Rashomon

Film Title: Rashomon
Year: 1950
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Length: 88 minutes
Film Genre(s): Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Foreign
Director(s): Akira Kurosawa
Producer(s): Minoru Jingo, Masaichi Nagata
Writer(s): Ryunosuke Akutagawa (story, from "Rashomon" and "In a Grove"); Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto (screenplay)
Players:
Toshiro Mifune as Tajomaru
Machiko Kyo as Masako
Masayuki Mori as Takehiro
Takashi Shimura as the Woodcutter
Minoru Chiaki as the Priest
Kichijiro Ueda as the Commoner
Plot: The account of a murder from four different perspectives.
Acting: There is a lot of overacting in the movie, but it seems to be there for a reason. The characters in the story are each telling a version of a story. These stories are not perfect reality, so in the telling many things are embellished and many things are added and deleted. Shimura shines in this movie as he does in many other films.
Cinematography: A classic, pure and simple. Several of the shots from this movie have been copied ever since. Kazuo Miyagawa was a master of the camera. An early scene with the woodcutter walking through the woods is an example of his skill. Miyagawa constructed a long rail and caught a lengthy stroll with one shot. A moment later the camera stands still as Shimura walks into view and back out on a 180 degree pan. Geometry is an easily recognized aspect. People standing in triangular formation reveals tension between characters and causes tension for the viewer.
Visual: Several of the film's visual aspects were painstankingly created by Kurosawa and Miyagawa. Shadows and lighting were particularly difficult. The shadows of leaves on faces were created by reflecting light off a mirror through tree branches.
Audio: 1950...what can you say.
What to watch for: Shimura and Mifune; a unusual story that you'll probably need to watch twice.
What to watch out for: Allusion to rape; some offscreen violence.
When I watched it last: A few nights prior to review
IMDB User Rating: 8.5 out of 10; #64 on the top 250 movies of all time as voted by users
Roger Ebert Rating: Included in his list of "Great Movies" (his top honor); "The real gift of Rashomon is in its emotions and visuals."
The Cinema Standard Overall Score: 8.0 out of 10; See what inspired so many directors, producers and writers.
- - Reveiwed by JB

Seven Samurai / Shichinin no Samurai

Film Title: Seven Samurai; Shichinin no Samurai
Year: 1954
MPAA Rating: unrated (Canada and UK: PG)
Length: 206 minutes
Film Genre(s): Action, Drama, Foreign, Martial Arts, elements of Comedy
Director(s): Akira Kurosawa
Producer(s): Sojiro Motoki
Writer(s): Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni
Players:
Takashi Shimura as Kambei Shimada
Toshiro Mifune as Kikuchiyo
Yoshio Inaba as Gorobei Katayama
Seiji Miyaguchi as Kyuzo
Minoru Chiaki as Heihachi Hayshida
Diasuke Kato as Shichiroji
Isao Kimura as Katsushiro Okamoto
Keiko Tsushima as Shino
Kamatari Fujiwara as Manzo
Kokuten Kodo as Gisaku, "Grandad"
Plot: Each year, bandits attack a small village and pillage the farmers' crops and burn houses. The farmers decide to hire samurai to protect the village. Two worlds come together for a striking action drama for the ages.
Acting: Classic foreign films have always been hard to watch. Subtitles, poor dubbing and cultural differences have often ruined perfectly good classic foreign films (and even some newer foreign movies). This movie is a grand exception to that stereotype. With Shimura and Mifune - by now a seasoned duo - Seven Samurai is pure magic, not to mention the other five samurai who each bring another necessary role to the screen.
Cinematography: Kurosawa was a groundbreaking director as far as the camera is concerned. This was probably his most progressive area of direction. Seven Samurai is yet another example of his dramatic vision. The camera stays still when it should and moves at the perfect time. At times, the viewer feels as though he is watching a documentary of life in feudal Japan, experiencing the joys and trials, victories and defeats and the mudane and exciting lives of the people onscreen. You quickly become empathetic towards them, hurting and hoping with them.
Visual: So many times in Kurosawa films, the camera purposefully peers through set pieces and props. It gives you the feeling of being in the action, a bystander hiding in the background. Mifune's outrageous sword mirrors his confidence and contrasts his naivete.
Audio: The audio is often nothing more than dialogue, which is not strange for the time period. Sound effects were not used often. If you can get past this, you should enjoy the film.
What to watch for: Everything - incredible acting, unforgetable characters, a wonderful plot, perfectly placed humor, forbidden romance, great cinematography and the list goes on and on...
What to watch out for: Language (in subtitles, unless you can understand Japanese)
When I watched it last: One night prior to review
IMDB User Rating: 8.8 out of 10; #7 of the top 250 movies of all time as rated by users.
Roger Ebert Rating: Included in his list of "Great Movies" (his highest honor). "[N]ot only a great film in its own right, but the source of a genre that would flow through the rest of the century. The critic Michael Jeck suggests that this was the first film in which a team is assembled to carry out a mission..."
The Cinema Standard Overall Score: 8.9 out of 10; One of the best...ever. Quit your job and buy this movie.
- - Reveiwed by JB
Jason's Review of Seven Samurai

