"Paris, Texas".

And, yeah, it's wonderful, it's beautiful, it's incredibly filmed, the music is flawless, the performances are wrenching, it's got that ricochet thing going that you see in great films where small things start to echo and build up a sense of depth (for example, all the conversations that take place over the phone, over walkie talkies, over distance - nobody ever sits and looks at the person they are talking to face to face, in this movie....)

But I didn't like it as much as I wanted to. I just kept thinking about that kid, a kid who needs his home, his friends, his toys, the sense that the people he loves will be there tomorrow. The kid in this movie is a plot device and a symbol, instead of being a real kid, and that's the weakness of the film. the only thing that keeps it from being perfect, IMO.

"House of Games"

I liked this quite a lot. Can't give away anything about the plot, except that it's about con games and deception. Nice noir feeling to it. In a move which I assume was intentional, our protagonist is highly unlikeable, while the bad guys are pretty appealing. It's possible that she's just a dreadful actress, but Mamet usually knows what he's doing, so I'm working from the assumption that she's supposed to be so flat - it certainly makes the final twist work. Worth seeing if you like modern noir.

"The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp"

Considering it was made in England in 1942-43, a very nuanced look at war and soldiers. Fantastic performances, and Deborah Kerr is radiant, especially in the 1902 role.

Last night I watched 'The Book of Eli', quite violent in places but not overly so and with a marvellous twist at the very end.

"Take the Money and Run", Woody Allen's first on-screen lead (after supporting in What's Up, Pussycat?" & "Casino Royale"), second director (after "What's Up, Tiger-Lily?") and third writer ("What's New, Pussycat?" & "What's Up, Tiger-Lily?") credits. Pure comic genius through the whole film. It is a mockumentary of the life of a bank robber who never got the goods through his own fault and through tragic coincidences. He's like a cartoon character, blown to smithereens in one scene only to be resurrected whole for the next, but without the explosions (Oops, there is that candle/TNT in disguise bit...).

One of my favorite quotes from a Woody Allen movie was in "Take the Money and Run". When he was going to rob the woman in the park and ended up talking to her, he said "After fifteen minutes I wanted to marry her, and after half an hour I completely gave up the idea of stealing her purse." I think his earlier movies were some of the funniest ever made. "Bananas", "Sleeper" and "Love and Death" are also hilarious.

Just watched two: "Teen Witch" and "Matilda." Both were very good, with excellent messages (the former) and a happy ending (both). And, oh, yeah, good music. Only problem is, there was a lot of visual stuff (more so in the latter movie), so it was somewhat difficult for me to follow at times.

We've been having a movie marathon the last week while I was sewing Halloween costumes. My friends were over several days this week and needed some entertainment in between fittings, so they raided my DVDs. It started with a Halloween themed week - we watched 'Zombieland', 'Shaun of the Dead', and Jeff Dunham's new show, 'Minding the Monsters'. Then they moved on to Disney/Pixar - 'Up', 'The Emperor's New Groove', 'Wall-E' and possibly one or two others. I lost track after so many.

If you like Jeff Dunham, you really need to see his new special. It's hilarious!

A couple of movies this last few days. First, "Serpico" - I'd never seen it, for some reason. I was kinda "meh" but my son liked it. Gotta admit, though, Al Pacino is a fantastic actor - it's something we are so used to that we don't always appreciate just how good he was, and to some extent still is.

We also watched "Tremors 4". Enjoyable, and quite a lot of fun. And, since this is the fourth in a horror franchise, that is saying quite a lot.

Well, during the hurricane I was trapped in my home with nothing but my cat and my cable TV to comfort me (which luckily did NOT go out), so I watched quite a few movies. Here are the best:

(1) the original "Frankenstein" movie from 1931. Wow. You've got to see it if you haven't. I can really appreciate it now the way I couldn't when I saw it on TV as a teenager. There's so much to it, the lighting, the music, I can't even explain; and

(2) "Electoral Dysfunction", a very enlightening documentary about the electoral system (or should I say non-system?) in America. Funny, too; and

(3) "King of Kings" with Jeffrey Hunter playing Jesus Christ, although it seemed like it was more about Herod, Barabbas, and Pilate than Jesus, but it's still worth watching.

Recent DVD spins:

Disney's "Sleeping Beauty". has some good behind the scenes extras and commentary by the artists who drew it.

"The Gate" where tweens battle the emergence of an otherworldly creature into our world through a hole in the ground. Some good Harryhausen type stop-action animations. The Director commentary reveals some forced perspective shots that were unbelievable. Where I thought it was composited tiny claymation figures in some scenes were really full sized humans in rubber costumes off in the distance with all the environment and actors suspended in the air in front of the camera. That was worth the look-see.

A Grindhouse Double Feature of "Star Odyssey" and "Prisoners of the Lost Universe". Is there a class of films called D? They define what it was to waste a Saturday afternoon at a theater watching tripe rot on the screen.

