Freddy Vs. Jason (2003) **

Freddy vs. Jason is the modern day equivalent to Frankenstein meets the Wolfman. It's basically about the fight at the end. There's no need for a plot (which this has very little of). The one thing I noticed from this film is the acting, which is horrid but I think it's because of some of the craptastic lines of dialogue these kids are given. And this is comparing to other Friday movies.

People waited 20 years for this and they got it. Yeah, the fight is good, but it's the muck you have to go through to get there. A film that falls flat.

Jason X (2002) **

I went into Jason X thinking that this movie is going to be crap. It's Jason in space, of course it's going to be crap. And it is crap. Yet I'm still satisfied with it. It exceeded my expectations. Yeah, he was captured, frozen, found four hundred years later, taken on a ship, thawed, starts killing, blown to hell, regenerated, kills some more, but I was actually entertained because I knew I was going to have to think. It's like watching a Joe DeRita Three Stooges movie. You know it sucks, but it's still a good time. And he kills David Cronenberg. THE David Cronenberg!

Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday (1993) 1/2

The whole point of a monster movie is to actually see the monster once in awhile. Not in Jason Goes To Hell. In a total defecation on the eight films that preceded it Jason Marcus gives us a film where Jason can apparently jump from body to body.

Yeah.

It's also called The Hidden.

This film represents an era where filmmakers were trying to "add more" to established characters instead of letting them do their thing. "Let's do something different." It's different alright. It's total garbage and that's an accomplishment compared to other Friday movies. If you were going to give the Friday the 13th series and enema you would stick the hose in this flick.

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) *

The title says it all. You know how bad this movie is going to be just from the title. But the title is a lie. A damn lie. A good portion of this film takes place on the Love Boat. Yes, the Love Boat. Jason kills some people until the ship sinks. He then swims to New York (actually Toronto) and starts slicing and dicing more teens, which begs the question that if he could swim that good in the first place none of these films would have happened.

Jason takes Manhattan is a ridiculous premise with a ridiculous script, ridiculous acting, and probably one of the worst ending ever. It's no wonder that Paramount sold the series out after this one. It sucks.

To the left is one of the few scenes that were actually shot in NYC.

Friday the 13th Part VIII: The New Blood (1987) **

The New Blood throws some new blood in the franchise by throwing Jason a curve ball and having him take on Carrie. Yes, it's a telekinetic girl that kicks Jason's ass left and right. That's the story and I'm sticking to it.

The film has the standardized plot from that point on. Even though I've heard the stories about this film being butchered by the MPAA I still can't see it being any better than what it is- a weak slasher flick that has a gimmick.

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986) ***

Jason returns from the mutilated, rotting dead in Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. There's a little more plot in this one, kids. Tommy (Thom Mathews) wants to make sure Jason's really buried in his grave and digs him up for the corpse to get struck by lightning, resurrecting him from the dead and another killing rampage.

Tom McLoughlin delivers a Friday that doesn't take itself to serious, making it a better film and creating the Frankenstein of our times. The acting still is subpar, but we're used to that by now. It's a fearful little jaunt to Crystal Lake.

Friday the 13th Part V: A new Beginning (1985) *

Friday the 13th Part V is one of the first examples of rebooting a series and it fails miserably. Jason is dead and Tommy is nuts. He winds up in a halfway house in the woods (that's a good idea) and low and behold people start getting taken care of by a killer in a hockey mask.

Same story executed very poorly. The idea, acting, and direction are all horrible and the film falls flat by over introducing characters just for slaughter. It bridges the human and zombie Jason. That's it.

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) **1/2

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter is more of the same from those guys at Camp Crystal Lake. After getting an axe to the head Jason rises to kill yet another group of teens that are hanging out at the lake. Yes, it's more of that again.

It seems as though Jason is pissed off in this one as he is very sadistic in his murdering ways going so far as crucifying George McFly. This is the final chapter of the good Friday films as he became an unstoppable zombie in later installments.

Joseph Zito creates and atmosphere with the Final Chapter that seems darker than the other films. Many of the kids seem more pathetic and Jason does some of them a favor it seems as he lumbers through the neighborhood killing and killing and killing.

