1959. dir. William Wyler, starring Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Stephen Boyd.
Seen it before? No.
Sam wanted to count this as his yearly "church" service in honor of Easter but we ended up watching it a bit after Easter due to my niece and nephew staying longer to play video games. After watching the movie I have decided that it does not contain enough of Jesus' story despite "Jesus" appearing in the movie...
Judah Ben-Hur is a prince who happens to be Jewish. His long time friend Messala is a Roman who, in order to move up the ranks and show his ability to command, arrests Ben-Hur to make an example of him when a higher ranking Roman gets pegged by a tile which fell from the Hur compound. Somehow Ben-Hur ends up a slave and saves yet another higher ranking Roman who adopts him as his heir. A chariot sponsor admires how Ben-Hur handles his horses and hires him to compete in a chariot race...one of his competitors? That's right, Messala...
Where does Jesus fit into all of this? At the beginning there is a census that requires everyone to go back to their place of origin...completely improbable today...I'd have to go back to Quezon City, Sam would have to go to Ravenna, OH and so someone would have to take Daniel to Arlington Heights...I digress, anyhow, Mary and Joseph are heading to Nazareth to partake in the census and she is pregnant. Then we see Jesus (the back of his head anyway), as Ben-Hur is dying of thirst and is the only one of the slaves who is forbidden water, putting a ladle to Ben-Hur's mouth. When BH finally rises he looks in what I can only imagine is supposed to be awe (though it's Charlton Heston so you can probably figure out what his face looks like acting awe)...Jesus is referred to in later parts of the movie as a healer and preacher then gets crucified at the end (come on that is absolutely NOT a spoiler since most people know that's what happens to him according to the Bible).
There are a bunch of sub plots...A strange sexual vibe between BH and Messala. BH hits on his slave girl (inherited from his father) who he gives permission to marry another. BH's mother and sister get imprisoned and end up lepers who miraculously become healed after meeting Jesus while he is carrying his cross to his death.
It's a good story despite how long it goes on for. The first 6 minutes or so were excruciating...not because the score was bad, on the contrary it was actually quite good, but due to the fact that there was nothing going on but music...sounds dumb coming from me, a fan of classical and orchestral pieces in general but I knew the movie was over three hours long and I was impatient to be done with it so no action in the first 6 minutes or so of the movie playing without actors on screen got me antsy. The chariot scene was not what I thought it would be seeing as my only memories of Ben-Hur from when I was a kid involved ONLY the chariot race and I was disappointed (kind of) that the chariot race was not the main crux of the movie...ce'st la vie.
See it again? Sure, I'm sure someday I'll sit through it when Daniel watches it in a few years.
Own it? I'll buy it when the movie industry decides that they are making the last copies of the movie available for sale.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
#99 The Sixth Sense: They don't have meetings about rainbows
1999. dir. M. Night Shyamalan, starring Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams.
Seen it before? Yes.
It's hard, for some of these, to think of anything to say. Everyone knows this movie: The little kid sees dead people. They don't know that they're dead. They only see what they want to see. Bruce Willis is dead. Oops, spoiler.
This movie is better than I remember, mostly because I've gotten so used to M. Night Shyamalan's movies sucking that I forgot that he was a pretty interesting filmmaker once. I think his main weakness is as a writer; once he ran out of ideas, his films have gotten increasingly ridiculous. (I would say starting with the last 10 minutes of Signs. Water kills the aliens? Are you kidding me!?) But this one was good, even if you already know the twist is coming. And really, wasn't it pretty obvious in retrospect? The movie certainly telegraphs it enough.
Position on the list: 127
I think they messed up: Malcolm's wife makes eye contact with him at one point in the restaurant scene. Kind of a cheat if you ask me.
Seen it before? Yes.
It's hard, for some of these, to think of anything to say. Everyone knows this movie: The little kid sees dead people. They don't know that they're dead. They only see what they want to see. Bruce Willis is dead. Oops, spoiler.
