Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

At World's End brings the original trilogy of pirates film through sort of sad closing. It first begins by eliminating any goodwill from the previous film by eliminating the Kraken off screen as though the writers couldn't come up with a decent way to defeat the monster, making Davy Jones henpecked lapdog for our "standard evil British guy" from the first even if I do like Tom Hollander in general. The problems of Dead Man's Chest are only further compounded with Depp now going full caricature as Captain Jack, with ridiculously indulgent scenes of multiples of the man seemingly just to show how deep end the character had gone by that point. The pointless complexity only continues with multiple unneeded double crosses, and a random assortment of pointless character particularly Chow Yun Fat's pirate lord. Again though the lack of a sense of fun is what really diminished probably rather well illustrated through the tone deaf opening that consists of the slow hanging of child. It is poorly conceived effort that seems to almost revel in its aimless messiness. All that the original film had to offer is just about all lost here in the film whimpering conclusion to a concept that held such potential originally.
1.5/5

The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford

The Assassination Of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is Andrew Dominick's follow up to the crazy character study Chopper, and though that is a good film Dominick makes a great leap as a filmmaker here. This is one of the greatest sophomoric efforts by a director as he crafts a masterpiece, in sort of the year of masterpieces. The film is in part character studies of the two men the legendary outlaw and the hanger on who eventually killed him in his own attempt for fame and fortune. The film dissects both men brilliantly but it goes further than this in its ambitious intention. As it also captures the idea of the creation of a legend and the falseness of such a thing. This is part by the complex performances by Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck as the titular pair, aided by the just about spotless supporting cast. It goes further though in the way it in front of your eyes creates the legend while also subverting it. The technical elements are all consistent in creating the legend whether it is Roger Deakins's awe inspiring cinematography or Nick Cave and Warren Ellis's elegant score. The writing though subverts it so cleverly yet also emotionally. What is so remarkable about the film is it does not set any villains or heroes within the picture rather offering complicated men that it so effectively dissects. It shows both Jesse as the charismatic outlaw and the vicious psychopath, it sympathizes with Robert's choice but also his regrets. The film never simplifies only offering a complex and effortlessly compelling portrait of the west.
5/5

Apocalypse Now

A quick note on the redux. The redux is a poorer cut of the film. It botches the pacing severely through mostly useless scenes, that don't quite work, or in the case of the ghostly French plantation seems the realization of how the original film could have gone wrong. As that sequence gets lost in symbolism and loses too much of a grasp on reality. The only scene that works really is an additional moment with Brando's Colonel Kurtz, but it is still hardly a major loss. They work as interesting deleted scenes but do not belong in the film. The original cut of the film however is one of the greatest films of all time. The production itself was madness and someone that managed to capture the madness of war. The film though is effectively apolitical, it's so much about the Vietnam war as it is the condition of being in such war and such a place. This approach leads to a one of kind film experience that is about falling into that insanity created in both men and nature itself. The film, again the original cut, never gets lost in the ideas. It is very much about the men and the way they are or become in such circumstances, though not quite a simply as they become savages. It is instead so much more in its examination of the clash of personality and the element such as the false god Kurtz becoming lost in his own delusions of grandeur, or the warrior of old in Robert Duvall's Killgore thriving in an environment which allows him to play at war like a game. The themes, and story are grandiose and Francis Ford Coppola matches that with his own vision. The sequences of the film have become iconic to cinema for a reason, as the imagery here is unlike anything you'll ever see even with its influence on so many films that came later. It is a masterful work of art as the scale never overwhelms itself creating such fascinating examination of the human condition in war while  What Coppola captures likely could have only been found in that single moment of insanity in time.
5/5

All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front is perhaps the first sound masterpiece to be made. The film seems to be another place of existence than most other films of the time, compare it to say Disraeli, one of its best picture competition, and this film seems of later era then. Now it does have a few tendencies, the performances are just tad broad early on yet they become much more comfortable soon afterwards, helped perhaps by the greatest character actor of the period, Louis Wolheim. The film though sets out to present war and its horrors, and it does that. The sounds, the images, the eagerness to present such brutality give an unforgiving portrait of the madness and terror of no man's land. The film presses further though in retaining a small scope of just few school boys from their path of "glory" which ends in a graveyard. Within that though it also conveys the power of propaganda as each is convinced by a speech that propels war as something you should hope to be part. One of the most effective elements of the film is it puts you in their shoes. You don't see the war until they do. You experience the strange shift as they enter war with their old friendly mail man turning into a vicious drill Sergeant, or when they find merely finding a meal to be one of the greatest challenges on the front line. Director Lewis Milestone grants the film the needed muck and grime in every moment. It does not shy away as we witness one man killing another. As grim as it is though Milestone grants respites that make the film all the more powerful. The infamous bayoneting moment is handled with an initial intensity that shifts to a haunting silence, as the man is forced to ponder what it is that he has done. The film captures a real sense of desolation, and what is pivotal is what is lost through it.
5/5

