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mhthehammer rated Roma

 Roma 10/10

3 years ago

mhthehammer rated The Red Shoes

 The Red Shoes 10/10

3 years ago

mhthehammer added 1 item to Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) list

In the 1940’s, English film studios jumped in the trend of well-disguised national propaganda pictures, ones that glorified the Allied countries while antagonizing the Axis Power coalition of Nazi Germany. Nowhere has there been a primal example of this than Noel Coward’s "In Which We Serve." The movie tells a story about the Royal Navy crew in the shipwrecked HMS Torrin. Whereas, it flashes back between the seamen struggling to survive in a lifeboat and their effort to construct the ship, under the command of Captain Kinross (Noel Coward). "In Which We Serve" also recounts the happy marriages between Seaman Shorty Blake (John Mills) and Freda (Kay Walsh), Kinross and Alix (Celia Johnson), and Chief Petty Officer Hardy (Bernard Miles) and Kath (Joyce Carey). Meanwhile, our heroes at sea patriotically treasure these memories before they meet their makers and witness their battleship sinks. Despite this being spoken from Noel Coward’s voice and eyes, "In Which We Serve" introduced the world to David Lean, a man who previously edited films like "49th Parallel" and "Pygmalion." Even though he is credited as editor and co-director, he holds accountable for the best part of capturing Coward’s patriotism. The way he shoots the battle sequences and the ship sinking creates a sense of realism and an epic scale, the style that would eventually become a trademark in his future work. Aside from that, "In Which We Serve," while a relevant movie for its time, is above average. (3 ½ “Freda” Tattoos out of 5)

3 years ago

mhthehammer added 49 items to Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) list

3 years ago

mhthehammer added 145 items to Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) list

3 years ago

mhthehammer added 135 items to Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) list

3 years ago

mhthehammer rated Suspicion

 Suspicion 8/10

3 years ago

mhthehammer added 1 item to Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) list

Alfred Hitchcock on top of being the maestro of suspense, is one of the most versatile directors in the world. He has made espionage thrillers, screwball comedies, and romantic thrillers, like "Suspicion," pitched during his time working for RKO Pictures and David O. Selznick. In this film, Lina (Joan Fontaine) marries a mysterious English gentleman Johnnie Aysgrath (Cary Grant) and lives a seemingly happy life. As their marriage progresses, Lina grows more suspicious about her new husband, who hides his embezzlement plot and penniless gambling ambitions over her eyes, supposedly murdered his best friend Beaky (Nigel Bruce) in Paris, and, according to her, vows to do the same to her. The always reserved Hitchcock proves to be the best person to direct the film after glorifying mystery romances in "Rebecca." "Suspicion," while not as groundbreaking, churns up a handful of subtlety, even though the ending is a bit rushed. It starts off very merry and witty, but as the film goes further into the plot, it gets more and more disturbing, building up the suspicion of Johnnie’s supposed murderous intentions. From the beginning of his marriage Johnnie lied to his wife about his financial pursuits, sold two chairs from their honeymoon for gambling bets, and thought about stealing money from Lina’s life insurance. In fact, "Suspicion" would have been more powerful if Johnnie ended up over a cliff after attempting to push Lina out of the car, instead of pulling over, telling her the truth, and driving back home. Even though Hitchcock’s vision seemed heavily mandated by the Hollywood studio system, "Suspicion" spells his name all over. (4 Monkey Faces out of 5)

3 years ago

mhthehammer rated Foreign Correspondent

 Foreign Correspondent 8/10

3 years ago

mhthehammer added 1 item to Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) list

In Alfred Hitchcock’s second Hollywood picture since his leave from the United Kingdom, Johnny Jones (Joel McCrea) is an American reporter assigned to cover a gripping scoop in Europe. The inside story involves the plot against Dutch diplomat Van Meer (Albert Basserman) concocted by Henry Fisher (Herbert Marshall) and his German spies. Jones and his allies Carol Fisher (Laraine Day) and Scott ffolliott (George Sanders) must retrieve the conspiracy before they get killed and World War II begins. While quintessentially Hitchcockian in every sense, "Foreign Correspondent" can only be described as an American suspense adventure film disguised as a pro-British war propaganda film. If not for the rise of the Third Reich and the concerns of World War II spreading overseas from Europe, "Foreign Correspondent" would not be different from any of his past espionage films. In fact, it seems that Hitchcock was trying to remake "The 39 Steps," a film about a man trying to stop a British government agency from stealing military secrets. However, the one scene that stands out from his filmography is the bait-and-switch part where Fisher’s bodyguard Rowley (Edmund Gwenn) pushes Jones off Westminster Cathedral tower. Rowley pushed him out of traffic while crossing the street, but the minute Jones saw the elevator going up and him trying to shove him off, he stepped aside and let him plummet to his death. Part of why the scene was the most effective comes from the build up from the friendly conversation between the two that stretches further until the rubber band snaps. So, in a film like "Foreign Correspondent," Alfred Hitchcock’s use of suspense is what makes him a brilliant auteur. (4 Newspaper Snowflakes out of 5)

