Thursday, July 31, 2003
Last night I viewed a documentary on the Watergate scandal, and decided to revisit a movie that I have in my DVD collection on that very subject: All the President's Men. As an aspiring journalist and in a journalism internship this summer All the President's Men is one of the most inspiring movies that I have ever seen in my life. If you are interested in journalism you must see this movie. All the President's Men is the story of two reporters' quest to get to the bottom of the Watergate scandal. It stars Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman as Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, respectively, who at first are assigned to cover the Watergate break-in and then slowly but surely uncover the conspiracy and cover-up that led to Richard Nixon's resignation in 1974. What makes the movie so inspiring is to see the tiring efforts of these two characters, as not even their publishers believed that they were in the right, but kept at it and kept digging, digging, to get to the bottom of the story. Not everything that they do to write their stories is exactly the most legal journalism but they take risks and believe in their gut feelings, which is very admirable. It is very entertaining to watch the stumbling blocks that they find themselves up against and the way they don't lose faith.
I must admit that I am very intrigued by the whole Watergate story, which adds to my enjoyment of the film. Besides seeing the movie several times and the PBS documentary last night, I have read the book All the President's Men, written by Woodward and Bernstein, and their sequel to that, Final Days. I also recently bought Bob Woodward's book called The Shadow, which is about the effects of the Watergate scandal on later presidencies, and I look forward to reading that.
Scott's Rating:
All The President's Men : 4 stars
I must admit that I am very intrigued by the whole Watergate story, which adds to my enjoyment of the film. Besides seeing the movie several times and the PBS documentary last night, I have read the book All the President's Men, written by Woodward and Bernstein, and their sequel to that, Final Days. I also recently bought Bob Woodward's book called The Shadow, which is about the effects of the Watergate scandal on later presidencies, and I look forward to reading that.
Scott's Rating:
All The President's Men : 4 stars
Monday, July 28, 2003
I just watched Basic Instinct, a great thriller starring Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas. The movie opens with a woman, while having sex with a retired rock star, killing him with an icepick. It just so happens that the murder was carried out just like what was written in a book written by a cool, seductive, and very intelligent woman (Sharon Stone). So either Stone was the murderer or it was a copycat. Michael Douglas plays the detective on the case. The plot twists in the story are many, and it keeps you guessing until the very last frame. There are several scenes which keep you on the edge of your seat and you honestly don't really know what's going to happen.
Some of the most frightening characters are those that are very calm under pressure and are very intelligent. The first one that springs to mind immediately is Hannibal Lecter. And Sharon Stone in this role is almost the same way. Stone does a great job portraying the very disturbed but very cool writer. You don't know what side she's on until the very end.
I watched this movie on TV, so there was much that was cut out because there were several sex scenes. But I really took issue to this because the sex scenes were integral to the film, including a couple in which some of the very tense moment occurs. The editing was so poor that you lose all sense of the tension and it detracts a great deal from the watching of the film. The least that the station could have done was show all of the scenes and blur out certain body parts, as I saw done once before with TNT's showing of the movie Midnight Cowboy. I understand cutting out gratuitous sex scenes in certain movies when they don't really have much to do with the plot but in movies in which they are integral you can't cut them out!
Scott's Rating:
Basic Instinct : 3.5 stars
Some of the most frightening characters are those that are very calm under pressure and are very intelligent. The first one that springs to mind immediately is Hannibal Lecter. And Sharon Stone in this role is almost the same way. Stone does a great job portraying the very disturbed but very cool writer. You don't know what side she's on until the very end.
I watched this movie on TV, so there was much that was cut out because there were several sex scenes. But I really took issue to this because the sex scenes were integral to the film, including a couple in which some of the very tense moment occurs. The editing was so poor that you lose all sense of the tension and it detracts a great deal from the watching of the film. The least that the station could have done was show all of the scenes and blur out certain body parts, as I saw done once before with TNT's showing of the movie Midnight Cowboy. I understand cutting out gratuitous sex scenes in certain movies when they don't really have much to do with the plot but in movies in which they are integral you can't cut them out!
