Movie Tab II

That Hamilton Woman (Alexander Korda, 1941)

Vivien Leigh was obviously one of the most beautiful women ever, as well as one of the greatest actresses. This film is one of her best teamings with husband Laurence Olivier. In this film, her Emma is vivacious, strong and whimsical all at the same time. Anybody who believes that Ms. Leigh did not deserve her Oscar for Best Actress two years earlier for GWTW is basically delusional in my book, but she's actually almost as good in this flick. It portrays the way that Lady Hamilton, the wife of the British ambassador (Alan Mowbray) to Naples, met Lord Nelson (Laurence Olivier), the greatest British militaty seaman ever, and proceeded to help him at every instant possible against Napoleon despite the ineffectualness of her husband. Eventually, the sailor and the noblewoman become lovers, and the film is mostly-entertaining, but it does go on for just a little bit too long to be as successful as it could have been. Lord Nelson really does undergo a crapload of physical torment during his tenure as British naval hero.

The Fastest Gun Alive (Russell Rouse, 1956) +

The only film which I recall Rouse directed that was truly watchable was his first one, The Well. This one has a huge cast and a Frank D. Gilroy script based on his own novel, but to me, it's mostly a lot of talk leading up to a fairly-decent conclusion. The talk along the way seems somewhat similar to the dialogue exchanges in High Noon, but they just don't seem to carry the same gravitas. As I mentioned, the cast is first-rate, including Glenn Ford, Jeanne Crain, Broderick Crawford, John Dehner, Allen Joslyn, Noah Beery, Jr., Russ Tamblyn, Leif Erickson, Rhys Williams, etc. The opening scene, where Brod Crawford rides into a town and challenges the fastest gun in the territory, does set up the movie well, but it's a long haul to get to the final confrontation. I don't know. Maybe I lied earlier this evening and I AM a hardass. My fave Gilroy flick is the Charles Bronson/Jill Ireland ironic romantic flick, From Noon Till Three.

The War Against Mrs. Hadley (Harold S. Buquet, 1942)

OK, so I'll be the first to say that this topical WWII soap opera probably isn't as good as the Glenn Ford flick, but my ratings of 2 and 2.5 both take up a lot of space. The cast in this one is just as impressive, although it mostly contains middle-aged women, but even so, look at this cast! Fay Bainter, Edward Arnold, Richard Ney, Jean Rogers, Sara Allgood, Spring Byington, Van Johnson, Isobel Elsom, Stephen McNally, etc. If you are one of the males in the cast or a relative of the self-same, please forgive me for calling you/him a middle-aged female, but since I'm at such an appropriate age, I thought it was worth mentioning. Mrs. Hadley (Fay Bainter) is friends with FDR, but her birthday in 1941 (Dec. 7) kinda puts a damper on her whole year, what with sons enlisting and the man whom her daughter wants to marry also enlisting. It's basically balderdash, but it gets away with a lot of topicality since it came out in the summer of '42.

Frisco Jenny (William A. Wellman, 1932)

Wellman sure directed a lot of pre-Code flicks. This one is most memorable for a pretty good scene near the beginning showing the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. It's really quite impressive. Then, it's a segue to a major '30s melodrama where a mom (Ruth Chatterton) will even accept the death penalty to protect her district attorney son from finding out that she's gone bad. In between, we have plenty of vice and violence, but even with no Code, it's amazing how much of the plot is only implied and not actually spelled out.

Midnight Mary (William A. Wellman, 1933)



The details don't really match, but it's freaky how similar this flick is to the last one. Wellman does become infatuated with editing by sliding his scenes horizontally across the screen to get to the next one, but I never grew tired of it. I've always been infatuated with Loretta Young, but she's especially drop-dead sexy in this flick. Once again, the female lead gets involved with crooks and murderers and doesn't really do all that much to try to escape from it. And, also once again, this is a pre-Code flick, but it's surprisingly Puritanical (or is that romantic?) in the way it "allows" one of the male leads to take the fall along with Ms. Young.

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

A Prophet 2010

A new nothing to everything crime film. While the leads performances are certainly compelling enough, the movie has no set pieces and a distinct lack of memorable supporting characters.





Crazy Heart 2009

Bridges is great, Gyllenhaal is great. The tale is very familiar though, I mean it's exactly the same premise as The Wrestler. Bad Blake has a lot in common with Randy the Ram, but as the story progresses the two start to diverge. Colin Farrell gives a stellar supporting performance of his own and adds some much needed exuberance. Crazy Heart is full of subtle brilliance, but just not enough of it's own thing to go around.





