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364,958 | 4,888,011 | 90,056 | 8 | good ol ' Cold War comedy | Comedies like " Dr . Strangelove " and " Spies Like Us " make one long for the Cold War , when they could actually make such comedies . In the latter , government employees Emmett Fitzhume ( Chevy Chase ) and Austin Milbarge ( Dan Aykroyd ) are recruited for something . They think that they're going to be spies , but they're really decoys for some saber-rattling between the US and USSR . They finally have to take action when the threat of a nuclear holocaust becomes real . Chevy Chase does his usual goofy things , and Dan Aykroyd is his usual uptight-but-silly self . There's some interesting guest appearances : Bob Hope chasing his golf ball , and Greg from " Animal House " as a very shady character . A great comedy . |
364,052 | 4,888,011 | 90,110 | 8 | sweet and not sour | In one of filmdom's many biopics , Jessica Lange sinks her teeth into the role of country singer Patsy Cline . We see her go from a bored housewife to a national phenomenon over the period of a few short years before tragically getting killed in a plane crash in 1963 ( although the movie focuses more on her personal life than on her career ) . Not surprisingly , Lange plays the role perfectly . Equally good is Ed Harris as Cline's philandering husband Charlie Dick . " Sweet Dreams " is a movie that has something for everyone . Maybe we wonder how many biopics there can be , but that would miss the point . The point is to understand these people's personal struggles and all . And this movie does a very good job showing that . I wonder whether country music biopics will see a resurgence , now that " Walk the Line " has made a splash . |
364,484 | 4,888,011 | 50,556 | 8 | Rock ' n ' roll forever ! | Elvis Presley's movies weren't masterpieces by any stretch , but " Jailhouse Rock " was certainly fun ! The King plays Vince Everett , who accidentally kills a man in a fight . In jail , he meets country bumpkin Hunk Houghton ( Mickey Shaughnessy ) , who helps him hit it big as a rock star . Sound too simple ? Well , they know how to do it right . The theme song was also something . Not only famous for Elvis ' version , but you may recall that John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd sang it at the end of " The Blues Brothers " . These sorts of songs remind us what real music is all about , and that the Britney Spears / Jessica Simpson mold doesn't count . |
365,180 | 4,888,011 | 258,153 | 8 | a great look at the personality cult of celebrities today | S1m0ne is only one of two movies with which I'm familiar from Andrew Niccol ( the other being " Gattaca " ) . I must say that I'm impressed with his resume so far . This one portrays director Viktor Taransky ( Al Pacino ) simulating a starlet ( Rachel Roberts ) so as to become famous again . But will he be able to continue it ? More than just the official plot , this movie looks at the obsession with celebrities in the modern world . And it's a comedy ! That line about the Oscar nominations pretty much sums up everything . I certainly recommend this movie . Also starring Winona Ryder , Jay Mohr and Catherine Keener . Overall , " S1m0ne " just might make you feel like a natural woman . |
365,747 | 4,888,011 | 59,260 | 8 | that Ringo is something else | Okay , so " Help ! " isn't quite as creative as " A Hard Day's Night " , but the Beatles always were able to do something good . In this case , Ringo happens to have a sacrificial ring belonging to a religious cult . So , the cult sets about trying to get it back . When they fail , they decide to sacrifice Ringo . Meanwhile , a scientist ( Victor Spinetti ) wants the ring for his own purposes . And of course , there's plenty of great music along the way . In a way , the whole movie is sort of an excuse to be wacky . Whether it's the seemingly separate apartments that turn out to be one big room , the trap door activated by a glass , the skiing tournament , or the whole Bahamas sequence , they've got something neat every step of the way . Leo McKern , as cult leader Clang , and Eleanor Bron , as cultist Ahme who tries to protect Ringo , provide cool supporting roles . I guess that if I ever get a woman to watch " Help ! " with me , I'll never " Lose That Girl " . |
365,363 | 4,888,011 | 50,446 | 8 | tail-spin takes on a new meaning | When I took a class about Alfred Hitchcock's movies , we talked about how a really good device in movies is when you can tell a story without words . While Chuck Jones's " Go Fly a Kit " has some narration , it consists mostly of imagery , and not surprisingly comes out very well because of that . The cartoon tells the story of a cat adopted by a mother eagle . She teaches him to fly , and after initially plummeting off the cliff , he realizes that he can twirl his tail around to achieve aviation . Well , like all children eventually must do , he has to leave home so as to make his own way in life . That's when he lands on a telephone wire and sees a bulldog chasing a female cat . So , our feline hero springs into action in a manner that I never would have imagined . I have to say that I really consider this one of the cartoons that only Chuck Jones could pull off . Aside from the facial expressions - ranging from bittersweet to zany - some of the POV shots are nearly mystifying . It just goes to show that there will probably never be another director like Chuck Jones ( at least not our lifetime ) . I recommend this one . |
362,794 | 4,888,011 | 120,777 | 8 | Hot diggity ! | In 1998 , with the conjunction of " The Opposite of Sex " and " Buffalo 66 " , Christina Ricci cemented her reputation as America's indie queen . In the former , she plays foul-mouthed teenager Dede Truitt , who moves in with her gay uncle Bill ( Martin Donovan ) . Then , one of Bill's students " outs " him ( without any actual proof ) . This sends the town into an uproar , with people ranting and raving against homosexuality . Look , I can't describe this movie and do it justice . " The Opposite of Sex " is a movie that you HAVE TO SEE TO BELIEVE . The truth is , nothing that you've seen in any other movie could prepare you for what this one offers . Mind-blowing to the nth degree , it's the sort of flick that will probably offend many people . But in a good way . |
362,767 | 4,888,011 | 340,012 | 8 | Don't mess with Annette ! | Seemingly , all movies about rich people in 1930s England should be boring , but " Being Julia " isn't boring at all . In an Oscar-nominated role , Annette Bening plays Julia Lambert , a well-respected stage actress in 1938 London who risks getting replaced by a " more desirable " woman . But Julia is one person who can get nasty when mistreated . Bening makes Julia bitchy and lovable at the same time . One thing that made the role especially good was that she was beginning to show wrinkles , which strengthened the characterization . Jeremy Irons is also really good as Julia's husband Michael Gosselyn , and Michael Gambon adds an interesting aspect as the narrator . This is one movie that you won't find unpleasant . |
365,388 | 4,888,011 | 28,467 | 8 | once again , I see the spoof before I know that there was an original | When I watched Tex Avery's " The Village Smithy " , I assumed that it was an original idea created by the Termite Terrace crowd ; I was more than a little surprised when I read on IMDb that it was based on a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem ! But no matter whence it came , it's quite a funny cartoon , as Porky Pig works as a blacksmith's assistant and inadvertently sends his boss on the wildest ride ever . There have been numerous instances in which I've seen a spoof of something while having no idea that it's a spoof . Certainly a number of these instances involved Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies cartoons ( I saw " What's Opera , Doc ? " long before I'd ever even heard of Wagner's work ) . It's also happened with " The Simpsons " ( I remember when Maggie hit Homer on the head with a mallet and red paint flowed down a drain ; only later did I see " Psycho " and get the reference ) . There are many pop songs that I only learn about because I hear " Weird Al " Yankovic's parodies , and many B-movies that I only see on " Mystery Science Theater 3000 " . I wouldn't be surprised if many members of my generation encounter the spoofs of famous works before encountering the originals . But anyway , this is a pretty funny cartoon . Porky sure did some neat stuff during the two years when he was Warner Bros . top cartoon star . I bet that we all miss some things when we're not looking . |
365,124 | 4,888,011 | 120,802 | 8 | music to my ears and eyes | Le violon rouge ( called " The Red Violin " in English ) uses a masterful violin as a conduit to show various parts of history - such as Renaissance-era Italy , 19th-century England , and the Cultural Revolution in China - right up to a 20th-century auction in Montreal . It's beyond amazing how they do the movie and look at the numerous historical events ( maybe the scene in China won't make your skin crawl , but it's not a pretty sight ) . This is definitely the sort of film that would make anyone revere musical instruments . And among other things , it shows that Samuel L . Jackson can do more than play bad motherers in movies . A most impressive piece of cinema . Also starring Colm Feore , Jason Flemyng , Greta Scacchi and Sandra Oh ( of " Sideways " fame ) . |
363,784 | 4,888,011 | 59,113 | 8 | There are some things that we just can't get over . | Omar Sharif remains indelibly associated with Dr . Yuri Zhivago , a Russian physician-poet who participates in the Bolshevik Revolution , only to have political history affect him against his will . Julie Christie is beautiful as ever as Lara Antipova , Zhivago's true love . " Doctor Zhivago " certainly pulled off a coup by showing the conditions that led to the revolution : the czar's despotic rule , the crushing poverty , and forced conscription ( especially since the generals cared nothing about the men under their command ) . Then , of course , the Russian people thought that they would have a workers ' society , but it didn't turn out that way . The theme song " Lara's Theme " kept the movie going every step of the way . Maybe not the greatest historical drama of all time , but this is a movie that I recommend to everyone . |
363,881 | 4,888,011 | 89,645 | 8 | interesting insight into Il Duce's life | Most people remember Benito Mussolini simply as Hitler's ally in WWII . " Mussolini and I " shows his family life during his years as Italy's leader . Starring Bob Hoskins as the Fascist himself , Susan Sarandon plays his daughter Edda , who married Count Galeazzo Ciano ( Anthony Hopkins ) . Among other things , the movie shows not only how the relationships among these people were always shaky , but also that Mussolini and Hitler didn't totally trust each other . Towards the war's end , Il Duce had Count Ciano executed , and shortly thereafter , Il Duce himself was of course arrested and executed . Edda escaped to Switzerland and survived the war . It's too bad that Mussolini was already dead when they hung him on the meat hook . Very well done . |
365,528 | 4,888,011 | 50,341 | 8 | like Gordon Gekko said : greed is good | Having escaped from a zoo , the Tasmanian Devil gets paired with Daffy Duck , as the latter learns that there's a $5 , 000 reward for Taz's capture , and that Taz becomes docile at the sound of music . " Ducking the Devil " is sort of a one-joke premise , but it keeps coming up with new ways to make the premise work . Like many of the Looney Tunes cartoons , this shows Daffy's greedy side ( which always prevails over his cowardice ) . And if absolutely nothing else , it's always great to see Taz spin around like a tornado , sawing his way through any impediment . Thank God that Robert McKimson created him ! Maybe greed ain't totally bad after all . |
363,493 | 4,888,011 | 219,822 | 8 | I agree : let's go back to our roots ! | Looking back on it , " Human Nature " sort of reminds me of " I Shot Andy Warhol " , the way we slowly but surely get exposed to a gritty ( but somewhat funny ) topic . In this case , a man ( Rhys Ifans ) raised in the wild is getting interviewed by a congressional committee about why he murdered a scientist ( Tim Robbins ) . But overall , the movie poses the question of what separates humans from animals . And after everything that the movie shows , you'll probably agree with what Ifans's character says about everything . As for Robbins's character's setting , it definitely looks like something that would please Jean-Paul Sartre . This movie's probably not for everyone , but I think that it's worth seeing . Also starring Patricia Arquette , Hilary Duff , Peter Dinklage , Mary Kay Place and Robert Forster . Yeah , words are kinda evil . . . |
364,003 | 4,888,011 | 375,063 | 8 | Maybe one day , I'll do what Miles did with the spit jar . . . | In " Sideways " , novelist Miles Raymond ( Paul Giamatti ) and his friend Jack ( Thomas Haden Church ) drive up to California's wine country the weekend before Jack is getting married . Not only are both men middle-aged and single , but they're both oblivious to their own flaws . Once they arrive at their destination , they engage in a weekend of trying as hard as possible to get laid . Most people would have to agree that it seems out of line for Jack to do this when he's about to get married , but he's oblivious . Once the two men meet Maya ( Virginia Madsen ) and Stephanie ( Sandra Oh ) , all bets are off . Aside from being a great slice-of-life study , " Sideways " has some other great parts . You'll love the scene where Miles and Jack have to sneak back into a house where Jack had been having sex the previous night . The people behind this movie were definitely not sideways , and Paul Giamatti really did deserve an Oscar nomination . So is anyone drinking any - - - - ing Merlot ? |