"How to Steal a Million", a classic William Wyler romantic farce created to spotlight Audrey Hepburn's return to the screen after her split with Ferrer. This is a good performance by Peter O'Toole. Some good commentary by Eli Wallach and Wylter's daughter, herself now a director/producer. There is also the A&E's Biography short of Audrey Hepburn's life.

"True Blood" an early Jeff ("Lawnmowerman") Fahey lead vehicle. A fair example of teen gang warfare in NYC noir.

"Mystery Men" which seems to grow in my estimation as a good comedy each time I see it. A Darkhorse Comics based film from before Darkhorse became as respected as Marvel for its comics. A good rock music soundtrack rather than scored effort. Tom Waits hustling 90 yr old women is hilarious!

"Objective Burma" A good historical representation thrown together as a wartime recruitment and propaganda film starring Errol Flynn and some great character actors as his paratrooper squad. Bonus features are two recruiting shorts: "The Rear Gunner" with Burgess Meredith as a flying fortress tail gunner and "The Tanks Are Coming"


EDIT to add: Gracious1 inspired me to order "King of Kings" thank you. I will research acquiring the others mentioned here this week too.

"Mystery Men" is one of the favourites around our house. So many great little moments.

I'm still waiting to see "Mystery Men". looks like a fun movie.

Last night I was more or less "bed ridden" so watched 3 movies in a row:

1) Quantum of Solace
Even though I'd seen it before. Craig, as Bond, what's not to like? - even beaten to a pulp, he somehow still comes off as quintessential lol. The only part that bugs me about those first two movies is how much "M" distrusts Bond - I think they overemphasized that aspect more than they should have.

2) The King's Speech, for the first time.
I cried through most of it, although people much younger than me probably wouldn't understand why and

3) Melancholia. Complete waste of time in my opinion, unless you're wowed by artsy-fartsy visuals or are a fan of the so-called "acting abilities" of the "fang-y" Kirsten Dunst (which I am not).

I really loved "The King's Speech".

"The Adventures of Don Juan" starring Errol Flynn good costumes and sword fighting stunts and that's about it.

"Billy Jack" still a pertinent comment on society and that's a shame because the movie is forty years old or two generations by some measures.

"Prey" (2007) See "Melancholia" above but switch Weller for Dunst. I learned: fairly fresh lion turds are called scat and they are kinda warm to the touch. No sensory input was given for how they smell, though that was tested too.


Edit: hope you feel better Jakeroo. Too much good living got you down?

My kids talked me into watching "Cabin in the Woods", and I'll admit, although it took a while for me to sit through a lot that I'm not crazy about, it's brilliant, in its way.

"How the Grinch Stole Christmas": a near perfect application of modern cinematic techniques by Ron Howard to relate the holiday rituals as analysized in a humourous way by Dr. Seuss. Jim Carrey certainly rivals his other heavy make-up role efforts as Wiploc in "Earthgirls Are Easy", as Stanley Ipkiss in "The Mask" and as the Riddler in "Batman Forever". This may be the best of them all. Overall it should be on everyone's holiday watch list.


"The Misfits": John Huston's collaboration with Arthur Miller which examines just what does it mean to be alive? Is vivacity something you can waste? How come some seem to have more of it? Can it be contagious? Is it something that can or needs to be destroyed (as suggested by the mustang enigma) for the rest of society to be able to cope? The last screen appearances by two of Hollywood's greatest icons, screen legends, Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable. After they'd played opposite each other could any other duo match the life they gave to their characters? Sad that there is no commentary or bonus extras on the DVD I watched. If there was, I'd probably still be watching it.

Just saw the second Sherlock Holmes movie that came out a year ago - very good. I thought the actress who played the gypsy was very good as well. And I even thought the story moved along a little better in this one than the first movie.

I just enjoyed two well known films: "Some Like It Hot" and "Fargo"

I am stunned at the resemblence of two characters to each other: Joe E Brown and William H Macy (why they both even use a middle initial in their stage name!). Having recently watched "Mystery Men", I can imagine Joe E Brown as 'The Shoveler'!

And in watching the credits from "Fargo" I had my next film chosen for me. The early character who is the Highway Patrol officer's killing witness, who survives his own auto crash only to be gunned down with a shot to the back, is credited to be that funny symbol that The Performer Formerly Known As Prince uses! I fortunately recently got "Purple Rain" and was at or near the top of my next 'to view' list anyway.

Just about my favourite British film of all time. It summed up the old-time British way of thinking just about perfectly and (to an extent) foresaw the change in British society that WWII was bound to wrought. I'm always amused by the fact that it was commissioned as a propaganda piece by the Ministry of War and then banned by the same office for being unpatriotic!

"Colonel Blimp"

I was taken by this event described in the notes with the DVD - I'm copying here from Roger Ebert's review, as I've taken the DVD back to the library. Walbrook is the Austrian actor who played the main character's German friend.

I've just watched 'Winter's Bone'. An extraordinary and totally gripping film: the lead Jennifer Lawrence ('The Burning Plain', 'X-Men: First Class', 'The Hunger Games') is developing into a truly great actor.

