Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=56209
Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)


Amazing...this old Soviet era, silent film is outright amazing. I couldn't believe how innovative the cinematography was. I mean this 94 year old film put to shame many a modern CG block buster. The director Sergei Eisenstein was a genius. He did something I've hardly ever seen in a movie scene, and that's shooting the POV, from the different points of view.

Take the famous Odessa staircase sequence. We see the townsfolk in their initial joyous unification, flooding into the port area to see the heroic sailors of the Potemkin...And they flood in droves! Then we see from their POV the approaching troops with guns drawn and bayonets fixed...And then we're treated (if that's the right word) to what it would look like if we were in the shoes of the approaching military. We then see down those same stairs at the people below are being shoot in cold blood....Then of course, there's the famous third POV of the baby in the carriage as it helplessly rolls down those long stairs. Impressive stuff!

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=56210


Visually the film is so impressive I had a real hard time just settling on one image (so I didn't!)...There's so many stunning shots in this film. I loved the use of extreme close-ups on the faces of the Russian people and what a story those weathered faces told. The director really packs emotions into those close-ups.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=56211


I'm sure some will complain that this is heavy handed propaganda. But that's what makes the film so special. It's a window back into an important period of human history. This 1925 film tells of the 1905 mutiny aboard the Czar's naval ship. But in a much broader scope it glorifies the efforts of Russian serfs, who were throwing off their yokes of servitude. The people are embracing a revolution that promised to free mankind once and for all, by delivery equality. And in 1925 the promise that Soviet communism brought to the downtrodden masses was still heady with optimism. Later under the brutal dictatorship of Joseph Stalin that dream would turn into yet another form of horrendous servitude and tyranny. And yet I can't help but feel the optimism of the Russian people in 1925 as they dreamed of a better life for themselves and their children.

4

[gbgoodies]

I was thinking of looking for it, that is if I can find it.


I found the DVD in the $5 bin at Walmart a few years ago. I don't know if it's still available, but if not, you might be able to find it cheap on eBay.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=56436

He Who Gets Slapped (Victor Sjöström, 1924)


I rather liked this one, it's very different, especially for a silent film. At times it uses art house style scene inserts, with images of a clown zealously spinning a globe which serves as a commentary of sorts. I loved the opening scene that has a globe of the world. Then we see miniature clowns setting on the ring around the globe. Finally the globe becomes the circus ring and we are transported into the circus big top. I guess that's saying, 'all the world's indeed a stage'. Very art house and nicely done too!

Lon Chaney's clown, named 'HE', is a unique blend of nihilistic and sad clown tropes. He revivals in self sadism and practices a form of flagellation as he's slapped, bashed and tossed about the circus ring like a rag doll. All that abuse is done for the entertainment of the crowd who laugh with gusto as they watch the poor broken clownbeing abused.It's a rather strange concept, but it works.

Laugh, Clown, Laugh (1928) is very similar to another silent film with Lon Chaney as a clown in He Who Gets Slapped (1924), but He Who Gets Slapped is a much better film with stronger themes, more impressive sets and more of a pay off at the end.

4+

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=56273

It (Clarence G. Badger, 1927)



Clara Bow...Once I was wondering around a book store when I seen a very provocative book cover, Sin in Soft Focus Pre-Code Hollywood. I didn't know what soft focus meant or what a Pre-Code was, but that cover caught my eye. As I thumbed through the book I found the name of the actress on the front cover, Clara Bow.


I didn't buy the book as it was way too pricey. But I did find a set of Clara Bow's films on DVD, on ebay, for cheap. They had to be boot leg as the quality was poor, but it was cool having access to so many of her films. There's some good ones too, but It is my favorite. That's the film that made Clara into a huge star. Unfortunately like a lot of silent screen stars she didn't do much in the sound era, but she did make a few talkies.

It, what a fun film! I had a smile on my face through the entire movie. And unlike some silents that seem to drag and drag, the time flew by. Maybe that's because the film felt so modern. I really like silent films but they can be somewhat inaccessible as they seem so far removed from our time. But not It, both the film's pacing and Miss Bow's performance seemed much more like a modern movie.

I was impressed with how enpowered Clara Bow's charterer was. She's a modern woman who stands up for herself and is a fully formed character, with a strong sense of who she is. That's refreshing as a lot of older movies treated women as arm-hangers who's only role was to look pretty. Yes Clara has It!

4.5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=56414
Laugh, Clown, Laugh (Herbert Brenon, 1928)


Not much to say about this one. It was fine I guess, but it didn't really do much for me. I watched it in two parts on consecutive nights, not always the best way to see a film. The first night I watched half of the movie and found it to be sweet and sentimental, though a bit cloying. The father-daughter relationship was nicely done. Though not much else happened, except the clown kept crying and the Count was affected with constant laughing. His laughing was supposedly from his over indulgent life style. I know many of these movies are told as parables, but the laughing/crying just didn't make much sense to me and certainly wasn't interesting.

OK so the next night I watch the second half of the movie and it revealed that Tito aka Flik the clown (Lon Chaney) is in love with his adopted daughter (Loretta Young). His daughter loves him too and will marry him. Now, that sounds like a basis for a strong statement movie...But unless I missed something, the film never makes use of that Woody Allen type relationship. The only aspect that comes into question is that Lon Chaney's character feels he's too old to marry his adopted daughter.

Did I miss a scene? I was tired so who knows maybe I nodded off and missed reading an important title card? I don't think so, but it felt like the movie needed some scene or title card to comment on the strange relationship.

3-

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=56312
Lonesome (Paul Fejos , 1928)

"Ah, look at all the lonely people!
Ah, look at all the lonely people!"


There must be a lot of lonely people in the world for this movie to have an 8.0 rating at IMDB. That's a high rating for such a simple film. At a time when silent films were breaking new grounds, Lonesome felt pretty simple in it's camera work and yet it's effective because I was engaged and rooting for the lonely couple to find love through out the film. I was glad when they met and started falling in love. I can relate to how the two individuals felt isolated in a crowd at the beginning of the film. And I can also relate to their thrill of meeting that right person. I think most of us can relate to these two people. All of that then works wonders for when the tragic separation happens. As they lose sight of each other in that crowd, we feel their loss. Crowds play a big part of this film, so does the desire to escape loneliness...and that's a human equation.

For me one of the highlights of the film was seeing Coney Island amusement park way back in 1928. They sure had some crazy carnival rides! And the crowds were as dense as ever.

3.5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=56362

The Doll (Ernst Lubitsch , 1919)


Wow, this was one demented film! And I liked it, but it was sure strange. It reminded me of an old Monty Python skit. The little kid was hilarious, especially when he had the hots for the doll and then after kissing it, kisses the doll maker's wife just so that there's no complaints, ha! Then he kept trying to drink paint, what a weird little dude!

And the girl who played the doll was real good at being whacked too. Loved her doll dance and the stuff she did with her hands, kind of robotic. The color tinting was a nice choice and it was cool seeing a young Ernst Lubitsch at the beginning of the movie introducing his film.

I watched this on Youtube and I chose the one with a unconventional music score, which to me sounded even more demented than the movie!... which I thought sounded great and worked perfectly.

4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=56709

The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928)


No denying that this film is powerful! I mean just look at that close-up now that's emotion personified. Scene after scene the forlorn, doomed Joan of Arc's face fills the screen with her misery...we can't escape it!
It's uncomfortable watching her in such close detail as she's tormented by her over zealot Catholic persecutors. The dementedly gleeful faces of the Catholic inquisitors are just as potent. They reek of hypocrisy as they set in self serving judgement of Joan who's being persecuted for heresy. We know what horror awaits Joan at the end of the film and that makes her suffering all the worse.

A very uncomfortable watch and that's as I'm sure the director intended it to be. Because as uncomfortable as we might be, that's mere piddleness compared to Joan's torment which ends with this young girl being burnt alive by pious men. The Passion of Joan of Arc is one film once seen you soon won't forget.

4

[Citizen Rules]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BYWFlMGNjMzQtNGQwOS00MjI4LTllZDMtNWU5OWI0ZTJmNTczXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTA2ODMzMDU@._V1_.jpg
Greed (Erich von Stroheim, 1924)


Maybe one of the greatest films that never was. Greed had a hard time making it to the silver screen. Director Erich von Stroheim shot 85 hours of film and spent 2 hours filming in Death Valley for what would end up being only a 20 minute segment. Stroheim spent a year editing the film down to an epic 8 hour length and that was a year of his life he wasn't paid for as his contract stipulate he wouldn't be paid for post production work.

Only 12 people on the planet ever saw the completed 8 hour epic that was once Greed. Several of those 12 called Greed the greatest film ever made. And that's where Greed's story turns sour as the studio hacked and hacked the film down until it was only a couple hours long. All of that editing was against the wishes of Stroheim. In the beginning of the version of Greed I just watched there's a quote from Stroheim who laments the misery he suffered as other's cut his opus down to size.

What we have today is a film that's worth watching but will never have the full effect Stroheim intended. I watched the 1 hour 50 minute restored version and it reminded me of Orson Welle's The Lady From Shanghai, in that both films are vastly interesting, but the pacing is off with missing scenes and choppy editing...editing that broke both director's hearts.

rating_3_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BN2ExZTY3ODEtNjc0Mi00MWQ5LWI2ODktZTY4YjgxNTYwYzgxXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyNTQ4ODA2NzQ@._V1_SY1000_CR0,0,13 38,1000_AL_.jpg
Way Down East (D.W. Griffith 1920)


By far my most favorite pairing of D.W. Griffith and Lillian Gish. Way Down East is a dramatic, heart felt tale of a teen age girl who's abused by a rich womanizer older man and then abandoned to fend for herself. This was a really touching and though provoking film, it's bittersweet and happy all at the same time. The iceflow scenes on the frozen winter was one of the most dramatic endings I've seen in any movie.


rating_4_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=57330
The Lost World (1925)

(https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0016039/)Professor, Ed and Paula
on a most dangerous expedition
met the greatest collection of dinosaurs ever known.
High on the plateau
they were stuck without a hope.
And if they fell they'd plunge a thousand feet below...
Falling from...
The Lost World

Very cool silent picture. It's on youtube in fully restored 2K copy, and it looks great. But what really stood out was the realistic jungle sets and the amazing clay, stop motion animation dinosaurs. Now I know where the movie King Kong came from. I think people would like this if they'd give it a look....rating_4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=57259

Show People (1928)


I thoroughly enjoyed Show People! It's a cool, behind the scenes look at Hollywood movie making with a young actress trying to break into the flicks, circa late 1920s. Lovely Marion Davies stars, at the time of Show People she was one of the top stars in Hollywood. Now mostly forgotten, she's probably best known as the lifelong companion of millionaire William Randolph Hurst and the woman who was lampooned in Citizen Kane by Orson Welles....The real Marion Davies was actually very talented, especially at comedy. This is one of her best films, she's very natural and funny and she's a joy to watch.

Show People is a fast paced silent comedy that's only 1 hour 15 minutes long. The time flew by as I had so much fun with the movie, even more so was the fun in spotting big stars as they made cameos on the studio back lot. In one hilarious scene Marion Davies as Peggy Pepper a bit player in movies, meets herself Marion Davies the big star!

4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=57109
Broken Blossoms (1919)

Surprisingly effective!...This one is heady with heartfelt emotions of despair with a dashing ray of hope illuminating the decaying urban streets. Our forlorn heroine is Lucy (Lillian Gish) a young girl born of a prostitute mother. The only person in her life is her father (Donald Crisp) a brutish boxing champ full of rage. He likes nothing more than brutally beating his daughter with a horse whip. He's one of the most vilest bad guys I've seen on film. He gave me the creeps...and my heart went out to poor little Lucy. Lucy's one chance in life is when she meets the 'yellow man', a Chinese immigrant (Richard Barthelmess) who falls for this frail flower.

The film is told as a fable and does so very effectively. It's interesting that there's a secondary theme of religion and trying to convert 'heathens' in foreign lands. There's also a unique for it's time positive view on Buddhism. We also see scenes of Chinese culture. The lead is played by a white actor, but, this was a cutting edge film in it's day as it showed interracial love on the big screen.

The movie ends as strong as it starts and stays true to it's fabled style of story telling. A must see.

rating_4

[Captain Steel]

On a little Silent Movie kick this week are we, Rules? ;)

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=56015
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018)

I liked that Can You Ever Forgive Me was a bio-pic about an interesting event and an interesting person, Lee Israel. Lee (Melissa McCarthy) is an out of work author in desperate need of cash. Who decides to start forging rare, signed literary letters, so that she can sell them. How crazy is that? And it's true! So that's one reason I enjoyed this movie.

Another reason I liked this was the filming style. It was shot straight forward, with none of that gawd-awful back and forth time traveling intercut stuff. The movie had an actual beginning, a middle and a real ending too. Oh and no superheros or Disney princess were within sight:p I liked how all the scenes had a well worn and lived in look, which made me feel like I was right there in the thick of it. So kudos to the director, writer and film editor.

Melissa McCarthy (Lee Israel) best known as the female Adam Sandler;) plays it straight for once. Even though the film is labeled comedy, it's not. It's best to think of this as a bio pic drama with a few humorous moments included. But there's no silliness, no gags...thank goodness.

Jack Hock (played to perfection by Richard E. Grant) is a a shifty but likable rogue that befriends Lee. Grant was great in this and paired well with the stoic Lee Israel. Loved Jane Curtain as the literary agent who won't give Lee the time of day, gosh I miss Third Rock From the Sun.

Can You Ever Forgive Me is well made without glitz and gimmicks...and I appreciate that.

rating_3_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=55581

Fat City

(John Houston, 1972)

Gotta love the early 1970s for honest film dramas without pandering to the audience's emotions. That unique film making style would change after George Lucas's and Steven Spielberg's mega block busters hit the theaters in the later 1970s. But there was a time in the 70s when movie making was about something more than movies as amusement park rides...1972's Fat City by legendary John Houston is such a film.

Fat City is like a peak into the go-nowhere lives of people living hand-to-mouth and just trying to get through the day, while hoping for a better tomorrow. Tomorrow is fleeting and there's no grandiose mentor, no magic moments to lift these lost souls out of their doldrums. What we see isn't inspiring and it sure in the hell isn't uplifting, but it felt damn real.

A young Stacy Keach is perfectly cast as a has-been, small time boxer who goes through life where the currents take him. He's adrift without real direction. Susan Tyrrell is a 'train wreck of a bar fly' a juicer who's been drunk for years. Wholly crap! I believed she was an actual drunk and had degenerated into something that crawled out of the bottle and wants nothing more out of life than to stay at the bottom of that bottle.

Fat City was a Cannes Film Festival selection.

rating_4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=55523
A Raisin in the Sun (1961)

One powerful drama! and a film classic. Based on the stage play, this is all about intense dialogue, fervent emotions and brooding drama that grows and grows until it reaches the boiling point. In that way it reminded me of A Streetcar Called Desire.

I'd give the first hour a solid 5/5 for it's dynamic character interaction and powerhouse dialogue. The second hour goes more broader in it's character's actions and I preferred the more tightly focused 1st hour. I'd give the second half 4/5

The film broke new cinema ground bringing to the screen for one of the first times the issues of black identity and cultural awareness. A must see film for both it's place in cinema and for it's historical hard hitting expositions.

rating_4_5

[gbgoodies]

I don't like Melissa McCarthy, but I think Can You Ever Forgive Me? is the first of her movies that I ever wanted to see. It's been on my watchlist since I first heard about it.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=55442

Miss Sloane (John Madden, 2016)


An unethical political lobbyist does whatever it takes to sway Senator's votes on an upcoming gun control bill. CR

Director John Madden (Shakespeare in Love 1998) serves up an intriguing story premise in 2016's Miss Sloane, that unfortunately is saddled by contrived dialogue and feels more like a Showtime TV show than a hard hitting movie about the sleazy insider world of D.C. lobbyist.

While the lead Jessica Chastain is capable don't expect a performance like the one she gave in the riveting Molly's Game (2017). While both Miss Sloane and Molly's Game have similar themes about a hyper driven woman who will succeed by deceit, underhandedness and self control...Miss Sloane fails to deliver any heart felt emotions. The films pathos is austere as a stainless steel office and as cold as a D.C. winter.

I blame the coldness of the film on it's attempt at slickly written dialogue that's suppose to sound like insider lobbyist 'speak'. Maybe that sounded good in the early stages of production, but what appears on the screen is all style with little substance. I kept wishing the movie would shift gears and tell a compelling story like Spotlight (2015) had done, but nope as the film dragged on about the only thing of interest was Jessica Chastain's wardrobe. Sure Jessica looked great, but I can't say I though much of her 'goon squad.' Who in the hell thought it was a good idea to pack her high roller lobbyist team with a bunch of goofy rejects from TV's Friends. OK, they weren't really cast as extras on Friends, but they had enough inane quirkiness to have been extras on some TV sitcom.

Miss Sloane needed less 'clever'...aka...contrived written dialogue and much more story narrative. A healthy dose of character and world building would've helped lift Miss Sloane to something worthy of it's subject matter.

2.5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=53474
Bohemian Rhapsody (Bryan Singer, 2018)



A bit long in the tooth. I did like the first 1/3rd of the film where we meet a young Freddie Mercury and learn of his family origins and of his chance encounter that brought him from airport luggage handler to lead singer of one of the biggest rock bands of all time. But I couldn't help but think that Rami Malek would have made a great Mick Jagger. In fact I kept seeing Mick in the early part of the film and not Freddie. But once the film progressed to where Mercury gets his trademark short hair and mustache look, he seemed more like the real deal.

IMO they overdid the prosthetic choppers. Yeah I know Freddie Mercury had an overbite but the prosthetic teeth looked fake to me and distracted me quite a bit. Even worse I started noticing that the actor had problems wearing them as in some scenes he would roll his upper lip down as if the fake teeth where bugging him. That didn't appear to be part of the acting either, but a naturalistic response by the actor to those huge choppers.

I have to say that I got bored in the middle of the film when it relied more on montage stage performances, than character/story building scenes. That felt like lazy film making. Though the Live Aid scenes that came at the end, did make up for some of the lackluster script...I got to believe the real Freddie Mercury had a BIG story to tell, sadly we only got a glimpse of that story here in what might be described as movie-making-by-the-numbers.

rating_3

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=53474
Bohemian Rhapsody (Bryan Singer, 2018)



A bit long in the tooth. I did like the first 1/3rd of the film where we meet a young Freddie Mercury and learn of family origins and of his chance encounter that brought him from airport luggage handler to lead singer of one of the biggest rock bands of all time. But I couldn't help but think that Rami Malek would have made a great Mick Jagger. In fact I kept seeing Mick in the early part of the film and not Freddie. But once the film progressed to where Mercury gets his trademark short hair and mustache look, he seemed more like the real deal.

IMO they overdid the prosthetic choppers. Yeah I know Freddie Mercury had an overbite but the prosthetic teeth looked fake to me and distracted me quite a bit. Even worse I started noticing that the actor had problems wearing them as in some scenes he would roll his upper lip down as if the fake teeth where bugging him. That didn't appear to be part of the acting either, but a naturalistic response by the actor to those huge choppers.

I have to say that I got bored in the middle of the film when it relied more on montage stage performances, than character/story building scenes. That felt like lazy film making. Though the Live Aid scenes that came at the end, did make up for some of the lackluster script...I got to believe the real Freddie Mercury had a BIG story to tell, sadly we only got a glimpse of that story here in what might be described as movie-making-by-the-numbers.

3

I never thought of it until you mentioned it here, but Rami Malek would make a terrific Mick Jagger.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=57967

Elmer Gantry (1960)

Director: Richard Brooks
Writers: Richard Brooks (screenplay), Sinclair Lewis (from the novel by)
Cast: Burt Lancaster, Jean Simmons, Arthur Kennedy
Genre: Drama
"A fast-talking traveling salesman with a charming, loquacious manner convinces a sincere evangelist that he can be an effective preacher for her cause."


Luckily, there's no catchy tunes sung by Mr Teeth, Burt Lancaster. But does that guy have a mouth full of teeth or what? Seems to me there was an actress who really had lots of teeth too, but I can't remember her name right now. Oh well, I know it wasn't Shirley Jones who not only played a doe eyed song bird once, but also plays a hell bent for revenge prostitute with gusto! I thought I'd find a pic of Lulu, because a little beauty in my review never hurts! But as soon as I seen that pic of Lancaster it just screamed, 'this is what the movie is all about!'

Lancaster is an uber mega personality, larger than life and LOUD, with a laugh that draws them into those canvas tents and makes them drop to their knees in redemption....'On your knees sinner!'

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59624


This film does so much, so great, that I'd have to write on and on, and well I don't even know if you guys read what I write, or do you just rep and say, damn Citizen wrote a lot this time...

So...in a nut shell I love how the film never says that Elmer Gantry is just preaching the word to get a shot at bedding Sister Sharon behind the podium. I think Elmer really believed what he preached, but mostly he believed in the power of the spoken word, and that my friends is a good place to end this on.

4.5

[Captain Steel]

Shirley Jones is so hot and gorgeous in this movie! :)

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=57967

Elmer Gantry (1960)





Great review, Citizen, I love this movie too.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=57692

The Music Man (1962)


Director: Morton DaCosta
Writers: Meredith Willson, Franklin Lacey
Actors: Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett
Genre: Musical

Surprisingly I don't have a lot to say here. Yeah, I know I'm usually long winded:p but The Music Man isn't the kind of movie that needs deep in-depth analysis...so maybe, just maybe, I'll keep this short:cool:

The one thing that really stands out in The Music Man are the songs and there are a lot of them! By my count there's 24 songs in the movie and that's a lot, even for a musical. Usually a movie that was made from a musical stage production had a large number of the songs cut, so that the story line and dialogue could be expanded for a movie audience. And that's what makes The Music Man unique, it's literally done just as the stage production was. That's due to director/producer Morton DaCosta who also had been the director of the stage version. He made sure the film was true to the stage show. And that then makes The Music Man both special...and harder for movie audiences to get into. With 21 songs there's not much time for character development.

Luckily there's some great tunes here, my favorites were: Rock Island sung by the traveling salesmen on the train, Ya Got Trouble I've been singing this to my wife, substituting our cat's names for 'pool' and that rhymes with trouble!...Piano Lesson, Goodnight, My Someone, Being in Love all sung by the talented Shirley Jones, wow can she sing or what!

My favorite production numbers/songs would be: Marian The Librarian, done in the library, Pick a Little, Talk a Little sung by the townswomen and the local chickens! And of course I love the number where the town's youth parade down the street in full band costumes.

Gosh Shirley Jones is so perfect for this role as a sweet but stubborn librarian and oddly enough she's really good as a vengeful prostitute in Elmer Gantry. There's a couple other of her films that I really like too.

Robert Preston is the man! What else can I say...he's the Music Man who in pulling a con job on the small Iowa town's folks, ends up giving them more than they even hoped for.

I did have a lot to say after all, I'm guess I'm full of it:p just call me The Movie Man and that spells trouble!

4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=57943
Blood Simple (1984)


Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Writers: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Cast: John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

"A rich but jealous man hires a private investigator to kill his cheating wife and her new man. But, when blood is involved, nothing is simple."


The Coen Brother's rock! They employ such unique artistry in their scene compositions and such lush lighting with their subdued shadows, that just watching Blood Simple is like a wonderful day spent at an art museum. I just sat back and soaked up their visionary film making whilst enjoying their equally inspired soundtrack. Blood Simple is one of those prime examples where the soundtrack is genius in and of itself.

I'd never seen Frances McDormand look so young. Frances is good in this too, so is M. Emmett Walsh who's always a blast...and the guy who played the stiff, Dan Hedaya was really suited to his role. But mostly I was impressed with how the film was made. At first there was so many closeup shots that I thought that I had my DVD setting on zoom, but no, the film was meant to impart an up-close and personal view of the story. It's almost claustrophobic...which is perfect for the subject matter of a mystery thriller where everyone suspects someone else.

I loved how the Coens would show us little nuances that really made this film stand out. A good example is when the stiff-to-be is laying in the road and Ray (John Getz) is dragging the tip of the shovel on the pavement! Oh so effective and the entire film is shot like that. And how about the ending where one of the suspects shoots through the door and thinks they are shooting someone else, sublime.

4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58127
Phantom Thread (2017)


Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Vicky Krieps, Lesley Manville
Genre: Drama

''Set in 1950s London, Reynolds Woodcock is a renowned dressmaker whose fastidious life is disrupted by a young, strong-willed woman, Alma, who becomes his muse and lover."


A couple of years ago I watched Phantom Thread, my reaction was one of ambivalence. I suppose that's because like many people who don't warm to a movie my expectations weren't met. That's the problem with expectations they're often quite different than what one encounters. Thus disappointment is the result. Movies don't necessarily follow a specific formula, but the movie watcher has been dialed into the conventional story telling concept that's used in most movies.

Phantom Thread utilizes a much more subtle approach with sustained moments of low key tension as a means of achieving it's story. One then might decide that there wasn't much going on in the film, and that's what I thought on my first watch.

This time around a rewatch made me appreciate the moments the film exist in. It suggest underpinnings that aren't always forefront, nor do they need to be. The impression is more important than the whole...

Daniel Day Lewis was superbly cast here as was Vicky Krieps as his strong willed muse and Lesley Manville as his stalwart sister. I loved how the film took it's time and meandered in it's world of 1950s haute couture.

rating_4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=57668

Blood Diamond (2006)


Director: Edward Zwick
Writers: Charles Leavitt (screenplay), Charles Leavitt (story)
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Thriller
"A fisherman, a smuggler, and a syndicate of businessmen match wits over the possession of a priceless diamond."


Loved the actual scenes of Africa...the crowded streets, the small villages, the lush countryside and even the trash and urban decay. It all looked so real that I felt like I was watching a docu-drama. I'd give all those parts, the overall story and the performances by DiCaprio & Djimon Hounsou a 5/5. And yes it was graphic but that was grounded in truth so belonged in the story.

Blood Diamond did many things right but then came the overbearing music score that made me very aware that I was watching a movie and that the director wanted me to feel the drama of it all. That then broke the spell of being immersed in the story. Luckily the score was mainly during the fight sequences and not the entire movie.

Some of the action scenes went from brutal (which was good as it gave one the feeling of hopelessness and cruelty that existed), to...too many firebombs, making the film feel like a blockbuster action flick at times, which took away from the realistic feel.

