Friday, January 28, 2011

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 272 - Crimes And Misdemeanors


Thursday January 27th was Alan Alda's Birthday. I celebrated by watching, in my opinion, one of his best performances, in Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Crimes and Misdemeanors is another Allen masterpiece. He explores new themes of morality, guilt, criminality, happiness and asks the question, is it possible to live with the knowledge of committing some great immoral act.

These are themes that Allen would continue to explore in his films Match Point and Cassandra's Dream.

Crimes and Misdemeanors features and all-star cast, with the story revolving around five men each with a different view of what is moral and what is not. Alda as a successful TV comedy producer, Allen as a struggling idealistic filmmaker, Martin Landau as a successful Ophthalmologist, Jerry Orbach as Landau's brother and a man with a shady background, and Sam Waterson as a rabbi who is slowly going blind. All five men's lives are connected by blood or marriage. The film's focus is on the romantic relationships of Landau and Allen and the movie ends with the two men exploring the moral consequences of their actions.

Crimes and Misdemeanors is an amazing film from one of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century.

At The Movie House rating **** stars 



365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 271 - Secretariat


One of the big fall movies of 2010, Secretariat arrived on home video this week. if you did not see Secretariat in the movies I recommend you rent a download a copy for your weekend viewing. 

I remember watching the Belmont Stakes in June of 1973 and seeing Secretariat do something that no other horse in history has done before or since. It was an astounding athletic event and the movie captures the suspense and glorious achievement of that moment perfectly.

All biographies based on true events are hampered by the audience knowing the outcome before the film starts. The writer must make the events leading up to the conclusion dramatic enough to carry the audience along. The writers were handicapped by the fact that the featured athlete was a horse and also, while most great sports movies feature an underdog, Secretariat was always a top performer from his first race.

Instead the movie focus on Secretariat's owner Penny Chenery-Tweedy (Diane Lane), a housewife in Denver who has to step into a man's world and takes her horse all the way to the Triple Crown. In a sub-plot the film also follows horse trainer Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich) a man who has spent his life almost getting to the winner's circle. These two people are the underdogs the film uses to tell Secretariat's story. 

Secretariat is a film that uses CGI (computer generated images) to great extent to recreate actual events. The races themselves are stunningly realistic and the high contrast cinematography really puts you in the race. I watched the film on high def Blu-ray but the racing scenes make me wish I had seen this movie on the big screen.

The dramatic tension between Penny and her husband and brother is not fully realized, but the Secretariat is the star of this movie and director Randall Wallace lovingly recreates the great races of 1973 that showed the world what a true wonder this horse was.

At The Movie House rating *** stars

*note - create a great triple feature with the following films about the sport of kings:

The Black Stallion
Seabiscuit
Secretariat



365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 270 - An Ideal Husband


Watching The Madness Of King George started me thinking about Rupert Everett. he is a one of a kind British actor that can handle both serious drama and droll comedy with a singular wit. he has not done that many mainstream Hollywood films and An Ideal Husband is one of his best. 

An Ideal Husband is a comedy of manners based on the play by Oscar Wilde. It explores the matchmaking customs of late 19th century England while exploring themes of blackmail, politics and trust. Everett is surrounded by a beautiful supporting cast including Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver and Julianne Moore. Jeremy Northam also stars as the title character, "the ideal husband", or perhaps the title refers to Everett as the perfect catch.

You will have to watch this witty and suspenseful comedy drama to find out.

At The Movie House rating *** stars.

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 269 - Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps


Oliver Stone returns to the world of high finance with this 2010 sequel to Wall Street. The original film starred Micheal Douglas in an iconic role as Gordon "greed is good" Gecko and Charlie Sheen as his protege Bud Fox. Wall Street was a basic morality tale about a young man torn between the world of an easy buck and high living or his father's world (Martin Sheen) of hard work and an attempt to create something meaningful with your life.

Money Never Sleeps has a more complex story that is more about the money than the characters. Douglas returns but while he is still the pivotal character that drives the plot he is a supporting role to the films star Shia LaBeouf, who plays an idealistic young man who believes money, channeled correctly, can be used for good. 

