Top Ten Films of 2011

Here's my traditional top ten films of the previous year list.    

Honorable Mentions: Source Code, The Muppets, We Need To Talk About Kevin, and The Future.

10. Jeff Who Lives At Home
 9. The Adjustment Bureau
 8. Moneyball
 7. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
 6. Another Earth
 5. Beginners
 4. Midnight In Paris
 3. The Descendants
 2. Win, Win
 1. The Artist

Artist and Models (1955)

To my surprise, this is my first introduction to the comedy duo of Martin and Lewis.  They made 17 films together and I've not seen any of them.   How can that be?  I'll certainly have to check out more of their silly antics because I did enjoy this wacky farce.  Their formula is obvious: Jerry Lewis
bumbles around making goofy faces and talking like a crazy child-man while the handsome Dean Martin woos women with his crooner straight-man style.  The gags are more vaudeville numbers than plot driving devices but that's what helped make these guys huge stars.  For me it's Shirley MacLaine that shines the most, as the model in the Bat Lady suit who wants Jerry to marry her.  Director Frank Tashlin keeps the pace moving and adds just a hint of adult innuendo.  The big question: is this film still funny after all these years?  Some of it is still fresh but most of it feels forced and a little stale.  That's not the film's fault, really, it's all the situation comedies and films I've seen since that borrowed from oldies like these.  My favorite scene is watching Jerry Lewis to up and down various flights of stairs to relay a message to Dean.  It's really a classic moment for a classic dumb comedy.  Grade: B

The Towering Inferno (1974)

Irvin Allen really never topped himself after this grand spectacle.  The King of Disaster films did something no producer had ever done before and which now you see quite a lot: he convinced two studios to co-produce a film.  In fact this dual theme comes up a lot.  The film is a melding of two novels,  The Tower by Richard Martin Stern and The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson and a story featuring two heroes staring two of the biggest leading men in film history, Paul Newman and Steve McQueen (and it has two directors too).  For such a thin plot, watch a bunch of characters try to survive a skyscraper fire, it's still an entertaining film.  The all-star cast is an obvious gimmick to sell tickets, but they all deliver decent performances for what they have to work with, which is mostly staring at flames and looking scared.  What's most impressive is that at 165 minutes I never once found myself bored or impatient for it to end.  It still holds up as escapist fare if a little bit of a time capsule too.  Grade: B+

Rocco and His Brothers (1960)

Five brothers from a family of poor Italian farmers move to the city to find work with their mother in tow.  While each brother has a story line it's Rocco and Simon's love triangle with a prostitute named Nadia that consumes most of the film.   Directed by Luchino Visconti with stark realism, I found this film to be brutal and yet satisfying.  Not once does Visconti turn a blind eye to the collapse of this once tight family.  I can see why so many claim this to be a masterpiece.  It really is a powerful film, if a bit depressing.  Grade: A-

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

If Lord of the Rings: Return of the King had too many endings, this first part of J.R.R. Tolkien's prequel has too many beginnings.  But that's really the only fault I can find in this spectacular fun adventure fantasy.  Director Peter Jackson at times equals his creative force from his first trilogy and really does deliver a worthy add-on.  Sure some of the action sequences remind me of a video game but I'm not bothered by it because they're so well done.  We don't really need to see Frodo at the beginning either but it wasn't awful seeing him.  Is it too long?  Yeah, a little, but I can forgive Peter Jackson for giving us those extra minutes.   Really as the first of a new trilogy it's a wonderful journey and should be watched by any who enjoyed the Lord of the Rings.  Grade: A-.

A note on 48fps:  I was fortunate enough to see this in its intended frame rate of 48fps.   I've read a lot of negative reviews on this but I see it as the future of cinema, especially with 3D.  The clarity of the image is remarkable; and, yes, at times almost too perfect but that's only because my eye isn't used to it yet.  I remember when I watched something on my 1080p TV for the first time and I was amazed.   Now I'm so accustom to my TV I can't remember it looking so good.   People are afraid of new improvements.   Someday soon people will just see 48fps as the norm.   Especially for 3D which needs the high frame rate because without it the image blurs too much. 

Revenge (Season 1)

Let's be blunt.  This is not A-Class quality entertainment.  This night time soap opera is about as B- Class as television shows come, but that's not a bad thing.   If you're looking for a really fun guilty pleasure with twist and turns and over-the-top bad people saying over-the-top bad things then this show is for you.  Modeled loosely from The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, it follows a young woman named Amanda Clark setting out to revenge the ruin of her family.   It has it all.  Love triangles, secrets identities, rich people acting like rich people and even a big conspiracy to heighten the absurd entertainment value of an addictive story.  I love seeing Madelaine Stowe in this show too, only someone of her caliber could say such vile things and still make us sympathize with her.  Emily Vancamp is also quite good as Amanda, playing a specterum of emotions that make us want to see her succeed without hurting herself.   I don't know what the producers of this show have planned for season 2 but I'm hooked.  Grade: B+     

Top Ten Christmas Specials

Online I keep running into these best Christmas films list only see TV specials mixed in with feature films.   That is just wrong.   So here's a list of my top ten best Christmas TV specials. 

10. Mickey's Christmas Carol (1983) - This is my favorite use of Disney's classic characters and it just so happens to be Christmas themed.    

9.  Frosty's Winter Wonderland (1976) - The Rankin/Bass production that continues the story of Frosty with Jack Frost mixed in as a villain. 

8. A Garfield Christmas (1987) - I'm a Garfield fan so this was always one of my favorites.

7. Blackadder's Christmas Carol (1988) - The bizzaro version of Scrooge as only the comic geniuses of Blackadder could pull off.  Hilarious. 

6. Rudolph the Reindeer (1964) - This first Rankin/Bass production will always stand out as a classic of the holidays.  It's also a great stop-motion animated gem.

5. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) - Some might say this should be higher and while it is a terrific film, for me it's the soundtrack that stands out the most. 

4. A Christmas Carol (1984) - George C. Scott is amazing in this and in my opinion this is the best adaption of Dicken's book to date.

3. A Wish for Wings That Work: An Opus Christmas Story (1991) - This is one of my favorites because it always made me laugh.  Just the look of Bill the Cat is enough to make me crack up.

2. Frosty the Snow Man (1969) - When I think of Frosty I think of this animated classic first.  I get the chills thinking about the end. 

1. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (1966) - For me this is the best, a celebration of comedy, heart and the Christmas spirit. 

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (2010)

Like a twisted day-dream from a boy more enamored by horror and action films than sentimental trite, comes this creepy, funny and completely zany Christmas film from Finland.  Santa is not a jolly fat man in a red suit, that's a lie, the original was an evil children torturing demon.  Yet now a team of archaeologists have broken into his burial site and only three reindeer handlers and a young boy, our hero, can stop Santa's return  At its heart the movie does have a touchy-feelie plot line too, about a son and father needing to come together, it's just full of other Testosterone trimmings like guns, explosions and zombies.  I loved it!  What more can you ask for on Christmas Eve?  Whenever I find these kind of nontraditional Christmas stories this fun and entertaining, I want to shout it out to the world.  Sure if you get really nit picky there are some pacing problems in the beginning and some of the characters could have been more developed but none of that matters.  This one is a keeper.  Grade: B+

The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)

Leo McCarey's follow-up to Going My Way, with Bing Crosby's Father O'Malley meeting Sister Superior Mary Benedict played by Ingrid Bergman.  Can these two save the inner-city school they both so love?   Will Mary Benedict's faith alone prevail or will O'Malley's sly ingenuity get the job done?   This is not really a Christmas movie, but it does contain an adorable Christmas pageant scene that might be a bit too cute for today's audiences.  What I like about this film is its relaxed approach, telling a story without any forced intensity.  It's just good storytelling with nice people.  Films like this one would never get made today and that's a shame.  Grade: B+

Arthur Christmas (2011)

This might be the best Christmas Animated feature film made.  Santa Claus is not just one man but a dynasty, with each Claus having the job for 70 or so years.   This is the story of the younger brother of the next in line: Arthur a dorky but lovable hero who will do anything to make sure every child gets a gift.  Even get on board the original sleigh pulled by eight reindeer with a retired Grandpa Claus at the reins.  It's a blast to see the film makers answer the question, How does Santa delivery all those gifts in one night?   The answer is a wonder to behold of magical science fiction.  Brilliantly funny with fantastic voice work, I hope this goes down as a Christmas Classic.  Grade: A

A Christmas Tale (2008) 12/21

This French drama about a dysfunctional family coming together for Christmas is a mixed bag.  While there are many intriguing characters and story lines it never gels.   My first impression is that it's a badly edited confusing mess, but this might be because I don't speak French.   You have sibling's who hate each other, a mother who hates her son who hates her back yet she's dying of leukemia and needs his bone marrow or she'll take it from her grandson, and a weird lovers swap between friends.   Catherine Deneuve's talent seems wasted and only Mathieu Amalric turns in a performance worth remembering; too bad he's so unlikeable.  To be blunt I was disappointed and felt I had wasted my time. Grade: C+ 

Christmas in July (1940)

