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Track the Films You Watch (2011) (2 Viewers)

Mario Gauci

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[SIZE= 12px]02/04/11: THE THIEF (Russell Rouse, 1952) [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 12px]Like CIRCLE OF DANGER (1951; see my review elsewhere), this is a British thriller with a lightweight American lead, in this case Joel McCrea; also like that earlier Jacques Tourneur film, this has a decidedly Hitchcockian flavor to it (down to a Bernard Herrmann-esque score, though he would only team up with The Master three years later!) and is, in effect, a livelier example of its kind. Interestingly, both Ray Milland (star of DANGER) and McCrea would work for Hitchcock on DIAL ‘M’ FOR MURDER (1954) and FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940) respectively. [/SIZE][SIZE= 12px]The film under review is based on a Geoffrey Household novel and, like Fritz Lang’s similarly-sourced MAN HUNT (1941), it centers around a hunting aficionado whose fa[/SIZE][SIZE= 12px]vorite pastime lands him in hot water; the screen adaptation was itself penned by celebrated crime novelist Eric Ambler. [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 12px]Abetting McCrea in his struggle are understanding wife Evelyn Keyes (she had already portrayed her definitive noir role in 1951 courtesy of Joseph Losey’s THE PROWLER), Polish military ‘mental case’ Herbert Lom (unusually a good guy despite his obvious ambivalence) and sympathetic British Intelligence man Ronald Culver. Their antagonists, then, are first-rate marksman Marius Goring (from the afore-mentioned CIRCLE OF DANGER but in a less showy role), sinister chauffeur Karel Stepanek and mysterious Austrian female Patricia Laffan (equally enigmatic off-screen, since the promise she showed in the definitive 1951 version of QUO VADIS was never delivered upon!); curiously enough, her alcoholic and uncommitted (to the cause) husband here – played by Frank Lawton (from 1935’s DAVID COPPERFIELD) – basically disappears halfway through the proceedings! [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 12px]The exciting action takes us from McCrea’s shooting grounds (doubling as a night-time airfield for the villains’ purposes) through an impersonation game to a perilous train journey to a notable climax at London’s world-renowned “Madame Tussaud’s” wax museum. Here, Goring startlingly blows himself up to safeguard the all-important documents that a typically meek defecting scientist had brought over with him from the other side. For the record, this was released in the U.S. as SHOOT FIRST, which is the name attached to the TCM-sourced copy I watched. One final thing: former actor and Oscar-winning editor Robert Parrish had graduated to the director’s chair shortly before this, in 1951 – with two more noirs which I should be watching presently, namely CRY DANGER and THE MOB.[/SIZE]
 

Michael Elliott

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We certainly disagree on THE FIGHTER, Martin. I believe Walberg tried getting this project made for nearly seven years and took a big pay cut to finally get it made. I actually agree somewhat about what you said in regards to his performance but I had the opposite reaction because I felt it was so great because it was so laid back. Having went back and watched some real footage with the guy it seems Walberg nailed him perfectly because he really doesn't say much and kind of just floats around without any emotion. Having watched a couple things with the brother, it seems he was about as crazy as the film had him.



Well, I finally made it through all 15 (and 2 shorts) Andy Hardy films and I must say it's certainly one of my favorites from this era. I finished my final four with three of the weakest I've seen in the series but I'd gladly watch all of them again and hopefully in order next time.



Andy Hardy Gets Spring Fever (1939)


Willis Goldbeck


The fifteenth film in the series has Andy (Mickey Rooney) returning home from the Army and clearing up a few things with his parents (Lewis Stone, Fay Holden) before heading back to college where he plans on marrying the girl (Bonita Granville) he fell in love with from the previous film. Andy's plans don't go as he expects and he gets the idea that college isn't for him and perhaps it would be best to just enter the working world. MGM would make the ill-advised decision to try and bring this series back in 1958 but it's clear this was originally meant to be the final entry in the series. I think it's also clear that the majority of the people involved were probably wishing this movie never happened at all. For starters, director Goldbeck, a newbie to the series, can't recapture the same magic as the earlier films and the entire tone of the film just doesn't seem right. Another problem is the screenplay, which really does seem to be picking up spare pieces at the bottom of a barrel. Nothing on display here is really of any interest as the entire love affair for Andy doesn't really make too much sense if you've seen the previous film in the series and for the life of me I can't understand why on Earth they spent so much time getting the entire story going. The early scenes in Carville are cute because it shows Andy meeting up with a few characters from earlier in the series (but no Polly) but it adds very little. The stuff at college isn't all that interesting either, although one of the few high points comes when Andy gets set up with a girl (Dorothy Ford) who is almost twice his size. Another highlight comes at the very end when Lina Romay shows up in a highly entertaining little sequence. The "final" spill to (originally) end the series works well but it's a shame everything else didn't meet its level of entertainment. Rooney isn't too bad in his role but it really does appear that his heart or mind is somewhere else. Stone and Holden really don't get very much to do and Sara Haden just appears briefly. Granville is as charming as ever but the screenplay doesn't do her any favors either. Fans of the series will certainly still want to check this one out but if you're new to Andy Hardy it's best to avoid this one and check out some of the earlier and better films.
 

Greg_S_H

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I've kind of wanted to see Catch Me If You Can for a number of years, so I finally did last night. Going in, I was kind of hoping the main theme would be light and jazzy, and it was. I wasn't expecting it to accompany such an incredible title sequence, however. It couldn't have been better if Saul Bass had designed it himself. I had to watch it again at YouTube, and someone complained that "Saul Bass would be spinning in his grave." I don't think there's a chance of that. He'd see it for the loving tribute it is.


Oh, and the movie was good, too. I liked Hanks here better than in most everything else he's done in the last many years.
 

PatW

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02/05 A Beautiful Mind (2001) 4/5


Insightful story about Mathematician John Nash his life, his love and his struggle with schizophrenia. Though the main character has been sweetened up quite a bit I applaud the film makers for bringing this difficult mental illness to the forefront even though it's protrayal isn't exactly accurate. My sister who has since past away was diagnosed with this disease and I'm well aware of the difficulties that a family can endure while trying to deal with a mentally ill member of the family.

Russell Crowe should have won the academy award that year but I imagine his well publicised bad behaviour prevented that from happening. The picture is sentimental to the extreme but the wonderful acting more than saves it.



