Flipside Movie Emporium

[Michael Scrutchin]

[Danny Baldwin]

7/13 - 7/19

Too long to post yesterday, but here goes...

First Viewings

Monsier Ibrahim (Dupeyron, 2004) - Superb performances from the two leads, but the shallow and conventional script leaves much to be desired.



The Safety of Objects (Troche, 2003) - Amazing movie with many great performances, particularly that of Timothy Olyphant, only flawed by the story of a little boy and his Barbie doll.

Cape Fear (Thompson, 1962) - Am I the only one who didn't like it? The main character is so unlikeable, despite Gregory Peck's best efforts, I couldn't get involved, especially in the third act. I'm interested in Scorsese's remake now, though.

The Butterfly Effect: The Director's Cut (Bress, Gruber; 2004) - When it's actually efficient, it's grusome and unwatchable. The rest of the time, no matter how many plot devices it entrusts, it's just plain awful. Bad performances, brutal direction, and vomit-inducing visuals.

The Lady From Shanghai (Welles, 1947) - Now this is how "fun" crime should be done. The fact that it is made by the greatest filmmakers of all time shouldn't stop anyone from striving short of such.

The Barbarian Invasions (Arcand, 2003) - I loved it in almost every possible way. Great dialogue, entirely plausible, both uplifting and traumatic finale, spectacular acting. Tonally, it's amazing, too.

Against the Ropes (Dutton, 2004) - I would actually call it fun, for what it is, if you don't count the wretched first twenty minutes. It has its fair share of excitement, and unlike it's fellow cheeseballs, isn't overly showy. That doesn't excuse it from being mediocre.

Wait Until Dark (Young, 1967) - Eerie mood and creepy performances, even though it falls up short in its ending, which I found to be overly corny. I prefer Johnny Depp's inner-battle in Secret Window to Alan Arkin crawling across the floor, using his knife as a lever. Shoot me.

Riding Giants (Peralta, 2004) - Peralta has a knack for merging shots together like he does. The greates part of this film of his is the relationship between the color onscreen and the music selection. It is beautiful, and far superior to last year's Step into Liquid.

The Dreamers (Bertolucci, 2004) - As I further explained in another thread, it's entirely self-infatuant and superficial in its supposed love for cinema, but redeems itself by expertly captures familial relationships, culture clashes, and has an excellent conclusion. Not a worthless effort.

The Real Cancun (Oliveira, 2003) - Think about this: the one thing the characters overcome is turning a kid who has been sober his whole life into a drunkard, who says "I want some boobies!" every five minutes. This could be taken as a study of the degrading youth, but the director, in fact, glamorizes the behavior, and targets it at the same people endangered in it. Another MTV production.

I, Robot (Proyas, 2004) - Amazing special effects, but unlike Spider-Man 2, it lacks a narrative and storytelling abilities. As a result, it cannot get away with the cheesiness its fellow picture does, and turns out to be quite a waste of time.

Quiz Show (Redford, 1994) - An engaging study on the changes of the human psychology when it has its eyes on money. Expertly performed and directed, it's certainly one of the best of what was a great year in film.

Being There (Ashby, 1979) - Peter Sellers in another darkly funny role, but, like so many others I watched this week, it cops out at the end. Still likeably entertaining, though.

Repeat Viewings

Girl with a Pearl Earring (Webber, 2003) - Second - Now that I've seen it, I concentrated more on the sullen imagery and frequent use of the beautiful score, and how they allow the film to progress. It deeply relies on its visuals, and ironically, always prevails as a result.

Whale Rider (Caro, 2003) - Third - Is there anything more pleasant than to sit down and be uplifted by Pai's story? I have my doubts.
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Danny Baldwin

View My Reviews

[the night watchman]

[beltmann]

[Danny Baldwin]

I agree fully with Beltmann. One of my favorites of last year.
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Danny Baldwin

View My Reviews

[Danny Baldwin]

[the night watchman]

[Michael Scrutchin]

[the night watchman]

[Michael Scrutchin]

[the night watchman]

DVDs are truly the best thing to happen to movie-lovers since the advent of home video, don't ya think?
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"If you're talking about censorship, and what things should be shown and what things shouldn't be shown, I've said that as an artist you have no social responsibility whatsoever."

-David Cronenberg

[matt header]

I envy your sheer magnitude of movie-watching, Danny; I've seen a paltry two movies this week! I've been somewhat busy finishing a film, however, and I just finished editing it earlier this afternoon, so surely August will be a month of ceaseless movie-watching.

Napoleon Dynamite (Hess, 2004) Although much of the film's comedy stems from how goofy its characters act, its celebration of the eternal outcast (showcased by a shot at the high school prom in which Napoleon, Pedro, and Deb are lit halo-like from above as they watch everyone else dance) never allows the movie to be mean-spirited. Unfortunately, I also didn't find it consistently funny, which is problematic when straight-out comedy seems to be the movie's main intention.

Before Sunrise (Linklater, 1995) I'm seeing Sunset on Thursday and had to see this first. A conversation piece in which two strangers meet, get to know each other, fall in love, and part ways; it maintains a remarkably naturalistic spell, and very little of the dialogue seems staged. I especially appreciated how neither character is an angelic sweetheart; there are unlikeable things about both of them, and that humanity makes them even more likeable.
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"I don't like talking to people I know, but strangers I have no problem with." -- Larry David, "Curb Your Enthusiasm"

[Danny Baldwin]

[HoRRoRFaN]

[Danny Baldwin]