Year in Review: 2019
As usual, I start the new year by looking back at all the movies I reviewed last year, complete with some ranking lists. So let's get right to it!
1. Macbeth (1961)-The technical choices are more interesting than the performances.
2. Life With Father-Alternates between being charming and irritating.
3. The MacKintosh Man-Semi-interesting, but has a slow start and a predictable twist.
4. Aguirre, the Wrath of God-Slow paced and relatively dispassionate.
5. The Pirate-A few good ideas buried in a mediocre musical.
6. Dr. Mabuse, Part 1-Very intense with a good building of tension.
7. Dr. Mabuse, Part 2-Well-executed release of the aforementioned tension.
8. The Cincinnati Kid-Compelling, though perhaps a little too ambiguous at times.
9. Crime School-Kind of predictable, but Bogart is good.
10. Foreign Correspondent-Kind of hit and miss but a great last twenty minutes.
11. A Passage to India-Good visuals and acting sustain the movie despite it being a bit preachy and confusing at times.
12. The Inspector General-Some clever bits overshadowed by stretched out gags.
13. Evil Under the Sun-Mostly plays fair but feels slightly off.
14. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)-Beset by pacing issues and fluctuating characterization.
15. The Spirit of St. Louis-Engaging enough, but does drag at times.
16. Petulia-Very 60’s in a wide variety of ways.
17. Annie Oakley-Too much spectacle, not enough story or character development.
18. Une Parisienne-A sex comedy that doesn’t have much sex, comedy, or direction.
19. Tunes of Glory-I’m not entirely sure I understand the conflict.
20. Ivanhoe-Tries its best but mostly feels a bit dull.
21. Cry Terror!-Some interesting setpieces but not as dramatic or tense as it could have been.
22. The Merry Widow-Fairly charming and amusing.
23. An Ideal Husband (1947)-Gorgeous sets and costumes but a meh story.
24. An Ideal Husband (1999)-Sucks all the fun and charm out of Wilde’s story.
25. Cool Hand Luke-Pleasant enough to watch but perhaps trying to be deeper than it is.
26. That Hamilton Woman-Kind of rushes through the history and the romance.
27. Journey to Italy-Part travelogue, part predictable yet inexplicable melodrama.
28. Green for Danger-Good idea, meh acting drags it down.
29. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman-I’m not entirely sold on the romance.
30. Titanic (1943)-A bizarre blend of melodrama and an anti-capitalist screed.
31. Night Passage-Has a surprising amount of complexity and moving parts.
32. The Old Curiosity Shop (2007)-Mostly feels like a calvalcade of suffering.
33. The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer-Has just enough of a Python sensibility to keep from getting too far into cringe or black comedy.
