Reviews

I had heard of seven samurai long before i ever saw the movie, which is not very surprising, few movies have such a high international reputation as seven samurai. After watching the film it was easy to see how the movie got its reputation. Seven samurai has one of the most powerful plots i have seen in a movie and the story is by far the best of any film i have seen. The movie registers strongly on the emotional level, able to get across the determination and sacrifice the samurai feel as they give their all to protect the village from bandits as well as the grief the farmers feel when confronted by the danger of being annihilated.

Although it is a good movie there are a few cosmetic things that i feel could of been done differently. For instance seven samurai is one of the few samurai films that doesn't do much with the swordplay. Although i may feel this way due to being used to long choreographed fights. Secondly, the film could have trimmed out a little of the peasants wailing. The peasants tended to be over-dramatic in the film. From the very beginning the first scene with the villagers shows them crying after they discover the bandits plan to raid the village. Later when they cannot find a samurai to help them they cry, when the villagers lose the rice they were going to pay the samurai with they cry. These are just a few examples there are many more, i understand that the director has to show that the farmers are defenseless and totally dependent on the samurai but i also feel that there are too many scenes with the peasants wailing, i think that the movie could have been more powerful emotionally if there were less crying scenes. To be fair my feelings may be due to the cultural divide. If you enjoy this film i would recommend the Magnificent Seven and Yojimbo.

True Heart Susie is a film directed by DW Griffith in 1919. True heart Susie is about a young girl (Susie) who has her sights set on her childhood friend and next door neighbor, a young man who goes to the same school as her. Susie is a shy girl and is not able to tell the boy right out that she likes him so instead Susie does everything she can to help the boy anonymously. For example, Susie sells her cow in order to send the boy money to go to college. Susie's plan backfires and the boy is married off to an unfaithful wife and its up to Susie to get the boy of her dreams back. Susie was a good film and had several truly shining moments, the humor was quaint and the plot was slow at times but the movie kept me interested all the way through. While this is a good film and DW Griffith is considered one of the premier directors of his time, I am cautious to recommend many of his other films and would discourage anyone from seeing his film Birth of a Nation. Unless you seriously entertain thoughts of white supremacy being a valid viewpoint you will be offended by this film, which is quite vocal in its support of the KKK.

Le quai des brumes is a french film made in 1938 and directed by Marcel Carné. The plot of the film revolves around a military deserter named Jean who is trying to leave the country to avoid being forced back into service. While getting ready for his escape he happens across a dog that he takes in and falls in love with a young woman named Nelly who he tries to protect. Le quai des brumes is a provocative film with a strong cast and even stronger writing. The cinematography is unique as well with its visually dark ascetics which would become the hallmark of the film noir movement in America in later years . The theme of the film is based around the idea of a hostile and alienating world in which the people are unable to escape their inevitable and untimely fate. This theme is strongly emphasized by the fact that most of the characters introduced in the film die horrible deaths or live with deep regrets. While this is a good film and I did enjoy it up to a certain point the plot presents a fairly bleak world view and shows a lot of the characters with less than desirable personality traits and goes as far as to subtly make fun of them. An example of this is in the scene in where Jean talks to a stranger about cubist painting . In conclusion i would recommend Le quai des brumes for anyone who wants to see a classic french film or study films that later influenced the creation of film noir .If you like this film I would recommend Leon the professional, Blade runner and Dark City which all can trace aspects of their creation back to Le quai des brumes and to the Poetic realism movement in France.

Chung Hing Express is a film directed by Kar Wai Wong and released in 1994. The film loosely follows the lives of several individuals who live in Hong Kong and in certain scenes encounter each other. The film is very light on plot if your not paying attention you may miss the plot altogether, that is not to say that this film isn't good, quite the contrary its a masterpiece, the cinematography alone sells this movie to me. Although I feel that this film's true forte is the character development of the main cast. In fact the film seems to be more character driven than plot driven if that makes any sense. To put it more clearly plot has been replaced with character development as the main drive of the film. A good example of this is the fact that a lot of the film is dictated by the main characters and instead of talking about the plot they soliloquize about their hopes, fears, regrets and personal feelings. The main themes I found in this movie are disillusionment and the need to connect with other people even if for just a short time.I would recommend this film to anyone who likes good cinematography or character development. If you liked this film I would recommend the french film Amelie or the American film The Fall both films also have strong characterization and cinematic qualities

The movie 8 1/2 is an Italian film made in 1963 and directed by Federico Fellini. the plot revolves around a Italian director named Guido who is at a spa trying to get over a small ailment and while there he is trying to prepare for the next movie he is supposed to make. 8 1/2 is loosely based on the life of Fellini himself and his difficulties in making a film which resulted in the creation of 8 1/2 instead of the film he was going to make at first, to put it in a nutshell 8 1/2 is about the making of 8 1/2 if you get what i mean. The movie does not do much on the level of plot and is more concerned with having strong characterization for the whole cast which it does quite well .The most interesting part of the movie for me are the dream sequences where Guido tries to work what he is going through at the moment. If you like this film i would also recommend 9 and Brazil by Terry Gilliam.

