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jholmstrom-1
Reviews
Never Mind the Sex Pistols, an Alternative History (2007)
This is a very good film that finally reveals some truths about the Sex Pistols!
I just saw this on Ovation TV, a cable channel on TWC here in NYC. It's not a great film, it doesn't reveal any great truths about life blah blah blah, but what it does accomplish is to finally explain the truth about the Sex Pistols, for good and bad.
Director Alan Parker (who also appears in the film--and is not to be confused with the other Alan Parker, who made great mainstream films), is a lifelong Sex Pistols fan, archivist and expert. Along with Malcolm McLaren, Glen Matlock, Boogie (their road manager), and several other people who were close to the story, they explain the truth about how the Pistols formed, became famous, and flamed out. There's a mythology about the Sex Pistols that this film sets straight--at the same time, it never attempts to deny their greatness, it doesn't attack anyone in the band, it doesn't have an agenda. It mostly fills in some gaps in the Sex Pistols legend. Anyone who cares about punk rock, the Pistols, etc. has to see this. As much as I have always loved the band, I always wanted people to hear the truth! And this film is the truth about the Sex Pistols!
King Kong (2005)
How is this film better than the Godzilla, Planet of the Apes, and other remakes?
So many unrealistic scenes I won't bother with a "spoiler" about them. I'll just mention that all the CGI effects ruined the film for me. Nothing will ever beat the original King Kong for me, not even this big-budget, "big gorilla on steroids" remake.
There are a few good scenes and the recreation of 1930s New York City is good eye candy but none of the characters ever act like a human being. People make fun of the acting in the '33 film but these characters (all fine actors) are even worse. Paris Hilton would have been a better choice for the Fay Wray role so at least here'd be some logic to why the characters all act like they have no brains... The whole movie also tries to be too PC. Worst of all it's about an hour and a half too long (unlike the original Kong, which was a marvel of economic story- telling)...
Instead it's one silly scene that expects a complete suspension of disbelief after another until it becomes another orgy of CGI-effects with no end in sight.
Mad Max 2 (1981)
Why isn't this film in IMDb's Top 250? It's embarrassing...
I mean--just look at some of the piffle that's rated above "The Road Warrior:" "Batman Begins," "Magnolia," "Almost Famous," "Being John Malkovich," "American Beauty," both "Toy Story" films and "Monsters Inc." etc. Come on. There's no way that computer-generated child fare should be rated above the great accomplishments in film history. (And can anyone believe that every single one of those "Lord of the Rings" movies are rated above true film classics like the original "King Kong," "Citizen Kane," "Lawrence of Arabia," "Sunset Boulevard," "Metropolis," "Taxi Driver" and "Gone With the Wind?" (Which is only #158 on the list?) And "wizard of Oz" which is only #86?)
Sorry to digress, but my point has been made. There are a lot of good films missing from the list, many that don't belong, etc.
So why do I think "Road Warrior belongs in the Top 100 (at least)? Well, most great films are judged by several criteria (my own personal biases on display here, in the form of questions), such as:
1. Does the film create movie stars? Is there a role that puts a future superstar on the map? (Such as "Dazed and Confused," Taxi Driver," and "Fast Times at Ridgemont High?") Certainly Mel Gibson is one of the mot important film actors (and producers) in the world. This role and this film in particular (along with "Gallipoli") created Mel Gibson's career.
2. Do other people involved in production end up making other great films? Well, let's see... The director made "Babe," which almost won the Oscar... And most of the other actors have enjoyed long careers (even though they're from Australia...)
3. Does the film contain an epic/classic sequence or scene? (Think the chariot sequence in "Ben-Hur," Luke Skywalker blowing up the Death Star at the end of the first "Star Wars," the car chase in "The French Connection," the scene between Marlon Brando and Rod Steiger in "On the Waterfront.") Certainly the car chase at the end of "The Road Warrior/Mad Max 2" fits the bill. This ranks among the list of all-time classic car chases. And there are many other eye-popping sequences.
