December 31, 2007

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
Director: Amy Heckerling
Writer: Cameron Crowe
Starring: Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Judge Reinhold
Co-Starring: Robert Romanus, Brian Backer, and Phoebe Cates
Description: Follows a group of high school students growing up in southern California, based on the real-life adventures chronicled by Cameron Crowe. Stacy Hamilton and Mark Ratner are looking for a love interest, and are helped along by their older classmates, Linda Barrett and Mike Damone, respectively. The center of the film is held by Jeff Spicoli, a perpetually stoned surfer dude who faces off with the resolute Mr. Hand, who is convinced that everyone is on dope.
Rating: B
In a word... duuuuuude.

December 31, 2007

Juno (2007)
Director: Jason Reitman
Writer: Diablo Cody
Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, and Jennifer Garner
Co-Starring: Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, and J.K. Simmons
Description: Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child.
Rating: A
In a word... reassuring.

December 25, 2007

Christmas in Connecticut (1945)
Director: Peter Godfrey
Writer: Aileen Hamilton, Lionel Houser, and Adele Comandini
Starring: Barbara Stanwyck, Dennis Morgan, and Sydney Greenstreet
Co-Starring: Reginald Gardener, S.Z. Sakall, and Robert Shayne
Description: Journalist Elizabeth Lane is one of the country's most famous food writer. In her columns, she describes herself as a hard working farm woman, taking care of her children and being an excellent cook. But this is all lies. In reality she is an umarried New Yorker who can't even boil an egg. The recipes come from her good friend Felix. The owner of the magazine she works for has decided that a heroic sailor will spend his christmas on *her* farm. Miss Lane knows that her career is over if the truth comes out, but what can she do?
Rating: B+
In a word... underappreciated.

December 25, 2007

A Christmas Story (1983)
Director: Bob Clark
Writer: Jean Shepherd, Leigh Brown, and Bob Clark
Starring: Melinda Dillon, Darin McGavin, and Peter Billingsley
Co-Starring: Ian Petrella, Scott Schwartz, and R.D. Robb
Description: Ralphie, a young boy growing up in the '40's, dreams of owning a Red Rider BB gun. He sets out to convince the world this is the perfect gift. But along the way, he runs into opposition from his parents, his teacher, and even good 'ol Santa Claus himself.
Rating: B-
In a word... tradition?

December 25, 2007

The Gold Rush (1925)
Director: Charles Chaplin
Writer: Charles Chaplin
Starring: Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, and Tom Murray
Co-Starring: Henry Bergman, Malcolm Waite, and Georgia Hale
Description: A lone prospector ventures into Alaska looking for gold. He gets mixed up with some burly characters and falls in love with the beautiful Georgia. He tries to win her heart with his singular charm.
Rating: B+
In a word... charming.

December 24, 2007

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Director: Frank Capra
Writer: Philip Van Doren Stern, Frances Goodrich, Albert Hackett, Frank Capra, Jo Swerling, and Michael Wilson
Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, and Lionel Barrymore
Co-Starring: Thomas Mitchell, Henry Travers, and Beulah Bondi
Description: George Bailey has spent his entire life giving of himself to the people of Bedford Falls. He has always longed to travel but never had the opportunity in order to prevent rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town. All that prevents him from doing so is George's modest building and loan company, which was founded by his generous father. But on Christmas Eve, George's Uncle Billy loses the business's $8,000 while intending to deposit it in the bank. Potter finds the misplaced money and hides it from Billy. When the bank examiner discovers the shortage later that night, George realizes that he will be held responsible and sent to jail and the company will collapse, finally allowing Potter to take over the town. Thinking of his wife, their young children, and others he loves will be better off with him dead, he contemplates suicide. But the prayers of his loved ones result in a gentle angel named Clarence coming to earth to help George, with the promise of earning his wings. He shows George what things would have been like if he had never been born. In a nightmarish vision in which the Potter-controlled town is sunk in sex and sin, those George loves are either dead, ruined, or miserable. He realizes that he has touched many people in a positive way and that his life has truly been a wonderful one.
Rating: B+
In a word... classic...?

December 24, 2007

Jumanji (1995)
Director: Joe Johnston
Writer: Chris Van Allsburg, Greg Taylor, Jim Strain, and Jonathan Hensleigh
Starring: Robin Wiliams, Jonathan Hyde, and Kirsten Dunst
Co-Starring: Bradley Pierce, Bonnie Hunt, and Bebe Neuwirth
Description: When young Alan Parrish discovers a mysterious board game, he doesn't realize its unimaginable powers until he is magically transported--before the startled eyes of his friend Sarah--into the untamed jungles of Jumanji! There he remains for 26 years until he is freed from the game's spell by two unsuspecting children. Now a grown man, Alan reunites with Sarah and, together with Judy and Peter, tries to outwit the game's powerful forces.
Rating: B-
In a word... corny.

