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

One time in middle school, I was assigned to read Pearl Buck’s “The Good Earth,” a novel about a Chinese farmer Wang Lung (Paul Muni) who marries a slave O-Lan (Luise Rainer) and experiences the rises and falls of parenthood, financial success and other natural occurrences. Afterwards, I watched the 1937 film adaptation, a fairly faithful version of the book. However, with any adaptation of any source material there has to be changes. First, Wang Lung in the book has a bag of gold stashed underneath a brick wall to save money for his farm, while the movie never mentions it. Second, Wang Lung’s family has six children; one of them is mentally handicapped due to famine and malnutrition and another is killed by Wang. Third, instead of killing the second child, O-Lan kills an ox to better support the family, probably because murdering your own child was too much for Hollywood at the time. Fourth, the House of Hwang, called the Great House in the movie, introduces other servants who turn up later in the novel, while in "The Good Earth" movie they are only extras. Finally, the movie ends with Wang at his son’s wedding giving the pearls to O-Lan in her deathbed, she dies, and Wang travels to the peach tree planted by his wife and reminisces in wonder. In the book, however, Wang, years after his wife’s death, grows old and goes through many disputes with his sons and their wives as they plan to sell Wang’s land. Whether the changes strengthen the film or not, "The Good Earth" is a decent adaptation, if not less inferior to Pearl Buck’s book. (3 ½ Peach Pits out of 5)

3 years, 3 months ago

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

Steven Spielberg returns once again with another biopic, only here he depicts the later years of 16th United States President Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis). His film "Lincoln" is about Honest Abe’s effort to have the Thirteenth Amendment passed, in the hopes of abolishing slavery in 1865. He and Secretary of State William H. Seward (David Strathairn) must get approval from the Democrat, led by Fernando Wood (Lee Pace) and Republican representatives, led by Thaddeus Stevens (Tommy Lee Jones), as well bring an end to the Civil War. Much like "Schindler’s List" and "Amistad," the film is also about political rhetoric between two authority figures over a specific minority group to be freed from oppression. Of course, being a Dreamworks film, he has to incorporate family dynamics between Abe, Mary Todd Lincoln (Sally Field) and his sons Robert (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and Tad (Gulliver MacGrath). However, "in Lincoln," Spielberg interprets one of the most important presidential motivations in American history, using inspiration from a book by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Although the movie had one of the best and most authentic portrayals of our 16th President and brilliant production and costume designs, it is far from historically accurate. The vote was decreed by a paper ballot rather than a voice, some shots have the American flag with fifty stars in the background as opposed to the 35-star flag of 1963, and California is left out in the ballot callout. Artistic liberties and modernized interpretations aside, how is the movie on its own? While not the best Spielberg movie he’s made as it has a ton of scenes going on too long, "Lincoln" is definitely on the top five. (4 Stovepipe Hats out of 5)

3 years, 3 months ago

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

Oliver Stone strikes Oscar gold once again with yet another historical account. Here, he chooses the assassination of John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald (Gary Oldman), or at least Clay Shaw (Tommy Lee Jones), according to attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner). Stone’s next film, called "JFK," accounts Garrison’s information hunt for the hidden conspiracy behind the late president’s murder. After hoping from interview to interview and balancing his time on his research with spending time with his wife Liz (Sissy Spacek), Jim testifies his conspiracy theory to the state of Louisiana only to lose his case. Some experts could debate on the historical inaccuracies portrayed in the film and loopholes into Garrison’s statement. Plus, some of the interview scenes, even ones with Agent X (Donald Sutherland) drag on a little too much and Garrison’s speech at the end might come off as preachy to most. On the other hand, "JFK" does the best job in flashing back from the narrative to newsreel footage from the Kennedy assassination to actors recreating the event to in Lee Harvey Oswald’s point of view. To add spice to the scenes, Robert Richardson decides to filter them like the grainy black-and-white photography from 1963. The way Stone flawlessly pieces together these scenes almost creates a documentary-like quality as well as a political drama. "JFK" is a fascinating thought experiment as well as a good film, even when you’re watching the lengthy director’s cut. (4 Fractured Bullets out of 5)

