Movies #253-260

09/28/2008

259. The Giant Claw (1957)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies (widescreen)
With a title like Giant Claw I was expecting this movie to maybe deal with giant crabs or something like that, but low and behold the featured monster in the movie is a decrepit giant vulture that flies around attacking people and planes and doesn't show up on radar so he can't be tracked. There was barely anything else to keep my attention in this movie, but there are some good laughs throughout (because the movie is so bad, of course).


260. Righteous Kill (2008)
Other Means
A flood of bad press followed the release of this movie, and I had seen the directors previous film with Pacino, 88 Minutes which was terrible. But I have to say this movie isn't nearly as terrible as reported, while the script is from screenwriting 101, watching Pacino and Deniro on screen makes up for a lot of the lacking in the writing. This is definetly watchable, the cast otherwise is really good also with Carla Gugino, John Leguizamo, and Donnie Wahlberg. Also for all the 50 Cent haters, he is barely in the movie, so it's not a problem.

09/27/2008

258. You Don't Mess with the Zohan Unrated (2008)
Other Means
Now I consider myself in the camp of Adam Sandler haters (besides Punch Drunk Love of course), and I had some mightly low expectations for this movie. But I have to say that I laughed pretty hard throughout the length of this unrated version of the film, I'm going to give credit to Judd Apatow for that. This is pretty over the top is terms of the comedy, and if your an Adam Sandler hater this might be worth a watch, but I enjoyed this one anyway.

09/26/2008

257. Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies (widescreen, uncut)
This film does a good job of making unsympathetic school boys watchable on the back drop of WW2, definetly worth watching if you've seen a Louis Malle film before, this is a good introduction to him. Recommended Watch

09/25/2008

255. The Bank Job (2008)
Off DVD
This is a pretty well done British gangster / heist movie, the reason why this works better than the litany of other British gangster movies is partially based on a true story which gives it an added sense of reality somewhat. I was expecting something more watered down than what this turned out to be, worth a watch if you don't have anything to watch.


256. 21 (2008)
Off DVD
This movie is about as mainstream as mainstream gets, the whole movie looks like it was shot with the same crew and equipment as an episode of CSI, and also it has the weird digital video motion blur in scene with high movement. I don't know why that look is desirable because it looks cheap. The music throughout the movie is already getting dated and this just came out back in March, it was just a compilation of stuff that was popular months before the movie came out. Your not going to miss anything by skipping this movie except seeing Kate Bosworth, who is usually worth admission, but she's not enough alone this time.

09/23/2008


253. Burn After Reading (2008)
In Theaters
This is Cohen Brothers return to form and they nail the farcical nature that some of the films of their past captured. Great acting all around, highly enjoyable. Highly Recommended Watch


254. Snow Angels (2007)
Other Means
With Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell to top your cast your obviously doing something right. David Gordon Green’s film came out before Pineapple Express, but it may have been shot after I’m not sure. Either way this movie is really good with establishing it’s natural setting and characters. The cracker who almost killed The Forbidden Kingdom returns here and actually fits his part really well and has actually flipped my perspective of him. Nicky Katt has a nice appearance and the main girl from The Wackness also has a substantial part. Amy Sedaris is also in this movie but just barely. Worth a watch.

Movies # 249-252

09/18/2008

250. Cure (1997)
Off DVR, Shown on IFC (widescreen, uncut)
This would fall into the Asian horror genre I guess but it has the subtlety of the original Pulse, in that’s it’s really understated in it’s approach of the creepiness. And it’s takes a while into the film before we even figure out what were chasing with the police. This movie doesn’t need fast pacing to be interesting, Highly Recommended Creepy Watch.


251. The Party (1968)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies (widescreen, uncut)
This is Peter Sellers in his prime playing a bumbling Indian actor in Hollywood. This movie is really funny in parts, and a lot of the gags still stand up today. All I know is that this movie blows The Love Guru out of the water, and they both have some similarities that don’t bode well for Guru.


252. Rat Pfink and Boo Boo (1966)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies
This movie has too much camp value, like these guys were trying to be campy and not serious when they made it which didn’t really work as well as if they weren’t aware. Instead of being funny, it’s often painful in many places. Apparently this is a camp classic, but there are classy camp classic than this classic.

09/16/2008

249. The Puffy Chair (2005)
Off DVR, Shown on Sundance (widescreen, uncut)
There is a whole lot to work with in this movie, just actors and sparse sets, so that puts more pressure on the dialogue and surprisingly it stands up well. I really enjoyed this little movie even though I didn’t really like the main character as a person. The movie covers a relationship on the rocks and a road trip is supposed to rekindle the flame, which is extremely cliché material so it’s really surprising that the writers handled it so well without getting bogged down. Recommended Watch

Movies #246-248

09/13/2008

248. Naked Killer (1992)
Off DVD
With a cover and title like this, it made it very hard to pass up on the cheap DVD rack. Thankfully the movie delivered on the expectations that I had as an over the top kill fest with a lot of male bashing. I can’t really explain this movie too in depth without ruining the charm of the movie, but it involves crazy female assassins who kill men by stabbing them in the penis. Must see film.

