Yes, I admit it, Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" led me to this film. I'll also admit that I've only seen one other G.W. Pabst film before this one (1929's "Pandora's Box" with Louise Brooks). I really wasn't sure I'd get too excited about a mountain-climbing movie, but I was pretty blown away. It's even more impressive when one realizes the risk to life and limb, especially when a real-life avalanche nearly takes out both cast and crew near the end of the film. . . & they kept that footage in!
I'm not sure if there's a name for this trope of a hardened killer going out of his way to protect an innocent (usually a child, usually a girl), usually as a way of atoning for their past sins or finding redemption, etc., but I keep seeing it all over the place, from "Leon" (aka: "The Professional") to "Man on Fire" to the S. Korean film "The Man from Nowhere". This movie is nowhere near as good as any of those movies, yet it still remains very entertaining with its over-the-top action (the subway fight scene is a real high-light).
A very disappointing soft-core parody of the very silly (yet far more entertaining) Japanese action flick "Yo-Yo Girl Cop" (aka: "Sukeban Deka: Kôdo nêmu = Asamiya Saki", or "Delinquent Girl Detective: Code Name = Saki Asamiya"). I really should stop watching this crap, but I think I'm a glutton for punishment (or at least really bad movies).
I never would have thought I would have enjoyed this movie, and was very skeptical when a co-worker extolled Battleship's virtues (especially since he's not the type to like big dumb action movies). I now have to eat my words, because I actually had a ball watching this big dumb action movie.
You don't see very many horror-anthology movies anymore, so this was actually pretty refreshing. The 6 short films are very diverse in style and tone; my favorite, titled "The Accident", is more of a serious meditation on death and loss of innocence than a real "horror" story. It remains, however, very entertaining throughout.
Some pretty good laughs, but all together relies too much on crude, juvenile humor rather than incisive satire. Then again, this is a Will Ferrell movie... so I guess there's no real surprise there.
I actually kind of liked this one. Maybe not enough to include it in my "faves"... Rebecca De Mornay was pretty fascinating as the psychotic mother in the film, playing the role with such cold determination when lesser actresses probably would have made the role an over-the-top caricature.
Fairly mediocre cyberpunk anime, covering much the same territory as other, more well known movies/franchises of the genre ("Ghost in the Shell", "Blade Runner", etc.). However, it is part of the same universe as the "Bubble Gum Crisis" and "A.D. Police" anime series, so fans of those shows might find it more interesting.
An interesting coming of age story that manages to level-off the Christian overtones of its plot with plenty of humor and without coming off preachy at all.
Somewhere in this film is a plot about a righteous warrior trying to protect a child whom the bad guys want dead, and a group of rebels trying to uncover a traitorous plot to overthrow the emperor. Mostly, though, it's just an impenetrable mess, with lots of seemingly random events strung together to make a movie. The horribly acted, poorly translated English dubbing makes it even more hard to watch. Still, the fight scenes are fun, and the hero has a really cool (and improbable) weapon. If ever a wuxia film deserved a MST3k treatment, this is definitely it.
A tale of dirty politicking and conscience in American politics that holds up even today. Henry Fonda is absolutely terrific in this, and Cliff Robertson's performance is strong... it's hard sometimes to imagine the same guy playing the corrupt politician in this Gore Vidal fable would also play Uncle Ben Parker in the Spider-Man films late in his career. Lee Tracy is also compelling as the ex-President who can't help stirring up trouble between the two Presidential candidates, and probably has some of the best lines in the film.
Fairly faithful adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel. About the only noticeable differences were the lack of some of the key narration by the lead characters, which gave the book an overall pulp-detective/film noir atmosphere. They also toned-down the drinking and drug content, but didn't seem to shy away from some of the sexual content (after all, it wouldn't be a Frank Miller story without gratuitous use of hookers and/or strippers).
Fun all around, with some great fights and quite colorful characters. Of course, most people's reason to watch this is for Dragon Lee, the lead of the movie, who made his career imitating Bruce Lee. Personally, I didn't think Dragon Lee resembled Bruce Lee all that much, but he did yell and scream a lot like him in all of his fight scenes. What's more interesting is the female lead, a young Qiu Yuen, who is perhaps better known today for her role as the shrill landlady (and secret Kung Fu master) in 2004's "Kung Fu Hustle".
A surprisingly bloody wuxia/sword-epic film, with quite a lot of dismemberment... always lots of fun in these types of movies. It's interesting that the "protagonist" of the film starts off being a cold-hearted and remorseless character (though, of course, he receives a fair amount of character development). The only truly bad part was one lengthy fight scene filmed in almost pitch-dark! Zero lighting, all you see is the occasional flash of a sword, which is cool, but not in a fight scene that lasts more than 5 minutes! I don't know if better, clearer prints exist, but it got pretty old pretty fast. The rest of the film, however, remained silly yet entertaining.
