Words Without Misunderstanding I am an Alice obsessive. I recently saw the Depp/Burton project and was horrified at the opportunity missed. So I turned to this, surprised that I had not seen it before. This at least has a couple advantages. Though far less colorful and lacking imagination in the design, it conforms to the… Continue reading Alice in Wonderland (1972)
Adventures of Tintin (2011)
WETA Gold There are only three ways to turn on your mind. The third is too dangerous to even sketch. The most common is to allow it to do what it wants, tracing known pathways and presenting known patterns. All imagination comes home to rest. But then there is art, which in my book is… Continue reading Adventures of Tintin (2011)
Poor Albert & Little Annie (1972)
I Dismember Alice Horrible production values in every respect except for the idea behind the script. I collect films that are based on Alice in Wonderland. This is one. The little girl is the typical Alice since the Disney version: long blond hair, light blue dress, white knee socks. Her identity shifting is the same… Continue reading Poor Albert & Little Annie (1972)
Jane Austin in Manhattan (1980)
The Chosen I am usually offended, retroactively offended by Ivory – Jhabvala films. They have a quiet, deep consistency that draws respect the same way a cathedral does. But the uncomplicated emotional links and the sentimental world in which they exist gets to me, and taints dreams for days afterward. Good news. Here is that… Continue reading Jane Austin in Manhattan (1980)
Rambo (2008)
Arrows I suppose it makes economic sense to design a film this way. It has one scene only: the shootout at the end. This is what the target audience comes to see. Everything else is setup and justification. The Asians are baddy bad bad. The mercenaries are only in need of a disciplined superior. The… Continue reading Rambo (2008)
Jewel Robbery (1932)
Sex, Drugs and Crime William Powell is responsible for a huge element of our loves, the smoothness that has comic irony behind it. He invented it. There are a few of his movies that are essential viewing, but those are after the government thugs decided what movies should be like in “moral” terms. So you… Continue reading Jewel Robbery (1932)
The Dark Mirror (1946)
Her Sister Rose An actor’s challenge is when they are required to create their own mob, create the tension they are to hold. I’ve just seen a few “multiple people in one body” type films. Here we have something different: one actress playing two characters, exact twins. One is a murderer, we discover early in… Continue reading The Dark Mirror (1946)
Dark Command (1940)
Before the Pattern John Wayne ruined the western for me. The whole idea of the western until Leone was in constant repetition, walking the same route every time so that subtleties could be emphasised. Since everything else was given, we could focus on the smallest things. Real art in moviemaking is in picking the right… Continue reading Dark Command (1940)
Danish Pastries (1973)
Timothy Leery I was exceedingly happy to be able to find this old gem. In the early 70s, there was brief window when porn was where many cinematic experiments were happening. Some of them actually had some promise for being important. Perhaps the oddest is the porn musical. This is the most interesting from a… Continue reading Danish Pastries (1973)
Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)
Dibs on the Guide It is all about intent, isn’t it? If you have a film intended to reach some depth, the intent can be simply what the artists trust and if they are deep themselves AND good artists we get something valuable. I would never discount this, and many of my favorite film experiences… Continue reading Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008)