In this thread, I will watch at least one movie every day.

[Spun Lepton]

The Virgin Suicides (Sofia Coppola, 1999)

An excellent film detailing the gap between teenage girls and teenage boys, both inscrutable and very mysterious to each other. Coppola flexes her stylistic muscles with her debut, Malickian both in its scattered nature and in its gorgeous cinematography, which finds beautiful glimpses of life in an average suburbian neighborhood.

**** or 9.0

Not to mention the wonderfully dry, dark sense of humor.

[StanleyK]

Not to mention the wonderfully dry, dark sense of humor.

Definitely; I think it actually strengthens the humanity. Funniest bit was Dominic Palazzolo.

"I LOVE HER!"

[StanleyK]

03/04/2010 - It Rains on Our Love (Ingmar Bergman, 1946)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/Detregnarp%C3%A5v%C3%A5rk%C3%A 4rlek.jpg

An early and mostly unimpressive Bergman.

**½ or 6.0

On the side:

Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978)

Despite being very well-shot, edited and scored, I don't think I'll ever have much appreciation for the very dull roughly 80% of this movie, which is chock-full of scenes where Michael SUDDENLY DISAPPEARS OOH SPOOKY! or Doctor Loomis going on and on about how he is PURE EVIL and MUST BE STOPPED! Not to mention its punishment of ridiculously sanitized sex with death, while the pure and virginal heroine survives- utter bullshit. The unsettling and subtextually richer finale ultimately redeems it into an overall good movie, but I think Halloween is definitely undeserving of its status as a classic.

**½ or 6.0

The Paleface (Buster Keaton, 1922)

Despite having every native american cliché on the book, I don't see this film as being racist. Buster clearly sees everyone as his equal, so his confusion when he's attacked is genuine. It sort of works as a sad reminder that no matter how well-intentioned people are, complete racial harmony will probably never exist.

*** or 7.0

Mad Max (George Miller, 1979)

This movie's low budget, the likely source of its poor editing and over-the-top score, makes for some truly embarrassing scenes (although none as embarrassing as Max's quality time with his family, those mostly a problem of dialogue); however, its independent roots also mean that it can get away with being really brutal and nasty, escalating violence which culminates in a pretty disturbing finale. Moral in its amoralness, Mad Max concludes by lamenting all the blood that has been spilled.

*** or 7.5

[StanleyK]

The Secret of Their Eyes (Juan José Campanella, 2009)

http://momento24.com/en/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/el-secreto-de-sus-ojos_grande.jpg

For a while, it looked as if Campanella has finally grown up and made his first mature film; but no, he has to go and shoot himself in the foot with the same misguided sentimentalism of Son of the Bride and Luna de Avellaneda, ending with a movie that talks about heavy topics like revenge and loss with the emotional maturity of a teenager. At least The Secret of Their Eyes is a marginal improvement in that his direction is more assured and effective.

** or 5.5

On the side:

Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (Wallace McCutcheon & Edwin S. Porter, 1906)

Little more than a special effects reel, nevertheless said effects are incredibly imaginative and impressive.

**½ or 6.5

[D_Davis]

I really like First Contact - it's a genuinely good SF film.

I despise The Virgin Suicides - one of my least favorite films. Although I do love the soundtrack, which is one of my favorite original soundtracks. I like how that happened.

[StanleyK]

I really like First Contact - it's a genuinely good SF film.

I despise The Virgin Suicides - one of my least favorite films. Although I do love the soundtrack, which is one of my favorite original soundtracks. I like how that happened.

Least favorite? What do you dislike so much about it?

[StanleyK]

05/04/2010 - Halloween (Rob Zombie, 2007)

http://www.best-horror-movies.com/image-files/halloween-2007-horror-movie-poster.jpg

Easily as well-made and scary, and dare I say more entertaining than the original (it's actually similar in that both have a boring set-up, but an amazing payoff); unfortunately, it's not quite as smart a movie. If in Carpenter's movie sex is punished with murder, here sex is murder, both the outlet of sick individuals to carry out their perversions. Zombie continues to grow as a filmmaker (despite the ludicrous characters and dialogue, the climax of sustained horror is remarkably effective), but thematically he regressed to his awful debut; I hope Halloween II is the Devil's Rejects to this movie's House of 1000 Corpses.

** or 5.0

On the side:

Moscow Clad in Snow (Joseph-Louis Mundwiller, 1908)

Revolutionary propaganda disguised as a travel brochure, it works on both levels because it's very subtle about showing the czarist government, and it's gorgeous to look at.

**** or 9.0

[StanleyK]

06/04/2010 - Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow, 1987)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_ec_bXQZWE2E/SlQnt9jtAlI/AAAAAAAAEEc/rgJl14mOh98/s400/near_dark_xlg.jpg

I know it sounds ridiculous, but this movie is too dark- by which I mean, the nighttime photography is so poor that I could barely tell what was happening. Indoor and daytime scenes were mostly very entertaining, especially the bar scene, but overall I didn't feel Near Dark has anything particularly interesting or fresh to say about vampires.

**½ or 6.0



07/04/2010 - Clerks (Kevin Smith, 1994)

http://images.marketworks.com/hi/50/49711/Smallmo0026b.jpg

I think claims that Smith is a styleless director are wrong- his is a minimalist, naturalistic style, capturing snippets of reality as it happens in subdued long takes without much flair, akin to Herzog. The problem is that the 'reality' Smith chooses to capture is a day in the life of a couple of uninteresting douchebags, who are actually portrayed as average dudes rather than the sociopaths they are. It's a shame, because some moments in this film are pretty fascinating, like some customer interactions or the interludes with Jay and Silent Bob.

** or 5.0



08/04/2010 - The Man without a Face (Mel Gibson, 1993)

http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/7a/Man_without_a_face_movie_poste r.jpg/200px-Man_without_a_face_movie_poste r.jpg

Despite taking some ridiculous shortcuts for melodrama, the strong performances by Gibson and Stahl make this an effectively moving film, and Gibson's debut direction is remarkably solid.

**½ or 6.5

On the side:

Cops (Edward F. Cline & Buster Keaton, 1922)

It takes a while to get going, but once the titular cops get involved we get Buster's best sequence yet, eight minutes of inventive, physycally amazing and thematically loaded slapstick comedy.

***½ or 8.5

[StanleyK]

09/04/2010 - Boyz N the Hood (John Singleton, 1991)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_dQVuEa3en7I/SulN6EWPh5I/AAAAAAAAHMc/C5XNfQBCpjg/s400/Boyz_n_the_hood_poster.jpg

For what's supposed to be a raw, provocative film, this has its share of predictable and hokey plot turns; its message of unity is very well-handled, but two years later Menace II Society would deal similar topics with stronger filmmaking. Surprisingly, the best part about Boyz N the Hood were Cuba Gooding Jr. and Ice Cube, whose excellent performances they sadly never achieved again.

*** or 7.5

[StanleyK]

10/04/2010 - Star Trek: Insurrection (Jonathan Frakes, 1998)

http://dreamers.com/indices/imagenes/peliculas.4303.IMAGEN1.jpg

Probably the lamest comic relief in the series, which really is saying something. An uninteresting plot even by Star Trek standards and lacking a solid thematic backbone, Insurrection is watchable only because of the action, a meager reason to watch a movie.

* or 3.0

On the side:

Titanic (James Cameron, 1997)

Despite the extremely weak dialogue, Titanic's screenplay is actually pretty brilliant, a subtle celebration of the power of art with a female protagonist easily as strong as Ripley or Sarah Connor. Underrated in its intelligence, Titanic is also fantastic entertainment, with a suitably epic feel, and a showcase of Cameron's visual proficiency; and call me a sucker, but I think My Heart Will Go On is a great song.

***½ or 8.5

James Cameron:

Piranha II: The Spawning (1981) - ½* (1.5)
The Terminator (1984) - ***½ (8.0)
Aliens (1986) - **** (9.0)
The Abyss (1989) - ** (5.0)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - **** (10)
True Lies (1994) - * (3.0)
Titanic (1997) - ***½ (8.5)
Ghosts of the Abyss (2003) - * (2.5)
Aliens of the Deep (2005) - *½ (3.5)
Avatar (2009) - ** (5.5)

[kuehnepips]

06/04/2010 - Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow, 1987)

I know it sounds ridiculous, but this movie is too dark- by which I mean, the nighttime photography is so poor that I could barely tell what was happening.




I must have the same copy of this film.

[Spaceman Spiff]

and call me a sucker, but I think My Heart Will Go On is a great song.

Heh. Sucker.

[StanleyK]

I must have the same copy of this film.

I assume it was shot as day-for-night, in which case it's unprobable any copy of it would look good.


Heh. Sucker.

Seriously, I normally dislike James Horner, but here even he is great; that tune is so damn catchy.

[StanleyK]

Turns out if I have no idea what to write about a movie one day, waiting three days isn't going to help.

11/04/2010 - In the Company of Men (Neil LaBute, 1997)

http://static.omdb.si/posters/active/160640.jpg

Amazing character study about misogyny; Aaron Eckhart is fantastic.

**** or 9.0

On the side:

The Eclipse: Courtship of the Sun and Moon (Georges Méliès, 1907)

Subversively great.

**** or 9.0

The Road Warrior (George Miller, 1981)

I'm a bit disappointed; I thought this would be better than the first Mad Max, but it's merely just as good. That makes it a very fine film, an improvement in action and screenwriting, however in setting it in a deeper post-apocalyptic world, it seems to lose some of the edge and depth of the original.

*** or 7.5

My Wife's Relations (Buster Keaton, 1922)

Very funny.

***½ or 8.0



12/04/2010 - A Ship Bound for India (Ingmar Bergman, 1947)

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51QwxX-wxfL.jpg

At fault only for occasionally over-expositing its themes and wrapping up the ending a little too nicely, A Ship Bound for India is Bergman's first great film, a devastating exploration of mental illness and parental pressure helped along by some very fine performances.

***½ or 8.5

13/04/2010 - Once Upon a Time in Mexico (Robert Rodriguez, 2003)

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/153/421436~Once-Upon-a-Time-in-Mexico-Posters.jpg

Lame; on his own, Rodriguez isn't half the filmmaker or pop culture commentator that his buddy Tarantino is.

*½ or 4.0

14/04/2010 - Mallrats (Kevin Smith, 1995)

http://www.cyber-cinema.com/gallery/Mallrats.jpg

Once again, Jay and Silent Bob are the best part of an otherwise immature and misogynistic film; things start to pick up towards the end, but it remains mostly unfunny.

*½ or 3.5

On the side:

Return to Reason (Man Ray, 1923)

Nice experimental film on the vein of Brakhage.

*** or 7.0

[B-side]

http://static.omdb.si/posters/active/160640.jpg

Amazing character study about misogyny; Aaron Eckhart is fantastic.

**** or 9.0

Eckhart will likely never top his performance here.


Return to Reason (Man Ray, 1923)

Nice experimental film on the vein of Brakhage.

*** or 7.0

Emak-Bakia is where it's at.:)

[StanleyK]

Eckhart will likely never top his performance here.

Likely; his always present ear-to-ear smile is a haunting image.


Emak-Bakia is where it's at.:)

I'm making it my next viewing of his.

[StanleyK]

15/04/2010 - Bananas (Woody Allen, 1971)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2111/1747291270_84f60ed064.jpg

Everything that sucks about early Allen (random, nonsensical gags, obvious and weak political satire, creepy obsession with Woody Allen having sex) rolled up into one painfully boring and unfunny comedy, by far his worst that I've seen.

½* or 2.0

On the side:

Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)

In light of how overly clean and sanitized the prequel trilogy is, it's refreshing to see that once Lucas could write compellingly flawed characters; in fact, in this movie the good guys are defined by their humanity, as they're contrasted with a metallic villain and his faceless minions. A very solid action movie, what ultimately brings Star Wars to its classic status is John Williams' iconic score and the imaginative production design.

***½ or 8.0

The Blacksmith (Buster Keaton & Malcolm St. Clair, 1922)

Not very funny and mostly uneventful, basically a series of Chekov's Guns being set up to a short climax which underuses Buster's talent.

** or 5.5

[Qrazy]

15/04/2010 - Bananas (Woody Allen, 1971)

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2111/1747291270_84f60ed064.jpg

Everything that sucks about early Allen (random, nonsensical gags, obvious and weak political satire, creepy obsession with Woody Allen having sex) rolled up into one painfully boring and unfunny comedy, by far his worst that I've seen.

½* or 2.0


By far his funniest film.

[Spaceman Spiff]

I wouldn't say his funniest, but I do indeed like a good deal. I actually kinda miss zany Allen. He should do something like that again before he goes, I think.

[StanleyK]

By far his funniest film.

The existence of Annie Hall invalidates this statement.


I wouldn't say his funniest, but I do indeed like a good deal. I actually kinda miss zany Allen. He should do something like that again before he goes, I think.

I hate zany Allen; it could just be that I hate this kind of comedy where nothing makes much sense and randomness is prevalent, like Airplane or The Emperor's New Groove.

[StanleyK]

16/04/2010 - Distant Voices, Still Lives (Terence Davies, 1988)

http://www.calgarycinema.org/content/images/distant-voices-still-lives-1.jpg

At first the music was really irritating, but then I realized how all the characters are unlikeable pricks and that maybe there was a point being made in the songs being so crappy; I didn't understand this movie but it did fascinate me.

***½ or 8.0

[transmogrifier]

I hate zany Allen; it could just be that I hate this kind of comedy where nothing makes much sense and randomness is prevalent, like Airplane or The Emperor's New Groove.

Bloody hell. You hate funny.

[Qrazy]

The existence of Annie Hall invalidates this statement.


I don't find Annie Hall all that funny in a lolz kind of way. It is definitely one of his best films though, I agree with you there.

[Boner M]

Bloody hell. You hate funny.
For real. Hating Airplane is just... I have no words.

[Winston*]

Do you hate Monty Python also, StanleyK?

[soitgoes...]

Do you hate Monty Python also, Brightside?
It's StanleyK.

[Winston*]

It's StanleyK.

Oops.

[Melville]

I don't like zany Allen, Airplane, The Emperor's New Groove, or Monty Python. And I don't think Annie Hall is funny. I win!

[Spinal]

I don't like zany Allen, Airplane, The Emperor's New Groove, or Monty Python. And I don't think Annie Hall is funny. I win!

How do you feel about ice cream, puppies and the concept of joy?

[Melville]

How do you feel about ice cream, puppies and the concept of joy?
Ice cream is good, puppies are irritating, joy is a myth.

