Track the Films You Watch (2005) - Page 6

I've seen all the W.C. Fields films in the boxset, and It's a Gift is the only one I want. Much funnier and better than any of the others. The others do fall flat for me, so much so, that, as much as I want It's A Gift, I've passed on the boxset and will wait until it becomes available separately.

I recently saw IT'S A GIFT for the first time and I enjoyed it. Pretty funny, that one. A friend of mine brought the new set over (he's a big fan) but it's the only one we watched from it. A year or two ago he brought the Criterion disc of THE BANK DICK to my house and I didn't really care for that one. So I'm on the fence as to whether I should take the plunge into the Fields Collection Set or not.

Out of the WC Fields films/shorts I've seen, It's a Gift would be at the top.

First time viewings in Red
Revisit from my collection in Blue
Out of

Friday Night Lights (2004) (9/10)
One of the best films of last year is this tough-nosed drama about the true story of a West Texas High School football team and their tumultuous season of ’88. This is a rare sports film that’s unpredictable, gritty & has a lot of heart. Easily makes my 10 Best of ’04 & will be added to my collection soon.

Becket (1964) (7/10)
This fine period/costume drama tells the story of King Henry II of England (Peter O’Toole) & his relationship with his drinking buddy turned Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Becket (Richard Burton). An interesting film for history buffs (which I am) though I do prefer this film’s follow-up/sequel, the superb A Lion in Winter.

Mike, why even waste your time on these unofficial made-for-cheap-video "documentaries"? Try A HARD DAY'S NIGHT, HELP!, YELLOW SUBMARINE or LET IT BE instead.

Or the excellent Beatles Anthology. Hell, even Magical Mystery Tour has a number of reedeming features (basically a ton of great music videos). BTW, don't look too hard for Let it Be, since it's not yet available.

Dead and Buried (1981)

Viewed 1/24/2005

Gory thriller about a series of murders in a small New England town. The local sheriff investigates and discovers that the victims are returning to life and looking better than ever! Atmospheric, though logical inconsistencies hurt it. Worth a look.

out of


The Yakuza Papers: Proxy War (1973)

Viewed 1/24/2005 (first viewing)

Part three in Kinji Fukasaku's Japanese gangster epic. Series protagonist Shozo Hirono (Bunta Sugawara) is caught in the middle of a gang war while planning to oust his old boss. Convoluted to the point where you need a scorecard to keep track of who's who, but Sugawara has the presence to keep your interest.

out of

The Roaring Twenties (1939)

Viewed: 1/25/2005

Primo gangster flick starring James Cagney as a jobless WWI vet forced into a life of racketeering during Prohibition. Along the way he's joined by conniving war buddy Humphrey Bogart and falls for showgirl Priscilla Lane.

"He used to be a big shot."

out of

It holds up a lot better now than it did then, I think. As you say, it's at least worthy for the music "promos" and the general weirdness of the psychedelic sixties.


And that's still impossible for me to fathom! I still have my original VHS tape by "Magnetic Video" from 1981!!! It's something very special to me because it was the very FIRST home video movie I ever owned, in ANY format. I'll probably always save it as a relic even when a DVD is issued someday.

Oh, I couldn't agree with that. I've seen lots of "Bombs" that were never worth the time I wasted on them. Of course, you can't really know that until you've watched them.

It's All True (1993)

Viewed 1/25/2005

Documentary on Orson Welles' abandoned film It's All True, a three-part movie on the culture of Brazil. The recovered footage from that film makes this a must-see for buffs.

out of


Forgotten Silver (1995)

Viewed 1/25/2005 (first viewing)

Documentary on forgotten New Zealand film pioneer Colin McKenzie. Co-directed by Peter Jackson. Utterly fascinating.

out of


Wild at Heart (1990)

Viewed 1/25/2005

David Lynch's gothic road movie is lurid, irreverent, and definitely not for all tastes.

"My dog barks some. Mentally you picture my dog, but I have not told you the type of dog which I have. Perhaps you even picture Toto, from "The Wizard of Oz." But I warn you, my dog is always with me. WOOF!"

out of

Got the Box set? I'm still waiting for mine to ship.

I need to check out Wild at Heart again someday.




