Under The Skin

 

I had hoped this would be better. A really boring story. Very little dialogue. Almost turned it off halfway through out of boredom, even though I might have a crush on Scarlett Johansson due to Her and Lucy. I hoped the end would maybe reveal something of interest, yet was let down again. It would get a 1 but there was some respectable directing from Jonathan Glazer. There could probably be over an hour shaved off of this film to make it kind of an interesting piece.

3/10

Strange Days (1995)

"Memories are meant to fade. They are designed that way for a reason."

Dug up this gem from the treasure trove of James Cameron. I watched The Abyss last week which is also definitely worth watching. James Cameron writes good stories. This film is pretty relevant today still. 90's vibes all over this films production. I appreciate Juliette Lewis actually singing.

7.3/10 

Movies By Rank

Be sure to check out the Movies By Rank page located on the right as that is the only page i have been updating. I've found myself too short on time to keep up with writing opinions for the time being. Also if anybody finds this list useful let me know. Comments are welcome! ^_^

Ghost In The Shell (2017)

"We cling to memories as if they define us, but what we do defines us."

Rupert Sanders gives us his own spin on Ghost In The Shell. As a fan of the anime I am happy with this rendition. A new original twist while still borrowing from and honoring the source material.

"I am Uncritically Acclaimed, and I give my consent."

7.7/10

Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

Pretty much a shittier rehash of A New Hope. The storm troopers plastic armor looks even less protective when captured in HD. Kylo Ren is a joke. The force should have stayed asleep.

4.9/10

Lucy (2014)

Yes! Finally a new original movie done right. And all under 90 minutes! One question, where's the cph4????

10/10

Jupiter Ascending (2015)

I had high hopes for this original new title from the Wachowski's, and it fell very short. Long boring action scenes filled between a very cliche plot and predictable characters.

3/10

 

Alphas (Season 1) [2011]

An interesting fresh spin on genetic mutation. Seems to borrow from X-Men in some aspects. Cool characters and stories. Laughs scattered throughout. It suffers from situations cleaning up and returning to normal too frequently and easily. Still enjoyable.

7.3/10

 

Interstellar (2014)

The story just did not do it for me. Strong characters. I cried and got chills a couple times. Nothing spectacular from the direction, not visually unique or appealing to our geometry loving brains; with the exception of a few scenarios. The 70mm IMAX screening was also not impressive. Samsara did 70mm right. Also the IMAX seats became very uncomfortable to sit in for so long. It's been too long to remember the last time I was in an IMAX, and I think this will probably be my last. Definitely not worth the price tag, nor is the 70mm screening. I could not even tell a difference in quality.

5.5/10

Samsara (2011)

Samsara is a marriage between the visual and sonic realms. A beautiful contrast between the very diverse ways of life that humans have developed on Earth. I just wish my tv was larger than it's measly 32" so I could truly view this film in all it's glory. Would love to see this in an IMAX.

10/10 

Bernie (2011)

[SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER!]

Wow, I did not even realize this was based on a true story until the end! Richard Linklater loves to use real people instead of 'actors' in his films and I love it. The tale of Bernie Tiede is very unique indeed. In fact this is currently big news in Austin Texas, as Bernie Tiede was released after 18 years. There has been some controversy. 

8/10

Mood Indigo (2013)

2 hours and 11 minutes of a steady downward spike. Started off very strange and interesting. Extremely quirky directing, but I quickly lost interest in our lead characters. Right about the time Colin met Chloe actually.

3/10

Speed Racer (2008)

A stylistic envisioning and original adaptation of Speed Racer.

8/10

Spaceballs (1987)

Hahaha! Still holds up in 2014. May the Schwartz be with you!

9/10

The Hustler (1961)

Wow. A most excellent film. Powerful, surprising, and raw.

9.7/10

Slacker (1991)

I stumbled across this experimental gem from Richard Linklater about 7 years ago and finally gave it a rewatch. A very creative direction to connect unconnected stories. Like 'Clerks' this a great example of the power of writing with low budget film making. Very interesting characters.

