Trespass (2011)

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Trespass (2011)

(spoilers ahead)

Trespass is a movie you can only call ludicrous. It starts out like a standard home invasion thriller and then somehow never gets anywhere. Basically every minute of this movie feels like it could be anywhere, making it hard to remember any chronology of the movie. Some gangsters enter the house of a family (Nicolas Cage and Nicole Kidman) to get something and it goes back and forth forever without anything actually happening. There is a lot of threatening and gun waving and lots and lots of shouting, but for most of the time this group stays in the same room to argue. At first it is an okay movie, but it becomes annoying and boring pretty fast. It’s good not to think of the talent involved in this, not about Joel Schumacher, Kidman and even Cage. The basic problem is probably the screenplay, because it is so full of twists and turns and doesn’t notice that this stops being exciting at some point. Watching this movie, it's no surprise to read about its problematic production, in which Cage decided to switch roles between being the hero and a villain for a while.

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Paul (2010)

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Paul (2010)

Paul is a funny movie, no, not on the same level as the Edgar Wright movies with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost (especially Shaun of the Dead, my favorite of theirs), but still entertaining and with lots of ideas. It knows its characters very well and respects their geek culture without being too geeky itself. The basic concept is funny and the execution, apart from some scenes that didn’t work for me or felt out of place, is well done, too. It’s an enjoyable film, even if it’s not as brilliant as their other movies.

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You Belong on the Radio - German Music Charts (2)

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You Belong on the Radio - German Music Charts (2)

So, it’s time for the charts again and also time to look at Germany again, just like in the beginning. Which was over two months ago, but I still have to search for new songs now. But there are enough, so let’s get started!

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Frozen (2010)

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Frozen (2010)

(spoilers ahead)

Frozen is an example of so-called “survival horror”, though it’s a weird genre, since there aren’t so many contenders. But what else could it be called? It has all the characteristics of a horror movie, only without the monsters or killers. Well, except for the wolves, but that’s my least favorite part of the movie anyway. It’s really effective in making you scared and wanting to look away, which is what a good horror movie should do. The story of three people trapped on a ski lift is inherently scary, especially because the movie makes the situation plausible. You keep wondering how they will get out and for the most part they don’t even act too stupid. The dialogue at times is pretty lame and none of the characters is really sympathetic, but the movie works anyway. And despite the wolves. The problem with the wolves is that they add drama and stakes to a situation that already is as dangerous and scary as possible. They seem perfunctory. The movie would have worked without them and they also seem implausible (even they maybe are not). Anyway, the movie is good enough, I guess, despite its flaws, just because it frightens you so much and that makes it hard to forget it. You don’t remember the flaws as much as the panic of wondering if it’s a good idea to jump off a ski lift.

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This 80s Movie: Cruising (1980)

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This 80s Movie: Cruising (1980)

(spoilers ahead)

Cruising is a confused movie, confused about its intention, its story and ending, but also about what it wants to say about homosexuality. And, to get straight it, it should say something about homosexuality. Being one of the few movies to deal with the issue, it shouldn’t act like it doesn’t have an opinion on it. But the movie is so unfocused and messy that it shouldn’t be a real surprise. On the surface a crime mystery about a killer who kills gay men who indulge in the leather scene, the movie doesn’t do much but being grim, cold and dark, while having a protagonist that never allows us to know what happening inside of him. The movie got its attention only because it tackled homosexuality and supposedly showed gay sex in a graphic way before it had to be cut. Would this be a movie a killer in a heterosexual swinger scene, it probably would never have seen the light of day.

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Poster of a Girl: Misogynist Tornadoes and Highway Robbery Girls

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Poster of a Girl: Misogynist Tornadoes and Highway Robbery Girls

Movies, music, comics, books. I’ve looked for cultural implications concerning gender, authority or violence in all kinds of media already, but I know there is enough left. Today I pick something slightly new: movie posters! I just went to the best movie poster site, IMP Awards, and checked out all the posters I found on the current homepage. I haven’t seen any of the movies and judge the posters only by what I see and know about the movie. But they are all current posters, not some things of the past that didn’t know better.

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Sucker Punch (2011)

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Sucker Punch (2011)

(spoilers ahead)

Sucker Punch is probably one of the weirdest movie I’ve seen in a long time both for its content but also for its awfully conflicted message. It’s a Zack Snyder movie, so you know you’re up for something but even with this knowledge you should be in for a surprise. He does weird stuff with all his comic adaptations, which can be okay (Watchmen), pretentiously stupid (300) or infuriating (Man of Steel). And yes, Dawn of the Dead was pretty good, I’ll grant him that. But working without source material, Sucker Punch is just insanely crazy and not necessarily in a good way. It’s almost impossible to judge it simply as a movie because it has no real plot and no characters that go beyond cardboards (or sex dolls or action figures, depending on your point of view). It’s all visuals with some weird themes woven into it. It’s a mess, to be sure, and the more you think about it, the less it has any redeeming qualities.

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