Day 108 - 4/18/08 - Movie #106
BEFORE: Still not ready to knock off those last few Westerns - but I do have a bunch of farm-related animated films on the list...
THE PLOT: When the farmer's away, all the animals play ... and sing, and dance. Eventually, though, someone has to step in and run things, a responsibility that ends up going to Otis, a carefree cow.
AFTER: I was prepared to hate this movie, but it surprised me. I'm not in favor of seeing udders on male cows (still waiting for an explanation on this...) but the story was solid, much better than "Home on the Range". Kevin James and Sam Elliott did some great voice-work, but what's the point of casting Courtney Cox and Andie MacDowell in an animated film, if there's nothing distinctive about their voices? The IMDB helped me identify them, along with Danny Glover as the mule and David Koechner, who was VERY well cast as the coyote villain.
I think my favorite part was when Sam Elliott's cow sang the Tom Petty song "I Won't Back Down", in the style of Johnny Cash (who covered the song on one of his last albums), while watching for coyotes. Again, I swear I'm not making this up.
RATING: 7 out of 10 baby chicks
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Home on the Range
Day 107 - 4/17/09 - Movie #105
BEFORE: I've been staying up much too late this week, watching Westerns...if I miss my sleep window, I'm wide awake at 3 am - which is making it tough to get enough sleep before I have to get up and go to work. I'll switch over to some shorter animated films - I do have some more Westerns to watch, but I won't have them dubbed to DVD until this weekend. This film was one of Disney Co.'s last traditionally cel-animated features, if I remember right.
THE PLOT: To save their farm, the resident animals go bounty hunting for a notorious outlaw.
AFTER: I'm usually pretty good at identifying voices in animated films, and of course I recognized Roseanne and Jennifer Tilly - but I didn't recognize Cuba Gooding Jr. as Buck the horse, and I could have sworn that was R. Lee Ermey as the goat - nope, it was Joe Flaherty. And Judi Dench as an old cow? Odd casting, or spot on? There's way too many slapsticky "animals fall down into the mud" moments - but things take a turn for the better when Randy Quaid appears as Alameda Slim, who rustles cattle by hypnotizing them with his surreal yodeling. (I swear...) Any charm, however, is negated by the most confusing chase sequence I've ever seen - if I couldn't keep track of it, how could a kid be expected to?
RATING: 3 out of 10 blue ribbons
BEFORE: I've been staying up much too late this week, watching Westerns...if I miss my sleep window, I'm wide awake at 3 am - which is making it tough to get enough sleep before I have to get up and go to work. I'll switch over to some shorter animated films - I do have some more Westerns to watch, but I won't have them dubbed to DVD until this weekend. This film was one of Disney Co.'s last traditionally cel-animated features, if I remember right.
THE PLOT: To save their farm, the resident animals go bounty hunting for a notorious outlaw.
AFTER: I'm usually pretty good at identifying voices in animated films, and of course I recognized Roseanne and Jennifer Tilly - but I didn't recognize Cuba Gooding Jr. as Buck the horse, and I could have sworn that was R. Lee Ermey as the goat - nope, it was Joe Flaherty. And Judi Dench as an old cow? Odd casting, or spot on? There's way too many slapsticky "animals fall down into the mud" moments - but things take a turn for the better when Randy Quaid appears as Alameda Slim, who rustles cattle by hypnotizing them with his surreal yodeling. (I swear...) Any charm, however, is negated by the most confusing chase sequence I've ever seen - if I couldn't keep track of it, how could a kid be expected to?
RATING: 3 out of 10 blue ribbons
Friday, April 17, 2009
High Plains Drifter
Day 106 - 4/16/09 - Movie #104
BEFORE: I know Clint Eastwood made a bunch of Westerns, but the only one I've seen is "Unforgiven". I taped this one to fill up the "Unforgiven" DVD I made, but I should probably add some of those old Sergio Leone films like "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" to my want list...