The Long Night (1947) (8/10)
American Noir remake of the Marcel Carne/Jean Gabin French classic Le jour se lève, has Henry Fonda as a factory worker who’s just gunned down a man (Vincent Price) & barricaded himself in his apartment. The story from then on is told in flashbacks, while the drama unfolds around the apartment as the police get trigger happy. Features excellent B&W photography and unique full-scale & miniature sets. An overlooked gem & highly recommended.


Macao (1952) (7/10)
Robert Mitchum & Jane Russell star in this Adventure/Noir thriller set in Macao, the Casablanca of the far east. Directed by ace Josef Von Sternberg who apparently got fired after filming most of the film (the rest being filmed by the un-credited Nicholas Ray). Entertaining, though nothing really outstanding about this one.

Shaolin Soccer (2001) (6/10)
A Shaolin monk teaches kung-fu to a soccer team of 5 brothers, who then enter a tournament. Pure silliness.

Yep, got the box set. Decided to get it at Best Buy vs. ordering it online. Paid more for it, but...

I've got Wild At Heart unopened. At one time it was my favorite Lynch film, but it has been years since I've seen it. It will be interesting to see if I still feel that way.

Can't share your enthusiasm for Forgotten Silver. It was amusing at first, but I got bored with the joke well before it was over.

Dead and Buried was one of my favorite new discoveries from this past year's horror challenge. I don't know that you should be looking for "logical consistency" in a zombie movie

I need to add the Yakuza Papers to my Netflix list. Noticed Tarantino mentions it in his "outro" on the Sonatine DVD.

Friday Night Lights wasn't a top 10 for me, but I did enjoy it quite a bit. Definitely the best football movie in years.

Yeah, I know, but it's the little things that people wouldn't do that can add up to become a major distraction.

Ratings Guide:
(Brilliant)
(Above Average)
(Below Average)
(Mind-Numbing)
(Why did I sit through this?)

Greg 'N Meg's Most Anticipated 2005 Movies
04-01 - Sin City
04-22 - The Interpreter
05-06 - Hitchhiker's Guide...
05-06 - Kingdom of Heaven
06-10 - Mr. and Mrs. Smith
06-17 - Batman Begins
06-29 - War of the Worlds
07-01 - Fantastic Four
09-23 - Corpse Bride
12-09 - Lion Witch & Wardrobe
??-?? - The Aristrocrats
??-?? - The Weatherman

FILMS WATCHED IN 2005
First time viewings are in Bold.

2005 Releases

020) 03-18-05 The Ring 2 (2005)
024) 03-22-05 Hostage (2005)
031) 04-10-05 Sin City (2005)

Nothing yet..

2004 & Before:
001) 01-17-05 Shaun of the Dead (2004)
002) 01-28-05 Pulp Fiction (1994)
003) 01-28-05 Friday Night Lights (2004)
004) 01-29-05 I.Q. (1994)
005) 01-30-05 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
006) 02-01-05 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
007) 02-04-05 Back to the Future (1985)
008) 02-04-05 Five Easy Pieces (1970)
009) 02-05-05 Wag the Dog (1997)
010) 02-11-05 Raging Bull (1980)
011) 02-13-05 THX 1138 (1970)
012) 02-20-05 I, Robot (2004)
013) 02-21-05 Donnie Darko: Director's Cut (2004)
014) 02-22-05 Heat (1995)
015) 03-03-05 Road to Perdition (2002)
016) 03-05-05 The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
017) 03-06-05 The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
018) 03-12-05 A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) (2001)
019) 03-18-05 A Mighty Wind (2003)
021) 03-20-05 Sideways (2004)
022) 03-21-05 Poolhall Junkies (2003)
023) 03-21-05 Closer (2004)
025) 03-22-05 The Assasination of Richard Nixon (2004)
026) 03-25-05 Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
027) 03-26-05 Boys Town (1938)
028) 04-05-05 Sideways (2004)
029) 04-06-05 Closer (2004)
030) 04-09-05 The Sting (1973)
032) 04-21-05 Ocean's 12 (2004)
033) 04-23-05 Clerks (1994)

