What I Watched, What You Watched: Installment #28
Hitchcock and Stone were on the bill this week
This week I was able to return to viewing a few films out of my ordinary movie-watching schedule and just a few minutes ago finished watching Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang on Blu-ray, what a solid film. As for the films featured one was spurred by the obvious introduction of the sequel trailer this week and one was just passed due and I felt I finally needed to see it.
Remember, when sharing the films you watched this past week, give a sentence or two describing your thoughts and not just a letter grade in hopes to spur on some additional conversation. Now, for what I watched…
| Wall Street (1987) |
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| QUICK THOUGHTS: A friend of mine saw the trailer for Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and hadn't seen the original so I obliged them. To my satisfaction they enjoyed the original and we both hold out hope the sequel will at least serve as a good companion piece. | |
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| The 39 Steps (1935) |
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| QUICK THOUGHTS: This was my first time seeing what is described as Alfred Hitchcock's best known British film and while it was perfectly entertaining I didn't take anything particular away from it. Anyone out there love this film want to give me something a little more to look for the next time I watch it? For those that haven't seen it, it's a film that fits nicely into Hitchcock's "wrong man" series of films (a personal favorite of mine in that field is Hitch's The Wrong Man starring Henry Ford) as a man goes home with a paranoid woman he just met only to ultimately find her stabbed to death and he seems to be next on the list. Godfrey Tearle gives a fun performance as Professor Jordan, but all-in-all it just came off to me as another solid Hitchcock feature, but nothing that really wowed me, especially considering it is part of my Janus Essential Art House collection. | |
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There you have it. Now share your weekly recaps and weigh in with any thoughts you may have on the films I saw. And remember to connect with my Netflix queue by clicking here, I have already added several titles from those that have already linked up.
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Watched me the original Stepfather, and the remake (i know, classics both). I really enjoyed the original and thought it was a well done 80's suburban paranoia piece. The only thing I got out of the remake was the fact that Amber Heard goes to great lengths to be partially clothed at all times in her films.
Quite a few this week:
The Informant – B- – started off quite promising and I did like the direction, but I felt that the second half it got weaker. Strong performance from Damon though.
Bubble – B+ – another Soderbergh flick. I have seen most of his movies now and this was probably my favorite one. Terrific storyline and well directed. The acting was the only thing letting it down.
Husbands – B- – decided to catch this one after someone recommended it last week. I thought the first 45mins were superb and it had so much potential to be a classic. Unfortunately it was let down by the second half, as I just didn't like where the movie ended up going. Terrific improvisation in parts.
A Woman Under Influence – B- – another movie by the same director (father of the notebook, john q director). Great acting in this.
Letters from Father Jacob – B+ – another film that I heard about on this column last week. Probably the best score I have heard in the last couple of years. Incredible cinematography. I didn't think that the end matched up with the rest of the film and found it contrived and predictable.
The Informers(2009): Ugh a horrible film, nothing happened, extremely weak and very anticlimactic. As Ebert said "If you're looking for a good time at the movies, The Informers isn't it." Grade: D+
Mean Streets(1973): Probably my 5 or 6th viewing, one of my favorite Scorsese films. Grade: A
Bangkok Dangerous(1999): A very exciting Thai film. Very exciting action pieces and was interesting even though there was barely any dialogue in the film. I'll have to check out that remake with Nic Cage. Grade: A-
Joint Security Area(2000): A solid Korean film about the division between North & South Korea. Very good humor and a great story.
Sin Nombre(2009): A astounding portrait about the notorious MS 13 gang and a very touching storyline. A must see. Grade: A
Edge of Darkness(2009): Was wanting a little bit more action like the previews made it look. But overall a solid film from Mel Gibson. Grade: B
And I'll have to check out Wall Street again. It's been 3 years and I didn't understand it. And as for Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang. Loved it and I found it hilarious.
