Track the Films You Watch (2005) - Page 60

Brook K · 11-05-2005, 03:45 AM

Melinda and Melinda: Woody Allen's lastest begins with Wallace Shawn and friends debating whether life is comedy or tragedy. The film then illustrates these viewpoints, dividing into two parts, a dramatic one and a comic one with Rahda Mitchell playing the same woman with a different take on the character.

The writing isn't up to Allen's usual standards (unlike most, I've liked all but one of his last several films), but Will Ferrell makes it work in the comic portion and it's a watchable romantic comedy. The dramatic portion with Chloe Sevigny and a few other "where do I know them froms?" is flat and boring. No character is interesting enough to make you care what happens to them as their tortured love lives unfold. The photography is only adequate. Despite using cinematographer Vilmos Zgimond, it's a far cry from his heyday of making NYC glamourous and alive. The film also has little of Allen's signature jazz music, utilizing more classical instead. C+

Samurai Rebellion - I'm going to just use the Criterion summary since it is far less clumsy than my attempt:
Toshiro Mifune stars as Isaburo Sasahara, an aging swordsman living a quiet life until his clan lord orders that his son marry the lord’s mistress, who has recently displeased the ruler. Reluctantly, father and son take in the woman, and, to the family’s surprise, the young couple fall in love. But the lord soon reverses his decision and demands the mistress’s return. Against all expectations, Isaburo and his son refuse, risking the destruction of their entire family.

Thematically similar to Harakiri, this Kobayshi film also uses a samurai setting to attack the authoritarian traditions of Japan's past and criticize what he saw as this disturbing trend emerging in modern Japanese corporate life. Featuring powerful cinematography, a score by my favorite Japanese composer- Toru Takemitsu (though this score doesn't quite rank with his superb work on Harakiri and Woman in the Dunes), and a story packed with furious emotion and metaphoric rage, Samurai Rebellion is drama of a high order. When Tatsuya Nakadai, playing Isaburo's friend tells the clan leaders that attacking a master swordsman like Isaburo will result "in a mountain of corpses", every samurai fan knows these words will prove prophetic and moves to the edge of their seats.

The only thing that keeps this from a total knockout is the ending, which I felt hued too closely to genre constraints. It certainly fit the director's themes, but emotionally, I wished things to play out differently. A-

Millions - A British boy with a big imagination finds a large sack of money. While family and friends feed material concerns, he has something different in mind.

Danny Boyle's latest was mostly praised as a magical, family friendly gem. I found it to be so syrupy sweet as to almost nauseate. While it has a few entertaining moments, I found it to follow the usual trend of including lots of cutesy Britisms for the American audience. The religious visions (the kid sees Saints) and imagery are eye-rollingly obvious or clunky. And the kid actor in the lead role is fine at comedy and being cute, but awfully flat and clumsy when required to emote. C+

Joe Karlosi · 11-05-2005, 09:59 AM

I have switched my ratings guide. I am now no longer using half-star increments.

The Concert for Bangladesh (1972)

The first of the benefit concert events, organized by former Beatle George Harrison after being approached by Ravi Shankar with a concern for the people of East Pakistan. George and his friends Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Billy Preston, Leon Russell and others are the performers. Harrison is good, but even as a longtime Beatles fanatic, I still feel the highlight of the show is Bob Dylan's set; I've never seen him so good at a venue. The Indian music during the first 20 minutes is an acquired taste that makes us wait to see our "favorite stars". This show may seem a bit laid back in light of today's LIVE AID's and FARM AID's, but this baby was the innovator.

Prime (2005)

Meandering film that wears out its welcome quickly. Uma Thurman is a 37-year-old divorcee who begins dating a much younger 23-year-old man. Her therapist (Meryl Streep) begins to realize that Uma's new boy-toy is Streep's own son. Not much in the way of comedy or romance, though Meryl manages to be mildly humorous at times as the struggling analyst.

