Dell's Good, Bad & Ugly Movie Reviews

[nflman2033]

I've seen the bolded titles...They're all great, imho. "White Heat" and "Public Enemy" (presuming that's the 1931 movie) are my faves of the bunch. I was a little less impressed with "Mean Streets" and "Angels with Dirty Faces" but still very solid flicks.


Not wrong...but I would say I'm a little surprised you haven't at least heard of more than 3 by accident just because a number of them either show up on TV fairly often and/or have iconic moments that have shown up in other movies and various forms of media.


No problem with that. The problem is there are a lot more comedies more focused on crime but not many, if any, better than "Some Like it Hot". For something a little more modern, maybe "Office Space"? Then again, that's not organized crime like the rest. "Get Shorty," "Reservoir Dogs" (funny to me, but not really a comedy), "Snatch"?



Yeah, I've been meaning to check that out for the longest. Thanks for the reminder.

lol, dell and I have seen exactly the same ones except High Sierra.

 

[dell71]

lol, dell and I have seen exactly the same ones except High Sierra.

Yeah, you're up 1.

 

[wingsfan77]

American Crime Film Class? wow...

 

[dave]

Brothers
<strong>Directed by Jim Sheridan.</strong>
<em>2009. Rated R, 105 minutes.
Cast:
Tobey Maguire
Natalie Portman
Jake Gyllenhall
Sam Shepherd
Bailee Madison
Taylor Geare
Mare Winningham
Patrick John Fleuger
Clifton Collins Jr.
Carey Mulligan</em>[/center]

After this, Tommy decides to clean up and help out his sister-in-law best he can. Of cours, the two take a shine to one another. I’ll stop there so I won’t spoil the rest.

In fairness, if I had a brother, he was married to Natalie Portman and presumed dead, I'd want to hit that too.

 

[dell71]

Repo Men
<strong>Directed by Miguel Sapochnik.</strong>
<em>2010. Rated R, 111 minutes.
Cast:
Jude Law
Forest Whitaker
Live Schreiber
Alice Braga
Carice van Houten
Chandler Canterbury
Joe Pingue
Liza Lapira
RZA</em>​

Remy (Law) works as a repo man for The Union. The Union doesn’t deal cars or anything simple. They peddle organs. That’s right, fall too far behind on your payments for that transplanted heart, or liver, or kidney, or whatever and Remy or his co-workers will pay you a visit and take it back, literally. Of course, through a rather unfortunate event, Remy ends up getting a brand new ticker of his own and finds himself unable to make the payments. He and Becca (Braga), the stray chick he took in who is also in arrears on a laundry list of parts, running and hiding from The Union ensues.

Those of us that pay attention to Z-grade cinema know that <em>RM</em> is a blatant rip-off. A couple years ago, a straight-to-DVD flick titled <em>Repo! The Genetic Opera</em> surfaced and became a cult hit. The two main differences are in that movie the repo man didn’t need the transplant, his daughter did and most noticeably it was a musical. It was odd, morbidly funny and unafraid to take chances. <em>RM</em> has some of those same attributes but is definitely more restrained to meet more mainstream sensibilities. Its obviously much bigger budget justifies this approach.

It uses that budget to give us wild imagery and outrageous situations. There are also some darkly comic moments. Often enough, it gives us all of those things simultaneously. However, story-wise many things happen that are either too simple or underdeveloped. This is especially the case in regards to Remy’s relationship with his son. There needs to be more of it. Once the movie kicks into high gear, he wants to see his son but it’s not something we can feel. In fact, the boy becomes a prop in one of his narrow escapes and little else. This disconnects us from him a little, reminds us it’s just an action movie. We’re never vested in him. So, while it excels at entertaining us, it never really engages us.

All is not lost. Like I said, it is entertaining. It’s helped along by its three leading men. Jude Law continues to prove, to me at least, he’s one of the more underrated actors working today. Forest Whitaker as his best friend Jake and Live Schreiber as his boss seem to be having a blast. Whitaker seems to be particularly giddy and it is infectious.

