walkwithheroes (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
walkwithheroes) wrote2012-12-12 04:02 pm
walkwithheroes) wrote2012-12-12 04:02 pm
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Movie Post!
Last weekend I went to my local library and something happened - they had good stuff.
You see, there are quite a few branches of libraries in my city and its surrounding bedroom communities. But, for the longest time the selections sucked. All the books were old and had been peed on or torn or were just gross. All the films were silly and religious and just not for me. However something amazing recently happened: the largest location is being redone and the person who orders films has been replaced with two younger people. Now. . .everything is beautiful.
I got five films that I'd love to discuss.
First, two Japanese films:
13 Assassins is a Japanese film by Takashi Miike (Sukiyaki Western Django). From what I understand it received mixed reviews in Japan, but was slightly better received here in the States. It is a remake on a film from 1963. Anyway, it tells the story of Shinzaemon Shimada who gathers eleven men,to assassinate Naritsugu Matsudaira. Things don't go well, especially when they have to deal with many surprises, none of which is bigger than facing an army of more than 200 samurais.
The cast list is very impressive: Koji Yakusho (Babel, Silk), Takayuki Yamada (Train Man, Crows I and II), Yusuke Iseya (Sukiyaki Western Django, The Fallen Angel),Tsuyoshi Ihara (Last Christmas, Letters from Iwo Jima), and Ikki Sawamura (Yamagata Scream , Gokusen: The Movie)to name a few. And the visuals were awesome. It was a violent samurai film that is modern in visuals, but still had a bit of an old school flavor.
It's not a bad movie, but it's not a favorite. I think it has to be something you are prepared for, because of all that violence. 3.5/5
Sukiyaki Western Django is a Japanese film by Takashi Miike. It's a Western set in Japan! Everyone speaks English! It's based on the historical rivalry between the Genji and Heike clans, which ushered in the era of samurai dominance in Japanese history. Set "a few hundred years after the Genpei War". The Genji and Heike gangs face off in a town named "Yuta" in "Nevata", when a deadly gunman comes into town to help a prostitute get revenge on the warring gangs. The film contains numerous references both to the historical Genpei War and to Wars of the Roses, as well as the films Yojimbo and Django.
The cast is, again, impressive. You've got Hideaki Ito as the mysterious gunman who comes to town. Koichi Sato is the leader of the Heike clan and Yusuke Iseya is the leader of the Genji clan. Kaori Momoi is an older woman with a hidden past. Teruyuki Kagawa is the town Sheriff. Yoshino Kimura plays a Genji woman who married Akira, played by Shun Oguri, a Heike and the son of Momoi's character. Quentin Tarantino has a long cameo! Most of the characters are based on historical figures!
Visually, this film is stunning. The sets are really nice and the cinematography is great. It has some truly funny and wtf? moments (Tarantio's character mentions being an anime fan, which leads the man he's speaking with clueless), but it fits with the tone of the film. And that's sort of the thing about the film: it can be really violent and insane and it can be really sad and funny and strange.
Basically, it's a good film that I enjoyed. The film itself has received very mixed reviews here in the States and Canada. 3.7/5
I've also been in the mood for some more classic films from the late 30s-late 60s. I don't know why, I just felt like I needed to watch some stuff from Hollywood's heyday.
Kings Go Forth is a classic Hollywood film from 1958. It was directed by Delmer Daves, written by Merle Miller, and is based on a novel by Joe David Brown. (Interesting note: the novel has a downer ending that was changed because someone thought American movie goers would want a happy ending.) The film is set toward the end of World War II and focuses on romance, race relations, and war.
The film stars Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, and Leora Dana. Sinatra plays Sam Loggins. Sam is stationed in the alps, between France and Italy. It's war wary and more than ready to get back to California. Curtis plays a newbie solider, Britt Harris, who comes from a very rich family.
