The Scallywag Errol Flynn

I usually read several books at the same time. Actually, to be accurate, I don’t read them at the same time. I have several going at once and I alternate back and forth between them.

One of the books I’m currently reading, and having a helluva great time enjoying, is My Wicked, Wicked Ways: The Autobiography of Errol Flynn, originally published somewhere around 1959, available now through Cooper Square Press (part of Taylor Trade Publishing group).

Good heavens, what a read. Is anything he says true? Well, maybe. Probably, at least some of it. But that’s not really the point, not for me.

It reads as if it’s the transcript of a recording of a great raconteur, a teller of tall-tales whose favourite tale is his own life. You get the sense of a man who is totally self-absorbed but, somehow, has such a winning personality you love him for it.

I originally picked up the book because I was interested in finding a unique character I might make use of in a story, a model for a supporting player. Well, geez … did I ever get my money’s worth in Flynn. It’s not simply a matter of a long, episodic tale but also one of style. The words, syntax … everything that goes into creating a “voice” in writing, is here.

It’s the breezy voice of a kid who never grew up.

For me, the incidents are less important than the personality that comes across (although the incidents are quite remarkable). Together, personality and incidents, it makes for an incredibly entertaining book.

Flynn is a character, in the truest sense. He’s marvellous and if I had known him, I don’t think I would have trusted him any further than I could throw him.

(By the way, it sounds as if the writing of My Wicked, Wicked Ways was a great story too, or so the book’s introduction suggests.)

My Wicked, Wicked Ways:

- Amazon.com
- Amazon.ca

Tag: Classic Film, Movies, Books

Revising my opinion of Femme Fatale

I think I may have to revise my opinion of Femme Fatale. Maybe even update my rating. On a second look, it's much better than I had originally thought. In noir terms, it's very good and, I think, it's the kind of movie that builds a reputation as time goes on. In other words, thirty years from now it may be viewed as a classic.

Or not. I'm still mulling this one over. But it definitely is a movie that needs to be seen twice. (But that prompts the question, is a movie a "good" movie if you need to see it a second time to get it?)

Tag: Movies, DVDs

Survey says people prefer movies at home

A recent AP-AOL poll about movies has turned up a number of interesting things, such as a general preference people have for watching movies at home.

To start, I'd be interested in knowing when this poll was taken. What sort of answers do you get when you ask these questions in the early part of the year as opposed to the end of the year when the industry is releasing its "better" films as studios grab at Academy Awards?

Still, there are some interesting results. Like three quarters of those polled saying they prefer watching movies at home.

"Young adults, single people and those with college degrees were most likely to say they preferred going to the movie theater."

That's not surprising. Older people, particularly those with families, save money on ticket prices, snacks and baby-sitting by simply renting or buying a DVD.

Home theatres are bigger and better now too so, while the theatre still has that big screen, it doesn't feel like such great advantage unless you're a genuine cinema aficionado. Besides, depending on what theatre you see a film in, the big screen may not be all that hot. I’ve been in theatres where the movie didn’t appear bright enough, wasn’t quite fitted to the screen and didn’t sound all that great.

An advantage home viewing has over the theatre is control. I’ve actually been in theatres watching a movie and tried to press the pause or back button then realized, “Hey, wait! I have no remote!”

Another interesting tidbit from the poll was this:

“People were most fond of comedies, followed by dramas and action-adventure movies.”

Again … when were the questions asked? If Hollywood has a glut of action-adventure movies, there is a good chance people will say they want comedies simply because the action-adventure films have worn out their welcome.

My own take on all of this is that, like all polls, the results can be read numerous ways. But I do think you can safely conclude people are generally finding the convenience and control of home viewing has greater appeal than the traditional appeal of theatres, the spectacle of the big screen. It’s not that home viewing is a better way to see a movie, it’s simply that its advantages are increasing whereas the advantage of the theatre is roughly static. Or, if not static, the additional attractions added to the theatre experience are not of the same kind as home viewing, convenience and control.

And the movie business continues to be run by business people who believe hoo-hah, the usual snake-oil flash, is a safer bet than a good story. I have a bias, true, but I think a good story beats flash almost every time. It certainly does where longevity is concerned. Flash may take the opening weekend, but a good story often means doing well over several weekends and in DVD sales and rentals.

Does this mean more money? Maybe not. Maybe that one big opening weekend is where all the money is to be made. But I think it's also safe to conclude that a movie designed for a big opening weekend take doesn't have "legs." My impression is that they are largely forgettable.

Tag: Movies, DVDs

Time for a gander at Femme Fatale?

Hmm. I don't know why, but I looked back today at what I wrote a few years ago about Brian De Palma's 2002 movie, Femme Fatale.

(That's the one with Rebecca Romijn-Stamos and Antonio Banderas.)

It didn't seem to go over terribly well with audiences and I apparently was less than overwhelmed by it too. Yet I mentioned it probably required a second look. Whatever the reasons are, I've never found the time to take that second look. So I think tonight might be the night.

I looked at a few of the reviews the movie received when it came out and many of them were quite positive. (Roger Ebert gave it 4 stars. Mind you, he's a De Palma fan.)

Last night, by the way, I took in Jaws. I'd been putting off getting the DVD for quite a while. But someone seemed to want me to get it since they keep releasing new editions of it every few years. I grabbed (at a pretty good price) the latest, two-disc affair: Jaws - 30th Anniversary Edition.

By the way, when you haven't seen a film, such as Jaws, for quite a few years some of those scenes can still make you jump.

That's good movie-making.

Tag: Movies, DVDs

No cigar for Libeled Lady

I've always liked William Powell and Myrna Loy (whom I like almost as much as the team of Cary Grant and Irene Dunne), and I'm particularly thinking of The Thin Man.

With that in mind, I re-watched Libeled Lady (which also stars Spencer Tracy and Jean Harlow). You know, I love all the actors in this movie.

