Future Poltergeist

 On the face of it, this movie is pure gimmick. It's a black and white movie, made entirely in the style of a silent movie. With few exceptions, the only sounds we hear are in the movie score. There are cards with quoted dialogue on them, just like in old times, but most of the movie is conveyed through the acting.  At first I was irked by this, because it felt very gimmicky, but it really grew on me. The acting that is needed in such a genre is different than in the "talkies" and it was interesting to experience it. It required close attention, and it drew me in to the story. The movie has a ton of heart and it's easy to see why it got so much praise. The story is somewhat similar to 'Singing in the Rain'. A silent movie star (Jean Dujardin) has the rug pulled out from under him but the inclusion of sound in movies. He rejects it and feels that it will have no place for him. (Very late in the movie, we find out why.) The change in movie style happens just as ...

 Long time readers of the blog will remember that I've had a thing for watching movies that were nominated for Best Picture. In fact, the very first function for this whole thing was to record my watching of the 50 movies that had that distinction in the 90s. I still enjoy doing so, but marriage and kids have sometimes been an obstacle in watching arthouse style movies.  Sometime in the 00s I stopped being a completest when it comes to watching the noms. That was true by the middle of the decade and became even more of a thing when the Oscars expanded past five noms per year in 2009. I don't know that the quality of the movies declined, but carving out time to watch nine movies is simply a more daunting task. Harder to start and (much) easier to slough off.  A few weeks back, it occurred to me that I could fix that. I could watch the ones I haven't seen and rewatch some that I don't remember well. I like to have some kind of project going and if I approach this in a cas...

 This past summer, I read some articles on the importance of buying physical media. Music on CDs, movies on DVDs and books in hard copies. There are several reasons for this, the most pointed one being that we live in an age where various people of influence have started to decree that some of things of the past should be kept away from people of the present. If you don't agree with them and still want to watch 'Gone With the Wind', you cannot depend on it being made available to you. Buy your own copy and the decision is completely in your own hands. Another good reason to actually own the goods, especially with movies and TV is that we don't know when things will drop off the face of the earth and become completely unavailable. Check out this article about one person's attempt to watch the movie 'Cocoon' earlier this year. It's unavailable to stream and long out of print. (The writer eventually buys a used DVD copy for $25.) 'Cocoon' was a pop...

It seems like forever since AFI was doing their '100 Movies' specials.  Which is a shame.  Seems that it's been too long for someone else too.  A new list has emerged . Is it wrong to already declare this the No. 1 movie list of all time? After all, there are other movie lists. Lots and lots of others. So many lists, you couldn't list them all. But this is the first to ask the entertainment industry itself to pick its choices for the best pictures ever made. In May, THR sent an online ballot all over town — to every studio, agency, publicity firm and production house on either side of the 405. The actual list is here .  It features some different things than the AFI ones.  They're newer of course, and they have some new movies on them.  The list has 15 movies on it that were made 2000 and after.  96. Pan's Labyrinth 92. Up 90. Memento 88. Slumdog Millionaire 87. LOTR: Return of the King 84. Inception 82. LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring 79. Wa...

Continuing on with movies from my Netflix queue! Back in May I reread 'The Great Gatsby' and reviewed it .  This was somewhat in anticipation of seeing the movie.  Well, now I've seen it and I have a few things to say.  SPOILERS.  Back in May, I thought: The most winning element of 'Gatsby' is the narration.  I'd read Nick Carraway's thoughts on just about anything.  He's writing here about the Jazz Age, but I'd read his thoughts on the Depression just as readily.  He is compelling and authoritative and always, always interesting.  If the narration wasn't as good, the book would have failed.  If narration of this quality was moved to a different book, that one would have excelled. And that's really the big problem with filming this.  So much of it hinges on the great internal thoughts Nick, the narrartor.  When I was reading I would stop and rework my way through a paragraph, sometimes just savoring a turn of phrase.  That...

This one goes out to any low budget movie studio that would like to make a small film that would rake in the big bucks.  Ready?  The very first chapter of Victor Hugo's 'Les Miserables' is about a bishop in a small French town.  The bishop lives through several episodes that show him becoming as Christ-like as he can.  Going forth to his flock, trading houses with the hospital, things like that.  The entire section is beautiful and is possibly the best portrayal of Christian charity in all of literature. The film would focus on this man.  The book includes his small back story and how a chance meeting with Napoleon gave him a church office.  It would continue through the various episodes.  In the last third or fourth of the movie, Jean Valjean would appear and their interaction would happen.  Then the bishop gives him the rest of the silver and bids him go.  Wrap it up and roll credits. If this was done with a deft touch and some sensi...

I remember the first time I saw the book 'Life of Pi'.  It was in a Barnes and Noble, and the cover featured a boy in a lifeboat with a tiger.  I quickly judged that cover and was hooked.  It looked like some sort of fantasy.  What I didn't know is that the story would play it straight.  (I have a brief review of the book here if you're interested.  Short story, I highly recommend it.) A few years later I heard that there was interest in turning it into a movie.  The story largely takes place as a narrative of a boy in a lifeboat with a tiger so it was hard to see how they could possibly make a movie work.  And boy howdy, the record of books to movies is not very good.  But the reviews were positive, so I thought I'd give it a chance.  (Which I did last March when I found that a) I had a day off and b) it was in the theater some five months after it was released.) I came away impressed and wanted the FP Gal to see it.  I thought ...

