Track the Films You Watch (2005) - Page 24

SteveGon · 04-27-2005, 09:01 AM

Blade Trinity (2004)

Viewed 4/26/2005 (first viewing)

Third installment in the Blade series has our hero teaming up with a secret society of vampire hunters that includes Whistler's smokin' hot daughter (Jessica Biel) and former vampire Hannibal King (played by Jason Lee, who has apparently buffed up and changed his name to Ryan Reynolds). Typically loud and flashy modern vampire movie, which makes for passable entertainment if you're in the mood. Parker Posey has fun vamping it up as a villainess.

out of

Undertow (2004)

Viewed 4/26/2005 (first viewing)

David Gordon Green's new film would seem to be a remake of The Night of the Hunter as two young brothers take it on the lam after their vicious uncle returns home looking for a family treasure. Green's dreamy, naturalistic style is really complimented here by a Philip Glass score.

out of

A Love Song for Bobby Long (2004)

Viewed 4/26/2005 (first viewing)

Good performances buoy this familiar drama about a young girl whose mother has died and the relationship she strikes up with her mother's old drinking buddies. Scarlett Johansson is especially good, as is John Travolta as a besotted literature professor. Overlong.

out of

Who Killed Bambi? (2004)

Viewed 4/26/2005 (first viewing)

Cool, sleek mystery thriller set in a hospital. A cute nursing intern discovers that a resident surgeon has been drugging and sexually abusing female patients, but finds that no one in charge will listen to her claims. Will she become a victim herself?

out of

Jim_K · 04-27-2005, 09:28 AM

So, while I'm at IMDB, I check out the message boards, and see people making the same comment - this wasn't a comedy. Only to find one of the most bizarre counterarguments I've seen

Then there was the usual garbage where people with a negative opinion of the film were accused of only liking films with lots of explosions, and they should go back to watching LOTR, cause they don't know what they're talking about if they don't agree that The Good Girl is one of the greatest movies ever made.

I disagree with a lot of people around here, but the average movie IQ, regardless of taste issues, is so much higher here, that even the least knowlegable HTF posters would look like geniuses at IMDB.

Pretty much goes with the territory over in IMDB land.

While it's a good resource as a database of movies, the message boards & user reviews are a joke. The comments range from infantile to a false pretence of film knowledge and are ultimately useless unless you get off on misinformation. On the positive side, the reviews/comments are good for a laugh every once in a while if the mood strikes me to read one.

The Little Giant (1933) (7/10)
Edward G Robinson stars as a gangster who sets of to high society California after the end of Prohibition.

A Slight Case of Murder (1938) (7/10)
Comedic crime film has Edward G Robinson spoofing his own tough-guy gangster persona.

Larceny Inc (1942) (7/10)
Another Edward G Robinson comedy as he and a group of ex-cons buy a luggage shop next to a bank in order to tunnel their way underground.

House of Flying Daggers (2004) (9/10)
Deception is the name of the game in Yimou Zang’s romantic Wuxia follow-up to Hero. Outstanding.

Spanglish (2004) (6/10)
Decent James L Brooks comedy as an immigrant housekeeper tries to raise her daughter amid the insanity of the family she works for.

Elektra (2005) (2/10)
Some things you have to see for yourself, especially since I was a big fan of Frank Millers Daredevil saga in the early 80’s. What a stinker.

Conflict (1945) (7/10)
Pretty good potboiler stars Humphrey Bogart who plots to murder his wife so he can romance her sister.

Second Chance (1953) (5/10)
Mediocre effort has Jack Palance as a hit-man hunting down Robert Mitchum & Linda Darnell in Mexico. Sounded better than it turned out to be.

Gentleman Jim (1942) (7/10)
Errol Flynn stars in this turn of the century biopic on real life boxer James Corbett.

Cimarron (1960) (5/10)
Glenn Ford stars in this Western remake about the Oklahoma land rush. A mundane & disappointing effort from Anthony Mann.

Brook K · 04-27-2005, 02:00 PM

The Big Country - A grand Western epic, The Big Country is a morality tale about the self-defeating nature of violence and the sins of arrogance and pride. Featuring a large cast of outstanding actors (Gregory Peck, Charlton Heston, Jean Simmons, Carol Baker, Burl Ives, Charles Bickford), superb cinematography and editing, and a powerfully engaging score by Jerome Moross, the film possess's a high degree of quality in every area. Few titles are more apt, as The Big Country presents a vast tapestry for director William Wyler to compose glorious images and command intensely emotional drama. A

Walter Kittel · 04-27-2005, 02:21 PM

After discussing The Big Country over in Polls, I am glad to hear that you enjoyed this title, Brook. I've been a fan since my first viewing. Obviously, I concur with your assessment; particularly with regards to cinematography, editing, and music. (Just posting about this title makes me want to watch it again.)

