The War Against Mrs. Hadley (1942) Harold Bucquet 6/10
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
Sonic Youth wrote:Yes, it fully deserves a Best Animated Film nod, but I'll be rooting for Bruno Coulais' surprisingly minimal score. I've never heard of this composer before, but kudos to him. His contribution helps make Coraline an unexpectedly quiet, measured, introspective film, which the commercials gave no hint of.
Bruno Coulais is the composer of Les Choristes. He received an Oscar nod for Best Original Song for "Vois sur ton chemin"
"If you place an object in a museum, does that make this object a piece of art?" - The Square (2017)
But it wasn't a gimmick. For once, the 3D enhanced the story and the images, rather than resort to cheap jumpin'-out-atcha! tricks. (Actually, there was a lot of pop-back effects, and they were breathtaking.) The depths of the backdrops is vital to the mise-en-scene to illustrate what's going on in Coraline's head, where I suspect the whole movie takes place.
I've had absolutely no use for the Burton-produced "Nightmare Before Christmas". But this film is more imaginative, inventive, visually resplendant and attuned to childhood terrors than anything Burton himself has come up with, and I mean ever. This is as heady as "Yellow Submarine". It might herald the return of lysurgic acid once the college crowd discovers this.
Yes, it fully deserves a Best Animated Film nod, but I'll be rooting for Bruno Coulais' surprisingly minimal score. I've never heard of this composer before, but kudos to him. His contribution helps make Coraline an unexpectedly quiet, measured, introspective film, which the commercials gave no hint of. Teri Hatcher's voicework finally proves she's good for something. Okay, it's maybe a tad slow-going in the middle sections, but it's a mesmerizing show. I've read a few nay-saying critics saying the film lacks heart or joy. Sorry, no. What the film is, is uncondescending.
But there's one other thing Coraline is, seeing as how it's a 3D film: expensive. You're going to pay more for that extra dimension, and you gotta wear silly glasses too. I understand you may not want to risk such an investment, and those ads for Aliens vs. Monsters or whatever don't help.. Trust me, miss out on this and you'll miss out on a genuine visual spectacle. And if you're worried about needing an Advil cocktail, don't be. Digital projection has come such a long way, that it's clean and unexcessive. And since this is stop motion, we're looking at images that were in 3D to begin with, and I guess that helped as well. But please go to as late a show as you can, where there may not be too many kids. At my show, quite a few parents had to take their terrified children outside.
Even Damien might like this. There's a cat in the film, and he's a real cool type.
Not gonna lie: Nightmare Before Christmas was okay the first time (when I was maybe 11 and didn't care for it much), great the second time (a month or so ago) - and anything by Neil Gaiman I will automatically love. The combination of NBC's director and Gaiman's original story turned into a wonderful, twisted little movie that I really enjoyed. I think the 3D gimmick took something away from the original richness of the animation, but it was great overall, an early contender for end-of-year lists, and possibly (hopefully) an Oscar nod in the Animated Ghetto.
Modern Times 10/10, mainly because of the massive amounts of symbolism in the film and its eerie prescience. Plus, that closing image of the tramp finally getting the girl and walking off into the sunset with her instead of alone, signifying the end of his career as the Tramp...quite a brilliant decision. I'm not a huge fan of Chaplin (I have only seen one Buster Keaton movie, The General, but I mostly prefer his style better), but this one was the second of his three films I've seen that worked and it worked much better than the first I saw, The Gold Rush, and was significantly more impressive than the disappointing City Lights.
The Jazz Singer 7/10, I guess...it's hard for me to put my ratings into focus, I'd give it 3/4 stars...it's not that it's a bad movie. I like a good deal of it, but the back-and-forth between sound and silent was a bit disconcerting and illogical at times. I know the technique at the time was new, but it still felt jerky. Though, for the most part, the lighting and cinematography was strong and the story moderately compelling, though I couldn't stand much of Al Jolson's herky-jerky facial expressions and body movements. This film seems very much of two worlds, incorporating the power of images perfected by silents and resorting to some of the more irritating aspects of the genre, namely the overacting. I can't really compare this to the comedies of Chaplin or Keaton because the requirements were different, but I'd say those films were better acted than this and Sunrise is such a phenomenal show piece of how NOT to overact in a silent film and still convey your meaning.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
While it's true that the entire conceit of the film is implausible, I couldn't help but enjoy this old school thriller that does it the right way, without all the incomprehensible fussiness of, say, Paul Greencrap. A fine cast, magnificent use of worldwide locations and a particularly dazzling action sequence at the Guggenheim Museum make it very entertaining.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
--danfrank wrote:Frozen River (Courtney Hunt, 2008) 5/10
Not a bad little movie but nothing memorable save for Leo's performance. I really don't get the screenplay nomination.
I agree, I thought the screenplay was the weak link to the film. Leo and the rest of the cast are fine (Leo exceptional) and the direction is taut enough, but can't get past the riddled chiches and boring supporting characters.
Edited By Big Magilla on 1241620445
"Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good."
- Minor Myers, Jr.