Simon of the desert is a film directed by Luis Bunuel in 1965. The movie is about a man (Simon) who stands atop a Romanesque column trying to get closer to God. While atop the tower Simon is tempted to get down by random people and the devil. This movie was painful to watch, Simon of the desert is by far the most pretentious, self satisfied movie I've ever seen, as nearly all critiques on religion are. I think about halfway through, the movie realizes that its being boring and brings out its big guns, Silvia Pinal as the devil. Silvia does everything she can to shock the audience but sadly for the movie this also comes off as bland and contrived. The movie finally puts itself out of its own misery by ending abruptly in a nightclub which I was told after seeing the movie was supposed to be hell which is strange because i was sure that the whole movie took place in hell. There are plenty of good films that deal with religion humorously i would recommend , Montey Python's The life of Brian, Bedazzeled or Bruce almighty over this film any day.

The movie Nashville was directed by Robert Altman. The plot of Nashville revolves around the lives of several people in Nashville over the duration of about a week. The movie does not do much on the level of plot and it seems that the movie itself gets bored with what is on screen and goes elsewhere to find something more interesting to film quickly leaving one set of characters to go stalk a different set. That being said the major selling point of the film is the wide range of characters, the only problem i had was that i couldn't bring myself to like any of them. They were all either selfish, stupid or naive. finally this is a petty grip but i personally loath country music and this film is breaking at the seams with country music, not three minutes go past without someone pulling a guitar out of nowhere and breaking into song. To conclude i cannot really think of any movies i would recommend if you found some way of liking this film, Nashville is nothing if not unique.

The whole shootin match directed by Eagle Pannell is an independent movie made in 1978. The movie details the lives of two handymen and their attempts to get rich quick. Although the production values of the film were quite low and the plot did not make a lot of sense the movie as a whole was really good with solid acting and some really engaging scenes. I had been told that this was supposed to be a movie that was representative of Texas but after seeing it i cannot support that claim the culture seemed more representative of the old south ie Alabama, Georgia etc than Texas.Im not sure what types of films i would recommend in relation to the Whole shootin match the movie is quite unique but i do know Pannell made several other films most famously a film called Last night at the Alamo

Hypocrites by Louis Weber is a film about a priest who has a lot of trouble preaching to his self important congregation. The movie also has a large flashback section where the same congregation and priest are living out the same dynamic of priest trying to convince congregation to go along with him and be pious and holy in what looks like the middle ages. After the middle ages the movie follows the priest as he goes to the different people in the congregation and passes judgment on them along with his muse a naked woman symbolizing the naked "truth" .This movie was hard to like i think mostly because there were no likable characters. Everyone the priest runs into is selfish, spoiled and unlikeable .The priest is no exception, he goes around being judgmental and self righteous to everyone he runs into, his holier than thou attitude and cold demeanor made him the most unlikeable character in the whole movie. Watching the movie i felt like i was being lectured for something i did not do which is an annoying feeling.

North by Northwest is a lighthearted film (for a Hitchcock movie at least) about a man (Carry Grant) who is mistaken for a secret agent by a shadowy organization who proceed to try and kill him. North by Northwest is a strange film I'm not sure how to categorize it but if forced to i would call it an espionage thriller/romantic comedy , or maybe a James Bond movie without James Bond if that makes any sense. The film is filled with an expert cast of actors who made the film fun and engaging all the way through .Expertly directed by the talented Alfred Hitcock. The only minor problem I see in the film is that the jokes in the film didn't age very well in my opinion and seem too artificial by today's standards. I think a few of the one liners could have been left out. But then again a lot of the film's personality comes from the comedy in the movie as well as the chemistry between the actors. If you like this film i would be more inclined to recommend comedies than espionage thrillers maybe the first few Bond movies with Sean Connery or for that matter i would recommend other Hitchcock movies all of which are very good.

North by Northwest is a lighthearted film (for a Hitchcock movie at least) about a man (Carry Grant) who is mistaken for a secret agent by a shadowy organization who proceed to try and kill him. North by Northwest is a strange film I'm not sure how to categorize it but if forced to i would call it an espionage thriller/romantic comedy , or maybe a James Bond movie without James Bond if that makes any sense. The film is filled with an expert cast of actors who made the film fun and engaging all the way through .Expertly directed by the talented Alfred Hitcock. The only minor problem I see in the film is that the jokes in the film didn't age very well in my opinion and seem too artificial by today's standards. I think a few of the one liners could have been left out. But then again a lot of the film's personality comes from the comedy in the movie as well as the chemistry between the actors. If you like this film i would be more inclined to recommend comedies than espionage thrillers maybe the first few Bond movies with Sean Connery or for that matter i would recommend other Hitchcock movies all of which are very good.

