Adventures From My Netflix Queue: The Baron of Arizona

broderic on December 7, 2007

The Baron of Arizona is a DVD from Criterion’s Elise line of restored minor works of some feature directors, in this case being the incredible Sam Fuller. It’s an early work of his. Written and directed by him based on a true story of the real life swindler cheat, James Reavis. He actually did try to steal the Arizona Territory from the US government

Vincent Price plays Reavis who forged phony Spanish land grants to the entire state of Arizona. He finds a foster girl and raises her up to believe that she is the heiress of the Baron de Peralta owner of the entirety of Arizona. She believes in him as she grows up and that belief turns to love.

The movie starts slow. I wasn’t engaged. It was still interesting as it documented the swindle from meeting the girl to make his plans work to forging the documents in a Spanish monastery to playing a gypsy gigolo to forge the last document in the royal halls of Madrid. Then it picks up with the Baron’s return to Arizona. The locals are riled up. He makes deals and takes their money all the while knowing it is a lie. The US government gets to him, he pleads guilty, but the lynch mobs show up. I won’t spoil the ending, but I was taught in my seat hoping for a happy one.

Fuller is a favorite. While this was an out and out B movie, Fuller is still the B movie specialist. There was the kindly Sofia de Reavis-Peralta standing by her man just as Barbara Stanwyck in 40 Guns. There was Price being all show, carrying the picture. And then there was Griff. He’s in everyone of Fuller’s movies. The heroic government agent out to prove the falsity of Reaves’s claim. He studied forgery. He knows, but can’t really prove. Yet, still the man for it all standing tall throughout.

Watching this was a pleasure. Though it is not up to par as his more acclaimed and accomplished films, it’s great to know his roots and great to know he’ll grow as a storyteller.

3 of 5 stars

No Country For Old Men

broderic on December 6, 2007

Up until this weekend, I have only seen two Coen brothers films in the theatre, Fargo and The Ladykillers. Now make it a third. No Country For Old Men has been getting tons of praise by critics. It was in the running for the Palme d’Or at Cannes. The buzz coming from there this summer was that this is a return to Coens as master filmmakers after their less than appreciated The Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty, their last two films.

Based off a Cormac McCarthy novel, No Country For Old Men, is a chase film. Josh Brolin is the hunted, a hunter who stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone bad and stumbles upon a nice tidy sum of cash. Javier Bardem is after Brolin. Like the Terminator or Jason, nothing stops him from finishing a task he’s started unless that something is a toss of coin an idea of his that fate governs us all. Tommy Lee Johns is after the both of them to recover the loot, to stop the monster, and to save the unworthy.

As with most Coen films, it’ll take me a while to figure out if I appreciated the film. I don’t think I got the gist of the film in this one sitting. Except for Blood Simple and Hudsucker Proxy, my favorites, I watched the Coen films and marvel at their droll artistry. I get that. Yet, they always leave me thinking, “there’s something more there.” After seeing this, I felt like I had watched Fargo again, and it was all a big, “Hunh?!”

There is evil in the world. You can’t stop it. It is fate that will bring it to you. These times are not for those who still have the old notions of good and bad. You may adjust, but do you want to.

3 of 5 stars.

Adventures From My Netflix Queue: Intermezzo

broderic on November 26, 2007

In 1939, the producer, David O. Selznick released a quaint little melodrama,Intermezzo. It’s not a well known movie, but only has a small value as being the film to introduce Ingrid Bergman to Hollywood.

Intermezzo was at first a film from Sweden. David O. Selznick saw it, bought the rights to have it remade in America, and signed its star, Ingrid Bergman, to a contract. She would play the young ingenue pianist who captures the heart of the violin virtuoso, Hulger Brandt, and breaks up his marriage. They gallivant around Europe as a duo both on the stage and in the hearts. Yet, she has regrets. Regrets about how she is the other woman. Regrets about separating Hulger from his family especially his young daughter. Regrets about putting on hold her piano studies.

She leaves him and he returns to his family. Complications ensue as he does eventually reconcile with his estranged son, wife and daughter. It’s a happy ending or at least less bitter than he deserves.

As I said, it was a swedish film at first. Watching it you can’t but help feeling the foreignness of the film. It’s pacing seemed all wrong for Hollywood. And even more un-Hollywood is its plot. “Man leaves wife and kids for a young hottie” just doesn’t seem to have been a regular plot of a 1939 film. Especially, that it is played as drama. I can imagine this being a film noir, but not in the bright days of 1939 Hollywood.

But Ingrid Bergman is so radiant in it. Very young looking. Only 23 at the time. She was still a little unsure of her English accent, but she manages to make her english charming. Oh, how beautiful she is in this film. Here’s a screen capture from her entrance. This is what early stardom looked like.

3 of 5 stars.

Blad Runner Final Cut

broderic on November 17, 2007

Blade Runner has many different prints out there one for tv, the original theatrical release, the 1991 so-called “director’s cut,” and now the 2007 so-called “director’s cut” or Final Cut.

