Wow, it's been a while.
So, as the sole anonymous poster mentioned in response to my last post-I am still alive with all fingers intact...for now. Um...skiing was fun. I went down every slope (even the black diamond trick park). That makes me sound really good, but I would only go through it and go off of a jump. So other stuff has happened since then as well. But it's been like a month, so I can't exactly recall the things that took place. In looking at my last non-fret post, I see that I was in the midst of a massive movie review posting. Well since then, my list of films viewed yet unreviewed has grown rather quickly. So, I guess I'll go ahead and see how far I can get before I feel the need to stop. Here goes.
The Warriors (director's cut)-cool 70's movie! I wasn't expecting a lot from this film. But my brother had been singing its praises for a few months before he got it for Christmas, thus allowing me to see it. I honestly liked it a lot more than I thought I would. It's not exactly Citizen Kane, but if you're looking for a cool, enjoyable, not at all serious/important film, then this should suffice.
Hiroshima, Mon Amour-"More like Hiroshima, Mon A-bore!" (one of James' STL people)! And that's pretty apt. It starts off okay. A French actress falls in love with a Japanese man in Hiroshima after the war. At first it's a conflict of whether they should stay together. But at about the halfway point, it becomes this crazy (and not in a good way), incoherent mess of something to do with a basement. I had stopped caring about an hour into the movie. It's a Criterion, but not one that I particularly recommend.
The Chonicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe-The Chronic-what?!-cles of Narnia! This movie's alright. It's a fantastic allegory for Christ; however, it didn't really grab me. The only one of the kids I seemed to care about was the younger boy (all the others seemed one-dimensional). I'm sure this is not so in the book; but in the movie, it's not good. Also, my brother and I both got a little pedophelia/bestiality vibe from the goat-man towards the youngest girl (and we came up with that theory seperately, so something about those scenes wasn't right). It's decent overall.
The Jerk-I had never seen this all the way through before! And, oh, what a mistake that was (to have gone this long without seeing the whole thing). This movie is very, very funny. The can-shooting scene is fantastic and Steve Martin had me cracking up more or less during the entire film. If you haven't seen it, you probably should.
The Ecstacy of the Angels-crappy Japanese movie! I figured my Japanese film in translation class would give me a special insight that would let me enjoy every Japanese film ever made. Unfortunately, if the movie's bad, knowing stuff about the history of Japanese cinema is not going to make it any better. Such is the case with this movie. Another fairly incoherent movie. Something about a gang wanting to steal weapons. Then a faction of the gang turning on everyone else and killing people. No clue. If possible, avoid this movie.
Yes-That's really pretty ridiculous! Going into this movie, the only thing I knew about it was that it was on Ebert's top 10 list for the year. About ten minutes in, I realized that everything was written so that it rhymes at some point. James later told me it was written entirely in iambic pentameter (so some form of snooty writing like that). I respected it a fair amount on its own, but knowing that bumps it up to a whole new level. It's definitely worth checking out.
My Summer of Love-You're weak, Irish! It's hard to summarize this film accurately. Two girls spend the summer together. One is strong-willed and vidictive and the other follows her around and tries to gain her approval. I should mention that the latter more or less falls in love with the former. Through in Paddy Considine as a new Christian convert who gets tested by the stronger while trying to look out for the weaker (who's also his sister). I really liked this movie a lot while James thought it was overrated, so decide based on that I suppose.
A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies-Wow a thorough summary of the history of American cinema! One of the best things about this doc is that I've discovered new movies which I need to get around to watching (Bigger than Life and Duel in the Sun comes to mind). He covers different genres, techniques, and a whole bunch of other things. This is pretty much a fantastic time for a cinephile. However, it's about three hours so casual film watchers beware (but you'd still probably enjoy it, too).
The Beaver Trilogy-Wow, interesting guy! This is a story told three different ways. The first is shot on video and is of the actual guy/event (a guy impersonates Olivia Newton John (I think) and enters a talent show and his small town is incredibly freaked out by it). The second is a recreation of the event shot on video starring Sean Penn (before he got big). The third part is a recreation of the event shot on film starring Crispin Glover and it's got more to the story (plus it's very 80s). Very interesting set of short films combined into a movie.
