Track the Films You Watch (2005) (1 Viewer)

[SteveGon]

Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)

Viewed 1/22/2005 (first viewing)

Pretty funny satire on caper flicks as a group of would-be thieves plan to rob a pawnshop of a purported stash of jewels. The crooks here are maybe a notch above the Keystone Cops in competency!

:star: :star: :star: 1/2 out of :star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Jim_K]

Virgin Spring is certainly one of Bergman's most accessible films & it's a favorite of mine. Hopefully a R1 Criterion is in it's future.


I think Big Deal on Madonna Street plays better if you've seen Rififi, since it's basically a spoof of that film & heist films in general.




First time viewings in Red
Revisit from my collection in Blue
Out of :star::star::star::star::star:

To Live (1994) :star::star::star::star: (8/10)
An Epic chronicling the lives of a family who’ve lost their fortune due to the husbands gambling debts. Starts off in 1940’s China and continues on through the communist revolution through the turmoil of the 60’s. Unlike similar films I’ve seen on the same subject, this one never looses touch with it’s characters. Directed by Yimou Zhang, this comes close to his other masterpieces (Raise the Red Lantern, Hero, Red Sorghum) & was well worth my time.

The Forgotten (2004) :star:1/2 (3/10)
Julianne Moore stars as a woman who’s child may or may not have been abducted/killed/or may just be a figment of her imagination. Seems everyone (even her husband) has “forgotten” her child even existed, or have they, or do I care. A ridiculous plot with some major Hollywood hokum in the end, this film is best left “forgotten” .

Johnny Eager (1942) :star::star::star: (6/10)
Parolee hood Robert Taylor poses as a cab driver while in reality he’s a big-time gangster. Lana Turner is the love interest in this above average crime melodrama.

Slacker (1991) 1/2 (1/10)
Richard Linklater’s home-made Indie film is nothing than a string of unconnected 5 min vignettes performed by some of the most talent-less people he could find off the streets of Austin. This one makes Clerks seem like Citizen Kane.

 

[george kaplan]

Jim,

Once again you've rated a film way too high. This time, it's Slacker.

 

[SteveGon]

Well, I disagree with both of ya - Slacker is an old favorite of mine. Now I wouldn't want to actually hang out with most of these people, but the film offers a fascinating look at an admittedly worthless subculture. A freakshow kind of thing I guess.

 

[Haggai]

Just caught up with a couple of Howard Hawks movies that I hadn't seen before, courtesy of the local library's DVD collection:

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) :star: :star: :star:
A reasonably entertaining comedy/musical, but nothing special. Marilyn Monroe plays a really dumb blonde for most of this one, and the occasional "hey, you're actually kind of smart!" situations peppered throughout aren't all that amusing. I much prefer the Marilyn of Some Like it Hot, perhaps because it more closely mirrored the appeal of her overall public persona: not a dumb blonde, but a singularly charismatic performer struggling to overcome her own self-destructiveness.

Jane Russell is great in this one, very sexy and appealing, the sarcastic sidekick with a heart of gold. The one scene that got some real laughs out of me was when:

Russell dresses up as Monroe and imitates her in a courtroom scene, complete with her impression of Marilyn singing Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend!

Only Angels Have Wings (1939) :star: :star: :star: :star:
Probably not as widely seen as many other highly regarded Hawks films, but well worth checking out. Most of the first half of the movie is told from the point of view of Jean Arthur's character, a singer who stops over in an unnamed Latin American country, and falls in with a bunch of American pilots who brave dangerous weather conditions to fly various missions (delivering mail, medicine, etc.) for little more than glory and camaraderie. A shift that took me a little by surprise was when the second half of the film moved almost entirely to the point of view of Cary Grant's character, the director of the small airline. Long stretches followed where Arthur's character was barely seen on-screen or even mentioned, so even though the cast and the story situations are all great, the transition to a somewhat more episodic structure seemed a little abrupt. But it all comes together magnificently down the stretch, with the various story-lines interconnecting to provide a tremendously satisfying ending.

 

[DieterW]

Additions to my list (which can be found here):

17/01: Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975) :star::star:
18/01: Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) :star::star::star:
21/01: La Bête (1975) :star:1/2
21/01: Napoli Violenta (1976) :star::star::star:1/2
22/01: La Belva col Mitra (1977) :star::star::star:
22/01: Die Liebesbriefe einer portugiesischen Nonne (1977) :star::star::star:
23/01: Short: The Cameraman's Revenge (1912) :star::star::star:
23/01: Short: The Insects' Christmas (1913) :star::star:1/2
23/01: Short: The Frogs Who Wanted a King (1922) :star::star::star:1/2
23/01: Short: Voice of the Nightingale (1923) :star::star::star:
23/01: Short: Winter Carousel (1958) :star::star:1/2
23/01: The Quiller Memorandum (1966) :star::star::star:1/2

