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Reviews
Felix Finds Out (1924)
you can tell that this came out during Prohibition
We in the twenty-first century probably know Felix the Cat from the 1950s TV show where he has a bag of tricks that he has to keep away from the Professor (although depending on the episode, the prof is sometimes friendly with him). Therefore we might not have known that Felix originated in a cartoon series in the early twentieth century. In fact, I think that he may have been the most notable cartoon star before Mickey Mouse came along.
Anyway, "Felix Finds Out" is one of many entries in the series. In this case, Felix gets a boy to skip school but then has to help him answer questions. When a question involves moonlight, Felix gets the wrong idea.
The cartoons were nothing special but nothing harmful. In animation's infancy the cartoons tended to depict either bizarre imagery or characters doing "ordinary" things. It wasn't until the late '30s when cartoons started having complex - if silly - stories. This one is okay if you want to see all of Felix's old cartoons.
Miller's Girl (2024)
Wednesday meets Bilbo
"Miller's Girl", from first-time director Jade Halley Bartlett is one of those movies that has an interesting plot but a less-than-stellar execution. It focuses on the relationship between a college professor (Martin Freeman) and his student (Jenna Ortega). Their focus on Henry Miller's works starts spinning out of control.
The movie has well-developed characters and good direction. I think that the main problem is the pacing. A lot of the movie drags. I would've liked to see some background to the characters (or would that have amounted to unnecessary padding?).
Basically, the movie is a mild exercise in southern gothic. I didn't find it anything special, although it had excellent performances from Freeman and Ortega. Maybe worth seeing once.
The Other Lamb (2019)
cult as ice
We sometimes hear about cults, but we don't realize what it's like to be part of one. "The Other Lamb" depicts a polygamist cult where the women are forced to be breeders for the single man. The cult looks like a mixture of "The Handmaid's Tale" and the cult from which the title character got rescued on "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" (also with an element of the fundamentalist Mormon compound that forced fifteen-year-old girls to dress as if they were still living in the nineteenth century).
Personally I felt like Malgorzata Szumowska's movie dragged a bit too much to be any sort of great movie. It's a good movie if you're trying to get an idea of how sick some of these cults are, but otherwise it doesn't have much. We get to see some beautiful shots of the Irish countryside, though.
Away from Her (2006)
this may come to pass with a lot of us
Sarah Polley had been acting in movies for many years when she decided to adapt Alice Munro's "Away from Her" to the big screen. One of the most powerful movies that I've ever watched, it casts Julie Christie (in an Academy Award-nominated role) as a woman suffering from Alzheimer's. I have to admit that I've never known anyone suffering from the disease, so I can't comment on the accuracy, but Christie puts her all into the role, so that the viewer feels for her every step of the way.
This topic also got covered in "Still Alice", for which Julianne Moore won an Oscar. Both movies give a deep look at Alzheimer's, and I think that it would be worth watching them back-to-back. They're certainly movies that everyone should see (we need more movies like these and fewer movies whose plot is Tom Cruise narrowly avoiding all danger).
The rest of the cast includes Gordon Pinsent, Michael Murphy, Olympia Dukakis and Wendy Crewson.
The Brothers Grimm (2005)
the stories come from somewhere
Undeniably, "The Brothers Grimm" won't be for everyone. In my case, I interpreted Terry Gilliam's movie as one of the many cool, unusual versions of fairy tales (along with "Freeway", "Into the Woods", the 2003 movie "Grimm", and the TV series "Grimm"). If the dark, grotesque material shocks you, then you need reminding that these didn't start out as cute stories to comfort children; that came about when Disney mangled them.
Anyway, this depicts the brothers (Matt Damon and Heath Ledger) as con artists who suddenly have to battle an actual evil entity. With the man behind "Time Bandits", "Brazil" and "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" behind the camera, you know that you're in for some surreal stuff. I liked it, anyway.
Obviously it's about as historically accurate as "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure", but this is one movie that's all about the weirdness factor. I suspect that anyone with a flair for dark fantasy will enjoy it. The rest of the cast includes Monica Bellucci (of "Bram Stoker's Dracula", "Malena" and the upcoming "Beetlejuice 2"), Peter Stormare (of "Fargo" and "Constantine") and Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister on "Game of Thrones").
