Movie Tab II

Attica?

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

ATTICA!!!!!!

So that's what he was saying, I couldn't tell.

Ghosts… of the Civil Dead (John Hillcoat, 1988) –

From the director of The Proposition comes this nasty little flick based in a state-of-the-art prison located in the Australian desert. The film starts with all the prisoners enjoying a certain degree of comfort, but a series of incidents within the prison lead to the unseen administrators tightening their stranglehold on the prisoners and their guards. The audience can do nothing but watch the characters boil over and eventually explode…

As I stated already, Ghosts… is a nasty film. It’s got an R18+ for “graphic depictions of prison life” – and they are certainly graphic. The violence is disturbingly realistic (right down to the blood being a very convincing shade of reddish-brown) and the language exchanged by inmate and guard alike is foul enough to peel paint off the walls. There are virtually no sympathetic characters at all. The film jumps from character to character all over the prison, making it hard to maintain any sort of connection to the various characters. You just strap in and watch the way life goes on and how it all devolves into a horrifying truth that isn’t so much a plot twist as a sad but true revelation about just how horrible the prison system is, especially when it comes to influencing the outside world. I don’t know if I can recommend it or if most of the people on here can see it, but it can be confronting and chaotic. But then again, so is life.



The Neverending Story (Wolfgang Petersen, 1984) –

After the filmic equivalent of diving into a sewer that Ghosts… was, I decided that something nice was in order. Enter The Neverending Story, a prime slice of 80s fantasy that revolves around a lonely kid and the magical storybook with which he gradually becomes entwined in a strange and mysterious way. It was a decent enough film, seemed a little too cheesy and over-the-top at times (Bastian talking out loud as he read the book seemed like a bit too contrived for my liking) but I had to admit, I loved the feel of it. I liked the stuff like the impressive puppetry and the special effects that are firmly rooted in that imperfect but loveable ‘80s look (if anything, the noticeable use of blue-screen and miniatures just added to the charm of the film). I still found it rather touching as well – I was especially surprised at how bad I felt when…




Happiness (Todd Solondz, 1998) –

Seeing as I’d recommended this to Rice for the Movie Trade-off Game, I decided to revisit it. It’s still as awkward and blackly comic as it ever was, although I think I’ll have to knock my rating down from my original – maybe it’s because unlike the last time there was nobody to share the squirm-inducing humour with? I suppose. I still like it, but I get the feeling I probably won’t like it as much a third time around.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

I really want to see this. Too bad Netflix doesn't carry it, so it looks like I'll just have to buy it in one of those rare times in my life when I'm not broke.

Friday the 13th (Nispel, 2009) *

* Graded on a curve for bad horror films...



Clearly the most technically accomplished of the franchise, this film wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be. I mean, it's a Jason flick, so it sucks, but I happen to like the big 'ol camper, so I had to watch this. As usual, the acting and screenplay are laughable, but that isn't why we watch this garbage. Once you get past these obvious problems, which isn't easy, the film is actually pretty suspenseful, and is shot really well. It is actually directed somewhat skillfully as well, you know, except for all the parts with talking.

Worth a watch for fans of schlock horror, otherwise, skip it.

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Is that R2 UF? It's one of those classic/crappy cult movies that everyone who's seen it, raves about, much like For Ur Height Only.

The Taking of Pelham 123 (1974)

... great movie. I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much as I did, and the flick is just as entertaining (though not nearly as intelligent) as the novel. I hope to catch the remake later in the week and compare the two a couple weeks down the road.

The Wild Bunch (Peckinpah, 1969)

I'm a little steamed that I watched this whole movie and it's not even on the top 100 westerns list? I don't get any credit for watching it? I'm not a western fan as evidenced by my movie lists, and this wasn't a movie I enjoyed. I had at least hoped to cross it off a list.

It wasn't the violence. I knew in advance that it would be violent, so I guess my beef is that it just didn't interest me. I never cared about the characters, or their motivation for what they were doing. I saw a bunch of men, a little too long in the tooth, trying to pull off one last job before they have to give up the life they knew for so long.

