Look Around You
I love Peter Serafinowicz. One of the proudest moments of my life was when I got him to follow me on Twitter:
He's probably best known as Shaun and Ed's (justifiably) angry roommate in Shaun of the Dead (or as the voice of Darth Maul), but is making a name for himself these days. His Twitter feed is one of the funniest you'll find. Serafinowicz wrote Look Around You with Robert Popper and while it's not consistently brilliant, there are moments of inspired silliness that rival pretty much any comedy show. The show is a parody of old educational films, so think along the lines of all of the fake educational films The Simpsons features. It's only the first disc of the first season, and it was immensely enjoyable. My main fault is that while he rights it, Serafinowicz acting talents aren't really on display. I'm looking forward (does that count as a pun on the title) to seeing how it develops as they become more comfortable. Plus, Edgar Wright shows up as a scientist, so that's awesome.Top Secret! -- Zucker, Abrams, Zucker
As a lover of Airplane! and The Naked Gun series from a very young age, it's remarkable that I hadn't seen Top Secret! until now. While I don't think it's as good as those films (even the lesser Naked Gun movies get a pass because I love Leslie Nielsen), it has many great moments. It's remarkable that this is Val Kilmer's first screen role. You totally understand why he was as successful as he was. I'm endlessly fascinated actors and actresses who own their early roles that it's no surprise they went on to bigger and better things (Tom Hanks in He Knows You're Alone is another example). The film is probably best known for this amazing scene:
Navajo Joe -- Sergio Corbucci
Even though he's part-Cherokee, it's weird to see Burt Reynolds as an Indian. Maybe it's the wig that's throwing me off:
Navajo Joe is a good, but not great Spaghetti Western. Reynolds apparently stated that it was the "wrong Sergio," which is a bit unfair, but the film definitely doesn't have the style of a Leone film. It's a pretty basic revenge story where a man is avenging the cold-blooded murder of his wife and it's handled well, but only necessary if you're into the genre. That said, I've been singing the score (by one of my favorites, Ennio Morricone) for a week now.
Death Rides a Horse -- Giulio Petroni
Lee Van Cleef is, quite simply, a badass. Death Rides a Horse didn't really hook me until the climax where it wasn't just violent, but poignant. It's another revenge flick where a young boy sees his family murdered and spends his life preparing for vengeance. I tend to enjoy stories where opposing forces have to unite against a common enemy. Even though one expects the ending to work out, there's always the tension of what happens after the enemy is dispatched. But really, it all boils down to Lee Van Cleef being a badass.
An Autumn Afternoon -- Yasujiro Ozu
I didn't particularly care for Tokyo Sonata, not because it's a bad film, but it's just a genre I don't connect with. I'm just not that interested in personal/family dramas. It's the same reason I struggle with Cassevetes. I watch these films because they are "classics" and I like to give them a chance before making a decision. Color me surprised that I really enjoyed An Autumn Afternoon. The film stars frequent (very frequent, appearing in 52 of 54 Ozu films) Ozu collaborator Chishu Ryu who I found very unnatural in Tokyo Sonata but is the epitome of delightful here. There's very little conflict, but I was totally absorbed in the efforts to find a husband for her daughter and how the customs of the time in Japan affect everyone. Some are left to care for family, some married to people they don't love, and others who got lucky. In the end, I just like seeing a caring, functional family every now and then.
The Descent: Part 2 -- Jon Harris
The Descent: Part 2 starts off right where the first one ends, which is a problem if you prefer the original, British ending the true ending. There's no way this film can live up to its terrific predecessor, which is fine the way it is and really didn't need a sequel, but that didn't stop one from being made. The characters and paper thin and cliched and the likelihood of stumbling across the same cave locations as the first are extremely remote, but its heart is in the right place. There are a few legitimate surprises (only one of which is truly absurd) and some new cave scenarios are explored (the swimming aspect is particularly frightening to think about). I may have even thought more of the film had it not been for the utterly ridiculous and out of left field ending. They were so close to having a great final image and blew it. But, for all intents and purposes, it's decent (see what I did there?).
