The League of Gentlemen (1960)
Location: Home
Seen Before: No
Rating: 4.5
Similar and better than both the 1955 Ladykillers and it's bizarre Coen remake in 2004, The League of Gentlemen is a really funny, enjoyable tale of a British sophisticate gathering a gang to pull off a bank heist. Nothing is taken too seriously, and that works perfectly here. A wonderful 90 minutes.
A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
Location: Home
Seen Before: Yes
Rating: 5.0
Of John Cassavetes' independent produced pictures, A Woman Under the Influence seems to be the most approachable. That isn't to say that it is any less of a film compared to Faces or Shadows, because it is certainly just as good. Gena Rowlands' performance is truely remarkable and I think, perhaps, severely overlooked as it is one of the best ever commited to celluloid.
Night and the City (1950)
Location: Home
Seen Before: No
Rating: 4.0
In both this and Pickup on South Street, Richard Widmark looks like, at any moment, he will pull a small blade from his inside pocket and slice you right up, all the while grinning and laughing. He is like the precursor to Alex in A Clockwork Orange--always ready to explode. There's a lot to like about Night and the City, but Widmark makes it devilish fun to watch unfold.
Hoop Dreams (1994)
Location: Home
Seen Before: No
Rating: 5.0
Basketball doesn't really mean a damn thing to me, but Hoop Dreams is a monumental achievement. I asked myself why, while watching, I was so mesmerized by the document of two inner-city Chicago youths and their dreams of making it to the NBA. While Arthur and William obviously share a love of the game, the filmmakers share a love for both documentaries and storytelling in general--and it shows. They construct a story that, like the best non-fiction films, could hardly be believed if not for the fact that they are true. Siskel and Ebert called Hoop Dreams the best film of the 1990's, and I don't think they're too far off.
Etre et Avoir ("To Have and To Hold"; 2002)
Location: Rachel's
Seen Before: No
Rating: 4.5
An interesting documentary assembled in a way that keeps out interviews or narration, instead letting the viewer simply observe the students and their sole teacher, Mr. Lopez. This lack of traditional documentary style is perhaps missed at the beginning, but soon enough the individual personalities of both the children and Lopez become so engaging that, when it's time for the kids to part ways for the summer, you might find yourself welling up.
Spanking the Monkey (1994)
Location: Home
Seen Before: Yes
Rating: 5.0
I've always really liked David O. Russell's first feature, but, after not having seen it for a number of years, I was thinking that it was nothing more than a funny little indie film. I was shocked but how wrong I was--I totally underestimated what an achievement this picture is. Russell really gets everything right (except, of course, the amazingly lame title).
Poseidon (2006)
Location: Maxi-Saver
Seen Before: No
Rating: 2.0
A pretty forgettable big budget, disaster-at-sea movie. The only thing keep this movie from completely sinking are an acceptable turn by Richard Dreyfus and some thrilling sequences.
Dark Passage (1947)
Location: Home
Seen Before: No
Rating: 4.0
The first 45 minutes or so of this film dares to completely hide the face of star Humphrey Bogart through the use of shadows and--more commonly--showing the viewer his point of view. This technique just about turned me off of a similar film noir [strangely] from the same year, Lady in the Lake. I held on, though, as I knew we'd be seeing Bogie at some point.
And I think it's worth holding on. Despite it's interesting but somewhat anti-climax, the film boasts great lighting and, as previously mentioned, audacious uses of its mega-star leading man, including keeping his face fully bandanged for a lenghty amount of time.
A History of Violence (2005)
Location: Home
Seen Before: Yes
Rating: 5.0
When I saw this in the theater I missed about the first ten minutes, so seeing them here was pretty exciting for me. They perfectly set the tone for the film; I loved it.
I still think some of the son sub-plot doesn't come off as natural, but that is my only concern with this; it's an absolutely spellbinding film.