02/05 The Uninvited (1944) 5/5


This is probably my favourite all-time horror movie. This film proves that you don't need blood, gore and shock effects to make an effective scary movie but a good story with some moody music and sound effects goes a long way. I bought the book this movie is based on when I was a young pre-teen years ago, and it's one of the few books from that time that I have saved. This is a well acted movie and it's haunting, creepy atmosphere makes for a great ghost story.


02/06 Kick-Ass (2009) 1/5


There is no denying this is a well acted, well done movie but I found it offensive in the extreme mainly due to the use of the little girl. I won't say anymore but just leave it at this and in those immortal words...... " I'm getting too old for this sh*t. "
 

schmidtt

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[SIZE= 10px]2011[/SIZE]


[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)][SIZE= 10px]1/1-Stagecoach-4.5[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 255)][SIZE= 10px]1/4-Goodbye Solo-5[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]1/5-Sopranos: Season 1-4[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]1/8-Modern Times-4[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]1/8-Virdiana-4[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]1/10-In Vanda's Room-2.5[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]1/11-Bigger than Life-3[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]1/13-2 or 3 Things I Know About Her-2.5[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]1/14-Docks of New York-4[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]1/15-Ashes of Time (Redux)-3[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]1/23-The Kids are Alright-4[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]1/24-Punchline-2.5[/SIZE]

[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)][SIZE= 10px]1/26-Blood Simple-5[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]1/28-Exit Through the Gift Shop-4[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]1/31-Gladiator-2[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]2/4-Sopranos: Season 2-4[/SIZE]

[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)][SIZE= 10px]2/5-The Philadelphia Story-5[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 205)][SIZE= 10px]2/11-Almost Famous-3[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]2/20-The Social Network-4[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]2/27-Sopranos: Season 3-4.5[/SIZE]


[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)][SIZE= 10px]3/4-The Long Goodbye-5[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]3/10-Sopranos: Season 4-5[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]3/11-Breakfast at Tiffany's-2.5[/SIZE]

[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)][SIZE= 10px]3/18-Fargo-5[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]3/25-Cyrus-3[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]3/26-Sopranos: Season 5-5[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]4/3-Never Let Me Go-3[/SIZE]

[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)][SIZE= 10px]4/7-Touch of Evil-5[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]4/8-Fall From Grace-3[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]4/11-Sopranos: Season 6 (Part 1)-4[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]4/21-Sopranos: Season 6 (Part 2)-5[/SIZE]

[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)][SIZE= 10px]4/22-Goodfellas-4.5[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]4/25-Jesus Christ Superstar-2.5[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]4/26-You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger-2[/SIZE]

[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 205)][SIZE= 10px]4/28-Three Kings-4[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[COLOR= rgb(0, 0, 205)]5/2-Twin Peaks: Pilot-4.5[/COLOR]

5/3-Machete-2

[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)]5/3-No Country For Old Men-4[/COLOR]

5/5-8 Mile-3.5

[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)]5/6-The Last Picture Show-4.5[/COLOR]

5/7-The King's Speech-3

5/8-Reno 911!: Season 1-4

5/8-From Here to Eternity-3

[COLOR= rgb(255, 0, 0)]5/13-In the Bedroom-5[/COLOR]

5/15-Inception-3

5/18-127 Hours-3.5

5/20-The Fighter-3.5

[SIZE= 10px]5/21-The Tillman Story-3.5[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]5/22-Broken Flowers-4[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]5/29-A Film Unfinished-2.5[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]5/30-Head[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]6/2-Idiocracy-3[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]6/3-Jersey Shore: Season 1-3[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]6/6-No Direction Home-4[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]6/7-Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl-2[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]6/9-Win Win-3.5[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]6/11-Team America-3.5[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]6/11-True Grit (2010)-4[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]6/12-White Material-3[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]6/12-Crips & Bloods: Made in America-2.5[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]6/22-Tim & Eric: Season 4-3.5[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]6/26-Network-3.5[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]6/26-Paris, Texas-4[/SIZE]

[SIZE= 10px]6/29-Blue Valentine-3.5[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]7/1-Wet Hot American Summer-3.5[/SIZE]

