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Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
We need a negative scale for this..
I've seen a lot of senseless and juvenile films in my day and have a pretty thick skin. This movie stunk and was insulting at every level.. Just for kicks, whenever I see a repulsive stinker I look at the ads to see what stiff had to sell their soul to give any cred to an outright bomb. As I saw this well after the DVD release, it was too late to scan newspaper print blurbs, but I'm floored that Ebert gave it three stars and the IMDb User rating is +6. I haven't seen formulated, brainless, waste-of-time drivel like this in years, and that's saying a lot. I'm even incensed over who dignified this crap with a cameo! Would anyone know how Tim Robbins got into this? Vince Vaughn?
The Bank Dick (1940)
Highest % of classic comedy lines in history!
There may be water cooler cult comedies (Caddyshack, Marx Brothers, etc..) and there are generations of machine-gun comics (a la Henny Youngman, Dangerfield), but this film is riddled with Field's signature classics.
Ninety percent of Field's complete dialog/script should be automatically dumped in the Memorable Quotes section, granted one has any sense of Field's remarkable delivery/demeanor. "He fell out of a window and my friend caught him on the first bounce" is just one of many gems. The visuals ("but allow me to give you another hearty handshake") and mannerisms (closing tophat scene) are the best of the genre.
This is time capsule material..
Birth (2004)
I tried but I could not find a way..
Sorry I don't have time to read the 800+ word explanations of all the missing pieces that passed by me, but I gave my honest 'DVD effort' (replaying ANY section I felt I needed to) to this and came away with less then nothing. Cerebral mood painfully vaporizes after what you think is finally the payoff.
I rated it a '2' for some subconscious Kidman factor or guilt (leftover kudos from Dogville and Moulin Rouge) and its marginal urbane feel.
There were at least a couple shots that dragged on uncomfortably long (the theater closeup for one) which is counter-intuitive to any analysis..
You generally can't quantify cinema, but so much more has been done with much less.
(Yes, my Summary title text is Roxy Music)
Robbery Homicide Division (2002)
So refreshing vs East Coast Law&Order(s) wannabes..
It may wear thin but so far two for two. Sizemore's quirks, real issues (so far cops for hire/scandal, gangs), and a very current juxtaposition of that great and tarnished "to protect and serve" enigma work very well.
Even with great casting and good writing, East coast based cop shows are embarrassing predictable and dangerously thin (How big is the L&O franchise now?). And let's can both CSI's - Vegas crime lab as big as Quantico? In Miami, Caruso and Delaney still have those psycho NYPD Blue nauseating 'quiet and tense' personas.
I abhor helicopter MOVIES so I can't explain why I thought the opening episode's 'Air Unit' tracking was so cool as a very routine fact of life in L.A. "Bag 'em" in L.A. is a stun shot, not your gritty and cute 'body bag' line back East. One hairline crack already though.. why didn't they stun him a second round instead of forcing his hand and wasting him on the front lawn??
Thumbs Up! Let's go 4KING20!
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Another Hollywood Miscasting Homicide
Here again we have another fascinating story to tell (a la `Abre Los Ojos') and 'Surprise! Surprise!' it takes the Hollywood formula route. The script rework actually dumbs-down to 'rye' rather then bleached white (that's a compliment), but the cookie-cutting casting was as bad or worse then 'Bonfire'. Three pretty faces and that's a wrap!
Cruise barely works. Cruz's puppy-face treacle was unbearable - I'm ready for Adam West to do Shakespeare before I suffer through another movie with her. And bonus! Diaz with semi-cerebral dialogue! I think we've got another Diane Keaton here..
Do you sense a little hostility? This is textbook Tinseltown at its worse, actually deconstructing art.
Kiss of the Dragon (2001)
Surely there must be better.. spoiler?
I can rationalize that some people sadly can't get enough 'action' movies and live for the next stinking Hollywood helicopter scene. What I can't understand is how Brig Fonda does this crap.. and what an unrealistic plot - psycho-cop lets her live past the first ten minutes. Had to walk out on this one. Maybe she needs a new pool and is refusing scripts a la Dan Ackroyd?
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Must See - Mensa 'Dumb and Dumber'
They just don't write 'em like this often enough. Fantastic dialogue and reat storyline adaptation, not to mention cinematography and soundtrack.
The three leads couldn't be cast any better.. anyone who has seen any work of Turturro or Clooney will honestly be floored by their original performances and the newcomer to the trio is PERFECT.
If you're not having a "classic movie" feeling by the time they've finished eating dinner at Turturro's "kin's" house, go sneak out and watch another movie at the MegaPlex.. you "ain't" gonna get it..
Final Analysis (1992)
Insipid Waste of Time..
Gere is just going through the motions, being the 'tool' that he is, and Basinger is a mindless mannequin. Plot? Hitchcockian? So juvenile.. an insult that any review even mentions Hitchcock in the same breath.. A spiral staircase in a lighthouse, that's not Hitch..
Made in Canada (1998)
9.5 of 10
We get this in Dallas on Friday nights on PBS as "The Industry".
I'm not sure what's stopping this show from being a perfect 10.. great cast and writing, IMPECCABLE cinematography.. maybe Bonus points for veracity of vanity and precision of mannerisms and quirks. Maybe a micron weak when 'out of the office' doing 'Beaver Creek' shoots..
The age old adage.. "Why can't Hollywood.. "