Movie Tab II

Recently saw

liked all of these.

Gran Torino
Captains Courageous
Blood Tea and Red String

Rewatched (and liked)
This is England
Throw Momma From the Train

Am I the only person (other than my bro) that didn't like Gran Torino?

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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."

I enjoyed it immensely. But the world's a big place. I doubt you two are the only people. lol

It's still in my stack to watch, but I'm thinking it might not impress me either. As a rule, I'm usually underwhelmed by Clint Eastwood's pictures. Not that I think they're bad... I don't (and I respect the hell out of Eastwood himself). I don't know, they're just too direct for me. They always shoot right between the eyes. Never much subtlety.

Funny People 2009

For the first time in Apatow's short history, the DVD release of his film is the definitive version rather than just the one with more stuff. It's only about 10 minutes longer than the theatrical one, but the added scenes don't only give some more depth into the characters but string the film together much more effectively.





Four Flies on Gray Velvet 1972

Argento brings a lot of technical skill to this film and a decent script, but what the story calls for is top acting. This movie has terrible, stiff acting, and it's hard to watch and you'll guess the ending when these hilarious actors telegraph it 10 minutes in.





Amadeus 1984

... and now a reversal. No technical flair whatsoever, but the actors bring so much energy and fathomage that it's instantly an enjoyable film.





Hard Boiled 1992

If only John Woo could write and tell a story as beautiful as his destructive action sequences. If you come for the shooting, prepare to suffer through the incongruity of usual action-movie logic.





Hot Fuzz and The Dark Knight

I am a giant fan of blow-em up, shoot-em up, intense action movies, it's a shame there only a tiny handful of quality ones. Hot Fuzz is a clever, hilarious, sensible story that feeds and prospers off the stupidity that comes with the genre. The reason for it's greatness is it doesn't halt at mocking action-movies, it shows them how it IS done. The Dark Knight is another action movie that doesn't let up it, in it's intensity or quality.

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Here's a couple of oldies I caught on TCM recently. Not first viewings, but they certainly renewed my appreciation for the films.


The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
Dir: William Dieterle

"I'm not a man. I'm not a beast. I'm about as shapeless as the man in the moon!" So says the deaf, horribly disfigured Quasimodo to the object of his affections, Esmeralda, who is a s beautiful as he is ugly.

I haven't seen the 1923 silent version of Victor Hugo's story with Lon Chaney, but I can't imagine it can be any better than this, with Charles Laughton giving a stupendous, heartbreaking performance as Quasimodo. In fact, everyone in this movie shines, from Maureen O'Hara as Esmerelda, the gypsy who is framed for murder by the lustful Frollo (Cedric Hardwicke), to Thomas Mitchell as Clopin, the King of the Beggars (the scene in the Court of Miracles is one of my favorites). Top 100 stuff, no question.




White Heat (1949)
Dir: Raoul Walsh

James Cagney always played a great gangster, and his performance in White Heat is no exception, where he portrays Cody Jarrett, a psychopatth with a serious mother fixation. Unlike The Hunchback of Notre Dame, whose ensemble cast is in no small part responsible for its greatness, White Heat succeeds mostly because of Cagney's white hot performance. Not that the rest of the cast aren't good; they are. It's just that Cagney lights up the screen with every scene he's in while never seeming to overact (although I'm sure there are some folks who will disagree with that). Margaret Wycherly as Ma Jarrett (supposedly based on the real-life Ma Barker) is especially good, too.

My only real qulam with the film is that Edmond O'Brien is miscast as Vic Pardo, the undercover cop who befriends Jarrett and works his way into the gang. O'Brien is just too sympathetic an actor to pull it off, and frankly I don't think he hold his own with Cagney in the scenes they share. Now if it had been Humphrey Bogart or George Raft in that role, that might bump my rating up considerably.
++ (almost 4/5)

The September Issue (2009, RJ Cutler)

2.5/5

I've always wondered where old models went to die. In career terms, that is.

