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Unrueh (2022)
Really a waste of time...
The photography and story of fine Swiss watchmaking in the late 1800s is brilliantly displayed. The intricacies of assembly of a fine hand-wound Swiss watch of the early 19th century are contrasted with the intricate operations of anarchist governments of the same era everywhere.
The detailed close-up photography of minute stages of assembly of such pocket and wristwatches is truly impressive. Assemblers are often pictured in the corners of each frame of film to reflect the many small individual watchmaking stages that eventually - but very slowly - lead to the final magnificent product. Probably only the Swiss could tell the agonizingly slow story of watchmaking coupled with a mind-numbing tale of coexisting anarchists in opposition to "established" governments around the world.
Those Swiss masterpieces wound up everywhere!
The Revenant (2015)
Downhill from that....
The action-packed start is beautifully filmed with superb sound recording. The scene of Glass brutally mauled by the adult bear was gruesome to watch and painful to hear. It was all downhill - in story credibility - from that mauling on. The length of time devoted to that bear assault and to the severity - and number - of injuries that Glass received, from his head to his legs, could never lead to Glass returning as the raging warrior shown in the rest of that very-long movie,
Glass' ever-increased healing of his wounds - and recapture of his fighting strength - defy belief. If that occurred in the 1700's-1800's, with primitive medicine, in a totally frozen environment, Glass could never have survived - much less recovered completely - from that bear attack to the point of hard-riding a horse, while accurately shooting his pursuers on horseback.
For the amount of money that it must have taken to make that movie, someone involved in production and release should have said: Whoa! That ending scenario just doesn't make sense!
Sin Takes a Holiday (1930)
Hollywood tackles "sound" movies with talent
This film from 1930 during the entry of sound recording is a pleasant surprise. It stars Constance Bennett, Basil Rathbone, and Zasu Pitts. Pitts' role here is small and she portrays a somewhat consoling character, without Pitts' typical attitude and wisecracks. Direction, photography, sound, and editing are tight and excellently done. Dialogue is delivered in short bites, and is sarcastic, funny, vindictive, cruel, obvious, insulting, and relevant.
The story is told in a spare 81 minutes, every bit of which is entertaining. This movie shows that 1930 Hollywood had sufficient talent - in front of and behind - the camera to incorporate sound seamlessly into a well-told tale of good and bad human behavior.
Okja (2017)
That Big Pig
South Korea may be our new Hollywood. Film director Bong Joon Ho is on a tear. His first feature, Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) was great. He followed that with Snowpiercer (2013), and Parasite (2019). All fantastic moviemaking. Okja is the name of a super-big pig, bred to be our new industrial-strength food item. If you love Hollywood's best satire, watch Okja. Cinematographer Darius Khondji and producers DeDe Gardner and Brad Pitt work their magic. Photography, lightning-speed acting and editing, typical Bong Joon's mis-matched musical score and vocal, plus star Tilda Swinton (repeating her twin-sisters' schtick from the Coen Brothers' great, "Hail, Caesar!") make this a winner.
Please Stand By (2017)
Not a typical "message" movie
What an unusual movie! Wendy's an intelligent young woman with autism spectrum disorder and a passion for all things Star Trek. That prompts her to write a Star Trek script for entry to a competition - entry due within days - at Paramount studios in Los Angeles. From her sheltered group home in San Francisco, Wendy, and her dog Pete trek to Los Angeles. That voyage's challenges show the unusual. The writer of Please Stand By appears either to dislike Californians or to reveal an unexpected reality of life we do not expect. "Normal" Californians who are surly, bored with their jobs, unfriendly, rude, impolite, reckless, criminal, and "officials" behaving way beyond their menial job, routinely obstruct her one goal. P. S. We see a Melrose Avenue front gate to the Paramount Pictures lot.
Dreamland (2019)
Taking us back to Hollywood's Golden Era...
Taking second place to acting here, this recent movie blew me away with its continuous creative and stunning photography, coupled with very talented editing. That pairing gave us an example of modern-day imaging, that is as brilliant as that pairing in Hollywood classics of the 1930s-40s, with that era's breathtaking arts and sciences. This somewhat often-told story has been boosted dramatically........by filmmaking! I was not aware of cinematographer Lyle Vincent's photography before this. But I'll be on the lookout on IMDB for other movies he has made.
24: Day 2: 5:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. (2003)
falling downhill
This episode appears stupid from the get-go. Nothing occurring makes sense.
Maybe adult screenwriters were on vacation at the time, and had assigned kindergarten kids to create the plot.
My Salinger Year (2020)
The teenager and J.D.
Young teenagers find author J. D. Salinger at the correct time in their life. His quirky novels, with titles that didn't make any sense, connected - mind-wise - with teens knowing that they didn't understand adults, and vice versa. This little film made in Canada hits all the contradictory notes of book publishing and youth fandom.
Scenes of NYC appear along with downtown pedestrian traffic of Canada, not NYC. That's a very minor quibble with a heartfelt film about an unusual author who had an emotional tie to his devoted readers.
If you ever felt that hook with a Salinger story, this movie is for you.
24: 3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. (2002)
Just wait.....
Terri's progressive physical and mental decline seems to start after her "rape" in the cabin (which was more voluntary seducing her captor to distract him and protect her daughter). Thereafter, medical personnel of all types - over a long period - give possible reasons for her stomach pain, behavior changes, inability to emotionally accept a videotaped interview, inability to converse, and other vague signs/symptoms. The 24 writers and actress Leslie Hope's subtle performance continues dragging out Teri Bauer's slow physical/mental decline, while providing no reasons.
