B-Seide24 Reviews

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Stanley Kubrick is Pure Genius

[10/10 · 11 May 2010]

This is one of my favorite movies of all time. Stanley Kubrick did an amazing job of creating an aggressive beginning to the movie. The constant abuse of Gomer Pyle by Sergeant Hartman felt real and the versimilitude in the movie was frightening. The film also carried some of the greatest scenes in history. The scene between Pyle and Joker which awoke Sgt. Hartman was intense,raw and the words "Full metal jacket" will forever ring in the back of my mind. It also opened the eyes to the world of what an abusive drill instructor could do and what it could lead you to do.The other scene that was horrifying and the realism of the hazing of Pyle was as if you were there witnessing as a bystander. Kubrick did a terrific job of filming that scene and showing you the angst of Joker as he reluctantly gets in on the action. I feel like Stanley Kubrick attempted and completed in showing you what the Vietnam war could do to a average normal person and the aftermath of what a war like that could do.

The Exorcist (1973)

Horror movie classic

[7/10 · 11 May 2010]

I am a not of fan of horror movies so this was not the easiest movie to watch.It was a very disturbing movie for its time and still is pretty disturbing now.I feel like it had to do a lot with the questions of god vs. evil and god vs. Satan and it completely opened the world eyes to what exorcism and if it is or isn't real.I think its one of the truly greatest horror films because it pushed the envelope of what is a horror movie. It is constantly tests your mind and tampers with your thoughts to try and make you see what they want you to see. It also brings about the question of whether there is a god or divine power out there and I find that very fascinating because I tend to question that all the time. The score at the end of the movie when the demon possesses the little girl and then the priest was intense and disturbing and showed a new side of horror never seen before.Overall, it was just a really disturbing and scary movie.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Changed how people looked at the Vietnam war

[10/10 · 6 May 2010]

The opening scene of this movie is truly one of the greatest of all time. The score of "This is the End" by the doors tells a story of a man who is at war within himself and believes that time for him may in fact be coming to an end. The Fading in and out of the character as you sink into his mind and thoughts is maginificent. Coppola does an amazing job with the fades of showing you the thoughts and aspirations or fears of a man in a war, he really doesn't enjoy being in. All of this is shown in one scene. Showing just how far of the lengths Coppola went to show the pain and endearing it took a person during the war in Vietnam. Coppola wanted you to be aware of the sense of the horror, madness and the overall moral dilemma of soldiers in the Vietnam war. The film depicts a group of U.S assassins and soldiers that need to clear out a former Colonel of the AWOL and while doing this they deal with the trials and tribulations of being a soldier at the same time. I feel that at times Coppola made the movie the way it is to not only show you what was happening in Vietnam but to have you visually absorb the feelings of the people as they forego on one of the most physically and mentally challenging mission anyone could imagine.

Fargo (1996)

Coen Brothers at its best

[8/10 · 6 May 2010]

The Coen Brothers go along way to catch the essence of what life is like in a town without much crime or power. The acting is flawless with Frances Mcdormand leading the way as a pregnant police chief who is smart enough to see that something out of the ordinary is happening in the country parts of Minnesota. The whole way that the Coen's had Mcdormand and her partner access the murders and go about finding out more about it is absolutely hysterical. I am from Minnesota and many of the characters sounded a lot like the cousins and grandparents I have in the country in Minnesota. The "you betchas" and other lines are key to the realism of the film. I truly appreciate the most important part of the film though. The versimilitude and the ability of the Coen Brothers to go to extreme lengths just to show you, that in life in order to be happy and satisfied sometimes you just have to be grateful for what you have. That is why the downfall of the car salesman played by William H. Macy is so disturbing because all he had to do was ask for help and be grateful for the family that was left for him at home. The atmosphere and the depth of shots to show you the wilderness of Minnesota is breathtaking and at times you can almost feel the breeze of the cold Minnesota winter as the movie carries from scene to scene. Overall, this was one hell of a Coen Brothers film and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys dark American comedy.

The Big Sleep (1946)

Bogart and Bacall are perfect together.

[8/10 · 5 May 2010]

The most important detail to the Big Sleep is that it is what Warner Brother movies of that time were all about. Mystery and the art of making movies so complex and confusing that you must wait on the edge of your seat the whole movie just to understand. Some of the greatest things about this movie is how it went about using Innuendo and avoiding showing scenes in which Bogart may have slept with the woman he was speaking with. A perfect example of this would be when Bogart who plays Private detective phillip marlowe visits a book shop to find out some more about a man named Geiger. He does this by asking about a special edition Ben Hur that doesn't exist, but instead decides to flirt with the clerk. This turns into an innuendo filled dialogue that howard hawks was known for. The scene ends with the clerk grabbing two glasses for some whiskey and shutting the blinds and locking the door. Therefore showing that they may have had some afternoon delight in between the fadeout and when the scene begins again. The most important detail to this movie is the dialogue that is portray by the characters in the movie as it leads you from scene to scene, Howard Hawks brilliance with dialog speaks volume for this film.