Obviously.

Visions of herds of equine-faced, willowy women being put out to grass on some great quorn ranch somewhere in the Elysian suburbs sprang fleetingly to mind before watching The September Issue, a look at how American Vogue is put together, brought my brain back down with a bump.

They all seem to waft around the corridors of fashion magazines.

The September Issue is proficiently enough put together and centres on Head Mistress/Editor, owner of a fierce bob and a stare that could kill a junior photographer at 100 paces, Anna Wintour. The world is a lot more clinical than my admittedly low-brow expectations (think the wondrous Ab Fab and the 20 minutes of Ugly Betty I could manage before collapsing in a catatonic stupor) had led me to believe, with Wintour's icy determination seemingly always winning over the more artistic gaze of her 2nd in command, Grace Coddington.

The flame-haired Grace is, seemingly, one of the few vertebrates to occupy Vogue Towers (or whatever it's called - Dunvogue-in?) apart from the boss herself. She's lovely, and has an eye for a shot that 90% of Hollywood directors would kill for...

Anyway, it's a decent enough doc but we learn almost nothing about what makes Wintour tick. Of course, this is probably the exact effect she had in mind.

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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

Zombieland (Ruben Fleischer, 2009) -

Finally got to see this after a good few months of waiting (and trying not to learn the guest star's identity) - and was admittedly let down. I wasn't really expecting it to be scary, but I was expecting it to be funny, and while it was definitely amusing, there wasn't really anything that was laugh-out-loud funny. It's a shame, really, considering that the film's actually pretty aptly handled on most (if not all) counts, but it's not great. As a result, it stays a fairly enjoyable experience, but I just get the feeling it missed out on some seriously untapped potential.



Sid and Nancy (Alex Cox, 1986) -

Alex Cox's sophomore effort might be the "best" film he's ever made in terms of objective value. The film tells the story of the eponymous duo - Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious (a surprisingly good Gary Oldman) and his girlfriend, American groupie Nancy Spungen (Chloe Webb) - in a pretty typical "based-on-a-true-story" manner, focusing more on the relationship between the two than the rise and fall of the Pistols and Vicious himself. It's a pretty simplistic story, not just of a very irrational love story, but also a surprisingly harsh portrait of the punk scene that the characters loved so much. Honourable mentions must go to the cinematography (done by, believe it or not, Roger Deakins) and the soundtrack, which alternates between classic 70s music and Joe Strummer's original score.



A Night At The Opera (Sam Wood, 1935) -

I know I'm going out on a limb by giving one of the Marx Brothers' best films a relatively low rating, but that is how I feel about it. I went in expecting a full-blown comedy along the lines of Duck Soup, yet I got a lot of singing and musical performances by various characters (this shouldn't have surprised me when you consider the film's title) that, although not exactly bad, were really just distracting from the comedy. Even then, the comedy didn't really feel that funny - granted, there were some good parts but they were spread too thin. Some jokes didn't go anywhere and even some of the more basic types of humour (like the physical type, often involving Harpo in some manner) just fell flat for me. Granted, because it's surprisingly well-written and there's a couple of decent parts, plus it's the Marx Brothers, I'll grant it some leniency, but still, I was expecting a lot better.



Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979) -

I don't really think that much of Woody Allen. Granted, he's got a fair bit of talent and his films, if nothing else, are at least something distinct and out of the ordinary. Simple answer would be that I just don't "get" him - or want to "get" him. I'm not sure. In any case, as with Annie Hall, I was left with a feeling of "this is it?". The monochromatic photography wasn't that impressive, although I thought the performances and writing were rather decent. However, I seriously doubt I'll be heading back to this one anytime in the foreseeable future.

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

American pie: The book of love
had a laugh

William Wyler gives beautiful direction to this tale. The cast is great including a few big names. Gregory Peck gives perhaps one of his best performances, and Charlton Heston is perfect for his role. A lot of deep character development in this movie may be part of why it's so enjoyable. Like many westerns, part of the plot is a struggle over the land but there are a few other side stories as well. A few good jokes fall into the excellent script. It was a little on the long side, but I'd definately reccomend it.