The Lovely Bones – B -
The Devil's Backbone – A
Slow week in films for me…
A Serious Man – watched it two times this week, first time I didn't really get it, but after thinking for hours about the film and giving it a re-watch I was convinced that it's a work of genius. Or, in this case, of two geniuses. What is the greatest about it is how the Coens managed to take so many themes, subjects and subtexts and make them all blend perfectly with each other in one film. As a result, I'm sure that you can find something new in this movie with every watching. At the same time, ASM is filled with Coens' trademark eccentric characters and truckloads of absolutely fantastic dark humor, which makes it even more enjoyable. This is, IMO, a masterpiece, the second best film of 2009 (Basterds still win for me, just by a nose), one of Coens' best films and arguably one of the best films of last decade.
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus – unfortunately, this one didn't quite do it for me. The visuals are spectacular, all the actors – terrific bordering on great (Ledger and Farrell impressed me the most), but the script – jeez, what a complete and utter mess it is. Overall I'd say it was an above-average film, but I'm becoming more and more outright disappointed with Gilliam the screenwriter. The man is evidently more and more cares about visuals, and not about his dialogue, plot and characters. The visuals and actors can still make his films watchable and – to a degree – enjoyable, and they managed to do it with Imaginarium, but that's it. I can hardly believe that this is the film from the director who made such great films as 12 Monkeys, The Fisher King and Brasil. Sad.
In the Loop – it didn't exactly blow me away, but that doesn't stop me from calling it the 2nd funniest film of 2009 (right behind Black Dynamite). I loved all the characters (and Peter Capaldi was pretty F star star ing amazing), the dialogue and 90% of the one-liners were hilarious, and I can only congratulate it for being so smart and so funny at the same time. That said, the plot was just really hard to follow, everything moved way too fast and I'm sure giving it a re-watch tonight, partly because of that. I want to laugh again, but I'd also like to understand 100%, not 75-80%, of what's actually going on.
The Godfather Part II (re-watch): doesn't hold up to the first film at all. All the scenes with young Vito were amazing, and so were the last 30 minutes, but most of scenes with Michael were good… and that's it. Pacino is at his best here, but the pacing is too uneven, some things unexplained and plot hard to follow as a result, and a couple of long scenes (the golden telephone scene, for example), were not needed at all. Overall, great film, but not a masterpiece at all, especially when compared to the first film.
Law Abiding Citizen – Exactly what I thought it would be, and therefor a B-. I am starting to like that Gerard Butler.
The Road – New approach to the apocalyptic element. I liked it – well made too – but goed on a bit too long. Mortensen does choose iteresting projects. B.
The men Who Stare at Goats – Great premise, great first half, lesser second half. Clooney keeps inpressing me. Love the poster too. B-.
The Last Run (2004) – I don't know why. D+.
It's Compliacted – Quite some fun because of the actors, some funny moments, but still don't get the Best Screenplay Golden Globe nomination. Most people – at least in the business – could write a screenplay like this. Streep is wonderful once again. C+.
Oh, by the way, I love The 39 Steps. As nn early precurser for North by Northwest for me it was the first time the master's elements did come together in this perfect way (elements you mentioned above). Robert Donat is funny as hell, and his chemistry with Madeleine Carroll is great. As I read on an IMDb-post today: the quintessential Hitchcock. I think I agree. One of the most entertaining films of the thirties, and definitely belongs in any of the Hitchcock-great lists, which, of course, is just my opinion.
Nice choice with 39 Steps, one of my favorite Hitchcock films!
1/24-1/30:
Crazy Heart – A-
I loved Bridges and would definitely be ok with him winning the Oscar this year. Also, as a hater of all things country, I was surprised by how much I liked the music.
The Departed (rewatch) – A
This is a very flawed film but it's so damn fun to watch.
A Time to Kill (rewatch) – A
Fight Club (rewatch) – B+
V for Vendetta (rewatch) – A
A welcome return to the dystopian film genre. I like the mythology of the world this movie establishes, especially the late night TV propaganda.
A Knight's Tale (rewatch) – A+
I've always loved this movie, it's just one of my favorite popcorn flicks of all time. Paul Bettany stands out as a crazy version of Geoffrey Chaucer.
Knowing (rewatch) – B
The CG is questionable at times but some of those disaster sequences are incredible. Pretty terrible acting though, even from Rose Byrne who is normally great.
