DUDE'S REVIEWS
These are going to be quick, just to give Biff his fix before I leave town. As always, these are the ten films I have seen most recently, ranked in order of enjoyment. The number ratings come from AllMovie.com:
THE KARATE KID (1984) 4.0
This is one for the ages. There is so much to like here. I loved it as a teen and I got to share it with my kids as they will someday do. The setup takes awhile but it's worth it for the wax on, wax off payoff - an all-time great scene. The only negative is the constant onslaught of bad '80's music.
V FOR VENDETTA (2006) 3.5
Good stuff. I used to love Alan Moore graphic novels and this is him to a tee. He can spin a yarn with panache. The film has a great visual flair and tells a good tale. I am also in love with Natalie Portman who supplants Winona and even Keira as my favorite waif.
ONCE (2007) 4.0
The filmmaking is crude but the characters are winners and the songs are great. The scene in which they duet on Falling Slowly is an all-time great and should garner a nomination for the song.
LOLITA (1963) 4.0
Never seen it, always wanted to, finally did. Very much enjoyed it though it felt anticlimactic in the end when James Mason is ultra-possessive and we already know Peter Sellers is the other fella. Still, has a wonderful slyness to it throughout.
NOW, VOYAGER (1942) 5.0
This may possibly be the first Bette Davis film I've ever seen. She is a dynamic character portrayed with aplomb. Notable as the origin of the trick where the dude lights two cigs and gives one to the lady. Pleasant melodrama from the day.
SURF'S UP (2007) 3.5
Better than expected and much better than Dreck the Turd. It starts out in a fun documentary style but totally loses that motif as it goes. More about relationships than funny sidekicks - something worth watching with the kids.
STRANGER THAN FICTION (2006) 3.5
I enjoyed this more as I was watching it than later when I thought back on it and found it ridiculous. It's an enjoyable fable.
SHORTBUS (2006) 3.5
Lots of sex and not simulated. Everybody's got problems and all the solutions are the same - insert penis/dildo/vibrating egg and watch troubles melt away. First time I've actually seen real gay sex (not for the timid) and only time I will ever see the National Anthem sung into a bunghole.
SLITHER (2006) 3.5
I love horror/comedy. Netflix told me I would love this film. I did not. It was weak. I did love Shaun of the Dead, Tremors, and Evil Dead 2. Rent those instead.
SHREK THE THIRD (2007) 3.0
The first one was good. The second one had me laughing out loud. The third one was a total waste of my time. The kids liked it.
1 comment:
I don’t know ONCE, SHORTBUS or SLITHER. I Didn’t even know movies by that name existed. V for Vendetta keeps getting moved down the Netflix cue as other movies become available. You’re recommendation will move it back up.
I don’t get Will Ferrell, but I saw Stranger than Fiction anyway and I still don’t get Will Ferrell. That crazy Gyllenhal dame is always winning though. Just for kicks I’d like to see the fun hippy girl do everything exactly as predicted and then pull out Neal Boortz book on the Fair Tax.
Try the more recent Lolita with Jeremy Irons. It’s more faithful to the book which the 1960s wouldn’t allow. I haven’t seen it since Showtime years ago, but it was dramatic rather than comedic which was a great lesson in adaptations for the screen. LOLITA and Strangelove make me wonder why Kubrick stopped making comedies. Anyone can direct The Shining.
I gave up on Bette Davis films before getting to Now Voyager. She did The Letter and The Little Foxes with William Wyler and I didn’t really enjoy either and decided that if Wyler couldn’t make it happen then I just wasn’t a fan. She made a little known comedy with James Cagney called THE BRIDE CAME C.O.D. which I saw as a youngster and remember fondly. And ALL ABOUT EVE is decent. I have probably seen others that I can’t remember.
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