I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang (1932)

Watching this movie last night, there were just moments where I wondered if I was aware of the full scope that director Mervyn LeRoy was attempting to accomplish. I liked Muni as our lead, going from middle class to rags and further rags in attempts to follow his dream, and while I loved individual scenes, the picture as a whole was great, but not perfect. The overuse of the calendar fades seemed wasteful and pacing near the center lost full momentum as Muni escaped and rejoined civilization. The darkened ending solidified this as a noir 30s film, but again - something just felt lacking. I think a second viewing of this film will help secure this movie's rightful place in Cinema Underground.

For those that haven't seen this film, look at LeRoy's use of the camera to demonstrate the hardships of life on the chain gang, but also how long being in the chain gain remains with you long after. The continuous pans to Muni's feet as he shuffled away was proof of that. I also liked the scene in which Muni attempts to pawn his WWI metal for a meal, in less than three words, the shopkeep directs Muni to a shelf that has a whole bowl full of metals. Warner's attempt to describe what it was like after the war as well as their social commentary of life in "prison" is bleak, but honest. That is why I must own a copy of this film, the sheer honesty that was trying to be shown was detail oriented, just pace-fully bad.

Found in my "Halliwell's The Movies that Matter Most" book, I think I am going to give "I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang" a green mark with blue stars. I would like to see this movie again merely to see if I can move past the pacing and dive further into what made Muni and Oscar nominated actor and this film a deep social commentary on life in the early-to-late 20s. Bold, but long-lasting? That question will be answered when this film is found in the "Great American Re-Watch" in months or years to come.

I Capture the Castle (2003)

I have decided to use the least-like this movie image to demonstrate the mixed emotion felt about this film. Not only was I confused as to what the end-goal was to this literary movie, but it felt as if our actors were equally trying to fit into shoes that weren't theirs. Bad dialogue plagued this film as we drifted further and further away from our title building, the castle. With no attacking, no impending threat, nothing to really tear this building to the floor, we are left with British women squabbling over American men, and their first experiences with love. Not to poke fun, but it has been done before. With "I Capture the Castle", I was hoping for a bit more excitement, more creativity, more pomp-and-circumstance, but alas, there was nothing to report. This was your average film, which drifted between late-night enjoyment, and the back-up plan for a "date night" video. I wish there was more to report, but even Bill Nighy seemed mediocre at best. There was a lacking "umph" from this film, which could explain why it is currently out-of-print and difficult to see outside of the Netflix stream. Could I recommend this film? Probably. Would I collect it? Definitely not.

My first entry in the "Halliwell's The Movies that Matter" book, I begin it with a "Blah". Mediocrity abounds with these Brits as the story weaves in and out of excitement. Bored into the two hours, I am not looking at watching this film again. Pleasant to the ears, but nothing else will bring comfort. A pink mark, decent, but nothing flamboyant.

Rubber's Lover (1996)

"Ran" to "Rubber's Lover", what has this cinephile come to? Needless to say, not only were these two films complete opposites of the spectrum, but they were also different on levels of enjoyment. "Rubber's Lover" falls into the infamous "Pink Flamingo" problem, where graphic images fall secondary to story, and thus it just creates a vile hour and a half of cinema. "Rubber's Lover" is one of those films that has quite a bit of cult-ish focus surrounding it mainly because of the grotesque images that are within this film, but for me, I just found them dull, pointless, and quite honestly, just plain filler. There was no good story, the characters were misshapen and unknown, and the science behind this science fiction was never quite evolved. This is a study of de-evolution of a film, and how you can take quite a bit of blood, horrid black and white photography, and attempt to create something that the hipsters of today will talk about. To me, it was just pointless drivel, leading ultimately to absolutely nothing.

