Track the Films You Watch (2008) (1 Viewer)

[PatW]

Martian Child (2007) :star: :star: :star: 1/2

Based on a true story, this is a sweet little movie with some decent acting.

The story is about a sci-fi author and his desire to adopt a child to fill the loneliness that he feels after his wife's death. He decides to give a home to a strange little boy who can't seem to fit in and believes he's a Martian sent to earth to study humans. At first the little boy isolates himself but eventually he comes to accept his new surroundings and new adoptive father.

I watched a bit of the special features on the DVD and was surprised to find out that a good deal of this movie is based on sci-fi writer David Gerrold and his adoptive son who had alot of the characteristics of the child in the movie. This movie didn't make a big splash when it came out and it's too bad because it is a worthwhile watch. I think both John Cusack and Bobby Coleman who played father and adoptive son, had great chemistry together. I think their scenes together were quite touching and real. I thought it was an interesting casting choice to cast Cusack real sister as his sister in the movie. Too bad she was wasted. She spent most of her scenes telling her brother how wrong he was to adopt this troubled kid. Though it tries alittle hard at times, it is a touching little movie perfect for family viewing.


Gone Baby Gone (2007) :star: :star: :star: :star: 1/2

Two Boston private investigators are hired by the family of a missing child to work with the police in locating the 4 yr. old girl. These two have street connections and it is felt by the family that they will get to the truth alot faster than the police.

This was quite a surprising movie especially finding out that Ben Affleck directed it. This was an admirable first effort by him and he was able to get superb performances from everyone. Amy Ryan was great as the child's unsavory mother and Casey Affleck was even more so. He really has come into his own as an actor to be reckoned with, and has recently gained some critical respect something his actor brother found hard achieving. There is a moral dilemma that he is faced with towards the end of the movie and he plays that scene quite well. Faced with that same situation I don't know what I would do and it was a heart breaking scene to watch. This is a movie I highly recommend.

 

[Pete York]

Yikes! Seriously, I'm just asking because I'm interested. You've made some strong statements in the past and it sounds like good reading. Could you post a link like Michael did or name a movie that you did an IMDb review for? You could have a screen name for all I know and I wouldn't know it was you. (Incidentally, I found Mario's reviews through Spooks too - cool.)

 

[Mario Gauci]

It would have been easier if you just clicked on my signature! Still, it's nice to know that you find my reviews to be "cool"...

 

[Michael Elliott]

Pat, I'm glad you enjoyed GONE BABY GONE so much. For me it's the best film of the year with an ending that will have people talking and debated decades from now.

I wanted to shake Affleck's hand for killing the child rapist but at the end I ended up hating him for turning Freeman in.

However, everyone has a different view point on what should have happened, which is why this film is so great and will be remembered years from now while, IMO, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN and THERE WILL BE BLOOD, two films with controversial endings, will lose some punch.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Oh, I know I could... but as I said, it doesn't matter so I won't bother.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Okay... now onto one film that I suppose "matters" and one which I guess "does not"...

The Night of the Hunter (1955) :star::star::star:1/2

Intensely directed film by Charles Laughton based on the book, and which was very well done. Many outstanding shots and stylish cinematography highlight this often unsettling tale of a sinister and manipulative phony preacher (Robert Mitchum, in an outstanding performance) who has married and disposed of many brides. His latest quest is to fleece an impressionable widow (Shelly Winters) of $10,000 when her husband is hanged after committing a bank robbery for the sake of his two small children. The kids are the only ones who know where dad hid the loot, and Mitchum's unorthodox path to finding out where it's kept is creepy and sometimes downright frightening.


Fracture (2007) :star::star::star:

A young prosecutor (Ryan Gosling) tries to climb the ladder of success by getting involved in a case surrounding a conniving defendant (Anthony Hopkins) and the attempted murder of his wife, whom he shot after she was spotted having an affair with a man revealed to be the arresting officer at the scene. Hopkins decides to represent himself which leads to many tricks pulled out from under his sleeve, and which could ruin Gosling's career, and the arresting officer's life. It's marvelous the way Hopkins and Gosling play together, with Hopkins always one step ahead of him, kind of reminding me of the Hannibal Lecter/Jodie Foster relationship in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, in a way. It's an interesting yarn, and I think that I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much as I did if not for Anthony Hopkins in the part of the cleverly calculating shooter.

