tinyredspoons Reviews

Do the Right Thing (1989)

A comedy with a very serious message

[8/10 · 13 May 2011]

Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989), though now over 20 years old is still as completely socially relevant then as it is today. The movie unflinchingly depicts our society and its many "racial societal divisions", which when it was released made many people angry and uncomfortable (it still does today). Probably because there was some truth to it... The film itself has a range of excellent and developed characters, each with a distinct persona. What is also notable about this film is how excellently Lee builds the day up. The movie begins as a comedy, lulling the audience, and then when the movie peaks literal hell breaks loose, and the movie is suddenly incredibly serious. This makes Do the Right Thing accessible because it is able to reach a wider audience by combining both elements.

Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Interesting filming style

[8/10 · 13 May 2011]

Garnering an X-rating when it was first released, Midnight Cowboy (19969) was one of those "new Hollywood" films that broke the rules. Not only did the film contain controversial story matter but, the film's style was also ahead of its time. At points in the movie when we as an audience see what a particular character is feeling the cinematographer portrays those feelings (or it seems that way) through special filming techniques. For example, the screen turns to black and white when Voight imagines catching Hoffman and when Hoffman dreams of Florida the screen turns almost too bright and lurid, and then there is the faded focus of Voight's Texas. Additionally, the scene where the two attend the party has color filters making the party seem even more "trippy". All of these serve to enhance the film's ability to make us as an audience connect to and understand the characters on screen better than a more straight-forward approach stylistically.

The Graduate (1967)

Ahead of its time

[8/10 · 13 May 2011]

The Graduate's (1967) release was a significant cinematically. The movie, unlike movies before it, discusses sex openly and depicts the life of a young man in a much more realistic light. Rather than glossing over and pretending all of mankind is sexless- as many movies of the time did. The film also shows nudity in quick flashes, which would have been unheard of only a few years before. The soundtrack of the movie is also "more modern", utilizing Simon and Garfunkle rather than the usual more classic soundtracks that seemed to be standard in older movies. The editing and filming of The Graduate are much more conscientious than earlier movies, calling attention to itself.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)

An exceedingly mild-mannered film

[5/10 · 13 May 2011]

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), is perhaps the most polite and mild mannered movie I have ever watched. All of the characters are exceedingly mild mannered, the entire film is them "talking" things out, in what is usually the more polite way possible. Though that was perhaps the only way to have such an important social message portrayed during the 60s. The acting by powerhouses Tracy and Hepburn is excellent (though how they have such a young daughter when Tracy looks to have one foot in the grave is perplexing.)Watching the range of emotions pass Hepburn's face as she first realizes her daughter is betrothed to African American and then when she finally accepts and "embraces it" really shows how talented she was as an actress.

Easy Rider (1969)

Watch it for Jack Nicholson

[9/10 · 13 May 2011]

Watching Easy Rider was a breath of fresh air, reminding me that not all movies need to have constant never-ending action or complicated and convoluted dialogue. The gentle sweeping shots of beautiful landscape is calming, and complimented by the rock and roll soundtrack. Though the characters do obviously converse, most of their interactions are comprised of slow drawn out chuckles or on the part of Hopper just plain strange mumbling. One slowly begins to wonder if his character is "all there". Jack Nicholson's short role in the movie is probably what makes it most worth watching. His drunk diatribes and antics are perfectly executed and though he is only on screen for a short time, his the most memorable character. The movie also employs some very "advant-garde" editing techniques to show Hopper and Fonda's acid trip, which is interesting to see considering one would have never seen such a thing only a few years before.

The Bad Seed (1956)

Worth watching on many levels

[7/10 · 12 May 2011]

The overall look and quality of The Bad Seed was beautiful, the black and white visuals are incredibly deep and mise-en-scene perfectly juxtaposes the evil of Rhonda. Many reviews note the almost campy acting on the part of Nancy Kelly, but her acting is still sea levels above the acting in most thrillers today. Perhaps the most impressive element in this movie is the acting of Patty McCormack, who plays Rhonda, her obsessive behaviors and believably terrifying calm throughout the movie are incredibly well portrayed. Showing its time, the film was apparently forced by the "Hays Code" to change the ending in which Rhonda would have lived which was unacceptable at the time.