Hero; Ying Xiong

Film Title: Hero; Ying Xiong
Year: 2004 (USA release)
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Length: 99 minutes
Film Genre(s): Foreign, Martial Arts, Action, Drama, Adventure, Fantasy, History, Art
Director(s): Yimou Zhang
Producer(s): Yimou Zhang, Weiping Zhang, Shoufang Dou
Writer(s): Feng Li, Bin Wang, Yimou Zhang
Players:
Jet Li as Nameless
Tony Leung Chiu Wai as Broken Sword
Maggie Cheung as Flying Snow
Ziyi Zhang as Moon
Daoming Chen as King of Qin
Donnie Yen as Sky
Plot: A town prefect claims to have killed the three most dangerous assassins in the land of Qin. As a reward for his courage and bravery, the king of Qin allows the man to come close to the throne and drink with the king to tell the stories, but the king suspects that the prefect is a liar. It’s the tale of an unsung warrior becoming a national hero…in true Chinese mythical style.
Acting: The cast of this film is a veritable walk of fame as far - as Chinese actors are concerned. One could not ask for better performances of the players. Even if the story does not suit a person’s taste, the cast deserves lauds. Emotive and stirring performances pull one right into the action.
Cinematography: One would be hard-pressed to find a more awe-inspiring vision of China, or any part of the world for that matter. Rivaling New Zealand in The Lord of the Rings, the landscapes of the film are incredibly beautiful.
Visual: A-ma-zing! Few films can compare chromatically to the oversaturated palette of this movie. Color permeates the film making it seem surreal and dream-like, above and beyond reality, much like the choreography. “[T]he sets, costumes and special effects are of astonishing beauty” (rogerebert.suntimes.com). As with other Chinese fantasy-fables, physics is not even considered. Fight scenes make use of cables and digital effects. The characters whimsically float about, hang upside down and move with speed and fluidity that blurs time.
Audio: This movie is an audiophile’s dream. The music is wonderful. The best example of the film’s sound quality is in a fight scene between Nameless and Sky. Raindrops falling from eaves can be heard all around. The sounds of the fight envelope you in the action, making it seem as though you are right in the middle of the swordplay. An old man sits and plays a Guzheng (a popular, ancient Chinese, stringed musical instrument which is still played today). The music parodies the fight and at the climax of the scene the old man is playing so violently fast that he breaks all of the strings. That cacophony is the perfect peak point to the scene.
What to watch for: Jet Li’s best; Awesome choreography; Vivid color and imagery.
What to watch out for: A couple of places where the wire work was not fluid.
When I watched it last: One night prior to review
IMDB User Rating: 8.1 out of 10 stars; #153 on the top 250 movies of all time as voted by users.
Roger Ebert Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars; "[B]eautiful and beguiling, a martial arts extravaganza..." "[A] visual poem of extraordinary beauty."
The Cinema Standard Overall Score: 8.2 out of 10; A must-see! One of the great Chinese martial arts movies.
- - Reveiwed by JB

