Movie #269 The Italian Job *1969*

I have been on a bit of a Michael Caine kick lately.  I saw a clip from a movie called The Trip in where to British Comedians do their Caine impersonations.  I have spent nearly every shower and car ride trying to work on my Mike Caine.  Which I can say is exactly 0% better than when I started.

There is a remake of this film, which I have to admit is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me.  So I figured why not.  I enjoy heist films and this is a very famous one.  I have been getting surprised a lot by my picks a lot recently.  I knew this had comedic elements, but I didn't realize it was a straight of British comedy. 

The traditional British humor is a mix of dry wit and silly and often time racy low brow humor.  The Italian Job stays true to its roots.  This goes along with the time it was made.  '69, the summer of love and the height of sexual exploration in America and abroad (no pun intended).

The Italian Job is silly, and the heist plays second fiddle to the frivolity.  Michael Caine get out of prison and get the lead in a semi-planned armored car robbery.  He then puts together a team of misfit thieves to assist him in this stick up.  The entire plan centers around the ability to cause a traffic jam in an exceptionally busy part of an Italian city.  It is fun to go back and look at the cheap props and how technology has changed between the 60's and now.  So who do they put in charge of what could be considered the most critical element of the heist? Benny Hill playing a character that has a thing for fat women. 

Then there is the famous car chases.  I found them to be hit and miss.  The chase scenes seemed (like most of the movie) to revolve around the ridiculousness and less on the action of a high speed chase.  The mini Coopers are iconic for this film and there are a few exciting moments, but overall it was just silly.

Michael Caine was good in his role as the ladies man / crook.  It is no wonder that this film was such a success and that 42 years later people are still doing bad Michael Caine impersonations.  I give The Italian Job ★★★. 

Movie #268 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2 *2011*

If you remember my blog about the past Harry Potter movie you will know that I was not impressed.  I thought that the movie was trying to appeal to the Twilight crowd too much and they lost the story of Potter in the process.  Therefore I was not totally sold on going to go see the final installment in the Potter franchise.  I was expecting more of the same.  Man was I wrong again. 

The final book in the Potter series was split into two movies.  When I first heard that I remember thinking that it was a total cash grab by WB to milk the fans of the books out of another $10 each.  Then people I know who said that the final book contained so much that it warranted a second movie may have swayed my opinion a little.  The Part 1 came out and I then, and still now, believe that I was right.  I think people (even kids) would sit though 1 4 hour movie if it took all of Part 2 and the best scenes from Part 1.  But I digress.

Part 2 starts off gunning from the first frame.  Where the last movie felt like the Zelda video game to me, as Harry had to collect gems in order to open a door then swing a wand to make something happen and so on, this film is a story in to its self.  It has a full arc for the characters. I would say that you could go to this film with no knowledge of any prior material, books or movies, and keep up with the what is going on for the most part.  If nothing else I will guarantee that you will be entertained.

In a way this movie is frustrating in that it is so good and so complete.  It makes me think that this type of movie exists in the books and I am disappointed that only a few times in the series do I feel like that was presented on screen.

I won't even bother to go into a plot synopsis.  Harry has to fight Voldemort.  That is all you really need to know.  This truly is epic.  It is easily the most epic of anything I have seen in theaters for the past few years.  The stakes couldn't be any higher and that is expressed through action and not through dialogue.  There is a real sense of impending doom.

Then there are all the side characters.  Many of whom have brought the momentum down in the past movies.  Weather by script or performance.  All of them shine here.  They all have small roles and short screen times, but they all serve a purpose and they all drive the story forward.  I like Luna quite a bit.  I LOVE Serious Black and I hated to see him go, but it is a nice cameo from beyond the grave in this movie.  Nevel is given a much meatier role and he makes the most of it.  Ron was still a bit of a wet blanket for me, but Hermoine was wonderful.  Their romance seemed a little wedged in, but not out of place when you consider it is a teenage love affair.  I really can't say enough about the cast of this film.

If I can't say enough about the cast then I really won't be able to say enough about the screenplay.  Of course I have never read the books, but I will take the words of those close to me and believe that the writers had great source material to work with.  There is barely a wasted word in this movie.  Every single exchange comments on the last, makes a declaration and introduces the next.  Again, I only wish the other films would have taken this approach instead of sort of waiting around for something interesting to happen.

The visual in this film are great as well.  The only thing that fell with a thud for me was the schools stone protectors.  I think they lacked detail and it made them look like overstuffed gingerbread men.  Out side of that it is easily the best overall Potter film as far as CGI goes and 2nd only Askaban for overall cinematography. 

As I left the theater (with 4 tween girls in toe) I felt like this could be the best Harry Potter movie yet.  Now I want to watch them all again just to be sure.  Anyway I give Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows ★★★★.

Movie #267 Captain American: The Last Avenger *2011*

Another midnight showing.  This time I went with somebody.  Somebodies to be exact.  I tagged along with my geekiest friend and his equally geeky family.  I say that with the utmost respect and love for the geek culture of which they prescribe.  This was a good night.  The dorks sitting in front of us joined in on a conversation about spiderman and his homemade web shooters.  As the light went down I thought I was going to be in for something special.

There were negitive elements to the night as well.  I was expecting an acne riddled audience complete with shields and capes or whatever it is Captain America wears.  Instead the crowd was broken down like this:

80% douche bags
15% comic book fans
5% film geeks (me)

Unfortunately the 80% felt the need to mock the events on screen through out the entire movie.  They made their opinions known loudly.  Which were negative from even before the film started which makes me ask "why even go to a movie if you KNOW you are not going to like it". The only answer could be to irritate others that might not share your opinion.  Therefore earning the title of douche bag.

Once I was able to get past that, and the literally 30 minutes of trailers, the film started.  This is the first "new" Captain America story.  Therefore the film makers felt the need to do another origin story.  They also felt the need to do this origin story in the traditional chronological manner.  They also felt the need to drag the "getting to be Captain America" part of the movie out to 3/4 of the run time.

During that time we see the meek and meger Steve Rogers transform into a super soldier by means of a device created by Stark Industries.  All this was to be expected.  The next part of the story caught me off guard and became my favorite part of the film.  Because he is an experiment, they won't let him fight in the war and instead he is relegated to being a performer for USO type entertainment troupe.  That was fascinating and visually stunning.  Through this job he finds himself in a war zone and then must fight to save his friend.

