tháng 8 2011 ~ The Larsen Film Review

Five Easy Pieces (1970)

Hum... what to say about this one. Let me start by saying that my snap judgement of 5/10 might be a little harsh, but my desire to keep it in the "avoid" category remains. Personally I'm not a huge fan of Jack Nicholson as a person, and that probably affects how much I enjoy his films.

I had to do some reading on this film before I could write a review because I felt I missed some things. Not in the way of being distracted, or not paying attention, but in the way that you are watching something "deep" when unaware that you need to be keen to such. This film was made at a time where Nicholson was famous for films like Easy Rider and it was assumed that he couldn't be deep [we know this now after The Shining, As Good as It Gets, and About Schmidt]. So it was a breakthrough film for him at the time, nominated for 4 Oscars and on several critics top 100 lists.

The film is about oil-rig worker with a ditzy girlfriend that he treats like trash. When his father becomes ill he goes home and we find that he has abandoned his wealthy family. It is clear that his relationship with his father is strained to say the least, and that he resents the intellectual conversations that his mother likes to start up. On the surface this is a boring film about an indecisive asshole who cheats on ditzy girlfriend that he impregnated. It does make a compelling story as to why this guy has run away from everything and is the kind of person that he is.

I doubt many of my readers would care for this film, and I doubt I'll give it much thought again.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065724/

I'm not sure why I was so excited about this film. Maybe because I had heard good things and the reviews haven't been bad either. I didn't look at the director or stars I guess, director Joe Wright has been batting 2 out of 3 for me to date. I liked Pride & Prejudice and The Soloist, but I can pass on Atonement... which is his tie to our star Saoirse Ronan. Ronan doesn't have the best track record with me, The Lovely Bones wasn't the best and her role in The Way Back wasn't substantial enough for me to say I "like" her. I'm also about 50/50 on Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and I'm Not There. weren't so good... but then you have Robin Hood and The Lord of the Rings.

So about the film. Eric Bana plays Erik, Hanna's [Saoirse Ronan] father who seems to be raising her in Siberia. They spend the day hunting with bow & arrow and the evenings memorizing the encyclopedia and practicing different languages. Hanna decides that she is "ready," whatever that means and pushes the button to let some government agency know they are ready. All of this training seems to be with a goal of killing Blanchett's character then getting away. Hanna seems to be some sort of super human, a teenage girl with the ability to kill dozens of trained professionals.

I found it to be silly, pointless, and dull. The motive of the lead characters is silly at best, and the twist of key to the film isn't very exciting and recycled. I don't know what I wanted from this film, but this wasn't it.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0993842/

Thanks to a couple short western films I was able to sneak this one in as my last film in the war/western themed month. At almost exactly an hour and half it was a quick watch, and helped that I really liked it.

I initially gave this a 7/10 but it has really stuck in my mind and was so much different than other westerns [in a good way]. The film doesn't follow a person, it follows an object. The film starts by telling us about the first repeating rifle that "tamed" the west. The Winchester company makes and sells their guns in mass production, but the ones that test well on accuracy they sell at a premium. The gun in the story is called the "one in a thousand" and considered the best gun made that year. We then go to Dodge City where Wyatt Earp is mayor, they are having a rifle competition where this famed gun is the prize. Lin McAdams [James Stewart] wins the contest, but before he is able to safely get out of town he is jumped by Waco Johnnie Dean [Dan Duryea]. Dean loses it in a poker game and the gun is passed along over and over.

Not the biggest time commitment and a unique twist on your typical western film, I'm glad I got this one in before the end of the month.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043137/

A short and simple western film that I was able to sneak in right before the end of the themed month. This film stars Gregory Peck, who is easily one of my favorite actors of the 1950's. My favorite of his films is Cape Fear, which I reviewed here.

The film isn't even an hour and a half long and has a simple and uncomplicated plot. Peck plays "Jimmy Ringo," a notorious gunfighter with a reputation that precedes him. In the opening scene he isn't able to sit quietly in a bar without a young cowboy making him prove his toughness.

I found it interesting that this film portrayed a real person in such a fictitious manner. The REAL Jimmy Ringo did little to earn a bad man reputation and died of a self inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Not really the sympathetic gunfighter looking to put his past behind him and become a "good man," that this film makes him out to be.

Forget what his name is and it is a decent short western film. I like it, but it was also pretty forgettable.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042531/

This is now the 5th X-Men Live Action film, and I would argue one of the best. One might argue that the original X-Men film in 2000 helped launch the comic movie fad, but it has also been a series that I have been growing more disinterested in with every release. I gave X-Men an 8/10, X2 a 7/10, X-Men [3]: The Last Stand a generous 7/10, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine a disappointing 6/10. Maybe I liked this one so much because I expected so little, but it wasn't what I expected at all.