The other thing that took away from the movie was Jennifer Connelly. She existed as the over used love interest trope. Even worse she looked just like a beautiful leading actress, instead of a realistic fictional character. And for that I blame the director. Like his film Glory, he overdoes the close up shots of Connelly and whenever she was in the film it felt like another run of a mill movie, when the rest of film was pretty special.

rating_3_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58000

Cool Hand Luke (1967)


Director: Stuart Rosenberg
Writers: Donn Pearce & Frank Pierson (screenplay)
Cast: Paul Newman, George Kennedy, Strother Martin
Genre: Drama
Cool Hand Luke was my #6 choice for the 1960s Countdown.


After I rewatched this I realized I didn't really remember it at all and it didn't really work for me this time around. I have to say I was bored in the first half and there were only a few scenes that had any emotional impact on me. The most potent was the forced punishment of digging and then refilling a ditch by a very weary Luke. In that moment the film was great, especially after he returns to the bunkhouse a beaten man, crawling on the floor and the other prisoners are in utter disbelief.

The opening scene too was powerful, with the cigar chomping boss man telling the new prisoners the rules...and every broken infraction resulted in a 'night in the box'. The way the men had to address the guards as 'boss' and ask permission for the simplest things was also powerful.

But what didn't work for me was the very jovial nature of the first hour with the men in their bunk house having way too good of a time for what the film had set up as one helluva tough prison. Especially the egg eating contest was a bit hard to swallow;) Those light scenes that the director focused on in the first hour caused me to lose my suspension of disbelief, which then took me out of the moment and made me acutely aware I was watching a movie. Actually I kept thinking of TV's Hogan Heroes during that first hour.

The story line is good, but the director IMO made poor choices by focusing a lot of the film on light, nearly comical elements. While we got only a few brief moments of what it was like to be put into the box. The film needed more time in that box! The last 40 minutes or so were by far the best, but if 30 minutes were cut from the first half then this would have been to my liking.

Cool Hand Luke reminded me of Jack Nicholson's Five Easy Pieces, as both films are about baby boomers who are rebelling against the system. It doesn't help that I don't find that particular theme appealing, as I kept thinking Luke wasn't cool, but a big dumb ass...who seemed to have a death wish.

rating_3_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/GreenDelectableGrouper-size_restricted.gif
Ghostbusters (1984)


Director: Ivan Reitman
Writers: Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis
Cast: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver
Genre: Action, Comedy, Fantasy

Ha! I love that scene, especially how the library cards go shooting out of the drawers...thank goodness for practical effects! The quality of film making here is real high.

You know there's no way this movie could be made today...Yeah, I know they did remake it, but not to this standard. There's just no way NYC would allow a film maker nowadays to block off a huge section of street to film a movie. Back in the day however, a director could do that..but today it's just too much of a hassle for a big city to shut down a city block for movie making.

It's real easy to watch this film and have a blast, I sure did! But think about being in the directors chair and then you'll be even more impressed with what was accomplished here. Oh, did I mention the street scene where the street cracks open swallowing the Ghostbusters? What a great set that was and way cool practical effects. Though my favorite effect was the eggs popping out of the tray and cooking themselves on Sigourney Weaver's kitchen counter. I'm so glad we have films like the original Ghostbusters, as today a remake would reek of CG.

I read that almost every scene had improvised dialogue. Usually that spells trouble as actors tend to be hams and don't know when to rein in the improv. But hot damn! Bill Murray and Rick Moranis had impeccable timing and delivery of their on-the-fly dialogue and that's why I prefer the first half of the film as their is more character and story development there.

I had a lot of fun revisiting this film!
rating_3_5+

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=57900
Monsters, Inc (2001)


Directors: Pete Docter & David Silverman
Writers: Pete Docter & Jill Culton
Cast: John Goodman, Billy Crystal, Mary Gibbs
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy

"In order to power the city, monsters have to scare children so that they scream. However, the children are toxic to the monsters, and after a child gets through, 2 monsters realize things may not be what they think."


After watching Monsters, Inc, I pondered just what type of review I would write? How do I review a film and rate it when I'm not really into it's genre? Usually I try to review a movie from a personal basis. Truth be told even though there's been plenty of movies I hated, there really hasn't been many that I would say were just plain bad movie making. So this made me think just how should I judge a movie? By what criteria?

Depending on how you read this, you might think I disliked Monsters, Inc. and I'm looking for a nice way to say so, that would be a wrong conclusion. I liked Monsters, Inc. I thought it was well done, well animated, with some real talent doing the voices. I was really into the first couple scenes, but then when the film switched to a fight against good and bad and became an action-adventure chase, it lost me. And yet people love chase scenes in all types of movies, but not me. Thus Monsters Inc. isn't really a film I enjoyed and yet I could see how people could love it.

If I had my druthers, when the human child first entered the world of the monsters, the child would have been lost there and the friendly monsters Sully and his sidekick would have had to search high and low through monster-world for the wayward kid. That would have gave us a bird's eye view of how the monsters live and what their world looks like. That would've been the tops for me, but this was made more simply with kids in mind and that's OK because for the target audience I suppose it worked.

rating_2_5+

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=57633
The Squid and The Whale (2005)


Director: Noah Baumbach
Writer: Noah Baumbach
Cast: Owen Kline, Jeff Daniels, Laura Linney
Genre: Comedy, Drama

"Follows two young boys dealing with their parents' divorce in Brooklyn in the 1980s."

Somebody tell me what makes this movie special? Because I'm at a loss to see anything remarkable about it. To me it seems like a rather pedestrian film that focuses on adding in some cleverness and some tacked on provocative scenes in order to cover up the fact that the movie has really nothing to say.

At least I liked the way it was filmed. The scene length and the personal feeling one gets when a steady cam is used in close quarters, suited the film well. I liked the editing too, it was linear, thank goodness! The editing never became self aware or distracting to the film which is a good thing with this story. I even liked the actors. I thought they were cast well for the personality types they were playing.

But was this comedy-drama funny....nope. I laughed once at something flippantly said by Jesse Eisenberg. And I liked his character the best, especially when he was dating and then told the girl he wished she didn't have so many freckles...An OMG moment for sure and one that showed a spark of creativity by the writers.

But I think what bugged me the most was all the lost chances that the script writers squandered. I mean the basic premise has tons of potential and it seemed during the freckle scene that we'd ultimately learn that even though his mom had ended the marriage with her affairs...the divorcee was really caused by his dad being so intellectually high tone and lacking in human understanding and empathy. The writers could have explored that dynamic in the marriage via Eisenberg's character who seemed to be just as unemphatic as his dad. Well I guess they explored it a little but I felt unsatisfied with it as it could've been so much more.

The movie is set back in 1986 to give it some 'coolness'. Only nothing about the events were endemic to the mid 80s, nor did the film even attempt at having an 1980s vibe and look to it. Other than an old push button phone and some 80s cars the film didn't even look like it was from the 80s. Which to me feels like a cheap ploy to dress up a dull film. Same goes for the little kid who's always swearing, drinking and going topless for some reason, not to mention his 'self exploration'...OK but what does this say about him? I kept thinking he would blow a fuse and end up dead or something. But nothing was derived from his colorful character other than just some quirkiness...then at the end credits I seen this name, Wes Anderson.

rating_2

[TheUsualSuspect]

This is one of two Baumbach movies I've seen, the other being While We're Young. I don't remember much about the film but I do remember liking it.

The one thing I took away from it though was how did nobody know he was performing a Pink Floyd song?

[TheUsualSuspect]

Re: Monsters Inc

I really like the ending to this film, probably in my top 3 Pixar endings and I found the climax with the doors to be imaginative and thrilling. I love the concept and hated the fact they made a prequel, I think they should have explored the city more tell us more stories within that world.

I dig it, but Pixar has much better films so Monsters Inc falls down to the middle of the pack at best for me.

Re: Ghostbusters

My son wants to constantly watch this and he was singing Ghostbusters last night!!! It's a classic New York 80's film and easily re-watchable for me.

[TheUsualSuspect]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=56823
Murder by Death (Robert Moore, 1976)


With a star studded cast, a script by Neil Simon and a creepy old mansion filled with spoofs of literary's greatest detectives, 1976's Murder by Death should have scored a knock out comic punch.

Instead the jokes are as stiff as a dead butler, the premise as thin as the hair on James Coco's head, and the sets are spartan. But what really killed the film for me were the low hanging fruit jokes. Those broad comedy, one liners, were delivered by actors who seemed to be sleep walking their lines. As a result, comic timing and delivery nuance, which is everything, was missing. Very few of the jokes were funny to me and some of the ethnic slander jokes were hard for me to watch.

The plot is paper thin, the detectives arrive at the mansion and are seated at the dining room table...then one of them will leave the room and later return to find that it's mysteriously empty. Then in the next scene all guest are back in the dining room. And that's, the big mystery of the movie.

We later learn that the house has a 'sliding dining room' that can be electronically moved around the house. In other words there wasn't enough money to build additional rooms for extra scenes. The simple plot reminded me of Scooby Doo. I half expected Truman Capote to say at the end, "I would've gotten away with my plan too if it hadn't been for you meddling kids, err...I mean detectives."

Yes, it was nice to see so many stars, though most were mediocre in their roles which surprised me. Elsa Lanchester is usually the highlight of any movie, but here she was wasted. David Niven and Maggie Smith's characters were the only ones I really liked. Peter Falk's take on Sam Spade was downright creepy.

I'm really surprised to learn that this wasn't a made for TV movie. One good thing about watching this, I now have a desire to rewatch William Castle's House on Haunted Hill.

2

Maybe I have a soft spot for Murder Mysteries...especially ones that poke fun at the genre and have fun with itself, but I enjoyed this one. It was recommended to me by Holden Pike when I was inquiring about Murder Mysteries to write my own script; Murder A La Mode.

[Gideon58]

I, too, love Murder by Death and don't understand your disdain for the film, Citizen...different strokes I guess.

[Citizen Rules]

Maybe I have a soft spot for Murder Mysteries...especially ones that poke fun at the genre at have fun, but I enjoyed this one. It was recommended to me by @Holden Pike (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=401) when I was inquiring about Murder Mysteries to write my own script; Murder A La Mode.I like murder mysteries...I loved Clue (1985) & House on Haunted Hill (1959) and probably a ton more that I can't think of right now.

I, too, love Murder by Death and don't understand your disdain for the film, Citizen...different strokes I guess.I hated the refrigerator. Then again I can't stand Airplane! I just don't like overly silly comedies.

[Citizen Rules]

This is one of two Baumbach movies I've seen, the other being While We're Young. I don't remember much about the film but I do remember liking it.

The one thing I took away from it though was how did nobody know he was performing a Pink Floyd song? Yeah I was thinking that too, but then my wife didn't know that Pink Floyd song.

Re: Monsters Inc

I really like the ending to this film, probably in my top 3 Pixar endings and I found the climax with the doors to be imaginative and thrilling. I love the concept and hated the fact they made a prequel, I think they should have explored the city more tell us more stories within that world.

I dig it, but Pixar has much better films so Monsters Inc falls down to the middle of the pack at best for me.....I'm not big on animation but have been impressed with the Pixars I've seen. Now that you mention it the door scene at the end was done very well, with a whole lot of depth perception.

[Captain Steel]

I like murder mysteries...I loved Clue (1985) & House on Haunted Hill (1959) and probably a ton more that I can't think of right now.

I hated the refrigerator. Then again I can't stand Airplane! I just don't like overly silly comedies.

Hi Rules! You'll have to refresh my memory... what was "the refrigerator"?

[Citizen Rules]

Hi Rules! You'll have to refresh my memory... what was "the refrigerator"?The large white thing in the corner:p....see the photo on my review.

[GulfportDoc]

Phantom Thread (2017)

...
A couple of years ago I watched Phantom Thread, my reaction was one of ambivalence. I suppose that's because like many people who don't warm to a movie my expectations weren't met. That's the problem with expectations they're often quite different than what one encounters. Thus disappointment is the result. Movies don't necessarily follow a specific formula, but the movie watcher has been dialed into the conventional story telling concept that's used in most movies.

Phantom Thread utilizes a much more subtle approach with sustained moments of low key tension as a means of achieving it's story. One then might decide that there wasn't much going on in the film, and that's what I thought on my first watch.

This time around a rewatch made me appreciate the moments the film exist in. It suggest underpinnings that aren't always forefront, nor do they need to be. The impression is more important than the whole...

Daniel Day Lewis was superbly cast here as was Vicky Krieps as his strong willed muse and Lesley Manville as his stalwart sister. I loved how the film took it's time and meandered in it's world of 1950s haute couture.

rating_4
Yeah, I thought this was a superb production in almost every sense. They had to go artsy at the end however. I simply didn't believe that a man of Reynolds Woodcock's temperament would ever submit to.... well, the way it ended. It was almost as if the ending was for some other movie..:rolleyes:

~Doc

[Citizen Rules]

Yeah, I thought this was a superb production in almost every sense. They had to go artsy at the end however. I simply didn't believe that a man of Reynolds Woodcock's temperament would ever submit to.... well, the way it ended. It was almost as if the ending was for some other movie..:rolleyes:

~DocYup, I'm in totally agreement with you on this, especially on the ending. I don't know why so many movies have to go over the top for the last scene? I guess the majority of movie goers prefer it that way...but not me.

[Captain Steel]

The large white thing in the corner:p....see the photo on my review.

Okay. Why did you hate the refrigerator?

[Wyldesyde19]

Yeah, I thought this was a superb production in almost every sense. They had to go artsy at the end however. I simply didn't believe that a man of Reynolds Woodcock's temperament would ever submit to.... well, the way it ended. It was almost as if the ending was for some other movie..:rolleyes:

~DocYup, I'm in totally agreement with you on this, especially on the ending. I don't know why so many movies have to go over the top for the last scene? I guess the majority of movie goers prefer it that way...but not me.
I call this the Peckinpah effect. He really liked to go all out on his endings. Tarantino seems to have picked up the torch.

[Citizen Rules]

Okay. Why did you hate the refrigerator?It didn't match the period piece set decor. Seriously I noticed the fridge seemed out of place during the movie.

[Citizen Rules]

I call this the Peckinpah effect. He really liked to go all out on his endings. Tarantino seems to have picked up the torch.I've seen a few Peckinpah films..but it's been long enough that I can't really comment on the endings. Well, maybe one of his films will end up in an HoF someday:p

[Wyldesyde19]

I’m sure you’ve seen The Wild Bunch, but also watch Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, and Straw Dogs

[Citizen Rules]

I’m sure you’ve seen The Wild Bunch, but also watch Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, and Straw DogsOnly The Wild Bunch out of those three and I really didn't like it a lot, but it was still good and I should check it out again.

[Captain Steel]

It didn't match the period piece set decor. Seriously I noticed the fridge seemed out of place during the movie.

Did it have a period? Or was it generic (timeless)?
I know there were some vintage automobiles... but I'm not sure if even all the detectives were contemporaries (at least the originals that these characters were spoofing) ...close, but I'd have to research that (perhaps I'll follow up on that at some point and post the results here if that's okay). Of course, Sherlock Holmes who only shows up in a deleted scene at the end predates all the others.

Also, I'm wondering if that refrigerator might actually be an upright freezer (which might be present in the kitchen of a mansion for meat and such), still, that doesn't change the fact that even if it's a freezer that it has a relatively modern look. Can't say I ever noticed it before your post.

[ahwell]

Wow this thread is popping now!
2.5 for Monsters, Inc... :(
Oh well, at least you liked it more than the Squid and the Whale lol. That damn Purell!

[Captain Steel]

From IMDB Trivia (Murder By Death - 1976):
All of the detectives in this movie are parodies of the work of three authors: Dashiell Hammett, whose Nick Charles and Sam Spade were the basis for Dick Charleston and Sam Diamond, respectively; Dame Agatha Christie, whose Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple inspired Milo Perrier and Miss Marbles; Earl Derr Biggers, whose Charlie Chan was the basis for Inspector Sidney Wang and his son.

Hercule Poirot - 1920
Charlie Chan - 1925
Miss Marple - 1927
Sam Spade - 1930
Nick & Nora Charles - 1934

So yeah, I guess we could say they were contemporaries (except for Holmes, of course: 1887) and assume the setting was in the mid to late 1930's? Unless there were anachronisms in the film that would defy that like technology (or modern styles of such like the refrigerator), mentions of events like wars, etc.

[TheUsualSuspect]

From IMDB Trivia (Murder By Death - 1976):
All of the detectives in this movie are parodies of the work of three authors: Dashiell Hammett, whose Nick Charles and Sam Spade were the basis for Dick Charleston and Sam Diamond, respectively; Dame Agatha Christie, whose Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple inspired Milo Perrier and Miss Marbles; Earl Derr Biggers, whose Charlie Chan was the basis for Inspector Sidney Wang and his son.

Hercule Poirot - 1920
Charlie Chan - 1925
Miss Marple - 1927
Sam Spade - 1930
Nick & Nora Charles - 1934

So yeah, I guess we could say they were contemporaries (except for Holmes, of course: 1887) and assume the setting was in the mid to late 1930's? Unless there were anachronisms in the film that would defy that like technology (or modern styles of such like the refrigerator), mentions of events like wars, etc.

Don't rooms completely move/change in this house? It wouldn't be too far fetched that the guy made his own fridge :p

[GulfportDoc]

From IMDB Trivia (Murder By Death - 1976):
...
Hercule Poirot - 1920
Charlie Chan - 1925
Miss Marple - 1927
Sam Spade - 1930
Nick & Nora Charles - 1934

So yeah, I guess we could say they were contemporaries (except for Holmes, of course: 1887) and assume the setting was in the mid to late 1930's? Unless there were anachronisms in the film that would defy that like technology (or modern styles of such like the refrigerator), mentions of events like wars, etc.
Actually, although the Holmes stories were written by A. Conan Doyle between 1886 and 1927, the public was mostly aware of Sherlock Holmes via the 5 British Holmes movies starring Arthur Wontner from 1931-37, and the very popular Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce films from 1939-46. So the setting of the 1930s for "Murder" is pretty close.

[Citizen Rules]

Did it have a period? Or was it generic (timeless)? I thought it was suppose to take place before the mid 20th century, but don't think it directly said. For me it's more about the fridge looking quite contemporary when everything else in the set looked much older.


Also, I'm wondering if that refrigerator might actually be an upright freezer (which might be present in the kitchen of a mansion for meat and such), still, that doesn't change the fact that even if it's a freezer that it has a relatively modern look. Can't say I ever noticed it before your post.Good call it's an upright freezer. I often notice set pieces.

[Citizen Rules]

Wow this thread is popping now!
2.5 for Monsters, Inc... :(
Oh well, at least you liked it more than the Squid and the Whale lol. That damn Purell!Monsters, Inc is one of those movies that if I rated it purely objectively and not based on how much I liked it...my rating then would be more like 3.5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=48253&stc=1&d=1537637190
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

Director: Andrew Dominik
Writers: Andrew Dominik (screenplay), Ron Hansen (novel)
Cast: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard, Sam Rockwell

"Robert Ford, who's idolized Jesse James since childhood, tries hard to join the reforming gang of the Missouri outlaw, but gradually becomes resentful of the bandit leader."


This is film making as art...I loved the choice of slow story telling combined with the documentary style of voice over narration. It's an effective way of telling the tale of the assassination of Jesse James, as it felt very personal. I liked the way the point of view was from Robert Ford and not Jesse James. This kept Jesse as an enigma and that's how the film presented him as, a man of mystery.



The look of the film is pure artistry, the colors are de-saturated to give a vintage look and feel to the film. Backing that up is slow camera movement with long scene takes and smooth scene transitions that often focus on scenery to allow the viewer time to digest what they've just seen.

One of the most amazing things about this movie was the use of blurred (out of focus) panels on the sides of some of the shots...like in the photo I used above. I've been noticing this trend on still photography in the last couple of years, but never had seen this done in a movie before. This film might be the genesis for that movement...The blurred edges aren't just ascetics, they work to focus attention on the subject in the center of the frame while ignoring the information on the edges that have been blurred. I think that's so cool!

The spoken dialogue between the characters was perfect vernacular for the 1880s. Not many movies get this common man's language & style of speaking correctly. Notice there's no F bombs and when they talk sex talk, they use phrases and terms that would be common in the 1880's, but not today. The scriptwriter deserves an Oscar!

Generally I'm not a huge fan of Brad Pitt but he was perfect here as the quiet yet sometimes animated, dark and enigmatic man of violence...who's also a caring family man. Pitt extruded this hidden dangerous streak that scarred the hell out of his men. I believed he was dangerous so it worked.

Cassey Affleck was equally amazing in this. The movie is told from his perspective and damn he deserved an Oscar too. I thought he was great in Manchester by the Sea but I liked his performance here even better. He's so good at letting the audience inside his head, that I felt like I was in his shoes. He's so natural and real on screen. The rest of the cast was exceptional and kudos goes to the director for keeping all the performances in balance with the subtle style of the film.

The Assassination of Jesse James is one of the most perfect films I've seen.
rating_5

[Gideon58]

I never had any desire to see this film until I read your review.

[Citizen Rules]

I never had any desire to see this film until I read your review.Thanks Gideon, that means a lot to me. It's a very humanistic storytelling movie...and that's something I think we both like in movies.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58418
Broadcast News (1987)


Director: James L. Brooks
Writer: James L. Brooks
Cast: William Hurt, Albert Brooks, Holly Hunter
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

"Take two rival television reporters: one handsome, one talented, both male. Add one Producer, female. Mix well, and watch the sparks fly"


I kinda liked it and was interested at first, but wholly crap was Holly Hunter annoying! Ugh, talk about a wrong casting choice, she ruined what could've been a good movie.

Broadcast News starts off as a would-be savvy news room comedy drama, from the same writer that gave us the Mary Tyler Moore show. Only one problem...Holly Hunter! I read that this movie was specifically written with Debra Winger in mind to play the head of the news production team. Debra would've been good in this. I don't know what Holly was trying to do with her performance? I guess she was suppose to be super high energy and driven to perfection. But she came off like some sort of nutcase who just drank way too much caffeine. I swear all I could do is watch to see how fidgety she was...and was she fidgety or what!

Then in the middle of the film it ends up loosing it's perspective as it tries to become a rom com. The romance part didn't work at all and didn't met the expectations of a more serious drama comedy about the troubles behind the evening news show.

rating_2_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58589

Back to the Future (1985)

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale
Cast: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

"Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent thirty years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the eccentric scientist Doc Brown."


Loved this one and I'd seen it before but not for the longest time. It was sure a blast from the past...or is that a blast from the future?

Back to the Future just flows perfectly and I was always interested in what was happening. The film pacing and scene construction is flawless. So flawless that it actually gets studied.

The University of Southern California Film school's writing classes use the screenplay for Back to the Future as the model of "The Perfect Screenplay.

The cast is great too! Originally Eric Stoltz was cast as Marty McFly. While Stoltz is a good actor he's no Marty McFly. After Stoltz left the film, the producers first choice Michael J. Fox became available. Fox is so natural in this. His comic timing and easy going demeanor with just the right bit of stumble-bumness is a perfect combination for the role.

60100


The ungainly and awkward Crispin Glover as his nervous, flunky of a dad is equally perfect casting. I could go own with this...Lea Thompson as his mom, both young and old versions,...as well as the wonderfully colorful actor, who played Biff with such energy (Thomas F. Wilson)...both of them make the film special. And then there's the lovable, absent minded professor, Doc Brown (Christoper Lyold)...Doc Brown and Marty go together like potatoes and gravy!

The premise is so cool, with a teenager inadvertently using a DeLorean time machine to go back in time to 1955 where he meets both his mom and dad as teenagers...His own presences causes them to never date...and that's something he needs to fix pronto, so that he's not wiped out of existences.

The other thing I like is that this movie just oozes 1985! From the DeLorean to Van Halen to the jokes about then actor Ronald Regan becoming president. This is such a well though out script and such a fun movie!

rating_4_5++

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58589

Back to the Future (1985)

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale
Cast: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

"Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent thirty years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the eccentric scientist Doc Brown."


Loved this one and I'd seen it before but not for the longest time. It was sure a blast from the past...or is that a blast from the future?

Back to the Future just flows perfectly and I was always interested in what was happening. The film pacing and scene construction is flawless. So flawless that it actually gets studied.



The cast is great too! Originally Eric Stoltz was cast as Marty McFly. While Stoltz is a good actor he's no Marty McFly. After Stoltz left the film, the producers first choice Michael J. Fox became available. Fox is so natural in this. His comic timing and easy going demeanor with just the right bit of stumble-bumness is a perfect combination for the role.

60100


The ungainly and awkward Crispin Glover as his nervous, flunky of a dad is equally perfect casting. I could go own with this...Lea Thompson as his mom, both young and old versions,...as well as the wonderfully colorful actor, who played Biff with such energy (Thomas F. Wilson)...both of them make the film special. And then there's the lovable, absent minded professor, Doc Brown (Christoper Lyold)...Doc Brown and Marty go together like potatoes and gravy!

The premise is so cool, with a teenager inadvertently using a DeLorean time machine to go back in time to 1955 where he meets both his mom and dad as teenagers...His own presences causes them to never date...and that's something he needs to fix pronto, so that he's not wiped out of existences.

The other thing I like is that this movie just oozes 1985! From the DeLorean to Van Halen to the jokes about then actor Ronald Regan becoming president. This is such a well though out script and such a fun movie!

rating_4_5++

Enjoyed your review of this classic...one of the few films I would rate 5

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58418
Broadcast News (1987)


Director: James L. Brooks
Writer: James L. Brooks
Cast: William Hurt, Albert Brooks, Holly Hunter
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

"Take two rival television reporters: one handsome, one talented, both male. Add one Producer, female. Mix well, and watch the sparks fly"


I kinda liked it and was interested at first, but wholly crap was Holly Hunter annoying! Ugh, talk about a wrong casting choice, she ruined what could've been a good movie.

Broadcast News starts off as a would-be savvy news room comedy drama, from the same writer that gave us the Mary Tyler Moore show. Only one problem...Holly Hunter! I read that this movie was specifically written with Debra Winger in mind to play the head of the news production team. Debra would've been good in this. I don't know what Holly was trying to do with her performance? I guess she was suppose to be super high energy and driven to perfection. But she came off like some sort of nutcase who just drank way too much caffeine. I swear all I could do is watch to see how fidgety she was...and was she fidgety or what!

