May 2008
41 posts
#143 Vado... l'ammazzo e torno
aka Any Gun Can Play aka Go, Kill, and Come Back This is a spaghetti western that is very much in the vein of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. In some sections, it seems to nearly copy it exactly. It is not really on par in quality, but it does have its good points. There were some great shots and good acting across the board. For me, and it’s surprising to hear me say this after...
#142 Rich and Strange
Rich and Strange This is a sort of cautionary tale from Alfred Hitchcock. A young couple who feels their stake in life is dissatisfactory are overjoyed when they inherit money from a relative. They immediately book a trip to the Orient with their newly allocated funds, but things do go quite as planned. “Be careful what you wish for” is the name of the game. I enjoyed the comedic...
April 2008
35 posts
1 tag
#141 Jackson County Jail
Jackson County Jail *Part of the QT Fest Series*
What really stood out for me with this film was it’s integration of the typically male genre of action/adventure and some very feminist undertones. This was Tommy Lee Jones’s first cinematic role, and he does a great job playing the brooding, jaded outsider who ends up helping a wronged woman.
#140 Forgetting Sarah Marshall
*Edit* Go to this link. For some reason, I can’t get this to embed. *WARNING: The trailer above contains explicit, and I mean explicit, sexual content. If that offends you and you still watch it, don’t come crying to me.* What is sort of interesting about this film is that they have an entire TV promo campaign going that pokes fun at the movies that include all of their funniest...
6 tags
#139 Revenge of the Cheerleaders
Revenge of the Cheerleaders *Part of the QT Fest series*
To most people, this movie probably represents a good deal of all that was unholy and rotten during the 70s. Pervasive drug use, unparallelled sexual freedom and terrible dancing to the massive extent exhibited here would make some cringe. But for the cult following this little classic has, it is gold. I count myself amongst the number...
5 tags
#138 Cloverfield
T his is riveting stuff. I looked forward to this movie ever since I had to suffer through the crashtaster that was Transformers. What we got first from JJ Abrams was an unexplained minute long clip from what looked like a party. This party turned downright terrible when stuff started exploding and the Statue of Liberty’s head came rolling down the street. From that point, I was...
5 tags
#137 Brick
Brick
This was probably the best movie I saw in 2006. I’m not afraid to say that. It’s nice seeing high school characters that don’t speak like half-retarded apes, but this is mostly due to the film’s dedication to the noir detective story. The film was dreadfully overlooked in the US, and it just now finding a following through DVD. If you haven’t seen it,...
5 tags
#136 Return of the Tiger
Return of the Tiger
I might have been able to enjoy this film had the protagonists been like 12 degrees less annoying. The villains were equally annoying, but you’re not really supposed to love them. By the end, I sort of wanted the rag-tag team of baddies to take it to the endlessly shrieky Wonder Twins of this humdrum kung fu fantasy. I did enjoy the leotard army from the first...
6 tags
#135 All in a Night's Work
All in a Night’s Work *Part of QT Fest Series*
*Edit* I had this film pegged as mediocre before. That’s a little harsh. It was better than mediocre. Dean Martin brings his inherent charm to a story that’s equal parts confusing and cute. Shirley MacLaine is mistaken for a blackmailing hussy when a crazy vacation incident ends with her fleeing from her recently deceased...
5 tags
#134 Everything You Always Wanted to Know About...
imdb.com
I’m a huge Woody Allen fan. My hefty size aside, I own many of his movies in at least three formats. Annie Hall is in my top 5 movies ever. The facts are now established. The film is based on a book in sort of that wink-wink, nudge-nudge way that should bring some laughter to the table. Don’t watch this movie for clear facts based on research. For the most part, the...
5 tags
#133 Never a Dull Moment
Never a Dull Moment *Part of the QT Fest series*
Dick Van Dyke ends up on the bad side of a mistaken case of identity. He plays Jack Albany who ends up playing a murderous mobster, Ace Williams when he is roped into a New York mob headed by Edward G. Robinson. Hilarity and confusion ensue when the mob plans to rob an art museum while Albany ends up falling for an artist. They quickly align...
