Track the Films You Watch (2007) (1 Viewer)

[SteveGon]

Pathogen (2006)

Viewed 3/26/2007 (first viewing)

Homegrown zombie movie has a group of junior high school kids battling the undead after a pathogen in their city's water supply turns everyone else into flesh-eating zombies. Standard low budget affair; this one at least has the novelty value of having been written and directed by a 13-year old girl! (Herself the subject of the upcoming documentary Zombie Girl: The Movie.)

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


Zombie High (1987)

Viewed 3/26/2007

Or The Stepford Children Go to Prep School. A new student at a stuffy prep school discovers the faculty is milking student brains for an immortality serum, a process that turns its victims into mindless drones! Star Virginia Madsen is the sole attraction here, even though she keeps her clothes on (I was so disappointed to discover this on my first viewing many years ago!).

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


Hard Rock Zombies (1987)

Viewed 3/26/2007 (first viewing)

Goofy flick about a rock band that makes the deadly mistake of scheduling a concert in the uptightest of towns. Harassed by the rock-hating townies, the band is taken in by the local deviant family (led by Adolf Hitler!) and summarily murdered. Naturally they return from the dead and avenge themselves, but the people they kill get up and kill! Oh no! Likeable, but padded with forgettable music performances. Still, if you want to see a dwarf Nazi zombie in action...

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


Porno Holocaust (1981)

Viewed 3/26/2007 (first viewing)

Joe D'Amato's infamous companion piece to Erotic Nights of the Living Dead feels more like a porn-riddled remake of Anthropophagus. Cheesy horror takes a back seat to sex as three horny female scientists and their studly sailor companions are stalked on an island by (as the ad copy says) a horny, mutant, cannibalistic zombie! Overlong, dull, and a real stretch to qualify as a zombie movie.

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


Roman (2006)

Viewed 3/27/2007 (first viewing)

A lonely man accidentally kills the neighbor he's infatuated with, then takes up with another woman who is obsessed with death! Another twisted relationship story written by Lucky McKee and directed by his May star Angela Bettis.

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


Candy (2006)

Viewed 3/27/2007 (first viewing)

Aussie drug drama is well-done if not especially memorable.

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


The Unexplained: Zombies (1998)

Viewed 3/28/2007 (first viewing)

History Channel documentary on voodoo and zombies.

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


The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies (1963)

Viewed 3/28/2007 (first viewing)

Static "cult classic" has an evil carnival fortuneteller using hypnotism to turn a young man into a murderous zombie. Meh, the title is the best thing about it though the male lead bears a striking resemblance to Nicolas Cage. You notice these things when you're bored.

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


Forlorn (2002)

Viewed 3/28/2007 (first viewing)

Tense short about a couple stranded in the countryside after the cities have become overrun with zombies. Well done for its type.

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


Agata and the Storm (2004)

Viewed 3/29/2007 (first viewing)

Engaging Spanish comedy drama about bookstore owner who is wooed by a younger man. Meanwhile, her brother discovers that he's been adopted when his long lost half-brother shows up with plans to build a trout farm! Sort of Almodovar lite, but prettyenjoyable.

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


Jesus Henry Christ (2003)

Viewed 3/29/2007 (first viewing)

A young boy at a Catholic school is sent to the principal's office for his unconventional beliefs with unexpected results in this hilarious short (on the Agata DVD).

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


Machuca (2004)

Viewed 3/29/2007 (first viewing)

Powerful drama chronicling the friendship between two young boys from opposite social classes in strife-torn, 1973 Chile.

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


Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)

Viewed 3/30/2007 (first viewing)

A Chinese royal family tears itself apart in the latest gorgeous epic from Zhang Yimou. After Hero[/i and House of Flying Daggers this is somewhat familiar, absolutely stunning to look at.

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


Who Can Kill a Child? (1976)

Viewed 3/30/2007 (first viewing)

Obscure Spanish horror classic has a married couple traveling to an isolated island for a peaceful vacation. But when they get there they discover the adults have disappeared! And why are the children behaving so oddly? Tense chiller deserves to be better known.

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


You're Telling Me! (1934)

Viewed 3/31/2007 (first viewing)

More W.C. Fields tomfoolery. This time a princess helps W.C. save his daughter's engagement.

"It's a funny old world — a man's lucky if he gets out of it alive."

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


Revenge of the Nerds (1984)

Viewed 3/31/2007

Revisited this classic eighties comedy. Not a classic you say? Kiss my nerd butt!

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

 

[SteveGon]

March Recap

Ratings range from BOMB to ****

Bolded titles are first viewings.

Aftermath **1/2
Agata and the Storm ***
American Cousins ***
Anthropophagus ***
The Awakening **1/2
Bad Guy ***
Barocco ***
Before the Fall ***
Blood Diamond ***1/2
Blood of the Zombie ***
Borat ***
Candy ***
Casino Royale ***
The Cat and the Canary ***
Choking Hazard **1/2
The City of Lost Children ***1/2
Codename: Yinyang **1/2
Comedy of Innocence ***
Curse of the Golden Flower ***
Deadscapes: Broken Road *1/2
The Dreamlife of Angels ***1/2
Dumpster Baby **
El Dorado (1988) ***1/2
Erotic Nights of the Living Dead **
Fast Food Nation ***
Fighter in the Wind ***
Forlorn ***
Genesis ***
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film **1/2
A Good Year **1/2
The Great Moment **1/2
Hard Rock Zombies **
Hood of the Living Dead ***
I'll See You in My Dreams ***
The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies **
I Walked With a Zombie ***
Jesus Henry Christ ***1/2
The Keys to the House ***1/2
K7B Mutation *1/2
The League of Gentlemen ***
L'Ilya ***
Machuca ***1/2
Never Give a Sucker An Even Break ***
Next Door ***1/2
Night of the Comet **1/2
Night of the Living Dorks **
Pan's Labyrinth ***1/2
Pathogen **
Pinocchio 962 **
Porno Holocaust *1/2
The Protector **1/2
Queen Margot ***
Rabbit on the Moon ***
Resident Evil: Apocalypse **1/2
Return of the Living Dead: Necropolis ***
Return of the Living Dead: Rave to the Grave **
Revenge of the Nerds ***
Roman ***
Sanshiro Sugata II **
School Killer ***
Shadow Man ***
Shoot to Kill ***
The Spook Who Sat By the Door ***
Storm ***1/2
Strayed ***
Street Trash **1/2
28 Days Later ***
Texas Fortune ***
The Unexplained: Zombies ***
Unsettled **1/2
What Did the Lady Forget? ***1/2
Who Can Kill a Child? ***1/2
Winter of the Dead ***
The Wooden Horse ***
The Worthless ***
The Yakuza ***
You Are Alone ***
The Young Girls of Wilko ***
You're Telling Me! ***
Zeder ***
Zombie Brigade ***
Zombie High **
Zombie Planet II: Adam's Revenge ***
Zombie 3 *1/2
Zombiez **


Total films viewed: 85

First viewings: 76

Favorites for the month: The Dreamlife of Angels, Jesus Henry Christ, The Keys to the House, Next Door, Pan's Labyrinth, Storm, Who Can Kill a Child?, The Worthless

 

[Adam_S]

Blood Diamond - 8 of 10

Good flick, makes you not want to buy diamond engagement rings, though.

