The Hidden Fortress - Kurosawa, 1958

The Hidden Fortress is more known today as being one of the inspirations for Star Wars (7) but that doesn't do it justice, since it is at least as good as , if not better than, the Lucas film. Few director/actor pairings are as successful as Kurosawa/Mifune, and they are both near the top of their form here. And you can certainly understand why Lucas was drawn to the idea of centering the story of a grand battle around two peasants, comically thrown together despite their animosity.

This movie is lighter in tone than Kurosawa usually delivers, and I think that resulted in it being overshadowed by "serious" films such as Rashomon (10) and Ikiru (8). This was my second viewing and I had it at a 7 the first time. Now I'm inclined to rate it as an 8.

The Fugitive - Ford, 1947

This was a second viewing for me of Ford's retelling of a Graham Greene novel. It's about a fugitive priest in Mexico, not to be confused with the later tv series and movie based on that. It starts very slowly, but it's a solid piece of work. Henry Fonda is the beleaguered priest and Ward Bond and Deloris Del Rio head up a list of excellent character actors.

The religious message grates a bit, but definitely worth a viewing. I stick with my original 6 rating.

That Certain Woman - Goulding, 1937

Way, way over the top melodrama in which Bette Davis is willing to sacrifice everything - reputation, true love, and even her own son! - just be noble. Modern audiences are sure to be rolling their eyes at the end. And of course she gets her reward in the end when the good, crippled wife she gave up Henry Fonda and her son to, kicks the bucket.

It's well made and well acted, but just too much to swallow. A 3 rating.

Shampoo - Ashby, 1975

Hal Ashby's star burned for a very short time, but it was bright for his first few films. Harold and Maude (7), The Last Detail (7), and Shampoo are all daring, intelligent, iconoclastic works. Outstanding performances here by Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, and Jack Warden. Curiously, Lee Grant is the one who received the Oscar in this film, and she is good, but certainly no better than anyone else. Oscar's are rarely logical or just though.

This film is truly a 6 1/2, being just a bit below Ashby's previous two movies, but I'll give it a 7 for its gutsy, realistic dialogue.

Satan Met A Lady - Dieterle, 1936

Saw this without knowing anything about it ahead of time, but it didn't take very long to recognize the story as The Maltese Falcon. This version is much lighter, and the acting is rather broad, but essentially the story and most of the characters are the same. Warren William plays the rather goofy, devil-may-care detective and Bette Davis is great as the femme fatale.

Of course it isn't as great as the Huston/Bogart version that came out five years later, but it's good fun and the twisting plot moves right along. A 6 rating.

The Notorious Landlady - Quine, 1962

The Notorious Landlady is another Quine/Jack Lemmon film, with Blake Edwards helping out with the script. It needs more help than that though. And Jack Lemmon's performances in these Quine films just don't hold up. And while Kim Novak is OK in yet another "beautiful woman with a secret" role, it isn't terribly enthralling.

Still, it's an average murder mystery, with some comedic elements. The film looks good, with the sets and the camera work. If it weren't for the goofy slapstick at the end I might be tempted to give it a 5, but I really don't like Blake Edwards' slapstick at the end of a film, so a 4 rating.

It Happened To Jane - Quine, 1959

Richard Quine was prolific during the late 50's on through the 60's, sometimes hitting the mark squarely , as in World of Suzie Wong (8), but more often just missing, as in Paris - When It Sizzles (3), My Sister Eileen (4), and How To Murder Your Wife (4). This one is a clear miss. Doris Day has never been more annoyingly goody, and Jack Lemmon has never been more boringly boy scout. And, as in far too many Doris Day movies, you'd love to have the chance to strangle the kids.

Ernie Kovacs is good as the villian, but even he turns saccharine in the end. This movie was one of Day's few box office bombs during her peak period, and this despite intense studio publicity. You can understand why. It's tiresome and a 3 rating.

The Day After Tomorrow - Emmerich, 2004

The Day After Tomorrow has some excellent special effects, but everything else is crap. The plot is particularly egregious. In one scene, escaped wolves from the Central Park zoo attack some students trying to get medical supplies off of a drifting Russian freighter. I mean, could they possibly have come up with anything more ridiculous?

The acting is pure cliche, and the direction is awful. Of course this is the same director who gave us stinkers like Independence Day (2) and the truly terrible 1998 Godzilla (1). He also did The Patriot, which I was generous enough to give a 4. For this mess, I'd like to give it a 2.5, but I'm confining myself to whole numbers. It is certainly stupid enough to merit a 2, but the effects are definitely cool, so 3 it is.

