Track the Films You Watch (2006) - Page 10

Joe Woz · 01-30-2006, 12:43 AM

It was a TCM weekend for me.

Robin and Marian (1976)

I found this to be a pretty entertaining film. I like just about anything Sean Connery does and Audrey Hepburn was beautiful. Sherwood Forest never looked more enchanting. The high point for me was the fight between Robin and the Sheriff, played by Robert Shaw...two tired and middle aged old warriors staggering around the field of battle. All in all, a pleasant two hours.

The African Queen (1951)

One of the all-time classics!

The China Syndrome (1979)

First rate drama about a near meltdown at a nuclear plant. Jack Lemmon was outstanding as the shift supervisor who is fighting a coverup, a role that garnered him a Best Actor nomination at the Academy Awards. Also up for a Best Actress award was Jane Fonda. I've read that this was considered my many as one of her best roles, but I disagree. I thought her performance as the smart but naive reporter who breaks the story was particularly weak. Wilford Brimley also does a great job as Lemmon's best friend.

Joe Karlosi · 01-30-2006, 06:19 AM

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I was joking with Joe the other day that he wanted a James Bond Challenge yet he hasn't taken part in it yet. However, since Cary Grant and NORTH BY NORTHWEST are the best Bond movie and actor, I'll let him off. Seriously though, I haven't seen EVERY Bond film but for my money none of them beat Grant and that Hitchcock classic.

I knew I should have gotten online earlier last night to add the Bond film to my list, but I decided to wait til this morning! I did, in fact, watch DR. NO last night, the same day I watched NORTH BY NORTHWEST. It was the last Sunday this month, and for some reason I prefer to watch my Bond films on Sunday Nights.

Maybe we can into a conversation on NORTH BY NORTHWEST once I leave my comments.

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I never understood all the hype surrounding BLACULA or its sequel. I really can't stand either movie. I find both decent but overall they're quite poor compared to better Dracula films as well as better blaxploitation films.

I enjoy both Blacula films myself, with BLACULA being the better of the two. Aside from its value as a nostalgic time capsule of the '70s, there is a fine performance by William Marshall there, where he rises above the campy material and gives us a tragic vampire trapped into a life he never wanted and who we can feel pity for, but yet is also very powerful and deadly. The actor who plays Dracula himself at the start of the movie (his name escapes me at the moment) is also good.

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I have to voice my concern that the Joe Karlosi we know and love (and love to debate endlessly with) has been abducted by aliens and substituted with a mindless "yes-man"! How else can one satisfactorily explain the fact that he has not only watched THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1928) and NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) on the same day, but gave them both the correct rating? And he even seems almost prone to reconsidering his position on Silent films! What the f*** is going on here?!

I was thinking that my recent viewings here would seem a bit too shall we say, "convenient" at this time, but I've actually had THE MAN WHO LAUGHS and NORTH BY NORTHWEST sitting home as Netflix rentals since November! I know you're only playing with your "correct rating" joke, because as I'm sure you'd believe, I'd have no trouble giving Hitchcock's film less of a rating if it failed to impress me as much as it did. Going into THE MAN WHO LAUGHS I didn't know it its reputation was as high as I'd rated it. Everyone I knew who was a fan of silents said they were disappointed when they saw it.

As you're well aware, I tend to go back and forth with my method of star ratings, sometimes preferring to use half-star increments and sometimes not. I briefly returned to the "half" system but am now back to not using halves again!

My feelings and comments don't change, just the way they're represented on the ratings code. If I were using half stars I may have nitpicked and given NORTH BY NORTHWEST ***1/2 (see my comments later). But without the increments, I gave NORTH **** because I considered it "exceptional" (not necessarily meaning "perfect").

The thing about THE MAN WHO LAUGHS was that it was such a well-photographed film with so many strong images (the bodies of the hanging victims comes to mind) that I was hooked in. Just like talkies, I'm sure that not all silents are created equal, but you have to consider that the ones I've seen and liked are generally pretty well-regarded: NOSFERATU, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, CITY LIGHTS, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, THE KING OF KINGS, THE UNKNOWN, THE PENALTY. Two films I didn't care for that have good reps would be the John Barrymore JEKYLL AND HYDE and also DER GOLEM. But I'd consider another viewing of the latter.

Joe Karlosi · 01-30-2006, 06:35 AM

North by Northwest (1959)

George Kaplan, eh?

I found this Hitchcock film about mistaken identity to be highly engrossing and the whole cast very strong, and that's really all I need to say about it, basically. Cary Grant shows us what he might have been able to do had he played James Bond, and I thought Eva Marie Saint burned up the screen in some of her lovemaking scenes with Cary aboard the train. The crop dusting sequence lived up to its hype and is the best in the picture. I enjoyed the twists, especially surrounding Ms. Kendall's character. If I were using half star increments again I might have nitpicked and deducted a half because the movie could have benefited from slight trimming, but it's still a great piece of work.