While on a weekend pass in Nice, Sam meets Monique Blair (Woods) an American whose lived in France since childhood. She's much younger and lives with her moth, Mrs. Blair (Dana). Monique mentions her father several times and confesses to Sam that he died during the war. Sam spends several happy weekends with Monique and her mother. He slowly falls for the young woman, but she's distant. Sam confesses his love for Monique and she confesses a hard fact: her father was an African American. Sam leaves for a while, but returns a couple of weeks later. It doesn't bother him and he promises to always be Monique's friend, hoping that one day she'll return his love.
While out on the town, the duo run into Britt. Very quickly Britt and Monique develop an attraction - leaving Sam on the sidelines. Things get worse for Sam when Britt announces that he is in love with Monique and the two plan to marry. But all is not what it seems. . .
Overall it's a really good and solid film. (Interesting fact: the film was a moderate hit that was received without great adulation from critics, but hardly lambasted.) The acting is solid and the three leads (and Dana!) have really lovely chemistry. The love triangle is actually the best part of the film. The war scenes are a tad boring, though. I got to give this a solid 4/5.
Oh, weird fact: Sinatra was 43, Curtis was 33, and Wood was 20. Talk about large age differences in a love triangle. Then again, Wood was always paired with older men. Dana was 35 and playing Wood's mother. . .weird.
The Great Race is a 1965 slapstick comedy staring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Natalie Wood, and Peter Falk. It was directed by Blake Edwards, written by Blake Edwards and Arthur A. Ross, and is semi-based on the 1908 New York to Paris Race. Very loosely interpreted.You may know this movie from the fact that it has the largest and greatest pie fight ever.
The story is very simple (as given by tvtropes): The Great Leslie (Curtis) is a dashing and wealthy daredevil known for setting speed records and other dangerous stunts. His nemesis, Professor Fate (Lemmon) and his sidekick, Max (Falk) try to outdo him, but always fail. When Leslie enters a race from New York to Paris to promote a new car, Professor Fate promptly joins the race as well, hoping to finally defeat his hated rival.Photojournalist and suffragette Maggie DuBois (Wood), intent on covering the story, enters the race too. Shortly after the start, Fate's dirty tricks eliminate all contestants except Leslie and Maggie. Later, Maggie's car breaks down and she's forced to ride with Leslie — not long after that, Leslie's mechanic gets "conveniently" sidetracked. Should anyone be surprised that a relationship starts forming between the two of them?
It has no real clear plot. Really Fate wants to beat Leslie and Leslie and Maggie have major UST. The four main characters drive their cars around the world, sometimes as a foursome and sometimes against one another. They run into several weird characters (cameos!) and it's all fun and games, until Fate has to pretend to be a drunk prince. It's a cult classic and just really fun. (Though, it does have its problems, especially with the suffragette stuff, but it was the early 60s) 4/5.
(Interesting stuff: Word is Wood hated making this film. This was Curtis and Wood's second (of three films) together. The studio liked them together, but they loathed each other. This is Curtis and Lemmon's second and final film together.)
Brigadoon is a 1954 musical (based on a Broadway show)directed by Vincente Minnelli, and written by Alan Jay Lerner. I've seen it before, but felt like a rewatch. It stars Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, and Cyd Charisse.
