Day 203 - 7/22/09 - Movie #203
BEFORE: The last De Niro film (for now) - I've got just enough time to watch this film before heading to the airport - for my annual trip to Comic-Con, of course. I didn't have time for every single De Niro film, just the ones in my collection - I'd like to track down and watch "Heat" and maybe "Ronin" someday...
THE PLOT: In a countryside town bordering on a magical land, a young man makes a promise to his beloved that he'll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm.
AFTER: I did read the book by Neil Gaiman that this was based on, though it was a while back and I didn't remember all the elements of the complex plot. The movie seemed to leave some big gaps and didn't do the best job of explaining everything - like where exactly is the fantasy realm, in relation to England? What powers exactly do the witches have, what are the rules of succession for the princes to become king, and where does the unicorn come from? It just seems like the story is being written on the fly...
It's got elements seen in a lot of other fantasy stories, thrown into a blender, to complicate the story of Tristan (who might be half magical himself) who crosses over into the magic realm to find a star, which looks an awful lot like Claire Danes (not that that's such a bad thing). But damn, Michelle Pfeiffer looks good, even as an old(er) witch. Also a good cameo by Ricky Gervais as a talkative mythical shopkeeper, with Peter O'Toole as the King and Rupert Everett as one of the 7 princes who hope to be heirs to the throne of Stormhold.
RATING: 7 out of 10 lightning bolts - even with a couple plotholes, it's still a very thrilling fantasy quest.
DENIR-O-METER: 8 - though he doesn't show up until halfway into the film, De Niro's Capt. Shakespeare - a ruthless sky pirate who's also light in the loafers - is the most interesting character in the film. But seeing the former Travis Bickle dancing in a dress? Some things you just can't un-see.
That's it, pack up the DeNir-O-Meter, I've worn it out. I'll try to post reports from San Diego if I can figure out how to get a laptop to access wi-fi inside the convention center.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
New York, New York
Day 202 - 7/21/09 - Movie #202
BEFORE: You see what I did there? Following last night's New York-themed movie with another one...ironic because I'm packing for San Diego at the same time... Wait, the running time is 2 hours, 43 minutes? I don't know if I can stay up late enough to watch this whole movie - I wish I had watched it on the weekend, when I had a little more time. I bought this DVD last week at the $5.99 DVD store, on my boss' recommendation.
THE PLOT: An egotistical saxophone player and a young singer meet on V-J Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.
AFTER: De Niro and Liza Minnelli? They seem like a horribly mismatched couple, except for when they're performing together in the swing band. It's an uneasy partnership, made difficult by De Niro's Jimmy Doyle, who's a typical 1940's male chauvinist. When Minnelli's Francine tries to have an opinion on anything, he has a Travis Bickle-like tantrum.
Unfortunately, the segments between the tantrums and the musical numbers are long, slow, and fairly pointless - this could have been edited a LOT tighter. It's also unfortunate that Jimmy and Francine can't ever be successful at the same time - when one's up, the other's down, and the one who's down is always jealous of the other's success. Plus it gets confusing later in the film, with Liza Minnelli playing Francine Evans playing Peggy Smith in a Broadway revue.
RATING: 4 out of 10 microphones. I might have ranked it higher if I found Liza attractive, but she always has that astonished look, like she was just punched in the face.
DENIR-O-METER: 7 - Jimmy Doyle is actually a complex character, representing the way I think a lot of men treated women back in the 1940's, as they reacted to women becoming more independent. It's a combination of love, disrepect and borderline abuse that today might be diagnosed as bi-polar, but back then was all too common.
22 De Niro films down, and just 1 more to go...
BEFORE: You see what I did there? Following last night's New York-themed movie with another one...ironic because I'm packing for San Diego at the same time... Wait, the running time is 2 hours, 43 minutes? I don't know if I can stay up late enough to watch this whole movie - I wish I had watched it on the weekend, when I had a little more time. I bought this DVD last week at the $5.99 DVD store, on my boss' recommendation.
THE PLOT: An egotistical saxophone player and a young singer meet on V-J Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.
AFTER: De Niro and Liza Minnelli? They seem like a horribly mismatched couple, except for when they're performing together in the swing band. It's an uneasy partnership, made difficult by De Niro's Jimmy Doyle, who's a typical 1940's male chauvinist. When Minnelli's Francine tries to have an opinion on anything, he has a Travis Bickle-like tantrum.
Unfortunately, the segments between the tantrums and the musical numbers are long, slow, and fairly pointless - this could have been edited a LOT tighter. It's also unfortunate that Jimmy and Francine can't ever be successful at the same time - when one's up, the other's down, and the one who's down is always jealous of the other's success. Plus it gets confusing later in the film, with Liza Minnelli playing Francine Evans playing Peggy Smith in a Broadway revue.