Three great key performances, very good script, great editing and nice cinematography. It wasn't an astounding movie but it was extremely solid, well above the average action thriller, and previous Zwick efforts like Last Samurai.

 

[SteveGon]

Since when are there thirty-one days in March? Doh!

Above posts edited.

 

[Mario Gauci]

03/29/07: THE END OF THE WORLD (August Blom, 1916) :star::star:1/2

The qualities and faults I mentioned above with respect to A TRIP TO MARS (1918) pretty much apply to this film as well – with which it’s been ideally paired on an otherwise bare-bones DVD from the Danish Film Institute. Still, I’d give the edge (if ever so slightly) to THE END OF THE WORLD – even if it does take forever for the titular cataclysm to begin!

In fact, the first half gets bogged down in scenes of domestic melodrama – though these are countered by interesting passages involving a wicked financier, who’s willing to cheat at the stock market by having the catastrophe downplayed in his papers! Amusingly, he then makes a fist at the sky whenever he happens to glimpse the falling meteor (an obvious painting, it’s visible at all times) because it will naturally mean his ruin (he seems to be less concerned, however, that it will most certainly also prove to be his undoing in a physical sense!). He still decides, somewhat perversely, to hold a ‘last day on earth’ meal for his family and friends – since he intends to escape through a secret passage which leads from his house to the underground mines he owns…but hadn’t quite counted on the working-class, who have themselves planned to ‘celebrate’ the apocalypse in grand style (by turning on their long-standing aristocratic oppressors!).

The scene in the mine actually displays some atmospheric lighting – and the special effects, though clearly primitive, are fairly effective (in particular, the images of the mining-town with the smoke from its factory-chimneys mingling with that from the flaming meteors). The catastrophe also sees the town convincingly flooded; an elderly priest’s subsequent clumsy attempts to control a boat in water provides some unintended chuckles. The ending – following the disaster, a couple is reunited – seems to be reaching out for spirituality, but the fact that only they (and the aforementioned priest, who had been practically holed up in their house the entire film!) seem to have survived makes it look contrived more than anything else…

By the way, renowned French film-maker Abel Gance made a similarly-titled film in 1930; regrettably, when it was broadcast (for the first time ever in my neck of the woods) on late-night Italian TV – incidentally, on New Year’s Eve of 2005 – I missed it…because, at the time, I was staying in Hollywood!!


03/29/07: BANDIDOS (Massimo Dallamano, 1967) :star::star::star:

Like THE PRICE OF POWER (1969), which I watched last September, I only became aware of this obscure Spaghetti Western when it was included in an all-time best poll on the “Spaghetti Westerns Database” website. As it turned out, it's a pretty good example of the genre, though I wouldn’t quite place in the top rank. Star Enrico Maria Salerno brings intelligence to the genre – much like Gian Maria Volonte` did in FACE TO FACE (1967). The credits are quite modest, but Egisto Macchi’s score is certainly exemplary; interesting characterizations, too, are somewhat nipped in the bud by a mostly unfamiliar cast.

Still, the complex plot keeps one watching: featuring a traveling-show backdrop, it’s essentially a revenge saga between old pals; one trains a young gun to eliminate the other, because he can no longer use his smashed hands – but the villain is revealed to be the one man who could clear the mysterious boy of murder! Though the film’s tone is generally serious, an anarchist streak surfaces during one scene where Salerno’s current protégé is murdered in cold blood by a cowboy in the audience, just for a lark. The climactic shoot-out is somewhat drawn-out, but it’s capped by a clever bit involving a mirror.

I watched this via a slightly trimmed German DVD – where one graphic shot to the neck is missing from the main feature but curiously present in the accompanying theatrical trailer!; it also seems to cut off a little too abruptly at the very end.


03/03/07: A MAN CALLED AMEN (Guido Zurli, 1968) :star::star:1/2

This little-known Spaghetti Western turned out to be a routine effort all round, but one that is mildly enjoyable nevertheless. It features a nice score and is enlivened by the intermittent appearances of a ‘phantom gunman’ figure (curiously, also to be found in MATALO! [1970], which followed this viewing) and the numerous plot twists at the end. The most renowned actor in the cast is, of course, Akim Tamiroff – playing a tramp/town drunk called Pigsty (although his Italian moniker is literally “Stench”); actually, many of the characters have been given colorful names: Amen, Solitaire, Dean Light, Johnny Siringo, etc. Comedy relief is also present in the form of some over-the-top hard-boiled dialogue (one character is referred to as “mountain of filth”, for instance) and the antics (usually subservient but, on occasion, assertive) of the chief villain’s meek and long-suffering barber. The only other Zurli film I had watched was the admittedly dismal poliziottesco TARGET (1979); still, one effort of his I’d like to catch is the horror film THE MAD BUTCHER (1971) – starring Victor Buono.


03/31/07: MATALO! (Cesare Canevari, 1970) :star::star::star:

This one emerges an outstanding, if eccentric, Spaghetti Western which certainly gives that notorious genre effort DJANGO, KILL…IF YOU LIVE SHOOT! (1967) a run for its money in the weirdness stakes!

Though simply enough plotted – with the script itself admirably laconic – and effectively set (for the most part) in a ghost town, it’s essentially a mood-piece: stylized to a fault, the film features virtuoso camerawork and bold editing throughout; still, the general tone – buoyed by the remarkable experimental electro-rock sounds created by one Mario Migliardi – is effortlessly hypnotic.

The cast is equally interesting: Spaghetti Western regular Lou Castel as the unlikely hero (who, admitting to be unskilled at handling guns, utilizes boomerangs for weaponry during the body-strewn climax!); Corrado Pani – surely one of the genre’s most idiosyncratic villains – brings a topical, i.e. late 1960s, touch of hippiedom to the Old West (the film is, however, thankfully free of the politics which informed many latter-day similar efforts)! Incidentally, both these top-billed stars are off-screen for an inordinate length of time – thus allowing Claudia Gravy, the luscious female lead, to take centre-stage (no complaints there!).

Pani’s sidekicks, then, are equally colorful: one is Gravy’s current lover, who assumes leadership of the gang after Pani’s untimely ‘exit’ early on, and the other a sadist who covets the girl (though she continually rejects his advances). In fact, for a film of its type, there’s an unusual emphasis on sex here – as much to the fore, I’d say, as the violence…which is present in quite graphic fashion (the sadistic outlaw beats Castel repeatedly with a chain, but he later has his own hand trampled by horse’s hooves!).

Regrettably, the film is only available on DVD in an English-dubbed version through Wild East; the fact that the original language is not included would normally be enough to dissuade me from acquiring it (in spite of an accompanying Lou Castel interview which ought to be interesting) – but my recent unhappy experience with Wild East’s edition of another Spaghetti Western title, THE MAN FROM NOWHERE (1966), certainly doesn’t help make a case for it…


03/31/07:INNOCENCE AND DESIRE(Massimo Dallamano, 1974) :star::star:1/2

Yet another Commedia All’ Italiana in which a gorgeous newlywed seduces her virginal stepson; like similar entries in the distinctly Sicilian genre I recently watched, however, this one fizzles out after a promising (and, in its case, consistently funny) first half.