Of all the comic based films, this is the ONLY one that I can say I picked up an actually comic and read before it was made into a film. I watched the cartoon a little bit in Junior High, so the characters are familiar to me. Now I can confidently say that I knew everyone in the original X-Men film, but I knew little to nothing about how it all started. This film is kinda like the television show "Heroes", we start with people finding out they have special abilities at a time when no one has a clue this is possible. The abilities are creative and they all have slightly different "gifts."

The film starts in a Nazi concentration camp with Magneto as a teenage boy. His special talents catch the attention of Mr. Shaw [Kevin Bacon]. The becomes the root of his hate for humans creating what we have come to know as the "bad side" in the other films. We also get Dr. Xavier's story, from the point of him being a child with gifts and befriending Raven, to the point where they are college age. Xavier is played by James McAvoy [The Last King of Scotland & Atonement ] and Raven is played by Jennifer Lawrence [Winter's Bone].

Bacon is fantastic as a bad guy, kind of hard to even tell it is him because his German is so good you ask yourself if that really is him at first. I forgot how much I liked McAvoy in Last King of Scotland, and if you don't know Lawrence yet, I'm sure you will after next years hyped up The Hunger Games. I was very impressed by this film, thank you Matthew Vaughn [Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch.] for some excellent casting, directing, and writing.

This was the summer blockbuster you should have seen, and no you don't need any prior X-Men viewing to get this film. It stands on its own very well.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1270798/

The latest film from the Farrelly brothers [Kingpin, There's Something About Mary, Shallow Hal, Stuck on You, etc.] and along the same line of humor as the rest of their catalog. So let's start by saying, if you don't find those films funny, you won't like this. I for one, enjoy seeing them, and am glad to watch them, but once is enough.

The film stars Owen Wilson and Jason Sudeikis as horny married men who seem to think that if they weren't married then they would be god's gift to women. After a series of events they make their wives [Jenna Fischer and Christina Applegate] so upset they they take their friends advice, and give the two a week off from marriage.

They of course start by realizing how hard being single can be, trying to pick up girls at Applebees and Chili's provide stupid comical moments. You know that they are going to meet someone and have a difficult decision to make. Silly over the top comedy, with dirty jokes. Not for everyone, but I knew I'd watch it eventually, and it was ok.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480687/

One of the newest Must See war films I still needed to see, and in the closing week of Western/War month I thought I'd knock it out. I wish I would have known from the start that this was supposed to be a comedy, but I figured it out fast enough.

Alan Arkin stars as Capt. Yossarian, and is immediately stabbed in the back. I think I was supposed to realize that we then flash back for the rest of the story, but didn't realize until the end of the film. Martin Sheen and a number of other well known actors make up the cast of men in the unit. They are pilots who have flown a ridiculous number of missions and are looking for ways to get out. We find out that the only way out is to be considered mentally ill, but if you think you are mentally ill then you by definition can't be mentally ill. The "catch-22" becomes the theme of the film as we see through Capt. Yossarian's eyes as he snaps.

The film starts out kind of like MASH [from the same year], jokes like a man with the first name Major, which is too confusing for him to be a captain so they just make him a major. It is funny for a little while... but then Yossarian snaps. Thinks start to get stupid, the comedy becomes more of a bad dream and the jokes are complex and not funny. I could see this being better when it came out, but I just didn't like it at all.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065528/

A western adventure film that I would compare to Forrest Gump . Starring Dustin Hoffman as Jack Crabb, the film starts with an old man recanting his entire life. Raised by Indians, taken in by a town major as a teenager [and Faye Dunaway as Mrs. Pendrake, the major's wife], fighting with General Custard, and back and forth between the cowboys and Indians over and over.

The film is too silly to consider a drama, some parts come out as a comedy, but there are also very chilling scenes were Indians are massacred. I have mixed emotions about the film, part of me really like it for what it was... a tall tale. Another part of me really disliked it for bouncing between a comedy and a serious drama. I ended up giving it a pretty decent score, because if this was a story being retold by a very old man he probably would remember both humorous and sad things about his life.

Although it was funny to make General Custer look like a lunatic and silly because committed so many horrible murders on innocent people, I just don't see his character as being realistic. Good, not great.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065988/

It is easy to loose sight of the fact that there are some good films that go straight to television or straight to dvd. We get wrapped up in films that gross at the box office and become eligible for Oscars, etc. A good way to keep an eye out for these films is to check out the Golden Globe and Emmy category of "Made for Television Movies." They usually feature stars you are familiar with, and subject matter that for whatever reason the studios didn't think would make money [rom.com's and action films...].