Friday the 13th Part 3 in 3-D (1982) ***

Friday the 13th Part 3 is yet another installment in the teen slasher franchise that turned the name Jason into a franchise like McDonalds. This time you get two things out of it: a hockey mask and 3-D.

The plot is the same as the others: a group of teens go into the woods for the weekend only to get knocked off one by one by the mysterious mongoloid of New Jersey. What's funny about Part 3 is that it knows what it is and goes with it. Characters are introduced just to be led to slaughter and the name of the killer (Jason) is only mentioned during the flashback sequence in the beginning. It's a gimmick movie.

Friday the 13th Part 3 does hold a special place for me as it was my first Friday film and probably gets weighted a little heavier than the others. It contains poor acting and a recycled plot but it's still a good horror flick.

Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) **

This is where it all truly began. Sequels, that is. Friday the 13th Part 2 takes us back to Camp Crystal Lake and ushers in not only a new killer, but also a new way of making movies: making the same movie over and over again. Another group of teens are slaughtered at Camp Crystal Lake by a mysterious killer (this time it's actually Jason).

This film is so much of a knock off of the original that the TRAILER is a sequel to the original trailer. It's the same motif, but comparing it to other slashers of the era it's actually a solid film. What's funny is that this film pushed the production of Halloween II, so if Halloween encouraged Friday the 13th then Friday the 13th Part 2 encouraged endless sequels. And where would the '80's be without those?

Friday the 13th (1980) ***1/2

The original Friday the 13th is probably one of the most influential films of all time. Now before you choke from laughing too hard, try to remember that before this film, no franchise (besides James Bond) was able to consistently put out product year after year for a decade. Friday the 13th started the mold that horror films would follow (even Halloween): cheap films that make a ton of money in the first weekend. And these movies made a ton of money, though the studios were embarrassed as hell about them.

The original Friday the 13th was more of a cousin of John Carpenter's Halloween. A group of kids getting a cursed camp ready for re-opening slowly get picked off one by one until it's the final heroine vs. the killer. Friday the 13th took those things and added a little bit of spice, particularly in the way the kids are dealt with (amazing effects by Tom Savini) and little things like the addition of the crazy old man yelling that they're all doomed.

As a film it's not great. The script cheats (and for the four people who don't know who the killer is I won't spoil it but I consider it a cheat) and the acting isn't the greatest, though it is better than most of Kevin Bacon's work from the last decade (Mystic River excluded). Sean S. Cunningham directs the film like a cold prom date- it's the kills that get you.You sit there waiting to see who's going to get bumped off next and how heinous it's going to be.

But all in all Friday the 13th is a piece of history. An entire generation of films was born out of this and Halloween. Both those films wrote the text book that masked slashers would use to terminate victims for the next twenty years.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) *****

In the early 1980's I remember pretending to be Indiana Jones during recess and jumping over a five foot wall trying to save "Marion" from the Well of the Souls, which led to hand holding later on in class (yes, Indiana Jones introduced me to girls). Twenty-five years later I STILL want to be Indiana Jones.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is one of the best films of the last thirty years, if not all time. The story would be B-movie fodder if not for a superb cast, a superb story and script from a still relevant george Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan, and excellent direction by Steven Spielberg (dare I say that I consider this Spielberg's best film). All of these come together and take hwta would normally be the B feature into a highly polished masterpiece that has worked itself into Americana. This is a movie that can be watched over and over and you'll never get tired of it. If you haven't seen it, please exit the cave ASAP.

The Sting (1973) *****

Paul Newman and Robert Redford team up again under the direction of George Roy Hill in another film about lovable outlaws. The Sting is about a young grifter (Redford) who stumbles into a $10,000 pay-off belonging to a New York racketeer (Robert Shaw). After his partner is killed he seeks revenge not by killinh the man that put the hit on his partner, but by devising an intricate dupe with a well worn con man (Newman) and an assorted cast of characters.

George Roy Hill has developed a film that feels like you're watching an old '30's movie, only it's in color. The production design goes above and beyond creating a Depression era Chicago neighborhood and when you combine this with the great cast you get a film that deserved its best picture Oscar. A great period piece.