362,724 | 4,888,011 | 120,681 | 8 | take dark to the next level | From Hell presents something not seen in movies since the old Sherlock Holmes movies . It tells the story of an inspector ( Johnny Depp ) investigating the Jack the Ripper murders in 1888 London , but it suggests that the decadent aristocrats in a way aren't much better than the murderer himself . Of course , the setting is like a star on its own : eerie , dismal streets that look like they could be hiding almost anything . . . ANYTHING . As for the question of historical accuracy , that doesn't really seem to be an issue . You have to focus on the bleak , evil surroundings to really get the feeling . Depp is great in his role , as can be expected . Also starring is Heather Graham as prostitute Mary Kelly ; let me tell you , this is a role very far removed from her comedic ones . Robbie Coltrane plays a sergeant ; because of this movie's grim nature , you probably will be able to forget that he plays Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies . Ian Holm , Ian Richardson , Jason Flemyng and Katrin Cartlidge also star . Maybe the most surprising thing about " From Hell " is that it was directed by Albert and Allen Hughes ( known for movies like " Dead Presidents " ) . Overall , this is not a movie to be missed . It just goes to show that real horror entails that which we don't know . Very well done . |
363,303 | 4,888,011 | 32,941 | 8 | a long , long , long , long time ago , in a place possibly far away , possibly not . . . | One of the relics from the days when Warner Bros . usually confined Porky Pig and Daffy Duck to the black and white Looney Tunes , Bob Clampett's " Prehistoric Porky " portrays cinema's most famous swine in the Stone Age - one billion , trillion years BC , apparently - doing the sorts of things that most people in 1940 probably did in their everyday lives ( with a caveman twist ) . It's got a fairly similar feel to Chuck Jones's " Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur " from the previous year , what with the sight gags relating to the popular culture of the cartoon's era . True , some of the stuff we in the 21st century might not understand , but it's funny enough just to see the characters do these things . So , this is one of the many classic cartoons that I fortunately only saw nowadays , when I'm old enough to understand what it portrays . We could of course be cynical and say that this was one of the many cartoons in which they stuck Porky in a common situation or role ; others included fireman , pilgrim and bullfighter . Even so , Clampett keeps the action moving so that nearly every scene is a hoot . I recommend it . Just became available on Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 5 . When Leon Schlesinger Studios began releasing cartoons in 1930 , all the cartoons carried the Looney Tunes label ( and all were filmed in B & W ) . Before too long , they created the Merrie Melodies label . In 1934 , the studio started filming its Merrie Melodies cartoons in color while still filming its Looney Tunes cartoons in B & W . In the late 1930s , Porky and Daffy - the studio's only major stars - starred mostly in Looney Tunes cartoons , while the Merrie Melodies cartoons mostly featured one-shot character ( there were of course a few exceptions ) . Elmer Fudd's prototype Egghead was the first character to appear regularly in Merrie Melodies cartoons , followed by Sniffles , Inki , and finally Bugs Bunny . The studio released its final B & W cartoon in 1943 , and so LT and MM thus became indistinguishable . |
365,506 | 4,888,011 | 112,701 | 9 | cold and warm at the same time | Cold Comfort Farm has a familiar plot , but is very well done . Portraying young Flora Poste ( Kate Beckinsale ) moving in with her backwards relatives in 1930s England and trying to change everything , the movie has the perfect pacing . It's the sort of situation where her relatives sort of irk you , but you can't help but admire them ( mainly due to Flora's snobbish attitude about everything ) . It just goes to show what a great director John Schlesinger ( " Midnight Cowboy " , " The Day of the Locust " , " Pacific Heights " ) was . He will definitely be missed . Also starring Eileen Atkins , Stephen Fry , Joanna Lumley , Ian McKellen , Miriam Margoyles and Rufus Sewell . |
362,616 | 4,888,011 | 352,248 | 9 | Why did such a great movie flop ? ! | Having seen most of Ron Howard's movies , I know that he's a director who has a tendency to try and tug at people's emotions . Maybe after playing Opie Taylor and Richie Cunningham , he wanted to show people that he could be more than " silly " ; thus , " Cocoon " showed hope for senior citizens , " Backdraft " showed the lives of firefighters , " The Paper " looked at journalism , and " Apollo 13 " focused on a real event . As it is , I have liked most of his movies , and I can now add " Cinderella Man " to that list . Russell Crowe plays Jim Braddock , a working stiff who was a boxing star back in the ' 20s . But when the Depression hit , he and his family were plunged into abject poverty . With no other options open , Jim convinces his manager Joe Gould ( Paul Giamatti ) to find him a boxing match . When Jim wins , it begins his path to prominence again , and hope for his family . " Cinderella Man " struck me less in its focus on boxing than in its look at the Depression . Jim's only chance for work is to go to the harbor where the boss only admits five people each day , and Jim's busted hand makes it hard for him to work even when he gets in . Also , much of the movie shows Jim walking through the slums , and another scene shows a bunch of rich people in a fancy hotel as a contrast to how most people were living . As for the boxing aspect , many movies have shown working class people trying to make something of themselves by getting into boxing , so maybe that's why the boxing aspect didn't strike me as much . All in all , this is a very well-done piece of cinema . Crowe and Giamatti are perfect in their roles , as is Renee Zellweger as Jim's desperate but strong wife Mae . Also starring are Craig Bierko as Jim's opponent Max Baer ( yes , Jethro Bodine's father ) , and Paddy Considine as Jim's friend Mike , whose desperation leads him to commit suicide . Howard and Crowe have accomplished something as great as they did with " A Beautiful Mind " . I can't understand why this movie flopped , even if there was an overall low turnout this summer . |
365,201 | 4,888,011 | 780,516 | 9 | not to be confused with Robert DeNiro's lame movie from some years ago | What's really interesting about Michael Radford's " Flawless " is how it crosses two political issues , although it only focuses on them briefly . The whole issue of diamonds of course brings to mind the fact that South Africa's apartheid government used diamonds to sustain itself . But what Michael Caine talks about at the end brings to mind everything that Michael Moore's " Sicko " showed . Of course , most of the movie does center on the heist planned by Caine and Demi Moore ( who does an accent that sounds like a cross between English and American ) . And it is one neat heist . The part about avoiding the security cameras reminded me of the rotating light in " Topkapi " . All in all , definitely worth seeing . PS : another movie called " Flawless " was a 1999 comedy wannabe starring Robert DeNiro as a homophobic cop and Philip Seymour Hoffman as a drag queen who suddenly have to cooperate . It was one of the lamest movies that I've ever seen . |
365,748 | 4,888,011 | 52,357 | 9 | don't look down | You understand " Vertigo " better once you know the word's definition . It refers specifically to dizziness , not acrophobia as some people mistakenly believe . Dizziness plays a major role in the movie . Jimmy Stewart plays San Francisco Det . John " Scottie " Ferguson , who gets uncomfortable in high places . Hired to follow Madeleine Elster ( Kim Novak ) , he rescues her from drowning . As he stays with her more and more , he begins to suspect something strange about her . It all comes to a head at the San Juan Bautista Mission , when she jumps off of the bell tower . Scottie feels guilty , but some questions remain unanswered . Just who is that woman whom Scottie sees in the museum ? Why does she look exactly like Madeleine ? And how does a Spanish woman who lived almost 100 years earlier relate to all this ? The spirals are an eye-opening aspect . Not only the opening credits , but also Scottie's acrophobia , and the staircase in the bell tower . As is often the case in Alfred Hitchcock's movies , the lighting tells part of the story ; in this case , a sign outside the apartment illuminates Madeleine and her dress . The San Juan Bautista Mission is not an accident . Hitchcock was raised Roman Catholic , so it makes sense that he might want to use such an institution . But the movie's final scene - which happens at the Mission - seems to be a metaphor for things coming back to haunt people . And of course , Kim Novak was one of Hitchcock's " icy blondes " , in the same category as Grace Kelly , Doris Day , Eva Marie Saint , Janet Leigh and Tippi Hedren . All I can tell you further is that there is a scene in which Madeleine is next to a window , and you see her reflection ; that appears to be foreshadowing . All very vertiginous . |
364,894 | 4,888,011 | 405,296 | 9 | almost like a prequel to " Blade Runner " | A Scanner Darkly portrays Orange County in the near future , where many people are addicted to a drug called Substance D , the government is scanning everyone to see whether or not they are using it , and someone announces that the government is going after terrorists pushing the drug ( Philip K . Dick wrote this long before September 11 , 2001 , so it now seems very prescient ) . However , the movie itself focuses more on the people using the drug and how it affects their relationships . Undercover - and he's literally undercover - agent Bob Arctor ( Keanu Reeves ) has been using the drug when the secret police for whom he works order him to spy on his friends ( Rory Cochrane , Robert Downey Jr . , Woody Harrelson and Winona Ryder ) . Thus begins a drugged-out , sci-fi experience that I can't even begin to describe ; you basically can't tell what's real and what isn't . The nearly live-action animation gives the movie a very hallucinogenic feel , lifting it above the average drug addiction-totalitarian future story . If the events portrayed in the movie make you feel like your blood has frozen and your brain is swimming , then it has succeeded . I would say that this is the best adaptation of a Philip K . Dick novel ever . Very topical in this era of the " war on terrorism " and " war on drugs " . I would also say that it makes a troika of great movies with Steven Soderbergh ( happy birthday , Steven ! ) as executive producer , started by " Syriana " and " Good Night , and Good Luck " ( which also co-starred Robert Downey Jr . ) . What does a scanner see ? Probably everything . |
362,646 | 4,888,011 | 217,505 | 9 | Martin Scorsese's grand ambition . | Gangs of New York is everything that we would expect Martin Scorsese to deliver . It's like all his movies rolled into one hard punch . Portraying young Amsterdam Vallon ( Leonardo DiCaprio ) looking to take revenge on crime boss Bill " The Butcher " Cutting ( Daniel Day-Lewis ) in 1863 New York , the movie shows what a historical epic should be . I can't believe that this didn't win a single Oscar ; what does Scorsese have to do to win their respect ? But the point is that " Gangs of New York " is a masterpiece . Scorsese showed the same flair for historical epics that he later brought to " The Aviator " . Fine support from Cameron Diaz , John C . Reilly , Brendan Gleeson , Jim Broadbent , Henry Thomas , and Liam Neeson make this one solid flick . Perfect . |
364,619 | 4,888,011 | 43,400 | 9 | not cheesy at all ; quite funny actually | We all know what happens in cartoons when cats try to catch mice , but what happens when the mice want the cat to eat them ? That's just what happens in " Cheese Chasers " . Wise-guy rodents Hubie and Bertie have just eaten way too much cheese and feel that they can't eat any more of the stuff . With nothing left to live for , they try to get Claude the Cat to devour them , but he doesn't want to . Feeling that he can never eat another mouse again , he tries to get a bulldog to eat him , but that leads to pure confusion on the dog's part , to the point where all four characters end up doing something that no mouse , cat or dog would probably ever consider ! I don't think that I've seen all the Hubie and Bertie cartoons , but this one is a really fun romp . With all sorts of gags , there isn't a dull moment in it . And you may just feel hungry for cheese after watching it ( don't eat too much , mind you ; you don't want to do what these characters did ! ) . Two thousand years . Yeah , I guess that life's like that . |