This film won the Golden Globe in this category last year, and lost to Temple Grandin [another HBO film, but starring Claire Danes] for the Emmy. The film is a biography of Jack Kevorkian [Al Pacino], and includes John Goodman as his assistant, and Susan Sarandon as a friend.

The film starts at a point where Jack is already a retired doctor, he has spent many years watching people wither away in hospital beds in great pain and fully believes that doctors should be allowed to end patients lives upon their request. Now Jack is a man who likes attention and flirts with pushing the limits of the legality of euthanasia. Rather than fight to get the law changed, he chooses to break it, proves it is unjust, and change it through favorable court rulings. Some may say this is a ridiculous method, but it drew attention, worked favorable for him many times, and did create change.

It is not an easy subject matter, and the acting in this is fantastic. It is a view point of a man you probably have been told is crazy, and maybe he was. Regardless of how you feel on the subject this film will really make you think. Probably a top 10 of the year for me.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1132623/

I have to say I'm more familiar with Burt Lancaster in a father or bad guy role than in the leading role, and I can't say I'm a fan. Lee Marvin is pretty good though, so that did make the film enjoyable.

The Professionals is a film about a couple of men who are hired by a wealthy Texan to go into Mexico and return his kidnapped wife. Marvin plays Henry, who then assembles a team to take on the daring mission. They encounter bandits on the way to "Raza's" rebel camp. Claudia Cardinale stars as Mrs. Grant, a Mexican woman taken from her people to become the wife of a rich white Texan, it is pretty obvious from the start that this might not really be a kidnapping.

Good message, good stars, good western action, you can't complain. A was a little bored at times, but that is probably just from the large quantity of westerns I've seen lately. I liked Lancaster throwing the dynamite instead of using a gun against bad guys. I had the impression that this would have been a Top 10 Western when the AFI awards came out in 2008, and if they would have scrapped their attempt to be broad in include a mining town film McCabe & Mrs. Miller, and a cheesy comedy Cat Ballou, than this one would have been on there.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060862/

For the sake of catching up on reviews I'll keep this short. This film seemed like a good movie for a war buff. Someone that likes to know exactly what the politics were behind an attack. The exact sequence of events, the views from both sides.

The film is about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, it is in the brink of epic in run length with a two and a half hour run time including an intermission. The interesting thing is that there really isn't a "main" character. Many sides of the conflict are shown from pilot, to seaman, to commander-in-chief. It is slightly cruel to say that the film didn't have much "heart" or emotion, but I couldn't get into it. I felt like I was watching the history channel and was kinda bored.

Now, I will say that the "pre" intermission half of the film is for the film buffs, but the "post" intermission half is a recreation of the attack. It is quite exciting and action packed. The sequences are amazing at times, Michael Bay must have watched this film growing up because the explosions are almost constant.

It won an Oscar for best visual effects, I didn't love it, but it was much better than Pearl Harbor (2001).

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066473/

It seems to be a toss up with the 5th screenplay nomination for the Oscars. They always seem to pick one film I never expected and one that doesn't get nominated for anything else. Lately this has either been a surprisingly good film or an average British film... strange trend. Last year in the adapted category there was the average British film, In The Loop, this year it was this one in the original category. They should have put Fish Tank in this category instead if they wanted a British film. Nevertheless, it is just a nomination, the winner is all I really hope for the Academy to get right. This film happened to also finish the ballot for me, only having the documentary short subject category that I haven't seen in three years. Tell me how, and I'd love to... different story.

So the film starts with some misdirection, focusing on a woman getting a physical at a doctors office, he only motive is sleeping pills and it is clear she is very depressed. She is sent to see a psychologist, one of our leading characters Gerri [Ruth Sheen]. Gerri tried to get her to open up, then after their session she goes out for drinks with her co-worker Mary [Lesley Manville]. Mary is a piece of work, aging single and full of false confidence about her looks. Gerri heads home to her husband Tom [Jim Broadbent, the first actor I recognized, you'd know him from the Harry Potter series as Professor Slughorn, also from Hot Fuzz and Iris]. So Tom and Gerri invite Mary over for dinner, she proceeds to get plastered, emotional, and pass out in their sons old room.

So enough about the specifics. The film goes through all four seasons, we see their relationship with Mary stumble and rebuild. Tom visits his brother, who then comes to visit. One of their friends from college makes a visit, etc, etc. It is pretty average in subject matter. A happy couple and their interesting friends. Or should I say ordinary? It was quite boring, and the build up of the first 20 minutes as we learn the backgrounds and work life of the cast is just about all the action we get. A very disappointing film.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1431181/

Although this is a western, it really is a drama above all. This film an adaptation of the novel "Brave Cowboy" by Edward Abbey. Kirk Douglas liked this book so much that he gave it to a friend, Dalton Trumbo, to write the screenplay. Considered by himself and his son to be his best work, I personally still liked Spartacus more.