Alien 3

Alien 3 is perhaps the most hated of all Alien sequels, though not due to its quality on a whole, but rather the way the film begins. The film opens with the death of the apparently much beloved Hicks and Newt, whose rescue had been a pivotal part of climax of the previous film. Even poor Bishop's is disconnected in a pitch black scene. That might seem a regression but it is actually a progression in terms of creating the last act of the trilogy. If the first film was defined by birth, the second by war, the third film is death. The film takes place on a bleak prison colony where all men are essentially there until they die, except for a few hapless guards, and a good natured doctor though with a troubled past. The dire place only goes grimmer with a new alien coming to life, and an accounted for face hugger. I find the film works within the context as the final act of Ripley's story, rather than as the a sequel to Aliens. It redefines itself back to a more claustrophobic thriller, though I would argue different than the original, in a way a more emotional story about accepting the end. The film is not flawless, the lame CGI would prevent it from being so, but in its assembly cut it does present an effective horror film with a powerful human story within it. This is well realized through Sigourney Weaver's incredible performance, and a memorable supporting cast including Charles Dance as the doctor, Charles S. Dutton as the spiritual leader of the prisoners, and Paul McGann as a prisoner with a particularly twisted mind. David Fincher's vision can actually be seen in the palatable atmosphere, even if there are a few times where it gets slightly muddled by obvious interference. It is not the cleanest closer to the trilogy, but I actually find it to be a fitting one in the end. I will admit though that I possibly benefited from watching this film before I ever saw Aliens, and in doing so I could only see what the film had to offer as itself.
4.5/5

Aliens

James Cameron took the reigns of Alien from Ridley Scott for Aliens, a sequel that perhaps could be used to define a great sequel. Aliens takes the brilliant approach of modifying the genre of the first film from a straight horror to action horror. I know some just say straight action but that undercuts the sequences, so expertly crafted by Cameron, that are so genuinely unnerving. It has to be said that this easily Cameron's best screenplay. Cameron takes off what was previously established in the first film and brilliantly builds off of it in new directions through the introduction of the space marines including a far less deceptive robot, as well as in terms of expanding the xenomorphs through the addition of a Queen. The success of the writing goes beyond concepts though. There is so much life in the well drawn characters with so many unforgettable lines throughout. It is also worth mentioning, which so many seem to forget, is the film builds Ripley's arc from sole survivor to true hero in such believable and effective fashion, aided of course by Sigourney Weaver's great performance. Of course the whole cast is great, including the sometimes derided Bill Paxton who deserves all the credit for his "game over" adlib. There is such a vibrancy in the characters, that some actually went onto define a certain types in later films, like Jenette Goldstein's Private Vasquez. The action and the effects both come together, yet never for a moment do they override the emotional connection to the characers. The film is one of the best sequels ever made as it successfully takes the franchise in a new direction into a different genre while making an almost equally captivating film in that alternate genre.
5/5

Alien

Looking at Alien is quite something as it might be the most overachieving film of all time. Just in terms of its central idea it’s a monster in a house thriller, but the house just happens to be a spaceship. The film knows no such simplicity, even though the plot itself does technically hold true to that form. The screenplay though isn't simple. I don't just mean that in the twists and turns, which should not be hand waved as the several twists in the film are some of the most effective twists you'll see in any film. It also cares so much for character. Although most of the characters are going to be killed, they are not just there to be killed. We learn about each of them as people, and there is real dynamic across the crew. Of course this is helped greatly by the film having one of the greatest ensembles of all time. There is not a wasted performance everyone adds something extra with how honestly they inhabit their characters in this film. Then there's every technical element of the film all utilized brilliantly by Ridley Scott's masterful direction. His vision takes the film to even greater heights as it crafts this world that is terrifying, awe inspiring, and lived in all at the same time. Alien as a horror film is encased in the atmosphere of a cold space, underlined with a tension and scares that few films can emulate, whether it is Dallas's lonely walk through the air vents or Kane's rather unhealthy meal. As a horror film is arguably the greatest of all time, yet it is also simply one of the greatest films of all time as well. 

