Movie Tab II

I had no idea this movie was in the public domain, but it's in the internet archive.

Here's the link if anyone's interested: http://www.archive.org/details/BadTaste1987

If this isn't public domain and it's an illegal copy, I apologize. Take it down and my feelings wont be hurt.

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The Apartment

This was my first time seeing The Apartment and it was such an experience. Not at all what I was expecting. I've somehow managed to make it through these last couple years of being a wannabe cinephile without ever finding out what the movie was about. On tv they only show the comedic clips of Jack Lemmon acting like a goofball so I went in thinking the movie was about an apartment building full of quirky likable characters and there was one apartment in specific in which some of them would often congregate. Jeez. But my lack of absolutely any knowledge of the film going in made for such a brilliant time! Someone just started a thread about that didn't they? Coincidence?

I was shocked at how bitter sweet the movie was. Wilder did a fantastic job of mixing the comedy with the drama and I really love the way he worked the camera in some scenes. Just as much credit for this film's success is due also to Jack Lemmon who delivered an outstanding performance as the nice guy much in need of a spine. There were points in the movie I actually thought his character was being too nice and understanding, but then I realized I know people like that. Shirley MacLaine also did an excellent job in convincing us that Lemmon's character could actually fall for Kubelik despite her flaws. It didn't hurt that I thought she was a knockout. Short hair rocks!! And I got to mention Fred MacMurray who played his role as a downright acidic sleezeball to perfection. Oh how I wanted to punch him.

Thank God for public libraries and their surprisingly impressive DVD selection.

The Lives of Others -

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Iro's Top 100 Movies v3.0

Oh man check this out...


I haven't seen this in almost 20 years, dig this cast. Robert Urich, Angelica Huston, and Ron Perlman to name a few, the thing about a movie like this and say movies like Flash Gordon was they were really trying you know? I mean look at the costumes and all the little stuff going on in those movies. The bad movies today don't even make an attempt to be like this, I'm not trying to convince anyone that this is a good film, but they did try to make it entertaining. And to me when I was a kid watching Battlestar Galactica and Buck Rogers and Star Trek, this movie seemed pretty cool. And, honestly it still is.



Also watched this last night...

I thought it was really good, I'm not sold on Daniel Craig as Bond yet but this was supposed to be his first real mission, and I thought they did a pretty good job pulling that off. I'm now a little more interested in the next one.

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

Scorched

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

The Ninth Gate – for the most part, it’s an entertaining mystery thriller, and Depp’s character gives the movie a much-needed comic relief, making the movie feel much less pretentious than it might have been with all the religious elements present. It also features a great score, some pretty suspenseful scenes and a great cast, but the movie fails at too many levels to be nearly as good as any of the movies it pastiches (those directed by Polanski as well).

What struck me as some of The Ninth Gate’s biggest flaws were the supernatural elements of the story. I know that this movie tries to subvert genre rules 'n' all that (trying to fit into the Angel Heart-initiated supernatural neo-noir genre), and I don’t mind a bit of supernatural every now and then, but I’d like the movie much better had the mystery stayed unresolved, and had it been left to the audience to decide whether or not the events on the screen have really got to do with some otherworldly forces, or if it’s just some person’s cunning scheme. You may still argue that it’s the latter, but the extremely silly scene in which the girl shows her superpowers proves the contrary.

On the other hand, if everything depicted in the movie is a dream, then it’s much worse. “Everything is a dream” is a story device so overused, that it should be banned from movies for good. Okay, maybe it shouldn’t be, because I love Lynch movies and surrealism in general, but why do so many movies tend to use it so much nowadays?

A small cult following that this movie’s got according to Wikipedia most likely exists simply because of its much debated ending. And it would be a good ending, had the movie not ruin its premise earlier. The ending would, under different circumstances, feel like a natural progression to the story, but this way, it feels much more like an easy way out for a shoe-string budget.

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Juno - Second time
First Sunday

I suppose I'll have to examine why I like this movie so much in light of some of your complaints which seem valid. This one I quoted though, seems like a non sequitur to me. What things in the narrative could lead you to think it's a dream? I actually really liked how all the really odd supernatural elements in the story are almost just taken for granted after they happen. That was something cool and unusual about both this and Rosemary's Baby.

Some of the supporting characters feel as if they were a product of Depp's imagination. For example, the girl is constantly one step ahead of him, and the fact that we are never actually shown who does the killings may also suggest that he's pulling all the strings, though he's unaware of it. The visuals also made the movie feel surreal and dream-like, and the final scene, with the sky looking extremely stylized and odd, hints that it all may be the protagonist's dream.

Of course, not much of what I said is a proof that it's a dream, but I did say "if". There is no evidence that it was intended to be that way, but it is a clever-clever resolution writers and directors tend to use lately, and the device isn't entirely unfamiliar to Polanski (he did use it in the masterpiece that is The Tenant).

And another pip...

Sometimes I get all sentimental about the 80's and I know a lot of the films I love from that time aren't great or in this case even good, but I can't help the fact that I love this flick. It certainly doesn't hurt that I have a thing for Diane Lane always have ever since The Outsiders and still do. It's just an over the top goofy flick that I hold dear.

I'd give Streets of Fire the same rating. Great eclectic cast, colorful sights and sounds, a sledgehammer duel, AND the Blasters!

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

Highlander -

Yeah, they're just aren't nearly enough movies with sledgehammer fights in my ever so humble opinion.

A River Runs Through It (1992) 3½/5

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The River

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If God had wanted me otherwise, He would have created me otherwise.

Johann von Goethe

Assualt on Precinct 13

Which one?

The Renoir picture? That's one of my favorite movies...that's the one right? If it is, what didn't you like about it?

Black Book


This WWII era movie follows a Jewish woman's efforts to help the Dutch resistance was easy enough to get into and the 2 and a half hours go by pretty quick, but I found a lot of the supporting characters to be cheap caricatures with little depth. The supporting performances were just as standard and didn't do anything to raise their weakly written roles out of mediocrity. I did like the main character though, despite some rather quick (and major) changes in her that are never fully validated. Carice Van Houten who plays the lead went a little too far into the realm of melodrama for my taste in some scenes, but I enjoyed watching her on-screen for the most part. It's hard to believe that the guy responsible for Robocop directed this, but it's true and his confident direction along with the nifty production value kept me nice and entertained.

Word of advice. If you're interested in a great movie about the underground European resistance against the Nazis during WWII, check out Army of Shadows instead of this.