Movie Tab II

True, but he gave Team America too low a rating.

Paranormal Entity (Shane Van Dyke, 2009)

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The Unguarded Hour (Sam Wood, 1936)

Primitive Pitcairn (No Director Listed, 1935)

Mutiny on the Bounty (Frank Lloyd, 1935)

First Officer Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) and Captain William Bligh (Charles Laughton) aboard HMS Bounty during friendly times.
Men Against the Sky (Leslie Goodwins, 1940)

Silver Skates (Leslie Goodwins, 1943)

Aqua Antics (Louis Lewyn, 1942)

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Café de Flore (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2011)

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A heady mix of how time and love can be conflated, many of the film’s best moments involve a spontaneous reaction to music.
The Watermen (Matt L. Lockhart, 2012)

Swing Banditry (Reginald Le Borg, 1936)

Mr. Doodle Kicks Off (Leslie Goodwins, 1938)

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Sweet Charity (Bob Fosse, 1969)

Paula Kelly, Shirley MacLaine & Chita Rivera all agree that there’s got to be something better than this – working at the dance hall.
Yellow Dust (Wallace Fox, 1936)

House Hunting (Eric Hunt, 2013)

Pilot #5 (George Sidney, 1943)

Breaking the Waves (Lars von Trier, 1996)

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Naïve Scottish Emily Watson marries Danish oil rigger Stellan Skarsgård and begins to entreat God more and more about his time and health.
Only You (Betty Thomas, 1992)

They Learned About Women (Jack Conway & Sam Wood, 1930)

Lady with a Past (Edward H. Griffith, 1932)

Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh, 1996)

Secrets and lies are revealed at a family get-together involving daughter Claire Rushbrook, mother Brenda Blethyn, mom’s “co-worker” Marianne Jean-Baptiste and mom’s brother’s photography assistant Elizabeth Berrington.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

Red Morning (Wallace Fox, 1934)

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This Man Is Mine (John Cromwell, 1934)

Shattered Lives (Carl Lindbergh, 2009)

J'accuse! (Abel Gance, 1919)

Romuald Joubé guards the battlefield graveyard, but then a miracle occurs - the dead come out of their graves and return home to ask their loved ones if they deserve the sacrifice the dead offered for them.
Maybe It's Love (William McGann, 1935)

Vacancy 2: The First Cut (Eric Boss, 2008)

Just This Once (Don Weis, 1952)

It’s a Big Country (7 Directors, 1951)

Although her father S.Z. Sakall hates Greeks, Janet Leigh and Greek ice cream shoppe owner Gene Kelly fall in love at first sight in this omnibus film about the different experiences in America in the early ‘50s.
Fearless Fagan (Stanley Donen, 1952)

Bloodwork (Eric Wostenberg, 2012)

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The Delightful Rogue (Lynn Shores & A. Leslie Pearce, 1929)

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Safari (Terence Young, 1956)

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In Kenya, Victor Mature leads a safari to hunt a lion, tracks down his son’s murderer among the Mau Maus and falls in love withhis client’s fiancée Janet Leigh. Made by the director and producer of Dr. No.
Let Us Be Gay (Robert Z. Leonard, 1930)

Hi, Gaucho (Tommy Atkins, 1935)

Harnessing Rhythm (Jacques Tourneur, 1936)

A Little Bit Zombie (Casey Walker, 2012)

While heading for a country cottage, Kristopher Turner gets bitten by a zombie-infected mosquito and begins craving brains, but his controlling-fiancée Crystal Lowe still plans to marry him.
Panama Lady (Jack Hively, 1939)

Halloween: Resurrection (Rick Rosenthal, 2002)

Two Thoroughbreds (Jack Hively, 1939)

Man Wanted (William Dieterle, 1932)

Married New York City magazine editor Kay Francis hires salesman David Manners as her personal secretary and they begin a flirtation, but romance and business don’t mix.

