A brief and random handful of recently watched films, rated on a 0-4 star system.
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me ***
(1992/David Lynch/2nd Viewing)
It always makes me laugh when someone associated with a film like Wolverine or Star Trek talks about how important it is to make the movie right “for the fans”. Please. For better or worse, those films are calculated efforts to draw gigantic summer blockbuster numbers. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me was a challenging enough movie for me, and I’m a big fan of the show. I would assume this to be an absolute mindbender for the casual viewer. An effort “for the fans” if there ever was one.
Bad Day at Black Rock ***
(1955/John Sturges/1st Viewing)
Spencer Tracy plays a man visiting a southwestern U.S. village, where the townsfolk have a dark secret to hide. A short and fun action drama with an all-star cast.
The Palm Beach Story **
(1942/Preston Sturges/1st Viewing)
The fourth Preston Sturges film I have seen. The story isn’t as creative as that of his best film, Sullivan’s Travels, but as usual the dialouge is top-notch. A solid but not great screwball comedy
Waking Life ***
(2001/Richard Linklater/1st Viewing)
I had been wanting to see this one for a while and finally got to it. This animated film brings some of Linklater’s trademark dialouge into a dream sequence that lasts (debateably) the entirety of the movie.
Lynch *
(2007/Soren Larson/1st Viewing)
Documentary following David Lynch, one of my favorite directors, through the creative process involved in the making of his recent film Inland Empire. Sadly, this film doesn’t provide anything too insightful toward the man and seems overlong despite a runtime of just 82 minutes.
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit **
(1956/Nunnally Johnson/1st Viewing)
Gregory Peck plays a war veteran trying to balance his family life, his new job, and his memories. Its a hell of a performance that makes a movie that would drag otherwise very watchable. This isn’t even close to Peck’s best movie, but it is among his best performances.
