The Movie: Rear Window, directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Recommendation: AFI Top 100.
Reason: It's #48.
Disturbia was okay, but Rear Window just transcends. It's sweet, funny, poignant, entertaining, tense, suspenseful...it has all of the necessary parts to be an excellent film. And it is one. Grace Kelly and James Stewart were excellent leads in a story that's as much about our voyeurism as it was about Jeff's.
I don't even feel qualified to review this film. It was just great. The perspective-entirely from Jeff's apartment-was so well planned, the supporting actors did so much with so few lines and so much expressive acting, the characters were sympathetic...I could go on and on. The story was just so human.
I can't not recommend that everyone see this movie. It's just so good. For a film that's entertaining, thoughtful and interesting, I wouldn't look much further.
-162/365 down, 203/365 to go
Sunday, August 5, 2007
It's better if you imagine that it's Rex Manning day, and you have to watch his movie.
The Movie: Grease 2, directed by Patricia Birch
Recommendation: H
Reason: I'm not really sure, aside from possibly thinking I hadn't already seen it. Yes, that's right. I've sat through Grease 2 twice.
Hollywood wisdom states that sequels are rarely as good as the original. We don't need to retread that ground, except to say that Grease 2 is the best argument I've ever see for that rule. It does everything wrong that a sequel can do. Most of the original cast, aside from a few sad hangers-on, are gone. The story is exactly the same. Tenuous attempts to connect it to the original come off as stupid (why does Sandi, the AUSTRALIAN GIRL have a cousin from ENGLAND? Could it be that they want another character with an accent?). Multiple attempts were made to recreate scenes from the original movie, instead of setting the sequel apart in any way. Oh, and the director of the second movie is the choreographer from the first one.
Michelle Pfeiffer is unconvincing as the greaser-hanger-on Stephanie. Maxwell Caulfield is probably the best casting decision in the movie, and he still sucks. He's the only thing that makes the movie remotely okay (see the title for the reason, and if you still don't get it, watch Empire Records). The guys playing the T-Birds are...just unbelievable as straight guys. The cameos by characters from the original movie come off as desperate and pathetic-Frenchy and the leader of the Scorpions? Seriously?
I don't want to really get into the singing, the acting, the plot, the shooting, the editing...the only solid part of the movie was, you guessed it, the dancing! The dance sequences were well choreographed, sweeping and ultimately horribly shot and edited. Though they were well done, they were confusing and disruptive to the flow of the film. What a shock.
-160/365 down, 205/365 to go.
Recommendation: H
Reason: I'm not really sure, aside from possibly thinking I hadn't already seen it. Yes, that's right. I've sat through Grease 2 twice.
Hollywood wisdom states that sequels are rarely as good as the original. We don't need to retread that ground, except to say that Grease 2 is the best argument I've ever see for that rule. It does everything wrong that a sequel can do. Most of the original cast, aside from a few sad hangers-on, are gone. The story is exactly the same. Tenuous attempts to connect it to the original come off as stupid (why does Sandi, the AUSTRALIAN GIRL have a cousin from ENGLAND? Could it be that they want another character with an accent?). Multiple attempts were made to recreate scenes from the original movie, instead of setting the sequel apart in any way. Oh, and the director of the second movie is the choreographer from the first one.
Michelle Pfeiffer is unconvincing as the greaser-hanger-on Stephanie. Maxwell Caulfield is probably the best casting decision in the movie, and he still sucks. He's the only thing that makes the movie remotely okay (see the title for the reason, and if you still don't get it, watch Empire Records). The guys playing the T-Birds are...just unbelievable as straight guys. The cameos by characters from the original movie come off as desperate and pathetic-Frenchy and the leader of the Scorpions? Seriously?
I don't want to really get into the singing, the acting, the plot, the shooting, the editing...the only solid part of the movie was, you guessed it, the dancing! The dance sequences were well choreographed, sweeping and ultimately horribly shot and edited. Though they were well done, they were confusing and disruptive to the flow of the film. What a shock.
-160/365 down, 205/365 to go.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Finally, something good.
The Movie: The Jacket, directed by John Maybury
Recommendation: Me!
Reason: Adrien Brody's part in The Village really appealed to me. Also, Keira Knightley.
