Track the Films You Watch (2010) (1 Viewer)

[Brian.L]

Films seen by date:

ALL RATINGS OUT OF
12/25- My Life to Live (Vivre Sa Vie) (1962) /img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif/img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif
12/29- Despicable Me (2010) /img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif/img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gifhttp://www.hometheaterforum.com/img/vbsmilies/htf/half.gif
12/30- The Last Exorcism (2010) /img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif/img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gifhttp://www.hometheaterforum.com/img/vbsmilies/htf/half.gif

 

[Sandro]

FILMS WATCHED IN 2010




Ratings Scale
Perfect
Above Average
Below Average
BOMB Terrible

01/01/10 Dark Hours
01/02/10 Paranormal Activity 1/2
01/03/10 Sherlock Holmes and the Spider Woman
01/03/10 Memories 1/2
01/04/10 Noise 1/2
01/05/10 New Year's Evil 1/2
01/07/10 Summer Hours
01/07/10 Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon 1/2
01/07/10 Rollerball (1975)
01/08/10 Sherlock Holmes Faces Death
01/08/10 Marat/Sade
01/09/10 Buried Alive (1990) 1/2
01/10/10 Sunshine Cleaning
01/10/10 Sender, The 1/2
01/10/10 Phase IV
01/11/10 Abominable 1/2
01/12/10 Public Enemies 1/2
01/13/10 Pathology
01/14/10 Speed
01/15/10 Great Buck Howard
01/17/10 Sherlock Holmes and the Pearl of Death 1/2
01/17/10 Flaming Star 1/2
01/18/10 Man Hunt
01/18/10 Beyond, The
01/19/10 Inglorious Basterds
01/21/10 Cashback
01/21/10 Cold Prey 1/2
01/22/10 Tell Me Something
01/23/10 Descent, The 1/2
01/25/10 Sherlock Holmes in Washington 1/2
01/25/10 Superstition 1/2
01/26/10 Kontroll
01/26/10 Point Break 1/2
01/27/10 Time and Tide 1/2
01/28/10 Crank
01/29/10 House by the Cemetery 1/2
01/29/10 Freakmaker 1/2
01/30/10 Mission, The (1999) 1/2
01/30/10 Guard from Underground 1/2
01/31/10 Untouchables
01/31/10 12:08 East of Bucharest 1/2
01/31/10 Pandorum 1/2
02/02/10 Blood on Satan's Claw
02/04/10 Cure
02/04/10 Looker
02/04/10 Hand of Death 1/2
02/04/10 Shuttle
02/05/10 Sherlock Homes and the Scarlet Claw 1/2
02/05/10 Opera
02/06/10 Woman in Green 1/2
02/06/10 Sunshine (2008) 1/2
02/08/10 Shootist, The
02/09/10 Last of Sheila 1/2
02/09/10 Charisma
02/10/10 DOA
02/10/10 Pitch Black
02/11/10 Seance on a Wet Afternoon
02/11/10 Blood Mania 1/2
02/12/10 Ordinary People 1/2
02/13/10 Pursuit to Algiers 1/2
02/13/10 Pulp Fiction
02/14/10 French Film
02/14/10 Sisters
02/15/10 Culpepper Cattle Company
02/15/10 Unrest
02/16/10 Deep End
02/16/10 Hamiltons 1/2
02/17/10 Book of Blood 1/2
02/18/10 StepFather 2
02/20/10 Package, The
02/20/10 House of Fear
02/20/10 Infestation
02/21/10 Terrified 1/2
02/23/10 Doc
02/23/10 Horror of Dracula
02/24/10 Nightmare in Wax
02/25/10 Dracula AD 1972 1/2
02/25/10 Terror by Night 1/2
02/26/10 Satanic Rites of Dracula
02/26/10 I, Monster 1/2
02/27/10 Apartment, The (1996)
02/27/10 Blood Beast Terror
02/27/10 Doomwatch 1/2
02/28/10 R.O.T.O.R. BOMB
03/02/10 In the Loop 1/2
03/02/10 Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
03/02/10 Day the World Ended
03/03/10 Baghead 1/2
03/04/10 Pickup on South Street 1/2
03/04/10 Spy Who Came in from the Cold
03/05/10 Dressed to Kill (1946)
03/05/10 Hardware 1/2
03/06/10 Billy Two Hats 1/2
03/06/10 Seance 1/2
03/07/10 If I Had a Million
03/08/10 (500) Days of Summer 1/2
03/08/10 Anamorph
03/09/10 Beat That My Heart Skipped, The
03/09/10 Dirty Little Billy 1/2
03/11/10 Used Cars
03/12/10 Shout, The 1/2
03/12/10 Third Man
03/12/10 Husbands 1/2
03/13/10 Box, The
03/13/10 Diary of a Chambermaid (1964) 1/2
03/14/10 Minnie and Moskowitz 1/2
03/14/10 Shanks
03/16/10 Blessed
03/16/10 True Believer 1/2
03/16/10 Sweet Home 1/2
03/17/10 Cadaver
03/18/10 Private Life of Sherlock Holmes
03/18/10 Alphabet Killer 1/2
03/19/10 Dorm 1/2
03/20/10 Dog Soldiers
03/21/10 Lady Eve
03/22/10 Velvet Vampire 1/2
03/22/10 Truck Turner
03/23/10 Girl by the Lake
03/23/10 May Fools
03/23/10 Magician, The (1926)
03/24/10 House of the Devil
03/25/10 Before the Fall
03/27/10 Burmese Harp 1/2
03/27/10 Hurt Locker 1/2
03/28/10 Night Digger
03/29/10 Children, The (1980) 1/2
03/29/10 Fear Me Not
03/30/10 Imprint 1/2
03/31/10 Last Horror Film
04/01/10 Taste of Cherry
04/01/10 Mother's Day
04/03/10 Law-Abiding Citizen 1/2
04/03/10 Hound of the Baskervilles (1939)
04/05/10 House on Sorority Row
04/06/10 Julie and Julia
04/06/10 Popcorn
04/08/10 Blood and Bone 1/2
04/08/10 Triangle (2009)
04/10/10 Call of Cthulhu 1/2
04/11/10 Eyes of Laura Mars 1/2
04/13/10 Moon
04/13/10 Red Road
04/14/10 Girl Next Door (2007)
04/15/10 Inglorious Bastards 1/2
04/16/10 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
04/16/10 House Where Evil Dwells
04/17/10 Five Minutes to Live 1/2
04/17/10 Ca$h
04/18/10 Case of the Whitechapel Vampire
04/20/10 Flame and Citron
04/20/10 Cool Air
04/20/10 Carriers 1/2
04/22/10 Eight Million Ways to Die 1/2
04/22/10 Puppetmaster 1/2
04/22/10 Jenifer
04/23/10 Murder By Death
04/24/10 Devil's Hand 1/2
04/24/10 Panic Room
04/25/10 Sounds Like 1/2
04/26/10 9 1/2
04/26/10 Drag Me To Hell
04/29/10 Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapbox 1/2
04/30/10 Panic in the Streets 1/2
04/30/10 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes 1/2
04/30/10 Food Inc. 1/2
05/01/10 Stuff, The
05/03/10 Nightmare Alley 1/2
05/04/10 Eye of the Killer 1/2
05/04/10 Ginger Snaps
05/05/10 Brotherhood of Death 1/2
05/06/10 Gun Runners
05/06/10 In the Bedroom 1/2
05/07/10 Great Scout and Cathouse Thursday
05/07/10 Fear City
05/07/10 Surrogates 1/2


