An American music documentary directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Iggy Pop.
The story of Iggy Pop and The Stooges.
If I see one more rock n roll documentary... They all claim that "this band was the greatest and most influential". It's like watching the same movie over and over with different casts, like Night of the Living Dead (1968, 1990, 2006, 2012, 2015). There is not much I can say here that I have not already said about the countless other rock n roll documentaries I've watched. I rate this poor because I'm just so tired of it.
A French German Japanese American crime film directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Forest Whitaker, Henry Silva and Isaach de Bankole.
Mobsters decide to kill one of their assassins who follows samurai traditions and communicates with them only through notes on pigeons.
Out of the Jarmusch I've seen so far, this is not his best work. It seemed too new, too Hollywood and too violent. I'm not really one for guns anyway and this guy practiced with a sword that never got used. Also, if he's such an honorable samurai, why does he go around stealing cars like it doesn't matter? The video had lots more fast editing and close shots than I would have liked and the mobster's daughter spoke 1 line of audible dialogue and like 5 lines inaudible. Overall, not really what I like to watch. I would advise Jarmusch fans to skip it and I rate it tolerable.
An American crime film directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Tom Waits and Roberto Benigni.
2 low level criminals are setup by their fellow hoods to be captured and are imprisoned. Another man accidentally kills a pursuer after leaving a card game gone wrong. The 3 of them escape from prison together.
This was absolutely the slowest jailbreak movie ever made. Most of the time, it was just the 3 main characters and no one else. They held my interest without anything else. The premise was pretty standard, but lead to a more complex plot. What I liked about the plot was showing multiple characters before prison. The video was all in black and white, but looked good. There was a scene that was said to be night in dialogue, but the video did not support this. I'm rating it good. This is a must have for Jarmusch fans.
An American western directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Johnny Depp, Lance Henriksen, Crispin Glover, Iggy Pop, Billy Bob Thornton, Jared Harris, Gabriel Byrne, John Hurt, Alfred Molina and Robert Mitchum.
An urban man goes to a rural town where he was promised a job, only to be denied. He spends the night with a woman whose husband comes home in the morning. A gunfight ensues and they are all shot. The urban man then steals a horse and wanders around the wilderness with a Native American called Nobody. The husband's father has meanwhile sent bounty hunters and ordered wanted posters to be posted.
This was my second time watching this and the ending left me wondering about when the main character dies. The video was all in black and white and the only thing that puzzled me slightly was the main character's POV without glasses was still in sharp focus. The plot was a little sparse, but even the minor characters were memorable. I don't write here to drag this out into forced over-analysis. I rate it adequate. You should really watch other Jim Jarmusch films.
A French American drama directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Bill Murray, Jeffrey Wright, Sharon Stone, Frances Conroy, Tilda Swinton, Julie Deply, Mark Webber, Chloe Sevigny and Christian McDonald.
A man receives a letter with no return address which says that his son is looking for him. His neighbor decides that the mystery must be solved and sends the man on a quest to visit the women he had relationships with.
This follows what I think of as Jarmusch's style by being a series of vignettes. I'm just saying this because of Night on Earth (1991) and Coffee and Cigarettes (2003). I have seen more of his work than that (Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) Mystery Train (1989)) and will be watching more. His style doesn't jump out and grab you, it invites you in. This seemed a little more tragic than his other works, but the pacing was dead on. The video looked good, but the audio was a little low. I really liked the daughter at the first house, but won't spoil it. I'm rating this good for being by a good director, having an all-star cast, presented as vignettes and the slow pacing. You should watch it.
1940
An American adventure directed by Hal Roach, starring Victor Mature, Carole Landis and Lon Chaney Jr.
1966
A British adventure directed by Don Chaffey, starring Raquel Welch and Robert Brown.
An exiled caveman from one tribe meets a woman from another tribe and they bring the tribes together.
These were as similar as they were different. The newer one looked better in every way. 1940 had clean shaven cavemen and 1966 had all bearded. The special effects looked better and more convincing in 1966, but anyone who knows about the techniques used will appreciate the cleverness of 1940 much more. I was really impressed by the level of compositing and shot framing to make the monsters large. The plots are mostly similar and scene by scene, but there are some major differences like the ending. I don't want to over-analyze here, but I'm sure someone has done so elsewhere. I think they are equal, but would never watch them back-to-back again. I rate them adequate. If you're into primitive special effects, check it out.
An American docufiction directed by Lionel Rogosin.
Several poor men in New York City are addicted to alcohol. A new guy shows up, gets smashed and then leaves.