This week was a mixed bag, with both pleasant and less pleasant surprises. The biggest disappointment was Borowczyk's La Bête, which was just boring. Another disappointment was Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold. It could have been a good flick though. Give the scenario to Joe D'Amato and throw in Edwige Fenech with Laura Gemser, maybe tinted with a bit of Fred 'The Hammer' Williamson, and it would have been one of the biggest hits of the 1970s.
Most enjoyable movie of the week was Umberto Lenzi's Napoli Violenta, a movie about a hardhead cop with a less-than-zero-tolerance attitude and good appetite for gangsters. This, obviously, with the necessary magical Lenzi touch.
Also enjoyable were the shorts by Ladislaw Starewicz, all from Image's recently republished Starewicz DVD The Cameraman's Revenge & Other Fantastic Tales. The quality of the image was not as good as I hoped though. I also have The Mascot (Fétiche, 1934) on a French R2 DVD in much better quality.

 

[JonZ]

Bound (1996) :star: :star: :star: 1/2
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969):star: :star: :star:
Sid and Nancy (1986) :star: :star: :star:

 

[SteveGon]

Ordet (1955)

Viewed 1/23/2005 (first viewing)

Powerful drama from Carl Theodor Dreyer about two families who quarrel over religious differences. The film belies its stage origins at every turn, but remains an absorbing treatise on faith and dogmatism. The resplendent finale, though not the ending I would have preferred, is admittedly memorable.

:star: :star: :star: 1/2 out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


It's a Gift (1934)

Viewed 1/23/2005 (first viewing)

More zaniness from W.C. Fields. In this one, he's a henpecked grocer who dreams of owning an orange grove in California. Mostly scores a bullseye; the extended sequence where Fields is trying to get some sleep is hilarious.

"Sufferin' sciatica!"


:star: :star: :star: 1/2 out of :star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Brook K]

I was pretty disappointed by It's A Gift. I love Fields' wordplay, attitude, and sight gags, but It's a Gift is mostly silly slapstick (like the bed scene that you enjoyed so much) with Fields sheepishly browbeaten by his wife. Plus he hardly drinks at all, what's up with that? Hope I enjoy Never Give a Sucker An Even Break more, otherwise I will have gotten the box set basically for a copy of My Little Chickadee. Of course it's probably worth the price of the set alone.

Ordet is a masterpiece of the highest order for me.

Jeepers, I agree with Jim on Slacker, To Live, and his Woody Allen views, though Stardust Memories is probably my favorite Allen film. I did enjoy The Forgotten though, I thought it was good X-Filesish-type fun.

 

[SteveGon]

Re: It's a Gift

It wasn't quite the classic I'd heard it was, and some of the humor fell flat, but I laughed more often than not.

OTOH, I was very disappointed with My Little Chickadee. The Fields/West combo notwithstanding, the film is pretty flat with one particularly embarrassing sequence (the Indian attack on the train; funny back then perhaps, but not now). Of the four films in the set I've seen (haven't screened NGASAEB yet), MLC ranks lowest.

 

[george kaplan]

I've seen all the W.C. Fields films in the boxset, and It's a Gift is the only one I want. Much funnier and better than any of the others. The others do fall flat for me, so much so, that, as much as I want It's A Gift, I've passed on the boxset and will wait until it becomes available separately.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

I recently saw IT'S A GIFT for the first time and I enjoyed it. Pretty funny, that one. A friend of mine brought the new set over (he's a big fan) but it's the only one we watched from it. A year or two ago he brought the Criterion disc of THE BANK DICK to my house and I didn't really care for that one. So I'm on the fence as to whether I should take the plunge into the Fields Collection Set or not.

 

[Jim_K]

Out of the WC Fields films/shorts I've seen, It's a Gift would be at the top.

First time viewings in Red
Revisit from my collection in Blue
Out of :star::star::star::star::star:

Friday Night Lights (2004) :star::star::star::star:1/2 (9/10)
One of the best films of last year is this tough-nosed drama about the true story of a West Texas High School football team and their tumultuous season of ’88. This is a rare sports film that’s unpredictable, gritty & has a lot of heart. Easily makes my 10 Best of ’04 & will be added to my collection soon.

Becket (1964) :star::star::star:1/2 (7/10)
This fine period/costume drama tells the story of King Henry II of England (Peter O’Toole) & his relationship with his drinking buddy turned Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket (Richard Burton). An interesting film for history buffs (which I am) though I do prefer this film’s follow-up/sequel, the superb A Lion in Winter.

 

[Michael Elliott]

01/17/05

Mickey's Good Deed (1932) A

Mickey sells Pluto to get some cash so he can help some poor cats at Christmas. This is probably my favorite Mickey short up to this point. I think this is the first one where the mouse was actually NICE!!!!

01/18/05

Gary Cooper: American Life, American Legend (1991) :star::star:1/2

Documentary hosted by Clint Eastwood that takes a look at the life and films of Gary Cooper. This is more disappointing than anything else because for the most part there’s only Eastwood’s narration over film clips. The clips usually give away the endings and we never get to hear from Cooper’s friends or co-workers.

