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Reviews
Skyfall (2012)
The Best Bond Film Ever?
I think that Daniel Craig was a better James Bond than Sean Connery. There, I said it and I mean it. Much as I love the early Bond films I think, except for Quantom of Silence, all of Daniel Craig's films are better. This one has alot going for it. Besides Craig there's Javier Bardem as the most complex, witty and evil villain ever. This was shortly after No County for Old Men and I remember one critic (I don't remember who) said there's something about a bad haircut that makes Bardem give incredible performances. The story has tons of action but it's the quiet scenes that make it great. Bond, M, and Bardem are real people not just interruptions before the next action scene. The relationship between Bond and M in the last act is believable and touching. Bardem isn't necessarily a villain born that way, he became this thing over time and his story is fits in perfectly with the rest of the film. Of course, it was directed by Sam Mendes, the first highly regarded talent to direct a Bond film. It shows. Some of the action scenes have a look about them that's different than the usual Bond action scene. I would go so far as to say this isn't only a great Bond movie, it's a great movie period. It shows how action movies can be more than loud music, cars going fast, and comic strip characters. Watch one of the Fast and Furious movies than watch this. I haven't watched it in about 2 years now. Altogether I've watched it I think 5 times and loved it every time. By the way, the best Sean Connery movie was From Russia With Love, George Lazenby played Bond once but in a very good film; On Her Majesty's Secret Service. All of Roger Moore's movies sucked except For Your Eyes Only. Which is terrific and came out of nowhere between one bad movie and the another bad movie. Timothy Dalton's best and only fairly good one The Living Daylights. Pierce Brosnan began his run with the promising Goldeneye. However, Famke Jannsen (forgive my spelling) should have been the first female main villain. Not only did she have a unique and sexy way of killing people, she was a true sadomasochist. She was much more interesting than the real main villain who had nothing memorable about him. Then we come to Daniel Craig. He's the meanest, pitiless yet vulnerable Bond of all. It's on display brilliantly in Skyfall. Casino Royale has the hardest to watch torture scene for men that I've ever seen and I've watched Salo a few times. Spectre,the film following Skyfall was directed by Sam Mendes too but it's not a bad film. However, it's nowhere near as good. Who would have ever thought that Christoph Waltz would make such an uncompelling bad guy. You would think he'd be a natural but it's probably the writer's fault. Craig's final film No Time to Die is wonderful. It's nearly 3 hours long and I loved every minute. This was originally about Skyfall wasn't it. In a few words, if your not a big Bond fan try this one I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. If you are a fan I 'm sure you've already seen this at least twice. To finish, I know saying that Daniel Craig is a better Bond than Sean Connery will make some people mad, but I'm right and all of you are wrong. My thoughts are returning to Famke Jannsen. Why hasn't there been a female main villain yet. I won't go into detail about her killing method but if I found out I only had a short time to live I hope some beautiful, athletic, sadistic woman would useJannsen's method to put me out of my misery. You'll have to watch Goldeneye to see it but what a way to go!
8½ (1963)
What can you Say? One of the Greatest!
81/2 is my favorite Fellini film. He started using surrealism in LA Dolce Vita and dove head first into it here. Most people know the plot without realizing it. Of course Bob Fosse's All That Jazz and Woody Allen's Stardust Memories are remakes (their are others but I smoked some fantastic pot about a half hour ago and those are all I can think of). The very beginning grabs you and is your entrance into a fantastic experience. The difference between Fellini's surrealism and say Luis Bunuel (who I also love) is that Fellini integrates it fully into the story. Whereas Bunuel may have a cow suddenly appear in a couple's bedroom it's amusing but doesn't make any real sense. It's pure surrealism. Fellini's is different. No matter how strange or bizarre a scene may be, it fits into the story. You never ask yourself "what the hell was that?" His honesty is also amazing. He paints himself (and that's who Marcello Mastrionni is really portraying) as a heartless womanizer and an empty human being. Pretty courageous. That's not to say there aren't laughs here. It's hard to