December 21, 2007

A Christmas Carol (1938)
Director: Edwin L. Marin
Writer: Charles Dickens and Hugo Butler
Starring: Reginald Owen, Gene Lockhart, and Kathleen Lockhart
Co-Starring: Terry Kilburn, Barry MacKay, and Lynne Carver
Description: The timeworn Dickens' story about the old merchant Scrooge and how his own disappointments in life shape his view that both life and men are not worthy of his notice or concern. He displays no charity to mankind generally, and in particular, to his employee Bob Cratchett and his unfortunate son, Tiny Tim. But the dessicated gent is about to get his comeuppance when he imagines he is visited by the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.
Rating: B+
In a word... suprising.

October 14, 2007

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
Director: Oh hell, does it really matter?
Writer: We're all dying in the end anyway.
Starring: A bunch of fuckers who can't act or sing.
Co-Starring: A bunch more fuckers who can't act or sing. And Aerosmith, but they're not enough to make up for the utter shittery.
Description: Just... . Seriously.
Rating: F-, and I don't give a shit if there's no such thing, there is now. This movie (because as sure as God's green earth this is NOT a film) is THAT bad.
In a word... _______________________. That's right, a huge FUCKING BLANK SPACE.

In-Depth Review!
I have only ever turned off two movies in my life. One was the Star Wars Christmas Special (and I'm not sure if that even counts) and the other was this.

October 14, 2007

The Shining (1980)*
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writer: Stanley Kubrick, Diane Johnson, and Stephen King
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, and Danny Lloyd
Co-Starring: Scatman Crothers, Barry Nelson, and Phillip Stone
Description: Jack Torrance gets a job as the custodian of the Overlook Hotel, in the mountains of Colorado. The place is closed down during winter, Torrance and his family will be the only occupants of the hotel for a long while. When the snow storms block the Torrance family in the hotel, Jack's son Danny, who has some clairvoyance and telepathy powers, discovers that the hotel is haunted and that the spirits are slowly driving Jack crazy. When Jack meets the ghost of Mr. Grady, the former custodian of the hotel who murdered his wife and his two daughters, things begin to get really nasty.
Rating: A+
In a word... masterpiece.

Note: I watched this at the Music Box Massacre 3, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.

October 14, 2007

The Demonology of Desire (2007) [Short]
Director: Rodrigo Gudiño
Writer: Rodrigo Gudiño
Starring: Bianca Rusu and Tudor Plopeanu
Co-Starring: Jewelia Fisico
Description: Late one night, Ramona makes a powerful wish. The following day, her prayer is miraculously answered when she meets Eric, a boy with no idea of the dark, fantastical depths that a boyhood crush can lead him. Equal parts fatal fable, romantic thriller and art-core horror, THE DEMONOLOGY OF DESIRE is a love story... with a caustic heart.
Rating: B-
In a word... wtf?

Note: I watched this at the Music Box Massacre 3, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.
Note 2: This is a short, and therefore will not be eligible for best or worst movie of the month, and won 't be taken in account when counting total films watched at the end of the month.

October 14, 2007

Deathdream (1974)
Director: Bob Clark
Writer: Alan Ormsby
Starring: John Marley, Lynn Carlin, and Richard Backus
Co-Starring: Henderson Forsythe, Anya Ormsby, and Jane Daly
Description: A young Soldier is killed in the line of duty in Vietnam. That same night, the soldier returns home, brought back by his Mother's wishes that he "Don't Die"! Upon his Return, Andy sits in his room, refusing to see his friends or family, venturing out only at night. The Vampiric horror is secondary to the terror that comes from the disintegration of a typical American family.
Rating: C
In a word... interesting.

Note: I watched this at the Music Box Massacre 3, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.

October 14, 2007

It's Alive (1974)
Director: Larry Cohen
Writer: Larry Cohen
Starring: John P. Ryan, Sharon Farrell, and James Dixon
Co-Starring: William Wellman Jr., Shamus Locke, and Andrew Duggan
Description: The Davies expecting a baby which turns out to be a monster with the nasty habit to kill when it's scared. And it's easily scared...
Rating: D+
In a word... ugh.

Note: I watched this at the Music Box Massacre 3, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.

October 14, 2007

The Raven (1963)
Director: Roger Corman
Writers: Richard Matheson and Edgar Allen Poe
Starring: Vincent Price, Peter Lorre, and Boris Karloff
Co-Starring: Hazel Court, Jack Nicholson, and Connie Wallace
Description: In this tongue-in-cheek movie inspired by Poe's poem, Dr. Craven is the son of a great sorcerer (now dead) who was once himself quite skilled at that profession, but has since abandoned it. One evening, a cowardly fool of a magician named Bedlo comes to Craven for help- the evil Scarabus has turned him into a raven and he needs someone to change him back. He also tells the reluctant wizard that Craven's long-lost wife Lenore, whom he loved greatly and thought dead, is living with the despised Scarabus.
Rating: C+
In a word... funny?

Note: I watched this at the Music Box Massacre 3, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.