Michael Elliott · 11-05-2005, 11:54 PM

11/04/05

Devil’s Rejects, The (2005)

Unrated version

Rob Zombie’s second film is a major step up from the first but he’s still got a ways to go before I’d call him a good filmmaker. There was a lot I really loved about this film but the biggest problem, as with the first film, is that Zombie really needs to get over his love of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. There’s a big difference from homage and simply using too much from a film and for the life of me I wish Zombie would move locations and get that film out of his mind. The actual homages to other films work very well and offers some nice comedy moments including the hilarious spit at Star Wars fans. The violence, gore and nudity is all right there for a throwback to the 1970’s but the film goes on way too long and several scenes should have been trimmed or totally cut. The “chicken fu*king” scene is very funny but it doesn’t belong in the film. What really keeps the film moving are the terrific performances from the cast especially William Forsythe. It’s also fun seeing vets like Michael Barryman and Ken Foree.

11/05/05

Test Tube Babies (1948)

Silly “teach the American people” style film that’s in the same league as other docudramas like Reefer Madness and The Cocaine Fiends. George and Cathy fall in love, get married and after a few years they decide to have a kid but it turns out George is sterile. After a few tears the couple decides to try “test tube babies”. Again, this is a silly little exploitation film about artificial insemination that tries to teach people that it’s not a bad thing to do. Unfortuantly there isn’t too much camp value here as things are bad but they never get bad enough to laugh at. Timothy Farrell co-stars.

Hell is a Place Called Hollywood (1950)

Each year thousands of girls go to Hollywood to become stars but very few do so what happens to the rest? According to this film they take their clothes off for smut magazines. Here’s another silly “teach the people” short that tries to talk young people out of going to Hollywood. This is pretty standard stuff except for the nudity, which there’s quite a bit of for a film of this period.

Sherlock Jr. (1924)

Buster Keaton plays a movie projectionist and wannabe detective who jumps through the movie screen to solve the case going on inside the movie. This is probably one of the most influencial silent films ever made and while it doesn’t contain the hilarious laughs of other Keaton films there’s no denying the incredibly brilliant stunts including the motorcycle chase as well as other gags like following the suspect too closely and the dollar gag.

European Rest Cure, The (1904)

Intersting film from the Edison Studios about a cruise across Europe. Considering it’s 1904 there’s not any story being told but the film seems to have been made so that Americans could see various popular places overseas. The entire film was shot in the Bronx with sets looking like the other countries.

How a French Nobleman Got a Wife Through the NY Harold Personal Columns (1904)

Another Edison short this time has a man placing a personal add only to be chased through the street by dozens of women. Not too many laughs here but you gotta wonder if Keaton saw this when he made Seven Chances nearly twenty years later.

Nervy Nat Kisses the Bride (1904)

The title says it all in this Edison short. The big highlight is the final stunt where Nat gets thrown off a moving train.

Scarecrow Pump, The (1904)

A farmer turns his water pump into a scarecrow. Runs just over a minute but the final gag is quite funny.

Strenuous Life; Or the Anti-Race Suicide (1904)

Another Edison short, boring as hell and I’m really not sure what it was about. The most interesting thing was the “warning” at the start of the film that other filmmakers are not allowed to use clips from this film in their film.

Ex-Convict, The (1904)

Wonderful little short about an ex con finding it impossible to find people that trusts him enough to give him a job. This all changes when he saves a young girl from being ran over by a car. This here runs just over nine minutes and it’s rather amazing at how much detail they squeeze in. There’s no doubt the film is a political statement saying cons should be forgiven once their time is served but the ending is quite sad and very touching.

Kleptomaniac, The (1905)

Another political statement from Edison that still rings true one-hundred years after being made. A rich woman steals a fur piece while a poor woman steals a loaf of bread for her starving child. In court, the rich woman gets off while the poor woman has her daughter taken away and is thrown in jail.

Seven Ages, The (1905)

Cute little love story that shows a couple over seven ages in their lives from babies to old folks. There’s not too much story here other than the two’s love for one another but this comes off quite nicely.

Coney Island at Night (1905)

The title says it all here but those interesting in seeing Coney Island back in 1905 should find this entertaining.

