The Prince And The Showgirl (1957)

There is nothing more relaxing during the holidays than watching the midday movie in your pyjamas after a big night out (Maybe with the exception of breakfast in bed whilst watching reruns of Friends and dissecting everything that happened on said-night-out with actual friends). However due to the nature of this blog I don't really get to relax while I watch movies anymore, it's all about note-taking and trying to remember the plot so I can regurgitate it back to you in a paragraph or so. Thanks a lot film-dependent, you have ruined my sacred midday movie tradition.

Enough ranting, today I watched The Prince And The Showgirl an old Marilyn Monroe movie about a Prince (Laurence Olivier) who meets showgirl Elsie (Monroe) and tries to seduce her. Using her womanly wiles, Elsie is able to seduce her prince, broker peace in Europe and earn herself some sort medal for her services.

This isn't the best Marilyn Monroe movie I have ever seen, as you can guess she was only there to look pretty and play that same character she had been playing her entire career. But it's still Monroe who steals the show, mainly because she is incredibly beautiful in a white figure-hugging dress doesn't hurt. Our eyes naturally just shift over to her whenever she's in a scene and it's no surprise because there isn't much else about this movie that makes watching it a very pleasant experience.

Laurence Olivier's regent prince is so very annoying and ridiculous and not very handsome at all. I kind of despised him and most of the royal family of the imaginary Carpathia, why Elsie would waste her time with them is a mystery to me. And the plot moves at such a glacial pace, I could go and read War & Peace, come back and they would still be having the same conversation which I still wouldn't understand because the whole thing is so bloody confusing.

While I didn't enjoy The Prince and the Showgirl, Marilyn Monroe aficionados will maybe put up with it for her, depending on how patient they are. I wouldn't recommend it but whether you watch it, is entirely up to you. But in more recent news I hear that the new Michelle Williams movie about Marilyn is going to be set in the time when this movie was being made, hopefully it's not as bad.

Night Of The Living Dead (1968)

So it's Easter time and I thought 'we should deal with a film that really captures the whole Easter spirit and is kind of meaningful...'

And then I thought 'Nah. But I guess in a sick way Night of the Living Dead does have the whole resurrection of the dead thing in common with Easter, thus making it totally appropriate Easter viewing.'

I don't know how many zombie films I've seen, it's probably in the hundreds but Night of the Living Dead is one of the earlier ones (that said, these movies have been around since the 30s), it's the first in George A. Romero's zombie film franchise that has given us such zombie gore gems as Day of the Dead, Dawn of the Dead and the somewhat forgettable Diary of the Dead.

Night of the Living Dead is about a group of people who lock themselves in a farmhouse after the dead begin to comeback to life and start attacking the humans. They have to work together in order to survive the attack, however they don't all get along.

I don't know why but I found these zombies to be HILARIOUS, particularly the random naked one you can see in the trailer. At the beginning of the film they're semi-intelligent, they even resemble normal people. Only halfway through the movie they start to become more like what we have today. I'm sure it was terrifying back in the 60s but unfortunately that has been lost over time. Watching the zombies devour people was funny too, it looks like they're eating a ham bone or something, it's terrible but in a good way.

There's something Alfred Hitchcock-esque about Night of the Living Dead, it kind of reminded me of Psycho, you have the beautiful blonde woman being terrorised and the deliberately loud sound effects that punctuate the usual silence in order to frighten the audience. There isn't much dialogue and it's not particularly good, neither is the acting. They're all just way too hysterical and it gets annoying.

Sometimes it kind of borders on being a bit sexist, the women are portrayed as being completely useless or crazy, especially Barbra (Judith O'Dea) who acts like a complete idiot the whole time. The women seem to lead most of the male characters to their demise as well. What I also found interesting was the character Ben (Duane Jones), a black man who is the hero and has to deal with a very annoying group of white people, as well as group of predominantly white zombies. I'm guessing this would have been quite controversial in the day (particularly the end sequence, but I'm not going to ruin it for you). I'm just glad he wasn't some stereotypical 'black' character who was given a supporting role. It's good to see a black actor at the centre of a film, when you think about what was happening in terms of civil rights at the time.

