Reviews

In King Kong we follow a film crew during the Great Depression filming on a mysterious unexplored island. Ann, the leading lady of the film, is captured but the natives(more on them later) and is made to be sacrificed to their living god, a giant ape named Kong.

The film's mastermind Merian C. Cooper was a fascinating yet complicated man. A real life adventurer, and staunch imperialist unfortunately, Cooper wanted to make the ultimate adventure film and found some of the best people for the job.

King Kong is easily one of the most influential films ever made. We are still feeling the ripple of its impact. We see it in countless remakes, and in movies like Godzilla, Jurassic Park and the works of Ray Harryhausen. I love this movie to death. It's easily one of my favorites.

The film's story has a timeless feel to it. No wonder it's been remade so many times. You can place it at any point in history and it works. At its heart it's a love story. Kong loves Ann, but it's obviously a forbidden one. Once the humans find Kong they won't leave him alone. It's quite tragic really. He dies still loving her. Yes it's a giant ape and a woman, but it's still tragic.

Kong himself is one of the great effects ever put on film. Special effects technician Willis O'Brian worked for months on the stop motion and post production effects to bring the king to life. Yes, it's dated by today's standards, but considering the time it was made and how good it still looks, that's just amazing.

The film is so exciting and action packed that you almost forgive the lesser moments and take them in stride. The characters are memorable and the film is full of so many iconic moments that it's hard to be bored during the film. It's just such a fun film.

One other cool thing about Kong is how easy it's is to dig into it. There's more to any movie then what's on the surface and Kong is full of juicy interpretations. Some see it as a racial allegory, or as a commentary on filmmaking. Personally I like the idea of it being a man vs nature story. Man is determined to conquer nature, represented by Kong, that he will go to any lengths, including killing nature. The planes at the end might kill Kong, but was it really beauty that killed the beast? Maybe in a way. But to me, greed killed the beast. Carl's greed and ambition of having Kong be this magnificent attraction blew up in his face. Nature fought back, but man's greed tragically killed it. Strange, aren't we seeing this today?

The film has one major strike against it and it's a classic for sure, racial stereotypes!! Black and Asian specifically. To be fair, compared to other films of the era, it's not as offensive as others. It could have been MUCH worse. But it deserves to be discussed because films don't exist in a bubble. Yes, it was a different time, but that doesn't mean it's an untouchable topic because it makes people uncomfortable. If we don't learn from our past then we're doomed to repeat it. Talking about how poorly race has been handled in old movies doesn't mean that you don't like the movie. On the contrary, I adore this movie. But part of loving something is learning about and accepting its faults, not pretending the faults don't exist. If we pretend there isn't a problem, then we can't fix it.

Also there's Ann. Bless Fay Wray but she was not a great actress and she is treated more like an object then a true dynamic character. She literally doesn't change at all in this movie. Those screams are pretty iconic though.

Kong was very important in my growing love of movies. It was one of the first DVDs I bought myself and I watch it pretty frequently. As with any great movie I'm always finding new things I love about it. Despite its obvious flaws, King Kong is an amazing adventure of titanic proportions that will likely continue to influence film for years to come.

Spike Lee has proven to be a provocative and versatile filmmaker. His filmography speaks for itself. But even after 30 years, Do the Right Thing remains his masterpiece. In one hot day in Brooklyn, New York, The lives of several diverse characters will be changed forever when prejudice, ignorance and violence rear their ugly heads once again.

One of the best things about the movie is the characters. It's incredible how Lee was able to balance so many characters, some more important then others, and make them all interesting. I cared about every person in this neighborhood and where life would lead them. That is good writing. Despite the serious subject matter of racism and police brutality, the film is shockingly funny. But be ready for tonal whiplash, which Lee is able to transition through smoothly and believably.

I love the look of the film. The colors are bright and it gives the neighborhood such character. As if it is also a player in this story. I adore the cinematography here. I love the funky angles and dramatic close ups scattered throughout. The editing is quick and sleek. The screenplay has to be one of the best ever written.

The only truly bad thing about Do the Right Thing is how relevant it still is. I can't believe what happened to Radio Raheem still happens now. It's sickening. Recent events have shown that despite warning from people like Lee, it's almost like people never change. Or want to. Do the Right Thing isn't just great filmmaking, it's a film that is as relevant now as it was 30 years ago. This is essential viewing.

