Our kitten Rocky (who has grown into a giant) now has a new buddy to play (and spar) with. Introducing...Apollo! Of course, he is named for Apollo Creed, Rocky's opponent/friend in the Rocky series.
Thursday, November 7, 2013
Rocky meets...Apollo
Rocky meets...Apollo
Our kitten Rocky (who has grown into a giant) now has a new buddy to play (and spar) with. Introducing...Apollo! Of course, he is named for Apollo Creed, Rocky's opponent/friend in the Rocky series.
Our kitten Rocky (who has grown into a giant) now has a new buddy to play (and spar) with. Introducing...Apollo! Of course, he is named for Apollo Creed, Rocky's opponent/friend in the Rocky series.
#57 Rocky (1976)
#57 Rocky (1976)
Already reviewed: http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2012/10/1976-rocky.html
Already reviewed: http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2012/10/1976-rocky.html
#58 The Gold Rush (1925)
#58 The Gold Rush (1925)
Another Chaplin film -I ended up watching 3 total (I've seen all 3 on the AFI list now, 1 review still to come).
Oddly, my favorite was probably the one rated lowest on the list (Modern Times: http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2013/08/78-modern-times-1936.html), mostly because of that hilarious boat sliding off to sea and sinking incident.
In The Gold Rush, Chaplin is traveling to the West through horrible conditions, facing starvation, desperate and dangerous fellow travelers, and deadly snow storms. Finally reaching a town, he falls in love with a girl he mistakenly believes is in love with him.
There's the classic, albeit ridiculous, scene where he's in a house teetering on a cliff and he's running back and forth trying not to plummet to his death; otherwise, not too much that was memorable other than Chaplin's character finally striking it rich against all odds. That was a little different.
Again, this is not my type of humor, but that doesn't mean it's not executed well. I feel I ought to mention that.
Another Chaplin film -I ended up watching 3 total (I've seen all 3 on the AFI list now, 1 review still to come).
Oddly, my favorite was probably the one rated lowest on the list (Modern Times: http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2013/08/78-modern-times-1936.html), mostly because of that hilarious boat sliding off to sea and sinking incident.In The Gold Rush, Chaplin is traveling to the West through horrible conditions, facing starvation, desperate and dangerous fellow travelers, and deadly snow storms. Finally reaching a town, he falls in love with a girl he mistakenly believes is in love with him.
There's the classic, albeit ridiculous, scene where he's in a house teetering on a cliff and he's running back and forth trying not to plummet to his death; otherwise, not too much that was memorable other than Chaplin's character finally striking it rich against all odds. That was a little different.
Again, this is not my type of humor, but that doesn't mean it's not executed well. I feel I ought to mention that.
#59 Nashville (1975)
#59 Nashville (1975)
Haven Hamilton: Y'all take it easy now. This isn't Dallas, it's Nashville! They can't do this to us here in Nashville! Let's show them what we're made of. Come on everybody, sing! Somebody, sing!
Nashville is a long movie at 160 minutes, and follows a group of people involved in various ways in the country music scene in Nashville, from aspiring performers to business managers to fans to successful country music stars.
Everything comes to a head in a violent ending that left me confused. I somehow think that it was intentionally confusing, but I can't say why. I wish I knew the point of it. I probably shouldn't be writing reviews right now, as I'm tired and it probably shows, but I've been putting it off and should get some reviews up!
Anyway, the movie was entertaining, I just didn't understand the ending. If someone can explain it, that would be most helpful.
There were actually a couple of songs I liked, particularly 'I'm Easy' and 'One, I Love You'.
Haven Hamilton: Y'all take it easy now. This isn't Dallas, it's Nashville! They can't do this to us here in Nashville! Let's show them what we're made of. Come on everybody, sing! Somebody, sing!
Everything comes to a head in a violent ending that left me confused. I somehow think that it was intentionally confusing, but I can't say why. I wish I knew the point of it. I probably shouldn't be writing reviews right now, as I'm tired and it probably shows, but I've been putting it off and should get some reviews up!
Anyway, the movie was entertaining, I just didn't understand the ending. If someone can explain it, that would be most helpful.
There were actually a couple of songs I liked, particularly 'I'm Easy' and 'One, I Love You'.
#60 Duck Soup (1933)
#60 Duck Soup (1933)
Rufus T. Firefly: Awfully decent of you to drop in today. Do you realize our army is facing disastrous defeat? What do you intend to do about it?
Chicolini: I've done it already.
Rufus T. Firefly: You've done what?
Chicolini: I've changed to the other side.
Rufus T. Firefly: So you're on the other side, eh? Well, what are you doing over here?
Chicolini: Well, the food is better over here.
Chicolini: Well, you remember you gave us a picture of this man and said, 'Follow him?'
Ambassador Trentino: Oh, yes.
Chicolini: Well, we get on-a the job right away and in the one hour - even-a less than one hour...
Ambassador Trentino: Yes?
Chicolini: We lose-a the picture. That's-a pretty quick work, eh?
I preferred Duck Soup to A Night at the Opera (http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2013/08/85-night-at-opera-1935.html). It's another Marx brothers movie (Groucho, Harpo and Chico, with the addition of straight-man Zeppo this time). Still not really my type of humor, with all the puns and slapstick, but it was an improvement.
Margaret Dumont (my favorite, she's quite funny), from A Night at the Opera, plays Mrs. Teasdale, a wealthy woman in the imaginary nation of Freedonia. She, for some reason (well, the reason is she's attracted to him), insists that the inept Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho) be made leader of Freedonia, though he is ridiculous and incompetent.
And so hilarity and shenanigans ensue. Good for a giggle, with a classic mirror gag and a song in the beginning that amuses Tyler to no end:
Rufus T. Firefly: [singing] If any form of pleasure is exhibited, report to me and it will be prohibited! I'll put my foot down, so shall it be...this is the land of the free! The last man nearly ruined this place he didn't know what to do with it. If you think this country's bad off now, just wait till I get through with it! The country's taxes must be fixed, and I know what to do with it. If you think you're paying too much now, just wait till I get through with it!
Rufus T. Firefly: Awfully decent of you to drop in today. Do you realize our army is facing disastrous defeat? What do you intend to do about it?
Chicolini: I've done it already.
Rufus T. Firefly: You've done what?
Chicolini: I've changed to the other side.
Rufus T. Firefly: So you're on the other side, eh? Well, what are you doing over here?
Chicolini: Well, the food is better over here.
Chicolini: Well, you remember you gave us a picture of this man and said, 'Follow him?'
