The Fury(dir. Brian De Palma)
REVIEW PENDING...
**1/2 or *** out of ****
Showing posts with label 1970's. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1970's. Show all posts
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Oh 1974...
1974
1. A Woman Under the Influence(dir. John Cassavetes)
2. Young Frankenstein(dir. Mel Brooks)
3. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser(dir. Werner Herzog)
4. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia(dir. Sam Peckinpah)
5. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul(dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
Need to see/rewatch: Chinatown, The Godfather Part II, Blazing Saddles, Murder on the Orient Express, The Conversation, Death Wish, Caged Heat, Black Christmas, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Phantom of Liberty, Thieves Like Us, F for Fake, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and more...
1. A Woman Under the Influence(dir. John Cassavetes)
2. Young Frankenstein(dir. Mel Brooks)
3. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser(dir. Werner Herzog)
4. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia(dir. Sam Peckinpah)
5. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul(dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
Need to see/rewatch: Chinatown, The Godfather Part II, Blazing Saddles, Murder on the Orient Express, The Conversation, Death Wish, Caged Heat, Black Christmas, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Phantom of Liberty, Thieves Like Us, F for Fake, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, and more...
Oh One Legged Cowboys, Ballet, and Severed Heads...
3:10 to Yuma(dir. James Mangold)
I've never seen the original film so I can't compare the two. This is just a straight-forward modern western. It doesn't try to rewrite the rules of what a western should be and in a way comes off sort of bland and clichéd because of it. The film gets more lively in it's final 15 minutes and this is definitely the point where I became more interested in the film after a long period of disinterest. It's not going to blow your mind, but I still slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
The Company(dir. Robert Altman)
It's basically a low-key version of Nashville that focuses on a Chicago ballet company instead of the Nashville country music scene. This is his most visually elegant film and it's one of his few films to be shot on digital. The gorgeous cinematography keeps you interested especially when it shows the ballet dance scenes that go on perhaps too long. I don't have an interest in ballet all that much so it's probably more my problem than the film's. The story is charming, but it frustratingly takes a backseat most of the time for the ballet. With my frustrations aside, I recommend.
*** out of ****
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia(dir. Sam Peckinpah)
It's a deranged near-masterpiece. It sort of gets silly with the whole talking to the head side of things, but for something this demented and strangely poetic, it's definitely a minor complaint. Warren Oates gives a hell of a performance in this. I might be underrating it, but I'd rather underrate something than overrate it. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
I've never seen the original film so I can't compare the two. This is just a straight-forward modern western. It doesn't try to rewrite the rules of what a western should be and in a way comes off sort of bland and clichéd because of it. The film gets more lively in it's final 15 minutes and this is definitely the point where I became more interested in the film after a long period of disinterest. It's not going to blow your mind, but I still slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
The Company(dir. Robert Altman)
It's basically a low-key version of Nashville that focuses on a Chicago ballet company instead of the Nashville country music scene. This is his most visually elegant film and it's one of his few films to be shot on digital. The gorgeous cinematography keeps you interested especially when it shows the ballet dance scenes that go on perhaps too long. I don't have an interest in ballet all that much so it's probably more my problem than the film's. The story is charming, but it frustratingly takes a backseat most of the time for the ballet. With my frustrations aside, I recommend.
*** out of ****
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia(dir. Sam Peckinpah)
It's a deranged near-masterpiece. It sort of gets silly with the whole talking to the head side of things, but for something this demented and strangely poetic, it's definitely a minor complaint. Warren Oates gives a hell of a performance in this. I might be underrating it, but I'd rather underrate something than overrate it. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Oh 1976...
1976
1. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie(dir. John Cassavetes)
2. Taxi Driver(dir. Martin Scorsese)
3. Harlan County, USA(dir. Barbara Kopple)
Network(dir. Sidney Lumet)
Need to see/rewatch: Assault on Precinct 13, The Tenant, Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson, Carrie, Mikey and Nicky, The Outlaw Josey Wales, 1900, Jeanne Dielman, Kings of the Road, Missouri Breaks, Silent Movie, The Man Who Fell to Earth, All the President's Men, Meat, Rocky, and more...
Dishonorable mentions: Welcome to L.A., and more...
1. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie(dir. John Cassavetes)
2. Taxi Driver(dir. Martin Scorsese)
3. Harlan County, USA(dir. Barbara Kopple)
Network(dir. Sidney Lumet)
Need to see/rewatch: Assault on Precinct 13, The Tenant, Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson, Carrie, Mikey and Nicky, The Outlaw Josey Wales, 1900, Jeanne Dielman, Kings of the Road, Missouri Breaks, Silent Movie, The Man Who Fell to Earth, All the President's Men, Meat, Rocky, and more...
Dishonorable mentions: Welcome to L.A., and more...
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Oh Oates and Carrandine...
The Shooting(dir. Monte Hellman)
I have never seen a film with expansive American desert as it's backdrop that felt so claustrophobic. The whole experience is one of disorientation with Hellman sometimes transitioning from a scene in an abrupt and perplexing manner. Much like the film's protagonist, the viewer has to always be on his/her toes since the journey is unexpected yet somehow feels entirely premeditated. The film's setting is really the star of the film and not Warren Oates, who still gives a good performance despite not being the star. It's shot in such a fashion that makes it so drab and unflattering that it makes all the recent films set in the desert look childish in comparison. The desert truly looks like purgatory, waiting to suffocate it's inhabitants. The editing of it's fatalistic ending is haunting in it's sun-drenched and off-beat rhythm. This is how you make an existential western. It's a masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Welcome to L.A.(dir. Alan Rudolph)
At first, it was sort of charming in it's romantic Altman-esque tapestry, but as it went along, you quickly realize how much of a master Altman was with juggling the characters and progressing the narratives in his films. The film just eventually became as aimless as its characters' love lives. Keith Carradine could be considered the main character and he essentially plays his womanizing character from Nashville in a less despicable manner with no mustache, just goatee. The whole film feels like a sub-par Nashville with characters that never feel wholly etched out and music that starts off fine but quickly becomes grating because of its repetitive sounding quality and it being overused past the point of tolerance. The film became repetitious and basically went nowhere. It has no idea what to do with it's vast repertoire of characters other than having them sometimes hook up with each other. It was bad.
*1/2 out of ****
I have never seen a film with expansive American desert as it's backdrop that felt so claustrophobic. The whole experience is one of disorientation with Hellman sometimes transitioning from a scene in an abrupt and perplexing manner. Much like the film's protagonist, the viewer has to always be on his/her toes since the journey is unexpected yet somehow feels entirely premeditated. The film's setting is really the star of the film and not Warren Oates, who still gives a good performance despite not being the star. It's shot in such a fashion that makes it so drab and unflattering that it makes all the recent films set in the desert look childish in comparison. The desert truly looks like purgatory, waiting to suffocate it's inhabitants. The editing of it's fatalistic ending is haunting in it's sun-drenched and off-beat rhythm. This is how you make an existential western. It's a masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Welcome to L.A.(dir. Alan Rudolph)
At first, it was sort of charming in it's romantic Altman-esque tapestry, but as it went along, you quickly realize how much of a master Altman was with juggling the characters and progressing the narratives in his films. The film just eventually became as aimless as its characters' love lives. Keith Carradine could be considered the main character and he essentially plays his womanizing character from Nashville in a less despicable manner with no mustache, just goatee. The whole film feels like a sub-par Nashville with characters that never feel wholly etched out and music that starts off fine but quickly becomes grating because of its repetitive sounding quality and it being overused past the point of tolerance. The film became repetitious and basically went nowhere. It has no idea what to do with it's vast repertoire of characters other than having them sometimes hook up with each other. It was bad.
*1/2 out of ****
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Oh Puppeteers...
Double Suicide(dir. Masahiro Shinoda)
Japanese melodrama at it's finest? I'm not quite sure if you would label it that, but yeah, the overacting, which could be annoying to some, was simply astounding and lent a melodramatic tone to the film. I guess the acting could be viewed as theatrical since this film is supposed to be puppet theater, but the film is too cinematic to be labeled as theatrical. This film was pretty incredible. It's experimental tendencies were quite audacious, but it's whole puppeteer "gimmick" became a little overused. It's amusing and ingenious at first, but it ends up hindering the finale, at least for me. I'd imagine the conclusion would be more emotionally engaging if there was not as much of it beforehand. The puppeteer aspect did add a fatalistic layer to the proceedings, however. I'd imagine down the line, when the film has settled in my mind and stomach, labeling it a masterpiece, but for now, I'm labeling it a near-masterpiece. I'm definitely going to need to check out some more of his stuff.
