Movie Tab II

Fight Club
The Shawshank Redemption
New York I Love You

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

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Bee Season is a recent Richard Gere flick where the plot seems to imply that he spends so much time inspiring his daughter that his wife (Juliette Binoche) goes into the crapper. By the time it reaches its conclusion, the messages are so mixed that I feel I'm being generous with my rating here. It cannot hold a candle to the similar Akeelah and the Bee or Spellbound.

Romance for Three (aka Paradise for Three) is a cute and witty romantic flick, the kind of sophisticated film they seemed to be able to make in the '30s because the writers were more concerned with zesty dialogue than they are now. Even so, the triangle of Frank Morgan (The Wizard of Oz), Robert Young (Marcus Welby, M.D.) and Mary Astor (The Maltese Falcon) add their own charms to the wit on hand.

Only Angels Have Wings is one of director Howard Hawks' key films, especially if you want to call him an auteur. Hawks was always concerned with how Macho Men dealt with nature and the fairer sex, and this flick pretty much reads as a manifesto on those subjects. The men are flyers in the Andes mountains and the two main babes are the wonderful Jean Arthur and Rita Hayworth. Most of the men seem to either be planning on dying or "mourning" the loss of all their friends and fellow pilots. Cary Grant is in charge of deciding whose turn it is to die, but things somehow fool you (and him) along the way. My main problems with the film are that the F/X are quite fake (although rather charming in their own way) and that the movie goes on WAY TOO long at two hours. I have seen this flick on the big screen before, so I'm not shortchanging it. To me, it's the least of all of Hawks' "masterpieces" (yeah, even weaker than Rio Bravo, ha!)

Desperate Journey is just as fake as the previous flick, but in the long run, it's more fun. It's a WWII flick made during WWII, and part of the fun is the Warner Bros. cast of Errol Flynn, Ronald Reagan, Arthur Kennedy, Alan Hale, et. al., and how they escape from Germany after crashing their plane there. It's totally-preposterous, but it moves right along...

Krull seems like it should be a better flick. The leads are weak, but the supporting cast is solid (Freddie Jones, Liam Neeson, Robbie Coltrane). Much of the flick is gorgeously photographed and there are some good stunts and action scenes. Then, seemingly out of the blue (like they ran out of money), the last third of the flick is crammed with cheapo, repetitive special effects which border on embarrassing. Even so, the film has enough grandeur for a peek.

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That "out of the blue" moment you mention is probably about the same time I stop watching this films and put in Star Wars instead. To be fair this movie plays more like Flash Gordon the camp factor is high you've got to be forgiving. It's also strange the man who did Breaking Away, Bullitt and Eyewitness would be the director of this film.

Raggedy Man is a low-key but beautifully-looking romantic flick involving Sissy Spacek and Eric Roberts. Spacek's husband Jack Fisk (normally an art director/production designer) makes the film look really good while it tells a simple romance between a sailor and a divorcee with kids during WWII in the middle of Texas. It supplies good movie-movie entertainment but isn't the most-believeable film you'll ever see.

Man of the Century is a REAL find. It's a low-budget, black-and-white romantic comedy mystery about gangsters, socialites and the 1920s, yet somehow it intersects with the 1990s and becomes a sci-fi fantasy. I don't really know ALL of what it is, but it's damned good, full of cinematic chutzpah and far-more creative than 95% of the flicks of any kind you'll ever see.

Santa Fe Trail is one of the strangest Warner Bros. epics they ever made involving Jeb Stuart (Errol Flynn), George Custer (Ronald Reagan) and John Brown (Raymond Massey) and his attempt to free the slaves, no matter how many people he has to kill to accomplish it. The flick is schizophrenic, but it's rarely boring and it has some good action set-pieces, especially the final attack on the Harpers Ferry Armoury.

The Legend of the Lone Ranger is a flick which showed up in theatres D.O.A., but my friends and I went to see it a few times because we liked the old-fashioned western serial approach it took to its subject matter. Make no mistake though; Klinton Spilsbury is wooden in the lead (and dubbed by Stacy Keach's bro, James, to boot), but Michael Horse as Tonto would later become famous in "Twin Peaks" and Jason Robards (as U.S. Grant) and Christopher Lloyd (as "diseased son of a bitch") are solid adversaries. Regular D.P. William A. Fraker (Exorcist II, 1941) directs a tentative romance which mostly works and stages a finale as a solid action scene. No, I don't think this film sucks, and I've seen it several times.

The Bible: In the Beginning... is one of John Huston's most-audacious projects. He used three hours to film the first 22 chapters of the Bible, and quite often, he narrated the whole thing without allowing any of his enormous cast to speak any lines. Huston also plays Noah and is by far the most-charismatic character in the flick. It's really a visual mastepiece with Giuseppe Rotunno (All That Jazz) cinematography, but others who carry some weight as actors include George C. Scott (Abraham) and Peter O'Toole (the Three Angels). It's definitely too long and a mixed bag, but the spectacle might carry many people, especially the Flood, the Tower of Babel and Sodom and Gomorrah.

