Staring my March marathon, it's probably not going to be as ambitious as last month considering I'm pretty much recovered from my surgery. I watched these over the last two days:
1. Staten Island (2009) - 6.5 out of 10
Fairly interesting film. It's one of those multiple point of view films in which the character's plots are loosely tied together. It had it's strengths and weaknesses. I felt the first character's story was uninteresting and oddly cheesy considering the characters profession (Mob boss), and Vincent D'Onofrio portrayal of the character was easily the weakest portion of the film. The second and third character (one of which was played by Ethan Hawke) were significantly better and tied together relatively well. It's certainly not the best film of this type but it's certainly worth a watch.
2. The Untouchables (1987) - 7.0 out of 10
Surprisingly enough, I had never seen The Untouchables, unfortunately, I found to be extremely disappointing. I was expecting a lot more from a movie consisting of Brian De Palma, David Mamet and Ennio Morricone. I can't quite explain it but the film came off as too "movie like" if that makes any sense. The first 30-40 minutes of the film are much to light hearted considering the subject matter of the film. While the soundtrack was good, I don't think it synced well with what was happening on screen. And I wasn't to thrilled with De Niro's portrayal of Capone. The latter half of the film was significantly better than the first but not enough to bring up the film as a whole.
3. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) - 10 out of 10
A real simple tale of the greed of men. The film was tense and Bogart's performance was masterful. I loved it, easily one of my favorite films of all time.
4. The Departed (2006) - 10 out of 10
I've seen this film several times before but I had an itching to watch it after seeing it on
FX a week or two ago. I seem to enjoy it more and more with each viewing. I personally enjoyed Infernal Affairs, but The Departed managed to do what few remakes have, and that's to completely surpass the original. I absolutely love this film, it's cleverly written, well acted and impressively shot. It's easily one of the best films of the decade, and depending on my mood, I wouldn't be surprised if it were to sneak its way into my top 20. I consider it to be on par with the Scorcesse's best.
5. The Graduate (1967) - 9.5 out of 10
6. Harry Brown (2009) - 7.5 out of 10
It's pretty much Gran Torino, minus the character relationships and a more offensive strategy by the protagonist. I guess Death Wish would be a more apt comparison. It starts off a bit slow and some of the plot is a improbable, but it's an enjoyable film and worth a viewing.
7. Maltese Falcon (1941) - 10 out of 10
8. Dances with Wolves (1990) - 9.5 out of 10
9. Raising Arizona (1987) - 8.5 out of 10
One of the few Coen films I had yet to see. It's in the middle of the pack as far as Coen's more comedic films go, I'd place it behind The Big Lebowski and O' Brother Where Art Thou, and ahead of everything else. Was fairly standard in comparison to the brother's other films of this type. Nicolas Cage was great in it.
10. Dead Mans Shoes (2004)- 8.5 out of 10
11. Rebel Without a Cause (1955) - 9.0 out of 10
Too bad James Dean had to die so young, could have had an amazing career, but then again, he was contemplating retirement from acting according to Dennis Hopper.
12. Black Sheep (2006) - 6.5 out of 10
13. Days of Heaven (1978) - 10 out of 10
14. Masculin Féminin (1966) - 8 out of 10
Watched it in one of my film classes. This is one of two Godard films I've seen, the other being Alphaville, and I'm not quite sure what to think. I'm all for directors trying to break the norms of film, but aiming for unconventional doesn't necessarily mean you should go overboard. It was certainly a good film and its message was well taken, but I'm not convinced that it wouldn't have been more enjoyable using conventional methods.
15. The White Ribbon (2009) - 9.5 out of 10
Second time I've seen it. I'm doing an analysis/review of the movie for my film class so I decided to watch it again before putting the finishing touches of my paper. It's a tad bit heavy handed and while the film has a lot to do with Germany, it's message is universal and eternal. Christian Berger did an amazing job with the cinematography, it's ridiculously beautiful and should have won an Oscar for it.
16. Funny Games (1996) - 8.5 out of 10
17. Code Unknown (2000) - 9.0 out of 10
Really interesting film, albeit unconventional. And speaking of unconventional, I felt it went against the grains of film in a much more accessible fashion than Masculine Feminine. It's also probably one of the best looks at multiculturalism and immigration that I've seen.
18. The Harder They Come (1971) - 8.5 out of 10
19. Moolaadé (2004) - 9.5 out of 10
20. A Raisin in the Sun (1961): 9.5 out of 10
I've read the play but I had never seen the 1961 film. It's probably one of the most overly dramatic and overacted films of all time, but it didn't seem to detract from the experience for some reason. Some powerful stuff and I'm sure there are earlier examples, but I'm still surprised to see examples of outspoken Atheism in a black film from the early 1960s.