Easy Rider (1969)

What a Great Film

[8/10 · 5 May 2010]

This is by far the greatest road movie of all time. I appreciate the views that Dennis hopper give you as the director of the film. Hopper did a fantastic job of following Captain America and Billy throughout the southwest and south in a journey to find "freedom" and in time whatever it is that they were looking for. It was also quinessential to see the interaction between Billy, Captain America and their new friend George Hanson played by Jack Nicklaus. After getting them released from jail and telling him they are going New Orleans, George decides to tag along. This is when he comes across marijuana for the first time. At first he is afraid because "it leads to harder stuff" but eventually trys it. This scene is so great because it truly mimics the life of what a pot smoker is, smoking and often losing the cherry on the joint due to the fact that he could not stop talking. It showed a liberation of themselves and truly adds to the depth of the movie. Without the interaction from a Non-freedom rider, you truly get to see Captain America and Billy in a light that you don't see when their just together. Their radical movement to be free and eventually escape to what there looking for puts them in some bad predicaments and eventually their demise. Easy Rider is very influential to me and I'm sure the people of that time who were looking to find a way to be "Free".

Do the Right Thing (1989)

"A Brilliant Spike Lee Joint"

[10/10 · 4 May 2010]

Spike Lee's vision and extrordinary brilliance for catching the imagination of whatever he was directing is why he is such a great director. The movie who also stars Spike Lee is a tale of a single street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn area of New York City. The movie is about the fight between African-Americans and a all-white own pizza shop that has serviced the community for 25 years. Spike Lee does this to show you the injustices between whites and blacks and how the smallest issues can turn into a riot from simple ignorance and hatred for the color of ones skin. This is shown in the final quotes of the movie which reflects the difference between MLK's Non-violence movement and Malcolm X's Violence is intelligent when in self defense. The Song "Fight the power" signifies the fight of the black man in the bedford stuyvesant community while Radio Raheem who is slain by a police officer who chokes him out so much it kills him. Radio Raheem wore a Love and Hate ring on each hand to signify the fight the African-Americans dealt with in a time when people still fought over racial issues. This is all signified in a dramatic scene of events when John Turturro, Spike Lee and others command a large number of racist terms that relate to whites and blacks and even italians which can also be seen in other Spike Lee Joint's like the 25th hour when Ed Norton spits out all the names and reasons he hates the city of new york and everyone around him. There are two things in this movie that really make me think, Would it have killed Sal to put up a black athlete in the store to please his customers and did Mookie save Sal and his son's life by igniting the riot and throwing the garbage can through the store leading the mob to go after the store instead of its owners. The question of What if crosses my mind and will forever live like that in my mind. It makes you wonder if the character Love Daddy played by Samuel Jackson was right in the beginning when he said and pleaded to the audience, "WAKE UP" and maybe thats what the neighborhood needed.

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

a very strange film noir film

[7/10 · 4 May 2010]

I Thought that overall sunset blvd was a good movie. I did find it very hard to deal with Gloria Swanson even though she played a magnificent role and casting her was perfect for the role she had. You could tell she was a silence film actress because you could see how she used expressions and looks to portray just how she was feeling or dealing with things. This is what made it very hard for me to deal with this women. I felt the director did appropriate job of selecting a cast that met the demands of the movie including Nancy Olsen who plays the woman who gets William Holdens mojo for writing back. The score and dark ominous lighting did a amazing job of portraying just how dark a road William holden's character was moving down the line and just how far and extreme it might get to escape it. This is why the beginning scene which happens to be the last scene sets off a great example of what can happen in life if you just accept things and let people start to run your life. Wiliam Holden knew there was no escaping the dark, scary tones of what Gloria Swanson's life had become because without her he truly had nothing. Overall, this movie was brilliant and strange while keeping you on the edge of your seat to see what will happen to "Joe Gillis" next.

Taxi Driver (1976)

Scorseses' and Deniro at their very best.