Still, the oversexed antics of Vittorio Caprioli and, especially, Lionel Stander keep one watching – as does the overeating routine of the former’s chubby son. ‘Dirty Old Man’ Stander’s hard-on incident (with resulting scruffy hairdo) and the virginal son’s late-night tryst with the local big-breasted momma are the film’s tasteless highlights. Besides, the satirical look on seminary priests in the film’s initial stages verges on the heretical – as it depicts them watching porn mags, touching one another in class, etc.

Edwige Fenech looks good in the nude, of course, but she plays a largely unsympathetic character here – but, then, the novice stepson doesn’t exactly win audience sympathy either (rather incongruously, he keeps score of his father’s hit-and-miss bedtime romps). The film features a nice jovial score – pretty much the norm with this type of film (though it does turn kind of serious towards the end, with the spiritual/carnal conflicts afflicting the boy).

Dallamano is another of the “jack-of-all-genres” Italian film-makers, having previously dabbled in Spaghetti Westerns, Gialli and Poliziotteschi and, although I’ve only watched a couple of his other films myself (see BANDIDOS above), I’d say he usually turned out better movies than this one here.

 

[Malcolm R]

March 2007

Total films: 15
First Time Viewing: 10
2007 Theatrical: 1

Best: How Green Was My Valley
Worst: The Woods

 

[Michael Elliott]

03/30/07

Chases of Pimple St. (1934) :star::star::star:

Charley Chase comedy has him play a tormented husband who's married to a lovely wife. The only problem is that the wife's sister lives with them and refuses to move out. I'm actually a pretty big fan of Chase's silent shorts and find them more entertaining and funny that those of Harold Lloyd. I had heard his sound shorts weren't as good but I find them just as funny. There are countless gags in this film including a wonderful sequence where Chase must get ready downstairs because his sister in law is in the bathroom. The film starts off with a stupid musical number but gets better after that.

Secret Life of Adolph Hitler, The (1958) :star::star:

WW2 made documentary covering the life of Hitler from his early childhood to his final days. I was really looking forward to this film since Hitler's sister and several men who knew him during his final days were interviewed but in the end this turned out to be a major disappointment. Even with the first hand accounts of his life, there's really nothing to learn here as the only thing the documentary keeps saying is how evil he was. We never really learn what might have been behind his evilness and the accounts of his final days is rather dull. Some of Eva Braun's home movies of Hitler are on display here.

Sherlock Holmes (1922) :star::star:

Considered lost for nearly fifty-years, this film was finally found in the mid-70's but sadly it turns out to be a pretty dull affair. What had silent film buffs so interested in this film was the incredibly cast of actors including John Barrymore as Holmes and Roland Young as Watson. The supporting cast was equally impressive as we see a young William Warren, Reginald Denny and D.W. Griffith's lover, Carol Dempster, in her only screen appearance not directed by Griffith. In the film, Holmes and Watson are friends at Cambridge when Holmes is accused of stealing some money. On the other side of town, the evil Professor Moriarty (Gustav von Seyffertitz) is planning world domination. After Holmes is cleared of the theft he becomes interested in the detective game and sets out to bring Moriarty down. The actual case of Holmes and Moriarty doesn't start until around the fifty minute mark as the first part of the film lets us get introduced to both sides. This here was certainly a mistake as I'm sure people going into this film will know who Holmes is. Another problem is that the film relies way too much on the intertitles and we spend way too much time reading instead of seeing anything happen. Barrymore plays Holmes very straight and I personally find the actor boring when he doesn't go over the top. He really doesn't bring anything to his role but Young is good as Watson. Carol Dempster, on the other hand, doesn't come off too good but she's not horrible either. I'll have to check some of my Griffith books but I'm not quite sure how she got the part in this since most major studios didn't want Griffith using her for anything. There's a nice twist at the end of the movie but by then you'll either be asleep or pushing the FF button.

Idol Dancer, The (1920) :star:1/2

One of two films D.W. Griffith made in Florida, this one is considered by many to be his worst feature and from what I've seen, I would agree. Set in the South Seas, a wild child native (Clarine Seymour) finds the visiting white folks tiresome because they keep trying to get her and her people to wear dresses of religious folks. One day a man (Richard Barthelmess) washes up on the beach and before long he gets a crash on the native girl but another preacher comes for a visit and grows a crush to. While these romances are going on, an evil white man is trying to stir up trouble with another native tribe of black men in hopes that he can get them to attack the other side for pearls. As you can tell, the story here is all over the place and never does it make any sense nor is it every clear what Griffith is going for. The film runs 102-minutes, which is about forty-two minutes too long. The entire story with the rival locals comes off very forced and the romance never blossoms, which is shocking because the director can usually pull that off with ease. The tribal dance done by Seymour is incredibly stupid and I have to wonder how much whiskey Griffith had before directing her. There are some good things though, including the scenery, which is downright beautiful. It's nice seeing the coastline of Florida before everything that's there now. Seymour is also very good in her role (outside the dance) bringing an innocence to the screen, which is quite refreshing. Griffith's other South Sea tale, The Love Flower is much better.

Southerner, The (1945) :star::star::star::star:

Jean Renoir's classic tale of a cotton picker (Zachary Scott) who moves his wife (Betty Field) and children to a run down farm in hopes that they can grow their own cotton and make for a better future. Their first year doesn't go as planned as the family must struggle with no food, illness, natural disasters and a mean spirited neighbor (J. Carrol Naish). This film has quite a few faults including being oversentimental and featuring a poorly written part of grandmother but I still loved nearly every minute of this film due in large part to the three stars. I'm not overly familiar with Scott or Field but they really impressed me with their performances here. Their parts aren't anything we haven't seen already in previous films but they still manage to make their characters seem real and fresh. Naish gives the best performance I've seen from him as the feisty neighbor who doesn't give the poor family a chance. Renoir's direction is right on the mark and for a foreigner, he captures the southern spirit quite well.

03/31/07

Westerner, The (1940) :star::star::star:1/2

William Wyler directed this film that shows the friendship between a cowboy (Gary Cooper) and Judge Roy Bean (Walter Brennan). I really wasn't sure what to expect from this film but it turned out to be a really good movie with some terrific performances and a classic comedy scene that is among the best I've ever seen. Needless to say, both Cooper and Brennan are wonderful in the film and really turn this western into a near comic masterpiece. The opening scenes, when Cooper is on trial for his life, the way he and Brennan discuss Lily Langtry is pure genius from the acting and directing standpoint. The way the two actors play off each others lines and facial gestures makes for plenty of laugh out loud moments. Wyler's comic timing in the editing and directing is top notch and really makes this scene something beautiful to watch. Wyler's direction during the fire sequence is also top notch and makes for a rather suspenseful scene. The film is a tad bit odd in how over the top it is in laughs and at the same time so serious in the way Bean acts. Doris Davenport is equally good as the tough as nail homesteader and I was shocked to see she only did one movie after this.