364,424 | 4,888,011 | 78,841 | 9 | being everywhere | There have been many existential stories , but few so interesting as " Being There " . It stars Peter Sellers in his last role of note , as mentally retarded gardener Chance , who occasionally utters what he heard on TV . After his employer dies , he wonders the city and eventually gets picked up by wealthy Ben Rand ( Melvyn Douglas , who won Best Supporting Actor ) and his wife Eve ( Shirley MacLaine ) . As the movie progresses , two things become apparent : Chance's comments - which he himself doesn't really understand - get interpreted by everyone as deep philosophical statements , and the Rands are not really living as they want . If nothing else , this movie underscores how talented the three stars are , and what a great director Hal Ashby was ( he also directed such greats as " Harold and Maude " , " The Last Detail " , " Shampoo " , " Bound for Glory " and " Coming Home " ) . Peter Sellers is as keen here as he was as Insp . Clouseau or in " Dr . Strangelove " . When Shirley MacLaine made her debut back in the ' 50s , who ever would have guessed that she would eventually , uh , play with herself in a movie ? And Melvyn Douglas certainly deserved his Oscar . A great , existential flick . |
364,369 | 4,888,011 | 87,262 | 9 | Take " Carrie " one step further . . . | If you thought that " Carrie " made incredible use of conflagrations , you ain't seen nothing yet ! In Stephen King's other combustion-themed story , " Firestarter " portrays the daughter ( Drew Barrymore ) of a experimental guinea pig ( David Keith ) using her ignition abilities to get her way . When the government kidnaps her and her father , things really get ugly . On one level , this movie seems a little preachy , with the shadowy agents going after the man and his daughter . But I would call that an accurate depiction of things . And you gotta agree with what the girl does , no matter how extreme she gets ( and I'm talking really extreme ) . So I definitely recommend this movie . But if you're a pyromaniac , don't let this movie encourage you . Also starring Heather Locklear , Martin Sheen , George C . Scott , Art Carney and Louise Fletcher . |
365,877 | 4,888,011 | 35,555 | 9 | Watts on second ? | Man , nothing was sacred to Abbott and Costello ! In the wacky " Who Done It ? " , they play soda jerks who pitch an idea to a radio station , and then find themselves in the middle of a murder case ! This of course is an excuse for a series of hilarious gags ( namely Alexander 2222 and the ledge of the building ) . One of the things that I liked about this movie is that it's not a musical . I'm just not into musicals . When I watch a comedy , I expect to laugh , and musical numbers cut into that . Here , just get to see Bud and Lou do their stuff . And some funny stuff it is . They must have had fun making it . Really funny ! |
363,692 | 4,888,011 | 104,710 | 9 | Jewish guilt | Jewish guilt is not a topic that I see portrayed much in movies , but " Leon the Pig Farmer " does a good job with it . Leon Geller ( Mark Frankel ) is a Jewish estate agent in London who one day discovers that he was the product of artificial insemination ; his real father is a pig farmer . Going off to meet his " other " family , Leon has more than a few surprises ! They did an interesting job here . True , non-Jews might not get all the jokes , but it's funny nonetheless . And I guess that we sometimes forget that there ARE Jews in England . Anyway , you might see if you can find this movie . You'll probably like it . Oh , and by the way , that one character was played by Burt Kwouk ( Kato from the " Pink Panther " movies ) . |
365,505 | 4,888,011 | 253,474 | 9 | well done , even if it didn't quite equal " Schindler's List " | In what I assume was Roman Polanski's most personal movie ever , he tells the story of Polish-Jewish pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman ( Adrien Brody ) doing everything possible to survive the Nazi occupation . As is the case with all of Polanski's movies , there are some very harrowing scenes , namely when the Nazi planes first start bombing the city , and when Szpilman has to hide . As Szpilman , Brody really brings out the most in the character ( no doubt his sad face helps with that ) . I will say that the movie doesn't quite equal the profundity achieved by " Schindler's List " . But maybe that's not a fair comparison , since Polanski probably wasn't aiming for that . Either way , this is definitely a movie worth seeing , as a message of hope in the darkest of times . |
365,892 | 4,888,011 | 36,264 | 9 | One step beyond " The Great Dictator " | I remember that I first heard Johannes Brahms's " Hungarian Dances " in " The Great Dictator " , when Charlie Chaplin is shaving the guy to the tune of that song . For " Pigs in a Polka " , the Termite Terrace crowd continues its tradition of mixing classical music with wacky images , and they do a great job with it . OK , so " Three Little Pigs " is one of the easiest stories to spoof ( they later applied music to it again with " Three Little Bops " ) , but how can you not like how the cartoon came out here ? Probably the most eye-opening aspect is how , far from being a triad of warm , cuddly brothers , the pigs have some conflicts . The smartest one - who built his house out of bricks - doesn't like how his siblings take an irresponsible attitude towards everything . Among other things , we have to remember that these cartoons were not created for children . What they portray requires some knowledge of world history and culture . As it is , I've long considered it honorable that these cartoons could teach children about classical music ( much like " What's Opera , Doc ? " could ) . All in all , a very enjoyable cartoon short . |
364,844 | 4,888,011 | 113,870 | 9 | Alcatraz = Abu Ghraib | Obviously , we can't tell how much of any historical movie is accurate . But what " Murder in the First " portrays will freeze the blood of any sane person , whether or not it's accurate . Henri Young ( Kevin Bacon ) is sent to Alcatraz for theft and put in solitary confinement . When he comes out , he has turned into a murderous lunatic . So , novice lawyer James Stamphill ( Christian Slater ) uses the incident to expose how cruel Alcatraz is . Naturally , warden Milton Glen ( Gary Oldman ) tries to deny everything , but he can't hide the facts . Another reviewer noted that this particular trial wasn't the one that actually brought down Alcatraz , despite the tag-line . But either way , " Murder in the First " shows the cruelty inherent in the prison system overall , right up to Abu Ghraib . All that you have to do is take a tour of Alcatraz - or any defunct prison - to see what it's like . |
364,976 | 4,888,011 | 280,778 | 9 | And to think that I'd never heard of Iris Murdoch before this movie came out . | Judi Dench gives the performance of a lifetime as author Iris Murdoch , who eventually developed Alzheimer's disease . She really gets into the role , as she's done with every one of her performances with which I'm familiar . Jim Broadbent won Best Supporting Actor playing her husband John Bayley , who loves her but often gets frustrated by her mental condition . This is certainly a movie that I recommend to everyone . Also starring Kate Winslet as young Iris , and Hugh Bonneville as young John . I still remember when Jim Broadbent won his Oscar . The next day , we were hiking up an Indian dwelling in Bandalier , New Mexico ( it was spring break ) , and I was thinking : " When people heard that , I bet that most of them were thinking " Jim who ? " . |
364,905 | 4,888,011 | 280,760 | 9 | The first movie that I ever saw with my college friends . | Macaulay Culkin quickly became a has-been , but his brothers have taken some interesting roles , particularly Kieran in " Igby Goes Down " . The movie portrays teenager Igby Slocumb , who - although he seems really messed up - has a perfectly good reason for it : his relatives . His mother Mimi ( Susan Sarandon ) tries too hard to be a socialite ; his father Jason ( Bill Pullman ) had a breakdown ; his stepfather D . H . ( Jeff Goldblum ) turned his brother Ollie ( Ryan Philippe ) into a young Republican ; and so on . Obviously , many movies deal with screwy families , but this one does a great job the way that " The Royal Tenenbaums " did . Much like a whole slew of great movies came out while my parents were in college , so many have come out while I've been in college ( " Igby Goes Down " was in fact the first movie that I saw with my college friends ) . It's movies like this that make life worth living . |
363,768 | 4,888,011 | 106,489 | 9 | fear vs . respect | Robert DeNiro made his directorial debut with the gripping " A Bronx Tale " , about a boy in 1960s New York torn between his father and a gangster . Bus driver Lorenzo Anello ( DeNiro ) raises his son Calogero to be an honest person , but Calogero also is interested in mobster Sonny ( Chazz Palminteri , who based the story partly on his own childhood ) . What's really good about the movie is how it presents all sides of the dichotomy . For example , when Calogero claims that people respect Sonny , Lorenzo tells Calogero : " People respect me . They fear him . " Everything in this movie is likely to shock you . You want Calogero to do what he wants , but you're nervous about hoping for him to go into a life of crime . If Robert DeNiro is to be best known for these kinds of roles , then so be it ; he does them very well . The rest of the cast is also great . You may never feel the same after viewing this . Joe Pesci also appears . |
363,800 | 4,888,011 | 106,464 | 9 | Betraying one's own people . | Morgan Freeman's directorial debut casts Danny Glover as a cop in apartheid-era South Africa whose son is an anti-apartheid activist . Knowing this , the father has to choose between his people and his job : he basically betrayed his people , but he has to support his family . True , this seems like a plot that we frequently see , but " Bopha ! " ( Zulu for " arrest " ) makes good use of it . They raise the stakes by portraying a new white supremacist police chief ( Malcolm McDowell ) . And also impressive was that scene where the students leave school to protest the teaching of Afikaans ( my mom said that they used to show that sort of scene on TV all the time ) . A really good movie . |
365,102 | 4,888,011 | 343,168 | 9 | As history goes , so go various other things . | I had actually never heard of the Weathermen before " The Weather Underground " came out . As I understand it , some people complained that the documentary glossed over some of their more violent activities ( and some people think that that may have cost it the Best Documentary Oscar ) . But the way I see it , these sorts of documentaries are always going to stir up controversy , with different factions in society complaining about what they do and don't focus on . No matter . I will say that the documentary brings up important questions about when it's OK to use violence against those in power . Certainly the US government's actions in Vietnam - plus its spying on radical groups - left the people who formed the Weathermen feeling that they had no other options . And of course , it brings up questions of how far we can go today , when the Bush administration labels political opponents as terrorist enablers . So overall , I do recommend the documentary as a look at ' 60s radicalism ( even though this is radicalism in a less than pleasant form ) , and also a look at government surveillance . Whether or not you agree with the Weathermen is of course up to you . As for whether or not the documentary glossed over their more violent activities , is that any different from glossing over the government's crimes ? |
362,904 | 4,888,011 | 94,349 | 9 | Africans as they see themselves | If absolutely nothing else , " Yeelen " offers a look at a society that we in the west don't often get to see . In this case , it's the Bambara people of Mali ; the movie also includes the Dogon and Fulani . Having taken a sociology-anthropology class , I already knew about them . The plot centers on a warrior having to battle an evil sorcerer who is also his father . I should identify that this is not a movie for people with short attention spans : the action moves along very slowly . But don't worry . Despite how it takes a long time for everything to happen , you feel like you've gotten a lot out of the movie . Above all , I like to see how Africans view themselves as opposed to how we in the west view them . So I certainly recommend this movie . |
365,762 | 4,888,011 | 86,617 | 9 | must communicate events to the world | A frequent theme in Australian movie is communication issues . Here , one might say that because Guy Hamilton ( Mel Gibson ) is a reporter , it's his job to communicate to the world the events going on in Indonesia . As for Pete Curtis ' ( Michael Murphy ) racist comments towards Guy's half-Chinese dwarf cameraman Billy Kwan ( Linda Hunt ) , racism is an essential part of colonialism . Linda Hunt's role was of course really impressive because she played a man - and won Best Supporting Actress for it . The other star is Sigourney Weaver as British attache Jill Bryant . But of course the most important thing in the movie is the events going on in Indonesia , namely the CIA coup to install Gen . Suharto ( who went on to murder almost 1 million people during his thirty-two years in power , one of the most massive genocides in history ) . A really good movie , as Peter Weir always makes . |
