Quickie Reviews - 09/02/08

“Smokey and the Bandit” – Yeah, I knew this movie wouldn’t be perfect when I saw it, but it is decent enough. A little bit of fun here and there, but very like a mediocre BJ, very forgettable come the next day. (**½)


“Barton Fink” – Before the Coen Brothers made their mark with “Fargo,” “The Big Lebowski,” and “No Country for Old Men,” they made “Barton Fink,” one of their best movies and one of my all-time favorites. For the first hour, I was watching a guy trying to think up some new ideas for the film that he is writing, and for the second, I became enticed while watching him and a few detectives solve a murder mystery. (****)


“Wild Strawberries” – For the first film in my Ingmar Bergman education, I watched “Wild Strawberries,” and since his death last year, it is known as one of his deeper movies. The device used to tell the story is such a perfect and beautiful one that you will be remembering for a long time. (****)


“There’s No Business Like Show Business” – I saw this film only because I wanted to educated on Marilyn Monroe. I wished there was more of her. Oh, and the movie was okay. (***)


“A Hard Day’s Night” – I don’t understand how this is one of the better movie musicals of all-time like many people call it. If it wasn’t for The Beatles music, I would probably hate it. I’d rather watch “Across the Universe” twenty times in a row… well, I would rather do that every day of the week. The movie rocks. (**½)


“After Hours” – When people think of Martin Scorsese, they think of “Taxi Driver” or “Goodfellas” or “Raging Bull” or… well, you get it; everything BUT “After Hours.” But I think that “After Hours” is one of his best movies (if not THE) because of the balance between comedy and suspense. Oh, and because it is a lot of fun. (****)


“Singin In The Rain” – I’ll admit, I watched this with little sleep at 3 in the morning. I’m not gonna give it a rating until I watch it again… in a few months.


“The Shawshank Redemptions” – I used to think that this movie was overrated, but now I think it is one of the best movies ever made. I became interested in the characters, and even the more evil characters I cared about. This is one of those movies that you have to keep watching over and over again in order to get the full taste of. (****)


“Rain Man” – I only watched this film because Robert Downey, Jr. brought it up during “Tropic Thunder” and I never saw it before, and while the movie isn’t a fantastic one, it was a good way to past time. I don’t know what else to say, aside from “You never go full retard.” (***)


“Top Gun” – This movie is still known today? Really? And we still forget that movies like “After Hours” exist? SHAAAMEEE! (**)


“All The President’s Men” – If you know the story already, watching “All The President’s Men” is going to be blast for you to watch. If you don’t know it, you’re shit out of luck while watching this. (***½)


“High Fidelity” – In some ways, I really enjoyed “High Fidelity.” I cheered on the characters and loved their top five lists. And when the credits rolled at the end of the film, I forgot what “High Fidelity” was about. (***)


“The Third Man” – The first hour of the film is great, but the second hour blows the entire movie away. When Orson Welles arrives, the film really does pick up a lot of the speed that is needed, and the finale – absolutely fucking amazing. (****)


“The Day the Earth Stood Still” – The science-fiction classic really is a great movie, but now that we can look back at it and see outdated it is, it is the terror that we fear today. It should be no surprised that when we watch the remake in a few months that instead of a war of the worlds there will be an Al Gore-themed message. (***½)


“Ben-Hur” – It’s good, just not that great. A little bit too long for my tastes. (***)


“Fast Times At Ridgemont High” – The film is probably the most accurate look at high-school back then and today. It is also probably the best high-school movie ever made. (****)


“The Killing” – The movie is pretty slow for a little bit, but the last thirty minutes are a lot of fun. (***)


“An American in Paris” – One of the best movie musicals ever made. It is highly enjoyable and filled with life. (***½)


“Alien” – Ya know, I STILL can’t get into this movie. I’ve tried… oh god, how I’ve tried, but I still don’t know how it is one of the best movies ever made. Great direction, of course, but it isn’t one of the scariest movies ever made. (***)


“Born on the Fourth of July” – Tom Cruise’s portrayal of a paraplegic anti-war activist is one of his best roles in film, and probably his best movie. The scene when he comes home from the hospital really got to me. Let’s stop there. (****)


“L.A. Confidential” – Like “Alien,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” and “Ben-Hur,” I don’t understand why everyone has a boner over this movie. It’s good, but not great. I might have watched this at the wrong time, so maybe I’ll give it another shot in a few years. (***)


“Robocop” – This sci-fi flick is much better than I thought it would be. I’m hoping that Darren Aronofsky does this movie justice. (***)

Next time - find out my opinions on "Casablanca," "Amacord," "Dune," and a lot more! Oh, and my next installment of Indie Scene will be in two weeks. Sorry for not really getting to them, indie directors and distributors.