BORAT: I must say I was skeptical when BORAT registered an 89 score on metacritics.com, rivaling that of THE QUEEN and topping that of my favorite movie of '06, THE DEPARTED. I must say that while I don't think BORAT is in the same league with THE DEPARTED & THE QUEEN, the two best films I've seen this year, I can't remember laughing louder and more often than I did last night at BORAT. It is a very episodic film as the Borat character, well played by Sacha Baron Cohen, travels from Kazakhstan to New York to Washington to the Deep South and out to La La Land where he literally tries to bag Pamala Sue Anderson or Brittany Spears or Anna Nicole Smith or Jessica Simpson or one of those interchangeable blond bimbos that are always in the tabloids. I found some of the segments flat out hilarious and others less than hilarious. There is a repetitiousness to the film in that Borat meets real people and they essentially play straightman to his bumptious rube -- a gun salesman, members of an etiquette club, singing a warped version of the "Star Spangled Banner" at a rodeo. There is also some of that East Coast/West Coast-Blue State/Red State contempt as well. All and all a funny movie, though. Rating: B.

HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD: A low budget film from Roger Corman's New World Pictures directed by Joe Dante this film is an homage to the kind of low-budget drive-in fare that Corman specialized in back in the day. Basically, a film about making schlock films, the film is too low-budget, broad and silly for me to really get into, but it was done with lots of love. Rating: C.

IN HIS HANDS/ENTRE SES MAINS: A low-key thriller from French director Anne Fontaine from '05 that didn't get picked up for distribution in the U.S., the film focuses on a married insurance exec played by Isabelle Carre who meets a veterinarian played by Benoit Poelvoorde when he files a claim. They begin a tentative affair but Carre begins to suspect Poelvoorde is a serial killer, but her fears are allayed when the cops catch the killer. Poelvoorde asks Carre's friend to go out and instead of having sex, offs her. Carre discovers the body, realizes Poelvoorde really is the killer (the cops arrested the wrong guy), confronts him alone and kills him. The film is way too slow moving and the motivations of the characters aren't all that clear such as why Carre would have the affair in the first place; why Carre's friend would go out with Poelvoorde; why Carre would confront Poelvoorde alone when she could have gone to the cops. Rating: C.

LINDA, LINDA, LINDA. This Japanese film could have been retitled "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" or better yet, "Girls Just Wanna Rock 'n Roll." Basically a plotless story of four Japanese high school girls -- in those chic Japanese school girl uniforms -- who form a band and play at a big show at the end. They have some minor crises along the way, but I had trouble getting into the film. Rating: C.

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DIARY OF A LOST GIRL. G.W. Pabst & Louise Brooks hooked up with much success on PANDORA'S BOX and this was the follow-up to that. It is a silent film made in Weimer Germany in the late 1920s. Brooks did have an undeniable screen presence and the film is real racy for its era, but I had trouble getting into it. Brooks is a rich girl, gets pregnant, is forced to go to a home for unwed mothers and becomes fppor, then turns the tables and become rich again. I had lots of trouble following the narrative. I don't know if was me or if the film was confusing, but I had trouble keeping track of who was who and following the plot. Rating: C.

COME EARLY MORNING. I could be a wise guy and say they could have renamed this one "Ashley Judd is in yet another Dud," but I'll refrain. The film received enough good reviews to entice me to fork over my money. Due to the unforgiving nature of the film market (by my count 576 films have opened in NYC this year), this film opened in two Manhattan theatres last Friday is down to one today and I don't think there is a display ad. Despite a good performance by Ms. Judd in the title role and a great degree of verisimilitude, the film is a bit of a mess. It was written and directed by Joey Lauren Adams, who is probably best known for her role in Kevin Smith's CHASING AMY. She got behind the camera on this one and the film is set in her native Arkansas and is autobiographical. Ms. Judd has some commitment problems, getting drunk in bars, picking up guys and then slipping out early the next a.m., which is where the title comes from. I don't quite understand how the wasp-waisted Ms. Judd could maintain that figure with all her smoking, consuming massive quantities of Coors (blatant product placement) and eating junk food, bringing it home no less, but she seemed at home in the role. The film, though, is low budget and clunkily directed and written. It is shot in the flat tv style. It is also a static film with lots of shots of people standing around talking to one another. I don't think Ms. Adams moved the camera once. Lots of subplots that go nowhere, a metaphor abut a stray dog; about Judd's bickering grandparents; about Judd's roommate in an underwritten role. Rating: C.

