seen in the coldrums...
So I've bee laid out for a week with a nasty cold - y'know, one of those with the face ache, itchy throat and incessant dry cough - with nothing ahead of me but pajama pants, sudafed and a pile of flicks i'd always wanted to see. Here they be...
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- DirectorDon SiegelStarsClint EastwoodPatrick McGoohanRoberts BlossomAlcatraz is the most secure prison of its time. It is believed that no one can ever escape from it, until three daring men make a possibly successful attempt at escaping from one of the most infamous prisons in the world.The squint just can't be contained!
- DirectorPaul GreengrassStarsJames NesbittTim Pigott-SmithNicholas FarrellA dramatization of the Irish civil rights protest march and subsequent massacre by British troops on January 30, 1972.Riveting. Keeps you glued. I'd like to be Irish for a day and chuck bricks at the Brits.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsHenry FondaLee J. CobbMartin BalsamThe jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.Wow. Good stuff. Shame on me for when I've rolled my eyes at an older movie suggestion. The old dude is my favorite. Gotta love the 1950's style tough-guy insults, too.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsMatt DamonKate WinsletJude LawHealthcare professionals, government officials and everyday people find themselves in the midst of a pandemic as the CDC works to find a cure.Better than the buzz. I dunno, I guess I just like movies about apocalyptic sickness. Also love Outbreak...even better. Though, watching these things while down with a cold, I inevitably start to wonder if it's really only just a cold I have, after all, hmm...
- DirectorGillo PontecorvoStarsBrahim HadjadjJean MartinYacef SaadiIn the 1950s, fear and violence escalate as the people of Algiers fight for independence from the French government.Rough time. Rough history in that part of the world. Appreciated the Frenchie colonel's straight talk about torture. I'll have to watch this one again.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsEwan McGregorPierce BrosnanOlivia WilliamsA ghost writer, hired to complete the memoirs of a former British Prime Minister, uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy.I loved this flick. Obi Wan nails this writer guy character. The chick was eerie. The mood was palpable Polanski. Good music too.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsJohnny DeppGary FarmerCrispin GloverOn the run after murdering a man, accountant William Blake encounters a strange Native American man named Nobody who prepares him for his journey into the spiritual world.Ok, I'd seen this one already. Reminds me of my college days wherein I saw said picture. But actually - don't remember much of the content. Just being absorbed into a black and white dream on the waves of Neil Young riffs. God bless Neil Young. Cool movie. Had forgotten about all the violence. Apt use of some Blake lines. Would've liked a bit more, even. And could have stood for a few more moments where Neil Young lets it fly for some longer guitar lines.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsFaye DunawayWilliam HoldenPeter FinchA television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control.Intense acting. Well-written. Holden is most compelling, methinks. Some of the most supercharged rants I've seen on film. Faye is one crazy broad. The introductory exchange between her and the afro'd radical is priceless. I wonder if Lumet had any idea how bad things really were going to get for the TV generation.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsEwan McGregorAlbert FinneyBilly CrudupA frustrated son tries to determine the fact from fiction in his dying father's life.Albert Finney can tell me his badass made-up stories any time he wants.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsPaul NewmanRobert RedfordKatharine RossIn 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid lead a band of outlaws. When a train robbery goes wrong, they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. After considering their options, they escape to South America.You gotta love this: dudes on a cliff, pinned-down by gunmen, facing death or capture, Sundance ashamedly admits he doesn't want to jump because he can't swim...and Newman just busts up laughing. At least they go down swinging.
- DirectorSpike JonzeStarsJohn CusackCameron DiazCatherine KeenerA puppeteer discovers a portal that leads literally into the head of movie star John Malkovich.Very funny...at first especially. Then the wacksauce love triangle through Malkovich thing. I can dig wacksauce. Just didn't much care for that type. Sheen was a nice touch. Malkotraz was great...tough role to pull off, you'd think. Malkovich? Malkovich, malkovich malkovich!!
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsThomas JaneMarcia Gay HardenLaurie HoldenA freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.Manupulative use of the Christian lady. Sure, there are those like her. And some of the stuff she spouted from Scripture was spot-on...God's wrath is coming, to be sure. He made us and there will be a reckoning terrible to behold...but whatever points of biblical fealty were then twisted and corrupted by all the murderous, jealous, cultish, self-promoting, vulgar, hateful nonsense she mixed in. And actually, this character perfectly and chillingly acts out a fundamental and epidemic misunderstanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the scene where she's praying. ...where she refers to God's grace and then says that she hopes by doing this good service she can perhaps earn her place in heaven. Arrrrg! Grace is unmerited favor. The whole heartbeat of the Christian gospel is grace...that people can be saved from the wrath of God - though justly deserving punishment for our depraved, God-defying nature - through faith in Jesus' atoning sacrifice in our place. It's a free gift. That's the point...we can't earn it - or else there's no need for the cross. It's grace alone. So for her to pray to God in reference to his grace and then utter a hope of self-righteousness is a rotten but common contradiction. And it's one our proud hearts are all wired to default to. That's because the grace of Christ is the wildest, most crazy-awesome thing in the universe. That's it, really.
