CinemaRian

Member since 5/12/2008, last signed in awhile ago.

""The living's in the way we die!""

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Interested in:Adventure, Culture & Society, Drama, Epic, Family & Personal Relationships, Historical Film, Horror, Spirituality & Philosophy, War

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Nashville

Nashville (1975, USA, Robert Al ...
By CinemaRian in CinemaRian Blog
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"Nashville is Robert Altman’s best film. That’s not a controversial claim, but its reputation is accurate. This is one of the greatest American films of the 70’s, and certainly one of the most unique. The tagline of the movie is “The damndest thing you ever saw” and few promotional lines are more accurate. If the film were made today, I suppose it would be referred to as a hyperlink picture, but it doesn’t even have the required structure. There is either no plot, or about fifteen of them. There is nothing approaching a main character, and in fact, all twenty four of its “lead” actors have equal billing (and, for that matter, two major characters are never seen onscreen at all). Altman shoots the film in a documentary style, and some of the characters are very real, but others and the situations they find themselves in are clearly satirical. There is no other film like it, including others by its director. The most basic storyline ... " [More]

The Curse of Frankenstein

The Curse of Frankenstien (1957 ...
By CinemaRian in CinemaRian Blog
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"The Curse of Frankenstein(1957) For a film of its historical importance, The Curse of Frankenstein is surprisingly bad. The movie led to the third (and longest) wave of horror pictures, lasting until the early 70’s. There would be no Hammer horror without it, nor probably Roger Corman’s Poe films or even the founding of Amicus studio at all. But the picture itself is pretty bad, boring at just 83 minuets, failing to inspire even the smallest of amount of apprehension or chills in the modern viewer and lacking the intellectual depth of Mary Shelley’s novel. The most interesting parts of the film to note are where it differs from the 1931 James Whale version. Although the novel had been in the public domain, Universal strenuously controlled the rights to their version and Hammer had to be very careful to avoid even the slightest resemblance to that classic. The most obvious consequence of this is the role of The Creature (Christopher Lee) is minimized. Perhaps ... " [More]

The Horror of Frankenstein

The Horror of Frankenstien (197 ...
By CinemaRian in CinemaRian Blog
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"The Horror of Frankenstein(1970) I’ve never responded to Frankenstein movies in the same way I have to Dracula films. The reason is, I think, that there are near endless variations on the plot and themes to Dracula, whereas with Frankenstein you are pretty much stuck aquasi-mad doctor either bringing a dead creature to life or doing something else with one that he brought to life in the previous film. There are many great Hammer Dracula pictures, but only one great Frankenstein film, the second, The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) which took every ridiculous plot point and played as if it could actually happen, and in doing so made us feel a little sorry for the tragedy of the good doctor. Perhaps sensing their Frankenstein series was not as strong as their Dracula films (or many of their standalone titles) Hammer in 1970 to reboot the pictures instead of doing another sequel. They were eager for screenwriter the screenwriterof the first film, Jimmy Sangster, to write the re ... " [More]

The Curse of Frankenstien (1957 ...
By CinemaRian in CinemaRian Blog
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"I’ve never responded to Frankenstein movies in the same way I have to Dracula films. The reason is, I think, that there are near endless variations on the plot and themes to Dracula, whereas with Frankenstein you are pretty much stuck aquasi-mad doctor either bringing a dead creature to life or doing something else with one that he brought to life in the previous film. There are many great Hammer Dracula pictures, but only one great Frankenstein film, the second, The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) which took every ridiculous plot point and played as if it could actually happen, and in doing so made us feel a little sorry for the tragedy of the good doctor. Perhaps sensing their Frankenstein series was not as strong as their Dracula films (or many of their standalone titles) Hammer in 1970 to reboot the pictures instead of doing another sequel. They were eager for screenwriter the screenwriterof the first film, Jimmy Sangster, to write the re-launch, so they offered himboth ... " [More]

Sunshine Cleaning

Sunshine Cleaning (2009, USA, C ...
By CinemaRian in CinemaRian Blog
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"Sunshine Cleaning has all the signs of a movie that went into production too soon, with script that was either still being written or with one in serious need of revision. The movie has the cast it needs and a setting that works, but lacks the crucial element of focus. As you’ve seen from the trailer, the movie is a light comedy about a two sisters who open up their own business cleaning up after bloody suicides or murders. This is certainly an interesting idea for a movie, but the picture never bothers to consider most of the implications of this. Instead it spends much of its time on a great many subplots, some of which are set up and never pay off. The two sisters are Rose (Amy Adams) and Norah (Emily Blundt). Rose works as a maid and has a young son named Oscar (Jason Spevack) and spends a great deal of time looking forward to her weekly rendezvous with a married police officer (Steve Zahn). Norah lives with her father Joe (Alan Arkin), an unsuccessful businessesma ... " [More]

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans ...
By CinemaRian in CinemaRian Blog
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
"I have a confession to make. I was not a fan of the first two Underworld movies. Or, more accurately, of what I saw of them. I rented both and turned both off because I found them quite dull, despite the fact that I did not find their star, Kate Beckinsale, to be dull at all. So why did I even bother with the third film? There wasn’t much else playing and I wanted to see a movie, and I have a very strong weakness for vampire films, good, bad and ugly. Despite the star rating, I’m not sure that I can classify Underworld: Rise of the Lycans as a “good” movie, but I can say that I enjoyed far more the other two (of what I saw anyway). I can’t complain about the money, I spent on it, either, as it delivers exactly what you would expect from a movie with its title. The first two pictures are not required viewing as it’s a prequel, so I didn’t feel that I walked in on the third installment of something. This is not to say that everythin ... " [More]

I've Loved You So Long...

