King of Comedy was such an under-rated film. It's too bad, I thought it was a great character study. I guess alot of people just saw it as previously discovered territory for De Niro and Scorsese, after the success of Taxi Driver.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - (Terry Gilliam;1998;USA)
Hunter S. Thompson and his lawyer go on an eccentric drug binge in Las Vegas covering a motorcycle race.
While containing elements that make this a very funny film, it also contains insight on the post-60's American culture, seen through the eyes of two drug users. It's hard for me to describe it's greatness. Gilliam does a great job of transferring the book to the screen, which was originally considered impossible. Depp's performance is one of his best, really capturing Thompson's quirky energy. On a first viewing it's hard to take seriously, but with more I think you can come to love this more and more.

The Game - (David Fincher;1997;USA)
A wealthy financer gets a real-life time-consuming game from his brother as a birthday gift, but it soon brings him into a downward spiral.
A film that is very similar to Fight Club in it's message. It's execution isn't as good and it does have it's moments of ridiculousness, but it turns out to be a very good thriller that has something to say. The ending I felt was going to turn into something mainstream and poor but it ends on a good note. I also love the use of the song "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane. Douglas' performance is very good as well, especially as the film progresses. I will be revisiting this in the future.

After expiriencing the way "White Rabbit" was used in these two films, I'm not even kidding when I say I get a little uneasy--as if expecting something bad to happen--everytime I hear it.

Main Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Patrick Swayze, and Drew Barrymore

Summary: During the presidential election of 1988, a teenager named Donnie Darko sleepwalks out of his house one night, and sees a giant, demonic-looking rabbit named Frank, who tells him the world will end in 28 days, 6 hours, 42 minutes, and 12 seconds. He returns home the next morning to find that a jet engine has crashed through his bedroom. As he tries to figure out why he survived and tries to deal with people in his town, like the school bully, his conservative health teacher, and a self-help guru, Frank continues to turn up in Donnie's mind, causing him to commit acts of vandalism and worse.

Review: This was a really great film. Great direction by Richard Kelly in his first feature film, a great performance by Jake Gyllenhaal, definitely one of his best, an incredibly interesting storyline and storytelling format.

I really liked the fact that this film was set in 1988, considering the fact that it was made in 2001. Whenever a filmmaker chooses to set his story that close to the present day for apparently no specific reason, its a fairly bold decision, and Kelly really utilizes it well, as far as the clothes, the music, and the attitudes of many people, it feels as though it was filmed in the 80's at times, but in a positive way.

The storyline was really spectacular here especially. It's interesting how the viewers know as little about Donnie's condition as he does, and when Donnie makes realizations about his dreams and impulses, the viewers make them with him. Kelly also really effectively uses the technique of intercutting two events by switching back and forth between them. He is able to create some really nice, sometimes ironic images, that show the hypocrisy and ridiculousness of Donnie's hometown and its people.

This is a really deep film at times, calling into question matters of human nature, life and death, mental processes, etc. It's a really remarkable accomplishment when a film can take such basic subject matter and turn the story into an examination of the human mind in a way. One of the best aspects of this film.

Direction – 23/25
Acting – 23/25
Story – 20/20
Rewatchability – 18/20
Music – 8/10
TOTAL = 92%

92% = 4.5/5 Stars

Best Quote: "I hope that when the world comes to an end, I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to."

Die Große Ekstase des Bildschnitzers Steiner (The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner)
Werner Herzog 1974 West Germany (2nd time)
A carpenter whose true love in life is ski-jumping sets world records and becomes a phenomenon.
The said phenomenom is not least in the director's eyes, or even in Steiner's own psychology; a beautiful evocation of a man wanting to, like the director, push as many of his own boundaries as he can.

How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck
Werner Herzog 1976 West Germany (2nd time)
Cattle auctioneers gather in a small Amish town for the World Championships.
An oft-funny and insightful documentary with profound implications as to the spoken language and film language--here we have English-speaking competitors being translated in German voice-over by Herzog himself, and that in turn is translated back into English subtitles.