34. American Guerrilla in the Philippines-Glosses over a lot but does have some neat touches.
35. Seven Days in May-Weakish start but vastly improves as it goes along.
36. The Man Between-Tries to be a thriller but doesn’t quite succeed.
37. Wildfire: The Arabian Heart-Insanely amateur and therefore winds up feeling ridiculous.
38. Stella (1990)-The central relationship makes it work.
39. Masques-Decent enough idea but there’s no sense of stakes.
40. Tom’s Midnight Garden-Charming and whimsical with a touch of philosophy.
41. Anne Frank: The Whole Story-Probably important to see but a little overblown in places.
42. Fortress-Decent enough prison movie with solid sci-fi trappings.
43. Fortress 2: Re-Entry-More action oriented and less smart than the first one, but still fairly entertaining.
44. You’ll Find Out-Mostly funny but surprisingly spooky at times.
45. Return to Oz-Dark and sometimes unsettling, but also engaging.
46. The Sea Gull-Decent performances keep things from getting too dull, but it’s still dull.
47. Walk on the Wild Side (1962)-Familiar, well-executed melodrama with a few bizarre elements.
48. Pépé le Moko-Neat ideas but a bland execution.
49. Carve Her Name With Pride-Feels like a typical war film, which is a shame given the subject material.
50. The Long Memory-Not a bad idea, but the last half-hour or so feels a bit tacked on.
51. Zotz!-Amusing but features too much Admiral Plot Device.
52. The Railway Children (2000)-Engaging enough but a bit overlong and meandering.
53. The Centerfold Girls-Wastes a good premise on sleaziness and stupidity.
54. The Eagle (1925)-Glosses over a lot of details.
55. The Game-Sucessfully stresses you out, though I’m not sure that’s a good thing.
56. The Boys From Brazil-Initially an effective mystery, then becomes a little too pulpy.
57. Human Desire-Perhaps a little too ambiguous.
58. Against All Flags-Fun, but not quite as much swashbuckling as I had hoped.
59. A Lesson in Love-Too much philosophy in what appears to be a comedy.
60. Once Upon a Time-Kind of dumbfounding.
61. Oh Heavenly Dog-I like the concept but the comedy aspects drag it down.
62. The Heiress-Takes an interesting turn in the third act.
63. Can’t Help Singing-Mildly amusing, but the love story has its issues.
64. The Wildcat-Interesting trappings surrounding a familiar story and an ending that’s a bit of a letdown.
65. Homicide Bureau-Short and sweet with elements that mostly work.
66. Relentless-Neat idea surrounded by cliché execution.
67. Nickelodeon (1976)-Initially too fast-paced and unfunny, and overall overlong.
68. Pan Tadeusz-Seems to leave out a lot of key details.
69. The Story of Three Loves-Baffling in a myriad of ways.
70. Dr. Syn, Alias The Scarecrow-A bit corny but pretty good, with plenty of clever tricks.
71. Chinatown Kid-A few interesting ideas and action scenes hidden in bad pacing.
72. Bahu Begum-Classic tropes from a foreign perspective (which can be a bit jarring).
73. 9th Company-Basically Full Metal Jacket, Russian edition.
74. Fakira-A weird combination of Bollywood and 1960’s Bond.
75. Skymaster-Charming but has several “broken suspension of disbelief” moments.
76. Kaagaz Ke Phool-A decidedly different take on the “Star is Born” story.
77. A Chinese Odyssey, Part 1: Pandora’s Box-Fast-paced and surprisingly silly.
78. A Chinese Odyssey, Part 2: Cinderella-Slightly more serious than the last one but still pretty surreal.
79. A Chinese Odyssey, Part 3-Kind of messes with the canon of the previous two, and yet entertaining in its own (albeit different) ways.
80. Humshakals-Smashes a lot of different types of humor together, but its central routine can get tiring.
81. Odd Man Out-Some great lighting effects but a mostly blah story.
82. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)-Chooses odd things to focus on.
83. Hanky Panky-Mediocre thriller brought down further by forced comedy.
84. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)-Makes a lot of bizarre camera choices.
85. Contempt (aka Le Mépris)-Far too full of itself.
86. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)-Notable for the subtle makeup and the creepy material surrounding the women.
87. The Bells Go Down-Has a very disjointed way of telling the story.
88. Jekyll and Hyde (1990)-Light on the original story, heavy on the melodrama.
89. The Big Combo-Bland story that feels way longer than it actually is.
90. Mary Reilly (1996)-Simultaneously the most faithful and the most outlandish adaptation of the Jekyll and Hyde story.
91. Vampire Over London-Entertaining, but only if you take it as complete nonsense.
92. Byzantium-A well done story with an unusual twist on the vampire tale.
93. Our Hospitality-Doesn’t focus on what you’d expect, but still fairly amusing.
94. Sukiyaki Western Django-Surreal yet fascinating.
95. The Letter (1929)-An interesting if somewhat unfortunate look back at early moviemaking.
96. The Upturned Glass-Makes a lot of odd choices that bring down the interesting core idea.
97. Dangerous Moonlight-More of an arbitrary melodrama than a war movie.
98. My Year Without Sex-All setup, little payoff.
99. Quantum Apocalypse-Interesting premise with unnecessary subplots and awkward execution.
100. The Lost World (1960)-Surprisingly light on dinosaurs but increasingly heavy on melodrama.
101. The Lost World (2001)-Relatively engaging characters and decent action but a few bizarre dropped and/or rushed plot threads.
102. The Power of Few-Cool storytelling device spoiled by the ending.
103. The Bigamist-Twisted but surprisingly heartfelt.
104. Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman-One or two good ideas brought down by bad writing and/or dubbing.
