We stayed through the end credits, but my son was talking about the movie and while paying attention to him, I didn't notice any. We're not very knowledgeable about the Marvel world anyway, so there's a great chance they would have flown right by us unless there was a continuation of something started in the movie we just finished.

Snow White and the Huntsman

Such a mixed bag. There's plenty to admire about Snow White and the Huntsman and there's plenty that irritated the hell out of me as well. I liked the characterization in general (particularly that of the Queen and Snow White). The plot is interesting, even if it get's bogged down a bit in the middle. There are some definitely some creative and interesting visuals, plus the special effects are well integrated.

Then there are the things that annoyed me. There are never any shots that last. I got irritated early on at how every shot only lasted about a few seconds each. Don't get me wrong, this is not an example of hyperkinetic editing that bogs down so many films today, but it felt like it came close in some ways. What I mean is the editing is almost never rapid fire, but neither does any shot really linger. The fact that the visuals are so inventive, is probably why i got irritated with the editing.

Then there is something a little harder to put my finger on. Nothing is really set up properly. This could have been an epic and emotionally harrowing film but a lot of things just are never properly set up well enough for that to happen. Which makes these frustrating as all the ingredients for a great fantasy film are there (strong characterization and visuals, and some interesting ideas form the foundation of the plot) it's just that very few of them are cooked properly for them to be worthwhile.

Once Upon A Time in Anatolia

A film about some police officers in Turkey trying to find a dead body. The murderer has confessed but since he was drunk, does not recall where the body was buried.

I don't understand this film. It seems to be wanting to convey a message about the characters lives. Something along the lines of "life is meaningless, and depressing, and people who deal with death all the time lead meaningless and depressing lives". You know what, I've done volunteer work in an E.R. I've been there when they brought in dead bodies. I cleaned the mud off a bed that had held a man buried alive in it when the ditch he'd been digging collapsed. You know what? Yes, dealing with death on a regular basis can be difficult and emotionally draining, but I don't recall it any of the doctors and nurses I worked with, walking around in the sort of perpetual suicidal funk that seems to be the defining characteristics of most of the films characters.

In fact, watching this film made me feel oddly nostalgic for the time I had worked in the E.R. and the good times I had there.

What I'm getting at is this is depression porn. The film has little to do with reality even though it might seem extremely realistic on the surface. This is a filmmaker's fantasy. And worse, it's a boring fantasy.

-Jeremy

Oh, I wasn't talking about the Marvel-sequel-related Easter Egg, but the following which was set up in the film itself:



It was seriously one of the funniest moments of that film for me.

The Earrings of Madame de...

I know that this was based on a novel, but I have to point out that this is a terrible fucking title. Just give her a name and save us all from the awkwardness of including an ellipsis when writing about it and of explaining it in conversation. I'm just going to call it The General's Retarded Wife, because it's more accurate.

This was a strange one for me. It was the first film off the top 100 that I just straight up didn't like. I don't feel like giving a plot summary, so I'll just say this: The General's Retarded Wife is basically Madame Bovary except not ironic and her husband is awesome.

However, since my problems with the film have to do with the story, I'll get all of the technical stuff out of the way first. Max Ophuls is the master of the track shot. The takes aren't super long, but they are lilting and whimsical. It's a great presentation and it creates just the right tone. It's sort of like being in Disneyland; its a wonderful environment you can lose yourself in, the only problem is all of the fat people with strollers. Except in this case the fat people with strollers are the story.

I had one complaint with the editing. When Louise and Donati are supposed to be falling in love, we are treated to a series of shots of them dancing at balls. The problem is that it is difficult to tell the difference between each ball, especially when the whole point is that time is passing in between. This happens a few other times. Without warning, the film will just skip 2 weeks without telling you. At the end, the jeweler mentions that it has been 2 years since the beginning of the film. How the fuck did that happen?

The film is done in 4:3. Which sucked. But before I list it as a detractor, does anyone know why this was used? I'm not an expert on aspect ratios, but it felt out of place to me.

