Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1961)

Rating: ***

Good but not particularly entertaining.

White Zombie (1932)

Rating: *** 1/2

An extra 1/2 star given its age.

The Killers (1946)

Rating: ***

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Rating: ** 1/2

Just read the Wikipedia summary of the original short story from which this was adapted. Boy, did they Hollywoodize this!

The Smashing Machine

Rating: ***

Murder on the Orient Express

Rating: *** 1/2

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie

Rating: **1/2

Could have been good, but suffers from Cassavettes amateurish direction. Also, the plot (which WAS interesting) is pretty much abandoned for the last 30 minutes of the movie.

The Lives of Others

Rating: ***

Street Fight

Rating: ***

The Taking of Pelham 123

Rating: ***1/2

The Black Cat (1980) (D: Fulci)

Rating: **

Pretty stinky except for Patrick McGee's performance.

Slumdog Millionaire

Rating: ***

Good but not as amazing as most critics are making it out to be. Love story detracts some.

Swingers

Rating: ***

Dracula Contra Frankenstein (1972) (D: Jess Franco)

Rating: **1/2

The Wolfman inexplicably makes an appearance at the end. Not one of the better Jess Franco movies, but has enough interesting moments to make it worth a watch. From the same period as "The Erotic Rites of Frankenstein" and "The Demons," using most of the same cast and settings.

Howard Vernon = Best Dracula Ever

Curse of the Cat People

Rating: ***

I Am Cuba

Visuals: ****
Story: **

Average Rating: ***

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

Rating: ***1/2

Stage Fright (1950) (D: Hitchcock)

Rating: **

Way too long for such an uninvolving story.

Under The Volcano (1984)

Rating: ***

Let The Right One In

Rating: ***1/2

Basquiat (1996)

Rating: ***1/2

True Blood

Rating: ***1/2

Definitely the best drama on HBO since Sopranos and Six Feet Under ended.

Wish You Were Here

Rating: ***

East of Eden

Rating: ***1/2

Sabotage (1936)

Rating: ***

Good British-era Hitchcock.

Barton Fink

Rating: *** 1/2

Very interesting.

Rebel Without a Cause

Rating: ***

The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

Rating: ***1/2

The Wrong Man

Rating: ***

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Rating: ***

Blade

Rating: *1/2

Some nice touches here and there, but on the whole pretty, pretty lame. Laughable at times. I still want to see the sequel, directed by Guillermo del Toro.

Torn Curtain (1966)

Rating: **

Entertaining enough, but overall one of Hitchcock's weaker movies. Paul Newman is good, but Julie Andrews is miscast. Also, the score sounds cheap.

Severance

Rating: ** 1/2

First half is good, then becomes predictable once the action starts.

Religulous

Rating: ***

I hope at least one religious person gets converted.

The Color of Money

Rating: ** 1/2

Entertaining and with good performances and direction. Story isn't quite worthy of the treatment.

The Edge of the World (1937)

Rating: ** 1/2

Good location photography.

Miller's Crossing (1990)

Rating: ***

I Confess (1953)

Rating: **

Good performance by Montgomery Clift, but Hitchcock is miserable at melodrama.

The Young Philadelphians (1959)

Rating: ***

O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Rating: ***

The Trouble With Harry (1955)

Rating: *** (on its own terms); **1/2 (as a Hitchcock movie)

Good dark comedy, but not exactly what you expect from Hitch. Well executed, with good photography and score.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

Rating: ***

Good early Hitchcock, but definitely bettered by the later version.

The Hudsucker Proxy

Rating: ***

Very original.

Burn After Reading

Rating: ***

Saboteur (1942)

Rating: ***

Good but not great.

Masters of Horror: Pelts (D: Dario Argento)

Rating: **1/2

Tales-From-The-Crypt-ish. Enjoyable and entertaining . . . also disgusting.

The Long, Hot Summer (1958)

Rating: ***

The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

Rating: *** 1/2

Solid Hitchcock

Tell No One

Rating: ***1/2

Far-fetched at times, but very involving. The over two hours fly by.

Lady in a Cage (1964)

Rating: ***

Pessimistic story starring Olivia de Havilland as a woman who gets trapped in a home elevator while thieves (including James Caan) rob and torture her. Lots of great overacting (appropriately, given the material).

Roman de Gare

Rating: ***

First hour is great. After that, there's nowhere to go but down (though not bad, by any means). The male lead is great (also in Delicatessen) but so ugly that the romantic stuff at the end is a bit hard to swallow.

