** 1/2
THE BICYCLE THIEF is cheered as a Masterpiece by many, many critics. They talk about the socialist undertones, the exhibition of a stratafied Italian society, and one of the best Father/Son relationships EVER in films. Well...watching Antonio search Rome for his ticket to gainful employment is interesting, the relationship between Antonio and Bruno is sweet and compelling, and the desperation is palpable. However, I didn't see the film as much more than a man looking for his stolen bike. It is like a serious, Italian version of PEE WEE'S BIG ADVENTURE. Man loses bike. Man wants bike. Willing to go to great lengths to get bike. End scene.
After I watched PINOCCHIO, I went to my Mom and started badgering her. How could she let my childhood pass by without ever introducing me to this classically wonderful Disney film. It has bright colors, wonderful animation, great music, scares, adventure, and just all-around magic. This is by far, one of the greatest animated films ever, and it shows that Disney has been so successful over the years not ONLY because of their always being on the cusp of animation technology, but because they can tell a heartfelt story like no other studio can. 
I hope if they make a Buster Keaton biopic in the coming years, they hire John Hannah of the MUMMY series. Their resemblance is uncanny. This silent film is actually pretty impressive as it shows a riverfront town being ripped apart by a storm. Forget the fact that the library has no books in it when the walls fall down, it is a 1928 SILENT FILM. The constant physical comedy of Keaton is also a hoot. Of course silent films are hard to keep interest as seen by the modern cinephile, but this film is pretty fun. 
My bar is set pretty high when it comes to the zombie movie. I have a good scare movie (28 DAYS LATER), a good action movie (DAWN OF THE DEAD -2004), and a good comedy (SHAUN OF THE DEAD). 1978's DAWN OF THE DEAD has no idea what genre to fit in. Is it a comedy? I mean...people are hitting zombies in the face with pies. Is it action? If it is, the action gets incredibly repetitive. Is it social satire? That is where it is most successful with the zombies wandering through a mall image. Overall, it is just a mish-mash of every genre possible stuffed into a zombie movie. It is fun to watch, but modern zombies are so much more entertaining. 
I can't believe I had never seen this film before. As a rule, I usually hate slasher movies because they only exist to find newer and more graphic ways to kill stupid people. The original HALLOWEEN is positively Hitchcockian, full of suspense and foreshadowing and with deaths that can hardly be called graphic. I felt like I was watching JAWS while stitting through this film. You know there is a powerful, deadly force out there...you get glimpses of it...and you are scared out of your mind in anticipation. GREAT stuff. There is a scare in this film where something breaks a window...it took me almost 15 minutes to calm down after that one. I love being scared!!! 
Darren Aronofsky is quite an original filmmaker. The only misfire I have seen of his is THE FOUNTAIN, which was still oddly fascinating. THE WRESTLER and REQUIEM FOR A DREAM are fantastic films. His first film, PI, is madness...but a good madness. Watching this man either work out the mysteries of the universe or slip into insanity is very exciting. He is trying to find out an equation that can predict the stock market, which leads him to Jewish Mysticism, the Golden Ratio, and the madness that comes with unhinged obsession and genius. The High contrast Black & White are a nice touch since it just adds to the insane atmosphere. Quite original, and quite interesting. 
This film is so "Noir" that is is almost a hilarious parody. The main character never says anything that isn't full of despair and his voice-over is full of corny puns and metaphors that make you chuckle instead of adding weight to the story. The woman the main character runs into never says anything that isn't curt, powerful, and acid. She is so full of anger you wonder how she functiuons in society. That all being said, the whole thing is actually pretty entertaining. It never elevates to exciting or tense...but it is silly enough, and short enough, that you can find ways to enjoy yourself. 
This is a truly riveting movie. Peter Lorre looks like a psychotic cartoon character, and portrays a pedophile/murderer hiding out in a German City. The police force is becoming more and more desperate, taking more and more rights from their citizens in order to catch the murderer. With that huge police presence, the underworld becomes more agitated and tries to track him down as well so their will be some relief. Just a great procedural with that whole Nazithing hanging over the head of filmmaker Fritz Lang. Totally resonates today with the whole concept of what rights we are willing to give up to feel safe. Not bad for a movie that is 78 years old. 
This sequel is SO much better than the original. The Bride doesn't even show up until the last 2-3 minutes, so that isn't even it. The Monster is so much well thought out...being more sympathetic and tragic a creature. But besides that...the whole endeavor is a bit more tounge-in-cheek and full of exagerated performances. We actually get a scientist more crazy and eccentric than Henry Frankenstein. hahaha. A lot of fun...in a silly/creepy kind of way. 