The Selfish Giant (Clio Barnard, 2013): As bleak and depressing as the impoverished, polluted landscape, this small, British, slice-of-life drama about two wayward boys trying to come of age in a land with few opportunities and little hope packs a somber punch. I was very impressed with both child actors, and the nuanced script captures the essence of their friendship, from the roughhousing to the petty jealousies to the moments of occasional tenderness. The film doesn't paint a pretty picture. Life for these characters is hard, their future is dim, but the ending, although depressing and tragic, carries a hint of optimism. Due to the thick accents and rampant slang, I probably only understood about 70% of the dialogue. The gloomy tone might be too oppressive for some viewers, and the slow pace occasionally bogs down the story, but even though I have little interest in revisiting this film, it will linger in my mind for quite some time.



The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension (W.D. Richter, 1984): It's evident from the title and the opening text that this is going to be a ridiculous film that doesn't take itself seriously and instead only strives to be a silly, fun, adventurous sci-fi romp. I can see why it's developed a cult following, but the typical cult ingredients--- bad special-effects, hammy performances, goofy plot--- that make it entertaining for some only made it a chore for me. Perhaps if I was stoned or still in diapers I would've more easily surrendered to the idiocy of Buckaroo Banzai's exploits against the Red Lectroids.



Highlander (Russell Mulcahy, 1986): If there can be only one, and Highlander is the only choice, I choose none. The premise is just as ridiculous as Buckaroo Banzai, but thankfully the execution isn't as goofy. I had fun with the film for awhile, especially during the medieval flashbacks, which are boosted by the presence of Sean Connery, and there's a geeky charm to the swords and sorcery and beheadings taking place in parking lots and alleyways of New York City, but Lambert's lifeless performance, the insipid romance with Roxanne Hart's character, and the abundance of corny dialogue eventually took their toll on my enjoyment. My favorite aspect of the film? Queen's soundtrack.



Non-Stop (Jaumé Collet-Serra, 2014): Ever since Neeson displayed his very particular set of skills in Taken, he's found himself re-enacting the same basic character in multiple films. His gravitas and no-bullsh!t manner lends itself very well to these stoical, action-hero roles, and that remains true in Non-Stop.The movie wants viewers to question whether the terrorist plot is real or a figment of Neeson's imagination (his character carries the clichéd tragic backstory/substance abuse problems so prevalent in action heroes nowadays). If the camera focuses on a character for more than five seconds, expect that character to either die or become a suspect. Things improve once the movie puts aside the whodunit aspect and embraces the Taken on a Plane premise most viewers expect.



Titan A.E. (Don Bluth & Gary Goldman, 2000): The contrast of hand-drawn animation with CGI is occasionally too noticeable, but for the most part I thought the styles meshed really well and gave the film a unique look. For an animated film, however, it lacks the usual sense of humor and fun, as it tries (unsuccessfully) to appeal to both kids and teenage audiences. The story contains too many swerves, as characters switch back and forth (then back again) from being heroes to villains. Apparently rock n' roll takes several steps backward over the next one thousand years, since the soundtrack is littered with some of the most boring, generic rock songs I've ever heard. And Matt Damon might be a good actor in live-action films, but his voice doesn't lend itself well to animation, failing to infuse his drawn character with life or personality. Outside of the lovely animation, this is a very forgettable film.



The Spectacular Now (James Ponsoldt, 2013) : With an assured, confident, laid-back approach, The Spectacular Now brings to life its characters, who talk and act and love like normal teenagers. Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller exhibit great chemistry and deliver very natural performances. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kyle Chandler are also very good in limited roles. The movie lacks the over earnestness of most coming-of-age films and it avoids many of the typical clichés. The framing narrative felt a bit contrived, and the story gets a little too melodramatic in the final act, but overall The Spectacular Now nails the feeling of first love as well as the intimidation of impending adulthood and responsibility when compared to the carefree days of high school. I liked this movie a lot more than I expected to, largely because of how much I empathized and related to the characters. One of the better coming-of-age films I've seen in awhile.



