Alphabetical Movie – The Jewel of the Nile
For some of the younger folks out there, it may come as a surprise to learn that there was a time when MTV played music videos all the time. I was a college student during this magical time in the mid 80’s and I wasted enjoyed many hours in front of the television watching some of the finest music videos ever produced studying.
My first year of college, I attended Coe College in Cedar Rapids Iowa. Things didn’t work out so well between Coe and I left after my freshman year. One of the best friends I’ve ever made was from that first year and for me, The Jewel of the Nile will always be about Teri, Coe College, and MTV.
Alphabetical Movie – Jaws
I didn’t watch Jaws until I was in my late twenties.
I remember seeing the trailer and deciding I wanted nothing to do with the film. The shot of the girl being pulled violently under water that scared the crap out of me. I was just eight years old, after all, and I lived in a state full of lakes. I didn’t really understand the difference between oceans and lakes.
Alphabetical Movie – Jason and the Argonauts
About ten years ago, I took my first trip to the San Diego ComiCon. At the time, it was a relatively tiny 60,000 person convention.
If you’ve never been to ComiCon, it is quite the experience. These days they have 100,000+ attendees and I’ve ceased going because the crowds make it a nearly unbearable experience for me. No, I don’t really want to wait in line for 30 minutes just to go to a panel about Batman.
The first time I went, it was crowded but not “get me the fuck out of here” crowded.
Alphabetical Movie – The January Man
The January Man is a mess of a movie. It wants to be about a modern day Sherlock Holmes but it doesn’t spend any time establishing the main character as all that clever and gets bogged down in a whole lot of relationship subplots that are at right angles to the main plot.
But there is one thing about it that is relatively unique and that is the fact it is a serial killer movie in which we barely see the serial killer. Typically a serial killer movie is a cat and mouse story in which the audience, at least, is aware of who the killer is.
Alphabetical Movie – Jamaica Inn
I can pretty much bet this post will get about ten views because nobody has heard of Jamaica Inn. The film is an early Hitchcock talkie and I don’t think it is fantastic, although it does have Maureen O’Hara in it and I’ve always been a little bit in love with Maureen O’Hara.
The thing with Jamaica Inn is that she is, for me, too young.
Alphabetical Movie Project – Jackie Chan’s First Strike
It had been a long time since I’d watched this particular Jackie Chan epic.
So long, in fact, that I spent at least 3/4 of the film thinking that I was watching Rumble in the Bronx.
As you may have guessed, it had also been a pretty long time since I’d seen Rumble in the Bronx.
Alphabetical Movie – Jackie Brown
At CONvergence 2012, I was on a panel that explored Quentin Tarantino as a feminist filmmaker. While the panel offered no answers, it inspired some spirited discussion on Tarantino and also on what makes a film a “feminist” film.
I mean, is Kill Bill a feminist film because it has a female protagonist who can kick all sorts of ass? Maybe.
On the other hand, the entire film began because of Beatrix’s identity as a mother. Is that feminism? Even as a feminist, I’m not sure I know the answer to that question. I think the answer depends on the person answering the question.
Alphabetical Movie – It’s a Wonderful Life
Every time I watch It’s a Wonderful Life, I wonder how they managed to get that ending past the Hays office.
For those unaware of the Hays code, it was a strict set of guidelines that was meant to ensure that American films were morally “acceptable.” One of the more important parts of the code was that criminal behavior could not go unpunished. Bad guys ended up in jail or dead. Period.
Quick aside: I know it is silly to warn about spoilers for a movie almost everyone has seen but if you haven’t actually seen the film yet and you don’t want the ending spoiled, I’d suggest you don’t read on.
Alphabetical Movie – It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World
We all have them, right? The movies that we are supposed to like but we just…don’t?
Take Ben Hur, for instance. Man do I dislike that film. That awesome chariot race? It’s definitely better than the pod race in The Phantom Menace but that is faint praise indeed. I just think it’s long. Really long.
I don’t dislike It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World the way I dislike Ben Hur but try as I might, I sure don’t like it.
Alphabetical Movie – Iron Man 2
So I’m thinking about the trajectory of late career revivals for actors. It seems to me that these revivals must include, at some point, an appearance as a villain in a Super Hero movie.
Take Mickey Roarke.
His career was completely in the toilet until his Oscar nominated turn in The Wrestler. Suddenly, the guy has a career again. Good for him. The Wrestler was a good movie and he was amazing.
Grail Diary 