Jedbu wrote:This has to be director George Cosmatos best work, which isn't saying much when you consider that his two best known films besides this one are COBRA (one of the few films I have walked out on) and LEVIATHAN.

Leviathan is a better-known movie than Rambo: First Blood Part II?

Sorry-forgot that one-so used to associating it with Stallone I forgot about Cosmatos involvement in it. Still, TOMBSTONE is a much better film by far.

TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN (1970) - 6.5/10. I am going back and watching all of Woody Allen's films because I just decided it was time to watch them all again. I think this was a pretty good directorial debut; I like the documentary feel of the film, and although it gets absurd at times I think there are some great one-liners and moments in the film. I loved the music jokes in the film, especially when Virgil's cello teacher says in the interview that Virgil "...had no conception of the instrument...he would blow into it."

BANANAS (1971) - 6.5/10. Like his first film, this has some great moments that still really make me laugh. I love the whole courtroom scene at the end, and I had forgotten that Howard Cosell was in the film. The commercial towards the end for New Testament cigarettes ("I smoke 'em....He smokes 'em...") still makes me laugh. I like that this was a bit of a change from the documentary feel of the first film, and the physical comedy is great. Hamlisch's score is also spot-on. Overall a very entertaining film.

PLAY IT AGAIN SAM (1972) - 6/10. Although Allen didn't direct this one, he did write the stage play and screenplay. Again, great one-liners throughout the film, and I think he found gold in Diane Keaton who really steals the movie. Watching it now in the age of cell phones and i-Phones and all that stuff made me laugh more with Tony Roberts' obsessively letting everyone know which phone number he would be at. It's a decent film.

HANNA.

Very effective, taut thriller. It's not full of original ideas, and is along the lines of a "Bourne" movie, but the twist is the protagonist is an adolescent girl. Saoirse Ronan is wonderfully sympathetic in the title role and really carries the film. Supporting cast (including Eric Bana, Jason Flemyng and Cate Blanchet -- of whom I'm not a big fan) are also very good. The plot device which sets things in motion seemed very implausible to me but the film moves so well it's easy to excuse this.

Unfortunately the "score" by The Chemical Brothers is beneath abominable. In fact you really can't even call it music, since it's nothing more than a bunch of loops and rudimentary percussion tracks. It's a shame because this film needed a strong, melodic orchestral score to humanize it.

THE LINEUP (1958). 8.5 of 10. I bought the set of Columbia Film Noir Classics strictly for this film, because it's the only chance to see anything associated with the 1950s TV series of the same name that has literally vanished without a trace over the years. If the TV series was just halfway like this film version (in which series star Warner Anderson reprised his role as Lieutenant Ben Guthrie), then I really need to find as many episodes as I can! Outstanding "Dragnet" style procedural approach but on a higher level with the San Francisco location photography. The theatrical version allows for more licenses of the day violence wise with Eli Wallach having top billing as a menacing hit man for a drug smuggling ring.

HANNA - 6/10

Well, that was strange.

On the one hand Joe Wright brings a lot of unusual "artsy" flourishes to a very basic and not especially developed story that, as Paul mentions above, is kind of like a "Bourne Identity" for teenagers. The cinematography was terrific in particular.

On the other, I did not find it dramatically compelling, some of the "fairy tale" aspects are shoved down your throat (even brought back a second, third, fourth time, just to make sure we missed them first time!), it has a very odd "European" vibe with the horrific soundtrack and Tom Hollander is ridiculously cast as a bad guy with a bad blonde dye job. The revelations about the plot were predictable, there weren't nearly enough twists and it gets derailed with lengthy "atmosphere" scenes that don't add much of anything to the story. Cate Blanchett with her heavy Texas accent was also unbelievable, but I suppose in a movie where the characters are more like archetypes than real people that it didn't matter.

Ultimately I found it to be one long chase movie -- ultimately pointless, mostly unpleasant and also unbelievably violent. This now takes the cake for the most graphically violent PG-13 film I've ever sat through. Apparently endless streams of torture, beatings and killings are all just fine if you cut away seconds before they happen -- and there are a TON of them in this movie. So much that CASINO ROYALE with Daniel Craig looks like a G rated Disney film.

There's no doubt the MPAA has a serious problem when THE KING'S SPEECH gets an R for a few profane words and HANNA nets a PG-13. Just unbelievable.

