Blog of Leonid Mamchenkov

I got really surprised today.  I was checking out which film should I go and see, and out of five movies that I checked, none had an IMDB rating of less than seven.  That’s a hard choice!  So, I asked a friend to come with me.  I couldn’t decided which one of the top three films I wanted to see.  He wanted to see only too.  Only one was common, so we got in and watched “21“.

Do you know those films where a bunch of guys think up some sort of system to beat the casino and win a lot of money?  That’s one of those films.  Do you know those films where a girl falls in love with a guy for how nice he is, and he starts walking a dangerous line and she tells him so, but he responds with something like - “that won’t affect me”?  That’s one of those films.  Do you know those films where they show good friendship of really weird people, and then some of those people make some huge mistakes and let their friends down, but after, when they realize that they were wrong, and they are sorry, their friends let them back in?  That’s one of those films.  Do you know those films where they cast one or two celebrities and surround them with a bunch of unknown but really nice actors and it all plays out nicely?  That’s one of those films.  Do you know those films where they have some really nice photography, especially if any scenes take place in Las Vegas?  That’s one of those films. Do you know those films where … eh, enough.

This is a really nice movie which is mostly entertaining, but reminds of a few things that we should never forget about.  There is some really nice photography and sound.  There is enough good acting to make it really enjoyable - Kevin Spacey and Laurence Fishburne are on the opposite sides of the fence, surrounded by a few young actors and actresses.  There is a bit of drama in this film, and there is some sense of humor.  There is nothing major about this film, but it’s made of quite a few small and nice bits.

Overall, 7 out of 10. Good entertainment.

I just watched a criminal action with a bit of drama - “Smokin’ Aces“.  And I liked it.  There were some really good things about.  The photography was creative, fresh, and interesting.  Costume design as a part of character development was outstanding.  Especially those Nazi punks … they looked and behaved like they were no less than “Rammstein” band.  Bloody scenes were as bloody as they should be in such a movie, and the humor had a nice black scent to it.

One other thing that well was the cast.  There are a lot of characters in this movie, and there is not much time to develop them or to go into depth with each.  But it wasn’t a problem - everyone performed really well.  Sometimes it felt like the good old “Lock, stock, and two smoking barrels“.  It wasn’t that good though.

Overall, a very decent movie for the fans of the genre.  7 out of 10.

I just watched a really powerful movie - “Black Snake Moan“.  High quality, and I’m not talking about the DVD copy.

I liked this film from the first seconds.  Before it even started, it positioned itself as a blues movie.  And I love blues.  Gladly, the blues vibe, the atmosphere, and the soundtrack lasted through the whole film.  Some great stuff there, with the “Black Snake Moan” song scene being one of the best music scenes I’ve seen in the movies.

I liked the story and the way it was told.  It was very worked through.  Sometimes predictable, sometimes unexpected, but really followed through.  Probably the fact that the director Craig Brewer was also the one who wrote the script has something to do with it.

Also, there was really good acting.  Samuel Jackson played a character who was (or at least looked) much older than he is.  He did a really good job at that.  Christina Ricci, that little girl from the “Adams Family” … well, she’s not little anymore.  And she’s steaming hot. But not only that, she is a good actress too.  Her character in this movie was rather complicated, but she managed it just fine. Justin Timberlake pleasantly surprised too.  I just recently watched a film with him, and he is so different here that I didn’t even recognize him until the closing titles.  This guy too can act. And he seems to be picking up quite a lot of practice recently.  Also, there were quite a few good supporting actors in the film, so that the whole thing felt like real, like they are indeed inhabitants of a small rural town.

This film, although entertaining, is not purely entertainment.  It feels like it was done, because the filmmaker had something to say, something to show. There are a few things to think about during and after the movie…

Overall, a really nice film.  Strongly recommended for any fans of good acting, drama, and or blues music. 8 out of 10.

I just watched “Alpha Dog“.  It wasn’t the movie I was looking for, I just grabbed it by accident.  It had a cheesy title, way too many people on the cover, and an overall B-movie feel to it.  I got it anyway, just to have some extra movies to watch over the weekend.  I’m glad I did.

I think there should be more movies like this. And then, hopefully, there will be fewer cases such as the one shown in the film.  Nobody wanted for things to go bad.  But those people who could have kept the situation under control, weren’t near enough.  Then things started spinning down.  Then they continued.  Then nobody knew what to do and how to get out.  The result - dead teenager and a few more broken lives.  Who’s fault?  Everybody’s. The kids themselves are guilty of what happened.  Most of their parents are guilty.  The society as a whole has the part of that guilt…

The film like this, with all its messages, thoughts, and story developments could have easily survived with weaker technical sides.  Gladly, the film was done excellent on all levels.  The cast was very good, and even though Bruce Willis, Sharon Stone, and Justin Timberlake are in, they aren’t the highlights of the film. OK, maybe with the exception of Justin.   The photography was very interesting at places, and helped to create the atmosphere (especially that scene with parents waiting for the kidnapped child at home).  The soundtrack was great too.

Overall, a strong 8 out of 10.  A must see for parents with kids, fans of criminal drama, and those who simply like good movies.

I am not a big fan of Tom Cruise.  In fact, I passively try to avoid his movies. He is not a very good actor and there is something negative about the guy.  When I saw the trailer for the “The Last Samurai” in the movies back a few years ago, I didn’t like it, and missed the movie on purpose.  I though it would be some historical non-sense about an American getting into Japan, learning centuries of samurai traditions and skills in a couple of month and then showing them how real people fight.  Or something along those lines.

Today I rented the film because I was really bored, because there weren’t much else to rent, and because I thought the time has come to finally watch it.  Once again it seems I missed watching a really good movie on a big screen.  Boomer!

There are quite a few things that would have made the experience so much better for if I went to see it in the cinema.  First of all, the battle scenes and all the small fights.  Secondly, some really amazing scenery and photography.  The film was shot mostly in New Zealand, which has been proven many times to be one of the most beautiful countries.  At least, on the big screen.  Thirdly, this film has an excellent soundtrack and it would have been a bigger pleasure listening to it in something other than a pair of cheap headphones.

I also really liked the story in the film.  Not that it shows something that I haven’t seen or heard of before, but it rather reminds of quite a few subjects which are very good to be reminded of.  The film has its way around such topics as honor, discipline, loyalty and friendship.  These should be talked about more often in the movies for the sake of making the world a better place. (Yes, the whole world, including yours truly.)

Being a complete moron in history, cultures, and traditions, I can’t judge the historical truth of the film.  However, Wikipedia, as usual, has an excellent article which describes how the story is relevant to the things that took place in real life.

Overall: 9 out of 10.