World Traveler - Freundlich, 2001

World Traveler is a strange film that drifts along as aimlessly as its unlikable protagonist, Billy Crudup, an architect who leaves his family and wanders around meeting unusual people. In one long section, he drives an insane woman (Julianne Moore) to Montana. Is he trying to find some redemption but just can't get there? Does he just need to be reminded of what he had back home? The movie is unclear on all points. And it is hard to feel sympathy for a muddled selfish main character.

Despite all that, the scenery is great and the acting is pretty good. It's just quirky enough to deserve a 4 rating.

Duane Hopwood - Mulhern, 2005

Hard to believe this is a movie and not a one hour tv show, because it seems a lot more like the latter. Not surprising from a director who has mostly only worked as a tv actor. It's not like there's a lot wrong here, there just isn't much of anything at all.

Schwimmer and Garofalo usually give completely unwatchable performances, but here they are at least average. The story basically revolves around an alcoholic coming to understand his problem. Not terrible, just not terribly interesting or creative. I'm going to be generous and give it a 4 for at least not being too hokey.

The Bigamist - Lupino, 1953

Ida Lupino is well known as an actress but not as a director. This is probably because she mostly did television directing, and was uncredited for her help on Ray's classic On Dangerous Ground. Still, the three films I have rated for her: The Hitch-Hiker (1953), The Trouble With Angels (1966), and this film, are all at a 6 rating. For the most part, she keeps things real, and relatively intelligent in her movies.

The Bigamist is certainly an oddity, most particularly because the title character is sympathetically portrayed. That is one of the strength's of Lupino's films -- there is no real bad or good. All of the four main characters -- the double-husband (O'Brien), his first wife (Fontaine), the second wife (Lupino), and the adoption agency bureaucrat (Gwenn) who unravels the duel setup -- all have their positive and negative points.

The acting is fine and the story is told through flashbacks. I might even be tempted to give it a 7 rating, but the movie is handicapped by having to explain its morality over and over to the 1950's audience. Unfortunately, Lupino is just ahead of her time here. As I said, a 6.

Strange Hostel of Naked Pleasures - Motta, 1976

I think I said a few posts back that it was really hard to get a 1 rating in my system, but this mess manages to make the cut. It has all the elements of a really, really bad movie: incomprehensible plot, minuscule production values, ridiculous acting, and then they top it off with gratuitous sex and violence. It's hard to explain what is going on in this movie because I'm certain no one associated with it had any idea themselves.

The opening credits are in Italian, but I'm fairly certain there is one credit for a hamburger stand. I'm guessing they swapped ad space in their opening credits for a lunch. If so, the hamburger stand got a raw deal.

A classic 1 rating.

The Incredible Hulk - Leterrier, 2008

It's strange that they made this movie so quickly after Ang Lee's god-awful 2003 Hulk (2 rating). Maybe they are real Hulk fans and wanted to get those bad images out of everyone's minds? Also, some strange casting here, but a good one with Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, William Hurt, and Tim Roth, although William Hurt is a notch below the others here. To be fair though, he does have the most ridiculous role as Tyler's father and the maniacal general who is out to caption the Hulk.

It mostly works, with the beginning being the best part, where Norton tries to escape detection and his own inner wrath by hiding in Brazil. Leterrier hasn't really done much as a director and that shows a bit as the movie fails to quite live up to it's early promise. I guess it was kind of a cool idea to turn Roth into another, evil Hulk, but it makes no sense plot wise. If Hurt is able to create Hulks on his own, why does he need Norton?

Still, overall this is a good entry to the Marvel film world. It's better than the Spiderman films and way, way better than the Ang Lee trash. A 6 rating.

Strangeland - Pieplow, 1998

Strangeland was written by, and stars, Dee Snider, of Twisted Sister fame, and it is directed by some guy named Pieplow. I think that should give you a pretty good indication up front of the quality of this movie.

It starts off as a standard, throw-away, gross-out, horror flick with an internet stalker tempting kids into his torture lair. Then the plot turns into a confusing guilt/morality theme when Snider, the all-too-loquatious and ridiculously pierced villan, is caught by the detective whose daughter was tortured by Snider. The bad guy gets out four years later after an insanity defense and the detective stands idly by while an angry mob tries to hang Snider.

Unfortunately, he's saved by rain and a weak tree limb, and immediately goes on a revenge spree, both on the mob that grabbed him and the detective, by once again kidnapping his daughter. He's easy enough to find again though, and the detective tortures and kills him this time instead of bringing him to justice. Maybe Snider's self-loathing persona on-screen mimicks what he really felt about his script. When he's hung on a hook and burned to death at the end, I'm sure many viewers are wishing that all copies of the film were burned along with him.

I'm giving it a 2, because at least it is somewhat novel, and because it is difficult to get a 1 or a 10 in my rating system.