105. The Mouse that Roared-Wacky but not overdone.
106. Saddle the Wind-Doesn’t go in the expected direction, but is still a bit blah.
107. Ivanhoe (1982)-More streamlined, but our hero is way less proactive.
108. The Amazing Adventure-A simple but relatively charming tale.
109. Sherlock Jr.-A bit of a disjointed plot, but some fun bits of business.
7 BEST MOVIES
1. Sukiyaki Western Django
2. Byzantium
3. Stella
4. Tom’s Midnight Garden
5. Skymaster
6. The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
7. A Chinese Odyssey, Parts 1-3
7 WORST MOVIES (starting with the worst)
1. The Centerfold Girls
2. The Game
3. Contempt
4. Humshakals
5. My Year Without Sex
6. Nickelodeon
7. Hanky Panky
Honorable Mention: Wildfire: The Arabian Heart, which eventually tips over into “so bad its good”
7 BIGGEST (POSITIVE) SURPRISES
1. Sukiyaki Western Django
2. Byzantium
3. Tom’s Midnight Garden
4. Stella
5. Sherlock Jr.
6. Saddle the Wind
7. Homicide Bureau
7 BEST FEMALE CHARACTERS
1. Bloody Benten, Sukiyaki Western Django
2. The various female characters, A Chinese Odyssey, parts 1-3
3. Spitfire, Against All Flags
4. Catherine the Great and Mascha, The Eagle
5. Karen Brennick, Fortress
6. Jo and Teresina, Walk on the Wild Side
7. Rischka, The Wildcat
7 BEST CAT APPEARANCES
1. The sauntering black cat (and to a lesser extent, the two other kitties) from Walk on the Wild Side
2. The plot advancing cat, The Long Memory
3. The cats in Oh Heavenly Dog
4. Hercules and the cartoon cats, Zotz!
5. The kitten cameo, Our Hospitality
6. The danger alerting cat, Relentless
7. The two pet cats, Anne Frank: The Whole Story
Bonus list: 7 MOST WTF MOVIES (ranked from most to least surreal)
1. A Chinese Odyssey, Parts 1-3
2. Sukiyaki Western Django
3. Once Upon a Time
4. Fakira
5. Fortress 2: Re-Entry
6. Vampire Over London
7. Wildfire: The Arabian Heart
Also as usual, I'm taking a week off before resuming my reviews for the year. See you again on the 8th!
1. Macbeth (1961)-The technical choices are more interesting than the performances.
2. Life With Father-Alternates between being charming and irritating.
3. The MacKintosh Man-Semi-interesting, but has a slow start and a predictable twist.
4. Aguirre, the Wrath of God-Slow paced and relatively dispassionate.
5. The Pirate-A few good ideas buried in a mediocre musical.
6. Dr. Mabuse, Part 1-Very intense with a good building of tension.
7. Dr. Mabuse, Part 2-Well-executed release of the aforementioned tension.
8. The Cincinnati Kid-Compelling, though perhaps a little too ambiguous at times.
9. Crime School-Kind of predictable, but Bogart is good.
10. Foreign Correspondent-Kind of hit and miss but a great last twenty minutes.
11. A Passage to India-Good visuals and acting sustain the movie despite it being a bit preachy and confusing at times.
12. The Inspector General-Some clever bits overshadowed by stretched out gags.
13. Evil Under the Sun-Mostly plays fair but feels slightly off.
14. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)-Beset by pacing issues and fluctuating characterization.
15. The Spirit of St. Louis-Engaging enough, but does drag at times.
16. Petulia-Very 60’s in a wide variety of ways.
17. Annie Oakley-Too much spectacle, not enough story or character development.
18. Une Parisienne-A sex comedy that doesn’t have much sex, comedy, or direction.
19. Tunes of Glory-I’m not entirely sure I understand the conflict.
20. Ivanhoe-Tries its best but mostly feels a bit dull.
21. Cry Terror!-Some interesting setpieces but not as dramatic or tense as it could have been.
22. The Merry Widow-Fairly charming and amusing.
23. An Ideal Husband (1947)-Gorgeous sets and costumes but a meh story.
24. An Ideal Husband (1999)-Sucks all the fun and charm out of Wilde’s story.
25. Cool Hand Luke-Pleasant enough to watch but perhaps trying to be deeper than it is.
26. That Hamilton Woman-Kind of rushes through the history and the romance.
27. Journey to Italy-Part travelogue, part predictable yet inexplicable melodrama.
28. Green for Danger-Good idea, meh acting drags it down.
29. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman-I’m not entirely sold on the romance.