Ambassador Trentino: Oh, yes.
Chicolini: Well, we get on-a the job right away and in the one hour - even-a less than one hour...
Ambassador Trentino: Yes?
Chicolini: We lose-a the picture. That's-a pretty quick work, eh?
I preferred Duck Soup to A Night at the Opera (http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2013/08/85-night-at-opera-1935.html). It's another Marx brothers movie (Groucho, Harpo and Chico, with the addition of straight-man Zeppo this time). Still not really my type of humor, with all the puns and slapstick, but it was an improvement.
Margaret Dumont (my favorite, she's quite funny), from A Night at the Opera, plays Mrs. Teasdale, a wealthy woman in the imaginary nation of Freedonia. She, for some reason (well, the reason is she's attracted to him), insists that the inept Rufus T. Firefly (Groucho) be made leader of Freedonia, though he is ridiculous and incompetent.
And so hilarity and shenanigans ensue. Good for a giggle, with a classic mirror gag and a song in the beginning that amuses Tyler to no end:Rufus T. Firefly: [singing] If any form of pleasure is exhibited, report to me and it will be prohibited! I'll put my foot down, so shall it be...this is the land of the free! The last man nearly ruined this place he didn't know what to do with it. If you think this country's bad off now, just wait till I get through with it! The country's taxes must be fixed, and I know what to do with it. If you think you're paying too much now, just wait till I get through with it!
#61 Sullivan's Travels (1941)
#61 Sullivan's Travels (1941)
Sullivan: I want this picture to be a commentary on modern conditions. Stark realism. The problems that confront the average man!
LeBrand: But with a little sex in it.
Sullivan: A little, but I don't want to stress it. I want this picture to be a document. I want to hold a mirror up to life. I want this to be a picture of dignity! A true canvas of the suffering of humanity!
LeBrand: But with a little sex in it.
Sullivan: With a little sex in it.
Hadrian: How 'bout a nice musical?
I don't feel like I have much to say about Sullivan's Travels.
It was okay, I didn't mind watching it, but nothing really stuck with me, though I did like the message in the end that laughter is powerful and important. I often don't feel like comedies get enough credit.
John L. Sullivan is a successful director who decides that his movies are not important enough. He wants to make a serious movie. He wants to travel around without money to learn what it's like for poor people so that he can make his movie authentic, much to the chagrin of his producers and his butler, Burrows:
Sullivan: I'm going out on the road to find out what it's like to be poor and needy and then I'm going to make a picture about it.
Burrows: If you'll permit me to say so, sir, the subject is not an interesting one. The poor know all about poverty and only the morbid rich would find the topic glamorous.
Sullivan: But I'm doing it for the poor. Don't you understand?
Burrows: I doubt if they would appreciate it, sir. They rather resent the invasion of their privacy, I believe quite properly, sir. Also, such excursions can be extremely dangerous, sir. I worked for a gentleman once who likewise, with two friends, accoutered themselves as you have, sir, and then went out for a lark. They have not been heard from since.
Along the way he meets Veronika Lake's character, who falls for him, and wants to accompany him on his journey:
Sullivan: But nothing is going to stop me. I'm going to find out how it feels to be in trouble. Without friends, without credit, without checkbook, without name. Alone.
The Girl: And I'll go with you.
Sullivan: How can I be alone if you're with me?
And most significantly, he learns the importance of laughter in the movies: "There's a lot to be said for making people laugh. Did you know that that's all some people have? It isn't much, but it's better than nothing in this cockeyed caravan."
Sullivan: I want this picture to be a commentary on modern conditions. Stark realism. The problems that confront the average man!
LeBrand: But with a little sex in it.
Sullivan: A little, but I don't want to stress it. I want this picture to be a document. I want to hold a mirror up to life. I want this to be a picture of dignity! A true canvas of the suffering of humanity!
LeBrand: But with a little sex in it.
Sullivan: With a little sex in it.
Hadrian: How 'bout a nice musical?
I don't feel like I have much to say about Sullivan's Travels.
It was okay, I didn't mind watching it, but nothing really stuck with me, though I did like the message in the end that laughter is powerful and important. I often don't feel like comedies get enough credit.
John L. Sullivan is a successful director who decides that his movies are not important enough. He wants to make a serious movie. He wants to travel around without money to learn what it's like for poor people so that he can make his movie authentic, much to the chagrin of his producers and his butler, Burrows:
Sullivan: I'm going out on the road to find out what it's like to be poor and needy and then I'm going to make a picture about it.
Burrows: If you'll permit me to say so, sir, the subject is not an interesting one. The poor know all about poverty and only the morbid rich would find the topic glamorous.
Sullivan: But I'm doing it for the poor. Don't you understand?
Burrows: I doubt if they would appreciate it, sir. They rather resent the invasion of their privacy, I believe quite properly, sir. Also, such excursions can be extremely dangerous, sir. I worked for a gentleman once who likewise, with two friends, accoutered themselves as you have, sir, and then went out for a lark. They have not been heard from since.
Sullivan: But nothing is going to stop me. I'm going to find out how it feels to be in trouble. Without friends, without credit, without checkbook, without name. Alone.
The Girl: And I'll go with you.
Sullivan: How can I be alone if you're with me?
And most significantly, he learns the importance of laughter in the movies: "There's a lot to be said for making people laugh. Did you know that that's all some people have? It isn't much, but it's better than nothing in this cockeyed caravan."
#62 American Graffiti (1973)
#62 American Graffiti (1973)
Steve: I thought, maybe before I leave, we could agree that...that seeing other people while I'm away can't possibly hurt, you know.
Laurie: You mean dating other people?
Steve: I think it would strengthen our relationship. Then we'd know for sure that we're really in love. Not that there's any doubt.
Curt: I don't think I'm gonna be going tomorrow.
Steve: You chicken fink...After all we went through to get accepted? We're finally getting out of this turkey town and now you want to crawl back into your cell -right? You wanna end up like John? You just can't stay seventeen forever.
George Lucas's American Graffiti can be blamed for transforming my husband from a man disdainful of those interested in cars into a man obsessed with cars.
The power of one movie.
It has a few similarities to The Last Picture Show: a bunch of teenagers right out of high school, wondering what to do with their lives. Whether to stay in their hometowns or move on, whether to stay together or break up with their high school loves. It's less controversial, with no nudity or explicit content. There's more humor, and there are much better cars.
The whole movie takes place during one long night as the teens in the town all drive around (seemingly in loops) in their beautiful, shiny cars, socializing, getting into mischief, and trying to figure out what to do with their futures.
