Track the Films You Watch (2009) - Page 13

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

It's available through Netflix's "Watch Instantly". I'm not sure if you ever use it but there are thousands of movies there to watch. I went there last night to move it to the top of my queue but noticed I could watch it there so that's what I did.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

THE FRONT played a lot better for me on the second viewing. Love the film even though I haven't watched it in years. Several films tackle that subject but to me this is the best one.

Back to MOTHER'S DAY, I went ahead and put it at the top of my queue even with the "very long wait" and wouldn't you know it that they shipped it this morning.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

Ten Commandments, The (1923) Cecil B. DeMille

DeMille's first attempt at this story tells two different stories. The opening prologue, running just under and hour, sees Moses (Theodore Roberts) freeing the slaves, parting the Red Sea and eventually correcting those who wish to worship the Golden Calf. The second half of the story centers on two brothers; one good (Richard Dix), the other bad (Rod La Rocque) and both in love with the same woman (Leatrice Joy). The bad brother ends up marrying the girl and becoming quite rich by breaking the law in his building contractor position but all of his sins are eventually going to catch up with him. This is certainly a strange mixture of a film because I was a little surprised to see DeMille spend most of its 136-minute running time with the two brothers. The beginning stuff with Moses is pretty much just a prologue but it's a rather interesting one needless to say. While the special effects can't hold a candle to the eventual remake what we have here is still a treat for the eyes. The parting of the Red Sea certainly sticks out and while it's somewhat obvious how it was done the effect still holds up and manages to impress. The chariot crashes, which were apparently real, also stand out as does the large number of extras to carry out the Pharaoh scenes. Roberts, a DeMille regular, is pretty good in the role of Moses even though he comes off a tad bit too passionate. The second half of the film is rather hit and miss but for the most part I enjoyed it as well. The real standout here is the performance by Richard Dix who would of course go on to have an impressive career in film. He steals the film as the more timid brother who puts God before everything and his passion, a deep one, comes across very well with Dix hitting all the right notes. La Rocque is also devilishly good in his role and very believable as well. Joy makes for a good "woman in the middle" as well. Edythe Chapman, another DeMille regular, plays the boys mother but doesn't fair as good. Her character is so poorly written and over the top in her religious beliefs and demands that you can't help but start to hate her when she's suppose to be the one holding the family together. I wasn't impressed with the performance either but I'm going to guess much of this is more to do with the screenplay than anything else. The biggest problem with the film is that the second half is pretty common for the type of melodrama of the day. While it's told very well by DeMille it still comes off rather predictable and straight forward. With that said, this 1923 silent still holds up quite well on all levels and folks should certainly check it out to see what DeMille would later remake. The director would fair better several years later with The King of Kings.

Godless Girl, The (1929) Cecil B. DeMille

This here turned out to be DeMille final silent as well as his first sound film. Apparently the movie was shot completely silent but after filming and sound films had become popular, they went back and added a dialogue sequence but the version I watched, from Photoplay, doesn't have that sequence in it. The film is about two teens: Judy (Lina Basquette) a hard boiled Atheist and Bob (Tom Keene) a boy who believes in nothing but the Bible. Judy has a crush on him but he doesn't know it, which leads him and a gang of Christian to break into her meeting. A riot breaks out and an Atheist girl is killed so Judy, Bob and another kid end up at a reform school where they are abused by the evil guard (Noah Beery). Soon both Judy and Bob are rethinking what they believed when they entered the reformatory. This is a rather strange and bizarre film that's main goal is to preach intolerance but along the way we get all sorts of strange stuff from campy anti-God speeches to brutal violence against kids and then transforming into a tender love story. The movie starts to wear out its welcome in the final act but this remains a strange little film that is so well-told that even though who don't like silents would probably enjoy it. The first part of the film, involving the Christian and Atheist gangs, is rather campy because of how much the two sides are going after one another. Even though it comes off campy it leads to one of the most dramatic and rather beautiful scenes I've seen from any silent and that's where the girl, an Atheist, is afraid to die because she doesn't know what's next. She mentions she's afraid to be alone and a policeman tells her something, that I won't ruin, which comes off so tender that you somewhat feel bad for laughing at some stuff that happened before it. When the prison drama sets in we get some pretty strong violence, which is pure DeMille pulp. Beery is downright evil in his role and is a lot of fun to watch. Basquette, who apparently received a letter from an unknown Hitler after making this film, is very good in her role and really carries this thing from start to finish. Keene, probably best known today for his role in Plan 9 From Outer Space is very good as well. While this film isn't a complete success it remains a very entertaining one that manages to get its point across mainly because it beats the viewer over the head with a Bible. I don't like that much preaching in movies but whoever said DeMille would hold back when wanting to get a message across?

