Posts tagged Stanley Kubrick
The Acacian
Art Is The View From Somewhere Else, Nothing More, Nothing Less
10/20/2011: List: Top Cold Weather Horror Movies
I watched the prequele (excellently titled “The Thing”) of John Carpenter’s “The Thing” this weekend and I didn’t hate it. I think I really enjoy horror movies that are in the cold or the winter so I made a list.
Honorable mentions: Dead Snow, Let the Right One In, The Last Winter (Only Because I haven’t seen any of them)
5. Dreamcatcher
Not a great movie, but a fun movie. It is winter though. I expect this to be replaced by Let The Right One In after I watch it this weekend.
4. Ravenous
It’s scary, it’s funny, it’s a bitting commentary on America and imperialism. What else could you want?
3. The Shining
(Not to be confused with The Shinning) The ultimate cabin fever movie. Atmospheric, slow, nagging, creepy. It hits all the right notes. Great performance by Nicholson.
2. The Thing (1982)
This isn’t the scariest movie on this list, but it might be the best. John Carpenter directs a taught suspenseful thriller with plenty of gore and shocks. The ending is fantastic. Plus, Kurt Russel’s amazing hat. (If you’ve seen the movie, CLICK HERE, major spoilers)
1. 30 Days of Night
This movie scared the crap out of me. The setting is perfect for this list (at least the sun comes out in The Thing). The Vampires are monstrous and brutal, and while that isn’t traditional I find it invigorating. The music is phenomenal. Bonus points for Being a comic book.
10/11/2011: Film: Eyes Wide Shut
“Stanley Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut is a movie out of time—or to put it another way, it’s timeless. It was released in the middle of 1999’s summer-movie season, preceded by Wild Wild West and American Pie, and followed the next week by an abysmal remake of The Haunting. In retrospect, it seems absurd that Kubrick’s enigmatic final film could be a part of blockbuster season, even though it starred Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, who at the time were Hollywood’s biggest power couple. But it’s a good example of what happens when films of genuine ambition and artistry are caught up in the swells of studio mass marketing and hype. (See also: Brokeback Mountain, an intimate drama that was instantly snapped up as a political talking point and viral-video parody fodder.) Fortunately, the guardians of film history (cultists, you might call them) are more than patient enough to wait out the culture’s short attention span, but I can’t think of a film that needs rescuing more than Eyes Wide Shut, which was greeted in many circles with disdain, disrespect, and willful misinterpretation.” - Scott Tobias
(Read the full AV CLUB article HERE)
I love this movie, I consider it to be one of Kubrick’s finest. Interestingly, I ran into an article that sees all kinds of occult symbolism in Eyes Wide Shut, specifically of the Illuminati. It seems kind of a stretch to me but google that if your interested.
Anyways, Eye’s Wide Shut is well worth the watch. The performances are subdued for sure but they are by no means bad performances, especially Pollack. Cruise has a couple of great scenes but the best of his is later in the movie and I wont say much other than his performance right before and right after he gets some really bad news.
The music is great too.
5/6/2010: Music: Sweet Love For Planet Earth - Fuck Buttons
Yesterday, right after I heard that sweet Neil Young cover, this song came on and it was hypnotizing and I sat in the car until it was over and they told me what it was. And I wrote it down. (Except the dj called them “f buttons”). LISTEN TO THE VOICE!! Anyways, after I came inside I looked it up and I found this mind-blowing video using clips from Kubrick’s 2001. It’s awesome, watch it. I know it’s really long, but it’s totally worth it. Trust me.
Enjoy:
