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The Departed - im in one of my movie moods, i watch one film over and over again for like a month, now its the departed which im watching as im writing this.
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Shaolin Soccer (Stephen Chow-2001)
Just fantastic! I've been waiting to see this for about 2 years or so. It wasn't quite Kung-Fu Hustle good but it was pretty damn good all by itself. I'm pretty excited to see his newest movie CJ7 now. I almost bought it at the same time, but I was showing restraint. I'm an idiot.
Otis (Tony Krantz-2008)
Pretty good stuff. A little over the top. The box says its 'Juno for the horror set'. I don't really think that's the case, but it was pretty entertaining. Especially Illeana Douglas who played the Mother. I've always liked her and she was pretty good in this flick as the revengeful Mother. Kind of a lower budget feel to it and yet there were some pretty good actors in it.
Just fantastic! I've been waiting to see this for about 2 years or so. It wasn't quite Kung-Fu Hustle good but it was pretty damn good all by itself. I'm pretty excited to see his newest movie CJ7 now. I almost bought it at the same time, but I was showing restraint. I'm an idiot.
Otis (Tony Krantz-2008)
Pretty good stuff. A little over the top. The box says its 'Juno for the horror set'. I don't really think that's the case, but it was pretty entertaining. Especially Illeana Douglas who played the Mother. I've always liked her and she was pretty good in this flick as the revengeful Mother. Kind of a lower budget feel to it and yet there were some pretty good actors in it.
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We are both the source of the problem and the solution, yet we do not see ourselves in this light...
We are both the source of the problem and the solution, yet we do not see ourselves in this light...
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I've watched some fair-to-good old mysteries lately, but most probably aren't worth really in-depth discussions, especially if I'm the only one who has seen them. 
I'll start with something different though.
Baby Cart at the River Styx (Kenji Misumi, 1972)
I'm probably fudging my rating a little high, but if you recognize what the image above is, then you may realize why. Although the plot is historically accurate, it's not the most interesting thing to hang an action epic upon, but this second film in the Lone Wolf and Cub series is better than the first one, mainly due to the almost never-ending series of swordplay-filled action scenes and some twisted humor and plenty of over-the-top violence. When the baby cart gets attacked by giant parsnips, I had to laugh out loud. Ogami Itto not only has to battle female ninjas, but the three basket-headed Masters of Death, and then you can add about another dozen action scenes besides. Cool.
The Man on the Eiffel Tower (Burgess Meredith, 1949)
This is a surprisingly-entertaining Georges Simenon adaptation, featuring Inspector Maigret (Charles Laughton) trying to unravel the murders of a rich woman and her maid in Paris. There are plenty of clues and suspects, but a surprising lack of evidence leading towards the man that Maigret is sure is responsible for the murders. The two people most implicated are a half-blind knife sharpener (Burgess Meredith) who was actually at the scene immediately after the murders and the rich woman's wastrel nephew (Robert Hutton) who needs money to pay off his wife (Patricia Roc) and marry his lover (Jean Wallace). The weirdest character in the film is Radek (Franchot Tone), who goes out of his way to act crazy and catch Maigret's attention. In fact, Radek's psychotic behavior is reminiscent of that of Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) in Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, filmed two years later. The film's highlights are the various scenes at the Eiffel Tower.
Jigsaw (Fletcher Markle, 1949)
This is another 1949 mystery starring Franchot Tone, but this one is far less interesting. The setup is OK, and there are some unexpected twists in the ways the characters behave, but overall, the plot and presentation seem pretty half-baked. Tone plays an assistant D.A. who ends up becoming a "Special Prosecutor", but the plot is so convoluted that it's difficult to understand what he's "inspecting". There are obviously mobsters, maybe some commies, definitely murderers trying to silence people who "know what's going on", sexy chanteuses, and something weird happening at an art museum. It's not exactly horrible, but it is pretty much a mess. What I don't understand is why there are so many big star cameos in this thing. I'm talking people like John Garfield, Marlene Dietrich and Henry Fonda!
