Lights, Camera, Action!

I have been a terrible blogger recently. There, I said it. I know, it’s been over a month since I’ve last written something, I never talked about my opinions of the Oscars, I’ve pretty much given up on many of the things that I started when I began writing this blog (like, Top Fives, and Face-Offs), and, in short, I just haven’t been a good blogger. I’m VERY sorry for all of that, but, I hope to get back into the swing of things, and maybe I will even find the time to come back to some of those “features” that I started a while ago.

But, for today, I’m just going to stick to a quick review of the movies that I have watched over the past month.

Up in the Air: A good movie… Not fantastic, not terrible, the acting is the best part of the movie (though the script is good too).

It’s Complicated: I didn’t really enjoy this one. Yes, Meryl Streep is fine, but she’s a fine actor in whatever she does. This one just fell flat for me.

The 400 Blows: Fantastic French film from the French New Wave period. A classic by all definitions.

The Apartment: I love Billy Wilder. If you’ve never heard of him, he’s the guy who directed movies like Some Like it Hot and Sunset Boulevard. Fantastic director, fantastic film (this one won the Best Picture Oscar in 1960)

M: Fantastic (and creepy) German film, which brought actor Peter Lorre (Casablanca) into the limelight.

Peeping Tom: Like the title suggests, this film is somewhat disturbing. But, if you can handle the subject matter, it’s worth the watch.

Down by Law: Great film, great script, great music, great acting. Certainly worth seeing.

Contempt: Another fantastic French New Wave Film (directed by Jean-Luc Godard) about film. A must see for any film lovers.

Fitzcarraldo: This one was kind of slow. A bit of a hit-and-miss in my opinion. But, they dragged a steamboat over a mountain, and that was pretty awesome.

La Strada: Fellini is a fantastic director, and this is one of his best (of the ones that I’ve seen, at least). See it!

Harold and Maude: A spectacular cult comedy film from the 1970s, that is both romantic and… odd. Watch out for the fantastic performance by Ruth Gordon!

L’enfant: This French film won the Palme d’Or in 2005. See it if you can find it!

Europa: A weird film directed by Lars von Trier. He has an odd style, but the visuals are fantastic!

Cries and Whispers: Ingmar Bergman is a fantastic director. This one’s slow, but, still very good.

Pierrot le Fou: Jean-Luc Godard is the man! Not as good as Contempt, but still a fantastic film from the French New Wave era.

The Elephant Man: Not as Lynchian as I expected it to be (considering it is directed by David Lynch), but it’s still very riveting and all in all a great movie! A short warning, though: This movie is one of the most depressing movies that I have ever seen.

Modern Times: The first Charlie Chaplin film that I’ve seen, and I was not disappointed! Definitely worth watching!

Charade: Known as “the best Hitchcock film that Hitchcock never made”, this film is suspenseful, entertaining, and very well written, with great characters and actors. All in all, a fantastic movie (and a fantastic score by Henry Mancini).

The Class: This French film won the Palme d’Or in 2008. It’s slow, but it’s pretty good nevertheless.

Rosemary’s Baby: A fantastic horror film. I’m sorry I hadn’t seen it back when I wrote my Top 5 horror films, because this one would certainly be up there! Yet another great performance by Ruth Gordon (she won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for this performance) in this one as well.

The Silence: Another Bergman film. Same analysis as the first: slow, but good.

Scenes from a Marriage: Technically, this is a 6-part television miniseries (ALSO directed by Bergman), but it was shortened to a theatrical version that’s about half the initial length. I watchted the 6-part television version, and I must say, it was one of the best written and acted “films” that I have seen in quite a long time! If you can find it, this one’s DEFINITELY worth a watch!

Se7en: A pretty great suspense film directed by David Fincher (who also directed Fight Club), with some great performances by Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman.

The Hurt Locker: I STILL haven’t seen Avatar, but this one deserved to win Best Picture. Very well done!

Well, that’s all for now. I hope to get back up to date with my blog writing, but, I have a very busy next month or so, so I don’t know what will happen. If I can, then I will!

Keep on watching!

R.S.

This entry was posted on April 7, 2010 at 5:30 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.