The final entry in my "Encyclopedia of Japanese Cinema", this is my only negative view. I just can't stand behind a film that replaces story with gore -- at least "Hostel" had a story. I understand the Japanese cinema culture, and perhaps I am missing something huge with "Rubber's Lover", but it just didn't make at least an average score. I was hoping for grandiose, but instead ended up with BLAH. Skip if possible - if seen on the television - run in a different direction. This is getting a yellow highlight with black mark - never to be seen again!

Thanks Thom Monk.

Ran (1985)

So, here it is. A nearly three-hour film by the master, Akira Kurosawa, that was mixed at FILM CLUB. Oh well, you can't please everyone -- but you can please me. This is a beautiful film, amazingly choreographed and designed, with a story that remains heart-felt and emotional each and every time it is viewed. To this young critic, this movie is the backbone to such films like "Braveheart" or any of the "Lord of the Rings" movies. There is just a Shakespearean resonance (obviously borrowed from the Bard), but also a full-slab of originality. My favorite parts involve Lady Kaene and the words spoken from the mouth of our Jester - Kurosawa has this ability to bring secondary characters out of the shadows and flesh them out completely. The bold colors involved pull all of your senses together to ensure a phenomenal film watching experience. Now fully out-of-print via Criterion, this should have been one of their Blu options if Lionsgate wouldn't have forced the rights back to them. A sad moment, but short-lived knowing that I can show this edition to anyone that cares to be involved with amazing cinema.

If it isn't obvious, this is getting a green highlight with blue stars - only to be watched again and again and again. Given to me as a gift (not this edition, but a great starter), I cannot wait to give this film to someone else - allowing them to experience the power of both Kurosawa (who was nearly blind when this was being made) and the ability of Criterion to release amazingly refreshed classics. Oddly, found in my "Encyclopedia of Japanese Cinema", I cannot wait to resurface this film - to see these battles in full color once again.

Rodan (1956)

It was like going to the movies when I was 8. The excitement, the grandiose special effects, the sheer thrill of not knowing what was going to happen next, would have just blew my mind at that age, and guess what - it still does today. Watching this movie reminded me of what motion pictures were all about. The ability to take one small idea and grow it, using real science and elongated explosions. Absolutely it was low budget, but it felt like a Michael Bay production from the beginning. If it weren't for MST3K and the boys, I may not have chuckled through some of the more lackluster moments, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed what "Rodan" had to offer. This was my first view of this movie, and I cannot wait to see Rodan make further appearances in possible upcoming Godzilla movies.

Yes this was cheap, yes this feels dated, but what a fun time to have in the theater. I cannot wait to show this movie to my kids and to any nieces that I currently have. This is a film that needs to be watched and enjoyed for decades to come. The entire scene where Rodan destroys a town was brilliant, and the twisty-ness of the ending (love story anyone), just kept me wishing for more. Found in my "Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia", this book has been a home-run so far. Obviously, this is getting a green highlight with blue stars ... it will be watched again, and added to the Cinema Underground collection. With only two films left to watch, I am excited to see what will happen next. The Japanese have proven more created and obviously more excited about cinema than we Americans have been for a very long time. "Rodan", you have found a follower with Andy G.!!

Mikadroid: Robokill Beneath Disco Club Layla (1991)

There is something about this movie that put a smile on my face. The acting was horrible, the special effects were atrocious, but what pulled this film out of the quintessential gutter was the imagination that was poured into this film. There are scenes that just stood out, moments that made you question the validity of the pre-story, and stunning images of a modern-day 1990s Japan. For these three simple reasons, I am proud to introduce this film into the Cinema Underground cannon. Can I suggest it to everyone? Nope, but those who enjoy non-stop action, an unbelievable story, coupled with characters who care nothing about development just for their safety, than this is the film for you.

