Bugsy Malone (1976) [* * * *]

This is a gangster movie - but all the gangsters are children. It was quite a lot of fun to watch, though I must admit, like most mafia movies, I hardly understood what it was about. (It took me 3 viewings and reading the book to 'get' Godfather. And I still can't explain what its about if asked. This would probably need the same. Some worlds are too male to comprehend, gang violence on the streets would be one of them.:)

Anyway, great music and a startling parody, since these kids do mobs and mafia so well, it makes adults at the same game look retarded.:)

Prizzi's Honour (1985) [* * * *]

A very entertaining gangster movie with a twist.

Jack Nicholson is a slow but deadly mafia man, brought up by the Prizzi family. He falls in love with Kathleen Turner, who's a specialist killer hired by the family, but he marries her anyway because he's in love with her. Anjelica Huston is a former lover who's been dishonoured because she cheated on him in a jealous fit.

It's a movie about family honour and its crazy mafioso implications. One mistake by Kathleen leads to very unfortunate consequences for his marriage by which Anjelica manages to get him back.

Well worth watching.

About Schmidt (2002)[* * * *]

This is an interesting movie for any middle aged person to see. Its a change-of-life story.

Schmidt is newly retired from his job as vice-president in a company who sees his life with new eyes.

One day watching a tv ad for a charity, he begins to write to an african boy with a cheque to support his education. His letters are about his new retired life.

He comes from a typical US married man background of having nothing to live for except his work. His wife seems like a stranger to him, but by the time he realises it, she dies.

Now he realises he can't take care of himself and his home, and his daughter won't stay to help because she has her own commitments. He decides to move up to join her but she doesn't want him to come until the day before her wedding.

Having time on his hands, he decides to sightsee. The trip to see his daughter married to a nincompoop in a weird, though very average american, family is hilarious and very real. His daughter wants him to pay for the wedding, her husband wants him to invest in some scheme - he realises everyone only saw him as a provider but didn't want to know him. His attempts to stop the wedding, and finally, his acceptance that it is beyond his ability as a marginal figure in their lives is quite moving.

The one thing I admire about these rare american filmmakers is their ability to see their own culture as being ... strange, if poignant, and laughing at it visually. He returns home thinking about what he'd achieved in his life and realises it was meaningless - until he receives a letter from his african charity with a picture drawn by the 6 yr old child, Ndugu. In his entire life, the only thing that makes his life meaningful is a whimsical charity of 22 dollars/month where someone returns affection when he gave willingly.

It touched me because looking at the man as a provider often goes hand in hand with manipulating him by withholding affection. A very common affliction in arranged marriages.

Sita sings the Blues (2008)[* * * *]

The only reason I watched it because Nina Paley sounded familiar (I later realised I had seen her videos on VHEMT) and of course, because it was the Ramayana from Sita's perspective. (It didn't go far enough if you ask me, Sita's perspective would need a radical feminist approach.:)

The style does come across as flip, even though Nina protests it isn't, but I liked the whole comparison to her own story of male rejection. The songs were lovely and the narration very contemporary (meaning most indians only know bits and pieces well and that comes across). Very colourful and indianized, from an american's point of view. As an indian woman who knows the story, it wasn't very outrageous or even groundbreaking or insightful, excusable as it was made for a wider audience, but the songs were nice and scenes well-packaged. Good job, Nina! I felt very much for your parallel.

Astroboy (2009)[* * * *]

Here's another very entertaining movie - just that I didn't quite get the point of it, so no 5stars.:)
The story is of a distraught scientist father creating a robot in the image of his son, Toby, who he loses by accident. The robot doesn't know it isn't Toby until the father discards him.

Toby is then imprisoned in robot games of death, hunted by the government for his core and shunned by humans.

The part that really put me off was that the humans were hardly human to all the robots in the movie, treating them to sneering, sniggering manipulation, and the robots were all far more human than the humans. I mean, what were they trying to say to the kids they made this movie for? That slavery will be alive and well in the future - and that it doesn't matter because robots will replace blacks/ethnic folk? Or that humans needn't respect bots because they're their creation? I didn't like the overall repulsion I felt to what was a well-made, if cold, movie.

Monsters vs. Aliens (2009) [* * * *]

I really enjoyed this comedy sci fi. Its cute and very thoughtful monsters, so there's nothing very scary for kids.