7/4-I Love You Phillip Morris-2.5

7/8-The Savages-4

7/9-Tender Mercies-4

7/9-The Burmese Harp-4

7/9-The Happiness of the Katakuris-3.5

7/10-Harold and Maude-3.5

7/12-Jersey Shore: Season 2-3

7/13-Swingers-3.5

7/17-Margot at the Wedding-3

7/18-Bridge Jones' Diary-3.5

7/19-Catfish-3.5

7/24-Another Year-3.5

7/30-Some Kind of Monster-3.5

7/30-Troll 2-1


8/2-Casablanca-4.5

8/4-Gandhi-3.5

8/5-A Streetcar Named Desire-5

8/7-Sweet & Lowdown-3.5

8/8-Cedar Rapids-3

8/12-The Larry Sanders Show: Season 1-4

8/13-North by Northwest-4

8/14-The Soloist-2.5

8/17-Drive, He Said-1.5

8/17-Best Worst Movie-2.5

8/20-The Woman in the Dunes-4.5

8/21-Stalker-3.5

8/21-The Naked Prey-3

8/23-Antichrist-3

8/28-Grey Gardens-5

8/30-Shoeshine-3


9/9-Midnight Cowboy-4

9/11-United 93-4

9/12-Star Wars-4

9/13-Dogma-2

9/16-Deliverance-3.5

9/21-Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune-3

9/23-McCabe & Mrs. Miller-5

9/26-Brother Born Again-2.5


10/5-The Larry Sanders Show: Season 2-4

10/9-Crumb-5

10/13-Night of the Living Dead-3

10/16-Breathless-4

10/19-You're Telling Me!-2

10/20-Texas Chainsaw Massacre-3.5

10/24-American: The Bill Hicks Story-3.5

10/31-Zodiac-4.5


11/2-About Schmidt-2.5

11/4-Juvenile Court-3.5

11/5-The Face of Another-3.5

11/5-The Magician-3

11/9-The Trip-3.5

11/11-This is Spinal Tap-5

11/13-Singin' in the Rain-5

11/16-Trainspotting-4

11/17-Weird Science-3.5

11/18-24 Hour Party People-4.5

11/19-The Larry Sanders Show: Season 3-3.5

11/20-Children of Paradise-4.5

11/25-M*A*S*H*-5

11.26-Dekalog 1: You shall have no other Gods before me-4.5

11/26-Poltergeist-1

11/27-Dekalog 2: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain-3


12/2-Cave of Forgotten Dreams-2.5

12/5-Le Jour Se Leve (Daybreak)-3

12/9-So I Married An Ax Murderer-3

12/12-Leap of Faith-1

12/13-Blue Collar-3

12/26-All that Heaven Allows-4

12/27-The Larry Sanders Show: Season 4-3.5

12/28-Dirty Dancing-3

12/29-Bridesmaids-3.5

12/31-Summer Stock-2
 

Martin Teller

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Calcutta 71 - My second film by Mrinal Sen. It consists of four stories focusing on India's struggle with poverty, and a framing device involving a 20 year-old man who keeps getting killed over and over through history. The first three stories are all engaging... this format doesn't allow for very deep character development, but they present relatable problems and have good performances (including Madhabi Mukherjee and Karuna Banerjee) and very good cinematography. The last segment and epilogue, however, are a bit too ambitious. Sen's anger is palpable but I'm afraid it comes off as a bit ridiculous, with a tone too dissimilar from the preceding material and a little too blunt. An interesting film, though. Rating: 7


Louie Bluie - Terry Zwigoff's debut feature is a look at the life and work of blues musician/artist/writer Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong. It's got a quick and dirty feel to it, very loose and casual... any background information is provided by Armstrong and his cohorts themselves, in a series of shootin' the shit conversations. Zwigoff doesn't try to sell us on his importance to the world of blues (although we can hear for ourselves that the music is terrific), but he's just one of those great old characters whose charisma and rich well of experience makes for entertaining storytelling. For me the best moment was when he reveals his "Whorehouse Bible": a massive tome full of writing (in Armstrong's amazing script), drawings, and clippings... loosely based around pornographic themes, but it looks like an astonishing work of art. The documentary isn't the most revelatory thing I've ever seen -- at the end of it, you realize you haven't learned very much about Armstrong's life -- but it's a lot of fun. Rating: 8
 

Michael Elliott

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Animal Kingdom (2010)


David Butler


Extremely annoying entry in the Screen Directors Playhouse series. Jeanette MacDonald plays Martha, a vocal master who comes across a young boy (Alfred Caiazza) selling newspapers. The woman takes the kid back to her apartment because she plans on turning him into a major star due to his voice but first she must sell the idea to his parents. When I read the plot outline to this entry I thought it sounded good enough but the end result is a major disaster that doesn't work on any level. I'm sure some people might find it somewhat entertaining but to me it was one of the most annoying films I've seen in quite sometime. The big secret is that MacDonald invites the kids parents over not knowing that they're actually Laraine Day and Leo Durocher. When Day and Durocher show up we get a long comic spill of MacDonald not knowing they're the kids father so she tries to get rid of them and insults the kid's parents in front of them. This sequence takes up the majority of the middle act and spills over into the final one and I couldn't help but want to scratch my eyes out because it was so poorly written, so poorly acted and worst of all is that it doesn't contain a single laugh. The MacDonald characters just comes as very cold-hearted and annoying and it's just downright shocking that anyone could be as dumb. We get a couple musical numbers that are just as poor as the dubbing was quite obvious. I don't mind the dubbing so much but the performance itself was quite mediocre to say the least. As far as the performances go, none of them really stand out. MacDonald has some nice energy but that's about it. Caiazza doesn't have much power on the screen and Day and Durocher just sit around with shocked looks on their faces.
 

Mario Gauci

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02/03/11: I WANT HIM DEAD (Paolo Bianchini, 1968)


Tourneur’s first feature was basically a B-movie, albeit made for slick-but-superficial MGM; at a mere 60 minutes, it is eminently watchable and, given the film’s modest reputation, it proves surprisingly enjoyable. Watched after the same director’s CIRCLE OF DANGER (1951) and the somewhat similar ROUGH SHOOT (1953), this provides yet another connection to Fritz Lang’s MAN HUNT (1941) in leading man Walter Pidgeon.


The central figure was a popular crime-fighter in print, debuting in 1886 and reportedly involved in over a 1,000 cases before transferring to a 12-year stint on the radio between 1943-55. However, only 3 films were ever made and, bafflingly, they all turned out to be based on original scripts (since such characters’ exploits were, in any case, being updated to the prevalent wartime aura – for instance, the contemporaneous Sherlock Holmes series); incidentally, I just found out that the second one, PHANTOM RAIDERS (1940), was also directed by Tourneur! Anyway, the narrative here involves secret aviation plans being leaked to the enemy that climaxes in a far-fetched chase sequence involving a plane and a speeding boat.


Apart from leading lady Rita Johnson, the rather-too-jovial star is ably supported here by the likes of Henry Hull (already playing eccentric old types!), Stanley Ridges (type-cast as a villain), Martin Kosleck (ditto) and Donald Meek. The latter’s hilarious characterization, of an improbably zany private eye, seems to have dropped in from another movie altogether: keeping bees as a hobby but constantly getting into the hero’s hair, he even ends up deposited in the trash-can!
 

Michael Elliott

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Rare Exports, Inc. (2003)


Jalmari Helander


Centuries ago the "real" Santa Claus was kidnapping children so some villagers lured him onto a frozen pond where he broke through and froze to death. The villagers cut out the ice and took the frozen killer to the Korbatunturi Mountains where he laid dead until now. An expedition digs the creature up and sure enough a small village has their children go missing and it's up to three hunters and one of their sons to try and kill the creature again. The idea behind RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE comes from a couple short films, which were directed and written by Jalmari Helander the same man behind this film. Those two films were both under ten-minutes and both featured neat ideas but I must admit that I was a little nervous seeing how those ideas would stretch to a feature-length film but to my pleasant surprise it works even better. If you're expecting some gory, over-the-top of trashy horror flick like SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT then it would be best for you to stay far away from this movie. This is an extremely well-made little gem that has some terrific performances, a wonderful story and it just has a certain braveness that I couldn't help but expect. The idea of a murdering Santa could have been told in so many outlandish and cruel ways but instead of going for cheapness the director instead tried to deliver something fresh and original and that's exactly what he did. The film runs 80-minutes minus the credits and the first seventy-minutes are pretty much a build up of anticipation leading up to the eventual ending where things finally break loose. You'd think having such a long build up would kill the film but it doesn't because the entire build up is just so wonderfully written that you can't help but enjoy the ride and wherever it takes you. I really loved the idea of trapping Santa and using gingerbread to keep him calm. The site of all these elderly men comes across so innocent but at the same time the atmosphere is so dark that you can't help but get an eerie feeling while watching the film. Many kids are scared of Santa and this film actually makes you feel strange to see the man. The screenplay throws a few nice twists and turns along the way and it's just a pure pleasure going from start to finish. As I said, the entire cast turn in wonderful performances and credit must go out to those playing the elves who run around naked in the snow. Again, if you're looking for trash or exploitation then you're not going to find it here. In fact, if you took out the nudity you'd be left with a film that wouldn't even get an R-rating. RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALE delivers a unique story and shows a very good filmmaking handling it with great craft and really delivering something so much better than half the films currently out there. The film certainly isn't going to be for everyone but it's certainly very unique and unlike anything thing else.
 

