This week we've been a bit lax on the whole film front. Between us we've only seen about 8 films, which as you know is probably less than we'd both watch individually on a normal week. The reason for this dip is once more, a furry one. Namely our new puppy, Hugo Melies Oliver. Y'see as well as Joe needing to deal with him this week Sam was home for a few days as well so his life was taken up by an adorable ball of puppy based cuteness. Therefore accept this formal apology for what has been a sparse week.
Sam's Week
The Cannonball Run (1981)
Seeing Jackie Chan kick Peter Fonda in the head made this film so massively worthwhile if only that had happened I would've been happy. BUT THERE WAS SO MUCH MORE. Roger Moore playing a man who thought he was James Bond, Burt Reynolds continually slapping a fat man in a cape, Dean Martin as a womanizing priest and Sammy Davis Jnr looking really cool in a sweet priest hat. Silly, Stupid but unnecessarily good fun. Smashing. 4 Stars.
Drive (2011)
I genuinely cannot see or even fathom this film getting worse. Second time round, if anything, i enjoyed it more than when I first saw it. So much did I enjoy it I even started thinking about whether it should've been crowned my favourite film of last year. Achingly, impossibly cool and with a sublime performance from Ryan Gosling. Also Carey Mulligan is so pretty it makes my brain hurt. 4.5 Stars.
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
When Harry Met Sally is one of those films that, before even seeing it, I was painfully aware of. The Orgasm Diner being the biggest "I'll have what she's having." But I was so massively surprised by how fresh, funny and exciting it all was. A lovely lovely film, very well performed, written and most importantly it managed to pull off that most excellent of Rom Com tricks, it was in no way too saccharine, cheesy or dully unbelievable. Also Leila was in it. 4.5 Stars.
Michael (2011)
MINI BROTHERLY DISPUTE
Joe Says: It's a film about a paedophile with a kid in his basement but sadly that's as far as it goes. The tension they build is constantly expended at the wrong moments and it never feels comfortable with letting nothing happen and just letting us observe a day in the life. The characters don't really display too much of an interesting arc either being passably decent or just obvious stereotypes. It's not low key enough to be subtlety riveting but not explosive enough to be a mainstream passing fancy. More ITV drama than Arthouse intrigue. 3 stars.
Sam Says: I really enjoyed the odd pacing of the film and the way in which it dealt with such a contentious issue is such a, for want of a better word, boring way. Not that I am, or sympathize with, a paedophile with a kid in his basement I enjoyed and believed in the way it was handled. a very interest study in a quest for normalcy in the most abnormal of circumstances. 4 Stars.
Martha Marcy May Marlene (2011)
This: http://brotherscinemazov.blogspot.com/2012/02/review-martha-marcy-may-marlene.html It's pretty wicked, also the more time that has elapsed since seeing it, the more i like it. 4 Stars and rising.
Joe's Week
The Conversation
The way that the film keeps returning to the titular conversation continually displayed the awesome sound editing and the great editing in general but what I really liked about this film was how it was gradually revealed that it was a Hitchcock style thriller that was in some ways actually deserving of that all too often damning attribute. 4 stars.
Kung-Fu Panda 2
I thought the first Panda movie was okay but nothing more than your average Dreamworks fare. This sequel doesn't do much to deviate from that same description but it does look and sound awesome and in general is a heck load of fun. There is also a classic joke about radishes. 3 stars.
Beginners
From the director of Thumbsucker comes a similar indie rom com about cancer, dogs and beginnings. It's sweet and sad and wonderfully cute. The problem lies in the moments where the film thinks it's being far smarter and artistic than it really is (the history of sadness being the main culprit). However if you were to remove those moments it would have to ditch the indie part almost entirely and just be comedy. My fascination with gay culture and attitudes continues. 4 Stars.
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