The Resident Bitch's Movie Log

I haven't posted any reviews since Rocky because I hadn't watched anything. I did watch something this morning though, so I'll have one up in a little bit.

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The Blob (Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. and Russell S. Doughten Jr., 1958)
Imdb

Date Watched: 08/28/16
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: rauldc14 recommended it
Rewatch: No

I realize that the standards for horror were quite different almost 60 years ago, but this was just silly. There is nothing at all frightening about the slow moving life-form that basically looked like someone spilled a huge jar of strawberry jelly. Couple that with the ridiculous hysterics of the women in this film and some of the oldest "teenagers" I've ever seen (I know it's pretty standard to have twenty-somethings playing teens, but McQueen looked like he was pushing 40) and you end up with me rolling my eyes through much of it.

Still I wasn't bored by it, didn't actually hate any of its characters and its brevity helped a lot. Probably not something I'll watch again, but it was okay.

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I kind of liked it cheesiness. Thanks for watching it. I only gave it a too but I respect it. I'll probably see it again some point.

i remember feeling the same one that along with the remake. Been a VERY long time since I've seen either of them

The Blob is great!!!

Agree with what you said except i was bored by it.

Great to see that you've kept this thread going during my absence Victoria. It's my favourite review thread around just now. Though that's more to do with the author than the actual content! And I'm still claiming some degree of credit for the thread given that I encouraged you to write some reviews.

You're certainly tackling quite a diverse, eclectic batch of films. I've not seen the large majority of the 50s films you've been watching so there's not a great deal I can see about many of them. Like you I much prefer the 1978 version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. I've watched the original a couple of times and been left unmoved by it, but I love the sequel. Glad to see that you were able to appreciate both Seven Samurai and 12 Angry Men. I've still never finished Brotherhood of the Wolf. I started watching it once, got distracted by something and never got back to it. That was about 15 years ago!!! So it should be any day now.

You already know I'm not happy about your Rocky write-up. However as I got you all worried by disappearing I suppose it's only right I let you off.

Oh and I eventually caught up with The Nice Guys and as I hoped it would be, it was pretty great.

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Rocky sucks. You should definitely give Brotherhood of the Wolf another shot. It's gorgeous.

He was 28.

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San Franciscan lesbian dwarves and their tomato orgies.

Yes, I'm aware of that.

That's why I said he looked like he was pushing 40. I didn't say I thought he was actually that old.

Lifted (Gary Rydstrom, 2006)
Imdb

Date Watched: 8/28/16
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: It's on the same disc as Ratatouille
Rewatch: Yes

This is the short that appeared with Ratatouille in the theaters and is included on the DVD and BluRay releases. Lifted has long been one of my favorite Pixar shorts. I love the look of the teenage alien (who is basically going through the alien abduction version of driver's training) and the control panel from hell. Not a lot of depth to the story or characterization, but it's a lot of fun.

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Ratatouille (Brad Bird and Jan Pinkava, 2007)
Imdb

Date Watched: 8/28/16
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: One does not need a reason to watch Ratatouille
Rewatch: Many times over


It can't believe it's been almost ten years since this came out. Every time I watch this I'm just as impressed by its beauty as I was the first time. The colors, little details, and character designs are gorgeous. The food looks so real it's mouth watering. And of course, there's the rats. I can't express how much I love the look of them and the attention to detail the animators showed in their design and movements. They are the perfect blend of cartoon and realism.

And of course the story is uplifting, sweet, and funny. But in my ever-so-slightly biased eyes, it's secondary to those cute as hell rats. (Did I mention yet that I love rats? Because I really love rats.)

Rat.... patooty.

Which does not sound delicious.

Haven't seen Lifted, should really watch more Pixar Shorts. Ratatouille is good but it is actually one of my least favourites of the good Pixars.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (Shane Black, 2005)
Imdb

Date Watched: 9/16/16
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The 11th MoFo Hall of Fame
Rewatch: Yes

I've seen this movie once before, but it was a few years ago and all I could really recall about it was that I wasn't impressed.

I gave it a watch today since it was announced as one of the nominations for the 11th MoFo Hall of Fame. Overall, it was a good bit of fun. It had some really witty dialogue and I enjoyed the banter between Robert Downey, Jr., who I generally like anyway, and Val Kilmer, who I generally don't like (Tombstone and The Doors being the exceptions). However, I didn't feel any strong emotional connection with any character so my enjoyment of the film was pretty superficial. I suppose that's appropriate since the film itself strikes me as being pretty light fare - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but also isn't quite what I hope for from a Hall of Fame nomination.

I also wasn't exactly enamored with the story. For being something that is neither science fiction nor fantasy, this movie demands a considerable amount of suspension of disbelief. There are entirely too many coincidences and convenient situations. To call it implausible would be an understatement.

Still, it was an easy watch and I do like me some Robert Downey, Jr.

That was copyrighted by the 11th HOF , you don't have permission to post that.

That's one of my favourite episode too MV.

The Dead Girl (Karen Moncrieff, 2006)
Imdb

Date Watched: 9/16/16
Cinema or Home: Home
Reason For Watching: The 11th MoFo Hall of Fame
Rewatch: No

Well, I asked for heavy...

The Dead Girl presents the stories of five women - each affected in different ways by the actions of a serial killer. One finds the body of one of the victims. Another believes that body to be her sister, who went missing 15 years prior. The third is the mother of the victim, who discovers the full tragedy of her daughter's life when she comes to identify the body. The fourth is a frustrated wife who must face facts when she discovers the secret her unloving husband has been hiding. And the fifth is the victim herself.

The premise of the story is interesting and the film is carried in the capable hands of its talented cast - including Brittany Murphy, Toni Collette, Giovanni Ribisi, Rose Byrne, James Franco, Mary Steenburgen, Kerry Washington, and Josh Brolin - who all turn in solid performances. Yet it somehow feels incomplete.

We get only brief glimpses into the characters' lives and not enough of each to for me to truly connect with any. There are lots of open ends and unanswered questions. Add to that a complete lack of levity - with layer upon agonizing layer of depressing - and you have me being thankful that it's just under 90 minutes long. It strikes me as a film with a very good concept but disappointing execution.

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