Pulp

70s Drama
3.5 stars

Funny and clever, although a bit dragging in parts. I was hoping for more from the team who brought us the original Get Carter. This one is a comedic, colorful noir (oxymoron?) with a very interesting smaller role filled by Mickey Rooney. The scene of Rooney in his skivvies had me a little unnerved.

Madigan

60s Drama
3.5 stars

A little dated, but an interesting "parallel" movie about cops and bosses from the 1960s solving crimes. You can see the roots of grittier cop movies here. Don Siegel rises to the occasion yet again. A treat for Richard Widmark and Henry Fonda fans, not to mention Abraham Polonsky wrote the screenplay.

A Shot in the Dark

60s British Comedy
3 Stars

A Pink Panther sequel, starring the great Peter Sellers. The jokes here are often lowbrow gags, but often times with hilarious effect. Sellers is great, and he lays the seeds for Austin Powers/Dr Evil numerous times throughout. The movie oozes a hip vibe, much more so than say The Knack and How to Get It.

To Live and Die in L.A.

80s Drama
4 Stars

Solid, solid work here. Surprisingly, the Wang Chung soundtrack, which was such a huge selling point when the movie was originally released, both does and does not hold up. Sometimes it sounds like cheese, and sometimes it seems to be proudly holding up the era. Petersen is a little tough to take sometimes with his bowlegged attempt at hip, but Dafoe does not disappoint. This is gritty L.A. filmmaking. Wonderfully shot.

In The Valley of Elah

00s Drama
4 Stars

This movie was so close to being flat out splendid. Tommy Lee Jones is at his stiff best, trying to find out what happened to his missing son. The Iraq War serves as a backdrop to color the entire film with confusion, testosterone, and futility. The acting, especially by Charlize Theron is top-notch. My only complaint is the last 20%, when I felt the politics of the filmmaker became too heavy handed and I began to wonder who made this film. By the way, I hated the film Crash.

Ganja & Hess

70s African-American Vampire
4 Stars

Totally whacked out, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Some solid acting, music , cinematography, with a story that requires a few viewings to even get a sense of what is going on. Filmed in upstate New York, with some incredible scenes shot in a now defunct-church. Hugely creative and intellectual, seems to be an influence on Ferrara's Addiction.

Bone

70s Drama
4.5 Stars

A great find. Yaphet Kotto, one of the most underrated actors around (consistently excellent in Homicide, Live and Let Die) excels in this offbeat dramedy. The film veers between light and inventive dark moments. It captures the post-civil rights movement in a way I hadn't seen before, and blends this with a Save the Tiger/Breezy type generation clash. There's a freshness that also lasts about the way the film was shot. For a while it felt like a California Scorsese style. Highly recommended.

The Machinist

00s Drama
4.5 Stars

Let's get this out of the way. Christian Bale is a dynamo in this film, going to such lengths as to wither down his body for the cause. He looks disgusting, but perfect for the role. The film is a swirling, paranoid world not totally dissimilar from Se7en or Angel Heart. Can you believe he hasn't slept in a year? I could. This movie was surprisingly good.

Dark Star

70s Sci Fi
4.5 Stars

Hugely enjoyable low-budg film by John Carpenter. This is by the screenwriter of Alien, but this is a comedy, almost a hippies in space kind of thing. Borders on existential comedy, although those aspects are a bit forced. Pokes a finger in the eye of machismo, the pacing is good, and it doesn't take itself seriously. Influenced by Dr. Strangelove and 2001, no doubt. Great rental.

Heroes

70s Drama
2 stars

Total bullshit. When I saw this movie back in the late 1970s, the ending was straight out of a psycho-post traumatic stress disorder nightmare, with Henry Winkler unable to conquer his demons. Well, this version has replaced that with Sally Field consoling Winkler on the grass, telling him it's okay. This was my sister's favorite movie, presumably with the downbeat ending intact. Up until the ending switcheroo, the film is sort of a late 1970s continuation of the tone of Two Lane Blacktop, only not nearly as strong. The Vietnam war is never tackled head on, and for some reason I find that particularly insightful in 2008. Winkler deserves props for the effort.

It's Been a While

I haven't posted to this blog in quite some time. Things had been rolling along smoothly enough, although my life was thrown into a dark place with the January news that our baby Bacchus, our Boston Terrier, our creature of love, was dying with an inoperable brain tumor. It's not easy for me to express how devastating this news was. Bacchus was our constant companion who provided unconditional love each day. We don't have any human children, so Bacchus was the end-all, be-all for us.