Brick Mansions (Camille Delamarre, 2014): Pointlessly set in the future with a skeletal plot and no attempt at world building or characterization, this action-thriller fails at being entertaining or enjoyable. The sole highlight is watching David Belle (an actor with whom I'm unfamiliar) deliver some very impressive, Jackie Chan-like stuntwork. He's not much of an actor, but neither is Paul Walker or RZA or anyone else in the film.



The Other Woman (Nick Cassavetes, 2014): Nowhere near as bad as I had feared, although I guess Kate Upton running slow-motion in a bikini will cover many flaws. Leslie Mann, usually relegated to small supporting roles, gives a commendable comedic performance with almost Jim Carey-like energy and enthusiasm. I wish films would stop resorting to the whole drinks-spiked-with-laxatives gag, since it hasn't been funny since Dumb and Dumber. Overall, The Other Woman is a bit too long, relies a little too much on bathroom humor, but it entertained me and made me laugh a few times. A decent date movie.



Hell Baby (Robert Ben Garant & Thomas Lennon, 2013): It's easy to squeeze humor from familiar horror tropes and clichés, but instead of being an uproarious spoof of haunted house films and exorcism films, Hell Baby feels like a lazy comedy sketch that goes on for far too long. It's as if the people involved had a weekend to spare, drove past a dilapidated house, bought a few cheap props and decided to string together a half-assed attempt at a film. When a rare joke actually lands, it feels like an accident. Poorly made in every aspect, but at least it's short and it goes down easy.



Species (Roger Donaldson, 1995) : A pubescent Michelle Williams plays an alien in a cage that escapes after Ben Kingsley tries to gas her to death; she then boards a train, breaks out in a rash of bad CGI, enters a vagina-like cocoon and emerges as a horny supermodel obsessed with getting knocked up. Despite the B-movie premise, the film boasts an impressive cast (Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen, Forest Whitaker, Alfred Molina). Natasha Henstridge looks great naked, and her shortcomings as an actress actually play to her inhuman character's strengths, since she's supposed to act unnatural. I thought the movie failed to capitalize on the sympathetic nature of the alien's situation. Instead of giving audiences something morally complex, the movie is content to go with a typical creature-feature approach. The subterranean climax felt overly messy and lacked any tension or excitement, but it featured a scene where one character is nearly strangled to death by a nipple, so that's a first. Enjoyable schlock, but I won't be bothering with the sequels.

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Extraterrestrial (2014)

The Old Dark House (William Castle, 1963)

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The Smiling Ghost (Lewis Seiler, 1941)

Gildersleeve’s Ghost (Gordon Douglas, 1944)

The Ghost Breakers (George Marshall, 1940)

Pompous radio personality Bob Hope and his valet Willie Best find lots to be scared of at a haunted castle in Cuba.
Ghost Chasers (William Beaudine, 1951)

Spook Busters (William Beaudine, 1946)

Trust (David Schwimmer, 2010)

L'Âge d'or (Luis Buñuel, 1930)

Who doesn’t expect to find a cow where their lover should be?
Appointment in Tokyo (Jack Hively, 1945)

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Wolf Town (John Rebel, 2011)

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The Defector (Raoul Lévy, 1966)

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Raintree County (Edward Dmytryk, 1957)

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Teacher Montgomery Clift marries southern belle Elizabeth Taylor but then finds out she has a strange past which may have unhinged her.
Graveyard Shift (Ralph S. Singleton, 1990)

Cujo (Lewis Teague, 1983)

Dreamcatcher (Lawrence Kasdan, 2003)

Silver Bullet (Daniel Attias, 1985)

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Handicapped Corey Haim tries to use his souped-up wheelchair to escape the local werewolf.
Death in the Garden (Luis Buñuel, 1956)

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Trader Horn (W.S. Van Dyke, 1931)

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Cradle of a Nation (James H. Smith, 1947)

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Mountains of the Moon (Bob Rafelson, 1990)

Searching for the source of the Nile in the 1850s, John Speake (Iain Glen) and Richard Burton (Patrick Bergin) encounter natives both friendly and violent.