The film follows the events of the financial crash of 2008 and features a superb supporting cast including Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Eli Wallach, Frank Langella, Susan Sarandon and a cameo by Charlie Sheen. The film has a visual style that captures the essence of NYC and makes the look of the original film appear as clunky as Gordon's old cell phone.

At the Movie House rating **1/2 stars. (I was on the fence about this. I enjoyed the movie a lot, but it just did not have the same visceral impact of Wall Street.)

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 268 - Madness Of King George


The King's Speech reminded me of another film about the British Monarchy that I always wanted to see, The Madness Of King George. The movie takes a look at the reign of George III in the years following the American Revolution. It examines the illness he suffered from and by today's standards the bizarre practice of medicine, in an attempt to cure him. 

Nigel Hawthorne in the lead role gives an astounding, Oscar worth performance. I also enjoyed Rupert Everett in an early role as the foppish, lazy Prince of Wales.

At the movie House rating ***1/2 stars

*Note - create your own British Monarchy film festival by watching these movies:
The Lion In Winter
A Man For All Seasons
Elizabeth
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Shakespeare In Love
The Madness Of King George
The Young Victoria
Mrs. Brown
The King's Speech
The Queen


365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 267 - Indiscreet


I followed up Cactus Flower with another film starring Ingrid Bergman, also about a married man that is not everything he seems to be. The married man in question is none other than Cary Grant in his second film with Bergman. The first was Hitchcock's unforgettable Notorious.

This romantic comedy, directed by Stanley Donen is the ideal that all other rom com's strive to be. Smart, witty, funny and full of real emotion. Bergman and Grant are superb together.

At the Movie House rating ***1/2 stars

Saturday, January 22, 2011

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 266 - Cactus Flower


I was watching the trailer for the new Adam Sandler/Jennifer Aniston romantic comedy "Just Go With It" and I could not help feeling that it all sounded familiar. Then I realized it was a modern update of the film (and play) Cactus Flower. Sure enough when I looked up the movie on Wikipedia it stated that it was "inspired" by Cactus Flower.

Cactus Flower, from 1969, is a romantic comedy starring Walter Matthau, Ingrid Bergman and Goldie Hawn in her film debut. The story is about a Manhattan dentist (Matthau) who has told his girlfriend (Hawn) he is married in order to avoid entanglements. When he realizes he wants to marry her, he must arrange a divorce. This is complicated when his girlfriend wants to meet his "wife". He arranges for his nurse (Bergman) to assume the role. This subterfuge leads to multiple comedic entanglements, but everything ends happily ever after for all.

Hawn won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for playing the flighty girlfriend Toni and Bergman also received praise as the long suffering nurse. The movie is funny but slightly dated as a relic from the 60's. It will be interesting to see what Sandler and Aniston do with an updated version.

At the Movie House rating *** stars

365+ movies in 365 Days: 100 Days To Go

There are only 100 days left in my year long effort to watch at least a movie a day. I have seen some great new movies and re-visited some favorites. Watching a movie a day is becomeing more challenging with my new job and it's fluctuating schedule, but I am making it work.

Hopefully I will settle into a routine soon and begin taking advantage of one of my favorite benefits of working at AMC - free movies.

Last week I went to see The Chronicles of Narnia at the Metreon and this week I hope to catch up with True Grit and The Green Hornet. In the meantime I am making a list of movies I want to schedule in the next 100 days and if anyone wants to suggest movies I should screen please let me know.

See you at the movies.

Friday, January 21, 2011

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 265 - Hot Millions


Hot Millions is a romantic comedy caper film written by and starring Peter Ustinov. The film also stars Maggie Smith, Karl Malden and in his second film role, Bob Newhart.

Ustinov is Marcus Pendelton, a con-artist who is just released from prison for embezzlement. While he was incarcerated the world has changed. Now accounting is done with computers. As Pendelton renews his life of crime he must find a way to out wit these over-sized calculators.

He cons computer programmer Caesar Smith (Robert Morley) to go on a safari in South America and then assumes his identity. After being hired at a British based American company he figures out how to use the computer to send checks to himself under multiple identities. 

The film is much more a crime comedy than a caper film, and its view of computers is dated, but it is thoroughly enjoyable to watch Ustinov work his magic on film. 