October 14, 2007

Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)*
Director: Tommy Lee Wallace
Writers: Tommy Lee Wallace and Nigel Kneale
Starring: Tom Atkins and Stacey Nelkin
Co-Starring: Dan O'Herlihy and Michael Currie
Description: Silver Shamrock, a mass-producer of Halloween masks, plan to kill millions of innocent people worldwide by placing pieces of a stolen boulder from Stonehenge into small tags and attaching them to the masks. When children all over the world sit down to watch the Silver Shamrock advertisement, terror and panic will spread. Dr. Dan Challis investigates a series of bizarre and horrifying incidents that begin to unfold before Halloween evening, and he comes face to face with the sinister figure of Conal Conhran, maker of the evil masks.
Rating: C+
In a word... Halloween, Halloween, Halloween... (and yes I realize that was three words, but it was also the same word repeated three times, so I win.)

Note: I watched this at the Music Box Massacre 3, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.

October 14, 2007

Videodrome (1983)
Director: David Cronenberg
Writer: David Cronengberg
Starring: James Woods, Sonja Smits, and Deborah Harry
Co-Starring: Peter Dvorsky, Leslie Carlson, and Jack Creley
Description: The president of the Civic TV - channel 83, Max Renn (James Wood), is always looking for new cheap and erotic movies for his cable television. When his employee Harlan (Peter Dvorsky) decodes a pirate video broadcast showing torture, murder and mutilation called Videodrome, Max becomes obsessed to get these movies for his channel. He contacts his supplier Masha (Lynne Gorman) and asks her to find the responsible for the transmission. A couple of days later, Masha tells that Videodrome is real, actually snuff movies. Max's sadomasochist girlfriend Nicki Brand (Deborah Harry) decides to travel to Pittsburgh to have an audition to the show. Max investigates further, and through a video of the expert Professor Brian O'Blivion (Jack Creley), he learns that that TV screen would be the retina of the mind's eye, being part of the brain, and Videodrome transmission creates a brain tumor in the viewer, changing the reality in video hallucination.
Rating: A-
In a word... freaky.

Note: I watched this at the Music Box Massacre 3, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.

October 13, 2007

Demoni 2 (1986)
Director: Lamberto Bava
Writers: Dario Argento, Lamberto Bava, Franco Ferrini, and Dardano Sacchetti
Starring: David Edwin Knight, Nancy Brilli, and Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni
Co-Starring: Bobby Rhodes, Asia Argento, and Virginia Bryant
Description: A documentary is shown on TV of group of teens who investigate the legendary forbidden zone, in which once took place a Demon infestation (see Demoni I). When finding a lifeless corps of a demon, one of the teens causes the resurrection it, and the demon makes it's way into the nearby world by TV-broadcast... An unlucky girl, having her birthday-party at that time, gets possessed by the demon while watching the documentary and soon the complete building in which she lives turns into a living nighmare....
Rating: C
In a word... adequate.

Note: I watched this at the Music Box Massacre 3, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.
Note 2: Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni did a Q and A after the film was shown.

October 13, 2007

The Monster Squad (1987)
Director: Fred Dekker
Writers: Shane Black and Fred Dekker
Starring: Andre Gower, Robby Kiger, and Stephen Macht
Co-Starring: Duncan Regehr, Tom Noonan, and Brent Chalem
Description: 12-year-old Sean Crenshaw and his best friend Patrick are die hard monster fanatics. Along with their friend Horace (nicknamed Fat Kid),junior high tough guy Rudy, Sean's kid sister Phoebe, and little Eugene they come together and talk monsters. But when Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man, The Gill Man, and The Mummy come to their small town to get an amulet to control the world, Sean leads his friends into action to protect their town from the forces of evil.
Rating: B
In a word... fun.

Note: I watched this at the Music Box Massacre 3, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.
Note 2: Fred Dekker did a Q and A after the film was shown.

October 13, 2007

Peeping Tom (1960)
Director: Michael Powell
Writer: Leo Marks
Starring: Karlheinz Böhm, Moira Shearer, and Anna Massey
Co-Starring: Maxine Audley, Brenda Bruce, and Esmond Knight
Description: As a boy, Mark Lewis was subjected to bizarre experiments by his scientist-father, who wanted to study and record the effects of fear on the nervous system. Now grown up, both of his parents dead, Mark works by day as a focus-puller for a London movie studio. He moonlights by taking girlie pictures above a news agent's shop. But Mark has also taken up a horrifying hobby: He murders women while using a movie camera to film their dying expressions of terror. One evening, Mark meets and befriends Helen Stephens, a young woman who rents one of the rooms in his house. Does Helen represent some kind of possible redemption for Mark - or is she unknowingly running the risk of becoming one of his victims?
Rating: A-
In a word... unnerving.

Note: I watched this at the Music Box Massacre 3, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.

October 13, 2007

Equinox (1970)
Directors: Jack Woods and Dennis Muren
Writers: Mark Thomas McGee and Jack Woods
Starring: Edward Connell, Barbara Hewitt, and Frank Bonner
Co-Starring: Robin Christopher, Jack Woods, and James Phillips
Description: Four teenagers go on a woods hike and encounter a creepy forest ranger and a crazy old man. The old man is a scientist who had found a mysterious book bound in human skin, the Necronomicon, and when he had read its cryptic symbols it conjured monsters into existence. The teenagers keep the book, and are then persued by monsters, a demonic cult, and the ranger. The ranger turns out to be a red flying devil in human disguise.
Rating: C-
In a word... cheesy.

