Second viewing (first one: September 16, 1989).
Henry Morgan, an English pirate, is appointed governor of Jamaica by the king of England. He invites his former partners in crime, amongst whom is young James Waring, to assist him in the Jamaican government. Captain Leech is the only one who prefers to continue in piracy. Waring falls in love with the former governor's daughter, but she despises him, and besides is already engaged to another man. A series of attacks on English ships pose a threat to Morgan's position.
Well-made swashbuckler, good-looking and with an agreeable narrative flow.
Rating: 54 (down from 62)
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
Another Year (2010)
The routine of some people who know one another. The tacit center of the group is at Tom and his wife Gerry, he a geologist, she a psychological counselor. Mary is Gerry's secretary and best friend, who leans on Tom and Gerry at her difficult times. Then there is Tom and Gerry's bachelor son Joe, Tom's brother Ronny, and some other minor characters.
Remarkable study of human relations at their most unexceptional. All these characters ring true, and will even probably resemble someone you and I know. Deceitfully casual, the progression of events has a very smart sense of humor to it, of a penetrating yet somehow compassionate kind. This is the kind of film a person who has enjoyed it will feel inclined to talk endlessly about, and end up with the feeling of failing to do justice to it, or reach its essence. It is also possibly the best film of its director I have seen, with the caveat that I have seen everything since Life Is Sweet (excepting the shorts), and nothing prior to it.
A little note to myself (and whoever else would be interested); there is an intriguing scene in this film, which might be just a bit of a slip on the part of the filmmaker, or perhaps something else. Gerry and Mary are talking in the kitchen, when Mary is at Gerry's uninvited and unannounced. Mary asks whether Gerry is angry at her, and Gerry says she has let her down. Gerry then says Mary must take responsibility for her actions. It is not clear to me what actions are these. It could not be merely because she dropped by without calling first (not such a big thing, I think). Nor it would be related, it seems, to Mary's behavior when she was introduced to Katie (Joe's girlfriend), since nothing of consequence happened. So, the only explanation I can come up with is that something happened outside the film's narrative. The reasons for such a hypothetical ellipsis are not clear.
Rating: 89
Remarkable study of human relations at their most unexceptional. All these characters ring true, and will even probably resemble someone you and I know. Deceitfully casual, the progression of events has a very smart sense of humor to it, of a penetrating yet somehow compassionate kind. This is the kind of film a person who has enjoyed it will feel inclined to talk endlessly about, and end up with the feeling of failing to do justice to it, or reach its essence. It is also possibly the best film of its director I have seen, with the caveat that I have seen everything since Life Is Sweet (excepting the shorts), and nothing prior to it.
A little note to myself (and whoever else would be interested); there is an intriguing scene in this film, which might be just a bit of a slip on the part of the filmmaker, or perhaps something else. Gerry and Mary are talking in the kitchen, when Mary is at Gerry's uninvited and unannounced. Mary asks whether Gerry is angry at her, and Gerry says she has let her down. Gerry then says Mary must take responsibility for her actions. It is not clear to me what actions are these. It could not be merely because she dropped by without calling first (not such a big thing, I think). Nor it would be related, it seems, to Mary's behavior when she was introduced to Katie (Joe's girlfriend), since nothing of consequence happened. So, the only explanation I can come up with is that something happened outside the film's narrative. The reasons for such a hypothetical ellipsis are not clear.
Rating: 89
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Jesse James (1939)
Second viewing (first one: between 1983 and 1986).
In 19th-century America, the railroad company employed dishonesty and, if necessary, force, to grab the land they wanted. The James brothers resist and Jesse shoots the railroad agent in self-defense, being subsequently accused of criminal conduct. The situation gets even worse for the Jameses and they must hide and live as outlaws.
The beginning is strong, some scenes near the end are fine too, the midsection is uneven, on occasion being unimaginative and unexciting.
Rating: 52 (up from 51)
In 19th-century America, the railroad company employed dishonesty and, if necessary, force, to grab the land they wanted. The James brothers resist and Jesse shoots the railroad agent in self-defense, being subsequently accused of criminal conduct. The situation gets even worse for the Jameses and they must hide and live as outlaws.
The beginning is strong, some scenes near the end are fine too, the midsection is uneven, on occasion being unimaginative and unexciting.