30. Titanic (1943)-A bizarre blend of melodrama and an anti-capitalist screed.
31. Night Passage-Has a surprising amount of complexity and moving parts.
32. The Old Curiosity Shop (2007)-Mostly feels like a calvalcade of suffering.
33. The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer-Has just enough of a Python sensibility to keep from getting too far into cringe or black comedy.
34. American Guerrilla in the Philippines-Glosses over a lot but does have some neat touches.
35. Seven Days in May-Weakish start but vastly improves as it goes along.
36. The Man Between-Tries to be a thriller but doesn’t quite succeed.
37. Wildfire: The Arabian Heart-Insanely amateur and therefore winds up feeling ridiculous.
38. Stella (1990)-The central relationship makes it work.
39. Masques-Decent enough idea but there’s no sense of stakes.
40. Tom’s Midnight Garden-Charming and whimsical with a touch of philosophy.
41. Anne Frank: The Whole Story-Probably important to see but a little overblown in places.
42. Fortress-Decent enough prison movie with solid sci-fi trappings.
43. Fortress 2: Re-Entry-More action oriented and less smart than the first one, but still fairly entertaining.
44. You’ll Find Out-Mostly funny but surprisingly spooky at times.
45. Return to Oz-Dark and sometimes unsettling, but also engaging.
46. The Sea Gull-Decent performances keep things from getting too dull, but it’s still dull.
47. Walk on the Wild Side (1962)-Familiar, well-executed melodrama with a few bizarre elements.
48. Pépé le Moko-Neat ideas but a bland execution.
49. Carve Her Name With Pride-Feels like a typical war film, which is a shame given the subject material.
50. The Long Memory-Not a bad idea, but the last half-hour or so feels a bit tacked on.
51. Zotz!-Amusing but features too much Admiral Plot Device.
52. The Railway Children (2000)-Engaging enough but a bit overlong and meandering.
53. The Centerfold Girls-Wastes a good premise on sleaziness and stupidity.
54. The Eagle (1925)-Glosses over a lot of details.
55. The Game-Sucessfully stresses you out, though I’m not sure that’s a good thing.
56. The Boys From Brazil-Initially an effective mystery, then becomes a little too pulpy.
57. Human Desire-Perhaps a little too ambiguous.
58. Against All Flags-Fun, but not quite as much swashbuckling as I had hoped.
59. A Lesson in Love-Too much philosophy in what appears to be a comedy.
60. Once Upon a Time-Kind of dumbfounding.
61. Oh Heavenly Dog-I like the concept but the comedy aspects drag it down.
62. The Heiress-Takes an interesting turn in the third act.
63. Can’t Help Singing-Mildly amusing, but the love story has its issues.
64. The Wildcat-Interesting trappings surrounding a familiar story and an ending that’s a bit of a letdown.
65. Homicide Bureau-Short and sweet with elements that mostly work.
66. Relentless-Neat idea surrounded by cliché execution.
67. Nickelodeon (1976)-Initially too fast-paced and unfunny, and overall overlong.
68. Pan Tadeusz-Seems to leave out a lot of key details.
69. The Story of Three Loves-Baffling in a myriad of ways.
70. Dr. Syn, Alias The Scarecrow-A bit corny but pretty good, with plenty of clever tricks.
71. Chinatown Kid-A few interesting ideas and action scenes hidden in bad pacing.
72. Bahu Begum-Classic tropes from a foreign perspective (which can be a bit jarring).
73. 9th Company-Basically Full Metal Jacket, Russian edition.
74. Fakira-A weird combination of Bollywood and 1960’s Bond.
75. Skymaster-Charming but has several “broken suspension of disbelief” moments.
76. Kaagaz Ke Phool-A decidedly different take on the “Star is Born” story.
77. A Chinese Odyssey, Part 1: Pandora’s Box-Fast-paced and surprisingly silly.
78. A Chinese Odyssey, Part 2: Cinderella-Slightly more serious than the last one but still pretty surreal.
79. A Chinese Odyssey, Part 3-Kind of messes with the canon of the previous two, and yet entertaining in its own (albeit different) ways.
