I watched a few movies recently..
Inglorious Basterds - worth watching for Christoph Waltz alone. Wish the movie was longer to give him more screentime, and development. The film was more about the acting than the story, which I found a bit uninteresting. The other actor to look out for is the officer from the Gestapo he's also excellent. Brad Pitt wasn't suitable, I found his accent too much, and was cringing at his first scene. I like him generally, he's ideal in many roles, but there was some very real talent on display and he wasn't trying to step up.
House of the Devil - A modern attempt at a late 70s/80s horror film and I think this movie had some fantastic elements, the locations were excellent and the lead actress an ideal candidate for some supernatural torture. Some of the scenes such as the car journey were brilliant, the camera angle and length of the scene had you on edge, really well done. That's as far as it goes unfortunately. There was some real promise of a good old retro alone in a strange house romp. But when it came to delivering action, the director opted for shortcuts which made the movie feel anti-climatic, and that I think will get this film decimated by horror fans. I can't imagine anyone who was expecting a gore fest to review this well. I won't be too harsh on it, as it did deliver for me some 80s goodness.
The Road - A man zealously holds on to life for the sake of his son in the face of starvation after some apocalyptic event. Boring really. I usually enjoy a slower paced film ; There Will be Blood, is one of my favourite movies of all time as an example. The Road doesn't deliver intensity, and although flashbacks can be used to good effect in cinema, here it seemed to ruin the movie. I wonder if they'd have been better to forego the flashbacks and just start the movie rolling before the boy's birth, so you have a chance to get attached to the characters. The wife, is a cold hateful creature and you can't help but think they're better off without her, so when Mortensen's character has flashbacks, you don't feel what he feels. It's all out of sync. When he breaks down at the piano you're left thinking, 'oh just get up for God's sake, and go find some food already'. A simple story without any subplot really needs intense scenes and brilliant acting to carry it. Unfortunately The Road has neither.