Mark, You have graded 40 films in 2 days. You didn't miraculously watch all these in that period of time did you? lol

He actually watched 80. He just doesn't want to show off too much.

haven't seen this movie yet, but noticed it's got excellent concept art



nice write-ups, all of 'em, ya bastard

(Richard Donner, 1978)

Decent campy superhero fun, I can certainly see the appeal. But it's nothing particularly great and a little overlong and silly. Overall enjoyable, certainly more so than the over the top and non-self aware Man of Steel.

(David Fincher, 2014)

Full review here.

(Ted Post, 1968)

A very good Western that combines a typical tale of revenge with more complex subplots about morality and justice. Whilst not on the same level as Eastwood's own Unforgiven, the film is still a recommended watch from me. My main complaint would be that it builds up some good momentum going into its final third which it seems to lose a bit as it dabbles into a romantic subplot.

(David Fincher, 1997)

Decent film that some will love every minute of, but it was not long before I grew tired of the constant twists and turns of a film that tries so hard to mess around with the viewer as if we are Douglas himself. The ending itself could have worked within the context of the film, but the actions of the characters left me largely frustrated. In terms of aesthetics, Fincher's style suits the dark thriller well as you would expect.

for J'Accuse from mark f is way too low.

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

It's my favorite too (of the four I've seen).

Sleepy Hollow (Tim Burton, 1999)
Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks, 1974)
Multiplicity (Harold Ramis, 1996)

Did not notice these interesting posts before so I will comment on them, but I think it's better now that I have a more educated understanding of PMMM and it's style besides my strong love for the TV show/movie duology than at the time when I was suffering from seasonal depression.

That's common criticism of anime, from werstern people who are not used to watching mildly erotic content in animated form. In fact, I do not think it is erotic because even woman's manga always depict female school girls with super short skirts and long legs:



This is the aesthetic standard for girls and women's manga (this in particular is a manga targered at adult women that I am currently reading, excellent characterization of parenting, much superior to the animated TV series it was based on Bunny Drop).

In PMMM though, the aesthetic ideal is of current "moe" characters aimed at adult males, which can be understood as essentially cute humanoid pets (http://wiki.puella-magi.net/Ume_Aoki).

That's Shimbo's directing style, more constrained in PMMM if compared to other TV shows where he was all over the place in exploring his aesthetic style:



I find Shimbo's editing is way faster than usual and his style is very characteristic and easily notieaceble since 2004, when he directed the OVA Le Portrait de la Petit Cossette. Although he used the four seasons of Hidamari Sketch as his main "platform" for aesthetic experimentation. Madoka is way more constrained and tries to be a little less audacious than Zentusobou Sayonara Sensei and Hidamari Sketch.

Read more here: http://guriguriblog.wordpress.com/20...nbou/#more-899 quote "The above is one of many examples of irrational cuts employed frequently by Shinbo. I think Deleuze explained well why his style seems to provoke reactions on more visceral side. This isn’t to say such a technique is unique to Shinbo, since we see irrational cuts all the time. Just that in my observation, he pushes it to the extreme".

I loved the spooky soundtrack. I don't know why but I find a lot of stuff by Kajiura Yuki to resonate deeply with me. It's very rare for movie/TV soundtracks in fact and only with a couple of other examples I find similar resonance and only with Yuki that I find it spooky.

The extremely concise narrative, in fact, generally criticized if compared to slower paced anime series, is rather unique for a TV series. I can only think of Kaiba, another recent anime series, among TV series featuring such concise narrative. Of course, it is still very different from typical films, whose narratives tend to be much more simple and without the need for episodic adaptation (hooks on the audience for the next episode, clearly present in PMMM). Though it is technically a film as well since it was released in theaters soon after being released on TV and why I nominated it and why it can be regarded as a movie even though it's narrative structure is clearly distinct from typical movies.