This was Preston Sturges second film as a director and his comic touch is all over it.  Jimmy is an idea man who dreams of making a living as an advertising slogan writer for just about everything.   He has submitted his slogan for the Maxford House coffee ad contest and is waiting to learn the results.  Yet a practical joke goes too far when co-workers of his send him a fake telegram that he won.  Although Christmas is in the title I wouldn't claim this is a holiday movie, but it's a good one nevertheless.  Sturges' wit and gleeful energy makes what could have been a one note joke anything but, this is a very good charming comedy to be enjoyed by any who like screwball comedies from a master of the genre.  Grade: A-

The Family Fang by Kevin Wilson (Novel)

The premise of this book is hysterical.  Annie and Buster Fang are the children of unconventional performance artists Caleb and Camille Fang.  After a childhood participating in their parents "art pieces" which are really publicity stunts performed on innocent bystanders, they've grown up with real character issues of their own.  Only when events in their lives turn upside down and they return home to live with their parents will they be forced to confront who they are and where next they should head in life.  I started reading this book in the bookstore on a lark and before I knew it I had finished twenty pages with laughter rolling out of me every few paragraphs.  What I love about this book isn't just that it's funny but it's well-written with great incite.  I will certainly be looking out for Mr. Wilson's next book.  Grade: A-

Savages (2012)

Oliver Stone directs an adaptation of Don Winslow's book and the result is pretty good.  It glorifies drug use a lot which always bugs me when Hollywood does this because drugs are not cool no matter how hard you slice it.  Breaking Bad does a better job of showing the ugly side of drugs while entertaining its audience.  The core of this story about two brothers trying to survive a buyout from a Mexican drug heiress is a love story threesome.   What will these two brothers do to get back the woman they both love?   In someways this film proves that Mr. Stone is still capable of making a good movie, but it's nowhere near the brilliance of such morality tales like Wall Street and Platoon.   Grade: B

Here Comes The Groom (1940)

Bing Crosby stars as an international news correspondent who returns home from covering a story about WWII orphans with two children he plans to adopt of his own only to learn that his longtime sweetheart, Jane Wyman, is marrying a millionaire instead.   Not wanting to lose both the girl and the two kids, he sets out to prove that she's making a mistake and should marry him.  This oldie has it all, great music numbers, whimsical fun, positive characters without a mean bone in their body and a lot of heart.  It might not be the deepest film ever made but it's great carefree entertainment.   That said, even if this kind of film might not interest you, there's one scene at the beginning of an orphan girl singing to potential parents that should not be missed.  If I ever were to compile the greatest scenes in film history I would do my best to make sure this scene was included.   Sure it's sentimental and a little manipulative but it's glorious to behold.  Grade: B+

The Story of Floating Weeds (1934)

Master director Yasujirô Ozu tells the story of the leader of an acting troop who visits the family he abandoned, sending his jealous lover into a deceitful plan of revenge.  This is classic Ozu and it's about as perfect as a tale of this kind can be. So perfect that I have no idea why he'd want to remake it, although I've read the remake is just as remarkable.   I love old films like these because you forget you're watching an entertainment made in the '30s.  Sure it's black and white with mono sound but the storytelling is as relevant and in many cases better than most films made today.  Ozu made subtle masterpieces about the human condition and they will live on as long as people watch films.  Grade: A+

The Queen of Versailles (2012)

Laura Greenfield somehow is allowed to go with her camera where all of us with curious minds want to go and that is into the household of a super rich family.  The family this documentary follows is the Siegel family.  David Siegel is the founder and president of Westgate Resorts and with his success he pretty much lives like a king with his trophy wife, Jackie, the mother of their seven maladjusted children.  Just as they're in the middle of constructing their dream home, the largest single family home in America (complete with bowling alley and hair salon), the 2008 financial crisis happens, throwing this family into a tailspin where we the viewers get to see how money really can turn people into weak-minded, lazy and confused caricatures.  Some might find this film as a cinematic revenge against the wealthy and some might even feel sorry for these people (although even with the Crash they have more money than the most of us) but I found it an fascinating and entertaining film about misguided principles.  In the beginning of the film David Siegel is asked why he is building the largest home in America and his answer is "Because I can."   Maybe when we as a society learn to act morally with our profits will we truly be able to move forward.   I'm not saying a wealthy couple should never build their dream home, but perhaps what they define as their dream can reasonably fit into their day-to-day lives.   Should they build the largest home in America?   Should they buy whatever it is they want and give their children whatever they want?   I guess so but they'll suffer the consequences as will those that cross their path.  I think we're on this planet to better ourselves and our society.   You can't buy a better soul or ignore the human pain we all must deal with.  In the end money is artificial and this film brilliantly melts away that facade.   Grade: A-

Sidenote:  I've read since that David Siegel tried to sue Greenfield for making this film (this the same nimrod who told his employees they'd lose their jobs if they voted for Obama).  What an idiot.   You can't sue someone for filming you saying something stupid when it is what you said.  I'm sure she edited things to fit a certain narrative that she wanted to focus on but the way this family acts on screen is the way they act on screen.  David could have stopped talking at any moment but be didn't.  I'm sure this film doesn't show everything, but that's not the point of this essay (which documentaries are).  It's not about the whole truth, it's about a single theme.  Greenfield as an artist and storyteller did her job.   A lawsuit isn't going to change anything.   David Siegel will continue to be a rich asshole who thinks he's a great man and people will continue to take vacations at his resorts because he offers a decent service.   No one really cares who owns the resort they're staying at, they just want to relax and rent out the dream (something the Siegel's should consider doing instead of buying).    

Walkabout (1971)

Easily Nicholas Roeg's best film, it's the story of two British children, a sixteen year old girl and her little seven year old brother who find themselves lost in the Australian outback.   Along arrives a sixteen year old Aboriginal hunter out on his own, who takes them under his protective wing and soon they're on a trek through the wilderness as a family unit.  The imagery, symbolism, inventive, editing, and music is like a great poem about life.  I honestly will never forget this film.  It's an  example of how film can be more than just a narrative device to tell a story but also a textural art form capable of its own unique magic.  Grade: A    

Georgy Girl (1966)

Lynn Redgrave stars as the title character, a free-spirited young woman living with her butler father teaching pre-schoolers and trying to be a good friend to a horrible girl friend played by Charlotte Rampling.  Tack on her father's boss played by James Mason trying to make her his mistress and you have the makings of a wonderful British comedy.  Based on a novel written by Margaret Forster and directed skillfully by Silvio Narizzano ( a director who never seemed to make anything as successful) this is one of those delightful films that should not be missed.  It had me entertained and laughing the whole way through.  Grade: A-

Biloxi Blues (1988) -Revisited

Mike Nichols directs an adaption of one of Neil Simon's best plays.  Having these two giant talents collaborating is enough of a reason to watch this delightful look down memory lane as a Jewish writer goes to boot camp.  Matthew Broderick is fantastic as is Christopher Walkens.  I saw this many years ago and wanted to see it again to see if it still held up, to see if it was still as funny as it was the first time I watched it.  It was.  Grade: A-

Cleanflix (2011)

The idea that someone would edit another artists' film without their permission is so abhorrent to me, so insulting that I boil with rage.  Well, that's what various Utah based companies were doing (and probably still doing) to rated-R films to cater to a devote Mormon based clientele.  If someone wants to burn a copy of a film and "sanitize" it themselves for their own use, that would be fine.  But as soon as a third-party tries to profit from another artist's work, that's stealing and censorship all rolled into one.   It mind-boggles me that anyone wouldn't be able to comprehend this logic.  This documentary does a decent job chronicling the history of these censoring thieves while also trying to question Hollywood's refusal to release their own censored versions of their movies. (Maybe because the studios and said production companies simply don't want to undermine the artists they're employing, an answer this film conveniently avoids).  If I wish to follow a strict religious doctrine then I'll follow it without forcing others to bend to my beliefs.  Or watch I'll watch the god damn movie already and accept I'm not really as devote as I think I am.  Grade: B+

Twelve O'Clock High (1949)

Gregory Peck stars in this WWII drama about a General taking over from a burn out Captain of an Air Force base.  Much of the tension deals with the various personalities on base as they adjust to their new leader, a man determined to make important improvements.  Mr. Peck has such screen presence: it's impossible to dislike him and he makes this movie work.  Henry King directs and does a superb job.  This was certainly one of the top films of that year and I'd have rather of seen this win over All the King's Men which took the Oscar that year for Best Picture.  I only question the use of real war footage during the air battle sequences.  I see how it would save the production money but it seems a little disrespectful to the "real" airmen who died fighting for their lives.  Grade: A-

Morning Glory (2010)

This is a flawed film.  I can't put my finger one why, but it is.  It shouldn't be: Rachel McAdams is adorable as a feisty morning show producer taking on the world to make a struggling morning news show less an embarrassment.  Even Harrison Ford delivers as a grumpy Tom Brokaw-like icon forced to co-anchor with Diane Keaton's charming diva.  It starts off well enough but McAdam's struggles become less entertaining and more annoying after awhile.  The love sub-plot with Patrick Wilson is too easy and way unnecessary, almost a distraction.  In the end I wanted to like this film a lot more than I did.  Unfortunately even a talent like McAdams can't keep an unfocused script from floundering.  Grade: C+

Electra Luxx (2010)