Photographed from behind, Teri somewhat staggers up the off-road onto which she had driven. At least twice, Terri's right-hand swings across her chest, clutching her left shoulder tip, holding for a few seconds, then releasing. Seconds later, she repeats that left shoulder clutch.
She is approached by one woman driver (in a Chevy Corsica?) who stops and asks Teri's name. Teri responds, "I don't know". Teri finally enters the car, a move which literally saves her life. Is that just from collapsing on the off-road after her car plunges down an embankment and catches fire? Nope.
One reviewer here says he's getting annoyed by Teri's behavior so far. Very sick people often are annoying.
I'd say the reveal is coming.
Wandafuru raifu (1998)
The first half was great....
And it was downhill to the end. The concept shown early on was tremendous, with the many different life stories coming at us pell-mell from many likeable and non-likeable people, representing all of humanity. There was plenty of genuine mystery of what was actually going on, and why.
The second half of the movie appeared to me to be childish, silly, confusing, irritating for no reason, and disappointing. It was like two separate movies joined at the hip, each with its own story, writer and director. Recreating life memories in a faux movie studio was just plain dumb, after starting out so brilliantly.
The Quarry (2020)
Filmmaking as it used to be.....
Actor Michael Shannon does it again. Each performance gets better than the last. Here, he's backed up with the finest and most professional art and science of filmmaking I've seen in years. Attention to detail is everywhere.
In the 1930's and '40s, Hollywood could hit this regularly.
In the second decade of the 21st century, Louisiana can.
Lost in Space: The Girl from the Green Dimension (1967)
The green seductress is back
For those of us who enjoy campy LIS, this is a treat. Here, actress Vitina Marcus reprises her floating green lady status - but as a different character - from her earlier episode, "Wild Adventure" (1966). The floating effect mentioned by another reviewer here has me completely stumped as to how it was done. Some sort of live levitation device that doesn't appear to be a photographic special effect. 20th Century Fox could easily afford to bring in someone capable of creating that effect. And, if you haven't been annoyed by Dr. Smith by this point, you never will be!
Lost in Space: The Dream Monster (1966)
Weasel Vs. Weasel
LIS casting often brought in talented actors and actresses to fill one-off roles that carry the writers' brilliant ideas into action. Here, British actor John Abbott plays Sesmar, who is as much of a weasel as is the resident one, Dr. Zach Smith. That pairing is pure genius. Of course, this series comes from 20th Century Fox Television: having a major motion picture company with all kinds of creative assets at its disposal, it's not surprising. The color quality of 1966-era television programs was still primitive, but this program was apparently presented on TV from state-of-the-art motion picture film - not dated videotape - which remains perfect to this day on DVD. Irwin Allen's vision lives on.
Lost in Space: Curse of Cousin Smith (1966)
Henry Jones does it again!
The amazingly-talented second banana, actor Henry Jones playing Jeremiah Smith, has the chops to carry on a hilarious competition here with his cousin Dr. Smith . Not easy to do, with our always-devious Dr. Smith as his only competition. Congrats to writer, screenwriter, and casting for this gem! Henry Jones was everywhere on American TV in the 1960s. He could play any part, believably. This LIS episode reveals constant competition within a family (Smith vs. Smith), with space fantasy becoming way secondary. 9/10 .
The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012)
European directors get it!
Merging of photography, sound mixing, and film editing have rarely been done as well as in this film. Even Tarkovsky would admire the ultra-slow close-ups. Audiences would never suspect they occurred. Film students should consider this movie as Lesson No. 1. They will likely never know how it was done, but it's goals they should be shooting for. Why was this submitted as "best foreign language film" for an Academy Award? It deserved submission for "Best Picture".
Directors Wim Wenders, David Mackenzie, John Maclean - and now young Felix van Groeningen - have nailed the persona of the non-urban United States with rare insight and talent seldom seen from American directors. Ancestors of those European directors did settle the regions of America, that their heirs are now brilliantly depicting on the big screen. They reveal warts and all, often with humor, satire, and lush visuals.
Cinematographer Ruben Impens presents unique images with camera angles, movement, and timing that stick in our memory. If this movie reflects current Belgian cinema, we're all in for some special entertainment in the years ahead.
Born to Love (1931)
Challenging Photography
This high-power weeper is notable for its photography. Made shortly after sound arrived in movies, Born to Love has some interesting images courtesy of cinematographer John Mescall. Rapid pullbacks and moving close-ups often look like the camera was mounted on a square-wheeled dolly.
When done at a less frantic pace, they're much smoother and easier on our eyes. Mescall's stationary camera images of London's celebration at the end of World War One , complete with an example of his tilted camera style, are the best images in the movie.
Film buffs of pre-code talkies will get something out of this very dreary story.
Lured (1947)
Those Sirk Mirrors
German immigrant director Douglas Sirk created movies a lot like Hitchcock did. Both seemed to consider the image on screen more important to the story than dialogue. Shadows, odd camera angles, and surprises were present. Sirk did early RomComs before they were ever called that. But, "Lured" is definitely a mystery in the style of Hitchcock.
Sirk's mirrors were a trademark in his photography. Mirrors of all types reflected important events in his stories. There are mirrors in homes, stores, offices, and just about everywhere else. When we see a mirror in one of his movies, we know we'll learn something new about the story.
One of the best mirror scenes here is aging horror star Boris Karloff delivering some lines - while perfectly mirror framed - into a dressing-table mirror. We see that image, which actually is within a misdirection and throw-away segment that has nothing to do with the "real story". It would be a perfect joke on the audience by the writer, screenwriter, and Sirk to throw the audience off. The director and cameraman had to make sure the camera and filming crew were not reflected in any mirror.