3 years ago

mhthehammer rated Shanghai Express

 Shanghai Express 7/10

3 years ago

mhthehammer added 1 item to Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) list

Josef Von Sternberg’s "Shanghai Express" is one of those movies that’s known less for its story and more for its camerawork. The premise is set inside a train heading to Shanghai, where Lt. Donald Harvey (Clive Brook) reunites with his old flame Madeline (Marlene Dietrich), a prostitute who goes by the cognym “Shanghai Lily”. While their romance is put to question, the express train is held hostage by Chinese civil war forces led by a Eurasian spy Henry Chang (Warner Orland), who terrorize the passengers, including Hui Fei (Anna Mae Wong). Most people call it “'Grand Hotel' on wheels,” being a movie centered on the adventures of multiple characters inside a titular setting. However, in "Shanghai Express," one linear plot thickens around the people instead of them interacting with each other in a loose story. As such, the film feels less a piece of cinematic influence and more of a crowd-pleasing 1930’s novelty from Hollywood. Where "Shanghai" really stands out is the stylistic chiaroscuro lighting by Lee Garmes. For those of you who don’t know, chiaroscuro is the practice of using contrasting light and shadows made by a light downcasted on an object. For this movie, Sternberg uses the effect to create expressionist silhouettes on the rebels soldiers or cast a low angle rigging light on Lily in the tense scenes, similar to the black-and-white film noirs of decades later. While not a memorable movie from a plot standpoint, "Shanghai Express" was one of the biggest landmarks of visual storytelling. (3 ½ Blue Lotuses out of 5)

3 years ago

mhthehammer rated The Heiress

 The Heiress 8/10

3 years ago

mhthehammer added 1 item to Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) list

In the mid-19th Century, Catherine Sloper (Olivia de Havilland), the wealthy daughter of Dr. Austin Sloper (Ralph Richardson) falls in love with Morris (Montgomery Clift), who promises to marry her. Dr. Sloper tells her she will be disinherited from a $10,000 fortune because of his suspicions of Morris robbing her money. However, Morris' trust is put to the test when he finds out about the will and storms off, thereby breaking Catherine’s heart and allowing her to plot revenge against him. Released in 1949, "The Heiress" is an adaptation of a Broadway play on the same name by Augustus and Ruth Goetz, which in turn was adapted from the novel “Washington Square.” On top of that, this movie tells one of those stories where a naive and spoiled woman has to learn to face reality. Unlike "Gone with the Wind," "The Heiress" has a nihilistic take on the message, although the story starts off as innocent. Catherine, unlike Scarlett O’Hara, matures quicker the minute she learns of her father’s withering life and the fact that Morris lied to her before they elope. Also, instead of waiting for her true love to marry her one day, she locks him outside her house and trims away the lights, wearing a wicked grimace. So, "The Heiress" doesn’t just become a costume period romance filled with father-in-law conflicts. Instead, it’s a cautionary fable about marital betrayal and high-class loyalty. (4 Ruby Buttons out of 5)

3 years ago

mhthehammer rated Marriage Story

 Marriage Story 10/10

3 years ago

mhthehammer added 1 item to Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) list

In "Marriage Story," Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johannson) get involved in a coast-to-coast divorce. Charlie is struggling to keep his directing career in New York City while Nicole is trying to find herself while living with her family and expand her acting career in Los Angeles. Both are caught in a battle for custody for their son Henry (Azhy Robertson) and a war between their lawyers Nora Fanshaw (Laura Dern) and Jay Marotta (Ray Liotta), who exaggerate their stories. On top of being one of the best films of 2019, "Marriage Story" is a combination of the modern saying “write what you know” and the more prefered saying “write what you want to know.” Noah Baumbach, who has touched on divorce in "The Squid and the Whale," wanted to authentically depict the marital struggle. For inspiration, he drew inspiration from his separation from Jennifer Jason Leigh and custodial battle over their son. As such, the drama in his personal life is reflected on the conflict between Charlie and Nicole. However, the project required Baumbach to explore the broader side of the material, speaking to his best friends, litigators, and judges. These outside resources and interviews helped him craft the courtroom rhetoric between Nora, Jay and Bert Spitz (Alan Alda) and the differences between New York and California lawyers. So for "Marriage Story," a melancholically beautiful love story about divorce, he experienced divorce, but he wanted to find out the legalities that go on during the procedure. (5 Ninja Costumes out of 5)