Then in the middle of the film it ends up loosing it's perspective as it tries to become a rom com. The romance part didn't work at all and didn't met the expectations of a more serious drama comedy about the troubles behind the evening news show.

rating_2_5

Just saw this for the first time a few months ago and agree with most of what you've said here. I never knew that Debra Winger was originally supposed to play the lead in this.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58524

The Jerk (1979)


Director: Carl Reiner
Writers: Steve Martin & Carl Gottlieb (screenplay)
Cast: Steve Martin, Bernadette Peters, Catlin Adams
Genre: Comedy

"A simple minded, sheltered country boy suddenly decides to leave his family home to experience life in the big city, where his naivety is both his best friend, and worst enemy."


The Jerk is not the best written film in the world and it's not the best acted and it's certainly not the best film ever made...But so far it takes the cake for making me laugh out loud the most times. Yes it's stupid...like a Will Ferrell movie, but I like Will Ferrell!

For me The Jerk worked because it was just Steve Martin doing the dumbest things one could think of...and for some reason that made me laugh. Especially the whole gas station scene was funny. I loved how he was soooo stupid that when Jackie Mason tells him he can stay in a backroom, he thinks it's the men's room. OMG, and there's a dude in there taking a leak and here's Steve Martin all excited about how he's going to decorate the men's room with shelves and furniture. Then he looks at the bathroom stall and exclaims, 'this must be the kitchen' t..then he opens the bathroom stall door and in a happy go lucky way says, 'no' ha!

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58525


Is Bernadette Peters a peach or what? I love the applique jewelry, I mean that's actually pretty cool and stylish if you think about it. To bad she didn't wear that ensemble to a nicer restaurant, one that didn't have snails on the plate!

I seen this first run at the movie theater and have seen it many times, it's good stupid fun!

4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58204

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Director: John Landis
Writers: Dan Aykroyd, John Landis
Cast: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd
Genre: Adventure, Comedy

"Jake Blues, just released from prison, puts together his old band to save the Catholic home where he and his brother Elwood were raised."


I love that photo!...and what a great movie! There's so much to like in The Blues Brothers that I don't know where to start? Maybe I need a cold brew and some dark shades to get into the mood:cool: I'll be back...

OK so I got a cold beer, but my shades are reading glasses so that I can see what the hell it is I'm typing. So much for me being the third Blues Brother:p

...I'm old enough that I remember watching John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd on Saturday Night Live doing their Blues Brothers for the very first time. I remember they sang with the SNL house band. But I don't remember them doing any skits as the Blues Brothers. So obviously for me this movie earns high nostalgia points. But more than that I've always thought the Blues Brothers were just flat out cool, so how could I not like the movie?

Then there's the: OMG moment, when you realize just how much R&B talent there is in the movie. We get to see and hear James Brown performing, then Aretha Franklin and my two favorites John Lee Hooker performing on the streets and Cab Calloway doing his big hit Minnie the Moocher. For all that talent alone, this film deserves to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

But wait!...there's more...The more is all those guest stars, one right after another. Way too many to list, but half the fun is just spotting the talent like Paul Rubens aka Pee Wee Herman as a waiter. And it was so cool seeing Carrie Fisher. I really like her and yet I'm not a Star Wars fan. I wish she would've had a bigger career, but at least we get to see her wielding some bad ass weapons of mass destruction!

Hey did you know The Blues Brothers movie was a musical? Surprise! and you thought you didn't like musicals;)

What about all those action car chase wreck scenes, talk about huge! talk about dangerous! talk about impressive! Geez, they actually drove a stunt car at over 100mphs on the street and then drove through an abandoned mall and smashed up the stores. There's some way impressive stunt work being done in this movie.

rating_4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58172

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)


Director: Frank Oz
Writers: Dale Launer, Stanley Shapiro
Cast: Steve Martin, Michael Caine, Glenne Headly
Genre: Comedy

"Two con men try to settle their rivalry by betting on who can swindle a young American heiress out of fifty thousand dollars first."



I liked it! It was a fun watch, I wouldn't say it was the greatest comedy ever, that would have to be something written by Billy Wider;) But Dirty Rotten Scoundrels was a very satisfying movie to spend time with. I especially appreciate that it ended strong. So many movies fizzle out in the last act, but this one had a very clever little scene at the end.

I liked the cast: Michael Caine, that's Sir Michael Caine! He always delivers the goods. He was right at home as a well mannered, impeccable groomed and wealthy con artist. I'd never seen Glenne Headly before, but what a gem she was! She was so good in her comic role that I don't know why she didn't have a bigger career? And I loved the character she did at the very end of the movie too, and she did it so well. Then there's Steve Martin...I like Steve Martin, I do. I remember watching him way back in the 1970s on Saturday Night Live...he totally cracked me up every time he hosted that show. I've liked his movies, but here he was a little too Steve Martin and IMO needed to tone it down a notch. But not a deal breaker, just something I noticed.

You know they never make a comedy like this these days. Talk about high production values. I mean it was all shot on location...and such stunning sets! OMG I'll give this high marks just for the sets alone.

3.5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58386
When Harry Met Sally (1989)


Director: Rob Reiner
Writer: Nora Ephron
Cast: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby
Genre: Drama Comedy Romance

Nora Ephron's screenplay is really a thing of beauty. In a way it reminded me of a Woody Allen film, only without the cynical outlook on life. I liked the way her screenplay examined relationships, while feeling very grounded and real at the same time. Of course Nora Ephron is one of the legends in movie screenplay writing and she doesn't disappoint here.

I thought Billy Crystal was a jerk at the start, and of course so did Meg Ryan's character. I've never liked Billy Crystal much in his films, he often seems too jerky to be likeable. Meg Ryan was a bit of a snood too here, and heaven forbid if you should ever have the misfortune of taking her to a restaurant. But as they both grew older they mellowed and became more complex characters and that's thanks to the phenomenal screenplay and probably to the director Rob Reiner too. It's hard to tell in any movie if the credit goes the director or writer?

When Harry Met Sally is one of the best written relationship films I've seen, except for two scenes that I think were over cooked. They are...The famous orgasm scene...and Billy Crystal doing his elderly Jewish man bit (which he did on the TV show Soap as well). Both were over the top and felt like comedy bits and didn't fit with the realism of the rest of the movie. I read that both scenes were improvised and not originally in Nora Ephron's script. To bad the director didn't modify those scenes to make them match the rest of the film's feel & flow.

Awesome drama, but I didn't even think of it as a comedy so don't know how to rate this as far as laughs go.

3.5+

[Citizen Rules]

https://dynamitereview.files.wordpress.com/2018/03/jamieleecurtis-afishcalledwanda007.gif?w=300&h=237
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)


Directors: Charles Crichton, John Cleese (uncredited)
Writers: John Cleese & Charles Crichton (story)
Cast: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin
Genre: Comedy, Crime

"In London, four very different people team up to commit armed robbery, then try to double cross each other for the loot."


I betcha think I'm going to gush over Jamie Lee because I used that image...Actually what caught my eye, was the fish! I've had tropical fish since I was a kid and I had great fun stopping the movie during the opening title credits and identifying the fish they showed! I knew them all too:p

Time flew by while watching A Fish Called Wanda and that's always a good thing. I'm actually not a big fan of Jamie Lee Curtis, she's fine here...then again all the cast does a great job, especially Kevin Kline. Kline is a natural born comedian and dominates the scenes that he's in. The last film I seen Kline in was the Errol Flynn bio pic The Last of Robin Hood (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2450440/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_14). I liked it even if the critics didn't.

The biggest laughs for me came from Kevin Kline taunting Ken (Michael Palin) about his stuttering. Technically that shouldn't be funny in these days of Woke/PC culture, but I laughed anyway! Especially the taunting while stuck in cement bit, as Ken drives a steam roller towards him, ha! What I didn't laugh at, was the killing of the three dogs. Sure no real dogs were hurt, but I just didn't think any of that was funny. Let's see I need to end this on a light note so...

https://tse4.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.3n8tzWqID4BX-4QcyC-a7gHaEA&pid=15.1

Didn't that scene inspire a humorous Swedish IKEA commercial?
rating_3_5+

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58184
Parenthood (1989)


Director: Ron Howard
Writers: Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel (story]
Cast: Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest
Genre: Comedy, Drama

"The Buckmans are a midwestern family all dealing with their lives: estranged relatives, raising children, pressures of the job, and learning to be a good parent and spouse."


I've been thinking all day about what I would write in my review and couldn't come up with much. Well except for I liked Mary Steenburgen in this! I usually like her, so that's a big plus. Steve Martin was good too and more sedate than in most of his early movies. Strangely however he was at his best when he was being zany, doing the cowboy balloon guy at the party. I remember he had a comedy bit he did on Saturday Night Live where he use to make animals out of balloons too. So the balloon part was cool to see in a nostalgic way.

Then there's the OMG moment! When you see the dream sequence of the little disturbed kid who's now grown up and has become a mass school shooter. What the hell! Oh my! They would never do that seen today. Of course back then mass school shootings weren't really prevalent. Nor would they show a little kid fully nude as the movie does for a joke. Times have really changed since the 1980s, and I guess that's the best thing about Parenthood is it's a time capsule back to the late 80s when all those self important baby boomers were having babies of their own and they needed to let the entire world know it...'Baby on Board' OMG. I swear having babies was as popular back in the 80s as tattoos and texting is today.

3

[Captain Steel]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58184
Parenthood (1989)


Director: Ron Howard
Writers: Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel (story]
Cast: Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Dianne Wiest
Genre: Comedy, Drama

"The Buckmans are a midwestern family all dealing with their lives: estranged relatives, raising children, pressures of the job, and learning to be a good parent and spouse."


I've been thinking all day about what I would write in my review and couldn't come up with much. Well except for I liked Mary Steenburgen in this! I usually like her, so that's a big plus. Steve Martin was good too and more sedate than in most of his early movies. Strangely however he was at his best when he was being zany, doing the cowboy balloon guy at the party. I remember he had a comedy bit he did on Saturday Night Live where he use to make animals out of balloons too. So the balloon part was cool to see in a nostalgic way.

Then there's the OMG moment! When you see the dream sequence of the little disturbed kid who's now grown up and has become a mass school shooter. What the hell! Oh my! They would never do that seen today. Of course back then mass school shootings weren't really prevalent. Nor would they show a little kid fully nude as the movie does for a joke. Times have really changed since the 1980s, and I guess that's the best thing about Parenthood is it's a time capsule back to the late 80s when all those self important baby boomers were having babies of their own and they needed to let the entire world know it...'Baby on Board' OMG. I swear having babies was as popular back in the 80s as tattoos and texting is today.

3

I love this movie.

I thought Jason Robards had an understated role - his character is pretty profound and slightly disturbing as he admits to his one somewhat stable son that he "hated" him when he got sick as a baby for forcing him (the father) to have to care and then how the worrying "never ends." That scene with the two of them at the baseball field where they both confess to each other what a mess their lives have become gets me every time.

I also thought the kid who played Steve Martin's son did a great job - he was very convincing as the emotionally distressed child (reminded me of my brother). He also reminded me of a young Billy Mumy! ;)

Still can't believe Joaquin Phoenix was "Garry"!

[Citizen Rules]

I love this movie.

I thought Jason Robards had an understated role - his character is pretty profound and slightly disturbing as he admits to his one somewhat stable son that he "hated" him when he got sick as a baby for forcing him (the father) to have to care and then how the worrying "never ends." That scene with the two of them at the baseball field where they both confess to each other what a mess their lives have become gets me every time.

I also thought the kid who played Steve Martin's son did a great job - he was very convincing as the emotionally distressed child (reminded me of my brother). He also reminded me of a young Billy Mumy! ;)

Still can't believe Joaquin Phoenix was "Garry"!Captain, why do you love it? You don't have any kids do you?

I should probably see it again, I'm guessing it's the type of movie that gets better with repeat viewings. It would be worth it for Mary Steenburgen. Are you a fan of hers?

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58386
When Harry Met Sally (1989)


Director: Rob Reiner
Writer: Nora Ephron
Cast: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher, Bruno Kirby
Genre: Drama Comedy Romance

Nora Ephron's screenplay is really a thing of beauty. In a way it reminded me of a Woody Allen film, only without the cynical outlook on life. I liked the way her screenplay examined relationships, while feeling very grounded and real at the same time. Of course Nora Ephron is one of the legends in movie screenplay writing and she doesn't disappoint here.

I thought Billy Crystal was a jerk at the start, and of course so did Meg Ryan's character. I've never liked Billy Crystal much in his films, he often seems too jerky to be likeable. Meg Ryan was a bit of a snood too here, and heaven forbid if you should ever have the misfortune of taking her to a restaurant. But as they both grew older they mellowed and became more complex characters and that's thanks to the phenomenal screenplay and probably to the director Rob Reiner too. It's hard to tell in any movie if the credit goes the director or writer?

When Harry Met Sally is one of the best written relationship films I've seen, except for two scenes that I think were over cooked. They are...The famous orgasm scene...and Billy Crystal doing his elderly Jewish man bit (which he did on the TV show Soap as well). Both were over the top and felt like comedy bits and didn't fit with the realism of the rest of the movie. I read that both scenes were improvised and not originally in Nora Ephron's script. To bad the director didn't modify those scenes to make them match the rest of the film's feel & flow.

Awesome drama, but I didn't even think of it as a comedy so don't know how to rate this as far as laughs go.

3.5+

Liked your review of this film. I liked it a lot more than you do, but I was happy that the first thing you mentioned was Nora Ephron's screenplay. I think the screenplay is brilliant and I don't know if you're aware of this, but the screenplay earned the film its only Oscar nomination. I also have always felt that even though Ephron is credited as the screenwriter that Billy Crystal had some unbilled input on the script.

[Citizen Rules]

Liked your review of this film. I liked it a lot more than you do, but I was happy that the first thing you mentioned was Nora Ephron's screenplay. I think the screenplay is brilliant and I don't know if you're aware of this, but the screenplay earned the film its only Oscar nomination. I also have always felt that even though Ephron is credited as the screenwriter that Billy Crystal had some unbilled input on the script.I didn't know about the Oscar nom. It's another movie that I've only seen once and would benefit from another watch. One of the highlights for me was seeing Carrie Fisher in something other than Star Wars.

[Captain Steel]

Captain, why do you love it? You don't have any kids do you?

I should probably see it again, I'm guessing it's the type of movie that gets better with repeat viewings. It would be worth it for Mary Steenburgen. Are you a fan of hers?

Oh yes - I had a bit of a crush on Mary in this movie (and others)! She has a sweetness in her eyes when she smiles that's hard to describe.

So that's one reason - not sure why I like it so much. It's nothing like my family (so maybe that's a plus!) ;) although certain aspects of Robard's attitude reminded me a bit of my own father.

I liked the cast and I like large ensemble movies. It's a bit of a laugh / cry movie and I like that, and it's got a message about family (and Grandma's rollercoaster analogy to life) and leaves you with a somewhat more positive view on life.

I could always relate to Steve Martin's sense of overwhelm (despite having no children myself) and his coming around to step back and view all the ups and downs as part of the ride.

Indeed, it's one of those movies I liked more each time I saw it.

I thought Ron Howard did a good job of interweaving the stories of the different facets of the family = each sibling's family is very different with different sets of problems, yet all interconnected to the whole, like most families. (And hey... it's got Rick Moranis singing! ;))

One thing I could never figure out: Tom Hulce - he had such a huge hit with Amadeus (1985) - another great movie - that I thought his career would skyrocket after the movie won Best Picture - but it just seemed to fizzle as he never went beyond bit parts.

[John-Connor]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58589

Back to the Future (1985)

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale
Cast: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

"Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent thirty years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the eccentric scientist Doc Brown."


Loved this one and I'd seen it before but not for the longest time. It was sure a blast from the past...or is that a blast from the future?

Back to the Future just flows perfectly and I was always interested in what was happening. The film pacing and scene construction is flawless. So flawless that it actually gets studied.



The cast is great too! Originally Eric Stoltz was cast as Marty McFly. While Stoltz is a good actor he's no Marty McFly. After Stoltz left the film, the producers first choice Michael J. Fox became available. Fox is so natural in this. His comic timing and easy going demeanor with just the right bit of stumble-bumness is a perfect combination for the role.

60100


The ungainly and awkward Crispin Glover as his nervous, flunky of a dad is equally perfect casting. I could go own with this...Lea Thompson as his mom, both young and old versions,...as well as the wonderfully colorful actor, who played Biff with such energy (Thomas F. Wilson)...both of them make the film special. And then there's the lovable, absent minded professor, Doc Brown (Christoper Lyold)...Doc Brown and Marty go together like potatoes and gravy!

The premise is so cool, with a teenager inadvertently using a DeLorean time machine to go back in time to 1955 where he meets both his mom and dad as teenagers...His own presences causes them to never date...and that's something he needs to fix pronto, so that he's not wiped out of existences.

The other thing I like is that this movie just oozes 1985! From the DeLorean to Van Halen to the jokes about then actor Ronald Regan becoming president. This is such a well though out script and such a fun movie!

rating_4_5++
First of all, great review CR. Didn't know they studied this 'perfect screenplay'.
What made you not rate it 5/5? It would make this ' the perfect review' :D

[Gideon58]

I didn't know about the Oscar nom. It's another movie that I've only seen once and would benefit from another watch. One of the highlights for me was seeing Carrie Fisher in something other than Star Wars.


So that's the real reason you watched it...I forgot you have this thing for Carrie Fisher

[Citizen Rules]

So that's the real reason you watched it...I forgot you have this thing for Carrie FisherHa! that's funny:p but I actually don't have a think for Carrie Fisher, but I do like her as an actress.

[Gideon58]

Every time you review a movie with Carrie Fisher in it, you always talk about her part, no matter how minor it is and whenever you see a movie that you didn't know she was in, the first thing you say about the movie, is "I didn't know Carrie Fisher was in this!"

[Citizen Rules]

First of all, great review CR. Didn't know they studied this 'perfect screenplay'.
What made you not rate it 5/5? It would make this ' the perfect review' :DThat's a good question! I actually flipped back and forth and almost gave it a 5/5. Why didn't I? I don't know there's certainly nothing I can find in the film that's not perfectly done.

[Citizen Rules]

Every time you review a movie with Carrie Fisher in it, you always talk about her part, no matter how minor it is and whenever you see a movie that you didn't know she was in, the first thing you say about the movie, is "I didn't know Carrie Fisher was in this!"I didn't realize that. I guess that's because when I think of Carrie Fisher I only think of her as Princess Leia from Star Wars. I'd never seen her in anything else until I joined MoFo. I do like her, but she's no Gloria Grahame:)

[Gideon58]

LOL!!!

[Citizen Rules]

Oh yes - I had a bit of a crush on Mary in this movie (and others)! She has a sweetness in her eyes when she smiles that's hard to describe.:up: She's usually the highlight for me in any movie she's in. I really haven't seen her in much and should make a point to do a Mary Steenburgen movie marathon! I've seen these and really liked the movies and her in it.
Melvin and Howard (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081150/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_109)
Cross Creek (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085380/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_106)
Parenthood (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098067/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_96) (of course)
Back to the Future Part III (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099088/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_95)

One thing I could never figure out: Tom Hulce - he had such a huge hit with Amadeus (1985) - another great movie - that I thought his career would skyrocket after the movie won Best Picture - but it just seemed to fizzle as he never went beyond bit parts.Yeah I wonder why his career just fizzled out? Maybe he was meant to be only one of those background characters that a person see's in movies but never really pays attention to them...but then he got lucky with Amadeus.

[TheUsualSuspect]

[CENTER]Back to the Future (1985)

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale
Cast: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover
Genre: Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi

rating_4_5++

People at work have told my I look like Biff Tannen.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/15/BiffTannenBackToTheFuture1985.jpg/220px-BiffTannenBackToTheFuture1985.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/T6g5h8Q.jpg?1


People here tell me I look like Ron Perlman.

https://tvguide1.cbsistatic.com/i/2014/11/13/784f52e0-0ab6-492c-b1f3-90bb175d52fc/69d607acd03a956e06288228a015c15b/141113mag-ron-perlman1.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/kJYFEJz.jpg?1

[Citizen Rules]

People at work have told my I look like Biff Tannen.
You do! Hey Biff make sure and put two coats of wax on my car!:p

[Gideon58]

You do! Hey Biff make sure and put two coats of wax on my car!:p

"Darth Vader came down from Planet Vulcan and told me if I don't ask Lorraine to the dance, he'll melt my brain."

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=60435 Judy (2019)
Director: Rupert Goold
Writers: Tom Edge (screenplay), Peter Quilter (based on the stageplay)
Cast: Renée Zellweger, Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock
Genre: Bio Pic

Renee Zellweger won a Best Actress Oscar for her role as Judy Garland in the 2019 bio pic, Judy.


I sometimes seen Judy Garland while watching this Best Actress nomination but sometimes I seen Bette Midler...weird I know! I guess Renee looked like Judy as much as any actress could. And I'd give the make-up people an Oscar for their efforts. But I'm not sure if I 'seen' Judy in Renee's performance as much as I had wanted to.

I've seen a lot of Judy Garland films that's for sure, but who cares, that doesn't mean I know who the real Judy was. In fact I don't know who she was and either do you...unless of course Liza is reading this. But I do know I've watched a lot of her live interviews in the 1960s and one thing that struck me about her was that she was a very needy person. She'd physical cling to people around her as if she was drowning and they were a life-preserver. It's like she just wanted to be loved and craved affection, not attention, but affection...and I didn't see that aspect of Judy in this film.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=60434


What I did see was a nice tribute to Judy and kudos to Renee for singing, she did an excellent job here. But...I asked myself one question before writing this review: What if there had been no Judy Garland and this was a fictional movie about a child star from the 1930s who grew up and had all sorts of problems. And if this was a fictional movie, then my review would strictly be about the entertainment value of this film. And when I think about the quality of the movie, sans the allure of Judy Garland, then the movie itself just wasn't all that great. I never felt like I seen the soul of Judy.

rating_3

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=60435 Judy (2019)
Director: Rupert Goold
Writers: Tom Edge (screenplay), Peter Quilter (based on the stageplay)
Cast: Renée Zellweger, Jessie Buckley, Finn Wittrock
Genre: Bio Pic

Renee Zellweger won a Best Actress Oscar for her role as Judy Garland in the 2019 bio pic, Judy.


I sometimes seen Judy while watching this Best Picture nomination but sometimes I seen Bette Midler...weird I know! I guess Renee looked like Judy as much as any actress could. And I'd give the make-up people an Oscar for their efforts. But I'm not sure if I 'seen' Judy in Renee's performance as much as I had wanted to.

I've seen a lot of Judy Garland films that's for sure, but who cares, that doesn't mean I know who the real Judy was. In fact I don't know who she was and either do you...unless of course Liza is reading this. But I do know I've watched a lot of her live interviews in the 1960s and one thing that struck me about her was that she was a very needy person. She'd physical cling to people around her as if she was drowning and they were a life-preserver. It's like she just wanted to be loved and craved affection, not attention, but affection...and I didn't see that aspect of Judy in this film.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=60434


What I did see was a nice tribute to Judy and kudos to Renee for singing, she did an excellent job here. But...I asked myself one question before writing this review: What if there had been no Judy Garland and this was a fictional movie about a child star from the 1930s who grew up and had all sorts of problems. And if this was a fictional movie, then my review would strictly be about the entertainment value of this film. And when I think about the quality of the movie, sans the allure of Judy Garland, then the movie itself just wasn't all that great. I never felt like I seen the soul of Judy.

rating_3



Wow, we have completely different feelings abut this movie.

[Citizen Rules]

Wow, we have completely different feelings abut this movie.I'm going to try and watch all the Best Picture Nominated films for the last Oscars.

[Captain Steel]

This just reminded me of a made-for-TV movie called Rainbow (1978) starring Andrea McArdle (of stage show Annie fame) as young Judy Garland. (Anyone remember it?)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078136/?ref_=nm_knf_i1

[ahwell]

Wow, we have completely different feelings abut this movie.I'm going to try and watch all the Best Picture Nominated films for the last Oscars.
Just so you know, this wasn’t nominated for Best Picture, only best actress for Zellweger.

[Citizen Rules]

Just so you know, this wasn’t nominated for Best Picture, only best actress for Zellweger.Thanks ahwell, I didn't know that. I don't follow new films at all, but I thought I'd try and watch some of them...I'll go and edit my review.

[Citizen Rules]

This just reminded me of a made-for-TV movie called Rainbow (1978) starring Andrea McArdle (of stage show Annie fame) as young Judy Garland. (Anyone remember it?)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078136/?ref_=nm_knf_i1Never heard of it. Interesting though.

[GulfportDoc]

...
What I did see was a nice tribute to Judy and kudos to Renee for singing, she did an excellent job here. But...I asked myself one question before writing this review: What if there had been no Judy Garland and this was a fictional movie about a child star from the 1930s who grew up and had all sorts of problems. And if this was a fictional movie, then my review would strictly be about the entertainment value of this film. And when I think about the quality of the movie, sans the allure of Judy Garland, then the movie itself just wasn't all that great. I never felt like I seen the soul of Judy.
rating_3

Yeah, Zellweger and the writers pretty well missed Garland's personality. But Zellweger did a decent impression of Garland's movements while singing. Otherwise it was simply Zellweger playing Zellweger's impression of Garland.

[Gideon58]

Never heard of it. Interesting though.


Rainbow was terrible but the 2001 mini-series Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows with Judy Davis and Tammy Blanchard as Judy, Victor Garber as Sid Luft, and Hugh Laurie as Vincente Minnelli is absolutely superb. Davis and Blanchard both won Emmys for their work.

[John-Connor]

https://cinenthusiast.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/the-big-country04.jpg?w=660&h=280

The Big Country (William Wyler,1958)

Director: William Wyler
Cast: Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Carroll Baker, Charleston Heston, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford
Genre: Western Drama Romance
Length: 2h 45min

About: A wealthy, former sea captain from New England travels to the west to marry a woman he had meant on the east coast. There he finds his ethics and sensibilities in conflict with the brutish nature of the open range



Awesome film...it has everything I could want in a film:

http://s3.amazonaws.com/auteurs_production/images/film/the-big-country/w448/the-big-country.jpg


Superb story telling of a big story arch that encompasses idealism, romance, individuality and action too....All done with characters who act and speak in-accordance with their established personalities and back story. In other words they act real and have real convictions, which gives each of the characters real motivation for doing what they do.