THE PLOT: A gunfighting stranger comes to the small settlement of Lago and is hired to bring the townsfolk together in an attempt to hold off three outlaws who are on their way.
AFTER: I know Eastwood's "Stranger with No Name" character is a tough guy, but when he rides into town, and kills 3 men and rapes a woman within the first 15 minutes of the film, it's a bit much. Weren't there any puppies to kick for good measure? There couldn't be anything to justify his actions - or could there? Turns out the town's got a dirty secret, the sheriff is completely useless, and some scorned outlaws are about to be released from prison. If only the mysterious stranger could somehow be persuaded to help defend the town (and I use the term "town" loosely, since it looks like Lago is made up of about 10 buildings)
This film hits a lot of the Western cliches well, but the Stranger's solution for dealing with the approaching invaders seems a lot like the end of "Blazing Saddles", when the residents of Rock Ridge built a replica of their whole town...(John Hillerman has a small role as a citizen in both films, that doesn't help.) There's also a weird symmetry here, for me, as character actor Geoffrey Lewis appears as one of the outlaws - he was also the lead villain in "The Shadow Riders" a couple nights ago.
But I thought that the morality in a Western was supposed to be very clear - the good guys wear the white hats, bad guys in black, etc. I was never really sure if the Stranger wanted to help the citizens of Lago, or extract revenge for their past injustices. If you have to destroy something in order to save it, how exactly is that any better than just destroying it? I kept expecting one of the citizens to say, "Hey, Stranger, please STOP helping us!"
RATING: 5 out of 10 shots of whiskey
BEFORE: I know Clint Eastwood made a bunch of Westerns, but the only one I've seen is "Unforgiven". I taped this one to fill up the "Unforgiven" DVD I made, but I should probably add some of those old Sergio Leone films like "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" to my want list...
THE PLOT: A gunfighting stranger comes to the small settlement of Lago and is hired to bring the townsfolk together in an attempt to hold off three outlaws who are on their way.
AFTER: I know Eastwood's "Stranger with No Name" character is a tough guy, but when he rides into town, and kills 3 men and rapes a woman within the first 15 minutes of the film, it's a bit much. Weren't there any puppies to kick for good measure? There couldn't be anything to justify his actions - or could there? Turns out the town's got a dirty secret, the sheriff is completely useless, and some scorned outlaws are about to be released from prison. If only the mysterious stranger could somehow be persuaded to help defend the town (and I use the term "town" loosely, since it looks like Lago is made up of about 10 buildings)
This film hits a lot of the Western cliches well, but the Stranger's solution for dealing with the approaching invaders seems a lot like the end of "Blazing Saddles", when the residents of Rock Ridge built a replica of their whole town...(John Hillerman has a small role as a citizen in both films, that doesn't help.) There's also a weird symmetry here, for me, as character actor Geoffrey Lewis appears as one of the outlaws - he was also the lead villain in "The Shadow Riders" a couple nights ago.
But I thought that the morality in a Western was supposed to be very clear - the good guys wear the white hats, bad guys in black, etc. I was never really sure if the Stranger wanted to help the citizens of Lago, or extract revenge for their past injustices. If you have to destroy something in order to save it, how exactly is that any better than just destroying it? I kept expecting one of the citizens to say, "Hey, Stranger, please STOP helping us!"
RATING: 5 out of 10 shots of whiskey
Wild Wild West
Day 105 - 4/15/09 - Movie #103
BEFORE: Yeah, I know...it's not exactly "Unforgiven", and the camp factor will probably be very high. But there aren't too many Westerns left on my list, and I did enjoy the Robert Conrad TV show when I was a kid. (It was basically James Bond in the old west...get it, "we'll just call him James West - brilliant!") But the movie does have Kevin Kline, and I like Kevin Kline...
THE PLOT: The two best hired guns in the West must save President Grant from the clutches of a 19th century inventor-villain.