I especially love Myrna Loy throughout, Jean Harlow in the last half, and William Powell being the on-screen William Powell from beginning to end. (Spencer Tracy ... well, maybe I wasn't quite so thrilled with him - the role less, rather than the performance.)

But while this movie has its moments, it doesn't really cohere well as a film. I'm not really sure where the problem lies. The story conceit is sort of okay for a comedy. But it just doesn't gel. Somehow, it tries too hard. Honestly, I just don't know what the problem is here. But as movies go, it's a little bit forgettable.

Of course, it doesn't help that the DVD is a pretty weak transfer. There is a lot of scratching on this one. No effort at cleaning it up.

Bottom line? There are amusing moments in this poorly transferred DVD but overall it doesn't hang together well as a 98 minute movie.

Tag: Classic Film, Movie Classics, Movies, DVDs

Adaptations: Whose story is this anyway?

I’ve just started reading Adaptations: From Short Story to Big Screen (see Amazon.com, Amazon.ca). It’s a big and fascinating collection of thirty-five short stories that have been adapted to screenplays, though it’s considerably more than that.

It covers older movies (like Bringing Up Baby) and more recent ones (like Minority Report). But the collection begins with an introduction by its editor, Stephanie Harrison, and the book is divided into eleven thematic sections, and each of these has an introduction.

The introductions are wonderful. While they “introduce” the section and its theme, they also have some intriguing background tidbits of information (such as the way Brian Aldiss and Arthur C. Clarke worked with Stanley Kubrick).

It’s fascinating to see the similarities and, even more interesting, the differences between the stories and the films made from them. For example, in the story on which Hitchcock’s Rear Window was based, there is no Grace Kelly character. (Good grief! No Grace Kelly?)

Also interesting, to me at least, is the story Supertoys Last All Summer Long, written by Brian Aldiss and the basis for A.I.: Artificial Intelligence. It’s a great short story but heavens, was it ever expanded upon for what became the final film (directed by Steven Spielberg).

Also directed by Spielberg is Minority Report, based on Philip K. Dick’s short story The Minority Report. Here, while the differences are interesting, what I find most caught my attention was the pacing. The movie is incredibly fast-paced – just as the story is. In fact, Dick’s tale is almost ludicrously fast-paced. It reads like a condensed hard-boiled detective novel.

And while the story stretches credibility in the quick way things happen, once you start reading it you can’t stop. It grabs you immediately and just goes. (If anything, Spielberg eased the pace a bit and added material to make it a more credible tale.)

Adaptations is over 600 pages long – there’s a lot of material here. I’ve barely started getting into it. But it’s a subject I find fascinating – the different takes artists have on the same story. In this case, the differences between a story in written form and the story on screen. Those differences are a combination between different forms and different artists.

It’s interesting that I began the book on the same day I watched Michael Radford’s movie The Merchant of Venice – a filmmaker’s take on a play (and one by Shakespeare, no less).

There is sometimes a kind of kneejerk, default response to adapted material, especially when its based on popular novels. The response says the movie is a poor version of the original. Yet I always think of Hitchcock’s Rebecca when this pops up – based on Daphne de Maurier’s novel of the same name. I loved the book and I loved the movie. It’s at least one example of a great story leading to a great movie.

As Adaptations shows through short stories, it’s not really a question of one form being "better" than another. Sometimes the written story is better, sometimes the film. It’s a question of how well conceived the initial idea is and how well it’s realized in the particular form being used. And stories are stories are stories. The forms inform one another and feed off one another.

In the meantime, I’ll keep reading these stories (I’ve barely begun). It’s a subject I find absorbing. If you share this fascination, you might want to pick up Adaptations. You’ll learn some interesting things about writers and movies while also getting a great collection of stories.

Tag: Books, Screenwriting, Movies

Star Trek: Insurrection – TV episode? Movie? Does it matter?

I just wrote a review of Star Trek: Insurrection, a movie I had completely forgotten about. I was quickly reminded once it was released in the current two-disc package.

And you know something? I liked it more now than when I had first seen it.

Although it still has the same problems, the biggest being it’s an episode of The Next Generation series and not really a movie. Yes, bigger budget, bigger screen, but an episode of TNG nonetheless.

But is that really such a bad thing? I’m beginning to think not. Maybe you need to be a Star Trek fan to enjoy a film like this – I don’t know. But I do know I liked it despite having serious reservations about it.

One of Insurrection's strong points? No Borg.

Here’s my review.

Tag: Movies, DVDs

The Dirty Dozen - should I like it?

There are some movies you like and feel as if you shouldn't. The Dirty Dozen is like this. I think it's a very good movie. But at the same time, I kind of wish I didn't.

It's not so much what it appeals to (the testosterone filled teenage boy who lingers within us) but the way the film finally resolves. Although, in terms of the movie, it appears to end the way it had to.

But it does come across as a giddily adolescent and mean-spirited end. At least, that’s how it strikes me now. I can’t say I felt that way when I saw it years ago at roughly age fourteen. As I age, am I becoming a revisionist?

Perhaps. Anyway, here's my review of it.

Tag: Classic Film, Movie Classics, Movies, DVDs

Am I the only one who likes Gun Shy?

If you were to read the majority of the reviews of the 2000 film Gun Shy you would think it's an utterly execrable movie.

Well, maybe they're right but, apparently, I don't think so. Not given the number of times I've seen it. (I’ve lost count.) I’m not sure I can say it’s a good film (although I think it is). But I figure if I keep watching it, it must have something going for it.

First, I’d say the negative response to it is partly because of the kind of film it is and the time of it’s release. It’s got that tedious “gangster” milieu that Hollywood keeps trotting out and, at the time of its release, there were a number of movies around that were comedies set in this kind of environment. And the reviewers were right to think, “... Enough is enough!”