Mario Gauci

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02/08/11: BERLIN EXPRESS (Jacques Tourneur, 1948)


Notwithstanding its very title, for his penultimate noir thriller (stylishly shot by the great Burnett Guffey), director Jacques Tourneur – who could easily lay claim to having made the quintessential example of this most beloved and influential of film genres, OUT OF THE PAST (1947) – largely abandons the safe familiarity of rain-swept Los Angeles night streets for the deadliness of blindingly white Wyoming snowscapes.


Screenwriter Stirling Silliphant’s adaptation of noted crime writer David Goodis’ novel is well-served by a second team cast: Aldo Ray is an artist on the run from both police (who think he killed his older best friend on account of his young wife) and thugs (who think he made away with their $350,000 loot from a recent bank job); Anne Bancroft is the fashion model he takes it on the lam with after the usual “getting off on the wrong foot” start (she practically lands him into the villains’ lap thinking they were policemen!); the bumpy and gradually explosive relationship between ruthless but level-headed robber Brian Keith and his trigger-happy partner Rudy Bond is spiced with several witty put-downs of one another and their quarry; finally, sympathetic insurance investigator James Gregory is forever leaving his understanding wife Jocelyn Brando for his quest of tracing the missing money (although, believing him innocent from the outset, his intention is more to protect Ray than to apprehend him).


Beginning with an inappropriately upbeat and disposable title tune over the opening credits and unfolding in a complex flashback structure, the film is highlighted by four outstanding set-pieces: the car crash/murder incident in the snow that sparks off the whole narrative; one in which Ray is threatened with grievous bodily harm at an oil derrick until, eventually, he manages to escape his tormentors’ clutches; a fashion show in which a costume-shifting Anne Bancroft warns an obliviously admiring Ray of the villains’ presence at the same venue by running off with him in the latest creation she is exhibiting!; and, finally, the snowbound climax in which both thugs get their just desserts with a surprisingly grisly comeuppance reserved for Bond at the hands of an out-of-control snow plough!
 

Martin Teller

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Hyenas - Mambéty's adaptation of the Freidrich Dürrenmatt play "The Visit" (previously done with Ingrid Bergman and Anthony Quinn) is not quite as stunning as his only other feature Touki Bouki, but is still a marvelous piece of work. A wealthy woman returns to her impoverished village, where the citizens hope she will restore their former glory... but she has a score to settle with an old flame. The film is part political parable (again Mambéty is concerned with issues of neocolonialism), part thriller, and part comedy, blending all elements beautifully into a very compelling whole. It raises a host of ethical questions and the corruption of the town is handled deftly, and with wit. Some of the performances could be better, but Ami Diakhate is fascinating as the vengeful woman. And there are some wonderful touches and beautiful shots... a quality film by any standard. What a shame there's no Mambéty to discover besides a few shorts. Rating: 8


Five - I usually get into any kind of post-apocalyptic scenario. This one has a few minor problems. Some of the dialogue is corny, and the acting isn't especially good (not terrible, though). The worst thing is the character of Eric. Of course the lazy, racist, selfish villain has a funny accent... never identified, but it sounds vaguely European. However, he could be worse, as far as ridiculously evil bad guys go. And the film has a very poetic, almost languid mood to it, and for what is obviously a low-budget production it's pretty well done. Although bleak, it has a few shocking moments, and the sparing use of them makes them more effective. I believe this may be the first movie of its kind (post-nuclear holocaust) as well. I could have done without the Christian sentiments, but oh well. Rating: 7
 

Michael Elliott

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Ministry of Fear (1944)


Andrew Gernhard


Extremely low-budget horror movie about a poacher who is captured by police so they take him and his truck back to the station. The police think there's a bear in the truck but it turns out to be Bigfoot who escapes and begins killing people across town. Soon the police and other characters are trapped inside the station and must fight off the legendary creature. ASSAULT OF THE SASQUATCH is not a good movie by any stretch of the imagination but at the same time I couldn't help but respect what it was going for. Considering the low-budget you can't help but think, for the most part, the film was technically done well and I'm going to guess that it could have been done even better had there been more money available. The problem with the film is the screenplay, which really doesn't know if it wants to be a straight horror film or if it was to be a self-parading spoof as there's quite a bit of comic relief and none of it is very funny. The majority of the comic relief comes from an overweight guy and another dork who are running around with a camera as they're members of The Sasquatch Society. I don't care what club they belong to but their antics seem like outtakes from ERNEST SCARED STUPID. It goes without saying but this is basically a remake of John Carpenter's ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 but with Bigfoot attacking instead of gangs. I thought this idea was actually a pretty good one as it was a nice touch having the people trapped inside a building with the creature on the outside killing as many people as it can. The film certainly earns its R-rating as we get a little bit of female nudity and there are all sorts of gory killings including various body parts being ripped open. The performances are pretty much what you'd expect from a flick like this but the majority of them get the job done. Again, this isn't a good movie and there's no question it runs out of gas around the hour mark but considering how many "B" horror movies I watched I'd say this here is certainly better made than most. The Bigfoot costume isn't the greatest but then again countless monster films from the 50s, 60s and 70s featured poor outfits.
 