Sebastian Gutierrez's sequel to Women in Trouble again stars his wife, the super talented Carla Gugino, as a porn star in a spiritual awakening as she deals with being pregnant and an unknown future.  Most of the cast returns from the first one, although I missed Connie Britton's character and would have enjoyed at least a cameo.  Like the first one, this is an independent film heavy on indulgent dialogue and quirky character motivations.  Certainly a fun film that succeeds on many levels, especially in the acting category.  I've read that Gutierrez wants to make a third film, which would be interesting but I would hope for a stronger plot.  Yet if this is where the story ends, it does seem to conclude all the story lines from the first film and I appreciated that.  Grade: B

Silk Stockings (1957)

The musical remake of the classic Garbo romantic comedy Ninotchka staring Fred Astaire and the beautiful Cyd Charisse is a wonderful entertainment with many great songs by Cole Porter and dance sequences typical of the Golden Age of Musicals.  The story is about a movie producer named Burt hiring a Russian composer in Paris only to have to deal with a Russian Commissioner named Nina come to make sure her country's composer returns home.  The best moment of the film is when Cyd Charisse dances out of her Russian dress and into the more elegant French gown she yearns.  My favorite duet is between Astaire and Janis Paige who sing about film needing to be in Technicolor, Widescreen and use Stereophonic Sound.  While I'd recommend seeing Ninotchka first if you haven't seen it, this is a fun remake to check out.  Grade: B+

The Butcher Boy (1998)

This is one of those movies I've attempted to watch a couple times but would either fall asleep or find myself with a faulty disc.  Yet I kept on and can finally say I've seen this film about Francis Brady, evil twelve year old living in Clones, Ireland in the '60s who slowly turns violently insane over the course of a few years.  Director Neil Jordan adapts from a novel by Patrick McCabe and I have to say this film makes me want to read the book someday.  One of reasons I always had trouble getting into this film was the thick Irish dialect.  But the dialect is important and I'm glad it's difficult to follow sometimes, even if it means having to concentrate that much more.  Many of the surreal moments work so well that I almost wish there was more of them but I guess that could have been a distraction too.  For such a disjointed soundtrack and dark voice over it's easy to see why this film isn't for everyone but in the end I do admire it's unique style and almost underlining tenderness for such a brutal bully.  Grade: B+

Topaz (1969)

Watch Leonard Maltin's interview on this film's DVD featurette and you'd think this is Hitchcock's worst film. (Couldn't the producers of the DVD find a critic who actually liked the film?)  Yet it's actually an impressive work from a storyteller expanding his scope and trying something a little different.  In many ways this adaption of Leon Uris's book is a fine example of Hitchock at his best.  I love the fact that he cast the film without any big names and the overall European-feel of the film.  It's still very much a Hitchock film with many memorable scenes (such as a entire exchange of dialogue muted because the characters are in a sound proof flower fridge).   Its ending is a bit weak but regardless I would recommend this for anyone who enjoys '60s cinema.  Don't listen to the Maltin's of the world, this is a solid film.  Grade: A-

Funny People (2009)

Adam Sandler plays George Simmons a fictional albeit grumpy version of himself in a buddy comedy/ drama about a rich and famous comedian (Sandler) becoming a mentor to a young standup comedian named Ira, played by Seth Rogen,   While there are too many immature jokes about dicks to be believed (I mean really, do male standup comedians talk about their peckers that much?   It seemed that eighty percent of the film's humor dealth with the male reproductive organ) and a run time about ten minutes too long, this is an enjoyable and refreshing comedy.  I just wish it could have been a tad bit tighter.  Grade: B   

L'arnacoeur [Heartbreaker] (2010)

I'm becoming a fan of French romantic comedies and this one is a pretty good one worth checking out.  Romain Duris plays Alex a charmer who gets paid to womanizes brides-to-be before they make a poor decision and marry the wrong guy.   Helping him is his sister and her techno-savy husband.   All is great until he is forced to woo a woman who really is in love (something he doesn't do) because of money he owes.   And as you can imagine, of course, he starts to fall in love with her too.  Funny, charming and certain to be remade by Hollywood, check it out and enjoy.  Grade: B+

The Best Exotic Margold Hotel (2012)

Films based on multiple story lines work if all the character arcs achieve a satisfactory result.  One weak character can unravel the film like a pulled thread from a sweater.   This is why ensemble films like these are rarely done.  In this cast every character and storyline is perfectly fitted together in a rewarding story about rebirth.  A group of English move to a hotel in India to change their lives.  Judi Dench (the film's central figure) is a widower. Bill Nighy and Penelope Wilson are a financially ruined married couple.  Tom Wilkinson is a lawyer returning to find a lost love.  Maggie Smith is the racist old lady needing a hip replacement.  Ronald Pickup and Celia Imrie are searching for spouses.  And then there's Dev Patel the part owner and manager of the hotel they're all staying at who is desperate to prove himself to his mother.  All of these criss-crossing story lines work and achieve a comic yet inspiring celebration of life in all its glory.  Grade: A- 

Argo (2012)

This film staring and directed by Ben Affleck accomplishes a number of surprising things; it's a great history lesson on Iran and U.S. relations, it tells a compelling and thrilling true story about a CIA operative entering hostile territory by faking a movie production to save a group of trapped Americans and it even gives an accurate glimpse of the fashion of the early '70s without making you laugh.  This is a very enjoyable film that squashes any doubt that Mr. Affleck has what it takes to be a director.  What makes this film better than just a typical Mission Impossible kind of story is its authentic and balanced approach to the Iranian culture and the heightened tension during that time period.  I wouldn't be surprised if this film is nominated for best picture.  Grade: A-

Yellow Submarine (1968)

With a sureal adventure story about the Beatles taking a yellow submarine into the wilds of imagination, director George Dunning pushed the boundaries of animation.  With great music and eye-poppying  visuals and lots of wit, this really is a timeless film.  So check it out and drown out those Blue Meanies bringing you down.  The Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is here.  Grade: B+

Amarcord (1974)

Federico Fellini made many great movies but none of are as fun and enjoyable as this one about the various people living in a small Italian village during pre-WWII Fascist Italy.  Like a wonderful collage he gives you a sense of memory and a celebration of life in all its ups and downs.  The central character is a young boy named Titta but for me it's the town that is the hero, and maybe the boy and the town are the same, symbols of all the growing up Italy is about to go through in the coming years.  Grade: A-

Another Woman (1988)

In this drama from Woody Allen, a professor played by Gena Rowlands overhears a conversation between a woman and her psychiatrist through a vent while working on her next book.   Hearing of this woman's problems, she starts to look at her own life and the choices she made.  As always an impressive character study from Mr. Allen.  Grade: B+

The Los Angeles Diaries by Jim Brown (Memoir)

This memoir is written with such raw honesty and soulfulness it is more than an account of a writer-teacher-husband-father-son-brother dealing with addiction but it's a work of art as well.  Mr. Brown could have avoided some details, but he doesn't.  He painfully paints an unflattering portrait of himself to demonstrate the destructive force of drugs.  If you want to read an engaging account of addiction and how the destroy families as well as individuals then you must read this.  Grade: A

Antoine and Colette (1962)

François Truffaut's sequel of The 400 Blows revisits Antoine Doinel as a teenager.  This isn't a feature film but a short that was originally shown in the anthology titled Love At 20.  Although brief this story about first love is wonderful.  No wonder Truffaut would return to this character again.  Grade: A-

Melancholia (2011)

Lars von Trier directs an astonishing film that takes place before a meteor strikes the Earth wiping out mankind.   There are two sisters, a manic depressive young woman soon to be married played to perfection by the underrated Kristin Dunst and the older responsible sister played by Charlotte Gainsbourg (last seen in von Trier's film Antichrist) who is married to a wealthy man and who has a child.  The first part takes place at the wedding of Dunst's character, Justine, and it is here we are introduced to a myriad of characters and where various themes are set up, such as fatherhood, respect and self destruction.  The second part focuses more on Claire, the older sister, with Justine come to stay with her and her husband when news of the meteor is on its way to supposedly graze Earth.  This is really an amazing movie, it sticks to the side of your brain and haunts you with its themes and images.  I would go out on a limb and say this might be Lars von Trier's best film (although I haven't seem them all yet).  While not really a happy film (does von Trier make any other kind), it does inspire with its brave nihilistic optimism (if that's possible which for me it was) and brilliant craftsmanship.  If you're interested in a challenging work of art that might spit on all your beliefs of hope and purpose, but at the same time make you appreciate the importance of life and love and all that your hold dear, see this film. Grade: A-       

Flight (2012)

Finally Robert Zemeckis returns to form making an actual movie again.  He's such a great cinematic storyteller.  Even with a predictable addiction drama like this one, he succeeds at making a film better than most directors.  The plane crash alone is visually amazing.  Denzel Washington plays an airline pilot who expertly crash lands a plane while intoxicated.  As he fights to keep his job, he battles the even bigger conflict of his own addiction.  Washington is so good in this, it would be criminal if he doesn't get nominated for best actor.  The screenplay by John Gatins is flawless in execution.  The only aspect of the film that keeps me from calling it a masterpiece (beside the typical music selections used on the soundtrack) is that I knew how it was going to end almost from the start.  The story couldn't (and shouldn't) really end any other way, mind you, but no matter how suspenseful Zemeckis tries o makes it, I knew how the story would unfold.  That doesn't ruin the movie for me, but it does lessen its impact.  Grade: A- 