Sabrina (1954)
Location: Home
Seen Before: No
Rating: 4.5
I did a little bit of research after a caught a clip of this on TCM and was immediately fascinated by what I saw. What I read, though, let me down. How could the collaborative forces of Billy Wilder, Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, and William Holden make a picture that was being deemed "a stinker?"
I wasn't buying it, and, after watching it, I still don't! I greatly enjoyed this picture and, while it may not be as daring as Wilder's other pictures, it charmed the socks off of me.
Cache (2005)
Location: Home
Seen Before: No
Rating: 5.0
I started hearing about the last shot of this film and how no resolution is really reached. That sealed the bump to the top of the Netflix queue for me.
As I awaited what was becoming a rather infamous finale, Cache held me tightly in its grasp. Everything worked wonders for me, even the fews things that I thought would throw me: the political tie-in; the film's HDCAM shooting format; the cliff-hanging ending. Also, congrats to Hanake for actually making me jaw drop. No, really, the suicide made it drop and hang for about a minute flat.
I paid extra-special attention to the film when, according to my dvd player, there were only a few minutes left. I did catch the characters in that "Where's Waldo?" shot, and, even though the credits rolling shouldn't have caught me off guard, they did. Going over the shot three more times--as well as watching the Hanake interview--made me feel a little more comfortable with what it. It made me think and form my own opinions. I've always championed that cause.
Shoot the Piano Player (1960)
Location: Home
Seen Before: No
Rating: 4.5
I enjoyed this much beloved early film by Truffaut, but need to give it another spin before I rank it with The 400 Blows or Jules and Jim.
JFK (1991)
Location: Home
Seen Before: No
Rating: 5.0
I don't even know where to begin with this one. Oliver Stone usually makes me feel like he thinks he's soooooo much better and smarter and clever than me, the viewer. In JFK, though, he manages to push all of that bullshit aside and make a film that is so spellbinding that I can barely believe it.
The way this film was approached and executed is practically a marvel. A million cameos and stars that are actually given something to do; a mind-blowing yet not obnoxious editing job; a story too thrilling to ever be cooked up by any writer; Stone's signature nicely applied instead of harshly scribbled all over the place. An astonishing picture; I'll be returning to this over and over again.
Victim (1961)
Location: Home
Seen Before: No
Rating: 5.0
Popular cinema tackling the issue of society's view of homosexuality in 1961 is rather bold, let alone doing so in Britian, where being gay was a criminal offense.
Victim, besides being beautifully photographed and well acted, surprisingly never manages to fall off into cheesy, B-movie territory. It's handled so well that it rivals any film made today dealing with the same subject matter. Also interesting is how relevant this film is today, what with Bush's war against gay marriage; guess we haven't gotten too far since this film was released.
The Producers (1968)
Location: Home (LaserDisc!)
Seen Before: No
Rating: 3.0
Some funny bits, but mostly just Zero being loud and obnoxious. Brooks has a ton of great ideas, but blows most of them. And the exposition at the opening? Talk about heavy-handed.
I have to note that this is the first film I've watched from my newly acquired 175-strong Laserdisc collection. Long live the cinema, no matter what format.
Dead Reckoning (1947)
Location: Home
Seen Before: No
Rating: 4.0
Good film noir with another nice turn by Bogart. I especially liked him throwing grenades around the office he was trapped in toward the end.
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
Location: Destinta Bridgeville
Seen Before: No
Rating: 4.0
Sure, I wasn't too thrilled to see what I pegged as another chick-flick, but I really enjoyed The Devil Wears Prada. The filmmakers here were able to dodge a lot of the bullets I came to expect, pulling this film steps above any "chick-flick."
Wordplay (2006)
Location: Manor Theater
Seen Before: No
Rating: 4.0
I've been really interested in crossword puzzles as of late, so this film got me more excited than any blockbuster has in years. Peter Travers in Rolling Stone said it's filled with a bit much NY Times ass-kissing, and, maybe he's right, but this is so much fun to see. The most exciting new film I've seen all summer.
