Torrent Picks 9/6/09

Ok so, its that time of the week again, time for me to give you some torrents that I hope you all enjoy, so with that done, lets get right into it shall we?

alright then :)

District 9: I know alot of people were kind of iffy on this film, but personally, I loved it, I loved the realistic feel of it, how they put you in the middle of it, even though the film is done as a documentry of sorts, looking back after the incidents have happened. Here's the plot: In 1982, an alien ship stops directly above Johannesburg, South Africa. Reports suggest that the ship became stranded after a command module separated from the ship and dropped to Earth, nowhere to be found. After cutting their way inside, the exploratory team discovers a large group of malnourished and leaderless arthropod-like aliens. The creatures, derogatorily referred to as prawns, are taken from the ship and housed in a government camp inside Johannesburg called District 9, which eventually turns into a slum. In the first decade of the 21st century, Multinational United (MNU), a private military contractor, is placed in charge of policing and relocating the 1.8 million aliens to District 10, a new camp 240 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg. Now with out spoilering the movie too much, you find out that the move really is more akin to that of an ethnic cleansing of sorts, or a world war 2 era concentration camp type feel to it. Which is really what they're going for here, the idea that we're watching the degrading and mistreatment of what is basically the only thing we know of as other worldly beings, and you start to get the feel that the way they treat these creatures is kind of how we would treat an alien race after we discover that first contact isn't really what we expected it to be. I will admit, the last half hour or so of the film is overly violent, but when you look at the film in context that its rising up against oppression, its expectable. Worth watching if you would like a different style of alien film.

Monsters Vs. Aliens: I'm a big fan of light and fun humor, when its done right, its totally awesome, and when its bad, its really bad, in this case however, its incredibly cute and very good. Plus its got a great cast, I mean come on, Hugh Laurie of the tv show House as a crazy human sized cockroach? how awesome is that? The film starts out with Susan, who is about to marry the man of her dreams, she's happy and all excited, but then, a meteor hits her. No, literally, she is hit by a meteor, like, from space and everything. She walks it off, because I guess meteor hits aren't as powerful as once thought (take THAT big bang theorists!) and she continues about her day, all of a sudden as she's about to marry the love of her life, when she starts to glow, literally, and then she starts growing, as does her clothing, which is always good, the world doesn't need more naked 50something foot tall women running about, 5 are enough. Susan is then taken to Area 52, which is way more secret and hidden then Area 51. She then finds out this is where the government stores monsters. She is given the name "Ginormica" in the news, and is then, after meeting the other monsters, she's given a tour of the complex and told the story of each of the other monsters there; Bob; An indestructible gelatinous mass created when a genetically-altered tomato was injected with a chemically-altered ranch dessert topping. Dr. Cockroach, Ph.D: A brilliant but mad scientist who, in an experiment to imbue himself with the resilience and abilities of a cockroach, ending up with a giant cockroach's head and some personality features of the cockroach, but gained the ability to climb up walls and high resistance to physical damage. The Missing Link: A 20,000-year-old fish-ape hybrid who was found frozen and thawed out by scientists, only to escape and wreak havoc at his old lagoon habitat. And Insectosaurus: Formerly a 1 inch (25 mm) grub transformed by nuclear radiation into a 350 feet (110 m) monster with the ability to shoot silk out of his nose. He is unable to speak clearly, and is mesmerized by bright lights (usually used to lead him to other locations); he also has a close bond with the Missing Link. Eventually, the meteor that hit Susan and caused her to grow is detected by an alien warlord called Gallaxhar, who knows it is made of the most powerful substance in the universe quantonium, he sends a giant robot to retrieve it, and after the military has no effect on the robot, its decided that if the monsters can beat the robot, they will be given their freedom, with out giving away alot of the film it gets really good, and really cute, and just becomes alot of fun to watch. Its the kind of film that you don't need to be all super serious with, you just need to know how to laugh at a blob who's in love with a plate of Jell-O and understand that Insectosaurus is the cutest giant monster on the planet.

