I have been baffled for years as to why this is ranked so high in the Hitchcock canon. I've always remembered this as being a bit slow and boring like nothing happens, so I decided to give it another chance on Blu-ray. The good news is...the Blu-ray restoration looks amazing. Seeing a late 1950s San Francisco on film is truly spectacular. The bad news is...this movie is just as boring as I remember. Nothing happens! Guy follows a lady, this lady may or may not be nuts and is related to a lady who committed suicide. This lady kills herself, Jimmy Stewart is tried in court by the most asshole judge ever, then is crazy for a scene, then finds a lady who looks like the lady, turns out that is the lady, then boom, she is spooked off the tower. Okay, when I say it all like that, stuff does happen. And when written, those twists seem interesting. But putting them in a two hour movie, there is a whole lot of padding....including a scene where his platonic best friend paints herself into the painting of the famous lady. Man, that was awkward. Also, that end scene is so abrupt and out of nowhere. I know we're watching this with 2016 eyes, maybe it wasn't as jarring to a 1950s audience. But that scene is shot as if the nun was spying from the corner where the husband hid. She approaches in the shadows, gives one creepy line, then Kim Novak falls off for real. I get why the nun was shot like that, it's supposed to make us think its sinister and supposed to scare Kim Novak, but I'm just not buying it. It's too much of a stretch. And then BOOM, credits.
I don't know. Maybe I wouldn't be so hard on this movie if it wasn't ranked so high. This bumped Citizen Kane form the 2012 Sight and Sound poll and in previous years was ranked at #2. The idea that this is better than Citizen Kane is just impossible. It's not even in my Top 5 Hitchcock! Psycho, North by Northwest, Rear Window, Shadow of a Doubt and Suspicion all rank higher. I even want to say Dial M For Murder and The Man Who Knew Too Much are better, but I need to rewatch those again too. Anyway, Vertigo is a beautiful movie. Watch the Blu-ray.
I've seen this movie 3 times now and have a ticket purchased for Wednesday night again in the Dome. I LOVE IT. Favorite movie of the year and well on it's way to one of my faves of all time. The music wonderful, the cinematography is gorgeous, the script is hilarious and everything just keeps moving. I love every single scene. I think it has the chance to be the fourth movie ever to win Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actress and Actor. Man, is this amazing!!!! See immediately then buy the soundtrack!!!!
UPDATE: Saw it for the 6th time yesterday at the Chinese Theater in IMAX. I. Still. Love. This. Movie. !!!!!!
UPDATE: Took my fam to see it the other night for #7. Still great!
UPDATE: Saw this last night at the Hollywood Bowl, making it my 8th time on the big screen. And I gotta say, my friend and I had an epic epic nightmare of a battle making it to the show and we were 20 minutes into movie when we got there but this movie is so special and spectacular it got us out of our funk instantly. Love it! Then I went home and watched it on blu-ray to hear the commentary man oh man I love this movie. Okay done with updates now that it's on home vid.
AMAZING MOVIE. This was just unbelievable. Ten years ago when I was deep into my snobby, French New Wave phase in film school I watched Blow-Up and loved it. Further digging revealed that John Travolta was in an American remake of it. NEVER, I said. I WILL NEVER WATCH THAT FILTH. What an idiot I am. Or should I say, what an idiot I WAS because I just corrected this mistake and man oh man am I glad I did. This is hands down my favorite De Palma flick and if I wasn't a guy who has seen Grease at least 25 times in my life I would probably call this Travolta's best film to date. I mean at least until Old Dogs 2 comes out this is tops. Jokes. But seriously, this is criminally underrated. I should have read more or heard more of "Blow Out is great" over the past 10 years. That makes it sound like I'm trying to pass the buck, that its not MY fault I didn't watch this until now. And you know what maybe I am. This was so friggin' cool and tense and well made that I am ashamed it took me this long. Side note...it wouldn't be a De Palma film without a choice that I debate in my head whether it was right or wrong or if I get it or if I should be feeling kinda gross about something or not but I won't be specific for fear of spoilers. Watch this movieeeeee
What an odd, sometimes laughable, movie, I was riding high after watching Blow Out and needed more De Palma in my life. Right from the first frame I knew this wasn't going to scratch that itch. Or maybe it did by the end?! De Palma, man. Always throwing me for a loop.