My favorite character was Johnny, who is trolling for girls and accidentally ends up babysitting a preteen girl for most of the night:
Johnny: Shit! Hey, get down!
Carol: Hey, is this what they call "copping a feel"?
Johnny: What? No, get up, N-O. Sheezus.
Carol: What's your name?
Johnny: My name? Mud, if anybody sees you.
Harrison Ford makes an appearance as a young guy set on racing Johnny.
It's not remarkable, but it is amusing.
Steve: I thought, maybe before I leave, we could agree that...that seeing other people while I'm away can't possibly hurt, you know.
Laurie: You mean dating other people?
Steve: I think it would strengthen our relationship. Then we'd know for sure that we're really in love. Not that there's any doubt.
Curt: I don't think I'm gonna be going tomorrow.
Steve: You chicken fink...After all we went through to get accepted? We're finally getting out of this turkey town and now you want to crawl back into your cell -right? You wanna end up like John? You just can't stay seventeen forever.
George Lucas's American Graffiti can be blamed for transforming my husband from a man disdainful of those interested in cars into a man obsessed with cars.
The power of one movie.
It has a few similarities to The Last Picture Show: a bunch of teenagers right out of high school, wondering what to do with their lives. Whether to stay in their hometowns or move on, whether to stay together or break up with their high school loves. It's less controversial, with no nudity or explicit content. There's more humor, and there are much better cars.
The whole movie takes place during one long night as the teens in the town all drive around (seemingly in loops) in their beautiful, shiny cars, socializing, getting into mischief, and trying to figure out what to do with their futures.
My favorite character was Johnny, who is trolling for girls and accidentally ends up babysitting a preteen girl for most of the night:
Johnny: Shit! Hey, get down!
Carol: Hey, is this what they call "copping a feel"?
Johnny: What? No, get up, N-O. Sheezus.
Carol: What's your name?
Johnny: My name? Mud, if anybody sees you.
Harrison Ford makes an appearance as a young guy set on racing Johnny.
It's not remarkable, but it is amusing.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
#63 Cabaret (1972)
#63 Cabaret (1972)
Sally: [singing] Life is a cabaret ol' chum, so come to the Cabaret!
Brian Roberts: You're American.
Sally: Oh God, how depressing! You're meant to think I'm an international woman of mystery. I'm working on it like mad.
Cabaret is one of the better musical adaptations. Liza Minnelli, who plays, Sally Bowles, an American girl performing as a singer/dancer at the Kit Kat Klub in early 1930's Berlin, is insanely talented. She is a great singer and an even better dancer and actress.
She befriends Brian, a young British man who is a new arrival in Berlin and is teaching English to support himself. The two begin a relationship, which eventually morphs into a strange menage a trois with a wealthy German aristocrat named Max. This causes tension between Brian and Sally.
Brian initially finds Sally's vivacious, impulsive, and over-dramatic nature charming and fun, but seeing her turn her charms on Max, he begins to perceive her misplaced over-confidence as ridiculous and naive: "Aren't you ever gonna stop deluding yourself, hmm? 'Handling Max?' Behaving like some ludicrous little underage femme fatale? You're -you're about as fatale as an after dinner mint!"
When they are both abandoned by Max after he tires of them, they reconnect in their disappointment.
The story is sad. Sally becomes pregnant, and Brian wants to raise the baby with her in England, though they can't be sure if he is actually the father. He becomes excited about the idea, but Sally balks at the bleak future she sees before her as a poor mother and housewife in England. She still dreams of becoming a big star, and ultimately gets an abortion, devastating Brian:
Brian: You did it, didn't you?
Sally: Did what, darling?
Brian: The abortion. In God's name why?
Sally: One of my whims?
Brian: Is that all you can say? ''One of my whims?'' What right?
Sally: Sally: If you wanna hit me, why don't you just hit me?
Brian: But you wanted it. Didn't you? Me and the baby. I suppose Max Reinhardt did show up at the club. Or was it a friend of a friend of a friend of an assistant director who said he'd try to squeeze you into the chorus line? That is, of course, if you -if you went to bed with him.
Sally: You think that?
Brian: Yes.
Sally: Well then, it's just as well, isn't it? For you, for everyone. And, darling, would you be an angel and just let me get some sleep?
Brian: Tell me why you did it.
Sally: What is there to say? You've said it all in one way or another.
Brian: Sally, please. I have to know.
Sally: Okay. I'm self-centered, inconsiderate...and what was the third adjective? Oh, yes. And I have this infantile fantasy that one day I'll amount to something as an actress. A dinky little cottage in Cambridge? A playpen in the bedroom, diapers on the towel rack...How soon would it be before we started hating each other?
He forgives her, but the relationship is broken beyond repair, and he soon returns to England without her.
The music and the dance numbers are terrific, and my oldest daughter enjoyed watching them with me, getting a kick out of Sally. I'm happy to be raising another musical theater buff -now I have someone to take to shows with me.
Also present is an ominous undercurrent of danger as we see the Nazi Party continue to rise in power and influence throughout the movie.
It's not a happy story, but it's worth seeing, and the soundtrack is worth buying.
Brian Roberts: You're American.
Sally: Oh God, how depressing! You're meant to think I'm an international woman of mystery. I'm working on it like mad.
Cabaret is one of the better musical adaptations. Liza Minnelli, who plays, Sally Bowles, an American girl performing as a singer/dancer at the Kit Kat Klub in early 1930's Berlin, is insanely talented. She is a great singer and an even better dancer and actress.
She befriends Brian, a young British man who is a new arrival in Berlin and is teaching English to support himself. The two begin a relationship, which eventually morphs into a strange menage a trois with a wealthy German aristocrat named Max. This causes tension between Brian and Sally.
Brian initially finds Sally's vivacious, impulsive, and over-dramatic nature charming and fun, but seeing her turn her charms on Max, he begins to perceive her misplaced over-confidence as ridiculous and naive: "Aren't you ever gonna stop deluding yourself, hmm? 'Handling Max?' Behaving like some ludicrous little underage femme fatale? You're -you're about as fatale as an after dinner mint!"
When they are both abandoned by Max after he tires of them, they reconnect in their disappointment.
The story is sad. Sally becomes pregnant, and Brian wants to raise the baby with her in England, though they can't be sure if he is actually the father. He becomes excited about the idea, but Sally balks at the bleak future she sees before her as a poor mother and housewife in England. She still dreams of becoming a big star, and ultimately gets an abortion, devastating Brian:
Brian: You did it, didn't you?
