Big Trouble In Little China

In many ways, this is John Carpenter's most ludicrous movie. A trucker finds himself stuck in Chinatown and ends up fighting sorcerers, swordsmen, and ninjas. Yes, it's about as silly a plot as you can get, but it's also a lot of goofy fun. Worth watching if you feel like killing some time and getting a few laughs.

Since the last update...

Zulu - 6/10
11-11-11 - 4/10
Contraband (2012) - 6/10
My Life as a Dog - 7/10
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - 7/10
Battleship Potemkin - 9/10
The Grapes of Wrath - 9/10
Cinema Verite - 5/10
A Streetcar Named Desire - 5/10
"Mystery Science Theater 3000": The Violent Years - no rating
Terms of Endearment - 6/10
Queen of Outer Space - 6/10
Brief Encounter - 7/10
The Band Wagon - 7/10
World on a Wire - 5/10
Mirror Mirror (2012) - 5/10

One flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Brilliantly acted New Hollywood classic about an anti-authoritarian inmate’s (Jack Nicholson) struggle against the oppressive regime in a mental institution. In my opinion, it falls just short of being a masterpiece, because of its at times patronising and “cute” depiction of mental illness. Otherwise, an excellent movie. 8/10

The Producers (1968)
Mel Brooks’ classic comedy about Broadway producers trying to profit from making the worst musical of all times: Nazi-glorifying “Springtime for Hitler”. The movie appears to have been designed around the idea of this musical, which is funny indeed. Unfortunately, nearly everything else is not, particularly because of the terrible overacting. Perhaps I just don’t like Mel Brooks’ type of comedy - I didn’t like ‘Robin Hood - Men in Thighs’ and ‘Spaceballs’ either. 4/10

Cat People (1942)
Atmospheric horror B movie about a man who falls in love with a woman who fears that she will turn into a panther if she consummates their marriage. The black and white cinematography is outstanding, the underlying themes are interesting and there are two or three very good scary scenes, which is enough to make 'Cat People' a good horror movie despite of its weaknesses (substandard acting, weak central male character, problems with the story structure). 7/10

Tango & Cash (1989)
Generic 80ies buddy cop movie starring Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell. Even occasionally decent stunt work cannot overcome the lack of a plot and humour. Bad ‘Lethal Weapon’ knock off. 3/10

Mega Shark vs. Crocosaurus (2010)
Monster movie designed to be “so bad that it’s good”. That never works because, without sincerity and delusions of grandeur on behalf of the filmmakers, there is no fun in watching them fail. Also, bad practical special effects can be funny, like the rubber suits in ‘Godzilla vs. Mothra’ movies. In contrast, bad CGI is just bad. 2/10

Margin Call (2011)
White-collar drama/thriller about an investment bank on the brink of the 2008 financial crisis. A stellar cast (Jeremy Irons, Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci, Demi Moore, Zachary Quinto, Simon Baker) on form elevates this at times talky movie from good to very good. Infinitely superior to ‘Wall Street 2: Money never sleeps’, which mines similar territory. 8/10

The Debt (2011)
Cold War spy thriller about three Mossad agents (Jessica Chastain, Marton Czokas, Sam Worthington) who attempt to abduct a former Nazi war criminal in 1960ies East Berlin and how they deal with the consequences of their actions 30 years later (now played by Helen Mirren, Tom WIlkinson and Ciarán Hinds). If it wasn't for the weak ending, this would have been a very good movie. As it is, 'The Debt' is "just" a good and pretty realistic espionage thriller. 7/10

The Avengers

Just so much FUN. Whedon successfully juggles about 6-8 characters while giving them personality, plot arcs, and at least two moments for each to totally own the screen. (Though Hulk pretty much just dominates every second of his screen time) The only major negative flaw/nitpick I could think of is that the threat should have felt stronger (understandable since it must spend time with the Avengers and Loki more than developing the climatic threat), and the main story (the invasion) is kind of derivative as a result. But if that means taking our time away from the core group, then leave it be.

In true Whedon fashion, the meat of the story is about a bunch of dysfunctional but lovable misfits coming together, and despite their difference (or because of it), saving the day against the apocalyptic evil; all while throwing angst and witty, rapid-fire dialogue and insults at each other, topped it off with his signature deadpan humor (which brought the house in my theater a couple of times). In fact, one scene in which the majority of the cast stand in one room and argue with increasing heat (and hilarity) at each other, and the camera pans around in a long, unbroken circle, reminds me a lot of Buffy and the gang. Also, another Whedon trope I didn't expect to see...