Charlie Chaplin might have been the perfect comedy director. Heck, he's one of the most brilliant filmmakers to ever live! The Great Dictator was Chaplin's first sound film after he had resisted to format for over a decade. He picked quite the poignant subject matter.

In The Great Dictator, Chaplin does something that, while easy to do and common today, was considered controversial in 1940. He made fun of Hitler. Believe it or not, before the US entered WW2, a lot of people were on the fence about that monster and his horrible ideology. But Chaplin understood the dangers and evil Of fascism and saw it as his duty to finally say something. The result is this film, possibly the greatest political satire ever made.

Chaplin makes us laugh and think as he did in all of his other films. He was a master of making every joke have some sort of double meaning. The act might be hilarious, but the reason for the act could be depressing. Take the scene in his classic silent comedy The Gold Rush were the Tramp cooks and eats his shoe. The act and visual of a man eating his shoe is quite funny. But why is he doing that? Because he's trapped in a blizzard and is starving for food. Makes you think right? The Great Dictator is full of instances like this.

Chaplin plays the double role of a Jewish barber and a Hitler stand in. Both of his individual performances are great. The rest of the cast are fun as well especially Jackie Oakie, playing the stand in for another evil man, Mussolini. Their argument is one of the funniest parts of the movie. Chaplin adds some sort of message or theme to nearly every scene in the movie. Nothing is without meaning. Chaplin took away power from these people, by laughing at them. Granted, what the Nazis did in reality is nothing to laugh at, but chaplin takes their wretched beliefs, breaks them down and laughs at them. Mel Brooks would do something similar in The Producers.

On a technical level, The film is very well shot and the sets, reminiscent of silent movie sets, help give the film a lot of character. Chaplin made films that made us laugh, cry and think. So few filmmakers have the power that he possessed. No one could have made this film but him. The final speech from the film is an exhilarating piece of filmmaking. One long take of this man pouring his heart out, pleading you to stand for peace, equality and justice. Its brilliant. One of the best scenes ever filmed. If this had been Chaplin's last film then what a way to go.

The Great Dictator is odd in hindsight. We weren't aware of the horrors of the Nazi death camps yet and Chaplin said that he never would have made the movie if knew of the camps. While I respect Charlies views, I'm glad he made this movie. It convinced a lot of people that Hitler was another evil dictator who only wanted conquest and to exterminate those he saw As beneath him. Chaplin's film is quite possibly the best political film ever. A technical and philosophical marvel of cinema, The Great Dictator is one of the most profound and brilliant films of all time.

Preston Sturges was a talented writer and director. Sullivan's Travels is probably his best known and most renowned film. While I find it overall very good, I think Sturges did better movies like The Lady Eve and The Palm Beach Story. But this is still nonetheless a worthwhile film.

I always seem to forget that at one point Joel McCrae was a popular and well respected actor before he was regulated to cheap westerns by the end of his career. But he does a good job in this film. As does Lake, but she is unconvincing as a homeless person. The film is shot well and competently edited. No issues there. I do appreciate the satirical nature of the film. Sullivan wishes to make a powerful and depressing social drama about human suffering. Great! But he's a super privileged white guy whose never been on the streets. Sturges films always seem to poke fun at the rich upper class and we see plenty of that satire here. The screenplay is witty and funny. But I don't really see this film as a comedy. It's seems way to serious for its own good and the chain gang sequences give us little to laugh about. I must say I do like the church sequence. Outcasts Of modern society coming together for a life. Even if I find the message problematic, this scene was well done and very sweet.

Honestly, I have a problem with the way it presents poor people. That hasn't aged well. And I have a small problem with the message of the film. Yes, laughter is a wonderful thing and we could all use a good laugh each day. But is laughing gonna pay the bills? No it won't unfortunately. I'd like to know what Sullivan's social drama would have been like honestly.

I find it odd that this is the movie that many Sturges fans point as his best. It's quite good, but I personally have to give The Lady Eve That title. That being said, Sullivan's Travels and an interesting film of its era, featuring talent at the height of their abilities.

The Manchurian Candidate is the greatest political thriller ever made. It's original, exciting, intriguing and no matter what side of the political spectrum you fall on, there's something there for everyone. A communist plot threatens to take over America and its up to a former soldier and his new girlfriend to solve it. That's pretty much all I can say without getting to much into spoilers.

