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dukee44
Reviews
American Gangster (2007)
Almost a match for "The Godfather"
I enjoyed this film. Having never seen "Training Day", Denzel Washington as a "villain" was a refreshing change for me. Russell Crowe, although personally rather nasty at times in real life, played his part well, too. Actually, the entire cast was well done.
The idea that Frank Lucas could operate under the radar of law enforcement had almost a satirical feel to it. That character was smart and ruthless, leavened only by the fact he looked after his family and made their lives so much better, at least at the start. The first scene gives you an idea on how ruthless he can be. Frank Lucas stays behind-the-scenes until the night of the prizefight where he dresses basically like a pimp.
Crowe's character is the only police man who has clued in to what is going on with Lucas and the photos he takes of Lucas in his finery begins Lucas' downfall.
As in this type of movie, there is the prerequisite violence but not as much as some modern films. The pacing is well done and the juxtaposition between Lucas's successful crime life and Richie's domestic problems plus his treatment as a pariah by his fellow officers is well portrayed.
I did find the ending rather too "feelgood" but apparently that's what happened in real life. The ending stopped me from giving this film a 10.
30 Days of Night (2007)
Finally! REAL (in my opinion, anyway) vampires
I was first seduced into vampire movies by the old Hammer ones of the 60s and early 70s. Of course, those creatures were depicted as basically Dracula clones (if not the Count himself). These vampires were usually extremely vile with no redeeming qualities, whatsoever.
Come the late 70s, starting with Frank Langella's depiction of Count Dracula, the viewing public was presented with a more romantic version of Bram Stoker's creation. Of course, there was the occasional foray into the old-style vampire in movies such as "Nosferatu" and "Near Dark". But, in the 80s, with "Bram Stoker's Dracula", we were faced once again with a somewhat sympathetic and definitely romantic Dracula. In the 90s, for the most part, vampires are creatures to be pitied (as they can't even handle werewolves) and are constantly falling for human females and seem to spend their time lamenting the fact.
In "30 Days of Night", you find a return to the very nasty creatures... not to mention, totally unromantic and well organised. In what I believe was an nod to the novel "Dracula", they arrive near Barrow, Alaska on a ship (something like the Count's arrival in England on the ship, the Demeter. The Stranger even acts the part of Renfield, sabotaging the town, preparing for the creatures' arrival.
The vampires seem to be a family group, led by an elder. The language they speak seems Slavic, which fits them right into the Dracula mythos. There is less than a dozen of them but they are able to kill almost everybody in the town. The sheriff, played by Josh Hartnett, works tirelessly to help the survivors last through the month. These vampires are very difficult to kill and the sheriff has to resort to using an axe on several occasions because beheading them seems to be the only sure way. Some of the survivors are killed, usually when they are heroically trying to help others but sometimes when the group is moving to safer places to hide.
Hartnett's character sacrifices himself by injecting tainted blood into his veins, as he sees the vampires are burning down the town to hide their crimes. He is able to kill the elder vampire in his half-vampire state, causing the rest of the monsters to leave. He and his wife then watch the sunrise and he turns to ash, paying for the safety of his fellow survivors with his life.
I know that this has been more of a synopsis but I did it this way to tell you why I liked the film so much. The homage to the one of the better vampire novels, the real terror of what seems like an endless night and the minimalist, but effective, use of make up, and the excellence of the writing and acting was why I rated this film so high.
I believe I will add this film to my DVD collection and I suggest anyone having a chance to see it: do so. You won't be disappointed.
I Am Legend (2007)
A very good movie with excellent acting by Will Smith
About 40 years ago, my parents and younger siblings went camping. I opted out mainly because I was developing into a surly teenager. One night, I stayed up all night for the first time in my life and happened to catch on the late late show, Vincent Price's film "The Last Man on Earth". I was all alone in the house and that movie scared the willies out of me. I've seen it since as an adult and it wasn't quite as frightening. It was based on the book "I Am Legend" by Richard Matheson, as was the picture of 2007. I was of the impression that Will Smith did an excellent job of portraying the driven and lonely scientist who believed he and his dog, Samantha, were the only non-infected creatures left in the world. Of course, he is trying without any success to find a cure to the man-made disease that has turned the city into a haven for ravenous creatures that fear of the daylight. Smith for the most of the picture has only his dog and their environs to react to and I believe he does a credible job. The vampire angle of the novel and the first movie is less-prominent; the infected people behave as if they have rabies and cannot stand ultraviolet light, so every night Smith's character has to lock himself inside his fortress of a home and wait for the dawn.
The scene where Smith has to kill his dog because she's infected is the most moving in the whole film. It's ironic that the trap he catches himself in, ending in his friend Samantha being bitten by an infected dog, was probably one of his that he had forgot setting. Of course, there's another possibility: the hemocytes may be more intelligent than Smith's character believes.
Definitely not a "feelgood" movie... But still one I am glad you have in my collection.
Manhunter (1986)
A much more true to the novel film.