CHANGING DESTINY/NEMMENO IL DESTINO. An Italian film from 2004 that was not picked up for distribution in the U.S., this is a character study of three working poor/poor teenagers in Italy directed by Daniele Gagianone, who I have never heard of. The three are from poor families and are poor students and their futures look bleak. The first of three quits school and moves and is dropped from the narrative. The second of the three lives with his alcoholic, unemployed father and drives his motorcyle off the roof of a building under construction. The final cog in the trio, and the film's protagonist, lives with his single mother who works in a menial job as a cleaning women in a Catholic school and who is mentally disintegrating. What is intriguing about the film is the director doles out information in increments, using flashbacks. It turns out the kid's mother had him as a teenager and he's never met or even knows his father. He only gets an envelop full of cash each month. It is revealed that a priest raped/sexually abused his mother when she was a student at the school. This last revelation isn't adequately explored, but nevertheless an interesting film. Rating: B.

OH LA LA!/NOUVELLE CHANCE. This is a French comedy in the "Augustin" comedies directed by Anne Fontaine. This film I think is the third in the series, none of which have been distributed in the U.S. Comedies don't translate well from one culture to another and this one didn't either. The actor who plays Augustin is Fontaine's real life brother and he reminds me a bit of Steve Carell. Basically the Augustin character puts on entertainments for corporate clients and one client hires him to put on a play. All sorts of obstacles are overcome as he tries to pull together a cast and put on the show, an updated version of those treacly MGM films with Mickey Rooney & Judy Garland . The film is primarily of interest because the Grand Dame of French cinema, Danielle Darrieux, is in the cast. Rating: D.

Okay, Mark F., since you asked for it.

Schindler's List (1993)

This film has got to be one of the best works ever made by Steven Spielberg. I bet every single one of you out there has already seen this movie and it's kinda sad I've had the opportunity to see this movie just now. Better late than never.

I'm really at a loss as to what to say because I feel as if my comments would all be an understatement. I think Ralph Fiennes pulled a superb performance in the role of the sociopathic Amon Goeth (I have only seen a handful of movies in which he starred in; he really impressed me with his acting I barely recognized him --- he really succeeded in imbuing his persona with that of Goeth's), and Liam Neeson filled, almost literally, the screen perfectly as the highly influential and indelible Oskar Schindler. The movie indubitably captivated my emotions with its intensely moving depictions of the sufferings of the Polish Jews. I've always been aware of the Holocaust, but not to such detailed and anguish-laden imagery.

One thing I found very interesting was how the movie was completely shot in black and white, but then there was one scene where Schindler was observing the liquidation of the ghetto from an overlooking hill...and as he was watching the town die, he saw this cute little girl walking almost aimlessly through the chaos, and the movie showed her in color! I thought it was a really powerful moment in the film.

This movie I highly recommend. It's a total must see...but then again I am certain everyone in his board already has.

