Track the Films You Watch (2005) - Page 48

Jake Yenor · 08-17-2005, 12:25 PM

Hitch:

1/2
Sin City:

1/2
Fever Pitch:

1/2
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy:

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith:

The Longest Yard:

Batman Begins:

War of the Worlds:

1/2
Fantastic Four:

1/2

John-Paul · 08-17-2005, 07:45 PM

"Sin City" (2005)

1/2

DIRECTORS: R. Rodriguez & F. Miller

SPECIAL GUEST DIRECTOR: Q. Tarintino

I'm not a big action movie guy. I prefer comedies (albeit dark comedies) and indie dramas but "Sin City" has such a great cast that I had to check it out. It's definately an original movie (although it technically isn't original being that it was based on Frank Miller's infamous graphic novel series, which I've never read). The best part of this movie is the stuff with Bruce Willis and Jessica Alba. They have good chemistry together and it works. The movie is filmed in beautiful B&W with some things (blood, Alexis Bledel's eyes) being colored and it definately adds that effect to it. It's a pretty decent movie (mostly for it's originality) but I don't know if I could watch it more than once.

"The Ballad of Jack and Rose" (2005)

DIRECTOR: R. Miller

"The Ballad of Jack and Rose" is a beautiful movie. The problem is the fact that there had to be sort of a story. The best parts of this film are the parts that include Daniel Day-Lewis (as Jack) and Camilla Belle (as Jack's daughter/lover[?] Rose). Jack is dying and Rose says that once he dies, she will kill herself. Jack decides to invite is girlfriend Kathleen (Catherine Keener) and her sons to live with him and Rose so Rose could have a woman in her life and so that Jack can be taken care of so that Rose can live her life. I would have much preferred if the whole movie was JUST Jack and Rose. It's not that Keener isn't good. She's always good. It's just that the stuff between Lewis and Belle really holds the movie together as a story of forbidden love and obsession and I personally feel it could have been a better movie if it was just 90-or so minutes of Lewis and Belle interacting than the plot with Keener or the other plot, a silly land developing plot with Beau Bridges in a thankless role. Lewis and Belle save this movie.

Haggai · 08-17-2005, 11:28 PM

Did they really have to be called "Jack" and "Rose," what with the Titanic allusion?

I haven't seen the movie, but I did wonder about that when I first heard of it.

Time Out (2001) 6/10
This French psychological drama has some interesting scenes and a pretty involving climax, but the pace is way too slow. Not quite the same sort of movie as Red Lights, but that one was more involving and a lot more dynamic visually.

The Last Picture Show (1971) 9/10
A re-visit of this highly touted movie is certainly time well spent. The rich black-and-white photography is suitably bleak and romantic at the same time, a great combination that works wonderfully. I guess this one stirred up a lot of controversy in its time with the frequent scenes of sex and nudity, but if there's any other major movie out there with a more down-to-earth and less glamorized approach to sex, I haven't seen it. Lots of terrific performances, although the celebrated Ben Johnson monologue by the lake feels too Oscar-moment-esque to me (though Johnson is definitely great). My favorite character in this ensemble cast is Ellen Burstyn's, a beautifully layered performance, and it also didn't hurt that she looked TOTALLY HOT in this role.

Unfaithfully Yours (1948) 8/10
It isn't surprising to find out that Preston Sturges' unhinged dark comedy flopped on its initial release, as the wickedly crazy premise must have shocked most people's sensibilities back then. Rex Harrison's high-strung conductor starts to suspect his wife of cheating on him with his assistant, and his concert performance provides the background to a series of revenge fantasies playing out in his mind, including murder and suicide! There's plenty of signature Sturges wit, plus a surprisingly long slapstick sequence that was the highlight of the movie for me, as Harrison's attempts to realize his visions end up with him inadvertently trashing his hotel suite. The script does lay it on a bit too thick at times with the endless repartee, and the whole thing occasionally just feels a little too weird. But it's still lots of fun.

