Watched 2 films at work last night (yes it was quiet)

Firstly JEEPERS CREEPERS!

A horror movie that i really enjoy every time i see it.

Also a film called SUMMER CATCH!

Which i thought would be awful but it was'nt.Well not really

It's all about baseball in the summer minor leagues and had a great cast.Freddie Prinze,Matthew Lillard,Brian Dennehey & Jessica Biel.

Yogi,

I liked Jeepers Creepers too. If you get a chance, also watch Final Destination. I think you'd enjoy it.


TIS

Fever Pitch. I like Drew and Fallon. They're both low-key, but expressive. It's well written and funny.

chill mate chill!

GLORY ROAD 1/2
(First Viewing)

The basketball version of REMEMBER THE TITANS is basically just that, a full-on basketball adaptation of the football feature film a few years earlier. They're both based on true stories that are very similar and Disney does their best to water them down as much as possible to get that PG rating. A bit more enjoyable than originally thought but the story was still rushed and cramped in parts.

Hey TIS,

I agree the Final Destination films are good!

THE GRADUATE (1967) ****

I mentioned in the DVD discussion thread the other day how pleased I was with THE GRADUATE's 40th Anniversary DVD extras. Well, I watched the actual film last night for about the 200th time, so I thought I'd take a shot at reviewing it, which was quite a challenge, because the film is such a classic. Well, here goes nothing.

Benjamin Braddock is a recent college graduate who has no idea what he’s going to do with his life now. He falls into an affair with the wife of his father’s partner, Mrs. Robinson. Mrs. Robinson is just using Ben for sex, while he’s yearning for something more. He finds it in Mrs. Robinson’s daughter, Elaine. Ben is forced to confess the affair and lose Elaine, but he trails her back to Berkley in order to win her back.

THE GRADUATE is considered an all time classic and its value is two fold. It serves as a time capsule of a certain period in American history where the generation gap was never more prominent and youth were never more despondent and aimless. Yet at the same time it also explores universal themes of human connection and relationships. The character of Ben is one that anyone fresh from college today can empathize with. He is fearful of the future with no real clue as how to conduct himself as an adult in the ‘real world.’ As Ben says to his father while in the pool, he’s just drifting. Why is he drifting? Because it’s comfortable to do so. Personally, although I am twenty five years removed from college, I can still relate to Ben’s emotional status and confusion on what direction his life should take. The fear of trying and failing can be paralyzing, so you drift and don’t rock at the boat. This is one reason why Mrs. Robinson so easily manipulates Ben as she represents a strong outside force that tells him what to do and how to do it. Meeting Elaine snaps Ben out of his malaise, because he has found a kindred soul who he sees a part of himself in and reflects back that everything might not be perfect and set, but it’s ok. Most couples get together because of the need to connect one’s life to that of another. A shared hell is better than a hell alone. The final shot of Ben and Elaine on the bus has them going through a myriad of emotions on their faces from joy to fear to confusion to relief to a sheer dread of the unknown and a realization of what they just did. They’ve achieved their goal, but what now?

The film also stands as one that bridged the gap between the traditional Hollywood studio film and the grittier, avant-garde, controversial cinema of the seventies. Not only does the movie deal with taboo subjects, but its visual language and overall production was something raw and new. Director Mike Nichols was still wet behind the ears as a film director, but his shot choices, compositions and editing are some of the most bold and creative since Citizen Kane, which had a novice director at the helm too. Nichols rightfully won the Academy Award for best director that year, although The Graduate was shut out in the other major categories. From the iconic shot between Mrs. Robinson’s legs, to Ben’s horrendous yet funny escapade in the scuba suit, to the turning point scene of Ben trying to get Mrs. Robinson to open up to him in bed while turning the lights on and off Nichols approaches every individual scene with a keen directorial eye that pulls individual elements in to make a whole. The direction at the same time is showy, yet subtle. The viewer is very distinctly aware that they are watching a movie, yet these obvious stylistic touches perfectly fit the built world of the film.