Grade: A-

The Descent
I waited and waited for this to be finally released in Australia as it had been out in the theatres in The States and the UK for like a year or so..So glad I finally saw it..Huge fan of Neil Marshall's work in Dog Soldiers but this was just a terrifying, white-knuckled ride that absolutely makes u squirm in ur seat..The most terrifying, squeamish moment..The broken leg! Flat out the best horror movie of the year for me without a doubt!
Jarhead
Mmmm..I do like Sam Mendes's work but I wasn't too sure of this..I liked it in parts as it almost reminded me of Full Metal Jacket in the beginning..But didn't really have any depth to it in the 2nd half..Jake Gylenhall is obviously a talented individual, and so is Peter Skaarsgard..looking forward to Zodiac with Jake Gylenhall and David Fincher directing!
A Bittersweet Life
For me personally, all Korean films will be compared to Oldboy..And this one, even though it was pretty impressive, just didn't have the same emotional resonance as I had with the main character in Oldboy..Still, impressively filmed and the finale is something to watch for..Good score throughout the movie..If your're looking for something above average to watch with cool visuals and gunplay, then this movie is worth it.

I caught Casino Royale tonight and found it pretty enjoyable. I like Daniel Craig's less suave, more hard-boiled Bond. There are a few distinctly un-Bond moments in the movie, which I found refreshing. The story itself drags a bit in the third act, but like Batman Begins, Casino Royale provided a much needed reboot to the franchise.

The Young in Heart (Richard Wallace, 1938, Grade: B+)

Absolutely wonderful comedy, with a ton of heart, which they seem to be incapable of making anymore. A family of cons are "touring" throughout Europe and latch onto an unsuspecting "rich woman" to change everyone's fortunes. This film is as beautiful as they come. You should laugh, you should cry, and you'll be shocked (perhaps) how much more honest and open "old movies" are than our current versions. The cast is mind-bogglingly terrific: Roland Young, Billie Burke, Minnie Dupree, Janet Gaynor, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Paulette Godard, Henry Stephenson, Richard Carlson, etc. Watch this and fall in love with "old movies". See the next one too!

It's Love I'm After (Archie Mayo, 1937, Grade: B)

Long-lost, yet still-classic screwball comedy with the wonderful cast of Leslie Howard, Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland. Olivia falls for Leslie's theatrical portrayal of Romeo, even though he's been engaged "forever" to his Juliet (Davis). This sets off a series of hilarious incidents where "Romeo"'s valet (Eric Blore) gets to steal many of the scenes. This comedy is sexy and contemporary in its depiction of the battle of the sexes. Good luck in finding it.

The End (Burt Reynolds, 1978, Grade: B+)

It's been years since I've watched this, one of my favorite comedies from the '70s, so when I rented the DVD, I was hoping it would all be just as non-PC, laugh-out-loud funny as I remembered. Thankfully, for the humongous part, it is.

Burt Reynolds is diagnosed with a fatal blood disease with about a year to live. He starts to freak and worries that he will degenerate quickly and feel awful pain before the end, so he decides to commit suicide with sleeping pills. He fails and gets thrown into a mental hospital where he's befriended by a paranoid schizophrenic murderer (Dom DeLuise) who agrees to help him accomplish his task.

Reynolds is very good, both as an actor and a director, and scripter Jerry Belson (Smile) fashions some truly insane lines of dialogue and situations. Robby Benson is also hilarious as a very young priest who gets off on Burt's last confession. But the greatest accomplishment of this film is the balls-to-the-wall performance by Dom DeLuise. He is constantly funny after he shows up (about halfway through the film), but his first scene where he meets Reynolds is so perfect, outlandish and side-splitting that the only comparison I can make is to the highlights of Richard Pryor Live in Concert. DeLuise seems to be on a pre-Robin Williams adlib roll, but I'm pretty sure it was all scripted which makes it even more impressive.

If you like comedies like The In-Laws (1979) or even Borat, then try to check this out. If anybody remembers this movie, go ahead and post your thoughts here.

EDITED by the anal spelling police.

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This thread is dead.

Super mini-reviews (if somebody wants more, say something, and I'll respond.)

A Bell For Adano - B-

A quietly powerful WWII film, made during same, which shows that doing the right thing often costs you your job.

Ugetsu - B-

A cross between a samurai flick and a ghost story; one of the first such films.

