All posts by Tony Hughes

1982, Animated, Feel Good For All

The Dark Crystal (1982)

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From NetFlix:

In this fantasy adventure, the Dark Crystal — which served as the font of balance and truth — cracked 1,000 years ago, beginning an age of chaos. To restore order to the planet, Jen, the last of the Gelfling race, begins a quest to find a missing shard and heal the crystal. If he doesn’t complete his mission before the conjunction of three suns arrives, the evil Skeksis will rule forever. Muppets creators Jim Henson and Frank Oz co-directed.

Jim Henson, of muppet fame and now deceased, created this
puppetry masterpiece. The detailed scenes (especially the swamp)
were marvels to look at. It was NOT a popular success. It is not
animation. You have to be in the mood for a slow moving masterpiece.
In fact, watching the turtle-like wisemen lumbering along sets the tone.

I wonder if some of the scenes might not actually scare really small
children.

2007, Feel Good Not For Children, Spanish

Ladron Que Roba a Ladron (2007)

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From NetFlix:

A pair of reformed crooks team up to pull one more heist. Their target? Master con artist Moctezuma Valdez (Saúl Lisazo), a popular television infomercial pitchman who’s gotten rich by swindling countless unsuspecting immigrants. The former thieves attempt to recruit some of their criminal cohorts to help pull off the plan, but when they refuse, the two turn to day laborers to participate in the elaborate robbery scheme

(Thieves robbing thieves). This is a C-film. When I was first learning
Spanish I watched telenovelas (Spanish soap operas) on Spanish TV.
Every different series featured the same set of actors and actresses
but in permutated roles. Here I am years later watching a film from CD
which again features many of those same actors (in more “mature”
roles). It is a Robin-Hood story in which a gang of people cooperate
to steal from a TV snake-oil saleman who deceives poor immigrants.
Bad robber keeps his cash in a vault in his palace. Good robbers
concoct an elaborate scheme (think “Oceans 17”) to tunnel into
his house, etc. But what is different is the Latino philosophy and
moralizing. It’s only C but I got a kick out of it. There are plot
twists, even in this wannabe.

1995, Violent

Desperado (1995)

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From NetFlix:

Writer-director Robert Rodriguez’s indie debut and his big-budget follow-up are both featured on this disc. Sundance Film Festival winner El Mariachi chronicles the travails of a traveling musician (Carlos Gallardo) who’s been mistaken for an assassin who carries his weapons in a guitar case — and whom the local crime lord wants dead. In Desperado, the mariachi (Antonio Banderas) returns — this time seeking revenge. Salma Hayek co-stars.

Antonio Banderas was so impressed with El Mariachi that he wanted
to do it over again in Hollywood style and spent a fortune doing it.
Expect crazy technical violence. This is NOT a great film !!!!!!!!!!

1992, Spanish, Violent

El Mariachi (1992)

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From NetFlix:

Writer-director Robert Rodriguez’s indie debut and his big-budget follow-up are both featured on this disc. Sundance Film Festival winner El Mariachi chronicles the travails of a traveling musician (Carlos Gallardo) who’s been mistaken for an assassin who carries his weapons in a guitar case — and whom the local crime lord wants dead. In Desperado, the mariachi (Antonio Banderas) returns — this time seeking revenge. Salma Hayek co-stars.

Robert Rodriguez made this film in Mexico for $9000 which is,
of course, absurdly low. He could shoot each scene only once.
For a beginner in Spanish, this is the perfect film because the
Spanish is terse and very easy. This is a violent film.

Once CD contains both “El Mariachi” and “Desperado”. Try to see “El Mariachi”
before watching “Desperado”.

2003, DO NOT MISS, Feel Good For All

The Station Agent (2003)

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From NetFlix:

When his only friend dies, a young dwarf named Finbar McBride
( Peter Dinklage) relocates to an abandoned train station in rural New
Jersey, intent on living the life of a hermit. But his solitude is soon
interrupted by his colorful neighbors, which include a struggling artist
( Patricia Clarkson) coping with the recent death of her young son and a
talkative Cuban hot dog vendor ( Bobby Cannavale).

This is a true, eccentric, and warm independent film. For me, so far, it is Peter
Dinklage’s best.

2007, Feel Good Not For Children

Death at a Funeral (2007)

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From NetFlix:

The funeral for the patriarch of a wealthy but eccentric British clan is turned topsy-turvy when a stranger appears claiming to be the dead man’s gay lover in this dramedy directed by Frank Oz and starring Peter Dinklage, Matthew Macfadyen and Rupert Graves. The dysfunctional family grows wackier as the deceased’s sons decide they can’t let the rest of the guests get wind of this revelation. But can they get the cat back into the bag?

Peter Dinklage shows up at a funeral with proof that he was the dead father’s lover. This British slap stick comedy made me laugh a lot so I classified it in the list as feel-good B-movie. It’s an easy watch if you just want to relax. It is a bit crude and thus not for children.

