THE DANMAN CAN

The Parallax View  (1974),  Alan J. Pakula 's second film in his so-called "Paranoia Trilogy" (which includes 1971's  Klute   (which I have yet to see but will be watching soon) and 1976's  All The President's Men  (my blogpost here )), is an exceptionally made thriller that comments on American ideas and ideals, the search for truth, the real truths behind the facade of normalcy, the violence inherent in the history (past and present) of America, and the dangers of power—without ever offering answers.  The film avoids dating itself or coming across as heavy-handed by creating a mythical reality, one that doesn't name-check actual specific historical events, but rather presents a fictional story that feels very real. A nod to the Kennedy assassination in the preamble leads to the film's Space Needle -set opening where a politician is assassinated. Warren Beatty plays a reporter who, years later, becomes embroiled in an investigation into a shadowy or

Review

Schindler’s List (1993) is a film that truly makes one reflect on the idea of commodity—the value of human life versus the value of material and profit—and on the nature of power and how it corrupts. It’s a motion picture filled with fear, desperation, humiliation, humility, atrocity, and empathy. It presents its charming yet imposing central figure (the enigmatic Liam Neeson ) as flawed yet realistic—a womanizer, a shrewd businessman, and, eventually, a reluctant hero. Steven Spielberg 's film remains an exhausting, unflinching, haunting emotional tour de force, and serves as a reminder of both the tremendous good and evil that human beings are capable of.  You can find my  Steven Spielberg Feature Films Ranked  list  here .

If Mario Bava had made The Colossus Of Rhodes (1961) it would have been shorter and campier, with more interesting lighting. I mention this because Bava made similar films around the same time (see Hercules In The Haunted World released the same year). As it is, TCOR is kind of campy but not in an over-the-top enough way that demands the attention of the viewer. Much like  Spartacus  (1960) (my review here ) for  Stanley Kubrick , there is no Sergio Leone stamp whatsoever in TCOR . It very much feels like a work for hire job. It seems clear the producers were cashing in on the sword-and-sandal craze and I suppose I’m just not a great lover of the genre. That’s OK, not everyone hits it out of the park with their debut and Leone only made six more features, basically all of them masterpieces, so it’s no big deal (technically 1959's  The Last Days Of Pompeii  was Leone's debut but he went uncredited). The filmmaking in TCOR  is very technically proficient but its a slog and

With The Revenant   (2015),  Alejandro González Iñárritu  channels  Terrence Malick  but leaves most of the poetry and heart at the door and replaces it with carnage. The film is basically a 2 1/2 hour endurance test (particularly for lead Leonardo DiCaprio , I can imagine) but a technically incredible, beautifully shot, and sumptuously scored one. The film continues to remind me of  The New World  (2005), which cinematographer  Emmanuel Lubezki  also shot, and I absolutely love the minimal score by  Ryuichi Sakamoto .  This was my third time viewing the film and the first time in 4K, so it was an extra treat to see it looking the best I've seen, especially because of all the gorgeous landscapes. I've written before that I felt a bit disconnected from the film, despite the many visceral and tense moments. I suppose that's changed slightly and my appreciation for the film grows just a bit more each time I see it. The Revenant is a moody, violent, and tragic film—one not with

While it may not be as controversial as it was upon its release ( an effort to ban the film was carried out by the Roman Catholic advocacy group the National Legion of Decency), Elia Kazan 's Baby Doll (1956) ( Tennessee Williams ' first solo screenplay) remains a fantastic, fearless, and sexually frank film.  Williams' dialogue is awkward, funny, and it's fascinating to watch the power struggle at play. Carroll Baker  is luminous, Karl Marlden  is incendiary, and  Eli Wallach  is magnetic—all three give some of their best performances. Kazan's expert direction and Boris Kaufman 's beautiful cinematography create a truly lived-in world that sets the perfect backdrop for this saucy southern drama. You can find my  Elia Kazan Feature Films Ranked  list  here . You can find my  Tennessee Williams Feature Film Adaptations Ranked  list  here .

King Of New York (1990) has held up well. I hadn't seen KONY  since probably the late 90s and as I rewatched it (via Arrow Video 's stunning 4K UHD ), I remembered the thirty-year-old film quite vividly and enjoyed it even more than I had on previous viewings (though I always did like it a lot).  Released the same year as Scorsese 's landmark  GoodFellas   (my review here ), Abel Ferrara 's film   is an entirely different type of gangster movie—one heavy on mood and improvisation over traditional narrative stylings. Christopher Walken  as the titular King, Frank White, is simply electric here, and Laurence Fishburne , as the superbly-named Jimmy Jump, all but steals every scene he's in.  White's attempts at redemption and his desire to do good, to give back to his community—all while trafficking drugs and bumping off people left and right—provides a fascinating duality to the character, which Walken expertly  channels.  KONY  features much more complex (and gor

Following the trajectory of 2019 into 2020, the previous  D B Mix Series  was created last August and here we are on the 16th day of February with a new one! Read on for  DB Mix Series 10 – Some Songs About Dreams And Sleep . For those unfamiliar with these music challenges—my cousin Bryan and I alternately choose a concept, we each choose the appropriate number of songs, make a playlist, share with each other, then I mix the playlists, design the album art, and share with you! You can check out the previous  DB Mixes  here . The concept this time was chosen by me—each of us was to make a mix of songs about dreams and sleep (with the obvious nod to Talking Heads in the title of this series). The rules this time around were: 20 tracks, soundtracks songs were OK, score tracks were not OK, and lastly, we couldn't use Fleetwood Mac 's " Dreams "—I still love that song but it gets enough play (Bryan cleverly used another FM tune). He was a bit more creative with his song

Kevin Smith 's 2008 feature Zack And Miri Make A Porno is a sweet-hearted rom-com that is actually less raunchy than his usual fare. I sorta avoided this one because it was released during a time when I wasn't really dying to see KS films, and while it's not exactly landmark cinema, I had a fun time with it and liked it perhaps slightly more than expected. Traci Lords doesn't have enough screen time and neither does Justin Long , who is pretty hilarious in this. No real surprises here and the humor is way over-the-top, but Z&M  is an enjoyable enough way to spend about a hundred minutes.  You can find my  Kevin Smith Feature Films Ranked  list  here .

Review