THE DESCENT (2005) - April 29, 2006 (Second Viewing)
As far as this type of horror movie goes, this movie is pretty much perfect. It's just riveting from start to finish. There is the first half, with the women struggling to find their way out of the cave, which is really good. And then there's the second half, with the monsters, which is even better than the first. It's edge-of-your seat and it's really well made. ****
Short reviews of all the movies I see, rated out of four. Reviews containing spoilers are marked with an (S).
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Wolf Creek
WOLF CREEK (2005) - April 27, 2006
A brutal and entertaining horror film. This got a bad rap when it came out, and I'm not sure why. Sure it was pretty brutal to its characters, but all films of this type are. It probably doesn't help that the bad stuff doesn't go down until around the mid-point of the movie, with the first half spent with the characters traveling across the countryside and having a good time. This makes the sudden brutality of the second half more jarring than it would be otherwise. The movie was well made and entertaining, but I don't think I'll ever be able to look at Crocodile Dundee the same way. ***
A brutal and entertaining horror film. This got a bad rap when it came out, and I'm not sure why. Sure it was pretty brutal to its characters, but all films of this type are. It probably doesn't help that the bad stuff doesn't go down until around the mid-point of the movie, with the first half spent with the characters traveling across the countryside and having a good time. This makes the sudden brutality of the second half more jarring than it would be otherwise. The movie was well made and entertaining, but I don't think I'll ever be able to look at Crocodile Dundee the same way. ***
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Miller's Crossing
MILLER'S CROSSING (1990) - April 25, 2006
A really well written, well directed movie about gangsters in the '20s. The performances were all quite good, particularly Gabriel Byrne, and John Turturro as a sleazy, small-time thug. The Raymond Chandler-eqsue dialogue was really good... basically, this was just as good as you'd expect a gangster movie by the Coens would be. ***1/2
A really well written, well directed movie about gangsters in the '20s. The performances were all quite good, particularly Gabriel Byrne, and John Turturro as a sleazy, small-time thug. The Raymond Chandler-eqsue dialogue was really good... basically, this was just as good as you'd expect a gangster movie by the Coens would be. ***1/2
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
American Dreamz
AMERICAN DREAMZ (2006) - April 19, 2006
A decent but essentially forgettable film about an American Idol type of show. The film satirizes such fresh subjects as reality shows and President Bush. What a bold and fresh idea -- I've never seen anyone make fun of Bush before. Oh wait, I have, like a million times. The movie starts off well enough but got sort of tiresome towards the end (the amount of songs performed probably didn't help). The performances were all good - Seth Meyers stole pretty much every scene he was in as a sleazy agent - but aside from that it was pretty mediocre. **1/2
A decent but essentially forgettable film about an American Idol type of show. The film satirizes such fresh subjects as reality shows and President Bush. What a bold and fresh idea -- I've never seen anyone make fun of Bush before. Oh wait, I have, like a million times. The movie starts off well enough but got sort of tiresome towards the end (the amount of songs performed probably didn't help). The performances were all good - Seth Meyers stole pretty much every scene he was in as a sleazy agent - but aside from that it was pretty mediocre. **1/2
Lucky Number Slevin
LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN (2006) - April 19, 2006
Well, that was a bit disappointing. The movie started well and ended well but most of the it was sort of a dud. Not that it was terrible (it was pretty much entertaining all the way through) but, well... For one thing, the dialogue was a bit too quirky for its own good. Plus the main character, for the sake of the twist at the end, was essentially not developed at all, which made his exploits during most of the movie sort of pointless. The whole movie was very obviously leading up to a twist, so it was sort of like, just get to it already. It did improve at the end, though. **1/2
Well, that was a bit disappointing. The movie started well and ended well but most of the it was sort of a dud. Not that it was terrible (it was pretty much entertaining all the way through) but, well... For one thing, the dialogue was a bit too quirky for its own good. Plus the main character, for the sake of the twist at the end, was essentially not developed at all, which made his exploits during most of the movie sort of pointless. The whole movie was very obviously leading up to a twist, so it was sort of like, just get to it already. It did improve at the end, though. **1/2
Brick
BRICK (2005) - April 19, 2006
A high school detective movie, featuring the same type of hard-boiled dialogue that Sin City tried (and failed) to emulate. While Sin City's dialogue seemed like overblown parody that got tiresome pretty fast, here it really works. It helps that all the performances were really good; Joseph Gordon-Levitt in particular was exceptional in the main role. This was basically just a really good detective movie that just happened to be set in and around a high school. ***1/2
A high school detective movie, featuring the same type of hard-boiled dialogue that Sin City tried (and failed) to emulate. While Sin City's dialogue seemed like overblown parody that got tiresome pretty fast, here it really works. It helps that all the performances were really good; Joseph Gordon-Levitt in particular was exceptional in the main role. This was basically just a really good detective movie that just happened to be set in and around a high school. ***1/2
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Hostel
HOSTEL (2005) - April 18, 2005 (Second Viewing)
A really effective horror/thriller. The film is perfectly paced, allowing us to spend some time with the characters before beginning the carnage. The whole last half was pretty much electrifying. And essentially all the bad guys get their comeuppance, with the main villain getting a particularly brutal death. I don't care what anybody says, this was a really good movie. ****
A really effective horror/thriller. The film is perfectly paced, allowing us to spend some time with the characters before beginning the carnage. The whole last half was pretty much electrifying. And essentially all the bad guys get their comeuppance, with the main villain getting a particularly brutal death. I don't care what anybody says, this was a really good movie. ****
Monday, April 17, 2006
The Dark Corner
THE DARK CORNER (1946) - April 17, 2006
A well directed film noir about a detective framed for murder. Featuring Lucille Ball, who is actually quite good in a very non-Lucy Ricardo type of role. The film was entertaining throughout and looked good too, featuring the type of shadowy cinematography film noir became known for. I also liked the dialogue, with lines like "I'm easier to frame than Whistler's Mother." Good stuff. ***
A well directed film noir about a detective framed for murder. Featuring Lucille Ball, who is actually quite good in a very non-Lucy Ricardo type of role. The film was entertaining throughout and looked good too, featuring the type of shadowy cinematography film noir became known for. I also liked the dialogue, with lines like "I'm easier to frame than Whistler's Mother." Good stuff. ***
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Black Angel
BLACK ANGEL (1946) - April. 8, 2006
A decent film noir, though nothing particularly special. Flatly directed by Roy William Neill, the film was entertaining throughout (the 81 minute runtime probably helped). The performances were good, particularly Peter Lorre, but the film was basically just forgettable. **1/2
A decent film noir, though nothing particularly special. Flatly directed by Roy William Neill, the film was entertaining throughout (the 81 minute runtime probably helped). The performances were good, particularly Peter Lorre, but the film was basically just forgettable. **1/2
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Dog Soldiers
DOG SOLDIERS (2002) - April 6, 2006
Though obviously nowhere nearly as good as the Descent - Neil Marshall's followup to this film - as far as Aliens-inspired films go, this was one of the better ones (the hack who directed Doom could learn a thing or two from Marshall). The film managed to develop the characters enough that we cared about them, while still moving at a reasonably fast pace. The action was good, and it was well directed. ***
Though obviously nowhere nearly as good as the Descent - Neil Marshall's followup to this film - as far as Aliens-inspired films go, this was one of the better ones (the hack who directed Doom could learn a thing or two from Marshall). The film managed to develop the characters enough that we cared about them, while still moving at a reasonably fast pace. The action was good, and it was well directed. ***
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