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From ZERO to 6 ♥s. 100% ad-free. Run on pure love for movies, documentaries and TV-series. May 2024: Countdown to: Top 10: Best high school movies - Upcoming review: I Confess (1953)
+ Best Big Flop Movie of the Year + Best Los Angeles Movie of the Year + Best Parody of the Year
The poster for Frank Oz's Bowfinger
QUICK REVIEW:
Steve Martin (iThree Amigos! (1986)) plays Bowfinger, a man who desperately wants to make a Hollywood movie hit. With a persevering team of amateurs, one involuntary, unknowing star, Kit Ramsay, and his dim-witted brother, Bowfinger succeeds in creating the action science fiction film, Chubby Rain. Bowfinger is no major laugh-fest, but rather a major enjoyment for lovers of classic comedy and the Hollywood movie business, which it parodies. It is entertaining and very agreeable and a somewhat nostalgic trip to a way of making comedies that's not being done much anymore, (regrettably.) The pairing of Eddie Murphy (The Golden Child (1986)) and Martin, who also wrote the film, - two of the biggest stars of American comedy in the last 30 and 40 years, respectively, - is a merry success.
Heather Graham and Eddie Murphy in one of Bowfinger's funny scenes
Bowfinger is a funny film with a slew of good supporting roles as well, (Heather Graham, Christine Baranski, Adam Alexi-Malle, Terence Stamp and Robert Downey Jr. spring to mind.) Frank Oz, - the voice of Yoda in the Star Wars-film, and an established director (The Score (2001)) on his own as well, - directed Bowfinger. His next film, Winter's Discontent, will star Billy Crystal going to a retirement community. To get laid! Should be interesting. Martin is starring in Home (2014), a science fiction comedy, (I hope very much), co-starring Jennifer Lopez, Rihanna and Jim Parsons. He really should write another comedy for himself, I think. He's good at it!
One original poster for William Wyler's majestic Ben-Hur
Judah Ben-Hur is a Jewish prince from Judea at the time of Christ, who gets deceived by his old friend, Messala (Stephen Boyd (The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964))), and is made a slave to the Roman galleys, while his mother and daughter are thrown in the slammer. But Ben-Hur has to go through much more in his life...
A still from the film, wherein Charlton Heston portrays Ben-Hur's marring time as a galley-slave for the Romans
Ben-Hur is an exuberant retelling of the Christian messages; to love one's enemy, to stand fast and turn the other cheek and take the punishment and the pain, and to forgive and be forgiven; and it is an excellent and deeply moving film unlike any other. - Additionally it is probably the great Charlton Heston's (Planet of the Apes (1968)) best role and the greatest epic ever. He is phenomenal as the man, who finally after so many trials gets his vindictiveness turned and finds faith, SPOILER and sees a miracle happen for his beloved ones. The photography alone in Ben-Hur, - by the phenomenal Robert Surtees (The Last Picture Show (1971)), - is spectacular in all its full details and grandeur. The film was the biggest in terms of sets and the most expensive film ever made at its time. It was so big that it was a make-or-break effort for its studio, MGM. Especially two major scenes are always highlighted as truly unforgettable: The violent galley-scene and the legendary, extraordinary chariot race scene, an eight-minute scene that took 5 weeks to shoot in the biggest set ever built, outside of Rome at Cinecittá Studio. The scene is so influential and amazing that it stands alone in cinema history and is surrounded by myths: Its number of extras going upwards of 15,000; the number of horses that died from the effort tallying from none, (and that the horses were treated with the utmost respect, as you can read in the IMDb trivia page), to as many as 100, as is the number given in The Hollywood Reporter's new Animals Were Harmed-special. Whichever is the truth, the scene is made and should be treasured:
Click to enlarge this picture from the legendary chariot race scene of Ben-Hur
But there are many other fantastic, unforgettable scenes that are less mythologized: The beautiful opening with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem; Ben-Hur's meeting with Jesus, who gives him water, when he is thirsting in chains, - a remarkable and moving scene, - and Ben-Hur's terrible discovery that his kin have become lepers.
It is a tragic fact, however, that the film's producer Sam Zimbalist (Quo Vadis (1951)) had a heart attack and died on set, two months before production ended, at age 57. His wife subsequently took home the Best Picture Oscar for him. Ben-Hur won a record 11 Oscars (out of 12 nominations), not equalled again before Titanic (1997). Director William Wyler (The Big Country (1958)) was able to walk home his own Oscar, and his - at the time - record pay of 1.1 mil. $. (Still a hefty payment for any director.) Ben-Hur has an epic span of nearly 4 hours, which doesn't detract from its impact, which is that of an unmissable masterpiece, a gift to humanity, - a truly great film.