This movie is better than I remember, mostly because I've gotten so used to M. Night Shyamalan's movies sucking that I forgot that he was a pretty interesting filmmaker once. I think his main weakness is as a writer; once he ran out of ideas, his films have gotten increasingly ridiculous. (I would say starting with the last 10 minutes of Signs. Water kills the aliens? Are you kidding me!?) But this one was good, even if you already know the twist is coming. And really, wasn't it pretty obvious in retrospect? The movie certainly telegraphs it enough.
Position on the list: 127
I think they messed up: Malcolm's wife makes eye contact with him at one point in the restaurant scene. Kind of a cheat if you ask me.
Monday, April 19, 2010
#98 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: E, S, A, R, I, N, T...
2007. dir Julian Schnabel, starring Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze. French with subtitles.
Seen it before? No.
This is the sad tale of Jean-Dominque Bauby, a magazine editor who had a stroke one day, and woke up 3 weeks later with his mind intact, but everything else paralyzed except one eye. Thus he was able to communicate using a series of blinks: an aide would read the alphabet in order of letter frequency, and he would blink when she got to the letter he wanted. That doesn't seem like a very intelligent system. He dictated an entire book this way at about 0.5 WPM.
The movie is a dramatization of the writing of the book, interspersed with flashbacks and fantasy sequences. Much of it is shown in blurry tilted POV shots, I guess to make you empathize with Bauby's condition. Bauby is played by Mathieu Amalric, best known to American audiences as the bad guy in the Bond movie Quantum Of Solace. (side note: That movie sucked. His evil plan was to raise the price of water in Bolivia? Who the hell cares? I ask for one simple thing in my Bond movies, and that is to have a death satellite with a frickin laser beam attached.)
Position on the list: 206
In case I ever get "locked-in syndrome": I have a better plan. Write up a grid of letters like this:
E T I H P B
A O S R Y K
N R U W J Z
D L F Q X
C M V #
I'll blink the row number, then the column number. So "R" would be two blinks, then four blinks. OK? Seems like this would be quicker than reading the entire damn alphabet over and over.
Seen it before? No.
This is the sad tale of Jean-Dominque Bauby, a magazine editor who had a stroke one day, and woke up 3 weeks later with his mind intact, but everything else paralyzed except one eye. Thus he was able to communicate using a series of blinks: an aide would read the alphabet in order of letter frequency, and he would blink when she got to the letter he wanted. That doesn't seem like a very intelligent system. He dictated an entire book this way at about 0.5 WPM.
The movie is a dramatization of the writing of the book, interspersed with flashbacks and fantasy sequences. Much of it is shown in blurry tilted POV shots, I guess to make you empathize with Bauby's condition. Bauby is played by Mathieu Amalric, best known to American audiences as the bad guy in the Bond movie Quantum Of Solace. (side note: That movie sucked. His evil plan was to raise the price of water in Bolivia? Who the hell cares? I ask for one simple thing in my Bond movies, and that is to have a death satellite with a frickin laser beam attached.)
Position on the list: 206
In case I ever get "locked-in syndrome": I have a better plan. Write up a grid of letters like this:
E T I H P B
A O S R Y K
N R U W J Z
D L F Q X
C M V #
I'll blink the row number, then the column number. So "R" would be two blinks, then four blinks. OK? Seems like this would be quicker than reading the entire damn alphabet over and over.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
#97 Rebecca: I've opened a window for you
1940. dir. Alfred Hitchcock, starring Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson.Max De Winter (Laurence Olivier) is a wealthy aristocrat with a recently dead wife named Rebecca. He's on vacation in Monte Carlo and he meets a young woman (Joan Fontaine, whose character is never given a name) who he impulsively decides to marry.
So he brings her back to "Manderley", his huge estate. The house is killer huge and has a small army of servants, most of whom immediately disapprove of the new Mrs. De Winter. The one who disapproves the most is the head housekeeper Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson) who keeps shooting icy death stares and poor whatever-her-name-is. It's a wonderful performance, and Hitchcock frames her so as to emphasize how much she unnerves Mrs. De Winter.
