Movie Tab II

you have a little more critical approach towards the movie, so far this is the first oscar movie that I've seen. Just like you said about the acting I didn't sense it at all, as it was just another movie with Brad Pitt it got its oscars for make up special effects and production design and nothing more and I think that it doesn't deserve more but still I got this good feeling when I saw the movie.And yes I noticed the resemblence with Forest Gump but manged to suppres it and enjoy this one

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I'm in movie heaven

They should quote that on the dvd cover.

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100 Favourites From The Future: REWIRED

See, what I think Sin City had going for it at the outset was a popular cult director like Robert Rodriguez who wasn't afraid to come along and make the film as faithfully as possible, with the same visual style, the same uncut content, and not the least of which, Frank Miller himself co-directing. At a time when comic films were taking drastic license with the stories, this one didn't.

Of course, the visual style was instantly attractive, too. It was easy to feel like, "Wow, they pulled it off! That looks awesome!" And they did. And it does.

But I think once that initial "score-one-for-the-good-guys" feeling wears off after the first viewing, the film really shows its flaws. Or rather, the story shows its flaws as translated to film. In comic form, it works. It's an engaging, stylish, brutal homage to crime noir of yesteryear. As a film, however, it translates into failed parody, and in my view, an exhausting visual and narrative marathon.

The dialogue is really fun until you have to hear someone actually speak it. Then it's just painful. The visual flavor is really fun until you realize how stupid Marv looks running on rooftops like they're clouds. If Sin City had to be a film, I very much believe that it, if anything, it shouldn't have been live-action.

See, I think Marv's is the best of the three. He's the iconic Sin City character, and his story translates the best onto film because it's gritty, surreal, and doesn't take itself too seriously. This might have to do in part with Mickey Rourke's portrayal, as he just seems to disappear into the character (whereas almost everyone else in the film sticks out). But I also think Marv's story is the most complete, and the most lovingly written. If Sin City had existed only as a short film depicting Marv's story, I think I would have been infinitely happier. Honestly.

Changeling (Clint Eastwood, 2008)



Los Angeles, 1928. The young son of single mother Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) disappears one day while she's at work, and after months of hope and suffering, LAPD Captain Jones (Jeffrey Donovan) tells her that he's found her son and that he's coming to town by train. When Christine first sees the boy, she's sure that he is not her son, but in front of the Press and local authorities, she agrees to take him home. It soon becomes unbearable for Christine, so she complains again to Capt. Jones to find her real son, but Jones doesn't want to deal with it, and eventually goes so far as to have Christine unilaterally committed to a mental hospital for acting strangely. Christine does have a friend and advocate, Rev. Gustav Riegleb (John Malkovich), who's on a crusade against LAPD corruption, and he does his best to help her. Meanwhile, Detective Ybarra (Michael Kelly) investigates the case of a young illegal Canadian boy (Devon Conti) who may hold the key to Christine's son's fate.



Eastwood and his crew meticulously recreate Los Angeles of the period through spectacular sets, costumes, music, automobiles and streetcars. The photography during the outdoor daylight scenes is especially evocative, but much of the film is shot indoors or at night, and these scenes are all done in a very dark, noirish style which are the exact opposite of the bright, sunlit scenes. The plot is complex and splinters off into several directions, and there are quite a few climaxes, even when some of them are intercut. One of the film's minor flaws, at least to me, is that it is too long, but it keeps trying to bring some closure to the story, so I can understand why it's as long as it is. I liked all the acting, even if Changeling somewhat follows in a recent Eastwood pattern of painting the "bad guys" especially bad. What I find especially impressive is that Eastwood was able to make this film and Gran Torino back-to-back and have them be so different from each other. This film is a serious period drama based on a true story, while Torino, which seems more lighthearted, modest and offhand, is actually equally serious in its intentions.

Note: Clint Eastwood just became the second person to receive a lifetime Palme d'Or from the Cannes Film Festival. The only other person is Ingmar Bergman.

Bob Roberts (Tim Robbins, 1992)



Razor-sharp political satire masquerading as a documentary about rich Republican folk singer (!?!) Bob Roberts (Tim Robbins) who's running for Senator of Pennsylvania in 1990. A British documentarian (Brian Murray) accompanies Roberts on his campaign tour bus and records various events, concerts, TV appearances and a few privileged private moments. Roberts is running against incumbent Democrat Brickley Paiste (who else but Gore Vidal?) who seems to begin losing his lead in the polls after a newspaper account of him in a compromising position with a teenage girl, although Paiste claims the whole thing is a smear campaign. Another recurring character is Bugs Raplin (Giancarl Esposito) who follows Roberts throughout the state and confronts him with some dirt he's dug up on the singer.