A King in New York
Charles Chaplin 1957 UK (1st time)
Escaping a revolution, a European monarch flees to America, struggles to adapt to the country's values, and gets caught up in the Communist witchhunt.
More of a damning social comment than the comedy it claims to be; Chaplin's charm is overrided far too often by sentimentality, and, given the autobiographical synopsis, this surprisingly runs out of energy well before the end.

Twenty Minutes of Love
Charles Chaplin 1914 US (1st time)
A mischievous tramp tries to win the affections of a girl on a parkbench. Then her boyfriend returns…
The editing here shows Chaplin's brilliance as a visual storyteller; otherwise, it is a routine affair.

The Fatal Mallet
Mack Sennett 1914 US (1st time)
Two rivals over a girl end up joining forces when a third suitor comes on the scene.
Unfunny Chaplin short, which ends, for once, with the Tramp getting his comeuppance.

Stand By Me ***

An enjoyable but predictable tale about 4 young kids who set out to find the dead body of a child their age. Little do they know that the bad kids in town (lead by Kiefer Sutherland) are trying to get to the body first.

ALEXANDER(2004) -**1/2

I have a good feeling that I'll get stoned for this one...hopefully with pot.

This multi-Razzie nominee, plus the "bad" movie of 2004, isn't that awful. No, its just a damn mess, but not bad methinks. some likeable moments that are mixed with stuff that doesn't quite work. I do understand where Oliver Stone was coming from, but its sad to think that he's now probably a tired old man, for this had been made in his younger days, we might have been given a masterpiece. Tsk Tsk Tsk

But bad? Oh hell no. IF you want unimaginative crap, go rent TROY.

JERRY MAGUIRE (1996) - **

Cameron Crowe, save for his rather good script for FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, has always been one of the more overrated filmmakers in Hollywood. Thing is, I sorta understand how Capo feels about DePalma, except my trashing is at Crowe and his sentimental garbage. Really, if he wants to be Spielberg Jr., fine. Just leave me behind for where I could have a fun time.

"Show me the money!"

How bout my fist instead?!!?

Batman Begins - (Christopher Nolan;2005;USA)
The story of how Bruce Wayne became Batman.
Unlike any comic book movie made since Batman Returns, this one finally adds believable style and drama into the plot. And it's different from the other Batman films in focusing on Bruce Wayne in a very character studyesque way. It has it's moments of corniness but overall it's far from any other comic book movies made recently. The cast is very good, especially Bale. Nolan didn't shoot his load on CGI like other movies have, and when he does like in vast shots or special effects, it's believable and doesn't look cartoonish. The music and atmosphere is also wonderful.

Wow, my family had a movie night, and we finally watched some of the movies we got (from each other) as Christmas gifts!

We watched Christmas with the Kranks, which really turned out to be much better than I expected, as well as a Ray Charles performance with the Edmonton Symphony, and a goofy, yet entertaining movie called Trapped in Paradise.

THE CLEARING (2004) - **1/2

Decent if forgettable drama with both greats Robert Redford and Willhem Dafoe in a tale about a man(Dafoe) "forced" to take hostage of a successful businessman(Redford) into the woods and its "clearing". Apparently based on a true story in Holland. Reportedly the first Redford-leading feature to actually play at Redford's Sundance film festival.

Memento **** Christopher Nolan
This movie has the same crazy(in a good sense) editing that was seen in his earlier movie Following. But the difference is that it is backward non-linear. The plot loosely resembles Lost Highway, but minus the bullshit(IMO, ofcourse) of the latter. There is twist in the plot every now and then to retain the interest in a story that doesn't have depth otherwise. But for the novel presentation, this deserves 4 stars.

Dog Day Afternoon 10/10
Carlito's Way 9.5/10

What can i say? Didn't watch these two movies for a long time. Both are masterpieces in my book. Regarding "Dog Day Afternoon", I think Pacino gave such an amazing performance that he deserved the Oscar that year, even more than Jack Nicholson for "One Flew...". Pacino just steals the show with that tour-de-force-performance. And the tension is on the top from the first second on till the final airport scene. Sidney Lumet's best film, IMO.
Carlito's Way is another near-perfect movie with Pacino as an "ex-criminal" who after a prison-sentence wants to get out of "all the shit business" and start a new life with his girlfriend. Here we have Brian DePalma's best movie IMO. Pacino deserved the Oscar that year also, but who cares about that anyway. I find this movie to be very underrated, even on these Boards.
On a side note, when I was watching "The Deer Hunter" lastw eek, I was thinking, "who could play the part of Michael better than DeNiro?" and had these "Pacino-or-Deniro"-thoughts again, but after these two movies I think Pacino will always have the #1 spot on my Actors list.

