Mafiascum Movie Club

[Lauritz Melchior]

I think that he was referring to her having chance after chance after chance to save her boyfriend. She would die and would then the day would start again, only a little different. And again. And again. I'll have to watch this again to give it a review, though, cause I don't remember enough off the top of my head.

[Fishbulb]

I don't think so. That is pretty much the whole point of the movie. And I'm not sure I would consider it supernatural as much as "what if?" like Sliding Doors, instead of "getting another chance" as in Groundhog Day.

[MeMe]

I agree, Fishbulb. I looked at is as "if these choices are/were made...this will be/was the outcome" rather than a

Butterfly Effect

supernaturalism.

[Fletcher]

Buba Ho-Tep

I thought it was funny in some parts bbut really weird. It was entertaining though.

B-

[Lauritz Melchior]

Oh, I'm just gonna post this to have my little jab at Charleton Heston (whom I dislike). The other night I saw him in the movie

Touch of Evil

by Orson Welles, which is a good movie. Charleton Heston played a Mexican (with a lot of make-up. Apparently it's better to get a famous actor to play a part that he doesn't fit than to hire someone who's Mexican.). I really saw almost no difference between his performance here, and that in Ben-Hur (I do think that he did a good job in that movie, to be honest). In fact, he didn't even bother to try an accent. Instead of actually playing a different character, he let the viewer know that he was no longer Ben-Hur by wearing dark make-up. Hurray for Charleton Heston.

[MeMe]

When I saw Get Shorty, I laughed embarrassingly loud when John Travolta invited Renee Russo to Touch of Evil with, "Wanna go see Charlton Heston be a Mexican"?

I don't think anyone else in the theater got it...

[MeMe]

Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm

Second viewing.

It's got good-looking animation...though it's strangely inconsistent in regard to some characters' bodies. Andrea looked, at times, like a linebacker with stovepipe legs and, at others, like a willow.

Short and interesting -- I especially liked the flashbacks to his "straightening out the superhero kinks" days. Fine way to pass an hour…but not strong enough story-wise or beautiful enough visually to watch repeatedly.

B-

[Internet Stranger]

Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm

The only thing I didnt like about this movie was that the they werent always clear when they were cutting into a flashback. Eventually you realize, oh yea this was a flashback, but then they would go back to present time and not even tell you either.

Otherwise I was satisfied with the story itself, there was the mystery aspect, the passionate romance, a few cliches, plenty of action and backstory as well. Even the ending managed to touch a piece of my cold dark souless heart.

Grade: B

[Internet Stranger]

So whats the deal? Is this getting abandoned?

[mlaker]

/in for the movie club and queue if possible. And I'd also like to review Phantasm:

Batman: The Mask of the Phantasm
This was the first movie I ever saw in theatres back when I was in single digit years and I heartily enjoyed it then as I do now. Although my older self sees flaws in the animation I thought it was still a pretty solid movie.
Grade:B+

[MeMe]

So whats the deal? Is this getting abandoned?

No - but I might change the title to "MeMe & IS Grade the Movies!"

Sorry, just been a work week from hell and I've been doing the bare minimum on the site.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

True Stories

First viewing.

I love quirky. Makes me smile. This, however, veered from quirky to downright weird a few too many times for me. The fashion show, the dinner scene (which, despite the fact that I'm a fan of Spalding Gray monologues, bored me silly -- though I admit it was visually stunning), and the mere existence of Swoosie Kurtz's character went overboard -- while John Goodman's character, the lying woman, and walking through the mall (took me right back to my high school years: Jeans West, County Seat, and Kinney Shoes, baby!) were just right. I also really enjoyed several of the karaoke-ish numbers, especially "Wild Wild Night" (in the club), the one the 4-H Kids sang (but I forget what it was now) and "People Like Us" (Louis's Talent Show Song).

My absolute favorite scenes were the scenes in which Byrne was playing tour guide -- his deadpan just killed me. These probably aren't completely accurate quotes, but...

"This isn't a rental; it's privately owned"
"That's some fancy driving"
"They sell a lot of these, but I don't see anyone else wearing them"
"I have something to say about the difference between American and European cities, but I forgot what it is. I have it written down at home."

...I'd have loved an entire film of just him walking around commenting on what he saw and what was running through his head.

This is a true original, if not quite as good as it *could* have been. It almost hurts the film a bit to have several flashes of brilliance interrupted by boring stretches.

B+

[MeMe]

And it's time to change the current movie to Spellbound (and make sure you don't get the Hitchcock thriller...you're looking for a documentary here) -- which will be due, um, let's say July 20.

[Fishbulb]

Hey now! (Which is also the name that the kids sang in True Stories.)

Internet Stranger only has one more review than I have, and I'm getting to them. I promise.

Glad you enjoyed the majority of True Stories. It was one of my first favorite movies as a child, and one of those movies that I still try to watch every few months. And even though it might be the worst Talking Heads CD, I still love that soundtrack.

[MeMe]

Apparently I am the only one watching. I don't care.

Spellbound

Completely absorbing documentary following eight elementary to middle school kids as they prepare and compete at the 1999 National Spelling Bee. I watched this with my husband and, at one point, we cheered when a particularly difficult word was spelled correctly. We both kind of grinned embarrassedly afterward...but that's how well done this film is. You're drawn in despite the fact that the subject sounds rather dry.

A

~~~~~~~~~~

I'll let the club die if no one posts a review for Purple Rose of Cairo as that'd be three in a row I'll have watched alone.

[Internet Stranger]

Im having problems finding these obscure movies from my sources. I may have to actually hit video stores at some point.