3 years ago

mhthehammer rated Promising Young Woman

 Promising Young Woman 7/10

3 years, 1 month ago

mhthehammer added 1 item to Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) list

Imagine a murder mystery film mixed with a mindset of a Quentin Tarantino revenge plot. In "Promising Young Woman," Cassie Thomas (Carey Mulligan) is hellbent on tracking the culprit who sexually molested her best friend at a party. After investigating other suspects, including her old best friend Madison McPhee (Allison Brie), Jordan Green (Alfred Molina), a lawyer who covered Nina’s crime, and Nina’s mother (Molly Shannon), she finally meets Al Monroe (Chris Lowell), the real perpetrator, at his bachelor party, incriminates him and has the police arrest him from beyond the grave. Right from the premise I began to draw parallels between the main protagonist and other new-generation female warriors and femme fatales. Cassie’s manhunt is somewhat similar to The Bride from "Kill Bill," as both involve a vengeful purpose written on paper, in this case it’s a notepad. Her murderous eyes and predatory seductiveness while interrogating Al seem on par with Catherine Tramell from "Basic Instinct." The idea of a female anti-hero fighting against male oppression is lifted from LuckyChap Entertainment’s earlier film "Birds of Prey," a comic book film about Harley Quinn vowing revenge against Gotham City. While encompassing the aforementioned characters, Emerald Fennell makes a fresh take on her leading lady as well. While focused on getting her revenge, she stabilizes the relationships with her parents (Jennifer Coolidge and Clancy Brown) and, to a lesser extent, her boyfriend Ryan (Bo Burnham). With a complexly written character at hand, "Promising Young Woman" is an uneasy film to see, but a topical film to conceive of after the dark times of the second half of the 2010’s. (3 ½ Spit Coffee Cups out of 5)

3 years, 1 month ago

mhthehammer rated Little Women (2019)

 Little Women (2019) 5/10

3 years, 1 month ago

mhthehammer rated Little Women

 Little Women 6/10

3 years, 1 month ago

mhthehammer added 2 items to Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) list

3 years, 1 month ago

mhthehammer rated The Piano

 The Piano 9/10

3 years, 1 month ago

mhthehammer added 1 item to Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) list

Fresh from the Cannes Film Festival came Jane Campion's critically acclaimed feature called "The Piano." In the 19th Century, Ada McGrath (Holly Hunter) travels from Scotland to New Zealand to be set for an arranged marriage by Alistar Stewart (Sam Neill) with her handcrafted piano and her daughter Flora (Anna Paquin). The relationship between him and the mute Ada is less than intimate as she cares more about her piano than her future-husband. However, her Maori-tattooed neighbor George Baines (Harvey Keitel) offers intimate favors in exchange for his land and eventually sparks fly and a love triangle ensues. Ada’s piano in "The Piano" is her only symbolic voice throughout the film, while Flora serves as her interpreter and Ada’s only method of communication is either British Sign Language or her notepad. As such, "The Piano" is about desire from the heart, as each character yearns for something and must follow their path to achieve it. Alistair’s dream is to spawn a family of his own while settling colonies in Maori territory. Ada’s wish is to find love without speaking as she lost her vocal ability when she was young and cannot understand why. George’s desire is to have a passionate connection with a woman and he does after “offering Ada piano lessons.” Alistair’s motivation is weak according to the Scottish woman, but George proves to be a perfect match for her because he speaks from the heart as opposed to the mind. (4 ½ Metal Fingers out of 5)

3 years, 1 month ago

mhthehammer rated The Kids Are All Right

 The Kids Are All Right 6/10

3 years, 1 month ago

mhthehammer added 1 item to Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) list