 

[george kaplan]

Kundun

While very well done, many of the parts of this are largely things we've seen before. Interesting enough to watch once, though not anything I'd add to my collection.

Striking Distance

Introduced this to the wife.

 

[Michael Elliott]

02/25/08

Anita: Swedish Nymphet (1973) :star::star: Torgny Wickman

Cult star Christina Lindberg of Thriller: A Cruel Picture fame stars as Anita, a 16-year-old girl who has to have sex and it doesn't matter with who. She picks up lawyers, junkies, little boys, drunks or even the homeless. Her sexual behavior gets her kicked out of towns but one day she meets a doctor who thinks he can help her. This Swedish picture is rather strange because it's certainly a sexploitation title and the main goal is for the beautiful Lindberg to get naked every chance she gets but the overall tone of the movie is so serious that it's hard to have fun with the film. The story is pretty straight forward, which means it gets pretty boring as it rarely goes over the top outside of a 16-year-old wanting any guy she can get. As for Lindberg, this is only the second film I've seen with her but she certainly deserves her cult status. She's certainly easy on the eyes but unlike a lot of erotic stars, she can also act and she brings a lot life to her character.

Dinner with a Vampire (1988) BOMB Lamberto Bava

Italian horror film about some actors who goes to an old castle thinking they're going to be filming a horror movie but instead they meet a vampire who just happens to be hungry. I think Lamberto Bava has taken some unfair heat over the decades due to him not being as great as his father but I think he has managed some good films and a masterpiece in Demons. This here is certainly the worst film I've seen from him, the worst Italian horror film from this period and perhaps the worst vampire film. I really, really, really hated this movie from start to finish and was ready to claw my eyes out by the time we finally get to the ending. The entire film is just downright stupid and corny from start to finish and I'm sure this was meant as a horror/comedy but neither aspects work. The laughs are lame and the horror silly. There's a few minor gore scenes but nothing to get worked up over. The performances are all bad as is the direction for Bava doesn't show any of the style he usually brings to a film.

Pick-Up Girls (1981) :star:1/2 Jess Franco

Private Eye Al Crosby (Robert Foster) is hired to do some tracking down and he gets the help of two hookers (one played by Lina Romay). At first Crosby thinks this is your typical murder hunt but it turns out a woman has hired him to find her missing penis. You see, she was once a man and after her operation, she returned home with her penis in a jar and someone stole it. Yep, this is a Franco movie. That big revelation doesn't come to the end, which is a shame because it would have been a lot more fun if the PI was going after that instead of the murder plot we have to sit through. The story makes no sense whatsoever so the film becomes very boring. There's a great music score by Pablo Villa and Franco and of course there are countless sex scenes with all sorts of beautiful women getting naked. There's an erotic threesome at the start of the film as well. Franco is known for leaving mistakes in his films if they come off as something that might happen and one of these is the highlight in this film. During the threesome, Romay is trying to get Foster's pants off but both of them are struggling to do so and they finally break out of character and just start laughing.

Hercules in the Haunted World (1961) :star::star::star: Mario Bava

In order to save his love, Hercules (Reg Park) must travel to Hell and bring back a magical stone but even after returning he has another bad guy to face (played by Christopher Lee). When this was released to DVD several years ago, many came out of the woods to say how great this movie was and what magic it created. Well, the praise is overrated but there's no doubt director Bava could do miracles with small budgets. This is the first Hercules movie I've seen so I have nothing to compare it to but it's not too hard to believe that this is perhaps the best one made. The biggest problem with the film is its story, which is rather bland and at times there are large holes where not too much is going on. What does work is the brilliant work by Bava who creates a terrific looking world. The atmosphere is very rich and beautiful to look out and there are plenty of great scenes including the dead rising at the end to stop Hercules. Another great moment, and the highlight for me, is when Hercules must battle a rock monster. Park is pretty good in his role but I was bored by the supporting cast and that includes Lee who just comes off bland and not too much fun.

Pays Loins, Les (1965) :star::star: Jean Rollin

Short film from the French director has a couple getting lost in a maze of streets and when they find themselves back out in the open, they have no idea where they are or how they got there. The idea behind this short is pretty interesting but nothing really comes of it as the film just wonders around without too much thought of where it's going.

