Track the Films You Watch (2008) - Page 58

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2008)

11/05/08

Moan & Groan, Inc. (1929) Robert F. McGowan

A cop (Edgar Kennedy) tells the gang that they should dig for gold to get over their boredom. The kids end up in a house, which is rumored to be haunted, which it really isn't but it does have a creepy old man in it. The sixth sound short in the series falls back to a pretty weak level as the laughs are pretty hard to come by here. The biggest problem, once again, is the screenplay that really doesn't offer too many chances to laugh as it seems for the most part that everything is just extended to the point where nothing happens and things get boring very quickly. The best gag is when a balloon gets stuck to the back of Kennedy but outside this he doesn't even bring too much to the film.

Shivering Shakespeare (1930) Robert F. McGowan

Kennedy the Cop's wife puts on a play of "Quo Vadis" and wouldn't you know that she casts the gang to major parts. The first night of the play kicks off and naturally the kids begin to forget their lines and more bad stuff happens, which all leads to a big pie fight. Once again it seems the screenwriter didn't even try to make this thing funny. I'm sitting and watching this short and kept asking myself where it was trying to gain comedy from. From the forgotten lines? This didn't work. From the curtains falling at the wrong time? Perhaps this was suppose to be funny but it's not. Is the pie fight suppose to be funny? Well, I guess it is but I've yet to watch one that has made me laugh. I'm only familiar with the later day shorts and some of the silents but I'm finding those so much better than these early sound ones. Hopefully I'll run into some better ones soon.

First Seven Years, The (1930) Robert F. McGowan

Jackie gets a crush on Mary Ann but just as he's about to win her another guy comes along wanting to take her out. Mary Ann recommends that the two have a duel and the winner can have her. This is a step up from some of the previous shorts but I'd say this here is more cute than anything else. Jackie Cooper does a very good job in his role and really sells his character with some funny sequences including the advice he gets from Edgar Kennedy. Mary Ann also comes off quite cute here with Chubby and Farina getting some nice scenes as well. The actual duel when the kids are tearing up everything in the yard is handled quite well and manges to get quite a few laughs. Pete the dog might have the best sequence and that happens after being hit with a sword he must walk backwards to sit in some water. It's easy to see how this effect is done but it still works fine.

When the Wind Blows (1930) James W. Horne

Our Gang short has Jackie getting locked out of his room so he walks around the neighborhood trying to find a place to sleep. The only problem is that everyone mistakes him for a burglar. This is an above average short for this period in the series and most of the film's charm comes from the performance of Cooper who really stands out among all the gang here. Wheezer and Chubby have a couple good moments but even these two don't come close to Cooper. I actually thought Charles McAvoy stole the film as Cooper's father, the one who spanks him and gets this whole mess started. McAvoy's comic timing hits all the right marks especially the scene where he pulls out a gun thinking the burglar is breaking into his home. Edgar Kennedy also gets a few funny sequences as the dimwitted cop who can't keep up with the whole neighborhood calling him.

Bear Shooters (1930) Robert F. McGowan

The gang decides to go campy and once out there they run into a crazed gorilla who they mistake for a bear. What the gang doesn't know is that they're camping on a criminal's hideout. This is certainly one of the better films from this early period and one that thankfully added a music score to help move things along. There are countless funny scenes here with all the children really getting to shine at one point or another. Perhaps I'm just a sucker for movies with gorillas as I've yet to figure out why so many older films featured them but I thought the ending had some hilarious moments. When the kids capture the "bear" and start shooting him with everything they can get their hands on, this comes off very funny. Another great gag is Chubby and his limburger cheese that he greases Wheezer with. Farina also has a nice little scene where he's fishing and Pete might steal the show with his reaction to the cheese.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967) Arthur Penn

Ground breaking gangster film tells the true story of Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty) and Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) who became legends robbing banks during the Depression. A lot of people look back at this film and call it the one movie that changed history and took the format into a new direction. It's hard to believe this film is now over forty-years-old but at the same time it's not hard to believe how many movies this one here influenced throughout all those years and especially throughout the 1970s. I wouldn't really call the film flawless as I think there are a couple slow sequences in the middle of the movie but there's also no denying the incredible power the film still has after all these years. The violence and sexuality were highly debated when the film was first released and it's rather amazing to see how well those two things hold up decades later. The opening sequence with Dunaway walking around her room naked contains a certain sexuality that you really can't have today. The follow up scenes with her walking with Beatty just push this sexuality even more. The violence is also quite shocking when you think back to what 1967 was in cinema. The ending here still comes off rather shocking in how its filmed and even though we've seen more violent films, the final shoot out is something to really see. The biggest key to the film are the terrific performances by Beatty, Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Michael Pollard and Oscar winner Estelle Parsons. The five work extremely well together and I've always felt that Beatty and Hackman made for one of the most memorable brothers in film history just by the way they act towards one another. Even Gene Wilder turns in a very funny performance in his few scenes. One thing the film never gets credit for his being a Warner Bros. gangster film. It seems when people talk about the gangster films from the studio this one here often gets left out and only their Cagney and Bogart titles come up, which is a real shame as this movie fits in perfectly with how those films from the 1930s changed how movies were made. I always find it interesting that Warner's gangster pictures helped cause the Production Code and then this one came in just as that code was being kicked out of town.

Jön az öcsém (1919) Michael Curtiz

Hungarian film based on a poem by Antal Farkas tells the story of a man trying to make it back home to his son and brother. This short film from the legendary Curtiz is the only one of his movies from his Hungarian days to survive, which is a shame as this movie offers up some rather interesting visuals from the future director of Casablanca. This film is what we'd now call "illustrated text" as title cards for the most part tell the story and we only get a few visuals to help carry it along. The visuals are quite striking here and a lot of this is due to the tinting, which is used very effectively. There's a terrific shot of the brother standing on top of a rock hill and another great shot of him entering his home to see his family. These shots can't carry the film however because even at 11-minutes this thing feels very long winded as the story never really can carry through and be entertaining.