Martin Teller

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Messages
2,414
Real Name
Martin Teller
Micmacs - The danger with Jeunet is always too much quirk, not enough charm. Amelie strikes the perfect balance (largely due to Tautou's natural charm, I suppose). Delicatessen teeters on the edge. This one goes a little too far on the quirk side. Although it's got a whole bunch of clever up its sleeve, sometimes those little touches are done with just too much of a wink. It may also be that Dany Boon doesn't make a very compelling protagonist. It's always wonderful to see Dominique Pinon, I'm glad to have Yolande Moreau on board, and Julie Ferrier is a nice addition. But Boon doesn't seem to bring much to the table. Nonetheless, the movie packs enough off-kilter fun and shenanigans (as the title translates) to be worthwhile. As political satire it doesn't really have any teeth, but as entertaining escapist fare, it does the trick. And the film is quite gorgeous, painted with Jeunet's usual golds and greens. Rating: 7


Enter the Void - Man, I'd love to give this a rave (no pun intended), glowing (no pun intended) review. Technically, it's astonishing. I mean astonishing. Brilliant effects, editing, cinematography, sound design, use of music... it's not quite like anything I've seen before, and that's worth a lot of points in my book. It's a hell of an experience, hallucinatory and visionary. I usually avoid making bold statements like this (for fear that someone will immediately jump on me and prove me wrong), but I'd say with this work, Noe has advanced the art of filmmaking. The plot, or rather the events that kinda sorta form a plot, is also truly fascinating at points, and far more than simply the "ooh, trippy nonsense" that I was led to believe. But let's not overlook its faults. The middle section (which is really the bulk of the movie) gets dull and repetitive sometimes, and you can get pretty damn sick of staring at the back of Nathaniel Brown's head and doing the "flying over the rooftops" business. Some of the acting and dialogue is rather clunky. And it doesn't feel right to complain about this because "subtle" was never part of Noe's vocabulary, but it's awfully blunt and obvious. The early discussion of the Book of the Dead really lays everything on the table and tells you exactly what you're in for. But fuck it, despite the flaws, I was utterly mesmerized and by the end I was exhilirated and exhausted (it's also worth noting that this ends on a surprisingly upbeat note for Noe). This is a hard one for me to rate... in so many ways, it's easily his best work but there's no denying it could use some trimming. One I will definitely have to return to some day. Rating: 8



The Social Network - I'm not a huge Fincher fan, but I can't say I've ever seen a bad movie by him. In fact, I'll even go so far as to say he's a bit underrated, now that the Fight Club mania seems to have finally died off. Here again, he delivers. I wouldn't call it genius filmmaking, but it's very assured and hit its beats well. Sorkin's dialogue is crisp, and Eisenberg does a great job of portrating a very specific kind of asshole, evoking just enough humanity to prevent him from coming off as cartoonish. How close it is to the real Zuckerberg or how faithful the story is to reality isn't of much interest to me. It's a story told well, and I was interested to see how it would unfold. A compelling tale of the computer age and the relationships between those who shape it. I enjoyed it, although I'm not that anxious to revisit it. Rating: 8


Black Swan - Every once in a while I come across a movie that's extremely difficult for me to form an opinion on, and it's maddening. While this film is loaded with the kind of overblown excess that (in my humble opinion) made Requiem for a Dream a crap movie... I also feel like it kind of works here. It's a movie about high drama and psychological turmoil, taking a subtle approach probably wouldn't work here. It's hard to forgive the Vincent Cassel character, though. A couple of silly stereotypes saddled with some lousy dialogue, he's definitely an example of Aronofsky's going a little too far. As for Portman, this is certainly the best I've ever seen her... but that's not saying much. It's been pointed out that the film has strong similarities to other works, and while that's true, I don't feel like beating that horse. It's not bad enough to come off as derivative, anyway. There's some neat visual stylization, and some that's a bit hackneyed (jeez, enough with the black/white already). I guess I have to say I liked it, and I respect Aronofsky's ambition. But the film doesn't always meet the promise of that ambition, and when it does miss, it can be laughable. I'll give it an 8, but let's call it a low 8. Rating: 8


The Bourne Supremacy - Been a long time since I saw the first movie, and I don't remember much at all. But I remembered the basic gist of it, and the details didn't seem to matter that much in terms of following this sequel. I enjoyed the esponiage thriller aspects of it... a wee bit confusing at first, but as usual the pieces start to fall into place and it becomes an intriguing scenario. But the action left me pretty cold. One expects a certain amount of frenetic editing in modern action films, in this post-MTV era. But here it seems like Greengrass is using insanely quick cuts and ridiculous whip pans to cover up the fact that most of his action sequences are rote and unexciting. It gets kind of annoying. Damon is okay, although he's given very, very little to work with ("look grim and determined" seems like the only direction for 90% of the movie). We'll see what the third film brings. Rating: 6


The Bourne Ultimatum - A little better than Supremacy. The plot is pretty standard government conspiracy blah blah blah, but it moves along nicely and holds your attention well enough. The action scenes are an improvement, and although Greengrass still goes overboard with the hyperkinetic camera antics, this time it's not quite so obnoxious. Julia Stiles is an absolute dud, though, and David Strathairn is surprisingly flat. Not the type of movie that really pushes my buttons, but pretty good, solid fun. Rating: 7
 

Mario Gauci

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2005
Messages
2,201
Originally Posted by Mario Gauci /img/forum/go_quote.gif



[SIZE= 10px]01/01/11: LA SORELLA DI SATANA aka SHE BEAST and REVENGE OF THE BLOOD BEAST (Michael Reeves, 1966) [/SIZE]- DivX [Dubbed In English] {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]01/02/11: LA VERGINE DI NORIMBERGA aka THE VIRGIN OF NUREMBERG and HORROR CASTLE and THE CASTLE OF TERROR (Antonio Margheriti, 1963) [/SIZE] - DivX {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px]01/02/11: KATARSIS aka SFIDA AL DIAVOLO (Giuseppe Veggezzi, 1963) [/SIZE] - DivX {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]01/03/11: DIE SCHLANGENGRUBE UND DAS PENDEL aka THE TORTURE CHAMBER OF DOCTOR SADISM and THE BLOOD DEMON and CASTLE OF THE WALKING DEAD (Harald Reinl, 1967) [/SIZE] - DivX [Dubbed In English] {First Viewing}


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[SIZE= 10px]01/04/11: HORROR aka THE BLANCHEVILLE MONSTER (Alberto De Martino, 1963) [/SIZE]{First Viewing}


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[SIZE= 10px]01/05/11: METEMPSYCO aka TOMB OF TORTURE (Antonio Boccaci, 1963) [/SIZE] - DivX [Dubbed In English] {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]01/06/11: NAZARIN (Luis Bunuel, 1959) [/SIZE] - DVD {Third Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px]01/06/11: LA MORTE HA SORRISO ALL'ASSASSINO aka DEATH SMILED AT MURDER and DEATH SMILES ON A MURDERER (Joe D'Amato, 1973) [/SIZE]{First Viewing}


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[SIZE= 10px]01/07/11: EL BRUTO aka THE BRUTE (Luis Bunuel, 1953) [/SIZE]