Hud (1963) Starring Paul Newman

Rating: ***

Murder Rock (1984) (D: Lucio Fulci)

Rating: *1/2

The first fifteen minutes are gloriously bad-good: extended dance segments, nudity, HORRIBLE music (by Keith Emerson, trying to copy Moroder's Flashdance score). The rest is a boring giallo.

Tropic Thunder

Rating: **

Disappointing.

The 49th Parallel (1941) (Powell and Pressburger)

Rating: *** 1/2

Very clever, though definitely a propaganda film. Lawrence Olivier's French-Canadian accent is hilariously bad.

Girl Slaves of Morgana La Fey

Rating: **

Had potential but didn't deliver.

Cat On a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Rating: ***

Run Home Slow (1963)

Rating: * 1/2

Terrible, except for Mercedes McCambridge's performance and the score.

See No Evil (1971)

Rating: **

Starring Mia Farrow. Pretty poor horror movie. Never even reveals the killer's motive.

To Catch a Thief (D: Alfred Hitchcock)

Rating: ***

The Misfits (1961)

Rating: ***

Features final performances of Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe. Also stars Montgomery Clift and Eli Wallach

The World's Greatest Sinner (1961)

Rating: ***

I bought this. Written, directed, and starring Timothy Carey with music by FZ. Surprised this isn't a cult classic (maybe because of lack of availability). Music includes excerpts later used in "Holiday in Berlin" (the main theme), "Lumpy Gravy" (the part right after Lumpy Gravy main theme), and "Dog Breath (In the Year of the Plague)" (the instrumental part after the song).

Mad Men (Season 1)

Rating: ****

HBO passed on this. What idiots!

Spirit of the Beehive

Rating: ***

Very unique. Works even though not much happens plot-wise.

Do You Like Hitchcock? (D: Dario Argento)

Rating: ** 1/2

Entertaining but surprisingly lightweight for Argento.

The Maltese Falcon

Rating: *** 1/2

The Dark Knight

Rating: ***

Good but overrated. Second half loses steam.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Rating: *** 1/2

The Orphanage

Rating: ***

Wall-E

Rating: ***

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) D: John Huston

Rating: ***

Best portrayal in film history of a Mexican bandit: "We don't need no stinking badges"

4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days

Rating: ***1/2

The Mother of Tears (D: Dario Argento)

Rating: ** or **1/2

Jeepers Creepers

Rating: ***

The Psychic (D: Lucio Fulci)

Rating: ***

Surprisingly well done and scary.

In This Our Life (1942); D: John Huston

Rating: *** (close to ***1/2)

Good story and performances.

The Burning

Rating: ** (or less)
Entertainment value rating: ***

Starring Jason Alexander. Music by Rick Wakeman. Special effects by Tom Savini. Sounds good, huh? . . . Nope, it sucks. (Though, in all seriousness, highly recommended.)

The Stranger (1946) D: Orson Welles

Rating: ***1/2

I didn't know about this one. Has a more traditional story than most Welles movies, but is still pretty damn good.

Sleepless (2001) D: Dario Argento

Rating: **1/2

There are good things and bad things (or maybe just boring things).
Good things: Max Von Sydow, a return to style for Argento (similar in feel to Opera), references to earlier Argento movies, Goblin score, bad taste.
Bad things: acting of younger actors, completely uninteresting plot (I wasn't even sure what the suspense was supposed to be about until the end), print of DVD.

Frantic (1988) D: Roman Polanski

Rating: ***

Entertaining thriller. Ennio Morricone score.

Bitter Moon (1992) D: Roman Polanski

Rating: ***1/2 (I guess; sometimes its good/bad in the same way of Showgirls)

The Pianist (2002)

Rating: ***

Them (Ils) (2007)

Rating: **1/2

Similar in many ways to The Strangers. Good, but nowhere near as creepy.

Jane Eyre (1944)

Starring: Orson Welles, Joan Fontaine

Rating: ***

The Strangers

***

Scary as fuck (but pretty cheap).

Review

Zappa: The Torture Never Stops: ***1/2

I would have rather had two DVDs, the first with the early show and the second with the late show. As it stands, there is way too much You Are What You Is material.

Review

Diary of the Dead (the second time): *** Much better this time. I still don't like the characters, but, otherwise, it's pretty damn good.

