[SPOILER ALERT] For my second “classic” horror movie this Shocktober, I chose The Ring, which I remember as being even scarier than The Blair Witch Project the first time around (it contains the only jump scare that ever made me throw my bag of popcorn into the air). And like The Blair Witch Project, I was wondering how it held up 15 years later. The … Continue reading The Ring is unconventionally scary (even 15 years later)
Due to a very long story, my family spent the last few weeks in a series of short term rentals. One of them had possibly the most eclectic collection of DVDs I’ve seen in a while. No-brainers like Finding Nemo and The Hunger Games sat next to Paul Verhoeven’s Black Book (which sadly we never made it to).
So I’ll go ahead and cop to this embarrassing mistake – the original post referred to Verhoeven’s film as Little Black Book. Thanks to Nuwan Sen for the very diplomatic correction in the comments below.
But the owners had a large Hitchcock collection and thus my wife and I finally got a chance to see one of his most celebrated films: North by Northwest. Having seen a fair amount of Hitchcock, I was a little surprised to find this one pretty light hearted, albeit still impeccably made.
Continue reading “Hitchcock makes a great popcorn flick with North by Northwest“
The final Shocktober film was my wife’s contribution. Neither of us had seen Rosemary’s Baby, and both were encouraged by its inclusion on so many “scariest movies ever made” lists. It certainly has the best pedigree of the month, if not the best reputation (that one probably goes to Halloween). It was the oldest one as well, and like Halloween it shows its age, albeit in a different way. Rosemary’s Baby is stuck firmly between two worlds – on the one hand it feels ahead of its time, and on the other too old fashioned.
Continue reading “Rosemary’s Baby is simultaneously incredibly modern and incredibly dated”
I know I’m late to the Mad Max: Fury Road party. I’m actually not as late as this review’s date implies – I did see it last year, albeit at home and not on the big screen; luckily, my local independent theater screened it last weekend and gave me the chance I missed.
Familiarity with the earlier Mad Max entries does prepare you somewhat for Fury Road, although the latest pushes the previous films’ aesthetic much further. If you’re not on board with deformed mutants and post-apocalyptic vehicles, you’re probably not going to like this movie – my wife wasn’t and she didn’t. But if you can look past the insanity that is writer/director George Miller’s vision, you’ll see the best action movie in recent years.
Continue reading “The craziest thing about Mad Max: Fury Road is that it didn’t win an Oscar”
Todd Haynes interests me as a filmmaker. I saw Far From Heaven in 2002 based on its critical acclaim, but I still haven’t seen any of the Douglas Sirk melodramas Haynes supposedly pays homage to. In the DGA’s always great podcast “The Director’s Cut,” Haynes talks about how had Carol been made in the 1950s, it would have been a cautionary tale where the morally compromised characters are “punished” for their social transgressions; the Carol made in 2015 is clearly free to tell the story without these Hays code-esque restrictions. So while I don’t have the context that more dedicated fans of his might have, it doesn’t seem to matter. Because while it’s interesting to see a film that looks like it was made 60 years ago infused with modern sensibilities, it’s not exactly moving.
Continue reading “Great direction and performances can’t elevate Carol beyond its aesthetic”
Monday Morning Movie Quarterback 