Travis' Talk

Enchanted

Enchanted only half-heartedly parodies Disney films of old, and it has that wispy, featherweight tone of so many bland princess fantasies, but it has one wonderful secret weapon: Amy Adams. Adams embues her air-headed character with reserves of real depth and emotion, and she's just so indescribably adorable and fun. The way she gradually allows the character to show feelings - and actual thought - other than psychopathic cheer is genuinely impressive. I'd even go so far as to say it's Oscar nom worthy (goodness help me, maybe I've been stricken with psychopathic cheer). James Marsden (and his great smile) is fun as the vacuous prince, and Susan Sarandon (and her cleavage) chews the scenery magnificently whenever she appears in the flesh. The writing is often clever, though never as biting as it could be. Had the filmmakers shown the verve to perhaps push a little bit further with their concept, the film would have been more satisfying in the long run - but I suppose TV's Drawn Together already skewered the Disney princess thing to a satisfactory degree. The musical numbers are fun, but not particularly memorable - although the way they are staged and performed is; my favorite moment being cockroaches trilling along to Adams' house cleaning song, perched atop her finger like miniature insectoid robins.
It's fun, it's sweet, it's loveable - but it's not the next Hairspray by any means, although Adams does match - and maybe surpass - Nikki Blonsky in the category of Best Cheery, Hyperactive Musical Screen Heroine of 2007.

Straightheads (Closure)

An ignored, underrated film no matter what it's title, Straightheads (aka Closure) is almost Tsukamoto-esque in it's short runtime, depictions of violence, and themes of sexuality awakened by unconventional methods. Plus, it's nice just to see the always-wonderful Gillian Anderson in something (The X-Files sequel can't come soon enough).

The Host (Gwoemul)

Oh, my.

I had wanted to see this film ever since it went into limited theatrical release (nowhere near where my poor a** was at the time, tragically). And finally, thanks to someone I know owning the DVD, I have!

Once again: oh, my.

What a fantastic film. I gasped in terror (complete with shoving both fists up to my mouth) a record total of four times, tying this film in "Scare-Mina-ism" with The Descent. (I've seen hundreds of horror films, and so far these two are the only ones that have actually induced terror - if only for a few seconds).

And, oh, how I laughed! And come the end, how I cried! I haven't enjoyed a film so much in such a terribly long time (living on a steady diet of art films isn't completely healthy). It was so good, I pushed aside the nagging suspicion that it lifted a bit too much from WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3 (including the creature design). The first 20 minutes of this film are among the most brilliant in any horror film, and the 100 that follow do not disappoint.

If you haven't seen it yet, SEE IT NOW! And if you don't want to because you can't/don't like reading subtitles, than pity/SHAME on you!