Scarface (1932) ***
(First Viewing)

Not as good as the 1983 remake but it was enjoyable watching the movie and seeing familiar parts that I've seen Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer portray hundreds of times.

Same for me. And if I remember correctly, wasn't that one of Michael Clark Duncans jokes too? If so, surprising that he delivered the biggest joke... I was watching an interview with him on Comedy Central where he said he felt threatened, comedically, when he tried to act with Farrell and Reilly.

How alike are the two? I wasn't aware full dialogue segments were copied.

Yeah a lot of dialogue that was used in the 1932 movie was used in the 1983 remake. It might not have been word-for-word, but I knew what Tony was gonna say in certain sequences.

Miami Vice
Michael Mann 2006 US (1st time; big screen)
Two drugs squad cops infiltrate a drugs ring.
Mann's least impressive film; he seems to have adopted a point-and-shoot method, and so any flair created (such as in the tense final shootout) stems from editing, not shot composition. If filming on DV has freed him up economically, it's also made him a lousy visualist. Character representation is important in Film, but Mann's work is becoming increasingly prone to caricature: the baddies all have baldy heads and Swastika tattoos, and there's almost a knowing, satirical nod near the end when the camera zooms in on a thug's greasy forehead, and a red spot in particular. With most settings exploited only half-heartedly, and most of the action taking place outside Miami, you can't help but feel the title is a mere marketing ploy.

Dead Man(2nd time) ****
Some are born to sweet delight
Some are born to endless night
-- William Blake
This is one of the memorable lines of the movie and reflects the journey William Blake takes, starting as an innocent man and finally becoming the killer driven by his primal instincts for survival. As I mentioned in my first review long back, the music is just great and I didn't want the movie to end.

It's a beautiful poem. I love Blake.

Dead Man is my favorite movie of all time and actually led me to indulge myself in Blake's poetry. Phenomenal stuff.

NEVER seek to tell thy love,
Love that never told can be;
For the gentle wind doth move
Silently, invisibly.

I told my love, I told my love,
I told her all my heart,
Trembling, cold, in ghastly fears.
Ah! she did depart!

Soon after she was gone from me,
A traveller came by,
Silently, invisibly:
He took her with a sigh.

-Love's Secret

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby ***
(First Viewing)

Better than Anchorman IMO that I think might have some quoteable lines you'll hear in your everyday conversations. As MistaMista said, great supporting cast here as well, Amy Adams, Gary Cole, Michael Clark Duncan, John C. Reilly, David Koechner, Sacha Baron Cohen, Molly Shannon, and even Leslie Bibb.

I think the same can be said about Anchorman. It's a rarity that a single day goes by in which I doubt hear Anchorman being quoted or referenced.

I rate them both at two stars, although I found Anchorman much funnier.

Tokyo Story ***
(First Viewing)

Moved a little slow but very enjoyable with a touching story/message to it.

The Hills Have Eyes-
For a modern horror, it could have been a lot worse. I was pleasently surprised

The only film in tsp's top 10 list I haven't seen. Doesn't sound that interesting.

Une femme est une femme (A Woman is a Woman)
Jean-Luc Godard 1960 France (2nd time; DVD)
When her husband shows hesitance, a stiptease performer desperate for a baby turns to her neighbour…
Endlessly playful, energetic film full of wit and charm; the soundtrack is constantly over-the-top, and fragmented so that it compliments the visual and spoken gags, such as when Belmondo says he's going to watch À bout de souffle on TV, or when someone asks Jeanne Moreau how Jules and Jim are (Truffaut's film was released a year later than this). It's a riot of intertextuality in homage to Hollywood's Musical, always preoccupied with the artifice of Cinema and the politics between the sexes.

Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (Alphaville)
Jean-Luc Godard 1965 France (2nd time; DVD)
In the future, an intergalactic secret agent visits a city run by a computer machine in search of his predecessor.
Superbly shot and in love with not only itself but with Cinema in general; there is a fine moment when our hero enters a glass lift and ascends to the floor above, with the camera following in one smooth motion in the adjoining lift. It requires rewatches to be appreciated as a commentary on memory, love and knowledge, but it must be admired for turning contemporary Paris into an unrecognisable, distopian future.