Cleopatra (1934) Cecil B. DeMille

Claudette Colbert takes the lead as the Queen of Egypt, Cleopatra, who first sets her eyes on Julius Caesar (Warren William) but after he's murdered she goes for the next in line, Marc Antony (Henry Wilcoxon). Director DeMille has become known for big spectacles full of either silly dialogue or overblown messages and that rings true here. The production side of things are rather remarkable but some of the dialogue here is rather silly but in the end this is still a highly entertaining film that manages to deliver some fine performances as well as strong direction. The best aspect of this film are the wonderful sets, which are truly among some of the best of their era. I'm not sure how many extras DeMille managed to use but the epic scope of this film makes on marvel in its beauty. Even better are the battle sequences towards the end of the film, which have plenty of great action including huge fire bombs being tossed at some ships. The chariot battles are also well filmed by Victor Milner who won an Oscar for his work here. I wasn't sure what type of performances we'd get from the A-list cast but they all turned out to be great as well. Colbert steals the film with her man eating charms and sexuality, which just leaps off the screen so vividly that the viewer has no problem understanding why Caesar and Antony would fall for her. The seductive beauty of Colbert is a major plus as her performance doesn't have one negative note to it. Warren doesn't get too much screentime as Caesar is killed off rather early but he's good while he's there. He never strays away from that Warren personality but it makes for a fun version of the famous Caesar. Wilcoxon gives a very strong performance as Antony and has no trouble at playing a strong leader. As is usual with DeMille, the film offers up some rather strong sexuality for its time and even the violence, while mostly off camera, is a bit stronger than we're use to seeing. The death of Caesar is extremely well done in an unusual but effective point-of-view shot. The biggest problem with the movie is that it begins to get a tad bit silly in its third act and some of the dialogue could have been better written.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

The song was out of place but they wanted a rock song to bring in teens of the time. Not to mention to put their name in the history books as being the first.

If you have the Warner disc you should watch the short on there as it's pretty funny. Also, if you decide to jump into the "loving teacher" genre Poitier made TO SIR, WITH LOVE.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

It's funny you did an animation day as Netflix just delivered PETER PAN, THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE and THE LITTLE MERMAID. I also plan on watching BEAUTY AND THE BEAST and DUMBO since I need to catch up on many of them.

As for CIMARRON, easily the worst Best Picture winner I've ever seen. I found it to be downright bad from start to finish.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

Boy and His Dog, A (1946) LeRoy Prinz

Oscar winning short about a young boy (Billy Sheffield) who rescues an abused dog only to have its evil owner (Harry Davenport) take him to court to try and get it back. If you're a diabetic then you might fall into a coma due to all the sugar sprinkled on this thing but the film succeeds at doing what it tries. The film certainly just wants to be sweet and on that level it works as director Prinz does a very good job at telling the story and doing so in a loving nature. He also manges to make a great villain with Davenport, a well-known character actor, doing a great job at just being plain mean. The story doesn't really offer us anything new or original but it's all handled in a good fashion. The biggest problem with the movie is the performance by Sheffield who comes off very weak especially in any scene where he's suppose to show emotion.