3 years, 3 months ago

mhthehammer rated Spellbound

Spellbound 8/10

3 years, 3 months ago

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

Alfred Hitchcock rarely got much respect and love from the Academy than he deserved, such as the case with his final Best Picture nominee, "Spellbound." Psychiatrist Dr. Constance Petersen (Ingrid Bergman) gets a visit from Dr. Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck), a surgeon with an unusual phobia and a suspicious criminal past. Spellbound by the man’s history, Petersen runs away with him from Green Manors and the police to help study him and fix his trauma. It turns out that his name is John Ballantyne and his fear of black lines against a white background is triggered by the accidental death of his brother. It also turns out that the real Dr. Edwardes was murdered by Dr. Murchison (Leo G. Caroll) who shot him over a cliff in Gabriel Valley and hid the gun underneath the snow. While not one of Hitchcock’s best films, "Spellbound" combines elements of romance films, whodunit mysteries, film noir, and all with a pinch of his trademark suspense. Of course, Peck’s phobia subplot most of the time serves as a macguffin to solve the film’s murder mystery, but thankfully it’s intriguing enough to keep audiences guessing throughout. A special mention should be given to the dream sequence inspired by Salvador Dali. The way Hitchcock incorporates the Spanish artist’s trademark nightmarish surrealism into his film using old-fashioned camera tricks, matte paintings, composite shots, and other visual effects is cleverly handled and fits the expressionistic tone brilliantly. "Spellbound," while not an authentic depiction of psychoanalysis, is another good film that embodies what makes Alfred Hitchcock a filmmaking maestro. (4 Blank White Cards out of 5)

3 years, 3 months ago

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

Francis Ford Coppola’s war masterpiece "Apocalypse Now" is one of those movies that is about an experience, the journey into the mindset of a post-traumatic Vietnam soldier. Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) is hired to travel to Cambodia and kill Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), who has reportedly gone insane. Willard along with his crew Lance (Sam Bottoms), Chef (Frederic Forrest), Phillips (Albert Hall) and Clean (Laurence Fishbourne) hop on a patrol boat and head across the river and, on their way, encounter a duo of Playboy models, a surf-loving, napalm-smelling Lieutenant Kilgore (Robert Duvall), and a photojournalist (Dennis Hopper), who warns Willard of the horrors that Kurtz has in store. As this journey progresses, you’re witnessing a posse of errand boys sent by grocery clerks crescendo into madness. That same madness is the horror and mortal terror of the Vietnam War in which they have befriended. Willard, in particular, is constrained to the war so much that he fears doing disservice to the US Army would be suicidal, so he kills Kurtz, completing his mission. Oddly enough, Francis Ford Coppola himself experienced the insanity while filming Apocalypse Now witnessing the horror of everything going wrong during production. As documented in Hearts of Darkness, Coppola suffered from a mental breakdown because of a variety of delays, including a typhoon that destroyed most of the sets, Martin Sheen’s mid-production heart attack, Marlon Brando gaining weight, and all of them causing the film to go weeks behind schedule and the budget to balloon massively. On top of that, four editors assembled together the messy footage in post-production for two years. So, in a way both Coppola and Willard have met the faces of horror, the post-traumatic impact of war and the film "Apocalypse Now," and made friends with them. (4 ½ Heads in Spikes out of 5)

3 years, 3 months ago

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

Let me be honest with you, "Taxi Driver" is my favorite Scorsese film because, unlike his future works, it gives us a series of uneasy answers. The movie follows a New York cab driver Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), who is suffering from depression and is slowly going insane. During his craze, he forms a failed relationship with Betsy (Cybil Shepherd), shapes his hair into a mohawk, encourages Iris (Jodie Foster) out of prostituting herself, and attempts to assassinate Senator Charles Palantine (Leonard Harris). Travis, a lonely war veteran who sees all of New York City as a disgusting pithole full of political corruption, filthy porn movie theaters and sex workers, is struggling to keep his sanity with such a mundane task. It could be possible that the taxi driver is a weak individual consumed with post-war trauma and uses his occupation to maintain his sanity. Maybe Travis thinks he’s a lost wandering angel who’s trying to clean up the mess and rescue Iris from her job, but he ends up causing anarchy and destruction. Maybe all the crime Travis committed didn’t happen and the whole psychotic episode happened in his head. Afterall, the ending implies that he died in Sport’s (Harvey Keitel) apartment at the same day as his assassination attempt and is granted a hero the next day. Yet, in the next scene, everything’s back to normal and Betsy is riding in Travis’s cab, despite her being disgusted with him earlier. However you interpret this movie or Martin Scorcese and Paul Schrader intended to tell this story, "Taxi Driver" is the director’s true masterpiece. (4 ½ Mohawks out of 5)