Iron Rose, The (1973) :star::star::star: Jean Rollin

A man (Hugues Quester) and woman (Francoise Pascal) meet at a wedding reception and sneak off to talk where they agree to meet the next day for a bike ride. The two ride past a cemetery and decide to enter so that they can have sex in an underground tomb but when they come up it is now dark and they soon find themselves lost and unable to get out. This is considered by many to be the best film Rollin ever made and I might not disagree. The film has received a big cult following over the years and the strange thing is that it has been sold as a horror film but there's no horror anywhere in the film. This is certainly an art house film and a departure for Rollin as there are no vampires, zombies, lesbians, gore and even the sex is tame and there's only one sequence of nudity. The film runs 75-minutes and not too much happens in that time. The two just walk around trying to find their way out while their minds start to be filled with paranoia. The film is very slow paced like every other Rollin film but this works in the films favor. The cinematography is terrific and they used a real cemetery to shoot in, which adds great atmosphere. I think the final eight minutes could have been edited down but this is certainly a surreal little gem.

02/26/08

Devil Came from Akasava, The (1971) :star:1/2 Jess Franco

Fred Williams and the beautiful Soledad Miranda star in this campy film that tries to pay homage to your 60's spy movies. A mineral, which can kill and then bring the dead back to life, is stolen so it's up to the Secret Agents (Williams/Miranda) to get it back before more trouble breaks out. Sadly, Miranda died just after finishing this film, which was shot at the same time as Vampyros Lesbos and She Killed in Ecstasy. Both of them films are a lot better but Miranda turns in a good performance here, which makes her death all the more sad since it's clear she would have had a great future. The film itself is meant to be campy but it just didn't make me laugh. I also thought the story was rather poorly written, which is another reason I couldn't stay entertained. Howard Vernon, Paul Muller and Franco himself have roles as well. This film is mainly recommended to those who need to see every Miranda film but her other Franco's films are a lot better.

Across the Universe (2007) :star::star::star: Julie Taymor

Much like Paul McCartney's marriages, this film is rather hit and miss but you have to give the director credit for trying something like this. I've always wondered what would happen if you tries to make a movie using nothing but songs as well as using song lyrics as dialogue. I really don't think the story here matters too much so I won't go into it. The film at least can make Beatles fans forgotten the God-awful Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I thought the music selections were very good with a few of the songs coming pretty close to matching the original recordings. I've always preferred Joe Cocker's version of "With a Little Help from My Friends" but I think the version here is just as great. The scene here comes off very fun as does other numbers including "Strawberry Fields Forever". I thought the climatic "Hey Jude" was pretty awful though. I also thought the film was too ambitious in that it tries to be cute but then turns pretty dark at the end. The political nonsense started to get rather boring and I thought the film went on for way too long.

 

[PatW]

Deepstar Six (1989) :star:

Pretty bad low budget sci-fi/horror thriller about a prehistoric creature that starts to pick off the crew of an underwater research station one by one. Surely to God they could have come up with a better creature than this.

The African Queen (1951) :star: :star: :star: :star: :star:

Superb romantic adventure between two unlikely people based on the C.S Forester novel of the same name. Directed by John Huston, this movie was filmed on location in Africa with two great performances from Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. Even though this movie was made over 50 years ago it stands up well today and could teach these modern romantic comedies a thing or two.

 

[Mario Gauci]

02/22/08: THE SINGER NOT THE SONG (Roy Ward Baker, 1961) :star::star::star:

My first (and for a long time) only viewing of this film was way back in the mid-1980s (during the early days of VHS in my neck of the woods) via a tape of a local TV screening my father loaned from a friend of his; even though I was aware of a couple of Italian TV showings over the years, I never managed to catch up with it – until another friend of my father’s alerted me (around Good Friday of last year) that it had been released – and, as it happens, subsequently deleted – on R2 DVD in the UK…which is how I eventually reacquainted myself with it on the day marking the centenary of one of its lead actors, John Mills. The reason I went into such detail about my previous experience with this particular film is because, even though it’s been 23 years since my sole viewing of (what is nowadays perhaps considered) a fairly obscure title, I myself have never forgotten it.