Ok...as for the rest of this movie. Well, the huge thing at the end was cool. And the ending itself rocked my world. It made me mad. As it was supposed to. I think I would have at least tried to fight it out with the twilight zone bugs. - DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsNicolas CageHolly HunterTrey WilsonWhen a childless couple--an ex-con and an ex-cop--decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives become more complicated than they anticipated.I'd love to wake up each morning and just read something the Coens have written.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsSteve McQueenDustin HoffmanVictor JoryA French convict in the 1930s befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence in the South American penal colony on Devil's Island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.epic. Best solitary confinement scenes I've seen. I think Hoffman developed some of his Rain Man stuff here.
- DirectorJohn Michael McDonaghStarsBrendan GleesonDon CheadleMark StrongAn unorthodox Irish policeman with a confrontational personality is partnered with an uptight F.B.I. agent to investigate an international drug-smuggling ring.Seriously funny. Brendan Gleason just swaggers and stomps though this flick like only a mad Irishman could. The Irish have the best slang on the planet, says I.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJohnny DeppFrank LangellaLena OlinA book broker discovers his latest find may summon Satan.Ok, listen. Starts with promise. Good thinking-man's investigative pace, good johnny deppness, good bibliophilia, good ominous overtones and especially good atmospheric Polansky pulse. But the last part...I hated. Awful. Not even going to start on why. Too bad.
- DirectorPark Chan-wookStarsChoi Min-sikYoo Ji-taeKang Hye-jeongAfter being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.Expertly crafted piece of trash. Stunning? Evocative? Lush? Yes, yes & yes. Still trash. There was certainly some brilliance in Ted Bundy's body of work too...doesn't make it edifying. Just cause something is hauntingly affecting, doesn't make it a worthwhile investment. I'm sure having an eye gouged out would be unforgettable, but that doesn't mean I want to experience it. This is one I'd like to unwatch. Loved the one-take fight scene, though.
- DirectorJoel CoenStarsBilly Bob ThorntonFrances McDormandMichael BadaluccoA laconic, chain-smoking barber blackmails his wife's boss and lover for money to invest in dry cleaning, but his plan goes terribly wrong.I though this was going to be in true black and white. Moments of Coen magic...but largely forgettable. Maybe that's part of the point. Bad move for the skinny barber trying to swindle Tony Soprano.
- DirectorTed DemmeStarsEddie MurphyMartin LawrenceObba BabatundéIn 1932, two strangers are wrongfully convicted and develop a strong friendship in prison that lasts them through the 20th century."From now on you gotta just say 'little clock' or somethin'"
- DirectorAndrew LauAlan MakStarsAndy LauTony Leung Chiu-waiAnthony Chau-Sang WongA story between a mole in the police department and an undercover cop. Their objectives are the same: to find out who is the mole, and who is the cop.wish I'd seen this before Departed. It's leaner and has a better captain character. But Scorsese's Boston is alive with energy.
- DirectorAndrew DominikStarsEric BanaSimon LyndonVince ColosimoChopper tells the intense story of Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal who wrote his autobiography while serving a jail sentence in prison. His book, "From the Inside", upon which the film is based, was a best-seller.Never seen a more nonchalant reaction to being stabbed. Props to Bana for this one. He even made me cheer (at times) for this fascinating idiot.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsRobert RedfordFaye DunawayCliff RobertsonA bookish CIA researcher in Manhattan finds all his co-workers dead, and must outwit those responsible until he figures out who he can really trust.Spy Game is a better Redford CIA match. And c'mon Faye, you don't have to sleep with your aggressive paranoid, gun-wielding captor - even if it is Robert Redford.
- DirectorJoe JohnstonStarsJake GyllenhaalChris CooperLaura DernThe true story of Homer Hickam, a coal miner's son who was inspired by the first Sputnik launch to take up rocketry against his father's wishes."Ah wone wurk in thet maaahn, nayver! Ah wonna shewt rawkets, pa!!" Loved it when chris cooper threatens kid's abusive drunk of a stepfather with West Virginnie whoopass iffen said lowlife don't stop beatin' on the boy. Nothing like a good ole fashioned threat of whoopass coming from a cantankerous coal miner pappy-type.
