What I saw the month of October
In order from favorite to least,
The Departed: I'm not a huge Martin Scorsese fan. I admire his films more than I enjoy them. But this film I admired as much as I enjoyed. As a matter of fact this is the most fun I've had in a theater all year. I think what makes a good movie exceptional is when every single character feels like they could be the star of their own movie. No one character dominates, everyone has something shines. It's still not my favorite mob movie, that would be Donnie Brasco, but it has some of the same charm. This movie is up there with Babe 2 pig in the city, Kill Bill Vol 1, To be or not To Be, and Midnight Run.
Also, I saw this in a theater in West Wales, and there were gasps whenever Jack Nicholson said the 'c' word.
The Magnificent Ambersons: I think I enjoyed this more than Citizen Kane, although the script wasn't as snappy.
North by Northwest: I think this works better on a tv screen. The jokes don't seem as creaky then. At the theater I saw this, the audience only laughed twice. The crop dusting sequence is sure intense though.
Jason and the Arganauts: Not as fun as I remember from childhood, but the skeleton fight is top notch.
Volver: This is the first Pedro Almodovar I've seen. I wasn't blown away but I still kind of liked it. It made me want to see his other films. It was the best Lifetime made for TV movie I'd ever seen.
Scanner Darkly: They wrongly marketed it. It wasn't a cool sci-fi with lots of action. I'm glad I was aware of that because I don't think I'd have liked it. As it is, I kind of liked it.
The Leopard: This doesn't deserve to be at the bottom of the list. It's too good a movie, but I was bored and confused. I think it will be much better when I see it again.
The Departed: I'm not a huge Martin Scorsese fan. I admire his films more than I enjoy them. But this film I admired as much as I enjoyed. As a matter of fact this is the most fun I've had in a theater all year. I think what makes a good movie exceptional is when every single character feels like they could be the star of their own movie. No one character dominates, everyone has something shines. It's still not my favorite mob movie, that would be Donnie Brasco, but it has some of the same charm. This movie is up there with Babe 2 pig in the city, Kill Bill Vol 1, To be or not To Be, and Midnight Run.
Also, I saw this in a theater in West Wales, and there were gasps whenever Jack Nicholson said the 'c' word.
The Magnificent Ambersons: I think I enjoyed this more than Citizen Kane, although the script wasn't as snappy.
North by Northwest: I think this works better on a tv screen. The jokes don't seem as creaky then. At the theater I saw this, the audience only laughed twice. The crop dusting sequence is sure intense though.
Jason and the Arganauts: Not as fun as I remember from childhood, but the skeleton fight is top notch.
Volver: This is the first Pedro Almodovar I've seen. I wasn't blown away but I still kind of liked it. It made me want to see his other films. It was the best Lifetime made for TV movie I'd ever seen.
Scanner Darkly: They wrongly marketed it. It wasn't a cool sci-fi with lots of action. I'm glad I was aware of that because I don't think I'd have liked it. As it is, I kind of liked it.
The Leopard: This doesn't deserve to be at the bottom of the list. It's too good a movie, but I was bored and confused. I think it will be much better when I see it again.
posted by Bryan Summers at 5:06 AM
4 Comments:
Babe: Pig in the City is one of my all time favorites. Perhaps it is the best movie I've ever seen. I love the first one, but Pig in the City is a masterpiece.
I watch it at least once a year and every time I see it, it's better than I remember.
The first time I saw it, I was on cloud nine for three days. I'd rented it, and then saw it at least four times before it was due back. For a couple of days, I made myself obnoxious talking about it nonstop.
I love the scene with the circus. I love the scene where Thelonius the ape can't wake up the clown. I love the scene where Ferdinand tries to catch up with the plane. And possibly my favorite moment in any movie ever, is when Flealick, the dog in the wheelchair contraction visits the afterlife.
Yeah, I agree. It's brilliant. I think it's George Millers best movie.
I wish someone would play it on the big screen.
Yea for pig in the city! I was introduced to this in Dean Duncan's "Narrative Strategies" class back in 1999. He showed the clip where Babe is being chased by the Bull Terrier who is chained to the lawnmower who falls into the water. I got all choked up. I hadn't seen the first one, so I went and rented it that night. "Why are you renting Babe?" my wife asked. "Because it looks sweet." I said. I get choked up in that one when the farmer sings and dances for babe. And then we rented pig in the city the next night. So good. I show that same clip to my students every year, and they always give me grief beforehand, but then applause afterhand. (at least the smart ones do).
There's a great article on it at cmi.byu.edu and click on reviews on the left.
I just read Dean Duncan's review. He is right on the nose. I think this will be discovered and one day be as popular as Wizard of Oz
I like what you said about Departed Drew. It wants to be a great film but just can't quite get there. Babe is great. And I remember enjoying Babe II A Pig in The City when I took Dean's class. I'd like to see it again after reading all of the remarks.
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