The ‘rejected priest in a godless Mexico’ theme recalls John Ford’s THE FUGITIVE (1947) and Luis Bunuel’s NAZARIN (1959), while the ‘homosexual undertones in a Western setting’ angle is reminiscent of the Howard Hughes/Howard Hawks concoction THE OUTLAW (1943) – with henchman Laurence Naismith’s ambiguous father-son-lover relationship with bandit leader Dirk Bogarde being particularly a throwback to the Thomas Mitchell/Jack Beutel one in the earlier film. Incidentally, THE SINGER NOT THE SONG’s controversial ending plays almost like a male version of that featured in yet another steamy over-the-top Western – DUEL IN THE SUN (1946)! This was the fourth of six collaborations between Mills and director Baker and which also included the latter’s debut, THE OCTOBER MAN (1947) – a well-regarded thriller I’d love to watch and which, incidentally, has just been released on R2 DVD as part of a “John Mills Centenary Collection”. Bogarde, who himself considered the whole thing “beyond camp”, is almost always completely black-clad and, at one point, even sports cool shades!; here, he was already beginning to bravely delve onscreen into his real-life gay side – which would come to full fruition later that same year in Basil Dearden’s VICTIM and other later acclaimed international films.

Nigel Balchin’s complex screenplay is at once fascinating and heavy-going, occasioning a few lulls particularly during the last third of the film’s lengthy 132-minute duration; besides, the ‘alphabet murders’ element to Bogarde’s tyrannical rule – not to mention pretty, pouting Mylene Demongeot’s forbidden love for middle-aged priest Mills – isn’t very convincing. On the other hand, Otto Heller’s spectacular color cinematography and Philip Green’s playfully evocative score, stand out as undeniable assets to the film. Having said that, DD Video’s full-frame presentation would have usually put me off acquiring a title on DVD – but, for the reasons delineated in my introduction, I gladly made an exception in this case.

Roy Ward Baker’s accompanying brief interview is very interesting: he wasn’t keen on doing the film himself but concedes now that it is beautifully-made; he also discloses that, initially, it was supposed to star Richard Burton instead of John Mills (but he was only interested in playing the bandit…except that the role was always intended for Bogarde – this, in fact, turned out to be the last film the latter made under contract to Rank) and that there was a mysterious enmity between the two male stars. I usually enjoy listening to Ward Baker’s Audio Commentaries (on his Hammer flicks) and, while I would have liked one for THE SINGER NOT THE SONG as well, the fact that he is now in his nineties and that he does not have fond memories of the shooting of the picture has understandably put paid to that prospect!


02/23/08: EDEN AND AFTER(Alain Robbe-Grillet, 1970) :star::star:

I knew of novelist Alain Robbe-Grillet chiefly by virtue of his script for Alain Resnais’ arthouse masterpiece LAST YEAR IN MARIENBAD (1961; which I intend to revisit in tribute to the author). Eventually, I became aware of his own films as a director via a thread on “The Latarnia Forums” – which, back then, had intrigued me a great deal and, in fact, was highly pleased to acquire three of them a few months ago. Unfortunately, the prints were incredibly murky – so I kind of lost my enthusiasm and it’s only now, in honor of his passing, that I made a concentrated effort to stick with them!

However, my first encounter with these titles proved a disappointment: as I said, the picture quality left a lot to be desired – but, frankly, so did the film itself! Judging by the celebrated Resnais work, I knew I’d be in for an oblique and possibly multi-layered piece – however, to be honest, I found it made little sense and that it was generally weird for weirdness’ sake! In fact, if I had to compare Robbe-Grillet’s style here with that of contemporaneous film-makers, I’d say this is Godard meets Antonioni meets Jodorowsky!; that, in itself, would sound like a most interesting proposition to some…but, I assure you, the film is a bit of a bore despite plenty of nudity (the writer-director seems to have a thing for sadomasochism, as can also be seen from TRANS-EUROP-EXPRESS [1966]) and a stunning-looking heroine in Catherine Jourdan (sporting cropped blonde hair).

The plot, such as it is, has to do with a group of disaffected students who are shown a way out of their ennui (via a concoction he offers) by a man they meet at a café (the Eden of the title); Jourdan is supposed to have a night-time tryst with him at a factory but, on arriving for the appointment, she is intimidated by some of her fellow students and finds the man dead! Taking a clue from a postcard of an Arabian town found in the stranger’s pocket, Jourdan gets mixed-up in espionage (the MacGuffin in this case being a valuable missing portrait), games of a sexual nature, drug-induced hallucinations and murder; eventually, we come full circle and the story returns to the Eden and the arrival once again of the stranger…


02/24/08: TRANS-EUROP-EXPRESS (Alain Robbe-Grillet, 1966) :star::star::star:

Given that TRANS-EUROP-EXPRESS is the only movie directed by Alain Robbe-Grillet which the late conservative British film critic Leslie Halliwell reviewed in his celebrated “Film Guide”, one would think that it was more accessible than his usual reportedly impenetrable stuff and, in a way, it is – but still, the end result is hardly straightforward and almost as cerebral!