80. Humshakals-Smashes a lot of different types of humor together, but its central routine can get tiring.
81. Odd Man Out-Some great lighting effects but a mostly blah story.
82. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920)-Chooses odd things to focus on.
83. Hanky Panky-Mediocre thriller brought down further by forced comedy.
84. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)-Makes a lot of bizarre camera choices.
85. Contempt (aka Le Mépris)-Far too full of itself.
86. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941)-Notable for the subtle makeup and the creepy material surrounding the women.
87. The Bells Go Down-Has a very disjointed way of telling the story.
88. Jekyll and Hyde (1990)-Light on the original story, heavy on the melodrama.
89. The Big Combo-Bland story that feels way longer than it actually is.
90. Mary Reilly (1996)-Simultaneously the most faithful and the most outlandish adaptation of the Jekyll and Hyde story.
91. Vampire Over London-Entertaining, but only if you take it as complete nonsense.
92. Byzantium-A well done story with an unusual twist on the vampire tale.
93. Our Hospitality-Doesn’t focus on what you’d expect, but still fairly amusing.
94. Sukiyaki Western Django-Surreal yet fascinating.
95. The Letter (1929)-An interesting if somewhat unfortunate look back at early moviemaking.
96. The Upturned Glass-Makes a lot of odd choices that bring down the interesting core idea.
97. Dangerous Moonlight-More of an arbitrary melodrama than a war movie.
98. My Year Without Sex-All setup, little payoff.
99. Quantum Apocalypse-Interesting premise with unnecessary subplots and awkward execution.
100. The Lost World (1960)-Surprisingly light on dinosaurs but increasingly heavy on melodrama.
101. The Lost World (2001)-Relatively engaging characters and decent action but a few bizarre dropped and/or rushed plot threads.
102. The Power of Few-Cool storytelling device spoiled by the ending.
103. The Bigamist-Twisted but surprisingly heartfelt.
104. Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman-One or two good ideas brought down by bad writing and/or dubbing.
105. The Mouse that Roared-Wacky but not overdone.
106. Saddle the Wind-Doesn’t go in the expected direction, but is still a bit blah.
107. Ivanhoe (1982)-More streamlined, but our hero is way less proactive.
108. The Amazing Adventure-A simple but relatively charming tale.
109. Sherlock Jr.-A bit of a disjointed plot, but some fun bits of business.
7 BEST MOVIES
1. Sukiyaki Western Django
2. Byzantium
3. Stella
4. Tom’s Midnight Garden
5. Skymaster
6. The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer
7. A Chinese Odyssey, Parts 1-3
7 WORST MOVIES (starting with the worst)
1. The Centerfold Girls
2. The Game
3. Contempt
4. Humshakals
5. My Year Without Sex
6. Nickelodeon
7. Hanky Panky
Honorable Mention: Wildfire: The Arabian Heart, which eventually tips over into “so bad its good”
7 BIGGEST (POSITIVE) SURPRISES
1. Sukiyaki Western Django
2. Byzantium
3. Tom’s Midnight Garden
4. Stella
5. Sherlock Jr.
6. Saddle the Wind
7. Homicide Bureau
7 BEST FEMALE CHARACTERS
1. Bloody Benten, Sukiyaki Western Django
2. The various female characters, A Chinese Odyssey, parts 1-3
3. Spitfire, Against All Flags
4. Catherine the Great and Mascha, The Eagle
5. Karen Brennick, Fortress
6. Jo and Teresina, Walk on the Wild Side
7. Rischka, The Wildcat
7 BEST CAT APPEARANCES
1. The sauntering black cat (and to a lesser extent, the two other kitties) from Walk on the Wild Side
2. The plot advancing cat, The Long Memory
3. The cats in Oh Heavenly Dog
4. Hercules and the cartoon cats, Zotz!
5. The kitten cameo, Our Hospitality
6. The danger alerting cat, Relentless
7. The two pet cats, Anne Frank: The Whole Story
Bonus list: 7 MOST WTF MOVIES (ranked from most to least surreal)
1. A Chinese Odyssey, Parts 1-3
2. Sukiyaki Western Django
3. Once Upon a Time
4. Fakira
5. Fortress 2: Re-Entry
6. Vampire Over London
7. Wildfire: The Arabian Heart
Also as usual, I'm taking a week off before resuming my reviews for the year. See you again on the 8th!