Delila's Reviews

May is a great horror movie. One of my favorites from the last few years. It really creeped me out. Good stuff!

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I'm "the type"? The weird type? Is that what you're saying, Lord? That I'm weird????

You'd be right.

Mose and Pyro~ thanks for reading!
Mose, I found some of it very disturbing, but it was disturbing with a point. Last week, I watched Audition and it was also VERY disturbing, but lost track of any point at all in it's quest to shock. So I see that as an important distinction.

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Review: Cabin in the Woods 8/10

Cute, but no.

I meant that you seem to be the type that enjoys movies that challenge you. There are alot of movies that to many are nothing more than disturbing and/or weird, but it takes a certain eye to see that there is a beauty buried within. For me, Cronenberg makes many films that fit that type of mold...and I love them.


BTW: You do seem a little weird, now that you mention it.

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"Today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."

I do. Very astute observation, there.
I have a degree in theater, with a pretty heavy focus on script analysis and theater history. A lot of that carries over, thankfully, to film.

heh heh heh....

Eek! I've been emasculated!

I need my teddy bear.

Oh, come now. It couldn't be that easy...

I was married to the... PRINCESS OF DARKNESS.

...yes it is.


BTW: I hope you safety and happiness on your trip tomorrow.

Thanks, Slay!

Finally, someone who agrees with me about Audition. For years people have been telling me what a 'great' film it was so I grudgingly picked it up and was shocked to find it was nothing more than an exercise in gory excess. Unfortuantely I unwittingly picked up another Takashi Miike flick, Ichi the Killer and surprise surprise... it was more the of the same.

Probably one of the most overhyped directors of the last 20 years... IMHO

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Toefuzz.com - Movie reviews and quotes for those of us fortunate enough to not have our heads shoved up overly critical rectums!

My Top 100 favorite movies.

Loved the May review. This little known piece needs more attention, as everyone should see Bettis' performance....

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great review Cindy!
and Sedai, good taste!

Cind',

1) yeah, Angela is splendid, great, awesome, amazing!!

and she is splendid too in: (see movietab thread last week)

Carrie (2002) (TV)
Perfume (2001)
Bless the Child (2000)
Girl, Interrupted (1999)
The Last Best Sunday (1999)
Storia di una capinera (1993)
aka Sparrow
and not bad at all in Toolbox Murders (2003)

(i haven't seen the rest of her filmography YET!)


2) what did you think of the fantastic creativity in "fashion"?: the dresses Angela wears (and makes herself, ... i mean her character), and the most attractive, saddest doll i've ever ever ever seen (i checked the internet but couldn't find any website or seller to purchase it for myself!! )

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We're a generation of men raised by women. I'm wondering if another woman is really the answer we need.

Mose~ thanks for the heads up about Ichi the Killer. I have heard raves about that and while I don't mind violence or gore, I do appreciate there being a point to it beyond "look how great we got the blood to splatter".

Sedai~ I completely agree. This one slipped past a lot of people, and it's well worth a watch. I think the packaging of it sucked moose. They goth'd her out for the box art and the ENTIRE POINT of her character is that she's unstylishly unique and her own. Duh!

chic-o frog~ I think it's time I rewatched Girl, Interrupted, and caught a few of her other films. She was really impressive. I loved the fashions she created, the mishmash of textures reflected her mental state. They were beautiful, unique, unfashionable (though if you took a walk on Melrose now, you'd see some similar things, they were unfashionable at the time!). The costuming and the set decoration were both very thoughtful and flattering to Ms Bettis, and created a really lovely effect.

i'd recommend to watch Perfume, especially, for the movie though rather than for Angela, since she appears very shortly in it. although when she does... (all dialogs are improvised in that movie, which already makes it original enough...)

I love your reviews Cindy....especially Sullivan's Travels. I haven't seen it yet. I've looked for it at my local video store, but they don't have it...so I'll definately check out my local library for it.

The only other Preston Sturges movies I've seen are The Palm Beach Story (1942) and The Good Fairy (1935). Both also have that snappy dialogue that's so great to listen to. If you ever get a chance, I'd highly recommend The Good Fairy if you haven't seen it. T'is another forgotton gem. I'd love to read your thoughts on it.

Annie!
I will look for that one. The title reminds me of Little Bunny Foo Foo, but if you say it's good, I'm there.

The 400 Blows (1959 - Truffaut)
I’ve always loved this movie and really like what you said about it. I agree with you about Leaud’s performance being one of the greatest of all time. I see that you also wrote a review for Day For Night, but have you seen any others? Breathless? Fahrenheit 451?

Adam's Rib (1949 - Cukor)
Nice review. How high up do you rate Tracy as far as your favorite actors go? I think he is one of the greatest of all time. I wish some of our younger members had seen more of his films. Kind of puts Keanu in perspective.

Aguirre, The Wrath Of God (1972 - Herzog)
Powerful film, amazing visuals. It also has one of the most magical, if not demonic, pairings in cinema history; Herzog and Kinski. Have you seen many of either of theirs? I’m curious especially if you’ve seen one of Herzog’s more recent films called Invincible starring Tim Roth.

Angels In America (2003 - Nichols)
Man, I need to see this.

