Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Second viewing; first viewed on January 28, 1988.

The Vietnam war as seen by a private. Boot camp occupies almost half the film. The problems of a fat soldier who has extreme difficulty to follow the drill are the focus of that section. The second half is the war itself, where the protagonist serves as a member of the news unit.

A good film, structured in one big segment at the boot camp and several shorter ones in Vietnam. The film's tone is a mix of sarcasm and moral indignation. It is technically well made, and the situations are interesting. On this second viewing it became clearer to me that the film is not trying to be realistic. It's really one big pamphlet against war, and, as such, everything is exaggerated or stylized.

Rating: 66 (unchanged)

The Lonely Trail (1936)

After the American Civil War, a Texas-born man who has fought for the North returns home. He finds the place being ruled by a corrupt and murderous capetbagger General. He enlists in his army with the intent of getting inside information on his moves. When the General notices that several of his targets start to flee before his troops' arrival, he develops a (correct) suspicion that his new recruit is an informant.

Low-budget Western which is short on length and on thrills, and routine in every aspect. There is, however, according to an IMDB commenter, an intriguing similarity in plot with Gone with the Wind. You can read his review on this link. You can read it in extenso below, in case they delete it for some reason:

*begin quote*

6/10

Before Margaret Mitchell began pounding out . . .

oscaralbert 11 September 2016

Warning: Spoilers

. . . that Racist Revisionist Endless Melodramatic Exercise in Hate Speech known as GONE WITH THE WIND (on the shelves of most every American Urban High School Library, while THE Great American Novel--THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN--is Universally banned by the self-proclaimed Know-Nothings!), she was "inspired" (more accurately, Dispired) by this John Wayne flick, THE LONELY TRAIL. Wayne plays "John Ashley," to whom Ms. Mitchell pays homage with her similarly mealy-mouthed "Ashley Wilkes" character. TRAIL covers the entire War to Defeat Lazy Southerners' Racist Evil in about 12 seconds (beating GWTW by roughly an hour and a half--which most viewers will find to be a definite improvement!). Ann Rutherford plays the model for Ms. Mitchell's "Scarlett O'Hara," called "Virginia" here. To pad out GWTW into an Umpteen-hour soap opera, Mr. Mitchell splits Ashley and Virginia into a couple characters each. Otherwise, most of the familiar GWTW scenes are here, such as when Clark Gable convinces the Union Commander that Ashley is NOT the Grand Wizard of the KKK. By cutting out most of Ms. Mitchell's unseemly histrionics and cursing, TRAIL clocks in at a shade under 56 minutes, which is more than enough of a not-so-good thing.

*end quote*

I can't vouch for any of this information, as I have not read Gone with the Wind, and it has been some time since I watched its film adaptation.

Rating: 33

Pé na Tábua (1959)

A bus driver has to raise some money for his sister's operation. He is hired to transport to location the crew and cast of a film which is being made. There is a problem though: a man who wants to star in the film is sending letters threatening to kill the actual film star; the latter refuses to do his scenes until the would-be killer is caught. They come up with a plan: they will hire the bus driver as a stand-in in the hopes that he will work as a bait for the killer.

Terrible comedy with a few (weak) musical numbers. The plot is absurd, and the comicity is inane.

Rating: 26

Jaws 2 (1978)

The beach town of Jaws (1975)  is having some more mysterious deaths. Chief Brody alerts the mayor, but is faced with dismissal from him, who prefers to side with a greedy real estate businessman. Brody's insistence ends up with him being sacked from his job. To compound his afflictions, his two sons disobey him and sneak out to go sailing with friends.

Thriller pervaded by a distinctly conservative ideology about the dangers of adventure. Obey your parents -- that is the main message.

Rating: 40

Jaws (1975)

Second viewing, probably. I remember seeing it once on the occasion of its theatrical release where I live, in 1975 or 1976.

A beach town has some shark attacks just when the tourist season is opening. The police chief, plus a shark expert and a shark hunter, go out to hunt the shark.

This film is comprised of two sections, which are, respectively, variations on Ibsen's The Enemy of the People and Melville's Moby Dick. The dialogue and character interaction in general are poorly written and trite. On the other hand, the purely or mostly visual sequences are well filmed.

