Oh Boy...

Nostalgia(dir. Hollis Frampton)
Much better than Zorn's Lemma.
**** out of ****
Comanche Station(dir. Budd Boetticher)
I liked how simplistic the ending was.
*** out of ****
World Trade Center(dir. Oliver Stone)
I definately had issues with the movie. United 93 is way better, but this is still pretty good.
*** out of ****
Broken Blossoms(dir. D.W. Griffith)
I liked the scenes with the "yellow man" and the girl alot. The rest of the film dragged. I could have possibly been in the wrong mood or something while watching it. So I'll probably give it another try in the future.
*** out of ****
Six Feet Under: Season 2(TV)
This season was a good improvement on the first one. It eliminated some stories that weren't that great like Claire's boyfriend and the rivalry between their funeral home and a big corperate one. The show definately improved because of this tweaking.
**** out of ****

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 ****

Motherload...

Afterglow(dir. Alan Rudolph)
*** out of ****
Zorn's Lemma(dir. Hollis Frampton)
** out of ****
United 93(dir. Peter Greengrass?)
**** out of ****
Harlan County USA(dir. Barbara Kopple)
**** out of ****
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul(dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
*** out of ****
La Jetee(dir. Chris Marker)
**** out of ****
The Scarecrow(dir. Buster Keaton)
**** out of ****
Not sure(dir. Buster Keaton)
*** out of ****
Gates of Heaven(dir. Errol Morris)
**** out of ****
Diary of a Country Priest(dir. Robert Bresson)
**** out of ****
Harakiri(dir. Masaki Kobayashi)
Better than any Kurosawa I've seen.
**** out of ****
Cafe Lumiere(dir. Hou-Hsian Hsiang?)
Loved it.
**** out of ****
Killing of a Chinese Bookie[78 cut](dir. John Cassavetes)
**** out of ****
Shadows(dir. John Cassavetes)
**** out of ****
Down by Law(dir. Jim Jarmusch)
**** out of ****
The Marriage of Maria Braun(dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
**** out of ****

Oh Boy...

Millenium Mambo(dir. Hou Hsiao-Hsien)
Poetic and much less detached than the last film I've seen by him. A Woman Under the Influence done by a Taiwanese director.
**** out of ****
Licensed to Kill(dir. Arthur Dong)
Watch this in my English class. Interesting interviews make this bearable. Lack of direction and stupid decisions make this a pretty average documentary with interviews and subject matter that could have done alot better.
** out of ****
Hearts of Darkness(dir. ?)
Listening to Francis Ford Coppola flip out on the phone is pretty entertaining. I didn't really learn much from this film, but it flowed very nicely. It also has behind the scenes footage of one of my favorite films. This might even be better than Apocalypse Now.
**** out of ****
Band of Outsiders(dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
People say this is a good starting point for Godard, but I don't think so. Thats not to say its not accessible because it certainly is, but it feels like all style and no substance. His other films I've seen, the style is the substance, but this one was still enjoyable. Definately not as good as Masculin Feminin.
*** out of ****
Titicut Follies(dir. Frederick Wiseman)
This could possibly be my favorite documentary. It certainly is disturbing since its footage the director caught of inmates in a asylum. There pretty much is no story to this film, but simply raw moments of inmates that helps create a human picture to insanity and asylum life. Simply amazing.
**** out of ****

The Verdicts

The Sacrifice(dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
It achieved a dream-like feel better than probably any movie I have ever seen. The story is kind of vaguely told which helps create this feel. The way the lines were delivered were very soothing almost like music. They say this is his most Bergmanesque film which I kind of understand since the characters feel like they baring their souls and are very venerable. I however actually loved this film unlike any of the Bergman films I have seen.
**** out of ****
Little Miss Sunshine(dir. ?)
I think I realize now that I am a sucker for films about "dysfunctional" families. The Royal Tenenbaums is probably my favorite movie and thats all about a "dysfunctional" family. This film is amazingly funny, but in a way that is both intelligent and emotional. It shows a family coming together on a vacation through hardships and bad situations and plays it for laughs. It seems very honest and I loved it.
Night on Earth(dir. Jim Jarmusch)
Taxi Cab Confessions as done by Jim Jarmusch. This is my second favorite by him because the stories are interesting and funny. It is most like Mystery Train in the sense it is a collection of stories. This however has a constitent quality to it compared to Mystery Train where the first story was the best one and the others were lacking.
**** out of ****
The Long Goodbye(dir. Robert Altman)
This could be considered an anti-noir just like McCabe & Mrs. Miller is considered an anti-western. I have very similar feelings to this as I do for McCabe & Mrs. Miller. I thought it was really good, but its not as good as some of his other work. Elliot Gould is still the man so that makes it even better than McCabe.
**** out of ****
Choose Me(dir. Alan Rudolph)
Alan Rudolph was Robert Altman's assistant director on the film above. I thought that was interesting since it was unintentional that I would watch this movie after I've seen the film above. It feels like Altman made a romantic film and this is the product. It was definately alot better than his other film I saw called The Secret Life of Dentists. I loved it.
**** out of ****

Oh Simplicity...

