"United 93"- I also believe this is a must see. I am incapable of answering the question I am always asked about the movie, "Is it a good movie?" It is respectfully made, maybe to a fault. All characters are treated and presented in the same manner; air traffic controller, passenger, hijacker, pilot. Thus, it humanizes each. I like the way it tells the truth, I do not like the truth it tells. See it. Contradict me.

Grandma's Boy

Video games, sex, and weed. I thought the movie was really funny... The only part I didn't like was that character who dresses like the Matrix guy...gave me the heebie jeebies.

I would really love to give this movie a good rating, but...these kinds of movies, no matter how funny they are, admittedly, it's silly. B-

I saw M:I:3 last night. I didn't go in expecting much. And I didn't get much either. Really, the only reason I went was to see Philip Seymour Hoffman as a villian, and that part made it somewhat worth it. I just couldn't get passed the absurdity of the plot.
C+

The Mighty Peking Man (Meng-Hwa Ho, 1977, Grade: D+, Camp Grade: C)

This ridiculously-horrible flick is a combo of a ripoff of the Jessica Lange King Kong, Tarzan Finds a Son!, every Japanese Godzilla film and a TV soap opera. A heartbroken adventurer goes to the Himilayas (even though he never seems to get more than a few hundred feet above sea level) to hunt and capture the giant killer ape named, for some idiotic reason, Peking Man. He finds him and his blonde sweetheart, and they get taken back to Hong Kong where the furball gets exploited and mighty-jealously pissed off. This has some of the worst editing and music of anything I've ever seen, but I had to laugh out loud at all the worst parts. I could go on, but I'll fight the temptation.

The Pope of Greenwich Village (Stuart Rosenberg, 1984, Grade: B-)

This film has some good parts and some weaker parts. Although it's too long, it's still worth a look in the story of a serious young man (Mickey Rourke) and his cousin with several screws loose (Eric Roberts). Basically, Roberts always gets Rourke into jams by getting into trouble and/or coming up with surefire schemes which are, shall we say, "logistically-flawed". There's plenty of local color, including mobsters and crooked cops, and the actors make a good team, even if Roberts occasionally goes over the top, but ultimately what makes me like it, despite the occasional flaws, are the sense of humor and the fact that you can't ever really be sure what's coming next.

Grave of the Vampire (John Hayes, 1974, Grade: C-)

This was one one of the first post-Exorcist vampire films, and it'a the best direction I've ever seen from journeyman hack Hayes (the atrocious End of the World), but even with some pretty-decent lighting and camerawork, the low-budget weighs heavily on a surprisingly-original script (co-written by David Chase, from "The Sopranos" and "The Rockford Files"), which confronts all kinds of things which almost no other vampire flick ever did. William Smith and Michael Pataki are pretty good too in their respective roles, as the adult bastard offspring and the vampire rapist father who never knew him. Something I just considered: how come so many of the most original horror/sci-fi flicks of the '70s were always so friggin' low-budget. Oh yeah, they were ghettoized.

I just tried watching "Me and You and Everyone We Know" tonight and couldn't finish it. Jesus. This has to be the most pretentious movie I've seen all year. Not only that, but the acting, dialogue and script were all atrocious. Consider yourself forewarned!
F

Capote - Am I the only who didn't like this movie? I thought Phillip Seymour Hoffman pulled off a superb performance...but I couldn't get into the story. It's not the acting.....it's the movie I didn't like. C+

Family Stone - Light, funny, and emotional. I think the only reason I watched this movie was Rachel McAdams. B-

American History X - Excellent movie. I think it's been mentioned in the forums, but probably not to a great extent. It has so much racism, it makes Crash look like an episode of the teletubbies. A few parts were hard to watch, but I'd say the movie as a whole is pretty much a masterpiece. Edward Norton blows his Fight Club performance out of the water, it has a strong message, and beautiful camerawork (somewhat unconventional angles that work, just the right amount of close ups, and they do things like have the present in color and the past in black and white). I'm not gonna say anything about the ending, but it's a fitting one for the story and it leaves you pondering. True it has a few flaws, which are pretty dissapointing since it's so close to being perfect, but it's still a very solid movie. If anyone else has seen it, I wouldn't mind hearing some other thoughts.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: LordSmoogsbottomIII,

Hey Smoogsbottom, come on over and play movie tag. There ain't nobody on but us...