This video is a little sloppy, but it'll give you a good taste of the songs.



I realize that your enjoyment of this film may divide along your political leanings, but I don't see how anyone who enjoys politics AND satire would not find much of this film downright hilarious. I'll start with the great songs themselves. Tim and his brother Dave wrote the songs and they are extremely accurate in espousing the conservative platform, but they are also so up front about it, that they become far more amusing than you could imagine. Besides that, those are some pretty catchy folk tunes and Robbins is a pretty good singer. Then there are the titles of Roberts' first three albums: The Freewheelin' Bob Roberts, The Times are Changing Back and Bob on Bob. They all satirize Dylan and of course earn extra points from me for twisting Dylan's politics into something right wing. The cast is really quite incredible too. It's got numerous stars in roles of newscasters, as well as a surprising number of up'n'comers, including Jack Black as one of Roberts' biggest fans. I'm not saying that Bob Roberts is "fair and balanced", but that's why it's so damn funny. It couldn't be anywhere nearly as effective if it played fair. Now I, for one, would definitely be interested in seeing an accomplished political satire where the roles are reversed. I laugh at and make fun of liberals all the time. I think politics is a pretty disgusting thing and I don't trust any politicians, so that's why I think that Bob Roberts hits a bullseye, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.

The Burmese Harp (Kon Ichikawa, 1956)



At the end of WWII, there is a Japanese company holding out against the British Army in the Burmese highlands. Another Japanese company is ordered to surrender and march to their internment camp to await repatriation to their nuclear-bombed homeland, but this group's lead scout Mizushima (Shôji Yasui) is chosen to try to get the warring Japanese to surrender. Mizushima agrees and takes his homemade harp with him; his company is especially fond of singing to his harp-playing which he also uses to pass signals to his troops while scouting. Mizushima is unable to convince the prideful Japanese soldiers to surrender within the time limit, and their cave is blown to bits and all of them are killed, with the exception of Mizushima, who begins the 200-mile trek to meet up with his own company. Along the way, the scout, who is almost naked, steals the robe of a bathing Buddhist priest, but he soon comes across countless sites of rotting Japanese corpses. This shakes Mizushima to his soul and he begins to make an effort to bury some of the dead and even decides that he will stay in Burma to do so. However, he does cross paths with his former company and his Captain (Rentaro Mizuni) who seems to recognize him even with a shaved head and priest's robes on.



Director Ichikawa is well-known for making powerful war films, and this one ranks right up there with his masterpiece Fires on the Plain, although this one could be considered a bit sentimental. However, I find the use of the singing, the harp, and the two parrots (which I didn't mention earlier) to be powerful. [Warning aside to rufnek - Don't try to watch this movie because it paints Japanese soldiers during WWII as human.] The film is shot in stark black-and-white, and Mizushima's long trek amongst the corpses and skeletons of his countrymen reminds me of the similar horrific scenes in The Killing Fields. This film needs some lightness, in the form of the music and singing, to allow it to examine the spiritual consequences of war, so I find its use highly appropriate. On the other hand, Fires on the Plain is basically about man's inhumanity, so it doesn't need any rays of hope or possible uplift because it doesn't believe that they're possible. [rufnek - That's the Ichikawa film you may "enjoy".] Another interesting note is that I would have sworn that I'd seen this film before, but as I was watching it, the specific scenes didn't jog my memory. It was only about halfway through that I realized that I had seen Ichikawa's 1985 color remake at a theatre in San Jose. It's amazing how two films which are so similar can actually seem so different.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

I find it interesting that you found Changeling a little long and Benjamin Button (which really was too long) not so much. Different strokes I reckon. Changeling was one of the best flicks from last year and its a joke that the only sniff it got for an Oscar was Angie's nomination. I found its "pacing" to be perfect and I was so involved with the story I even held my breath a few times. Swedish Chef is missing out on a good flick.

Maybe someday I'll get my Academy decoder ring set just right so I'll be able to understand their decision making process a little better.