Hell's Angels *** 1/2
(First Viewing)

This is a pretty d*mn good movie for 1930. Throughout the film I couldn't believe my eyes that Hughes put this movie together when he did. I think it's advanced for it's time. I've seen movies that have been made 20 years later that don't look as good as this. Plus, let us not forget the story that kept me captivated from the opening frame until the closing credits. Some of the best aerial battle scenes I've ever seen in my life. Bravo Howard Hughes!

Little Miss Sunshine
2006/Dayton & Faris

A nice little quirky family comedy, heart-warming at times, risque at others, a story that never drags supported by a great ensemble cast. Steve Carrell shows some dramatic chops, Alan Arkin came to my conscious for the first time as a great actor, and Paul Dano was almost as good here as he was in The King. Nothing too daring as far as shot composition here but Dayton and Faris manage to craft some nice still images. Overall though, any real poignancy was lost in the absurdity of the ending. Could have been better.

I love the ending, especially when the whole family dances on stage. Really summed up the film for me :p .

Really? That was the key thing I didn't like. I felt as though the choice to just go for easy laughs there at the end kind of tarnished the style and mood the film had built up to that point.

The Pianist

Absolutely mindblowing portrayal of a man clinging on to life, fueled by wonderful cinematography and stunning visuals. The further along the film moves, the less dialogue there is, until it becomes almost completely visual. Each murder, each beating, each near-death experience is presented with such intensity and realism, that this can become a rather uncomfortable, and at times, unbearable viewing.

I can't wait to see what you actually consider unbearable viewing considering your avatar.

Bubble
2006/Soderbergh

It takes balls to label a film “Another Steven Soderbergh Experience” big and bold right on the cover, which is exactly what Mr. Soderbergh has done with the unique simultaneous theater/DVD/cable release of his most recent project, Bubble, a minimalist, low-budget study of the dynamics of a small Any-town, USA, and the effects of a murder upon its citizens.

Soderbergh, in a noted departure from the smooth stylish camera swoops of Ocean’s 11, as well as the shaky, naturalistic freehand of Traffic, here utilizes a more traditional style with sparse but deliberate camera movements, and a plethora of beautiful, well-framed shots showcasing the action.

The focus of our story is Martha, a middle-aged employee at a doll factory in a small town in the Midwest. She and her coworker Kyle, a quiet 20-something, go through the motions; eating together, making small talk, working long hours, etc. It is slowly revealed that Martha may or may not have formed an attraction towards Kyle, as she lives only with her aging father and has no other companion. Soderbergh effectively uses this simple premise to create a intensely accurate portrayal of lower-class, Midwestern suburbia, complete with the uneducated work force, with little ambition and less money, the ever-present smoke breaks, the McDonald's, the dreary horizon, the meaningless dialogue. The story here, while definitely more tragic in it’s tone, reminded me of the early work of Alexander Payne.

But despite the overwhelming mundanity of our character’s lives, Soderbergh, through careful examination via the piercing stare of his camera, gives meaning to the meaningless. Think about it for two seconds and realize the obvious symbolism and irony of the doll factory, the backdrop for a large portion of our story, filled with emotionless carbon copies of people, much like our characters. And it must be mentioned that the two moments of surrealistic, strange happenings in this film work that much better because of how drastically they differ from our overall subject matter.

Soderbergh works with great success to accentuate every awkward pause or moment of sexual tension with his long, calculated silences, set to equally long uncut shots. I found it especially telling of his approach to making this film that because of the lack of dialogue or any traditional character development, we don’t know our main character’s name until we are literally halfway through the film. Notice also that in the style of Reservoir Dogs, the most exciting and interesting part of the story, the incident that fuels the action for most of the film, the murder, isn’t even shown, but rather implied.

