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jackmathys
Reviews
Shichinin no samurai (1954)
A fool's errand!
A great movie, yes, but compare these villagers to those in the Magnificent Seven. Here, we have a toothless, cowardly, overly excited, energy-wasting bunch of downright fools, whereas perhaps the worst you can say about the sleepy Mexicans is that they lack expertise in the use of firearms.
Is this the Japanese persona, or a caricature?
Even one of the samurai, born a farmer, excels in wasting energy, screaming, and acting "wild," and I eagerly waited for his death early in the battle.
All of this negative energy turned a village full of village fools into a village full of losers, every death bringing a smile of sadistic triumph to my face!
They fight, but their sorties are distinguished more by Spears plunged into dirt, swords beating the air, and worrying over their wounded than by killing the bandits.
This will be the last viewing for me: the second goal of a fool is to annoy, and it worked on me.
The Bray Road Beast (2018)
What a gyp!
This film is almost all smoke and no fire. More of a werewolf history, mixed with hearsay and second hand testimony, not much better than most Bigfoot docs.
Touch of Evil (1958)
A foreshadowing of the plot in Terry Gilliam's Brazil?
I was really enjoying the movie and admiring the skill in every scene. But the movie is not a single scene but a whole bunch of scenes put together in one coherent whole, hopefully.
Just as I was troubled as I was watching Brazil by the directo's expectation that I must somehow admire the protagonist, here too, the main protagonist, Vargas, is a fool, a loser and totally incompetent, with his actions the result of impulse rather than coherent and rational thought. He's a loser because he's on his honeymoon and he manages to leave his wife alone for about half a day in extremely dangerous circumstances. Then, in the final moments of the movie, he is seem stumbling over half the city trying to keep a cheap transmitter within hearing distance of a tape recorder he has planted on a partner. Not Heston's fault.
First Cut: Scientologists at War (2013)
Interesting and informative
If you don't want to talk to "squirrel-busters" don't open the door.
Il generale Della Rovere (1959)
Superb acting, but...
Like mice on a wheel-all talk, no action. Talking is like breathing, what is exhaled is useless hot air.
Fahrenheit 11/9 (2018)
A great movie
This is the directors finest movie. It tells the truth about what happened in Flint, Michigan, the Democratic primaries, as well as the 2016 election.
No other filmmaker is capable of making such a movie. Truth is at a premium in a country that is suspiciously becoming more and more like the old Soviet union.
Masked and Anonymous (2003)
An interesting concept poorly executed
Dylan's grade for acting is a D, performances F. Cameos run a mile a minute, the sole factor of interest in an otherwise mock dystopian farce. Just getting Dylan to move seems a minor miracle. Now if we could just get him to stop singing...
Beatles Stories (2011)
Not a single note of Beatles music....
You can always tell an unauthorized film on a rock group when all you get is terrible Muzak vaguely trying to sound like the real thing. Next to re-enactments this is the worst form of documentary film-making.
I Think We're Alone Now (2008)
Sad, sick and pathetic loonies...
Both these deluded nut cases should be locked up before they go off the edge.
This Divided State (2005)
America-the new Soviet Union
Berkeley travels east! I suppose none of the reactionaries/fascists would object to war criminals like the Bushes or Henry Kissinger. In fact, they wouldn't object to ANYONE who confirmed their beliefs. This is the essence of the message of 1984, this is what kept Russians on pins and needles until 1989. The waste of time and money caused by the self-serving outrage of the far right of this college community far exceeded Moore's fee (and possibly even Hannity's private jet).
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
One star-for the opening credits!
America, do we really have nothing better to do? This sad and pathetic aesthetic sin of a film, which I viewed in fits and starts working my tax books while babysitting my little boy, provides ample proof of the dumbing down of our anti-intellectual society, and to such an extent as to make one weep.
Will Ferrel is just a guy with no shame. He's not funny. He comes from the new breed of comic, whose product is based on prehistoric facial mugging and mooning, body language and Schtick of a purely physical nature. Tina what's her name, for example, has one claim to fame, and it's that permanent smirk you see in every photo.