Still, despite that, I liked it. And I like it more the further away I get from that period of film when they were making comedic gangster movies. I can increasingly enjoy the film on its own merits, without contemporary context.

Secondly I, too, first reacted negatively to Liam Neeson in the primary role. It somehow didn’t fit. But again, I think that has more to do with context. At the time, I had an idea of what Neeson could do and that didn’t include comedy, certainly not one of this kind. He seemed too restrained for this. But, distanced from that time (circa 2000) and, to be honest, not having seen him in a film for quite a while (I haven’t seen Kinsey), it’s easier to accept him now in this role.

Thirdly, this movie has one of the funniest scenes I’ve seen in I don’t know how long and it’s one of the few scenes I laugh at no matter how many times I see it. It’s the "sleepy" scene between Neeson and Oliver Platt (who is priceless in the film!). I don’t know if others would find it funny but I sure as hell do.

I like this movie. A lot.

Tag: Movies, DVDs

Faulty Billy Wilder - Irma LaDouce

I've grown up hearing about how Billy Wilder was a great director. But for some reason, I've never been terribly overwhelmed by his films. With a couple of exceptions.

I think Sunset Boulevard is one of the best movies ever made. No taking that way from Billy Wilder. And The Apartment is pretty darned good and, while not one of his most noted movies, I've always really liked Avanti!

But the way people talk about Billy Wilder, you would think he was the greatest thing since ... well, I don't know what. And I just don't think he's that. His movies often seemed dated. Like the one I just watched, Irma LaDouce.

This one has its moments. But it's very uneven. It goes great for a while then suddenly, the engine stalls. The biggest problem is it comes across as a circa 1965 fifty-year-old man's middle-aged crisis movie. Too many jiggly girls and saucy innuendo jokes.

And the movie is horribly stagy. The film's concept is okay, as a comedy. But I believe it was taken from a stage play. It certainly has the look and feel of a play and a play is not a movie. On film, it feels too artificial.

Generally, it comes across as a movie that thinks it's clever and wants you to think so too.

And it just ain't.

Tag: Classic Film, Movie Classics, Movies, DVDs

The smooth, slapstick Archie Leach (aka Cary Grant)

Not sure why, but I decided to make a list of the Cary Grant movies I had in my file of reviews. I had more than I expected. As it turns out, I had also written them over a period in which I had changed things like layout. So there was a fair amount of inconsistency between some of them.

And that’s my long-winded way of saying what is listed here is only partial. Call it My List, Part I. It consists of the earlier Grant movies I’ve rambled about – 1937 to 1944. Of course, his movies that I’ve reviewed aren’t all the Cary Grant movies I have. And those ones I have are only a small number of the movies he actually made.

Yes, I’ve always been a Cary Grant fan. (Does it show?) By the way, when I rate movies it’s based on a 5 star system. Here’s my list (part one):

- Topper (1937) 4 stars
- The Awful Truth (1937) 4½ stars
- Bringing Up Baby (1938) 5 stars
- Gunga Din (1939) 4 stars
- My Favorite Wife (1940) 4 stars
- His Girl Friday (1940) 4½ stars
- Talk of the Town (1942) 3 stars
- Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) 4½ stars

(You know, I'm not sure I agree with some of those ratings now that I see them. Though I suppose they're roughly accurate, at least from my point of view. But with the exception of Talk of the Town, I'd sort of like to give them all 5 stars because I like them so much.)

Tag: Classic Film, Movie Classics, Movies, DVDs

East of Eden - some Cain and Abel histrionics

I’ve been hearing about James Dean all my life. I’ve seen the posters. I’ve seen the fashion look recur every few years. But I’ve never been too taken by it or very interested in the James Dean thing.

Well, now I’ve developed some interest thanks to the DVD issues of his three movies (available individually or in The Complete James Dean).

Last night, I watched the DVD East of Eden - Special Edition. It definitely has a histrionic quality that makes it a bit anachronistic as it tells a variation of the Cain and Abel story. But you can definitely see the James Dean quality and why he became a modern myth. But hey … you also get to see a great performance by Raymond Massey, and others.

I hope to scribble some thoughts into a review soon. Meanwhile, I think the movie is worth seeing for its cultural interest but also on its own terms as a pretty good film.

Tag: Classic Film, Movie Classics, Movies, DVDs

First impressions are a killer

I tried rewatching Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events tonight. I got less than five minutes into it and all I could think of was my response from the first time I saw it. So I turned it off.

Edward Gorey meets Tim Burton meets Jim Carrey ... anyone alone I like but together, in this movie ... I don't think so. It seemed too contrived, too calculated and not terribly inspired. Despite having what seemed like a lot of promise.

Stinkin' out the joint - The Life of Emile Zola

I've been worried lately that I've been sounding like a shill for movies because I've come across so many that I've liked. And I've been posting about them. And, the truth is, I would rather talk about movies I like than movies I don't like.

So, as I suggest, it worries me that I may come across sometimes as the happy marketing guy who says everything is wonderful.

In other words, I've been looking for a turkey so I could provide some balance. I think I may have found it.

It's The Life of Emile Zola(1936) starring Paul Muni. Despite the DVD packaging, it's not a "powerful film," unless you measure the power of tedium.

The problems with the film are several. For one, it's too anachronistic - meaning, it's too much of a period piece in terms of when it was made (not when it is set) and this means it tries too hard to make it manipulatively moving. It also plays way, way, WAY too fast and loose with the facts (it's supposed to be a biopic), although they do acknowledge this in the opening titles.

Bottom line: it's tedious, it's manipulative in a bad way, and it's just too cornball. This is, at best, a middling B picture. Worth a rental if you're really bored and have no life.

Tag: Classic Film, Movie Classics, Movies, DVDs

Grant & Dunne - movie stars, not a legal firm

I just posted a review of a 1940 comic gem - My Favorite Wife starring Irene Dunne and Cary Grant. Here, they team up after the successful 1937 hit, The Awful Truth. And believe me, they are an absolute pleasure to watch.