It's worth watching if you like zombie films, but I wouldn't say it was my all-time favourite. If you're a zombie fan here's a list of all zombie movies for you to work your way through... Good luck

Labyrinth (1986)

I've been feeling quite nostalgic lately and I don't know why. So I chose something I used to watch on a semi-regular basis. Labyrinth is a movie that I remember being on TV all the time when I was a kid. I think I mainly watched it because of David Bowie and his too-cool-for-school eye makeup, that I may or may not have tried to recreate.

Labyrinth is all about Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), a young girl struggling with the responsibilities that come with growing up. One day whilst babysitting her younger brother Tobey, she wishes that the goblins would take him away. And then they do (I'm not sure why she's so surprised by this, I wish goblins would take my little sister away, sigh). Tobey is taken by the incredibly camp goblin king Jared (David Bowie) and held hostage in his castle at the centre of the labyrinth. To rescue him, Sarah must conquer the labyrinth with the help of new friends along the way.

I'm quite fond of a good cult movie, especially one with puppets, musical numbers and some sort of fantasy theme. Jim Henson has an amazing imagination and the detail of this all is absolutely mind-blowing. There are some wicked visuals here, the setting in this fantasy medieval world that you fall in love with.

I guess the best thing about Labyrinth is David Bowie, I mean he IS this movie and it's probably why most people watch it. And he helped with the music, which is a tad lame but still cool enough to be mentioned.

Anyway, I'm sure that at the time the filming techniques used were totally cutting-edge in 1986 but they have dated and look really tacky. You can only laugh at the terrible costumes in the ballroom scene (I don't think I've ever seen that much taffeta, except maybe my parents wedding album). And the acting, I know puppets don't have full facial control, but that's no excuse for the humans in this movie (I'm looking at you, David Bowie). But all this cheesiness makes it loveable, in a childish way. You don't watch Labyrinth expecting it to be on the same level as something by, I don't know, let's say Stanley Kubrick. You're watching it to be entertained, which it does do in its own weird way. It's one of those movies you watch and say 'they don't make 'em like they used to'.

And that's about all I have to say for now. I suppose I'll be here same time, same place tomorrow.

Elephant (2003)

Hello again. Yes it has been I while since I've posted anything, mainly because I'm lazy... sorry about that, it's been a busy few days at chez Michelle. Anyway I'm back on the wagon, ready to start again and we'll start with Gus Van Sant's Elephant, another film brought to me by my cinema studies class.

Also I should mention that if my writing seems a bit, well, all over the place it's only because I've had about 4 cups of coffee in the past 2 hours and to say I'm a little over-caffeinated is a gross understatement. I'll try and be as coherent as possible but I'm not making any promises.

Elephant is part of Van Sant's death trilogy, which also includes Gerry and Last Days. Each film details an incident involving a death that has actually happened. Elephant is about the Columbine high school massacre. It follows the lives of several of the students on the day of the massacre, including one of the gunmen, Alex (Alex Frost).

There is something very ominous about Elephant, the way the camera weaves through the corridors and how the lives of the students loop around each other. The school is like a maze, you find yourself becoming lost just like the teenagers you are watching. The worst part is knowing what's going to happen, you're just waiting for them to open fire. It's not judgemental and it doesn't try to explain or blame anyone. Sometimes horrible things happen and you can't find the logic behind it.

What surprised me most was that the cast consisted mostly of new or non-proffessional actors and how well they put this together. It's completely believable, you feel for outcasts Alex, Eric and Michelle. It wasn't over the top, the death scenes are not done in typical Hollywood fashion (aka the slow-motion fall to the ground and woe-is-me face). The whole film is done in a way both minimal and moving, nothing is overstated.

I loved Elephant, and I hope if you choose to watch it you do too.

Bye for now, not forever

Taxi Driver (1976)

Scorsese is just one of those directors whose movies you have to see because everybody knows about them. Taxi Driver is one of these classics and is one I haven't actually seen before, even though everyone tells me that I have to.

Robert De Niro is Travis Bickle, a mentally unstable Vietnam veteran who returns to New York to work late nights as a cabbie in the seediest parts of the city. One night he meets Iris (Jodie Foster), an underage prostitute who inspires him to take action against the filth of the city while his state of mind continues to deteriorate and he loses his grip on reality.