Dustin Hoffman was an unknown that didn’t fit the mold of the standard Hollywood leading man, but that makes him perfect for Ben. Hoffman so well embodies the nebbish, awkward youth that the persona has followed him today even despite his varied and accomplished career. Ben really at his core is an unlikable character, but Hoffman manages to invest him with tangible qualities of realism that draws sympathy from the viewer. Bancroft gives a tour de force performance as Mrs. Robinson that isn’t as showy as it could have been. Every move is calculated. Every statement uttered is with surgical precision. One wonders how many times Mrs. Robinson has snared a fly like Benjamin in her web. Robinson has brief moments of vulnerability, such as when she’s standing soaking wet in her upstairs hallway when Ben confesses the affair, but we never truly get inside her. Of course, this is all by design as no one can truly know Mrs. Robinson as she does not even know herself. She disappears in the second half of the movie until she reappears as a preening villain out of some James Bond movie. She calls the cops on Ben with the relaxed matter of fact attitude as if she were ordering a pizza. She is not a woman to be spurned that is for sure. Ross often gets lost in the shuffle of the two stronger performances, but she’s a good fit for Elaine. She’s a blank, pretty slate but at the same time she exudes similar qualities to Ben in the performance of her character while also coming across as more intelligent and self assured. Even in her emotional outbursts there is a measure of restraint that one can easily imagine is the result of what must have been a very closeted upbringing considering her parents. The rest of the supporting cast is superb as everyone mines what little comedy nuggets they can from their bit parts. Murray Hamilton gives a very underrated performance as Mr. Robinson, which most clearly can be seen when he confronts Ben in his apartment. His line delivery and the way he and Hoffman play off of each other is perfect. William Daniels and Norman Fell are fantastic and it’s pretty cool to see screenwriter Buck Henry in a bit part as a hotel clerk.

Speaking of Buck Henry, there are a lot of Henry touches evident in the film with the droll wit and uncomfortable situations exploited for comedic purposes. He also has a knack for being so subtly subversive and perverse that when you catch a certain element you feel like the dirty one for reading something into it. Ben using a cross as a weapon and then barring the doors with it at the church in the end came under fire from various religious organizations at the time, but in the movie it’s such a logical thing for him to do and there is no attention called to it. While the movie eschews scenes on drugs and the Vietnam War, there is still underlining commentary on the social mores and state of affairs for youths at the time. The strongest statements are the ones that aren’t beat over your head.

40 years later and it's as fresh today as the day it was released. If you've been living in a cave and haven't yet seen it, get yor butt over to Blockbuster today.

PB

Now thats a film review..

Good review, ive not seen this film, but ive always wantd to watch it..

Thanks DeNiro.

Now go rent it today!

It was on ITV 4 a couple of weeks ago and i meant to record it and forgot


I will try and rent it in the next few weeks.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY 1/2
(Second Viewing)

No high-tech gadgetry or heart-pounding action sequences made this one of the few dull Bond films.

you could have wrote that in the shout box

Why was it dull?

No high-tech gadgetry or heart-pounding action sequences

SHOUTBOX MATERIAL!

Henceforth, if I reply to you with anything other than those two words, consider it a compliment.

OCTOPUSSY 1/2
(Second Viewing)

This was more in-line with the previously more successful Bond films IMO. The gadgetry's back as well as more intense action sequences. I think this is Roger Moore's best Bond hands down.

Reno 911 Miami. I thought it was hilarious. I love the show and it was cool to see how they used a lot of the regulars in different roles.

THE STING (1973) ****

THE STING had the bad fortune of being the film that won the Best Picture Oscar in the year between THE GODFATHER (1972) and THE GODFATHER PART II (1974). Perhaps because of that, this classic has somewhat faded from public view.

THE STING takes place in Chicago during the Great Depression. It is the story of Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford), a small-time grifter who mistakenly cons a numbers runner for the biggest gangster in the city (Robert Shaw). When his mentor (Robert Earl Jones) is killed in retribution, Hooker finds a down-on-his-luck purveyor of the big con named Heny Gondorff (Paul Newman) to help him get revenge.

I won't tell you any more of the storyline, because that would rob you of the opportunity to experience the twisting, turning landscape of the film on your own. Just remember nothing is ever exactly what it seems and every time you think you've got everything figured out, you are wrong.

THE STING has an amazing plot and script, but it also works because of three of the great actors of their generation are hitting on all cylinders. Newman and Redford are outstanding, shockingly bettering their chemistry in their iconic first film BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, which was made a few years previously.

As great as Redford and Newman were, this film seriously demands a reassessment of one of the most fascinating characters in film, the late, great Robert Shaw. Shaw was one of the last legendary hard-living British actors (and he was an accomplished playwright, too). Shaw drank too much, worked too hard, was an insanely competitive sportsman and an over-the-top lover. And eventually, as these things so often happen, he died too young. He had a heart attack in the late 70s at 59 years-old right as his acting career was exploding -- an explosion that can be traced directly to this role. Interestingly, this wasn't even Shaw's greatest film role, his best was as the hardened shark hunter Quint in JAWS. Shaw also played a Bond villain in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, a ruthless hi-jacker in the great, THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1-2-3, a king in A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, the Sheriff of Nottingham in ROBIN AND MARION and a hardened treasure hunter in THE DEEP. His STING gangster boss Doyle Lonnegan is a ruthless, greedy and surprisingly likable character and Shaw infuses him with a surprising nuance. People don't act like this anymore, and that's a damned shame. Robert Shaw was one for the ages.

