Wormtongue1 Reviews

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Epic western at its best

[10/10 · 3 January 2000]

I have no doubt that purists would rank The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (GB&U) quite a way down in their list of the greatest westerns, but I consider this film easily to be in the top five, if not the top three. I don't know the genre well enough to say if GB&U was genuinely ground-breaking in its approach to the tried-and-true classic, but I am always impressed by its panache, its bravado, its earthy atmosphere, its interesting camera shots, its top-notch soundtrack, and the chemistry of its stars.

One of the things that distinguishes GB&U from other westerns for me is the quest model that the film follows. After developing the characters played by Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach, the film brings them together into a series of adventures (mostly misadventures) that tie together into a larger quest. The result makes the viewer feel that the he has been pulled into a larger-than-life tale of epic proportions, and yet the less glorified reality of GB&U is that of three men of varying levels of disreputability vying against one another for a fortune in gold coins.

Although I'm sure that GB&U didn't introduce moral ambiguity into the western, it does so both successfully and memorably. The central characters are all anti-heroes, the plot revolves around a fairly base motivation (i.e., greed), and the backdrop of the Civil War provides director Sergio Leone with an opportunity to expose the inhumanity and hypocrisy of war. Truth, justice, and glory are not held up as eternal values in this film, yet GB&U nevertheless shows how even morally ambiguous characters set within an amoral environment can still carve out an occasional bit of humanity or simple decency in spite of themselves.

I've seen GB&U probably at least a dozen times, and each time I'm pulled in as completely as I was the last. Simply put, it is a very good western--well worth the three hours of viewing time.

Roman Holiday (1953)

Charming romantic comedy

[10/10 · 30 December 1999]

Romantic comedies are just not my thing, a fact of life that continues to irritate my wife and probably always will. Even so, I have to admit that Roman Holiday is a truly charming movie--worth every moment of screen time. It is infinitely better than most of the schlock that Hollywood bills as "romantic comedies" today, although this is hardly great praise. The cast is completely effective, and the movie exudes a lingering sense of youth, longing, and romance that I felt for many an hour after I watched the film. It is also genuinely funny in a smart and even sexy--though thankfully not too sexy--way. Everything about this movie charms.

Even devoted enemies of so-called "romantic comedies" may find much to treasure here.

Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)

"You lose."

[3/10 · 16 December 1999]

"You lose."

In Missing in Action 2, Soon-Tek Oh's soulless character says this phrase several times to the equally soulless character played by Chuck Norris.

But when the movie is over, it is clear that the only real loser is the viewer himself. An hour and a half of life forever lost . . ..

"I lost."

Jaws (1975)

Great cast/dialogue makes this film

[9/10 · 13 December 1999]

Its concept may have revolutionized the way viewers thought about movies (or the beach). Its musical score is arguably the most memorable in movie history. And qualified kudos can even be given for its special effects.

Nevertheless, the very best thing about Jaws is its character interaction.

It is with a certain amount of chagrin that I must admit to having watched this movie literally several dozen times, but I should probably mention that the vast majority of those times were confined to watching the last half of the film--the ocean-going scenes with Brody, Hooper, and Quint that my friends and I affectionately refer to as "The Boat Scene." In my view, the beauty of Jaws is that the special effects of this film are easily overshadowed by the actors and their dialogue. It is difficult indeed (perhaps impossible) to think of another F/X-based movie where this is the case.

So strong are the dialogue and character interaction of the final half of Jaws, that they rescue the film from a number of plot devices ranging from implausible (e.g., a 35' foot shark engaged in a high-speed boat chase) to the sublimely ridiculous (e.g., a 35' foot shark leaping atop a boat to capsize it). In my view, the F/X shark is literally a secondary consideration in this film. Sure, you couldn't have a shark film without it, but the shark alone cannot a good (or even passable) film make . . . as is amply demonstrated by the abysmal Jaws 3D and Jaws the Revenge, as well as by the truly mediocre Jaws II.

It is perhaps worth admitting that the dialogue of the "Boat Scene" is not the only great character interaction in the film--it is simply the best. The acting in Jaws is generally pretty good, but nothing beats the "Boat Scene" and the actors who comprise it. Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss are so good in this film that they clearly elevate Roy Scheider's performance. (If only Scheider's other films starred Shaw and Dreyfuss!)

For the character interaction alone, Jaws is well worth watching, and it fully deserves its place among the AFI's top 100.

Where Eagles Dare (1968)

Alistair MacLean comes through again

[9/10 · 13 December 1999]

This movie has much to commend it. As a conventional war movie, it falls short, but as an entertaining spy thriller set in central Europe during World War II, it succeeds admirably. Author Alistair MacLean is well-known for his willingness to step outside the normal conventions of war movies, and he delivers in Where Eagles Dare.

