Category: Movies

Eastern Promises

Posted on by
The Pitch: “The Godfather” with a Russian twist.

The Good: Viggo Mortensen owns every second he is own the screen. Armin Mueller-Stahl quietly demands to be watched and heard in every scene — which is exactly what is needed as the kind restaurant owner, family man and head of a Russian mob. The killings in the public bath — brutal, but believable. The twist near the end — I totally did not see it coming and loved it.

The Bad: The movie is slow to get started and then moves at a steady pace. The violence is there, but not as bad as you may have heard.

The Ugly: “Okay. Now I’m going to do his teeth and cut off his fingers. You might want to leave room.”

The Summary: “Eastern Promises” is a brutal look at the Russian mafia. Viggo Mortensen gives an Oscar-worthy performance as the “driver.” The violence may put some off, but it grounds the movie’s reality. I have a feeling that this one is going to grow on me as time passes.

Top Westerns

Posted on by
The Western Writers of America recently posted their list of the 100 Top Westerns. You just know I had to use their top 100 to come up with my top 20:
  1. The Searchers
  2. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
  3. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
  4. The Wild Bunch
  5. The Outlaw Josey Wales
  6. Tombstone
  7. Open Range
  8. The Cowboys
  9. True Grit
  10. Shane
  11. The Magnificent Seven
  12. Dances with Wolves
  13. Stagecoach (1939)
  14. Unforgiven
  15. The Ox-Bow Incident
  16. High Noon
  17. The Shootist
  18. Red River
  19. Silverado
  20. The Long Riders
After The Searchers a lot of the order is subject to change depending on my mood. Also some of the movies that made their top 100 didn’t fit my definition of a “western.” Sure, “Blazing Saddles” is a great COMEDY set in the west, but is it really a western? “The Last of the Mohicans” is a great adventure/romance, but where are the cowboys? In other words, I left off what some might consider to be classics because to me, a western is cowboys and Indians.

– A tip of the hat and a hearty “Hi Ho Silver!” to Bill Crider for the link!

 

Goon Optioned

Posted on by
I’ve been an Eric Powell fan for years. His Goon is one of my favorite comics currently published. [I’d have said that even if Eric didn’t draw one of my all-time favorite Stallone pieces!]

Eric recently announced on his website that David [Se7en] Fincher has teamed with Blur Studio and optioned the rights to the Goon for a CG animated feature. Dark Horse Entertainment, the publisher of the Goon will also be involved.

This is great news for Eric and Goon fans everywhere.

The New Classic Movies

Posted on by
Entertainment Weekly created their list of The 100 Best Films from 1983 to 2008. Using just their choices, here’s my top 10:
  1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
  2. Die Hard (1988)
  3. The Matrix (1999)
  4. Aliens (1986)
  5. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
  6. Gladiator (2000)
  7. The Sixth Sense (1999)
  8. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
  9. Casino Royale (2006)
  10. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Looking over the list, each of the films were groundbreaking in that they took what was expected and put a new twist on it.

Mummy: What to Think

Posted on by
I didn’t care much for the first Mummy movie. The Scorpion King was okay. I really enjoyed The Mummy Returns. I’m not sure what to expect of The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Brendon Frasier is back and this time he’s joined by Jet Li as the bad guy. That’s a good thing. It’s directed by Rob Cohen and I like his work. It will have a bunch of mummies, a yeti, a dragon and a ton of special effects. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or overkill. This trailer hasn’t tipped me in either direction. That can’t be good, can it?

AFI Ain’t Got Nothin’ on Me [Again]

Posted on by
The American Film Institute has come up with their list of The 10 Greatest Films in 10 Classic Genres. Here are my top 3 from each genre:


Animation:

  1. The Lion King (mostly because of my memories of seeing how much my sons enjoyed it when we saw it on the big screen)
  2. Toy Story (same reason as #1)
  3. Beauty and the Best (same reason as #1)


Romantic Comedies:

Wow! There are quite a few in the top 10 that I haven’t seen. Makes it easy to pick my top 3:

  1. When Harry Met Sally (mainly because of the classic deli scene — it still makes me chuckle)
  2. Sleepless in Seattle
  3. Moonstruck (Cher and Nic Cage before he became an action star!)


Western:

This is a much tougher category. I love a good western.

  1. The Searchers (The AFI got this one right!)
  2. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
  3. Stagecoach

Ask me again next week and Unforgiven, The Wild Bunch, Shane or even Red River could make the list at 2 or 3.

Sports:

Ah, my all time favorite movie makes this list…

  1. Rocky
  2. Raging Bull
  3. The Hustler
Of course we all know that Sly “Rocky” Stallone and Robert “Raging Bull” DeNiro co-starred in Cop Land! [But did we all know that in 1976, both Stallone and DeNiro duked it out for the Best Actor Oscar!]


Mystery:

Another tough category…

  1. North by Northwest
  2. The Maltese Falcon
  3. The Usual Suspects

With Rear Window, Vertigo and Chinatown just missing out.

Fantasy: The AFI and I agree on the top film! [It’s my all-time #2 favorite movie.]

  1. The Wizard of Oz
  2. King Kong
  3. The Lord of the Rings


Sci-Fi: A bunch of great films made the list, but where is Aliens, The Matrix, Highlander, etc?

  1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
  2. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
  3. Alien


Gangster: The AFI got it right again… at least with the number 1 slot!