Gangs of New York

Film Title: Gangs of New York
Year: 2002
MPAA Rating: R
Length: 167 minutes
Film Genre(s): Crime, Drama, Historical
Director(s): Martin Scorsese
Producer(s): Maurizio Grimaldi, Michael Hausman, Michael Ovitz, et. al.
Writer(s): Jay Cocks (story and screenplay); Steven Zaillian, Kenneth Lonergan (screenplay)
Players:
Leonardo DiCaprio as Amsterdam Vallon
Daniel Day-Lewis as Bill "The Butcher" Cutting
Cameron Diaz as Jenny Everdeane
Jim Broadbent as Boss Tweed
and Liam Neeson as "Priest" Vallon
Plot: A young boy watches as his father, a supposed priest, is murdered. Years later, he looks for revenge. There's only one problem though, the man who murdered his father is the most powerful man in Manhatten.
Acting: For the most part I liked the characters in the film. Leo Di plays the retribution-driven Amsterdam. "He is the eyes through which we see the others but is not the most colorful person on the canvas" (rogerebert.suntimes.com). Day-Lewis and Diaz add that color, along with characters such as the historical "Boss" Tweed and Happy Jack.
Cinematography: The film is somewhat generic in its use of the camera. There are not as many iconic shots as one would expect, especially from a Scorsese flick.
Visual: Many of the effects made up for the lack of cinematographical mediocrity. A smoke-filled fight between Bill and Amsterdam creates incredible tension about who will be victorious. The final scene is a foreground shot of a cemetary where two main characters are buried with the background being a skyline shot of Manhatten. Four time-progressions occur with the New York skyline growing taller and taller and the cemetary becoming more and more overgrown - the symbolism of a tempestual but forgotten past.
Audio: Music was an important part of this film. U2 performed the opening song The Hands that Built America and Peter Gebriel contributed a song as well. Some 6 performers total contributed original music.
What to watch for: Stunning sets, whether digital or real. Surprisingly good performances by Daniel Day-Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio.
What to watch out for: Extreme senquences of Violence; Blood; Language; Wanton Sexual Content
When I watched it last: Three nights prior to review
IMDB User Rating: 7.2 out of 10
Roger Ebert Rating: 3.5 out of 4 stars; "It is very good but not great."
The Cinema Standard Overall Score: 7.1 out of 10; Skip a scene or two or three; A decent Scorsese movie, but yet another reason why he hasn't won an Oscar.
- - Reveiwed by JB

