Citizen Rules...Cinemaesque Chat-n-Review

→ in
Tools    





I've enjoyed everything I've seen with Mia so far and I'm sure she'd be excellent in such a film as Madame Bovary. Will have to check it out.
and, in case you ask, seen her in Defiance, the two Alice movies, Lawless, Crimson Peak and Only Lovers Left Alive.
I remember seeing The Great Gatsby as a kid on TV and thinking it was very, very slow and throughout the years thought I'd try again to understand and to see what I missed from the edited version on TV. I kind of wonder now.
Ha, I'm reading your post, and I'm thinking to myself, Mia Farrow was in Only Lovers Left Alive???...then it hit me, it's the other Mia. Yea she's been great in everything I've seen her in. Of those movies, I've only seen Defiance. Did you like the Jarmusch film?



Women will be your undoing, Pépé
which Jarmusch film? The one with Mia Farrow? Yeah, it's awesome



but, yeah, OLLA is actually my favorite of Jarmusch. If you remember we had talked about how I've considered nominating it for a HoF and haven't




The Great Gatsby (1974)

Director: Jack Clayton
Writers: Francis Ford Coppola(screenplay), F. Scott Fitzgerald(novel)
Cast: Robert Redford, Mia Farrow, Bruce Dern, Karen Black
Genre: Drama, Romance
Length: 144 minutes
I think your review sums up this film pretty accurately.




The Old Dark House (1963)

Producer: William Castle
Director: William Castle
Writers: Robert Dillon (screenplay), J.B. Priestley (book)
Cast: Tom Poston, Robert Morley, Janette Scott, Fenella Fielding
Genre: Comedy, Horror, Mystery

Hammer films and William Castle
teamed up in 1963 to deliver a dark-comedy, horror-mystery remake of the original The Old Dark House (1932)....This 1963 version has little in common with the original film, except the creepy old house.

The creepy house is real and is known as Oakley Court in Berkshire, UK. Probably best known for being used in The Rocky Horror Picture Show....The movie was produced at Pine Studio and on location in England, UK. The film looks great. The sets are a real joy to look at. They're well dressed out with rich details that add a lot of ambiance to the movie. I spent a lot of time just studying all the details that were put into each room, the house is the main star! But there's more...

The other star is American Tom Postman who plays an American who unwittingly stumbles into the house and meets a very eccentric family living there. The catch is they can't leave the house at night.
Much to Tom Postman's distress, the family is murdering each other off, so that the sole survivor can inherit a large fortunate....and they think he's in on it!

A fine cast of British actors make up the Femm family: Robert Morley, Joyce Grenfell, Mervyn Johns, and Peter Bull. All are colorfully good. Then there's the two nieces, the pretty Janette Scott and a great performance by the comically slinky Fenella Fielding.

If you've seen Clue (1985) you'll have a good idea of what this film is like. I enjoyed it, I call it family-horror, and the various ways people get knocked off is part of the comic horror fun. Not to be missed is the uncle and his recreation of Noah's Ark, stocked with real animals!...and with a spot for two breeding humans! Tom Post and one of the ladies, oh my!


Two women, who've not been out of the old house in ages, have their eyes on the newcomer Tom Postman. Hmmm, which one will he favor and which one will try to kill him?

Another fine William Castle film.
Attachments
Click image for larger version

Name:	The Old Dark House 1963 (3).jpg
Views:	272
Size:	106.0 KB
ID:	35884   Click image for larger version

Name:	The Old Dark House 1963 (2).jpg
Views:	269
Size:	77.9 KB
ID:	35888  




Punchline (1988)
Director: David Seltzer
Writer: David Seltzer
Cast: Sally Field, Tom Hanks, John Goodman
Genre: Comedy Drama


A hard look at the behind the scenes life of stand up comedians as they try to make it into the big time, by getting discovered at a New York comedy club.



Tom Hanks is a wildly funny
, as an up and coming young comedian who's flunked out of medical school and is so broke his roommate has locked him out of his own apartment. Both his dad and brother are successful doctors and he hasn't the guts to tell them he's working as a stand up comic, knowing they will take a dim view of it.

Tom Hanks was extremely good in this as a talented comic with a self destructive streak. His comedy performances give us an insight into why the real Tom Hanks became such a big comic star. Fellow stand up comedian Chris Rock called Hanks the funniest stand up act he'd seen. And we get to see it too! and that's alone is worth the price of admission.

But there's more, there's the darker side, when he breaks down on stage after spotting his estranged father in the audience. Oscar worthy performance. Though my favorite scene was on the night of the big competition when he's outside of the comedy club heckling the judges with a bull horn as they enter the club. The same judges who will later be judging the comedy routines.