Rating: 52 (up from 51)
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
My Darling Clementine (1946)
Second or third viewing (last one: March 13, 1988; an uncertain previous one may have happened between 1983 and 1986).
Wyatt Earp and his brothers are taking their cattle to California and pass through a desertic mining town called Tombstone, where his brother James is murdered and his cattle is stolen. He and his other brothers decide to stay, and Wyatt accepts the job of town marshal, in the hopes of finding his brother's killers, whom he strongly suspects to be the Clantons. He befriends Doc Holliday, a Tombstone resident, who used to be a medical doctor and now is a kind of gunfighter.
Very touching Western, virtuosically directed, and with many memorable scenes and sequences.
Rating: 77 (unchanged)
Wyatt Earp and his brothers are taking their cattle to California and pass through a desertic mining town called Tombstone, where his brother James is murdered and his cattle is stolen. He and his other brothers decide to stay, and Wyatt accepts the job of town marshal, in the hopes of finding his brother's killers, whom he strongly suspects to be the Clantons. He befriends Doc Holliday, a Tombstone resident, who used to be a medical doctor and now is a kind of gunfighter.
Very touching Western, virtuosically directed, and with many memorable scenes and sequences.
Rating: 77 (unchanged)
Monday, March 25, 2013
I Saw What You Did (1965)
Second viewing (first one: March 29, 1998).
Two teenage girls and one child are alone one night in the house of one of them. To pass the time, they play pranks with the telephone.
A well-calculated entertainment, with an intelligent script and a flawless execution.
Rating: 61 (up from 52)
Two teenage girls and one child are alone one night in the house of one of them. To pass the time, they play pranks with the telephone.
A well-calculated entertainment, with an intelligent script and a flawless execution.
Rating: 61 (up from 52)
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Second viewing.
About an elderly box gym owner who trains a young female boxer and becomes her best friend.
Probably one of the saddest films of all time. The screenplay plays by the rules of convention, and it works.
Rating: 69 (unchanged)
About an elderly box gym owner who trains a young female boxer and becomes her best friend.
Probably one of the saddest films of all time. The screenplay plays by the rules of convention, and it works.
Rating: 69 (unchanged)
The Hurt Locker (2008)
A bomb-disarming squad's adventures in Iraq. Some conflicts appear between the reckless bom-disarming technician and his teammates.
A mediocre screenplay sets the general level of this very mildly entertaining film. I cannot think of anything more to say.
Rating: 40
A mediocre screenplay sets the general level of this very mildly entertaining film. I cannot think of anything more to say.
Rating: 40
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Second viewing.
Based on the novel by Anthony Burgess (1st ed. 1962).
A delinquent youth with authoritarian and sadistic traits is the leader of a gang in the near (?) future. He is arrested, and, while in prison, offered a new treatment which, it is claimed, would cure him of his antisocial tendencies.
Very stytlized farce, fairly amusing. The futuristic jargon seemed a good idea at the time, but today it comes off as a frivolity with no reason. When I saw it in a Brazilian theater back in 1982, censorship had all female's nipples and all genitals covered with dots superimposed upon the image.
Rating: 57 (up from 56)
Based on the novel by Anthony Burgess (1st ed. 1962).
A delinquent youth with authoritarian and sadistic traits is the leader of a gang in the near (?) future. He is arrested, and, while in prison, offered a new treatment which, it is claimed, would cure him of his antisocial tendencies.
Very stytlized farce, fairly amusing. The futuristic jargon seemed a good idea at the time, but today it comes off as a frivolity with no reason. When I saw it in a Brazilian theater back in 1982, censorship had all female's nipples and all genitals covered with dots superimposed upon the image.
Rating: 57 (up from 56)
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951)
Second viewing (First one: February 07, 1989)
Biography of one of Germany's World War II generals, who commanded the Afrikakorps, and later joined the conspiracy to kill Hitler.
An interesting film, about the dilemma of the military man's position. It has to be said, however, that Churchill's statement, shown in the end of the movie, that Rommel "came to hate Hitler and all his works", has no evidence in the film to support it. What the film does show is that Hitler was a disastrous military commander, and that is all there is to the conflict with Rommel, per this film. The use of Churchill's phrase is a romanticization, an attempt to go beyond the limits of the film itself.
Rating: 61 (unchanged)
Biography of one of Germany's World War II generals, who commanded the Afrikakorps, and later joined the conspiracy to kill Hitler.