All in all, in term of sheer joy, I will be hard pressed if any movie can match it this summer. I will go back for second round in a few days; the first time was just so much to take in in term of character interaction and the INCREDIBLE climatic spectacle.

3.5 / 4.0 (Came this closeeee to giving it 4)

I think you mean "juggle"

I liked Margin Call a great deal too. I'm stoked it got a best screenplay nomination. The Debt, on the other hand, I found sucky in all the present-day scenes.

Or maybe not.

Though it would be interesting to extract the meaning of the word as a verb from that video.

Oh yes thank you. Fixed. English is my second language and I guess I'd thought juggernaut means people who juggle, and that it also can be used as verb. (Now I'm looking up the actual meaning and it's completely different than what I intended!)

In Time (2011)
In the near future, people live until they are 25 and then stop ageing. Any further lifetime is a tradeable commodity, though, and is earned and spent like currency. While the poor masses are constantly living on the edge of an expiry of their time, the rich live in a special zone and literally have all the time in the world. One day, Justin Timberlake meets a rich guy who is tired of living and transfers a century to Timberlake's character before "timing out". He also explains that the rich are constantly raising the costs of living for the poor bto stay in power. Timberlake enters the rich "zone" before being found out by timekeepers (Cillian Murphy) and abducts the daughter of an extremely wealthy man (Amanda Seyfried), who falls in love with him. Together, they go on a 'Bonnie and Clyde' type crime spree.
The premise is intruiging and an obvious allegory to modern-day capitalist society. Unfortunately, the execution isn't very good. Director Andrew Niccol, who has made very good to great movies ( 'Gattaca', 'Lord of War', also writer of 'The Truman Show') in the past, has just made this variation of 'Logan's Run' into a standard thriller. Some of the writing and acting is pretty bad as well. The movie is watchable because of the interesting set up, but doesn't rise above mediocrity. 5/10

An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
Zack (Richard Gere) is a selfish loner who joins the Navy's aviation program in an effort to get his life on track. While he endures the grueling military training by his drill seargant (Louis Gosset Jr.), a romance with a local girl (Debra Winger) develops.
I usually don't like straight romance movies and 'An Officer and Gentleman' suffers from some of the problems, which I have with movies of this genre (mainly the corniness and predictability). That being said, its characters are remarkably well developed beyond mere facilitators of the plot and the military training sequences and gritty subplots make this a much better film than I expected. Mainly due to an admitted genre bias, I didn't quite think it was a good movie, but it is certainly worth watching. 6/10

The Avengers

Remember when I did those videos.....I did it again for The Avengers. And this is HOW you babble like moron.

http://blip.tv/that-other-song/the-avengers-review-6129190

8/10

The Avengers - **** out of *****

It's a solid film in nearly every way, and I think Whedon did a great job overall, but especially with the pacing. See the review thread for my more detailed thoughts.

Bully

As one who was bullied when I was younger, I was able to relate to the stories in this film very closely. Bullying has, in fact, gotten worse since I was in school, because the teachers and administrators either seem to think that their hands are tied or they just don't give a shit; I'm not sure which.

This is a good film. It humanizes its subjects, but I would have liked to have seen some bullies profiled as well. They are, after all, people with their own issues. Sometime after I left school, I learned that one of the kids who bullied me got beat up by his dad a lot; he later developed a drug problem and ended up in juvie. I should have felt good, considering what he'd done to me. But I didn't.

And seriously, fuck Oklahoma.

Fanny and Alexander

Before making this film, Bergman said it would be his last. In it, he simultaneously laments and celebrates his decades long film career. Kubrick once said, "I believe Ingmar Bergman, Vittorio De Sica and Federico Fellini are the only three filmmakers in the world who are not just artistic opportunists. By this I mean they don't just sit and wait for a good story to come along and then make it. They have a point of view which is expressed over and over and over again in their films, and they themselves write or have original material written for them." I think this is the key to understanding Bergman's films. In Fanny and Alexander, Bergman has shaped a story about family and morality around his point of view.