Angel (Season 5)

The final season of this Buffy spin-off ends well enough for such a flawed series.  The first two seasons are excellent but by the third seasons things start to unravel.  Whedon and Greenwalt do their best to keep the series afloat with a great episode here and there but ultimately this series will go down as being less successful as the show that created it.  The fifth season starts anew with a different setting and each of its characters given new jobs.  Having Angel's crew head Wolfram and Heart was certainly a great way to change things up and start the whole "full circle" aspect of a final season.  Spike's arrival was also refreshing and surprising because I didn't think it would work but his presence helps bolster the overall drive of the story.  The problem is that almost everything I loved about the show was gone.  The comedy was still there (thankfully) but the characters were so disconnected from their past incarnations it seems inconsistent.  After seeing Fred fall in love with Gunn a year ago, I'm supposed to forget that and be happy with Fred's new hook up?  Rooting for Angel and Cordelia to get together only for her to be in a coma and Angel to so easily romance a werewolf girl, that wasn't too cool.  One of my pet peeves is when a show's character acts in away that would make you believe they forgot everything that transpired from past seasons.  Sure the writers threw us a bone every once and awhile with a reference here or there but it wasn't enough for me, a character's actions determine who they are not a throw away line.  A sixth season might have given this show time to return to its glory days, and with Spike there it was possible, but we'll never know.  At least this season gave us probably the show's best episode ever, "Smile Time" where Angel is turned into a puppet.  Genius.  Grade: B

Spoilers!
What I liked: the addition of Spike, Lindsey's return, Fred's death and transformation, all the Buffy references, "Smile Time", Gunn's betrayal, Wesley's overall journey, Lorne's sad walk away, the very end (that line about the dragon is one of the best last lines of a series ever).

What I hated: Angel's new girlfriend (talk about forcing a new love interest down our throats), Cordelia being written out of the show (because she was as much of the show as Angel was; too bad the writers didn't recognize that), the sudden and convenient introduction of the Circle of the Black Thorn (even the name sucked), having the show end without ever seeing Detective Kate Lockley again was a disappointment (I mean if you need another love interest why not go back to that red herring from season one)  and writing Cordelia off the show (it's worth repeating).

Series as a whole:  When I think about this show it's easy to point out flaws in hindsight, I mean the writers believe they're making smart decisions at the moment of creation.  But it seemed to me from the middle of season 3 they kept writing themselves in a corner and brilliantly fixing their mistakes only to write themselves back into another corner.  For me the aspect of Angel that was never utilized properly was his evil demon Angelus.  I always believed that when Angel looked upon his son, Connor, for the first time he should have lost his soul again.  Seeing his son would have filled him with great joy and hence cursed him back to Angelus.  That would have been a great element to the story as his friends protect Angel's child while Angel's evil self sets out to destroy the world.  Or how about this?  What if Angelus (still a bad guy) chooses to fight evil for a spell.  Then in Season 4 they spend so much time trying to surprise the audience with Cordelia's real reason for returning it seems they never considered how the audience would feel seeing her seduce a teenager and become evil for no reason.  But overall this is a good show with great writing.   It could have been better but still I can't complain too much.  Compared with most shows, Angel is a diamond in the rough, a wonder of wit and fantasy.  It's too bad there are not more shows like it.   

Garnethill by Denise Mina (Novel)

The first in a trilogy this Scottish mystery novel is a feisty read with a heroine on the verge of being arrested for killing her boyfriend who she learns was married.  Maureen O'Donnell is the kind of main character that you enjoy following but have a hard time really liking (at least for me).  She's a refreshing non-detective mystery-solver with a complex past.  Her family and friends are all over the place from a drug-dealing brother to a crazy mother.   As she bounces from relationship to police inquiry like a pinball in a pinball machine it's easy to forget at times that she has a murder to solve.  It's a fast read written with a wonderful dry wit that is quite fun.  I happened to see Demise Mina at a book panel earlier this year at the LA Festival of Books and was impressed by her clever wit and she certainly lets it fill her prose.  Will I be wanting to read more of Maureen?  That I'm not sure.  While the book ended well and I enjoyed Mina's writing style, especially the Scottish colloquialisms scattered throughout the book, I can't say I'm dying to read another four hundred pages dealing with this peculiar character.  I wish I could give a really good reason why but the truth is I can't.  I don't need all my heroes to be perfect but I like to connect to them on some level and I never did with Maureen.  I will check out another of Demise Mina's books though.  She is a solid writer worth reading a second time.  Grade: B

The Hill (1965)

After watching Sidney Lumet's last film a couple days ago I decided to watch one of his earlier works, this British military drama starring Sean Connery.  The story takes place on a military detention camp for British soldiers who need to be whipped back into obedience.  One of their punishments to do this is a man-made hill that soldiers are ordered to run up and down, breaking their spirits as well as wearing out their bodies.  Is this a little cruel or is this how one makes a soldier out of a disappointment?  The film has aged well, seeming as almost as contemporary as any film made today, regardless if shot in black and white.  Sean Connery does a great job distancing himself as 007 with his performance but it's Ossie Davis who steals the show as the lone black soldier in the camp.  Certainly a lost classic film, I hope more people discover this drama.  Grade: A-

Sound of My Voice (2011)

If you've seen Another Earth you know that Brit Marling is a bright new talent and this second project she did with director Zal Batmanglij is proof of her abilities.  The story is about a couple named Peter and Lorna, played by Christopher Demham and Nicole Vicius, who infiltrate a secret cult led by a woman named Maggie who claims to be from the future.  Marling plays Maggie and even though she's not the main character the power she controls over the group makes you forget sometimes.  Peter is the driving force of the plot.  While he might have intended to show the world Maggie is a fake, he starts to have doubts, especially when forced to do something he would otherwise not do.  The story does have a big gaping hole in it, a sub plot about a mysterious woman who supposedly works for the Feds, that distracts and confuses the story's logic.   I don't mind leaving some mystery for the audience, but I didn't think the script handled the ending well.  While I wish it had a more dramatic and jaw-dropping ending, it's still a very well made independent film worth checking out.  Grade: B+    

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)

Sidney Lumet's last film might be his best, or at least my favorite.  Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman play brothers who becoming involved in a jewelry heist in order to get out of their own money troubles.  There's more of course, but I don't want to ruin some of the twists.  I really enjoyed this movie.  The acting was intense and complex with believability.  The direction wasn't all showy but focused, letting the drama play out instead of forcing it with odd camera shots or distracting violence.  This really is a great a drama and proof that age doesn't deteriorate an artist's ability.  Grade: A

Kitty Foyle (1940)

The sexist beginning of this film might turn away most modern audiences, but once you get past the "History of Women" prologue (from a man's point of view of course) the story finally gets going.  Kitty Foyle has a choice: follow her passion and run away to be with her first love or stay behind and get married to the doctor who loves her.  It reminds me of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.   Be sensible or follow your heart.  Of course her first love is a wealthy young man incapable of loving her back like she deserves and it's not clear if Kitty Foyle has ever really known what her heart wants.   The plot is all a flashback as we watch her grow up and fall in love and out of love: to help the audience understand her choice at the end of the film.  Ginger Rogers won the Best Actress Oscar that year for this role.  I personally believe Joan Fontaine (Rebecca) for even Betty Davis (The Letter) should have won that year but Rogers did deliver a good performance nevertheless.  Grade: B

Skyfall (2012)

While nowhere near as well-written or as satisfying as Casino Royale (Daniel Craig's first venture as 007) this is still a very good movie that succeeds at feeling like a Bond movie and reinvigorating the franchise for a promising new run (if MGM can stay in business that is).  Here director Sam Mendes and his trio of screenwriters choose to celebrate the famous British spy by referencing classic Bond motifs and asking the question, is a spy like Mr. Bond relevant in today's world?  The answer is yes.  Especially with a villain like Javier Bardem, who really creates a dangerous nemesis for MI6.  Judi Dench is great as usual and I'm glad the producers gave us an updated Q to root for.  There's a lot to love about this movie.  I just hope that this is not the moment when this rebooted franchise gets soft and silly like during Roger Moore's tenure.  Grade: B+

Spoilers: Before reading any further I want to make it clear I will be ruining the ending, okay?  Here we go.  It's something cruelly refreshing yet unsatisfying to watch over 2 hours of an adventure film to see the hero lose.  Bond fails at doing everything that he was supposed to do.  He gets the sexy slave woman killed, he allows the villain to invade British soil and accomplish his goal of revenging Bond's boss, M.  The only thing Bond does right was keep his job (although why it's unclear since he failed so miserably; I mean really, realistically he would have been fired).  This has got to be the most displeasing Bond ever, even surpassing Her Majesty's Secret Service.  I would have liked to have seen Bond win at the end, even if just a little.  Maybe Bond should have stayed "dead" and retired, or maybe this tragic hero is never supposed to win.  He's damned to be a lost soul forever.  It doesn't really make me very excited for the next one if that's the case.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)