***1/2 out of ****
Japanese melodrama at it's finest? I'm not quite sure if you would label it that, but yeah, the overacting, which could be annoying to some, was simply astounding and lent a melodramatic tone to the film. I guess the acting could be viewed as theatrical since this film is supposed to be puppet theater, but the film is too cinematic to be labeled as theatrical. This film was pretty incredible. It's experimental tendencies were quite audacious, but it's whole puppeteer "gimmick" became a little overused. It's amusing and ingenious at first, but it ends up hindering the finale, at least for me. I'd imagine the conclusion would be more emotionally engaging if there was not as much of it beforehand. The puppeteer aspect did add a fatalistic layer to the proceedings, however. I'd imagine down the line, when the film has settled in my mind and stomach, labeling it a masterpiece, but for now, I'm labeling it a near-masterpiece. I'm definitely going to need to check out some more of his stuff.
***1/2 out of ****
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Oh SF...
Sink or Swim(dir. Su Friedrich)
Her films are intensely personal but are capable of sucking you in in an empathetic reverie. I've probably used this description before, but they really do play out like an intimate diary or journal entry that would be difficult to reveal to anybody due to how exposed emotionally they are. Much like some of her films, this film is her trying to come to terms with some aspect in her life and in this film, that would be her relationship with her largely absent father. Even though her films are intensely personal, she hardly ever presents the "story" as if it were her own. It could be anybody's story and she strives for a universality by focusing on the emotions instead of the details. The voice-over is detailed about certain events and memories about her father, but the main appeal is the emotions the voice-over conveys to the audience. It's almost cold and detached yet it's actually fiercely alive and emotional. Her poetic sensibility is immensely appealing to me so me labeling this as a masterpiece isn't that big of a surprise. It's a masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Cool Hands, Warm Heart(dir. Su Friedrich)
Images of women in the street protesting against the patriarchal society we live in by shaving their legs and armpits in public, cutting their hair, and skinning apples? The skinning apples didn't make all that much sense. Maybe it's supposed to represent how that particular woman feels being on a tiny stage, essentially exposing herself in public in an emotional sense. A woman eventually grabs her hand and takes her an arcade to have some fun(no, not sexual fun, get your mind out of the gutter). What does all this mean? This seems to be one of her more outspoken "message" films even though there's nothing didactic at all about it in the traditional sense with her evocative imagery and "storytelling." I feel what it's trying to convey is that feminism, especially of the lesbian sort, aims to create an environment where individuals can freely love without traditional gender rules, but the individuals trying to achieve this goal are also unable to love given the amount of time and energy they put into their effort. As the central woman is taken away by this unknown woman, there's a sense of liberation. As they have fun in the arcade, you can see that this is the protesters' vision of paradise and their ultimate goal. While my description probably makes it sound shittier than it really is, it's actually profoundly moving and thought-provoking unlike pseudo-feminist trash like The Vagina Monologues. It's another masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Scar Tissue(dir. Su Friedrich)
Another one of her more "message"-driven films and a little more heavy-handed or at least stretched compared to her other films of this type. Thankfully, it's not as bad as Lesbian Avengers Eat Fire, Too(I blame her co-director for everything that was wrong with that film). While it's duration is only 6 minutes, it's hard not to say that it feels a tad overlong even if it took me about half that time to figure out what she was trying to convey. The film is composed of images of men and woman in dress attire and the editing is much like a flicker film(or at least my understanding of them from what I've read). She conveys to the audience the unfairness of "acceptable" dress attire for men and woman. Men are able to wear suits and pants while woman must wear uncomfortable high-heels and skirts. While this thought is sound, it's not a particularly insightful one. It's probably the most subtle protest I've ever seen and I do agree with what she's saying, it just doesn't make all that great cinema. I still recommend.