Nine 2009 (get it ?)

If you don't like the music, you don't like the musical. I thought Nine would bring some much needed energy and life to Fellini's widely applauded 8 1/2. The final product is faulty and a lot less personal than the original. The bottom line is the soundtrack. The instruments are mild, the lyrics are downright terrible. With the exception of Fergie's rendition of "Be Italian", the songs will have you crawling for the exit.

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The Dark Knight

Ok, so I'm about two years behind the rest of the planet, but I finally got round to watching this. Good film. Not in any way worthy of being #10 in imdb's top 250 (but then again, imdb's top 250 isn't worthy of being taken too seriously itself). It certainly kept me gripped (and Mr Next too, and he doesn't like action films in general and particularly not comic book films). The screenplay did some clever things here with your preconceptions - you know it should be Commissioner Gordon, you know how Harvey Dent will turn out - but then again, with major characters unexpectedly killed off, do you really know anything? There were flaws in the plotting. It was a bit long. IT was a bit silly. It was... scary isn't the right word. Tense. I absolutely believed that hospitals or boats full of people could be blown up, hostages killed, and that was a major strength of the film, there was never that kind of tension in Batman Forever (I rolled my eyes when they played the same 'you can only save one' plotline...but then... well, if you've seen the film you know). With this film you absolutely don't know in advance that Batman will save the day, get the girl etc. etc. and it's all the better for it. Some of the Saw style moral dilemmas were a step too far, and I found the bit with the children held hostage a bit upsetting - I can't believe that this film is rated 12 in the UK, absolutely not suitable for children despite the lack of blood. A cut above most comic book films, though, definitely. 4/5

rewatched some olds lately:

femme fatale -- just noticed ebert gave it a perfect score. i'm not quite that brave but it's a pretty fun and really unpredictable film. as weird and pretentious as lynch at his weirdest, but more vulgar and it still sort of works as a thriller.
you can't cheat an honest man if you can stomach some really lousy ventriloquism around which an entire romance subplot is improbably structured, raise my rating by 1 box, there is some really funny stuff in this one. The best bits are all verbal. "I drove three hundred miles on two tires and two boa constrictors."
Knock Off -- If you can't stomach Rob Sneider or a movie that basically pisses all over the idea of good acting, drop this one by a box of popcorn. That's kind of the point of the movie though. I'm kind of fascinated by stuff like this though. It's full of cliches, at the same time it's really original and weird.
Time and Tide -- This one by the same director as Knock Off is a bit more polished but only slightly less tongue-in-cheek.

Nothing wrong with some good old JCVD.

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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

The Silent World (Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle) 1956

This film won a Oscar for best documentary in a feature film, and a Golden Palm.

Most of you are familiar with the work of Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle.

So were is a high quality transfer of such a beautifully shot, historically significant film?

Nowhere.

Why?

Because the makers of this film are not proud of it.

Maybe in 1956 it would have been acceptable to do what the crew of the Calypso does to marine life in the name of science, but not now.

They dynamite a cove to see what kind of species are there.

I guess it is a lot faster to check when they're dead.

Later, in the most gruesome scene, our captain accidental runs over a baby Sperm Whale.

The crew puts the whale out of its misery by harpooning it, then shooting it to death.

As if that wasn't enough, when sharks come to eat the corpse, they take revenge
by spearing the animals, pulling them onto the deck, then axing them in the head.

Note to crew, the whale is dead, you killed it, you are avenging nothing.

Other problems I had with the film.

Beside being horrible Oceanographers, or whatever title these ignorant hacks want to give themselves, they are lousy actors.

Some of the scenes are obviously staged, or reenactments.

Ed Wood could be proud of these performances.

This film is obviously a huge influence for Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

That being said, putting the film in historic context, I would still recommend it.



The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou


P.S. versions are available online such as YouTube.

They dynamite a cove? Jesus... I used to watch those guys growing up. Jacques was always a bit of a goof ball. Maybe that's why, too much black powder being snorted.

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

With glee, they show a Puffer Fish expelling all of its water, then dying.

It's okay though, it was done in the name of science.

I don't see what the difference between these guys and idiots that slaughter herds of Elk for the horns.

I guess the hunters didn't do it in the name of science.

Thanks for replying so quick PW.

