Movie: Oldboy (2013)

Oldboy 
Action, Drama, Mystery

I've had this movie sitting around for a while now, something about the preview made me not too keen to watch it right away. Wow it was amazing, I can't stop thinking about it!

This Spike Lee (Malcolm X) remake from the hugely popular 2003 Korean movie of the same name starts off pretty average. Joe (Josh Brolin) is an ignorant drunk until one morning he wakes up from a bender to find he's been kidnapped and held prisoner with no explanation. His only company is a small television set from which he discovers that he's been framed for the murder of his ex-wife. After being held captive for 20 years with no visitors, he is suddenly and mysteriously let go. He has only a few days to figure out who captured him and held him for 20 years and why, or they will kill his daughter.

I really, really want to give away the twist that made this movie so awesome...but that would spoil it. Go and watch it, it's totally worth it. One of the most underrated films I've watched lately. Also, Elizabeth Olsen's (younger sister to the Olsen twins) boobs and Samuel L. Jackson as a bad guy! Special mentions to Lance Reddick (Fringe, Lost) and Michael Imperioli (Sopranos, Californication).

4 out of 5 twists...

TV: Agents of SHIELD SE1 EP6

Agents of SHIELD
Action, Drama, Sci Fi

I'm hearing along the grapevine (aka the internet) that I am not the only one disappointed in this show. They made this huge deal about it; this great new sci fi spin off of The Avengers. Sounds good on paper, what could go wrong? You would think with the combined genius of Joss Whedon (Buffy, The Cabin In The Woods) and his brother Jed Whedon (Dollhouse) together with the amazing world of Marvel with access to god knows how many actual superheroes would give us a freaking awesome show!... but no, not quite. The potential is there but it seems like they're falling short.

I was excited to see Cobie Smulders in the first ep, but not too excited because I had heard she wasn't a permanent fixture to the show. Maybe she will join after How I Met Your Mother finishes later this year? Then there was that two minute cameo by Samuel L Jackson (Django Unchained, Pulp Fiction) which was pretty cool. On the superhero side of things there was J. August Richards (Angel) with his climbing/jumping stuff (woo) and then Scorch (Louis Ozawa Changchien). Now we have Asgardian artifacts which has potential too...

Even with all this potential and the occasional minor super power, Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) and his pretty stereotypical team seem to be just another glorified black ops group. Even though they keep mentioning the portal opening in New York and gods, aliens and people with powers, they just don't seem to play a major role in the show. I was kind of hoping for a Dark Angel or Dollhouse kind of thing. There is the mystery surrounding Coulson's death... 

I will give it a season and see how it plays out, but honestly, I expected more... is it just because I haven't read any of the comics?

2 out of 5 crappy superheroes...

Movie: Django Unchained (2012)

Django Unchained (2012)
Action, Drama, Western

I was so excited when I saw this movie coming, I was even more excited to find out it came out a month earlier in America than it does here at home in Australia. I'm a massive fan of Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill) and so this was just an automatic must see for me. I showed my husband a preview (I have to say they don't really show you much or give you a good idea of what the movie is actually like) and read him an article and suddenly he wanted to see it as much as I did. Hurrah!

So New Years Day when we were severely hungover in New York, we walked to one of the theatres in Times Square and lined up to see Tarantino's latest blood 'n' guts film... and wow! I can't remember the last time a film made me think so much, made me laugh out loud and cringe at the same time. I've also never been to the movies with such an expressive audience; there were gasps, cheers and uncomfortably tense moments from the crowd and a round of applause at the end.

As always in a Tarantino flick the cast is amazing! Jamie Foxx (Ray, Law Abiding Citizen) is the lead as Django, a black slave freed from his captives by the German bounty hunter / dentist Dr. King Shultz played by Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds, Water For Elephants) who was absolutely amazing and just won a Golden Globe for this performance. Django and Shultz make a deal, Django helps Shultz to find his latest bounty and in return they go together to rescue Django's wife Broomhilda - played by Kerry Washington (Ray, Fantastic Four) - who has been sold to the powerful plantation owner, Calvin Candie, amazingly portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception, Blood Diamond).

You would think all those names would be enough but no, there's more! Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, The Avengers) brilliantly plays Candie's head of house Stephen. Cameos by James Remar (Dexter), Walton Goggins (The Shield), Jonah Hill (Superbad) and of course, Tarantino himself always makes an appearance, this time as an Aussie...with a terrible accent...

Being a Tarantino of course it's rife with violent blood splatter, shocking scenes of murder and disfigurement and foul language. It focuses a lot on the issue of black slavery but it does it so... normally. It felt like of course that's the way they should be treated and according to this article written on SmithsonianMag.com by African American History and Culture Director, Lonnie Bunch, it's pretty damn close to reality. Shame on us!

Absolutely brilliant movie! Everything I have come to expect and love about Tarantino. Will have to go buy this on DVD when it's out, am recommending it to everyone I know with the warning that some parts may just turn your stomach. Out in Australia on the 24th of this month, go see it!

5 out of 5 'N' Words...

[Bonus] 

Samuel L Jackson insists the reporter say the N word before he will answer the question. 

*snickers*