Breathtaking cinematography, Wow! does this film look great! It's the gorgeous shooting locations, like the open vast prairie that fills the screen, or the stark white of Blanco Canyon...and the Terrill mansion! Was that cool looking or what?....And the camera work itself takes full advantage of this epic vastness. This should have won the Oscar for best cinematography.

Majestic music score, Right off the bat I noticed how special the music score was. It never over powered the film but really added to the epic feel of the movie. I loved it...and the score was nominated for an Oscar too.

Great Performances, Gregory Peck is the man! The more I see of him, the more I like him. He co-produced the film along with William Wyler and his personal style is apparent. I thought all the actors did a top notch job, especially Burl Ives who was a powerhouse, he gave one of the most powerful speeches I've seen done. Burl Ives did win a well deserved Oscar for best supporting actor.


http://www.harmonicacinema.com/media/2015/05/The-Big-Country-03.jpg


Parting thoughts, At 2 hours and 45 minutes, this is a long movie, but the time flew by! There was always something going on that furthered the story and the character arcs.....I do believe I have a new Top 10 Favorite!

rating_5
👍 Just finished watching the restored version on BluRay, wow epic! wth kinda camera did they use?, those were some of the widest best looking cinematic shots I've seen in a while.:eek: Loved it!

[Citizen Rules]

👍 Just finished watching the restored version on BluRay, wow epic! wth kinda camera did they use?, those were some of the widest best looking cinematic shots I've seen in a while.:eek: Loved it!
So cool that you could see a BluRay version of The Big Country! I'm jealous:p

I don't know what type of camera they used, but as it was a late 1950s film, it had to been shot in extra wide format, so maybe like Panavison or Cinemascope? Glad to hear there's another fan of this wonderful western drama! It's in my Top 10 profile.:)

Geez all of my photos are missing from my review, I'll have to fix that.

[John-Connor]

So cool that you could see a BluRay version of The Big Country! I'm jealous:p

I don't know what type of camera they used, but as it was a late 1950s film, it had to been shot in extra wide format, so maybe like Panavison or Cinemascope? Glad to hear there's another fan of this wonderful western drama! It's in my Top 10 profile.:)

Geez all of my photos are missing from my review, I'll have to fix that.
I'm in the list section, scratched it off the MofoTop 100 of the 1950s but to my surprise it's not on the BFI Screen Guide's 100 Westerns.

[Gideon58]

👍 Just finished watching the restored version on BluRay, wow epic! wth kinda camera did they use?, those were some of the widest best looking cinematic shots I've seen in a while.:eek: Loved it!


I didn't like it as much as you did, but it is a good movie.

[Citizen Rules]

I'm in the list section, scratched it off the MofoTop 100 of the 1950s but to my surprise it's not on the BFI Screen Guide's 100 Westerns.I'm not a real fan of the BFI's 100 Western list, though it does have some great westerns on it.

[John-Connor]

I'm not a real fan of the BFI's 100 Western list, though it does have some great westerns on it.
Agreed same here, the mofo list will probably be much better.:cool: (I hope)

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=61084
Joker (2019)
Director: Todd Phillips
Writers: Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Brilliant first hour! The film held me spellbound like few films do. I was very focused on the story of the mentally ill Arthur Fleck and his continual downward spiral into something very dark and disturbing. And yet I liked Arthur, or at least I had great sympathy for him. In the first hour of the film three key ingredients came together: a disturbing story of the ultimate underdog...and a music score that accentuated the emotions of the scenes...and the third key component is Joaquin Phoenix who in my opinion is the best actor working today. Phoenix is able to dive into his roles and bring a resonances that makes us believe his angst, even when his character is unsavory as is the Joker. That first hour gets a 5/5+ rating. And Phoenix well deserved the Oscar for Best Actor.

However, and you know there had to be a however! Like most all blockbuster Hollywood movies Joker goes to far over the top and lost it's balance in my eyes in the second half. The first killings in the subway was justifiable (in movie standards) as Arthur had just been attacked and beaten. But the next two killings were more for shock value and gore and lost any empathy I had for the character. I get it that the target audience like that type of shock/gore, but it's too bad because what I seen building in the first hour was washed away by the super-hero movie craze of the second half.

Don't get me wrong there was still moments of genius in the second half but to much of it relayed on Scorsese's The King of Comedy (1982). I couldn't believe how similar the two were. Now if someone tells me the director/writer Todd Phillips was a fan of The King of Comedy and was paying homage to it...then cool. But otherwise it looks pretty close to plagiarisms to me. Maybe not by legal standards but as far as creative script writing goes, pffft.

I rate the second half at 3/5

I'll balance out the two ratings and my official rating:rating_4

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=61084
Joker (2019)
Director: Todd Phillips
Writers: Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller

Brilliant first hour! The film held me spellbound like few films do. I was very focused on the story of the mentally ill Arthur Fleck and his continual downward spiral into something very dark and disturbing. And yet I liked Arthur, or at least I had great sympathy for him. In the first hour of the film three key ingredients came together: a disturbing story of the ultimate underdog...and a music score that accentuated the emotions of the scenes...and the third key component is Joaquin Phoenix who in my opinion is the best actor working today. Phoenix is able to dive into his roles and bring a resonances that makes us believe his angst, even when his character is unsavory as is the Joker. That first hour gets a 5/5+ rating. And Phoenix well deserved the Oscar for Best Actor.

However, and you know there had to be a however! Like most all blockbuster Hollywood movies Joker goes to far over the top and lost it's balance in my eyes in the second half. The first killings in the subway was justifiable (in movie standards) as Arthur had just been attacked and beaten. But the next two killings were more for shock value and gore and lost any empathy I had for the character. I get it that the target audience like that type of shock/gore, but it's too bad because what I seen building in the first hour was washed away by the super-hero movie craze of the second half.

Don't get me wrong there was still moments of genius in the second half but to much of it relayed on Scorsese's The King of Comedy (1982). I couldn't believe how similar the two were. Now if someone tells me the director/writer Todd Phillips was a fan of The King of Comedy and was paying homage to it...then cool. But otherwise it looks pretty close to plagiarisms to me. Maybe not by legal standards but as far as creative script writing goes, pffft.

I rate the second half at 3/5

I'll balance out the two ratings and my official rating:rating_4



Interesting review...I agree with a lot of what you've said here, but I definitely liked it a lot more than you did.

[Citizen Rules]

Interesting review...I agree with a lot of what you've said here, but I definitely liked it a lot more than you did. I just read your review of Joker and even though you gave it a half popcorn more than me, it sounded like we're on the same page.

[John-Connor]

Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Director: Robert Aldrich
Writers: Mickey Spillane(novel), A.I. Bezzerides(screenplay)
Cast: Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart
Genre: Film Noir

About: An ill fated woman stranded on a loan road during the middle of the night, has a chance encounter with detective Mike Hammer. Her strange story pulls the detective into a convoluted mystery, involving suspicious people and a glowing box.



Review: I love that ending! It's fun! it's ripped right out of the pages of an old pulp fiction magazine. Some classic director, I forget who, once said whatever you do with your movie make sure the ending wows them, that's what the audiences remember, the ending. Damn straight! and I always remember the ending to Kiss Me Deadly.

You know this movie isn't as polished as the really well known noirs. If Sunset Blvd or The Sweet Smell of Success was a rock band, they'd be a polished band that had been making music long enough to get every last note perfect...But Kiss Me Deadly is like a garage band, raw, ballsy and with lots of off notes. It ain't polished, but brother it rocks!

Ralph Meeker made a really good Mike Hammer. Mike Hammer has been played by other actors, but Ralph Meeker really nailed the no non-sense detective.

In some ways these really raw noirs are my favorites, they risk more and they're just flat out fun. This one was made for a shoe string budget and shot in only 3 weeks. It's not polished but there's something special about it's energy.

rating_4
Gave it 4/5 as well, unless there's another 'what's in the box' set-up film before this one, I suspect it inspired; Raiders of the Last Ark, Pulp Fiction and Se7en.

[Citizen Rules]

Gave it 4/5 as well, unless there's another 'what's in the box' set-up film before this one, I suspect it inspired; Raiders of the Last Ark, Pulp Fiction and Se7en.I think you're right! I can't think of any earlier what's in the box, well except the Greek story Pandora's box.

Did you know there's two different endings for Kiss Me Deadly? If you have the DVD it should have the alternative ending in it.

[John-Connor]

I think you're right! I can't think of any earlier what's in the box, well except the Greek story Pandora's box.

Did you know there's two different endings for Kiss Me Deadly? If you have the DVD it should have the alternative ending in it.
Didn't know that, I saw the ending; the protagonist saves the girl..the beach house blows up, roll credits. What happens in the alternate ending?

[Citizen Rules]

Didn't know that, I saw the ending; the protagonist saves the girl..the beach house blows up, roll credits. What happens in the alternate ending?The bomb goes off and they all die.

[ahwell]

http://mmimageslarge.moviemail-online.co.uk/17258_3.JPG

Come and See (1985)
Idi i smotri (original title)
Director: Elem Klimov
Cast: Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius
Genre: Drama, War
Country: Russia

During WWII, A young boy finds an old rifle buried in the sand he joins the Soviet resistances. He is forced to endure many horrors at the hands of the Nazi forces.


Come and See...is a heavy handed Soviet propaganda film about as subtle as a bottle of Smirnoff served in a dirty glass.

I tried watching this movie years ago but couldn't get past the opening scene of an old man yelling at a boy digging in the sand. The boy sounds like a half-crazed, possessed demon. Talk about grating on the nerves.

But this time I did watch the entire film...and after the opening scene the movie actually got much better. The scenes from where the boy is at his families cabin...then joins the partisan fighters where he's put onto guard duty and then left behind in camp...when all of a sudden the woods around him begin to explode...was some of the best film making I've seen! My gaze was fixed on the screen and I scantly breathed, that's how engrossed in the film I was. At that point I really though Come and See would be at favorite.

Then the film tries to get artsy. We get elements randomly included that's suppose to make the un-skeptical convinced that this is high art. Sorry folks, but tying a stork to a tree in the middle of the woods or placing a cute lemur on the shoulder of a soldier is not art. Neither is the often repeated shot of the plane in the sky. This is where the film started to lose me with it's forced creativity and scenes that were slow as molasses.

But what sank this film is the final act, when German soldiers surround a small country village, rounding up the people into a wooden barn, then with as much joy and demonic pleasure as the film makers can show, burn the people alive. All the German soldiers are character parodies, looking like they're fresh out of a Monty Python skit. It's a ridiculously staged scene for what should be a somber event.

That scene is where the iron arm of the Soviet Union runs rickshaw over the story line. German soldiers are shown tutoring the Russian peasants. The solders jump around with clown like joy as the building burns with the people inside. Then just to make sure we know the German soldiers are the bad guys, they also machine gun the building and also through hand grenades into it...and like that wasn't enough, then they use a flame thrower on a building that is already engulfed in flames.



A few scenes latter and the triumph Russians partisans have some how managed to conquer and capture the Germans. The film makers then have a SS man give his hate spew on how all Russians and all inferior nations must be exterminated like vermin...

The German soldiers in the film are full of race hatred...and that's when it occurred to me, that the very thing this film seeks to show, is itself guilty of!

Not one of the German soldiers are shown to be human, not one of them is shown to be reluctant to follow orders to burn alive men women and children.

I've never seen a film that was more one sided and propagandist.
rating_2

I know this is super old, but wow I am shocked by your rating! I just watched it and was blown away by every aspect.

I think you bring up some legitimately good points about the possible hypocrisy of this movie... and while yes I suppose some of the grins and laughs of the German soldiers could have been exaggerated, I remember reading that “an elderly German said: ‘I was a soldier of the Wehrmacht; moreover, an officer of the Wehrmacht. I traveled through all of Poland and Belarus, finally reaching Ukraine. I will testify: everything that is told in this film is the truth. And the most frightening and shameful thing for me is that this film will be seen by my children and grandchildren.’”

Obviously not saying that that one German soldier is the 100% fact, but I think what you classified as cheese might actually be something so horrific as to be nearly comical.*

It’s also regarded as one of the most historically accurate war movies ever made.

But I mean, your points are totally fair! Not trying to change your opinion or anything, just brought up some stuff I read/thought about you might find interesting

[Citizen Rules]

I know this is super old, but wow I am shocked by your rating! I just watched it and was blown away by every aspect.

Obviously not saying that that one German soldier is the 100% fact, but I think what you classified as cheese might actually be something so horrific as to be nearly comical.*

But I mean, your points are totally fair! Not trying to change your opinion or anything, just brought up some stuff I read/thought about you might find interestingNo worries about trying to change my opinion:) In fact my opinion is never set in stone, so maybe one day my opinion will change about Come and See. It's been a very long time since I seen it, in the WWII Hof.

Maybe if I rewatched it I would like it more, but like I said in my review right at the get go with the weird voice coming out of the kid, the movie just rubbed me wrong, which then put me into a pissed off mood throughout the entire film. What I meant by cheese was the German soldiers acted silly and not in a believable way. I don't mean the actions they take, I mean their facial expressions and demeanor.

It's funny people will hate on Saving Private Ryan calling it 'American war propaganda', while Come and See is way more propagandist than Saving Private Ryan ever was.

[ahwell]

No worries about trying to change my opinion:) In fact my opinion is never set in stone, so maybe one day my opinion will change about Come and See. It's been a very long time since I seen it, in the WWII Hof.

Maybe if I rewatched it I would like it more, but like I said in my review right at the get go with the weird voice coming out of the kid, the movie just rubbed me wrong, which then put me into a pissed off mood throughout the entire film. What I meant by cheese was the German soldiers acted silly and not in a believable way. I don't mean the actions they take, I mean their facial expressions and demeanor.

It's funny people will hate on Saving Private Ryan calling it 'American war propaganda', while Come and See is way more propagandist than Saving Private Ryan ever was.

Oh, the facial expressions. Yeah, I mean there were a couple shots that could come across like that. And yeah lmao that weird opening scene!!! I thought I wouldn’t love it after that too.

Haven’t seen Saving Private Ryan but had no idea people consider it propaganda?? Even so, there are some types of propaganda that get a pass from me - I guess Come and See counts as one, since I see it as very accurate and important, and definitely Battleship Potemkin because holy smokes the innovation of that film!

[Citizen Rules]

Oh, the facial expressions. Yeah, I mean there were a couple shots that could come across like that. And yeah lmao that weird opening scene!!! I thought I wouldn’t love it after that too.

Haven’t seen Saving Private Ryan but had no idea people consider it propaganda?? Even so, there are some types of propaganda that get a pass from me - I guess Come and See counts as one, since I see it as very accurate and important, and definitely Battleship Potemkin because holy smokes the innovation of that film!Some MoFos like to dump on Saving Private Ryan and I expect that's because it's an American made war film with Americans as the good guys...and that doesn't set well with angst-attitude towards mainstream 'Hollywood films' crowd. Also because Spielberg made it, which is often enough for some to turn their noses up to it. I've only seen Saving Private Ryan once like 20 years ago, but it made an impact on me.

Oh, there's one scene in Come and See that's exceptional well done, when the boy and the girl are alone in the woods after he's become lost...and a big bomb goes off, temporarily deafen them. I love the way the film's soundtrack used a high pitch squeal to make that ringing in the ears seem real.

[ahwell]

Some MoFos like to dump on Saving Private Ryan and I expect that's because it's an American made war film with Americans as the good guys...and that doesn't set well with angst-attitude towards mainstream 'Hollywood films' crowd. Also because Spielberg made it, which is often enough for some to turn their noses up to it. I've only seen Saving Private Ryan once like 20 years ago, but it made an impact on me.

Oh, there's one scene in Come and See that's exceptional well done, when the boy and the girl are alone in the woods after he's become lost...and a big bomb goes off, temporarily deafen them. I love the way the film's soundtrack used a high pitch squeal to make that ringing in the ears seem real.

oh yeah that scene was so intense. What did you think of the use of footage at the end? I could see people having a problem with it but I thought it was real well done.

[Citizen Rules]

oh yeah that scene was so intense. What did you think of the use of footage at the end? I could see people having a problem with it but I thought it was real well done. Gosh, I don't remember that scene. I remember the Russian survivors huddle together in a swamp area, and of course the Germans burning them in their village. But I'm drawing a blank on the end scene.

[ahwell]

Gosh, I don't remember that scene. I remember the Russian survivors huddle together in a swamp area, and of course the Germans burning them in their village. But I'm drawing a blank on the end scene.
https://youtu.be/8CFpHTFsnrs

That’s the scene I was referring to.

[Citizen Rules]

That’s the scene I was referring to.I had to sign into Youtube to confirm my age, just to see that:eek: I kinda thought that's what you meant.. Gross, but I've seen footage like that a lot in WWII documentaries. I guess it adds a point that the Nazis were bad.

[Captain Steel]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=53474
Bohemian Rhapsody (Bryan Singer, 2018)



A bit long in the tooth. I did like the first 1/3rd of the film where we meet a young Freddie Mercury and learn of family origins and of his chance encounter that brought him from airport luggage handler to lead singer of one of the biggest rock bands of all time. But I couldn't help but think that Rami Malek would have made a great Mick Jagger. In fact I kept seeing Mick in the early part of the film and not Freddie. But once the film progressed to where Mercury gets his trademark short hair and mustache look, he seemed more like the real deal.

IMO they overdid the prosthetic choppers. Yeah I know Freddie Mercury had an overbite but the prosthetic teeth looked fake to me and distracted me quite a bit. Even worse I started noticing that the actor had problems wearing them as in some scenes he would roll his upper lip down as if the fake teeth where bugging him. That didn't appear to be part of the acting either, but a naturalistic response by the actor to those huge choppers.

I have to say that I got bored in the middle of the film when it relied more on montage stage performances, than character/story building scenes. That felt like lazy film making. Though the Live Aid scenes that came at the end, did make up for some of the lackluster script...I got to believe the real Freddie Mercury had a BIG story to tell, sadly we only got a glimpse of that story here in what might be described as movie-making-by-the-numbers.

3

I just saw this yesterday - good review.

It made me wonder why there are always so many repeated cliches in the lives and careers of rock stars?

I mean, we understand the booze & drugs and apparent infidelity that comes with money, sudden success and life on the road, but things like the aberrant outsider who works their way in, has undue influence over the lead singer and tears up the band - Queen had "Paul," the Beach Boys had "Landy" and the Beatles had "Yoko"! ;)

Rami did a great job, (I liked your comments about the teeth - and I didn't know if that was a mannerism of the real Freddie Mercury with his own choppers or if Rami was reacting to the fake teeth). One way Rami didn't look like Freddie was the eyes (what with Rami's uniquely bulging peepers) - in this respect the real Freddie was more handsome than Rami.

Also - spent the movie trying to figure out if that was Joseph Mazzello as John Deacon - it was: he and Rami starred together in the Band of Brothers companion series: The Pacific.

[Citizen Rules]

I just saw this yesterday - good review.

It made me wonder why there are always so many repeated cliches in the lives and careers of rock stars?

I mean, we understand the booze & drugs and apparent infidelity that comes with money, sudden success and life on the road, but things like the aberrant outsider who works their way in, has undue influence over the lead singer and tears up the band - Queen had "Paul," the Beach Boys had "Landy" and the Beatles had "Yoko"! ;)

Rami did a great job, (I liked your comments about the teeth - and I didn't know if that was a mannerism of the real Freddie Mercury with his own choppers or if Rami was reacting to the fake teeth). One way Rami didn't look like Freddie was the eyes (what with Rami's uniquely bulging peepers) - in this respect the real Freddie was more handsome than Rami.

Also - spent the movie trying to figure out if that was Joseph Mazzello as John Deacon - it was: he and Rami starred together in the Band of Brothers companion series: The Pacific.Rami would be great in another Rock-Bio movie: about the Rolling Stones. He would make the perfect Mick Jagger earlier on in his career. As far the outsider who comes between the band members, we'd need someone to play Jerry Hall...I'm not really sure she did come between the band members, just saying the movie could be framed that way to keep the cliche going:p

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59897
The Breakfast Club (John Hughes, 1985)

I feel kinda bad using that photo and even though it's pretty cool it does crop out Anthony Michael Hall from the original photo. Oh well, no one will miss the brain. Oh, that was Bender talking btw, not me:p

Brain-Brian...a coincidence? Or a hidden message?


Director John Hughes knows what it's like to be a teen in high school.
I've seen The Breakfast Club several times before and every time I watch it I feel like I'm watching a different movie. Last time was years ago and I thought of it as a really good, teen comedy. This time I seen something different, I seen a dark film about people with a lot of pain that they hide inside them from the rest of the world.

Take Bender's (Judd Nelson) story about the cigar burn on his arm at the hands of his father for spilling paint in the garage....Not much more is said about it and the film quickly slides into another scene. But think about it, the film is telling us how Bender was tortured at the hands of his father. That's hardly stuff of a teen comedy flick.

But the darkest thing of all is Brian who tells of keeping a gun in his locker because he just can't handle having an F from shop class. In the next moment we learn that it's a flair gun and it went off in his locker and everyone laughs. And that's the brilliance of John Hughes' script. He manages to keep the film light enough to be enjoyable, While if you pay close attention to the scripts sub context, we know it's not actually about a flair gun joke, it's about a kid who's on the verge of committing suicide. That's pretty damn heady stuff.

Even more poignant is how at the start of the film John Bender is mocking Brian for having the perfect little family...Hughes' script shows us that kids from so called perfect families like Brian's can be pretty screwed up too...Hughes' also shows us that underneath the labels all the teens in the movie have much more in common than a mere label would suggest. And that applies to all of us as well.

4.5


https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59898

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59852
Being There (Hal Ashby, 1979)

I'd never seenBeing Therebefore, it wasn't even on my radar and hadn't even heard of it...and yet I was impressed by the film.

Peter Sellers is just amazing in this and I loved the story of how a simple minded man was able to wow those rich & powerful people, including the President. Gives me hope I might do the same someday:p

I don't have a lot of critical analysis of the film. All I know is the story hooked me from the start and kept me fascinated throughout the film. Gosh, I loved seeing the Biltmore Estate, not only from the outside of the mansion but also the stunning decor inside...as well as the vista views from the window (as shown in the photo above).

There's a couple of things the director did that I didn't like: I wasn't a fan of the outtakes during the film's credits and I read that Peter Sellers himself hated those and blamed the outtakes on him not be nominating for an Oscar. I'd tend to agree.

I also wasn't a fan of the revised theme from 2001 A Space Odyssey being used, it was overbearing. Shirley MacClaine's 'self exploration' while funny, didn't seem to fit the theme of the movie which was much more quiet and understated. And lastly I really disagree with the director's idea of having Peter Sellers walk on water in the last scene. For me that ruined the vision that a simple minded man could achieve happiness and greatness.

But I still really liked this, so rate it at a solid
rating_4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59424
Pretty Baby (Louis Malle, 1978)

I thought this was a pretty darn good movie and I was surprised by just how well made it was. I was expecting the worst after hearing about the controversy that had surrounded this movie. But to my surprise, Pretty Baby was a fresh introspective look into the world of the women who worked in New Orleans brothels at the turn of the 20th century.

The movie does world building quite well and we see in detail the inner workings of a brothel and from the women's viewpoint, which is unusual for a film. Had this been made by another director the story might have been focused on a man's point of view, and the 'whores' would've been nameless bodies with no real value to the film. So many films are made from the male only viewpoint, leaving the stories of women in the shadows, but not Pretty Baby.

Brooke Shields did an excellent acting job as a young girl entering puberty...and entering rather nonchalantly into the world of a prostitute. The script brilliantly handles what happens to young girls who become sexualizied at a too young of age. It's an honest description of how being exposed causes young Violent to act out overtly sexual, when she's clearly not old enough to be doing so. Most of what she does is in the form of boasting and trying to be grown up. The most clear example of that is when she tries to force a younger boy to have sex with her and is stopped by the boys mother with the warning that whites and blacks don't mix.

At the end of the film her mother and new husband comes to retrieve Violent who's now married to the adult photographer. The film reinforces to the viewer that Violent despite her upbringing is still a child who wants only to be with her mother. I liked that the film never builds Spielberg like sympathy for these characters and neither does it demonize them...it simply shows us the end results.

There are a lot of deep themes in Pretty Baby about the damage that sex abuse causes to women. It's too bad a couple brief semi nude scenes of Brooke Shields has overshadowed an important movie.

rating_4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59546
Quills (Philip Kaufman, 2000)


To my surprise I liked this...I wasn't sure what to expect, in fact the movie was different than I had imaged. I know I'm liking a movie if it gets me interested from the start and keeps me interested until the very end...and Quills kept me interested.

Quills reminded me of Perfume: The Story of a Murder (2006). Both movies took a fanciful, lighter look at disturbing events and both were period pieces but done in a more modern stylish artsy way.

I loved the look of this film, the color palette was a washed out antique green, very cool and it set the mood. Geoffrey Rush was just amazing in this as the brilliantly talented and demented...and yet likable Marquis de Sade. Another actor might have made the Marquis too dark or too much a super villain type, but I like the balance that Rush brought to the roll. And liked Kate Winslet, she's so good at doing so much just with a look on her face.

Amazingly enough I thought Joaquin Phoenix was rather bland in his role as the priest who tried compassionately to run the insane asylum. I do think Phoenix is one of the best actors working today, but for whatever reason he wasn't able to find an inner depth to his priest. I did like the gone-mad version of him in the last few minutes of the film though.

Michael Caine was another real standout. He's also likable and yet he's cast as the antagonist. I kind of like a movie where the antagonist are more likable than the protagonist.

I wasn't a fan of one scene where the inmates stage a play for Michael Caine. It just seemed so silly the way the inmates were acting that it reminded me of a Monty Python movie. Just too much over the top.

But overall I did like Quills. Good cast, good movie.

rating_3_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59419
Moonstruck (Norman Jewison, 1987)

I'd seen this once before but totally forgot it...that's my life's story, ha...I watch a movie and it goes in and then out of my memory. Only a few great films stick with me and Moonstruck wasn't one of them. But it was good to rewatch it and I did like it, I guess. Actually it didn't do much for me.