Anyway, it opens with hilarious Dracula bloody type font and then introduces what has to be the MOST hilariously awful lead actor in a major motion picture of all time. I mean this guy is the worst. What a long drop from an actor with presence like Travolts to this nobody. First off, he looks like a young Bill Maher. That has nothing to do with his acting ability but is a bit off putting. But this guy bops around like a big baby the whole movie I never wanted to root for him. He catches his wife sleeping with another man, she gives him this look like, "now what, you putz?" At that point I felt for the guy but then the rest of the movie plays out and I'm almost siding with the wife. This guy is a zero. Like he's a whiny pushover who deserves to be a pushover. Maybe that's the character but on top of that the acting choices this guy makes. Just mugging for the camera. I feel like if someone cut together a string of these "choices" it would make for one hilarious clip. Anytime he's looking into the telescope he keeps looking up and going ooh ahh and stuff. So weird.
Anyway, eventually the terrible acting grew on me in a Stockholm sort of way and actually fit the bill when the character decides to audition for a porn film and act in one so he can ask one of the stars to help him. That's right, he auditions, gets the part, and then we see a film within a film of him in this porno, pre-sex scene. We get as far as the makeout which is shot like its the most glorious makeout love sesh in the history of making out. Melanie Griffith is instantly taken. It also calls back the last time he did this, when he followed a woman all over town then saves her purse and then attacks her face with his mouth. That makeout scene was shot in such a way, with a fast camera spinning around them on a green screen I thought for sure it was a dream sequence. But nope, it was the real deal.
Okay I'm spending way too much time on this movie. Quickly....and here is where the spoilers come in. I knew the SECOND we saw a WIDE SHOT of this "Indian" that it was Gregg Henry in disguise. Maybe it's the HD or the advances in makeup since 1984, but it was clear as day. Also this movie has the unfortunate situation of Gregg Henry becoming a well known character actor who is at the very least sleazy, if not the bad guy. So when he was the buddy who got the lead this great place I was like no way there is something up with this dude. Oh and then you could tell it was him by the way he carried himself. Gregg Henry has this weird cock of the walk sort of swagger that you know its him. That was not a twist at all when the guy tore his face off to reveal him. It reminded me of Color of Night [spoilers coming for that movie] where I knew the second we saw the "guy" that it was really the girl. Instantly.
For as clear as that was, I was super confused by the other reveal, that he was the murdered lady's ex, he wanted the dude to be set up as a witness so he hired a look alike to dance like his ex wife in the window? Huh? Did not catch that. So if that really wasn't his buddies place did he also own that weird circle house? Also, is that house real?! Weird.
Ughhhh. I do not like this movie. I spent almost every second of it angry. For the first half I despised every scene with the Father James character cuz he was just so touchy feely and "stop being hysterical" with Julia. Then when they reveal, in a very anticlimactic way, that he's the killer all along, he gets even more touchy feely but also "crazzzzzzzzyyy kooky psycho!" Ugh. Fine, he's the bad guy so I'm supposed to hate him through and through I guess? It was so uncomfortable I couldn't help but think sometimes it was just the actor wanting to hug and squeeze and smell the beautiful lead. That's how off-putting it was. If there had been just a single mention in the first half that "hey, Father James is a little handsy and it makes me uncomfortable," I'd be totally fine with this movie because then it would all line up with the character. Instead I'm just cringing all the way through feeling sorry for Trish Everly that she has to let this creep squeeze her all the damn time. The stuff with the deaf children was surprisingly touching for such a snooze of a picture and I suppose since it went into production first (or at the same time) as Happy Birthday To Me I can't get mad at them for the ending. But I think time has awarded Happy Birthday to Me as the necessary viewing for this type of ending.