Note: I watched this at the Music Box Massacre 3, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.

October 13, 2007

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Director: Charles Barton
Writers: Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo, John Grant, Mary Shelley, and Bram Stoker
Starring: Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
Co-Starring: Lon Chaney, Jr., Bela Lugosi, and Glenn Strange
Description: The world of freight handlers Wilbur Grey and Chick Young is turned upside down when the remains of Frankenstein's monster and Dracula arrive from Europe to be used in a house of horrors. Dracula awakens and escapes with the weakened monster, who he plans to re-energize with a new brain. Larry Talbot (the Wolfman) arrives from London in an attempt to thwart Dracula. Dracula's reluctant aide is the beautiful Dr. Sandra Mornay. Her reluctance is dispatched by Dracula's bite. Dracula and Sandra abduct Wilbur for his brain and recharge the monster in preparation for the operation. Chick and Talbot attempt to find and free Wilbur, but when the full moon rises all hell breaks loose with the Wolfman, Dracula, and Frankenstein all running rampant
Rating: B+
In a word... entertaining.

Note: I watched this at the Music Box Massacre 3, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.

October 13, 2007

Freaks (1932)
Director: Todd Browning
Writers: Al Boasberg, Willis Goldbeck, Leon Gordon, Clarence Aaron 'Tod' Robbins, and Edgar Allan Woolf
Starring: Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, and Olga Baclanova
Co-Starring: Roscoe Ates, Henry Victor, and Harry Earles
Description: In a side-show circus, where the greatest attractions are deformed people, the gorgeous trapeze artist Cleopatra (Olga Baclanova) is the lover of the strong Hercules (Henry Victor). She plays as if she liked the German midget Hans (Harry Earles), who is in love with her, to borrow his money and get expensive gifts he gives to her. When the jealous German midget Frieda (Daisy Earles), who loves Hans, asks Cleopatra to spare Hans from a great deception, she accidentally discloses that he is an heir of a great fortune. Cleo decides to get married with Hans to poison him and get his inheritance. In the wedding feast, Cleopatra openly flirts with Hercules and mocks the side-show performers. When a very ill Hans is saved by a doctor that tells that he has been cruelly poisoned, the other freaks snoops in Hans trailer and they find what Cleopatra is doing with him. In a stormy night, all the freaks join forces and transform Cleopatra in the Feathered Hen. Although not shown in the DVD, which has the commercial alternative version, in the original story Hercules is castrated and becomes a soprano singer.
Rating: B+
In a word... bizarre.

Note: I watched this at the Music Box Massacre 3, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.

October 13, 2007

The Cat and The Canary (1927)
Director: Paul Leni
Writers: John Willard, Walter Anthony, Alfred A. Cohn, and Robert F. Hill
Starring: Laura La Plante, Creighton Hale, and Forrest Stanley
Co-Starring: Tully Marshall, Gertrude Astor, and Flora Finch
Description: Rich old Cyrus West's relatives are waiting for him to die so they can inherit. But he stipulates that his will be read 20 years after his death. On the appointed day his expectant heirs arrive at his brooding mansion. The will is read and it turns out that Annabelle West, the only heir with his name left, inherits, if she is deemed sane. If she isn't, the money and some diamonds go to someone else, whose name is in a sealed envelope. Before he can reveal the identity of her successor to Annabelle, Mr. Crosby, the lawyer, disappears. The first in a series of mysterious events, some of which point to Annabelle in fact being unstable.
Rating: B
In a word... predictable.

Note: I watched this at the Music Box Massacre 3, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago.

October 12, 2007

Little Children (2006)
Director: Todd Field
Writers: Todd Field and Tom Perrotta
Starring: Kate Winslet, Patrick Wilson, and Jennifer Connelly
Co-Starring: Gregg Edelman, Sadie Goldstein, and Jackie Earle Haley
Description: Echoes of "Madame Bovary" in the American suburbs. Sarah's in a loveless marriage, long days with her young daughter at the park and the pool, wanting more. Brad is a househusband, married to a flinty documentary filmmaker. Ronnie is just out of prison - two years for indecent exposure - living with his mother; Larry is a retired cop, fixated on driving Ronnie away. Sarah and Brad connect, a respite of adult companionship at the pool. Ronnie and Larry have their demons. Brad should be studying for the bar; Larry misses his job; Ronnie's mom thinks he needs a girlfriend. Sarah longs to refuse to be trapped in an unhappy life. Where can these tangled paths lead?
Rating: A
In a word... satirical.

October 6, 2007

Viskningar och rop (1972)
Director: Ingmar Bergman
Writer: Ingmar Bergman
Starring: Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, and Ingrid Thulin
Co-Starring: Liv Ullmann, Anders Ulk, and Inga Gill
Description: A family drama takes place in a mansion in the late 1800's. Karin and Maria watch over their sister Agnes' sickbed together with the servant Anna. Through flashbacks the lives of both sisters are described, which are full of lies, deceit, callousness, self despise, guilt and forbidden love. Agnes' dramatic death cramp arouses only aversion in them. They both retreat in their own way from her when she grasps for their hands.
Rating: A-
In a word... poignant.

