...Big Love, Season 1 (2006)

After the first episode of Big Love, the HBO mini-series on polygamy, I was disgusted that this selfish man (Bill Paxton) would marry three wives and that three women (Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin) would allow themselves to get mixed up in this situation. Like a car crash, though, something kept me watching and, ultimately, I found the series to be beautifully written, excellently acted, and extremely well-directed. Come season's end I was mesmerized, falling for the depth of these characters and the idea that who am I, of all people, to condemn another's choices; I can't wait to see what they choose in Season 2.

...300 (2006)

Every frame of 300 looks like the panel from a graphic novel - most probably because the movie is based on Frank Miller's graphic novel and it lllllooooovvveessss slow motion. 300 also loves violence, painted indoor scenes made to look like the outdoors and barely-clothed male warriors with computer-enhanced abs. Although Zack Snyder, who did the excellent remake of Dawn of the Dead, directed this very dark movie (and I mean that literally), if you are not looking for quick self-gratification or are not a video game or comic book aficionado, you might just want to pass this one up.

...Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974)

Dirty Mary Crazy Larry is one dumb movie but if you're into old-school, red neckesque movies with a lot of car chases and crashes, this is the one for you. Peter Fonda is fine as the titular Larry but Susan George is horrible as the titular (and I do mean titular) Mary; it's obvious she wasn't hired for her acting. The one good thing about this movie is that the effects are all pre-CGI - what you see is what you get.

...Georgy Girl (1966)

Georgy Girl is probably most famous for its swinging title tune (two different versions of which are performed over the beginning and ending credits by the Seekers and a third performed live below) but it is also a fun, well-acted, well-scripted slice of swinging 60s London. Lynn Redgrave earned a well-deserved Oscar nomination for her portrayal of the plain, working-class Londoner who gets mixed up in the love life of her flat mate (the beautifully, unsympathetic Charlotte Rampling) and the sex life of father's employer (the coldly, sympathetic James Mason). And there ain't nothing wrong with looking at a young, hot and sexy Alan Bates for 90 minutes either.

...Dirty Love (2005)

I've always liked Jenny McCarthy's raunchy humor and, even though Dirty Love is way over the top in terms of it (some might fast forward past the scene in which Jenny buys some much needed tampons), I still respect the gal and her cojones. It's not a bad movie but it's not very good either unless, like me, you are a Jenny fan. Carmen Electra's acting as Jenny's friend is surprisingly the best part of this movie.

...Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)

Peggy Sue Got Married could've been better had the writing of the script been tighter. Peggy Sue Got Married could've been better had director Francis Coppola replaced Nicholas Cage because of his ridiculous decision to imitate Gumby. Peggy Sue Got Married would have been worse had Kathleen Turner not played the titular character; but that doesn't mean this is a good movie - it's just a good performance.

...Shadow of the Vampire (2000)

Knowing the truth about the 1922 German film, Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, is a detriment to watching Shadow of the Vampire. The script uses the filming of the silent classic as a springboard for fiction that strays so far from the facts it makes the ending, and ultimately the story, absurd. And while Willem Dafoe received a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his performance as actor Max Schreck, the usually effective john Malkovich was unconvincing as director F.W. Murnau - making this movie just a shadow of a film.

The Hills Have Eyes: 6 lines about 2 movies

92% of director/co-writer Alexandre Aja's The Hills Have Eyes (2006) remains intact from director Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes (1977); a back story has been added to the former that seeks to put the blame for the cannibalistic clan on you, me and these here United States of America rather than the lone gas station owner of the original. The remake has crackling edits, uber-realistic makeup effects, and plenty of gore while the original still has the power of...um...originality and the type of gore that is realistic without being over-the-top. The acting in the remake is first-rate (which was not always the case in the original) with special kudos to Emilie de Raven for shucking her Lost character and her Australian accent as well as Kathleen Quinlan for just having the balls to get down and dirty in a horror film. (I enjoyed Virginia Vincent as Ethel Carter in the original but haven't seen hide nor hair of her since.) The remake's back story is interesting and allowed for a fascinating look at some historical desert happenings but it added length to the film while the original was tightly edited with nary a wasted frame. All in all, the remake is a worthy update but see the original first - you'll be glad you did.