05/08/10 Ginger Snaps: Unleashed
05/08/10 Blue Angel (1930) 1/2


05/09/10 Mad Detective 1/2


05/09/10 Ginger Snaps: The Beginning


05/10/10 Life of Brian


05/10/10 Will Penny 1/2


05/10/10 Thirst (1979)


05/11/10 Mirrors 1/2


05/12/10 North Face


05/12/10 Hills Run Red (2009)


05/12/10 Midnight Meat Train


05/13/10 My Bloody Valentine (2009) 1/2


05/14/10 Collateral 1/2


05/14/10 Undisputed II: Last Man Standing


05/16/10 Violent Cop 1/2


05/16/10 Patrick 1/2


05/17/10 Strange Behavior 1/2


05/17/10 Wild Country 1/2


05/19/10 Up in the Air


05/20/10 Girl on the Bridge 1/2


05/20/10 Eastern Condors


05/22/10 Don't Answer the Phone 1/2


05/23/10 Perfect Getaway 1/2


05/24/10 Retribution 1/2


05/24/10 3 Extremes 1/2


05/25/10 Terror (1978) 1/2


05/26/10 Blood: The Last Vampire (2000)


05/28/10 Endless Night 1/2


06/17/10 Legacy of Rage 1/2


06/18/10 A Better Tomorrow, A


06/19/10 Madmen of Mandoras 1/2


06/19/10 Autopsy


06/21/10 Book of Eli 1/2


06/24/10 Martyrs


06/25/10 Seventh Continent


06/27/10 City on Fire 1/2


06/28/10 Big Parade


06/29/10 Reservoir Dogs


06/30/10 Two O'Clock Courage 1/2


06/30/10 Brief Interviews with Hideous Men


07/01/10 Aftermath


07/02/10 Bad Lieutenant 1/2


07/04/10 36th Chamber of Shaolin


07/05/10 Man on the Train


07/05/10 Prophecy (1979) 1/2


07/07/10 Of Unknown Origin 1/2


07/07/10 Blue Thunder 1/2


07/08/10 Cherish


07/09/10 Seventh Sign 1/2


07/09/10 Passengers 1/2


07/09/10 Crimson Rivers


07/09/10 King of New York


07/09/10 Quatermass and the Pit


07/10/10 Prime Evil


07/11/10 Lost Souls


07/12/10 My Best Friend 1/2


07/13/10 Don't Open Til Christmas


07/14/10 Brain Twisters 1/2


07/14/10 Ripper, The (1997) 1/2


07/15/10 So Dark The Night 1/2


07/15/10 Trivial 1/2


07/16/10 My Name is Julia Ross 1/2


07/16/10 Inception 1/2


07/16/10 Cry of the Hunted 1/2


07/16/10 Memento 1/2


07/17/10 Desperate Search


07/17/10 Throw Momma from the Train


07/18/10 Gun Crazy 1/2


07/18/10 Trip with the Teacher


07/19/10 Seventh Cavalry 1/2


07/19/10 Satan's Slave


07/20/10 Kind Hearts and Coronets 1/2


07/20/10 Devil Doll (1964)


07/21/10 Zombieland


07/22/10 Desperate 1/2


07/22/10 Paperhouse 1/2


07/23/10 Office Space


07/23/10 Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon


07/25/10 Terror in a Texas Town

 

[Martin Teller]

Rashomon (rewatch) - Boy, I haven't watched this since the DVD came out in early 2002. But it certainly stuck with me all those years. Although I'd forgotten a lot of the details, quite a bit of it stuck with me (partially, of course, because of its enormous influence on cinema, and pop culture in general). There is room to interpret this as being a film about the silence of God. Often the characters look up to an unresponsive sky in search of answers. Or the priest character whose witnessing of the retellings shakes his faith. And most importantly, the narrative structure itself is a defiance of the usual omniscient camera. What story is real? God might know, but God ain't talking. I don't really believe that Kurosawa meant for it to be statement about man's faith in God, it's really about man's faith in each other. But it's interesting to note how the movie thumbs its nose at the standard "God's-eye view" of cinema. Trying to decide which story is "true" is a fun exercise (the woodcutter has the least stake in it, and his account is the only one that doesn't make a hero/martyr out of any of the participants) but ultimately works against the purpose of the film. We're not meant to solve the mystery. And coincidentally, I've had Ravel's "Bolero" in my head all week, so it was a kick to hear it being evoked in the score, and quite effectively, especially during Takashi Shimura's brilliantly-filmed trudge through the forest and Machiko Kyo's bone-chilling segment. Kurosawa could rightly be criticized for using such a cheap ploy as an abandoned infant to eke out a bit of optimism, but he's often a sentimentalist (see: One Wonderful Sunday) and he usually pulls it off well. Rating: 9

Shame (rewatch) - Here's Bergman stretching his reach a little further with his first, and I believe only, film about war. War was on his mind at this time; you can see glimspes of it in The Silence and Persona, and here we have a whole film devoted to the subject. And in conjunction with that, it's one of the very few Bergman films to feature guns prominently. Firearms make brief appearances in Winter Light and Sawdust and Tinsel (and in High Tension, with inept hilarity) but it's nothing compared to most American films, which give you the impression that the majority of the populace is packin' heat. It feels a bit silly sometimes to speak of "overlooked" Bergman films, since he's so highly regarded and so much of his work is canonical. But I really wish this one got a little more attention; it's one of my favorites, and one of the best anti-war films I can think of. He wasn't too happy with the script, and felt the first part goes on too long, but I don't have a problem with it. I think establishing the marital conflict adds an extra layer, as the story is really about several types of war: the geopolitical, the bureaucratic, the internal, and the intrapersonal. Max Von Sydow is the classic Bergman ineffectual man. Ingmar's protagonists are never the alpha male... if anything, the alpha male is the villain. And for Liv Ullmann, this film helped to spark a lifetime dedication to humanitarian efforts. Rating: 10
Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach - Anyone who says they prefer this to Amadeus is probably either: 1) a liar trying to impress you, 2) an asshole who just always has to go against the grain, or 3) just really likes Bach way more than Mozart. Or some combination thereof. The film (if you can call it that) is mostly just people in period costumes, sitting in period locations, playing the music of Bach. Between pieces, there are brief floods of rather dry biographical information from the perspective of Bach's wife, usually about the publication of some music or an attempt to curry favor with one official or another. Once in a while there will be some actual acting (if you can call it that), but it doesn't happen often and it doesn't last long. If you really adore Bach, you might like this, but then why not just pick up a nice album collection with some good liner notes? And if you're not into Bach, this movie probably won't inspire you to get into his work. Of course, the music is wonderful, and it's impressive that it's all been recorded live. But it's all so dull and uncinematic. Rating: 3

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Sherlock Holmes (2009) /img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif">

I saw the film last evening with my wife and two friends. I thought it was "decent, not great", and better than I'd anticipated. But the other three liked it more than I did; I think this movie may be considered overall a bonafide critical and fan success, and the tweaking or modernizing of the formula has worked, for better or worse.
I'm not a big Sherlock Holmes fan; just as with James Bond, I've never read any of the stories and got my education pretty much from the movies. In the case of Holmes, that'd be Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, who I still prefer to Downey and Jude Law. But I also recognize that great liberties were also taken even with those beloved 1940s Universal versions. It makes sense too when people point out that we love Lugosi's DRACULA and Karloff's FRANKENSTEIN, but they're not the true versions as written either, not by a longshot. It really makes you feel like you want to give this movie a pass too, if you honestly consider that we let so many older things slide. However, I think it's not so much that there are changes and modernizing per se; the question is more, have these updates and changes worked for you?

