Miscellaneous Movie Musings

innerSpaceman · 12-31-2006, 03:50 PM

Hahahah, Gilliamhistory! Everyone's right - - bros. grimm, a great conceputial attempt that went sadly astray. I don't know if I even made it till the end.

Wish I could say the same about Jaberwocky. I utterly regret my exposure to that movie. Yccccghhj.

And,, funnily enough, I also recently saw Prada for the first time, and liked it far better than I expected. Very fun film.

innerSpaceman · 12-31-2006, 08:32 PM

Sorry to be posting so much in this thread, but it's screener season.

Latest on the menu, a Clint Eastwood War in the Pacific Double Feature of Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers. I enjoyed both of them, but - in opposition to the relative popularity of the duo - prefer Flags overall.

Letters is told more directly, and is more even in tone. The tone and direction were very good. Not much at all about the battles, but relentless and fascinating on the futility and humanity of the Japanese military on the island. The main characters were a little stereotypical - a lowly conscripted Baker who promises his pregnant wife he'll return against all odds only to return against all odds (he is shown to be one of a handful of Japanese survivors), and the honorable samurai General who takes over the defense of the island from incompetent and arrogant officers (Ken Watanabe in the role he is typecast as, but very good at).

The story was very straightforward, but perfectly suited to illustrate the similar humanity of the "enemy" side of the famed WWII battle.

Spoiler:

* * * * * *

Flags is more ambitious in ideas, but less even in result. Sort of a "Best Years of Our Lives" tale of the toll of war and unearned fame for the three soldiers who took part in the staged iconic photograph of the Marines raising the American Flag in the conquest of Iwo Jima. Their battle experiences are intercut in flashback with the U.S. publicity tour they are roped into for soliciting desperately needed wars bonds sales.

Some of it was pretty typical war movie stuff, but other elements seemed quite unique. The directing was certainly of a more interesting style, and I can't fault the film for occassionally failing to achieve its ambitious goals.

Spoiler:

Taken together, Clint Eastwood has created quite the epic of Iwo Jima. I enjoyed both films, and liked watching them in the more chronological order of the latter released film (Letters) viewed first.

Alex · 01-01-2007, 10:10 AM

Yesterday was a John Wayne double feature. First up was Dakota (1945), one of his Republic pictures I'd never seen before. Unfortunately, there is a reason I'd never seen it before. The plot is opaque and strangely abbreviated (like they lost a reel of film somewhere and just decided to steam ahead).

The one noteworthy thing about the movie is the relationship between Walter Brennan (wrascally steamboat captain) and his black bosun played by Nick Stewart. Unfortunately Stewart is stuck in full Stepin Fetchit mode, but that isn't uncommon. What was uncommon is the way Walter Brennan was speaking to him. He kept calling Stewart "****** demon." This is unusual because while there was quite a bit of racism in movies, the actual saying of "******" was generally off limits.

It wasn't until John Wayne finally spoke to Stewart's character by name that I realized Brennan wasn't saying "****** demon" but Nicodemus.

When that one was over, 10 minutes later Wayne had aged almost 30 years for The Cowboys. Wil Anderson is my favorite Wayne performance from his last few years and if the Academy had to give him a sympathy award I'd much prefer it had been for this one rather than the slightly embarrassing Rooster Cogburn in True Grit.

But anyway, I hadn't seen this Red Dawn of westerns in may 15 years so I am glad to see it still holds up pretty well.

Strangler Lewis · 01-01-2007, 01:27 PM

I still have a childhood-instilled fear of Bruce Dern.

DreadPirateRoberts · 01-01-2007, 02:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis

I still have a childhood-instilled fear of Bruce Dern.

Me too. He was creepy in "The Cowboys" and "Rooster Cogburn".

Strangler Lewis · 01-01-2007, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis

I still have a childhood-instilled fear of Bruce Dern.

Of course, it doesn't hold a candle to my childhood fear of Hermione Gingold and Moms Mabley.