Crainquebille (1922) :star::star:1/2

French film from director Jacques Feyder about a poor vegetable peddler (Maurice de Feraudy) who has a misunderstanding with a cop and ends up spending two weeks in jail. The peddler was loved by everyone but when he's released from prison he finds that everyone has turned their backs on him. There's a lot to like about this film but at the same time there's a lot not to like. Technically this film is near perfect. There's some terrific cinematography here and the use of tinting comes to wonderful effect. There's two scenes of fantasy, one taking place in a courtroom and the other being a nightmare sequence. Both segments are incredibly well done with a wonderful touch of surrealism that really jumps off the screen. de Feraudy is also perfect in his role and director Feyder keeps the film moving at a lightning pace. So, what's the problem? There isn't a single emotion to be found in the film. I didn't laugh, there wasn't any suspense and there was really any drama so I'm really not sure what the film was going for outside the visual quality.

Still We Believe: The Boston Red Sox Movie (2004) :star::star::star:

Good documentary that covers the 2003 Red Sox season with their fans as well as some behind the scenes footage. Overall, it was a fun documentary but the filmmakers spend way too much time with the regular season stuff when more time should have been given to the playoffs since these playoffs were probably the greatest in the history of the sport with that classic (and legendary) game 7 between the Sox and Yanks. A lot of media attention goes to the Red Sox fans but even Angry Bill isn't nearly as bad as Kentucky Wildcats fans.

 

[Martin Teller]

March summary:

Best discovery of the month: The Conformist
Worst discovery of the month: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

(Date Watched - Movie Name - Rating out of 10)
(first-time viewings in blue)


03/02 The Departed - 9
03/03 Babel - 7
03/03 1900 - 5
03/05 One, Two, Three - 6
03/06 She Wore a Yellow Ribbon - 4
03/07 The Street With No Name - 7
03/08 My Darling Clementine - 10
03/09 The Conformist - 10
03/10 Pandora's Box - 7
03/11 The Lost Weekend - 7
03/12 Black Narcissus - 8
03/15 Close-Up - 9
03/16 Intolerance - 8
03/17 Charulata - 10
03/17 The Death of Mr. Lazarescu - 8
03/18 The Wild Bunch - 7
03/18 All That Heaven Allows - 9
03/19 The Puppetmaster - 7
03/22 The Thunder of the Mountain - 7
03/23 GoodFellas (HD) - 10
03/23 Stagecoach - 7
03/24 Red River - 8
03/24 Serenity (HD) - 9
03/25 Shadow of a Doubt - 9
03/25 Rope - 8
03/25 Rear Window - 10
03/25 The Trouble With Harry - 6
03/26 The Man Who Knew Too Much - 6
03/28 Vertigo - 10
03/29 North by Northwest - 8
03/29 Psycho - 9
03/30 Marnie - 4
03/31 Torn Curtain - 7
03/31 Topaz - 3

20 new movies, 14 repeats

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Since always.

 

[Sandro]

March Recap

34 films seen, 22 for the first time

Best films seen for the first time (out of :star: :star::star: :star

Best Years of Our Lives :star: :star: :star: :star:
Emperor of the North :star: :star: :star: :star:
Pan's Labyrinth :star: :star: :star: 1/2
The Tin Drum :star: :star: :star: 1/2
The Train :star: :star: :star: 1/2
Godfather 2 :star: :star: :star: 1/2

 

[Brook K]

For about half the month I was on a movie-a-day pace, then fell off badly the last 2 weeks.

Movies Seen: 20 (+3 shorts & 1 commentary)

Best Film: Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles

Honorable Mention: Shortbus, Ken Loach's segment of Tickets, The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea, An Exercise in Discipline: Peel


2006 Films Viewed in '07 (Based on NY/LA Release)

13 Tzameti (2005, Géla Babluani) (DVD Rent) - B
All the King's Men (2006, Steven Zaillian) (DVD Rent) - D
The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2005, Jeff Feuerzeig) (DVD Rent) - C+
The Devil Wears Prada (2006, David Frankel) (DVD Rent) - C+
Flushed Away (2006, David Bowers, Sam Fell (DVD Rent) - B-
Down in the Valley (2005, David Jacobson) (DVD Rent) - C+
The Hills Have Eyes (2006, Alexandre Aja) (DVD Rent) - B-
Open Season (2006, Roger Allers, Jill Culton) (DVD Rent) - B-
Riding Alone For Thousands of Miles (2005, Yimou Zhang) (DVD Rent) - A-
Shortbus (2006, John Cameron Mitchell) (DVD Rent) - A-
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006, Adam McKay) (DVD Rent) - C+
Tickets (2005, Ermanno Olmi, Abbas Kiarostami, Ken Loach) (DVD Rent) - B-/B-/B+ = "B+"
World Trade Center (2006, Oliver Stone) (DVD Rent) - B


Pre-2006 Films Seen for the 1st Time

An Exercise in Discipline - Peel (1982, Jane Campion) (DVD Rent) SHORT - B+
A Girl's Own Story (1984, Jane Campion) (DVD Rent) SHORT - B-
Grace of My Heart (1996, Allison Anders) (DVR Owned) - B
Green For Danger (1946, Sidney Giallat) (DVD Owned) - B
Machuca (2004, Andres Wood) (DVD Rent) - B+
Passionless Moments (1983, Jane Campion) (DVD Rent) SHORT - C+
Pink Flamingos (1972, John Waters) (DVR Owned) - B
Rendezvous in Paris (1995, Eric Rohmer) (VHS Library) - B+
The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea (1976, Lewis John Carlino) (DVR Owned) - B+
Sweetie (1989, Jane Campion) (DVD Rent) - B


Commentaries
Pink Flamingos (John Waters)

 

[Bill McA]

March Recap Total Seen: 69

Best 1st Time Viewing: Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles, Dry Season, Zero City

Also Notable: Nacho Libre, Zodiac, Amphibian Man, The Republic of Love

2007 Films


Dead Silence (James Wan) (Cinema) 2/5
The Number 23 (Joel Schumacher) (Cinema) 3/5
Premonition (Mennan Yapo) (Cinema) 2/5
Zodiac (David Fincher) (Cinema) 4/5


2006 Films Viewed in '07


300 (Zack Snyder) (Cinema IMAX) 3/5
American Dreamz (Paul Weitz) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Date Movie (Aaron Seltzer) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
Dry Season (Daratt) (Mahamat-Saleh Haroun) (Cinema) 4/5
Failure to Launch (Tom Dey) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Flags of Our Fathers (Clint Eastwood) (DVD-R, Own) 3/5
Mon Colonel (Laurent Herbiet) (Cinema) 3/5
Nacho Libre (Jared Hess) (DVD, Library loan) 4/5
Night at the Museum (Shawn Levy) (Cinema IMAX) 3/5
Phat Girlz (Nnegest Likké) (Cable) 2/5
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Gore Verbinski) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
RV (Barry Sonnenfeld) (Cable) 3/5
The Sentinel (Clark Johnson) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5