The Magnificent Seven -- John Sturgess
I never realized what an awesome presence Yul Brynner is, but damned if he isn't fantastic. It's funny, though. Brynner complained of Steve McQueen trying to steal scenes by doing weird things (like shaking shotgun shells) and, at least in that case, I was watching McQueen the whole time Brynner was talking. He may have had a point. There's a lot to like in The Magnificent Seven, but it hurts it that the source material (Seven Samurai) is out-of-this-world amazing. That's not really fair to compare them, but it's inevitable. I also think it hurts my assessment that I've seen The Three Amigos so many times. It's hard to get wrapped up in one film when you're running scenes from the other in your mind.
Don't Look Up -- Fruit Chan
I've got to be more careful when I take Harry Knowles' recommendation for movies. He likes a lot of good stuff, but the problem is that he likes everything (now that I look back at the recommendation, I see that he hasn't seen it. So why did I put it on my Netflix queue? Oh... that's right). Don't Look Up is a mess of a film with some very poor actor's in lead roles (as happy as I am that Henry Thomas is still working, the man simply isn't that good). There's not much to say about it except to wonder why Kevin Corrigan and Eli Roth were involved at all.
Death Rides a Horse -- Giulio Petroni
Lee Van Cleef is, quite simply, a badass. Death Rides a Horse didn't really hook me until the climax where it wasn't just violent, but poignant. It's another revenge flick where a young boy sees his family murdered and spends his life preparing for vengeance. I tend to enjoy stories where opposing forces have to unite against a common enemy. Even though one expects the ending to work out, there's always the tension of what happens after the enemy is dispatched. But really, it all boils down to Lee Van Cleef being a badass.
An Autumn Afternoon -- Yasujiro Ozu
I didn't particularly care for Tokyo Sonata, not because it's a bad film, but it's just a genre I don't connect with. I'm just not that interested in personal/family dramas. It's the same reason I struggle with Cassevetes. I watch these films because they are "classics" and I like to give them a chance before making a decision. Color me surprised that I really enjoyed An Autumn Afternoon. The film stars frequent (very frequent, appearing in 52 of 54 Ozu films) Ozu collaborator Chishu Ryu who I found very unnatural in Tokyo Sonata but is the epitome of delightful here. There's very little conflict, but I was totally absorbed in the efforts to find a husband for her daughter and how the customs of the time in Japan affect everyone. Some are left to care for family, some married to people they don't love, and others who got lucky. In the end, I just like seeing a caring, functional family every now and then.
The Descent: Part 2 -- Jon Harris
The Descent: Part 2 starts off right where the first one ends, which is a problem if you prefer the original, British ending the true ending. There's no way this film can live up to its terrific predecessor, which is fine the way it is and really didn't need a sequel, but that didn't stop one from being made. The characters and paper thin and cliched and the likelihood of stumbling across the same cave locations as the first are extremely remote, but its heart is in the right place. There are a few legitimate surprises (only one of which is truly absurd) and some new cave scenarios are explored (the swimming aspect is particularly frightening to think about). I may have even thought more of the film had it not been for the utterly ridiculous and out of left field ending. They were so close to having a great final image and blew it. But, for all intents and purposes, it's decent (see what I did there?).
The Magnificent Seven -- John Sturgess
I never realized what an awesome presence Yul Brynner is, but damned if he isn't fantastic. It's funny, though. Brynner complained of Steve McQueen trying to steal scenes by doing weird things (like shaking shotgun shells) and, at least in that case, I was watching McQueen the whole time Brynner was talking. He may have had a point. There's a lot to like in The Magnificent Seven, but it hurts it that the source material (Seven Samurai) is out-of-this-world amazing. That's not really fair to compare them, but it's inevitable. I also think it hurts my assessment that I've seen The Three Amigos so many times. It's hard to get wrapped up in one film when you're running scenes from the other in your mind.
Don't Look Up -- Fruit Chan
I've got to be more careful when I take Harry Knowles' recommendation for movies. He likes a lot of good stuff, but the problem is that he likes everything (now that I look back at the recommendation, I see that he hasn't seen it. So why did I put it on my Netflix queue? Oh... that's right). Don't Look Up is a mess of a film with some very poor actor's in lead roles (as happy as I am that Henry Thomas is still working, the man simply isn't that good). There's not much to say about it except to wonder why Kevin Corrigan and Eli Roth were involved at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment