In the golden age of Hollywood cinema musicals seemed to have the most
extravagant budgets, and these films were a huge success as well as a grand
spectacle, but it wasn’t the sets and the costumes or dozens or chorus dancers
that made the films musicals. Traditionally the songs helped to advance the
plot, telling part of the story or developing the character within the song,
and within these terms Once is a true
musical. While there are essentially only two important characters and they are
the only ones to sing, these songs help to advance the story in many ways,
often having nothing to do with the music itself. The male protagonist is
physically unable to speak about his heartbreak in one particular scene in the
film, so instead he sings about it with improvised songs on the back of a bus. Despite
a low budget, shaky camera work that often goes out of focus, and a storyline
so simple that it nearly hits the same note for 86 minutes, Once is clearly one of the greatest
modern musicals in all the ways that matters.
See This Film: Once Blu-ray Review
Master of the House Blu-ray Review
Danish
filmmakers were pioneers at the dawn of cinema, right up there with the French.
Had it not been for the invention of sound and back-to-back wars in Europe , they might have been the dominating nation in the
art form. This argument can be clearly seen in the work of Carl Theodor Dreyer,
which was ahead of its time not just in terms of filmmaking techniques, but
also in the stories which he chose to tell. Master
of the House is one of Dreyer’s more modest films, but there is brilliance
in its simplicity and maturity in the narrative based on the play Tyrannens
fald by Svend Rindom.
Cowgirls ‘N Angels 2: Dakota’s Summer Blu-ray Review
I had no
previous knowledge of this film franchise, having somehow managing to avoid the
release of Cowgirls ‘N Angels in
2012, but somehow I can’t imagine it makes much difference in reviewing this title.
As far as I can tell, there is no direct connection between the storylines,
aside from a title and basic premise dealing with young girls and trick
horse-riding. Cowgirls ‘N Angels 2: Dakota’s Summer is a mouthful of a title,
but the film itself is a fairly inoffensively straightforward story that could
easily be a TV movie from any number of the television stations that only my
nine-year-old sisters would watch.
Seven Warriors Blu-ray Review
Akira Kurosawa’s
films have been adapted many times, which is fitting considering how many
classic narratives he also adapted into his own unique features. Seven Samurai
must be the most popular of these narratives, remade several times in new
settings and the same storyline. Seven
Warriors sets the classic story of outnumbered noble fighters in The
Warlord Era of China, with former soldiers choosing sides between defending the
weak and becoming thieves and bandits. Taking on the style of Hong
Kong ’s New Wave Movement with the legendary Sammo Hung at the
helm, Seven Warriors is an
energetically updated version of Kurosawa’s narrative, now dated in the most
spectacular of ways.
Doctor Who: Web of Fear DVD Review
Many of the
“Doctor Who” episodes are long lost, wiped by BBC’s unfortunate decision to
wipe many hours of broadcast years ago. This has left many of the Patrick
Troughton storylines in the series forever incomplete, though an occasional
miracle brings back episodes thought to be gone. There are still sections of
“Web of Fear” which are missing, though episode 6 was discovered in 2013, and
now is available with all of the existing episodes in this storyline on this
DVD release.
Most Hated Movies: Alexander the Last (2009)
Filmmaker Joe Swanberg is at the head of the independent film
movement often referred to as “mumblecore.” These films often include awkward
nudity, natural lighting and mumbling dialogue. The attempt is supposed to be
realism, but these films simply suggested that reality is both depressing and
dull. Though Alexander the Last is an
improvement on Swanberg’s previous films, Hannah
Takes the Stairs and Night and
Weekends, this is not saying much. The improvement can immediately be
attributed to Greta Gerwig’s missing presence from the cast.