The actors are all very good. I especially enjoyed Charles Boyer, who played the general. In my opinion, he steals the show.

The music works in harmony with the cinematography. Almost every scene is accompanied by a waltzy soundtrack. It did get a little annoying at times, but this constant tone made the ending work so much better. After the general kills Donati, the only way we know for sure that both he and Louise (who dies of being melodramatic, apparently) are dead is through the music. The waltz continues to the final chord, but there is a chorus of foreboding horns that emphasize the "what the fuck" state of mind you will surely be in. Its a bit like the final notes of Copeland's Billy the Kid; triumphant and wrong.

Anyways... The General's Retarded Wife is about a general with a retarded wife. In the end, he frees himself of her by dueling her love interest. The reason why I don't take the romance plot line seriously is because there is no passion. It is just another instance where we don't see any passion between the "lovers" and therefore cannot believe in them. All they do is dance together and look into each other's eyes. They have no other physical contact. Even when they meet secretly in the forest, there is no intimacy. Going back to Madame Bovary, this scene reminded me of when the novel's titular character meets her love interest and spends the day banging the shit out of him. The scene in the movie is just a neutered version of this.

At least half of the movie is just Louise moping around. Seriously, she spends five weeks touring Italian lake country. She can't be bothered to appreciate any of it because she misses her glorified dance partner.

Her husband, the general, knows all about her romance. He lets it play out until he discovers that for some unknown reason, she has fallen in love. Then he interferes. Its too bad that his mistress was bad at gambling, we could have been spared all of this. I like to think that this film is really a story about him winning his freedom from melodramatic bullshit. It's a little hard to believe that this story was supposed to be taken seriously. And yet I keep reading film essays praising it's depiction of romance.

If you like this movie for reasons not related to the general's manly awesomeness, you're a pansy.

2/4.

I wish I'd have caught that - thanks for sharing in the event we do a second take. That is funny even just thinking back on what Stark requested.

Well, now you have an excuse to go watch the film again.

Voyage in Italy

It may be easy to pass off Voyage in Italy as a simple film. Frankly, it doesn't offer a deeply intellectual storyline or terribly deep characters. But it is one of the films that helped establish Italian neo-realism as a style. Critics such as Truffaut have lauded it as "the beginning of modern cinema".

We begin with a British couple who have come to southern Italy to sell off the property of a deceased relative. While experiencing intense culture shock, they realize that they have nothing in common with one another. Despite the lively and beautiful surroundings, they have trouble staving off boredom and quickly begin to resent each other. Eventually, they spend time alone and explore the Italian countryside. By the end of the film they have reunited.

Voyage in Italy's best asset is its setting and the way Rossellini depicts it. At the beginning of the film, accompanied by the ending notes of the opening credits, we are informed visually that this film will be a journey. This is the storytelling technique employed throughout the film. Apart from a stupid monologue delivered by Bergman (I blame the script), we primarily learn about our characters and their feelings through their actions and their environment. Accompanied with occasionally beautiful music, we see Bergman and Sanders look out across the water to where their partners lie. Yet despite the visual nature of what is being conveyed, we are rarely treated to manipulative set pieces. To Rossellini, the countryside is what it is. Occasionally beautiful, enriched by history, and sometimes unimportant. It is his tool. The times we appreciate it most are the times that we feel for our protagonists. For example, one of the film's best scenes is when Bergman stands at the summit of the temple of Apollo and looks across to the island where her husband is staying.

Overall, the acting is pretty good. There were times at the beginning where I confused the stiff upper lip British attitude with poor delivery, but it greatly improved from there. There is one scene where George Sander's character is trying to get some wine from the Italian servants that is pure gold. I have to say though, I've never been a huge fan of Ingrid Bergman. Apart from these two, it seems that all other characters exist only to set up situations for the protagonists, so there are no secondary characters to speak of.