A Nous la Liberte-Early silent, French comedy! This is a pretty darn funny movie directed by Rene Clair. It's also interesting to note that they later sued someone regarding Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times for allegedly ripping them off. I can see where they think that, but it's pretty much only one scene. It's also a Criterion, so I'd recommend it. It's rather enjoyable.
Opening Night-Finished the Cassavetes box set! If I've learned anything from the John cassavetes box set, it's that he's a darn fine director. This is the story of an actress who is battling her younger self while trying to get a good grip on her new role. It's hard to explain, but it's a very good movie. Cameo by Peter Bogdanovich, too.
Pioneers in Ingolstadt-probably my favorite Fassbinder film! I've seen the BRD trilogy (which comes close if not equal to this film), but nothing else I've seen from him compares to this film. The story follows several main characters who go about their lives in Germany. There was also one shot that's very similar to a shot in Godard's Contempt (a long take where the camera pans back and forth between two conversing characters). This movie was very enjoyable.
Le Bonheur-Agnes Varda film that I hadn't heard of! Still working on the French New Wave auteurs, I discovered this film in the MSU library. It's about a guy who is married with children and very happy, but he also wants a girlfriend. It's pretty much a look at how much love someone can feasibly have. And interestingly, the man seems to legitimately love both women. This is on a pretty even par with Cleo from 5 to 7 (also by Varda).
Top Hat-Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers! With few exceptions (one of which I'll discuss later), when you have Astaire and Rogers together in a film, it's going to be enjoyable. This fits that pattern. Astaire is a dancer (obviously) who awakens a girl (Rogers) sleeping in a room below him in a hotel. He likes her, she dislikes him (initially). There's also mistaken identity thrown into the mix. Good times.
The Red Badge of Courage-Oh, how this movie bored me! John Huston directed this which is really too bad. I love The Maltese Falcon, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and Key Largo. However, I did not find this enjoyable. My theory is that I just don't like the story very much. I'm gonna go ahead and not recommend this movie.
Still a bunch of movies that need reviewing, but I need to take a shower and get some sleep. Coming up next is a bunch of Harold Lloyd films, so that should be fun....Battle of the Sexes coming up on Friday, so that will probably get on here eventually. Until then, have a good one.
The Warriors (director's cut)-cool 70's movie! I wasn't expecting a lot from this film. But my brother had been singing its praises for a few months before he got it for Christmas, thus allowing me to see it. I honestly liked it a lot more than I thought I would. It's not exactly Citizen Kane, but if you're looking for a cool, enjoyable, not at all serious/important film, then this should suffice.
Hiroshima, Mon Amour-"More like Hiroshima, Mon A-bore!" (one of James' STL people)! And that's pretty apt. It starts off okay. A French actress falls in love with a Japanese man in Hiroshima after the war. At first it's a conflict of whether they should stay together. But at about the halfway point, it becomes this crazy (and not in a good way), incoherent mess of something to do with a basement. I had stopped caring about an hour into the movie. It's a Criterion, but not one that I particularly recommend.
The Chonicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe-The Chronic-what?!-cles of Narnia! This movie's alright. It's a fantastic allegory for Christ; however, it didn't really grab me. The only one of the kids I seemed to care about was the younger boy (all the others seemed one-dimensional). I'm sure this is not so in the book; but in the movie, it's not good. Also, my brother and I both got a little pedophelia/bestiality vibe from the goat-man towards the youngest girl (and we came up with that theory seperately, so something about those scenes wasn't right). It's decent overall.
The Jerk-I had never seen this all the way through before! And, oh, what a mistake that was (to have gone this long without seeing the whole thing). This movie is very, very funny. The can-shooting scene is fantastic and Steve Martin had me cracking up more or less during the entire film. If you haven't seen it, you probably should.