Revenge of a Kabuki Actor (1963) Kon Ichikawa

Japanese film about a Kabuki actor (Kazuo Hasegawa) specializing playing female roles who gets a shot at seeking revenge against the three men he feels responsible for his parents deaths. The first part of his plan is to get one of their daughters (Ayako Wakao) to fall in love with him. I had never heard of this film before reading Martin's review a week or so ago and I can't say I enjoyed the film as much as he did but it was a visual treat and I'm glad I caught up with it. On a visual level this thing is damn near a masterpiece with some terrific cinematography as well as some very imaginative shots and ways to tell a story. There are many scenes that pop out but one of the most memorable features Hasegawa playing the actor as well as the thief. The thief climbs up on a roof to talk about the actor as we then get a shot of the actor walking away. I think this segment could have and would have come off quite silly in ninety-nine movies out of a hundred but this is the one case where it works perfectly. Hasegawa himself is brilliant in his role as it really seemed like he was a woman. While watching him trying to seduce the young woman there were many times where I forgot he was a man and this added an even more surreal nature to the film. I was also highly impressed with Wakao. The opening sequence on the stage is another treat for the eyes. If I had one problem with the film it's that it took me nearly fifty-minutes to really get caught up in the story. I'm sure a second viewing would probably take care of this but it did take me a while to take in everything that was going on.

11/06/08

Rocky Mountain Mystery (1935) Charles Barton

Randolph Scott stars in this "B" picture, which is based on a story by Zane Grey. In the film Scott has to go to a small mining town where murders are taking place for what appears to be a possible future inheritance. Scott must battle the bad guys, find out who the killer is and romance Ann Sheridan. This is a rather strange film that mixed with Western and Mystery genres together but the end result isn't as good as one would hope. The biggest problem are the incredibly low production values, which usually leaves all the action to one small place. There's never any scope to the film and the low budget doesn't leave much that the cast can do. In fact it seems like the budget is so low that they can't really do much of anything except talk. The mystery itself isn't too interesting but Scott does make the film worth watching. He's certainly not his classic self here but he is good enough for the film. Sheridan is decent in her role but still a little rough around the edges. This was director Barton's third film and of course he's go on to do several Abbott and Costello films. He handles the material here pretty well even though he doesn't have too much to work with.

Lustful Addiction (1969) Nick Phillips

Director Phillips became known for his softcore films coming out of San Francisco back in the true grindhouse days. I've heard a lot about him but this here was my first sampling of his sexploitation filmography. The film tells the story of a drug addict hooker who doesn't mind sleeping with her dealer just to get a discount. Her desperate addiction to drugs might just cost her a true love relationship with a clean guy. I've seen countless sexploitation films throughout my life from various studios but the majority of them have come from Something Weird and their big catalogue of titles. I must admit that this film is better than the majority of those due to the direction of Phillips but in the end this can't save the film all together. The best thing going for the film is its direction and cinematography, which really makes this stand out compared to others like it. The low-budget film doesn't feature any spoken words but instead just narration, which is the biggest problem as the dialogue being spoken is quite horrid. It sounds like the narrator is trying to be some sort of Bob Dylan with its poetic use of words but they all come off quite bad and at times laughable. The cinematography is very good throughout and the use of B&W really makes for a seedy looking picture that is able to pull the depression of the the character. The film doesn't have any credits so I'm not sure what the main actresses name is but she does a pretty good job in her role. She's very easy on the eyes as well so that's certainly not a bad thing. The film is also very bleak, dark and depressing but I found the softcore scenes very erotic. I normally don't find these sexploitation films to be that sexy but I thought this one was and that includes an extremely hot scene with our woman hooking up with another female stripper. In the end the movie eventually just runs too long, even at 70-minutes, and doesn't have enough going for it to make it a total success but it's certainly better than a lot of others out there.

Lustful Addiction (2003) Misty Mundae

Remake of Nick Phillips' 1969 film, although you wouldn't know it as his name is not mentioned anywhere in the credits as Mundae gets credit for writing and coming up with the idea. This remake is the same as the original as a drugged up hooker (Ruby LaRocca) will do anything to get her fix and that includes screwing her dealer. She eventually meets up with a free spirited young lady (Misty Mundae) and the two hit it off but the drugs might come back to hurt them. Whereas the original film tried to be both erotic and tell a serious story, this one here pretty much goes for the erotic nature and that includes the meeting between LaRocca and Mundae, which lasts over thirty-minutes of the seventy-three-minute running time. This entire sequence shows the two women taking drugs and having sex and I must admit that Mundae handles the sequence very well. The erotic scenes are highly erotic and the drug natured fit the two are on comes off quite well. The film really doesn't try to tell any story and instead just wants to be sexy and as an erotic film it works. The performances are range from decent to poor and as in the original film this one here doesn't have any spoken dialogue but instead just narration. LaRocca doesn't look at good as the woman in the original but that somewhat helps the film as her physical look matches what you'd expect someone like this would look like. This film certainly isn't going to appeal to everyone and I'm certainly not an expert on these recent softcore films but I felt this one did the job it set out to do.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2008)

11/07/08

Roxanna (1970) Nick Phillips

Roxanna (Louise Thompson) is a stripper who just can't get enough sex. On her little journey she runs into a lesbian (Uschi Digard), a strange man, a transvestite and a nymph. This is my second sexploitation film from Phillips and I must say that I'm really enjoying his style that he brings to these films. This film plays out with just some narration as we watch all the action that's going on. For the most part we get four sex scenes in a row and this completes the short 51-minute running time, which is just long enough to get the film complete without making it drag on too long, which is often a problem with films like this. I've seen quite a few of these films from this era but Phillips' films have something different and that's the ability to mix erotic sex with an ugly subject matter. This film certainly wants and does become erotic but at the same time it doesn't shy away from the ugly nature that this young girl is getting herself in. There's only one road her type of lifestyle leads to and the ugliness is something that a lot of these films doesn't show but that's what makes this rather unique. The sex scenes are intercut with scenes of Roxanna in an asylum having a breakdown, which is very effective. Thompson is very good in her role or at least her visual appearance in the film. Digard, star of countless sexploitation and Russ Meyer films, is well....herself. This was my first time seeing her and she certainly won't be leaving my memory banks anytime soon.

Roxanna (2002) Ted W. Crestview

Remake of the Nick Phillips film has Misty Mundae playing the role of Roxanna. When Roxanna's boyfriend asks her to have sex with a girl she goes along with it but soon all she has on her mind is women. This leads her down the dangerous path of picking up strange women and forgetting her boyfriend, which might not be a good idea. It's amazing but once again we have a remake where the original guy doesn't get any credit but he might be thankful for that as this film is pretty worthless. The movie runs a very short 36-minutes and that's a good thing as the movie seems too long even at that time. Mundae is a cute girl and I understand why she has a big cult following because she really does look like that girl next door. I'm still new to her career but so far the best thing I've seen from her is a movie she directed so perhaps that's the key to her making better films. The lesbian sex scenes here, all softcore, aren't erotic and the majority of the time they are rather bland and boring. The director really doesn't know how to build anything erotic and for the majority of the running time his so-called style is just obnoxious and boring.