Made at a time when McCarthyism was diving down but still prevalent, John Frankenheimer's Masterpiece gives us an alternative look at Cold War paranoia. No one is spared but this film is not kind to McCarthyism. Small tangent, Joseph McCarthy was a Mad Man Who ruined the lives of innocent people in the name of liberty and freedom, while simultaneously working to take away that liberty. This film promptly tears apart that ideology. But the other villain of the film are communist trying to overthrow the government. So what is it telling us? There's a lot to unpack with this movie. It does require multiple viewings to find the truth and even then it's still subtle in its message. Maybe there isn't one underlining message. Most likely it's meant to showcase the madness of the era in an entertaining way. Either way, it Success at being entertaining.

The performances by the leads are great. Angela Lansbury deserved an Oscar. The cinematography and editing are practically perfect and they help with the eerie and mysterious aspects of the plot. There's no true good guy. Everyone's imperfect with their own agenda, wether they know it or not.

The Manchurian Candidate is a classic thriller. But it's a thriller wanting to tell us something. It doesn't underestimate its audience and expects them to understand its allusions. Few thrillers are as smart and thought provoking as this one.

Yes it's a bold statement. But A Face In the Crowd is Elia Kazan's best movie. Heck, I would rank it amongst the greatest films ever made. It's a shame that this film isn't as well known as his others. This is likely because it was a flop when initially released. However, time has only made this gem better. This film shows the rise of a no good but charismatic country boy who, thanks to his singing and a woman with an eye for talent, becomes a media personality with delusions of grandeur, that are feed by the people he dupes. It's amazing how this film seems to have predicted the rise of media personalities as influencers in our popular culture. You could make connections to numerous amounts of people of the day and today. It's relevance has increased even more in very recent years and it likely always will as long as we let people like this have influence over us. Andy Griffith is breathtaking in the role of Lonesome Rhodes. Kazan could be a tyrant (and a traitor to his friends) but he was a great director and managed to get some brilliant performances out of many actors. His charisma and magnetic personality make him a more then believable false prophet. Griffith seems primal, unreal, yet all to believable. If any performance deserved an Oscar, it was this one. Special mention must be made to Patrica Neal. She was such a talented actress and this is the best she ever was. She hates Lonesome but she loves him. She loves him, but hates that she allowed him to gain such power. The script but Budd Shulburg is brilliant. Even better then his script for On the Waterfront. If it wasn't for his dialogue, the message might not have come through as well as it did. His words are natural, unpretentious and easy to follow. It's like everyday conversation but in a cinematic format. This film should be required viewing. We need to wise up to people like Rhodes. He's not the type of person we should be following. Yet, so many are duped by these people and their cults of personality. A Face In the Crowd warned us, now we are paying the consequences.

Vincente Minnelli's An American In Paris is a highly enjoyable, if quite flawed, musical classic. This film gets a lot right. The music is memorable, the dance sequences are to die for, the comedy is great and the acting isn't bad at all. The biggest issue is the flimsy plot. So many bizarre things happen here that would likely never happen in reality. But of course, this is an MGM musical in the 1950s, reality doesn't play a part here.

I used to not be to into this film. Thought it was just alright. But earlier this year I saw it in theaters and my opinion (mostly) changed. The lavish color photography bursts into life on the big screen and I finally realized how visually beautiful this movie is. The music is of course great. But I think I remember the score more then the actual songs. I wouldn't say the songs are as memorable as other musicals of the era, but I'm still singing Stairway to Paradise.

That final ballet sequence is just perfect. I don't care if it interrupts the flow of an already shaky story, it tells more story then the entire movie had already. Each movement is unique. I dare say this sequence was better then the one in Singin In the Rain. To be fair Singing In the Rain is superior in every other department.

I love the humor in this film. And I think Kelly and the rest of the supporting cast do a wonderful job. The only particularly bad thing is sadly, the story. It's quite flimsy and conflicts are either resolved out of nowhere, or are just never resolved. It's a passable plot for the time I guess, but musicals can still have great songs without sacrificing story (I.E. My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, The King and I and of course, Singin In the Rain).

