238. Barry Lyndon

• Year of release: 1975
  
• Director: Stanley Kubrick
• Genre: Drama, Romance
• IMDB Page

It's been some time since I made my last post. In fact, I nearly skipped all of February. Hordes of fans were emailing me about my blog... Not credible? Doesn't matter, on with the review!

Barry Lyndon is about the tale of Redmond Barry, an Irish farmer in the 1700's wanting to ascend into higher social circles. The entire movie revolves around Barry acquiring wealth and luxury and his eventual fall.

And that's the story in brief. There are two big parts in it: his rise to glory and his fall. Despite my sadistic nature I didn't like the second half of the movie. Which is not a good thing, being that this is a three hour movie. Needless to say, I dragged myself to the end of the movie, only to find out it has one hell of a (almost) final scene.

"Come on, guys. The second part didn't suck that much."

Either way, I think this movie is more about its historical and cinematographic values. For the former, I can say that the costumes look amazing and the setting is filled with so much atmosphere that you'd wish you were there. 

As for cinematography, as far as I know, it's very good. I read that the lighting is superb in this movie and I can only nod my head in agreement. One thing I liked as well is the absence of too much dialogue. Some movies feel they need to hold your hand and explain everything in great detail and preferably twice in case the short attention span of the average human was looking at something else (perhaps the cleavages in this movie), but this movie deliberately let's go of too much dialogue and it works.

Also, as for the newly invented cleavage factor, this movie gets 2 "big 'uns".

I'm rather undecided about this movie. There are parts that I like very much and parts that I wouldn't stand to sit through again. So, yeah, I'd say buy it. But on own risk.

Buy it.

239. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf

• Year of release: 1966
• Director: Mike Nichols
• Genre: Drama
• IMDB Page

Drama. That's all what this movie is about.

The story can be boiled down to this: a middle aged couple invites a younger couple and they argue throughout the night. During these fights or to put it better, battle of sarcastic wits, we learn of a few truths that the characters were hiding. To emphasize the conversations and the interactions of the characters, this movie only has a setting or two and it works splendidly.

As it is described above, it is obvious that this movie revolves around its characters, thus you need to have interesting characters and good actors. Two things this movie obviously has. The actors are splendid and the dialogues are both hilarious and dramatic. The characters are interesting, one could argue that "Honey" isn't an interesting character, but the truth is: she is less interesting than the others. Not not interesting.

One of the best things about this movie is its wit in the dialogue. I laughed at a few conversations while the conversations were seriously bitter. There's a lot to say about the acting of Ms. Taylor and Mr. Burton and that's the acting is superb and worthy of some prizes.

"I'm not sure how to tell you this... But, you see... I'm a better actor than you are."

The conclusion of this movie is highly confusing. Is what the middle-aged couple said all true or fiction? And if it is fiction, how much of it is true? The mindgames they played throughout the evening all boil down to the last five minutes. I had to sit down for a moment of two and think about what the issue at hand really was about. 

The only negative remark I have is its pacing at the beginning. I was very bored for the first half hour, but once past the 20-30 minute mark the movie became good.

Buy It

240. Monsters, Inc.

• Year of release: 2001
• Director: Pete Docter & David Silverman & Lee Unkrich
• Genre: Animation, Comedy
• IMDB Page

Monsters, Inc is the second Pixar product I'll be reviewing. I watched this movie a few years ago, but to be honest I didn't remember much of it, which isn't really a good sign. Let's see how well it fares.

The story can be boiled down to a few lines. James Sullivan, friends call him Sulley, is a monster and an employee in a scream converting company. His job consists of scaring small children. His best friend and colleague Mike Wazowski (the eyeball) catches the energy let out by the screams and that energy is used to power the city of monsters. Lately children have grown to be more tolerant towards scary monsters and as a result the city is getting less and less power. To make things worse, a small child, nicknamed Boo, manages to enter the city of monsters and the city falls into chaos as Sully and Mike try to get Boo back to her wold.