Million Dollar Baby

Film Title: Million Dollar Baby
Year: 2004
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Length: 132 minutes
Film Genre(s): Drama, elements of Comedy
Director(s): Clint Eastwood
Producer(s): Clint Eastwood, Paul Haggis, Robert Lorenz, Gary Lucchesi
Writer(s): F.X. Toole (story); Paul Haggis (screenplay)
Players:
Clint Eastwood as Frankie Dunn
Hillary Swank as Maggie Fitzgerald
Morgan Freeman as Eddie "Scrap-Iron" Dupris
Plot: A too-cautious trainer who doesn't train girls, picks up an aged boxer-wanna-be Maggie as his student. A story of cowardice and courage, winning and losing, triumph and tragedy...and some of the action happens in a boxing ring too.
Acting: WOW! The three main players are amazing. Clint Eastwood delivers one of his best performances ever - and that's saying a lot. Hillary Swank's dramatization of the epitomous trailer-park-trash, waitress-in-a-small-diner, wishing-to-be-something-more character is spot on. Morgan Freeman's role is secondary to the plot, but it brings so much to the film. This movie only strengthens my belief that he is one of the greatest actors alive.
Cinematography: A true joy to watch because of great camera work. There are several scenes that are absolutely driven by the camera. It's those moments without dialogue that define a well-shot movie. After Dunn (Eastwood) accepts Fitzgerald (Swank) as his protege, the camera goes to a side shot of the two centered around the speed bag.
Visual: It's sometimes difficult to actually pick out the actors bacause it's so dark. At first, I thought this was a poor job, but then I noticed the content of those scenes. Light bulb! (pun intended) These techs are incredible, weaving characters in and out of view using only light strafing, which helps the conversations and mood of the film. The illumination of the entire movie is wonderfully done. Near the end (without spoiling the story), the use of lighting to create an almost black and white effect really mirrors the mood of the movie. All the other visual effects - from costume and make-up, to sets and props was on par with any other Clint Eastwood produced movie.
Audio: Clint Eastwood did most of the movies musical score (all but threee songs). Music is not empahsized very much in the film, but is tastefully complimentary to the action. The score "always does what is required and never distracts" (rogerebert.suntimes.com). The end of the film is nearly devoid of music.
What to watch for: Clint Eastwood - director, producer, music and acting for the film...and he does a great job with all of his roles. He's got the Midas touch. "Million Dollar Baby is Eastwood's 25th film as a director, and his best" (rogerebert.suntimes.com).
What to watch out for: A little language.
When I watched it last: One night prior to review.
IMDB User Rating: 8.4 out of 10
Roger Ebert Rating: 4 out of 4 stars;
"[A] masterpiece, pure and simple, deep and true."
"This is the best film of the year (2004)."
"Movies are so often made of effects and sensation these days. This one is made of three people and how their actions grow out of who they are and why."
The Cinema Standard Overall Score: 8.6 out of 10; Buy it, Watch it, Discuss it; This belongs in your movie collection.
- - Reveiwed by JB

Event Horizon

Film Title: Event Horizon
Year: 1997
MPAA Rating: R
Length: 96 minutes
Film Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Horror/Thriller
Director(s): Paul W.S. Anderson
Producer(s): Nick Gillott, Jeremy Bolt
Writer(s): Philip Eisner
Players:
Laurence Fishburne as Captain Miller
Sam Neill as Dr. William Weir
Kathleen Quinlan as Peters
Joely Richardson as Lt. Starck
Richard T. Jones as Cooper
Jack Noseworthy as Justin
Jason Isaacs as D.J.
Sean Pertwee as Smith
Plot: A state-of-the-art ship, built to travel faster than the speed of light, disappeared seven years earlier and has just reappeared in the orbit of Neptune sending out a distress beacon. A rescue mission is sent out to recover the ship and crew but is met with a terror unlike anything anyone has seen before.
Acting: For the most part, the acting in the movie was good. Laurence Fishburne was already a seasoned actor and was well on his way to his best performance in the upcoming Sci-Fi mega movie The Matrix. Richard T. Jones is the necessary comic relief in the movie. His self-confidence and unearned machismo are the only alleviation from the absolute tension of the film. With a full cast of 15 people, a lot of stagecraft is demanded of only a few people. I’m not convinced that Sam Neill is a worthy portrayer of the antagonist/absolute evil. It’s hard to watch Jurassic Park’s hero become a carved-up Devil personification.
Cinematography: This movie demanded much of the camera crew. Uneven floor plans for the sets meant a lot of rigging and movement. In one scene, the camera rotates around the crew as they talk about what should be done. The camera goes back and forth several times making for a nice alternative to several camera switches.
Visual: Visual effects in the movie were both stunning and haunting. The vividly lit green tunnels near the core have been copied to an extent in many movies. Spacecraft design and settings were expansively and visually awesome. Roger Ebert points out a design goof. The Event Horizon is floating in the turbulent atmosphere of Neptune, yet after the initial approach by the rescue vessel, all the scenes seem to take place in calm space.
Audio: Orbital was called in by Paul Anderson to work with Michael Kamen on the film’s music. Dark beats are layered on top of Kamen’s symphonic melodies, which gives many of the scenes an edgy heart-pounding effect.
What to watch for: Awesome visual effects…and that’s about it.
What to watch out for: “Orgiastic” (as quoted by the Paul Anderson and Jeremy Bolt) scenes of sado-masochistic mutilation, torture, blood (lots and lots of blood) and intense gore; language.
When I watched it last: Two nights before review
IMDB User Rating: 5.8 out of 10
Roger Ebert Rating: 2 out of 4 stars; “It's all style, climax and special effects.”
The Cinema Standard Overall Score: 5.0 out of 10 stars; Sorry, but I’m not a horror movie fan.
- - Reveiwed by JB

