3 things about Paul Bartel’s PRIVATE PARTS

Posted on September 27, 2011 by robchristopher

Private Parts [1972]

1. “Mrs. Quigley used to own this building. She was a very rich woman, until 1929.”
2. The electrified keyring kills Whitey, the pet rat.
3. She lifts the lid of the trash can and spies the deflated sex doll.

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3 things about Robert Altman’s PRET-A-PORTER

Posted on September 24, 2011 by robchristopher

Prêt-à-Porter [1994]

1. “You’ve had a lock on the look of the 90’s for decades now–”
2. Even as she gets down on her hands and knees and bows at his feet, Linda Hunt somehow maintains a sense of grace.
3. Sally Kellerman and Marcello Mastroianni in the closet together.

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3 things about Michael Apted’s THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH

Posted on September 24, 2011 by robchristopher

The World Is Not Enough [1999]

1. Foam on his fingers after he puts the ice in his glass.
2. M would never do that. The movie’s biggest flaw.
3. Q says, “Always have an escape plan.” He slowly descends on a platform, vanishing from sight. Our very last view of him, ever.

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3 things about Walt Disney’s SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS

Posted on September 22, 2011 by robchristopher

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs [1937]

1. Dopey has Restless Leg Syndrome.
2. The skeleton of a man reaching for a pitcher of water.
3. Final image: castle in the clouds; looks a lot like the Emerald City.

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3 things about Ted Post’s BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES

Posted on September 18, 2011 by robchristopher

Beneath the Planet of the Apes [1970]

1. The soldiers break up the chimpanzees’ peaceful demonstration. Someone shouts, “Gorilla brutality!”
2. Fossilized telephone.
3. The music of the distant future is apparently very atonal.

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3 things about Mervyn LeRoy’s GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933

Posted on September 16, 2011 by robchristopher

Gold Diggers of 1933 [1933]

1. For no discernable reason, the song switches to Pig Latin for a chorus. Dolly into an extreme closeup of Carol.
2. “Look what I got out of it already: gold, platinum, animals!” She fondles a fur coat.
3. The producer recognizes the “cop.” He’s only an actor. The actor storms off and suddenly all the plot complications have been nicely tied up. The “Forgotten Man” number suddenly begins.

Watched it for the first time. Somehow this movie still feels dismayingly relevant.

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3 things about Larry Peerce’s THE INCIDENT

Posted on September 14, 2011 by robchristopher

The Incident [1967]

1. The bartender goes up to the two middle-aged women sitting at the end of the bar and says, “Which of you ladies is going to take me home tonight?” They cackle with glee.
2. Thelma Ritter gets in the first slap.
3. Is he dead?

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3 things about Wong Kar-wai’s HAPPY TOGETHER

Posted on September 13, 2011 by robchristopher

Happy Together [1997]

1. He watches from a nearby doorway, munching on a sandwich, as his ex gets into a car with his new lover.
2. They practice tango steps in the empty kitchen.
3. “You can ‘see’ more with your ears.”

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3 things about Steven Soderbergh’s CONTAGION

Posted on September 11, 2011 by robchristopher

Contagion [2011]

1. “Blogging isn’t writing. It’s graffiti with occasional punctuation.”
2. They’ve just finished making plans to set up the arena as a triage center. A women huffily walks over to the group and asks, “Is this coming out of your budget or mine?”
3. Brilliant stroke: the end is the beginning.

Probably the most plausible disaster movie I’ve ever seen. Pay attention to how your fellow audience members react when someone else in the theater coughs or sneezes.

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3 things about Franklin J. Schaffner’s PLANET OF THE APES

Posted on September 10, 2011 by robchristopher

Planet of the Apes [1968]

1. A wave of sticks beats its way through the cornfield.
2. Jerry Goldsmith’s score makes great use of the cuíca, a Brazilian drum that sounds like a monkey.
3. “I can’t help thinking that somewhere in the universe there has to be something better than man. Has to be.”

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