Dr. Syn Alias The Scarecrow

As I've been watching Danger Man (Secret Agent Man) on DVD lately, and I did a little research on Patrick McGoohan (of whom I am a big fan) I discovered that he had made a movie, well a made for TV movie, called Dr. Syn Alias The Scarecrow. This was made for the 1963 Television program Disney's Wonderful World of Color. As with many of the programs I had seen made for that program, when I first started to watch it, it put me to sleep. It seems like those programs weren't really made with kids in mind, as it appeared it would be a bit boring for kids and perhaps a bit scary and hard to follow at times. But once I got into the story, it turned out to be a well done, both story wise and atmosphere.

Moontrap

I was working my way through the Star Trek TOS Remastered DVD's and got to the end where the special features were and watched a segment featuring Walter Koenig. He mentioned that he made a movie with Bruce Campbell, so of course I had to watch that film, which is titled Moontrap.

Somehow the film didn't turn out all that spectacular, but it did have some redeeming points. The concept was decent, but the plot never fully engaged the viewer. The 'alien' race was fairly well portrayed, as much in the same was that Leeloo of the Fifth Element, wasn't immediately able to speak English, the alien in this film also cannot communicate fluently upon the first interaction with Earthlings and need to progressively learn the language.

The Pixar Story

Facinationg look into how Pixar was founded, with a lot of concentration on John Lasseter, as there should be. Very well done, and they didn't spin it with the national enquirer type stuff that so many "story of" documentaries fall back on.

I thought I was well educated about Pixar, but I learned a few things and recommend this film for anyone who wants to know more about the history of Pixar, computer animation as well as the corporate culture of Pixar and a few insights into the development of the original Toy Story, which originally headed in a very different direction.

Still they neglected to mention Howard the Duck, which I had heard indebted George Lucas and motivated him to sell off his computer graphics division. Still not sure if that is true.

Some Like It Hot

If you know a little about this film, you know it's an old black and white Marilyn Monroe film. I had seen numerous ads for it through out my childhood on the re-run channel - channel 56, but have never seen it before.

The reason I got motivated to watch it was that I read that Grace Lee Whitney (Yeoman Rand from Star Trek) was in this film. But her role turned out to be so small, I don't even know for sure if I caught a glimpse of her, or if she even had a line.

The film itself was not without it's charm, but I didn't see anything that made it outstanding either, including the plot which didn't always go in any logical direction (as a comedy has a right to do).

Shane

This is one of those films I have heard referenced and parodied so many times that I had to see it for myself.

While it was certainly a great western, in many ways it was not a typical western, as the hero doesn't come riding in with guns ablazing, nor his he impervious to pain. It's much more of a realistic fighter, as well as the somewhat reluctant hero.

As great as this film is, I was slightly disappointed, as I had heard Bill Hicks describe a scene with a bully telling an unarmed man to pick up a gun so the bully could shoot him. I cannot figure out if that scene was edited out of the version of the film I watched, or was just how Bill Hicks imagined the gunslinger would act or if that scene belongs to another film.

You will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

After watching Miral, I was surprised to learn that the star of that film Frieda Pinto, also appeared in a Woody Allen film. I've seen a large number of this film, both his silly faze 60s-70s and most of his films in the 80s and have always enjoyed them. I haven't watched many of his film after the 80s, but that is true for me for most films.

This was an enjoyable film, pretty much typical Woody Allen, with the odd conversations and people giving in to temptation, which leads them into further trouble.

I didn't catch what role Frieda was playing until after she had appeared several times.

The only real troubling aspect of this film is the inconclusiveness of this film, thought it was clearly Woody's intent to leave us wondering about the characters future.

As always Wood Allen does not disappoint.

The Ramen Girl

My friend said that he was planning on showing this film as part of a class he would be teaching. As I had never heard of it, and due to my long experience with Japan, I thought I should check it out.

The film includes some famous Japanese actors, most notably the star, who also stars in the Tsuribaka Nisshi films.

The plot is rather implausible, as some American woman decides to dedicate herself to learning to be a top ramen (no pun intended) chef, while not being able to speak any Japanese.

One of the short comings is that as most of the action takes place in a ramen shop you get a rather limited picture of Japan.

Cherry 2000

I heard about this film from some news post about some female robot. I was surprised that I hadn't heard of this film before, as it was science fiction, from the 80s and had Melanie Griffith in it.