The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) *****

One of the first true sequels and the first sequel that is superior to the original film, The Bride of Frankenstein picks up right where the original film leaves off. The monster (again played by Boris Karloff) is not dead and is still terrorizing the village as Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive returning) recovers from his fall from the windmill. His rest is short lived as Dr. Pretorious (played with relish by Ernest Thesiger) approaches Frankenstein about merging his creation experiments with his own and creating a mate for his monster.

James Whale returns to direct and once again gives us an amazing array of sights to behold (including Pretorius's experiments). Karloff gets to speak in this one and gives us one of the best lines in film history as his monster becomes even more sympathetic than in the last film. A great achievement with a story that not only builds on the original, but expands it into new territory. A classic horror picture.

Dracula (1931) *****

The first great Universal monster movie Dracula stars Bela Lugosi as the Count in the classic Bram Stoker tale of his trip to England, seduction of women and confrontation with Van Helsing.

Directed by Tod Browning, who would go on and direct the equally impressive Freaks, Dracula is shot in such a style that it soon becomes its own entity. The film is its own style with shadow playing a huge role and the dank and dusty castles and caves soon becoming standard vampire movie fodder.

The real greatness in Dracula comes from Bela Lugosi. I own a copy of Stokers novel and who does Dracula look like on the cover? That's right. He created the role for the stage and made it an icon on the screen. No one ever filled Lugosi's shoes in the 75 + years since the release of the film. It's easy to see how Dracula scared the hell out of audiences back in the '30's. Not only was he the walking dead, he was also an erotic character to a degree. Lugosi's presence was center stage in the film.

Of the Universal monsters Dracula was the first and one of the best (I have to tie him with Frankenstein). A classic tale that never really had justice to it in the decades sine its original release.

The Magnificent Seven (1960) *****

Classic western remake of the Seven Samurai featuring Yul Brynner and a very young cast featuring Charles, Bronson, James Coburn, Robert Vaughn, and Steve McQueen. This is the story of seven gunfighters hired by a Mexican village to protect and teach them to fight against a gang of bandits led by the superb Eli Wallach. Even though thetitle calls these men "magnificent" you soon learn that they are far from it. They are all flaws characters, some almost as flawed as Wallach. That's what makes this film so interesting.

It's A Wonderful Life (1946) *****

Frank Capra is the Norman Rockwell of the movies and this is his ode to Christmas in a tale that has more ups and downs than a roller coaster. George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) wanted out of Bedford Falls and every time he tried something kept him from getting out. He had a fine life, but it wasn't until the Christmas Eve when his life came crashing down and he was on the verge of suicide that a visit from an angel named Clarence (Henry Travers) that he learned that it was a wonderful life. A tale of desperation soon becomes a tale of hope. Great acting and a great story make this one of the greatest Christmas movies ever delivered.

To Kill A Mockingbird (1962) *****

Based on Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize winning novel To Kill A Mockingbird is the story of a few summers with Jem and Scout Finch (Philip Alford and Mary Badham) in a sleepy Alabama town during the early 1930's and how they see things such as the spooky Radley house down the street and their father Atticus' (Gregory Peck) defense of a wrongly accused black man.

This film is just as strong and poetic as the literature its based upon. Gregory Peck becomes the soul of Atticus Finch, a man not to emotional yet he always knows the right thing to say. This is probably Peck's best work and creates a tangible vision of an American hero on the level of a John Wayne, just without the calvary.

There isn't much action in the film yet the story flows with its unforgettable characters and the portrayal of the world these children exist in. This is one of the rare instances where the film deserves as much praise as the novel its based upon.

Frankenstein (1931) *****

After striking gold with Dracula Universal tried again with Frankenstein, the adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel about a scientist (Colin Clive) who is obsessed with creating life to the point of grave robbing. He pieces together a man and attains life, but it goes terribly wrong as his creation (Boris Karloff in his breakout role) begins a reign of terror throughout the countryside. James Whale directs Frankenstein in a way that makes it different from other productions of the era. His camera angles are more complex and interesting as they follow the action of Dr. Frankenstein's rise and fall. You see multiple angles of the lab, giving us more of a subliminal understanding of what's going on, even if we don't. Karloff's monster is a great achievement of cinema. Without speaking, he portrays the creature as sympathetic, even when he's throwing children into the lake. He doesn't understand. He kills when he's threatened, not out of blind rage. Karloff shows us this without even speaking and makes us feel sorry for this heinous monster. Frankenstein was yet another achievement for Universal and made them two for two in the monster making business, ushering in decades of superior and pathetic creature features for the world to digest.