The Big Country:



A suspenseful crime drama that will probably become a little better with repeated viewings. It is true that the first time you watch this movie, you have only a slight idea of exactly what is going on. The twist ending, as someone here mentioned, has almost been repeated and used in other places too much. A superb cast that includes an incredible performance by Kevin Spacey. Some neat direction techiniques throughout and a pretty creepy musical score are also included. Liked it very well.

The Usual Suspects:



A very likable comedy. I hardly remember the original, but I checked this one out. Selleck is the best choice to play the quiet Peter. Guttenburg's role is pretty small, but he captures his charcter. Danson is hilarious as the goofy Jack. The script is filled with laughs even though is plot is pretty predictable. There's of course some family cheesiness but it isn't too much. Not a piece of cinematic history or anything, but a fun flick that's worth the time.

Three Men and A Little Lady:

Spent a lot of time decorating this week so I didn't get to watch as many movies

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Fantastic Mr. Fox



Giving up his life of a chicken thief because of a child on the way, Mr. Fox gets a job as a newspaper writer and lives underground. Years pass, he child is older and he wants to move to a tree and not feel poor anymore. Along the way he takes in his nephew and decides to steal again, from the three biggest farmers. The farmers get wise and start a battle against Mr. Fox, his family and all their creature friends.

At first I didn't know if I wanted to see this, the animation looked really bad. But after thinking about it for a bit, I found that it fit into Anderson's style, it was something that he would do. So I gave the film a shot and I'm glad I did. This film has Anderson's signature style all over it, right down to the obvious voice casting, which has the likes of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Michael Gambon, Owen Wilson, and Willem Dafoe.

A lot of people, and I'm including myself in this bunch, might think nothing of this film. After all, it doesn't have the bright, adventurous feel of the recent Disney/Pixar films that have been dominating the animation scene. I'd even throw Dreamworks into that bunch. Those films are done by people who are at ease in their field, animated director like Brad Bird and John Lasseter know their way around the animation style. Yet here comes auteur Wes Anderson, who has a unique style and sense of comedy. His transition to animation, stop motion animation no less, is smart, funny and a pleasure. Is it his best film? Of course not, but it's one of the more enjoyable ones.

The voice cast all work well, Clooney does a good job as the lead. He has that leadership tone in his voice, that arrogance that is needed for the character. Streep isn't given much to do, so her role as the wife is pretty basic, as is the character. Their son Ash, voice by Bored To Death star Jason Schwartzman was a stand out for me, as was Eric Chase Anderson, as Kristofferson. That name might not sound familiar, that's because his resume only consists of Anderson films. Bill Murray plays a badger and Fox's lawyer, who advises him not to buy the tree house. Fox does anyway and that's why he's in this mess. The animals are really small and live in this world where there are apparently small motorbikes for them to use. They can communicate with the human characters, no one seems to find it odd in this little world they live in. You won't find it odd either, you'll just be enjoying the fun.

Each chapter is subtitled, Fox's Master Plan A, Fox's Master Plan B, etc. They even tell you how time passes in human years and fox years and in a comical bit one human hour compare to one fox hour. You never know how long these hours are in comparison to each other, you don't want to know either, it just adds to the uniqueness of the film. At heart, these characters are still wild animals, as Fox even says this in the film, and the way they eat and "fight" each other proves this.

The film has that Anderson humour and might go over some kids heads. It's dark in some places, as one character dies, but I think they will enjoy it. They won't jump up and down for it like Up, or Finding Nemo. They won't want to go out and buy the latest Mr. Fox stuffed animal or toy. This feels more like a film for adults, it doesn't really cater to the kids, but they will have their bits to laugh at, like the possum who stares blankly at some people for whatever reason.