I'm pretty sure you can figure out the rest of the story, there's no groundbreaking plot twisting happening throughout the movie. That's not to say the story isn't original, which it is. The pacing is also done well. I only have one issue and that's how fast Sully got back out of his banishment from his city. But that's a minor pacing issue and nothing bothersome.

lol

The animations are nice as well, although I find that Toy Story 2 (1999) has better textures and feels more finished concerning design. Not that any kid would care, because kids don't care about that kind of stuff, they just want to be entertained. And that's what this movie does. The movie kept me interested all the way through and it was an enjoyable watch.

Buy It

242. Anatomy of a Murder

• Year of release: 1959
• Director: Otto Preminger
• Genre: Crime, Drama
• IMDB Page

A courthouse drama. I love the Phoenix Wright series, but do I love this movie?

A man, Lt. Manion, kills the man who raped his wife. Paul Biegler, a defense attorney, takes on the case and tries to get the lieutenant out of the charges. It is obvious Manion killed the man, not even Manion himself denies that, but Biegler tries to get him out based on "irresistible impulse".

That's the story without too much details. In fact, this movie's plot isn't too thick nor is there a plot twist in every scene. This movie is very interaction driven. The prosecution versus the defense. Mr. Biegler versus his successor in the DA's office. This movie is filled with witty remarks and comebacks that will make you chuckle.

The characters are or have some morally gray touches and that's what makes them come to live all the more. It doesn't take too long to get to know and to understand Mr. Biegler. In fact after his first scene, you'll know what kind of a man he is. But that doesn't mean he's a hollow character, no sir.

The movie also has the raped wife act in a manner that you'll wonder if she actually has been raped or not. This is a good thing as the rape issue is a very big and key element to the trial and the mystery makes it that much more entertaining to follow.

Despite the movie's long length (2 hours and 40 minutes) I find it entertaining and amusing and I have only a few remarks.

Even the judge finds it to be a bit lengthy

The ending is a bit off. It ends suddenly and unannounced: the entire trial's conclusion is explained (barely), acted out and over with in less than five minutes.

The beginning is slow. It takes the movie a bit too long to pick up the pace and it does so when the trail begins. Unfortunately the trail starts somewhat before the halfway mark and after you spent an hour just watching a lawyer prepare his case.

In conclusion, an entertaining watch. Just make sure you got the time to watch it:

Buy It

245. Casino Royale

• Year of release: 2006
• Director: Martin Campbell
• Genre: Action
• IMDB Page

007 is cool. C007.

Lame jokes aside, this movie has got it all: action, babes, one-liners and poker. It's James Bond in a casino, but does the movie play its cards right?

The story is good enough to watch the movie. Bond tracks down, or wants to, the man who funds terrorists. To get to this man, Mr. Le Chiffre, he has to enter a poker tournament in Montenegro. Sure enough he wins it and afterwards he gets kidnapped and tortured by Le Chiffre. He gets saved and then there is some plot twisting and bending to keep you entertained.

One of the things bothering me about this movie is the final poker scene. As each player shows his hand he gets the advantage over the already shown hands. Sure enough Mr. Bond is last to show his hand, right after Mr. Le Chiffre showed the other players how you win at poker, and Mr. Bond obviously has yet another better hand. It feels all too artificial and coincidental to happen in real life, but good hands are dealt at 100/hour in the James Bond universe.

[insert (not-so-)funny remark]

The love scenes were also a bit unnecessary. And I'm not talking about Bond's usual smooth talking, but the actual love interest in Ms. Lynd. The part after Bond completed his mission and spends his days recovering and sailing around the world are very much irritating and annoying. Sure, we get the point. Bond and Lynd are in love. But I feel that by overemphasizing this relationship, the plot twist that follows it became all that more obvious and predictable. And we all know you don't play trump cards when others expect it.

But enough about the bad parts. This is an action movie so let's talk action.

