Lights, Camera, Action!

The Academy Awards, more commonly known as “The Oscars”. To some, it’s an entertaining few hours of stars, awards, and the like. To some, it’s three hours that they’d rather spend doing, well, anything else, and they’ll just read whoever won in the papers the next day. To me, The Oscars are the thing that I look forward to the most. It states what the best performances, the best movies, the best directors are. Yes, people deserve to have their own opinions, but these are the ones that have the big influences in the film community. Who would’ve expected that Slumdog Millionaire would’ve won Best Picture last year over big hits like The Dark Knight, or The Curious Case of Benjamin Button?

The fact is, the Oscars are to me a great learning experience about some things that people don’t normally look at. Do people normally look at sound design, or costume design, or even writing? Some do, some don’t, but, the Oscars make it so people can pay their dues to the people who work so hard in the film business. So, leading up to the big day in a few months, I’ll be giving occasional updates in advanced, and, later on, my opinions on who I think will win.

This first update that’s showing up fairly early (considering the actual show is not for another few months) is that the hosts have officially been announced! And, the are (drumroll, please)………………. Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin! Two hosts! This is the first time that there have been multiple hosts since 1986!

So, my thoughts on this? I’m pretty happy with Steve Martin being one of the hosts, since he’s done it a few times before, and he therefore has experience with hosting. Baldwin on the other hand… It could go either way for me. I’m personally a large fan of his work in 30 Rock, but, other than that, I’m not a huge fan of his work. I was personally hoping that they could’ve gotten Tina Fey to host, but, I digress. We’ll see how he does in a few months’ time!

Keep on watching!

R.S.

Do you guys have opinions on these two hosts, or the hosts in the past? If you do, feel free to comment!

Directed by: Mike Nichols

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, and Katharine Ross

This movie shows the first large role of Dustin Hoffman’s career, as an awkward graduate from college (played by Hoffman) who has no clue what to do with his life. All this takes a turn for the… well, odd… when he has an affair with the wife of his dad’s business partner (you might recognize the all too famous line “Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me… Aren’t you?”). Eventually, he falls in love. With Mrs. Robinson (Bancroft)’s daughter (Ross).

It’s kind of hard to figure out if this movie is a drama or a comedy at points, but, whatever it is, it has some of the best direction that I’ve seen in quite a while. Mike Nichols (who has been famous for movies like Carnal Knowledge, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and most recently, Charlie Wilson’s War) makes some spectacular choices with his direction, at one point doing something that most directors wouldn’t dare ever do, and that is filming two of his leads walking on a sidewalk from the OTHER side of the street, making it at points hard to even see them because of the other pedestrians on the sidewalk. In other words, it’s no surprise that Nichols won the Oscar that year for Best Director.

Also, this movie has what may just be the greatest use of montage that I’ve seen for quite a while. All of these montages are to the great music of Simon and Garfunkel. From the opening scene to The Sound of Silence to the many scenes with Scarborough Fair, these montages are scenes that you should definitely watch for.

Onto the acting, for Hoffman’s first leading role, he does quite the spectacular job. During his initial audition, it was said that he fumbled through all his lines, and acted very awkwardly, thus causing him to walk out after his audition “knowing” that he didn’t get the part, at least, until he learned that awkwardness was what Nichols wanted for the character, and ended up casting him. And, his awkwardness shows. And it works.

The other main lead, Anne Bancroft, also does a great performance as the somwhat troubled Mrs. Robinson. Some of the scenes around an hour into the movie shows how great an actor she is, by showing her sadness and yet staying completely somber (you’ll know what I mean).

So, this is overall a very well made movie, and the only thing that I thought was wrong with it was that after about 40 minutes or so, the movie seems to go a bit slowly for about 20 minutes. This may just be my imagination, and lack of sleep, but, either way, this is definitely a movie that’s worth seeing!

Rating: 8/10

Keep on watching!

R.S.

Picture from http://www.hollywoodteenmovies.com/TheGraduate.jpg

In the first half of this review, I spoke about Hitchcock, and the plot. In this half, I’ll say the REST of my thoughts on this movie (though really, I can go on and on, so, I’ll cut myself short, as much as I’d love to ramble on for another 5 posts)!

I mentioned the shower scene when I was talking about the plot, but I didn’t go into much detail, so, here’s that detail. In what may have been one of the most shocking moments in cinema history, a leading lady is killed off a third of the way into the movie. In fact, in a very controversial move during that time, Hitchcock stated that nobody could be admitted to see Psycho after it had already began (risking people wondering where Janet Leigh, the “leading lady”, was during the last two thirds of the movie).