I wouldn't be that sure about that, certain images clearly transmitted a lot of information to me at least, thuogh it's true that the basic story can be understood by only reading the dialogue, which is true for the vast majority of films as well as TV shows. Also, it is essentially irrelevant to my personal appreciation of it whether it chooses to use more dialogue or images to convey it's narrative, I can love any combination of both, although I appear to notice certain movie fans appear to dislike heavy use of dialogue for basic exposition, I preference that I clearly do not share. Overall, it's clearly not an work of visual media as driven by images as Tarkovsky's The Mirror but it is also obviously not like a TV series like Big Bang Theory. It is a equidistant mix between the two.

I would add that the creators choose to make heavy use of dialogue to make it very acceissble, considering it's a media product which sold 500 million dollars in merchandise. Any film that sold that much merchandise is very accessible and also tries to explain everything several times to the audience, with the main exception of Evangelion which sold 2.5 billion dollars in merchandise in Japan but it even discards narrative structure and is much less accessible than Madoka for instance. I don't know how it managed to be so popular, perhaps because it's accessible elements were enough to make it popular and combined with it's more symbolic elements that it managed to hit on a broad spectrum of people.

Well, the script was adapted into a novel, so it's technically literature. Although it was adapted later from the TV script instead of being an adaptation of an already existing novel. Madoka is technically, TV, film and literature since it exists in these 3 mediums.

Disappointing also in those comments that instead of focusing on the interesting parts of PMMM they focus on criticizing it on the basis that it's "like TV" and has too much "bla,bla,bla". It is as valid criticism as criticizing Commando because it has too many action scenes. Cleary, however, Bluedeed was hostile to me so he was writing this focusing on mostly or only on the aspects he disliked about it, though PMMM is perhaps not a TV series for people who are into directors like Goddard (though it has some Goddard influences as many anime titles from the 1980's and 1990's, which probably influenced PMMM, was said by it's creators to be directly influenced by Goddard (that I remind right now direct claim to influence by the directors was Serial Experiments Lain, Texhnolyze and Mamoru Oshii's films).

What are the elements of PMMM that I found interesting? It's extreme cruelty and sadistic nature, for the first 7 episodes I was drawn to it by how it exploits the suffering of it's cute characters (an element that was only noticed by Raul but he didn't appear to appreciate the pleasures of watching little cute girls suffer ). Besides the music and the visual qualities (which I loved greatly). Also there is the deconstruction of the magical girl genre, which first requires experience with this genre of Japanese fiction before one watches PMMM, as one can see . However, later in the series, I started identifying with the characters and the TV show felt more real with each and every moment, by the end of the 8th episode I was completely enraptured by it, Sayaka's death was a crushing experience and I felt the most satisfying "film" experience I ever had. After finishing it I had the impression that mainstream film is long dead, now the real action is on other mediums, where the smart kids are focused on, such as this creative and yet accessible work of TV animation, combining the best of both worlds of entertainment and art.

It's a pretty average epic sci fi flick. It's most interesting aspect is that it is an animated western film and yet not made for small children (target audience were teenagers and young adults) or being a sitcom like South Park and Simpsons. But I know hundreds of superior sci fi or animated films.

Film Antics (David Barclay, 1954)

The Macomber Affair (Zoltan Korda, 1947)

Mogambo (John Ford, 1953)

Shotgun Stories (Jeff Nichols, 2007)

After their estranged father dies, three brothers (Douglas Ligon, Michael Shannon & Barlow Jacobs) find themselves in an escalating war with their half-brothers.
Dr. Kildare's Wedding Day (Harold S. Bucquet, 1941)

Contraband (Baltasar Kormákur, 2012)

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The Mummy’s Shroud (John Gilling, 1967)

Tremors (Ron Underwood, 1990)