The Final Cut - Naim, 2004

The Final Cut reminded me a little bit of Strange Days (6, but it would have been a 7 without the terrible ending), with the memory recording technology and the consequences of it. It's OK, but neither as ambitious nor as successful as Strange Days.

Robin Williams seems like he's carving out a niche here with these creepy, quiet guy roles. I'm thinking of Insomnia (7) and One Hour Photo (6). He's about as good here as he was in those other two movies (good, but not great) but the movie overall is just a notch or two below.

American Psycho - Harron, 2000

Saw this when it came out and didn't purposely intend to see it again, but it was on the recording I made for Paranoid Park, so I went through it again. This is one of those films where I can pick the exact moment it drops down a notch, and it is the scene where Bateman drops the chainsaw down the stairs to kill the escaping hooker.

There is some surprisingly good acting here and some good content as well, but the violence is just a bit too distractingly over the top. I feel exactly the same way about the book, although the book is much worst in this respect than the movie. It works pretty well as a dark, satirical comedy about empty excesses of the Yuppie 90s. Bale's performance is excellent, and his interactions with his fiance (Reese Witherspoon) and the detective (Willem Dafoe) are hilarious, as are several of the scenes with his vapid friends. Bateman's commentary about restaurants and music, and his flimsy excuses for leaving (how dated does that "going to return a video" sound today?) are great background for social satire, as are the empty, modern buildings he inhabits.

In the end, I wound up feeling much the same way as I did about Harron's earlier I shot Andy Warhol (5)-- good performances, good commentary, but just a bit cheap in a sensationalistic manner, and flawed by not delivering any kind of satisfying ending.

American Psycho could/should have been a 7, but there are just enough problems to knock it down a notch. I originally gave it a 5, mainly because I think the violence bothered me more then and I was closer to reading the book, which was more distasteful. Now, I'm a long time away from reading the book and have seen far worse violence in many films, so I'm going to give it a 6. Really, I think it is a 5.5, but 6 will do.

Paranoid Park - Van Sant, 2007

Since I just did my Van Sant summery for Gerry, I thought I'd view a more recent film by him -- Paranoid Park. The is Van Sant's best film since Drugstore Cowboy, reminding me a lot of Kids. It's a simple story of a skateboard rat who accidentally kills a security guard and is pressed by the guilt of it while he continues along in his alienated existence. Rings pretty true all around.

It makes me hopeful that Milk may live up to it's early hype. A 7 rating.

The Hard Word - Roberts, 2002

The Hard Word is a well-acted Aussie crime thriller that falls short because the plot is so wildly improbable. Guy Pearce is solid as one of the greasy thugs. And Rachel Griffiths is deliciously slutty, far better work than what she later did in "Six Feet Under".

Overall, it should add up to better than the 4 rating that I'm giving it, mainly because it is so handicapped by ridiculous plot twists. You just can't buy into this film and that knocks it down a notch or two.

Shattered Glass - Ray, 2003

Shattered Glass is quite a good directorial debut for Ray and a respectable retelling of this journalistic scandal. I'm not normally a fan of movies based on true life incidents, but I found this film to be more believable than most.

Hayden Christiansen is much better in this film than in the two Star Wars films he did directly before and after. Hank Azaria and Peter Sarsgaard are fine as the two editors. Chloe Sevingny takes on a curiously small role here.

A 6 rating.

Gerry - Van Saint, 2002

Van Saint is another director I'm ambivalent about. I loved Drugstore Cowboy (7). I thought My Own Private Idaho (5), and his Psycho remake (5) were ok. I wasn't fond of Good Will Hunting (4). And I thought Elephant (6) was interesting.

I put Gerry in the last category. It's an incredibly sparse film, with long takes of two guys walking around, lost, in the desert. It's very, very minimalist, but it works for the most part. The landscape is both beautiful and ominous and the interaction between these two goofballs results in some dark comedy. At least for me -- I'm sure plenty of people would be impatient with this movie, but enough of it sticks with me to give it a 6.

Coogan's Bluff - Siegel, 1968

I've Coogan's Bluff about three times and while it is by no means a great movie, and the production values look extremely dated, it does hold up as being very watchable. Can't help being nostalgic for the old Clint either. I'm a bigger fan of his spaghetti westerns than of this film or the enforcer films, but Siegel and Clint definitely had some chemistry going, most notably in this film and in Dirty Harry. A 6 rating.

The Dreamers - Bertolucci, 2003

I have mixed feelings about Bertolucci. I sometimes feel like he resorts to cheap sensationalism to artificially spice up his films. On the other hand, he is often fascinating and certainly has a brilliant eye for composition. I wasn't a big fan of Last Tango (4 rating), and thought Last Emperor (6), Little Buddha (5) and Stealing Beauty (5).