Caught this at the new Landmark theatres in downtown Bmore. It’s a digital theatre chain specializing in digital projection. It’s just like your projection style home theatre system but with a 60 ft screen.

Blade Runner is a classic. What more can be said? It’s slow pace drives you loopy, but that’s what’s cool about it. Considering all the movies that descended from this one, it’s amazing how slow the pace is. No frenetic here.

4 of 5 stars.

Gone Baby Gone

broderic on October 23, 2007

Ben Affleck’s first foray into the director’s chair was this adaption of a Dennis Lahane novel, Gone Baby Gone.

I didn’t like the twist and turns set up. It seemed to be almost forced like many bad movies. But this one wasn’t because of Casey Affleck’s character. Very believable, but the twist and turns were not.

3 of 5 stars.

Weekend Flicks

broderic on October 16, 2007

The Darjeeling Limited. It reminded me too much of his AT&T commercials. Maybe it’s time for a new shtick?

3 or 5 stars.

Micheal Clayton. Perfect in every way. It had me glued in my seat trying to figure out what was happening. Clooney, Swinton, and Wilkinson do their acting very well.

4 of 5 stars.

The Real Deal with Bill McNeal

broderic on September 28, 2007

Good Luck Chuck

I saw the trailer to this movie before 3:10 to Yuma. I turned to the Seed and said, “I’m conflicted. I really want to see Jessica Alba, but that Dane Cook gets on my nerves.”

And he does.

There’s been some speculation about why the trend in romantic comedies is to make the man a shlub and woman a hot girly-girl. It’s an interesting idea where the girl has to be hot but is reaching for someone low. What world is it that a shmoe like Dan Cook can get a hottie like Jessica Alba? Would it be a spoiler if I told you he wins her heart in the end?

Dan Cook lives a fantasy life where he gets to bed girls who’ll not want to cuddle. He’s the fuck that’ll get the girl to her true love. The girls have to kiss a frog before they find their prince.

Jessica Alba is the one, goofy and cute. She’s enough to make Dane Cook want to hop off the f-train and onto the r-train, a real relationship.

There’s some laugh out loud moments especially with grape fruits. It’s light like a candy bar snack, but it isn’t good for you. You’ll also experience regrets for choosing it. I wanted to watch this movie, because of Jessica Alba. After watching this movie (and Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer), I may not be so quick to buy a ticket to her next endeavor. If it’s got Dan Cook in it, I’m confident I won’t.

2 of 5 stars.

PS. Why does it seem as if Dane Cook’s face is composed of 1/3 above his nose, 1/3 below his upper lips and 1/3 of the space between his nose and lips? He’s got to be disproportionated in the face region there.

“Well, Dave… really, I appreciate your Dungeons and Dragons approach to office management, but I left my twelve-sided dice at home…”

broderic on September 27, 2007

D-War or Dragon Wars or whatever?!

Lookit, the stars have aligned and it seems my NewsRadio quote matches something I want to blog about. Hooray!

Anywhoo.

D-Wars is the movie that Uwe Bolle wants to make. Pretentious, but bad. Really. Really. Bad. I know that I say don’t follow what other reviewers are saying, but in this case I saw it and it is bad.

First, the actors. I don’t know who the actors are that inhabit the main characters, but I hope that they can still find some work in Tinseltown. If not, there’s always Vancouver. It’s not that they are terrible, but I assume the Korean language barrier made it difficult for them to know what was to be conveyed in a scene so they acted like they were baffled. Certainly seemed to be the case.

Another baffling things is continuity. I joke about Vancouver, but they leading lady was supposedly 19, almost 20, but her friend takes her to a bar to drown her sorrows. Is the drinking age 18 in Canada? Are they even in the US? Wasn’t this supposed to be taking place in LA?

The final showdown took place in Mordor. Suddenly everyone was there. How did they get there? Where is there? Hunh? And tell me, after vanquishing the evil dragon, how is the hero going to get back?

Too many questions.

At least the fight over LA was kind of neat. Kind of. Really.

1 of 5 stars.

“I did get an 800 on my math SATs.”

broderic on September 26, 2007

3:10 to Yuma.

All story short, it’s a western. Like all westerns, there’s the good guy as portrayed by Christian Bale who must make his son believe that he is a man. And there’s the bad guy, Russell Crowe, being as charming and benevolent as evil can be to lure Christian Bale’s son to the dark side.

Is it an allegory of growing up and admiring your pa? Or is it one about the goodness in us all?

It’s set up to be just the good guy delivering the bad guy to the train station to be taken to jail. That is all.

Not bad. It’s hard to say that the bad guy (and his henchmen) who so remorseless kills people can have the change of heart he experiences in the last 10 minutes of the film. Other than that it was a nice, neat little oater that brings back the western genre of cowboys, indians, horses, cattle and ranches to the cinema screen. Not the best of the genre just another of its films that comprise the American experience.