The Women (1939)

An entirely petty movie

[4/10 · 12 May 2011]

Though it is perhaps worth seeing because of the range of Hollywood leading ladies that star in it, I found The Women (1939) to encompass all of the most petty and disagreeable sides of the female psyche. Which made for a mostly grueling and un-enjoyable watching experience. Though the cast is comprised entirely of more mature women (albeit some slightly younger ones), the movie's dialogue is almost never anything but catty. Though the dialogue is admittedly "tight" it never espouses anything of value to the audience and high-jinks aimed at putting other women down are tiring. Few of the women in the movie are portrayed as having lives of their own, and ten minutes of watching bored housewives do strange aerobic 30s-styled exercises.... was ten minutes too long. The movie's entire premise was depressing and in my eyes entirely dull. Watching women exercises and gossip for two hours is draining, I wouldn't recommend it.

Dracula (1931)

Timeless

[8/10 · 12 May 2011]

For me, watching Dracula (1931) is always an enjoyable experience. One of the first horror movies made, it encompasses everything a scary movie should be. The film also stays true to the excellent novel by Bram Stoker that it is based upon, which combined with the cinematic world of vampires makes for an engrossing movie. By any modern means, Dracula(1931) is not a "terrifying" movie, it is clunky in parts and sometimes outright silly; but one must remember it was one of the first of its kind. So successful in fact was the movie, that for the rest of his life Lugosi was pigeon-toed into playing vampires (for good reason, Lugosi's entire demeanor is intensely "vampire-like." Its no surprise that people still mimic Bela Lugosi's dripping vampire voice, "I vant to suck your blood."

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

Fantastic character development

[8/10 · 14 April 2011]

I am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932) marked the beginning of a new era in filmmaking; the rise in movies that tackled social problems. The film's stark and grim depiction of life on a chain gang was so horrendous, that it actually sparked some social change. The fact that a movie was able to do something so fantastic, says in itself how fantastically well made the movie itself was. Though a grim movie to be sure, the acting by Paul Muni, as a twice escaped chain gang member, is incredible. His superb acting is incredibly effecting, and as an audience the change in his demeanor as times goes on is totally organic. So that in the last scene, before the light goes out Paul Muni is almost unrecognizable as his former self.

Why Change Your Wife? (1920)

A film carried by exaggerated emotions

[6/10 · 14 April 2011]

Why Change Your Wife (1920) is a fairly lighthearted and rather sexist romp through matrimony. Because it is a silent movie, a great bit of the narration relies upon exaggerated facial and body expressions to move the story along. The lack of dialogue between the characters only makes their interactions all the more hilarious. The husband Richard seems all the creepier when faced with infidelity because he spends so much time eyeing the ladies in question as though they were food, and his obvious annoyance at the most trivial household matters makes him seem all the more of a jackass. On the other hand, his wife's constant grimace and the constant "tizzies" she flies into paint her as one obnoxious spouse. The movie is lighthearted, and for the time it was probably appropriate; judging by the "words of advice" at the end that remind those of the female persuasion to stop nagging their "overworked" husbands.

Baby Face (1933)

Tired story line

[3/10 · 14 April 2011]

Though it is worth seeing, just to see just how markedly different movies were in the "pre-code era", Baby Face (1933) is a rather contrived story. This is only cemented by the fact that it is almost impossible to feel anything but disdain for the ladder climbing hussy, Lily Powers (played by Barbara Stanwyck). The movie lacks natural progression with its characterization of the protagonist, and so when she does finally become an emphatic and kind hearted person, it is such a big leap, that you wonder where it came from. Watching it is like watching a much fuzzier romantical B-movie; where the day is saved when Lily finally realizes she has fallen in love. The movie spends so much time trying to paint her as somewhat of an intellect, so one could expect that all of the screen time wasted building up her intelligence would go somewhere. Regrettably, for such a sensational movie, it does not.

