unclefestering

Member since 5/6/2008, last signed in 21 hours ago.

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Interested in: Action, Avant-garde / Experimental, Comedy, Comedy Drama, Crime, Culture & Society, Epic, Fantasy, Historical Film, Science & Technology, Science Fiction, Spy Film, Thriller, War, Western

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No Reservations

Mostly OK
By unclefestering in unclefestering Blog
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
"No Reservations is the American remake of the German movie Mostly Martha (2001). It has all the right plot points, but as the saying goes if it doesn't gel, it isn't aspic. This movie tries to make the point that cooking is about passion, but the passion never seems real. Other than cooking there doesn't seem to be anything that bonds Catherine Zeta Jones and Aaron Eckhart. Many movies link food and passion. Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) shows that life without love and passion is like a life without taste. Big Night (1996) shows that skill and passion turn food into art. No Reservation tries to make those same points, but fails to be convincing about them. I would reccommend either of those before suggesting you see this. " [More]

Moonstruck

Touching, sexy and romantic
By unclefestering in unclefestering Blog
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""Snap out of it!" Whenever anybody says that phrase, I automatically think of Olympia Dukakis in Moonstruck. She plays Loretta's mother, Rose, a cynical woman who sees the deep troubles of her family. Loretta is going to marry Johnny, who she doesn't love. But she's fallen in love with his brother Ronnie, who Johnny hasn't spoken to in years. This movie shows the depth of love as well as its passion. Rose is right that "if you love them, they can walk all over you." But she also knows it is worth it. This movie also shows that nobody can drive you crazy like your family. " [More]

North by Northwest

Great job Hitch
By unclefestering in unclefestering Blog
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"For those who only think of Hitchcock as the master of thrillers, To Catch a Thief is sometimes considered a disappointment. But this movie has all those pure Hitchcock moments pulled off with his deft touch. This is a Hitchcock romance, so while there are dark touches here and there, it is light and fun. Jesse Royce Landis is a great scene stealer as she would go on to prove with only a few scenes in North by Northwest (1959). But the heat and tension between Grant and Kelly is the highlight of the film. She wants to love him but is afraid to trust him. He wants to clear his name and first see her a potential target, then a distraction and then as the main attraction. " [More]

To Catch a Thief

Pretty in Pink

Some kind of mediocre
By unclefestering in unclefestering Blog
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"I never understood why John Hughes thought it was a good idea to remake Pretty in Pink (1986). Maybe he was just running out of ideas for high school comedies and was afraid to movie on to writing comedies about adults. Given his track record there, I can understand that fear. Whatever the reason, about a year after Pretty in Pink, out came SomeKind of Wonderful. Both Eric Stoltz and Lea Thompson are far too stiff in this movie. Mary Stuart Masterson is the only saving grace. She out Duckied Ducky. But then again, Jon Cryer is exactly the world's greatest actor. As for the plot see Pretty in Pink and just switch the genders. This movie is just OK . I wouldn't work too hard to see it. " [More]

Some Kind of Wonderful

The Man Who Fell to Earth

I wanted to like this more
By unclefestering in unclefestering Blog
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"David Bowie is perfect for this role. He is a distant and seemingly disassocated man who makes millions and then wants to use his money to save his family on another planet. The strange editing and cinematography of this movie help craft the eiree feeling of this movie. I really liked it and yet... Something is missing from this movie. I can't put my finger on what it is. I saw a remake of this movie and don't bother with it. It is far too literal and strips away the lyrical imagery that this version has. " [More]

F for Fake

The ultimate trick
By unclefestering in unclefestering Blog
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"When is a documentary not a documentary? When it is put in the hands of a master like Orson Welles. F for Fake is often gets dismissed because it can't be put into a box. But it is as subtle as a snake charmer and asks questions that it makes clear have no good answers. It questions the nature of art and inspiration by looking at a famous art forger. What inspired Picasso and Matisse? Can you tell if you have a real one? Are you sure? If the fake is as inspiring as a work by the real master, is it still art? In a great twist, the main interviewer for much of the movie turns out to be the man who became famous for forging Howard Hughes' autobiography and making millions on it. That inspired the Richard Gere movie, The Hoax (2007). (I want to see that movie, mainly from seeing the real Clifford Irving in this film.) This movie isn't a documentary, it is a film poem on the nature of reality. If that sounds like a joke, it is one of the many subtle ones Welles plays on the audience thr ... " [More]