forget the fantasy scene in the round tub with Marcello surrounded by gorgeous young women. It's a world where any female over 30 is sentenced to go upstairs where they're probably never heard from again. I do think that the ending goes on too long. After 3 incredible hours we don't need a parade of clowns bringing back characters we haven't forgotten. It doesn't really fit with the rest of the movie. That's a very small criticism though. I've watched this about 15 times and I could watch it right now. I thought Fellini was the most strictly entertaining of all the great directors. If my mother liked it, believe me, it's entertaining. I was always making her watch films from around the world. She hated Bergman except Wild Strawberries which made her cry. She was appalled by Godard. I remember she said after Weekend, "How can you like a movie when the people in it know they're in a movie"? She liked some Bunuel. Her favorite was The Exterminating Angel but she didn't get The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeois at all. However, she liked virtually everything by Fellini. From his realism period she loved Nights of Cabiria (who doesn't) and The Strand (I don't remember the Italian name). She thought LA Dolce Vita was too long but she watched the whole movie without uttering a sound. Enough about my mother. My point is that 81/2 is a fun,emotional, puzzling and beautiful film. I'll return to Mom for a moment, she also loved Juliet of the Spirits and once said Amarcord was the best movie she'd ever seen but denied it around her ignorant friends and claimed it was Gone With the Wind. It was somehow embarrassing to like movies you have to read (her words). They were only for high class pretentious intellectuals and nerdy college students. So my point is to not let the length or subtitles put you off. As I said this is one of the greatest films ever made. Long but never boring, complex but always understandable, depressing in parts but doesn't milk fake tears and brutally honest about it's real main character Fellini himself. If you haven't seen this, watch it immediately. If you have seen it watch it again. You'll always see something new as with all great films. My mother also loved L'Avvantura which I thought was great but puzzling to me. A mystery with no solution I could have sworn it went against everything she liked. She also liked Blow Up (another unsolved mystery). There aren't many mother's like mine. Christ, her favorite singer was Andy Williams but she liked a few things by Patti Smith. That's it for my enigmatic mother. The point of this review is watch this great film which I promise you will never forget. Please forgive my spelling throughout. I hate having to stop writing and look something up.
Fellini - Satyricon (1969)
Incredible Visuals Looking for a Story
About 30 years ago I took acid with a friend of mine. Just as we started to reach our peak I turned off Elvis Costello and put Satyricon in the VCR. I told him it was a Fellini (who he enjoyed) film and to just watch and never mind the plot. Within 15 minutes he was saying things like "How did he do that? " and "Are those real people?"Yes, the first 45 minutes are incredible when you're tripping. We last interest after the dinner scene. I've watched this a few times cold sober. It was the same thing. An amazing beginning that leads nowhere. Fellini really should have thought of a story and believable characters. When the freaks go away, so does the movie. There are a few interesting things along the way but if anyone can tell me Fellini's point (besides making a bizarre movie that would prove he was cool at the time) I'd like to know what it is. It's just pointless scene after pointless scene. It's also, (and a first for Fellini ) boring. I've always found Fellini the most strictly entertaining of the great directors. Even my mother enjoyed 81/2. This film fails at that level too. So it's a movie you have to watch once so drop some acid and enjoy. A few years later he made Casanova. That film is also a freak show but it has a plot and some sort of touching moments. I mean it made you feel things besides amazement and revulsion. It's a much better movie.
For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Possibly the Only Good James Bond Movie
Roger Moore's Bond films were all pretty awful except, out of nowhere. This terrific film. There's no stupid humor and really no gadgetry. It's just a great basic spy story. It has some truly suspenseful moments and Moore takes his tongue out of his cheek and is excellent. If you're a Bond fan and skipped alot of Roger Moore's movies go back and watch this. If you're not a huge Bond fan watch it because it's a great movie.
The Devils (1971)
Criterion. Where are You?
