Posted on by licoricerub

Memoirs of a Geisha (2005, Directed by Rob Marshall) English Good Film

Starring Zhang Ziyi, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, Ken Watanabe, Kaori Momoi, Mako, Youki Kudoh, Kōji Hashimoto

(Good Film)

At the end of the 1920s, a young Japanese girl, Chiyo, with unique eyes begins working in a geisha house where the work is hard and jealousy abounds. As she grows up and Japan enters into World War, Chiyo (Ziyi) becomes one of the most desired geishas in the area but never gives up her dream of being with a kind older gentleman, the Chairman (Watanabe), she met as a child. Doomed to unfair criticism by casting controversy-the three leads are Chinese-Memoirs of a Geisha is a wonderful escapist fantasy provided you understand that this is what it’s aiming for. It’s not a gritty, realistic look at the hardships these women faced during that era. It’s a glossy, sumptuous fairy-tale and the director, Rob Marshall, excels. Those looking for weightier themes may want to look elsewhere, but those who can accept beauty as a theme and happiness as an ending will be glad to lose themselves in the world of Chiyo. As for the casting controversy, I believe that it was only an issue because the three Chinese women are so famous, so recognizable that for some, it may be a distraction.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

-7-

Posted on by licoricerub

History is Made at Night (1937, Directed by Frank Borzage) English 6

Starring Jean Arthur, Charles Boyer, Leo Carrillo, Colin Clive, George Meeker, Ivan Lebedeff, George Davis

Antti Alanen: Film Diary: History Is Made at Night (1937)

(6-Good Film)

Melodramatic. Unique. Engaging.

Irene Vail: You’re right, Bruce. This time you’re right. This time there *is* another man.

Irene Vail (Arthur) has been faithful to her husband, Bruce (Clive), whose insecurity and jealousy have caused her to file for divorce, but Bruce is also obscenely wealthy. He hatches a blackmail scheme meant to keep her tied to him but instead introduces her to Paul Dumond (Boyer), a French waiter who’s suave personified. The two fall in love but Bruce’s jealousy and his wealth threaten to tear them apart. Shifting through tones skillfully, History is Made at Night, which starts as a sort of romantic comedy, goes in several surprising directions. I’m not much a fan of what I call the “weepies,” melodramas designed to induce tears, but Boyer and Arthur are magic together.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(1,093)

Posted on by licoricerub

Midnight (1939, Directed by Mitchell Leisen) English 8

Starring Claudette Colbert, Don Ameche, John Barrymore, Mary Astor, Francis Lederer, Rex O’Malley, Monty Wooley

Matinée Moustache — deforest: Claudette Colbert in Midnight (1939)

(8-Exceptional Film)

Surprising. Witty. Charming.

Eve Peabody: [at the ball] Don’t forget, every Cinderella has her midnight.

Most films that I consider charming aren’t as jaded and sarcastic as Midnight, an underrated classic that for years has been difficult to find. Written by two giants of scriptwriting, Billy Wilder and Charles Brackett, Midnight is a clever spin on the Cinderella fantasy. Claudette Colbert plays Eve Peabody, a beautiful but penniless American in Paris, scrounging for a job. She meets Tibor Czerny (Ameche), a handsome cab driver who’s instantly smitten with her, but she runs off in the middle of their night together, leaving little clue as to who she is or where he can find her. While he searches the city, she helps her newfound fairy godmother, millionaire Georges Flammarion (Barrymore), get rid of a playboy hitting on his wife. Wonderful dialogue and zany, unpredictable scenarios throughout make Midnight a fantastic romantic comedy and Colbert, Ameche, and Barrymore are terrific stars.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(1,092)

Posted on by licoricerub

Sleeping Beauty (1959, Directed by Clyde Geronimi) English 5

Voices of Mary Costa, Bill Shirley, Eleanor Audley, Bill Thompson, Verna Felton, Barbara Luddy, Barbara Jo Allen

How Disney's Sleeping Beauty (1959) Solidified Animation as an Art Form

(5-Okay Film)

Bland. Superficial. Humorless.

Princess Aurora: Well, I’m really not supposed to speak to strangers, but we’ve met before.