See some glimpses of the grandeur in this not-so-humble original trailer for Ben-Hur
Budget: 15 mil. $ Box office: 146.9 mil. $ (initial release only) = Worldwide monster hit; highest grossing film of 1959, and the second-highest grossing film of all time, behind Victor Fleming's Gone With the Wind (1939) Any comments on Ben-Hur are welcomed Knowledge on what's fact and what's conjecture in the chariot race annals are also welcomed
A poster for George Lucas' Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones
10 years have gone since the events in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), and Anakin is now a young adult. Obi-Wan Kenobi has taught him as his Jedi apprentice, but Skywalker is rebellious and arrogant. Queen Amidala is now Senator, and assassins try to kill her. Anakin moves her to safety, while Obi-Wan follows the mysterious leads that reveal to him a clone army. Episode II is the longest Star Wars film (142 minutes) and probably the least liked generally, but for me it is a satisfying space adventure, and Episode III is the weakest in the saga, with Episode I and Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) as the strongest. The biggest hurdles in Episode II and III are writer-director, George Lucas' questionable ability to write romance, and Hayden Christensen, the uncharismatic, dull and minimally talented actor employed for the pivotal part of Anakin Skywalker. He has a much better actress in Natalie Portman (Black Swan (2010)) to play up to, but still they mostly fail in bringing feelings of real romance into the calculated scenes; set in excessively picturesque settings to lure the viewer's attention away from the stony dialog and action. I have problems connecting the dots between the overly smart, cute Anakin of Episode I with the brooding, dumb Anakin of Episode II. Something has somehow gone terribly wrong in the ten year span: The young man talks continuously about his mother and unfairnesses committed against him; he is almost entirely in his emotions' control. Even the death of his mother (Pernilla August) only inspires him to be an enormous idiot. The character, which I loved in Episode I, is now the dumbest Jedi apprentice ever, in Episode II. Fortunately, Episode II has many better things to offer, which counter-weigh the issues with Anakin and his stale romance: Ewan McGregor (The Impossible (2012)) is a great Obi-Wan, and I enjoyed his almost detective-like adventure to Kamino and beyond a lot. Samuel L. Jackson (Django Unchained (2012)) is good as Master Windu, and Christopher Lee (Dracula (1958)) is always a great villain, here as Count Dooku. Behind him, Ian McDiarmid (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)), still lurks around in the villains' wardrobe as the imposing Chancellor Palpatine. All of his scenes are amazing. Minimizing Jar Jar Binks, who was not treated mildly by many audiences of Episode I, is more R2D2 and C3PO. By theatrical chronology, (IV,V,VI,I,II,III), I think I have had enough of the latter at this stage, but at least he loses his head in this film. That happens in the droid factory scene, which I quite enjoyed.
A still from the factory scene
The footage for that scene, which was added very late in the process, apparently took just a few hours to film, (everything besides the actors is animated in the sequence.) It works impressively well, and doesn't look rushed. The film is only the third to be filmed entirely in digital 24 f/ps., and was deciding in the decision to shift to digital for many other big Hollywood films, (and thereby the world in general.) Other CGI-created marvels of Episode II include the monsters in the gladiatorial arena. Here's a couple of them:
But what many fans will remember as the best of Episode II, - unless they for some reason are grumbling about unsatisfying CGI, - is Yoda's fight scene. I found it highly satisfying and thrilling to finally see him in action. And there's also a really good scene earlier in the film, where Yoda is teaching young Jedi padawans. What you will, say it; the shit, Yoda is.
The details:
So while Episode II has its problems, I still think that the great Jedi fights and many other great characters weigh up for it. At the end of it, I know I almost couldn't wait to see Episode III - The Revenge of the Sith (2005), when I first saw it more than ten years ago now. Finally, the Star Wars films are also so exciting because of their masterful sound design and the music, composed and conducted by John Williams, and performed by the London Voices and the London Symphony Orchestra. Portman is currently involved in twoTerrence Malick projects, the first one being Knight of Cups (2014), a film about celebrity. Malick has upped his production pace a lot the last years, but the films also seem to grow worse. Portman is also starring in the troubled Jane Got a Gun (2014), which got its director Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)) replaced after accusations of drunk behavior, irresponsible gun handling and missing money was made against her not long ago. Film Excess hopes Ramsay recovers and heads on to something else. Since Disney acquired the Star Wars-rights not so very long ago for a galactic sum of money, three more movies have been announced. The first one, Episode VII, should come out in 2015. Unfortunately, I don't know any more about it yet, but I pray that the Force will be with director JJ Abrams' on this new space adventure.