Scott's Rating:
Basic Instinct : 3.5 stars
Thursday, July 24, 2003
The 98th movie on the AFI Top 100 Film list that I got around to seeing is also coincidentally the #98 ranked film on the list: Unforgiven. There are several westerns on the list, and I must admit that I am not a big fan of westerns but this one is one of the best I've seen. The movie, made in 1992, stars Clint Eastwood (who also directs) as William Munny, a man that once was a feared and brutal killer but has been domesticated and calmed down by his now-deceased wife. A young man who can't see further than about 5 yards enlists him to come with him to kill a couple of cowboys that shamed and cut a prostitute's face in Big Whiskey, Wyoming. Munny enlists Ned Logan (played by Morgan Freeman) to come along and ends up in a confrontation with Big Whiskey's sheriff, Little Bill (Gene Hackman).
The movie starts out a bit slow and I thought this would be just another western but it picks up in the second half. It has many very good sequences and captivates your attention right up through the very good climax. I particularly enjoyed a side story between Little Bill and English Bob (Richard Harris), who comes into town refusing to give up his weapon and ends up in jail. And the final 15 minutes when Munny confronts Little Bill is very well done. I thought that the scenes that had the prostitutes in it weren't very good, and I thought that the mother hen, so to speak, is way too forceful and outspoken, which detracted a bit from my liking of the movie. But not too much. Other than that Unforgiven is rather easy to watch, considering it is a western, and exciting enough to hold its own in an age in which thrillers and action films because the norm in Hollywood.
Scott's Rating:
Unforgiven : 3.5 stars
The movie starts out a bit slow and I thought this would be just another western but it picks up in the second half. It has many very good sequences and captivates your attention right up through the very good climax. I particularly enjoyed a side story between Little Bill and English Bob (Richard Harris), who comes into town refusing to give up his weapon and ends up in jail. And the final 15 minutes when Munny confronts Little Bill is very well done. I thought that the scenes that had the prostitutes in it weren't very good, and I thought that the mother hen, so to speak, is way too forceful and outspoken, which detracted a bit from my liking of the movie. But not too much. Other than that Unforgiven is rather easy to watch, considering it is a western, and exciting enough to hold its own in an age in which thrillers and action films because the norm in Hollywood.
Scott's Rating:
Unforgiven : 3.5 stars
Saturday, July 19, 2003
Ok so I was bored on a Saturday night so I decided to dip into my DVD vault and watch Dr. No, the great first film of the James Bond series. The first summer that I worked at Hollywood Video I decided to rent and watch all of the Bond films in order. After seeing these, I developed two favorites: Goldfinger and Diamonds are Forever. I have seen Goldfinger numerous times since that and own it, and it remains my favorite. I only saw Diamonds that once so I should probably see it again soon. I love all of the Sean Connery Bond films, though, and Dr. No ranks right up there. In fact, I think the first three films (Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger) are the best of the series. Although I do like all of the actors that played Bond (although George Lazenby in his one role- On Her Majesty's Secret Service- is not that great), Sean Connery is my favorite, and he defines the role. One thing that the early films have in common that the more recent ones (Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough in particular) don't have is very strong villains. Dr. No, Goldfinger, Rosa Klebb from FRWL are perfect examples of truly horrifying villains that from the start seem to have a leg up on Bond. And having these truly frightening villains is part of what makes the films better.
Dr. No doesn't have a lot of fancy gadgets and I don't think the ending is as exciting as in other films, so that's what puts it behind Goldfinger in my mind. One thing I do like about this movie and about other Bond films is they cram so much into the 2 hour picture, that you can't believe after you've seen it that the film was only 2 hours. There is an exciting scene happening almost constantly and not that much down time which usually detracts from films and make them seem to drag on forever. Good stuff. And the Bond girl is perfectly delectable in this one, Honey Rider (played by Ursula Andress). I tend to favor her (at least in looks) over Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger. It's a shame the Bond franchise has had a few bad films recently but I hope that with Die Another Day they are starting to get back on the right track.
