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Sword of Trust (2019)
perfect example of a good indie comedy
This is exactly what a indie comedy should be and why it exists. Very dryly funny, sometimes hilarious, sometimes impactful, in a very real and concrete milieu. Terrific comedy performances from every single cast member, there's not one weak link. The innocent ineptitude of the schemers-- e.g. Marc Maron's "I just don't want to die"-- chokes me up with laughter.
Penthouse North (2013)
Perfectly entertaining Michael Keaton thriller...now on Netflix!?
This is the kind of movie that was never advertised, barely went to theaters, made no money and disappeared immediately. This kind of annoys me, because in terms of its technical and artistic merit it's at least as good, if not better, as the thrillers coming out today from Netflix, HBOMax, and the rest. I normally hate to use phraseology like this, but in the case its true, so here goes: Is it an undiscovered masterpiece? NO. Is it a proficient, entertaining, and well-made movie with quality work in every department? YES. Micheal Keaton is terrific as always; this is from the period when he was eager to get back in the mainstream and he's firing on all thrusters. Nobody phones anything in. As a Keaton fan I was very please to watch it. I'll be spoiler-free but I'll just say about his character that he seems to be trying to avoid what a more ruthless type of professional would do in five seconds, so you can't bring yourself to be totally against him. WARNING, though: this is (just barely) on the ROUGH neo-noir side of entertainment, and there's a sexually-threatening edge to the the first half. Which would be absolutely the case if a situation played out like this in real life. So don't expect to be totally undisturbed by the experience. Finally, some advice: Keaton's "The Merry Gentleman" IS, in my opinion, an unappreciated masterpiece of the genre, so check it out.
The Island (1980)
What went wrong on this movie- does anybody out there know?
I haven't seen the whole film BUT...
I saw David Warner a few years back talking to a bunch of people and he ABSOLUTELY REFUSED- very strongly!- to talk about THE ISLAND!
Does anybody know what went wrong on this film? I wonder what Michael Caine thinks about it?
I saw about five minutes on TV once and it looked somewhere between awful (considering the talents involved) or intentionally humorous + engagingly bizarre.
I've always thought that Michael Ritchie was a criminally underrated director of comedies that were both unique and reliably funny (Survivors, Couch Trip). He seemed to have a track record for working well with great actors. Again, what went wrong?
-Dr. Paybaragon
Das Luftschiff (1983)
A Masterpiece!!
I have seen this film ("The Airship") at a one-time screening in Amherst, MA, and I say without the slightest hesitation that it is a masterpiece, not only this director's best film, but one of the best two or three films to come out of East Germany. The parallel stories-- of the obsessive would-be airship inventor who sacrifices everything for a dream that always eludes him, and the story of his grandson, who goes looking for the old man in the chaos of post-WWII Berlin-- are equally compelling, though perhaps the boy's often soulful journey will resonate with a wider audience. All in all, the film is a metaphor for artistry, for all the talents and geniuses who never find an outlet to express themselves (a situation often familiar enough to the serious filmmaker)--either because of an oppressive society or because social and moral problems tend to be ignored by the individualist, consumed by the search of self-expression.
This is truly Rainer Simon's triumph and an essential contribution to European art cinema. Personally, I continue to be struck by Simon's affinity to his West German contemporary Herzog (it might even be seen as a more complex and successful version of what Herzog was trying to do in his recent film "Invincible"). I was overjoyed to have had the opportunity to see it and I only hope that it will find its way to DVD and commercial availability, which is happening to some of the director's other films.
Nagagutsu o haita neko (1969)
A MASTERPIECE! One of Miyazaki's best!!
I believe that this film is a masterpiece, always exuberant and dynamic, full of wit and clever animation, often as hilarious as a classic Chuck Jones, sometimes as a beautiful as Miyazaki's later work. If you are able to feel at home with this older, slightly more limited style of animation (I, for one, find it lovely and full of character), than I think you will find that this film is even better than some of Studio Ghibli's work-- better, even, than "Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro" (which borrows heavily from this) or "The Cat's Return." In my view, only Miyazaki's true masterworks ("Nausicaa," "Castle in the Sky," "Spirited Away," "Porco Rosso") surpass this early work, which already beautifully interweaves action and adventure with loony comedy.
Apparently, Miyazaki himself drew much of the long, action-filled second half of the film.
I highly recommend this DVD to everyone: If we do not embrace these cult classics on DVD, they will stop releasing them! Of course, the original Japanese soundtrack is far better, and also restored for superior quality).