But OMG is Missouri really THAT depressing?!!

"Anatomy of a Murder" - 1959, Jimmy Stewart and Lee Remick, George C Scott looking impossibly young. The most interesting thing to me about this courtroom drama of a rape and murder case is how they got around the Hays code. It's startlingly frank, for the kind of movie it is. Also, although there is a little gloss put on it for appearances, it's pretty obvious that the "bad" guys got away with it (another Hays Office no-no) - she wasn't really raped, and he wasn't really temporarily insane.

Also interesting to see how societal attitudes toward a free and easy young woman have changed - and, depressingly, how much they haven't.

"Fire and Ice"

Edit to add: Much better than I thought it would be--I'm always afraid I won't be able to follow things like this

I have just watched 'The Life of Pi', and having not read the book,(yet), cannot offer an opinion as to how it compares, but after reading an article about how the book was supposedly unfilmable, i must say that Ang Lee did a beautiful job. The cinematography is astounding, the story heart wrenching and uplifting at the same time.
The casting of relative unknowns was a masterful stroke, as it allowed you to concentrate your attention on the story, not who was playing who.
It has to be my favorite movie of the year, by far.

'Dungeons and Dragons: The Book of Vile Darkness'

Edit to add: I was pulled in right from the beginning, when the book's prior history was discussed.

"Marty" from 1955 with Ernest Borgnine.

Really love this movie - it's low key, it's simple, but it's got a lot of heart.

"How Green Was My Valley" from 1941.

This one didn't hold up so well for me. I now know what a Welsh accent sounds like, for example, and it doesn't sound much like any of these. I'm also a lot less sentimental in my fifties than I was in my teens, when I saw this first.

I know more about film-making, now, though, and can appreciate how beautifully made this movie is - I'm sure the first time I saw it, I didn't even notice all the bit with Angharad's veil at her wedding, for example. And the singing!

All in all, I'd say that if you haven't seen this, you probably should, sort of as a beautifully filmed time machine, back to a kind of movie they don't make anymore.

"Purple Rain" - Prince, Apollonia, Morris Day, Olga Karlatos, Clarence Williams III
Did you know that Prince wrote most of 'The Time''s music?

Pirates of the Golden Age - A two disc, four movie collection ("Against All Flags" / "Buccaneer's Girl" / "Yankee Buccaneer" / "Double Crossbones") Errol Flynn, Maureen O'Hara, Yvonne de Carlo, Antony Quinn, Don O'Connor, Jeff Chandler. All from Universal studios. Each had their own model ship when used in the sea tank but it was the same deck shown in all four movies for actor's staging!

"To Catch a Thief" - Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jesse Royce Landis, John Williams. One of Hitchcock's great use of camera perspective to add suspense. And, of course there's Kelly in her future Riviera setting to appreciate. It's sad that some of her big 'action' scenes were racing her car through the twisty streets. It reminded me so much of her demise it was almost too hard to watch.

"Roman Holiday" - Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert, Hartley Power. A good companion period piece to "To Catch a Thief" showing what post WWII was like on the Riviera and in Rome.

"Coonskin" (or "Street Fight") - Ralph Bakshi's mix of real footage and animation, with Barry White and Scatman Crothers.

The film "Against All Flags" (1952), starring Errol Flynn and Maureen O'Hara, I believe has a speaking role for Ernest Borgnine in it. He had just signed with Paramount but this film is from Universal and he would have had to use a different name or else ruin his other contract. The role was as the booty slave auctioneer and then as the pirate who discovers Flynn sabotaging the cannons, for which EB is killed. The way he strutted around doing the aution and the fighting stances he took are exactly the mannerisms he used as Sgt. 'Fastso' Judson in "From Here to Eternity" a year later. He seemed destined to play the heavy. EB's bio doesn't list "Against...Flags" as one he was in but maybe he enjoyed keeping this little secret? There are close ups of his face and the voice is the same. I think I saw tooth gaps in there too. Of course I may be wrong on this, but hours of searching hasn't produced the name of the auction character or a cast member who wasn't listed in many other films. It's like he was a speaking uncredited character (which was known to happen in studio crossovers). More looking will follow...

A bit of trivia to titilate: During the filming of "Against...Flags", Flynn broke his ankle and in the hiatus created by his recuperation, Universal threw together another movie, "Yankee Buccaneer" with Jeff Chandler to keep the sets in use!

If only someone would re-invent the Pirate film genre. I bet a lot of people would watch them (he he he)

Borgnine speculation: Here is a scenario that might fit the events. EB started the film for Universal. He got his scenes in the can. Flynn broke his ankle, putting that project on hold. EB signs with Paramount. Universal finishes "AAF" but cannot use the name of an actor under contract exclusively to another studio. Paramount decides to not credit the part at all to avoid legal issues. They also decide it would be to costly to reshoot his scenes (both include Flynn) with a stand in, so they leave him in but without recognition.

Wow, that's a rave review if ever there was one.

I'm sticking that straight on my "to watch" list.