I recently noticed I was a huge fan of director Sidney Lumet (12 Angry Men (1957), The Verdict (1982), Find Me Guilty (2006)), so I decided to watch the movie that invented the phrase "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!!" Network (1976)- A satire of news and television, businesses, and human society at large. A fictional fourth network, UBS, is competing with NBC, ABC, and CBS, lagging far behind in the ratings. An alcoholic UBS news anchor that is about to be fired, Howard Beale, gives a deranged last broadcast, which prompts the attention of Diana Christenson, a machine-like woman in charge of Entertainment broadcasting at the station. She convinces Frank Hackett, the head of the station, to put the clearly disturbed man back on air, as he attracts a cult-like following. There are numerous subplots in the story, such as Diana's bargaining with known terrorists to produce a television show, the relationship between Max, Howard's former program director, and Diane, as well as Hackett's desire to win the approval of his boss, Mr. Jensen. These threads all come together beautifully, and make perfect sense and cohesion by the end of the film. Howard's rants themselves are the stuff of legends. He is raving mad, but there is ALSO a strong, powerful germ of truth in everything he says about the nature of media, the dumbing down of people, and strong alienation in modern society. (which is also observed in the relationships between the main characters) Like all Lumet films, I expected the film to have great dialogue, but this might be the best I've ever heard. "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore" is great, but there are at least a dozen other classic quotes. Most impressively, this movie correctly predicts a lot of what has happened to society in the last 34 years. It just gets better and better, and near the end, I was mesmerized by what I was watching. That's hard to do for someone who has seen so many films. I upgraded Clockwork Orange to a 90/100, and this might be better. Definitely one of the 20 greatest movies I've ever seen, maybe even top 10... 91/100
Runaway Jury I think this is the best movie based on a Grisham novel. You have Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman who of course deliver outstanding roles, and John Cusack was cast very well. It's a film about a gun company being sued. The twist is that one of the jurors is trying to bribe both sides by offering the verdict on a single platter. Well acted and a very good story, I'm sure it's a stretch but it's clever enough to not jam the fact in your face. Great Sunday afternoon movie. 6.75/10
(500) Days of Summer I rented this over the weekend and watched it. I had heard mixed things about it and really didn't know what to expect, but I thought it was very good. I think that part of the reason that I liked it was because I have gone through a similar situation with a couple of different women. I didn't think it was possible, but I honestly thought that it was a unique romantic comedy. The only criticism I have is that it never really went anywhere besides showing the Tom Hansen/Summer Finn relationship. It might have been nice to see more development of the minor characters. Also, Zooey Deschanel is HOT. I had never heard of her, and even if the movie had sucked it would have been worth it just to look at her for an hour and a half. 92/100
Punisher War Zone 2008 I honestly can not believe how incredibly awful this movie was. Clearly I wasn't expecting a masterpiece but this film had not one redeeming quality, except insane gore. Ray Stevenson plays Frank Castle in this go round and he stinks. He plays one of my all time favorite characters (Titus Pullo in HBO's Rome) yet in this movie you would think he went to Keanu Reeves school of acting and showmanship. He is so cheesy you want to puke, not only that he moves rather sluggish making it hard to believe that he is an black ops martial art expert. The bad guy in the movie "Jig Saw" is played by Dominic West (who again plays one of my all time favorites Jimmy McNulty in HBO's The Wire) and the only thing worst than his makeup is his miserable New York accent, It's so bad I just can not believe the editors and director let it fly. The movie from the beginning let's you know that it is going all comic book. Occasionally with these films they try and blend the line of reality by making some of the things in the story somewhat believable (Dark Knight) here you have criminals who are basically acrobats doing flips all over the place and The Punisher continues to get shot in his body armor and never hurt. There is a fight scene at the end where one of the villains all of the sudden has what seems to be super powers or martial art prowess, The bad guy kicks castle in the knee and says "That's a torn miniscus" The Punisher continues to walk on it without a limp. It is awful, awful, awful. It makes Daredevil look like The Godfather. 0.125 /10
Hellfighters (1968) Everyone thinks of The Duke as a cowboy in the millions of western flicks he did, but for me, his two best movies were The Green Berets and Hellfighters. (And, surprisingly enough, John Wayne, Bruce Cabot, and Jim Hutton starred in both). I just finished watching Hellfighters again tonight, and I still love it. The movie is based loosely on the life/career of Red Adair, one of the best firefighters of all time. We're not talking about the guys that kick in doors and pull people out of burning buildings, we're talking about oil rig fires and their ilk. Remember when Kuwait was set on fire, with those thousands of oil wells burning out of control? Red Adair was the guy tasked with putting them out. And he did. <a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Adair" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Adair</a> He's also credited with one of my favourite sayings: "If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Anyway, the movie was made in 1968, so it's somewhat in line with the style of the time... but it's got a raw, gritty quality to it once you know and appreciate that it's based on real-world shit. And there ain't no CGI in this flick... it's ALLLL real. As a matter of fact, some of the scenes in the movie are of Red Adair actually putting out a real oil rig fire. Some bazillionaire in Texas pressured the production company to pay Red Adair stupid money to put out his real oil rig fire, and use it in the movie. 85/100