Gimme Shelter - B-

Fascinating documentary of the Rolling Stones' free concert at Altamont ("Woodstock West") falls short by not questioning the Stones about the appearance of the Hell's Angels, but is still a straightforward depiction of the "truth", including the on-screen death of a concertgoer.

Floating Weeds - C

I like Ozu. He uses a static camera, sets up family relationships, and has awesome production design. It's just that sometimes what he's saying hits so close to home that it's almost superfluous.

Ballad of a Soldier - B

One of the simplest, most-impressionistic anti-war romances ever made. It's almost impossible to believe such a sweet romance with no propaganda could be made in Russia in 1959.

The Magnificent Yankee - B-

Moving film biography of Oliver Wendell Holmes (Louis Calhern) provides plenty of history, laughs and tears. Highly reminescent of Goodbye, Mr. Chips.

The Thomas Crown Affair - B-

Steve McQueen plays Mr. Cool the same year as he made Bullitt. The chess game with sexy adversary Faye Dunaway ranks right up there with Tom Jones for having women do nasty things with their mouths.

Many more to come....

The Good Earth - B

True, the leads are all Europeans, but they still give great performances, and the film keeps the set-pieces of the destruction of the Palace and the Locust storm.

Scandal at Scourie - B-

Little-known, sweet tale, set in 19th-Century Canada, about children at an orphanage in Quebec who have to relocate from Catholic Canada to Protestant Canada, is simply and beautifully told. The cast is awesome, especially Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon.

Forbidden Games - B-

One of the earliest French flicks, pre-new wave, about how children react to war. Very quietly powerful film.

East of Eden - B

Powerfully-filmed and acted homage to Genesis. This film could hardly be any better. Check it out.

Divorce - Italian Style - B+

This is a surprisingly sophisticated satire on Italian laws and mores. What makes it so strong is that it's a super combo of visual movement and musical movement. A film WAY ahead of its time!

More later...

Family Plot - B+

Alfred Hitchcock's final film is a fun homage to himself, with two seemingly-unrelated couples' lives intersecting. Along the way, there are many classic scenes, lots of sexual innuendo and a hair-raising scene of a Mustang careening down a mountain road with no brakes and plenty of traffic.

Strangers on a Train - B

Hitchcock, in his transition from his super '40s period to his '50s classics, pulls out all the stops in a film which grabs you from the first scene. Robert Walker was never better as the psycho Bruno, who proposes a scheme with unsuspecting tennis pro Farley Granger about switching murders..."Criss Cross." Inspiration for the hilarious Throw Momma From the Train

Nashville - B-

Considered by many to be the late Robert Altman's masterpiece, this film contains all the things which make him both revered and commercially unpopular. The film follows 24 characters, many who I truly disliked, yet Altman keeps the whole thing rolling along with his editing and occasional flourishes. I've seen this film several times, and sometimes I like it better than others. This was one of the others. The flaws of overlength, predictability and general boredom stuck out this time, but I still recommend it to those who haven't seen it. Those who have seen it, you know what you think.

Bullitt - B

Intentionally-confusing thriller still delivers the goods, especially in Steve McQueen's iconic performance and the slambang car chase. The plot eventually reveals itself, even if the characters are mostly weak and some of the situations nonsensical, but you're rooting for Lt. Frank Bullitt every step of the way against a corrupt system. Trivia note: Robert Altman spoofed McQueen's character in Brewster McCloud where Michael Murphy played a turtleneck-wearing SFPD Lt., Frank Shaft, complete with blue contacts!

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
The Good Earth - B

True, the leads are all Europeans, but they still give great performances, and the film keeps the set-pieces of the destruction of the Palace and the Locust storm.

You have got to be kidding me. The only worth this turkey still holds is for its camp value. Charlie Grapewin playing a Chinaman! I howled absolutely howled when I saw this one.

Sorry but this one didn't stand the test of time.