It's amazing how richly developed the character of Rebecca is, considering she's completely absent from the movie. Joan Fontaine's mousy, anxious performance was a result of enforced Method acting... apparently Hitchcock told her that everyone on the set hated her. Hitchcock was a jerk.
Position on the list: 97
Hitchcock's cameo: I completely missed it. Oops
#90 Goodfellas - just wait til I finish re-watching this...
1990. dir. Martin Scorsese, starring Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino.
Seen it before? Several times - and each time I watch it it gets better...
I could probably write my review now but I'll rewatch it so that it's fresh...ha ha!
It is now April 25th meaning I watched Goodfellas for the blog three days ago. I must say that every time I watch it the movie keeps getting better! Sam's right. It is super quotable. And I don't even mind the violence...I mean, come on, it's a gangster movie. If there were no violence I would question why the movie was made in the first place. My problem lies with the character Tommy played by Joe Pesci. Does he really swear that much? It's no wonder he doesn't have a girlfriend or a wife. I would never date someone who swore that much! And let me just say that I totally saw his demise coming. Served him right for f*ing with a made guy!
My favorite scenes were the straight shot of Henry and Karen's first date from start to finish. How smooth was that!?!? "What do you do?" "I work in construction." Um, yeah right. The scene where the guys are in jail and making Sunday supper...any man who can shave garlic thinly with a razor is supremely talented...then again, where did he learn to do that? How cute was Tommy's mother making the guys dinner at three in the morning? If Daniel every pulled that I'd whack him! The wedding scene with all the Peters and Pauls and all the envelopes with the Benjamins! CLASSY! And then there's the scene Sam role-plays with me regardless of whether or not I plan on going shopping...Karen asks Henry for money to go shopping. Henry asks, "How much?" Karen holds up her thumb and forefinger about two inches apart and says, "This much." HA HA HA HA HA!
I recommend you watch it with an open mind. Yes, there is violence...again, it's a GANGSTER movie! But if you can withstand that it really is a great movie and even better than that Kevin Costner film that won Best Picture in 1990.
See it again? Yes
Own it? Already do
Last comment - it took me FOREVER to write this blog! I wrote it last night (4/24) but the cable modem died and didn't save my draft! GAH!
Seen it before? Several times - and each time I watch it it gets better...
I could probably write my review now but I'll rewatch it so that it's fresh...ha ha!
It is now April 25th meaning I watched Goodfellas for the blog three days ago. I must say that every time I watch it the movie keeps getting better! Sam's right. It is super quotable. And I don't even mind the violence...I mean, come on, it's a gangster movie. If there were no violence I would question why the movie was made in the first place. My problem lies with the character Tommy played by Joe Pesci. Does he really swear that much? It's no wonder he doesn't have a girlfriend or a wife. I would never date someone who swore that much! And let me just say that I totally saw his demise coming. Served him right for f*ing with a made guy!
My favorite scenes were the straight shot of Henry and Karen's first date from start to finish. How smooth was that!?!? "What do you do?" "I work in construction." Um, yeah right. The scene where the guys are in jail and making Sunday supper...any man who can shave garlic thinly with a razor is supremely talented...then again, where did he learn to do that? How cute was Tommy's mother making the guys dinner at three in the morning? If Daniel every pulled that I'd whack him! The wedding scene with all the Peters and Pauls and all the envelopes with the Benjamins! CLASSY! And then there's the scene Sam role-plays with me regardless of whether or not I plan on going shopping...Karen asks Henry for money to go shopping. Henry asks, "How much?" Karen holds up her thumb and forefinger about two inches apart and says, "This much." HA HA HA HA HA!
I recommend you watch it with an open mind. Yes, there is violence...again, it's a GANGSTER movie! But if you can withstand that it really is a great movie and even better than that Kevin Costner film that won Best Picture in 1990.
See it again? Yes
Own it? Already do
Last comment - it took me FOREVER to write this blog! I wrote it last night (4/24) but the cable modem died and didn't save my draft! GAH!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
#89 My Neighbor Totoro - My goodness Japanese animators have amazing imaginations...