  1. The Godfather
  2. The Godfather, Part II
  3. Pulp Fiction


Courtroom Drama: Wow! The AFI and I are in sync… at least for the top2.

  1. To Kill a Mockingbird
  2. 12 Angry Men
  3. A Few Good Men


Compulsion would have been my third choice if it had made the AFI list.

Epic:

  1. Spartacus
  2. Ben-Hur
  3. Saving Private Ryan


Lists like these make me want to pull down some of the classics and watch them again.

The Happening Can Wait [Spoilers]

Posted on by
M. Night Shyamalan burst onto the scene with his blockbuster hit, “The Sixth Sense.” Since then it’s been a bumpy ride. And while some would say that it’s been all downhill since the “Sense,” I would argue otherwise. Unfortunately the reviews on “The Happening” have been almost universally negative among fans and critics.

The movie blasts out of the shoot in the first scene with a mysterious airborne toxin causing people to kill themselves. The opening scenes are suspenseful and horrific. We’re then introduced to our four main characters: Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel are a newly married couple who are already going through a rocky phase; John Leguizamo is Wahlberg’s friend and father to young Ashlyn Sanchez.

As the four of them attempt to flee the city, reports filter in through laptops, cellphones and televisions of the toxins spreading. The movie quickly becomes a series of scenes of people either running from the wind or killing themselves as quickly as possible no matter how gruesome the death. There are some tense moments in the film [stuck at the crossroads with the toxins coming from all sides, on the porch of survivors boarded in their house, and staying overnight in the home of a truly deranged woman], but soon enough everyone’s running from the gentle breeze coming their way.

The Pitch: “The Birds” without the birds.

The Good: The opening scenes of people killing themselves as those around them try to figure out what is happening — the initial feelings of paranoia as we try to figure out what is happening — the time at the deranged lady’s [played by Betty Buckley] farm.

The Bad: Zooey Deschanel’s character/acting — the scene with the lions — the lack of conflict with what was killing everyone [how do you fight plants] — the ending.

The Ugly: The way the construction workers died — — the guy lying down in the path of the mower.

The Summary: “The Happening” isn’t one of M. Night’s best films, but it’s not as bad as most reviews would lead you to believe. My suggestion, if you haven’t seen it yet, wait to rent it.

Red Goes Green

Posted on by
I’ve been a Cully Hamner fan for years. In fact Cully jump started my Stallone Theme Gallery with his kick butt take on Jack Carter. Over a 100 sketches later, and Cully’s is still one of my favorites.

Longtime ZONErs may remember me HERE and HERE talking up Cully’s work with Warren Ellis on Red. Today the Hollywood Reporter announced that the movie rights to Red have been picked up by Summit Entertainment and already have writing and producing teams in place. You can read the full account HERE.

Congrats to Cully and Warren. Let’s hope that the movie is half as good as the comic.

The Black Sleep

Posted on by
Last night I was in the mood for an old-time horror movie. But what to watch? How about one starring Basil [Sherlock Holmes] Rathbone [as the mad scientist], Lon [The Wolfman] Chaney, Jr. [as one of the monsters], Bela [Dracula] Lugosi [as Rathbone’s assistant], John [Dracula] Carradine [as a madman] and Tor [“Plan 9 from Outer Space] Johnson [as another monster]? Yep, “The Black Sleep” fit the bill perfectly!

 

What, you’ve never heard of “The Black Sleep”? I wouldn’t be surprised. Unless you’re a real aficionado of the horror genre, you probably haven’t. I guess that’s what makes it a cult film. The sad thing is, “The Black Sleep” is one of the better low-budget 50’s horror films. So let’s take a look at it…

The Pitch: “Frankenstein” meets “The Island of Doctor Moreau.” A mad scientist [Rathbone] frames a former student [Herbert Rudley] for murder and then helps him escape the gallows. In return Rudley must help Rathbone with his evil experiments which turn his subjects into monsters.

The Good: The movie is introduced by Lon Madnight! Having Lugosi [in his final role] along with Chaney, Carradine, Johnson and Rathbone sharing screen-time is a hoot for any horror fan. Akim Tamiroff as Odo the Gypsy steals every scene he’s in. The screenplay is more complex than most of the genre — we have the mad scientist performing evil experiments, but he does so in hopes of learning a way to save his dying wife — we have a framed hero who must solve a murder mystery in order to clear his name — we have monsters chained in hidden cells below the castle, but they are victims of Rathbone’s experiments — at the same time the police are following leads leading to… a great climax with the monsters breaking free just as… ah, but that would be giving it away! [Be sure to keep watching after “The End” credit appears — there’s an added bonus!]

The Bad: What the experiments do to the subjects! Poor Bela is regulated to the role of a mute assistant — he was in terrible health in his final days. The hero’s name is Gordon Ramsay.  (Yep, reminded me of the Hell’s Kitchen guy.)

The Ugly: Tor Johnson, Lon Chaney and the rest of the monsters! Also there’s a great scare with a beautiful girl who’s suddenly revealed to be one of the monsters!

In Summary: “The Black Sleep” is a welcome addition to any horror fan’s library. The transfer is crisp and clean with excellent sound. The disc also includes trailers for other films in the AC DVD library as well as the first chapter of a Blackhawk cliffhanger serial. “The Black Sleep” is another winner from Bill Black.