Movie Tab II

Giant (Stevens, 1956)



This one one of my Grandmother's favorite films, and we used to watch it together when I was a youngster. At the time, I didn't understand the implications, I just liked the scene with the kids and that poor turkey. This time around, I was just enthralled by the epic scope and earnest but over-the-top performances. I also liked the statement made in the restaurant scene near the end. The family is confronted by a racist restaurant owner, and the scene escalates into a fist fight between Rock Hudon and the owner - I love the resolution of the issue. The owner gets his way, as it is his property and clearly his free decision to not serve someone for a reason he deems valid, while Hudson makes his point that he and his family disagree strongly, and will pay with pain to stand up for what they believe. Of course, I agree with the family's view on this one, but I support the owner's right to refuse service to anyone he chooses on his property. He's the one losing business and making himself look like a fool, but hey, it's HIS place. I still feel bad for Pedro the turkey!

Runaways (Sigismondi, 2010)



Tough call here. I liked some aspects of the film, but man, what was with the shanking of Lita Ford? Her only scenes are her being screamed at by Joan Jett and then at the end, when the film makers did the obligatory "Here's where they are now" title cards, she didn't even get a mention. Also, I thought the film focused far too much on the lead singer, who was an idiot, and not anywhere enough on the actual talent in the band in Joan Jett. Decent, but not great.

The Parallax View (Pakula, 1974)



An extremely cynical examination of the political climate in the Nixon years, with conspiracy, murder and subterfuge around every corner. Some interesting concepts, if not a bit predictable, and the film is shot exceptionally well.

Metal : A Headbangers Journey (2005, Dunn)



Above average documentary with a personal touch that I really enjoyed. I used to be a die-hard metal fan throughout the 80s and some of the 90s. I still put it on here and there, but not anywhere near the level I used to listen. I have picked up my guitar in the last couple of months again, and i am enjoying playing some of my old favorites - this film just added to the inspiration that has re-emerged recently.

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Well after your gushing of love for it I just had to.

Yeah I'm still really enjoying Jack Lemmon. Taped The Odd Couple not too long ago so I think that will be my next Lemmon film to watch

Here's what I've watched since my latest post. No time for write-ups; got some studying to do.



The 39 Steps (1935, Hitchcock):



Shanghai Knights (2003, Dobkin): +



The American Friend (1977, Wenders):



Kramer vs. Kramer (1979, Benton): +



Jerry Maguire (1996, Crowe): +



Coming Home (1978, Ashby): +



Machete (2010, Rodriguez):



Apollo 13 (1995, Howard):



The Ipcress File (1965, Furie): +

have you seen The Apartment or Glengarry Glen Ross? he was excellent in both.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides So, I'm a huge "Pirates" dork. Now that that is out of the way- let me explain my feelings toward this film. Keep in mind, I feel very differently then most critics do about this one.

I watched the opening thinking, "Oh no this is going to be boring. How I am I supposed to watch this entire movie at 1230 in the morning?" Then, Captain Jack Sparrow made his entrance (a little awesome scene to do with Gibbs & court). I was in awe- maybe this film had potential. Then it was followed by an awesome chase scene. And a few, cameos, one obvious and kind of pointless one, and one really random...and kind of pointless one. It had raised the bar though- could this be better than the first and second (the second actually being my favorite)?

Then Penelope Cruz entered. I am probably one of the very few to like her character. She came into the thing as a fiery female, rather than Elizabeth (extremely annoying in the first and half of the second). Then the film went on, and again I found myself a little bored. I realized that something felt missing. I realized this for two reasons. One main reason was the sad attempt at a love story between a mermaid and a completely underdeveloped priest. It was a sad grasp at trying to rekindle what Elizabeth and Will had- and it made me actually miss them.

But the biggest problem with this film was the lack of a central villain. Don't get me wrong though- I LOVED Blackbeard. If they did a little more development with his character I would've confidently said he was the best villain in the entire franchise. But, instead of a villain, they gave us an extremely bad a**...horrible father. And as for Barbossa- wth was that!? When and if you see it- I hope you'll get where I'm coming from. I really missed Davy Jones.

I thought the action was awesome. The mermaids were very interesting and their scene was probably the best in the film. Depp was awesome and hilarious as ever- still the strongest in the series. But not on the same level as the first two (although I do think it was slightly better than the 3rd one). They need a new screenwriter, I don't think Marshall was the entire problem. I'd give it like a b/w a 7 and a 7.5/10. A word to the wise- the scene after the credits was EXTREMELY disappointing. My brother and I decided to forget it ever happened.

P.S. sorry for the long rant. I was pumped for this, I even saw it in the theater in disney. (It was between that and waiting for the Star Wars ride, which we might not have gotten on.)