On the same DVD as the 1932 version is this inferior albeit entertaining adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's tale staring Spencer Tracey.  Director Victor Flemming does a good job using a more psychological transformation from man to monster and it is effective.  The problem is Tracey is miscast in my opinion and it's too close of a remake of the '32 film than a fresh adaptation of the novel.  Ingrid Bergman steals the show with her terrified performance.  You can see why the producers cast her in Gaslight years later.  Grade: B.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1932)

Robert Louis Stevenson's classic story about duel personalities is given its best cinematic treatment with Fredric March playing the title roles.  Sure the makeup does seem a little racist (which was something I tried to ignore because I know the film makers intended to model the Hyde effects after prehistoric cave men; but at the same time this was a different time with less concern over the sensitives of minorities) nevertheless the effects are ground breaking.  What also impressed me was how director Rouben Mamoulian experimented with the first person point of view shot and makes it work.  Sure it's a little bit of a gimmick but he doesn't over use the technique.  I also must give a shout out at one of my favorite underrated female stars, Miriam Hopkins, who delivers the screams and the fear as the terrorized girl friend of Mr. Hyde.  Overall a great work of horror on so many levels.  Grade: A-

The Blue Angel (1930)

This German film is a dark cynical and weirdly entertaining masterpiece about a respected professor who falls for a showgirl, but it's not a love story.  If anything it's a warning about false love and how it can ruin ones life.  Marlene Dietrich plays the temptress showgirl Lola-Lola and you can see why this part made her a star.  She's devilish yet beautiful.  Josef von Sternberg directed and I can't wait to see his next film he did with Dietrich, Morocco (which is unavailable on DVD right now, of course).  Then there's character actor Emil Jannings who plays the professor, who I last saw in the silent film The Last Laugh.  He was so good at playing tragic fools.  Really this is a brilliant film that left my mind humming.  I strongly recommend this one.  Grade: A. 

The General (1998)

Martin Cahill was this Irish criminal mastermind in the late '80s who seemed destined to become the hero (or anti-hero) of a film.  Director John Boorman gives the world another expertly crafted work of art to impress for generations to come and Brendan Gleeson delivers one of his best performances, seeming to become the real Mr. Cahill.  This larger than life character fearlessly did what he wanted and took what he wanted and he did it by joyfully outsmarting the police and in some cases his own friends.   He is the kind of person that proves life is stranger than fiction.  Sure, eventually this past would come back to ruin him, but not before making him a Dublin legend.  It's weird to praise a film for in some ways celebrating a criminal, but I think there's more going on here than mere glorification.  There's a lot us average folk can learn from those willing to mock society and defy the norms that imprison us.  Grade: A-.

Night Train to Munich (1940)

Rex Harrison really was a great actor.   He is so much more than Professor Higgins from My Fair Lady.  Here he's a British spy named Dickie Randall who goes behind enemy lines just as WWII is starting up to rescue the young woman he fell in love with and her scientist father the Nazis want to force into working for them.  Carol Reed directs what is his best film (yes, I've seen The Third Man but this one really has suspense all the way through).  Two civilian Englishmen traveling through Germany almost steal the show as they become involved in the spy games.  Grade: A-

A Separation (2011)

Winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film of last year, this Iranian film about the consequences of a couple trying to part ways is about as perfect a drama as one could want.   It gives a glimpse of the Iranian culture and its judicial system without having to explain itself.  The characters' lives unfold naturally and as their problems grow worse it never feels forced.  Director and writer Asghar Farhadi is an excellent storyteller and this is a masterpiece.  Perhaps it should have been nominated for best picture as well.  Grade: A

A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)

This spooky Korean horror film directed by Kim Ji-woon deals with sisters and an evil stepmother.  But things are not what they seem and you'll figure that out pretty quick.  I was a tad bit disappointed when I finally saw this, for I had heard really good things about it.  Kim Ji-woon's I Saw The Devil is far better.  This twisted Cinderella ghost story is well-made and does have some creepy moments plus Yeom Jeong-ah as the stepmother gives a complex and wonderful performance, but it does drag at times.  These kind of movies sometimes seem like they're only about the twist, and while there are some strong dramatic characterizations, I would have enjoyed more clarity as the plot unwinds.  Grade: B

Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie (1988)

This documentary about the infamous Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie the Butcher of Lyon is over four hours long.  You'd think that would be ridiculously long, especially with a film with mostly interviews.  But director Marcel Ophüls makes every minute count and I found myself so intrigued that its length didn't bother me.  The narrative of the documentary deals with Klaus Barbie's childhood, how he joined the Nazi Regine, his very comfortable and equally abhorrent life on the run in South America and all the irony of his capture when he was an old man.  If you're a history buff, you'll enjoy it.  But if a bunch of interviews about a torturer who never really pays for his crimes depresses you or makes you yawn, stay away from this.  Grade: A-     

Looper (2012)

Time-Travel Noir from the filmmaker who gave us Brick, Rian Johnson: how could I not love it? This is one of the best science fiction films to come out in recent years, a stylish and dark story with a wonderful cast and subtle, terrific special effects (meaning the special effects don't derail the story by being eye-popping and exhausting.)  Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a Looper, an assassin who kills people from the future.   Loopers are paid in silver bars attached to their target (who appears hooded out in the middle of a corn field for the Looper to gun down a second later).  When the Looper kills the target with gold bars on their body they are officially retired having closed the loop by killing their future self, that's right the guy with the gold bars is them.  A great mind warp that does bump into some pesky time-travel-paradoxes along the way but still very entertaining.  The always excellent Emily Blunt also stars along with Bruce Willis as the older version of Mr. Gordon-Levitt.  More for the Blade Runner crowd than those who like happier science fiction like E.T.  Grade: A-

Spoilers:  There's a fun sequence where a Future Looper escapes near the beginning of the film.  While on the run he looks down to suddenly discover that he is missing two fingers.  Next a message is scarred on his arm that tells him to go to some address and turn himself in.  Basically the younger or present Looper is on some operating table and when the organization cuts off one of his limbs that limb also disappears from the future version.  As the Future Looper hurriedly tries to get to the address he loses his legs and then ends up crawling.   Really cool idea, but there's one problem.  If you cut his legs off when he's in his twenties, how would he be able to run away in the first place without legs?  Also by changing the future doesn't the Organization risk changing something that will happen that they need to happen?  There's a big paradox here that is explained away by saying these kind of paradoxes work themselves out.   Nice try, Mr. Johnson, but it seems like you were more interested in focusing on the story than the science, which is fine.   The story is king so I'll let you slide on this one but that's one of the hang ups with Time travel stories, the more you mess with time the more you'll write yourself into a paradox. 

Red by Jack Ketchum (Novel)

After watching the Woman, I decided to read something from Mr. Ketchum.  This short novel is a fast and enjoyable read, more a thriller than a horror story about an old man avenging the senseless murder of his dog.  The main character of Avery Ludlow is well-developed and relate able without feeling like some kind of simply everyman character.  The plot unfolds like a snowball rolling down a mountain, getting bigger and more intense as you read without feeling forced.  Grade: B+

Top Ten Election Movies (Commentary)

In celebration of Election Tuesday, I've researched election-themed films and came up with the below list of what I deem the best of the sub-genre.   So go out and vote and then pick one of these to watch while the votes are being counted and recounted.

10. Primary Colors (1998)

9. The Great McGinty (1940)

8. The Ides of March (2011)

7. Wag the Dog (1997)

6. Napoleon Dynamite (2004)

5. Dave (1993)

4. Bulworth (1998)

3. The American President (1995)

2. Election (1999)

1. Bob Roberts (1992)

*Films I have yet to see: The Candidate, The Campaign
** Strange that so many came out in the '90s. 

Election 2012: Final Thoughts (Commentary)

This election has been analyzed to death by so many people I almost didn't write this blog.  The problem is I am compelled to by the simple fact that I'm worried.   I'm worried that America is about to make another mistake in the same way they did when they elected George W. Bush into the White House, not just once, but twice.  For me this election is about two colliding ideologies.  But don't be fooled.  It's not about the size of government.  Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan keep shouting that they want to decrease the size of our government.  That's not what they want.  They just want government to stand back and let corporations and markets make profits without consequences.  They want the government to let free markets run wild without any guidelines.  There's a reason we have traffic laws and that's because if we didn't a lot of drivers would be killed.  This same rule should be applied to our economic institutions. Yet when it comes to women's heath, same-sex marriage, voting rules, censorship, unions and a whole lot of other issues Romney and his Republican ilk do want big government, they just want it to protect different parts of what they define as American by limiting the population's free will.  Democrats aren't really interested in big government they just realize that in a complicated world government is necessary.  If anything they want an efficient government, not a big one.  This is an election where billionaires are trying to buy the election once again, spending huge sums of money to back any candidate that represents their interests (and they have the gall to say special interests are ruining this country).  It's not that these rich people are evil it's just that they're blinded by their own unique perspective.  They've isolated themselves from society and no longer see those with less money in the same way.  They feel it's unfair that Obama wants to tax them more, when we've had a progressive tax system in place for sometime now and it just needs to be re-adjusted.  No one likes to be attacked and so they are fighting back.  So for this election its a choice between two wealthy men.  One is a lawyer who has spent his whole life fighting for the common man, a man who is highly educated and believes that when times are tough we all need to stick together.  The other is a business man who has spent his whole life making big profits, playing with lives by breaking up and rebuilding companies for success and failure, a man that loves his country and has helped many friends and neighbors as a good Christian yet believes we the people must fight for ourselves.   One man believes in the idea of many to help the individual and the other believes in the individual helping themselves is the only way to help the many.   Both men are good men but one stands firm for what he believes in and the other flip flops and lacks consistency.   I trust one and fear the other.   Barack Obama for me is a great President because he will always fight for everyone and represent all our interests.  I have no doubt that Mitt Romney is the kind of guy who will fight for whoever will stand for what he believes in, which is a murky interchangeable question mark.   That's not a President we deserve and that's why I will be voting for President Barack Obama tomorrow.  If Obama loses I don't think our country is doomed but I do think Romney will lead this country toward a future where corporations and the wealthy play by different rules than the rest of us.  That's not fair and that's not American and that will destroy the spirit of this county in ways that will take decades to repair. 