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[SIZE= 10px]01/08/11: ELVIS aka ELVIS: '68 COMEBACK SPECIAL [Extended Version] (Steve Binder, 1968) (TV) [/SIZE] - DivX {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px]01/08/11: PENA DE MUERTE aka VIOLENT BLOOD BATH (Jorge Grau, 1973) [/SIZE] - DivX [Dubbed In English] {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]01/09/11: CEREMONIA SANGRIENTA aka BLOOD CEREMONY and THE FEMALE BUTCHER and THE LEGEND OF BLOOD CASTLE [International Version] (Jorge Grau, 1973) [/SIZE] - DivX [Dubbed In English] {First Viewing}


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[SIZE= 10px]01/10/11: LA SAGA DE LOS DRACULA aka THE DRACULA SAGA (Leon Klimovsky, 1973) [/SIZE] - DivX [Dubbed In English] {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]01/11/11: GEBISSEN WIRD NUR NACHTS aka THE VAMPIRE HAPPENING (Freddie Francis, 1971) [/SIZE] - DivX [Dubbed In English] {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]01/12/11: DER FLUCH DER GRUNEN AUGEN aka CAVE OF THE LIVING DEAD and NIGHT OF THE VAMPIRES (Akos Rathonyi, 1964) [/SIZE] - DivX [Dubbed In English] {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]01/13/11: L'ULTIMA PREDA DEL VAMPIRO aka THE PLAYGIRLS AND THE VAMPIRE and CURSE OF THE VAMPIRE (Piero Regnoli, 1960) [/SIZE] - DivX [Dubbed In English] {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px]01/13/11: LA STRAGE DEI VAMPIRI aka THE SLAUGHTER OF THE VAMPIRES and CURSE OF THE BLOOD-GHOULS (Roberto Mauri, 1962)[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][/SIZE] - DivX [Dubbed In English] {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]01/14/11: LA MARCA DEL MUERTO aka THE MARK OF DEATH and CREATURE OF THE WALKING DEAD (Fernando Cortes, 1961) [/SIZE] - DivX {First Viewing}


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[SIZE= 10px]01/15/11: YANKEE PASHA (Joseph Pevney, 1954) [/SIZE] - Theatrical Screening {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px]01/15/11: EL MUNDO DE LOS VAMPIROS aka THE WORLD OF THE VAMPIRES (Alfonso Corona Blake, 1961) [/SIZE] - DVD-R {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px]01/15/11: LA CABEZA VIVIENTE aka THE LIVING HEAD (Chano Urueta, 1963) [/SIZE] - DVD-R {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]01/16/11: DRAKULA ISTANBUL'DA aka DRACULA IN ISTANBUL (Mehmet Muhtar, 1953) [/SIZE] - DVD-R {First Viewing}


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[SIZE= 10px]01/17/11: THE SOCIAL NETWORK (David Fincher, 2010) [/SIZE] - DivX {First Viewing}


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[SIZE= 10px]01/18/11: THE FIGHTER (David O. Russell, 2010) [/SIZE]- DivX {First Viewing}


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[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= black]01/19/11: ETOILE (Peter Del Monte, 1988) [/COLOR]- DivX [Dubbed In English] {First Viewing}[/SIZE]


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[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= black]01/20/11: CELESTINE, BONNE A` TOUT FAIRE aka CELESTINE AN ALL ROUND MAID and CELESTINE, MAID AT YOUR SERVICE and THE SEXCAPADES OF CELESTINE (Jesus Franco, 1974) - DVD-R [Dubbed In English] {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= black]01/20/11: LOS MONSTRUOS DEL TERROR aka ASSIGNMENT TERROR and DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN (Tullio Demicheli and, uncredited, Hugo Fregonese and Eberhard Meichsner, 1970) - DVD-R {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= black]01/21/11: [/COLOR][/SIZE][COLOR= black]LE JOURNAL D’UNE FEMME DE CHAMBRE aka DIARY OF A CHAMBERMAID (Luis Bunuel, 1964) [/COLOR] - DVD {Fourth Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= black]01/21/11: UNE ANGE DANS LES MARECAGES aka ANGEL IN THE SWAMPS (V) (Luc Lagier, 2005) [/COLOR] - [/SIZE]DVD [Short; Extra] {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]01/22/11: BURKE & HARE (John Landis, 2010) [/SIZE]- Theatrical Release {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px]01/22/11: THE GREEN HORNET [3D Version] (Michel Gondry, 2011) [/SIZE] - Theatrical Release {First Viewing}


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[SIZE= 10px]01/23/11: BURKE & HARE aka HORRORS OF BURKE AND HARE (Vernon Sewell, 1972) [/SIZE] - DivX {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px]01/23/11: LA VOIE LACTEE` aka THE MILKY WAY (Luis Bunuel, 1969) [/SIZE]- DVD {Fourth Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px]01/23/11: BUNUEL: ATHEE` GRACE A` DIEU aka BUNUEL: ATHEIST THANKS TO GOD (Julien Gaurichon, 2005) [/SIZE] - DVD [Short; Extra] {Second Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]01/24/11: LA VENGANZA DE LA MOMIA aka THE MUMMY'S REVENGE (Carlos Aured, 1973) [/SIZE] - DivX [Dubbed In English] {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]01/25/11: LA ORGIA DE LOS MUERTOS aka THE HANGING WOMAN and RETURN OF THE ZOMBIES and BEYOND THE LIVING DEAD and BRACULA: THE TERROR OF THE LIVING DEATH (Jose` Luis Merino, 1973) [/SIZE] - DivX {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]01/26/11: EXORCISMO aka EXORCISM (Juan Bosch, 1975) [/SIZE]- DivX {First Viewing}


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[SIZE= 10px]01/27/11: EL MARISCAL DEL INFIERNO aka THE DEVIL'S POSSESSED and HELL'S MARSHALL (Leon Klimovsky, 1974) [/SIZE] - DivX {First Viewing}


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]01/29/11: ENCARNACAO DO DEMONIO aka EMBODIMENT OF EVIL (Jose` Mojica Marins, 2008) – BluRay Rental {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]01/29/11: DER BAADER MEINHOF KOMPLEX aka THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX (Uli Edel, 2008) - DVD Rental {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]01/30/11: INQUISICION aka INQUISITION (Jacinto Molina, 1976) - DVD-R {First Viewing} [/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]01/30/11: TRUE GRIT (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2010) – DivX {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]01/30/11: EL CAMINANTE aka THE TRAVELER (Jacinto Molina, 1979) – DivX {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]01/30/11: KYNODONTAS aka DOGTOOTH (Giorgios Lanthimos, 2009) - DivX {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]01/31/11: EL CRUZ DEL DIABLO aka THE DEVIL’S CROSS (John Gilling, 1975) – DVD-R {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]



