Post by william on Mar 18, 2019 4:39:00 GMT
FIRST TIME MOVIE VIEWING
Kanal (1957, Andrzej Wajda)
Set in 1944, during the Warsaw uprising against the Nazis, Polish Lieutenant Zadra and his resistance fighters use Warsaw's sewer system to escape the German encirclement.
A well made and acted film, could perhaps have been tightened up here and there but never really drags. The scenes in the sewer are grim and tense, one to check out for sure.
6.5/10
Murder, My Sweet (1944, Edward Dmytryk)
This film noir is based on the Raymond Chandler book 'Farewell My Lovely' and stars Dick Powell in his first grittier role as Chandler's detective of choice Philip Marlowe. As is often the case, Chandler's plots are often overly complicated and get pretty wild, this one just barely holds together but all can be forgiven with the stunning cinematography. This was one of the more popular film noir omissions from my viewing so glad to have ticked that box.
6.5/10
Gilda (1946, Charles Vidor)
This was probably my largest omission from my film-noir viewing as it is a highly rated one with some big names and the title character is what Rita Hayworth is arguably best known for. Set in Argentina, Glenn Ford (The Big Heat) plays a small-time gambler who's hired to work in a Buenos Aires casino where he learns that his ex-lover (Hayworth) is married to his employer.
The film is a mixed bag with some scenes being gorgeously staged and others looking very pedestrian. The film also lacks any flare in the sound department with a lot of dead space and no atmosphere. Hayworth is hypnotic as Gilda and most all the characters are well done but none are likeable so it is hard to get too invested.
6/10
Nancy (2018, Christina Choe)
Andrea Riseborough
sheds her glamour to play the title character in this indie drama where she becomes increasingly convinced she was kidnapped as a child. When she meets a couple whose daughter went missing thirty years ago, reasonable doubts give way to wilful belief.
The film has a great cast, tone and is worth checking out.
6/10
Detour (1992, Wade Williams)
Follows original script for Detour (1945), with subplots included that were not in the original due to constraints of time and money. This remake stars the original stars son in the same role and was made on a low budget. It only received a small vhs release and has never been released since... and for good reason. It is not very good, and the added scenes from the original script only make it worse.
2/10
REPEAT MOVIE VIEWING
Year of the Dragon (1985, Michael Cimino)
blu ray
After Director Michael Cimino (The Deer Hunter) had an epic, industry altering failure with Heaven’s Gate you could be excused for believing the myth that he never worked again. However just five years later he had another epic where he yet again had creative control with this film, Year of the Dragon.
In this one Mickey Rourke (Angel Heart) plays a police detective who cracks down on organized crime in Chinatown after the murders of Triad (Mafia) leaders. The film has a lot going for it and Cimino always swings for the fences with his films. However the film won’t be for everyone... I like it despite the script (Written by Cimino & Oliver Stone) being disjointed and full of over wrought dialogue, the lack of likeable characters or the terrible performance from the leading lady. These problems are very real but the sheer audacity and wonderful set pieces make the film intriguing. It’s so full of ideas that are not fully explored although I imagine if Cimino didn’t have to come in on time and on budget this time (unlike Heaven’s Gate) he could’ve easily filmed a four hour version.
It’s a crazy film that feels like everything is turned up to eleven and that the train is about to come off the tracks at any moment but it’s certainly something to see.
7/10
WEEKLY AWARDS
BEST FILM: Year of the Dragon
BEST ACTOR: Dick Powell - Murder, My Sweet
BEST ACTRESS: Rita Hayworth - Gilda
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Steve Buscemi - Nancy
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: J. Smith Cameron - Nancy
BEST SCORE: David Mansfield - Year of the Dragon
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Harry J. Wild - Murder, My Sweet
BEST SCRIPT: Christina Choe - Nancy
BEST DIRECTOR: Michael Cimino - Year of the Dragon
10/10 - Perfection (or as close to it as possible)
09/10 - An Excellent film
08/10 - A VERY Good film
07/10 - A Good film
06/10 - A Solid film
05/10 - An Average film
04/10 - Below Average film
03/10 - A mostly bad film
02/10 - A mostly terrible film
01/10 - Awful through and through
00/10 - Not only awful but offensive too
I'll check out Murder, My Sweet.
Yours:
Kanal 9/10
Loved it. Glad you liked it too.
Gilda 8/10
I liked it, I was expecting a bit better maybe, I think it loses it a bit in the second half. Love Rita Hayworth, she was really iconic.
Year of the Dragon 7.5/10
I liked it, I thoughy Mickey Rourke was a bit over the top maybe. John Lone was great though.
Mine:
A Dangerous Method 8/10
David Cronenberg movie. It's not easy but I found it absorbing. I thought Keira Knightley was very good. Viggo Mortensen as Freud too.
Sinbad, the Sailor 7/10
It's a movie with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Maureen O'Hara, about Sinbad going looking for the lost treasure of Alexander the Great. It's O.K., it feels a bit too long maybe, but I thought it was fun. Anthony Quinn is the villain, he's good.
King of New York 8/10
It's Abel Ferrara movie, with Christopher Walken, about a drug lord going out of jail, getting back with his crew, his old political connections, and trying to rebuild his empire. I remembered liking it more, it's still pretty good though, IMO.
Christopher Walken is great.