Shwicaz
01-27-2007, 08:02 PM
Most of you know that my taste in films runs completely different than most people's on the board.
Some would say I have bad taste. Some would say I have no taste.
So, here, is a look at what I would like to see, and what I thought of it/them.
Thanks to Netflix, I have a steady supply of goodness coming my way.
And here is what I have seen so far:
Elevator To The Gallows
Grade: B+
Somehow I missed this film, which is considered by many to be the start of the 'new wave' of French Film making. It is the first film by Louis Malle, and features a soundtrack by Miles Davis.
The film stars Jeanne Moreau and Maurice Ronet as lovers. They have hatched a plan to kill Jeanne's husband, and all goes according to plan....until a problem with an elevator sets in motion a chain of events that will affect the lives of more than just our young lovers.
This film, shot in black and white, was stark and sparse, but there was something oddly compelling about it. As Ronet tries to get out of his predicament, Moreau spends all night searching for him. Her wide eyed shock and sadness are magnified by the pouring rain and the Miles Davis soundtrack.
Will the lovers reunite and escape the law? Check out this one to find out.
Das Experiment (The Experiment)
Grade: C
I had wanted to see this film for the longest time. It is the story of an ex-journalist who hears about a psychological experiment being conducted. The experiment will involve 20 individuals. They will be put into a prison like environment--the group will be randomly divided--10 will be chosen to be prisoners, and 10 will be chosen to be the guards.
From that moment, the experiment is on. How will the prisoners react to being bossed around? Will the jailers be able to handle the prisoners when they become unruly?
One rule: No matter what happens, all problems must be solved without violence.
But, when people start bucking the system, the experiment goes out of control. The line between right/wrong becomes blurred as people react how they think the people running the experiment want them to act.
Not as shocking as I hoped, and I didn't really understand why the lead character intentionally got people's ire up, but worth a viewing if you like these kind of films.
Dead End
Grade: A
I fucking love this movie. I got it because a friend of mine hadn't seen it.
The story follows a family on their way to visit family for X-Mas. Dad decides to take a short cut, and therein lies the story.
The entire movie takes place on this road. IT is dark, it is winding, and the family seems to be unable to get off of it.
When they stop to assist a woman in white, the movie starts to get eerie. Disappearing family members, a black hearse, a woman in white, and some very macabre events will test this family.
Who is fucking with them? Who is taking the members of the cast one by one? And why? Will anyone be left alive by the time the film ends?
The fun part of this movie is the dialogue. As the situation intensifies, in their panic, the family turns on one another, bringing to light hidden annoyances, and secrets from their past.
The mother and father in this movie are so damn funny. Dark Comedy meets the horror film, and once again, a movie shines with that union.
Friday the 13th
Grade: B
Again, rented this one because my friend had never seen it!!
First off: Kevin Bacon!!
This movie just hits all the right notes.....
*scary music
*creepy atmosphere
*cast of (then) unknowns
*lots of creative killings
*the surprise ending
If you havent seen it, please do. It's a little slow moving, its a little cliched, but its a ball of fun.
Reform School Girls
My grade: C
Don't know why I rented this one. 80's nostalgia I guess. This film stars Sybil Danning and Wendy O. Williams (of the Plasmatics) in a film that is so over the top, i am surprised I didn't like it better than I did.
This reform school is supposed to be a juvenile penitentiary....which is funny because Wendy O. William's character looks to be about 40 years old.
The women hang around wearing nothing but negligee and leather bras as they beat on each other for sex and domination.
Sybil Danning and Pat Ast are the corrupt warden and the enforcer, respectively. Cartoony violence, women prison riots, and branding women on the but to show whose 'girl' they are, this movie is so unrealistic but funny as hell.
This is a 'B' movie with a 'C' list cast that doesn't live up to its full potential.
This Film is Not Yet Rated
Grade: A
A very intriguing documentary that examines the MPAA ratings board. Apparently, the board is shrouded in secrecy. The film makers who submit their films for review are never allowed to see the ratings committee. They don't even know who they are.
The film looks at how some films ratings don't make sense.
Sharon Stone's vagina in Basic Instinct gets an "R"
A love scene in which you catch a glimpse of the woman's pubic hair gets an NC-17.
Jason Biggs fucks an apple pie (with naked butt showing) gets an "R"
Girl (fully clothed) starts rubbing her hands over her crotch (she is wearing underwear, and there is no nudity) gets an NC-17
What gives? Our film makes hires a private investigator to figure out just who these people are and why they hold so much power in hollywood.
Very interesting film for movie buffs like me. Interviews with the makers of 'Boys Don't Cry', "South Park: The Movie", and many others.
Cocaine Cowboys
Grade: A
This documentary is amazing! It follows the rise of violence in the 70's as Miami becomes the hotbed of cocaine importers and drug users.
Interviewing the men who brought it into the country, and detailing how cocaine became a multi-million dollar industry is the point of this film.
Fascinating look at the Columbian chain of drugs--how it gets there and what happens to those who cross them-- is shown in a no holds barred film.
All is laid out, including the shocking violence like the sub machine gun shootouts in the malls of Dadeland.
Many movies have been maid about weed, but this is the first documentary I have seen about the huge American cocaine trade.
