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What are you watching, Vol. 3? | Sir Critic on Cinema
 

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What are you watching, Vol. 3?

By Eric Robinette | Tuesday, September 4, 2007, 10:08 AM

With the new DVD releases being so barren lately, I think it’s best that we just tell each other what movies we’ve been watching.

Here’s my roster:

Ball of Fire: A va-va-voom Barbara Stanwyck invades the lives of seven nebbish professors who don’t know she’s in cahoots with the mob, but she falls for Gary Cooper anyway. Imagine. Lots of fun, but a little slow for a Howard Hawks comedy. This doesn’t have nearly the zip of a Bringing Up Baby or His Girl Friday. I can’t help but wonder how it might have turned out if its co-writer, Billy Wilder, had directed instead. GRADE: B+

Becoming Jane: From the Shakespeare in Love school of literary reimagining comes this drama that tells us the young Jane Austen’s life was very much like Pride and Prejudice - too much like it for the movie’s own good. The similarity to the classic novel makes the film too pat. Still, it held my attention most of the way, thanks in no small part to a very fine performance by the terminally undervalued Anne Hathaway. GRADE: B

The Haunting: I recently caught up with the original 1963 film and discovered that the obvious and noisy 1999 remake was actually worse than I originally thought. Although it’s a tad staid in places, the Robert Wise-directed original plays with psychological terror very effectively. If I see a spiral staircase again, I’m not using it. GRADE: A-

The Hidden Fortress: Akira Kurosawa’s 1958 film is particularly well known for giving George Lucas the idea of telling the story of Star Wars from the point of view of the lowliest characters. In Star Wars, that was C-3PO and R2-D2. In this film, it’s two bumbling, bickering peasants who become involved in the quest of a general (the great Toshiro Mifune) to escort a strong-willed princess to safety. A little overlong, but still great fun to watch. GRADE: A-

The Invisible Man: Terrifically fun and frightening James Whale/Universal horror chiller, with visual effects that are still impressive today. Claude Rains is quite chilling in his first starring role, which is all the more striking considering we don’t actually see him until the last scene. GRADE: A

Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Like my fellow blogger Ron Rollins, I caught this at the Victoria too. And no, Ron, it’s not a bad movie. It’s intelligently stupid - not the same thing. My favorite bit: WHAT is your favorite color? GRADE: A

Torn Curtain: This 1966 Hitchcock thriller is not quite as misbegotten as its poor reputation suggests, thanks mainly to some outstanding suspense sequences, including a slow, prolonged murder that is probably among the five best Hitch ever filmed. Still, there’s no getting away from the fact that the Master’s heart wasn’t in this one, having made do with two leads (Paul Newman and Julie Andrews) he didn’t want, and having lost his usual editor, cameraman and composer. There are frequent reminders of better Hitchcock pictures to boot. Be sure to check out the DVD for scenes with music by the man who made so many classic Hitchcock scores, Bernard Herrmann, who was fired from the film, bringing a fruitful collaboration to a sad end. GRADE: B-

Your turn again. Tell me what movies you’ve been watching lately, in the theater or at home, even if I’ve already reviewed it. It doesn’t matter if you’ve seen the movie 1 time or 111 times. Turn us on or off, as the movies warrant.

Permalink | Comments (10) | Categories: Ask the Audience

Comments

By Allie D.

September 6, 2007 3:34 PM | Link to this

I haven’t seen much in theaters lately — this time of year is just not very good for that. But September looks promising. On Netflix, I recently watched Black Snake Moan and found it to be quite good albeit highly highly unusual. I revisited “Zodiac” on Pay-Per-View and actually liked it more the second time. Despite its minor pacing problems, I still think it is one of the best movies of the year and will likely make my Top Ten.