09/11/2008

246. Vitelloni, I (1953)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies
This movie follows a group of young Italians as they grow up, this movie is really good. Although it’s funny how people have aged over the years, all the actors here who I assume where in there early twenties when they shot the movie all look like they are in their thirties, but it’s not obvious like in Grease or anything like that, it’s just that even young people back in the day looked old. Highly Recommended Watch


247. Bride of the Monster (1955)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies
This is a product of Ed Wood, and it doesn’t disappoint on what you would expect from an Ed Wood film. The scene in the Burton film Ed Wood where Ed directs his actor to just thrash around on the limp octopus prop, that comes from this movie. Other wise this is good for a laugh if some one shows it to you but nothing makes this worth seeking out over some of the other Ed Wood fair.

Movies # 239-245

09/04/2008

245. The Promotion (2008)
Other Means
For some reason this movie didn't really get a theatrical release but this movie actually out to be a lot better than you would expect from a movie that practically has a straight to DVD release, I would even go as far to say I enjoyed this movie as much as I did Step-Brothers earlier this summer, but Step-Brothers takes the crown for zany antics this has more comedy based in reality. Overall I really do recommend this movie though, for you Will Ferrall detractors should check this movie out if you feel like you couldn't get into Step-Brothers.

09/03/2008

243. Town Without Pity (1961)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies
Kurt Douglas gives a great performance that creates the pillar of the film it that rotates around, there are good performances all around and Robert Blake has a good turn here as he always does playing the slightly demented character. I ended up enjoying this movie more than I expected to enjoy a court drama.


244. Elegy (2008)
Other Means
The trailers for the movie made it really seem like this was yet another movie starring Ben Kingsley that would be forgettable, but I think this maybe the second best movie this year that stars Ben Kingsley behind "The Wackness". Penelope Cruz of course is beautiful but see actually does bring some acting skills to this part also. Overall this is kind of the typical guy with a mid-life crisis but this offers a different take on it, with Dennis Hopper as Ben's buddy who he confers with, Hopper is really good here in the supporting role. This movie really surprised me with how watchable it really is.

09/02/2008

240. Smiley Face (2007)
Other Means
This is another in the legion of stoner comedies that have been released over the years and this doesn't meet any kind of stoner expectations as usual, so the story doesn't really go anywhere but Anna Farris is really cute and does what she can with the script. If you don't understand stoner culture then you'll probably find this movie annoying to no end. Only a mild recommendation for the stoner contingent.


241. Baby Mama (2008)
Other Means
Tina Fey and Amy Pohler's chemistry is really the only thing that saves this movie from being a totally unwatchable chick flick. The script really isn't as much as you would expect from a Tina Fey penned script, that's because Fey didn't write the script, some dude did. So a guy writes a movie about how two women bond over a surrogate pregnancy, riiiiiiight. Skip this one and just catch up on 30 Rock if you've never seen the show before.


242. The Formula (1980)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies (widescreen, uncut)
This movie is arguably more relevant now than when it was released (it involves a formula to make synthetic gasoline with coal), but George Scott kind of slugs through this movie even though he always has a demanding on screen presence throughout. For a movie that has Marlon Brando on the poster, Brando barely has a supporting role in this film. This movie would have been a lot better if we really had seen a head to head grudge match between Brando and Scott, but they don't really have a lot of time on screen together so the movie kind of just goes on and just ends abruptly.

09/01/2008

239. The Fugitive Kind (1959)
Off DVR, Shown on Turner Classic Movies (widescreen)
This movie follows Brando playing the typical Tennessee Williams down and out southern womanizer who tries to reform their old ways. But this is vintage Brando and he brings here like he did in Street Car Named Desire, this movie is incredibly watchable and I highly recommend this movie as it’s on the of the less discussed classics that features Brando in his prime.

Movies #234-238

08/31/2008

237. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)
Other Means
I was expecting this to be so bad that it could be a guilty pleasure but this really upset me with just being terrible and extremely boring surprisingly. As for the claims being thrown around on Aint it Cool that this was going to match to be everything that Indiana Jones 4 wasn't, well that claim is redicolous because with all the problems that Indy 4 had I would gladly watch it again over this piece of crap. Maria Bello is written as a mentally disabled English person that talks like they have never been England.


238. Cocaine Cowboys II: Hustlin' with the Godmother (2008)
Other Means
I was a big fan of the first Cocaine Cowboys documentary but I was kind of confused when I heard there was a sequel and while this does definetly tie in with the first film, the first film is far superior this one and you wouldn't really be missing by skipping this is you already saw the first one.

08/28/2007

236. S.P.Y.S. (1974)
Off DVR, Shown on Fox Movie Channel (widescreen, uncut)
I was really surprised I had never heard of this movie with the pairing of Elliot Gould and Donald Sutherland in both their prime, while this is getting hammered on the IMDB rating, this really is a fun goofy spy caper that isn't meant to be taken seriously. If you come across this it's worth a watch.

08/27/2008

235. Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)
Off DVR, Shown on Sundance (uncut)
This is the most comedic movie that I've ever seen from Bergman, this has a ton of witty banter that really came out of left field for me because I'm extremely familiar with the rest of Bergman's filmography, and witty banter usually isn't included. This is a must see for those people that could never really get into Bergman, and if your already a fan then of course you should see this also.

08/26/2008

234. King of the Hill (1993)
Off DVR, Shown on Sundance (widescreen, uncut)
This was an early Soderbergh movie where he had lost his vision from Sex, Lies, and Videotape and before he found it again with Out of Sight and then Traffic. This movie kind of goes stagnant in the middle and never really recovers, the only other things to note about the movie are some of the cameos, Adrian Brody has a substantial part and child Katherine Heigl also has a small part, but the smalles throw away role goes to Lauren Hill who is truly wasted as an elevator attendant.