5 tags
#132 Eastern Promises
Eastern Promises
I was surprised that I liked this after being disappointed by Cronenberg’s last effort. The Russian Mafia is interesting and so is this movie. Naked knife fight FTW!
5 tags
#131 The Invasion
The Invasion
This version of the oft remade original really got bashed by the critics. While it isn’t perfect, I don’t think it was all bad. I didn’t love the references to the Iraq War.
5 tags
#130 District B13
Luc Besson has written some sort of “love it or hate it” type of work. I happen to be in “loves” corner most of the time. The action in this film is pretty awesome. The dialogue, isn’t. Of course, the version I saw was dubbed in English so some things might have been lost in translation.
6 tags
#129 The House on Sorority Row
The House on Sorority Row *Part of the QT Fest Series*
Head in a toilet, FTW! I’m not the biggest horror fan on the block, but tonight the stage was all set for me to get terrified. The temperature outside dropped, which means my room is cold. The wind picked up. Thunder and lightning combined to make things pretty scary. Too bad this movie sort of let the whole evening down. I mean,...
6 tags
#128 Da uomo a uomo
Death Rides a Horse *Part of the QT Fest Series*
Little did I know I would see three Lee Van Cleef movies in about a week. This one’s better than average and I found myself getting really pulled in by this tale of Wild West-style revenge. If there are any other hardcore Kill Bill fans out there, you should see some obvious parallel moments and music.
5 tags
#127 Confetti
Confetti
Aww…this movie was pretty cute. I love all of those supermacho action/adventure/smackdown films I’ve been seeing lately, but this was a welcome change of pace. Confetti is a magazine, a magazine that caters to the wedding-minded. As a gimmick to sell more copies, the head honchos organize a competition for the three most unique weddings. The winning couple will have...
5 tags
#126 The Producers
The Producers
This movie is, was, and will always be hilarious. If you have the option of renting this or the 2005 remake, get the original. The remake fell flat in general, but mostly due to the lack of personality in the leads (ahem-Matthew Broderick). I’m tired and Work Out’s on so that’s all I’m writing today.
4 tags
#125 Kung Fu Punch of Death
aka The Prodigal Boxer
What a title. The main character is folk hero Fong Sai-yuk, he’s a rabble-rousing, martial arts student and mama’s boy. The film is quite unremarkable as a whole, but there are a few scenes that impress. There is a scene where Sai-yuk’s bar fight and the fight that killed his father are seamlessly edited together in a symphony of bloodshed and...
2 tags
#124 Mean Frank and Crazy Tony
aka Dio, sei proprio un padreterno!
Producer Dino de Laurentis is behind one of the greatest cult classics ever, Barbarella. He comes through again here in this Italian mobster comedy starring Lee Van Cleef, who we most recently saw in For a Few Dollars More, and Tony Lo Bianco. This is a comparatively high quality grindhouse film and has some pretty funny moments. Lee plays “Mean...
2 tags
#123 Violent Professionals
Violent Professionals
Violent Professionals can be included in the Poliziotteschi genre within the larger Grindhouse/exploitation banner. The film follows Lt. Giorgio Caneparo’s mission to exact revenge on the mafioso who ordered the murder of his mentor. The film was pretty bland overall. Being a person highly impressed by what isn’t CGI in film these days, I have to say that...
2 tags
#122 The Poseidon Explosion
The Poseidon Explosion aka Explozia
The Poseidon Explosion is a Romanian disaster film from 1973. It was supposedly inspired by actual events, though the title would suggest it was feeding off of the success of the American film, The Poseidon Adventure. It seems we have a marketing situation similar to Chinese Connection.
This film revolves around a crisis caused by an abandoned cargo ship...
