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Post by Jasoomian on Aug 21, 2014 3:44:23 GMT -5
The Sugarland Express (1974)
Steven Spielberg's feature debut, like his TV debut Duel, is basically a car chase film. Goldie Hawn plays an overbearing woman who breaks her man out of low-security prison so they can recover their son from the family (in Sugarland, Tex.) the child welfare office has placed the boy with. There are some nicely filmed car-chase sequences. Goldie Hawn gives a convincing performance while still being Goldie Hawn. Some fun comic bits, particularly with the elderly couple whose car the duo steal. The couple's story makes news as the chase continues, and people line the streets to support their parental rights. Even the policeman they take hostage becomes sympathetic to their cause. But there's no happy ending here. Based on a true story. Thumbs up.
This was presented on TCM in the proper aspect ratio. It was followed by a program with Spielberg and John Williams, who discussed the score for this film (also good) and their other many collaborations.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,874
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Post by shaxper on Aug 23, 2014 23:51:21 GMT -5
Holy Crud!! I finally finished Fritz Lang's Die Nibelungen (1923) tonight, and I am positively floored. I commented earlier on that I was having trouble getting through the film. The best way to try to explain my situation in hindsight would be comparing it to watching The Godfather for the first time and pausing to take breaks prior to the Tataglia's making their first move against Luca Brasi. You've heard what's going to happen later in the film, but you're just not feeling it yet, and you have little hope that the "Michael" character can carry the film once Brando is out of the picture. So...whoa. Yep. A nearly five hour film (well, really two films) FLEW after the first hour. Brilliant cinematography, fantastic special effects, the kind of action and seamless editing you'd expect from a modern day film and, more than anything else, a rich, complex narrative about honor, loyalty, power, betrayal, and revenge. Truly, after the first hour of this film, it stops being an epic fantasy about a Germanic mythological hero and starts to feel more like a modern day mafia film. Really, it's very comparable to the Godfather (thus my earlier comparison), beginning with a beloved patriarch who is betrayed, and finding its true momentum in the transformation of a former innocent into a cruel, almost heartless protagonist who sacrifices their soul and scorches the Earth in the name of revenge. Man, this film...!  |
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Post by Jasoomian on Aug 24, 2014 3:10:42 GMT -5
Blow Out (1981)
What a great film by Brian DePalma. The title itself pays homage to Antonioni's Blow-Up as John Travolta plays a B-movie sound engineer who stumbles upon and records audio of a Chappaquiddick-style assassination attempt. Travolta plows further into the conspiracy thriller and pulls Nancy Allen (DePalma's then-wife) even deeper into it than she already was. DePalma nods toward Zapruder and maybe even Jack the Ripper. Lithgow is chilliing as a cold-blooded killer.
This film didn't do well in theatrical release because the ending is not happy. At all.
It seems to be more appreciated now, with a great-looking (2.35:1) DVD from the Criterion Collection. The bonus disc features not only a 30-minute interview with DePalma about Blow Out, but also DePalma's 1968 debut film, Murder a' la Mod, which I never got around to watching before returning the discs to the library. Two thumbs up for Blow Out.
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Post by Rob Allen on Aug 25, 2014 17:28:26 GMT -5
I remember seeing and enjoying Blow Out on cable years ago.
As far as I've been able to find out, I'm not related to Nancy Allen.
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Post by Jasoomian on Aug 25, 2014 18:26:18 GMT -5
Jakob the Liar (1999)
Robin Williams stars as the eponymous Jew in an unspecified Nazi ghetto in Poland. Jakob pretends to have a (banned) radio and makes up news updates in order to lift the spirits of his fellow Jews, bringing trouble upon himself along the way. This was okay. Thumbs up.
Classic movie rewatches:
Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) - Perhaps Williams' signature performance. The DVD has uncut takes of some of Williams' radio improv (and interviews with Adrian Cronauer, Bruno Kirby, and director Barry Levinson). Two thumbs up.
The Fisher King (1991) -- Another effecting performance by Williams as a homeless man in this great Gilliam film. Available uncut, albeit with regrettable with commercial interruption, via CRACKLE.com Two thumbs up.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2014 20:05:18 GMT -5
The Fantastic Four (1994) Finally caught this film, the Roger Corman version that was rushed when the rights to the characters were about to run out. And it's every bit as bad as I'd heard. There are plot holes (Colossus, the big important space thingy that gives them their powers, is never explained; when the 4 escape from Dr. Doom's castle, how do they get back to NYC?). There are coincidences (Ben bumps into Alicia, who he's never met; after that brief encounter they both decide they're in love w/the other, but the Jeweler comes along and decides he loves Alicia, so he kidnaps her just before a despondent Ben joins his group.) The special effects are just sad. Johnny just shoots flame out of his hand until the final fight scene, when he flames on and flies for the first time, outruns an energy beam and explodes it, then flies into space to celebrate. Sue just turns invisible until the final fight scene, when she's suddenly throwing up a force field w/no explanation. You've got the Jeweler, a secondary bad guy who would've fit better on the Batman TV show, along w/both his henchmen and Doom's. You've got an unimpressive, wise-cracking Dr. Doom, whose big plan is to steal the FF's powers. A plan Reed thwarts by stretching his foot and kicking over a ray machine. I'm glad I saw it, for the curiosity value if nothing else. They did get a couple of moments of pathos w/Ben's situation. And I did like Rebecca Staab as Sue; granted, she's playing the useless mother hen Sue of the early series, but she did it well. And you've gotta love this one scene. It's established that Reed, in college, lived in Mrs. Storm's boarding house, and knew both Sue and Johnny as kids. Ten years later, Reed and Ben go to recruit them for their spaceflight. They knock on the door and say 'Hey, Mrs. Storm, can Sue and Johnny come to outer space with us?' Which, let's face it, is pretty much how it was done in the original series.
