DominicCobb said:
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983) 7.5/10 - I like to consider myself almost a Monty Python fanatic. That means I think they're the funniest thing ever, but I've only seen Holy Grail, Life of Brian, and a handful of Flying Circus episodes. It's a problem. I tried to alleviate that by watching this. I was a little disappointed. It's still outrageously funny, but its clear their best jokes were behind them. To top it off, many of the sketches ran a little too long. Still great fun, though.
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) 8.5/10 - Very well made film with great performances. Not an easy watch, though.
Mulholland Drive (2001) -
...I don't even know. I just finished watching it so these thoughts are kind of off the cuff. Well, I'll start by saying it was very well done. Very good style. Very good, um...
Okay this movie makes no f*cking sense.
Or does it?
I'm not sure. But I think I liked it. A lot
Yeah, a lot of questions were raised, and I don't think I got any answers. But who cares, really? I could tell pretty early on that I wasn't going to get answers. And I've seen Eraserhead, so I kind of knew how Lynch rolls. I don't think it's really about the answers. At least, to me it's not. Well, I'll admit I hated it for a bit after it ended, but then I thought more about he film I had just watched, the whole thing. When it started to get good, I was on the edge of my seat until the end. I loved that. It was a thrill ride. It had great characters, themes. Part of me feels like Lynch said "f*ck it," and threw away the story for the final third. You know what? that's okay. It makes it that much more interesting. Yeah, I don't know what was really going on. But I like a good ambiguous film. There's a lot of different things that could've been happening. And I got some theories.
So, yeah, I think I loved this movie. Maybe tomorrow I'll hate it. Maybe I'll love it even more. Right now, I'm giving it a 9.5/10
Agreed on Meaning of Life. There are some great moments, but they are dragged down by the unfunny overlong sketches like the mining town song and dance number which reputedly ate up the entire budget of the film. But the liver donor sketch makes the entire thing worthwhile.
I have Alice on my watch stack, as it's early Scorsese I'll probably love it.
Mullholland Drive is without a doubt one of the WORST things I have ever sat through. It makes no sense from any standpoint, it has no purpose, drags on forever, and by the end you realize that you could have spent your time more productively doing ANYTHING else! I like Lynch as a person and admire his desire to break free of conventions but usually despise his films, none more so than this one. And so many people have it up on a pedestal! Ahhhhh!
Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell
I love this movie, which despite its underdevelopment and low budget actually makes a fitting coda to the adventures of the Baron. And what a great dark and wonderful setup!
3.5 balls out of 4.
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Well produced doc about one of the legends of cinematography. He used a camera like a paintbrush, and you'll know exactly what I mean if you've ever seen a film he shot-especially his work for The Archers. A great artist of a lost art.
3.5 balls out of 4.