Anyways, the shower scene does its job incredibly well, making it so, contrary to what the film board initially believed, the knife NEVER hits the body (the film board had to watch it frame by frame to actually believe it). My major issue with this is that, after almost 50 years, these shocks are known. Even people who haven’t seen the shower scene know of its existence, so, I’ll show it for you right now. If the fast cuts, mixed with that scream, mixed with those screeching violins don’t scare you, then you are a rock. No, that is NOT a good thing.

This is one of 3 big shocks in the movie… Yes, you heard right, in a 109 minute long movie, there are only THREE major shocks (take THAT Saw XXVII), but, while myself and most of the world has spoiled the first, I will NOT bring myself to spoil the other two, even if most people already know the big one at the end!

Moving on to one of the other things that makes this movie for me. Anthony Perkins’ performance as the creepy Norman Bates. Everything about it is perfect; the little nuances like the stuttering, the mother loving attitude (because, a boy’s best friend is his mother). All in all, he was perfect for the role.

Now, unlike Saw, I can forgive and ignore the sequels (yes, there are sequels), and the remake (Vince Vaughan as Norman Bates… Enough said). I decided to test my tolerance by watching Psycho 2, Psycho 3, and Psycho 4: The Beginning, all in one day. In short, they all got progressively worse, and none of them held a candle (or a knife) to the original (and really, don’t get me started about the remake), but, I can forgive it, simply because the original was so amazing.

So, for all those reasons and more, that is why Psycho is not only my favorite horror movies, but, one of my favorite movies of all time, and in my opinion, a complete must see for everybody!

Keep on watching!

R.S.

Before I begin, I’ll just say that due to length (or an excess thereof), I’m going to be splitting this review up into 2 parts… The second will be going up on Halloween night, so, if you want to read the rest, you’re going to have to be a little patient… But, to the review:

Throughout this list, we’ve seen the simplicity, the psychological horror, the shocks, and the great performances that can go into making a great horror movie. But, the best of the best are movies that emcompass all of these factors. Without being too gory, and still shocking you. Having a few performances stand out to cause terror, and finally, not being too complicated. THIS, is what makes a near perfect horror movie.

So, without any further ado, my favorite horror movie of all time:

Psycho (1960)

Where do I start when talking about how amazing this movie is? The acting, the direction, the script, the moments? To be completely honest, I have no clue where to start, so, I’ll just show you the trailer (warning, this trailer is a long one, but, definitely worth watching):

I suppose that due to this trailer, I’ll start with Alfred Hitchcock. There are many directors who I really appreciate, if not love, like Paul Thomas Anderson, Quentin Tarantino, Stanley Kubrick (just to name a few). But, the one director who I always come back to as being one of my favorites is Alfred Hitchcock. There is a very good reason why he’s known as the “Master of Suspense”. The movies that he makes are some of the best movies ever made, suspense or otherwise. North by Northwest, Rear Window, Dial M for Murder, the list goes on (and on), and constantly, he surprises us with some of the best movies ever made.

Moving onto his work in Psycho itself. Of the movies of his that I’ve seen (and I’ve seen quite a few), this is the closest that he has ever gotten to doing a horror film. But, he doesn’t play it like a horror film, or at least, not like a Halloween movie, or a Friday the 13th movie. He plays his shocks very well, and some of the things he does with his camera have you on the front of your seat, gripping you for minutes at a time (watch for one scene where he follows a character up the stairs… I’ll say no more).

The plot as well is fantastic. Janet Leigh as Marion Crane, who runs away after having taken $40 000 from the bank where she works and stops for the night at a motel run by Norman Bates (played extremely well by Anthony Perkins, but, more on him in the second half of the review). And then the shower scene happens, and things spiral out of control. Crane’s sister (Vera Miles) and boyfriend (John Gavin) come to investigate how Marion went… “missing”… with the help of Detective Arbogast (Martin Balsam), to try and find out what could’ve happened.

Interested in my thoughts on the shower scene, the performance of Anthony Perkins, and the entire movie? Wait to read the second half of the review in two nights!

Keep on watching!

R.S.