Sally Fields is the other big draw here. She's a house wife married to John Goodman, a man who doesn't understand why she must leave the house and her three children to go and perform comedy. And she's not skilled at it, but is driven to keep trying.

There's a lot of tension in their scenes together and Sally Fields was made do to this type of acting. She brings balance to the movie. I liked her too. I wasn't so onboard with the idea that Tom Hanks character would fall in love with her. But still overall, a unique movie and one I really enjoyed.

++
Attachments
Click image for larger version

Name:	Punchline 1988 (1).jpg
Views:	292
Size:	195.2 KB
ID:	35903   Click image for larger version

Name:	Punchline 1988 (1a).jpg
Views:	290
Size:	37.3 KB
ID:	35904   Click image for larger version

Name:	Punchline 1988 (2).jpg
Views:	294
Size:	230.9 KB
ID:	35905   Click image for larger version

Name:	Punchline 1988 (3).jpg
Views:	309
Size:	224.8 KB
ID:	35906  




Punchline (1988)
Director: David Seltzer
Writer: David Seltzer
Cast: Sally Field, Tom Hanks, John Goodman
Genre: Comedy Drama

So thrilled to see your review of this movie, Citizen...possibly my favorite Hanks performance, overshadowed by the release of Big he same year. Love your review, glad you loved the film as much as I do.



So thrilled to see your review of this movie, Citizen...possibly my favorite Hanks performance, overshadowed by the release of Big he same year. Love your review, glad you loved the film as much as I do.
You know how I can tell if I really like a movie? By how much I check the time while watching it. I never checked the time at all while watching Punchline. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I still need to see Big, I've never seen it.



So thrilled to see your review of this movie, Citizen...possibly my favorite Hanks performance, overshadowed by the release of Big he same year. Love your review, glad you loved the film as much as I do.
You know how I can tell if I really like a movie? By how much I check the time while watching it. I never checked the time at all while watching Punchline. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I still need to see Big, I've never seen it.
I recommend the directors extended cut of Big



I recommend the directors extended cut of Big
Thanks Joel. I'll have to finish up my John Candy filmography, then move onto Tom Hanks. There's a lot of Hanks movies I've never seen, besides the aforementioned Big.



You know how I can tell if I really like a movie? By how much I check the time while watching it. I never checked the time at all while watching Punchline. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I still need to see Big, I've never seen it.
Big is a fun movie!



In a Big way!
Notably, recently deceased actor John Heard (1946 - 2017) plays the movie's "jerk."
And the great Robert Loggia (1930 - 2015), instead of playing a mobster, has a memorable and loveable role.

Hope this isn't considered a "spoiler" but everyone who's seen the movie remembers the piano scene with Hanks and Loggia...





Sunset Song (2015)
Director: Terence Davies
Writers: Lewis Grassic Gibbon (novel), Terence Davies (screenplay)
Cast: Peter Mullan, Mark Bonnar, Agyness Deyn
Genre: Period Piece Drama


"The daughter of a Scottish farmer comes of age in the early 1900s."

Sunset Song is a stunningly beautiful to look at, visual film, with slow reflective scenes bathed in a warm amber light....Like the embers of a warm fire on a winter's day, the appeal is in the ambiance of the heartwarming illusion.

The story is based on a novel, written for the screen by the director Terence Davies. It covers the life of a young woman in rural Scotland in the 19th century and the hardships she must endure. This story idea is promising and is usually the epic life story that transcribes well to the big screen.




It's too bad that all of the film's promise is cursed with a hackneyed script that trouts out two dimensional characters of the most overused film tropes. From the abusive father who belonged in a Disney cartoon to the transformation of the loving husband to evil bastard in a heartbeat, reeked of a poorly written script.

The actors themselves were fine, especially the actress who plays the lead, Agyness Deyn...But this film has nowhere to go and all that visual beauty can't save what is efficiently a hack writing job. Another trip through the editing room might have trimmed off the fat and tightened the film up.

As it is I give Sunset Song a:


Attachments
Click image for larger version

Name:	Sunset Song 2015 (1).jpg
Views:	259
Size:	233.4 KB
ID:	35961   Click image for larger version

Name:	Sunset Song 2015 (2).jpg
Views:	242
Size:	46.7 KB
ID:	35962   Click image for larger version

Name:	Sunset Song 2015 (3).jpg
Views:	241
Size:	151.7 KB
ID:	35963  




Certain Women (2016)

Director: Kelly Reichardt
Writers: Kelly Reichardt (screenplay by), Maile Meloy (story)
Cast: Michelle Williams, Kristen Stewart, Laura Dern
Genre: Anthology Drama


This had no story, no plot....and if those things are important to you, I doubt you would like it...But I enjoyed it.