[transmogrifier]

Ice cream is good, puppies are irritating, joy is a myth.

Surprised about the ice-cream.

[StanleyK]

Bloody hell. You hate funny.

Nope, here's some movies that are actually funny and I love:

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
The Big Lebowksi
The Blues Brothers
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Duck Amuck
Last Action Hero
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Raising Arizona
Shaun of the Dead
Who Framed Roger Rabbit


I don't find Annie Hall all that funny in a lolz kind of way. It is definitely one of his best films though, I agree with you there.

Annie Hall has plenty of laugh-out-loud jokes, I'd say it's definitely a romantic comedy- my favorite one, in fact.


For real. Hating Airplane is just... I have no words.

Maybe 'hate' is too strong a word; I guess it is kind of funny, but the humor carries no weight behind it, no substance or purpose; I really hate applying the word 'pointless' to a film, but I can't think of a better one for Airplane.


Do you hate Monty Python also, StanleyK?

I need to rewatch their films; from what I remember, Holy Grail is funny but inconsequential, Life of Brian is a masterpiece, and The Meaning of Life is dreadful.


I don't like zany Allen, Airplane, The Emperor's New Groove, or Monty Python. And I don't think Annie Hall is funny. I win!


Ice cream is good, puppies are irritating, joy is a myth.

I agree with all but two things; Annie Hall, and joy.

[StanleyK]

17/04/2010 - Music in Darkness (Ingmar Bergman, 1948)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5c/Music_in_Darkness.jpg/200px-Music_in_Darkness.jpg

I appreciate its equation of music (art) with love; apart from that, it's a sweet enough but not very convincing film, with Bergman reaching for drama through some disappointingly ridiculous devices.

**½ or 6.5

On the side:

United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006)

With no developed characters, a very brief prologue and no aftermath, United 93 shows only the present, detailing the confusion and distress in the immediacy of a tragedy. The most significant bit is when the praying terrorists are intercut with the praying passengers, both plunging to their deaths and clinging to the only hope they have for some kind of future.

**** or 9.5

[Milky Joe]

United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006)

With no developed characters, a very brief prologue and no aftermath, United 93 shows only the present, detailing the confusion and distress in the immediacy of a tragedy. The most significant bit is when the praying terrorists are intercut with the praying passengers, both plunging to their deaths and clinging to the only hope they have for some kind of future.

**** or 9.5

Oy vey.

[transmogrifier]

The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
The Big Lebowksi
The Blues Brothers
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Duck Amuck
Last Action Hero
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
Raising Arizona
Shaun of the Dead
Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

haven't seen it
overrated
bloated
great, but not particularly funny
don't really remember it
underrated
clever, but not particularly funny
hugely, monumentally overrated
good, moderately funny
good, don't recall the humour

[Boner M]

Maybe 'hate' is too strong a word; I guess it is kind of funny, but the humor carries no weight behind it, no substance or purpose; I really hate applying the word 'pointless' to a film, but I can't think of a better one for Airplane.
The humor carries great weight and purpose: to provoke laughter. Let your guard down, StanleyK!

[Sven]

The humor carries great weight and purpose: to provoke laughter. Let your guard down, StanleyK!

He just picked the wrong day to quit drinkin'.

[StanleyK]

Oy vey.

I guess you don't like United 93?


haven't seen it
overrated
bloated
great, but not particularly funny
don't really remember it
underrated
clever, but not particularly funny
hugely, monumentally overrated
good, moderately funny
good, don't recall the humour

Looks like we disagree mostly on the Coen brothers, who happen to be my favorite comedy directors; and hey, you like Last Action Hero. That's pretty cool.


The humor carries great weight and purpose: to provoke laughter. Let your guard down, StanleyK!

Yeah, but there's plenty of movies, like the ones I listed, that provoke not only laughter, but reflection, insight, and that satisfied feeling I get when I know I've just watched a great movie. Airplane is crucially lacking those things, and I'll never settle for less when I can have more.

[Adam]

Someone should start a thread where everybody argues about what's funny and what isn't funny

And at least United 93 is funnier than Airplane

[Boner M]

Someone should start a thread where everybody argues about what's funny and what isn't funny
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wASZadMGB24

[Spaceman Spiff]

I don't like zany Allen, Airplane, The Emperor's New Groove, or Monty Python. And I don't think Annie Hall is funny. I win!

http://www.ee.ryerson.ca/~elf/powerbook/images/hgtc.jpg

Why does it have to be zany? [end nasally Melville voice]

[StanleyK]

18/04/2010 - Old Joy (Kelly Reichardt, 2006)

http://biblioklept.files.wordpress.co m/2007/05/old-joy-poster.jpg

Interesting.

***½ or 8.5

Emak-Bakia (Man Ray, 1926)

Where Return to Reason is sharp and impactful, Emak-Bakia is mellow and pleasant; the fact that it seems to go on forever actually works to its favor, as it gives the imagery time to wash over and relax. This way, the final image of the woman with the painted eyes is a real 'woah' moment, and assures me that this Ray dude is on to something.

**** or 10



19/04/2010 - Hard Eight (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1996)

http://halmasonberg.files.wordpress.c om/2008/06/hard-eight-1997-poster.jpg

Great.

***½ or 8.5

Paul Thomas Anderson:

Hard Eight (1996) - ***½ (8.5)
Boogie Nights (1997) - **** (10)
Magnolia (1999) - **** (10)
Punch-Drunk Love (2002) - **** (10)
There Will be Blood (2007) - **** (10)



20/04/2010 - Star Trek: Nemesis (Stuart Baird, 2002)

http://www.thecinemasource.com/moviesdb/images/NemesisPoster-300.jpg

Lame.

* or 3.0

[StanleyK]

21/04/2010 - Your Friends & Neighbors (Neil LaBute, 1998)

http://www.moviegoods.com/Assets/product_images/1010/104576.1010.A.jpg

LaBute ramps up the misanthropy from his debut film, but in spreading it around more characters than a central one to really hate it suffers, as none of the actors here come close to matching Aaron Eckhart's skin-crawling creep. They all do a great job, of course, and Your Friends & Neighbors is still an intelligent character study.

***½ or 8.0



22/04/2010 - Fucking Åmål (Lukas Moodysson, 1998)

http://f-amal.weisenbacher.com/fapicx/plakat01.jpg

A good example of a film improved by knowledge of the director's other films, if in this case backwards; Lilya 4-Ever was soul-crushingly depressing, which made me really worried for this film's main couple and really content with its happy ending. Not a disgustingly sweet one either, as the final scene sets their relationship in perfectly mundane terms, real people with problems and so much more watchable for that.

**** or 9.5

On the side:

The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980)

Star Wars succeeded despite its broad story due to its warm sense of humanity, and of course its exceptional production design and score; Empire is straight-up an excellent movie, dealing with actual and maturity about topics such as family and identity, and taking the Force into an intriguing, metatextual direction.

**** or 9.0



23/04/2010 - Port of Call (Ingmar Bergman, 1948)

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews28/a%20early%20bergman%20eclipse% 20criterion/cov%20to%20port%20of%20call.jp g

Probably the worst Bergman I've seen, definitely the one with the worst scene- a fistfight so poorly edited that I honestly recalled Michael Bay. That's probably too harsh on an actually very short scene, I guess; overall the movie is merely okay, and elevated by an excellent performance from Nine-Christine Jönsson.

**½ or 6.0

[Derek]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wASZadMGB24

I miss WonderShowzen. :(

[B-side]

Emak-Bakia (Man Ray, 1926)

Where Return to Reason is sharp and impactful, Emak-Bakia is mellow and pleasant; the fact that it seems to go on forever actually works to its favor, as it gives the imagery time to wash over and relax. This way, the final image of the woman with the painted eyes is a real 'woah' moment, and assures me that this Ray dude is on to something.

**** or 10

Good man. You should read Melville's write-up on it. (http://melvillian.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/emak-bakia-man-ray-1926/)

[StanleyK]

Good man. You should read Melville's write-up on it. (http://melvillian.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/emak-bakia-man-ray-1926/)

Great write-up; makes me realize though, that although I had purpoted to do so earlier, I still can't seem to grasp much content on a first viewing. Plus my writing seems to have actually decreased in quality.

[StanleyK]

24/04/2010 - Happiness (Todd Solondz, 1998)

http://static.omdb.si/posters/active/140961.jpg

It's not like Welcome to the Dollhouse was exactly realistic, but here Solondz extrapolates the fucked-up factor of its characters into broad comedy, and it's just not nearly as effective. Mattarazzo was a strong anchor in WTTD, but Happiness is really just carried by its actors.

**½ or 6.0

On the side:

The Starfish (Man Ray, 1928)

Possibly even better than Emak-Bakia; Ray changes his style again, from the highly surreal to a still ethereal but more focused approach, and symbolism aplenty.

**** or 10

The Frozen North (Edward F. Cline & Buster Keaton, 1922)

Damn, Buster is a stone-cold asshole in this movie; he cheats on wife, holds up a saloon, murders people, and just plain goes around fucking everybody over. The closest he had come to painting himself in such a negative light was with The Play House, which this one isn't as funny at.

**½ or 6.5

[StanleyK]

25/04/2010 - Chasing Amy (Kevin Smith, 1997)

http://images.easyart.com/i/prints/rw/lg/2/4/Movie-Posters-Chasing-Amy-240487.jpg

Hey, Kevin Smith actually makes some good points in here; not about sexual orientation (boy, does he need to expand his narrow-ass worldview) but about relationships in general, and how ultimately the only thing that matters is the two people involved at that moment.

**½ or 6.0

On the side:

The Alphabet (David Lynch, 1968)

You know, I really don't think David Lynch is all that weird; aside from INLAND EMPIRE (and even that one made more sense on a second viewing), I find all of his films to be perfectly coherent, plot and theme-wise. Now this, this is some weird shit. Only thing I can tell is that from the very start, Lynch was a master of making really creepy, atmospheric horror.

**½ or 6.0

[StanleyK]

25/04/2010 - Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Michael Bay, 2009)

http://www.collider.com/wp-content/image-base/Movies/T/Transformers_2_Revenge/Posters/Transformers%20Revenge%20of%20 the%20Fallen%20movie%20poster% 20%282%29.jpg

It's probably useless and uninformative to list the many, many flaws in this movie, so I'll list one minor positive: the opening scene is actually entertaining, and it uses in medias res to good effect; also the transformation effects are still really cool. Unfortunately they get tiresome pretty quickly and the following 140 minutes are just interminable tedium.

ZERO or 0.5

Michael Bay:

Bad Boys (1995) - * (3.0)
The Rock (1996) - *½ (3.5)
Armageddon (1998) - ZERO (0.5)
Pearl Harbor (2001) - ½* (1.5)
Bad Boys II (2003) - *½ (4.0)
The Island (2005) - * (2.5)
Transformers (2007) - ½* (1.5)
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009) - ZERO (0.5)

On the side:

Barton Fink (Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, 1991)

The Coen brothers relish in tiny details, and they take this to the extreme here; a bell rings for a good minute; a suitcase thrown on a bed makes it shake; a fly buzzes, tormenting our writer's block-stricken protagonist. I'm not sure what it all means, but it makes for an incredibly tense film.

**** or 9.0

Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)

Watching Transformers 2 made me so miserable that I popped this in to lighten up, and it worked wonders; still holding up as my favorite action movie, Raiders is proof that genre movies need not be dumbed down for its audience, and can deal with engaging themes (career vs. love life, the relationship between God and myth) with intelligence and subtlety.

**** or 10

[StanleyK]

27/04/2010 - Blue Steel (Kathryn Bigelow, 1989)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9f-5QLXa7_Y/Sq__Ur3PikI/AAAAAAAADv4/HqtMFND3vk0/s400/Blog+Art+-+Blue+Steel.jpg

Pretty boring and mediocre thriller; it offers little insight into its main character or her situation, and it mostly just made me wish they'd shoot the damn guy already, seldom a desirable reaction.

*½ or 4.0



28/04/2010 - Prison (Ingmar Bergman, 1949)

http://b.imagehost.org/0803/43966143ok2.jpg

Bergman's first proper Bergman movie. He hadn't quite found his groove yet, but this is pretty good stuff.

*** or 7.5



29/04/2010 - Dogma (Kevin Smith, 1999)

http://thecia.com.au/reviews/d/images/dogma-poster-0.jpg

More than entertaining enough to sustain itself, unfortunately its content is a bunch of half-assed stoner philosophical rants. The worst part about the movie is definitely Linda Fiorentino's performance; no matter how many incredible and wondrous things are unveiled before her, she just reacts with heavy-lidded boredom and a snarky one-liner. It's like Smith is actually inviting the audience to laugh at his bullshit.

*½ or 4.0



30/04/2010 - Wendy and Lucy (Kelly Reichardt, 2008)

http://www.flmfree.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/wendy-and-lucy-movie-poster.jpg

Great.

***½ or 8.5

[StanleyK]

End of month balance:

Feature-Length: 30
Short Films: 14
Rewatches (FL): 10
Rewatches (SF): 0

Total Films: 54

Best Film: Fucking Åmål
Worst Film: Transformers 2
Most Disappointing: Happiness
Best Rewatch: The Empire Strikes Back
Best Performances: Aaron Eckhart (In the Company of Men); there's plenty of other great ones but they're all second-tier compared to him.

[StanleyK]

01/05/2010 - Bloody Sunday (Paul Greengrass, 2002)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_MwACklcy3xc/SMtYug5zPNI/AAAAAAAAAGo/YUs5-ODk9bs/s400/Bloody_Sunday_movie_poster.jpg

The constant fade-ins and fade-outs really murder the pacing of this film; with stronger editing, this could have been a masterpiece of escalating tension like United 93. Unfortunately, while an interesting movie, Bloody Sunday is completely ineffectual as a thriller.

**½ or 6.0

On the side:

Ballet Mécanique (Fernand Léger & Dudley Murphy, 1924)

Man Ray did the cinematography for this, and it shows: the movie looks great. Unfortunately, Ray's talent for weaving seemingly unrelated images into a cohesive whole is absent, and Ballet Mécanique ends up being really dull.

** or 4.5

[StanleyK]

02/05/2010 - Storytelling (Todd Solondz, 2001)

http://www.colesmithey.com/.a/6a00d8341c2b7953ef0120a5775f77 970c-250wi

Happiness faltered in letting the audience too much in on the joke, but Storytelling not only doesn't fall into that trap, it actually comments on the condescension often displayed in liberal films. Dealing with a myriad of topics (racism, teenage ignorance and aimlessness, sheltered suburbian life, thinly-veiled homophobia) with such a level of intelligence, Storytelling is a changelling work and Solondz's masterpiece.

