Change Your Image
BuffaloWilder
FAVORITE FILMS
The Mad Max trilogy
Lorenzo's Oil
Babe
Babe: Pig In the City
Happy Feet
Fearless (1993)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
El Topo
Brazil
The Great Dictator
Mongol
Brick
Oldboy
Gojira '54
Dr. No
From Russia With Love
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Casino Royale ('54 and '06)
Children Of Men
The Plague Dogs
Watership Down
And, so on.
Reviews
Babe (1995)
Ah
- I remember first seeing this when I was younger - eight or nine, around there, and it hasn't been until recently that I've revisited it. Up till' then, the most I could remember of the film were scant snippets from that moment when the young niece is screaming about her Christmas present.
I'd watched the sequel "Babe: Pig in the City," over and over again, many a time, and I don't think I'm really alone in believing it to be the superior film, but, that being said, this film is great in it's own right - Noonan "directed" this about as much as Steven Spielberg directed "A.I."; this is very much George Miller's film, from the trademark cinematography, to the screenplay (although, admittedly based on a book published a decade prior, he manages to imbue his own style into it).
Everyone, from James Cromwell to Mrs. Szubenski, does a great job here, but the standout performance has to be Hugo Weaving as "Rex," the sheepdog - apart from his voice which, even as a man myself, gives me the shivers, his vocal performance is nuanced, and just my favorite out of the entire cast.
The one annoying thing about this film - and really, this brings down "Pig in the City" a peg too, because they both fall victim - are the 'Chapter Mice.' Oh, how I loathe them. But, that's just me.
Miller is one of those directors that I don't think is ever going to really get his due recognition. Frequently, I see his films on best of lists - This and The Road Warrior are a favorite, and Happy Feet is up for a spot on AFI's top fifty animated films of all time - but rarely do I ever see his name mentioned. It's an odd paradox, because he's by and large a better filmmaker than Lucas and Weir (both filmmakers whom I respect immensely - Weir in particular for "Fearless,"). Alternatively, I could just say 'give it a few decades,' as has been the case with quite a few directors.
Well, enough of my ranting. See this film.
Special (2006)
Great film.
I'd heard about "Special" for a couple of months before I'd seen it. Being a comic book geek, I had to check it out.
Believe the hype, hey.
It's certainly a dark film, sometimes moving and other times extremely funny ("Okay. Watch this-" SLAM!). The main character certainly takes his beatings, both physically and mentally; by the end of the film he's covered in a mass of black and blue bruises. By the time the film fades to the credits, he can barely walk.
The film doesn't mince around the fact that the main character is delusional on account of the drugs he's given, and that only makes it more harrowing. As the film progresses, you're really not sure what's real and what's a hallucination, what was said and what wasn't. It's a downward spiral, and the film, while lightly optimistic, is very bleak.
Michael Rappaport's always good, and he shines here as Les, particularly near the end in the 'bathroom' scenes and a moving scene that I won't spoil for any of the readers, but it comes unexpectedly. Really, the entire cast gives a remarkable performance, though. I swear, I'm seeing that kid from "Mean Creek" in more and more stuff; he's getting to be a great actor.
Watching the film over again, you can really pick up on certain little things in the beginning; like the scene in the comic shop, Les' 'big reveal' to his two buddies. Look at his nose after he jumps back through the wall. Just various things like that are sprinkled everywhere throughout the film,
This is a great film; if you can't buy it, download it. But watch it.
El Topo (1970)
Well...
"El Topo" is a film that's something of an acquired taste, I'm sure. It's a very allegorical film, and some would call it outright bizarre, and they'd be correct. But, that isn't a bad thing.
Essentially, the film is a skewed Western, starting with the line: "You are seven years old. You are a man now. Bury your first toy and a picture of your mother," and ending with the son taking his father's place (after his father has immolated himself), riding off into the sunset, so to speak, with his own little boy.
The main character, the titular El Topo, through the course of the film, undergoes a metamorphosis from a weary, sometimes disturbingly so, gunfighter to something of a Buddhist Jesus figure, and in one of the more disturbing shots, we pick up on him, years later, in a meditative state, hair on end and wearing lipstick and rouge.
