The Maltese Falcon

SETTING: 1941 San Fransisco, California.

RATING: Unrated. Crime, Mystery, Noir

PLOT: A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.

QUOTES:

     SAM SPADE:  When you're slapped, you'll take it and like it.
   
     Joel Cairo: You always have a very smooth explanation...
     Sam Spade: What do you want me to do, learn to stutter?

THOUGHTS:  What is there to say about a classic? Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade, I highly doubt there would have been any other actor to portray this character as efficiently. As actors to their characters each brought soul to the life of each. But then again I am Into the black n white noir films, (thank you Paul).

SYNOPSIS: it's was a dark and stormy night.....O.K. it wasn't. The night started out with Sam Spade's partner tailing a man and winding up dead for his efforts. Sam didn't much like his partner Miles but when a 10 walks through your door asking for assistance what do you do? Miss Wanderly/O'Shaughnessy has found herself in quite the precarious position. All over a black statuette of a Falcon? Brides offered, threats given, Hell even slaps across the face abound! one things for sure Sam gets the Falcon, the girl and kills the bad guy. Bogart rules

THEIR RATING: Reelviews (

James Berardinelli) gave this film 4 of 5. "The Maltese Falcon is among the most important and influential movies to emerge from the Hollywood system - as significant in some ways as its contemporary, Citizen Kane. In addition to providing the cinema with a new kind of private investigator (move over, Nick and Nora Charles)"

MY RATING: 5 OF 5, being the very first of many films to portray the P.I. as a true tough guy, who is quite rough around the edges, this film did what another rendition of the Maltese Falcon could not. excite audiences. Bogart playing the quintisential ex-cop, there would have been none better. Mary Astor played the role of O'Shaughnessy well. and then of course there is the veritable henchman Joe Cairo played by none other than Peter Lorre, who better to be the bad guy! definative watch, for those that love the realm of noir, this best be in your library of films.

Night of the Living Dead

SETTING: A farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania.

RATING: UNRATED, HORROR, MYSTERY

PLOT:Eastern seaboard panic ensues when the dead return to life. thought to be from radiation shrouded satellite that had fallen from space. A small group of people hide out in a farmhouse to wait out the night.

QUOTES:Field Reporter: Chief, if I were surrounded by eight or ten of these things, would I stand a chance with them?
Sheriff McClelland: Well, there's no problem. If you have a gun, shoot 'em in the head. That's a sure way to kill 'em. If you don't, get yourself a club or a torch. Beat 'em or burn 'em. They go up pretty easy.

THOUGHTS: Well what can we say about an iconic Zombie Flick! let us start with the fact that protagonist is a handsome fella of African descent. very Avant-Garde considering that the Civil rights movements were running wild and the portrayal of Ben was a very strong willed and boisterous individual. LOVED IT! With that, the gore in the film was a bit racy for the "mainstream" film goer of the day. all in all WAY to much good to say about the film. a must see for those who love the zombie, but those who loved to be scared might not get the kick they are looking for but well worth the watch. 

SYNOPSIS: Siblings Johnny and Barbra are traveled to a rural cemetery, where they visit their father's grave. They are approached by a pale-faced man who stumbles toward them and attacks Barbra. Johnny pulls the man off of Barbra and struggles with him, but is killed after tripping and hitting his head violently on the edge of a gravestone. The man then pursues Barbra back to the car, but Barbra cannot start it because the keys are in Johnny's pocket. She takes the car out of gear and it begins to drift away on its own, but she accidentally steers it into a tree. She abandons the car and runs down a roadway to a nearby farmhouse, with the man still pursuing her. She discovers the house seemingly deserted, and the phone is out of order. Her attacker stumbles around the outside of the house looking for her, and is joined by several others. They all seem to be in a kind of trance, behaving in an feverish way. Exploring the house further, Barbra makes a gruesome find at the top of the stairs (but your gonna have to watch the movie.)
In a panic and attempting to flee the house, Barbra is intercepted by Ben, who arrives in a pickup truck and attacks the mysterious figures with a tire iron. Barbra is further driven into hysteria when she sees Ben violently smashing the skulls of the strange men who keep trying to get into the house. Ben urges her into action and the two of them begin boarding up the doors and windows from the inside with dismantled furniture and scraps of wood. They awkwardly trade their stories; Ben seems to be a drifter who was passing through the area when suddenly a wave of unexplained violence began unfolding. He tells Barbra about a scene of mayhem that he encountered at a diner, and Barbra tells him about the incident with Johnny in the cemetery. Barbra becomes hysterical and wants to go out after Johnny.
Ben goes upstairs and finds a rifle and a radio as Barbra lies incapacitated on a couch in the living room listening to the radio report. Emergency broadcasters tell stories of widespread violence and mayhem being committed by people who seem to be in a trance. Suddenly, Barbra is startled when the cellar door opens and people emerge from the basement. Ben is attracted by her screams and they confront the newcomers. An older man introduces himself as Harry Cooper, and the younger man is named Tom. Harry says that he has his wife, Helen, and his daughter, Karen, in the basement as well. Karen has been hurt and cannot be moved. Tom has a girlfriend named Judy, also in the cellar hiding.
Radio reports explain that an epidemic of mass murder is sweeping across the eastern seaboard of the United States. Later, Ben discovers a television and the emergency broadcaster reveals that the murderers are recently dead human beings who have returned to life and who are consuming their victims' flesh. Experts including scientists and military generals are not sure of the cause of the reanimation, but one scientist is certain that it is the result of radiation emanating from a Venus space probe that exploded in the Earth's atmosphere. The report instructs that a gunshot or heavy blow to the head will stop the "ghouls" and that posses of armed men are patrolling the countryside to restore order. And I ain't gonna say anymore, watch the film.