The script is very simple. Overall, it works well, but there are a few scenes that could have been done better. For example, when Bergman's character is exploring the museum and the Roman ruins, it would have worked better if she had done it with one of the people from the house rather than a random "tour guide" with an annoying voice. Some of these scenes seemed to drag as well. I realize that they mainly served to establish a visual style, but they seemed kind of pointless to the story.

It is easy to see the influence Voyage in Italy has had on modern cinema, both in terms of visual style and story telling techniques. While I realize I have criticized it for pacing, it is impossible to ignore the effects it has had. I would look to this film as a perfect example of Italian neo-realism, but not much else. It seems more like a proof of concept.

3/4

Ted

I'm on vacation, and I decided to catch this. Despite all of the potty talk and pot-smoking and teddy sex, I really think this film has a positive message about the value of friendship. So there.

The Westerner

Gary Cooper stars as the do-good roaming cowboy who finds himself in a feud between the cattlemen and homesteaders of Texas. On the side of the cattlemen is the plucky, borderline psychologically unstable, and self appointed judge of the local town, played by Walter Brennan who won an Oscar for his performance. On the side of the homesteaders, there is the bland love interest for Gary Cooper. Our story plays out exactly how you would expect, and apparently that earns an Oscar nomination for "Best Story" in 1940. Oh, how times have changed.

Speaking of story, the main issue I had with this movie was the uneven tone. We open with "Judge" Bean hanging a man for stealing a horse. Enter Cooper, who very nearly suffers the same fate. It's a very dark opening and it paints a bleak picture. As Cole (Cooper) tries to talk his way out of his mess, the delicacy of the situation creates great tension. This is great and all, but very quickly we lose tension. When Cole spends time with the homesteaders, the story gets pretty schmaltzy. Other times it feels like a comedy. Overall, it isn't cohesive. I think this is due in part to the awkward romance. It feels shoehorned in just to make the audiences of 1940 happy.

Brennan does a great job bringing the character to life. He's great for the most part, but I don't find his obsession with Lillie Langtry to be believable. It's weird, and it doesn't make sense to me why he would be in any position of power. Again, I blame the story.

The cinematography has to be praised. After all, it is done by Gregg Toland, known for helping Orson Welles on Citizen Kane. It makes the film seem newer than it is. The deep focus makes the subjects crisp and gritty. It gives the film a great feel. I haven't seen landscapes this good since Stagecoach.

The final shootout is unique in that it takes place inside, it is only between two people (Cooper and Brennan), and there is no music. Now, it's not super tense, but it is refreshing to see something different. Once Judge Bean has been wounded, Cole helps him to Langtry's dressing room so that he can finally meet his idol. He does so and then drops dead. I found it odd that Langtry had nothing to say about this progression of events. Sort of a pointless scene, really.

The Westerner is great if you want to see some quirky acting and great cinematography. Other than that, it's OK.

2.5/4

The Gaucho (1927) is an odd film, a Douglas Fairbanks swashbuckler with a strong religious subplot. To me, it's also the best of his swashbucklers. (I consider The Thief of Bagdad more of a fantasy.)

The film starts with a teenage shepherdess (Geraine Greear*) falling about 50 feet. When she comes to, a vaguely human-shaped outcrop or rocks turns into a vision of the Virgin Mary (Mary Pickford) and the shepherdess is healed, and soon discovers she has the power to heal others. Over the next ten years the spot becomes a shrine and the City of the Miracle grows up around it, attracting pilgrims and beggars. The shepherdess has grown up to be the Girl of the Shrine and is now played by Eve Southern as a madonna, and oddly is now a brunette.

The pilgrims also leave gold and other valuables which the local Padre** used to feed the poor. This attracts the attention of El Gaucho (Fairbanks), the roguish leader of an outlaw gang. It also attracts the attention of Ruiz the Usurper (Gustav von Seyffertitz), a general who is so powerful he actually has a name.