Sally: Did what, darling?
Brian: The abortion. In God's name why?
Sally: One of my whims?
Brian: Is that all you can say? ''One of my whims?'' What right?
Sally: Sally: If you wanna hit me, why don't you just hit me?
Brian: But you wanted it. Didn't you? Me and the baby. I suppose Max Reinhardt did show up at the club. Or was it a friend of a friend of a friend of an assistant director who said he'd try to squeeze you into the chorus line? That is, of course, if you -if you went to bed with him.
Sally: You think that?
Brian: Yes.
Sally: Well then, it's just as well, isn't it? For you, for everyone. And, darling, would you be an angel and just let me get some sleep?
Brian: Tell me why you did it.
Sally: What is there to say? You've said it all in one way or another.
Brian: Sally, please. I have to know.
Sally: Okay. I'm self-centered, inconsiderate...and what was the third adjective? Oh, yes. And I have this infantile fantasy that one day I'll amount to something as an actress. A dinky little cottage in Cambridge? A playpen in the bedroom, diapers on the towel rack...How soon would it be before we started hating each other?
He forgives her, but the relationship is broken beyond repair, and he soon returns to England without her.
 |
| Performing at the Kit Kat Klub. |
The music and the dance numbers are terrific, and my oldest daughter enjoyed watching them with me, getting a kick out of Sally. I'm happy to be raising another musical theater buff -now I have someone to take to shows with me.
Also present is an ominous undercurrent of danger as we see the Nazi Party continue to rise in power and influence throughout the movie.
It's not a happy story, but it's worth seeing, and the soundtrack is worth buying.
#64 Network (1976)
#64 Network (1976)
Diana Christensen: I'm interested in doing a weekly dramatic series based on the Ecumenical Liberation Army. The way I see the series is: Each week we open with an authentic act of political terrorism taken on the spot, in the actual moment. Then we go to the drama behind the opening film footage. That's your job, Ms. Hobbs. You've got to get the Ecumenicals to bring in that film footage for us. The network can't deal with them directly; they are, after all, wanted criminals.
Howard Beale: I want you to go to the window, open it, stick your head out and yell: "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore."
Network was very disappointing to me.
Seeing the cast (William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall), and reading the plot, I thought it would be good. Instead it was tedious. I will admit that Faye Dunaway was good. She won Best Actress. Additionally, Peter Finch won Best Actor and Beatrice Straight won Best Supporting Actress, but they were less memorable in my opinion.
Finch is Howard Beale, a news anchor who has been fired and then says that he's going to kill himself on air during one of his final broadcasts. Dunaway's character, Diana, a brilliant but cold-hearted executive for the network, takes full advantage of the situation and gets him a regular spot spouting his ranting rhetoric, garnering great ratings for the network. Holden plays Max Shumacher, a jaded network executive who begins an affair with Diana. The affair very unsurprisingly goes downhill when the fact that Diana's only real passion is for her job becomes glaringly obvious. Max heads back to his wife (Beatrice Straight) to appeal to her better nature, telling Diana: "You're television incarnate, Diana. Indifferent to suffering; insensitive to joy. All of life is reduced to the common rubble of banality. War, murder, death are all the same to you as bottles of beer. And the daily business of life is a corrupt comedy. You even shatter the sensations of time and space into split seconds and instant replays. You're madness, Diana. Virulent madness. And everything you touch dies with you."
It's just not that interesting. The inner workings of a television network are cynical and dull. Beale's off the cuff, anti-establishment speeches are monotonous. For example:
"Right now, there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything that didn't come out of this tube. This tube is the gospel, the ultimate revelation; this tube can make or break presidents, popes, prime ministers; this tube is the most awesome goddamn propaganda force in the whole godless world, and woe is us if it ever falls into the hands of the wrong people, and that's why woe is us that Edward George Ruddy died. Because this company is now in the hands of CCA, the Communications Corporation of America; there's a new chairman of the board, a man called Frank Hackett, sitting in Mr. Ruddy's office on the twentieth floor. And when the 12th largest company in the world controls the most awesome goddamn propaganda force in the whole godless world, who knows what shit will be peddled for truth on this network?"
It goes on and on.
Once more, I think this is a case of a movie being very modern and edgy when it came out, but no longer packing the same punch today. I've heard it all before. Everyone bashes reality TV (while watching it anyway) and decries TV stations as exploitative and money-obsessed. It's nothing new anymore.
Diana Christensen: I'm interested in doing a weekly dramatic series based on the Ecumenical Liberation Army. The way I see the series is: Each week we open with an authentic act of political terrorism taken on the spot, in the actual moment. Then we go to the drama behind the opening film footage. That's your job, Ms. Hobbs. You've got to get the Ecumenicals to bring in that film footage for us. The network can't deal with them directly; they are, after all, wanted criminals.
Howard Beale: I want you to go to the window, open it, stick your head out and yell: "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore."
Network was very disappointing to me.
Seeing the cast (William Holden, Faye Dunaway, Robert Duvall), and reading the plot, I thought it would be good. Instead it was tedious. I will admit that Faye Dunaway was good. She won Best Actress. Additionally, Peter Finch won Best Actor and Beatrice Straight won Best Supporting Actress, but they were less memorable in my opinion.
Finch is Howard Beale, a news anchor who has been fired and then says that he's going to kill himself on air during one of his final broadcasts. Dunaway's character, Diana, a brilliant but cold-hearted executive for the network, takes full advantage of the situation and gets him a regular spot spouting his ranting rhetoric, garnering great ratings for the network. Holden plays Max Shumacher, a jaded network executive who begins an affair with Diana. The affair very unsurprisingly goes downhill when the fact that Diana's only real passion is for her job becomes glaringly obvious. Max heads back to his wife (Beatrice Straight) to appeal to her better nature, telling Diana: "You're television incarnate, Diana. Indifferent to suffering; insensitive to joy. All of life is reduced to the common rubble of banality. War, murder, death are all the same to you as bottles of beer. And the daily business of life is a corrupt comedy. You even shatter the sensations of time and space into split seconds and instant replays. You're madness, Diana. Virulent madness. And everything you touch dies with you."
It's just not that interesting. The inner workings of a television network are cynical and dull. Beale's off the cuff, anti-establishment speeches are monotonous. For example:
"Right now, there is a whole, an entire generation that never knew anything that didn't come out of this tube. This tube is the gospel, the ultimate revelation; this tube can make or break presidents, popes, prime ministers; this tube is the most awesome goddamn propaganda force in the whole godless world, and woe is us if it ever falls into the hands of the wrong people, and that's why woe is us that Edward George Ruddy died. Because this company is now in the hands of CCA, the Communications Corporation of America; there's a new chairman of the board, a man called Frank Hackett, sitting in Mr. Ruddy's office on the twentieth floor. And when the 12th largest company in the world controls the most awesome goddamn propaganda force in the whole godless world, who knows what shit will be peddled for truth on this network?"