Pre-2006 Films Seen for the 1st Time


Ali G Indahouse (2002|Mark Mylod) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Amphibian Man (Chelovek-Amfibiya) (1962|Vladimir Chebotaryov, Gennadi Kazansky) (Cinema) 4/5
Baby Blood (1990|Alain Robak) (DVD, Own) 2/5
The Cameraman's Revenge (Mest Kinematograficheskogo Operatora) (1912|Wladyslaw Starewicz) (Cinema) 3/5
Cry_Wolf (2005|Jeff Wadlow) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Darwin's Nightmare (2004|Hubert Sauper) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
The Dying Gaul (2005|Craig Lucas) (DVD, Library loan) 4/5
Electric Edwardians: The Films of Mitchell & Kenyon (1900-13/2005|Sagar Mitchell, James Kenyon) (DVD, Library loan) 4/5
The Gardener (1975|Jim Kay) (DVD, Own) 3/5
A Good Woman (2004|Mike Barker) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Green Street Hooligans (Hooligans) (2005|Lexi Alexander) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World (2005|Albert Brooks) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Nor'west (Noroît) (1976|Jacques Rivette) (Cinema) 1/5
Pavee Lackeen: The Traveller Girl (2005|Perry Ogden) (Cinema) 3/5
La Petite Jérusalem (2005|Karin Albou) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
Piccadilly Jim (2004|John McKay) (Cable) 3/5
Pigs and Battleships (Buta to Gunkan) (1961|Shohei Imamura) (DVD, Own) 3/5
Planet of Storms (Planeta Bur) (1962|Pavel Klushantsev) (Cinema) 3/5
Poor Cow (1967|Ken Loach) (Cinema) 3/5
The Proposition (2005|John Hillcoat) (DVD, Own) 3/5
Rebound (2005|Steve Carr) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
The Republic of Love (2003|Deepa Mehta) (DVD, Library loan) 4/5
Rhinoceros Eyes (2003|Aaron Woodley) (Cable) 2/5
Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (Qian Li Zou Dan Qi) (2005|Yimou Zhang) (DVD, Own) 5/5
Ruslan and Ludmila (Ruslan i Lyudmila) (1972|Aleksandr Ptushko) (Cinema) 3/5
Sandra (Vaghe Stelle dell'Orsa...) (1965|Luchino Visconti) (Cinema) 3/5
Shadowboxer (2005|Lee Daniels) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate (Bakumatsu Taiyoden) (1957|Yuzo Kawashima) (Cinema) 3/5
To the Stars by Hard Ways (Cherez Ternii k Zvyozdam) (1981|Richard Viktorov) (Cinema) 3/5
Two or Three Things I Know About Her (2 ou 3 Choses que je sais d'elle) (1967|Jean-Luc Godard) (Cinema) 2/5
The Unholy Three (1925|Tod Browning) (Cinema) 3/5
Who Can Kill a Child? (¿Quién Pede Mtar a un Nño?)(1976|Narciso Ibáñez Serrador) (DVD, Own) 3/5
Zero City (Gorod Zero) (1988|Karen Shakhnazarov) (Cinema) 4/5




Re-Visits


The Black Dahlia (2006|Brian De Palma) (DVD, Own) 3/5
The Butcher Boy (1997|Neil Jordan) (DVD, Own) 4/5
Calvaire (2004|Fabrice Du Welz) (DVD, Own) 4/5
Carousel (1956|Henry King) (Cinema) 3/5
The Devil's Rain (1975|Robert Fuest) (DVD, Own) 4/5
Harper (1966|Jack Smight) (DVD, Library loan) 1/5
I Stand Alone (Seul Contre Tous) (1998|Gaspar Noé) (Cinema) 5/5
Kes (1969|Ken Loach) (Cinema) 5/5
Kung Fu Hustle (Gong Fu) (2004|Stephen Chow) (DVD, Own) 5/5
The MacKintosh Man (1973|John Huston) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Magic (1978|Richard Attenborough) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Mutiny on the Bounty (1962|Lewis Milestone) (DVD, Library loan) 3/5
Oliver Twist (1948|David Lean) (DVD, Own) 4/5
Performance (1970|Donald Cammell, Nicolas Roeg) (DVD, Own) 4/5
Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967|John Huston) (Cinema) 4/5
The Searchers (1956|John Ford) (Cinema) 3/5
The Triplets of Belleville (Les Triplettes de Belleville) (2003|Sylvain Chomet) (DVD, Own) 5/5
Weird Science (1985|John Hughes) (DVD, Library loan) 2/5
Winged Migration (Le Peuple Migrateur) (2001|Jacques Perrin) (DVD, Own) 4/5

 

[PatW]

Bird of Paradise (1932) :star: :star: :star: 1/2

I thought I had seen this years ago as a little girl, with my mother. I remember being terribly affected by this movie and realize it was the 1951 re-make that I saw. This movie was somewhat disappointing when compared to what I remember of the re-make but I realize it should be judged on it's own. In that respect it's a good tale of forbidden love and I felt for the young woman at the end. Who know's, maybe if I saw the 1951 version now, I would not be as enarmored of it as I remember.

 

[Mario Gauci]

03/24/07RACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE(Freddie Francis, 1968):star::star:1/2

The third Hammer Dracula entry was actually the first I ever watched many years ago (on a Pan-and-Scan VHS): it took Freddie Francis’ recent death to reacquaint myself with it (although, truth be told, I had acquired the DVD-R copy a couple of weeks previously and had intended to view the film along with some other recent Hammer acquisitions I’ve made)!

I still remembered quite a few scenes from it but, as it turned out, I generally liked it less this time around (when I was younger, I tended to lap such films up indiscriminately) – though, admittedly, it’s streets ahead of the Christopher Lee Draculas of the 1970s. The star still looks depressed throughout, however, clearly mirroring his personal growing dissatisfaction with the role (which he had made his own 10 years earlier) – since he’s basically given little to do of any real consequence in the film except, that is, wear the infamous red contact lenses and snarl occasionally!

Rupert Davies – then seemingly going through a horror-film phase, which also included WITCHFINDER GENERAL (1968) – as a resolute Monsignor is a worthy opponent to Count Dracula, though he eventually expires before the final confrontation. This was Barry Andrews’ first film – he would later appear in a superior horror effort, THE BLOOD ON SATAN’S CLAW (1971) – and he makes a charming enough hero; the girls – Veronica Carlson and Barbara Ewing – are certainly good-looking, but hardly impressive in the acting stakes.

The usual Hammer elements (bit player Michael Ripper, cinematographer Arthur Grant, production designer Bernard Robinson, editor James Needs and composer James Bernard) are in fine form here – but the overall result is still merely adequate and, on occasion, fairly clumsy! I know one isn’t supposed to look too closely at these films’ plot-lines but, if Dracula was only revived by the blood from the cut to the head of the weakling parson (Ewan Hooper), who killed the girl found hanging in the belfry in the opening sequence?; also, why was Dracula so utterly terrified of a small cross the Monsignor was holding when the latter surprised him in his niece’s room (the rooftop trysts/chases become awfully repetitive too)?; besides, at one point, Dracula shouts his orders to his henchman from inside the coffin (isn’t he supposed to be asleep in there?) – not to mention the fact that, for a movie that’s supposed to be mostly set at night, the sky looks awfully bright (the culprit being obvious day-for-night shooting).

Even so, there are several good sequences along the way – notably the afore-mentioned opening scene and resurrection of the Count, the sluttish barmaid pleading with Dracula to take her over the virginal Carlson and the vampire’s dual impalements towards the end of the film. Unlike previous or subsequent entries in the series, Dracula is here less interested in draining the blood of virgins than he is in extracting revenge on the Monsignor for barring the entrance to his caste door with a huge crucifix! Also, John Elder’s script adds some interesting (even novel) ideas to the tried-and-true Hammer vampire formula: the slackening of Christian belief in the village due to Dracula’s evil influence; the opposing viewpoints of atheist Andrews and Monsignor Davies; the conflicted younger priest, etc.