Rating: 51 (down from 58)

Stagecoach (1966)

Based on the 1937 short story "The Stage to Lordsburg" by Ernest Haycox, and the 1939 screenplay by Dudley Nichols based on it.

An assorted group of people travel by stagecoach through Sioux-infested territory. They are: a dance-hall girl who was expelled from town; an alcoholic doctor, also expelled from town; a liquor salesman; a card player; a bank employee who stole money from the bank; the wife of a cavalry officer; the town marshal; a fugitive from prison who was captured along the way and who wants to get revenge from the person who falsely accused him.

Passable remake, with an agreeable color cinematography, a competent cast, and well-filmed action sequences. Some aspects of the screenplay are perhaps questionable. For example, I did not find it very plausible that the dance-hall girl would get expelled just by being the cause of a fight between crazed soldiers; also implausible is the expulsion of the drunken doctor; neither of them seem to be a menace to society, and the man who ordered the expulsions is not clearly characterized as a villainous tyrant. But of course I never lived in the old West, and would not know for sure how things worked then and there. Also of note is the astounding degree of marksmanship of the passengers of the stagecoach. An IMDB commenter has pointed this, along with other fictional licenses, out:

Not Bad, but with typical western movie mistakes

Rating: 51

Entrei de Gaiato (1960)

A petty criminal decides to check in at a posh hotel passing off as a rich man and thus take advantage of the Carnival season to make some victims among the rich guests. One of his targets is a widow who is accompanied by her niece. The problem is that she is also passing off as rich when in fact she is looking for a rich husband for her niece (and if possible for her also). To complicate things further, there are international thieves at the hotel who are robbing the guests' jewels. And there is the upcoming arrival of an Oriental maharajah who might become the thieves' next victim.

Musical comedy with many musical numbers, nearly all of them featuring Brazilian Carnival marches. The plot has some points of contact with that of 24 Horas de Sonho (1941). The production values seem to be a notch above the average for Brazilian comedies of the period, but the sense of humor is just the usual in that kind of movie, that is, very simple and aiming at an undemanding audience. There is a step into bizarre territory when a minuscule comic actor who was famous in Brazil at that time sings a song in full drag.

Rating: 31

Sherlock de Araque (1958)

*spoilers ahead*
Deodato and Sertório are two cops who work on night patrol duty. Deodato is having troubles with his married life, since he only meets his wife for a few minutes when he comes home in the morning, and she is off to work. Sertório is unmarried, and intends to remain so, despite the insistent pressures he is getting from a girl he is seeing, who is a maid in a middle class home and bakes him cakes he loves more than her. Deodato is a lover of deductive science, and is taking a course on criminology in his off duty hours. He claims to be able to tell who is a criminal just by looking at a person. He is of course always wrong. The duo have their eyes on a man acting stealthily at night, and they even spot him through a window in his house wielding a big knife; they become sure he is a serial killer who is wanted by the police. It turns out he is a mere killer of chicken who is afraid of getting caught and having to pay a fine due to non-payment of a permit. On the other hand, another man they are passingly acquainted with, whom they take for an upstanding citizen, is actually a megacriminal who is the mastermind behind the planned robbery of the vault of a fancy clothes store. As it turns out, the robbers do not build the tunnel correctly and surface at the room where a fashion show is being held. They decide to kidnap the store owner instead and ask for a ransom. There is a search for the kidnapped businessman and several fights ensue. Other subplots involve the son and daughter of the clothes store owner, and their conflicts with their father, over a lazy lifestyle in the case of the son, and over a romantic choice in the case of the daughter. There is also a pickpocket who manages to repeatedly elude the policemen and ends up helping them locate the kidnappers' hideout.
*end of spoilers*

Weak comedy with childish dumbed-down humor and even some circus antics from one of the leading players, who was indeed a circus clown. There is plenty of action in the last section, but it is also of an extremely dumbed-down nature. There is only one musical number featuring a rock and roll band named Os Terríveis ("The Terribles"), a name which suggests some modicum of self-criticism, though they aren't as bad as all that.