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Post by Icctrombone on Aug 30, 2014 21:01:09 GMT -5
The Fantastic Four (1994)Finally caught this film, the Roger Corman version that was rushed when the rights to the characters were about to run out. And it's every bit as bad as I'd heard. There are plot holes (Colossus, the big important space thingy that gives them their powers, is never explained; when the 4 escape from Dr. Doom's castle, how do they get back to NYC?). There are coincidences (Ben bumps into Alicia, who he's never met; after that brief encounter they both decide they're in love w/the other, but the Jeweler comes along and decides he loves Alicia, so he kidnaps her just before a despondent Ben joins his group.) The special effects are just sad. Johnny just shoots flame out of his hand until the final fight scene, when he flames on and flies for the first time, outruns an energy beam and explodes it, then flies into space to celebrate. Sue just turns invisible until the final fight scene, when she's suddenly throwing up a force field w/no explanation. You've got the Jeweler, a secondary bad guy who would've fit better on the Batman TV show, along w/both his henchmen and Doom's. You've got an unimpressive, wise-cracking Dr. Doom, whose big plan is to steal the FF's powers. A plan Reed thwarts by stretching his foot and kicking over a ray machine. I'm glad I saw it, for the curiosity value if nothing else. They did get a couple of moments of pathos w/Ben's situation. And I did like Rebecca Staab as Sue; granted, she's playing the useless mother hen Sue of the early series, but she did it well. And you've gotta love this one scene. It's established that Reed, in college, lived in Mrs. Storm's boarding house, and knew both Sue and Johnny as kids. Ten years later, Reed and Ben go to recruit them for their spaceflight. They knock on the door and say 'Hey, Mrs. Storm, can Sue and Johnny come to outer space with us?' Which, let's face it, is pretty much how it was done in the original series. Critiquing this film is like beating a dog that's injured. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 30, 2014 22:31:48 GMT -5
Nah; the dog doesn't deserve it.
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Post by Jasoomian on Aug 30, 2014 23:01:03 GMT -5
The Survivors (1983)
Robin Williams & Walter Matthau in an improbable buddy comedy about two guys who survive the same holdup and keep on surviving their way into an apocalyptic quasi-cult, all the while being pursued by the original stick-up man. A pleasant, quiet film for grown-ups. Thumbs up.
MODERN CLASSIC:
World's Greatest Dad (2009)
Robin Williams stars as a high-school English teacher who finds his asshole son dead from auto-erotic asphyxiation. He fakes a suicide, ghostwrites a suicide note, and things slowly and surely spin out of control from there. Dark, cutting comedy written and directed by the great Bobcat Goldthwait. Two thumbs up.
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Post by MDG on Sept 2, 2014 10:42:34 GMT -5
Blow Out (1981)What a great film by Brian DePalma. The title itself pays homage to Antonioni's Blow-Up as John Travolta plays a B-movie sound engineer who stumbles upon and records audio of a Chappaquiddick-style assassination attempt. Travolta plows further into the conspiracy thriller and pulls Nancy Allen (DePalma's then-wife) even deeper into it than she already was. DePalma nods toward Zapruder and maybe even Jack the Ripper. Lithgow is chilliing as a cold-blooded killer. I feel this is like the last "classic" DePalma movie. After this streak, the movies felt like highly stylized work-for-hire (Untouchables), or one too many returns to the well (Body Double) Blow Out (1981)The bonus disc features not only a 30-minute interview with DePalma about Blow Out, but also DePalma's 1968 debut film, Murder a' la Mod, which I never got around to watching before returning the discs to the library. Two thumbs up for Blow Out. Talke it out again and watch it. It's a hoot. |
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Post by Jesse on Sept 2, 2014 12:38:04 GMT -5
I'm wondering what people's opinions of the works of Ralph Bakshi are. I've only seen one or two of his films mentioned in this thread so far. My favorite Ralph Bakshi movie hands down is American Pop which is arguably his best film. It's highly underrated, few of his other works have the same emotional impact and the soundtrack is phenomenal.
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Post by paulie on Sept 2, 2014 16:54:26 GMT -5
I'm wondering what people's opinions of the works of Ralph Bakshi are. I've only seen one or two of his films mentioned in this thread so far. My favorite Ralph Bakshi movie hands down is American Pop which is arguably his best film. It's highly underrated, few of his other works have the same emotional impact and the soundtrack is phenomenal. I love Ralph Bakshi. Fire and Ice is terrific. His Lord of the Rings adaptation is engrossing and I like the rotoscoping. Ditto Wizards. |
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Post by Jasoomian on Sept 2, 2014 21:23:34 GMT -5
American Pop is a good film and is available on Crackle - www.crackle.com/c/american-popThe aforementioned The Survivors in on hulu - www.hulu.com/watch/116314 . Also on hulu ( www.hulu.com/watch/130545 ): Moscow on the Hudson (1984)
Robin Williams stars in Paul Mazurky's story about a Soviet entertainer who defects in Manhattan's Bloomingdale's. Powerful film about the bleakness of tyranny, the hope of freedom, and the triumph and tragedy of life in New York. There's a lot of Russian in this film. Williams was convincing as a Russian and all-around. I really liked this movie. Two thumbs up. 
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Post by berkley on Sept 2, 2014 22:57:11 GMT -5
Was that the one where he wanted to be a professional jazz saxophone player? I remember seeing that when it was first out.
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Post by Jasoomian on Sept 3, 2014 0:46:52 GMT -5
That's the one. He was a saxophonist in the Moscow circus when he defected. It's not until the end of the film that he finally gets a nightly well-paying saxophone gig in Manhattan. He works dozens of different jobs leading up to that.
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