I certainly don't have any big complaints or anything like that. I haven't seen Cher in much of anything so I was surprised at just how good she was and how much I liked her in this. I liked Nicolas Cage too, he even had hair here. Olympia Dukakis was good of course. Though, I thought Vincent Gardenia as her husband was a poor casting choice. He had no screen presences. I wonder why he got the job? Danny Aiello's character didn't do much for me either. But I did like John Mahoney. Mahoney was great in every scene he was in. I just wished he was in more scenes.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=64864

The other thing I liked about Moonstruck was it didn't try to go to big, or for to many laughs. Instead it took an even pace and never went way over the top. It was also a big plus seeing the sights and streets of New York city, and the way this was filmed made it feel like a very personal story. Not a bad film to watch on a rainy day.

rating_3

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59495
Pride (Matthew Warchus, 2014)


I liked it. I liked the overall story, especially as it covered an interesting real event in time that I'd never heard of. And I liked that it had the potential for rooting for the underdogs with a happy ending too. I thought the film was well cast and I liked the leads...and I even liked where it was filmed, as it seemed very authentic to me. But I wanted more story. I wanted to know more about these people and how the times that they lived in effected them. It felt like each scene was more of a brief montage than a complete chapter. It's like the film jumps into the middle of a scene without giving us much time to experience any emotions or any set up to what is about to happen. This made the film seem choppy and hard to follow at times.

64865


It was all so: quick, fast and loud...and then the scene is over and the next one starts...In that way it reminded me of the sci fi indy film Coherence (2013) feeling like a movie where everything starts and ends in the middle. It was all just too brief, I liked it so I wanted more story.

If Pride had been in the hands of a more capable director who was able to flesh out the individual stories more, this might have been an Oscar contender, hell it might have won an Oscar.

3

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59662

Wedding Crashers (David Dobkin, 2005)


I like Owen Wilson's style of comedy, there I said it! He's like this flaky Southern California dude who's into holistic foods and mood rings, and yet he's always trying to be honest with everyone. I can dig it! I liked his laid back philosophy.

However I didn't like Vince Vaughn. At first his fast talking dialogue drove me crazy and he seemed like a jerk. I kept thinking if he was cast as some bad guy villain he'd be perfect. But I must admit by the time we get to the Senator's house I was liking his character a whole bunch more.

BTW did Owen Wilson really feel up Jane Seymour in the movie? Or was that a breast stunt double? Kind of looked real to me. At any rate Jane Seymour was funny in this as was Christoper Walken as the senator and Rachel McAdams was great too.

I though the movie was 20-30 minutes to long and it would have been much funnier if instead of being lawyers, they worked in a hardware store or in construction, you know just some regular guys. That would have allowed a juxtaposition between the posh world of the weddings, compared to their real life as working stiffs.

Here's where everyone is going to disagree me with me...All through the movie we hear about this guy named Chazz who invented Wedding Crashing. Chazz was some kind of living legend we're told. I knew when Owen Wilson went to meet Chazz it just couldn't be nobody, Chazz had to be something BIG!..........and...Will Ferrell owned that role! That to me was funny! It was a good pay off and I'm not sure who else could've been Chazz, though for some reason I could see Jon Lovitz as a burned out Wedding Crasher.

The funniest line...was Owen Wilson getting all serious to Rachel McAdams at the wedding of her sister. He interrupts the whole damn wedding to tell her how he feels...and he's doing a good job of it too. Then, he says, "I did crash a funeral yesterday" OMG! you could hear a pin drop...That made me laugh out loud. I loved the way everyone was so shocked in the church. I even watched that scene twice it was so funny.

rating_3+

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59761
Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)

Hmm, ah...I don't know what to really write here. I guess that's because I don't know what to really make of Tree of Life. I know it was a really well made film, but I'm not sure to what ends it was trying to achieve?

I gather that this is a Christian themed movie? I heard a lot about God and grace and so I believe the film's idea is that: we're all connected through a higher grand plan that stretches back to the dawn of time and everything that happens is because of that master plan...and ultimately that which is lost will be found.

Do I have that right? Is that what the film is about? If so I don't have a problem with that. I can like a film regardless of it's message. Unless that message is hammered over your head repeatedly, but Tree of Life didn't do that.

I liked the narrative part, it was very different in how the cinematography and direction only showed us the moments in the families life from up close. It was like we were witnessing events without the film taking an all-knowing narrative view. And in that way we're never quite sure what's happening, or will happen, and we really don't need to know that because the film is about the moments that make up a life.

Though I couldn't shake the feeling that writer & director Terrence Malick 'borrowed' the idea of his film from Tarkovsky's Solaris. Some of the visual sequences in the montages were strikingly similar to Tarkovsky's vision of the Solaris planet. And the whole idea/vision of lost loved ones all coming together in the end...with a visual montage climax presenting that idea was much a Solaris thing.

I'd call this a solid movie. I'm just not sure what to make of the film.
rating_3


https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4a/c4/1b/4ac41b9fa5e8d901c57695eadd90c23e.gif

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58981
The Ox-Bow Incident (William Wellman 1942)


The title says it all...The Ox-Box Incident...It's about a tragic incident. It's not an action driven film, nor is it a character driven film. It's a study of a moment in time, a chain of events that lead to an incident.

The director puts us in the shoes of the hanging posse. He did that by not giving a backstory on the characters. We don't know anymore about the accused men, than the posse knows. We don't even know much about the outsiders played by Henry Fonda and Henry Morgan. As far as we know they might end up with a rope around their necks.

The events take place in real time as they occur...there's no flashbacks or intercut stories. The film's one focus is on an incident that happened at the Ox-Bow. I think that worked brilliantly and makes this film much more different than other westerns of the 1940s.

I found the events to be very believable because the actors play it very realistically. That's import, as if suspension of disbelief doesn't come into being then a film isn't believable and then the emotional impact of what you're watching has little effect. The Ox-Bow Incident had great effect on me!

And that's thanks to the streamlined script, the director and the actors. Henry Fonda is the star and does a great job but it's Dana Andrews who pulls off the near impossible of being a scared, innocent man who's about to be hung. I can't see many actors of that time being able to do what Dana Andrews did.

It's a haunting film that has stayed with me.

5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59297
Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)


What a great movie! And what an influential movie Rio Bravo was. It's so good that it was remade twice more and by the same director too, Howard Hawks. But it's Rio Bravo that's the 1st and best of the three....and it inspired the next wave of spaghetti westerns too.

I know a lot of people don't like John Wayne, why? Maybe because of his politics? I never was a fan of his until I actually starting watching his movies! Then he just grew on me. Wayne is in top form here, doing the character he does best. BTW I've seen him do other roles and he was a much better actor than was ever given credit for.

I'm also a big fan of Dean Martin...Dino and his 'drunk trying to go straight' is one of his plumb roles. I liked the way they give him a rough and tumbled look with dirty & tattered clothes and Martin makes the most of it too. I like the way we follow Martin's struggle away from the bottle back to redemption and in that way the character's are more important than the plot. And that's by design.

...And the rest: Angie Dickson: decent I could have seen a more gritty actress playing her role, but she's serviceable,. Ricky Nelson: for an actor turned pop star he did OK, no complaints here. Walter Brennan: what's a western without Walter Brennan? He provides the comic relief so that the serious moments can be, well, more serious. Shout out to Ward Bond too. This was his last film and he pairs very well with John Wayne.

I noticed the music score which had a trumpet playing a Mexican sounding melancholy melody. I stopped the film and said to my wife, 'the soundtrack sounds alot like the spaghetti westerns'. Then after watching the film I read the IMDB trivia and seen this:

The score includes the hauntingly ominous "El Degüello" theme, which is heard several times. Colorado identifies the tune as "The Cutthroat Song".... Composer Ennio Morricone recalled that Sergio Leone asked him to write "Dimitri Tiomkin music" for A Fistful of Dollars (1964). The trumpet theme is similar to Tiomkin's "Degüello" (the Italian title of Rio Bravo was Un dollaro d'onore, "A Dollar of Honor"). Then I also read this:The film was a huge success in Italy, laying the groundwork for the following decade's Spaghetti Western boom. But most importantly I read this trivia at IMDB:Howard Hawks...saw how popular western TV shows had become, and realized that audiences cared more about the characters, than the plots to the shows... Rather than making a movie that centered around one main plot, he decided he wanted to make a completely character driven western with several story-lines running through it simultaneously...
And that's exactly what the film does, it gives us time with the characters as if we were part of the story. Such a good movie!

rating_4_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58980
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford 1962)


This is a good example of a movie I needed to rewatch! Yes, I'd seen it before and liked it, but I didn't remember a damn thing about it. It's interesting that this movie comes at the end of director John Ford's brilliant career and it marks the end of an era in westerns. With the coming of Clint Eastwood and the much more action packed, violent spaghetti westerns that would dominate the 1960s, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance hearkens back to the heyday of westerns. And yet it's modern in that it revolves around the changing events of a fictional western town through time, much like America had changed during the 20th century. We see the western frontier town go from the wild west days when a bad man like Liberty Valance could rule the roast...to the later days when rule of law and societal norms had caught up to the little town of Shinbone.

Director John Ford diminishes the characters impact and makes the changing times of an American icon (IE the western town) the principal theme. Initially I was surprised that John Wayne had such little impact in the film, I mean this is not The Searchers or Rooster Cogburn. Here the Duke is just another gear in the machinery that highlights Americana, family and the old west. I guess that surprised me some as I expected with the big name actors that this would be their film...but John Ford wisely puts them into the background so that the overall themes of change can come more into focus.

4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59315
The Cowboys (Mark Rydell 1972)


John Wayne has more dimensions to him than meets the casual observers eye. Here in The Cowboys we see he's tough as nails on the outside while having a soft spot for the boys he hires (hmm, that sounds odd!) What I mean to say is: he's lost his own two sons and has now grown old. His concern is for his wife's well being and later for the welfare of the boys he hires to work for him. He comes to think of them like his own sons. So unlike other of Duke's films we see a softer side, we see a man who loves his wife and is even gentle and kind to her.

I loved the way the film takes it time and never rushes. It allows us to spend time so that we can feel we're a part of the story. A lot of movies just don't linger on the moment, The Cowboys does and does so at the right times.

The other impressive thing is the actual cattle drive. Think about it, this isn't CG crap and it's not just close ups of three cows in somebodies pasture. We see a large cattle drive in stunning wide angle, distance shots as they travel through the vast country side. I mean we see a lot of terrain, and it's easy to forget how hard on-location shooting is for the film maker, especially when done in so many different and rugged landscapes. Most films today would not have spent the time and money to do this.

Oh, big shout out to the best psycho-bad guy around, Bruce Dern! Damn! he was impressive as the unhinged cattle rustler...very believable and so very daunting.

3.5+

[Citizen Rules]

https://66.media.tumblr.com/b4dba98a7a80461f12dd5ef41650d767/tumblr_pt3uuhlfAe1qi0pl0o6_500.gifv
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Sergio Leone 1966)


I'd seen this several times before but not for almost 20 years, after watching this again, I'm not as impressed as I use to be.

Don't get me wrong, I think this is a very important film. It has some very impressive camera work and the score by Ennio Morricone is the stuff of legend! The film is certainly ground breaking and clearly would shape Quentin Tarantino's future movie making. I was amazed at just how similar in tone and style TGTBTU was to some of Tarantino's films. And maybe that's why I didn't like this as much as I had expected to. The overtly obvious sound effects and stuff like flying hats that are shot, just seemed more silly than great and I'm not a fan of super close ups either.

But there's no denying there's greatness here. The cemetery scene when Tuco (Eli Wallach) goes running from grave to grave, then ends up in the center of the cemetery running circles, as the camera spins around...causing the background to fly by...OMG...that was a thing of genius! And the Civil War set on the hill side, amazing. The set was so big in scope and by using the three dimensional hill sides and the valley below, then brought the huge scale of war to the viewer.

You know I had always thought of TGTBTU as a Clint Eastwood film. But he's really not the draw here, it's Eli Wallach as Tuco the Rat who steals every scene he's in. For the record Eastwood is good here as the 'Good' and it's nice to see Lee Van Cleef the 'Bad' get to showcase his talents.

TGTBTU is an impressive film alright, but at 3 hours it's too long for it's basically simply story line. I felt the length in this film and checked the time remaining more than once...where as in The Cowboys at 2 hours 20 minutes, I never once checked the time and ended the movie wishing it had been longer. So ultimately TGTBTU felt like a film maker singing his own praises by making an epic, and yet the story couldn't support the epic run time, at least for me.

3.5+

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59314
The Salvation (Kristian Levring 2014)


This was just plain silly. The opening scene in the stagecoach station had promise and I hoped it would be a movie with fleshed out characters, deep themes and an intelligent script...But nope I got none of that.

Instead The Salvation plays out like a bad 1990s slasher movie were the people's actions are so implausible that you want them to get killed just for being so stupid. And true to it's slasher styling, the bad guy is as one dimensional as they come. I couldn't believe the scene where the bad dude comes into town and announces that the town's folks better find the killer of his brother within two hours OR he will kill two town's folks and so does...and old lady and a double amputee, OMG! Talk about an unbelievably situation. No time was spend building up why the bad guy was so evil or had so much power over the town's folks. Later on we see the wimpy sheriff and a half dozen of his deputies in a scene and they're armed, so we know the town's folks have guns, so they could have fought back.

The whole film infuriated me: example Mads Milkkelson has escaped and is armed with a repeating rifle and is hiding behind a big rock as a dozen or so of the bad men ride in close formation out in the open of the prairie. Mads' character is both an ex soldier and expert hunter, he could have killed everyone one of those men. With no cover they'd dropped like flies. The whole movie was like that with a lazy script that seemed best suited for a video game.

2.5-

[Captain Steel]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59315
The Cowboys (Mark Rydell 1972)


John Wayne has more dimensions to him than meets the casual observers eye. Here in The Cowboys we see he's tough as nails on the outside while having a soft spot for the boys he hires (hmm, that sounds odd!) What I mean to say is: he's lost his own two sons and has now grown old. His concern is for his wife's well being and later for the welfare of the boys he hires to work for him. He comes to think of them like his own sons. So unlike other of Duke's films we see a softer side, we see a man who loves his wife and is even gentle and kind to her.

I loved the way the film takes it time and never rushes. It allows us to spend time so that we can feel we're a part of the story. A lot of movies just don't linger on the moment, The Cowboys does and does so at the right times.

The other impressive thing is the actual cattle drive. Think about it, this isn't CG crap and it's not just close ups of three cows in somebodies pasture. We see a large cattle drive in stunning wide angle, distance shots as they travel through the vast country side. I mean we see a lot of terrain, and it's easy to forget how hard on-location shooting is for the film maker, especially when done in so many different and rugged landscapes. Most films today would not have spent the time and money to do this.

Oh, big shout out to the best psycho-bad guy around, Bruce Dern! Damn! he was impressive as the unhinged cattle rustler...very believable and so very daunting.

3.5+


Ah, my favorite western (for the guy who doesn't like westerns)!

Great cinematography in this film - lots of epic vistas!

I had the collector's DVD for The Cowboys (before the DVD went bad) and loved the extras (as Bruce Dern and a few of the cast members came together) - a favorite story was how the kid Dern terrorized in the film would avoid him ever afterwards on the set because Dern was so convincing that their scene together terrified the kid in real life! Now that's acting - and they say the kid wasn't acting in the film - the fear he shows toward Dern in their scene was 100% genuine!

Another story told on the DVD was how some cast members went out to dinner with John Wayne, he went to the bathroom and came back with his pants all wet - he told how he was at a urinal next to another customer who looked over at him and said "Y-y-you're- you're... J-John Wayne!" as the guy turned toward Wayne... in such shock that he continued to urinate... all over Wayne's pants!

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59897
The Breakfast Club (John Hughes, 1985)

[LEFT]I feel kinda bad using that photo and even though it's pretty cool it does crop out Anthony Michael Hall from the original photo. Oh well, no one will miss the brain. Oh, that was Bender talking btw, not me:p

Brain-Brian...a coincidence? Or a hidden message?




https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59898


Enjoyed reading your review of this film...it's re-watch appeal is endless. Nice to hear someone address the darkness of Bender and Brian's stories. In my opinion, Anthony Michael Hall delivers the strongest performance in the film.

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59852
Being There (Hal Ashby, 1979)






Very impressed that you saw this, Citizen, doesn't strike me as your type of film. I agree with everything you said and rated it the same you did. BTW, just to clarify, Sellers did receive a Best Actor nomination for the film...he lost to Dustin Hoffman for Kramer VS Kramer.

[Gideon58]

[CENTER]https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59424
Pretty Baby (Louis Malle, 1978)



I have never had any desire to see this film, despite the presence of Susan Sarandon, who I LOVE, but after reading your review, I'm adding it to my watchlist.

[Gideon58]

[QUOTE=Citizen Rules;2094308]https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59546
Quills (Philip Kaufman, 2000)


/QUOTE]

Another movie I never had any desire to see until reading your review...adding this to jmy watchlist too.

[Gideon58]

[CENTER]https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59419
Moonstruck (Norman Jewison, 1987)



I liked Moonstruck but always felt it was overrated. Cher was good, but she did not deserve the Best Actress Oscar over Glenn Close for Fatal Attraction. LOVED Nicolas Cage in this though.

[Gideon58]

[QUOTE=Citizen Rules;2094312]https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59495
Pride (Matthew Warchus, 2014)


/QUOTE]

Never heard of this film, but it sounds interesting...will be adding it to my watchlist as well.

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59662

Wedding Crashers (David Dobkin, 2005)




Thank you for admitting to being a fan of Owen Wilson. I am too and there aren't too many of us around here. This is a great film and I do agree that it is a tad overlong. I also agree that Will Farrell had me on the floor for the five minutes he was onscreen

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=58981
The Ox-Bow Incident (William Wellman 1942)

[SIZE=3]


As you know westerns are not my thing, but it was your review of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford that motivated me to watch that film, which I rated 4.5. so I'm trusting your instinct on this one too and will be adding it to my watchlist.

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59315
The Cowboys (Mark Rydell 1972)




One of the few John Wayne films I've seen and enjoyed and yes, Bruce Dern is AWESOME!

[Citizen Rules]

Breakfast Club...Enjoyed reading your review of this film...it's re-watch appeal is endless. Nice to hear someone address the darkness of Bender and Brian's stories. In my opinion, Anthony Michael Hall delivers the strongest performance in the film.I think all the actors delivered but I agree Anthony Michael Hall performance was the strongest.

Being There...Very impressed that you saw this, Citizen, doesn't strike me as your type of film. I agree with everything you said and rated it the same you did. BTW, just to clarify, Sellers did receive a Best Actor nomination for the film...he lost to Dustin Hoffman for Kramer VS Kramer.I like those types of films too. I just don't get around to them that often.

Pretty Baby...I have never had any desire to see this film, despite the presence of Susan Sarandon, who I LOVE, but after reading your review, I'm adding it to my watch list.

Quills...Another movie I never had any desire to see until reading your review...adding this to my watch list too. Quills is one of Miss Vicky's favorite films. I think you'd really like it.


Pride...Never heard of this film, but it sounds interesting...will be adding it to my watchlist as well. It's a true story and heart warming. I think you'd really like it.

Thank you for admitting to being a fan of Owen Wilson. I am too and there aren't too many of us around here. This is a great film and I do agree that it is a tad overlong. I also agree that Will Farrell had me on the floor for the five minutes he was onscreenI haven't seen many of Owen Wilson's movies I'd like to see more. Have any suggestions?

The Ox-Bow Incident.. I'm trusting your instinct on this one too and will be adding it to my watchlist.If The Ox-Bow Incident doesn't leave you feeling completely haunted by what happens I'll eat my cowboy hat!:)

[gbgoodies]

Thank you for admitting to being a fan of Owen Wilson. I am too and there aren't too many of us around here.

I haven't seen many of Owen Wilson's movies I'd like to see more. Have any suggestions?


I'm not a fan of Owen Wilson, but I liked Midnight in Paris (2011).

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59336
Meek's Cutoff (2010)
Western

Dir. Kelly Reichardt


In 1845 a small group of immigrants on their way to the Oregon Territory became hopelessly lost in the vast openness of the prairie, after taking a chance on a shortcut....Meek's Cutoff. CR


What struck me about this film is the way it completely embodies an emotion, while capturing a specific moment in time. That emotion is one we all can relate to, the feeling that one has made a horribly wrong turn and now all is hopelessly lost. The moment in time was real, this is based on a story of a group of early pioneers heading to the Oregon Territory in 1845. That's some 30-40 years earlier than the time frame most western films take place. In 1845 these people would have been literally charting new territory. And a wrong turn could spell doom.

It's the underlying emotion of uncertainty as one heads into the unknown, that Meek's Cutoff captures. The film takes us on a journey and comes as close as any film ever has to giving us the experience these early pioneers would've felt.

I loved that image I used, the film uses spacial distances to make one feel the vastness of the journey these people took. Meek's Cutoff is a subtle film, it never spoon feeds it's message with cinematic cues and overly high drama. It allows the viewer to have their own experience...and that is something quite different than the average movie.

rating_4_5+

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=60942
Dirty Little Billy (Stan Dragoti 1972)


Trapped in the muddy confines of Coffeeville, Billy a kid faced teen, languishes with no direction and zero motivation. He ends up forcibly ejected from his own home by an abusive stepfather and takes up living in a run down shack-of-a-saloon with a crazed pimp and his angelic faced prostitute girlfriend. Thus raw circumstances and a lack of personal hygiene starts the career of one of the old west most notorious outlaws.

I dug this indie style, coming of age film. It reflects the journey that the young adult, baby boomers were taking at the time. With it's psyche of non conformity and un-traditionalism it embodies the hallmark of the counter culture of the late 1960s and early 70s.

Dirty Little Billy is a unique, non-hollywood western that brings much realism into this deep character study of Billy the Kid. I loved the slow paced, deeply introspective style of film making. The film is about the ambiance and the in-between moments that makes up a life. And in between the violent climax of the film where Billy becomes an outlaw, and the bleak start where he's forced out into the world on his own...we have all the lost moments that go to make up the individual that we call Billy the Kid. I thought that was fresh film making and I quite enjoyed it. and the style of the film making reminds me of Meek's Cutoff.

4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59421
The Grey Fox (Phillip Borsos 1982)


A western of a different flavor...The Grey Fox is an award winning, biographical Canadian film, that's not like the typical western.

The Grey Fox is an introspective, personal tale of a 'gentleman bandit' who robbed stagecoaches in the 19th century and eventually was caught and set to prison for 33 years. When The Grey Fox (Richard Farnsworth) finally gets out of prison, it's the 20th century and he's now a senior citizen. He faces a world that has changed leaving him a relic of the long gone 'old west'.

65325

The film is done in a subtle manor with leisurely pacing and mostly non violent with the emphasize on the aged outlaw trying to cope with the changing times. I liked the personal tale style of the movie and the more low key approach which fits the filming style of the movie. The filming sites were in British Columbia Canada and in my state of Washington, which I thought was cool and gave the film a much different look and feel than the typical hot, dry and dusty western.

3.5++

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=60588
The Scalphunters (Sydney Pollack 1968)


Now that's a stunt! The stuntman is actually jumping over the chasm! OMG how crazy is that. And that's what I love about older movies, you get real stunts & real locations.

I liked The Scalphunters. I know I liked it because I never checked the time remaining while watching it. It was good fun, exciting and with stunts galore... I loved the odd looking rock formations in Mexico, I'd never seen anything quite like that before. Watching a movie like this is almost like taking a vacation and seeing the countryside of some exotic locale...and all from the comfort of you home.

The Scalphunters is a comedy-action-western and so it has it's lighter moments at times, which for me was fine.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=65327


I thought Burt Lancaster was perfectly suited to an action comedy, his colorful personality made the film go. So did the actor who played the runaway slave, Ossie Davis. He really held his own whenever he and Lancaster had scenes together. I'm not the biggest fan of Telly Savalas and I never did like his TV show Kojak, but he did fine here. Still I wish we could've had someone more colorful to pair with Shelley Winters, say like Strother Martin. And I wish the scalp hunter crew could've had a few choice character actors who got to say a few lines, but overall it was a good movie.

rating_3

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59421
The Grey Fox (Phillip Borsos 1982)


A western of a different flavor...The Grey Fox is an award winning, biographical Canadian film, that's not like the typical western.

The Grey Fox is an introspective, personal tale of a 'gentleman bandit' who robbed stagecoaches in the 19th century and eventually was caught and set to prison for 33 years. When The Grey Fox (Richard Farnsworth) finally gets out of prison, it's the 20th century and he's now a senior citizen. He faces a world that has changed leaving him a relic of the long gone 'old west'.

65325

The film is done in a subtle manor with leisurely pacing and mostly non violent with the emphasize on the aged outlaw trying to cope with the changing times. I liked the personal tale style of the movie and the more low key approach which fits the filming style of the movie. The filming sites were in British Columbia Canada and in my state of Washington, which I thought was cool and gave the film a much different look and feel than the typical hot, dry and dusty western.

3.5++

Enjoyed this review...will be adding this one to my watchlist.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=62422
Murder, My Sweet (Edward Dmytryk 1944)

The classic period of Film Noir is often considered to be: 1941 to 1958. But even in that 17 year time period, noir changed a lot. Murder, My Sweet hearkens back to the earliest days of noir when it was about character tropes, colorful slang dialogue, twisting-turning mysteries and moody lighting reminiscent of German expressionism of the 1930s.

I loved the vernacular of Murder, My Sweet, so many great lines with such imaginative phrasing, I really got a kick out of it...

"I only took the job because my bank account was trying to crawl under a duck."

What the hell does that mean? You know what, I don't even care because it sounds like something a hard boiled detective would say...and it's authentic and that's something you can't get from a modern movie set in the past. I mean this is 1944, captured on film with all it's mannerisms and styles.

I've never read a Raymond Chandler novel but I feel this movie must have captured the feeling of those novels. And in a way this reminded me of an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, where Captain Picard uses the holodeck to recreate the literary fictional world of Dixon Hill.

Now if I was on a Bogie kick, I might say to myself, Dick Powell? The singer? He's no Bogie. Well Bogie is no Dick Powell, and Bogie can't sing either, ha. I liked Powell because he wasn't always the smartest guy in the room, he wasn't the toughest and he screwed up a lot. And in that way he reminded me of another great film detective, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford-Blade Runner). Powell's Philip Marlowe is no superman and in that way the average person can relate to him. And I liked how he played the jaded detective with just a touch of ironic comedy and always looked like he needed a drink and a shave.