01/19/05

Mickey’s Mellerdrammer (1933) A

Mickey Mouse short is a retelling of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and of course would be considered politically incorrect in today’s standards since Mickey appears in blackface. I really didn’t think it was too offensive because no one is made fun of and the story of Uncle Tom is appreciated and not made to look bad.

01/20/05

Beatles Diary, The (1996) :star:

Incredibly boring, stupid and silly documentary dealing with the famous group.

01/21/05

Goodfellas (1990) :star::star::star::star:

The best mob movie ever. Period. I’ve always loved this film but the beauty of it keeps getting better and better with each viewing. This was probably around my 20th viewing and it’s quickly climbing my charts of the greatest films ever made. There isn’t a single performance out of touch, especially Liotta and Pesci. The direction is stellar and Scorsese strong detail throughout just shows how hard this guy actually works. What really sets this film apart from other mob movies is obviously the look and style but also the story, which during the first half shows us the cool side of things and we understand why someone would join. Then the second half we see how things end and that the mob isn’t worth it for a second.

01/22/05

King of Comedy, The (1982) :star::star::star::star:

A sometimes funny but often depressing look at a wannabe comic (Robert DeNiro) who is obsessed at hitting the big time so he kidnaps a talk show host (Jerry Lewis). Here’s another Scorsese film that gets better with each viewing but it’s rather hard to watch this thing because of how brutal it is and how embarrassing the DeNiro character comes off. The scene where DeNiro invites himself to Lewis’s house is one where I often have to squint my eyes. The performances are wonderful and the fantasy sequences make this one of the best of the decade.

Reform School Girl (1957) :star:1/2

A good but troubled girl gets into a car with a psycho who runs over a man, killing him. The girl refuses to give the psycho’s name so she’s sent to reform school where she gets into more trouble but thankfully there’s a teacher there who wants to help her. Stupid, boring, slow and pointless juvenile delinquent flick that isn’t even bad enough to get any laughs. The performances are bad, dialogue stupid and the story is just plain boring.

01/23/05

Steeplechase, The (1933) A-

Mickey’s racehorse gets drunk before the big race so he must put a couple people in a horse outfit to race. A pretty funny short with some nice animation and the jokes, including the drunk horse, are nice.

Shanghailed (1934) A-

Mickey and Minnie are taken hostage out at sea. Some very funny gags including the bad guy and his wooden leg plus Mickey’s fight is rather amusing.

Mickey’s Man Friday (1935) A-

Mickey travels to the jungle where he must fight off cannibals. There’s plenty of wonderful action to keep this film a going plus some funny stuff dealing with Mickey’s pal.

01/24/05

Falo Crest (1987) :star::star:

I’m really not sure how to “review” this one. Cult Spanish director Jess Franco’s hardcore spoof of Falcon Crest features Lina Romay and various others doing….well, hardcore scenes. I normally don’t watch this kind of stuff but I plan on watching all 175+ Franco films so this one gets a viewing. Again, I don’t know how to rate porn but the actual “film” has some nice laughs (even though I had to watch it in Spanish) but there’s way too much disgusting stuff that I won’t go into here.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Mike, why even waste your time on these unofficial made-for-cheap-video "documentaries"? Try A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, HELP!, YELLOW SUBMARINE or LET IT BE instead.

 

[george kaplan]

Or the excellent Beatles Anthology. Hell, even Magical Mystery Tour has a number of reedeming features (basically a ton of great music videos). BTW, don't look too hard for Let it Be, since it's not yet available.

 

[SteveGon]

Dead and Buried (1981)

Viewed 1/24/2005

Gory thriller about a series of murders in a small New England town. The local sheriff investigates and discovers that the victims are returning to life and looking better than ever! Atmospheric, though logical inconsistencies hurt it. Worth a look.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:


The Yakuza Papers: Proxy War (1973)

Viewed 1/24/2005 (first viewing)

Part three in Kinji Fukasaku's Japanese gangster epic. Series protagonist Shozo Hirono (Bunta Sugawara) is caught in the middle of a gang war while planning to oust his old boss. Convoluted to the point where you need a scorecard to keep track of who's who, but Sugawara has the presence to keep your interest.

:star: :star: :star: out of :star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Michael Elliott]

I've got this one and enjoyed it a lot. I'm going to wait a few years before a second viewing however. According to Netflix (first time using them), I should have A HARD DAY'S NIGHT tomorrow.

 

[SteveGon]

The Roaring Twenties (1939)

Viewed: 1/25/2005

Primo gangster flick starring James Cagney as a jobless WWI vet forced into a life of racketeering during Prohibition. Along the way he's joined by conniving war buddy Humphrey Bogart and falls for showgirl Priscilla Lane.

"He used to be a big shot."

:star: :star: :star: 1/2 out of :star: :star: :star: :star:

 

[Joe Karlosi]

And that's still impossible for me to fathom! I still have my original VHS tape by "Magnetic Video" from 1981!!! It's something very special to me because it was the very FIRST home video movie I ever owned, in ANY format. I'll probably always save it as a relic even when a DVD is issued someday.