This film was made from scratch, this world Anderson creates is fun and I had a fun time being in it. The film flies by it's running time and I never found the film dragging. It was in and out. As stated before, the kids might enjoy this, but it's more for adults. There's smoking and there's even a unique way of swearing, which I found funny. The camera movements scream Wes Anderson and if you're a fan, then you will enjoy this very much.

One of my favourite films of the year.



Slackers



The film is amusing and Devon Sawa plays himself, yet again, in this teen comedy fare that takes place in College. The story centres around these three guys who cheat their way (elaborately) throughout college. This one 'loser' who calls himself Cool Ethan (played by Jason Schwartzman in a stand out role, discovers this and blackmails them in order to get a date with this hot chick that he is stalking. I use the term stalking loosely, he has a shrine dedicated to her, a video of her playing in this shrine 24/7 and he collects her hair all over campus and made a hair doll that he sleeps with/talks to and uses to masturbate. Weird right?

Formulaic script goes on and Sawa falls in love with the girl he was paid to seduce for Schwartzman. She discovers this and hates him, he has to do something romantic and win her back, yawn. Jason Segel is one of the three 'slackers' before his rise to fame and right after his role Freaks and Geeks. It's nothing big, just a supporting role.

The film is really weird and out there, even for a teen comedy. One of the slackers, the ginger one, sings to his penis...and his penis literally sings back to him. He has a sock on it and it sings, mouth moves and everything. Why is this scene here? What does it do for the film? I have no idea. This character is weird and funny though, one standout scene is when he has to finish an exam and the teacher calls for pencils down. He continues to write and flips off the teacher, the teacher yells that he has failed. When he walks up to the desk the teachers says don't even bother handing it in, the ginger asks if he even knows who he is. The teachers replies no, so the kid throws his paper in the middle of the pile of tests and throws them around, then runs away. Funny and something I can see actually happening....singing penis, not so much.

I did laugh, mainly because Schwartzman stole the film. Segel has gone on to be a part of a hit show and a regular for the Apatow crew. Schwartzman has a new show on television and has his bits with Wes Anderson. Sawa? I don't even know what he's doing anymore. He has his fame when he was younger and the girls wanted him. He got ugly and fell off the map. I wanted more of their elaborate cheating schemes and less of the love story that doesn't make sense. They love each other after two or three dates?




Fright Night



After his new neighbour moves in, Charlie thinks he's a vampire.

That is Fright Night in a nutshell and the film is great eighties horror camp. Along with the Lost Boys this vampire romp is something I can watch over and over. Sarandon is Jerry the vampire is sexy and hellish. His good looks and calm demeanor is great, he oozes cool in this film. Roddy McDowall is great as Peter Vincent, Vampire Killer. The only drawback to the cast is the annoying friend Evil Ed, who is now doing gay porn. Also, to some degree Charlie Brewster himself, who I thought was an idiot.

The special effects are pure eighties and still rock to this day. I'd rather watch this film than Twilight anyday for effects....for story....for pretty much anything. Hell, even the wolf transformation is better than the stupid one from American Werewolf in Paris.

It's cheesy b-horror movie entertainment. Characters do stupid things, there's craziest effects, pure eighties soundtrack, nudity, and vampires. Good mix for a good film.

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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

Bad Lieutenant(2009) &The Warriors


Both awesome movies.

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans



If you want to see Nic Cage before he became the Hollywood money hungry actor that we've seen lately (Ghost Rider, Bangkok Dangerous, Next, The Wicker Man) then go watch this movie. It's basically Nic Cage snorting coke and freaking out for 2 hours. The thing that made us (well some of us) love him in the first place.

The trailer made the film look ridiculously bad and funny. Yet the film is seriously not. Sure there are moments where you laugh because of the ridiculousness of it all, but it's not as out there as I expected. Cage is high 90% of the film, freaks out about iguanas that might not be there, shoot a guys dead soul that is break dancing and have sex with a girl while point a gun at her boyfriend. Did I forget to mention call two elderly ladies the famous C word and cut off one of their oxygen tubes? He's nuts and it's great watching him in this role.