Above and Beyond is a mostly-soap-operaish depiction of Col. Paul Tibbets (Robert Taylor) and his wife Lucy (Eleanor Parker), and how they somehow saved their marriage even though he had to be the most-secret man in the world since his job was to drop the first atomic bomb in the history of the world on the Japanese people. Since he has to be so secretive and she always wants to find out what's happening, it keeps the film moving on a melodramatic level. However, the best part is the actual bomb run at the end which should give everybody white knuckles, a faint heart and a guilty conscience.

The Uninvited still remains one of the greatest ghost stories ever filmed, and with beautiful Gail Russell in the center of the story, it's very easy to watch. The Gothic touches are exquisite and the seance is spectacular, plus the entire plot turns itself inside out at the end. Lovers of ghost stories will always enjoy this one, especially the way the visuals have recently been restored. Forums

OK, I have to admit that I never thought this would happen, but I'm all caught up after I post this goody:

Parenthood (Ron Howard, 1989) -

I've always enjoyed this flick, especially after I started my own family, but it's also a bit problematic in the way that some of the funniest scenes (the blowjob in the car) result in some of the scariest and most-dangerous things and the serious scenes (Tom Hulce huckstering his Dad and anybody else who'll listen) end up being some of the most pathetic. Parenthood is a good title because everybody has parents and most all parents have kids, so it's a serious and lightweight subject to attack. This is one of the better flicks on the subject although sometimes it takes the easy way out, but what do you expect from a scripter named Babaloo?

Westworld (Michael Crichton, 1973) +

Crichton did start out his film career as an awesome director. This debut flick shows him already at the top of his form, and Coma and The Great Train Robbery only tightened the screws. Concerning Westworld specifically, it gives James Brolin his first serious role, showcases Richard Benjamin as a leading man and takes Yul Brynner's role as Chris in The Magnificent Seven and turns him into one of the scariest villains ever. Besides that, Westworld remains full of visual and written wit, although I personally feel that the guys behind the plastic doors should have had a fail-safe way to save themselves. Even so, great flick.

The French Connection (William Friedkin, 1971)

Friedkin's follow-up to the gay-themed (and tremendous) The Boys in the Band is a macho policier with Gene Hackman doing his darnedest to be racist and sexist. Occasionally, his partner Roy Scheider goes along with him and/or cools him off, but this is based on the "True Story" of The French Connection. Of course, after a sorta-sleepy intro, it dives headlong into cat-and-mouse, action entertainment. The scenes where Popeye plays off assassin Marcel Bozzuffi and Frog One (Fernando Rey) are just so entertaining, and then they're topped by the awesome car/el train chase scene. Friedkin's next flick would be The Exorcist while the next time we saw Popeye was in a completely-fabricated-yet-incredibly-satisfying little ditty called French Connection II.

French Connection II (John Frankenheimer, 1975)

Well, I'm in the minority when I say this sequel packs an even bigger punch than the Oscar-winning original, but right from the "Ugly American" intro to all the shite Popeye has to go through from the French cops and then the spectacular capture of him by Frog One who turns him into a heroin junkie, this flick contains far-more character development and spectacular action than the original. I'll be damned if I don't understand why everyone doesn't agree with me. Hackman acts one of the bravest scenes in film history as a junkie undergoing cold turkey, and the second half of the flick contains a half-a-dozen spectacular action set-pieces, all culminating in one of the greatest endings of all time.

Ruthless People (ZAZ, 1986)

I honestly believe that this is one of the funniest flicks of the last 25 years and may well contain my single fave scene of any comedy ever. This flick is hopelessly disgusting and shallow, but it's about as funny as it gets. You don't believe me? Hell, I posted the entire scene with the "stupidest person on the face of the earth" and "give the bag to Bozo", but apparently youtube can't show those scenes anymore. Well, do yourself a favor and watch the flick in its entirety. Please laugh because I actually think it's healthy.

Death and the Maiden (Polanski, 1994)



I could have sworn I had seen this, but after watching it last night, I am pretty sure I had not. Well directed and played. Kingsley was especially good.

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Nice one Marcus

Man of the Century looks a treat and the '44 Uninvited should be right up my lady's street. Now if only blockbuster actually had em

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Virtual Reality chatter on a movie site? Got endless amounts of it here. Reviews over here

I love Man of the Century. And every time I watch it I find myself speaking like Johnny Twennies for days afterwards. "Let's hit the town and drag a sock!", "Stick with me and everything's gonna be Jake!", "And they thought Lindy was lucky! I feel slap-happy all over!", "You're the limit!", "Banana oil!", "Ah, think nothing of it: those yellow-bellied cads needed a good slap!", "You gotta like the kid's moxie", "Now scram, you ten-cent glamour girl!", "Let's say we fidgit the digits!", "You'll get a square deal from me, no foolin'!", "I'm on the up and up. Honest Indian!"....Jeepers, you even get Frank Gorshin and Bobby Short!

