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The Haunting of Molly Hartley (2008)
Not good, but don't fault the actors
For once, the acting is very good in one of these teen-horror movies, and the direction wasn't bad (though pretty predictable) -- but the story was so weak and confused that the film suffered terribly.
The title was totally off the mark -- the girl wasn't haunted in the "normal," popular use of the term, more "possessed" than haunted. And what was that prelude about? It was just a false start, for all practical purposes. (Yes, I do get that the 1997 girl was supposed to be another "chosen one," but the dating seemed arbitrary and silly -- if she were "chosen" and unique, and then was ((SPOILER ALERT))killed on the cusp of her 18th birthday, wouldn't those who set the whole choosing thing up need 18 years plus the length of a pregnancy to set up the next one? So "1997" should have been "1987," right? Indicative of the lack of internal logic in this film.) But I enjoyed the performances of all the main actors. Jake Weber was the only one I've consciously seen before, as the father, and he was good. The main character was believable and sympathetic, as was her punkish friend. The male lead, a Zac Efron look-alike (which may not be a good thing for his career) was good enough, the girl playing his girlfriend had weird hair but aside from that, was decent.
Homicide: Life on the Street: Crosetti (1994)
Excellent episode of the Best Show Ever on Broadcast TV
If Clark Johnson never acted in another episode, play or movie, he could rest comfortably knowing his performance in this episode was simply the best ever, in a show known to raise the emotional heights higher than usual on television.
His work has always been understated and cool, which made his explosion all the more unexpected, realistic and moving in this show. Highly recommended; kudos, Mr Johnson!
Padding for length Padding for length Padding for length (silly rule -- who's fault is it that I don't have a full 10-lines worth of kudos for Clark Johnson here?)
The Tracey Fragments (2007)
Annoyingly original ... or is it originally annoying?
Even if it was the first film to use "Mondrian multi-frame compositions" from start to finish, this will only appeal to you if you're a) an angst-ridden 15 year old girl, b) an Ellen Page fan or relative, or c) a misled fan of "Juno" who thinks anything with Ellen is better than anything else.
The split screen (aka "Mondrian multi-frame compositions") is pretentious and ineffective except in a few selective sequences. It does work occasionally, but almost by accident -- I bet it even surprised the director when it did.
This is an art-film gone mad. Ellen is excellent playing a less-fun, and far less funny, version of Juno in a family-hell situation. Recommended if you are fighting insomnia, this is possibly the longest 77 minute film of all time.
Battle 360 (2008)
Loads of fun!
The CGI isn't up to current standards, and they tend to flip and re-use many shots, but given that it's a History Channel production, and therefore doesn't have an HBO-sized budget, this is a very interesting and fun show.
The CGI is good and more than adequate to the task (although a scene of the carrier Akagi taking a direct hit on a Japanese plane on the flight-deck shows the plane engulfed in flames but not blown to smithereens). My only real criticism is that the narration skips a lot of detail.
Those of us who have read a lot on the Battle of Midway know Soryu was sunk a little after Kaga and Akagi, but that knowledge seems to be assumed by the writers -- of course, these first episodes focus almost entirely on USS Enterprise, CV-6, and not the battle as a whole, so maybe a "Battle 360" just on Midway would clear that up. That kind of omission is forgivable for viewers who know this stuff and just like to see things blow up (like me), but for neophytes, it may be confusing.
El Alamein - La linea del fuoco (2002)
Great little war film on a BIG subject
Given its small budget, this is a fine little film about Italian troops abandoned in the face of the British counter attack at El Alamein in late 1942.
More films and books need to be made about this sad chapter in the history of Italy, whose international military reputation is somewhat lower than that of the French.
Italian troops gave no less to their cause than did Germans or the British, the Russians, the Americans, and the Japanese. But because of poor leadership from Mussolini on down, they were forced to surrender in droves, and as much as we don't want to admit it, we Westerners hold those who surrender in pretty low esteem.
This film goes a long way toward correcting the historical record through its touching story, beautiful acting, wonderful art direction, and absolutely stunning cinematography.
The Omen (2006)
GOOD remake ... but still a REMAKE
I generally don't like remakes, they seem so, I don't know... unoriginal somehow. This was no exception, except it was genuinely well done.
The art direction was flawless, except wasn't it just a LITTLE odd that the Ambassador didn't live in the official residence, and what he did live in looked like a remodeled church?
The psychiatrist's office was virtually identical to that in "The Sopranos."