**** or 10

On the side:

Interiors (Woody Allen, 1978)

Allen's first 'serious' movie isn't very accomplished. There's plenty of laughable dialogue and it just reeks of Bergman-lite.

**½ or 6.0

The Electric House (Edward F. Cline & Buster Keaton, 1922)

Low-tier Keaton.

** or 5.0

[StanleyK]

03/05/2010 - The Devil's Backbone (Guillermo del Toro, 2001)

http://www.geraldpeary.com/reviews/the/devils-backbone.jpg

Style over substance, with the drawback that the style often leads to some truly risible melodrama and failure to create a suspenseful atmosphere; the actual content, a juxtaposition of childhood with the awfulness of war (though mostly the awfulness of one evil guy), set to the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, is interesting but wasted, and would thankfully later provide the template for the very similar but much superior Pan's Labyrinth.

** or 5.5

On the side:

The Amputee (David Lynch, 1974)

I just don't know what the hell. I... I guess it's kind of funny how her stump keeps spurting blood and she doesn't notice?

ZERO or 1.0

Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren & Alexander Hammid, 1943)

This is more like it, surreal done well. I like the circular structure reflected in the mysterious figure always eluding the frame to the left; very visually rich, and the music not only compliments it but adds another layer of meaning with the presence of a foreign culture.

**** or 9.0

I Haven't Got a Hat (Friz Freleng, 1935)

Porky Pig's first appearance is the only remarkable thing here.

** or 5.0

[B-side]

Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren & Alexander Hammid, 1943)

This is more like it, surreal done well. I like the circular structure reflected in the mysterious figure always eluding the frame to the left; very visually rich, and the music not only compliments it but adds another layer of meaning with the presence of a foreign culture.

**** or 9.0

Maya Deren is a favorite of mine. Meshes is probably her masterpiece, but At Land gives it a run for its money.

[StanleyK]

Maya Deren is a favorite of mine. Meshes is probably her masterpiece, but At Land gives it a run for its money.

At Land will be my next Deren.

[StanleyK]

04/05/2010 - AVP: Alien vs. Predator (Paul W.S. Anderson, 2004)

http://politikana.com/images/large/872-avp-poster.jpg

I don't usually complain about franchise entries 'ruining' things, but this is exactly what AVP does: it takes two highly imaginative and thematically rich creatures and turns them into cannon fodder for a bad action movie.

½* or 2.0

On the side:

Star Trek (J.J. Abrams, 2009)

A lazy mess of clichés and poor plotting, Star Trek is made tolerable thanks to Abrams' direction, which is strangely engaging despite being confusing and a poor man's Spielberg.

** (4.5)

The Star Trek Franchise:

The Motion Picture (1979) - * (3.0)
The Wrath of Khan (1982) - *** (7.5)
The Search for Spock (1984) - *½ (3.5)
The Voyage Home (1986) - * (3.0)
The Final Frontier (1989) - * (3.0)
The Undiscovered Country (1991) - ** (5.5)
Generations (1994) - *½ (4.0)
First Contact (1996) - **½ (6.0)
Insurrection (1998) - * (3.0)
Nemesis (2002) - * (3.0)
Star Trek (2009) - ** (4.5)

Anémic Cinéma (Marcel Duchamp, 1926)

Man Ray's contribution is unnoticeable; nevertheless, it's an okay if too repetitive short.

**½ or 6.0

[Spinal]

The Star Trek Franchise:

The Motion Picture (1979) - * (3.0)
The Wrath of Khan (1982) - *** (7.5)
The Search for Spock (1984) - *½ (3.5)
The Voyage Home (1986) - * (3.0)
The Final Frontier (1989) - * (3.0)
The Undiscovered Country (1991) - ** (5.5)
Generations (1994) - *½ (4.0)
First Contact (1996) - **½ (6.0)
Insurrection (1998) - * (3.0)
Nemesis (2002) - * (3.0)
Star Trek (2009) - ** (4.5)


Well, I gotta admire your tenacity.

[StanleyK]

Well, I gotta admire your tenacity.

Completism'll do that to ya.

[StanleyK]

05/05/2010 - Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (Kevin Smith, 2001)

http://www.mediacircus.net/jasbsb____1.jpg

Kevin Smith knows that this movie is dumb; he's ashamed of it, in fact, but instead of actually trying to improve it, he falls back on the 'it's just a movie' defense and spends the whole running running time acknowledging that this shit sucks. But God forbid anybody else point this out! You know, I do believe Smith would actually hunt down and beat up his nay-sayers if he thought it would be viable. Self-loathing, and yet boasting a hypocritical holier-than-thou attitude, this isn't even at least entertaining like his previous films, combining depressingly juvenile low-brow humor with annoying winks at the audience; JaSBSB is two hours of Smith telling you how much his movie sucks, how he'd rather be doing something else, and what a big idiot you are for wasting your time with it.

ZERO or 0.0

On the side:

Porky's Duck Hunt (Tex Avery, 1937)

Despite a useless interlude with some drunken fish, this short is consistently very funny.

***½ or 8.0

[KK2.0]

The Secret of Their Eyes (Juan José Campanella, 2009)

For a while, it looked as if Campanella has finally grown up and made his first mature film; but no, he has to go and shoot himself in the foot with the same misguided sentimentalism of Son of the Bride and Luna de Avellaneda, ending with a movie that talks about heavy topics like revenge and loss with the emotional maturity of a teenager. At least The Secret of Their Eyes is a marginal improvement in that his direction is more assured and effective.

** or 5.5




Actually, there's a little meta-joke regarding the sentimentality: When the woman picks apart the train scene and mocks it. Up to that point, everything on the flashbacks were a recreation of Darin's book, and like the characters said themselves he wasn't a very good writer. That said, i though the film was truly great.

[StanleyK]

Actually, there's a little meta-joke regarding the sentimentality: When the woman picks apart the train scene and mocks it. Up to that point, everything on the flashbacks were a recreation of Darin's book, and like the characters said themselves he wasn't a very good writer. That said, i though the film was truly great.

She was trying to convince herself that the scene was trite, but really she wanted to have boarded the train; I don't think Campanella is self-aware enough for meta reflection.

[StanleyK]

06/05/2010 - Thirst (Ingmar Bergman, 1949)

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_qhk2zePMjGE/SKiw9BrUzXI/AAAAAAAACRo/weKBGIEey2s/s400/torst.jpg

Between Prison and this, I peg 1949 as the year when Bergman really got the hang of what he's great at.

***½ or 8.5

On the side:

Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (Chuck Jones, 1939)

The caveman is a really bland character, leaving Daffy little to play off of.

*½ or 4.0



07/05/2010 - Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (George Miller & George Ogilvie, 1985)

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/brainiac/1033069~Mad-Max-Beyond-Thunderdome-Soundtrack-Posters.jpg

Despite a huge brick of exposition dropped unceremoniously midway through this film, I found this to be the most entertaining, and also thematically engaging of the Mad Max trilogy.

***½ or 8.0

On the side:

At Land (Maya Deren, 1944)

Pretty great.

***½ or 8.5



08/05/2010 - The Spirit of the Beehive (VÃ*ctor Erice, 1973)

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3yidX0zYbZs/SYm7_z_SElI/AAAAAAAABzA/fWCqUQsAhpk/s400/Poster+-Spirit.jpg

It sucks when you watch a movie and as soon as it's over, you feel like you need to watch it again to get it. I appreciated the Malickian storytelling and there's obviously rich subtext to be mined from it, but for some reason I was mostly bored through it.

**½ or 6.0



09/05/2010 - Nurse Betty (Neil LaBute, 2000)

http://reneezellweger-tribute.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/nurse-betty-poster.jpg

An interesting departure for LaBute.

*** or 7.5

On the side:

The Hudsucker Proxy (Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, 1994)

There's plenty of things going round and round in this film, and the Coen brothers picked pretty much the best metaphor for time with the hula-hoop. A smarter film than I had initially given it credit for, The Hudsucker Proxy is a more than worthy entry in the brothers' near-spotless career.

**** or 9.0

[B-side]

At Land (Maya Deren, 1944)

Pretty great.

***½ or 8.5

moar?


08/05/2010 - The Spirit of the Beehive (VÃ*ctor Erice, 1973)

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_3yidX0zYbZs/SYm7_z_SElI/AAAAAAAABzA/fWCqUQsAhpk/s400/Poster+-Spirit.jpg

It sucks when you watch a movie and as soon as it's over, you feel like you need to watch it again to get it. I appreciated the Malickian storytelling and there's obviously rich subtext to be mined from it, but for some reason I was mostly bored through it.

**½ or 6.0

Doesn't a film have to be released after Malick first began "Malickian storytelling" before it can be dubbed as such?:D

[StanleyK]

moar?

I should watch moar films from her? Or I should provide moar insight?

If the former, definitely


Doesn't a film have to be released after Malick first began "Malickian storytelling" before it can be dubbed as such?:D

Malick is so good, his skills travel back in time and posthumously influence directors.

[StanleyK]

10/05/2010 - Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (David Lynch, 1992)

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_CZi05ZziBNU/SXPWH1WkVtI/AAAAAAAABeQ/EniK7V_joSI/s400/twin_peaks_fire_walk_with_me_v er1.jpg

Now this is the Lynch I like; let's face it, he's not a very versatile director. When outside of his comfort zone, like in The Straight Story or The Elephant Man, the end result is fine but in my opinion lacking, as if Lynch needed to throw in some weird shit that screams 'symbolism!' His movies live and die on the horrifying atmosphere he creates, and Twin Peaks, despite starting out as almost a comedy, sustains the horror quite expertly.

***½ or 8.0

On the side:

Daydreams (Edward F. Cline & Buster Keaton, 1922)

Buster takes the piss out of his loser character, and it's hilarious.

***½ or 8.0

I Love to Singa (Tex Avery, 1936)

The character designs are impressive; unfortunately, the short fails in its message of inclusiveness, as the family completely change their ways in order to accomodate their son.

**½ or 6.5

[B-side]

I should watch moar films from her? Or I should provide moar insight?

If the former, definitely

Both.


Malick is so good, his skills travel back in time and posthumously influence directors.

:D

[lovejuice]

07/05/2010 - Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (George Miller & George Ogilvie, 1985)

I only watched this movie once long time ago, but I had the end credit song stamp right in my head.

my Mad Max rating.

2 > 3 > 1

[BuffaloWilder]

I only watched this movie once long time ago, but I had the end credit song stamp right in my head.

my Mad Max rating.

2 > 3 > 1

This, but 2 and 3 are separate by like thiiiiiis much.

[Qrazy]

Completism'll do that to ya.

I'm the same way. Although I liked The Undiscovered Country much more than you did. FYI for your own sanity don't become a completionist with the Highlander series.

[lovejuice]

This, but 2 and 3 are separate by like thiiiiiis much.
in deed, i have a feeling i may now like beyond the thunderdome more than the road warrior.

[BuffaloWilder]

Well, they're going for different aims, I think - but, there are moments in Beyond Thunderdome that are just as striking and iconic as anything in The Road Warrior; the opening ten minutes, with that amazing tracking shot from miles up all the way down to the camel cart, the sequences with the children, or when Bartertown starts to fall to pieces. All great moments, among others.

[StanleyK]

Both.

Sometimes, especially with them crazy surrealist films, I'm stumped for commentary. I'll try harder with Ritual in Transfigured Time.


my Mad Max rating.

2 > 3 > 1


Well, they're going for different aims, I think - but, there are moments in Beyond Thunderdome that are just as striking and iconic as anything in The Road Warrior; the opening ten minutes, with that amazing tracking shot from miles up all the way down to the camel cart, the sequences with the children, or when Bartertown starts to fall to pieces. All great moments, among others.

1 is so different to 2 and 3 that it almost feels pointless to include it in the comparison; The Road Warrior kinda underwhelmed me, I don't really know why. I guess I don't feel it used its setting to its potential, and I don't find any of it to be as memorable as most people do. Thunderdome is easily the best for me.


I'm the same way. Although I liked The Undiscovered Country much more than you did. FYI for your own sanity don't become a completionist with the Highlander series.

Well I've never heard of the series, and a quick look at IMDB didn't pique my interest so I guess I'm safe.

[StanleyK]

11/05/2010 - Play Misty for Me (Clint Eastwood, 1971)

http://www.gazillionmovies.com/Movies/Review/DVD/Posters/Tickets/P/Images/PlayMistyForMe.jpg

Potential for a great study of stalker behavior is squandered in Eastwood's well-directed but ultimately generic debut.

** or 5.5

On the side:

A Study in Choreography for Camera (Maya Deren, 1945)

This certainly is a study in choreography; also there's a camera.

** or 5.0



12/05/2010 - District 9 (Neill Blomkamp, 2009)

http://www.horrorsociety.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/poster_district_nine_ver14.jpg

The racial politics, while functioning through blunt parallel, are very interesting (much more than, say, Avatar), and provide a solid backbone to the film; the action is exciting, but towards the end too exhausting.

*** or 7.5

On the side:

Signs (M. Night Shyamalan, 2002)

It wasn't Gibson's wife's death that made him lose his faith, it was the fact that she died spouting gibberish; in the finale, he regains the hope that things in life aren't meaningless, and it just so happens to be through his faith in God. I see now that I was way off on first viewing; Shyamalan isn't imposing His will or fate on the viewer, only using them as tools for his parable.

**** or 9.0

Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979)

Now I get why the ship is run by Mother; even a woman is helping the oppressive patriarchal system run, making it more complicated and more satisfying (in the film and thematically) for Ripley to overcome it.

**** or 9.0



13/05/2010 - Mighty Aphrodite (Woody Allen, 1995)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_0ZRnirp_1fQ/SrO71D5UyxI/AAAAAAAAC5o/luJpQwvaAQg/s320/Mighty_aphrodite_ver2.jpg

Not really upper-tier Allen, but this one has a great style and the lame jokes are heavily outnumbered by the funny ones.

*** or 7.0

On the side:

A Wild Hare (Tex Avery, 1940)

A more than worthy introduction to one of the most iconic comedic characters.

***½ or 8.5

[Raiders]

A Study in Choreography for Camera is fairly "meh" but Deren gets progressively more interesting in her study of dance and movement, culminating in the mesmerizing The Very Eye of Night.