5/5

American Beauty

American Beauty tells the story of the empty lives of suburbanites. A subject I personally don't often find all that engaging as there often seems to be an inherent smugness from the creators of the material, as though this people are lower than them. American Beauty has that smugness in spade presenting with open disdain just about everyone. This is from the horny suburban dad, the homophobic closet homosexual (as we all know only homosexual hate homosexuals, please note sarcasm), the vapid homosexuals neighbors, the vapid suburban mom, the vapid suburban cheerleader, the vapid boss, then we get the true ones the moody daughter and the artistic son whose "poetic" lines are so ridiculous they are unintentionally hilarious. Much of this is Alan Ball's thin excessively on the nose screenplay. Sam Mendes's direction does not help as he attempts to manage the tone of the film in such a clumsy fashion. Mendes often allows it to fall into over the top comedy, unintentional or not, which never melds with his attempts to achieve some sort of higher understanding of what is presented in front of us. The problem is there is little to understand in Ball's screenplay, and all Mendes does is make it even harder to digest.
1/5

Alice in Wonderland

Alice In Wonderland is a film that I've seen somewhat derided when compared to other Disney fare of both the past and the present. When the film was made there was apparently the feeling that there were too many directors on the project which made for an inconsistent film. Well I will agree not every segment is equal, I actually think that is needed for the adaptation of the source material. The last thing Alice should have is purpose. It should be madness and that is what you get here, there is no lesson to be had and no real character arc for Alice. There shouldn't be though as that again would be at odds with the story. This might not have worked all that well but is helped along by Kathryn Beaumont's excellent voice work as Alice. The one criticism I can agree with is the songs are not especially memorable. Plenty of the sequences are though particularly the mad tea party, the entirety of the red queen, the White Rabbit House, The Walrus and the Carpenter, some less so, like the whole segment with the flowers, but there is far more great than just sort of okay which is the worst it gets. It's an adaptation that fits the material, its messy to be sure, just like it should be.
4.5/5

Star Wars: Attack of the Clones

Attack Of The Clones is the very worst that the prequels has to offer as more than anything this one is downright boring. We get our introduction to the older Anakin played by Hayden Christensen and the problem is he's no better than Jake Lloyd. Once again we see nothing of the villain he would eventually become as his evil moments sound much more like a whiny brat than anything else. I'm really glad Adam Driver's performance in the Force Awakens exists as it stands as a decent approximation of how Anakin should have been portrayed. It does not help though that he must had his romance with Padme since he and Natalie Portman have absolutely no chemistry. Though I'll admit the atrocious dialogue of those scenes does not help. There's the rest of the film though which also does not help. There is a bizarre lack of urgency in the story and the plot is extremely disjointed with random strands of assassinations, seizing of power, creation of clones, other droid attacks, the whole thing is a mess. Even the villain in this case, played as well as he probably could be by Christopher Lee, is completely wasted. It's basically a series of scenes that build to nothing. Then we have a climax that's just kind of there, which in itself are a lot of colors without weight.
1/5

All The King's Men

All the Kings Men is almost a venomously pessimistic film about the political process with men using common folk for their own power, innocents becoming subservient to these men, a potentially honest reporter becoming hatchet men, good men revealed to have terrible pasts, and the one purely good character is reduced down to an assassin. Now really I don't mind pessimism if done well, and I don't think this is even done poorly actually. The problem for the film I think largely comes from the acting since certain parts of the film work brilliantly. Any scene focused on Mercedes McCambridge's character, and the scenes that reveal an directly evil Willie Stark played by Broderick Crawford. These work extremely well the problem is John Ireland, the other lead, is horribly bland, as are most of the supporting players. They fail to make any impact,  and to make it worse is I don't find Crawford entirely convincing in his scenes when he's not power hungry Willie. I actually think the screenplay and direction are there the acting just isn't.
3/5

Avatar

Avatar's story is the standard Dances with Wolves plot line yet rife with some unneeded complications involving its setup. It's acting is either bland or way over the top which go along with the bland or over the top characters. This should leave the all important part of the film which should be the visuals. The film though is actually oddly ugly, that cinematography win might the worst in the category, and the environment really never feels particularly imaginative. The film doesn't succeed in even what seemed to be its point, and for me that makes it an utter failure.
1/5

Amadeus

The original theatrical cut is perhaps the greatest film of all time. That's saying quite something given the majority of films about composers were as about as stuff as films get. It managed to modernize the tale, while not relying on any cheap trick to do so. Everything works on all cylinders. The production design, the costumes, the cinematography are all impeccable. The acting is outstanding housing the greatest leading turn ever given, if you ask me. What's so marvelous is how brilliantly it masters its tone. The creative process has never felt more vivid or beautiful. The use of Mozart's music is absolutely masterful, creating what is the greatest film score of all time, as every moment is so perfectly chosen it is astonishing. It is not a film with just one great scene. Every scene is great. It is a genuinely hilarious film, but equally heartbreaking. It never falters in this regard making such a great expression of life, while being a harrowing examination of the loss of it. You won't find a better film, and as for the director's cut, that was unnecessary because as Mozart said in the film you can't improve on something that's already perfect.