The Great Train robbery is an interesting little silent film barely over ten minutes long which details the robbery of a train by a group of outlaws and then retaliation by the posse sent out to capture the outlaws. While the film is alittle underwhelming from a modern day perspective i would argue that the film is important historically and can be seen as the precursor to the modern western genre and as far as i know is the first film to break the fourth wall (when the cowboy shoots the audience in the beginning of the film). Furthermore, the camera work and editing was unique for the time in which it was filmed. That being said i would only recommend this film to film history buffs or silent film enthusiasts.

The first time i saw Nosferatu was when i was flipping channels late one Halloween night and stopped on TCM. I missed the very beginning but watched the movie all the way through. I have found that films i stumble across on accident are in many instances the best ones i ever see and Nosferatu is no exception. The film is a thinly disguised adaptation of the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. It tells the story of a young naive real estate agent named Harker (in some translations) who unwittingly is sent to sell a house to the vampire Count Orlok. Orlok buys the house and travels to Harkers home town bringing with him a devastating plague. While the film is sometimes dismissed because of its being a silent movie, i would argue that the fact that it is a silent film makes it even scarier than if the film had sound dialog. I would recommend this film to anyone who likes dark films or wants to research early special effects.If you enjoy this film i would also recommend the remake of Nosferatu made in 1979 and a early sound vampire film called vampyr. This is just a little side note, but i have never seen Nosferatu with the same subtitles twice its really quite strange.

The movie Babyface made in 1933 starring Barbara Stanwyck is a movie about a young woman who sleeps her way up the cooperate ladder of a company. She is inspired to do this by some advice and a book she got from an old man who visits her while she was working at her fathers speak easy. After her fathers untimely death due to an explosion, she goes out to make a life for herself and her black friend/servant by sleeping with anyone with two legs.Supposedly this film angered the censors for its depiction of depravity and promiscuity I disliked the film because it traded content and story for shock.

I am unable to bring myself to like any aspect of this film, i just cant do it. Im not sure why this movie was even made, maybe the concept for the plot sounded better on paper, i do not know. the acting was far from exceptional but i am hesitant to blame the actors maybe they did the best with what they were given. The lines in the film are comically bad with an overabundance of painful one liners. Also the logic to the plot is contrived at best. Stanwyck's character is supposed to be a cold, intelligent manipulator of men using sex and seduction to get what she wants but she never uses seduction she just sex and she uses sex far to often. The way its presented she comes off as someone who sleeps with men just so she doesn't have to do anything mildly difficult, situations which could be easily resolved with persuasive skills alone are instead resolved with sleeping with the male obstacle in the actress's way at the moment. I could go on in my list of whats wrong in this film but there just isn't enough space. In the end this movie was a sad attempt by the studio to bring in the same crowds the theaters were used to before the Great Depression. If you are looking for a good provocative film from the early sound era of Hollywood i would recommend any Mae West or Cecil B. Demill film over this one.

The film Oktyabr tells the story of the overthrow of the provisional government by the Bolsheviks in 1917. Being a history enthusiast I was excited to see this film in film class, but by the end of the movie I was extremely disappointed. The movie was far from being historically accurate and showed more like a recruitment film for the Bolshevik cause. Every group other than the Bolsheviks in the film are depicted as cowardly, stupid, ugly, incompetent ,evil or a mixture of all five . I would go as far to say that the provisional government and the bourgeoisie was depicted as comically evil, grinning fiendishly while killing the herculean exemplar Bolshevik man with umbrellas or gunning down idyllic peaceful protesters. In contrast every Bolshevik man, woman and child is shown as the summit of human purity and self sacrifice working only to better the Bolshevik cause. The film is on its most basic level propaganda, produced during the height of Stalin's Russia.

While the accuracy of the historical account is questionable at best and outright revisionist at worst the film can be praised for its advanced film editing techniques. The director of the film Eisenstein was a genius film editor and the movie is riddled with complex film tricks. Eisenstein famously used montages throughout the film in order to get across highly sophisticated symbols. In fact the film was criticized at the time of its release for using too much symbolism which was seen as too difficult for the average Russian peasant to understand.

To sum up my opinion of the movie if you enjoy historically accurate movies look somewhere else but if you are interested in the origin of complex film editing you have come to the right place.

The voyage to the moon is a whimsical short film about a group of comical scientists/magicians traveling to the moon made by George Melies. Set in the future, The basic story is that a group of scientists travel to the moon on a shuttle shot out of a large cannon. While on the moon they are forced to seek shelter from a snowstorm in a cave. The scientists discover a strange, subterranean, mushroom filled environment in the cave. While searching the cave the scientists are confronted by strange aliens they are forced to escape from in order to return to earth.

While extremely short the film holds all of the light hearted magic of early french film-making. If you enjoy this work I would also recommend later french films such as Amelie and City of Lost Children both of which i consider classics.

This is just an extra detail i find interesting but there is a British TV show called "The mighty Boosh" which has a moon with a face on it which is fairly similar to the one in this film although i am not sure if it is a reference to this exact movie.