Blood Feast (1963)

This Herschell Gordon Lewis directed low-budget gore film is more of a novelty than a good movie.  It's amateur hour all over it with only a minutes of decent anything.  The acting is bad, the story is bad, the look of the film is so bright and bleached out that it feels more like a home movie than anything meant to entertain an audience.  The story revolves around a man who worships Ishtar and is preparing a feast of human flesh.  Detectives are on his trail but will they catch him before he serves up his human dishes?  More famous for its gory details and low-budget feel, I would only watch this if that kind of thing thrills you.  Grade: C.

Martin (1972)

In many ways this is George A. Romero's best work, not because it's better than Night of the Living Dead but because it's more personal to his artistic heart.  Martin is a vampire, or so he believes, and he is out on the hunt while dealing with all the complex emotions we all deal with as we adjust to who we are and who we interact with.  There are some really freaky moments as Martin drugs his victims so he can drink their blood.   One of the better and more clever vampire themed films made.   The low-budget quality never diminishes what is a well told story.  Grade: A.

Satan's Little Helper (2003)

This horror film is like some kind of cruel joke that keeps on going and you want to laugh (and you do) but at some point it's hard to find it funny anymore.  This isn't a bad thing for a horror film and in fact I applaud director/ writer Jeff Lieberman for coming up with such an evil little movie.   In the tradition of mistaken identity comedies, a twenty something college student named Jenna, played by Katheryn Winnick, gets her little brother's deranged masked murderer mistaken as her boyfriend.  Her little brother Dougie is a bit annoying and it's completely unbelievable that he would become so enamored by a stranger dressed up as Satan.  I get what Lieberman is doing though, making more of a statement then crafting a realistic story.  It mostly works and there's enough going on here to recommend it for what it is, a dark comedy about a serial killer.  Grade: B.

The Woman (2011)

Based on the Jack Ketchum novel, which is the third part of a trilogy which I didn't know about until after watching this disturbingly wicked film, tells the story of a psychotic, father and husband country lawyer named Chris Cleek who finds a wild woman in the woods.  So he decides to take her home and chain her to his barn as a project for his family.  His abusive son is the apple not very far from the tree and his daughter the only one starting to see what's wrong with her family unit.  This is a great fun little horror film that works on so many levels it's hard to know where to start.  It's surreal, it's funny, it's gross, it's funny, it's unpredictable, satirical, and yes, it's funny.   Director Lucky McKee of the cult classic horror film May, proves he understands the genre and has a unique style that's his own.  The cast is pitch perfect especially Pollyanna McIntosh who plays the woman; she really goes all out and it's an unforgettable performance.  This film certainly makes me want to read the entire trilogy.  Grade: A

The Haunting (1963)

After reading the book by Shirley Jackson I put in Robert Wise's film adaptation into the DVD player to compare this Halloween.  My first question is why take out Hill House from the title?   Don't you want people to know that your film is an adaptation of a known novel?  I love the book's title and the name of the house and think they should have left the title alone.  That said, you have to praise Mr. Wise for taking a very stiff novelistic story and giving it cinematic weight.  There's genuine fear going on here and I greatly enjoyed the spooky sounds and wide angle shots.  The acting is also very strong with Julie Harris' portrayal of Eleanor being so good it's almost like she was possessed by the actual character.   Some of the changes from the book are understandable such as John Markway's wife being a skeptic instead of a ghost hunter herself and the wonderful sequence at the spiral staircase is great.  Yet then you have to ask why change the doctor's last name?  Nelson Gidding did a very good job as a screenwriter tightening the story's structure but he added a bunch of boring dialogue too.  I felt during some scenes like I was watching a play.  Overall it's clear that this is an inventive and stylized horror film that works on many levels.  Grade: B+

A note on the two remakes of this story:  Stephen King's sort of remake called Rose Red is actually the best adaptation of Jackson's novel.  Why he changed the house's name, I'm not sure but all the same events happen (if updated for the modern world).  I'd check it out if you enjoy TV-made miniseries.  But whatever you do avoid the '90s remake of The Haunting with Liam Neelson and Catherine Zeta-Jones.  It's awful with goofy CGI and horrible direction.  It might be one of the worst films I have ever seen.  It's because of that film I avoided Jackson's novel for so long and that alone is a crime.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirly Jackson (Novel)

It's pretty much known that Jackson's novel about a haunted house is considered by many the best haunted house story in prose.  After reading it I was shocked to find out how much natural humor is embedded in the moody novel.  There are some incredible spooky atmospheric descriptions but it's not really a ghost story at all.  In many ways this is more a character study than a story.  Hell House is the character being studied and if there is a plot it's a love affair between the house and the lonely and fragile Eleanor Lance.  I almost stopped enjoying the novel toward the end because it seemed like she didn't know what to do in the final chapters but I was delighted in the last pages with a satisfying and creepy end.  Grade: A-    

Black Sunday Aka The Mask of Satan (1960)

A witch is being burned at the stake, but a short rain storm douses the flames.  To kill her they use a spiked mask but before they can put it on she warns the mob witnessing her burning that she will come back to have her revenge.  This film is about her return as a Professor and his travel companion search the inside of a crypt and unknowingly awaken her.   This is so far my favorite film by Mario Bava.  The black and white cinematography enhances the horror while at the same time deluding the camp some.  You can imagine that back in the sixties people were flipping out about this gruesome film.   It's dated some but still enjoyable to watch with a thrilling conclusion.  Grade: B+

The Innkeepers (2011)

Ti West should stop trying to make horror movies. He’s not very good at it. From this film and his awful The House of the Devil, I can tell he is a decent film maker stuck in the wrong genre. His films look great, the actors in his films act well, and he has a solid professional polish to his storytelling but when it comes to scares he sucks.  His endings suck too.  Not that the rest of this film is that great, but I thought the quirky Claire played by Sara Paxton was a pleasant heroine. Too bad she really lacks any kind of compelling reason for doing what she does.  Grade: C

Tucker and Dale vs Evil (2010)

Another example of Postmodern horror that excels with big laughs and great character acting.  Tucker and Dale (played by the great Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine) are two hillbillies going into the woods to spend their vacation in their new vacation home.  Then a group of college kids assume they're evil hillbillies (as seen in movies like Deliverance) and a series of bad assumptions lead to a battle of wills.  What a satisfying and rewarding twist.  If you like gory comedy than you're in for a treat.  Grade: B+

Spoiler Alert:  I only had one problem with this film and that is how the film makers open with a reporter and her camera man being killed.  The film makers lead you to believe this is a set up for a sequel by bookending it, but it's a completely unnecessary scene.   

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)

This cult classic staring Vincent Price as the revenging Dr. Phibes is a sublime example of weird disco horror that's darkly funny and full of memorable scenes.  My favorite is with the locust.  Dated as you'd expect, with strange art deco sets and colorful costumes it's a wonder Hollywood hasn't made a remake yet (unless you count SAW which basically uses the same story with far more gruesome results).  I highly recommend this film for those who like a little cheesy fun with their revenge stories.  Grade: B+    

Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

They did it again! I never would have expected directors Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost of being able to sustain the stationary camera concept so brilliantly used in this franchise created by producer Oren Peli . Yet they did with a believable thought-out use of laptop cameras. While not nearly as scary as the first two films, what I enjoyed about these last two is how they expand on the story. We now know who the demon is, it has a name—Tobey. And we know that Katie is an evil demon-possessed killer and that Hunter is important for some witches coven.   There’s still a lot of mystery but the humor and dreadful awkwardness is still evident.   I really don’t see how they can continue but they did it this time why not. It’s really a no-brainer for the studios. These films can be made with very little and they make a guaranteed bus load of money. While I still think the first three make for a great trilogy, I’m having a lot of fun seeing where they take this story.   It’s inevitable that they’re going to screw up at some point and drag this concept to the ground but hopefully I’m proven wrong. For the next film, if I had any request, would be the introduction of a good force so Tobey and folk don’t have such an easy time getting what they want. And what is it they want? I guess we’ll have to wait until next October to find out. Grade: B+

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)