Keira Knightley taking a swing at an American accent was a little jarring to me. Though hers was better than Hilary Swanks in The Black Dahlia. And guess what? That's my only major criticism of the movie! Huzzah! It's so refreshing to see something good today! With a slightly stronger supporting cast and script, this could have been a true classic, a suitable heir to Jacob's Ladder. It missed, but it was a near miss.
Adrien Brody really is compelling in this role. He's flexible, disappears entirely into the part and portrays everything so clearly that it's really wonderful to watch. He's unconventionally talented. Keira Knightley was a little awkward, but when she was in the role, there was no separation. As mentioned, the supporting cast was a little weak. Jennifer Jason Leigh was the strongest of them, with Kris Kristofferson not quite being as convincing as he could be. Daniel Craig got a quick doubletake, but he didn't stand out enough.
The movie was well shot, with apparently some method acting caught on screen. Adrien Brody spent quite a bit of time locked in his death-metaphor...er...drawer, and some of the effects of that lockdown made it into the film. It was really effective and obviously quite convincing.
-159/365 down, 206/365 to go
Recommendation: Me!
Reason: Adrien Brody's part in The Village really appealed to me. Also, Keira Knightley.
Keira Knightley taking a swing at an American accent was a little jarring to me. Though hers was better than Hilary Swanks in The Black Dahlia. And guess what? That's my only major criticism of the movie! Huzzah! It's so refreshing to see something good today! With a slightly stronger supporting cast and script, this could have been a true classic, a suitable heir to Jacob's Ladder. It missed, but it was a near miss.
Adrien Brody really is compelling in this role. He's flexible, disappears entirely into the part and portrays everything so clearly that it's really wonderful to watch. He's unconventionally talented. Keira Knightley was a little awkward, but when she was in the role, there was no separation. As mentioned, the supporting cast was a little weak. Jennifer Jason Leigh was the strongest of them, with Kris Kristofferson not quite being as convincing as he could be. Daniel Craig got a quick doubletake, but he didn't stand out enough.
The movie was well shot, with apparently some method acting caught on screen. Adrien Brody spent quite a bit of time locked in his death-metaphor...er...drawer, and some of the effects of that lockdown made it into the film. It was really effective and obviously quite convincing.
-159/365 down, 206/365 to go
They're like twins. Totally twins.
The Movie: The Black Dahlia, directed by Brian De Palma
Recommendation: L.A. Confidential. I believe they know one another.
Reason: I love noir, I loved L.A. Confidential, I love Mia Kirshner, I liked Carrie and Mission: Impossible. C'mon, this was practically a sure thing!
I've got to find some way to turn today around. The Night Listener was lukewarm, The Wicker Man BLEW and now The Black Dahlia somehow turned out uninteresting and horribly convoluted. It started nicely, it looked so right, they...okay, so they had some casting problems going on. Like Josh Harnett, for starters. Scarlett Johannsen. Hilary Swank. The feel that L.A. Confidential pulled off with aplomb was caught in bits and snatches here and there, mostly when the visuals were telling the story.
Unfortunately, once the look of the movie is overtaken by the performances and the story, the goodness evaporates. Don't get too attached to the story of the Dahlia herself-her life and death seem like afterthoughts, overwhelmed by subplots and rambling offshoots. One of the more compelling unsolved Hollywood murders is shelved to showcase Josh Harnett's inability to command the screen and Hilary Swank and Scarlett Johannsen slinking around in vaguely appropriate costumes (and in the former's case, a godawful accent).
If you look for the good, though, you can find it. Aaron Eckhart finds some soul and neurosis in the case the movie's supposed to revolve around. He digs deep to play his part and he would have made a much better protagonist than Harnett's soulful gaze. Mia Kirshner plays well, perhaps overworking her moderate screentime. In comparison to the other women in the picture she's a shining star. Rose McGowan, clocking in at around five minutes of screentime as Sheryl Saddon, has more personality than Hilary Swank's Madeleine Linscott. Let's not even mention Fiona Shaw utterly dominating the climax of the film, pushing the madcap campiness much too far and simultaneously ripping any possibility of one of the leads outshining her from their limp grasp. I don't know that those performances and the look of the film are enough to recommend it to anyone, though.
-158/365 down, 207/365 to go
Recommendation: L.A. Confidential. I believe they know one another.
Reason: I love noir, I loved L.A. Confidential, I love Mia Kirshner, I liked Carrie and Mission: Impossible. C'mon, this was practically a sure thing!