1988. dir. Hayao Miyazaki, starring Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto. Japanese with subtitles.
Seen it before? No.
The third of the Japanese animated films and probably the kid-friendliest of them all. A family moves to a new home where the girls encounter strange creatures, a strange boy neighbor and his grandmother. Fantasy comes to life as the strange creatures help the girls grow trees, mysteriously appear (and disappear) and make life generally more interesting.
Daniel liked the movie and was so upset the following day when I told him we couldn't watch it again because I returned it...I wouldn't mind letting him watch it again...it was a bit weird but you know what? Kids come up with weird ideas in their imaginations so I'm on board with this.
FYI there IS a mother but she's in the hospital...what is it with Disney movies and the lack of mothers...yes, I realize this isn't Disney per say but they did pick it up and redistribute it...and the girls DO have a mom but she's really not in the picture (much).
Watch it again? Sure
Own it? I don't know about that...
another FYI...Daniel seemed to get the movie despite it being entirely in Japanese (with English subtitles, of course)
Seen it before? No.
The third of the Japanese animated films and probably the kid-friendliest of them all. A family moves to a new home where the girls encounter strange creatures, a strange boy neighbor and his grandmother. Fantasy comes to life as the strange creatures help the girls grow trees, mysteriously appear (and disappear) and make life generally more interesting.
Daniel liked the movie and was so upset the following day when I told him we couldn't watch it again because I returned it...I wouldn't mind letting him watch it again...it was a bit weird but you know what? Kids come up with weird ideas in their imaginations so I'm on board with this.
FYI there IS a mother but she's in the hospital...what is it with Disney movies and the lack of mothers...yes, I realize this isn't Disney per say but they did pick it up and redistribute it...and the girls DO have a mom but she's really not in the picture (much).
Watch it again? Sure
Own it? I don't know about that...
another FYI...Daniel seemed to get the movie despite it being entirely in Japanese (with English subtitles, of course)
#96 Heat: That's the discipline
1995. dir. Michael Mann, starring Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd, Amy Brenneman, Jon Voight.
Seen it before? No.
It's the much-hyped first ever pairing of Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino - they were both in Godfather Part II but they had no scenes together. Here they have three, but two of them consist of the two of them firing guns at each other. Also, by this point, I think it was too late, as neither of them had much in the way of acting skills left. This was mumbly underacting DeNiro and shouty overacting woo-hah Pacino.
The movie itself is pretty ridiculous. Pacino plays a detective in the shockingly inept LAPD, and DeNiro plays an elite bank robber. And there's lots of other characters too - Val Kilmer is one of DeNiro's partners, and Ashley Judd is his wife... Hank Azaria and Natalie Portman are in it for some reason... Hey, was that Dennis Haysbert? There are way too many people in this movie, and a lot of them don't need to be here. This movie has Magnolia disease: it's almost 3 hours long because there are too many go-nowhere subplots.
The police are totally incompetent in this movie. DeNiro's crew robs a downtown bank in broad daylight. And by crew, I mean 4 guys. The cops show up, but SOMEHOW DeNiro is able to walk away with the money. I mean come on! Then, later, the police try to trap him by having a guy who betrayed him stay in a hotel, and then they tell people in prison where he was so DeNiro would hear about it and go try to kill him. (Uhh, great plan Walter. It's a Swiss fuckin' watch.) So DeNiro shows up at the hotel, but do they have anybody guarding the room? Nope. Anybody guarding the exits? Nope. Morons! Then he hops over a fence and tries to escape by RUNNING ACROSS THE TARMAC AT LAX. Huh!?
Position on the list: 122
Hey! It's that guy!: This guy in one pointless scene looked familiar, but I couldn't place him... turns out it's Tone Loc. Funky cold Medina!
Seen it before? No.
It's the much-hyped first ever pairing of Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino - they were both in Godfather Part II but they had no scenes together. Here they have three, but two of them consist of the two of them firing guns at each other. Also, by this point, I think it was too late, as neither of them had much in the way of acting skills left. This was mumbly underacting DeNiro and shouty overacting woo-hah Pacino.
