Oh Quick Reviews...

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer(dir. ?)
*** out of ****
Lifeboat(dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
*** out of ****
Six Feet Under: Season 1(TV)
*** out of ****

Oh Law and Order...

Law and Order(dir. Frederick Wiseman)
Great film about law enforcement in the 1960's.
**** out of ****

Oh Big and Tall..,

The Tall T(dir. Budd Boetticher)
I usually like the more subtle moments in westerns, but action also helps too. There wasn't many subtle moments or action. I have the same sort of feeling I did with The Naked Spur and Winchester '73, but I appreciate this movie more. It is probably because the story is so simple and straightforward. The film is only about 75 minutes, but I feel it could have used more time to develop the characters. I'll definately check out more of this director's work. I'll probably check out Seven Men from Now.
*** out of ****
The Big Heat(dir. Fritz Lang)
This kind of took me by surprise because of how underwhelmed I was by Scarlet Street. In Scarlet Street, the characters seemed to be pretty much stereotypes and the film lacked subtlety. This film has some of the same qualities, but it simply works. It works amazingly well.
**** out of ****

Oh Elephant...

Elephant(dir. Gus Van Sant)
In all honesty, I don't feel like I was in the right mood to watch it. I didn't find it boring or thought it was bad in any way, shape, or form, it is just that I felt the inability to truly connect with it. This is definately one of those movies I'll try to rewatch in the future. How I feel at the moment though:
*** out of ****

Oh Sand and Steel...

The Steel Helmet(dir. Samuel Fuller)
One of the best war movies I've ever seen.
**** out of ****
Woman in the Dunes(dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara)
One of the best movies I've ever seen.
**** out of ****

Oh Memory...

Almanac of Fall(dir. Bela Tarr)
In my eyes, this is the best film I've seen by him. Sure, there aren't really any moments that are simply breathtaking like in some of his later work, but the pacing is much better. It kind of gets repetitive with the fighting between the characters in the film, but otherwise, this is his best work.
**** out of ****
Mona Lisa(dir. Neil Jordan)
Possibly my favorite British movie.
**** out of ****

Oh Red River...

Scarlet Street(dir. Fritz Lang)
It kind of dragged at parts.
*** out of ****
High School(dir. Frederick Wiseman)
I didn't quite grasp it. It felt really jagged and rough at times, but had its moments.
*** out of ****
Red River(dir. Howard Hawks)
I don't know. I definately don't think this is the best western ever. Some talk about how the build-up is amazing and the ending is bad. I kind of have to agree to a point. I didn't think the build-up was that great, but this movie was still pretty worthwhile.
*** out of ****
The Butcher(dir. Claude Chabrol)
I liked it, but I'm not in love with it.
*** out of ****

Oh Superman...

Superman Returns(dir. Bryan Singer)
Slightly amusing, but also dull.
** out of ****
Badlands(dir. Terrence Malick)
Some of the character's actions are just off, but for some reason, I find it compelling.
**** out of ****
Gun Crazy(dir. Joseph H. Lewis)
It was crazy good.
**** out of ****
Miami Vice(dir. Michael Mann)
The plot was pretty much a mess, but I enjoyed its style.
*** out of ****
An Inconveniant Truth(dir. ?)
It was interesting, but slightly boring.
*** out of ****

Oh Reviews...

Over the Hedge(dir. ?)
I have the same feelings towards this movie as I do with Wedding Crashers. It's not horrible, it's just not that good either.
** out of ****
Ten on Ten(dir. Abbas Kiarostami)
Dug it.
*** out of ****
The Skywalk is Gone(dir. Tsai Ming-Liang)
The closing shot of the clouds was alittle much.
*** out of ****

Another Motherload...

Mirror(dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
Second time is a charm.
**** out of ****
Stalker(dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
**** out of ****
A Prarie Home Companion(dir. Robert Altman)
It started off pretty slow, but when it reached the point where you discover who the woman in the white trenchcoat is, everything seemed to fall in place. Definately not his best, but still good.
*** out of ****
The Man From Laramie(dir. Anthony Mann)
Definately better than The Naked Spur and Winchester '73. Quite possible be my favorite western.
**** out of ****
Rio Grande(dir. John Ford)
*** out of ****
The Searchers(dir. John Ford)
**** out of ****
Hondo(dir. John Farrow)
**** out of ****
Ten(dir. Abbas Kiarostami)
I absolutely loved this movie.
**** out of ****
A Better Tomorrow(dir. John Woo)
The plot is pretty bad. Theres not that much action. It's still a decent movie just for its style.
*** out of ****
Notre Musique(dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
I didn't really understand what it was trying to convey. I read other reviews of it and they talk about the idea of how being the victim in a war is better than being the victor. That makes sense and the film definately goes over that, but it was not that interesting. The best parts were the Hell portion where he uses footage from movie and creates a bizarre and somewhat scary view of war and his speech on shot and reverse shot.
** out of ****
Three Times(dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien)
This movie is extremely uneven. The first "time" is the best portion of the film. It had an innocent romantic charm that worked well with it, while the others just pretty much fall flat. The second "time" is interesting because its silent, but this stylistic choice is basically a gimmick. The third "time" is sort of interesting. The characters seem like those "dark" people on LiveJournal where they make up poems and other artistic things to show how intelligent and creative they are. Just like those people, I could care less about the characters in this part.
** out of ****
Rebels of a Neon God(dir. Tsai Ming-Liang)
**** out of ****
The Wrong Man(dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
*** out of ****
Winter Light(dir. Ingmar Bergman)
The first Bergman that I actually enjoyed.
**** out of ****
What Time is it There?(dir. Tsai Ming-Liang)
I absolutely loved it.
**** out of ****
Goodbye, Dragon Inn(dir. Tsai Ming-Liang)
It came together at the end.
**** out of ****
Days of Being Wild(dir. Wong Kar-Wai)
It was good, but the ending was pretty bad. He could have ended it probably three times before the ending and I would have been happy. It is interesting how different this film feels from his later ones.
*** out of ****