On LessTalkMoreStab's recommendation, I watched an Aussie film; Two Hands (1999)- A dumb, overconfident 19 year-old, Jimmy (played by Heath Ledger), fucks up his very first assignment from the local crime boss "Panda", getting the money stolen by a couple of kid thieves. Jimmy then continues to make stupid decisions, further compounding his problems. There's a lot to like; the dialogue is solid, and the scenes genuine and subtle. There is no Hollywood-style bullshit here; Jimmy and his love interest both act like real teenagers, and the other characters are all interesting in their own ways. Panda and his gang of baddies are especially fun and likable. There is humor and real intelligence throughout the film, and it was clearly influenced by the likes of "Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels", which I'm a big fan of. I also loved the theme of randomness throughout the movie. However, the film's weakness is significant; often, especially during the first hour, "Two Hands" is damn slow, and feels lifeless. It's just not engaging, even when a scene is decent, because they spent too long on a static shot with no sound, or it's presented poorly. Certain scenes appear to have no significance at all. (The conversation between Alex and her brother?) The editing is flat-out terrible. It seems like they had a hell of a time stretching the film to its 86 minute length. It's a damn shame too, because the skeleton of a GREAT movie is there, and in the hands of a better director and editor, so would the flesh. That being said, the bank robbery near the end is hilarious, brilliant, and incredibly memorable. Overall, still a good film. Recommended. 71/100
What he said. Just an awesome movie, I watched it last year and am watching it again right now and you should be too if you have Netflix. To add to this I would say one thing this movie did that almost no movie in its genre has accomplished: it doesn't take itself too seriously. That's not to say the movie is goofy or anything, but it doesn't try to guilt you into believing the protagonist's cause with ultra dramatic scene(s). Also, despite the cultural boundaries there's a good amount of humor that Americans who don't watch foreign films can appreciate. The only real knock I can think of is the subtitles, personally it doesn't bother me (thank you irrational anime obsession) but I know a LOT of people who can't stand having to "read a movie" and would rather a dubbed copy *shudder* downndirty is probably right that having an understanding of the culture before watching the movie is a good thing, but to be honest I knew next to nothing and still really enjoyed the film. 9.5/10 Once Upon a Time in the West: I don't really care for Westerns on a whole (though I do love classics like The Good, The Bad and The Ugly) so I kind of passed this one over until the top ten Western threads. Holy fucking shit was that a mistake, this is pretty much the perfect movie. Combine every bit of badassery you can, mix in the right amount of humor and a sound track that will chill you to your bones every time you hear it... that's Once Upon a Time in the West. this movie should be required not just for film majors, but for graduating high school. I can't believe my teachers showed us fucking Tombstone (a good movie, don't get me wrong) during the old west unit when this masterpiece was available. 10/10
Mongol I'm going to have to re-visit this, I thought it was shithouse and a wasted opportunity, not as bad as the "epic" starring John Wayne but still pretty terrible. Perhaps on second viewing I’ll see something different, I did with Kingdom of Heaven which I hated at the cinema. The director’s cut was however brilliant, it’s some 40 minutes longer and contained plot elements that left the first release hollow when removed.
wow, I can see not thinking it's great or being neutral on it, but thinking it sucks is weird to me. Please do give it another shot. Looks like I have some homework to do, I HATED that movie, but it's been years so I'll give the director's cut a shot.
Bringing Out The Dead Normally I watch Nick Cage movies when I'm faded and want something to pick apart for two hours. Think Con Air, The Rock, or my absoloute favorite Face/Off. Every once in a great while the bastard might actually decide not to phone it in and actually try and then he is pretty convincing as an actor. At least when he plays a person with mental problems. This is a Scorsese film about nights in New York so if you've seen After Hours you might have some idea of what to expect. Specifically, its about an early 90's Manhattan paramedic named Frank who works a weekend night shift during which a few different factors (a heat wave, full moon, and his approaching nervous breakdown) threaten to come together and destroy him. Frank hasn't saved anybody's life in months and is haunted by the face of a girl he failed to help. Over the course of three nights and three different partners of progressively unstable personalities, (John Goodman, a badass Ving Rhames, and Tom Sizemore) he encounters one fucked up character after another that he does his best to help but simultaneously finds he cannot help himself from his demons. He plays a hard guy to like or connect with beyond a sense of pity. What makes this movie is Scorcese, so expect lots of imaginative camera shots, Catholic guilt, schizophrenic editing, and a different rock song on the soundtrack about every 45 seconds. Even if you can't connect with Frank as a character because he's so distant and unstable, you can at least connect with his complete exhaustion. After watching this movie I felt drained. Disgusting homeless men, abandoned tunnels, crowded ER's, drug dens...it's all presented with a layer of grit and paranoia that will make you question the sanity of someone who would get into that kind of work in the first place. Frank says that "everything glows" after you save someone, in a surprisingly cheese-less scene. Definitely watch it, because most things by Marty are worth seeing and at the very least it's a visual treat. Those soundtracks of his aren't half bad either....