I liked the score in this film, which kind of reminded me a bit of the music in Jess Franco's EL CONDE DRACULA, of all things. I thought it was good having the story take place in olden times, and I liked Jude Law as Watson. As for Robert Downey, he did not strike me as Sherlock Holmes - that is, not the vision of Holmes I have burned into my brain - but if one is willing to be more open minded in this case, he was enjoyable in the part in his own new way. I despised Rachel McAdams in this movie; she just came off as way too 21st Century-like for this era.
My main gripes with the film are the same typical problems I find with so many newer movies... way too many climaxes (is it over now? How about now?), and that annoying "woooossshh!!" speed photography the filmmakers seem so compelled to do today, mostly for flashback moments. Or the trick camera shots in scenes like when Holmes is engaged in fisticuffs with that big bruiser earlier in the film.

 

[filmfandan]

New Entries To The List
A Clockwork Orange (1971) - 10/10
The beyond outstandingly crafted mix of shocking, violent insanity and classical music, as well as Malcolm McDowells astonishing performance plus the very true fact I read in a review saying (A Clockwork Orange isn't about violence, it's about the fragility of individual freedom in the face of state repression. And as a subject, that's just as valid today as it was in 1971) make this deserve the masterpiece status it has. A true great and Singin In The Rain will never be the same again.
Entre les murs / The Class (2008) - 9/10
A superbly crafted, thought provoking, intelligent, engrossing and compelling study of a teacher that made one mistake.
3. The Running Man (1987) - 8/10
Being the first truly violent film I ever saw as well as being a old VHS played over and over and also being the one that got me into the Arnold Schwarzenegger films, makes The Running Man have a special place in my heart. And, I still find it a fantastic and often very exiting piece of escapism entertainment. Schwarzenegger is great in it, in fact they all are and there's some pretty good one liners.

Eyes Wide Shut (1999) - 8/10
I enjoyed and got a lot more out of this the second time I watched it. Its still a flawed piece and inferior to quite a few of Kubrick's films (I am currently working my way through his collection that I bought with my Christmas money, re-watches and first watches). I felt the conclusion was a bit disappointing and did not add up to much and I just don't find it fully satisfying on the whole, that said, I really did find this an undoubtedly impressive effort the second time I watched it. The self indulgences that many criticized it for, did not really bother me as I found it very ambitious and threes no denying the films powerfulness, complellingness and stunning exutition throughout. The music is excellent and makes it very creepy, suspenseful and generally scary. Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise also give career highlight performances. Not quite a masterwork then but clearly the work of a master.

The Dammed United (2009) - 7.5/10
There's sharp dialoge, its funny and has strong performances, however I did think Michael Sheens performance was excellent but I couldn't help feel that it felt out of the films league. Sheen played the character brilliantly but the film only felt very solid. I enjoyed The Damned United a lot but it felt a bit light for its subject matter I guess but there's a lot to admire.
The Simpsons Movie - 7/10
I can understand why long time Simpsons fans where disappointed by this feature film but I still think its above average and better than the mediocre episodes. Having said that, its definitely not as good as the really great episodes either. Its just in the middle, I think its good, entertaining and very funny in places with the Spider Pig being an excellent character. What lets it down, is it dose have that proper classic making Simpson episodes storyline. There's to much cliches and predictability. Plus there's not enough screentime for some of the great classics. A couple of the humour is hit and miss at times too. I can half see, good writing and lazy writing. An entertaining watch with far more laughs than a mediocre episode would have but sadly, its not as memorable as the best episodes
Did You Hear About The Morgans - 5.5/10
Serviceable romantic comedy that had the potential to be a lot better.
La Vie En Rose - 4.5/10
Something of a disappointment. The story is missing, badly told and downright confusing. Marian Cottilards performance is good but Ive seen her give better before and I just found the film dull and found that it just didn't work.
Shark Tale - 2/10
A very poor, charmless and badly written animation.

 

[Michael Elliott]

I plan on going through all my Kubrick titles later in the year. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE is certainly #1 on my list but I've always loved EYES WIDE SHUT as well. I still have vivid memories of watching it three times when it first came out within a 24hr. period. I've been lucky enough to see most of his films on the big screen.
Graveyard Disturbance (1987)

Lamberto Bava

A rather bizarre, made-for-TV Italian film has five teenage punks shoplifting from a small store and then running off from the police. They end up staying the night in the woods when they discover a small club with a lavish treasure. In order to get the treasure they must "enter the gates" into a strange world of zombie/vampire creatures. If you're expecting gore and violence like in Bava's DEMONS then you're going to be disappointed because there's really not too much of anything here. We really don't get to any horror elements until the 45-minute mark and even then the stuff is very small, really boring and in the end really doesn't go anywhere. There is a decent twist towards the end of the movie but at the same time the ending is so bad that you really just have to sit there a few minutes after it's over with and wonder why they even bothered. The screenplay is really all over the place as its never quite sure what it wants to do and the more supernatural elements never really work because there's really no backbone to what's going on. Even the twist comes way too late and it really goes against everything that came before it and then we get cheated even more because what happens after wards goes against the twist. The performances range from bad to poor but Bava's direction does add a few nice touches. The first appearance of the zombie and how it comes to "move" is quite effective and handled very well. There are a few scenes with some atmosphere but just not enough to warrant the 96-minute running time. The zombie/vampire make up effects are decent for such a low budget film but they can't save the movie and in the end there's no real reason to watch this unless you have to see every horror film released in Italy.
Bridge to Hell (1986) :star::star:

Umberto Lenzi

Italian WWII film has three Allied POWs trying to make it across Yugoslavia to safe lines in Italy but along their journey they learn about a treasure being hid from Nazis so they decide to steal it themselves. The story is rather weak and director Lenzi seems to forget what the actual story is at times because the movie is constantly going off in different directions and we get scenes that don't appear to have anything to do with the actual story. Just take a look at one sequence where a bunch of guard dogs show up for no apparent reason unless that said reason ended up on the cutting room floor. The film was obviously done on a very cheap budget as there's very little here that would make you think that you were actually watching a war movie. We do get a couple big battle scenes with a lot of explosions and gun fire but it all looks rather cheap. We also get the mandatory plane crash, quick edit of pilots jumping out and then quick edit of an explosion. The entire movie is pretty much built around stealing this treasure but this too never really gets resolved and by the time the end credits start you wonder if you're missing something or if the production simply ran out of money. Lenzi had pr oven himself to be a good director but he doesn't really do much here as we get no style, no clear story being told and worse of all is that there are many times when the movie just drags along. None of the lead actors are all that good and it doesn't help that the dubbing is rather bad.
Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects (1989) :star::star:

