Movies pt. 1 (Christmas pt. 2 of 3)
Okay, I'm really gonna hate this because there are so friggin' many movies I have to review. But first, here's what's happened since my last posting:
Tonight Jeremy was hanging out with Comer, Dwayne, and me and since we're really cool we decided to go eat at Cici's a second night in a row. I even sat in the same seat. We're bad men.... The new guy was back and tonight he managed to tuck his shirt into his boxers. Dwayne noticed it and let the rest of the table know. About five minutes later one of his co-workers came up to him and told him. He jumped in response and started to try and tuck it in properly. Everyone he worked with laughed at him for about five minutes. And he still didn't get it tucked properly. I really hope he becomes a manager or something and wreaks havoc on all of them for giving him so much crap. So Jeremy decides he should go and see Lauren for a little bit before meeting us back at the house. While we're waiting for him to get here, we decided we should leave something funny on the top step to welcome him. Somehow, we decided that pooping on a plate would be the funniest thing (I know it's disgusting, but the groupthink humor had set in and there was no turning back). I won't say who actually went on the plate, but there was definitely a nifty, pungent pile going on. We stuck it out on the steps and waited. It pretty much got the response we were looking for. Then I made an excuse to go outside and put it in the bed of Jeremy's truck. Yep, further earning of the nickname "Jerk". Anyway, we watched Duck Soup and some Aqua Teen and now I'm in here wasting time online. Good times. And now for the movies.
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter-it's all good, it's all right! This movie wasn't great the first time I saw it. If anything, it's actually gotten worse with time. There are still some really funny parts like "Five keeps the neighborhood alive!" but the majority of it is just painful. Amazing theme song though...
Shampoo-AFI's top 100 movie! Despite being on the AFI's top 100 laughs list, it was hardly funny at all. I think I laughed about three times. Warren Beatty's good in it, but he's better in Bonnie and Clyde. The movie was alright overall...I guess.
Walk the Line- aka: Ray 2! Not really, but they are very similar stories and both have amazing soundtracks. This one was a lot funnier though. And the fact that Phoenix and Witherspoon did their own vocals makes it more enjoyable. Darn good movie. Check it out.
A Constant Forge-3 hour Cassavetes documentary! This was good, but I'm glad I watched it in segments. Also, the way it's presented, it might have been better to watch the rest of the Cassavetes box set films before watching this. But the way I did it was fine. There's not a need for a normal person to watch this, but movie buffs should check it out.
Syriana-Yes! Important movie! I'm so glad that this film got a wide release (though given the cast, I'm not surprised). This movie is about power and money and who has them. It's a fantastic film. When I was leaving the theater, I felt a sense of accomplishment like I had done something important. This film should be seen by pretty much everyone. It has been one of the best of the year so far.
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie-Good ol' Cassavetes is quality again! There are two cuts of this film in the Criterion box set and I watched the 1976 one (the longer of the two). I love that characters in Cassavetes films are so believable. They aren't perfect like a lot of characters in film are. They are flawed but at the same time good. They are real. Check out his stuff.
The Fly-a popular Cronenberg film! I personally prefer earlier Cronenberg (with the exception of Shivers) and later Cronenberg (with the exception of Crash). Cronenberg's stuff is usually very odd but still enjoyable. For the uninitiated, I would suggest Rabid, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch, Existenz, and A History of Violence. Especially AHOV since it will probably be up for some awards come March. Um...but The Fly was alright.
Sweet Smell of Success-Noir, kind of! This was a really good movie, and it starts Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster! There's pretty much only one "good" character in the film. That shouldn't stop anyone from seeing this though since it was darn cool. I don't really consider it noir since it wasn't about murder or gunplay really, but the style was that of noir. And it was a pleasure to watch.
It's come to my attention that I haven't really told what any of these are about, so I'll try to work that in from here on in.
Porco Rosso-Miyazaki anime about a pig pilot in a world of humans! This is probably one of my favorite Miyazaki films now. The box cover makes it look really dumb, but it is a very good movie. If you like cartoons, anime, or good movies you should check it out.
A Damsel in Distress-Fred Astaire and Joan Fontaine! This was my intro to the films of Fred Astaire and it was enjoyable. A member of a royal family falls in love with Fred Astaire. And the fact that it stars Joan Fontaine (one of the most beautiful classic film actresses) didn't hurt it any. I actually seem to have enjoyed this more than most of the Astaire/Rogers pictures, so I'd advise watching it.
The Horses's Mouth-Criterion starring Alec Guinness! I got this solely because it was a Criterion. It was okay, but nothing too special. Alec Guinness plays an unsuccessful painter who goes on to create a fantastic work of art, only to have it destroyed moments later. It had some really funny moments, but it also dragged on at times. But the fact that Guinness wrote it impressed me.
