The upcoming AVENGERS movie is probably one of my top three most anticipated films for 2012. I figured I should at least see the stand alone flicks before catching the group movie. CAPTAIN AMERICA and THOR are the two I need to see, so here is the first…
Continue reading ‘johnlink ranks CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011)’
I’ve found that the HBOGO ap on the iPad is great for ‘smaller’ films. I don’t think I’d watch BEN HUR on it, but it is very suitable for those movies which may not need picture perfect clarity. The image is very good when all is well, but there is periodic ghosting or degradation of image as the movie plays out. Once or twice it may crash (though this is rare). The quality on the iPad is perfect for watching a small little horror film I’d never seen called WRONG TURN. This concludes the iPad endorsement which I (sadly) do not get paid for.
I have always known that Kenneth Branagh had starred in and directed a suspense flick in the early 90s called DEAD AGAIN. What I did not know was that the movie costarred Andy Garcia, Emma Thompson, Robin Williams, Derek Jacobi, and Wayne Knight. Or that it was about people being reincarnated as other people. Or that it was batshit crazy. Go figure.
This is a cat-and-mouse movie I remember liking very much, with Rene Russo as the cat and Pierce Brosnan as the mouse. A very rich mouse who likes to steal hundred million dollar paintings, but a mouse no less. Mix in direction by John McTiernan of DIE HARD fame, and this has a decent pedigree. SOME SPOILERS BELOW.
Continue reading ‘johnlink ranks THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (1999)’
There aren’t too many behind-the-scenes folks who trump all others in recognition. 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH is a Ray Harryhausen film. That it was directed by Nathan Juran is trivial. It is Harryhausen’s name which conjures, in many, a particular style of stop-motion monster mayhem.
Continue reading ‘johnlink ranks 20 MILLION MILES TO EARTH (1957)’
Having seen far too few of the Oscar films, I watched the opening with Billy Crystal and then turned on HALL PASS. I thought about watching an Oscar winner of the past, perhaps even BLACK SWAN (which I vow to watch within the next month). Instead I somehow ended up watching this comedy from fellow Cumberlandites the Farrelly Brothers.
I try not to let these rankings get in the way of my normal movie selection. However, I am all too aware of a huge number of films that I have yet to rank. I’m trying to shrink that list while also experiencing as many films that are new to me as possible. This seems to be a year, so far, of mostly getting some previously seen films ranked. Of the nearly 30 movies I’ve watched this year, a good two-thirds are pieces I had watched before. This is all an unnecessarily long way of saying that last night’s watching decision was partly a desire to see a really good movie again, and partly born from a realization that CATCH ME IF YOU CAN had not yet appeared on these ranking pages. Thanks! I knew you’d care!
Continue reading ‘johnlink ranks CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (2002)’
I went to the store last night and purchased Miller High Life. In cans. I’ve been drinking so much good beer all winter that I needed something to cleanse the palate. I am a beer snob, so I’m pretty sure these are the first actual cans of beer I’ve purchased since college (not counting widget cans like Boddington’s, Belhaven, or Guinness). Watching SWIMFAN must have been, on a subconscious level, born out of a similar urge. I’ve seen many good films already this year and needed something to reset the gauge a little bit. Sometimes there is a reason that mediocre art exists.
I’m woefully behind on recent movies. I’ve seen none of this year’s Oscar flicks, and precious few of last year’s. 127 HOURS is one that I really have been wanting to see, as James Franco is an actor who used to be pretty mediocre, but who has really grown into a fine performer over the past couple of years.
Did a series ever fall off the map faster than the MATRIX trilogy? It has a weird place in history where the first is an icon which influenced a decade’s worth of science fiction films. On the other hand, defenders of the series’ conclusion are few and far between. The Wachowski Brothers went from being sci-fi darlings to just another pair of also-rans. I loathe the remake/reboot cycle. But I am confident that I will be seeing a return to the MATRIX in another decade or two, as someone else attempts to get it all right.
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