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

300 -

I'm like very mixed with this movie; I mean like everytime I watch it, my rating changes for it. I think it's pretty much going to stick with this rating that I gave it now. Anyways, I still really like this movie; even though it still may be a little overrated. I really get sick of hearing people complain about the slow motion used in this though; I mean it's like they've never seen a movie used with slow motion before. Me personally, I don't mind the slow motion at all; it's meant to be a fun action movie, and the slow motion just really helps it achieve that even more. The gore added to the slow motion makes it even cooler though; I just hope he doesn't do this too much in Watchmen. One of my only problems with it is that there are just too many scenes that are slow; I mean at one point it really gets into the action, then right after that it just goes back to some political thing actually in Sparta. So the pacing was really off in this one; which is the main reason that my rating isn't any higher than it is.

I do want to say that the narration for this is great; it's one of the main things that this movie has going for it besides it's action. I mean Dilios' ending speech was just perfect IMO; they really chose a perfect time to decide to roll the credits. It just made the ending even better; which is one of the best parts of 300. Even though the immortals battle is still my favorite scene in 300. Of course the visuals for 300 is amazing; maybe not quite as amazing as Sin City's visuals, but as I said last night, I don't think many movies will be able to top that. You know, watching all these graphic novel adaptions is really helping me get more hyped for Watchmen (which surprisingly my hype has been dying down for).

I want MY child back!

Bill Hicks: Revelations (Bould, 1993) -

Okay, so I'll be honest and say this doesn't really count as a movie, but I honestly reckon it deserves a mention in this thread (and I'm also contemplating adding it to the next edition of my Top 100). As some of you may or may not know, yesterday (or today, depending on your time zone) marks the anniversary of the death of Bill Hicks, a stand-up comedian who succumbed to cancer 15 years ago at the age of 32. During his career (which covered about half his life), he made an impact as one of the best stand-up comedians of the late-1980s/early-1990s, drawing influence from some of the best in the business such as George Carlin or Lenny Bruce. I think Revelations may end up being his best video performance (although I would nominate 1989's Sane Man as a very close runner-up), and when you watch it it's easy to see why. It's a video of Hicks at his peak as he runs through his favourite subjects (drugs, smoking, porn, government conspiracy, spirituality, etc) and he pours himself into each little rant or speech, bouncing around the stage like some sort of deranged black pinball as he does. The occasional intercuts of Hicks as a "cowboy hero" are a little distracting (although they're not so bothersome at both the beginning or end of the show), but you get over them easily enough. On one final note, you've got to admire the profundity of the "ride" monologue he gives at the very end of the show.



The Crow (Proyas, 1994) -

Not entirely sure what motivated me to re-watch this (although, as with quite a few recent re-watches, it was probably to check if it was Top 100 worthy), but yeah, I have to admit I still like it. Granted, it's still pretty flawed in parts and probably doesn't quite deserve a , but it's a fun way to pass an hour and a half, and that's really all I ask from a movie like The Crow. I also ended up reading on the IMDb boards for the movie that despite its heavy fandom, apparently the film is still a rather inaccurate adaptation of the graphic novel, which is also more extreme than the film itself. Something tells me I'll definitely be picking up that GN.

On one last note - I doubt I'll ever hear the joke about Jesus going into a hotel get told better anywhere else.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

Zack And Miri Make A Porno -

You know, if this movie was made 4 years ago, it might actually be originally; sadly it wasn't, and instead it seemed like it was just trying to be the 40-Year-Old Virgin just way too much. I actually never though that a movie would actually be too sick for me to watch; that was until I decided to watch this. I mean seriously, they couldn't not talk about sex in this. I know it's supposed to be movie about a porno, but it just got tiring to hear the same stuff for an hour and a half. The beginning was pretty funny, but then they just kept using the same jokes throughout the whole; which really just made it not funny anymore. My favorite jokes of the movie actually, were the racist jokes; maybe it is just because the way they were said. Which brings me to my next thing: Craig Robinson was the best thing about the movie; he's seriously moving his way up on my favorite comedian's list. Between this, Pineapple Express, The Office, and his little role in Knocked up; he's just hilarious in all of them. I was actually surprised that I really wasn't laughing as much at Rogen in this; who's my favorite comedian, and was the only reason that I even wanted to see this. Despite me not ending up liking this that much though, I still plan to see some more of Kevin Smith's comedies. I just hope that the rest of them will turn out better for me than this; who's knows though, maybe upon a re-watch of this I'll like it some more.