I haven't seen this in awhile. It's a classic, so I don't need to convince anyone to see it. If you don't watch it for the debate, see it for the love story. The love story I'm speaking of is the relationship between Jack Warden and that friggin' handkerchief of his. Talk about pulling focus...I know this started as a play and maybe Warden was in stage mode but goddamn does he do everything he can with that cloth to make everyone watch him when he's not the one talking. I know it's sweaty in that room and everyone is sweating but every chance he gets, he gets up from his seat, paces around and wipes down his face and his arms. The climax comes when at some point in the third act, when there is an important exchange happening in the foreground, Warden is in the background, SWINGING IT AROUND IN A CIRCLE. How can you not be distracted by that?! It was hysterical. I really want to know if the other actors were mad at his mugging. Or who knows maybe this was a case of his character was a nobody, then he comes on set chewing the shit out of it, and boom we've got another layer of good story here. I mean, I'm glad he was doing it, I suppose it was a good choice, but there had to be at least one other actor who was not happy about it.
This concludes today's impromptu Trial Trilogy, first it was Anatomy of a Murder, then Witness for the Prosecution then 12 Angry Men. I was initially surprised at the coincidence that I ordered on 3 different occasions movies about a trial entirely not on purpose...then I realized it was probably a "you bought this, you might like this" type thing on Amazon. Damn you Amazon, you're good.
Just got back from seeing this. Here is what I'll say right off the bat: It's not nearly as bad as I anticipated based on the reviews going in. If the entire film was exactly like the first 30 minutes, I would LOVE this movie. Sure it would have been 2 hours of set up, but how much fun was that first 30 minutes?!
THE GOOD
Harley Quinn. Robbie lives up to the hype on this. Seeing the ads I wasn't head over heels. I just wasn't seeing the charm of it in short bursts. But seeing the movie totally reminds me of watching the animated series, which I haven't revisited in awhile. Makes me want to go back. She was the best part of this movie.
Will Smith. I imagine fans of Deadshot will have plenty to say about what he got wrong about the character. I didn't know Deadshot existed until this movie. I'm not a huge comic book guy anymore, so I was going in blind on this. I loved him. I thought he was great. Still not 100% the Will Smith I want to see up there, having a blast, but this was pretty damn close.
The music. They went the Guardians route with the soundtrack and it works. I'm a sucker for a recognizable old jam in a movie and there are plenty in this.
Ike Barinholtz. Big fan of this guy and he's friggin' hysterical here. He was a big part of that first 30 that I loved so much. Seeing him interact with Harley, etc, was great.
THE BAD
Everything after the 30 minutes of "We're putting together a team." Once they're assembled and the completely ridiculous plot begins, and the long stretches of boring make you even more aware of how many leaps you have to take to believe the plot, the more checked out I became. I know you have to allow some suspension of disbelief in these kinds of movies, but this one asked a lot.
Insanely subpar CG. What the hell was going on with the look of the villain? These were Mummy-level "The Rock's face pinned to a blurry CG body" effects. Just baffling.
The end was the same as every single one of these movies, whether they're good or bad, it's just a group of characters who have to use their skills to battle a CG monster, each of them fail until for some reason the last big thing they do works. Whatever. Also the end look of how the power was shooting out of the building looked very Ghostbusters (any of them really).
The Joker. Look. His Joker was just fine. I liked his look, he was even being kind of crazy sometimes. But for the amount of screen time he actually gets DOES NOT equal the amount of articles I had to see about this dude pranking people on set and being disgusting and sending gross gifts to Viola Davis blah blah blah. Seriously, the PR train on this has been going strong for what feels like a year and a half and it all amounts to....15 minutes, all together? Sure sure this will set him up for other stuff but come on. So many articles about him being in character and pranking. So many. The other actors had to hate it. Especially considering the fact that they BARELY share the screen with him! It'd be like Jeremy Irons pranking the shit out every single cast member in BvS "for his character." Lawrence Fishburn would not stand for that shit.
Anyway, I didn't completely hate it. I had fun sometimes. I laughed at things they didn't want me to laugh at sometimes (so did the rest of the theater). But it wasn't the worst.