Touch of Evil (1958) *****

Touch of Evil is the Orson Welles masterpiece that fell into his lap and was then subsequently taken away by the studio and recut and reshot to their specifications. It would be forty years before Welles true vision was recreated based on a 53 page memo he sent to Universal in 1958 airing his concerns over the changes.

The film is opens with a car bomb exploding just as it leaves Mexico for the United States. A well respected Mexican drug enforcement agent names Vargas (Charlton Heston) is on his honeymoon with his new American bride Susie (Janet Leigh) and assists in the investigation that is headed by the legendary detective Hank Quinlan. As Vargas investigates the explosion and Quinlan's subsequent bending of the law his wife is being harassed and kidnapped by members of the Mexican crime family he plans on testifying against later in that week in Mexico City.

What Welles created with Touch of Evil was the last noir picture. Most of the action occurs in the dark with shadows being most of the scenery and the flashing lights of Mexican burlesque halls filling the slummy rooms throughout the film. Although it's hard to accept Charlton Heston as a Mexican he still does a fine job as Vargas, playing a game of cat and mouse with Welles as Quinlan. Quinlan is the anti-Charles Foster Kane. Fat, old, ugly he's like a lumbering pig whose only goal is to finish cases no matter what the cost. He doesn't do it for money: he does it for himself.

It's been said that Orson Welles peaked with Citizen Kane. That may be true, but Touch of Evil gives us the glimmer of that bright young man who went to Hollywood to make his kind of movies. Was he ahead of his time? Certainly.

The Great Escape (1963) *****

A true classic with one of the greatest casts ever assembled. The Great Escape is almost a reunion of sorts with John Sturges reuniting Steve McQueen, Jame Coburn, and Charles Bronson from 1960's The Magnificent Seven. Through in James garner, Donald Pleasence, and Richard Attenborough and you get one of thos three hour movies that doesn't feel like a three hour movie.
The Germans have "put all their bad apples in one basket" by putting all the POW escape artists in one camp. This turns into their downfall because you have people who are practically professional escape artists all together in one spot and their ingenuity leads them to commit "the great escape".
With a cast like this you can't complain about the acting. The standout in the film is Charles Bronson, who plays the "tunnel king". Sturges directs the action confidently and the tension even on repeated viewings is almost unbearable.
As I said, this is one of those rare three hour movies that doesn't feel like three hours. You're clamoring for more when the credits start to role.

The Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976) ****

Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) bumbles his way through another set of adventures in the Pink Panther Strikes Again, a misleading title since the Pink Panther diamond doesn't appear in this chapter of the series (though the cartoon panther does). Former Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) has been a patient in an insane asylum since the events of Return of the Pink Panther. He escapes and attempts to murder Clouseau, but once again fails at his obsessions. Being unable to take it anymore Dreyfus gets his hands on a doomsday device and demands a ransom from the world- kill Inspector Clouseau or he'll start bringing destruction down on everyone's head. This leads to dozens of assassins hot on Clouseau's trail with hilarious results. Strikes Again is probably the best Panther film since Shot in the Dark. The movie is filled with some great jokes and prat falls, though there are some moments that fall flat, the positives outweigh the negatives. Once again Sellers is great as Clouseau and the various disguises he employs which usually end up being utterly useless in the long run. Herbert Lom makes great use of his turn to a low rent Bond villain hell bent on killing the inspector. It's almost as if this film is a Bond parody, ahead of its time in some places (the Anglo-Russian affair in this film predates the Spy Who Loved Me by a year). The Pink Panther Strikes Again is another great platform for Peter Sellers redemption in the 1970's. Though most of the film community had written him off he proved that he still had what it takes to be a comedic genius and a great actor.

