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What are you watching, Vol. 2?
Continuing a new tradition on this blog, it’s time to play, what are you watching?
Here’s what I’ve seen of late, outside of what I’ve reviewed in this space.
The Seven Samurai: Inspiring everything from The Magnificent Seven to a bug’s life, Akira Kurosawa’s masterwork never fails to dazzle, especially when you haven’t seen it in several years. A+
The Magnificent Seven: One of the very few American remakes that comes even close to matching its inspiration. It’s tremendous fun to watch thanks to its stellar cast and that unforgettable score by Elmer Bernstein. I especially liked how the chief villain (Eli Wallach) was spotlighted, a nice touch that wasn’t in Kurosawa’s film. A
The Seventh Seal: True to my word, I started catching up with the films of the recently deceased Ingmar Bergman. As expected, it’s a head-spinner, with its provocative meditations on mortality coupled with stark imagery. However, I can only rate this as high as an A-, because the film below is even better …
Cries and Whispers: A profoundly unsettling and very emotionally raw story in which a woman is dying of cancer, forcing her sisters to examine their pasts, and their own lives. Sven Nykvist won a richly deserved Oscar for his cinematography, with his striking use of color, especially the bold reds. A+
Suspicion: Early American Hitchcock never quite overcomes its central conundrum of trying to make Cary Grant into a killer, with an ending that rings false. Even so, it’s fun to watch most of the way, and Joan Fontaine, in an Oscar winning performance, gives the movie more emotional heft than it warrants. B+
Strangers on a Train: One of Hitchcock’s five greatest films, with the second-greatest villain after Norman Bates. Robert Walker SHOULD have been Oscar nominated. (For that matter, so should have Anthony Perkins.) A+
Dial M for Murder: Perhaps a bit too talky, even for a film adaptation of a play, but it’s still great fun, what with the diabolical Ray Milland and the not-so-innocent Grace Kelly. It’s even more fun in 3D; I was lucky enough to see it that way when the Neon Movies had a 3D festival in the 90s. A-
Ace in the Hole: One of Billy Wilder’s most cynical films (and that’s saying something) was kind of the Network of its day, with Kirk Douglas playing an opportunistic newspaper reporter who milks a mining accident as long as he can to feed his own ego. Has extra resonance this days, with the Utah mining disaster in the headlines. A
Your serve. React to my reviews, or tell me what you’ve been watching, even if I’ve already covered it here. Turn us on to (or off of) a movie.
Permalink | Comments (2) | Categories: On Video/DVD
Comments
By Kim
August 15, 2007 9:08 AM | Link to this
Since my daughter got a job in a movie theatre and I now getting in free - I have actually been going to the movies - it’s great! Of course - I am a huge Potter fan, so I went to see that twice, though I would have liked to see it again. It’s like a cluttered store - every time you go through you see things you missed the first time. It still felt too rushed and too short to me though. I also went to see Hairspray - LOVED it - that was just too fun. The cast was terrific. Next up will be Stardust and Ultimatum. On the home machine, we dusted off “You’ve Got Mail”. It’s fluffy and fun, but has those subtle messages about judging people and shows again how Tom Hanks makes acting look so darn easy and natural. We also ordered the anniversary DVDs of “Roots” and that will be next!By Tony
August 14, 2007 2:30 PM | Link to this
Zack and I recently watched ‘Single White Female’ since neither of us had seen it and it was part of a 253 laserdisc collection we bought off eBay. It was okay, a bit slow in the middle while they are trying to show us how crazy the roommate is. In the beginning of the movie I was hoping for a twist where the main character (played by Bridget Fonda) is the actual psycho but alas the craziness was straight forward and it was obvious what was going to happen. I saw Stardust last Saturday and I was really impressed. I thought it was going to be one of those fantasy movies (like the Golden Compass) whose trailer is really long and gives a little too much away but as soon as the main character meets the ‘star’ it is apparent the trailer was very sparse as far as spoiling characters is concerned. The ‘star’ and the pirate (played by Robert DeNiro) are delightfully different than the trailer would leave you to believe.