Hmm. I watched one episode to give it a chance and not give it a hard pass just because I find the YouTube videos so insufferable. I get that's the point, blah blah, but still watching someone sing annoying on purpose is still annoying, so it's not for me. Unfortunately that extends to this show. The show as a whole is well done and I'm a fan of a lot of people involved. It's not a bad show, I'm just not on board with the character of Miranda. Some people "get it" and find it hysterical but I am not one of them. It's just too broad or something, like all I can think about watching is how much it must hurt her voice to do that nasal thing all the time or how her face has got to get tired having to hold that exaggerated sad/angry face mugging. Just seems painful. And the way she storms around, pigeon toed in her "dorky" clothes, it comes off as trying too hard to me, very much the same way Napoleon Dynamite did back in the day. Like, take it down a few. But again, people do love this and I'm very happy for the creator of the character to strike a chord with fans and find a way to connect with a large audience and score a sweet Netflix show and have it be very well produced. Its a legit show and does not feel like one of those situations of a famous YouTuber taking a step up and it seeming way out of their league. It's just not for me.
I thought this movie was pretty great. And even touching by the end of it. I'll admit it started and I was like, oh no, this is going to be an hour and a half of the lead being super terrible to everyone. Not that that can't be funny, it works in movies like Observe & Report, they just tend to stress me out. But the awfulness settles in and it works. Plus...that sex scene is damn, damn funny. Melissa Rauch is hilarious and I want to see her in more stuff. This almost makes me want to watch The Big Bang Theory. Almost. Sorry, don't mean to burn BBT. Just not my style.
The ending was fresh, too. Not by the books at all, but not in a way that you go, wait what?! That can't happen, etc.....Also, the lead Olympic dude, I looked him up and realized he's Bucky! He looks way different without the long hair, scruff and eternal moping. Doesn't he look like that guy from Baywatch? David Charvet? I kept looking at him going no way it's that guy from Baywatch. He's older than this dude. Anyway, great movie. Super underrated performance in theaters, hope it finds an audience on video.
I liked this movie a lot but was a little disappointed by the ending. Spoilers coming...I appreciate the choice of not showing Nishi's death, but feel just a bit cheated out of a climax. I'll admit part of me thought there was a chance his father-in-law was going to have a change of heart for some reason so I suppose that made for a powerful reveal when it gets to the press conference that yes, that is what happened, the real Nishi wasn't lying.
Question about the very end...the father-in-law being told to take a vacation, was that telling us that he was probably next on the list to be wiped out by his superiors? Also, he says that he didn't sleep at all the night before. But "the bad sleep well," so is it saying he's good? Or is the title of the film sarcastic, and the bad don't sleep well? I'm focusing on the title and that line because before "The End" it shows the title of the film again. That doesn't happen in every Kurosawa film I don't think. I had just watched The Hidden Fortress and that went straight to The End. Am I reading too much into this? Or am I missing something super obvious?
This bad boy came in on Blu-ray today. I had to rewatch obviously because I just saw the new one a few times, but also to see if the new trend of hating this movie and calling it shit were valid. After watching the Honest Trailer on it, I thought maybe they're right. But guess what?
THEY ARE SO SO WRONG. This movie is still the shit. Full disclosure: I saw this movie a thousand times as a kid on video and I admit I saw it before I ever saw the first one. I had all the toys, watched all the cartoons, etc. But here is an even bigger reveal: I think I might like this one more than the first one. I think Bill Murray is funnier in this one too. Not like his jokes are better than in the first one, but he has more opportunities in this one to be funny. He's got more funny lines. I was so enjoying him in this movie I was thinking maybe I owe it to him to watch The Razor's Edge since that's the passion project he got to make for agreeing to be in Ghostbusters in the first place. Going to add it to the queue.
If you are doubting this movie like people do, I suggest you rewatch for yourself.
Oy. This movie was not good. It had a few moments where I chuckled, but it was pretty much rough across the board. I will give the man credit, he has a knack to have an offensive scene, then turn it into an offensive set piece, then spend 5 minutes making it worse, and worse, and worse, until I'm finally amused that he's taken it this far. During "that scene" I just kept thinking, poor Mark Strong. When he read this in the script, did he know it was going to be the way it was? Also a few more points for not having it all green screen. They were really "inside" something. It was nuts. And gross.
Okay, I just I'll give this a few more stars for going all out, but this was a miss. I've been defending The Dictator since it came out, I think that movie really works. This just felt tired. Like the opening scene, of him in his brother's room, the joke that all of his idols ending up being gay. I'm not saying it's offensive, it's just a joke we've heard a million times. "We used to think George Michael was such a lady killer!" Not funny anymore. Also, none of the Rebel Wilson jokes worked. I think she's hilarious, I just think she's above the jokes she's being subjected to in this movie.