If you have read my blogs about the superhero movies I have seen you might know that I think that superhero movies succeed and fail based on the strength of their villains not the heroes.  We all know that Superman is capable.  To make a story compelling you need to undercut his abilities in a believable way.  The problem with Lex Luthor is that he is never even close to competing with Superman.  I know Superman is going to come out on top.  That is why The Dark Knight is such a great movie.  I really thought that The Joker could get the best of superman.  Much like Captain America Batman doesn't actually have any superpowers.  He has gadgets were Captain America has a shield and big mussels.  Grounding The Joker in reality and undermining the principals that Batman adheres to was a wonderful way to diminish the dark knight.  However in Captain America Red Skull is the villain.  He is a former Nazi turned monster by a glowing cube.  He is sinister no doubt, but his motivations were never clear and I don't remember seeing him actually face off with Captain America. (I should admit that I dozed off for a few minutes right at the climatic scene where the Captain stops a bomb.

The thing is you have a supernatural bad guy verses a normal Joe.  Yes, it is a Joe pure of heart that will fight for freedom and the American way.  He is a Joe that will never give up, but none the less he is fighting a supernatural being.  Red Skull should be mopping us the floor with the Captain, be he seems scared of him and for no reason.  To be honest I didn't really understand a lot of what was happening in Captian America.  In the movie Thor from earlier this summer they spent a lot of time setting up the Avengers movie and much of that didn't make sense to me.  Here I think the script was sort of a mess.  It got the rah rah America stuff down, but too many character motivations were unclear.  That is right, I am complaining about lack of character motivations in a superhero movie.

Some positives:  I liked the relationship between Captain and Peggy Carter.  I wish they had explored it more.  I like Tommy Lee Jones in this.  He is having a lot of fun.  Stanley Tucci was great.  Maybe the best performance in the film.  The CGI was sort of hit and miss.  The skinny Captain looked perfect.  The extra fast running looked really sketchy (maybe that was a 2D issue). The score was fun.  Howard Stark was played with frivolity by Dominic Cooper.

All in all it was a good time.  I only fell asleep due to lack of sleep and not from boredom.  To be clear.  Now all I need to do is catch up with The Hulk to be totally ready for next years avenger movie.  I give Captain America ★★★.  PS Charlie, the Spiderman trailer still looks like crap.

Movie #266 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives *2011*

Apichatpong Weerasethakul.  That is the name of the director of this Thia film.  He is often times just refereed to as "Joe".

Uncle Boonmee is a quite, patient and often beautiful movie.  It is also extremely boring.  I hate to not like this movie, but I did not follow what was happening at all.  It is difficult for me to review, because I didn't understand most of it.  But here it goes:

Uncle Boonmee has diabetes and is dying slowly, but unpainfully or so it would seem.  He sees spirits while having diner and the other people at the table can see them too.  They all sit down to talk.  One is a ghostly image of a daughter maybe?  The other is in a form of a black bigfoot like creature with glowing red eyes.  Neither seem to pose a threat, nor does any of the conversation have much meaning.

Not much meaning is kind of a theme to the movie.  All the scenes seem like disjointed fragments.  If there is a through line to the movie I didn't catch it.  Let's see here, what else happened...

A woman has sex with a catfish.  People watch TV.  They go in a cave and empty Boonmee's pee drain.  There are more black big foots in the woods with glowing red eyes.  There is a section of still photos with soldiers and the black monster.  I have no clue what this movie was trying to tell me.

Joe would center his camera on nature and capture some beautiful images.  But he would leave it there for what felt like 5 minutes at a time without anything happening.  Now I am the type of guy who can watch and enjoy a slow film.  But at times this thing slowed to to an absolute stop. 

This is the type of movie that people don't want to admit not liking so they don't sound ignorant.  I don't care.  I did not like this movie.  I would find it hard to believe that there are many Caucasian, American's that would like this film.  I hope that doesn't sound too dismissive.  I give Uncle Boonmee ★1/2.

Movie #265 Black Sabbath *1963*

I currently have about 300 movies in my Netflix queue.  Roughly 150 streaming and 150 mail only.  This is not an article about the Netflix pirce hike, but you might look for one soon to come.  This is post about how I hear about a movie and quickly add it to my queue.  Then by the time I get around to seeing it I have forgotten what interested me so much about this movie.

This is not the case with Black Sabbath.  I added this to my list because I read that Q. Tarintino loved this movie.  I love his movies and I usually enjoy watching the films that inspire him.  I have to say thought that I thought this was a bit of a miss.  I did enjoy it overall, but compared to the other films QT has recommended, (like Django) this has to be my least favorite.

It is presented like a Twilight Zone episode.  The kind that used to have 2 or three short stories that were linked together by Rod Sterling leading into each.  Instead of Mr. Sterling here we get Boris Karloff of Frankenstein fame.  He is the narrator and introduces each of 3 short films. 

The first short is about a possessed ring.  A nurse steals the ring off a dead woman's finger.  The nurse is then haunted and eventually the dead woman herself shows up and makes the woman kill herself.  The second short is about a dead man calling his mistress and threatening her.  The woman then calls the man's wife.  The wive comes over to comfort her and the "dead" man tries to kill them both.  The third film is a vampire short where a family is plagued by a father that is undead. 

All of these shorts are pretty cheesy by today's standards.  The first film has the ability to be creepy.  The second one centers more around sex and the third is a classic story and a period piece.  As one piece of work the film is uneven, cheaply made and kind of boring.

I was expecting more of a traditional Italian horror flick from Mario Bava and just a flat out better movie recommendation from QT.  I give Black Sabbath ★★1/2.

Movie #264 13 Assassins *2011*

Takashi Miike is a prolific director.  In 20 years he has made over 80 films.  That is an insane amount!  Of course not all of them are winners.  Miike is also a decisive and diverse film maker.  He has made comedies, childrens films, horror, and now a samurai movie.   Miike's most critical beloved film as director is Audition.  It is a torture porn type of film.  It is both beautiful and horrific.  He also directed a movie called Ichi the Killer which I had to shut off because of its gore.  That doesn't happen very often.

13 Assassins is the story of a rising shogun that can best be described as a sociopath.  He believes that the people under his rule sole purpose is to serve him.  He disgusting mutilates a woman by cutting off her hands, feet and cutting out her tongue simply for his entertainment.  Miike can not resist showing the viewer this simply for his entertainment.  Some of the samurai under his rule realize that he needs to be taken out or his is single handedly going to destroy the villages he controls.  They develop what many would call a mutaniy of sorts.

This is a side of Miike that I have never seen before.  There is a lot going on thematically here.  You have the nature of a terrorist.  To the shogun, these assassins are terrorist.  You have Japanese tradition under investigation.  Servitude and duty are major concepts to Japanese culture and Miike is questioning all that.  I love it that he manages to do all this in a samurai flick.