Decision at Sundown (1957) Budd Boetticher

After the suicide of his wife, Bart Allison (Randolph Scott) makes it his goal to hunt down and kill the man he feels responsible. He finds Tate Kimbrough (John Carroll) in the small town of Sundown where he owns the sheriff (Andrew Duggan) and has the town frightened. Not to mention he shows up just as Tate is about to be married. It seems these Boetticher/Scott films weren't overly successful or popular when first released but over the past few years their reputations have really grown. There are a couple twists here that happens at the end of the film, which probably wouldn't go over too well back in 1957 but today I think people will be able to enjoy these more. This is certainly a western by all means but it's also a lot deeper than that and I think that's the reason these films keep getting more popular. The character study that involves Bart, Tate and the entire town makes for some suspenseful scenes and a lot of stuff to think about when it comes to men trying to seek revenge. Boetticher's direction is masterful as he does a terrific job at building tension from the opening scenes all the way to the end. The majority of the film has Scott held up in a barn, which is perfect because it gives the film a chance to visit and see the supporting characters and learn how they're going to have a major impact on the ending. The performances are also excellent with Scott leading the way in a role that isn't your typical hero. An anti-hero might be better because he is playing a very ugly character that doesn't have much charm. The way Scott lets the character's pain run free makes this the best work I've seen from him. Duggan is terrific as the snake sheriff and we get strong supporting performances by Carroll, Karen Steele and Valerie French. Noah Beery, Jr. is also excellent in his role as Scott's friend. Again, I'm sure people could debate the twists at the end but I think the make the film a lot more memorable. We've seen countless western's involving revenge so to see one that isn't done in a standard fashion is very refreshing.

Gay Bride, The (1934) Jack Conway

A gold-digging chorus girl (Carole Lombard) decides to the only way to get rich is by marrying gangsters and hoping that they get killed so that all their money will go to her. She finds one dimwitted gangster (Nat Pendleton) to marry her but his bodyguard (Chester Morris) can see right through her. This comedy has some truly great moments in it but overall there aren't enough constant laughs to make it a complete winner. I was surprised to learn that this was the only film Lombard made for MGM but she turns in a fine performance. Her role isn't the greatest but the screenplay does offer her plenty of nice one-liners and for the most part she hits everyone of them. Pendleton is also very good as the dumb gangster who can't see that his wife is just after his money. It's Morris who steals the show however with his perfect comic timing. The screenplay does his character more justice than anyone else and Morris uses it to his advantage with countless great lines and some truly hysterical moments including a scene at a will reading. Zasu Pitts is wasted in her small role of Lombard's friend. The screenplay doesn't have enough laughs to carry the 80-minute running time but if you're a fan of the two stars then the film should keep you entertained.

Emmanuelle 5 (1987) Walerian Borowczyk, Steve Barnett

Emmanuelle (Monique Gabrielle) is at Cannes showing off her latest film, which is bought by an Arab prince. Emmanuelle goes to his small country for the premiere but soon she is held captive by the evil ruler who won't even allow women to show their legs or touch themselves but that's not going to sit well with our star. Apparently there are three versions of this film; the original European version, an American edit and an alternate hardcore version. I watched the American edit, which features some newly shot scenes as well as outtakes from the Euro version. I've never been a huge fan of the director but I might go as far to say this is the most entertaining film I've seen from him. If you've seen any of the Emmenuelle movies, whether the original series or the Black Emanuelle movies, then you know what to expect. Gabrille isn't much of an actress but she does have a great body and shows it off enough to keep the film moving. The supporting cast includes Crofton Hardester and Dana Bruns Westburg but they don't add a whole lot to the film. The biggest problem is the studio subplot dealing with the evil ruler who won't let women be free but of course we all know this movie was made to show women naked so the political message just comes off silly and rather stupid. Apparently fans have called Borowczyk a sell out for doing this film but there's still plenty of "art" here to where he can call it his own. I doubt his die-hard fans are going to give this film too much credit so I'd say those seeking cheap nudity will be the ones to enjoy this the most.

School, The (1958) Walerian Borowczyk

A Polish soldier is lined up against a wall and forced to do various training techniques in this rather amazing and funny short from Borowczyk. The film is part animation and part still photography and the added sound effects really make for an interesting film. There are various funny sequences but my favorite is probably the scene where the soldier is trying to fire his riffle but can't get it to go off so he puts it up to his eye. The dream sequence at the end is rather nice as well. This short runs just over six-minutes and it contains more magic in those minutes than anything of the features I've seen from the director. Original title: Ecole, L'.

Grandmother's Encyclopedia (1963) Walerian Borowczyk

Another interesting animated short from Borowczyk with this one showing three things from the first three letters of the alphabet. I'm really not sure of the history behind this film or if it was originally meant to be a series of films but apparently this was the only one completed. The film runs just over six minutes with the majority of the running time dealing with an automobile and a balloon. Both sequences are very entertaining and the director's imagination is all over the place as this is certainly some of the most unique animation that I've seen. There really aren't any laughs or drama but instead just a real treat for the eyes. Full title: Encyclopédie de grand-maman, L' .

Astronauts, The (1959) Walerian Borowczyk, Chris Marker

Science-fiction animation has a man building a spaceship inside his garage. When it's complete he flies it around the city just to get a reaction but then he takes it up to space to see what it's like out there. This is a visually pleasing short to watch but there's very little soul to it. I guess you'd say there's more style here than substance, which is somewhat of a shame as this film should have and I think could have been a lot better. The visuals in the film are very nice as I've come to expect from Borowczyk. His visual flair is certainly shining very bright here as his vision of outer space is totally original and features some well thought out images. The opening scenes on the streets aren't as good because there's not any humor to them. I'm not exactly sure what the director's were going for in these early scenes but they left me rather cold.

