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Reviews
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
The Coens' best film ever.
Having gone through a horrid dry spell for good movies recently, which hit rock bottom when I found myself, out of desperation, watching Vertical Limit, the Coen Brothers have come through once again, and have they ever.
Let me start by stating that I'm biased - about 4 months ago I fell in with a few fellows playing old time music, so it's been on my mind lately. And what made this movie for me was definitely the music: The obvious hit is the Soggy Bottom Boys doing I Am A Man of Constant Sorrow, but the high points for me were the baptists singing Down to the River to Pray, The Siren Song, and Ralph Stanley providing the voice for O Death. The presence of Jerry Douglas on dobro in a few scenes ain't too shabby neither. For a fan of old time/mountain music, this movie is like a shot of heroin - you will be back again and again.
But even without the music, the movie features that Coen Bros touch, a little bit odd without descending into overt weirdness, and somehow true to life - there were some truly hilarious moments, and moments of such beauty that I was shaken.
I have only one complaint that I can make about this movie, and it's a petty one: during some of the musical numbers, you could clearly hear instruments being played that weren't being "lipsynced" onscreen, and sometimes the lipsyncing was a bit off. However, that didn't bother me enough to keep me from giving this flick a well-deserved 10.
Monsieur Hire (1989)
I can't think of anything to say that is not a cliche.
Watching this movie was a remarkable experience. It makes one see just how stunted and amateurish 99% of the movies coming from Hollywood are. From the storyline itself, to the direction, to the incredible performances, especially by Michel Blanc, it's like driving a beater all your life and then getting behind the wheel of a Mercedes - so that's what all the fuss is about!
Words like Masterpiece and Must-see come to mind.
Under Ground (1992)
Difficult to get through, but rewarding for those who do.
This movie gets a 10 rating for the opening scene alone.
Essentially, this is the story of Yugoslavia, which is a story of war, politics, deception, the distortion of history, great laughter and great sorrow. This might sound a bit pretentious, but the makers put forth a valiant effort to put this all across, and to some degree, they succeed.
Part comedy, part tragedy, part Fellini, part Jeunet & Garo, part Lynch, part slapstick and part opera. The characters are over the top and passionate, the plotlines are bizarre and surreal, and yet both are very real as well, and there are strokes of pure genius, such as the ever-present brass band which is the highlight of the movie for me.
Rarely have I seen illustrated with such perfection the monstrous perversion that communism became from its noble, idealistic roots.
This movie does deserve to be watched. The one major fault with the film, and probably the reason it hasn't recieved the attention it deserves, is the length and pacing. There were numerous scenes that could have lost half of their dialogue without losing any important content or impact. The movie is 2.5 hours long, and you really feel the last 45 minutes drag, but if you make it all the way to the end, I feel it's worth it.
I'm Losing You (1998)
Everything that movies should be about, but rarely are.
I truly enjoyed watching this movie, which is driven by the people in it - I'm looking forward to reading some of Wagner's books now. The cast and characters are excellent, and I love it when I discover a movie that is driven by the people in it, rather than the explosions or car chases. Highly recommended.
Metropolis (1927)
The greatest Science Fiction movie ever made.
Like the summary says, and that pretty much says it all. Fritz Lang was the most brilliant visual director of his day, and is one of the most brilliant of all time. The storyline, the set design, the characters, the message... all of it is outstanding.
It's sad that there are people who will never see this movie only because it is so old.
Also great is the rerelease from the 80s with the Giorgio Moroder soundtrack. The restoration, colour tinting (not colorized, mind you, just tinting) and occasional sound effects add beautifully to the atmosphere. The music is a bit dated today, but I still find it suits the movie infinitely better than some looped piece of piano music which has nothing to do with what's happening onscreen.
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
What does it really take to be great?
I heard lukewarm reviews about this movie, but I thought it was one of the best movies to come out in '99.
Allen seems to have lazily spun a tale of a minor player in the history of music. Emmett Ray is the stuff of legend, he turned up on the scene, cut some sides, and little is known for sure about his life. Allen fills in the blanks though.
One of the things I liked most was the Django Reinhardt thread, that weaved its way through the whole movie, and made for some of the funniest bits. I won't ruin the movie by talking about it here.
But the movie did seem to be sort of spinning its tires, without a real point, until the last 10 minutes. In that time it goes from being a mildly funny showcase for some GREAT! jazz music to being a statement about what it sometimes takes to be a great artist, and the often tragic irony of this truth.
Thinking about it now, Allen also sort of parodies the documentary format here, in that all the "modern" people on camera talking about Emmett Ray really know very little about his life, and the biographical sequences make the viewer the insider, so to speak.
The Straight Story (1999)
Another masterpiece, and arguably his best.
I had some misgivings about this movie when I first read about it. A G-rated David Lynch movie? However, I trust Lynch to never let me down with a watered-down movie, and once again my faith was borne out. I'm glad this movie recieved that rating, because EVERYONE should see this film.