- DirectorNicolas Winding RefnStarsTom HardyKelly AdamsLuing AndrewsA young man who was sentenced to seven years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending three decades in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter-ego, Charles Bronson.ees a nuttah!
- DirectorDavid CronenbergStarsNaomi WattsViggo MortensenArmin Mueller-StahlA teenager who dies during childbirth leaves clues in her journal that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.kapow. bracing but beautiful. Like a shot of cheap vodka...harsh, but good.
- DirectorNicolas Winding RefnStarsRyan GoslingCarey MulliganBryan CranstonA mysterious Hollywood action film stuntman gets in trouble with gangsters when he tries to help his neighbor's husband rob a pawn shop while serving as his getaway driver.I don't know what to say. This movie is cooler than your movie.
- DirectorJ.J. AbramsStarsElle FanningAJ MichalkaKyle ChandlerDuring the summer of 1979, a group of friends witness a train crash and investigate subsequent unexplained events in their small town.Terrific! Smell the popcorn? Hear the swell of THX surround sound? This is the movies, baby. We're talking Saturday morning with a bowl of sugar cereal and eyes glued to the screen magic of Spielbergian adventure (by way of JJ Abrams). Now please excuse me, I'm gonna grab my Jansport and flashlight and lead my friends out into that part of the woods to find us some pirate treasure.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsDavid DuchovnyOrlando JonesJulianne MooreA fire-fighting cadet, two college professors, and a geeky but sexy government scientist work against an alien organism that has been rapidly evolving since its arrival on Earth inside a meteor.Umm...surprised this one didn't dominate on Award Night...er...well, ok, there are some funny lines here. Otherwise, yeah, it's magoo.
- DirectorRob ReinerStarsWil WheatonRiver PhoenixCorey FeldmanA writer recounts a childhood journey with his friends to find the body of a missing boy.Made me want to be twelve again. Seriously, how great was it being a 12 year-old boy on an adventure with buddies!
- DirectorGeorge ClooneyStarsPaul GiamattiGeorge ClooneyPhilip Seymour HoffmanAn idealistic staffer for a new presidential candidate gets a crash course on dirty politics during his stint on the campaign trail.Sharp. I'm surprised lefty Clooney would imbue a political character so passionately with (what are certainly) so many of his own, personal convictions...and then trash the character as stereotypical scumbag hypocrite politician. Well done, George. Really solid cast in this one, too.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsTyrone PowerMarlene DietrichCharles LaughtonA veteran British barrister must defend his client in a murder trial that has surprise after surprise.Wasn't as undone by the twist at the end as the original audience probably was...but still, this holds up pretty well 55 years later. Love all the Churchillian trash-talking Sir Winston dishes up toward the cantankerous nurse. Then I found out they were real life hubby and wife. Brilliant!
- DirectorOliver HirschbiegelStarsBruno GanzAlexandra Maria LaraUlrich MatthesTraudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.The guy who plays Adolf is riveting. Seriously good. The secretary gets too much of a pass though, I think, on the basis of youth and wide-eyed feminine meekness. Like the real T.J. says at the end...she could have made it a priority to know more of what was really going on. The Hitler poison sure sunk deep into the veins of his people (though I know that not all Germans were "his people"). Staggering wickedness...in such dignified garb. Nazi Germany was, after all, one of the most well-educated and 'civilized' societies to ever appear on the planet.
- DirectorJohn MaddenStarsHelen MirrenSam WorthingtonTom WilkinsonIn 1965, three Mossad Agents cross into East Berlin to apprehend a notorious Nazi war criminal. Thirty years later, the secrets the Agents share come back to haunt them.Liked it. Despite the irritating portrayal of emotionally unstable Mossod katsas who allow a wrinkled Nazi war criminal handcuffed to the wall to manipulate them on a daily basis without catching severe gov't issued top-shelf Israeli beating each time. Seriously, I just don't buy it. I say they would have put a bullet in him as soon as they got word that they were cut off from extraction help. Anywho...still entertaining.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsHarrison FordRobert ShawEdward FoxDuring World War II, several oddly assorted military experts are teamed in a mission to raid and destroy a bridge vital to enemy strategy.Well it's no Guns, that's for sure. Why'd they ditch Alistair's perfectly good original material to make the 'improvements' they did? And why did they wait so bleeding long to make this sequel? Would've been neat to see this story with Greg Peck and Dave Niven. Not that I mind Han Solo and Apollo Creed joining up with Capt. Quint to blow up some Nazis, but...well, it's just not the same magic.