Off hand, I can't think of anyone else I enjoyed paired with Grant on screen more than Irene Dunne. They play so well together.

And here, in My Favorite Wife, they have a great story conceit. The two are married. She goes away on a trip and is lost at sea. After seven years, she's declared legally dead. So Grant now goes and remarries. However, on the same day he does, his first wife, Irene Dunne, comes back.

As the expression goes, hijinks ensue.

It's absolutely great.

Tag: Classic Film, Movie Classics, Movies, DVDs

The Aviator - strange film about a strange man

I found Martin Scorsese's The Aviator an odd film. Not bad, not great - good, but odd.

It's strange in that while it's engaging, it's not emotionally engaging. It keeps you at a distance, sort of like a science experiment. You're curious about it but in a dispassionate kind of way.

Well, you can read more of my musings in my review.

One thing I don't really talk about in it is the performances, which are all good. Scorsese assembled quite an array of today's talent to play yesterday's talent: Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn, Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner, Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow, Jude Law as Errol Flynn ... it's quite a list.

By the way, I didn't get far in the special features. I was watching the Biography thing on Howard Hughes and ran out of gas because it was basically a grocery list - Hughes did this, then that, then that ... kinda boring.

Tag: Movies, DVDs

Business life - In Good Company

It's been out on DVD for a few weeks now but I didn't get around to seeing In Good Companytill last night.

It's pretty good - better than I thought it might be though perhaps not as funny as some might lead you to believe. It's especially appealing for anyone who has had a taste of corporate life, or the business world generally. It's amusing as it captures pretty accurately what that kind of life is like.

Of course, given the kind of film it is the end veers away from the real world, but that's okay because it is, after all, a nice comedic film. It ain't cinema verite (and doesn't pretend to be).

For those who like Scarlett Johanssen, you'll like her performance here although if you really want to see her in a great perfromance, I'd recommend A Love Song for Bobby Long.

I'll see if I can't toss a review together at some point. This brief note isn't really fair to the film which is considerably more than a comedy of business life. It has a little something to do with youth and age and is quite good in this respect.

Tag: Movies, DVDs

So, I watch The Incredibles tonight

I wasn't sure what I would be watching tonight but a brief visit to The Bleat has reminded me I need to re-watch The Incredibles.

First time out, it didn't do much for me. Or so I assume. I don't remember it very well so it seems safe to conclude I was less than overwhelmed (despite the hype). But I also discovered something last night as I rewatched The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (another movie that didn't really register one way or another the first time I saw it).

Movies play better on weekends. Probably because we have a few moments to breath and forget about the nonsense that consumes our weekday lives. (And today, in Canada, is Day 3 of a long weekend as we celebrate Queen Victoria, though I don't believe we're suppose to admit to that any more. Still, we call it Victoria Day.)

Good grief ... I can't believe I'm listening to Crystal Gayle singing, Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue. But I am.

Tag: Movies, DVDs

Ernst Lubitsch, Carole Lombard and ... Jack Benny?

It struck me as an odd combination but ... what the heck? Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, a director I've always liked, I decided to give the movie To Be Or Not To Be a try.

It was worth it. Despite sagging a bit in the middle, the movie works. Although it just sounds strange to me - Lombard, Benny, Poland, Nazis, romantic comedy ... huh?

Made in 1942, it's Lubitsch's satire of Nazism and he gives it quite a going over. Here's my review of it.

Tag: Classic Film, Movie Classics, Movies, DVDs

Bobby Long a nice find (Scarlett Johanssen great)

Once again, I picked up a disc without really knowing much about it and certainly not knowing what to expect. And I found I had a thumbs up winner.

A Love Song for Bobby Long is a great movie. The marketing seems to want to make it seem darker than it is. If I had to compare it to something, I'd say it is somewhat similar to The Station Agent. In fact, if you liked that movie I think you would like Bobby Long.

Mind you, it's a drama and definitely has its dark tone. It's like The Station Agent in that it has a small film feel and is character driven. But the characters are wonderful and the performances are great (especially Scarlett Johanssen).

Tag: Movies, DVDs

The Americanization of Emily - problems with satire

I watched the second of the three movies I picked up the other day. It was The Americanization of Emily (1964). And while I really wanted to like, and even liked parts of it, and while I really like Julie Andrews and James Garner ... ah, it just didn't fly with me.

There are good parts to the movie but as a whole it doesn't gel.

I wrote a review of it and as I say there, the satire wrestles with the romantic story and between the two they kind of cancel each other out.

As a general rule, I don't like satire. I seldom find it satisfying. If it isn't telling me what I want to hear, it's hopelessly tedious. When it does tell what I want to hear (like this movie, Emily), it tends to be long-winded. I get impatient for an engaging story. And satire doesn't usually deliver in this respect because a good story relies on good characters and satire tends to depend on caricatures.

Anyway ... There are good moments in The Americanization of Emily but not enough to prompt me to give it a whole-hearted endorsement. At best, I'd give it a wishy-washy, "It's okay. You could do worse."

Tag: Classic Film, Movie Classics, Movies, DVDs

Gunga Din - a better film than most

I seem to be making my way through a fistful of films of the Hollywood action - adventure kind from the late thirties and early forties. Most recently, it was Gunga Din, from 1939, directed by George Stevens. (Here's my review of it.)

Like many of those Errol Flynn movies (see below), Gunga Din is almost a blueprint for a certain type of movie. In this case, the action-adventure buddy movie.

From a modern perspective, the movie has the political sensitivity of a drunken elephant but that's largely a reflection of the time and its attitudes. Still, were I from India this movie would not likely be a big favourite. (By the way, Joan Fontaine is in this film. But don't blink or you'll miss her.)

