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Help me! i'm languishing in all this supposed knowledge!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

My musings.....

I've been fresh out of idea's as of late, now this doesn't really bother me because i usually come up with some eventually anyway, but it is really quite frustrating when i have an idea but don't know how i want to execute it. here are some idea's that have been running through my mind lately and you may see come to fruition some time in the future....

-- My Top 10 characters that are just cool.
okay, yes, that is a horrible title but you get idea. i don't think that i'll just have movie characters on this one, mostly so i can branch out to TV and put Buffy and Angel on the list. Ok yes Buffy was a movie before it was a show but the show is far better. I mostly thought of this while i was watching Rebel Without A Cause and Heathers, both with epically cool characters.

-- Favourite actors/actresses who aren't remembered for their looks.
i don't know how i thought of this one. i guess i just thought 'hm he was good looking'. this list would probably include the likes of Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn and Buster Keaton.

-- Greatest silent movies
this one is kinda self explanatory. I was watching some Buster Keaton footage and this subsequently led me to Harold Lloyd, Charlie Chaplin and an old Gloria Swanson interview that had her explaining about a scene she did with a real tiger (or was i ta lion?) in a silent movie (the name escapes me). so i thought this would be a good list. i'll have to do some research before i post this one though.

-- top ten movies that would suck if they were made today
there are so many candidates for this that i can't name them.

-- ten movies that are so dated they're funny
two words: Reefer Madness 

so those are my idea's, if you could please tell me in the comments what you think i should do and maybe some suggestions then it would really be a appreciated.

"You broke up with my answering machine?!" Buffy Summers (Kristy Swanson), Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1992)

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

What i have watched...

Firstly i haven't been able to post much stuff because my brother has been hogging the computer. I have been watchging quite a few movies and couldn't wait to revoiew them, but i just sort of forgot what i wanted to say. Here is a list of movies i have seen as of late that i can't post reviews on individually.



Gallipoli (1981)- It was a well shot movie, good acting, Mel Gibson was very likeable (sue me!!!). Ending was sad. It's about Australia at Gallipoli in WW1. The teacher had us watch it in SOSE, it was good, if you like a movie that isn't a war movie, but rather movie about a war, i'd recommend this one.





Easy A (2010)- I watched this last night and could have done an individual review but i decided that since i was writing then i may as well write about this. It was hilarious. Maybe a bit cheesy by the end but really cool. i good satire, all the actors are great. Script is witty and fun and Emma Stone will go on to big things if she keeps making good movies like this..

The Court Jester (1955)- Danny Kaye carries this classic along with his energized performance. it is fun, funny, silly and pretty dated. But it's still a good movie but isn't for everyone, if you want to introduce someone to classic musicals or comedy don't show them this right off the bat because it will seem very old to them. don't forget though- still a great movie.







Romeo and Juliet (1968)- the teacher made us write an editorial comparing this and the 1996 version. i flipped a coin and decided to right in favor of this one. it really is pretty good, it's very traditional and isn't as serious as the other one, in fact i have this theory that R & J could even be considered a comedy until Mercutio's death. it was ok but the acting is better in the 1996 version.







Airplane! (1980)- in Australia it's called Flying High but i have taken to calling it Airplane! it's very funny. The late Leslie Nielson was an extremly funny man and the rest of the cast was pretty good too. It always keeps me laughing

The Sterile Cuckoo (1969)- What an amazingly odd movie. Liza Minnelli carries it with her performance as Pookie Adams, a college girl who seems kinda... crazy. But good hearted and nice. It's a movie about her relationship with Jerry Payne (Wendall Burton). I imagine this movie would have been hard to market, it isn't an action movie, or a romantic comedy and no it's not even a love story. It's a story about love. (i'm a cliche factory, haven't you heard?)

Family guy season 7- i love this show. I think it's great. for all those who say it is stupid and crude you are wrong, it lovingly parodies really cool movies (eg- Back To the future[1985], Duck Soup [1933]). It also makes fun of political topics all with surreal humour. I don't like it as much as The Simpsons, but it's pretty darn close.

The Naked Gun (1988) - making fun of serious cop shows in a very slapsticky, straight faced way. Leslie Nielson and Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker have done it again.