Rating: 31

The Way West (1967)

The film follows a caravan of pioneer settlers heading for Oregon in the 19th century. The stern leader, the farmer who does not like him, the easygoing guide, the sexually curious (and imprudent) teenage girl, the boy who loves her even though she does not love him back, the newlywed man whose wife rejects him in bed, the Sioux, the stowaway preacher, the natural obstacles they all face, etc.

Not a bad film, but not a very good one either. It is hard to pinpoint what exactly the problem is. Some viewers mentioned its predictability, another one opined that the characters were underwritten, someone brought up the fact that 20 minutes of the begining were cut, many ridiculed a sequence involving a whip. There is probably a grain of truth in each of these critiques.

Rating: 50

Baile Perfumado (1996)

English title: Perfumed Ball

In 1930s Northeastern Brazil, a photographer and filmmaker gains access to the gang of famous bandit Lampião (nickname which translates to 'Lantern'), and has permission to film the daily life of that outlaw group of cangaceiros (that is the name they gave to bandits operating in the Northeastern hinterlands of Brazil in the early 20th century).

As the synopsis above indicates, there isn't much in the way of a plot in this film. The adventures and misadventures of the protagonist alternate with some episodes of cangaço, and that's it. It is badly filmed, badly scored, and badly put together. Furthermore, it's a film that can't make up its mind whether it's about the plight of an immigrant who tries to make it in a strange land, or about the tragic life and death of outlaw desperadoes. The cinematography and production design, on the other hand, are first rate.

Rating: 24

Chofer de Praça (1959)

Zacarias and his wife, both humble peasants, move to the big city where their eldest son Raul goes to medical school. Zacarias buys a car and starts working as a taxi driver, while his wife works as a washerwoman from home. Raul hides his poor parents from his friends and from his girlfriend, to whom he lies that he is from a rich family.

The first section of the movie depicts one day in the life of a taxi driver. It is mostly a series of comic episodes involving the passengers Zacarias takes. The second and final section is about the drama of a father and mother whose son is ashamed of them, despite all the effort they make to pay for his studies. Despite still being basically a schmaltzy low-brow dramedy, it is a notch above the average for a Mazzaropi film, thanks to a reasonably well written screenplay.

Rating: 39

Mad Max (1979)

Second viewing; first viewed between 1983 and 1986.

Set in the near future, it features road violence committed by a gang of motorbikers, and the police work trying to stop them. One such policeman, named Max, wants to quit the force, but suffers a personal loss which will drive him into vengeance.

Thriller which has well filmed car action, but is otherwise little distinguished. Poorly reviewed upon its release, its critical reputation has since grown enormously, for reasons which still elude me.

Rating: 46 (up from 41)

Sweet Charity (1969)

Second viewing, first one with the original audio; previously viewed, dubbed in Portuguese, on November 14, 2000

A dance-hall girl has hopes of finding a man to marry her, but is repeatedly disillusioned as she only meets crooks who are after her money. She finally finds a decent man, but will her past be an obstacle to their union?

Excellent musical numbers lift this film higher in enjoyability than its mediocre dramatic qualities would warrant. The plot is not uninteresting -- it was taken from a good Italian movie, with an important change at the final section: character Oscar is different from the original version. Here, he is not a scoundrel, only a weakling. And of course, there is the change in the protagonist's profession, which is a bit ridiculous...

Rating: 53 (down from 66)

Hey There, It's Yogi Bear (1964)

Yet again, Yogi Bear makes Ranger Smith cross because he is filching picnic baskets from tourists. After an argument, he gets sent to the San Diego zoo, but secretly convinces another bear to switch places with him. He then hides from everyone in Jellystone Park and only comes out of his secluded hideaway to raid picnic baskets disguised as the Brown Phantom. Cindy Bear thinks Yogi has indeed been sent to the San Diego zoo, and manages to get sent away too, but, unbeknownst to her, she is sent to the St. Louis zoo instead. She manages to get off the train at midway, and is then captured by two circus owners and made to perform in the high wire act...

Entertaining feature length animation with the famous TV characters. The animation here is lavish, unlike on TV, and there are songs too, which are quite agreeable.

Rating: 51

Donnie Darko (2001)

A schizophrenic teenager who escaped death because he was not home when an airplane turbine inexplicably fell into his bedroom has visions of a man-sized talking rabbit who tells him the world is going to end and directs him to commit acts of vandalism. His bunny friend talks to him about time travel, which prompts him to research that subject matter.

