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The Battle of Algiers (1966)
The Battle of Algiers (1966)
1966 | Classics, Drama, War
7.4 (8 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"The notion of making a fiction — meaning you look at it and you think it’s all documentary footage, but it’s all shot. And the reality factor of that is something that makes you able to escape into the film; the fabric of that fiction is so believable and completely knitted together that you buy the proposition of the film — even when you see people getting shot and there’s no blood coming out of their bodies or whatever. There’s something about shooting something [in black and white] — and I’m talking about two movies that are in black and white, we should say, except for the part [in Andrei Rublev] where they show the color of the fresco of the Russian icons. I really like movies that are in black and white, because you feel like you are watching a movie. We associate it with things that were filmed at that time, that would have been filmed in black and white. So there are different concessions and commitments to make to a limited palette for a reason. When I make a movie like Miral, there’s a kind of reversal stock that I’m using outside and sometimes it really feels like Technicolor, like a movie like Exodus, and there are other moments when it’s rougher and it feels like The Bad Lieutenant, or something like that."

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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) in Movies

Nov 30, 2020 (Updated Nov 30, 2020)  
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
1987 | Comedy
Steve Martin (1 more)
John Candy
Nothing (0 more)
Overcome The Insanity
Planes, Trains and Automoblies- is a classic thanksgiving movie. Its a tradition to watch it ever thanksgiving or around thanksgiving. Its also a tradition to watch "Addams Family Values", ever thanksgiving or around thanksgiving. Anyways this movie is excellent and the chemistry between Steve Martin and John Candy is excellent.

The plot: Easily excitable Neal Page (Steve Martin) is somewhat of a control freak. Trying to get home to Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with his wife (Laila Robins) and kids, his flight is rerouted to a distant city in Kansas because of a freak snowstorm, and his sanity begins to fray. Worse yet, he is forced to bunk up with talkative Del Griffith (John Candy), whom he finds extremely annoying. Together they must overcome the insanity of holiday travel to reach their intended destination.

Their is a great documentary on youtube, about this movie. How oringally it was surpost to be 3 hours long and their cut a hour to be 2hrs than finally cut 30 more minutes to be 1h 30mins. So half of the oringal movie got cut. So how than this movie is so perfect than? Well its because its funny, dramatic, and above all excellent. I will post the video.

Its a excellent thanksgiving film.

Heres the video:

  
What We Do In The Shadows (2014)
What We Do In The Shadows (2014)
2014 | Comedy, Horror
I don't think I ever really knew what this was before seeing it, but then I genuinely think it would be difficult to conceive this in your brain accurately from the description.

Viago, Deacon, Vladislav and Petyr live together in Wellington, New Zealand. There's nothing too odd about a group of men living together, they do all the usual things, argue over the chores, have guests for dinner, clean blood out of their new second-hand clothing... oh right, yes, and they're vampires. Life is fine until Nick comes into their lives. He's young and hip and starts to show them what the modern world has to offer. We watch the story of these ordinary vampires as their night to night lives unfold.

The documentary style is always an interesting idea, it's not even something that actual documentaries get right all the time so a fictionalised version was intriguing and they really staked it through the heart with this one. We cut between interview and footage styles and it really does help to give you that real-life documentary feel as well as a sense of each individual character. The addition of historical photographs and illustrations was a fun way to get bits of their backstory and I thought they were created really well.

There is a brilliant casual nature about all the acting and being able to just be yourself means it does all feel a lot more real. While I like all the characters my favourite is definitely Viago played by Taika Waititi. There's a wonderful innocence to him and a kind nature that is really at odds with the whole vampire thing. He's keen for everyone to get along and he's got a very positive outlook on death. Waititi gives Viago that bouncy energy that always makes me smile, so many of his moments genuinely made me smile.

Everyone brings that bit of supernatural fun, the rivalry with the werewolves, meeting with other vampires on the street, and the vampire "tricks" that lead to one of my favourite pieces in the whole film... the police officers. Their reactions to everything were priceless.