Jean-Louis Trintignant, in the first of four films he made with Robbe-Grillet, plays a novice drug courier tested by his future employers in carrying a stash of cocaine (which is actually sugar) by train and depositing it into a train station locker – but this simple task is fraught with any number of unexpected complications including police interrogation and night-time chases. Marie-France Pisier is a very beguiling presence here as a whore/double agent with whom Trintignant has several S&M encounters in a hotel room until her ‘double face’ drives him to murder…or does it? Although I was aware that the actress had played Colette in Francois Truffaut’s Antoine Doinel series and had the leading role in the trashy THE OTHER SIDE OF MIDNIGHT (1977), looking at her filmography just now I was surprised to learn that she was also in one of my favorite films, Luis Bunuel’s THE PHANTOM OF LIBERTY (1974), as well as Jacques Rivette’s ambitious fantasy CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING (1974; which I’ve just acquired via the BFI’s 2-Disc edition)!

What this film has that the other Robbe-Grillet titles I’ve watched (including THE IMMORTAL ONE [1963]) don’t, is a surprisingly substantial dose of humor: in fact, the writer-director himself appears as a train passenger who is contemplating a film about drug-trafficking which (given that he happens to be on the train himself) would be an ideal vehicle for Jean-Louis Trintignant!; similarly, when Trintignant and Pisier go to a café he tells her that the waiter who had just served them was not a waiter at all but an actor playing a waiter!; during one of the various meetings with his shady employers, Trintignant is asked to repeat where he is supposed to meet his contact – implying a very complicated route – he simply replies “Where” (at which his employer doesn’t even bat an eyelid!), etc. At one point, Robbe-Grillet’s fellow passengers complain that drug-trafficking is no longer hip and that diamond-smuggling is the current criminal fad; therefore, Trintignant & Co. exchange costumes and settings accordingly…before the director decides to stick to his original idea (whim?) after all! Incidentally, this ‘screenplay-in-the-making’ structure reminds one of the contemporaneous Hollywood comedy, PARIS WHEN IT SIZZLES (1964), which was itself a remake of an earlier French original – Julien Duvivier’s LA FETE A` HENRIETTE (1952). In fact, the whole self-referential element in the film and its heady spoof on the thriller genre recalls the Jean-Luc Godard of BREATHLESS (1960), BAND OF OUTSIDERS (1964), ALPHAVILLE (1965) and PIERROT LE FOU (1965) more than anything else...

Unfortunately, what I said about the poor video quality of EDEN AND AFTER (1970) applies to an even greater extent here – since this one looked distinctly like a tenth-generation dupe (with actors’ features being quite blurred at times and especially, alas, during the S&M striptease act towards the end). That said, the film itself is let down somewhat by sluggish pacing – even if the version I watched ran for a mere 88 minutes, when all sources I know of give its running-time as 105! As it is, I’d welcome a legitimate DVD release of TRANS-EUROP-EXPRESS and one hopes that the recent passing of its creator will inspire adventurous labels to pursue its rights.


02/24/08: GONE BABY GONE (Ben Affleck, 2007) :star::star::star:

This is another Oscar contender I managed to catch in time for the ceremony; I’ve never been taken in by Ben Affleck’s supposed acting talent – but it’s also true that his endeavors in other fields, such as his Oscar-winning writing credit on GOOD WILL HUNTING (1997) and his directorial debut here, have been worthier of consideration! The film garnered a fair bit of controversy due to its plotline about the alleged kidnapping of a toddler mirroring the real-life case of Madeleine McCann, in which her own parents may or may not have been implicated; without spoiling the eventual revelation, this element is present in the film as well – but it has been given a decidedly Hollywoodian thriller slant!

Anyway, I have to admit that I was expecting this to be a sentimental melodrama as opposed to a compelling thriller in the MYSTIC RIVER (2003) mould; even if the leads (Casey Affleck, the director’s younger brother, and Michelle Monaghan) are far too young to convince as detectives, the film finds veteran Ed Harris (that most underrated of today’s character actors) in sterling form as a shady cop – abetted by the quiet fortitude of the no-less reliable Morgan Freeman as the Head of a Special Section in the local police force dedicated to missing children (which he personally instigated following the loss of his own daughter!) and, especially, a very good i.e. showy Oscar-nominated showcase for virtual unknown Amy Ryan as the little girl’s ‘bad influence’ mum (foul-mouthed and more prone to sleeping around, coke-snorting and drug-dealing than fostering). Perhaps the film’s greatest coup is that the ending offers no easy answers as to whether a child should be allowed to stay with an irresponsible parent simply for reasons of lineage, given the devastating effect this could have on the former’s grown-up life.


