Pitch Perfect
Score 8/10
Delightfully stupid, but nonetheless stupid. I enjoyed it.
Pitch Perfect
Score 8/10
Delightfully stupid, but nonetheless stupid. I enjoyed it.
My blog: https://frankhubeny.blog/
Django Unchained! Loved it. 9/10 if I must rate it.
Nashville (1975; Robert Altman) - 8/10
Often described as Altman's "sprawling masterpiece," Nashville is a rather ingenious mix of political satire and country music with an orgy of characters and plotlines. The film is full of dead-ends and red herrings; every time you think it's finally going to settle down and focus on something, it turns its attention elsewhere, and with Altman's constantly overlapping dialogue, the overall impression is of a never-ending symphony of images and sounds. A fascinating film, undoubtedly, but, for my money, it doesn't better Altman's elegiac McCabe and Mrs. Miller.
Naked (1993; Mike Leigh) - 9/10
Imagine the intellectual, dialogue-driven films of Eric Rohmer combined with noir visuals, a driving cello score, and a cast of hapless, disillusioned, Manchester youths and you may have a rough idea of what this film is like. It's utterly proactive throughout its runtime with its mix of laugh-out-loud humor, intellectual substance, and relentless bleakness (even brutality). Like Rohmer, there's no reason that the film should be as engaging and stimulating as it is, yet even in distended, talky scenes, like Johnny with the security guard that has them discussing everything from Nostradamus to The Book of Revelation, evolution to the apocalypse, it's utterly riveting. It probably helps the cast is pitch-perfect, especially David Thewlis' messianic masochist, Johnny, and Katrin Cartlidge's dynamic Sophie.
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938; Michael Curtiz) - 8/10
Just as charming as I remember it, and may I say that blu-ray was made for these technicolor films.
"As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being." --Carl Gustav Jung
"To absent friends, lost loves, old gods, and the season of mists; and may each and every one of us always give the devil his due." --Neil Gaiman; The Sandman Vol. 4: Season of Mists
"I'm on my way, from misery to happiness today. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh" --The Proclaimers
Straight Time -- 1978, Dustin Hoffman. Very good.
Charlie Bartlett -- 2007, dunno the kid's name, had Robert Downey Jr. Also good.
Dredd (2012; Pete Travis) - 6/10
Well, it's better than the Stallone film, though that's not saying much since a polished turd would be better than that film. It still misses the humor and satirical edge of the comics, and mostly just turns the character into a violent superhero throughout the length of the film. It's clear the film was shot with 3D in mind, and like most films that have done such, it probably loses something in 2D. The super slow-mo effects were quite striking, though. Shame they have so little do with the character.
Il Bidone (1955; Federico Fellini) - 7.5/10
A really solid, early film of Fellini that's strangely underrated. It certainly lacks his later surrealistic visual imagination, instead trading it for a more traditional, neo-realism story about con men and their growing sense of morality and disillusionment with their profession. Broderick Crawford is wonderful in the lead role, and he really rings some real emotion out of his character, even if Fellini seems straining towards melodrama at certain points. The film is still strangely touching, with some wonderful sequences like the party, with its symphony of sounds, movement, characters, and mini-plotlines. It's strangely reminiscent of the party scene in Renoir's The Rules of the Game, but if it was combined with Fellini's sense of bursting-at-the-seams fun.
"As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being." --Carl Gustav Jung
"To absent friends, lost loves, old gods, and the season of mists; and may each and every one of us always give the devil his due." --Neil Gaiman; The Sandman Vol. 4: Season of Mists
"I'm on my way, from misery to happiness today. Uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh" --The Proclaimers
Runaway Bride. Roberts and Gere in one of their best.
I do love a good mystery. Sounds good, Emil, I'll check it out. Jean Simmons is a pretty good actress, I think, isn't she? I don't really know much about Dirk Bogarde.
"A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III", directed by Roman Coppola, starring Charlie Sheen. This movie is a send-up of Charlie Sheen's life. At least that's what it appears to be. All I can say is that it is delightfully goof;, it revels in it, in fact. I think my favorite scene (after one near the beginning, anyway) is one where Sheen and his best friend, played by Jason Schwartzman, appear to be riding horses. You can just see the horses necks and rumps as it is a close up of the two men; and the necks and rumps of the horses are bobbing up and down, but on second look, the scenery is not moving by. I think this must be a tip of the hat to those old cowboy shows in the 50's and 60' like the lone ranger. At the end I just happened to see a credit for horse puppets.Let me just say they are not the only puppets in the movie. 7/10
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its' own reason for existing." ~ Albert Einstein
"Remember, no matter where you go, there you are." Buckaroo Bonzai "Some people say I done alright for a girl." Melanie Safka
Bogarde was one of the most famous British actors, noted for his matinee idol looks, who made a host of films during the 1950's and '60s.
He was born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde, so I imagine he changed his name to Dirk for convenience. Jean Simmons was certainly his female match in the film but, unlike Dirk Bogarde, I never saw her in a bad film and So Long at the Fair is one of her best.
Anyhow, here's the theme music from the film: http://youtu.be/mUEzU8G-FCU
If you do decide to watch it, I would bet that you won't be able to guess the ending without looking it up beforehand.
"L'art de la statistique est de tirer des conclusions erronèes a partir de chiffres exacts." Napoléon Bonaparte.
"Je crois que beaucoup de gens sont dans cet état d’esprit: au fond, ils ne sentent pas concernés par l’Histoire. Mais pourtant, de temps à autre, l’Histoire pose sa main sur eux." Michel Houellebecq.
Wreck it Ralph - 6/10. I saw it with my nieces and they didn’t seem to enjoy it.
'Say anything' I sometimes just really want to watch a movie about teenagers from the 80' and maybe early 90' until Clueless ruined them. They show a totally different image of girls than movies do today
it's no Hughes but pretty good
I hope death is joyful, and I hope I'll never return -Frida Khalo
If I seem insensitive to what you are going through, understand it's the way I am- Mr. Spock
Personally, I think that the unique and supreme delight lies in the certainty of doing 'evil'–and men and women know from birth that all pleasure lies in evil. - Baudelaire
I had a Paul Thomas Anderson marathon this week, for some reason.
Boogie Nights - 8/10
Magnolia - 9/10
Punch-Drunk-Love - 8/10
The Master - 10/10 (Probably my favorite movie of 2012)
Brilliant, brilliant film-maker. Can't believe I'd only seen one of his movies (There Will Be Blood) up until a few days ago.
Taken 2
Score 7/10
The action seemed pretty good and the bad guys lose. The only problem with the movie is the way the wife and daughter get hysterical and then for some odd reason cooperate.
The first Taken was OK as well. Again, the bad guys can't shoot straight and get what's coming to them.
My blog: https://frankhubeny.blog/
Somewhere directed by Sofia Coppola. 9/10 I loved it. Such a spare little movie, yet it says so much.
"The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its' own reason for existing." ~ Albert Einstein
"Remember, no matter where you go, there you are." Buckaroo Bonzai "Some people say I done alright for a girl." Melanie Safka
War Horse by Steven Spielberg. 7/10
Perfect Pitch
7/10
I hate musicals, and glee and glee. This was musical done right. Funny and ridiculous, but with something serious and positive to say as well.
I watch a ton of movies, (work at a video store) and for horror fans I want to recommend Sinister. Best horror film in years, sadly.
While the truncheon may be used
in lieu of conversation,
words will always retain their power.
Words offer the means to meaning,
and for those who will listen,
the enunciation of truth.