Tag: Classic Film, Movie Classics, Movies, DVDs

Three movies, three decades - which to choose!

I got a little sidetracked today and wandered into the DVD area of a certain store and ... Well, darn it if they didn't have a sale and darn it if they didn't have a fistful of discs I'd been wanting to get.

"It's not my fault Mr. Bank Manager. They took advantage of my weakness."

Anyway ... I could have been a lot weaker. As it is, I restricted myself to three movies covering three different decades.

- Gunga Din (1939 - Cary Grant)
- Easter Parade (1948 - Fred Astaire, Judy Garland)
- The Americanization of Emily (1964 - Julie Andrews, James Garner)

The question now is - which one to watch tonight? (I may even watch two - but which ones?) I'm leaning towards Cary. But we'll see.

(By the way, it's fortunate these are available now because a number of the newer films that have been released on DVD recently haven't exactly excited me.)

Tag: Classic Film, Movie Classics, Movies, DVDs

Less nerdy than I thought

It's online so it must be true. I'm as scientifically/technologically challenged as I'd supposed:

Errol Flynn and The Sea Hawk

On film, Errol Flynn seems to capture all the best aspects of what is sometimes referred to as "a boyish quality." At his best, there is an exuberance and sense of fun that is irresistible.

And that really comes across in The Sea Hawk. So I wrote a review of it.

It's a wonderful movie; it's a kind of template for every other swashbuckling adventure.

In the past, I never really understood why people made a big deal about Errol Flynn. But as his films come out on DVD and I finally see them, I understand it. (Many of these movies I've actually seen before, but when I was very, very young and so I only vaguely recall them.)

Tag: Movies, DVDs

Stepford Wives - well, I liked it

You have an idea. You have a book. You have a movie. Now you have another movie.

Must be The Stepford Wives, and a new take - this time directed by Frank Oz (the Muppet guy, the Dirty Rotten Scoundrels guy). Some people liked the movie; some appear to have hated it. I don't think anyone loved it.

I know I didn't. But as my review explains, I did like it - though not the first time I watched it. I think you have to be in the right mood for this one.

Tag: Movies, DVDs

Kagemusha - the shadow warrior

It finally arrived and I've finally watched Akira Kurosawa's 1980 samurai movie, Kagemusha.

I saw it when it was first released in North America, when I was living in Ottawa, so it would be close to 25 years ago - yikes! Long time.

It was the first Kurosawa movie I ever saw and the first samurai movie. As I say in my review, it knocked me for a loop. I'd never seen anything like that - not until then.

And now I've seen it again. And the DVD transfer by Criterion is incredible. It's two disc set that's well worth getting. The images in Kagemusha are absolutely stunning.

Tag: Classic Film, Movie Classics, Movies, DVDs

A series of unfortunate scenes

I watched Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events last night and found it a bit underwhelming. It looks like it should be fabulous but for the most part it plays tediously, though it does have some great moments.

I’m still thinking about this one because I’m not entirely sure where the problem is - perhaps it’s the combination of several small problems (rather than one big one).

It’s episodic, and that may be part of it. It has some very contemporary moments - references and the like - that jar with the film’s somewhat fantastic and archaic style and look.

Overall, though, it just seems to me to try too hard. It’s a bit like a comedian who oversells a joke.

And having said that, I can't recommend getting the two disc version of this movie. I picked up the single disc widescreen, watched a couple of the featurettes, then stopped before I finished. I was bored.

Tag: Movies, DVDs

Cocktails and crime: The Thin Man

I'm still waiting on my shipment (must be sending it from the heart of China by burro). In the meantime, I've been watching a few things in my collection.

For example, last night I watched The Thin Man again - the first, the original. It stars William Powell and Myrna Loy. I've always liked Powell (hence my fondness for My Man Godfrey) and he's in top form with Loy in this one.

By the way, the movie comes from the Dashiell Hammett novel of the same name. And it was directed by W.S. Van Dyke, the man who gave us Tarzan the Ape Man.

Tag: Classic Film, Movie Classics, Movies, DVDs

A fistful of Sergio Leone

From DVDTimes ... it appears MGM has brought out Region 2 special editions of Sergio Leone westerns:

- A Fistful Of Dollars
- For a Few Dollars More
- A Fistful of Dynamite

Of course, my question is when will these be released in Region 1? Also, one of the comments I saw on DVDTimes (in the A Fistful of Dollars review) suggested MGM will also be bringing these out as a six disc set later in the year.

Again ... when in Region 1?

Update: I asked the guys at DVD Town about this and they said, "Sony's purchase of MGM has just been finalized. Therefore, these releases are in limbo outside of R2 UK."

Tag: Movies, DVDs

Sideways - and off kilter

I picked up Sideways yesterday and tapped out a review of it. My take isn't quite the view many others had, though I did like the movie. Just not so much as some reviewers.

By the way, I was sipping a red wine while I watched it - but not a Merlot!

Tag: Movies, DVDs

How sad is this?

If you were to make a satire of English Canadian cinema it would be Guy Maddin's, The Saddest Music in the World. It's firing on all cylinders, as they say: quirky without purpose because hey - we're Canadian, a depressing story about depressed people because - hey, we're Canadian, and of course a walking talking caricature as the "American" because - hey, we're Canadian and we hate the idea that normal people like their movies more than our tedious wank-offs.

What a self-indulgent piece of crap.

Tag: Movies, DVDs

Cold Mountain revisited

I watched Cold Mountain again last night and still like it.

"While you can say Cold Mountain is a love story set during the American Civil War and be correct, you will be saying very little of substance about the movie. I think it would be more accurate to say it's a meditation on the nature and qualities of love, one that looks at what its presence does and it's absence ..."

That's the start of the review I wrote. But for the life of me I can't remember how long ago that was. Looks like it would have been back in early July of 2004. (Not that it matters.)

Whatever ... It's worth watching again.

