It’s a lonely journey from death to birth

Last week I went on a bit of a movie binge. I hadn’t been to the movies in some time, and I have some free tickets that are going to expire soon since whenever I go to the movies it is always to one that has “no complimentaries” stamped next to it.

So first up was…

Last days

If you hadn’t already heard, Last Days is a movie inspired by the last days of Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, before he came to a tragic end (which is still rumoured to have been a murder rather than suicide). It is a Gus Vant Sant film, which means that if you hated Elephant you should avoid this movie whether you like Nirvana or not, don’t waste your time. The movie is slow and ponderous, and really is about the last days of a musicians life – it draws you in and makes you feel his isolation. Blake (the movie version of Kurt), despite being a successful musician, has no one there for him, his band members, his wife, the yellowpages man, they don’t care what’s wrong.

I liked the movie, even though the long drawn out scenes were sometimes tedious. I especially liked Michael Pitt as Blake. He does the singing and wrote the songs. In particular there is a emotion driven acoustic piece which is played in its entirety with Blake sitting in the same place the entire time and nothing else happening. Sound is important in this film – and I’m sure there were wierd noises going on in the background which added to a general unease.

Don’t expect to leave in a bouncy mood, but if you don’t mind long scenes and minimal amounts of dialogue then you may just feel moved at the end of it.

8/10

Doom

So in complete contrast to Last Days this is a action horror movie and despite being a fan of the original game series I wasn’t expecting much. Lo and behold I was proven slightly wrong. Which means it was good, with the caveat that I mean good for an action movie.

I was slightly annoyed at the decision to use genetic engineering as reason behind the bad guys instead of the more story-correct hellspawns. But ah well – the public is already riled up about GE as it is, what difference does making them think it will turn us all into zombies make?

There are nice but predictable twists at the end, and I like the marines are not, for the most part, actually nice people. All in all it is a bit of fun and the first person mode is a good laugh.

7/10

Last week I went on a bit of a movie binge. I hadn't been to the movies in some time, and I have some free tickets that are going to expire soon since whenever I go to the movies it is always to one that has "no complimentaries" stamped next to it. So first up was... Last days If you hadn't already heard, Last Days is a movie inspired by the last days of Kurt Cobain, lead singer of Nirvana, before he came to a tragic end (which is still rumoured to have been a murder rather than suicide). It is a Gus Vant Sant film, which means that if you hated Elephant you should avoid this movie whether you like Nirvana or not, don't waste your time. The movie is slow and ponderous, and really is about the last days of a musicians life - it draws you in and makes you feel his isolation. Blake (the movie version of Kurt), despite being a successful musician, has no one there for him, his band members, his wife, the yellowpages man, they don't care what's wrong. I liked the movie, even though the long drawn out scenes were sometimes tedious. I especially liked Michael Pitt as Blake. He does the singing and wrote the songs. In particular there is a emotion driven acoustic piece which is played in its entirety with Blake sitting in the same place the entire time and nothing else happening. Sound is important in this film - and I'm sure there were wierd noises going on in the background which added to a general unease. Don't expect to leave in a bouncy mood, but if you don't mind long scenes and minimal amounts of dialogue then you may just feel moved at the end of it. 8/10 Doom So in complete contrast to Last Days this is a action horror movie and despite being a fan of the original game series I wasn't expecting much. Lo and behold I was proven slightly wrong. Which means it was good, with the caveat that I mean good for an action movie. I was slightly annoyed at the decision to use genetic engineering as reason behind the bad guys instead of the more story-correct hellspawns. But ah well - the public is already riled up about GE as it is, what difference does making them think it will turn us all into zombies make? There are nice but predictable twists at the end, and I like the marines are not, for the most part, actually nice people. All in all it is a bit of fun and the first person mode is a good laugh. 7/10