Constantine (rewatch) – B+
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (rewatch) – B+
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (rewatch) – A-
My cousin once described this movie as "a one-joke movie but the joke isn't funny." I can't really say I agree but I definitely see where he's coming from.
The Silence of the Lambs (rewatch) – A+
Pandorum – B — very underrated sci-fi flick that's creepy, intelligent and very surprising, cross between Alien, the Descent and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
Little Voice – B minus — Brenda Blethyn is a blast
Crazy Love – B plus — documentary about a woman who gets acid thrown on her face, then marrys her assailent
Nashiville – A — Great 70s Robert Altman flick, one of his best
Prairi Home Companion – B minus — Not one of Robert Altman's best, but not bad either
The Passion of the Christ – A — Love this movie
Legion – C minus — they tried to do something a little different with the plot, but ultimately this isn't worth going to the movies for
Whatever happened to Aunt Alice? – B — farfetched and campy, this 60s horror flicks sores because of Geraldine Page's wonderful performance
I think you mean Henry Fonda, Brad.
Melinda & Melinda – 3/5
Highway – 2.5/5
Whiteout – 1/5
Pontypool – 3/5
Rewatches -
Maverick – 4/5
Payback – 3.5/5
Conspiracy Theory – 3/5
@maja: What a surprise that someone actually took up on my suggestion to watch a very low budget European film! I'm glad you liked it.
My movies this week:
Holy Smoke – How is it that Jane Campion seems to get Harvey Keitel’s kit off every time they work together..? This started out pretty good but something strange happened in the mid-part since Harvey Keitel ended up in the desert wearing a red dress and a cowboy boot. A movie about power and control, lost souls and lost people. The ending was total crap, the final sequence was totally useless. I like Kate Winslet so that’s why I’ll give this a C.
Bridge to Terabithia – Loved it. This is a great film for teenagers about friendship, the power of imagination and dealing with hard life experiences. I was surprised of the turn of events the story took but pleased at the way it was handled. Emotional film and the cast was pretty good, especially the leading kids. Also I liked the fact that cg wasn’t overused as I feared it might be. B
The Fast and the Furious – I thought this would be a re-watch but somewhere after the first half hour I realized I haven’t seen the end of this, just the beginning. Vin Diesel is a guilty pleasure of mine, especially as Riddick… Sorry to admit that. So he was the reason I watched this as it was on tv this week. Not much of anything to this but cool guys and fast cars. D
A History of Violence – I’ve seen some of Cronenberg’s work and honestly didn’t know what to expect this time around. I liked eXistenZ but Crash was totally weird. The story and the way it was told was good. Great performances mostly, Hurt was off the mark though. The ending was to my liking and had me thinking about it for a while, kind of scary in a way. I wonder what happened then? B
Hearts in Atlantis – This was a disappointment. It started out too vague, we had to wait too long for the “thing” to be revealed and by that time it was too late. In my opinion it would’ve worked better without the paranormal aspect to the story but I guess it had to be there to call this a Stephen King movie. It was interesting enough to see young Anton Yelchin, thank god he got better at acting as he grew up! D
The Shawshank Redemption ~ Wow. Just wow. 5/5
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus ~ Very, very Gilliamesque. 4/5
Up in the Air ~ Clooney is charming (as usual) and Farmiga and Kendrick give strong supporting work. 4.5/5
Crazy Heart ~ Give Jeff Bridges the Oscar. NOW. 4/5
^I need to rewatch Shawshank. It's a blur to me, like most of the movies from the 90's. Anyway,
Out of Sight: The whole time I was watching it there was this caveat that the movie hung on to the "Clooney and Lopez chemistry show!" And I'm not saying that's all that's in the movie neither. . I do like that this movie exists and that it was made in the hands of Soderbergh, because it might have failed otherwise. 4/5
The White Ribbon: Fantastic. These aren't spoilers because these were hinted at at the trailer, but the certain assaults and vandalism that occurred within the movie are paced in a more realistic way. The incidents happen in random points and are just as random in how horrifying they are. That's specifically unlike a Hollywood film where the events would all happen right away and it gets worse each time. But also because of that, the movie is a one shot deal and you couldn't pay me to see that movie again. 4.5/5
The Hours: No, Tina Fey, it's not too long that you should call it "The Weeks." Nicely shot, But I didn't learn anything new from watching it. Great performances, nonetheless. 4/5
Saw parts of the movie:
Lola Montes: Dazzling. It's the "restored" version which meant that the aspect ratio kept changing a lot. And apparently the movie was a hot mess to make, so we'll probably never see it in a consistent format, unfortunately for us. And I've never heard French spoken so slowly in my entire life. 4/5
Rewatch:
Manchurian Candidate '62: With the exception of the guy playing Lawrence Harvey's father in law, the performances were pretty modern. 4.5/5
American Beauty: Better this time around. The first time I saw it I felt like I was watching "The Tactless People Show!". Saw it in its proper format on TV and felt that it had great images and it would have been awesome to see it in the theatres. But then I was 12 when this came out, and I was still in the Philippines. 5/5
Scent of a Woman- 9/10 Pacino makes the whole movie. He is definitely at his best here but without him the movie would not be that great.