Budget: 115 mil. $ Box office: 649.3 mil. $ = Major blockbuster, but out-grossed by Episode I three years earlier and the first Star Wars film to not be the top-grossing film of the year of release, (3rd in the US, and 4th worldwide; behind Spider-Man, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and worldwide also Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)
What do you think of Episode II, and how do you rate the movies individually? Thoughts and comments on the coming episodes are welcomed
Co-star Alex Guinness looks paranoid while holding a riffle in front of his precious bridge on this evocative poster for David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai
A large group of British prisoners of war in Japanese-occupied Burma in 1942 get as forced assignment to build a bridge for the railway. The mentally deteriorating British Colonel Nicholson in charge puts all of his pride into the project, which is to symbolize the unparalleled craftsmanship and unbreakable will of the British, he announces, while other allies are sent on a deadly sabotage mission through the hostile jungle towards the self same bridge.
The Bridge on the River Kwai is written by Carl Foreman (The Key (1958)) and Michael Wilson (Salt of the Earth (1954)), adapting the same-titled 1952 novel by Pierre Boulle (La Planète des singes/Planet of the Apes (1963)), and directed by English master filmmaker David Lean (This Happy Breed (1944)), whose 11th feature it was. Kwai is an unequaled masterpiece in the suspense-based war movie genre. It is inspired by facts, but is for the most part fiction, as the real life parallel, the Japanese-led construction of the Burma-Siam railway, was actually much more terrible and deadly than the events depicted in the film. (13,000 war prisoners and between 80,000-100,000 civilians died as a result of the project; Nicholson is also entirely fictional.) The film has some of the most exciting suspense scenes in all of cinema, and yet most of this epic relies on unforgettable, insightful character studies: There's the pragmatist doctor, who sees only pointlessness in the trials of the war; the zealous major, who makes it a matter of personal spite and principal to prove the Japanese inferior to the British. And there's the Japanese colonel Saito, who buds heads with the Brit and follows his own culture's specific codes of conduct. Alec Guinness (Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)) portrays Major Nicholson brilliantly, a character whose rigid mind and jungle fever takes him to the blinded edge of sanity. Sessue Hayakawa (The Geisha Boy (1958)) is also supreme as Saito. The scenes between the two are some of the film's best. Highly sophisticated, intense and alive.
In other supporting roles, Jack Hawkins (To Bury Caesar (1963)) and William Holden (The Towering Inferno (1974)) are enjoyable. The film is also unusual in that it is almost entirely bereft of women. The Bridge on the River Kwai is one of the best war films of all time, an eminent epic, and it has been restored beautifully. It is a must watch for every movie-lover out there, and especially so for the war-interested ones.
Cost: 3 mil. $ Box office: 30.6 mil. $ = Mega-hit (returned 10.6 times its cost)
[The Bridge on the River Kwai premiered 2 October (London) and runs 161 minutes. The film's American writers wrote the screenplay in British exile due to being on the McCarthy blacklist, and this also prompted non-English speaking Boulle to become credited with its writing. Foreman was paid 17k $ for the job. Guinness was paid 150k $; Holden 250-300k $ (different reports) plus 10% of the worldwide gross. Shooting took place from November 1956 - May 1957 in Sri Lanka. Lean had serious disagreements with Guinness during filming and also at one point nearly drowned in the river. A scene with a woman was shot solely to appease US studio Columbia. The film earned 17.1 mil. $ (55.9 % of the total gross) in North America: It was Columbia's highest-grossing at the time and the global top-grosser of the year, as well as the highest-grossing of the year in North America and the UK. It was nominated for 8 Oscars, winning 7: For Best Picture, Actor (Guinness), Cinematography (Jack Hildyard (Emily (1976))), Director, Editing, Score (Malcolm Arnold (Hard Times (1977, miniseries))) and Adapted Screenplay; losing Supporting Actor (Hayakawa) for Red Buttons in Sayonara. It also won 4 BAFTAs, a David di Donatello award, 3/4 Golden Globe nominations, was nominated for a Grammy, won 5 National Board of Review awards, among other honors. The first TV screening of the film was in 1962 on ABC, with a record result of 72 mil. viewers. Warren Buffett has said that it is his favorite film. IMDb's users have rated the film in at #171 on the site's Top 250 list, sitting between Trainspotting (1996) and Klaus (2019, VoD). Lean returned with Lawrence of Arabia (1962). Holden returned in The Key (1958); Guinness in All at Sea (1957); and Hawkins in Terror! Theatre (1957, TV-series), The World Our Stage (1958, TV-series) and theatrically in Gideon of Scotland Yard (1958). The Bridge on the River Kwai is certified fresh at 96 % with a 9.40/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of The Bridge on the River Kwai?