Reviews

Recount: ***

From Here to Eternity: ** (waste of a good cast)

Review

13 Ghosts: ** (but still fun)

Review

Breakfast at Tiffany's: ***1/2

Review

Gone with the Wind: *** (maybe ***1/2 for historical considerations)

Review

The Snake Pit: ***

Review

Hush . . . Hush Sweet Charlotte: (***)

Review

Lust for a Vampire: **1/2 (though entertaining)

Reviews

The Heiress: ***1/2
A Place in the Sun: ***
Who Can Kill a Child?: ***
The Counterfeiters: ***

Reviews

Hatchet: ***

The Ruins: ***

Review: Diary of the Dead

Rating: **1/2

Unfortunately, I had to leave the movie before it was over due to motion sickness. I moved towards the back of th theater about 45 minutes in, but I couldn't shake it off. I really wish filmmakers would stop using the hand-held camera gimmick (Cloverfield, Blair Witch Project). Can't I watch a movie without being made sick? On the other hand, the gimmick was about the only thing that distinguished the movie from the others in the series. The characters were completely unlikeable (annoying college students) and the story was way too heavy handed (you can't possibly miss the "message"). Still, the zombie kills were great. That's the only reason to see it. Since I left early, I probably missed the best parts. I'll watch it again when it comes out on DVD.

Reviews:

Juno: ***

In Bruges: ***1/2

The Band's Visit: ***

Review: Robinson Crusoe on Mars (1964)

Rating: ***

A very unique movie, different from your typical science fiction story. I'd give it ***1/2 stars for most of the movie, but it weakens a little bit once the character of "Friday" is introduced.

Review: The Phantom of Liberty

***1/2

Review: Isle of the Dead (Val Lewton Collection)

Rating: ***

As opposed to the films directed by Jacques Tournier, which tend to start explosively and then become more and more intellectual, the Mark Robson films (such as this one) follow more traditional horror film structures. This one starts with a lot of atmosphere and a good premise, slows a bit during the middle, and then climaxes towards the end. I have to admit that one scene in this actually scared me! Like most of the Val Lewton produced movies, you can see the influence of this film on Mario Bava movies such as Bay of Blood and Black Sabbath. Also, Bava used the same disappearing technique found in Isle of the Dead in the antique store scene of Blood and Black Lace.

Biberkopf and Mietze (Love Theme)

I recently gave up on Berlin Alexanderplatz (**). Nevertheless, enjoy the "love theme" from the movie.

Review: Cloverfield (2008)

Rating: **1/2

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .eh

Review: Mildred Pierce (1945)

Rating: **1/2

Looks to be an exciting film noir for the first fifteen minutes or so. Ends up a so-so melodrama. The most objectionable element is a black maid that speaks in high, whinny voice like the black lady from Police Academy (should be included on a top-ten list of the worst portrayals of a black person in cinema history.)

Review: Duck, You Sucker

Rating: ***

The first 30 minutes or so were excellent. Unfortunately, the remaining two hours didn't quite live up to the promise of the opening. Still, the basic story was interesting and there were plenty of great scenes (and great explosions.) If only it had been trimmed a bit (could have easily lost 40 minutes without losing anything essential.) Its greatest asset is Ennio Morricone's score, which is almost as good as that of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West.

Review: Three. . .Extremes

A trilogy of short Asian horror movies:

Overall ***

Dumplings: **1/2 (director: Fruit Chan)

Apparently this director is best known for art-house fare. This is very well executed, with an effective deliberate pace. It probably deserves a better review, but I found the basic premise very off-putting (though that's probably the point). This segment has been released separately as a 90 minute feature; here it feels too short to succeed.


Cut: *** (director: Chan-wook Park)

This director is best known for "Old Boy." This is a pretty funny dark comedy about a director who is kidnapped by a crazy extra. He keeps trying to get the director to kill this kid that he's brought along.

Favorite exchange:

Director: Who is that kid?

Kidnapper: I don't know either. I just saw her on the street and thought she looked bored, so I brought her along.

Box: *** (director: Takashi Miike)

Surprisingly, given the director, this is the most restrained of all the segments. Some of it feels like a David Lynch movie. And like a Lynch movie, I'm not exactly sure what happens in it.

Week of January 7, 2008

Pan's Labyrinth: ***1/2
This far exceeded my expectations, which were pretty low due to the opinion of someone whose name rhymes with "clef"

Sawdust and Tinsel: ***
I'm being somewhat generous with three stars (on account of Harriet Andersson's pillowy lips, which held my attention way more than the story)