Clarie Trevor is always good. She looked the best at the start of the film in the white dress with the mid drift belly pick-a-boo. She did look a bit to old for that get up, but then again that was the point wasn't it?

Anne Shirley was as cute as a button! Too bad this was her last film. She retired from acting at the ripe old age of 26.

Gosh, I didn't even mention all the cool noir lighting, effects and shadows. Yeah, there's a lot to like here alright. Murder, My Sweet is like stepping into another world where everything is just a bit cooler than real life. Good stuff.

rating_4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=62540
The Stranger (Orson Welles 1946)


I've seen this before and the first time that I watched it I was disappointed and I think I know why. I expected to see one thing, and what was actually on the screen was quite different than what I had imaged...Which lead me to compare my preconceived expectations against what I thought a noir should be. But the term noir wasn't even known at the time of this movie.

On my third watch of The Stranger, I realized that this can't be held to some standard of what a noir is or isn't. That's not what the film was aiming for. If anything The Stranger reminds me of Hitchcock's suspense-thrillers of the 1940s. And when viewed in that light, The Stranger works quiet well.

Orson Welles keen eye for angles and lighting and mastery of the camera is in full play here. There were numerous low angle shots, high angle shots, birds eye view shots, that were the hallmark of Welles' films. Perhaps the most notably shot he does is mid range lens close focused on the subject in the corner foreground while in the opposite background corner is another subject. It's very distinctive as shown in my photo I used.

I know today people might say Nazis, spies & secrets, that's old hat. Well it's an old movie!...and when it was made right after the war, escaped Nazis and the fear that they could be working covertly in small innocuous towns, was quite a real fear.

This time around, I really appreciated spending time with the characters and watching the story unfold and of course taking in the mastery of director Orson Welles. I enjoyed this!

4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=63147
Le Corbeau (Henri-Georges Clouzot 1943)


It was very interesting seeing a film that was made in occupied France under the watchful eye of the Nazis.

As a movie I liked Le Corbeau as it held my interest and the characters and setting was interesting to me. Of course the plot of someone writing 'poison pen' letters in a small town and causing all sorts of mayhem and suspicion, made for lots of tension. I wonder what a director like Hitchcock could've done with this story?

There was a lot of potential here, but the film itself isn't real polished and several key scenes seem to be missing. It must have took until the middle of the film for me to realize that Dr. Germain had a previous love affair with the old doctor's wife, Laura (up to that point I thought it was just rumor). And I was confused when the tart with the limp, Denise, talked about her one night fling with Dr. Germain. Did I miss that scene? I had no idea they were ever together.

So yeah I enjoyed the film and I appreciated it's uniqueness in film history.

Wartime propaganda? After WWII the free French claimed this film made by a German film company in occupied France was demeaning to the French people and the French resistances....Nah, that's not what the film is doing. It's telling a real event than occurred in a small French Town in 1917. If Le Corbeau had been made immediately after the war it would've been hailed as a homage to the French resistances...and the movie's suspicious & spying town's people akin to the French collaborators who worked with the Germans.

But sometimes a movie is just a movie with no hidden agenda as is the case here with Le Corbeau.

3.5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=65426
L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson 1997)


Loved the opening scene of the movie which gave a historical overview of L.A., that was like manna to me. I love the 1950s in general, its my favorite decade. So anytime a movie is set in the 1950s it scores high points with me.

I loved the first hour of the film in how it introduced us to the corrupt world of the LAPD. All three of the police officers were very interesting and very varied from one another. But what I liked most was the insiders view into the political workings of the Los Angeles police department. I find that sort of stuff fascinating. The first hour of the film was perfect! Culminating in the intense interrogation of the three black suspects. All that felt very real.

But then the tone of the film changed in the second half and it became more of an action buddy-cop film with people dropping like flies. In the first half I was convinced this would be a 5 star film for me. But as the film progressed it got more action packed and changed in tone. That's when I started losing interest.

The end scene was just ridiculous. Guy Pierce and Russell Crowe arrive at the old motel and quickly find out it's a set up, but declare it's too late to get out of there. So they hold up in a motel room and have an old western style shoot out...Why didn't they just get into their cars and leave? Well I guess it's so we can have a big body count with people being shot right and left. I've never been a fan of action type films and sadly that's how this film ended up.

rating_3_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=64740
Angel Heart (Alan Parker 1987)


I loved the first hour! Especially the way the director handled the scenes. I noticed on the longer scenes the opening fade-in would be a close-up of an object, something on a table or something small in the foreground. Then the scene would open up to a master shot so we could see the entire scene. The director would then take his time with the camera movements giving us plenty of 'in between time' so that we could soak up the atmosphere and 'be in the scene'. The sets themselves were so realistically dressed with small period piece items that I would pause the film just to get a good look at all the detail that went into those scenes. I'm impressed by this director!

I don't think I've seen many of Mickey Rourke films, but I was blown away by his performance. He covered the range of emotions and did them very believably. He made the perfect film noir detective and embodied the soul of Philip Marlowe.

I can't say the same for Robert DeNiro. IMO he's one of the most overrated actors, at any rate, he made a lousy devil. Even before I knew that's who he was, I could tell he didn't have a handle on his character so his performance felt flat.

Unfortunately the second hour went down the tubes. Charlotte Rampling and Lisa Bonet played intriguing characters and I liked their storylines. I wish they had more screen time as I would've liked the story to unfold in part through scenes with them. As it was their time was all too brief.

The scene in the gumbo house where the older man in a white suit delivers one helluva long monologue explaining the whole movie to the audience, was ridiculous. Though the big reveal with Robert DeNiro confessing to be the devil was even more silly, but not as silly Lisa Bonet's little kid with glowing eyes, OMG what a pathetic ending for a film that started out so damn promising

3-

[Wyldesyde19]

Le Corbeau was amazing

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=65426
L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson 1997)




rating_3_5

[/LEFT]
Surprised you watched this, Citizen, doesn't seem like your kind of movie. Personally, I think it's the best film of 1997.

[ahwell]

Surprised you watched this, Citizen, doesn't seem like your kind of movie. Personally, I think it's the best film of 1997.
I made him :)

[Citizen Rules]

Surprised you watched this, Citizen, doesn't seem like your kind of movie. Personally, I think it's the best film of 1997.Why doesn't it seem like a movie I'd watch? It's not particularly violent or action packed, it's much more a case study of the politics of the L.A.P.D. If it wasn't for the blockbuster style, shoot em up last scene I would've gave it a rating_4_5

[Gideon58]

Well, you don't seem to review a lot of contemporary crime dramas, that's all.

[Citizen Rules]

Well, you don't seem to review a lot of contemporary crime dramas, that's all.Oh ok, I see what you mean. Yup that's true most modern crime films aren't to my liking.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=61188
Platoon (Oliver Stone 1986)

Wow! This was powerful...and such an emotional watch for me. I felt like I was forgetting to breathe, it was that intense! I'd seen this before too, in fact I reviewed it here (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1590824#post1590824) and only gave it a 3.5. I don't remember why I wasn't as enthused last time.

I haven't read my old review as I don't want this review to be influenced by my past thoughts...But since I last watched this I also watched an excellent documentary by Ken Burns, The Vietnam War (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1877514/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) It's 17 hours long in 10 episodes and riveting! It was a real eye opener about the causes and effects of the Vietnam War including interviews with North & South Vietnamese and U.S soldiers...all who lived through that time. I can say that Platoon is pretty well factual and those types of atrocities did actually happen. Not often, but sadly they did happen.

My favorite part of the film is the first act where we get to know the young grunt Chris, (Charlie Sheen) who drops out of college to do his part in the war effort and finds out it's nothing like he had imaged. I like the set up where his voice-over reads his letters to his grandma. Those letters tell us a lot about Chris and Vietnam too. Then we get the attack scene during the jungle patrol, followed by the atrocities at the village. That was so hard for me to watch knowing those events did occur.

This is a near perfect film and I'm picky about what I call a perfect film. The only thing I can nitpick is the second time Oliver Stone appears on screen. The first time was during a lull in the action so it wasn't a big deal and he didn't speak. But the second time is during the final attack (the Tet Offensive by the North) and seeing Stone on screen for me broke the intensity and realism of that final attack. Not a deal breaker and I would rate this at rating_4 or maybe even higher.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=60689
The King's Speech ( Tom Hopper 2010)


I enjoyed every single minute of this film! And I rarely feel that way about any movie. I'd seen this only once before, back when it first came out on DVD. I remember loving it then. So much so that I told a couple people about it, who then watched it and also loved it, which is pretty amazing in itself.

The King's Speech is right up my alley for movie subjects. It's historical, it's biographical and it's about the British royal family. I've seen a lot of movies about the British monarchy and this tale of King George VI struggles with stuttering, was both illuminating from a historical viewpoint and quite entertaining in a heartfelt way. I actually laughed a number of times, no not at the stuttering, but at the clever witticisms that Lionel (Geoffrey Rush) blurted out to Colin Firth who played King George VI.

Geoffrey Rush was spot on with his role as the unconventional Australian speech therapist. He brought life and energy to the role and made a good film great. And Colin Firth made a good Prince Albert/King George VI too, he brought dignity and frustration. The frustration is what he felt by having the crown thrust upon him when his older brother who had been the King abdicated to marry an American divorcee.

I loved the look of the film, especially the funky room they spent a lot of time in...shown in the screen shot above. Glad to have rewatched this gem of a film.

4

[MovieGal]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=60689
The King's Speech ( Tom Hopper 2010)


I enjoyed every single minute of this film! And I rarely feel that way about any movie. I'd seen this only once before, back when it first came out on DVD. I remember loving it then. So much so that I told a couple people about it, who then watched it and also loved it, which is pretty amazing in itself.

The King's Speech is right up my alley for movie subjects. It's historical, it's biographical and it's about the British royal family. I've seen a lot of movies about the British monarchy and this tale of King George VI struggles with stuttering, was both illuminating from a historical viewpoint and quite entertaining in a heartfelt way. I actually laughed a number of times, no not at the stuttering, but at the clever witticisms that Lionel (Geoffrey Rush) blurted out to Colin Firth who played King George VI.

Geoffrey Rush was spot on with his role as the unconventional Australian speech therapist. He brought life and energy to the role and made a good film great. And Colin Firth made a good Prince Albert/King George VI too, he brought dignity and frustration. The frustration is what he felt by having the crown thrust upon him when his older brother who had been the King abdicated to marry an American divorcee.

I loved the look of the film, especially the funky room they spent a lot of time in...shown in the screen shot above. Glad to have rewatched this gem of a film.

4

There is a tv show series on Prime (I think) called "Million Dollar American Princesses" and it is talking about how the self-made upper crust of New York and New Jersey sought English Lords for their eligible daughters. The Lords needed money to save their estate and the fathers had their marriage-age daughter and high dollar dowries to broker a title in the family. They were talking about Wallace Simpson and King Edward the 8th. It reminded me of this film when he abdicated his crown.

I did enjoy this film as well when I first saw it.

And what woman my age doesn't mind looking at Colin Firth throughout a film. :D

[Citizen Rules]

There is a tv show series on Prime (I think) called "Million Dollar American Princesses" and it is talking about how the self-made upper crust of New York and New Jersey sought English Lords for their eligible daughters. The Lords needed money to save their estate and the fathers had their marriage-age daughter and high dollar dowries to broker a title in the family. They were talking about Wallace Simpson and King Edward the 8th. It reminded me of this film when he abdicated his crown.

I did enjoy this film as well when I first saw it.

And what woman my age doesn't mind looking at Colin Firth throughout a film. :DThat sounds like an interesting show, I don't have Prime but might be able to check it out one day. I do like stuff about the Royals, and I've seen a number of movies and documentary on them.

[MovieGal]

That sounds like an interesting show, I don't have Prime but might be able to check it out one day. I do like stuff about the Royals, and I've seen a number of movies and documentary on them.

It was hosted by Elizabeth McGovern.... She played Lady Grantham on Downton Abbey, which was an American heiress marrying a Lord to gain a title in exchange for a high dowery.

[Citizen Rules]

https://media0.giphy.com/media/uCgMmhFurblXa/source.gif
American Beauty (Sam Mendes 1999)


It's all about obsession! Am I right?

That's how I see American Beauty, it's about obsession and how it manifest itself in different people. Carolyn (Annette Bening) has gone nuts over obsessing over the 'good life'. She has a $4000 couch with Italian silk fabric, and it's ugly! But she doesn't care, she's obsessed to have it all...an in doing so she's forgotten the care free girl that she once was back in college.

Their daughter Jane (Thora Birch) is obsessed with breast augmentation, though they looked plenty big to me. She's been saving her money since she first started baby sitting, probably when she didn't even have any breast and now that's she grown she doesn't realize they've grown too. That's obsession.

Her friend Angela (Mena Suvari) is bonkers obsessed with not being ordinary. She goes to great links to make herself out as a bold, daring, sex crazed girl...and yet in the end she's a virgin who just talked real big.

Then there's the guy next door Ricky (Wes Bently) with the camera. OK he's obsessed with capturing moments of beauty on film. Even if it's a dead bird, he's obsessed to capture those fleeting moments and save them. That's why he has a wall of shelves in his room, for all those videos he's made and saved.

Then there's his dad the marine dude (Chris Cooper) he's obsessed with control and maybe obsessed with being or not being gay.

Well, what about Kevin Spacey, He doesn't seem obsessed, in fact he's utterly complaisant, a doormat with a vacant smile on his face. His highlight is jerking off in the shower. That's it, that's all he's got to look forward to. He's the only one who's not obsessed. Through his character we see how being true to one's inner self, is so much better than being obsessed about stuff that doesn't even matter.

Of course other people's obsessions effect him and that's why he's dead.

rating_4+

[Captain Steel]

Nice to see this thread back, CR!

I have to say I'm in full agreement with your latest reviews!

Platoon - Indeed about as close to you get to a perfect film.
I first saw it in the theater and was deeply disturbed by parts of it. When a film leaves you with a lot of powerful emotions that means it accomplished its task.

The King's Speech - I wouldn't say this about most movies, but I absolutely fell in love with this one (which is different from just saying I loved it). I think it's because I heard such negative reviews about it before I saw it: "slow as molasses," "like watching paint dry," "I fell asleep," "only appealing to erudite intellectuals or snobbish history buffs," etc.
I would also call this a perfect film for the type of film it is. I never found it boring or slow in the least. A wonderful period peace, masterfully acted, and truly inspirational: a story of overcoming obstacles and true friendship.

American Beauty - I only saw this once (I guess close to 20 years ago.) ;)
But I remember being very intrigued by it and enjoying it quite a lot.
This is one I'd really like to see again because I've forgotten much of it.

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=60689
The King's Speech ( Tom Hopper 2010)


I enjoyed every single minute of this film! And I rarely feel that way about any movie. I'd seen this only once before, back when it first came out on DVD. I remember loving it then. So much so that I told a couple people about it, who then watched it and also loved it, which is pretty amazing in itself.

The King's Speech is right up my alley for movie subjects. It's historical, it's biographical and it's about the British royal family. I've seen a lot of movies about the British monarchy and this tale of King George VI struggles with stuttering, was both illuminating from a historical viewpoint and quite entertaining in a heartfelt way. I actually laughed a number of times, no not at the stuttering, but at the clever witticisms that Lionel (Geoffrey Rush) blurted out to Colin Firth who played King George VI.

Geoffrey Rush was spot on with his role as the unconventional Australian speech therapist. He brought life and energy to the role and made a good film great. And Colin Firth made a good Prince Albert/King George VI too, he brought dignity and frustration. The frustration is what he felt by having the crown thrust upon him when his older brother who had been the King abdicated to marry an American divorcee.

I loved the look of the film, especially the funky room they spent a lot of time in...shown in the screen shot above. Glad to have rewatched this gem of a film.

4

So glad you like this movie as much as I do. I rated it the same you did.

[Citizen Rules]

Nice to see this thread back, CR!

I have to say I'm in full agreement with your latest reviews!

Platoon - Indeed about as close to you get to a perfect film.
I first saw it in the theater and was deeply disturbed by parts of it. When a film leaves you with a lot of powerful emotions that means it accomplished its task.

The King's Speech - I wouldn't say this about most movies, but I absolutely fell in love with this one (which is different from just saying I loved it). I think it's because I heard such negative reviews about it before I saw it: "slow as molasses," "like watching paint dry," "I fell asleep," "only appealing to erudite intellectuals or snobbish history buffs," etc.
I would also call this a perfect film for the type of film it is. I never found it boring or slow in the least. A wonderful period peace, masterfully acted, and truly inspirational: a story of overcoming obstacles and true friendship.

American Beauty - I only saw this once (I guess close to 20 years ago.) ;)
But I remember being very intrigued by it and enjoying it quite a lot.
This is one I'd really like to see again because I've forgotten much of it.I'm back, like a seasonal beer:p You should watch American Beauty again, at least for me I related more to it the second time around as I was older.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=66571
Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood 1992)


Solid western from one of the legends of western movies...Clint Eastwood. Eastwood's laconic performance fits the character William Munny to a tee. Munny is, as we would image him to be...a coiled viper reformed by the love of a good woman, and without her guiding hand he's a man who could once again do great violence. Munny is a complex character, he's neither pure evil nor purely good, he's a man down on his luck and willing to do a dirty job for a few bucks.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=66570


And let's not forget the other powerful actor in this movie, Gene Hackman as Little Bill Daggart. Little Bill is outwardly a bully and yet we can see that he's also a decent man, just wanting to finish building his house. This is 180 degrees from William 'Bill' Munny who outwardly is a hardened killer, but we see that inside him is a good person. Both men are two sides to the same coin. They're juxtaposed and yet one in the same.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=60506


I think the real star here is Eastwood the director. As a director, Eastwood employs the same no-frills, well honed and laconic style of film making that made him famous as an actor. The actor is the director and the film is highly focused with nary a misstep, but a couple of misfires. The film takes the myth of the old west, a myth that Eastwood himself helped to make, and deconstructs that myth and shows it to be mostly the stuff of idle talk that turned into folk legend. And the misfire of a gun is used to demonstrate that in a gunfight it's not about a quick draw but about a cool head and luck. And nothing is more unlucky than a misfire in a gunfight.

I reckoned Unforgiven would be the number one movie in the Western Countdown, and it was.

rating_4+

[gbgoodies]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=61188
Platoon (Oliver Stone 1986)

I would rate this at rating_4 or maybe even higher.



I'm not much of a fan of war movies, but I watched Platoon when it was nominated in a recent HoF, and I thought it was one of the better war movies that I've seen. It was so intense that I almost forgot that I was watching a movie. I haven't seen Charlie Sheen in much outside of his comedies, so it was a nice change of pace to see him in a movie where he actually got to do some real acting.

[gbgoodies]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=60689
The King's Speech ( Tom Hopper 2010)


4


The King's Speech is another movie that I watched when it was nominated in a HoF, and while I thought it was a good movie, for me, it was mostly just forgettable. I remember liking the movie, but I barely remember most of it. :shrug:

[gbgoodies]

https://media0.giphy.com/media/uCgMmhFurblXa/source.gif
American Beauty (Sam Mendes 1999)

rating_4+



I saw American Beauty back when it was in the theater, but that was so long ago that I don't remember a lot about it. I remember thinking that it was a good movie, and I even bought the DVD, but I haven't gotten around to rewatching it.

It's a shame because I was always a fan of Kevin Spacey, but now it's less likely that I ever rewatch it. (Although recent events haven't stopped me from watching some of his other movies, so maybe I'll get around to rewatching it eventually.)

[TheUsualSuspect]

American Beauty is one of those movies that was loved when it first came out and now it is popular to hate on it. I feel like the same can be said for Titanic.

I love Titanic and I remember liking American Beauty. I could do with a revisit on it though.

[Citizen Rules]

The King's Speech is another movie that I watched when it was nominated in a HoF, and while I thought it was a good movie, for me, it was mostly just forgettable. I remember liking the movie, but I barely remember most of it. :shrug: That's because there's no huge dramatic turn of events, like Titanic sinks and Rose makes it while Jack freezes in the water. I can't really remember the details of The King's Speech either, but then again I can't remember what I had for dinner last week.

I saw American Beauty back when it was in the theater, but that was so long ago that I don't remember a lot about it. I remember thinking that it was a good movie, and I even bought the DVD, but I haven't gotten around to rewatching it.

It's a shame because I was always a fan of Kevin Spacey, but now it's less likely that I ever rewatch it. (Although recent events haven't stopped me from watching some of his other movies, so maybe I'll get around to rewatching it eventually.)I understand as a lot of MoFos have said they don't want to watch Kevin Spacey in a movie nowadays. Not me, I like Spacey as an actor and if anything his recent legal troubles made his character all the more poignant as he tries to seduce a high school girl in the movie.

[gbgoodies]

That's because there's no huge dramatic turn of events, like Titanic sinks and Rose makes it while Jack freezes in the water. I can't really remember the details of The King's Speech either, but then again I can't remember what I had for dinner last week.

I noticed today that one of my mom's DVDs was The King's Speech, so I might decide to keep it so I can rewatch it someday.


I understand as a lot of MoFos have said they don't want to watch Kevin Spacey in a movie nowadays. Not me, I like Spacey as an actor and if anything his recent legal troubles made his character all the more poignant as he tries to seduce a high school girl in the movie.

I still like Kevin Spacey as an actor too, but I think his character might feel a bit too "realistic" in American Beauty. But that's not necessarily enough to stop me from watching the movie again.

In fact, I recently watched a Spacey movie called Nine Lives, and I loved it. It has a terrible rating on IMDB, but I thought it was hilarious. (Surprisingly, I thought Hubby was going to think it was stupid, but he loved it too.)

[Captain Steel]

I noticed today that one of my mom's DVDs was The King's Speech, so I might decide to keep it so I can rewatch it someday.




I still like Kevin Spacey as an actor too, but I think his character might feel a bit too "realistic" in American Beauty. But that's not necessarily enough to stop me from watching the movie again.

In fact, I recently watched a Spacey movie called Nine Lives, and I loved it. It has a terrible rating on IMDB, but I thought it was hilarious. (Surprisingly, I thought Hubby was going to think it was stupid, but he loved it too.)

GBG, have you ever seen KPAX (2001) with Spacey?

[TheUsualSuspect]

The biggest thing to happen in The King's Speech was his speech....so yeah.

[gbgoodies]

GBG, have you ever seen KPAX (2001) with Spacey?


Yes, I've seen K-PAX, but it's been a while since I saw it. I remember liking it, and being surprised at how many of the reviews didn't like it. (It's another movie that I have the DVD, but I haven't gotten around to rewatching it yet.)

[Captain Steel]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=24135&stc=1&d=1454961186
Ex Machina (2015)
Director: Alex Garland
Writer: Alex Garland
Cast: Alicia Vikander, Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Length: 108 minutes
Indie Film

Synopsis (spoiler free): Caleb, a young programmer wiz, wins a competition at his internet company to spend one week at a remote mountain retreat belonging to the CEO of the company he works for. He finds Nathan, the reclusive CEO, to be an enigmatic genius, with a dark side. Caleb then finds he's the crucial element in a ground breaking experiment in artificial intelligence. Enter Ava, who's the beautiful and very human like machine, Ava's self awareness is being tested.

http://www.hdtvsolutions.com/images/articles/ExMachina_Trio.jpg
Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander and Domhnall Gleesonmake up the primary cast.


Ex Machina is not at all a sci-fi film in the typical sense. Oh sure that poster looks as sci fi as you can get but the film's focus is on drama, mystery and even romance....It focuses on three individuals who are alone in a remote country setting. But beyond that this is an existential film that explores what it means to be a human and and what it means to be sentient. A story about when is it wrong to treat a creation as property.

The film requires that the viewer cares about the A.I. creation 'Ava' and feels for her plight. If you only view her as an 'it', or as a machine then the movie failed. But I bet anyone who watches this will care about Ava and view her as alive. I did

http://streaming1.danviet.vn/upload/1-2016/images/2016-01-04/1451896522-ex_machina.jpg


Ex Machina is an intimately shot, Indie film. It takes a close up look at three people with a minimum of outside influences. This allows the film to focus on the implications of creating a sentient A.I. machine.

rating_4

.

I finally saw this!

When trying to lower the cable bill, we ended up with a couple movie channels and this was in the OnDemand menu! So I was excited that a film I had really wanted to see was available.

While watching it, a lot of other things came to mind - the topic of A.I. is nothing new and I'm not going to call the movie derivative, but throughout, it reminded me of several other movies & TV shows:

Star Trek TNG - the topic of A.I. has probably been most thoroughly explored via Commander Data in ST-TNG and the series' subsequent movies.

The Terminator (1984 - 2019) movies as well and the movie A.I. (2001) have made extensive warnings and commentary on A.I. development.

Solaris (1972 & 2002): The cinematography, scene changes, background music and mood reminded me a lot of Solaris (both versions) - and since Solaris had some things in common with 2001: A Space Oddessy (1968) - another movie with some exploration of A.I. and it's potential hazards - some aspects reminded me of that also.

The Simpsons: The episode "You Only Move Twice" - where Homer goes to work for a James-Bond-type villain. The similarities are obvious as Ex Machina has the audience suspicious of Nathan as potentially being that kind of villain from the start. The relationship between the Caleb & Nathan reminded me of that between Homer and his new boss in that Simpsons episode.

Mad Monster Party? (1967): This may be a bit off the wall: but it seems to occur to everyone that Kyoko may be an android which turns out to be right. But at one point I started to think that maybe Caleb is also an android who's being tested - this is a similar plot to the reveal in the children's animation flick Mad Monster Party? - when toward the end, Francesca is revealed to be an android, but the big twist at the very end is when Felix (the protagonist) is also revealed to be an android! Right as I was drawing this similarity while watching Ex Machina, it seemed the protagonist, Caleb, was having the very same thought! Maybe he was remembering the Rankin Bass classic monster movie just like I was... So he began to cut his arm to see if maybe he was also an android... turned out, unlike Felix Flankin, he wasn't!

Overall, I thought a more prominent message in this movie wasn't so much the A.I. but... the warning about technological surveillance and the way surveillance can be used for information gathering, spying and manipulation - if Nathan could do all that he did via surveillance, then think what the government (or people like Nathan in real life such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos) could do.

