Catching Up List

I've seen (or re-watched) a lot of movies in the last few months that I never commented upon here. Just will list as many as I can remember here and maybe add a few thoughts on selected films.

Highly Recommended
     - Citizen Koch - It's should almost be a civic duty to watch this excellent documentary on how money has overwhelmed politics, as seen through the lens of Scott Walker and his patrons the Koch Brothers. It is unfortunate that this movie has been somewhat smeared as more partisan than it really is as a result of PBS' abandonment of the project in an ill-fated attempt to appease their patrons - the Koch Brothers.
     - Missing - Given that much has been learned (or, rather, confirmed) since this film was released in 1982 about the U.S.'s involvement in the 1973 Chilean coup and the murder of American journalist Charles Horman, this movie might seem ripe for a remake. And yet it would be hard to imagine a movie dealing with these events that is more perfectly constructed than Costa-Gavras' brilliant film from 1982 (featuring great work from Jack Lemmon and Sissy Spacek). Must watch.
     - Duel - Recently had a chance to re-watch this projected in 35mm. Spielberg's 40+ year old TV movie remains a fascinating exploration of white male urban angst. Well worth watching if for no other reason than to explore the seeds of paranoia and insecurity that in current times makes Fox News and talk radio such powerful forces in America.

Recommended
     - The Drowning Pool
     - '71 - Solidly entertaining but the filmmakers' desire to seem non-partisan in a film about The Troubles overwhelms the drama at times. The lead character is also too much a cipher.
     - Milius - Lightly recommended, mainly for Milius fans. This film is more tribute than critical documentary. That means it tends to dance around some of the tougher issues and that it is focused on celebrating the colorful filmmaker rather than seriously critiquing his work.
     - Child's Pose
     - The Internet's Own Boy
     - Top Five
     - Obvious Child - The filmmaker works hard to provide a rebuttal to Knocked Up, and it is interesting in that respect, and decently charming. But I do wish it were a bit funnier.
     - Life Itself
     - Pride - Overly schmaltzy, but good.
     - Inherent Vice - As if taking a conventional noir or detective movie and then loosening each end to the point that the story collapses into deconstruction - which is for better and worse. If nothing else, it's an interesting picaresque revolving around a detective that barely solves anything beyond just being lucky enough to keep getting caught up in strange events swirling around him. As hard as it tries, still not a match for Altman's The Long Goodbye.
     - The World Made Straight
     - Skeleton Twins
     - BlackHat - Deeply flawed and pretty silly but entertaining enough to make the cut-line.
     - The Car - A childhood favorite I was able to see in 35mm in a double with Duel. It remains silly fun and a decent thriller. Worth checking out if you've never seen it. 

Not Recommended
Abraham Lincoln:Vampire Hunter - Both bad and entirely too self-serious. Ugh.

I'm sure there were others that should go below the cut line here, but I can't remember them at the moment, which is probably for the best.

Emanuelle Around the World (aka Confessions of Emanuelle) (1977) - Brief Review

In Emanuelle Around the World (wink, wink), our libertine heroine discovers social justice - armed apparently with a bigger budget, although they should have spent a bit more of it on the script and dubbing.

Brief Reviews (5/22/14)

Check out after the jump for three very brief reviews of DamNation, Black Dynamite, and The Kentucky Fried Movie.

Capsule Film Reviews - 3/12/14

A few thoughts on some movies recently watched:

Non-Stop (2014) – This thriller is definitely a B movie, but the kind of B movie that has turned Liam Neeson into an unlikely late career action star. It has a few silly moments, but the film never really slows down long enough to allow the film to dissolve in your mind. It’s a solid thriller that hearkens back to old school mysteries. There’s a killer aboard a plane and plenty of recognizable faces – who could it be? Solid film worth a trip to the theater for an old-fashioned good time. Screened in the theater.

The Wind Rises (2013) – Billed as Hayao Miyazaki’s farewell to the cinema, this animated melodrama is gorgeous to look at but devoid of an engaging, coherent story. About halfway through the visuals stop being enough and I could no longer pretend I was anything but bored. Screened in the theater.

About Last Night (2014) – I’ve never been much of a Kevin Hart fan, but he and Regina Hall are the life of this party. I found myself laughing out loud at their interactions and found their relationship nearly enough to justify the price of admission. Nearly. Alas, the rest of the movie falls completely flat, thanks to a paint-by-numbers script that doesn’t stand up to logical scrutiny and lifeless performances by the other two leads in the film, Michael Ealy and Joy Bryant. When Hart and Hall weren’t filling up the screen, I felt like I was watching a bland beer commercial (obvious product placement sponsor: Heineken). Screened in the theater.

Review - Demon Seed (1977)

Can We Pretend This Movie Never Happened?

If you made the most powerful, self-aware computer on earth, what would it wish for? A child, of course. At least that's how one film sees it - Demon Seed, the awful 1977 horror film starring Julie Christie and based on the novel of the same name by Dean Koontz.

Streaming Picks 3/12/14

Some picks to stream for this week:

Warner Archive Instant 
Point Blank (1967) - John Boorman's classic story of Walker, a man out to get his money - or is it something more - is an absolutely essential viewing experience. After helping his friend pull off a heist on Alcatraz, Lee Marvin's Walker is shot and left for dead by the friend and Walker's own wife. With the aid of a mysterious Keenan Wynn, Walker sets out to get the money he is owed, and to haunt some of the people responsible for the betrayal. Brilliantly stylized - but never overbearingly so - by John Boorman and featuring a master's performance by Marvin as existential hero Walker. Marvin is able to portray Walker with a merger of cool indifference and simmering rage and in the process creates one of the foundational models for movie anti-heroes to come. Catch it while you can, as Warner Archive has it listed in the "Leaving Soon" category. Warner Archive Instant 2 week Free Trial

Amazon Prime, Netflix, and Crackle picks to follow after jump...