Dr. No (1962)

Sean Connery is self-assured in the first of his James Bond films, Joseph Wiseman is the perfect calm and calculating villain, and gorgeous Ursula Andress goes without saying. I've always liked this film because it sets all the 007 ingredients into place and is also a fairly straight-forward and easy to follow story, without complications. A good debut, but things would get even better.

Mario Gauci · 01-30-2006, 07:16 AM

Actually, Joe, now that you mention it, I don't really know the correct star rating for THE MAN WHO LAUGHS (1928) since neither of the 2 film guides I own - Leslie Halliwell's and Leonard Maltin's (and various editions of both, at that) - mention it at all

! However, I've never read anything but the highest praise for the film; in any case, I loved my first (and, so far, only

) viewing of it, so I could only give it the highest star rating in my book.

As for NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959), while it is probably Hitchcock's longest film, I never felt that it dragged - unlike, say, Howard Hawks' RIO BRAVO (1959; even longer at 141 minutes). Hitch himself considered the film to be the culmination of his work in America and, while on the surface it may appear as just another light-hearted comedy-thriller in the vein of earlier successes like THE 39 STEPS (1935), the complex characterizations and delightful sexual banter (courtesy of Ernest Lehman's brilliant script) add immeasurably to the film's aura of maturity and definitiveness. I don't recall if you've ever seen them but, if you loved NORTH, you must check out THE PRIZE (1963; also scripted by Lehman - inexplicably still M.I.A. on DVD) and CHARADE (1964; also starring Grant). Oh, and I don't know how you missed out on mentioning it in your comments, but Bernard Herrmann's magnificent music score for NORTH is my all time favorite as well...

Ted Lee · 01-30-2006, 02:59 PM

added:

title: love me if you dare
rating: b
comments: what's with all the narration in foreign movies these days? anyway, pretty good flick. neat story, if not a little silly. some neat visuals (a little danny boyle'ish), and decent (if not great) acting.

Tarkin The Ewok · 01-30-2006, 09:40 PM

Added to list:

Dr. No:

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There is a lot to like about Dr. No. The acting, sets, music, editing, writing, and locations all combine to make a surprisingly entertaining action/suspense film. My one complaint about the film is that the pace of the story sputters when they first reach the island. Those scenes are great in and of themselves, but the overall driving motion of the story is kind of lost until they meet Dr. No at the aquarium.

The first hour of the movie may not be action-packed by today's standards, but just try looking away for a few seconds. It's tough! Connery simply lights up the screen with his presence and charisma, and the mystery on Jamaica is presented splendidly.

Food for thought:

1. Dr. No could have ordered Bond killed at the dinner table, yet he says that he has further use for him. What could this be?

2. This is the only Bond film without a pre-credits sequence. If Dr. No had one, what would it be? I think the action through the reveal of the Dr. No file folder would make an excellent prologue.

Personal note: This is the first time I saw the crab on Crab Key.

Favorite moment: Bond kills the tarantula with his shoe in perfect synch with the music.

Joe Woz · 01-30-2006, 11:35 PM

Speaking of the tarantula in DR. NO...if you look carefully, when the camera angle is from above the bed, you can see that the tarantula is actually crawling on a large pane of glass with Connery underneath the glass and the creature above.

I've always liked the music in this Bond film..."Underneath the Mango Tree" and "Jamaica Jump Up." I remember buying the soundtrack album after seeing the film in its commercial release at the Crystal Theater in Chicago back in 1962. Man, that was a long time ago!!

Joe Karlosi · 01-31-2006, 06:09 AM

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Speaking of the tarantula in DR. NO...if you look carefully, when the camera angle is from above the bed, you can see that the tarantula is actually crawling on a large pane of glass with Connery underneath the glass and the creature above.

I never knew this. I'd always thought something looked a bit unreal about the moment when the tarantula is on Bond's shoulder, but I had thought maybe it was animated or something at that point! The next time I watch DR. NO (which will be a long time) I'll remember to look closer.

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I've always liked the music in this Bond film..."Underneath the Mango Tree" and "Jamaica Jump Up."

Yes, I like the music too, even though I somehow neglected to mention it in my notes.

Brook K · 01-31-2006, 05:44 PM

Yes, I hated Crash for the reasons that other non-fans have already mentioned in this thread - the dishonesty, the total divorce from reality, characters who are nothing more than scripted constructs, etc.

I am getting behind again on my reviews. Unfortunately it isn't in my nature to dash off a couple of sentences and I don't have time to do any right now. Maybe tomorrow... I've really been seeing some good stuff lately.

Finished Firefly Sunday night. Add me to the long list of "Damn it sucks this got cancelled". Going to revisit Serenity this week. Should be a different experience now that I have so much more invested in the characters and know the backstory.

Most of the way through disc 3 of Looney Tunes Gold, which I hope to finish either tonight or tomorrow day and have the whole set done by the weekend. Than it's Home Movies S1 before getting back to my movie DVD's. Just got Ran, The Virgin Spring and The Browning Version at DVDPlanet's 40% off Criterion sale.

george kaplan · 01-31-2006, 05:49 PM

the total divorce from reality

I haven't seen Crash, but that seems to be a description of many films you love.