2005 Film List

Total Films Seen: 43

40 Year Old Virgin - ****
Bad News Bears - ***
Batman Begins - ****
Brokeback Mountain - ****
Capote - ****
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - ***
Constant Gardener, The - ****
Constantine - ** 1/2
Crash - ****
Domino - *** 1/2
Dukes of Hazzard - *
Elektra - * 1/2
Elizabethtown - ***
Family Stone, The - ****
Four Brothers - ***
Fun with Dick and Jane - ***
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - *** 1/2
History of Violence, A - ****
Hustle and Flow - ****
Hitch - ***
Good Night, and Good Luck - ****
In Her Shoes - *** 1/2
Interpreter, The - *** 1/2
Into the Blue - ***
Island, The - ***
Jarhead - ***
King Kong - ****
Kingdom of Heaven - ***
Longest Yard, The - ***
Madagascar - ** 1/2
Mr and Mrs Smith - *** 1/2
Munich - ****
North Country - ****
Pride and Prejudice - *** 1/2
Rent - ***
Sahara - ***
Sin City - ****
Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - *** 1/2
Syriana - ****
Walk the Line - ****
War of the Worlds, The - ****
Wedding Crashers, The - *** 1/2
Zathura - ***

Italics - Seen for the first time on DVD.

First time viewings in Red
Revisit from my collection in Blue
Out of


Scenes From a Marriage (1973) (4/10)
This brutally honest yet overly pessimistic look at marriage through the lens of Ingmar Bergman is too dour, too long (5 torturous hours) & too naturalistic (or I should say un-cinematic) for my taste. This is everything I dread when I go into a foreign art-film.

Memento
Blow 1/2
Pulp Fiction
Irma Vep 1/2

Sorry double

O Brother Where Art Thou? -
01/18/2005
35mm

Damn! We're in a tight spot!

Them si-reens loved him up and turned him into a h-horny toad!

You was hit by a train

I'm the god-damned paterfamilias

He's a suitor

He's bonafide

Is you is or is you ain't my constit'ncy?

Wallace is kin!

come on boys we're gonna R-U-N-N-O-F-T

gopher, Everett?

Pete and I already had one. We ran into. A whole. Gopher. Village...

Well ain't it a small world, spiritually speaking? Pete and Delmar here just got saved. I guess I'm the only one that remains unaffiliated.

I don't want fop, dammit, I'm a dapper-dan man!

Well ain't this place a geographical anomaly, two weeks from everywhere!

Do. Not. Seek. the. Treasure!

Cows! I hate cows worse than I hate coppers!

There are vast amounts of money to be made in the word of God.

He's the re-form candidate. People like that re-form. We ought to get us some of that re-form.

You will see things, wonderful, to behold. You'll see a. Cow. on the roof of a. Cottenshed.

quite simply my favorite coen bros film brilliant at every level and infinitely quotable, every single one of those was from memory, one of my favorite films ever, a treat to watch it on film again.

------------------------
Two Stage Sisters -
01/18/2005
Projected VHS

This is actually an extremely decent and overall entertaining Chinese film from an era when it was dangerous to make films of this quality and overall openness. It's a film that would be anti-Cultural-Revolution (the devastating mob horror and madness of the sixties) but definitely pro-communist principles.

The film follows Chunhua who escapes being sold into virtual slavery as a child-bride by joining a traveling opera troupe and becoming the sister of fellow actress Yuehong. When their father dies, they have to work for three years to pay off their funeral, so their manager sends them the Shanghai opera because they're damn good. There they replace the super-star Shang and are under contract to the sleezy Tang who likes to take actresses as his mistress. Yuehong falls under his sleeze because she thinks thats the way to become a big star and she's also thinking that if he marries her she's provided for when her star fades instead of becoming destitute like Shang. This splits the sisters and Chunhua continues working hard and refusing to be the prostitute that opera singers were practically presumed to be by the wealthy and elite 'patrons'. Chunhua joins up with Jiang-bo a communist party member who takes Chunhua into her tutelage. Eventually Chunhua decides to put on a play from Lu Xio's powerful story "New Year's sacrifice" that is a scathing critique of the child-bride system and treatment of women in pre-revolution china. Their play is politically explosive and Tang is instructed by his Japanese bosses to shut it down, so he uses Yuehong to leverage her out of the Opera house and then attempts to blind Chunhua and orders Yuehong to take the blame from the poor sod he hired to attack Chunhua. However Chunhua heroically comes to Yuehong's defense in court, and Yuehong retreats to the countryside while Tang runs away to the 'american' safety of Taiwan. Post-revolution Chunhua goes on a communist sponsered opera tour of the countryside and reunintes with Yuehong.