Now...THIS movie "classic" I don't get. I was expecting to be mesmerized as I was with 1931's DRACULA, but this film was just so INCREDIBLY corny and stupid. There is no arching storyline and the monster is nothing but a bumbling child. How people differentiate this film from Ed Wood-stylecamp is beyond me. When the spoof on this film, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN,actually improves on the SERIOUS part of the Frankenstein myth...then you know you failed. Ugh. I just don't get why this film is praised so highly.
This is actually the first "Spaghetti Western" I have seen, and it is certainly enjoyable. There is hardly any plot and it is too long...but Eastwood and Wallach are fantastic to watch, Sergio Leone is more of a visual artist than a director, and Ennio Morricone's iconic theme is so brilliantly anachronistic that it elevates every single scene. That final standoff at the cemetary is gloriously overblown. Clocking in at 3 hrs long, it was a bit of a chore getting through it...but it had a lot to admire and enjoy. 
This is my kind of movie. I love the concept about the Nazi's throwing all of the master escape artists from the war into the same, "unescapable" prison compound...unwittingly hording together the best prison-break minds around. Every second of this 3hr movie is devoted to the master plan of escape, with no fluff thrown in about the War or friendship. Just the escape. And it held my interest the entire time. I was a bit surprised about the morbid final moments, but surprise is always welcome. That theme is so catchy, I have been whistling it all day!! 
Not quite the American cinematic masterpiece that I was expecting, but there is a lot in this classic to admire. The WRITING is some of the best I have ever heard...and probably what single-handedly holds the movie together. I also LOVED Brando's performance. Lastly, the dramatic evolution of Michael from removed GI to Mafia Don is executed flawlessly. Quite impressive. 
This film has the same problem as Brian De Palma's 2006 film, THE BLACK DAHLIA. It is filled with the best actors, the most amazing production design, flawless costumes, and perfect music. The problem with this is that it makes theseperiod crime pieces feel stagey and completely artificial. It is hyper-reastic, almost to the point of surrealism. It is entertaining enough...but ROAD TO PERDITION did this genre so perfectly...so see that one instead. 
James Cameron's sequel to Ridley Scott's classic is as exciting and innovative as its predecessor. I still don't think it is the masterpiece that it is hailed as, but Weaver's Ripley is certainly an iconic action heroine. That shot of the aliens up in the ceiling will definitely give me nightmares. The Alien franchise, including the Alien Vs. Predator installment, is a lot of fun. 
As this film, inspired by H.G. Wells, opens, I was pretty impressed with its premonition about a major war that crosses the globe. When said war lasts 30 years, wipes out most of the human race, and leads civilization into a cliched futuristic utopia...it got a little corny. I was impressed by the effects this movie pulled off back in 1936, but the acting is hammy and the message is a bit ridiculous, especially when the filmmakers were about 100 years off on their prediction of a flight to the moon. "Progress!!! Why Always PROGRESS!!! Can't the human race just relax??" See what I mean?? 
Nothing really happens in this movie, but with Bogart's charisma and the ridiculous quartet of Robert Morely, Peter Lorre, Ivor Bernard, and Marco Tulli...BEAT THE DEVIL is a lot of fun. I think they were all trying to figure out how to stake claim to an African Uranium deposit while stranded in Italy, but the movie is about how clueless brilliant people can be, how anxious being stranded can make people, and how interchangable love and marriage can be. No grand scheme lke other Bogart movies; just simple, enjoyable, light-heartedness. 
Oh my God!!! It's CORTISONE!!! This is one of those medical paranoia movies where a timid family man takes Cortisone for a life-threatening disease, only to turn psychotic. I guess this is because the drug was discovered only a few years before th film, because today, people inject Cortisone pretty readily to help sore knees. The whole movie reminded me of the Simpsons episode where Bart takes Focusyn, and goes a bit bonkers, but wants to protect his regiment. It is a bit silly, but I can't say that I wasn't entertained. Oh...and is that Walter Matthau?? 
It is strange that soon after seeing the masterful CITIZEN KANE, I witness another Orson Welles film that pales so thoroughly in comparison. The story is pretty simple...where Welles plays a Nazi war criminal in hiding and Edward G. Robinson is the FBI man hell bent on discovering him. I even liked Welles' performance...but there is no "big scene", no elaborate direction or set design...and ultimately...nothing distinguishing. 
Truly horrifying, truly grotesque, and completely impressive. I feel like I have seen movies like this forever...movies where an alien life form can take the form of humans, and humans become increasingly paranoid about each other. Never before has it been done so well as in this film. The make-up effects could be cheesy and silly in a lesser movie, but John Carpenter makes them nightmarish. I can't believe I had never seen this film before.