It goes on and on.
Once more, I think this is a case of a movie being very modern and edgy when it came out, but no longer packing the same punch today. I've heard it all before. Everyone bashes reality TV (while watching it anyway) and decries TV stations as exploitative and money-obsessed. It's nothing new anymore.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
#65 The African Queen (1951)
#65 The African Queen (1951)
Charlie Allnut: I don't blame you for being scared, Miss, not one little bit. Ain't no person in their right mind ain't scared of white water.
Rose Sayer: I never dreamed that any mere physical experience could be so stimulating!
Charlie Allnut: How's that, Miss?
Rose Sayer: I've only known such excitement a few times before -a few times in my dear brother's sermons when the spirit was really upon him.
Charlie Allnut: You mean you want to go on?
Rose Sayer: Naturally.
Charlie Allnut: Miss, you're crazy.
Rose Sayer: I beg your pardon.
Charlie Allnut: You know what would have happened if we would have come up against one of them rocks?
Rose Sayer: But we didn't. I must say I'm filled with admiration for your skill, Mr. Allnut. Do you suppose, after I've practised, that someday I might try? I can hardly wait. Now that I've had a taste of it. I don't wonder you love boating, Mr. Allnut.
Charlie Allnut: What a time we had Rosie, what a time we had.
Initially, I wasn't sure what to think of this movie. I started watching it once, and stopped after about 20 minutes, not feeling gripped.
The second time I watched the whole thing and really liked it.
It's actually a charming story.
Katharine Hepburn is Rose, a pious, austere woman serving as a missionary with her brother in Africa. As WWI breaks out, the Germans destroy their church and the village it's in, and her brother dies of disease. She is picked up by boat captain Charlie (Humphrey Bogart), who intends to take his boat, the African Queen, and try to hide out from the Germans.
Rose has other ideas. She wants them to embark on a dangerous mission to navigate treacherous waters, evade a well-armed German fort, and attempt to destroy a German ship. Charlie thinks she's nuts, but tries to appease her when she refuses to relent, though he believes it's certain death:
Charlie: We can't do that!
Rose: How do you know? You never tried it.
Charlie: Well, yeah, but I never tried shooting myself in the head neither.
Things become cute when love blossoms between Rose and Charlie. Where before Rose was stubbornly courageous, but a bit stodgy and uptight, she transforms into an exhilerated woman -brightened by the thrill she is getting from the entire experience of the adventure and her newfound love. It's like she's really living for the first time. Charlie also lightens up, and embraces her lunatic plan. He still harbors doubt that her plan will succeed, but he's enjoying the journey anyway and is happy, and the two doggedly work towards their goal:
Charlie: Pinch me, Rosie. Here we are, going down the river like Anthony and Cleopatra on that barge! I'll never forget the way you looked going over the falls -head up, chin out, hair blowing in the wind. The living picture of a hero-eyne!
Rose: Fancy me a heroine. Oh, Charlie. You've lost your mind.
Charlie: Lost my heart, too.
Bogart and Hepburn were excellent. Bogart in particular was so different from how I'm used to seeing him that I kept forgetting it was him. He won a well-deserved Oscar for the role (Hepburn was nominated, but lost to Vivien Leigh for A Streetcar Named Desire, and while I normally like Vivien Leigh better, I think Hepburn should have won -but I'm not a fan of Streetcar). The two had great on-screen chemistry, and that's what made the movie really work.
Charlie Allnut: I don't blame you for being scared, Miss, not one little bit. Ain't no person in their right mind ain't scared of white water.Rose Sayer: I never dreamed that any mere physical experience could be so stimulating!
Charlie Allnut: How's that, Miss?
Rose Sayer: I've only known such excitement a few times before -a few times in my dear brother's sermons when the spirit was really upon him.
Charlie Allnut: You mean you want to go on?
Rose Sayer: Naturally.
Charlie Allnut: Miss, you're crazy.
Rose Sayer: I beg your pardon.
Charlie Allnut: You know what would have happened if we would have come up against one of them rocks?
Rose Sayer: But we didn't. I must say I'm filled with admiration for your skill, Mr. Allnut. Do you suppose, after I've practised, that someday I might try? I can hardly wait. Now that I've had a taste of it. I don't wonder you love boating, Mr. Allnut.
Charlie Allnut: What a time we had Rosie, what a time we had.
Initially, I wasn't sure what to think of this movie. I started watching it once, and stopped after about 20 minutes, not feeling gripped.
The second time I watched the whole thing and really liked it.
It's actually a charming story.
Katharine Hepburn is Rose, a pious, austere woman serving as a missionary with her brother in Africa. As WWI breaks out, the Germans destroy their church and the village it's in, and her brother dies of disease. She is picked up by boat captain Charlie (Humphrey Bogart), who intends to take his boat, the African Queen, and try to hide out from the Germans.
Rose has other ideas. She wants them to embark on a dangerous mission to navigate treacherous waters, evade a well-armed German fort, and attempt to destroy a German ship. Charlie thinks she's nuts, but tries to appease her when she refuses to relent, though he believes it's certain death:
Charlie: We can't do that!
Rose: How do you know? You never tried it.
Charlie: Well, yeah, but I never tried shooting myself in the head neither.
Things become cute when love blossoms between Rose and Charlie. Where before Rose was stubbornly courageous, but a bit stodgy and uptight, she transforms into an exhilerated woman -brightened by the thrill she is getting from the entire experience of the adventure and her newfound love. It's like she's really living for the first time. Charlie also lightens up, and embraces her lunatic plan. He still harbors doubt that her plan will succeed, but he's enjoying the journey anyway and is happy, and the two doggedly work towards their goal:
Charlie: Pinch me, Rosie. Here we are, going down the river like Anthony and Cleopatra on that barge! I'll never forget the way you looked going over the falls -head up, chin out, hair blowing in the wind. The living picture of a hero-eyne!
Rose: Fancy me a heroine. Oh, Charlie. You've lost your mind.
Charlie: Lost my heart, too.