The Apartment (1960 - Wilder)
Two of my favorite actors of all time. I love this movie. It’s also one of your more fun reviews. I especially liked your statistical data. You didn’t really touch on the actor’s though. Do you share the love?

Before Sunset (2004 - Linklater)
Hmm…before I read your review I would have said you couldn’t pay me enough to see either of these films, well, the latter of the two at least. But now I’ll have to check ‘em out. Thanks…I think.

Big Fish (2003 - Burton)
That’s one funny opening paragraph. It appears that we had the same attitude towards the film. Too often Burton relies on his visuals and asks us to forget the lack of complexity in his films. I don’t buy it and hope that he connects more as he matures as a filmmaker. Whish is your favorite Burton? Mine is Ed Wood.

Brazil (1985 - Gilliam)
Whew…I was hoping you’d love this one. A masterpiece unequaled (at least in its, er, genre). I can’t wait for Brothers Grimm, but I don’t know if Gilliam will ever be able to match this one, which I consider his crowning achievement.

Capturing The Friedmans (2003 - Jarecki)
I keep forgetting to check this one out. I haven’t met anyone who hasn’t liked it yet.

The Crime Of Padre Amaro (2003 - Carrera)
I’m amazed that I haven’t noticed this film before. I’m usually pretty on top of foreign film releases. Thanks for the heads up.

Dawn Of The Dead (2004 - Snyder)
I enjoyed this movie quite a bit and also wrote a review for it. I agree with you that it has one of the best opening sequences ever made for a horror film. I also like the fact that Webber was used as the central heroic lead. He plays smarmy great, but I enjoy him more as a good guy.

Day For Night (1973 - Truffaut)
This is a Truffaut I haven’t seen. I don’t think I’ll rush to see it, but I will see it sooner or later. Thanks.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004 - Kaufman)
It looks like I liked it a sight more than you did, and I could relate with Joel more than you. Have you watched it again since your last review? Have your opinions changed since the horny boys incident? Oh yeah...I wrote a review for itt too, but it was a gushing kind.

THis and Day for Night are the only of his I've seen. I do plan to see more though.

If only it put him in a nice CPA gig... I like Tracy, but I'm not sure he's cracked my Top 10 yet.

I haven't, and I'm very interested. I really enjoyed Roth in Res. Dogs and would like to see him paired with Herzog.

Yeah, you do. Everyone does.

I wasn't big on Lemmon til I saw Glengarry Glen Ross and he blew me away!! And MacLaine is fun but her personality has overshadowed her career... so I'm trying to overcome that.

haha.. I think you'll like them. I thought the first one looked like pure cheddar, til I watched it end to end and really liked the relationship that is there. The second one I think does that proud.

My favorite Burton is probably Beetlejuice. I saw it with no idea what was coming, and just loved it.

I didn't know he had a new one coming. Yay!!!

It was not what I expected, but within the first 5 min, I was fascinated. I'd like to know what you think, when you see it.

I'm a fan of Gabriel Garcia Bernal, I have to admit. He's really great. (And mrrrreow.)

Joel seems much more relatable to men, based on my debates over it. I've seen it twice, and I think I posted my review here after the second viewing. I like it a lot, I just had that one issue with it that kept me from raving.

Thank you for your thoughts. I love comparing notes!

Breathless was done by Jean-Luc Godard, not Truffaut.

****, I knew that. I was looking at this.

The appeal of this film is it's universality. The themes of family and home and parental relationships are something we all have to deal with, like it or not, or we stop growing. Zach Braff's central character returns to "The Garden State", ostensibly to bury his mother, but his four days back home are spent dealing with his past. In doing so, he reclaims those parts of himself that were meaningful to him, and regains his ability to feel and to grow.

This is a film about Life in all its aspects and coming to a place within ourselves where we can accept all of it, and be able to truly live. For all that depth, it's a painless watch: Braff includes a lot of humor and sweetness as well, and the levity pays off. It's a very watchable and enjoyable film about characters we like, who incidentally listen to really cool music. The performances are universally charming and relatable, even Ian Holm's emotionally removed father character. Of particular note, Jean Smart and Peter Skarsgaard turn in excellent performances. The technical aspects (sound, lighting, costuming, etc) come together in full support of the real meat of this script - it's reflections on life.

As a freshman offering from writer/director/actor-in-nearly-every-frame Braff, this is a film I would recommend highly, and a career to keep your eye on. It's not without a few flaws, however. There's a long sequence in the middle where really important stuff is going on, but we lose the sense of it for way too long. There are a couple of shots that are painfully awkward and should have been re-shot. And there were a few cuts made that would have really contributed to the meaning of this movie; do yourself the favor of watching the deleted scenes. The scene with Ian Holm, in particular, really HAS to be included in a director's cut, sez me.

Lastly, huge kudos to Braff on writing a romantic female lead who, while a little idealized, has problems and issues and feels like an actual person. Portman does a great job of making her cute and fun, but I have to credit Braff with writing a girl who breathes and cries and sometimes acts like a geek. Sam teaches "Large" how to accept the good and the bad in his past, which enables him to face his future. I'd call that four days well spent.