The acting is quite good, at times it and the editing/sound design are overly didactic but for the most part this is a solid film that would be entertaining and worthwhile for anyone interested in pre-fifth generation filmmakers chinese cinema.

--------------

His and Her Circumstances episode 1 - A+
OARDVD
01/22/2005
I rewatched this, this time with friends and it remains as wonderful and perfect on a third viewing as it did the first two, just a remarkable piece of work.
--------------
Reason and Emotion - A
01/22/2005
OARDVD
I've watched this three times since getting the DVD and watching it with an audience made it even more entertaining. wonderfully funny and brilliant.
---------------
Thing from Another world - 1/2
01/24/2005
Projected DVD

A good film that's not as strong on a second viewing. It's silly with a lot of poor dialogue and soe very good dialogue, but not enough things come together well enough to make this film really click like Frankenstein, for example.

Adam

First time viewings in Red
Out of



Zorba the Greek (1964) (8/10)
Anthony Quinn stars as Zorba who has a unique lust for life & Alan Bates is a shy English writer in this excellent life affirming drama. The portrayal of the people of Crete is fresh & honest while Anthony Quinn’s performance is rightly legendary. I’m glad I finally got around to this one.

Berlin Express (1948) (7/10)
Very good thriller stars Robert Ryan as an American caught up in espionage & murky assassination plots in post-war Germany. Directed by Jacques Tourneur (Out of the Past, Cat People, Night of the Demon, etc.), this would make for a good double feature with The Third Man.

Hoffman (1970) (5/10)
Peter Sellers plays a love-sick businessman who blackmails his secretary into spending the weekend with him, in what boils down to a disturbing fantasy of statutory rape. A rather bland film despite the creepy undertones.

Little Caesar (1930)

Viewed 1/27/2005

Edward G. Robinson gives a star-making performance as Rico, a would-be mob kingpin whose diminuitive stature belies his ruthless ambition. This creaky, briskly-paced gangster flick ushered in (along with Public Enemy) Warner's wave of crime films.

"Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?"

out of

Germany Year Zero (1948) (7/10)
12-year old boy struggles on the aftermath of WWII Germany in this gripping drama. Caught part of this years ago, this was the first time all the way through. Pretty good but it’s as depressing as anything I’ve ever seen.

Alien vs. Predator (2004) (3/10)
Oh brother, did Fox ever run the Alien franchise into the ground with this unimaginative turd. What we get is your basic cardboard action-movie characters, flimsy plot & inane dialogue that basically regurgitates every one-liner from both franchises. Aside from this there are a few good alien/predator fights & some decent F/X (& some not so good) but I’m a quarter century past 12 years old so this crap just isn’t good enough for me anymore. Not surprisingly this was directed by the poster-boy for Hollywood hacks, Paul WS Anderson. What’s next, RoboCop vs. The Terminator? – meh

Paul's Grandfather doesn't work??! That must be why he's so clean!

Gulp, I'm supposed to get AvP today from Netflix.

Didn't realize I was 5 years older than you Jim. I figured it was the other way around.

The Public Enemy (1931)

Viewed 1/29/2005

James Cagney is tops as bootlegger Tom Powers in this prototypical gangster flick. Shows its age, but still pretty effective. Love the horse scene!

"I ain't so tough!"

out of

I always thought we were about the same age, give or take a year or two. Anyhow, yep I'll be 37 this year, another year closer to impotence or death - whichever comes first. j/k


Well my Gangster Box & Criterion Noirs shipped 3 days ago, but the postman has come & gone with nothing to show. Pretty pathetic since their shipping hub is 25 miles away from where I live. Would've been the perfect weekend since I'm fighting a nasty cold & have nothing else to do.

I do have a couple discs from Netflix & I'll probably make a run to the library & Hollywood video to see what else I can scrounge up.