AFTER: This movie is beyond ridiculous, well past improbable, with technology that not only was impossible in 1869, most of it's not possible NOW. Kenneth Branagh as a Southern scientist who's missing the lower half of his body is just...odd, but there's some good character work from M. Emmet Walsh and Ted "It puts the lotion in the basket" Levine. Some of the James Bond conventions apply - it's very sporting of the villains to state all their evil plans and hideout locations out loud, within earshot of the heroes! Although the film had lots of action and was fairly entertaining, the campiness overwhelmed everything else.
RATING: 6 out of 10 billiard balls
BEFORE: Yeah, I know...it's not exactly "Unforgiven", and the camp factor will probably be very high. But there aren't too many Westerns left on my list, and I did enjoy the Robert Conrad TV show when I was a kid. (It was basically James Bond in the old west...get it, "we'll just call him James West - brilliant!") But the movie does have Kevin Kline, and I like Kevin Kline...
THE PLOT: The two best hired guns in the West must save President Grant from the clutches of a 19th century inventor-villain.
AFTER: This movie is beyond ridiculous, well past improbable, with technology that not only was impossible in 1869, most of it's not possible NOW. Kenneth Branagh as a Southern scientist who's missing the lower half of his body is just...odd, but there's some good character work from M. Emmet Walsh and Ted "It puts the lotion in the basket" Levine. Some of the James Bond conventions apply - it's very sporting of the villains to state all their evil plans and hideout locations out loud, within earshot of the heroes! Although the film had lots of action and was fairly entertaining, the campiness overwhelmed everything else.
RATING: 6 out of 10 billiard balls
The Shadow Riders
Day 104 - 4/14/09 - Movie #102
BEFORE: This Western is based on a Louis L'Amour story, about two Texas brothers at the end of the Civil War, one was a Union soldier, and one fought for the confederacy. It stars Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott - get ready for the battle of the mustaches!
THE PLOT: Brothers meet up at the end of the Civil after War fighting on opposite sides. They return home only to find their sisters and brother kidnapped by ruthless raiders, so they set forth on an adventure to rescue their family.
AFTER: I think this was a made-for-TV movie, but the Encore Western channel aired it like a feature film. The music is cheezy, the acting is mostly soap-opera level, and there are fade-outs for commercials. The movie also stars Katharine Ross, last seen by me as Butch Cassidy's girlfriend, but Selleck's the standout here - he's a much better actor, but Sam Elliott's soup-strainer wins the mustache war. (sorry, Magnum!)
RATING: 4 out of 10 horses
BEFORE: This Western is based on a Louis L'Amour story, about two Texas brothers at the end of the Civil War, one was a Union soldier, and one fought for the confederacy. It stars Tom Selleck and Sam Elliott - get ready for the battle of the mustaches!
THE PLOT: Brothers meet up at the end of the Civil after War fighting on opposite sides. They return home only to find their sisters and brother kidnapped by ruthless raiders, so they set forth on an adventure to rescue their family.
AFTER: I think this was a made-for-TV movie, but the Encore Western channel aired it like a feature film. The music is cheezy, the acting is mostly soap-opera level, and there are fade-outs for commercials. The movie also stars Katharine Ross, last seen by me as Butch Cassidy's girlfriend, but Selleck's the standout here - he's a much better actor, but Sam Elliott's soup-strainer wins the mustache war. (sorry, Magnum!)
RATING: 4 out of 10 horses
Butch & Sundance: The Early Days
Day 103 - 4/13/09 - Movie #101
BEFORE: I set up my new computer yesterday, an iMac I bought on closeout (last year's model, I guess) - but it's got Mac's Leopard OS, so things should be much faster for me now that I'm off my old G3 Tower with OS9. Sort of ironic that my home computer is finally 21st-century technology, while I'm watching movies about the 19th century... Maybe I wasn't the only one who found the storyline of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" incomplete, since this prequel was made, but with Newman and Redford replaced with Tom Berenger and William Katt (yes, TV's Greatest American Hero in a Western!)
