I was in the mood for some film noir (my favorite genre) the other night so I dipped back into the Criterion Collection. My general reaction to this was “uh, ok.” It wasn’t as noir as the blurb made it sound. More pulp (as it actually says). For some reason, they added weird children singing. […]
Category: Movies
#7 A Night to Remember
aka the OG Titanic. I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. It probably helped that I have never seen James Cameron’s Titanic so I had no preconceived notions about it. From a little internet research, I learned that James Cameron made Titanic only after seeing this movie and lifted some lines and scenes, as well […]
#9 Hard Boiled
I probably should not have watched The Killer and Hard Boiled back to back. They sort of bled together into one long shootout. Hard Boiled starts with an epic shootout in a tea shop and continues with an even bigger one in a warehouse. The 1980’s dress had me thinking Michael Jackson was going to […]
#8 The Killer
Now THAT’S a lot of shooting! Great action film. Hong Kong’s preeminent director, John Woo, transforms genres from both the East and the West to create this explosive and masterful action film. Featuring Hong Kong’s greatest star, Chow Yun-fat, as a killer with a conscience, the film is an exquisite dissection of morals in a […]
#10 Walkabout
I know, I was going in order, but nope. A young sister and brother are abandoned in the harsh Australian outback and must learn to cope in the natural world, without their usual comforts, in this hypnotic masterpiece from Nicolas Roeg. Along the way, they meet an Aboriginal youth on his walkabout, a rite of […]
#3 The Lady Vanishes
I started this the other day but only finished it today. I thought it started off a bit slow but picked up. I’m only used to later Hitchcock movies so it was interesting to see one of his earlier pictures. Here’s the Criterion blurb: In Alfred Hitchcock’s most quick-witted and devilish comic thriller, the beautiful […]
#1 Grand Illusion
I’ve started watching the Criterion Collection in spine order. Why? Why not? I like old movies and this seems to be a mindful way to do it. I watch the movie, watch the accompanying videos about it, and generally will get to see some of the best movies ever made and learn why they are […]
Western Update…
# 8 Rio Bravo #10 Meek’s Cutoff #25 True Grit (the remake in 2010) #47 Bad Company Currently watching Johnny Guitar. (you won’t believe what instrument he plays!)
Things I’m Trying to Do This Year
The first two on my list were: Read one book per week and finish one Great Course per month. Yesterday I added “watch all the movies on Vulture’s list of the 50 Greatest Western Movies Ever Made.” (I checked off the few I’ve already watched). So far this month I’ve read two Shirley Jackson books. […]