Gen R You should know that I have a great deal of patience for extreme films. I watched “The Falls” twice in one day. I dug through Matthew Barney, and patiently dug out some gems. I see merit in the early Jarman stuff. Korrine interests me. I presume that most things I encounter deserve to… Continue reading I-Be Area (2007)
I Remember Mama (1948)
Dismembered There are a few things to like about this: the framing and staging is extraordinary, as if George Stevens wanted to reinvent the eye after his war experiences. Some choreography is worth seeing over and over. I have recalled that bit about the window falling down for decades. The acting is generally very good… Continue reading I Remember Mama (1948)
I Married a Witch (1942)
Sullivan’s Possession Lake was a rising star when this was made, and it is clear that the story was engineered to highlight the charm of whoever starred. The previous year she did well in “Sullivan’s Travels”, something of a touchstone in film history. It was a so-called “folded” film, one that had a movie within… Continue reading I Married a Witch (1942)
I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958)
Watching Them Watching Us I suppose there are many ways of watching movies as there are of eating, a lot. But most folks seem to do it quickly, without savour. So from time to time it is worth watching an old movie with little merit just to see if you can escape the furrow plowed… Continue reading I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958)
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)
Three Forces My gosh: how could this fail to please. It employs all three of the major forces in pandering film: cute children, a beautiful woman ennobled by adversity and finally: unlikely ‘interracial’ love (‘.. he pressed his earthy oriental skin…’). The scriptwriter’s task is to take these three forces and merge them into a… Continue reading The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)
I, Madman (1989)
The Misadventures of Margaret The setup here is a typical fold. An actress has a day job in a book store. She reads horror books and imagines herself in them. One day, she comes across an author who, when writing, had the story and real life merge. In reading the books, they “come alive”. Her… Continue reading I, Madman (1989)
First Strike (1996)
Step by Step Watching Jackie movies is sometimes a real challenge, especially the English language ones. This barely qualifies as English, but is the best one. What he does with ordinary objects is absolutely amazing. There’s a classic ladder bit here. Ignore the plot — standard filler. Posted in 2004 Ted’s Evaluation — 3 of… Continue reading First Strike (1996)
Jabberwocky (1977)
Bonecrushing Display of Phosphorescence Rest assured that there is little relationship between this film and Carroll’s poem about his father’s crusade against French etymology. Instead, we have the first chapter in Gilliam’s quest for an appropriate vehicle for his imagination. That imagination isn’t comic in the ordinary sense. Gilliam’s world is one which is architecturally… Continue reading Jabberwocky (1977)
JFK (1991)
Conspiracy of the Simple I have my own theory about film. There is always an explicit acknowledgement that what you are seeing is a film, distinct from reality. Many films incorporate that recognition into their being; the simple ones are just films about films and filmmaking, but there are other sophisticated ways of self-reference. It… Continue reading JFK (1991)
Alleyn Mysteries: Final Curtain (1993)
Exit Stage Left I haven’t seen all of these productions. Usually I go through the whole series, and I may eventually come back to this. I watched this because I saw “Death at the Bar,” which was truly superb. It was because they built it around director Winterbottom’s special skills, the writer working to them… Continue reading Alleyn Mysteries: Final Curtain (1993)