This is true fucking grit. When your cast gets arrested and returns with shaves and haircuts because you're filming the actual thing, that's raw. Even rawer yet was the sterno drinking scene. Apparently, yellow listerine was not a thing back then. I can't speak very highly of plot or characters, but the camera-work was amazing for having to be hidden most of the time. Other shots were done at night with no dedicated lighting. I would put this almost on par with Annoying (2015) which was just slightly grittier. I rate this awesome for having the balls to really show life in the gutter.
A Canadian music documentary directed by Felipe Belalcazar.
The story of Chuck Schuldiner is related. He forms a band which goes through troubles and lineup changes.
This was informative, but basic and stuck to the VH1 "behind the music" form. I admit that making a documentary about someone 17 years after they died is difficult. There were interviews with band members, family members, managers and journalists. These all stuck to the single tripod camera format. Just 1 more camera in this setup would have made it way better. There were some pieces of footage featuring the band and old interviews, which were the best part in my opinion. There were also some motion graphics sections which looked a little forced. As far as Death being death metal, I think that another of my drummers said it best "bobo thrash metal" - Chris Dalcin. Although it does border on death, black and prog attributes, it's basically old Sepultura style. The rhythm guitar palm mutes the lowest or second lowest string and plays whatever notes go with that over it. If you don't know about Chuck and Death, but are into metal, watch it. If you were listening to Sonic Insanity when Chuck died (like I was) you can skip it because you know all of this already. I rate it adequate.
An American Israeli drama directed by Joseph Cedar, starring Richard Gere, Hank Azaria, Steve Buscemi, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Michael Sheen.
Businessmen and politicians schmooze. There is a church that needs money and the main character knows a man with a high position in international politics.
Boring and incoherent drivel. The plot was muddier than an episode of Dirty Jobs and the characters were shallower than a soup spoon. The only part that I liked was the ending when the church people were singing and the main character sat on a park bench. It was better than it sounds. There were some sections of dialogue in Israeli, but they could not possibly have enough significance to define the movie within the 5 minutes they happened in. There were many scenes in which the audio did not match the video intentionally. People would be seen talking with no audio (image) or the audio would have dialogue, but the people speaking would not be on screen. I can't possibly imagine why this needed 8 minutes of credits at the end. I rate this bad for being a pointless waste of 2 hours. Do not watch!
An American action film directed by Corey Yuen, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.
A boy's father and karate trainer is defeated by mobsters looking to enslave all karate schools. The boy trains and defeats the mobster's best fighter.
Dumb, stale, stupid... This was like America's answer to China's shitty kung fu flicks. It came complete with distorted audio. The only thing in the soundtrack that sounded good was when there were electric guitars in the songs. A little bit of hard rock grit turned into heavy metal super-saturation. I didn't care about the plot or characters. R. J.'s rap song was absolutely pitiful, but his break dancing was good. I'm rating this bad for being just plain not worth watching. Seriously, skip it.
An American slasher mystery directed by Ken Hughes.
A police detective is trying to find a murderer who decapitates his victims and puts the head into water.
Stupid and lame. The plot and characters were so trite and stale that I could hardly pay attention at all. Cinematography, on the other hand, was brilliant. Everything looked good, appropriate perspectives were used to heighten suspense and there were some unconventional camera angles and moves. Look at this perspective (image) "tell me that's not mint" - Drummer Ron. I would recommend this to anyone who liked Fire Over England (1937). If you liked that, you will really get a kick out of this. For the rest of us, I rate it poor. You really should not watch it.
An American drama directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Winona Ryder, Gena Rowlands, Giancarlo Esposito, Isaach de Bankole, Beatrice Dalle and Roberto Benigni.
5 taxi drivers in Los Angeles, New York City, Paris, Rome and Helsinki pick up people and have conversations with them.
Awesome "slice of life" vignettes. My favorite driver was Roberto Benigni in Rome and my favorite passenger was Beatrice Dalle in Paris. For being set in cars, the camera-work showed lots more than just the inside of cabs. The varied settings really gave the viewer a clear idea of locations. The segues were accomplished by a fade to black, cut to labeled clocks on a wall. The camera goes in on the clocks and fades to a map where a location is highlighted and then fades into the next scene. The audio started in English (LA and NY) but switched languages with locations. The version that I watched had hard coded subtitles. The audio mix was actually good. I could hear what people were saying and the music was at a tasteful level. If you liked Coffee and Cigarettes (2003), you will like this. I rate it best for being looking and sounding good as well as for plots and characters. Watch it!
An American crime film directed by Abel Ferrara, starring Christopher Walken, Willem Dafoe and Asia Argento.
A pair of kidnappers are trying to use a prostitute to kidnap a scientist.
I can't take that much Walken. In the first half hour there were also multiple scenes in which women thought they could sing, but the audio proved their inability. I turned this off at 40:32 of 1:33:10 because the plot was dull and I didn't care what happened with the characters. It looked alright, but even Fie Over England (1937) looks good. That doesn't make it a good movie though. For the Walken beast, bad singing and a boring plot, I rate this shit. Do not watch!