Damien riding his Razor through the halls looked an awful lot like what Kubrick did in the halls at the Overlook Hotel in The Shining... or did Kubrick rip it off from the original Omen??
Great casting of Mia Farrow! And what a great kill! (Oops, did that need a SPOILER warning? It's a REMAKE fer chrissake!)
I liked Liev Scheiber: he seemed to be channeling Gregory Peck, the same tone of voice, the same phrasing.
Julia Stiles wasn't bad, despite the reviews I read at the time.
When Pete Postlethwaite had his terminal experience, I liked how in the original the lightening came from a clear sky. Would have been cool if the storm had stopped the moment he... well, died.
David Thewlis made an excellent David Warner. Cynical but not annoyingly so!
I'm not sure I liked the color palate: too blue, great for London and the icy Italian monastery, but still too blue in Jerusalem and Rome (even though it was supposed to be winter).
Specific criticisms (and yes, I did take notes while watching): Why did Postlethwaite's priest have a 666 brand?
Why didn't Scheiber or Thewlis wear hats in the winter scenes in Italy? People wear hats in winter, especially if it's snowing!
*HERE THERE BE SPOILERS*
Wouldn't an embolism show up on an autopsy?
Could you beat off a determined Rottweiler attack with a tire iron?
Would the top of that sign-thing be sharp enough to behead somebody? And it would have had to have been extremely well balanced to spin like that and not just crash against the wall, before falling in a heap and crushing the poor bugger.
Would a new-looking Kohler kitchen faucet drip?
Didn't Damien's birthmark look more like ringworm than a birthmark??
Why didn't that cardinal with the dying Pope take that chalice of wine? Now they'll have to get those sheets dry-cleaned!
Why did they save Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar-winning score for the end credits?? The new score was excellent, BTW... and I'm glad Goldsmith's was reused a bit, but more would have been good!
And doesn't everybody in the world know where Meggido is, by now? Especially a foreign-service diplomat, when he was training to have a Mediterranean post. (I liked that they made him bilingual, BTW: nice touch of realism.)
That's about it. I enjoyed it, and if you liked the original, you won't be too disappointed with this one. The kills were all good, too,and that's important for a film like this!
Der Fall Gleiwitz (1961)
Amazing film -- ahead of its time!
I had no idea this film dated from 1961 as I watched it, mesmerized, last night. It is so well produced, written and acted that I thought it must have been one of the recent German films about WWII, like Der Untergang and Stalingrad and Das Boot. I believed the black and white film -- virtually perfect in the DVD transfer I saw -- was there only for the verisimilitude it offered.
The acting is convincing. The music is disturbing -- modern, yet "classical" to the point of being ageless.
One very minor quibble: In the version I saw, a line about the arms the soldiers will carry on their mission is badly translated/subtitled. It comes out something like "8mm pistols and .98 calibre rifles." The ".98 calibre rifles" should have been the Gewehr 98K ("K" for Karbiner, or carbine). Like I said -- minor!
One caveat: as it was produced for the East German market -- in the year before the Berlin wall went up -- there may be Soviet influences on the film that I didn't pick up on -- believing as I did that this was a post-Cold War film. If the same film were to be made today, in a reunified Germany, there might be thematic differences, but I think they'd be rather minor.
Highly recommended as both a history lesson and as a film.
Corpses Are Forever (2004)
For a no-budget, not-sure-of-its-genre film, not bad
If this movie could have focused, it could have been an entertaining little romp, filmed in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, with an excellent cast of grade-Z actors, including the homeless-man's Rutger Hauer, Richard Lynch, and the aging but still cute Linnea Quigley, among others.
The biggest problem I saw in this movie was the lack of focus. Was it a James Bond parody, as you might expect from the title? No. THAT would have been cool -- what would a James Bond-style secret agent do in a world full of zombies? No, this is more Memento meets Night of the Living Dead meets American Werewolf in London ... with Linnea Quigley as some sort of undead Deus ex Machina.
If you take into consideration the lack of budget (to the point that there are virtually no threatening zombies on screen and no threat of impending doom, until someone mentions it in dialogue), it's fun. If you try to judge it without those considerations, it's really really bad. So be kind! I'd rent the sequel, The Corpse Who Loved Me ... wouldn't you?
The Passover Plot (1976)
Demands a re-release
Of course this film -- made over thirty years ago to exploit a controversial theory -- has been all but forgotten until very recently. But if The Da Vinci Code (2006) is as popular as the book -- and it looks like that's a possibility -- then this should be re-released, or shown on The History Channel or presented on DVD by a decent company, with Da Vinci Code tie-ins and all.