The big difference in the two films: the actor portraying Francis Dolarhyde. Ralph Fiennes is a great actor and does a good job as the serial killer. But Tom Noonan, in the earlier film, was much more as Thomas Harris had depicted in the novel. For one thing, Noonan was a very large man and, if I remember correctly, was really bulked up for the role. He also had more of a "scar" than the later version. These two things made him more monstrous than Fiennes, who was a far more sympathetic character.
Peterson was good as Will Graham though I think his and Edward Norton's interpretation of the character were equally fine.
Noonan being slain b y the special bullets in the climax, was almost word-for-word, action-for-action, from the novel.
This all said: I liked both movies... but I liked "Manhunter" a bit better.
Live Free or Die Hard (2007)
The Best! (although, sometimes you're jaw is dropping!)
The best of the Die Hard films! I collect DVDs; some I watch once or twice then leave them for a long while. I could watch this film several times in a year! It's nice to see an action star just a bit younger than me kick ass and, I must admit, I enjoyed seeing Justin Long (the dick from the Mac commercials) having his life threatened repeatedly... although, he DOES play a likable character in the film.
Technically: marvelous! Good direction and excellent stunt work, with some of the action scenes (especially Maggie Q and Willis fighting in a car barely hanging in a elevator shaft) setting the bar very high for action hits to come.
I'm pretty sure, however, one man couldn't take out an F-35!
The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968)
An excellent anti-war film with superb period detail
I had seen this film on TV years ago so I had forgot everything but the main story-line. The DVD version I have was an eye-opener! It catches the Victorian period very well and also the now-outmoded form of soldiering being used at the time. The actors are well-picked: David Hemmings as the earnest but gung-ho Captain Nolan (Nolan, by the way, was born in Canada), Trevor Howard as the boorish Lord Cardigan, and John Gielgud as the slightly-befuddled Lord Raglan. Throughout the film, you are presented with the "pretty" but empty lives of the upper-class and the officers basically idling constantly. This is juxtaposed with the brief views of the squalor many Londoners lived in and the brutal conditions the enlisted men and officer cadets were forced to labour under.
The animated sections are very satirical and well-done.
The battle itself is well-filmed and apparently authentic in its particulars. Nolan, trying to turn the Brigade in the right direction as the charge begins, is the first to die; this is one of the more ironic scenes I've ever seen in a movie.
The only failing was the seemingly tacked-on love affair between Nolan and the wife (Vanessa Redgrave) of his long-time friend.
I would suggest watching this film to anyone.
Der Fluch der schwarzen Schwestern (1973)
A movie about.... WHAA?!
I wasn't as "lucky" as some of the others commenting on this film: i have never seen anything else out of the...shall we say... "fecund" mind of Sarno. I agree with many: some of the actresses who spend a lot of time topless and (go-go) dancing are not really that attractive. I kinda liked Fraulein Crank(?)...she was so homely , she was cute! The acting was pretty stale, also, though delivering lines in a second language might have accounted for a lot of that problem. Trying to follow the plot was a major chore: was there one, really? I do heartily agree with one other comment: for a vampire movie, there's not much blood. Yep, if you want GOOD bloodsucking flicks, check out such Hammer classics as "Horror of Dracula" and (my personal favourite) "Brides of Dracula".
The most (unintentionally) humorous part is where the lady doctor gets her clothes torn off by a cloud of bats...which you never SEE!...the bats, I mean.
Okay as a time-waster if you happen to catch it on cable here in the Great White North but, for heaven's sake, don't rent it!
Kiss Me Quick! (1964)
Read about it...but never thought I'd SEE it!
I caught this movie on Drive-In Classics here in Canada this weekend. Interesting. I'd seen a few of the "nudist" films from about the same era...but this one was different: funny (in a "ohmigod, how corny!" way)and mildly erotic (by today's standards). The young ladies in the film seem to be enjoying themselves in a non-politically correct manner. The acting by the male characters is, well, rudimentary. The actresses all have names that suggest they spent most of their working hours disrobing. I had read about the film in a science fiction film encyclopedia I once owned, then forgot about it. So I was surprised to find it on cable TV. Dr. Breedlove was obviously a Strangelove clone but he sounds more like a very poor rendition of Bela Lugosi. The actor playing Sterilox DOES look and sound like Stan Laurel.
I liked it mainly because of the young, naked women, all of whom are grandmothers by now!
Dog Soldiers (2002)
Good mix of werewolf horror and rugged humour
I enjoyed this film the first time I saw it on Scream (a Canadian horror/suspense channel) last year. I caught it again just last week on the same venue. Working with what may have been a tight budget, the British crew behind this film did a great job of combining an interesting horror film with wry humour. The testosterone level is high, being as the main characters are all gung-ho (albeit green...except the sarge and the captain) British soldiers. Emma Seamsby as Megan (who alternately helps, then betrays them) is a pleasant female addition to the main cast. Being impervious to most regular weapons, the werewolves (which are effectively done, by the way) are very difficult opponents. The young soldiers therefore have to hole up in an abandoned farmhouse, waiting for dawn.
