Flipside Movie Emporium

[Michael Scrutchin]

From 10.10.04 to 10.31.04:

[beltmann]

I saw 42 separate programs at the Milwaukee International Film Festival, which closed yesterday, October 31. This schedule consisted of 36 features and 45 short films. That's 81 separate titles in 11 freakin' days! Five features were masterful or close to it: Death in Gaza, Head On, The Yes Men, The Middle of the World and Moolaade. I also found Incident at Loch Ness hilarious, and Infernal Affairs smarter than expected.

Eric
_________________
"When I was in Barcelona they showed pornography on regular television. I'm assuming it's the same way in Mexico since they also speak Spanish." - IMDb user comment

[Jim Harper]

I haven't often sat down and listed everything I've watched in a week, but here's this past week's viewing:

Dawn of the Dead (dir. Snyder, 2004) B

The Guardian (dir. Friedkin, 1990) B-

I Don't Want to be Born (dir. Sasdy, 1975) C-

The Invisible Man (dir. Whale, 1933) C+

The Wolf Man (dir. Waggner, 1941) B+

Bhoot (dir. Gopal Varma, 2003) B

The Haunting (dir. Wise, 1963) A

Ghost Ship (dir. Beck, 2002) D

Pursuit to Algiers (dir. Neill, 1945) B

Against the odds Dawn turned out to entertaining, even though it obviously can't compare to the original. The Guardian has been a favourite slice of trash for many years, and I'll take it over The Exorcist any day of the week. I was left somewhat cold by The Invisible Man, particularly the comedy aspects, but thoroughly enjoyed The Wolf Man. A fine tragic tale with at least one decent nod to German expressionist cinema. I've also developed a fondness for the 40s Sherlock Holmes stories, even if they're largely unrelated to Conan Doyle's work.

[the night watchman]

[Danny Baldwin]

10/12 - 11/1 (Three weeks)

I honestly don't think I've ever been this busy in my life, even though Eric's schedule clearly tops mine, in that area. No time to post!

Team America: World Police (Parker, 2004) - In all of its crudeness, I found it to be incredibly smart and rather hysterical.

Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed (Gosnell, 2004) - Why I even wasted my time is beyond me. I used to like the show when I was little, and I suppose I was hoping the sequel would be better than the first, but no such luck prevailed.

Spartacus (Kubrick, 1960) - It's dated, yes, but still has some of the best action scenes to ever see the light of day, even if it does have a lot of filler.

Ladder 49 (Russell, 2004) - A great structure and some terrific performances (with the exception of Travolta) make this Hollywood drivel deliver, despire whatever conventions it may contain.

The Grudge (Shimuzu, 2004) - Nothing. Happens. The score reaches its crescendo, the camera becomes violent, but the plot never progresses. It's not even spooky. Blegh.

Latter Days (Cox, 2004) - Entirely offensive; both Mormons and gays should be fuming at this dispicable piece of trash.

Her Majesty (Gordon, 2004) - I'm glad I didn't waste my time on it at the Film Festival. Nice scenery and some pleasant moments, but the rest is just sugary drivel, disguised as a sophisticated independent film.

I Heart Huckabees (Russell, 2004) - Hysterical at times, with some terrific dialogue, but its existentialist backing is rarely explored in the way that it should be.

Shall We Dance (Chelsom, 2004) - I admired the fact that it didn't take an entirely conventional route, as most romances do, nowadays, but its too repetitive to be bearable, by the end.

Hero (Frears, 1992) - Melodramatic Hollywood fare in every way, shape, and form, with no sense of balance between comedy and drama, despite what my English teacher may think.

Ray (Hackford, 2004) - Other than some great music and an amazing Jamie Foxx performance, this biopic is as bland and by-the-numbers as they come.

Casper Meets Wendy (McNamara, 1996) - Fun, for a direct-to-video release, I suppose.

Surviving Christmas (Mitchell, 2004) - Honestly, I laughed quite a bit. There's something hilarious about Ben Affleck acting insane, even if that isn't exactly to his credit. Other than the few chuckles, though, it's a good-for-nothing, uninspired Holiday throwaway picture. Skip it.
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Danny Baldwin

View My Reviews

[Michael Scrutchin]

[Jim Harper]

At this point I shall put my head on the block and state my preference for Creature From The Black Lagoon over the early Universal monster films and for Hammer over Universal in general...I'll get me coat.