Memento- 10/10 It was honestly one of the most creative and entertaining movies I've ever seen. I hope Chris Nolan can do the same thing with Inception.
Training Day- 9/10 Commanding performance by Washington and Ethan Hawke was good too. Really good crime drama.
Somebody Up There Likes Me- 9/10 Paul Newman was very good as usual and it told a good story. The boxing scenes were not the best though and I could've done without Pier Angeli crying every other scene but I liked it.
Whip It-Very good
Gamer-Fine, but whoever wrote "Running Man" should sue.
Invention of Lying-Funny how no mention of the religion ever appeared in commercials.
Smoken' Aces 2-Worst written movie ever.
Boogie Nights- first time seeing this and PTA is awesome. amazing camera work, interesting characters, and probably one of the most intense scenes that i have ever seen….A
2001: a space odessey- first time seeing this stanley kubrick film. the score is great and it looks beatiful. the storyline is very intriguing but can someone try to help me figure out what that ending was all about???
Master and Commander: far side of the world- first viewing. enjoyable film. russell crowe is good as always, but the film as a whole left me wanting more….B
Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia: B+ – Vintage Peckinpah and a great performance from Warren Oates
Edge of Darkness: C – Gibson was fine and the action scenes were well done, but overall the movie was just boring with a silly political plot and one note characters
The Limey: B – Terrance Stamp is terrific and Soderbergh's direction crackles, but it seems as if the script is reaching too hard to emulate David Mamet
Love and Honor: 4/4 Yoji Yamada's third and final film in his excellent samurai trilogy that began with the great The Twilight Samurai. Wonderful film about the power of duty to people you love. I cannot recommend this film enough.
Full Metal Jacket: 4/4 Stanley Kubrick's great Vietnam war film. As visceral as well as intellectual a film experience you are ever likely to have. This is not a film I bring out very often but every time I do I find I'm filled with lots of thoughts afterward about the nature of man and his relentless ability to cause war and destruction and his justifications about it. A truly great film by a master director.
The 40-Year-Old Virgin: 3/4 Watched this one on Blu Ray. Was the first time I had ever had access to the R-Rated theatrical cut (both the Unrated and R-Rated versions are on the Blu Ray Disc) and so I thought I might check out what was cut out of the theatrical version to avoid the dreaded NC-17. I think almost needless to say the film drops a whole star rating with the amount of classic and great material that is included in the unrated version. I am still puzzling though over some of the things they left out of the theatrical version because the MPAA system deemed it too dirty. The only thing I can really see that might have originally earned the movie the NC-17 was the Stormy Daniels full frontal scene but even that was pretty tame and played for laughs. I did check out the ratings for the movie in other countries and was surprised to learn that the movie has a 15 certificate for the unrated edition in the UK which means that any 15 year old in Great Britain can see legally see or purchase the movie. Not that I agree or disagree with the UK rating (I first saw the movie when I was 17 in the unrated version on DVD) but I just thought that would make an interesting point of comparison to our own ratings system.
