Posted in DVD, Movies, Peter O'Toole on June 22nd, 2007 No Comments »
I watched the movie Venus tonight. I can’t say it’s a great film, though it’s good and Peter O’Toole’s performance is wonderful. (As are many of the other performances.) A bit too much grim, gloomy British mood for my taste. (The British really have to lighten up, at least in their films. Geez…)
However, Peter O’Toole [...]
Posted in Actors, DVD, John Wayne, Movies, The Shootist on June 1st, 2007 No Comments »
For me, The Shootist (1976) is a funny movie. Not funny “ha-ha” but funny in the oddball sense. I really enjoyed it. It’s a good, maybe even close to great movie. But at the same time, there are aspects of it that don’t quite work for me.
I think what I have problems with are Don [...]
Posted in DVD, Movies, Seraphim Falls on May 29th, 2007 No Comments »
I watched Seraphim Falls the other night and loved it. I think others will too, unless they really have a burr in their behind about westerns.
Yes, it’s a western and, yes, it curiously stars a couple of Irish guys, Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan, and both are brilliant in it. And if for nothing else, [...]
Posted in Actors, DVD, James Bond, Movies, Roger Moore on May 18th, 2007 No Comments »
I’ve come to a conclusion that surprises me. My favourite James Bond is Roger Moore. And there is really no contest.
This surprises me because I find many people, sometimes even myself, have a tendency to dismiss Moore as Bond. Too frivolous. Too … 70’s. Too 80’s. Until recently, that’s how I felt. But …
I have [...]
Posted in Actors, DVD, Directors, Movies on May 15th, 2007 No Comments »
I took a few moments to repost a couple of reviews I did a few years ago:
The Long Goodbye (1973)
Anastasia (1956)
The first one, The Long Goodbye, is the Altman film with the sleepy and slovenly Elliot Gould. As I mention in the review, it’s the kind of movie you love and hate at the same [...]
Posted in Actors, DVD, Man in the Middle, Movies, Robert Mitchum on May 11th, 2007 No Comments »
It’s hard not to be drawn in by a film that stars Robert Mitchum. In the case of Man in the Middle, however, you’re drawn in well before Mitchum’s initial appearance with a riveting opening scene.
Keenan Wynn, as Lt. Charles Winton, deliberately and coldly walks across a military compound into a barracks where he blandly [...]
Posted in DVD, Directors, Movies, Tokyo Story, Yasujiro Ozu on May 7th, 2007 2 Comments »
Last night I watched Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story (Tôkyô monogatari) (1953). How is it a movie made more than 50 years ago can be so relevant today?
I wish I had the time right to ramble on about it but I have a crew of people with hammers, saws and drills in my house as I’m [...]
Posted in DVD, Movies, Prisoner of Zenda on April 13th, 2007 1 Comment »
My current quandary is, “Do I watch Prisoner of Zenda tonight? Or do I watch Prisoner of Zenda?” It’s a heck of a fix I’m in.
There is the 1937 version which, from what I can tell, is the favoured one. It certainly gets a better vote average on IMDb, 7.7 when I looked. The 1952 [...]
Posted in Alfonso Cuaron, Children of Men, DVD, Directors, Movies on April 11th, 2007 No Comments »
Last night I watched Children of Men, directed by Alfonso Cuaron. I hadn’t been overly anxious to see the film until recently when quite a few positive comments came my way. So I decided to give it a go.
It turns out I liked the film, quite a bit, though I can’t say I’m wildly enthusiastic. [...]
Posted in DVD, Directors, Movies, Orson Welles on March 16th, 2007 No Comments »
Today I received my copy of Mr. Arkadin (Criterion Collection). I’ve never seen the film. I know almost nothing about it.
About all I do know is that it was a schmozzle because Welles lost control of it.
The upshot is that there is no definitive version. No final cut, as Welles would have done it. What [...]