An American crime romance directed by Van Fischer, starring Jeremy Renner, Gabrielle Union, Sally Kirkland, Cary Elwes and Ethan Suplee.
A neo nazi skinhead is in a mental institution and falls in love with a black woman who says that she is Hitler.
This was a mix of good and bad. Let's go with bad first. I think that the dialogue needed to be mixed quieter because I could almost hear some of it and the music needed to be mixed louder because my speakers did not blow out. Shitty audio production aside, I really liked the plot and characters. The plot started almost at the end and then developed its own back-story as the film went on. The characters followed this, revealing their past. The combination of 2 unlikely main characters was the best part. If I'm so focused on the plot and characters that I don't notice cinematography, camera-work, composition, framing or editing, that is seamless and very very good. Cary Elwes was in a very short section, but Ethan Suplee played a larger role. I remember him from American History X (1998), Blow and Evolution (both 2001) and Art School Confidential (2006). I'm rating this good, but it would have gotten awesome with better audio.
An American crime film directed by Oliver Stone, story by Quentin Tarantino, starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Tommy Lee Jones and Tom Sizemore.
A couple travel the country on a killing spree, are caught by cops and jailed and then escape.
Sensory overload. Within the first few minutes I could tell that Quentin Tarantino was involved in some way. It just looked and sounded so much like his other work. There was violence and 50s/60s soul music. What more clue do you need? The plot was relatively lame, but I don't think that was the main focus of the film. Some of the characters were developed well while others were extremely shallow. The framing and composition of shots was good, but I would have liked more wide shots. I did not like the editing because it was so fast, but I think that was intentional. Overall, a decent movie. I rate it adequate. Again, other people think it's amazing. If I was only looking for Tarantino-esque shock value, I would agree. Fortunately for me, my tastes have matured some.
An American drama directed by Christina Choe, starring Ann Dowd, Steve Buscemi and John Leguizamo.
A compulsive liar with a sick mother pretends to be pregnant. When a man she meets finds that she is not pregnant, he dismisses her. Her mother then dies and she pretends to be the missing daughter of an elderly couple.
Sparse, slow and inconclusive. The plot rambled aimlessly along the main character's path of lies. The characters were not developed at all. Cinematography looked good, but it was as sparse as the plot. There was lots of empty space in the framing and composition. The audio was terrible because dialogue was mixed so low that I could barely hear it. I just can't figure out why anyone would want to make or watch a movie like this. Apparently, other critics think it's great. I rate it bad. Do not watch!
An American science fiction comedy directed by Richard Benjamin, starring Dan Aykroyd, Kim Basinger and Jon Lovitz.
A scientist sends a beam far into outer space, attracting an alien to the Earth. The alien appears as a beautiful woman who tries to get the scientist to send the beam again and save her planet.
Typical of the time. I appreciated the drama element of the film more than the comedy. Some of it was vaguely funny, but nothing stood out. The special effects were a little bit lame, but generally convincing. The eye puppet in the alien's purse was kind of cool and I liked how the alien manipulated physics on the scientist's daughter. The physics effects would be easy to do with modern software, but must have been more complex to create in 1988. I thought it was a relatively simple and mediocre movie. I rate it o.k. and would recommend it if you get into late '80s mainstream cinema.
A Canadian slasher horror directed by George Mihalka.
A crazed miner kills people on Valentine's Day.
Pretty lo-fi, but worth watching once. The plot and writing were stale and the audio and video were a little on the trashy side. That being said, this avoided some mistakes that I see newer, more expensive movies repeat over and over. There was very little underexposure. Even inside the mine where it was dark, I could see everything. There was actually some overexposure in the mine produced by light and film combinations not matching or looking realistic. The acting was alright. I'm not saying it was great, but the folks at TROMA could learn valuable lessons from this film. There was a plot twist at the end which did nothing to advance the story because it was over 2 minutes later. I would call this an exact middle point for the slasher genre and rate it o.k.
An Australian science fiction by Matt Drummond.
A boy follows his friends into a forest where a UFO supposedly landed. While there, his other friend picks up a foreign substance and later delivers it to his house with her science kit. The boy's brother spills a drink on the whole deal and a dinosaur emerges. The boy tries to hide it, but a military group steals it from him. With the help of his friends, he must rescue the dinosaur.
The only thing less convincing than the special effects was the writing. The plot was stale and recycled, characters shallow and badly acted. It just sucked. The CG was so clearly fake that I doubt a child would believe it. There was "gunfire" that never showed any bullets, which was the worst. I rate this bad. Do not watch!
