Don't Look Now (1973)

Starring Donald Sutherland (Father of Kiefer Sutherland) best known for his roles in MASH and JFK. Along with, Julie Christie better known for her role in Doctor Zhivago, or more recently, Finding Neverland and Away from Her (her latest Oscar Nomination).

This was not the film I expected to be closing horror month out with. I usually try and save one I was looking forward to, or a new release. I wasn't even sure if this film was foreign, it is based in Italy but the actors are American and there are very few subtitles. Sadly the only exciting or interesting about this film is the ending. I hate to ruin movies in my reviews but I simply can't find anything else to say about it. It drags along with nothing all that exciting happening, then BAM! out of nowhere we reach the climax of the film and it is over.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069995/

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The Last House on the Left (1972)

I am a Wes Craven fan, and even though his is by no means his best work it was the first film he wrote and directed.

Wes did not have much to work with in this film, the main characters have gone on to make straight to video films, become writers for tv shows, but in a pretty incredible find if I say so myself, the Deputy Officer is played by Martin Kove better known as the Cobra Kai Instructor in The Karate Kid series. "No Mercy!"

The film is more of a Crime/Thriller and the soundtrack is very odd. It doesn't seem to follow a central character which in a way was an interesting twist. At only 78 minutes it is worth checking out if you like Wes, I'll have to watch the remake soon.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068833/

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Angel Heart (1987)

It is difficult to find a place to start with this movie. To begin, I have become familiar with Mickey Rourke after his role in The Wrestler last year. I was unaware of his past and really his entire career. Last year when I watched Diner I did not recognize him and it wasn't until I started this movie that I put two and two together. The main actress, in more of a supporting role is Lisa Bonet, you probably remember her as Denise Huxtable on "The Cosby Show". This film was made between her departure from The Cosby Show and start of "A Different World" which is the spin-off where she goes to college. Robert De Niro plays a supporting role in this film, and honestly I would have liked to see more of him, his acting skills might have made this film better.

So the film is about a detective, and it would have been nice if the film would have opened with a location and date subtitled along with the fact that he is a detective on his office door. I actually had to scan backwards because I thought I had missed this information. The main draw of this movie is probably the sex scene between Rourke and Bonet, coming at the peak of her career it was the only draw to this movie upon its release. Of course they put De Niro very large on the movie poster even though we get 5-10 minutes of him throughout the film.

I found myself very bored during this and actually spent most of my time surfing the internet reading about Bonet's and Rourke's history since this film. Bonet married Lenny Kravitz, divorced, remarried and named her 2nd kid Nakoa-Wolf Manakauapo Namakaeha Momoa, wow. Rourke went on to wrestle, get in trouble with the law, and clean himself up finding success with Sin City, The Wrestler, and the upcoming Iron Man 2.

I would definitely not recommend this film,
Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092563/

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Wait Until Dark (1967)

I sometimes forget who is even in a movie before I start it, so when the opening credits said Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin it was a really nice suprise. This is one of Audrey's last films and considered one of her best performances, this was her 5th and final Oscar Nominations for Actress in a Leading Role with her only win from her first nomination for "Roman Holiday."

Audrey plays a blind woman somehow tangled in a drug smuggling done wrong. She single handedly made this film worth watching, and with the exception of Charade (with Cary Grant) I think she generally tends to make her films a one man show. Alan Arkin is best known, to me, for his role in Little Miss Sunshine which is his only Oscar win. I didn't even recognize him in this film at the age of 33.

The whole film seemed a little bit far fetched to me, but situations gone wrong tend to be central themes for many films, so I can't blame them for that. This was however a very easy watch and it didn't require my complete focus. For the most part it all took place on a single set. If you are wanting to watch a short list of the best Hepburn films than this is a necessity, if you could take or leave her acting this film is not for you.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062467/

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Audition: Ôdishon (1999)

With only 5 days left in Horror Month I finally got around to watching a foreign film. This film has been included on the 501 Must-See Movies and both the 1,001 and 101 Horror film lists. Foreign films are difficult to watch in their own respect since you have to focus on the text while trying to read expressions on the casts faces and follow the visual story.

Foreign suspense movies I find particularly difficult because you sometimes are reading the text and missing the "scary shadow" or some nuance that makes a horror movie a horror movie. For instance I loved the Ring, but the original Ringu was difficult for me to get interested in.

The Eastern Horror Flicks always tend to focus on a female tortured or abused in her childhood who comes back to get revenge. Either as a ghost (see: Ringu or Ju-on) or now as a scarred adult in Audition.

I was really starting to get into this film but felt that it slowed down a lot at the end, it lacked a lot of suspense that I think it could have easily added. If I am going to go through the trouble of watching a subtitled film I expect a lot and this just didn't deliver.

