This review of "The Swarm" is a must-read because it finally makes it clear that a writer as brilliant as Stirling Silliphant was, wasn't going mad when he did the script for this film. It points out rather brilliantly that *a lot* of what ended up in the script and in the film was stolen straight out of several 50s "B" movies so that Silliphant was doing a send-up right from the get-go, but Allen with his stilted direction style that was never good anywhere likely didn't get the joke and was taking it seriously from the start!

http://jabootu.com/acolytes/brandiweed/swarm.htm

I am now revisiting for the first time in decades, one of the very first things I ever recorded on a VCR, the 1985 miniseries "A.D.". The NBC recording is barely holding together but I'm at least getting it transferred at last (necessary since it only exists in a cut form on DVD from what I hear).

As a follow-up to "Jesus Of Nazareth" (from the same producer and with Anthony Burgess doing the script again), "A.D." falls way short. One problem is that it tries to tell so many stories with the early Christians and Roman politics, that often we get characters having to do Cliff Notes summations in the dialogue to get things up to speed to clarify who is who etc. Then added to this the very unnecessary fictional storylines that are interwoven of the Jewish Zealot whose sister is sold into slavery in Rome and the centurion who falls in love with her etc. Indeed, what's really strange is how these fictional characters don't seem to age in synch with the real characters since some 30 years are supposed to be elapsing!

The director, Stuart Cooper seems to come off like a journeyman compared to Zefirelli. He doesn't seem to get as much from his actors who in general tend to come off more stilted than the should (and whose idea was it to cast Jack Warden with his NY tones as a Roman philosopher????). Lalo Schifrin sorry to say, could have written more music for the production than he did because his cues are used repetitively so much you get very annoyed after a while.

Still, its fascinating to see this kind of production that network TV would never even touch in this day and age. The HBOs it seems are the only inheritors of this kind of "event" television with their big miniseries.

Lucas (1986): 8/10

Charming 80's teen dramedy, buoyed by the late Corey Haim's sensitive performance in the title role and the crush-worthiness of Kerri Green. And holy cow, does Winona Ryder look young in this...

Monterey Jack wrote:Lucas (1986): 8/10

Charming 80's teen dramedy, buoyed by the late Corey Haim's sensitive performance in the title role and the crush-worthiness of Kerri Green. And holy cow, does Winona Ryder look young in this...

Good movie. But I'm surprised you didn't mention the music, particularly since we know you are someone who vehemently dislikes '80s synths! lol. To be blunt, the LUCAS score irritated me far more than any of Goldsmith's electronic soundtracks...and I'm a Dave Grusin fan too, mind you. That score could've been sensitive and timeless but it's tedious and incredibly dated sounding.

Watched BAD LIEUTENANT - PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS last night.

I was prepared to laugh myself silly at Cage's antics, but I was thoroughly surprised at how well-crafted, offbeat, and ultimately rewarding the movie itself was. Hard to describe, but well cast (loved seeing Fairuza Balk again for the first time in what seems like forever), well scored, well shot, and ultimately redemptive in nature...and I loved how the end tied into the beginning. He might be a BAD lieutenant, but some of his motivations were good -- they were just clouded in bad, BAD judgment (and drugs!). I liked where Herzog took the ending to a place I wasn't sure it was going to go.

Eclectic to be sure, but I really enjoyed it.

AndyDursin wrote:Good movie. But I'm surprised you didn't mention the music, particularly since we know you are someone who vehemently dislikes '80s synths! lol. To be blunt, the LUCAS score irritated me far more than any of Goldsmith's electronic soundtracks...and I'm a Dave Grusin fan too, mind you. That score could've been sensitive and timeless but it's tedious and incredibly dated sounding.

Yeah, I generally like Grusin, but there's really no reason he had to go all-electronic on the film. Nothing else in the movie really dates it noticably (maybe some of the hair), but the score is pure 80's synth Velveeta.

And I don't mind the synths in some of Goldsmith's 80's scores...so long as they were just used as support for an actual orchestra. Something like Extreme Prejudice, however, is tortuous. Like 70 minutes' worth of "chigga-CHIGGA-chigga-CHIGGA" electronic woodchiper noise. Baby has some annoying Casio Fart moments, but the second half of the score is filled with exciting Rambo-styled action music.

BTW, someone mentioned this on the IMDB, but doesn't the 80's-era Kerri Green bear a striking resemblance to Harry Potter star Emma Watson?