A girl is hit by a meteorite and finds herself a 40 ft monster secreted away by the US govt. She meets 3 other monsters there - created by radiation, experiment or discovery. They're let out of the secret facility to battle aliens who want to take over the world, which they do remarkably well at.

Very, very watchable.:)

9 [2009] (* * * *)

A wonderful animation with a bizarre, almost incomprehensible, story. This is a world destroyed by man-made machines which turned to war against them. A bunch of rag dolls survive by hiding, created as No..1, 2, 3, ... 9 but are hunted by the machines.

Its quite an adventure, but leaves you with more questions than it answers. The ending was very much about setting the souls of the dead free - which didn't really end it for me. Still, for a fine new kind of sci fi anime, its worth a watch. Don't expect to understand it though!:)

The Man From Earth [2007](* * * *)

I found this the most extraordinary story - of a Neolithic Man who lives for 15000 years.

The story is told by the man himself to his colleagues but they react with horror and fear, so he, at the end, pretends it isn't true.

He tells them an interesting piece of his history, when he met the Buddha and tried to teach the same ideas in the Middle East and was crucified for it (which was Holger Kersten's fabulous research on Jesus).

Anyway, worth a watch. And even if there's a whole 80s feel to the movie that makes it appear antiquated, it has a lot of references to modern research which make it a learning opportunity.

Silent Running [1972] (* * * *)

The idea is interesting in that the earth has already been destroyed (for a change:) and now a few people are sent by govts to nurture trees on satellites.
When the govt gives the order to destroy the experimental forests, one nurturing man can't do it. He takes his satellite to the rings of Saturn and teaches a droid to take care of it. But loneliness gets him and he destroys himself in the end.
Very depressing movie.
But again the theme of sacrificing himself for a larger idea, a forest of birds and animals and trees, appealed to me.

Moon [2009] (* * * *)

We see a lone space-station run by a human who is longing to be home with his family. He has an accident and is rescued by his clone. The rest is a fascinating peek at how humans may use clones to replace themselves in the future, even though it is an abuse of those intelligent lifeforms. Very interesting twist in the end - I couldn't see how it could have a happy ending and it did.

If there's one thing that I believe about a possible future for humans, it is aloneness, maybe even loneliness. Especially with the rate at which the world is aggressively trying to reduce populations while increasing property.

Persuasion (BBC, 2007) [* * * *]

After Austen's Pride and Prejudice, perhaps even Sense and Sensibility, I found Persuasion (2007 film version) to be one of her most interesting stories.

Here is an older woman, 27, who has to come to terms with having rejected a man she loved 8 yrs back, because she was persuaded by her family. She realises that she'd made a mistake and wounded his pride but can't correct the situation. As they're thrown together repeatedly they discover a new respect and love, even greater than before, which is so very Austen.:)

Persuasion (1995)
For something done in 1995, not so very long ago, I'm astonished at how poor the version is visually. As far back as 1965, Walt Disney was churning out classics like Lady and the Tramp ... why was this one so bad? I think it suffers from poor actors, poor sets (though some scenes are copied by the 2007) and though the dialogue is more authentically Austen, it lacks continuity.

Btw, I discovered another reviewer who's doing all the Austen movies I am with more formality at R-views - check it out.:)

Knight and Day (2010) [* * * *]

A light-hearted action film very much like a Bond, but better - just one woman. What was also unusual was the chemistry between the two! I didn't expect that.

Tom Cruise, 48, was never a favorite of mine, but growing old seems to suit him - his high energy edginess is now laced with a tenderness that's wonderful to see on screen. Cameron Diaz at 38 played a very dizzy blonde to perfection (reminded me of Goldie Hawn). Worth watching if you're looking for uncomplicated distraction.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea [2002] [* * * *]

Jules Verne's book is pretty hard going for any child, since he wrote in such great detail. Such fabulous ideas deserve being presented visually. This has always been the best argument for making a movie - that the story cannot have been accessed by so many without the medium.

This story is an adaptation, so its not like the original, but it contains all the essential ingredients of the book - the concept of freedom from Nemo's perspective: free from human bondage in the vast oceans, where no man or nation can rule over another '30 ft underwater'.

5 people are rescued by Nemo and taken on a fantasy journey from the South Pole to Atlantis. Eventually they escape because of homesickness, but not until they learn the wonder of the deep ocean and the man who conquered it, the defiant reclusive genius, Capt. Nemo.

I really enjoyed the action-packed adventure by MGM, though it lacked something of the Disney artistry.

