Another Side of Thin With the third of the series, the producers decided to move a little more into the world of Hammett and nudge away from the cutesy cute banter. It is only a little in that direction, but noticeable with the fairly complex plot. Hammett was a real innovator, taking the genre from… Continue reading Another Thin Man (1939)
Tag: p2004
Comments first posted in 2004
Amores Perros (2000)
Panting Astrology I believe that the future of film is now firmly in the hands of Spanish-speaking filmmakers. Not that they make the best films, but that they have the current crop of ideas. We saw Italians introduce us to the notion that a camera can be tethered to the soul of a character and… Continue reading Amores Perros (2000)
Amateur (1994)
Abstract Porn Hartley is one of the most interesting directors working. Many associate him with French auteurs, but I think his experiments are more intellectual, more New York. His films are not only about other films, but exist in a world abstracted from them where almost everyone else insists on wallowing in the same space… Continue reading Amateur (1994)
All the Real Girls (2003)
Diversions Warning, if you watch this on DVD, avoid the commentary at all costs. This is a case where the creators are inarticulate nitwits, but what they have created has a particularly intelligent design. Superficially, this is the simple formula: boy meets girl; boy loses girl; boy gets girl back. With this edition, the two… Continue reading All the Real Girls (2003)
All the King’s Men (1949)
Actors, Politicians As a film, this hasn’t aged well. The various elements, especially the acting, now seem dated and… well, lousy. In its day we overlooked all its shortcomings because it was grand and relevant and seemingly true. That political sweep still resonates. But I suspect that where the film reflected political reality, it and… Continue reading All the King’s Men (1949)
All About Eve (1950)
Fabrications I admit, I find the story of the Mankiewcz brothers to be one of the most interesting in all filmdom. Part of the allure is their experimentation in narrative perspectives and the nature of fabrication. Here, the fabrication is extra sweetly dimensional. We have a movie about movies, actresses portraying actresses with resonances among… Continue reading All About Eve (1950)
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)
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
Used Record Store There are movies that are well done; there are movies that satisfy; there are those that work, those that stick, those that transcend time to become classics and those that change lives. None of these measures necessarily has anything to do with each other and any can produce a movie worth watching.… Continue reading Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
Island of Death (1978)
Photos I have a growing respect for Jess Franco. Some of his stuff is rather clever. But to my mind, this is much better. It doesn’t suffer from that Spanish notion of the scowling bigbreasted vamp. And it has some moody photography when it is not busy “shocking” us. How this is put together is… Continue reading Island of Death (1978)
Ishtar (1987)
Farentheit I am writing this at a time when George Bush is still president, Michael Moore’s film has just appeared and the American people are beginning to understand what has happened. We all grasp at the movie we live in. At the moment, the “Republican” movie is in competition more with alternative comfortable movies instead… Continue reading Ishtar (1987)