There are some very funny lines: Sarge(who's just been ripped open by a werewolf): My guts are out! Soldier: I'll put them back in! Sarge: They won't FIT! The Sarge makes the supreme sacrifice at the end, just as he's becoming a monster himself. I found it very moving.
I hope to find this on DVD.
Heavy Metal (1981)
Kinda a let-down for fans of the magazine but...
I saw this film in the theater in Calgary; some of it is well done for the time and there are many funny moments. The "Tarna" and "Harry Canyon" sections are my favourites (when the warrior-woman flies through the giant dog skeleton on her winged steed I was impressed!). You could see Ralph Bashki's influence in some of the vignettes and I'm not sure that's a good thing. The actors used for the voices were well-selected.
As I mentioned above, it was not up to the cutting edge standards of the magazine. The plots had been bowlderized a little (made "cute") and the dark humour of "Heavy Metal"/"Metal Hurlant" was not evident... hence, my low score for it.
The Exorcist (1973)
The Mother of ALL Possession Movies
I recently purchased the re-cut DVD version of this 1973 film. I had never watched the whole film (when it's appeared on TV) over the years but I had read the book long ago. Since I had no pre-conceived ideas about film content, I really enjoyed it for what it is: a thinking-man's horror movie.
Max Von Sydow and Jason Miller are excellent as the two priests who are called in to fight evil. Ellen Burstyn is properly distraught as the mother. Linda Blair, as Regan, has to be admired for the arduous task it must have been to portray the physical disintegration the 12-year-old girl goes through; she was never to repeat that kind of performance in her "career". Lee J. Cobb, as Inspector Kinderman, is the only somewhat light note in the dark proceedings.
The effects are, for their time cutting edge. The shock value has been lost slightly by the fact EVERYONE has heard about those scenes or seen still pictures or video clips of them. The FX are still effective and add to the fear and tension.
Warning: if it's even AVAILABLE, do not see Exorcist 2!
Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion (2003)
Didn't see it all, Knew some of the story already, Was impressed by FX
I was impressed with the 3/4 of the 2 part TV film that I actually saw (the 1st night was laundry night and the 2nd half came on while I was having a loooong phone call). I have seen from the IMDb message boards that the writers played fast-and-loose with the facts at times...well, THAT'S never happened before!;) The problem with chronicling a major disaster of that kind is the absence of eye-witnesses that lived through the event. Of course, too, it was almost 100 years ago so people who DID survive have passed on due to age.
I do believe that from what I've read in books/the net and seen on TV that the explosion was an accident... I noticed that people from Halifax were also adamant about that point. It was a very dramatic piece. The German spy bit was just a plot-device, I believe... unprovable and not very important. I haven't studied what the temper of the times was so I can't comment on the captain's anti-war speech. But to move on...
As I said above, I was very impressed by the FX used in the actual explosion sequence. The quality is high and the horror of it is VERY real: you're almost cringing at the thought of the people oohing and ahhing by the waterfront just seconds before the explosion and when you see people in their homes and schools surrounded by glass. The idea of showing people witnessing the disaster from several different places was also interesting.
Good acting from what I saw and good capture of the period.
The Jackal (1997)
A better-than -average homage to a movie classic
It was kind of nice to see Bruce Willis shed his "good-guy" image and portray the amoral and evil Jackal of the title. He did a good job as the unrelenting killer. Kudos to the make-up for being able to alter his appearance in almost every other scene, too.
Willis' ability to appear emotionless (except during his interactions with Gere's character) was impeccable. Only during the final confrontation on the subway platform, does Willis let slip the appearance of cold calculation and shows that the Jackal is quite insane. I thought it was one of his better performances.
This was a film that, for once, I really liked Richard Gere's acting. I must admit that I haven't seen too may of his films but, as Declan Mulqueen, I thought he embodied the IRA sharpshooter very well (I was especially impressed with his accent).
Sidney Poitier and Diane Venora, as Mulqueen's "keepers" (Director Preston and Major Koslova) are fill out a excellent cast. Koslova's death near the end is very poignant.
Well, as you can probably tell, I enjoyed this flick. Not exactly a remake of "The Day of the Jackal"...but, the, haven't we had enough remakes lately?
P.S. It was nice to sea Ontario and Quebec locales used in the film.
Dreamcatcher (2003)
A mixture of Sf and Horror in the snowy Maine woods
Not as bad as some people have said. About 90% of the film is well-done and true to Stephen King's novel (with minor changes). Acting is generally good, although Morgan Freeman's acting is occasionally over-the-top. I've read the book and feel the "Hollywoodizing" of the ending was ill-planned. Most of the negative responses I've seen on IMDb have been due to THAT alone. Good FX, generally (ILM usually pulls it off!).
I'm not sure I would have wanted to pay six to ten dollars to see it at the theatre but I've added it to my movie collection. The film kinda grows on ya...something like the byrus!