Games have become needlessly complex. Companies now believe the more features you put into a game creates a better game. I personally don't think so. I'm sick of annual sequels that are just basically minor upgrades. I'm sick of games cashing on the success of another game. Back in the day of 8-bit and 16-bit games, everything seemed simpler. Games were simple to get into, but difficult to master. Today, its basically the opposite. Controllers with 10 buttons, 2 joysticks, and a d-pad don't seem very user friendly. What happened to when games where made to be fun? I can't even stand to play my PS2 anymore. If I do, its usually me playing a PS1 game or a compilation of classic games. Things seemed to become needless complex and not as innovative as they once were. I'm supporting Nintendo for what they are doing with the DS and Wii. It seems innovative and fairly user friendly. Nintendo seems to know what games should be and thats FUN.

Oh Reviews...

Masculin, Feminin(dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
I've seen Breathless and I was impressed with that and I saw the Rialto trailer for this and it got me hyped up to see this. Chantal Goya is beautiful. Thats the first thing I thought of after seeing the trailer. The movie however is just as beautiful(?) as her. I don't know if I should use the word beautiful, but whatever. The story could basically be summed by this is an examination of French youth in the 60s, but in all honesty, the story doesn't really mean anything. The story uses titles constantly and the youth recite intellectual sayings from literature and other art forms from the top of their head. Some incidents happen spontaneously like a man pulling a knife on Jean-Pierre Leaud and wife shooting her husband in public. I can't really explain anything and how I like it, but I liked it alot.
**** out of ****
Orpheus(dir. Jean Cocteau)
Blood of a Poet was a borefest. I didn't even want Blockbuster to send this movie, but its basically been on shuffle lately. Cocteau uses some of the tricks he showed off in Blood of a Poet in a film with an actual narrative. Its based on a myth. I believe a Greek one. The film has a very mystical feel to it that made you feel like anything was possible of happening in the film. Hell of a lot better than Blood of Poet.
**** out of ****
Telledaga Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby(dir. Adam McKay)
Disappointed? I guess. I saw the commercials and I found nothing particularly funny about them. It was still a fun movie to watch. The ending really did it for me. Anchorman was miles better. It seemed to suit Will Ferrell better since it had a very over the top feel to it. It was pretty good.
*** out of ****
Inside Man(dir. Spike Lee)
The story in this film just basically took over and not in a very good way. I don't get what the point of having this Nazi backstory and all that to make us sympathize with the criminals? It should have just been Denzel and Clive trying to one up each other or something. Jodie Foster's character just bugged the shit out of me and really had no purpose, but push along this Nazi backstory that I could honestly care less about. They should have just made a typical heist movie, but made in a Spike Lee way. This could have been directed by anyone. It was decent.
*** out of ****

Movie Reviews...

My Darling Clementine(dir. John Ford)
I've seen Grapes of Wrath before, but I'm pretty surpised I like this. Of the classic Hollywood westerns I've seen, I can't honestly say I was in love with the whole thing. I can't say it for this either, but it pretty much comes close. Probably my biggest issue is that its a genre. A genre in which subtlity is not very common and this was in an age of unsubtlity which makes it even more unsubtle. The fact of the matter has moments are subtle and beautiful which means alot in this genre. I don't watch much classic Hollywood films, but I would probably say this and Grapes of Wrath are my favorites so far.
**** out of ****
Rushmore(dir. Wes Anderson)[rewatch]
I wasn't sure if I've actually seen the whole thing before so I watched it again. I didn't realize I've seen basically in the movie, but whatever. I looked more into the character of Max Fischer while watching this time and why he acts the way he does. One scene between Max and Ms. Cross probably tells you the whole reason or at least a possible reason why he is in "love" with her when she confronts him about whether having sex with him would put an end to this. I also rewatched this to see if I like more than The Royal Tenenbaums. Tenenbaums is better, but this is still awesome stuff.
**** out of ****
Shrek 2(dir. NO clue)
Intelligent animated films are hard to find. This is pretty intelligent and imaginative. I enjoyed the references to other fairy tale stories and Starbucks and other pop culture nonsense. I didn't think it had as good of a story as the first however.
*** out of ****
Goodbye, South Goodbye(dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien)
First Taiwan movie I've ever seen. I can't say this film was a very emotional experience probably because I had the feeling that I was lost throughout the whole thing. It didn't have a difficult story to follow, it was just the way it was told which is probably what amazed me the most about the film. There was some scenes that blew my mind like a scene where the three main characters are driving on a moped and a motorcycle. I will probably rewatch this or try to find a better copy of it online since this version had pretty lousy video. The film had a sort of Asian Tarkovsky feel to it.
*** out of ****
The Night Listener(dir. No CLUE)
The storytelling is pretty good, but the actual story is pretty bad. Only one scene was very poorly handled which was kind of a combination between a slapstick chase and some horror movie like The Ring. Robin Williams was good. Milks the inspired by true events alittle too much.
*** out of ****
Wedding Crashers(dir. No Clue)
My two biggest complaints are it wasn't that funny and it was very stereotypical. It somehow works with those two complaints against it. The whole thing kind of felt like Rachael McAdams's speech in it. It tries to make you laugh and has good intentions, but it fails.
*** out of ****
Forty Guns(dir. Samuel Fuller)
I have the same feelings about Johnny Guitar. These films are supposed to be films that "independent" minded filmmakers of the classic era twisting a genre to something that suits their needs. However, these films are not as subtle as My Darling Clementine which is categorized as a very Hollywood western. I don't get it. They're somewhat enjoyable, but I've seen better from Fuller and Ray.
*** out of ****