362,744 | 4,888,011 | 86,637 | 9 | rock , mock , and doc | With " Zelig " , Woody Allen took a completely different approach to everything . It's a pseudo-documentary - maybe the first one ever - in which he plays Leonard Zelig , a human chameleon in the 1920s : he literally changes his personality and physical appearance to accommodate the people in his surroundings . Mia Farrow plays Dr . Eudora Fletcher , trying to cure him . This has some of the things that we would expect in a Woody Allen movie , namely Leonard's explanation of the kind of class that he teaches . But , he keeps it going . The " Reds " - style interviews really help the movie ( there's even one with Susan Sontag ) , as does the ' 20s soundtrack . This is one movie that you're sure to like . Too bad that Allen started making movies about neurotic rich New Yorkers later on . |
363,093 | 4,888,011 | 52,139 | 9 | trusty water stick . . . | This time , Robin Hood ( Daffy Duck ) tries to convince Friar Tuck ( Porky Pig ) that he really is Robin Hood , but the circumstances keep working against him . Maybe " Robin Hood Daffy " isn't the greatest cartoon from the Mel Blanc / Chuck Jones crowd , but it's still great . With some of the things that happen to Daffy here , you just have to remember what we learned in " Who Framed Roger Rabbit " about a given cartoon character : you can drop anything you want on his head . And let me tell you , Daffy has a lot more to worry about than that ! Anyway , this is another cartoon from the Golden Age . You may just feel like Robin Hood after viewing this . |
363,681 | 4,888,011 | 86,320 | 9 | there's a lot to be said about movies with " sleep " in the title | Contrary to how it may appear , " Sleepaway Camp " is not just another litany of guts getting torn out . For starters , there's the ending ; I sure as hell didn't see that coming ! But beyond that , you do actually get a feel for the characters throughout the movie - particularly after what happens at the beginning - and there are some creative murders ( does it make me an awful person for saying that ? ) . As main character Angela , Felissa Rose creates a girl with whom we can all identify . The rest of the characters gravitate between bitchy and asking-for-it . . . you'll know what I mean if you see the movie . A pretty cool flick . Also , I wonder : what is it about movies with " sleep " in the title ? There's this one , but many different kinds accompany it : " Sleeping Beauty " , " Sleeper " and " Sleepers " , to name a few . It's just something to think about the next time that you go to sleep . But will you be able to after watching this movie ? |
364,281 | 4,888,011 | 44,313 | 9 | there's gold in them thar varmints | As is the case with many of the classic Warner Bros . cartoons that I've seen recently , it's a good thing that I saw " 14 Carrot Rabbit " now , when I'm old enough to understand what it portrays . Of course , even if I didn't know about the Gold Rush , the cartoon would still be a riot , with Yosemite Sam being his usual blow-hard self and Bugs Bunny pretending to get hoodwinked but actually seeing through Sam's deception . With the Yosemite Sam cartoons , I mostly like how Sam's loose cannon personality always causes him bad luck . Anyway , there are some really funny scenes here . If you know Sam's cartoons , all that you have to do is imagine him looking for gold and trying to steal it from Bugs . Pretty cool . |
365,065 | 4,888,011 | 44,391 | 9 | show biz can't satisfy anyone | One thing that I've always wondered is why no one looks at Hollywood more negatively than Hollywood itself . But whatever the reason , " The Bad and the Beautiful " pulls no punches in looking at its topic . The movie portrays some people explaining how they used to be friends of producer Jonathan Shields ( Kirk Douglas ) but have since turned against him . There's the director whom Shields promised a directing job but betrayed him , the writer who lost his wife to Shields's actions , and the actress whom Shields drove to madness . I thought that one of the most effective scenes in the movie was Kirk Douglas holding Lana Turner in his arms . Here he is , this overbearing , hostile character forced to almost coddle his gorgeous female star ; it might be showing how he may seemingly have exalted her , but he remains in a higher position and is merely using her and sending her into insanity . And the scene of her driving the car while completely upset elaborates on this idea . And then , there's the writer . He and his wife move from Virginia hoping to get really big in Hollywood . . . until tragedy strikes . It all goes to show the disaster inherent in any industry ( of course , Douglas's character exacerbates any problem ) . But anyway , this is a formidable part of cinema history ; a precursor to movies like " The Player " . Also starring Dick Powell , Walter Pidgeon and Gloria Grahame ( who won Best Supporting Actress ) . |
363,106 | 4,888,011 | 396,269 | 9 | here comes the . . . something | Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn have frequently co-starred in the past few years , and now they can add " The Wedding Crashers " to that list . They play John Beckwith and Jeremy Grey , who go to weddings so that they can have sex with the women there . But then everything gets out of hand when they follow one family home and John really starts getting attracted to the young woman . I don't know how they did it , but they did it . There are a few lapses , but most of the movie is a hoot . Sometimes , you think to yourself " Did I just see that ? " Believe me , you did . I sure hope that these guys co-star in more movies in the future . |
363,334 | 4,888,011 | 41,785 | 9 | someone should separate Florida from the rest of the country | When I saw the title and first minute of " Rebel Rabbit " , I sort of assumed that it would be a Robin Hood-style story . Boy was I wrong ! It portrays Bugs Bunny getting insulted when he finds that the government has placed exorbitant bounties on foxes and bears , but only 2 cents on rabbits ( after all , rabbits are such cute little creatures ) . So , the carrot-chomping rascal proceeds to make a complete mess of the United States . The final scene reminded me of the Peter Sellers-Ringo Starr movie " The Magic Christian " , how they ridiculously brought in the most elaborate weaponry to deal with so simple an animal ( then again , Bugs isn't so simple to catch ) . I especially agreed with one scene : Bugs cuts Florida off from the rest of the country . Considering that the Sunshine State is home to the rich Cubans who fled when Fidel Castro's army took over in Cuba , we should break that state off from the rest of the country and send it down to Cuba so that the current government there can prosecute Fulgencio Batista's henchmen . But I digress . The point is , this is a really funny cartoon . That southern senator was obviously Mel Blanc doing Foghorn Leghorn's voice . Really neat . |
363,722 | 4,888,011 | 50,455 | 9 | the bird , cat and dog who knew too much | While most of the Tweety-Sylvester cartoons have Tweety brutally inflict pain on Sylvester or see the putty tat attacked by Hector the bulldog , " Greedy for Tweety " throws a wrench in the works by having all three get injured at once . When the trio runs into a busy street and each member ends up with a broken leg - does minuscule little Tweety have enough of a leg to actually get broken ? - they get taken to the hospital with Granny as the nurse . Sure enough , Sylvester is still fixated on devouring Tweety ( even if it means abusing Hector ) , while Hector is intent on protecting the little guy ( even if it means abusing Sylvester ) . Many years ago , I saw this cartoon as part of the compilation film " Daffy Duck's Movie : Fantastic Island " . But I'd forgotten some of the coolest scenes ( namely the X-ray and the hammer-wielding mouse ) . As for the idea of Sylvester and Hector fanatically continuing their battle while Tweety sensibly tries to get some rest , maybe that's an allusion to the Cold War : the two superpowers sought to destroy each other while smaller , humbler countries tried to settle down . You know what they say : when all you have is a hammer , everything looks like a nail . OK , so I probably went a little far in trying to analyze this cartoon . The overall point is that " Greedy for Tweety " is truly a fine one . Friz Freleng always had some great ideas . |
365,280 | 4,888,011 | 212,338 | 9 | for anyone who's ever had to meet in-laws | We all know that meeting one's future in-laws can be an unpleasant experience , but none can be more unpleasant than what Greg Focker ( Ben Stiller ) and Pam Byrnes ( Teri Polo ) go through . Planning to get married , they go to meet Pam's parents Jack ( Robert DeNiro ) and Dina ( Blythe Danner ) . Maybe it's the R-rated connotation inherent in Greg's surname , or maybe it's Jack's status as a CIA agent , but Greg and Jack do not hit it off . Somehow , Greg causes a series of accidents , and it all leads Jack to consider Greg unworthy for his daughter . The whole movie is pretty silly , but at the same time , all so true . One can understand that Jack wants to protect his daughter , but a lie detector test ? And just what about Mr . Jinx ? What is with that cat ? No matter , the movie never gets so ridiculous to the point where you roll your eyes . It's nice brainless fun , but it's nice brainless fun that accurately reflects the world that we inhabit . Oh , and Greg is Jewish while Pam's family is a bunch of WASPs , so you know what that means . |
363,832 | 4,888,011 | 480,025 | 9 | I hope that at least most movies from England are somewhat like this . | England has released many films about people living a grim existence : " Poor Cow " , " Kes " , " The Full Monty " , " 24 7 " , " Billy Elliot " and " Children of Men " , to name a few . Shane Meadows's " This Is England " has a similar concept , but takes a different approach . Set in 1983 , the movie focuses on young Shane ( Thomas Turgoose ) . His father was killed in the Falklands invasion , and so he lives alone with his mother Cynthia ( Jo Hartley ) . Picked on at school , Shaun feels lost in the world . . . until he meets some skinhead punks . As Shaun gets to know these skinheads , the group becomes a sort of father figure to him . While Cynthia remains ambivalent about her son hanging out with such individuals , it comforts her - however loosely - that her son has found some friends . So , the first half of the movie makes it look rather lightweight . But when hardcore skinhead Combo gets out of jail and reconnects with the group , everything changes . In what I considered the movie's most effective scene , Combo stands up in front of the gang and talks about how Margaret Thatcher led the country into a phony war while unemployment runs rampant and immigrants steal everyone's jobs . This guy's such a racist nationalist , that he won't even fly the Union Jack representing the United Kingdom ; to him , the only flag is England's own flag ( showing St . George's cross ) . Whether or not this speech was intended as an allusion to current events I'm not sure . The movie maintains its strength in not meandering too much . While there is talk of the Falklands invasion , the focus stays on Shaun's friendship with the gang and how they get him to cooperate with whatever they do . It's worth noting that even though these skinheads are clearly disaffected youth , they stick by each other no matter what , to the extent that Shaun becomes very close to one of the girls in the gang . All in all , I recommend this one . While some people may not fancy a look into this kind of subculture , I find it very fascinating . And above all , I like movies disproving the " Mary Poppins " image of England . Definitely worth seeing . |
362,641 | 4,888,011 | 120,789 | 9 | Don Knotts , RIP | Don Knotts's death yesterday brings to mind his various roles . " Pleasantville " probably wasn't his most famous movie , but it's one that I would recommend to everyone . It portrays real-life teenagers David ( Tobey Maguire ) and Jennifer ( Reese Witherspoon ) getting transferred into a 1950's " Leave It to Beaver " - style TV show . Aside from the fact that everything is black-and-white , David and Jennifer ( now called Bud and Mary Sue in the show ) have a hard time adjusting to a world of wives wearing fluffy dresses all day and gray flannel suit-clad husbands saying " Honey , I'm home ! " But David and Jennifer's presence just might change everything . All that I can say is that it would sure be neat to experience this movie . More than just a goofy story , there's a clear reference to racism as colors start showing and everything starts changing . And the way that they use the song " Take Five " is also quite eye-opening . Great performances from the aforementioned cast members , plus Joan Allen , William H . Macy , Jeff Daniels , J . T . Walsh ( in his final role ) , and even Jane Kaczmarek right before she got the role of Lois on " Malcolm in the Middle " , make this one cool movie . |
364,665 | 4,888,011 | 128,274 | 9 | When are the star creatures going to kidnap me ? ! | I stopped short of giving " Invasion of the Star Creatures " due to some cringe-inducing scenes involving Indians . Other than that , it's pure corny sci-fi fun . In this case , a pair of loopy soldiers find a cave housing two sexy women sent from another planet to colonize earth . Naturally , the soldiers try to stop the colonization . Personally , if those two babes were going to take over the world , I would immediately submit ! And moreover , this movie was clearly intended more as a comedy , with the sorts of lines that one expects in a Laurel and Hardy movie . As long as we understand the stereotyping of Native Americans here , we can enjoy the rest of the movie . Tanga and Puna ! Hubba hubba . . . |
