Film Blog (IV)
By More short reviews on my pointless film blog. Reviewed since my last update:
The Dallas Buyers Club, Vallee, 2013 (OK, but cliche on cliche)
To the Wonder, Malick, 2012 (OMG this is a disaster)
Before Midnight, Linklater, 2013 (I do like these movies mostly but the idea of Hawke’s character as a serious novelist is laughable)
Night Moves, Penn, 1975 (a script with holes so wide you could drive a tractor trailer filled with stolen Mayan artifacts through it. Hackman is outstanding however)
Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands, Barretto, 1976 (the lesson is that all a woman really wants is hot sex so treat her as you will if you provide it)
The Thorn in the Heart, Gondry, 2009 (when filmmakers make films about their family members who are not particularly compelling)
Idiots and Angels, Plympton, 2008 (wanted to like this but it really falls apart in the last 20 minutes)
Salome, Bryant, 1923 (an excellent example of silent directors using Biblical stories as a cover to show a lot of flesh. Pretty good too)
Eyes Without a Face, Franju, 1960 (maybe my favorite film ending of all time)
A Story of Floating Weeds, Ozu, 1934 (an early masterpiece by one of the top 5 directors of all time)
12 Years a Slave, McQueen, 2013 (incredibly powerful depiction of slavery. That it is unrelenting may turn off some filmgoers but it is necessary to convey the true hell of the institution that the South committed treason to defend)
The Thin Red Line, Malick, 1998 (one of the top five World War II films ever. Malick at the height of his powers)
Scrooge, Greenwood, 1923 (not a bad adaptation for the time period)