J. Lee Thompson

Charles Bronson's final film for Cannon is this rather disturbing story of him playing a cop trying to bring down a pimp who is kidnapping teenage girls and selling them off as sex slaves. Part of the plot has Bronson's daughter being molested by an Asian man whose daughter just happens to be one of the girls stolen by the pimp. As you can tell, the story here is pretty dirty and the film really doesn't shy away from its rather morbid subject matter. The movie tries to be a lot smarter than your typical Cannon movie but the screenplay isn't serious enough to really carry all the drama that tries to be thrown in. The movie is very confused because it doesn't know if it wants to be pure exploitation and cheap fun or if it actually wants to dive deep into an ugly subject matter and try to say something serious about rape and different cultures. The screenplay also makes a major mistake of having the Asian man being a pervert who molests Bronson's daughter. Not only does this take away from the story involving his kidnapped daughter but his sins are never even dealt with. Thompson actually makes the film pretty stylish, which is a lot more than you can say about several of the films he made with Bronson. There's one sequence where various men are sent into the room with the young Asian girl to rape her and the way Thompson shows this is very restraint as we never see anything but we get the very ugly picture. As far as the performances go, they're what you'd expect from a film like this. Bronson shows up as his typical self and goes by the numbers but fans, such as myself, will eat it up. The supporting cast really doesn't feature anyone too familiar but Jaime Fernandez is good as the dirty pimp. Nicole Eggert plays one of the pimp's girls and look quick for Danny Trejo. Most people will be turned off by this film, which is understandable but Bronson fans will still want to check it out as will fans of Cannon. In the end the movie doesn't really work because of it playing both sides of the coin but there's enough here to make it worth watching.
'Sheba, Baby' (1975)

William Girdler

Blaxploitation Girdler style has Pam Grier leaving Chicago and heading to Louisville when she hears a bunch of thugs are trying to push her father out of his business. Soon dad is shot dead and it's up to Grier to track down the killers and put an end to them. Once again, this isn't the greatest film in the world and it's certainly not an Oscar-winner but if you enjoy the genre and what it has to offer then you're going to be able to enjoy what's here. I was a little hesitant going into a PG-rated blaxploiation film but the screenplay offers up enough action to keep things moving even though I'm sure fans of Grier want the R-rated action that comes with the nudity. Grier is as tough as ever here and she really turns in another winning performance. What always amazes me about her is how much fire and energy you can see her burning even if she's just standing around not doing a thing. Then, when it's time to fight, that energy just erupts like a volcano and one can't help but respect that energy she brings to a film. The supporting players include Rudy Challenger, Austin Stoker and Dick Merrifield but there's no doubt that the film belongs to Grier. Having lived in Louisville for many years, the film gave me even more entertainment than it probably will from someone who has never visited the city. There were several locations that I recognized and that's always going to add a little bit more charm to a film for someone. The movie does go over the top in its violence and I was a little surprised to see more of the red stuff than I was expecting. Of course, being a blaxploitation picture we've got to end the film with a wild chase and shoot out and that doesn't disappoint here either. Seeing Grier in a wetsuit never hurts either.
All the Right Moves (1983) :star::star::star:

Michael Chapman

Nice slice-of-life drama about a high school football player (Tom Cruise) living in a small PA town where there's not much hope for a future except for getting a scholarship. He eventually gets thrown off the team by his coach (Craig T. Nelson) and soon realizes that his entire life might have just got thrown away. Even though the story is quite predictable, this is still a pretty entertaining little movie that actually has a lot more grit than you might expect. Cruise was still wet behind the ears and he certainly doesn't give a great performance but I thought he handled the role of this poor kid trying to get out of a failed life pretty well. Cruise certainly faired a lot better during some of the more dramatic scenes and his relationship with Lea Thompson, who plays his girlfriend here, was quite good as well. Thompson comes off very natural here and it really does feel like they were playing a real couple going through real problems. Chris Penn is also pretty good in his small supporting role. The film belongs to Nelson though and it's a real shame that he didn't have more screentime as he and Cruise work extremely well together and for my money the heart of the story was in their relationship yet for some reason it's not explored as deep as it should have been. The ending is quite predictable and you'll see it coming from a mile away but it was still touching in its own right. Director Chapman really doesn't shy away from many of the subjects and I thought it fairly looked at life in a small town via kids not wanting to turn out like their parents and how the majority of them are given up for dead even before they're out of school. The film contains a nice bit of drama from start to finish and it's certainly worth viewing even if it's not one of the greatest sports movies out there.

16
Rolling Thunder (1977) ***
Springtime in the Netherlands (1950) ** 1/2
Key to the City (1950) ** 1/2

17
Black Legion (1937) ***
Aeronutics (1941) **
Blind Side, The (2009) * 1/2

18
Pal/Secam (2008) ***
Music Made Simple (1938) *
Natural Wonders of the West (1938) ***

19
Great O'Malley, The (1937) **
Muggsy's First Sweetheart (1910) ** 1/2

 

[PatW]

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) http://www.hometheaterforum.com/img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif">
This is a charming sweet story suitable for the whole family about a young Scottish boy that finds an egg which hatches into - you guessed it - Nessie. This is better than alot of movies of this type some of them which are dreadful made for tv fare. I got this as a freebie when I bought my bluray player and it's one of the most viewed movies by my granddaughters when they visit.

 

[Ruz-El]

Originally Posted by PatW /forum/thread/296410/track-the-films-you-watch-2010#post_3645075
Why does ever movie lately have to have a twist ending? It gets tiresome after awhile.

It's becoming my number one pet peeve, only behind the current state of soundtracks that never stop, even during quiet dialog scenes. Seems like the film makers just have to be clever and will throw in a twist that completely contradicts everything that went on before it.
I've been picking away at the Sam Fuller set that came out a bit ago. Here's the on for tonight:
003 01/03 - [COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)]The Power Of The Press[/COLOR] (1943) 3/5 - It's a pretty simple drama, the type where you know what's going to happen ten minutes before the characters do. That's not the point though. This is based on a Sam Fuller story, and you get the sense like you often do with Fuller, that the story is simply a device for a message. A hell of a message it is too, and a ballsy one for 1943. As a result, this stands out a bit more then it deserves to.

 

[Scott!]

[SIZE= smaller][COLOR= #0000ff]Avatar /img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif/img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif/img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif/img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif - Thouroghly enjoyed this. I'm not a fan of 3D so I saw this in 2D. James Cameron certainly has large visions for his films.
9[/COLOR] /img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif/img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif - 9 left me cold. The animation was good but I didn't really like any of the characters.[/SIZE]

 

[TravisR]

Originally Posted by Russell G /img/forum/go_quote.gif">
Seems like the film makers just have to be clever and will throw in a twist that completely contradicts everything that went on before it.

It's even more pointless when most people lie and say that they knew the twist all along anyway.