It has an impressive 80s cast, including Byron James (Looking half way between his Blade Runner role and his Fifth Element role), Laurence Fishburne, Tim Thomerson (B-movie icon from Trancers, and several other 80s films).

The film was okay, a post apocalyptic world, without any real edge.

I read somewhere that this film was released in theaters in Europe, but not in America, which would explain why I had never heard of this film before.

Zack & Miri Make A Porno

This was another film by Kevin Smith that I intended to watch a long time ago but only got around to watching recently. Much more typical Kevin Smith fare, about odd conversations, relationships and of course Jason Lee.

This was an enjoyable film, but didn't really blow me away. Enough to satisfy my Kevin Smith needs.

Still the plot, or at least the characters actions to reach their "goal", is illogical. They spend quite a bit of money making an overly costly production for two people with extreme money problems, when they could easily make such a film for practically nothing. This is odd for us to comprehend as an audience, but at that same time, the film would be short and empty if the characters simply set up a video camera for a hour and tried to sell the results.

Cop Out

I was reading about Kevin Smith, and had heard he directed this film, and since I am a fan of Kevin Smith (having seen everything by him up until Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, though I also watched Clerks II), so I had to see this film.

Also, I have enjoyed a large number of Bruce Willis films, more that any other actor I can currently recall (12 Monkeys, Die Hard, The Fifth Element, but not Pulp Fiction, didn't care for that one), so I thought this would be a worthy combination. The film wasn't outstanding in any way, but I didn't hate it as some reviewers did.

I did note the soundtrack had an 80's feel, which is due to it being composed by Harold Faltermeyer, who I know from Beverly Hills Cop (Axel F), though he also did the soundtrack for Fletch, if you happened to see that.

Miral

This is certainly not an old movie. I read about it on a news site, that Israel was complaining that the film gave it unfair portrayal. Of course, if some government doesn't want me to watch a film, I have to watch it.

I wanted to learn more about the troubles in the middle east. From watching this film, it may be hard to understand the root of the problem or its exact history, but you will get a good idea of the injustices Palestinians face.

From the start, I was pretty surprised at the physical appearance of the lead. She has rather dark skin and appeared Indian to me, which as it turns out she was (the actress, not the character). I thought this was an odd choice to have an actress who doesn't look like a Palestinian, but it turns out that she does look rather similar to the original Palestinian author on whose autobiographical novel this film was based. I guess I need to adjust my perception of what Palestinians look like.

This film is 65% in English, but the version I watched was without subtitles. The story was still fairly clear but I will have to go back watch it again with subtitles to see what I missed.

The lead actress, Freida Pinto, also appeared in Slumdog Millionaire, which I also watched, but I don't recall her role in it. That was a rather odd film, and I am uncertain what made the film noteworthy, with the exception of all the controversy surrounding the child actors.

American: The Bill Hicks Story

I have heard of Bill Hicks sporadically (maybe because I don't get out much and I have been away for such a long time), so I wanted to know a bit more about his life (and his too early death).

The film (and his life's story) is especially impressive, hearing of his accomplishments at such a young age as a comedian. Of course the story goes on to cover his adulthood, which I found a bit less interesting, perhaps because I had previously had some knowledge of his work at that age, and it wasn't new to me.

If you have heard any of his work, you know he is not only funny, but really had something to say. There are lessons to be learned from him and he should not be forgotten.

The World of Suzie Wong

My motivation for watching this film was rather misguided, as looked up information on French Nuyen, to see what she had done, besides the Star Trek episode "Elann of Troyius" and mistakenly believed that she and William Shatner stared in this film. But as it turns out, they were both in the stage version of this film. Still, this film version featured Nancy Kwan, who gave a wonderful performance, and played a rambunctious character who I found impossible not to like (though it seemed like she would be a lot of trouble to have around).

The film appeared to have quite a few shots of actual Hong Kong, but not enough to give you a strong overall impression of the city. It also featured some Chinese cutural aspects, which hopefully cause the viewer to be a bit more culturally enlightened and broadminded.

The story is okay, but I was greatly impressed with the main characters moral integrity, and considering the time this film was made, it's impressive on the part of the writers as well. While all other other characters are looking down on the Chinese race, it seems only the main character doesn't falsely believe in his own races superiority.