There's a cool sub-genre in horror films that I like to call PostModern Horror.  These are films that take the formulas and cliches we're all familiar with in the genre and flip them upside down.  Scream was one of the first films to do this and films like Shawn of the Dead have continued the tradition.  Most of these films are comedies but that doesn't mean they're lacking any horrific moments.   This one directed by Scott Glosserman is about a documentary film crew following a young man named Leslie Vernon on his first killing spree as a slasher.  While reminiscent of a film like Man Bites Dog, this ones plays more like a comedic tribute to slasher films of legend (Michael, Jason and Freddy) than a dark satire.   Angela Goethals and Nathan Baesel have great chemistry on screen and its their back and forth that makes this film work.  Grade: B+

The Walking Dead (Seasons 1 & 2)

As a fan of the comics and of Frank Darabont I was ecstatic about this television show and now that I’ve seen the first two seasons I’m even more thrilled. It uses the comic as a bases but allows for an organic change to occur to become something new. Characters emerge not from the comics and entirely different events play out to keep readers like me surprised. The funny thing is that as I watch this show I’ve begun to see plot holes in the entire Zombie sub-genre which I’ll explain below, but as a dramatic survival show that has potential to a legendary work of the television medium.  This one is a winner, so far. Grade: B+

Zombie Plot Holes (or Developments I hope are talked about or I’ll be greatly Annoyed)

1. Zombies are dead so they decay. At some point they’re going to fall apart and be unable to walk and be a threat. How long will this take and when this happens what will happen to the show, being that it’s called the Walking Dead. (Or are they going to rename the show the Crawling Dead)

2. Would the entire population really be that devastated by a zombie plague? I understand there was chaos and the military just started shooting people for no reason but I don’t really buy it. They need to explain how this happened better, in my opinion.

3. Zombies are really not that dangerous and I find it silly how the writers have to find ways for zombies to sneak up on their victims (like they’re quiet ninjas) or their victims have to trip and fall to make it fair for the zombies to reach them.   In small numbers they’re slow, brainless things which any survivor should get used to really quick. They’re only dangerous in large numbers which could be avoided better.  Spoiler Alert: I mean the way Dale is killed is pathetic.  What should have been a powerful scene just had me angry?  The zombie just tears open his stomach like he's made of cheese.  How strong are these things?  I wouldn't be able to tear open a human stomach on my own.  I can barely rip through a piece of raw chicken.   

Kwaidan (1965)

These four Japanese ghost stories are rich examples of the supernatural.  Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful in every way.  Masaki Kobayashi brilliantly directs these stories with that right amount of spooky mood and horrific irony.   The first story deals with a man who leaves his first wife to marry a second wife for wealth.  The second story is about a young man who promises a mystical woman of the snow that he did not see her.  The third story and the longest deals with a blind Biwa hōshi who is requested to sing for the dead and the last story is about a man who sees a ghost in the reflection of his tea.  Sure it's a little long and there's a battle sequence that starts off the third story which isn't really that important, it's still a fine film and worth watching.  These are so good I will probably watch these again.  Grade: A-     

My Blood Valentine (1981)

As ‘80s slasher flicks go, this one is pretty darn good. Way better than Friday the Thirteenth released a year earlier.  It tells a pretty formalistic story of young adults getting murdered by a madman known as Harry Warden, an insane ex-Miner who kills on Valentine’s Day because he was in a mining accident while the town held a Valentine dance. The gore is top-notch (if you like that kind of thing) and there’s actually a love-triangle in there to bolster the plot.  Also the town they shot the film in is a great working-class back drop. The acting at times is decent but a few awkward moments of bad acting do pop up on occasion. I wouldn’t say this is a great slasher film like Halloween or Black Christmas, the director George Mihalka lacks the skills for pacing and iconic imagery. Someday I’ll check out the remake that came out a few years earlier.  While this one is dated, I doubt the remake evokes the same kind of genuine horror. Grade: B+

Election Debates: Part 2 (Commentary)

Obama got the message.  Mitt wasn't going to play fair.  After attempting to debate as Mr. Nice Guy in the first debate, the President put on his armor and went to war in the final two debates, winning both of them.   Romney did well though.  Not at telling the truth, but by staying in the center (when convincing the world for months that he was a right-wing conservative) and looking "capable" of acting like a President.  To me it was no contest.  In the town hall debate Obama showed strength and proved in all his attacks that Romney was trying to swindle the electorate.  In the foreign policy debate Obama proved he understood the world and how to navigate its dangerous waters better than his challenger.  Yet the question everyone is asking is, did the fact Obama perform better make a difference after losing to Romney in the first debate?  Only time will tell.   For me, I keep scratching my head trying to figure out how Romney is convincing people he means what he says.  All you have to do is go on YouTube and you'll find dozens of videos showing the guy switching stances.  He really will say anything to get elected.  This doesn't mean he's a good leader; it means he is a good salesman. Sure as a business man he was great at making boat loads of cash (as salesmen are supposed to do) but he wasn't really that great at creating jobs and improving lives (for not all the companies he invested in did well).  Romney says he will not add to our deficit because it's wrong but you have to remember he left the State of Massachusetts in debt.  He promises to repeal ObamaCare only to replace it with something just like it but without a plan on how to pay for it.  His tax plan doesn't add up and he avoids this fact by going on the offensive instead of giving us specifics.  He wants to spend more on the military when we're not going to be at war with anyone (or so I hope).  And he still hasn't really addressed his 47% remarks without sounding like a rich guy out of touch with the growing population of have-nots.  Romney is like Silly Putty.  He'll mold himself into any shape and peal off any image you want him to be.   Yet once and if he is in the Oval office how is he going to act?  Is he going to shut himself away like he did with the Massachusetts's State Congress and ride his own private elevator?   Probably.  Even more strange is how women are standing by this guy.  In the debate he avoided the question about equal pay for equal work when it came to women.   You don't have to be pro-life or pro-choice to know that's a good idea.  (And for those who support choice, he hopes Roe vs. Wade is overturned.)   It's hard not to imagine him taking us back to the days of Mad Men where he'll just hire women based on what binder is put in front of him.   I could attack Obama on a few things, but why when of the two of them Obama actually stands for something.   We know who he is.  That's integrity and that's a sign of a great leader.  If re-elected Obama needs to focus on our national debt and he needs to work on getting the moderate Republicans on his side (if there are any Moderates left).   Obama did well these last four years stabilizing our country after Bush took the USA for a joyride and busted it up really bad.   But to continue his progress he'll need to make some tough decisions to get this country back on track.  Romney says he can do this and Obama can't.  The problem is I don't believe Romney.   His entire campaign is built on the Anit-Obama movement.   Vote for me not because you like me or because you think I can do what I promise but because you hate Obama.  Sadly this tactic is working and making a muddled election.  This should be a slam dunk.  Anyone with a brain and an ounce of compassion for his fellow man would vote for Obama.  Our country is better off with him.   Yet the Billionaire Spin-machine is brainwashing us and they're succeeding.  It's almost enough to make me want to scream.  Grade: Obama: B+ Romney: C-

When A Stranger Calls (1979)

Black Christmas used the urban legend of the baby sitter getting scary calls better but this thriller does a good job of building suspense and creating a sense of terror. Carol Kane is wonderful as the babysitter and Charles Durning delivers an intense performance as the revengeful cop. The true star of the show is Tony Beckley as Curt Duncan, the crazy guy. He plays evil really well but what makes his tactics so frightening is that he’s a sick man unable to control his actions which makes you almost feel sorry for him, until you remember what he did. This is not a masterpiece by any means; but a nice well-executed film that will be remembered more as one of the films that Scream satirizes. This is too bad because it is a good film. Grade: B+

The Snowtown Murders (2011)

I have one word for this brilliantly acted and stylized film: boring. Okay, that’s a bit harsh. A lot of disturbing and horrific activities transpire during the course of this film. You, the viewer, will only see about ninety percent of it but I know John Bunting and his followers killed and tortured a bunch of people. How do I know this? Because it’s a true story and I read about it afterward on the Internet. Too bad director Justin Kurzel decided to dilute this incredible true story with vague references and scattered unnecessary textural shots. Too bad the various victims in his story come and go without much introduction or closure. I kind of understand that the main character, Jamie, is mental ill and maybe Kurzel wants his audience to see the world in a mental funk too, but it annoys more than enlightens in this case. As stated, the acting his remarkable and intense, especially from Daniel Henshall as Bunting.  If you’re interested in great performances you might enjoy this one. If you like great imagery without a plot you’ll find this film wonderfully stark and artful. But if you’re like me and want a good story told well you’ll be hugely disappointed. Grade: C+

Dead Silence (2005)

James Wan and Leigh Whannell, the makers of Saw give us a treat about a young man who investigates the death of his wife, killed by a revengeful ventriloquist ghost and her creepy shifty-eyed dummy. If not for a weak hero in actor Ryan Kwanten this one would be a new classic. But I can’t get too hung up over Ryan’s average performance or the fact that Wan uses some spooky but slightly unbelievable set pieces because this is basically an enjoyable horror film worth the watch. Grade: B+

Salo or 120 Days of Sodom (1975)

There’s a reason this Italian commentary on fascism is considered one of the most controversial films ever made. While not really a horror film in a sense, it is a shocking and disturbing parable worthy of the genre. Yet while new such films like Human Centipede shock for the sake of entertainment and spectacle this film directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini shocks to inspire thought. This is a true work of art that insults the viewer with twisted people of power abusing those without. A warning: this is for mature audiences only and in mature I don’t just mean age but in having an intellectual understanding of history, theater of cruelty and the Marquise De Sade of which this film bases much of its depravity on. Grade: A

Spoiler Alert: One aspect of the film which I found out-date was the amount of homosexuality.  I'm not taking about the forced orgies, I'm talking about men consentually indulging in sexual relations.  I'm sure back in the'70s this was very offensive but this one part of the film no longer works as a disturbing image (or at least to me).  It doesn't ruin the original impact of Pasolini's message but it does show how norms change.

