The Resident Bitch's Movie Log

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Don Siegel, 1956)
Imdb

Date Watched: 07/27/16
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: 50s List
Rewatch: No

Spoilers Ahead

Solid movie, though I feel like I had a little more fun with the 70s remake and that it did a better job of establishing a sense of dread. I was also a bit bothered by the ending - I know Becky's already been transformed by the time Miles returns, but how? I suppose there could've been some random pod left in the cave just in case, but how did the transformation happen so fast when others took longer? I also had trouble accepting that the doctors would buy Miles's story so quickly when they hear about the pods in the car accident victim's vehicle. But these are pretty minor gripes and I enjoyed it overall.

__________________

Mmm that's a good un.

I actually didn't like the 70's one other than the ending, while i loved the 50's one. Glad you liked it and hope it makes your 50's list.

Androcles and the Lion (Chester Erskine, Nicholas Ray, 1952)
Imdb

Date Watched: 07/27/16
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: Victor Mature, Rome, 50s
Rewatch: No


Since my teens, I've had a soft spot for that genius actor () Victor Mature, so when I spotted this on Hulu (it's part of the Criterion Collection, for some reason) I couldn't resist giving it a try. Whenever I go into one of his movies, I expect to laugh at it and enjoy it in a so-bad-it's-good kind of way - with the occasional pleasant surprise of finding a genuinely good movie -but this one was actually trying to be funny.

So let's review the film's positives. Um... well... Let's see now... It has Victor Mature - giving his usual hammy performance (though he's not the main character and doesn't get a whole lot of screen time), it has the gorgeous Jean Simmons (but female beauty doesn't do much to hold my interest), and the costumes were pretty good.

Now the negatives. The acting is atrocious. The special effects are even more so. The writing is horrid and the intended laughs don't deliver. Or at least I don't think they do. It's hard to tell which parts of the awfulness were intentional and which were accidental. Even so, I rarely got bored with it and was entranced in a WTF/train wreck kind of way.

The Seventh Seal(Det sjunde inseglet) (Ingmar Bergman, 1957)
Imdb

Date Watched: 07/30/16
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: 50s list, Bergman
Rewatch: No

On a technical level, this is a superb film. I really can find no real fault here. The acting, the cinematography, the costume design, all of it was very good. I thought the concept was excellent as well. But I'd be lying if I said I loved this.

Despite its beauty and the strength of its premise, there was a definite emotional disconnect for me and there were times when I struggled to maintain focus. There just wasn't anything about any of its characters to make me feel for them. Ultimately I respected this film far more than I actually liked it but that will probably be enough to get it somewhere on my ballot.

Seventh Seal was pretty [Meh...] for me. I don't get the love people shower on it.

__________________
Movie Reviews | Anime Reviews
Top 100 Action Movie Countdown (2015): List | Thread
"Well, at least your intentions behind the UTTERLY DEVASTATING FAULTS IN YOUR LOGIC are good." - Captain Steel

I largely felt the same as you about The Seventh Seal, haven't seen it in about two years though so i should re watch it.

Great job tackling and finishing Seven Samurai! I anxiously await your thoughts!

Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
Imdb

Date Watched: 07/31/16
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: 50s List
Rewatch: No


Having seen only one other Kurosawa film (and relatively little Japanese cinema in general), I didn't know what to expect from this but decided to watch it based on its reputation alone.

The cast of characters was varied and interesting and I was able to engage pretty well with them. The story had a good mix of drama, action and a surprising amount of humor, which helped to balance out the tragedies and the loss. I can definitely see why it was later re-imagined as a Western, though I've yet to see The Magnificent Seven.

But I didn't quite love it. Due to its 3.5 hour run time, I struggled a bit to get through it. Not gonna lie: My attention span just isn't that long and I had to take a few breaks. I would've preferred a shorter film. Aside from that though, the film was very good. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a masterpiece, but I think it is deserving of its reputation.

-

Am I a bad fifties host for never seeing Seven Samurai?

I hope to see it before it's placing in the countdown.

So Seven Samurai makes 22 films for my ballot. I need 3 more and have only 10 days to find them. This is my current watchlist, I'm hoping to get them all in and find the remaining 3 among them:

Smiles of a Summer Night
Rebel Without A Cause
Strangers On A Train
Witness For the Prosecution
12 Angry Men

It's long for me too, even though I have enough attention span to 'endure' Dr. Strangelove. The movie definitely could have been trimmed: the process of recruiting the seven samurai goes on for a bit too long, same thing for the village scenes. Love Kurosawa but I can only give Seven Samurai a +.

Yes, you're a bad boy, Now go and sit in the time out chair.

Eh, I didn't watch a lot of the movies on the animated countdown until after it was complete.

Oh man, watch 12 Angry Men next. That is an essential viewing for everyone.

Yeah, gotta watch 12 Angry. I have a feeling you will love Smiles Of A Summer Night though, and if I remember right it's a brisk 90minutes.

__________________
Letterboxd

“Except for markf, you’re all a disgrace to cinema.”

I'm very happy you had a positive experience watching Seven Samurai.

I would think you'll find 3 more for your list out of the movies you mentioned.

Seven Samurai is great but it's running time is a bit more of a struggle for me than some films of a similar length that i prefer like Lawrence and Gone With The WInd. Still it is one of my favourites by one of my favourite directors, glad you liked it.

So Bitch you have been watching some good movies

__________________
Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

Yus. What they said.