- Walter.

Brook K · 04-27-2005, 03:13 PM

Yes, like I said in polls, I'd buy it today if the DVD hadn't been so murky and riddled with damage in various spots. It's watching movies like that that are the reason I watch movies daily. It stirred my enthusiasm again, if I had the time, I'd have spent the rest of the day watching films like Ben-Hur, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance and Lawrence.

Joe Karlosi · 04-27-2005, 04:25 PM

Quote:

While it's a good resource as a database of movies, the message boards & user reviews are a joke. The comments range from infantile to a false pretence of film knowledge and are ultimately useless unless you get off on misinformation. On the positive side, the reviews/comments are good for a laugh every once in a while if the mood strikes me to read one.

Jim,

I keep my comments at IMDB, mainly because it's a very handy reference and easy to access whenever I wish to look up something I wrote about some movie a while ago. While I'd be the first to agree with you that the message boards are very infantile, not all of the user comments are a joke, IMO. They range from the dimwitted ("me like dat moovey") to the very intelligent. I like that there are all sorts of folks giving their opinions on movies at the IMDB, and when you click on any title you get all sorts of viewpoints coming from all sorts of different people. I think they're no more valid or invalid than what we're doing right here in this thread.

george kaplan · 04-29-2005, 12:40 AM

Kill Bill, Vol. 2

OK, now I understand what you guys were saying.

Basically, Vol. 1 is an excellent, fast-paced version of a Martial Arts Action film, with a rockin' soundtrack. Vol. 2 is more of a cross between a Leone Spaghetti Western and Kung Fu (the TV show), with a Morricone-ish soundtrack.

I can understand why someone who was expecting Vol. 2 to continue in the style of Vol. 1 would be disappointed, but since I love films like The Good, the Bad & the Ugly, as well as the tv show Kung Fu (quick sidetrack: what a shame that the dvd of this is crop & dropped

), I wasn't at all disappointed in Vol. 2, though I also had the benefit of your guys foresight that it would be different, so I didn't have such expectations.

I still liked Vol. 1 better than Vol. 2, but that's not a knock on Vol. 2, just high praise for Vol. 1.

I do wonder though what this would be like as one long movie, such as is supposedly coming to dvd at some point. The two halves are stylistically different enough that it seems it would be pretty jarring watching it transition. That's not a dvd upgrade I'd automatically make, though other factors (deleted scenes, improved picture quality, etc.) might come into play if such a dvd ever does become avialable.

SteveGon · 04-29-2005, 08:21 AM

Since Otar Left... (2004)

Viewed 4/27/2005 (first viewing)

Bittersweet drama about three generations of women living together in the former Soviet republic of Georgia. The eldest, Eka, misses her son Otar who has gone to Paris in search of work. Marina, Eka's daughter, is jealous of the attention Otar receives from Eka. Ada, Marina's daughter, yearns to join Otar in Paris. Then tragedy strikes, upsetting the delicate balance of their lives...

out of

Incubus (1966)

Viewed 4/28/2005 (first viewing)

Bergmanesque little horror film about a succubus who goes after the soul of a pure-hearted war veteran (a pre-Star Trek William Shatner), but falls in love with him instead, incurring the wrath of her sister demons. A real curio, shot in the artificial language of Esperanto. Nice black and white photography by Conrad Hall.

out of

A Red Bear (2002)

Viewed 4/28/2005 (first viewing)

Engrossing drama from Argentina about an ex-con determined to see his young daughter and his former wife. But their life is less than idyllic so he determines to help them out no matter what. Good action scenes.

out of

Devils on the Doorstep (2000)

Viewed 4/28/2005 (first viewing)

Dark comedy about a Chinese peasant who is given charge of a captured Japanese soldier and his Chinese translator during the final days of WWII. The peasant and his fellow villagers can't decide what to do with their prisoners - no matter what they do, they're screwed! Assured film alternates between comedy and pathos, building up to an unforgettable climax. Note: you might want to skip the intro on the DVD by Steven Soderbergh as it somewhat spoils the film.

out of

Jim_K · 04-29-2005, 09:14 AM

Yeah I remember there were rumors of a sort regarding a Kill Bill Ultimate Edition in the works. I'm pretty much of the same mind in that it would have to offer something more than just stringing both films together for me to upgrade.

You might want to pick up the DVD of The Big Country Brook. Seeing as how MGM is now kaput and with Columbia's recent practice of re-releasing Pan & Scan only versions of their catalog