4. Does it inspire other filmmakers? I'd have to guess that it did, since after "Road Warrior," every other futuristic film stole from it--notably "Blade Runner."
5. Does the film affect our society in some way? This movie focused a lot of attention on the film industry in Australia. Well, yeah, maybe we have to blame "Road Warrior" for everything from "Outback Jack" to Russell Crowe? But on the other hand, the recent use of Australian actors for so many film roles began with this film.
6. Another important aspect to this film is how it inspired punk fashion. The mohawk became more visible and acceptable, Gibson's leather outfit inspired punks to wear leather, and punk rock itself became more mainstream after this film.
"Influential, popular, important." These are the words given to great films. This is a great film and should be rescued from its reputation as being a "good Grade B film." It's much better and much more important than that.
Too many voters on IMDb miss the point when they vote for films. They vote for films they enjoy, rather than films that are important, influential AND popular. They are consumers, not film fanatics. Thus, we will soon see a sad phenomenon where Peter Jackson's "King Kong" is rated way above the original... What an abomination. Without the original, the homage would never exist. And I bet Peter Jackson (and every other filmmaker) would agree that the original should be listed first.
The voting criteria on this Website needs to change. IMDb is losing its credibility. Too many mediocre films are pushing great films off the "Top 250."
Let's work with the great people who run this website. I doubt they like this any better than true fans of film like ourselves. Let's begin by tanking the film ratings for these CGI- generated monstrosities. True film lovers, drive all bad films off the list by giving them a "1" rating. Film lovers, let's take back film history.
The Legend of Rockabye Point (1955)
Cradle and All! Number One with a Bullet!!!
I have to agree with the user who called this their "favorite Tex Avery cartoon of all time." I agree 1000%. Every single time i watch this cartoon it makes me laugh. The bulldog who bites the polar bear's ass every single time he tries to steal the fish, the strange kinship the two of them develop, the wacky music track (based on "Rockabye Baby")...
It's all too much!
On my personal list of the greatest cartoons of all time, this cartoon would be ranked Number One... With a bullet! Although there are many great cartoons, there's just something about this cartoon... I think it might be the best punchline ever.
And you know what? This is exactly what is wrong with most of the so-called humor of today. Everyone hates Saturday Night Live (finally), the show stinks, but their first sin was ignoring the importance of a PUNCH LINE! This is what all good humor is based on. Otherwise, it's like sex with out a climax, people!!!
Humor is supposed to build a comic situation to a point where there is a release. From Mark Twain to Harold Lloyd to the Marx Brothers to Preston Sturges to every other great humorist, these rules have been followed... Until todays' garbage humor of SNL, Adult Swim (Cartoon Network) and one bad sitcom after another has tried to ignore the basic rules of humor. But shows like King of Queens, Seinfeld, and even Beavis and Butthead prove that the punchline still matters.
So this cartoon IMHO is the best because it has the best punchline of all time. Period.
DEATH TO SNL!
Northwest Hounded Police (1946)
The Greatest
Come on. Anyone who doesn't understand the greatness of this here cartoon should be kicked off any critic's panel. They should not be allowed to be heard, because they obviously have no sense of humor whatsoever.
Anyone who does not love this here animated cartoon directed by Tex Avery should be chained to a chair and forced to watch "Huckleberry Hound" episodes for 20 years straight!
The takes and double-takes by the Wolf in this cartoon are the finest examples of this important past of comedy that have ever been captured on film.
Tex Avery should receive a posthumous Academy Award for this cartoon. It's the best.
Draftee Daffy (1945)
Draftee Daffy: Stunning Omen of the Vietnam War
I saw this movie some time in the 1970s, and was absolutely stunned by it. I've seen it since on cable TV channels, and am always amazed. Daffy Duck's attitude towards being drafted was exactly the same as mine just a few years earlier! Yeah, I am all for America! I'll wave the flag and whatever... But--you want me to join the army? And carry a gun? And go through basic training? And kill people?