An interesting film, about the dilemma of the military man's position. It has to be said, however, that Churchill's statement, shown in the end of the movie, that Rommel "came to hate Hitler and all his works", has no evidence in the film to support it. What the film does show is that Hitler was a disastrous military commander, and that is all there is to the conflict with Rommel, per this film. The use of Churchill's phrase is a romanticization, an attempt to go beyond the limits of the film itself.
Rating: 61 (unchanged)
Monday, March 18, 2013
A Man for All Seasons (1966)
A fictitious drama based on the predicament of Thomas More, in 16th-century England, who would not give his explicit support to King Henry VIII's establishment of the Church of England so that he could remarry.
This is a case which fits very neatly into T.S. Eliot's theory of objective correlative. In the essay "Hamlet and His Problems", Eliot charges Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" of lacking the so-called "objective correlative", meaning that his source material did not possess the right elements to convey the concepts he intended to. I do not exactly agree (and perhaps do not exactly understand) why that would apply to "Hamlet", but I think it does apply to A Man for All Seasons. The real Thomas More, a religious fanatic, is not adequate material for a play or movie purporting to discuss the supremacy of individual conscience. Even if you totally ignore that this is supposed to be a historical movie, it doesn't work, precisely because certain facts remain faithful to History. The result is a Frankenstein monster, albeit a surprisingly watchable Frankenstein monster. Its parts are infinitely better than its whole.
Rating: 63
This is a case which fits very neatly into T.S. Eliot's theory of objective correlative. In the essay "Hamlet and His Problems", Eliot charges Shakespeare's play "Hamlet" of lacking the so-called "objective correlative", meaning that his source material did not possess the right elements to convey the concepts he intended to. I do not exactly agree (and perhaps do not exactly understand) why that would apply to "Hamlet", but I think it does apply to A Man for All Seasons. The real Thomas More, a religious fanatic, is not adequate material for a play or movie purporting to discuss the supremacy of individual conscience. Even if you totally ignore that this is supposed to be a historical movie, it doesn't work, precisely because certain facts remain faithful to History. The result is a Frankenstein monster, albeit a surprisingly watchable Frankenstein monster. Its parts are infinitely better than its whole.
Rating: 63
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Second viewing (First one: January 01, 1988).
A down-on-his-luck Hollywood writer is stranded by chance in a rundown mansion inhabited by a former star from the silent days. She invites him in, and from then on it is all downhill for him. Gosh, what is with all the "down" words?
I am considerably less dazzled by this movie after this viewing. Some of its effects seem a little facile (the staircase scene at the ending, to mention one). The whole structure still packs some power, yes, and some sequences are marvelous (the beginning, the whole studio sequence, etc.). Most of it seemed terribly predictable, but (1) I do not find this a flaw in itself, and (2) the fact that I saw it before may have something to do with it.
Rating: 73 (down from 97)
A down-on-his-luck Hollywood writer is stranded by chance in a rundown mansion inhabited by a former star from the silent days. She invites him in, and from then on it is all downhill for him. Gosh, what is with all the "down" words?
I am considerably less dazzled by this movie after this viewing. Some of its effects seem a little facile (the staircase scene at the ending, to mention one). The whole structure still packs some power, yes, and some sequences are marvelous (the beginning, the whole studio sequence, etc.). Most of it seemed terribly predictable, but (1) I do not find this a flaw in itself, and (2) the fact that I saw it before may have something to do with it.
Rating: 73 (down from 97)
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Machete (2010)
A Mexican-born day laborer is hired to kill a rightwing senator who is running for reelection.
A parody of low-grade thrillers of the 70s, even though I am not aware of any example which features Mexican Americans. The humor is based on graphic over-the-top violence, and also on a few surrealistic touches. The plot itself is a satire of both rabid rightwingers and nutty liberals. The point against liberals is perhaps less evident, but one needs only think of the absurd dimension of the fictitious pro-immigrant "network", devoted to ensure that every Mexican wishing to come to the U.S.A. is allowed to do so and have a good life there. So much energy would be better spent improving the quality of life in Mexico. Furthermore, if this was taken to its ultimate consequences, all Mexicans would cross the border, thus turning the U.S.A. into an exact reproduction of Mexico, with its same problems, and from which, logically, people would feel the need to emigrate all over again.
