Film Revues

Rust and Bone (2012) - dir. Jacques Audiard Snubbed from last...

Wed, 22 May 2013 21:01:38 -0400

Rust and Bone (2012) - dir. Jacques Audiard

Snubbed from last year’s Oscars, French filmmaker Jacques Audiard does it again. Now, allow me to explain: Marion Cotillard deserved a Best Actress nomination. Stephane Fontaine deserved a nod for Best Cinematography. But the film itself is incredibly varied.

Each scene is beautifully constructed and plays out to near cinematic perfection. But the plot is far too grandiose, convoluted and abstract. The neo-realism brought by Audiard falls on deaf ears with this one. The film’s got killer whales, bareknuckle boxing, amputee sex, child abuse, animal abuse, Katy Perry and more. Excellent in pieces but sort of melds together with as much cohesion as a greatest hits album.

Audiard will someday make a truly excellent film, but this is not it.

7.1

#50 - Max Where the Wild Things Are (2009), Max Records, 9 yrs....

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:02:12 -0400

#50 - Max

Where the Wild Things Are (2009), Max Records, 9 yrs. old

The film was a terrible mess (not for lack of effort), but young Max Records churned out a solid performance - and he was doing all his acting with animatronics and yet-to-be-filled-in CGI.

50 Favorite Child Performances

Equus (1977) - dir. Sidney Lumet I’m willing to watch...

Wed, 22 May 2013 15:01:57 -0400

Equus (1977) - dir. Sidney Lumet

I’m willing to watch anything directed by Sidney Lumet (and you should be too). Equus is an award-winning play written by Peter Shaffer that probably should have just stayed as being a play. I’ve read it. It’s fantastic. This film… is moderately good. I mean… it’s not a bad film. There’s some good performances and some of the more stage-ready scenes translated pretty well, but it just falls flat somehow along the way.

5.7

The Little Mermaid (1989) - dir. Ron Clements & John...

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:01:51 -0400

The Little Mermaid (1989) - dir. Ron Clements & John Musker

Say what you will about the explicit sexism - but the Little Mermaid came as part of Disney’s strongest 5 film run in their prestigious history. Beginning with the unexpectedly great Mouse Detective in 1988, then Mermaid, then Beauty & the Beast, Aladdin and finally the Lion King - Disney really knocked it out the park here. If not for the story (Ponyo is a WAY better adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story) then at least for the music and the lovable characters. Flounder might be a bit daft but Sebastian is fantastic, Ursula is scary as shit and King Triton is the best Disney parent there is.

Ariel might be a terrible representation of a heroine and could even be the worst possible role model for young girls - but if you can look past that (it is, admittedly, a difficult task, but you always have to look past some form of oppression in order to enjoy a Disney flick) the film is rather enjoyable. The weakest of the aforementioned run of five, but a strong showing nonetheless.

7.6

#1 - Silent Shorts from the Turn of the Century A Trip to the...

Tue, 21 May 2013 18:02:23 -0400

#1 - Silent Shorts from the Turn of the Century

A Trip to the Moon (1902), directed by Georges Melies
& The Great Train Robbery (1903), directed by Edwin S. Porter

So you want to be a cinephile? Well, I’ve created this list of films as sort of a check-off list for newcomers and avid filmgoers alike. Lots of great films are skipped over but if you manage to watch all 101 films on my list - you will gain a better understanding and appreciation for film as an art form.

Before there were features… there were shorts. And these two shorts in particular have stood the test of time. They’re both on youtube and worth watching multiple times.

101 Must-See Films

Cinematographer: Wally Pfister

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:02:09 -0400

Memento

The Italian Job

Batman Begins

The Prestige

The Dark Knight

Inception

Moneyball

The Dark Knight Rises

Cinematographer: Wally Pfister

Actress: Audrey Hepburn Nothing makes me want to visit Paris...

Mon, 20 May 2013 21:01:32 -0400

Roman Holiday

Sabrina

War and Peace

The Children's Hour

Funny Face

Love in the Afternoon

Breakfast at Tiffany's

How to Steal a Million

Actress: Audrey Hepburn

Nothing makes me want to visit Paris more than Ms. Hepburn.

#2 - 1920s German Horror Films The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari...

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:02:11 -0400

#2 - 1920s German Horror Films

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), directed by Robert Wiene
&
Nosferatu (1922), directed by F.W. Murnau

Both of these are fucking splendid… and ninety years later are still in the top five greatest horror films of all time.

101 Must-See Films

mikewaters: filmrevues: Heathers (1989) - dir. Michael...

Mon, 20 May 2013 15:01:52 -0400

mikewaters:

filmrevues:

Heathers (1989) - dir. Michael Lehmann

I started this and just thought… what an over-stylized piece of 80s trash. It was terrible. And over-the-top. And Mean Girls did it so much better. But then I got distracted… and I didn’t turn it off. And Christian Slater started pouring bleach into a coffee cup. And it got… good? I hated it for the first twenty-five minutes, but it soaked in a little bit. And it became enjoyable. A definite mark of the 80s but watch some John Hughes films and then watch this, I think it will hit home with the same punch it may have originally had. My hatred for Winona Ryder probably improved how much I liked this film.

7.9

Christian Slater started pouring bleach into a coffee cup. And it got… good?

best review ever

RE-revue: Heathers (1989) - dir. Michael Lehmann

I’ve decided that not only does Heathers get better over the course of the film… it also gets better just by thinking about it, or by watching it again on Netflix Instant.