The book this is from, with the same title, by Hugo Schoenfeld, is very good, well researched and well thought-out. Another complementary title (and one the Da Vinci Code is accused of stealing from) is Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln's Holy Blood, Holy Grail. All three are recommended to religious conspiracy/heresy fans, like me, although The Da Vinci Code itself is the worst written of the trio.
Idi i smotri (1985)
Awesome, haunting, horrifying
I habitually use the IMDb to find treasures I might not have seen in my day-to-day movie watching, but am rarely as pleased as I was when I found this film.
Come and See is the story of a young man who joins the Byelorussian partisans in their resistance to the invading fascist hordes during World War II. The title comes from the Book of Revelations, according to the director in an introductory interviewed contained in the two-disc DVD I saw.
The film is based on a group of incidents observed by A. Adamovich during his youth. Director Klimov also grew up during the Patriotic War, but in the Stalingrad area.
Filmed exclusively in Byelorussia, the movie has a wonderful feeling of versimilitude, due to the real locations, the naturalistic acting, the wonderful costumes (many of which are authentic WWII issue uniforms, apparently), and the overall somber tone. Special effects are minimal, most are "in camera." Most effective of all may be the scene in which the boy hero and his mentor steal a cow and are then shot at by the Germans -- who are never seen until the final forty minutes or so of the film.
Highly recommended, especially if your notion of the War on the Eastern Front is derived from "Hogan's Heroes" reruns -- with the comedic threats of getting Sergeant Schultz sent to the Eastern Front as punishment. Even _Stalingrad_ was not as gritty and real as this film.
Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector (2006)
PU Stinky poopies
This is probably the worst movie ever made, worse than Manos: Hands of Fate, worse that Plan 9 From Outer Space, worse than Pearl Harbor, worse even than Son of the Mask. And because my comment is not long enough, here are some more movies this one is worse than: The Greatest Show in Earth, Earth Girls Are Easy, and the 1976 King Kong.
Wonder if it's long enough now. Back to what I really wanted to say:
But if you like Larry the Cable Guy, you probably think the internet has something to do with tennis or maybe basketball, since those sports are on at the same time as WWE and NASCAR, and won't read this, and if you did, you'd STILL go see the movie.
All I can say is, "Get her done."
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
Very funny -- but very stupid
If you're in the mood for just plain stupid humor, this is the movie for you!
Will Farrell brings his brand of earnest smarminess, along with the cheesiest mustache since Jim Carrey's in _Me, Myself, and Irene_, to his role as the eponymous Ron Burgundy.
The 70's is brought to hilarious life -- everyone smokes, the San Diego sky is clotted with smog, there is no such thing as "sexual harassment" as an issue - it's just a way of life. It's like the goofier side of _Boogie Nights_.
Recommended if you're tired of seriously good movies!
Dead Man's Walk (1996)
Great, but no Lonesome Dove
This is a wonderful evocation of its period. The writing, direction and especially the acting are all above average -- even David Arquette does a reasonably successful job of playing a 30-years younger Robert Duvall-as-Gus-McCrae. He may be imitating Duvall's performance somewhat, but he does a decent job -- it's quite believable that this Gus McCrae developed into the later one.
Jonny Lee Miller -- so tight-lipped it's sometimes unbelievable -- does a good job with a thankless role -- "Corporal" Woodrow Call, as the young Clara dubs him (to Gus's consernation).
Jennifer Garner played Clara very well. Her flirtatious flippancy is both alluring and endearing -- and only a little annoying.
Edward James Olmos is perfect, as usual. He's one of my favorite actors, has been since Zoot Suit.
The costuming and setting are exemplary and very true to the pre-Mexican War Southwest.
The only technical/historical problem I have with this film is the weaponry. The flintlock muskets and rifles don't sound correct, and don't discharge nearly enough smoke. (SEMI-SPOILER COMING) No firing squad would shoot with bayonets attached (they detract from accuracy). But the mixture of Colt's Patent Revolvers (tm) and single-shot pistols was correct.
Of course this work pales in comparison to the book -- even the excellent Lonesome Dove was no match for the book. But this is far superior to the L-D sequel, Streets of Laredo.
Son of the Mask (2005)
P.U. -- but good for non-discriminating 7 year olds.