[dreamdead]

A Study in Choreography for Camera is fairly "meh" but Deren gets progressively more interesting in her study of dance and movement, culminating in the mesmerizing The Very Eye of Night.

Weird. I thought that piece was really weak. Even at its short length, it felt monotonous. Could be one of those right wavelength kinda films. Ritual in Transfigured Time, on the other hand, fucking rocks.

[Raiders]

Weird. I thought that piece was really weak. Even at its short length, it felt monotonous. Could be one of those right wavelength kinda films. Ritual in Transfigured Time, on the other hand, fucking rocks.

To an extent I think they all feel a little monotonous, but I thought it was the most visually interesting of her studies and the score by her then-hubby (too lazy to look up the spelling of his name) was splendiferous.

[B-side]

I did an exploration of Deren's filmography on my blog ages ago. It's awful, but here's what I wrote on A Study in Choreography for Camera:


A Study in Choreography for Camera is a very short, but very interesting work. Deren adored dancing, and this film shows dancing as a transcendent action linking disparate worlds together via the graceful moves of Talley Beattey. Deren wrote, “The movement of the dancer creates a geography that never was. With a turn of the foot, he makes neighbors of distant places.” We first witness Deren rotate the camera beyond 360 degress, witnessing Beattey’s movements in each passing segment, finally happening upon his face rather close to the camera. He then stretches a foot out and proceeds to dance his way across various places, jumping from one to the other with no travel in between. The 2 mins end with Beattey spinning faster and faster in front of a statue until he seems to develop another face or two. Despite its length, A Study in Choreography for Camera is a poignant work speaking of Deren’s fascination with dance and its ability to cross cultural divides.

[StanleyK]

A Study in Choreography for Camera is fairly "meh" but Deren gets progressively more interesting in her study of dance and movement, culminating in the mesmerizing The Very Eye of Night.

Man, there's more dancing? That's not very promising, as I find the activity to be mostly dull.


I did an exploration of Deren's filmography on my blog ages ago. It's awful, but here's what I wrote on A Study in Choreography for Camera:

Awful? Nah, that's really good insight; the cultural divide thing did come to my mind in Meshes, I guess because of its oriental-sounding score.

[StanleyK]

14/05/2010 - Jersey Girl (Kevin Smith, 2004)

http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/153/826741~Jersey-Girl-Posters.jpg

Kevin Smith tries and fails spectacularly to grow up; his idea of what a mature decision is is just plain embarrassing (great job denying your child better education just to show up at one play, Ben Affleck guy; she'll probably forget it in two weeks), and the pop culture references and fart jokes feel more than ever like a sore thumb sticking out.

* or 3.0

On the side:

The Balloonatic (Edward F. Cline & Buster Keaton, 1923)

Eh... this one's just okay.

** or 5.5

[Raiders]

Man, there's more dancing? That's not very promising, as I find the activity to be mostly dull.

The study of dancing, ritual and motion is all that there is basically after her first two films. They're all worth watching, and the other three you haven't seen yet are all superior to the one you just watched. Not sure what you'll think, though.

[B-side]

Awful? Nah, that's really good insight; the cultural divide thing did come to my mind in Meshes, I guess because of its oriental-sounding score.

Heh. Thanks. I meant more the exploration as a whole. That particular segment isn't too bad.

[StanleyK]

The study of dancing, ritual and motion is all that there is basically after her first two films. They're all worth watching, and the other three you haven't seen yet are all superior to the one you just watched. Not sure what you'll think, though.

Well, the first of the three, as dreamdead put it, fucking rocks, so now I definitely have more faith.


Heh. Thanks. I meant more the exploration as a whole. That particular segment isn't too bad.

I also notice that your blog is called 'terrible blog'; why is that? You gotta think positive, man!

[StanleyK]

15/05/2010 - Cinderella (Clyde Geromini, Wilfred Jackson & Hamilton Luske, 1950)

http://static.omdb.si/posters/active/65166.jpg

This films rewards complacency and inaction, as Cinderella (a boring, personality-less protagonist) gets everything she wants (a boring, personality-less dude) through her deus-ex-machina Fairy Godmother; this, plus the unimpressive songs and just passable filmmaking, make for a truly bland movie.

*½ or 3.5

On the side:

Ritual in Transfigured Time (Maya Deren, 1946)

The dancing is pretty transfixing here, probably because it's used sparingly and it comes as the pay-off of the first half, where the two wade a sea of people in a ballroom, seeking each other. The cut from the guy frozen in a mid-air jump to a statue is really, really good stuff, I'd even say up there with 2001 and Lawrence of Arabia as one of the most purely effective cuts ever.

**** or 9.5

The Descent (Neil Marshall, 2005)

This time I was bugged by some unnecessary over-expository dialogue, and some of the editing and camerawork in the action scenes struck me as confusing, but The Descent remains an impactful and intelligent horror movie.

**** or 9.0

[B-side]

I also notice that your blog is called 'terrible blog'; why is that? You gotta think positive, man!

I hate my writing. For every decent sentence or thought, there's about a dozen awful ones.:P

[StanleyK]

I hate my writing. For every decent sentence or thought, there's about a dozen awful ones.:P

Man, at least you have a dozen sentences. Here's my modus operandi for writing:


I watch a movie.
"Okay, do I have anything insightful to say about it?"
No.
I think real hard about the movie I just watched.
My head starts to hurt.
"Eh, fuck it"


Then I write two lines tops that amounts to basically "I liked it" or "I didn't like it".

[StanleyK]

16/05/2010 - To Joy (Ingmar Bergman, 1950)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_3mCOm4wxK3M/SdEX4nJQhnI/AAAAAAAACGI/v-tx-dg_pWo/s400/to+joy2.jpg

Bergman kicks off his second decade with his first straight-up masterpiece.

**** or 9.0

On the side:

The Night Watchman (Chuck Jones, 1938)

The mice going through the food were amusing; a fine short, but nothing memorable.

**½ or 6.0

The Mysteries of the Chateau de De (Man Ray, 1929)

While the imagery in this film is interesting, it's allowed to run for too long, making it lose focus and become dull. Lacking the confidence direction that Man Ray gave his previous films, this one ultimately feels like it has nothing fresh to say.

** or 5.0

Man Ray:

Return to Reason (1923) - *** (7.0)
Emak-Bakia (1926) - **** (10)
The Starfish (1928) - **** (10)
The Mysteries of the Chateau de De (1929) - ** (5.0)



17/05/2010 - Violent Cop (Takeshi Kitano, 1989)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/56/ViolentCopPoster.jpg

There's plenty of aimless and dull scenes in the first half of this film, but they're actually a pretty ingenious way of placing the audience in the mindset of the main character. We share his boredom and existential malaise, and he (and the movie) only comes alive when he's comically beating people. It's an interesting exercise in audience complicity that for some reason is dropped completely for its more straight-forward cop thriller second half. It's not quite as good, but the finale is ballsy enough to merit attention.

*** or 7.0

On the side:

Old Glory (Chuck Jones, 1939)

I'm not sure who had the idea of using a Looney Tunes short as a vehicle for embarrassingly straight-faced jingoistic propaganda, but it was a bad, bad idea.

½* or 2.0

[B-side]

Man, at least you have a dozen sentences. Here's my modus operandi for writing:


I watch a movie.
"Okay, do I have anything insightful to say about it?"
No.
I think real hard about the movie I just watched.
My head starts to hurt.
"Eh, fuck it"


Then I write two lines tops that amounts to basically "I liked it" or "I didn't like it".

Ha. I know how you feel. With my "Top 40 Films I've Yet to See" thread, which is essentially a review thread with a gimmick, I've had to force myself to write something when I've had basically nothing to say several times.


Man Ray:

Return to Reason (1923) - *** (7.0)
Emak-Bakia (1926) - **** (10)
The Starfish (1928) - **** (10)
The Mysteries of the Chateau de De (1929) - ** (5.0)

Sounds about right. I'd probably rank them similarly.

[StanleyK]

Ha. I know how you feel. With my "Top 40 Films I've Yet to See" thread, which is essentially a review thread with a gimmick, I've had to force myself to write something when I've had basically nothing to say several times.

Right, but you can write a decent-sized paragraph. I often struggle for one simple line.

[StanleyK]

18/05/2010 - Clerks II (Kevin Smith, 2006)

http://www.thecinemasource.com/moviesdb/images/Clerks2Poster.jpg

A ringing endorsement of sitting around doing nothing with your life, brought to you by Kevin Smith in his least funny movie to date; really, I can count on one hand the amount of times I so much as cracked a smile. The amount of times I was loudly berating the screen is more than I'd care to count.

ZERO or 0.5

On the side:

Meditation on Violence (Maya Deren, 1948)

I have no idea what this has to do with violence; I'm sure it's subtly suggested by the guy's movements or something. Unfortunately, by itself, dancing is really fucking boring and has no interest value whatsoever for me.

* or 2.5

[StanleyK]

19/05/2010 - Palindromes (Todd Solondz, 2004)

http://www.ovasen.com/images/palindromes.jpg

Solondz's most transparently thematical film, but also his most pessimistic one, Palindromes examines the roots of some twisted human behavior, and in the end concludes that as humans we are inherently doomed; while I prefer the more ambiguos tone of WttD and Storytelling, this one is very interesting and never less than entertaining.

*** or 7.5

Todd Solondz:

Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995) - ***½ (8.5)
Happiness (1998) - **½ (6.0)
Storytelling (2001) - **** (10)
Palindromes (2004) - *** (7.5)

On the side:

O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, 2000)

Another melting pot of themes, this one a lot more successful as the Coen brothers prove themselves again masters of comedy and visual storytelling.

**** or 9.0



20/05/2010 - Eyes without a Face (Georges Franju, 1960)

http://www.filmforum.org/films/eyes/eyescardsm.jpg

A rich story that through its direction achieves incredible levels of suspense.

**** or 9.5

On the side:

The Love Nest (Edward F. Cline & Buster Keaton, 1923)

Ugh, I am so sick of Keaton pulling the 'it was all a dream' trick; this was going so well until the ending, too.

*** or 7.0

Elmer's Candid Camera (Chuck Jones, 1940)

There's not a single funny gag, the character designs are lame and unexpressive, the rabbit is an asshole for no good reason, even Mel Blanc's voice is annoying; the worst Looney Tunes short I've seen.

ZERO or 1.0

[Spaceman Spiff]

Meditation on Violence (Maya Deren, 1948)

I have no idea what this has to do with violence; I'm sure it's subtly suggested by the guy's movements or something. Unfortunately, by itself, dancing is really fucking boring and has no interest value whatsoever for me.

* or 2.5

Sounds like a Deren, alright.

Love that Elmer's Candid Camera, review btw.

[StanleyK]

Love that Elmer's Candid Camera, review btw.

Thanks yo.

[StanleyK]

21/05/2010 - A Better Tomorrow (John Woo, 1986)

http://www.posteritati.com/jpg/B4/BETTER%20TOMORROW%202%20JP.JPG

The action is cool, but most of the plot is just tired clichés (One last job? Emotional scene in the rain? Come on!); weren't there supposed to be a lot of doves?

** or 5.5

On the side:

The Very Eye of Night (Maya Deren, 1958)

Very dull also, but at least the space backdrop makes for some neat trippy visuals; worth watching for that and the score.

** or 5.5

Tortoise Beats Hare (Tex Avery, 1941)

A classic tale of the futility of hubris retold in a hilarious and awesomely meta fashion.

**** or 9.0



22/05/2010 - Summer Interlude (Ingmar Bergman, 1951)

http://www.filmtett.ro/uploads/Nemzeti/summer_interlude.jpg

Minor Bergman, excellent main performance by Maj-Britt Nilsson.

*** or 7.5

[StanleyK]

23/05/2010 - Terminator: Salvation (McG, 2009)

http://kingdelrosario.files.wordpress .com/2009/05/terminator-salvation-poster_370x491.png?w=370&h=491

Not as bad as I was expecting; the action is exciting and well-staged, but ultimately this is just a soulless cash-in. At its core is a cold, mechanical heart, ironically undermining all the big talk about humanity.

*½ or 4.0

On the side:

Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972)

This is humanity. Tarkovsky also talks big, but he actually delivers; I still can't figure out what the hell that five-minute driveway scene is supposed to mean, though.

**** or 9.0



24/05/2010 - Shivers (David Cronenberg, 1975)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/weirdposters/SImjo6fOi5I/AAAAAAAAPZ4/HuyDcibwqSQ/s400/shivers_poster_03.jpg

I'm surprised by how well-directed and tense this was; were it not for the homophobic subtext, I'd call it a great movie. If Cronenberg was this good so early on, the rest of his career sounds very promising.

*** or 7.5

On the side:

Elmer's Pet Rabbit (Chuck Jones, 1941)

Not as bad as Candid Camera, but this incarnation of Bugs and Elmer is still more miss than hit.

** or 4.5



25/05/2010 - Small Time Crooks (Woody Allen, 2000)

http://www.legalmoviesdownloads.com/still-frames-movie-pictures/small-time-crooks/small-time-crooks-box-cover-poster.jpg

Allen's most mediocre film I've seen yet; it shows some of his strengths (great cinematography, some decent physical comedy) and weaknesses (outdated sexism, exaggerated anti-intellectual portrayals of rich folk).

** or 5.0

On the side:

Blood of the Beasts (Georges Franju, 1949)

I don't think I can say I liked or disliked this movie; I certainly saw it, and it heavily disturbed me. I know for sure I'll never, ever watch this again.

** or 5.0

[StanleyK]

26/05/2010 - The Secret of NIMH (Don Bluth, 1982)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_qZmf9l-HC1A/SKnqLNKE3jI/AAAAAAAABTQ/roeYI20F1OU/s400/SecretNIMH+0344a+5_980.jpg

This is superb family entertainment, a film that engages the children with a fantastic premise, and at the same time doesn't insult the adults or patronize the kids with lame bodily function gags or purely filler set-pieces, instead letting the humor and action resonate thanks to its strong story and characters.

**** or 9.0



27/05/2010 - Three Ages (Edward F. Cline & Buster Keaton, 1923)

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/8714/threeages.jpg

Keaton's feature debut contains top-notch comedy, some of the best he's done really; it's therefore even more of a shame that the story is exceedingly simplistic, featuring and endorsing some harmful old-timey values.

**½ or 6.5

On the side:

Crank (Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor, 2006)

This is one movie in particular that it kills me not being able to articulate my love for; all I can really say is that it's a hilarious satire of violent, racist, misogynistic homophobic action movies, and it works particularly well because, possessing all these articles in spades, it could easily pass as a straight-faced example of them. There's something about the video-game framing that adds legitimacy to this reading, I think.

