The King of Kong

What an awesome documentary!

I saw this off the back of Man vs Snake (which I watched yesterday) and it was great to see some of the familiar characters popping up again.

All in all, this was a better documentary than Man vs Snake, mainly because of the conflict between those involved, and the style of the storytelling. I feel like a sucker, because I thought Billy Mitchell was an alright guy after seeing the other film first. Now I see him for the kind of person he really is. I just couldn't help feel sorry for Steve Wiebe, and it was painful to see how that weird little clique treated him.  Makes you wonder how many other high scorers get shut out of their dumb little club.

Was good to see the weirdo guru man again. I got the feeling he's not such a bad guy – possibly just a bit of a pushover.

I won't spoil the ending by saying what happens. 8/10

Homo Sapiens

Hmmm...

What to say about this one? Not as much watching paint dry as watching paint crumble from the walls and decay to dust.

The concept of the film was footage of abandoned parts of the world where humans no longer dwelt. I was excited to see this because not only am I into photography, but I also love looking at haikyo photos. Haikyo is a term used amongst photographers which refers to photos taken inside abandoned buildings. The word comes from the Japanese word for "ruins".

It wasn't bad, exactly, and there were some parts of it I really enjoyed (like the frogs, the birds, and the bits on Gunkanjima in Japan) but overall I felt like the film was badly edited. Why did it dwell an equal amount of time on every single shot? Why did it fade to black so often? I felt like the film itself could have been cut down, shaving off time in some sections, and lengthening time spent in others. That was my major problem with it - the editing.

Some of the shots could've been better composed as well. Cutting off the tops of trees and things like that really frustrates me.

Great concept though. 5/10

Man vs Snake

After watching Indie Game: Life After I felt in the mood for another documentary about video games. This one did not disappoint.

I thought the overall message of the film was great: never give up on your ambitions, even if you have to fail many times before succeeding. (And be aware that success may never come).

I loved the weirdo guru dude who used to run the arcade. What a character. Sometimes these documentaries throw out funnier characters than fiction. 8/10

Indie Game: Life After

I enjoyed the original film a lot, so I thought it worth checking this out. I'm glad I did, because there was some interesting additional stuff in this (although I wouldn't recommend watching this unless you've seen the actual film)*

I'm fascinated by these people and their approaches to creativity and hard work. I seriously think they should be recognised more for what they do – they are artists in every sense of the word.

So much in here that you can take away and apply to anything in life you are passionate about. 7/10

*And if you didn't like the actual film, don't bother watching this.

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

Meh.

I found this documentary kind of slow and dull. I suppose it did show some of the drudgery that goes on behind the scenes of a very colourful and exciting medium.

However, I really was expecting Miyazaki to be a little bit more likeable and insightful than he actually is (in this film, at least).

I think it would've been time better spent just watching a Ghibli film instead.  6/10

The One I Love

Yeah, I enjoyed this film.

It wasn't amazing, but the concept was clever, and it managed to keep my attention despite my watching it when my brain felt like mush. Ted Danson was in it for a tiny role, and apparently it was filmed at his house. I kept thinking of his character in Curb Your Enthusiasm.

The premise was deeply disturbing. Definitely not a feel good happy couple gooey gooey love each other type of affair.

Maybe watch it by yourself, if you're in a relationship? 7/10

Foxcatcher

This film was crazy.

Apparently the real du Pont was even crazier in real life, and they had to tone it down a bit for the film. Imagine that!

I loved this film. I feel bad because I read a spoiler midway through the film, because I mistakenly took my phone out to try to figure out what the hell this film was about – I regret doing so. Still, it didn't ruin the film completely.

I thought Steve Carrell was amazing in this. I'd never seen him do something so serious and creepy, and now I have a massive amount of respect for him for being able to portray such an intriguingly creepy character. The true story of events is disturbing, and I can't believe how many of these rich kids end up doing horrible things like this. I just don't understand it.

Great film though. 8/10

Goodfellas (Re-watch)

As far back as I can remember I always wanted to review this film.

But how can I write a review that comes even as close to how perfect it is?

I could watch it over and over again. This time I got to watch it at the cinema.

"KAREN?! Why did you do that Karen?!" 10/10

12 Angry Men (Re-watch)

Gosh. What a classic.

I'm not sure how many times I've seen this film, and I'm sure I'll be watching it again at some point. I mainly watched it this time because my viewing partner hadn't seen it, so I sort of insisted we watch it.

The first thing pointed out to me was that there are no women on the jury. And that's a shame really. I suppose it's a product of its time, but it would make for a far more interesting and diverse film if it wasn't just a jury of white men.

That being said, I still think it's an incredible film. I love how there are all these pointless little back stories and dialogues, but how the film always feels fluid and thoroughly character-driven. I've always liked Henry Fonda's character in this film, and I consider him to be the kind of man I want to be: someone not swept away by the crowd. Someone willing to question everything, even the tiniest detail, if it means moving closer to the truth.

I was just reading that (as of 2012) all of the 12 men are dead now. I hope they knew they all achieved something great by starring in this film. 9/10

Picnic at Hanging Rock

This was a very good film. Well shot (beautiful for its time), atmospheric, intriguing. The characters were great – the horrible headteacher, the creepy English dude, the poor orphan girl, the salt-of-the-earth Aussie lad. I really enjoyed the music and the film editing. Great work.

I still can't work out what the hell happened up there on that rock. 8/10