Excellent caps MJ, you're right!

Heh, maybe they'll cast Watson in the inevitable Lucas remake.

ANVIL: THE STORY OF ANVIL (2009) - 10/10. Maybe I'm biased since I like heavy metal music (some of it), but this was a great documentary. On the one hand these dudes should give it up, but on the other hand, I can't help but hope that they find financial success with their endeavors because they are so determined and believe so deeply in their music. And I was actually moved a few times during the film...genuinely moved. This is a fun documentary that will annoy some but will entertain others.

DIAMOND HEAD (1963) - 7/10. I never cared for Yvette Mimeux as an actress, and she overacts several times in this film. However, I am convinced that Charlton Heston was one of the best actors to ever come out of Hollywood. He is so commanding and I liken him and his on-screen presence to Japan's Toshiro Mifune...both were iconic and dominated the screen with their presence and talent. It's a bold film (with some disgusting implications and moments), but some of the casting was a bit weird and didn't work. I am going back and watching movies that were scored by John Williams which I haven't seen yet, and this score is pretty good. Not the best film I've seen, but decent.

I watched Blade Runner again the other night.

I've seen this film countless times -- probably six or seven of which were on the big screen (I was fortunate to grow up in a town with a major university that frequently screened classic films) -- but this movie never fails to amaze me.

It is probably still Ridley Scott's best film. Certainly it is his most visually-impressive -- and one of his most influential. Blade Runner seems barely dated at all, and its radically inventive art direction and photography remain as arresting today as when the film was first released. The effects work is also impressive even by today's standards -- and in some ways even better. (I watched the film with a friend who had never seen it before, and he was amazed it was released in 1982, observing that the effects were more convincing than anything you see in movies these days.)

Vangelis' music -- realized on "primitive" analog synthesizers -- likewise gives no sense of being nearly 30 years old.

But beyond that Blade Runner is an extraordinarily introspective character study, exploring the repercussions of scientists playing God, and examining what it means to be "human". There isn't a whole lot I can say about this film that hasn't been said before, except that I dare say it is the finest science fiction film ever (yes, better than 2001).

Giant Behemoth (6.5 of 10). A nice 50s monster flick that benefits from a decent build-up that makes the final reel with the monster well worth the wait.

Ten demerits to the awful, pretentious commentary track on the DVD of Phil Tippet and Denis Muren who reveal in their constant disdain for the fact that the monster doesn't appear in the first two minutes the problem with modern filmmaking and their contempt for story and plot, and desire to just give us non-stop FX from start to finish.

KICK-ASS -- Ironic for a movie that's supposed to be, to some degree, a spoof of conventional comic books that this vibrant movie from Matthew Vaughn is more energetic and just plain alive than most of the comic book movies we've seen, especially of late.

Playful, violent but not particularly sadistic, hilarious, hip without being smug, well edited and with a great soundtrack, this is as close to a free-wheeling comic book movie as I'd want to see -- the kind of movie Tarantino's movies TALK about being but aren't, and packed with laughs, action and memorable lines.

I also fail to see where Roger Ebert was coming from here in his moral outrage. He clearly took this movie literally when it's just as much of a fantasy as any other comic book. Even if its concept is that it's set in a world without heroes where people take physical punishment like anyone else, the movie is still a piece of fantasy -- how else would an 11 year old girl fly through the air killing bad guys? She takes a few punches at the end, but it's not nearly as mean spirited as he indicated and it's not sadistic. Never for a second did I equate that with a real 11 year old being physically abused. It's just a movie, and I can't imagine most viewers watching this film couldn't figure that out.

Even Nicolas Cage puts in an eclectic and satisfying performance, and overall I have to confess I enjoyed nearly every scene in this film. Maybe it's not for everybody, but it certainly satisfied me in a way few movies have of late.

9/10

Dr. No (9 of 10). The film that started it all now looks amazingly more and more quaint in light of its limited budget, and the fact that it is forever the only Bond movie made without any self-conscious awareness of them being part of a phenomenon. That only serves to increase its watchability overall.

Eric Paddon wrote:Dr. No (9 of 10). The film that started it all now looks amazingly more and more quaint in light of its limited budget, and the fact that it is forever the only Bond movie made without any self-conscious awareness of them being part of a phenomenon. That only serves to increase its watchability overall.

I also love DR.NO. One of my favorite Bonds...the Blu-Ray is also utterly gorgeous in every way. For me it was like seeing it for the first time.