Sleeping Beauty, the movie and the character, is beautiful and not much else. I’ve maintained for many years now that this is the worst official Disney animated feature. It follows the dark, fantastic tale of Princess Aurora, cursed at birth by a bitter fairy, Maleficent, her parents send her away with a trio of kind fairies to protect and hide her until the day she’s old enough to marry. One day, in the woods, she meets and falls for a handsome stranger, only to learn later that she’s already promised to a prince. Not knowing that the prince and the stranger are one and the same, Princess Aurora is heartbroken and lured to Maleficent. The problem in my eyes with Aurora applies really to all the Disney princesses before their Renaissance. She’s boring. She has very little personality and her driving characteristic is her sweetness and innocence. That was okay with Cinderella and Snow White, because they had an outstanding supporting cast of humorous characters. Snow White had the dwarves and Cinderella had the mice. Sleeping Beauty has an incredible villain in Maleficent (though she has little screen time) and several nice characters in the good fairies and the blustering father figures. There are no charismatic characters, little-to-no humor, and only one song.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(1,075)

Posted on by licoricerub

Love and Monsters (2020, Directed by Michael Matthews) English 7

Starring Dylan O’Brien, Jessica Henwick, Michael Rooker, Dan Ewing, Ellen Hollman, Bruce Spence, Ariana Greenblatt

Review] Delightful Monster Mash 'Love and Monsters' Embraces the Comedy-Horror Spirit of 'Zombieland' - Bloody Disgusting

(7-Very Good Film)

Fantastic. Exciting. Fun.

Joel: Don’t settle. You don’t have to. Even at the end of the world.

Toxic chemicals cover the earth and monsters are born. Now, your garden-variety slug could be a giant flesh-eating mutant. Seven years into this new world, the good news for Joel (O’Brien) is that he’s more or less safe within an underground community that takes care of each other. The bad news for Joel is that everyone within the bunker is paired off, except for him. He’s lonely and he misses his girlfriend, Aimee (Henwick), from before the apocalypse, who told him she loved him as they were dragged away from each other. After, finally, finding out her location, Joel sets out on journey across the monsterpocalypse to make it to her, meeting new friends along the way. Love and Monsters is a simple story done surprisingly well. The monsters, in particular, are a major triumph; well-designed and rendered with impressive special effects. Characters usually take a back seat in monster movies, but here, there are at least 2 to 3 humans we care about. The disappointment comes from the love story, which the filmmakers described as a John Hughes style romance. Love and Monsters goes for a bittersweet conclusion and that’s probably less corny and more realistic than what I might have hoped. I still think in a movie featuring massive toads and leeches the size of baseballs, an unrealistic fairy tale romance wouldn’t have seemed too crazy.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(1,072)

Posted on by licoricerub

Casablanca (1942, Directed by Michael Curtiz) English 9

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Paul Henreid, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Conrad Veidt, S.Z Sakall, Dooley Wilson

Casablanca (1942)

(9-Great Film)

Classic. Immaculate. Beloved.

Rick: Here’s looking at you, kid.

Rick (Bogart), as I’m sure you know already, sticks his neck out for nobody. Heartbroken after a lost love affair in Paris, he’s become the enigmatic owner of a happening bar in Casablanca during World War II. While all around him people are scrambling and killing and stealing for a means of getting out of town and over to ally territory, Rick seems in his element. That changes when an old flame, Ilsa (Bergman), the one who broke his heart in Paris, shows up with her husband, Victor Laszlo (Henreid), a hero to the resistance movement. Casablanca is often proclaimed the best-loved or most cherished of Hollywood classics. It’s a strong testament to what the old studio system could do. Premier production values, invisible editing, great dialogue, and a terrific cast of characters matched with the right stars and character actors. Of course, Bogart and Bergman are immaculate but think about how invaluable the supporting cast is, right down to Sakall in his brief moments (The studio system had the best character actors). I resisted Casablanca for many years, perhaps partly due to my innate contrary nature, but also, I think, because its so famous and influential, so often imitated, that its components are almost cliche. It’s impossible for it to feel fresh at this point, but watching it again, I found myself admiring every aspect of its storytelling. It’s a great film, but you probably didn’t need to be told that.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(1,063)

Posted on by licoricerub

The Adventures of Don Juan (1948, Directed by Vincent Sherman) English 7

Starring Errol Flynn, Viveca Lindfors, Robert Douglas, Alan Hale, Romney Brent, Ann Rutherford, Robert Warwick, Una O’Connor, Raymond Burr

the adventures of don juan 1948 이미지 검색결과

(7-Very Good Film)

Festive. Handsome. Fun.

Don Juan: My dear friend, there’s a little bit of Don Juan in every man, and since I am Don Juan, there must be more of it in me!