Father of the Bride (original)-Spencer Tracy is pretty quality! I've seen the remake so I wasn't looking forward to this AFI top 100 laughs film, but I was wrong. Tracy plays a father who's daughter is being married. It's about the trials and tribulations that come with a wedding. Very funny movie and there's a fantastic dream sequence about 2/3 of the way through it.
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse-very dirty sounding name until you know it's a 40's movie! I got this because Bogie's in it (and also Edward G. Robinson if I've remembered the name properly) and his stuff is usually good. EGR plays Dr. Clitterhouse who joins a group of thieves (or "gang" if you will) to study the psychology of a criminal. For a movie I had never heard of, it was pretty decent.
Holiday Affair-Robert Mitchum not trying to kill children for money! He actually plays a generous guy at Christmas time who falls in love with an engaged woman. It's more or less a classic comedic romance. It was quality though, so watch.
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang-Paul Muni and the chain gang system! This film is part of the Controversial film series that was recently released on DVD. Paul Muni plays a man who is wrongly convicted of a crime and sentenced to the chain gang punishment. He escapes and becomes a prominent citizen only to be faced with going back. This film was responsible for changes in the chain gang system, so see it for that if nothing else.
The Lady Eve-hilarious screwball comedy! This movie is fantastic. It's another one of the classic romantic comedies, and Henry Fonda's in it. Fonda's on a cruise where he falls in love with a card shark. He finds out who she really is (though she loves him for real) and rejects her. She then tries to win him back. Another Criterion. This movie MUST be seen.
The Cat Returns-not Miyazaki like I thought, but still good! A girl saves a cat who turns out to be a prince in cat world. The girl visits cat world and has to fight an evil king and things of that nature. Even though I was disappointed that Miyazaki didn't direct this, it was still pretty good.
Fitzwilly-Dick Van Dyke as a thieving butler! I had never heard of this movie. I only watched it because I had access to TCM and it was on. I had never heard of it or anything. After seeing it had Dick Van Dyke I figured I would give it 15 minutes. I got hooked. Discovering a movie that was really good that you knew nothing about is one of life's little pleasures. If you can find this movie, watch it.
Foreign Correspondent-Hitchcock I hadn't seen! After taking film and lit this past semester, I've been trying to watch as much Hitchcock as possible. This was actually released the same year as Rebecca, so you can see why it's not as popular (Rebecca won best pic, btw). A reporter has an exclusive scoop in regards to the assassination of an important international figure. This is either Hitch's last English film before coming to the states or his second US film. It's really good either way.
Port of Shadows-French Criterion! From what I recall, this was a story about a guy who's on the run and falls in love with a girl before he can escape onto a ship. I really don't recall much about this movie, but I do remember thinking it was decent. Also, there's a cool "shady character" hideout.
Fury-Fritz Lang's first US film! This is another entry in the Controversial film series that was recently released. Spencer Tracy plays a man who is wrongly accused of murder or some such bad crime and a mob burns down the jail where he's being held. He goes off and hides and tries to get the members of the mob to face the death penalty through his friends. This was the first real look at mob revenge and things of that nature. Good piece of movie.
Steamboat Bill, Jr.-Buster Keaton is friggin' hilarious! This is one of my favorite Keaton films (right up there with The General). Keaton plays the son of a steamboat captain. He definitely does not live up to his father's expectations, and there is literally a storm a-brewing. Can he save the day? Whether he does or doesn't, what happens is bound to be (and is very much so) hilarious.
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town-another catch on TCM! Also on AFI's top 100 laughs list. Gary Cooper plays Longfellow Deeds who inherits a bunch of money and doesn't fall into the rich person mentality. So friggin' superior to the uber-crappy remake starring Adam Sandler. If you're going to watch one of them, make it this one...I beg of you.
Shall We Dance-Astaire and Rogers, not JLo and Richard Gere! A pretty good little flick. Astaire is a famous Russian ballet dancer who's experimenting in tap (it sounds odd, I know) who falls for a Broadway dancer. See it for the Gershwin songs if for nothing else (which goes for all of the Astaire Rogers films more or less). Though this one is pretty funny.
Family Guy's Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story-it's a Family Guy movie! Though I was really looking forward to this, I've gotta say I was disappointed. There are some funny moments, but it seems like more misses than hits. At times, it actually seemed like the movie should have been about 10 minutes shorter. I guess the perfect length is approximately 22 minutes per episode. Anyway, this movie is about Stewie going into the future and seeing that he's a loser and trying to change that. In summary, time-travel Stewie. It's okay, but I'd advise renting this instead of buying to see how well you like it.
That's enough for part 1 of movie reviews. We'll pick it back up soon with The Warriors. For now, I'm gonna finish this episode of Room Raiders (it's innuendo-packed!). Have a good one.