 

[PatW]

I've decided to take a cue from Russell and use numbers instead of stars on page one when listing movies. Anything to help the page load faster unlike last year.
Once Upon a Honeymoon (1942) /img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif">

 

[Pete York]

A Pete Smith Specialty: Fancy Answers: What’s Your I.Q.? - No. 5 (1941) (short) Dir: Basil Wrangell Production: MGM Pete delivers an oddball series of trivia questions, on subjects ranging from the flag, the animal kingdom, obscure musical terms, swim wear of the South Seas woman, types of grass and the etiquette of descending the stairs at a formal affair. The audience is given a few seconds to answer from a multiple choice selection. The best bit (which is cut-and-pasted from an earlier Pete Smith short) is a slow motion view of an acrobat stunt where four members of the “famous Cristiani family” simultaneously make a running leap into a standing position on the back of a cantering horse. Ava Gardner makes her (brief) film debut in another scene. Mildly amusing diversion, which will at least have you playing along to the end.

/img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif"> out of 4

 

[Michael Elliott]

Interesting, if not totally successful, sci-fi about scientists (Adrien Brody, Sarah Polley) who are working with cloning but decide to take it a step further and add human DNA. This creates some sort of human that the two raise like a child hoping to learn about it but soon things start to spin out of control. This film was marketed as some sort of horror movie like ALIEN but it's pretty far from that. Instead, it's probably best to compare the film to 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY as this here is a thinking movie. I'm certainly not trying to say this is anywhere near the masterpiece of the Kubrick film, as it isn't, but I think a lot of people are seeing the trailer and leaving disappointed that this isn't a blood and guts horror flick. The movie raises a lot of interesting ideas about cloning, human relations and eventually lines that can get crossed whenever you do push the previous limits of right and wrong. This is very much a psychological movie as both scientists, who also just happen to be living together, have their own issues and it's these issues that will eventually test their own limits as this creature begins to take form and grow into an "adult". The film asks a lot of questions but I think part of the problem is that a few of the characters just do too many dumb things. The female scientist bothered me from the start until the end as I found she was simply way too dumb in how naive and silly she would act. The scene where the two pretty much break the law to create this thing was handled as if we were watching a couple high school kids trying to steal some of their dad's beer out of the fridge. The entire sequence had the female scientist just doing too many silly things and I think it would have helped if she at least thought about what could happen as this would have given us a reason to believe she was actually as smart as a scientist would be. After some disappointing performances including Argento's disasterous GIALLO, it was nice seeing Brody back in good form. I thought he was certainly the best actor in the group here as I not only believed him as a scientist but he made me believe everything the character did. Brody had no trouble bringing the human drama to life and he was good enough to make us believe everything we were seeing. Polley is also pretty good in her role even though, as I said, I really hated her character. The two actors really do come off like a real couple, which certainly helped during the various twists at the end. Delphine Chaneac does a good job as the adult-formed creature. I think where the film ultimately fails is that we never do get to learn anything about the creature. It does all sorts of changes throughout the movie and even though our scientists are suppose to be doing research, we just never learn enough about it. The entire parents/daughter thing is an interesting idea and we get a few good moments from it. Sadly, the final ten-minutes turn pure Hollywood with a stupid chase sequence and an even dumber ending. Both of these would have fit into a Hollywood movie but SPLICE spent its entire running time trying to be smart yet tosses that away in the closing moments when it really wasn't needed. I'm not sure if this stuff was forced by a studio but it's certainly feels tacked on. It's easy to see why this movie bombed at the box office and who knows if it will catch on when it hits video. Either way, this is a pretty effective little gem that, for the most part, tries to use a brain instead of gore and violence, which is a rare thing these days. The end result isn't a masterpiece but it remains interesting and worth watching for those wanting something different.


Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

Tim Burton

A pretty simple story as Pee-wee Herman (Paul Reubens) has his bicycle stolen so he must track across the country to locate it. On this journey he will come across a killer, the ghost of a dead trucker, a few bullies, a biker gang and various other oddballs before landing at a movie studio. A minor story has to go along with this film because this was actually the first time I had ever seen Pee-wee in any type of action. I was a kid when this show and movies were out and people always made fun of Pee-wee so I never wanted to check anything out with him in it. It took quite a while to finally few this cultural phenomenon and I ended up enjoying myself a lot more than I thought I would. I must admit that it took a few minutes for me to warm up to Pee-wee and his personality. Once you get use to it then I think it's nearly impossible not to somewhat enjoy his charm and over the top qualities. I think it's rather amazing at how well Reubens can morph into this character because you really don't see any type of actor but instead a real person. You could have fooled me that this wasn't a documentary capturing a real eccentric person instead of me just watching a movie. There are quite a few good scenes because the screenplay is smart enough just to throw this odd character into a pot with other odd characters who normally wouldn't enjoy him. The scene with the bikers was a true gem as was his car ride with the man who escaped from prison. More credit also needs to go to Burton who really makes a colorful film that's great to look at and that includes the wonderful breakfast maker at the start.
Weird Science (1985)

John Hughes

Two nerds (Anthony Michael Hall, Ilan Mitchell-Smith) dream of being cool, having good looking girlfriends and being invited to the best parties in town and they finally get their chance after making their own sex pot (Kelly LeBrock) from their computer. As you can tell, this is a nerds wet dream come true and before watching this movie it's very important to turn your brain off. I must admit that I was really disliking this thing for the first hour but things finally got so campy that I started to have a little fun with it. I still think this is a disappointing movie that doesn't live up to its cult status but at the same time I've seen a lot worse. I think the best thing the film has going for it are the performances by the three leads and some of the supporting players. Anthony Michael Hall fits that nerd role perfectly and he's also quite believable towards the end of the film when he fills out the role of someone cooler. LeBrock clearly steals the film as she looks incredibly good and her performance is nice as well. I thought she did a terrific job no matter what the scene called for and she really brought the film up a few notches. Bill Paxton was fun in the role of the mean brother and Robert Downey, Jr. doesn't do too bad of a job as one of the bullies. Cult favorite Michael Berryman (THE HILLS HAVE EYES) has a small but nice role as a biker mutant. The biggest fault of the film has to be the screenplay, which is somewhat of a shock considering Hughes is best known for this. I think his dialogue is perfectly fitting and I think the original storyline is good as well. The problem is that very little is done with that storyline and everything is just way too predictable. There are many cute moments but in the end the movie is just a tad bit too brain dead for its own good and a stronger story would have certainly helped.
Matinee Idol, The (1928)