At The Movie House rating ***

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 264 - Extraordinary Measures


Extraordinary Measures from 2010 features a big name cast and high production values but never escapes the boundaries of a well made movie for HBO or Lifetime.

Inspired by a true story, the film stars Brendan Fraser as a father with two children dying from Pompe disease, a rare medical disorder, that is similar to muscular dystrophy. In a desperate bid to save his children he teams up with a scientist, played by Harrison Ford, who has a theory on how to treat the disease, but has no money to test his ideas. Together the two plunge into the world of bio-tech, venture capitalism and orphan drugs in a race against the clock.

The movie succeeds in pulling some emotional heart strings and gives and interesting look into the world of drug development, but never really capitalizes on it's star power. Ford is straight jacketed in the role of curmudgeon, absent minded scientist that gets tiresome very quickly.

Uplifting story? Yes. Compelling drama? No.


At The Movie House rating ** stars

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 263 - Gunga Din


Gunga Din is from Hollywood's golden year of 1939. I originally saw this movie when I was very young (between ages of 5 and 9) on the WOR Million Dollar Movie and had not seen it since, so when it was being shown on TCM I had to take a look.

The film is a rip snorting yarn of high adventure featuring Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. as three soldiers in the British Army who battle the Thugee cult in India. 

The movie is based on the immortal poem by Rudyard Kipling and features Sam Jaffe in the title role of Gunga Din, the servant who wanted to be a soldier.

The movies use of accelerated film speed to accentuate the fight scenes gives the film a dated look, but it is still an exciting action-adventure tale and a must see for every film enthusiast.

At the Movie House rating **** stars

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 262 - Bigger Stronger Faster*


Bigger Faster Stronger* (*The Side Effects of Being American) is an outstanding documentary about steroid use in sports and the hypocrisy of American society that condemns there use but applauds success by any means.

The film explores steroid use by director Chris Bell and his brothers Mike and Mark. All three grew up admiring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Hulk Hogan and Sylvester Stallone, all of whom, it turns out, used steroids.  They believed body building and sports was the answer to achieving their American dream. And then they learned they needed to do steroids to achieve that dream.

The movie examines the mix message in how America views drugs, cheating and what people will do to be successful.

It examines the medias role in portraying athletes, advertising in the health industry and the multi-billion dollar unregulated supplement industry.

Bigger Stronger Faster is a thought provoking look at a very hypocritical system that applauds success at any means, until you are caught.

At the Movie House rating **** stars

Note - The Director's older brother Mike Bell died at the age of 39, about 11 months after this film was released. He had a history of substance abuse and was found dead at a Costa Mesa, California rehab facility on December 14, 2008. Knowing this made watching the film even more poignant.






365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 261 - The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Trader


This is the third film in the Narnia series. The movie is based on the third book in the series written by C.S. Lewis and features two of the characters from the first films returning to Narnia for one last adventure.

If you read the books in your youth and enjoyed them, then you will enjoy this film. But I have no emotional attachment to the Narnia Chronicles and I tend to find them uninspired. Dawn Trader is better than the second film in the series, Prince Caspian, but not by much. 

The first two films in the series were directed by Andrew Adamson and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. After the less than anticipated box office of Prince Caspian in the summer of 2008 Disney dropped the film series and it was picked up by 20th Century Fox who selected veteran director Micheal Apted to helm the third installment. Apted successfully captures the magic of the first film and gives more depth to the characters. The film has a much better pace than Caspian and relies on more high adventure rather than CGI battle scenes.

With international ticket sales of $357 million (the film is very popular overseas) the series may continue even as the trilogy featuring the Penesive children comes to a close.

At the Movie House rating **1/2 stars

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 260 - Punch-Drunk Love


Another off beat film from the mind of Paul Thomas Anderson, this time it is a romantic comedy starring Adam Sandler and Emily Watson. Sandler turns in an astounding performance as a slightly neurotic man filled with anger issues, who suddenly discovers a woman he can relate too. His challenges with women, as well as his suppressed rage, seem to stem from the relationships he has with his seven controlling and interfering sisters. 

Sandler has never been better, unfortunately his fans didn't respond to the comedians attempt to try some real acting and the film was a commercial failure. The movie also features Philip Seymour Hoffman as a con man who preys on lonely men.

