Movie Tab II

Notorious

I saw this movie on the big screen at the Arclight in Hollywood last night. AFI is doing a series of Hitchcock films, and I thought I'd see this. My first observation is that this film was more enjoyable with a group of people that had also seen the film. There's something exciting about sharing that experience with others. We knew when the suspenseful parts were, we all hated Mrs. Sebastian, we all whispered the fatefull words Alicia says to Dev when he comes to see her after she doesn't show for a meeting. It was fantastic.

The next observation I made was that this movie has a lot of humor in it. the relationships between Alex and his mother, and Dev and Alicia, lend themselves to laugh out loud moments. I hadn't picked up on it as thoroughly during my home viewings, and maybe being in a group made me more aware that aspect of the film.


Alicia Hubermann (Ingrid Bergman) watches her father go to prison, and because she refused to get involved with her father's plans, she is later solicited by the U.S. government via Devlin (Cary Grant) to do some work for them on a 'big case'. Alicia agrees without knowing what she's getting into. She and Dev hang out and get to know each other while awaiting orders. Alicia has a reputation as being 'that' kind of girl, and the government thinks she'll be perfect as a mistress to Alex Sebastian, a man who knew her and her father and had a desire for her. She can get information to them that can help them break the case they're on. Only, Alicia and Dev have fallen in love.

Dev tells her of the plan and asks her what she wants to do. She asks Dev why he didn't tell his bosses she wasn't that kind of girl anymore. He tells her it's her choice, a conversation ensues, and it doesn't go well. She finally agrees to get chummy with Alex.

Alex and Alicia meet up and he's as smitten as he used to be. She gets accepted into his circle easily, except by Mother Sebastian, who is critical of every girl her boy takes up with. Alicia updates Devlin weekly about evil Germans and secret meetings, and they banter back and forth, he alluding to her ability to 'make friends easily', and she acting like the girl she used to be so he can't see how he hurts her. At the race track one day, Alex sees Alicia with Devlin and in a fit of pique, says they must get married for her to prove she has no feelings for Dev. She tells the agents, and they say, "Go for it." So, not getting any feedback from Dev, she marries Alex.

The rest of the movie has intrigue and suspense as Alicia tries to stay alive in a house where they discover who she is and what she's doing, and are determined to get rid of her.

A very good thriller. A very good love story.

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

Johann von Goethe

The Unborn(David S. Goyer 2008)-Nice chick,bad movie

Halloween(John Carpenter 1978)-well it was better than the 4th part otherwise we won't have the sequels

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I'm in movie heaven

Considering such a glowing review, I sort of regret passing up the chance to catch this at a special screening earlier tonight. Oh, well, live and learn.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

Oh, that sucks. If you do ever get another chance to see it sometime though, I'd recommend checking it out because it really is a great movie.

Dawn of the Dead was a great remake. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I agree with the opening credits scene - awesome work.

I hate Snyder's Dawn of the Dead , such an unnecessary remake - characters are very unlikable , the social commentary is dumbed down , and for all the effort that may have went in to it's visual style - it still doesn't look near as good as the original.

It's Romero's masterpiece turned into bland commercialized entertainment. (It is however 100 times better than Romero's newer Land of the Dead)

Movieman I highly recommend that you check out the original.

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Characters are not always likable, and shouldn't be. Snyder wasn't aiming for a "social commentary" - because let's face it, the social commentary was never that "smart" to begin with. Anyone can see the obvious symbolism and social critique - it just isn't complex

That isn't to say I don't love Romero's original, however.

I saw it when I was much younger, but I can't really remember it at all. I've been trying to find it at some of my DVD stores around me; like Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, etc., but no place seems to have it. Not even the local DVD store around me doesn't seem to have it; I hope I can just find it sometime soon.

Well for a movie that completely hinges on the viewer's care for the survivors , I think some of them should be likable - or at least believable. And what's wrong with obviousness of the originals opinions on society ? Making them more subtle doesn't make them any more important , Romero's Dawn raises a hundred questions to every one in Snyder's - which cares less about it's people than it's running zombies.

I don't think the remake is that bad but I agree that the original is 10000x better.

Not true. We care about the trials the characters are going through - not every character needs to be likable in the strictest sense, meatwadsprite. We care about the various phases of being that the characters are falling through. How they are going about from one point to another is what makes it interesting.

It just isn't complex. Any 13 year old could figure it out at first glance. I'm not saying it's completely stupid, because that would be untrue. Romero's "view" of society is not something unique, nor is it profound. Subtlety is important to me, and truly skilled filmmakers and artists can achieve it. Romero is talented, but his views on society are not complex - nor are they stupid.