Rating: 51
A parody of low-grade thrillers of the 70s, even though I am not aware of any example which features Mexican Americans. The humor is based on graphic over-the-top violence, and also on a few surrealistic touches. The plot itself is a satire of both rabid rightwingers and nutty liberals. The point against liberals is perhaps less evident, but one needs only think of the absurd dimension of the fictitious pro-immigrant "network", devoted to ensure that every Mexican wishing to come to the U.S.A. is allowed to do so and have a good life there. So much energy would be better spent improving the quality of life in Mexico. Furthermore, if this was taken to its ultimate consequences, all Mexicans would cross the border, thus turning the U.S.A. into an exact reproduction of Mexico, with its same problems, and from which, logically, people would feel the need to emigrate all over again.
Rating: 51
Monday, March 11, 2013
Ladyhawke (1985)
Third viewing (First one: 1985 or 1986; Second one: August 10, 1993
The Middle Ages. A bishop falls in love with a young woman, but she rejects him for the captain of the castle guard. The bishop then throws a curse on the couple: he takes the form of a wolf by night; she takes the form of a hawk by day; thus, they can never meet as man and woman, except for a few seconds during twilight and dawn. A teenage thief escapes from the castle dungeons and meets the captain, who takes him under his wing.
A film both entertaining and good-looking. It is notoriously ruined by the pop score, but I am not taking this factor into consideration in my rating.
Rating: 69 (unchanged)
The Middle Ages. A bishop falls in love with a young woman, but she rejects him for the captain of the castle guard. The bishop then throws a curse on the couple: he takes the form of a wolf by night; she takes the form of a hawk by day; thus, they can never meet as man and woman, except for a few seconds during twilight and dawn. A teenage thief escapes from the castle dungeons and meets the captain, who takes him under his wing.
A film both entertaining and good-looking. It is notoriously ruined by the pop score, but I am not taking this factor into consideration in my rating.
Rating: 69 (unchanged)
Saturday, March 09, 2013
The Paradine Case (1947)
Second viewing (First one: January 26, 1989)
A woman is accused of murdering her husband, a blind man. The lawyer who will defend her falls in love with her, even though he is married, happily so to all appearances; he begins to think the dead man's valet played a part in the mysterious death in question.
The first time I saw this I did it on a dubbed and badly scraped copy. I now had a reasonable one at my disposal, but its length was 115 minutes, less than that of the original release, 132 minutes (or 125 in the PAL version). So, there were at least 10 minutes of film which were absent from my copy. Although I do not know to which part or parts of the film these absent bits belonged, I suspect that they must have to do with the process of falling in love that the defense lawyer goes through, because there is nearly nothing in the film I saw depicting that process. In any case, I retract from my previous hostile opinion towards the movie; there are enough qualities, both scriptwise and directionwise, in it to provide for a pleasurable viewing. It is clear to me that this is a film about the effects of a trial on those involved with it, either directly or indirectly, and it tackles this theme ably.
Rating: 60 (up from 30)
A woman is accused of murdering her husband, a blind man. The lawyer who will defend her falls in love with her, even though he is married, happily so to all appearances; he begins to think the dead man's valet played a part in the mysterious death in question.
The first time I saw this I did it on a dubbed and badly scraped copy. I now had a reasonable one at my disposal, but its length was 115 minutes, less than that of the original release, 132 minutes (or 125 in the PAL version). So, there were at least 10 minutes of film which were absent from my copy. Although I do not know to which part or parts of the film these absent bits belonged, I suspect that they must have to do with the process of falling in love that the defense lawyer goes through, because there is nearly nothing in the film I saw depicting that process. In any case, I retract from my previous hostile opinion towards the movie; there are enough qualities, both scriptwise and directionwise, in it to provide for a pleasurable viewing. It is clear to me that this is a film about the effects of a trial on those involved with it, either directly or indirectly, and it tackles this theme ably.
Rating: 60 (up from 30)
Friday, March 08, 2013
The Blues Brothers (1980)
Second viewing.
Two brothers, one of them just released from prison, try to reassemble a rhythm-and-blues band, and also pay a religious institution's income tax debt.
It is hard to say anything new about such an abundantly seen and commented film. That it somehow has an excessive fame, it's been said and it's correct. That the musical numbers are good, ditto. Other than that, there is a humor based on mayhem that is mildly funny.
Rating: 58 (unchanged)
Two brothers, one of them just released from prison, try to reassemble a rhythm-and-blues band, and also pay a religious institution's income tax debt.