Renaissance (1963) Walerian Borowczyk

Another strange but surreal animated film from Borowczyk starts off in the dark when it quickly turns to light and we see what appears to be a room with nothing but destroyed items in it. Soon the items begin to morph themselves back to what they originally were. Here's another winner from the director who brings his strange but imaginative views to the animation world. Having seen a number of his softcore flicks I can't believe some would rather watch those lazy films when it's obvious the director had a great mind to work with. This movie is really a lot of fun because it allows the viewer to try and guess what items are being formed while all the visuals are going on. I must admit that I didn't guess a single one but the greatest scene for me is when the screen goes black and we see some sort of drawing, which really isn't a drawing as it turns out to reveal something else.

House (1958) Walerian Borowczyk, Jan Lenica

Another animated/still photograph film is a rather strange mixture and the first short from the directors that I haven't really enjoyed. I'd be lying if I said I knew exactly what was going on in this thing but I believe it's about a person feeling trapped within their world. I'm guessing at this because of the early animated sequences, which features confined items structured within a house. The second half of the short features more stuff along the lines of the still photographs where we see some rather sad individuals. I'm not sure if I would have enjoyed this more had I known for certain what was going on but for most of the running time I just found the narrative boring and I wasn't even that entertained by the visuals. I wouldn't call this film lazy but I didn't find it as interesting as others from the director.

Game of the Angels, The (1963) Walerian Borowczyk

Animated short takes place inside a strange factory where angels are being created. Here's another Borowczyk short that is short on plot and I suppose the story should be in the viewer's eyes. I'm sure the director had some point going in this film but it certainly never struck me as to what. Even though I didn't get the story itself the visuals in the film left me rather cold. The redish tinting was a nice touch but I found the creativity in the visuals rather lacking. I'm guessing one could say they were meant to be that way but it just didn't work for me. The short runs just under twelve-minutes with the first six showing us the factory without anything going on. The second half of the film is when everything comes to life and the angel is created.

Once Upon a Time (1957) Walerian Borowczyk, Jan Lenica

Incredibly imaginative animated film was a big award winner when originally released. The film starts off with an egg shaped creature and four lines coming together and then walking around. As they walk more and more pieces start to come together until the end when a creation finally reveals itself. This is a wonderfully entertaining short that I'm sure kids would love just as much as adults. The movie has a cute little soundtrack and I guess the word neat is the one I'd use to explain everything. Various shapes and forms are created throughout the film and the directors mix the animation in with live footage as well as still photographs. The sequences where the egg shape fills in on some photos is very well done as is the end bit with the Mona Lisa. Fans of the director or animation would be pleased to watch this one. Original title: Byl sobie raz.

Decalogue: One, The (1989) Krzysztof Kieslowski

The first film out of ten tells the story of a father (Henryk Baranowski) and his son (Wojciech Klala) who do everything they can together. The father teaching his son that any of life's problems can be solved through mathematics and that there can be done on their high tech computer. One day the son finds his Christmas gift, a pair of skates, and asks his father if he can go out on the lake. The father does the math on the computer and determines that the ice is strong enough to hold his son and lets him go but soon something isn't right. This first film is centered around the verse "I am the Lord thy God; thou shalt have no other God but me" and it's really interesting how the director/writer uses this popular commandment and yet doesn't tell the story in a traditional way. This was the first film I've seen from the director so I'm really not sure if this was the right place to start or not but this film certainly leaves an impression on a new viewer. I've seen countless films that deal with religion but never one as unique as this one here because the usual way a religious story is told isn't found here as this work comes off totally original and unlike anything I've seen before. I think everyone can read that verse and decide what it means yet the way everything is handled here just makes that saying even more interesting. One could debate how the father was bringing his son up in comparisons to how his sister (Maja Komorowska) would do the job. There are so many calm and quiet moments in this film that it's easy not to pick up on the power behind them. The most noticeable sequence is the mysterious man (Artur Barcis) seen sitting besides the lake. An even more powerful scene happens when the father spills some ink. You can say the spilling of the ink means nothing yet the director gets the point he wants to make across so perfectly that it comes off quite chilling. The performances from the three stars are incredible to say the least and that's certainly true for the young boy who is extremely remarkable considering his young age. There are many entertaining or great films that hit you while you watch them but later the movie just fades from your memory. This one here is the type that you might not realize how powerful it is until minutes, hours or even days later when the memory is still with you and you come to see and feel new things about it. I'm only minutes away from the movie coming to an end and its impact is just slipping into me.

11/08/08

Elvis Mitchell: Under the Influence (Edward Norton) (2008)

After a long hiatus the series is back this time with Edward Norton being interviewed. Norton spends most of the thirty-minutes discussing those actors and films that he grew up watching. DeNiro, Pacino, Hoffman and Brando are talked about as are films like The King of Comedy, Annie Hall and [b]Lenny[b]. Norton tells some funny stories about Spike Lee and how Lee was a huge fan of Lumet and the movie Midnight Cowboy. This episode isn't nearly as entertaining as some of the earlier ones because we really don't hear Norton talk about too much. The interview is somewhat all over the place and bounces around from one subject to the next. Considering Norton worked with both DeNiro and Brando you'd think we'd hear some nice stories about them but we really don't. Even with that said it's always interesting hearing an actor talk about his favorite films.

Sanshiro Sugata 2 (1945) Akira Kurosawa

Kurosawa's sequel has Sugata (Susumu Fujita) still growing in the world of judo but outsiders are wanting to make the fighting style a sport and put it up against American boxing. This is a rather strange film but I do think it's better than the original just because of how out there it is. I've read that the government forced Kurosawa into making this and you can tell because that plays a part in the film. American boxing is really looked down upon and fighting as a sport is shown to be evil and this really translates to Kurosawa being unhappy as he was forced to make this just like the characters here are being forced to do something they see as morally wrong. Seeing the different fighting styles mixed up together was pretty fun as was the ending, which takes place during a snow storm. Fujita is a lot better here than he was in the previous film and really delivers a strong performance and makes his character quite memorable with the difficulties that he faces. The film's biggest problem comes in form of some rather choppy storytelling that has the film wonder off from its main goal way too many times and this is certainly true in the final fifteen-minutes before the final showdown. The low-budget nature of the film also shines through in a negative way but I'm sure the fans of the director will want to watch this at least once.