A very unique film that will not be every one's cup of tea.

At The Movie House rating *** stars

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 259 -Magnolia


Magnolia is an original ensemble drama about the nature of coincidence from writer director Paul Thomas Anderson. The film features Jason Robards, William H. Macy, Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Philip Baker Hall, Alfred Molina, John C. Reilly, Melinda Dillon and Melora Walters as strangers with interwoven lives who come together one day in 1999.

Magnolia is an ambitious movie that explores multiple themes including the search for meaning, influence of the past on current events, father/son relationships and the confluence of unexplained events.

The film was a critical success and Tom Cruise was highly praised for his performance as a motivational speaker and he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance. Magnolia is audacious and daring in what it attempts and I believe whether it succeeds or not is up to the individual viewer.  

At The Movie House rating ***1/2 stars







365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 258 -Zelig


I picked up a DVD of Woody Allen's Zelig at a bargain price of $3.99. Zelig is one of Allen's best films. It is made in the mockumentary style of his earlier film, Take the Money and Run and stars Allen as Leonard Zelig, a man who has chameleon like powers to resemble anyone he is near.

Without the use of computers Allen and cinematographer Gordon Willis artfully combine new footage with old archival newsreel footage to put Allen into scenes featuring popular and famous people from the 1920's and 30's.

Zelig is a completely original comedy from the mind of Woody Allen that is both satire and love story. The extensive special effects are extraordinary and still hold up in today's CGI world. When people think of Woody Allen's great films Zelig does not come immediately to mind, but it should because it is one of his masterpieces.

At The Movie House rating **** stars

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 257 -State and Main


State and Main is a satiric look at Hollywood from the mind of David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross, House of Games, Wag the Dog, The Verdict). The film takes a very funny look at a Hollywood production crew that invades a small Vermont town. There is chaos everywhere and in the center of it all is the writer, a Hollywood newbie, played by Philip Seymour Hoffman. The film also stars David Paymer, Alec Baldwin, Sarah Jessica Parker and William H. Macy. With whip smart dialogue and tongue firmly in cheek the film is a hoot.

At The Movie House rating ***1/2 stars

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 256 -Flawless


The Movie House is starting a mini Philip Seymour Hoffman film festival. For the first half I will look at early roles before he won the Oscar for Best Actor in 2005 and then afterwards I will look at his post Oscar films.

Flawless from 1999 was one of his first big roles. The film starred Hoffman and Robert DeNiro as to very different men brought together by unique circumstances. DeNiro is an Walter, a former NYPD officer, he has no use for the drag queens and other "freaks" that inhabit his NYC resident hotel. Philip Seymour Hoffman is Rusty, a drag queen and Walter's upstairs neighbor.

After Walter has a debilitating stroke he begins to take singing lessons from Rusty in order to regain his ability to talk. These two very different men are brought together and come to understand each other a little better.

Aside from the performance by Hoffman, there is absolutely no reason to see this film. It is overblown melodrama directed with the usual lack of editing by Joel Schumacher. The story is all over the place and filled withe most cliched characters and tired dialogue imaginable. The film does not know if it's a comedy, drama or suspense thriller. DeNiro plays the same guy he played in Awakenings only 10 years later. It's always good to see him act, but I never once stopped thinking I was watching DeNiro act. Hoffman on the other hand, disappears into his role and does his best with the script he has to work with.

The film is a mish-mash of message and schmaltz that goes no where.

At The Movie House rating ** stars

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 255 -Joan Rivers: A Piece Of Work


A surprisingly honest and funny documentary about a year in the life of comedienne Joan Rivers. Very good film. 

At The Movie House rating *** 1/2 stars


365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 254 - Bottle Shock


Uneven but entertaining true story of how the small California wine growers triumphed over French wines at a blind tasting in 1976, and put Napa Valley on the map as a capital of wine making forever.

At the Movie House rating ** 1/2 stars

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 253 - Amadeus: The Director's Cut


I love Amadeus. I have loved everything about it since I saw it in the movies in 1984. And now with the new Blu-ray release of Milos Forman's Director's Cut, there is even more to love. The new version is 20 minutes longer and highlights the relationship between Mozart and Salieri, and explores more of Mozart's troubles as he struggled to gain success in Vienna. The image and sound are stunning on Blu-ray. This is what high definition and digital sound were made for.