A wealth of characters and situations are crammed into a colorful star on this fine poster for Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights
Dirk Diggler is a young man in 1970s America with a heavy quality between his legs that makes him spiral to stardom in Los Angeles' blooming porn industry. But success comes with at a prize.
Boogie Nights is written, co-produced and directed by Californian master filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (Hard Eight (1996)), based on his mockumentary short film, The Dirk Diggler Story (1988). It is his 2nd feature.
The film is roughly to porn what Martin Scorsese's Casino (1995) is to Vegas: A glitzy semi-fact-based chronicle. A simultaneously glamorous and sober recap of porn's explosion from low-rent smut into major dollars. Mark Wahlberg (Three Kings (1999)) has one of his career's best parts here and gives a splendid performance in his breakthrough role as donkey dick with limited brains, Dirk Diggler/Eddie Adams (based on real-life porn legend John Holmes). The rest of the cast is so star-studded that you just have to keep watching, especially as many of them deliver outstanding supporting performances: Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda (2004)) is priceless; and so is Burt Reynolds (Deliverance (1972)) as a porn director. Julianne Moore (The Hours (2002)) is heartbreaking as a porn actress who is also a neglectful mother; and finally Heather Graham (From Hell (2001)) is sugar-sweet as Rollergirl. Philip Baker Hall (Hard Eight), John C. Reilly (Step Brothers (2008)), William H. Macy (The Sessions (2012)), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote (2005)), Thomas Jane (The Mist (2007)) and Alfred Molina (Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)) also have enjoyable minor parts. Photography-wise, Boogie Nights is a study in long, complicated travelings and hard contrast cuts. Fine work by cinematographer Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood (2007)). Boogie Nights is a decadent, sexy, incredibly cast, eclectic film. A tour de force in cinematic skill and great period music. It booms with great scenes and wonderful performances, though it is arguably overlong.
Cost: 15 mil. $ Box office: 43.1 mil. $ = Box office success (returned 2.88 times its cost)
[Boogie Nights premiered 11 September (Toronto International Film Festival) and runs 155 minutes. Shooting took place from July - October 1996 in California, including in Los Angeles. The film opened #19 to a 50k $ first weekend in 2 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #4 and in 1,003 theaters (different weeks), grossing 26.4 mil. $ (61.3 % of the total gross). It was nominated for 3 Oscars, winning none: It lost Best Supporting Actor (Reynolds) to Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting, Supporting Actress (Moore) to Kim Basinger in L.A. Confidential and Original Screenplay to Ben Affleck and Matt Damon for Good Will Hunting. It was also nominated for 2 BAFTAs, a European Film Award, won 1/2 Golden Globe nominations and a National Board of Review award, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. Anderson returned with 4 videos prior to his theatrical return with Magnolia (1999). Wahlberg returned in The Big Hit (1998); Reynolds in Big City Blues (1997); and Moore in Chicago Cab (1997). Boogie Nights is certified fresh at 93 % with an 8.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
A hyper-sexualized scene of impending bloodled is teased on this sensationalistic poster for Mario Costa's Buffalo Bill, Hero of the Far West
Buffalo Bill is the man, who can function diplomatically as a broker between the parties and thus prevent the grand war against the Indians that bad folks on both sides want. - But with so high odds against him, will he succeed?
Buffalo Bill is written by Nino Stresa (Un Hombre y un Colt (1967)) and Luciano Martino (In Camera Mia (1992)), with Ernesto Gastaldi (Stradivari (1988)), Louis Agotay (Haus im Haus (1952, short)) and Piette Lévy-Corti (Les Culottes Rouges (1962)) contributing uncredited work, and directed by Mario Costa (La Sua Strada (1946)). The title is a literal translation of the original Italian title.
It is an early spaghetti western with its forte in lots of fighting and shooting scenes. There is drama with kidnapped beautiful women on both sides, and Gordon Scott (Goliath e la Schiava Ribelle (1963)) plays the big-muscled title hero with his heart surely in the right place. Photography-wise, cinematographer Massimo Dallamano (A Fistful of Dollars/Per un Pugno di Dollari(1964)) is too wobbly for Buffalo Bill, Hero of the Far West to strike one as a good film, even thought it is entertaining.
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: Unknown Box office: Unknown = Uncertain
[Buffalo Bill, Hero of the Far West was released 19 November (Italy) and runs 100 minutes. Shooting took place in Rome, Italy. Details of the film's release results, mainly in Europe, are regrettably not available online, - but it is highly likely that it was a box office success. It was not released in North America. Costa returned with Karim ibn el Sheikh (1964). Scott's return was also in this film. 219 IMDb users have given Buffalo Bill, Hero of the Far West a 4.5/10 average rating.]
What do you think of Buffalo Bill, Hero of the Far West?
