(I hope Sausage got the message of the ending, which sometimes floats over people's heads--hope I don't crush the boy's happy moment))

It's the greatest ending to any movie ever, i can't see how it could float over anyones head, I've never seen anything come close to matching it in it's effect and resonance.

It's really a fantastic film.

Great movie. Hoffman's best performance?

Anne Bancroft was so awesome in that...and in everything she did, really. Then to think of her being married to Mel Brooks...just knowing that makes each of them seem even more fascinating.

I liked it much better than The Illusionist - the other magic movie from last year.

A film of poetic beauty....one that I'd measure with Malick's best films.

I was skeptical when I heard Pitt got the title role but it's his finest performance...intimidating in every shot, yet entirely human in his suffering.

Haunting score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis.

The DP deserves an Oscar.

Has a scene that startled me as much as the great horror/suspense scenes...even though the audience is 100% aware of what's coming.

Only thing keeping this from an all-time classic is that it didn't know when to end...runs a good 25 minutes longer than it needed to.

Yea, thats not even a very close call.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

I don't know how you cock up this story, but they found a way.
This movie was only slightly more watchable than the previous one.

They could have done so much more with this, but it was pretty good. The ending was a disappointment though.

Way better than expected. Who's better than Jeff Daniels [spoiler]at playing believable assholes?[/spoiler]

saw 23 last night and i can't say i would recommend it on an f/x sunday afternoon. that's disappointing because i ain't no jim carrey hater.

thinking about catching a matinee of michael clayton today at 1 or 4 by myself...has anyone else seen it? Is it worth my $5.50 (I have $20 to get me until thursday)?

Totally worth it. It will be one of my favs for the year. At it's heart it is a pretty straightforward thriller/legal drama. But it is exceptionally well done and acted. The sort of movie that you'd think would be effortless for Hollywood to put out on a regular basis, but it just doesn't happen.

The thing that was contrived and made the remainder of the movie dismissible was[spoiler] the whole "Hey You" incident. When he lied to his parents at the beginning, that was believable & funny [although Floyd should've been in his parents' pretentious wheelhouse]. But no kid, particularly that one, would've been stupid enough to think that none of his teachers, classmates & their parents would've heard that particular song.[/spoiler]

It's a Drebin Day...

Maybe but, [spoiler]a kid so arrogant that he dispenses his wisdom about authors without having read them ("It's very Kafakaesque"), who swallows everything his father says, including criticisms of his teachers and classmates, I could completely believe thinking that he really is the only person in his school to know this song. You know the type, who come up to you some eight years after an album has been discussed ad nauseum, and goes "You've probably never heard of these guys but..." and is shocked to find out that he's not the only person on the planet who listens to them.[/spoiler]

Hahaha, OK, I can see that.

Twilight Zone - the Movie

Haven't seen this in like, oh, 20 years - and I've never seen the widescreen before. It's held up pretty well - in fact, some parts are actually brilliant in terms of production + style. Of course, since the film is a bunch of short stories you can only review it in pieces, so:

The intro is great, up til the reveal.

The 1st episode: You know, all the controversy surrounding the death of Vic Morrow makes it hard to be objective about this. You don't get to see the finished product since they were unable to complete filming, so what wound up onscreen is an attempt to show a story - any story - through creative editing. Does it work? Not really. However the acting + set design are well done, and it's also mercifully short. Interestingly enough, it's the only original story presented (the other 3 being remakes of classic TZ episodes) and maybe that is the problem: it contains elements of several old TZ stories, but falls apart under its own ambitions as Landis visibly attempts to make something truly unpleasant for us to endure, only without the proper ending to make it a satisfying ride. Supposedly this piece caused Spielberg to terminate his friendship with Landis (and boy wouldn't you have looooooved to be a fly on the wall for that argument!)

The 2nd episode: Spielberg in all his sentimental glory but it's really Scatman Crothers who makes it all work. Way back in tha day, we all thought this segment was decent-but-hallmark, but I must admit it's aged quite well. In fact, I might venture to say it's one of the best pieces Spielberg's ever produced. Beat-perfect timing from start-to-finish, a musical score that rivals John Williams & some terrific use of anamorphic lenses to accent the performances. Nice.