To say this film isn't for the casual film-viewer sounds very pretentious, but it's the truth. It's sometimes befuddling, sometimes extremely psychedelic, very allegorical, and undoubtedly disturbing. But, for all that, it's worth watching.
John Lennon cited it as one of his favorite films, so that should maybe be enough for some. Myself, I just like Jodorowsky's stuff. I'd also recommend "Santa Sangre," or "El Montana Sagrada."
Demon Wind (1990)
Demon Wind? Smells like it (and, now that we have the juvenile humour out of the way...)
Wow. I just saw Demon Wind a little while ago, and I don't think I'll ever be the same. It has the power to inspire nightmares, but for all the wrong reasons, actually.
Never before has humanity seen such a gratuitous change in make-up, for no damn reason. Or, similarly, so much bad zombie (?) makeup that makes you hungry for those Halloween green marshmallows.
Or so much naked old lady, for that matter. But then, there was "The Shining."
The plot here is so amateurish that it actually almost holds a little bit of charm, as does the dialog. The last shot of the film is just so silly that its beyond description. It's like some drunk college student got together with some pals and decided to throw Bruce Willis type dialog together with (I guess?) teenybopper dialog from some Elm Street film. The result is jarring, and it'd be truly funny if it was intended that way.
Ah, what the hey. I'll laugh anyway.
Hell, get together with your friends and watch this. But make absolutely sure you're drunk first. Or, you may go insane. Particularly if you're a college film student.
Cheers.
Surf's Up (2007)
It's not as good as Happy Feet, but I enjoyed it
I'll give this an eight, and it would have won a nine at most if not for the out-of-place juvenile toilet humour (and, I'm no soccer mom. But, it's stupid, and unfunny). Other than that, I liked it quite a bit. It wasn't as good as Happy Feet, but I liked it in it's own right.
The dialogue in this film really shines, not because of its writing, but because of its delivery. And, you can't go wrong with Zooey Deschanel (I guess that's how you spell that last name, but eh).
I mean, right off the bat, when you watch the film, you have to realize that there really isn't any reason for these characters to actually be penguins, other than aesthetic value. Once you get past that, the movie's really quite enjoyable.
All in all, behind Happy Feet, this goes as my second favorite fictional penguin film. The Pebble and the Penguin be damned!
Tap (1989)
It's just great to see all the good old hoofers get together like this
While the story isn't up to par, as many have said, it's really just a sort of excuse to allow these great, great dancers to get up and do their thing on screen. And, let's be honest. You've got a lot of just awesome talent up there. Jimmy Slyde, Sammy Davis Jr., Sandman Sims, Steve Condos (very little of him, however), Gregory Hines, Diana Ross, Gregory Hines, and in his very first film role, Savion Glover.
It's so strange to see him as a kid, now, though. I'm used to seeing the thirty-some odd year old with the long dreads and scraggly beard, not the kid with short hair and nary a whisker 'bout his face. But, even at this stage, he's just awesome.
I'll admit, I've stolen a couple of steps from the people up there in this movie, from time to time. I know I don't do them half as well as they do, but I don't have as much experience as they do.
I keep thinking that they're going to remake this movie one day with Glover in the Hines' role. That'd be just awesome. But then, almost all the other hoofers in the film like Sims and Slyde, are much to old to be doing film roles any more. That's not meant to be an insult, but they're in their eighties, at least.
All in all, a good film. Hines, you will be missed.
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
Why?
I'll be polite. This film isn't just bad. It's SUPERBAD. And, before anyone thinks that it's because I'm a "purist" or whatever to the books, let me stop you there. I've only read The Hobbit and The Fellowship, and I just can't get through the rest. They're very dense books, detailed is another adjective I'd use to describe them. But, frankly, I couldn't care less what gets left out. I really couldn't.
This film is bad on a technical level, with horrible rotoscoping "special effects," and there are lots of goofs pertaining to that. You'll notice, near the end of the film, one of the characters is running, and the actor trips. They decided to trace over that as well, and just leave it in there. And that's just one of many. There are scenes where it switches from night to day on a whim, scenes where it appears they just gave up on rotoscoping the actors completely, and just filmed them (and badly there, I might add as well). There are scenes where logic is thrown out the window, as well as physics. It's just a bad film on all counts.