Some horror movies have their script being the thing that makes it really frightening, but there are other times where it is an actor who can put that feel of fear into your head (similar to Kathy Bates in Misery). Another thing that shows how great a performance can be is when a certain character is only on screen for under 1/5 of the running time, and can stay with you for the entire film.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

If you hadn’t guessed by this point, the actor/character who I was talking about in my introduction was the Oscar winning role of Hannibal Lecter, as played by Anthony Hopkins. Every scene that Hopkins is in has you on the edge of your seat being drawn in to his performance, and being completely afraid of him throughout. Hopkins will most likely be remembered for his performance as his performance as this madman.

Before I continue, here’s the trailer:

As you can see from the trailer, the movie spends a lot of time revolving around Hannibal Lecter, but, he is only on screen for about 20 minutes! Despite this, his performance and character is one of the creepiest performances in film. For example, here’s one of many creepy moments in the film (and, in turn, one of the most famous lines in this movie).

In short, there’s no surprise that Hopkins won the Oscar for Best Actor.

Moving on from Anthony Hopkins to Jodie Foster, who won the Best Actress Oscar that year, while she doesn’t leave as much of an imprint on the movie as Hopkins does, she was very much essential to the film. Foster, who plays FBI student Clarice Starling. She’s a complex character, who Foster does a very good job at portraying. She leads the film very well.

The other character of note is serial killer Bufallo Bill, played by Ted Levine. Levine does a good job at portraying this character, and he plays the creepiness and craziness well. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to be anywhere near as much as Hopkins was, simply because he didn’t have as much to work with. Nevertheless, not a single terrible performance in the cast!

Onto the direction, Jonathan Demme does a great job at directing, working with cinematographer Tak Fujimoto well to make the film look as good as it does. Whether it’s the longer shots at the beginning following Starling through an obstacle course, or the faster cuts between Starling and Lecter during their many scenes together (which end up being some of the creepiest scenes in film), the camera work is great throughout.

Keep on watching!

R.S.

Have any ideas to what will be #1? Tell me your guesses or opinions!

While some of the greatest horror films are based on being a psychological thriller (see my last review, on Misery), another thing that makes some horror films great is the shock-value of it. And, I don’t mean a twist ending. I mean moments where purely the subject matter can scare you.

The Exorcist (1973)

Before I begin, I am aware of the fact that there are people who will wonder how this isn’t on the very top of my list. With a movie that needed to have ambulances placed outside the theatres, and had some of the watchers having heart attacks or even dying from the pure shock of this movie, it’s certainly hard to keep it off of a list of top horror films, but, me not being extremely religious, or Christian for that matter, the prospect of a person getting possessed by a demon simply doesn’t freak me out as much as it would freak out other people.

Anyways, onto the trailer:

This movie is listed as the scariest movie of all time, and, I might even go so far to agree with that, but, in my opinion, it doesn’t take JUST scares to make a horror movie. But, when it comes to scares, this movie has them!

As I stated earlier on, this is the story of a young girl (played by Linda Blair) who gets posessed by a demon, and the exorcism that eventually follows over the second half of the movie.

But, in my personal opinion, the best acting role in this movie doesn’t come from Blair, whose role in her “posessed” state resulted in an Oscar nomination, and even was potentially going to win said Oscar, until it was revealed that the voice of the possessed demon was NOT, in fact, Blair’s voice, but was that of actress Mercedes McCambridge. I believe that the best acting in this movie comes from Ellen Burstyn, who plays the mother of Blair’s character. She really puts emotion into her role, and shows that even in movies like this, it’s possible for a character to be real and emotional.

This movie certainly provides scares for the audience that watches it, and, this certainly holds up even 30 years after its original release. The only truly unfortunate aspect (and I’ll speak about this more when I write about my favorite horror film) is that even the creepiest and scariest scenes are fairly well known by people, thus making it not as shocking as it may have been during its release. None the less, it still holds up as one of the scariest movies of all time today!

Keep on watching!

R.S.

Something that can make some horror movies all the more horrific is the LACK of blood and gore in it. When a movie can make you fear for your life without there being a crazed maniac running around killing people, you know that the genre of horror has been well shown.

So, on that note, my 4th favorite horror film:

Misery (1990)

This is one of many adaptations of novels by horror writer Stephen King (who also wrote books-turned-movies like Carrie, The Shining, and The Shawshank Redemption), and of the ones that I’ve seen, my favorite adaptation of his work. And, one of the reasons why this movie is so great is the Oscar winning performance by Kathy Bates, who plays crazed maniac Annie Wilkes.