Taxi Driver (1976) *****

Martin Scorsese's first masterpiece (and first screwjob at the Oscars) Taxi Driver represents what 1970's film making was all about. It was dark, it was gritty, it was sarcastic. The period from 1970-1977 was an era that produced the underbelly of cinema with A Clockwork orange, Straw Dogs, and Deliverance. Taxi Driver was the last of this era that abruptly ended with a little film known as Star Wars and it is probably the best (yes, better than A Clockwork Orange). Robert De Niro doesn't portray Travis Bickle- he becomes Travis Bickle in a legendary performance. De Niro's portrayal of a man that simply slips away from reality is one for the ages. You feel sorry for the character. Jodie Foster plays Iris, a 13 year old hooker that Travis becomes obsessed with, trying to save the child from the scum and the sewer that is New York City. Cybil Shepherd plays the campaign worker that Travis is initially obsessed, going so far as getting a date but blundering it because of his social ineptness. Albert Brooks, Peter Boyle, and Harvey Keitel round out the cast, but none of them is the real star. The real star of the film is New York City. This isn't the New York City of Woody Allen films. This is Scorsese's New York- a dirty, dark, immoral universe where a husband can casually plot his wifes murder in the back of a Taxi cab and a mentally ill young man can be a hero by accident. This is New York before it became Disneyland. This is probably one of the most important films of the 1970's.

Dirty Harry (1971) *****

If the Dollars pictures turned Clint Eastwood into a star then Dirty Harry turned him into a legend. The cop drama that spawned thousands of imitators (even John Wayne) set the standard for the Lethal Weapons, Bad Boys, and Rush Hours that followed. Set in San Francisco Inspector Harry Callahan has had it with the system and doesn't bullshit with anybody. As the trailers say, you don't assign him to cases, you turn him loose. Eastwood plays Harry as the modern day version of the Man with No Name, an avenger that has been transported 100 years later and given mutton chops and a .44 Magnum. There are actors that are born to play certain roles and this is one of them. Reni Santoni plays Harry's new partner Chico and does it in a way that doesn't make him look like a total rookie, gaining Harry's respect. Chico isn't afraid to throw some one liners Harry's way and this helps establish from respect from Insp. Callahan. One of the breakouts of the film is Andy Robinson as Scorpio. If Eastwood set the stage for the cop that has been around for the last 40 years then Robinson set the standard for the psychotic killer in the same time period. Robinson's performance is still creepy after all these years. Directed by Don Siegel, who shows a great affection and dedication to the work. The choice of using San Francisco again after Steve McQueen protected its citizens in Bullit was a gamble that paid off. Bullit showed the glamorous side of San Francisco, while Dirty Harry shows its seediness. Dirty harry is the first action hero. Everyone else is a copy cat.

Halloween (1978) *****

When you get down to it the premise of Halloween is very simple. An over the edge killer, locked away for 15 years, escapes from a mental hospital to return home and kill again. It's the way it's presented that makes Halloween the great film that it is. John Carpenter has given us what amounts to one night following the bogeyman around. The bogeyman has no motivation. He just stalks and kills. That's what Michael Myers does.

A small, independent production with fresh of the farm Jamie Lee Curtis Halloween is a suburban gothic nightmare. Old legends, haunted houses, and the bogeyman haunt every little town and what Halloween does is give it to us turned up full blast. You're introduced to the legend first, then you meet the characters and their small town, nothing will ever happen ways. And then you shatter that Mayberry image with Michael Myers, the legend come home. The villain is totally emotionless, right down to that plain white mask he dons to hide his face.

Halloween is the film to watch while carving pumpkins or scaring the kids on a Saturday night because it harkens to the bogeyman mentality that there is something under the bed or in the corner of the basement. And in the end you know he's still out there.

Open Season (2006) *1/2

Open Season a couple of laugh out loud parts, but otherwise this is your typical animated film with a message about hunting. Once again my standard answer is kids will like it.