This movie is dumb as hell. It's obvious from the thumbnail on Shudder and it's obvious 20 minutes in that the killer is a man dressed in women's clothing. Word of warning to any movie, you're never gonna fool anyone trying to tell us a killer is a lady but is actually a dude. Also, in the Psycho-esque exposition end scene, the lead of a film, a fucking male film score composer. surmises this of the killer, "his ego as a child was too fragile which caused his masculinity to regress." Direct quote! So....a fragile ego in a boy makes him want to be a murderous woman? So if a boy is weak that makes him "regress" to wanting to dress as a woman? And it's a bad thing to want to dress in women clothes? What the shit are they trying to say here?! Fuck this movie. I get that it was 1983 and blah blah blah, doesn't mean I have to tolerate it in 2017. Ugh. I won't be watching this again. I'm very tempted to list other movies that pull this bullshit but as angry as I am at having wasted any time watching this or any other movie that paints cross dressing or the feeling of being trapped in the wrong body as the sole reason for murder, I'm not gonna spoil other movies since anyone reading this is assuming the "spoiler" blur is based only on this movie. But hit me up if you want others to avoid.
Finally decided to watch this after having it in my queue for Amazon and I think Shudder. I don't really like it. Sorry I admit this has more to do with me being an annoying film snob blowhard myself. The choices of his references are so cliche really old even for 1980. I know I know people love White Heat. But enough. And he was being a real asshole about stuff that no one his age should ever have to be able to talk about. And the whole "his life is a movie" part on Hollywood Blvd was so funny because I live right by there and it is so friggin' gross you have no idea. Hollywood and Highland is the butthole of hell and should be avoided at all costs...that's free advice for tourists reading this by some weird chance. I think it's funny to watch a young Mickey Rourke be a super tough guy getting in a shoving match with the lead guy over what Bogart's full name was in Casablanca. HA!! Is this a musical?!?! Anyway, if I was there I woulda been like "Hey Creepo, it's Rick Blaine, where's my money." Hell now that I think about it this movie does have a camp factor AND it's owed some money from Big Fat Liar for one of the scenes.
I LOVED this movie. First off, Jennifer Runyon. Such a babe. But movie wise, it seemed to play as the most glorious satire of 80s slashers all the while playing it straight. I know its meant to be a full on horror, and good on em for trying, but I think what they accomplished is even better. There are decisions made, especially in the last 30 minutes, that are just hilarious comments on the genre. The super nerdy, shy guy gets laid and the next morning is all of a sudden a decision making hornball tough guy. Oh and after a night where everyone hooks up, they all switch partners and by the next night are "in love" with another character. Oh and the killer stuff...don't want to spoil it. But anyway, I legit love this movie, it's hysterical and I'm laughing WITH it not AT it. I think if this got the Scream Factory treatment and cooler cover art to replace that godawful design that's on it, and boom this would be a new classic. I'm not saying it's completely unknown...I just think it should be higher up there when it comes to 80s horror.
Update dec 2019: every year I watch this and every year I like it less than the year before. It’s not as watchable bad as I remember it being that very first time. Probs gonna bump it from 8 to a 7.
I had finally reached my breaking point with Marvel movies. "Even if they're good its just more of the same." I had made the decision that I was no longer going to be excited for the release. I'd still see them because come on. And then the reviews started rolling in for this one. Damnit, I was excited again....and good god was it worth it. This movie was amazing. This whole mystical element just gives a big breath of fresh to the genre. Every fight scene was fun because they're disappearing all over the place, going into warp holes or whatever, we've got capes acting like Magic Carpet in Aladdin, the whole shebang. Really something else. Also the Doc has the super fun Tony Stark character arc of starting out as an unbelievable asshole, and a meaner version too, and then becoming the tolerable kind of asshole. Just a blast from start to finish. Also, even in the most fun Marvel movies, sometimes by the third act you're like come on just beat the bad guy and give us a chuckle to go out on, let's do it. But this movie's final battle is so fun to look at, so original, so weird, I'm on the edge of the seat til the very end. Great movie.