THEIR RATING: BBCi gave this film 5 of 5 stars, "This lack of a cosy conclusion and the unpredictable nature of this film shook up horror film-making, and allowed fresh talent to explore a whole new chilling level of terror."

MY RATING:5 of 5, for me this film really shook up alot of stereotypes of the day. I shant go into to much detail but it was great! the ending by far was the highlight of the show. the gore in days gone past really didn't gety to vivid, but this movie really brought it to your face. love horror? you will love this film.

Ong Bak

SETTING:  Modern day Thailand.

RATING: R, action, adventure, crime.

PLOT: When the head of a statue sacred to a village is stolen, a young martial artist goes to the big city and finds himself taking on the underworld to retrieve it. 

QUOTES: None appropriate.

THOUGHTS:  I read a review on a movie that I have reviewed by the name of Chocolate. Chocolate is another Thai martial arts movie by the same company. The review stated that Ong Bak was a much better film than Chocolate. Let me start by saying this... THEY  ARE NOT THE SAME TYPE OF MOVIE!!

  Yes Ong Bak has better martial arts and sequences, but that does not deter from Chocolate. watch them both you will understand. Anyway, back to Ong Bak.

  Tony Jaa plays the lead character Ting. And let me say, this boy makes Jackie Chan look like the Karate Kid before Mr. Miyagi gets a hold of him. The moves that he pulls off are nothing short of impossible. 

SYNOPSIS: When the head of Ong-Bak, the sacred Buddha of a poor village is stolen, the population is plunged into misery. The Buddha was the focal point of an anniversary vigil believed to bring rain to the drought-stricken area. Young Ting is selected by the villagers to travel to Bangkok and rescue the relic in time for their ceremony. Ting has an affinity with the statue as he was left on the temple steps as a baby and raised by monks. The young Ting was taught Muay Thai by the monks, yet they  forbade him to use it in combat. But now he is forced to delve into a seedy underworld and try to avoid temptation of fighting for money.

THEIR RATING: 3 OUT OF 5 "Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior," the first Thai film to break through in the martial arts market. Having seen documentaries showing how stunt men are "flown" from wires that are eliminated in post-production, having seen entire action sequences made on computers, I sat through the movie impressed at how real the action sequences seemed. Then I went to the Web site, and discovered that they were real.

MY RATING: 5 OUT OF 5. DAMN!! really real true no strings attached action sequences!! who would not think this film is the shit! own it!! watch it!! share it with others!! The version i watched had patchy subs but I got the idea all too well. Gritty camera footage, and phenominal action packed ass kickery!! 

Yojimbo ( The Bodyguard)

SETTING: 1860 Japan, an obscure village.

RATING: Unrated, action, crime, Drama

PLOT: A crafty Ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.

QUOTES: Sanjuro: I'll get paid for killing, and this town is full of people who deserve to die.

Hansuke: What happened? Why so glum? Your business should be booming.
The Cooper: No. When the fighting gets this bad, they don't bother with coffins.