Decalogue: Two, The (1989) Krzysztof Kieslowski

"Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain" is the focus of this second film in Kieslowski's series. A woman (Krystyna Janda) is going through the torment of not knowing whether or not her husband will die from his illness so she asks his doctor (Aleksander Bardini) to give her an answer. The doctor can't really say for certain but then he learns that the woman is pregnant with another man's baby. If her husband will die she will keep the kid but if he's going to live then she must have an abortion. As with the first film, this one here features some terrific acting, great direction and a wonderful look but I think the level of entertainment is a tad bit less because to the story really didn't hit me as hard as it should have. I'm not really sure what this film has to do with the original subject from the Bible but I'm sure some might see some sort of linking between the two. As for me, I found the attempt to bring the two sides together here didn't really work and I thought trying to link them was a mistake. Of course, everyone is going to see or feel something different about religion so just because these links didn't work for me doesn't mean others won't find something here. Another problem I had was that I really didn't care or feel too much for the woman going through this problem. The fact that she cheated on her husband, a sin, isn't ever really brought up nor is the possible abortion. WIth that said, the visual look of the film is extremely well done and there's no denying that the director has created a very good piece of work. The material, no matter what you feel towards it, is very well handled and is an original take on the whole idea of religion. Bardini clearly steals the film with his sad character who might be stepping over his lines due to the own pain he has suffered. Artur Barcis returns to this film playing a mysterious figure and once again does a great job.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2008)

Thanks. I plan on getting disc 2 in from Netflix for this weekend. I had planned on watching them earlier but a bunch of these other shorts and foreign titles fell into my lap.

I've seen plenty of the later day OG titles and enjoyed them and I've enjoyed a lot of the later day silents so I'm guessing these early sound shorts are just rough transitions.

Of course, you rating them on the front page is something I enjoy as you haven't commented on them yet.


I was hoping to watch one film a day but Netflix didn't ship out disc 2 so these too are going to be put on hold for a couple days. Believe it or not but I had never heard of the series until reading a few reviews for the director's "color trilogy", which I actually wanted to watch first. I had been meaning to watch them since they're original release and seeing the reviews on Siskel and Ebert.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2008)

To Joe and anyone else interested:

You mentioned you thought CONQUEST would eventually show up on regular DVD but people don't have to wait. I just read a thread at another site and apparently Fox Movie Channel is going to show the "director's cut" this Thanksgiving as part of their Apes marathon. I haven't seen the sequels in a while so I guess I'll take this shot and watch them.


I recorded this off the Sundance Channel last Friday. I'm not familiar with any of Cassavetes work as a director but it seems the channel are showing several. I already recorded KILLING OF A CHINESE BOOKIE and have my DVR set to record OPENING NIGHT tomorrow. Again, God knows when I'll get them watched but I loved his son's SHE'S SO LOVELY, which I still think is one of the most underrated films of the 90s. I'm not sure if me liking that film, which he wrote the screenplay for, will make me more acceptable to his work.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2008)

You should ask yourself why you're willing to waste money upgrading when you aren't going to watch them very often. If you look down that front page of this thread (or others like it) very few people are rewatching movies and it seems the majority of everyone is just watching new films. If people aren't going to be rewatching films then owning them has left me scratching my head. I'm going to watch the Our Gang films once because I've got (no joke) around 1000 other shorts sitting here that I haven't watched. Not to mention the Keaton, Chaplin, Griffith and Lloyd films that I need to revisit. If I'm only going to watch the Gang once then there's no point in me spending $70 so I go to Netflix.

Now, if you were someone who watched the same group of movies over and over and over and over and over for the next 32 years then I'd understand. Of course, having channels like TCM, FMC, IFC, Sundance and various "On Demand" features gives us on this side of the world an extra benefit.



The SCHOOLTEACHER films were in Italian with English subs. I'm pretty sure all the ones released here are in Italian. There are a couple more Fenech titles over here (one directed by Sergio Martino) as well as a Fulci comedy.


Yep, I had never heard of the film until Martin reviewed it here.



I enjoyed Scott but wouldn't never say I was a fan of his until this movie. Again, I won't be buying the set but TCM is showing a couple and I'll get the others from Netflix. Not to mention I've got some Public Domain releases that feature around seven more of his films.



Before I watched the short I wrote that EMMANUELLE 5 was the best film I had seen from him, which is pretty bad. As you can tell, I'm going through more "sexual" stuff in my viewings here and last night I watched a Tinto Brass film, which I thought was pretty bad. I've found all of Borowczyk's films really bad as well so I often find myself giving more credit to Franco, D'Amato and Rollen for what they do.

Just check YouTube or various other online sites to watch these or countless other rare shorts.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2008)

Oh yeah, this is for anyone who's interested:

Home

You can watch a great collection of silent and sound films from this site including the Hungarian Curtiz film I reviewed a few days ago. They've also got a 1917 film from John Ford, BUCKING BROADWAY, which I don't think has ever been released. I haven't watched the Ford film yet but plan on doing so soon.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2008)

11/09/08

Sinful (2006) BOMB Tony Marsigilia

Extremely awful psychological thriller about a married woman (Misty Mundae) who slowly loses her mind because she isn't able to have children. She eventually meets her neighbor who is pregnant and plans on taking the unborn baby from her. There have been a few recent stories with deranged woman ripping babies out of other women and I'm sure this subject, while vile, could make for a good thriller or character study but this film certainly isn't it. This is an incredibly bad movie from start to finish but I'm not sure who would walk into this movie and expect anything else. Mundae is best known for her sexploitation roles and that's where she should have stuck because her performance her is really, really bad. Not once did I believe her as this deranged woman and now that I've seen a handful of her films it seems directors like to show she's "crazy" or "bad" by having her smoke a cigarette. I personally don't understand this childish connection but if that's the only way an actress or screenplay can show badness then you know you're in trouble. The film goes from reality to a fantasy world and it's hard to separate the two as both sequences look the exact same (overly dark). The supporting players are equally bad and there's no sense of direction anywhere. We get some rather gory moments with a fetus being ripped out and other dumb things but gorehounds won't find anything good here. The nudity is here but does nothing. The film runs 65-minutes but it's obvious the filmmakers ran out of ideas just by the extended opening and closing credits, which probably take over ten minutes. Just wait until you see the closing credits because of how slowly they move to push up the running time. I've seen thousands of movies but this is the first time I've seen this practice to push a running time.