This "film," and I use that term loosely, reminds me of the first joke my daughter wrote, at eighteen months: "P.U., stinky poopies!"
Like that joke, this movie can only appeal to the very young, the very immature, or the very stupid.
That said, there are a few bright spots.
The effects, where the majority of the reputed $100 million went, are kinetic and convincing -- I mean, as convincing as those kind of kinetic CGI effects can be. The CGI baby effects are not great, but I imagine those are very hard to do well... although for a hundred-million bucks, they could have been better!
Moose, the dog from "Frasier," phoned in his usual exemplary performance. Steven Wright did well with a small part. Alan Cummings was, well, Alan Cummings-as-villain, which we've seen before, and Bob Hoskins as Odin was unrecognizable, but enjoyable.
The actress playing Mrs. Avery was cute-as-a-button, as you'd expect, and Jamie Kennedy stunk, as you'd expect. His best role so far was in the Scream trilogy (not to be confused with the Lord of the Rings trilogy), and in Three Kings. He should stick, perhaps, to more subtle forms of comedy. Jim Carrey, he ain't.
The writing and direction were, if anything, worse than Kennedy's performance. I semi-remember one clever (though seven-year-old clever) line that I wish someone would quote accurately for the "Memorable Quotes" section. Something about Avery's proposed costume being the "crappiest crap in Craptown," it was a second-grade joke, but sort of funny in context.
Over all, since there's nothing lower than a "one," I give this film a "one."
Pearl Harbor (2001)
"I don't see why people hate this movie..."
So many "reviews" of movies *everybody* hates, like this one, begin with that expression. Obviously, these people don't read the reviews they disagree with!
If they did, they might get a clue as to why so many people feel so strongly in a negative way about the film in question.
If not, they can read this summary:
Bad script.
Bad acting.
Bad history.
Bad dialogue.
Bad pacing (or was there any?)
Bad direction.
Bad music.
One the other hand ... ... good CGI. ... good sound effects. ... good sound recording. ... good editing.
Now I promise: No more comments from me on this most dreadful travesty, from the most talentless director since Edward D. Wood. At least Ed Wood had a passion for his "art" -- Bey only seems to have a passion for his paycheck.
Battle of Britain (1969)
One of the best
1968 through 1971 were watershed years for fans of war movies -- some good, some bad. _Battle of Britain_ is one of the best!
Others of note released in those years were _Patton_, _Tora! Tora! Tora!_, _Catch-22_, and _The Bridge at Remagen_.
Those were the 25th anniversary years of the second world war -- probably the cause for the glut -- and in many ways these films are the pinnacle of all-star, big-budget war movies. They all had "state of the art" special effects -- many more convincing than the CGI crap in _Pearl_Harbor_ -- including model work, animation, blue-screen, and other effects that have been lost, since the advent of CGI.
But _Battle of Britain_ topped them all in that department. The flying sequences have never been surpassed, although those in _Tora! Tora! Tora!_ and _Catch-22_ come close. Each claimed, during filming, to be the "World's 11th" -- or 15th, or 3rd, or 22nd -- "Largest Air Force," which was more than likely just studio PR. But just how many Spits, Hurricanes, and Messerschmitts they assembled for this film is amazing (even though repetition of shots magnifies the three flyable Hurricanes into at least a full squadron). The Heinkels, repainted in something approaching Luftwaffe coloring, are amazing to see en masse, even when they're only parked on the tarmac. They really put to shame the 12 or 15 B-25's put together for _Catch-22_. The only comparable sight I can recall are the lines of B-17's in _Twelve O'Clock High_, and many of those shots were just stock.
There are shots in _Battle of Britain_ that still take one's breath away -- the massed Heinkels and Messerschmitts, the incredible dogfighting sequences.
For the fan of WWII air-war movies, this one can't be beat. Highly recommended, even if the history has been tweaked to fit the film.
Katherine (1975)
fictionalized but well done
It's been many years since I saw this, but I do recall enough details to know this was not based loosely on the Patti Hearst case, as has been stated, but on Dwight, Illinois's Diana Oughton, who got involved with the Weathermen and was one of three "urban commandos" killed when a bomb they were working on went off in their NYC townhouse, in May of 1970. Diana was the daughter of an important landowning family, and was brought up in the "lap of luxury", such as it can be in rural Illinois, who became socially conscious while teaching school in Guatemala, circa 1962, then joined the SDS and its Weathermen offshoot in the late 60's.
Given that this is fictionalized, the performances are wonderful and the writing and direction (given that it's a TV movie) are above average.