The bulk of the film is the assemblage of the will be assassins.  The Seven Samurai comparison here is inevitable.  The stories are paralleled.  And why not?  It is a great story.  Each samurai is given a different persona and these are allowed to breath and feel natural instead of being wedged in and looking like simple plot devices.

Eventually the battle between the 13 assassins takes place in a small village that the assassins have rigged.  The 13 of them are forced to take on an army of 800ish.  Now the film takes yet another shift in style and it becomes a modern action film.  There was some ridiculous CGI with boars set on fire that didn't work at all and the expositions seems forced.  But that is only the first 5 minutes of what will become a 45 minute battle.  There was little to no wire work.  There is little to no gun fire.  It is almost entirely sword fighting.  If you are into samurai sword fighting I strongly suggest you watch this film.  It is great set piece after great set piece.  The battle is just above the realm of realism, and gives it a bit of a mystical feeling, but still grounded in reality which makes each swipe or stab of a sword mean something.

I won't spoil anything here but I think Miike elevates the samurai movie in a way that I wasn't expecting.  I figured on a blood bath (which it is) and not much else.  But Miike ask questions with this film.  Now I am really excited to see what he does next.  I give 13 Assassins ★★★1/2.

Movie #263 Kiss Me Deadly *1955*

Based off the pulp novel by Mickey Spillane and the screenplay by A.I. Bezzerides, Kiss Me Deadly is a Mike Hammer noir.  Hammer is played by Ralph Meeker with grit and a straight forward attitude.  He is never caught off guard.  Men fear him and women want him.

There are a thousand noirs with the exact same characterizations.  Femme fatales, fall men, cops on the take, gangsters, suckers, marks and the list goes on and on.  I won't say Kiss Me Deadly began or even defined these types, but it made great use of all of them.

What Kiss Me Deadly did was add a sci-fi edge to the genre.  The film was set at the height of the nuclear paranoia in this country.  The story is about Mike Hammer who picks up a female hitch hiker with a secret.  The car is then high jacked and the hitchhiker is killed.  Hammer spends the rest of the film trying to figure out what secret the woman was hiding.  This leads him down a dirty road of conspiracy, intrigue and suspense.  This review is easy to write because all I have to do is write in the style of those pulpy movie ads where the words show up large against the screen while a woman screams or a man punches another man in the face.

The secret end up being a box with a ominous glow that is never truly explained.  It seems to be nuclear of some nature. And it does lead to disastrous circumstances. 

The movie is set in LA (as many noirs are).  The landscapes and building and cinematography is excellent.  That is another thing that raises the bar for these types of films.  They style of photography is all the same in this genre, but Kiss Me Deadly really takes it to the next level. 

As a whole I enjoyed Kiss Me Deadly.  It does grow a little tiresome in the middle but that is more than made up for by the ending.  I give Kiss Me Deadly ★★★.

Movie #262 Beginners *2011*

This is what my blog looks like in 2011.
This is what it looks like when I write a post like everyone else's.

The first two sentences of this blog is a reference to a narrative device used in Mike Mills Beginnings.  The film opens on Ewan McGregor packing up things at his recently deceased fathers house.  We find out quickly that his mother had died about 6 years earlier.  We also find out that right after his mother died, his father announced that he has cancer AND that he is gay.  He is also ready to start living his life as a gay man.

The father is played wonderfully by Christopher Plummer.  He joins many "gay pride" organizations and begins going to clubs and even finds a boyfriend.  I have more to say about the boyfriend later.  I don't want to make to big a deal out of the gay issues.  Mostly because the film doesn't.  I appreciated the the film took a fresh approach to the father being gay.  It was a topic, but it was not played for jokes.  There was little to none of the stereotypical, over-the-top, super gay writing that unfortunately pervades too many Hollywood films.  The cancer issues was handled fairly too.  Having a father that just fought cancer I was pleased that they didn't use that to try and manipulate people.  This is a very honest film.  Much like The Kids are All Right from last year.


Then there is the Ewan McGregor character.  He is having to deal with all these things going on.  The movie jumps around in time, but mostly we are presented the years after his mother has died and before his father passes away.  He has been unlucky in love.  Unlucky may not be the right word.  He is passively destructive.  We spend time with his character, Oliver as he battles mild depression.  He meets Melaine Laurent's character Anna at a costume party.  She has laryngitis and can't talk.  Can you say manic pixie dream girl?

The movie borders on the edge of indy preciousness, but I don't think that it crosses that line.  Although there is a dog that has subtitles so......  I also like that device that I badly stole at the beginning of this blog.  It could come off as quirky and artsy fartsy, but I thought it was a great way of presenting back story and character development and motivation. 

Now about the boyfriend.  I really don't know how to feel about this guy.  He seems very child like and immature. I am not sure if that is a result of being cast against Christopher Plummer or if the role was written that way.  It made me really dislike him.  Also he was overly assertive and defensive about his sexual orientation.  I think he was being shown as a character that was not comfortable in his skin, but I'm not sure.  I don't know what the writer / director was trying to portray with this character.  I won't that he wasn't effective because I still enjoy pondering this character.  I would love to have a conversation about his role.

I enjoyed Beginners very much and I look forward to seeing what Mike Mills has in store next.  Also this is a great soundtrack with classic American tunes.  I give Beginners ★★★★.

Movie #261 The Spy Who Came in from the Cold *1965*

I started watching this film while I was in Japan.  I was enjoying it quite a bit, but I was very tired and decided to go to sleep.  I rented it from iTunes and by the time I made it around to watch it again my rental time had expired.

The film stars Richard Burton as a tough English spy.  His mission is to appear to be a drunk defector and try to lead to the capture and assassination of a former British agent.  Burton was excellent in the role.  First off I don't think he had to stretch his acting chops much to play a drunk.  By reputation Burton was known to be a hard drinker if not a blackout drunk.  But there was a desperation to the character that Burton brought to the role.  The character had to convey and almost nihilistic attitude.  All he cared about was booze and money, and the money was only to buy more booze.  He stopped caring about country, dignity and love.  

The film opens on a great set piece.  A guard shack in a joint security area.  I forget which countries are bordering each other.  He is in charge of the area.  They are waiting for a specific person.  The camera work, lighting and set design function very well to set the time and location of the story.  The script introduces us to Burton's character and we right away what type of a man he is.


