Movie Reviews!

I haven't done a movie review in quite some time, and while these aren't actual reviews they're as good as you're gonna get. I figured I should write about these before the list gets too long. So, yeah, these are very small capsure-like reviews of most of the movies I've seen in the last month or so (in chronological order of when they were made)

Notorious (1946, dir. Hitchcock) - Classic Hitchcock (btw, he would've turned 108 yesterday). Gorgeous to watch (not just Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, okay) and masterfully made, this film is a treat all round. That scene in the wine cellar is tense, hey? I just realised I've already discussed this movie. Oh well, it never hurts. A-

High Society (1956, dir. Walters) - A slight and inconsequential remake of the superb The Philadelphia Story. Unfortunately, where in the original Katherine Hepburn was the centre everything else was still so well done, here Grace Kelly (in the Hepburn role) is indeed the centre but nothing else really works. Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra were sorta annoying and Celeste Holm is underused. The songs are mostly skippable except for perhaps the "Millionaire" one and my favourite, "Well, Did You Ever?" Shame that this was Grace Kelly's last film (before becoming Princess of Monaco and then dying in a car crash). She was one of my favourites.

Jules & Jim (1962, dir. Truffaut) - I was loving the first half of this movie and then something happened. It reminded me a lot of Amelie except when that movie decided to go serious it didn't forsake the delightfully playful tone it had started with. Shame. Jeanne Moreau was great though. C

Hello, Dolly! (1969, dir. Kelly) - Gene Kelly's musical adaptation is nowhere near as good as Streisand's first starrer Funny Girl. The second half of this movie is much MUCH better than the first and for a change it's the dance-only sequences that are better than the song sequences. And, I'm sorry to all of his fans, but I've never liked Walter Matthau. B-

Lady Snowblood (1973, dir. Fujita) - Obviously the inspiration (nay, blueprint) from Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill, this movie isn't anywhere near as good as Tarantino's. Meiko Kaji is fine, but the rest of actors are all bad. There are one or day good fight sequences, but it just didn't work as well. C+

The Breakfast Club (1985, dir. Hughes) - Sigh. A+

Down by Law (1986, dir. Jarmusch) - I like Jim Jarmusch films, but never a lot. They start to ware me down after a while where I sorta want them to stop. Down by Law is no better or worse than Coffee & Cigarettes, Night on Earth, etc. It does look great though. B-

Driving Miss Daisy (1989, dir. Beresford) - What a bizarre film. I really just couldn't get over how strange it was. Not in an Eraserhead sorta way, just in a way that I didn't get it. It's nice and well-acted and definitely looks great, but... what is it about? I was scratching my head over this one. Does it have ANYTHING to say. How this won Best Picture is strange. I just... what? I've made it sound much worse than I think it is though. B-

The Prince of Tides (1991, dir. Streisand) - Much like I wish Cher would start directing more, I wish Streisand would direct something again. This movie was really good, and I didn't expect it at all. The performances are all great and the look of it is swell. Streisand's directing is ace and the screenplay is really wonderful. Sadly, it seems like it's been all but forgotten except for that hilarious moment in an early "Simpsons" episode - "Oh, wait. That was Prince of Tides" heheh. A-

Eat Drink Man Woman (1994, dir. Lee) - Here's a deep dark secret of mine - I love the sub-sub-sub-genre of film that I like to call "Delicacy Films". Films that revolve around food (I even quite like Chocolat). Ang Lee's delicacy film Eat Drink Man Woman is, to use the pun, mouthwatering goodness. I loved the food, the design and cinematography and the acting, especially by lead girls Yu-Wen Wang, Chien-lien Wu and Keui-Mei Yang, is all great. Nice surprise at the end also. B+

Heat (1995, dir. Mann) - Michael Mann's brilliantly choreographed action film still stands up today! What a great movie this is. From the writing, to the action scenes (that escape gunfight is very WOW enducing) and tense and exciting and it's so well-written - how about that scene between Pacino and DeNiro in the coffee shop? I'm not sure whether I like this more than Collateral though. I give them the same grade, they're like companion pieces. A

Heavy Weights (1995, dir. Brill) - I watched this while recovering from a hangover feeling sick to my stomach. It's really bad. But what's really strange is that the character Ben Stiller plays is exactly the same as his character from Dodgeball 9 years later. Exactly the same! I don't get it. Plus, the message of this film is so bizarre "Being a morbidly obese 11-year-old can be FUN!!" ugh. D-

South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999, dir. Parker) - All I have to say is: LOL!!!