Born Rich (2003)
Sort of interesting
How the Other Half Lives, only not the "other half" Jacob Riis had in mind!
These spoiled brats routinely spend a thousand dollars or more on an evening's entertainment, won't date outside their social circle, and resent it when people imply they have no right to be unhappy.
Of course they can be unhappy. They just don't have a right to whine about it.
A moderately good film by "one of them," who may show promise as a documentarian -- but I'll leave that assessment to *real* documentarians! I found the film interesting in a superficial way, Jamie Johnson's technique was decent (but nothing he couldn't have bought). Not very original, but being the first look from the inside out at the lives of these kinds of people, it was informative in an "ohmigod, shut up and make another mil!"-kind of way.
61* (2001)
The BEST nonfiction baseball movie?
This is simply the best baseball movie based on actual events -- alongside, and slightly above, Eight Men Out.
Billy Crystal's direction is wonderful -- his passion for the subject is obvious, and infectious. His commentary on the DVD is both funny and enlightening,
Highly recommended, especially during this year's pennant race!
The Meaning of Life (1983)
Their third best ...
After Life of Brian and Holy Grail, this is the best Monty Python film. Which of course means it's one of the funniest films of all time, up there in the Pantheon of Filmic Comedy with Keaton's The General, Lloyd's Safety Last, Laurel and Hardy's Music Box, The Marx Brother's Horsefeathers, and Billy Wilder's Some Like it Hot.
For fall-down, laugh-out-loud comedy, with a heavy dose of oh-my-god-how-can-they-SHOW- that?????-gross-out-humor, this one can't be beat.
Mr. Creosote is notorious. But the liver donation sequence is, if anything, grosser and funnier.
Watch it today! Before you eat another bite!
The Execution of Private Slovik (1974)
Excellent!
This has been one of my favorite films since it was first broadcast back in '74. I read William Bradford Huie's book, from which the film is based, and I also recommend it highly.
This should be required viewing for anyone who claims to be a WWII buff, like myself. It helps you see some of the truth of military life that isn't in the purvue of such excellent works as Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, and that other "other side of the WWII Army" movie, Catch-22.
Who do we have to harass to get this released on DVD??
And Starring Pancho Villa as Himself (2003)
Very entertaining
I don't know how historically accurate this film is, although I know the basic plot is correct. This was an entertaining look at Villa's Hollywood escapade, and Banderas' performance is, as usual, believable, funny, horrifying, likable, and despicable. Sometimes all within just a few minutes.
Highly recommended to film history buffs and Antonio Banderas fans!
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Good Lynch, but no Eraserhead
This one may be the closest to Eraserhead of all Lynch's work. It's strange, wonderful, weird, wild, sexy, funny, violent, and non-linear.
And no, I don't mean to imply there was anything sexy in Eraserhead, but there is a sexual undertone to all Lynch films, including The Elephant Man (though I don't recall such an undertone in Dune or The Straight Story ...). In this one, Twin Peaks and of course Blue Velvet it is front and center, an indelible part of the "story," such as it is, as a whole.
For those seeking a truly Lynchian experience, this one's hard to beat -- but I'd generally recommend it to his fans only.
The Believer (2001)
Ryan Gosling -- Superstar!
I think I first saw Mr. Gosling in Murder by Numbers, in which he played half of a modern-day Leopold and Loeb murder team. In that good-but-not-great thriller, he did a fine job with an easy role: the smarmy manipulator who's convinced his Intellect is so superior to everyone else's that he has the right -- no, the obligation -- to kill those inferior to himself.
In The Believer, Gosling plays the young fascist who really seems to believe the antisemitic vitrol he spews. His skinhead punk is just as scary, believable and *common* as Edward Norton's in American History X -- with the added layer of being from an Orthodox background. He has apparently convinced those around him that his fascination with all things Judaic is only an effort to "know his enemy thoroughly" -- nothing more.
Gosling is nothing short of astounding in this role. He richly deserves all the honors bestowed upon him. If he continues to only get roles like Murder by Numbers, it will be a waste of a wonderful natural resource, kind of like strip mining in Yellowstone.
John Q (2002)
If not for Denzel ...
... this would have been a real stinkeroo.
Writing and direction are unimaginative ; the entire plot is unlikely in extremis, but Denzel Washington's performance -- believable, warm, and honest, as usual -- saves it from the Realm of Dreck.
Recommended for fans of the Talented Mr. Washington; others beware!