Shaun of the Dead (UK/France, 2004)

After finally deciding to put his life in order and win his girlfriend back, Shaun (Simon Pegg) has to deal with the more pressing matter of zombies.

Zombie comedy at its best. Though it might not satisfy the gore fans, Shaun of the Dead tackles the zombie genre in a fashion that reflects today’s everydayl life. It takes Shaun quite a while to notice the undead, even though they are all around him. The movie gives us an image of people living like zombies, and the transition to being actually undead does not change their behavior much. Except maybe for the acquired tasted for human flesh, which comes gradually as Shaun begins to notice the zombies themselves.

Well made, with all the classic elements of the zombie genre and in bonus : believable acting ! Good British deadpan humor that does not go over the top. It is a very well achieved blend. Not to be missed.

Contains four movies :

Beyond the Law (Italy/Germany, 1968)
Death Rides a Horse (Italy, 1968)
God’s Gun (Italy/Israel, 1976)
Cry Blood Apache (USA, 1970)

The first three films star Lee Van Cleef and are spaghetti westerns. As for the fourth one, well, it doesn’t star Lee Van Cleef and certainly is not a spaghetti western. Why it is in the boxed set is a mystery.

Beyond the Law is about a bandit (Van Cleef), and his two partners, who becomes the town’s sheriff after hepling getting rid of another gang of bandits. The plan is to accept the job in order to steal a stockpile of silver from the town.

A fine exemple of the genre. Very entertaining to watch for western film fans, but might leave others unsatisfied. Well made and Van Cleef makes for a good performance.

Death Rides a Horse is a tale of revenge. A boy, named Bill (John Phillip Law), saw his family slaughtered by an outlaw band at a young age and vows to avenge them, wich he goes on doing several years later. That is when he meets Ryan (Van Cleef) who is trying to get even with that same gang for an entirely different reason. Eventually, they team up to go against the outlaws.

Excellent theme song ! A very good spaghetti western, even if the look of Bill’s character is a clear rip-off of Clint Eastwood‘s man with no name, down to the jacket and the pose. Anyway, it makes for a very good time and is most enjoyable.

God’s Gun tells the story of a priest (Van Cleef) who is murdered after helping his town to get rid of an outlaw gang. The gang is in for a surprise as the priest’s aid goes and gets help from a man named Lewis who used to live in that town.

That one is a treat. Though today some of it might seem farfetched and clichéd, it must have been very original at the time. Van Cleef’s charisma seems very strong in this film, his presence fills the screen. A must see for genre lovers.

Cry Blood Apache is a flashback. The whole movie is a flashback. It is about a gang looking for gold and how unscrupulous they are in achieving their goal.

Mostly irrelevant, really. Bad acting, directing, fighting and characterization. Forgettable.

V for Vendetta (USA/Germany, 2005)

Based on the comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd, V for Vendetta is a nicely done adaptation for the big screen. Visually very striking, and well updated from its early 80s political statements and style, it shows that comics can become good movies. Not to say to original story is not good, on the contrary, it is excellent ! But in today’s context, it would not be as much interest without a few minor adaptations.

That said, it makes for a very good film. Entertaining, with just enough of a message to make you think and without being overly righteous. No need to be familiar with the comic book to enjoy it, sufficient information is given in the film to understand it.

Surprising, really… The Wachowski brothers attached to an actually good movie. Weird.

The Iron Mask (USA, 1929)

Eight years after The Three Musketeers, Douglas Fairbanks returns in the sequel based on Alexandre Dumas‘ novel.

It seems during that eight-year period, filmmaking techniques had improved a lot. The editing is far more fluid, making the story a lot easier to follow and the music soundtrack actually matches the picture in style.

On the down side, there is less action than in the previous Musketeers movie. It also takes a long time before we can see any swashbuckling. A better movie, yes, but not as action oriented. Nevertheless, when the action comes, it is great ! And Fairbanks is as graceful as ever !

Fun to watch and entertaining !

On a last note, the Internet Movie Database says the movie has sound effects and some talking sequences. There must be different versions, because the movie reviewed does not have any sound but the music score.

OSS 117, Le Caire Nid d’Espions (France, 2006)

Basé sur les romans de Jean Bruce, le personage d’OSS 117 est souvent décris comme une copie de James Bond, lui aussi tiré de romans. La vérité est que la première histoire OSS 117 a été publié en 1949 (Tu Parles d’une Ingénue ou Ici OSS 117) et que le premier Bond fut publié en 1953 (Casion Royale).