The copy I watched had a slight video glitch during one of Lee’s close-ups (when he visits Carlson in her bedroom and is chased away by Davies) and, towards the end, it also went out-of-synch (but, thankfully, this was fixed when played again via the chapter menu). I’m now left with only TASTE THE BLOOD OF DRACULA (1970) to catch up with – and I regret even more now not having rented the restored DVD from Warners when I was in Hollywood in late 2005/early 2006!!


Trivia: Director Francis actually stepped in at the last minute to replace regular series helmer Terence Fisher, who had been involved in a road accident; during the shooting of this film, Hammer Studios received the Queen’s Award for Industry; and, according to the IMDB, DRACULA HAS RISEN FROM THE GRAVE proved to be Hammer’s most profitable film ever!


03/24/07:INVADERS FROM MARS [Original U.S. & Alternate U.K. Versions](William Cameron Menzies, 1953) :star::star:1/2

I recall having slept through my first viewing of this one on Italian TV several years ago; now, it still emerges a disappointment after a strong first half. There are undeniable good moments along the way, but almost as a reassurance to Cold War-era American viewers, Menzies seems obsessed with showing lengthy scenes of mobilizing troops – though the passages here don’t have the rhythm of equivalent sections in THINGS TO COME (1936); his stylized sets, however, are quite effective. It’s interesting that I watched Menzies’ two sci-fi films back-to-back, as it demonstrates the difference in style and content the genre underwent from the progressive-looking 1930s to the paranoid 1950s.

The film mainly gets by thanks to a likeable cast, and the electronic score (credited to Raoul Kraushaar but actually composed by one Mort Glickman!) is also notable. The climax, though, is a major let-down: the mutants (one of whom, reportedly, was played by Lock Martin – Gort in THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL [1951]) are repeatedly seen running around aimlessly through the underground caverns; the military absurdly allows the kid to fire the aliens’ ray gun (as if it were a toy!) which eventually liberates them from their underground trap; while a scene of falling debris from an exploding rock-face is repeated three times (alerting one to the film’s essential Poverty Row status)!

At times, it’s even unintentionally hilarious: the hysterical army manoeuvres, the make-up of the glass-encased chief alien (played by a female midget) – also becaue it does nothing but look about it! – and, my favorite, the look of surprise and terror (in close-up) on a scientist’s face after surviving an assassination attempt by the zombified kid’s father. Interestingly, the film was apparently shot in 3-D but there are no glaring examples taking advantage of this format; also, the original story writer had his credit removed when the film-makers turned his story into a child’s nightmare!

As for the alternate UK Version: this features a lengthy and tedious explanatory scene of UFO activity over the years half-way through which stops the film dead in its tracks (clearly shot much later as the boy’s haircut is totally different and the sequence itself indifferently staged); the alternate ending isn’t that bad, though – despite allowing the Martians to unaccountably escape scott free (I was actually glad that the boy’s rather frenzied reminiscence of past events as he‘s running away from the alien hide-out in the original has been dropped). In spite of its solid reputation, I wouldn’t classify INVADERS FROM MARS as one of the top-tier films from the sci-fi heyday (the body-snatching angle alone was more persuasively handled in IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE [1953] and especially INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS [1956] – though the “quicksand” technique used here is, in itself, innovative).

The print of both versions on Image’s “50th Anniversary” DVD is quite scratched and extremely dark (the famous green alien costume is hardly discernible); this also does the rather ugly Cinecolor no favors at all. It also includes a welcome Easter Egg in the form of trailers for BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA (1952), SHE DEMONS (1958), MONSTER FROM GREEN HELL (1958), THE FLYING SAUCER (1950) and THE CRAWLING EYE (1958).


04/01/07: THE BLOOD BEAST TERROR (Vernon Sewell, 1967) :star::star:

Peter Cushing used to refer to THE BLOOD BEAST TERROR as the worst film of his prolific career, and this was enough to keep me from getting the SE DVD of it on R2 from DD Video when I purchased four more second-tier British horrors from the same outfit last year – namely, ISLAND OF TERROR (1966), NIGHT OF THE BIG HEAT (1967), CURSE OF THE CRIMSON ALTAR (1968) and THE CREEPING FLESH (1973). Eventually, it was shown last Saturday night on an Italian TV channel in its original language with forced Italian subtitles, and I really couldn’t let an occasion like that pass me by…

Tigon was always seen as a cut-rate Hammer and this film was clearly inspired by the latter’s THE REPTILE (1966; one of the Bray Studio outfit’s best of the decade, and which THE BLOOD BEAST TERROR can’t hope to match) – where, again, we find a female monster ‘created’ by her eminent but misguided entomologist father (Robert Flemyng). The monster design (we’re dealing with a giant Death’s Head Moth here) isn’t too bad, actually, and it’s thankfully not over-exposed during the course of the film: besides, Wanda Ventham’s character is interesting in that she doesn’t bemoan her fate as usually happens in such genre efforts – rather, she’s single-minded in seeking out her prey among Flemyng’s naïve students and rugged helpers around the estate, all of whom are easily swayed by her attractiveness!

Aided by a fine score from resident Tigon composer Paul Ferris, the film creates a reasonable gothic atmosphere throughout (with, at one point, even an amateur rendition/parody of a typical Grand Guignol performance set up by the students – and also featuring Ventham – in Flemyng’s house). The script, incidentally, is by Hammer alumnus Peter Bryan (THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES [1959], THE BRIDES OF DRACULA [1960] and THE PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES [1966]) and, while offering no real surprises, it’s quite enjoyable for what it is – certainly better than its reputation would suggest! That said, the monster’s come-uppance in an unconvincing and abrupt fiery ending is one of the lamest of its kind I’ve ever come across…

Cushing – with his customary fastidiousness and dry wit intact – is always a pleasure to watch; Flemyng, too, offers his unhinged medico routine – and it’s interesting, to say the least, to witness this clash of Hammer and Italian horror acting styles! Notable among the supporting cast is Roy Hudd as a scurrilous morgue attendant.

At this stage, I don’t know whether I’ll eventually spring for the R2 DVD – since it contains a 25-minute career overview with Ventham – but, if it’s ever discounted again by one of my British retailers of choice (and provided that it hasn’t gone out-of-print by then!), it’s worth considering. Another DD Video title I’ve long neglected is THE DEVIL’S MEN (1976), incidentally, also starring Peter Cushing – and, even though it’s an equally maligned horror effort, I have to admit that I’m a sucker for such things…


04/01/07: SONNY AND JED (Sergio Corbucci, 1972) :star::star:1/2

This latter-day Spaghetti Western boasts a good cast (Tomas Milian, Susan George, Telly Savalas, Laura Betti, Eduardo Fajardo, Rosanna Yanni and Herbert Fux) and is enjoyable while it’s on…but the misogynist traits of Milian’s character in particular and the general unpleasantness of it all leaves a bad taste in the viewer’s mouth. In essence, this is a vulgarization of the Bonnie and Clyde myth in Western garb with Jed (Milian) an illiterate brute with Robin Hood pretentions and Sonny (George, just off Peckinpah’s STRAW DOGS [1971]) is almost always on the point of being raped by all and sundry. Among the gallery of grotesques that cross their path are blinded lawman Savalas, whorehouse madam Laura Betti and sex-starved aristocrat Yanni. Ennio Morricone provides the typically eclectic music score but I wouldn’t say it’s one of his more memorable works.

