On Saturdays, my plan is to give a brief update of the movies I've seen in the past week and let you know if any of them are worth seeing. I already do mini reviews over at my movie site, Hannah and Her Movies, so you're more than welcome to check those out, but the thoughts here will be even shorter. And it's less about sharing my own rambling reactions and more about providing a guide for people who are actively hunting for something to watch.
* = Available on Netflix Instant
I saw 10 movies this week. And half of them were seen yesterday. I kind of went crazy with movie-watching yesterday. But it was awesome.
Yojimbo (1961) - Samurai movie by Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa. A Fistful of Dollars is a remake of this movie. This is my least favorite Kurosawa film I've seen so far but it's still pretty good. 3/5.
*War and Peace (1956) - Adaptation of the novel, stars Audrey Hepburn and Henry Fonda. Not good enough to be as long as it is. 2/5.
*The Big Lebowski (1996) - Cult classic comedy by the Coens. I wish my review could be that alliterative. Basically, not bad but I don't quite get the appeal. 3/5.
New York, New York (1977) - Martin Scorsese-directed musical about the relationship of two musicians. A little long, but pretty good. 3/5.
I'm Not Scared (2006) - Italian coming-of-age thriller drama. Do not read the Netflix synopsis, it gives away a rather major plot point. Dark, but beautiful. Drew comparisons to The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, but I liked this better. 4/5.
*Peeping Tom (1960) - British serial killer flick. I liked this one a lot - interesting main character. 4/5.
*The Omen (1976) - Horror movie where Gregory Peck discovers his son may be the Antichrist. It works really, really hard at being scary. The music is hilariously overdramatic. If that were toned down it wouldn't be that bad. 2/5.
*Another Woman (1988) - Woody Allen character study of a woman who seems to have achieved it all. Also a misleading Netflix synopsis. Who writes those things? Anyway. Loved this. Gena Rowlands is fantastic and Allen's created a great character for her. 4.5/5.
*The Ant Bully (2006) - Kids' movie about a kid who is mean to ants and so needs to learn that ants are people too. This was pretty lame. 1.5/5.
*Let the Right One In (2008) - Swedish movie about a lonely little boy and his vampire friend. 2010 movie Let Me In is an American remake. I expected to like this more than I did. Never really connected. Visually stunning, though. 3/5.
Have you seen any of these? What did you think?
I love The Big Lebowski, but I know where you're coming from. I thought it was merely "good" when I first saw it. Not great, but good. Based on what I've heard online over the years, this is a common thing with that film. The humor seems to work for most, but on the first watch, you focus a lot of your attention on the story. And The Big Lebowski's story definitely doesn't go anywhere, except maybe off the tracks and into a concrete wall. Deliberately. It's a Coen thing. What I'm trying to say is that it's a movie that it seems everybody appreciates more on an eventual rewatch. Hopefully, you'll be willing to give it a second chance sometime in the future.
ReplyDeleteLet the Right One In is lovely too. A fairly unique vampire film. It's quite interesting to watch for me as a Swede, since it combines what strikes me as somewhat American storytelling (if not story) with very Swedish aesthetics. I definitely agree with on the "visually stunning" point.