February 2012
3 posts
11 tags
Film #285: "Guys and Dolls" (1955)
Guys and Dolls. Joseph L. Mankiewicz. United States, 1955.
Guys and Dolls isn’t a bad film, but it isn’t necessarily a good one either. To me, the film’s biggest problem is that it isn’t all that memorable. There’s a lot of other movies I would rather watch and certainly a lot of musicals that I think outshine Guys and Dolls by a very wide margin. There isn’t...
10 tags
Film #172: "Double Indemnity" (1944)
Double Indemnity. Billy Wilder. United States, 1944.
Double Indemnity was my first film noir. That’s a large part of the reason why I decided to watch it. There was something a bit mysterious about the film to me. I knew I would love seeing a film with a style I had never seen before. Double Indemnity is such a fantastic film. I love old movies, but there’s something about this...
11 tags
Film #141: "Citizen Kane" (1941)
Citizen Kane. Orson Welles. United States, 1941.
I just saw this film for the first time recently and I was justly amazed. Though I myself would be incredibly reluctant to refer to any film as “the greatest of all time,” I can certainly see why so many place this label upon Citizen Kane.
Not only does the film continued its ability to keep attention, but watching it now makes it...
November 2011
3 posts
15 tags
Film #28: "The Gold Rush" (1925)
The Gold Rush. Charles Chaplin. United States, 1925.
Before I left for school, I watched the first half of Chaplin’s The Great Dictator, only to have to take it out of my DVD player and return it that night before finishing it. A few weeks later, the original 1925 cut of Chaplin’s The Gold Rush came to me via interlibrary loan. So despite having seen the first half of another one of...
11 tags
I'm back!
If you’ve seen the recent review of Sinnui Yauman, you should know that I’m back to writing reviews, hopefully on a somewhat regular basis. Things are much calmer here, so I’m more able to get back at this again. A few things…first, I’ve decided to rename my blog ‘The Urban Filmmaker,’ mostly because I’ve discovered another blogger with the name name...
14 tags
Film #774: "Sinnui Yauman" (1987)
Sinnui Yauman (A Chinese Ghost Story). Ching Siu-tung. Hong Kong, 1987.
While we can all love and respect films that have a deep or meaningful message behind them, sometimes we all just need something to kick back and have fun to. Though Sinnui Yauman is certainly a film of the latter category, its silly and fun storyline is strengthened by quirky performances, well-paced action sequences and...
October 2011
1 post
An Apology
Sorry for the recent lack of posts! I’ve just recently started going to school again, so things are a bit hectic right now. I assure though that this blog has not escaped my mind for a minute. I’ll be back to posting once things are more normal.
Jeff
September 2011
10 posts
6 tags
Film #278: "Shichinin no Samurai" (1954)
Shichinin no Samurai (Seven Samurai). Akira Kurosawa. Japan, 1954.
Shichinin no Samurai is yet another Kurosawa classic. The film tells the tale of a small village plagued by bandits. Desperate to keep their town alive, a few of the villagers go off to the city to hire protection in the form of seven samurai.
At three and a half hours, Shichinin no Samurai definitely runs into the...
10 tags
Film #589: "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia"...
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. Sam Peckinpah. United States/Mexico, 1974.
Today I take a break from chronological posts to review Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, this week’s selection of the 1001 Movies Blog Club, of which I am a member.
Alfredo Garcia stars Warren Oates as Benny, a bartender and piano player who has been given the task of traveling to the grave site of one...
11 tags
Film #274: "Rear Window" (1954)
Rear Window. Alfred Hitchcock. United States, 1954.
Everyone loves Alfred Hitchcock and everyone loves this film. And I do too.
Time and time again, there’s two things that Hitchcock is absolutely fantastic with: building up suspense and creating fantastic characters. I would say Rear Window is generally known for both.
L.B. Jeffries is one of my favorite Hitchcock characters....
10 tags
Film #257: "Tôkyô monogatari" (1953)
Tôkyô monogatari (Tokyo Story). Yasujirō Ozu. Japan, 1953.
My Asian Film professor once said that Ozu is like the anti-Kurosawa. Both are usually considered the best Japanese directors, yet the two couldn’t be more different.
Ozu is a very quiet director. His films are very understated and slow, yet meticulous in their approach. I found Ozu’s characters interesting and the images...
14 tags
Film #256: "From Here to Eternity" (1953)
From Here to Eternity. Fred Zinnemann. United States, 1953.
This film probably has one of the most iconic scenes ever (pictured above). It’s been spoofed countless times and thought you may not know the film associated with it, you’ve certainly seen this scene a few times before. That said, does anyone really remember anything else about this movie?
I may be alone with this, but...
9 tags
Film #245: "Singin' in the Rain" (1952)
Singin’ in the Rain. Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly. United States, 1952.
Singin’ in the Rain just might be the best musical I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing. Not only does it feature fantastic classic music, but it isn’t afraid to have an enticing story and interesting characters as well.
The film tells the story of the Hollywood transition from silent film to sound,...
11 tags
Film #242: "The Quiet Man" (1952)
The Quiet Man. John Ford. United States, 1952.
To me, The Quiet Man serves as simple ’50s romantic fare and nothing more. Sure, John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara are a nice couple and I always love seeing Mildred Natwick on screen, but this film just doesn’t stand out to me.
For one, it is really hard for me to watch from my standpoint as a young man born in the ’90s....
11 tags
Film #225: "Rashomon" (1950)
Rashomon. Akira Kurosawa. Japan, 1950.