Once Operation Rolling Stone is set into action (where Burton will attempt to look like a defector) the plot and story opens up and we are introduced to a few more characters.  Notably Nan Perry who plays Burton's communist sort-of-lover / girlfriend.  They work together in a library.  At first I think he was using her to make his new lifestyle look more believable.  Then I think he gained true feelings for her.   Also notably is Oskar Werner who plays Fiedler.  A German who is sent to interrogate Burton.  There is a great scene where he is standing and he asks for some papers from a guy who is sitting 10 feet away from him.  He reaches his hand out as down the man sitting.  Feidler just stands there with his arm out and makes the guy get up and hand the papers to him.  It was a very small thing, but it solidified Fiedler.  Fielder was a take charge man who would never let anyone get the better of him.  All the while Burton is playing him for a fool.

The film closes with a tribunal where all this is brought to the surface and there is a twist that can be seen coming a mile away, but the consequences of this twist were shocking.  The final scene is a little too classic Hollywood for me, but none the less it is effective.

Burton has a great line in the film that I will paraphrase: I don't believe in Father Christmas, God or Karl Marx.  I don't believe in things that shake the world.  This movie is filled with great British qoute.  And great actors to deliver them.  I give The Spy Who Came in from the Cold ★★★1/2.

Movie #260 I Know Where I'm Going! *1945*

I was looking at my movie list for this project and I noticed something.  I had watched at least 1 movie made in every year since 1935 with the exception of 12 years.  I decided that before my year long movie watching project was over I was going to have watched and review at least one film for each of the past 76 years.

So, I needed to mark off 1945.  I also am using this opertunity to watch some films that I haven't seen before.  I decided to watch the movie I Know Where I'm Going!  This is another Powell and Pressburger film.  I have reviewed two other of their films this year.  The Red Shoes, which I have reviewed twice and added to the list of my all time favorite films.  And Black Narcissus.  Another great film of theirs.  I began watching a third and couldn't make it through the thick English accents.  Also I reviewed Peeping Tom that was made by Powell alone.

This movie takes place mainly on the shores of Scotland.  A head strong English woman is set to marry her millionaire fiance.  The only thing keeping them apart are the storms, wind, waves and will of the Scottish weather and the local residents.  Mainly Roger Livesey as Torquil.  A local war hero and landowner.  He falls for Joan and relishes the opportunity to romance her in whatever way he can to try and sway her away from her beau.

Wendy Hiller as Joan Webster could be a surrogate for Kate Hepburn.  She was charismatic, attractive, intelligent, independent, diginified and most of all fun.  I enjoyed seeing how such strong female character bound by manners was going to handle the obsticles and seaward ways of the scruff and quirky locals.  None so quirky as to be unreal or characterizations.  They were fully fleshed out, unique individuals.

Powell and Pressburger are know for their visual spectacle and scope.  This film was shot in black and white, but it still looked wonderful.  Even on a poor DVD transfer.  It isn't as polished as some of their more later work, but the roots of their style is on display in this film.  Also on display is their use of language.  It is a funny and superbly written.  There isn't a wasted line or one that doesn't come into play later in the film.  Everything is there to move the plot forward and through that they develop rich characters.

A few other notes is that there is a phone booth on the island inconviently located directly in front of a huge waterfall.  That was apparently a compramise with one of the more difficult inhabbitants of the area that did want a phone at all.  It is very funny to see people in the phone booth yelling and getting wet just to make a call.  Also I wanted to point out that Pamela Brown is in this film and she is a rare beauty.  Not in the classic sense, but there is something about her that can not be overlooked.

I really enjoyed this film and I am looking forward to marking the rest of these movies off my list..  I give it ★★★.

Movie #259 - 9 Songs *2004*

Directed by a Year in Film favorite, Michael Winterbottom, 9 Songs is an attempt at presenting a relationship through hardcore sex scenes, London underground rock music concerts and Antartica exploration.

This is the story of Matt and Lisa.  They meet at a concert.  They have wild and passionate sex (in full view).  They go to more concerts.  Matt studies Antarctica.  They go to more concerts and they have more sex.  That is really all there is to this movie.  It has a really short run time at just over an hour, and it still feels too long for what it is getting at.

I have never seen hardcore sex look so bland.  I was never titillated during the movie.  I don't know if that was the intent or not.  I don't really know what Winterbottom was trying to get at.  Also I enjoy indy rock and rock music from the UK.  Here the music was poorly recorded and sounded terrible.  Like you were in the crowd at the venue but nothing else in the movie made any attempt to connect the music with anything else in the movie.  Basically there is no point for you to be in the theater.

I will comment briefly on the sex.  It could easily be called porn.  There are scenes of Matt going down on Lisa, up close and graphic.  Same goes for Lisa on Matt.  We even see Matt climax on his own stomach.  There are scenes of Lisa with a vibrator, there is a full penetration scene, there are numerous scenes of light S&M and bondage.

I am totally fine with the sexual nature of the film.  I just wish it was more organic to the story.  It seemed to me that it was only there for the viewers window into the relationship.  Again, that is a cool concept but the sex needs to reflect the condition of the relationship is that is the case.  And it didn't for me.  It really felt exploitative and ineffective. 

I have no clue why there are scenes of Antarctica in the picture.  It is an easy metaphor for loneliness and isolation and stagnancy, but for the better part of the picture both character seem in love (or at least lust) for one another.  Matt might as well have been a school teacher or boxer or salesman or anything.  His profession had nothing to do with the narrative.

I give 9 Songs ★★. 

Movie #258 A Fist Full of Dollars *1964*

Prepare yourself for a shocking post.  I have never seen any of the Sergio Leone / Clint Eastwood spaghetti western films.  That is to say that I have never seen any all the way through or never seen them with a critical eye.  Surprised?  I feel like I know almost everything about them.  They are as ingrained in the American psyche as the Hula Hoop.  They are immediate and easy icons in an industry that struggles so diligently to create icons. 

First off you notice the legendary score from Ennio Morricone.  This score has been borrowed, sampled and flat out stolen hundreds of times for different films and other forms of media.  Then you see Eastwood in silhouette.  Tall and thin.  He is as gruff as they come.  Refereed to mainly as "The American" Eastwood in this film is the only competition John Wayne has for the iconic looking American cowboy.  From this point on the film deals with Eastwood as a stranger to a town of dueling families.  Neither with much of a morale compass.  Eastwood begins playing one family against the other in an attempt to loot both groups of their cash.  In doing so he does make money, but at the cost of a lot of people.

This is a retelling of a Kurosawa film called Yojimbo.  Second revel, I have never seen that movie!  There is only so much time in a day to watch movies.


