Raise the Red Lantern: Da hong deng long gao gao gua (1991)

This foreign film was nominated for the Oscar in 1992 [and should have won]. It is about a young Chinese girl who can no longer afford to go to college and is left with few options upon returning home. She starts the film with an emotional dialogue with her mother about her decision to become a mistress for a wealthy master.

Set in the 1920's this film is largely about the lack of rights afforded to these women. She becomes one of four mistresses who all have lanterns in their "homes." Every night the master picks which wife he will be staying with by lighting their red lanterns.

An emotional and thought provoking movie that I found very gripping. I find it hard to connect with foreign films, mainly because I find myself reading the words and not the tone of voice and the expressions on the actors faces. This film however translated very well, was easy to follow, and kept me interested.

The main character is played by Li Gong who you might know from more recent films like Memoirs of a Geisha and Curse of the Golden Flower. She was voted the most beautiful woman in China in 2006, but has since been labeled a traitor for renouncing her citizenship.

Vote: 8/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101640/

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Dancer in the Dark (2000)

Let me just start by saying Björk sure is weird... This film is about a single mother that moves from Czechoslovakia with her son to give him a better life. We learn pretty quickly that she is going blind and that it is a hereditary disease. Before she does completely blind she is trying save enough money for her son's operation.

It makes no sense to me why she isn't saving for her own operation, so she can then save for her sons. Apparently if the operation isn't done by the time he is 13 it is too late, so we have to assume she knows it is too late for her already.

If you aren't familiar with Björk already... let's just say she has a very unique voice and this film breaks into song and dance randomly... just for 3 or 4 songs, so it is almost a musical. I really don't understand how this one slid into the imdb top 250 eight years ago... but it did, and I'm done with it now...

Vote: 5/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168629/

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Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)

Ah Michael Moore, everyone's favorite documentary maker... to hate. No one gets more grief than him, mainly with due cause. He is the same and opposite as Glenn Beck (Fox News nutcase), same in his slanted views only showing one side of the story. Same because they are both hypocrites... different because they are on opposite sides of the spectrum. Different because I think Moore could have a rational conversation with the most radical Republicans, and Beck can't have a rational conversation with himself. Lets get back on topic..

Moore's films all have the same rhythm to them. He starts with the doom and gloom. Then gives some heartfelt story, bashes fat cats and republicans, then performs some ridiculous stunt.

So in this film, he compares us to the Romans... very funny. He gives examples of middle class American's having their homes taken from them... sorry variable interest rates were a bad idea. Then he compares all of this to his hometown Flint, Michigan (he has to compare everything awful with the only thing he really knows well). Then he tries to make a citizens arrest on bank CEO's... Which of course doesn't get past their front door and is really really boring footage.

I think Moore makes some really good points, but the ridiculous stunts and way off topic stories that are just trying to pull at your emotions make it very hard to side with him. If you liked Sicko and Fahrenheit 9/11 you will like this, it is just like any other Moore film...

Vote: 7/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1232207/

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The Quiet Man (1952)

John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara team up again under the direction of John Ford (previously teamed up for Rio Grande). The premise of the film is that Wayne plays a man returning Ireland and the home he grew up in after living in America.

We get hints of his past throughout and the reason for his return but the film is primarily a romance and his attempts to win the girl next door. Battling Irish customs, the two are already in love, and the film centers around the two of them coming together.

I couldn't understand if some of the characters were supposed to be comic relief or taken seriously. I found the entire film to be hokey and fake. The sets were ridiculous. Him dragging her from the train by her hair was disrespectful to women, and treated like it was normal and ok. The whole movie was silly and outdated. Outdated because it did not translate into something worth watching now, or at least explain the reasoning for the customs of the time period.

I don't know if there are better films to watch from these two, because I just haven't seen many films from either. So I'll reserve comment on what should be watching in place of this.

Vote: 4/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045061/

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The Kid Brother (1927)

Harold Lloyd will always be the 2nd best slapstick silent film behind Buster Keaton. His most memorable films are Safety Last! and The Freshman, I would rank this his 3rd best film. Lloyd plays the same character profile as Keaton and just doesn't have the same quality of stunts.

This film is about the Hickory family. A dad and three sons, the father is the sheriff and the two oldest sons and father are the biggest toughest guys in town. Lloyd is the runt in the family and the film is about him trying to prove himself to the girl from the traveling salesman show that comes through town.

Just an average silent film [again]. The other two of his I previously listed are much better.

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0018051/

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Earth: Zemlya (1930)

This film is included in the "1001 Movies to See Before You Die" Book and is listed because of its historical impact in the Soviet Union. This silent film is about collective farming and a citizens uprising against the rich people in their town when they are given a tractor.

Highly censored on release in Russia and re-released in its complete format it is a neat film. Problem I have with most silent films is the lack of a storyline. There really isn't much going on here and would be a couple scenes in a modern film rather than a complete work.

For what it is and when it came out it was not bad. I have a hard time suggesting silent films, and this is not one of the better ones. If you want an American silent film about farming watch A Corner in Wheat, it is only 14 minutes long, but I wouldn't even recommend it, I have it a 4/10...

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0021571/

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Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

It is kind of funny that there are two directors with a lot of films I have to watch. Woody Allen has a lot of comedies that have been recognized and Alfred Hitchcock has a number of suspense/mystery films recognized as well. The funny part is that I space out the Hitchcock's because I like them, and know that if I watch them all right now I will never get to see another new [to me] Hitchcock again. Where as watching Allen's films tends to be a chore, and I space them out because I can't manage to sit through more than one every couple months.

That being said this one was not that bad. Probably because Allen played a minor role in this film until the end and it centered around Michael Caine and Barbara Hershey for the majority of the film. I really like Caine, especially since his role in Sleuth (1972), a fantastic acting performance.

This film is about three sisters and their family relationships, and the relationships between them and the men in their lives. It was kind of boring at times. Allen's films always have a subtle comedic undertone. It is never laugh out loud funny, and usually not dark comedy either. I have trouble categorizing a lot of it as comedy and usually throw it in with the dramas. It takes a lot for me to like one of his films, his style doesn't agree with what I like to get out of a film, so it falls into the just average pile...

Vote: 6/10

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091167/

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