Monthly Archives: November 2004

The Hunt for Red October

Posted on November 26, 2004

Back when men were men and Russia was still the major part of the Soviet Union, some manly men on both sides were convinced that the only way for their country to survive the destructive power of the other was … Continue reading →

Posted in action, adventure, movies, Recommended, Reviews, war | Comments Off

Du rififi chez les hommes

Posted on November 24, 2004

Roger Ebert writes a better review of this awesome 1955 French noir classic than I could. A direct inspiration, along with the contemporaneous Bob La Flambeur, for the modern heist genre. Tarantino would never have made Reservoir Dogs without it. … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, movies, mystery, Recommended, Reviews | Comments Off

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

Posted on November 20, 2004

The first time around, the balance of romance and jokes, not to mention the quality of the jokes, was spot on. In this sequel, there’s a fourth credited screenwriter and a change in directors, neither change to the good. There … Continue reading →

Posted in movies, Not Recommended, Reviews, romantic comedy | Comments Off

Prey for Rock & Roll

Posted on November 14, 2004

The ‘semi-autobiographical’ movie about a woman born to rock, just never quite succeed,Prey for Rock & Roll is a glimpse into the life of co-writer Cheri Lovedog (called Jacki, played by Gina Gershon) and what one assumes are amalgamations of … Continue reading →

Posted in autobiography, drama, movies, musicals, Not Recommended, Reviews | Comments Off

The Santa Clause 2

Posted on November 13, 2004

We started out watching Russell Crowe’s Master and Commander: Far Side of the World, the HBO Saturday night premiere, but it was so bloated and ponderous and, well, full of itself that we turned it off after an hour in … Continue reading →

Posted in comedy, family, movies, Recommended, Reviews | Comments Off

Tom Dowd and the Language of Music

Posted on November 10, 2004

The art of recording music has been born and revolutionized time after time in just the last century and a bit. One man, with a beautiful heart and a soul that was simply musical, is little known to the lovers … Continue reading →

Posted in biography, documentary, movies, musicals, Recommended, Reviews | Comments Off

Monument Ave.

Posted on November 9, 2004

From 1998, Monument Ave. is one of those small films that I’m really glad get made. No big explosions or special effects, no rash personal transformations. Just some really good acting driven by good characters in an interesting situation. Denis … Continue reading →

Posted in crime, movies, Recommended, Reviews | Comments Off

The Incredibles

Posted on November 6, 2004

There is a concept in animation called the Uncanny Valley, a term coined by Japanese roboticist Doctor Masahiro Mori, which says that the human mind works in such a way that it responds to images or robots or other human-looking … Continue reading →

Posted in animation, family, fantasy, movies, Recommended, Reviews | Comments Off