363,326 | 4,888,011 | 120,586 | 9 | Why didn't anyone challenge Derek when he became a racist ? | My rating is because " American History X " is very well done in every way , except that it seems that when Derek Vinyard ( Edward Norton ) started spouting out the anti-Semitic diatribe , they should have asked him what became of his humanity . Then again , maybe they wouldn't know what to say in such a situation . But other than that , the movie is quite good . Portraying a reformed Derek trying to prevent his younger brother Danny ( Edward Furlong ) from becoming a white supremacist , we get to see various issues . For example , when Derek is in jail and gets to know a black man for the first time , his anger starts to ebb . Good support from Beverly D'Angelo , Elliott Gould , Stacy Keach and Fairuza Balk make this a very good movie , even if they didn't develop it as far as they could . |
362,828 | 4,888,011 | 41,655 | 9 | one of Bugs's trips down south | I understand that " Mississippi Hare " got censored for showing black people picking cotton , but most of the cartoon has nothing to do with that . In fact , most of the cartoon nearly made me die laughing , as Bugs Bunny plays every kind of trick to avoid getting shot by an aggressive riverboat gambler whom he beats at poker . While some scenes set up what's about to happen , others are sped up so that you can't wait to see what's going to happen ! Yes , once again , someone tries to go after Bugs , but Bugs is somehow always ten steps ahead . You gotta love it . And as for that scene where Bugs dresses up as a Southern belle . . . well , seeing a woman like that , I might have easily fallen for any trick ! |
364,795 | 4,888,011 | 464,141 | 9 | Geraldine Chaplin's father grew up in one | I didn't figure that any movie could equal " Pan's Labyrinth " , but " El orfanato " - " The Orphanage " in English - comes close . When a family moves into a former orphanage in which the mother ( Belen Rueda ) grew up , the adopted son starts making imaginary friends and feeling very detached from his parents . And then , he just disappears . But that's not all . . . A major surprise as the movie progresses is the appearance of Geraldine Chaplin as a woman hired to try to help find the son . Ms . Chaplin certainly has a connection to orphanages , as her father spent part of his childhood in one . Although in reality , I don't know whether or not that influenced her decision to star in this . All in all , a really good one . Also starring Fernando Cayo . |
363,115 | 4,888,011 | 41,310 | 9 | Might there be more dodo birds in Madagascar ? | I stopped short of giving " Dough for the Do-Do " just because the whole idea of Darkest Africa doesn't exactly sound PC in this day and age . But other than that , it's a hoot , with Porky searching for the last do-do bird , worth four trillion dollars . He has to enter Wackyland , and as the Wackyland sign affirms : " It can happen here . " Sure enough , anything can happen . But the do-do himself is something else , and as elusive as can be . All in all , it's a cartoon that you're sure to like . And I know that the dodo is extinct , but I can't help but wonder whether or not there might be more in Madagascar . |
363,075 | 4,888,011 | 89,424 | 9 | dictatorships | Raul Julia and William Hurt play Valentin Arregui and Luis Molina , cell-mates in a South American jail . Valentin is a political prisoner trying to keep his sanity , and Luis is a gay man with fantasies of Nazis and their beautiful women . These two men are opposites in virtually every way , but are forced to grow to respect each other . Sonia Braga plays the woman in both men's fantasies : the " Spider Woman " and the Nazi's lover . That's the plot , but the movie is really a metaphor for any dictatorship . Obviously , any totalitarian state will imprison political opponents , and from what I know , most tyrants choose to lock up homosexuals . Valentin even tries to make the pro-fascist Luis understand what the Nazis did to gays . Regardless of how the two men eventually view each other , it remains a really good movie . |
363,914 | 4,888,011 | 51,101 | 9 | Painte Blanc | As always , Penelope accidentally gets painted white , and Pepe Le Pew thinks that she's a female skunk ( note : he doesn't say " belle femme skunk " in this one ) . One thing that I saw in " Touche and Go " that may or may not have been an in-joke was the paint that gives her that white stripe : the can is called " Painte Blanc " . I immediately assumed that it was probably an allusion to Mel Blanc ; after all , the Looney Tunes cartoons were chock full of in-jokes . But even ignoring that , this is still a really funny cartoon , packed with some great one-liners ( namely the part about fish ) . Because remember : the game of love doesn't end at sundown . |
364,178 | 4,888,011 | 80,801 | 9 | an interesting perspective | The Gods Must Be Crazy is basically two stories that end up colliding . On the one hand , Kalahari Bushman Xixo ( N ! xau ) brings a Coke bottle to his village , and its presence proceeds to wreak havoc . On the other hand , South African reporter Kate Thompson ( Sandra Prinsloo ) goes to Botswana as a teacher , to account for the teacher shortage there ; little does she know that a revolution is brewing . While Xixo is taking the Coke bottle to the " edge of the world " , his world will eventually cross paths with Kate's . Obviously , it now sort of eats at us that they refer to white people as " civilized man " . But overall , the movie does a good job showing what can happen when Western culture is introduced to an indigenous society . I guess that the bad luck often befalling Andrew Steyn ( Marius Weyers ) was just sort of thrown in for comic relief , but you can't not like it . |
365,744 | 4,888,011 | 41,434 | 9 | this cartoon was not a dog | I'll admit that I don't really know anything about dog races , but you don't need to know anything thereabout to enjoy " The Grey Hounded Hare " . Bugs Bunny stumbles upon a dog race , and quickly learns that the contestants don't like rabbits . But what truly riles him is the fact the dogs are chasing the female rabbit with whom he has just fallen in love ( it's a robot , but he doesn't know that ) . So , that long-eared rascal sets about coming up with ways to stop the dogs from chasing the rabbit . That is , until the final showdown with a big bellicose dog . Maybe this isn't the best cartoon that the Looney Tunes ' creative team made , but there's really nothing bad about it . And the end scene is a good lesson about the dangers of electricity . |
363,374 | 4,888,011 | 89,504 | 9 | this movie never gets " lost " | Why not take an adventure to get to know one's country a little better ? That's exactly what David ( Albert Brooks ) and Linda Howard ( Julie Hagerty ) do . After David loses a promotion that he's been anticipating , he quits his job and gets Linda to quit hers . The two proceed to travel across the United States , looking into every aspect of American life . Naturally , there are a few mishaps along the way . I could say that " Lost in America " is " Easy Rider " transposed to the ' 80's , but that doesn't do it justice . It's more of a look at life in general , and how the simplest things can yield unexpected results . Watch for " Happy Days " creator Garry Marshall as a casino owner in Las Vegas . |
363,267 | 4,888,011 | 89,155 | 9 | never underestimate Chevy Chase's power | In what may have been the high point of Chevy Chase's career , he plays Irwin " Fletch " Fletcher , a reporter who writes a column under the name Jane Doe . When a man hires Fletch to kill him , Fletch decides to investigate the man . As you might imagine , in the process , he gets more than he bargained for . And there's several gags throughout the movie . Of course , since this is a Chevy Chase movie , you don't even really need to pay attention to the plot . It's overall just an excuse for the star to goof off . Maybe not as much as he did on " Saturday Night Live " or in " National Lampoon's Vacation " , but he's still funny as ever . He must have had fun making this movie . |
363,513 | 4,888,011 | 58,604 | 9 | dogmatic , but true | In talking about Cuba , people often forget about how things were under Fulgencio Batista . The Cuban-Soviet co-production " I Am Cuba " shows how things were . Throughout four vignettes , we see a Havana prostitute struggling to make ends meet , a humble farmer whose livelihood is destroyed by landowners , students fighting against the repressive police , and finally , people joining up with the revolutionary army . The whole thing is really socialist realism : the heroic peasants rising up against the oppressive bourgeoisie and getting martyred . But , we have to admit that what " I Am Cuba " portrays is accurate . I don't know for sure whether or not things got much better after the revolution , but most Cubans certainly prefer things as they are today over how things were under Batista . Either way , the movie can also be interpreted through its camera work , showing Cuba's landscape and employing some interesting dollies . Yes , it's propaganda , but as far as I know , conditions have improved in Cuba ever since they abolished the ladyfinger system and prosecuted Batista's thugs . This movie reminds of things in the same way that " Schindler's List " does . |
365,312 | 4,888,011 | 80,549 | 9 | Believe it or not , I can find one unrealistic thing ( but it doesn't drag down the film at all ) . | I knew loosely about Loretta Lynn before I saw " Coal Miner's Daughter " . When I saw the movie , I not only got a sense of her personal life , but also of the culture out of which she grew . We see how her family was one of the most destitute imaginable , with more children than they could handle , and so Loretta's parents felt like they had no choice but to marry her off at the age of thirteen . As for Doolittle , we see how he clearly had a lot of problems - namely drinking and womanizing - but was a decent person at heart . From the beginning , the movie fascinates . Playing a thirteen-year-old , Sissy Spacek has no trouble looking the part . As the story progresses and Loretta ages , she still looks the part ( I don't think that I've ever seen anyone else do that ; that alone may have been what won her the Best Actress Oscar ) . Tommy Lee Jones is equally great as Doolittle , showing him as a sorry but still respectable person . There was one mildly unrealistic thing that I noticed in the movie . Loretta's father Ted ( Levon Helm ) looked a little too clean and polished for someone who spent his days working in the coal mines . But that doesn't drag the movie down at all . " CMD " is a very good movie , affirming Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones as two of the greatest actors of our time . Among other things , the movie also shows that Michael Apted ( happy birthday , Michael ! ) is a director whom we need to recognize more . He also directed the " 7 Up " series , " Agatha " , " Continental Divide " , " Gorky Park " , and the never - released - on - video - or - DVD " Stardust " , among other things . Anyway , it's a very good movie . I definitely recommend it . Also starring Beverly D'Angelo as Patsy Cline . |
363,917 | 4,888,011 | 833,875 | 9 | Even though I didn't catch the whole thing , it was still great . | When I read that " The 79th Annual Academy Awards " started at 5 pm , I assumed that the lead-in started then . When I turned the channel on at about 5 : 50 , I saw that they were well into the ceremony . Criminy ! But no worries , I saw most of it , and I really liked it . I especially laud them for FINALLY giving Martin Scorsese what he's deserved for so long , for giving Alan Arkin what he's deserved for so long , and for giving Ennio Morricone what he's deserved for so long . Kudos above all to Al Gore for calling on the world to deal with global warming and reminding us that it's not a political issue , but a moral one ( and I'm glad to see that Leonardo DiCaprio is part of the movement to curb global warming ) . What do I think of Ellen DeGeneres as a host ? Well , after Jon Stewart last year , I guess that anyone might seem a little weak , but I liked how she did ( particularly that trick with Scorsese ) . Even if she's not the best host ever , she's gotta be better than Bob Hope . I notice that Best Actress went to Helen Mirren - who's also deserved an Oscar for years - for playing a queen , and Best Actor went to Forest Whitaker for playing a king ( the last one of Scotland , that is ) . Jennifer Hudson's win is the perfect slap in the face to " American Idol " ( they kicked her off , believing that she had no talent ) . As is often the case , the best parts are the montages . I liked that the writing montage included scenes from " The Shining " , and the history montage included a scene from " Dr . Strangelove " . Good that they included Robert Altman in the " In Memoriam " , but I think that he should have gotten his own montage . I bet that this ceremony must have really irked the right-wingers . Aside from the fact that a lesbian hosted , a lesbian won for Best Original Song ( and for a documentary about global warming at that ) , honorary winner Sherry Lansing sits on a stem cell research board , and they gave some awards to " Babel " and " El laberinto del Fauno / Pan's Labyrinth " ( both by Mexican directors ) . I hope that tomorrow night , Stephen Colbert - in his right-wing commentator persona - rants against the Academy for all this . In fact , they ought to have him host the Oscars next year ; he would probably be better than Jon Stewart . So , it was a great ceremony . Each of the Best Picture nominees received at least one Oscar . If Scorsese really meant that " The Departed " was his first movie with a plot , then it paid off . A fine few hours . But what did Cameron Diaz do to her face ? |