Sherlock Holmes (2009)[* * * *]

Sherlock Holmes has been done so many times that this one shouldn't have had any impact. But it always does.:) Robert Downey Jr. is quite convincing as a mad and wonderful detective, he's more lusty-looking than the other versions for sure. Still it starts at the beginning and does an entirely new adventure with a lot of modern pyrotechnics and an intellectual romance with the mysterious Adele thrown in. I'm sure Arthur Conan Doyle would have enjoyed this action-packed version.

Treasure Planet [2002] (* * * *)

A futuristic remake of Treasure Island.

This Disney movie was bearable in one feature - though it was fast-paced, there were no recognizable animals, so no earth-animal abused (that's the awful thing about animation - the bonking and crushing and casual abuse for a burlesque laugh - what kind of kids laugh at suffering? I've only ever known 2 who did, and they both grew up into bullies. I remember every other child cringing away from these tasteless cartoons all these years, Walt. Get that? It isn't funny.)

The hero was insufferably american in expression - spoilt, sullen and bored in a studied way. Anyway, we've fortunately got the R L Stevenson original firmly in our minds: the Tintin-like eager intelligence, the willingness to deal with difference yet rejecting evil.

Oh, and I was so glad that there wasn't a sappy love interest for the teen - maybe we can thank Stevenson for keeping his work a pure adventure or -- Disney is finally aware of the escalating teen pregnancies in the US.:)

Brendan And The Secret Of Kells (2009) [* * * *]

This is a story about Ireland at the time of Viking attacks when the entire culture of the island was wiped out with its people. It's a book about the value of walls vs. living treasures in culture. The abbot of Kells is obsessed with fortification against the invaders. As refugees pour in, he pours his faith into the walls and won't let anyone work on writing books.

A young monk, Brendan, braves the forest and the Dark One to make ink and bring home a rare crystal to illustrate with. He makes friends with a fairy and learns to value creativity over brute strength because within minutes of the Norseman invasion, years of work on both gate and walls prove useless. The young Brendan escapes to write the Book of Kells. Nice story, great animation.:)

Way of the Dragon (1972) [* * * *]

This is the beginning of Bruce Lee's control over his films - he was director and scriptwriter for Way of the Dragon. The comedy is about Tang Lung, Bruce Lee, sent from Hong Kong to Italy to help fight off the land mafia who want a chinese restaurant. It's an endless battle, and the stakes keep rising until what is the most defining moment of the movie - the fight between Bruce Lee and Chuck Norris in the Roman Colosseum (what a terrific use of Roman gladiatorial history to place eastern martial arts at the pinnacle of fighting traditions!).

This movie relieves some of the stress of the fighting with humour - a terrific eastern touch bollywood has used for years.

Fist of Fury (1972) [* * * *]

This is probably his most violent movie where he has an uncontrollable temper and picks fights (with a cause, of course). It's marked by patriotic fervor too, since it's set in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. A must-see for fighting aficionados.

But it lacks the depth of Enter the Dragon and like most patriotic movies, it's more meaningful for the occupied than anyone else - what a deep impression territorial aggression makes on the aggressed! Unforgettable because domination is unforgivable.

The Big Boss (1971) [* * * *]

This was Bruce Lee's first film done entirely in Hong Kong. The director gave him complete control of the script and his own role and this was the start of Bruce Lee's philosophizing on film.

Bruce Lee is off to work in a chinese ice factory and has to find co-workers who've gone missing. A treacherous big boss who is an opium smuggler and womanizer leads him down the garden path, until he finds out the truth.

Of course he settles scores with his remarkable fists. But, perhaps for the only time in his cinematic life, he hesitates to fight (because of a promise to his mother:). And gives himself up to the police for a girl he's soft on.

 

Ever after, Bruce Lee was larger than life and more emotionless. Here he's sweeter than in his other movies, though his remarkable talent is evident.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona, (2008) [* * * *]

A typical Woody Allen take on sex and love. Two women take a long holiday to Barcelona and one finds love and the other sex. Find out what happens. It's pretty steamy and mixed up emotionally - I really dislike Woody Allen for this kind of urbane confusion - all his movies have this unresolved conflict feeling to them. They make me restless to straighten the characters lives with some spiritual direction!:)

It's very interesting - but most of all, it has fantastic scenes of Spain, a country I fell in love with for it's rural idyllic beauty.