Unfortunately, the ending of the story takes a big (though rather expected) twist and takes a kind of lighthearted story into bit of gloomy direction. I think this solultion may have be written in to resolve what could be a potential impediment to the main character's romance (similar to that faced in South Pacific).

South Pacific

Another musical which I have known the name well, but had never seen.

This musical features excellent music that we have all heard countless times including "One Enchanted Evening" and "I'm Gonna Wash that Man Right Out of My Hair", which you may recall from a Clairol commercial, with one word changed. The song Bali Hai, is simply mystical and enchanting.

The film itself was quite good, featuring a excellent cast, gorgeous scenery as well as the aforementioned music. The story was a bit simple and the moral question the main female character faces is would be a non issue in our current society. I also was troubled by the needless death of one of the characters, but I guess it's hard to question, as such is the result of war.

It just happened that Juanita Hall played a prominate role in this film, as well as the proceeding film I watched, Flower Drum Song. Both performance were excellent, though I didn't realize that it was the same actress until I looked her up in wikipedia after watching this film. I think she did a great job of recreating a Polynesian accent (though I have never heard one, and they may no longer exist) that sounded plausible.

Also in a small role this film featured French Nuyen, who appeared in and episode of Star Trek "Elann of Troyius", and was the mistaken motivation for the viewing of my next film.

Flower Drum Song

Continuing on, as with the previous film, I had heard the title of this song, but never seen the film. In fact, after watching the film I had never even heard most of the songs, though I think I may have heard the song "The Other Generation" once or twice. The song, "Love, Look Away" is excellent and I am surprised it hasn't gotten more attention.

One odd thing about the film is that 3 of the four stars are Japanese (well two Japanese American and one from Japan) playing a Chinese character roll with the other actress being the half Chinese and half Scottish Nancy Kwan, who has immeasurable appeal in this film, and perhaps all her films.

I was very impressed to see the "typical" life of Chinese American's speaking without accents. And even more impressed for them to included a Chinese character who had just arrived, speaking with an accent. The film didn't give in to the preconception that all Asians (and Asian Americans) speak with an accent, nor did to attempt to completely erase that fact that some do. This seems like and extremely enlightened view for the time this film was made and it's surprising that even in current times some non Asians retain this faulty preconception.

The film is colorful and enjoyable, though some what lacking in memorable songs. Also, felt the Mei Li was not particularly interesting, nor did I see any motivation for the romance between the two main characters.

Music Man

I grew up with several records of 60's musicals, and have seen a number of those films. Still there were a few that I had heard of, but never really listened to the music nor ever seen the films.

It is for that reason I added a few of those films, who's names I have known so well to my list of films to watch.

Music Man was an enjoyable enough film, with a few memorable tunes, especially "76 Trombones" and "Ya Got Trouble". As I said, the film was enjoyable enough, but I didn't get a strong feeling for the characters (I guess that is typical for musicals) nor did I feel that there was a real love in any of the brewing romance.

It was really good to see Buddy Hacket, as I only recall seeing him in "The Love Bug" and as the voice of scuttle in The Little Mermaid. He has an interesting personality on film, but his bungling tenancies are completely absent in this film. Also it was good to see Shirley Jones, who I only recall from the Partridge Family and also Ron Howard in one of his earliest roles.

Stateside

WTF. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why put this film on my list. The only thing I could possibly guess was that Carrie Fisher was briefly in the film. There is a small possibility that Penny Marshal appearance in the film may have some influence on my adding it to the list.

Anyhow, the film was rather unclear as to what it was trying to do. While I object to films that spell everything out for you, it was difficult to follow from the start which characters were relevant. The characters never showed an initiative, just sort of stumbling through the events that shaped their lives, often going in odd directions that never seemed to be inspired by any sort of motivation.

L'il Pimp

The title alone is enough to give you an odd feeling about this film. I was partially motivated to see this film because I read that Hollywood had disowned it, which is often a sign unbridled free thought of and a lack of commercialization. Also, the cast included actors whose work I have enjoyed, most prominently, William Shatner, but also featuring Jennifer Tilly, who I remember from Moving Violations. I guess I should also mention that Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants) also voices some characters in this film, but I doubt that would have any much influence my decision to watch this film. (Though I still have great respect for Tom Kenny, and voice actors in general)

As I have said elsewhere, I am a big fan of animated films, and I found this film by googling the terms "strange animated films", and once I found out it was rejected by Hollywood I had to see it for myself.