I can't believe that someone still hasn't released a definitive version of this film on Blu Ray. I used to work in a video store and the copy we had was cut up so badly that the plot was incomprehensible. I own a DVD that seems to probably be uncut but the picture is faded and the colors aren't very bright. Also, the sound pretty bad. However, as far as I know it's the only uncut version out there. Hell, The Criterion Collection released Salo and that's miles more depraved and offensive (watch it though) than this film. I was raised Catholic and the whole film is blasphemous. When I first read Marquis de Sade's The 120 Days of Sodom (I almost couldn't finish it), the book on which Salo is based, I said to myself alot that I was going to go to Hell for reading this. The Devils gave me the same feeling. I haven't been a practicing Catholic for 45 years but those teachings are still ingrained in your subconscious. Visually, this is an absolutely beautiful film. The stark black and white colors of Loudoun and the Abby have never been duplicated as far as I know. The scene where the hysterical nuns simulate sex with Jesus on a giant cross are a bit much. It brought back the I'm going to hell for watching this. The violence in parts is still shocking even though it's 50 years old. The only flaw is Ken Russell's insistence of putting corny, un funny humor in his films. If there was ever a film that didn't need any humor it's this one. It's here though and it detracts from the flow of the film for no good reason. That's a small quibble though since the film is pretty much a masterpiece. The performances are flawless. It's Oliver Reed's best performance and Vanessa Redgrave is unforgettable as the deranged Sister Jeanne (I hope that's how it's spelled). In fact everyone is absolutely top shelf (except maybe the guy who plays the king and brings the awful humor to the movie). So, Criterion please release a version of this. Everyone else watch it without a doubt unless you hate violence, depravity and general unpleasantness. If you're a practicing Christian (especially Catholic) skip it too unless you want that I'm going to Hell feeling . Ken Russell's best film and one of the best films of all time. Watch it!
The Invisible Man (2020)
Finally a Horror Movie About Something
This is an absolutely top shelf horror film. I saw it before I read the reviews. I knew the director's best film was The Conjuring which I enjoyed very much. So, I was expecting to be entertained and scared hopefully. What a complete surprise. Not only is The Invisible Man scary and suspenseful but it has alot to show and say about spousal abuse. I have a girlfriend who was a victim and this film portrays the effects that this causes incredibly well. Of course, Elizabeth Moss's great performance makes you understand what victims go through. The fear of leaving the house even after many months, the constant looking out the windows and how just going to the mailbox can be a major achievement. Yes, there are scares but not the type you usually see in a horror film. One critic (I don't remember who) said it earned it's scares honestly. It's not just ax murderers jumping out of a closet. It builds suspense slowly and sometimes nothing happens but other times something does and not when you expect it. Things you don't see are scarier than those you do. This film illustrates that beautifully. No, it's not as scary as The Conjuring but you won't believe that this is the same guy who directed at least one Saw movie (I think the first one). It's like he suddenly learned how to make a great film and not just a great horror film but a great film as a whole. It's almost like a horror film directed by Luchino Visconti or Michelangelo Antonioni. It's that good. So if you're a serious film person like me, just watch it. Forget the ridiculous bad reviews posted here and don't not watch it because you don't like horror films. Watch it because it's just a very great film. What a surprise!
Week End (1967)
Dated but Still Incredible
I watched Weekend for the first time about 30 years ago and was amazed and absolutely loved it. I hadn't watched it sense so I bought the Criterion Blu Ray. It's still an amazing film. I never noticed the first time how some of the car crashes were works of art by themselves. Some should have a place in the New York Museum of Modern Art. The famous traffic jam scene is still impressive and being 30 years later I understood things that I didn't before. Alot of the references about Vietnam, race inequality etc. Are meaningless now. However, they don't take away from making this one of Godard's best films. I watched it with a girl who had never seen a Godard film. I told her not to worry if she didn't understand everything. She absolutely loved it. She was especially amused that the characters knew they were in a movie. She asked "this is about the end of the world isn't it"? I think she got it right on the nose. This was only a week ago and since then she's watched Breathless, Alphaville, Masculin Feminine, and Band of Outsiders. You can't fault her choices. Anyway, I loved it still and Godard has a huge new fan. Completely unnecessary mention. If you've never seen a Daniel Craig James Bond movie than you should. Except Quantom of Silence they're all great. Skyfall is possibly the best James Bond movie ever made. I just thought I'd add for people who don't know what they're missing.
The Baby of Mâcon (1993)
Greenaway's Disappointing Final Film
I'm a huge Peter Greenaway fan. My favorites are Drowning by Numbers, The Cook The Thief His Wife and Her Lover and Prosperos Books. I believe I've seen everything by him including all of The Falls. So I'm very familiar with his work. I was really looking forward to watching this movie and boy was I disappointed. I found it very boring, pretentious, silly and completely lacking in the incredible and bizarre cinematography that made all his other work so memorable. I kept watching to see the shocking part and even that was a let down. I would consider this his worst film (it used to be 91/2 Women). So if this is your first exposure to Greenaway, don't prevent it from watching others. You'll miss out on some beautiful, very memorable and fantastic films. I rate him right up there with Bergman, Godard, Fellini and even Orson Wells. Definitely watch his stuff but don't begin with this.