Urgh, Zack and Miri...definitely in the bottom half of Smith's filmography, and that is quite a large bottom half. I also wonder how many "comedians" you know if you cite Seth Rogen as your favourite.

Anyway...more re-watches...



Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Gilliam/Jones, 1975) -

A much needed rewatch, if I may say so myself. I haven't seen this in God knows how long, and it's a wonder why I haven't. I'd forgotten just how great this film is. Easily one of the greatest comedies ever made by human hands, and if you don't get it, I pity you. If you do, well, I'm sure you probably love it enough to trade various quotes as fans of the film are wont to do. If you haven't seen it, do yourself a favour, get up, go to the nearest shop with DVDs and get yourself a copy. If I have any more to say when I include this film on my next Top 100, I'll say it then.



South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (Parker, 1999) -

Yes, I unapologetically love South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut. The show is one of my all-time favourites, and the movie itself is also headed that way. I can't really explain what's great about the film. In terms of quality, most of the seasons that followed the film (which came around the same time as the show's third season) constantly trump the film in both look and sound. However, they just don't have that distinctly "epic" feel that the film manages to achieve by covering all-out war, countless expletives, incredibly horrific animated violence and a signature South Park message - all in the space of an hour and a quarter. I know Parker and Stone attempted a second South Park film with what would eventually become the three-episode special Imaginationland, but I don't think that (or probably any other South Park "movies") will ever come close to touching the awesome thrills of the first.



Project A (Chan, 1985) -

Somehow, I don't think my Top 100 would be complete without a Jackie Chan film on there somewhere. Even his lamer Hollywood efforts are at the very least slightly watchable, so therefore going back to his early Hong Kong efforts (which I would assume have him at his peak, both physically and creatively) would be more rewarding. While Project A is definitely one of the better Chan films I've seen, it still feels like it's not quite a great film. It's full of great stunts, solid fighting, laughably exaggerated acting and ridiculous dialogue - pretty much what you expect from Jackie Chan. While I still feel a little let down (it doesn't quite feel like a Top 100 film), it's still a decent enough film so that I don't feel like I wasted my time. I guess I just have to continue my quest to find and watch Drunken Master.

Beowulf


One word: bada$$

I was expecting this to be annoying and predictable. WRONG! the direction was awesome, the violence was off the hook and the graphics were really really good, though I admit it took a lil while before i got used to them

Deathproof



Another bada$$ film, and while i only saw the last hour i liked it so much i felt the need to comment. I really liked it, the ending wasnt great but the final chase was awesome! And of course the dialogue was typically tarantino but i think the best things in this were Tracie Thoms and Rosario Dawson, both of whom i had only really seen in Rent. Zoe Bell was also pretty bada$$.

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Undercoverlovers 100 REDUX

Fear -

An intense, riveting thriller that delivers plenty of shocks and jolts as well as having interesting characters and a story and plot that envelopes you in its action. I loved it; the concluding twenty minutes of the film--the climax scene itself particularly--nearly blew me away. The film's second half is better than its first half; it starts out somewhat slowly, but once the introductory stage is passed (the "who's" and the "where," etc.), it's a non-stop thrill-ride when the real action ensues between the protagonist and the menacing antagonist.

I had seen Fear before, but only once, and it's been quite some time. I enjoyed this rewatch very, very much.

Universal Soldier -

This movie was actually better than I thought it would be; I was expecting -ish material. The action was pretty cool throughout, and the opening sequence was riveting; it was the best part of the entire film, especially compared to the not-so-great-but-okay ending.

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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

The Magnificent Seven -

Yep, another great western to add to my favorite westerns list. I swear this list just keeps growing larger and larger; I do really love this genre. Westerns is probably the most underrated movie genre ever; I mean, maybe it's just me, but a lot of people seem to hate westerns, at least a lot of people I know. Anyways, to get on to the movie, it was really great. It was another great western that was a great example of friendship; which Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid is another great example of. Like most westerns for me, the ending was the best part of this. I just really love action packed endings. Something about the action in westerns really stands out for me; even more than action in movies that take place in todays time. I don't really know why though.

Yul Brynner was great as the lead; I'm actually surprised that I've never seem him in anything before; he did great as the lead. I really loved seeing Eli Wallach as the villain in a western again; well that's if you count him as a villain in The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly. Something I have noticed is that I've been seeing Charles Bronson in a lot more movies recently; he's a good actor, except in Death Wish, which I really didn't like his acting at all. I'd probably rank this along with Unforgiven for me on my favorites list of westerns; I actually think I may put it above Unforgiven. I'm sure once I see more westerns though, that it'll change spots, because I have A LOT of more westerns to see.