In Los Angeles, Laser (Josh Hutchinson) and Joni (Mia Wasikowska), the children of a same-sex lesbian couple Nic (Annette Bening) and Jules (Julianne Moore), contact with the anonymous sperm donor Paul (Mark Ruffalo), an owner of an organic foods restaurant. Once Jules is hired to design Paul’s backyard, Nic becomes more jealous and emotionally distant from her and discovers Jules partaking in a bisexual affair. Based on the advertising, I knew that "The Kids Are All Right" focused on two children of a gay couple. What I didn’t expect was that the movie centered on a love triangle that would briefly tarnish said marriage and reveal how lesbian couples gave birth to children. In fact, Lisa Cholodenko made a similar film called "Laurel Canyon," which also was about a love triangle that put the main character’s sexual orientation to the test. Also, both films have been critically lauded for the lead’s performances, Ruffalo, Bening and Moore against Christian Bale, Kate Beckinsale, and Frances McDormand. Unlike "The Kids Are All Right," "Laurel Canyon" explored heterosexual relationships and neo-counterculturalism in the Santa Monica area. Also, unlike the former film where Nic and Jules reconcile and everything turns out fine, the latter film's ending is left uncertain whether the couple end happily together. While both are okay, I enjoyed "Laurel Canyon" slightly more than "The Kids Are All Right." That film is more personal, but that unfortunately is sheltered by a formulaic story with a more predictable resolution. (3 Scrabble Boards out of 5)

3 years, 1 month ago

mhthehammer rated Winter's Bone

 Winter's Bone 6/10

3 years, 1 month ago

mhthehammer added 1 item to Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) list

In the rural Ozark territory, 17-year-old Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) is told by Police Chief Baskin that her father Jessup is arrested for drug possession and is expected to show up on trial. To support her family from eviction, Ree has to find her father and have him pay the bondsman Mike Satterfield (Tate Taylor) within one week. She talks to several suspects including her meth-addicted uncle Teardrop (John Hawkes), the head of the meth lab Thump Milton (Ronnie Hall), and his wife Merab (Dale Dickey), to gather information about Jessup's whereabouts. It turns out, Jessup died from a meth lab fire and the Miltons dumped the body in a bog and cut up his hands with a chainsaw before the trial. Being a sucker for mystery dramas, I like to decypher the story behind the murder and possibly gather clues to support the scene of the crime. Plus, the movie has its visual flourishes, such as the cold grey-blue scheme, the Edward Goriesque leafless trees, the rusty junkyard, and the creepy icicles on the railings. However, "Winter’s Bone" loses me with its obvious themes of female dominance and patriarchy at play. My favorite feminist films typically use the aforementioned topics as subtext, leaving multiple interpretations in theme or angles of enjoyment. While "Winter’s Bone" has other themes as well such as societal merit, hope and familial distance, the subject of patriarchal threat waters them down so much that only one level is allowed to be viewed. What I’m trying to say is "Winter’s Bone" is fine for what it is, but it’s not my cup of tea. (3 Glass Boxed Stoats out of 5)

3 years, 1 month ago

mhthehammer rated Awakenings

 Awakenings 6/10

3 years, 1 month ago

mhthehammer added 1 item to Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) list

The late comedian Penny Marshall makes an against-type directing job adapting the medical study from Oliver Sacks. In her third film "Awakenings," Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) is hired to care for patients with encephalitis lethargica in a hospital in The Bronx. Sayer tests them with a drug L-DOPA, which causes the patients to awaken from their catatonic trance, and grows a bond with Leonard Lowe (Robert De Niro), who got infected when he was a boy in the 1920’s. Even though "Awakenings" is about Sayer’s efforts to test the drug and the side effects that go with it, Leonard takes center stage for the film. The audience roots for him as he wakes up from the disease, reconnects with his mother (Ruth Nelson), and hits up Paula (Penelope Ann Miller). Similarly, they empathize with him when the drug wears down and he tries to make his last date with Paula. Williams’s storyline is unfortunately the weakest part, with the standard plot with a protagonist making a discovery and everyone looking down on him because his ideas are crazy, except for one soul who inevitably becomes his romantic foil. After "Good Morning Vietnam" and "Dead Poets Society," the writers probably had one plot for a Robin Williams movie and copied it in every film since. Thankfully, Robert De Niro’s performance and subplot serves as the saving grace for this otherwise tired premise. Overall, "Awakenings" has its brilliant and emotional moments, but the film is above average. (3 Tennis Balls out of 5)

3 years, 1 month ago

mhthehammer rated An Education

 An Education 9/10

3 years, 1 month ago