[SIZE= 10px]Total Viewings for January: 45[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]Best First Viewing: THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px]Best Revisit: THE MILKY WAY[/SIZE]



[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/01/11: ULTIMO DESEO aka THE PEOPLE WHO OWN THE DARK (Leon Klimovsky, 1976) – DivX {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/01/11: THE DEVIL THUMBS A RIDE (Felix E. Feist, 1947) - DivX {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/02/11: FOUR HOURS TO KILL! (Mitchell Leisen, 1935) - DivX {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/02/11: EL HUERTO DEL FRANCES aka THE FRENCHMAN’S ORCHARD (Jacinto Molina, 1977) - DivX {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/03/11: THE GLASS KEY (Frank Tuttle, 1935) - DivX {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/03/11: LO VOGLIO MORTO aka I WANT HIM DEAD (Paolo Bianchini, 1968) – TV [Dubbed In English] {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/04/11: THE THIEF (Russell Rouse, 1952) - DivX {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/05/11: CIRCLE OF DANGER (Jacques Tourneur, 1951) - DivX {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/05/11: LA VIE ET LE PASSION DE JESUS CHRIST aka THE LIFE AND PASSION OF CHRIST and PASSION AND DEATH OF CHRIST and LIFE OF OUR SAVIOR and THE PASSION PLAY (Lucien Nonguet and Ferdinand Zecca, 1902-5) – DivX [English Intertitles] {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px] [/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/06/11: ROUGH SHOOT aka SHOOT FIRST (Robert Parrish, 1953) - DivX {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/06/11: NICK CARTER, MASTER DETECTIVE (Jacques Tourneur, 1939) - DivX {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


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[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/07/11: LA JOVEN aka THE YOUNG ONE and WHITE TRASH and ISLAND OF SHAME (Luis Bunuel, 1960) - DVD {Fifth Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]



[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/08/11: ROBINSON CRUSOE aka LAS AVENTURAS DE ROBINSON CRUSOE and ADVENTURES OF ROBINSON CRUSOE (Luis Bunuel, 1952) [/COLOR]- DVD {Fifth Viewing}[/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/08/11: BERLIN EXPRESS (Jacques Tourneur, 1948) [/COLOR][/SIZE] - DivX {First Viewing}



[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/09/11: THE FEARMAKERS (Jacques Tourneur, 1958) - DivX {First Viewing}[/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/09/11: LIGHTS OF NEW YORK (Bryan Foy, 1928) [/COLOR][/SIZE]



[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/10/11: NIGHTFALL (Jacques Tourneur, 1957) [/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/10/11: [/COLOR][/SIZE][COLOR= #181818][SIZE= 10px]LORD OF THE FLIES (Peter Brook, 1963) [/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/10/11: WHEN STRANGERS MARRY aka BETRAYED (William Castle, 1944) [/COLOR][/SIZE]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/11/11: [/COLOR][/SIZE][COLOR= #181818]TRISTANA (Luis Bunuel, 1970) [/COLOR] [COLOR= #181818]- DVD {Fourth Viewing}[/COLOR]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/11/11: NOOSE aka THE SILK NOOSE (Edmond T. Greville, 1948) [/COLOR][/SIZE][COLOR= #181818] - DVD-R {First Viewing}[/COLOR]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/12/11: NO ORCHIDS FOR MISS BLANDISH aka BLACK DICE (St. John Leigh Clowes, 1948) [/COLOR][/SIZE][COLOR= #181818]- DivX {First Viewing} [/COLOR]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/12/11: [/COLOR][/SIZE][COLOR= #181818]VIRIDIANA (Luis Bunuel, 1961) [/COLOR] [COLOR= #181818]- DVD {Fifth Viewing}[/COLOR]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/12/11: HE RAN ALL THE WAY (John Berry, 1951) [/COLOR][/SIZE][COLOR= #181818] - DVD-R {First Viewing} [/COLOR]



[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/11/11: [/COLOR][/SIZE][COLOR= #181818]TRISTANA (Luis Bunuel, 1970) [/COLOR] [COLOR= #181818]- DVD {Fourth Viewing}[/COLOR]


[SIZE= 10px][COLOR= #181818]02/11/11: NOOSE aka THE SILK NOOSE (Edmond T. Greville, 1948) [/COLOR][/SIZE][COLOR= #181818] - DVD-R {First Viewing}[/COLOR]


02/12/11: NO ORCHIDS FOR MIS
 

Michael Elliott

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Messages
8,054
Location
KY
Real Name
Michael Elliott
Mechanic, The (1972)


Rex Ingram


Lavish MGM production takes a rather routine screenplay and turns it into something rather unique. Seaman Ulysses Ferragut (Antonio Moreno) falls for a woman (Alice Terry) who turns out to be a German spy and their relationship leads to one disaster after another. That's pretty much all you need to know in terms of story because there's no question that the main reason to check this out is the visual style. Even though the story is pretty routine, director Ingram at least pumps plenty of style and gives us some terrific visuals along the way. The film has our Captain being fixated on the sea goddess Amphitrite and this is the reason he ends up falling for the spy as the two look quite a bit alike. This obsession was one of the most interesting things about the screenplay and I must admit that I was pulled in by the "old ways" involving the mysterious of the sea and the various folk tales that are brought into the film. One of the best moments happens at the very start of the film when we see some items at the bottom of the sea. This certainly isn't anything we haven't seen in earlier films but Ingram shows it in such a striking way that it's very memorable. The same is true of the ending, which I won't ruin but there's no question the image is perfectly filmed. Some of the stuff goes a tad bit too far into melodrama including the relationship between the Captain and his wife. There's also a German officer that's a tad bit too silly and it's made even worse by the fact that it's played by an Erich von Stroheim look-alike. I'm sure had Erich been on good terms with the studio then he would have been playing the part. I do wonder why the studio and director cast someone like they did as I'm sure folks in 1926 saw the resemblance. As far as the performances go Terry clearly steals the film. She's extremely passionate, sexual and dramatic so she perfectly captures whatever it is she needs to do. I thought she really brought her character to life and managed to easily steal the film. Moreno is pretty much forgotten today but at the time he was Valentino's rival. His looks probably brought the majority of the women to the film but he turned in a nice performance. There's no question that the screenplay isn't the greatest but the cast and especially Ingram make this something a lot better than it would have been in lesser hands.
 