And the voices and ways the characters are portrayed are just annoying as well. Whereas I was moved by Sean Astin's portrayal of Samwise in Peter Jackson's films as a loyal friend, Sam is here a sort of idiot man-child, with buck teeth. Gandalf is just an asshole to everyone, and the only redeeming actor on the whole that I can see here is John Hurt as the (horribly drawn) Aragorn.
A strike out. Why, Bakshi, why?
Batman & Robin (1997)
I hate you Joel Shumacher
I hate you so much, just for this film. For the flaws in logic, in physics, in continuity, in just plain bad writing, and in film-making as a whole.
Were you literally on pot the entire production? Did you ever stop to think, "holy hell. I put nipples on the bat-suit. I covered everything in pink neon. What have I done?"
Probably not, judging from Batman Forever, and the only reason that was good was because Burton was producing.
You have produced what is most likely one of the worst big budget movies of all time, and you will be reveled for it, not just by comic fans, but by humanity.
I mean, seriously, PINK NEON? What the hell, man? This is Batman!
Happy Feet (2006)
The Banshee Screams for Happy Feet (and other such ramblings)
This is one of the most stirring films I've seen in a while, and its no shock that its George bloody Miller directing, writer and director of the Mad Max series, the Babe films, and Lorenzo's Oil. It also shouldn't come as a shock that this movie bares a lot of similarities to "The Road Warrior," either. But, we won't get into that here.
Like most of Miller's films, this is a story about the 'underdog hero;' and again, like most of his films, its not afraid to mince around issues of the time. Like Mad Max and the oil situation, this film confronts matters about overfishing without pause. And, by all rights, it should. It's not just a 'Greenpeace' matter, anymore. This is important, the world over.
The film's also one that takes its inspiration from many sources, some of the most noticeable being the Jesus/messiah story (don't believe what you've heard from most of the other 'this film is anti-Christian' reviewers. This film is essentially a Jesus/messiah parallel, right down to the Pharisee-like Elders and 'resurrection.') and 'Joseph Livingston Seagull,' among others. They're not 'ripped off,' though, so to speak, and this is good. I suppose you've all seen the film, so there ain't be no summary on this here review. I mean, come on. You can read a summary on any one of these other schmoes reviews! Cam'aaaan!
Some people are labeling this film "liberal propaganda." I'm not even gonna get in to that, as I still wanna keep my IQ where it is. But, this quote from the man himself will suffice: "Look," Miller says, dismissing low-brow criticism Happy Feet got as eco-propaganda, "any story worth its salt has to have more to it than meets the eye. I mean, it's got to have a lot going on in the subtext."
This is a heartfelt and moving film, and a giant step for c.g. films both technically and storytelling-wise. Miller's made another masterpiece, and that's really all I can say.
The Pebble and the Penguin (1995)
Huh.
Whoa. I mean, whoa. I mean, whoa whoa.
I saw this movie, waaay back when I was eight, in 1996. Back then, CGI films were a rarity; and good ones even more so. Also, back then we listened to things called CD players. But I digress. I used to like this movie a lot, way back then, and up till viewing it again, I've held reaally fond memories of it. Hey, it's Don Bluth! Anyone who hates "All Dogs Go to Heaven" is clearly a robot. But, again, I digress.
Then, I saw it again. This really isn't one of his best, I can say now, eleven years later. I've seen a lot more films, and I've garnered a little bit more knowledge. Now, sure, the voice acting is good, I'll give 'em that. Story's...okay. I mean, we see it all the time. A LOT. But, it works. The musical numbers are what irk me. This would've been more at home in the eighties, with these kind of musical numbers. In '96, most kids movies had epic numbers, like the Lion King (which came out a year or so previous, but whatever)or stuff like that. You get showtunes here, vaudeville style.
The animation kind of hurts, too. At times choppy, and at others completely changing style and format with the change of a shot, it's really hard not to notice.
I still like "All Dogs Go to Heaven, but this could've been waaay better.
4/10