...My Sister Eileen (1955)

Columbia Pictures made My Sister Eileen when their deal to buy the film rights to Wonderful Town, a Broadway musicalization of the play My Sister Eileen, became too expensive. They hired Jule Styne and Leo Robin and made this second musical from the same (slight) source material that is only effective when not concentrating on silliness and long even when ending too quickly. So the songs are nice but forgettable, Betty Garrett is wonderfully staid as Ruth, Janet Leigh surprisingly adept as Eileen, and Robert (Bob) Fosse sweet as Eileen's suitor and athletic in a marvelous dance off with Tommy Rall.

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...Trust the Man (2006)

Self-consciously independent and arty, director Bart Freundlich seemingly tells his own story without regard for conflict. Given the green light probably because he knows actors in high places (David Duchovny, Maggie Gyllenhaal and real-life wife Julianne Moore) who wouldn't/couldn't say no, the film is, at times, downright boring. There are some good scenes (Moore choking, the sex scene) but they are overshadowed by the redundant (the old how do i fix the TV gag) and ultimately the whole thing makes me NOT want to trust this man's next movie - if there even is one.

...The Entity (1981)

An intense performance by Barbara Hershey is the main reason to see The Entity, a film based on the Frank De Felitta novel which is itself based on a true story. It's an atypical poltergeist story in which an unseen force repeatedly rapes Hershey's character. Although an interesting concept for an ending falls flat and the psychological versus spiritual mumbo jumbo takes over too much of an already long movie, Margaret Blye as Hershey's best friend and the very loud electronic beats that accompany each rape scene add some welcome relief from the clutter.

...North Country (2005)

Although it hits all the right buttons, North Country seems a bit too earnest. The acting (Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson, Sean Bean, Sissy Spacek, Richard Jenkins) is good and the Minnesota landscape is beautiful but the script is a bit too pat. Even though I was oblivious to the women and lawsuit on which this movie was based, the sides were too evenly drawn and the ending easily foreshadowed from the beginning. The film ends up feeling like something made by an upscale Lifetime production company; not that there's anything wrong with that as the movie kept my interest and I was glad to see those evil men get their comeuppance.

...An American Haunting (2005)

An American Haunting is a short movie based on a tall legend from the 1800s in which a spirit murders a man - the only time in U.S. history, according to the film, that this has happened. Well, that's not what I saw in the movie and the historical portion was bookend-ed by a ridiculous present day mirror because, from my perspective, the producers didn't think the movie-going public would be able to sympathize with someone from the 19th century. The movie was watchable and it wasn't boring but the ending was transparent and ultimately the whole was a lot less than the sum of it's parts.

...Go West Young Man (1936)

Go West Young Man is a typical fish-out-of-water story with Mae West as Mavis Arden, a huge movie star who is forced to stay in a boarding house run by, of all people, Elizabeth Patterson (who looks as old -or young- as she did twenty years later when she played Mrs. Trumbull in I Love Lucy). Though not her best film, West does an admirable job teasing Randolph Scott and, ultimately, being tamed by the man you'd least suspect. Most interesting though are the scenes of Arden's film within the film, Drifting Lady, which gives a peak as to the actress West might've been had she not been an icon.

...Shampoo (1975)

Many think it a comedy but Shampoo is, in reality, a morose reflection of Hollywood that didn't make me laugh but was completely absorbing nonetheless. The six lead actors are phenomenal especially Oscar-winning Lee Grant and Goldie Hawn. Warren Beatty, Robert Towne and Hal Ashby have fashioned an absorbing time capsule - one that still rings true in a different time.

...Pan's Labrynth (2006)

Pan's Labrynth is an excellent film with a complex script and outstanding performances - especially those by Maribel Verdú, Ivana Baquero, and Sergi López. Guillermo del Toro wrote and directed this fantastical thriller set physically in wartime Spain (around 1944) and thoughtfully in...um...Pan's labrynth. It's a multi-award winner (including three Oscars for art direction, makeup and cinematography) about a young girl and fascism and one of the best films I've seen in years.

The Banger Sisters (2002)

The Banger Sisters boasts winning performances (especially by its leads Goldie Hawn, Susan Sarandon and Geoffrey Rush), fun circumstances and an amiable, if not award-winning, script. Although parts of the film are too pat, the Turning Point-esque story of two groupies from the sixties coming to terms with their present lives charmed me through and through. Written and directed by Bob Dolman (of SCTV fame), the film poses an important question: what happens to us as we grow up? and answers it with not too much Sturm und Drang.

