Track the Films You Watch (2005) - Page 64

Brook K · 12-12-2005, 03:25 AM

Sky High (2005) - Entertaining mix of teen coming-of-age film with superheroes facing the twin perils of adolescence and learning to use their powers. Delivers a healthy amount of laughs and a feel good message. - B

Kings and Queen (2005) - French film about a woman defined by the mistakes she has made. Trying to juggle being a single parent and a father dying of cancer, her emotions are stretched to the breaking point. It uses a split narrative, the other part of the story concerns one of the woman's former lovers, a violist both volatile and eccentric who finds himself confined to a mental institution.

A well-written character piece in which past misdeeds and self-delusion haunt the characters' present and future. - B+

Kingdom of Heaven (2005) - Ok action oriented period piece from Ridley Scott. Offers patches of interesting drama, but fails to develop any other character outside of Orlando Bloom's problematic lead figure, in a satisfying manner. Bearing little semblance to the actual history, one could watch LOTR or Troy and see the same big battles and pure fantasy in a better film. - C+

SteveGon · 12-12-2005, 08:53 AM

Repost:

Galaxy Quest (1999)

Viewed 12/1/2005

Winning comedy about the former (and desperate) cast of a Star Trek-esque television show who get recruited by real aliens to help them in a war that they're losing... badly. The catch is that the aliens, who've been watching reruns of the show, think it's the real deal and that the actors are actual, ass-kicking space explorers! A bit much at times, but the good cast and satirical observations of fanboys puts it over the top.

out of

State of Grace (1990)

Viewed 12/1/2005

Solid gangster flick about an undercover cop infiltrating the Irish mob in Hell's Kitchen. But one member of the mob just happens to be his best friend! Nothing new really, but it's well-done with a stellar cast.

out of

Lianna (1983)

Viewed 12/2/2005

John Sayles film about a married woman who leaves her adulterous husband and begins an affair with another woman. As usual with Sayles, it's talky, but also finely wrought and non-exploitative.

out of

Bunshinsaba (2004)

Viewed 12/2/2005 (first viewing)

Typical Korean horror flick about a young girl who puts a curse on her bullying classmates only to see them start dying horrible deaths. Can she put a stop to it? And what is her connection to a former student who died mysteriously thirty years earlier? Full of the usual Asian horror imagery - there are no real surprises here - but entertaining enough.

out of

Show Me Love a.k.a. Fucking Amal (1998)

Viewed 12/2/2005 (first viewing)

Pretty good teen drama from Lukas Moodysson (Lilya 4-Ever) about a high school outcast (and lesbian) who finds a most unusual friend in the school beauty (who has her own problems). Low-key, realistic drama.

out of

Let's Go With Pancho Villa (1936)

Viewed 12/3/2005 (first viewing)

Mexican classic about six friends who run off to fight with Pancho Villa's army. Very much in the vein of John Ford's epics, with a memorable ending.

out of

For Heaven's Sake (1925)

Viewed 12/3/2005 (first viewing)

Harold Lloyd classic has the comedian playing a millionaire who absent-mindedly funds a mission in an impoverished part of Los Angeles. Naturally he falls for the cute daughter of the mission head, leading to all manner of slapstick antics. Pretty damn funny and capped by a final sequence with Harold and friends racing to his wedding on a runaway bus.

out of

Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Viewed 12/3/2005 (first viewing)

Totally wacked-out Godzilla film throws in everything but the kitchen sink (and I'm not so sure I didn't see a few of those flying around). Blatantly ripping off The Matrix, X-Men and Return of the Jedi (among others), the goofy plot has aliens unleashing most of the Earth's giant monsters on mankind in order to destroy society so they can harvest our DNA (actually our mutant M-base - don't ask). But as our heroes' growly, sword-wielding American ally points out, there's one thing they don't know about Earth: Godzilla! (Not to mention Mothra and Godzilla, Jr.!) All of this is pretty dumb, but hey, it IS fun. Heh.

