Quick Opinions - Movie Edition

To quote Captain Kirk:  I of all people?  Enlighten me.

I guess just because you tend to relate to movies on an emotional level, and I find Stand By Me taps into some emotional truths very skillfully. Just seemed like something you'd be into.

Underactive. Stupid spell check.

The Old

1. Stand By Me: Part of me thinks I should put my critic pants on and give this a merely solid score, but I really do love this movie. It definitely has a fondness for childhood, but the film is smart enough to understand that neither these kids nor their youths were perfect. Reiner gives the film the perfect tone and River Phoenix kills it. A

2. Videodrome: Cool ass movie. Some great visuals and this is a bold statement from Cronenberg. He'd certainly grow as a filmmaker, becoming more technically proficient and more profound, but all the same this is a unique work. A-

3. Superman: I really like the first half, even the Krypton stuff (though Brando pronounces Krypton wrong the whole scene). One of my favourite moments in any superhero film is Pa Kent's funeral. Once it becomes a superhero movie...eh. There's some cool stuff, but Luthor's plan is dumb, there's a lot of lame comedy, and yeah, the ending is really bad. It's definitely a milestone though. Also, thank god for Christopher Reeve, because he's perfect. B

The New:

1. The Last Picture Show: An amazing depiction of small-town life with a collection of really nuanced characters whose stories come together nicely. The moody black and white cinematography works wonders and the film really builds into something powerful. I have a feeling I'll love this even more on a second viewing. A

2. Romancing the Stone: Haven't seen it. Don't really like the title.

3. Die Hard with a Vengeance: Certainly better than Die Hard 2, but very much a standard action movie rather than the perfect storm of awesomeness the original is. Also the rushed studio ending sucks. The casting of Sam Jackson is brilliant though and he breathes a lot of life into this film. B

The Last Picture Show: Great movie, brialliant depiction of the utter misery of small town America. *****/*****

Romancing The Stone: I guess I remember it being pretty entertaining. ***/***** 

Die Hard With A Vengeance: A pretty solid action movie ***/*****

Yeah it's awesome and operates under a completely different formula. The banter between Willis and Jackson is hilarious too. The original is to me the superior film, but Vengeance isn't far behind.

Days of Heaven: Awesome Malick goodness. Hella good wheat fields.

Wayne's World: Not 100% sure I've even seen it. I've definitely seen Wayne's World 2, which was "meh."

Election: I do not really have strong feelings about this movie. I get what it was doing, it did it alright... yeah. Prefer most of Alexander Payne's other movies.

I can imagine his 1-star review vividly.

Dracula only likes Seth Rogen. Not shitting on him. I like Seth Rogen too. It's just amusing that he looks down on 99% of comedy but Seth Rogen gets a pass.

1. Days of Heaven: Took time for me to appreciate, but this latest viewing really hit me. Beautiful movie. The cinematography is astounding and I love the score. I see the film as a eulogy for better times and an exploration of human pettiness. A+

2. Wayne's World: Not as funny as I thought when I was younger, but there's something about the film that endears itself to me. Also there's some good jokes. B+

3. Election: Has that whiff of "early filmmaker still finding his voice" and I don't think it compares to well to something like Rushmore, but the movie cracks me up. A-

New set:

1. The Adventures of Robin Hood

2. Clash of the Titans (1981)

3. Cape Fear (1962)