He Walked By Night (Alfred L. Werker, 1948)
Much of this film is in-your-face, especially in the exciting bursts of violence found at the beginning and the thrilling ending. The middle section is a semi-documentaryish retelling of an actual case in Los Angeles in the 1940s, except that "the names have been changed to protect the innocent". Yes, this is the genesis of what turned into Dragnet, both the movie and the TV show, and lo and behold, Jack Webb is in this film, but here he's a techno geek cop. The main character of the film is the psycho murderer played well by Richard Basehart. The chief detectives, including Scott Brady and Jeff Cardwell, along with their captain, Ray Russell, have almost no clues whatsoever in trying to find the murderer who shoots a policeman in the film's opening scene. This is really an interesting film, but 50 years of TV shows have somewhat lessened its impact. However, another intriguing thing to mention is that the film's ending is similar to and predates the climax of The Third Man. Yep, the LAPD traps and chases the murderer through the sewers in a semi-brilliant film-noirish presentation. Anthony Mann allegedly directed some of this film uncredited. I wouldn't be surprised if he did the most startling scenes: the intro and the outro.
The Fabulous Dorseys (Alfred E. Green, 1947)
For some reason, I feel like discussing this hokey biopic using the title of my fave Sergio Leone flick, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
The Good - The Dorseys did make some beautiful music, both together and individually. This has got to be one of the most recognizable pieces of music from the first half of the 20th century, especially the beginning. P.S. This was one of my pop's fave songs. He loved to play it on the cornet and the organ.
The Dorseys were as popular with college age kids in the 1930s as Elvis was in the 1950s. Perhaps by coincidence, the Dorseys hosted a TV show in the early/mid '50s, and they hosted Elvis's first TV appearance in which he sang "Heartbreak Hotel". At the end of the video, that's Tommy on the left and Jimmy on the right.
The Bad - The Dorseys are NOT actors. They were constantly fighting, and in fact, an alternate title of this film was The Fighting Dorseys. This film's script is just a silly excuse to get them together and sell some tix. In fact, for all the real life fighting they did, their fighting in this film comes off as fake. Most of the other acting isn't too good either, but Sara Algood and Arthur Shields are OK as their ultra-Irish parents.
The Ugly - Although there is no way for people to know this from watching the film, both Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey died young. Tommy died at age 51 by choking to death in his sleep after eating a huge meal. Jimmy died at age 53 from lung cancer.
Scarlet Street (Fritz Lang, 1945)
This is a good followup to The Woman in the Window, another film noir directed by Lang and starring Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett. In this one, Eddie's happiest moment is the opening scene where his boss is throwing him a party for being his faithful cashier for 25 years. Soon after leaving the party, Robinson, who plays a character named Christopher Cross (get it?), tries to rescue a young woman named Kitty (Bennett) from an apparent mugger named Johnny (Dan Duryea). Chris is a real sap though because he doesn't realize that Kitty is a whore and Johnny is her abusive pimp. Kitty quickly perceives that Chris will do anything for her, so she gets him to rent her a studio apartment, and then, after she learns that Chris is an amateur painter, she gets him to bring his paintings over to the apartment. Things really snowball from here. Among other things, Chris begins to steal money from his boss to pay for Kitty's apartment, and Chris is also stuck in an incredibly-loveless marriage. Chris basically turns into one of the most pathetic characters in film history because Kitty and Johnny are making love in the apartment, and Johnny starts trying to make some money selling Chris's unsigned paintings. And all this happens less than halfway into the movie. I still think that The Woman in the Window is a bit better, but this flick is pretty damn solid.
I'll start with something different though.Baby Cart at the River Styx (Kenji Misumi, 1972)
I'm probably fudging my rating a little high, but if you recognize what the image above is, then you may realize why. Although the plot is historically accurate, it's not the most interesting thing to hang an action epic upon, but this second film in the Lone Wolf and Cub series is better than the first one, mainly due to the almost never-ending series of swordplay-filled action scenes and some twisted humor and plenty of over-the-top violence. When the baby cart gets attacked by giant parsnips, I had to laugh out loud. Ogami Itto not only has to battle female ninjas, but the three basket-headed Masters of Death, and then you can add about another dozen action scenes besides. Cool.