Little Train Robbery, The (1905)

Porter remakes his own The Great Train Robbery but this time kids are playing the leads in a childish tale of acting out a robbery. While this certainly isn’t as good as the film its based on it remains cute throughout with some nice stunts and scenery.

White Caps, The (1905)

Historically interesting film that deals with the vigilante group known as “The White Caps” who were known throughout Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Like the KKK, this group wore white pillows over their faces but instead of attacking race this group went after those who broke moral issues like beating their wives, harming children and other crimes that make for a bad community. This film shows them going after a man who has just beaten his wife.

Concert for Bangladesh, The (1972)

Wonderful benefit concert with George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr and others. Highlights include My Sweet Lord, That’s the Way God Planned It, Here Comes the Sun[/b] and pretty much all the Dylan set including Just Like a Woman, which many Dylan fans, including myself consider the best live version of the song. Dylan was really on fire at these two shows, which was pretty remarkable considering he had only done one live show since May of 1966. The video and audio on the new DVD is brilliant.

War of the Worlds, The (1953)

This was my first time watching this in at least 15 years and while it still holds up pretty well its certainly not in the same league as The Day the Earth Stood Still or The Thing From Another World. While flawed I’d probably put the Spielberg version ahead of this as well for two reasons. The first is that the two leads here really aren’t that interesting and another problem is the fact that I was never really threatened by the aliens. I’m not sure why but they never really had me worried of anything. Even so, wires and all, the special effects are nice and the film remains lively throughout.

Bermuda Triangle, The (1978)

Incredibly bad film from Mexican director Rene Cardona, Jr. A family goes off to the Bermuda Triangle to see what the big deal is and guess what happens. This film tries to be mysterious and creepy but fails on both levels because the screenplay is all over the place and never really makes a bit of sense. Character enter and exit the film without any explination and the “mystery” of the Bermuda Triangle is never resolved or even talked about much, although the film tries to play claim to a cursed doll, which causes all the problems. There’s some wonderful underwater photography but this too get hampered by three real sharks being killed on the screen for no reason. John Huston, Andres Garcia, Gloria Guida and Claudine Auger star.

SteveGon · 11-06-2005, 08:04 AM

Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Viewed 11/1/2005

Finale to the Star Wars series has plenty of flaws, but remains
the best of the prequels. Picks up during the second half when things
get nasty.

out of

How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck (1977)

Viewed 11/1/2005 (first viewing)

Werner Herzog documentary on auctioneers. More interesting than I
thought it'd be.

out of

Land of Plenty (2004)

Viewed 11/2/2005 (first viewing)

A young aid worker goes to Los Angeles to find her uncle, a disturbed
Vietnam vet whose problems have been exacerbated by 9/11. Wim
Wender's latest is a step up from his last two features.

out of

The Great Ecstasy of the Sculptor Steiner (1975)

Viewed 11/2/2005 (first viewing)

Another Herzog doc, this one on champion ski jumper and woodcarver
Walter Steiner. Again, I found this more interesting than I thought I
would. Lots of crash and burn footage, scored by Popol Vuh.

out of

Berlin Express (1949)

Viewed 11/3/2005 (first viewing)

Jacques Tourneur's post-WWII espionage tale has a group of multi-
ethnic (German, French, British, Russian, American) travelers banding
together to search for a kidnapped politician.

out of

Hammett (1982)

Viewed 11/3/2005 (first viewing)

Entertaining yarn about novelist Dashiell Hammett getting mixed up in
the case of a missing girl. Directed by Wim Wenders.

out of

Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990)

Viewed 11/4/2005

Documentary-like account of a few weeks in the life of a serial
killer. Genuinely disturbing film pulls no punches.

out of

There Once Was a Singing Blackbird (1970)

Viewed 11/4/2005 (first viewing)

From Georgian director Otar Iosseliani comes this tale of an aimless,
irresponsible musician. Sort of a Soviet La Dolce Vita.

out of

Anna Christie (1930)

Viewed 11/4/2005 (first viewing)