By Todd

September 6, 2007 10:18 AM | Link to this

We watched “Invincible” last night and really liked it. I didn’t remember hearing about the story when it was happening, although I do remember Dick Vermeil turning the Eagles around and taking them to the Super Bowl. Anyway, we liked it. A-, And as we just got a 65” DLP TV we will be dusting off some of our DVD collection and rewatching movies on the big screen with an upconverting DVD player. So we watched the first Harry Potter movie again and it looked great on the big TV. I have finally bagan to read the books and wanted to rewatch the movie after reading the book. A-

By Jelane

September 6, 2007 8:09 AM | Link to this

“The Station Agent” is a quiet, absorbing, friendship movie that my husband and I love to watch. We’ve shared it with many friends over the years and everyone has loved it too.

By Jcason

September 5, 2007 1:30 PM | Link to this

I caught “Balls of Fury” in the theater. It had some gags but the ending was weak. On a positive note, my girlfriend introduced mt to the TV series ‘Firefly’ and the ending movie ‘Serenity’ I was instantly enthralled. Snappy dialogue, likable characters and an interesting setting make this a winner. Anyone else seen this?

By KimOH

September 5, 2007 10:53 AM | Link to this

I caught “The Natural” on TV the other, and was stunned anew by Robert Redford. I hadn’t seen any of his films in awhile and he is amazing. And it seemed almost comical now to see Glenn Close cast as an angelic character. I went to see Rush Hour 3, which was the same ole, same ole, but entertaining ehough to watch once. It made me laugh, so that is always a good thing! I’ve been thinking that I’d like to go see “Hairspray” again - may give in to that urge!

By Sir Critic

September 5, 2007 10:42 AM | Link to this

ECarol: I have not seen “Duet for One,” but it does sound interesting. In addition to Andrews and von Sydow, I see that the 1986 movie also boasts early credits for Liam Neeson and Rupert Everett. Netflix doesn’t have it, unfortunately, but if I run across it I will check it out. Thanks for responding, this is exactly what I hoped this feature would accomplish. PS: Among Andrews’ dramatic roles, I like “The Americanization of Emily,” with James Garner.

By E Carol

September 4, 2007 6:31 PM | Link to this

Would like to hear what you opinion is on a movie done in 60’s or 70’s (?) called Duet for One. Staring Max von Sydrow and Julie Andrews. They both did such a great job. Shame they never gave Ms Andrews more dramatic roles, as she proved she can handle them here. Max was great!

By E Carol

September 4, 2007 6:23 PM | Link to this

Love to hear what your comments are on a movie in the 60’s called Duet for One. Max von Sydrow and Julie Andrews..I thought it was great and both stars acted superbly. Thanks

By SRCputt

September 4, 2007 3:32 PM | Link to this

My son and I are going through all the classic Disney movies, so we watched “So Dear To My Heart” this weekend. Unfortunately, it is that overly saccharine feel that many people think is Disney’s biggest flaw. One of my favorite movies was on TCM yesterday, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. I watched it with my wife and daughter. That is one of the most stunningly beautiful technicolor films I have ever seen.

By Kim s.

September 4, 2007 10:57 AM | Link to this

I’m going a more unconventional route - I’ve watched two documentaries I found extremely interesting. First of these is “51 Birch Street”, which chronicles a man’s search for answers about his parent’s marriage after his mother’s sudden death. It’s nowhere near as depressing as it sounds, even though it has its moments. You can’t help but be drawn in - and it’s nice to see a story that’s for want of a better word “ordinary” told in a very extraordinary way. I’d give it an A-. I also saw the first part of the “7 Up” series on Netflix. The only thing I’d have to say bad about it is that it’s rather short - only 30 minutes in length. For that, it gets a B. Too bad I have to wait to get the 2nd one on disk. Found it extremely entertaining - at times a real hoot, as you would say, Eric. I also did catch “Becoming Jane” and I agree with you Eric - too pat but still entertaining. That’s a solid B+. Other than that, I’m still trying to catch up on “24” and “The Office”. I’ve found some smaller releases on Netflix that seemed interesting this week - I’ll report in on whether they actually pan out.
 

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