Tonight Jeremy was hanging out with Comer, Dwayne, and me and since we're really cool we decided to go eat at Cici's a second night in a row. I even sat in the same seat. We're bad men.... The new guy was back and tonight he managed to tuck his shirt into his boxers. Dwayne noticed it and let the rest of the table know. About five minutes later one of his co-workers came up to him and told him. He jumped in response and started to try and tuck it in properly. Everyone he worked with laughed at him for about five minutes. And he still didn't get it tucked properly. I really hope he becomes a manager or something and wreaks havoc on all of them for giving him so much crap. So Jeremy decides he should go and see Lauren for a little bit before meeting us back at the house. While we're waiting for him to get here, we decided we should leave something funny on the top step to welcome him. Somehow, we decided that pooping on a plate would be the funniest thing (I know it's disgusting, but the groupthink humor had set in and there was no turning back). I won't say who actually went on the plate, but there was definitely a nifty, pungent pile going on. We stuck it out on the steps and waited. It pretty much got the response we were looking for. Then I made an excuse to go outside and put it in the bed of Jeremy's truck. Yep, further earning of the nickname "Jerk". Anyway, we watched Duck Soup and some Aqua Teen and now I'm in here wasting time online. Good times. And now for the movies.
Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter-it's all good, it's all right! This movie wasn't great the first time I saw it. If anything, it's actually gotten worse with time. There are still some really funny parts like "Five keeps the neighborhood alive!" but the majority of it is just painful. Amazing theme song though...
Shampoo-AFI's top 100 movie! Despite being on the AFI's top 100 laughs list, it was hardly funny at all. I think I laughed about three times. Warren Beatty's good in it, but he's better in Bonnie and Clyde. The movie was alright overall...I guess.
Walk the Line- aka: Ray 2! Not really, but they are very similar stories and both have amazing soundtracks. This one was a lot funnier though. And the fact that Phoenix and Witherspoon did their own vocals makes it more enjoyable. Darn good movie. Check it out.
A Constant Forge-3 hour Cassavetes documentary! This was good, but I'm glad I watched it in segments. Also, the way it's presented, it might have been better to watch the rest of the Cassavetes box set films before watching this. But the way I did it was fine. There's not a need for a normal person to watch this, but movie buffs should check it out.
Syriana-Yes! Important movie! I'm so glad that this film got a wide release (though given the cast, I'm not surprised). This movie is about power and money and who has them. It's a fantastic film. When I was leaving the theater, I felt a sense of accomplishment like I had done something important. This film should be seen by pretty much everyone. It has been one of the best of the year so far.
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie-Good ol' Cassavetes is quality again! There are two cuts of this film in the Criterion box set and I watched the 1976 one (the longer of the two). I love that characters in Cassavetes films are so believable. They aren't perfect like a lot of characters in film are. They are flawed but at the same time good. They are real. Check out his stuff.
The Fly-a popular Cronenberg film! I personally prefer earlier Cronenberg (with the exception of Shivers) and later Cronenberg (with the exception of Crash). Cronenberg's stuff is usually very odd but still enjoyable. For the uninitiated, I would suggest Rabid, Dead Ringers, Naked Lunch, Existenz, and A History of Violence. Especially AHOV since it will probably be up for some awards come March. Um...but The Fly was alright.
Sweet Smell of Success-Noir, kind of! This was a really good movie, and it starts Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster! There's pretty much only one "good" character in the film. That shouldn't stop anyone from seeing this though since it was darn cool. I don't really consider it noir since it wasn't about murder or gunplay really, but the style was that of noir. And it was a pleasure to watch.
It's come to my attention that I haven't really told what any of these are about, so I'll try to work that in from here on in.
Porco Rosso-Miyazaki anime about a pig pilot in a world of humans! This is probably one of my favorite Miyazaki films now. The box cover makes it look really dumb, but it is a very good movie. If you like cartoons, anime, or good movies you should check it out.
A Damsel in Distress-Fred Astaire and Joan Fontaine! This was my intro to the films of Fred Astaire and it was enjoyable. A member of a royal family falls in love with Fred Astaire. And the fact that it stars Joan Fontaine (one of the most beautiful classic film actresses) didn't hurt it any. I actually seem to have enjoyed this more than most of the Astaire/Rogers pictures, so I'd advise watching it.
The Horses's Mouth-Criterion starring Alec Guinness! I got this solely because it was a Criterion. It was okay, but nothing too special. Alec Guinness plays an unsuccessful painter who goes on to create a fantastic work of art, only to have it destroyed moments later. It had some really funny moments, but it also dragged on at times. But the fact that Guinness wrote it impressed me.