Plot from wikipedia: Americans Tommy Albright (Gene Kelly) and Jeff Douglas (Van Johnson) are on a hunting trip in Scotland and become lost in the woodlands. They happen upon Brigadoon, a miraculously blessed village that rises out of the mists every hundred years for only a day. (This was done so that the village would never be changed or destroyed by the outside world.) If any villager ever leaves Brigadoon, the spell will be broken and the village will vanish forever, and any outsider who wishes to stay must accept the loss of everything he or she knew in the outside world. Tommy falls in love with village lass Fiona Campbell (Cyd Charisse), whose younger sister Jean (Virginia Bosler), is about to be married to Charlie Dalrymple (Jimmy Thompson). Interrupting the wedding, the jealous Harry Beaton (Hugh Laing) announces he is leaving Brigadoon to make everything disappear, since the girl he loves, Jean, is marrying another man. Harry's words cause mass chaos among the townspeople and they all rush to stop him. Harry almost crosses the bridge but is stopped short by Tommy, who is knocked unconscious. With men closing in on him, Harry climbs up a tree to hide but is soon shot accidentally by Jeff, who skipped the wedding to hunt and shot at a bird that flew by Harry. Harry falls dead to the ground and is soon found by the men. Jeff, drunk and remorseful of accidentally killing Harry, tells Tommy he can't just leave everything in the real world behind for this girl he's only known a day. Fiona returns with the preacher but Tommy confesses that he cannot stay. Fiona says she understands but is heartbroken and they say good-bye before Brigadoon completely disappears. Tommy and Jeff cross the bridge and walk away.
Back in New York City, Tommy can think only of Fiona. Unable even to talk with his fiancee, Tommy ends his relationship with her and calls Jeff, telling him to get the first flight back to Scotland. He and Jeff return to the same spot where they were lost, though Jeff reminds him again the village will not be there. But suddenly he sees lights start to appear over the mist and runs toward them. Tommy then runs across the bridge and reunites with Fiona, waving goodbye to Jeff as the village fades back into the mist.
Let me be frank: this musical is beyond simple and cliched and just. . .a product of its time. But, it has Jeff to point out the insanity of a lot of the stuff. (In love after six hours? Of course its a magical town that wakes up every one hundred years (though to them its only been two days and not 200 years.) But, it's very sweet and Kelly and Charisse are nice together and Johnson is really fun. It's a sweet family film. If you ignore some of the darker stuff (Jeff developing a drinking problem after killing Henry; Henry wanting to leave and not being able to leave; etc. But honestly, I doubt a ten year old would notice. I didn't until I was much older. I would say this is a 3.9/5.
I'd really love to get some more older American films from the 30s-60s. I'll have to check and see what else they have for me. Truth be told I've seen a lot over the years, thanks to my grandmother and TCM. But, there is always something new to discover.
You see, there are quite a few branches of libraries in my city and its surrounding bedroom communities. But, for the longest time the selections sucked. All the books were old and had been peed on or torn or were just gross. All the films were silly and religious and just not for me. However something amazing recently happened: the largest location is being redone and the person who orders films has been replaced with two younger people. Now. . .everything is beautiful.
I got five films that I'd love to discuss.
First, two Japanese films:
13 Assassins is a Japanese film by Takashi Miike (Sukiyaki Western Django). From what I understand it received mixed reviews in Japan, but was slightly better received here in the States. It is a remake on a film from 1963. Anyway, it tells the story of Shinzaemon Shimada who gathers eleven men,to assassinate Naritsugu Matsudaira. Things don't go well, especially when they have to deal with many surprises, none of which is bigger than facing an army of more than 200 samurais.
The cast list is very impressive: Koji Yakusho (Babel, Silk), Takayuki Yamada (Train Man, Crows I and II), Yusuke Iseya (Sukiyaki Western Django, The Fallen Angel),Tsuyoshi Ihara (Last Christmas, Letters from Iwo Jima), and Ikki Sawamura (Yamagata Scream , Gokusen: The Movie)to name a few. And the visuals were awesome. It was a violent samurai film that is modern in visuals, but still had a bit of an old school flavor.
It's not a bad movie, but it's not a favorite. I think it has to be something you are prepared for, because of all that violence. 3.5/5
Sukiyaki Western Django is a Japanese film by Takashi Miike. It's a Western set in Japan! Everyone speaks English! It's based on the historical rivalry between the Genji and Heike clans, which ushered in the era of samurai dominance in Japanese history. Set "a few hundred years after the Genpei War". The Genji and Heike gangs face off in a town named "Yuta" in "Nevata", when a deadly gunman comes into town to help a prostitute get revenge on the warring gangs. The film contains numerous references both to the historical Genpei War and to Wars of the Roses, as well as the films Yojimbo and Django.