Here’s the trailer:

By just watching this trailer (that still gives me chills, mind you), you can see why that performance by Kathy Bates is so terrifying. The way she just gets “set off” (you can see it a bit over a minute in the trailer) is truly frightening. Even at the beginning, where she seems sweet, you can see that there’s just something a bit off with her.

As I said at the beginning, one thing that makes movies like this so scary is the lack of gore. It’s all in the mind. The fact that James Caan’s character is absolutely helpless is what makes you truly terrified. Speaking of James Caan, he plays the role near perfectly. The way he shows how hopeless and helpless he is, makes it such a great performance, not to mention the fact that the passiveness of his character makes it so Bates’ character can be truly showcased.

This marks the “reunion” of Rob Reiner and William Goldman, who directed and wrote The Princess Bride, respectively. Looking at both of their repertoires, it’s clear that they’ve both done some great work in the past (Reiner has directed movies like When Harry Met Sally and This is Spinal Tap, and Goldman has written the screenplay for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Marathon Man, and All the President’s  Men, just to name a few), and this is just another example of a masterpiece.

Adaptations of movies from books aren’t always the best out there, but, this is one of a few examples that is most definitely worthy of being at the top of peoples’ lists!

Keep on watching!

R.S.

A wise person once said that there are two types of “horror” films: those that give you chills, and those that scare you. The ones that give you chills will make you jump while you’re in the theater, but it won’t stay with you on the way out. The ones that scare you, on the other hand, are those that truly freak you out. Those that follow you back to your house and into your bed while you sleep with the lights on because you’re afraid of what can jump out of the corner.

Over the upcoming week until Halloween, I’ll be updating this blog with my top 5 horror films, with short reviews for each.

Before I begin, I’d just like to say that no, I’m not a huge horror movie buff. I don’t line up in theaters to see horror movies on opening night, nor do I go out of my way to rent horror movies when they come out on DVD. But, there are a few that I’ve seen that I can truly appreciate as great films.

First up:

Saw (2004)

Before I begin, I’ll say this: This is a review of ONLY the first film, and not the other ones that have come since, which, in my own personal opinion, have not come close to doing what the first did, that being creating true frights, horror, and suspense.

Now, let’s take a look at the trailer:

If you’ve seen the trailers for the latest Saw movie, then you can immediately see a difference. The original one doesn’t try to go over the top with the traps, blood, and gore. Believe it or not, but this franchise started with suspense!

Adam (Leigh Whanell) wakes up in a bathroom, his leg chained to a pipe. Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) has his leg chained to a pipe on the opposite wall. There’s a bloody corpse with a gun in the middle of the room. There are pre-taped messages that explain their situation, and tells them what they must do to pass this “game”.

This opening scene is one that immediately gives the viewer an idea of what they are being plunged into; the mind of a psychopath who’s identity remains unknown through most of the movie (SPOILER ALERT) until he is revealed to be the corpse in the middle of the room (END SPOILER).

This movie keeps you guessing until the very end, and, unlike those that came after, it gives you an amount of suspense, almost claustrophobia, as the clock ticks on these two individuals. What will they do to survive?  Only time will tell.

This is one of those countless times where the original film in a franchise is great, and the sequels just don’t live up to the expectations. Despite this, I still plan to see Saw VI, just because I’ve lived with this series FAR too long to not know how it ends. Granted, I’m pretty sure that it never will end, and there will be a Saw XXVII 21 years from now, but, I can still get a good laugh out of it every now and then.

Keep on watching!

R.S.

Directed by: Alan J. Paluka

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Robert Redford, Jack Warden, Jason Robards and Hal Holbrook

This true story tells the story of reporters Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward (played by Hoffman and Redford, respectively), who uncover the infamous Watergate scandal.

This political thriller has it all; great acting, great directing, and overall does a great job at keeping the entire audience guessing. It’s one of those stories that you can’t believe actually happened, even though it did! As we follow Bernstein and Woodward as they uncover more clues, the viewers are kept at the edges of their seats waiting to see what happens next.

Hoffman and Redford do a great job leading this story as the two reporters, and they both have a lot to give to their characters. Interesting fact about Hoffman and Redford’s performances: Hoffman memorized all of Redford’s lines, and vice versa, so they could interrupt each other mid-sentence. And, their connection shows, from their first meeting, where they’re almost acting in hostility towards each other, to when they become better acquaintences and even co-workers to solve this mystery.

