Amen. I know Alky is going to like that.

Oh yeah, definetly one of the greats. Have you seen the sequel? If so, any good?

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Nuit et Brouillard (Night and Fog) (1955)

Night and Fog is a film documenting the procedures of the Nazi concentration camps during World War 2. The director Alan Resnais uses actual footage of the concentration camps while operational with footage shoot ten years later of the abandoned camps to paint a shockingly resonate portrait of one of the most devestating events in history.

The imagery is stark and unsettling, there are many moments in the half hour running time where it is difficult to watch. The narration is brilliant, it sounds as if the director is reciting poetry.

The film poses a tough question - daring to ask whether or not the world has actually learned anything from the events, or if we're just going to repeat ourselves again. One quote in particular asks:

"Who among us keeps watch from this strange watchtower to warn of the arrival of our new executioners? Are their faces really different from our own?

-10/10

Indeed :) :) :)

Good (2008)

http://l.yimg.com/eb/ymv/us/img/hv/p...ood_poster.jpg

Viggo Mortensen did a 'good' job with the role but besides that overall I couldn't find the film that much compelling as I expected, particularly I think the ending was a bit let down. Otherwise, it was a decent WW film about a 'Good' German during that period.

>>: B-

It's a marked step down from the original. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a bad movie - it's entertaining enough, and Hackman still does a fantastic job, but if you're expecting anything on par with the first one you'll be sorely let down.

(I know the question wasn't pointed at me - felt like answering anyway.)

That's basically what I was expecting, I'll probably check it out just as a fan of the first.

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Scarface: The Shame of the Nation (1932)

Scarface: The Shame of the Nation is often overshadowed by the remake starring Al Pacino and directed by Brian Depalma, and while it is difficult to compare the two (being made 51 years apart) I can say without any hesitation that I prefer the original version. I find the story to be better, the characters to be more interesting, and the perfromances to be superior.

The film revolves around the rise and eventual fall of prohibition-era gangster Antonio 'Tony' Camonte, trying to make his way up in the criminal underworld while also attempting to prevent his sister from getting involved in the shadowy world.

Paul Muni brilliantly plays Camonte and pulls off the task wonderfully. It is also nice to see Boris Karloff in a non-horror film for once. Scarface is executed quite well, mainly due to director Howard Hawkes' choice of portraying the gangsters as people just having fun, rather than the usual evil for the sake of being evil gangster of that time.

-9.5/10

The Black Gestapo

Classic stuff. This ruled, have no idea why it took me so long to check it out.

Taxidermia

Went into this one blind and thought it was killer. If you're a fan of dark humor and offbeat films I'd definitely recommend it. Very cool flick that I'm sure I'll dig even more upon repeat viewings.

Cars

You know... I really didn't dig the lead character's narcissism and really didn't believe the 'I am a good guy now' routine after the typical heartwarming 'life lessons' he had to learn.
I say he went right back to his self indulgent behavior within a week.
If he had never gotten lost, he would have ended up at his race and probably would not have won due to the typical overconfidence most egotistical high performance vehicles have.
Which, in turn, would have been such a blow to his shallow hull that he would have turned to some sort of cathartic self-searching for his inner race car.
If not by his own volition, definitely would have been somewhere in the much mentioned 'contract'.
The Sally character would have been a better focus, because even with her short descriptions into her 'other' life, it would have been fascinating to see how her crossroads came to be.
Mater was the comic relief but had such a sadness to his innocent outer shell that you start to wonder if he presents himself this way because there is not much else under the hood or he is just the simple 'good ole boy' everybody likes, but doesn't really want to invite for family dinners?
The really tragic character has to be Doc.
I just don't have the words or inclination to go into how I feel about Doc, but let's just say...his character moved me to tears...many times.

My 2 year old watches this movie at least 4x a day, so I have plenty of opportunities to delve into the vast emotional miasma this movie has on So Many levels....

Once again, amen. Amazing film.

Ah! I've been wanting to see this for quite some time, but I've never seen it out. Actually, as I'm looking now I see it's out in the UK. I guess I'll have to order it. It seems you think it'd be a good blind buy?