I've got to find some way to turn today around. The Night Listener was lukewarm, The Wicker Man BLEW and now The Black Dahlia somehow turned out uninteresting and horribly convoluted. It started nicely, it looked so right, they...okay, so they had some casting problems going on. Like Josh Harnett, for starters. Scarlett Johannsen. Hilary Swank. The feel that L.A. Confidential pulled off with aplomb was caught in bits and snatches here and there, mostly when the visuals were telling the story.
Unfortunately, once the look of the movie is overtaken by the performances and the story, the goodness evaporates. Don't get too attached to the story of the Dahlia herself-her life and death seem like afterthoughts, overwhelmed by subplots and rambling offshoots. One of the more compelling unsolved Hollywood murders is shelved to showcase Josh Harnett's inability to command the screen and Hilary Swank and Scarlett Johannsen slinking around in vaguely appropriate costumes (and in the former's case, a godawful accent).
If you look for the good, though, you can find it. Aaron Eckhart finds some soul and neurosis in the case the movie's supposed to revolve around. He digs deep to play his part and he would have made a much better protagonist than Harnett's soulful gaze. Mia Kirshner plays well, perhaps overworking her moderate screentime. In comparison to the other women in the picture she's a shining star. Rose McGowan, clocking in at around five minutes of screentime as Sheryl Saddon, has more personality than Hilary Swank's Madeleine Linscott. Let's not even mention Fiona Shaw utterly dominating the climax of the film, pushing the madcap campiness much too far and simultaneously ripping any possibility of one of the leads outshining her from their limp grasp. I don't know that those performances and the look of the film are enough to recommend it to anyone, though.
-158/365 down, 207/365 to go
I do not have a thing for Nicolas Cage
The Movie: The Wicker Man, directed by Neil Labute
Recommendation: The internet.
Reason: The Best Scenes from The Wicker Man
I swear, I could watch Leelee Sobieski get kicked in the face all day. I used to think she might be a decent actress in years to come, but damn was I ever wrong. I mean it, in a movie like this it's hard to pick out a particularily bad actor, but jeez. Leelee stole the show. Nick Cage at least got to stomp around punching people while wearing a bear suit. Sobieski just sucks.
You really don't _need_ to see The Wicker Man. Youtube has it right-the scenes in that now-famous clip are the best of the whole thing. Putting yourself through it is an exercise in torment. I watched it because of the video, and because I'd heard the original was unsettling and creepy. In this...mockery...we get Nicolas Cage assaulting children and kicking Leelee Sobieski in the face. No, I'm not going to stop mentioning that. She really is terrible.
I can only assume Molly Parker was involved in this travesty under duress. That's what I'm choosing to believe, since she's one of my favorite Canadian actresses. I just don't know what else I can possibly say. Watch the Youtube clip. It's all there. I seriously can't improve on the 'commentary' as presented in those two and a half minutes. If you're entertained by Nick Cage punching women while in costume, this is really the movie for you. Oh yeah. And Leelee Sobieski getting kicked in the face.
-157/365 down, 208/365 to go
Recommendation: The internet.
Reason: The Best Scenes from The Wicker Man
I swear, I could watch Leelee Sobieski get kicked in the face all day. I used to think she might be a decent actress in years to come, but damn was I ever wrong. I mean it, in a movie like this it's hard to pick out a particularily bad actor, but jeez. Leelee stole the show. Nick Cage at least got to stomp around punching people while wearing a bear suit. Sobieski just sucks.
You really don't _need_ to see The Wicker Man. Youtube has it right-the scenes in that now-famous clip are the best of the whole thing. Putting yourself through it is an exercise in torment. I watched it because of the video, and because I'd heard the original was unsettling and creepy. In this...mockery...we get Nicolas Cage assaulting children and kicking Leelee Sobieski in the face. No, I'm not going to stop mentioning that. She really is terrible.
I can only assume Molly Parker was involved in this travesty under duress. That's what I'm choosing to believe, since she's one of my favorite Canadian actresses. I just don't know what else I can possibly say. Watch the Youtube clip. It's all there. I seriously can't improve on the 'commentary' as presented in those two and a half minutes. If you're entertained by Nick Cage punching women while in costume, this is really the movie for you. Oh yeah. And Leelee Sobieski getting kicked in the face.
-157/365 down, 208/365 to go
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