Criterion Madness

Whilst my reasons for going Blu-ray region free last month should seem obvious, one of the main factors for me was the ability to play Criterion Collection discs. Interestingly, I never really got into Criterion DVD's, in fact I have only ever owned 4 over the course of my collecting - Rushmore, Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, Spirit of the Beehive and The Rock. I am now down to 1 (Spirit of the Beehive).  Blu-ray is a different kettle of fish though and I have been more than happy to increase my buying in order to diversify my collection and blind buy titles that I have never seen as the experience on Blu-ray is about the best you could ever get for some of these films!!  Anyhow, without further ado, here is my current Criterion Collection haul:

From master film-maker Fritz Lang we have M (1931), I was torn between this version or the beautiful German 2 disc version from Universum, but in the end went for Criterion simply because it was easier and cheaper for me to obtain.

 Next up we have Belle De Jour (1967), I managed to resist the Studio Canal Digibook edition that was released here in Australia, but have decided to grab the Criterion edition as I got it for a bargain price (and couldn't resist hi-def Catherine Deneuve!)  I also picked up Charade (1963) which was previously only available as a special feature on the horrible remake here in Australia - so I am really looking forward to re-watching this classic on Blu-ray!

Then we have two Blu-ray upgrades from my previous DVD collection.  Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas (1998) and Rushmore (1998)

Following the upgrades we have two great films from totally different eras in the form of Brian De Palma's fantastic Blow Out (1981) starring a young John Travolta and featuring an awesome performance by John Lithgow as well as 1972's Solaris from pioneering Russian auteur Andrea Tarkovskiy

 Stepping back in time again we have Robert Mitchum's most powerful performance and sadly actor Charles Laughton's only directorial credit in the form of 1955's Night of the Hunter. This release comes with 2 discs housed in a wonderful digipack case.

Much like the release above, Akira Kurasawa's epic Seven Samurai (1954) is also given the 2 disc treatment and is housed in a similar digipack case

Some incredible cinema right there and I am very proud to have such wonderful additions to my collection... Of course there are plenty more on the way and Criterion do such a fantastic job that I am more than happy to part with my hard earned money for these fantastic editions of some of cinemas greatest achievements!

Best News Ever!!

Favourites of 2011

I have finally gotten around to thinking a little about the movies I saw last year and whilst I know I am going to take some crap for at least one of the movies on my list below,  I would ask that you don't judge it until you have seen it! and if you have seen it, well....

In no particular order, these are the 5 best films I saw last year:

The Adventures of Tintin - Spielberg returns to the kind of movies he was born to direct!  It is just a shame he also released War Horse on the same day. Tintin is what Indiana Jones 4 should have been!

The Guard - Brendan Gleeson shines in this great independent Irish film that is as funny as it is serious.  I do enjoy films that have great characters and The Guard has some of the best in recent times!

Hanna - I really enjoyed this action romp featuring a 16 year old girl trained as an assassin.  Whilst it won't be to everyone's liking, you can't argue that it certainly creates its own look and feel! Great score by the Chemical Brothers too!

Sucker Punch - Boy was there some hate for this film when it came out!  I saw the film in Imax and came out wanting... then the Blu-ray came along with the 18 minute extended cut and finally a number of things fell into place. Snyder is clearly a visual director and despite its over preachy message the film it magnificent to look at and just as good to listen to!

Winnie the Pooh - OK, so this is a bit of a cheat.  The movie came out exclusivley to Big W on Blu-ray and DVD, but it is such a great film with a very wide appeal and it is so nice to see Disney finally give the silly old bear a decent outing after the abomination that is the CGI series.  I highly recommend reliving some of your childhood by returning to the 100 Acre Woods.

Special mention: Another Earth

Best Australian Movie

The Tunnel - Made on a budget brought about by fan sponsorship and given away for FREE on the Internet, whilst The Tunnel does have a number of horror movie cliches there is certainly enough originality to keep you interested. Nice to see some local productions using new business models in an otherwise draconian industry.

Special mention: Red Dog and The Hunter

Best Documentary

Bill Cunningham: New York - Following the life of New York Times fashion pages photographer Bill Cunningham, the documentary was certainly the most  enjoyable outing I had had to a doco this year! Even better when I wasn't expecting to like it at all!

Special mention: Life Cycles and The Greatest Movie Ever Sold.

Recent Additions...