Heathers is a silly quirky fluke. An adorable murderous little fluke.

8.1

Funny Face (1957) - dir. Stanley Donen There is no reason to...

Sun, 19 May 2013 21:01:47 -0400

Funny Face (1957) - dir. Stanley Donen

There is no reason to watch this film.

Oh… wait… Audrey Hepburn. That’s the only reason to watch this film.

Oh… wait… Fred Astaire. So, there’s only two reasons to watch this film.

But then there’s the jazz-dancing in the Parisian cafe. And the montage of teaching Jo (Hepburn) how to be a model. And the cinematography is surpisingly delicious. And then Dick (Astaire) sings the title song.

So there’s plenty of reasons to watch this film. It’s not the most compelling story in the world, but Audrey Hepburn is absolutely fantastic and dominates the screen with her presence.

7.8

#3 - Battleship Potemkin (1925), directed by Sergei...

Sun, 19 May 2013 18:02:23 -0400

#3 - Battleship Potemkin (1925), directed by Sergei Eisenstein

The whole film is worth watching for that one staircase scene.

101 Must-See Films

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - dir. David Lean Forget the Fall,...

Sun, 19 May 2013 15:02:11 -0400

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - dir. David Lean

Forget the Fall, forget the Tree of Life, There Will Be Blood, Manhattan or any other film that tickles your visual fancy… because David Lean and director of photography F.A. Young did it better, and they did over half a century ago. Lawrence of Arabia is an epic by every definition - but it is also the most astoundingly beautiful film you’ll ever see. It’s an incredible feat.

The film itself… suffers from being far too much of a great thing. I love movies. But something rubs me wrong about a film that clocks in at well over three hours. There’s nothing wrong with Lawrence of Arabia - it’s got everything you could possible want in a film (and it should what with all that time) but when it all boils down the film is not exciting enough to demand repeat viewings. It is, however, an artistic triumph like no other.

7.7

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) - dir. J.J. Abrams Star Trek Into...

Sat, 18 May 2013 22:26:13 -0400

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) - dir. J.J. Abrams

Star Trek Into Darkness aka The Wrath of Khan remake no one’s been waiting for was a surprising success for J.J. (short for Steven Spielberg) Abrams. Seriously, Abrams’ Spielberg-ness is astonishing to me, and it just keeps coming through with each film. The newest installment of the newest installment of Star Trek is, without a doubt, the best and most fan-friendly film to date. It’s exactly what a summer blockbuster is supposed to be: there are a myriad of explosions, attractive faces, fantastic acting from under-appreciated actors (Zachary Qunto and Benedict Cumberbatch are flawless), and more one-liners than every previous Abrams film combined.

Seriously, it’s laugh out loud funny on such a consistent basis, this might be the best comedy of 2013 so far.

While the plot is rather foreseeable (it really is the Wrath of Khan) it never matters. And when all of the convoluted problems come to a sudden end you’re never mad that you didn’t actually think James T. Kirk or his crew were ever in any real danger. It’s a great action flick, and it’s everything I hoped it would be.

8.2

Actor: James “Jimmy” Stewart

Sat, 18 May 2013 21:01:51 -0400

You Can't Take It with You

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

The Philadelphia Story

It's a Wonderful Life

Rear Window

Vertigo

Anatomy of a Murder

The Flight of the Phoenix

Actor: James “Jimmy” Stewart

#4 - Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927), directed by F.W....

Sat, 18 May 2013 18:02:15 -0400

#4 - Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927), directed by F.W. Murnau

This movie is way better than you think it is.

101 Must-See Films

Along Came a Spider (2001) - dir. Lee Tamahori Let me preface...

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:01:58 -0400

Along Came a Spider (2001) - dir. Lee Tamahori

Let me preface this by saying - this was my favorite movie at one point. Now, allow me to clarify that I saw this when I was twelve and hadn’t seen many other R-rated films at that point. It was cool. And dark. And Morgan Freeman.

Revisiting the film all these years later (I haven’t watched it since I was in middle school) now that it’s on Netflix Instant I must say - I still have a soft spot. I love these 90s thrillers. They were all directed by no-name Hollywood directors (who the fuck is Lee Tamahori?) and adapted by no-name screenwriters (Marc Moss anybody?) from popular mystery novels (James Patterson… now there’s a name I actually recognize).

In conclusion - Along Came a Spider is no longer one of my favorites, though I never really thought it would be, But I still have a soft-spot for 90s-esque thrillers.

7.2

Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1983) - dir. John Landis

Fri, 17 May 2013 21:01:29 -0400

Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1983) - dir. John Landis

#5 - Metropolis (1927), directed by Fritz Lang German...

Fri, 17 May 2013 18:02:00 -0400

#5 - Metropolis (1927), directed by Fritz Lang

German Expressionism has never been so good. The remastered extended edition may be a bit lengthy for casual filmgoers… but oh lord is it magnificent.

101 Must-See Films

Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) - dir. John...

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:02:01 -0400

Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987) - dir. John Hughes

Funny. Predictable. Definitely from the 80s. Definitely a John Hughes film. Watching John Candy doing pretty much anything is amusing. But the little affectations and terrible attempt at “heart” ruined this film from being anything other than the routing holiday themed buddy comedy.

6.3

What do you think of the films "Contact" or "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" ?

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:09:00 -0400

I’ll be adding them to the top ten of my Netflix queue. I haven’t seen either film in over a decade...