The film is about a man who almost lives in the wrong era. Some might even call him a little nuts, but just because they don't understand. The film starts with John Burns [Douglas] sleeping at his campfire on a barren western plain with his horse nearby. He awakes to the sound of an airplane passing by. As he gets up and starts his day, he needs his wire cutters at the ready as he has to cut through fence after fence to get to the next town. He arrives at his sister-in-law's place and it becomes evident that this is the middle of the 20th century. He learns that his brother is in jail for a year for helping immigrants who have crossed a border he didn't think much of.

John gets in a bar fight and punches a cop so he can "break into jail" see his brother, then break out. A strange film, I'm not sure I understand the message, but I do get the western man unable to conform to a changing society. Not an award winner, just one of the 50 western films in my 501 Must-See films, nothing special to me.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056195/

Every year there seems to be an immediate list of films that got, "snubbed," by the Academy when the nominations come out. With the introduction of the 10 film best picture list last year the list became questionable when you start talking about if The Town deserved that 10th spot over Winter's Bone. Hey, I liked The Town more but we knew it wasn't going to win, so who cares.

The documentary race was interesting this last year though, because I believe that this was the snubbed film of the year. Just like in a best picture race where two similar films keep each other from winning. Or in the Golden Globes were two actors from the same film are nominated in the same category and neither win because of that. This year there were two documentaries about the Public School system that kept each other from getting nominated. In a category were there are actual messages being conveyed this is quite disappointing. Both were labeled as "Charter School Lottery" based documentaries, but I found that this wasn't really the case. The film The Lottery, immediately made itself available on netflix instant watch, itunes, and really campaigned to get it's story heard. This film on the other hand, didn't have a DVD release until well after the awards were over and didn't have screeners sent out. Pretty surprising considering that it was directed by Davis Guggenheim, who won the category with An Inconvenient Truth a few years ago.

So The Lottery is really more about the fight between Charter Schools and public schools, and it focuses on how PTA's and Teacher's Unions fight a charter school that takes over a failing public school. It is definitely focused on how unfair it is that those that want a good education are unable to get it. I felt that it failed to bring in many relevant statistics and pandered to the emotion of a few kids getting their "Ticket."

This film seemed to start the same way, introducing some inner city minority kids applying for charter schools. Darn I had seen this film already... but wait. It takes a turn and starts delving into why the system is screwed up. The lottery is still part of the film, but not the focus. The focus is on the inefficiencies of the public system. The fact that the vast majority of kids in wealthy suburbs aren't even prepared for college directly out of high school thanks to Tracking. It goes into how firing a teacher is nearly impossible thanks to powerful teachers unions that are so big they are hurting themselves without realizing it. Did you know it is easier for a public school teacher to get tenure than a college professor at a public university?

I really felt like I learned a lot from this film, I highly recommend this film to anyone with kids in the public school system. It does use a charter school director as it's main source of information, so I didn't feel like it gave both sides of the story, but documentaries really don't usually. Try and find this one.

Vote: 9/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1566648/

I've been looking at this blog post all day trying to decide how to write a review. I'm not going to let it be one of those movies that persists to keep me far behind the finds I'm currently watching. The film was a meandering mess with minimal plot. Directed by Sam Peckinpah who I can't say I have much of an opinion about either way.

Basically the story goes that Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid were once friends in the same gang. After a job gone wrong they all split up, and Garrett became sheriff in a western town. When the Kid shows up he give him a few days to leave, when it doesn't they capture him and prepare to hang him. The Kid escapes and the rest of the film is Garrett in slow pursuit of the Kid.

This is one of the films that was not picked for the AFI Top 10 Westerns and I thought might have been overlooked. It was filmed in Mexico so I don't know if that has something to do with it or not. I'm happy if it was overlooked now.

The film stars James Coburn as Garrett and Kris Kristofferson [you'd recognize him from the Blade series] as Billy the Kid. The most notable part of the movie however is one of the supporting characters, Bob Dylan. He plays "Alias" a young man in Billy's gang. He also lent some music to the film, most notably "Knocking On Heaven's Door," which was later covered by Guns N' Roses.

The film is not worth your time.

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070518/

I'm not sure if you could call this film a biography, since I think you have to span the life of the subject to be a biography. This is the "story" of Alvin York, a decorated war hero from World War I. When York was approached about making his story into a film he insisted that the part be played by Gary Cooper. He was told that Cooper was too old, but he insisted that they make it work or not do it. It worked out well, because the film won two Oscars for editing, and Cooper won best actor.

