It is very rare for me to see a movie the year it was released. But such is the case with Battle: Los Angeles. I did not go to theaters to see it, although I wanted to; but now that it’s out on DVD I rented it. This was despite reviews I had read, most of which were pretty negative. Battle: LA was heavily blasted for being nothing more than some flashy glitz on top a ton of war-movie cliches.
Which is entirely accurate, but so what?
Kokuhaku (Lit. ‘Confessions’) is a Japanese psychotic-thriller released in 2010 and directed by Tetsuya Nakashima, who may be known to those outside of Japan as the director of Kamikaze Girls. The beginning of Confessions is misleading with regard to its nature; it is not drawn out nearly as long as Audition, but the viewer will have to sit through a seemingly unimportant speech by a junior high teacher to her students before realizing that he is in for a wild and jarring experience.
BECK is a live-action film based—and I use that loosely—off the anime BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad and its manga predecessor of the same name. The anime, released in 2004, is one of my favorites; it is an entertaining slice-of-life tale about a teenager trying to figure out his place in the world through music. It has good drama, funny humor, and a genuinely interesting story. With awesome music, of course.
The live-action film, released in 2010, is like how I imagine the anime would be if you gave all the artists cerebral palsy and lobotomized the cast. I suggest praying to whatever higher power you believe in for the strength and resolve to sit through this hundred and forty minute cluster-fuck. The downside, however, is that if you endure the entire film you may find yourself unable to believe in anything good anymore.
I’m usually behind on movies, not being a big movie-goer, so I only recently saw The Road and The Book of Eli, released in 2009 and 2010 respectively. I’ve decided to review them together for a few reasons.
They both deal with life in post-apocalyptic America.
Neither really makes clear what caused the apocalypse.
Both films address the subject in pretty different ways.
Cannibalism is an issue in both.
Senna is a documentary from 2010 covering the racing career of Formula One driver Aryton Senna. Most F1 fans are familiar with the Brazilian three-time World Champion, even those like myself whose interest in the sport came after his death during the 1994 San Marino Gran Prix. Considering the subject, you may think that this is a film that would appeal only to racing fans. But I suspect anyone could sit down and enjoy this movie, without any knowledge of Formula One, if only because of its wonderful construction.
Tags: f1
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