The Man Who Cried (2001, dir. Potter) - I really like Sally Potter for whatever reason. I liked this one too. I don't know why. I just really like Potter's style. B

My Life Without Me (2003, dir. Coixet) - Spoilers here people. WHY SHOULD I FEEL BAD FOR A WOMAN WHO DELIBERATELY HAS AN AFFAIR WITH A MAN AND THEN GETS UPSET WHEN SHE DIES LEAVING HIM BEHIND? Seriously, This movie was dumb and pathetic and I wanted to throttle Sarah Polley's character something shocking. She's a stupid stupid awful disgusting wretch of a woman. Scott Speedman's character deserved much more than this witch. D+

Collateral (2004, dir. Mann) - Watching Heat made me want to watch this. So good. Love it to pieces. A

I'm Going to Tell You a Secret (2005, dir. Akerlund) - Great documentary following Madonna's Reinvention Tour (ya know, the one that didn't come to Australia... just like all the others). Brilliantly photographed, Madonna comes off as a champ. Would've liked it more if it didn't go into a Kaballah recruitment video towards the end. Would've prefered more of her actual concert footage in there as well (for those of us who had no possible chance of actually seeing the concert, bitch). My favourite bits were "American Life", "Nobody Knows Me" and "Vogue". B+

Rent (2005, dir. Columbus) - What can I say? I liked it. Although, since seeing it on stage I can completely understand the misgivings people gave it. But, really, I just love the songs and the actors and, to quote The Castle, the vibe. B

Jarhead (2005, dir. Mendes) - Technically, the film is ace. Jake Gyllenhaal is great (and uber-hot, so that's a bonus). And while I can appreciate the film's stance that war is boring, they could've at least made the film more interesting. Like... DO SOMETHING, SERIOUSLY! C+

Jindabyne (2006, dir. Lawrence) - I do intend to write a proper review for this. But for now, A

Ten Canoes (2006, dir. de Heer and Djigirr) - A blissful Aussie gem. Set both 1000 years in the past (filmed in beautiful black and white) and in the mythical time known as "the Dreamtime" (in equally beautiful colour) this comedy hits all the right notes from the photography (mimicing the photographs by Dr Donald Thompson that inspired the film) to the performances by an all first-timer collection of acting. Richard Birrinbirrin was my fave as the gluttonous honey-eater. Legend David Gulpilil uses his voice wisely for the narration as his song, Jamie Gulpilil, does double work playing characters in both stories in the film. Great stuff. A-

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006, dir. Verbinski) - Yes, it's overly long and the end is a bit frustrating, and yes at first Johnny Depp's performance was really uncomfortable. But in the end I still liked it more than Superman Returns! Stuff actually happened (who knew a Summer action film could have, ya know, action scenes) and it was fun and not as confusing as I had been lead to believe. B

Candy (2006, dir. Armfield) - A competent, if done-before, film. Neil Armfield's adaptation casts Heath Ledger (y'all know him) and Abbie Cornish (Somersault and the upcoming A Good Year) as down on their luck drug addicts. She turns tricks for cash, he starts stealing. We've seen it before, but thankfully the acting is extraordinary. Ledger and Cornish are marvellous, as are side players such as Geoffrey Rush (y'all know how much I love him) and Noni Hazlehurst. Cinematography and the score are equally inspired and haunting. Kinda made me want to watch Requiem for a Dream though. B-

Superman Returns (2006, dir. Singer) - I kept waiting for something to happen, and when it did it was... Superman lifting a giant rock. Okay, the scene where Metropolis (why don't they call it New York, which it obviously is?) is destroyed is pretty good, but really other than that. Zilch. Nada. Zero. Parker Posey is a champ and is hilarious to boot, but I can't get past the ridiculously unbelievable nature of it all (I know, I know - I just don't believe nobody could tell it was Clark freakin' Kent!) and the impossibly annoying and whiney Lois Lane (where is the strong independant Lois we know?). Pfft. Whatever. C

The Lake House (2006, dir. Agresti) - I've already discussed this trash over here. Awful.

And that's it. Glad to get those off of my back.