English-language version of Eugene O'Neill's play stars Greta Garbo in
her first talkie. Here she's a woman whose shadowy past might destroy
her one chance at happiness. Creaky drama saved by the star's
beguiling presence.

out of

Scarecrow (1973)

Viewed 11/5/2005 (first viewing)

Seventies road movie has Gene Hackman and Al Pacino hoofing it across
the U.S. in search of their dreams. Generally good, though it seems overlong
and can't resist a Midnight Cowboy-ish ending.

out of

The General (1926)

Viewed 11/5/2005

Buster Keaton's classic Civil War comedy has a Southern train engineer trying to get his beloved engine (and girlfriend) back from thieving Union soldiers.

out of

The Playhouse (1921)

Viewed 11/5/2005 (first viewing)

Buster Keaton short has the comedian wreaking havoc at the theater and
playing multiple characters.

out of

Cops (1922)

Viewed 11/5/2005 (first viewing)

Another Keaton short, this time Buster ends up on the wrong side of
the law and is chased by hundreds of cops.

out of

Andy Sheets · 11-06-2005, 09:15 AM

Quote:

White Caps, The (1905)

Historically interesting film that deals with the vigilante group known as “The White Caps” who were known throughout Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee. Like the KKK, this group wore white pillows over their faces but instead of attacking race this group went after those who broke moral issues like beating their wives, harming children and other crimes that make for a bad community. This film shows them going after a man who has just beaten his wife.

Actually, that's exactly what the KKK used to do. Realigning themselves as a Progressive organization was probably the biggest reason for the KKK's skyrocket in popularity in the early 20th century. Of course, eventually people realized that a bunch of mysterious masked men going around violently imposing their own morality on society was more threatening than reassuring...

Michael Elliott · 11-06-2005, 09:48 AM

I'm not 100% sure Andy. When some of us were discussing BIRTH OF A NATION in another thread I think I was meaning to talk about these "White Caps" when I was telling stories about some things that happened in KY. These shorts are on the Kino Edison box set and this film featured some interviews with historians and they seemed to say that this group was a lot different than the Klan. According to what was said on the interview, the KKK eventually "forgot" the morals and attacked race and religion but this group would "protect" the "morals" of any race or religion.

This was the first time I heard of this group but from the interviews it seemed that the White Caps were a non-racist group of protectors, if you want to call them that.

Haggai · 11-06-2005, 11:44 AM

Richard III (1955) 9/10
The biggest strength of Olivier's version is the great cast, with Ralph Richardson standing out among the co-stars as Richard's co-conspirator, Buckingham. A few visual flourishes add some extra emphasis at key points, and while the sets and staging are mostly theatrical, it keeps the attention on the actors and their performances, which works well for Shakespeare when you have such an accomplished cast.

Blood Simple (1984) 8/10
The Coens' first movie is a pretty nasty thrill ride, with lots of unpleasant characters and some gruesome ways to die, but great suspense at every step. Their modern spin on classic noir/crime sensibilities works very well, with most of the emphasis on atmosphere, and it didn't hurt to have several accomplished (or eventually-to-be accomplished) actors, like Dan Hedaya, Frances McDormand, and M. Emmett Walsh. A little show-offy at times, as one could expect for ambitious filmmakers in their first project, but it was quite a debut.

The Birds (1963) 9/10
Probably Hitchcock's strangest movie, although the disturbance of everyday life by malevolent forces was certainly a familiar theme for him. The use of sound is particularly strong, especially as the last big attack is massing outside the house in the final scenes. The mixture of suspense, romance, and humor is a little odd in this one, as perhaps befitting the weird central concept, but it all blends together really well.

Frenzy (1972) 7/10
The last time that Hitch got solid reviews was for this movie, and while it's definitely more successful in keeping you engaged all throughout when compared to his previous three films, I don't think it's that much better overall than Marnie or Torn Curtain. The attempted comedy with the inspector's wife falls flat, and the first murder is just more gross than scary or suspenseful. The brief flashback to the second one is probably the strongest thing in the movie, and the potato sack sequence also works well, as does the ending. Pretty good score, too.