The rest of the cast is by the numbers. Eva Mendes is the hooker girlfriend who seems to have a little bit of a character arc near the end of the film, something that seems thrown in to add more depth to a character that had none to begin with. Val Kilmer pops up at the beginning and the end, I wanted more of him as his character was interesting.

Things go from bad to worse for Cage's character. He rightfully deserves it, after all he's a 'bad lieutenant'. There are multiple things going on around his character. He has to solve a murder of a family that was basically executed. He has to take care of his hooker 'girlfriend' after a client has a bad time with her and calls in some thugs to take care of things, his father goes to AA meetings, he has a drug and gambling habit. Tons of stuff goes on in this movie and i didn't know how it would all get resolved, but it does, in a comical way.

I would recommend it, only because people will think it will be horrendously bad and be pleasantly surprised. I sure was.

I'm undecided on the flick, considering it's allegedly not meant to be a remake, there are some very similar scenes. It wasn't the disaster expected but can't decide if i liked it. Wasn't sure on the very drab 'shot-for-tv' aesthetic and the focus was too much on Cage to develop any other characters

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My viewings for the week...

Kings and Queen (2005, Arnaud Desplechin)

Papillon (1973, Franklin J. Schaffner)

The International (2009, Tom Tykwer)

The Big Gundown (1966, Sergio Sollima)

Classe tous risques (1960, Claude Sautet)

The Lookout (2007, Scott Frank)

Bad Lieutenant : Port of call New Orleans 2009

Nicholas Cage plays an epic *******, offering a darkly humorous story about a cop who breaks every rule. Herzog doesn't really capture the addiction or any effects of longing, but even if it isn't a movie miracle, it's really fun.





Sugar 2009

A long story that's so real, it's almost boring. Soto keeps it interesting enough to stay though, the language barrier as well crams some laughter into the duller parts.





Thirst 2009

Park Chan Wook tells a story about the temptation of a priest in the cheapest way he can, with vampires. I really have no appreciation for the vampire mythology, it's never poetic in films. The reason why this is the best vampire movie, is because of how much it doesn't have to do with them.

Really don't care for Eastwood as a director, Unforgiven is awesome and Mystic River's fine - but the rest of his stuff is cheesy like this

Cheese just doesn't apply here. Pick a different way to rag on the guy, please. How are his films cheesy?

Meanwhile:

The Bishops Wife (Koster, 1947)



An old fashioned Christmas tale, this was just a tad too sentimental for my taste, and I still enjoyed watching it. The cast was fantastic, of course.


Stardust (Vaughn, 2007) ++



Lisa loved this flick, and was raving about it after it was over, but I never really warmed up to it. I liked it OK, but I felt that, like the Narnia stuff, they just didn't flesh out the fantasy world enough to draw me in. Some of the characters were fun, sure, and I do feel that they had a good script to work from, to a certain extent, but... I dunno, hard to put my finger on exactly what it was that sort of turned me off from this one. I did like the way it poked fun at the genre; that was some clever stuff, for sure. I really like Claire Danes, and I liked her in it...and yet....

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I could see why the occasional oddbody wouldn't like Clint the director because his stuff is usually constructed in a pretty conventional manner. He's an artisan rather than an artist and has surrounded himself with a fantastic crew over the years. I'm pretty certain that he wouldn't mind a bit if the films he's directed were simply referred to as Malpaso Productions rather than have his name hanging over them.

I love the unfussiness, the simplicity of his best work and still enjoy his 'lesser' films. There's something .. well .. a bit old-fashioned about Clint (and why should he change at this stage of his life?) which I really dig.

I have never seen a cheesy Eastwood film, I am fine with somebody not liking him but that just makes no sense to me how any of his films can be described as cheesy.

Carry on.