...Goin' To Town (1935)

Goin' To Town might be a knock-off of I'm No Angel (woman cashes in and attempts to move in on high society) but even a tame Mae West (this was made after the Production Code was more strictly enforced) is better than pretty much anything else. She throws off one-liners, sings the blues AND opera, walks that walk and beguiles all the men while pissing off all the gals. Goin' To Town is good enough that if your in to this gal...mmmm...you can't go wrong.

...Jeepers Creepers (2001)

At one point in Jeepers Creepers, the female protagonist says to her brother something to the effect of, "You know those parts in scary movies when someone does something stupid and everyone hates him for it - well this is one of those parts." It's true that Jeepers Creepers has any number of those parts but the film works because the monster is scaringly good with an interesting back story. And who wouldn't love a movie that uses the Paul Whiteman and his Swing Wing version of the song Jeepers Creepers in this day and age as opposed to some new version with a male rapper and a female chorine.

...Abby (1974)

Abby is the rarely-seen, black cast horror film pulled from release when Warner Brothers, who saw the film as derivative of The Exorcist, filed a lawsuit against the distributor for copyright violation. Similarities notwithstanding, the film, even at 89 minutes, runs long, and the African-based folklore makes no sense. But to those interested in a piece of film history, in comparing it to its far-better forebear, or in ticking off another film in the Juanita Moore cannon, Abby is worth at least one look.

...Silent Hill (2006)

Silent Hill is an excellent filmization of the Edgar Allen Poe quote,

All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.

Radha Mitchell, Laurie Holden and Alice Krige head a strong cast in this female-centric horror film (the protagonists and the villians as well as some of the monsters are women) that was, surprisingly, based on a video game. Although confusing at times, the denouement does make sense without relying on plot holes, the monsters are horrific, and director Christophe Gans has created, in the burning town of Silent Hill, an excruciating picture of hell that would, at times, seem all to real - if I actually believed in it.

...I'm No Angel (1933)

Mae West was a one-of-a-kind jewel and I'm No Angel is her platinum setting - made thankfully before the Production Code was followed to it's full effect. Although at times the Cary Grant romance and its inevitable outcome reminded me of an extended episode of Love, American Style (forty years before the series was aired thank you very much), the film is not dated and the court room scene, with Mae doing her thing as her own lawyer, is hysterical. You'd be hard pressed to find a more unique actress and icon and a more apt film for her to display her...ahem...talents, all of them - she acts, sings, and wrote the screenplay.

...S.O.B. (1981)

S.O.B. is a black comedy about politics (sexual and otherwise) in Hollywood that is wickedly insightful and strikingly accurate (from what I've read anyway). Interestingly, the film falters towards the end when it falls into farce - one of the (many) issues that also plagued Darling Lili, the filmmaking experience on which writer/director Blake Edwards based his script. Still, it's a wild ride with a sterling cast that is worth taking; and Julie Andrews's pineapples are breast-taking (sic).

...Freedomland (2005)

Freedomland is a drama based on the Richard Price novel with excellent performances from Samuel L. Jackson, Edie Falco, and Ron Eldard. Unfortunately, the usually-capable Julianne Moore seems miscast in her role as the mother of a white boy missing in a primarily black neighborhood project; or perhaps its a role she's done previously and a lot better (perhaps in a film that was also produced by director of this film Joe Roth?) And although the central story sometimes seems affected to bring on the ultimate cops versus residents warfare, the film is stirring and speaks capably to parent/child relationships and race in America.

The Band Wagon (1953)

The Band Wagon is a lovely, and colorful backstage musical that, despite the simplicity of its story, manages to face head on some interesting themes (the May/December romance of the two leads, the gentrification of 42nd Street). The five stars are delightful, the songs (including That's Entertainment, By Myself, Shine On My Shoes, Triplets) classically tuneful, and the dances magnificently athletic. The surprise, which doesn't necessarily detract from Vincente Minnelli's charming film, is that Cyd Charisse was filmed lip-synching; she's quite a dancer but maybe her voice leaves something to be desired?

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