Bogart and Hepburn were excellent. Bogart in particular was so different from how I'm used to seeing him that I kept forgetting it was him. He won a well-deserved Oscar for the role (Hepburn was nominated, but lost to Vivien Leigh for A Streetcar Named Desire, and while I normally like Vivien Leigh better, I think Hepburn should have won -but I'm not a fan of Streetcar). The two had great on-screen chemistry, and that's what made the movie really work.
#66 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
#66 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Indiana Jones: Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes?
Raiders is, of course, a classic. The first in the Indiana Jones series. Indy (Harrison Ford) is an awesome character, a professor of archeology/treasure hunter, and there are so many iconic things and moments in the movie: The boulder, the snakes, the whip, the fedora...the list goes on and on.
I feel particularly ill-equipped to discuss this movie, because the guys I know have seen it more times than me and know much more about it.
I do have to say that this is not my favorite in the series, which I think is considered sacreligious, but I really liked Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade best. They're all good, though, really, with the exception of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (The woman in Raiders always annoyed me, and I wasn't happy to see her reappear, and it was an all around ridiculous movie).
Indiana Jones: Snakes. Why'd it have to be snakes?
Raiders is, of course, a classic. The first in the Indiana Jones series. Indy (Harrison Ford) is an awesome character, a professor of archeology/treasure hunter, and there are so many iconic things and moments in the movie: The boulder, the snakes, the whip, the fedora...the list goes on and on.
I feel particularly ill-equipped to discuss this movie, because the guys I know have seen it more times than me and know much more about it.I do have to say that this is not my favorite in the series, which I think is considered sacreligious, but I really liked Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade best. They're all good, though, really, with the exception of Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (The woman in Raiders always annoyed me, and I wasn't happy to see her reappear, and it was an all around ridiculous movie).
#67 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
#67 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)Nick: I'm tired, I've been drinking since nine o'clock, my wife is vomiting, there's been a lot of screaming going on around here!
George: You're a monster. You are.
Martha: I'm loud and I'm vulgar, and I wear the pants in the house because somebody's got to, but I am not a monster. I'm not.
George: You're a spoiled, self-indulgent, willful, dirty-minded, liquor-ridden -
Martha: SNAP! It went SNAP! I'm not gonna try to get through to you any more. There was a second back there, yeah, there was a second, just a second when I could have gotten through to you, when maybe we could have cut through all this, this CRAP. But it's past, and I'm not gonna try.
I didn't like Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at all. It felt like watching a play (a pretentious one). Since it's based on a play, that shouldn't be surprising, but I don't think it was adapted for the screen well at all. Some big changes would have been needed to make it work as a movie.
It takes place during one night and centers on two couples, Nick (George Segal) and Honey (Sandy Dennis), and Martha (Elizabeth Taylor) and George (Richard Burton). They're all messed up human beings. They screw around, drink, shriek, hurt each other, and spout dysfunctional nonsense:
George: You can sit around with the gin running out of your mouth; you can humiliate me; you can tear me to pieces all night, that's perfectly okay, that's all right.
Martha: You can stand it!George: I cannot stand it!
Martha: You can stand it, you married me for it!
I'm not sure why it has garnered so much acclaim. I thought the acting was over the top and far more suited for the stage (though all four main actors were nominated for Oscars, and Taylor and Dennis won, so what do I know?).
The most interesting component is that of the fictional son that Martha and George have created, but this is never fully explored or explained.
And I still don't get the title: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? What does that mean?
I suppose I just didn't get it.
It actually makes me think of something a character from Tootsie (Jeff, a screenwriter played by Bill Murray) said: "I don't like it when people come up to me after my plays and say, "I really dug your message, man." Or, "I really dug your play, man, I cried." You know. I like it when people come up to me the next day, or a week later, and they say, "I saw your play. What happened?""
If that's what they were going for in this case, mission accomplished.
What happened?
#68 Unforgiven (1992)
#68 Unforgiven (1992)
Already reviewed:
http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2012/11/1992-unforgiven.html
Already reviewed:
http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2012/11/1992-unforgiven.html
#69 Tootsie (1982)
#69 Tootsie (1982)
Ron Carlisle: Take, Tootsie.
Dorothy Michaels: Ron? I have a name it's Dorothy. It's not Tootsie or Toots or Sweetie or Honey or Doll.
Ron Carlisle: Oh, Christ.
Dorothy Michaels: No, just Dorothy. Alan's always Alan, Tom's always Tom and John's always John. I have a name too. It's Dorothy, capital D-O-R-O-T-H-Y.
Michael Dorsey: I was a better man with you, as a woman, than I ever was with a woman, as a man. You know what I mean? I just gotta learn to do it without the dress.
Tyler really didn't want to watch Tootsie with me, but agreed to give it half an hour and got hooked.
It had been a long time since I'd seen it, and it is really great. Funny, wonderful acting by Dustin Hoffman, and of course that great song, It Must be Love.
Dustin Hoffman plays a talented actor, Michael Dorsey, who can't get a job because he is too difficult to work with:
Michael: Are you saying that nobody in New York will work with me?
George: No, no, that's too limited. Nobody in Hollywood wants to work with you either. I can't even set you up for a commercial. You played a tomato for 30 seconds. They went a half a day over schedule because you wouldn't sit down.
Michael: Of course. It was illogical.
George: YOU WERE A TOMATO!
He decides to prove to his agent that he is employable by auditioning for a woman's part on a popular soap dressed as a woman, Dorothy Michaels. Convincing everybody that he is a woman, he earns the part, and "Dorothy" becomes a star, known for her ballsy (forgive the pun) and spirited portrayal of hospital worker Emily Kimberly, often going off script and ad-libbing lines:
Dorothy Michaels: Dr Brewster tried to seduce several nurses in this unit, claiming to be the throes of an uncontrollable impulse. Do you know what? I'm going to give every nurse on this floor an electric cattle prod and instruct them to just zap them in his badubies!
Tyler and I both loved that there was no Mrs. Doubtfire-esque montage of Hoffman transforming into a woman. He just appears as Dorothy.
Hijinks occur as Dorothy befriends fellow soap-star Julie (Jessica Lange won an Oscar for the part), and Michael begins to fall for her, while simultaneously trying to juggle a sort-of relationship with another girl, Sandy (Teri Garr). Dorothy/Michael also unintentionally woos several men, much to his own chagrin and that of his roommate George (Bill Murray):
Michael: You should have seen the look on her face when she thought I was a lesbian.
George: "Lesbian"? You just said gay.
Michael: No, no, no -SANDY thinks I'm gay, JULIE thinks I'm a lesbian.
George: I thought Dorothy was supposed to be straight?
