Treeroy's Quinquennial Quaesitum - a Quaint Queue of Quintessial Films | Quibble away...

[Avatree]

38.

 

Duncan Jones'

SOURCE CODE

 

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga

 

Box office: $54.7M

Rotten Tomatoes: 92%

 

"Any soldier I've ever served with would say that one death is service enough."

 

In 2009, Duncan Jones made his directorial debut with the terrific Moon. In 2011, he upped his box office game with this stylish and intelligent thriller. It might not be as hardcore in its science fiction nature as the former film, but it's thoroughly engaging and packs plenty of ideas, like any proper science fiction narrative should. Its compact physical setting means Jones can write heaps of detail into every aspect of the film. It's grounded by strong performances by Michelle Monaghan and the always-great Gyllenhaal, who play two confused characters on a train, and so too is the audience: we're not quite sure what is going on, and just as Gyllenhaal's dead marine is desperate to find the bomber, we are as well. Every time he fails, we get just as frustrated as he does, and it's this ability to connect the audience to the on screen characters that makes Jones show off his talent here. The film deals with the ethics of our technological advancements, as well as what it means to be human - a recurring theme in Jones's films (and should be a theme of his upcoming Warcraft), but above all it is an enjoyable, perfectly put together thriller.

[Ethan Hunt]

Fuck yeah! Love Source Code to death

[Avatree]

37.

 

Roman Polanski's

THE GHOST

 

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Olivia Williams, Kim Cattrall, Tom Wilkinson

 

Box office: $15.5M

Rotten Tomatoes: 83%

 

"He wasn't a politician; he was a craze."

 

The Ghost is a political thriller revolving around Tony Blair and his war crimes in Iraq - and an exceptionally good one, at that. Ewan McGregor plays a ghost writer hired by the Prime Minister for his autobiography, but as the Ghost looks deeper into the PM's history, strange and disturbing revelations are made. The film has the perfect number of twists, which allow it to keep you enthralled for the whole journey, and a dark, haunting tone that is genuinely, eerily terrifying. It's in large part due to the fantastic central performances - I am a huge McGregor fangirl but he's a great actor, and we feel utterly sympathetic with his situation in which he has gotten himself too deep. Pierce Brosnan is usually a laughable screen presence, but he gives the best performance of his career here as the mysterious Blair-based PM. The film's bleak colour palette feels drained and hopeless, much like our protagonist, and Polanski, as one of the longest-working directors, has a real eye for grabbing the audience's throats and keeping their eyes peeled around every twisty corner. We are completely hooked throughout every eerie shot, right up until the film's abrupt and impacting end, making the film a truly magnificent thriller.

Edited May 4, 2015 by tree - we're home

[4815162342]

You mean The Ghost Writer, unless they omitted the final word in the UK

[CoolioD1]

You mean The Ghost Writer, unless they omitted the final word in the UK

they did indeed.

[Avatree]

It is a British film and its original (British) title is The Ghost, hence I call it that. I name films by their origin country's title, even if every other country uses a different version

Edited April 2, 2015 by treeroy

[Plain Old Tele]

Oh man, GHOST WRITER....

[Avatree]

What's wrong with it, Tele?

[4815162342]

Oh man, GHOST WRITER....

 

If you're going to shit on the movie Tele I will kindly ask you to take a hike

[Avatree]

If you're going to shit on the movie Tele I will kindly ask you to take a hike

I would just kindly ask for reasons.

[Avatree]

36.

 

Ang Lee's

LIFE OF PI

 

Starring: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Ayush Tandon, Gautam Belur, Rafe Spall

 

Box office: $125M

Rotten Tomatoes: 87%

 

"So which story do you prefer?"

 

A book which consists mostly of a boy on a boat in the middle of the sea wasn't a natural blockbuster, but it deserves every ounce of respect it gained. Ang Lee is one of the most accomplished modern visual directors, and on that front Life of Pi is nothing short of wondrous. Every shot is as exquisite and beautiful as a painting in a gallery. Vibrant colours are splashed delightfully across the screen in harmonious pattern, and it's amazing to watch. The other visual achievement in this film is the elephant (or tiger) in the room: Richard Parker is incredible. The majestic tiger is completely believable, thanks to the amazing people at R&H. The film deals with hope, spirituality, family, the will to survive, and how we deal with the horrors we experience. It admirably follows its convictions through to its soft end, and refuses to be simply suggestive. Lee continues to be one of my favourite directors, and Life of Pi is a valuable gem to add to his collection. $100 million dollar cinematic art doesn't come around often enough.

[Ethan Hunt]

Life of Pi... :/

[CoolioD1]

Now You See Me is plain awesome. Mainly due to the cast, the stylistic nature of the film and the cleverness of the writing. I loved it when I saw it.

this is the funniest thing you've ever said.

[Goffe]

Ghost Writer ending is spectacular, the rest of the movie is just good.

Edited April 2, 2015 by Goffe

[Plain Old Tele]

The ending of GHOST WRITER is not only idiotic and nonsensical, it basically retroactively destroys the rest of the movie.

 

Before that, it was an entertaining and enjoyable ride.

[Avatree]

I thought the ending was really a case of the film having the strength of its convictions. It perfectly concludes the ideas of the film... but obviously, it's understandable that some people hate it.

[Plain Old Tele]

I'm not being facetious when I say it doesn't make a lick of sense. You might as well have aliens appear and warp him off to Pluto.

[Avatree]

I was busy doing the 15-years countdown hence this got paused for a few weeks, but I'll continue it later today. No point leaving a thread like this abandoned.

[Plain Old Tele]

Looking forward to seeing the rest of it.

[Avatree]