Legion(2010)- Ahh it alright kind of a different approach to the apocalypse it turns out that everybody hates humans heaven and hell


Ninja Assassin(2009)-hmm that one is like the teenage life of a ninja and it looks like a live action Japanese anime.crap


Vicky Christina Barcelona(2008)-now that one I finished 5 minutes ago but watched maybe the last hour of it because it was on tv however I can say that its a pretty good movie with a really fascinating story maybe people that are used to Woody Alen movies will probably see a lot of references to his previous works however I am new to his film but I'll try to catch up quickly
(just because I need to see it from the beginning)

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I'm in movie heaven

Svengali (Archie Mayo, 1931) + -

This '31 horror flick qualifies to be discussed along with Frankenstein, Dracula and The Mummy, but it's not a Universal Picture. This one is from Warner Bros. and one of their top early sound directors, Archie Mayo. Barrymore's eyes are awesome in the way he controls the love of his life Trilby (Marian Marsh, who projects an incredible combination of sex and innocence) and turns her into a famous opera singer by stealing her from her boyfriend. The thing about Svengali's powers are that they can never actually make her fall in love with him, so in many ways, Svengali is both a monster and one of us fools who fall in love with the wrong woman (will we ever learn?). The flick is quite brilliant visually, filled with all that German expressionism which Universal was using. Maybe I'm underrating it, but I do think it's the least of these six flicks in this tab.

Prince of Players (Phillip Dunne, 1955) -

This flick is a real acting feast. Richard Burton plays the great Shakespearean actor Edwin Booth and performs a series of wonderful scenes on stage and in rehearsal. However his brother John Wilkes Booth (John Derek), another famous Shakespearean actor, decides to give his heart and soul to the Confederacy during the American Civil War, and he makes his way closer and closer to try to kill President Abraham Lincoln. The film is fascinating in its concept of Shakespeare in 19th century America, the conflicted era of the Civil War, and the rough-and-tumble relationship between the Booth Bros.

Some Came Running (Vincente Minnelli, 1958) -

I don't know what to say here... Minnelli is one of the most interesting directors in Hollywood history. his forte (pronounced "fort") seemed to be the musical (Meet Me in St. Louis, Gigi, An American in Paris, Cabin in the Sky, The Band Wagon, Brigadoon, The Pirate, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (yes, even you, Jack Nicholson!), but he also punched out romantic comedies (Father of the Bride, Designing Woman, The Reluctant Debutante), as well as some of the most colorful and flamboyant melodramas (Lust For Life, Home From the Hill, The Bad and the Beautiful, Madame Bovary, The Sandpiper AND Some Came Running. This film is pretty much all fake in a cinema-sorta way, but the lighting is always spectacular and in-your-face. Thus it's basically Minnelli's impressionistic follow-up to what he thought happened in the same author's From Here to Eternity. Although Sinatra's Maggio died in the earlier flick, his alter ego writer showed up in this one.


Love Me or Leave Me (Charles Vidor, 1955) -

This is another one of those flicks where personalities really played a big deal. I'm pretty sure that Cagney thought he'd have a substantial role as Marty Snyder, the husband of big band singer Ruth Etting (Doris Day) who grows more and more attached to her pianist Johnny Alderman (Cameron Mitchell). Day sings at least a dozen classics, and if that's enough for you to tune in, you'll love it. If you aren't a big fan of Day or Etting, you might wonder what the big deal is, and trust me, even with Cagney as the main instigator here, he gets boring after about halfway through because all his character says is "I did this for you. You can't do anything for yourself. I'm in charge", etc, but it gets to a point where it's obvious that he has no more control.

L.A. Story (Mick Jackson, 1991} -

This is a totally-legit and pretty-original romantic comedy where scripter/"local newscaster" Steve Martin went out of his way to include "characters" which may seem unique to Los Angeles. For example, the freeway signs give him positive romantic feedback when he most needs it while dealing with British journalist Victoria Tennant (who eventually married Steve Martin and stayed with him for eight years). The supporting characters include Sarah Jessica Parker as Martin's "Baby Girl" partner and Richard E. Grant who went against type and screwed the brains out of the lovely Ms. Tennant in the hotel room next to Martin's. That's the way it goes, Dude! What are you going to do about it?


Blackboard Jungle (Richard Brooks, 1955) -

Awesome photo. Try to name all those flippin' juvenile delinquents! My fave is Paul Mazursky who got this acting gig referenced in his autobiographical flick Next Stop, Greenwich Village, one of my Top 100 flicks. My best friend's younger sister formed the fan club of the guy in the front left and obviously became the President of that self-same club (kinda reminds me of Austruck... ) "Rock Around the Clock" is one of the seminal rock and roll songs and it plays at both the beginning and the end of this flick. It really does remind me of the Continuaton high schools here in Santa Ana, but nowadays, this seems awfully lightweight, no matter how much blood Vic Morrow's knife draws off of his teacher Glenn Ford.