There were plently of characters that were pretty likeable, IMO; Ana, Michael, and CJ in the second half of the movie are the main ones that come to mind. I don't know what you're talking about in your last sentence though; in Snyder's version, there was much more focus on the characters rather than the zombies. Most of the movie took place showing the characters in the mall; we actually don't see the zombies all that much, until the ending that is.

Regardless, when it comes to characters the original works better. The original only has four characters as opposed to the dozen or so survivors in the remake. By building them up so much (and not using them as zombie food), there's significant shock when the first one of them gets bitten and eventually dies (said character dies at around the 1 hour 30 minute mark - by this point in most horror films the majority of the cast is dead and in some cases the film has already finished). Then the film goes on for another half hour and really depicts the shock of depression that washes over the other three members as the brutal truth of what's happened to their lives sinks in a little further. In the remake, a similar thing also happens, but the characters opt to risk their safety by heading for an island that may or may not exist (and anyone who's seen the end credits of the remake knows what happens) rather than remain in the mall - a decision I've always regarded as foolish but understood within the context of the film.

When it comes to ratings, Snyder's version gets a from me and Romero's gets a . I reckon it's highly unlikely to change, as I'm working off the last time somebody brought up Snyder's version and I watched both versions to be sure.

God Told Me To (Larry Cohen 1976) +
This is a really intriguing B-movie with Tony Lo Bianco playing a police detective (Lt. Nicholas) investigating a spate of motiveless killings across New York. Beginning with a sniper picking off pedestrians from a water tower, we witness similar unprovoked attacks on the public - including the young Andy Kaufman shooting up a police parade - in each case the perpetrator stating that God told me to. Soon detective Nicholas is knee deep in bodies, police cover ups, an alien abduction plot, and dope dealing gangsters from Harlem; all whilst battling it out with a hermaphroditic Christ like figure with powers of mind control!!!



This is the usual Cohen hotchpotch of outlandishly fun ideas executed in a somewhat muddled, slapdash manner. I like Larry Cohen's films a lot (the eight I've seen anyway) but have to confess that his films often look rushed and unfinished. God Told Me To is no exception with ragged editing, and a confusing narrative style that sometimes appears to be missing entire scenes of exposition. That doesn't mean it's worthless though, not a chance, Cohen always gets great performances from his leads and Tony Lo Bianco is suitably intense here. The film whilst a little incoherent is still interesting enough to make for compelling viewing and has some very effective scenes of horror and suspense. Not least of these is Bianco's pool hall encounter with a group of black hoods in Harlem, and a knife attack sequence on a stairway that harks back to Hitchcock's Psycho. Some of the low budget effects are also very inventive making this something of a rough diamond for fans of B-movies. Cool.



Bone (Larry Cohen 1972) +
This is Cohen's little seen debut feature which flopped terribly on it's initial release -- the studio couldn't find a target audience and tried to market it as Blaxploitation; when that failed they re-titled it Housewife and put it on the drive-in circuit to a similar disinterested response. Ironically Bone is probably one of Cohen's best films, it's certainly the most coherent in terms of editing and narrative that I've seen. The film is actually a smart black comedy/satire of social, racial and class stereo-types that features three exceptional performances from Yaphet Kotto, Joyce Van Patten and Andrew Duggan.

Bone is set in the rich suburb of Beverly Hills beginning with Bill (Duggan) a middle aged materialistic car dealer, and his bored wife Bernadette (Van Patten) sunbathing by their pool. From nowhere a young black man (Kotto) appears and proceeds to remove a dead rat stuck in the pool drain. Introducing himself as Bone he soon makes it clear that he intends to rob the couple and threatens to rape Bernadette if they don't cooperate. Whilst rifling through Bill's business papers however Bone uncovers evidence of secret bank accounts and legal documents that infuriates Bernadette. Finding no money Bone sends Bill into town on his own to make a withdrawal from the bank, assuring him that Bernadette will be raped and killed should he not return. With Bill gone, and his wife furious Bone actually ends up seducing her and agrees to help plot a revenge...

I can see why Bone would have been an extremely hard sell back in 1972. For one thing the film doesn't fit neatly into any particular genre, it's certainly not exploitation or 'blaxplotation' (as the picture above might lead you to believe) it's neither a straight comedy or a thriller either. It is extremely witty and entertaining though, and has a deliciously dark satirical edge that sucks you right in. Kotto and Van Patten in particular are sensational with sparks really flying in the films standout scene; Bone's threat of rape and eventual seduction of Bernadette. The film also takes intelligent swipes at shallow nouveau riche lifestyles, advertising, gender roles and of course racial stereo-types. It's intelligent, witty, charming, disturbing, very hip, and has a great often psychedelic soundtrack. Bone deserves rediscovery and also serves as a perfect example of what a great filmmaker Larry Cohen could have been, instead of just a good one.

