I just rented Misery with James Caan and Cathy Bates. Really looking forward to it, as Ive heard its some of Caan's best work.

I really liked him in the Godfather, and even better as the main character in Thief, but I feel like Im not familiar with most of his work.

Any non-spoiling comments on this film?

Just Friends ** 1/2

Another Ryan Reynolds comedy I'm anticipating to add to my DVD collection. He did a good job as usual and it was nice seeing Amy Smart in a good comedy since it's been a couple of years (I'm not counting Starsky & Hutch because I thought it sucked). It was also nice to see Anna Farris post-the Scary Movie franchise. A nice holiday comedy that should be seen in theaters

well, "Misery" is one of my fav thrillers ever. But it's Cathy Bates that is going to amaze you, not James Caan. His performance is good, of course, as usual, but Cathy Bates' is outstanding! Chilling movie. Excellent, really! You're going to enjoy yourself!

I picked up a DVD of "The Man With The Golden Arm" and watched it over the weekend.

I haven't watched that movie in years. Darren McGavin is just fantastic in his role as Louie the drug pusher and Frank Sinatra's role as drug user/card dealer Frankie Machine is just fantastic. Sinatra is so convincing when he is going through withdrawals that he almost makes you feel his pain.

The movie also co-stars such names as Eleanor Parker, Kim Novak, Arnold Stang(character actor seen in many movies)and Robert Strauss.

Anyone here ever see this movie?


Don Cardi

The White Diamond
Werner Herzog 2004 Germany (1st time)
Eleven years after the fatal aeronautical accident of his cinematographer friend, Dr. Graham Dorrington attempts to explore the jungle canopy of the giant Kaieteur Falls in the heart of Guyana.
An outstanding documentary in the typical Herzog vain; here he takes an ambitious scientist's journey to a pristine part of the world and makes into an artist's account of another's work, encompassing both his personal torment at having lost his friend, and the touching story of a rastafari whose lack of education allows, unexpectedly, for much wisdom.

Ran * 1/2

I wasn't really looking forward to it but by about halfway through the movie, I really was enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. However, the 2nd half of the movie didn't interest me hardly at all and I was happy when it ended. Never read King Lear (which this movie was based on) but it seems like an interesting story

Walk the Line ** 1/2

I agree with long_lost_corleone's review. I felt like I was watching Ray almost all over again and it was quite depressing. However, I agree that Joaquin Phoenix & Reese Weatherspoon did fantastic jobs and should get at least Oscar nods, if not the awards themselves. I'd definitely see it again but again I was disappointed.

What?! How??? I thought it was fantastic, and it only got better and better towards the end. The acting sharpens up a LOT in the last half of the film, especially the characters of Kyoami and Hidetora. Awesome film that just kept getting better and pretty much blew me away with the last 45 minutes or so. But hey, different opinions make the world go 'round, right? :p

Yeah, a really great film. Every time someone says that Frank Sinatra couldn't act, I tell them to watch this. You're so right, the parts where he's going nuts because he hasn't had a fix, it's amazing. You almost break a sweat right along with him, right? The rest of the cast is great too, it's a great movie.

Interesting, Irish. What compelled you to watch Ran in the first place?

Mick

Match Point
Woody Allen 2005 US/GB (1st time; big screen)
A former tennis pro gets involved with a rich upper-class family and marries the daughter, but falls for his brother-in-law's fiancée.
Allen's midde- and upper-class family crises do not translate well to England, with every single character in this film a despisable wretch dependent on money; the introduction of a shotgun late on brings hope, but alas, it is only used on two characters.

Lost Highway
David Lynch 1997 US (3rd time)
The lives of four people are connected through a bizzare turn of events.
A teasing, complex mystery on identity, told as an elongated, inescapable nightmare for all, with characters switching into others; it begs for rewatches, and becomes more rewarding with each one.

Dead Man's Shoes
Shane Meadows 2004 GB (4th time)
A soldier returns to his rural home town in order to avenge the bullying of his younger, retarded brother.
A simple tale of revenge is brilliantly played all round; Considine's performance drives it along with unsettling energy, and there is a moral complexity to his character at heart.