Further in the shadows, literally, is Hal Holbrook, playing Deep Throat, the anonymous informant who hints Bernstein on how to continue with the case. Even from the shadows, Holbrook is at his most compelling.

One amazing scene that you should watch for is one 3+ minute scene, all in one shot, where Redford makes a few phone calls to try and uncover important information about the mystery (it’s around an hour in). Paluka’s direction has the camera barely moving, but slowly closing in on Redford’s head. Also, near the end of this scene, Redford accidentally makes a mistake, but, completely in character, fixes that mistake. It takes a great actor to be able to stay in character after making a mistake, especially considering how if he went out of character, that 3 minute shot would have to be done again from the beginning (the longer the shot, the harder it is to perfect).

So, I definitely recommend this movie to anybody!

Rating: 9/10

Keep on watching!

R.S.

Picture from http://www.calstatela.edu/library/mmc/100/all_president%27s_men.jpg

Today, we’ll be watching the match-up between two trailers, both having one thing in common: Giant sharks wrecking havoc on the world.

The first is Shark Attack 3: Megalodon

The second is Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus

So, the question remains: Which is worse?

Round 1: Writing

Shark Attack 3: Megalodon – Like most trailers in this B-movie genre, it begins with a voiceover. “It” lived through the ice age, and lived in darkness, and wasn’t disturbed until now. At this point, a giant shark tooth is found near a beach, and a giant shark begins wrecking havoc on the community. The great script-writing can be seen in lines like “We’ve got a 60 foot shark swimming off our coast and it’s not going to go away!”.

Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus – Similarly to Shark Attack 3, this also starts with a voiceover. But, this one has a twist. Instead of living through the ice age, these two beasts got frozen… in combat. And, they’re seemingly VERY angry at each other. Why? I don’t know, nobody tells us! Anyways, these two giant aquatic beasts wreck havoc; destroying battleships, eating oil tankers, and jumping 70 000 feet in the air to take down a 747 (wait… WHAT!?!?). So, after letting them wreck havoc for a while, Debbie Gibson (more on her later) says that “we’ll get them to kill each other!”

Round-Up: This round easily goes to Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, for the sole reason that Shark Attack 3, while very implausible, is humanly possible, seeing that Megalodons did exist, and, while not logical, it is possible that one could’ve made it through the ice age. A giant shark and octopus that are about 20 times the length of battleships, on the other hand, not exactly the most plausible thing out there.

Round 2: Star Power

Shark Attack 3: This movie has no real big names, casting fairly unknown actors. Normally, this can add to a movie’s hype and overall interest-factor (most recently, see District 9), but, in a movie with a plot that is meant to not be taken completely seriously (at least, I know I didn’t take it seriously), sometimes it’s more helpful than a hindrance to have some big name comedy stars to help it through.

Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus: Debbie Gibson… Lorenzo Lamas… For those of you who were alive and knowing of pop culture during the 1980s, I probably don’t need to say more. For the rest of you, Debbie Gibson was most famously a pop star in the ’80s, but, she’s apparently an actress as well! Lorenzo Lamas, on the other hand, is a TV star, most recently being in The Bold and the Beautiful.

Round up: While it may be a VERY interesting match-up between Gibson and Lamas, this round has to go to Shark Attack 3, for not having any stars to help improve the monstrosity that is that movie’s writing.

Round 3: Special FX

Shark Attack 3: The “special effects” in both these cases are based mostly on the monstrous beasts in question, and, in this trailer, the shark actually looks fairly realistic, from the tooth that is found near the beginning, to the shots of it underwater. Despite this, it’s clearly far from Jaws. For example, in the shot where the shark eats the boat, it looks more like a stuffed animal than a threatening creature (stop me if I’m the only person who thinks this).

Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus: Similarly to the plot, it seems like these creatures were created during an hour long period by some university student who had nothing better to do. Not only do they not look realistic, but, they don’t look very threatening (granted, it may have something to do with their size in comparison to everything else that gives them their frightening appearance, but, I digress). Plus (and I can’t stress this one enough), a shark CANNOT jump      70 000+ feet in the air and take a plane out of the sky!!!

Round-Up: Once again, it seems that the pure lack of realism of Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus will help it take this round. I think that the trailer alone helps me with my reasoning!

In the end: Winning 2-1, Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus seems to clearly be the worse movie of the two here. But, I definitely do not recommend watching EITHER of these movies, because they both seem to be terrible!

Keep on watching (but, I’ll forgive you if you skip these two),

R.S.