It is hard to say anything new about such an abundantly seen and commented film. That it somehow has an excessive fame, it's been said and it's correct. That the musical numbers are good, ditto. Other than that, there is a humor based on mayhem that is mildly funny.
Rating: 58 (unchanged)
Sunday, March 03, 2013
What Planet Are You From? (2000)
An alien from an all-male planet comes to Earth with the mission of impregnating a woman.
Feeble comedy, repetitive and only at times mildly funny. Goodman is absolutely extraordinary as always, and the rest of the cast do what they can to make it all bearable.
Rating: 31
Feeble comedy, repetitive and only at times mildly funny. Goodman is absolutely extraordinary as always, and the rest of the cast do what they can to make it all bearable.
Rating: 31
Saturday, March 02, 2013
Play It Again, Sam (1972)
Second viewing.
Alan is left by his wife, and his friends Dick and Linda, who are married to each other, try to set him up on dates. Dick is a businessman who is always busy, and Linda, who, like Alan, suffers from anxiety, feels a little neglected.
This movie's humor, while showing his influences very clearly, has a certain dryness that is unique to it and to some other films by the same author. Grotesque is also an important feature. I am not sure I understood the more radical stylistic aspects of the movie when I first saw it. At any rate, for whatever reason I seem to have liked it in the right measure then.
Rating: 71 (unchanged)
Alan is left by his wife, and his friends Dick and Linda, who are married to each other, try to set him up on dates. Dick is a businessman who is always busy, and Linda, who, like Alan, suffers from anxiety, feels a little neglected.
This movie's humor, while showing his influences very clearly, has a certain dryness that is unique to it and to some other films by the same author. Grotesque is also an important feature. I am not sure I understood the more radical stylistic aspects of the movie when I first saw it. At any rate, for whatever reason I seem to have liked it in the right measure then.
Rating: 71 (unchanged)
Argo (2012)
In 1979, Iranians take the American embassy in Iran, holding several people hostage. Six of them escape from the building and take shelter in the Canadian ambassador's house. The CIA engineers a rescue plan which consists of faking a movie production which will use Iran as a shooting location.
Mediocre thriller. Most of the dramatic licenses it takes result in poor, 30s-serial-like dramatics, and are detectable by a moderately experienced viewer who knows nothing of the real events. Most of the additional dramatic filling suck even more, relying on the always reliable man-separated-from-wife-who-needs-to-connect-with-son thing, which not only is boring but adds nothing to the story. Anyway, parts of it are not so bad, and it is an eventful movie.
Rating: 35
Mediocre thriller. Most of the dramatic licenses it takes result in poor, 30s-serial-like dramatics, and are detectable by a moderately experienced viewer who knows nothing of the real events. Most of the additional dramatic filling suck even more, relying on the always reliable man-separated-from-wife-who-needs-to-connect-with-son thing, which not only is boring but adds nothing to the story. Anyway, parts of it are not so bad, and it is an eventful movie.
Rating: 35
Gumshoe (1971)
Second viewing.
There may be light SPOILERS below.
A nightclub host and comic decides to work as a private detective, and gets involved in a very complicated case. Foreign countries may be involved. His own brother seems to have a connection to it.
A moderately successful pastiche of films noirs (specifically of the private detective subgenre). The style and some plot elements introduce the subtheme of americanophilia, which may be read as a sign of the times, and the complete reversal of then-defunct anglophilia. The dialogue is agile, the plot is agile too (and well structured). The plot contains politically charged elements which were not common in the cinema of that period. The connection of these elements with the love of all things American is not something I can analyze in this terse review, supposing there is anything to be analyzed at all.
Rating: 51 (up from 37)
There may be light SPOILERS below.
A nightclub host and comic decides to work as a private detective, and gets involved in a very complicated case. Foreign countries may be involved. His own brother seems to have a connection to it.
A moderately successful pastiche of films noirs (specifically of the private detective subgenre). The style and some plot elements introduce the subtheme of americanophilia, which may be read as a sign of the times, and the complete reversal of then-defunct anglophilia. The dialogue is agile, the plot is agile too (and well structured). The plot contains politically charged elements which were not common in the cinema of that period. The connection of these elements with the love of all things American is not something I can analyze in this terse review, supposing there is anything to be analyzed at all.
Rating: 51 (up from 37)
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