I think everyone knows this movie for that one line, you know the 'you talkin to me?' line and while that's great and all, there are maybe a hundred other great things about this movie, it's gritty and violent and perfectly captures the decaying mental state of Travis. The ending made me wonder and I'll try not to give it away but it does make you question whether the ending is all in Travis' mind. De Niro is scary, sexually frustrated and so terribly realistic, I can't believe it the same guy in Little Fockers. You see him being repeatedly drawn into this shady world full of pimps and dealers and it only fuels his hatred, but he can't turn away from it. This film just shows an actor and director in their peak and they work so well together, I think I'll have to watch Raging Bull as well, but maybe later.

It's such an angry and masculine film, something Scorsese deals with very well. It depicts this violent side of the city of New York, you can tell Scorsese was influenced by the whole punk rock movement happening there at the time (hence Travis' mohawk).

Fun fact, Scorsese actually had Dustin Hoffman in mind for the part of Travis, but Hoffman thought Scorsese was crazy so he said no. Must really be regretting that now huh.

Until tomorrow xox

Dinner for Schmucks (2010)

I went to my local video rental place the other day, for the first time in about 3 years. Poor Blockbuster, it's changed so much since people started downloading. I felt kind of nostalgic with my video rental card and I decided to get a new release to rent and subsequently review. I chose Jay Roach's Dinner For Schmucks, a movie I found to be sadly disappointing.

When Tim (Paul Rudd) wants to get ahead at his work, his boss invites him to a dinner that has a very interesting game. Each guest has to bring a loser to make fun of, and the person whose guest is the biggest loser wins. Tim brings Barry (Steve Carell), a man whose hobby is making dioramas using dead mice in costumes.

Judging by the promotional poster and dvd case, I thought this would be one hilarious movie, but instead I was just completely disappointed. All of the characters were just so friggin irritating. Half of the time I didn't feel sorry for Barry, he was just too annoying and too much of an idiot, instead of this making me care for him, I just couldn't stand him. This movie felt really mean-spirited and cruel, we're meant to make fun of these so-called 'schmucks' when they're the most interesting part of the film. The dinner is only a small part of the film which is unfortunate because that's where the film is at its funniest.

It does try to make viewers feel sympathetic towards the lead characters, but I couldn't feel sorry for anybody. Everyone in this movie is a schmuck, not just the freaks. Tim's work colleagues are the worst, there is absolutely nothing to like about them. And Tim is a particularly frustrating character because he just goes along with it all and then complains the whole time. He blames others for his issues when really it's his own fault.

It's a shame this movie was so bad, most of the cast have previously done great comedic work, especially David Walliams, Zach Galifianakis and Jemaine Clements. This movie just tries too hard to be funny.

But on the plus side I did find the mice dioramas to be very cute in a modern take on Beatrix Potter kind of way.

So if you decide to go out and rent something, maybe give Dinner For Schmucks a miss

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Today I was a little hungover and I thought I either needed to watch something where I didn't have to think very much, but it had to be good enough to sit through it without falling asleep or being violently ill. Cue Robert Rodriguez' From Dusk Till Dawn.

Two criminals on the run from the law (Young George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino), they decide to jump the border and head to Mexico. But first they have to gather up some hostages so they have human collateral. When they get to Mexico, they take refuge in a nudie bar with some interesting/terrifying inhabitants. And that's where all the fun begins.

Robert Rodriguez has had a history of hits and misses (Sin City: Good, Shark Boy and Lava Girl: Bad, so very bad). I'm glad to say From Dusk Till Dawn is a hit, it has a great cast and hilarious dialogue. It's kind of refreshing to watch this in a world where vampires are have become stupid glittery prettyboys. Where has Nosferatu gone? Where's the fun? Bring them back I say.

Anyway, it's a lot of fun, the gore and the vampire special effects have become a bit tacky but I'm sure this was way scary in its time. The fight sequences are a good mix of humour and action, it's important for the film not to take itself so seriously or else it would be utterly crap.

I particularly like Sex Machine (Tom Savini) and the vampiric mariachi band and Salma Hayek is pretty sexy too as the dancer/vampire Satanica Pandemonium. The cast is full of people you'd know and most of them have featured in more than one of Rodriguez' work.

well now i must sleep/listen to mariachi music