THE PLOT: A prequel chronicling the two outlaws' lives in the years before the events portrayed in the Newman/Redford movie.
AFTER: I actually think this prequel has more action than the original film, plus it is nice to see the beginning of their story, how Butch + Sundance met, why they started robbing banks, plus their first encounter with the tracker Le Fors (played by Peter Weller, looking a LOT like Keith Carradine...). Some minor continuity issues - Butch mentions the "mint train" in the first scene, then doesn't seem to know what it is later in the film...plus Sundance tells Butch his real name in this movie, but Newman's Butch is surprised when he hears it in the original film.
RATING: 6 out of 10 strongboxes (is it wrong to like the prequel a little better?)
BEFORE: I set up my new computer yesterday, an iMac I bought on closeout (last year's model, I guess) - but it's got Mac's Leopard OS, so things should be much faster for me now that I'm off my old G3 Tower with OS9. Sort of ironic that my home computer is finally 21st-century technology, while I'm watching movies about the 19th century... Maybe I wasn't the only one who found the storyline of "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" incomplete, since this prequel was made, but with Newman and Redford replaced with Tom Berenger and William Katt (yes, TV's Greatest American Hero in a Western!)
THE PLOT: A prequel chronicling the two outlaws' lives in the years before the events portrayed in the Newman/Redford movie.
AFTER: I actually think this prequel has more action than the original film, plus it is nice to see the beginning of their story, how Butch + Sundance met, why they started robbing banks, plus their first encounter with the tracker Le Fors (played by Peter Weller, looking a LOT like Keith Carradine...). Some minor continuity issues - Butch mentions the "mint train" in the first scene, then doesn't seem to know what it is later in the film...plus Sundance tells Butch his real name in this movie, but Newman's Butch is surprised when he hears it in the original film.
RATING: 6 out of 10 strongboxes (is it wrong to like the prequel a little better?)
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Day 102 - 4/12/09 - Movie #100
BEFORE: Well, for my milestone 100th film of 2009, I wanted a film that is generally regarded as a great classic - what's better than an iconic Western starring Redford and Newman?
THE PLOT: Two Western bank/train robbers flee to Bolivia when the law gets too close.
AFTER: Yes, there is some witty dialogue and interplay between the two stars, but not enough action for my tastes. A couple shootouts, sure, but the first half of the movie is just one long chase scene, which is essentially a very simple story. I'm not seeing this as a "great" Western (I prefer something like "Posse" or "The Long Riders") since the reputations of the outlaws seem to outshine their actual deeds. Also, a good story should have a beginning, middle and end, and this just seemed like one long middle part.
RATING: 5 out of 10 sticks of dynamite.
BEFORE: Well, for my milestone 100th film of 2009, I wanted a film that is generally regarded as a great classic - what's better than an iconic Western starring Redford and Newman?
THE PLOT: Two Western bank/train robbers flee to Bolivia when the law gets too close.
AFTER: Yes, there is some witty dialogue and interplay between the two stars, but not enough action for my tastes. A couple shootouts, sure, but the first half of the movie is just one long chase scene, which is essentially a very simple story. I'm not seeing this as a "great" Western (I prefer something like "Posse" or "The Long Riders") since the reputations of the outlaws seem to outshine their actual deeds. Also, a good story should have a beginning, middle and end, and this just seemed like one long middle part.
RATING: 5 out of 10 sticks of dynamite.
The Natural
Day 101 - 4/11/09 - Movie #99
BEFORE: I'll wrap up Baseball Week with this classic Redford film - it's set in the late 1930's, when men all wore hats, and women were called "dames". You can always count on Redford to play the most naive, most noble, and usually the prettiest person in the room.
THE PLOT: A baseball player comes out of seemingly nowhere to become a legendary player with almost divine talent.