Yes, take it down a notch for being a rip-off of a movie that not only includes Paris Hilton in the cast but has the nerve to have her singing. That sentence alone should tell you that <em>RM</em> doesn’t revel in being bad the way the older movie does. Still, it’s not the worst movie ever made as some would have you believe.

<strong>The Opposite View:</strong> <a href=”http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124781277”>Ian Buckwalter, NPR</a>

<strong>What the Internet Says:</strong> <a href=”http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1053424/”>6.3/10 on imdb.com</a>, <a href=”http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10012068-repo_men/”>22% on rottentomatoes.com</a>, <a href=”http://www.metacritic.com/movie/repo-men/critic-reviews”>32/100 on metacritic.com</a>

<strong>MY SCORE: 6.5/10</strong>​

Oh by the way, click here: Repo! The Genetic Opera

 

[dell71]

Dell’s Classics Presents:

The Caine Mutiny
<strong>Directed by Edward Dmytryk.</strong>
<em>1954. Not Rated, 125 minutes.
Cast:
Humphrey Bogart
Fred MacMurray
Van Johnson
Robert Francis
Jose Ferrer
Lee Marvin
May Wynn
E. G. Marshall
Tom Tully
Warner Anderson</em>​

When Captain Queeg (Bogart) takes over the USS Caine during WWII, he finds his inherited crew mirrors his dilapidated ship, completely slack and barely, if at all, worthy of the United States Navy. However, it soon becomes apparent to them that their new captain may have spent a few too many days at sea. The question is do they muster enough evidence and gumption to relieve him of his duty before he gets them killed, without approval from further up the chain of command. If they do, what will the consequences be?

Those are intriguing questions and the movie tackles each as it transforms from a doomed-at-sea epic to a courtroom drama. Both portions are outstanding and keep you on the edge of your seat. The situations that arise aboard the Caine really capture the essence of a crew constantly walking on eggshells. In court, it’s a real question of whether these men who did what seems to be the right thing will become victim to the law.

There is one portion of the movie that doesn’t work for me. The romance between young Ensign Keith and his gal at home, May Wynn (herself) feels flat. It hints at an almost Oedipal relationship between he and his mother but never really becomes anything substantial. It feels shoved in so the movie doesn’t completely alienate female viewers. Yes, I realize the movie is based on a novel which included this part of the story, as well. However, if it were all left on the cutting room floor it wouldn’t change the movie one iota.

That said, <em>TCM</em> is still a true American classic. It achieves such status mostly on the back of one Humphrey Bogart. I’m one of those blasphemers who really isn’t impressed by Bogart. To me, he’s wildly overrated. Granted, he’s been in some great movies but I’ve never felt they were great because of him. In my eyes, he wasn’t the best thing about any of them. His acting largely seems to consist of holding the cigarette he’s smoking in one hand while having the other hand in his pocket and delivering his lines in something barely more than a monotone manner with a blank stare on his face. That is not the case, here. As the unstable captain, he’s simply dynamite. He commands the screen and is truly mesmerizing. For my money, it’s his best performance and worthy of the Best Actor nom he received.

If you’re a film buff, this is a must-see. It deserves its spot as one of the great cinematic achievements.

<strong>MY SCORE: 10/10</strong>​

 

[PNovak]

Another recommendation for you.

City Lights (1931) Starring Charlie Chaplin.

Great movie.

 

[dell71]

The Black Six
<strong>Directed by Matt Cimber.</strong>
<em>1974. Rated R, 94 minutes.
Cast:
Gene Washington
Mean Joe Greene
Mercury Morris
Carl Eller
Lem Barney
Willie Lanier
John Isenberger
Rosalind Miles
Marilyn McArthur
Lydia Dean
Robert Howard
Maury Wills</em>​

Six NFL stars…err…Vietnam vets venture into the small hometown of one of the crew whose brother has been murdered by a white motorcycle gang for dating the gang-leaders sister. Since the police can’t, or won’t get to the bottom of the matter, "The Six" will.

