Movie Tab II

Man with a Movie Camera (Vertov, 1929)



Loved it. Non-narrative silent film with a score that was written and inserted in 1997. It took me a couple minutes to get into the style and feel of the film, but once I was there - gold!


The Brother from Another Planet (Sayles, 1984)



I liked this one. An oddly sensitive piece set in early 80s Harlem, in which an alien slave crash lands in the ghetto. There's also a really fun magic trick in the film, just sort of randomly placed in a scene.


The China Syndrome (Bridges, 1979)



I had vague memories of this film from when I saw it years and years ago. A pretty flat affair, with workmanlike performances from all the cast.


F is for Fake (Welles, 1975)



I wanted to knock another half-box off the rating, but overall, I guess it gets 3 boxes. An inconsistent piece that I felt just wasn't very rewarding. Some sections were brilliant while others just didn't work for me.


Daybreakers (Spierig, 2009)



Although the third act of this film was relatively weak, I liked the premise, in that vampires sort of take over Earth as the prime race, and, once the population of humans gets low enough, start to run into a food shortage issue. I guess it's sort of an obvious conundrum that I hadn't seen covered before. It highlighted the odd synergy vampires require with humans to continue to exist. The vamps could drink other blood to get by, but without real, true human blood, the vampires would begin to devolve into mindless savages that posed a threat to both humans and vampires. It's shot really well, and Ethan Hawke (whom I like quite a bit) does a decent job with the lead. The finale is somewhat weak, though. Too bad the market is just inundated with vamp stuff right now, as this probably would have gotten a bit more attention for its unique premise.


The Big Lebowski (Coen, 1998)



It was time to hang with The Dude again...Always fun...

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The Boat People (Ann Hui, 1982)
Interesting drama about an idealistic Japanese photojournalist working in post-war Vietnam. He begins to question the rosy self-portrait of the communist government when he realizes that he's only being shown the "model" version of their new economic zones (placing urban poor and political prisoners into rural work camps). Pretty sensitive film about a lot of brutality.


Standard Operating Procedure (Errol Morris, 2008)
I read the New Yorker article that was connected to this documentary about the Abu Ghraib scandal when it came out. The most fascinating thing about both is how little press the actual death of one of the inmates (probably due to interrogation, but not by any of the low-level people who were eventually indicted) and those photos seemed to get, compared to the more-publicized "guys in leashes" pics. This documentary talks about both through interviews with many of the people who became infamous. It's pretty interesting and leaves you with a lot of pointed but fairly open questions.

+

Blue Steel (Kathryn Bigelow, 1989)
A borderline-unwatchable movie about a female rookie cop (Jamie Lee Curtis) who "normal" guys shun and the other cops look down on (I still have a hard time deciding whether it's because she's a woman or because she's incompetent and unprofessional). Everything about this just seems a bit off, from the cursory "heart-to-heart" she has with her abusive dad to the way the evil defense attorney misuses quasi-technical terms (like entrapment) while his rich client runs around shooting people on the street. Everyone just seems comically stupid. If you're in the mood for an over-the-top action movie from Bigelow just watch Point Break. This is at the same level as an episode of Law and Order: SVU.



A Taxing Woman's Return (Juzo Itami, 1988)
Impostor (Gary Fleder, 2001)
Hard Rain (Mikael Salomon, 1998) +
Uncle Boonmee (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010) +
Gorgeous (Vincent Kok, 1999)
Comes a Horseman (Alan J. Pakula) +

I found Mission: Impossible to be very entertaining. I'm a fan of the entire series. I think of them as complete nonsense (the first one had the best story), but very fun nonsense to watch. That suffices for me, as it's all I expect from such a film. The pacing in all 3 movies was good; they're visually solid and the acting is ok. I don't mind the stories not being original or sophisticated (although the first one tried to be) because they're pretty up front about it. I rate the first one +, the second and third one .

I too am a fan of De Palma. Wait, don't know if you're actually a fan. Are you? Anyway, I think he's one of the great visual stylists of today. People often rip him for being a bad imitator of Hitchcock and Kubrick, but I think technically, the guy is just all-around solid. Ok, his plot development is often not up to par with the visuals, which does lead to some bad results. De Palma can go overboard with the scenes he makes, showing his technical prowess but also making the story incomprehensible.