The film starts in the backwoods of Tennessee where Alvin is a drunkard with an unsuccessful farm. In real life he was converted and saved by his wife, in the film he was struck by lightning... I guess that was more dramatic. He enlists in the draft but applies to be a conscientious objector, he is refused and sent to boot camp. They find out he is an excellent sharpshooter and put him in a Sergeant position training others. He pulls off some pretty amazing war exploits that I will reserve for you to see for yourself.

A really good war film, with a really good cast. Look at the date of release and you can guess that this definitely a pro-war film, so keep that in mind.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034167/

I heard about this movie watching an interview with Ed Helms on the Daily Show. Helms got his start on the Daily Show, moved on to minor roles in film, then "The Office", then thanks to some success with The Hangover he was awarded his first starring role in this film.

He plays a timid... almost stupid character most of the time so I wasn't sure if he could really pull this off. Thanks to some good performances from his supporting cast the film had a few positives. Helms plays Tim Lippe a small town insurance agent off to a insurance convention in Cedar Rapids [read: the big city]. He plays a sheltered boy, the kind of sheltered that you would expect a 12 year old in Los Angeles imagines a mid-American small town boy would be.

I have to ding the movie for making this guy to be much dumber than he could possibly be about the "outside world," but it is also a comedy so I'll play along. He gets to the convention and is roommates with the person he was specifically told to avoid, Ziegler [John C. Reilly]. Now, I've come to really dislike Reilly because he always seems to play Will Ferrell's sidekick or brother in the worst comedy's of the year. For me though, his character worked... annoying but sincere at the same time. Says stupid things, but not to get laughs from an audience. I'm not quite sure what to make of Anne Heche's performance. She plays a tied down mother who lets loose one weekend a year at this convention, serious morality issues that are dodged here, but a someone good performance.

I just don't know, I don't think many people will like this one. I'm not even sure if it deserved a "just average." It wasn't bad, it wasn't great, it made me laugh a few times, and it wasn't as bad as I expected or as bad as it could have easily been. You'll have to decide for yourself.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1477837/

Jack Palance is well known in Hollywood for playing a good villian. Throughout the 50's and 60's he played numerous roles as bad guys in western and war films. Interesting though that two of his most notable films he plays a hero [this one] and a good guy in a comedy [Curly in City Slickers].

What an emotional performance, Palance plays Lieutenant Joe Costa who sends men into battle with the agreement from Captain Cooney [Eddie Albert] that backup would be coming. When Cooney chickens out the entire team is mowed down by the Germans. The film is less of a battle between the Americans and Germans in World War II, and more of a battle between a good soldier and a crazy captain.

Not only is this a good war film, but it is finally a war film I was hoping to watch. Battles, heroes, gun fight, snipers, bad leaders, politics, etc. I've been getting melodrama and historical political breakdowns instead most of the month. This is what I wanted and I was very happy to get some good performances from Palance and Albert, if you want a good war classic that is under two hours you need to see this one.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048966/

It is not typical for me to like a Hollywood remake more than the original, but I would say that this is one instance where the remake is better. This western film is about cattle rancher, broke from a drought, who takes a job of escorting a captured outlaw to the town of Yuma to put him on the 3:10pm train to jail.

The remake stars: Christian Bale, Russell Crowe, and a very scary Ben Foster. If I compared the role of the outlaw Ben Wade then I would say I liked Glenn Ford in the original just as much if not more than Crowe. If I compared the rancher Dan Evans then I would say that I definitely favored Bale over Van Heflin [the guy with the bomb in Airport]. If I compared Foster's character to the one in the original... well there is no comparison... this is by far the difference between the two for me. Foster plays Charlie Prince in the remake, the #2 in gang of outlaws who is trying to stop Mr. Evans from getting Ben Wade on the train. Richard Jaeckel did nothing memorable with this role, he was a yes man and seemed weak in his role. For me this Foster's best performance to date, and has been enough reason for me to watch just about everything he is in now.

The movie is actually pretty boring, they wait on the train then get on at the last second, the remake is much more complicated and has a lot more action. It almost makes me want to give the remake an 8/10 instead of my original 7/10 after watching this. So don't watch this, watch the remake.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050086/

I watched this film thanks to Roger Ebert, who is not afraid to go outside of the box when picking his top 10 of the year. I've been very hesitant to watch anything with Nicolas Cage lately, because it seems it will agree to anything that fits his schedule to pay off all the taxes he owes. However, when you look past Cage there are a number of reasons for giving this one a chance. Directed by Werner Herzog who has both some good [Rescue Dawn] and strange [Aguirre: The Wrath of God] films. It co-stars Eva Mendes and has supporting roles by Val Kilmer and Jennifer Coolidge [American Pie, Stiffler's Mom].

