Dances With Wolves #75 on the AFI Top 100 List

This was my first time viewing this movie because I boycotted it because it beat out Goodfellas for all the Oscars. The only reason I watched it tonight was because it was on the AFI list. This movie wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. I don't know why I expected it to be bad but I did enjoy it quite a bit. The 3 hours went by farely quickly, which is always a positive but I still don't think this is a better movie than Goodfellas. I'd watch this movie again but as suspect_5 said, it's not a movie I could see over and over again. On a last note, I liked the fact that the Native Americans spoke Indian. I think it added to the authenticity of the movie.

LOL!!
This is the greatest sentence I have ever seen constructed.

I knew it'd probably be wrong. Allow me to rephrase, I liked the fact that the Native Americans spoke their "own" language

A lazy day in front of the TV. How pathetic my social life is. :p

Out of Time - (Carl Franklin;2003;USA) - **
A police chief must be steps ahead of his own force to solve a crime that could be wrongfully tied to him.
Denzel is typecast as a character that is similar to past roles, and the film itself is a pretty dull, shallow script. Nothing special at all. A simple thriller with a not so shocking twist.

Collateral - (Michael Mann;2004;USA) - ***1/2
A nihilistic hitman uses a conflicted taxi driver to drive him from hit to hit.
One of the best of 2004. Michael Mann's meticulous and stylish direction makes this a great film, along with it's script, which boasts top notch dialogue and characters. Tom Cruise plays his role to a T, and Jamie Foxx also gives a good performance. Cruise deserved a Supp. Actor nomination. The DVD photography also gives great dimension to the cinematography. The rising action towards the end however gets a little over the top, from the office to subway. Mann's 3rd best,
#3

Grumpy Old Men - (Donald Petrie;1993;USA) - ***
Two old men fight over a new woman who moves to town.
A very funny comedy that has a great combination of Lemmon, Matthau, and Meredith. While not a great film it still proves to hold onto good humor. One of the better Lemmon/Matthau films. Probably the only positive thing to come from Mark Steven Johnson's writing.

Eraser - (Chuck Russell;1996;USA) - ZERO
A Witness Protection agent finds the men he works with may be into purchasing illegal weapons.
I first saw this when I was seven or eight, and I gotta say, it's a huge guilty pleasure. The film itself is as bad as they come. A horrible CGI alligator in one scene, Ah-nuld falling from an airplane onto a car without any damage (no, this is not a Terminator film), and just plain drivel from the start. One of the worst action flicks to come out of the 90's.

DV, I know this is off subject but I was wondering if you were going to see Sin City when it comes out on DVD next month? I've been looking forward to a review of it

God is this the third or fourth time? :p

Seeing the trailer again on the DVD for Hostage, some of it looked horribly fake or stupid, like the car crash and Asian woman throwing a swastika blade, among other things, but I'll still see it because of the hype. Hopefully Rodriguez will finally bring a movie that doesn't suck. I'm expecting a good film.

Hopefully you enjoy it. It's one of my favorite comic book movies ever. It's gotta be in my top 5 if not top 3. A lot of it does look fake because of the world that it was created it but I still loved it very very much and anxiously await it's sequel next year

The Devil's Rejects

Never before have I seen a movie with a worse script and worse acting. The plot is a mess and the characters have no identity. There is almost no point really. There really isnt a protagonist, or even a villain for that matter. But despite (and thanks to) all the flaws, the movie has an incredibly original feel to it. There are even a few flashes of genius, but they dont last that long unfortunately. This movie was not scary at all, and was a complete mess, but I have to salute Rob Zombie for not making another boring and predictable horror flic.

Casablanca **** (Top 20) (4th Time)
1942, Curtiz, US
An American cynic goes against his views to save an old love from the Nazis in war-time Morocco.
Excellence all round is shown in what many believe is one of the greatest films ever made. The casting, pacing, directing and photography are impeccable, with versatility to please everyone.

Mick

My daughter must have a collection of 40 some dvd's that I haven't seen, so last night I watched Anchorman.