Poolhall Junkies [2002] This is one of my favorite little flicks. It's about a pool hustler and his friends and how his life got fucked up by his backer, who is played very well by Chazz Palminteri. It's Rod Steiger's last film, and Christopher Walken kicks all sorts of ass as well. The guy who co-wrote it plays the lead, which leaves for some bad acting in spurts but overall I thought he did a good job. It's a real pool film. The guys that wrote it met over a game of pool where they were trying to hustle each other. All the shots in the film are real. There are some very funny parts as well, but enough drama to carry it to the end where you are interested in the end result. Some great parts: A play on the term "nigga": Walken's one monologue quota that he is due every movie: Nettdata edit: fixed the failed Walken youtube link, and totally agree, awesome flick. 85/100
Let the Right One In Before Hollywood inevitably trashes this film with their glossy, noisy remake you should bask in this film which is probably the best vampire movie of the last 20 years. Essentially, it's about a shy, lonely, sad (and very bullied) young boy in a Stockholm suburb who finds an unlikely best friend in an equally young (looking) girl that lives next door to him. Yes, she's a vampire. Not in the classic evil, dressed-up-in-Victorian-garb and seduce people sense. She wears a large dirty T-shirt and scampers up trees and buildings quicker and stealthier than Spider-Man, and is tired of her life and duty to survive. This film is paced so deliberately and is set in such a familiar, normal setting that it completely blindsides you. The horror scenes are carried out in such a casual fashion that it actually amplifies their impact, especially in the infamous hospital scenes and the explosive moment involving a room full of malevolent cats. Yes it is in subtitles, but grin and bear it you pussy. This film has so many riches buried deep in it and it requires multiple views. It's menacing, gothic, sad, extremely heartfelt and very relatable towards dealing with adolescence. No doubt destined to be a true classic of horror cinema. I'm done. Hollywood, do what you do and fuck it up for us. 8.5/10
The Hammer (2007) Adam Carolla, an Italian former carpenter and Golden Gloves boxer, plays Jerry Ferro, an Italian carpenter and Golden Gloves boxer. One day, he knocks down former world champion Jeff Lacy...err, I mean "Malice Blake" in sparring, and a coach encourages him to try out for the Olympics. Carolla really carries this film; some of his quotes, scenes, and rants are comic gold. The story isn't bad, and there's even some emotional realism in terms of the characters and situations. However, the direction is awful, and certain scenes are cheesy and unnecessary, clashing with the afore-mentioned realism. For instance, Mike, Jerry's former boss, is a cartoonish, caricatured villain who simply doesn't belong in this film. The ending to the last fight (simply awful) single-handedly drove the rating a few points, too. However, it was still a worthwhile DVD purchase, if just for Ace's excellent comic performance. 69/100
Brick (2005) - The movie I really started to notice Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Since Inception hit theatres I have been itching to watch this great movie again and it doesn't disappoint a second or a third time around. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception) as Brendan a intellectual outcast who is thrown into the mystery of who killed his Ex-Girlfriend Emily (Emilie De Ravin- Claire from ABC's "Lost"). Along the way he fights his way through Jocks and Druggies and everyone in between to get answers. Along the way he meets the king drug dealer known as The Pin (Lukas Haas - Inception) and his muscle Tugger (Noah Fleiss) by agreeing to help them he will unravel why his precious Emily was murdered. This is one of my favorite movies and its strange considering its a mystery, usually I cant stand mysteries but this one pulls it off. It may throw you off when you find out all these people are actually in high school but after awhile it wont bother you. The tone of this movie is something Ive never seen but whatever it is I like it and would like to see more. Joseph Gordon-Levitts really brought his character to life with this performance its a shame this didn't get as much recognition as I thought it should, but hey its independent so what can you expect. Another Character I would have like to see more was The Brain (Matt O'Leary - Frailty) character you'll see why when you watch it. 8.5/10 Just a heads up its Streaming on Netflix right now
