Feel free to celebrate with me by commenting on just how many horrible movies I've seen, for example the fact that I have reviewed more films on McG's page than that of Hitchcock's. Resisting the urge of brisk suicide is difficult, let me assure you. But I have found the strength to soldier on.

Gilliam Kick

Last week I picked up 12 Monkeys on Blu-Ray and as I hadn't seen it in over 8 years and I wasn't surprised at how much better I understood the plot, even though I had no issues at the time. I enjoyed the style and slight lunacy so much, that it led me to watch a few other Terry Gilliam films, Brazil and Tideland. The first thing I noticed about these films is how different they were in terms of scope; Brazil being a futuristic nightmare played out through these elaborate sets while Tideland enacted a girls dream world but in the most minimalistic way. Both were very powerful films but I feel Brazil's political underton-- well actually they weren't undertones, it's message was about as subtle as a taser... But either way I feel it leaves viewers with more to ponder after the credits roll. Tideland leaves us with little sense of hope (somewhat like the beginning of the film where we see a young girl prepare and inject her father with heroin just as casually if she was bringing him the paper) and even though my desire for a happy ending is about as strong as it is for Justin Bieber to perform at my next birthday, my first instinct was to group it with other films where the journey hardly justifies the lack of a conclusion. Then again there are other films which critics have labelled as such but I did not agree with. Maybe it's all just subjective..?

Today was a strange day...

I don't think I've ever seen two films on such opposite sides of the spectrum as I witnessed today. Shortly after waking I endured A Serbian Film of which Scott Weinberg from Fear Net wrote "[It] is tragic, sickening, disturbing, twisted, absurd, infuriated, and actually quite intelligent. There are those who will be unable (or unwilling) to decipher even the most basic of 'messages' buried within [this film], but I believe it's one of the most legitimately fascinating films I've ever seen. I admire and detest it at the same time. And I will never watch it again. Ever." Yep that pretty much sums it up. The lackluster title aside, A Serbian Film has an extremely powerful message portrayed through certain acts which I never thought would be seen on film for legal reasons alone. Critics argue that the message is merely an excuse for the absurdity on screen, to which I somewhat agree, but judge for yourself. My next little escapist adventure was the long-awaited Toy Story 3, an adorable continuation of one of my own favourite childhood films. It was fairly depressing in comparison with the first two however this manifested in a deeper sympathy with the characters and shed many a tear (I know, stfu). The story was already spoiled in the trailers but this didn't make it less of a great romp, and I'm sure that with a less cynical eye (i.e that of a child) it will be loved just as much as any other recent animated film. Speaking of, How to Train Your Dragon and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs are far superior films on many levels, and I wish I had the time to write more but if you haven't seen these and have a soft spot for animation (digital or otherwise) give them a go. Their commercial failure can only be attributed to a failure in marketing, especially for the latter, but I cannot stress enough that THIS IS NOT A REFLECTION OF QUALITY. That is all.