Deep Red: (1975)

Deep Red is generally considered -- along with Suspiria -- to be the best work of Italian horror filmmaker Dario Argento. I've only seen three of his films (the aforementioned Suspiria and his debut The Bird With the Crystal Plumage, which I barely remember) and I won't be in a hurry to see many more. It's not that Deep Red is bad, in fact it's fantastic a good chunk of the time. Whenever Argento focuses on violence and mystery, Deep Red is a lot of fun. It's never actually frightening but there's plenty of style and some very inventive murder sequences that make the film worth seeing. Whether it's stabbings, boilings or car accidents, Argento presents death with a darkly beautiful precision. It's easy to see why he's such a huge influence on the slasher genre and specifically the early films of John Carpenter. The problem with Deep Red is that those moments take up about a half hour of the films two hour run time. The rest of the movie drags and drags. There are no intriguing characters or deep messages to involve the viewer without that violence. Deep Red is a important film in horror history (and the violent scenes earn an "A") but I'm guessing only the most hardcore of Argento fans will stick up for the movie as a whole being a classic.

Rating: 3

Across the Pacific: (1942)

As a general rule, it's hard to go wrong with a Humphrey Bogart movie. As a more specific rule it really hard to go wrong with a Bogart movie when it's directed by John Huston. Though Across the Pacific doesn't come close to the stature of their finest work together (The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The African Queen), it's an enjoyable enough spy flick. Bogart and co-stars Mary Astor and Sydney Greenstreet give typical solid performances and the movie moves along at a brisk pace. There's nothing too fancy here and as noted it's not a fantastic film but fans of Bogart shouldn't miss Across the Pacific.

Rating: 3.5

Army of Shadows: (1969)

It is amazing to think that a movie as fantastic as Army of Shadows could possibly go unreleased in the United States for almost forty years but that's exactly what happened. The film was critically shunned upon release in France due to it's (falsely) perceived celebration of Charles de Gaulle. That critical shunning led to American art-house theaters not bothering to show it. Thankfully it underwent a critical re-evaluation on the mid-90's and finally found it's way to U.S. theaters in 2006.

Army of Shadows is a story about members of the French Resistance during World War II. The characters struggle with the tough decisions they have to make, while simultaneously being in constant fear for their lives at the hands of German soldiers.

Army of Shadows is a dark look at ordinary people who do extraordinary things. The characters in Army of Shadows act valiantly and are meant to be admired but the film takes a very unromantic look at the resistance in general. There are no beautiful hero's to come save the day, just a bunch of normal people who know what they must do. These people are afraid to die but also willing to do so for the greater good. Mortality is a giant theme in Army of Shadows, the specter of death is looming around every corner. In Nazi occupied France, it's not a matter of if you will die, it's a matter of when. While that description may make Army of Shadows sound like a drag, it most certainly is not. There's a genuine sense of urgency and tension that keeps the film moving along very quickly. Army of Shadows may run for almost two and half hours but it feels like much, much less than that.

Writer/director Jean-Pierre Melville (who's other films I haven't seen but will have to in the very near future) brings a staunch realism to Army of Shadows. Aside from the sometimes painfully realistic lengths the characters must go through, Melville infuses the picture with an overbearing color scheme that sets the mood and tone of the film perfectly. That color scheme is very important to the overall feel of Army of Shadows. The film is a hauntingly beautiful portrayal of war torn Europe. The full range of dark blues, gray's and black's on display come close to overpowering the viewer in despair but never quite do so.

Although it's far from happy, Army of Shadows is one of the best films I have seen in a quite a while. The characters are fully formed and very intriguing, Melville's direction is superb and the story itself is fascinating. The fact that this film had to wait nearly forty years to be released in the U.S. is a travesty. If I would have known what I was missing I would have watched it a long time ago.

Rating: 5

Get Low: Blu-ray (2009)

Get Low is the type of film that major film studios just don't make anymore. It's a quirky character study that relies on a strong cast and workmanlike direction to succeed rather than flashy set-pieces and bombast. While the film will not go down in history as a masterpiece, it is a fine showing for the still relevant talents of Robert Duvall and Bill Murray's subtle comedy.

Felix Bush (Duvall) has lived life as a hermit in Tennessee for almost 40 years. The people in the nearby town are all familiar with him but the only thing they really know about Felix are based on the outlandish tales that have told about him for years. A couple of personal realizations strike Felix and he decides to give himself a living funeral. Enlisting the help of the local funeral home owner and worker (Murray and Lucas Black) Felix sets out to bring people together to tell his story and let the townspeople tell him theirs.