Tag: Movies, DVDs

Morons, marketing and Finding Neverland

I watched Finding Neverland last night and really enjoyed the film. Some feel it's a little too saccharine for their taste but, while it has this element, it wasn't so much so that it bothered me.

What did bother me was the commercial I was forced to watch. I wrote up a little rant about it (It's not about marketing - or is it?) and posted it on my other blog, Writelife.

I just can't get over the idea that someone asks me to pay to own something then, when I buy it, they force me to watch them hawking their wares. But then, marketing people are the sorts of morons who actually would pay money to watch an ad.

Tag:Movies, DVD

Baby's the best

I've watched quite a few turkeys recently on DVD. (For example, there are the two duds I mention below, in earlier posts, Wicker Park and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - major stinkers.)

But the bad taste of those has been cleaned away with Bringing Up Baby - Special Edition, a two disc set featuring the 1938 Howard Hawks' classic. It stars Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant and its fast, frantic and very funny.

It's also one of the better packages to come out recently as far as the special features go, particularly with its lengthy documentary called Cary Grant: A Class Apart. It also features commentary by Peter Bogdanovich, whose usually quite interesting and informative on these kinds of things.

Anyway ... I'm quite happy. This is one of my favourite movies.

Tag: Classic Film, Movie Classics, Movies, DVDs

Wicker Snooze

I have the DVD for the movie Wicker Park and it is amazing. It is amazing because it has deleted scenes. How could something this long and dull have deleted scenes? The whole damn movie plays like a deleted scene! The kind of deleted scene you see and say, "Well, I can certainly see why they dumped that!"

How is it they left anything out for "deleted scenes?" Geez, the thing's so dull the whole damn thing could have been cut with the possible exception of the last ten minutes.

I feel badly for Josh Hartnett. He's apparently become the best looking actor of a certain age to plop into a really dull script. Has he ever been in something that had a story? Characters? Has he ever been in something that didn't put you to sleep within the first five minutes? He really needs a new agent. Or something. I dunno what. But right now he has an amazing talent for landing himself in turkeys. (What was that fiasco he was in with Harrison Ford? Something about cops ... it was supposed to be funny ...)

Anyway ... avoid Wicker Park unless you're having difficulty sleeping. It's a snooze-fest.

Tag:Movies, DVD

Sky Captain - Sky Ca-ca!

What a wretched piece of crap! Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow? How about Sky Captain and the World of Shitty Movies? This is the worst garbage I've seen in years.

If you've seen Casablanca, you've seen Sky Captain - done much better. Seen Metropolis? You've seen Sky Captain - done much better. Seen any of the Indiana Jones movies? You've seen Sky Captain - done much better.

What were they thinking of when they made this? Did they think soft focus could make a compelling movie? It doesn't. Did they think that skilful photography could cover up the absence of anything resembling a story? It doesn't.

This movie is so bad it's laughable - except you fall asleep before you get to that stage. Geez ... shame on me for forking out money on this crap. Do yourself a favour - avoid this movie unless you're suffering from insomnia. In that case, this is the movie for you.

Tag:Movies, DVD

Shyamalan’s The Village - a folktale

I’ve been holding off on seeing M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village for quite a while now because it didn’t exactly get overwhelming reviews. Actually, it appears people are divided on it – they love it or hate it.

But I finally watched it last night after picking it up as a PV (previously viewed) copy and …. I loved it. I think it’s his best after The Sixth Sense.

I think the thing to note about the movie is that it is a folktale. So it doesn’t quite work the way a more realistic drama works, nor is it intended too. Stories like this are, to some degree, “tall tales,” so they do push the barriers of credulity – it’s part of the style.

Tag:Movies, DVD

Messing around

I've been fiddlin' with The Burble as I moved it to Blogspot.com from another server. Why? Well, partly for space but mostly because I'm considering some changes. Not sure what those will be just yet. I'm still mulling it over.

(I seem to be doing that all the time.)

Long time, no write

Yes, it has been a while. Actually, I've been caught up with Piddleville and Writelife - those have been updated.

Sadly, The Burble languishes. But it hasn't been forgotten. I need to find a better way to manage three of these things. The truth is, one or more should be dropped.

But I haven't the heart to it.

It's fairly painless - tsunami relief

Bringing Up Baby - soon!

Joy in Piddleville ... A movie I've been waiting on for quite a while, Bringing Up Baby is due out March 1st. It stars Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant, and it's directed by Howard Hawks.

Yippee! (It's one of Warner's 2 disc special editions, by the way.)

Movies, top of the line

I have finally added a review of my favourite movie ... My Man Godfrey. I absolutely love this movie, particularly Carole Lombard.

It must be the season. I've come across some great movies recently, like The Terminal (see previous post). And this weekend, Hero ... which I think is absolutely great.

I also managed to a quick review of a movie I saw about a month ago, 1948's Portrait of Jennie with Joseph Cotten and Jennifer Jones. Not a bad movie, if you like romantic fantasy.

Waiting at the terminal

Yes, I'm finally posting again. And I'm happy to say I've added a couple of new reviews, including one of my favourite movies of the year, The Terminal.

This one doesn't seem to have come out on DVD with a great deal of hoopla, which is surprising to me. It's better than most of the other releases I've seen.

One of those others is Elf, a nice but predictable Christmas movie from 2003. It has it's charm but doesn't do much with the Hollywood Christmas movie template it uses.

Gone With the Wind

I've avoided picking up some movies on disc because I felt sure they would be released in more elaborate sets. As an example, there is the new Gone With the Wind - 4 disc Collector's Edition.

While I wouldn't wait for any movie, some are standards and "must have's" for anyone who collects. While the earlier disc was very good, the latest (this big collector's package) has an even cleaner image plus oodles of additional material.

Of course, the best part is the film. It's a dandy.

Movies that go "Boo!"