365,856 | 4,888,011 | 41,201 | 9 | bridge over hilariously troubled water vs . a potential " Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers " | I think that I'd heard of Steve Brody before I'd seen Arthur Davis's " Bowery Bugs " , but I wish to call this cartoon the coolest way to know him . The plot has Brody suffering a bout of bad luck , so he decides to find himself a rabbit's foot . While we should immediately be able to guess which rabbit he tries to get it from , we still haven't seen what Bugs Bunny makes the poor sucker do ! It goes to show that Bugs was a New Yorker all the way . Truth be told , what Bugs does to the guy towards the end reminds me of " Invasion of the Body Snatchers " , how Kevin McCarthy's character starts finding that everyone has been taken over by the aliens and doesn't know whether or not he can trust anyone . But that's just me . While I have to admit that Arthur Davis is not the Warner animation director who first comes to my mind , he did helm some fairly interesting cartoons during his few years as a director : " Mexican Joyride " , " The Stupor Salesman " and " Porky Chops " are the ones that I know aside from this one . All in all , this is one that you're sure to like . |
362,632 | 4,888,011 | 34,167 | 9 | Believe it or not , some links to " Bewitched " . | More than anything , what I saw in " Sergeant York " is that competent people ran WWI , as opposed to what we see today . But as for the movie itself , no one can deny that Gary Cooper did quite an impressive job as simple Alvin C . York , suddenly thrust into a situation against his religious principles and ironically becoming one of the war's biggest heroes . Still , I have to say that the religious stuff comes across as sort of silly ; following a " sinful " streak , he found Jesus ( how many people make that sort of claim ? ) . Moreover , he claims that he knows certain things to be true because the Bible says so ( so everything started with Adam and Eve , and humans didn't evolve from apes ? ) . I guess that at this point in time , we were trying to get out of the Depression by imagining the whole country as a bunch of ultra-nice small town folk . But in response to " Give me that old-time religion " , I say " Give me that Einstein-level science , Hollywood-style depravity , and full-scale world knowledge " . As for the pro-war aspect , it fits into the USA's impending entry into WWII . I try to wonder what Alvin York would think about things were he alive today . Overall , I recommend the movie . At the very least , it remains an indelible part of cinema history . Also starring Joan Leslie and Walter Brennan . Oh , and the links to " Bewitched " ? Playing Pusher is George Tobias , better known as clueless old Abner Kravitz . Gary Cooper later starred in " The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell " ( also about a WWI hero ) , co-starring Elizabeth Montgomery . Finally , " Jeopardy ! " once had a category called " Sargent / York " , in reference to Dick York and Dick Sargent . |
364,141 | 4,888,011 | 95,654 | 10 | The Kiss of the Spider Woman : the flip side | While " The Kiss of the Spider Woman " cast Raul Julia as a political prisoner in an unidentified Latin American country , this time he works for a dictator in a fictional Latin American country . Specifically , the dictator suddenly drops dead , so Julia replaces el presidente with a Broadway actor ( Richard Dreyfuss ) shooting a movie in the country . From there , Dreyfuss has to figure out how to be a dictator , all the while balancing it with his own life . Is it appropriate to turn the tense situation in Latin America into comedy ? Well , " Moon Over Parador " does a good job with it . No matter what they do in this movie , they pull it off . It just goes to show why Richard Dreyfuss is one of the greatest actors of our era , and what we lost when Raul Julia died . Definitely worth seeing . Also starring Sonia Braga ( who co-starred with Raul Julia in " TKOTSW " ) , Jonathan Winters and Sammy Davis Jr . I agree : the first lady is hot . |
363,628 | 4,888,011 | 167,404 | 10 | a thriller in the real sense of the word | Dr . Malcolm Crowe ( Bruce Willis ) is a Philadelphia psychiatrist meeting with Cole Sear ( Haley Joel Osment ) , a boy who can - OK , I'll say it this one last time - see dead people . While too many horror flicks have relied on gore , this one relies on the subconscious , and other things that we don't realize . And of course , there's the ending . I literally did not see that coming , although there were a number of clues throughout the movie . All that I can say is , you are going to have your mind blown . M . Night Shyamalan truly created an impressive piece of cinema history here , and of his later movies , only " Unbreakable " came close to equalling this one's quality . On another note , I think that it was appropriate that " The Sixth Sense " came out in 1999 , when I was 15 . It was named by Entertainment Weekly as one of the many movies that year that revolutionized the movie industry ( along with " Election " , " The Blair Witch Project " , " American Beauty " and " Being John Malkovich " ) . Similarly , in 1967 , when my parents were 15 , movies such as " In the Heat of the Night " , " Bonnie and Clyde " and " The Graduate " - all revolutionizing the movie industry - were released . Some things just work out perfectly . |
365,166 | 4,888,011 | 105,089 | 10 | Anyone familiar with US foreign policy won't be a bit surprised . | Elizabeth Montgomery spent much of her life trying to break from the " Bewitched " reputation . I would say that " The Panama Deception " , which she narrated , marked her full success . The documentary exposes the real reasons for Bush Sr . ' s invasion of Panama : it was not to stop Gen . Manuel Noriega from drug trafficking , but rather to overthrow him when he was no longer an acceptable puppet leader - and the US army killed almost 4 , 000 civilians in the process . We assumed that this must be the truth all along . For further info on the circumstances of the invasion , read " What Uncle Sam Really Wants " by Noam Chomsky . He explains how , during the invasion , Bush announced an increased arms sale to Iraq and China . This was less than a year after the Tianenmen Square massacre , and less than two years after Saddam had used chemical weapons against the Kurdish city of Halabja . As Chomsky put it , Noriega looked like Mother Teresa compared to Bush's allies in Baghdad and Beijing . All in all , Bush Sr . deserved to get impeached for this . Or the Gulf War ( or both ) . Never doubt what these people are doing when they claim to be sending troops to countries for humanitarian reasons . |
363,963 | 4,888,011 | 88,000 | 10 | I'm PROUD to be a nerd | I first saw " Revenge of the Nerds " when I was ten ( that's right , ten ) . Some people at school had been making fun of me , calling me a nerd . After I saw " ROTF " , I was finally proud to call myself a nerd ( albeit not one who wears glasses , has buck teeth , and has his pant legs halfway up his calves ) . It's especially great that the nerds were such a diverse group of people ( Booger may have been gross , but he clearly had a brain ) . And there's also an interesting thing about the cast . Robert Carradine must be the only person who has co-starred with both Jane Fonda ( he played the brother in " Coming Home " ) and with the guy who played Booger . And I never realized that Stan was played by the same guy who played Roger on " Happy Days " . So , if you're any kind of individual who has spent his / her life getting bullied , this is the movie for you ! |
365,279 | 4,888,011 | 52,561 | 10 | this is what courtroom movies are all about | Most movies make it clear throughout who's good and who's bad . " Anatomy of a Murder " , on the other hand , keeps you guessing . Jimmy Stewart plays Paul Biegler , a lawyer hired to defend Lt . Fred Manion ( Ben Gazzara ) , charged with murdering a man who allegedly raped his wife Laura ( Lee Remick ) . Fred wants to cop an insanity plea and say that he committed the murder out of sympathy for his wife . But some things remain unclear throughout the trial . How much does anyone really know about any of these people ? Is Fred really insane ? And what role do Laura's missing panties play in the whole thing ? The fact that they used the word " panties " is part of this movie's status as one of the many films that was pushing the barriers . The judge ( Joseph Welch , the real-life judge who took helped expose Joe McCarthy ) has to tell the courtroom that the evidence in question is " . . . Mrs . Manion's panties . " After everyone giggles , he reminds them that he wanted to get that point out of the way and that there will be no more giggling . Director Otto Preminger , who dealt with a real-life trial in 1955's " The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell " , puts an interesting spin on this fictional trial . The black-and-white cinematography helps to give the feeling of both sides in the trial . You literally can't tell which side is the " right " side for most of the movie . " Anatomy of a Murder " is truly sublime . |
364,214 | 4,888,011 | 105,107 | 10 | passion all the way | John Sayles never disappoints as a director , and " Passion Fish " affirms that . After a car accident paralyzes soap opera star May-Alice Culhane ( Mary McDonnell ) , she returns to her childhood home in Louisiana , bitter about everything . After rejecting several caretakers , she befriends Chantelle ( Alfre Woodard , happy birthday ! ) . From there , we see how their lives and experiences help them form a bond . I know that it sounds like the average Hollywood crap , but remember , this is John Sayles so he knows how to do it right . The title refers to a legend told to May by local man Rennie ( David Strathairn ) . The legend is likely to blow your mind . With zydeco music to keep things going , this is definitely a movie that I recommend . Also starring Vondie Curtis-Hall and Angela Bassett . |
362,686 | 4,888,011 | 252,444 | 10 | great on every level | Rabbit-Proof Fence tells the story of how the Australian government used to steal Aboriginal children from their families and put them in reeducation camps to become servants for white people , and how three girls escaped and found their way home by following a fence erected to keep rabbits out of the farms . One thing about the movie is how it portrays A . O . Neville ( Kenneth Branagh ) , the man who orders the girls kidnapped . Certainly his actions are racist , but you don't grow to hate him . He doesn't act out of cruelty ; he believes that he's doing the right thing . Also , there's Moodoo ( David Gulpilil ) , an Aborigine working with the government to kidnap children . We recognize that it's awful that he's working with the oppressors , but somehow he also gives the feeling that he can't continue like this . The scene where they kidnap the girls is beyond heart-wrenching . And since we were doing the same things to the Indians in the US , we have to own up to it too . A perfect movie . |
362,649 | 4,888,011 | 52,600 | 10 | A great relic of the " thaw " . | After Stalin died , Khrushchev denounced him in started allowing more artistic freedom ( this era was known as the " thaw " ) . Probably the two best results film-wise were " Letyat zhuravli " ( " The Cranes are Flying " in English ) and " Ballada o soldate " ( " Ballad of a Soldier " in English ) . The latter portrays Pvt . Alyosha Skvortsov ( Vladimir Ivashov ) getting a leave of absence during WWII so that he can visit his mother . He travels across the countryside , meets various people , and falls in love with Shura ( Zhanna Prokhorenko ) , a young woman whom he meets on a train . One of the interesting things about this movie is that it starts by telling the audience that Alyosha got killed in WWII . Even though we know throughout the whole movie that he eventually gets killed ( which the movie doesn't show ) , we always root for him . The movie in fact begins in the same place where it started . The opening shows a road in Alyosha's home town , and the last scene shows him walking down the road after seeing his mother . We don't find out how he gets killed , we just know that he is a hero for his country . All in all , a great movie . |
365,066 | 4,888,011 | 105,151 | 10 | Hollywood endings and non-Hollywood endings | After many years of semi-obscurity , Robert Altman made a full-scale comeback with the blistering satire " The Player " , about Hollywood . Tim Robbins plays producer Griffin Mill , working in a studio . He gets pitched thousands of scripts every year , but has to choose twelve . Day in and day out , he hears ridiculous suggestions like " The Graduate 2 " - from , who else ? , Buck Henry - and so he usually tells people that he'll get back to them . But one day , he tells this to the wrong person , and he starts getting threatening postcards from this unidentified individual . Finally , it all boils over . Aside from simply the main plot , this movie gives you the sense of several things . One gets the feeling of how weird the Hollywood world is , and how unpleasant it must be to have to be part of that world . Even when a director suggests a realistic movie without top stars , everyone immediately wants a happy ending and top stars . There are cameos from more movie stars and singers than I could count , and they're usually egomaniacs at best , total creeps at worst ( I wonder if any of what the movie portrays mirrors what went into making the movie ) . But probably the most interesting aspect is how several times throughout the movie , they mention the movie's plot as an idea for a movie . Overall , this must be one of Robert Altman's coolest movies . It's got the feeling of his movies , what with everyone talking at once , and a no-holds-barred look at its topic . I definitely recommend it . Also starring Greta Scacchi , Fred Ward , Whoopi Goldberg , Vincent D'Onofrio , Peter Gallagher , Dina Merrill , and the numerous stars in cameos . |