Witty, stylish, and heartwarming. The aesthetics and deadpan delivery keep the storytelling simple, with an even simpler message that people should help each other more often.
The DVD cover was pretty misleading, making it seem like it would be a vampire movie. In fact it was a fairly long and detailed historical epic about the actual Countess Erzsébeth Báthory, depicting her legendary blood-thirsty reputation as the result of political mud-slinging and local superstition.
A fairly decent version of "Treasure Island". Mind you, this is coming from a guy who never read the book, so I'm only really comparing it to the 1950 Disney version and "Muppet Treasure Island". Izzard was pretty great, a lot more of a calm, scheming version of Long John Silver. Elijah Wood, on the other-hand, felt like he was doing a Gollum impersonation.
Not a terrific movie, the plot and dialogue are fairly dull and the acting pretty atrocious, but the action choreography was much better than I expected from a small-budget indie film. One scene in particular was very reminiscent of the long, one-take hallway fight scene in "Oldboy".
From the IMDb page: "This documentary is featured on the Collector's Edition DVD for Somewhere in Time."
At one point, during the interview with Christopher Reeve, he described having an out-of-body experience a couple months after his accident that left him paralyzed. He commented on how similar it was to the one filmed in Somewhere in Time, and I got goosebumps.
Comments 101 - 125 of 192
Movie comment on Die weiße Hölle vom Piz Palü
DJPowWow
Yes, I admit it, Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds" led me to this film. I'll also admit that I've only seen one other G.W. Pabst film before this one (1929's "Pandora's Box" with Louise Brooks). I really wasn't sure I'd get too excited about a mountain-climbing movie, but I was pretty blown away. It's even more impressive when one realizes the risk to life and limb, especially when a real-life avalanche nearly takes out both cast and crew near the end of the film. . . & they kept that footage in!Movie comment on I Melt with You
DJPowWow
It's not for everybody, but it's definitely worth a look. I was actually quite moved by it, but I can easily see where it will turn other people off.Movie comment on Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Girl in Lovers Lane
DJPowWow
Wow, is this one dark...Movie comment on Safe
DJPowWow
I'm not sure if there's a name for this trope of a hardened killer going out of his way to protect an innocent (usually a child, usually a girl), usually as a way of atoning for their past sins or finding redemption, etc., but I keep seeing it all over the place, from "Leon" (aka: "The Professional") to "Man on Fire" to the S. Korean film "The Man from Nowhere". This movie is nowhere near as good as any of those movies, yet it still remains very entertaining with its over-the-top action (the subway fight scene is a real high-light).Movie comment on Sukepan deka: Bâjin nêmu = Moromie Saki
DJPowWow
aka: "Yo-Yo Sexy Girl Cop"A very disappointing soft-core parody of the very silly (yet far more entertaining) Japanese action flick "Yo-Yo Girl Cop" (aka: "Sukeban Deka: Kôdo nêmu = Asamiya Saki", or "Delinquent Girl Detective: Code Name = Saki Asamiya"). I really should stop watching this crap, but I think I'm a glutton for punishment (or at least really bad movies).
Movie comment on Battleship
DJPowWow
I never would have thought I would have enjoyed this movie, and was very skeptical when a co-worker extolled Battleship's virtues (especially since he's not the type to like big dumb action movies). I now have to eat my words, because I actually had a ball watching this big dumb action movie.Movie comment on The Theatre Bizarre
DJPowWow
You don't see very many horror-anthology movies anymore, so this was actually pretty refreshing. The 6 short films are very diverse in style and tone; my favorite, titled "The Accident", is more of a serious meditation on death and loss of innocence than a real "horror" story. It remains, however, very entertaining throughout.Movie comment on The Campaign
DJPowWow
Some pretty good laughs, but all together relies too much on crude, juvenile humor rather than incisive satire. Then again, this is a Will Ferrell movie... so I guess there's no real surprise there.Movie comment on The Watch
DJPowWow
It was fairly mediocre. Some funny bits, but for the most part it wasn't nearly as funny as it should have been.Movie comment on Mother's Day
DJPowWow
I actually kind of liked this one. Maybe not enough to include it in my "faves"... Rebecca De Mornay was pretty fascinating as the psychotic mother in the film, playing the role with such cold determination when lesser actresses probably would have made the role an over-the-top caricature.Movie comment on Parasaito Dôruzu
DJPowWow
Fairly mediocre cyberpunk anime, covering much the same territory as other, more well known movies/franchises of the genre ("Ghost in the Shell", "Blade Runner", etc.). However, it is part of the same universe as the "Bubble Gum Crisis" and "A.D. Police" anime series, so fans of those shows might find it more interesting.Movie comment on Blue Like Jazz
DJPowWow
An interesting coming of age story that manages to level-off the Christian overtones of its plot with plenty of humor and without coming off preachy at all.Movie comment on Ren ba zhao
DJPowWow
AKA: Thousand Miles EscortSomewhere in this film is a plot about a righteous warrior trying to protect a child whom the bad guys want dead, and a group of rebels trying to uncover a traitorous plot to overthrow the emperor. Mostly, though, it's just an impenetrable mess, with lots of seemingly random events strung together to make a movie. The horribly acted, poorly translated English dubbing makes it even more hard to watch. Still, the fight scenes are fun, and the hero has a really cool (and improbable) weapon. If ever a wuxia film deserved a MST3k treatment, this is definitely it.