AndyDursin wrote:This now takes the cake for the most graphically violent PG-13 film I've ever sat through. Apparently endless streams of torture, beatings and killings are all just fine if you cut away seconds before they happen -- and there are a TON of them in this movie. So much that CASINO ROYALE with Daniel Craig looks like a G rated Disney film.

There's no doubt the MPAA has a serious problem when THE KING'S SPEECH gets an R for a few profane words and HANNA nets a PG-13. Just unbelievable.

I honestly had no idea what the movie was rated when I saw it, and was genuinely surprised when I saw the PG-13 title card flash at the end of the credits. Sad that a couple of F-bombs is considered more damaging to children than endless gunplay, bloody beatings and general amorality.

AndyDursin wrote: ...it has a very odd "European" vibe with the horrific soundtrack...

I got into an argument on FSM in the thread devoted to this "score". I'm mystified at how anyone could be on any level impressed with this music, much less want to spend money on a CD and listen to it.

It's noise -- random loops and rhythm tracks with no pattern or architecture. The Chemical Brothers are DJs. I question whether or not they even merit the status of "musicians".

There seems to be a lot of noise in film scores these days. I have listened to what I can
of HANNA and I agree with you Paul. Social Network is another one that I do not care for,
but I have not seen how it effects the movie and I probably never will! Now, you and Andy
liked TRON : LEGACY, which I have purchased (by request of my son) and absolutely hated
it. But, we did buy the BU-Ray/DVD of TL and after watching the film (not really that good
of a movie), the music worked for the movie, it is just one of those that is not a stand alone
score! The goal for today is the watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. We did
not see this in the theater, but have listened to the score multiple times, now it is time to
see how the two work together.

People either like an electronic score or dislike it. As for HOOSIERS, I love this score by itself
and I think Goldsmith composed what was needed to make HOOSIERS a great classic!! The
people that do not like it are either not sports fans and do know what a "HOOSIER" is! Yes, it
is not a big orchestral Goldsmith score, but it worked! I remember when HOOSIERS came out,
Paul was excited about a new Goldsmith movie called something like "Who's ears!", I started
laughing!

Paul MacLean wrote:

AndyDursin wrote: ...it has a very odd "European" vibe with the horrific soundtrack...

I got into an argument on FSM in the thread devoted to this "score". I'm mystified at how anyone could be on any level impressed with this music, much less want to spend money on a CD and listen to it.

It's noise -- random loops and rhythm tracks with no pattern or architecture. The Chemical Brothers are DJs. I question whether or not they even merit the status of "musicians".

I read some of that thread...I haven't seen the movie or heard the score, but I imagine based on your comments that I really wouldn't like it. In non-film score music, I have little tolerance for DJ type stuff because that's not music to me and I don't understand why people are lifted up as brilliant artists when all they're doing is pushing buttons on some program somewhere to make noise. Pick up an instrument and learn it!

Mike Rhonemus wrote:Social Network is another one that I do not care for,
but I have not seen how it effects the movie and I probably never will! Now, you and Andy
liked TRON : LEGACY, which I have purchased (by request of my son) and absolutely hated
it.

Actually I still haven't heard it.

Mike Rhonemus wrote:I remember when HOOSIERS came out,
Paul was excited about a new Goldsmith movie called something like "Who's ears!", I started
laughing!

Well hey, I never followed basketball or visited Indiana! In any case I think Hoosiers is one of Goldsmith's best scores.

mkaroly wrote:I have little tolerance for DJ type stuff because that's not music to me and I don't understand why people are lifted up as brilliant artists when all they're doing is pushing buttons on some program somewhere to make noise. Pick up an instrument and learn it!

Yeah, even Vangelis or Hans Zimmer -- even though they never learned to read music -- can at least play instruments!

"Scores" like Hanna disturb me because film music is now being placed in the hands of people who aren't composers, but are able to create "music" by throwing a few switches, mixing and matching samples from other peoples' work and adding some prefabricated loops. It takes no musical talent whatsoever.

[youtube]oRQY0Si3dBo&NR=1[/youtube]

But, we did buy the BU-Ray/DVD of TL and after watching the film (not really that good
of a movie), the music worked for the movie, it is just one of those that is not a stand alone
score!

