* Happiness (whenever)
---not my kind of thing; total waste of time, IMO; twisted sexual perversion, if you're into that, but pedophilia dominates this repulsive waste of 1/12 of a day
*** It Happened Here (1964)
---good historical piece, if nothing else, from a director that turned out some serious documentaries forthwith; story about a what if Germany had taken over England circa WWII
***1/2 Jackie Brown (1997)
---thought I hadn't seen this Tarantino flic but I was more wrong than Thursday's mlb total; recommended to see at least once but not exactly Hendrix's gift to the cinema; decent acting, IMO
** Don't Look Now (1973)
---Donald Sutherland psych-thriller; overrated, IMO; unfulfilling conclusion
***1/2 The Kinning (1956)
---another flic I thought I'd missed--early Kubrick so wasn't surprised that the ending was no surprise (seeing as I'd viewed before, but had forgottened); good performance by Sterling Hayden and a decent perusal, especially if you appreciate pre-1970 stuff and/or Kubrick's work
*1/2 The Fall (2006)
---same director that did The Cell, but at least that flic had some semblance of a coherent storyline; some good visuals, within, but totally no surprise in the outcome and generally a grandiose misplacement of potential, IMO
**1/2 Bad Lieutenant (1992)
---a decent performance by Harvey Keitel saves this otherwise disappointing film
** Ms.45 (1981)
---another Abel Ferrara film, like Bad Lieutenant, this one kind of drags but has some cool imagery that adds a lot to the story, a la In Cold Blood
*** The Departed (2006)
---a decent crime story but could Scorsese have made Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio look a little less like identical twins?!...sheesh...call me a space cadet but I thought they were the same person for most of the film
**1/2 Secret Window (2004)
---Stephen King story with Johnny Depp and Timothy Hutton; not too bad but majorly predictable, a la Shutter Island or the like
***1/2 The Pledge (2001)
---good Nicholson work, decent story and very good conclusion if you're not into fairy tales
****1/2 The Insider (1999)
---Al Pacino flic based on a true story regarding a 60 Minutes story about the tobacco giants that was initially trashed by the network; very good acting all-round...highly recommended
*** Traffic (2000)
---another I didn't remember seeing previously, which may or may not say whatevas; Michael Douglas with the primary role and he does a decent job in this decent, but unexceptional, film
*** The Talented Mr.Ripley (1999)
---Matt Damon does a decent job but this film is a little too predictable; sorta like a House of Games or The Spanish Prisoner but not as good, IMO
(all are IMO, but redundancy is (w)in)
***1/2 Punishment Park (1971)
---a Peter Watkins flic and certainly intriguing, as long as you don't have a flag tattoo and understand that the law in question is still on the books and was further emphasized by some previous administration signing that hopefully won't cause the masses to respond as they should...can you imagine the draft being re-implemented?, anywhere in North America?...war is a bitch and so is any even remotely totalitarian political activity, which is what this one is all about
Think I might check out Righteous Kill (2008), with DeNiro and Pacino, before the first pitch by Lewis.
---not my kind of thing; total waste of time, IMO; twisted sexual perversion, if you're into that, but pedophilia dominates this repulsive waste of 1/12 of a day
*** It Happened Here (1964)
---good historical piece, if nothing else, from a director that turned out some serious documentaries forthwith; story about a what if Germany had taken over England circa WWII
***1/2 Jackie Brown (1997)
---thought I hadn't seen this Tarantino flic but I was more wrong than Thursday's mlb total; recommended to see at least once but not exactly Hendrix's gift to the cinema; decent acting, IMO
** Don't Look Now (1973)
---Donald Sutherland psych-thriller; overrated, IMO; unfulfilling conclusion
***1/2 The Kinning (1956)
---another flic I thought I'd missed--early Kubrick so wasn't surprised that the ending was no surprise (seeing as I'd viewed before, but had forgottened); good performance by Sterling Hayden and a decent perusal, especially if you appreciate pre-1970 stuff and/or Kubrick's work
*1/2 The Fall (2006)
---same director that did The Cell, but at least that flic had some semblance of a coherent storyline; some good visuals, within, but totally no surprise in the outcome and generally a grandiose misplacement of potential, IMO
**1/2 Bad Lieutenant (1992)
---a decent performance by Harvey Keitel saves this otherwise disappointing film
** Ms.45 (1981)
---another Abel Ferrara film, like Bad Lieutenant, this one kind of drags but has some cool imagery that adds a lot to the story, a la In Cold Blood
*** The Departed (2006)
---a decent crime story but could Scorsese have made Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio look a little less like identical twins?!...sheesh...call me a space cadet but I thought they were the same person for most of the film
**1/2 Secret Window (2004)
---Stephen King story with Johnny Depp and Timothy Hutton; not too bad but majorly predictable, a la Shutter Island or the like
***1/2 The Pledge (2001)
---good Nicholson work, decent story and very good conclusion if you're not into fairy tales
****1/2 The Insider (1999)
---Al Pacino flic based on a true story regarding a 60 Minutes story about the tobacco giants that was initially trashed by the network; very good acting all-round...highly recommended
*** Traffic (2000)
---another I didn't remember seeing previously, which may or may not say whatevas; Michael Douglas with the primary role and he does a decent job in this decent, but unexceptional, film
*** The Talented Mr.Ripley (1999)
---Matt Damon does a decent job but this film is a little too predictable; sorta like a House of Games or The Spanish Prisoner but not as good, IMO
(all are IMO, but redundancy is (w)in)
***1/2 Punishment Park (1971)
---a Peter Watkins flic and certainly intriguing, as long as you don't have a flag tattoo and understand that the law in question is still on the books and was further emphasized by some previous administration signing that hopefully won't cause the masses to respond as they should...can you imagine the draft being re-implemented?, anywhere in North America?...war is a bitch and so is any even remotely totalitarian political activity, which is what this one is all about
Think I might check out Righteous Kill (2008), with DeNiro and Pacino, before the first pitch by Lewis.