**** or 9.0

The Dover Boys at Pimento University (Chuck Jones, 1942)

Chuck Jones' first great movie.

***½ or 8.0

[Qrazy]

Blood of the Beasts > Eyes Without a Face

I really need to rewatch The Secret of Nimh. I remember loving it as a kid.

[soitgoes...]

Blood of the Beasts > Eyes Without a Face

This is true.

[StanleyK]

Blood of the Beasts > Eyes Without a Face


This is true.

No way. For starters, Eyes without a Face can actually be watched more than once.

[StanleyK]

28/05/2010 - Murder, My Sweet (Edward Dmytryk, 1944)

http://wpcontent.answers.com/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/31/SweetPoster.jpg/215px-SweetPoster.jpg

Half-asleep is probably not the best condition to watch this film in; nevertheless, I caught most of the plot, and since this movie is mostly about the plot as noirs tend to be, I can say that it's pretty good.

*** or 7.0



29/05/2010 - Clash of the Titans (Louis Leterrier, 2010)

http://www.byterology.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Clash-of-the-titans-2010-poster.jpg

I kinda wish I'd seen the original; I'll get to it eventually. Anyway the remake is pretty bad, a victim of the boring hero syndrome: we get told a lot that this dude is important, but all he really does is kick monster ass, he doesn't have much of a personality or goal beyond a generic 'you killed my father, prepare to die'; doesn't help that Sam Worthington can't act worth shit. The action is entertaining but too reliant on slow-motion and special effects, and whoever transfered this movie to 3D did a bad job.

* or 3.0

On the side:

Fresh Hare (Friz Freleng, 1942)

Very funny, but it suffers for the ending.

*** or 7.0

[Raiders]

and since this movie is mostly about the plot as noirs tend to be

Huh?

[StanleyK]

Huh?

Most noir movies that I've seen have a strong focus on the mystery plot, and how the protagonist goes about unveiling it.

[StanleyK]

30/05/2010 - The Great War (Mario Monicelli, 1959)

http://www.italica.rai.it/cinema/film/guerra/gr1.jpg

The lopsided episodic narrative hurts it a bit, but this is otherwise an intelligent film about war, the forces driving people to it and its results; although they're quite different, it reminded me of The Thin Red Line, which is always a good thing.

***½ or 8.5



31/05/2010 - Gremlins (Joe Dante, 1984)

http://twitchfilm.net/news/gremlins001-150-6191.jpg

It starts out badly with plenty of clichés and broadly drawn caricatures, then it becomes an interesting thriller about a mysterious new species, then in the finale it turns bad again with a lot of unfunny gremlins-acting-like-humans gags.

** or 5.5

On the side:

Roger & Me (Michael Moore, 1989)

Moore is one of the most entertaining documentarians, and his debut is very telling without being as melodramatic as he'd get later on.

**** or 9.0

[StanleyK]

End of month balance:

Feature-Length: 31
Short Films: 26
Rewatches (FL): 9
Rewatches (SF): 2

Total Films: 68

Best Film: Storytelling
Worst Film: Clerks II
Most Disappointing: The Devil's Backbone, The Spirit of the Beehive
Best Rewatch: O Brother, Where Art Thou?
Best Performances: Takeshi Kitano (Violent Cop), Sheryl Lee (Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me), Maj-Britt Nilsson (Summer Interlude)

[Qrazy]

Monicelli ftw, glad you liked it.

[StanleyK]

Monicelli ftw, glad you liked it.

This makes me hopeful that Amici Miei and Brancaleone will hold up well.

[StanleyK]

This month started off quite awesomely; why no, I don't have anything at all to say about these movies.

01/06/2010 - Our Hospitality (John G. Blystone & Buster Keaton, 1923) - ****
Also: The Grandmother (David Lynch, 1970) - ***½
02/06/2010 - Rabid (David Cronenberg, 1977) - **
03/06/2010 - Summer with Monika (Ingmar Bergman, 1953) - ****
Also: Case of the Missing Hare (Chuck Jones, 1942) - ***½
Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003) - ****
04/06/2010 - Sonatine (Takeshi Kitano, 1993) - ****

Also I dropped numerical ratings; I got kind of sick of them.

[Qrazy]

This makes me hopeful that Amici Miei and Brancaleone will hold up well.

The former does, the latter is a bit more uneven.

[StanleyK]

The former does, the latter is a bit more uneven.

What do you think about Monty Python and the Holy Grail? I remember thinking that Brancaleone was superior to it; I wonder if I'll still feel the same.

[Qrazy]

What do you think about Monty Python and the Holy Grail? I remember thinking that Brancaleone was superior to it; I wonder if I'll still feel the same.

I much prefer Holy Grail although the ending never fails to piss me off. Brancaleone has a number of great moments but a number of other moments fall flat. Still it definitely deserves respect for clearly being a huge influence on Grail.

[StanleyK]

I am also sick of movie posters.



05/06/2010 - Canadian Bacon (Michael Moore, 1995)

A very low-rent version of Dr. Strangelove, devoid of insightful satire and populated only by broad caricatures; its worst sin is that it's just plain not funny most of the time.

*

On the side:

Super-Rabbit (Chuck Jones, 1943)

Funny, but nothing memorable.

**½



06/06/2010 - Radio Days (Woody Allen, 1987)

Woody Allen romanticizes the shit out of his past; thankfully, the 'goddamn kids these days' part of the equation isn't explicitly stated, but nevertheless, despite the gorgeous cinematography and production design, Radio Days failed to endear me to its old-timey characters and situations.

*½



On the side:

07/06/2010 - The Weight of Water (Kathryn Bigelow, 2000)

The main problem is that the two main stories don't really have anything to do with each other, and yet the movie draws a deep connection between them and places most of its thematic weight on that.

*½

[StanleyK]

08/06/2010 - The Brood (David Cronenberg, 1979)

Better than Rabid for treading new thematic ground, but it's a bit dull and has some weak dialogue.

***



09/06/2010 - Clash of the Titans (Desmond Davis, 1981)

I was led to believe that the special effects would be charming, but they're really just atrocious. Outside of that, I didn't see any intentional camp; this one takes itself just as seriously as the remake, and fails in mostly the same areas, with Perseus still being a weak-ass character played by a door.

*½



10/06/2010 - The Big One (Michael Moore, 1997)

An entertaining travelogue; it's pretty much just Moore shooting the shit, and his sanctimonious tone can get irritating, but he still manages to slip in some worthy insights into the corruption inherent to capitalism.

**½

On the side:

Wackiki Wabbit (Chuck Jones, 1943)

Meh.

**

[StanleyK]

11/06/2010 - Secrets of Women (Ingmar Bergman, 1952)

This seems to me like the first film where Bergman really experimented with the camera, and the results are excellent. Choice shots include the reflection of Marta's lover in her makeup mirror being closed by her boyfriend, or her ether-induced rapidly-cutted hysteria, and the first time we see all the women together. The static third segment lets it a bit down after two visually amazing parts, but the overall experience is still very positive.

***½



12/06/2010 - Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991)

A generic action film, unimpressive in its clichéd characters or standard-fare action scenes, which the well-meaning but awkward grasps at depth failing to elevate it; it's hard to believe surf is so amazing if you have to keep shouting how amazing it is while you're surfing. Then again, it's probably the only way to convey that Keanu Reeves is feeling anything at all.

**

On the side: The Heckling Hare (Tex Avery, 1941)

Succeeds in playing off the audience's expectations in the same way as Avery's masterful Tortoise Beats Hare, even if it's not as straight-up funny as that one.

***½

[StanleyK]

13/06/2010 - A Better Tomorrow II (John Woo, 1987)

The action is cooler than the first, but the drama is even more risible (a fucking twin brother out of nowhere just to cast Chow-Yun Fat again; the whole subplot with Lung going catatonic), balancing out to a sequel as mediocre as its original.

**

On the side - Sherlock Jr. (Buster Keaton, 1924)

Apart from featuring some of the most inventive and amazingly choreographed physical comedy I've ever seen, Sherlock Jr. delves deep into the power cinema has in shaping people's perception of reality and by consequence its influence in culture and behavior.

****

Bowling for Columbine (Michael Moore, 2002)

Sure it's manipulative, but Moore presents an astonishingly well-researched and insightful analysis concerning the relation between media and violence, racism and social fear.

****

Wabbit Twouble (Robert Clampett, 1941)

It's not very funny at all, and the meta-jabs (one stolen directly from Tortoise Beats Hare, no less) are more annoying than anything.

*

[StanleyK]

14/06/2010: La Promesse (Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne, 1996) - ***½
15/06/2010: Kids Return (Takeshi Kitano, 1996) - ***
On the side: Return of the Jedi (Richard Marquand, 1983) - ***½
16/06/2010: George Washington (David Gordon Green, 2000) - ***½
17/06/2010: Sawdust and Tinsel (Ingmar Bergman, 1953) - **½
On the side: Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears (Chuck Jones, 1944) - *
18/06/2010: Scanners (David Cronenberg, 1981) - **
On the side: Babe (Chris Noonan, 1995) - **½
19/06/2010: Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Hayao Miyazaki, 1984) - ***
On the side: Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (Robert Clampett, 1942) - *½
Creature Comforts (Nick Park, 1989) - ***½

Might as well be a signature.

[StanleyK]

20/06/2010 - As Tears Go By (Kar Wai Wong, 1988)

Way better than I was expecting, a delightful gangster film about family and loyalty shot in WKW's usual style, including the already very annoying choppy slow-motion.

***½

On the side - Toy Story (John Lasseter, 1995)

Apart from the frankly terrible Randy Newman score, the biggest flaw in what is otherwise an excellent screenplay is Woody's murderous behavior going by unapologized for. While that leaves a bitter aftertaste, the film remains entertaining and a great examination of the abandonment subsequent in the passing of an era.

***½

Little Red Riding Rabbit (Friz Freleng, 1944)

Pretty funny.

**½



21/06/2010 - An American Tail (Don Bluth, 1986)

Blunt and unintelligent, with the weak characters making for unengaging drama and an overall boring film; pretty much the opposite of The Secret of NIMH, really. Here the animation is pretty much the only good thing.

*

[StanleyK]

I'll try to make up for my progressively weaker writing by posting a review of one of my favorite films. A source I rip off from of information for me is Todd Alcott's blog; (toddalcott.livejournal.com) I recommend it to aspiring writers, and everybody in general, as it contains some insightful analyses on film structure and character motivation.

Just a heads-up, this is the very first review I've ever written; it's probably not in-depth enough, as I don't take into account all aspects of the film, and it may be too technical.

[StanleyK]

A good way to unspool the thematic thread of a film is to analyze its narrative structure; the way I see it, the protagonist's (or protagonists') changes in motivation drive the story forward and trigger the act breaks, and often by their actions you can determine what the movie is 'about'.

http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad271/PTA-Dre/Solaris2.jpg?t=1277157790

Who is the protagonist of Solaris? The most obvious answer is Dr. Chris Kelvin; out of the only other four main characters, Gibarian and Snow get insufficient screentime and influence, and while Dr. Gordon significantly advances the narrative, her single unchanging goal ('get out of Solaris') provides no act breaks, and she serves mostly as a foil to Kelvin for arguments about morality and humanity. A good argument can be made that the Rheya-clone is a protagonist, as in her arc she changes motivations (from 'be with Chris', until she realizes she's not a real person, then it becomes 'cease to exist'), and indeed her peculiar condition as an unidentifiable lifeform, conjured up from Kelvin's memories, is compelling and loaded with subtext; however, her almost complete abscence from what I consider to be Acts I and III would dispel that notion.

Since Kelvin is the protagonist, Solaris follows a three-act structure. As the film begins, he's aimless and depressed, with no apparent goal and no reason to live except to remember his late wife. When he's approached by the two men bringing him Gibarian's message, he acquires a motivation- 'investigate the happenings in Solaris'. His detective work is cut short as Rheya seemingly materializes beside him; confused and hurt, he dispatches her into outer space, but she simply comes back, and this time he accepts it. Everything up to this point is Act I, and in Act II, as he's pitted ideologically against Gordon, his motivation becomes 'protect the Rheya-clone'.

Act II, I feel, is where the film's theme of acceptance comes to the fore. Kelvin (as he eventually confesses in the film's beautiful final monologue) can't accept that the clone isn't really his wife, but merely an idealized version of her, subject to the failings of his memory; accepting that fact would mean admitting his faults, and thus he locks himself and her in his room and forbids her to leave, at the cost of his own sanity. This leads to an extended psychodelic sequence where he sees many versions of Rheya, all smiling blissfully to him, just as the clone did when she first appeared. When he wakes up, she is gone, having destroyed herself like the real Rheya had taken her life. Having failed to protect her, Kelvin returns to Earth as depressed as he was when he left it, now mourning the two suicides of his wife.

Act III finds Kelvin without a motivation, simply going through the motions of life in a series of sequences that mirror the opening of the film. It's eventually revealed that he never left Solaris after all, and he's instead been englobed by the planet. The ending, while seemingly uplifting at first, is actually a depressing conclusion to his arc; like Rheya, he has become a clone, nowhere left to go and stuck reliving his own memories. In this regard, Solaris could work as a sort of cautionary tale against the reluctance to let go of the past, and accepting that perhaps you're simply viewing it through rose-tinted glasses, allowing your memory to cherry-pick the best bits and leave out the bad stuff.

However, an idea that I find intriguing and rewarding is that none of the actual characters are protagonists; rather, it's the titular planet Solaris. It makes sense; as the entity that sets all the events in motion in the first place, and has the power to mess with the minds of everybody onboard the space station, it's hard to argue that it doesn't move the narrative. The only problem, then, is finding its motivation. Dr. Gibarian warns Kelvin: "Why do you think it has to want something? This is why you have to leave?" Then again, he appeared to him in a dream, likely another manifestation of the planet trying to get a reaction from him. That, I think, is Solaris' goal: to study humans, not necessarily to harm them or benefit them, but simply to see what's up with that new species around.

If Solaris is the protagonist, its motivation for Act I is 'see how the humans will react to an outsider intruding'. It's unknown whether Gibarian sent the message because the planet told him to, or out of his insanity (in which case, he would still have been indirectly influenced by it); regardless, Kelvin arrives, and as soon as he's asleep Solaris probes his dreams, materializes the Rheya-clone, and resumes to observe. When she becomes self-conscious and starts questioning her existence, Act II kicks in and Solaris starts actively interfering, pushing all the characters to their limits. Eventually, they find a way to destroy the apparitions, and in Act III the planet, perhaps deciding that its work is done, expands and encompasses the space station, forcing Kelvin and Gordon (but really only Gordon) away once and for all.