Another movie about the Grimms is the 1962 fantasy-comedy "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm", starring Laurence Harvey, Karlheinz Böhm, Jim Backus, Barbara Eden and Buddy Hackett.
Rain (2001)
once upon a time in New Zealand
When people think of New Zealand cinema, they most likely think of Peter Jackson and Taika Waititi. This makes "Rain" all the more interesting. Christine Jeffs's directorial debut focuses on a girl's coming-of-age in the '70s while her parents' marriage is starting to unravel. This is a character-driven, deliberately slow-moving film without any major stars, so you'd better be the type with a long attention span if you intend to watch it. Very much the opposite of a typical Hollywood movie.
One might say that, as shown in the likes of "The Ice Storm" and "Igby Goes Down", sometimes the child is the most forward-thinking member of the family. Children are the future, after all. This is one that I recommend. Jeffs went on to direct "Sylvia"* (about Sylvia Plath) and "Sunshine Cleaning" (about a cleanup business), and she apparently has a movie coming out this year with Elizabeth Banks.
Another 2001 release sometimes called "Rain" was an Iranian movie called "Baran".
*Incidentally, the actress who plays the mom starred in an unrelated 1985 movie by that title.
Tek dou bou (1992)
my introduction to Johnnie To
"Tek dou bou" ("Lucky Encounter" in English) is the first Johnnie To movie that I've seen. A quite enjoyable one, I might add. As in many Hong Kong movies, it has a ridiculous plot that's an excuse for a series of gags. In this case, some inventors come across a murdered boy's ghost, and they decide to help him avenge his death.
Of course, it's one of the most cornball things imaginable, with a whole sequence that appears to be based on "Home Alone". The one problem that I had was that there was a lot of product placement (I'm not sure if it was deliberate or the Coca-Cola just happened to be there, but it was sure prominent). Other than that, I liked the movie.
Overall, it's a fun movie. Not as much in the way of martial arts as other Hong Kong movies, but that's not a problem. I'm eager to see To's other movies.
Dinner at Eight (1933)
Machinery? Try artificial intelligence!
Watching this adaptation of George Kaufman's "Dinner at Eight", one can definitely get the feeling that it's a George Cukor movie (he tended to depict glamorous gals). Despite the title, the meal in question doesn't come until the end. Up to that point, it's about the attendees, their personalities, and their relationships with each other.
On the one hand, it's a bit eye-rolling that the entire movie is about these rich snobs and their comments about each other, but it does poke fun at that whole world. And besides, who doesn't love the sight of Jean Harlow (understanding of course that her character is a total jerk to her maid)? I wouldn't call the movie a masterpiece, but it's certainly enjoyable.
To think, back then some people predicted that machinery would make work obsolete. They never predicted AI.
Strange Darling (2023)
nonlinear events in the Beaver State make for a fine horror flick
I learned of JT Mollner's "Strange Darling" because Barbara Crampton was recommending it on her Twitter, so I decided to see it (note: Crampton isn't in the movie). Quite an impressive movie. Not just because it's the only horror movie - at least in my recent memory - set in my home state, but also how the out-of-sequence narrative plays tricks on the audience.
Basically, movies like this show why it still makes sense to give movies a theatrical release instead of just releasing them straight to streaming. It's definitely one that deserves to get recognized. The clever direction and editing make it one that you gotta see.
So are you a hippie or a biker?
Witness Unprotected (2018)
the Schwartz was not with Princess Vespa
Daphne Zuniga is best known for Mel Brooks's "Star Wars" spoof "Spaceballs" as the Princess Leia character. Well now she appears in a supposed thriller that even the most simple-minded person could've written. Fred Olen Ray's "Witness Unprotected" casts her as a photographer who becomes a target after photographing a murder.
Basically everything about it is the most simplistic stuff imaginable. If you asked a third-grader to write a complex story, this is probably what they'd come up with.
Ray's best movie is 1992's "Evil Toons" (basically "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" by way of Wes Craven or John Carpenter). This isn't worth your time.
El juego de Arcibel (2003)
chess and crosswords for a political prisoner
"El juego de Arcibel" ("Arcibel's Game" in English) is set in a fictional country but is probably influenced by Argentina's history, namely the Dirty War of the 1970s. The protagonist is an apolitical columnist arrested by a military junta due to a misunderstanding of an article. Even after the junta collapses he doesn't get released due to the records having gotten lost. In other words, prison is where he truly finds out who he is.