PatW

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 25, 2003
Messages
1,600
Real Name
Patricia
02/09 Iron Man (2008) 4/5

02/10 Iron Man 2 (2010) 2.5/5


Iron Man is a good watch most anytime. It's exciting, has good characters, good villians, great special effects and keeps the boys happy for a couple of hours.

Iron Man 2 is another story. The second half was much better than the first. I didn't care to wallow in the characters self-importance for the first part of the movie especially when it wasn't that interesting. We saw a bit of this in the first but by the second movie it was getting old. Mickey Rourke made a good villian but sometimes it's hard to look at the guy. The special effects were good as expected. The movie though glitzy, lacked substance.
 

PatW

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 25, 2003
Messages
1,600
Real Name
Patricia
02/11 Black Narcissus (1947) 4.5/5


Five British nuns are sent to the Himalayas to set up a convent school and hospital. Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr) is given this assignment despite her relative youth. There she must face the culture of the people she serves, a hostile housekeeper, the growing madness of one of the sisters and the attractiveness of the government agent which awakes forgotten memories of an earlier life. This is a stunning film, beautifully photographed and what is even more stunning is none of this was filmed in Tibet but rather on soundstages and locations around Britain.

This movie benefits from repeat viewings only to catch everything that the film is trying to say. I think I was caught up more in the details of each scene especially that stunning bell tower scene rather than focusing on its emotional core. Stunning movie which is on my must buy list of blu-rays.






02/11 Who's Minding the Mint (1967) 3.5/5



Mildly amusing heist movie from the 60's with Jim Hutton as a mint employee who mistakenly takes home $50,000 and grinds it up in his garbage disposal. He hatches a plan to replace the loot before it's discovered missing and gathers a colourful collection of characters to help him carry out this caper. This movie contains of wealth of comic characters including Milton Berle, Jack Gilford, Victor Bruno, Jamie Farr and even Bob Denver. This is not as good as some of the caper movies during the 60's but it's good for a few chuckles and well worth watching.


02/13 Wanted (2008) 3.5/5


Typical of the new breed of over the top action films about a young man bored in his job who discovers he's the son of an elite brand of assassin and discovers he may have inherited his father's abilities. After his father is assassinated Wesley is recruited into his father's old organization and goes into training to become an assassin. His goal, to kill his fathers murderer. All the roles are well played especially Morgan Freeman as Sloan the head of organization but these movies are getting tiresome. After having seen Angeline Jolie in Salt here she is in another impossible action role. So why did I give it 3.5 stars. It was entertaining but probably deserves a much lower rating. Today, I'm in a good mood.
 

Michael Elliott

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Messages
8,054
Location
KY
Real Name
Michael Elliott
BLACK NARCISSUS is one I've had on my to view list for years. I recorded the recent TCM broadcast so I hope to get to it at some point soon.



Sunset Limited, The (2011)


Woody Allen


Disappointing drama from Allen takes a look at various couples and the impact they have when they break free from those they love. Alfie (Anthony Hopkins) leaves his wife (Gemma Jones) of forty-years because he wants to be young again and this leads him to a hooker (Lucy Punch) who he then marries. His daughter Sally (Naomi Watts) has put her dreams on hold so that her husband (Josh Brolin) can try and complete his book but soon she begins to find her boss (Antonio Banderas) attractive while the husband strikes up a relationship with a woman (Freida Pinto) engaged to another man. YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER is clearly not Allen's best film and it comes as a major disappointment considering how good his previous film (WHATEVER WORKS) turned out. The biggest problem with this film is that it simply never feels like a Woody Allen picture. The dialogue, the characters and the story itself just come off rather bland and weak, which certainly isn't something you usually say when it comes to Allen's work. Allen is one of my favorite filmmakers but I'm not going to sit here and say everything he's done has been perfect and there's no question he's had some weak films but this one here simply doesn't feel like his. If someone was to tell me that someone else wrote the screenplay I'd certainly believe it. I should add that I never fault a filmmaker for trying to break away from their norm and offer up something different but the problem here isn't that he tries something new. The problem is that he simply didn't write many interesting characters. The mother has a problem that she is constantly going to a psychic for advice and this entire segment doesn't come off as funny because it just makes the mother annoying. The Hopkins character wanting a younger woman who is of course using him is something we've seen in countless movies. The Watts and Brolin characters really aren't any that we haven't seen in previous movies as well. The two most interesting characters are their "other people" as both Banderas and Pinto come off extremely good and their characters are the most interesting but of course they're not in the film too often. While Banderas and Pinto are very good in their roles the same can still be said about the other characters. Hopkins, Watts, Brolin and Jones all deliver fine performances but none of them are overly deep as they're all letdown by the screenplay. This certainly isn't a bad movie as it remains mildly interesting from start to finish but when you go to an Allen film you expect more and this film simply didn't deliver enough.
 

Pete York

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Dec 1, 2004
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Young Ideas (1943) Dir: Jules Dassin

Production: MGM


Mild comedy, to be generous, a pale remnant of the screwball genre. Lots of misunderstandings and comic deceptions, that sort of thing. The witty, urban, ‘sophisticated’ college-age children of a popular writer (Mary Astor) try to break up her surprise marriage to a seemingly stuffy, small-town college professor (Herbert Marshall). Their idea is to plant the idea in the man’s mind that the ‘lurid’ tales in their mother’s books are biographical. They enlist the aid of the mother’s agent (Allyn Joslyn), who attempts to lure her back to New York with a job (and the accompanying 10% commission for him).


Not much here to see. It’s just a young director honing some skills on assignment. Nothing particularly amusing, but the actors are a fine group to spend a little time with (Ava Gardner has a brief appearance). The kids (Susan Peters and Elliott Reid) are well cast. Peters, especially, is really lovely and charming and there’s a flicker of something in her in this nothing role that’s so much better than the movie. She had already been nominated for RANDOM HARVEST so it’s not like she came out of nowhere, but still. There’s a neat effect in one scene where the professor is reading some dry chemistry text and we see a shot of the page. Suddenly the words in the sentence he is reading are replaced from off the screen with a new sentence describing the jealous thought actually in his head. And did I enjoy the last shot of Astor giving Peters a full-on, over-the-knees spanking? Yes. Yes, I did.


out of 4
 

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