Get Low is almost entirely dependent on Robert Duvall's lead performance and he more than delivers. He's equally adept at playing a stodgy old recluse and at eventually opening the character up to more emotional revelations. Murray is great as serio-comic relief and the rest of the cast (Black, Sissy Spacek, Bill Cobbs) are up to the task as well. While Get Low is a small scale film, it's themes are far from simple. The movie touches on redemption, love, suffering and forgiveness in a very affective and heart warming way.

The blu-ray features a strong audio/video transfer but Get Low isn't the type of movie to really showcase your blu-ray player. The distinct visual look director Aaron Schneider brings to the movie features a healthy dose of brown and gray colors and the transfer represents them perfectly. Being far from a big-sale film the overall look is a bit subdued and not very flashy but it does fit the movie perfectly and the transfer represents that. Likewise Get Low is an almost entirely dialogue driven affair with a healthy sprinkling of Appalachain music. The audio track is again solid but nothing fancy.

I really enjoyed Get Low. It's got a great cast, a interesting story and a fantastic lead performance from Duvall. It's themes of love, redemption and forgiveness are universal and it should appeal to anyone who likes quirky small scale dramas.

Ratings:

Movie: 4
Blu-ray: 4

Lebanon: Blu-ray (2009)

While there have been hundreds of first hand accounts of war mad into films over the years, very few feel as personal as Lebanon. Writer/director Samuel Maoz has been carrying around memories of his experiences in the 1982 Lebanon War and finally found the perfect outlet to release them.

Lebanon is a very small scale film that takes place entirely in the confines of a tank. There are four young Lebanese Solders inside, all with varying degrees of combat experience and differing personalities. The physical and emotional toll that their war experience takes on them is both harrowing and profound.

While the ground the Lebanon covers is nothing new, the skill and heart it covers it with more than makes for any shared experiences with past films. The four main actors and the few others who play supporting roles all nail their performances. There's a wide range of emotions that each character goes through and the actors all ring true. It's easy to tell that Moaz has a personal relationship with his film. The characters are fully developed people and there's obviously a lot of care that went into them. While the characters are the main draw of Lebanon, the technical skill that comes with filming entirely inside a tank is impressive as well. The sense of claustrophobia is ever present and only adds to the unusual circumstances and the character reactions.

The blu ray features a fantastic transfer. While there's not all that much going on visually since every scene is either a shot of inside the tank or through the gunsight, what is shown comes across very well in high def. The color scheme is basically just greens and blacks but there is no crushing going on and detail is excellent. The audio track is about as good as it gets. There are numerous battle scened depicted in Lebanon and since you can't visually see what is going on it's very important for the audio to give you the idea of what it's like in the tank. Surround usage, directionality and low end are all fantastic and dialogue is never lost in the shuffle. The quieter scenes use are just as good, the creaks and moans of the tank add a lot of atmosphere to the experience. This is the kind of small scale movie a good audio track can really make or break and thankfully it only adds to the experience in Lebanon.

I haven't seen too many war films that have this level of personal touch. Living with memories of things that happened while serving your country (no matter what country it is) can be a painful experience. Lebanon not only works as a release for Moez, it's a fantastic character study of men placed in an unusual circumstance and their reactions to those events. Anyone who is a fan of war films that work on a human level more than just as a bombastic visual experience are highly encouraged to rent Lebanon.

Ratings:

Movie: 4.5
Blu-ray: 4.5

She Done Him Wrong (1933)

She Done Him Wrong is best known as Mae West's first starring role and one of Cary Gran't earliest movies. While at the time West was a sex symbol and pushed the limits of what you could say in movies and stage, this movie really hasn't aged all that well. The plot is a paper thin look at a fast-talking, double-crossing, woman who uses her sexuality to get what she wants. The one liners West spouts off were incredibly suggestive for 1933 but in this day and age don't come off as anything more than quaint. Grant is billed pretty high and while his character is important to the story he really only gets about 15 minutes of screen time. She Done Him Wrong is short enough (66 minutes) to not be waste of time but is really only necessary viewing for fans of Mae West or Cary Grant.

Rating: 3

Wednesday Video: Bull Moose Jackson - "Big Ten Inch"

Last night I was extremely frustrated with America's current political system (even more so than usual) and started researching defunct political parties to restart. After narrowing it down to a select few based solely on name (Anti-Masonic, Farmer-Labor) I settled on reviving the famed Bull Moose Party. I'm not overly interested in what the party stood for in 1912 but I am interested in having an awesome theme song. The obvious artist to represent my new party is none other than semi-obscure 40's blues/r&b artist Bull Moose Jackson. He has many fine songs to choose from but in the end I have decided on "Big Ten Inch" as the new Bull Moose Party's official theme song. Aerosmith covered it on their famous blues covers album Honkin' on Bobo so hopefully I can get a Steven Tyler endorsement as well. Anyway we will offically be the party of the double entendre as you will quickly realize by listening to Bull Moose sing. Now to reestablish the Rough Riders....