This is how I rate the ones I've seen:

Carlito's Way +
Blow Out
The Untouchables
Dressed to Kill +
Mission: Impossible +
Scarface +
Femme Fatale +
Sisters +
Redacted +
Casualties of War
Snake Eyes

I'd agree to a certain extent, but I also have a soft spot for some of DePalma's work. I think I'd rate MI a bit higher than Lines, but not too much. I like DePalma's entry into the franchise, but i like JJ's Part 3 just as much, if not a tad more.

For DePalma, Blow Out comes first for me easily, followed by The Untouchables. I dislike Scarface.

However, for some dumb entertainment, I'll watch Mission to Mars, Mission Impossible, Body Double, Sisters...I even own a copy of Dressed to Kill, even though that film goes directly off a cliff at the end.

Thanks for the comment, Brodinski!

Yeah, I like Brian De Palma a lot. A lot of that love is for the eye and the way he moves his camera. I think he's going for some sort of cinematic version of an impressionistic meditation on light and time and color where he'll explode a single moment or event into a rather elaborate scene. This is what a lot of people seem to cite as examples of self-indulgence or excess (lots of slow-mo, jarring shifts in tone...) but that's one of the things I love the most about movies. For a while now there's been a trend in the opposite direction: frenetic cuts, deliberately shaky hand-held shots that give less and less information. I like a lot of those movies too but the contrast of modern thrillers makes me appreciate De Palma's camera all the more.

I have to admit that the incomprehensibility of some of his films also doesn't bother me (I loved the first half-hour or so of Raising Cain but felt a little bit let down when that initial strangeness started to get explained away.) I guess I'll take it on a case-by-case basis though.

I'm planning to watch M:I 2 soon. I didn't dislike the first one but compared to the strong prologue and first act I felt let down by the last two-thirds of the movie. On the other hand, The Untouchables is in many ways even lighter on plot and character than Mission: Impossible but it's great fun and a personal favorite of mine.

Here's how I rate them (you can also check through my posts in this thread since last february, when I watched Femme Fatale. After that I think most of my De Palma comments started in late June/early July. These ratings are from memory and probably aren't a 100% match to what's in all those posts):

Hi, Mom!
Sisters
Phantom of the Paradise
Obsession
Carrie
The Fury
Dressed to Kill
Blow Out
Scarface
Body Double
Wise Guys
The Untouchables
Casualties of War
Bonfire of the Vanities
Raising Cain
Carlito's Way
Mission: Impossible
Snake Eyes
Mission to Mars
Femme Fatale
The Black Dahlia
Redacted

Indeed, I do sometimes think he's using certain scenes to showboat. Then again, there's no denying the beauty of what De Palma in top form can realize. In every film, there are scenes that are achingly beautiful. I don't even mind too much when a scene goes on and on. It's weird, because I am no fan at all of Terry Gilliam, a guy who will also do things the way he envisions and not care too much about his audience. I for one dislike the feeling of weirdness that comes with most of his films. And yes, I like the deliberate elaborateness of De Palma's scenes as opposed to the current trend of doing everything harder and faster (one of the things I dislike about Paul Greengrass).

Not that anyone cares, but here's how I'd rate De Palma.

Obsession
Carrie
Dressed to Kill
Scarface
Body Double
The Untouchables
Casualties of War
Raising Cain
Carlito's Way
Mission: Impossible
Snake Eyes

Like Lines, these are from memory. I usually find that De Palma's direction gets in the way of my enjoying his films (I call him Brian "Looks at me! I've got a camera" De Palma.) Therefore, combined with the memory, you may be able to add a half popcorn to each rating. Not for Obssession, though. That was one of the longest films I've ever seen in my life. I think it went on for, at least, 3 days.

Deception
Irving Rapper, 1946




Peeping Tom
Michael Powell, 1960

It has been a long rainy week so me and the kids have watched alot of movies

MegaMind 2010 Tom McGrath
My little ones really like this film, I don't mind it but it is nothing special.This film has a few good laughs.


Cinderella 1950
One of my favorite films to sit down and watch with my daughters.


City Lights 1931 Charles Chaplin
I have been watching alot of classic films latley and I have alot of catching up to do but I really loved this film. This is my first silent film I have watched and I am surprised how much I liked it



Moon 2009 Duncan Jones
It was nice to see a film about clones that do not turn out to be evil


The Believer 2001 Henry Bean
Ryan Glossing rocks Alot diffrent from his starting role on Breaker High

I care Honey Kid but 5 Popcorns for Scarface

One of the greatest films ever made. Scarface was made in 1983 and yet the 80's spent the rest of the decade trying to catch up. When people think 80's, they think Wall Street, but Scarface is the 80's.