[the night watchman]

Thwack!

Kiddin'.

The Gill-man is my favorite Universal monster (and remains one of my all time favorite movie monsters, and, for my money, is one of the greatest monster suits in cinema), but I've had a hard time returning to the Creature movies since my late teens. I just find them thumping bores now, without even the great black and white photography to provide interest. And I won't even go into their representation of biological evolution. What can I say?

As for Universal vs. Hammer...? The movies are so distinct I have a hard time comparing the two. I certainly love Peter Cushing, and Christopher Lee was Dracula in my childhood more than Lugosi ever was. (I have just recently learned to appreciate Browning's Dracula, anyway.) I suppose my preference depends on what I'm in the mood for at the time.
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"If you're talking about censorship, and what things should be shown and what things shouldn't be shown, I've said that as an artist you have no social responsibility whatsoever."

-David Cronenberg

[Jim Harper]

[the night watchman]

[Jim Harper]

[mfritschel]

Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (Scherfig, 2004) - A solid put together movie, nothing special though. I found myself especially drawn to the older brother and how he acted as a martyr for all the characters in the story by turning everyones life around. It seemed that he was far more influential on the characters, then the sudden appearance of the lady, although she did return a sense of family. Along with being the kind of savior it was also intruging how he was the only one he seemed to possess any type of moral structure.

The Five Obsturctions (Von Trier, 2004) - In my opinion Von Trier has put together two great pictures this year, the other being Dogville. It was intersting to see the two directors interacting, especially how Von Trier almost seem to come off as condecending towards the other one, which really seemed odd since I thought we were lead to believe that this was his idle. I realize he was probably just trying to bring out the best, and his approach was very efficent and worked tremendously well, but I don't know how many other people could use that type of attitude when confronted with their idle.

Van Helsing (Sommers, 2004) - Even this movie is horrible, and I saw right through its superficiality I still found it largely entertaining and have to say it brought out the school boy in me.

[beltmann]

Glad to have you back, mfritschel! I haven't seen Van Helsing yet, but I think Five Obstructions and Wilbur are two of the better pictures of the year. As you know, I liked Dogville, but I much prefer Obstructions. It's a movie about how obstacles can inspire an artist, but ultimately it's about how the solutions reveal a great deal about who the artist is. Most interesting is how Von Trier finally realizes that his own mission--to jar Leth into recognizing his own prejudices and limitations--has run into its own obstacle: The obstructions actually say far more about Von Trier than about Leth.

Eric
_________________
"When I was in Barcelona they showed pornography on regular television. I'm assuming it's the same way in Mexico since they also speak Spanish." - IMDb user comment

[the night watchman]

I enjoyed The Five Obstructions quite a bit, too. I especially liked the results of the first and the third; if the movie had no other purpose (it does, I think, and Eric aptly sums up what it is) it still boasts a handful of great short films.
_________________
"If you're talking about censorship, and what things should be shown and what things shouldn't be shown, I've said that as an artist you have no social responsibility whatsoever."

-David Cronenberg

[Jim Harper]

This week I've watched:

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (dir. Neill, 1942) C+



Abandon (dir. Gaghan, 2002) B-

Horror of Dracula (dir. Fisher, 1958) B+

Dracula Prince of Darkness (dir. Fisher, 1966) B

Dracula Has Risen From the Grave (dir. Francis, 1968) B

Taste the Blood of Dracula (dir. Sasdy, 1970) C+

Lifeforce (dir. Hooper, 1985) C

Ed Gein (dir. Parello, 2000) C

Mark of the Vampire (dir. Browning, 1935) D

High point was my long Saturday watching back-to-back Hammer Dracula films. Pleasantly surprised that Abandon was actually worth watching; it wasn't perfect, but rarely am I even slightly entertained after taking a chance on a film in the TV guide. Lifeforce was fun even if it was out-of-date; it would have been cutting-edge sci-fi in the sixties. Even so it's one of Hooper's best 80s films. Mark of the Vampire was incredibly disappointing. Even before we got to that atrocious ending, I was bored to tears. Lionel Atwill was wasted and even Lugosi failed to entertain. Shame.