Alberto Lecchi's movie is certainly an unusual look at life under a dictatorship. Usually the focus is on political opponents targeted by the regime, but here we see the effect on an apparently neutral person. It's appropriate to incorporate chess into the story, as chess is an analysis of medieval Europe (and any hierarchical society): the pawns represent the common people, and they're considered expendable. It was Stanley Kubrick's favorite game, and he incorporated its theme of a power structure into "Paths of Glory" and "Dr. Strangelove".
Anyway, an interesting movie. Another Argentine movie dealing with life under a dictatorship (actually focusing on the Disappeared under the Dirty War, in fact) is the Academy Award-winning film "The Official Story".
La fiancée de Dracula (2002)
if you like hot babes then you'll like this, otherwise probably not
Often overlooked in discussions of the wave of new kinds of movies in the late '60s and early '70s is the new kinds of horror flicks. Jean Rollin was one of the wave of new Euro-horror directors of the era. His movies tended to feature unabashed gore and eroticism. His output started to dwindle in the '90s.
At the beginning of the 21st century, he released this oddity. "La fiancée de Dracula" ("Dracula's Fiancee" in English) depicts vampire hunters investigating a group of vampire-like individuals. There's the requisite nudity and bloodsucking. Otherwise, the movie just sort of drags on a lot. It's not a terrible movie but it seems like they drew it out too much. The movie's strengths are the shots of the castle where everyone converges.
Anyway, teenage boys will no doubt enjoy the sight of all the hot babes. I don't predict anyone else getting into the movie.
The One (2001)
Corey Yuen, RIP
Earlier this year, it came out that action choreographer Corey Yuen had died of COVID in 2022, but his death hadn't gotten reported at the time. Knowing of his death, I decided to watch this movie that he worked on.
The idea of a multiverse got famously explored in the Academy Award-winning "Everything Everywhere All at Once". Over twenty years earlier James Wong had depicted the concept with "The One", about a man trying to kill the versions of himself in different universes to absorb their power.
Since this is a Jet Li movie, that should tell you that it's nonstop action. Martial arts and car crashes, all cranked up to eleven. If you're the type who expects every movie to be a Fellini movie, then you'll want to avoid this one like the plague; what we have here is total brain candy. It's pure entertainment from start to finish. Very much the sort of movie that you'd want to watch after a hard day's work. Enjoyable in that sense.
In addition to Jet Li, it also has Carla Gugino (most recently of the Netflix miniseries "Fall of the House of Usher"), Delroy Lindo, Jason Statham, and an early appearance of Dean Norris (Hank on "Breaking Bad").
A Private Matter (1992)
in 1992 it was simply part of history, now it's a gravely serious matter
The Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade makes Sherri Finkbine's story all the more important. I had never heard of the story until I watched Joan Micklin Silver's 1992 movie "A Private Matter", starring Sissy Spacek as the pregnant TV host in 1962 who discovered that she had taken thalidomide, deforming her fetus and requiring an abortion.
This is one of the few movies that I know of that focuses on abortion, as the execs usually fear that depicting it will make a movie unmarketable in entire regions of the country. That makes it all the more important for stories like this to get told. Definitely see it.
Also starring are Aidan Quinn, Estelle Parsons, Xander Berkeley and William H. Macy.
Somewhere Quiet (2023)
What was this supposed to be about?
I could barely understand the plot of Olivia West Lloyd's "Somewhere Quiet". Some convoluted stuff about a woman who goes with her husband to his childhood house where she starts having eerie visions. Other than that it was just plain confusing. I watched the movie on Hulu because I had nothing better to do (well, I probably could've found something better to do). Not even a thunderstorm that was taking place outside the apartment while I was watching it made it more intense. Just a total waste in every way. Last year produced a number of cool horror flicks (Renfield, The Boogeyman, Suitable Flesh, and Late Night with the Devil, to name just a few), so you can avoid this one.
Blacklight (2022)
Liam, I'm saying this as someone who considers you one of the best actors of your generation: go back to serious roles!
I learned of Liam Neeson when "Schindler's List" got released, and he earned well-deserved praise for his role as an industrialist who saved over a thousand Jews from the gas chambers. Over the next decade he starred in a number of serious movies: "Nell", "Rob Roy", "Les Miserables" and "Breakfast on Pluto", to name a few. Without a doubt, he made a name as a highbrow actor.