The Terminal

Film Title: The Terminal
Year: 2004
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Length: 128 minutes
Film Genre(s): Drama, elements of comedy and romance
Director(s): Steven Spielberg
Producer(s): Jason Hoffs, Andrew Niccol, Patricia Whitcher
Writer(s): Andrew Niccol and Sacha Gervasi (story); Sacha Gervasi and Jeff Nathanson (screenplay)
Players:
Tom Hanks as Viktor Navorski
Catherine Zeta Jones as Amelia Warren
Stanley Tucci as Frank Dixom
Chi McBride as Mulroy
Diego Luna as Enrique Cruz
Barry Shabaka Henley as Thurman
Kumar Pallana as Gupta Rajan
Zoe Saldana as Officer Torres
and cameo by Richard Gere
Plot: When war breaks out in his country of Krakozhia, Viktor Navorski is forced to live in an airport terminal at JFK as his visa and passport are "unnacceptable". It's the story of a promise kept, a compassionate heart and a fight for love...in an airport.
Acting: Strangely enough Tom hanks does a phenomenal job as an Eastern European. Cold-hearted Frank Dixon is portrayed by the perfect actor, Stanley Tucci - it seems he was born for this role. Dixon is determined to live by the rules of the airport and no amount of pathos will win him over to a cause. Laughable (in a positive light) performances include Chi McBride, Enrique Luna and most definetely Kumar Pallana. Henley's portrayal of the kind-hearted Thurman is the necessary foil to the almost (but not quite) emotionless Airport Manager Frank Dixon.
Cinematography: The camera is used well as an instrument of mood. The terminal is often filed in chaos, with quick movements and wide pans. The hustle and bustle are brought to seeming stillness when needed by perfect character framing. My favorite camera shot has a giant 747 rolling down the runway framing one side of the shot and tiny Gupta running toward it (to get the plane to stop) framing the other side. Brilliant! In one of the last scenes, Viktor rides off in a cab beside the terminal with the reflection of the New York skyline in the window.
Visual: "Not one viewer in 100 will guess this is not a real airline terminal." Hard to believe, I know. "Here the terminal with all of its levels, with its escalators and retail shops and food courts and security lines and passenger gates, actually exists" (rogerebert.suntimes.com). The sets are done well with several instances of both wonderful and very poor lighting. There is a reflection off of a fountain at one point which makes the scene difficult to watch.
Audio: The score is almost completely "airport music", if and when there is any music. Almost all of the movie dialogue is recorded over background talking, so it is a tribute to the techs who made those sound effects secondary but evident.
What to watch for: The peanut can. Gupta's character is quite funny in the defense of "his floor" and the wet floor hijinks. A very good performance by Tom Hanks. Two of the most beautiful actresses in all of Hollywood grace this film: Catherine Zeta Jones and Zoe Saldana.
What to watch out for: Allusions to Napoleon between Viktor and Amelia become almost silly after the third or fourth reference (I realize that the writers & producers are attempting to mirror the story of Viktor and Amelia, but I think it's just too much).
When I watched it last: One night prior to review
IMDB User Rating: 7.1 out of 10
Roger Ebert Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 4 - "The Terminal doesn't have a plot; it tells a story. We want to know what will happen next, and we care."
The Cinema Standard Overall Score: 7.0 out of 10 - definitely worth a rental, maybe worth a buy
- - Reveiwed by JB

