THE DANMAN CAN

Terence Young (of 3 of the best Bond films fame) doing his best Hitchcock and Edwards , with another winning score by Mancini . Hepburn is typically great and Arkin is sinister. A terribly suspenseful finale.

Quite honestly, The Town That Dreaded Sundown ( 1976) is one of the worst films I've ever seen. I can't understand the love for this film. Between the awful voice-over, the piss-poor acting (by what seems to be largely non-actors), the messy direction, bad editing, the lack of suspense, the astoundingly inappropriate music choices, the unfunny comedy and the killer being a complete joke, this one was excruciating to sit through. This film desperately tries to capture the same vibe that makes The Texas Chain Saw Massacre   (1974)   a classic and fails on every level. Bad, bad, bad and not in a good way. The only other time I've given a film 1 star on my blog was for Attack The Block  (2011) (talk about overrated). See my review for that one here . The only thing Town  has going for it is a good poster.

Can a film get better with each viewing? Yes.

See my thoughts from my first viewing here . I was no less impressed a second time. This film drags just the tiniest bit at times, but otherwise it's a damn good one. Man, the 60s rocked for B&W thrillers. There are some ultra creepy moments on display here and EIT was ahead of its time. Gialli  owe a debt to this one and the final scene of DIRTY HARRY   is lifted straight from it.

Focus On Film   Episode 16 is up! This month Ryan and I were joined by our special guest Alex for a triple threat!!! Download the MP3  HERE . In this episode: July 2014 Criterion Collection  Titles Announcement Best/Worst Of The Month  – THE BIG GUNDOWN (1966), THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (2014), THE STRANGE COLOR OF YOUR BODY’S TEARS (2013), ALIENS (1986), NON-STOP (2014), ALMOST FAMOUS (2000) "Criterion Most Wanted" "Focus On Film Theme"  & other music:  Daniel Sardella

I found Almost Famous (2000) to be very overrated. Sure, it was fun, but all the characters were too "nice". The few moments of tension or darkness never felt that threatening, and most of the characters didn't grow much (which I don't necessarily care that much about in films, but Crowe is one of those directors that really seems to aim for that). I thought Jason Lee was extremely miscast and not believable as a rock star at all, not to mention the band in the film is terrible (total "buttrock"). Philip Seymour Hoffman was the best part of the film and barely had any screen time. The characters and acting overall were just average, as was the film. I can't believe this is so highly regarded.

Round 2 and I think I may have liked this even more the second time. Thoughts from my first viewing here .

It's been 6 years (the longest wait between LPs) since The Faint 's last album, Fasciinatiion , was released. The last album was solid (and oddly enough, their highest charting), but their second weakest so far, sounding a bit too precise and clean for my tastes. Media holds the distinction of being my least favorite Faint  LP, but it was also before the band embraced synths and their "darkwave" style, so it really sounds nothing like The Faint . Doom Abuse relies on a traditional guitar/bass/drums setup, but still sprinkles the synths and dancy quality on top of the (sometimes abrasive) punk style. A couple of tracks are very reminiscent of Devo and that's never a bad thing, if it's done properly.   Every track is catchy, concise and well put together. If I have one qualm, it's that the names of the songs being sung on the choruses can get repetitive and make some of the songs sounds samey, but hey, no one complained when the Ramones did that. ...

This is what I had to say about The World's End  (2013) on my first viewing. Not much has changed, except that I actually liked it less (and gave it a 1/2 * less for a rating). After the hour mark is when the film loses all of its steam for me. Too bad.

Consider this the inaugural post of what I will refer to as "Take 2s", second viewings of films—in this case, but not exclusively, one(s) that underwhelmed me the first time. Django Unchained  (2012) earns a 1/2 star less this time and retains its distinction as my second least favorite QT film ( Death Proof   (2007) being the bottom of the barrel). There's plenty of great stuff in this film, but I'll just list the reasons that it gets such a low star rating from a filmmaker I expect a lot from: Overlong (the last 30 mins are largely unnecessary or could have been trimmed). A number of poor (misplaced) music choices. The KKK scene is dumb and unfunny. Some of QT's weakest dialogue. Walton Goggins was not given enough screen time. Franco Nero's (the original and only true Django) cameo was wasted. Quentin's Australian accent is terrible and stupid.

I feel like I keep saying this, but Under The Skin  (2013) is my favorite film of the year so far.

Hit Me (1996) was a bit of a letdown, but still a very strange and interesting film. I assumed that I rented it because it was directed by Steven Shainberg ( Secretary   (2002), Fur: An Imaginary Portrait Of Diane Arbus   (2006)), but it was actually because the film is based on a Jim Thompson novel called A Swell-Looking Babe (1954), which I have not read. There are definitely traces of Thompson's style on display (a rainy scene on a rooftop is particularly "noirish"), but overall the tone is not distinctively his (and just weird a lot of the time). I'm interested to read the novel to see how the two compare. At times, this felt like it could have been a Paul Thomas Anderson film (and, coincidentally, it shares two actors from three of his films and another from There Will Be Blood   (2007)). One thing is for sure - Shainberg is a unique filmmaker - none of the three films of his are alike.

Jodorowsky's Dune  (2013) is my favorite film of the year so far. Jodorowsky  is so animated, fun and inspiring to watch. His version of Dune  looks like it would have been amazing and I wish so badly that it had been made. This documentary is excellent, the subjects interviewed are engaging, and it features a great score. I could recommend it to almost anyone, even if you haven't read  Frank Herbert 's 1965 novel (I haven't), aren't terribly familiar with the story or its characters, or Jodorowsky's films.

A fascinating "documentary" where Indonesian gangsters who actually killed and tortured over 1 million "communists" in 1965-66 are asked over 40 years later to reenact their actions for the camera, sometimes in the style of various genres of film. Largely focusing on one Anwar Congo , an incredibly articulate and intelligent man, who has no qualms about discussing his killings (he is said to have killed over 1000 people), but feels increasingly guilty as the film progresses. A powerful, disturbing, sometimes humorous and bizarre film that blurs the line between reality and fiction.

I'm not sure what it is exactly about Ingmar Bergman , but long scenes of dialogue from his films (of which there are many), that if filmed by virtually any other director would bore me, manage to entrance, captivate and compel me. Perhaps it's his sense of loneliness, longing and the poetry inherent in his films. Perhaps it's the moods he sets, the painterly quality of his shots or the connection I feel to the emotions his characters portray. Whatever is it, I find that I have great patience and appreciation for everything he does. With each film I discover by him, my love for his work only grows. Truly a master.