Le film, lui, se veut une parodie. Mais ici, on ne se gêne pas pour emprunter aux films de 007, en particulier ceux de Sean Connery. Jean Dujardin a du passé des heures a étudier le Bond de Connery pour en arriver au résultat final au cinéma. C’est presqu’à s’y méprendre.

Ceci dit, le film est amusant, mais moins drôle qu’espéré. Le talent comique de Dujardin est ce qui tient l’attention à l’écran, le reste n’est pas aussi intéressant. Il manque une certaine consistance pour que le film soit une réussite. Par conte, la trame sonore est impeccable et la réalisation représente remarquablement bien le style parodié.

Divertissant, mais sans plus.

Fearless (Hong Kong, 2006)

Officially this is Jet Li‘s last martial arts movie. Unless, he says, is presented with an exceptionally good script. Meaning it does not mean much.

Li plays Huo Yuanjia, a real martial arts figure, who becomes very popular by beating the world’s top fighters at the begining of the twentieth century.

For Jet Li’s fans, this is a very good film. Though the story is quite simple it serves its purpose of bringing many fights to the screen. One problem is the cool editing technique used to shoot those fights. There are too many cuts and too many different angles to allow the audience to clearly enjoy the choreography of the fight. That is all Hollywood’s fault : it is the style of editing that is mostly used nowadays to portray action. Sad really, Jet Li fighting is a beatiful thing to watch. At least, this fast paced editing is not used in all of the fighting scenes, making it possible to enjoy some of them very much so.

The rest is excellent in its execution. Mind you, it is a standard period martial arts film, don’t expect too many twists and surprises. Most enjoyable, nontheless. Could be a good introduction to the genre, it is easily accessible and most people are familiar with Jet Li.

Really worth the watch.

Navajo Joe (Italy/Spain, 1966)

An excellent Spaghetti Western with a remarkable score by Ennio Morricione (under the name Leo Nichols).

Starring a young Burt Reynolds as the last survivor of a Navajo tribe massacred by the evil Duncan, played by Aldo Sambrell. A tale of revenge and kindness, sounds strange but it is true. The main character, Joe, is looking for revenge, but also helps villagers along the way.

Very entertaining western movie ! Great action sequences, editing and pacing. Might not be the best introduction to the genre, but Spaghetti Western fans will love it and must absolutely see it. Burt Reynolds is more convincing than I would have given him credit for. Nice surprise.

Really good. And the music : amazing.

Pancho Villa (Spain/UK/USA, 1972)

Well, it is a western about the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, played here by Terry “Kojak” Savalas. Weird choice. Bad movie. Not necessarely Savalas’ fault, though. Still it is a bad movie.

Not much more to say, really.

Just don’t watch it, okay?

The Three Musketeers (USA, 1921)

My first silent movie and a Douglas Fairbanks film, no less !

I don’t believe I need to tell anyone what the movie is about, do I?

The fight scenes and the acrobatics are incredible. Fairbanks was truly an athlete ; not a make-believe action star created in an editing room. There are no tricks here, it is the real deal. That man can move and jump around so much it is surreal. Following his why walk when you can run/why run when you can leap attituted all through the film.

It is an entertaining movie to watch, but feels a bit long (118 minutes). Maybe too much of the original Alexandre Dumas story was put in the film. When adapting a book to the silver screen, parts must be cut out. Even more when it is as thick as The Three Musketeers.

For swashbuckling lovers, silent film fans and cinema enthusiats.

Royal Wedding (USA, 1951)

Fred Astaire dancing is always a great thing to see, even when he is in his fifties ! In this film he plays Tom Bowen, a performer in a dance act with his sister, played by Jane Powel. As Astaire began his career with his sister Adele in real life.

Plot wise, it is standard musical storytelling and as for the music, well let’s just say we don’t hum any of the songs when it’s over. That said, it is not a bad film, on the contrary ! It is an excellent Fred Astaire picture and it contains two of the most popular scenes of the musical genre.

First, there is the unbelievable dancing scene with the hatrack… Simply marvelous. A long time ago, I saw the MGM documentary That’s Entertainment and saw a part of the hatrack scene. That was when I understood, even at a young age knowing nothing of musicals, that this Fred Astaire was something special. No wonder his partners always look so graceful : in his hands even a hatrack can dance ! It must be seen to even remotely have an idea of how good it actually is.

Second, Fred dances on the walls and ceiling of his hotel room. No, Lionel Ritchie did not create that concept, far from it. Doing it in the fifties was very innovative and probably a technical nightmare.

There you have it, these two scenes alone made the DVD purchase worth it.

May not be his best musical, but needs to be seen by lovers of the genre.