The story of an old cyborg program that was shut down after WWII, only to have a disco built on top of it, begins to destroy again when a power short awakens the sole cyborg from below. Armed with a machine gun and a samurai sword, it takes the idea of parking-lot death to a whole new level. Without ever going to the actual disco, this cyborg would never stop its car destruction if it weren't for two random 1/2 man, 1/2 cyborg flunkies that cannot die unless their trio of friends are reunited once more. Sound intriguing? I know I am pulling you deeper into this film. Needless to say, there is no romance, only full-fledged bro-mance and two unsuspecting people caught in the middle trying to escape. That is the appeal of this film. It is a no-brain-er film that doesn't need tons of special effects to be fun. It is a simple film, with a great point A-to-B-to-C direction that makes cinema just feel refreshing. Again, this isn't for everyone - but with a couple of beers, "Mikadroid" transforms from bad to decently well put together.

Found in my new book "The Encyclopedia of Japanese Cinema", I am eager to see what happens next. I went from a horror biography in "Rampo" to this shlock of sci-fi//action//adventure in "Mikadroid". I couldn't be happier with this book. While the upcoming seem difficult, I am eager to see where this string of cinema will lead me. As you may not have guessed it, this is getting a green mark with blue stars. I cannot wait to add this to my collection and have others enjoy the 80-ish minutes that this film offers. Impressive.

Freeze, Die, Come to Life (1989)

There is this very thin line between artistic and merely miscalculated. There is a similar line between Truffaut and those attempting to recreate his iconic "400 Blows". "Freeze Die Come to Life", a Russian attempt at Truffaut, walks that line and fails miserably. Using stark black and white photography to set his tone, director Vitali Kanevsky attempts to tell his semi-autobiographical tale about a poor kid in Russia and the hardships of daily life. Throughout the entire 105-minutes the hardships are apparent, with our lead child doing everything from destroying trains and putting yeast in the bathroom to being arrested, the hardships are shown. One could even argue that they are pushed in your face minute after minute, completely diluting the actual story that needs to be told (if there is one). Winner of the Camera D'Ore at Cannes in 1990, there is no question of the value of each scene meticulously set up and planned, but the overall story seems to have taken backseat and ultimately doomed this film.

For the first thirty minutes of this film, I was enthralled by the bleak images, the stark realism, and the darkness that surrounded this man's boyhood. Thinking that it would change into this fight for a better life, the darkness continued to be pushed into your seat, with further disaster and destruction following this child everywhere he went. Again, with a stronger story behind it, this would have been an ironic precursor to films like "Requiem for a Dream" or, dare I say it, "The 400 Blows", but it just didn't happen. So much was emphasized on the bleak, that our character became one-dimensional, his best-friend became a paper-thin understudy, and the ending (or at least the final half hour) merely became image after image with a hint of visionary, but more rambled than complete. Was there an understandable ending to this film? Like the majority of this picture, it was just shock image after shock image, forcing you to make the decision - was this a story or merely a non-fiction account of this boy's life? While it could have been both - it ended up being the latter with poor subtitles and sub-par narration. I found myself watching scenes over and over again because our director would introduce someone new (see: BLED), not give us any story on him, and expect us to understand this boy's current blight. It was shameful and disruptive to what should have been a phenomenal story. Instead, it just withered away.

Our actors were decent, but with the mismatched direction their emotions seemed to be lost in the shuffle. I couldn't follow them, understand their hardships emotionally, but felt more like a child on a leash, forced to stay behind Valerka as he traveled all of Russia in about a day and a half. Whew. Wasted time for myself and for anyone else eager to see this film. I would recommend this film to anyone doing a report on life during the wastes of Siberia in 1947 - the photography is beautiful - but outside of this, the film itself just never fits well together. It felt like we were attempting to finish a puzzle with pieces from other puzzles, just jamming the edges in hopes to just get to the end. Found in my "Halliwell's 2007" book (the one with KING KONG on the cover), this completes my "Z" entry. With two good films, it wasn't too bad of a run. Alas, this last one is getting a yellow highlight with black mark. I never want to see this again, but would recommend it to ONLY the die hard cinephiles that could handle what Siberia has to offer.