At The Movie House rating *****

note- since Amadeus is already a four star movie the new Director's Cut gains a rare fifth star to enhance the original rating.

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 252 - The Last Airbender


Avatar: The Last Airbender is a stylish, funny and entertaining children's animated series on Nickelodeon. This live action adaptation in the hands of director M. Night Shyamalan is a pile of dreck. Bad acting, poor casting choices, lame script, ridiculous special effects and comepletely lacking the charm and humor of the cartoon series. 

At The Movie House rating 0 stars

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 251 - The Killing


Stanley Kubrick shows what a talented director can do with "B" film material. With sharp dialogue and unique camera moves he elevates this simple heist film into a stylish film noir. Film has a great ironic twist ending. Film suffers from a 1950's "Dragnet" style narration and lacks the substance that Kubrick would add to later films. Does not hold up as well to repeated viewings, unlike Kubrick's other early films such as Paths of Glory. Sterling Hayden is excellent in this type of role. He defined the hard-boiled 50's gangster in the film The Asphalt Jungle.

At The Movie House rating *** stars

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 250 - The Girl With A Pearl Earring


This 2003 costume drama starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson is a fictional account of how Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer (Firth) created his masterpiece. The film is based on the best selling book of the same name. As usual Colin Firth is excellent as the talented, but obsessed artist. Highly recommended.

At The Movie House rating ***1/2 stars

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

365+ Movies In 365 Days: Day 249 - Young Sherlock Holmes


It is rare when I can't remember anything about a movie. I even remember things from bad movies that I will never see again, but in the case of Paramount's Young Sherlock Holmes I could not remember anything about the film, beyond the premise, which has Holmes and Watson meeting as young boys and solving there first case together.

The movie has quite a pedigree. It is executive produced by Steven Spielberg and his Amblin Entertainment, directed by Barry Levinson (The Natural, Rain Man) written by Chris Columbus (Goonies, Gremlins) and features the first ever fully digitized character created by John Lassiter of Pixar. With that amount of talent you would expect a substantial film, but it is not, and that is probably why I didn't remember anything about it.

Released in 1985 the film was a big budget action adventure yarn for the Christmas season. Paramount was probably planning a franchise of Young Sherlock Holmes adventures, especially considering the ending, but the film failed at the box office and no sequels were ever made. On a budget of $18 million the film made $19.7 million. This was a big disappointment when you consider that Back To The Future,another film aimed at the same audience, released in 1985, grossed over $200 million.

Then again I question who is the audience for Young Sherlock Holmes? The movie has many literary references that would go over the top of most kids and yet the action is clearly in the Goonies mode and won't appeal to most adults. The film is cast entirely with unknowns, so there is no star for the audience to recognize and identify with. Both characters, young Holmes and Watson are written as if they are miniature adult versions of their future selves, not real children, with the real emotions of adolescent boys. 

The movie itself is cobbled together from parts of other movies including Goonies and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. I don't feel the need to go into a plot description here.

The film does not have any sense of authenticity. It is obvious throughout the film that the entire thing is made on a sound stage made up to look like Victorian England. 

But there are two things lacking in the movie that made it so completely unmemorable. A sense of true emotion and adventure and a complete lack of humor. Both of these are required for any kind of action adventure movie.

Young Sherlock Holmes is a fun, entertaining adventure that like me you will probably completely forget a few hours after watching it.

At The Movie House rating ** stars

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

365+ Movies in 365 days: Day 248 - Manhattan


I had Gershwin's Rhapsody In Blue in my head and decided to take a look at Woody Allen's Manhattan again. The first four minutes of the film is a mini-movie unto itself. Allen narrates from a book he is trying to write, while Gordon Willis' stunning black and white cinematography explores the island of Manhattan and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue plays over the picture punctuating every image with glorious music.

While watching the film I tried to play close attention to the locations. Allen intended this film to be a love poem to Manhattan as it explored modern romantic relationships. Manhattan is an amazing film in every aspect, and New York City has never looked better. This film never gets old and two hundred years from now anthropologists and historians will study it to observe life in the latter part of the 20th Century.

At the Movie House rating **** stars.