October 5, 2007

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
Director: Tom Tykwer
Writers: Andrew Birkin, Bernd Eichinger, Tom Tykwer, and Patrick Süskind
Starring: Ben Whishaw, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman, and Rachel Hurd-Wood
Co-Starring: Karoline Herfurth, Ramon Pujol, Paul Berrondo, and Sam Douglas
Description: Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born in the stench of eighteenth century Paris, develops a superior olfactory sense, which he uses to create the world's finest perfumes. His work, however, takes a dark turn as he tries to preserve scents in the search for the ultimate perfume.
Rating: D+
In a word... wtf!

October 3, 2007

Henry V (1989)
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Writers: William Shakespeare and Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Derek Jacobi and Kenneth Branagh
Co-Starring: Simon Shepherd and James Larkin
Description: The still young king of England, intending to tax the english church, is sent off to war by the bishops to enforce the (doubtful) claim to France. The King, thus sure of devine blessing for his cause, wages war on the French all too proud in overpowing strength. After the Battle of Agincourt, the French King has to yield his daughter as a peace offering. In a bitter satire, this political marriage is then portrayed as the happy ending joining the two recent lovers.
Rating: B-
In a word... tedious.

Note: I watched this in English.

For the month of September...

Best Film of the Month: Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution

Worst Film of the Month: Stargate

September 29, 2007

Across the Universe (2007)
Director: Julie Taymor
Writers: Dick Clement, Ian La Frenais, and Julie Taymor
Starring: Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, and Joe Anderson
Co-Starring: Dana Fuchs, Martin Luther McCoy, and T.V. Carpio
Description: An original musical film, Across The Universe is a fictional love story set in the 1960s amid the turbulent years of anti-war protest, the struggle for free speech and civil rights, mind exploration and rock and roll. At once gritty, whimsical and highly theatrical, the story moves from high schools and universities in Massachusetts, Princeton and Ohio to the Lower East Side of Manhattan, the Detroit riots, Vietnam and the dockyards of Liverpool. A combination of live action and animation, the film is paired with many songs by The Beatles that defined the time.
Rating: A-
In a word... lovely.

September 29, 2007

Hannibal (2001)
Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: Thomas Harris, David Mamet, and Steven Zaillian
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, and Gary Oldman
Co-Starring: Ray Liotta, Frankie Faison, and Giancarlo Giannini
Description: After having successfully eluded the authorities for years, Hannibal peacefully lives in Italy in disguise as an art scholar. Trouble strikes again when he is discovered leaving a deserving few dead in the process. He returns back to America to once again make contact with now disgraced Agent Clarice Starling who is suffering the wrath of a malicious FBI official/rival as well as the media. Meanwhile, Hannibal must survive the advances by a disfigured and vengeful victim he first came in contact with years ago as a patient. He finds himself being tracked down not only by his wealthy victim and his henchmen but also by Agent Starling and the American authorities.
Rating: C
In a word... disappointing.

September 28, 2007

Vice Versa (1948)
Director: Peter Ustinov
Writers: F. Anstey and Peter Ustinov
Starring: Roger Livesey, Kay Walsh, and Petula Clark
Co-Starring: David Hutcheson, Anthony Newley, and James Robertson Justice
Description: Businessman Paul Bultitude is sending his son Dick to a boarding school. While holding a magic stone from India, he wishes that he could be young again. His wish is immediately fulfiled and the two change bodies with each other. Mr Bultitude becomes a school boy who smokes cigars and has a very conservative view on child upbringing, while his son Dick becomes a gentleman who spends his time drinking lemonade and arranging children's parties.
Rating: B
In a word... strange.

Note: I couldn't find an original movie poster, so I used the DVD cover.

September 22, 2007

Some Like It Hot (1959)*
Director: Billy Wilder
Writers: Robert Thoeren, Michael Logan, Billy Wilder, and I.A.L. Diamond
Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon
Co-Starring: George Raft, Pat O'Brien, and Joe E. Brown
Description: Joe, the saxophone player, is Josephine in the all girls band that he joined with Jerry, the bass violin player, to be one step ahead of the mob after witnessing the 1929 St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago. After a train ride that sets a record for number of people in an upper berth, they are In Miami. Joe decides to be the man of Sugar Kane's dreams and invites her out to a yacht he doesn't have. But he can use Osgood Fielding's yacht if Jerry -- as Daphne -- will keep Osgood dancing. The pace gets even giddier when the Chicago mob arrives in Miami for a convention.
Rating: A+
In a word... hot!
Note: I saw this on the big screen at the coolest theater ever. Visit it here.

