In Movie Lines (plus Links): October 11 - October 31

Movies I've Watched

October 11th - October 31, 2015

So, here's something crazy: I have watched sixteen movies in the last three weeks. Only one is a re-watch. I like that. What I haven't been doing is blog posts. So, here we go...

Re-Watched

Risky Business

Dir. Paul Brickman, 1983

Found this on DVD at Wal-Mart for $3.88. Said "What the fuck." And made my move. In all seriousness, Risky Business is still one of the most provocative, ballsy "teen movies" ever released by a major studio. Nobody would allow this sort of thing in mainstream movies today. That, my readers, is why this is a classic. My wife had never seen it, which is part of the reason I threw it right in my shopping cart. She loved it. 

First-Timers

Stagecoach

Dir. John Ford, 1939

I watched it. I don't remember anything about it, except for a couple of choice shots. This one and the one that introduced the world to John Wayne. That zoom-in to close up of his face as he spins that rifle around. Good God! That is glorious. Apart from that, I didn't get into it. A totally forgettable experience for me. 

Fish Tank

Dir. Andrea Arnold, 2009

What a brutally sad piece of work this one is. Andrea Arnold is a director I know very little about, but she is a force to be reckoned with if this film is any indication. Fish Tank is a tragedy of real life emotion, centered around a 15-year-old outcast played to perfection by non-actor, Katie Jarvis. She plays Mia, who lives in a London housing project with her "mother" and younger sister. When Mom brings home Connor (Michael Fassbender), things go happy, then way fucking dark. It plays way too long and got a bit redundant in its bleak world view. But a solid character study nonetheless. 

The Walk

Dir. Robert Zemeckis, 2015

Saw The Walk in 3D. Partially amazing, mostly inconsequential. Full review here. 

Casino Royale

Dir. Martin Campbell, 2006

I've been juiced up for Spectre, Sam Mendes' second entry into the Bond series, all year. Problem though. I never saw the previous three starring Daniel Craig. Well, actually, I saw this one, but I think I was under the influence of something at the time. I didn't remember it at all. So, I went back for it. Casino Royale is decent. That's about it. It doesn't have the sort of excitement or humor one expects from a Bond film, especially me, who was obsessed with all things Bond as a teen. A pretty much boring (and way too long for its own good) installment, if you ask me. 

Aloha

Dir. Cameron Crowe, 2015

Ugh! Spare me. I don't know why I thought everybody in America was wrong on this one. Full review here. 

Rumble Fish

Dir, Francis Ford Coppola, 1983

In all my years of worshipping Coppola's film version of S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, I never took my mother's insistence that I see Rumble Fish seriously. Made immediately after The Outsiders with the same crew and some of the same cast and released the same year, Rumble Fish is an anomaly of a film. Made as a throwback to...well...I don't know what, and decidedly avant garde in many respects (some even walked out of the theater upon its release), it's a tough watch. Bleak and violent. It's a "teen movie" that really has something to say about teenage behavior. I didn't love it though. I do though love that it exists. And that Stewart Copland soundtrack is, at once, anachronistic and other-worldly. 

Quantum of Solace

Dir. Marc Forster, 2008

Quantum of Solace isn't even a James Bond movie. In fact, I'm not sure what it is, other than a rip-off of a Bourne movie without the amnesia. I literally remember none of it, only than a few fun action sequences. 

Red River

Dir. Howard Hawks, 1948

I'm beginning to think that the classic Westerns just aren't my thing. I couldn't get into this movie for the life of me. Recently released on Criterion Collection Blu-Ray, it looks about as good as it possibly can, but I just never latched onto it and was falling asleep by the end. I didn't even finish it. I will say, though, that Montgomery Clift is worth a man crush. Goodness! That dude is good-looking. And the "Yee-Haw" scene is iconic enough. I don't know...

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace

Dir. George Lucas, 1999

Now, here comes the bit where I watched the damn trailer for J.J. Abram's forthcoming Episode VII and got all nostalgic about a series of movies I really only briefly gave two shits about. So, I just had to go and start the whole saga from the beginning. Yeah, yeah, yeah, the special effects are pretty good, but ultimately too cartoonish for my particular taste. Some good, mostly just ugh!. 

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones

Dir. George Lucas, 2002

Same thing, except Anakin's a teenaged Jedi now. George Lucas and his casting people should be smacked for hiring Hayden Christensen for this role. That dude can't act to save his life. And this movie offers nothing to anything. 

Bridge of Spies

Dir. Steven Spielberg, 2015

Impromptu date night with my wife found us at a pretty bad new restaurant for dinner, then to a screening of Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies, which, I'm happy to report, is now my horse for Best Picture. Just a loving dose of humanity and wit and bravado. Full review here. 

Gattaca

Dir. Andrew Niccol, 1997

I have had this movie on my radar as long as its been around, almost twenty years now, and I finally got around to it. Great science fiction. Leisurely paced, character focused, I love a good "idea" sci-fi film. Niccol is one of the best at that. 

Steve Jobs

Dir. Danny Boyle, 2015

Oh, Sorkin. I love you, man. But somebody should've said no to this three part structure. It didn't work at all. But your dialogue. Fucking ACE! Fassbender... likewise. Full review here. 

Skyfall

Dir. Sam Mendes, 2012

Now, Skyfall is a James Bond movie! Thanks, Sam Mendes. I'm so glad he took this job. He is just the right guy to breathe new life into the franchise. This movie is just filled with theatrical, stagey set pieces, brilliant action sequences, and throwbacks for the Bond purist in me that had me pumping my fists in the air and screaming "Hell Yes!" Can't wait for Spectre. 

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith

Dir. George Lucas, 2005

I seriously can't believe Natalie Portman didn't just walk off the set and laugh on her way out. To put her in the same room as Hayden C...can't act for shit...could've been a detriment to her career. Glad she made her way out of this alive because, except for the last 15 minutes or so, this is one of the most poorly written films I've eve seen. I can't wait to watch the original trilogy now. 

The Numbers

I have seen 188 movies this year so far. 

Re-Watched - 65

First-Timers - 123

Links

Alex at And So It Begins... with a breakdown of Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs.

Wendell at Dell on Movies with some personal scary movie list like none other.

Renee, my fellow contributor at Pop Depravity, with a look back at American Pscyho.

Jeffery at jdbrecords with some pretty Fall pictures and a link to a strikingly beautiful poem.

Drew at A Fistful of Films with a final post before a hiatus...his 100 favorite films.