Writer/Direct Rian Johnson superbly executes a completely innovative yet supremely sensible creative concept - a film noir set in the world of a highschool. Imagine all the characters and hierarchies suddenly back in place exactly as they were when you left and fit into a comical film noir application. Brilliant in its appropriateness, right!? The product is Brick. However, since even a brilliant concept can be poorly executed, Johnson deserves added kudos. On an indie showstring budget, Johnson delivers on the prerequisite style of a film noir. Aspiring filmmakers and film fans alike should be certain to watch this one to see how much is done with the fuel of a good concept, strong work ethic, and talent.
Today’s recommendation is Sam Peckinpah’s gritty western, The Wild Bunch. While not the best western I’ve ever seen, it is the coolest. It’s a story about accepting change, betrayal, and shooting anyone who looks at you funny. The film takes place in 1913, as the West is in its weird transition phase between obsolete and modern. Railroads are a cultural icon, but so are horses. The Wild Bunch is a group of outlaws looking for one last score. They choose their line of work not for the money (though it doesn’t hurt), but for the thrill. The bunch also has to evade bounty hunters, leading to a number of gunfights.
Duck Soup is one of a few movies that actually manages to get funnier with each viewing. The fact that the humor still resonates today, for someone my age, is astounding considering the film was made way back in 1933. The Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Zeppo) originally got their start as a vaudeville act, but their popularity skyrocketed and they went on to make a number of classic comedies. Duck Soup is their greatest achievement.
Hey guys, I’m another Brian who loves watching great movies. I’m a sophomore from New Jersey, so I work as a full-time student. I mostly like watching older films, but I’ll sit through anything. Netflix is probably the greatest invention of all mankind, as they seem to have every single movie made. Some of my favorite directors include Elia Kazan, Woody Allen, Martin Scorcese, Akira Kurosawa, and Hayao Miyazaki. The amount of movies which I could declare to be my favorite is huge, but a few of them are On the Waterfront, Spirited Away, The Dish, The Truman Show, The Sting, and Duck Soup.
I also like video games, music, and sleeping, but those are secondary hobbies. I should probably end this so I’ll just tell you that I look forward to posting about many great movies in the future. See ya later.
Labyrinth is one of those movies you can whisper in a corner at a party and at least three people will look up and say “Are you talking about Labyrinth?!” Then they will recap their favorite scenes and how they use to dance in front of their TV as a child to the soothing tunes of David Bowie.
By todays standards, the movie is anything but cutting edge, but remains an extremely weird, fun, and imaginative romp through now-classic cinematic events such as the Goblin City and especially the Bog of Eternal Stench. As an adult, you may laugh now at the absurdity of it all, but children should still get a kick out of it. Also, this is where most kids with Thundercats underwear and He-Man bedspreads first fell in love with Jennifer Connelly, and it’s certainly interesting to see how far she has come as an actress in the past two decades.
Personally, I’m just glad they didn’t go with Michael Jackson as Jareth. Macaulay Culkin may resemble a goblin, but the mere thought of The-Alien-Who-Walks-Among-Us in skintight white spandex will have me sleeping with the lights on tonight, and every night… for the rest of my life.
Okay, so I’m a little late to start… My name is Lindsey, and God bless it, my semester is over! About myself, hmm, I love all kinds of movies, especially good ones, but not always (give me a solid Lifetime movie and I’ll be on the couch and halfway into a bag of popcorn before you can say “incurable cancer!”). Originally from Chicago, yes, but I live and work in LA (too personal?). Oh, and I love parentheticals (wee!). The last DVD I purchased was Season 5 of Scrubs and the last movie I watched was Ice Princess, like, 5 minutes ago. That should do it for now, I look forward crazy fun postings on MovieKick!
Stop reading this right now and go out and buy Pan’s Labyrinth. Don’t rent it, don’t borrow it, don’t watch it at a friends house, but go out and spend actual money on it. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.
… Are you back yet? Okay, so why are you still reading this? WATCH IT!