This movie is so stupid, it's funny. Both my daugher and I are huge Will Farrell fans, so seeing him in his element is what makes the movie for me.
***SPOILERS*****
When that motoryclist kicked his dog off the bridge, that was so wrong on so many levels, but I couldn't stop laughing. And that whole "West side story" anchorman fight was so extreme, but I was still rolling with laughter. I wouldn't say the whole movie was funny, but these were definately the highlights.

Rocky #78 on the AFI Top 100 List

This is a true American classic. How could anybody not like Rocky? The first one isn't my favorite of the series but it's still a great movie nonetheless. I think Rocky II was better than the original but that's just my own opinion

ROCKY was indeed a great movie, but better than other great movies back in 1976 like TAXI DRIVER or NETWORK or ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN? Nope, but it deserves to be mentioned with them for that pretty damn good movie year.

As for ROCKY II, its pretty good if slightly only as a "Follow-Up" sequel like that of Frakenheimer's THE FRENCH CONNECTION II.

However, ROCKY III and the other sequels were pure blockbuster fluff silly sequels that didn't contain the drama of the central characters from the first two movies that Stallone penned.

Giant #82 on the AFI Top 100 List

I wasn't really expecting much from this movie but it was really good. The story and acting was very well done. I thought this would just be another boring 3 hour + movie but I'm pleased it wasn't. I think towards the end it should have ended earlier than it did but for the most part, this movie went by pretty fast and kept me interested. This was the first James Dean movie I had seen and he did a good job as well. Man do I hate texas!

Well, just remember to keep the big picture in mind when you see it. The fakness or stupidity, or corniness were in a way intentional, as they were attempting to stay true to the comics, which I felt the did--the comic's dialouge is cheesy, the action is exagerated, and gives off the feeling of a stereotypical thriller film of the early 30s; But that is what makes them so enjoyable.

Just remember, the thing that makes this film so great is its incredibley unique, and stylish look/feel/And... style :p . I think you'll be able to respect it, on the level of per se Kill Bill. None the less, I find it extremely entertaining.

And, to repeat the IMDB forums, l13k OMG! it not teh swastika!!!1 :p

Yeah, but the impression I get from Rodriguez is that he tries to be like Tarantino. The only thing I like about him is his choice of music, which is usually Tito and Tarantula. I'll still see it, and I'm expecting at least a good film. I just hope it's not as mindless as most comic book films are.

Angels with Dirty Faces - (Michael Curtiz;1938;USA) - ****
Two friends grow up in Hells Kitchen, one a gangster, the other a priest. After Rocky's released from prison, Father Connelly begins to see the negative impact his old friend has on the local kids.
A classic gangster film. Cagney is great, although he was better in White Heat. It's not as good as WH, but I enjoyed it more. O'Brien and Bogart also have good supporting roles. Seeing this gives me a lot more respect for the old Hollywood gangster films. This is even better then the original Scarface IMO, and has more to say then just an average rise and fall of a gangster. I highly recommend this to any fans of crime/gangster films.
#27

Vote in my RRA'S VIDEO BIN REVIEW poll! Your vote counts in a direct way, instead of an electoral college like a certain country we know!

Oh and I saw a movie this weekend:

THE DEVIL'S REJECTS

Superior sequel to Rob Zombie's fun-but-uneven-solid movie HOUSE OF 1,000 CORPSES, THE DEVIL'S REJECTS is a respectful-yet-natural homage to 70's hardcore slasher horror flicks, especially like say THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, unlike Michael Bay's recent awful remake.

BTW, am I not the only one dancing at the idea of Michael Bay having a box-office dud on his hands? Soon enough, we might get to sing to him..."Hey hey hey, GOOODBYE!!!"

Final Film Rating - *** out of 5

I just wasted 2 hours of my life watching "The Day After Tomorrow". The entire northern hemisphere is destroyed, but Dennis Quaid treks to NYC during the next ice age to find his son. :rolleyes:

Yesterday I finally managed to watch "The recruit". Definitely not the most memorable of all spy-thrillers, but still enjoyable. Needless to say, a great performance by Al Pacino. He looked quite good in the movie but got a "droopy face" ( ) during the intro interview. But then again, "Nothing is what it seems"... :p

Then I watched "Cold Creek Manor", a soon-to-be-forgotten-gothic horror with Sharon Stone and Dennis Quaid. Stars need money. That's the only possible reason why they played in such a stupid film. I was astonished by the role of no importance Juliette Lewis got in this movie. Is her career as an actress in crisis?