The Man on the Eiffel Tower (Burgess Meredith, 1949)
This is a surprisingly-entertaining Georges Simenon adaptation, featuring Inspector Maigret (Charles Laughton) trying to unravel the murders of a rich woman and her maid in Paris. There are plenty of clues and suspects, but a surprising lack of evidence leading towards the man that Maigret is sure is responsible for the murders. The two people most implicated are a half-blind knife sharpener (Burgess Meredith) who was actually at the scene immediately after the murders and the rich woman's wastrel nephew (Robert Hutton) who needs money to pay off his wife (Patricia Roc) and marry his lover (Jean Wallace). The weirdest character in the film is Radek (Franchot Tone), who goes out of his way to act crazy and catch Maigret's attention. In fact, Radek's psychotic behavior is reminiscent of that of Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) in Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train, filmed two years later. The film's highlights are the various scenes at the Eiffel Tower.
Jigsaw (Fletcher Markle, 1949)
This is another 1949 mystery starring Franchot Tone, but this one is far less interesting. The setup is OK, and there are some unexpected twists in the ways the characters behave, but overall, the plot and presentation seem pretty half-baked. Tone plays an assistant D.A. who ends up becoming a "Special Prosecutor", but the plot is so convoluted that it's difficult to understand what he's "inspecting". There are obviously mobsters, maybe some commies, definitely murderers trying to silence people who "know what's going on", sexy chanteuses, and something weird happening at an art museum. It's not exactly horrible, but it is pretty much a mess. What I don't understand is why there are so many big star cameos in this thing. I'm talking people like John Garfield, Marlene Dietrich and Henry Fonda!
He Walked By Night (Alfred L. Werker, 1948)
Much of this film is in-your-face, especially in the exciting bursts of violence found at the beginning and the thrilling ending. The middle section is a semi-documentaryish retelling of an actual case in Los Angeles in the 1940s, except that "the names have been changed to protect the innocent". Yes, this is the genesis of what turned into Dragnet, both the movie and the TV show, and lo and behold, Jack Webb is in this film, but here he's a techno geek cop. The main character of the film is the psycho murderer played well by Richard Basehart. The chief detectives, including Scott Brady and Jeff Cardwell, along with their captain, Ray Russell, have almost no clues whatsoever in trying to find the murderer who shoots a policeman in the film's opening scene. This is really an interesting film, but 50 years of TV shows have somewhat lessened its impact. However, another intriguing thing to mention is that the film's ending is similar to and predates the climax of The Third Man. Yep, the LAPD traps and chases the murderer through the sewers in a semi-brilliant film-noirish presentation. Anthony Mann allegedly directed some of this film uncredited. I wouldn't be surprised if he did the most startling scenes: the intro and the outro.
The Fabulous Dorseys (Alfred E. Green, 1947)
For some reason, I feel like discussing this hokey biopic using the title of my fave Sergio Leone flick, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
The Good - The Dorseys did make some beautiful music, both together and individually. This has got to be one of the most recognizable pieces of music from the first half of the 20th century, especially the beginning. P.S. This was one of my pop's fave songs. He loved to play it on the cornet and the organ.
The Dorseys were as popular with college age kids in the 1930s as Elvis was in the 1950s. Perhaps by coincidence, the Dorseys hosted a TV show in the early/mid '50s, and they hosted Elvis's first TV appearance in which he sang "Heartbreak Hotel". At the end of the video, that's Tommy on the left and Jimmy on the right.
The Bad - The Dorseys are NOT actors. They were constantly fighting, and in fact, an alternate title of this film was The Fighting Dorseys. This film's script is just a silly excuse to get them together and sell some tix. In fact, for all the real life fighting they did, their fighting in this film comes off as fake. Most of the other acting isn't too good either, but Sara Algood and Arthur Shields are OK as their ultra-Irish parents.
The Ugly - Although there is no way for people to know this from watching the film, both Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey died young. Tommy died at age 51 by choking to death in his sleep after eating a huge meal. Jimmy died at age 53 from lung cancer.