There are a few points in the film where the action seems to stop while a character soliloquizes - Oscar's theater speech, Helena's daydreaming, Gustav's dinner speech - and we know that it is Bergman talking to us directly. It's very personal and effective. There are other points where themes from his previous films pop up. I haven't seen all of Bergman's work, but the few that I picked up on here were Persona, The Seventh Seal, and Wild Strawberries.

If there is one thing that deserves mentioning, though, it is the writing. Rarely do you find scenes and dialogue as organic and human. All of the characters, even the minor ones, are deep and interesting.

This is definitely more accessible than the other Bergman films that I have seen, but at 3 hours for the theatrical version, it is an investment. I found it rewarding, and I definitely recommend that others check it out.

3.5/4

I found Wild Strawberries and Smiles of a Summer Night very accessible. The Seventh Seal is uneven, and richly earned the ribbing it got in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey.

Wild Strawberries was pretty accessible, but compared to Fanny and Alexander I found it less straightforward. I haven't seen Smiles of a Summer Night, unfortunately.

One of the reasons I find Smiles of a Summer Night accessible is because it was made into my favorite Sondheim musical, A Little Night Music, which I've seen twice on stage and never on film, and I've listened to the soundtrack countless times. It's easy to find a film accessible if you already know the plot.I've never seen the movie because the praise was for the costumes, which is what you should not be praising in a Sondheim musical. In my opinion, the musical improves on the movie, which itself is not too shabby. It's like comparing the great Pygmalion to the even better stage version of My Fair Lady.

Smiles of a Summer Night also inspired one of Woody Allen's worst films A Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy.

Since the first o' the month...

Starman - 7/10
American Reunion - 5/10
Under the Boardwalk: The Monopoly Story - 7/10
Robinson Crusoe on Mars - 7/10
The Taming of the Shrew (1967) - 5/10
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence - 7/10
Marvel's The Avengers - 8/10
Out of Africa - 7/10
Jitterbugs - 6/10
Anton Chekhov's The Duel - 4/10
Last Year at Marienbad - 4/10
The Big Sleep (1946) - 7/10

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)

A showcase for the actor's actor. And not just any actors...men. And not just any men...English men. Gary Oldman leads a strong cast of performers including John Hurt, Colin Firth, Ciaran Hinds, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy and Benedict Cumberbatch (the current Sherlock Holmes on PBS). Oldman plays George Smiley, a retired officer in British Intelligence who is tasked with finding a Russian mole inside the highest level of the agency during the height of the Cold War in the early 70's. The story is told in various flashbacks and with ongoing missions in eastern bloc countries. It's not as flashy as a Bond picture and the missions aren't overly complicated as in a Mission Impossible movie. This is probably as close to "actual events" as you are going to find where it is the subtlest clues or inconsistencies that will lead to the infiltrator. This, however, makes for kind of a "detached" movie going experience where the viewer has to be mentally engaged of their own accord (there aren't a lot of explosions or chase scenes to draw you in) and actually pay attention to the events, characters, and things said (and unsaid) on the screen.

Oldman rightfully earned an Oscar nomination for his performance here following in the large shadow of Sir Alec Guinness who perfected the role 35 years ago. His Smiley is quiet and unassuming with his own cracks he keeps carefully hidden.

At times the "man's ensemble" of Tinker Tailer Solder Spy reminded me a bit of Spielberg's Munich crew in both the dynamic and the operations (though assassination is not their target here).

Overall a solid movie experience, though not a great one. As JB mentions in his review, do not plan to take any bathroom breaks without hitting pause. Every scene is important. 3.0 / 4.0

Scream

The slasher film was about dead in the 1990s, and Scream jump-started it. It's easy to see why; this film has some genuine suspense, and a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. Though it is a product of its time (unlike Craven's Nightmare on Elm Street, which has only grown in reputation with each passing year), it still is good entertainment.

Thor

Decent, albeit predictable. There are some nice moments and action scenes but ultimately, I thought it came up a little bit bland. The character of Thor is too broadly written to be terribly interesting. I did like however, It wasn't so obvious that I thought the parallel was overdone, but it definitely got a chuckle out of me, when I noticed it during that scene.

I did find Loki's character to be a bit interesting though, particularly as I thought he served as a parable about the dangers of internalized racism/homophobia.

Also, I haven't seen the Avengers movie, but how exactly did Thor get back Earth with the bridge thing destroyed?

I give it 3 out of 4 stars.
-Jeremy Redlien