10/10

Demolition Man (1993)

A video posted by King Hebes (@kinghebes) on Oct 10, 2014 at 10:59pm PDT

The action is too ridiculous and over the top. Sylvester Stallone's head bounces off the concrete from a speeding vehicle multiple times. Somehow dodges every bullet. And is able to break through steele bars by jumping at them.. It has it's moments though.

4.5/10

Bound (1996)

A beautiful directorial debut from the Wachowskis! Lovely scenes/editing mixed with a solid screenplay and great acting.

8/10

Star Wars Episodes I-VI

SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER! SPOILER!

I didn't believe how easily Anakin converted to the dark side. He didn't even question the council or Obi, whom he has known and trusted nearly his entire life. This was also part of my issue in Return of the Jedi, Vader just blindly follows Darth Sidious with no real reasoning other than, "It is pointless to resist..." And Samuel L. Jackson is the only one with a purple light saber? Just lol. He claims it has "Bad Mother Fucker" engraved on it! lolol.....

Star Wars Episode I: 4.5/10
Star Wars Episode II: 7/10
Star Wars Episode III: 7/10
Star Wars Episode IV: 7/10
Star Wars Episode V: 7.3/10
Star Wars Episode VI: 6.8/10
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Der heilige Berg (1926) aka The Holy Mountain

I rarely turn movies off without watching them all the way to the end. I stopped this one about an hour in from boredom. I find it strange that 2 movies named The Holy Mountain are both practically silent films.

3/10

Gravity (2013)

ANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYANXIETYSERIOUSLYNEEDXANAXTOWATCHTHIS. Funny how one of the first few lines is, "anxiety is bad for the heart."

5/10

NEW FEATURE! MOVIES BY RANK!

Be sure to check out the new Movies By Rank Page which was added some months ago for a quick glance at movies you should and should not watch! ;)

The Fifth Element (1997)

#TheFifthElement. It's #PrettyAwesome so far.

A video posted by King Hebes (@kinghebes) on Aug 8, 2014 at 12:56am PDT

Funny, serious, silly, cool and splattered with spots of beauty. I can see some influence here from The Incal, most likely due to Moebius being involved in the design.

7.8/10

#WeirdScene

A video posted by King Hebes (@kinghebes) on Aug 8, 2014 at 10:56pm PDT

300: Rise of an Empire

"You fight harder than you fuck." Rise of an empire started off with some potential but became a tangled embarrassing continuation of a great film. Not many films are able to become progressively worse as you watch them. ROAE pulls off this feat with ease. May Zeus blast every copy of this film into Poseidon's bowels.

3/10
 

X-Men: Days of Future Past

I was hoping Days of Future Past would patch up the direction that The Last Stand and First Class had taken. And to my satisfaction, it did. One of my main issues with TLS and FC along with formulaic story/screenplay was the directionless acting. It's as if the actors did not know what to do with the direction the films were taking. Michael Fassbender makes a much better magneto here than in FC. It's not that his acting was bad in FC, it's that the magneto character's direction was lost (along with most characters, with the exceptions of Xavier and Mystique). Perhaps it's the fact that Bryan Singer is back on board, but all of the characters personas and acting seem to be back on point which they (coincidentally?) were in the Bryan Singer Directed original X-men. The age of Apocalypse is nigh.

7.5/10

Enter the Void (2009)

Another artistic flop. There are some handfuls of really cool and beautiful scenes, but it is just sooooo boring. The acting is pretty bad all around. And I was not into the POV style of the film.  Had it been groomed down to 1.5 hours or less, instead of 2.66, it may have been more enjoyable.

5/10

VERDICT: FOR ART HOUSE/PSYCHEDELIC FANS ONLY

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

I caught a re-screening of this tonight in my city. Beautiful cinematography. Stunning sets. I loved the noise and silence contrasted between and through Stanley Kubricks unusual and very geometric scenes. I just don't get it, as with most of his work. Perhaps it was a shocking idea back in 1968.

6.8/10