(1941) dir. Preston Sturges
viewed: 11/28/08
Well, I’ve broken through on another important director whose films I had up til now never seen. Preston Sturges is a much loved and hailed writer/director of Hollywood comedies, and it’s crazy that I’ve just now finally seen one.
Sullivan’s Travels is an excellent film, at times somewhat of the class of [...]
Archive of entries posted on November 2008
Sullivan’s Travels
Quadrophenia
(1979) dir. Franc Roddam
viewed: 11/27/08
I first saw Quadrophenia back in 1985, as it was already a cult film. My friends at the time knew that it was popular with the “modern” Mods, which I had no idea what that was. I had still yet to discover The Jam. Also, given a brief appearance by Sting [...]
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
(2008) dir. Alex Gibney
viewed: 11/26/08
From director Alex Gibney, whose film about the Bush administration’s approach to torture Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) was quite profound, comes this biography of Hunter S. Thompson, with an unwieldy title and a long duration.
The film is sort of “creative” for a documentary, using some reinactments and other stuff rather [...]
Factotum
(2005) dir. Bent Hamer
viewed: 11/24/08
I’m currently reading Charles Bukowski’s Tales of Ordinary Madness, the first of any of his books that I’ve ever read. I did read an excerpt of one of his books before, but mostly I am familiar with him from his reputation and the film Barfly (1987). And actually, though I had [...]
White Heat
(1949) dir. Raoul Walsh
viewed: 11/23/08
My third gangster/noir installment for the day was White Heat with the brilliant James Cagney in one of his most notable roles, featuring another of the great lines and finales, “Made it, Ma! Top of the world!” as Cagney’s character Cody Jarrett stands atop a huge oil tank just before it [...]
Little Caesar
(1931) dir. Mervyn LeRoy
viewed: 11/23/08
My whimsy for the day of watching a few films didn’t take off well. Several of the primary films that I sought at the video store were not there, things that would have made a good pairing. So, in the end, I grabbed a handful of noir and/or gangster films, all [...]
The Postman Always Rings Twice
(1946) dir. Tay Garnett
viewed: 11/23/08
John Garfield and Lana Turner. It’s a post-WWII noir that should have been a pre-code film, but it glistens with intensity and is about as slick as it gets.
James Cain’s novel, The Postman Always Rings Twice, has been a favorite of mine of the hardboild period/style/genre and I have long desired [...]
My Best Fiend
(1999) dir. Werner Herzog
viewed: 11/22/08
Werner Herzog is an interesting director. He’s attracted to interesting material anyways. How “good” a filmmaker he is, I am willing suggest, is debateable. But his material often elevates his films beyond their structural and editorial flaws.
His best film that I’ve seen in recent years is Grizzly Man (2005), a documentary whose [...]
Bolt
(2008) dir. Byron Howard, Chris Williams
viewed: 11/22/08 at the Balboa Theater, SF, CA
The latest Disney animated film hit screens yesterday, Bolt. Featuring voices of John Travolta and Miley Cyrus, it might make a lot of money and be slick and polished in its animation, but how many cynics would go see it? How many cynics [...]
Hell’s Ground
(2007) dir. Omar Khan
viewed: 11/21/08
When I read the phrase “Pakistani zombie movie” in a local paper, I was intrigued, excited. I guess that tells you something about me. There is World Cinema and then there is world cinema. And I like them both. And most everything in between.
Hell’s Ground is an anomoly. Considered to be [...]