The movie itself is pretty ridiculous. Pacino plays a detective in the shockingly inept LAPD, and DeNiro plays an elite bank robber. And there's lots of other characters too - Val Kilmer is one of DeNiro's partners, and Ashley Judd is his wife... Hank Azaria and Natalie Portman are in it for some reason... Hey, was that Dennis Haysbert? There are way too many people in this movie, and a lot of them don't need to be here. This movie has Magnolia disease: it's almost 3 hours long because there are too many go-nowhere subplots.
The police are totally incompetent in this movie. DeNiro's crew robs a downtown bank in broad daylight. And by crew, I mean 4 guys. The cops show up, but SOMEHOW DeNiro is able to walk away with the money. I mean come on! Then, later, the police try to trap him by having a guy who betrayed him stay in a hotel, and then they tell people in prison where he was so DeNiro would hear about it and go try to kill him. (Uhh, great plan Walter. It's a Swiss fuckin' watch.) So DeNiro shows up at the hotel, but do they have anybody guarding the room? Nope. Anybody guarding the exits? Nope. Morons! Then he hops over a fence and tries to escape by RUNNING ACROSS THE TARMAC AT LAX. Huh!?
Position on the list: 122
Hey! It's that guy!: This guy in one pointless scene looked familiar, but I couldn't place him... turns out it's Tone Loc. Funky cold Medina!
Friday, April 16, 2010
#88 The Matrix - no, I don't want to know
1999. dir. The Wachowski Brothers, starring Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, Joe Pantoliano, Hugo Weaving.
Seen it before? Yes.
Understand it a little better? Yes
Any questions? WHY!?!??!
I know this goes against everyone thinking this is the coolest movie EVER but I really, really didn't care for this movie. Don't get me wrong, the action sequences were pretty freaking great, but the story made me want to beat my head into a wall and scream WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why does "Neo" think it's a good idea to leave his world behind?
Why does the Oracle not answer outright?
Why does the whole crew take Neo to see the Oracle?
Why does the minor character guy overcome his potentially fatal wound to save Trinity and Neo?
Why would machines have to use humans to sustain life? Sam's right, can't they use animals?
I have to say that I still have to sit through this whole movie...it's painfully boring to me. Yes, you can say I just don't get it. Frankly I don't care. There are other movies on the list that have caught and held my attention.
See it again? Do I have to?
Own it? ditto
Why is my 'review' so short? Have you READ Sam's?!?!?!?
Seen it before? Yes.
Understand it a little better? Yes
Any questions? WHY!?!??!
I know this goes against everyone thinking this is the coolest movie EVER but I really, really didn't care for this movie. Don't get me wrong, the action sequences were pretty freaking great, but the story made me want to beat my head into a wall and scream WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why does "Neo" think it's a good idea to leave his world behind?
Why does the Oracle not answer outright?
Why does the whole crew take Neo to see the Oracle?
Why does the minor character guy overcome his potentially fatal wound to save Trinity and Neo?
Why would machines have to use humans to sustain life? Sam's right, can't they use animals?
I have to say that I still have to sit through this whole movie...it's painfully boring to me. Yes, you can say I just don't get it. Frankly I don't care. There are other movies on the list that have caught and held my attention.
See it again? Do I have to?
Own it? ditto
Why is my 'review' so short? Have you READ Sam's?!?!?!?
#87 Spirited Away - this is MUCH better.
2001. dir. Hayao Miyazaki, starring Rumi Hîragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki. Japanese with subtitles.
Seen it before? No.
a little girl and her parents are heading to a new town but take a detour (because the dad can't be bothered to ask for directions) that takes them on a very interesting journey to a land where humans are disgusting, workers are greedy for gold, and a witch rules a bath house while caring for a big baby...confused? So was I...
Daniel saw this movie with us and he actually enjoyed it so much that the following day he became upset because I told him we returned the movie to NetFlix...whoops****. I thought it was much easier to follow than Princess Mononoke. Don't get me wrong, it's still incredibly confusing. The people who "work" in the bath house look (for the most part) human to me so I don't know why they don't smell.