363,212 | 4,888,011 | 52,602 | 10 | Samantha , do you see what has resulted from your marriage to that mortal ? | Vincent Price scores another cool one with " The Bat " , about a bunch of people staying in a mansion where a serial killer known by that name is taking people out one by one . There's plenty to throw you off , and I doubt that you'll see that ending coming ! One other thing about this movie is something not exactly related : the presence of Agnes Moorehead . Nowadays , most people probably remember her as Endora on " Bewitched " . Maybe in this flick , she got some witch sensibility . Also starring is Darla Hood ( yep , the Little Rascal ) . Yet another cast member is named Harvey Stephens . I recall that the boy who played Damien in " The Omen " had that name . Any relation ? Speaking of which , why should I mention " The Omen " ? Well , today is / 06 , or 666 . And considering that that movie is supposed to be sacrosanct , WHY did they have to remake it ? Oh well , life goes on . Just make sure to catch " The Bat " . |
364,349 | 4,888,011 | 281,686 | 10 | Thank you , Bruce Campbell , thank you very much ! | When I give " Bubba Ho-Tep " stars , I of course assume that the only people who will even opt to read my review are the types who have decided that they like the movie even before they've watched it . Such people should already know the plot : Elvis Presley ( Bruce Campbell ) and John F . Kennedy ( Ossie Davis ) are both alive and living in a retirement home in Texas , and they have to fight a mummy . It'll be cool to cult fans . When I saw the movie , Bruce Campbell was supposed to appear at the theater , but had to cancel . Right before the movie started , they showed some footage of him thanking the audience for coming to watch the movie . Then , his phone rang . From there , it went like this : " Oh , Sam Raimi ? I'll get back to you in a minute , Sam . " ( He turns back to the camera . ) " So I'd like to thank all of you for supporting this movie . " ( He turns back to the phone . ) " Now then , Sam , what did you want to talk about ? . . . Evil Dead 4 ? ! . . . I'll do it ! " |
364,723 | 4,888,011 | 893,382 | 10 | Martin Scorsese shines a light on the Rolling Stones ' continuing greatness | After I saw " The Last Waltz " a few years ago , I figured that it would be hard for Martin Scorsese to top that . Well , he at least comes close with " Shine a Light " , about the Rolling Stones ' tour promoting " A Bigger Bang " . And let me tell you , this is a GREAT one . Don't let the first few minutes fool you : we get to see Marty meeting Mick , Keith , Charlie and Ronnie , and figuring out how he wants to film the documentary . But then comes the show . Funded by the Clinton Foundation ( Bill and Hillary even attended ) and performed in Beacon Theater , this is an experience unlike any other . Granted , it isn't the same on TV as it is being in the theater and hearing the Stones directly , but it's really close ( so far the closest that I've ever gotten ) . As for the Stones themselves , Mick Jagger still looks great , Keith Richards looks totally bizarre ( of which he's no doubt quite proud ) , while Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood look as they usually do . Also performing are Christina Aguilera , Buddy Guy and Jack White . But the overall point is that this is a great documentary . Interspersing footage of the current show with footage from the band's early days , Scorsese accomplished another masterpiece here . Not to be missed . |
363,893 | 4,888,011 | 140,888 | 10 | Walter Salles is a great director . | In the past year , Brazilian director Walter Salles has gained much recognition in the United States for " The Motorcycle Diaries " and " Dark Water " . " Central do Brasil " ( called " Central Station " in English ) shows his work before these movies . It focuses on former schoolteacher Dora ( Fernanda Montenegro ) , who now writes letters for the illiterate . She befriends young orphan Josue ( Vinicius de Oliveira ) . It is sort of a second chance for them both . Salles does a really good job showing human emotions without ever trying to manipulate the audience's emotions . I would say that from these three movies , he is on the way to becoming Brazil's Alfred Hitchcock . |
363,107 | 4,888,011 | 112,818 | 10 | walking into cinematic history | What's really good about " Dead Man Walking " is that it shows Matthew Poncelet's ( Sean Penn ) side of the story , but it never portrays him as a hero . We understand that , and Sister Helen Prejean ( Susan Sarandon ) understands that . Sarandon definitely deserved her Best Actress Oscar for this movie ( I can't believe that it took her so long to win one ) . Never preachy , the movie shows all sides of the story in looking at Poncelet's approaching execution . Among other things , this movie should dispel the notion that they don't make movies like they used to - although this one is over ten years old . A true classic in every sense of the word . |
365,007 | 4,888,011 | 43,952 | 10 | What's cookin ' , varmint ? | Bugs Bunny is cooking some carrots , which Yosemite Sam smells ( where there's carrots , there's rabbits ) . But when Sam attempts to blast the flea-bitten varmint , things always go haywire ! Even when Sam gets Bugs back into his house , it's still not as easy as it looks to deal with him . Is this Sam's eternal doom ? ! It's just always great to see how nothing was sacred to these guys . Everything was always fair game . True , it's not much different from most Bugs-Sam pairings , but they're always so hilarious . And this one even had an interesting twist at the end . " Rabbit Every Monday " is a real treat . In conclusion : Happy new year ! |
365,424 | 4,888,011 | 43,953 | 10 | never try to undermine someone's integrity | In the first of three Bugs Bunny / Daffy Duck / Elmer Fudd combinations , Bugs and Daffy perpetually try to get Elmer to shoot the other . Sure enough , through various tricks , Bugs gets Elmer to shoot Daffy ( well , his bill at least ) . And this one had a most unusual ending . What was always great about these combinations was the idea that they portrayed : the loud , mindless Daffy always tries to undermine the integrity of the calm , perceptive Bugs , but always gets his just desserts . It's sort of like how Wile E . Coyote always tries to harm Road Runner , but always gets harmed himself . Anyway , " Rabbit Fire " is a real classic . |
364,740 | 4,888,011 | 95,742 | 10 | in dreams or out of them | The rating of course applies only to those who've decided that they like the movie before they watch it ( others will find it totally tasteless ) . This one has Freddy Krueger ( Robert Englund ) using some girl's dreams to attack people while they're still awake . Yeah , how far out can they get ? If you've seen # 5 , then you know that they took it one step further . I guess that no matter what happens , Freddy's just never gonna go away ; in 2003 , he even got to duke it out with Jason . But anyway , " A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 : The Dream Master " is really nothing that you haven't seen before - or at least nothing that you wouldn't expect . I , for one , would like to see a movie in which all the bad guys and all the good guys from all movies have a big battle royale . |
365,637 | 4,888,011 | 52,507 | 10 | no matter what you call it . . . | No matter what you call it - " Rocky and His Friends " , " The Bullwinkle Show " , " Rocky and Bullwinkle " , or something else - you can't deny how great this show is . A total parody of the Cold War , they hit everything right on the mark . Equally as great as the parts where Rocket J . Squirrel and Bullwinkle J . Moose battle the evil-and-proud-of-it Soviet spies Boris Badenov and Natasha Fatale , are the Fractured Fairy Tales ( narrated by Edward Everett Horton ) , Mr . Peabody's Improbable History , and Dudley Do-Right . Whether Prince Charming turns Sleeping Beauty into a circus attraction , Galileo needs help with a scientific experiment , or whichever dastardly scheme Snidely Whiplash is plotting , it's one of the greatest shows of all time . The " Simpsons " of its era , if I may say so . So , June Foray has every reason to be proud of her work on this . I'll always love it . I never saw the 2000 movie , but every review said that it sucked . |
365,379 | 4,888,011 | 70,510 | 10 | it wouldn't be make believe . . . and it isn't | Peter Bogdanovich - who turns 68 today - created a troika of nostalgia pieces in the early ' 70s with " The Last Picture Show " , " What's Up , Doc ? " and " Paper Moon " . The last one puts an interesting spin on things . I remember when I saw it , I had just seen " The Sting " and noticed that the two both dealt with conning . But boy do they have something in store for you here . The movie opens with Bible salesman Moses Pray ( Ryan O'Neal ) adopting Addie Loggins ( Tatum O'Neal ) in a Midwestern town during the Great Depression . It doesn't take her long to figure out that the guy's a con artist . However , she turns out to be cleverer than he . I remember hearing about how the novel ( which I've never read ) was simply called " Addie Pray " , and didn't feature the scene in which Moses and Addie sit on the title object at the fair . It's debatable as to whether or not it changed the quality to add that object and change the title . But either way , you can't deny that this movie remains a timeless masterpiece . Personally , I think that Peter Bogdanovich deserves a lot more credit as a director than most people give him ; he has made some really good movies , even if some came out a little lower than we expect . This one is just great . Also starring Madeleine Kahn and Randy Quaid . |
365,862 | 4,888,011 | 405,159 | 10 | this truly packs a punch | Calling " Million Dollar Baby " a boxing movie would be like calling " Star Wars " a space fantasy . Only " Rocky " has ever reached this quality . Hilary Swank gives a performance beyond what anyone could ever imagine as destitute waitress Maggie Fitzgerald , trying to make something of herself as a boxer . Clint Eastwood gives probably his best performance ever as trainer Frankie Dunn , trying to reassert his worth by training Maggie . Morgan Freeman is also amazing as co-trainer Eddie " Scrap-Iron " Dupris , seeking a new direction in life . Watching " Million Dollar Baby " you may end up feeling like you are in the middle of a boxing ring . Tough ( but never gratuitously violent ) , disturbing ( but never manipulating emotions ) , this elevates Hilary Swank to the level of Katharine Hepburn , Jane Fonda and Meryl Streep . Her and Morgan Freeman's Oscar wins were more than deserved ( as for Best Picture , I was actually rooting for " The Aviator " ) . But regardless of anything , no one can deny how great this movie is . . |
363,164 | 4,888,011 | 210,299 | 10 | music to anyone's ears | Like " The Commitments " and " O Brother , Where Art Thou ? " , " Songcatcher " focuses on music in a way that you shouldn't miss . It tells the story of musicologist Lily Penleric ( Janet McTeer ) who travels to an isolated village in the Appalachians and gets to hear the music of the Scottish-Irish people there in the early 20th century . Can this really be the whole plot of a movie ? When the movie has such great music , it definitely can . Because what Lily hears does many things : aside from just being great music , it shows how the people in this village may not be educated or anything like that - and could even be inbred - but they still have their culture . I definitely recommend this movie . Also starring Aidan Quinn ( happy birthday , Aidan ! ) and Emmy Rossum a few years before she played Sean Penn's daughter in " Mystic River " . |
365,273 | 4,888,011 | 52,530 | 10 | Not only does he share a name with Jeannie's master , but Helen Keller appears ! | Ah , the ' 50s . When we could always find a cool sci-fi flick in the local cinema . Whether it was " Them ! " , " Godzilla " or " Forbidden Planet " , there was no shortage of neat movies ( never mind that they usually starred really hot women ) . And we had the Cold War to thank . One of the lesser known flicks is " 4D Man " , in which some scientists ( Robert Lansing and James Congdon ) break down people's molecular structures and make it possible for them to walk through walls . Totally outlandish , you say ? Well , what do you expect from these sorts of movies ? ! I , for one , don't like it one bit when stuffy jerks say that all movies should be the " important " kind . This flick is pure entertainment , and doesn't pretend to be anything else ; if anything , it's proud of being pure entertainment ( and justifiably so ) . And then , there's the end . Maybe it's showing that we can't always be sure of how certain things will turn out in life . Or maybe they came up with the end for no discernible reason . I don't actually know . But anyway , this is a really cool movie . It makes one long for that era . Also starring Robert Strauss and a very young Patty Duke ( happy 60th , Patty ! ) . |