Desert Island Films: Slasher Franchises
In “An Introduction to
the American Horror Film,” Robin Wood describes a simple structure for the
Classical horror film as normality “threatened by the Monster,” but following Psycho the significance of the monster shifted
(Wood 117). The greatest fear addressed in a majority of horror films since 1960
is the fear of other people. It took a directors like Michael Powell and Alfred
Hitchcock to first break this barrier for filmmakers in the genre to “expose
the illusory securities and limited rationales of contemporary life to reveal
the chaos which underpins modern existence and constantly threatens to ensure
its collapse” (Wells 75). Peeping Tom and Psycho helped contribute to the feeling of social insecurity, as they
created monsters that were fully human and would change the face of horror.
Most Hated Movies: Death Do Us Part DVD Review
Would a bride
really take her wedding dress along for a joint bachelor/bachelorette
celebration in the wilderness, far from any location that the actual event will
be held? Would said bride randomly decide to put the dress on once the party
has begun in the remote cabin in the woods? Should the audience expect the kind
of logic that would explain these actions in a poorly made slasher film such as
Death Do Us Part? The answer to all
questions is clearly no, but a lapse in logic is not what makes this such a
poorly constructed horror film. It is everything else makes this film terrible,
which subsequently makes the lack of intelligence in the filmmaking all the
more unforgivable.
Confession of Murder Blu-ray Review
Somewhere in
here was the potential for a really good movie, but thanks to an uneven
filmmaking that bounces between realism and comically cartoonish action it
becomes difficult to feel much gravity in the film’s final twists. An action
film which embellishes human abilities can be easily forgiven, but Confession of a Murder is not an action
film despite a few high octane moments. This is more of a suspense film,
hinging all of the action on the mystery at the center of the narrative. The
extreme coincidences tying all of the film’s melodrama together requires
suspension of disbelief enough, leaving no room for acceptance of the slapstick
style of action contained in one of the film’s largest chase sequences.
Trap for Cinderella DVD Review
There are enough
moments in Trap for Cinderella that
are good enough to make a majority of the film feel like wasted potential, and
enough moments of contrived silliness to make the viewing experience feel like
a waste of time. For one thing, there are far too many scenes which feel
manufactured for the simple goal of showing Tuppence Middleton’s exposed
breasts as often as possible. The fact that the lead actress is nude nearly as
many scenes as she is clothed only highlights how failed the eroticism of Trap for Cinderella is, which is
disappointing considering how little else there is to offer within the
narrative.
Everyday DVD Review
Filmmaker
Michael Winterbottom is not afraid to try new methods in his filmmaking
process, even when they often work better in theory than in practice. Whether
jumping back and forth from mainstream Hollywood
cinema to small independents, narrative features to documentaries, or simply
making a movie that controversially utilizes un-simulated sex scenes from his
lead actors, Winterbottom has been a fearless filmmaker willing to take
chances. Everyday is built upon yet
another unique method of filmmaking, which once again proves far more
interesting than the end result.
Wrong Cops DVD Review
Wrong Cops is the latest feature from Quentin
Dupieux, following his cult hit Rubber
in 2010, and the similarly titled Wrong
from 2012. Despite the similarities in titles, Wrong Cops is not a sequel to Wrong,
despite a brief cameo from Dolph Springer (Jack Plotnick) and his dog. This new
sub-genre of extreme comedic irreverence in independent films is carried out
with confidence by writer/director Dupieux. These films feel like a
marriage between David Lynch and Jared Hess, what might happen if the random
carnage and dreamlike narrative were to take place in a world of awkward
character actors.
Bastards DVD Review
Bastards captures the essence of film
noir in structure and style, while removing all elements of entertainment and
fun from the experience. It replaces the B-film elements of the sub-genre with
brutal melodrama, which makes the discombobulated narrative far less of a
spectacle and more of a test in endurance. There is far too little spectacle to
make the dark elements of the film worthwhile, though this is less of an issue
than the overpowering ugliness in the exploitation of the film’s main message.
Real life issues are treated as plot development, making the movie no more
profound than it is enjoyable, and leaves the viewer feeling abused without
cause.
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