Father of the Bride (original)-Spencer Tracy is pretty quality! I've seen the remake so I wasn't looking forward to this AFI top 100 laughs film, but I was wrong. Tracy plays a father who's daughter is being married. It's about the trials and tribulations that come with a wedding. Very funny movie and there's a fantastic dream sequence about 2/3 of the way through it.
The Amazing Dr. Clitterhouse-very dirty sounding name until you know it's a 40's movie! I got this because Bogie's in it (and also Edward G. Robinson if I've remembered the name properly) and his stuff is usually good. EGR plays Dr. Clitterhouse who joins a group of thieves (or "gang" if you will) to study the psychology of a criminal. For a movie I had never heard of, it was pretty decent.
Holiday Affair-Robert Mitchum not trying to kill children for money! He actually plays a generous guy at Christmas time who falls in love with an engaged woman. It's more or less a classic comedic romance. It was quality though, so watch.
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang-Paul Muni and the chain gang system! This film is part of the Controversial film series that was recently released on DVD. Paul Muni plays a man who is wrongly convicted of a crime and sentenced to the chain gang punishment. He escapes and becomes a prominent citizen only to be faced with going back. This film was responsible for changes in the chain gang system, so see it for that if nothing else.
The Lady Eve-hilarious screwball comedy! This movie is fantastic. It's another one of the classic romantic comedies, and Henry Fonda's in it. Fonda's on a cruise where he falls in love with a card shark. He finds out who she really is (though she loves him for real) and rejects her. She then tries to win him back. Another Criterion. This movie MUST be seen.
The Cat Returns-not Miyazaki like I thought, but still good! A girl saves a cat who turns out to be a prince in cat world. The girl visits cat world and has to fight an evil king and things of that nature. Even though I was disappointed that Miyazaki didn't direct this, it was still pretty good.
Fitzwilly-Dick Van Dyke as a thieving butler! I had never heard of this movie. I only watched it because I had access to TCM and it was on. I had never heard of it or anything. After seeing it had Dick Van Dyke I figured I would give it 15 minutes. I got hooked. Discovering a movie that was really good that you knew nothing about is one of life's little pleasures. If you can find this movie, watch it.
Foreign Correspondent-Hitchcock I hadn't seen! After taking film and lit this past semester, I've been trying to watch as much Hitchcock as possible. This was actually released the same year as Rebecca, so you can see why it's not as popular (Rebecca won best pic, btw). A reporter has an exclusive scoop in regards to the assassination of an important international figure. This is either Hitch's last English film before coming to the states or his second US film. It's really good either way.
Port of Shadows-French Criterion! From what I recall, this was a story about a guy who's on the run and falls in love with a girl before he can escape onto a ship. I really don't recall much about this movie, but I do remember thinking it was decent. Also, there's a cool "shady character" hideout.
Fury-Fritz Lang's first US film! This is another entry in the Controversial film series that was recently released. Spencer Tracy plays a man who is wrongly accused of murder or some such bad crime and a mob burns down the jail where he's being held. He goes off and hides and tries to get the members of the mob to face the death penalty through his friends. This was the first real look at mob revenge and things of that nature. Good piece of movie.
Steamboat Bill, Jr.-Buster Keaton is friggin' hilarious! This is one of my favorite Keaton films (right up there with The General). Keaton plays the son of a steamboat captain. He definitely does not live up to his father's expectations, and there is literally a storm a-brewing. Can he save the day? Whether he does or doesn't, what happens is bound to be (and is very much so) hilarious.
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town-another catch on TCM! Also on AFI's top 100 laughs list. Gary Cooper plays Longfellow Deeds who inherits a bunch of money and doesn't fall into the rich person mentality. So friggin' superior to the uber-crappy remake starring Adam Sandler. If you're going to watch one of them, make it this one...I beg of you.
Shall We Dance-Astaire and Rogers, not JLo and Richard Gere! A pretty good little flick. Astaire is a famous Russian ballet dancer who's experimenting in tap (it sounds odd, I know) who falls for a Broadway dancer. See it for the Gershwin songs if for nothing else (which goes for all of the Astaire Rogers films more or less). Though this one is pretty funny.
Family Guy's Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story-it's a Family Guy movie! Though I was really looking forward to this, I've gotta say I was disappointed. There are some funny moments, but it seems like more misses than hits. At times, it actually seemed like the movie should have been about 10 minutes shorter. I guess the perfect length is approximately 22 minutes per episode. Anyway, this movie is about Stewie going into the future and seeing that he's a loser and trying to change that. In summary, time-travel Stewie. It's okay, but I'd advise renting this instead of buying to see how well you like it.
That's enough for part 1 of movie reviews. We'll pick it back up soon with The Warriors. For now, I'm gonna finish this episode of Room Raiders (it's innuendo-packed!). Have a good one.