[10/10 · 27 April 2010]

Scorsese delivers one of the greatest Character studies of all time in this Movie about a marine-veteran who suffers from insomnia and is a very depressed and lonely man who finds comfort in dirty porn theaters. Robert Deniro portrays this character and is phenomenal throughout. Deniro plays a man who seems destined to wipe the street of the scum of the city as he continually gets angrier and angrier and violent even to a point where he shoots a man robbing a store in the back of the head without remorse. After this, Deniro becomes more and more sick of what he sees and hears in his cab in everyday life like Robberies, prostitution and drugs and decides he is destined to end it in his own way. Scorsese does this by adding a 12 yr old prostitute in which Deniro takes a liking to. He pays her to get the time to talk to her so he can try and help return her to her parents and ordinary childhood life. Scorsese's pure brilliance and directing are trademark to what this film was. A study of a man who is utterly disgusted with the way the world is and confused in which way he fits in the world. I believe taxi driver is one of the ten greatest movies of all time because of the versimiltude and realism it brings to the table. Taxi Driver tackles the issue of a man trying to find out who he is and what he can do for the world that seems to suffer around him.

The Lady from Shanghai (1947)

a very good visual movie

[8/10 · 19 April 2010]

First off, I find it amazing that this was a movie that Orson Welles had to make to fulfill his contract because it was visually brilliant and a very thought out movie. I liked the aspect of the femme fatal played by Rita Hayworth, Elsa is the main reason for all the trouble that happens in the movie. Michael played by orson welles is very attracted her although she is married and seems to go where she wants and do what she wants so it makes for quite a movie. The Visual effects in the movie during the famous Hall of Mirrors scene was one of the best I have seen from that decade of movies. It was amazing the depth that went into that scene. Orson Welles does a great job of creating a masterpiece for the eyes by creating a room filled with mirrors and using the two shooting at each other to create a kaleidoscope of images created by the broken glass. I was very surprised by this movie and I'm very glad I watched it and I recommend it to anyone with a imagination.

The Graduate (1967)

"Mrs Robinson are you trying to seduce me?"

[10/10 · 10 April 2010]

I watched this movie in my history of American cinema course and it was by far the most enjoyable film of the class. Dustin Hoffmann is as good as it gets in this 1967 film directed by Mike Nichols. Hoffmann does an amazing job of showing you what it was like for a college graduate who never really got to "live" during his college years. A truly great coming to age story and honestly now one of my top 10 favorite movies of all time. Anne Bancroft who plays the seductive wife of Braddock's fathers partner in business gives a performance for a woman that had not really seen before because of the stupid hays code. The use of cutting and ellipsis are displayed perfectly from frame to frame and adds a whole new dimension to the film. The use of the song "sounds of silence" is very key to the movie. It sets the tone for the movie and ends it perfectly, in both turns it signifies how in life, sometimes you lose the way of things and your stuck in silence trying to peace back what once was your dreams and ambitions.

Notorious (1946)

Hitchcock at his best

[8/10 · 12 March 2010]

Alfred Hitchcock directs this classic movie about two people who fall in love at the worst time you could possibly imagine. T.R Devlin played by Cary Grant is sent to the house of a daughter of a convicted Nazi spy. This is where he meets Alicia Huberman played by Ingrid Bergman who he happens to fall for. This leads to Devlin telling his superiors that Alicia is not right for this job because he is secretly falling for her, but when he returns to see Alicia he acts as if he doesn't care at all because of her past relationships. This is yet another Love story shaken by unforeseen circumstances and trust issues that are real in everyday life. Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman come together for some of the most steamy scenes you will see in the hays code era, but you could still see the restraints they gave the writers who had to have Alicia Huberman say she was sleeping with Alex Sebastian played by Claude Rains instead of actually portraying it which is pretty fascinating. Alfred Hitchcock does a great job of adding different levels of tension and fear as the movie progressed forward causing you to wonder about the Love between Grant and Huberman while wondering if you'll ever truly find out what's the true reason for the uranium. The script written by Ben Hecht is marvelous with a lot of deception and twists that keep you floating on the edge of your seat. The greatest part of this film though is the filming and the use of different shots throughout the movie. The best examples would be the POV shot when Devlin goes to meet with Alicia and the camera spins up side down with her as she looks up at Cary Grant. This shows you the very exact way she would have looked at him. The second example would be when she is drinking the cup of poison and the camera shows Bergman hallucinating two figures which happen to be Raines and his mother and eventually turn into one black blob which showed that the poison had been working and the fear that Alicia Huberman was carrying. Overall, A must see Hitchcock film that will have you scratching your head when its all over.