Then suddenly, he switched to empty action movies. "Blacklight" is one of many. Nonstop car chases, product placement, and undeveloped characters make this one that you should NOT see. The only reason why I didn't give it one star is because Aidan Quinn's character mentions Cointelpro (one of the evilest parts of the FBI's history). Otherwise, the movie's an absolute mess. Just avoid it.
Victoria & Abdul (2017)
the fact remains that a colony's a colony
Judi Dench had already played Queen Victoria in 1997's "Mrs. Brown" when Stephen Frears cast her as the monarch who ruled the United Kingdom (as well as the whole British Empire) for most of the nineteenth century. "Victoria & Abdul" looks at a part of history that only got discovered in 2010: Victoria's friendship with a man from India who had come to England to present her with a coin.
It was strange to see the person at the top of the world's most powerful empire befriending someone from her country's prize colony. Of course, their friendship didn't alter the fact that the British controlled India. Just a few decades later, the British army would open fire on protesters in Amritsar. The last piece of harm that the British did to the subcontinent was the splitting of it into the modern states of India and Pakistan, causing a mass migration and continuing hostility between the Hindus and Muslims.
Anyway, it's an interesting story. I will admit that while watching it, some scenes prompted me to blurt out sarcastic comments; what else are you supposed to do at the sight of stodgy rich English people?
Worth seeing.
The Station Agent (2003)
training day
I heard about "The Station Agent" when it got released in the theaters but never got around to seeing it, even after it got released on DVD. Over twenty years later, I've finally seen it. Truly a fine piece of work, looking at the relationship between three people. Peter Dinklage plays a dwarf who inherits a plot of land that includes a derelict train depot. He befriends the owner (Bobby Cannavale) of a food truck nearby, and also an artist (Patricia Clarkson) with some problems in her life.
It's probably banal to say that Tom McCarthy's movie is about how surprises and chance can bring people together. What I can say is that the movie's perceptive focus on interpersonal relationships makes it one of the best of 2003. This won't be for the crowd that expects every movie to be two hours of explosions, car chases, robots, superheroes, etc. This is about people. It's definitely one that I recommend, so see it if you get a chance.
Appearing in supporting roles are Michelle Williams, John Slattery (Mad Men) and Richard Kind (Young Sheldon). Tom McCarthy went on to direct the Academy Award-winning "Spotlight".
The House on Carroll Street (1988)
no telling how many came in
At first, "The House on Carroll Street" looks as if it's simply going to be about McCarthyism and the blacklist, with Kelly McGillis as a woman getting questioned about her leftist views. But then it shifts to a story about the government smuggling Nazis into the US (which actually happened under a program called Operation Paperclip). Many of them got hired for NASA's space program, and the Soviet Union hired its own set. Of course, it should be no surprise that the McCarthyites wanted to hire Nazis: the Nazis were more anticommunist than anyone.
Anyway, it's not a masterpiece, but I recommend it. Jeff Daniels would later co-star in "Good Night, and Good Luck" (about Edward R. Murrow's takedown of McCarthy), while Mandy Patinkin had previously co-starred in "Daniel" (as a fictionalized version of Julius Rosenberg).
Why Can't We Be a Family Again? (2002)
everyone's gotta have some family
Right after watching Roger Weisberg's Academy Award-nominated "Why Can't We Be a Family Again?", I read that Simone Biles has a drug-addicted mother who abandoned her but is now trying to reconnect with her. That makes the documentary all the more important, seeing how the children of people with drug problems have to live with someone else and hopefully can make something of themselves. In this case, a pair of boys in Brooklyn are living with their grandmother while their mother goes through drug treatment. The question remains as to whether she'll ever have the right to have contact with them.
While short, it's a hard-hitting documentary, seeing what some people's lives are like. It's impressive that Roger Weisberg and Murray Nossel were able to come across this story. It's a good thing that they did, so that the rest of us can learn about this family. I hope that the boys did eventually manage to make something of themselves.
The Navigators (2001)
the inevitable result of privatization
Ken Loach has spent most of his career directing movies about class issues in the United Kingdom. Early examples were "Poor Cow" and "Kes". One from the 21st century is "The Navigators", about the effect of the privatization of the UK's rail system on the livelihoods of the employees. These Yorkshire men are the polar opposite of the individuals depicted in "important" British cinema: gruff and often hard to understand, these are guys just trying to make a living in a heartless world.