It occurs to me that I have not updated any of my more recent acquisitions on the blog. So here is a post to rectify this! My partner got me the wonderful Guillermo Del Toro Collection from the UK for Christmas, it features a pop-up book cover (that was not very photogenic) and the films Cronos, Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone.

 I have also recently bought a region free Blu-ray player allowing me to take advantage of discs from the U.S and Asia. My first region A locked purchase is Justified Season 2, which ironically is not meant to be region locked, but is anyway...

I have also kick started my Criterion collection by replacing my DVD copy of Rushmore... expect more Criterion editions over the coming months...

 I have been eyeing Toy Story in one form or another for many a month now, and finally bit the bullet with a purchase from the blu-ray forums for Toy Story and Toy Story 2 U.K editions with slip case.  I did have Toy Story 3, but have sold it and have the UK version en route.

 

and last, but by no means least I picked up Paprika and Fantastic Mr. Fox, both at a bargain price!

SOPA is bad mmmkay...

http://www.stopthewall.us/

A Cat in Paris (2010)

We often hear tales of cats that lead double lives, trawling the neighborhood on varying days and visiting one of the many places it calls home. It comes as no surprise then, that someone has decided to make a film about such a cat.

By day, Dino is a doting cat owned by Zoe, the daughter of a Parisian Police Officer who has been mute since the death of her father, but by night he is sidekick to Nico, a wanted cat burglar operating in the area. One night Dino's two world's collide when Zoe follows him to Nico's house and winds up getting involved with the mob who killed her father.

A Cat In Paris is a great little film with some marvellous animation and a classic noir tale of intrigue and mystery. I would recommend it for anyone who enjoys both intelligent animated films and old 30's and 40's classic mystery tales!

The Women On The 6th Floor (2010)

 

Jean-Louis Joubert is an affluent stockbroker who owns a luxurious building in Paris that is seemingly only inhabited by his ex-country girl wife, their 2 obnoxious children (who are mostly away at boarding school) and a number of Spanish maids who live up on the 6th floor.  Jean-Louis leads a very scheduled and some may say boring life that is thrown into a slight disarray when his maid of 25 years decides she has had enough and leaves his employ. This leaves space for Maria, the newly arrived niece of one of the upstairs lodgers to fill the position. Maria is a breath of fresh air for Jean-Louis and it is through her that he will discover a whole new world that has been under (or in this case above) his nose the whole time.

The Women On The 6th Floor is a light comedy that had the potential to be more of a commentary on the 1960's exploited immigrant work force that was the result of the oppressive Franco regime of the time, yet it glosses over these issues with veritable ease, opting instead to be a simplistic representation of the dynamic character, rolled up in a crowd pleasing way.  Whilst it is entertaining enough whilst you are watching it, a little after thought will leave you dry.

Melancholia (2011)

From the offset Melancholia is going to immediately divide audiences. It is purposefully slow, often bereft of dialog and does very little by way of establishing a plot or storyline. It is a film about depression, paranoia and the end of the world and whilst it looks stunning it plays a little overly melodramatic.

 Justine and Michael are deeply in love, it is their wedding day and they should be happier than ever. They are on their way to their reception which will be a memorable event if for all the wrong reasons. Those present at the reception include Justine's sister Claire, their estranged parents Gaby and Dexter. Claire's husband John, who is the owner of the massive estate that the event is being held at, Jack, who is Justine's boss and who is attending predominately in order to get an advertising tagline from her and the wedding planner, who all but shuns Justine once things take a turn for the worst. It becomes abundantly clear over the course of the evening that this is a broken family, full of resentment, possibly some insanity and in Justine's case depression. This is possibly the first depiction on film of every bride's worst nightmare when it comes to the reception.

The second half of the film focuses its attention to Claire, now caring for Justine who has become crippled by her depression, both physically and emotionally. Claire is suffering from paranoia, this is a result of the discovery of a new planet that has been hiding behind the sun and that is now in a probable collision course with the Earth.

What the film lacks in exposition it certainly makes up for in style and performance.  All of the cast are impressive, with Kirsten Dunst throwing the full weight of her own personal bout with depression into her character, but it is the visual aspects of the film that steal the show.  Von Trier uses some amazing cinematography and some superb use of CGI to enhance his backdrops, however all if this still isn't enough to save the film from being a slow, sometimes dull and often overly melodramatic piece.