So here are some scare movies - not so much for Halloween as for the dark month ahead, November. Like October, it's a good time for the willies. By the way, this is in alphabetical order, not order of merit. And there are one or two comedies in here as well.

Brotherhood of the Wolf (Les Pact des Loups) (2001)
The Fog (1979)
Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The (1947)
Ghost Breakers, The (1940)
Legend of Hell House, The (1973)
Mothman Prophecies, The (2002)
The Others (2001)
Psycho (1960)
Rose Red (Stephen King's) (2002)
The Shining (1980)
Sleepy Hollow (1999)
Underworld (2003)
Van Helsing (2004)
The Watcher in the Woods (1980)
The Woman in Black (1989)

Ignorable post

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Columbo is back

Finally on DVD, Lt. Columbo! I picked up Columbo - the Complete First Season and it's great ... and no so great.

The great part is the shows themselves. It's especially interesting seeing this set with the two movies that came prior to the series. You get to see how they developed the character into the Columbo we know.

But the set itself ... No much in the way of cleaning them up. There are scratches and so on that give you the sense that whatever copy was handy was the one tossed on the discs.

There are also no features - at all.

I'm not alarmed - or am I?

I'm not so much alarmed by the fact it is snowing as I am that a Michael Bolton song is playing through the stereo and I'm almost liking it. Strange times indeed!

The snow is wet and heavy. Trees and their branches are bent in abdication, aknowledging the inevitably of seasonal tyranny. People in the street jump and gyrate as they try to elude a minefield of puddles and snowpiles.

Shall we despair? No, we shan't. And why?

We're hopeless optimists. And we're thinking, "Hey, at least it ain't Florida."

A few new old films

I managed to watch and write about a couple of classic movies over the weekend. The first is La Règle du jeu (The Rules of the Game) by Jean Renoir, 1939.

The other is Akira Kurosawa's 1952 film Ikiru.

Thumbs up on both counts!

Canadian movies?

I can't speaking with any authority about Canadian movies largely due to the reasons outlined by Dan Brown in his ramble, When it comes to movies, let's hide our national identity. As he puts it:

We may not like to admit it, but the term "Canadian movie" comes with all kinds of negative baggage. In the mind of the average ticket buyer standing in line at your local multiplex, a Canadian movie is (a) weird and depressing, and (b) cheaply made. This reputation is well earned; it came about because in the past our movies have been low-budget productions that, for the most part, were weird and depressing.

The one exception, for me, might be films from Quebec, such as Denys Arcand's The Barbarian Invasions (Les Invasions Barbares).

Speaking strictly for myself, I don't want to know if a film is a good Canadian movie. I just want to know if it's a good movie. If it's from Canada - fine, surprise me when I see it. But being from Canada isn't a selling point, not where I'm concerned. Being an interesting film is.

And if the truth be told, past experience has left me with the knee-jerk response that if it is Canadian it looks cheap and is hopelessly depressing. That this isn't accurate isn't relevant. It's a knee-jerk response.

My ongoing state of indecision

A state of indecision can be a problem. Do I go this way? Or do I go that? Hmmm ... Sometimes, you go nowhere.

Anyway ... I've threatened changes to - oh, how do the jolly suits put it? - "enhance my Web product" by making changes.

Which I believe I'm close to doing. And it may me a felling of the axe on certain things. Time for a new ISP for Piddleville? Perhaps, perhaps. Or possibly I should just dump the idea of a site altogether and use one of my other blogs as Piddleville.

Who knows?

By the way ... the image? That's the real-world Piddleville. I live in there somewhere.

Week of Star Wars

Yes, I picked up the Star Wars Trilogy on DVD and so the week was spent with Luke, Darth Vader and the gang.

Honestly, I was not a big fan of Star Wars when it came out. Seeing it again, I think I enjoy it a bit more but I'm stilled not overly taken by the space fantasy. The characters were always just a little bit too cardboard for me. The story is good; the characters though ... a little too namby pamby or something.

I find it interesting that George Lucas directed the first (now called A New Hope) but others directed The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. These two work much better for me, particularly The Empire Strikes Back.

Red carpet cat

The stars came out recently as Gonzo, the commoner cat, did the red carpet thing on her way to receive her award as most interesting pet.

The evening did not transpire without controversy, however. Gonzo made it quite clear she found the term pet, "... disagreeble, offensive and indicative of a patriarchal attitude that cannot and must not be tolerated."

She then proceeded to tear some very high priced gowns with her claws as she engaged in a hissy fit.

On another note, when asked who she was wearing for the evening, Gonzo replied coldly, "Me. It's called fur, moron."

The interesting cat

And the winner is ... Gonzo! Most interesting pet on the floor where I work.

Okay, so it ain't an Oscar and it ain't no Nobel Prize. But Gonzo managed to surmount the fierce competition for this coveted award to become recognized as the most interesting pet.

Frankly, we're both a bit puzzled by it given her generic, cookie-cutter cat appearance and mongrel ancestory. But we'll take it!

Actually, Gonzo is a bit of a practical cat. Her first question on hearing the news was, "And the prize? Is it money? There's no point in getting an award if there's no money attached. Where's the cash? What we talking here? Huh?"

Testosterone shot

Every now and again you want to see something silly, mindless but well made. Well, you could do worse than 1987's Predator. (But really, it is pretty idiotic.)

At last - American Beauty

I've always liked American Beauty. So I've finally gotten around to scribbling a few thoughts down. Unfortunately, it is scribbling. It's disjointed and incoherent. But at least I got something done. Maybe one day I'll revisit it when I'm more ... um, thoughtful?

Are we going to take it?

It is roughly 5 degrees Celcius outside. (That would be about 41 F.) It is expected to go down to 1 degree tonight. (And that would be 33.8 F.) We have it on good meteorological authority that we can expect snow. Don't believe me? Check the weather links here.