Overall, Steven Soderbergh made what may be the greatest rebound in filmmaking history after the Ocean’s 12 debacle. It’s amazing to think that the same man could even be responsible for both of these films. After seeing this, my 8th Soderbergh, I remember why he used to be one of my very favorite directors, and perhaps still is. I’m eagerly awaiting The Good German.

Surely the best comeback ever was Lynch's Blue Velvet after Dune?

Anyway, I look forward to seeing Bubble.

Meanwhile, further revisits of Godard:

Le petit soldat (The Little Soldier)
Jean-Luc Godard 1960 France (2nd time; DVD)
In the 1958 Algerian War, a secret agent becomes pawn for both Left and Right, and falls in love with a girl.
Two scenes stand out here: the first in which our hero photographs Anna Karina's character whilst asking her frank questions, surely an influence on Soderbergh's sex, lies and videotape; the second comes at the end, with Bruno questioning almost everything, not least of all the purpose of speeches. Inbetween, Godard treats the whole thing like an internal monologue, a brooding character study, with almost no ambience on the soundtrack but an existential voice-over and haunting score. His most underrated film?

Bande à part (Band of Outsiders)
Jean-Luc Godard 1964 France (3rd time; DVD)
While caught up in a robbery plan, a young girl is torn between two boy friends.
Like many of Godard's adventures, this could easily be called Masculin féminin. A cool, observant romp, beautifully shot, and showing a growing confidence in form: the voice-over, omniscient and spoken by the director himself, is witty and self-knowing, telling us when and when not parenthetic insight into these characters is needed. Recommended, and accessible.

À bout de souffle (Breathless)
Jean-Luc Godard 1959 France (Nth time; DVD)
In Paris, an ultra-cool car thief kills a cop and seduces the girl he loves while running from the police.
In many ways typical of a would-be master's debut; original and influential, but also very tame, and, in the context of work made hereafter, a rather jejune affair. It remains of much worth, however, due to the innovative cinematography - when Godard isn't cutting up conversations with random jump edits, Coutard's shoulder camera tracks its stars with casual flair, capturing Paris at night in loving black-and-white.

OCEAN'S 12 was a very mediocre-ass movie, but a debacle? Maybe for Soderbergh's standards.

No, Capo is correct. DUNE not only was an incoherent mess, but it cratered harder than the World Trade Center. The fact that Lynch was able to survive it with BLUE VELVET, TWIN PEAKS, LOST HIGHWAY, and so on, is rather interesting.

Anyway Hagen, thanks for your review of BUBBLE. I'll check it out sometime soon.

Penis. OMGLOLROFLMAOLOLOLOLLERZ!!!!11

World Trade Center FOUR STARS

White Chicks * 1/2
(Third Viewing)

I had 2 hours to kill today before work. The worst work I've seen by the Wayne's brothers.

You know, considering the dumbass shit with the Wayans, how couldn't make a HOMEY THE CLOWN, or SIX DOLLAR MAN, or even HANDICAPPED MAN movie? Hell, I would pay to see them!

Week-end (Weekend)
Jean-Luc Godard 1967 France/Italy (4th time; DVD)
A bourgeois couple travel to Oinville, but their journey is hampered by an endless traffic jam and forest-dwelling savages.
Godard's vision of Hell is depicted with brutal force at the expense of middle class consumerism. Full of new images, with the director creating some of his most visually arresting work, but also notable for its interesting use of music as a distancing tool, seen at its most effective in three key sequences: one in which a woman sits on a table and relates a sexual experience to a lover; one in which a pianist plays Mozart as the camera pans thrice round a courtyard; and the image of a butcher cracking eggs over a woman's parted legs, to the sound of a drummer in a forest. Essential viewing; it is quite clearly made by somebody disgusted with the world.

Billy Madison *** 1/2
(Nth Viewing)

One of my favorite Adam Sandler comedies. Silly, childish, stupid, all of the above but that's what made this movie great. Still effective after 11 years.

Final Destination **
Good horror/thriller about a bunch of kids who are destined to die according to a grand design. One of them can see the deaths before hand and tries to beat the design. Some of the plot is plain silly, but otherwise a novel concept.