My third and final confessional...I didn't love this movie.  If you were placing money on weather I would like a western based on a Kurosawa film, I would say that it would be a pretty safe bet.  However I am a fan of creative camera work and complex storytelling.  This film didn't strive for this.  There are a few set up's that drew my attention, but for the most part I found the camera work very utilitarian.  And the script was mostly straight forward.  The only twist in the film I felt was somewhat unearned.  I understand that the stranger isn't supposed to "make friends", but the lack of relationship between the characters caused me not to full understand the motives of those characters.  Maybe that is the point, but I found it distracting.

Woody Allen might enjoy this review.  His current film is all about the dangers of nostalgia.  The music and Eastwood's character will be in the popular lexicon most likely forever.  But I don't fully understand why.  I have seen far better Westerns in the same vein.

I give A Fist Full of Dollars ★★★1/2.

Movie #257 The Big Lebowski *1998*

This is a review of my latest exodus to another Lebowskifest.  I have at least 3 other reviews of The Big Lebowski somewhere in the last 10 months of blogs.

This festival took place in the birthplace of the Lebowskifest, Louisville Kentucky.  This year's fest was a special one.  It is the 10th anniversary of the festival dedicated to all things Lebowski.  Drinking, cursing, quoting, bowling and basic hanging out.   This was my 6th fest.  4 in Louisville and 2 in Chicago.  I enjoy the Louisville fests better as a whole.  There seems to be a stronger base of hard core fans at the Louisville events. 

After a long day of  90 degree temperatures and walking around Bardstown Road my special lady friend and I made our way to the parking lot of the bowling alley where these events take place.  We met up with a couple that we met at the last Chicago fest.  They made the 5 hour drive down from near Detroit for the weekend.  They had some sweet Lebowski themed corn hole boxes and we indulged in a fevered game (both due to the competition and the temperature).

Once the sun had set and the ice had melted we made our way onto the lawn.  We set up camp early in order to get good seats for the show.  We pre-gamed for a couple of hours listening to a few different bands.  None of them blew my socks off but all of them sounded pretty good.  Louisville has a booming indy rock scene.

Around midnight the bands cleared off the stage and they raised a large screen to project a DVD copy of the film onto.  I would guess that there were around 500 people in attendance.  That would be the largest group of people that I have seen at the fest.

I feel that The Lebowskifest is benefiting greatly from the "hipster" craze that is sweeping college campus' around the nation.  I saw a lot of plaid shorts, suspenders and straw fedoras this year.  Another thing that I noticed right away was the quantity of females in attendance.  5 years ago when I attended my first fest (the 5th fest in Louisville) I would say that 85% of the people there were males 21-39, 10% were men 40 and up and 5% were women dragged by there idiot boyfriends.  This year I would put the ratio at near 1:1 male to female.  Many females were with their significant other, but there was a large percent that showed up on their own free will.  

I of course spent the next two hours reciting nearly every word of dialogue.  Breaking only to laugh out loud several times.  Have I mentioned how wonderful my girlfriend is.  Not only does she tolerate my addiction, she has found a way to enjoy it in her own way.

One of my favorite things about the evening was when a young couple sat down down beside us on the lawn.  Both of them had their septum pierced and multiple visible tattoos.  It was midnight and they arrived with their (I'm guessing) 3 year old daughter and 6 year old son.  If you are unfamiliar with Lebowski, the F word is said 292 times withing the 90 minute running time.  You are permitted if not encouraged to shout out lines to the movie whenever you feel like it.  There is one scene where John Goodman as Walter is shouting (and I am as well) "Do you see what happens when you fu*k a stranger in the a$s!".  I am sure the kids learned a life lesson that night.

Once the show was over I again was overwhelmed with nostalgia and an inner peace.  As ridiculous and crude as the movie can, the Coen Brothers wrap it all up in a very touching and sincere way that gets me every time.  Good news was there was still another evening of Lebowski fun to be had and God willing another 10 years of festivals to come.

Movie #256 Rubber *2011*

This is the serial killing tire movie.  That's right, a tire that becomes sentient and goes off on a killing spree.  What would you say if I told you that wasn't even the strangest part of the movie?

Rubber was written and directed by Quentin Dupieux.  It is distributed by Magnet.  If you haven't heard of Magnet I suggest you check them out.  They are releasing some high quality fringe films.

So what is stranger than a tire rolling around exploding peoples heads through some type of telekinesis?  An audience within the film watching the exploits of this rubber ring.  An opening monologue from one of the characters in the film, the sheriff.  He and a few others know that they are part of a movie.  At least some of the times they are. 

This is a difficult film to discuss.  Both due to the nature of the subject matter (how much can be said about the premise) and the events that occur to the viewers within the film.  It is my opinion that the film makers are trying to make some sort of a statement about the complacency of modern film goers.  Or perhaps the laziness of his contemporary film makers.  The basic narrative of this films revolves around a tire.  The audience seems interested, but can't explain why.  The opening monologue is an ode to "no reason".  That is to say that it pays tribute to things in classic films that don't make any sense or that happen for "no reason".  I think the metaphor was stretched a little thin in the rest of the film.  And I resent being mocked by a film maker after I pay money to watch his film.

None the less I did enjoy the movie.  And to be totally honest the parts that I enjoyed the most were the ones that centered on the tire.  I feel that Mr. Dupieux did a marvelous job communicating thought process and emotion from an inanimate object.  When Robert (we find out the tire's name in the closing credits) stumbles away from his early grave I understood what was going through it's mind.  Yes, I know how dumb that sounds but if you are going to be on-board with a tire killing with nothing more than it's will then it is not that far of a leap to refer to a tire's "mind".  There is a sense of puzzlement when Robert encounters an empty, plastic water bottle.  Once he rolls over it causing it to crush there is a feeling of excitement.  It is refreshing to have such a visual expression of emotion.  The frustration when Robert can't crush a bottle, it's lust over a beautiful woman, the rage and frustration when he sees people pitching tires on a fire all were very visceral moments.  I would not say that the tire fire scene held the emotional heft that a scene at Auschwitz would, but it is fair to say the the scene drew comparisons. 

If Mr. Dupieux is trying to make some sort of social comentary about modern film making or the audiences that see these films his point was understood.  My point would be that he made a movie that out shines the type of mindless entertainment that he set out to spoof.  There lessening the impact of his message.

I give Rubber ★★★.

Movie #255 Transformers 3 *2011*

I was going to write a whole dissection on the Transformers movies.  But it just isn't worth it.  Here are my 3 Reasons to see the movie.