I cant wait for the 2 Disc-special-edition of "Dog Day Afternoon" to be released in February. The movie just climbed afew ranks on my favorite-movies-list and I think there will be some other changes on it too

Ya, DOG DAY AFTERNOON's new DVD should be great, and hey...you didn't mention it....Sidney Lumet commentary! Lets hope that its not a bust.

You know whats even better? that we get the dvd earlier than you guys in the US
It'll be released february 10th. as you said, the commentary track should be great and interesting.

You Fuckers!

Oh really? Well you know what? If we live in a world where other countries are getting their hands of special editions of Dog Day Afternoon before us, then I am sorry to say... The terrorists have won.

Terror alert red.

Just in case you are NOT kidding, I live in Gemany :p

Krótki film o zabijaniu (A Short Film About Killing)
Krzysztof Kíeslowski 1988 Poland (3rd time)
A young traveller kills a taxi driver, and is unsuccessfully defended for murder.
An unsettling, powerful, and ultimately hopeless (despite reference to a birth, the world in which this baby has been born is uninhabitable) comment on chance, fate and the futility of mankind.

Due to the film deals we do at the FCM boards, I actually have a schedule of films for the next two weeks. Week 1 is for revisiting Michael Mann's films that I own. All of the proviews for Mann's films will be posted this Friday. After that are the film deals, and after that on the following Friday are my rewatches for The Godfather trilogy.

Monday: The Insider
Tuesday: Collateral
Wednesday: Heat
Thursday: Thief
Friday: Ali
Saturday: 2001: A Space Odyssey
Sunday: The Wild Bunch
Monday: Primal Fear
Tuesday: Boys Don't Cry
Wednesday: n/a (may change)
Thursday: The Magnificent Ambersons
Friday: The Godfather

Vercetti, you need to rewatch MANHUNTER as well, just to complete it sometime...and if possible, scour every shitty video store in the area, for one is bound to find THE KEEP somewhere...

Cinderella Man - (Ron Howard;2005;USA)
The story of boxer Jim Braddock's fall during the Great Depression and his rise to fight the champion Max Baer.
A film that is watchable for it's actors and music rather then the direction, which is for Howard, once again corny and melodramatic. It fails to be as thought-provoking as Million Dollar Baby or character studyeasque as Raging Bull though some of it's boxing scenes have some good elements. Instead it turns out to be a routine production. I give it a decent rating because it's cast carries it well, making you forget that it's too long. Giamatti's charisma is wonderful in particular. Otherwise this is far from the masterpiece people have been inflating this to be.

Mr and Mrs Smith No stars
crap

Hoorah for Detail!

Ive had that same feeling, where a film was so bad I didnt even want to talk about it

I didn't think it was crap but I agree I thought it wasn't very good and overrated

Flightplan ** 1/2

I wanted to see this in the theaters but never made the time and had no one to go with (no one was interested). A decent, semipredictable tale about Kyle Pratt's (Jodie Foster) six-year-old daughter vanishing 40,000 feet above the Earth. A good performance by Ms. Foster and it's great to see her back. I'm glad this movie turned out better than Panic Room. SPOILERS I was a little surprised and yes even disappointed that Sean Bean didn't play a bad guy. I haven't seen him since The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. END OF SPOILERS

Umm, what about the lame NATIONAL TREASURE? The crappy THE ISLAND(svsg, our residential Bay Fan, could tell us about that one)?

Oh well. Oh and ya, MR. & MRS. SMITH was garbage...I was too kind in my **1/2 rating of it. Really, if I want a cartoon, I'll go watch TV.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith was horrible. Let me shit myself in awe while Jolie and Pitt kill 100 guys, in slow motion mind you.

where did you gather that from? I haven't even seen any of Bay's movies except Bad Boys, which again was crap

Where did I gather that from? The NSA

I mean...you've got nothing to hide, right?