Monthly Movie Reviews – August, 2012

Here are some two sentence reviews of the movies I watched in August.

August 26

• The Bible: In the Beginning (1966) – Really not fair to call this biblical epic bloated and ponderous considering the source material, honestly, I it is all rather entertaining.  Of course, the excellent cinematography and huge budget help things immensely.

August 24

• Expendables 2 (2012) – The action scenes are just as well mounted as the first one, and the in-between parts even seem a touch better.  All in all a pretty enjoyable collection of fan-service cameos and mindless slaughter.
• Step Up 2: The Streets (2008) – Channing Tatum shows up in the beginning just to show us how much the new guy’s admittedly charming smile is no match for his absence.  And yet, despite that, this is a highly enjoyable movie full of teen romance, dance fighting, and plucky kids from the wrong side of the tracks (if that stuff is your kind of thing).

August 23

• World on a Wire (1973) – Fassbinder is at his stylistic peak in this odd science fiction outing (with all the usual faces).  Interesting to think about how novel this (currently) tired story must have been to 1973 audiences.

August 18

• Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day (2009) –  This is perhaps a bit more focused than the last movie, but still more of the same from Canada’s favorite TV show.  Also, I think they are way too nice to Lahey considering the way things turn out in this one.
• King Solomon’s Mines (1950) – Maybe it is a bit slight as a movie, but it hardly matters with the really excellent location photography.  Deboarah Kerr looks a lot hotter here than she does in that nun movie too.

August 16

• Cheech and Chong’s Next Movie (1980) – Just as packed full of excellent gags as the first film, only a bit sillier overall.  I think my only complaint is that Cheech is a lot more fun to watch than his “Red” character–who dominates a lot of the film and can be a bit much at times.
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939) – One of the period Sherlock Holmes films, but still one of the good ones.  The guy playing Moriarty makes an excellent foil for Holmes as they run around London in the usual battle of the wits.

August 14

• Trailer Park Boys: The Movie (2006) – This is like an extended episode from late period Trailer Park Boys: silly, a bit over the top, and very funny.  If I have a complaint, it is with the soundtrack, which really clashes with the documentary aspect of the film.

August 13

• Trailer Park Boys (1999) – Excellent acting (especially from Ricky, the master of playing it straight) really elevates this pilot movie above its budget.  Darker in tone than the following series, but just as funny.

August 10

• Happy Together (1997) – A nice bridge between the stylistic pyrotechnics of Fallen Angels and the elegant mastery of In the Mood for Love.  Easily one of Kar Wai’s best, though yet another in a long line of excellent soundtracks stacks the odds in its favor.

August 7

• Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) – There are some nice images and the child actor is indeed a marvel, but overall this reeks of pretension.  It’s the kind of stuff you are impressed by but at the same time a nagging feeling lingers that it could be done so much more honestly by someone like Malick.