W. (2008) ****

History tends to be kinder to presidents the further ahead we go. Compare the way people felt about Nixon in 1977 as opposed to a decade and a half later at his death. It amazed me how people were coming forward and praising this man who was the poster boy for evil politicians in the 1970's. History had softened itself. I wasn't surprised that Oliver Stone was going to do a film on George W. Bush. Stone loves history even if he butchers it at times- JFK and Nixon being two prime examples. I was surprised on the timing. Shot in the last year of his Presidency and released a month before the 2008 elections I figured it would be an 2009 release to have a little aftermath attached to it. W. is a story that jumps around from past to present with the present being focused on the invasion of Iraq. You see how the back door dealings may have gone on (may being the operative term. I'm not sure how much is fact and how much is a writers fantasy). You also gets to see Dubya's fall and fall and fall, and rise until he sees himself landing in his fathers chair in the White House. All the players are here as it clicks its way to "Mission Accomplished". John Brolin continues his hell of a couple years playing Bush 43 to the point that you forget that you're watching a movie- you think it's CNN or the History Channel. What struck me about the film is that he plays Bush as a guy that wants to do the right thing and protect America. The antagonist is actually Dick Cheney, played by Richard Dreyfuss in one of his best roles in decades. He has swagger and he nails the facial expressions to the point that you just feel unclean watching him. These are the two main acting standouts, but some other powerful performances come from Jeffrey Wright (Colin Powell), Elizabeth Banks (Laura Bush), James Cromwell (George H.W. Bush), and Thandie Newton (Condoleeza Rice in an almost creepy portrayal). Two things struck me about W. The first was that this wasn't a typical Oliver Stone film with a bunch of different films stocks switching from black and white to color and hard angles. It's Stone, but it's a more down to earth portrayal, mainly because most of us remember the Saddam statue coming down. The second was the fact that Stone portrays Bush as the victim to Cheney's obsession with a middle eastern oil empire. It seems as though Bush is just wanting to do what's best for the people and depends on his cabinet for support and fails to get it or is manipulated to their own ends. I don't know how accurate it is, but you come away not being quite as mad at Bush 43 for what he did, though you feel angry because he was easily led astray. It's hard to say what kind of time capsule W. will be or how history will actually view the 43rd President. I see the tone lightening up a few decades from now, depending on what the next few presidents get accomplished. Perhaps Stone has a trilogy planned with this first act being how we made our mess and the remaining acts on how we cleaned it up are TBD.

Silence of the Lambs (1991) *****

Is it a horror film? Is it a cop film? It is and it isn't. The Silence of the Lambs is one of those films that crosses several genres and creates its own all at the same time. The story involves FBI trainee Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) who is recruited to prod the famous psychiatrist/cannibal Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) into his take on a serial killer that has taken the nation by storm. He helps, but at a price: a look inside Clarice's psyche.

What's amazing about Silence is that it isn't a straight linear film. There are forks in the road and even though it's still part of the same story, it's a different set of obstacles. This is Jonathan Demme's best work and represents a watershed in what the cop movie and what the horror movie could be. Foster is great as Clarice and the supporting players, mainly Ted Levine playing the crazy Buffalo Bill , present a first class film. But it's Anthony Hopkins that dominates this film. Never has a character ever had so little screen time yet dominate a film so fully. When you mention this movie he's the first thing you think of.

Silence of the Lambs took the thriller and brought it into a new era. Dare I say that all of the crime scene investigation shows out there are the children of this film? Possibly, but Silence is much more than that. It's higher than the typical cop thriller. If Alfred Hitchcock had been alive he would have directed this film, but I don't know if he could have made it any better than Jonathan Demme.

