Moofies - Synechdoche, A Film With Moran in it, Dying Breed, Valkyrie

Moofie rant time.

I went to see Synechdoche, New York on my own on a Saturday morning in a tiny little cinema. It was fantastic. Then two days later I went to see it again on a Monday night with my brother. It was great to see it twice in close succession. I think I picked up a few more things the second time around because it was all still fresh in my mind.



Anyhow, this is Charlie Kaufman's first time writing AND directing. I really, really dig his earlier films, especially Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I hope that Kaufman and Michel Gondry work together again at some point. There was just something perfect about that film for me. ANYWAY, Synechdoche's plot, I finally picked up on the second viewing (spoilers) is that the main character is dead and spends the film in a "kind of anti stasis". It starts of almost normal, with Philip Seymour Hoffman playing a playwright who has a wife and kid. There are strange cartoons on the television, lots and lots of wordplay and mishearing of words, until the scene that clinched the strangeness factor for me. Samantha Morton is looking at a house to buy with a real estate agent. It is perpetually on fire. I'm still not quite sure what that's about, (although I dig it and it's funny for some reason) but there are other not so cryptic aspects to this film that are done perfectly.

One of the actors that Hoffman uses in his plays, Tom I think his name was, is forever conscious about the way he acts. He's always checking with Hoffman about how he did and that kind of thing. Anyway, Hoffman (called Caden Cotard, but whatever. It's Philip Seymoour Hoffman) gets an arts grant to do some major work, so he hires out this huge warehouse and creates a replica of New York inside, hiring actors to play citizens, to play his wife and friends, and eventually to play himself. Anyhow, within these huge walls the play goes on and at one point Hoffman sees Tom walking. He tells him that he should stop trying to walk and just walk. Tom tries it three times and each time he can't just simply "be". He's extremely self-conscious and I thought that was done really well.

There is a lot about life and the way people communicate with each other in there. There is some really horrific stuff too, like the relationship (or lack of one) that Hoffman has with his daughter.

Anyway, this is a film that could have been too wanky, but I think there's enough humour and honesty to pull it off. I totally love it and look forward to re-watching it many times. It's lovely and interesting in all the right ways. It also has an amazing cast. Seriously, click here and check it out. If I was making a movie I would totally want all these people in it.

Okay, NEXT!

Dylan Moran is the king, so choosing to go and see this film was a no brainer.



Mark Doherty, playing Mark, lives with his girlfriend, his brother, and his dog. His bum mate Dylan Moran live upstairs. It's a dive of a place that's falling apart. Basically, the whole thing is like a classic comedy set up. It sort of reminded me of Death at a Funeral, the way it's a black comedy with a set up and then a pay off. The difference is that this was way darker and made me laugh more. Also, the characters were really likeable. Mark seems like this average guy who's just trying to do the right thing, and it's likeable. Also, Mark Doherty wrote the script, and he's talking about writing a script in the film, so there's this whole double layer thing going on. It's not going to change your life or anything, but it's a totally likeable film. Sure, the situation is absolutely ridiculous, but the characters are likeable enough that I didn't really care.

Now to some Aussie horror.



Nathan Phillips and Leigh Whannel are on their way to becoming Aussie horror icons I think. If they keep acting in films like this then it will happen. They totally should. There's something different about horror set in Australia. It just has the unique landscape that other films of this genre don't. Dying Breed looked like it might be just another Texas Chainsaw rip off, but it was different enough to warrant making I think. It could even become another series if it really wanted to. Basically some kids go to a tiny community in Tasmania looking for the Tasmanian devil and they find crazy rednecks descended from convicts. There's a nice slow build and it all goes extremely brutal by the end of the film. I think it's at least on par with the recent American horror films that have come out recently like My Bloody Valentine and Friday the 13th (13 or whatever it is). Probably a little more brutal and a little less fun, but I enjoyed it.

Last of all, Valkyrie.




Bill Nighy has a HUGE role in this film, along with a whole bunch of other awesome British actors, so you should see it. It starts off a little slow and serious, but by the end of it we have a basic action suspense thing going on with a bunch of awesome actors. Even having Tom Cruise in this was fine. He's good at looking all tense and stressed out. I think that's his thing. But seriously, Bill Nighy rules so watch this. I hate it, but I know I'm going to have to watch that bloody Underworld movie because he's in it, and I'll hate it. Oh well.

On another note, I guess I should mention something about the subject of Valkyrie. I think there are a bazillion films about the holocaust and that kind of thing, and there are a handful that are actually moving and decent and all the rest of it (unlike tha freaking Rutger Hauer one. Man, what were they thinking). In recent years it seems there's been a bit of a shift in films about WW2, and we're starting to see films that explore the subject from different angles. I haven't seen anything that I felt was in bad taste or lessened the seriousness of the whole thing. I'm sure I will (I don't watch every war film ever made) but it's nice to see some interesting alternative stories coming from film. Although it's not extremely moving or amazing, Valkyrie probably fits into that category. Bryan Singer is showing the world that there were a group of Germans who did not believe in what Hitler was doing and lost their lives trying to stop him. It's pretty much a blockbuster affair, but with decent acting so it's cool.

Anyhow, I think I've blabbed on enough now. Bye.

jej