This reading is particularly interesting for the relationship between Solaris and the Rheya-clone. The planet is apparently capable of creating life, even if under a set of restrictions, which makes it sort of a God and the apparitions its creations. Indeed, in a scene the Rheya-clone wonders what Solaris could have intended in creating her- basically the age-old question: what's our purpose in life? There's also a flashback which reveals that in life, she was theist while Kelvin was an atheist, the rift that probably led to her abortion and subsequent suicide. Is Solaris an analogue for God, painting him as an uncaring, merely scientifically-interested entity? If so, is the Rheya-clone an analogue for humanity? She could easily be for Eve, created as she was by the planet from Kelvin's memories.

While all this is quite fascinating, reading Solaris as a protagonist makes the film too vague (it's hard to get solid motivations from a planet). I wouldn't discard the theory, but it strikes me as secondary subtext; in fact, it's a testament to the greatness of this movie that such a rich vein of meaning I only found on a fourth viewing. Grounding it in the heartbreaking (the ending never fails to make me choke up) story of Dr. Chris Kelvin, who loved his wife so much he gave up his whole life and memories for her, ensures that Solaris remains emotional and compulsively entertaining, not just an excellent movie filmmaking-wise but intelligent and endlessly rewarding.

http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad271/PTA-Dre/Solaris1.jpg?t=1277157771

[Derek]

Wabbit Twouble (Robert Clampett, 1941)

It's not very funny at all, and the meta-jabs (one stolen directly from Tortoise Beats Hare, no less) are more annoying than anything.

*

:crazy:

[StanleyK]

:crazy:

At the risk of getting into another 'this is funny!' 'no it isn't!' debate, what exactly is funny about it?

[StanleyK]

22/06/2010 - The Navigator (Donald Crisp & Buster Keaton, 1924)

A fine premise for a short, but stretched too thin it becomes really dull; especially disappointing coming right after the masterpiece Sherlock Jr.

**

On the side - Toy Story 2 (Ash Brannon, John Lasseter & Lee Unkrich, 1999)

Mostly the same flaws as the original: a really stupid song, in an unnecessary scene with some dangerous subtext (Don't donate your toys? Really?); it's a more daring film, touching on immortality and fear of death. This is balanced out with a few too many pop-culture references and bodily function jokes in the still quite exciting third act.

***½

The rest:

23/06/2010: Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010) - ***½
On the side: Hare Conditioned (Chuck Jones, 1945) - ***
On the side: Day & Night (Teddy Newton, 2010) - ***
24/06/2010: Duplex (Danny DeVito, 2003) - *
25/06/2010: Final Destination 3 (James Wong, 2006) - *½
On the side: Intolerable Cruelty (Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, 2003) - **½
26/06/2010: The Man without a Past (Aki Kaurismäki, 2002) - ***½
On the side: Blitz Wolf (Tex Avery, 1942) - **

[StanleyK]

27/06/2010 - District B13 (Pierre Morel, 2004)

The parkour action is certainly amazing, but the film is also noteworthy for its tight plot, which grounds all the action in solid drama.

***½



28/06/2010 - Seven Chances (Buster Keaton, 1925)

The blatant racism hurts this film, but I don't think the horde of would-be brides chasing Keaton constitute misogyny; after all, there's even a man amongst the crowd. I prefer to think of it as representing greed (they were after his money), and the destructive forces of capitalism, which runs through everything destroying and flattening the landscape.

****

On the side - Porky in Wackyland (Robert Clampett, 1938)

Deserving of its status as a classic, although better for its originality than for how entertaining it is.

***½



29/06/2010 - Crank: High Voltage (Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor, 2009)

One of the best jokes in Crank isn't even played for laughs: after stopping just short of having an orgasm, Jason Statham angrily brakes his car, marches over to a wreck he just caused and executes the men inside. There's nothing remotely that clever in High Voltage, which mantains the excellent editing and cinematography in action scenes but loses any semblance of restraint, assaulting the audience with unpleasant or random imagery in hopes of shocking. I'm not saying the first movie was a masterpiece of subtlety, but at least it respected the viewer enough to not literally flip him the bird.

*½

On the side - Days of Being Wild (Kar Wai Wong, 1990)

Wong's first masterpiece.

****

[StanleyK]

30/06/2010 - The Land Before Time (Don Bluth, 1988)

Although it's way too short, and there's plenty of unnecessary exposition, I still quite enjoyed this tale of grief overcome and togetherness; maybe it's nostalgia, but I'd like to believe it's because its themes, as well as Bluth's character design, hold timeless appeal.

***

[StanleyK]

End of month balance:

Feature-Length: 30
Short Films: 15
Rewatches (FL): 8
Rewatches (SF): 0

Total Films: 53

Best Film: Sonatine
Worst Film: Didn't see any really bad ones... so I guess Duplex
Most disappointing: An American Tail
Best rewatch: Days of Being Wild
Best performances: Harriet Andersson (Summer with Monika), Buster Keaton (Seven Chances)

[Qrazy]

Seems like a good month, congrats.

[StanleyK]

Seems like a good month, congrats.

Thanks; honestly though, I thought it was subpar. I was too burned out to write anything, and I didn't even average out to two films a day.

[StanleyK]

01/07/2010 - Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise, 1991)

Belle's moment of hesitation before embracing the now-handsome Beast saves this movie from completely undermining its own message, as I feared it would have; still, the overly long and repetitious songs keep it short of greatness.

***

On the side - Bumping into Broadway (Hal Roach, 1919)

Funny stuff; in one short Lloyd has already created a full-fledged persona, a prankster that gets all up in people's grills and doesn't even care.

****



02/07/2010 - Zack and Miri Make a Porno (Kevin Smith, 2008)

Kevin Smith has bizarrely grown more immature with time; now he doesn't even have it in him to do a decent dick joke, it's all unfunny gross-out gags that get the punchline repeated and explained.

ZERO

On the side - Presto (Doug Sweetland, 2008)

An excellent throwback to the Looney Tunes.

****

WALL·E (Andrew Stanton, 2008)

Sixth viewing and it only gets better, definitely one of my favorites.

****

In fact, I'll write a review/analysis of it, to be posted tomorrow or sunday. I don't even care that no one read my other one.

:cry:

[StanleyK]

I guess act breakdowns is too nuts-and-bolts for the more abstract-thinking crowd of Match-Cut. I think with this slightly more concise review I managed to be less technical, and still provide some insight while adequately explaining my love for the film.



http://i943.photobucket.com/albums/ad271/PTA-Dre/walleposter.jpg?t=1278126709

The dystopia presented in WALL·E is frightening, not only because of the bleak garbage-filled landscapes of an abandoned Earth, but because in it, art has died. After decades of having machines do everything for them, humanity has grown fat and lazy and its creative impulse has gone, replaced by the boredom and apathy that even nowadays we feel, despite all the technological wonders around has. The best summation I've seen of that is a shot in 2001: A Space Odyssey, where a flight attendant watches a wrestling match on TV when there's a window overlooking space right beside her. Of course, WALL·E borrows liberally from that film, such as a HAL-sounding steering wheel as its villain, or a climactic moment being set to Thus Spoke Zaratustra. But I think Kubrick's influence is also present in the design of the Axiom, impossibly pristine-clean and populated by bored people unappreciative of the efforts of their ancestors.

But the movie's title is WALL·E, and indeed the little garbage-collecting robot is the protagonist of the film and ultimately savior of humanity (in an unsubtle but effective Jesus allegory). Unlike the humans on the ship, WALL·E's creative impulse is very alive; a true artist, he spends his days collecting trinkets left behind for centuries and building impressive skyscrapers out of garbage. Again unlike the humans, who don't even talk face-to-face anymore, he wants a close friend, someone to share his world with (I guess his pet roach doesn't count for some reason). This is expressed by his wish of holding hands with someone, the simplest form of human intimacy and yet treated here with such potency that such a simple act seems like the ultimate expression of love.

Enter EVE, the romantic interest that later flips conventions by actually being the one to rescue the boy-in-distress. In her first scene, she flies gracefully around an empty wasteland; like WALL·E, the film can find beauty from ugliness, and for a while the otherwise dreary landscape is positively majestic (the photorealistic CGI definitely works to the film's advantage). Despite initial suspiciousness, she eventually warms up to WALL·E and visits his abode. Like all the other Axiom denizens, she has no knowledge of art or culture, and so his collection is strange and fascinating to her; she's only the first that WALL·E will rescue from ignorance. As for the little robot himself, he becomes so taken by EVE that he's willing to leave the planet for her, daring to make a leap of faith and tread the menacing unknown- something that the narrow-minded machines of the Axiom wouldn't.

That's what sets WALL·E apart from all the other robots in the film: he knows that following the same course all your life will get you nowhere. The Axiom segment of the film, maligned by some for being dumbed down from the dialogue-free first half-hour, is where I think the main thematic thrust of the film is located. In this portion of the film, he runs around the ship educating people and machines alike, broadening their minds. First is M·O, the cleaning robot who decides to step out of his set path to pursue WALL·E; then there's John and Mary, the humans whom he disconnects from the Axiom hive-mind, and who then independently find companionship together; he teaches a typing robot how to wave goodbye; he frees the malfunctiong robots by being the only one to step outside his containment box; perhaps most importantly, he shakes the hand of the ship's captain, soiling it with dirt, which allows him to rediscover the wonders of Earth and decide to ignore his directive and return home.

The climactic battle in WALL·E pits narrow-minded stubbornness against humanity's newfound desire for knowledge, the latter naturally winning out. The tragedy of WALL·E losing his memory in the process is that he's lost all appreciation for art and culture, for higher thinking, and a consequence no longer wants any human connection. But luckily, a 'kiss' from his sweetheart EVE restores him, and all is well that ends well. As the epilogue shows, humanity has learned its lesson, and they won't fall back to the same apathy that allowed them to litter Earth into being uninhabitable in the first place. Despite the decidedly bleak scenario it presents, WALL·E is a hopeful film, one that celebrates art as essential to humanity and posits that no matter how uninterested society can become, there will always be a few individuals to lead the way to cultural enlightenment.

[StanleyK]

03/07/2010 - Gates of Heaven (Errol Morris, 1978)

The main focus of the pet cemetery is interesting enough, but what makes this movie great is how it has its subjects unconsciously delving into topics unrelated and yet clearly very important to them. For instance, the disappointment the Harberts brothers feel with the direction their careers took is palpable; or McClure's love for animals turning him to misanthropy; or the old woman (I have to admit, whose mother she is escaped me) and her sad tale of filial abandonment.

****



04/07/2010 - Damnation (Béla Tarr, 1988)

Werckmeister Harmonies was riveting, but this is just dour; I don't really know why, but it felt so much slower. Maybe buckets of coal aren't as interesting as a white whale.

**

On the side - Luxo Jr. (John Lasseter, 1986)

Cute.

***

Hare Tonic (Chuck Jones, 1945)

Funny.

***½

Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore, 2004)

Due to Moore harping on the same subject for two hours, this ends up repetitive and dull; not to mention Moore's smugness in thinking he represents all of America, or the frankly exploitative scenes of people crying. It's a testament to his skills as a documentarian that Fahrenheit 9/11 ends up being tolerable.

*½

[MacGuffin]

04/07/2010 - Damnation (Béla Tarr, 1988)

Werckmeister Harmonies was riveting, but this is just dour; I don't really know why, but it felt so much slower. Maybe buckets of coal aren't as interesting as a white whale.

**


I felt the same way and I'm not exactly sure why. The shot of the gondola is still gold though.

[Spinal]

Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore, 2004)

Due to Moore harping on the same subject for two hours ...

What other subjects did you want him to cover?

[Qrazy]

I felt the same way and I'm not exactly sure why. The shot of the gondola is still gold though.

I like the pan across the people standing at the bar doorways.

[StanleyK]

I felt the same way and I'm not exactly sure why. The shot of the gondola is still gold though.


I like the pan across the people standing at the bar doorways.

The cinematography, if at times infuriatingly slow, was definitely great; particularly the opening shot or the one where the guy watches the car leaving and moves from the foreground to the background.



What other subjects did you want him to cover?

He could've shortened the documentary. He spends a good 40 minutes talking about Bush's economical ties with Saudi Arabia, then 40 minutes about the current situation in Iraq, and then the last 40 exploiting that poor woman; it's not in-depth as much as it's boring, and his condescending tone doesn't help matters.

[StanleyK]

05/07/2010 - Go West

Nothing spectacular but at least, unlike The Navigator, it feels like a movie rather than a too-long short.

**½

On the side - L'Eclisse (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962)

L'Avventura and La Notte wallowed in self-pity along with the characters, but with this film Antonioni is smart enough to call them out on how whiny they are. L'Eclisse is a successful satire on privileged white people who think they have it hard, and while it often makes the point bluntly, it does so catering to Antonioni's strength in visuals; the final ten minutes are sublime.

****



06/07/2010 - Lost Highway (David Lynch, 1997)

It's a thin line between horror and comedy. Lost Highway alternates quite a few times between really funny and really scary; some will argue that's a flaw, but I think it fits with Lynch's examination of the psyche.

****

On the side - Geri's Game (Jan Pinkava, 1997)

Funny while being poignant.

****

A Bug's Life (John Lasseter & Andrew Stanton, 1998)

I no longer resent this one for being a rip-off of The Seven Samurai; it uses the template and works it into a separate, meaningful story. It's still not very funny though.

**½

A Grand Day Out with Wallace and Gromit (Nick Park, 1989)

It's, well, grand.

***½



07/07/2010 - The Dead Zone (David Cronenberg, 1983)

A pretty good thriller despite all the bad acting and dialogue.

***

On the side - The Tortoise and the Hare (Wilfred Jackson, 1935)

Fairly straightforward but it's done well.

***

[StanleyK]

08/07/2010 - Rosetta (Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne, 1999)

The Dardennes always have a central dilemma for the protagonist, a moral choice condensed to a line that, when uttered, is a complete gut-punch. La Promesse and The Son have it in the final scene, dwelling on the impact, but like in L'Enfant, in Rosetta the film goes on long enough to examine its outcome. The result is a fascinating study of a flawed character, finding its humanity in her carefully maintained routine.

****

On the side - Monsters, Inc. (Pete Docter, David Silverman & Lee Unkrich, 2001)

A great story, but once again Randy Newman ruins it. That and the 'bloopers' at the end, fuck that unfunny shit.