365+ Movies in 365 days: Day 247 - No Highway In The Sky


No Highway In The Sky made it's premiere on Turner Classic Movies on Sunday. The film reunited James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich, twelve years after they starred together in Destry Rides Again.  If it was not for these two big named stars, No Highway In The Sky would be a small "B" movie made in England and produced by 20th Century Fox. But Stewart and Dietrich's star power elevated the film to "A" status.

The movie was one of the first to feature a commercial air disaster as a plot device. Stewart is Theodore Honey, a scientist who is experimenting with the effects of metal fatigue on aircraft. He theorizes that constant vibration will cause metal fatigue and cause a plane to fall apart at a certain point.

By chance he finds himself on just such a plane when it is nearing the point of failure. His attempt to warn the Captain is fruitless, but he is believed by passenger and film star Monica Teasdale (Dietrich) who share a tense night together.

When the plane lands safely in Gander, Honey is removed from the plane. After it passes inspection the Captain plans to fly on to Montreal so Honey sabotages the plane in order to prevent it from flying further.

Now his sanity is in question and he must find a way to prove his theory is correct before a plane falls apart in mid-air and hundreds are killed.

Based on a novel by Nevil Shute the story mirrored real life plane crashes that happened three years later, all attributed to metal fatigue.

At The Movie House rating *** stars.

365+ Movies in 365 days: Day 247 - The Town


The Town is an engaging heist movie in which Ben Affleck performs a trifecta of writing, acting and directing. From a story standpoint there is not much new. A gang of close knit buddies in Boston's Charlestown neighborhood hang together and rob banks together. They are beholden to an older gangster who helps organize the heists and they must pay him a cut of the loot. 

From the trailer we learn the gang takes a female hostage on one of the robberies to ensure a safe getaway and later on the Ben Affleck character forms a romantic relationship with her. She does not know the man she meets in the laundromat is the same man who held her at gunpoint.

The film lives up to the trailer with a suspenseful story of a man who has known nothing in life but crime and wants to find a new life for himself. 

Ben Affleck is Doug MacRay the head of the gang. Jeremy Renner in another strong performance is James "Jem" Coughlin a member of the gang who's violent tendencies are beginning to worry Doug. Rebecca Hall is Claire the bank manager who falls for Doug and John Hamm (Mad Men) is the FBI agent pursuing the gang. Pete Postlethwaite, in one of his last roles, is Fergie the Florist, a crime boss. Chris Cooper has a small role as Doug's father in prison. Blake Lively is very strong as a Jem's sister, a woman who is also trapped by her environment and does not know how to escape..

The movie uses the Charlestown locations and accents to capture a sense of authenticity to the film. Affleck does well to overcome some of the cliches inherit in the plot. A movie like this could go in multiple directions and I was glad that I couldn't be sure where the film would take me until the end.

Gone, Baby Gone, Affleck's first film was a stronger character study, but The Town is a strong second effort from an up and coming director.

At The Movie House rating *** stars



Sunday, January 2, 2011

365+ Movies in 365 days: Day 246 - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe


Does not capture the magic or emotions like other fantasy films, such as Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings.
At The Movie House rating ** 1/2 stars.

365+ Movies in 365 days: Day 246 - Moulin Rogue

6

One of the best films of the new millenium.
At The Movie House rating **** stars

365+ Movies in 365 days: Day 246 - Tron Legacy


Tron legacy is a toys for boys movies that stays true to the Disney original, while giving the viewer a wonderful look at the modern state of computer generated special effects. See this film in Imax 3-D for the pure experience of being immersed in the Tron world. 

At The Movie House rating *** stars

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Great Movies for New Year's

Are you ringing in the New Year by staying in and avoiding the after, after Christmas sales? Well here are some films that help celebrate the New Year in style.


The ultimate New Year's Eve movie and now a camp classic. One of the best disaster movies ever made.


Wolfgang Petersen's 2006 remake is no where near as good as the original. The special effects for the ship capsizing are amazing but the rest of the film falls flat.




When Harry Met Sally probably feature the most memorable New Year's Eve scene ever put on film. Twenty-one years later the film is still as funny and poignant as ever.


