(2005) dir. Jim Jarmusch
viewed: 08/10/05 at Embarcadero, SF, CA
Jim Jarmusch is one of my favorite directors, despite the erratic natures and qualities of many of his films. When he gets it right, as he did so amazingly in Dead Man (1995) and Down by Law (1986), his films are the best of a generation.
This [...]
Archive of entries posted on August 2005
Broken Flowers
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
(2005) dir. Tim Burton
viewed: 08/10/05 at Loews Metreon Theatres, SF, CA
Tim Burton exhibits on his usual strengths here, great visual design and largely fun entertainment, but still displays a real lack of narrative power. I actually found this film pretty fun all the way through. Burton has been trying to pack a more emotional punch [...]
The Driver
(1978) dir. Walter Hill
viewed: 08/16/2005
A moderately obscure action/thriller, The Driver is really a pretty cool. One thing I read, said something like, “This film is so cool that none of the characters even have names!” Which is true. They don’t. There is in a sense, a sort of spaghetti western atmosphere [...]
Gunga Din
(1939) dir. George Stevens
viewed: 08/06/2005
An action film from another era, to say the least.
There is a definitive hokey-ness to the comedy, acting, scripting and action in this film, and Cary Grant, with all his comedic charm, seems like a true boob trying to cop a cockney accent. The hokey qualities are probably primarily hokey [...]
Batman Begins
(2005) dir. Christopher Nolan
viewed: 06/30/05 at Loews Metreon Theatres, SF, CA
Though I enjoyed this version of Batman, I haven’t really thought of much to say about it.
I think that Christopher Nolan did a respectable job here, creating a version of the story that has a very believable human angle to it, something about it is [...]
A Face in the Crowd
(1957) dir. Elia Kazan
viewed: 07/31/2005
Elia Kazan.
A Face in the Crowd is truly a figment of its period. When Hollywood was making films with pretty overt political tones. Well, anyways, when some films were getting made with strong political commentaries. Kazan is extremely pedantic, though he’s great filmmaker and can often really [...]
Mean Girls
(2004) dir. Mark Waters
viewed: 07/12/2005
It’s a sign of age, you know, when you hear Hollywood gossip stuff and have no idea who certain teen icons are or for why they are supposed to be famous. I mean, Lindsay Lohan, who is she and why is she so popular? Okay, well, now I know [...]
The Big Red One
(1980) dir. Samuel Fuller
viewed: 07/17/2005
Sam Fuller is an interesting, but mixed bag. Iconoclast, bizarro, myriad of interesting, challenging things. He’s kind of like some weird uncle, or utter outsider who lacks perfectionism (which I mostly admire). I have mixed feelings toward him, though I have long harbored and interst to see his [...]