Decalogue: Three, The (1989) Krzysztof Kieslowski

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy", is what taxi driver Janusz (Daniel Olbrycheski) is trying to do but a woman (Maria Pakulnis) from his past shows up asking him to help look for her missing husband. I've read that certain episodes jump to different commandments and that's certainly true here as the overall message seems to aim more at adultery and lying. As with the previous two installments, this one here is flawless in terms of acting and the directing is top-notch as well. Once again I think the biggest key for the viewer is how well he can connect to the story and overall I thought this one was better than the second but fell quite short of the first. What I liked most about this third chapter is, once again, the way the director and screenwriter make it so fresh compared to other films that dealt with religion. This film doesn't ask simple question and it never gives us any simple answers about what's going on. One thing different here is that the film really has a strange and surreal nature to it that I'd compare to Scorsese's After Hours. With the red Christmas lights flashing throughout the film, the empty streets and the secrets between the two characters, this segment really struck me more along the lines of a mystery. You could also say the film is about regret and sorrow but then again I guess some could see it as overlooking more important issues in terms of religion. I think the most amazing thing about the series so far is how terrific the performances have been in each of them. That holds true here as Olbrycheski really does a marvelous job in his role and the same is true for Pakulnis. Both of them work extremely well together and they really do come off as former lovers.

11/10/08

Schoolgirl Report #3 (1972) Walter Boos, Ernst Hofbauer

The third of twelve films in the German Schulmadchen-Report series ran into a ton of controversy when it went to be released on American DVD early in 2008. The subject matter for this third film was too hot for the DVD distributor so the release ended up getting pulled and could only be sold at one online store. Months later an edited version was released but this review is for the uncut, international version running the complete 96-minutes (whereas the cut version is at 76-minutes). If you've seen the first two films then you know what to expect as this series tries to pass itself off as an educational movie warning parents about what their teenagers might be doing in regards to various sexual situations. We get the typical stories of girls sneaking out to have sex, younger girls going after older men and even a Romeo and Juliet type story but the controversial ones are going to be the most talked about. The first of the big three has a girl getting gang raped in her school bathroom but the adult won't believe her and instead he scares her into prostitution. The next story has a teenage girl catching her father in bed with another woman because her mother is ill and away in a hospital. Wanting to keep her father with her mother, the girl decides to start sleeping with her dad. The third of these "bad" stories centers on a 15-year-old girl who sees her older sister having sex and it gets her interested so she sneaks into the shower with her 10-year-old cousin. Ok, the first two stories don't bother me too bad because you expect that sort of nastiness when it comes to exploitation, which this series is. If someone actually believes these are "learning" movies then I guess you will be shocked. The third story with the young kids is the one I have no problems with it being cut out. It's obvious both kids are underage and that the boy hasn't even hit puberty. Seeing them to "playing around", even though there's never any real touching, is just too creepy to watch. Perhaps I'm being a hypocrite because I loved Fat Girl, which features young nudity and I've seen Child Bride but those two films do talk about the subject in a serious way. This film here is meant to be fun and what I saw there wasn't fun. With that said, I still enjoyed the movie overall as we get sexy stories, stupid interviews with people off the street and countless other sexploitation scenes that come off fresh even in the third film. I've got nine more to go through but I must admit that I'm looking forward to each and everyone of them.

School for Postmen (1947) Jacques Tati

aka École des facteurs, L'

Tati short has him playing a postman who will stop at nothing to get the mail delivered quickly. This was my first film from Tati and after hearing many comparisons to Chaplin it's easy to see why. I really loved the way he went for broke when it came to the humor in the film and that includes a wide range of gags ranging from literally riding his bike on the back of a truck to avoiding death by cutting in front of cars. I know Tati remade this with Jour de Fete but this short is still worth seeing. It really does play out a lot like a Chaplin short from the 1920s as Tati's character never says much of anything and him constantly getting into one mess after another makes for a sweet natured character that I really enjoyed. I'm still not quite sure how they got the bicycle to drive by itself but it was certainly a great gag.

Jour de Fete (1948) Jacques Tati

Tati's remake of his short École des facteurs, L' has him playing a simple and rather dimwitted postman who becomes a laughing stock when a fair comes to town. At the fair a movie is shown saying that the American postal service is the greatest in the world as they never stop and contain the best service when it comes to delivering mail. After seeing this our French postman decides to step up his own game. Perhaps I made a mistake in watching the short film first but I actually thought it was better than this feature version. This remake really only becomes one during the final twenty-minutes when nearly every gag from the short is copied over. I didn't find any of the gags here to work as well and that includes the riding on the back of the truck, the church bell and of course the bike running around on its own. The added gag of Tati accidentally hitting a large pig in the road got a small chuckle but it wasn't hilarious. The first hour of the film kept me entertained but I'd be lying if I say I laughed a lot. For the most part the film, due to Tati's performance, kept a smile on my face but for a comedy I was really hoping to laugh more. I found the biggest problem to be with the supporting characters who don't support Tati very well. There are countless gags that these supporting players set up but they add very little to the joke and again everything has to fall on Tati. The scene where they try to get the pole up in the air was very funny though.

11/11/08

Edmond (2005) Stuart Gordon

David Mamet adapted his own play about a lonely man (William H. Macy) who leaves his wife at the drop of a dime and then sets out to discover his freedom on the dark streets on NYC. In one night's time the man becomes the target of hookers, pimps, scam artists but things take a major change when he takes a young waitress (Julia Stiles) back to her house. This film is a cross between Martin Scorsese's After Hours and Falling Down, although I guess it would be fair to say that those two movies probably lifted from the original source material here since I believe the Mamet play was released in the early 80s. No matter what influenced what, this is an extremely dark yet at times very funny character study about how one man could go from normal to a racist murdering in the matter of hours. Macy has become known as a great character actor over the past several years but I'd say this is probably the greatest performance I've seen from him because he handles the material so well and makes this character very believable. The racist outbursts are at times shocking and yet at times very funny just because of how crazy and off the wall they are. The same holds true with the violence and especially a scene where Macy attacks a pimp, which again is just downright crazy and off the wall. This nightmare world created by Gordon is something that plays out like a dark fairy tale and while this film is at times very disturbing I also found myself laughing quite loud because only something based in true cause be this crazy. One might argue that the film is over the top because of how far Macy's character goes nuts but I think this is the whole point of the film in that anyone can go crumbling down at anytime. The supporting cast includes a terrific performance by Stiles, which is certainly the best work I've seen her do. Joe Mantegna, Denise Richards and even Jeffrey Combs are good in their roles as well. You can look at the box office records and the fact that the movie never played in over five theaters to see that this isn't going to be for everyone but if you like a strange and surreal character study then this one offers a lot of great things.