A Clockwork Orange (1971) *****

Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Anthony Burgess' novel tells the story of Britain in the near future that is over run by crime and violence. Malcolm McDowell plays Alex DeLarge, a remorseless criminal leader of a gang who serves two years in prison before volunterring for an experimental treatment that will cure him quickly.
A Clockwork Orange is like that dark ride that Alex and his Droogs take to the writer's house near the beginning of the film. Just when you think Alex is at rock bottom, the state pushes him to even further depths. The film is full of irony, mainly in plot points dealing with the writer.
A Clockwork Orange's reputation as a film of repeated violence is unwarranted. The fact that it was excessive for 1971 and Kubrick's request to remove it from the cinema due to death threats seems to have given the film that reputation. It's not a film about violence, it's a film about one boys reaction to violence. What gets him off during the first half gives him a negative reaction in the second half.
The funny thing is that when I read reviews of Clockwork that are lukewarm or condemning the film it seems that people complain about this not being like Kubrick's other films. When the hell do Kubrick films match anyway? Kubrick's style was that he had no definable style and that's why it took years for him to put out a film whereas other directors could pump one out every year, but you had a good idea what you were going to get. Kubrick was like the lolipop that was in the mystery wrapper. It was always something new and you may like and you may not.
A Clockwork Orange is a masterpiece of filmmaking. The visuals are amazing. For example, the way that Kubrick's sets seem to be designed to point toward a horizon point like a painting. If you were to view a film as pure art this would probably be the closest example you could get without going with some Italian or Eastern European film makers.
Art isn't always pretty.

Raging Bull (1980) *****

In my review of Taxi Driver I said that it was Martin Scorsese's first screw job at the Oscars. This one is the second and probably the most painful.
Raging Bull is the definition of a masterpiece. The greatest acting, direction, editing, etc. It all came together in this film.

Raging Bull is the story of middleweight fighter Jake LaMotta. I like to think of this film as the negative image of Rocky. Rocky works his way up from nothing while Jake flushes himself down to it (Ironically produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler, producers of Rocky). The fight sequences in Raging Bull are simply amazing. Scorsese makes you feel like you're in that ring and you can smell the sweat and the blood. You can feel the heat of two guys beating the living shit out of each other.

But Raging Bull isn't a sports film. This isn't Hoosiers or Rudy. This is a character study. How can a man fall to pieces? Scorsese tells you how.
Robert DeNiro give us his single best performance in his career as LaMotta. You watch this film and he IS Jake LaMotta. DeNiro's performance is so intense that the sheer power behind his performance is enough of a reason the see this film.
Joe Pesci plays Jake's brother Joey, who seems to be the glue that holds LaMotta together. Pesci probably gives his best performance in this film as well.

Raging Bull is one of the greatest films ever made. There's nothing more that can be added to that.

Blazing Saddles (1974) *****

Mel Brooks' best film is this parody of westerns starring Cleavon Little as the sheriff of a western town being threatened by an unscrupulous attorney general (the magnificent Harvey Korman) who is also land speculating the new railroad.

If Blazing Saddles was released today it would be bashed by every watchdog of political correctness known to man, which goes to show that the stick up America's ass has grown in the last thirty-five years. Co-written by Richard Pryor, who had planned to star in Little's role, the film is a reflection of Pryor's act mixed with Mel Brook's humor. This is a very raunchy Mel Brooks film mainly because of Pryor's involvement. Is it a look at society? It probably wasn't meant to be but it sure is taken that way, one way or another.

But at its core Blazing Saddles is a homage to the old westerns of John Ford just as Young Frankenstein pays tribute to the Universal monster movies. They're very endearing to their source material while making fun of it and that's why they work on such a better level than some of the parody trash that comes out today. That and the fact that Blazing Saddles has better acting and is actually funny. A classic

Return of the Pink Panther (1975) ***

A decade after playing Inspector Clouseau in Shot in the Dark Peter Sellers returns along with the Pink Panther in Blake Edwards 1975 film that saw a return to form (sort of) of the Pink Panther films.

The Pink Panther diamond has been stolen and the Phantom's trademark glove has been left at the scene of the crime. The government demands that Clouseau, who has been knocked down to a simple patrolman, come to solve the case. The thing is that the real Phantom Sir Charles Litton (Christopher Plummer taking over for David Niven) has been in retirement and did not commit the crime. So as Clouseau bumbles his way through the investigation Litton is also trying to figure out who the fake Phantom is.

The plot to Return of the Pink Panther is dull. Very dull. It's basically Plummer's boring search inter cut with Peter Sellers being Peter Sellers and Herbert Lom going nuts again. It's probably a good thing that Sellers returned for this film because I can not imagine how boring it would be without his presence. He saves the film from total disaster, but it's still a dry and slow piece that probably could have shaved twenty minutes off. This movie is for Pink Panther completists and Sellers fans only.