RATING: 4 out of 10 microphones. I might have ranked it higher if I found Liza attractive, but she always has that astonished look, like she was just punched in the face.
DENIR-O-METER: 7 - Jimmy Doyle is actually a complex character, representing the way I think a lot of men treated women back in the 1940's, as they reacted to women becoming more independent. It's a combination of love, disrepect and borderline abuse that today might be diagnosed as bi-polar, but back then was all too common.
22 De Niro films down, and just 1 more to go...
Night and the City
Day 201 - 7/20/09 - Movie #201
BEFORE: To follow "Raging Bull", this film stars De Niro as a boxing promoter - and it co-stars Jessica Lange, who was also in "Cape Fear".
THE PLOT: The story about a cheating and incompetent lawyer (Harry Fabian) who suddenly gets obsessed on becoming a boxing promoter.
AFTER: See, this is what I wanted to see - a film about boxing (not just about one boxer) - the things a promoter has to do, like arranging the arena, choosing the contenders, concessions, etc. We see very little actual boxing in the film, but really it's about running any business in New York - the shady deals, cash payments made to city officials, the a-holes in press and public relations one has to deal with. De Niro's lawyer-turned-promoter Harry Fabian keeps borrowing money and making compromises, until it's impossible for him to put on a show AND turn a profit. Good supporting work from Alan King, Jack Warden and Eli Wallach.
RATING: 6 out of 10 posters
DENIR-O-METER: 6 - though it's tough to tell whether to root for Fabian or not, but I guess maybe that's the point.
BEFORE: To follow "Raging Bull", this film stars De Niro as a boxing promoter - and it co-stars Jessica Lange, who was also in "Cape Fear".
THE PLOT: The story about a cheating and incompetent lawyer (Harry Fabian) who suddenly gets obsessed on becoming a boxing promoter.
AFTER: See, this is what I wanted to see - a film about boxing (not just about one boxer) - the things a promoter has to do, like arranging the arena, choosing the contenders, concessions, etc. We see very little actual boxing in the film, but really it's about running any business in New York - the shady deals, cash payments made to city officials, the a-holes in press and public relations one has to deal with. De Niro's lawyer-turned-promoter Harry Fabian keeps borrowing money and making compromises, until it's impossible for him to put on a show AND turn a profit. Good supporting work from Alan King, Jack Warden and Eli Wallach.
RATING: 6 out of 10 posters
DENIR-O-METER: 6 - though it's tough to tell whether to root for Fabian or not, but I guess maybe that's the point.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Raging Bull
Day 200 - 7/19/09 - Movie #200
BEFORE: Aw yeah, crossing another big, important film off the list tonight - and people said it wouldn't last... TWO HUNDY! 200 films this year, that's got to be the most films I've ever watched in a calendar year - so now that I'm in the routine, there's nothing left to do now but go for 300, or even 365...
THE PLOT: An emotionally self-destructive boxer's journey through life, as the violence and temper that leads him to the top in the ring, destroys his life outside it.
AFTER: I admit to not knowing much about the sport of boxing, but this is the sort of film that makes me want to learn more - the logistics about who gets a shot at the title, how and why a boxer takes a "dive", etc. This film works fine as a biopic of a specific boxer, and some of the boxing footage is spectacular, but I wish there was more information about the boxing, since some of the parts in between tended to be a little boring. With the exceptions, of course, of a couple notable interactions between Jake LaMotta and his wife and brother, when his paranoia and suspicion got the better of him.
My original plan was to follow this film with a bunch of other boxing films, like "Million Dollar Baby", "Cinderella Man" and "The Hurricane" - but my Comic-Con trip's going to get in the way here. So instead I'm going to finish out my De Niro chain, head to San Diego, and hopefully pick up the boxing thread when I get back.
RATING: 6 out of 10 body-blows (and a left hook)
DENIR-O-METER: 8 - not just for the weight gain in playing LaMotta, but for the unique combination of disappearing into the role, and still shining through when it counted.
BEFORE: Aw yeah, crossing another big, important film off the list tonight - and people said it wouldn't last... TWO HUNDY! 200 films this year, that's got to be the most films I've ever watched in a calendar year - so now that I'm in the routine, there's nothing left to do now but go for 300, or even 365...
THE PLOT: An emotionally self-destructive boxer's journey through life, as the violence and temper that leads him to the top in the ring, destroys his life outside it.