Watching our heroes try to stick it to The Man is goofy fun in spurts. The first twenty minutes or so and the last twenty make up the bulk of the festivities. The middle of the film contains a few fun moments along the way but it drags, terribly. During this stretch, five of “the six” hardly speak as we focus on Bubba (Washington), the dead guy’s brother. He’s busy doing his own investigation and simultaneously trying to reconnect with his old life, namely ex-girlfriend Ceal (Miles).

When the rest of the crew is allowed to shine, things thankfully lighten up. Former Miami Dolphins star Mercury Mooris gives the best performance with a hilarious monologue early in the film. This should come as no shock to anyone already familiar with Morris. The rest of the guys are pretty bad and their lines are spread out thinly and evenly. Of course, the iconic Mean Joe Greene is among this group and doesn’t have much to say. This movie reaffirms the notion that his best performance was in a Coke commercial. In case you’re too young to know who the rest of the guys are, don’t you worry. The opening credits puts each guy’s name on screen while the camera is right in their mug and even tells us which team they play for. Nice.

In all, it’s a clunky, slow movie that starts off pretty good and ends pretty good. Everything in the middle just meanders along until we finally get to the finale. It holds some nostalgic value for people who were fans of the NFL in the 1970s, or are either football or blaxploitation buffs in general, but it’s not a movie that demands watching on any level.

<strong>MY SCORE: 4/10</strong>​

 

[dell71]

The Crazies
<strong>Directed by Breck Eisner.</strong>
<em>2010. Rated R, 101 minutes.
Cast:
Timothy Olyphant
Radha Mitchell
Joe Anderson
Danielle Panbaker
Christie Lyon Smith
Deadra Farnum
John Aylward
Lisa K. Wyatt</em>​

All of a sudden, people in Ogden Marsh start getting very sick. No, not sick as in catching a bug that makes you cough, sneeze or otherwise spread your unwanted germs around, but sick as in George A. Romero sick. Well, whaddya know? This is a remake of an early 70s Romero flick. For the uninformed, they’re turning into zombies. Through some very quick detective work, Sheriff Dutten (Olyphant) surmises that the recent turn of events is caused by a contaminated water supply. Don’t worry, there’s more to it than that. Anyhoo, before you know it, nearly everyone in town is infected, the military shows up and it’s one big orgy of killin’.

Make no bones about it, the story is poorly told. There are too many plot-holes and loose ends. The whole deal with the <em>Enemy of the State</em>-style satellite is underdeveloped and silly where it’s supposed to serve as ominous social commentary. Why some people get sick and some don’t is still a mystery.

Luckily, these things are easy to overlook because the rest of the movie is so well done. It becomes a nicely crafted chase movie with just enough atmosphere to keep the tension amped up.

The bottom line: watch it for the cheap thrills it provides and ignore the rest. Truthfully, it’s a movie you’re likely to enjoy as it’s playing but think less and less of as you move away from it and give it a couple thoughts. But hey, it’s fun while it’s on.

<strong>The Opposite View:</strong> <a href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/gog/movies/the-crazies,1104430.html”>Dan Kois, Washington Post</a>

<strong>What the Internet Says:</strong> <a href=”http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455407/”>6.7/10 on imdb.com</a>, <a href=”http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1205380-crazies/”>71% on rottentomatoes.com</a>, <a href=”http://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-crazies/critic-reviews”>55/100 on metacritic.com</a>

<strong>MY SCORE: 7/10</strong>​

 

[nflman2033]

uh, you should have watched the Original the Crazies first dude. I mean its George A Romero

 

[KillaK]

Dell, have you seen Cool Hand Luke? I just saw it for the first time last night and thought it was great. The ending caught me off guard but I was still pretty happy with the way it turned out.