Scott's Rating:
Dr. No : 4 stars
Dr. No doesn't have a lot of fancy gadgets and I don't think the ending is as exciting as in other films, so that's what puts it behind Goldfinger in my mind. One thing I do like about this movie and about other Bond films is they cram so much into the 2 hour picture, that you can't believe after you've seen it that the film was only 2 hours. There is an exciting scene happening almost constantly and not that much down time which usually detracts from films and make them seem to drag on forever. Good stuff. And the Bond girl is perfectly delectable in this one, Honey Rider (played by Ursula Andress). I tend to favor her (at least in looks) over Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore in Goldfinger. It's a shame the Bond franchise has had a few bad films recently but I hope that with Die Another Day they are starting to get back on the right track.
Scott's Rating:
Dr. No : 4 stars
Thursday, July 17, 2003
The great thing about Tom Hanks is his versatility. He can play any kind of role and make it believeable, and give an outstanding performance. Just to give a few examples of the diversity of roles he played: A League of their Own, Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, and Saving Private Ryan. All completely different characters, and all wonderful performances. I have seen all of these except SPR at least twice (Saving Private Ryan you really only need to see once). But for all these great performances my absolute favorite movies of his are the films that he has made with Meg Ryan. Sleepless in Seattle is my all-time favorite romantic comedy (euphemism for chick flick)- I can watch it again and again and be moved every single time. And I recently rewatched You've Got Mail, which isn't as good as Sleepless but still is wonderful. I had not seen their first movie together, Joe Versus the Volcano, until recently. And I must say, I was a bit disappointed.
See how far-fetched this sounds: Tom Hanks plays Joe Banks, a hypochondriac who hates his job and his life. He visits a doctor who tells him he has a "brain cloud", an incurable condition in which he will suddenly drop dead in five weeks. The next day, Joe gets a visit from a wealthy old man (Lloyd Bridges) who wants him to jump in a volcano to appease this tribe out in the South Pacific for some stupid reason, and he'll even give Joe all his credit cards to spend to his heart's desire. Joe, figuring he's going to die anyway, agrees, and sets off for the island. Meg Ryan plays three different characters- a typist at Joe's business, and two half-sisters, one who takes him from LAX to his boat, and the other who is the boat's captain and eventual love interest.
The thing I don't like about this movie is it is just too far-fetched. Sleepless and You've Got Mail, while being a bit of a stretch, are still more plausible, which I found more appealing. And the first two Meg Ryan characters were very out of character for her, which I didn't really like. The only merit of the movie is the romance and chemistry between Tom Hanks and the third Meg Ryan character, which alone is the price of admission. Meg Ryan is the most endearing actress that I have ever seen, that I would pay just to see her smiling for two hours. She lights up a room and really makes you sympathize with and feel every emotion that she is going through in her movies, like no other actress around. It's really remarkable the effect she has (at least on me). And I think we are due for another Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan romantic comedy, it's been several years since the last one. Enough of this J-Lo and Ben Affleck romantic movie crap, bring back the old favorite. :-)
Scott's Rating:
Joe Versus the Volcano : 2 stars
See how far-fetched this sounds: Tom Hanks plays Joe Banks, a hypochondriac who hates his job and his life. He visits a doctor who tells him he has a "brain cloud", an incurable condition in which he will suddenly drop dead in five weeks. The next day, Joe gets a visit from a wealthy old man (Lloyd Bridges) who wants him to jump in a volcano to appease this tribe out in the South Pacific for some stupid reason, and he'll even give Joe all his credit cards to spend to his heart's desire. Joe, figuring he's going to die anyway, agrees, and sets off for the island. Meg Ryan plays three different characters- a typist at Joe's business, and two half-sisters, one who takes him from LAX to his boat, and the other who is the boat's captain and eventual love interest.
