some recent highlights:
Night Nurse (1931) very cool pre-code movie, barbara stanwyck looks radiant
Avatar (2009) Watching this in glorious IMAX 3D I felt like I was in a great themepark ride. With a bit of a generic story about war between a millitary power and natives with bow and arrow, you might think that is all Camereon was aiming for here. But the most amazing thing about the movie is the totally imersive alien environment he created. An almost believable ecology with a bit of cyberpunk and Myazaki style spirituality thrown in there. The animation is state of the art, the action is cool, the acting is good and that story… not bad at all of course. Keep on setting technological benchmarks like this Cameron!
Nazareno Cruz y el lobo (1975) dreamlike poetic werewolf fantasy that was the Argentinian entry for the Oscars in 1975. At moments in the beginning I thought it became a little too repetitive / unsubstantial, but then I just got into the groove and dug every minute of this wonderfully weird fairytale. Beautiful discovery!
Lang Zai Ji (2009) The Warrior and the Wolf very experimental big budget fantasy thing. Very hard to pin down. Eventually I got the characters and what was happening (through little explanaition and much flashing forward and back) but what is the story about? maybe one to see again…if I wasn’t slightly bored/confused by it. Same mixed feelings about the cinematography. It’s beautiful and has got a nice dark/gritty look but some of the handheld bits and awkward viewpoints don’t work for me and interior scenes can get a little too dark. Joe Odagiri is cool as always. I also admire the non-commercial risk taking vision aspect of the film and indeed, maybe I should just see it again someday knowing what to expect and let it really sink in. It seems cool enough to give it a second try.
Klatwa doliny wezy (1987) Curse of snakes Valley Similar in theme to the last Indiana Jones movie, but much more enjoyable! Great fun fantasy/adventure film that is, indeed, a bit of a Jones rip-off but much better than any of the Italian ones. Camerawork, actors, music and fast pacing all have the right adventurous attitude and the story hits the right genre notes too.
The Darjeeling Limited (2007) this is why Hollywood/US filmmaking today still is great! I have waited with watching this because reviews were not that strong, silly me, it’s another Wes Anderson masterpiece. Great dialog, great actors, great setdesign, great music, deadpan comedy, attention to detail, fun and adventure, it’s all here. Loved every minute.
A Handful of Dust (1988) well executed adaptation of the dark Evelyn Waugh novel. Fun ensemble of fine British actors, but not much else of note. Although the final part set in the Amazon jungle did came back to me while watching Green Inferno
The Dunwich Horror (1970) Finally saw this excellent Lovecraft adaptation. Very strong build up and good use of sound and light effects lead to an only slightly dissapointing conclusion. Now I have to check out the remake…
Natura Contro (1988) Green Inferno a dissapointment if you see it with the cannibal horror genre as reference point. This is actually an over the top jungle adventure for little boys with a slightly more adult tone. It opens with an Everglades tourgide jumping from his boat onto a monstertruck and going to his plane. he’s going on an adventure! and it doesn’t stop. His group of intrepid jungle explorers go from “hey, let’s catch that anaconda!” to “let’s raid the pirates! or “let’s take a stab at these child smugglers!” without a moments thought or any qualifications. I could do with a bit less of that sillyness, yet still I liked it very much
Nave de Los Monstruos, La (1960) The Ship of Monsters It’s got very cool monsters, women in bathingsuits, singing and dancing… so fun all round. Ocasionally it does get a bit tedious though because it’s all so old fashionedly slow and silly.
Goketsu Jiraiya (1921) I think I finally found one of the oldest ninja movie!! based on a popular folk tale, silent and only about 20 minutes long so it doesn’t give much story to delve into. But when you see a guy turn into a giant toad during a big fight scene in a movie from 1921 than that’s the only reason you’ll need to watch this movie!! incredible stuff
Shinobi no Shu (1970) A Band of Ninja beautiful black and white cinematography and ninja in the original Japanese style are the two main things to enjoy in this movie, but the story get’s a bit convoluted and leaves a few threads open ended
Ninja hicho fukuro no shiro (1963) Castle of Owls the same can be said for this one (although the cinematography is in color here) and there are even some of the same characters in this movie (so it helps if you know the stories these movies are based on already, which I don’t). The destruction of the Iga ninja clan discussed in Shinobi no Shu is actually seen at the beginning of this movie. A lot of convolution here again with double crossings all over the place. I also couldn’t keep good track of some of the characters (as in “wasn’t that guy killed a few scenes ago?” and so on) but the drama and acting in this one has a lot more impact, the action set pieces are also really impressive (certainly considering the time the film was made) so I enjoyed this one immensly
Whatever Works (2009) very nice little Woody Allen flick, doesn’t take itself too seriously and is all the better for it
