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I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)
I'd say watch it
I really liked this movie. It's not perfect but it's engrossing. Lili Taylor gave such a wonderful performance that made me laugh out loud and feel threatened at the same time. Her black and white monologue scenes were one of my favorite aspects of the movie. She's so convinced of her "movement" and that's put on display throughout the film but especially in the monologue scenes. She's got the razor eye look down!
I didn't really care for Jared Harris as Andy Warhol. He game off ditzy, fearful and dazed a lot of the time. I thought that this couldn't be how the real Andy sounded so I googled an interview with Andy done in 1966 and felt justified in my opinion.
Stephen Dorff was terrific as Candy. I felt like there was a perfect balance of tone and make up. Candy isn't a drag queen, but a transgender woman. And I never got that campy feeling from her outfits that would make me think otherwise.
The factory was just this ambiguous, shiny silver warehouse room that was beautifully envisioned. Aside from that, though, I felt a lot of the movie was flat. I wanted the sixties to just slap me in the face and I didn't get that.
Overall, I liked it. It's engrossing (could lose 5-10 minutes in my opinion though) and Lili Taylor just shines and forces my eye balls to watch her. She made the character believable and I actually felt a lot of sympathy for her. She did terrible things but had so much passion and in the end she was a victim of it.
Day of the Woman (1978)
Disappointing, But Still Not Completely Awful
I saw this movie after watching the remake and I liked the remake better. This is unusual for me. I usually find the originals of films to be better in the sense that they were made with more care and creativity, considering most horror classics were made with little or no budget.
Unfortunately for "Day of the Woman" as the director Meir Zarchi prefers, I did not enjoy it. It was a little dull, unsettling, and shocking to see that she was not only raped by four people, but also that the rape scenes are very, very long and detailed. I found this to be overkill. I was also very displeased with the writing and the plot in general. I found that I didn't care for the characters or their deaths because there really wasn't a back story. They all seemed like generic, sociopathic rednecks with little to no personality. Even the heroine is dull-witted and completely unobservant apparently, as she attempts to run away from her attackers only to be "surprised" when she finds the others watching her with little attention.
This movie isn't good. It isn't very spectacular with it's special effects and it wasn't very well acted. Although, without films like this to push the boundaries of what is socially accepted in America and what isn't, we wouldn't have the graphic films we have today! (Such as Hostel, or even this films remake.) This film plays a role in shaping cinema, but it is a very small role indeed.) THREE OUT OF TEN.
Matilda (1996)
Even Though I'm Not Ten, This Movie Is Still Very Magical
I've come to realize that re-watching my beloved child hood movies is a bad idea. After rewatching them I see exactly how poor my taste in movies was. Thankfully, this is not one of those movies.
The movie is about a very gifted girl named Matilda, who lives in a household of blithering idiots that force her to watch mind-numbing TV shows and scold her for reading. Her dad is a croaked used car salesman, and her mother really just plays bingo every day. They leave Matilda at a young age to fend for herself. Luckily, her amazing intelligence helps her adapt to her unfortunate circumstances.
As the movie goes on she wants to go to school. Her dad, however, does not think she's even old enough. Which is hysterical considering her dad uses her idiot mother as proof that Matilda is four when she is indeed six. Her father meets Principle Trunchbull, a hideous, lesbian-looking ex-athlete who hates children and even says she's glad she never was one. Upon hearing this, Harry sends Matilda off to the elementary school from hell: Crunchem Hall.
The story takes off from there as Matilda discovers she has an extraordinary talent: she can move things just by thinking really hard about moving them. She hones her talent and uses this to her advantage as she attempts to get revenge on the Trunchbull for Ms. Honey, her sweeter than sugar teacher, and as she takes back the school for the kids.
I found this movie immensely entertaining and very well acted for a movie that involves A LOT of children. The Trunchbull, though, is my absolute favorite. She's evil, sadistic, and crazy... but she's also deathly afraid of black cats and believes heavily in superstition.
Overall this movie is magical, and still stayed magical even after watching it years later. I definitely recommend this fairy tale to everyone. (Although, I actually found it more geared towards adults, considering it's serious atmosphere at times. Especially the back story of Ms. Honey and The Trunchbull.) Have fun watching it! :) EIGHT OUT OF TEN.
Gothika (2003)
Plot Holes Galore!
Now, I love scary movies. I love scary movies so much I think I'm a bit more biased about my opinion on them. I give them the benefit of the doubt. Sadly, with "Gothika", I can't give an excuses to how outrageous the plot is.
Although, don't be pushed away just yet. This movie has so many other great aspects about it, one of the strong ones being the atmosphere and the setting. Yes, it's a little stunning that Dr. Grey has been placed in her own Institution, considering that would most likely NEVER happen in real-life circumstances. (Conflict of interest much?) However, the creepy atmosphere and the chilling music tend to make you sort of forgot how ridiculous the plot holes are. Another major one, is the ghost appearing. What caused the ghost to appear after four years of being dormant. There really isn't a trigger, just the fact that it randomly happens.
But, despite these faults, the movie works well as a scary movie. The ghost is creepy and violent, the in-mates are also deranged. I would recommend borrowing this movie from a friend, but not buying it.
Before I end this, I'd like to point out that Penelope Cruz did a fantastic job with her character. She was totally believable as a crazy person and when you find out that she really isn't crazy, you understand why she may come off that way. As she says in the film to Halle Berry after Halle realizes she's institutionalized: "You're invisible now and no matter how much you tell them the truth, they'll just think it's the illness talking. You're crazy." SIX OUT OF TEN.
Fargo (1996)
Perfection!
Before last night, I had only seen certain parts of "Fargo", specifically the rather disturbing scene where Marge stumbles upon Gaear disposing of his late partner, Carl. I always thought that was pretty freakin' cool. But I never really had much motivation to watch the entire film... until last night.
Once I put the movie in, my eyes were glued to the TV. The movie is so well made, I might even go as far as to call it perfect! The setting was amazing. I really enjoyed the scenes with the white outs, especially, strangely enough, the opening credits. And not to mention the acting was impeccable. Frances did a near-perfect performance as the caring and just Marge. And Peter Storemare was really, really disturbing as Gaear. In general, though, this movie is perfect. I could go on and on how the plot was very clever, the writing was simply fantastic, and how it is probably my favorite American thriller yet. I recommend this film wholeheartedly to everyone who wants to see a creepy, stylish dark comedy about disaster in the mid-west, a man hiring kidnappers to kidnap his own wife, and a pregnant cop who is much more than your average police officer. TEN OUT OF TEN!