Plot: After three years of fighting in the Clone Wars, Anakin Skywalker concludes his journey towards the Dark Side of the Force, putting his friendship with Obi Wan Kenobi and his marriage at risk.
View Trailer:
My Rating: 8/10
Would I watch it again? Yup.
Here's another short one. This one kicks ass. I give it an 8 but there's still the amaturish acting from Christensen and some bad dialogue (but not nearly as much as the previous two). Take that out and I'd give it a 10 and rank it up there with STAR WARS and EMPIRE but never surpassing those two.
This one' s just a load of fun and it's largely due to the darkness of the story and the performances of McGregor and McDiarmid. Palpatine OWNS this movie and every scene he's in. No question.
Best/worst line that will live forever? After Obi Wan hands Anakin his ass at the climax of the final duel the best that Anakin can muster up is..."I HATE YOU!". Thank you George Lucas for giving us such memorable dialog. What a maroon.
After re-watching (for the last time) THE PHANTOM MENACE a couple of weeks ago and this one last week I just can't wrap my brain around how Lucas wrote such lousy dialogue. I can't spend much time on this one. I really need to move on so here's the skinny:
- Truly horrible acting by Christensen, Portman and, sometimes, Jackson - it's the worst acting I've seen from Jackson. I blame that on Lucas. Christensen almost single-handily brings this film down with his amateurish high school performance.
"Waaaaaaaaaa. I want my bottle."
- McGregor does a good job with what he has but REALLY shines in Ep. 3. Lee kicks ass as does McDiarmid (who OWNS Ep.3.)
- Lucas' lame dialogue is all through this thing. Like Ep.1 this one is pretty but laden with childish dialogue and acting. Imagine being on a first date with an intelligent and attractive woman (or man) who you'd really like to get to know better but she has a very irritating laugh and picks her nose without shame. That's this movie.
- Jango & BobaFett kick ass and I'd REALLY like to see some adventures based on these two characters as Boba grows up without having Jango die in this one, of course. Their relationship and chemistry was fun to watch. Too bad it's all over now.
"Badass Sr. & Badass Jr."
- The assembly line sequence and the arena sequence seemed completely unnecessary and more like video game fodder than anything that helped the story along.
- I REALLY liked the few times where the CGI was used to create older "film" techniques like the focused foreground and out of focus background. It probably stand out more because the rest of the film is so CGI clean and pretty in comparison.
- It's not nearly as bad as Ep.1 but then it does have Jar Jar.
- There is NO FUCKING WAY anyone, and I mean ANYONE, would allow that dipshit of an abortion, Jar Jar, to represent them in a governing position much less holding their place in line at a Burger King while going to the bathroom. Inexcusable. This could have been handled in a much more mature way by having Palpatine manipulate someone with intelligence. Hey, Pap's a charming, smart guy. We would easily be able to see how that could happen. You don't have to put arms and legs on a fungus-covered turd and say, "he did it" for us to get it.
"Ooooh, pretttttyyyy"
This is probably my 4th or 5th viewing (I know, I know - I'm in denial) and it seemed better to me this time than it had before but I can't help but think that if the two issues of acting and cheesy dialogue were cleaned up it would actually be a very good film. We'll always have STAR WARS and EMPIRE.
Tagline: It's a grubby, violent, dangerous world. But it's the only world they know. And they're the only friends Eddie has.
Plot: Eddie's friends are numerous, but the term friends is suspect. As a small time hood Eddie is about to go back to jail. In order to escape this fate he deals information on stolen guns to the feds. Simultaneously he is supplying arms to his bank robbing/kidnapping hoodlum chums. But who else is dealing with the feds? Who gets the blame for snitching on the bank robbers?
My Rating: 8/10
Would I watch it again? You betcha
Here's a little gem of a flick I bet you've never even heard of. If you love gritty crime films from the 70s like I do then you owe it to yourself to seek this one out. I eventually got mine in a trade from some cat in the Netherlands. It's a fullscreen TV dub, which sucks, but I FINALLY got to see it. WOW!
It's the kind of picture that stays with you for a few days after you watch it. It's only been a few weeks since I saw it (I'm THAT far behind with these reviews) and I'm ready to see it again. It's a subtle picture, kinda sneakin' up on you. Even after it's over you feel it still creeping around, expecting something else to happen. I can't shake it.