Pan’s Labyrinth is a hard movie to recommend because I want to tell people how good it is so they will be motivated to try it out, but I also don’t want to hype it up or ruin it for them. I went into the theatre with very little information regarding what this film was about, and it was all for the better. So you won’t get a trailer with this preview, or even a plot synopsis other than that this film takes a children’s fairytale and blends it with the nightmarish reality of war, and there you go.
Aside from just enjoying it, this movie needs your support because it was all made for less than half of what most big-time Hollywood stars charge as their “salary” for doing coke and reading lines off a cue card. This is what film-making should be about, and writer / director Guillermo del Toro deserves a lot more than the Academy Awards he won for this. If that name is meaningless to you, then there’s nothing more to say so sit back, relax, and enjoy what my gardener refers to as El Laberinto del Fauno.
Henceforth you shall be known simply as ‘kickers to me…as I do not have time to spare on four syllable words. Instead, I’m spending my time watching as many films as I can get my hands on. Now, we’ve all been around the block before with film recommendation sites, but this one has something that no other site out there does. Love. Lots and lots of love. Remember that! Being the lady I am, if you don’t remember, I won’t tell you again. Hard love, baby.
Animation, where to start? I work professionally in the animation industry, so when I’m not making cartoons, I’m watching them. Expect a mostly animated approach to my recommendations, with the odd exception of course. Most film reviewers (not all) out there tend to throw animated films into the same can of worms as live action; that won’t happen as long as I can help it. If it has a good story and character development, I am interested. If it has progressive ideas and can change the world, count me in. Films are a lot of things. They are an emotional roller coaster ride of awesomeness. I also want to hear what you have to say in your comments and feedback. Give me some love (not too much, okay?) and I will return the favour.
I am Canadian and very liberal, which are one in the same thing, really. That being said, I do use Canuckle-head english, so this is how I spell “favourite”. I’m not going into detail with my personal life, but I move gayly forward into this twenty first century. Remember, girls don’t exist on the Internet, so spare me. Just wait until the writing gets going and I’m sure you will come to see that I’m not really so hard nosed, unless you read this.
What can I say that hasn’t already been said by a thousand other writers and on a million Myspace pages? I’m into music, I like food, and I would like to meet anyone with a sense of humor and who is “down to Earth”. <3 <3 <3
Okay, so that doesn't really have anything to do with movies. I guess all that matters is that I've been watching movies since I could open my eyes. I live in Hollywood, CA and work on movies at every possible opportunity, both in front and behind the camera. I can name virtually any movie just by listening to it for a few seconds, and I'm filled with all sorts of frivolous information like the fact that Michael Jackson was originally considered for the role of Jareth in Labyrinth.
I also don’t accept “It’s just a movie!” is any sort of excuse for crappy film-making, I absolutely despise any comic book or video game adaption that clearly was made by a bunch of tools who never even picked up an issue or controller in their life, and if I ever meet Kirsten Dunst, I will punch my fist all the way through her skull and eat her brain in front of a bus-full of children. But alas, I think it’s best to let my writing speak for itself, I’m trying to recommend movies not get a date, after all…
Seriously though, what are you doing after this post?
Alfred Hitchcock is a luminaire of the Psychological Thriller genre, Mystery genre, Crime genre, Film Noir genre, Horror genre, etc. Even after he directs a classic film, he then films another classic! Who woulda thunk it that a director could continuously transcend his own achievements?
Vertigo may be the first Psychological Thriller to be happily married to the genre, Film Noir. Upon Vertigo’s initial release in 1958, the film was bathed in luke-warm reviews. Some critics sunk even lower, calling Vertigo “far-fetched nonsense” (The New Yorker). The Motion Picture Exhibitor expressed their emotions vehemently stating that “it is certainly no picture to walk in (late) on, if it is to make any sense to the viewer.”
Despite the reviews in 1958, today Vertigo is deemed as Hitchcock’s crowning achievment, and some critics hail the film as a masterpiece. Some of the 1950’s naysayers have reconsidered their previous opinions. Perhaps they, too, were suffering from mental instability?
Want first post? Go for it!
