Review - Lost in Translation

Roger Ebert's review of this movie is:

Bill Murray's acting in Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation" is surely one of the most exquisitely controlled performances in recent movies. Without it, the film could be unwatchable.

I agree with the almost unwatchable aspect. While I understand where the movie tried to go, it still wasn't enough for me to want to watch this more than once. On the other hand, I was at least able to watch it once, so I guess I'll have to give it at least one star.

Resident Evil 5

Well, it has a better story/plot than RE3. The animation is a bit cheesy, not as bad as Star Wars: The Clone Wars, but nowhere near Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within. The extras do however go over much of the capture and animation end. It's an okay flick, and worth watching the extras.

DVD Review - P.S. I Love You

Well, I finally got around to seeing this one. It was as good as, if not better, than the trailer made it out to be. A warning though ... It's a real tear-jerker. No, I mean that. Most tear-jerkers might have once or twice, but this one really gets you in the heart strings. Well, unless your not emotional, or have no sense of romance. Try it otherwise, you'll love it. And No, I haven't read the book.

Battleground (1949) - DVD Review

Okay, definately hollywood version of the battle. My neighbor across the street was near there for the Battle of the Bulge. Messier, colder, and less considerate. This could probably use a remake. Overall, a good story, but I didn't really feel deeply enough for the characters, and the ones I did feel for, they survived. As a War film for its time, I'd give it 7 out of 10 stars. I'd probably drop a star or two modernly as it would not really hold up.

And yes, there really was a bunch of Nazi infiltrators who dressed up in American uniforms/equipment and spoke english, and did alot of damage. They were Otto Skorzeny's Grief Commandos from the SS Panzer Brigade 150 and were officially named Einheit Stielau. Of the 2500 that were to break into allied territory, only 44 managed to do so and 18 were captured and shot as spies.

Review: Dark City - Pt1

Dark City.
I caught the end of this some time last year, on TV. A friend handed me the DVD. I just watched it last night for Holloween. It was a pretty good selection for the night. Definately Noir, if a Sci-Fi Noir. I'll add more since I'll be going through the extras tomorrow.

Review: Buster Keaton Collection

A collection of 10 short talky comedies starring Buster Keaton.

General Nuisance: Rich man enlists to impress a woman.

His Ex Marks the Spot: An ex-wife, alimony payments, and a shotgun wedding.

Mooching Through Georgia: Brothers enlist on opposite sides and do anything neccessary to keep each other alive.

Nothing But Pleasure: Trying to save a few dollars on shipping fees, a couple goes to detroit to buy their car.

Pardon my Berth Marks: A novice reporter goes to follow a story and gets caught up in it.

Pest from the West: A hapless millionaire falls for a two-timing (or three-timing) woman while vacationing in Mexico.

She's Oil Mine: An honest plumber duels a charlatan nobleman for the heart, and checkbook, of an oil heiress.

So You Won't Squawk: a lowly employee gets a taste of respect when people mistake him for the big-shot gangster, Louie the Wolf.

The Spook Speaks: New caretakers are hammered by an onslaught of spooky illusions as an old apprentice searches for new tricks.

The Taming of the Snood: A hatmaker almost gets killed when he becomes accidentally involved with a jewel-thief and her drunk maid.


Each has at least one great gag, so worth a go-through. More so if you love slapstick.

DVD Review: Buffalo Soldiers

A decent film, didn't really get me emotionally, but was okay. I was suprised at the rating of G on the box. Seems to me it would be more accurately rated PG. Danny Glover stars as a First Seargent in charge of an all black unit of federal soldiers who are in charge of the new mexico territories. They have to put down an indian uprising. Interesting topic, and worth a gander.

DVD Review: CASABLANCA

I have to leave it to Howard Koch, Philip G. & Julius J. Epstein; they know how to write a witty screenplay. So I finally got around to watching the entire thing. I was suprised. I had previously only caught snippets. There's alot of witty dialog in there. I don't know who put in the real witty bits, but I think I'll track down some of the writers other titles to figure it out. The pacing is relatively slow compared to today's standards; for those who haven't watched it. This is one of those things that, whether it was due to writers, actors, director, or the combination thereof, just worked wonderfully. I hope they won't try another remake.

Here's Looking at you, kid.

DVD review - Waiting

I watched Waiting, which is both sick and funny, if you've ever done any kind of food service, and had to deal with people who existed to make others miserable, then you'll get the humor. Of course some of it is still pretty disgusting. Mainly about someone who finds themselves in the common rut of working in food service.

DVD Review - Cashern

I Watched Cashern on DVD. It's a good film, which is moderately unusual for a japanese film. Doubly so, when you consider that it only had a $6,000,000 or so budget. Sci-Fi anime that was turned into a live flick.

DVD Movie Review - "O"

Modern retelling of Othello. Actually pretty good. I passed it to a friend and will listen to the commentary later. It's definately worth a watch, especially if you're teaching Shakespeare at the high school level. Maybe your students will get this version easier.

DVD Movie Review - Monster's Ball

Watched Monster's ball. Starred Billy Bob Thornton, so had less than high expectations for it. His acting wasn't too bad. The movie was somewhat deep, but the pacing killed me. Way too slow, english ending. I'll probably listen to the director's commentary sometime, but it's not high on my list of things to be done.

DVD Movie Review - Shrek the Third

Watched Shrek the Third. Not a bad story, but not nearly as good as 1 & 2. They put alot more into the computer graphics end though. That looked great. It just didn't do enough for me in the laugh department. Made some French Toast. Not sure what I'll eat now.

Destiny Sucks!

Okay, so they named this storm Destiny. It's been snowing, and it seems likely that it will continue until ... TOMORROW. That's a long time to snow, and it means I'll be running out at least twice to remove snow. Ugh!

I suppose that gives me a couple hours before I make my first run. So I better get to it. Also watching Daredevil DVD with multiple commentaries, 6 featurettes, scene-studies, music videos, and a bunch of other extras. That's what made me pick up a copy of a movie I have already watched. Studios take note, that's what sells a DVD now. Had someone ask me whether to buy Blueray or HD-DVD the other day. My answer was, I was waiting to see whether VHS or Beta would win, or if 4-track tape or 8-track cassette would win. They got my point. One will eventually win, one will lose. If they get the cost of HVD disks to affordable, then both those standards will go bye-bye in favor of the MUCH larger HVD (Holographic video disk).

Anti-Piracy

So I picked up a direct-to-DVD flick and am now just popping it on. "The Circle" is the name of it. I picked it up because on the back cover it lists:

"Shot in one uninterrupted take with no edits, the approach is not a mere cinematic device, but a thematic extension of the story."

So it sounds like it may be interesting visually, even if everything else sucks ... I'll post more after watching it.

As to the Anti-Piracy Title, this DVD has a great Anti-piracy message. Much Better than the you wouldn't steal a pocketbook or a car one. I'll credit Hart Sharp Video for it until I know otherwise.


"GIVE ME A BREAK.
I downloaded some movies for free.
SO WHAT?
Now big-time Mr. Moviestar can't the really big boat?
He can only have nine cars instead of twelve?
BOO FREAKIN' HOO.
Actually, if you bought that DVD, the sale would've hit a milestone in the actor's contract, which kicked in a nice bonus, which he used to buy that car, where the paparazzi took those embarrassing pictures, that were posted by the mysterious blogger StarClops, who got interviewed in that magazine you get, but your creepy neighbor keeps stealing yours, so you knock on his door, but he moved away, and now a very cute girl is standing in front of you.
Watch Movies Legally.
It's good Karma."