I promise you I haven't given anything away. You may not believe me until you watch it for yourself.
See it again? Yes
Own it? Eh
Question...why are we watching so many damn cartoons in a row?!?!?! So much for SPACING them out!!!
****Actually I realized after writing my next post that it was My Neighbor Totoro that Daniel wanted to see again...this movie kind of creeped him out, especially the weird witches with the gigantic eyes!
Seen it before? No.
a little girl and her parents are heading to a new town but take a detour (because the dad can't be bothered to ask for directions) that takes them on a very interesting journey to a land where humans are disgusting, workers are greedy for gold, and a witch rules a bath house while caring for a big baby...confused? So was I...
Daniel saw this movie with us and he actually enjoyed it so much that the following day he became upset because I told him we returned the movie to NetFlix...whoops****. I thought it was much easier to follow than Princess Mononoke. Don't get me wrong, it's still incredibly confusing. The people who "work" in the bath house look (for the most part) human to me so I don't know why they don't smell.
I promise you I haven't given anything away. You may not believe me until you watch it for yourself.
See it again? Yes
Own it? Eh
Question...why are we watching so many damn cartoons in a row?!?!?! So much for SPACING them out!!!
****Actually I realized after writing my next post that it was My Neighbor Totoro that Daniel wanted to see again...this movie kind of creeped him out, especially the weird witches with the gigantic eyes!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
#95 The Seventh Seal: Doomed, doomed, doomed!
1957. dir. Ingmar Bergman, starring Max von Sydow, Bengt Ekerot, Bibi Andersson, Gunnar Björnstrand, Nils Poppe. Swedish with subtitles.
Seen it before? No.
Netflix now has streaming content on the Nintendo Wii. We got our disc yesterday and this was the movie we watched. The interface is much more Wii-ish than it is on the PS3. The picture quality is a little worse, but that was expected (since the Wii doesn't do HD.)
This movie takes place in medieval times, during the Black Plague. A knight (Max Von Sydow) is returning from the Crusades, and he encounters Death. He challenes Death to a chess match. Yep, just like Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. That's the aspect of the movie that everyone talks about, but actually that's only a small part of it. There's also some nonsense about a troupe of actors, one of whom runs off with the blacksmith's wife. There's a girl who's getting crucified for being a witch, and people whipping themselves for some reason.
The title of the movie comes from the book of Revelation:
Position on the list: 115
So I have a question: Why is the Book of Revelation in the Bible? I mean, think about it. Any time I've asked people how they picked which books were included in the Bible, they say, "well, these are the ones that are historically accurate." Putting aside whether that's true or not, if all of the stuff in Revelation is going to happen in the future, how do you know it's accurate?
Seen it before? No.
Netflix now has streaming content on the Nintendo Wii. We got our disc yesterday and this was the movie we watched. The interface is much more Wii-ish than it is on the PS3. The picture quality is a little worse, but that was expected (since the Wii doesn't do HD.)
This movie takes place in medieval times, during the Black Plague. A knight (Max Von Sydow) is returning from the Crusades, and he encounters Death. He challenes Death to a chess match. Yep, just like Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. That's the aspect of the movie that everyone talks about, but actually that's only a small part of it. There's also some nonsense about a troupe of actors, one of whom runs off with the blacksmith's wife. There's a girl who's getting crucified for being a witch, and people whipping themselves for some reason.
The title of the movie comes from the book of Revelation:
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.Lots of lengthy religious discussions here, about doomsday and the absence of God and so forth. Kind of longwinded. Not being religious myself, I didn't really get most of it.
Position on the list: 115
So I have a question: Why is the Book of Revelation in the Bible? I mean, think about it. Any time I've asked people how they picked which books were included in the Bible, they say, "well, these are the ones that are historically accurate." Putting aside whether that's true or not, if all of the stuff in Revelation is going to happen in the future, how do you know it's accurate?
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