AFTER: I admit to not knowing much about the sport of boxing, but this is the sort of film that makes me want to learn more - the logistics about who gets a shot at the title, how and why a boxer takes a "dive", etc. This film works fine as a biopic of a specific boxer, and some of the boxing footage is spectacular, but I wish there was more information about the boxing, since some of the parts in between tended to be a little boring. With the exceptions, of course, of a couple notable interactions between Jake LaMotta and his wife and brother, when his paranoia and suspicion got the better of him.
My original plan was to follow this film with a bunch of other boxing films, like "Million Dollar Baby", "Cinderella Man" and "The Hurricane" - but my Comic-Con trip's going to get in the way here. So instead I'm going to finish out my De Niro chain, head to San Diego, and hopefully pick up the boxing thread when I get back.
RATING: 6 out of 10 body-blows (and a left hook)
DENIR-O-METER: 8 - not just for the weight gain in playing LaMotta, but for the unique combination of disappearing into the role, and still shining through when it counted.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Cape Fear
Day 199 - 7/18/09 - Movie #199
BEFORE: Another De Niro performance that got a lot of buzz over the years, which I never just sat down and watched before - which is the point of this whole exercise. I admit a couple of the De Niro films in the last couple weeks have been fillers to pad out the list - but not this one. Should be all thriller, no filler...
THE PLOT: A convicted rapist, released from prison after serving a 14 year sentence, stalks the family of the lawyer who originally defended him.
AFTER: The first time we see De Niro's Max Cady, he's doing those crazy "Travis Bickle" push-ups - then a few scenes later we see him in a movie theater, laughing hysterically while watching the film "Problem Child" - so now we know he's clearly deranged!
I never saw the original version either - but it's a real nice touch to include both Gregory Peck AND Robert Mitchum from the original in small roles here (and Martin Balsam too, I later found out...) Also appearing are Joe Don Baker and "Law & Order's" Fred Dalton Thompson.
Max Kady is an obvious villain (maybe a little too obvious) but Nick Nolte's Sam Bowden isn't exactly innocent either, in fact he's sort of responsible for the monster's creation. My recurring theme this week seems to be - "Do two wrongs make a right?" Or in this case, three - we have Kady's original crime, Bowden's improper acts defending him as a lawyer, and then Kady stalking Bowden's family in retaliation. So clearly two wrongs DON'T make a right, and it's Bowden's family (and anyone else in the immediate area) that pays the price.
Kady's willing to go a very long way to prove his point - the final 1/2 hour is absolutely gripping, and Kady's like the Energizer Bunny of movie villains. Shoot him, stab him, burn him, he just keeps on going.
RATING: 8 out of 10 cigars
DENIR-O-METER: 10 - for bringing the full-on crazy
BEFORE: Another De Niro performance that got a lot of buzz over the years, which I never just sat down and watched before - which is the point of this whole exercise. I admit a couple of the De Niro films in the last couple weeks have been fillers to pad out the list - but not this one. Should be all thriller, no filler...
THE PLOT: A convicted rapist, released from prison after serving a 14 year sentence, stalks the family of the lawyer who originally defended him.
AFTER: The first time we see De Niro's Max Cady, he's doing those crazy "Travis Bickle" push-ups - then a few scenes later we see him in a movie theater, laughing hysterically while watching the film "Problem Child" - so now we know he's clearly deranged!
I never saw the original version either - but it's a real nice touch to include both Gregory Peck AND Robert Mitchum from the original in small roles here (and Martin Balsam too, I later found out...) Also appearing are Joe Don Baker and "Law & Order's" Fred Dalton Thompson.
Max Kady is an obvious villain (maybe a little too obvious) but Nick Nolte's Sam Bowden isn't exactly innocent either, in fact he's sort of responsible for the monster's creation. My recurring theme this week seems to be - "Do two wrongs make a right?" Or in this case, three - we have Kady's original crime, Bowden's improper acts defending him as a lawyer, and then Kady stalking Bowden's family in retaliation. So clearly two wrongs DON'T make a right, and it's Bowden's family (and anyone else in the immediate area) that pays the price.
Kady's willing to go a very long way to prove his point - the final 1/2 hour is absolutely gripping, and Kady's like the Energizer Bunny of movie villains. Shoot him, stab him, burn him, he just keeps on going.
RATING: 8 out of 10 cigars
DENIR-O-METER: 10 - for bringing the full-on crazy
Friday, July 17, 2009
Marvin's Room
Day 198 - 7/17/09 - Movie #198
BEFORE: De Niro and DiCaprio again, this time with Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton also in the mix...
THE PLOT: A leukemia patient attempts to end a 20-year feud with her sister to get her bone marrow.