At three hours or so, this is a long film, but it always glides by for me. If you haven't yet seen it (or read MacLean's novel), you should have fun watching it and trying to guess at the numerous plot twists. I've seen the movie a handful of times and always enjoy watching the cinematography, the nicely done action sequences, and Richard Burton's performance. Although it is perhaps not quite as groomed as MacLean's The Guns of Navarone, it is at least as entertaining. (I have the feeling, however, that men probably will enjoy this film more than women. I've tried to get my wife to watch it at least twice, and she always falls asleep. Apologies to Burton and Eastwood.)

Give the film a shot. It's definitely worth the time spent.

From Russia with Love (1963)

The best Bond

[9/10 · 13 December 1999]

The hypothetical question, "which is the best Bond flick?" is probably posed as often as the hypothetical question, "who is the best Bond?" Both questions are designed not to provide a definitive answer but rather to provide a segue to an extended (and hopefully raucous) debate about merits, demerits, and stylisms. And because I love such debates I'm willing to venture that From Russia with Love is the best Bond flick of them all.

This film hangs together better than most Bond films, which is not surprising considering that the screenplay is a fairly accurate reproduction of Fleming's novel. The film revolves around Bond's efforts to acquire the Soviets' Lektor decoding machine--a fairly modest goal when placed in the context of Bond's seemingly usual task of saving the world from total destruction. Certain Bond fans probably dislike From Russia with Love because of this, but I think it is one of the film's strong points. (It may not surprise that I also happen to like the relatively modest plot goals of For Your Eyes Only.) Both the original novel and the film adaptation amply demonstrate that a basic Cold War concept can generate excitement in its own right. Now, I don't expect Bond films to approximate the tone or style of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. Bond films definitely should not be too grim and gritty, but a semi-realistic framework makes for a good place to start. And From Russia with Love demonstrates as much.

Not only does this movie have a solid screenplay, but it also benefits from an inspired musical score, great minor characters such as Red Grant and Kerim Bey, and a truly awesome Bond-babe in the form of Daniela Bianchi (INSERT WOLF WHISTLE HERE). Most Bond movies have one or more of these same elements, but, in my view, virtually none bring them together with as much style as does From Russia with Love.

Oh, and as to who the best Bond is . . . Sean Connery is it, period. (No extended debate necessary.)

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

A powerful film experience

[10/10 · 10 December 1999]

I heard a film critic once say that there really aren't "war movies"; there are only "anti-war" movies. I'm still not sure what I think of that claim, but having seen - The Bridge on the River Kwai- enough times in the past several years, I think I'm persuaded that it's at least half right. -Kwai-, I believe, is both a "war" and "anti-war" movie, and, in my view, it succeeds admirably at both.

There is almost no element of -Kwai- that is not praise-worthy. David Lean's direction is tight and evocative. The cinematography is great (even though the color seems increasingly drained in film versions that I have seen). The acting is top-notch. I honestly believe that this is Alec Guiness's best performance, and Sessue Hayakawa is also highly sympathetic and believable. William Holden and Jack Hawkins round out the cast nicely.

The musical score is also right on. Simply put, -Kwai- is an excellently constructed film made by people who obviously cared a great deal about it. As a result, the viewer comes to care a great deal about it as well.

Clearly -Kwai- is an anti-war film. There is no glorification here. War is brutal, period. It's brutality is not captured here in terms of gory carnage or senseless battles. Instead, the psychological dimension of brutality comes across clearly. Yet, -Kwai- also shows the resilience of the human spirit as well as its complexity. One is left wondering if participation in World War II not only psychologically brutalized the characters played by Guiness, Hayakawa, and Holden but also if it simultaneously uplifted them. The paradox is striking to me each time I view this film. War can act both as a positive and negative catalyst, and it can do both of these things at the same instant.

So, is -The Bridge on the River Kwai- a war movie or an anti-war movie? I think Lean clearly preferred the latter, but the subject matter and his approach to it may have landed somewhere in between.

Regardless, -Kwai- is a fantastic film experience and is not to be missed. It is, simply put, my very favorite film--bar none.

Dragonslayer (1981)

A rarity - a good fantasy film

[9 December 1999]

I have long been a fan of fantasy writing, ever since I pored over my first copy of Tolkien's -The Fellowship of the Ring -. Unfortunately, the vast majority of fantasy novels on bookshelves today really aren't worth the time it takes to read them. Much the same can be said for fantasy films. Most are simply poorly conceived, wannabe epics.

Not so with -Dragonslayer-. Serious fantasy must create a pervasive sense of mood and assist the viewer in suspending disbelief. Most fantasy flicks fail to do this, but -Dragonslayer- does not. Although the film is far from perfect, it does a fairly good job creating a believable, bleak, medieval setting and then populating it with interesting (if occasionally overdone) characters and an extremely well-crafted dragon to boot. Although it can be argued that the film lacks creativity to a certain degree (let's admit it--the hero vs. dragon concept goes back at least to -Beowulf-), it makes up for this with a sustained and believable mood. The result is an entertaining spectacle.

All of which is to say, if you're up for a watchable fantasy film, you won't go wrong with -Dragonslayer-.