September 13, 2007

Unbreakable (2000)
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Writer: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson
Co-Starring: Robin Wright Penn, Spencer Treat Clark, Charlayne Woodard, and Eamonn Walker
Description: Security Guard David Dunn miraculously survives a catastrophic train crash outside Philadelphia. Not only is he the sole survivor out of 132 passengers, he also is completely unharmed. A little later, comic book specialist Elijah Price contacts him to confront David with an incredible theory: Elijah, who has been nicknamed "Mr. Glass" due to his more than fragile bones, thinks that David has got all which he himself lacks. The two of them "seem to be linked by a curve, but sitting on opposite ends". First, David does not believe the strange man, but every single thing he had said proves to be true: David has never ever been hurt or sick in his life, his physical strength is larger than normal and he has a skill which others don't. Slowly, David begins to discover the shocking truth behind Mr. Price's assumptions. But after all, David's fate is not only to find his real place in the world. It also is about proving Elijah's theory of his own existence.
Rating: B+
In a word... subtle.
Note: I watched this in English, to compare with the classic epic poem, Beowulf.

September 9, 2007

Needful Things (1993)
Director: Fraser Clark Heston
Writers: W.D. Richter and Stephen King
Starring: Ed Harris, Max Von Sydow, and Bonny Bedelia
Co-Starring: Amanda Plummer, J.T. Walsh, and Ray McKinon
Description: Leland Gaunt comes to Sheriff Alan Pangborn's pleasant little New England town, and opens a store. What this kindly Satan sells is whatever you need, from a surcease from pain to an object which you have always coveted. The Faustian price is, of course, corruption, and soon the poor sheriff's town is wracked by jealousy, spite, and violence.
Rating: B
In a word... unsubtle.

September 9, 2007

Stargate (1994)
Director: Roland Emmerich
Writers: Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich
Starring: Kurt Russell and James Spader
Co-Starring: Viveca Lindfors, Alexis Cruz, and Mili Avital
Description: Egyptologist Daniel Jackson is brought to an underground military base where he decodes the symbols on Egyptian cover stones as star constellations. That allows a alien device known as the Stargate to be opened and a team led by Air Force Colonel Jack' O' Neil and Jackson to travel across the known universe to a distant planet. Arriving on the planet, they find a culture ruled by someone pretending to be the Egyptian sun god Ra. Soon, Ra captures the team and takes control of a nuclear weapon brought to the planet in case of the discovery of hostile aliens. Jackson and O'Neil escape and must fight Ra and his army of warriors to save Earth from being destroyed by Ra.
Rating: C-
In a word... cheesy.

September 8, 2007

Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965)
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Writers: Jean-Luc Godard and Paul Éluard
Starring: Eddie Constantine and Anna Karina
Co-Starring: Akim Tamiroff and Howard Vernon
Description: Lemmy Caution, an American private-eye, arrives in Alphaville, a futuristic city on another planet. His very American character is at odds with the city's ruler, an evil scientist named Von Braun, who has outlawed love and self-expression.
Rating: A-
In a word... fascinating.

September 8, 2007

Unfaithfully Yours (1948)
Director: Preston Sturges
Writer: Preston Sturges
Starring: Rex Harrison and Linda Darnell
Co-Starring: Rudy Vallee and Barbara Lawrence
Description: Haughty, acid-tongued symphony conductor Alfred De Carter is madly in love with his wife, Daphne, but is driven to a murderous fit of jealousy when he reads a private detective's report of her activities during his absence. Convinced she is having an affair with his handsome young secretary, Tony, De Carter contemplates doing them both in. His fantasies of revenge inflate with elaborate, grisly detail in his mind as he conducts, but attempts to carry out his plans degenerate into a slapstick fiasco.
Rating: B
In a word... hahaha.

September 7, 2007

Shoot 'Em Up (2007)
Director: Michael Davis
Writer: Michael Davis
Starring: Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti, and Monica Belluci
Co-Starring: Stephen McHattie and Greg Bryk
Description: A man named Mr. Smith (Owen) delivers a woman's baby during a shootout, and is then called upon to protect the newborn from the army of gunmen.
Rating: B+
In a word... carrot.

September 7, 2007

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Director: Gore Verbinski
Writers: Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie, Jay Wolpert, Ted Elliott, and Terry Rossio
Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush, and Kiera Knightley
Co-Starring: Jack Davenport, and Jonathan Pryce
Description: This swash-buckling tale follows the quest of Captain Jack Sparrow, a savvy pirate, and Will Turner, a resourceful blacksmith, as they search for Elizabeth Swann. Elizabeth, the daughter of the governor and the love of Will's life, has been kidnapped by the feared Captain Barbossa. Little do they know, but the fierce and clever Barbossa has been cursed. He, along with his large crew, are under an ancient curse, doomed for eternity to neither live, nor die. That is, unless a blood sacrifice is made. Full of edge-of-the-seat action and swashbuckling adventures, this is a movie you won't want to miss!
Rating: B-
In a word... arrrrr!

Note: I watched this in multimedia. Yeah, I don't get it either.