AFTER: The film has more baseball cliches than you can shake a bat at - the aging manager who's got one last chance at a pennant, Roy Hobbs literally knocking the cover off the ball...the pacing is a little slow but it leads up to a great payoff. The film is stocked with these old-timey actors like Wilford Brimley, Robert Prosky and Richard Farnsworth, maybe to make Redford look young by comparison. Redford's character is supposed to be in his late 30's, but everyone calls him "Kid", and I can't tell if they were trying to be ironic or not. There are moments that are cornier than the cornfield in "Field of Dreams" - Kim Basinger plays the bad-luck temptress that puts Hobbs in a slump, and Glenn Close is the farmgirl from his past who lifts him out of it.
But, the folksiness seems appropriate for the "golden age" of baseball, and there are a solid number of those great dramatic baseball moments, where the gameplay goes into slow-motion, and the music swells...
RATING: Minus 2 (for corniness) leaves 8 out of 10 homers.
BEFORE: I'll wrap up Baseball Week with this classic Redford film - it's set in the late 1930's, when men all wore hats, and women were called "dames". You can always count on Redford to play the most naive, most noble, and usually the prettiest person in the room.
THE PLOT: A baseball player comes out of seemingly nowhere to become a legendary player with almost divine talent.
AFTER: The film has more baseball cliches than you can shake a bat at - the aging manager who's got one last chance at a pennant, Roy Hobbs literally knocking the cover off the ball...the pacing is a little slow but it leads up to a great payoff. The film is stocked with these old-timey actors like Wilford Brimley, Robert Prosky and Richard Farnsworth, maybe to make Redford look young by comparison. Redford's character is supposed to be in his late 30's, but everyone calls him "Kid", and I can't tell if they were trying to be ironic or not. There are moments that are cornier than the cornfield in "Field of Dreams" - Kim Basinger plays the bad-luck temptress that puts Hobbs in a slump, and Glenn Close is the farmgirl from his past who lifts him out of it.
But, the folksiness seems appropriate for the "golden age" of baseball, and there are a solid number of those great dramatic baseball moments, where the gameplay goes into slow-motion, and the music swells...
RATING: Minus 2 (for corniness) leaves 8 out of 10 homers.
Rookie of the Year
Day 100 - 4/10/09 - Movie #98
BEFORE: I'll keep baseball week alive with this sports fantasy film...
THE PLOT: When an accident miraculously gives a boy an incredibly powerful pitching arm, he becomes a major league pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.
AFTER: This was directed by one of the actors, Daniel Stern, so unfortunately that means that most of the acting is over-the-top, the expressions are too exaggerated. This also means that Stern's character, the pitching coach, manages to lock himself in closets or equipment rooms for most of the film, so he doesn't have to act and direct at the same time, I guess (the running joke runs thin REAL fast...) And am I supposed to believe that a National League baseball team would hire a phenom pitcher, and never prepare for the fact that he would have to bat someday? Wouldn't batting practice be required for ALL National League pitchers - so why is it such a shock to everyone when the kid has to take an at-bat? It's too cutesy and simplistic, with way too much slapstick.
RATING: 2 out of 10 strikeouts
BEFORE: I'll keep baseball week alive with this sports fantasy film...
THE PLOT: When an accident miraculously gives a boy an incredibly powerful pitching arm, he becomes a major league pitcher for the Chicago Cubs.
AFTER: This was directed by one of the actors, Daniel Stern, so unfortunately that means that most of the acting is over-the-top, the expressions are too exaggerated. This also means that Stern's character, the pitching coach, manages to lock himself in closets or equipment rooms for most of the film, so he doesn't have to act and direct at the same time, I guess (the running joke runs thin REAL fast...) And am I supposed to believe that a National League baseball team would hire a phenom pitcher, and never prepare for the fact that he would have to bat someday? Wouldn't batting practice be required for ALL National League pitchers - so why is it such a shock to everyone when the kid has to take an at-bat? It's too cutesy and simplistic, with way too much slapstick.