It works on so many levels, I plan to see it at least twice more just so I can pick them all out. The central theme of the movie is The Journey, the literal one that was taken by Alvin Straight and the metaphorical one which everyone takes through life. The recurring image in the film of the stars slowly advancing, which is always displayed when someone is sitting still, indicates that even when you're doing nothing, you're still travelling, both literally and figuratively.
Everyone in the movie does a superb job, especially Richard Farnsworth and Sissy Spacek, who starts off as one of Lynch's cartoonish, oddball people who always pop up in his movies, and then develops through the movie into a fully fleshed-out human. This role, as well as her role in Affliction, reveals Spacek to be one of, if not the most underrated actors working today.
There is the usual Lynchian imagery and characters, and some of the best cinematography and scenery I've seen since Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter. Where Egoyan's film was starkly beautiful, however, this one is varied, showing all the colours and textures of rural America in the last days of summer. Sheer magnificence.
The moods are well-balanced. At different times one is laughing, horrified, saddened, but most of all it is affirming.
For people who see Lynch as just a purveyor of weirdness, this will either be a refreshing change or a disappointment. But people who see film as a true art form will be overjoyed by this simple, yet beautiful, bit of storytelling by an artist who is obviously developing and continuing to mature and improve on his craft. Lynch has taken an inspirational story and packed it with so much more that this has now displaced Being John Malkovich as my favourite movie of the year. These two movies have proven that film is still a vital art form, and in the age of grand spectacle movies with no real plot or acting, this is food for a very hungry soul. 99 was a great year, let's hope it continues.
Streets of Fire (1984)
A forgotten classic. Outstanding.
I saw this as a restless youth, and man, did I ever wanna be Michael Pare :>
this one ranks among my favourites from its decade. The cast is outstanding, and many of them were relatively unknown at the time. Rick Moranis, Amy Madigan and Willem Dafoe are all insanely great.
The look of the film, as said in another comment, is surreal and timeless. It looks kind of 80's, kind of futuristic and kind of 50s, and very urban and gritty. This is the same New York from The Warriors, with slightly better shots and sets.
And the music? Wow! Fire Inc's anthems sound a little bit dated today, but I love 'em. Add some doowop, some R&B from the Blasters, and in one of the most badass scenes ever filmed, Link Wray's classic "Rumble," which features the most badass chord ever played.
Don't pass this over if you missed it the first time around.
Swing Kids (1993)
Outstanding portrait of an era, and coming of age.
To BarryB-4: You couldn't have missed the point by a wider area.
The swing music and dancing is not the point of this movie. This could just as easily have taken place in the 50s in America, with Rock n Roll as the backdrop.
What it was about to me, was the dehumanizing process of fascism, and how blindly following a leader or a movement can turn an otherwise well-balanced, even likable individual (Thomas) into something terrible, and make them do things they would otherwise never do.
The German people of that era are demonized too often. It's easy to say "I'd never go along with that!" but the fact is that it was not that simple for most Germans, especially as it progressed into the war, and like an avalanche, it got bigger and more powerful and destructive. By the end, it was go along, or be sent away or possibly killed, and the movie portrays this pressure masterfully.
The sacrifice made was not for the music itself, but rather for the freedom to enjoy it. In fact, I think that Arvid's comment, "Nobody who likes swing could ever become a nazi" and what follows illustrates that it's not the music that was the most important thing. The music was an excellent rallying point, but it's the people and their energy that make a movement.
The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
Wow.
I just thought I'd interject here, how about Sarah Polley's singing?
The movie was outstanding, no doubt, and I won't harp on that for long since everything's pretty much been said already. But when I was watching the credits and found out she was actually singing One More Colour and Courage, I was blown away. What a talent.
Maybe after a few more Sarah Polley movies, the world can forgive us Canadians for Keanu Reeves.
Detroit Rock City (1999)
YES! ROCK!
To hell with the critics, this movie was hilarious! I suppose the older crowd (except for some people who were teens in this era) will probably hate it though.
My favorite line was Christine saying "Disco's so big right now, I wouldn't be surprised if Kiss made a disco song!"
The Sixth Sense (1999)
They should've let Blair Witch die down first
First: WHY DIDN'T THIS KID AUDITION FOR ANAKIN?!
Outstanding movie on all fronts. My only complaint is that it occasionally dragged, and then only once or twice for a minute or two.
Excellent acting all around, and some excellent twists as well.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
The most frightening movie I have ever seen.
I don't watch tv. As such, I had only the website (www.blairwitch.com) and a couple of recommendations to see the movie to go on, and thankfully so. As such, I took the movie as fact all the way through. As a result, it scared the drek out of me.
A great example of how great ideas, not huge budgets and special effects, are what make great movies. BWP now takes its place with The Exorcist and Prince of Darkness as the only movies to truly scare the crap out of me.