I felt very similar about The 39 Steps. Definitely not among the best Hitchcock films I've seen. It's short and quick-paced, but the story doesn't turn in to anything special.
I haven't posted mine for a couple of weeks so I'll just list the one's I've seen recently:
- Blindness
- Away We Go
- The Hurt Locker
- An Education
- The White Ribbon
- Rushmore
- A History of Violence
- Risky Business
Last Tango in Paris – 3.5/5
The Gospel According to St. Matthew – 4/5
Sadly, no chance to get to the theatre this week so it was all DVD viewing:
Primer (2004) – A super low budget movie about two guys inventing a time travel machine in the garage. It has flaws that go along with being such a low-budget flick – lighting, audio, some camera work etc. but it is an intriguing movie premise and warrants a repeated viewing (B)
Triplets of Belleville (2003) If you like animation I encourage you to see this surreal little gem from France. There is very little dialogue so don't worry about having to read loads of subtitles. The characters are quirky and wonderful and the music is great. I especially love the staple of the elderly triplet's diet. (A+)
Hellboy (2004) – A good intro to this comic character. I really like Ron Pearlman and I Ilove the character of Abe Sapien. (B+)
Hellboy II – You can really see del Toro's post-Pan's Labyrinth influence with some of the creepy creatures that Hellboy and co. meet in this sequel. (B)
The New World – Shot almost entirely in natural light this film is stunningly beautiful. The young woman who plays the Pocahontas role is incredible. (A+)
Mulholland Dr, (2001) – Another DVD that requires repeated viewing. Stylish, mesmerizing, complex and twisted with a brilliant performance by Watts. This is one that you keep turning over and over again in your head (A+)
"Excalibur" (1981) – Such an odd film, but I pretty much loved it. It's so poorly paced, there's no sense of time and everyone in the cast is just hammin' it up (Nigel Terry as Arthur is just horrible), but I love it for many reasons. The use of Wagner's "Funeral March" from Gotterdammerung to close and open the film is just brilliant, as is Alex Thompson's glossy-greenish cinematography. [B+]
"Whiteout" (2009) – Just an utter bore from start-to-finish – it couldn't even nail the isolation and paranoia. I'm honestly surprised it even made it from the page to begin with, there's literaly nothing there. The photography and the direction have a falsity about them, it's just a bland, thoughtless pile of junk that should have gone straight-to-video. [D]
In theaters:
When in Rome (5/10): The leads did about as well as they could have given the material, but the script didn't leave much room for any of the potentially funny supporting characters to leave any sort of impact.
Edge of Darkness (7/10): Mel was pretty awesome,and Winstone was definitely a scene stealer. I thought it was completely engaging, but ultimately pretty forgettable.
On DVD:
Zombieland (rewatch) (7/10): It seems to move a little slowly for a movie that is only 85 minutes long, but it features some impressive character depth and development for a movie of its genre. Woody is hilarious.
The Boys are Back (7/10): Good performances from Clive Owen and the younger kid, who was pretty funny. Nice little story, but nothing spectacular.
The Last Picture Show (8/10): Fantastic ensemble cast of teens and adults. The weakest link, unfortunately, was the lead played by Timothy Bottoms. It kind of reminded me of a more dramatic, 1950's version of Fast Times at Ridgemont High at times. Overall a really good flick.
12 Angry Men (rewatch) (9/10): An all-time classic from probably my favorite all-time director, Sidney Lumet. A film like this would never get made today.
The Woodsman (8/10): Dark and engaging character study of a disgraced pedofile trying to find his way in the world after 12 years in prison. Kevin Bacon's greatest performance ever. Bacon and Sedgwick have fantastic on-screen chemistry, which is something a lot of real-life couples seem to lack. Watch this if you missed it!
Oh, and I have to agree with you about "The 39 Steps." I watched it a few months ago, and I think it is probably my least favorite Hitchcock film amongst the ones I have seen. It seemed to lack the narrative focus and intensity that he would later master in some of his later films.