What Maisie Knew (2012) Scott Mc Gehee, David Siegal (reviewed by Jason Presents)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1932767/?ref_=nv_sr_1

A modern day Kramer Vs. Kramer if you will. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie. You will do well to hate two parents more in another movie, but that's a tribute to how well acted it was by Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan; however both of these are overshadowed by one of the best child performances I've ever seen from Onata Aprile. I thought it was beautifully shot and edited, and the disparity between bright colors and off key soundtrack stylistically complements the confusion the child finds herself in.  Aindriu and Mary both gave this 7, a perfectly acceptable score, Gerard 4.5 and Ross 5, two terribly unjustified scores if you ask me, mine may be a little high but I'll go with it nonetheless...

JFK: 3 Shots That Changed America [2009] Dir: Nicole Rittenmeyer

I had never heard of this two part documentary until a couple of days ago. It's composed entirely of old archive and news footage, as well as some pieces of audio. It's brilliant, and completely fascinating from start to finish. 

There's a lot of footage I had never seen before; some great stuff from New York City on the day of the assassination, a piece with Abraham Zapruder on television and also some stuff with Oswald in prison and Lyndon Johnson on the phone to J. Edgar Hoover. 

It doesn't take any sides in the story, it just presents it as it was filmed or captured originally and is edited together perfectly. It's almost three hours long, spanning from 1963 to modern day, but is a must watch if you're interested in the subject matter.

Rope (1948) Alfred Hitchcock (reviewed by Jason Presents)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040746/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Definitely one of Hitchcock's better movies and  very well adapted from the stage. You can see the post World War II thinking shine throughout as the world was still struggling to come to terms with the ideals of Nazi Germany. Rather than a battle between nations the battle is one of warped idealism fought out in an everyday setting. Recommended. 

Easy Rider: The Ride Back (Trailer)

Jaysus...

Clear History (TV Movie 2013) Greg Mottola (reviewed by Jason Presents)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2279864/?ref_=nv_sr_1

I love Curb Your Enthusiasm and this movie is definitely the same type of humor but never really reaches the great heights of Curb, there are some very funny moments in it but a very large proportion of the plot is preposterous. Everyone is willing to accept a handful of unreality within the comedy genre but there was just a little bit too much to stomach here unfortunately. It's not a terrible movie, just not as great as it could have been...

Scryed (TV Series 2001) Goro Tanaguchi (reviewed by Jason Presents)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0307427/?ref_=tt_ov_inf

A really great 26 episode anime. Starts off mundane enough but really picks up the pace, fleshing out all the characters but not so much the world they inhabit. By episode 20 it reaches 'Full Metal' proportions of epicness but the problem is there is only 26 episodes whereas FMB has 64; in saying that though the end to the series is pretty much perfect. Recommended for anime fans.  

Shadow Of A Doubt (1943) Alfred Hitchcock (reviewed by Jason Presents)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036342/

What an absolute pile of shite, how it's rated so highly is beyond me, it was actually worse than 'Saboteur'! Horrible whiny kids, horrible 40's acting, terrible editing and a boring predictable plot. What the fuck Hitchcock? 

Noah (Trailer)

Darren Aronofsky. I really like/love all of his films (including The Fountain) but this looks a bit meh...

Berberian Sound Studio (2012) (reviewed by Jason Presents)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1833844/

I thoroughly enjoyed this. I felt it was well accomplished in uniqueness but at the same time did a wonderful job of paying homage to classic Italian horror cinema while at the same time incorporating elements of David Lynch. The sound and cinematography are superb and yet at the same time pay great homage to the style of the genre. I will state however that if you are not familiar with Italian horror cinema or the art of ADR in cinema you may not get as much out of this movie as you could. Recommended.

GRAVITY(SPOILER'S)

A visual feast,beautifully shot and the best use of 3D,i can imagine.The film Has that wow factor,i caught
myself wondering how they accomplished some of those awe inspiring shots which  flow together so perfectly.But their are some fundamental flaw's with the film,firstly the story is none existent,space ship breaks character's go to A to B to C to EARTH.
Secondly the character's are trite clichés,George clooney as an impossibly optimistic and irritating space cowboy,Guiding the unrelentingly whiny and dull sandra bullock through space.which leads to my  next point,the film veer's wildly in tone the first twenty minutes seem grounded in reality at least in my understanding of space,once the set pieces start we're trust into a micheal bay style over the top reality.character's zip around using a fire extinguisher,catching each other and bouncing off satellites,this took me out of the movie.finally the metaphor's are almost unbelievable heavy handed(the best example is probably the fetal shot or the zero G tear's),which is a good example of what is wrong overall, the film was made to appeal to the broadest possible audience,In my mind this does not work.
                                                                           6/10

The Irish Pub [2013] Dir: Alex Fegan

I watched this last night after missing it in the Eye a few weeks ago. It's a decent documentary, not sure if it was cinema worthy though. 

Filmed in an observational style, it takes a look at the goings on in various pubs around the country, featuring interviews with the landlords and some of their frequent customers. It's very funny at times with some good stories and quotes thrown in by the contributors. Worth a look.

Mark Kermode makes an announcement

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/markkermode/posts/An-Announcement

Gravity [2013] Dir: Alfonso Cuarón

I was completely immersed for the entirety of the film. Wonderful cinema. 

See it in 3D.

That's all I'll say for now until others have watched it.

 

Autoreiji Biyondo (2012) Takeshi Kitano (reviewed by Jason Presents)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1724962/?ref_=nv_sr_2

I enjoyed this as I enjoy most Asian cinema! However as Yakuza movies go it doesn't really do anything overly special. The first movie is slightly better, but its much of a muchness. The movie also lacked some of the humor and better shots of the first one. Still a decent flick though... 

Frances Ha [2013] Dir: Noah Baumbach

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. The trailer had put me off going to see it at the Fleadh in July. 

Noah Baumbach directs and co-writes. He also directed 'The Squid and the Whale', 'Margot at the Wedding' and 'Greenberg', which were all decent as well. He's also worked on a few Wes Anderson films. Greta Gerwig is pretty good in the title role. I think a lot of people might find her annoying though, and the film as well because of her. I had some problems with her character, like how she complains of being broke and lost in life but still manages to afford to live in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

There isn't a great deal of plot to discuss with it really. It's nicely filmed, in black and white, and there's some good songs on the soundtrack as well. It's certainly not an essential watch but if you've checked out the previous films from Baumbach then you may as well see this one too.

Ecstasy Of Order: The Tetris Masters (2011) Adam Cornelius (reviewed by Jason Presents)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1836974/?ref_=nv_sr_6

Pretty good documentary focusing in on the best Tetris players the world (or at least America anyways) has to offer, going into detailed nuances about the game that most would not be generally aware of. It doesn't have the flare or narrative of 'The King Of Kong' but it's still good overall.

Die Abenteuer Des Prinzen Achmed (1926) Lotte Reiniger (reviewed by Jason Presents)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015532/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

The first animated feature I'm pretty sure, utilizing the silhouette technique, the film is deservedly part of the avant garde, and a technical marvel for its day. The animation is quite eerie but still holds up to modern viewing which is impressive, given that the movie is just shy of 90 years old.