While crossing the Andes, the outlaw gang stops in a mountain town perched precariously above a huge canyon. There the Gaucho meets the Mountain Girl, who both idolizes and wants him. This Girl is 19-year old Lupe Vélez, burning up the screen in her first full-length movie. When the Gaucho is ready to leave, she demands to go with him, but first insists on finishing her supper. The Gaucho asks teasingly if she wants to bring the house along. Then he looks around, tells the gang to gather lots of rope and proceeds to do exactly that.

A contingent of Ruiz's men has taken over the City of the Miracle (and posted a long list of laws such as "All must doff their hats to RUIZ.") The Gaucho takes the town by a ruse, and starts dispensing justice, but is bewildered by the Girl of the Shrine. The Mountain Girl is jealous, and since she is Lupe Vélez, you don't want her angry with you. (The future Mexican Spitfire is here an Argentinian Spitfire.)

The movie is a blend of a high spirited swashbuckler and a tale of redemption. This is the best acting I've seen by Fairbanks; particularly when he's trying to understand the feelings evoked in him by the Girl of the Shrine. Since the Gaucho is a stranger to religion, encountering a living saint is something he can't process. His love interest, though, is Lupe Vélez, and there is an erotic charge between them unusual for Fairbanks film. There's plenty of Fairbanks' celebrated stunt work, lots of humor, fun with bolas, and a story that resonated with me. (9 of 10)

*Greear later became Joan Barclay and made eighty films in the 30s and 40s. This was her first film role, and she's quite good.
**The Padre is Nigel De Brulier, better known for playing Cardinal Richelieu in four films. He’s also the model for the Sorcerer in Fantasia.

Mao's Last Dancer is quite good, and gets better as it goes along. Li Cunxin was a Chinese dancer who came here as an exchange student in the summer of 1981, who was the subject of a major international incident when he decided to stay in the US. The movie is based on his autobiography and was the #1 movie in Australia in 2009. Li was taken from his family in 1973 at the age of 11 and trained as a ballet dancer for seven years, and the movie shows how people were indoctrinated in Mao's China, and how there was an attempt to create a native Chinese form of ballet involving lots of guns and uniforms. The movie actually takes us all the way to 1995, but the events of 1981 are the centerpiece and wonderfully dramatic. Li is played at different ages by three actors. As an adult, he's Chi Cao.

Right at the halfway point there are a pas de deux and a solo from Die Fledermaus featuring Chi Cao that I really loved and I'm not even a fan of ballet.

PS: Have a handkerchief ready.

Excalibur (1981)

Ugh, what a mess. Frustrating for a variety of reasons, the plot really never builds to anything, and just sort of meanders around trying to be a sort of greatest hits version of the Arthurian legends. Boring. There were actually a lot of reasons for that. Aurthur kept reminding me of Luke Skywalker (and the scene where Lancelot fights his own armor reminded me of Luke fighting himself in The Empire Strikes Back).

Speaking of armor, I really don't think people wore it as much as they did here, while eating, dancing, or conducting business meetings. In fact, while movies often go to what feel like absurd lengths to keep their male characters fully clothed while having sex, Uther Pendragon is apparently amongst the rare and hardy menfolk capable of doing the nasty while wearing full body armor.

Also, Excalibur takes on oddly phalic imagery, such as when Lancelot swears his loyalty to Aurthor whilst kneeling down. Lancelot even kisses it.

2 stars out of 4.

Beowulf

I really can't think of any reason why this was done using cgi rather than live action. In fact, I think it would have been better had it been done in live action.

In any case, I chose to watch this because the last scene of Excalibur reminded me of this film (both feature the hero fighting their golden, misbegotten offspring) and I needed something to pick me up. While not a great motion picture by any means it succeeds where Excalibur failed in so many ways in terms of pacing, character development, thematic content etc.

I particularly thought the scene where Unferth challenges Beowulf added a lot of complexity to the story, due to the fact that we don't know how much of the story Beowulf tells is true.
-Jeremy

Phantom: F. W. Murnau feature that is mostly tedious and overdramatic, utterly destroyed by a miscasting of the central role by an actor (Alfred Abel) who was at least 20 years too old for the part, and who drains the life out of every scene he's in. Murnau's usually a great director, but this was a lost film that should have stayed lost. 1 1/2 of 5.