I used to go out to the movies all the time, but now that I have young kids, it's really tough to do so.  This has been more of an annoyance than a problem for the past few years because frankly, there haven't been that many movies I've wanted to see.  Last year was different.  There were a bunch that actually looked good, especially late in the year but I missed them.  Anyway, this is a long way of saying that I finally upgraded the Netflix account to have them send me DVD's.  Which means that movie reviews are a'coming. For years I wondered why it was taking so long to make a movie musical version of 'Les Mis'.  It's been popular forever.  It's epic in a way that translates well to the big screen.  And my guess has been that various rights have kept from being produced.  (And that might even be true!) I was excited when I saw the first trailers last fall.  Then the reviews came out and they were lack-luster.  I chalked some of ...

Inspired by Siskoid . 1. Tense endings 2. The 'actual' El Guapo speech 3. Ghibli Studios 4. Harrison Ford: "No tickets." 5. The song 'One Hand, One Heart' 6. The opening to 'Manhattan' 7. The score to 'In Her Majesty's Secret Service' 8. Sentimental Christmas movies 9. Bill Murray in 'Lost in Translation' 10. The light-cycles in Tron 11. "I have wasted thousands and thousands of kisses on you." 12. The soundtrack to 'Amelie' 13. The set to 'Rear Window' 14. The wisecracking skills of Han Solo 15. The Goat Herd song 16. Susan Sarandon in 'Bull Durham'. ("Oh my.) 17. Racing through Paris in 'Ronin' 18. Racing to find a fix in 'Apollo 13' 19. "I want my two dollars..." 20. The Marx Brothers 21. Kenneth Branagh 22. Smart war movies 23. Blooper reels in the credits 24. Every theory in 'High Fidelity' 25. The cast of 'It's a Mad, M...

I took Relia to see Pixar's new movie 'Brave' today.  Short review, with no spoilers, I really enjoyed it.  It's visually wonderful, like you would expect from a Pixar movie.  That's probably especially true since they had the gorgeous Scottish highlands to work with.  I also thought that the story went in interesting and unexpected places.  In short, I recommend it.  Ok, now SPOILERS ahead so don't read the rest until you've seen the movie.  Then you can come back and argue with me if need be.  Got it?  Before seeing the movie I read the first part of Ebert's review and my enthusiasm was dampened a bit.  He suggests that this is something of a Disney knock-off, "...this one finds Pixar poaching on traditional territory of Disney, its corporate partner. We get a spunky princess; her mum, the queen; her dad, the gruff king, an old witch who lives in the woods, and so on."  I really couldn't agree less.  The story deals wit...

Last night the FP Gal and I had something of a date night.  We farmed out kids to various grandparents and did dinner and a movie.  We intended to go to 'Hunger Games' but for scheduling reasons, went to the Avengers movie instead.  Went to the 3D version, in fact.  We've been curious about the 3D movies but have avoided them.  We weren't sure how it would fit my one eye and the FP Gal wasn't sure she was interested at all.  Well, I could see the movie clearly enough with the glasses but it looked 2D.  The FP Gal didn't think it added much.  I loved the movie while she merely liked it.  It had the one quality that so many recent superhero movies have lacked: fun.  It also had some top notch action scenes.  Ones where the action made sense.  And banter, lovely, lovely banter.  Bullet points to follow: SPOILERS!!! The movie did a great job of making four strong characters work against each other.  Iron Man, Captain ...

And with month twelve we draw to a close. December is the easiest month to pick from. (July was second easiest.) These are my personal five but I'm sure another dozen or two movies would also fit well. Love, Actually - A sweet movie, with several intertwined love stories. Some work out, some don't. At least one brings tears to my eyes. And it gave us a name for our daughter! This is the first of our traditional Christmas movies out of the drawer each year. A Christmas Story - A classic from my youth. Makes me want to run out and get a Red Rider BB gun. It's a Wonderful Life - If you ran a poll about the greatest Christmas movie of all time, this would be the hands down winner. And I'm not about to disagree. I find it curious, though, how the message about how other you change the lives of everyone around you, isn't really a traditional Christmas message. Scrooged - This is probably my favorite adaptation of 'A Christmas Carol' (though the 2010 Dr W...

Nearly done and onto November. This month means three things: Thanksgiving, family and the start of winter. I've got movies that fit all three of these categories. Planes, Trains and Automobiles - The classic tale of a man trying to get home to his family for Thanksgiving. Instead he ends up with John Candy and all manner of problems. What's more quotable, "Those aren't pillows!" or "You're going the wrong way!"? Simply a great comedy. Miracle on 34th St - Somehow I missed this movie growing up. I had it classified as a Christmas movie but since it starts with a big ol' Thanksgiving day parade, I think it fits November better. And yes, I would recommend the original over the remake. About a Boy - This is one of the most pro-family movies that has been made in the last twenty years. I mean that in the sense that it makes a forceful argument on the importance of family, of being part of a family. It's warm and touching and if you ha...

And into fall we go! As always, feel free to leave suggestions and comments. Dead Poet's Society - This is a back to school film and I suppose you could argue it for September but for me the imagery of colored leaves is too strong to ignore here. Every October I get an incredible urge to watch this and in some ways, this connection inspired this whole project. By the way, what a great film! The Hunt for Red October - Another great movie, this one fits the month on name alone. True story, I saw this in Scotland and was later told that they 'don't really care for submarine movies'. Ah well, I'm nae bothered. Silence of the Lambs - And then of course the scary movies. This is easily one of the best horror movies of all time. Another true story? I once went on a first date to this movie. I, um, wouldn't recommend that. The Blair Witch Project - Another scary movie and a pioneer at that. This one launched the whole 'found film' style of movie. ...

And on we go! As always, comments and suggestions are welcome. Rushmore - An all time great movie about going to school. This is the one that put Wes Anderson on the radar in a big, big way. It also launched the part of Bill Murray's career where he excelled at indy films. Spirited Away - An animated movie from one of my favorites, Studio Ghibli. This one deals with a young girl who is moving to a strange school and suddenly finds herself trapped in a magic world where she must work to rescue her parents. Simply a wonderful movie. The Big Lewbowski - My hope is that this movie will really pull the list together. A cult film and one that isn't terribly grounded to any one month. However, early in the film a check is written and we can see that the date is Sep 11, 1991. How strange is that? Good Will Hunting - Another movie about school, this one about a mathematical genius who has serious childhood issues. This might be the last really good movie that Robin Williams...

And now we have the rest of the summer films. Per usual, comments and suggestions are welcome. Stand By Me - Probably the best end of summer movie of all time. It perfectly captures that childhood feeling of wanting one more adventure before the school year starts. Touching, funny and moments of tense drama. What more could you ask for? Rear Window - More drama here. And add in some serious heat in the days before everyone had air conditioning. Easily my favorite Hitchcock film. On Golden Pond - Another classic end of summer movie. Only this one isn't with schoolkids, it's with the old and senile. A great movie about dealing with the golden years. Almost Famous - Traveling with a rock band so you can write about them? That's a pretty good way to spend a summer. Another great movie. Meatballs - And to cap off summer, we have the greatest summer camp movie ever made. Somehow this movie is thirty years old but I refuse to believe that.

I'm a little curious about this. I've been near some of the big windmills down in southern Minnesota and they seem quiet as can be. I wonder how people down there feel about them.

We went to see 'The Secret World of Arriety' today and enjoyed it. It was my first experience going to a movie in a theater with Relia. She did a great job. The only antsy behavior had to do with standing up and since we sat in the back row that was not a problem. After the movie the FP Gal talked about how calm a movie this was for a children's movie and I certainly agree. If you haven't seen 'Arriety' ( here is the trailer ), then you should know that this is a movie adaptation of the children series, 'The Borrowers'. Basically it is about a family of very tiny people, three or four inches tall, who live underneath a house. At night, they creep into the house so they can 'borrow' things that won't be missed. Like a cube of sugar, a tissue, or a pin. They live in constant fear that the big humans will discover them and do who-knows-what. There is a sequence near the beginning of the movie where the main character Borrower, Arriety, i...

And into summer we go! As always, comments and suggestions are welcome. Four Weddings and a Funeral - June of course is known for weddings and I humbly submit that this is the best wedding movie of all time. Charming and witty. Poignant and heartfelt. And able to overcome the casting of Andie McDowell. Say Anything - Another end of year movie, and a personal romantic favorite. I can't watch John Cusack without thinking of the scene. You know the one. Yep, this one right here . National Lampoon's Vacation - And on to summer vacation. This is one of the best family road trip movies out there. Remember back when Chevy Chase was funny? Field of Dreams - More baseball. Not as good as 'Bull Durham' but then, what is, right? This movie captures the magic that bonding over sports can create. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World - Another road trip film, this one is possibly the zaniest movie in my collection. A great collection of actors. A great snapshot of its era...

Last weekend while we were at the movie we saw the trailer for the upcoming 3D update of 'Titanic' (of which I'll say more in a bit). As the trailer flashed through familiar scenes it showed Kate Winslet telling Leo Di Caprio that she'll never let go. Some woman sitting further back in the theater hissed "liar!". This post is for her. I liked the movie 'Titanic' but a lot of people didn't. That's fine, to everyone their own opinion. The movie was as popular as can be and that brings about its own backlash. Haters gotta hate, right? The criticisms are many but the one that drives me crazy is when some snide someone sneers about the 'never let go' moment. It's usually something along the lines of pointing out that Winslet said she wouldn't let go but she did, the coward! The problem is that the snide people simply weren't listening. After the boat sinks and the lovers find some flotsam, Leo tells Kate not to start say...