3 years, 3 months ago

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

Based on a Broadway play by Christopher Hampton, "Dangerous Liaisons" is about the Marquise de Merteuil (Glenn Close) who enlists her ex-lover Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovich) to seduce and sleep with her niece Cecile (Uma Thurman) the debutante and daughter of Madame de Volange (Swoozie Kurtz). Meanwhile, Valmont plans on wooing Madame de Tourvel (Michelle Pfeiffer), a religious woman whose husband is away and who eventually develops genuine feelings for. With all the lustful encounters, Cecile miscarries Valmont’s baby, his reputation and relationships are sabotaged, he dies from a duel with Chevalier Danceny (Keanu Reeves) and Merteuil’s evil schemes are exposed to the public. While I adored James Acheson’s costume design, the grand rococo production design and Glenn Close’s portrayal as the manipulative marquise, it took me a while to conceive the plot because most of the film was mainly expository dialogue. From what I gathered, that vile venomous snake got what she deserved after all she concocted. Yet, she enviously did all of this to combat her other ex-lover Comte de Bastide, who we never see in the film, and because that same man is in line to marry Cecile, a girl fresh from the convent. Valmont is no better either, as he claims to be in love with Tourvel, yet still courts from bed to bed anyway because it is “beyond his control.” However, later, after seeing his reputation dwindle, he manages to be the lesser of the two evils once he confesses to everyone he knows about what happened and exposes his mistress’s letters to all of Paris, even if it means costing his life. Then again, these actions were part of the themes of the play, envy and lust, two of the seven deadly sins that may consequently lead to demise and reputability. While "Dangerous Liaisons" is a good film with fantastic artistry, the morality isn’t as complex or intriguing as it could have been, especially with the lack of motives from our leads. (3 ½ Wax-Sealed Envelopes out of 5)

3 years, 3 months ago

mhthehammer added 90 items to Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) list

3 years, 3 months ago

mhthehammer posted a list

Best Picture Nominees (in Ten Sentences) (478 movies items)

3 years, 3 months ago

mhthehammer added 32 items to their collection

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3 years, 3 months ago

mhthehammer added 79 items to their collection

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The House of Small Cubes (La maison en petits cubes)

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3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer added 2 items to their collection

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3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer added 38 items to their collection

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Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull

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6/10

3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer added 92 items to My favorite Best Picture Winners (Worst to Best)) list

3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer posted a list

My favorite Best Picture Winners (Worst to Best)) (92 movies items)

3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer added 24 items to their collection

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3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer added 4 items to their collection

And Now for Something Completely Different

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7/10

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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

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3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer added 16 items to their collection

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8/10

3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer added 13 items to their collection

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Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

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3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer posted a review of Cats

“‘Cats’ by Andrew Lloyd Webber isn’t my favorite musical because, while it is visually brilliant and beautifully sung, the story is very light and minimal and the style is very dated. Nevertheless, the show was the longest-running musical from the early 1980’s until the late 90’s and starte” read more

3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer posted a review of Holmes & Watson

“Holmes & Watson is another comedic take on the iconic mystery series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In this movie, Sherlock Holmes (Will Ferrell) and Dr. John Watson (John C. Reilly) are assigned to investigate the perpetrator of Queen Victoria’s (Pam Ferris) future death on the Titanic. The murderer ” read more

3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer posted a review of The Emoji Movie

“Is the first animated Razzie Award winner The Emoji Movie the worst film of the year? Gene (T.J. Miller) is a ‘meh’ emoji inside a kid’s iPhone who wants to be a wide variety of expressions. Once he accidentally glitches the phone, he crosses the threshold and exits Textropolis with his band o” read more

3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer posted a review of Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party

“I have to admit, when the 2016 presidential election happened, I didn’t pay so much attention to the debates and controversy on social media because the strong oppositions toward Donald Trump and praise on Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton were spiraling violently out of control. However, I also ” read more

3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer posted a review of Fifty Shades of Grey

“Remember when everybody was talking about the book Fifty Shades of Grey by E. L. James? Do you also remember the equally terrible movie adaptation on Valentine’s Day weekend in 2015? The story of Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) and her sadomasochistic relationship with young businessman Christia” read more

3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer posted a review of Fantastic Four

“Back in 2015, I saw a huge cardboard display for the new Fantastic Four movie, and I thought, “Oh no, is this gonna be one of those movies where it’s coated in that ugly desaturated earth and metal tones?” So, I didn’t watch it because I wasn’t into Marvel movies in general, but it might b” read more

3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer posted a review of Saving Christmas (2014)

“If you looked at the poster of Saving Christmas and expected a fun family action comedy featuring the actor from “Growing Pains,” get ready to be disappointed. Kirk Cameron, the formerly popular teen actor turned born-again Christian, is off to save Christmas and what does he do? He stalls insid” read more

3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer posted a review of Movie 43

“Omnibus films featuring big names can work as long as the product works well, but Movie 43 fails as it combines the series of shorts into one narrative. There are two versions of the film: One takes place in a producer’s conference and the other takes place at a teenager’s home before an apocaly” read more

3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer posted a review of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part 2

“To tell a tale out of school, out of all the horrible Worst Picture Razzie winners, Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 2 was the main reason I retained from doing this marathon in the first place. On top of not getting into the teenage vampire and werewolf trend in early 2010’s, I didn’t want to expos” read more

3 years, 10 months ago

mhthehammer posted a review of Jack and Jill

“I want to make this as clear as possible: when I was a teen, I enjoyed watching the dumb comedies by Adam Sandler and Happy Madison. However, as I got older, my admiration of those movies faded, especially after watching arguably his worst project yet, Jack and Jill. The premise is about Jack (Adam ” read more

3 years, 10 months ago

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