Peter Dinklage is the only dwarf movie star I can name. “Death at a Funeral” is not his best and not an important movie. To appreciate Peter Dinklage, you should really watch “The Station Agent”

Save “Death at a Funeral” for a down day.

2007, Unusual

The Darjeeling LImited (2007)

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From NetFlix:

Following the death of their father, three brothers (Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman) embark on a journey on the cross-India train the Darjeeling Limited and attempt to reconnect after years of physical and emotional distance. The trip also opens up some old wounds and proves that their sibling rivalry can never be completely erased. Natalie Portman and Anjelica Huston co-star in Wes Anderson’s lyrical comic drama.

Another disfunctional family film (not the viewers, the characters ). Three brothers (including a heavily bandaged Owen Wilson) unite in India to ride a train to find their Mom who failed to show up for the funeral of Dad. Mom has become a Roman Catholic nun somewhere in the wilds of India. Does this tell you anything about the film ?

Almost all the dialog is deadpan comedy and I really had a good laugh from time to time. But I am a very tolerant viewer (I hope). So if you want to watch an hour+ of brotherly muddling and are patient, this is the film for you.

At least my mother did not become a nun!

2005, Unusual, Violent

Beowulf & Grendel (2005)

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From NetFlix:

In an adventure imbrued with blood and tragedy, the legendary Norseman Beowulf (Gerard Butler) must command an army across the seas of ancient Northern Europe to conquer the evil troll Grendel. Anticipating his epic crusade against the wrathful monster, the warrior must arbitrate his emanating notoriety and his relationship with the enchanting Selma amid a time of barbaric turmoil and transformation with the emergence of the Christian faith.

There are at least two movie versions of the story. When the 2007 movie came out I decided to plough thru the actual Anglo-Saxon saga of Beowulf. Seamus Heaney produced a version that had Old English on the left side and his English translation on the right side. Frankly, I was a bit bored by the classic saga. It’s fairly straight-forward: man meets monster, man slays monster, man goes back home. So I can see why the movies spiced it up a bit.

I suppose if you are bound and determined to watch a Beowulf film,
this is the version I will put on the list. This version gives the monster
Grendel a personality and a psychological reason for why he slays
the warriors. In fact, he is portrayed as a victim.

This version is very earthy. Both versions portray the warriors as being
very crude. Their language, the topics of their discussions, and their
personal hygiene leaves a lot to be desired. But it all seemed to make
sense. And why wouldn’t a warrior culture devoted to killing, drinking,
and womanizing be a tad crude ?

But if there is any movie with Gerard Butler (this Beowulf) that I would
recommend, that would be “Dear Frankie” which is slightly different
from Beowulf.

2007, 3D, Acceptable Trash, Violent

Beowulf (2007)

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From NetFlix:

Directed by Robert Zemeckis, Beowulf tells of the great 6th-century Scandinavian warrior called upon to defeat a manlike ogre named Grendel (Crispin Glover), a descendant of the biblical murderer Cain. Based on the longest surviving Anglo-Saxon poem, this film adaptation’s notable cast includes Anthony Hopkins as King Hrothgar, Angelina Jolie as Grendel’s tormented mother, John Malkovich as Unferth and Ray Winstone as Beowulf.

There are at least two movie versions of the story. When the 2007 movie came out I decided to plough thru the actual Anglo-Saxon saga of Beowulf. Seamus Heaney produced a version that had Old English on the left side and his English translation on the right side. Frankly, I was a bit bored by the classic saga. It’s fairly straight-forward: man meets monster, man slays monster, man goes back home. So I can see why the movies spiced it up a bit.

I can only recommend this version to horny male teenagers eager to
see Angelina Jolie arise out of the water for all intents and purposes
naked.

Having said that, this is supposed to be a 3D movie although I am not
sure where I have to go to see it in 3D. I would be willing to re-see the
movie in 3D just to see how successful it is. The novelty in this movie
is that all the characters are real people whose appearances have
been digitally altered. I did not recognize Anthony Hopkins’ face, but
his voice was unmistakable. I recognized Jon Malkovitch’s altered face.
There are so many special effects (wow – what a dragon !) that 3D
might be fun. According to IMDB, Ray Winestone (Beowulf) is the voice
of Beowulf in some kind of video game based on Beowulf.

Having said all this, if you want to see a Beowulf film, please see
instead “Beowulf and Grendel (2005)”.

1999, DO NOT MISS, Feel Good For All

The Winslow Boy (1999)

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From NetFlix:

When Arthur Winslow’s (Nigel Hawthorne) 14-year-old son (Guy Edwards) is expelled from the Royal Naval College for stealing, he launches a long and costly effort to clear the boy’s name. But in the process, the determined father may destroy his family. With clever dialogue, director David Mamet’s drama — based on a play by Terence Rattigan — makes strong statements about the relative virtue of right and wrong when appearances mean everything.

NetFlix fails to mention other actors such as Jeremy Northam and Rebecca Pidgeon (who had 2 children with the playwright David Mamet).

This movie is not only engaging, but visually it is wonderful to watch.
This is a feel-good for everyone.