 

[dell71]

Dell, have you seen Cool Hand Luke? I just saw it for the first time last night and thought it was great. The ending caught me off guard but I was still pretty happy with the way it turned out.

Long, long ago. Haven't watched it in quite a while. Sadly, don't remember much about it.

 

[dell71]

Strange Circus
<strong>Directed by Shion Sono.</strong>
<em>2005. Rated R, 108 minutes.
Cast:
Masumi Miyazaki
Rie Kuwana
Mai Takahashi
Hiroshi Ohguchi
Issei Ishida
Tomorrowo Taguchi
Fujiko</em>​

Strange movies have a certain way with me. They’re a reminder that film can be akin to abstract art, creative and open to interpretation. Movies that explore the grotesque are also highly intriguing to me. They tap in to our subconscious fear and sadism. Though we may cringe, we can’t stop watching. <em>Strange Circus</em> is a strange movie that explores the grotesque.

We start the proceedings following Mitsuko (played by three different actresses, but somehow not at all confusing). When we meet her, she’s a twelve year old girl who leads a rather tortured existence. Her father is the well-liked principal of her school. However, that’s by far the least uncomfortable part of their relationship. At home, he has a cello case in his bedroom. He likes hiding her in it, forcing her to watch he and his wife make love through the peephole he’s cut out. When that’s not enough, he graduates to having sex with his daughter. Then…well, let’s just say it gets even more bizarre.

The question becomes is Mitsuko’s story real? After a while, we meet Taeko (Miyazaki), a famous wheelchair bound author and discover that we’ve been watching her upcoming novel unfold as she writes it. Or, are we? Is this piece of so-called fiction actually an autobiography? Where we go from her, took a twisted mind to conjure. By the way, director Shion Sono also wrote the movie and did an awesome job at both.

After we’re introduced to Taeko, we switch back and forth between her current, somewhat odd and mysterious life and Mitsuko’s developing tale. The two weave an unsettling tapestry of sexually charged but almost never sexy imagery. The act is completely perverted, stripped of intimacy and wielded as a soul stealing weapon. This is true horror. It eschews masked and/or deformed boogeymen for a real, at least seemingly so, flesh and blood monster. This monster doesn’t rack up a body count to shock us intermittently while using the stupidity of other characters as comic relief. This monster, well all of them as several are eventually revealed, just screw with our heads, relentlessly. Any laughs to be had are uneasy, at best.

In the lead role, Masumi Miyazaki is stunning. She actually winds up playing three roles. It only feels like one, until it suddenly doesn’t. You have to see it, to have even an inkling of what I’m talking about. In fact, the cast as a whole is remarkable. Perhaps, not to be outdone by any of them, cinematographer Yûichirô Ôtsaka turns in outstanding work. It can’t be easy making images so innately disgusting to us so beautiful to look at. This isn’t the gory, slasher flick type of disgusting we’ve become desensitized to. These are things that shake our core and bother us to even think.

If you want to see something very, very different, this is what you’re looking for. It’s often repulsive, but that’s part of its appeal. It never pulls punches. Whether, or not, you duck is up to you. Oh, one other thing: subtitleophobes beware, we’re speaking Japanese.

<strong>MY SCORE: 10/10</strong>​

 

[dell71]

It’s Complicated
<strong>Directed by Nancy Meyers.</strong>
<em>2009. Rated R, 120 minutes.
Cast:
Meryl Streep
Alec Baldwin
Steve Martin
John Krasinski
Lake Bell
Hunter Parish
Caitlin Fitzgerald
Zoe Kazan
Rita Wilson
Alexandra Wentworth</em>​

Jane Adler (Streep) is a divorcee going through a bit of “empty nest” syndrome as her youngest child is graduating college and about to leave her alone in her big, beautiful home. She hasn’t been dating but has taken an interest in Adam (Martin), the architect helping her with additions to the house. The complicated part: after a night of drinking and dancing she finds herself involved in an affair with her ex-husband Jake (Baldwin) who is now married to Agness (Bell), a woman quite a few years her junior.