Michael: Dorothy IS straight. Tonight Les, the sweetest, nicest man in the world asked me to marry him.
George: A guy named Les wants YOU to marry him?
Michael: No, no, no -he wants to marry Dorothy.
George: Does he know she's a lesbian?
Michael: Dorothy's NOT a lesbian.
George: I know that, does HE know that?
Michael: Know WHAT?
George: That, er, I...I don't know.
Living and working as a woman, Michael also gains perspective. His own flakiness with friend/lover Sandy is mirrored by Julie's poor treatment by her lover/director. As Dolores, he can appreciate the the difficulties women face in a new way:
Ron Carlisle: Why don't you like me?
Dorothy: I don't like the way you treat Julie.
Ron: Oh?
Dorothy: I don't like the way you patronize her, deceive her and lie to her.
Ron: What do you mean?
Dorothy: You want me to go on?
Ron: No, I know what you mean. Look, I never promised Julie I'd be exclusive and not see other women. But I know she doesn't want me to see them, so I lie to her to keep from hurting her.
Dorothy: That's very convenient.
Ron: No, wait a minute. Look at it from my side. See, if a woman wants me to seduce her, I usually do. But then she pretends I promised her something. Then I pretend I did. In the end, I'm the one that's exploited.
Dorothy: Bullshit, Ron! You know what? I understand you a lot better than you think I do.
It's really entertaining and fun. Very enjoyable.
Ron Carlisle: Take, Tootsie.
Dorothy Michaels: Ron? I have a name it's Dorothy. It's not Tootsie or Toots or Sweetie or Honey or Doll.
Ron Carlisle: Oh, Christ.
Dorothy Michaels: No, just Dorothy. Alan's always Alan, Tom's always Tom and John's always John. I have a name too. It's Dorothy, capital D-O-R-O-T-H-Y.
Michael Dorsey: I was a better man with you, as a woman, than I ever was with a woman, as a man. You know what I mean? I just gotta learn to do it without the dress.
Tyler really didn't want to watch Tootsie with me, but agreed to give it half an hour and got hooked.
It had been a long time since I'd seen it, and it is really great. Funny, wonderful acting by Dustin Hoffman, and of course that great song, It Must be Love.
Dustin Hoffman plays a talented actor, Michael Dorsey, who can't get a job because he is too difficult to work with:
Michael: Are you saying that nobody in New York will work with me?
George: No, no, that's too limited. Nobody in Hollywood wants to work with you either. I can't even set you up for a commercial. You played a tomato for 30 seconds. They went a half a day over schedule because you wouldn't sit down.
Michael: Of course. It was illogical.
George: YOU WERE A TOMATO!
He decides to prove to his agent that he is employable by auditioning for a woman's part on a popular soap dressed as a woman, Dorothy Michaels. Convincing everybody that he is a woman, he earns the part, and "Dorothy" becomes a star, known for her ballsy (forgive the pun) and spirited portrayal of hospital worker Emily Kimberly, often going off script and ad-libbing lines:
Dorothy Michaels: Dr Brewster tried to seduce several nurses in this unit, claiming to be the throes of an uncontrollable impulse. Do you know what? I'm going to give every nurse on this floor an electric cattle prod and instruct them to just zap them in his badubies!
Tyler and I both loved that there was no Mrs. Doubtfire-esque montage of Hoffman transforming into a woman. He just appears as Dorothy.
Hijinks occur as Dorothy befriends fellow soap-star Julie (Jessica Lange won an Oscar for the part), and Michael begins to fall for her, while simultaneously trying to juggle a sort-of relationship with another girl, Sandy (Teri Garr). Dorothy/Michael also unintentionally woos several men, much to his own chagrin and that of his roommate George (Bill Murray):
Michael: You should have seen the look on her face when she thought I was a lesbian.
George: "Lesbian"? You just said gay.
Michael: No, no, no -SANDY thinks I'm gay, JULIE thinks I'm a lesbian.
George: I thought Dorothy was supposed to be straight?
Michael: Dorothy IS straight. Tonight Les, the sweetest, nicest man in the world asked me to marry him.
George: A guy named Les wants YOU to marry him?
Michael: No, no, no -he wants to marry Dorothy.
George: Does he know she's a lesbian?
Michael: Dorothy's NOT a lesbian.
George: I know that, does HE know that?
Michael: Know WHAT?
George: That, er, I...I don't know.
Living and working as a woman, Michael also gains perspective. His own flakiness with friend/lover Sandy is mirrored by Julie's poor treatment by her lover/director. As Dolores, he can appreciate the the difficulties women face in a new way:
Ron Carlisle: Why don't you like me?
Dorothy: I don't like the way you treat Julie.
Ron: Oh?
Dorothy: I don't like the way you patronize her, deceive her and lie to her.
Ron: What do you mean?
Dorothy: You want me to go on?
Ron: No, I know what you mean. Look, I never promised Julie I'd be exclusive and not see other women. But I know she doesn't want me to see them, so I lie to her to keep from hurting her.
Dorothy: That's very convenient.
Ron: No, wait a minute. Look at it from my side. See, if a woman wants me to seduce her, I usually do. But then she pretends I promised her something. Then I pretend I did. In the end, I'm the one that's exploited.
Dorothy: Bullshit, Ron! You know what? I understand you a lot better than you think I do.
It's really entertaining and fun. Very enjoyable.
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
#71 Saving Private Ryan (1998)
#71 Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Already reviewed:
http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2012/12/1998-shakespeare-in-love-vs-saving.html
Already reviewed:
http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2012/12/1998-shakespeare-in-love-vs-saving.html
#72 The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
#72 The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Already reviewed:
http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2012/11/1994-forrest-gump-vs-shawshank.html
Already reviewed:
http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2012/11/1994-forrest-gump-vs-shawshank.html
#73 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
#73 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Butch Cassidy: You know, it could be worse. You get a lot more for your money in Bolivia, I checked on it.
Sundance Kid: What could they have here that you could possibly want to buy?
Butch Cassidy: If he'd just pay me what he's spending to make me stop robbing him, I'd stop robbing him!
Like 'The Wild Bunch,' this is a Western about a gang of desperadoes who flee south of the border to escape bounty hunters. There are bank heists. There's a train robbery. It all ends in a big gun fight.
But unlike The Wild Bunch, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is entertaining. In fact, it's practically the same movie, but good.
Butch and Sundance are loveable bandits. They still drink, steal and frequent brothels like the Wild Bunch guys, but they do so with charm.