I have watched about half a dozen old movies since my last post, most of them really bad. (People need to be warned about buying them!) Let's review Defendor (2009)- A mentally challenged construction worker, played by Woody Harrelson, is inspired by his childhood comics to fight for "justice", teaming up with a young hooker with a heart of gold along the way. It sounded like a funny premise, and a parody/critique of superhero films. Unfortunately, while it toyed with that notion, near the end, it went right back to being the worst and dumbest kind of cliched superhero movie. It presents the main character as a hero, despite the harm he does, and blood on his hands. And since when are we supposed to feel sympathy for a DANGEROUS IDIOT who is indirectly responsible for the death of several good police officers? Hell, he is a worse person than most of the criminals he fights! There is a momentary inspired mix of comedy and dark realism, and Harrelson's performance is terrific, but the God-awful pacing and idiotic central theme make sure this film is no more than average. And the cartoonish, sickening happy ending, with the retard triumphing over professional criminals, and everything turning out great, is completely out of place, and makes it poor. I feel cheated for buying a DVD based on the good trailer. Small wonder it didn't play much in theaters. 39/100
Kick-Ass Despite many hostile predictions on this site from other board members (myself not among them) this film is entertaining, but not the best film of the year. Based on the popular cult graphic novel, it's a sociopathic mix of torture, deliberately extreme violence and slapstick comedy. Nic Cage triumphs over his MANY recent mistakes in a likable supporting role as the revenge-driven, cold blooded murdering "hero" Big Daddy (hilariously and intentionally parodying his own well-known acting style when in his costume), and the comedy and over-the-top brutal action blends well. Mark Strong (yet AGAIN) delivers the goods as a seemingly sociopathic mob boss who's also a dedicated and loving head of household, who seamlessly goes from a caring father and husband to a psychotic monster. It LOOKS like a film for kids, but isn't in the least. A fun ride, but far from perfect. 7/10
Another film people should be warned away from; The Invention of Lying (2009)- I had hopes coming in, since I'm a huge Ricky Gervais fan, and the premise sounded decent. Namely, a fat, out-of-work loser, living in a world where everyone tells the truth, discovers lying. Unfortunately, the comedy is lifeless and utterly unfunny, and concept far, far surpasses its execution. The majority of jokes involve a character being "brutally honest" towards someone else. Problem is, the it's all very tame, predictable, and delivered in a flat monologue. (Film is rated PG-13) Plus, since when does telling the truth mean a compulsion to speak one's mind at every opportunity? And why don't any of the characters get mad as hell at the insults they're hearing? Are they not human? Finally, this movie has no balls; Gervais only uses his power to do good, and never once takes advantage of it. Lame. I couldn't even sit through the whole damn thing. Shockingly bad; avoid it like the plague. 24/100
This movie reminded me a lot of Funny People in that it tried to both be a serious drama and a comedy in one. I can't think of many (or any) movies out there that can pull both genres off in the same movie successfully.
Might as well review one last disappointing film before moving on to the good stuff; Fatal Attraction (1987)- A lawyer played by Michael Douglas with a wife and a baby girl cheats with a woman (Glenn Close) who gets progressively more insane when he spurns her further advances. It's an awful, predictable script partially redeemed by how brilliantly it is shot. The tempo for the eventful scenes is very good. Close does a fine job, but the film is killed by its lifeless, plodding gait. Even overlooking the cliche developments and ending (how does Alex make it to his home? How does she survive the drowning?), Michael Douglas is not the least bit sympathetic in his role, while Glenn Close is far too ineffectual as the villain. Cinemaphotography is the main thing going for it, but you have to sit through a lot of irrelevance and eye-rolling cliche to get there. 40/100
The original climax was much better: instead of the Rambo-inspired cat fight, Alex simply slits her wrists in the bathroom, dies, and leaves Michael Douglas holding the blame for her death. Curtain. A much better thriller would be: Les Diaboliques (1954) Forget the shitty remake with Sharon Stone. Forget every other thriller ever made. Not even Hitchcock himself could make a finer thriller, the film is the touchstone modern nail-biter for all other films to follow. The plot consists of a nebish wife convinced to kill her commanding, mentally abusive headmaster husband with assistance from his ice-blooded mistress, a teacher at his school. They do him in in the bathtub, but soon things go horrible: the body goes missing, and evidence starts popping up that he may or may not be dead. The build-up of this film and slow and deliberate, and then the pay-off.... The last 20 minutes of this film are what sets it apart from any other thriller ever made. Repulsion and Psycho are the only two I can think of that can rival it: the final reel of this film is drawn out so brilliantly spine-tingling and macabre it will make your eyes roll right out of your head. It tacks on the ultimate (and first) "twist" ending, and it's a doozy. See if you can see how many more "modern" horror films borrowed plot devices and scare tactics from this film. Often imitated, never duplicated. A masterful piece of filmmaking. 10/10 Yes, it's a French film. Yes it's black and white, but that only helps the effectiveness to chill (a la Night Of The Living Dead) It's also subtitled, which I know a lot of you hate but make the sacrifice.