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100 Favourites From The Future: REWIRED

Yeah, I've seen the end credits; I liked how they did that. I really hope they don't decide to do a sequel to it, I'd be pretty upset if they did decide to do one for it. I don't think it was a foolish idea to try and leave the mall to attempt to make it to the supposed island; I mean if they stayed in there any longer it wouldn't be long before they begin to start losing their minds. They wouldn't have lasted much longer in the mall anyways, because they had to run out of food sooner or later. Andy was actually close to starving, but then again he wasn't one of the characters in the mall; he was actually the only 'important' charatcter in the movie that wasn't in the mall.

I still hope to finally be able to re-watch the original sometime soon. I doubt my opinion on the remake will change at all, just because of how much I love the remake.

So, if your wife wants to see the next sequel, will she be watching it alone?

The Dark Knight -

This was the first time I've watched The Dark Knight since I first saw it in theaters several months ago. Originally, I gave it a , but after tonight's viewing experience, I've bumped it up to that revered perfect score. I was completely blown away. Not only by the story and everything else the film contains, but I saw The Dark Knight on Blu-ray this time around, and that was BY FAR the most awesome Blu-ray movie I've watched to date; it pushed the technology to its limits. The story of the movie blew me away, but the picture quality and the audio on Blu-ray format blew me away ten-fold.

What an amazing experience. The final scene--Com. Gordon's final words--made goosebumps crawl over my entire body. Wow. I'm currently in the process of compiling my 100 favorite films in order of how much I like them, and--after tonight--I have some reorganizing to do.


Captivity -

From its plot description and/or the vibe it gives off (or may give off), Captivity may seem "cheesy" or just flat-out stupid, but after watching it, I've learned otherwise. The opening sequence starts it right off with a thrilling, totally engrossing scene in which we are acquainted with the film's unrelenting graphic nature. The antagonist and the various tortures he undergoes with his victims throughout the movie are gut-wrenching, and the violence is pulled off in such a way that it never gives off that "cheesy" vibe, at least not to me.

The film's ending is pretty unrealistic, but--at the same time--a very cool concept that can be thoroughly enjoyed if you keep in mind that what you've just watched was a horror movie.

Overall, Captivity is a visceral horror film that's not without its share of flaws and minor plot-holes, but stands up well against its image. I liked it a lot.

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"The mind is its own place, and in itself
Can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven."
John Milton, Paradise Lost

My Movie Review Thread | My Top 100

Lady In The Water -

M. Night Shymalan's amazingly underrated storytell masterpiece. Every other time I have watched this I always gave it usually like a point less; I don't know what it was with this viewing, but I'm completely blown away right now. I take back everything I've said about Unbreakable and Signs being my two favorite movies from M. Night Shymalan, neither of them even compare to how amazing Lady In The Water is. Shymalan is just an amazing storytelling; I actually think this may have one of the best, maybe the best, story ever told, it comes very close to Watchmen's story, but it doesn't quite pass it. Right from the very first scene when you're basically introduced into the whole story of Lady In The Water; it's just an amazing fantasy story. I do say that this has the most beautiful score I've ever heard; James Newton Howard is one of the best movie composer's ever, he's shown me that with the many movies he's scored. There are also just so many themes to Lady In The Water; love, courage, and hope are just a few of these themes.

There are also just so many characters thrown into one movie, and every character seems to have a purpose to the story. Vick is my personal favorite out of all the characters; it was great to see Shymalan in an acting role, rather than just directing. His character is also probably the most important to the story, IMO, but everyone probably has different views on that. I'm really glad that I decided to re-watch this tonight after not seeing it for so long though; as of right now, I'm considering putting it on my top 10 (which I haven't done for a while now). I do think that's it's always sort of deserved a spot in my top 10, but for some reason I could just never put it on there. I do wish I would've watched this before I did my top 100 though, because it would've got a much higer spot than it got. This movie gets so much crap that it doesn't deserve; I don't get why most people just seem to hate this movie so freaking much.

I doubt it, I've sat through worse.

EDIT: I really like Lady in the Water too. One of Night's best flicks.

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We are both the source of the problem and the solution, yet we do not see ourselves in this light...

Batman Begins (Limited Edition Gift Set) (2005)


The Lost Boys (Two-Disc Special Edition) (1987)


Time After Time (1979)


Icons of Horror: Hammer Films (2-disc) (The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb / The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll / Scream of Fear / The Gorgon) (1964)

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