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Hulkin' out!

June 16th 2008 07:03
The semi-reboot/sequel to Ang Lee's Hulk is here, this time it's Incredible!

Or is it?

Hulk preparing for an abomination of a task.


The new cast and crew was perhaps an attempt to erase the memory of the previous Hulk movie with Eric Bana, a la in case of the infamous Highlander 2. There it was justifiable, here: not so much. Sure, 2003's philo-hulk cashed in below expectations and is considered somewhat boring by many, but it was an interesting experiment, and with $ 245 million worldwide it was far from a bomb. Why the profile change then? Because there is a profile change here, that's quite obvious.

I'm behind myself...


This time it's shorter, with more action, chases and fights that are anything but sub-surface like the previous movie's end sequence between Banner's hulk and his energy absorbing father. The story continues in South America, but in the title sequence (and throughout the movie), the whole origin story is depicted as different, closer to the TV series actually. Director Louis Leterrier followed the glowing box in other aspects as well: man on the run, a Hulk closer to man size, and even the musical score has some familiar consonance in it. The result is a bit shallow mix. It's as if they tried to use the character introduction from the previous film, so that they can focus on action, but then they recast everyone, and rewrote the characters for episode two. A bit alienation is the product of this. You know these guys from somewhere, but it feels weird, maybe you just dreamed about them?

Most of the audience won't be bothered by this though. The action and the still fake, but better looking (and with a better muscle tone!) hulk will earn many fans, especially from the younger generations. The Cast does a decent job with Edward Norton in the lead, but nothing special overall. Perhaps William Hurt's General Ross has a few shining moments of sublime acting, but this is not an Oscar's movie.

A fan's reaction after the movie is over so soon.


A nice cameo at the end foreshadows more Marvel mayhem in the following years, so we won't be short of our superhero serum, that's for sure. Oh, I almost forgot. For those who know what I'm talking about: anoher nice cameo is in the movie (next to Lou Ferrigno, and Stan Lee... again). Ladies and Gentlemen: Rickson Gracie is in the flick! A short but funny/interesting scene, where he does the belly dance, and shares some wisdom about self control. Don't worry if you have no idea what the hell I'm talking about. Perhaps one of you will discover this, and share my surprised facial expression when seeing it in the movie.

Until the sequel(s) come, two words for you: HULK SMASH!

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In Bruges

June 2nd 2008 18:27
In Bruges (2008)

Writer/Director Martin McDonagh's (Six Shooter) second film, In Bruges is a witty and sharp movie hoovering on the borderline of dark comedy and intense thriller. Definitely a must see for the not too squeamish with a twisted sense of humor.

A sleepy town with frustrated hitmen


Ken (Brendan Gleeson) the stoic bear of a man and Ray (Colin Farrell) the buzzing rookie are hitmen from London who blew their last assignment, they blew it badly. Their boss Harry, a scary man with a bad temper (Ralph Fiennes) sends them to Bruges into hiding until the storm lulls after the trouble they stirred. If you might wonder where the hell Bruges is, it's in Belgium, but you won't be alone with your dilemma. Our main guys (hero would be a bit far fetched) wonder about the same thing, especially Ray: what the hell are they doing in f'in Bruges?

Two weeks here? Are you serious?


The beautiful but absurdly boring town soon turns out to be close to something that could be called Hell on Earth. It turns out that they have an assignment here, with an unusual victim. To keep off spoiler territory, I'll leave it up to you to find the rest out.

The movie's strong point lies in the dark humor, and the fact that real drama is woven into the story with elegant ease. As a mainly character driven film, the performances are crucial, and luckily they not only don't fail, but some are career highpoints for the actors. Colin Farrell is a talented young actor, but here he can truly show off his skills as the troubled, energetic and unsure guy, who finds an excellent partner in Brendan Gleeson's Ken, a calm fatherfigure, who's almost too good to be a cold blooded murderer. When at over halftime, Ralph FIennes' character, Harry gets a face to the creepy voice, he falls in line with the two main characters in the blink of an eye. As the final dramatic scenes unfold, with both oddly funny and sad tones the same time, the viewer is left with mixed emotions. A feature that is rarely achieved.

Harry chooses a weapon


Slow buildup, good character portrayal, humor dark as night and sudden bloody, violent eruptions. This sums it up, and that's not necessary a bad thing. Definitely a recommended flick that you should check out whether at a special screening or on DVD/BluRay. More movies like this please!

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Need to show more on a poster? I don't think so...


Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull


So did the critics at Cannes boo it, or what? The reports are conflicting. Actually it doesn't mean that much. There will be two people watching this film, regular Joes and Jills, who are not really into this whole Indy stuff, and of course the Indy fanatics. Like me.

Can I write an objective review after this? Not a chance, but I'll try nevertheless. I'll try to be relatively spoiler-free, so here's a quick summary of the story.

It's 1957, circa two decades after the period of the first three movies, and Henry (Indiana) Jones Jr. is in trouble again. This time his adversaries are the soviets, mostly mean looking KGB agents, and a sexy-deadly Irina Spalko, portrayed by the brilliant Cate Blanchett. What are they after? Not a big secret: a Crystal Skull. Discovering it's origins and purpose, I'll leave it up to you to discover. Some old and new characters show up, like Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) a youngster playing a badboy image, who becomes Indy's sidekick, and to have a slight spoiler, Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) reappears from the great archeologist's past.

After this utterly minimalistic story-hint, let's look at the pictures merits and flaws. The first huge merit is of course that it's an Indiana Jones movie by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. The second, but perhaps the most important part is, that they did not forget how to make an Indy movie. Having said that, I mean that it has the action, the adventure, the unique humor, the struggling, but finally overcoming aspect we love so much, and quite a few creepy-crawly moments, to quote Mr. Lucas.

In a way it feels like a combination of the three previous movies. It has the BIG secret, and power of the Ark, the creepy and dark moments of Doom, and a certain pleasing aspect of Crusade, that would be a spoiler mentioning it. You will see, and will probably recognize it. A slight hint: it involves two characters and the chemistry between them.

Umm... what to do now?


With a comfortable 2 hours, the movie has a few slow periods, especially in the middle. These are utterly enjoyable though, but mostly for Indy fans. It's also a bit unusual to see Harrison Ford portray Prof. Jones after more than two decades. Interestingly, as the picture advances, you get to used to his new, older image, and he even looks like he's rejuvenating throughout. Maybe a side effect of that sip from the Grail?

What stood out for me, is that the movie has freshness to it. New jokes, and adventures, and most importantly new ideas, so it's definitely not just a mixture of old ingredients. Steven Spielberg still knows how to direct, no doubt about it.

And here's one of the first TV spots, with critics responses, for you who crave for more spoilers.

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French Film Month day 4

May 19th 2008 18:03
Where to start?

On this occasion, two french titles are under the magnifying glass. One of the last psychedelic works of director Alain Robbe-Grillet Gradiva (C'est Gradiva qui vous appelle) and a morbid and disturbing picture, Ordinary Man
[ Click here to read more ]
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First set of Cannes reports

May 16th 2008 15:49
Hello Cannes-hungry movie fans.

In the next post of the French Film Month / Cannes film festival report, I'll review the first two days Cannes video reports from Filmklik.hu


[ Click here to read more ]
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French Film Month day 1

May 15th 2008 11:03
Hi there French-film lovers!

Yesterday both the 61st Cannes Film Festival and Filmklik.hu's French Film Month started. In an interesting collaboration, sadly only available for Hungarian viewers, the two interconnect, and not just with the similar starting date


[ Click here to read more ]
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Space exploration in movies

May 9th 2008 22:00
It is argued that one of humanity's largest goals is to spread into space, to colonize other planets and solar systems, perhaps just to survive our self-destructing, environment demolishing nature, or if you believe in greater goals: to spread the miracle that is life throughout the universe. This thought has been tickling in the back of our minds for a long time now, and it's basicly the driving force of the sci-fi genre: both in literature and film.

The silver screen or the glowing box is a fitting environment for sci-fi, as the images can fly you literally to another time and place, and there is no age limit for awe. It can be more fiction or more science, the core is the same: imagining the future, places and things that are not possible right now, but they motivate you


[ Click here to read more ]
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Dolby 3D (in 2D)

May 6th 2008 11:49
Bob's trip

(continued


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On-line Cannes

May 6th 2008 07:27
UPDATE! As it turned out, the Cannes footage will be only available from Hungarian IP addresses, a geofiletring is used for copyright reasons. Anyway, I will do my reports as usual.

French film lovers! Or moreso: lovers of international cinema!
[ Click here to read more ]
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Why so serious?

May 4th 2008 10:47
Do you really have to ask?


Why? Because it's about time the final TDK trailer showed up! Nuff talkin' ! Behold The Joker! (also featuring Batman


[ Click here to read more ]
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