I basically feel the same way about The Dreamers. The story, such as it is, basically revolves around an incestuous menage a trois between an American student in Paris and two strange siblings. They are all film buffs and the background is the student riots of the late 1960's. The film references and the riots provide some interesting diversions, and the three main characters are basically interesting. It's all enough to warrent a 6 rating, but as in most of Bertolucci's films, you can't help feeling that it couldn't have been a bit better with just a little more story. He's just great visually but just average with plot lines.

Brother's Keeper - Berlinger/Sinofsky, 1992

I've seen Brother's Keeper twice, although I'm not sure it deserved two viewing. Not that it is a bad film, because it isn't. It's a documentary that is very much in the style of Errol Morris, but I don't think it is quite up to that standard.

Basically, it is about the murder trial of a very simple man who is accused of murdering his brother. Is it a mercy killing or a sex/hate crime? Most of the community sides with the accused.

There's good stuff here, but the movie falls into the cardinal sin of being boring too often. A 5 rating.

Sex and the City - King, 2008

First, I'm not a fan of the Sex and the City tv series, but I watched this film with someone who is and we both agreed that this is a stinker. Everything about this movie is generally bad but if I had to pick one thing, I'd hold up the plot for a Raspberry nomination. And within this rotten plot, it's also hard to pick a nadir, but I'd hold up the scene where the girls are in Mexico and they all laugh at one of them shitting her pants after an intestinal attack. Really, I think that scene sums up the mentality of the moron who wrote this movie. And the real bonus is that he is the director as well! And it shows!

I could go on about how this movie pimps itself out to the fashion industry but it isn't worth it. Bottom line is that this movie was made just to suck money out of the loyal fans of the tv show and I truly feel sorry for them. As I said, I'm not crazy about the tv series, but it is far, far better than the film. A 2 rating.

Darkness - Balaguero, 2002

I have a soft spot for a good horror flick, but unfortunately Darkness is not one of them. It seems like this film steals elements from all kinds of successful films of this genre, most notably The Shining, Amityville Horror, and Rosemary's Baby, and then chops it up into a confusing mess. A mess is clearly the result. Anna Paquin is her usual cute/edgy/vulnerable self but the rest of the cast is decidedly bad. A 2 rating.

LaTerre, Antoine, 1921

La Terre is a solid adaptation of an Emile zola novel. It's quite a sordid tale of an old man who is neglected and cheated by his family after he splits up his property between them. The story and acting are all very good, but the highlight of the movie are the stunning location shots in the Chartres' countryside.

It has some flaws in that some of the editing is choppy and some scenes drag on a bit. Also, the musical score is sometimes intrusive. I have to take into consideration that Antoine was filming directly after WWI and no doubt times were difficult in France. Still, the early naturalist film movement is well-served by this addition. A 7 rating.

Union Station -- Mate, 1950

Union Station is an excellent cop drama, involving a kidnapping around Union Station in Chicago. William Holden, Nancy Olson, and Barry Fitzgerald are all solid in their roles. Overall, the story, camera and direction are all on cue.

What really makes this movie special though is the location shooting. Aside from many fabulous Union Station shots, we get to see the old stockyards, a chase scene on the El, and a shootout in the city's underground tunnels. Great stuff. If you're from Chicago, this is an 8. Otherwise, my rating is 7.

Stay - Forster, 2005

Stay is a stylistic, psychological thriller that is a bit hard to follow and sometimes drifts a bit. Watching it, it's hard to shake the feeling of a Sixth Sense knockoff, but ultimately, this is a very different film. It doesn't completely satisfy, yet there is enough interesting bits going on to make it watchable. A 5 rating.

Boeing (707) Boeing (707) -- Rich, 1965

Jerry Lewis and Tony Curtis team up in this bizarre sex comedy. Tony juggles three stewardess fiancees in Paris, somehow managing to live with all of them without any of them knowing about the others. Jerry wants to take his place. Thema Ritter does her usual bit as the acerbic housekeeper. The crazy script is adopted from a play and the movie feels like one. It also feels incredibly dated. Can't imagine this movie being made today, and that is probably a good thing.

A lot of people seem to like this film, but it's hard to see why. A generous 3 rating.

Three Times - Hou, 2005

Three Times (Zui hao de shi guang) is an ambitious Taiwanese film made up of three separate stories. Each is set in a different time period and basically involve a man and woman. Qi Shu and Chen Chang play the couple in each story.

There are some expertly creative parts to this film and some great shots. Unfortunately, it is just too long and slow to merit a high ranking. It is a first class film that makes the cardinal sin of being boring far too often. A 5 rating.