Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

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(2007, Sidney Lumet)
Ethan Hawke is a take-him-or-leave-him type of actor. After seeing this flick, I’d like to leave him at the very next bus stop. His self-conscious style rarely allows a natural reaction or line delivery. To be honest, I usually skip Ethan Hawke movies in general. I can’t even fathom watching him playing Hamlet.
The [...]

Harvey

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(1950, Henry Koster)
Years ago my mother used to say to me, she’d say, “In this world, Elwood, you must be”….she always called me Elwood….”in this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.” Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.
Jimmy Stewart is all charm in [...]

Manhattan

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(1979, Woody Allen)
Perhaps the quintessential Woody Allen movie. In fact, it’s a trip down Woody Lane.
The Woody checklist:

New York – Um, check.
Mia Farrow, Diane Keaton or Louise Lasser – Keaton, check.
Ingmar Bergman references – Check, in the “Academy of the Overrated” scene.
Marx Brothers references – He names Groucho as one of the reasons why life [...]

The Darjeeling Limited

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(2007, Wes Anderson)
An odd little movie about a dysfunctional family. Hey, wait, isn’t that every Wes Anderson movie? And if you like him and his style, this’ll be right up your alley.
The Darjeeling Limited is named after the train that takes three sorrowful, estranged brothers on an attempted spiritual journey through the heart of India. [...]

To Be or Not to Be (1942)

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(1942, Ernst Lubitsch)
A Polish theater troupe attempts to flee Nazi rule after their country is invaded. Now, add the collective comic genius of Jack Benny, Carole Lombard and Ernst Lubitsch to the mix. The fact that they turn a dramatic tale on its ear DURING THE WAR they are spoofing makes for a classic.
Some great [...]

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story

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(2007, Jake Kasdan)
Probably the tautest movie from ApatowCo in the last few years. That said, it isn’t exactly GOOD.
I love John C. Reilly, but apparently, not as a lead actor. He works his tail off, but doesn’t deliver the laughs he did in a supporting role in Talledega Nights, another Judd Apatow production.
Reilly’s co-star, Jenna [...]

Find of the Day: Anna Karina, Anna, Karina, Kate and all of their sweaters

Warning: As if the title didn’t already tip you off, you’re headed into Meta-ville.
This is most likely only a “find” to me, probably, because I was so intrigued by Karina Longworth’s post back in February about locating a YouTube video of Anna Karina in the 1967 made-for-French-TV movie Anna, featuring music by Serge Gainsbourg.
Karina (Longworth, [...]

Eagle vs. Shark

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(2007, Taika Cohen)
Or, Napoleon Dynamite, 10 Years Later.
Intentionally silly love story about two lonely, ubergeek New Zealanders, complete with animal costumes. If you can make it through the first 30 minutes – at times funny, painful and eyeroll-inducing – it actually gets a bit sweet toward the end. In the meantime, though, it’ll thoroughly ensconce [...]

Top 1000 Films: New assignment

In an effort to get my self-enforced assignment on watching the top 1000 movies back on a quarterly calendar, I have given myself 8 movies to watch in 4 months, at the rate of approximately 1 movie every two weeks.
That means that the next due date will be September 30, 2008, and will consist of [...]

The Italian Job (1969)

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(1969, Peter Collinson)
Pluses:

The Mini Cooper chase scene makes the movie.
The finale is classic.
Noel Coward gets a dream role.
Michael Caine looks great.
It’s fun to say the “bloody doors off” line.

Minuses:

The supporting characters have no personality whatsoever.
The main characters get no development whatsoever.
The build-up to the heist – done so well in other movies (see Soderbergh’s Ocean’s [...]