Risselada Blog

Under discussion:

The Invisible Man  (1933)

This blog entry is part of my “movie year countdown”.  To read more about that check out my first Spout filmblog entry.

The Invisible Man

I've seen a handful of the old Universal monster movies now, and the ones by James Whale have certainly been my favorite.

I read the original The Invisible Man novel by H.G. Wells which was a compelling little read and liked the movie as well.  There are some differences.  Of course they had to throw a little love story into the movie which wasn't in the book because every Hollywood needs a love story apparently.  It doesn't really work, but it's not too intrusive so it's not a big deal.  Also the motives between the main character in the movie and the book seem to be different.  I think the character in the book is slightly more sympathetic, even though just as deranged.  You get a bigger picture of his struggle and his motives.  The character in the movie just seems to want power.  And supposedly he's turned this way because of the drugs he took to make him invisible.  The description of how he became invisible in the book is more interesting.  Although the more ruthless movie character can make for a bit more excitement.  He's ruthless enough to murder his old partner by sending him off a cliff in a car.

It's kind of fun to see old special effects.  And to see Una O'Connor go completely hysterical.  And Claude Rains has a great voice.

Rating: 8/10

Under discussion:

The Thin Man  (1934)

This blog entry is part of my “movie year countdown”.  To read more about that check out my first Spout filmblog entry.

The Thin Man

Recommendations and reviews on this were almost too good.  I'll admit this is a lot of fun, but I feel like when a movie is so well recommended and described a certain way, as a zany-comedy-mystery, you start looking for what you expect from the very beginning.

The movie is fun but there is nothing overly surprising about it.  Nick is a funny character, but in a mostly suave and sophisticated way.  He does get into a few goofy slapstick type situations, but mostly the jokes are not at his expense, but the is making them at the expense of others.  This is not to say he is antisocial.  Actually his jokes are in good spirit and make him lovable to other characters.  I tend to prefer characters that are the opposite in some way.  Either comical characters in which the joke is on them, or if they are the ones making the jokes they are totally absurd and confusing to the other characters.

I still had a great time watching this movie, but it's not my favorite of either the comedy or mystery genre.

Rating: 8/10

Under discussion:

For the Bible Tells Me So  (2007)

For the Bible Tells Me So

This movie surprised me.  I didn't plan on seeing it, but my girlfriend who is a big documentary fan rented it.  I'd almost felt like I'd heard enough on this subject.  I was sick of watching people use the Bible as a weapon to support their un-loving and un-Christian beliefs.  I didn't want to give people like that any further attention I thought.  Not that I don't think we need to find a way to stop this kind of behavior and thinking, but most news I see doesn't do much to help the problem.  It's usually just a sick exploitation piece of watching people who hate so we can hate them back.

But the approach of this movie is not like that.  It's not some sensational news story like you would find on Dateline or something like that.  Here are real inspirational stories of homosexual people and their families facing the people who hate them (without even really knowing why) with love instead of hating them back.  That doesn't mean submission.  These are brave people who are stepping up and making a statement, but they are stronger reflections of Christ than those who hate them and claim they do so because of the will of God.

You will see some amazing redemption stories from people who you might normally stereotype because of their beliefs or background.  You realize that people do not fit into little boxes of our definitions and that everyone deserves love.

I highly recommend this movie.

Rating: 9/10

Under discussion:

How to Get Ahead in Advertising  (1989)

Jennifer Eight  (1992)

Withnail & I  (1987)

The Rum Diary  (2008)

This blog entry is part of my “movie year countdown round #2”.  Read more about that here.

Jennifer Eight

I've never heard anyone talk about or even mention this movie before.  I probably would have never even known about it much less had any interest in it if it wasn't for the fact that it's the only other movie directed by Bruce Robinson besides Withnail & I and How to Get Ahead in Advertising, both of which I adore.

According to a note I read on IMDB, Bruce Robinson made Jennifer Eight with a focus on commercial potential so that he may have some success and win the opportunity to get funding for other less commercially viable projects.  Apparently the movie failed to make money and Robinson has not directed any movies since.  Although I've been desperately watching out for the supposed production of The Rum Diary for years, which sounded like the perfect project.  But now I have doubts that it will ever even occur.

Jennifer Eight is a pretty solid mystery/thriller film.  A few surprises, and the heart pounding thriller moments are quiet well done even if in a sometimes conventional way.  But of course it's nothing like those other films of his.  This is not a comedy.  There's nothing zany about it.  And Richard E. Grant is nowhere to be found (you'd know if he was anywhere nearby).

However Uma Thurman does quite well as a blind woman.  And John Malkovich appears as a rather strange somewhat secondary character as you may expect him to.

It's a shame Robinson hasn't made too much more after this, especially comedies.  Not because I'm sure they would all be great, but I'm just curious to know what else he has in him.

Rating: 8/10

Under discussion:

The Adventures of Robin Hood  (1938)

Glorious Technicolor  (1998)

Glorious Technicolor

This documentary is included on The Adventures of Robin Hood DVD.  It's quite well done and should be interesting for anyone with a general interest in film history or technical film history.  When you realize how elaborate, cumbersome, and expensive it was to utilize Technicolor, it's no wonder that it took so long for color movies to catch on and then for other type of color processes to become used more often.  But also when you realize how much more brilliant the colors of Technicolor were compared to any kind of new color development process for decades it's surprising.  And how wonderful that the process also preserves so much better, almost perfectly apparently.  This documentary will give you the details along with some interesting (although sometimes a bit pretentious) comments by famous cinematographers.

Rating: 9/10

Under discussion:

Gone With the Wind  (1939)

Hollywood Remembers: Vivien Leigh - Scarlett and Beyond  (1991)

Vivien Leigh: Scarlett & Beyond

This is supposed to be a retrospective on the life of Vivien Leigh, but at times it felt more like Jessica Lange's audition tape.  Her role as the host has her fawning over Vivien with over written dialogue that's also over acted while putting herself into strange tableaus.

Anyways, I'm sure it would be a good documentary for anyone interested in Vivien Leigh.  I'm really not.  Her acting often bugs the hell out of me.  But again I had to watch this because it was on the Gone with the Wind special features.  There are three discs in that set.  Sheesh!

Rating: 6/10

Under discussion:

H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer  (2004)

Expo: Magic of the White City  (2005)

H.H. Holmes: America's First Serial Killer

Watched this one just after watching the EXPO documentary.  My girlfriend rented both of them from Netflix at the same time.  So we got a back drop of two things that were going on around the same time around the same place.

H.H. Holmes is an interesting character that I'd never heard about until just recently.  But his bout of serial killings were around the same time and more extensive than Jack the Ripper.  The only reason he may not be as well known is perhaps because the identity of Jack the Ripper is unknown and is a more mysterious case.  But H.H. Holmes may have been the most abominable personality.  Premeditation applies to this guy 100%.  He designed a whole building for killing and seems to have been planning on a life of murder from a young age.  He spent years in medical school, passing with flying colors seemingly just to get to a place where he would have more access and trust to be able to perform his murders.

I guess I won't give away too much since that's what the documentary is for.  But it's too bad the documentary can get kind of corny.  The narration can be a bit silly, and some of the effects and reenactments are just plain goofy as well.

It's probalby worthwhile if you are interested in the subject though.

Rating: 7/10