Each couple of weeks he got sicker and his deterioration manifested in symptoms easy to see and painful to watch--he stopped enjoying his walks and riding in the car, he could no longer walk straight but rather only circle to his left, his eyesight failed, he no longer took to drinking water, he couldn't eat hard kibble, he started peeing in the house, his walking was no longer steady.

We took care of him as best we could, but on May 29th he suffered several seizures and didn't make it through. The loss we feel is tremendous. In the 6 weeks since, Bacchus' absence is greatly felt as is the void he used to fill. I miss my boy. I am grateful when he comes to me in my dreams.

I Wake Up Screaming

Noir
4.5 stars

After a rocky opening, this one gets going in a huge way. It must be said that Laird Cregar, for my money, steals the show as an obsessed cop that reminded me a lot of Forest Whittaker as Cavanaugh in The Shield. There are a few times when the lighting inventiveness is stunning, and really capture what noir lighting is all about. The story about a murdered model is done in a fairly complex way. Overall, the movie has a similar feel to The Night of the Hunter, in the stark, Gothic contrast.

Daisy Kenyon

40s Drama
Noirish
4 stars

This is the type of movie of which doctoral students are made. A so-called "Woman's Picture" of the immediate post-war era, with a dominant performance by Joan Crawford, and strong support from Dana Andrews and a creepy Henry Fonda. The love triangle, the noirish elements, and the depth and complexity of the characters lend this movie to analysis from all sides. Huzzah, Otto, huzzah!

The Child/L'Enfant

00s Drama
French
3.5 stars

Sad tale about a guy who sells his child because he's too lazy to get a job. Very sad & intense. Oh, the realism!

Suburbia

80s Drama
3.5 stars

I was surprised by this film. First, by how stiff some of the acting was. But then, as I got deeper, at how well this film seemed to capture being 14-17 years old, feeling like an outcast and living like one. It's also a solid commentary on early 80s California, not too dissimilar from Repo Man (but not nearly as polished) with great live documentary-style footage of a couple bands of the era. Definitely took me back. Yeah, this is the one with a young Flea. And his rat.

Black Sunday

70s Drama
3 stars

Sheeoot. If they could've cut 45 minutes off this thing, plus rewritten the ending, they would've had something here. First off, the ending is like something out of a bad James Bond movie (bad like A View to a Kill bad). However, up until the final 30 minutes, the movie had some simmer. A plot featuring anti-Israeli terrorists planning to cause major destruction at the Super Bowl is intriguing. Bruce Dern is actually quite good here. Pretty good for the political stuff, awful for a tremendous nose dive at the end.

Macon County Line

70s Drama
2 stars

A couple of young men with a woman in tow run into trouble in the deep south. A potentially interesting formula, but this one was a dud. Scary southerners has been done elsewhere, and better. I had my finger hovering over the "stop" button on the remote like I was Jamie Farr wielding the gong on The Gong Show, but I put in the time and watched the entire thing. Bleh.

Gone Baby Gone

00s Drama
3.5 stars

This one starts out pretty good, but the veering into police corruption is a snore-bore of the highest order. Also, I haven't yet found anyone who saw this film who thinks the crime would've gone down that way. The very ending dilemma is an interesting one, however. Casey Affleck is obviously the actor Affleck to watch. Not a bad flick, just didn't sustain the good stuff long enough.

Two-Lane Blacktop

70s Drama
Existentialist
4.5 stars

This film can easily be held up to represent the best of 1970s American cinema. With an incredible cast (Warren Oates, James "Fire and Rain" Taylor, Dennis Wilson, and a don't blink cameo from Harry Dean Stanton), this story exists in the some of the same spaces as Easy Rider. Like Cockfighter, this film lurches ahead at its own pace using minimal dialog. Drag racing is the theme, and the viewer is challenged to draw metaphorical meaning. A strong, surreal, existential film.

Branded to Kill

60s Drama
Japanese
4 stars

This film exudes style in bunches, it's so creative. I had to start this one twice, because the first time I was starting to have a major downer. The gangster death contests are set amid heavy sexual sequences. Deviant behavior abounds. Expressionist in the same vein as Murder, My Sweet or The Professionals. Palpable desperation. This one deserves a viewing.