Stand By Me

Film Title: Stand By Me
Year: 1986
MPAA Rating: R
Length: 89 minutes
Film Genre(s): Adventure, Drama, elements of Comedy
Director(s): Rob Reiner
Producer(s): Raynold Gideon, Bruce A. Evans, Andrew Scheinman
Writer(s): Adapted from Stephen King's novella The Body; Raynold Gideon & Bruce A. Evans (screenplay)
Players:
Wil Wheaton as Gordie Lachance
River Pheonix as Chris Chambers
Corey Feldman as Teddy Duchamp
Jerry O'Connell as Vern Tessio
Keifer Sutherland as Ace Merrill
Richard Dreyfuss as The Writer
and cameo by John Cusack as Denny Lachance
Plot: Four preteen boys set out on an adventurous journey to see a dead body. It's a coming-of-age story of friendship, courage, mourning and the question "What is Goofy?"
Acting: For the most part, the acting was done well. On rare occasions the age of the four boys shows through in their portrayal of true emotion. Credit is due to Rob Reiner for illiciting great performances from the four boys. Breakout performances for Keifer Sutherland, Wil Wheaton, River Pheonix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell (though this was not the first movie appearance for most of them, it was their first great performance).
Cinematography: There are two scenes set at bridges. In the first, the camera stares down the long straight tracks and the bridge acts as the threshhold of the journey which they are about to embark upon. In the second, the boys stop at the edge of a long, tall, bridge over the Royal River. The camera makes the bridge look a mile long as this is an initial test of the boys' courage.
Visual: The movie is set in 1959. Costume and setting is done well. Some of the effects look faked, like the train behind the boys and the drop-off of the swamp water from a few inches to several feet deep. The film's story is pretty simple, though, so there aren't a lot of effects needed.
Audio: Mostly jocular music is incorporated into the movie which counteracts the storyline. Songs like "Rockin' Robin" and "Lollipop" are heard playing on Ace Merill's car radio and the handheld radio that Gordie brings on the trip. The title song "Stand By Me" acts as bookends to the movie and is interspersed other times throughout.
What to watch for: Gordie's encounter with a deer; Top-notch performances by Keifer Sutherland, Wil Wheaton and River Pheonix; Hilarious moments such as the campfire story and conversations, the leech, Chopper, and many others.
What to watch out for: Language; Jerry O'Connell's character Vern can become quite annoying after a while.
When I watched it last: One night prior to review
IMDB User Rating: 8.1 out of 10; #157 on the top 250 movies of all time as voted by users.
Roger Ebert Rating: Roger Ebert has not reviewed this movie on the Sun Times website.
The Cinema Standard Overall Score: 8.5 out of 10
- - Reveiwed by JB

The Cinema Standard Review Rubric
Film Title: [The Name of the Movie]
Year: [Year the film was released]
MPAA Rating: [G, PG, PG-13, R]
Length: [Runtime of movie]
Film Genre(s): [The styles that the film expresses - e.g. Drama, Comedy, Action, Sci-Fi, etc.]
Director(s): [Executive Directors]
Producer(s): [Executive Producers]
Writer(s): [Screenplay/story]
Players: [Main Cast]
Plot: [Very Basic Synopsis]
Acting: [How did the actors/actresses portray the characters?]
Cinetography: [Use of the camera]
Visual: [Art direction, make-up/costume and special effects]
Audio: [Sound FX and Musical Score]
What to watch for: [Memorable scenes, lines, actors/actresses]
What to watch out for: [Things the movie could have done without - e.g. extreme vulgarity, excessive sexuality, bad acting, etc.]
IMDB User Rating: [1 - 10 with 10 being the highest - imdb.com]
Roger Ebert Rating: [1 - 4 with 4 being the highest - rogerebert.suntimes.com]
The Cinema Standard Overall Score: [1 - 10 with 10 being the highest]

My name is Jon Brady. My affiliate is Jason Williams. We are avid movie lovers and thought it would be entertaining to write movie reviews. So this blog is our first attempt. Each movie will be reviewed by both parties in like manner. Thanks for stopping by.