I thought this indie film was fresh and different. It's totally laid back film making, without the usual fancy cinema tricks, glorious orchestral sound track or spoon-feed emotions. I call it honest film making, and it's not for everyone.

Director, editor, writer Kelly Reichardt known for her previous films Meeks Cutoff & Wendy and Lucy, gets up close and personal, as we follow three women who live in rural Montana. The movie is an anthology of their three different stories. Shown consecutively, no flash backs or inter-cuts (which is also refreshing.)



There's cinematic drama in the first one with Laura Dern as a lawyer who has a disgruntled and dangerous client. That's the most accessible story for a general audience.

The second one with Michelle Williams shows a family with some tensions. I didn't care for this one as much, but in another way this one seemed like watching someones real life. So that's cool.



The third was quietly odd with Kristen Stewart as a overworked law graduate who takes on a teaching assignment that requires her to commute 8 hours round trip. Lily Gladstone is a curious young woman who shows up unannounced in her class. She's a ranch hand who follows Kristen around town and seems to want something. Why? I don't know.

There's no answers in Certain Women, only observations, thank goodness.

++


Attachments
Click image for larger version

Name:	Certain Women 2016 (1).jpg
Views:	260
Size:	67.5 KB
ID:	35984   Click image for larger version

Name:	Certain Women 2016 (3).jpg
Views:	237
Size:	178.8 KB
ID:	35985   Click image for larger version

Name:	Certain Women 2016 (4).jpg
Views:	243
Size:	153.2 KB
ID:	35986  





Strait-Jacket (1964)
Director: William Castle
Producer: William Castle
Writer: Robert Bloch
Cast: Joan Crawford, Diane Baker, Leif Erickson
Genre: Horror

What's better than crazy Joan Crawford wielding an axe?

Lucy Habin (Joan Crawford) returns home after twenty years in an insane asylum for commenting a double ax murder. With her cheating husband and girlfriend as the unfortunate victims who lost their heads. Once Lucy is back staying with her brother and his wife, she meets the daughter she never knew...then all hell breaks lose!



Horror king William Castle
strikes a match and ignites a strange brew of ax beheading horror, with one of the screens most dramatic actresses and combines it with a dash of unintentional camp to give us Straight-Jacket.

William Castle said he watched Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? 17 times as he was that impressed with it. His goal was to make a horror film with A list talent. For that he hired the writer of Psycho Robert Bloch and got the co star from Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?....Joan Crawford.



What results is one helluva fun movie, thanks to Joan giving it her all. She pours her emotions into her character and might have been nominate for an Oscar if she hadn't been in a horror film. Joan is everything you ever though she was, and more! Add to that a cutesy Diane Baker, who plays her estranged daughter Carol, and might not be as sweet as she seems and you get the makings for a classic camp horror film.

++
Attachments
Click image for larger version

Name:	Straight-Jacket 1964 (3).jpg
Views:	202
Size:	79.5 KB
ID:	36047   Click image for larger version

Name:	Straight-Jacket 1964 (4).jpg
Views:	202
Size:	155.3 KB
ID:	36049  



[center]

Strait-Jacket (1964)
[left]Director: William Castle
Producer: William Castle
Writer: Robert Bloch
Cast: Joan Crawford, Diane Baker, Leif Erickson
Genre: Horror
Never really had any interest in watching this because I'm not a big horror fan and it just struck me as an attempt to cash in on the Baby Jane mania, but your review makes this movie sound like cheesy fun, Citizen and I might give it a shot.




The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Writers: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, Michael Badalucco, Scarlett Johansson
Genre: Neo Noir


"A laconic, chain-smoking barber blackmails his wife's boss and lover for money to invest in dry cleaning, but his plan goes terribly wrong."

This is stunning film work!
Visually the use of shadows and high key lighting, silhouettes and Dutch angles, wide overhead shots and deep focus...are all here and done to a level of sublime. This film should be used to train new directors in the art of lighting.



Billy Bob Thorton was one of the coolest-odd characters to ever grace a film noir. Damn he made this movie...with his deliberately stoic acting and his taunt face of stone...Then there's his remorseful, yet downtrodden voice over narrative. The narrative itself, is a thing of beauty, both in the way the lines are delivered and by the pulp philosophy that rings truer then most films would ever aspire to say.

This is a slow paced film with long scene length, smooth and even editing between the scene transactions. The Coen brothers even have the genius to let the screen go black for a few seconds, in between major acts.



I thought this would be a 5/5 and be added to my top 10. But true to Coen's style they go a little over the top with the UFO lady and the ending goes a little loose and broad. Still I can't complain as that's what the Coen's are known for, and I guess that's what you call an auteur's stamp.

++