There is actually another film titled Bad Lieutenant that came out in 1992, the director Abel Ferrara was outraged to hear that this film was coming out. The studio pushed it as if it were a remake or sequel, but from what I can tell Herzog had never seen the original and never intended for the two to be compared. All I know is that they have very similar plots, the exact same imdb average, and month/day releases.

The film is about a police sergeant who hurts himself through a stupid act during Katrina, regardless he was awarded and promoted to the position of Lieutenant. The injury, which gives him a permanent limp, becomes an excuse from his rampant drug usage. He begins stealing drugs from the police evidence room, gambles and threatens football players to throw games. Just don't expect a happy Hollywood ending from Herzog.

There are strange scenes where we see iguanas, which might be some sort of drug hallucination, I don't know and didn't get it. That is Herzog for you. A 7/10 is a little generous, it was different, and not an easy film to watch, and I applaud Cage for doing something a little different. I don't think many people who read this blog will like this film.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1095217/

The vast majority of Oscar winners I was able to find with a netflix subscription several years ago, but there were a few that were nearly impossible to get ahold of. The only way I was able to find this one was to order the DVD on ebay from a Korean company that had made a dvd from an old VHS. To this date it is still not on dvd but can be found if you really try.

Unless you are obsessive about finishing lists, you probably should just leave this as one of the ones you never got a chance to see because it wasn't convenient [I now have a copy I'd be happy to give you].

I really can't tell you what the film is about, because for the most part it isn't really about anything substantial. A family tragedy film is the best way to describe it, by definition a cavalcade is a procession of dramatic events. A mother has two sons, the oldest goes on his honeymoon traveling on the Titanic. You can guess what happens... but then again you have to guess because we never see the ship go down and it isn't like there weren't some survivors. The younger son and father both go off to war, we get some glimpses of soldiers marching and random battlefields during World War I, but again we don't actually see the tragic events.

I'd have to say this is really something of an anti-war drama, but it is really hard to say. The audio was horrible, grainy and muffled, what you can expect from a bootleg DVD with a VHS source. There is a reason no one is pushing for this one to get a cleaned up release. Easily the worst Oscar winner I've seen so far.

Vote: 3/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023876/

Nominated for 12 Oscars, winner of 6 including best picture. This war based film was credited by Winston Churchill as doing more for the war effort than a fleet of ships. The title character is played by Greer Garson who won the Oscar and set the record for the longest acceptance speech in Oscar history [5 1/2 minutes].

The film begins with Mrs. Miniver shopping for a hat and Mr. Miniver shopping for a new car. On the train home she sees the British military starting to take action and before you know it the war has started and her son has enlisted. The film is more about a typical family experience during wartime. Not about a soldier, but about a mother who has a husband volunteering for dangerous tasks, who has to hide with her terrified kids in a bomb shelter during a Nazi air raid, and who has to witness a lived one die.

The film is quite powerful, and the sermon by the priest makes it a propaganda film. The message is clearly that war, although difficult is necessary in the [then] current circumstances. Well acted story, I don't know if it would have been written and acted the same if it wasn't during World War II, it really captures the era well.

Last of all, it isn't an Oscar film people talk about. It isn't on the list of most deserving, nor is it on people's list of ones that didn't deserve the Oscar. I don't hear people talking at it as a "favorite," so if you are planning on watching all the Oscar winners you will find this one to be good, not great, but not difficult like many others from the pre-50's.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035093/

I really wasn't quite sure what genre to place this film in before watching it. I thought it might fit best into drama or western, and I went ahead and watched it in western/war month. Now that I've seen it, I can definitely say that mystery is the best category for it. Which is a tough one to talk about without divulging the entertainment of the film.

We start the film with Spencer Tracy stepping off a train in the town of Black Rock, a small town where a train stopping is an irregular occurrence. He is immediately asked what he is doing there, and it is clear that something is being covered up. The men that approach him immediately assume that he is come sort of government agent there to investigate something.

The movie is all of an hour and twenty minutes and blows by really fast. Discovering his intentions in this small town and what the townspeople are hiding is the entire plot. If the film was much longer it would be annoying since it is pretty much laid out from the start.

Not a bad film, but I could see myself forgetting a film so simple in plot. A nice change from the typical western though.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047849/

Western/War month has been a great for me to watch some old Oscar winners. This one is about the state I was born and raised in, and I'm really glad I watched it. Winner of three Oscars and nominated for seven this film. Starring Richard Dix an RKO Pictures star in this era, this film brought him is only career Oscar nomination.

The film starts with Yancey Cravat [Dix] preparing for a land run in Oklahoma. A confident adventurer he compares the land run to biblical references of cities of thousands popping up overnight. He moved his wife and children to Oklahoma from Kansas reluctantly, and against his mother-in-law's wishes. They setup as newspaper and he single-handedly protects the city from bandits and outlaws several times.