Michael Elliott · 08-17-2005, 11:29 PM

Hmm....guess I'll have to buy SIN CITY tomorrow since it's getting so many good reviews here. How much of it did Tarantino actually direct?

Anyone here familiar with Bernardo Bertolucci's 1900? I got the R2, 5+ hour version coming in the mail but is it best to watch it in Italian or English? I can't really find any details to how the film was released. With the English track, are DeNiro, Lancaster and Sutherland's voices actually used or are they dubbed?

I've been dying to see this for years but after reading Ebert's review I'm a bit nervous now considering it's over five hours.

08/16/05

Dial M For Murder (1954)

A husband (Ray Milland) plans to have his wife (Grace Kelly) murdered after he learns of her affair with another man (Robert Cummings) but things backfire when the wife kills the murderer. I enjoyed this film a lot more this time around and think it contains some of Alfred Hitchcock’s best direction. The suspense level kicks off when Milland plans the murder out and really doesn’t let up until the very end when the classic Hitchcock humor comes into play. The murder attempt is highly suspenseful as well. The performances from the three leads are terrific as is the performance from John Williams. Another excellent thing is that Hitchcock gives Milland the villain so much sympathy, which works well in bringing in more suspense because in a way we hope he gets away with what he’s done.

I Confess (1953)

A priest (Montgomery Cliff) hears a murderer’s confession but soon a police detective (Karl Malden) begins to think the priest did the actual crime. The priest, due to his duties to the church, can’t say who committed the crime even though he might be sent away for it. The actual premise is certainly very interesting but that’s about it. That premise wears off after the thirty minute mark and there are so many unlogical things happening that the film grew tiresome very quickly. I’m a fan of Cliff but I found him rather boring here but Malden is good as usual. The ending is horrendously bad and humiliating. Another thing that really ate at me was the fact that the priest NEVER tells the police or the jury "why" he can't tell them anything. He keeps refusing to answer questions, which certainly makes him look guilty yet he never says he can't tell these things because he heard it while on the job so to speak. The girlfriend liked this one a lot more than I did and said there wouldn't have been a movie had the priest said that but it still bothered the hell out of me. This is certainly one of my least favorites from director Alfred Hitchcock.

08/17/05

Adventure Malgache (1944)

The second of two propaganda films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Three actors are getting ready for rehersals when one of them says he doesn’t know how to play the part. Another actor then tells him a story of a man he knew who was running a radio broadcast to beat the Nazis. This was a confusing mess of a film that isn’t nearly as good as the previous film Bon Voyage. There’s way too much dialogue and it’s never clear what the director is trying to do with the material.

Haggai · 08-17-2005, 11:36 PM

Mike, Tarantino only directed one scene, in a car with Clive Owen and Benicio del Toro.

I also don't like I Confess very much. Agreed on Suspicion as well (from a few posts back), it really is great until the compromised ending. I posted about In a Lonely Place a few weeks back, which I'd recommend to you, with Suspicion in mind. The central premise is very similar, a woman wondering about whether the man she loves is really a killer or not. The approach is pretty different from Suspicion, but in a 180 degree difference from that one, the ending is the best part! I won't spoil it, but boy is it good.

John Bryant · 08-18-2005, 04:51 AM

Sin City -

3/4
Wow, this one really threw me for a loop. I knew it was dark, and violent, but having never read the books, I didn't know just how dark and violent it really was. Upon first viewing last night, I only rated it

. The violence and overall style of the film really caught me that much off guard. I thought about it last night and today, and I gave it another shot. This time, knowing the style going in, I was in a much better position to actually watch the movie and pay attention to everything that was going on. I have since upgraded it to

3/4, but I still can't go the full monty. I still have a few minor nitpicks with it, mainly the pacing. I had no problem with any of the acts of the story, but a few scenes felt overlong. My favorite by far was "The Hard Goodbye", Mickey Rourke was absolutely brilliant as Marv. I plan on picking up the books, and I really cannot wait for the sequels.