This can be added to our list of pretty cool "Cerebral Sci-Fi Films." :)

[Citizen Rules]

I finally saw this!

When trying to lower the cable bill, we ended up with a couple movie channels and this was in the OnDemand menu! So I was excited that a film I had really wanted to see was available.

This can be added to our list of pretty cool "Cerebral Sci-Fi Films." :)So cool that you got to see this! Ex-Machina created quite the buzz when it first came out. I haven't seen it since but it was a memorable sci fi and I enjoyed it.

I guess it fits into the "Cerebral Sci-Fi Films", though it's no Passengers:p I could see some of the similartieds to other films that you mentioned. Mostly it reminds of Solaris where a lovely & apparently helpless female alien has an emotional connection to the human male protagonist. Especially the fragility of the female alien who seems to be in need of 😊rescue from the human male.

Have you seen any other sci fi films lately? BTW thanks! for posting on my old and forgotten thread:) I was just thumbing threw it this morning and seen all the fun convos we all had here.

[Captain Steel]

So cool that you got to see this! Ex-Machina created quite the buzz when it first came out. I haven't seen it since but it was a memorable sci fi and I enjoyed it.

I guess it fits into the "Cerebral Sci-Fi Films", though it's no Passengers:p I could see some of the similartieds to other films that you mentioned. Mostly it reminds of Solaris where a lovely & apparently helpless female alien has an emotional connection to the human male protagonist. Especially the fragility of the female alien who seems to be in need of 😊rescue from the human male.

Have you seen any other sci fi films lately? BTW thanks! for posting on my old and forgotten thread:) I was just thumbing threw it this morning and seen all the fun convos we all had here.

It reminded me most of Solaris in the music and the way it was shot (very similar in the moods and atmospheres it created - whether quiet or with building tension) even the way it segued between scenes was very similar to aspects in both versions of Solaris. (I even caught one segue with a close-up on plants outside the "lab".) ;)

I was thinking about Passengers today and evaluating if it is an entirely cerebral sci-fi film. It's most definitely cerebral, but although it doesn't have aliens or laser gun fights, it still has a lot of action and thrills (especially in the second half) and spectacular special outer space effects that I'd say it's 3/4 cerebral and at least 1/4 sci-fi action! :)

(Whereas Ex Machina was almost 98% cerebral, Solaris about 90% cerebral and Moon maybe 80% cerebral - with the remaining percents equaling sci-fi action, thrills, effects, etc.)

Now I'm measuring levels of cerebrality in sci-fi films!

[Captain Steel]

I just found a mistake I made in my post on Ex Machina - The Simpons episode which features "Hank Scorpio" (Homer's new Bond-villain-type boss) was called "You Only Move Twice" (not "Behind the Laughter" - that was apparently the title of a section in the link I used to figure out which episode Scorpio first appeared in)!

[AgrippinaX]

It reminded me most of Solaris in the music and the way it was shot (very similar in the moods and atmospheres it created - whether quiet or with building tension) even the way it segued between scenes was very similar to aspects in both versions of Solaris.

I was thinking about Passengers today and evaluating if it is an entirely cerebral sci-fi film. It's most definitely cerebral, but although it doesn't have aliens or laser gun fights, it still has a lot of action and thrills (especially in the second half) and spectacular special outer space effects that I'd say it's 3/4 cerebral and at least 1/4 sci-fi action! :)

(Whereas Ex Machina was almost 98% cerebral, Solaris about 90% cerebral and Moon maybe 80% cerebral - with the remaining percents equaling sci-fi action, thrills, effects, etc.)

Now I'm measuring levels of cerebrality in sci-fi films!

Sorry to jump in - how is Passengers cerebral? It’s a very interesting take as I’d definitely rank Moon higher on the ‘cerebral’ grid than Passengers and Ex Machina. Although personally I’d say the most cerebral sci-fi film of all time is Primer.

[Captain Steel]

Sorry to jump in - how is Passengers cerebral? It’s a very interesting take as I’d definitely rank Moon higher on the ‘cerebral’ grid than Passengers and Ex Machina. Although personally I’d say the most cerebral sci-fi film of all time is Primer.

Unfortunately, I've never seen Primer (another to add to the list).

Passengers is cerebral in the sense that it doesn't have a lot of the typical sci-fi tropes: aliens (be they humanoid, benevolent bringing a message or monsters), planetary invasions, space-ship battles, typical villains or troops to overcome, futuristic soldiers, futuristic weapons, laser gun (or sword) fights, etc.

It's a bit more of a think-about movie that deals with questions of ethics & such.

I do rank Moon higher on my cerebral scale than Passengers (but I ranked Ex Machina even higher due to it's lack of sci-fi action).

Moon took place off-Earth in the future, had a moon-base, sci-fi vehicles. While they both had "thriller" moments, Moon seemed more sci-fi all around where as Ex Machina was earth-based and could even be current as opposed to near future.

Gattaca is a great cerebral sci-fi movie and About Time (also with Domhall Gleeson) is a movie about time travel, yet lacks almost all aspects of a sci-fi movie (making it cerebral).

One of the most cerebral sci-fi movies is that black and white short I can never remember the name of and is about time travelling in dreams (or something) and has shots with a guy on a boardwalk - I always have to ask Rules to remember the title of it for me (for the record - I only watched it once and pretty much hated it). ;)

[Citizen Rules]

Sorry to jump in - how is Passengers cerebral? It’s a very interesting take as I’d definitely rank Moon higher on the ‘cerebral’ grid than Passengers and Ex Machina. Although personally I’d say the most cerebral sci-fi film of all time is Primer.You're welcome to jump in:) and good question...Maybe Passengers should be described as 'thought provoking', as of all the cerebral/existential sci fi films I've seen it was the moral dilemma in Passengers that made me think most of all. And that's including both versions of Solaris and Stalker as well as a bunch of other sci fis.

[Citizen Rules]

One of the most cerebral sci-fi movies is that black and white short I can never remember the name of and is about time travelling in dreams (or something) and has shots with a guy on a boardwalk - I always have to ask Rules to remember the title of it for me (for the record - I only watched it once and pretty much hated it). ;) La Jetee is the short French film you're thinking of. I reviewed it here: La Jetee (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1659395#post1659395)

[MovieGal]

La Jetee is the short French film you're thinking of. I reviewed it here: La Jetee (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1659395#post1659395)

12 Monkeys was inspired by La Jetee... have you seen that CR?

[Citizen Rules]

12 Monkeys was inspired by La Jetee... have you seen that CR?I have once. I seem to recall liking it, I should check it out again.

[MovieGal]

I have once. I seem to recall liking it, I should check it out again.

Definitely.

I recommend it!

[MovieGal]

You always take my recommendations so I want to give you two

Mr. Jones (2019)
Ashes in the Snow (2018)

[Citizen Rules]

You always take my recommendations so I want to give you two

Mr. Jones (2019)
Ashes in the Snow (2018) Those look good. I see Mr. Jones has Vanessa Kirby who was in the first two seasons of The Crown as Princess Margret. Did you watch The Crown?

[MovieGal]

Those look good. I see Mr. Jones has Vanessa Kirby who was in the first two seasons of The Crown as Princess Margret. Did you watch The Crown?

I have seen parts of it.. but not a whole episode.

[MovieGal]

Can I recommend a foreign film too?

[MovieGal]

If you want to watch it.. its called The Eternal Road

I think Tommi Korpela is amazing.. I have seen several of his films.

[Citizen Rules]

Can I recommend a foreign film too?Sure, in fact I'm watching Alphaville tonight, a french new wave scifi noir.

[MovieGal]

Sure, in fact I'm watching Alphaville tonight, a french new wave scifi noir.

Its above your post...

Tommi Korpela is a good in Miehen työ as well.

[Citizen Rules]

If you want to watch it.. its called The Eternal Road

I think Tommi Korpela is amazing.. I have seen several of his films.
That looks pretty good too, thanks MG.

[MovieGal]

That looks pretty good too, thanks MG.

LOl Never doubt me again! just kidding... You and I share similar tastes in certain genres...

[Citizen Rules]

LOl Never doubt me again! just kidding... You and I share similar tastes in certain genres...True:)

I'm off for to watch a movie, catch ya later.

[Captain Steel]

12 Monkeys was inspired by La Jetee... have you seen that CR?

I never knew that.

12 Monkeys is by far an improvement! ;)

[AgrippinaX]

Unfortunately, I've never seen Primer (another to add to the list).

Passengers is cerebral in the sense that it doesn't have a lot of the typical sci-fi tropes: aliens (be they humanoid, benevolent bringing a message or monsters), planetary invasions, space-ship battles, typical villains or troops to overcome, futuristic soldiers, futuristic weapons, laser gun (or sword) fights, etc.

It's a bit more of a think-about movie that deals with questions of ethics & such.

I do rank Moon higher on my cerebral scale than Passengers (but I ranked Ex Machina even higher due to it's lack of sci-fi action).

Moon took place off-Earth in the future, had a moon-base, sci-fi vehicles. While they both had "thriller" moments, Moon seemed more sci-fi all around where as Ex Machina was earth-based and could even be current as opposed to near future.

Gattaca is a great cerebral sci-fi movie and About Time (also with Domhall Gleeson) is a movie about time travel, yet lacks almost all aspects of a sci-fi movie (making it cerebral).

One of the most cerebral sci-fi movies is that black and white short I can never remember the name of and is about time travelling in dreams (or something) and has shots with a guy on a boardwalk - I always have to ask Rules to remember the title of it for me (for the record - I only watched it once and pretty much hated it). ;)

I haven’t actually seen About Time. Romantic films and I just do not click... maybe I’ll give it a go.

And that’s fair enough. I interpreted ‘cerebral’ as requiring you to do a lot of work connecting the dots & figuring stuff out. Primer is definitely in that boat - in fact, plenty of people hate it because they see it as ‘nonsensical’ - so if working things out is something you enjoy, I think you’ll like it. It’s a teeny bit like 12 Monkeys in that way.

I don’t remember my brain needing to ‘work’ for Ex Machina, even to decide whose side I was on. But with Moon - definitely, your allegiance changes and that’s what makes it mesmerising. Another underseen film in that vein is Coherence (2013). It’s a bit more character-driven and focused on the forward ramifications of the concept for humans, like Passengers.

There are definitely plenty of sci-fi films that have next to zero action. I tend to like them more than traditional Blade Runner-ish action sci-fi. You’re right that Passengers derives its impact from the moral dilemma. Takoma11 and I spoke about it some time ago and she shared a video where they’d switched acts around to make Jennifer Lawrence’s POV dominant. Having thought about it for some time, I now agree that it would improve the film, as JL would be on a quest to figure out why she woke up.

P.S. I watched Gattaca very young and haven’t revisited it since. Jude Law & Ethan Hawke had great chemistry, but I don’t remember having a strong feeling about it. To me, it’s definitely an ‘idea’ film and while the performances are good, it never becomes about people imo.

[Takoma11]

I haven’t actually seen About Time. Romantic films and I just do not click... maybe I’ll give it a go.


For what it's worth, I really enjoyed About Time.

In my opinion, the heart of it isn't the romance so much as the implications of the main character's ability to manipulate time. The first third does lean strongly into the romance (ie the main character wooing the woman he loves), but from there it expands its scope quite broadly.

It takes a sci-fi/fantasy premise to explore what it means to think about the choices that we make and how that might impact our lives. It also explored how our priorities change as we get older, and what it means to live a life "in the moment". I thought it was a very sweet film and the main performances are really, really strong. I clicked with it emotionally.

[GulfportDoc]

Those look good. I see Mr. Jones has Vanessa Kirby who was in the first two seasons of The Crown as Princess Margret. Did you watch The Crown?
Watched Mr. Jones last night. IMO it's a case where the story is at least, if not more, compelling than the movie. It was a well done production with creditable acting by James Norton, Venessa Kirby, and Peter Sarsgaard. The story itself is horrific: the purposeful starvation of millions of Ukrainians, which was purposely covered up to the West by New York Times reporter Walter Duranty. A whistleblower, Gareth Jones, reported the truth, and was eventually murdered for his efforts.

I also enjoyed About Time, which is my kind of gentle Sci-Fi. I'm a big fan of Bill Nighy's, so I'll watch anything he's in.

~Doc

[AgrippinaX]

I also enjoyed About Time, which is my kind of gentle Sci-Fi. I'm a big fan of Bill Nighy's, so I'll watch anything he's in.

~Doc

Just watched this. Didn’t expect to like it, but it’s pretty good.

[Citizen Rules]

Just watched this. Didn’t expect to like it, but it’s pretty good.Count me as a fan of About Time. I wrote my thoughts about the movie here: About Time (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1617842#post1617842)

[Gideon58]

I'm back, like a seasonal beer:p You should watch American Beauty again, at least for me I related more to it the second time around as I was older.


American Beauty improves with each re-watch

[Captain Steel]

I haven’t actually seen About Time. Romantic films and I just do not click... maybe I’ll give it a go.



Just a warning about About Time (if you're looking for sci-fi): IMDB doesn't even classify it as sci-fi, but as romantic comedy / fantasy. And that's because there are no sci-fi elements except time travel. Now one might say time travel is a major sci-fi element and that would be true if it's accomplished via technology - but in About Time there is no "time machine" - it's just an inherited skill passed down through generations in one family.

[AgrippinaX]

Just a warning about About Time (if you're looking for sci-fi): IMDB doesn't even classify it as sci-fi, but as romantic comedy / fantasy. And that's because there are no sci-fi elements except time travel. Now one might say time travel is a major sci-fi element and that would be true if it's accomplished via technology - but in About Time there is no "time machine" - it's just an inherited skill passed down through generations in one family.

Watched it today, incidentally. It’s a sweet little thing. A bit too sentimental for my liking, but it had a few great moments. I think my favourite aspect was the dilemma the protagonist faced between being able to spend time with his father or his third child. Mind-blowing in that particular moment. It’s definitely super-soft sci-fi. But I’m glad I watched it.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=62534
Paper Moon
(Peter Bogdanovich, 1973)


Paper Moon is my kind of movie! I'm a big fan of Peter Bogdanovich, who himself was a big fan of Orson Welles...and well, Welles was big!..and Orson Welles was a mentor to Bogdanovich and gave him a few tips during shooting of Paper Moon. So how cool is that! It was Orson who suggested shooting in black & white, which wasn't unfamiliar to Bogdanovich having done The Last Picture Show (1971) in b&w. I love the choice of b&w for Paper Moon as it makes every scene seem like it was shot back in the 1930s depression era.

I love to watch the background and the set pieces while watching the characters too. The small midwest town shooting locations looked straight out of the 1930s...so much so that I felt I had traveled back in time. I'm impressed that the pre-shooting location scouting turned up sections of town that looked unchanged from the 1930s, that's a huge plus.

And I loved that the story in this comedy-drama was not overly silly or over the top. The script strikes a good balance between drama, comedy and light heartiness, while still having serious tension. The film stays focused on the 'love-hate' relationship between Addy (Tatum O'Neal) and Mosses (Ryan O'Neal). Of course it's well known that Tatum is Ryan's daughter in real life and that Tatum won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress at the ripe old age of 10, the youngest Oscar winner ever.

Bogdanovich doesn't leave a lot of loose strings in film making, no wonder he had so many critical acclaimed and popular movies to his credit. Happy to have watched this!

rating_4_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=61758
Chinatown (1974)


Director: Roman Polanski
Genre: Neo Noir

I enjoyed the film, but to be honest I was underwhelmed. I don't think it's a case of too high of expectations as I was expecting this to be middle of the road for me. I've seen a couple of post-noirs made in the 1970s and they've seemed like a lesser copy of the greatness that was American film noir in the 1940s-1950s. So I think it's near impossible to duplicate that film noir feeling that came out of the post war era.

Luckily for film noir buffs, the 1980s & 1990s brought a new fresh style to film noir that no longer was emulating what had been done before. A good example of those proto-noirs are some of the fine works by the Coen Brothers.

Anyway back to Chinatown, which btw, I was disappointed that as a plot device it was an empty promise as we don't really get anything about Chinatown....I did however like the movie and thought Jack Nicholson was perfectly cast as a 1940s hard boiled detective. I'm not a huge Nicholson fan but he was well suited to the role.

I can't say the same for Faye Dunaway, she was lacking. She never really connected to her role and gave the film a needed oomph! I didn't find her dangerously sexy, or icy cold, or cunning or manipulative. I didn't have much of a reaction to her at all. She's not bad, but she's a pale femme fatale compared to the greats of past noirs.

What I loved most was the utter perfection in the set details. I looked in the corners of the scene, I checked behind the actors to see what was on the wall or in the cupboard. I watched with a peripheral vision as Nicholson drove his sleek convertible down the roads of southern California. And in all that snooping I never spotted anything that did not look like the 1940s to me. They got the period down pat.

What I really disliked was the rushed ending that felt like a writer's conceit, where everybody is on the same street corner at the same time...then someone says the cops are on the take. Really? there was no story line about the police covertly hindering Nicholson's investigation. The end scene was way too brief with little pathos and not much emotional pay off. John Huston's reaction to being shot almost made me laugh...and that made the ending of our femme fatale seem not all that import to me. Afterwards I read that the director Roman Polanski wrote the last scene.

It sounds like I hate Chinatown, well I don't.
rating_3_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=62766
Mulholland Drive
(David Lynch 2001)


Well...I kinda, sorta, liked it...I guess. Then again, I'm not really sure. It's closer to the truth to say there was stuff I liked about it and other stuff that I thought should've been left on the editing room floor.

Soon as the movie was over (and it seemed to go on foreveer)...I thought, 'I so needed to be the executive producer of this film, so I could edit out a bunch of non-related scenes and shorten the film down to 2 hours.'

It was all those 'nonsensical' scenes (that's what I call them anyway) that got in the way of an otherwise really well told story. Did we really need the boogie man behind Denny's restaurant scaring the guy to death? Did we need that scene in the Spanish theater? Same with the cowboy and the old man behind the glass wall. I'd like to cut all that right out of the picture. But apparently Lynch fans eat that stuff for breakfast...then they create their own fan theories as to what it was all about. But I don't view stories like this as 'real'. I think of it more from a production standpoint so then the movie becomes a collection of decisions.

There is lots to like in Mulholland Drive too. Naomi Watts scored points with me. My favorite scene in the movie was her auditioning for a movie role in a crowded room. I've heard actors talk about doing cold auditions like that. Geez that would be very intimidating. I loved how when she read her lines with Chad Everett the scene was one long continuous take, no edits until they were done reading their lines. Very impressive acting from her. Chad Everett wasn't bad either. I liked the guy who played the director as he looked and acted like a director.

I liked how Mulholland Drive focused on the two women (the aforementioned Naoma Watts and the lovely Laura Harring). The camera shots usually flattered the pair to the nth degree, almost like they were on David Lynch's personal pedestal which visually worked wonders for the cinematic quality of the film.

I can't say I'm a fan, but glad to have watched it.

rating_3_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=61698
The Muppet Movie (1979)

Director: James Frawley
Genre: Family entertainment

I really thought Miss Piggy was going to show her leg off in a nod to the famous Claudette Colbert scene in It Happened One Night, during that above scene, but nope it didn't happen.

Jim Henson's muppet puppets come to life, well sort of...I believed they had some sort of muppet soul in their fuzzy little bodies and that's saying a lot. Here's why I mostly liked this.


Nostalgia, I use to watch the Muppet Show way back when and always liked it, so this was a neat trip backwards to see all those wacky different muppet characters in a feature length movie.




Road trip movie, I always love those as they appeal to the adventure of seeing what's around the next bend in the road. I love road trips too! And that's exactly what we get here, Kermit the frog is on a road trip with his pal Fozzy Bear.




Cameos of famous stars, so cool seeing all these great actors and actresses in one movie. I do wish they had been given just a little bit more screen time. Even an extra line that made their presences a part of the story would've been welcomed. As it was, the stars pop in out of nowhere, deliver a short throw away line, then are gone. Only Steve Martin and Mel Brooks had a bit longer cameos.




Orson Welles! any film with an Orson tie in gets bonus points from me. I loved that desk that he was seated at, that's a recreation of the office set from the James Bond spoof Casino Royale (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061452/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_66) (1967)

Jim Henson made magic with his furry little muppet critters, the TV show was a smash hit and it works here too in a full length movie.


3

[rauldc14]

Convert to letterboxd for reviews my friend then I will see them! :)

Muppet Movie is ok for me.

I never really could "figure out" Mulholland Drive even after multiple rewatches. I just figure by now that that's exactly what Lynch wanted.

Loved Chinatown but I believe I've only seen once, maybe twice. Could get nominated in a Hall of Fame someday.

[Gideon58]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=62766
Mulholland Drive
(David Lynch 2001)






True appreciation of Mulholland Drive requires more than a single watch

[Gideon58]

[QUOTE=Citizen Rules;2116997]https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=61758
Chinatown (1974)


Director: Roman Polanski
Genre: Neo Noir




rating_3_5
[/QUOTE

I liked this film a lot more than you did, but I respect your opinion for the most part. Where we have to agree to disagree is Faye Dunaway...I think it's the best performance of her career.

[GulfportDoc]

Paper Moon
(Peter Bogdanovich, 1973)


Paper Moon is my kind of movie! I'm a big fan of Peter Bogdanovich, who himself was a big fan of Orson Welles...and well, Welles was big!..and Orson Welles was a mentor to Bogdanovich and gave him a few tips during shooting of Paper Moon. So how cool is that! It was Orson who suggested shooting in black & white, which wasn't unfamiliar to Bogdanovich having done The Last Picture Show (1971) in b&w. I love the choice of b&w for Paper Moon as it makes every scene seem like it was shot back in the 1930s depression era.

I love to watch the background and the set pieces while watching the characters too. The small midwest town shooting locations looked straight out of the 1930s...so much so that I felt I had traveled back in time. I'm impressed that the pre-shooting location scouting turned up sections of town that looked unchanged from the 1930s, that's a huge plus.

And I loved that the story in this comedy-drama was not overly silly or over the top. The script strikes a good balance between drama, comedy and light heartiness, while still having serious tension. The film stays focused on the 'love-hate' relationship between Addy (Tatum O'Neal) and Mosses (Ryan O'Neal). Of course it's well known that Tatum is Ryan's daughter in real life and that Tatum won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress at the ripe old age of 10, the youngest Oscar winner ever.

Bogdanovich doesn't leave a lot of loose strings in film making, no wonder he had so many critical acclaimed and popular movies to his credit. Happy to have watched this!rating_4_5
A true treasure of a film!! Everyone was "on" in this production. Tatum of course was precious, and Ryan O. did a great job of letting her shine. The story, the settings, the photography-- what a gem.

And you know I was knocked out by Madeline Kahn as "Trixie Delight". It was only her second big role after having done beautifully in What's Up, Doc? the year before.

I saw the movie in the theater in '73, and simply fell in love with it. I even learned the words to the theme song! I've only seen it once or twice since then, but I bet it still holds up.

Did you ever listen to those great free podcasts from TCM called "The Plot Thickens"? The first season of 7 eps is an interview of Bogdanovich. You can download them and listen to them on any device. There are even two bonus podcasts: one of Howard Hawks and the other of Orson Welles. Great stuff. Still waiting for the second season...

~Doc

[Citizen Rules]

....Did you ever listen to those great free podcasts from TCM called "The Plot Thickens"? The first season of 7 eps is an interview of Bogdanovich. You can download them and listen to them on any device. There are even two bonus podcasts: one of Howard Hawks and the other of Orson Welles. Great stuff. Still waiting for the second season...

~Doc No I haven't listed to those pod cast. I'm so busy with work I hardly have time for MoFo these days, but interviews with Bogdanovich, Howard Hawks and Orson Wellles...sounds pretty dam cool!

[GulfportDoc]

No I haven't listed to those pod cast. I'm so busy with work I hardly have time for MoFo these days, but interviews with Bogdanovich, Howard Hawks and Orson Wellles...sounds pretty dam cool!
Yeah, you'll like them for sure:

https://theplotthickens.tcm.com/

I downloaded them to a Kindle Fire and listened to them on the way to work. Hope season 2 comes out soon.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=61925

The 39 Steps (1935)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: John Buchan (novel), Charles Bennett (screenplay)
Cast: Robert Donat, Madeleine Carroll, Lucie Mannheim
Genre: Proto Noir / Thriller
My reaction: Enthusiastic

I've seen a lot of Hitchcock's films. I've seen most all of his American made films except for: Under Capricorn & Saboteur. On the other hand I haven't seen many of Hitch's earlier sound films made in England, only: Jamaica Inn, The Lady Vanishes & The Man Who Knew Too Much, and now I can say I've seen The 39 Steps and liked it too!

The 39 Steps is steeped in Hitch's hallmark style of palatable tension. The film starts with a jolt that propels the protagonist, and the viewer, into a riveting world of secrets, spys and danger that lurks around every corner. Here in Hitch's early British film career we can see his familiar story structure of the everyday, innocent man being framed and/or being caught up in a world of turmoil that is beyond his control. That then makes for high tension as the audience can easily relate to a seemly simple character who's in over his head and must use every ounce of his brain power and determination just to survive the events that Hitch has in store for him.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=68439

At only 90 minutes The 39 Steps zips along. The leads were OK, not the greatest but they worked fine. Besides being entertained, we also get to see an early form of a airplane helicopter and a 1930s bra too. Who knew that women's lingerie would look so similar to today's style, well not the corsets! Those look like a medieval torture device, which is fitting for a Hitch film.

rating_4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=61997
Diabolique (1955)

Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Cast: Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse
Genre: Suspense, Drama
Language: French

"The wife and mistress of a loathed school principal plan to murder him with what they believe is the perfect alibi."

Diabolique, it's a good one! I was intently interested in the premise with it's tight focusing on the two women who are employed at an all boys school in France. The old, run down school buildings were effective for this kind of film. The setting lends ambiance and foreboding just by the sheer look of the place. The story is tightly focused on two women who are romantically linked to the abusive head school master...and you can guess what happens to him!

I like films that spend time on character development and especially films where the characters then determine the story line. And Diabolique did just that.

The casting choice of the two women worked well as they were diametrical diverse with the blonde being physical larger and more aggressive (I guess that's why she smoked all the time)...whilst the brunette was petite, quiet, more passive...and had a fragile heart (it's probably a good thing she didn't smoke.) And her weak heart is one of the aspects that contribute to the story, but I bet you already guessed that.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=68466
No need for captions, that screen shot speaks volumes.