What a great movie! I've been putting this off for a year or so now, I don't know why I was so hesitant to watch it. First off, what a nice change of pace for Sofia Vergara. I'm a big fan of hers regardless, but it's just nice to see her cast in a role that doesn't require her to be crazy and loud. Jon Favreau is great and I love how after the big blow up on the critic and he goes to Miami, it's just up and up and up. It's a great, feel good movie. There is no end of act two things-can't-get-any-worse moment. That may sound like I'm being snobby and sarcastic, like oy it's not following the rules, but it was very comforting and fun to see him get close with his son and not have to deal with the obligatory "you lied to me!" scene when he gets cold feet or something. They get close, his food truck takes off...he ALMOST runs of, scared of disappointing his son again, but then he watches the one second videos his son made and boom, everything falls into place. It was a delight. I want to watch again knowing it's smooth sailing. Also, I GOTTA get the version of Sexual Healing they sing along to, it was so catchy!
I was super stoked for this movie. Not only because I just watched the first two to get primed but to be honest...the poster design is so damn sexy. Something about that old school Trek II vibe and those bright splashes of color. So cool.
When I first saw a trailer for this, me and the entire theater kinda laughed at it. It was laughable. And not in a good way. Whoever edited that trailer and the first GB trailer should get a sit down. Anyway, the movie was good! I feel I need to rewatch....it was 115 degrees today, or at least it felt like it. Also there was a fire somewhere nearby and every single person Instagrammed a pic of the sun looking red. Just a little time stamp there for ya. Also I was mad at the guy next to me because he asked me to move my drink to the other side. I'm left handed you asshole. Anyway, I did it and stewed. So the heat in the theater and the fact that I had a crazy headache both made me kinda fade in and out in the middle. But I liked it. Will see it again at the Chinese Theater this time to check out their new IMAX screen.
Boy was I on the fence about watching this. I follow the rule of only watching Christmas movies between November 1st and New Years Eve. But I also have no interest in Christmas themed horror films. I'd rather not associate the two. I figured a good compromise on both rules is to watch this out of season.
Was it worth it? I don't know. First off I looooove the look of this movie both in its font choice/80s movie vibe and the actual Christmas set dressing. Looked GREAT. But....spoiler time:
I was finding it hard to pick which genre it was trying to fit, whether it be straight up horror or comedy horror, which I saw it described as on Redbox or something. If its horror, I was finding the deaths and characters they choose to kill hard to stomach. Like the daughter being the first victim. I know she's guilty of being "over Christmas" like everyone else in the movie, but there were scenes that paint her as "one of the good ones," like when she tries to keep her bro from reacting to teasing. If this was a horror film, I would applaud the ballsy choice to kill her so early (and everyone else eventually), but if it's a horror comedy then I just assumed she'd come back eventually. I especially thought that to be the case in the way her parents reacted to it. So the whole movie I'm going okay when is everyone coming back, which is exactly what happened. It was all a dream. Or was it, the movie asks by gifting the krampus bell to the kid (a la silver bell in polar express, right?) and everyone feeling creeped out.
Bottom line, not sure I can hit that like heart for this one. Not scary enough for a horror, certainly not funny enough to be a comedy horror.
Side note, I did like that it used two things from some of my yearly Christmas views: the counting the days with a door calendar like Christmas Vacation and the retail store takes a beating at opening like Jingle All the Way.
Look. This isn't a good movie. It's watchable. It has its moments, but it's not good. And it suffers from the unforgivable crime that was so so prevalent in the late 90s early 2000s, and that's the whole commentary on reality TV and how it's not really reality, but produced by slicksters and fame hungry wanna be's, blah blah blah. Snooze. I hate reality TV too but I might hate the genre of "mocking" it even more.
Anyway, I can forgive the two leads. My heart goes out to them because they are being the things we want them to be, and we just didn't bite. It's no surprise Eddie Murphy is a humorless grump these days. He's tried repeatedly to give us the stuff he thinks we want from him but it just hasn't worked in forever. Even as recently as Tower Heist, there were flashes of old Eddie in there but we didn't care. I blame us.
De Niro however has been more or less successful with mocking his image and this was right around the time I think it started to sour for him. Watching it now it's basically the only De Niro we know, the old curmudgeon with a heart of gold. It's still entertaining.