A man incapable of settling down he disappears for years on end leaving his wife in charge of the newspaper. The story becomes just as much about her, as it does about him after he disappears for good near the end of the film. The pace of the film is irregular and confusing at times, it is not like a modern day film in how we just from year-to-year. the most annoying part of the film though is Dix's hair. It is almost comical and not captured well in this movie poster. There is a memorable court room scene where his hair seems to take a life of its own. I lost some respect for the character and actor at the same time, and although this might sound nit-picky or overly critical to ding a movie on an actors hair... well you just need to see it to understand.

I probably would have given this a 4 or 5 if not for the fact that I grew up in Oklahoma and loved the land run and boom town aspects of the film. I would suggest you pass...

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021746/

The first year of the Academy Awards there were two separate categories for Best Picture. Best Production and Best Unique Production, where Best Production is more of a movie for the masses... a statistic that is basically captured by box office statistics nowadays and arguably has the reward of making the most money. Meanwhile the Best Unique production is considered the best acting, screenplay, etc. and you could say that the current "Best Picture" winner is not necessarily the favorite movie of the year.

Since the category has been terminated and a single best picture award was given the 2nd year of the Academy Awards, some think that this should not be considered the first Best Picture winner, while others think that this should share the distinguision with Sunrise. Now, since The Broadway Melody won the single award the following year, was a huge box office success, but did not win any acting, screenplay, or director awards I have to consider that the award still cared about box office in the 2nd year, therefore this is in fact the first best picture winner.

That being said I gave this and Sunrise both 7/10 ratings. If I had to pick which I liked better though, this one would win. It was actually a really entertaining silent film, and both films are the only Best Picture winners that were also silent. As a side note I liked The Crowd, a nominee up against Sunrise, better than both of these films.

It isn't typical for me to suggest a silent film, and won't suggest this one either. I do have to say though that this was a very exciting film. There were a number of dogfights, which is probably why it won a Best Effects Oscar, and the story and action worked well together. If it was 1929 right now I'm sure I would have loved this film. Considering what had some out at this point in cinema, this was a fantastic production and compelling storyline. If you are into silent era films, check this one out.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018578/

I've seen a few confusing films while attempting to finish all of these movie lists. The hardest of course has been the 1001 movies to see before you die book, which features a number of foreign film, avant-garde, experimental, and just plain strange films. First director that comes to mind is David Lynch with Mulholland Dr., Lost Highway, Blue Velvet , and the most bizarre film i've ever seen Eraserhead.

The most mainstream of these directors that think outside the box is Charlie Kaufman. Kaufman usually keeps his films someone understandable on first watch, and has many films worth two watches. Like Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. The thing about these films is that he WRITE them all but directed NONE of them. So Synecdoche, New York is actually Kaufman's directorial debut.

I watched this film please Ebert just loved it, and although I haven't found his quote he said something along the lines of "our generations Citizen Kane." How can you skip a movie like that? He even put it on his top ten films of the decade list. Like many have rebutted to Ebert, you liked the concept but the execution was not there.

I applaud Kaufman from trying to direct one of his highly complex films, but for me this was just another film starring Philip Seymour Hoffman that failed. Sorry Hoffman you are one of the best supporting actors ever... but not a lead. The movie just made no sense. I should have to read explanations of the film afterward to understand it. If I read those explanations and still don't get it then there is something very wrong with the film because what is film if it isn't a way to convey your ideas so an audience understands them.

The film follows a neurotic man through his life, through his slightly insane eyes. We jump year at a time with no direction other than people aging. He builds a fantasy land he calls a theater set for a show that will never happen, until his life eventually before this fantasy world. It will not make sense, and it isn't supposed to.

Vote: 2/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0383028/

This is more like the western I expected. A film I'm sure I have seen parts of on television before. Clint Eastwood stars in a film about a man with no name that rides into a town and brings along some western justice.

Eastwood's unnamed character strolls into town, goes to the barber shop and kills three men before getting a shave. Then he rapes a girl, get a drink at the saloon, and before the town's sheriff. Hired to protect the town from men the town wrongfully condemned but are not set to get out of prison and return to the town.

Midgets, shootouts, whippings, showdowns... this film is all the typical western themes thrown into one... and a midget! Don't expect a lot out of this one, but nevertheless it did have some good action.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068699/

I'm not sure if I should bring it up now... or after 10 more westerns... but there always seems to be a theme of the age of the west and the cowboy dying out. This was John Wayne's final film. A western hero in many films his character is the culmination of all of his works as he plays a hero who has outlived the old west.

Wandering into town to find a doctor he finds out that he has terminal cancer and the doctor suggests that it would be more brave to make a last stand than to wither away. The film also features a widow who rents out her rooms played by, Lauren Bacall, and her son played by a young Ron Howard. James Stewart plays Wayne's only friend in town, the doctor. So overall it is a well acted film.