I'm not sure why it's tagged horror at IMDB. I thought it might be like The Uninvited or The Haunting but it wasn't, it's more like a Hitchcock film. That's why I tagged it as suspense drama.

rating_4

[SpelingError]

Nice review! I find this to be a really effective slow-burner. I think this movie works so well because it's slow and drawn out. It makes it feel like Christina is stuck in a never ending nightmare. I felt her distress throughout the picture, and this constant slow-burning tension is what makes the climax so terrifying and unexpected.

Regarding Clouzot, have you seen The Wages of Fear? I watched it a month ago, and I also loved it.

[Citizen Rules]

Nice review! I find this to be a really effective slow-burner. I think this movie works so well because it's slow and drawn out. It makes it feel like Christina is stuck in a never ending nightmare. I felt her distress throughout the picture, and this constant slow-burning tension is what makes the climax so terrifying and unexpected.

Regarding Clouzot, have you seen The Wages of Fear? I watched it a month ago, and I also loved it.Thanks! Glad you liked the review. I use to do a review a day, because I watch a film day, but lately I haven't had the time to do them. Maybe I'll do more.

You're so right, it's a slow burner and it never spoon feeds the audience, instead it lets us go along for the ride and that's the kind of film I like.

No, I haven't seen The Wages of Fear but people seem to really think highly of it. Good to know that there's another vote for it. One of these days I'll get to it.

[SpelingError]

Thanks! Glad you liked the review. I use to do a review a day, because I watch a film day, but lately I haven't had the time to do them. Maybe I'll do more.

You're so right, it's a slow burner and it never spoon feeds the audience, instead it lets us go along for the ride and that's the kind of film I like.

No, I haven't seen The Wages of Fear but people seem to really think highly of it. Good to know that there's another vote for it. One of these days I'll get to it.

Yeah, it's becoming harder and harder for me to do a movie a day as well, especially with college.

Hopefully, you enjoy The Wages of Fear btw!

[Wyldesyde19]

I recently watched Diabolique for the Halloween Challenge. I didn’t love it as much as you, but I agree with the hitchcockian vibe. Considering it from the same director as Le Corbeau, which I loved, it makes sense.
To be honest, I was disappointed with what felt a bit of a rushed ending and the wife’s acting at times.
Simone Signoret was great though.
It may benefit from a rewatch sometime I guess.

[Holden Pike]

Gee, Officer Krupke! ...was hilarious, loved the way it was staged and loved the lyrics to the song, very clever.
.....Gee, Officer Krupke, Krup you!
Ha! that cracked me up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkoXjnAm88s

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=65093

Blue Ruin (2013)
Director: Jeremy Saulnier
Writer: Jeremy Saulnier
Cast: Macon Blair, Devin Ratray, Amy Hargreaves
Genre: Crime Drama



Hell yeah! Gotta love a movie with Jan Brady toting a Tec 10 semi auto, like some backwoods survivalist in a modern day Hatfield and McCoy feud...I didn't even know Eve Plumb was in the movie and then the credits rolled, good thing I watched them as otherwise I'd never had spotted her.

I should probably hate this movie, but hot damn I really liked it. Right at the get go I was onboard when we first see the homeless guy and follow him around town...all without him speaking. I knew then that I liked this movie. I mean he could've just went dumpster diving for the next 90 minutes and I would've dug it. It's hard to explain but the movie felt like what I call 'honest cinema'. I loved that non-glossy, you are there style of film making and the main actor/character was interesting too. Gosh, I wish more movies were made without the bombastic need to 'wow' the audience.

71230


Yes Blue Ruin had some graphic violence, but...and this is a big but...the film never presented that violence as tawdry, cheap thrills. I've watched other movies that made graphic violence seem like a thrill ride in an entertainment park. Blue Ruin on the other hand never did that and for that reason I was OK with the violence as it was done for fun. That's the best I can explain that. The violence was there but it was never presented as a reward to the movie goer, instead the violence was an integral part of the story.

Loved the low key ending, less is more and that ending worked perfectly. Blue Ruin rocks!

4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=64594
The Matrix (1999)
Directors: Wachowskis
Writers: Wachowskis
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss
Genre: Sci-fi

Agent Smith is so cool! Damn what a character with that distinctive way of talking...and with the way he tilts his head I believed he was a sentient program inside the matrix. Kudos to Hugo Weaving for creating one helluva distinct & imaginative character...now that's acting!

While I'm singing the praises of the cast, Morpheus was cool as ice! And what a great casting choice to use Laurence Fishburne, he totally made the role. Morpheus gets those cool shades and all the great lines.

Come to think of it, Agent Smith has cool sunglasses too. To me the best thing about The Matrix is the very unique look the film had. I'm talking about the sets & clothing. I swear for years after this film I seen people dressed in black in those long angle length coats. Even Trinity's short slicked back hair added to the unique fashion style of the movie.

Then there's all those ground breaking special effects that has shaped the direction of movies and even TV commercials for decades. The Matrix was as influential as other great sci fi's like 2001 or Blade Runner.

I wish I could say I liked all the action-fighting sequences but in general I'm not a big action fan, it's just not my thing...Though the action scenes were well done and very unique. Mostly I loved the sci-fi concept of The Matrix and the look of the film...and Agent Smith too!

rating_4

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=65565
State of Siege (1972)

Director: Costa-Gavras
Writers: Franco Solinas, Costa-Gavras
Cast: Yves Montand, Renato Salvatori, O.E. Hasse
Genre: Political drama
Language: French

I want that Cadillac convertible! The one the dead guy was in at the start of the film. That would be such a sweet car! Come to think of it the film was loaded with classic old cars. Even the police remark about how nice and old 1920s car is when they are searching for the rebels in the auto garage.

Anyway...I liked this film! Before watching it I read the synopsis at IMDB. It's a good thing I didn't go into this blind or I would've been totally confused about what was going on. But thanks to IMDB I seen that this was a French made film about a right wing government in Uruguay that has it's para military police being trained by right wing operatives from the USA. And that's true, the USA did meddle in South American politics by supporting right wing dictatorships, just so that leftist rebels with communist leanings didn't get a foot hold.

We see the police rounding up suspects and killing them, that is the death squads. Those type of police death squads still operate in Latin America and other parts of the world. So this film which was done documentary style really felt like you were there back in the day. We don't really get to know the characters and we don't need to, this is about the subject of U.S. involvement in Uruguay.

It did feel like propaganda, notice how we see the brutal torture of a suspect by the police, but we never see the actual killing of the American by the rebels. I for one don't have a problem with propaganda, most films have a message that they want to make clear and State of Siege certainly did.

3.5++

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=65313
Shine (1996)

Director: Scott Hicks
Writers: Jan Sardi (screenplay), Scott Hicks (story)
Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Justin Braine
Genre: Biography

This is the kind of movie I look forward to watching, an uplifting tale about the triumph of the human spirit.

I went into this blind, I'd never heard of the movie or of David Helfgott. I should've loved this, but I didn't. As much as I usually like Geoffrey Rush, I couldn't stand his take on a mentally ill person. It was annoying and somewhat comical when comedy wasn't appropriate. He was not believable to me, I was very aware of an actor 'acting odd'. I've seen other actors do the same kind of performance with the same rapid fire, confused speech and it never works for me. I thought that he might be someone high on drugs in the first scene, either that or he just drank 10 cups of coffee.

The odd thing is the teenage David Helfgott, Noah Taylor was really good in this. His performance was nuanced. I was hoping so much that Rush's adult David would be a small part of the film. Unfortunately we see him quite a bit in the third act and for me the third act was the weakest.

The other thing that I didn't like about Shine was that the entire story felt rushed and abbreviated. It was like there was a 2hr 30min long story here, but the film was cut down to 1hr 45mins in the edited room, leaving only a framework of the story. I didn't even know for sure what was wrong with David. I seen him collapse at the piano during his big performance, then he was in a mental hospital. All the scenes were so brief without any center to them.

And then he just seemed to pop into different people's lives...I still don't know why a rich and successful Lynn Redgrave would marry him? When we just had seem him jumping on a trampoline with his genitally flopping in the air, as small children watched him. To me, that would signal that he wasn't well enough to care for himself and he sure isn't ready to be married or be around children! Or maybe the Australians think that's funny? Maybe they do as there was another scene just like that earlier in the film.

I didn't buy into the movie and I didn't care about David. It could've been a good story if another director made it.

2.5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=65493
Queen of Hearts (2019)
Dronningen original title


Director: May el-Toukhy
Writers: Maren Louise Käehne, May el-Toukhy
Cast: Trine Dyrholm, Gustav Lindh, Magnus Krepper

"A successful lawyer jeopardizes her career and threatens to tear her family apart after engaging in an affair with her teenage stepson."


That painting on the wall is sure foreboding looking and as with all set designs it was chosen for effect...Anyway I just wanted to mention that.

Dronningen is a well crafted movie with a subtle message that can be left open to interpretation. However the end results are clearly tragic. I appreciate a movie that doesn't hammer it's message into the audiences head, and Dronningen never did. I won't say this was an easy watch, the first hour was slow, but did set up tensions in the marriage and home life...Then boom and there's an expletive sex scene I wasn't expecting that. The sex in the movie isn't pretty, it's like watching two dogs on the front lawn copulate...an odd view.

As the second hour progresses the plight of Gustav becomes more sadder as we see the wreckage of Anne's self indulgent act. At first I didn't like Gustav as he seemed like a punk, but then we see he's really good with the twin girls and is just struggling and somewhat confused about which direction he's life should take. Anne goes from sympathetic to a pedophile predator.

There's a couple of explanations for Anne's seduction of the teen boy. I like that the film didn't spell it out for us and we can decide for ourselves just why she did it. Though a clue is when she tells of her first sexual experience and says it shouldn't have happened. We don't really know what should not have happened but we can guess. Even after the sex is over, Anne continues to inflict damage on poor Gustav with dire results.

2.5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=64867
Waco The Rules of Engagement (1997)


I love documentaries, but it's going to be hard to rate this one. The production values weren't high, but yet the subject matter really got to me in a way no film ever could.

The doc was able to present information that made me do a 180 on the Waco incident. Anytime a doc can change your mindset that's powerful stuff. All I had remembered about the Waco incident was that some kook, cult leader held up in a religious compound ended up committing mass suicide by burning their own building. That's what I had though happened...The doc presented evidence, such as the infrared recordings that totally changed my mind.

You know it's hard not to react to the incident, vs purely judging the doc's production values. So I'm not going to try...

David Koresh was a nut case and it never ceases to amaze me how people can follow a nut case right into the grave. I never knew Koresh was a polygamist and was accused of being a pedophile. I can't stand to look at the guy he just creeps me out.

For all the crazy **** that the Branch Davidians embraced, they didn't deserve to be gassed to death & machined gunned down by the FBI! Wholly **** I can't believe the images of the FBI using machine guns on the backside of the compound where no one could see them. I mean the children in there didn't deserve to be cooked alive....When it's all over, it's very telling that the FBI removes the Davidian's flag and runs their own FBI banner up the flag pole. Then the FBI proceeds to alter the crime scene and conveniently lose evidence that could've proved the FBI's wrong doing.

Mind bending stuff!

rating_3++

[MovieFan1988]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=48285&stc=1&d=1537655421The Lady from Shanghai (1947)

Director: Orson Welles (uncredited)
Writers: Sherwood King (novel), Orson Welles (screenplay)
Cast: Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Everett Sloane, Glenn Anders
Length: 87 minutes
Production Co: Columbia Pictures
Genre: Film Noir

Premise (spoiler free): Michael O'Hara (Orson Welles) is an Irish seaman who has a chance encounter with Elsa Bannister (Rita Hayworth). Elsa is the beautiful wife of a powerful and dangerous lawyer, Arthur Bannister (Everett Sloane). O'Hara is hired as a crewman aboard the lawyer's yacht. They sail from New York through the Caribbean to Mexico. But Michael O'Hara has a duel job as a would be assistant to Mrs. Bannister, or so he thinks.

Review: When Lady From Shanghai first came out in 1947 it was a flop. The audiences didn't like it, neither did the critics and it didn't make money either. The film was then mostly forgotten. Some years later Truman Capote wrote that he admired the film....At that point Lady From Shanghai began to move from flop to classic.

What might have been?...if only Orson Welles' vision for the movie had been released. Orson's rough cut of the film was 155 minutes. At 2 1/2 hours, Columbia Picture executives considered the film too long and ordered it cut to 90 minutes. Welles' then sent detailed instructions to the film editor on how and where to edit the film. Sadly his wishes were ignored.

What we get today is a choppy film with an hour missing from it. If one watches the film closely you can see where some of the scenes were shortened. At two different times there's a sloppy splice. One is a close up of George Grisby (Glenn Anders) towards the beginning of the film, he's in a car with Orson, if you watch closely the film jumps where the splice is. Latter in the film it happens again. Orson was too much of an artist and perfectionist to have allowed this to happen, so the blame isn't his.

In several places, most notably on the yacht, the scenes are choppy with quick edits, the scenes feel unfinished. Once again the editing was out of Orson's hands. The most famous cut to the film is the fun house mirror scene. We can only guess at the symbolic, cinematic achievements Orson made here, what we can see of the fun house scene is potent.

Much of Orson's trademark cinematography is apparent in the film. The spy glass triple diffuse to Rita Hayworth via a closeup of Glenn Anders is amazing!

I'd give Orson a 5/5 for the material he shot, BUT I have to review the film I seen, the cut and chopped version.

Orson deserved better than the treatment he received in Hollywood. After The Lady from Shanghai he retreated to Europe. He would make only one more major Hollywood film, Touch of Evil.

rating_3_5





Never saw this movie but for some reason the guy in the picture somehow gives me this Vince Vaughn vibe, I thought it was him for a sec lol :D

[Citizen Rules]

Never saw this movie but for some reason the guy in the picture somehow gives me this Vince Vaughn vibe, I thought it was him for a sec lol :DHa, he does look like Vince Vaughn a bit.

[MovieFan1988]

do you have a list somewhere of the movies that you reviewed on here? if not it's fine, but damn there's alot of pages in here

[Citizen Rules]

do you have a list somewhere of the movies that you reviewed on here? if not it's fine, but damn there's alot of pages in hereTry this and see if it works:
https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/search/any/higher/any/Citizen%20Rules

[MovieFan1988]

Try this and see if it works:
https://www.movieforums.com/reviews/search/any/higher/any/Citizen%20Rules

Yup it works, thanks

[Citizen Rules]

Yup it works, thanksCool🙂 I have probably 40 more reviews done that I can add, I just need to get around to doing it!

[Captain Steel]

Never saw this movie but for some reason the guy in the picture somehow gives me this Vince Vaughn vibe, I thought it was him for a sec lol :D

You do know that the guy in the picture is Orson, yes?

Come to think of it, Citizen Rules currently looks a little like Vince Vaughn (although I never would have made the connection previously)! ;)

[MovieFan1988]

You do know that the guy in the picture is Orson, yes?

Come to think of it, Citizen Rules currently looks a little like Vince Vaughn (although I never would have made the connection previously)! ;)

Nope didn't know it was him and yea he does a little bit :D:D

[Captain Steel]

Nope didn't know it was him and yea he does a little bit :D:D

If, before this, someone had said Vince Vaughn looks like a young Orson Welles... I might've said, "Mmm, not really." :D

Now younger Vincent D'Onofrio looking like young Orson Welles? Definitely.
(D'Onofrio played Orson in the film Ed Wood (1994) and again in a short film in 2005.)

[MovieFan1988]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=59662

Wedding Crashers (David Dobkin, 2005)


I like Owen Wilson's style of comedy, there I said it! He's like this flaky Southern California dude who's into holistic foods and mood rings, and yet he's always trying to be honest with everyone. I can dig it! I liked his laid back philosophy that he lays on Rachel McAdams. However I didn't like Vince Vaughn. At first his fast talking dialogue drove me crazy and he seemed like a jerk. I kept thinking if he was cast as some strong man villain he'd be perfect. But I must admit by the time we get to the Senator's house I was liking his character a whole bunch more.

BTW did Owen Wilson really feel up Jane Seymour in the movie? Or was that a breast stunt double? Kind of looked real to me. At any rate Jane Seymour was funny in this, as was Christoper Walken as the senator and Rachel McAdams was great too.

I though the movie was 20-30 minutes to long and it would have been much funnier if instead of being lawyers, they worked in a hardware store or in construction, you know regular guys. That would have allowed a juxtaposition between the posh world of the weddings, compared to their real life as working stiffs.

Here's where everyone is going to disagree me with me...All through the movie we hear about this guy named Chazz who invented Wedding Crashing, he was some kind of living legend. I knew when Owen Wilson went to meet Chazz it just couldn't be nobody, Chazz had to be something BIG!..........Will Ferrell owned that role, that to me was funny! It was a good pay off and I'm not sure who else could've been Chazz, though for some reason I could see Jon Lovitz as a burn out Wedding Crasher.

The funniest line...was Owen Wilson getting all serious to Rachel McAdams at the wedding of her sister. He interrupts the whole damn wedding to tell her how he feels...and he's doing a good job of it too. Then, he says, "I did crash a funeral yesterday" OMG! you could hear a pin drop...That made me laugh out loud. I loved the way everyone was so shocked in the church. I even watched that scene twice it was so funny.

3

Ma The Meatloaf F*ck!!!!! :D:D, I laugh everytime I hear it, good movie though, I think Will Ferrell was a good choice to play as chazz

[MovieFan1988]

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=28551&stc=1&d=1485141838
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Gary K. Wolf(novel), Jeffrey Price(screenplay)
Cast: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy
Genre: Animation-Live Action, Adventure, Comedy

About: A down and out, toon-hating, boozen detective, Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskins) is Roger Rabbit's (voice by Charles Fleischer) only hope of beating a framed-up murder rap. The suspects include Roger Rabbit's voluminous & voluptuous wife, Jessica Rabbit (voice by Kathleen Turner). Into the mix comes the mysterious and dangerous Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd) who takes a twisted pleasure in dipping toons in a deadly toxic solution.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=28553&stc=1&d=1485141851


Review: Who Framed Roger Rabbit is the most innovative animated movie ever made. In 1988 it was the most expensive movie ever made...and one of the longest to make too. It took 7months for principal photography(filming of live actors), another month of blue screen work...and an excruciating 14 months in post production to do the complicated animation work.

Unlike previous attempt at live action intermixed with animation, this movie went to great lengths to teach the live actors how to do pantomime so that when a human picks up a toon, it looks like he's lifting weight and not just air.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=28555&stc=1&d=1485141866


Many of the live props in the hands of the toons were shot with robotic controlled arms, then latter the animation was layered over top of it. A prime example of that is Baby Herman and his real cigar. Which moves realistically as it's a real prop shot on film and being controlled remotely.

To make it so the humans had eye contact with the toons an initial blocking scene was filmed with rubber dolls standing for the toons. Then the eye path could be checked and corrected so that humans and toons look like they're really interacting. And it works! It's easy to believe what you're seeing is true.

Bob Hoskins was the perfect choice for detective Eddie Valant, he looked the part and his annoyance at the outrageous Roger Rabbit made the movie all the more humorous.

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=28554&stc=1&d=1485141858

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=28552&stc=1&d=1485141844


A big shout out, to Joanna Cassidy and Christopher Lloyd, both who helped make the movie a truly fine stand out film.

I enjoyed the nod to Film Noir, circa 1947 where Hollywood meets Disney and Looney Tunes. It's totally cool to a film buff to see Jessica Rabbit patterned in the style of Rita Hayworth (Mrs. Orson) and sporting a Veronica Lake peek-a-boo hairdo. Even more fun was seeing all the old cartoon characters from Disney and Warner Bros together on the big screen for the one and only time. And just as important is the animation is drawn in the original style of the 1940s...and voiced by many of the original vocal artist, including legendary Mel Blanc.

I really enjoyed this, it was well done, entertaining, fun, with great sets and lots of neat movie related stuff in the background.

rating_4+

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxZap9bgWrA
:D, this scene gets me everytime I watch the movie, a very fun movie to watch If I may add

[Citizen Rules]

You do know that the guy in the picture is Orson, yes?

Come to think of it, Citizen Rules currently looks a little like Vince Vaughn (although I never would have made the connection previously)! ;)I hope not, but yeah that might be true:p

[Captain Steel]

I hope not, but yeah that might be true:p

Now, because of the recent posts, I'm looking at your most recent avatar and seeing Vince Vaughn. As said, before this I never would have thought the two looked remotely alike (except for maybe the shapes of their heads). ;)

[Captain Steel]

Always fun to watch again...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_H9A9zTorrw

[Citizen Rules]

I love that Orson clip from Ed Wood. I must have posted it a dozen times myself. Depp is great in it too.

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=67286

Schindler's List
(Spielberg 1993)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Writers: Thomas Keneally (novel), Steven Zaillian (screenplay)
Cast: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley

"In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis."


That's the real Auschwitz death camp that Spielberg used in the film as seen in that screen shot. I don't even have to look that up as I instantly recognized that distinctive building with the train tracks running right threw the middle of it. And the cement ramp that takes the poor souls down to the showers, that was real too. Auschwitz must have been a hauntingly eerie place for the cast & crew to work in as so many humans were gassed to death in the showers...Then cremated in giant furnaces that ran non-stop. It's mind boggling that the holocaust could have ever happened, and yet it did happen...Spielberg pays the victims & the heroes their due respect with his film Schindler's List.

Spielberg gets kicked around a lot here at MoFo. Gawd knows I've taken pot shots at Spielberg for his big budget blockbusters with their syrupy sentimentalism and feel good moments...But damn if Spielberg didn't step away from his usual fare and instead gives us a pictorial history in film form of the events that led to Oscar Schindler saving so many Jews from certain death. The film is almost void of Spielberg's trademark 'tugging at the heart strings moments' and instead he made a film that's very European feeling in form and look. The story is presented like a French New Wave film where the narrative isn't as important as the symbolism and visuals are. It's not a typical Spielberg film at all and for stepping outside of his usual film making style I respect him.

rating_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=67508

Late Spring (Ozu 1949)
Banshun (original title)
Director: Yasujirô Ozu
Writers: Kazuo Hirotsu (novel), Kôgo Noda (screenplay)
Cast: Chishû Ryû, Setsuko Hara, Yumeji Tsukioka
Genre: Drama
Language: Japanese


"Noriko is twenty-seven years old and still living with her widowed father. Everybody tries to talk her into marrying, but Noriko wants to stay at home caring for her father."


Slow, sentimentalism...and I loved it...this is my kind of film! CR


Rarely am I moved emotionally by a film. I can enjoy a movie but it's not often that a film actually touches me emotionally...Late Spring profoundly touched me.

I found the film to be very humanly realistic. While I could understand the feelings the father had, it was Setsuku Hara as the daughter who wanted to go on living her life with her father, that touched me the most. Setsuku was so good in relaying her emotions that I could image just how she felt about her decision to stay in a safe place with her father who loved her. I could also understand her apprehension about going out into the world and marrying a near complete stranger. Her happiness was infectious and her sadness palatable. Setusku was utterly charming in this!

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=67507

I just love that photo and the feeling of unbridled happiness as Norkio is yet to move away from the safe life she has has known, her joy is abundantly clear.

I'm impressed by the way the director filmed this. Ozu's technique makes everything seem so personal in his film, like we're part of the household and are watching the quiet moments of life unfold before our eyes. Nothing feels rushed or contrived, it all flows so effortlessly as Ozu takes his time. It feels like time could stand still and Noriko could stay forever in the safety of her childhood home. I loved the way Ozu filmed not only the actors, especially the lovely Setsuku, but also the way he filmed the scenes...Ozu often gives us a view from afar or a view from a low angle, which makes the people seem so familiar like we're in the room with them.

I appreciated the script too, especially in the polite way two people would argue with their back and forth conversations: yes you would, no I wouldn't...yes you would. If I recall that dialogue style was repeated three times in the film, which imparts a feeling that life and people are tied together in a commonality that spans generations.

rating_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=71813
Le Samouraï (1967)

Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Writers: Jean-Pierre Melville, Georges Pellegrin
Cast: Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon
Genre: Suspense Drama
Language: French

I absolutely loved this film. I was engaged, engrossed and encapsulated by it for its entire run time. Not one false step in this movie. There's nothing I would've changed about it...and rarely do I not find at least some issue with a film...but not here!

Le Samourai is everything I could want in a movie watching experience. I loved it's slow, still approach and it's solid determination. Even it's lack of narrative information was a plus, as watching the events unfold in almost real time was rewarding for me. It was like I was along for the ride and was waiting to see what would befall our unlikely protagonist next. The director skillfully builds sympathy for an otherwise unsavory character and he does this without dipping into the cliche bargain bin of director's tricks. I'm impressed with Melville's film making instincts!

I read online that Le Samourai has influenced a lot of film makers and their movies. That's not surprising as the style and story narrative are quite unique and striking.

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=67151


But...am I the only one who sees a striking similarity between Le Samourai (1967) and This Gun for Hire (1942) starring Alan Ladd as an emotionless hitman with no friends except his cat. Just look at that photo I used above. No that's not Alain Delon/Jef Costell that's Allan Ladd with the same cold, distant look in his eyes. Both men look remarkable alike. The narrative of both films are very similar, as is the modus operandi for both characters. As far as I know Alan Ladd's portrayal of an emotionless, loner hitman was unique at the time and not a character trope.

rating_5

[SpelingError]

Nice review! I agree with all of your points (Late Spring is my 5th favorite film of all time).

And yeah, it's one of the few films which emotionally moved me on such a deep level. I love how it's able to build up emotional tension between Noriko and her father, saving the heartbreak for later instead of releasing it as the film rolls along. It makes the final act hit really hard every time I watch it.

Like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I sometimes forget how great both these films are only to be blown away by them all over again when I rewatch them.

[Citizen Rules]

Nice review! I agree with all of your points (Late Spring is my 5th favorite film of all time).

And yeah, it's one of the few films which emotionally moved me on such a deep level. I love how it's able to build up emotional tension between Noriko and her father, saving the heartbreak for later instead of releasing it as the film rolls along. It makes the final act hit really hard every time I watch it.

Like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, I sometimes forget how great both these films are only to be blown away by them all over again when I rewatch them.Thanks! All of the last three films I reviewed were in the 23rd HoF. OMG that HoF had so many great films in it! I still have more from that HoF to add to my review thread.