There’s a reason why Akira Kurosawa is known as one of the greatest directors who ever lived. Rashomon is sometimes considered to be his best film and though I haven’t yet seen all of his films, it’s certainly my favorite of his so far.
The plot is perhaps one of the most interesting I’ve ever seen put on screen. The film tells the...
11 tags
Film #195: "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946)
It’s a Wonderful Life. Frank Capra. United States, 1946.
Many people have cherished memories of this film and it’s not hard to see why. For one, it’s hard to find a lot of people in the United States who haven’t at least heard of Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life. From sheer popularity and nostalgia, it has become an All-American film classic. Whether the film...
11 tags
What's Next?...
Hey there, all! I took a bit of time off, but now I’m back! I still have tons of reviews to put up, so let’s not waste any time.
Expect to see reviews of these films coming up:
~ It’s a Wonderful Life
~ Rashomon
~ The Quiet Man
~ Singin’ in the Rain
~ From Here to Eternity
~ Tokyo Story
…and more!
August 2011
12 posts
11 tags
Film #166: "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944)
Meet Me in St. Louis. Vincente Minnelli. United States, 1944.
Meet Me in St. Louis is such a fun film. The songs are fantastic, each one joyful and sweet enough to warm your heart. It’s also the first appearance of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” perhaps the most sickly sweet holiday song ever concocted. Needless to say, you’ll probably finish the film off...
9 tags
Film #152: "Casablanca" (1942)
Casablanca. Michael Curtiz. United States, 1942.
Now here’s an example of a romance film that really works.
The film is fueled by the strong performances by the charming Humphrey Bogart and stunningly beautiful Ingrid Bergman. The believability of their complicated relationship works because of the definable chemistry between the two. They look and act great together, which is a key...
7 tags
Film #134: "Fantasia" (1940)
Fantasia. Samuel Armstrong, Wilfred Jackson, et al. United States, 1940.
Fantasia is undoubtedly the Disney studios’ greatest picture. The imagery is stunning, the themes are strong and the concept is revolutionary. This could be seen as the first truly adult animated film. Though segments like “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” and “Dance of the Hours” seem to be...
12 tags
Film #126: "Gone with the Wind" (1939)
Gone with the Wind. Victor Fleming, et al. United States, 1939.
Bear with me, guys. This one’s going to run a bit long. My opinion of this film is a bit complicated…
Like The Wizard of Oz, also directed by Fleming and released the same year, it was a miracle this film was even made. The production required thousands of extras, a massive crew and lots of time and patience. The...
13 tags
Film #123: "The Wizard of Oz" (1939)
The Wizard of Oz. Victor Fleming, et al. United States, 1939.
I think you’ll have hard time finding people who wouldn’t say The Wizard of Oz is an absolute classic. Most incredible to me is how much the effects hold up, even by today’s standards. They should, as the production itself is legendary.
The amount of trivia on The Wizard of Oz is endless. From Margaret...
8 tags
Well, that was a real success...
Hey all,
I’ve just tried to watch a copy of film #735, Claude Lanzmann’s 10-hour masterpiece Shoah, from the public library system. I’ve wanted to see the film for years now and since Netflix has stuck it in the “save for later” section for eternity, I was very pleased when I found that the Main library downtown had a copy. Unfortunately, the discs have been terribly...
6 tags
An Update
I’m taking the day off to see a new film. It’s one of the longer ones on the list, so it’s going to take up the whole day. But don’t fret! I shall be returning soon. Coming up:
~ The Wizard of Oz
~ Gone with the Wind
~ Fantasia
~ Casablanca
…and more!
7 tags
Film #114: "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938)
The Adventures of Robin Hood. Michael Curtiz and William Keighley. United States, 1938.
Not much to say about this one. Robin Hood is incredibly entertaining, but not much else. Of course, it’s kind of fun to see so many people in skimpy tights and funny hats. The action sequences are cool and poking fun at the cheesy dialogue makes the experience go down easier. Just don’t be...
7 tags
Film #110: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"...
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. David Hand. United States, 1937.
I like like to think of Snow White in the way I think of the first films of many famous filmmakers, in this case producer and movie mogul Walt Disney. This film isn’t the best Disney has to offer. The plot is loose and some of the scenes are a bit lengthy. However, Snow White shows glimpses of the magic yet to come.
The...
11 tags
Film #82: "Triumph des Willens" (1934)
Triumph des Willens (Triumph of the Will). Leni Riefenstahl. Nazi Germany, 1934.
Triumph des Willens is in some aspects a very hard film to review. The documentary follows the rise of German dictator Adolf Hitler with stunning cinematography and strong images.
On one hand, the pre-Holocaust film influenced the German public so much that Hitler’s popularity skyrocketed after its release....
8 tags
Film #1: "Le Voyage dans la lune" (1902)
Le Voyage Dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon). Georges Méliès. France, 1902.
You gotta love that big cheesy moon! As old as this film is, it’s still entertaining. Sure, it’s dated. But considering it’s over 100 years old, I’m surprised it isn’t more so. It’s also incredibly revolutionary. Not entirely memorable by today’s standards, but still worth...
5 tags
Here's to a Fantastic Beginning!
Hey there! My name’s Jeff. I’m a movie lover and film critic for my university’s newspaper. About four years ago, I got the fifth edition of ‘1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.” A year or so ago, I decided to actually have a goal of ultimately seeing every film ever included in the book series - past and present.
I’ve just recently decided to post my...