365,761 | 4,888,011 | 95,705 | 10 | Only Leslie Nielsen could do this ! | For sheer goof-ball exuberance , you needn't look any further than " The Naked Gun : From the Files of Police Squad ! " . Leslie Nielsen remains forever associated with the role of inept Lt . Frank Drebin , who always tries to do the right thing but always makes a mess of everything . Here , he's trying to foil an assassination attempt on Queen Elizabeth . Since this is from the people behind " Airplane ! " , it means that much of the humor derives from twisted dialogue and things popping out of the background . To crown it all , there's even a guest appearance by " Weird Al " Yankovic as himself . Also starring are Priscilla Presley , George Kennedy , O . J . Simpson , and Ricardo Montalban . And to think that Leslie Nielsen started out in movies like " Forbidden Planet " ! |
364,550 | 4,888,011 | 87,995 | 10 | What an empty life we live ! | Watching " Repo Man " , one gets a sense of just how empty our modern world is . The movie has disaffected punk Otto Maddox ( Emilio Estevez ) becoming a repo man , meaning that he repossesses cars of people who missed payments . Through this , he gets to know the wacky punk world even further . But there's one car that may be harder to repossess : not only do various other people want this car , but there's something in the car . . . " Repo Man " may be known as a cult movie , but it deserves more recognition than that . Aside from being a window into the early-'80s punk culture , it shows the disintegration of American society . Alex Cox created a real gem here . Estevez is perfect in his role , as are Harry Dean Stanton as a detective , and Tracey Walter as the strange car's driver . |
364,981 | 4,888,011 | 35,101 | 10 | down here . . . ( but up with the cartoon ) | Maybe there's nothing particularly new in " My Favorite Duck " , but how can you not like to see Daffy irk Porky ? True , we see this so many times , that this may come across as boring , but Daffy's antics - ranging from zany to sadistic - and Porky's reactions more than make up for it . In my opinion at least , the highlight is the " down here " scene . But the surprise ending is also pretty cool . They sure must have had fun filming this cartoon . " That , my friend , is a matter of opinion . " Well , I don't see how someone could not consider this cartoon a masterpiece . Another great one for the crowd behind the Looney Tunes cartoons . |
364,898 | 4,888,011 | 497,318 | 10 | Jon Stewart is the best host ever ! | It's not often that I give the Academy Awards ; after all , what is it except self-congratulation ? But Jon Stewart was the perfect host . He was exactly right in his question to Steven Spielberg when referring to " Schindler's List " and " Munich " : what will happen to us Jews next ? The only problem this year was the final award : " Brokeback Mountain " was something new , while " Crash " was a little too safe . But other than that , I liked " The 78th Annual Academy Awards " . Back in the days when only big , overblown , pompous musicals could receive nominations for Best Original Song , who would have guessed that there would be a winner called " It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp " ? But , as Jon Stewart noted , it just got a lot easier for a pimp ! Anyway , I agreed with most of the winners , even if there were some predictable ones ( but don't get me wrong : Philip Seymour Hoffman and Reese Witherspoon both did very well in their performances ) . And I laud George Clooney for encouraging Hollywood to make more movies about what's going on in the world , such as " Syriana " . Knowing what a great host Jon Stewart was , I would like to see Stephen Colbert host the Oscars one year ; in his persona , he could rant against Hollywood for hating America ( let's face it : how many movies has Hollywood made saying anything good about the US of A ? ) . All in all , a great ceremony , especially with Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin overlapping their dialogue to award Robert Altman ( RIP ) his Honorary Oscar . |
365,883 | 4,888,011 | 26,138 | 10 | sequel . . . good . . . pompous remakes . . . bad | Bride of Frankenstein is one of those rarities : a sequel that actually ends up being worth something . It portrays that Dr . Frankenstein ( Colin Clive ) and The Monster ( Boris Karloff ) are still alive and still doing their stuff . The Monster continues unintentionally scaring people , while the doctor wants to marry hubby Elizabeth ( Valerie Hobson ) , but quirky Dr . Pretorius ( Ernest Thesiger ) gets him to create a mate for The Monster . In a career-defining role , Elsa Lanchester plays the title character ( assuming that we refer to The Monster as Frankenstein ) . Admittedly , Universal's horror flicks from the ' 30s weren't really horror flicks ; they were kinda silly . But , this one did actually go so far as to humanize The Monster : they let him speak while he was with the blind man . Oh , and in case any of us were wondering whence the James Whale biopic " Gods and Monsters " got its name , we learn . |
365,666 | 4,888,011 | 87,928 | 10 | This shows that movies can be stupid and funny at the same time . | Okay , so " Police Academy " is probably the ultimate manifestation of the word " witless " . But it doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is : nice , silly fun . The plot basically has a series of goof-off misfits enrolling in the police force and turning it topsy-turvy . Steve Guttenberg , as Cadet Carey Mahoney , may have to remember this as his peak in movies , and he does a pretty good job here . Anyway , the movie is pretty much an excuse to be silly . And they do just that . With hilarious one-liners and one gag after another , you won't be disappointed . Of course , I advise you not to watch it if you're the type who only wants to see " important " movies . |
363,755 | 4,888,011 | 167,261 | 10 | One of the few sequels that equals the original's quality . | With the fellowship in splinters , Frodo Baggins ( Elijah Wood ) and Samwise Gamgee ( Sean Astin ) continue on their quest to destroy the corrupting ring . Meanwhile , Aragorn ( Viggo Mortenson ) has his own duties to attend to , as does Gandalf ( Ian McKellen ) . Peter Jackson's midpoint of the trilogy is as great as its predecessor and successor . Every shot is beyond impressive ; there isn't any adjective that I can use that would do the movie justice . And Gollum ? Now there's an intriguing character , precious . An awe-inspiring , if pitiful , being , he makes you really want to see part 3 , just to see what will happen . " The Lord of the Rings : The Two Towers " is truly one movie that will continue to inspire people for years . A masterpiece . |
365,529 | 4,888,011 | 405,094 | 10 | Let's stop beating around the bush and just admit that the USA and USSR were the same . | Even with all the recognition that " Das Leben der Anderen " ( called " The Lives of Others " in English ) has received , I would say that it deserves even more . The movie depicts the spy network in East Germany and how it targets a group of people including a state-approved playwright . One issue that the movie brings up is whether or not the events portrayed could happen in any other country . . . including our own . If so , then it wouldn't be a surprise , as the United States and Soviet Union were basically the same sorts of societies . What the USA did in Latin America , the USSR did in Eastern Europe . They claimed to be enemies , but it was all for show ; they just wanted to build empires and spy on dissidents within their own borders . But anyway , this is a very well done movie , and I recommend it to everyone . |
363,754 | 4,888,011 | 167,260 | 10 | 3rd time's the charm ( don't get me wrong ; the first two were equally good ) . | It all comes down to this . The humans and hobbits now have their final battles to fight with the forces of evil . I can't actually say anything about " The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King " that does it justice , except to say that it is a great movie in the true sense of the word . Everything that we've awaited in life is summed up in this piece of cinematic history . Every one of the cast members does a masterful job . Therefore , it makes sense that this movie was nominated for 11 Oscars including Best Picture , and won EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM . " LOTR : TROTK " is THE movie that you have to see to believe . It is everything that we like about movies . |
365,735 | 4,888,011 | 112,682 | 10 | Franz Kafka , meet French cinema | La cite des enfants perdus ( called " The City of Lost Children " in English ) is a movie that I will probably have to describe in several ways . The movie is set in an ultra-surreal French city and the plot involves elderly scientist Krank ( Daniel Emilfork ) kidnapping children to steal their dreams so that he won't age . That is , until orphan Miette ( Judith Vettit ) joins up with strongman One ( Ron Perlman ) to try and stop him . Obviously , if this was a Hollywood movie , we can guess how idiotic the whole thing would be . But this is a French movie , so it is very creative . For starters , there's the look that they give the city : it's surreal beyond what Franz Kafka could have ever imagined , and thus very dark . What we have here is the sort of situation where you literally are always wondering whether what you're seeing is real , much like what director Jean-Pierre Jeunet accomplished in " Delicatessen " . A previous viewer noted that Miette is as mature as an adult , while One is a muscle man but with a childlike innocence . All in all , I can't really do this movie justice by trying to describe it . " TCOLC " is not the sort of movie that you can just watch ; you have to feel like you're experiencing it . Also starring is Dominique Pinon , whom Jeunet always casts . Specifically , Pinon plays several roles at once . Very impressively , I might add . |
364,479 | 4,888,011 | 61,418 | 10 | Fight the power ! | 1967 may go down in history as the year that really changed movies , what with " Bonnie and Clyde " , " The Graduate " and " In the Heat of the Night " . With the younger generation growing displeased with authority , it made sense that " Bonnie and Clyde " should identify with the title characters running from the law . Bonnie Parker ( Faye Dunaway ) and Clyde Barrow ( Warren Beatty ) may have been violent , but they were a challenge to the power structure . A scene that may or may not have been inserted for comic relief is the scene where tag-along C . W . Moss ( Michael J . Pollard ) meets Clyde's Bible-thumping sister-in-law Blanche ( Estelle Parsons ) while in his underwear . And of course , the final scene is beyond mind-blowing . Just imagine how it must have seemed when the movie first debuted . The point is , this movie shows why the word " masterpiece " exists . Just an extra thing . My mom always tells me about how , after she saw this movie when it first debuted , she plucked out her eyebrows so as to look like Faye Dunaway . As it is , looking at Faye Dunaway in this movie , who wouldn't want to look like her ? |
364,525 | 4,888,011 | 112,691 | 10 | Don't shave this one off of the list of movies to see . | This time , Wallace and Gromit take in a lost sheep named Sean , and get drawn into a sheep-rustling conspiracy . As always , there's a plethora of wacky inventions ( namely the motorcycle sidecar ) . I think that my favorite scene was when Gromit was reading " Crime and Punishment " ( check out the author's name ) . Nick Park certainly always knows how to come up with something clever in these cartoons , and you'd better believe that he does just that in " Wallace & Gromit in A Close Shave " . Park showed the talent that he previously brought to " Creature Comforts " and would later bring to " Chicken Run " . You just might think twice about using wool after seeing this movie . Really cool . |
362,711 | 4,888,011 | 112,651 | 10 | I never would have guessed . | Narrated by Lily Tomlin ( herself a lesbian ) , " The Celluloid Closet " looks at how gays and lesbians have been portrayed in movies over the years . Featuring a careful balance of interviews with actors and actresses , and footage from various movies , the documentary does a very good job giving the viewer an impression of how cinema wanted people to view homosexuality . Obvious representations include the " sissy gay man " and the " bitchy lesbian " , but other portrayals have made them look unstable . Particularly interesting is how , during the years of the Hays Code ( part of which forbade portrayals of " sexual perversions " in movies ) , directors often sneaked in references to homosexuality in movies , such as " Ben-Hur " . I guess that if " The Celluloid Closet " has any problem , it's that it's now eleven years old , so there have been so many other portrayals than what the documentary shows . Examples include " The Birdcage " , " In & Out " and " Brokeback Mountain " . But other than that , it's a great documentary . Definitely something that everyone should see . Tom Hanks , Susan Sarandon , Harvey Fierstein and Tony Curtis work just as well in documentaries as they do in regular movies . Speaking of Tony Curtis , when he first appeared , I thought that he was Rodney Dangerfield ! |
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