Except for the ages of those involved, the premise is fairly unremarkable. However, that one aspect is explored and exploited wonderfully. In keeping with the overall light tone, age is viewed as a simple matter of fact, not a death sentence to your pursuit of happiness. Even that’s not entirely accurate. For some, their advancing age is actually an excuse to pursue their happiness with even more vigor than they did when they were young.

As you can imagine, this eventually becomes a love triangle with Streep at the center. It is key that she is playing the lead role. Her acting ability is unquestionable and she is again fantastic. However, it’s her looks that make her performance. She’s a household name. We are familiar enough with her to have seen her at various stages of her career and life. We know what she looked like many years ago. Many of us, myself included, think that right now she looks better than she ever has. So, why wouldn’t her ex-husbandt think the same? On top of that, she exudes a certain regality that’s attractive. That’s what keeps the architect who’s just met her, sniffing around.

None of that would matter if it weren’t funny. Fortuanately, this contains plenty of laughs. They feel natural as the actors all seem to be having such fun as things just happen. They rarely feel like they’re simply performing jokes. Among those actors, John Krasinski as Jane’s son-in-law Harley, stands out. He has many of the movies best moments. That said, I have to be fair and say who thinks <em>It’s Complicated</em> is funny and who doesn’t may break down along generational lines. I’m guessing 30 might be the line of demarcation: above it, you’ll love it, below it you’ll loathe it. Maybe.

Romantic comedies are one of my least favorite genres of movies, a shade above romantic musicals. This rises above its contemporaries even though it includes many of their clichés. I wouldn’t call it a great film, but it is certainly an entertaining one. Streep plays perfectly off her male suitors and displays a comedic timing not often associated with her. Yup, I’m drinking the Streep kool-aid. She’s the best.

<em>The Opposite View:</em> <a href=”http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Calendar/Film?Film=oid%3A930914”>Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle</a>

<em>What the Internet Says:</em> <a href=”http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1230414/”>6.7/10 on imdb.com</a>, <a href=”http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1208806-its_complicated/”>57% on rottentomatoes.com</a>, <a href=”http://www.metacritic.org/film/titles/itscomplicated”>57/100 on metacritic.com</a>

<strong>MY SCORE: 7/10</strong>​

 

[Palooza]

Nothing better than coming home hammered on a Friday night and seeing a new post in Dell's review thread. I mean, it kinda sucks that it was Its Complicated, but i'll take what i can get.

 

[wingsfan77]

My grandparent's thought It's Complicated was really funny, if it's ever on HBO or something I'll watch it but I probably wouldn't rent it.

 

[dell71]

My grandparent's thought It's Complicated was really funny, if it's ever on HBO or something I'll watch it but I probably wouldn't rent it.

Like I said, I'm placing the over/under at 30.

 

[dell71]

Baby
<strong>Directed by Juwan Chung.</strong>
<em>2008. Rated R, 100 minutes.
Cast:
David Huynh
Ron Yuan
Tzi Ma
Christina Stacey
Peter Cho
Feodor Chin
Kenneth Choi</em>​

After seven long years in prison, Baby (Huynh) is pushed back onto the dangerous streets of LA. They keep saying prison, but it has to be juvie. Our little antihero is only 18, after all. Let’s move on. After a brief stint as a dishwasher and unable to get over the sting of his old flame not waiting for him and generally not seeing eye to eye with his dad, Baby finds himself again involved in a life of crime. Let’s stop right there, for a moment. Yes, you’re math is right. Both parties of the couple in question were 11 when he went in. More on that, later.