Assault! Jack the Ripper (1976) Yasuharu Hasebe

Original Title: Bôkô Kirisaki Jakku

Perversely sexual and violent, this Japanese film has a reputation as being one of the stronger "pinku" movies out there. The story centers on a cook and a waitress who one night accidentally run over a crazed hitchhiker. The two find themselves being turned on by death and blood so they keep killing women and borrow the trademark of Jack the Ripper by cutting them from their private areas on up. I just recently became aware of these pinku Japanese movies so I' doing research on which ones to start with and this here seemed to have pretty good reviews but in the end I was somewhat let down. The one part of its reputation that it lives up to is the rather bizarre sexual nature of the film. There are quite a few sex scenes here, which come off very perverted and sleazy even though nothing hardcore, or really softcore for that matter, happens. The lead actress, who's name I can't find anywhere, has a rather amazing body so seeing her strip off certainly wasn't a negative thing. Her round face also comes in quite handy because she looks so innocent yet is as deadly as they come. Her performance is quite good as is her co-star but yet again I couldn't find his name among various reviews I read. I think the most disappointing aspect is that the film really isn't all that violent. Yes, the aftermath of a woman being sliced up and down is pretty grim but very little of it is actually shown. Usually we see a minor stab wound and then the rest happens off camera and then we go back for the aftermath. I've read reviews saying the film was ultra violent and downright raw and nasty but I didn't find that to be the case. The biggest problem however is that the film runs 71-minutes and really doesn't have enough of a story to fill that short time. The movie starts to feel rather long because we keep going through the same thing of a murder, sex, a murder, more sex and so on.

Blob, The (1958) Irvin S. Yeaworth, Jr.

Cheesy but classic sci-fi tale has two teenagers (Steve McQueen, Aneta Corsaut) trying to convince the police and their parents that the meteor that fell to eat was carrying the title creature, a monster that absorbs people. Being a decade for teen movies there were quite a few that had them seeing a monster yet not having anyone believe them so on that level this film isn't too original but on an entertainment level I think this is one of the best out there. The film has an ultra low-budget but that doesn't hamper the film at all as it looks very good and professional. The special effects of the blob are pretty good for their time even though some of the longer shots are obviously fake. What makes the film so much fun is that "no one will believe us" mentality that the kids must battle along with the parents not believing them and the fact that they have to figure out a way to kill the monster. Added fun comes from seeing McQueen doing a movie like this. I've read he wasn't too thrilled with doing a movie like this but he certainly gives it his all and manages to turn in a good, if somewhat over the top, performance. He was 28 at the time of filming so having him play a teenager is a bit of a stretch but again, it doesn't take away from any of the fun. Another plus is that the film is in color, which was a rather rare thing for this type of movie, which were usually in B&W. Yet another strong aspect is the ending, which is just downright classic as the blob goes after people in a movie theater, which just happens to be showing a horror double feature.

Blob, The (1988) Chuck Russell

Remake of the 1958 film has the town rebel (Kevin Dillon) and cheerleader (Shawnee Smith) being the only ones who know that a blob-like creature is slowly eating everyone in their small town. A group of scientists show up but they may just being doing more harm than good. Along with John Carpenter's The Thing you could make a strong argument that these remakes were among the greatest horror films of the decade. This one here manages to have a very good screenplay by director Russell and Frank Darabont who not only know what to borrow from the original film but what to add it to make it better for the times. Both men are also smart enough to keep the action going at a rapid pace but also to throw some nice humor in as well. One of the funniest sequences in the film deals with the buying of condoms but I won't ruin the pay off to this joke. The movie also manages to use the movie theater, a set piece from the original, to good charm with the man constantly talking and giving away important notes to a horror movie being shown. This works good as a homage to the original as well as a note on the trend of slashers that were out during this period. The screenplay manages to throw in all sorts of great stuff from the rebel kid to the jerk cop but it also manages to be a fairly good device at letting the rebel and cheerleader's characters actually grow throughout the film. Some of the scientist things get a bit overblown but this doesn't take away any of the film's charm. Dillon makes for a great leading man and really delivers a wonderful performance just because of how fun he is to watch. He brings the perfect attitude to this punk and his smartass one-liners are priceless. Smith, one who many had a crush on when this was originally released, makes for a strong female character, although you can't help but think many of her actions were influenced by Aliens. The special effects were among some of the greatest for their era and they still hold up very well and have the ability to impress those who are just familiar with CGI. The creature looks incredibly good and the way it kills is very memorable as are many of the death scenes including an infamous one dealing with a sink. In the end this is an incredibly fun popcorn movies that has plenty of great action, some nice suspense, great characters and a smart screenplay to bring everything home. Well worth viewing.