Scarlet Street (Fritz Lang, 1945)
This is a good followup to The Woman in the Window, another film noir directed by Lang and starring Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett. In this one, Eddie's happiest moment is the opening scene where his boss is throwing him a party for being his faithful cashier for 25 years. Soon after leaving the party, Robinson, who plays a character named Christopher Cross (get it?), tries to rescue a young woman named Kitty (Bennett) from an apparent mugger named Johnny (Dan Duryea). Chris is a real sap though because he doesn't realize that Kitty is a whore and Johnny is her abusive pimp. Kitty quickly perceives that Chris will do anything for her, so she gets him to rent her a studio apartment, and then, after she learns that Chris is an amateur painter, she gets him to bring his paintings over to the apartment. Things really snowball from here. Among other things, Chris begins to steal money from his boss to pay for Kitty's apartment, and Chris is also stuck in an incredibly-loveless marriage. Chris basically turns into one of the most pathetic characters in film history because Kitty and Johnny are making love in the apartment, and Johnny starts trying to make some money selling Chris's unsigned paintings. And all this happens less than halfway into the movie. I still think that The Woman in the Window is a bit better, but this flick is pretty damn solid.
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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page
It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page
Last edited by mark f; 11-09-08 at 02:08 PM.
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Shaolin Soccer (Stephen Chow-2001)
Just fantastic! I've been waiting to see this for about 2 years or so. It wasn't quite Kung-Fu Hustle good but it was pretty damn good all by itself. I'm pretty excited to see his newest movie CJ7 now. I almost bought it at the same time, but I was showing restraint. I'm an idiot.
Just fantastic! I've been waiting to see this for about 2 years or so. It wasn't quite Kung-Fu Hustle good but it was pretty damn good all by itself. I'm pretty excited to see his newest movie CJ7 now. I almost bought it at the same time, but I was showing restraint. I'm an idiot.
Christ, that was 7 years ago.
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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan
"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan
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Zabriskie Point(Michelangelo Antonioni 1970)-I was forced to watch it on a screening for one of my lectures.
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Good ending though, didn't you think?
Yeah good point there
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I'm in movie heaven
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Louis C.K.: Shameless (2007)
a great HBO special of stand-up comedy from Emmy award winner Louis CK--one of the greatest stand-up's i've seen in awhile, but definitely not for the faint of heart.
"So just eat the doughnut."
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Inland Empire (2006)
a great HBO special of stand-up comedy from Emmy award winner Louis CK--one of the greatest stand-up's i've seen in awhile, but definitely not for the faint of heart.
"So just eat the doughnut."
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Inland Empire (2006)
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Zelig (1983). Standard Allen in a different type of wrapping; a real treat for his fans.
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i'm about to go watch Dark City for the first time...i'll tell ya how it goes
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Make sure it's the director's cut!
aw damn. I took what seems to be the only copy of Dark City at the movie store and it's not the directors cut and i already watched it
how much better is it?
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I'm gonna watch the director's cut tonight...
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aw damn. I took what seems to be the only copy of Dark City at the movie store and it's not the directors cut and i already watched it how much better is it?
how much better is it?I like the fact that they removed the silly expository voice-over at the start of the film, which, like Blade Runner, attempted to dumb the film down for the general masses. Characters get developed more, and J Connelly actually sings in the DC, where as she is dubbed over in the theatrical cut. There is about 11 minutes of extra footage, mostly scenes that develop the characters a bit more. Also, they moved a couple of scenes for the sake of a smoother narrative, most of which work for the better, IMO. It's also a much better transfer.
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I'm gonna watch the director's cut tonight...
Seen it!
It was an amazing experience.
And to think I never would have heard about it if it hadn't been for Mikey and Swedish. I don't really understand how it could have bombed at the box office, even if it was "dumbed down". You'd have to be pretty incompetent not to be able to sell this film, it's simply bursting with style and substance. Such a shame I didn't get to see it on the big screen...
(I still like the Matrix better)
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