This pre-semiotic communication cum art used to be the sole property of the classic and disturbingly embarrassing "nitwit." You'll note Will and Tina don't do stand-up; my guess is that they are simply incapable of being funny standing still.
3 Still Standing (2014)
Incredibly entertaining
One of the best comedy documentaries I've seen. Full of interesting people, great performances, and a good look at some of the comedy clubs these comics relied on to get their start.
Ikiru (1952)
The death of a nobody...
A film about a society, not about one man.
The protagonist is an inarticulate, voiceless wreck who tries to salvage 30 years of wasted time with one good deed. Good deeds are not permitted. A well-crafted vehicle for a typical existentialist "art" film, but nothing to write home about.
Jason Bourne (2016)
Golly, it's bad!
Bad script, and, dare I say it, boring and slow-moving action scenes? If you loved the previous Bourne flicks, this one might give you a stomach ache.
The Man They Could Not Hang (1939)
Very decent movie, too short!
A nice Karloff vehicle. Science leaves a lot to be desired, but the 1939 anticipation of mechanical hearts is impressive. Also reminds one of The Fountainhead, me against the world. Typical nice guy turns bad Karloff role.
Australien skies (2015)
Use a tripod!
For a film this recent, you'd think a bit of focus might be in order. But these vids are as grainy and useless as anything out of the 50's. One can only conclude that we are being had.
Brazil (1985)
A real dystopia...
Sam is a loser-clumsy, impulsive, a dreamer-so you don't care how he ends up. Even better than the story are the sets and costumes, on a par with the best ever! Greatest collection of role players I've seen. Easily one of the 25 best movies.
Nosferatu - Phantom der Nacht (1979)
Typical Kinski-Her
WEIRDOS galore, over the top acting, expensive production, and for what? The German product with Max Schenk is the gold standard and is more faithful to the great Stoker novel. I prefer Herzog's docs, his movies leave me wondering, what for?
Psycho (1960)
Janet Leigh, Amateurish!
Re-watching this great film, it seems like Janet should have been wearing a big "Yes, I'm a crook!" Sign. All those mistakes, I suppose, increased the dramatic tension in her character, but to me it's a tad bit unbelievable.
Charade (1963)
Okay movie,but...
So sorry, but I found this film a bit, well, silly. Grant and Hepburn were wonderful, but I found the plot and many of the other characters too over the top-overblown, obvious, and worst of all, un-serious.
Chain Reaction (1996)
Good film and great location
Good film and great location: I was living in my hometown of Madison Wisconsin when this film was being made. The big headline from the set was when the cast had dinner with the Mayor, Paul Soglin, and Reeves chain-smoked in a non-smoking room. Madison is every bit as cold as it looked in the movie. I thought the film was exciting and a good action flick, very good performances from the young Reeves and the future star of Pirates of the Caribbean.
Farewell, My Lovely (1975)
Good movie, up to a point...
A pretty good movie with too many twists and turns without resolution.
This movie was, in my opinion, too violent. I don't like realistic violence in movies , and when I come across it I usually turn it off.
Performances were good, but as I mentioned, the plan was to convoluted to constitute excellence in filmmaking.
Dead Reckoning (1946)
Film Noir at its best
Very nice Humphrey Bogart platform, as seen on Amazon prime without the voiceover that YouTube TV has settled this fine film with. Very good performances. Lots of plot twists, and a pretty good love interest.
Crash (2004)
Cheadle is a great actor!
A favorite of mine, I especially enjoyed the performances of Cheadle, Ludicrous, and Dillon.
United 93 (2006)
93 is the % chance that NO calls were possible...
The so-called heroes chatting with spouses on iPhones from heights where phone service is not available, and then screaming the famous bonsai of 9/11, "let's roll," have served to create the urban legend of 9/11.
Evidence of a plane crash isn't even there, and the site was quickly and illegally controlled by the FBLie.
As the representation of a legal fiction, the film was poorly done and badly acted.