Mitchum is dead-on perfect in his role as a worn out, aging criminal trying to make ends meet. Boyle's great as the bartender who passes on information to the Feds. This guy's cold, man. The story unfolds slowly not telling us everything we need to know but giving it to us peace meal. You're not quite sure where it's going and you don't mind either because it's quite gripping, realistic and gritty. This is not like any crime/gangster story you've ever seen. This one's more of a snapshot in time than anything like THE GODFATHER films or pictures like THE FRENCH CONNECTION or THE SEVEN-UPS. There are no large action set pieces but there's plenty of real drama and intrigue. I found it most compelling.
Something else that is surprising is that director Peter Yates had, just a few years earlier, directed the high octane crime action film BULLITT (1968) with Steve McQueen. He's at the polar opposite within the same genre. He definitely didn't churn out "more of the same" as so many do.
There's a GREAT little scene in the first ten minutes where Coyle is in a diner putting together a gun deal when he tells the story about honor and integrity. It runs for a full two minutes and shows you just how good of an actor Mitchum was. You REALLY feel for this guy and that one monologue puts you in his pocket for the rest of the film.
The ending is...well, it's...uh...not much of what you would expect. Without spoiling it, it does continue on a bit after a HUGE surprise you don't see coming. That's not to say I don't like the ending; I do...a lot. I suppose I can equate it to the down time, the breather you need after a tragic event to soak everything in while you're still in disbelief. I personally felt betrayed, left alone. Like I said before, it stayed with me for several days/weeks afterwards.
It really is a crime that this film, with one of Mitchum's finest performances, is not on a proper DVD. If this sounds interesting in any way I encourage you to do what it takes to find this film. I've just bought the novel it was based on from Ebay and I can't wait to dig into it and then watch the film over again. Find it.
Tagline: 2 Desperados ... 1 Hellcat ... and a Samurai ... the greatest fighting force the West has ever known!
Plot: The Japanese ambassador is travelling through the Wild West by train, when gangsters hold up the train, to rob a gold shipment. They also carry an ancient Japanese sword the ambassador was carrying as a present for the US president. The ambassador's bodyguard (ToshiroMifune) will go after them, with the aid of one of the gang's leaders betrayed by his pals...
Bronson = Badass! He doesn't say much...he doesn't have to.
When I first saw this a few years ago I was struck by two things: Charles Bronson smiles (frequently) and, surprisingly, the fish-out-of-water Japanese Samurai is treated with respect instead of the usual goofy-type Asian kungfu character found in westerns. With the kungfu craze of the early 70s becoming increasingly popular in films the East-meets-West theme was usually treated as broad comedy. It's refreshing to see the subject matter taken so seriously.
It's also really neat seeing Bronson play someone so lighthearted - certainly a nice departure from his stone-faced serious roles. Mifune is great as always. Having Bronson and Mifune in the same picture is gold. And then there's Ursula...mmmmmmmm...Ursula...well, she's fun to watch and Delon is good. The action is sometime raw and gritty (just what you've come to expect in a Spaghetti Western) but is nicely balance by Bronson's humorous turn and the sporadic bursts of very bleak funny from Mifune.
And here's one of those "They don't make 'em like this anymore" moments. There's a scene where Bronson is lying down listening to Ursula (his captive) ramble on. She slinks over to him for the seduction and as she moves her hands from his chest on down she quickly grabs his pistol from the holster throws herself back, points the pistol at Bronson and says, "Don't come closer...I kill you". He moves closer. She starts firing the pistol but there are no bullets in it. Bronson moves in, grabs the pistol and...
WHACK (and it's HARD), right across the face. Mifune walks in at this point and Bronson says, "That's Christina for you. You never know which gun she's gonna reach for." Nice.
Everything about this film is great except for the music.
I'm not much of a fan of composer Maurice Jarre. I've seen quite a few of his films but the only scores I really like are for LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962), although somewhat repetitive but quite good, and WITNESS (1985) which would have been better if it had been recorded by an orchestra instead of electronic. He's definitely got his own "sound" but I don't care for it at all. In RED SUN it's just plain annoying, childish, and amateurish. It hurts an otherwise outstanding picture.
Other than that the only thing I would have changed is the ending.
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE SPOILERS...YARRRRR
Someone dies...and and the other one doesn't have a scratch. That's the problem. It didn't feel like it was really necessary and the film could have been better served by either A) no one dying or B) someone else snuffing it or C) all of them buying the farm.
Other than that, it's all good, Buddy.
END OF SPOILERS...YARRRRRR
Unfortunately, the film has only been released in fullscreen. There's not an awful lot worse than watching a western in fullscreen. Yeah, there is. Watching ANY Paulie Shore movie.