The cast is, again, impressive. You've got Hideaki Ito as the mysterious gunman who comes to town. Koichi Sato is the leader of the Heike clan and Yusuke Iseya is the leader of the Genji clan. Kaori Momoi is an older woman with a hidden past. Teruyuki Kagawa is the town Sheriff. Yoshino Kimura plays a Genji woman who married Akira, played by Shun Oguri, a Heike and the son of Momoi's character. Quentin Tarantino has a long cameo! Most of the characters are based on historical figures!
Visually, this film is stunning. The sets are really nice and the cinematography is great. It has some truly funny and wtf? moments (Tarantio's character mentions being an anime fan, which leads the man he's speaking with clueless), but it fits with the tone of the film. And that's sort of the thing about the film: it can be really violent and insane and it can be really sad and funny and strange.
Basically, it's a good film that I enjoyed. The film itself has received very mixed reviews here in the States and Canada. 3.7/5
I've also been in the mood for some more classic films from the late 30s-late 60s. I don't know why, I just felt like I needed to watch some stuff from Hollywood's heyday.
Kings Go Forth is a classic Hollywood film from 1958. It was directed by Delmer Daves, written by Merle Miller, and is based on a novel by Joe David Brown. (Interesting note: the novel has a downer ending that was changed because someone thought American movie goers would want a happy ending.) The film is set toward the end of World War II and focuses on romance, race relations, and war.
The film stars Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, and Leora Dana. Sinatra plays Sam Loggins. Sam is stationed in the alps, between France and Italy. It's war wary and more than ready to get back to California. Curtis plays a newbie solider, Britt Harris, who comes from a very rich family.
While on a weekend pass in Nice, Sam meets Monique Blair (Woods) an American whose lived in France since childhood. She's much younger and lives with her moth, Mrs. Blair (Dana). Monique mentions her father several times and confesses to Sam that he died during the war. Sam spends several happy weekends with Monique and her mother. He slowly falls for the young woman, but she's distant. Sam confesses his love for Monique and she confesses a hard fact: her father was an African American. Sam leaves for a while, but returns a couple of weeks later. It doesn't bother him and he promises to always be Monique's friend, hoping that one day she'll return his love.
While out on the town, the duo run into Britt. Very quickly Britt and Monique develop an attraction - leaving Sam on the sidelines. Things get worse for Sam when Britt announces that he is in love with Monique and the two plan to marry. But all is not what it seems. . .
Overall it's a really good and solid film. (Interesting fact: the film was a moderate hit that was received without great adulation from critics, but hardly lambasted.) The acting is solid and the three leads (and Dana!) have really lovely chemistry. The love triangle is actually the best part of the film. The war scenes are a tad boring, though. I got to give this a solid 4/5.
Oh, weird fact: Sinatra was 43, Curtis was 33, and Wood was 20. Talk about large age differences in a love triangle. Then again, Wood was always paired with older men. Dana was 35 and playing Wood's mother. . .weird.
The Great Race is a 1965 slapstick comedy staring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Natalie Wood, and Peter Falk. It was directed by Blake Edwards, written by Blake Edwards and Arthur A. Ross, and is semi-based on the 1908 New York to Paris Race. Very loosely interpreted.You may know this movie from the fact that it has the largest and greatest pie fight ever.
The story is very simple (as given by tvtropes): The Great Leslie (Curtis) is a dashing and wealthy daredevil known for setting speed records and other dangerous stunts. His nemesis, Professor Fate (Lemmon) and his sidekick, Max (Falk) try to outdo him, but always fail. When Leslie enters a race from New York to Paris to promote a new car, Professor Fate promptly joins the race as well, hoping to finally defeat his hated rival.Photojournalist and suffragette Maggie DuBois (Wood), intent on covering the story, enters the race too. Shortly after the start, Fate's dirty tricks eliminate all contestants except Leslie and Maggie. Later, Maggie's car breaks down and she's forced to ride with Leslie — not long after that, Leslie's mechanic gets "conveniently" sidetracked. Should anyone be surprised that a relationship starts forming between the two of them?