***½

Odor-Able Kitty (Chuck Jones, 1945)

The skunk's rapist-like antics are quite uncomfortable, but it's well worth it for the ending.

***



09/07/2010 - Eraserhead (David Lynch, 1977)

God

daaaaaamn

****

David Lynch:
Six Figures Getting Sick (1966) - Unrateable.
The Alphabet (1968) - **½
The Grandmother (1970) - ***½
The Amputee (1974) - ZERO
Eraserhead (1977) - ****
The Elephant Man (1980) - ***½
Dune (1984) - ½*
Blue Velvet (1986) - ****
Wild at Heart (1990) - ****
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992) - ***½
Lost Highway (1997) - ****
The Straight Story (1999) - ***
Mulholland Drive (2001) - ****
INLAND EMPIRE (2006) - ****



10/07/2010 - Battling Butler (Buster Keaton, 1926)

I think this movie would have benefitted if Keaton actually didn't get the girl at the end. He just didn't do anything to deserve it, and it would have fit with his most unflattering portrait of himself yet, a spineless weasel who doesn't even manage to create the central conflict of the film; it's a blemish on what's otherwise one of his most interesting films.

***½

On the side - Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich, 2003)

A wonderful fatherhood parable.

****



11/07/2010 - Signs of Life (Werner Herzog, 1968)

In his debut, Herzog introduces some key themes of his later body of work; you have a character's slow descent into madness, naturalistic glimpses of human behavior, and a strange fascination with chickens. While Signs of Life doesn't really add up to a thematically coherent whole, the film has a nice soundtrack and some great imagery to offer.

**½

On the side - The Hare-Brained Hypnotist (Friz Freleng, 1942)

Prey and hunter switch roles in one of the most challenging and rewarding Looney Tunes so far.

****



12/07/2010 - Big Deal on Madonna Street (Mario Monicelli, 1958)

Excellent heist film, skillfully juggling genuine tension with the solid character-driven humor.

****

On the side - Red's Dream (John Lasseter, 1987)

Good animation but it's pretty meh.

**

The Wabbit Who Came to Supper (Friz Freleng, 1942)

Entertaining but a waste of the premise.

***

[StanleyK]

13/07/2010 - Hana-Bi (Takeshi Kitano, 1997)

Similar to Sonatine, a quiet drama about a subject that usually lends itself to a more action-packed, flashy approach.

****

On the side - The Wrong Trousers (Nick Park, 1993)

Excellent; the penguin dripping sweat is one of the best things I've seen in a while.

****

Knick Knack (John Lasseter, 1989)

Pretty much the opposite of Red's Dream, it's crude as hell but entertaining.

**½

Night of the Living Dead (George A. Romero, 1968)

The poor editing and acting can be forgiven on account of the small budget; even with those factors, this movie remains scary because of the implications of its subtext, painting humanity as innately mistrustful of each other and of anybody different.

****



14/07/2010 - The General (Clyde Bruckman & Buster Keaton, 1926)

While the action and comedy are great, I just can't muster too much enthusiasm for any movie with this kind of military fetishism, much less for the Confederacy South.

**½

On the side - Hair-Raising Hare (Chuck Jones, 1946)

I used to think this short was bad, which is pretty strange, since it's actually hilarious; well, I'm glad I've come around.

***½

[Spinal]

14/07/2010 - The General (Clyde Bruckman & Buster Keaton, 1926)

While the action and comedy are great, I just can't muster too much enthusiasm for any movie with this kind of military fetishism, much less for the Confederacy South.

**½



I'm going to need this explained to me. If anything, this film has a train fetish.

[StanleyK]

I'm going to need this explained to me. If anything, this film has a train fetish.

Buster's character certainly had a train fetish; at the beginning of the movie, it's stated that his General and the girl are the two loves of his life. He clearly doesn't care about the war and only tried to join the army for her sake. Her father denounces him as a 'disgrace to the South'*, but I doubt he even knew what the war was being fought for.

*And by the way, why didn't Buster at least tell him he tried to join up? Why wasn't he even told why they wouldn't take him? Typical rom-com bullshit misunderstanding plot that could've been solved with one line of dialogue. Not good drama at all.

So really, his only problem is that he isn't a soldier, which gets solved at the end when he's decorated a commander (if he didn't, I doubt the shallow bitch would've even spoken to him again); what the film is saying, then, is that military life is the most noble profession you can have, and it doesn't matter if you actually want to fight or know what's at stake in the war.

[StanleyK]

15/07/2010 - The Little Mermaid (Ron Clements & John Musker, 1989)

Average unremarkable Disney fare with bad values and a duller than usual finale; Under the Sea is a pretty fun song though, and Kiss the Girl is plain great.

*½



16/07/2010 - Slacker (Richard Linklater, 1991)

The best film I've seen about humanity's potential to be annoying; pretty much every scene in Slacker contains someone showing up uninvited and dumping monologues on a helpless audience, finally culminating in the meta last scene, where some assholes fling their camera around, seriously annoying the viewer.

***½

On the side - Predator (John McTiernan, 1987)

This is actually a pretty subversive film, with its squad of burly men being cut down one by one by a monster with a vagina dentata for a face; I don't really know where to go from this analogy, since in the end Arnold prevails after all, but Predator strikes me as a fairly intelligent action film, boasting a tight script and really solid direction as well.

***½



17/07/2010 - Castle in the Sky (Hayao Miyazaki, 1986)

A vast step up for Miyazaki, cutting down on the annoying exposition found in Nausicaä and retaining a fully realized universe that meshes fairy-tale fantasy with a futuristic vibe.

****

On the side - Hare Force (Friz Freleng, 1944)

Pretty good; I don't think the title has anything to do with the actual movie, though.

***

[StanleyK]

18/07/2010 - A Lesson in Love (Ingmar Bergman, 1954)

Boy, I'm glad Bergman didn't pursue a career in comedy; this is an unpleasant, sexist film, only barely salvaged by the irony it hides behind in its opening.
*½

On the side - Yankee Doodle Daffy (Friz Freleng, 1943)

I like the early, deranged Daffy; an unstoppable force of nature, hassling poor everyman Porky in very amusing ways.

***½

The Dante Quartet (Stan Brakhage, 1987)

It took six years to make, and it shows.

****

L'Enfant (Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne, 2005)

A great drama detailing the time bridging careless teenage amorality and the responsibility that supposedly entails from adulthood.

****



19/07/2010 - Resident Evil (Paul W.S. Anderson, 2002)

Bad action (Anderson carelessly abuses slow-motion, making it lose any potency), bad plot, acting, stupid moments aplenty.

*

On the side - Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Amy Heckerling, 1982)

It manages to convey just how stupid teenagers are without actually being condescending.

****



20/07/2010 - Vernon, Florida (Errol Morris, 1981)

It's incredible how a film consisting entirely of old people ruminating on boring subjects can be so riveting; if the point of the whole thing isn't readily apparent, it's strangely inviting to repeat viewings.

****

On the side - Sicko (Michael Moore, 2007)

There's too many unnecessary shots of people weeping, scenes underscored with sad music; Moore refuses to let the images speak for themselves and instead bullies the viewer into agreeing with him. It's a good thing the sections in France and Britain are relatively free of his commentary, as they're the most interesting and provide the most food for thought of the whole film.

**½

L'Armata Brancaleone (Mario Monicelli, 1966)

Meh, not nearly as funny as I remembered; it's too nihilistic for my current tastes.

**

[StanleyK]

21/07/2010 - Dawn of the Dead (George A. Romero, 1978)

I don't much like the opening and ending of this film; it's broad in ways that the original was subtle, and tacks on a happy ending apparently just because. The stuff in between them is excellent, though.

***½

On the side - A Pest in the House (Chuck Jones, 1947)

It kind of bothers me that Elmer gets punished for what Daffy does; I'm not sure why, but it soured this film for me.

**

You Ought to Be in Pictures (Friz Freleng, 1940)

Not the best story, but the blend between live-action and animation works remarkably well.


**½

[Heidi]

Do you work?

[soitgoes...]

Do you work?In his defense, a lot of his films listed are shorts. Even still, if one replaces TV watching time with movie watching time is it a stretch to imagine someone could find the time to work and watch 3-4 hours of movies a day? I'm able to do it, and I have a healthy relationship that involves things outside of movies and work.

[StanleyK]

Do you work?


In his defense, a lot of his films listed are shorts. Even still, if one replaces TV watching time with movie watching time is it a stretch to imagine someone could find the time to work and watch 3-4 hours of movies a day? I'm able to do it, and I have a healthy relationship that involves things outside of movies and work.

Yeah, this. I don't watch TV, so I have plenty of time for film.

In fairness, I don't actually work yet; still in college, so I'm doing the movie-a-day thing while I still can.

[StanleyK]

22/07/2010 - Capturing the Friedmans (Andrew Jarecki, 2003)

Great analysis on the fallibility of memory, and how it's being gradually replaced by photography and video; does an event only become truly real when it is filmed?

***½

On the side - Stage Door Cartoon (Friz Freleng, 1944)

Awesome.

***½



23/07/2010 - Super Size Me (Morgan Spurlock, 2004)

Entertaining, but Spurlock has the Moore malady and instead of letting the viewer draw the conclusions, he spells it all out for him with his annoying narration.

**

On the side - Tortoise Wins by a Hare (Robert Clampett, 1943)

There's something strangely fascinating about seeing Bugs actually getting bested; his out-of-character tantrums are hilarious, and this sequel is shockingly raw for a children's film.

****



24/07/2010 - College (James W. Horne, 1927)

When did Keaton turn into a hateful asshole? This movie isn't even that funny to redeem it.

*

Also, turns out that The General is the last notable film Keaton actually directed; that means I've depleted his filmography.

The Rough House (1917) - **
Convict 13 (1920) - **
Neighbors (1920) - ***
One Week (1920) - ****
The Scarecrow (1920) - ***
The Boat (1921) - ***
The Goat (1921) - ***½
Hard Luck (1921) - **½
The Haunted House (1921) - ***½
The 'High Sign' (1921) - ***
The Play House (1921) - ****
The Blacksmith (1922) - **
Cops (1922) - ****
Daydreams (1922) - ***½
The Electric House (1922) - **
The Frozen North (1922) - **½
My Wife's Relations (1922) - ***½
The Paleface (1922) - ***
The Balloonatic (1923) - **
The Love Nest (1923) - ***
Our Hospitality (1923) - ****
Three Ages (1923) - **½
The Navigator (1924) - **
Sherlock Jr. (1924) - ****
Go West (1925) - **½
Seven Chances (1925) - ****
Battling Butler (1926) - ***½
The General (1926) - **½

On the side - Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002)

Anderson's hability to mine comedy and humanity from a frightening portrayal of mental illness makes for a really fresh romantic comedy, with very inventive cinematography and music in particular; an incredible achievement, and of the decade's best films.

****

[Raiders]

I don't care what the credits say, The Cameraman is a bona-fide Keaton film and should not be missed. My second favorite feature film of his.

[megladon8]

I don't care what the credits say, The Cameraman is a bona-fide Keaton film and should not be missed. My second favorite feature film of his.


I got The General on BluRay a few days after Christmas, and have yet to watch it.


*dodges thrown stones*

[Spinal]

When did Keaton turn into a hateful asshole?


:|

[StanleyK]

I don't care what the credits say, The Cameraman is a bona-fide Keaton film and should not be missed. My second favorite feature film of his.

Well, of course I'll watch that, Steamboat Bill Jr. and Spite Marriage, and maybe some of the later ones; I just won't credit them to him.


:|

He begins the film by making an inflammatory speech about how all athletes are dumb, and throughout the movie, he doesn't show any signs of improvement; sure, he joins up the sports team (and leads them to victory, and becomes super-good at it thanks to the power of love and blah blah), but once again, he's only doing it to get the girl, the goddamn pushover, I bet if she instructed him to jump off a bridge he would. Not to mention that at one point, while trying to con his way into employment, he paints his whole body to pass off as a black man, and actually assumes an apish gait to do so. I don't care how popular blackface was in the 20's, that's fucking inexcusable.

[StanleyK]

25/07/2010 - Ashes of Time (Kar Wai Wong, 1994)

I think there's a beautiful story in here somewhere, but unfortunately it's lost among the messy narrative and awfully choreographed swordfights.

**

On the side - My Bunny Lies Over the Sea (Chuck Jones, 1948)

The scotsman is a bit too broad a caricature, but I guess that's the point; an amusing short overall.

**½



26/07/2010 - Gold Diggers of 1933 (Mervyn LeRoy, 1933)

I wish this had more musical numbers, as they are very impressive visually; otherwise this is a standard plot but it's entertaining and witty enough.

**½

On the side - Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993)

A rather grim portrait of teenage life; beneath the comedy is a devastating film.

****

[StanleyK]

27/07/2010: The White Balloon (Jafer Panahi, 1995) - ****
On the side: Predator 2 (Stephen Hopkins, 1990) - *½
On the side: Rabbit Punch (Chuck Jones, 1948) - ***
28/07/2010: Celebrity (Woody Allen, 1998) - *½
On the side: Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (Les Blank, 1980) - ***½
On the side: Scaredy Cat (Chuck Jones, 1948) - ***½
29/07/2010: Dreams (Ingmar Bergman, 1955) - ***½
On the side: The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005) - ****
30/07/2010: The Killer (John Woo, 1989) - ***½
On the side: Aladdin (Ron Clements & John Musker, 1992) - **½
On the side: Amici Miei (Mario Monicelli, 1975) - ***½
31/07/2010: Bright Star (Jane Campion, 2009) - ***½
On the side: Daffy Duck Slept Here (Robert McKimson, 1948) - ***


End of month balance:

Feature-Length: 31
Short Films: 16
Rewatches (FL): 18
Rewatches (SF): 10

Total films: 75

Best Film: Rosetta
Worst Film: Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Most disappointing: Damnation, The General
Best rewatch: Dazed and Confused, L'Eclisse
Best performances: Abbie Cornish (Bright Star), Émilie Dequenne (Rosetta), Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead), Takeshi Kitano (Hana-Bi), Aida Mohammadkhani (The White Balloon)

Definitely my best month so far; hell, I can almost make a top 10 for July only with 4-star films:

1. Rosetta
2. Eraserhead
3. Hana-Bi
4. Gates of Heaven
5. Big Deal on Madonna Street
6. Lost Highway
7. Castle in the Sky
8. The White Balloon
9. Vernon, Florida
10. Capturing the Friedmans/Bright Star (both really close to ****)

[StanleyK]

While I'm still watching movies every day, I don't feel like writing about them in this thread anymore; I can barely accomplish it as it is. If I do write something, it's more likely to be seen in the main discussion thread anyway; plus I want to have a signature like all the cool kids. Maybe it's better if I just bump this occasionally with the monthly report or something.