RATING: 2 out of 10 strikeouts
Mr. Baseball
Day 97 - 4/9/09 - Movie #97
BEFORE: Keeping the baseball theme rolling - but here it's combined with a redemption story and also a "fish out of water" story. Nothing at all like yesterday's movie about an aging baseball player looking to to recapture glory - see, this one has Tom Selleck!
THE PLOT: A fading baseball player is traded to a Japanese team and has trouble fitting into the society.
AFTER: I am spotting a common theme - this time Selleck plays the arrogant baseball pro (a NY Yankee, of course...) who has to learn humility in order to succeed on the field - but in addition, he has to learn Japanese customs and overcome a language barrier, and also face his own fears and limitations. The baseball metaphors are even more obvious here - becoming a "team player", and a sacrifice bunt is symbolic of, well, sacrifice... And there's a nice homage to "The Karate Kid" as Selleck trains, with his Japanese coach acting like Mr. Miyagi. Selleck's character does manage to teach his coach a few things about having fun with baseball, but I'm still going to have to penalize the film, though, for making baseball seem like a daily grind instead of an exciting pastime.
RATING: 5 out of 10 noodle bowls
BEFORE: Keeping the baseball theme rolling - but here it's combined with a redemption story and also a "fish out of water" story. Nothing at all like yesterday's movie about an aging baseball player looking to to recapture glory - see, this one has Tom Selleck!
THE PLOT: A fading baseball player is traded to a Japanese team and has trouble fitting into the society.
AFTER: I am spotting a common theme - this time Selleck plays the arrogant baseball pro (a NY Yankee, of course...) who has to learn humility in order to succeed on the field - but in addition, he has to learn Japanese customs and overcome a language barrier, and also face his own fears and limitations. The baseball metaphors are even more obvious here - becoming a "team player", and a sacrifice bunt is symbolic of, well, sacrifice... And there's a nice homage to "The Karate Kid" as Selleck trains, with his Japanese coach acting like Mr. Miyagi. Selleck's character does manage to teach his coach a few things about having fun with baseball, but I'm still going to have to penalize the film, though, for making baseball seem like a daily grind instead of an exciting pastime.
RATING: 5 out of 10 noodle bowls
Mr. 3000
Day 98 - 4/8/09 - Movie #96
BEFORE: Baseball week continues - as Bernie Mac plays an ex-Brewer who comes out of retirement to get three more hits.
THE PLOT: Aging baseball star who goes by the nickname, Mr. 3000, finds out many years after retirement that he didn't quite reach 3,000 hits. Now at age 47 he's back to try and reach that goal.
AFTER: It's not uncommon for a sports film to work as a morality lesson, but this one works better than most. Mac's character, Stan Ross, has to learn to be humble and unselfish in order to reach his milestone goal - and has to discover that the best kind of player is, in fact, a team player. Good supporting work by Angela Bassett and Christopher Noth. It makes you wonder what Bernie Mac himself was close to accomplishing when he passed away.
RATING: Would have been an 8, but I'm taking one away for having essentially the same climactic baseball play as "Major League" did, so 7 out of 10 souvenir balls.
BEFORE: Baseball week continues - as Bernie Mac plays an ex-Brewer who comes out of retirement to get three more hits.
THE PLOT: Aging baseball star who goes by the nickname, Mr. 3000, finds out many years after retirement that he didn't quite reach 3,000 hits. Now at age 47 he's back to try and reach that goal.
AFTER: It's not uncommon for a sports film to work as a morality lesson, but this one works better than most. Mac's character, Stan Ross, has to learn to be humble and unselfish in order to reach his milestone goal - and has to discover that the best kind of player is, in fact, a team player. Good supporting work by Angela Bassett and Christopher Noth. It makes you wonder what Bernie Mac himself was close to accomplishing when he passed away.
RATING: Would have been an 8, but I'm taking one away for having essentially the same climactic baseball play as "Major League" did, so 7 out of 10 souvenir balls.
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