Nominated for a Oscar for Art/Set direction, not really worth mentioning. However, the film is much like one you are more likely to have seen: Unforgiven, which to date is Clint Eastwood's last western film, and is along the same lines.

Just ok, only a couple action scenes, and a little boring.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075213/

Directed by Marc Abraham [Producer of Air Force One and Children of Men just to name a few], and starring Greg Kinnear [As Good as It Gets and Little Miss Sunshine], comes a film about a college professor and engineer/inventor who invents the intermittent windshield wiper.

A film that has been on my radar for almost 4 years now but constantly overlooked because all I could think when seeing it was, "how interesting can a film about windshield wipers really be?" The film starts with the invention process, then goes into how Mr. Kinnear goes about getting the patent rights then trying to sell his invention to the major motor companies. After the invention is stolen by Ford, Mr. Kinnear's life starts falling apart as he gives up everything to take his fight to the courts.

A film that questions ethics and shows the limits that one has to go to, to defend his rights through the court system. I'm surprised at how much I really liked this film because I felt like I knew what it was about before watching it and didn't expect much. A good court room drama, so I would suggest it, if that is your kind of movie.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1054588/

I started Western/War Movie Month off with a very popular film on the other side of the world. Part of the ilmdb modern 250 and winner of numerous awards in Asia, this epic war film has been compared to a Korean Saving Private Ryan. The production values, sound effects, and cinematography are fantastic, and the acting was pretty good as well.

The film centers itself around two brothers living near Seoul, Korea. One shines shoes with the dream of making his own some day. The other is a student, but both are very happy. They even have a overly cheesy scene were the who family goes on a picnic and the brothers share a Popsicle.

All of a sudden the government start rounding up men in basically an unannounced draft. When the older brother fights to not get his young brother drafted they are both shipped off. We start with both brothers fighting on the side of the South Koreans, after several battles it looks as if the South Koreans are going to win. Then the Chinese come in to support the North Koreans and the American come in the support the South Koreans and a war that looked like it was about to end gets stuck in a stalemate. We see the war from the prospective of the average Korean citizen, forces to fight for whichever side they live on regardless of what they think of democracy and communism. Forces to go to rallies to feel their families, but condemned for going to them at the same time.

A vicious cycle, and honestly exactly what I was looking for from a starting film to this themed month. 7/10 because it is a bit long, and not something I'd suggest, but I did like it.

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386064/

It is almost offensive to me that this film is labeled as a children film and was able to get a PG rating. This animated film is not for an under 10 audience. If you weren't sure what this was about read the movie poster, directed by Gore Verbinski, the same director from the Pirate of the Caribbean series, and starring Johnny Depp. So just like the Pirate series, this is a film all about Depp.

So I do like Depp, but about 30-45 minutes of just kid humor is not my thing. The film is about a chameleon traveling in the back of a car through the desert, when the car swerves to avoid an accident, Rango and his tank are thrown from the car and he is forces to survive on his own in the desert. He stumbles upon a rough town called "Dirt," who has a serious water problem and Rango pretends to be tough to avoid getting thrown out of a bar. The town starts to rely on him, and he is forces to fend of a bird and a snake to protect them.

The film is quite gross with characters having limbs falling off, bad guys in the desert with infect body parts. I'm not saying to was too gross for me, but I didn't think the mature dialogue was appropriate for immature humor. It was clear that a younger audience was target here, so it didn't work for me. Middle school age boys might be the only ones that walk away really happy from this film, so I was greatly disappointed.

Vote: 5/10; KSF 5/5

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1192628/

I've been meaning to see this one for a little while now, it actually helped me finish watching all Oscar winners of the last decade. The film is directed by and starring Ed Harris, and he was nominated for an Oscar... but the winner was Marcia Gay Harden for actress in a supporting role. I guess I never looked at the movie poster because I though this was a war film, or a film about an immigrant because I confused Pollock with "Polak," e.g. someone from Poland.

The film is actually about the famous American artist Jackson Pollock. Jackson had mental issues, struggles with being an alcoholic, but he was one of the most influential figures in the abstract expressionist movement. Here is a cool website that will give you a chance to making your own abstract painting: JacksonPollock.org.

Harris has been nominated for 4 Oscars and never won. He has been a part of films that have one, but it is impressive that the first film he directed by himself he manages to pull in an Oscar for Harden, and a nomination for himself. If you aren't a fan of Harris your haven't seen enough of his film, he did a great job with this film and I'm very glad I went back and watched it.

A tragic drama that is not really a family film. Nevertheless it is a compelling and interesting biography of famous man in American culture. Check it out.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0183659/

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