You might like Seven Samurai too.

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

That Thing You Do! (Tom Hanks, 1996)

Everyone has a film that makes them smile and laugh constantly. A film that they can't explain why they love it so much, this is that type of movie. I'll just say that when you're feeling down, this movie always makes me feel better

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I used to be addicted to crystal meth, now I'm just addicted to Breaking Bad.

Aside from my recent ventures into screenings of old-school horror...



They Live (Carpenter, 1988) - +

Seeing The Thing earlier made me want to start up a John Carpenter bender, but I decided to settle for playing They Live. It's a solid B-movie and I'd definitely consider it one of Carpenter's better films, if only because it's surprisingly smart for a low-budget sci-fi starring a pro wrestler. I especially like the way that it covers much of the ground that both The Matrix or Fight Club were built on (enslaved humanity and disgust with capitalism respectively), yet earlier and in a much rougher, less stylised manner - which is still pretty cool. Plus, I think Rowdy Roddy Piper and Keith David make for a much more awesome pair of alien ass-kickers than Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss. An underrated piece of genius.

Trainspotting (1996) -

+

I didn't connect to it as much as I have with Danny Boyle's other work, and I definitely don't think it is his best, but it was very interesting and unique and very notable. Ewan McGregor was awesome as Renton; I haven't seen anything from him quite as great or distinctive. The baby was the most shocking and memorable thing about Trainspotting. I think I'll like it more the second time I see it.

Vanilla Sky (2001) -

This movie doesn't really have an actual rating for me and I'll explain why. My first viewing of it was probably the best film-viewing experience I have ever had. I was completely blown away and when it was over, I laid in my bed looking at the sky, and the clouds were... oddly coincidental. I just stared up at them thinking about the film. And for days after that, I was still thinking about it. It has an atmosphere different from any film or any thing I have ever known. But when I saw it again, a few weeks later, I was very underwhelmed. The same distinctive atmosphere wasn't as apparent, and it didn't feel as personal or as incredible. I put it off for a long time, hoping that if I came back to it having not thought about it or thinking somewhat lowly of it for a while, I could regain that love I originally had. It worked with The Shawshank Redemption, after all. I finally watched it again last week, and although I enjoyed it more than my second viewing, I still wasn't as blown away as I was the first time I saw it. I could feel the atmosphere a bit better then I had before this last time, but still not as heavily as after my initial viewing. This is all sort of upsetting, but at the same time I will always treasure the first time I saw it and will always have immense respect for it. I know I have to see Open Your Eyes, the original this was remade into, but I have a very hard time believing that, despite it possibly being more well-made than Vanilla Sky, I will like it any near as much. The most notable and distinctive things that make Vanilla Sky work for me are things I know aren't in the original. The cast, for example: Tom Cruise, Jason Lee (is hilarious when drunk), Kurt Russel, and even Noah Taylor in his minor role as Tech Support. Most importantly, though, it's the soundtrack. It helps the film so much, I think, and without it the film probably wouldn't be so good. And the original doesn't have any of those, so I can't say I will like it as much even if it is more well-made. Anyway, I can still say I enjoy Vanilla Sky a damn good amount, and that'll probably never change. The only thing I don't like about it is Cameron Diaz. She is a terrible actress.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) -

-

Interesting film. It's the third Woody Allen movie I've seen, the others being Annie Hall and Manhattan (all being his most famous, am I right?). It's easy to tell this was made by Woody Allen, mostly due to the narration which is so Woody Alleny it would be hard to not figure it out. I thought everyone did a fine job acting-wise, especially Penelope Cruz (obviously). I was expecting to just see Anton Chigurh when Javier Bardem came on, but surprisingly I barely noticed it was the same guy. I think I'll buy this flick soon enough.

City of God (2002) -

WOW. This was incredible and easily one of the best films I have ever seen. I can't think of anything to say, though. Bené was my favorite character, definitely. I thought Li'l Zé was a badass at first until he progressively became the villain of the film, and one of the best villains I have ever seen. A f*cking killing machine. And now, looking at the film as a whole, it's incredibly horrifying that what happened in it really happened like that.