Frank Capra

Charming silent film from Capra has a famous actor (Johnnie Walker) deciding to take a vacation to the country where he ends up, accidentally, in a small play where he gets fired by the lead actress (Bessie Love). To play a joke, the actor and his producers decide to take this small play to Broadway but they don't tell the lady that she just fired a famous face. This film was for many decades considered lost before a print turned up and it's good that it did because this is an extremely charming little gem that has the perfect mix of romance, comedy and drama. I was really surprised at how entertaining this film was but it's got a pretty smart little story even though you will have a hard time believing that this actress wouldn't be able to tell that both actors playing against her was the same person. I think Capra handles the material quite well and really delivers an entertaining film. What I enjoyed most is that the film seemed so natural and so smart that you really did get a feel as if you were really watching and seeing a small town acting squad. I've read that Capra learned from these types of groups growing up and it really seems like there's a lot of love being thrown towards these small actors and plays that are often overlooked. The comedy of the film works quite well as the play itself, a real misfire, is actually very funny even if the country actors feel like they're doing dramatic work. We get to see the play acted out twice and each time the film is able to get many laughs. The more dramatic stuff also works well because we can all understand the hurt feeling of trying to be and thinking you're doing good work only to have people laugh at you. Walker and Love both turn in fine performances and their chemistry together also makes the film even better. Love clearly steals the film with her charm and energy that practically jumps off the screen. Johnnie Walkers character is called the greatest "Black Face Comedian" and it seems to be an off note of Al Jolson but it's still pretty good. This isn't one of Capra's best known films and while it's not as powerful as some of his later day stuff, there's still enough here to make it worth viewing.
Thank Your Lucky Stars (1943)

David Butler

Pretty much plot-less "musical" doesn't need a plot when you have guests stars that include Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, John Garfield, Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Jack Carson, Dinah Shore, Ann Sheridan, Dennis Morgan, Ida Lupino and many, many more. What plot the film does have centers around a benefit show where a couple new to Hollywood tries to get on to make a name for themselves. We also have Eddie Cantor playing not only himself but the role of another man trying to break into the business. If you want any type of story then you're going to be disappointed but if you come to a film like this wanting a story then I'm not sure what to tell you. One must remember that the country was at war when this was made and in the end the studio just wanted to deliver something fun and that's what they did. With so many great A-list stars you can't help but have fun even when they're either making fun of themselves or making a fool out of themselves by singing. Flynn and Davis are really bad to listen to but at least they both are having fun with it. Bogart has a funny bit as the "tough guy" who gets pushed around by a nobody. Bogart's reply to this is priceless. Garfield is also quite good as he's the first one to appear in the film and he gets it off to a great pace. Character actor Richard Lane also appears as a character and does fine work as does the rest of the supporting cast. Cantor really seems to be having a blast with some great songs as well as making fun of himself as a boob throughout. All in all, this is a very entertaining movie even if the 127-minute running time goes on a bit too long but there's no way to deny the charm of seeing all these stars in one film.

Hound of the Baskerville, The (1939)

Sidney Lanfield

Nice adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic novel has Basil Rathbone in his first role as Sherlock Holmes. In the film he and Watson (Nigel Bruce) are called to the home of the Baskerville where there's fear that the family curse might strike Sir Henry (Richard Greene) but is it really a deadly beast or something human? I'm not 100% positive but I'm pretty sure this novel has gained the most film adaptations, which is quite understandable as the story itself is a classic and a director would have so much to work with. Not only do we get the rich characters of Holmes and Watson but the story offers up plenty of great supporting players and a setting to die for. It doesn't take director Lanfield very long to draw us into the story as that happens from the word go when we see Baskerville running towards the camera in a fog so thick that you can actually feel it on your skin. This wonderfully atmospheric sequence will put you right into the setting and then the wonderful cast takes over. It's funny to see Rathbone get second billing but it's strange to see how little Holmes has to do in the film. There's a very big chunk where Holmes is no where to be seen but the excellent supporting cast really keeps everything moving perfectly. We have Lionel Atwill perfect as Mortimer, John Carradine as a weird butler, Wend Barrie as Beryl Stapleton and Morton Lowry as her step brother. All of them do great work here as does Greene in the lead role. It goes without saying that Rathbone and Bruce make quite an impression here and it's easy to see why they were cast in all the films that were to follow. Rathbone works so incredibly well with all the supporting players and especially Atwill as the two of them also squared off in SON OF FRANKENSTEIN this year. Some people have a problem with the ending, which is somewhat understandable but for the most part this is an extremely stylish little thriller that has enough atmosphere for two movies. Yes, there are flaws but there's still enough here to make this a must see for fans of the genre.

Cinderella (1977)

Michael Pataki

My rating certainly comes with a bit of nostalgia but I'm sure there are many out there who will go into this movie with memories such as mine. I remember this film quite fondly from my teenage years as my friends and I stumbled across it on Cinemax one night. We also saw bits and pieces of it but we'd try to catch it every time it was on. I'm not sure if we ever watched the film from start to finish but we'd quite often get into fights about the hottest girl or which one we'd most like to be the Prince with. Seeing the film after all these years certainly brought back a lot of fun memories but the film itself held up rather well. The simple storyline has the Price having a party thrown for him so that he can pick a bride but it's pretty much just an orgy. Cinderalla (Cheryl Smith) gets cleaned up by her fairy "godmutha" and he also gives her a snapping vagina (a different word is used in the film). This softcore effort from producer Charles Band is certainly a very memorable film and once you see it you're bound to have scenes stuck in your mind for life. I'm sure seeing it has a teen had an impact on several male viewers but even outside all the nudity there's just something charming about the film. I think the most credit must go to Smith who does a wonderful job with the role of Cinderella. It's not Oscar-worthy but it's fun and she comes off so sweet that you can't help but believe her in the part. The supporting players are all pretty good as well with Yana Nirvana and Marilyn Corwin excellent in the parts of the ugly step sisters and Kirk Scott as a dumb Lord. There are several musical numbers that are decent but nothing great. What makes the movie are all the softcore moments and this is certainly what attracted us to the film many years ago. I don't think more than five seconds go by without some sort of nudity and for the most part it's quite erotic whenever it's not trying to be funny (like the scene with the two girls bathing while their father is out hunting a certain creature).

+PARTY GIRL
*DAMAGED LIVES
*THE ROAD TO RUIN
*GAMBLING WITH SOULS
*COCAINE FIENDS
**REEFER MADNESS
**ASSASSIN OF YOUTH
+SLAVES IN BONDAGE
*SEX MADNESS
+MAD YOUTH
+GANGS INC.
+LADY GANGSTER
+CONFESSIONS OF A VICE BARON
*DELINQUENT DAUGHTERS
+BLONDE ICE
+KILLER BAIT
+IMPACT
+SHE SHOULDA SAID NO
*JAIL BAIT
**THE GIRL GANG
*SWAMP WOMEN
**THE VIOLENT YEARS
+THE FLESH MERCHANT
+SIN YOU SINNERS
BAD GIRLS GO TO HELL
The latest entry in ESPN's series takes a look at the men (and one woman) who helped start what would eventually become a $2-billion dollar industry. Avid baseball fans dreamed of what it would be like running your own team so they came up with what we'd eventually call Fantasy Baseball. This documentary is pretty good at giving us the events of how everything went down but in the end, for me, there just wasn't enough of a story here to really warrant a documentary. Actually, the story is worthy of a documentary but the subject just seems a bit too light for the 30 FOR 30 series, which has turned out to pretty good episodes. This one here is mildly entertaining but nothing else. The biggest problem I had with the show was show we got rather silly re-enactments. These were meant to be somewhat funny but not once did I laugh. I thought they were way too silly, although perhaps they did this to fit in with the title. The fact that these group of people never made a dime off of this is pretty unique but adding them to the Baseball Hall of Fame might not be a bad idea as one of the men interviewed suggested.