*** out of ****
Her films are intensely personal but are capable of sucking you in in an empathetic reverie. I've probably used this description before, but they really do play out like an intimate diary or journal entry that would be difficult to reveal to anybody due to how exposed emotionally they are. Much like some of her films, this film is her trying to come to terms with some aspect in her life and in this film, that would be her relationship with her largely absent father. Even though her films are intensely personal, she hardly ever presents the "story" as if it were her own. It could be anybody's story and she strives for a universality by focusing on the emotions instead of the details. The voice-over is detailed about certain events and memories about her father, but the main appeal is the emotions the voice-over conveys to the audience. It's almost cold and detached yet it's actually fiercely alive and emotional. Her poetic sensibility is immensely appealing to me so me labeling this as a masterpiece isn't that big of a surprise. It's a masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Cool Hands, Warm Heart(dir. Su Friedrich)
Images of women in the street protesting against the patriarchal society we live in by shaving their legs and armpits in public, cutting their hair, and skinning apples? The skinning apples didn't make all that much sense. Maybe it's supposed to represent how that particular woman feels being on a tiny stage, essentially exposing herself in public in an emotional sense. A woman eventually grabs her hand and takes her an arcade to have some fun(no, not sexual fun, get your mind out of the gutter). What does all this mean? This seems to be one of her more outspoken "message" films even though there's nothing didactic at all about it in the traditional sense with her evocative imagery and "storytelling." I feel what it's trying to convey is that feminism, especially of the lesbian sort, aims to create an environment where individuals can freely love without traditional gender rules, but the individuals trying to achieve this goal are also unable to love given the amount of time and energy they put into their effort. As the central woman is taken away by this unknown woman, there's a sense of liberation. As they have fun in the arcade, you can see that this is the protesters' vision of paradise and their ultimate goal. While my description probably makes it sound shittier than it really is, it's actually profoundly moving and thought-provoking unlike pseudo-feminist trash like The Vagina Monologues. It's another masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Scar Tissue(dir. Su Friedrich)
Another one of her more "message"-driven films and a little more heavy-handed or at least stretched compared to her other films of this type. Thankfully, it's not as bad as Lesbian Avengers Eat Fire, Too(I blame her co-director for everything that was wrong with that film). While it's duration is only 6 minutes, it's hard not to say that it feels a tad overlong even if it took me about half that time to figure out what she was trying to convey. The film is composed of images of men and woman in dress attire and the editing is much like a flicker film(or at least my understanding of them from what I've read). She conveys to the audience the unfairness of "acceptable" dress attire for men and woman. Men are able to wear suits and pants while woman must wear uncomfortable high-heels and skirts. While this thought is sound, it's not a particularly insightful one. It's probably the most subtle protest I've ever seen and I do agree with what she's saying, it just doesn't make all that great cinema. I still recommend.
*** out of ****
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Oh Halloween...
The Fall of the House of Usher(dir. Jean Epstein)
I have a serious lack of experience with silent cinema. I'm not sure why. The score that accompanied this film was excellent. That's one thing that always seemed strange to me about silent cinema is that most of the time, they don't always have a default and "definitive" score for a film so your experience could be drastically different depending how you see it but whatever. The images were haunting and dream-like. It slightly dragged at certain parts, but other than that minor quibble, it is a masterpiece.
**** out of *****
Surspiria(dir. Dario Argento)
I spoke too soon with my comparison of him to John Woo. They obviously had really nothing in common before other than that they're great stylistically at their given genre, but now, having seen this, a more apt comparison would be to Seijun Suzuki given this film's over-stylized look. I'm starting to feel that I overrated Tenebre since it is starting to look mundane and dull because of this. The only thing Tenebre really had going for it in my mind were the overly violent murders while this contains a captivating world of horror and even more imaginative and elaborate murders. It's not really scary, but it's hard to disregard the film's creepy atmosphere, which is created mainly by the film's wonderful score by Goblin. I thought the Dawn of the Dead score was awesome, but man, this one easily dominates it. I easily consider it one of my top 5 favorite scores. The narrative doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it's easily more engaging than the mystery presented in Tenebre. The set design is amazing. The whole film is amazing. It's a masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Wolf Creek[Unrated cut](dir. Greg McLean)
I don't really understand how Roger Ebert gave this zero stars. It's not exactly pleasant, but nothing about it was out of line. Reading his review, you expect an hour and 40 minutes of women getting tortured when there's very little of that. This is an extremely well-executed genre piece that is physically and emotionally draining. It has some problems like employing basically an invincible boogeyman in it's narrative and maybe taking a little too long to get the "horror" going. It exploited it's narrative's "based on true events" aspect perhaps a little too much with it's ending, expecting this film to resonate more with the audience because it's "true." That just seems cheap and phony, but it's hard to knock the film too much since it's so tight and well-done. Now, I feel like I overrated The Thing. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
I have a serious lack of experience with silent cinema. I'm not sure why. The score that accompanied this film was excellent. That's one thing that always seemed strange to me about silent cinema is that most of the time, they don't always have a default and "definitive" score for a film so your experience could be drastically different depending how you see it but whatever. The images were haunting and dream-like. It slightly dragged at certain parts, but other than that minor quibble, it is a masterpiece.
