Flipside Movie Emporium

beltmann

Happy New Year, fellow Flipsiders!

I hope the first movie I see in 2006 is The Squid and the Whale, or perhaps Ushpizin.
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Michael Scrutchin · Posted: 12.31.2005 11:14 pm Post subject:

Happy New Year!

New Year's Resolution #1: Regularly contribute to this thread with my weekly viewings.
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Mark Dujsik · Posted: 01.01.2006 4:59 am Post subject:

Danny Baldwin · Posted: 01.01.2006 4:41 pm Post subject:

the night watchman · Posted: 01.02.2006 11:09 pm Post subject:

The Legend of Hell House (John Hough, 1973) - This enjoyable take-off of Shirley Jackson?s The Haunting of Hill House flounders a bit because, in taking the paranormal literally, it leaves itself no room for ambiguity or allegory. Still it?s fast-paced and spooky at times, and Roddy McDowall is especially fun to watch as the reticent psychic.

Wishing Stairs (Jae-yeon Yun, 2003) - Sort of a cross between Memento Mori and Susperia with a little Ring thrown because, hell, this is an Asian horror movie, right? There are some good performances here -- tarnished by one awful one -- and the story?s engaging for about the first forty minutes. Then everything takes a backseat to the desperately uninspired supernatural shenanigans. Yawn. I?m not sorry I watched it, but I wouldn?t recommend it.

Night of the Demon (Jacques Tourneur, 1957) - One of my favorite supernatural horror movies, and a dandy adaptation of MR James?s short story that actually manages to improve the source material. I always get a kick out the final confrontation between Holden and the fidgety Karswell on the train. And--say what you will--I think the demon is pretty cool.

The Woman in Black (Herbert Wise, 1989) - This spooky little ghost tale starts off slow and low-key but gradually builds a palpable sense of dread during the story?s progression. Stylistically it?s a little flat and I think some aspects of the narrative could have used a little clarification, but it still all effectively comes together by the end.

The Call of Cthulhu (Andrew Leman, 2005) - This faux silent-age adaptation of Lovecraft?s seminal story is quite well done all around, and most of the special effects and sets are not bad all. The swamp and R'lyeh are pulled off exceptionally well. The acting is low-key and generally convincing, the editing tight and competent, and the lighting and camera angles are interesting without distracting attention from the story. The only real stumbling block, it must be said, is the big guy himself, Mighty Cthulhu, who is a disappointing stop-motion puppet that lacks even the charm of Willis H. O'Brien's Lost World and Skull Island dinosaurs. The neat live action shot of Cthulhu's profile and grasping hand in the trailer is nowhere to be found in the movie itself. Pity that technique wasn't utilized in favor of what they went with. Still, the rest good enough to forgive even a lapse that significant, and the movie, short as it is, manages to be one of the genuinely satisfying screen adaptations of Lovecraft's work. I recommend it.

Ghosts of Hanley House (Louise Sherrill, 1968) - Ostensibly a Haunting / Legend of Hell House-style spooker, but besides the bland acting, wandering dialogue, indecisive blocking, haphazard editing, and unreliable sound, the running time is painfully padded-out with useless mundanities. Thrill as the leading man exits a yard gate, walks halfway down a block to his car, opens the door, starts the engine, pulls into the street, pauses at the stop sign, and turns left at the corner! Shudder as the cast walks and walks and walks and walks through the woods! The movie even tries to rip-off the ?hand? scene in The Haunting--poorly. Avoid at all costs

Home for the Holidays (Jodie Foster, 1995) - Enjoyable, though the whole thing never really seems to gel. Still there are more than enough notable moments to make this movie at least a worth a look-see.
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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

Mark Dujsik · Posted: 01.03.2006 6:10 am Post subject:

the night watchman · Posted: 01.03.2006 5:12 pm Post subject:

I can imagine. If handled correctly, I can see the stage play being more effectively unnerving than the movie.
_________________
"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 · Posted: 01.08.2006 7:49 pm Post subject:

the night watchman · Posted: 01.08.2006 9:36 pm Post subject:

Jim Harper · Posted: 01.08.2006 9:52 pm Post subject:

Danny Baldwin · Posted: 01.09.2006 1:07 am Post subject:

1/2 - 1/8

Cry_Wolf (Wadlow, 2005)

American Pie: Band Camp (Rash, 2005)

I took my younger brother to Blockbuster and figured that he'd pick something somewhat entertaining to watch. I guess I was wrong.

In all fairness, though, I can't say I saw the final twist in Cry_Wolf coming. However, that's probably more a testament to me not caring than the movie's creativity.
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beltmann · Posted: 01.09.2006 3:33 am Post subject:

1/1 ? 1/8/06

In preferential order:

The Squid and the Whale (Baumbach, USA 2005)

Brokeback Mountain (Lee, USA 2005)

Haunted Spooks (Roach & Goulding, USA 1920; short)

Look at Me (Jaoui, France 2004)

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (Liman, USA 2005)

The Dukes of Hazzard (Chandrasekhar, USA 2005)

Took in a double feature today: Brokeback Mountain and The Squid and the Whale. I preferred Squid?which is messier, refuses to include any pat homilies in its tale of domestic discord, and substitutes complex emotional rhythms for story?but both films are smart and impressive. And if Ledger or Gyllenhaal deserve Oscar nominations, then Jeff Daniels deserves one even more.

A student loaned me their copy of The Dukes of Hazzard. I found it depressingly obnoxious, but it does have one major plus going for it: The car stunts are refreshingly devoid of CGI. In an era when every other movie looks like a rubbery video game, it's nice to see one that remembers a time when stunts didn't have to break verisimilitude.

Eric
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"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

kaestner · Posted: 01.09.2006 5:11 am Post subject:

Michael Scrutchin · Posted: 01.10.2006 6:01 am Post subject:

Jan. 1 to Jan. 7, 2006.

Mark Dujsik · Posted: 01.11.2006 4:29 am Post subject:

1/1 - 1/8/2006

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Adamson, 2005)

Glory Road (Gartner, 2006)

Grizzly Man (Herzog, 2005)

Memoirs of a Geisha (Marshall, 2005)

War of the Worlds (Spielberg, 2005)

I was impressed with Narnia in terms of the world looking exactly as I imagined it, but thought the symbolism was toned down a bit too much. I'm just starting to wonder if these books are adaptable to film.

Memoirs was quite a challenge to sit through. Never caught my interest, and it just looked bad.

Grizzly Man is sitting on the edge of my top 10 list right now, but it might get kicked off. I've got to write a review, I think, to get any decent thoughts about it out there.

Here's my review of Glory Road.
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10 Best Films of 2006

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