September 6, 2007

π (1998)
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Writers: Darren Aronofsky, Sean Gullette, and Eric Watson
Starring: Sean Gullette
Co-Starring: Mark Margolis and Ben Shenkman
Description: The mathematician Maximillian Cohen (Sean Gullette) is tormented by a severe migraine since he was a kid, and he uses many pills to reduce his painful headaches. He is a lonely man, and his only friend is his former professor Sol Robeson (Mark Margolis). Max has the following assumptions, which rules his life: (1) Mathematics is the language of nature; (2) Everything around us can be represented and understood from numbers; (3) If you graph the numbers in any systems, patterns emerge. Therefore there are patterns everywhere in nature. Based on these principles, Max is trying to figure out a system to predict the behavior of the stock market. Due to his research, Max is chased by a Wall Street company with obvious interest in the results of his studies, and by an orthodox Jew follower of the Torah, who believes that this long string of numbers is a code sent from God.
Rating: B
In a word... what?!

September 5, 2007

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Writers: Gary K. Wolf, Jeffrey Price, and Peter S. Seaman
Starring: Bob Hoskins, Christopher Lloyd, and Joanna Cassidy
Co-Starring: Charles Fleischer, Stubby Kaye, and Alan Tilvern
Description: Roger Rabbit is a cartoon character who (along with many others) exists along side of real humans. Eddy is a private eye who has seen better days and has been on the skids since the death of his brother at the hands of a Toon (cartoon character). Rogers' boss hires Eddy to see if his sexy wife has other male interests, but things get out of hand as Roger is framed for murder with no one but the Toon hating Eddy to go to for help.
Rating: B+
In a word... looney.

September 5, 2007

Paths of Glory (1957)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writers: Humphrey Cobb, Stanley Kubrick, Calder Willingham, and Jim Thompson
Starring: Kirk Douglas
Co-Starring: Ralph Meeker and Adolphe Menjou
Description: In Stanley Kubrick's "Paths of Glory" war is viewed in terms of power. This mesmerizing, urgent film about a true episode in World War I combines the idea that class differences are more important than national differences with the cannon-fodder theory of war, the theory that soldiers are merely pawns in the hands of generals who play at war is if it were a game of chess. The result of this amazing film has been the emergence of one of the great talents in contemporary cinema, the master whose greatest work was yet to come.
Rating: B
In a word... hypnotic.

For the month of August...

Best Film of the Month: Stardust

Didn't watch a film bad enough to be considered for worst film of the month.

August 29, 2007

The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Director: Don Bluth
Writers: Don Bluth, Will Finn, Gary Goldman, Robert C. O'Brien, and John Pomeroy
Starring: Derek Jacobi, Elizabeth Hartman, Arthur Malet, Dom DeLuise, and Hermione Baddeley
Co-Starring: Shannen Doherty, Will Wheaton, Jodi Hicks, Ian Fried, John Carradine, and Peter Strauss
Description: Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse, lives in a cinder block with her children on the Fitzgibbon farm. She is preparing to move her family out of the field they live in as plowing time approaches, however her son Timothy has fallen ill, and moving him could prove fatal. Mrs. Frisby visits The Great Owl, a wise creature who advises her to visit a mysterious group of rats who live beneath a rose bush on the farm. Upon visiting the rats, Frisby meets Nicodemus, the wise and mystical leader of the rats, and Justin, a friendly rat who immediately becomes attached to Mrs. Frisby. While there, she learns that her late husband, Mr. Jonathon Frisby, along with the rats, was a part of a series of experiments at a place known only as N.I.M.H. (revealed earlier in the story as the National Institute of Mental Health). The experiments performed on the mice and rats there boosted their intelligence, allowing them to read without being taught and to understand things such as complex mechanics and electricity. The rats and Mr. Frisby escaped from N.I.M.H. and came to live on the Fitzgibbon farm. The rats created a home for themselves under Mrs. Fitzgibbon's rose bush, creating an elaborate habitation of beautiful chambers, elevators, and Christmas lights. However, the rats are unhappy in their dependence on the humans, who they are stealing electricity from, and have concocted a plan to leave the farm and live independently. Because of her husband's prior relationship with the rats, they agree to help Mrs. Frisby move her home out of the path of the plow. However, the evil Jenner and his unwilling accomplice Sullivan, who wish to remain beneath the rose bush, yet plot to kill Nicodemus during the move.
Rating: B+
In a word... refreshing.

August 28, 2007

Stardust (2007)
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Writers: Jane Goldman, Matthew Vaughn, Neil Gaiman, and Charles Vess
Starring: Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Robert DeNiro
Co-Starring: Charlie Cox, Ian McKellen, Nathaniel Parker, and Peter O'Toole
Description: In a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he'll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm.
Rating: A-
In a word... fantabulous.

August 3, 2007

The Simpsons Movie (2007)
Director: David Silverman
Writers: James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Ian Maxtone-Grah, George Meyer, David Mirkin, Mike Reiss, Mike Scully, Matt Selman, John Swartzwelder, and Jon Vitti
Starring: Dan Castallaneta, Julie Cavner, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Harry Shearer, and Hank Azaria
Co-Starring: Marcia Wallace, Billie Joe Armstrong, Tre Cool, Mike Dirnt, Tress MacNeille, Pamela Hayden, Joel Mantegna, Albert Brooks, Russi Taylor, etc. etc. etc.
Description: Homer adopts a pig who's run away from Krusty Burger after Krusty tried to have him slaughtered, naming the pig "Spider Pig." At the same time, the lake is protected after the audience sink the barge Green Day are on with garbage after they mention the environment. Meanwhile, Spider Pig's waste has filled up a silo in just 2 days, apparently with Homer's help. Homer can't get to the dump quickly so dumps the silo in the lake, polluting it. Russ Cargill, the villainous boss of the EPA, gives Arnold Schwarzenegger 5 options, forcing him to choose 4 (which is, unfortunately, to destroy Springfield) and putting a dome over Springfield to prevent evacuation. Homer, however, has escaped, along with his family. Can he stop the evil Cargill from annihilating his home town, and his family, who have been forced to return to Springfield?
Rating: B+
In a word... spiderpig!