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
Family Plot - B+

Alfred Hitchcock's final film is a fun homage to himself, with two seemingly-unrelated couples' lives intersecting. Along the way, there are many classic scenes, lots of sexual innuendo and a hair-raising scene of a Mustang careening down a mountain road with no brakes and plenty of traffic.

Strangers on a Train - B

Hitchcock, in his transition from his super '40s period to his '50s classics, pulls out all the stops in a film which grabs you from the first scene. Robert Walker was never better as the psycho Bruno, who proposes a scheme with unsuspecting tennis pro Farley Granger about switching murders..."Criss Cross." Inspiration for the hilarious Throw Momma From the Train

So, you are saying that FAMILY PLOT (B+) is a better film than STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (B)? Sorry, I love Hitch, but he should have closed his career with the terrific FRENZY, his penultimate film, instead of overstaying his welcome and going out with a stinker like FAMILY PLOT. STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, on the other hand, is an absolute classic and is Hitchcock on the top of his game. I'd give STRANGERS an A+ or an A at minimum and FAMILY PLOT a D out of respect for Hitch. If anyone else had made it I would have given it an F.

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:Nashville - B-

Considered by many to be the late Robert Altman's masterpiece, this film contains all the things which make him both revered and commercially unpopular. The film follows 24 characters, many who I truly disliked, yet Altman keeps the whole thing rolling along with his editing and occasional flourishes. I've seen this film several times, and sometimes I like it better than others. This was one of the others. The flaws of overlength, predictability and general boredom stuck out this time, but I still recommend it to those who haven't seen it. Those who have seen it, you know what you think.

I probably like NASHVILLE more than you do, but it is nice to see people watching Altman and discussing his films. I've been thinking about him quite a bit lately. My favorite Altman film is CALIFORNIA SPLIT. It is the best film about male friendship I've ever seen. It really gets at male bonding. I just love the scenes between Elliott Gould and George Segal. One scene in particular is so good where Gould calls Segal from the track and Segal is at work and you can tell he is jumping out of his skin wishing he could be with Gould. You can feel it. Just a great -- and underrated -- film.

Well, I've seen each of the above four movies at least 10 times, and I personally howl much more at how fatuous allegedly "modern independent" movies are compared to many of the "turkeys" of yore.

quote:

Originally posted by mark f:
Well, I've seen each of the above four movies at least 10 times, and I personally howl much more at how fatuous allegedly "modern independent" movies are compared to many of the "turkeys" of yore.

Well, three out of four are worth seeing four times or more. I'll give you STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, NASHVILLE and BULLITT, which I didn't comment on, but which I own on DVD. You lose me with your support for FAMILY PLOT. I suffered through that turkey once and felt it was a sad swan song for Hitchcock.

The last twenty minutes of Ronny Yu’s Fearless are beautiful and the most touching combat/drama I may have ever seen before in a martial arts movie. It is that exhilarating and complete. The ending is almost on the same level as that found in Braveheart when William Wallace screams: “Freedom!” The difference in Fearless is that what Jet Li’s character, Huo Yuanjia, is thinking and feeling in those moments is shown on his face and through memory, it’s never verbalized.

Fearless loosely tells the story of real life martial artists Huo Yuanjia, the founder and for all intents, the spiritual and physical model for all the aspiring students within the Jin Wu Sports Federation (Chin Woo Athletic Association in real life). During the film, the viewer follows Yuanjia from when he is a small boy (watching as his father practices, trains his own students and enters competitions) all the way up till Yuanjia is in his early forties. The main storyline in Fearless isn’t simply the evolution of a fighter and his skill but the evolution of the human spirit and humanity. What Yuanjia learns by the end of the film is what his father had already learned at the beginning of it. Just because you have power and are the best doesn’t mean you have to kill to prove it. It was the same lesson that Oscar Schindler tried in vain to teach The Commandant in Schindler’s List. When Yuanjia undergoes a spiritual awakening in the latter portion of Fearless, all the fighting victories of the past, all of the awards and trophies he’s won and accumulated become meaningless to him as does the need to continually prove himself to his contemporaries.