As one of Margaret Thatcher's #1 critics, Loach called for her funeral to get privatized, as she would've wanted it like that. Although a longtime supporter of the Labor Party, Loach further criticized Tony Blair for continuing Thatcher's policies (and for helping George W. Bush invade Iraq). Obviously, the Labor Party won a landslide victory in the UK's general election last month, so the question remains as to whether or not the new government will be willing to pursue social democracy or continue business as usual.
All in all, a fine movie. One of Ken Loach's major criticisms of the British film industry is its unwillingness to focus on the Regions (places outside of London). The contrast between this and, say, "Four Weddings and a Funeral" could not be clearer. Definitely see it.
The Killer Eye (1999)
this exists to feature nudity more than horror
I recently made a list of movies to see, ranked by director. One of the directors is David DeCoteau. I came across "The Killer Eye" under his movies and found it on Tubi.
Basically, this movie's target audience is teenage boys who want to see actresses' breasts. The plot involves an evil entity brought in from the eighth dimension, but said entity seems to spend more time ogling naked babes than killing.
The only cast member whom you'll likely recognize isn't in the movie itself: scream queen Linnea Quigley appears in a movie that a pair of idiots watch on TV (I hope to eventually see said movie).
In the end, there's nothing significant about this one, except for shots of the Jacqueline Lovell's and Nanette Bianchi's bare torsos.
Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes (2024)
and like that, there's so much to learn
Elizabeth Taylor brings to mind many things: her glamor, her numerous marriages, her calling attention to AIDS, and so on. But who was she as a person?
Nanette Burstein's "Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes" sets out to answer this question. Featuring a recently unearthed 1964 interview with Liz. The actress talks about her career, her personal life, and other things. Although Taylor doesn't mention it in the interview, the documentary notes her friendship with gay actors Montgomery Clift and Rock Hudson; it sounds as though she was more comfortable around gay men than straight men, and she made sure to cover for her gay friends. As to Liz's serial marriages, I guess that we could chalk this up to her fame sweeping over her at a young age, or maybe that Hollywood was trying to boost her image (not counting her marriage to Mike Todd, which ended with his death in a plane crash). The documentary doesn't mention Taylor's friendship with Michael Jackson; I guess that his reputation has suffered too much to reference.
What emerges is an actress who was more than the sum of her parts. Whatever you think of Elizabeth Taylor's movies or about her as a person, you can't deny the impact that she had on popular culture. I think it's safe to say that her legacy will live on forever.
13th (2016)
this was by design
You may have heard the term "prison-industrial complex". What you might not have realized is that it's basically written into the US Constitution. Ava DuVernay's Academy Award-nominated "13th" explores how the amendment that presumably ended slavery in fact allowed slavery as punishment for a crime. Sure enough, this became a profitable enterprise. The de facto reestablishment of slavery started out as the kind of work usually associated with the plantation system. But the launching of the so-called War on Drugs enabled mass arrests of mostly African-Americans, resulting in the US (with 5% of the world population) having a quarter of all imprisoned people worldwide.
Apparently, the documentary experienced a 4,665% surge in viewership on Netflix during the George Floyd protests. Watching the scenes of police brutalizing and killing black folks, I drew a straight line between the footage in the documentary and Floyd's killing. Basically, if you want to understand racism, then you have to see this documentary. You will never again look at US history the same way.
Smala Sussie (2003)
nobody messes with Samuel L. Jackson
I happened to read about Ulf Malmros's "Smala Sussie" ("Slim Susie" in English) a few years ago, and added it to my list of movies to see. I finally got around to doing so.
Interesting movie focusing on a man who returns to his hometown after his sister disappears, resulting in the revelation of assorted townspeople's backstories. A lot of surprises in store. Since we tend to think of Sweden as the Garden of Eden with snow, this movie will give us a different image. My favorite parts were the scenes in the movie fan's house; the scenes in the video store will bring to mind a number of movies from the early aughts.
It's not a masterpiece, but still a clever flick. In addition to the main cast (Tuva Novotny, Jonas Rimeika, Kjell Bergqvist), there's also an appearance my Michael Nyqvist, best known as the detective in the Millennium trilogy.