The thing I don't like about this movie is it is just too far-fetched. Sleepless and You've Got Mail, while being a bit of a stretch, are still more plausible, which I found more appealing. And the first two Meg Ryan characters were very out of character for her, which I didn't really like. The only merit of the movie is the romance and chemistry between Tom Hanks and the third Meg Ryan character, which alone is the price of admission. Meg Ryan is the most endearing actress that I have ever seen, that I would pay just to see her smiling for two hours. She lights up a room and really makes you sympathize with and feel every emotion that she is going through in her movies, like no other actress around. It's really remarkable the effect she has (at least on me). And I think we are due for another Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan romantic comedy, it's been several years since the last one. Enough of this J-Lo and Ben Affleck romantic movie crap, bring back the old favorite. :-)
Scott's Rating:
Joe Versus the Volcano : 2 stars
Sunday, July 13, 2003
Dressed to Kill, a movie from 1980, stars Angie Dickenson as a middle-aged woman that questions her sexual desirability. She somehow ends up going home with some guy she meets at an art museum and has an affair with him, but when she leaves she is brutally murdered in an elevator by a woman weilding a razor. The players involved in trying to solve her murder are Dr. Elliott, her psychiatrist (Michael Caine), a prostitute, Dickenson's son, and a detective, played by Dennis Franz pre-NYPD Blue.
The movie starts out kinda slow, as we don't really know what's going to happen. Dickenson only lasts about 20 minutes into the movie before she is killed, and then the fun begins. This is a well-crafted thriller with many tense moments. The last 45 minutes or so is pretty much non-stop thrills, and the ending is very surprising (I won't give it away). Director Brian De Palma obviously is not going for a complex plot or an intellectual thriller that makes you think like Memento but simply for one that will keep you on the edge of your seat for most of the film. And he succeeds with what he sets out to accomplish, so that's all you can ask for. Somewhat dated now but good entertainment.
Scott's Rating:
Dressed to Kill : 3 stars
The movie starts out kinda slow, as we don't really know what's going to happen. Dickenson only lasts about 20 minutes into the movie before she is killed, and then the fun begins. This is a well-crafted thriller with many tense moments. The last 45 minutes or so is pretty much non-stop thrills, and the ending is very surprising (I won't give it away). Director Brian De Palma obviously is not going for a complex plot or an intellectual thriller that makes you think like Memento but simply for one that will keep you on the edge of your seat for most of the film. And he succeeds with what he sets out to accomplish, so that's all you can ask for. Somewhat dated now but good entertainment.
Scott's Rating:
Dressed to Kill : 3 stars
Saturday, July 12, 2003
I have learned a valuable lesson. When I go through the TV Week looking for movies to tape sometimes I will come across a movie that I have never heard of, but it stars someone that I like and the one sentence description of the plot looks interesting, so I tape it. More often than not it turns out to be a dud. That certainly is the case with the movie The Wind and the Lion. From 1975, it stars Sean Connery and Candice Bergen and is about a renegade Muslim that owns a band of men (much like the Anthony Quinn character in Lawrence of Arabia)- played by Connery- who kidnaps an American woman (Bergen) and holds her hostage...sorta. Teddy Roosevelt (this movie is supposed to take place around 1901) wants to get her back and offers Raisuli (Connery) money in exchange. Eventually the American marines land there and somehow it becomes a shootout between the Americans and the Germans.
Frankly, the movie is boring. It seems to drag on for the first hour and a half, and doesn't have a point. It switches back and forth between scenes with Bergen and Connery and scenes with Teddy Roosevelt, and I'm sitting here trying to figure out what this movie is about: is it about the relationship between Bergen, her children, and Connery- which is the better story- or is it about Teddy Roosevelt's character (it shows several scenes like his birthday party and him out hunting)? The only redeeming qualities of the movie are a solid performance by Sean Connery, and the battle that takes up the last 15 minutes, although it does not have to do with anything. Don't waste your time with this movie.
Scott's Rating:
The Wind and the Lion : 1 star
Frankly, the movie is boring. It seems to drag on for the first hour and a half, and doesn't have a point. It switches back and forth between scenes with Bergen and Connery and scenes with Teddy Roosevelt, and I'm sitting here trying to figure out what this movie is about: is it about the relationship between Bergen, her children, and Connery- which is the better story- or is it about Teddy Roosevelt's character (it shows several scenes like his birthday party and him out hunting)? The only redeeming qualities of the movie are a solid performance by Sean Connery, and the battle that takes up the last 15 minutes, although it does not have to do with anything. Don't waste your time with this movie.