Like many films from the 2000s, this one has an unmerited reputation for innovativeness. But it does have an engaging cerebral plot -- a feature which was fashionable at that time. What lifts it up a bit is that, besides being a convoluted jigsaw puzzle about fate, it provides commentary about middle class life in America, which may or may not be true -- I would not know -- but at any rate is revealing about how people thought about middle class environments then. There is a somewhat problematic association made between psychiatric disorders and critical spirit, but I think the final word about this should come from professionals of that area of medical expertise.

Rating: 52

Poltergeist (1982)

Second viewing; first viewed in 1982, probably.

A  little girl is sucked to another dimension; concurrently to that, her house is affected by strange phenomena. Her family hires a team of experts to recover her.

This incoherent mess is, according to IMDB viewer poe426, a blend of two uncredited sources by Richard Matheson: The Twilight Zone episode Little Girl Lost and the movie The Legend of Hell House. There are many cringeworthy dramatic moments that punctuate Poltergeist, and some effective fright setpieces as well. Thus, despite being a very problematic film, it is watchable.

Rating: 40 (down from 49)

Chico Fumaça (1957)

Chico is a a humble peasant who, while walking through an open field, spots a massive land depression along the railroad, caused by a recent storm; he runs to alert the train which is coming, thus saving it and the lives of its passengers. He becomes a local hero. A politician who happens to be visiting his hometown decides to use him for his own political advantage. He offers Chico a reward and an interview with the president, at the capital. The trip to the big city is a new experience for Chico, and he is targeted by crooks who want to swindle him out of his reward money.

Unpretentious comedy, a kind of Third World distant cousin of films like Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. The humor is simple, and there is a bit of elementary political satire, which was usual in comedies of that period, invariably depicting politicians as liars and money-grubbers; this one's party is named the Opportunist Party, just to give you a rough picture. The musical numbers are nice but nothing extraordinary. Here's one of them, featuring the famous samba 'Agora É Cinza', by Bide (b. Alcebíades Maia Barcelos) and Marçal (b. Armando Vieira Marçal):

Rating: 32

The Last Starfighter (1984)

Second viewing; first viewed between 1983 and 1986.

A video game whiz has just received word that his student loan request has been denied. He lives in a trailer park and had dreams of going to a college in another town. He is tired of being his community's handy man and having no fun and no life prospects. His girlfriend, on the other hand, is afraid that he will go away and leave her. One night, after he breaks the performance record on a video game, a stranger in a car appears to take him away to a secret place. He soon finds out he is going to take part on a real space war analogous to the one he fought in the video game he played.

Mildly entertaining sci-fi comedy, nicely paced and technically well done. There is nothing especially memorable in it, and the proof is that I watched it for the second time and didn't remember a thing.

Watched it in pan-and-scan, same as my previous viewing.

Rating: 45 (unchanged)

Halloween (1978)

Second viewing; first viewed between 1983 and 1986.

An escapee from an institution for the criminally insane returns to his hometown with murderous intentions. His potential victims are some babysitters and their boyfriends who are at the vicinity of the house where he committed the murder who led to his institutionalization 15 years earlier.

I was quite intrigued by the success enjoyed by this film, and also by the critical attention, both positive and negative, it has garnered. So I decided to give it another shot. Unsurprisingly, its significance continues to elude me. But I think I have come to a law of sorts regarding film hermeneutics. The more devoid of meaning a film is, the more meaning will be ascribed to it by film scholars and critics. The explanation is not so hard: an empty space has more room for stuff. Anyway, although films like this are strictly scare machines, they need a story, however shallow it may be, to keep things moving. Any story is bound to reflect themes and values of the time when it was conceived, and it is inevitable that intellectuals will see all sorts of ideological implications in how those themes and values are woven into the story, and how it relates to the violence that is the prime purpose of the movie. Also of note is that this film is not the independent product of its writer-director's mind; the real originator of the concept is its executive producer. In other words, it is also a strictly monetary operation. All that being said, this is the first time I have viewed it in its full widescreen format, and I acknowledge it is quite well filmed.

Rating: 30 (unchanged)