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsSpencer TracyBurt LancasterRichard WidmarkIn 1948, an American court in occupied Germany tries four Nazis judged for war crimes.A fitting end to this mini WWII marathon of mine. And by golly, I thought that was Capt. Kirk! Ok, there really is no space for flippancy here. This movie lands like an anvil on the chest. Things to weighty for me. And all the film's superb technical aspects are soundly subordinated by the gravity of the historical story represented. How much did the German people know? Who bears responsibility outside the easily-vilified High Command? The German defense attorney's skillful argumentation saves this portrayal from being cartoonish in it's oversimplification of these questions. But Ernst Janner's blistering interjection against his own defense was a vital moment of common sense cutting through the fog. Undoubtedly much of the scope and specificity of the Final Solution was hidden from Germany, but what of day after day of cattle cars being loaded with Jewish neighbors? What of the executions in the streets? And what of the horrifying policies seeped into common civil law? There was enough visible. Tracy's closing speech was devastating. And the most alarming and horrific component, he rightly identifies, is the fact that the Holocaust wasn't carried out by stinking, primal beasts. If only the Nazis were illiterate barbarians drooling and stomping around in a constant fever of ignorance and animalistic rage - then judgment would be easy. But that such base evil was in such slick, smooth, scholarly trappings - here is the deep terror. We want so badly to write the black wickedness of the Holocaust off as an anomaly of unusual evil, carried out by an uncommon figure in Hitler. As one IMDB reviewer states: "The human race...found this level of barbarity and cruelty unlike anything the world had witnessed before or since." Oh really? What about Rwanda? What about Stalin and Mao? How many people know what happened in Cambodia under Pol Pot? Go back earlier and you have Inquisition and Crusade. You have conquest after conquest drenched in blood and reeking of tyranny. In fact - though the Holocaust was indeed unique in some ways, and certainly a cause for particular revulsion - it was not a singular, isolated or unprecidented thrust of wickedness. Rather, the whole march of history is set to metronome beats of such atrocities, one after another. No, it is heartbreaking and devastatingly true that evil is written much deeper into the DNA of humanity. And it is far more pervasive still than we now see. Even after such a roll call of moral abominations. One day I believe we will look back at the epidemic of infanticide festering across our world, an all our sanitized terms of political correctness and medical technicality and biological ambiguity will seem just as sick and hollow as the excuses of the Nazi enablers. Well, there will be another day in court. Another great judgment. And then, all this too weighty for me will be dealt with by a sure hand of Judgment.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsJürgen ProchnowHerbert GrönemeyerKlaus WennemannA German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.Lived up to all the hype. Watched the Director's Cut. Just wish I had it in the original German, with subtitles. Nevertheless...forgot I was watching a movie. As a viewer, you get totally absorbed into the confined experience within the submarine, under the water. In fact, this sensation is so unrelentingly claustrophobic and the viewpoint so masterfully singular - that when we follow the weary officers out of the sub and suddenly into the well-lit, sanitized and luxurious dining room, it is momentarily arresting, disorienting and surreal even. To be thrust so suddenly into such a different world - the juxtaposition is poignant. What it would be like! To be locked in the belly of a creaking metal tube, marauding in the black deep of the icy Atlantic...bathed in red light, waiting in breathless silence one moment, clinching your teeth through the rattling of depth charges the next.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsSean AstinJosh BrolinJeff CohenA group of young misfits called The Goonies discover an ancient map and set out on an adventure to find a legendary pirate's long-lost treasure.Heeeyyyyyy Yooooooouuuuuuuuu Guuuuuuuuyyyyyyyyys!
I'm moving to Astoria. - DirectorJee-woon KimStarsSong Kang-hoLee Byung-hunJung Woo-sungThe story of two outlaws and a bounty hunter in 1940s Manchuria and their rivalry to possess a treasure map while being pursued by the Japanese army and Chinese bandits.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartMary AstorGladys GeorgeSan Francisco private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered."People lose teeth talking like that"
"My guess might be excellent or it might be crummy, but Mrs. Spade didn't raise any children dippy enough to make guesses in front of a district attorney, and an assistant district attorney and a stenographer."
"What do you want me to do, learn to stutter?"
"I don't mind a reasonable amount of trouble" - DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodLee Van CleefGian Maria VolontèTwo bounty hunters with the same intentions team up to track down a gang of outlaws led by a psychotic Mexican bandit, who is plotting an audacious bank robbery.