The 3rd episode: Ok, this is where the film actually gets to where it should have been from the first minute. Joe Dante swoops in with a psychedelic reinvention of a boy who can make the world anything he desires by pure thought. And if said boy is infatuated with cartoons (because "anything can happen in a cartoon") you're in for a dangerous time. Using radical camera angles, colorful lighting, and a killer cast - Dante makes a story that will both excite children + freak out adults. But the real star is the constant stream of cartoons showing on TVs throughout: drawing from a massive animation library Dante is able to make the sound effects, dialogue, + music an integral part of the story. Seriously - once you get to the house, pay close attention to the details in the background - they're what makes this segment worth repeated viewing.

The 4th episode: John Lithgow kicks ass right outta the gate as the proverbial white-knuckle airline passenger who is a genius on the ground but a terrified little boy on a plane. A stellar performance, enhanced by constantly moving camera angles, subtle lighting effects & a perfect supporting cast. Sure, the premise is a bit silly - which makes this even more of a successful achievement as an exercise in tone. George Miller really needs to get back into this sort of work & quit treading water with kid's films.

The outro: predictable yet fun.

All in all, it's nice to finally have this on DVD (and it's a clean print, solid colors + sounds throughout). Pity there's no bonus materials outside of a weak trailer. With all the controversy surrounding the film's creation you'd think that someone would have put together some fascinating documentaries - or at least show some of TZ's influence throughout history. Would've been fun to see interviews with William Shatner + John Lithgow discussing the parallels between the two versions of their story and so forth. Ah well.

I remember the reviews for this saying the Dante and Miller segments were better than the ones from the more seasoned Landis & Spielberg ones (and I still believe this). Odd how in these multi-story, multi-director movies that the less experienced (at the time) directors usually get the thumbs up in the initial critical reviews.

(Compare with Four Rooms or New York Stories...)

the naked kiss. not sure why i watched this movie again. the great opening scene perhaps.

God I love this mini-series. I've probably seen each episode 6-7 times now but I can't get enough.
I'm introducing all of my roommates to it right now.

The interviews with the vets make me weap like a baby. My grandfather was in the 82nd in WWII, and that footage really hits me hard sometimes.

28 DAYS LATER
Third time I watch this movie. It's just terrifying.

Impawards viewers, he is referring to 28 Days Later.

Eastern Promises
Excellent film. Cronenberg delivers again with Viggo in a role even stronger than "A History of Violence". Probably Cronenberg's most straightforward narrative, even if he hasn't really employed any of his usual kinks. Naomi Watts is cast well, and the supporting cast is equally strong. I can't say too much about the story, but I highly recommend it.

i catch parts of this from time to time on the Discovery Channel. at every viewing i'm still amazed at how amazing the shots of birds in flight are. its so unlike anything i've ever seen before that it makes it appear fake.
i should probably set the DVR to record this so i can watch the entire thing.

Average at best. You've seen it all before. When is Clooney going to play against type? I'm so bored with his smug, cocky characters (Clooney playing himself). Tom Wilkinson was good - an Oscar bait type role.

Walking up those stairs is very painful for me. I used to live here...as you know

I can't remember where I encountered the idea that it can be viewed as evil Pete and Pete or if it's based on anything beyond the older brother's resemblance to Big Pete, but nevertheless it's something I subscribe to

Great post to start this page off with, some really fine work being done here

Jeff Daniels is terribly underrated.

It took me a week to get through Planet Terror. I should have just turned it off.

The DVD is probably longer than theatrical release too!
It dragged quite a bit in the theatre as it was.

Bah, it looks like I will have to view/buy Planet Terror & Death Proof as they are.

My Kid Could Paint That

My god, did I love this movie. If you're not familiar with it, it's about a 4-year-old girl who took the modern art world by storm. Before long, her paintings were selling upwards of $20,000. Then 60 Minutes did an expose, accusing her father of doing the paintings himself or, at the very least, helping. A lot. Sure, the "did she or didn't she?" is captivating, and there's a fascinating family dynamic where you want to believe one but can't believe the other. Still, there's a bigger story being told here, the same one I ask myself every time I'm in MoMa. What's the value of modern art? Are these arguably stunning pieces of work worth less simply because they're not her paintings, but his/their paintings?