O Lucky Man! (1973) -

Malcom McDowell is one of my favorite actors. But when this film started all I could see was Alex DeLarge. I couldn't see the apparently nice guy that Michael Travis was supposed to be. Thankfully I got past that quickly and could appreciate Malcom McDowell for his awesome acting ability and versatility. I love it when he exaggerates his eating/drinking motions. The length surprisingly didn't make the film boring, even though I thought it would. I don't think it's anything too exceptional, but it is a great watch for any McDowell fan.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007) -

+

I was planning on selling this movie to my local new/used DVD store, like I do with other movies, and with all of those I like to watch them again just to make sure I don't like them. I was surprised to find I actually do like this. Maybe it's because I watched the theatrical version rather than the uncut version, but I laughed more this time than I did with my first viewing, and in fact more than I do with a lot of movies. The humor isn't always funny, though - there are times when it's forced - but when it's not it's hilarious. And John C. Reilly is a great comedian with a rockin' voice. I think I will hang on to this DVD for a bit longer.

Changeling (2008) -

My first rewatch didn't disappoint. It's one of the movies where everything just seems heightened with the rewatch. The emotional scenes were more emotional, the great acting was better, the bad acting was worse, etc. There were times I felt like crying this time around, whereas the first time I saw it I didn't get emotional at all. The axe scene was nearly gut-wrenching; I wanted to turn my head but couldn't. The bad acting lies almost entirely with the children. Most of them were decent enough, and I even thought Devon Conti (the 'fake boy') was very good, but Eddie Alderson (Sanford Clark) was pretty bad. He exaggerated everything a bit too much. Angelina Jolie still delivered a great performance though, and John Malkovich was equally good or even better. He's so awesome.

The Score (2001) -

+

The only reason I saw this was for my grandpappy. He's the coolest human being I have ever known, and his time is nearing it's end, so I've been trying to help make him as happy as I can until then (it's hard to make him unhappy, but still). And every time I've seen him recently, we've talked about this movie and I guess he liked it a lot. So I bought it a few days ago for him, and thought I would check it out before sending it off. It was pretty enjoyable. The main cast is awesome, with three of my favorites actors: Edward Norton, Robert De Niro, and Marlon Brando. Brando gave the best performance, but De Niro and Norton were also very good, as usual (between the two, Norton was better). I wouldn't consider it a favorite or anything, but it will always have a special place in my heart only because grampers likes it.

The Backwoods -

This was actually better than I originally expected; my mom bought this for me because she seems to love all kinds of horror movies (even though I wouldn't actually count this as horror). Even though my mom wanted to see it though, I really had no interest what-so-ever in seeing it. Even though I still think it's only about average, I still ended up being pleasently surprised. The first half was so boring though, I almost just walked out of the room because it was so boring; luckily the second half got considerably better. You know, if the first half was better I might've given it half a point or even a point higher than the rating I gave it. The best thing about this though was Gary Oldman; even though my opinion on that my be a little biased because he's my second favorite actor of all-time. It was good to seeing something different for once; it really wasn't like most movies I tend to watch. I'm still glad that I got a chance to watch it even if it wasn't great or anything; if you ever see it on sale or just want something a little different to watch, then I'd recommend checking this one out sometime.

More re-watches...



Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (Margolis, 1978) -

There are two editions of this film available in Australia - an old DVD I found for $10 in one place and a newer edition for $23. I own and just watched the $10 one, and yes, the picture is rather crap (I don't remember it being that way when I rented the $23 version once). Oh, well, it's not like I was watching this for great visuals anyway. Anyway, I was considering putting this on my Top 100, but after this re-watch I'm not so sure. Don't get me wrong, I still laughed quite a lot at it, but I don't know, as with Project A the other day it doesn't really feel like a favourite. It's just one of those weird, intangible, irrational reasons but I don't think Live in Concert will end up cracking my list after all.



Leon (Besson, 1994) - +

I've already seen this movie twice when it was cut down and released as The Professional - I've had the special edition of Leon sitting in my collection for over a year now, but I finally got around to watching it today. The extra scenes stood out like sore thumbs and I reckon it was a bit of a shame for most of them to get cut out, although I can easily understand why the entire montage of Mathilda helping Leon out on the job was edited. As for the extended version's notorious new developments of the relationship between Leon and Mathilda, I do reckon it makes for a greater picture than the original Professional cut did.

Frankenstein (Whale, 1931)



The quintessential monster flick...

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