Finished watching 24 Hour Party People last night. Great documentary, comedy and drama. It's got me interested in all the Manchester music it shows throughout. Steve Coogan does a great job as Tony Wilson. 3.5/5

What the hell. DVC. Edit that shit. And whoever else quoted it.

Better yet, Geoff. Fix everything

I vote 'yes' on the IQ test.

I don't recall that. I recall 15 minutes later Wayne getting into gunfights where he is more brutal then the other men in killing Indians. When he does make wisecracks, it was probably after the film took place a while later considering it spans 5 years. Also remember Wayne is bitter for a lot of the film.

I did think that maybe the lack of a constant mood could be blamed on the jumps in the time period as well as maybe attesting to the Old West spirit that they could persevere and forget about their problems, but ultimately concluded that it was just the style the film was made in.

At the time, it seemed catering to action-and-adventure-hungry audiences was somewhat more important than establishing a good character study, which is what I was hoping this would be.

Thanks Hagen for your kind words about my reviews.

As for THE SEARCHERS, I think you might be onto something. I respect it more for being an important film in American cinema than for its quality itself, though really, the movie itself just sort of becomes immortal though with the finale, in the such greatly ripped-off shot with the door closing to Wayne, and the West itself. I mean hell, even Tarantino pulled a similar trick off in his 2nd KILL BILL picture.

And yes, I probably prefer RIO BRAVO as well.

My thoughts on The Searchers read:
But I must disagree with a happy ending; I find Wayne's final silhouette embodying a kind of constant torment. As fine a character study as it is a visually stunning film.

Commando ** 1/2

My first time watching this film all the way through and quite enjoyable. Not as good as Predator but still an Arnold Schwarzenegger film worth watching

OMG, one of my favorite bad goofy movies of all time, COMMANDO!

Irish, you notice where a wrecked-yellow sports car is flipped over, but once its back to its regular state, it has NO scratch on it?

Better yet, did you see where that ground sommersault machine launched several of those thugs on the island? Hilarious shit.

No, my favorite line of that movie: "I eat Green Berets for BREAKFAST!"

[/quote]I couldn't stand that.

Why couldn't Ford just make a straight drama?

Yes it was a pretty funny movie and I think I remember the yellow sports car goofy but not the other one

I was wondering if anyone who had seen these films could give me some quick thoughts, just to get a general idea of what they might be like.

The Rules of the Game (1939/Renoir)
8 1/2 (1963/Fellini)
The Seven Samurai (1954/Kurosawa)
Tokyo Story (1953/Ozu)
and
Singin' in the Rain (1952/Donen & Kelly)

Unfortunately most of these are not available to me at the moment but I'm eagerly looking forward to the day I see them all.

Thanks in advance.

8 1/2 is a film that needs several viewings to distinguish the dreams, fantasies and such. I consider it one of the ten best ever.

Singin' in the Rain is an excellent musical with great routines and wonderful use of color.

Well, SEVEN SAMURAI is of course a masterpiece, and really to many(though note, mostly westerners say this), this is the greatest movie in the entire history of Japanese cinema.

Check out the 200 minute "Director's Cut" that makes for an epic drama with action and adventure. If anything, Kurosawa resonates his love of the American western in this film, though of course its samurai warriors instead of cowboys. However, what the decent remake of THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN failed to capture the essence of from Kurosawa's film is a sense of deep tradition that is soon becoming irrelevant in the face of progress.

TOKYO STORY was pretty good too, though I think Ozu's direction at times was....static. However, its worth watch neverless.

I just got my hands on Seven Samurai. I've got a couple lined up in front of it though, so I'm hoping to get to it in a day or two.

Although I am eager to see it as it'll be not only my first Kurosawa film but also really my first foray into foreign film itself, I can't help but be somewhat discouraged by your comments that it's a tribute to the American Western. As you know I just saw The Searchers last night and I'm hoping this won't turn out to be it's Siamese twin.

EDIT: Unfortunately it's not the Director's cut you mentioned. I kind of have to take what I can get.

No no, SAMURAI isn't a tribute at all.

I meant what I said as in how Kurosawa was influenced by some of the then-stunning work, which was incredible compared to the status quo of Japanese cinema at the time. I mean sure Kurosawa was a major fan of SHANE, but he made a samurai movie for Japanese audiences, though its techniques is such that westerners can easily get into it.

8 1/2 is a great film, considering the fact that I share the same interest as you regarding the pre-70s movies. It is pretty long and is entirely full of fantasies and dreams. But it is about the crisis in professional and personal life of a director. Excellent (BW) cinematography and music (by Nino Rota who composed for Godfather). If you get the DVD set, there is an additional disc which has a documentary about Nino Rota and Fellini. Highly recommended.

I didn't like 8 1/2 the first time around, probably due to the fact that I was exhausted when I watched it, but the second time around I loved it. The ending is just mindblowing, one of the best in cinema. It gave me chills. I hope you enjoy it.

As for Seven Samurai, I find it to be immensely overrated, but still good. When you strip it down though, it's basically just an action film.