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If God had wanted me otherwise, He would have created me otherwise.

Johann von Goethe

It is on the list Mrs. Darcy, fourth from the bottom.

I watched this this week, too, Mark. Everyone I knew told me to skip it, that it was depressing and scary, and as I watched it, it occurred to me that it was probably scary and sad to some people because it holds a mirror up to married life. Every marriage I know of has times where the couple feels as if they were living individual lives or treading water and not moving forward in their relationship, and this movie takes a look at what can happen if communication and understanding don't take place.

Thank you for that, Mrs. D. I liked it but I also like The Wild Bunch, even though that one took me longer to love. I do want to say though that I think that many people just don't believe in reality. Anyway, how about we see where this takes us? Mrs. D and Slug!!!!!!!: Please try to watch The Ballad of Cable Hogue or My Father's Glory... the latter would be a perfect Slug Father's Day!!!

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
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Play Time (1967, Jacques Tati)

Mr. Hulot travels to a Paris gone mad with modernization and while visuals play a major part in this film with Tati filling each frame, sound no less plays an equally important role despite the lack of dialogue. Very original.



Mr. Arkadin (1955, Orson Welles)

A good idea that never seems to connect, not even close actually. And Robert Arden playing the main character is so bad every time he's on screen I was irritated. Despite an abundance of style and craft the film can't be saved with its odd approach in contrast to the subject matter and so many over-the-top characters I wondered if Welles was trying to be sarcastic.

Is there any way that the ending of the novel was as awesome as the ending of the first flicki?

The ending of the film is great, it's executed perfectly, but not as convincing as the one in the novel. In the ending of the novel:

Both are great endings. For the most part, the film is a very faithful adaption.

The Taking of Pelham One, Two, Three (1974) [4 stars]

Walter Matthau impressed me yet again with a great performance. Robert Shaw was also convincing as the ruthless villain. Never a dragging moment up untill the credits. I liked that back then people could write a thriller and have a few laughs in there at the same time!

Regarding Henry (1991) [3.5 stars]

I'm not usually one for dramas, but my sister talked me into it because we're Ford fans. I liked that the movie seemed to have little inside jokes throughout it, and near the ending there were actually some surprising plot twists.

Unbreakable (2000) [3.5 stars]

This movie was very very interesting (for lack of a better word). The characters were like none I'd ever seen, and I must say so was the plot. I had some trouble following it, but I can tell that upon a second viewing a lot would be cleared up. Great surprise ending!

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) [3 stars]

This is a great film for any western, John Wayne, or James Stewart fan. John Wayne's character and performance were so intriguing that I wanted so badly to know more about Tom Donofan. Overall a good film.

Firewall (2004) [3 stars]

The movie is very suspenseful and the acting is good, but there was something that I didn't like about this movie. I haven't been able to put my finger on it. It was far from top-notch Harrison Ford though. I couldn't stand the way that the family talked to the bad guys as though they were just house guests! It seemed like everyone just sorta did nothing untill the last half an hour of the movie, and the dialouge was pretty bland if you ask me.

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The Lady Eve
Preston Sturges, 1941

Well, it's pretty much just as good as all of the romantic comedies from around the 40's. None of them were really exceptional, except Capra's of course, but they're all still pretty enjoyable to watch. I think the main thing that bothers me about all of them is that they're just too simple, which is pretty weird from me because I don't like anything too complicated to understand. I guess I just like a good balance between the two. Henry Fonda and Barbara Stanwyck made a pretty good team together. Fonda's seemed really distant throughout the movie, if that makes any sense, but his character was meant to be like that, so I guess you could say that he did a great job. I'd say that basically anyone could enjoy this movie, but it's not something that I'd try to go way out my way for. I still thought that it was a good movie, though.





