* The Awful Truth (McCarey, 1937) 7.5
* The Leopard Man (Tourneur, 1943) 9
* Carnival of Souls (Harvey, 1962) 8.5
* I Walked With a Zombie (Tourneur, 1943) 9
Kill Bill Vol. 1 (Tarantino, 2003) 7
Inglourious Basterds (Tarantino, 2009) 8.5
Inglourious Basterds is a vibrant and sensitive resurrection of old-fashioned filmmaking. It recalls the day when films could move slowly, replete with full-blooded dialogue scenes, as long as they were taut with drama and emotions. Inglousious Basterds is actually Tarantino's most traditional film, classical Hollywood entertainment in all its theatrical and steadied beats. Mixed in, though, is Tarantino's meta concerns and, now, thankfully, a regard for history that is educated, strongly researched, and deals seriously with war, its mechanics (witness the Hans Landa character's playing of the field), and its repercussions (seen in the tragic failed romance-made-in-cinema-heaven of Shosanna and Fredrik Zoller) - critically, with a sense of distance, and with a straightforward and clearheaded refusal to exploit (even the big death of You-Who-Watched-the-Film-Know-Who is dark and burdened instead of a glorious ahistorical shenanigan). Finally, Tarantino's Godard-channeling is finally clicking, since Tarantino and his staccato beats choreographed to human movement are now backgrounded by the most politically loaded and genuinely rarefied symbols he's utilized yet - period pomp, officers in full raiment, old foreign movie posters, etc.
Now does the film and its vignette nature and its evocations have much of a "thematic center"? I'm having problems pinpointing its ultimate moral and philosophical intentions. If Tarantino didn't write and direct human behavior and a textured world so well, Pulp Fiction would be too high concept for me to like very much or find much meaning in. "Deconstruction, yay!" of course, and, like I said, the dialogue never isn't flirting with social and emotional quandaries (the Mia-Vincent exchanges surprised me - the Somoan never put a finger on her feet, it seems!), but the film is undoubtedly set on "confection" mode.
* The Village (Shyamalan, 2004) 5
* Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1993) 8
Pulp Fiction is really good. It's not loud or over-the-top - it's quiet and atmospheric, and without being dry. Tarantino's directing is unobtrusive, observant. Very soulful, too, with his use of music. We can sit and listen to Marcellus methodically lay out instructions to Butch because he makes it so Rhames' voice seems to croon to the accompanying beat. I thought I'd have a sour reaction to his screenplay and dialogue here, but it's pretty consistently evocative and poetic.Now does the film and its vignette nature and its evocations have much of a "thematic center"? I'm having problems pinpointing its ultimate moral and philosophical intentions. If Tarantino didn't write and direct human behavior and a textured world so well, Pulp Fiction would be too high concept for me to like very much or find much meaning in. "Deconstruction, yay!" of course, and, like I said, the dialogue never isn't flirting with social and emotional quandaries (the Mia-Vincent exchanges surprised me - the Somoan never put a finger on her feet, it seems!), but the film is undoubtedly set on "confection" mode.
* Opera (Argento, 1987) 6.5
Opera is a ridiculously awesome platter of Argento goods. Of course, it's no where nearing profound, it's dramatically non-existent and typically (of Argento) dry, the subtext or meta-commentary on high art and sadomasochism is pretty basic, etc. etcetera... but Argento sure knows how to make a freaky, exciting, sweeping, and most importantly visually witty film. And it doesn't disappoint with the funky opening credit sequence, surely one of Argento's funkiest in a career of groovy and funky opening credit sequences.You Can Count On Me (Lonergan, 2000) 8
* "Cigarette Burns" (Carpenter, 2007) (Masters of Horror, Season 1) (TV Series) ****
* "Dance of the Dead" (Hooper, 2007) (Masters of Horror, Season 1) (TV Series) ***
* Lifeforce (Hooper, 1985) 5.5
Vampires (Carpenter, 1998) 4.5
Notre Musique (Godard, 2001) 6.5
Strange Circus (Sono, 2002) 6
* "Dreams in the Witch House" (Gordon, 2007) (Masters of Horror, Season 1) (TV Series) ***
* Assault on Precinct 13 (Carpenter, 1977) 8.5
"The Damned Thing" (Hooper, 2008) (Masters of Horror, Season 2) (TV Series) *1/2
"The Washingtonians" (Medak, 2008) (Masters of Horror, Season 2) (TV Series) ***
"Pro-Life" (Carpenter, 2008) (Masters of Horror, Season 2) (TV Series) * (out of 5)
Made in U.S.A. (Godard, 1966) 6