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Yeah, Holden, now I've watched Man of the Century twice on cable recently, but both times I missed the beginning, so maybe I'm looking at it backwards, but that character is just such a gas. He's a real go-getter and doesn't let anybody get in his way, at least as much as possible. But now that I'm actually thinking of this really fun movie seriously, is there a chance that Johnny is actually mentally ill? Or is he just happy in a "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" way?

It starts with Johnny waking up as if it's a Silent movie, shaving and getting dressed, making breakfast, but then when he hits the streets of very modern-day Manhattan you quickly realize he's this bizarre eccentric who lives as if he's in that simpler time, no matter what he's faced with around him. I also love when we meet his Mother part-way through the picture and she's living her life as if it were still 1870-something and she was in an Edith Wharton novel with horse-drawn carriages and Social Registries. Lots of fun.

The DVD has an audio commentary track with star and co-writer Gibson Frazier, and it's great because he does it in the tone of recorded lecture you'd hear on a museum tour or an old educational LP: "Here I play Johnny Twennies, the main character or 'protagonist'. It's a Greek word that means 'main character'".

EBERT review

Adding to Netflix...

Some Like It Hot

Voted the funniest ever film by the AFI, this is the timeless story of men dressing up as women to escape from gangsters. The success of it depends on having great performances which luckily Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis give. Marilyn Monroe is also good as the dippy blonde.



The Hunchback of Notre Dame

One of the best Disney films. Scary and dark with themes of lust and hell, it will appeal to adults as well as children. Good songs and a little bit of comic relief with the gargoyles. Clopin as a sinister Greek chorus works well and though the book has been changed a lot, this is still a great film and a cut above other children's films.

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You cannot have it both ways. A dancer who relies upon the doubtful comforts of human love can never be a great dancer. Never. (The Red Shoes, 1948)

I watched these back to back a few weeks ago (having never seen the sequel before) and agree with your comments wholeheartedly. I think a lot of people just thought the whole cold turkey thing went on for too long and brought the film to a standstill, but to me it just made Popeye more real somehow.

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100 Favourites From The Future: REWIRED

Gamer - 1/5
You know me - I actually like explosive action done right, and Gerard Butler is eye-candy if i ever saw it. Still, this film is an absolute train-wreck - in fact, I couldnt help watching it and wondering if it had Japanese or at the least anime influences. It was awful - not even Butler could save it, and I hated how in this movie, and in Surrogates, they played the wives as mentally weak creatures. Thumbs DOWN, Ebert!

Smokin Aces 2: Assassin's Ball - 3/5
This turned out to be your typical slash, cut, bang film, except I couldnt help thinking that the first film was very English, and this one had a definite American slant. Not as good as the first, but watchable if you're up for a truly mindless viewing experience.

House of Games (David Mamet - 1987)

I just love the way they talk in Mamet films. This was fantastic! My Dad has been watching this flick for years and I just finally got around to seeing it. Are there enough con men movies? I don't think there are. Really good stuff.

My Sister's Keeper (Nick Cassavetes - 2009)

Perhaps I'm overrating this a tad. But I really liked this movie. Admittedly I am completely in the bag for Abigail Breslin and this movie didn't do anything to dissuade me from that feeling. Between her and Dakota Fanning we are in for some really excellent work from both of these young ladies over the next several decades, I think.

Anyway, a pretty typical tear jerker about a young lady (Breslin) who decides to sue her parents for medical emancipation so they will be forced to stop ripping organs out of her and taking blood and doing all sorts of terribly painful tests on her. Because she was a test tube baby, designed to be a perfect donor match for her sister who is dieing. Who I might add is played by another young lady who I happen to like quite a bit from the television show Medium. Another fine acting performance came from Cameron Diaz. She plays the Mother who just will not give up the fight to save her daughter no matter how much it potentially hurts her second daughter.

Maybe this movie is designed to illicit nothing but tears. And maybe it won't work for everyone, but I thought it was quite good.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (David Fincher - 2008)

I decided to give this another go and I still find it to be pretty average. It is what it is.

Coffy (Jack Hill - 1973)

Awesome. Loves it. My goodness but Pam was knockout in 73, eh? Great effing movie too. Is this one of the very first female revenge flicks? Could be.

"It was easy for him because he really didn't believe it was comin', but it ain't gonna be easy for you, because you better believe it's comin'!"

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

She didn't look too bad in 1974, either.



Love Foxy Brown.

Ryan's Daughter

Mr Lean also does bloated. An epic slice of WW1-era Ireland, passion & traditional woes, it was a bit of a chore at times, but never less than sumptuous in its presentation. The accents were often poor, Mills' cripple (& accompanying comedy music) seemed fairly misjudged, and the whole village-artifice (despite being visually convincing) smacked of hubris. Still, gotta love those cinematic skills, and there were some pretty strong performances and themes. (Particularly liked Howard's Father Collins).

(+)

i liked her in Little Miss Sunshine and Definitely, Maybe, but other than that she's done a lot of average acting in average movies. she's cute, though!

My best friend's father was in Coffy.

I hope he used protection. That chick gets around.