02/25/08: THE IMMORTAL ONE (Alain Robbe-Grillet, 1963) :star::star:

While the print of this one was more pleasing than the other Robbe-Grillet titles I watched to commemorate his recent passing, the viewing itself was marred by a couple of instances of temporary freezing. The film, then, was perhaps the most pretentious and, well, tedious of the lot – given that there’s hardly any discernible plot!

Again, we’re thrown into a remote Arabian locale (complete with relentless – and, consequently, extremely irritating – religious chanting) with, at its centre, a glamorous yet vapid femme fatale in Francoise Brion – to whom the title is presumably referring. Frankly, I’m at pains to recall just what went on in the film – even if only a little over 36 hours have elapsed since then…which is never a good thing but, usually, this is a predicament I find myself in after having watched some mindless/low-brow action flick and not a respected arthouse one! What’s certain is that, as a film about the search for a missing enigmatic girl, it’s far less compelling and satisfying than Michelangelo Antonioni’s L’AVVENTURA (1960)! Incidentally, the bewildered hero of THE IMMORTAL ONE is played by Jacques Doniol-Valcroze – who happens to be a film-maker in his own right, actually one of the lesser (and, therefore, least-known) exponents of the “Nouvelle Vague”.

Though I have to admit that – in the long run – I was disappointed by the mini-marathon dedicated to this influential novelist and highbrow film-maker, I’d still be interested in checking out the other efforts he directed (not to mention hope to catch these three again in better representations and, perhaps, a more amenable frame-of-mind). In any case, I still have Alain Resnais’ demanding but highly-acclaimed LAST YEAR IN MARIENBAD (1961) – which Robbe-Grillet wrote, and for which he even garnered an Oscar nomination – to re-acquaint myself with, and that is sure to be an infinitely more rewarding experience…


02/26/08: ALL THE WORLD'S MEMORY(Alain Resnais, 1956) :star::star::star:1/2

Celebrated documentary short by soon-to-be “New Wave” film-maker Resnais about the mausoleum that is the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris: whether consciously or not, it’s photographed in a way as to seem like an alien building from some sci-fi piece (a genre with which the director’s ensuing cerebral, maze-like work would be inextricably linked); indeed, it’s the stunning direction and indelible strains of Maurice Jarre’s music which elevate this one above being a mere documentary about a public library.

This fascinating film makes a case for both the intrinsic value of literature of any kind – back in a time when books (rather than the Internet) were the main source/store of information – and the often painstaking conservation of same for future reference, even by generations to come (the inference here being that an analogous consideration should be applied to film as well, involving a relatively similar process with respect to its maintenance).

Incidentally, ALL THE WORLD’S MEMORY is available on the R2 DVDs of both Resnais’ own LAST YEAR IN MARIENBAD (1961; released by Optimum) and Jacques Rivette’s playful but no less didactic CELINE AND JULIE GO BOATING (1974; a 2-Disc Set from the BFI)!

 

[42nd Street Freak]

"Eastern Promises"

Put a gun to my head and ask me who directed this and, unless I grab at the Viggo Mortensen link, I don't think I'd be able to answer.
Perhaps the most un-Cronenberg David Cronenberg movie out.

True we have 3 moments of graphic, gory, violence (the initial throat slicing is an Islamist's wet dream) and the infamous, naked fight/ sauna sequence is certainly the kind of in your face, uncompromising moment (Viggo's pretty impressive genital set-up is waved, wobbled, shaken and sloshed around the screen with wild abandon) you would expect Cronenberg to embrace, but that aside this is achingly normal and often pedestrian thriller making.

Viggo is excellent as the tough as a very, very tough thing 'Russian Mafia' driver and makes for a suitably menacing presence with a touch of something more human on the inside.

Naomi Watts (with a great English accent, toning down her Australian one) is good but is given a very limiting role and she's quite frankly part of the least interesting part of the story.