Mildred Pierce (1945)

Film Noir at its best

[8/10 · 11 March 2010]

Joan Crawford stars as Mildred Pierce,a divorced mother who spoils her daughters in the hope of there love and approval, especially her oldest daughter Veda. I truly felt bad for Mildred Pierce in the movie but at the same time I realized how naive and soft she had become with her daughter veda who was spectacular in playing a seductive,spoiled brat who was hungry for money. Michael Curtis the director of the film did a great job of using flashbacks and different lighting and scores to signify the mood of the people involved in each scene while leading you to the climatic action that surprises you and a twist that you would have never seen coming.

Stagecoach (1939)

The movie that made John Wayne and John Ford

[11 March 2010]

Stagecoach was a truly dazzling movie with a great cast and an even better direction. The filming of the movie was a new age of cinema with breathtaking shots that often brought long-shots of the vast monument valley to the close-ups of individuals speaking in the Stagecoach. Stagecoach set the bar for what Western's really should be like, and John Wayne gave a performance of a lifetime as the "Ringo Kid". Although most of the story took place in the stagecoach, it never seemed to bore me. I link this to the terrific job of Ford of giving many different types of characters. John Ford added round and flat characters while not entering the Protagonist into the film for at least a half an hour in. This really leaves you wondering where the movie will take you next. This keeps you on the edge of your seat while keeping you interested with everything that went on.

Casablanca (1942)

"The Original Love Story"

[10/10 · 2 March 2010]

Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman star in the greatest love story of all time. The unforeseen circumstances for which they fall in love sets the standard and the bar for all romance movies. No one will ever really truly cultivate your feelings of love and compassion like that of this movie. It is truly magnificent to watch the turmoil and decisions that face Bogart throughout the film. You can literally feel Bogart's heart fall onto the table when Bergman is seen at his club in Casablanca and the realism in the film is truly sensational.This movie was one of the first to truthfully portray realism in film and shows the world of realism in fiction. It is exceptionally beautiful how they portrayed that love can come to anyone at anytime in any situation. Sometimes that means everything else doesn't matter.The acting that Bogart and Bergman possess and show while Sam plays their song,it shows you of two lost lovers longing for answers and there will to never give up on each other despite the unforeseen circumstances that have fallen upon them.

Citizen Kane (1941)

Absolutely Mind Bottling

[8/10 · 2 March 2010]

Orson Welles destroys all competition in this 1941 American drama about a man who had everything in life that most people could want but he couldn't have the things that really mattered. This was based upon the life of William Randolph Hearst. In the movie, Kane spends his whole life and time demanding that people love him and what he is about, but when it comes to the most important things like giving love back the man is lost. The movie was extremely well done in the fact that it was revolutionary for it's time. Kane start's as just a simple man who believes that running a paper would be fun for him and help mend his new life. Throughout the movie, through the reporters eye's you begin to see that as time went on, Kane became hungry for power and it turned into a pursuit of love and fame in which he could give none of it back. No matter how much fortune the man had or could fork out, all anyone wanted him to show was love and he was incapable of doing so.

My Darling Clementine (1946)

One of John Ford's best

[8/10 · 2 March 2010]

John Ford really proves to be an amazing director in this American Western about a group of brothers trying to move there cattle to California before having them robbed and a brother killed while taking a trip into Tombstone for a fresh shave. This leads to Wyatt Earp becoming Marshall of tombstone and setting off a chain of events that no one could've predicted. Ford uses a great script and brilliant acting to magnify the feeling of the Earp's trying to find the people responsible for the Death of the youngest Earp James. A lot of the facts in this movie aren't exact according to history but it does well enough to cultivate your feelings about it without knowing the story. The Gunfight at OK Corral is incorrect because old man Clanton had died weeks before the gunfight but in the movie it makes sense to leave him alive to add suspense and drama to the movie. All of this was done with keen eyes by John Ford and he truly deserves to go down as one of the greatest western film directors of all time.

His Girl Friday (1940)

"Witty, Intelligent and Fun for everyone"

[8/10 · 16 February 2010]

Howard Hawkes creates a free for all frenzy of Love and Comedy upon The viewer and has you crying in your seat for the length of the movie. He does this by using fast-paced dialogue and constant change of character which is truly impressive for it's time. The match of Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell meshed so well that you fall in love with what's going on in the movie. Hawkes draws you in by using all the surroundings to keep your mind consistently flowing from scene to scene and uses different characters to bring about different feelings and emotions that fill you up with ideas about what my just happen next. The best way Hawke showed this was when Hildy came back to the news office and told Walter she would be quitting the business and settling down with some handsome lad. This causes Burns to take action and sets off a firestorm of events that leads to an unpredictable turn of events.

