Movie Tab II

this movie I saw it at the theater when it came out

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Health is the greatest gift, contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.
Buddha

Strangers On A Train (1951)



Being the Hitchcock fanatic that I am, it was only a matter of time before I checked this one out. The premise for the film is interesting, and under the Master's guidance it becomes something extraordinary. Robert Walker gives a particularly great performance as psychopathic Bruno Antony. I give it , another solid thriller from Hitchcock.

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"Puns are the highest form of literature." -Alfred Hitchcock

Hey now! I'd mark Down By Law a bit higher than minus ten out of ten!

Especially since you liked it so much.

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

The Beguiled (1970)



Between Dirty Harry, Coogan's Bluff, and Escape From Alcatraz, I've become a big fan of the Don Siegel/Clint Eastwood collaborations. As such, I had relatively high hopes for this thriller, which stars Eastwood as a Union soldier in the Civil War who finds himself injured and bedridden in an all-girls school. I found it very similar to "Play Misty For Me", as both psychological thrillers are sexually driven and feature Clint in an unusually vulnerable role. Though "The Beguiled" does not build suspense as masterfully as "Play Misty For Me", it is much more disturbing, as Clint Eastwood becomes romantically involved with everyone from a 12-year-old to the school's incestuous headmistress, played by Geraldine Page. Though it's probably my least favorite of the Siegel/Eastwood collaborations, "The Beguiled" is still a dark, sinister thriller worth a watch for any Clint Eastwood fan.

Carnegie Hall (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1947) (Watchable melodrama interspersed with filmed classical and jazz performances)
The Designated Mourner (David Hare, 1997) (Filmed Wallace Shawn play featuring Mike Nichols doing a fun Shawn-impersonation in the lead role, as well as Miranda Richardson).

Also watched a few cartoons from the Popeye collection:



The Two-Alarm Fire (Dave Fleischer, Willard Bowsky, 1934)
The Dance Contest (Dave Fleischer, Willard Bowsky, 1934)
We Aim to Please (Dave Fleischer, Willard Bowsky, 1934)

I don't update my favorite films lists because they change so much. I have a notebook that I write all of the films I see in, and my thoughts on them and oftentimes I'll look back on a film I've seen and kick myself for not including it on such a list. So, yeah I'm tired of keeping up with lists haha.

I've heard people say before that the reason they switched to black and white was for the budget, but I've also read that the reason was the DP couldn't guarantee the director color consistency in a lot of the chapel scenes, so the director decided to shoot it in black and white, and liked the aesthetic and choose to include throughout the entire film.

Either way, I'm glad it turned out the way it did, definitely enhances the atmosphere.

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Touching from a distance, further all the time.

Something Borrowed (2011)



Last night, I watched Something Borrowed, a romantic comedy about a woman who sleeps with her best friend's fiance. That's about the bulk of the plot right there, along with some lame subplots that turn the film into nothing more than a cut-rate soap opera. Aside from that, I highly doubt that such a story line hasn't been done a thousand times in the past, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. The characters, believe it or not, were probably the worst thing about the movie, as all of them come off as either snarky, or slutty, or backstabbing, or any such combination of these characteristics, and there were many times when I found myself questioning which of these people i'm supposed to identify with. But then again, it doesn't really matter what the characters are like when the actors aren't very good at their jobs either.

Something was borrowed, indeed. 112 minutes of my life, and I'll never get them back.

Conan the Barbarian (2011) - Not really as joyfully insane as the original film was, but a passably fun night at the cinema. The actor who plays Conan is the best part of the film, he genuinely LOOKS like the comic book character from Marvel, and he can swing a mean sword. I kinda wish it were more EPIC, but I had fun anyways.

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"You, me, everyone...we are all made of star stuff." - Neil Degrasse Tyson

https://shawnsmovienight.blogspot.com/

Dressed to Kill (1980)



Michael Caine
Angie Dickinson
Nancy Allen
Keith Gordon
Dennis Franz
David Margulies


Dead and Buried (1981)



James Farentino
Melody Anderson
Jack Albertson
Dennis Redfield
Nancy Locke
Lisa Blount
Robert Englund


Exposure (1991)



Peter Coyote
Tchéky Karyo
Amanda Pays


Sketch Artist (1992)



Jeff Fahey
Sean Young
Frank McRae
Drew Barrymore
Tchéky Karyo


Lois Gibbs and the Love Canal (1982)



Marsha Mason
Bob Gunton


Fight for Life (1987)



Jerry Lewis
Morgan Freeman
Jaclyn Bernstein
Gerard Parkes
Patty Duke

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Update of what I've watched over the course of August (what I can remember)



The Last Picture Show (1971, Bogdanovich):



Enduring Love (2004, Michell): +



La Strada (1954, Fellini): +



Hall Pass (2011, Farrelly brothers):



Das Experiment (2001, Hirschbiegel): +



Some Like It Hot (1959, Wilder):



Lina Braake (1975, Sinkel):



The King's Speech (2010, Hooper): +



Trois Hommes et un couffin (1985, Serreau): +



A Double Life (1947, Cukor): +



Le Divorce (2003, Ivory):