Plot: An extremely volatile and dangerous Englishman goes to Los Angeles to find the man he considers responsible for his daughter's death.
My Rating: 9/10
Would I watch it again? Oh, yeah
It's the art-house British gangster flick you've been waiting for. This film oozes with style. Soderbergh tells much of the story with the audio not always matching the video. For example, there's a scene where Wilson (Stamp) is telling Elaine (Warren) about his strained relationship with his daughter. As he does, the camera cuts all over the place with him telling her in different locations but never breaking up the story. I think I'm having trouble trying to explain it. There are many times where you see something that has happened in the past few minutes/hours or in the future (minutes/hours) but is being spoken by the characters in the 'now'. It creates a really neat effect.
The performances are spot on. Stamp is a motherfucker in this. Badass. Guzman is great as always, Warren is fine, and Peter Fonda turns in a surprisingly good performance as a pussified record producer/promoter that has capitalized and made his career on the music of the 60s. There's a great extended uncredited cameo by Bill Duke. He's great. We need more of this guy in the movies. If the name doesn't do it for you he's the bald black guy from Predator. Now you know. Nicky Katt does a hilarious job as Stacy the Hitman.
The pacing is just right and the film clocks in at a quick 89 minutes and leaving nothing out. And damn, is this movie funny. Wilson is so sure of himself and isn't afraid of anything so seeing his Cockney British ass in Los Angeles going up against huge muscle-bound thugs is a riot. His machine gun delivery is just this side of James Cagney. There's a great scene where he's been taken in by the DEA and he's placed in the room with Bill Duke (the top DEA guy on the case) and before Duke says a word, Wilson yammers on for a full minute or two about what's going on, essentially trying to talk his way out of it and he doesn't know why he's there to begin with. It's a friggin' riot. Then Duke speaks ever so slightly, "The thing I don't understand is every mother fucking word you're sayin'." Classic.
And I've got to comment on Cliff Martinez's score. He uses two notes played on a piano that has been tuned a quarter tone apart which creates a VERY uneasy feeling when played against the drone in the background. Henry Mancini used the quarter tone effect in a much larger way with his outstanding score in WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967). Martinez's music kind of holds your hand to sooth you as you walk across a dangerous intersection at the same time make you worried that you're going to be left in the middle.
My friend commented about Stamp not too long into the picture. You see we had just watched STAR WARS THE PHANTOM MENACE last night and he wasn't familiar with Stamp's work. Tonight he piped up with, "Hey, I didn't know that guy could act!". He was briefly in SW 1 but wasn't allowed to do any acting. It was funny at the time. George Lucas has that effect on actors I guess. THE LIMEY is a top notch British gangster story of a different kind and fortunately for us it's been treated with class, dignity and humor by director Steven Soderbergh. Fun stuff. Check it out.
Tagline: The thing that won't die, in the nightmare that won't end.
Plot: A cyborg is sent from the future on a deadly mission. He has to kill Sarah Connor, a young woman whose life will have a great significance in years to come. Sarah has only one protector - Kyle Reese - also sent from the future. The Terminator uses his exceptional intelligence and strength to find Sarah, but is there any way to stop the seemingly indestructible cyborg?
My Rating: 9/10
Would I watch it again? Yup
I've probably seen this a half dozen times since catching it in the 80s on video. It's a great story masterfully executed by Cameron. There's not much for me to say about it, really. The acting, for the most part, is great. Linda Hamilton wasn't that great until the action scenes kicked in and that's where she shined best. Some of the dialogue was hokey like at the end when the Mexican gas station attendant says, "There's a storm comin'" and she says, "I know." Plus it's the way she says it. It's a minor gripe, sure, but still pretty goofy.
To this day I can't help watching it and thinking about the time it was made. I was a kid then and Arnold was king. At least he became King with this picture. Conan had pretty much made him famous and this one solidified his box office capital. Considering Cameron had a budget of about 6.4 million he did a hell of a lot with it. We got to see a future we hadn't seen before and robots that seemed more real than ever before. One of the coolest parts was the opening with the terminators killing everything in sight and the end with the skeletal terminator trying to kill Sarah Connor in the big final battle. Which brings me to something else. I TOTALLY DIG STOP MOTION ANIMATION!!! That's just one of the techniques used to bring the terminator to life at the end. It's just badass cool. I know what it is and you know what it is. It's just so neat.