Broken Embraces: Broken Embraces (Spanish: Los abrazos rotos) is a 2009 Spanish film by Pedro Almodóvar set in the 1990s and present day. The film centers on a four-way tale of dangerous love, and was shot in the style of a hard-boiled 1950s American film noir. The cast includes many Almodóvar regulars such as Ángela Molina, Lola Dueñas and Penélope Cruz (her fourth film with the director). Here is the short plot: "Harry Caine" (Lluís Homar) is a blind writer who shares his life with his personal assistant Judith (Blanca Portillo) and her adult son Diego (Tamar Novas). Slowly, events in the present begin to bring back memories of the past. He hears that millionaire Ernesto Martel has died; a young film-maker, Ray X, appears and turns out to be Martel's son -- Ernesto Martel Junior -- in disguise; and Diego is hospitalized after being slipped a mickey in a Madrid night spot. "Harry" collects Diego from the hospital and looks after him to avoid worrying his mother, and thus the main storyline is told in flashback as "Harry" narrates a tragic tale of fate, jealousy, abuse of power, betrayal and guilt. This is one of those films that you start to wonder about after hearing all the buzz, wondering if it can actually live up to the hype that it generates and all the acclaim its awarded, but I must say, this is one of those cases where it really does. If you really wanna see one of the hidden gems of the non-english speaking cinema, don't miss this one, you'll be really missing out.

Linkeroever: I talk alot about how foreign films actually do the genres we know here in the states alot better then us, and though some could argue thats not true, I tend to use films like this one as an example of how they do. Linkeroever, a Belgian film that's name translates to "Left Bank", an apparently popular location in the Belgian city of Antwerp, is billed as a horror film, but infact, its not really a horror film at all, its more of a mental thriller, that sucks you into the film's world and into the mind of its characters, and leaves you guessing the whole way through. It tells the story of Marie and Bobby, and how they meet and then move in together in a large apartment building on The Left Bank section of Antwerp, which, other then being fun to say, is apparently a somewhat swanky place to live if you're young and don't mind coming down with mysterious unexplainable illnesses and almost constant nightmares. Marie comes down with an unknown sickness that her doctor's first think are do to her job as a professional runner, but its later stated they don't know what causes it. As she gets worse, she starts to have these surreal dreams that almost border on nightmares, meanwhile the neighbors start to become aloof and rude, and Bobby starts to become angry and violent. As this happens, Marie gets worse and worse, as she discovers whats really going on The Left Bank. This is the kind of film that just leaves you in awe at times, it doesn't play on the shock value and gore that horror films these days do, those things aren't here and aren't needed, it makes you believe that the unknown and the unseen is the truest horror of all. Truly brilliant. I should state I couldn't find subtitles for this, but I'm sure any of the sites out on the net that do subs could have them.

Yojimbo: Yes, I know, a big surprise, another Akira Kurosawa film from me, who ever saw that coming? And ofcourse, its just another film that blows my mind every single time I watch it. For those of you that haven't seen Yojimbo, here is the plot: Sanjuro, a wandering samurai enters a rural town in nineteenth century Japan. After learning from the innkeeper that the town is divided between two gangsters, he plays one side off against the other. His efforts are complicated by the arrival of the wily Unosuke, the son of one of the gangsters, who owns a revolver. Unosuke has Sanjuro beaten after he reunites an abducted woman with her husband and son, then massacres his father's opponents. During the slaughter, the samurai escapes with the help of the innkeeper; but while recuperating at a nearby temple, he learns of innkeeper's abduction by Unosuke, and returns to the town to confront him. Its alot deeper then that, but with out giving to much away, that will do for a good explanation. Yojimbo, like Seven Samurai, was eventually used as the basis for the american westerns of the 1950s and 1960s, mostly the ones that made Clint Eastwood a star. Yojimbo is one of those films that you really need to watch more then once, to fully get it all, sure you get the basic story of a ronan playing two gang leaders against each other, but you need to really understand why, and to really get that, you need to watch it afew times. Plus, its just an incredible film. Enjoy.

Well thats it for this week, I hope you all enjoy these, and take the time to watch and love these as much as I do...


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BC