So i think those are all i watched. I hope that these reviews were acceptable. And i really want to get some more views of the blog so if you could please read and comment so i know you're still with it would be appreciated. Maybe you could even recommend me some movies to review. I always put pictures in my reviews, sorry if this looks cluttered but atleast you wont have to look too far for posters!

"the pellet with the poisons in the vessel with the pessel, the chalice from the palace has the true the is brew-uh, brew that is true" Hubert Hawkins (Danny Kaye) The Court Jester

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Bullets over Broadway (1994)

How do i do justice to such a bizzarely well crafted movie?

I never was a huge Woody Allen fan and i still don't consider myself to be so, but this movie had me questioning my own tastes. So basically it stars John Cusack, Diane Weist (who won her 2nd Oscar for her role) Jennifer Tilly and Chazz Palminteri.

John Cusack writes a a play, but the only way to get it produced is for a mobster to produce it for him, but there is a catch- the mobsters girlfriend has to be in it, and well, she can't act.

I don't have a lot of time to talk about this movie as i have to go somewhere with a friend but i will say: it is funny, well acted, witty, bizzare and dramatic. It is both a great satire on the theater in the 1920s and a great portrayal of it. It comes with my recommendation.

"Love is deep, sex only has to go a few inches" Ellen (Mary Louise-Parker), Bullets over Broadway

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Inside Daisy Clover (1965)

I am a self admitted Natalie Wood fan and it was a small ambition of mine to see this movie in spite of the mixed reviews. I can see now why it has mixed reviews. You see, i can't decide whether it was good or bad either....

For me the good parts were Robert Redford as Wade Lewis, i defy you not love him just a little bit. Christopher Plummer as Raymond Swan and Ruth Gordon as Daisy's mother. I also really liked the ending.
The bad parts were: The film has pacing problems and a less than great script. The acting is melodramatic at times and Natalie Wood was noticeably too old to play the 15 year old Daisy (she was about 26 at the time.)

I enjoyed the film in spite of the huge flaws. But in some scenes i simply couldn't get past the melodrama. Wood was one of those stars where if she was good she was REALLY good, such as in Splendor In the Grass, Rebel without a Cause, West Side Story and Sex and The single girl (which was very funny IMO). But in this she came off a bit try hardish. Not to say she didn't have her moments. in the scenes where she hardly had to say anything, where the clunky dialogue didn't affect her, she shone and stole the scene. It was the eyes, they conveyed a lot of emotion. I think her best moment in this movie was a her breakdown scene, i think she had a flare for breakdown scenes.

I love Robert Redford and he was good with what he was given to work with, but his scenes aren't all that flash, but i can tell he tried and he was the second best supporting character (the 1st being Mrs Clover).

The movie takes place in the 30's and revolves around Daisy's whirlwind journey into stardom. The story is okay. But the fact we hardly see Daisy doing any work (except about 3-4 song and dances) takes it's toll on the plot. Maybe they could've added a scene or two to show us she actually does something. Daisy also seems a little erratic (even for a teenage girl), which makes her seem kind of crazy and it is hard to like her at first. But as the movie goes on it's easier and we really admire her by the end of the movie.

It is good the film has a sense of humour. Ruth Gordon injects some of this in her first scene where she  reports her husband missing, she admits he'd been gone for seven years, the cop asks her why it took her so long to report it and she answers: "well i only started to miss him this morning."

Overall i think it had more good in it than bad but it takes a while to pay off, i strongly recommend though that you stay watching it until the end. Because the ending is pretty cool.

"You're as sound as a roach" Raymond Swan (Christopher Plummer), Inside Daisy Clover.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

St Trinians (2007)

It's nowhere near as good as it good have been, but thats doesn't mean that that the 2007 revamp of the original St Trinians series of films doesn't have it merits.

It's a fun, mindless movie. I think it has some good lines and doesn't aim for Oscars, it just aims to please. I think it appeals to tweens and young teens more than anyone else, so yes, pleasing a very profitable market is always important. It has it's weak spots like any movie, but it has it's good spots (the hockey match is entertaining enough).