Maps of the Lord: Facing Worlds

This map kicks serious ass. It is probably the greatest CTF map of all time for sheer simplicity and brilliance. It has two opposing towers on a comet. The towers have a sort of Amazonian ruin thing going. Each tower contains three locations to teleport too. A place in the middle with a sniper rifle, a place with a redeemer, and the top of the tower with a sniper rifle. The one thing worth mentioning is the redeemer which makes the map so entertaining. Games have been going crazy on map design. Maps have gotten so huge that theres really no way to know every little detail about them and know where the hell to go. Battlefield 2 which is a game I plan to play alittle bit more of is alittle extravagant with the map design. Gulf of Oman which is probably the best map that I've played in the game is in fact probably the simplest map in the game. Coincidence? I think not. I don't even try to play the large versions of the maps cuz I would get lost for about a half hour. I played two maps today that basically blew. That game has pretty bad map design, but so did Battlefield 1942 except for El Alamein. Enough of Battlefield 2, this map is godlike.

Week and a Half? Review #1?

1. The Royal Tenenbaums (dir. Wes Anderson)
This is my favorite movie now. It is everything I dreamed of in a movie except not knowing it. Some people feel it is painfully controlled, but the instances of emotion are almost crippling because of this control. The characters also do things that seem irrational and spontanteous while the style and the world is controlled by the film-makers. One scene that I think is perfect is when Richie sees Margot the first time in the movie when he is an adult. The music and everything creates the perfect feeling in me that I can't help, but love this movie. I know the rest of the movie isn't perfect, but it comes quite close.
Sidenote: It is quite interesting to compare this Paul Thomas Anderson's third film, Magnolia. They both have a father in it that attempts to reach out to his family by saying he is dying. Phillip Baker Hall's character might be dying while Royal is not dying at all. Hall's character however might have did far worse things to his family than Royal. Narration in both films is surpisingly similar. They both don't have narration in the middle of the picture, but bookend the film. There is alot more narration in Wes's film though. Both films seem to be controlled very elaborately compared to each film-maker's work before this. Rushmore showed Wes's signature style alot while Bottle Rocket just showed little bits like the jumpsuits. Paul's Boogie Nights showed the direction he would be heading with Magnolia, but hasn't made a film like it since. I also believe both those films are the best of their respective director.
**** out of ****
2. Dead Man (dir. Jim Jarmusch)
This movie is my favorite Jarmusch film. I cared for the characters and it felt surpisingly focused compared to his earlier work and even his later work (Broken Flowers). Thats not to say his other films I've seen are worth watching, but they fail to create a mood and a universe like this movie. The soundtrack is amazing and Gary Farmer's performance as Nobody is particularly noteworthy. The film felt like a spiritual western. I dig it.
3. California Split (dir. Robert Altman)
Elliot Gould is the man.
**** out of ****
4. Close-Up (dir. Abbas Kiarostami)
Kind of funny. Not the movie, the situation I watched the movie. I watched it right after the post below. It even says Based on a True Story in the beginning, but the film has documentary footage implemented of it. Some of the people in the documentary footage were willing to re-enact instances talked about in the documentary footage. The ending makes you wonder if the events actually happened or not so it isn't completely abusing its Based on a True Story. Most Hollywood pictures would have put no effort at all into the movie since the audience already has a sense of "Oh this really happened" even though they should be trying harder. Kiarostami is one of my favorite film-makers now.
**** out of ****

Based on a True Story or Events

Thats a line I never liked to see before a movie. It already gives you the impression that you will not be caught off-guard or surprised throughout the next hour or so. It already tells you that the director and crew take this film so seriously that they believe they are showing the audience some form of truth. Truth in cinema? Is that possible? I don't believe in truth in cinema thats not to say that cinema shouldn't make people feel what they are seeing is realistic. Cinema verite was a whole film movement based on trying to make the films as realistic as possible by using documentary film techniques even though whats on screen is usually written down in a script. Some of my favorite films are a part of this sort of idea of cinema like Battle of Algiers and John Cassavetes's films. Werner Herzog used documentary techniques on some of his films, but they are often bizarre like a dream. Thats what I believe films should be like. They should be like dreams. They feel frighteningly realistic, but you see things before that aren't possible in real-life. Truth has no purpose in films even if the film is autobiographical. Those type of films are usually based on fuzzy memories. Films should be based on dreams, fuzzy memories, and other images and ideas that are floating around in the director's skull. Why would I care about truth? Can't I just live my life and see truth through my eyes? I don't need a movie to show me truth. I want the director to show me his interpretation of truth. This post was based on a idea and an interpretation of truth like everything else is and should be.