I hated the Chemical Brothers' HANNA, and I found THE SOCIAL NETWORK's score to be just okay (nothing I would want to hear on its own, but it fit the film appropriately), but I truly did enjoy the TRON LEGACY score. I think it brought the best aspects of electronic music together with orchestral film scoring -- it had a theme, the music had some energy and it pushed the film forward. It wasn't just noise like the HANNA score. Clearly they recruited actual film composers together to assist in the score's creation, whether it was Bruce Broughton or a number of others -- which is something Paul mentions wasn't the case with HANNA.

Is TRON LEGACY a GREAT score? No. But it was fresh, effective, different and really helped the film's momentum a great deal. For me it works fine as a standalone album if you enjoy some of the tracks (a little tends to go a long way), which I think a lot of people did given the album sales. It also was routinely mentioned in reviews as being one of the best elements of the film, which is something you hardly see.

These days, that's almost as good as it gets for me in film music...which is sad, but true.

WHAT'S UP, TIGER LILLY? (1966) - 4.5/10. Although not directed by Woody Allen, he took a Japanese movie and overdubbed it with his voice and others from a troupe. Some of it is so absurd as to be dumb, but I had to admit there were some pretty good lines in the movie and it is generally a fun film to watch for what it is.

EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX...BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK (1972) - 2/10. This is, for me, one of his least unfunny comedies. I admit that I enjoy the spoof on Italian films, and Gene Wilder's vignette was kind of funny as well (just because Wilder is a good actor). But overall there is something so...disturbing about this film. It's just weird to me....almost negative or bitter. I'm not sure how to describe it, but my opinion of it hasn't changed since I first saw it.

SLEEPER (1973) - 8/10. Diane Keaton was a great find for Allen. This film has a lot of what I like about early Woody Allen comedies: there's a ton of physical humor (a la Chaplin and Buster Keaton), and the verbal humor was light, sharp, and quick. Allen and Keaton exhibited good chemistry together and was arguably his best leading lady. After seeing this film again I actually liked it more this time around; it is playful and just fun...and it's full of great lines. From the premise to the setting in the future, to the re-enactments of a Jewish household and Keaton doing her best Marlon Brando (I think), this is just a really fun comedy. "It's better than keen! It's...coogat!"

mkaroly wrote:But overall there is something so...disturbing about this film. It's just weird to me....almost negative or bitter. I'm not sure how to describe it, but my opinion of it hasn't changed since I first saw it.

I saw it with an audience when I was in college. I liked the "Court Jester" segment mainly for the casting -- Anthony Quayle and Lyn Redgrave as the king and queen, and more especially the ingenious choice of Geoffrey Holder as the wizard.

But I was in hysterics on the floor during the "What's My Perversion?" sequence. Seriously, I almost suffocated I was laughing so hard. Likewise the crossdresser segment. The "Giant Breast" segment really had me going as well. And then we get cameos from Tony Randall AND Burt Reynolds in the "Ejaculation" episode (Andy, am I going to get banned for using these terms?) I haven't seen the film since then and I might not find to entertaining today but rarely have I laughed so hard at a movie.

mkaroly wrote:From the premise to the setting in the future, to the re-enactments of a Jewish household and Keaton doing her best Marlon Brando (I think), this is just a really fun comedy

Love the film but felt the Passover dinner scene stopped it dead in its tracks. I felt Keaton worked best as the straight "man" to Allen's schtick. I found her Brando impression and the dinner scene very tedious. Otherwise there is no shortage of side-splitting laughs in that film -- the "monster pudding", the orgasmatron, slipping on the giant banana peels, etc.

I recently watched Crime and Misdemeanors, which I think is his best film. It effectively blends two very different stories -- one very grim and the other considerably lighter, but each making some perceptive (and disturbing) observations about human nature (and cleverly intersecting them at the end).

For me, MANHATTAN will always be Allen's masterpiece-one of the best widescreen black-and-white films ever made, and one of the most poignant endings to a film in years.

As for EVERYTHING...SEX, I have always found it very uneven, but the "What's My Perversion" and "...Orgasm" sequences are priceless, but the part that just slays me is in the opening "Court Jester" sequence, where Allen is wandering throughout the castle:

"TB or not TB, that is the congestion. The question is, consumption be done about it? Of cough, of cough!" The puns are horrible, but when one of the guards listening to this turns and walks away muttering "Oh, Jesus!" I literally hit the floor the first time I saw it, and it always gets me.