Some of the acting is atrocious. Tallulah Riley, Gemma Arterton (who proved she could act in The Disappearance of Alice Creed), Oscar winner (The Kings Speech [2010]) Colin Firth, Rupert Everett (My Best friends Wedding, Shrek 2)and Russell Brand (to star in upcoming remake of Arthur [1981]) carry the movie. But the supporting players get tiresome and bland after a while. Especially the Goth Andrea, the actress who plays her (name escapes me) was pretty weak in her role. she had some all right lines, but she could've done better.

Overall it doesn't match up to the originals but it is a good way to introduce the younger generation to them and other classics. I also think it will inspire many tweens/teens to dream about going to St Trinians. So watch out.

".... and then we'll just keep chopping bits of her off until he pays the ransom" Andrea, St Trinians

Thursday, April 7, 2011

My ideal comedy....

I still love movies, i try to see as many good ones as possible and if that means paying the money to go to the cinema i am all for it. But somehow i always find myself wondering how it could have been better, did Megan Fox really need to say "you give me such a wettie" in Jennifer's Body? That was really a cringe worthy line, the movie wasn't that flash either. Really i have to wonder sometimes how the movie stars of the classic studio era would have implied anything raunchy. I've seen movies with double entendre's that you really had to listen to understand and love and they were way funnier than Jennifer's Body. Enough about that movie.

I love how they implied things, i suppose there is something to be said for subtlety. I kind of just want to see a movie that has the double entendre's and dry wit of the classic era combined with the darkness of modern comedies like (here i go again) Jennifer's Body. That was really dark, it had some good idea's but it's attempts at being edgy were kind of cheap and awkward. However if i took the best things about the movie (the action and storyline) and combined it with the comedy of old, then i'd be closer to my ideal film.

I suppose it is just a pipe dream and i feel silly for even saying it aloud. But it's true. The recent death of one of the last great movie stars, Elizabeth Taylor, has sort of spurred this post. I decided not to do a whole post on her specifically because in truth i haven't seen many of her movies. But i do know that she was THE movie star. Her sheer presence in a film made it watchable, even The Flintstones. I suppose that anyone who watches an Elizabeth Taylor movie will see just that: Elizabeth Taylor. She could act (she was great in Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf), but i'm not sure that was why she was so successful. Personally i think it was her looks (i wish i had those eyes) and her attitude. That's my opinion. Here another of my opinions: i thought she'd live forever. Her movie's will though.

Back to what i was saying. The comedy of the classic era (at least the good ones) were witty, screwball and lighthearted. I loved them, i want the modern sex comedy to be mixed with the screwball and slapstick of the classics. It would be epic.

Then there are the stars. I'd want....
Johnny Depp
Cary Grant
Katharine Hepburn
Anne Hathaway
Jack Lemmon
Tina Fey
Natalie Wood
James Dean (i am just curious how he would have been in a comedy)
Robin Williams (circa Mork and Mindy)
Mae West
The Marx Brothers
Tony Curtis
Barbra Streisand (circa What's Up Doc?)
Liz Taylor (circa Father of the bride)
Spencer Tracy (circa Woman of the year)
Madeline Kahn
Gene Wilder
directed by Frank Capra
written by: Mel Brooks, Woody Allen and Billy Wilder

That is who would be in my perfect comedy. With a cast like that it would have to be a road movie or something, but still... it would be so cool. Even if it is unattainable.

This was a pretty pointless post....

"Is that a gun in your pocket or you just glad to see me?" Marlo Manners, (Mae West) Sextette (1978)

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

My top 8 favourite masterpieces

I classify a masterpiece by this:

  • no matter how old it is it will not feel dated (or will feel only slightly dated)
  • every aspect of the film is great
  • it hasn't lost significance
  • You can derive more enjoyment each time you see it
  • Unforgettable
Now keep in mind that these are just my favourite masterpieces, there are far more great movies out there, but these are my favourites that are considered 'masterpieces'. I'll try to rank them as best i can.