Roy Orbison: Black and White Nights (1988) Tony Mitchell

Roy Orbison is joined on stage by Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Elvis Costello, k.d. Lang, Bonnie Raitt, Tom Waits and many others but this concert belongs to the legendary Roy from start to finish. Kicking off with "Only the Lonely" and finishing with "Oh, Pretty Woman", this concert features one great performance after another with numerous songs bringing the house down including great versions of "Dream Baby", "Ooby Dooby", "In Dreams" and "Crying". Seventeen songs are packed into a fast paced 65-minutes making this one of the greatest concert/documents ever recorded. From the opening lyrics of "Only the Lonely" it's clear Orbison has control of the stage and that remarkable voice of his. I've read reviews stating his voice was hit and miss during this portion of his career but there's no doubt he's on fire here. All one really has to do is look at the face's on his supporting cast to know how special a night this was and especially Springsteen who had always admired Orbison. What really amazes me about the show is how it's able to take you back to the 1950's. Perhaps this is due to the B&W cinematography but I think it's something more than that. It's somewhat as if we were transported back to when Orbison first hit the stage because you'd never know this concert was coming towards the end of the singer's life. The film has some incredible cinematography with beautiful shades and the contrast is just remarkable. The sound, be it on the DVD or Blu, is downright incredible and really brings this thing to life. The entire show is rather remarkable but I'd say the highlight for me was the breathtaking "In Dreams".

Mother's Day (1980) BOMB Charles Kaufman

A mother is raising her two retarded, redneck sons deep in the woods where she teaches them how to rape and murder women. Just by chance three women go to the woods to spend the weekend when they are kidnapped and taken back to the house of torture. Although this came out in the Halloween and Friday the 13th era it's basically just another rip of Ingmar Bergman's The Virgin Spring, which of course was turned into Craven's notorious shocker The Last House on the Left. I must admit that I hated this movie with a very strong passion because this is without a doubt one of the worst movies to come out of the decade and I might be kind by just keeping it to this one decade. This is from the team who would eventually form Troma but this thing isn't even up to their standards. This movie is so incredibly bad with the acting, directing and screenplay that I must admit to being speechless when I read reviews about how depraved and deranged this movie is. It is. It's just downright stupid with one dumb scene right after another. I honestly couldn't tell if the film was trying to be a spoof of horror movies because of the humor or if it was actually trying to be scary but failed. Either way the thing doesn't work but I have to wonder what was up with some of the comedy including a sequence where two of the women, with bags on their heads, walk into a grocery store and make a mess. Was this suppose to make us laugh? Does anyone really think adults would do such a dumb thing? The acting by the three women are downright bad but the worst has to be Beatrice Pons (working under Rose Ross) as mother. She is so incredibly bad in the opening sequence that the twist that follows is ruined before it can even get started. The guys playing her sons aren't any better and come off rather embarrassing. Again, how anyone could find this thing disturbing is beyond me but perhaps I've just seen too many crazy moves in my lifetime. I'm really not sure how anyone could take anything here serious but perhaps some might enjoy laughing at the movie. I couldn't find anything to laugh at either so needless to say the movie was very useless to me. If you want some better rape/review films then there are plenty out there better than this thing.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

Why do you always ask how many stars someone has given something? Are you trying to prove something? You always mention Ebert giving three and a half to LIGHT OF DAY or whatever the title is. You always bring up MANIAC or PLAN 9 with me. What's the point you're trying to make? Is the point that you're trying to say we're the only ones to rank them so highly? So what. You're the only one to say THE HAPPENING was frightening because it made everyone else laugh.

As for MOTHER'S DAY, I really have nothing else to say on the subject because after reading you're review and after seven years of knowing you, I've never been more shocked in my life. You have never shocked me more in liking a movie more. I am glad you found bad acting, a bad story and bad special effects frightening. I wish it had happened to me but watching this thing so close after DELIERANCE wasn't a good idea. However, for someone who said they hate comedy mixed in with horror, I'm not exactly sure why you was so hard up on this thing.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

Are you forgetting who you're talking to? I believe I have a fair share of twisted films under my belt.

As for THE SEVENTH SEAL, can't say I'm shocked you didn't like it. Bergman's pacing just doesn't seem like it would go over too well with you.