The Killing (1956)

Ahead of its time

[7/10 · 14 April 2011]

The Killing (1956) employs cinematography well ahead of its time, and a sometimes non-linear storyline that higher-ups in Hollywood believed would "confuse" the audiences of the day. It is because of this that an insipid and utterly detracting narration was added, without which the movie would be a truly excellent piece. The development and fleshing out of the more prominent characters is wholly enjoyable, and while in many cases they are not exactly likable- they are believable. Kubrick also employs an element of suspense as he lays out the story, making it almost impossible to look away. But perhaps what is most enjoyable about the film is seeing how markedly different the cinematographic style is, from movies of the time mixed with the storyline that jumps back and forth weaving an intricate web between the principal actors.

Mildred Pierce (1945)

The elusive search for happiness

[8/10 · 25 March 2011]

The mysterious beginning of Mildred Pierce sets the stage for a thoroughly entrancing and visually appealing masterpiece. The film's opening of a man being shot in a lavish living room is made all the more suspenseful because we do not know why it happened, or who did it. A few scenes later when Mildred's friend searches the same now forbidding seeming house (made so by the angles with which it is filmed and overbearing silence- but for her friend's voice calling out as he seeks her) only intensifies the suspense.

As the story is told in flashbacks, the audience sees firsthand Mildred's beginnings as an average housewife, but through hard work becomes successful, shedding her aprons for fur coats and along the way cultivating a very femme-fatal appearance and attitude. Happiness however does not come with the wealth she accrues, and the constant belittlement by her tyrannical daughter leaves her a shell of a person. Though the ending of the movie reveals that Mildred is not the murderer, there is again little happiness and in the true "film noir" way we see that Mildred's guilt over raising such a monster will never disappear, and the innocence of her former life (once as a happy wife and mother) will never be reached again.

Stagecoach (1939)

A cactus-filled portrait of the human condition

[8/10 · 25 March 2011]

The idea of watching a western initially, did not seem very appealing but Stagecoach actually turned out to be an incredibly well done film. The characters the film follows each encompass a unique social position or personality, which the actors portray wonderfully. The film's focal concentration is on an alcoholic doctor, prostitute with "a heart of gold" and a cowboy seeking vengeance; they are fleshed out by their counterparts; a cold and pregnant aristocrat, a mysterious love-struck gambler and a nasty banker. It is easy to see why this movie changed the very way westerns were viewed before its release (as cheaply made "B" movies) because everything about it was so "on-point" and tightly presented.

As the coach travels through the beautiful rocky desert landscape (impressively enough it was actually shot on location in Monument Valley) the characters interact in the small, cramped space unable to ignore one another and everything we may have thought about the characters is broken down. Their real personalities are revealed. The prostitute is more than just a depraved individual (as movies usually present a lady of the night) but a woman with more warmth and "breeding" than her rich and snobby counterpart. The aforementioned woman ultimately cannot even be troubled to thank the prostitute for saving her infant's life, and watching over her in her time of need. Stagecoach is not just an action-filled saga, but an interesting depiction of the "human condition."

Casablanca (1942)

Refresing take on an old theme

[8/10 · 25 March 2011]

Casablanca is a refreshing deviation from the usual romantic drivel that Hollywood now produces. This is probably because more than anything it was a propaganda piece urging America to enter the war. This is most apparent in the last scene when Humphrey Bogart tells the "love of his life," that them being together is unimportant in the grand scheme of things, that there are much more important forces at work. Tha they must embrace the cause they believe in, and go their separate ways. Quite a different approach when looking at films now, where feelings and love are all encompassing and one's duty in the face of adversity should take back seat to falling in love.