(Abel was later the Master of Metropolis, which I haven't seen. Presumably he's better cast in that movie.)

Underworld: Awakening (2012)
In this sequel to Underworld 2 (the third instalment is a prequel), the human population has found out about the underground war between vampires and werewolves and exterminated most of the “inhumans”. Former werewolf hunter Selene (Kate Beckinsale) is captured by a sinister corporation and cryogenically frozen, but manages to free herself with the help of another captive vampire after an indeterminate time. Soon, she is involved in slow motion fisticuffs and handgun battles again.
While I admit that Kate Beckinsale still looks stunning in her trademark leather catsuit and that the action scenes in Underworld 4 are surprisingly well done, albeit hardly original, I still cannot warm up to this franchise. My fundamental problem with the Underworld movies is this: The franchise is about a war between two tribes of supernatural creatures,which are usually associated with horror, but most supernatural references are cast aside in favour of excessive, John Woo-style shootouts. There is hardly a point to the Underworld movies being about vampires and werewolves other than their ability to survive the infliction of multiple gunshots. Another huge issue: The CGI werewolves look atrocious. Still, Underworld 4 does what it sets out to do and while I don’t really like this movie, it’s not too bad either - 4/10.

The Descendants (2011)
After a boating accident, the wife of Hawaiian lawyer Matt King (George Clooney) lies in a coma, effectively making him the single parent of two daughters after having neglected his family for a long time. On top of this crisis, he is also the trustee for his extended family’s inherited tract of virgin land and must take the decision on whether to sell the land and make millions or preserve the heritage. And if this wasn’t enough, King finds out that his comatose wife had an affair with a real estate developer.
After ‘About Schmidt’ and ‘Sideways’, director Alexander Payne crafts another quality film about believable characters in a situation of personal crisis. In contrast to ‘Sideways’ in particular, ‘The Descendants’ lacks a certain bite and isn’t as funny, although it has moments of humour. It is still a fine drama, not least because all actors involved and especially George Clooney are on top form. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in intelligent movies about people standing at life’s crossroads, who seem to have a life outside of the requirements of the plot. Good film - 7/10.

The Ides of March (2011)
Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling) is assistant campaign manager in the Democratic primary campaign of idealistic Governor Morris (George Clooney). In the tense days leading up to the all important Ohio Primary, Myers is approached by the campaign manager for a rival candidate (Paul Giamatti) and has to decide on whether to jump ship or stay loyal to his mentor and boss Paul Zara (Philip Seymour Hoffman). Also, Myers begins an affair with underage intern Molly (Evan Rachel Wood), from whom he learns a secret about Morris, which could seriously derail his campaign.
‘The Ides of March’, produced, co-written and directed by George Clooney, isn’t really telling us anything new or original about politics and, more precisely, election campaigns being a dirty business, but it is still an involving political thriller. The focus of the story is Gosling’s character, who starts off as being (only a little bit) more idealistic than the seasoned and cynical veterans played by Hoffman and Giamatti and who is forced to make tough moral choices in order to help the campaign and his personal ambitions once he is in the centre of developments. This is a much better approach than concentrating on the actual candidate, who must compromise his values in order to being able to win, because that would have really been a hackneyed story. The stellar cast and generally realistic tone also help to sell the story. ‘The Ides of March’ may not be the best political thriller ever, but it’s a good movie - 7/10