Mulholland Dr.
David Lynch 2001 US/Fr (2nd time)
An enthusiastic actress arrives in LA in hope of stardom, but befriends an amnesiac who was involved in a car crash…
It is best to approach this film as an unfathomable nightmare, and let it unfold itself; for, in true Lynch style, the meaning here is not an obvious one, presented as a character-switching Chinese-box-like succession of dark and disturbing fantasies. It registers on the unconscious and lingers on the mind like the most haunting of dreams.

Trying to get more in samurai and Japanese movies, and this was one of the few that was available. I also plan on seeing Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, Sanjuro. I recently saw Samurai Rebellion and was disappointed some with the story but the directing was fantastic. I currently have Kill! and Samurai Spy that I'd like to see

Irish, watch Zatoichi, with Takeshi Kitano. I think you'll like it. It's very unconventional though.

Mick

I've watched this 2 or 3 times over the years, and still cannot figure out WTF is going on... :p

I added it to my list, thanks!

Yeah, a really great film. Every time someone says that Frank Sinatra couldn't act, I tell them to watch this. You're so right, the parts where he's going nuts because he hasn't had a fix, it's amazing. You almost break a sweat right along with him, right? The rest of the cast is great too, it's a great movie. [/b][/quote]Zia, I love him in this movie. Probably one of the best parts that he's ever played. He was also very good in "Suddenly."

For anyone here who is not familiar with Sinatra's " Man With The Golden Arm" :

Frankie Machine is a skilled card dealer and one-time heroin addict. When he returns home from jail, he struggles to find a new livelihood and to avoid slipping back into addiction.

Directed by one of the greats...Otto Preminger.


Don Cardi

Havoc **

This is my first and only Anne Hathaway movie and if you know anything about this film you'll know why. Yes ladies and gentlemen along with my first viewing this is the first and only movie Ms. hathaway shows her...um, goodies (to put it nicely). I heard so I saw. Not a great movie overall but I wasn't expecting much. However, besides Ms. Hathaway's "assets" she did do a good job and impressed me with her acting ability. I wouldn't mind seeing something of hers again in the future, granted its not The Princess Diaries 3

He was also very good in "From here to eternity", as Pvt. Maggio. Great movie indeed, and great cast!!!

Samurai Rebellion ** 1/2
Kill! ***

Both of these movies I just wanted to see because they were samurai and released by Criterion. I wasn't sure what to expect from either of these but I did enjoy them. I got lost throughout both of their stories but the directing on both of them was very good. The high shots, angels, camera speed, etc was very enjoyable. The last 20 minutes of Samurai Rebellion made it for me with a final battle and the ending of the movie was nice. Kill! was a samurai comedy that I enjoyed more so than I thought I would. I've got one left in Samurai Spy

Eraserhead
David Lynch 1976 US (4th time)
The prospect of meeting the parents and becoming a father turns into a nightmare for an irresponsible man.
Lynch's first feature, and to many, his best; every single shot in this film is provocative, oozing with the bizarre surrealism and at times genuinely frightening sense of life as a nightmarish prospect that have since marked the director's most distinguished works. An outstanding achievement.

The Grandmother
David Lynch 1970 US (2nd time)
A young boy, neglected by his parents, plants some seeds in his room, and an elderly woman whom he befriends grows from them.
A Bacon painting come to life, with use of crude animation to propel some of its narrative. It looks and sounds lovely.

Can anyone explain the ending of Bladerunner to me? The last 5 minutes or so of it left me completely lost... I have no clue what conclusion you're supposed to draw from it. Is she not gonna die? What did Olmos' character mean with what he said? And obviously he was at the apartment, he left the origami there... but why was he there? What happened? How did he know what he knew? I'm SO lost. :rolleyes:

All I know is, if L.A.'s gonna look like that in 13 years (2019), I better move now before it's too late. Or at least get one of those cool flying cars to be safe. :p

By the way, all of the buildings in the movie except for the big fake one are real landmark buildings in Los Angeles, pretty cool architecture. And I can safely say that that's the only thing I enjoyed about the entire movie...

'Zia, I've only seen Bladerunner once, and forget which version it was (there's two, theatrical and director's cut). My advice would be to PM Turnbull; he's a big fan of the film.