The movie opens with a spectacular chase scene on foot. Bond chases a guy and the chased guy knows... wait for it... parcours. If you're unknown with this sport: it's basically overcoming obstacles on foot. There are some pretty awesome movies on youtube. Anyway, the dude knows what he's doing and clears some pretty dangerous obstacles.

In general the action scenes are executed nicely. It's a Bond movie after all, they've got the budget to pull this off.

I remember there being a lot of commotion of Daniel Craig being the new James Bond, because of his hair color. Exaggerated reactions. Daniel Craig did a good job and I don't think Bond's hair color matters at all.

Perhaps one final minor "bad thing". Eva Green, the Bond Girl in this movie, isn't that spectacular. But you know, tastes differ I guess.

Despite the annoying parts:

Buy It

246. Arsenic and Old Lace

• Year of release: 1944
• Director: Frank Capra
• Genre: Comedy
• IMDB Page

Our first comedy is one from 1944. And it apparently stars Cary Grant.

The story starts with the marriage of Mortimer Brewster, a drama critic, and Eileen. When informing his aunts and packing his suitcase he stumbles upon a dead man's body in the window seat. He asks his aunts about the man and they playfully admit they poisoned him. But before Mortimer can recover from the shock, they tell him the dead man is their twelfth murder. Mortimer doesn't want to report his aunts out of love and tries to make the stop their killing spree. Later that evening, Mortimer's brother, Jonathan, breaks in and seeks refuge from the police while carrying a dead body along.

First off, this movie is a tad too long. It misses the two hour mark by a few minutes and in my opinion should have been a bit shorter. Of course, where to shave off some time? You could say the scenes with Eileen, but then we'd miss out on seeing the beauty that is Priscilla Lane. We wouldn't want that, would we?

Does Cary Grant have to slap a bitch?

The comedy in this movie is entertaining. There are some scenes which will make you laugh or put a smile on your face. One of the best scenes is the fight at the end in the Brewster house. Mortimer's speech and behavior throughout the fight and the way he smokes his cigarette through it all are classic. One letdown was the relative living in the house who thinks he is Theodore Roosevelt. It was cute and funny at first, but seeing him run up that staircase shouting "charge" the entire movie got old. Fast.

One final remark before the conclusion is perhaps that the movie takes place in mainly one setting, the Brewster house. It fits this movie perfectly. The house is alive and the atmosphere is right.

Buy It

247. Tonari no Totoro

• Year of release: 1988
• Director: Hayao Miyazaki
• Genre: Animation, Adventure
• Translated title: My Neighbour Totoro

Our first animated movie is one by the hands of the Japanese Master, Miyazaki. They call him the Asian Disney. Sounds promising enough to me, let's go.

A father and his two girls, Mei and Satsuki, move to the countryside to be closer to their ill mother residing in a hospital. Upon investigation by the two girls they discover the house is haunted. However, the tiny ghost are scared of into the nearby woods. A few days later Mei plays around the house and sees a tiny ghost that somewhat resembles a squirrel bred with a rabbit. The tiny ghost makes a run for it and Mei chases after it into the woods where she stumbles upon a giant, sleeping creature. She nicknames the creature Totoro. It appears that Totoro is the wood's master and has magical abilities like making trees grow and call a ghost catbus. When Satsuki and Mei learn their mother has apparently regressed, Mei disappears. Satsuki and the entire village start a search, but alas, the small girl is nowhere to be found. But with the help of Totoro Satsuki finds her little sister and sees that her mom only had a cold.

"Well, this is awkward..."

The drawing and animation style are beautiful and they really bring the characters to life. Especially Mei has a good design and animation to it. Her playfulness and rather active play style are captured perfectly. Also, the catbus. It's a bus and a cat. Awesome.

The story is simple, but touching. The emotional scenes have really touched me and I was rooting that they would find little Mei. The simplicity of the story was all this movie needed. And the only mystery is left up to the viewer to decide: Does Totoro only exist in the girls' imagination or does he really exist? Doesn't matter, the story is good.

That's all there is to say. It's a good movie.

Buy It