I upgraded my Netflix to 6 at a time. So these are the movies I will be watching this coming week.
Hoodwinked 7/10
Your, Mine and Ours 7/10
Wallace & Gromet: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit
King Kong (2005)
Mansfield Park
The Family Stone
Donna A.

I saw MI:3 last weekend and really enjoyed it. After a not-so-good MI:2, I think JJ Abrams really brought the series back to being one of the better franchises out there. Abrams did use a few of the same elements present in his Alias television series, but since I'm a big fan of that show, it didn't bother me. I also liked his great use of Hitchcock's MacGuffin, the "Rabbit's Foot" that Phillip Seymour Hoffman is after. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a better summer blockbuster this year.

Grade: B+

Elmer Gantry(1960), Grade: A+

This is the film which probably covers more important topics to me than any other. It displays human nature, religion, sex, hypocrisy, faith, addiction, love, journalism, evolution, fanatacism, spiritualism, the 1920s, Prohibition, power struggles, intellectualism, and several more up-to-the-minute topics. Some people see it as a soap opera; others think it's a cut-and-dried exposé. Both groups would be wrong. This an incredibly-complex, yet even-handed depiction of everything I just mentioned, and so much, much more. But even better, it's a ton of fun. I personally believe that director Richard Brooks' screenplay is the best in film history(!!!)

Burt Lancaster plays the charasmatic title character. He's a traveling salesman. He always has a dirty joke, a bottle and a tale to tell, if it'll make him some friends, especially of the female variety. But he also seriously loves the Lord. He's probably the worst example of a Christian there could be, but when he loves the Lord, he's so into it that he'd give up all the hooch (of both varieties) if he could just preach, until he decides he has to have the woman he loves. If he can't have her, he still wants to "save" others, even if he seems too far gone to be saved himself. That's why I love this film. It's the most sophisticated depiction of the commingling of the carnal and the divine ever put on celluloid.

During the course of the film, Gantry "loves" several women, but he's most concerned with two: the spiritual Sister Sharon Falconer (Jean Simmons), whom he eventually seduces under a pier next to her new church, and the young woman, Lulu Bains (Shirley Jones), whom he seduced years earlier on Christmas morning behind a church pulpit, thus cementing her career as SuperWhore. Gantry loves God and Womankind; he's just the most primitive specimen of a spiritual man you'll ever see. But he's probably also the most likable, "honest" guy around, especially compared to those in most movies.

There are two other central characters who are very honest. Arthur Kennedy plays a Pulitzer-Prize-winning journalist who follows Sister Sharon around and latches onto Gantry as the weak link to try to tear her down. He loathes money-grubbing hucksters and wants to expose people to the truth, but after awhile, he even seems to realize that NO ONE can really know "The Truth". Dean Jagger is equally awesome as the business manager of Sister Sharon. He mistrusts Gantry, then respects, then hates, and eventually, loves him, all within the brief two-and-one-half hour running time. Did I say that I LOVE this flick!!

Elmer Gantry, which has impeccable technical credits, might not change your life, at least not the first viewing. But if you give it a chance, it will take you places which you may have never gone before, and no movies nowadays ever go there, at least not in such a full-blooded and entertaining manner. That's why Elmer Gantry is one of my two fave films of all-time. Only Jaws holds such a cherished-place in my heart. So, check out this film, and if you don't get it, recheck it out. Life's much-more complex than you may think. But, hopefully, you'll get Elmer Gantry like I did; after about the first 30 seconds.

Movies I saw on DVD recently:

A History Of Violence - Honestly I was disappointed... I had my hopes up. C

Derailed - B

Transamerica - A-

Endgame - B+

Saw X-Men: The Last Stand last night. I noticed it had received mixed reviews. But I really enjoyed it. Famke Janssen sizzled as the Phoenix. Could have used more Halle Berry & Anna Paquin scenes but I also liked that Kitty Pryde was brought out in more sequences. Won't give anything away but if you catch this movie, be sure to stay through the ending credits.

Hi everyone! New here and just wanted to jump in I just saw X-Men today and REALLY loved it. I second what crazed said above...don't leave before the credits have finished rolling!

