The Grudge

For some reason there is some student sitting across from me making the weirdest noise I have ever heard. It is one of those noises that you could ignore if it wasn’t so bizarre and annoying. I think it is because he is chewing gum and he makes some weird noise when he swallows. You try to take your mind of it but as try to concentrate on it less and less the noise just seems to keep getting louder and louder. I can’t help but compare this deformed gargle sound to the ridiculous sounds heard by the weird kid in the Grudge. If you have ever seen this movie then you know what I am talking about, the kind of glargle glargle pop crunch glargle pop glargle sound that the kid makes when he climbs down the stairs in that terrible movie. Maybe this student is a fan of his, who knows? All I know is that I will never have an explanation for why this student is making such strange noises; maybe he was inspired by this film, just like the Grudge was inspired by the original Ju-on. The original Japanese version of this film was decent enough but North Americans seem to have a knack for ruining import horror movies. It seems that they are too lazy to read the subtitles so they make there own piece of crap version that just seems like… well crap. The student has even put in ear plugs now, maybe so he doesn’t have to hear his own Grudge like sounds.

Carnivale

Ok I know this is not a movie but it is an HBO series, and HBO series are leagues above anything else on television. What makes this show so amazing is how mysterious and weird the whole traveling carnival thing is. From bringing dead cats back to life and then the poor boys mother drowning them again in the bath tub. When I first heard of this show about a traveling carnival I though it sounded terrible, but once I seen it on sale at future shop for $30, I just couldn’t say no, I have a real spending problem did I mention that. There is so much more to this show than just the travelling carnival. What is so compelling about the show is how dark it is as a whole and the many different dark and twisted themes. I don’t know of anyone else who has watched this show but I encourage anyone to take a look at it, you will not be disappointed. I am only half done the first season and I cannot stop thinking about it, just watch the first episode and you will know what I am talking about.

Paprika

After watching this movie I felt that I never wanted to see it again, but after careful thought I have learned to appreciate it. The key to enjoying this movie depends on the state you are in when you watch it, and by state I don’t mean stoned or drunk. When watching this movie you have to be in a patient and somewhat sleepy or zoned out state. You have to really pay attention in this movie to figure out what is happening, but if you are patient enough then the movie is definitely worthwhile. My advice is to watch this film after having a nice spot of tea to help you relax. Then when you feel that you are sedated enough, pop it in the player. My problem when watching this the first time is that I was too awake and had too much energy. I was twitching in my chair and the movie felt extremely long. The key to watching any film about dreams is that you have to be in a half dreaming state in order to truly appreciate it.

Pulp Fiction

Goes hand in hand with Apocalypse Now as the two greatest films ever made. There are not enough good things I can say about this movie, the characters are the greatest ever, the separate stories are incredibly compelling and are good enough to stand by themselves but instead of one you get 4, by Grabthars Hammer what a savings. It is great how all the stories connect and at what point they occur in the timeline. There are many movies that try to pull this off such as Crash, but none of them do it as well as this one I know there are many people out there, including my mother, that say, “its just violence” and that this movie is terribly violent. The fact is that this movie is not that violent, sure there are a few violent scenes but it is nothing compared to other movies like Rambo. It is just perfect, the dialogue, the violence, and the parts that are absolutely ridiculous including Z.

Vertigo

F***ing Hitchcock is how my one classmate described this movie. Vertigo is definitely a very interesting movie. Even though the plot is completely ridiculous it still wraps you in and you are wondering what happens next. I can’t even begin to describe the plot, a man hires an ex detective with vertigo to follow his fake wife who he claims is possessed by a dead relative that killed herself at 26 years of age. As you can see the plot is totally absurd but, that could be why the movie is so compelling. You can definitely see that Hitchcock is at work here crafting great suspense and some classic twists that I didn’t see coming. This is one of those movies that does not fit into any genera, it is part romance and part thriller. The only problem I had with this film was the corny music that played whenever they kissed, and James Stuart is one terrible kisser, I mean did you see how he just kind of sucked on her cheek.

The Graduate

Wow was Dustin Hoffman young in this movie. This movie was very good and once again I don’t understand why it took me so long to finally see it. This was a great film by Mike Nichols but it was not my favorite one. I enjoyed Closer and Angels in America more than the Graduate but it is still a great movie. It was an odd movie because it had the whole Hollywood love story thing at the end but then as they are sitting there on the bus they realize that they may have made a mistake. It is this point that made the movie unique and great, my only real problem was the overuse of Simon and Garfunkel, sure they had some decent songs in there but they did not have to play them 5000 times. Besides the repetitive use of some of the songs I have no real complaints about this movie. It is definitely worth watching, and the soundtrack is memorable besides the few songs.

The Bourne Ultimatum

When comparing this film to others in the genera it blows most others out of the water, excluding John Mclean though, Bruce Willis is still the ultimate. But it would be interesting to see who would win in a death match between Jason Bourne and John Mclean. You have the crazy fighting skills of Bourne but then on the other hand you have the extreme resourcefulness and downright craziness of Mclean, it would be the battle to end them all. But when looking at other action films such as some of the James Bonds or the Rambo movies, the Bourne movies seem to be leagues ahead in both their finesse and choreographed action. This movie was very technical impressive, the editing was insane and the sound was great. It won 3 Oscars for sound, and editing and they were all well deserved. This is a very well made and put together movie, maybe not the most thought provoking but it is definitely entertaining and that is the point of an action movie, to entertain.