The Big Heat (1953)

The price of "justice"

[4/10 · 25 March 2011]

The Big Heat is a film with some of the most unlikeable characters, even the protagonist is hard to root for. The film begins with a cop's search for justice and truth but quickly spirals into a full-blown vengeance movie with an impressive body count. The Big Heat departs from the stereotypical film noir in that the protagonist himself could be considered the "femme-fatal," destroying the lives of literally every woman he comes in contact with in his search for justice (rather than the woman destroying the lives of those men she interacts with.) The film lacks any sentimentality, each character seeing their acts of violence as necessary and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Even the protagonist sheds no tears as his wife is murdered with a car bomb and his new female friend, who helps him take down the mob and catch his wife's killer, is first disfigured facially and then shot numerous times. In the end, I was left feeling unfulfilled by the film's violent and message, rather than any of the characters evolving they remained untouched; completely apathetic to anything but themselves.

My Man Godfrey (1936)

A comedy with a social message

[9/10 · 25 March 2011]

The word "dysfunctional" seems hardly adequate to describe the family in Gregory LaCava's My Man Godfrey, a comedy which may perhaps portray one of the strangest family dynamics on screen. The film itself is considered to be one of the best examples of a "screwball comedy," juxtaposing the rich the poor through the two focal characters (and their subsequent comedic romantic entanglement.) The movie however, transcends this basic lighthearted storyline and manages to present audiences with a portrait of what life was like for those less fortunate, for those hit hard by the depression. The film 's social commentary portrays the rich (as depicted by Irene and her family) as childish, self-indulgent and petty while the poor (portrayed mostly by Powell's "hobo" character) are hardworking, honest and thoughtful.

His Girl Friday (1940)

Chemistry is enjoyable, while actual story lags

[7/10 · 21 February 2011]

Before viewing "His Girl Friday" (1940) I was unaware that it was known for its "rabid-fire dialogue" between Grant and Russell but that is what I ended up noticing and enjoying the most. The story is not exactly and ingenious one, so it is really the charisma and obvious chemistry between the two leads that makes it run smoothly, and what made it a worthwhile viewing. My only true qualm with the movie, besides its rather dull story line was that Grant's character remains pretty one-dimensional. Right to the end he remains the hard yet charming "newspaperman" dedicated to a story over everything else. While the Russell's character does a 180 from a strong female lead, to one ready to fall into the arms of her obnoxious ex-husband; who in all honesty has done nothing to actually earn her affections.

Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

A light-hearted romp in the turn of the century

[8/10 · 7 February 2011]

"Meet Me in St. Louis"(1944) depicts a beautiful life where everything is vibrant and pristine while everyone depicted is as happy as can be, without a serious care in the world. This is an aesthetically attractive feel-good movie with surprisingly like-able characters (the fact that they all have porcelain complexions and glossy hair, doesn't hurt either.) They are like-able because though the girls (actresses Lucille Bremer and Judy Garland) spend inordinate amounts of the movie scheming for husbands and perfecting their looks they do so in the most innocent and modest of ways. Though their consumption with attaining a husband may be looked down in this day and age, the movie succeeds in capturing a picture of what life may have been like if you were white, rich and Midwestern during the epoch of the 1900s.

The scenery in the movie is also enjoyable with bright colors, a plethora of starched taffeta gowns, lush green plants, everything is captured beautifully on screen. It's actually quite impressive considering the movie was made in the forties.

The Circus (1928)

Surprisingly Engrossing

[8/10 · 26 January 2011]

In all honesty didn't expect to be as engrossed by Chaplin's silent film The Circus (1928) as much I actually ended up being. In fact, I believe that it would have not had been as engrossing as it was had there been dialogue present. This is because of the movie's rather romantic leaning, but here audience is spared the endless romantic dribble of a character in love. Instead the movie was able to move constantly forward spurred purely by Chaplin's exaggerated facial and body expressions. The movie also works without sound because Chaplin's "Tramp" character would probably come across as a bit of an imbecile with sound, rather than naive with all of his accidental high-jinks and follies. It is this naive innocence that makes the Tramp so likable, and when he losses Merna at the end, Chaplin's face and defeated body language do more justice to the sad moment than any dialogue with him lamenting her loss could have. The Circus is an altogether enjoyable piece whose rather predictable story-line is kept fresh with Chaplin's charismatic antics.