Last House on the Left (1972)

If you’re really interested in seeing Wes Craven’s directorial debut then this is it, but it’s a very low-budget rape and murder movie with awful acting and badly executed violence. The only semi-redeeming aspect to this film is how he counters the actual brutality with some hokey music that almost mocks the terror. This odd juxtaposition works but only a few times.  And I know Craven insists that this was inspired by Ingmar Bergman’s masterpiece The Virgin Spring, but it’s nowhere near as thought provoking or artful. This is just a bad move from a guy who will someday be a horror directing icon. Grade: C-

Intruders (2011)

Clive Owens stars in this inventive Bogey man-type story about a demon named Hallowface. Two story lines tell the tale of Hallowface, one about a mother worried that her son’s possessed and the other is about a father (Owens) trying to protect his daughter who seems to have conjured Hallowface from her imagination. There are some frightening moments and a lot of great imagery at work here. Director Juan Carlos Fresnadillo does a fine job sustaining the mystery until the end and the result is a satisfying conclusion to a psycho-mystical horror film. Grade: B+

Rogue (2007)

Could be called, Jaws with a crocodile, this thriller centers around a group of tourists stranded out in the Australian outback being hunted by a giant croc. I loved this adventure horror film from the director of Wolf Creek (Greg McLean) for what it was and that’s a well-made when-animals-attack monster movie. Michael Vartan, Radha Mitchell and a young Mia Wasikowska star.  Everything that happens in this film has been done before in other such films but I don’t really care. It was a pleasure to watch. Grade: A- 

Night of the Demon (1957)

Known as the Curse of the Demon in the US market, this British horror film from the ‘50s really impresses, even today. An American psychologist, John Holden (played by Dana Andrews), arrives in London for a conference. When he arrives he learns that his English counterpart was killed. This leads him into contact with an evil magician of the dark arts named Doctor Karswell (played brilliantly by Niall MacGinnis) who curses Holden to die in a three days. To prevent his death Holden must overcome his own skepticism and unravel the mystery of a strip of paper with runes on it. The Ring and especially Drag Me To Hell borrow from this film which was based on M.R. James' story Casting the Runes.  I highly recommend this other gem from director Jacques Tourneur.  Grade: A-

Creature of the Black Lagoon (1954)

This ‘50s creature feature is a technical wonder. The creature suit is fantastic for not only does it look great but it’s functional too. That’s where this film becomes more than just a monster film but a great spectacle, the underwater moments are riveting.  This is great work from director Jack Arnold.   The trumpet call every time the monster shows itself is super repetitive (and laughable) and the woman character is way too helpless. But the dueling scientists and the various ways the crew try to capture the monster add to the adventure.   It is dated and sexist, but it’s still a fun to watch.   Grade: B+

Election Debates: Part 1 (Commentary)

I decided to interrupted this Horror Movie festival to comment on a real life horror story taking place right now and that's the battle for President of the United States.  This election is too important not to write about it.  The monster in this tale is Mitt "Frankenstein" Romney and there's a real reason to be scared and that's because some polls are showing him in the lead.  Obviously I'm a supporter of the President, I think he is a fine president worthy of a second term.  It's as simple as that.  I don't want to switch to another guy right now, especially one so desperate to win he'll say anything to convince people he's the guy.  Obama is in the worst place right now.  He doesn't want to come across as too defensive and angry while at the same time he needs to show why Romney's policies would be bad for the country.  This explains his weak performance in the first debate.  That and he probably was not prepared for Romney to flip flop on everything he'd been saying out on the campaign trail.  I don't really think Obama did anything bad it's just that Romney "looked" more energetic.  Unfortunately people vote for how people "look" instead of what they "say" in this country.  Which plays in Romney's favor, a used-car-salesman type who made a living selling, not telling the truth.  It's always easier to be in the position of the underdog, attacking the one in charge than to be the one in charge.  Romney took advantage of that.  At least Obama has Joe Biden on his side, to fire up the Democratic base and piss off the right-wing Paul Ryan groupies.  If the first debate will be remembered for Mitt Romney's Big Bird comment, the VP debate will be remembered for Joe Biden laughing.  I don't blame him for laughing for the two Rs ideas are laughable.  That people are buying into it, is frightening.  The math doesn't add up as this Daily Show episode shows in a clear and funny way.  The question is will this false wizard tell us how he'll do what he promises?  Nope, because that would mean giving people specifics and Mitt doesn't have any.  He wants the voters to trust him.  But how do we trust someone who doesn't really stand for anything.  Mitt flip flops on all the issues and depending on who he is talking to, says what needs to be said only for his campaign to correct him later with a "he didn't really mean that" line.  I'm not saying Obama is perfect and there are things to go after him on, but Romney only focuses on those things that look damning but really don't prove anything.  The attack in Lybia was horrible but every President has had to deal with some attack on foreign soil.  If President I guarantee Mitt will have to investigate one of his own.   What makes me shiver the most is Romney's tough dogma against Iran.  The guy doesn't have a clue about foreign policy so he just stands up there talking about when he is president the rest of the world will do whatever he wants because they will take him serious.  What a joke!  The world takes us serious because we have a Nobel Peace Prize winner for a President and Mrs. Clinton as the Secretary of State.   And as for Health Care, the only thing Romney wants to change about ObamaCare is the name (for remember even though he says Health Care should be determined by the States, he will be in charge of the Federal Government-- what he's saying is he's going to do nothing on Health Care reform.)  So for a summary: the first debate was a win for Romney only because Obama played it safe (which turned out to be a bad move).  Yet Romney still has yet to really stand for anything, except for getting rid of Obama.  That's his platform really, replace Obama with me, please; not because you should but because I want to be president really bad.  Obama will need to go on the offensive in his next debate while at the same time prepare for the fact that Romney knows he will be more aggressive.  I expect Obama to perform better but Romney might still appear the winner simply by the fact he doesn't have to play defense.  The VP debate was a great entertainment between an experienced politician who knows what he's talking about against a boy-wonder of manipulation.   Asked if supporters of Abortion should be worried if Romney takes the Presidency Ryan danced around the issue without really answering it.  Of course supporters of abortion should be worried.  Paul Ryan is good at defusing his own inadequacies and it's only because of this that he didn't fall on his face.  But as debates go Romney/ Ryan = 1.  Obama/ Biden = 1.  Romney Team Grade: C; Obama Team Grade: B+

Nightmare on Elm Street Part 4: Dream Master (1988)

I knew I was in trouble when I saw Renny Harlin as the director. He’s technically not a bad director he’s just a generic one that picks bad scripts. In the game of horror movie franchises, it’s about this point, number 4, where things start to sour. If you’re looking for a scary thriller with lots of suspense then this Freddy Kruger outing will disappoint. If you want some good laughs and are looking for some surreal special effects that entertain the eye then you’ll find this one pretty fun. I’m in the middle. I wish the script was better because this one was really weak.  Basically the producers knew they’d make a killing at the box office so they threw a script together to reboot the Kruger-collecting-souls storyline with new characters, of course killing the characters from the previous film. You can see why Patricia Arquette didn’t reprise her role from the superior third film. Grade: B-

Witchfinder General (1968)

In the United States this was titled Edgar Allen Poe’s The Conqueror Worm. Don’t let that fool you, this is not based on anything written by Poe, that was just an advertising gimmick to lure viewers into seeing Vincent Price who had been in a series of Poe films already. This one is based on a novel by Ronald Bassett and while more of a historical novel the story is as much a horror story as you can imagine. Director Michael Reeves ups the violence and pushes Mr. Price into giving one of his best performances as a complex psychopath named Matthew Hopkins making money killing people accused of being witches. The hero of our tale is a soldier played by Ian Ogilvy who sets out to avenge Hopkins for killing a friend and raping his wife, played by the beautiful Hilary Dwyer. While some of the zooms let us know this was made in the sixties, it’s actually a very good film. It’s too bad Michael Reeves died after making this and never made another film. He showed a lot of promise. Grade: A-

Hour of the Wolf (1968)

When I heard this Ingmar Bergman film was classified as a horror film I didn’t believe it. Yet it is, reminding me of a psychological Edgar Allen Poe story but with that Bergman quality that pulls you with artful abandonment. It’s the story of man’s mind about to fall apart. It has a castle full of crazy neighbors and a wife consumed by her husband’s guilt and inner pain. Even the way the film opens with a passage stating this is a true story of a man disappearing reminds me of the Paranormal Activity movies. Bergman’s staple cast is here and doing their constant brilliance. It’s maybe a little slow for some people and I think it could have been spookier at times but this is a great experiment of the genre. Grade: B+