Two handymen (Kevin Bacon & Fred Ward) have to take on some huge underground wormlike monsters they dub “graboids”.
Tremors II: Aftershocks (S.S. Wilson, 1996)

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Tremors 3: Back to Perfection (Brent Maddock, 2001)

Crown Heights (Jeremy Kagan, 2004)

Punishment Park (Peter Watkins, 1971)

A group of young Americans, charged by the government as “possible” threats to the “American Way of Life” are interrogated by a tribunal and then sentenced to federal prison or a trip to Punishment Park (which they don’t know is worse) in the California desert.
Voyage of the Unicorn (Philip Spink, 2001)

Ground Control (Richard Howard, 1998)

Pumpkinhead (Stan Winston, 1988)

Holiday (George Cukor, 1938)

Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn share the same thoughts on what’s important in life. The problem is that he’s in love with her sister who favors her father’s wallet over Cary’s freedom.
Child’s Play 2 (John Lafia, 1990)

Child’s Play 3 (Jack Bender, 1991)

Bride of Chucky (Ronny Yu, 1998)

Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock, 1964)

Marnie (Tippi Hedren) has a tried-and-true way to steal large sums of money, change her appearance and do it again. She also has a reaction to the color red and a fear of being touched, which can complicate things for her new husband Sean Connery.

Drifter (Guimaraes, 2007) -
Accident (Guimaraes, 2004) - -
Surname Viet Given Name Nam (Trinh, 1989) -
The Postmaster (Ray, 1961) -
The Expedition (Ray, 1962) -
What Happened to This City? (Dhanraj, 1986) -

Julie (Andrew L. Stone, 1956)

Ladies of the Jury (Lowell Sherman, 1932)

Side Street (Malcolm St. Clair, 1929)

El Dorado (Howard Hawks, 1966)

Basically a remake of Rio Bravo with James Caan, Robert Mitchum, Arthur Hunnicutt and The Duke recreating the roles from the earlier film. Hawks, Wayne and screenwriter Leigh Brackett did a similar thing again with Rio Lobo four years later.
Conspiracy (Christy Cabanne, 1930)

Chained (George Archainbaud, 1930)

The Pay-Off (Lowell Sherman, 1930)

28 Days Later… (Danny Boyle, 2002)

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Megan Burns and Naomie Harris aren’t infected by the virus threatening Britain, but one of their companions is.
Friday the 13th (Sean S. Cunningham, 1980)

Friday the 13th Part 2 (Steve Miner, 1981)

Friday the 13th Part III (Steve Miner, 1982)

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (Joseph Zito, 1984)

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Jason attacks Corey Feldman.
Horsemen (Jonas Åkerlund, 2009)

After Dusk They Come aka The Forgotten Ones (Jorg Ihle, 2009)

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The Moth Diaries (Mary Harron, 2011)

Juke Girl (Curtis Bernhardt, 1942)

Fast-paced Warner Bros. hokum with Oomph Girl Ann Sheridan as a juke joint singer and Ronald Reagan as a socialist(!), pro-farm worker advocate.
A Letter from a Soldier (Don Weis, 1951)

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The Mechanik aka The Russian Specialist (Dolph Lundgren, 2005)

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Chain of Command (David Worth, 1994)

Camp Rating:

Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay (Molly Bernstein & Alan Edelstein, 2012)

Sleight-of-hand artist/actor/historian Ricky Jay is as honest as Abe Lincoln.

Claire's Knee (Eric Rohmer, 1970)

Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992) (Rewatch)

Divorce Italian Style (Pietro Germi, 1961) +

Le Trou (Jacques Becker, 1960) +

A Perfect World (Clint Eastwood, 1993) (Rewatch)

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True Romance -



Because who the hell wouldn't like to get some pie with Patricia Arquette?

The Wedding Party (Brian DePalma et al, 1969)
Mitchell (Andrew V. McLaglen, 1975)
Jumanji (Joe Johnston, 1995)