Bronson - Nicolas Winding Refn (2008)

          Oh Bronson, you beautiful disaster you.
I loved it. Tom Hardy goes ALL OUT for this role. His acting and Refn's courageous creativity made the film what it is. Refn created the perfect environment for us to understand this character called Charlie Bronson. From the start, we understand that his priority in life is SHOW, so we gladly rest back in our seats and allow his persona to entertain us. I love the wild theatricality Refn weaves into the plot, subsequently drawing into the character sketch of Bronson. Rather than show the audience how pitiful this man's life is, Refn pays tribute to his wishes and portrays him in a way I assume he'd be rather fond of. That's enough commentary...

Watch this movie!

Punch-Drunk Love - Paul Thomas Anderson (2002)

          I hated this. All right... lemme lay it out: stupid story, which is normally fine, but when everything else sucks, it matters. The "love" aspect of it makes no sense. It's very loose with regards to narrative and character - you're not sure who anyone is and why you should give a shit about them. It's not funny, and I'm guessing it wanted to be. (?) It also tries to be artistic, but the "art" doesn't connect with anything, so it's just silly colors flying around for no reason. One thing I did appreciate was the use of sound - it effectively recreated what it must have been like to be in Barry's head. Basically, this film had acceptable things to work with - good actors, sufficient plot, good composition, interesting soundtrack, but... it just didn't come together well. In the end, I was pissed off that I let it sit on my watchlist so long without deleting it and even more pissed that I wasted 1.5 hours watching it - 1.5 hours I could've spent watching one of the other 250 titles on my watchlist.

Don't watch it.

Chinatown - Roman Polanski (1974)

          I have a problem with everyone calling this a Film Noir. I think this film intentionally flip-flopped the classic Film Noir. Rather than barely lit - it's extremely bright in most of the scenes. Often the sun is used like classic Noir's used shadow - by shooting at the golden hour of sunset, the sunlight has a particular aesthetic effect that oppositely mirrors the look of a black night with a single street light. That may not make sense..
                    SPOILERS (but this movie's been around for 40 years - you should've seen it already)
         The story is in some ways opposite a Noir - the main character isn't a crook, doesn't really get involved in crime, and doesn't die. The questionable "femme" is no "fatale", but is herself killed, and is a victim in other ways as well - not often the case with the classics - they're simply portrayed as evil... I guess we can thank a slight rise in Feminism of the 70s for that variation. Basically, I wouldn't call this Noir, I'd call it a crime, mystery film in tribute to Film Noir.
But honestly, I thought the cinematography was pretty shitty, poorly composed, sloppy. The music was interesting though, and the main characters are decently developed and OK, but I definitely don't particularly like either of them. If it weren't for the story, the actors' status, and the rarity of this type of film, I don't think it would be so praised.    SO...  I say watch it because it's one of those movies you just have to see to be into Film, and because it's entertaining. I would never call it great - I'd give it a rather half-assed "good."

Watch it.

Kon-Tiki - Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg (2012)

          So, I assumed this was a stupid Hollywood disaster movie, but it's not! The movie poster is deceptive, because this is actually a pretty great film. The pace of style and story is relaxed and smooth. It doesn't distract from the story with loud, in-your-face editing or sound.. I appreciate that. There's one camera move used as an incredible means of skipping time - this screen shot is part of it. Overall....
Awesome story more people should know.
Sophisticated, not-over-the-top editing
Some beautiful camera moves, transitions and shots
AND some super sexy blonde men ;)

Watch it!

The Machine - Caradog W. James (2013)

          Pretty bland movie. It's not unique in story or presentation and has no plot twists - it's very low key the whole time. I really didn't like anything about it because it doesn't go deep anywhere. I kept expecting things to develop, but it stays very surface throughout. It contained interesting characters and plot points, but they were not developed at all. Overall, I'd say it's a waste of time.

Don't watch it.

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie - Luis Bunuel (1972)

          I really wanted to like this movie. While it will never be one of my favorites, I do appreciate the concept and am glad I watched it for its awkward mockery of the bourgeoisie. I won't be seeing it again, but it was amusing. I can't imagine many people willing to sit through it, so...

Eh. Watch it or don't watch it.

Transcendence - Wally Pfister (2014)

          I wasn't sure what to think throughout this whole movie. I didn't know who was good, evil, crazy, or just stupid, and I didn't know which cause was more worth fighting for. Which is why I liked it. The truth is that we never know how much it takes of a good thing for it to be a bad thing. This film touches on what it means to be human and whether or not engaging in technological advancement pushes us toward or away from our ideal of humanity.
Was it well-made? It's still Hollywood, so it has some cheesy, less-than-subtle symbolism that gives it a cheapness in some places. Overall, I like the concept, I like the story, and it looks cool. What I love is walking away from a film feeling exactly what the characters in the film felt - in this case - confused. A good film is not measured by its ability to fully convey a solid point of opinion; it is measured by its effectiveness. So well done, Wally Pfister, whoever the hell you are.

Watch it, suckers!