Do the Right Thing
Spike Lee, 1989

Wow, now talk about an amazing movie, especially from someone that didn't even think they would like this movie. For a 2 hour movie, the movie felt shorter than an hour, because I just too into what was going on. The entire movie was great, but it was that final 30 minutes that really got you absolutely hooked. This may have like the best climax for a movie that I've ever seen. You could tell something big was going to go down throughout the movie, but I don't think they were doing it for the right reasons. This movie really seemed to get the racism thing down, which is what the entire movie is basically about. It's shown throughout the movie, but once again, it's those final 30 minutes that really leads to something.

The diverse set of characters is what really helps what makes this movie so great. Every character in the movie is pretty different, and almost all the roles are played great. Ossie Davis's character, Da Mayor, is probably my favorite character out of the bunch because he's just the person that always seems to want to do the right thing. While I didn't like John Turturro's character as much, mainly because he was so racist, he had some great acting. The rest of the cast did as well, namely Danny Aiello. What I really thought was special about his character was how he acted through the climax, because he kept his cool for the most part. I wouldn't just be standing around if that was me in that situation. I think this is pretty much a film that I think everyone needs to see at least once, because it's just so great and has a great message to it.

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American Graffiti
George Lucas, 1973

I never even really thought that I liked the 60's era that much, but I thought that this was pretty amazing. I'm just happy that I ended up watching two films that I thought was amazing in the same day. This is probably the best coming-of-age film that I've ever seen, and it just shows you how much one night can someone. You just got to watch how much the characters changed through all the different sub-plots all going on at once. I think this falls in the catagory that I was talking about in my The Lady Eve mini-review, as in it has a great balance of not being too simple or overly complicated. The movie is just makes me happy while watching it, so I wouldn't be surprised if it made you happy after watching it too. I totally noticed that Mel's Diner while watching this, though, because I've eaten there while at Universal studios before. I guess I'll just have to eat there again when I go there next week.

I totally caught a resemblence of a young Richard Dreyfuss to Seth Rogen, though. With Dreyfuss' hair cut like that, he looked exactly like Rogen when his hair is cut that short like I've seen him in some movies. Dreyfuss is such a great actor, though, between this, Jaws, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Actually a lot like Do the Right Thing, I don't think there was single bad performance in the entire movie. If you tend to like coming-of-age movies, though, this is one you need to check out.

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Don't Look Now (Roeg, 1973)



This was my first time seeing this film. I liked it, but I feel like this is one of those flicks, like say The Conversation, that is so dense stylistically and metaphorically, that I will need to get a couple more viewings under my belt before I can fully appreciate it. The directing is unique and interesting, and the photography is awesome! Think I will watch this one again this weekend, after I have had a couple days to digest.

Gran Torino




Clint is making me feel guilty. Like Unforgiven, Gran Torino is a film where Clint seems to be apologizing for the violent characters he played in his earlier career. When I watched this film, I couldn't help but wonder how I'm supposed to feel when I fondly look back at the Dirty Harry films and smile. Or Leone's Man with No Name films. These guys wouldn't let any punks get away with it; they'd blow them away and then ride off into the sunset. Was I not supposed to cheer?

The ending of this film was powerful stuff -- and everyone knows why Clint made the ending he did. The combination of that ending and Clint's growling, I had to wonder if he was attempting to create a caricature of his former self. There was talk this would be Clint's last acting gig, and if that ends up how it ends up, it would be rather gutsy for a man to end his career on what seems to be a note of apology and a request for redemption. Of course, the ending was wrapped perfectly in irony and only worked because it was an Eastwood film. I do admit to wanting to yell, "well done!" right after I swallowed my feelings of guilt. I should also not assume I know what a character will do until he does it.

I found the film completely compelling and that conversation in the barber shop was just hysterical. The dialogue in this film is simply wonderful and should not be overlooked. I also noticed the acting of the boy seemed a bit forced, but I adored their growing relationship.

In my media class, Eastwood is one of the six film directors I discuss. At the time, Gran Torino's trailers were playing on TV. Many of my male students became intrigued with Eastwood and went and saw the film. Quite a few of them commented to me how much they liked it. Whether Clint was apologizing for his past, some can debate, but it seems to me that Clint's tough-guy persona is rather timeless. And at 78 years of age, he is still able to deliver that persona and command the screen.

Well done.