Drive (2011)
An unnamed stunt and getaway driver (Ryan Gosling) falls in love with his next-door neighbour and her son, although he doesn’t act on, it because her husband is due to come out of jail shortly. Once the husband is out, the mob forces him into a committing a robbery in order to pay off debts. Sensing that the situation might get out of control and endanger his neighbour and her son, the driver joins in the heist, which promptly goes terribly wrong.
Nicholas Winding Refn’s ‘Drive’ is a very elegant, noirish and stylish action thriller, which reminded me a lot of Walter Hills 1970ies movie ‘Driver’. Actually, despite of the substantial differences of both movies, they still have so much in common - the existential nameless hero, the nighttime car chases - that you could consider ‘Drive’ a loose remake. Ryan Gosling even reminds me a bit of Ryan O’Neal, although the former is much better at projecting the inner workings of his character than O’Neal was. It must be said, though, that ‘The Driver’ had better car chases, of which there are disappointingly few in ‘Drive’, although they are very well executed and have a discernable strategy to them. Another aspect of ‘Drive’, which could have been improved, is the plot. I can’t name any specific examples at the moment, but the “tough guy falls in love with next door neighbor and gets tangled up in her problems with mean criminals” story feels hugely derivative and isn’t well-developed here.That being said, ‘Drive’ has an intruiging style, which makes up for some of its flaws, although the somewhat retro-80ies electro pop of the soundtrack is hit-and-miss. Overall, a good movie - 7/10

I agree with you that the broad stokes of Drive are derivative, but it changes enough of the little things that more than make up for that, and I don't just mean the unique style. For example, it seems like most filmmakers would have made the neighbors husband a complete cad, but that never happens. Also, the romantic elements don't follow typical hollywood romance conventions (there's no sex for starters among other little details).
-Jeremy

Bridge to Terabithia had my wife bawling yesterday, wondering if it was okay for our three kiddies, all under 8, to be watching a movie with such themes. The kiddies were solid though. Maybe they were too young to absorb what was happening...but today my oldest and middle were outside yelling about "Nothing can crush us!"

You guys ever see a film when you're older that you watched a whole bunch when you were young...then you realize..."Oh, that's what they were talking about?!" Makes it a whole new movie for you...

Yeah...I'm thinking that's what this movie will be for these young ones...

Pickpocket

I won't lie, when I found out that Pickpocket was directed by Robert Bresson, I wasn't thrilled. I am not a fan of "that donkey movie".

Once I started watching, however, I realized I judged too quickly. Pickpocket is a perfect starting point if you are new to French cinema. You expect it to be slow and plodding, but it's really quite thrilling to watch the pickpocketing scenes. The action is very subtle and frank, but it is exciting. Apart from this, the film making is streamlined. Every scene was well crafted and effectively advanced the plot.

I usually take a lot of notes when I watch movies, but I found I had very little to say about Pickpocket. It is a great film. It's style is refreshingly blunt and straightforward; it reminded me of Drive.

3.5/4

Lifeboat

Certainly a lesser Hitchcock film, but still entertaining nonetheless. Tallulah Bankhead steals the show. She reminds me of Bette Davis. The story is dark and isn't very realistic. It also has a surprisingly pessimistic social commentary about the state of the allies in WWII.

3/4

It has a fantastic opening image of a sinking ship to set it on the right path, though. That kind of visual prowess from a director is really great. Humanity is a sinking ship - it's tough to turn the film into something uplifting when you start with an image like that.

This, along with Rope and Dial M for Murder, was one of Hitchcock's "experiments". I don't think any of them are wildly successful, but each one has it's own merits, and I consider all 3 good films. This one is interesting to me more for how Hitchcock is able to say so much about the characters just by where they're sitting, how they're sitting, or who they're close to on the boat. The spatial relationships between the characters are fascinating - much more so than the storyline itself.

Tucker and Dale Vs. Evil (2010)

A fun little deconstruction of slasher films finds hillbillies Tucker and Dale just trying to enjoy some fishing and working on Tucker's "vacation cottage" when a group of college kids decides to camp out nearby. A notch below Scream and Shaun of the Dead, but better than the recent The Cabin in the Woods, which took itself a bit too seriously. A fun little romp that serves up some pretty good laughs. The slasher elements, while I suppose graphic, were still a bit tame compared to other offerings; probably because they were mostly served up for laughs. 3.0 / 4.0