Reason #1.  It looks expensive!  The money is on the screen.

Reason #2. It is better than the 2nd one.

Reason #3.  The final battle scene lasts at least 45 minutes.  (I fell asleep during this "epic" batlle.  It was like watching a trash compactor for an hour).

I give Transformers 3 ★★.

Movie #254 Midnight in Paris *2011*

The same day I saw Tree of Life I saw Woody Allen's new movie Midnight in Paris.

A lot has been made about Woody and his "film a year" pace.  A lot has been said about how his later films pale in comparison to his earlier, funnier work.  A lot has been said about his personal life and many other things.  I am not going to mention these things.

That is because I have too much respect for this film.  Woody Allen delivers a movie that is quaint and sentimental without being sappy or too quirky.  Midnight in Paris is a movie about the dangers of nostalgia.  It is a movie that urges it audience to live in the moment.  At its heart it is a very pessimistic film wrapped in a wonderfully light and endearing story.

I fell head over heals in love with this movie.  It is funny and well acted.  I'm not sure if you could shoot Paris and make it look bad, but not every film makes it look this gorgeous.  All the typical Allen troupes are there, but he has arranged them in a fresh and honest way that sucks the viewer into its time and space (whenever and where ever that might be).

I won't spoil anything so that makes it difficult to talk about the film, but take my advice and watch the movie.  If this doesn't appeal to your intellectual side without being pretentious I'll give you your money back.

I give Midnight in Paris ★★★★.

Movie #253 Dark City * 1998*

I have reviewed Dark City before.  It can be found at post #83.  Here are my 3 Reasons:

Reason #1.  It was The Matrix a year before The Matrix.

Reason #2.  German Expressionism for the 21st century.

Reason #3.  Ebert said to.  It was his #1 film of the 90's.

I give Dark City ★★★★.

Movie #252 The Friends of Eddie Coyle *1973*

I have already blogged about this film on post #37.  So here are my 3 Reasons:

Reason #1.  It is painful to see Robert Mitchum as a sad sack snitch, even though he is perfect in the role.

Reason #2. Its patience.  This film and it's director (Peter Yates) was not in a hurry for anything.  The film takes its time.  It establishes a setting and characters in time.  Creating a film where anything can happen at any time.  It is slow and very tense.

Reason #3. The scene in the Hockey arena.  If you know anything about how movies are made it will blow your mind to try and figure out the logistics of shooting these scenes in a crowd of 15,000 extra's and a live hockey game.

I give Eddie Coyle ★★★★.

Movie #251 Andarushia: Megami No Houfuku *2011*

I am really doing some tough reviews now that I am close to ending my blogging hiatus.  This film is the one that I saw while I was in Japan.  It was totally in Japanese without subtitles.  The closest I came to understanding the dialouge was when a brief few instances the characters spoke in Spanish.  Also my extremely poor Japanese allowed me to understand when numbers or times or dates and names were being said.  That was about it.

This is the best I could make of the movie:

The movie is set in Spain. A young woman knows about some top secret governmental activities.  She appears to be a spy or secret agent.  There is a suicide early in the movie and she has to cover all the track of the departed.  That lead me to believe that this was a partner of hers?  From this point it seems that 2 different law enforcement agencies get involved.  Both are headed up by Japanese men.  They seem to have respect for each other, but they clearly have different opinions about the nature of the woman and what her involvement was in the incident.

The older man seems to fall for the girls story (and the girl).  He seems to be the higher level agency.  Maybe an Interpol type serviceman.  The younger man seems like a local detective.  He appears to be more skeptical of the woman and her motives.  He is assigned to protect her so that she may testify in court.  He doesn't always do a great job and the older man has to get involved for the sake of all involved.

The end comes with a few twists and turns.  There was clearly a tip of the hat to The Usual Suspects in the movie that you didn't have to speak Japanese to understand.  You only had to know the language of cinema, which I am fluent in. 

In my opinion I think this movie could play very well for Western audiences.  It was impeccably shot, lit and edited.  It was dramatic without going for a more traditional Japanese melodramatic style.  I suppose I could be totally wrong about what was going on, but I think I am pretty close.  If not, I might have the frame work of my next script.

I give Andarushia: Megami No Houfuku ★★★1/2.

Movie #250 Tree of Life *2011*

I am playing catch up on these blogs.  I am nearing the end and I found an interesting similarity.  I was listening to the guys at the /Film podcast review Transformers 3.  I just watched this movie yesterday.  They said the film was critic proof.  This is a term that people assign to films that mass audiences are going to go see regardless of critics opinions or bad word of mouth.  There are several type of films that fit into this lable.

Kids movies are often times "critic proof".  Horror movies have built in audiences that will see anything with blood and guts.  All of the movies in the Transformers trilogy would self apply the critic proof tag.  No one is going to say that they are good movies, but they make a killing at the box office.

That having been said, a few weeks ago I went to Chicago and saw Terrence Malick's new film Tree of Life.  Today I realized that this film was just as immune to critical reaction as its overblown cinematic cousins, the Transformers.

When I first saw Tree of Life it was difficult for me to really develop an opinion on the film.  I didn't love the movie the way I have with some where I just want to go out and tell strangers on the street about it.  I had no sudden urge to buy another ticket (or just wait in the theater) for the next showing.  I don't have any plans to add it to my Bluray collection, although I am sure it will look AMAZING on Blu.

At the same time I was far from hating this movie.  I didn't even dislike the film.  I left the theater feeling like I had just watched a masterpiece and I didn't really care.  It was the type of film that should be playing at a museum not a multiplex.  The pictures on display could all be paused, framed and hung in the Louvre.  The classical orchestrated score submerged me in an audible orgy.  But there is intentionally next-to-no narrative to string these beautiful scenes together.

I should say that there is minimal narrative in the traditional sense.  There are thematic story lines that are as broad as the desert sunset.    One such story line involves a juxtaposing raising a family in 50's Texas with the creation of the universe.  Another is the choice we as humans make to either follow the ways of nature or of faith.  Beauty vs science.  These are never told or even spelled out.  The sensory notions of this film are the only factors evoking these theories.

It is very difficult to comment on the performances in the movie.  The oldest son has about the largest screen time and he has the most (only) story arc.  He does a great job, but his performance is swallowed up by scope and structure of the movie.  Both Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain seem to be a little dramatic and overblown in their roles, but I have no doubt that Malick got exactly the performances he wanted out of them.