8. Toy Story 3 (2010)
a beautiful film. i never, ever was so close to crying in a 'children's' movie. Me and one of my friends went to see it because the guy would'nt let us in to see Predators so we went in sort of disappointed from the start. but within the 1st 5 minutes i was in a far better mood and loved the whole film. it was funny, heartwarming and extremly memorable. Some people might say that Toy Story should be on here more than TS3, but i disagree, it is rare for a third installment to live up to it's predecessor, let alone better it. Even The Godfather couldn't do that.

7. Singin In The Rain (1952)
It's hilarious. What more can i say? how about... great script, cool dances, catchy songs, one of the best dumb blondes ever (Lina Lumont, played by Jean Hagen) and, of course, we get to see Gene Kelly splash around in puddles and wreck that nice suit.

6. The Wizard Of oz (1939)
I was unsure of whether or not to put this on here. But it fits my criteria and i really love the movie. I am not going to lie to you though: When i was little Margaret Hamilton scared me half to death. This childhood memory stopped from watching it for years, until i finally perked up the courage to look at it again a few years ago. And now it is one of my favourites. From the naive joy of Dorothy (Judy garland) and her pals Tin Man (Jack Haley), Scarecrow (Ray Bolger) and Lion (Bert Lahr) all the way to The Witch (Hamilton), this movie keeps it's comedy and thrill even after 72 years. And expect it to do so for many more.

5. Titanic (1997)
I was bored by Titanic. I wont lie. But I respect it's contribution to cinema and it really is a great film. When i hear 'My heart will go on' (sung by Celine Dion) there are chills. It's is visually stunning and after watching it a second time i was still bored, but i liked it. I know that that sounds strange but i really did. It was a beautiful film. Even if Avatar is the new highest grossing film, I'll take Titanic over it any day.

4. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
I love this movie. I grew up watching it, in fact, besides Peter Pan, this may be one of my first movies. The effects are amazing- even by todays standards. What astounds me is that the technology was vastly different in the 70s, and yet, George Lucas still made a better sci-fi film than anyone ever could. Except maybe Stanley Kubrick, but even though 2001: a space odyssey was pretty cool and a marvel, some how i never liked it as much as Star Wars.



3. Psycho (1960)
I couldn't decide whether to put Vertigo or Psycho on here. I knew that there had to be a Hitchcock film, but which one? Finally i decided on Psycho because of that unforgettable scene at the end, where we see Norman for the final time, with his mothers voice talking to us. It was a great ending to an even greater film. The shower scene, while tame by todays standards is still great to watch, it looks fake NOW, but in 1960 that scared every single person in any given theatre. I mostly like it for the music though. Especially in the shower scene, the music that frightens you so much more than the scene. Amazing experience.


2. Gone With the Wind (1939)
I did a lengthy review on this not too long ago, but it's probably on the 'older post' page. I loved it. Every aspect was superb and i would watch it again right now if i could. From the fantastic acting all the way down to the costumes (which i usually don't notice at all) this movie is a feast for the eyes, the ears and the mind. The definition of a masterpiece.





1. West Side Story (1961)
It's got everything. Everything! a classic plot, great score, brilliant dancing, great acting and it is visually bewildering. I will admit that i like this is largely because i am a huge Natalie Wood fan and plus i really love Tony (Richard Beymer) because he is really just incredibly romantic. I will also admit that i missed a lot of great films, but i can't really consider them my favourites.



I missed City lights, which was a really good movie and Charlie Chaplin Masterpiece. I also missed Return of the jedi, but that doesn't really matter. Then theres The Godfather (1972), which- while i think it's a great movie- i haven't seen it twice so therefore don'y know if it was great the second time. Citizen kane just about put me to sleep but i can appreciate Orson Welles revolutionary technique. Those are just to name a few. Oh and Ben hur, which i couldn't really get into. Maybe i just don't like swords and sandals things (explaining to absence of Lawrence of Arabia, which was actually good but i didn't like it as much as these).

Well that's my list. Disagree if you must but thats just my opinion. I would be delighted if you told me your's in the comments.

"The force is what gives a Jedi his power, it's an energy field created by all living things, it surrounds us and penetrates us and binds the galaxy together" Obi Wan Kenobi (Alec Guiness) Star Wars: A new hope.