Minority Report -

1/2
I might be a bit biased here, because Tom Cruise is probably my favorite living actor, but damn, he was brilliant in this movie. The miranda rights scene.....oh my. The story was easy to follow, and the visuals and effects were amazing. In addition to the fine performance from Mr. Cruise, the other actors and actresses in the film more than held their own. I thought the PreCogs were a bit creepy just laying there in that milk, as was their caretaker. I think that plot could have been explored a bit more. Just how deep/sick was his relationship with them? Overall this was a fantastic, fun movie. Well worth checking out if you haven't already.

Spider-Man 2 -

1/2
After having seen both Sin City and Spider-Man 2 for the first time, I still think the best comic book movie of all-time is American Splendor. If you don't want to count that, it's Batman Begins. In point of fact, I would place both Sin City and Spider-Man 2 behind X2 also to round out my Top 5. That being said, I really, really enjoyed Spider-Man 2. This movie had some of the soul that the original, while still being a fine movie in it's own right, was lacking. Doc Ock was great, as was the slow descent for Harry Osborn into the madness that overcame his father. The pacing, visuals, and script were all top-notch, but the characters really carried this movie to greath heights.

Joe Karlosi · 08-18-2005, 05:52 AM

Quote:

Hmm....guess I'll have to buy SIN CITY tomorrow since it's getting so many good reviews here.

Not from me (

). I thought it was very stylish, but offered only one good story (the one with Marv).

Then again, Mike, you and I have been known to disagree ( see first review below: )

The Out of Towners (1970)

Extremely funny comedy from Neil (ODD COUPLE) Simon about a neurotic businessman (Jack Lemmon) and his suffering wife (Sandy Dennis) enduring one nightmare after another while traveling to New York City. Lemmon is hilarious as the grouchy tourist who becomes increasingly more and more at his wit's end when he just can't seem to catch a break. Dennis can become a little annoying at times and of course the negative side of New York is grossly exaggerated for effect, but this remains one of my all-time favorite comedies.

Revenge of the Zombies

Pretty ordinary cheapie from Monogram Studios that begins with some promising atmosphere and visual style, but ultimately deteriorates with a lot of talk and a lot of unfunny attempts at comic relief by Mantan Moreland. John Carradine is surprisingly low-key as an unconvincing Nazi scientist trying to create an army of zombies to fight for the Germans. These living dead sleepwalkers are more like the "marching dead" as they step about in silly perfect militaristic formation, like robots.

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant are marvelous playing off one another in this excellent comedy, with a high energy and many laughs. Hepburn is feisty and endearingly clutzy as she drives Grant crazy with nearly every move she makes. There is nothing to quibble about here, but I'll just mention for the sake of it that I don't care much for the title, as all those bits with 'Baby' (a leopard owned by Hepburn) are basically a side gimmick to the rest of the story. It's shocking to learn that this crowd-pleaser was actually a flop when it was first released (!?). Apparently, Hawks was even told to "beat it". But it's easily one of the greatest of the "screwball comedies" today.

Haggai · 08-18-2005, 09:47 AM

Glad you enjoyed Bringing Up Baby, Joe, it certainly is a classic. You mean you didn't like them singing to try to get him down from the roof, with George joining in?

Although George is definitely the funnier of the two non-human characters. But Cary's line after the accident with the truck carrying all the birds is great: "Susan, when a man is wrestling a leopard in the middle of a pond, he's in no position to run!"

Michael Elliott · 08-18-2005, 04:09 PM

Joe, 2 down 84 to go.

Since you enjoyed BRINGING UP BABY I'm sure Mario will come back with more recommendations but I'll just suggest Warner's Classic Comedy Collection, which this title is a part of.

Haggai, agreed about IN A LONELY PLACE, which I watched earlier this year. I watched the featurette on I CONFESS and must admit that I don't know what the hell those guys were smoking.

For the French to call it one of Hitchcock's best really left me scratching my head. The more I think about the film the more it bothers me, which isn't a good thing.