Unfortunately, I have had trouble finding anything redeeming about this film. The animation is that which is pretty typical of recent Saturday morning cartoons, flat characters with limited animations (often only animating the part of the character that moves, so the body will be like a cardboard cut out, with only the lips moving) and computer rendered, color-by-numbers look, giving no shades or shadows. Also, the characters are drawn in a simple style, as is typical of Saturday morning cartoons as well. This detracts from the film two fold, as it lacks style, but also this film seems to want to show cartoon sexualization, like Bakshi, but ends up with characters that don't have any sexual appeal.

The main character is some what of a typical little boy, who is reminiscent of Butters, on the TV show South Park. He tries to do what adults ask of him, but also picks up words from those people around him and ends up getting involved in situations that his mother objects to.

I would assume this film was supposed to be entertaining in some way, but found it neither funny nor were the characters intriguing.

Waiting for Superman

This film is certainly not old, and the first thing that attracted me to it was the word "Superman" in the title. Honestly, this movie didn't make a big impression on me, as it's main point was pretty clear but didn't need a whole film to communicate: Teacher's Unions make it exceptionally hard to fire poor (performance wise) teachers, and those teachers have a great negative impact on students. While that is certainly a relevant point and one that needs to be addressed immediately, the film as a whole was less informative. It's almost like the film "Teachers" with the limited entertainment value of that film sucked out (yes, I rewatched that film again about a year ago)

Yes,"Waiting for Superman" did well with showing real kids and the showing how families struggle to get their diligent and hard working kids into a school which will allow them to reach their full potential. It's certainly ironic that the only child who was accepted to the better school was the white girl who already had a perfectly decent school available to her.

From Here to Eternity

I have heard the title of this movie countless times, but I am still not exactly sure why I added to my list of movies to watch. It might have been from watching Hollywoodland, and hearing that George Reeves was in it, or maybe I heard the Ernest Borgnine was in it (though it was surprise to me when I watched the film). Perhaps it was since I have heard that the famous beach scene was filmed in Hawaii, but I was also surprised to see that the film was completely set in Hawaii. And I didn't know the film was about the events leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor (though I kind of guessed, since it was a film about soldiers in Hawaii) I was also surprised to find out that the whole film was black and white.

Anyhow, the film didn't leave a big impression on me. The story was good and the acting was excellent (basically meaning the characters made me interested in them), but I wasn't particularly impressed with the fate of the characters. Their fate were pretty much unjustified (but I guess that is how the author wanted it to be) as each character could have easily avoided their final circumstances. I was particularly troubled by the ending of the relationship between Karen and St Warden, as there was no reason for them to break up, especially as Karen was in a worthless relationship with her husband.

I have seen the beach where that famous scene was filmed, and I know how small it is, but I expected it would look larger on film. Perhaps to someone who hadn't actually seen the beach in person it may have seemed larger on film, but to me it just seemed cramped.

I guess it is understandable, since it is a film about soldiers in Hawaii, but he film completely neglected the local culture in Hawaii, giving me the impression that the film wasn't set in Hawaii. I commend the producers for actually filming in Hawaii, but if they had filmed it on a stage, I don't think it would have drastically altered the viewers perception of the film.

Strange Old Movies

I often find movies that I intend to watch, sometimes I read an interesting article about the film (like the film was shunned by Hollywood, is a title that I have heard a thousand times but never seen). These movies are not always old nor strange, but I have a mental list of these films and I eventually get around to watching them. I thought it would be interesting to write about the odd variety of films I watch.

I generally prefer watching films that either teach me something so they are educational to a degree (not in the way you learn about math, but that say something about American life, such as problems in the system, or films that show something about the world and a times I watch films just for entertainment value, but I am not entertained by action scenes and lots of explosions. It has to be a kind of thinking man's film for it to keep my interest.

I also was watching a lot of animated movies about a year ago, because I find animated film's creativity is not stifled. But I watched so many of them (including EVERY SINGLE Disney animated theatrical feature ever produced) that my list of animated films to watch is now empty. I have seen a lot of odd animated films, including the French "Time Masters", The Brave Little Toaster and Interstella 5555 among others. I have been unable to sit through only one of Bakshi's films, Wizards, because I found the animation style unappealing, character's uninteresting and story not intriguing, I haven't bothered with his other films. Also, he likes to attempt to make sexy characters, but I always find they completely lack any appeal, perhaps because they have been so cartoonized.