**** out of *****
Surspiria(dir. Dario Argento)
I spoke too soon with my comparison of him to John Woo. They obviously had really nothing in common before other than that they're great stylistically at their given genre, but now, having seen this, a more apt comparison would be to Seijun Suzuki given this film's over-stylized look. I'm starting to feel that I overrated Tenebre since it is starting to look mundane and dull because of this. The only thing Tenebre really had going for it in my mind were the overly violent murders while this contains a captivating world of horror and even more imaginative and elaborate murders. It's not really scary, but it's hard to disregard the film's creepy atmosphere, which is created mainly by the film's wonderful score by Goblin. I thought the Dawn of the Dead score was awesome, but man, this one easily dominates it. I easily consider it one of my top 5 favorite scores. The narrative doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it's easily more engaging than the mystery presented in Tenebre. The set design is amazing. The whole film is amazing. It's a masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Wolf Creek[Unrated cut](dir. Greg McLean)
I don't really understand how Roger Ebert gave this zero stars. It's not exactly pleasant, but nothing about it was out of line. Reading his review, you expect an hour and 40 minutes of women getting tortured when there's very little of that. This is an extremely well-executed genre piece that is physically and emotionally draining. It has some problems like employing basically an invincible boogeyman in it's narrative and maybe taking a little too long to get the "horror" going. It exploited it's narrative's "based on true events" aspect perhaps a little too much with it's ending, expecting this film to resonate more with the audience because it's "true." That just seems cheap and phony, but it's hard to knock the film too much since it's so tight and well-done. Now, I feel like I overrated The Thing. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Friday, March 23, 2007
Oh Alain...
White Dog(dir. Samuel Fuller)
I was surprised by how good this was. I wanted to see it pretty much for how ridiculous the concept seemed, but I was surprised by how effective this was as a drama. I remember reading the Great Directors for Fuller on Senses of Cinema and I believe someone said he makes poetry out of ridiculousness. This is the perfect example of this. It was actually intellectual especially the end. I can see theories that the dog represents society, which makes the most sense to me. This could be his best film.
**** out of ****
Le Cercle Rouge(dir. Jean-Pierre Melville)
Watching Heat, I wanted to see another caper film and the fact that Michael Mann is obviously influenced by Jean-Pierre Melville, I decided to put this near the top of the Blockbuster Online queue. Not sure if this is better than Heat, but this is clearly his best film. What amazes me about his films is just the level of detail like how the inspector has a lot of cats and the whole robbery sequence was quite compelling. The ending was kind of a letdown, but thats one of the only flaws I can see with this nearly flawless film. The scenes in the bar were quite astonishing. I loved it.
**** out of ****
I was surprised by how good this was. I wanted to see it pretty much for how ridiculous the concept seemed, but I was surprised by how effective this was as a drama. I remember reading the Great Directors for Fuller on Senses of Cinema and I believe someone said he makes poetry out of ridiculousness. This is the perfect example of this. It was actually intellectual especially the end. I can see theories that the dog represents society, which makes the most sense to me. This could be his best film.
**** out of ****
Le Cercle Rouge(dir. Jean-Pierre Melville)
Watching Heat, I wanted to see another caper film and the fact that Michael Mann is obviously influenced by Jean-Pierre Melville, I decided to put this near the top of the Blockbuster Online queue. Not sure if this is better than Heat, but this is clearly his best film. What amazes me about his films is just the level of detail like how the inspector has a lot of cats and the whole robbery sequence was quite compelling. The ending was kind of a letdown, but thats one of the only flaws I can see with this nearly flawless film. The scenes in the bar were quite astonishing. I loved it.
**** out of ****
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