Léon (The Professional)
Luc Besson 1994 France (2nd time; big screen - international version)
A professional assassin acquaints a young girl, whose family was killed by a corrupt cop.
A knowing restitching of the noir and the western; it has at its core an interesting relationship between a young girl desperate to grow up and a hitman whose profession does not cater for personal affections; it will, however, as a subtle indictment of the society we life in, be interpreted as, at times, uncomfortable viewing.

Mick

You know, I don't think I've ever seen a Lynch movie.

I'll be seeing The Elephant Man tonight though.

The Elephant Man is amazing, and the only film of his I haven't revisited this week (besides Dune and Blue Velvet, which needn't have revisions, since the former is awful and the latter is a masterpiece). It is, however, his most commercial work besides Dune; it isn't as masturbatorily Lynchian as things get.

Eraserhead may well just be my favourite film of all time.

Happy watching!

Mick

On that note, I'll have to check out Eraserhead next.

Just saw Good Will Hunting for the first time. Great movie with great acting.

I just re-watched "Maverick" on tv (I don't own a copy) and had forgotten what a fun movie it is.

Mel Gibson stars as a gambler in the Old West who is set on playing in a $500,000 poker tournament. Jodie Foster plays the lady interest and James Garner (who originally played the title role on the old tv series) plays a marshall who gets involved. All three are very entertaining and they're helped by a very decent supporting cast.

Its a light-hearted story with plenty of laughs including a surprise uncredited appearance by Danny Glover (who as you know has appeared with Gibson in the "Lethal Weapon" series). Glover plays a thief who robs Gibson and its an absolutely hilarious scene as the two of them look at each other as if trying to figure out where they have seen each other before.

Of special note is Graham Greene (who plays a friendly Indian chief). He's becoming one of my favorite character actors today - he's appeared as an Indian in "Dances With Wolves", as one of the NYPD detectives in "Die Hard III" and as one of the prisoners executed in "The Green Mile". He's charming in this movie.

Anyway, if you're in the mood for a funny western (with a good unexpected ending) check this out.

SC, that's one of my favorite movies!

I need to check that out again to answer your second question but as it has been mentioned there were a few alternatives for ending. In the one I saw, Harrison Ford spotted the origami and he left with the girl. In another ending, he kills the girl, just like she asks him to do because they are sure that the girl will be tracked down to be killed, hence the meaning of that origami, which was left there. There might be another ending but I just can't remember now... But I did love the movie, that I can remember.

Lone Wolf and Cub 6-part Series ****

These are by far some of my favorite (if not my favorite) Samurai movies I've ever seen. I'm more into the "over-the-top", blood-splatter samurai cinema as opposed to more "serious" samurai movies like Samurai Rebellion or Kill!. This series had a great blend of story and action to satisfy any appetite. I won't spoil it but I was a little disappointed with the way the series ended, however Tomisaburo Wakayama did a fantastic job as the former official Shogunate executioner, Ogami Itto. And with the amount of lines I was impressed with young Akihiro Tomikawa who played Itto's son, Daigoro. If you're into any kind of samurai films, I HIGHLY suggest picking thess up. There are the most popular samurai movies here in the States and for good reason

Cinderella Man ****

I didn't think it was possible but this movie got better the 2nd time around. I stand by my comments I made the first time seeing it that this movie should and had better garner some Oscars! I'm really pulling for Crowe to win it. Crowe, Zellweger, Paul Giamatti, and Craig Bierko (Max Baer) all put in fantastic performances! I'm also pulling for Ron Howard to win an Oscar on yet another masterpiece. Not my favorite movie of the year (Sin City gets that honor) but it is definitely up there, probably right behind it.

War of the Worlds - (Steven Spielberg;2005;USA) -
A man and his two kids flee from New York City when aliens begin a long-planned extermination.
I felt this was going to be a mediocre alien movie along the lines of ID4, but I was pleasantly surprised. It seems like Spielberg rolled the Holocaust and 9/11 together in this film, especially with the images of New York's explosions, and the ashes falling everywhere. As much as I enjoy Tim Robbins, I felt those basement scenes worked against the film, especially with his corny, cliche nut-case dialogue. He felt like a character rented from previous cinematic archetypes. The ending was also slightly off in my opinion, but as for the rest of the film, it turns out to be a very suspenseful and engrossing film. Tom Cruise is also in great form.