 

[Ruz-El]

[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)]Shockproof[/COLOR] (1949) 3/5 - Douglas Sirk adapts a Sam Fuller story and it ends up being as odd as you'd think it would be. It's a weird mix of suspense noir and fatal romance. The main problem is someone shoe horned an ending on to it that is just not acceptable. I'm tempted to dock it a star for this, but up till that last few minutes, it was damned fine.

 

[filmfandan]

I am now doing my ratings out of five stars. Here are the latest entry's to the list
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) [COLOR= #000000]
[/COLOR][COLOR= #000000]Its not a perfect musical. The Men are underused, there's not quite enough truly songs and the courtroom scene is a little flat when the burst into song, nonetheless Gentlemen Prefer Blondes deserves its classic status for how brilliantly Howard Hawks, who had a clever understanding of how to exploit Marliyn Monroe's star power, as he creates superbly photographed and brilliantly choreographed production numbers where she completely shines and just dazzles. Diamonds Are A Girls best friend is one of the truly great cinema moments, and although there's not much else quite sublime as that to make this a masterpiece like say Singin In The Rain, its still a fabulous, charming, entertaining, likeable and still very funny musical. The rest of the cast are great too, but this works best as Monroes movie in my opinion.
How To Marry A Millionare (1953)
[/COLOR][COLOR= #000000]I[/COLOR][COLOR= #000000] [/COLOR][COLOR= #000000]did not think this one stood up so well. The humour felt like a film I could see a Gran and maybe teenage Gran daughter enjoying, but for me it felt like very Mamma Mia type humure and was just a little flat and uncinematic. The acting is good, particularly Monroe who gives a fine enough comedic performance but she is underused.
Moliere (2007) [/COLOR]
A decent lead performance and some amusing moments but the film is all to lightweight, overly safely directed and forgetable, plus Lu divine Sagnier is criminally underused.

 

[schmidtt]

Films Seen By Date
Out of /img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif/img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif/img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif/img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif/img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif
Short Films (Under 45m) Not Bold
TV Shows in [COLOR= rgb(0, 255, 0)]Green[/COLOR]
Previously Seen Films in [COLOR= rgb(51, 102, 255)]Blue[/COLOR]
Three or More Viewings in Red

Total Films in 2010: 217
January - 15
February - 19
March - 22
April - 24
May - 25


June - 8


July - 19


August - 17


September - 20


October - 18


November - 16


December - 14



1/1-Inglorious Basterds (2009)-/img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif/img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif../../../img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gif../../../img/vbsmilies/htf/star.gifhttps://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/

 

[Mario Gauci]

01/02/10: BLANCHE FURY (Marc Allegret, 1948)

This is another title I inexplicably missed out on over the years (a local Sunday matinee` TV screening and a late-night Italian-subtitled broadcast on the renowned “After Hours” program come to mind) which, having watched now, I was quite enthralled with. BLANCHE FURY is a typical yet reasonably absorbing Gothic melodrama – given added luster by its dazzling color photography, inventive décor, and even the odd stylistic flourish by Frenchman Allegret – made in the wake of the famed “Gainsborough school” romantic period pieces which began with THE MAN IN GREY (1943; a viewing of which accordingly followed this one in short order, since I had already by-passed it last year on a couple of anniversaries tied with star James Mason!) though, plot-wise, the film seems to have at least as much to do with that which is virtually the template for this type of fare i.e. “Wuthering Heights”. In fact, here we have Stewart Granger (who was also in THE MAN IN GREY) forced to work as a stable-boy in his own family’s estate – since he is illegitimate – while the present unrelated masters have taken up their name!; of course, he is contemptuous of this situation, though he finds a surprising ally – and love interest – in a cousin of the new landlords (Valerie Hobson) who turns up on the premises ostensibly to serve as governess to the little girl that stands to inherit the lot. Of course, she instantly charms the younger man of the house (a characteristically despicable Michael Gough) and proceeds to marry him, while carrying on with her Granger affair; about to be dismissed for his none-too-submissive attitude, our disgruntled hero conspires with Hobson to get rid of all the obstacles to their running the estate (since he intends to marry her himself) – the blame of which he proposes to lay at the door of a gypsy troupe who had been causing trouble in the area and even threatened the family specifically! – but, while she concedes to the death of Gough and his father, she takes exception to Granger’s ruthlessness in the matter by wanting to dispose of the little girl as well. Needless to say, by reporting him to the proper authorities, she not only confesses to her own role in the plan, taints her reputation by being branded an adulteress but, most importantly, sacrifices her own happiness; the ultimate irony is that, just as Granger is being hanged, the little girl herself expires in a riding accident – leaving Hobson all alone, withchild (Granger’s offspring), and sole owner of the tragic property! In conclusion, apart from the above-mentioned THE MAN IN GREY, I have SARABAND FOR DEAD LOVERS (1948) – yet another costumer featuring Stewart Granger – scheduled for the coming days…


01/03/10: THE MAN IN GREY (Leslie Arliss, 1943)

A film which has a lot to answer for, since it started both a trend for Gothic romantic melodramas in British cinema which proved ideal escapist fare for a country at war, as well as starting off various star careers (notably James Mason and Stewart Granger). The former, in particular, cornered the market for a while in brooding anti-heroes whose sadistic streak women seemed to find perversely attractive; incidentally, his part here was smaller than I had anticipated – since the protagonists were really the two ladies who suffered at his hands i.e. Margaret Lockwood and Phyllis Calvert (both of whom would likewise become fixtures in this type of film). Still, this being the prototype, its makers utilized modern-day book-ends – with the conveniently look-alike descendants of the ‘good’ couple, Calvert and Granger, having better luck coming together – as a safety-pin (not to mention adopting such anachronistic devices as having Calvert’s “nigger” servant-boy played by a white child in black-face!). With this in mind, the film is somewhat halting as entertainment when viewed today, but it nevertheless yields pictorial felicities aplenty (courtesy of cinematographer Arthur Crabtree, who would almost immediately graduate to director and dabble in the costume genre for himself), as well as considerable interest throughout. For the record, the latter arrives by way of the occasional powerful scene (Mason and Granger’s night-time scuffle in a public garden, Lockwood’s come-uppance at the hands of the doting but honor-bound Mason) or humorous incident (a stock-company performance of Shakespeare’s “Othello” in which Granger and Lockwood discuss attending aristocrat Calvert, a mutual acquaintance, during the all-important murder scene of Desdemona). Among the film’s more notable (and commercially successful) follow-ups, then, were FANNY BY GASLIGHT (1944; which re-united Mason, Calvert and Granger) and THE WICKED LADY (1945; again directed by Arliss and featuring both Lockwood and Mason).


