A weekend of the Great, the Good, the Beautiful, and the Awful.

Films/DVD Asylum

Movies from comedy to drama to your favorite Hollyweird Star.

209.51.192.9

The Great: Fritz Lang's "M" was on cable TV. I last saw this about 20 years ago, but it still sends chills up my spine and I doubt if anyone today could portray a creepy character better than Peter Lorre. His facial and physical contortions when confronted with the photos of his child victims outdo anything Jim Carrey is capable of with his body. A must see!
The Good: "Traffic" is the best of the Oscar buzz films I've seen in the past year. But as it is based on a British documentary ("Traffick"), I'd like to ask British Asylum Inmates who have seen both to compare the two. Also, I wonder if all the Senators and Governors portraying themselves in this film get paid union scale for their appearances (Orrin Hatch had the most lines)?
The Beautiful: The Japanese animation blockbuster, "Princess Mononoke", on DVD is simply gorgeous to look at (thanks, Pam!). This is not a typical Disney/Dreamworks story, as there are no clearcut good guys vs. bad guys in this Shinto-based environmental epic. Could children watch it? Maybe, but there are decapitations and maimings and some of the kids who saw it were scared of the possessed animal demons. Adults will have an easier time comprehending it and, if you don't understand Japanese, I recommend setting it up using the Japanese soundtrack with English subtitles, over the English-dubbed presentation. The music is excellent as well. If the upcoming live-action "The Lord Of The Rings" is done half as well, I'd be impressed.
The Awful: I missed seeing the horror film "Equinox" (1970) as a kid as I thought the ads for it looked cool, but finally caught it at 4 am on cable's AMC. This is worse than most of the high school student films I've seen, with cheesy claymation (Harryhausen would die of embarassment if he made this), awful acting (Frank Bonner, "Herb Tarlek" of the TV sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati, is one of the mutually befuddled cast), dialog and plot ("Evil Dead" Necronomicon and Asmodeus as a Forest Ranger) appear to have been made up along the way, and the camerawork and lighting are chaotic and confusing. You would do better renting "Battlefield Earth".

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Topic - A weekend of the Great, the Good, the Beautiful, and the Awful. - TAFKA Steve 06:39:31 01/28/01 (7)

Re: A weekend of the Great, the Good, the Beautiful, and the Awful. - Pam 03:59:06 02/02/01 (1)

LOL re: Billy Bob Thornton as a Japanese priest! - TAFKA Steve 16:25:34 02/04/01 (0)

Re: Traffic - Doug Schneider 14:51:03 02/01/01 (1)

I figured as much. - TAFKA Steve 19:38:42 02/01/01 (0)

Speaking of M... - Daryl R 19:34:16 01/29/01 (0)

Re: A weekend of the Great, the Good, the Beautiful, and the Awful. - Ears 12:57:43 01/28/01 (1)

'M' is great indeed..... - Rob 16:01:11 01/28/01 (0)

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