Wow Paris by far your longest review so far. Well done! I actually saw the film yesterday (will perhaps try and write up a review of my own) and felt roughly the same as you.

Was decent fun but still not got that spark back that made the first one such a great blockbuster.


No to both. I've got The Apartment on DVD though and plan to watch it very soon.

That is a great review Paris. I saw the movie today and I must say I agree with your opinions about it.
In the past three films, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley were the two characters that made me cringe, but seeing On Stranger Tides made me miss them, not for their acting or screen presence but for the way Johnny Depp used to bounce his humorous lines off them. Also missing were Pintel and Ragetti and other supporting characters, they were super-fun in the previous installments.
Certain plots and sub-plots felt absolutely unnecessary to me, like the Spanish, the love story with the priest and even Penelope Cruz's character. The saving grace was the trinity of Depp-Rush-Mcshane. Gah! I am afraid they the franchise has hit rock-bottom.

5.5/10

I can't really make out if you kinda liked it or whether you were dissapointed. In my book, or + is very good. Or do you usually rate films a lot higher?

I usually rate films pretty high. I could never be a film critic because I'm way too nice, unless I think the film is really bad.

But for this film- I did like it. It is a good film but compared to the first two- it's not really in the same league.

I don't know how to do the popcorn meter thing so...lol

And thanks Jay and Greatone for reading!

So...since yoda taught me how to do the popcorn meter

I'd give it a

So a 6/10?

A double bill of reviews here. The legend of Anastasia, the youngest daughter of the last Tsar of Russia who managed to escape whilst her family were shot and killed by revolutionaries, has now been definitively disproved by DNA testing and the discovery of her body in 2008. However before that time, it inspired many films. The two most famous adaptations are reviewed below:

Anastasia (1956)



"The poor have only one advantage; they know when they are loved for themselves."

This is an underrated gem and well worth a watch. Ingrid Bergman stars as Anna Koreff, a homeless madwoman who bears a great resemblance to Duchess Anastasia (pronounced Ana-star-zia, as in Russian). Yul Brynner plays the conman Bounine, who takes advantage of Anna's amnesia and trains her to become Anastasia, so he can claim his large financial reward for finding her. But Anna knows so much about Anastasia and her dead family. Could she really be Anastasia after all?

Although the film looks like Hollywood gloss, it is subtle and witty, though it retains all of the magic and romance of Hollywood. The story is fantastic- it's a Pygmalion-type story, except that the statue might be real after all. Bergman won an Oscar for her performance, and she deserved it. Casting her as Anna meant that the film didn't become all-American vulgarity. Okay, she was Swedish and not Russian but in Hollywood, being 'European' is good enough. Brynner was similarly a great piece of casting- he actually was part-Russian. He plays the Pygmalion role perfectly (fans of The King and I will note that the dance scene with Anna is reminscent of his dance with Deborah Kerr in The King and I) and the chemistry between him and Bergman will keep your eyes glued to the screen. It really is a gripping film but also a poignant one, particularly in the scene where Anna is introduced to her supposed grandmother, the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna (Helen Hayes). Hayes and Bergman capture the uncertainty and loneliness of not knowing where you belong beautifully. My only criticism with the film is that it felt too short.

Ultimately, it is not whether Anna is or is not Anastasia that is important, but whether Anna can find out who she really is and what she wants.

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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)

Is that what you'd consider that? Man, I'm bad at this haha.
I meant like a 7/10.

It's just basic math. A maximum = . As there are 5 popcorns, that's a 10/10.

I score kind of like this:

= 10/10
+ = 9.5/10
= 9/10
+ = 8.5/10

And so on.

So a = 6/10. A 7 would be


I saw Pirates 4 last night btw. A 7 is way generous. It felt more like a to me.

• Too long (could've easily been half an hour shorter)
• blatant plot issues
• superfluous storyline (mermaid-religious guy)
• bland characters apart from Sparrow and Barbosa
• bad acting (Richard Griffiths was over-acting HARD; that religious dude doesn't know how to express sincere emotion)
• very poor 3D. It was like watching regular HD apart from 4 or 5 occassions where you actually noticed you were watching somehing in 3D
• Bad title that makes no sense. Why not just say Pirates of the Carribean: The Fountain of Youth

I will not waste any more money on watching these in the theatre. A simple download 6 months after release will suffice for the next POS Pirates film.

I made this same decision about halfway through the overlong and dull second Pirates movie. Haven't seen the third, theater or otherwise, and I won't see the fourth. Too bad. The first one is a lot of fun and Depp clearly has fun doing the character.

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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

I stopped after the first Pirates movie. I thought it was dreadfully boring.

Pfft, showoff

Got it lol sorry.

so either
or

I'm with Holden on this one. I made that decision before the second one came out. I've only seen the first one, but I think it's great.