"Those savages are getting their asses kicked!"

out of

King Kong (1976)

Viewed 12/4/2005

Remake of the great ape classic lacks that film's heart and mythic quality, but is okay on its own terms. The World Trade Center finale may be hard to take for some, and Jeff Bridges' character is too good to be true (no scientist in his right mind would turn down a chance to study the big K), but Jessica Lange as a most nubile starlet is real easy on the eyes.

out of

SteveGon · 12-12-2005, 09:42 AM

Phantasm II (1988)

Viewed 12/5/2005

Decent sequel finds Mike and Reggie once again taking on the Tall Man and his flying spheres. Basically more of the same (and makes about as much sense), but just offbeat enough to maintain interest. Decent gore - love the sphere in the mouth!

out of

Fantastic Four (2005)

Viewed 12/6/2005

Marvel's first family comes to the big screen in a less-than-stellar adaptation. Not nearly as bad as some have said, but it's little better than average as far as comic book adaptations go. The Thing and the Human Torch are best served here, while Mr. Fantastic is just a bit too wimpy. Jessica Alba makes for nice eye candy but offers little else as the Invisible Woman. Worst of all is Dr. Doom - here he's only a shadow of his comic book incarnation and not nearly as menacing. Shit, Power Pack could kick this Doom's ass.

out of

House By the River (1949)

Viewed 12/6/2005 (first viewing)

Pretty good gothic melodrama from Fritz Lang about a writer who accidentally kills his maid in a fit of passion. He then cajoles his brother into helping him dispose of the body in a nearby river. But rivers always give up their dead... Hampered only by the ending, which is over all too quickly.

out of

Ivanhoe (1952)

Viewed 12/7/2005

Entertaining historical drama has brave knight Ivanhoe trying to restore Richard the Lionhearted to his throne. Good of its type, though it never really reaches epic status.

out of

Ninotchka (1939)

Viewed 12/8/2005

Ernst Lubitsch's comedy classic stars Greta Garbo as a humorless Russian envoy in Paris who falls for a dapper Frenchman. Can she throw off her oppresive Communist ideals and learn to live and love?

"Comrades, you must have been smoking a lot!"

out of

Two Men in Town (1973)

Viewed 12/8/2005 (first viewing)

Hard-boiled crime drama about a safe cracker, recently released from prison, and his struggles against the system. His parole officer believes in him, but the cop who put him away holds a grudge and is determined to put him back in prison...

out of

Mouchette (1967)

Viewed 12/8/2005 (first viewing)

Robert Bresson drama follows the downward spiral of a put-upon young girl who is kicked around by pretty much everyone around her. Downbeat drama in the vein of Au Hasard Balthazar.

out of

The Driver (1978)

Viewed 12/9/2005 (first viewing)

Exciting actioner from Walter Hill stars Ryan O'Neal as a getaway driver-for-hire who is targeted by an obsessive cop (Bruce Dern). Pretty good car chase action with the ethereal beauty of Isabelle Adjani thrown in as a bonus.

out of

The Kid Brother (1927)

Viewed 12/10/2005 (first viewing)

Above average comedy stars Harold Lloyd as the titular kid brother, the wimp in a family of macho men, who gets the chance to prove his mettle when money his father has been entrusted with is stolen. Surprisingly well-shot.

out of

Mary Pickford (2005)

Viewed 12/11/2005 (first viewing)

American Experience documentary on America's sweetheart, Mary Pickford, the first and still one of the greatest, movie stars. Well done all around. Garbo got her stamp, where's Mary's?

out of

3:10 to Yuma (1952)

Viewed 12/11/2005

Gritty little western has impoverished rancher Van Heflin shepherding badguy Glenn Ford to the titular train which will take him to the Yuma prison. But smooth-talkin' Ford soon begins to psych him out! Suspenseful and intense, though the finale is a bit hard to believe.

out of

ZacharyTait · 12-13-2005, 04:10 PM

Updated my list with an additional 17 movies.

Bad News Bears - ***
Capote - ****
Domino - *** 1/2
Elizabethtown - ***
Four Brothers - ***
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - *** 1/2
History of Violence, A - ****
In Her Shoes - *** 1/2
Into the Blue - ***
Jarhead - ***
Madagascar - ** 1/2
North Country - ****
Pride and Prejudice - *** 1/2
Rent - ***
Syriana - ****
Walk the Line - ****
Zathura - ***

John Bryant · 12-13-2005, 04:54 PM

Syriana (2005) -

Simply the best movie of the year so far. And in a year with Good Night, and Good Luck., among others, that is saying a lot.

Brook K · 12-14-2005, 05:15 PM

The Brown Bunny (2003) - Vincent Gallo's maligned masterpiece follows motorcycle racer Bud (played by Gallo) on a cross country journey to try to understand the inexplainable. Gallo's performance is as raw and transparent as anything seen in years, taking us with him through a bottomless pit of sorrow. Desperate to connect with another human, he finds himself ultimately too empty to offer anything, having only the company of the implacable audience down this literal lonesome highway. Accentuated with understated cinematography and a folk rock soundtrack, the film's technique announces an auteur as skilled and soulful as any in America today.