The Ecstacy of the Angels-crappy Japanese movie! I figured my Japanese film in translation class would give me a special insight that would let me enjoy every Japanese film ever made. Unfortunately, if the movie's bad, knowing stuff about the history of Japanese cinema is not going to make it any better. Such is the case with this movie. Another fairly incoherent movie. Something about a gang wanting to steal weapons. Then a faction of the gang turning on everyone else and killing people. No clue. If possible, avoid this movie.
Yes-That's really pretty ridiculous! Going into this movie, the only thing I knew about it was that it was on Ebert's top 10 list for the year. About ten minutes in, I realized that everything was written so that it rhymes at some point. James later told me it was written entirely in iambic pentameter (so some form of snooty writing like that). I respected it a fair amount on its own, but knowing that bumps it up to a whole new level. It's definitely worth checking out.
My Summer of Love-You're weak, Irish! It's hard to summarize this film accurately. Two girls spend the summer together. One is strong-willed and vidictive and the other follows her around and tries to gain her approval. I should mention that the latter more or less falls in love with the former. Through in Paddy Considine as a new Christian convert who gets tested by the stronger while trying to look out for the weaker (who's also his sister). I really liked this movie a lot while James thought it was overrated, so decide based on that I suppose.
A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies-Wow a thorough summary of the history of American cinema! One of the best things about this doc is that I've discovered new movies which I need to get around to watching (Bigger than Life and Duel in the Sun comes to mind). He covers different genres, techniques, and a whole bunch of other things. This is pretty much a fantastic time for a cinephile. However, it's about three hours so casual film watchers beware (but you'd still probably enjoy it, too).
The Beaver Trilogy-Wow, interesting guy! This is a story told three different ways. The first is shot on video and is of the actual guy/event (a guy impersonates Olivia Newton John (I think) and enters a talent show and his small town is incredibly freaked out by it). The second is a recreation of the event shot on video starring Sean Penn (before he got big). The third part is a recreation of the event shot on film starring Crispin Glover and it's got more to the story (plus it's very 80s). Very interesting set of short films combined into a movie.
A Nous la Liberte-Early silent, French comedy! This is a pretty darn funny movie directed by Rene Clair. It's also interesting to note that they later sued someone regarding Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times for allegedly ripping them off. I can see where they think that, but it's pretty much only one scene. It's also a Criterion, so I'd recommend it. It's rather enjoyable.
Opening Night-Finished the Cassavetes box set! If I've learned anything from the John cassavetes box set, it's that he's a darn fine director. This is the story of an actress who is battling her younger self while trying to get a good grip on her new role. It's hard to explain, but it's a very good movie. Cameo by Peter Bogdanovich, too.
Pioneers in Ingolstadt-probably my favorite Fassbinder film! I've seen the BRD trilogy (which comes close if not equal to this film), but nothing else I've seen from him compares to this film. The story follows several main characters who go about their lives in Germany. There was also one shot that's very similar to a shot in Godard's Contempt (a long take where the camera pans back and forth between two conversing characters). This movie was very enjoyable.
Le Bonheur-Agnes Varda film that I hadn't heard of! Still working on the French New Wave auteurs, I discovered this film in the MSU library. It's about a guy who is married with children and very happy, but he also wants a girlfriend. It's pretty much a look at how much love someone can feasibly have. And interestingly, the man seems to legitimately love both women. This is on a pretty even par with Cleo from 5 to 7 (also by Varda).
Top Hat-Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers! With few exceptions (one of which I'll discuss later), when you have Astaire and Rogers together in a film, it's going to be enjoyable. This fits that pattern. Astaire is a dancer (obviously) who awakens a girl (Rogers) sleeping in a room below him in a hotel. He likes her, she dislikes him (initially). There's also mistaken identity thrown into the mix. Good times.
The Red Badge of Courage-Oh, how this movie bored me! John Huston directed this which is really too bad. I love The Maltese Falcon, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and Key Largo. However, I did not find this enjoyable. My theory is that I just don't like the story very much. I'm gonna go ahead and not recommend this movie.
Still a bunch of movies that need reviewing, but I need to take a shower and get some sleep. Coming up next is a bunch of Harold Lloyd films, so that should be fun....Battle of the Sexes coming up on Friday, so that will probably get on here eventually. Until then, have a good one.