French ham Vincent Cassel has fun as the drunken brute of a Mob boss's son and seeing his misogynistic tough thug crumbling in front of his ruthless father (who spends much time clipping him around the ear!) is great fun...but hardly serious cinema.

As the aforementioned father/boss Armin Mueller-Stahl is suitably charming when he needs to be and sadistic enough when the public face can be packed away and he makes for a good villain.

But the basic plot and how it unfolds is simply an average Mob based story, we have a main twist/revelation that for some reason is signposted very early on thus coming as no big surprise, and a later twist/plot is also given away as soon as it's offered up by some needless dialogue that basically tells us what's going on before the plan is even set in motion. So again we have no surprises or interesting revelations to add a something extra.

Cronenberg delivers a well made, sometimes brutal, sometimes uncompromising, well acted thriller/drama that is perfectly fine and enjoyable...but the only truly outrageous and surprising thing about it is... it's so basically normal and not remotely surprising.

 

[PatW]

Imaginary Playmate (2006) :star:

Pretty typical horror movie tv schlock that has a couple of good thrills but not much else.

Mrs Miniver (1942) :star: :star: :star: :star: 1/2

A classic WW2 pic filmed by William Wyler in the midst of the second World War. This is a good film that exams what it must of been like to live during those terrible times in London during the numerous aerial bombings. Though it's given a Hollywood slant and some of the accents leave much to be desired, it's still a very worthwhile film and must of done alot to boost the war effort. There are some outstanding performances here most notable being Greer Garson in the title role, who is the heart of the story and Dame May Whitty who was outstanding as the crusty old Lady Beldon. The most memorable scene for me other than the scene in the car among all the chaos is the scene where Mrs. Miniver is holding her wounded daughter-in-law in her arms. Great stuff.


2001 A Space Odyssey (1968) :star: :star: :star: :star: :star:

There is not too much that can be said about this film that hasn't been said numerous times. This is Kubrick's masterpiece. Though many people nowadays are put off by its languorous pace, its poetic approach to our very existence is nothing short of awe inspiring. From the opening scenes of early man, through his encounter with the monolith near Jupiter and Bowman's metaphysical journey that leads to man's next evolutionary step this film was a groundbreaker for its time. Viewing this years ago has lead to many conversations with like-minded individuals and it still stands up quite well as the ultimate Sci-fi film. After viewing this beautiful film many years ago, my love of Science Fiction was only further cemented. Awesome movie.


Lord of War (2005) :star: :star: :star: 1/2

A tale of an amoral arms dealer played skillfully by Nicolas Cage that is based on true events. The story takes a look a gun running and is basically one man's story. It doesn't try to glamourize him which is unique in and of itself. The movie is unbiased and there is an inevitability in any case. Watch for the opening montage that follows one bullet until it reaches its destination. Good stuff.

 

[Mario Gauci]

02/26/08: DANGEROUS DAN McFOO (Tex Avery, 1939) :star::star::star:

I watched this – it was included among the extras on Warners’ DVD of DODGE CITY (1939) – as part of a 5-cartoon marathon to commemorate the 100th Anniversary from the birth of one of the most important figures in animation history: Tex Avery. It was actually remade – and considerably improved upon – by THE SHOOTING OF DAN McGOO (1945), a Droopy ‘vehicle’; while remarkably similar in many respects to the later classic, one of my favorite Averys, it is a minor (if still highly enjoyable) effort – for one thing, because of an anonymous i.e. less sympathetic protagonist, but also its more primitive quality (Avery’s Fred Quimby-produced MGM efforts being generally superior to his stuff at Warners).


02/26/08:KING-SIZE CANARY(Tex Avery, 1947) :star::star::star::star:

This has always been a favorite cartoon of mine but it was only several years later that I became aware of its reputation as not only one of Avery’s greatest cartoons, but the fact that it also exemplifies the delirious heights of invention to which the field could aspire during its heyday. A measure of the cartoon’s standing is the fact that it ranked tenth in a 1994 poll compiling the 50 greatest cartoons ever, and was even picked by noted biographer/historian Simon Louvish as being one of the ten best films of all time for the influential "Sight & Sound" poll of 2002!

The plot sees a ravenous cat finding only a sickly canary to feed on; noticing a bottle of “Jumbo Gro” (intended for the artificial growth of flowers), it forces a couple of gulps down the bird’s throat – resulting in the latter towering above the feline itself! At this, the cat drinks from the bottle itself (so that the size of its meal can become, once again, manageable) but carelessly throws away the recipient – which is then picked up by a mouse and, subsequently, a vicious-looking bulldog (with, every time one takes a sip from it, expanding to an outrageous size)! Soon, they’re chasing each other and leaping over the tallest buildings; eventually, the “stuff” runs out – leaving the cat and the mouse at an equivalent dimension…except that they’re so big now the two of them are literally standing on top of the world!