Vote: 5/10

IMBD Link:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0235198/

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The Mist (2007)

This movie delivered a lot more entertainment than expected. Earlier this month I watched "The Fog" (1980) which was a big disappointment for me. This is a Stephen King story which means two things, 1) the story will be good, 2) the director probably got the right to this pretty cheap. Frank Darabont also worked on "The Green Mile" so you definitely can't sell him short. The cast is a bunch of no names, Thomas Jane does a pretty good job in the lead role, the last thing I can remember him in was one of my most hated films "Deep Blue Sea."

His son was played by Nathan Gamble who did an excellent job, and I would think that Christopher Nolan agreed when he cast him in "The Dark Knight." Finally Marcia Gay Harden plays a great crazy lady.

The movie jumps right into the action, within minutes the military is driving straight for the mist coming off the lake and the towns people find themselves trapped in the supermarket. The CGI is used well and not overdone and the story although depressing keeps you involved and interested throughout. The only major flaw I have with the movie is the lighting in the supermarket when they have no power. If there was a fog surrounding the building, and only windows at the front of the store, than there is no way the back of the store would be well lit, even during the middle of the day.

One of the best I've seen during Horror Month.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0884328/

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Dead of Night (1945)

A 40's British film written by H.G. Wells, once again not much of a "Horror" film per se. In the 501 Must-See Movies book in the Horror Category. There are 8 films titled "Dead of Night" on imdb with the 1974 version on the 101 Horror list, so it looks like I'll be watching that next year.

This film brings back memories of Tales from the Crypt when I was a kid, there is a ventriloquist with an dummy. A dream within a dream. Ghosts. Hauntings. And a mirror that reflects different rooms and drives a man crazy. The constant shifts in stories is the core of the movie and the attempt to tie them all together, but it also makes you feel like you are watching a television show and not a film. I felt disconnected constantly and had trouble staying awake.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037635/

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Prom Night (2008)

A remake of the 1980 film with Jamie Lee Curtis this independent film has some definite flaws. It starts out in a flashback, or a dream, or the main character telling a therapist about a dream. You start wondering if it is what actually happened or not. You are never explained the situation of her moving in with her Aunt and Uncle, and when the psycho that murdered her family is on the loose they all decide it is better to not "ruin" her prom than to warn her the guy is on the loose. The police go after this guy with about 3 people at a time which makes it easy for him to take them down one-by-one.

The movie does however provide a number of cheap unnecessary thrills and kills, with a lot of stabbing that yields no blood, I guess they couldn't afford the fake blood. This is the perfect example that even bad movies shouldn't get a remake.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0926129/

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Jacob's Ladder (1990)

Something you will learn about me is that I want to know as little as possible going into a movie. Therefore I try not to ruin the movies during my reviews. Seeing that is it "Horror Month," and this is in Steven Jay Schneider's "101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die" I expected the typical dark entrance to a horror flick.

The film opens in Vietnam and I wondered if I had miscategorized the film, we quickly learn that this is a flashback and spend the rest of the film jumping around between dreams and reality. The exciting part is that you are never really sure if what you are watching is his dream or the real world which makes for a great finish.

I'm not a huge fan of Tim Robbins but I would quickly short list this film as one of his best: Bull Durham, Jacob's Ladder, Shawshank Redemption, and Mystic River.

My vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099871/

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Introduction

My name is Keith Larsen, I have become an avid movie watcher over the last several years and like to reflect on what I have watched. I have more than a few goals when watching films. There are several movie lists that I am working on, they can be seen here:

http://www.listsofbests.com/person/FrizBTau

All of my films have been rated on a 10 point scale through imdb, you can see all the films I have seen and my ratings here:
http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=11389878

I use the imdb scale as follows:
10/10 - Worth owning
9/10 - One of the best of the year, highly recommended
8/10 - Quality movie all around, would suggest
7/10 - Good movie but not something I would watch a 2nd time, wouldn't suggest but would tell someone interested to watch it
6/10 - All around average, nothing memorable
5/10 - Not good, would tell people to avoid
4/10 - (1 of 3) Awful acting, awful script/story, awful cinematics
3/10 - (2 of 3) Awful acting, awful script/story, awful cinematics
2/10 - (3 of 3) Awful acting, awful script/story, awful cinematics
1/10 - No redeeming qualities

Rating breakdown as of 10/23/09 (2182 films)
10's: 3%
9's: 6%
8's: 13%
7's: 24%
6's: 25%
5's: 13%
4's: 8%
3's: 4%
2's: 3%
1's: 2%



1 out of 5 films I've seen are worth viewing.

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