This was a revisit and my first viewing of the outstanding Sony Superbit DVD. A large leap up in experience from the sniggering and talk-filled theaterical showing I attended in the dingy upstairs theater of a local arthouse with a screen likely smaller than some HTF'ers have in their house. One hopes that now removed from the controversy of Cannes, viewers will be able to open themselves to this amazing film. - A

The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1970) - An American writer living in Italy witnesses a bizarre attempted murder and suddenly finds himself and his girlfriend have become targets in this giallo that served as suspense and horror master Dario Argento's announcement that a unique voice had arrived in cinema. Though Argento would make better films in his career, this film with it's stylishly inventive murder and suspense scenes, terrific dark cinematography by Vittorio Storaro, and the mood-enhancing discordant score by Ennio Morricone, is one well worth seeing. - A-

I've seen this several times in the past, but this was my first viewing of Blue Underground's new 2-disc SE. The image blows away all previous editions and the DTS sound is top-notch. I haven't listened to the commentary yet. The 2nd disc includes interviews with Argento, Storaro, Morricone, and actress Eva Renzi. While the 3 creator's interviews have their interesting bits among the usual kinds of technical and historical info these sorts of interviews offer, it is Renzi's interview that is the most intriguing. While offering compliments to Argento, she is clearly ambivalent about the film and views the role as a mistake that killed her career. She also doesn't think much of lead actor Tony Musante. Perhaps best of all, after the interview credits role, she comes back on to give an out of nowhere 2-minute diatribe on Klaus Kinski, dishing dirt, insults, and calling him overrated and pretentious.

Fantastic Four (2005) - While not in the league with the best recent comic book films (X2, Spidey 2, BB), I found this to be fair, light entertainment and not nearly as bad as I heard it was. It seems to be more directed/written in an older 70's comic book style before every book tried to be darkly realistic. Of course, I never read FF much so I'm not attached to the characters. While Reed doesn't make much of an impression and Jessica Alba is iffy at best as Sue, the other actors are credible and the film does a decent job of balancing action, more weighty material, and comic relief. Not something I'd want to watch again anytime soon, but I preferred it to The Hulk, Punisher, or the abomination that was Daredevil. - B-

Haggai · 12-15-2005, 10:24 AM

Metallic Blues (2004) 6/10
Israeli comedy/drama about two bumbling used-car salesmen who appear to have lucked into a relatively cheap collector's item luxury car. They travel to Germany to try to sell it and get rich, but naturally things don't go according to plan. The comedy in the initial parts is very tender and fun, but it eventually morphs into an attempt to deal seriously with the entire scope of Israeli feelings about Germany, as related to memories of the Holocaust. Bad move for a small little comedy that has nowhere near enough depth to handle something like that. A whole movie in the style of the funny beginning part of the story would definitely have worked better.

Syriana (2005) 6/10
Sorry to buzz-kill on some other raves so far here, but I thought it was very disjointed and forced in a lot of scenes. The whole merger subplot felt either confusing or dull to me the whole way through. Paring the whole thing down to maybe two parallel storylines, instead of four, probably would have been my preference. There are some interesting characters, particularly the crafty old emir and the terrorist recruiter/handler who approaches those two young guys in the Gulf.

Strangers on a Train (1951) 9/10
One of my Hitch favorites since I first saw it several years ago. For pure visual story-telling, this is Hitch in top form. I appreciated Pat Hitchcock's performance more this time around, she really did a great job in this one. She nails all the funny lines that she gets in a few scenes, and she's also really convincing when she's freaking out about Bruno's apparent obsession with strangling her.

A fun bit of trivia for tennis fans: when Guy wins the match at the end, which goes on for much longer than he figured he had time for, the score in the decisive fourth set appears to be 12-10! This was at least 20 years before tiebreaks were introduced to finish sets that are tied 6-6.

King Kong (2005) 9/10
The first hour isn't too great, and one subplot centered around the relationship between two of the Ventura crew members is unnecessary, but there's still some fun stuff in the build-up to the first appearance of Kong, and Naomi Watts' stunning screen presence makes every scene with her in it work on that level alone. The Ann/Kong relationship really does have great emotional resonance, and although one big action scene centered around a dinosaur chase is kind of overdone, most of the other big set-pieces are extraordinary, particularly the Kong/T-Rex fight and the finale on the Empire State Building.