Bill Paxton

Bill Paxton. Paxton is going to be remembered for his comedic performances in James Cameron films (even near dark (bigelow) was produced by Cameron). He’s absolutely essential in these blockbusters. Paxton also directed frailty and gave a great performance there. He gets a chance to shine as lead in a simple man and I absolutely love his small comedic role in true lies. best film: aliens Best lead film : a simple plan most overrated:  he’s never been nominated for an Oscar, and I haven’t seen his tv work so it’s hard for me to say he’s overrated in anything. I

Bill Paxton2020-07-03T10:31:44+00:00

They Live – 1988 Carpenter

Stars wrestler Roddy Piper and Keith David- who I love Carpenter’s score here might be the real star- it’s fantastic Carpenter is clearly influenced by Romero (which he mentions in the film) 50’s sci-fi (he loves 50’s movies in general if you look at the influence of hawks’ rio bravo on assault on precinct 13. There’s a lot of invasion of body snatchers here Very anti-yuppie and anti-reagan. “I came here to kick ass and chew bubblegum… and I’m all out of bubblegum” The entire film has achieved cult status but the overly long (purposefully) fight between the two

They Live – 1988 Carpenter2017-02-28T18:07:36+00:00

Dirty Pretty Things – 2002 Frears

Strong ensemble led by Chiwetel Ejiofor, Audrey Tautou- Ejofor, in particular, is excellent Film about the haunting and seedy underbelly of London, immigration and the black market Ejofor plays a moral man (something he’s very good at as witnessed in 12 years) forced into an impossible world/situation Visuals are highlighted by some muted green and yellow florescent blends that bleed in nearly every scene Part of a very eclectic oeuvre for Frears Modest film- not in top 20 of 2002 Recommend

Dirty Pretty Things – 2002 Frears2020-07-03T10:31:44+00:00

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution – 1976 Herbert Ross

  Ross is not a great artist but he made 6 archiveable films, including this one, between 1972 and 1981 Strong performances from V. Redgrave, Arkin (playing Freud), Olivier in supporting turns The set designs are attractive- some really nice shots of Vienna I’m not 100% on Duvall’s English accent (he plays Watson)- I couldn’t tell if it was actually bad or just distracting seeing him when you’ve mostly been used to his southern drawl for so long The coke scenes aren’t exactly easy rider or midnight cowboy drug montages but still- again- solid Entertaining and smart film Not

The Seven-Per-Cent Solution – 1976 Herbert Ross2019-12-28T22:06:23+00:00

The Razor’s Edge – 1946 Goulding

Anne Baxter, Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, John Payne, Clifton Webb and Herbert Marshall make for a near perfect ensemble. Power and Payne aren't great actors but give some of their best work here (payne is only better in miracle on 34th street which would come the following year) First time seeing it 2/25/2017 Fox’s big prestige picture in 1946 There were apparently 89 sets built specifically for the film and it shows. Pretty amazing décor Intelligent adaptation on a novel who coined the “find myself” postwar (ww1 in the book but of course 1946 is ww2) psychology. Existential crisis and world disillusionment

The Razor’s Edge – 1946 Goulding2017-02-28T14:27:10+00:00

Get Out – 2017 Peele

First archiveable film from 2017 for me- I saw I don’t feel at home in this world anymore as well and it missed the archives- it’s an entertaining miss but a miss nonetheless It’s the debut from Peele (who also wrote it) There are past cinema influences galore here- rosemary’s baby (which peele admits is an influence) is visible in the success at which Peele achieves true paranoia. There are also some touches of being john Malkovich, guess who’s coming to dinner, carpenter’s they live, and invasion of body snatchers- it’s almost always a good sign when a film

Get Out – 2017 Peele2017-07-21T17:00:52+00:00

The Getaway – 1972 Peckinpah

Peckinpah trademark here with the opening credits sequence does not disappoint. Here we have a stunning freeze frame opening Lucien ballard photography is top notch as is Quincy Jones Score (in the heat of the night). Cross-referenced IMDB and sure enough the harmonica that sounds so familiar is from Toots Thielemans who also does midnight cowboy (1969)- love it The first 10 minutes from free frame credits to montage of McQueen in jail is a stunning opening 10 minutes- it’s a brilliant wordless montage…the film never lives up to that but that alone is nearly worth a top 10

The Getaway – 1972 Peckinpah2017-02-27T18:57:35+00:00

Destiny – 1921 Lang

Not his debut (8th film according to IMDB) but my first in the archives for Lang Quite an epic with the story in 3 parts clearly influenced by Griffith’s intolerance (Mideast story line, Spanish story line and Chinese story line) Post great war pesimism "a ravaged town" Early Lang really loves his chapter breaks like the mabuse films- works here really well with the 3 part story Incredible mise-en-scene work- standouts include some of the shots with 10+ large candle and some of the lighting walking up to death’s house on the stairs Early portrayal of death- which of

Destiny – 1921 Lang2017-02-27T16:00:35+00:00

While the City Sleeps – 1956 Lang

George Sanders, Dana Andrews, Thomas Mitchell, Vincent Price and Ida Lupino are all perfectly cast and do a great job here I really don’t care for Lang’s use of fast forward here on some chase and action sequences- it’s a flaw You can clearly see the cost cutting on the exposition shots- which is, in itself, a little sad when you consider some of the create set design work Lang did in the 1920s mostly- but even still to a lesser extend in the 30’s and 40’s with some Hollywood noir Certainly comparisons can be made here with the narrative

While the City Sleeps – 1956 Lang2017-02-24T20:52:31+00:00

Julieta – 2016 Almodóvar

It’s enjoyable and certainly an archiveable film but it is minor Almodóvar The plot twists are part Hitchcock and the mise-en-scene and family melodrama part douglas sirk- as all of good Almodóvar work is One particularly interesting aspect of the film is the actress/character shift. Bunuel did this of course famously in that obscure object of desire. There isn’t that level of genius going on here but I love the devastating aging/change scene going from one actress playing Julieta to another Outside the top 10 of 2016 Recommend

Julieta – 2016 Almodóvar2017-02-24T20:44:35+00:00

Boys Don’t Cry – 1999 Peirce

It’s pure indie cinema goodness. A brilliant film. Difficult scenes- horrifying and sickening Known for the Oscar (deserving) from Hilary Swank but just as strong are the performances from Sevigny and Sarsgaard I really didn’t see enough from Peirce here in the film to put it in the top 10 of a really stacked 1999 but she also hasn’t had anything in the archive since Recommend/ Highly Recommend border

Boys Don’t Cry – 1999 Peirce2017-02-24T20:14:26+00:00

The Outlaw Josey Wales – 1976 Eastwood

Love the simple revenge story that certainly has many film counterparts including more recent updates including braveheart and gladiator. Woefully underrated in Feb 2017 at #952 on TSPDT Originally was directed by Philip Kaufman (the right stuff) but was apparently thrown overboard by Eastwood Certainly a mark of Eastwood as an auteur is the retribution themes throughout Eastwood’s career. This is pretty straightforward but certainly it’s more complicated in unforgiven, mystic river, high plains drifter and others Orson Welles apparently was an admirer of the film Amongst other things the film is well known for the continual spitting (narrative/character

The Outlaw Josey Wales – 1976 Eastwood2020-07-03T10:31:44+00:00

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