More to my point about this film being critic proof.  This movie has no peers.  There is nothing to compare it to.  There are other movies that approach this film on terms of ambition and scope (2001: A Space Odyssey).  There are non narrative movies (Eraserhead).  There are blockbusters and there are art films.  Tree of Life is all these things.  Its like a reggae band, a punk band, a polka band and mariachi band playing 4 different songs at the same.  Malick's genius is that he can make all those different songs sound pleasing and empirical.   

Now that I have had time to reflect on Tree of Life I can state that it truly a masterpiece and probably will be one of the most important films in this decade.  Malick only makes a film every 10 years or so and everyone is a classic.  Even if I never plan to watch this movie again I am very glad that I got to see it in theaters.

I refuse to give Tree of Life a star rating.  It is a must see, if only once.

Movie #249 Inglourious Basterds *2009*

Here are my 3 Reasons to watch Inglorious Basterds:  (That is 3 out of 1,000)

Reason #1.  The "Putting out the Fire with Gasoline" scene is one of the most empowering and sexy scenes in recent memory. 

Reason #2.  The opening chapter is a masterpiece in screenplay sufficiency. 

Reason #3.  The scene in the basement bar playing cards.  Totally Tarintino while still being creative and refreshing.

I give Inglorious Basterds ★★★★1/2.

Movie #248 Days of Wine and Roses *1962*

Here are my 3 Reasons to see Days of Wine and Roses:

Reason #1.  It is the Refer Madness of alcohol movies.

Reason #2.  Lee Remick's physical transformation.

Reason #3.  Jack Lemon's precursor to Shelly "The Machine" Levene.

I give Days of Wine and Roses ★★★★.

Movie #247 Win Win *2011*

Just a quick word on Win Win.  I saw this film on the flight back from Japan and it woke me out of my funk.  It is a very honest and well told story.  If you read this blog and you even occasionally agree with my opinions I would highly recommend Win Win.

Here are my 3 Reasons to see Win Win:

Reason #1.  It is not a "flashy" cast, but it is a very well casted movie.  All the performances are stellar.  If I was to point out the one that spoke to me most it would be Alex Shaffer as Kyle.  This is his only movie credit, but he was very natural in front of the camera.

Reason #2.  Speaking of being natural, this film plays out like every event in my life.  Everyone seems to be trying to do the right thing but some times the right thing turns around to bite you in the ass.  The movie is not manipulative at all.  It is honest and real.  Probably this years The Kids are All Right.

Reason #3.  It is a movie focusing on high school wrestling.  You don't see that every day.

I give Win Win ★★★1/2.

Movie #246 Some Like it Hot *1959*

I wanted to take a second to say something about Some Like it Hot.  I enjoyed this movie quite a bit, but I didn't find it to be the master piece that everyone raves about.  As far as I am concerned all the major players have better films in their cannon.  It reminds me a lot of High Noon.  Another film I enjoy, but don't think is worthy of the hype it gets.  Some Like it Hot made me laugh, but not as much as I was thinking it would.  The American Film Institute placed Some Like it Hot as their #1 comedy of all time.  It won't even crack the top 5 comedies on my list of films from this project.  Oh well, "no one's perfect".

Here is my 3 Reasons to watch Some Like it Hot:

Reason #1.  Marilyn Monroe is a slut.  I know independent women around the world worship at the altar of Marilyn, but in everything I have seen her in she is georgous but she plays a tramp.  She plays it well.  Almost too well.

Reason #2.  Billy Wilder knows how to shoot comedy and this is a perfect example.  The timing and comedic beats are in just the right place and held for just the right amount of time.

Reason #3.  The gangster sub-plot.  I didn't know the set up when I watched this.  I would like to see a more straight forward version of this film.  More of a men-on-the-run tale than a romantic comedy.

I give Some Like it Hot ★★★.

Movie #245 The Big Sleep *1946*

Here are my 3 Reasons for The Big Sleep:

Reason #1.  It's Bogey and Bacall, need I say more?

Reason #2. It is another great Raymond Chandler / Phillip Marlowe story brought to the big screen.

Reason #3. Howard Hawks dialogue in the first 10 minutes between Bogey and Charles Waldron.

I give The Big Sleep ★★★1/2.

Movie #244 Sunshine *2007*

Here are my 3 Reasons to watch Sunshine:

Reason #1.  The visuals are out of this world.  (That is now the most hokey thing I have written on this blog)

Reason #2.  It has a great ensemble cast.

Reason #3.  It does go a little off the rails in the final third, but it might be the best blend of sci-fi and horror since the original Alien movie.

I give Sunshine ★★★1/2.

Movie #243 The Limey *1999*

Here are my 3 Reasons to watch The Limey:

Reason #1.  Terrence Stamp creates a character in Wilson that while on a different level goes hand and hand with the Ben Kingsly's character Don Logan in Sexy Beast (one of my favorite performances)

Reason #2. It is one of Soderbergh's "one for me" films.

Reason #3.  The action is palpable.  It is on screen when it needs to be and just around the corner or just off screen at the perfect times.  This movie will stick in your brain.

I give The Limey ★★★★.

Movie #242 The Red Shoes *1948*

I blogged about The Red Shoes in post # 168.  These are my 3 Reasons to see The Red Shoes:

Reason #1.  It is the greatest movie about dance ever.  No question.

Reason #2.  Amazing Techicolor through the entire movie.

Reason #3.  Anton Walbrook as Boris Lermontov is perfect!  There is no other person that could step into his shoes.  Mild pun intended.

I give The Red Shoes ★★★★★.

Movie #241 Forgetting Sarah Marshall *2008*

These are my 3 Reason to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall:

Reason #1 Russell Brand.  He plays a total self absorbed jerk, but he plays him like a real guy and that creates a empathy for him.  Not to mention that he is funny as all get out.

Reason #2. Dracula Musical.

Reason #3. Naked people crying is both funny and painful.  If this movie doesn't make you laugh out of a sick recognition with the characters you are a better man than I.

Reason #4. Mila Kunis is CRAZY HOT!

I give Forgetting Sarah Marshall ★★★★.

Movie #240 Super 8 *2011*

Here are my 3 Reason to see Super 8:

Reason #1.  Elle Fanning.  Mostly when she is acting in the movie, in the movie.

Reason #2.  All the scenes of the kids making the movie.

Reason #3.  The end credits.

I thought this movie was a bad mix of two styles that I really like.  It was even parts JJ Abrams and Speilberg.  The problem is that it kept the movie from having an identify of its own.

I give Super 8 ★★★.