It wants to be an Asian-American <em>Boyz N the Hood</em>. It even says so right on the DVD cover. Sadly, it fails for several reasons. First, his age is supposed to make the movie more powerful but really just makes it goofy. Even if you’ve been locked up so long you’re social growth has been stunted beyond repair, you still shouldn’t say “I thought you were gonna wait for me” with a straight face to a girl who was 11 the last time you saw her. Next, he’s a dull character, seemingly incapable of independent though and bereft of charisma. There is nothing drawing us to him.

The biggest problem, however, is the story barrels toward its inevitable conclusion with complete hoplessness. The kid doesn’t seem to stand a chance and there never appears to be light at the end of the tunnel. What makes <em>Boyz N the Hood</em> great, what makes it stick with you is we can see a way out of the despair for characters we’ve become vested. Since we can see that hope, it hurts us when not only is it snuffed out, but we recognize and feel helpless to stop the cycle we see perpetuating itself. Here, the cycle is the same but we care less because Baby never really seems to be on the way up. He’s the kid we were right about, all along. Imagine if, instead of us spending plenty of time with Ricky and Tre, we were entirely focused on Doughboy. This is what <em>Baby</em> does.

<strong>MY SCORE: 5/10</strong>​

 

[dell71]

Salt
<strong>Directed by Phillip Noyce.</strong>
<em>2010. Rated PG-13, 100 minutes.
Cast:
Angelina Jolie
Liev Schreiber
Chiwetel Ejiofor
Daniel Olbrychski
August Dehl
Hunt Block
Daniel Pearce
Olek Krupa
Andre Braugher</em>​

Evelyn Salt (Jolie) works for the CIA and has endured a lot for the good ol’ USA. Still, one day a man claiming to be a Russian defector shows up at the agency and says that she is really a spy from his homeland. Naturally, more and more doubt is cast upon her allegiance to the stars and stripes as parts of the man’s story seem to check out. Of course, through much mayhem and Houdini-like escapability, she gets away from the law and goes on the run. The question is whether she’s trying to clear her name or commit the assassination the defector says she will.

This is a movie filled with breath-taking stunts, brutal fight scenes and narrow escapes. There’s hardly any “down time” but what little there is perfectly sets up what’s to come. It also gives us just enough insight on the title character for us to care. No, we’re not talking grade A character development, but it’s more than sufficient for an action flick.

Helping all this out are a few very deftly performed sleight of hands that keep us guessing what’s really going on. Eventually, it’s not enough, but only because the number of possibilities is limited, at best. There simply aren’t enough characters to keep the mystery going. To keep the ruse up as long as it does is remarkable.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t compliment the star. This is not a role which will get Angelina Jolie nominated for an Oscar. However, it’s a role she plays perfectly. It helps that the role is tailor-made for her. I’m hard pressed to think of another woman who could do the role justice with both her acting and athleticism. Uma Thurman? Milla Jovovich? Lucy Liu? Kelly Hu? I say maybe on all of them, but no doubt on Jolie.

In the end, <em>Salt</em> is very much a female version of <em>The Bourne Identity</em>. You can knock it for that and for the ending blatantly setting us up for a sequel. And frankly, the program said to be causing all this trouble is a flimsy foundation for a story. All of this would drag down a lesser movie. I didn’t mind any of them because they’re all minor and the movie is slick enough to overcome its faults. The overall ride is just flat out fun, even though it is undeniably preposterous. Question my judgment, if you must, but I loved every second of it. Why yes, I am anxiously awaiting that sequel.

<strong>The Opposite View:</strong> <a href=”http://www.observer.com/2010/culture/angelina-jolie-puts-pepper-salt”>Rex Reed, New York Observer</a>

<strong>What the Internet Says:</strong> <a href=”http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0944835/”>6.6/10 on imdb.com</a>, <a href=”http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1213717-salt/”>61% on rottentomatoes.com</a>, <a href=”http://www.metacritic.org/film/titles/salt”>65/100</a>

<strong>MY SCORE: 8/10</strong>​

 

[longhornfan]

How do you watch most of these movies dell? Netflix?