All Ladies Do It (1992) Tinto Brass

aka Cosi fan tutte

Italian erotic film from the director of Caligula tells the story of Diana (Claudia Koll), a woman happily married to her husband (Paolo Lanza) for five years. Even though she loves him more than anything that doesn't take away her sexual desires for other men. The husband can't stand not being the only one but perhaps after time he'll learn that "all ladies do it". This is only my second film from Brass and his visual style is certainly on full display here even though his story telling skills aren't the greatest. I was shocked at how well the screenplay actually was because a lot of softcore efforts place the story second behind the sex but that really wasn't the case here. The message of a woman having the right to be "sexual" without being labeled "sluts" was taken very serious by the film. Brass does a very good job with the look of the film with some great cinematography and some wonderful set designs. The biggest issue I had with his direction is that the entire film comes off as a butt fetish video as Brass is constantly zooming in on women's behinds. I like a good butt as much as the next person but after a while it grows quite tiresome but the scene where the women decide to go skinny dipping is priceless. The performances aren't really anything special but they do the job and in the end God knows there's a lot worse out there than this.

Stray Dog (1949) Akira Kurosawa

aka Nora inu

Kurosawa's film noir about a rookie detective (Toshiro Mifune) who suffers great humiliation after a pickpocket steals his gun. His grief goes worse when his gun is the cause to several robberies and a murder but he teams up with a veteran detective (Takashi Shimura) to track down the people responsible. I really didn't care for the first thirty-minutes of this movie but after that this because an incredibly intense, well made and brilliantly acted film. I felt the first thirty-minutes just really dragged on for no good reason and I felt a lot of this early stuff could have been edited out. I really didn't think any of it added too much to the film but after this the movie really takes off fast. The visual look of the film is very impressive with some beautiful B&W cinematography and a terrific atmosphere built up by the director. I loved the added subplot of the heat as you can really feel the sun burning your neck just like the characters in the film. Mifune, in his first film, gives an explosive performance and he really makes us feel the pain and anguish that his character is going through. It's easy to see why he became a star with this one movie. Shimura on the other hand really steals the film as the veteran just by the way he walks and talks. The scene where he's interviewing a woman by eating popsicles and smoking cigarettes with her is just priceless because of how the actor plays it. I'm not sure if this film offered up the "buddy cop" formula that we'd see in countless other movies but it certainly comes off very fresh and original here. The final fifteen-minutes are full of wonderful suspense and nail biting action and that makes this one of the director's first great movies. I only wish I had enjoyed the early part more but even with that said this is certainly still a classic.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2008)

I've always been interested in how you picked your repeat viewings. I noticed you gave several of the films (like the A&C's) ratings, which isn't a good grade but it's certainly better than some. Is there any reasons why you'd rewatch a film over a film? I mean, wouldn't a 3-star L&H be more entertaining for you than a 2-star A&C like GO TO MARS? My favorite A&C films would probably leave out GO TO MARS, CAPTAIN KIDD and DANCE WITH ME HENRY so I wouldn't watch them over something like HOLD THAT GHOST, MEET FRANK or MEET DJ&MH.

I made it my goal in that horror challenge to only watch stuff I haven't seen in 5+ years and I did pretty good at this because only a few items were watched last year and only a couple had been watched in under five years. You'll notice plenty of BOMB and ratings but these needed to be seen again for me to 1. make my mind up on them and 2. to give IMDB a review. I will be very pleased to say that I will never watch these films again nor will I watch 99% of the new viewings this year.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2008)

Police Academy (1984) Hugh Wilson

You're either going to be a fan of this film or you're going to downright hate it. I'm a fan and have been since first watching it as a kid. A group of misfits join the police academy after the Mayor opens the program up for anyone. This doesn't sit well with all especially Lt. Harris (G.W. Bailey) who wants to rejects out. Steve Guttenberg, Kim Cattrall, Bubba Smith, George Gaynes, David Graf, Leslie Easterbrook and Michael Winslow play the various rejects in this film and as a fan I think all of them make their roles quite memorable. I really think this film holds up very well today with its politically incorrect rumor and most of all its non-stop attempt to gain laughs. Not all of the gags work but the majority of them do and that makes for one very entertaining and funny film. There are countless great scenes including the speech from Gaynes where he has a special guest, Smith learning to drive and the infamous gay bar where two rats get sent for trying to spy. I've never understood why some critics took this film so serious. They call it stupid but I think that's the entire point. The movie isn't trying to win an Oscar nor is it trying to make an AFI list for the greatest movies ever made. The movie is just trying to be funny and it does that enough to where this is still a very memorable film no matter what the critics say.

Warner at War (2008)

Steven Spielberg narrates this 48-minute documentary that takes a look at the four Warner brothers and how they decided to fight the war long before it was considered the right thing to do. This is yet another very entertaining documentary but you can't help but wonder why this one runs so short. A lot of interesting things are learned but I can't help but think there's even more history out there. Spielberg takes on the narration role and does a very good job but that's all there is in terms of talking heads. No other experts or historians show up, which is a shame but this isn't anything too major. The film opens up talks with the Warner's early history and how they wanted to speak out against Nazis and Germany long before 1939 but the production code wouldn't allow it. Confessions of a Nazi Spy gets a lot of talk and its historic importance is really spoken very highly of. This here kick starts the subject as we go through countless movies that the studio were making just to make American's support the war. There's also discussion of the Hollywood stars signing up for these projects including the short films, which the President himself asked them to do. The talk of how many people enlisted in the Army after certain movies were released is an interesting topic even though I'm not sure how strong those numbers are.

Hypocrites (1915) Lois Weber

This Paramount feature is one of the few surviving works of female director Lois Weber who in her short career had many ups and downs but this film here would be her most controversial. It tells the story of a preacher who uses the his Sunday sermon to preach against those who are hypocrites. Half the folks there are angered by this speech so the preacher sets out to find the "truth" and finds it in the form of a naked woman. The preacher then molds a statue of this woman and soon the town turns into a mob wanting the preacher dead. I was somewhat let down by this film as I had read several reviews stating it was one of the greatest films of the silent era. I think that praise is a little over blown but there's still enough interesting stuff here to make this film worth seeing. I think the greatest thing that the film does is its technical beauty. Weber does a very good job at telling the story in the short 47-minute running time. There's also some great cinematography, which includes a wonderful pan shot of the people looking at the statue. This scene was certainly ahead of its time and still looks quite impressive. The biggest problem with the film is how the story is told as Weber, also the screenwriter, spends way too much time beating the viewer over the head with how hypocrites work. I'm sure the riots this film causes were by those who didn't know they too were hypocrites and this is something the film preaches against but I think those who know how these people work are going to get a little tired with what all the film does. The use of full frontal nudity by the woman was certainly brave for its time and is another reason why this film still out as being original. Had the story been better handled then I think I too would throw a lot more praise on the film but as it stands this is a good silent but not one of the greatest.