AFTER: Boy, DiCaprio really had a lock on those juvenile delinquent roles in the 1990's. Diane Keaton plays Bessie, the "good sister" who had put her life on hold to take care of her senile father, and Streep plays Lee, the hairdresser who smokes and can't control her older son, and hasn't spoken to her sister in 20 years. It seems a little overly simplistic, but gets made more complicated when Bessie develops leukemia, and contacts her sister for help.
It's OK as plots go, but there's zero resolution - a bit like someone forgot to finish the movie and left it 2/3 done.
RATING: 5 out of 10 medicine bottles
DENIR-O-METER: 4 - De Niro plays it straight as a nice-enough, simple doctor. He didn't really shine, but didn't offend either.
BEFORE: De Niro and DiCaprio again, this time with Meryl Streep and Diane Keaton also in the mix...
THE PLOT: A leukemia patient attempts to end a 20-year feud with her sister to get her bone marrow.
AFTER: Boy, DiCaprio really had a lock on those juvenile delinquent roles in the 1990's. Diane Keaton plays Bessie, the "good sister" who had put her life on hold to take care of her senile father, and Streep plays Lee, the hairdresser who smokes and can't control her older son, and hasn't spoken to her sister in 20 years. It seems a little overly simplistic, but gets made more complicated when Bessie develops leukemia, and contacts her sister for help.
It's OK as plots go, but there's zero resolution - a bit like someone forgot to finish the movie and left it 2/3 done.
RATING: 5 out of 10 medicine bottles
DENIR-O-METER: 4 - De Niro plays it straight as a nice-enough, simple doctor. He didn't really shine, but didn't offend either.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
This Boy's Life
Day 197 - 7/16/09 - Movie #197
BEFORE: Just about a week left in my De Niro Fest - and when it ends, I'll be just about ready to board the plane for San Diego. From a 1940's setting we move to the 1950's, for this period piece co-starring Ellen Barkin and Leonardo DiCaprio.
THE PLOT: The story about the relationship between a rebellious 50s teenager and his abusive father, based on the memoirs of writer and literature professor Tobias Wolff.
AFTER: It's a battle of wills between DiCaprio's Toby and De Niro as his stepfather, Dwight. It seems for a while like things might work out, since Dwight at first just acts like a normal, dorky guy - even when we learn that Dwight's a little strict, Toby seems like a kid who could use a little more discipline in his life, maybe even a few boxing tips. But when Dwight turns into an abusive tyrant with impossible house rules, the relationship doesn't seem so constructive, and Toby starts looking for a way out. He tries to get out of Concrete, Washington (great name, BTW) by applying to a prep school, which means changing his school record and forging some recommendation letters - so again I question, do two wrongs make a right?
The school representative who interviews him was played by Gerrit Graham, who I happened to meet in the real world this past Monday...weird. I've probably seen him in a bunch of movies, though I might have mistaken him for David Paymer...though after reviewing his IMDB profile, the only movie I can confirm is "C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud" (don't ask).
RATING: 5 out of 10 merit badges
DENIR-O-METER: 6 - for pulling off a quirky, dorky, bullying meathead. That seems like it might have been a difficult balance to obtain.
BEFORE: Just about a week left in my De Niro Fest - and when it ends, I'll be just about ready to board the plane for San Diego. From a 1940's setting we move to the 1950's, for this period piece co-starring Ellen Barkin and Leonardo DiCaprio.
THE PLOT: The story about the relationship between a rebellious 50s teenager and his abusive father, based on the memoirs of writer and literature professor Tobias Wolff.
AFTER: It's a battle of wills between DiCaprio's Toby and De Niro as his stepfather, Dwight. It seems for a while like things might work out, since Dwight at first just acts like a normal, dorky guy - even when we learn that Dwight's a little strict, Toby seems like a kid who could use a little more discipline in his life, maybe even a few boxing tips. But when Dwight turns into an abusive tyrant with impossible house rules, the relationship doesn't seem so constructive, and Toby starts looking for a way out. He tries to get out of Concrete, Washington (great name, BTW) by applying to a prep school, which means changing his school record and forging some recommendation letters - so again I question, do two wrongs make a right?
The school representative who interviews him was played by Gerrit Graham, who I happened to meet in the real world this past Monday...weird. I've probably seen him in a bunch of movies, though I might have mistaken him for David Paymer...though after reviewing his IMDB profile, the only movie I can confirm is "C.H.U.D. II: Bud the Chud" (don't ask).
RATING: 5 out of 10 merit badges
DENIR-O-METER: 6 - for pulling off a quirky, dorky, bullying meathead. That seems like it might have been a difficult balance to obtain.
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