Saturday, June 24, 2017
The Family (2013)
The Manzoni family, a notorious mafia clan, is relocated to Normandy, France under the witness protection program, where fitting in soon becomes challenging as their old habits die hard.
Mildly entertaining, but lacklustre Mafia gangster movie spoof; it's not the casts' fault, which is accurate for the occasion; however, the movie only works in bits and not as a whole.
Maltin**1/2: "Farcical situation is well played..., but the screenplay...is lazy and leaves a lot to be desired. Watchable enough because of that cast but gets awfully "cute" when it makes winking references to a famous American mob movie."
Guyver: Dark Hero (1994)
The unwilling host to an alien bio-armor known as the Guyver is trying to find why the Guyver unit forces him to fight and kill evil.
Maybe enjoyable as camp considering the x-double minus performances, the silly, almost cute monster costumes and the fact that the existence of our galaxy is being rescued from someone's backyard.
Friday, June 23, 2017
First Lines: Osa Johnson - I Married Adventure
In light of the placid expectation that because I was born in Chanute, Kansas, I would grow up, marry, raise a family, and die there, I find it amusing to recall a certain hot September day of my seventh year, when I asked my father for ten cents.
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
A research team is sent to the Jurassic Park Site B island to study the dinosaurs there while another team approaches with another agenda.
Great special effects and some humour make this sequel entertaining, but basically this is an old-fashioned monster movie.
Halliwell*: "The special effects are to be wondered at, as is the fact that the script is cloned from the oldest and most familiar elements of monster movies; this is a dinosaur about dinosaurs."
Maltin**1/2: "Completely contrived sequel to JURASSIC PARK benefits from Goldblum's deprecating dialogue and superior special effects. Enough cliffhanger-style action scenes to make up for the lulls."
Ich seh ich seh (2014)
Twin boys move to a new home with their mother after she has face changing cosmetic surgery, but under her bandages is someone the children don't recognize.
Unusual Austrian shocker successfully creates an atmosphere of isolation and dread, but has some truly nasty scenes and a puzzling ending.
Thursday, June 22, 2017
Wednesday, June 21, 2017
First Lines: George Catlin - Letters and Notes on the Manners, Customs, and Condition of the North American Indians
As the following pages have been hastily compiled, at the urgent request of a number of friends, from a series of Letters and Notes written by myself during several years' residence and travel amongst a number of the wildest and most remote tribes of the North American Indians, I have thought it best to make this page the beginning of my book; dispensing with Preface, and even with Dedication, other than that which I hereby make of it, with all my heart, to those who will take the pains to read it.
Antichrist (2009)
A grieving couple retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage, but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.
Ambiguous black fairy tale, basically a two person drama congenially set and photographed in a dark forest; some scenes may not be suitable for the squeamish.
Maltin**: "Intense, gorgeously designed drama becomes increasingly gruesome, with some scenes so brutally graphic they're nearly impossible to watch. This isn't SAW-type torture porn; it's grimly serious, but also very difficult to decipher, with touches of fantasy thrown in. To say it's not for all tastes is an understatement, but those interested in writer-director von Trier may well find something to their liking."
Tuesday, June 20, 2017
We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
Kevin's mother struggles to love her strange child, despite the increasingly vicious things he says and does as he grows up, but Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined.
Half character study, half Bad Seed horror movie, the tale is slowly revealed through a complex patchwork of flashbacks and offers an intense performance by Tilda Swinton.
Maltin**: "Swinton delivers a deeply felt performance...Miller is chilling as the adolescent boy. Knowing where the story is headed makes watching this flashback-laden film a torturous experience, though it was highly praised by many critics and moviegoers."
Monday, June 19, 2017
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