Don Juan. The man. The myth. The legendary lady-killer. Apparently, not far off from star, Errol Flynn’s own reputation. The perfect marriage between star and role. Flynn’s Don Juan passes from town to town, accompanied by his loyal servant, Leporello (played by Flynn’s loyal real-life friend, Hale), fleeing cuckolded husbands and alternating between trying to live down or live up to his reputation. Eventually, he meets the queen, Margaret of Austria (Lindfors). Falling for her, he fights to protect her from conspirators and enemies of Spain. Not as exciting or memorable as Flynn’s best (Captain Blood, Robin Hood, The Sea Hawk), The Adventures of Don Juan is, however, a fun, romantic romp made with an abundance of skill and money.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(1,051)

Posted on by licoricerub · 2 Comments

Ninotchka (1939, Directed by Ernst Lubitsch) English 9

Starring Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire, Sig Ruman, Felix Bressart, Bela Lugosi, Alexander Granach

Ninotchka | Best Movies of All Time | TIME.com

(9-Great Film)

Romantic. Sly. Iconic.

Ninotchka: Must you flirt?

Leon: Well, I don’t have to, but I find it natural.

Ninotchka: Suppress it.

Three amiable, easily manipulated Soviet agents arrive in Paris during the days following the Russian Revolution. Sent to sell valuable jewelry confiscated from the ousted nobility, they’re quickly thwarted by a wily lawyer, Leon (Douglas). The trio are then sent help in the form of Nina Ivanovna Yakushova, or Ninotchka (Garbo), a tough-as-nails, Soviet patriot to help fight the case. Not nearly as impressed by Paris as her comrades, it’s meeting Leon and falling for him that slowly causes some of the ice to thaw. Ninotchka is my favorite Garbo picture. It’s one of those classic Hollywood films that bring me great joy to watch. Romantic and funny as romantic-comedies naturally should be but rarely are, it’s also a rather clever and early satire on the bleak state of Soviet Russia.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(1,050)

Posted on by licoricerub · 1 Comment

It Happened on 5th Avenue (1947, Directed by Roy Del Ruth) English 8

Starring Victor Moore, Charlie Ruggles, Don Defore, Ann Harding, Gale Storm, Edward Brophy, Alan Hale Jr.

Top Holiday Picks: It Happened on 5th Avenue

(8-Exceptional Film)

Wonderful. Charming. Classic.

Aloysius T. McKeever: And I would like to feel that you’re all my friends. For to be without friends is a serious form of poverty.

Wise words from Mr. McKeever (Moore), a wanton leech and scoundrel. He wanders through life, sneaking in and out of mansions while their owners are away on vacation. This Christmas season, he’s staying in the home of Michael J. O’Conner (Ruggles), the second richest man on Earth. Gradually, other people join Mr. McKeever in the house: principled Jim Bullock (Defore), O’Connor’s daughter, Trudy (Storm), who’s fallen for Jim, Mr. O’Connor himself, as a favor to his daughter, and Mary (Harding), O’Connor’s estranged wife. This is a really wonderful movie that takes its zany, promising setup in a number of surprising directions. Victor Moore is called on to be both comedic scoundrel and Christmas angel all at once. He achieves this effortlessly. Though light on actual Christmas content, It Happened on 5th Avenue is still regularly described as a Christmas classic. Really, it’s a comedy for all seasons.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(1,042)

Posted on by licoricerub

Let the Right One In (2008, Directed by Tomas Alfredson) Swedish 7

Starring Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Peter Carlberg, Ika Nord, Mikael Rahm

Review: Let the Right One In

(7-Very Good Film)

Striking. Thoughtful. Memorable.

Eli: I’m twelve. But I’ve been twelve for a long time.

Any feelings I have about Let the Right One In are inevitably affected by my love for its American remake, Let Me In. In truth, I prefer Let Me In. It’s more polished, more tense, and better acted. Let Me In’s decision to “make the story more accessible,” as they put it (sounds horrible), I would describe as simplifying or chiseling it down to perfection. This has been one of my more unpopular opinions over the years and a good topic for debate, but I will focus the rest of this review solely on the film at hand, and it is a very good film, obviously laying the foundation for its successor which I consider a great film. A beautifully dark fantasy, Oskar is a bullied 12-year-old (the movie is set in the ’80s and you remember how intense ’80s bullying was, at least in movies) just trying to make his way in life when he meets and befriends Eli, a vampire, eternally 12-years-old. So starts easily one of the strangest relationships in film history, at times, romantic, sweet, sinister, twisted, what-have-you. Watching its course is mesmerizing and Let the Right One In is often a beautiful film. Nitpicking, maybe, or perhaps just a consequence of seeing the film long after its initial release, the effects, while still effective, are unpolished at many points in the film. It obscures some of Let the Right One In’s beauty.

-Walter Tyrone Howard-

(1,030)