My Man Godfrey (1936)

"Very well done sketch ball Comedy"

[7/10 · 14 February 2010]

I feel like the director Gregory LaCava did a great job of depicting life in the 1930's and during the depression. It showed the ignorance and downright arrogance of the upper class in that era. The fact that the rich did stupid treasure hunts that involved bringing in "Forgotten Men" was ignorant and i'm glad LaCava points that out. I believe the director did a fine job of selecting a cast that simulated a rich family and a humbled rich "Parkes of Boston" played by William Powell who was nominated for an Academy award for his portrayal of Godfrey Smith. His peer wit and superior acting leaped off the screen and led to an enjoyable,lovable comedy for the ages.

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)

" a Dark look into what chain gangs were"

[8/10 · 3 February 2010]

I am a fugitive from a chain gang is an accurate depiction of how people were treated on a chain gang. The Realism you see in the eyes of Paul Muni as he worked on the chain gang would put fear into anyones eyes. It would make you think twice about doing a wrong or crime because you wouldn't want to end out on the line. The scores in the movie were so good that they got an academy award nomination for Best Recording and sound. The scores set the stage for life on a Chain Gang and also matched the feeling of what was going on at the moment. The best example would be when Allen James(Paul Muni)finds out that he won't be getting pardoned from the chain gang. He clutches his head and the music takes off in a climatic,loud and scary abstract beat that makes you feel the pain and suffering that he was going through.

Scarface (1932)

"Scarface is the original gangster film"

[10/10 · 3 February 2010]

Paul Muni is brilliant as Tony Camonte, a ruthless unforgiving gangster with little care for the people around him. Muni did a great job of playing a gangster and really seemed to fall in love with his role. The Cigarette smoking and the nice suits and nice cars are a accurate depiction of what the Gang era was in America. A very key part of the movie was a scene when Tony gets his hand on a Tommy Gun for the first time. The Tommy Gun represented Violence and a new power in the North side of town. The Tommy Gun would mark a new time for the gangster's and a more dangerous one at that. Muni's laughter after this moment depicts how sick and deranged the golden age of gangs were and how fun they actually had causing trouble for everyone around them. Also,Like in I am a fugitive of a chain gang(in which Paul Muni also stars) they made sure to show the gangsters or fugitives in the films would face a bad ending just as in real life,if you ever were involved in gangs or crimes that were bad for society.

The General (1926)

"Buster Keaton at his best"

[9/10 · 3 February 2010]

Buster Keaton stars as Johnny Gray a Engineer in the Southern Railroad who loves Annabelle Lee. His Character is not allowed to join the southern army in the civil war because as an engineer he is valuable to the south. I never thought a Silent film would make me laugh and intrigue my mind as much as it did. Buster Keaton does a terrific job as he navigates the general back to safety and back to the south. The Sequences and Cuts in the film were so smooth you couldn't tell when a new scene stopped and another began. The stunts he also performed going from rail-car to rail-car while maintaining speed on the General were simply amazing and unheard of at that time. To learn that he did his own stunts is truly amazing because of the difficulty involved in doing them, any of which were spectacular if not dangerous. Keaton does a great job of being funny also, using everything around him at his disposal whether it be the wood he cuts up to fuel the train, or the things he does when he is off the train, he makes simple things so interesting. He also shows the courage of a man trying to get his train back and the unwillingness to give up and his will to prove everyone who doubted him on his way back to the south.

The Unknown (1927)

A must see movie from the Silent Era

[7/10 · 3 February 2010]

I watched the unknown in my History of American Cinema course and was amazed by how creepy the movie was and how disturbed I really was by the end of the movie. It crossed boundaries for a film of such an early time and their use of color and background sound was far beyond it's year, while they didn't speak you could feel the pain and anguish in Lon Chaney(Alonzo)as the movie went forward. . Tod Browning used a pulse-binding, mind-spinning score that makes you wonder, What will Alonzo do next?It was my first silent film I ever watched and i believe it will be one of the best i will ever watch. The level of realism isn't exactly likely because this movie really takes itself into a whole other realm of movie genre, into the Unknown consciousness and really gets you thinking about how far people can go for Love or for a woman. Joan Crawford and Norman Kerry also put in great performances. Norman Kerry as the Malabar the Mighty and Joan Crawford as a good looking innocent woman named Nanon in which both Alonzo (chaney) and Malbar played by Norman Kerry want her love. I felt like the three main characters synced together and put in a performance i won't forget. Truly a must see movie.