Eleanor's Catch (1916) Cleo Madison

Writer, director and star Cleo Madison was one of many female director's working at Universal but this film is one of the few from her filmography that isn't lost. In the movie Madison plays a hard working woman who begins cheating on her hard working boyfriend with the town loser (William V. Mong) who plans on leading her down a life of crime. Outside the historic nature of having a female director, this film is pretty tame and standard for the type of one-reel melodrama that was floating around in 1916. There's really nothing technical strong here that would make the film jump out as anything but a curio for those wanting to see some early work of a female director. The screenplay, written by Madison and Mong, isn't that bad until the final few minutes when there's a plot twist that totally kills everything that came before it. This twist had me in laughter, which isn't good for a drama.

Sukiyaki Western Django (2007) Takashi Miike

Quentin Tarantino in a Takashi Miike homage to Spaghetti Westerns is going to be enough to get a few curious people to watch but I must rip off a few reviews I've read, which called this film different but not very entertaining. In what's basically a remake of Akira Kurosawa's Yojimbo, a mysterious gunfighter (Ito Hideaki) with no name shows up and plays two rival gangs against one another. If someone was to call this the greatest movie ever made I honestly wouldn't argue with them. I'm sure many are going to watch this film and consider it a masterpiece and I would respect their opinion just about as much as I respect Miike for trying something like this. However, the movie just didn't work for me. This is basically an incredibly bizarre homage to countless Westerns done in a way that Tarantino pays homage to various genres in this country but I might go a step further and say Miike is much more original than Tarantino has ever been. I think this film, for what it is, is incredibly original and at times visually brilliant but as much credit as I give to Miike I have to give him just as much blame. For some reason he felt it would be a good idea to have the Japanese actors speak English, which was a deadly mistake. Sure, this adds a surreal nature to the film but the problem is that a lot of the times you can't understand what they're saying. This film is full of dialogue and when you can't understand a quarter of it then you're going to be in trouble. This also effects the performances as the spoken dialogue is just as bad as watching a dubbed Kurosawa film. As is to be expected, the movie is full of violence but most of it is done in a comical way and that includes one man getting shot up while his wife holds his dying body. Tarantino doesn't add too much to the film either. In the end this is a film I highly respect but there's just no way I will ever find myself watching it again.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2008)

So yeah, my comments were more in terms of people buying movies. Especially with Joe going Blu and how he's going to rebuy items.

I certainly didn't mean to come off as saying no one is watching repeats but by going by this thread and countless others like it, it seems on a monthly basis very few are rewatches. This is what my original post was in reply to Mario because he is one who has mostly new viewings. My other point was that if I bought THE THING in 1999 but didn't watch it then upgraded to the 2003 version but didn't watch it and then upgraded to the 2007 version but didn't watch it, what's the point of buying it on Blue-Ray?

My original point wasn't so much aimed at what people are rewatching but more along the lines of buying habits. Unless something is a favorite of mine that I'd watch once every five years then I'm not buying it anymore. Over the past five years I spent nearly $2000+ on Jess Franco titles that are watch once and that's it. At one time I would spend $200 a week on releases because I'd buy everything I was interested in but that has stopped because I was watching everything once and that was it. I've said it countless times here but I bought every box set Warner released and I don't think I watched all the movies in a single set.

So, if someone watched 100 movies a month with 10 of them repeats that leaves a person watching 120 "repeats" a month. If that's true then I don't see how owning a 5000 film collection is doing you any good as you'll never have time to watch them. I think overseas it might be needed as in Mario's case he doesn't have various stations to watch or Netflix to try films out. I recently loved DECISION AT SUNDOWN and EDMOND but will I watch them again within the next five years? It's doubtful because I like THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE and TAXI DRIVER more than those two yet I haven't watched them in five years. If I can't watch "favorites" once in five years I just don't see myself watching lesser films within five years. And with that in mind, instead of buying DECISION and EDMOND for $25, I can put that money towards a month at Netflix that will let me view 25-35 movies that I want/need to see.

I'm sure Joe remembers that I said I might upgrade for the Kubrick discs since he's my favorite director. I got a PS3 to "upgrade" but after thinking about I had to turn my back on the idea because, again, I hadn't watched those films in so long with the exception of THE SHINING, which I could see on the big screen twice a year.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2008)

BTW Joe, have you watched these:

Back to the Planet of the Apes 1981
The Forgotten City of the Apes 1981
Treachery and Greed on the Planet of the Apes 1981
Life, Liberty, and Pursuit on the Planet of the Apes 1981
Farewell to the Planet of the Apes 1981

I know these are edited from the TV series but was curious if they were worth watching.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2008)

I've got my DVR set to record all the sequels, documentaries and the "TV movies". I'll be sure to watch the sequels first though. Of course this is more for the IMDB thing as I don't recall caring too much about any of the sequels.


Well that's why I'm trying to be "smart" and not buy any new Blu discs. I might be the only person with a PS3 who hasn't upgraded but I'm just not doing it until something gets released straight to HD without a chance of seeing it otherwise. With bootleggers out there, I don't see this happening. Going along with what you said, if you own 5000 movies and watch 300 a year, it would still take you over 16 years to watch all of them once. That doesn't include new movies in theaters, a new movie you might watch on TCM or a movie that friends bring over for you to watch.

I have started to think about what the point is of watching so many new things. I even seriously thought about cutting back but then I watch a "great" movie and it hits me why I keep searching out new gems. Just today I watched THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK. I had never heard of this film until TCM showed it a few weeks ago. It had Fredric March and Cary Grant and ran 68-minutes so I recorded it. I watched it today without knowing anything about it and I felt it was a true masterpiece. Certainly one of the greatest films I've seen from the 1930s. Afterwards I wrote down my notes with a smile on my face because of how great I felt finding a new "gem".


I can tell you right now that Blu-Ray and SuperHDBlueRayJr aren't going to make DAY OF THE DEAD any better.