Shutter Island

After the disappearance of one of the patients on Shutter Island, two Marshalls are assigned to the case and figure out what's going on. The only problem is that the people working there aren't really helping, and weird things start happening.

Scorsese and my favourite genre? Instant win. The film is so masterfully crafted and well shot that it almost feels too good to be a part of this genre. Yet the script and theme fits perfectly. Yes, I knew the ending when they first showed the trailer ages ago, but that did not spoil the intrigue and suspense this film had. There were even a few surprises added on which was nice.

Dicaprio is a gain, on his game. He pulls out crazy very well. It's not a spoiler that he goes a little crazy while investigating, it's all over the trailers. Added to the cast of characters if Mark Ruffalo, he does his best as the sidekick, Ben Kingsley and Max Von Sydow as eerie doctors , Elias Koteas in creepy make-up in one scene and a scene stealing Jackie Earle Haley.

The film has it's Kubrick feel here and there, but it's Scorsese's stamp on it. It doesn't reach the heights of his previous efforts, but it's still better than 90% of the stuff that's out there. Scorsese knows this genre well enough to know where to pull the strings. The music is a key part in this and the restriction of jump scares shows that this is a well done film that wants to focus more on it's story, than to scare the audience. That being said, the film is not scary, but it does make you feel uneasy at times. When they go to Ward C, you can't help but feel the hair on your neck stand up as they search the halls.

The twist is obvious, but the unravelling of everything is interesting enough to keep your attention. At times I did question myself, but in the end I knew I was right. Scorsese is able to chip away piece by piece the lead character's sanity to make the film work. Some people may feel cheated, others will like it. I found myself liking it, even if some of it is a bit out there.

Shutter Island is one of the better films you'll probably see this year, it's no masterpiece and it tends to be a the long side of the running time, but it works.

Before I go to bed...

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre -

Goodnight.

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999)

Patchy version of Shakespeare's famous play. Some of the actors and actresses are very good (Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Everett are well cast, even if he does look a bit rent-boyish at times) and some are not so good (all the lovers are fairly dull and often mangle the verse). The Pyramus and Thisbe scene is funny but there doesn't appear to be much consistancy and bizarrely it's set in 19th century Italy (so they can wheel around on bicycles).




A Midsummer Night's Dream (1996)

Quirky slightly kinky filmed version of the 1994 stage production of the play. It's refreshingly dark and with an interesting twist- the actor and actress playing Theseus and Hippolyta also play Oberon and Titania (both of them are very good). The double role adds an interesting fantasy layer to the play and it's visually stunning. The guy playing Puck is also much better than the 1999, where he looks like something you'd hire for a cheap hen night.
Two bad points: one graphic scene between Titania and Bottom (lots of groaning and what-not) and to mix the play up a bit for film, there's a random boy who watches. It doesn't add anything really (I didn't like it in Titus either) and the poor boy will probably need therapy after watching it (they've sort of done it so he's like the changeling boy and it's his dream, though why he would dream the fairies as something out of an 80's pop video is beyond me).

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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)

Shutter Island

I actually saw this one twice this weekend and, though I did like it on my initial viewing, I enjoyed myself more the second time around. This may not be Scorcese's usual type of film, he proved to be just as masterful at it. The darkness of the cinematography and the nearly overpowering score set the mood of absolute dread and paranoia, the cast all skillfully bring their characters to life and - though the main twist may not be very well veiled - there are many smaller twists that I sure didn't see coming and it was one fun ride.

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To Die For

First up in my Joaquin Phoenix movie marathon. For some reason I usually tend to avoid this film and after rewatching it last night I really can't explain why. I'm not generally fond of Nicole Kidman but I thought she brought the perfect blend of ruthlessness and cunning, all hidden behind the veil of a pretty face and blonde hair. The rest of the cast do well here too, with personal favorite Joaquin Phoenix playing the perfect lovestruck and dimwitted stoner/slacker/loser teen type (alongside his real life best friend Casey Affleck). All in all a very fun movie.






Inventing the Abbotts

This has always been a favorite. On one hand, it's a sweet little romance between a middle class boy and a wealthy girl who grow up alongside each other. On the other hand, it's a tale of the damages and trauma caused by obsession, rumors, fantasies and lies. Each cast member does well in their respective roles, with Joaquin Phoenix bringing a certain innocence and vulnerability that makes him irresistable.