8 1/2 is basically the #1 movie I wish I could see as of right now. First thing I'm getting once I'm on Netflix in a couple months.

EDIT: Wow, definitely never thought to go on my local library website and see what they have. I just reserved 8 1/2 and The Rules of the Game.

Friggin Sweet.

The King Of Comedy-
Robert De Niro
Directed by Martin Scorsese

Great flim
****/4 stars

Mista, I wrote all of these a while ago when I last (or first) saw them, so I'd need to revisit the films in order to update my thoughts. But here goes:

La Règle du Jeu (The Rules of the Game)
Booed at its premiere and subsequently banned, this is quintessential French cinema at its most ingeneous. Subtly aggressive, and at times farcical in its satire, it is a delight not to be missed.

Otto e Mezzo (Eight and a Half)
Surrealist nonsense of the highest order, with many visually striking moments.

Shichinin no samurai (Seven Samurai)
Masterful adventure with great characterisation and humour; although the segmented battle reduces the overall impact, and it is unusually long for a film of its tone and kind, it is a bravura display of directing.

Singin’ in the Rain
Lively, inventive comic musical with mesmerising dance and song routines, lots of laughs and brilliant acting; one of the genuine true musical greats.

[I haven't seen Tokyo Story.]

What Where
Damien O'Donnell 2000 Ireland (1st time; DVD)
A menacing figure of authority orders a chain of underlings to torture one another to find out what he wants.
Beckett's obscure play, shot with a deliberately slow pace and foreboding, is given a political, Orwellian treatment, with a beautiful tower of books standing behind the man in control--who, actually, seeks control without getting it.

Act Without Words - I
Karel Reisz 2000 UK/Ireland (1st time; DVD)
A man dropped in a desert devoid of all other objects and life, is given opportunities to learn and prosper and reach the water that dangles above him, but chance ruins everything for him.
The futility of life, too frustrating to be convincing: there is perhaps a contradiction in such criticism, but Reisz has chosen his mime to be one we don't necessarily care for - it would have been far wiser to make him likeable, and thus the play far more brutal. If he has tried to imitate the artificiality of it all with his set, he has sacrificed all potential for a cinematic slant on Beckett's play.

Busking
Joshua Kerr 2006 UK (1st time; big screen)
A busker who can't play the guitar reveals all to camera.
Mockumentary short which isn't short enough; its momentum is deadened about a quarter through, and the acting has as much charm as a badly-tuned guitar.

Just watched Airplane again. Man I love that movie, the one lines are so funny.

I just saw this last night and I agree with the first part of your review. And although it might be a bit too long, to me the segmented battle sequences did not reduce the overall impact. *****/***** for me.

I also saw:
Ladri di biciclette / The Bicycle Thief (1948) Vittorio De Sica / Italy 9/10 (I switched from stars to numbers :p )
A bit slow at the start but it more than makes up for it in the final twenty minutes. Raw Emotion is the only way to describe this film. A gem of Italian Neorealism, shot on a shoestring budget with non-professional actors, the experience is amazing.

Pay it forward ***
Starring Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment(the kid who acte din Sixth Sense). A kid gets an assignment at school to come up with a plan to make the world a better place. Though the teacher doesn't intend/expect any one to actually come up with any useful idea, let alone implement it with all seriousness, this kid actually believes in what he is doing. Nice overall acting from everyone, especially the kid.

I just finished watching The Producers, the version with Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane. I DEFINATELY like the original better. But this one was okay. Started out slow, but after "Springtime for Hitler" it picked up.

Now I'm about to watch Memoirs of a Geisha.. I can't remember what any of you guys said about it, but my roommate said it was long and boring. But she has a horrible taste in movies anyway. Anything made before the year 1985 is boring to her. So close-minded...

In the Bedroom
2001/Field

A New England couple's college-aged son dates an older woman with two small children and an unwelcome ex-husband with ultimately tragic results.

Starring Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek, Nick Stahl, and Marisa Tomei

Man it was nice to watch something made in the past decade. This was a nice little quiet, subdued, conventionally-shot piece of work that was surprisingly unambitious for a first time director of a full feature film (although that didn't hurt it). I enjoyed the prolonged sessions of silence, as it seemed the viewers were almost able to better understand the characters and their thoughts and motivations through just watching them.

Tom Wilkinson shined as the mentally tortured aging father, and it was nice to see him in a leading role for once. The ending, while surprising and somewhat against the style of the film, really worked well and wrapped up a good piece of cinema from the new millenium. This probably should have taken Best Picture in 2001 over A Beautiful Mind.

4/5 Stars

My roommate's dumb. Memoirs of a Geisha was really good. Sure, it was long, but I didn't find it boring at all. It really takes a good look at a different culture.

Damn shes narrowminded.

So she's one of *those* people. "liek omg, blakk n white dis sukzz!!!"

One day I'll come on over, and you and I shall eat her alive.

Why how splendid.

We shall feast on the blood of the ignorant.