Fascinating.
more to come tomorrow.....
Some would say I have bad taste. Some would say I have no taste.
So, here, is a look at what I would like to see, and what I thought of it/them.
Thanks to Netflix, I have a steady supply of goodness coming my way.
And here is what I have seen so far:
Elevator To The Gallows
Grade: B+
Somehow I missed this film, which is considered by many to be the start of the 'new wave' of French Film making. It is the first film by Louis Malle, and features a soundtrack by Miles Davis.
The film stars Jeanne Moreau and Maurice Ronet as lovers. They have hatched a plan to kill Jeanne's husband, and all goes according to plan....until a problem with an elevator sets in motion a chain of events that will affect the lives of more than just our young lovers.
This film, shot in black and white, was stark and sparse, but there was something oddly compelling about it. As Ronet tries to get out of his predicament, Moreau spends all night searching for him. Her wide eyed shock and sadness are magnified by the pouring rain and the Miles Davis soundtrack.
Will the lovers reunite and escape the law? Check out this one to find out.
Das Experiment (The Experiment)
Grade: C
I had wanted to see this film for the longest time. It is the story of an ex-journalist who hears about a psychological experiment being conducted. The experiment will involve 20 individuals. They will be put into a prison like environment--the group will be randomly divided--10 will be chosen to be prisoners, and 10 will be chosen to be the guards.
From that moment, the experiment is on. How will the prisoners react to being bossed around? Will the jailers be able to handle the prisoners when they become unruly?
One rule: No matter what happens, all problems must be solved without violence.
But, when people start bucking the system, the experiment goes out of control. The line between right/wrong becomes blurred as people react how they think the people running the experiment want them to act.
Not as shocking as I hoped, and I didn't really understand why the lead character intentionally got people's ire up, but worth a viewing if you like these kind of films.
Dead End
Grade: A
I fucking love this movie. I got it because a friend of mine hadn't seen it.
The story follows a family on their way to visit family for X-Mas. Dad decides to take a short cut, and therein lies the story.
The entire movie takes place on this road. IT is dark, it is winding, and the family seems to be unable to get off of it.
When they stop to assist a woman in white, the movie starts to get eerie. Disappearing family members, a black hearse, a woman in white, and some very macabre events will test this family.
Who is fucking with them? Who is taking the members of the cast one by one? And why? Will anyone be left alive by the time the film ends?
The fun part of this movie is the dialogue. As the situation intensifies, in their panic, the family turns on one another, bringing to light hidden annoyances, and secrets from their past.
The mother and father in this movie are so damn funny. Dark Comedy meets the horror film, and once again, a movie shines with that union.
Friday the 13th
Grade: B
Again, rented this one because my friend had never seen it!!
First off: Kevin Bacon!!
This movie just hits all the right notes.....
*scary music
*creepy atmosphere
*cast of (then) unknowns
*lots of creative killings
*the surprise ending
If you havent seen it, please do. It's a little slow moving, its a little cliched, but its a ball of fun.
Reform School Girls
My grade: C
Don't know why I rented this one. 80's nostalgia I guess. This film stars Sybil Danning and Wendy O. Williams (of the Plasmatics) in a film that is so over the top, i am surprised I didn't like it better than I did.
This reform school is supposed to be a juvenile penitentiary....which is funny because Wendy O. William's character looks to be about 40 years old.
The women hang around wearing nothing but negligee and leather bras as they beat on each other for sex and domination.
Sybil Danning and Pat Ast are the corrupt warden and the enforcer, respectively. Cartoony violence, women prison riots, and branding women on the but to show whose 'girl' they are, this movie is so unrealistic but funny as hell.
This is a 'B' movie with a 'C' list cast that doesn't live up to its full potential.
This Film is Not Yet Rated
Grade: A
A very intriguing documentary that examines the MPAA ratings board. Apparently, the board is shrouded in secrecy. The film makers who submit their films for review are never allowed to see the ratings committee. They don't even know who they are.
The film looks at how some films ratings don't make sense.
Sharon Stone's vagina in Basic Instinct gets an "R"
A love scene in which you catch a glimpse of the woman's pubic hair gets an NC-17.
Jason Biggs fucks an apple pie (with naked butt showing) gets an "R"
Girl (fully clothed) starts rubbing her hands over her crotch (she is wearing underwear, and there is no nudity) gets an NC-17
What gives? Our film makes hires a private investigator to figure out just who these people are and why they hold so much power in hollywood.
Very interesting film for movie buffs like me. Interviews with the makers of 'Boys Don't Cry', "South Park: The Movie", and many others.
Cocaine Cowboys
Grade: A
This documentary is amazing! It follows the rise of violence in the 70's as Miami becomes the hotbed of cocaine importers and drug users.
Interviewing the men who brought it into the country, and detailing how cocaine became a multi-million dollar industry is the point of this film.
Fascinating look at the Columbian chain of drugs--how it gets there and what happens to those who cross them-- is shown in a no holds barred film.
All is laid out, including the shocking violence like the sub machine gun shootouts in the malls of Dadeland.
Many movies have been maid about weed, but this is the first documentary I have seen about the huge American cocaine trade.
Fascinating.
more to come tomorrow.....