Track the Films You Watch (2006) - Page 4

Brook K · 01-06-2006, 06:03 PM

Wolf Creek (2005) - Had seen some raves about this recent Australian horror flick that had me excited, only to be let down yet again. Two of the three main characters are somewhat likeable but it's your basic young people stuck in the wilderness get kidnapped, tortured, escape from, hunted, etc.... by your basic crazy killer who attempted and failed to become a compelling horror villain. - C

Syriana (2005) - Technically well done and strongly acted but a bit too stuffed and abstract with it's multiple storylines. It could have stuck to a more central theme and driven that home better and more directly than diluting its focus by having to deal with so many characters and situations in 2 hours. I never really found it confusing as others have complained about; just too overwritten and manufactured for its own good. If you're going to attack the government and the abuses of misdirected capitalism, just go ahead and do it rather than trotting out easy targets like villainous middle managers, an oil exec, and the always reliable greedy corrupt lawyers.

Thought it also erred in detailing all this corruption and 'world's a terrible place stuff" for pretty much the entire running time and then still try and have an uplifting ending that doesn't address any of the points of the film. Delivers drama and the pleasure of watching a collection of very good actors ply their trade, but ultimately unsuccessful as a "message" film. - B-

Then added revisits of films I'd seen once before and then received the DVD's for Christmas:

Point Blank (1967) - John Boorman's directorial flourishes, groundbreaking-for-its-time editing, and Lee Marvin's stoic performance highlight this outstanding action/revenge pic. - A-

Excellent commentary track with Steven Soderbergh asking Boorman incisive questions about making the film and really delving into the why's of filmmaking rather than just concentrating on the how's and what's that director tracks usually stick to.

Love Me Tonight (1932) - Rouben Mamoulian's masterful direction, the wonderful music of Rodgers & Hart, the charm of star Maurice Chevailier, and a comical supporting cast create a film that belongs on the short list of the best musicals of all time. - A

Ok commentary that mostly sticks to actor/crew biographies and describing the onscreen action, while providing a few bits of other historical "making-of" information.

I found some of the other extras like the film's budget sheets, letters from censors about cuts to the film and script pages of deleted scenes to be very interesting and the kind of thing I wish we saw more often on classic film releases.

Michael Elliott · 01-07-2006, 11:59 PM

01/07/06

Lured (1947)

By the numbers thriller about a dancehall girl (Lucille Ball) who helps Scotland Yard track down a serial killer. George Sanders co-stars as the man Ball falls in love with, although he’s a prime suspect. The movie is decent enough and the two leads offer good performances but overall it has the feel of been there done that. Boris Karloff has a small part as well but it’s George Zucco who steals the show in the best role I’ve seen him in. The highlight of the film is a scene inside a park where Ball is attacked.

Symbol of the Unconquered, The (1920)

Strange film from the black independent director Oscar Micheaux. A light skinned black woman travels North to get her inheritance that her grandfather left her. In this new town she meets another black man who hates his race and pretends to be wife, an evil Indian and eventually the KKK. The director apparently started making these “black films” in response to how blacks were being shown at the time so on a historical level this film is pretty interesting but as a film it really never takes off. The stereotypes are pretty out there and laughable and the film is way too overdramatic in every single scene. The film was originally promoted to black people claiming that the KKK would be massacred in the film. That happens but sadly this scene is lost so we’re not able to view it today. I guess you could call this one of the first “blaxploitation” films, although the director never makes all the whites bad and all the blacks good. It’s rather interesting seeing his hatred towards certain members of his own race. Another down note is the horrible music score added to the film. Again, for film history sake this is a must see but on its own there’s really nothing too special here. I also recorded the director’s Within the Gates and Body and Soul, which are apparently better.

Joe Woz · 01-08-2006, 01:29 AM

Amistad (1997)

Spielberg's historical drama about insurrection on a slave ship is an engrossing film. Anthony Hopkins as John Quincy Adams was outstanding. Scenes of the treatment of the slaves on the ship were chilling.

The Village (2004)

I'm still not sure how I feel about this film, even after three viewings. I appreciate it more and more each time I see it, although there are some aspects to the way the plot unfolds that still bother me. The cinematography is wonderful. For those familiar with the film, I thought the front porch scene between Lucius and Ivy was beautifully realized. The camera placement, the lighting and the soft-spoken exhange of dialogue made the scene electric.

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

For my money, the best of the Star Trek movies. Great set design, excellent use of special effects, a solid script and a first class ensemble cast make for a rousing adventure. You can't go too far wrong when the Borg are the antagonists. And to top things off, the music of Jerry Goldsmith is memorable. This was such a vast improvement over some of the earlier entries in the series. This ranks as one of the best sci-fi films I've seen.