Maybe somewhat controversial opinion here, but I've always felt that Gene Kelly was a better dancer then Fred Astaire. There I said it! I would much rather watch An American In Paris and Singin In the Rain over something like Swing Time or Holiday Inn. Astaire looked way to practiced. Kelly looked like he was improvising every step. Of course this wasn't the case since Kelly pre planned everything. But to see him move and Swing is something to behold.

An American In Paris won the academy award for best picture of 1951. I'm conflicted about this. While I do really like this movie, I think Elia Kazan's A Streetcar Named Desire would have been a better pick. Maybe the academy was to scared to give the award to a groundbreaking drama that revolutionized acting as we knew it and decided to go with the safer choice. Seem familiar? But regardless, it's been 70 years and I can think of worse upsets. An American In Paris may not be as spectacular as its younger brother Singin In the Rain, but it's a great introduction to the Arthur Freed style musical and Gene Kelly's amazing brand of wonder. Deserves the title of classic.

A 6/10 isn't a horrible rating per say. To me that means a movie is about average. Not bad, but not quite good either. Look, I love all of the Star Wars movies in their own way but we as fans must still be willing to be critical of things we love.

I fell that this is the worst film is the Star Wars saga. It's the least balanced, least interesting, Worst written and least enduring of the films. In my opinion of course. Here's a sad truth, George Lucas isn't a great writer. Don't get me wrong, he can write a wonderful story, but very bad screenplays and dialogue. American Graffiti is an exception. As a director, he is just okay. Never thought his skills in the chair was as masterful as his contemporaries like Spielberg, Coppola and Altman. But he's capable. The dialogue is stilted, corny and outdated. I feel bad for Hayden Christensen. He's a fine actor, but sometimes even good actors can't get past a bad screenplay. This is where much of the films issue lies. Somewhere under that terrible script is a decent movie.

Evan McGregor and Christopher Lee seem to be the only ones able to overcome the poor script. The first two quarters of this movie feature some uninteresting conversation, a couple of decent action scenes, ok story development and some awkward as heck romance scenes. The political intrigue keeps most of these scenes watchable and somewhat engaging. Obi-Wan's trip to Kamino is one of the better parts of the movie.

However, once we get to the arena, the films picks up. The action is exciting and the effects are brilliant. The story moves at a breakneck speed. The final lightsaber duel against Dooku is well done but in some shots you can clearly tell it's his stunt double. Talk about bush league. The musical score by John Williams is epic. Easily the best part of the film. The final track is breathtaking.

Sorry if this seemed rambling. It's a little hard trying to put my thoughts together for this film. Even when I was a young kid I wasn't a huge fan of it. Thankfully, Revenge of the Sith made up for this movies plainness.

I know that's a big statement, but Mel Brooks' masterpiece Young Frankenstein deserves all the praise it gets. A parody and loving homage to classic 1930s horror films, Young Frankenstein sees the grandson of the infamous doctor continue his experiments. Add in an beautiful But ditzy assistant, an eccentric hunchback, his grandfathers former lover and the most lovable monster in all of movies, and you have one heck of a comedy.

Out of all of Brooks' films, I feel this one has aged the best. The jokes don't feel dated and it isn't really offensive either. Yeah sure not everything has aged amazingly, like when the monster *cough* "makes love" to Elizabeth. But overall it holds up very well.

This is probably Brooks' most widely appealing film. It's not to insane, it's actually pretty constrained for one of his movies. I think that works to it's advantage. No crazy fourth wall breakers or anything like that.

The black and white cinematography is perfect. It really feels like a great 30s horror film with all the props and even the screen translations. It's all so well constructed for a comedy. Also, props to composer John Morris for his great musical score.

The biggest strength, aside from the humor, are the actors. Few films ever assembled such a fine cast of hilarious actors. Gene Wilder gives his best performance here, playing straight most of the time. Marty Feldman was such a gifted performer and I wish he didn't leave us so soon. Madeline Kahn steals every scene she's in. She was so fun. Teri Garr plays her rather thankless role very well. She provided some of the best lines though. Cloris Leachman is another favorite of mine. She always played great crazy characters. Then of course there's the late Peter Boyle. The monster has got to be a very hard role to get right. Not even Robert De Niro could do it! But Boyle was superlative. He's the only person I think to live up to Boris Karloff's high standard.

Young Frankenstein is funnier every time I see it. I always see or hear something new when I watch it. That's the sign of a truly great film. Seriously though, greatest comedy of all time. Call it a hunch!!!