Yeah, I love it.

I'm in the camp that firmly believes De Palma's Scarface is an embarrassing, smoldering turd.

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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 think is just perfect for Scarface. "Say hello to my little friend!"

We need to setup a debate on this topic with you on one side and every single hip hop artist of all time on the other.

Due Date - Very funny, but surprisingly dark comedy with Robert Downey Jr. as a stressed out father to be and Zach Galifinakis as a pot smoking, over-friendly would be actor who share a long road trip to L.A. This film went to fairly dark places I did NOT expect, and I think it made it better than it could have been otherwise. Thumbs up.

The Fighter - This one's worth it for Christian Bale alone, but the rest of the cast is fantastic as well, and there's a lot to love in the real life story of "Irish" Micky Ward, a down and out boxer who needs to overcome his family and his upbringing before he can defeat his opponents in the ring. Plus Amy Adams is incredibly sexy in this.

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

https://shawnsmovienight.blogspot.com/

Holden and Sedai on one side.... I can't stand Scarface.


Anyway....

The Blind Side (Hancock, 2009)



Yeah...it's kinda sappy, but I liked it. Bullock was good, and Quinton Aaron was just great. I liked that this film took people from all walks of life, religions, and backgrounds and put them ALL in good light, and left them there. No tearing down of this school of thought or that...

I don't think it's that bad, but not all that great either. It seems very popular and loved by many people though. Although I get the impression that quite a few on this board don't like it... at all

And you would be right.

Meanwhile:

The Fighter (Russell, 2010)

Good stuff. Bale was fantastic, as I had heard. I felt like Amy Adams was miscast a bit, and I wasn't over the moon with her performance. She was good enough though, and I loved all the bit players. Take it from someone that lives 20 miles from Lowell, MA, all the family stuff with Ward and Bale felt damn authentic, and I have met many people that are similar to the folks in his family. Not too many, though, luckily...

Catch-up on ratings here. No time for discussion.

The Big Trees (Felix Feist, 1952)
Winter Light (Ingmar Bergman, 1963) Art House Rating:
The Witches of Eastwick (George Miller, 1987)
Loving Couples (Jack Smight, 1980)
All That Jazz (Bob Fosse, 1979)


Deep Blue Sea (Renny Harlin, 1999)
Monsters (Gareth Edwards, 2010)
The Vanishing (George Sluzier, 1993, Remake)
The Eiger Sanction (Clint Eastwood, 1975)


Villa Rides! (Buzz Kulik, 1968)
The Proposal (Anne Fletcher, 2009)
Shock Treatment (Denis Sanders, 1964)
Who the Fv(k is Jackson Pollock? (Harry Moses, 2006) +
The Sting II (Jeremy Paul Kagen, 1983) (Sorry about that... )
Tootsie (Sydney Pollack, 1982)


Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)
No Country for Old Men (Coen Bros., 2007) +
The Carpetbaggers (Edward Dmytryk, 1964) -
There Will Be Blood (PT Anderson, 2007) +
A Change of Seasons (Richard Lang, 1980)
The Gay Desperado (Rouben Mamoulian, 1935)


Who Framed Roger Rabbit (Robert Zemeckis, 1988)
The Painted Veil (Richard Boleslawski, 1934)


Stamboul Quest (Sam Wood, 1934)
The Red Shoes (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1948)
Harry and Tonto (Paul Mazursky, 1974)
The Outlaw Josey Wales (Clint Eastwood, 1976)
127 Hours (Danny Boyle, 2009)
The Projectionist (Harry Hurwitz, 1971)


Sing and Like It (William A. Seiter, 1934)
Smarty (Robert Florey, 1934)
Biography of a Bachelor Girl (Edward H. Griffith, 1935)
Monte Walsh (William A. Fraker, 1970)
Lean on Me (John G. Avildsen, 1989)
Despicable Me (Pierre Coffin & Chris Renaud, 2010) +


Secretariat (Randall Wallace, 2010)
Law Abiding Citizen (F. Gary Gray, 2009)
The River's Edge (Allan Dwan, 1957)
The Masque of the Red Death (Roger Corman, 1964)


Premature Burial (Roger Corman, 1962)

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Thats because you really are a secret Cocaine addict.