I've Loved You So Long (2008, F ...
By CinemaRian in CinemaRian Blog
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
"The first thing we notice is the face of Kristen Scott Thomas. She is a beautiful woman, and still is, but there is something in that face of extreme pain. It is as if all of the life and happiness has been sucked out of it. It is a face that not only lacks joy but seems to negate the possibility of it. Her character is named Juliette, and she sits at an airport terminal waiting for someone to come. That someone is her sister, Lea, played by Elsa Zylberstien. Lea hasn’t seen her sister for fifteen years, when she was a child, but there is only the most basic level of recognition at the reunion. For Juliette, there is no reason for anything anymore. The movie works simultaneously as a drama and mystery, as we slowly find out what the characters know about what happened and what led to this reunion. Most everyone walking into the picture will know that Juliette has spent the last fifteen years in prison, but the crime itself and that motive behind are revealed slowly. Be ... " [More]

Stranded: I've Come From a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains

Stranded: I've Come From a Plan ...
By CinemaRian in CinemaRian Blog
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"Note: It’s impossible to discuss the movie without giving away spoilers. Pretty much everyone going into this probably knows what happened, but if you don’t you’ve been warned. I walked into Stranded: I’ve Come From a Plane that Crashed in the Mountains wondering if I could make it through the picture without becoming disgusted, and I found that the what everyone remembers about the story- cannibalism-is not the main focus. It’s more about in an insane situation, and it’s own way is kind of life affirming. The story has been previously told in Frank Marshall’s 1993 fiction film Alive (which I have not seen), and well known in the annals of airline disasters. In 1972, a plane flying from Uruguay to Chile crashed in the mountains of Argentina. The passengers consisted almost entirely of members of a Uruguayan college rugby team, their friends, girlfriends and family. Seventeen of the forty-five people on board died within twenty four hou ... " [More]

Gran Torino

Gran Torino (2008, USA, Clint E ...
By CinemaRian in CinemaRian Blog
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
"Do you remember that guy on your street who people referred to as “Old Man Hastings” or what ever his last name was? The kind of guy the kids in the neighborhood never played around, because he would get so scary if anyone touched a blade of grass on his lawn? The greatest strength of Gran Torino is Clint Eastwood’s sheer embodiment of that guy we all knew, the guy who seemed to be about 68 for the last thirty years. Eastwood’s character has all of the attributes you would expect from That Guy- he’s tough, racially insensitive (if not a sheer racist), set in his ways and frequently uses the phrase “Get off my lawn!” In the movie, The Guy’s name is Walt Kowalski, and the picture opens at the funeral of his wife. Walt’s marriage was successful and one gets the sense that the departed was a bridge between him and his sons (Brian Haley and Brian Howe), who do not seem very close, or indeed, very able to communicate with each ot ... " [More]

Changeling

Changeling (2008, USA, Clint Ea ...
By CinemaRian in CinemaRian Blog
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"Often, it’s a sign of a movie’s greatness when you are unable to move once credits roll. You sometimes need to sit and collect your emotions before you leave. I had to do that with Changeling, as the movie had a profound effect on me, but the anger I felt was not directed towards the films antagonists but towards the filmmaker. I was disgusted and offended. I should point out, that of course, I am in the minority here. The movie came within three votes of being voted the Best Film of the Cannes Film Festival, and it has ended up on many critics Ten Best lists. With the exception of Unforgiven, I am not a fan of Clint Eastwood as a director, and I know that a whole lot of people are. So you should probably take what I am about say with a grain of salt, but feelings from deep within me told me that something about the film was deathly wrong. The movie is based on a true, tragic story of a Los Angeles woman named Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie), a single mother ... " [More]

Frost/Nixon

Frost/Nixon (2008, USA, Ron How ...
By CinemaRian in CinemaRian Blog
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
"Ron Howard’s achievement must be acknowledged- more than perhaps any other filmmaker, he has found the ultimate cinematic style to con people into thinking there watching an important movie. His films are rarely boring, and are often very good, but are never really profound, or important, or even memorable. He’s caused me to give Frost/Nixon a three and half star rating, pretty impressive for a film I have contempt for. This is a film that pretends to be important, that states that it is about a subject and then discusses the topic hardly all. The subject in question is the role of the media in politics, specifically, the 1977 serious of interviews between British journalist Sir David Frost (Michael Sheen) and disgraced U.S. President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella).The thin plot of the film regards Nixon and his aids believing that Frost will be an easy mark for the former President to rehabilitate his reputation as a statesmen. Since the trailer gives away the cli ... " [More]

The Stepford Wives

The Stepford Wives (2004, USA, ...
By CinemaRian in CinemaRian Blog
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"Based on its reputation, you’d think that Frank Oz’s remake of The Stepford Wives is a major disappointment. You’d be wrong. The movie appears to be a satire on chauvinistic men, but it’s actually a quite clever satire on the original movie, popular ideas about feminism, and many of the flaws and logical contradictions in such things. Those of you who have read my reviews on a regular basis will remember that I was not a fan of the original Stepford Wives, noting that it was directed by a man, Brian Forbes, and it in many ways seemed like a sympathetic liberal male’s idea of feminism. The movie had a sort of reverse discrimination, where every single male character appeared to be a total schlep or asshole. I suppose that the idea of the film is that all men want women to be subservient, silent sex objects, but the film was not wise enough to realize that that its argument was not true and the such beliefs hurt men almost as much as women. Bas ... " [More]