I'm waayyy behind in loggin anything I've seen but here's a few..



capote

gobsmacked really. hoffman had this in the bag.



pans labyrinth

I've always loved del toro's work and this was no exception. surprisingly brutal at times if not underwhelmingly minor achievements on the effects minus the bug/fairies. entertaining all around yet still not effectively as stellar as I expected but well worth seeing.

I know what you mean (about modern art). In SF last month there was an exhibit juxtaposing some of Klee's works with, get this, Devendra Banhart's insipid line drawings, in an effort to bolster each one's 'affinity' for music & the visual arts. As if that premise weren't thin enough, one of Banhart's drawings of "a hat" was an exact replica of Saint Exupery's drawing from The Little Prince, of the snake that had eaten an elephant:



The thought of Banhart making a dime from this exhibit gives me acid reflux.

Pan's Labyrinth was quite exceptional. Not a kid's movie, at all. Some of the adult stuff is higher than a PG-13. The director did a very good job of not trivializing the fascist Francio regime, which is the background of the film.

"Just a little nick..."

The Harry Connick scenes were kind of ridiculous but this was an otherwise very good paranoid thriller.



I doubt there's a better performance this year than the one Ashley Judd gives here. I always thought she came from the lame Sandra Bullock school for choosing movie scripts. It's remarkable what she does with a powerful role.

I'm sure this thread is already inundated with posts about how god-awful this film is so I'll keep it short. All I'll say is that I could not write an honest review of this movie without using the word "ridiculous" less than 127 times.

Heh. I'm watching Talk To Me for the second time.

I absolutely adore Taraji Henson in the film. In all her scene chewing vivaciousness. That scene where she and Petey show up at the radio station with her gorgeous afro and tight ass dress is just wonderful.

Love Sheen and Ejiofor's performances as well.

I fell asleep through the whole movie, and instead of trying to watch it again just mailed it back to Netflix.

300 isn't that bad, so long as you realize you're not watching a docudrama. It's based on a Frank Miller (Sin City) comic, for God's sake. So it's all style-over-substance, lotsa testosterone, and wicked cool CGI. Personally, I kinda dug the film - but I wouldn't call it high art. Oh no. It's just one biiiiiig fight scene from start-to-finish. Now, if I wanted to get a more involved story, I'd watch Gladiator or I, Claudius.

Or the happy medium of Titus.

I'm going to have to disagree with pretty much all of this. I didn't expect any historical accuracy whatsoever. I wasn't even expecting anything more than a decent action flick. I had just watched Die Hard 4 a few nights earlier (which I enjoyed, as a brainless action flick). But slo-mo every other minute of the movie? are you kidding me? (I know that sounds like a gross exaggeration but I challenge anybody to find five straight minutes in that movie without slo-mo). If you use the slow motion even a quarter as much as this movie does it completely nullifies any emotional emphasis that is trying to be emphasized. This movie was ridiculous beyond measure.
The only redemption I can find is that it is kind of pretty, in that every frame is trying to be a Frank Frazetta painting. But even that wears thin. It just doesn't work as a film.
I don't say this to rebuke you. I don't assume that you are championing this film. I assume that you enjoyed it on a purely visceral level. I'm just saying that I could not enjoy it even on that level and who knows what it is that controls those impulses.
If you are championing it, god help you.

p.s. How did this not get nominated for a razzie?

It hasn't had the chance yet.

I'm just gonna let the quotes do all the work, here.

Picked up The Serpent's Egg, an Ingmar Bergman project I never heard of...and evidently with good reason. Good ol' David "Grasshopper Bill" Carradine plays a former trapeze artist who got three strikes against him...he's depressed about his brother's suicide, he's an alcolholic, and he's a Jew in 1923 Berlin.

What a boring film. I started laughing when Carradine in a fit of despair moans, "Reality is a nightmare that I can't wake up from"...yup, it's a Bergman film, all right . We turned it off to watch The Office, and I doubt that we will bother finishing it.