The ground breaking musical Moulin Rouge celebrates truth, beauty, freedom and most of all, love at the dawn of the 20th century.


New Year's Eve 1958 and Micheal Corleone says the immortal line to his brother Fredo, "I know it was you Fredo; you broke my heart." as the Cuban government collapses around them.
(The Movie House recommends watching all three Godfather films as a New year's day marathon.)


The Apartment has one of the great ending lines in film history. Watch as Miss Kubilick (Shirley MacLaine) and Mr. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) ring in the New Year together.


The Coen Bros. whimsical business fairy tale that concludes at midnight on New Year's Eve.


The Irving Berlin musical that introduced White Christmas and is the perfect bridge to end the Christmas Holiday and begin the New Year.


The original Rat Pack plan a daring Las Vegas heist on New Year's Eve.


Underdog Rocky Balboa in the boxing match of his life on the first day of the bicentennial year of 1976.


Desperate to keep Joe Gillis to herself, Norma Desmond commits a serious act. watch as Norma embraces and entraps him at the stroke of midnight.


Eddie Murphy's second big hit was this buddy comedy that relied on future's trading. Dan Aykroyd, Ralph Bellamy, Don Ameche and Jamie Lee Curtis star in this very funny movie.


Woody Allen's charming and heartwarming nostalgic look back and the days of radio. You'll feel a warm glow by the time the masked avenger wishes you a Happy New Year.


Peter's Friends is a British comedy directed by Kenneth Branagh about a group of friends that gather together to celebrate New Year's. Think of it as an English Big Chill.


Another heist film. This one takes place at the dawn of the new millennium.


The 1933 winner of the Academy Award for Best Picture, the film opens on new Year's Eve 1899 and follows the lives of a British family through the first 30 years of the 20th century. The first film to use the sinking of the Titanic as a plot device.

Happy 2011 from The Movie House. 






















365+ Movies in 365 days: Day 245 - The Muppet Movie


Without the use of computers 1979's The Muppet Movie gave us some ground-breaking special effects by giving Kermit the Frog legs. He was able to run, jump, swim and ride a bicycle. For the first time we saw his entire body. The movie within the movie opens with Kermit sitting on a log, in the middle of a swamp, playing a banjo and singing The Rainbow Connection (the fact that Jim Henson was concealed under water in a special box, manipulating him was unimportant).

The Muppets transition from TV to the big screen was a huge hit. The full Muppet ensemble was present along with a galaxy of guest stars. The film featured cheerful and uplifting songs by Paul Williams and told the "factual" story behind the Kermit's journey to Hollywood and how the Muppets got started.

You have to have a heart of stone not to appreciate the humor and general good spirit of The Muppets. Kermit, Fozzie, Miss Piggy and Gonzo can bring a laugh to almost anyone with their crazy antics. And with Charles Durning, Austin Pendelton, Bob Hope, Orson Welles, Cloris Leachman, Richard Pryor, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, Milton Berle, James Coburn, Dom DeLuise, Madeline Khan, Carol Kane, Elliot Gould, Telly Savalas, Steve Martin and Mel Brooks, the film is a virtual who's who of 1970's comedic talent. The success of The Muppet Movie led to many other feature films and Kermit succeeded in his dream of making millions of people happy.

At The Movie House rating **** stars

365+ Movies in 365 days: Day 244 - Phantom Of The Opera


Joel Schumacher was the wrong choice to bring Andrew Lloyd Weber's fabulous musical to the screen. Just like in the batman movies he over emphasized glitz while stripping the film of any suspense or danger. The key scene when Christine follows the phantom into his lair is an over blown production number that lacks the passion, romance and mystery the scene should have. Schumacher forgot that what is dazzling on stage does not translate to film. In his slavish devotion to following the stage production he sacrificed everything the medium of film can bring to art.

The cast is uniformly good, considering that none of them were professional singers. But Gerard Butler was to young to play the phantom. He should have been an older man that appealed to Christine's need for a father figure. There were 18 years separating Micheal Crawford and Sarah Brightman in the original production of the show.

The film has some artistic merit and there are some stunning visuals, but over all the production is lacking. One can only wonder how the movie would have turned out if someone like Tim Burton directed. After all, look what he did with Sweeney Todd.

At The Movie House rating **1/2 stars