Tulpan (2008, Dvortesvoj): +

Sunset Blvd. (Billy Wilder, 1950)
Die Hard (John McTiernan, 1988)
Gentlemen Broncos (Jared Hess, 2009) -
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (Fritz Lang, 1933)

Blitz - 2.5/5
Lionsgate UK film with Jason Statham - it almost felt like a UK answer to Hollywood's using their actors in balls-out action films. Statham was as stoic and *bad boy* as has come to be expected from his movies, so in that way it was very cookie cutter. Also the music was so....eurosynth. I dont even know if I'm correctly identifying it, but it is the main reason I've downgraded this movie. People accuse me of preferring that kind of music, and I get that they used to make the film seem edgier and maybe to give it identity? Whatever it was, it was too much - felt like they used insanely upbeat music to drag out boring scenes.

Miss Palfrey at the Claremont - ?/5
Im in the middle of this DVD, and it wont get past the 9th scene (about midway thru the film), so I'll probably have to send it back. Unfortunately, because this is a slow film that builds over time, it was just getting traction with the plot. Now I have all kinds of ideas about what's really happening, but I guess I'll never know!

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something witty goes here......

You may already know this, but I'll pass on some advice, if I may? The words "starring Kate Hudson" almost always lead to a poor film. It also stars someone who can't spell Jennifer. Neither of these things are good and should both be seen as warning signs.

Currently Watching Food Inc on TV. Really loving this documentary. May be giving it a review soon.

I watched the Piranha remake last night. Pretty decent, goofy fun. I really liked the acting in it, especially Shue and Jerry O'Connell as a sleazebag.

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#31 on SC's Top 100 Mofos list!!

Been brushing up on my essential 2011 releases lately:

La Piel Que Habito (2011, Almodovar)



The main character fits perfectly in the increasingly larger gallery of strange Almodovar characters : Robert Ledgard is a brilliant surgeon who made it his life’s work to develop an artificial skin that makes one immune to burn wounds and insect bites. The good man also appears to have a bit of a macabre edge, as he keeps a woman in capitivity in a remote villa. Her identity will be revealed to us in a long, ingenuous flashback that is vintage Almodovar.

What I liked about La Piel Que Habito is that at times, Pedro has re-found that kitschy poetry of his older work. On the aesthetic level, it’s all good too with a nice soundtrack, flawless performances and eye-blinding images. The problem is that the film doesn’t really drag its viewer in. Much as it was the case in Los Abrazos Rotos, I got the feeling that it was more about craftsmanship and (albeit terrific) style than about inventiveness and passion. I guess what I’m trying to convey is that Almodovar is playing it safe here, whereas I’d rather see him bounce off the wall.

+



Essential Killing(2011, Skolimovski)



In Essential Killing, consummate madman Vincent Gallo crawls into the skin of a Taliban soldier, who after a horrible round of waterboarding is taken to an undisclosed East-European country. When the prison van crashes in the snow, Gallo jumps out like a terrified beast and runs straight into the wilderness, thus beginning a struggle for survival of biblical proportions. And I can guarantee you, Taliban warrior or not, you will start rooting for this guy after a while.

Essential Killing is a film unlike any survival flick I’ve ever seen (First Blood, Into The Wild, Touching The Void) in the sense that it’s much purer. Skolimovski doesn’t offer any explicit commentaries about the war on terror or human rights, doesn’t give any more information about the identity of the main character, instead limiting himself to the pure registration of this man’s endeavors in the wild. And in doing so, he makes good use of the elements of nature at his disposal, so that you’re really drawn into this, as if you’re experiencing it yourself. Gallo himself went in full-on method mode again, as he actually ate termites, walked barefoot through snow and demanded actual breast milk for one particular scene. Aye, brilliant insanity indeed.

+


Melancholia(2011, Von Trier)



With a dreamy beauty and an almost comforting irreversibility, Melancholia’s plot slowly unravels in a surprisingly calm manner (unlike Antichrist). This is one of the most poetic and gracious films he ever made.

+


And some others:

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2:

Bridesmaids:

+
Rango:

+
The Hangover, Part 2:

The Rite:

Kung Fu Panda 2:

+

Friday The 13th (1980)



The original Jason Voorhees movie... even though (SPOILER ALERT) his mom is the killer in this one. Friday The 13th may lack the originality and artistry of, say, Halloween, but it makes up for this with a great eerie setting. A wickedly violent slasher that no fan of the genre wouldn't love.




Scream (1996)



Yes, I had a slasher movie double feature last night. Neither film disappointed, but Scream was nothing less than a MASTERPIECE of horror. I loved the mystery, I loved the performances, I loved Wes Craven's undeniable ability to build suspense, I loved the self-referential tone of the whole film. I loved this movie.

Thanks for the reviews, Brodinski. I'm really looking forward to seeing the first two and your reviews whetted my appetite even more.

A great double bill there, Hitch. Love both of them and agree totally with you about Scream.

My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)



Arrietty (2010)



Incendies (2010)



The Greatest Movie Ever Sold (2011) [rating]3[rating]



Rango (2011)



Harry Potter 7, part 2

Scream was fantastic; probably my third favorite slasher, behind Psycho and Halloween.