The Big Sleep

Was Inspiried to watch the by F ...
By unclefestering in unclefestering Blog
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"If you listen to the Filmspotting podcast you are familiar with their marathons. One of their recent marathons was on the Film Noir classics. After watching some great movies like Double Indemnity (1944) and the The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and some much lesser Noir films like Gun Crazy (1949) , I was burned out on the style for a while, but I was inspired to see The Big Sleep. I waited a couple weeks for my batteries to recharge and am I ever glad I did. In many films that star real life couples, the characters they play often seem like burned out versions of themselves. Not here. Bogart and Bacall are simmering in every scene together. The bodies pile up as William Faulkner's screenplay tries to make sense of Raymond Chandler's macguffins and red herrings, but in the end it is all good. We get the ending we want. " [More]

Double Indemnity

Fists of Fury

Best of the remakes
By unclefestering in unclefestering Blog
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"Li's Fist of Legend is probably the best remake of the classic Bruce Lee's Fists of Fury (1971). Jet Li play the role with more sympathy then Lee. His version of Chen Zhen studied in Japan and has an appreciation for the Japanese culture. That appreciation bring him into conflict with his fellow kung fu students when their master is poisoned and killed in a fight with the Japanese karate master. He eventually has to take on the Japanese master to redeem his honor. The movie showcases Li's intense martial arts style well. It plays to his strengths with naturalistic fight sequences. The climactic final fight sequence is worth the somewhat drawn out middle section of the movie. " [More]

Fist of Legend

Dazed and Confused

Disjointed and disappointing
By unclefestering in unclefestering Blog
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"I have to admit that I think Richard Linklater’s work runs hot and cold for me. I loved his early works like Dazed and Confused (1993) and Before Sunrise (1995). I love some f his more experimental work like A Scanner Darkly (2006). But some of his movies just fall completely flat. Sadly, Fast Food Nation is in this last category. I think part of it is that the subject is just too big for a dramatic movie like this. He just didn’t find a way to get a plot in his polemic against the fast food industry. Also some poor casting choices like Greg Kinnear hamper the movie. It almost seems that Linklater agrees, since his character disappears in the second half of the movie. I wanted to like it. The subject of the movie is right up my alley. Unfortunately, the plodding pace and painful exposition just made me keep checking my watch. " [More]

Fast Food Nation

The Dead

A great final film by a master ...
By unclefestering in unclefestering Blog
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"John Huston got everything right when he made The Dead. First, it was a great choice of material. In the past others have tried to adapt James Joyce’s works and failed. Instead of picking a monumental project, Huston picked his best short story. He maintains a brisk pace on this 84 minute masterpiece. Despite the short time, Huston gives us an absolutely brilliant and intimate view of the difference between love and passion and acceptance of what we have. From the humorous and boorish conversations at the Christmas party to beautifully haunting carriage ride home where Greta, played by the director’s daughter, Angelica, tells her husband a devastating secret. The cinematography on this movie is fantastic. Even if the rest of the movie was a disaster (which it isn’t) the transcendent shots would make watching this worth every second. It was a great feather in his cap that he was able to have his children involved in his last film. It is especially fitting si ... " [More]

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Office Space

Of course Fox didn't want to re ...
By unclefestering in unclefestering Blog
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"The big question is why did Fox fund Idiocracy in the first place? It is a movie designed to be hated by them. It makes fun of the entire consumer culture that we are immersed in. It mocks all the companies that any movie studio usually tries to woo with product placement. The movie is uneven, but is greatly successful because it is willing to bite the corporate hand that feeds it. It has the same sense of humor that makes Office Space (1999) so successful. It mocks the fact that people are unwilling to speak out against social conventions. This movie is great satire because it is willing to poke us with the sharp end of the funny stick. At some point we re all the Get Out of the Way guy. " [More]

Idiocracy

Nude Per L'assassino

The best of the giallos
By unclefestering in unclefestering Blog
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"Strip Nude for Your Killer (Nude Per L'assassino in Italian) is probably the best of the weird Italian sub genre known as Giallo, a strange combination of sleazy nudity and horror. Someone is killing all the associates of a model who died during a botched back alley abortion. Is it a angry lover? Is it a competing modeling agency? Is it the father of the child? Whatch and find out. But this movie isn't for the faint of heart. It is sleazy and bloody and certainly not everybody's idea of a fun time, but if you like horror movies you may want to try a European twist. Much better than the similarly themed Killer Nun (1978) " [More]

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Movies set in Spain that will make you fall in love with the country

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