They're extremely funny. After moving to Bolivia, along with Sundance's girlfriend, Etta, they try to resume robbing banks, only to be stymied by their inability to speak Spanish. During their first attempt (after Sundance confidently tells Butch, "Don't tell me how to rob a bank. I know how to rob a bank."), the bank teller greets them cheerfully in Spanish, and unable to understand him or demand money in his language, they just stare in silence, and eventually leave. When they return, they have a script that Etta has been trying to teach them, and Butch awkwardly delivers the lines (reading it off the paper) while Sundance holds them up:
Butch Cassidy: [Trying to say "hands up" in Spanish] Manos a...Manos, um...[Pulls out his script] Manos arriba!
Sundance Kid: They got 'em up! Skip on down.
Butch Cassidy: Arriba!
Sundance Kid: Skip on down!
Butch Cassidy: Todos ustedes "arrismense" a la pared.
Sundance Kid: They're against the wall already!
Butch Cassidy: Donde...Ah, you're so damn smart, you read it!
It's great stuff. But the delivery of the actors is the best part. They're terrifically funny.
Robert Redford (Sundance) and Paul Newman (Butch) were so good together that it makes me want to give The Sting another chance, so I may check that one out again.
I close with this moment from the movie (and one of my stepdad's favorite lines):
Butch Cassidy: Well, that ought to do it.
Sundance Kid: Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?
 |
| Butch, Sundance, and Etta arrive in Bolivia: Butch Cassidy: Jeesh, all Bolivia can't look like this. Sundance Kid: How do you know? This might be the garden spot of the whole country. People may travel hundreds of miles just to get to this spot where we're standing now. This might be the Atlantic City, New Jersey of all Bolivia for all you know. |
Butch Cassidy: You know, it could be worse. You get a lot more for your money in Bolivia, I checked on it.
Sundance Kid: What could they have here that you could possibly want to buy?
Butch Cassidy: If he'd just pay me what he's spending to make me stop robbing him, I'd stop robbing him!
Like 'The Wild Bunch,' this is a Western about a gang of desperadoes who flee south of the border to escape bounty hunters. There are bank heists. There's a train robbery. It all ends in a big gun fight.
But unlike The Wild Bunch, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is entertaining. In fact, it's practically the same movie, but good.
Butch and Sundance are loveable bandits. They still drink, steal and frequent brothels like the Wild Bunch guys, but they do so with charm.
 |
| Paul Newman as Butch and the real Butch Cassidy. |
 | |
| Robert Redford as Sundance, the real Sundance Kid and Etta, and Katharine Ross as Etta Place |
They're extremely funny. After moving to Bolivia, along with Sundance's girlfriend, Etta, they try to resume robbing banks, only to be stymied by their inability to speak Spanish. During their first attempt (after Sundance confidently tells Butch, "Don't tell me how to rob a bank. I know how to rob a bank."), the bank teller greets them cheerfully in Spanish, and unable to understand him or demand money in his language, they just stare in silence, and eventually leave. When they return, they have a script that Etta has been trying to teach them, and Butch awkwardly delivers the lines (reading it off the paper) while Sundance holds them up:
Butch Cassidy: [Trying to say "hands up" in Spanish] Manos a...Manos, um...[Pulls out his script] Manos arriba!
Sundance Kid: They got 'em up! Skip on down.
Butch Cassidy: Arriba!
Sundance Kid: Skip on down!
Butch Cassidy: Todos ustedes "arrismense" a la pared.
Sundance Kid: They're against the wall already!
Butch Cassidy: Donde...Ah, you're so damn smart, you read it!
It's great stuff. But the delivery of the actors is the best part. They're terrifically funny.
Robert Redford (Sundance) and Paul Newman (Butch) were so good together that it makes me want to give The Sting another chance, so I may check that one out again.
I close with this moment from the movie (and one of my stepdad's favorite lines):
Butch Cassidy: Well, that ought to do it.
Sundance Kid: Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?
#74 The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
#74 The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Already reviewed:
http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2012/11/1991-silence-of-lambs.html
Already reviewed:
http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2012/11/1991-silence-of-lambs.html
#75 In the Heat of the Night (1967)
#75 In the Heat of the Night (1967)Already reviewed:
http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2012/10/1967-in-heat-of-night.html
#76 Forrest Gump (1994)
#76 Forrest Gump (1994)Already reviewed:
http://kaleenasmith.blogspot.com/2012/11/1994-forrest-gump-vs-shawshank.html
Thursday, August 29, 2013
#78 Modern Times (1936)
 |
| Trying to mechanize lunch for increased efficiency. |
Gamine girl: What's the use of trying?
The Tramp: Buck up -never say die. We'll get along.
In Modern Times, a mostly silent movie, Charlie Chaplin's Tramp character is suffering through the depression, and getting into mischief.
He works in a factory for the first half hour of the movie, and it's pretty much like watching an episode of Looney Tunes for much of this portion.
The mechanized monotony of the work (and an all-seeing boss who watches everything through cameras and is trying to elliminate breaks) drives him nuts, and he is fired after chasing a lady down the street trying to tighten the bolt-looking buttons on the chest of her dress (kinda kinky, actually).
A series of unfortunate events lands him in jail, which actually turns out to be pretty good, because he gets free food and board, instead of living on the streets, starving and unemployed. In fact, once he's released, he tries to get put back in jail. There's no work, so jail seems like a pretty sweet option.
Paulette Goddard (Chaplin's real-life love for a time) plays a penniless orphan girl (they call her a gamine girl) who latches on to Chaplin. They dream of living in a dream home together, and she finds a shack for them to stay in, and fixes it up as best she can. He goes through a series of jobs, but is the worst worker ever, and never lasts more than a day because of his shenanigans and general ineptitude. In the end, Goddard is discouraged when they lose their jobs at a cafe, but Chaplin tells her not to get disheartened, and they walk off together cheerfully.
Tyler described the comedy as like the Marx Brothers but with only Harpo (no Chico or Groucho). Some of it's very slapstick, but it could be pretty funny. There's one particular scene that really made me laugh, where he's working with a crew building a ship, and he accidentally removes the wedge keeping it on land, and it slides out to sea and sinks. The looks on the faces of the workers is pretty priceless as they watch it slip away.
The movie also fared pretty well with the one-year-old demographic, as my youngest daughter seemed to enjoy it.
And you've got to hand it to him, Chaplin is good at coming up with gags, and he is not afraid to look ridiculous for the sake of humor. He's very talented when it comes to physical comedy, and skilled at exploring social and political issues, with Modern Times exposing the bleak living conditions of working class citizens of the time through a comedic lens.
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