[StanleyK]

[2nd] Killer's Kiss (Stanley Kubrick, 1955) - ***
The Bank Dick (Edward F. Cline, 1940) - ½*
[2nd] Haredevil Hare (Chuck Jones, 1948) - ****
Pocahontas (Mike Gabriel, Eric Goldberg, 1995) - ½*
[2nd] Burn After Reading (Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, 2008) - **½
Red Hot Riding Hood (Tex Avery, 1943) - ***½
Woman in the Dunes (Hiroshi Teshigahara, 1964) - ****
My Neighbor Totoro (Hayao Miyazaki, 1988) - ****
Rabbit Hood (Chuck Jones, 1949) - **
[3rd] The Killing (Stanley Kubrick, 1956) - ****
[2nd] Tin Toy (John Lasseter, 1988) - **
The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 1988) - ***½
Steamboat Bill Jr. (Charles Reisner, 1928) - ***
Falling Hare (Robert Clampett, 1943) - ***
Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010) - ***½
Awful Orphan (Chuck Jones, 1949) - ****
[4th] Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957) - ****
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (Mikio Naruse, 1960) - **½
[2nd] Baseball Bugs (Friz Freleng, 1946) - **
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (Mervyn LeRoy, 1932) - ****
Day of the Dead (George A. Romero, 1985) - ***
Even Dwarfs Started Small (Werner Herzog, 1970) - ***
A Walk to Remember (Adam Shankman, 2002) - ZERO
Brink of Life (Ingmar Bergman, 1958) - ***½
Mississippi Hare (Chuck Jones, 1949) - ***
Chungking Express (Kar Wai Wong, 1994) - ***½
[3rd] Spartacus (Stanley Kubrick, 1960) - ****
[3rd] Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1982) - ****
The Devilish Tenant (Georges Méliès, 1909) - *½
Kikujiro (Takeshi Kitano, 1999) - ****
Strike (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925) - ***½
The Cameraman (Edward Sedgwick, 1928) - ***½
Following (Christopher Nolan, 1998) - **
Motor Mania (Jack Kinney, 1950) - ***½
The Pleasure Garden (Alfred Hitchcock, 1925) - *
A Brief History of Time (Errol Morris, 1991) - ***½
[2nd] Fast and Furry-ous (Chuck Jones, 1949) - ***½
[Nth] Boundin' (Bud Luckey, 2003) - **
[3rd] The Incredibles (Brad Bird, 2004) - **½
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (David Hand, 1937) - ****
Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1983) - ***
Billy Blazes, Esq. (Hal Roach, 1919) - ***
Rabbit Transit (Friz Freleng, 1947) - **
Sweetie (Jane Campion, 1989) - ***½
Cat People (Jacques Tourneur, 1942) - ****
[2nd] The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (Alfred Hitchcock, 1927) - ***
Fata Morgana (Werner Herzog, 1971) - ***
[2nd] Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010) - **** (redacted to ***½)
Frigid Hare (Chuck Jones, 1949) - **
The Magician (Ingmar Bergman, 1958) - ****
Bambi (David Hand, 1942) - **
For Scent-imental Reasons (Chuck Jones, 1949) - ***½
[2nd] Sunset Blvd. (Billy Wilder, 1950) - ****
Fallen Angels (Kar Wai Wong, 1994) - **½
[3rd] The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) - ****
[2nd] Long-Haired Hare (Chuck Jones, 1949) - ****
Boiling Point (Takeshi Kitano, 1990) - **
Ask Father (Hal Roach, 1919) - ***½
An Angel at My Table (Jane Campion, 1990) - ***½
[2nd] The Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925) - ****
The Devil's Eye (Ingmar Bergman, 1960) - ***
[2nd] Walky Talky Hawky (Robert McKimson, 1946) - ****

[StanleyK]

August balance:

Feature-Length: 31
Short Films: 12
Rewatches (FL): 12
Rewatches (SF): 7

Total Films: 62

Best Film: My Neighbor Totoro
Worst Film: A Walk to Remember
Most Disappointing: Fallen Angels, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
Best Rewatch: So many...
Best Performances: None stood out in particular.



So far this year, 2/3rds into it, I've seen 491 films, averaging about 61.37 per month and 2.02 a day; that's pretty good, right?

[StanleyK]

[2nd] One Man Band (Mark Andrews & Andrew Jimenez, 2005) - *½
[2nd] Cars (John Lasseter & Joe Ranft, 2006) - *
All Dogs Go to Heaven (Don Bluth, 1989) - *½
Acrobatty Bunny (Robert McKimson, 1946) - **
Where is the Friend's Home? (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987) - ***
Kiki's Delivery Service (Hayao Miyazaki, 1989) - ****
[2nd] Lolita (Stanley Kubrick, 1962) - ***½
Desistfilm (Stan Brakhage, 1954) - ****
[2nd] The Scarlet Pumpernickel (Chuck Jones, 1950) - **½
Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (Errol Morris, 1997) - ****
Dimensions of Dialogue (Jan Svankmajer, 1982) - *½
Blissfully Yours (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2002) - **
Homeless Hare (Chuck Jones, 1950) - **
[2nd] Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Chris Columbus, 2001) - *
TRON (Steven Lisberger, 1982) - **
[2nd] Lifted (Gary Rydstrom, 2006) - ****
[3rd] Ratatouille (Brad Bird, Jan Pinkava , 2007) - **½
[2nd] The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993) - ****
The Fly (David Cronenberg, 1986) - ***½
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise, 1996) - ***½
[2nd] Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Chris Columbus, 2002) - *
[2nd] What's Up, Doc? (Robert McKimson, 1950) - ***
Land of Silence and Darkness (Werner Herzog, 1971) - ****
From Hand to Mouth (Alfred J. Goulding & Hal Roach, 1919) - **½
[2nd] Cat's Cradle (Stan Brakhage, 1959) - ****
Diary of a Country Priest (Robert Bresson, 1951) - ***½
Spite Marriage (Edward Sedgwick, 1929) - *
[2nd] October (Grigori Aleksandrov, Sergei Eisenstein, 1928) - *½
All These Women (Ingmar Bergman, 1964) - ***
8 Ball Bunny (Chuck Jones, 1950) - *½
[2nd] RoboCop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987) - ***
The Ring (Alfred Hitchcock, 1927) - **
[3rd] Wedlock House: An Intercourse (Stan Brakhage, 1959) - ***½
A Scene at the Sea (Takeshi Kitano, 1991) - ***
Porco Rosso (Hayao Miyazaki, 1992) - ****
[2nd] Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Alfonso Cuarón, 2004) - **
[2nd] Rabbit of Seville (Chuck Jones, 1950) - ****
Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter Jr. (Errol Morris, 1999) - **½
Puce Moment (Kenneth Anger, 1949) - ***½
[2nd] The Dover Boys at Pimento University (Chuck Jones, 1942) - ****
[4th] Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964) - ****
A Man Escaped (Robert Bresson, 1956) - ***
A Close Shave (Nick Park, 1995) - ****
[2nd] Window Water Baby Moving (Stan Brakhage, 1962) - ****
Dumbo (Ben Sharpsteen, 1941) - ZERO
I Walked with a Zombie (Jacques Tourneur, 1943) - ***
The Ducksters (Chuck Jones, 1950) - ****
Observe and Report (Jody Hill, 2009) - *½
[2nd] Duel (Steven Spielberg, 1971) - ****
The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (Errol Morris, 2003) - ***½
Rabbit's Moon (Kenneth Anger, 1950) - ***
All the Real Girls (David Gordon Green, 2003) - ***
Slick Hare (Friz Freleng, 1947) - *
Life, and Nothing More... (Abbas Kiarostami, 1991) - ****
[2nd] The Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, 1937) - ****
Getting Any? (Takeshi Kitano, 1994) - **
[3rd] Aguirre: The Wrath of God (Werner Herzog, 1972) - ****
The Ladies of the Bois de Boulogne (Robert Bresson, 1945) - ***½
[2nd] Bugs Bunny Rides Again (Friz Freleng, 1948) - ***
[2nd] Insomnia (Christopher Nolan, 2002) - **½
Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004) - ****
[2nd] Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Mike Newell, 2005) - **½
Bunny Hugged (Chuck Jones, 1951) - **
Easy Virtue (Alfred Hitchcock, 1928) - **
Jean de Florette (Claude Berri, 1986) - ***
Drip-Along Daffy (Chuck Jones, 1951) - ***½
Songs from the Second Floor (Roy Andersson, 2000) - ****
[2nd] Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966) - ****
Assault on Precinct 13 (John Carpenter, 1976) - **

[StanleyK]

September balance:

Feature-Length: 30
Short Films: 13
Rewatches (FL): 16
Rewatches (SF): 10

Total Films: 69

Best Film: Land of Silence and Darkness
Worst Film: Dumbo
Most Disappointing: A Man Escaped, Mr. Death
Best Rewatch: Again, can't even pick.
Best Performances: MarÃ*a Cesares (The Ladies of the Bois de Boulogne), Jeff Goldblum (The Fly), Paul Schneider (All the Real Girls)



This was an excellent month.

[Raiders]

Worst Film: Dumbo
Most Disappointing: A Man Escaped

:crazy:

[StanleyK]

:crazy:

I'll just quote myself from the FDT:


His narration is just relaying information we're already processing visually. He doesn't reveal anything about himself through it, or even have any Malick-like philosophical musings; he's really just telling us what we see him doing. I find it superfluous and irritating.

I can't think of anything positive about it. Trite story, shit songs, nonsensical 10-minute drunken scene, just completely unengaging. By that point the racist-caricature crows aren't even close to being the worst thing about it.

[endingcredits]

I find this thread superfluous and irritating.

[StanleyK]

I find this thread superfluous and irritating.

Tell me why you find his narration so essential to the movie.

[endingcredits]

Tell me why you find his narration so essential to the movie.

In prison people talk to themselves. Bresson's protagonist reflects this.

[StanleyK]

In prison people talk to themselves. Bresson's protagonist reflects this.

So it's a stylistic choice to enhance the atmosphere; I just didn't care much for it, as it detracted from my experience rather than adding to it.

[StanleyK]

Fantasia (various, 1940) - **
[2nd] Partly Cloudy (Peter Sohn, 2009) - *
[2nd] Up (Pete Docter & Bob Petersen, 2009) - ****
La Bête Humaine (Jean Renoir, 1938) - ****
[2nd] The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (Werner Herzog, 1974) - ***½
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (Michael Cimino, 1974) - *½
[2nd] High Diving Hare (Friz Freleng, 1949) - ****
Glengarry Glen Ross (James Foley, 1992) - ***
[2nd] Lilja 4-Ever (Lukas Moodysson, 2002) - **
Bullet in the Head (John Woo, 1990) - ***½
Shame (Ingmar Bergman, 1968) - ****
Prelude: Dog Star Man (Stan Brakhage, 1962) - ***½
The Wearing of the Grin (Chuck Jones, 1951) - **
Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959) - **½
Hercules (Ron Clements, John Musker, 1997) - **
[2nd] Antichrist (Lars von Trier, 2009) - ****
[2nd] Rabbit Fire (Chuck Jones, 1951) - ****
[2nd] Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (David Yates, 2007) - ***
[2nd] Watchmen (Zack Snyder, 2009) - **
My Man Godfrey (Gregory La Cava, 1936) - ****
Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami, 1990) - ****
[2nd] Happy Together (Kar Wai Wong, 1997) - ****
[4th] Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973) - ****
Children of Paradise (Marcel Carné, 1945) - ****
[3rd] Rabbit Fire (Chuck Jones, 1951) - ****
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (Zack Snyder, 2010) - *½
Beep, Beep (Chuck Jones, 1952) - **½
The Trial of Joan of Arc (Robert Bresson, 1962) - **
[2nd] The Pledge (Sean Penn, 2001) - **
Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2006) - ****
Platform (Jia Zhangke, 2000) - ***½
The Leopard Man (Jacques Tourneur, 1943) - **½
Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata, 1988) - ***
Operation: Rabbit (Chuck Jones, 1952) - ***½
The Killing Fields (Roland Joffé, 1984) - **½
[2nd] The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (Peter Greenaway, 1989) - ****
Top Hat (Mark Sandrich, 1935) - **
Dog Star Man: Part I (Stan Brakhage, 1962) - **
The Element of Crime (Lars von Trier, 1984) - **½
[2nd] In the Mood for Love (Kar Wai Wong, 2000) - ****
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (David Yates, 2009) - ***
[2nd] The Blood of a Poet (Jean Cocteau, 1930) - ****
Big Top Bunny (Robert McKimson, 1951) - **½
Lorna's Silence (Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, 2008) - ***
[2nd] Kids Return (Takeshi Kitano, 1996) - ****
Dogtooth (Giorgios Lanthimos, 2009) - ****
The Steamroller and the Violin (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1961) - ***
Darkness/Light/Darkness (Jan Svankmajer, 1989) - ****
[2nd] Ivan's Childhood (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1962) - ***
[2nd] Water, Water Every Hare (Chuck Jones, 1952) - ****
Whisper of the Heart (Yoshifumi Kondo, 1995) - **½
Dead Ringers (David Cronenberg, 1988) - ****
Memories of Murder (Joon-Ho Bong, 2003) - ****
A Day in the Country (Jean Renoir, 1936) - **½
Au Hasard Balthazar (Robert Bresson, 1966) - ****
[2nd] Hana-Bi (Takeshi Kitano, 1997) - ****
Whirlpool of Fate (Jean Renoir, 1925) - ***
[2nd] The Castle of Cagliostro (Hayao Miyazaki, 1979) - **½
Phantom (Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau, 1922) - **½
You, the Living (Roy Andersson, 2007) - ***½
Zombieland (Ruben Fleischer, 2009) - *

[StanleyK]

October balance:

Feature-Length: 31
Short Films: 8
Rewatches (FL): 16
Rewatches (SF): 5

Total Films: 60

Best Film: Memories of Murder/Syndromes and a Century
Worst Film: Zombieland
Most Disappointing: Grave of the Fireflies, Whisper of the Heart
Best Performances: I've kind of stopped thinking about performances.
Best Rewatch: For the third time, I can't even pick. I do believe I'll start devoting more time to viewing favorites again.