Anyhow

First time viewings in Red
Out of

The Fallen Idol (1948) (9/10)
This outstanding Carol Reed thriller has a young diplomat’s son witness a murder (or did he?) by the man whom he admires most. Ralph Richardson gives an excellent performance as the tortured & conflicted butler Baines. Based on a short story by Graham Greene, this also features the same great off-kilter camerawork that Reed later used in The Third Man. Would a Criterion DVD be too much to ask for?

The Stranger (1946) (6/10)
Orson Welles directed & stars as a Nazi war criminal hiding out in Connecticut. A fairly decent thriller but nothing all that special.

The 10th Victim (1965) (2/10)
Huh? What the hell did I just watch? Cheesy, low budget, Italian, 60’s, cult, sci-fi, flick about some kind of futuristic death-hunt game. Imagine an unfunny Austin Powers film crossed with The Running Man with no budget.

Yipes, got a backlog here...


The Lower Depths (1936 - Renoir) - The first of back to back viewings of different interpretations of the Russian play. Renoir's approach mostly focuses on two characters and the bond and friendship they form. Very well constructed narrative that really kept me involved all the way through.

The Lower Depths (1957 - Kurosawa) - Many more characters get fleshed out in Kurosawa's version, which feels more like it was based on a play. It makes for a pretty slow first 45 minutes or so, but pays off some great dividends later on. I preferred Renoir's version overall, but both were masterfully told.

Stalag 17 (1953) - If all you know about this film is that Hogan's Heroes was "based" on it, you might feel slightly confused by its flips between comedy and drama. To be honest, most of the comedy in the film ran towards slapstick and didn't do much for me. But the meat of the story featuring William Holden (who is superb as the accused spy within the prisoners' cabin) was excellent and was able to withstand the rather bland humour.

Mulan (1998) - My wife and I had wanted to see this for awhile due to the story which struck us both as having lots of potential...Very little of that potential was reached though. Felt like a minor Disney effort and even the animation seemed fairly straightforward. Some good moments and I liked the main character, but it felt really rushed overall.

Bonfire Of The Vanities (1990) - Zzzzzzz...I had seen this initially when it was released and came away with very little from it. The only reason I wanted to revisit it was a recent read through of "The Devil's Candy" which told the story of the filming of the movie and the behind the scenes machinations that created this huge flop. Aside from all the creative decisions that doomed this picture from the start, its worst flaw is that it's just simply boring. Start to finish. Oh yeah, and Melanie Griffith was cast in it. Horrible.

American History X (1998) - Not a great deal of subtlety in the handling of the racial aspects of the film, but it's still a pretty powerful document. The curb scene beating was as disturbing as I'd heard it was (not overly graphic, but I think that added to the horror of what happened). Though I give it a thumbs up, I don't think I'll need to see this again any time soon.

True Romance (1993) - I really wanted to like this. People rave about this film and I guess I just missed the boat...I like some individual performances and portions of some scenes (ex. the beginning of that final showdown in the hotel room is so well setup, but the final drawn out gun battle conclusion takes away all that built up good will). Not to mention I just didn't feel any sympathy for the two main characters, nor did I really like Patricia Arquette in her role. I think in the end most of the issues I had with the film were directly attributable to the direction as opposed to the script itself.

Dodgeball (2004) - Pretty funny premise and some decent bits, but nowhere enough to sustain the whole running time. Ben Stiller is funny at times and then way over the top at others. Vince Vaughan appears to sleep walk through the whole thing and drags any scene he's in down with him. Amusing, but not much else.

Three Days Of The Condor (1975) - Classic thriller from the 70s. Absolutely nothing bad I can say about this film. Except maybe for some of the cheesy 70s music (especially in the love scene between Dunaway and Redford).

Baadasssss! (2003) - I had resisted this for awhile because I've just never liked Mario Van Peebles as an actor (he just seemed to give off a sense of arrogance that annoyed me). Wow, what a fabulous film this is! Mario plays his father in the true story of the making of one of the earliest black power films and the independent route that was taken to finance it. Great story told imaginatively and passionately. Also, I'm a sucker for films about films...

The Manchurian Candidate (2004) - A bit of a jumbled mess...This is as opposed to the original that was certainly jumbled, but still retained its focus and mystery. This year's version seems to want to explain too much and yet still throws so much up on the screen and on the audio track to assault the senses. There's some interesting snippets along the way, but it just feels overly done.