Young Man With A Horn

50s Drama
3.5 stars

This film touched me as a jazz lover, a non-musician and a film fan. I'm not saying this is the greatest film, but the scenes where the young boy hears the music and is able to feel it, thereby cementing his destiny, reminds me of what I felt like during the time I filmed the organists for First Gravy and heard Bob Birch with the New Mastersounds, or Nick Rossi plugging away at Club Deluxe in San Francisco. This film is about 80% great and the rest not so much.

Death Proof

00s Drama
4 stars

I've already been in one heated discussion about this Tarantino film (with Drew from I Am Spoonbender), but I liked it. Way more than I liked either volume of the insufferable Kill Bill, and also more than Jackie Brown. Tarantino seemed to have a good time making this film and it is reflected on the screen. Sure, there's the overt homage to Vanishing Point, but what the heck is wrong with that? Nada. I didn't mind the on-and-on dialog, as I felt it made the violence that much more impactful. Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike rocks, but can't touch Snake Pliskin. Those stunts at the end, while totally gratuitous, were adrenaline inducing, to say the least.

The Desperate Hours

Noir
3.5 stars

Despite whatever profound commentary can be made about the corruptibility of the haven of the suburban household, this one didn't really do it for me. I thought it predictable (although very well crafted) and routine. On the plus side, Bogart is dominant, as it should be.

The Missouri Breaks

70s Western
2.5 stars

A rather low rating on this one, even though I love Brando and Nicholson, and Night Moves by Penn is one of my all-time favorites. I actually like Brando's performance here, even with his all-over-the-place style, he's still somewhat of a rated PG badass. The story just doesn't compel. Film seems influenced by another favorite of mine, Peckinpah's Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, but is nowhere near as good. Should've been rated R, and if it had been we could've learned what was really up with Brando's sexually ambiguous character.

Side Street

Noir
4 stars

Anthony Mann noir about a guy who commits thievery only to regret it!

Buena Vista Social Club

Music Doc
3.5 stars

Great music, moving stories and masterful craft demonstrated, but let's be clear: the moving camera bothered me in this context. I also feel this film is entirely overrated. The film seems somehow stiff and inorganic to me. I did NOT teach on this film to my class.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

00s Comedy
4 stars

Wildly entertaining with great music about a transvestite singer. Music is great. Hilarious, similar in many aspects to Velvet Goldmine.

The Bird With The Crystal Plumage

70s Thriller
3 stars

I know this film has crazy street cred, but I was a little underwhelmed by it. There's style in bunches, but overall what we've got here is a fairly standard story with a less-than-thrilling payoff. This was my first Argento experience, and I'm intrigued to check out more. I'm just not frothing at the mouth to do it. Yet.

For Your Consideration

00s Comedy
3 stars

I fell promptly and soundly asleep. Granted, I had just come back from Las Vegas where I enjoyed a weekend with the fellas, drank a lot of margaritas and slept little. The comedy here was the first I've seen by this team not uproariously funny. A Mighty Wind, Best in Show, and Spinal Tap were all way more memorable. Ok that's cheating because I snored through most of this, so I really can't say.

Hiroshima Mon Amour

50s Drama
Existential
4.5 stars
My Uncle Stu's Favorite Film!

A poetic, interesting piece on the nature of loss. My Uncle Stu's favorite film, and his is one opinion I trust. For my money, this is about as powerful as film making gets. It's hard from 2008 to understand just how pervasive and horrifying WWII must have been on every level of consciousness, but the existence of this film and Night and Fog reveal some of how coping was approached by Resnais.

Crime Wave

Film Noir
5 stars

A great find. This noir has a strong story, a young Charles Bronson, an on-his-game Sterling Hayden, wonderful footage of old-school Los Angeles and outstanding cinematography.

Strait-Jacket

60s Drama
Woman in Danger
4.5 stars

This is best described as a "B" picture, but Joan Crawford gives an amazing performance, at once psychotic and sad. I found myself getting quite taken in by her character. It's a totally campy movie, with George "Police Squad" Kennedy as some sort of threatening farmhand, but this movie deserves a special place in any film lover's heart.

Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte

60s Drama
Older Woman In Danger
4 stars

The so-called "psycho biddy" (older woman in danger) subgenre continues here with Bette Davis as the main character and she's in fine acting form, along with Agnes Moorehead. Another decent Robert Aldrich film, the cinematography is great, and the spastic violence surprises and shocks. Long, melodramatic, but Gothic and good.

Die! Die! My Darling!