Movie #239 Marathon Man *1976*

These are my 3 Reasons to see Marathon Man:

Reason #1 The dentist scene.  Hoffman gets some impromptu, unwanted dental work.  This is the scene everyone remembers from this movie, but I really didn't think it was all that bad.  I must be a sick twist.

Reason #2. Roy Scheider.  IMDB now lists the top 4 films a person is "Best Know For" and this film doesn't make that list and he is great in it.  I put him right up there with Robert Duvall over a career. 

Reason #3.  Decades before Inglorious Basterds would give the Jews their revenge, this movie is treading those same themes. 

I give Marathon Man ★★★1/2.

Movie #238 Tony Clifton: Live on the Sunset Strip *2011*

This movie was a first for me.  Actually it contained many firsts for me.

First off it was the first film that I ever saw in the classic Egyptian Theater on Hollywood Blvd in CA.
Second it was the first film I ever saw where I knew people involved in the production.  My friend Jeremy Johnson was the director and editor.
Third, it was the first time I really had the opportunity to rub elbows with celebrities.  I met Paul Rudd, Bill Hader, Ron Jeremy and others at the after party for this film.

The movie is a concert documentary.  It follows Tony Clifton around to a series of his shows.  Tony Clifton was an Andy Kaufman created character.  Andy used to perform as Tony, then once people started getting wise to that another person started doing Clifton to take the heat off Kaufman.  Now that tradition continues.  The Clifton character is a bad lounge act.  He is racist, vulgar, sexist, rude and completely obnoxious.  Not to mention funny as hell.  There is vividly an art to his act.  It is clear to see that this is a show and persona that has been skillfully crafted over many years.

Clifton is accompanied on stage by his "adopted daughter" Keely Marie Clifton. Together the guzzle whiskey by the bottle(s) and harasses the show girls that perform at the concerts.  The relationship between the Clifton's is an uncomfortable one at best.  Pretty much everything Clifton does is uncomfortable.

After the show Bill Hader of SNL and several movies did a Q&A with Tony.  Clifton was killing Hader on stage.  There is some history with Clifton and SNL producer Loren Michaels.  Clifton wasn't pulling punches (which is all part of the character) and Hader was on his heels.  He couldn't comment on what is his boss, even if he had wanted to.  Once the Q&A was over Clifton began to introduce all the celebrities in the theater.

I was totally star struck by Paul Rudd.  20 minutes after stumbling my way through an terrible introduction and request for a picture, I suddenly remembered all the great lines and movies that he is in and that I quote on almost a daily basis.    But it was too late.  He was long gone.

This isn't really my review of the movie.  I will save that until this movie get picked up and distributed, or I get a copy of a DVD.  All I will say is that if you ever get a chance to see this movie I highly recommend that you do.  I would leave your political correctness at the door though.  Just sit back and prepare to have the funny shoved down your throat.

I give Tony Clifton: Live on the Sunset Strip ★★★1/2.

Movie #237 Easy Riders *1969*

On blog #116 I did one of my best reviews ever.  That is a bit unfair, because it is about one of the best films ever, Easy Riders.

I will let that blog stand for my review of the movie.  I will explain the story of how I came to see this movie again.

Just like with Harold and Maude I saw Easy Rider at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica, CA.  Just hours after our plane touched down my girlfriend and I had tickets to see Easy Rider at this classic theater.  We didn't even check in at the hotel before we went to see the film.  We drove down Santa Monica Blvd until we got a few blocks from the cinema.  We parked the rental car and walked down the street in perfect weather until we got to an Indian restaurant.  We stopped for some curry laden food and a beer before seeing the movie.

I wasn't sure what my special lady was going to think about it, but she seemed to enjoy it.  Even if the movie wasn't very good, you couldn't ask for better settings.  One thing that I found interesting was the crowd we saw it with really showed me the humor in the movie.  Dennis Hopper is stoned though out the whole thing and it shows.  That can't help but make for some funny scenes.  Plus Jack Nicholson in his first major screen role was a cut up as a college boy turned drunk philosopher. 

Again, check out the last blog for my first review.

I give Easy Riders ★★★★★.

Movie #236 Harold and Maude *1971*

I am about to do a great dis-service to some wonderful movies.  I am almost 20 posts behind on my blog and quite frankely I don't have the time to catch them all up.  I was on vacation in Hollywood for a week and then off to Japan for a week for me "real" job.  During that time I saw quite a few moives.  I will give a very brief opinion of each, or do a 3 reasons for most.

I can't do that to Harold and Maude however.  I love this movie.  I had the pleasure of watching this quirky little comedy in a vintage theater in Santa Monica.  After the show Peter Bart and Cameron Crowe had a discussion and Q&A session.  I was fortunate to buy Mr. Bart's book before the show at a book store across the street and then meet him and have him sign it.  Peter Bart (for those of you that don't know he was in charge of Paramount Studios in the late 60's and early 70's.  He was part of films like Godfather I & II, The Exorcist, Rosemary's Baby, Love Story, Chinatown and Harold and Maude) asked me if I was in "the business".  That is like having Michael Jordan ask you if you "shoot hoops".  I was totally star struck.

A little about Harold and Maude.  It is a film that was way misunderstood in its time.  Most critics paned the film and it did not connect with a mass audience.  It has maintained and gained a large following of film fans and is now considered one of the best comedies ever and a major player in the "New Hollywood" era.

It is the story of a 17 year old boy obsessed with death, and an almost 70 year old eccentric woman who lives life to the fullest.  They meet at a series of funerals and fall in love.  Much to the chagrin of Harold's high society mother.

The movie is filled with a Cat Stevens soundtrack that could not be anymore perfect.  It captures everything this movie is about, without being heady or melodramatic.  The sequences where Harold fakes his own death in an attempt to disturb his mother are shot masterfully.  This style of film making would go on to inspire many of film makers.  I think it is safe to say that without Harold and Maude, Wes Anderson would not have a career.  Harold and Maude was directed by Hal Ashby.  I have only seen a few of his films, but so far I have liked what I saw and I plan on making my way through his entire catalog. 

I saw this movie with my girlfriend.  She had never seen it before.  There is a big surprise at the end, and when it happened my girlfriend was so into the movie she actually put her hands in front of her mouth in shock and concern.  I was really special to have someone that I care so much for react to a movie that I love so dearly in nearly the same way I did when I first watched it.

I remember when I watched it for the first time I was walking around the room talking to myself about how great the movie is.  That type of response doesn't happen nearly often enough, but when it does it is very special.  I had the feeling watching the movie again that I could watch this movie once a week and never grow tired of it. 

Great movie, great evening.  I give Harold and Maude ★★★★★.