A review of the films I've seen this past week.
SMOTHER (2007)
My guess is that this movie just wasn't good enough to make it to theaters, so it premiered on Lifetime. That's the only explanation I'll allow for a movie with my darling Liv Tyler premiering on Lifetime. Rather a lot more masturbation jokes than you see in Lifetime movies, too. Anyway, hunk of wood Dax Shepard is as weirdly hostile as always, married to Liv Tyler, recently fired from his job, and has to contend with an overbearing mother (Diane Keaton in her umpteenth batty, overbearing mother role, which is getting extremely fucking old). A lot of the guy's relationship with his mom is, let's face it, way too familiar for me to find funny. I'm going with ** stars; one for beautiful Liv, and the other for Mike White, who has an all-too-small role as a struggling screenwriter who, I think, speaks for harrassed bloggers everywhere when he says "I'm sorry if you think what I write about is stupid, but I don't know how to change what makes me happy."
THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII (1933)
Well, Charles Laughton is excellent in as King Henry VIII, boisterous and dangerous, childish and capricious, but the movie has room for improvement. It's a sort of by-the-numbers biopic that doesn't have much to say about the man himself, but is held together by Laughton's performance. I also love Robert Donat, and Elsa Lanchester is funny as Anne of Cleves. It's a good movie and little more, but that's enough. *** stars.
THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK (1939)
Somewhat overlong version of the Dumas novel directed by James Whale. There's a lot of good stuff in here--the swordfighting is great, it's funny in the right places, most of the actors are very good--it just goes on a bit too long before getting to the climax and doesn't grab the audience as well as it should for such an adventure. And the Musketeers get short shrift, I think; I had to check the credits to see which actor played which Musketeer. (Master scene-stealer Alan Hale is great as Athos; unfortunately, according to the credits, he's playing Porthos). But there's a lot more to recommend than there is to detract. Louis Hayward is great as the petulant, almost sadistic King Louis XIV and his secret twin brother, the daring, dashing Philippe of Gascony. Warren William, always so stagey, is pretty good as D'Artagnan, Joseph Schildkraut is foppish and cunning as Fouquet, Walter Kingsford is a stolid Colbert, and Joan Bennett is pretty (there's not much call for more) as Princess Maria Theresa. It's a fun time, ***1/2 stars. Much better than that Leonardo Di Caprio movie.
PINEAPPLE EXPRESS (2008)
Pitch fucking perfect. One of my favorite movies ever. I'm not sure I have a deeper opinion of it than that, but it is fucking perfection. **** stars. And James Franco is the best he's ever been; so great to see him and Seth Rogen together again.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Film Week
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7 comments:
you have encouraged me in seeing "Pineapple Express". Sounds good
THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK has a distinction you missed. It's Peter Cushing's film debut. He has a tiny role as a messenger for the king. But his primary job was as the other twin. In all the scenes where Luis Hayward had to appear beside himself, they would shoot the scene with Hayward playing one twin and Cushing playing the other. Then switch roles and shoot it a second time. Then in the lab, Cushing was sliced out and the two Haywards spliced in. So Cushing played the lead roles, but was never seen. Whale gave him the one on-camera bit role as a reward for doing his customary great job in his thankless task. Even Whale couldn't foresee that Cushing would grow to be a more interesting actor than Luis Hayward ever was. And how fitting that a man who would become synonymous with the role of Brain Frankenstein would make his screen debut at the behest of James Whale.
Some years back, I visited the prison on the Isle of St. Marguerite, just off the coast of Cannes, where
the real Man in the Iron Mask was imprisoned, and entered his actual cell. The walls are solid stone and six feet thick. You smack it, and it won't even make a noise; just absorbs your impact. Imposing, intimidating, claustrophobic, and frightening.
I think "pitch fucking perfect" is
the new "two thumbs up".
You've intrigued me re Pineapple Express. I saw an extended trailer or perhaps it was a teaser scene, way before it was released, and thought it totally unfunny. Is this not just a silly stoner comedy? What's got you so enthralled?
I didn't expect to like Pineapple Express as much as I did, but Seth Rogen and James Franco were just so utterly, supernaturally likeable that I ended up just wanting to invite the movie home and hang out with it. I don't know that I'd call it one of my favorites ever, but it was one of my favorites from last year.
I've never smoked weed in my life, but I found Pineapple Express hilarious. James Franco was amazing, and it was the perfect buddy movie.
Matt: I highly recommend it. No pun intended.
Douglas: You know, I saw Cushing in the credits and went back to find him. I meant to mention it and totally forgot. I didn't know he was the stand-in for Hayward; that's fantastic trivia. Much less bizarre than seeing him in the Laurel & Hardy movie.
And I glanced at Hayward's filmography. I think this may be the only film I ever see him in...
Flasputnik: I should've pitched that at the newspaper where I reviewed movies. They wanted a system "more interesting" than stars.
Chance: No, it's more than a silly stoner comedy. It's got surprising emotional depth. It's almost like Quentin Tarantino if Tarantino could tell a story and create characters instead of just trying to be cool.
Penh: It might be my favorite movie from last year, actually. That and WALL-E.
PJ: That movie sure did make me want some more weed. I love living in a college town sometimes.
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