12-31-2006, 03:50 PM	#1
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	Hahahah, Gilliamhistory! Everyone's right - - bros. grimm, a great conceputial attempt that went sadly astray. I don't know if I even made it till the end. Wish I could say the same about Jaberwocky. I utterly regret my exposure to that movie. Yccccghhj. And,, funnily enough, I also recently saw Prada for the first time, and liked it far better than I expected. Very fun film.
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12-31-2006, 08:32 PM	#2
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	Sorry to be posting so much in this thread, but it's screener season. Latest on the menu, a Clint Eastwood War in the Pacific Double Feature of Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers. I enjoyed both of them, but - in opposition to the relative popularity of the duo - prefer Flags overall. Letters is told more directly, and is more even in tone. The tone and direction were very good. Not much at all about the battles, but relentless and fascinating on the futility and humanity of the Japanese military on the island. The main characters were a little stereotypical - a lowly conscripted Baker who promises his pregnant wife he'll return against all odds only to return against all odds (he is shown to be one of a handful of Japanese survivors), and the honorable samurai General who takes over the defense of the island from incompetent and arrogant officers (Ken Watanabe in the role he is typecast as, but very good at). The story was very straightforward, but perfectly suited to illustrate the similar humanity of the "enemy" side of the famed WWII battle. Spoiler: Two very effective scenes involved Sepukku (sp?), the ritual suicide of Japanese warriors. In one, the survivors of the failed defense of the strategic mountaintop kill themselves by clutching live hand grenades to their chests, with the Baker narrowly escaping the madness. And the other is the final, against-all-obstacles Sepukku of the honorable General, with a neat connection to his having visited America as a participant in the 1932 Olympics. * * * * * * Flags is more ambitious in ideas, but less even in result. Sort of a "Best Years of Our Lives" tale of the toll of war and unearned fame for the three soldiers who took part in the staged iconic photograph of the Marines raising the American Flag in the conquest of Iwo Jima. Their battle experiences are intercut in flashback with the U.S. publicity tour they are roped into for soliciting desperately needed wars bonds sales. Some of it was pretty typical war movie stuff, but other elements seemed quite unique. The directing was certainly of a more interesting style, and I can't fault the film for occassionally failing to achieve its ambitious goals. Spoiler: Two very effective scenes were - when a Tokyo Rose broadcast changes the tone of a boisterous poker game, and when the clearest hero of the threesome (a corpman medic who stoicly and selflessly saved dozens of lives) discovers the fate of his best buddy whom he unwittingly abandoned in battle. Taken together, Clint Eastwood has created quite the epic of Iwo Jima. I enjoyed both films, and liked watching them in the more chronological order of the latter released film (Letters) viewed first. Last edited by innerSpaceman : 01-04-2007 at 07:23 PM. Reason: spelling fix
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01-01-2007, 10:10 AM	#3
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	Yesterday was a John Wayne double feature. First up was Dakota (1945), one of his Republic pictures I'd never seen before. Unfortunately, there is a reason I'd never seen it before. The plot is opaque and strangely abbreviated (like they lost a reel of film somewhere and just decided to steam ahead). The one noteworthy thing about the movie is the relationship between Walter Brennan (wrascally steamboat captain) and his black bosun played by Nick Stewart. Unfortunately Stewart is stuck in full Stepin Fetchit mode, but that isn't uncommon. What was uncommon is the way Walter Brennan was speaking to him. He kept calling Stewart "**** demon." This is unusual because while there was quite a bit of racism in movies, the actual saying of "**" was generally off limits. It wasn't until John Wayne finally spoke to Stewart's character by name that I realized Brennan wasn't saying "**** demon" but Nicodemus. When that one was over, 10 minutes later Wayne had aged almost 30 years for The Cowboys. Wil Anderson is my favorite Wayne performance from his last few years and if the Academy had to give him a sympathy award I'd much prefer it had been for this one rather than the slightly embarrassing Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. But anyway, I hadn't seen this Red Dawn of westerns in may 15 years so I am glad to see it still holds up pretty well.
	Submit to Quotes

01-01-2007, 01:27 PM	#4
Strangler Lewis Doing The Job Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: In a state Posts: 3,956	I still have a childhood-instilled fear of Bruce Dern. __________________ Live now-pay later. Diner's Club!
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