Tomorrow it will be my turn. I know these films are stupid and everything, but I can't help watching them....

Sin City is a mindless film. That's the point.

Sansho Dayu/Sansho the Bailiff *** (1st time)
1954, Mizoguchi, Japan
11th Century feudal Japan: a governor is exiled for speaking out for peasants; years later, his family become enslaved and suffer extreme hardship.
Simple tale told in brilliant images; an uplifting tragedy, it is a slow moving account with many nasty moments--powerful and memorable as a result.

Mick

Demoiselle d'honneur, La/Die Brautjungfer/La damigella d'onore/The Bridesmaid * (1st time; big screen)
2005, Chabrol, Fr/Ger/Ita
A middle-class salesman falls in love with his sister's bridesmaid, but she has sinister secrets…
Hitchcockian affair with a building tension to something unrewarding; it could have been done much better.

Mick

Little Caesar - (Mervyn LeRoy;1931;USA) - ****
A gangster rises up the ranks and muscles out other criminals, while the police hope to bring him down.
One of, if not the most influential gangster film. Although it is a rushed film, and goes by fast, it still remains as a classic gangster film, and is never boring. I like Cagney more then Robinson, but he is still a great tough guy, and his Rico is an icon of the genre.
#93

DV -

Glad to see you enjoyed "Angels With Dirty Faces". You should check out "Dead End" with Sylvia Sidney and Joel McCRea. Bogart has a great supporting role in it and its the screen debut of the "Dead End" kids.

In fact, Sam Goldwyn produced it so you are sure to get great quality. I'm glad you meantioned it becuase whenI saw it a few years ago I enjoyed it very much.

The DVD is $10.99 at Best Buy. Looks like it's time to buy, buy buy.

On a different note, is anyone following the Fox Film Noir collection besides me?

Whaddya hear, whaddya say?

"Angels" is my favorite so far in the boxset. I'll be reviewing the whole box when I'm done. I read that the Dead End kids were real pricks on the set, at one point stealing Bogey's pants. They ad-libbed to throw off Cagney, who retorted by punching the kid, and they stopped. Problem kids didn't need Zoloft back then, did they? :p

I wanna see more of Bogey and Cagney. I heard The Enforcer is good, but can't find a copy.

I just watched Kill Bill Vol. 1. I had to see what all the hype was. My daughter has both movies, so I hope Vol. 2 answers alot of questions. This was the weirdest and grossest movies I think I've ever seen. I still don't understand it all. Time will tell if Vol. 2 fills in the gaps I guess.

Glad you watched it! But did you enjoy it!?

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

I wanted to watch this before I read the book and in doing so it refreshed the story in my mind for me. Always picking up new things upon further review. Can't wait to see how close it is to the book and this is still my favorite of the trilogy so far

So far SC, this is the best of the old gangster films IMO, including White Heat.

The Roaring Twenties - (Raoul Walsh;1939;USA) - ****
After WW1, a soldier turns to bootlegging when he can't find work.
I really didn't think this would top White Heat, but I was wrong. This is not only a gangster film, but an excellent social commentary on the 1920's. Cagney is great, perhaps not as good as he was in White Heat, but still close. Bogart is also very good in his supporting role, as well as the other supporting actors, especially Gladys George. One of the better films of '39.
#32

Angels With Dirty Faces is still my favorite of them, but this was very close. I was glued from start to finish. Walsh's direction was great.

The Petrified Forest - (Archie Mayo;1936;USA) - ***1/2
Several people, including a waitress, intellectual, jock, old man, middle-aged couple, and a group of outlaws are stuck in a gas station while vigilantes search for the outlaws, and a sandstorm appears.
An overlooked gem in the 30's. The script and cast is great. What stands out above all is Bogart's supporting role, which is meticulously acted. Howard's character is also very interesting, although the film could've been better.

The Public Enemy is left in the box, and I will be returning to the Cassavetes box soon for the final film in it, Opening Night.

Garden State

An incredibly emotional and touching film that hit real close to home for me personally. The acting was mediocre and the script was only decent, but I fell in love with the story and the characters. This is probably one of my new favorite films.

8/10