 

[Michael Elliott]

04/01/07

Forbidden (1932) :star::star:1/2

Frank Capra directed this incredibly stupid film about a shy librarian (Barbara Stanwyck) who takes a cruise and meets a seamanly nice politician (Adoplhe Menjou). The two eventually fall in love but then the politician must admit that he's already married. To make matters even worse, the librarian is pregnant and a hot shot reporter (Ralph Bellamy) wants the story. This film takes place over a twenty-year period but in the end it really doesn't work out too well. The three stars all done very nice work, although it's hard to believe Stanwyck in her role as a ugly librarian. Bellamy steals the film as the fast talking reporter who spends his life trying to bring the politician down. The film is somewhat charming at the start but once all the politics come into play it grows quite tiresome. And then, there's the incredibly stupid and horribly written ending, which has to be one of the worst from any film I've seen. I won't ruin it for you but what Stanwyck does at the end is just downright stupid and goes against everything that came before it.

Miricle Woman, The (1931) :star::star::star:

Frank Capra's controversial film was a box office dud back in the day and was slightly telling the story of the controversial evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson. In the film, Barbara Stanwyck plays a woman who's faith in God turns after her father, a preacher, is thrown out of his church by a bunch of hypocrites. Not knowing where to turn after her fathers death, the woman takes on a manager and the two begin to cheat churchgoers with fake heelings. Everything, including the money, is going strong until the young woman meets a blind man (David Manners) and the two fall in love. This is a rather strange film and it's easy to see why it would bomb back in the day but today is speaks quite strongly about faith and religion. The opening sequence with Stanwyck screaming at those who threw her father out are very strong and features Stanwyck at the best I've seen her. I'm not a fan of the actress but she really blew my mind here with her very strong and heartfelt performance. Manner is equally wonderful in his role as the blind man and he does a very good job at playing blind. Capra's direction is very strong throughout, especially the ending.

04/02/07

McKinley at Home (1896)

Biograph short shows President McKinley walking across his lawn and towards the camera.

Grandpa's Reading Glasses (1902) :star::star:1/2

Biograph short has two little girl's looking through their grandfather's glasses and seeing everything magnified. Outside the early POV shots, this here isn't anything overly special.

Search for the Evidence, A (1903) :star::star::star:

Biograph short about a woman and a detective peeking through keyholes at a hotel trying to catch her husband cheating. The story really doesn't go anywhere here as the film ends just as the woman finds her husband but it's still put together pretty nicely. The editing to the keyholes and then back to the wife are handled well. The cameraman was G.W. Bitzer.

Moonshiner, The (1904) :star::star:1/2

Biograph short tells the story of a moonshiner who goes out to sell the day's whiskey but he's being trailed by a government agent. This short runs 11-minutes but sadly they didn't do much with the story. The early scenes drag on a lot longer than they should. Just take a look at the scene where the moonshiner is walking to his still. He just walks and walks and walks. There's some nice action at the end that makes this work viewing including one rather violent, if over the top, death scene. Camera by G.W. Bitzer.

Hero of Liao-Yang, The (1904) :star::star:

Biograph short deals with the war between Russia and Japan. A young Japanese man is picked by the government to lead a very dangerous mission, which could cost him his life. As with the above film, there's a pretty good story here but there's just not a director to bring it to life. Towards the end of the film there's a couple good shoot outs as well as a really nice battlefield sequence. Camera by Bitzer.

Crime Doctor's Strangest Case, The (1943) :star::star:1/2

Second film in Columbia's Crime Doctor series has the psychiatrist (Warner Baxter) trying to solve the murder of a real estate agent. All fingers point to a man (Lloyd Bridges) who the crime doctor got off of murder charges the year before. This second film is certainly better than the first film but it's still not top-notch mystery. Baxter seems a little bit more at ease here but again, his performance isn't anything that really jumps off the screen. Bridges steals the film as the man who knows his past will make him look guilty here. The rest of the supporting cast is pretty forgettable as is most of the mystery but at 68-minutes it never gets too slow.

 

[PatW]

Sentinel (2006) :star: :star: :star:

Secret Service agent played by M. Douglas is suspected in a plot to kill the President. I was reasonably entertained for the duration of the movie but this could have been better. Acting was solid but unexciting.

 

[Tarkin The Ewok]

4/1: Meet the Robinsons (2007) :star::star::star::star: out of :star::star::star::star::star:

This movie does a lot of things very well. I love the quirky characters, the off-the-wall humor, and the sheer imagination of the artistry. The emotional arc of Lewis is familiar but carried out with enough sincerity that it still evokes an emotional response. Bowler Hat Guy's back story has an extremely predictable twist to it, but I still enjoy him as a comedic villain. I saw this in Disney Digital 3-D, and I am still very impressed with the overall effect. It really does feel more immersive, and I hope that the practice becomes more mainstream by the end of the decade.

 

[Adam_S]

happy feet - 3 of 10

gag
lame.


Blood Diamond - 8 of 10
damn good movie, much better than I expected. a little bit colonialist, but that's hollywood casting for you--happy ending to make Capra proud.


Good Luck Chuck - 6 of 10

first act still in rough shape, but this could be another RRated comedy hit in the vein of the Wedding Crashers or 40 YO Virgin, not as good as those, but sweet, sexy for the ladies while raunchy with lots and lots of T&A for the guys.

Some of the wild sex montages may be cut for an unrated DVD though, depends on how they play in screenings between now and August. That'd be a shame, because those montages are perhaps the film's funniest and best gag.

Au Hasard Balthazar - 5 of 10

gorgeous cinematography, great score. Utterly wretched acting, if you can call it that--deliberately emotionless faces, the same bland expression on every actor's face in every scene--how wonderfully artistic!! almost as inscrutable as a dumb animal... a donkey, say! No. Wait. The donkey was more expressive. That is clever, but it's still not a good movie.

 

[Brian.L]

March Recap

Movies seen: 19 (First timers: 13)
Average rating = 2.53/5

What a crap month. The only reason that the average isn't like 2.0 is because I watched a lot of movies I'd already seen. I blame the fact that I had company mid-March and was out of the country on vacation for the last week. Not much to day except Shortbus is overrated and Fast Food Nation is underrated. Besides that, I'm really starting to scrape the dregs of 2006 releases now (sure am glad I celebrated my birthday with the Texas Chainsaw remake prequel movie)...a few more of the end-of-year acclaimed ones and it will be time to move onto 2007.

ALL RATINGS OUT OF :star::star::star::star::star: (FIVE) STARS

First time viewings in bold.

