Hey! Just The Player from yours which I'm sure you remember I saw a few months back and really enjoyed. The ending is brilliant. 8/10
First Time Viewings:
The AristoCats (1970, Wolfgang Reitherman)
A family of cats set to inherit a fortune from their owner, muat make it vack home after being left in the country by the jealous butler. This one has a couple fun characters and is mostly entertaining, but it didn't quite do it for me.
6.5/10
Compulsion (1959, Richard Fleischer)
Based on the same real life case as Rope (1948), this one is about two wealthy law students who go on trial for murder. The cast is great and I loved the way the story played out. A lot of great stuff in this one. An underseen gem it seems.
8/10
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977, John Lounsbery and Wolfgang Reitherman)
This animated feature is made up of 3 shorts about Winnie the Pooh and his friends. It's nice and short, but I didn't really care about anything that was going on, nor about the characters.
5.5/10
El Dorado (1967, Howard Hawks)
A gunfighter, a sheriff, an Indian fighter, and a gambler join forces to help a rancher's family fight a rival rancher. With a atrong cast lead by John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, and James Caan, this is a pretty good Western right here with some great moments.
7/10
I Vitelloni (1953, Federico Fellini)
This one is a character study of 5 young men at turning points in their lives in a small Italian village. Thia was my first Fellini and I liked it more than expected. There's not really a plot, but I found the characters and events portrayed interesting, so I enjoyed it.
7.5/10
La Strada (1954, Federico Fellini)
A girl is sold to a traveling entertainer and experiences physical and emotional pain along the way. This one did drag a bit at times in my opinion, but the two main performances were strong and the story was pretty good.
7/10
Ben-Hur (1959, William Wyler)
This Sword and Sandal epic is about a Jewish prince that is betrayed and made a slave by his Roman friend, only to come back for revenge. It has a good cast, amazing sets and costumes, a very good score, and many great scenes throughout. It pretty well paced fpr the most part, but there were a couple of duller patches. The famous chariot race is incredible though.
7.5/10
Moana (2016, Ron Clements and John Musker)
Disney's latest is about a Chieftan's daughter that must find a demigod and help reverse a curse. The story is pretty standard Disney stuff and that's what really lets it down. The animation is stunning, there are some fun characters, and things pick up in the second half. Overall it's decent, but pretty uninspired.
6.5/10
Revolution (1985, Hugh Hudson)
A NY trapper becomes involved in the American Revolution after his son is drafted into the army. The film has excellent cinematography, good sets and costumes, and a good score. That's where my praise for the film stops though. Al Pacino is miscast here and though he has a few good moments he mostly just feels out of place and unconvincing. The supporting cast is pretty weak and the story is aimless. More than anything it's just really boring.
4/10
Repeat Viewings:
One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961, Clyde Geronimi, Hamilton Luske, and Wolfgang Reitherman)
This Disney classic is about a woman who kidnaps puppies for the purpose of making a fur coat. I haven't seen this in years, but it holds up pretty well. The villains are fun and it tells a good story.
7/10
The Sword in the Stone (1963, Wolfgang Reitherman)
This one tells the story of a young King Arthur training with Merlin before he becomes king. This is another one I havem't seen in years. It too held up nicely. It's consistently entertaining and the characters are lots of fun.
7/10
The Third Man (1949, Carol Reed)
This one is about an American writer who goes to Vienna only to find himself investigating the death of his friend. The cast is great, the cinematography is terrific, and it tells a good story. The first time I saw it I didn't like the zither score, but this time I fell in love with it.
8/10
The Big Sleep (1946, Howard Hawks)
This Noir classic is about private detecticlve Philip Marlowe who is hired by a rich family. The conplex case involves blackmail, murder, and maybe love. The story is pretty confusing and hard to follow, but it's always engaging and the cast is great lead by Humphrey Bogart.
8/10
Léon (1994, Luc Besson)
A hitman must take in a 12 year old girl after her family is killed and he teaches her his work. I love the story and the characters and the relationship between the two leads. The soundtrack is great and the cast is fantastic. So many amazing scenes in this one and the finale is excellent.
9/10
The Night of the Hunter (1955, Charles Laughton)
A religious fanatic marries a widow who are reluctant to tell where their father hid $10,000 dollars from a robbery. This is one of those that never reaches its potential if you ask me. I think they focus too much on the kids, when the best part of the film is Robert Mitchum's character and performance. He's brilliant and the film really shines when he's on screen. Great cinematography too, but overall I think the film could have been a lot better. I'm in the minority though.
7/10
Movie Awards:
BEST FILM - Léon
BEST ACTOR - Robert Mitchum (The Night of the Hunter)
BEST ACTRESS - Natalie Portman (Léon)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR - Gary Oldman (Léon)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS - Lauren Bacall (The Big Sleep)
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY - Robert Krasker (The Third Man)
BEST SCORE - Anton Karas (The Third Man)
BEST SCRIPT - Luc Besson (Léon)
BEST DIRECTOR - Luc Besson (Léon)