I am officially psyched for two new movies. For those of you who missed the recommendation by Mark, check out the trailer for Pan’s Labyrinth. Mmmm, deliciously fantastic eye candy from the brilliant Guillermo del Toro. Hellboy was an awesome film, but if you want to know why I’m really excited, check out The Devil’s Backbone – a film that more than lived up to the expectations set forth by it’s wonderful trailer. If anyone is interested in the films, let me know – maybe we can watch the latter at my place and then got see the former when it hits theaters.
Unfortunately, the second film will not be out until the spring. But one viewing of the trailer for 300 should tell you all you need to know about why I am chomping at the bit. It seems like studios might be wisely keeping their hands off of Frank Miller adaptations and letting directors have full creative control, having learned from the success of Sin City that such masterpieces should not be toned down.
I never got around to recommending some of my latest Netflix rentals since we started the subscription back up. Brick was a movie I couldn’t wait to see once I caught the trailer on another rental and… wow… did it impress. It’s a stylish film noir piece set (of all places) in the confines of a wealthy high school. The dialogue blew me away and left me drooling in envy of the writer – I actually stopped the film about 10-15 minutes in to tell Lisa just how amazing the film already was.
That was almost topped by another film who’s trailer grabbed me right away: Everything is Illuminated. The directorial debut of one of my favorite underrated-supporting-actor-types (Liev Schreiber), Lisa and I were both mesmerized by this coming-to-grips-with-my-Jewish-past film that managed to subtlety dance from a quirky fish-out-of-water story to a very somber tale of broken pasts. The biggest surprise of the film would be the stellar performance of Eugene Hutz, lead singer of Gogol Bordello (the great gypsy punk band).
Oh, V for Vendetta also rocked most majestically.