Scott's Rating:
The Wind and the Lion : 1 star
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
Everything I hear says that The Cincinnati Kid is to poker what The Hustler is to pool. Unfortunately I haven't seen The Hustler. I have seen its sequel, The Color of Money, but that is more of a mentor/protege film. So I will simply talk about The Cincinnati Kid as a film by itself. The Cincinnati Kid stars Steve McQueen as the title character, who is a terrific stud poker player, and with the help of his friend Shooter (Karl Malden) sets up a game with the best in the business, the aging Lancey Howard (Edward G. Robinson). The last half of the movie is pretty much dedicated to this poker game between the Kid and Lancey to decide the champ.
The first half of the movie is kinda weak. All we get to know about the Kid's background is bits and pieces that people say later in the movie and a scene at the beginning where he wins a game and has to run from a guy that thinks he marked the cards. I would have liked to have seen a Rocky-type background leading up to the main event where we get to get a feel for the character and what he is like.
I did enjoy the second half of the movie. The game is excellent; you can really feel the tension in the whole room where a bunch of people are watching and between these two men, even though there is no animosity between them. And there are many other subplots that just make it that more interesting: a man named Slade is hell-bent on Lancey losing and is paying off Shooter to slip the Kid a few cards, the Kid has to deal with his girlfriend and Shooter's wife, who tries to do everything to get in bed with him, plus the usual youth vs. old man duel. I also like it how they don't make Lancey into a man that you just want to hate. Usually in these type movies they really want you to root for the underdog, the up and coming young guy, so they make an added twist or characteristic about the older guy that makes you hate him. In this case, though, Lancey is no less admirable than the Kid, so you really aren't rooting for the Kid, you just want to see what happens. And the ending is well worth it.
Steve McQueen is his usual not-very-verbose character and typical tough guy. He is one of my favorite actors, mainly just because the confidence he exudes in his characters. He always looks like he knows exactly what is going on and has a leg up on everyone else, with his wry smile. Edward G. Robinson is also excellent, as usual. He exuded wisdom in his screen roles for decades, and is perfectly cast in this part.
Oh and in case you were wondering, none of this movie takes place in Cincinnati. It all takes place in New Orleans.
Scott's Rating:
The Cincinnati Kid : 3.5 stars
The first half of the movie is kinda weak. All we get to know about the Kid's background is bits and pieces that people say later in the movie and a scene at the beginning where he wins a game and has to run from a guy that thinks he marked the cards. I would have liked to have seen a Rocky-type background leading up to the main event where we get to get a feel for the character and what he is like.
I did enjoy the second half of the movie. The game is excellent; you can really feel the tension in the whole room where a bunch of people are watching and between these two men, even though there is no animosity between them. And there are many other subplots that just make it that more interesting: a man named Slade is hell-bent on Lancey losing and is paying off Shooter to slip the Kid a few cards, the Kid has to deal with his girlfriend and Shooter's wife, who tries to do everything to get in bed with him, plus the usual youth vs. old man duel. I also like it how they don't make Lancey into a man that you just want to hate. Usually in these type movies they really want you to root for the underdog, the up and coming young guy, so they make an added twist or characteristic about the older guy that makes you hate him. In this case, though, Lancey is no less admirable than the Kid, so you really aren't rooting for the Kid, you just want to see what happens. And the ending is well worth it.
Steve McQueen is his usual not-very-verbose character and typical tough guy. He is one of my favorite actors, mainly just because the confidence he exudes in his characters. He always looks like he knows exactly what is going on and has a leg up on everyone else, with his wry smile. Edward G. Robinson is also excellent, as usual. He exuded wisdom in his screen roles for decades, and is perfectly cast in this part.
Oh and in case you were wondering, none of this movie takes place in Cincinnati. It all takes place in New Orleans.