Movie comment on The Best Man
DJPowWow
A tale of dirty politicking and conscience in American politics that holds up even today. Henry Fonda is absolutely terrific in this, and Cliff Robertson's performance is strong... it's hard sometimes to imagine the same guy playing the corrupt politician in this Gore Vidal fable would also play Uncle Ben Parker in the Spider-Man films late in his career. Lee Tracy is also compelling as the ex-President who can't help stirring up trouble between the two Presidential candidates, and probably has some of the best lines in the film.Movie comment on Batman: Year One
DJPowWow
Fairly faithful adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel. About the only noticeable differences were the lack of some of the key narration by the lead characters, which gave the book an overall pulp-detective/film noir atmosphere. They also toned-down the drinking and drug content, but didn't seem to shy away from some of the sexual content (after all, it wouldn't be a Frank Miller story without gratuitous use of hookers and/or strippers).Movie comment on Wu da di zi
DJPowWow
Fun all around, with some great fights and quite colorful characters. Of course, most people's reason to watch this is for Dragon Lee, the lead of the movie, who made his career imitating Bruce Lee. Personally, I didn't think Dragon Lee resembled Bruce Lee all that much, but he did yell and scream a lot like him in all of his fight scenes. What's more interesting is the female lead, a young Qiu Yuen, who is perhaps better known today for her role as the shrill landlady (and secret Kung Fu master) in 2004's "Kung Fu Hustle".Movie comment on Wan ren zan
DJPowWow
aka: Lightning Kung Fuaka: Killer Constable
A surprisingly bloody wuxia/sword-epic film, with quite a lot of dismemberment... always lots of fun in these types of movies. It's interesting that the "protagonist" of the film starts off being a cold-hearted and remorseless character (though, of course, he receives a fair amount of character development). The only truly bad part was one lengthy fight scene filmed in almost pitch-dark! Zero lighting, all you see is the occasional flash of a sword, which is cool, but not in a fight scene that lasts more than 5 minutes! I don't know if better, clearer prints exist, but it got pretty old pretty fast. The rest of the film, however, remained silly yet entertaining.
Movie comment on Le Havre
DJPowWow
Witty, stylish, and heartwarming. The aesthetics and deadpan delivery keep the storytelling simple, with an even simpler message that people should help each other more often.Movie comment on Oni no kaen
DJPowWow
aka: "The Devil's Feast"Another fairly dull release from Switchblade Pictures.
Movie comment on Bathory
DJPowWow
The DVD cover was pretty misleading, making it seem like it would be a vampire movie. In fact it was a fairly long and detailed historical epic about the actual Countess Erzsébeth Báthory, depicting her legendary blood-thirsty reputation as the result of political mud-slinging and local superstition.It was interesting overall, but a bit too long.
Movie comment on Jiro Dreams of Sushi
DJPowWow
Made me hungry the entire time...Movie comment on Treasure Island
DJPowWow
A fairly decent version of "Treasure Island". Mind you, this is coming from a guy who never read the book, so I'm only really comparing it to the 1950 Disney version and "Muppet Treasure Island". Izzard was pretty great, a lot more of a calm, scheming version of Long John Silver. Elijah Wood, on the other-hand, felt like he was doing a Gollum impersonation.Movie comment on The Girl from the Naked Eye
DJPowWow
Not a terrific movie, the plot and dialogue are fairly dull and the acting pretty atrocious, but the action choreography was much better than I expected from a small-budget indie film. One scene in particular was very reminiscent of the long, one-take hallway fight scene in "Oldboy".Movie comment on Back to 'Somewhere in Time'
DJPowWow
From the IMDb page: "This documentary is featured on the Collector's Edition DVD for Somewhere in Time."At one point, during the interview with Christopher Reeve, he described having an out-of-body experience a couple months after his accident that left him paralyzed. He commented on how similar it was to the one filmed in Somewhere in Time, and I got goosebumps.
Movie comment on Mystery Science Theater 3000: Eegah
DJPowWow
"Watch out for snakes!"Showing items 101 – 125 of 192