3/01- Fast Food Nation (2006) :star::star::star:1/2
3/02- Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) :star::star::star:
3/03- Star Trek: First Contact (1996) :star::star::star::star:
3/04- All The King's Men (2006) :star::star:
3/05- My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006) :star::star:
3/06- Invincible (2006) :star::star:
3/08- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006) 1/2
3/12- Help! (1965) :star::star::star:
3/15- Starcrash (1979) 1/2
3/17- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962) :star::star::star::star:
3/18- The Good Shepherd (2006) :star::star:1/2
3/21- Shortbus (2006) :star::star:
3/21- The Grudge 2 (2006) 1/2
3/25- Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004) :star::star::star:1/2
3/26- Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) :star::star::star:1/2
3/27- Tenacious D: The Pick of Destiny (2006) :star::star:
3/29- Jaws (1975) :star::star::star:1/2
3/31- Deja Vu (2006) :star::star:1/2
3/31- Batman Begins (2005) :star::star::star:1/2

Favorites (first timers): Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Fast Food Nation (but I didn't *love* either movie...it's all relative)

 

[Mario Gauci]

04/01/07: THE LONG SHIPS (Jack Cardiff, 1964) :star::star:1/2

Richard Flesicher’s THE VIKINGS (1958) was, together with the original version of KING KONG (1933), the film I watched most during my childhood – and I still consider it one of the finest adventure movies ever made. Knowing that this was made in its wake, I have always been interested in watching it and, actually, I had seen bits and pieces from the film on a Sicilian TV channel one Sunday afternoon some 20 years ago!. I finally acquired it a few weeks back but when, in anticipation of my viewing it, I read what my favorite online DVD reviewer Glenn Erickson aka DVD Savant, had to say about the film – calling it “a feeble joke”, “a real embarrassment”, “a total botch”, and “one big goulash of mistakes” – I was somewhat dreading the prospect of watching it!

The cast is certainly promising: Richard Widmark and Sidney Poitier (in their second of three collaborations), Russ Tamblyn, Rosanna Schiaffino (surprising casting, given that the film is a British/Yugoslavian production, but actually quite good as Poitier’s non-Moorish wife who eventually has a brief fling with Widmark), Edward Judd, Oskar Homolka, Clifford Evans, Colin Blakely, Gordon Jackson, David Lodge and (in hindsight, unrecognizable) Lionel Jeffries! Widmark is fun as the tell-tale Viking hero but Poitier, saddled with an unbecoming Billy Dee Williams-type wig as a Moorish prince, looks miserable throughout (he later considered the film “a disaster” himself); Tamblyn as Widmark’s brother is typically energetic and Homolka is evidently aping Ernest Borgnine’s turn in THE VIKINGS as the Norse patriarch…but the most bizarre casting of all is that of Jeffries as the insufferable eunuch in Poitier’s harem (although his screen time is mercifully brief)!

Director Cardiff had been the cameraman on the earlier Viking epic and, though THE LONG SHIPS was based on a book, it clearly took much inspiration from the Fleischer film: the Viking festivites, the Norse community welcoming its returning males, Widmark and Tamblyn both falling for female enemies, etc. Two of THE VIKINGS’ major assets were the awesome cinematography and the unforgettable score; these two aspects are also notable here (courtesy of Christopher Challis and Dusan Radic respectively) – though the latter does grow repetitive after a while. The action scenes, with a surfeit of falling horses and leaping Norsemen, are decent enough – though the ‘Mare of Steel’ torture device promises brutality which never materializes! The quest for the Golden Bell (introduced in the notably colorful animated prologue) even equates this with the search for the Holy Grail (of Arthurian times) and the Golden Fleece (from Greek mythology). The highlight of the film is certainly the discovery of the bell itself and its subsequent tumble into the sea taking many of Widmark’s crew along with it (although, it’s rather inconceivable how a thing of that magnitude would float after falling from such heights)!

My verdict, therefore, may not be as harsh as that of Erickson or Poitier but there's little doubt that the amount of talent involved in THE LONG SHIPS should have made for a more significant film; ultimately, it's enjoyable as a juvenile romp but falls short of the full-blooded thrills delivered by THE VIKINGS. Incidentally, producer Irving Allen would soon go on to make GENGHIS KHAN (1965) – another maligned international epic which, again, I’ve been wishing to check out for a couple of decades and which is, surprisingly enough, still unavailable on DVD…


04/02/07: A HIGH WIND IN JAMAICA (Alexander Mackendrick, 1965) :star::star::star:

I’d watched this eons ago on Italian TV but had long forgotten it – the film does come across as somewhat unmemorable at the end of the day, but this offbeat pirate-adventure-with-child-interest has a beguiling charm all its own. That said, the film’s very low-key nature might not win it much approval among action-film fans…

Curiously enough, half the film is actually spoken in Spanish (without the benefit of English subtitles!) – and, while it tends to wander because of this, also gives the proceedings a welcome air of full-blooded vividness! Anthony Quinn is his usual larger-than-life self, but his befuddled interaction with the kids endears him to viewers even more here. James Coburn is very amusing as Quinn’s second-in-command, who can’t speak a word of Spanish and is often at a loss as to what is going on around him (though I would have liked some form of an explanation as to his incongruous presence there). Dennis Price has a notable cameo towards the very end as a solicitor leeringly prying into the children’s ‘experience’ with the pirates, while “guest star” Gert Frobe only appears in one crucial scene as a wounded Dutch captain (but who eventually has a huge bearing on the plot resolution); the film also features Nigel Davenport as the children’s father and Lila Kedrova as a ‘tavern-keeper’.

The opening hurricane sequence – which gives the film (and the novel it is based on) its title – is extremely well done, though the climactic courtroom sequence and its outcome (the willful execution of the pirates) is rather too rushed to be as effective as it needs to be. The antics of the children, of English and Spanish origins, are fun to watch – but Deborah Baxter leaves the best impression, as she is the one to bond most with Quinn. Larry Adler’s lovely score subtly accentuates Douglas Slocombe’s colorful widescreen imagery.

Alexander Mackendrick was an American-born/Scotland-bred director who made his name at Britain’s famed Ealing Studios and went on to have a very brief but often brilliant career; this was actually his penultimate work. Incidentally, the two films of his I've yet to watch - MANDY (1952) and SAMMY GOING SOUTH (1963) - also feature children as their protagonists.


04/02/07: THE HOST (Joon-Ho Bong, 2006) :star::star::star:

While the film may be yet another take on the JAWS formula, it has a very strong sense of humor which actually made it closer in effect to the likes of PIRANHA (1978), ALLIGATOR (1980) and LAKE PLACID (1998). Still, the fact that amidst all the action and special-effects stuff there is also a human story about a dysfunctional gung-ho family struck down by the tragedy makes it superior to those films; the ecological message (since the mutation is the direct result of unlawful disposal of toxic waste ordered by none other than Scott Wilson!!) is also effectively anchored among all the expert popcorn fun on display.

Anyway, this is arguably the best monster movie of the decade, but I would argue (sic) that the monster is shown way too much here – so that it ceases to be really scary or even repulsive! The best sequence is certainly the very first attack on the beach, which starts out slowly but proceeds into a crescendo of chaos and destruction – though the climax (set at the exact same spot, I might add, but whose tone is entirely different) is worth waiting for. The bittersweet ending is also not what one would expect in a film of its type.

The bottom line is that it is refreshing to see a modern Asian horror movie with heart – and not just a concentrated effort to drive the audience out of their wits with relentless manipulative scares…