0804 April 2008

I hoped seeing Dune on the big screen would improve my opinion of it. Like other Lynch films, it's visually dense and oppressive, but that doesn't make up for the story deficiencies. The most maddening thing for me is the voice overs -- so many of them are unnecessary and annoying. I had to go home and watch the last half hour of the Dune mini-series on DVD to wash the taste out of my mouth. That series, though with a totally different texture (more like theatre, really) made the world and people believable in a way the Lynch film failed to.

More comedy than horror, but the performances are funny and the splatter really flows in the second half. I'm looking forward to more Tony Todd if they do a sequel.

Directed by Frankenheimer, with production design by Ken Adam? I had to watch when it came on cable recently. The plot is fairly straightforward, but Don Johnson's raw nerve detective with a pitiful love life made it fun to watch.

Yes, David Lynch is a weird guy. I'm used to that fact, but apparently it was news to some giggling people at the screening I attended. That distraction aside, I enjoyed seeing Lynch in his work environment, justifying his creative process without explaining his works' meaning. It's refreshing to see an established artist going into unexplored territory as he made Inland Empire by instinct and experimentation. It was also somewhat shocking to see him swear at his crew while shooting the avant garde epic.

Stylish, with plenty of opinionated artists spouting about how they love or hate the world's most ubiquitous font. I just wish more time was given to the technical differences between Helvetica and other sans serif fonts. Maybe that's just the graphic artist in me wanting to be educated, though.

Morbid and overwrought, like the best Corman / Poe pictures. I did have trouble telling the three bland men apart, but Vincent Price is memorable enough alone to make up for them. "You buried your sister alive!" "I did... But she's dead now!" What a chilling conclusion -- I never knew how much Tim Burton literally lifted for Sleepy Hollow.

Something occurred to me while watching Jackie Chan and Jet Li fight. There's no way either cinematic kung fu master is going to win this fight! Sure enough, it's a tie, but totally enjoyable. It's a real joy to see the two share the screen (and they really get equal time, even down to their double billing in the opening credits). I liked seeing Jet Li play comedic, too, something he rarely does in western movies. The Chinese locations are amazing, and it was a great introduction to Chinese concepts and stories for western kids without being dumbed down.

A beautiful, violent, scary, and erotic noir headtrip movie. The first time I knew I liked it, although I didn't understand it. Even better the second time and amazing on the big screen. That soundtrack deserves to be played loud!

Big and bombastic, but with all those little idiosyncratic Spielberg character touches. Watching as an adult, it's not really scary anymore, but that's okay. This time I took notice of all the scientific jargon and methods used, even though the ghost activity was more outrageous than anything ever recorded.

Not as much comedy as I expected. Actually extremely creepy as well as fun. Part of what makes it great is the believablity of the small-town details. Great faces in all the small roles, too.

I loved the mix of styles and the way bright, detailed imagery was coaxed out of a 2D computer program like Flash. Fantastic music. I'm looking forward to picking up the soundtrack CD someday.