It has no real clear plot. Really Fate wants to beat Leslie and Leslie and Maggie have major UST. The four main characters drive their cars around the world, sometimes as a foursome and sometimes against one another. They run into several weird characters (cameos!) and it's all fun and games, until Fate has to pretend to be a drunk prince. It's a cult classic and just really fun. (Though, it does have its problems, especially with the suffragette stuff, but it was the early 60s) 4/5.
(Interesting stuff: Word is Wood hated making this film. This was Curtis and Wood's second (of three films) together. The studio liked them together, but they loathed each other. This is Curtis and Lemmon's second and final film together.)
Brigadoon is a 1954 musical (based on a Broadway show)directed by Vincente Minnelli, and written by Alan Jay Lerner. I've seen it before, but felt like a rewatch. It stars Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, and Cyd Charisse.
Plot from wikipedia: Americans Tommy Albright (Gene Kelly) and Jeff Douglas (Van Johnson) are on a hunting trip in Scotland and become lost in the woodlands. They happen upon Brigadoon, a miraculously blessed village that rises out of the mists every hundred years for only a day. (This was done so that the village would never be changed or destroyed by the outside world.) If any villager ever leaves Brigadoon, the spell will be broken and the village will vanish forever, and any outsider who wishes to stay must accept the loss of everything he or she knew in the outside world. Tommy falls in love with village lass Fiona Campbell (Cyd Charisse), whose younger sister Jean (Virginia Bosler), is about to be married to Charlie Dalrymple (Jimmy Thompson). Interrupting the wedding, the jealous Harry Beaton (Hugh Laing) announces he is leaving Brigadoon to make everything disappear, since the girl he loves, Jean, is marrying another man. Harry's words cause mass chaos among the townspeople and they all rush to stop him. Harry almost crosses the bridge but is stopped short by Tommy, who is knocked unconscious. With men closing in on him, Harry climbs up a tree to hide but is soon shot accidentally by Jeff, who skipped the wedding to hunt and shot at a bird that flew by Harry. Harry falls dead to the ground and is soon found by the men. Jeff, drunk and remorseful of accidentally killing Harry, tells Tommy he can't just leave everything in the real world behind for this girl he's only known a day. Fiona returns with the preacher but Tommy confesses that he cannot stay. Fiona says she understands but is heartbroken and they say good-bye before Brigadoon completely disappears. Tommy and Jeff cross the bridge and walk away.
Back in New York City, Tommy can think only of Fiona. Unable even to talk with his fiancee, Tommy ends his relationship with her and calls Jeff, telling him to get the first flight back to Scotland. He and Jeff return to the same spot where they were lost, though Jeff reminds him again the village will not be there. But suddenly he sees lights start to appear over the mist and runs toward them. Tommy then runs across the bridge and reunites with Fiona, waving goodbye to Jeff as the village fades back into the mist.
Let me be frank: this musical is beyond simple and cliched and just. . .a product of its time. But, it has Jeff to point out the insanity of a lot of the stuff. (In love after six hours? Of course its a magical town that wakes up every one hundred years (though to them its only been two days and not 200 years.) But, it's very sweet and Kelly and Charisse are nice together and Johnson is really fun. It's a sweet family film. If you ignore some of the darker stuff (Jeff developing a drinking problem after killing Henry; Henry wanting to leave and not being able to leave; etc. But honestly, I doubt a ten year old would notice. I didn't until I was much older. I would say this is a 3.9/5.
I'd really love to get some more older American films from the 30s-60s. I'll have to check and see what else they have for me. Truth be told I've seen a lot over the years, thanks to my grandmother and TCM. But, there is always something new to discover.