2 tags
#121 Jishin retto
Jishin retto aka Megaforce 7.9
How many times have we seen Tokyo in danger? Too many times to count, really. Whether it’s Godzilla, Tsunamis, or, in this case, a ginormous earthquate, Tokyo is not the place I’d want to live my movie life in. The film takes place in a Japan gone complacent with many earthquake-free years. One scientist deals with a whole mess of tough...
3 tags
#120 Fists of Fury
Fists of Fury
If you read the last post, you might be thinking, “Wait, didn’t you say that you saw “Fist of Fury” yesterday?” I’d respond by complimenting you on your rhyming and pointing out that the titles are slightly different. “Fist of Fury” was the original title of “Chinese Connection,” but when the American Marketing company...
6 tags
#119 Chinese Connection
Chinese Connection *Part of QT Fest Series under the title Fist of Fury*
Let me just start by saying that I love Netflix. It’s been reliable, fair, and has allowed me to rent DVDs that I know would never see the light of day at my local Blockbuster. When I received this DVD in the mail, the sun was shining, all was well. When I put it in my computer’s DVD drive, the unthinkable...
6 tags
#118 Succubus
Succubus *Part of the QT-fest Series*
I only vaguely know what this movie was about. I’m baffled. Of course, I could be missing some sort of hidden key that would unlock the door to this mess of freakery. I’ve never been good with symbolism. What I do know is that some scenes were so absurd (such as the one pictured) I just didn’t know what to do.
5 tags
#117 3:10 to Yuma
3:10 to Yuma
This was my first experience with Blu-Ray, and I have to say I still like the now dead HD-DVD format better. There isn’t a huge difference, I admit, but I liked the degree of interactivity and the sound on the HD-DVD disc. Anyway, I liked this movie when I saw it in theaters, and that hasn’t changed. I’m not a Russell Crowe fan by any stretch, but he...
5 tags
#116 The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
imdb.com
This rip-roaring, Terry Gilliam-helmed fantasy adventure was just the thing I needed for my study break. Chemistry is weighing me down. Anyway, The Adventures of the Baron Munchausen is just the sort of film you’d expect from Terry Gilliam, ridiculous and great.
6 tags
#115 For a Few Dollars More
For a Few Dollars More
*Part of the QT Fest Series*
Best Western film ever? Maybe not, but it’s pretty close.
5 tags
#114 The Ruins
Note: I’ve posted the red band trailer because I think it does a bit better job in portraying the plot. You’ve been warned.
imdb.com
This one surprised me big time. The advertising campaign for this thing was way off. Seeing that, it looked like yet another “Hostel” rip off in the vein of “Turistas.” It’s really much more. This film...
5 tags
#113 The Sasquatch Gang
imdb.com
This film was hilariously stupid, and in the vein of “Napoleon Dynamite.” I’ve come to loathe that film, by the way. It saturated too much of the world around me for it to be funny anymore. “The Sasquatch Gang” will likely never reach such an audience because of the feeling that it will be very similar. It is, but it seems that “The Sasquatch...
5 tags
#112 Gone Baby Gone
imdb.com
I don’t have bunches of time today, but I have to say I was surprised at the quality of the film. I mean that in a good way.
5 tags
#111 The Manxman
imdb.com
This silent of Hitchcock’s was way more enjoyable than the last one I saw. The whole love triangle theme was not too controversial, but I was surprised that it went as far as it did. I don’t want to spoil the ending for all of you who might want to see this…all one of you…so I won’t go much farther. That screen cap is both hilarious and heartbreaking.
6 tags
#110 The Mighty Peking Man
imdb.com *Part of the QT Fest Series*
This film was enjoyable enough, but I didn’t really see anything special about it. The plot is basically “King Kong” with a touch of “Tarzan.” The clip above is beyond goofy. Apparently, dancing with jungle animals is the national past time of Japan. Who knew? Oh, and some of the films I’ve been viewing here...
5 tags
#109 The Bank Job
imdb.com
Jason Statham is already a hero in my little movie world becase of his impressive string of utterly ridiculous action movies. In “The Bank Job,” he teams up with Saffron Burrows and a great supporting cast to make one of the better “heist” movies in years.