60s Drama
Older Woman in Danger
3 stars

Another from the crazy old woman series, this one's got an English twist, produced by the Hammer Studios. Not exactly graphic, not exactly gruesome, but no doubt hammy and over the top. This time, the older woman is not in danger, she's causing it. Alternate title is "Fanatic" and that fits this film.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

60s Drama
Older Woman in Danger
4 stars

I know how highly regarded this film is, and I have love for Aldrich, but how much mean stuff from Davis to Crawford can I take? The payoff confession at the end also fell way flat, although I loved seeing King Tut Buono from the old Batman tv show in here. Wonderfully acted, downright scary.

What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice?

60s Drama
3 stars
Older Woman In Danger

I can say this film was almost so bad it was great, and I suppose in a strange way it is great. A lonely, batty woman knocks off her housekeepers, as numbered by the trees in her garden. A kooky, hammy mess of entertainment, churned up in the wake of Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.

Fear In The Night

Noir
1940s Drama
2.5 stars

DeForest Kelly fans rejoice! Here's a starring old-school vehicle for your man Bones. This movie is a very slow kind of mystery, with some noir elements such as the sets showcasing the inner psychological makeup of the main character. This movie is excruciatingly slow, however. I fell asleep twice watching it, but managed to get through it in 3 sittings.

Genghis Blues

Music Doc
4.5 stars

Fascinating story about blind American who picks up Tuvan singing and travels to Mongolia. The music is incredible. A bit like watching home movies spun into a great story. Would have shown this one to my students had there been more time.

Double Indemnity

Noir
5 stars

An all time classic, baby.

Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde

70's Thriller
British
2 stars

I'm not sure when I last thought this about a film, but this film is a prime candidate for a remake, by a thoughtful producer who can push the gender-bending and sexual elements (I'm thinking Shawn Ryan of The Shield) using today's mores. This film rushes headlong into deviant territory, only to become relatively chaste when the going gets good. Premise for the ages, though, a gender battle of Jekyll and Hyde rather than meek/ogre.

Pretty Poison

60s Drama
3.5 stars

Interesting film starring Anthony Perkins and Tuesday Weld. This has many noir elements despite the vibrant colors and lush musical score. The plot contains a wonderful surprise in character motivation. Very 60s. I wanted to like this movie so much and thought it was...good.

The Big Sleep

Noir
70s Drama
Mitchum
1.5 stars

This seems like a made for tv movie. It is the first film I've seen with Mitchum where he shows no charisma. Why this film was even remade is beyond me. Mitchum plays too old and can't carry Bogart's lead from the original. I fell asleep watching this on 2 different viewings. A flop on all counts.

Sympathy for the Devil

60s Drama
4.5 stars

I don't know if I've ever seen a film quite like this. I really liked this movie. A bit clunky, but the camera movements were outstanding. Scenes of the Rolling Stones working out the title song cut between various scenes of revolutionaries, artists and intellectuals. Great filmmaking. Requires a lot of concentration to watch, but should be more well-known.

Medium Cool

60s Drama
4 stars

Very interesting blend of documentary style and story. Captured an interesting zeitgeist, the craziness surrounding the 1968 national Democratic convention in Chicago. The director has taken some great doc footage and crafted a narrative fiction film around it. Creative storytelling. Stars a young Robert Forster for all you Tarantino junkies.

Fury

Noirish
3.5 stars

Very early and interesting noirish story loosely based on the Brooke Hart case. The scene of the mob storming the jail was particularly chilling, the rest of the film less so, but as Lang's first American picture, it's historical.

Murder, My Sweet

Noir
4 stars

Very stylish noir thriller. Some excellent, inventive camera work. Good Marlowe story. Another noir that can easily be held up to represent the genre. Despite the scary character Moose Malloy, this film is fun the entire way through.

Tokyo Story

50s Drama
4.5 stars

The camera never moves! A lyrical story about realizations at the end of one's life. Growing old doesn't seem like fun. Slow and steady wins the race, or does it?

The Seventh Seal

50s Drama
Existential
5 stars

This is great highbrow cinema. Existential cinema. I could imagine Woody Allen watching this and coming up with humorous situations based on it. Set in the 14th century, but pertinent to eternal questions. Wonderful filmmaking.

Hoover Street Revival

Documentary
4 stars

Almost-great doc about how a preacher in impoverished LA has changed lives. Old school yet marginally experimental. Me likey.

Performance

70s Drama
4.5 stars

With Mick Jagger. A very interesting film of sex, drugs and rock and roll. Outstanding. Contains the early music video Memo From Turner. I watched this a couple of times and texted several friends about it.