THOUGHTS: If you have ever seen A Fistful of Dollars with Clint Eastwood, or Last Man Standing with Bruce Willis, You will enjoy this film, this is the original!! Akira Kurosawa has done it again! Last Man Standing was a complete remake to the core, (this film, without all the blood and swearing.) What a magnificent film! Paul you have got to see this!! As I have stated before I have an affinity for black and whites and for Oriental films. when the two genres are combined magic happens. Cheers Mr. Kurosawa I salute you for your genius once again!

SYNOPSIS: Sanjuro, a wandering samurai enters a rural town in nineteenth century Japan. After learning from the innkeeper that the town is divided between two rival gangsters, he plays one side against the other. His efforts are complicated by the arrival of the gunslinger Unosuke, the son of one of the gangsters. Unosuke has Sanjuro beaten after he reunites an abducted woman with her husband and son, then massacres his father's opponents. During the slaughter, the samurai escapes with the help of the innkeeper; but while recuperating at a nearby temple, he learns of innkeeper's abduction by Unosuke, and returns to the town to confront him.

THEIR RATING: Filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller) 4 out of 5. Pros: direction, cinematography, characters
Cons: Mifune the world's greatest swordsman, comic and dramatic mix doesn't always work.
"The success of Yojimbo bred imitations in the west. The first was A Fistful of Dollars (1964), the initial entry in Clint Eastwood's western trilogy with Italian director Sergio Leone. Less notable was Last Man Standing (1996), the remake starring Bruce Willis."

MY RATING: 5 OUT OF 5. I have loved this storyline for many years. Finally to see the O.G. screenplay was superb! the casting is as you would expect. The cinematography was quite the classic Kurosawa. for Kurosawa to bring the old west to Japan was ingenious. It is a western film pretending to be a Japanese film pretending to be a western! Lovely!!

Zulu

SETTING: Natal, Africa. Rorke's Drift

RATING: Unrated, action, adventure, drama

PLOT: The British still have this idea that they can just waltz into a country and squat. a few thousand African warriors might have some thing to say about that.

QUOTES:
Lieutenant John Chard: Mr. Bourne, there should be 12 more men working on this redoubt.
Color Sgt. Bourne: They're very tired, sir.
[Chard whirls around]
Lieutenant John Chard: I don't give a damn! And I want this wall nine feet high, firing steps on the inside. Form details to clear away the Zulu bodies, rebuild the south rampart, keep 'em moving! Do you understand?
Color Sgt. Bourne: Yes sir... very good, sir.

THOUGHTS: I gotta say this film is fantastic! The first time I saw this film I was no more than 8 years old, It scared the shit out of me. More so the tribe singing and dancing their Zulu charge songs than the actual battle scenes. The portrayal of the British pomp is almost to ridiculous to bear, "oh, my old chap, we are British. Nobody kills British soldiers without the queens permission." type attitude. Too funny. All in all a wonderful flick.

SYNOPSIS:On the January 22nd 1879 the British Army suffered one of its worst defeats in the Empire's history. When Zulu forces massacred 1,500 British troops at Isandlhwana, the Zulu force, numbering in excess of 4000 warriors, advanced on a British hospital and supply dump guarded by 139 Welsh infantrymen. The film concentrates on this bloody 12 hour battle during which the British force, under their commander from the Royal Engineers, who happened to be in the area building a bridge, won 11 Victoria Crosses.

CONCLUSION: A true and utter classic! All should see this film if you have an interest in history. A definitive keeper, along with Zulu Dawn. Both films show three sides to this tale. One being the might and naivety of the British forces, another the compassion for the native people and third shows the strength and determination of a warrior people bent on the "peaceful" life that they have known.

THEIR RATING: Brian koller from Epinions.com, 4 out of 5: Director Cy Endfield had for years wanted to make a film about the battle for Rorke's Drift, where some 120 British soldiers held off thousands of attacking Zulu warriors in 1879. After the battle, eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded, at the time the most ever for a single battle. The battle became the stuff of legend in England, inspiring several generations until the aftershocks of World War II put an end to 'Rule Britannia'.

MY RATING: 4 OUT OF 5: The Cinematography is great. The portrayal of the Zulus is a little harsh, but who is to say that it might not be true. If you were to fight for your livelihood would you not do the same? Michael Caine in his first main character role was superb. the supporting crew added alot of flavor. Stanley Baker was, of all the characters, my favorite. His character took into consideration all that needed to be done. Not only trying to save his fellow man but had a respect for the Zulus only a real commander would have for his foe. Watch it!