Mad Maximum Motion You can parse this into three bits I think. The first is what people normally see, the story. Miller and many of the Oz New Wave don’t pay much attention to this. They put something there of course, otherwise we would get distracted. Here it is an amazingly clever fold, referencing another… Continue reading Happy Feet (2006)
Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)
Arabiana Jones Boy, I’ll tell you that when this was new, it was great. This was before Lucas and Spielberg made it impossible to have a straight ahead adventure film with no winks at the audience. This was when special effects were more believable because the monsters were so unlike humans. This was before Arabs… Continue reading Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)
Girl With a Suitcase (1961)
Million Dollar Baby I watched this together with Eastwood’s “Million Dollar Baby.” I knew I would be challenged by that film (you can read my comment), and I wanted something that I knew would be a safe island after the offences therein. I chose this. Its between “Million” and “Nights of Cabiria” and more perfect… Continue reading Girl With a Suitcase (1961)
Funky Forest: The First Contact (2005)
Visits With a project like this, it is as likely that it is a random goof as something with some structure. It could be both. As this was sent to me by a fellow viewer, and because I am so inclined, I tend to see structure. And what I see I like — a lot.… Continue reading Funky Forest: The First Contact (2005)
French and Saunders (1990)
Asher to Ashes I came to this quite by accident. I was looking for recent appearances by Jane Asher. There is a bit, it turns out, at the end of the “bonus” collection, where she plays herself. But getting to that, I patiently watched this and tried to get it. No, I was trying to… Continue reading French and Saunders (1990)
Frances (1982)
Metaexploitation I continue to be astounded at films that are self-destructively self-referential. That’s where a story is about a certain trend, often in filmmaking, that is portrayed as evil. But at the same time, with the same players, the form of the film is precisely along that trend. Here is the story of a fragile… Continue reading Frances (1982)
Flash of Genius (2008)
Wipeout There are all sorts of fabulous interminglings between film and life. At a general level, I study these things. But when “life” is meant in the sense of historical truth, and the film purports to represent that, then the examination gets a bits boring. Okay, so we have a movie where Napoleon went somewhere… Continue reading Flash of Genius (2008)
Glitch (2008)
Canine Cells This is bad in all the ordinary ways. The idea is bad and the general setup. The science is bad. But many of the background characters are worthwhile. The usual pattern for these cartoony projects is to have the main characters operate in an environmental sea of props and secondary characters who are… Continue reading Glitch (2008)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Joe Meets Akira This is an ineptly made film, but which lives because of its sheer importance. It is the reconstruction of the western, the birth of the hardboiled, loveable thug and the reinvention of Kurosawa for the masses. Kurosawa had already been appropriated by the Hollywood western with “The Magnificent Seven,” but that project… Continue reading A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc. (1949)
Red Haired Magic This is a Republic serial, which is to say that it is tedious watching. You’ll find everything about this cheap and unimaginative. The device this time is an evil woman who has one of a pair of golden hands. Obtaining the second and solving a puzzle will result in untold riches. The… Continue reading Federal Agents vs. Underworld, Inc. (1949)