Scott's Rating:
The Cincinnati Kid : 3.5 stars
Saturday, July 05, 2003
Ok so I wrote this nice long post about the last movie I saw, Dark Passage, and the website screwed up and I lost the whole thing. So I don't feel like writing the whole thing over again. To summarize, it is a movie starring my favorite actor (Humphrey Bogart) and his real-life fourth wife Lauren Bacall and is a thriller in which Bogie's character breaks out of prison, has plastic surgery to change his identity, and tries to track down the person that killed his wife. It's a very good film that is suspenseful and keeps you guessing as to what will happen next, and as usual Bogie and Bacall are great.
Scott's Rating:
Dark Passage : 3.5 stars
Scott's Rating:
Dark Passage : 3.5 stars
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
Anchors Aweigh is a musical that at first glance sounds exactly like On The Town: Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra are sailors on leave in the big city. This is where the movies really stop being similar, though, which is good. The thing that I like about Anchors Aweigh is that it seems to put the story as a higher priority than the music, which doesn't often happen in musicals. There is even a stretch of probably 30 minutes near the beginning of the movie where there is no song or dance number at all. That said, the song and dance numbers are unique and I always love seeing Gene Kelly dance so you can't go wrong there.
The plot goes as follows: Kelly and Sinatra have 4 days in Hollywood on leave, Kelly wants to see this girl Lola but Sinatra tags along wanting Kelly to teach him to get women, and they end up getting tied up with a young boy and his aunt. Sinatra falls in love with the aunt but when Kelly steps in to convince the aunt that Sinatra has fallen for her he falls for her himself. And complications ensue. I really did like the storyline and was very interested to see what happened in the end. The most famous part of the movie is a neat sequence in which Kelly sings and dances with Jerry of Tom and Jerry fame, and it's great how they were able to integrate live action and cartoon into the same scene (sorta like Roger Rabbit except 43 years earlier).
There were a couple things that detracted from the picture that I thought were unrealistic. Sinatra falls in love with this waitress and as soon as they find out they both have feelings for each other he wants to marry her. Same with Kelly and the aunt. Aren't both of them getting a wee bit ahead of themselves? I didn't think that's how these pictures are supposed to go, that all of a sudden they want to get married when they've known someone for a day. It seems like the logical step would be to leave it at both men being happy and in love and not have to force the marriage issue. And of course the whole sequence with Gene Kelly in a cartoon world was a bit much and detracted from the storyline for quite a bit but almost every movie he makes he has to have an extended dancing sequence that has nothing to do with the plot (for example the 17 minute dance number right at the end of An American in Paris).
Look out for Dean Stockwell playing the little kid. Pretty funny to see him on screen some 45 years before Quantum Leap.
Scott's Rating:
Anchors Aweigh : 3.5 stars
The plot goes as follows: Kelly and Sinatra have 4 days in Hollywood on leave, Kelly wants to see this girl Lola but Sinatra tags along wanting Kelly to teach him to get women, and they end up getting tied up with a young boy and his aunt. Sinatra falls in love with the aunt but when Kelly steps in to convince the aunt that Sinatra has fallen for her he falls for her himself. And complications ensue. I really did like the storyline and was very interested to see what happened in the end. The most famous part of the movie is a neat sequence in which Kelly sings and dances with Jerry of Tom and Jerry fame, and it's great how they were able to integrate live action and cartoon into the same scene (sorta like Roger Rabbit except 43 years earlier).
There were a couple things that detracted from the picture that I thought were unrealistic. Sinatra falls in love with this waitress and as soon as they find out they both have feelings for each other he wants to marry her. Same with Kelly and the aunt. Aren't both of them getting a wee bit ahead of themselves? I didn't think that's how these pictures are supposed to go, that all of a sudden they want to get married when they've known someone for a day. It seems like the logical step would be to leave it at both men being happy and in love and not have to force the marriage issue. And of course the whole sequence with Gene Kelly in a cartoon world was a bit much and detracted from the storyline for quite a bit but almost every movie he makes he has to have an extended dancing sequence that has nothing to do with the plot (for example the 17 minute dance number right at the end of An American in Paris).
Look out for Dean Stockwell playing the little kid. Pretty funny to see him on screen some 45 years before Quantum Leap.
Scott's Rating:
Anchors Aweigh : 3.5 stars
