Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by djprobed (R) on May 14, 2004 at 09:49:30

Since we regularly watch at least 3 movies a week, I thought I might offer some comments in "digest" form.

SHIP OF FOOLS: Some great moments but a little uneven overall, as well as seeming slightly too long. I would gladly have done without the David and Jenny plot (G. Segal and E. Ashley). The most interesting aspect was to see how the pre-WW II period was portrayed from a 1960s perspective, and I don't just mean the telltale hairstyles and makeup.

STAR WARS EPISODE II - ATTACK OF THE CLONES: I found this more enjoyable, and dare I say better, than when I first saw it in theatres a few years ago. Yes, some of the dialogue is pretty bad, but there is less of this than I remember. A state-of-the-art anamorphic DVD presentation that showed me what my humble 25" standard CRT TV and a component video cable can really do. I even like the story...

EL TOPO: There was a thread about counter-culture films recently, and this title was rightfully mentioned. A good effort, still worth seeing, but I would submit that it has not aged especially well. For sheer whacked-out psychedelics, I remember the same director's HOLY MOUNTAIN being better (I will be watching that again soon, as the two movies came together in a 2-DVD package), and that both these films suffer in comparison to the later, better-produced SANTA SANGRE.

djprobed