LATER FOR YOU, BROTHER!!! GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!!!!!!!
And so it goes with our hero, Daffy Duck (always my favorite WB cartoon character since he is the least sentimental of them all--even W. C. Fields took a back seat to this bastard!). I even think it's possible that this cartoon convinced little children who watched it in the 1950s on television to become 1960s draft dodgers...
This cartoon contains some of the most shocking imagery ever to be seen in an animated cartoon before the 1960s. When Daffy lands in Hell at the end of the cartoon and is still being pursued by the draft board, it's quite a statement (even though it was probably just a joke back in the day)... It's Daffy Duck versus Big Government. In fact, that is what the whole F'N cartoon is about: Daffy Duck versus government bureaucracy. Clampett's portrayal of the faceless bureaucrat is as chilling as anything Kafka ever invented.
This cartoon also has more manic energy than ANY other WB cartoon ever made. It's like an acid trip. It's weird. It's... almost psychedelic. It's INSANE!!!
You have to think that the filmmakers meant to make some kind of political statement with this little cartoon. What's amazing about this is that the cartoon was made at the height of World War Two, which has always been seen as the war every single US citizen supported without question... This "harmless" little cartoon makes you question all of that, and brings WW2 back to the reality of Japanese detention camps, zoot suits, shortages, and other stark realities of the 1940s. (Just read your history books, people!)
The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (1946)
I'm gonna R-R-RUB YOU OUT!!!
This cartoon is one of the greatest Warner Brothers cartoons of all time. It's one of Bob Clampett's finest moments--from the beginning of the cartoon (when Daffy reads a Duck Twacy comic book) throughout the entire cartoon (when Daffy is Sherlock Holmes one minute, moron the next--while always defying reality/conventions) until the end (when Daffy suddenly finds himself kissing a gay pig in a mud puddle(!) that he can't escape from...)
This cartoon, "Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs," and "Draftee Daffy" are Clampett's best Warner Brothers cartoons and thus represent the highest achievements in animation... Why? Because... They make you laugh!
Black Robe (1991)
An amazing historical document
It is rare that a film makes you feel that you are actually witnessing history (rather than the "Hollywood Version"), but "Black Robe" accomplishes that and more. What I love about this film (that I have watched over a dozen times and will watch many more times) is that it doesn't take a point-of-view regarding the European colonization of the New World and the native American culture. Both cultures are seen as slightly insane world-views that are, ironically, valid in their own way, yet futile at the end of the day.
It concentrates on one Jesuit priest and his journey to the New World. The film demonstrates how difficult his journey was and his passionate commitment to his faith. But it also shows how nutty these priests were to try to preach to the unconverted. It also presents several native American tribes (such as the Hurons and Mohawks) and how truly savage they could be.
This is one of the great films of recent (perhaps all) time. I am suspicious as to why it has been ignored. I think that future generations will find a lot to enjoy here--beyond the beautiful scenery, the accurate historical information and the love of the natural world that appears throughout this truly amazing film...
Kyûtî Hanî (2004)
Awesome.
I have to go with the other posters. This was the most amazing and revolutionary action-adventure I have seen since "Road Warrior" way back when! Yes, maybe I sound like a nut after saying that, but the energy from the Fantasia Festival debut of this movie has convinced that I am not insane after all. "Cutie Honey" (the most unlikely action-film title I ever heard or could imagine) deserves to go down in film history as one of the greatest action-adventures of all time. For instance it's 10X better than the Lethal Weapon series, and Quentin Tarantino only wishes he had the talent to create a film like this (rather than steal it).
Then again, since "Hollywood" denigrates films like this? I am not sure what its fate will be. But if it got a US release it could revolutionize the US film industry like nothing people have seen. In the meantime I only hope anyone reading this has a chance to see this amazing film.
It's that F'N good.,