02/26/08: I'M COLD (Tex Avery, 1954) :star::star::star:

This Chilly Willy cartoon was included on Universal’s 3-Disc THE WOODY WOODPECKER COLLECTION; I hadn’t yet checked out this set but decided to watch three entries from it regardless, given that they were directed by Tex Avery. The amiable penguin is feeling cold in his igloo and decides to raid a fur warehouse close by – but, with the place guarded by a smart (yet laid-back) bear, it’s not going to be an easy task. This may not be one of Avery’s best efforts, but the constant gag invention in the central battle-of-wills situation ensures a delightful seven minutes or so.


02/26/08: CRAZY MIXED UP PUP (Tex Avery, 1954):star::star::star:1/2

From its title, I wasn’t aware that I had watched this one before – which, despite being a latter-day Avery effort, is every bit a classic cartoon. Again, the premise is simple yet totally insane: a man and his dog are trampled by a car while crossing the road; a cross-eyed male nurse mistakenly applies the wrong kind of plasma to each, with the result that the man takes on the habits of the dog and vice versa. Of course, this sends the wife (and the dog’s own ‘spouse’) up the wall – even if both intermittently revert to their natural states and, obviously, think that it’s their respective mates who are nuts! Predictably, then, the ending sees the wife and her pet getting the exact same affliction after being run over themselves by a car – and subsequently revived by the same eager but clueless medical attendant! And they all lived happily ever after…


02/26/08: SH-H-H-H-H-H (Tex Avery, 1955):star::star::star:

This one’s a variation on the Oscar-winning Tom & Jerry cartoon classic QUIET PLEASE (1945) – with a premise that’s a guarantee of sure-fire gags (in spite of its essential familiarity). A meek middle-aged man suffers a nervous breakdown; his psychiatrist recommends an isolated hotel as the place where he can find the peace-of-mind he covets so much. However, when he gets there, the man is harassed by his next door neighbor – entertaining a female guest and blowing noisily on his trombone! Every attempt by the hapless protagonist to stop the riot they’re making rebounds disastrously on himself; eventually, he decides to confront them face to face – we had never seen their full figure up to this point – and, of all people, these turn out to be the psychiatrist himself and his aide!!

 

[george kaplan]

When Ladies Meet

Myrna Loy, Robert Montgomery and Frank Morgan had all been making films for a number of years, but this is still pre-stardom for them (after all Ann Harding gets top billing in this), and this isn't exactly a star maker for them. Supposedly comic love triangle (or foursome) is really just a light drama, with no laughs, and mild skirting of moral issues (not sure if this is a mild pre-code, or an early code with things toned down). Not horrible, but forgettable.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

Looks like I won't be able to get to THE DEPARTED, which was the big movie that I rented in my most recent batch. Turned out I waited too long to pop it into the player and I had to return all of them or else get hit with late fees. Oh well -- easy come, easy go.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Ah, it was a remake anyways.

Off topic but that BUG review is up at IMDb now. I've got all of this year and last year posted but I'm already reminded of why I didn't want to post the reviews there anyways. I got jumped by some HALLOWEEN remake fan boys with my PM thing full of "f u" messages.

 

[Joe Karlosi]

I checked it out. You presently have over 1,000 reviews added there and that's good work. Makes your stuff easier to locate, and you can always go back and edit or fine tune, or change a rating later, or whatever.

Meh - don't let those Halloween guys get you down. I'll have to go and check your review of this and see what their problem is.

 

[Mario Gauci]

Careful, Mike – this doesn’t read like a :star::star::star: review to me…

 

[Joe Karlosi]

(re: ACROSS THE UNIVERSE) -- I had thought the same thing but didn't want to be the one to say it. Sounds like you didn't like it much, Mike.

 

[Mario Gauci]

Funnily enough, I concur with Joe on this one: don't let the cowardly buggers get to you. No one can stop you from reading their PMs but it's just as easy to delete them without letting them bother you unnecessarily. I've received one such e-mail myself just the other day (no, it wasn't Joe who sent it!) and, after I read it, into the "Trash" it went. So what?