Ronny Yu’s precious control and ability with the camera in Fearless was completely unexpected as were the shots he created and the movie he captured. Who knew that the director and one of the chief butchers of the fantastic Freddy vs. Jason screenplay had these abilities and skills under his belt as a director? This is akin to Philip Seymour Hoffman’s acting in Capote. You have never seen Yu direct better than he has in this film.

Internet savvy cinephiles that have heard of Fearless under its current USA and international titles: Huo Yuan Jia, Spirit, Legend of a Fighter (the English translation), etc., already know that this film came out in Europe and Asian theaters almost half a year ago and that four or five different non-Region 1 versions are available for purchase on DVD (most don’t come with English subtitles however) and that Fearless was cut down from it’s original 150 minutes to the more theater friendly 105 minutes, excluding scenes with Michelle Yeoh and Somluck Kamsing.

Fearless is a movie that gets better and better as it progresses until the viewer gets to its razor point (its last twenty minutes) on which the film balances itself effortlessly and never falters. I’ve seen very few martial arts movies that didn’t falter in their third act for one reason or another. Fearless isn’t one of them. If this is truly Jet Li’s last purely martial arts film, he left the genre with a shattering and unforgettable bang.

(9 out of ten stars)

Last night I watched Spike Lee's Inside Man.

I didn't even consider watching it until I was nearly forced to by a friend. Normally this kind of thing turns me off (bank heist thriller), but this was exceptionally well done. No lags. Flowed smoothly and quickly, with each moment being necessary.

I thought all of the performances were well done, and WOW, what a stellar cast. Denzel (normally not a fan of him too much), Clive Owen, Willem Dafoe, Christopher Plummer and Jodie Foster. I really enjoyed watching Foster, she seemed to really enjoy her role.

Anyway, I don't want to give anything away, but it is taught, well thought out and has some genuine surprises in store.

Check it out.

I give it an 8 out of 10.

I saw We Are Marshall recently and liked it well enough. I know that some critics don't think that it ended up being very good at all, but what do you guys think? Or if you haven't seen it, does it even look good?

I really enjoyed Inside Man. I thought it was well done, the cast was possibly second only to The Departed this year, and it was nice to see a return to form for Spike Lee. She Hate Me was an absolute stinker! The person who impressed me the most, however, was Clive Owen.

Last night I watched Children of Men, which I thought was thoroughly excellent, and Clive Owen's performance was incredible. His decision to turn down Bond couldn't have worked out better. Since his fairly wooden performance in King Arthur, he's been really impressive every time I've seen him.

Children of Men paints a fairly bleak vision of a not too distant future where all women in the world have become infertile, meaning the human race is facing imminent extinction. People have either given up, resigned to the pointlessness of their existence, or turned to anarchy.

All foreigners have been banned from Britain, and find themselves being rounded up, caged, then tortured or disappeared. Owen, as main character Theo, agrees to help smuggle a refugee, Kee, past the authorities, only to unwittingly find himself as the guardian of the only pregnant woman in the world.

Julianne Moore, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and particularly Michael Caine who steals every scene he's in as Theo's ageing Hippy friend Jasper, provide excellent support.

The cinematography is exceptional throughout, but particularly good during the last 15-20 minutes as Theo tries to escort pregnant Kee through an ensuing urban battle between the military and rebel insurgents, which is incredibly intense.

Director Cuaron creates a believable vision of a future society on the brink and has crafted a film which is perfectly paced, and emotionally charged while favouring subtlety over showmanship at all times. Not a scene in this film is wasted.

The real star is Owen though. Such an understated performance, but he carries your emotions through the wringer with his character, the reluctant hero Theo. You truly share his pain.

Children of Men is easily one of my favourite films this year. A thoroughly deserved 9/10.

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