I also saw Derailed recently and sort of enjoyed it, even though I thought the twist was not very "twisty." It was okay. I thought JA did a good job.

quote:

A History Of Violence - Honestly I was disappointed... I had my hopes up. C

I was a little disappointed with the ending. It's not that it was bad, it just seemed like they could have done better. Other than that, though, I liked the movie a lot, especially william hurt's short, but oscar nod-worthy part.


X-men 3 - Pretty good, but not much depth. It sounded like it was going to get into some pretty heavy, socially relevant topics, but than it just copped out and opted for shallow action. I think it was better than the 2nd one, as good or not as good as the first. Good action, a lot of corny one-liners, a few surprises, and a lot more x-men than I wanted to see>>>

("so you can run fast?"
"not only that, I can tell you there are 53 mutants in this room and none of them are over class 3")
Now seriously, was that girl really necessary?

quote:

Originally posted by LordSmoogsbottomIII:

("so you can run fast?"
"not only that, I can tell you there are 53 mutants in this room and none of them are over class 3")
Now seriously, was that girl really necessary?

Ha, I didn't even recognize Callisto from the comics until she admitted she could locate & assess the powers of mutants. Cerebro on legs, but those legs didn't run fast in the comic series that I remember. I'm still trying to figure out where Psylocke appeared in the film, the character's listed in the credits. Betsy Braddock is too hot to keep under wraps. Yeah, I'm such a comic geek.

Another State Of Mind
A documentary from 1982 following Youth Brigade and Social Distortion as they toured from California, through Canada and into New York on a (poorly)refurbished school bus. Good film, not great, but very interesting to watch, especially if you are familiar with the bands and have an affinity for them. I'm going to rewatch it with Mike Ness and Joe Escalante's commentary this week too. Mike definitely comes across the best in this film, you can really tell how dedicated he is to rock n' roll!

The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane [Nicolas Gassner, 1976, Grade: B]

After 30 years, this still stands as a very good Hitchcockian thriller. It's based on Laird Koenig's novel, even though it resembles a stage play in its use of one major setting for most of the action.

Jodie Foster plays a highly-intelligent girl who lives alone in a large house. We never see her parents, and she doesn't go to school, but the obnoxious, racist woman (Alexis Smith) who leased her father the house and the lessor's pedophile son (Martin Sheen) are beginning to make things uncomfortable for the 13-year-old. Her only allies are an older, crippled boy (Scott Jacoby) and his cop uncle (Mort Shuman).

The keys to the film being so suspenseful and entertaining are pretty basic: a taut script filled with surprises; compact, matter-of-fact direction; and, especially, great performances by the cast. This is a film to hunt down if you haven't seen it before. It's not a horror film, but it's better than most horror films of the last 30 years.

Royal Flash (Richard Lester, 1975, Grade: B+)

This is a very-over-the-top adventure-comedy from the director of A Hard Day's Night and the '70s The Three/Four Musketeers and the scriptwriter of the last two, George MacDonald Fraser. It has a fine cast (Malcolm McDowell, Oliver Reed, Alan Bates, Florinda Balkan, Britt Ekland, Lionel Jeffries) and still seems more entertaining than any similar kind-of films made today. I don't feel the need to go into it too much, but it's a cross between the wit of Bernard Shaw and the zaniness of Monty Python. Maybe I do overrate this thing because it has some technical flubs, but it's so fast and so much fun that I'm still disappointed that they never made a sequel.

Dracula: Pages From a Virgin's Diary (Guy Maddin, 2002, My Grade: B, Your Grade: C?)

This is the third feature of Maddin's I've seen, after The Saddest Music in the World and Twilight of the Ice Nymphs. This is similar in that it's quickly-edited, filmed on stages with lots of vaseline-covered film and video cameras, full of music and sound effects, and probably more-stylized than you could imagine if you haven't seen one. This one is further-out-there in that it's a silent ballet (!!!), filmed in B&W (although it has color effects, a musical score and sound FX.) It follows the plot of Bram Stoker's Dracula, although it doesn't present it chronologically.

I can accept this as just about the best Dracula I've ever seen, and I can also accept that it's the best Maddin I've seen. I, personally, can give it a B because I know Dracula backwards and forwards, and I have no phobia against dance films, silent movies or B&W. My daughter, who loves dance, silents and B&W, was confused by the "plotting" of this film, since she hasn't read Dracula, but as I explained it to her, she got happier the more that she saw it. That is my rationale for the two grades.