For the month of July...

Obviously one film isn't enough to have a best or worst of the month. So this month is being skipped.

July 30, 2007

Adam's Rib (1949)
Director: George Cukor
Writers: Ruth Gordon and Garson Kanin
Starring: Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn
Co-Starring: Judy Holliday
Description: When a woman attempts to kill her uncaring husband, prosecutor Adam Bonner gets the case. Unfortunately for him his wife Amanda (who happens to be a lawyer too) decides to defend the woman in court. Amanda uses everything she can to win the case and Adam gets mad about it. As a result, their perfect marriage is disturbed by everyday quarrels...
Rating: B+
In a Word... Delightful.

For the month of June...

Best Film of the Month: Knocked Up

Worst Film of the Month: 1408

June 24, 2007

Evan Almighty (2007)
Director: Tom Shadyac
Writers: Steve Oedekerk, Joel Cohen, Alex Sokolow, Steve Koren, and Mark O'Keefe
Starring: Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, and Lauren Graham
Co-Starring: Johnny Simmons, Graham Phillips, Jimmy Bennett, John Goodman, and Wanda Sykes
Description: The last time we saw Evan Baxter (Steve Carell), he was being tormented by rival Bruce Nolan onscreen, live from their Buffalo TV station. But as time passed and Evan has made up with Bruce, he's gone onto bigger and better things. Newly elected to Washington D.C. as a congressman, Evan has left Buffalo, New York in pursuit of a greater calling. But that calling isn't serving in the illustrious ranks of America's politics, but being summoned by the Almighty himself (Morgan Freeman), who has handed Evan the task of building a new ark, much as Noah did before. With time passing by and his family belittled by Evan's newfound realization, Evan will have to do the work that God has given him in what promises to be an unusual adventure for a man who just wanted to serve his country, might actually be serving humanity.
Rating: C-
In a word... silly.

June 22, 2007

1408 (2007)
Director: Mikael Håfström
Writers: Matt Greenburg, Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, and Stephen King
Starring: John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson
Co-Starring: Mary McCormack and Jasmine Jessica Anthony
Description: Based on the short Stephen King horror story of the same name, 1408 surrounds supernatural writer Mike Enslin, an author of two hit books focusing on supernatural phenomena. As research for his latest book, Enslin is determined to check out the notorious room 1408 in a New York City hotel by personally staying as a guest in the fabled room. With the intention that 1408 is just a myth perpetuated by stories and rumor that Enslin has collected for his past works. However, hotel manager Mr. Olin has strong objections to Enslin's stay and only warns him of possible danger to come. But Enslin is determined to go through and convinced that the horrific past of 1408 is just mere coincidence and a myth. But what Mike Enslin is about to experience is no myth, as 1408 truly is a room where the guests don't check out by noon.
Rating: D+
In a word... intelligence-insulting.

June 16, 2007

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Writers: Stanley Kubrick, Peter George and Terry Southern
Starring: Peter Sellers and George C. Scott
Co-Starring: Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, Peter Bull, and James Earl Jones
Description: U.S. Air Force General Jack Ripper goes completely and utterly mad, and sends his bomber wing to destroy the U.S.S.R. He suspects that the communists are conspiring to pollute the "precious bodily fluids" of the American people. The U.S. president meets with his advisors, where the Soviet ambassador tells him that if the U.S.S.R. is hit by nuclear weapons, it will trigger a "Doomsday Machine" which will destroy all plant and animal life on Earth. Peter Sellers portrays the three men who might avert this tragedy: British Group Captain Lionel Mandrake, the only person with access to the demented Gen. Ripper; U.S. President Merkin Muffley, whose best attempts to divert disaster depend on placating a drunken Soviet Premier and the former Nazi genius Dr. Strangelove, who concludes that "such a device would not be a practical deterrent for reasons which at this moment must be all too obvious". Will the bombers be stopped in time, or will General Jack Ripper succeed in destroying the world ?
Rating: A+
In a word... I-can-walk-mine-fuhrer!

June 15, 2007

Knocked Up (2006)
Director: Judd Apatow
Writer: Judd Apatow
Starring: Seth Rogen and Katherine Heigl
Co-Starring: Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann
Description: Slobby Ben and up and coming career girl Alison meet at a bar, and end up having a one night stand. Eight weeks later, Ben is shocked when Alison meets him and reveals that she is pregnant. Despite having little in common, the two decide that they have to at least try to make some kind of relationship work for the baby's sake.
Rating: A
In a word... sweet.