BrianShort · 01-08-2006, 04:13 AM

Gods and Generals (2003)

(out of 5)

Maybe it was because I went into it with very low expectations, considering the panning this film received from critics, but I found myself enjoying most of it. The battle scenes were well choreographed, the acting was mostly pretty good, and I really liked Stephen Lang's portrayal of Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson, a man who I admit I wasn't familiar with at all, other than having heard his name before. Sure, I think a lot of the speechifying could have been done away with, as I can't imagine even back then anyone talking like that, but I was able to keep my interest throughout the film. The movie obviously has a Southern slant. I think they probably could have cut out Jeff Daniels role as Col. Chamberlain, as he was WAY underused anyway, and kept the focus solely on Jackson. It seems like they put him in just to give some balance to the Northern viewpoint (anti slavery, and whatnot), but he wasn't in the film enough to appear any more than a token effort.

Side note: Were there really well to do black families living in the South like they show in Fredricksburg? I realize that Virginia isn't the deep south, so I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised by that.

Brian

Joe Karlosi · 01-08-2006, 07:05 AM

Hostel (2005)

1/2
For Quentin Tarantino fans (like me): don't be fooled just because his name is on the title of this film. I knew that deal going in, but went to see it for a rare Saturday Night at the movies with the wife (if we see new movies at the theatre we usually go on Sunday mornings). Having been pleasantly thrilled by recent successes like SAW and Rob Zombie's THE DEVIL'S REJECTS, I decided to give this one a shot. Most of the teenagers in attendance ate this up, cheered, and got into it, but I guess most of them haven't already seen a lot of similarly warped, sadistic, exploitive torturefests like this one before. There was nothing too new for those who go for this sort of shameless depravity now and then.

The movie was 95 minutes but felt longer, as the first half or probably more was devoted to the typically sophomoric antics of horny young guys on vacation in Europe bedding prostitutes, getting drunk, dancing at the clubs, and just being generally annoying and childish. Lots of lust and nudity on display too, but these adventures actually get dull after a while. By the time these kids meet their expected fate of gratutious torture in Slovakia (and they were so irritating that I couldn't wait) there was no way to feel sorry or afraid for them. The only reason I rated this a star above a BOMB was because I think the premise of the story and the reason for these gory proceedings, as they ultimately panned out, was very intriguing and disturbing. It's just a shame that this idea wasn't in the hands of a more competent director; there is no suspense, no real style, and it could have been truly haunting and unrelenting if it had been done right.

Jim_K · 01-08-2006, 10:57 AM

First time viewings in Blue

The Snake Pit (1948)
Stellar performance by Olivia de Havilland as a disturbed patient in a state mental hospital. Rises above the standard melodrama of the time.

The Lady Takes A Sailor (1949)
Forgettable romantic comedy stars Jane Wyman.

Forbidden Games (1952)
An orphaned Parisian girl is taken in by a peasant boy as both children manage to go on with their lives during the onslaught of WWII. Surprisingly not the typical dour foreign film you’d expect given the subject matter, such as Germany Year Zero.

One Minute To Zero (1952)
Standard Korean War film stars Robert Mitchum as a U.S. Colonel fighting the commie hordes.

The Tiger of Eschnapur (1959)
The Indian Tomb (1959)
Fritz Lang’s 2-part Indian Epic about an architect who falls for an exotic dancer is visually opulent though it’s pretty mundane in the plot department.

The Deadly Companions (1961)
Sam Peckinpah’s first feature stars Brian Keith who escorts Maureen O’Hara and her dead son through the Arizona frontier.

Sabata (1969)
Minor Spaghetti Western stars Lee Van Cleef as a gunslinger who takes up with a gang of misfits.

The Deceivers (1988)
Pierce Brosnan stars as a British officer who sets out to uncover the mystery of the Thug cult circa early 19th century.India. Not your typical Merchant Ivory film.

Sandro · 01-08-2006, 02:24 PM

Nice to see The Village getting some respect. I think it's one of the most underappreciated recent films especially by horror fans.

Mosquito Coast

1/2/

Having lived in a Third World country for two years I have always been interested in seeing this movie based on a Paul Theroux novel and was finally motivated to do so after recently reading one of his travel books. The film is a gripping and intelligent character study of an iconoclast (Allie Fox, played by Harrison Ford) who goes too far in creating his version of the "good old life" in the jungle of Central America and ends up putting his family in jeopardy. The film plays fair by showing all consequences of Fox's actions, good and bad, and his eventual descent into megalomania. It also deals with religious themes as befits a movie scripted by Paul Schrader. All in all, this is an unusual, thoughtful movie.

Trivia note: one of the villagers is played by Butterfly McQueen from Gone With the Wind.

Winchester 73

1/2/

Standout Western, the first to pair Anthony Mann and Jimmy Stewart. I have not seen this for a few years and it was actually better than I remembered - second only to Naked Spur in the series. The film relates a series of interrelated incidents as Stewart attempts to get revenge for reasons that we do not fully understand until the end of the film. As usual in Mann's Westerns, the avenger is painted as obsessed and a little out of control and there is some questioning of the mythical Western cowboy hero.

Joe Karlosi · 01-08-2006, 04:58 PM

edited

Josh H · 01-08-2006, 11:44 PM

edited