01/03/10: JAMES MASON: THE STAR THEY LOVED TO HATE (TV) (Mike Healey, 1984)

This adequate, if hardly comprehensive, look at one of the most revered actors of the 20th century (one I greatly admire myself) probably amounted to his last ever interview – since the versatile British thespian would die before the program had even aired! With a career spanning some 50 years, it necessarily skimps over score of titles (even some very good ones) and, given the title, tends towards discussion of his sinister roles (which is actually how he rose to stardom: see my review of THE MAN IN GREY [1943] elsewhere and on whose R2 DVD this documentary was included, albeit in abridged form) rather than being a broad overview of his entire body of work – though, curiously enough, there is no mention at all of Alfred Hitchcock’s NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) in which the actor did play villainous and is possibly the best film he was ever associated with! Mason, graceful as ever, is quite candid in his recollections – from the peculiar circumstances surrounding his first marriage (actress/writer Pamela Kellino would leave her cinematographer/director husband Roy for him, yet the three would form a lasting if not very successful film-making alliance!), his famous criticism of the British movie industry in a series of articles (what was seen as career suicide at a time when it had basically peaked did lead to a move to Hollywood, though his beginnings there were inauspicious) and when it came to choosing the three pictures he was least fond of, namely LADY POSSESSED (1952; one of the Kellino collaborations), FOREVER DARLING (1956; in which he appeared as an angel alongside Lucille Ball) and KILL! (1971; Romain Gary’s bizarre thriller about drug-smuggling). In direct counterpoint, then, the two roles he had singled out over the years as his favorites – ODD MAN OUT (1947) and LOLITA (1962) – are likewise given their due. All in all, a nice record of one of filmdom’s most compelling and intelligent presences in rare self-appraisal mode.


01/03/10: MANEGES (Yves Allegret, 1950)

Having watched Frenchman Marc Allegret’s BLANCHE FURY (1948) to inaugurate a foreign-language film marathon (albeit by way of a British production and, therefore, in English!), it was logically followed by an effort from his younger brother Yves. Alas, this study of a femme fatale (played by the director’s own wife at the time, Simone Signoret) proved disappointingly dreary as a whole – wasting a rather interesting noir-ish structure wherein the female protagonist goes through a 180-degree turn from victim (we first see the girl badly injured, with her devoted husband Bernard Blier then recounting preceding events) to schemer (as she asks her mother, Jane Marken, to tell Blier about their true grasping nature and how she frequently betrayed him with other more handsome men). Though, perhaps appropriately, the English title of the film is THE WANTON, the original was more subtle – if no less obviously related to some of the themes involved; MANEGES, in fact, translates to riding-school and, indeed, Blier is the proprietor of one (not exactly an exciting milieu, I might add)…but I suspect that the director also intended to use the figurative meaning of someone being “taken for a ride” here. The film does have most of the qualities one associates with French cinema of the period (especially with respect to the acting strength and monochrome photography) but, as I said, plotting is rather weak throughout – while the iris effect utilized to depict the transition between past and present eventually becomes irritating with the repetition.


01/04/10: SARABAND FOR DEAD LOVERS (Basil Dearden, 1948)

I have always wondered why this movie – which is generally accorded the rank of a minor classic by film critics and historians – is not better known today and more widely discussed; having now watched it for myself, while I would readily proclaim it a near-masterpiece, I can perhaps also pinpoint the reason behind its relative neglect: the thing is that its production company Ealing Studios (whose first color production – and, in hindsight, its costliest flop – it was) is more associated with its celebrated run of droll comedies than with tragic historical romances. Although SARABAND FOR DEAD LOVERS may initially seem to pertain to the “Gainsborough school” of costumers then in fashion in British cinema that were spearheaded by the box-office popularity of THE MAN IN GREY (1943), the film was clearly intended from the outset to be on a higher artistic plane altogether. Co-written by the great Alexander Mackendrick (who would soon go on to direct some of Ealing’s finest comedies), the film greatly benefits from Michael Relph’s sumptuous décor, Douglas Slocombe’s gleaming Technicolor cinematography (that indeed makes one bemoan the fact that Optimum’s far from optimally restored R2 DVD does not really do it justice!) and Alan Rawsthorne’s majestic score; on top of it all, we have masterful direction (undeniably one of the finest showcases for the distinguished Basil Dearden) and impeccable acting from a splendid roster of actors: Stewart Granger (as the dashing but ill-fated Swedish soldier Konigsmark, SARABAND FOR DEAD LOVERS was reportedly the one film of his he liked best!), Joan Greenwood (a very moving performance as the doomed Princess Sophie Dorothea), Flora Robson (excellent as an unlikely courtesan/king-maker with her own designs on Granger), Francoise Rosay (as the formidably inflexible matriarch), Peter Bull (typically loathsome as the future King George I), Michael Gough (as his martyred younger brother), Frederick Valk (as one of Robson’s ‘conquests’ and Rosay’s kin), Anthony Quayle (as Robson’s reptilian spy), Megs Jenkins (as Greenwood’s empathizing maid), Guy Rolfe (appearing in the opening sequences as one of Greenwood’s wardens) – and, allegedly in bit parts, even Peter Arne, John Gregson and Christopher Lee!! Among the various impressively-staged sequences in the film, two particular highlights stand out: a masked Greenwood’s panic-stricken passage through a crowd of Carnival revelers being terminated by the sudden appearance of a facially uncovered Granger; and the climactic swordfight in a darkened hall which depicts a wounded Quayle mortally knifing Granger in the back, followed by the latter (having just uttered the name of his beloved Sophie Dorothea with his dying breath) being stomped in the face by a vindictive Robson!

 

[filmfandan]

Here are the latest entry's to the list
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Another masterpiece of film making from the Coen Brothers. This is one of there funniest, warmest and feel good films. The Dude is a superb character and played outstandingly by Jeff Bridges, in fact all the cast are outstanding, as is the script.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
This film is many things, imaginative, sweet in places, funny but what makes me happy to watch it so frequently is how beautifully made it is. It has some of the most beautiful looking moments in cinema, particularly the snow scenes. I don't think its a masterpiece, well lookwise yes but on the whole not in opinion but still very, very, very, good.
Chopper (2000)
Despite a strong lead performance and interesting moments, it never quite took of for me and felt uneven and also a little unremarkable at times. There's a chance, I may re watch it and consider it a masterpiece but at the moment its just good.
Starship Troopers (1997)
Really, really disliked this film. I found it dull, pretty poorly acted, horribly cliched and predictable at times and some of the acting was pretty awful. I would have forgiven, it if I found it fun or if there was good tension ext but sadly I found none of that. Pretty much a waste of my time in my opinion.

 

[Ruz-El]

I'm still going through the Sam Fuller set from Sony, tonights pick was the best so far! Glad I picked this one up.

[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)]Scandal Sheet[/COLOR] (1952) 4/5 - If you ever meet someone who wonders what film noir is all about, you can't go wrong with showing them this one. A damned tight thriller that never takes the easy way out. The newspaper room back drop completely works and Crawford is amazing as the ruthless editor. Recommended!

 

[Martin Teller]

Originally Posted by filmfandan /forum/thread/296410/track-the-films-you-watch-2010/30#post_3645878
Starship Troopers (1997)
Really, really disliked this film. I found it dull, pretty poorly acted, horribly cliched and predictable at times and some of the acting was pretty awful. I would have forgiven, it if I found it fun or if there was good tension ext but sadly I found none of that. Pretty much a waste of my time in my opinion.

Did you understand the satirical nature of the film?