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That looks nifty, M. I actually know a descendant of the Booths (not that he's entirely proud of the family history ). Think that's some dramatic history I could dig for sure.

And German impressionism horror too. Perfick

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Virtual Reality chatter on a movie site? Got endless amounts of it here. Reviews over here

I went with a friend last night to see it

After we went out to we talked a lot about what was going on in the movie as neither of us had read anything about it on purpose I like it when movies make me think about them after

Being a psychiatric Nurse I was interested it from a different point of view than my friend it was important to me that they get the medication etc right and they did

I enjoyed it a lot

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

U Turn

And the Phoenix marathon continues with this gem from Oliver Stone. A colorful and memorable cast of characters fills this tale of betrayal, desperation, murder and incest and bring with them a whole lot of laughter. Phoenix is particular great as hot headed and dumb as dirt Toby N. Tucker, a.k.a. "TNT" - because when he's just like dynamite: when he goes off, somebody gets hurt.

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Ballada o soldate [ Grigori Chukhrai, 1959 ] - "A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic" is the famous quote by Stalin. In this movie we see a marvellous illustration of the sentiment.

The boy and girl are idealized, but were there ever two more charming performers? Moreover, it's that natural glow amidst the seediest surroundings that suggests what some might call a triumph of the human spirit. I was captivated by a warmth and chemistry seemingly so unforced and unrehearsed that I marvel at how it was done. In my book, it's one of the great compelling love stories of the big screen.

Also, there are the stunning visuals. Those vast Russian steppes may be flat and boring. Nonetheless, the corresponding big sky makes a magnificent backdrop for heroic low-angle shots of those dwelling amidst the vastness. Then there's that long dusty road at film's end, leading off into a great unknown that Alyosha must now travel.

The movie remains a timeless humanist classic.

I saw a really great flick last week...

The Guitar (Amy Redford - 2008)



Just exceptional. If this is the sort of film we can expect from Bobby's daughter, I can't wait till the next one. It is a very simple and very complex story all in one.

Melody Wilder (Saffron Burrows) has the absolute worst day of her life when she learns she has a terminal illness and has only days or perhaps as much as two months to live. To top things off she loses her job and then her boyfriend all in the same day. Sure, the beginning of the film is a little over the top with the whole "pile on" thing but the story afterwords is what's really interesting to me.



After she has all of this happen to her she walks out her door and completely changes her life. Its the journey she takes that interests me. And its a shame I can't really expand on it more without completely spoiling the whole film more than I already have. I will say that as a member of AA I have had the pleasure of hearing a tale similar to this one on more than one occasion. I've even heard of a man who before he got sober cured himself of cancer. The doctor's told him that they didn't believe the cancer could live inside of his body because his body was so toxic. Yeah more toxic than cancer... it happens. Something similar happens in this film and I thought it was brilliant.

Do check it out won't you?

Return to Paradise

And the Phoenix marathon continues with this, the first of two collaborations with actor Vince Vaughn. The basic premise is this: two men must decide whether to return to the Phillipines to take their share of the responsibility for a drug charge and serve out a prison sentence in order to save their friend from being executed. Vince Vaughn does rather well as "Sheriff," a sort of man child who begins the movie as a wise-cracking, sarcastic, selfish man with no real goals and no direction. But by the end of the film, he finds in himself the strength to give of himself and do the right thing. Joaquin Phoenix is phenomenal as "Lewis McBride" a sort of long-haired, hippy, tree hugging type who's a little off his rocker, which I suppose some might say isn't too much of a stretch, but he quite skillfully gives the role just the right mix of vulnerability and desperation. A very moving film, but one that takes too much out of me emotionally to watch with any real frequency.

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Clay Pigeons

This is the movie that made me love Vince Vaughn. He is pitch perfect as the hilarious but also creepy and charismatic "Lester Long," a man with a really screwed up idea of what friendship means and who gets his kicks stabbing women to death. Joaquin Phoenix is also great as "Clay Bidwell," a local boy who befriends Lester and, as the bodies pile up, finds himself getting the blame for Lester's crimes (as well as a few others) and must take matters into his own hands to stop him. Like U Turn, this movie is full of memorable characters and delivers a huge helping of humor to a subject that is normally treated with much more gravity - murder. If you're at all a fan of Vince Vaughn or if you just have a twisted sense of humor like I do, this is one movie you must see.