"We're Fritos, man!"
There aren't very many electronic/synth scores that I like but this is one of those few. For the most part it's great. There are a couple of cues here and there that don't work for me but I can overlook that because it's rare. Great main theme and some good action cues.
I'm in the minority on this but I've always liked this one a lot more than the sequel. I've always felt T2 was just more money but less originality despite the fantastic twist. I'll watch that one for next weeks movie night. It's been a lot of years since I've seen that one. I don't feel the need to revisit the third picture. I liked it OK but there's just something about the original that no one is going to be able to top. That doesn't mean they can't make great sequels with something original to say it's just that they haven't. I keep hoping that someday someone will send a terminator back in time to stop George Lucas from making the Star Wars prequels as bad has he did or at least kill the Ewoks before it's too late.
Tagline: Every generation has a legend. Every journey has a first step. Every saga has a beginning.
Plot: As imminent conflict brews between the powerful Trade Federation and the peaceful planet of Naboo, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi travel to Naboo to warn the Queen of the galactic fallout which is to follow. Eventually, Naboo is invaded forcing the Jedi to evacuate the planet with the Queen and her court. They travel to the desert planet of Tatooine where they meet a slave boy called AnakinSkywalker who is evidently one with the Force.
View a MUCH better Trailer:
My Rating: 5/10 and that's generous
Would I watch it again? Not likely (pay close attention to this, Future Self)
Here's where I'm coming from. In 1977 I was 8. STAR WARS changed everything for me. I was a classic SW freak. For the next few years I wanted anything and everything SW. The toys, I had most of them. When ESB came out I was even more into it. By the time ROTJ came out in 83 I was 13. I liked ROTJ but not nearly as much as the first two. I hated the Ewoks. Every time I saw the film I imagined Luke tossing a few onto Vader's funeral pyre at the end to stoke the fire. That never happened. I didn't want teddy bears in my SW movies. Too cutsie.
George Lucas: My Viceroy has no nose.
"Yes" Man A: How does he smell?
George Lucas: Awful!
Lucas once said, back in the late 70s I think, that he made STAR WARS for the child in all of us. Now, after coming back and making episodes 1-3, he's made these movies for the children, not us adults who've supported his fat ass all these years. And that's my biggest problem with this film in particular. I watched it last night. I really see no need to see it again. Ever. I was there for the first show on the first day. I didn't like it. I thought maybe it was me so when a good friend asked me to tag along a month later I went. I didn't like it then, either. I bought the DVD (used and dirt cheap, btw). I tried to watch it but turned it off after the first half hour. Then I gave it a go with the commentary. I made it all the way through. Go me. That was 5 or 6 years ago.
There were two friends with me last night. I can honestly say I couldn't have done it without them or the alcohol that started pouring during the pod race after the lame-ass line, "I don't care what planet you're from; that's GOTTA hurt." I'm not going to rant much. There's plenty of that all over the Internet. You've seen it so you know what I'm talking about. Fart jokes in a SW movie? Poo poo jokes in a SW movie? A main character that's lamer than an Ewok in a SW movie? If you had told that ten years ago I wouldn't have believed it.
"Badass"
Lucas has always had an amazing imagination and a talent for realizing it. He shouldn't be in control of absolutely everything. With the first two SW films he had people telling him NO. It's my belief that beginning with ROTJ he started surrounding himself with YES men which culminated in episodes 1, 2 and 3. He's a horrible horrible director for actors. I've never seen Samuel L. Jackson, Liam Nieson, Natalie Portman or Ewan McGregor act so poorly. McGregor did, however, a fantastic job with episode 3 but the others are terrible. Both actors that played Anakin stink on ice. The only actor that really pulls it off and in a big way is Ian McDiarmid as Senator Palpatine/The Emperor. That guy amazingly pulls himself through some lame dialogue and makes something out of it.
Small children, I'm sure, love this movie. Jar Jar is one of the most idiotic characters in film history. Hell, Jim Varney with his vest and baseball cap running around going, "KnowhutImean, Vern" would have been a crapload more entertaining than that creature. That he was allowed to live lessens the credulity of the main characters.
Lucas has said recently that he's working on converting all six SW films to 3-D to release in theaters. I'm excited but then I'm afraid. I'm afraid for the person who sits in front of me when Jar Jar shows up and I start beating the living shit of him because he'll look so real. I'll go to jail knowing Lucas won't bail me out but I know that millions of Star Wars fans will come to my rescue in solidarity against this travesty to cinema.
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