Movies for 2011 - Part 4

[dalekboy]

2nd February
Ghost in the Shell

3rd February
The Man Who Laughs

4th February
Hulk

5th February
The Thief of Bagdad
The Satanic Rites of Dracula

7th February
Harvey

9th February
King Kong
The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires

Write-ups below the cut...



Ghost in the Shell was good. Some lovely animation and an interesting story. And while I'm not bothered by nudity, I think it could have used a little less.

The Man Who Laughs was a great film, though I think the last 20 minutes drags a bit. So many people don't like silent films, but ones like this show there's a good reason to check them out. The fact that halfway through I was near moved to tears by the love between Gwynplaine and Dea says a lot, especially since Dea came across as a bit wet earlier (though it can be argued that she was reasonably in character for a woman from that time period).

I actually really like Hulk. There's a depth to the characters I find appealing. That said, Ang Lee's attempt to give it comic book look is interesting but ultimately distracting, and not as good or effective as Danger: Diabolik. And the ending is a bit balls.

The Thief of Bagdad is fun. Slow-paced but with some lovely fantasy ideas. Lex seemed to really enjoy it, too.

Satanic Rites of Dracula is a radically different Dracula film. It starts with a Satanic ritual, and the investigations of some sort of top secret government organisation, and follows these ideas through rather well. It has some flaws, but overall I quite enjoyed it, and I can't help but appreciate how very far ahead of its time the plot was.

Harvey varies between being an in-your-face comedy, and a more gentle humourous character study. I remembered it as being good, but it was way better than I remembered.

I always get a little teary towards the end of the original King Kong. I think it has a tragic and sad ending, even now. However having my two-and-a-half year old saying "poor Kong" over and over again during the Empire State Building sequence had me really weepy.

The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires is the last of Hammer's Dracula cycle of films, and being a co-production it literally combines Hammer Horror sensibilities, with Shaw Brothers martial arts. It does this way better than it should have managed, and though it's not a brilliant film, it's okay.

Comments

[meljane.livejournal.com]

I watch Harvey when it was near the tail end on tv and was weirded out by it until Ken explained what it was about , still weird but coolish .