What I find discouraging is that not so long ago I was here, with all the blue. And when I was here, it was 37 degrees - quite toasty.

How quickly things change. Shall we take it? Must we? Against whom are we to rebel?

Speaking of hurricanes

With Frances slowly trundling over Florida, hurricanes seem to be the theme of the day and it brings to mind by favourite movie on this subject, John Ford's 1937 The Hurricane. (Of course, there's also Key Largo.)

The movie climaxes with what may be my favourite special effects sequence, certainly one of the best on film. It's all the more amazing because it's from 1937.

(It should be said, however, special effects are helped greatly by being in black and white.)

Who I was?

This was me. Or who the Internet thinks I was. Great tool for those who haven't a sense of their own identity.




Which 1990's Subculture Do You Belong To?

[Another Quiz by Kris
@ couplandesque.net]

Another change coming?

I may change the template of this blog. On the other hand I may not. Can't decide. In the meantime, as I struggled with this great decision, I added Arsenic and Old Lace.

Actually, it's Bow Lake

Well, on my little ramble I incorrectly identified Bow Lake, Alberta as Columbia Lake. I knew I would identify something incorrectly. I just wasn't sure what it would be. So I've updated the pages and they are now accurate - more or less.

Howard Hawks' Rio Bravo

I managed to do a movie marathon last night. Only because while watching Get Shorty they mentioned Rio Bravo ... so I went and played it. For what it's worth, here's my take on Rio Bravo.

Why live in Canada?

I suppose at least some of my reasons can be found here, in my West Kootenay ramble. It may not be the sort of thing everyone would care for but for those who do, these are images from my part of world.

Back from West Kootenay

For someone of my limited travelling inclination and experience, I certainly covered a heck of a lot of ground in the last week.

The main stop was a few days in Kaslo, on Kootenay Lake in the West Kootenays (British Columbia). Getting there from Creston in B.C. has to be one of the coolest drives a person could make. It winds around mountains with some hair-raising turns, landslide warnings and includes a ferry ride. (On the way up we had to take the long way since we couldn't get to Balfour and the ferry - a landslide blocked the way).

But Kaslo was only one part. There was the getting to Kaslo and the return trip, by another route. So we took in quite an array of mountains and mountain lakes, deer and elk, and various grizzly bear warnings.

We drove from Edmonton west to the mountains to get there. On the way back, we went south by Creston, nudged the Idaho border, up to Cranbrook, over to Fernie where we camped, then on to the Crowsnest Pass and finally to Fort Macleod where I got off and took the bus back to Edmonton.

Of all the things we saw, I think I'd have to say the Frank Slide, where part of Turtle Mountain collapsed and slid down on a coal mining camp back in 1903 (the largest slide in North America), was the most astonishing. Any pictures I've seen of this area don't really capture it. The immensity of the boulders and the breadth of the slide are ... well, astonishing. It makes you feel very small and very fragile.

Hellboy revisited

I just watched Hellboy again. Afterwards, I watched the DVD documentary. (I should say I started to. It's still playing in the background. It's about as engaging as watching the Canadian House of Commons.)

Anyway, I had to scribble this down. It's director Guillermo del Toro:

"One of the keys to the comics is to understand that even though Hellboy is six foot five, bright red, has horns and a tail and all that, he's a regular Joe."

Huh? Are you listening to yourself? This is the problem with Hellboy. It's very well made. But it's stupid! It's dumb, dumb, dumb!

This is why I rank it with Moulin Rouge as one of the best made stupid movies of recent years. (But I still like Ron Perlman in it.)

John Ford & Liberty Valance

It has taken me a while to finally get around to picking up John Ford's 1962 western The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. But I finally did and I finally got around to writing about it. Actually, I wrote quite a bit. I appear to have gotten a little carried away.

But it's a great movie. A great western. If you like these kinds of films, this is a classic. A "must see," as they say.

Butch and Sundance

I would have been 13 or 14 when I first saw Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I've seen it many times since. The question is, why do I like it? Why does anyone like this movie? (And why did it get so many bad reviews when it came out despite the fact people loved it?)

I try to explain why I think the movie works in my review of it. (Is it accurate to call my ramblings reviews? Maybe not but I don't know what else to call them.)

Hitchcock double dip

It looks like Warner is bringing out Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train again on September 7th - this time as a two disc, special edition set.

I don't know what's planned for the set. I would guess that, like the single disc version already out, it will have both versions - the British and the American. Other than that ... I don't know. The single disc is pretty good already, except for the fact it is dual-sided (one version on each side) and in that horrible cardboard and plastic case. Knowing nothing about what's on this new set (as compared to the single), I don't know whether it would be worth getting.

But I am intrigued.

The logo irks me

I continue to make changes here and on Piddleville overall (though the real changes I'd like to make, such as css, I haven't made since - blush - I don't know how yet. (Even though I've had the sites for years!)

The most irksome thing for me right now is the Piddleville (and Burble) logos - if that's not too lofty a word for what is really just a cheap, amateurish text graphic. I would go back to the old logo but somehow it doesn't seem to fit with the look of the site.

Don't be surprised to see the image keep changing. I'll probably keep at it till I get it right (or breakdown and ask/pay someone to do it for me).

What's up with Piddleville?

You may have noticed Piddleville is somewhat quirky these days. The reason for this is simple: I'm playing around. And I have an obsessive need to publish pages even when they aren't ready. (I'm sure a good therapist could explain why.)

Anyway ... the home page has a bit of a new look as I add or update the odd thing. For instance, since adding Google in the header I can now do searches of Piddleville. This may not be of value to anyone but it is a value to me.

And what's with the news page? No sooner do I get it up than something goes wonky with the CBC feed. Either nothing has happened in Canada the last few days or there's a glitch somewhere. (I can't even access their support site.)

That's what is up. I'll probably keep playing with things for a while. Expect to see some other quirks here and there.