THE STING is pretty damn close to a perfect movie. It is the type of movie that reminds you how powerful the art form of filmmaking can be. But don't take it from me, see it yourself.

As great as he was in "Jaws", my vote for his best role was as Grant in "From Russia With Love". He was Bond's best villian, and their fight on the train was Bond's best fight. Shaw played the role PERFECTLY.

Yeah, he was GREAT in that, SC. That's why I was sure to mention it.

Going back to "Jaws" ... his "speech" about the ship he was on (that delivered the A-Bomb) going down and being in shark infested waters was one of the best scenes that could be included in the "Best Scene" thread.

"Show me thye way to go home, I'm tired and I wanna go to bed . . ."

Who knew Richard Dreyfuss could sing?

Watched NORBIT with Eddie Murphy in it last night.

The newspaper review said Murphy and his fat suit joke was starting to wear thin and boy they were'nt wrong

When was the official date that Murphy stopped being funny?

This was dreadful

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN
(Second Viewing)

The 1983 remake of THUNDERBALL and the "unofficial" James Bond film have nothing to worry about as proved by the more successful OCTOPUSSY. Often duplicated but never replicated, this James Bond is not up to par. Aside from the lackluster opening (sans "Bond title sequences") this film just doesn't have the vision that both Production Designer Ken Adam and Executive Producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli bring to the films. However, one positive about the film was the amount of underwater scenes was drastically cut compared to the original THUNDERBALL.

LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER (1963)****

This was my Mom's favorite movie of all-time. Hands down. So it has a special place in my heart (what, you didn't think Pizzaboy had a heart? ). It was one of the first big studio films to concentate on Italian-Americans, and it did so without any cliches or a single reference to a gangster. Considering that it was made well before Italian-Americans started to really protest such stereotypes, I think that makes this film way ahead of it's time, even if the moral stance on abortion might seem little bit antiquated to some people.

Steve McQueen and Natalie Wood are outstanding as a musician and a sales clerk respectively in New York City. Even in a city of millions you still get involved with the lives of two families. While McQueen and Wood are standouts, the supporting cast help make this a solid and memorable film.

The movie begins with an empty hall and quickly it turns in to a musicians hiring hall. Here is where we first meet McQueen and Wood. Wood is coming to see McQueen about the after effects of a one night stand a few months earlier. Naturally, the woman remembers the man, but the man doesn't have a clue. What makes it tougher for McQueen is that he already has a girl friend when he meets Wood again. Eddie Adams is great here as McQueen's suffering girlfriend. When McQueen asks about maybe getting her help for a friend who needs a doctor for his pregnant girlfriend, the result is predictable but Adams is superb as she makes her opinion known.

The families of these two people are a great contrast. The family of Wood, all brothers and a mother, are suffocating her with their concerns about her. Her brother picks her up from work in the family truck. Her mother is of the old world. McQueen's on the other hand have accepted that he is out on his own and seem to be used to his occassional appearances.

The scenes dealing with the solution to Wood's "problem" are chilling. Waiting on a windblown street for a contact. Both trying to be inconspicuous and worry that they have enough money for the "doctor". When the contact shows, he tells them that they have enough for the "doctor" but not for his fee. They are given a deadline and then they set off to dig up the money. McQueen knows his folks will give him some money so he heads with Wood, to see them at a local playground. Here it turns into a race as Wood's brothers show up looking for her and they are also racing the clock to see the "doctor".

The actual back alley setting is sobering and a real shock of reality as it was in the years leading up to Rowe v. Wade. This is a good reminder about what an abortion involved. No sterile technique, more a process to keep the people from getting too blood stained.

This is not a lived happily ever after story. You don't know what happens to them other than that they both have a change of heart about each other.

The black and white photography is excellent and adds a great deal to the visual impact. New York, as always, provides it's own unique component to this excellent film.

I've been urging folks to watch this movie for years here. It has a little bit of everything worth watching (a good story, very good acting, some drama, some very funny scenes, etc.). McQueen shows his acting prowess and Wood was at her prettiest (and thats saying a lot). The family scenes were hysterical, yet poignant (similar to "Marty", some years earlier).

Look for Richard Castellano (Clemenza) in a quick scene near the beginning (he doesn't speak).

The scenes of New York City in the early 60's are well worth seeing as well.

SC,

I almost wrote, word for word, that Natalie Wood was at her prettiest in this movie!

Weird.

She was HOT, and the chemistry between her and McQueen was pretty damned good.

I wonder if women still want "bells and banjos"?

Well PB, why not take another opportunity to go out some night this week with your van and duct tape and find a woman to ask?

That's really not nice.