I've watched it a few times recently and honestly, each watch is just as entertaining as the first. It might not have the high production values of other films but it really has a wonderful presence. There are some days when you need this sort of amusement (with a tiny bit of devastation thrown in), this is the antidote to so many of the world's troubles.


If you haven't already done so then check out these episodes of At The Flicks (Mega Shark In Lockdown) and MovieDrone (Episode 91) where I talking with all your favourite movie men about What We Do In The Shadows.

Originally posted on: https://emmaatthemovies.blogspot.com/2020/06/what-we-do-in-shadows-movie-review.html
  
The Trip To Spain  (2017)
The Trip To Spain (2017)
2017 | Comedy, Drama
Moore should be less.
“The Trip to Spain” is the third in the series of ‘culinery travelogue’ TV programmes by Steve Coogan (“Philomena“) and Rob Brydon (“Gavin and Stacey”). The pair travel by car through Spain sampling the local delicacies while constantly trying to self-salve their fragile egos and trying to out-do each other with comedy spiel. This is of course not a “documentary” as such, since the pair are playing up to their extreme alter-egos (presumably!) of what people expect them to be like. Actors playing their family, agents, etc. call them at various points on the trip to either pour oil on troubled waters or (more often) add fuel to the fire.


All ashore. The guys arrive in Santander.
The six original half hour TV episodes have been edited down into a feature length journey. And this is part of the problem. Repetition that can be forgiven and forgotten about when you see an episode every week, but can become tiresome when forced on you as a continuous stream.


Brydon drinks; Coogan doesn’t; both impersonate.
In this case the repetitive content delivered by Coogan and Brydon are their (normally very good) impersonations of famous stars (most of which it has to be said are British so won’t resonate with a non-UK audience). Roger Moore in particular gets trotted out INTERMINABLY and while some of it is extremely funny – an exchange between Moore as Bond and Scaramanga had me snorting tea out of my nose – it all gets too much by the end.


Coogan in mid-Jagger.
Appearing to recognise this need for more variety, additional characters from Steve’s team join them for a part of their trip – Emma (Clare Keelan) and Yolanda (Marta Barrio). Unfortunately, the additions are just plain dull: they just sit alongside Coogan and Brydon and laugh at their impressions, adding nothing. Now if they had been a couple of good female impersonators, like Ronni Ancona and Jan Ravens, that could act as a foil to the male duo, THAT would have been entertaining.


Coogan and Brydon strides the local streets.
The film also suffers from “Top Gear Challenge” disease. The problem with filming a car journey through Spain is that you know there are not twenty film crews deployed along the route to do the filming…. all of the cameras are carefully set up in advance with someone on a walkie-talkie saying “OK, Steve – coffee down, we’re ready for you to drive over the hill now”. So something that should feel natural and documentary-like feels 100% the opposite.


Tilting at windmills. Brydon and Coogan as Sancho Panza and Don Quixote.
So… if you like Coogan and Brydon, and especially if you liked their Northern England and Italy “trips”, then you will get more laughs out of this one. But I think the concoction needs to be put through the blender and re-heated before it comes out for a fourth outing.
  
Casting JonBenet (2017)
Casting JonBenet (2017)
2017 | Crime, Documentary
Beautifully shot but no way as good as other true crime documentaries
Netflix is an absolute master when it comes to true crime documentaries. However, unlike Making a Murderer and The Keepers, this is a standalone film and it does not explore the crime in detail. As a result it falls short in comparison to the others.

The film is about the notorious 1996 case of a six year old beauty pageant participant, JonBenet Ramsey, who was found dead in her own house even though her family said she had been kidnapped.

One of the most important things about this documentary in particular is the fact that it is completely in the perspective of random people who have no connection really with the crime itself. Instead by creating a fake film about this true crime, they reveal the actors' own perceptions and prejudices against the case and against the people involved.

It is also vital to notice while the other documentaries were created to raise awareness and educate the public about levels of corruption in society and institutions - this seemingly does nothing but instead actually is a bit of a mockery towards the young victim of this crime. The actors throw out wild theories instead, and so you know little about what actually happened.

On the upside it is shot absolutely beautifully, so it looks like an art film. A bit disappointing really.