What I Watched In April

The second Captain America film is being lauded as possibly the best super hero movie and it IS very good. Marvel has very intelligently made an espionage thriller with a super powered main character instead of making a 'super-hero' movie. The well crafted plot smartly moves Steve Rogers forward while introducing The Falcon (excellent turn by Anthony Mackie), giving The Black Widow a very good role in the story, finally gives Samuel l. Jackson's Nick Fury something to do onscreen other than scowl and issue orders and gives us the great Robert Redford having a grand old time being the smartest villain (spoiler?) the Marvel franchise has yet produced. And the fact that they managed to link the current S.H.I.E.L.D. television series into the film was a stroke of storytelling genius! I love the show and having this adventure merge with the events that have been unfolding recently with Agent Coulson's team really felt like the old comic book summertime cross-over madness I used to enjoy so much. This is an excellent movie and shows Marvel Studios still knows what they are doing but I must add that I actually enjoyed the second Thor movie a bit more -that seems to be a controversial statement from what my friends say. Sorry! 

I also got to take in a screening of the amazing documentary JODOROWSKY'S DUNE (2013) at Nashville's Belcourt Cinema. It was just as entertaining and awe inducing as I had expected with the added bonus of finally getting to see and hear the 81 year old Jodorowsky. I hope I have a quarter of his energy and enthusiasm at his age! His joy at discussing this failed film project from the mid-70's is infectious and only increases my wish that this mad vision had somehow made it the screen. The film smartly illustrates the plan of the movie with hundreds of illustrations augmented with new animation using the original conceptual artwork by Moebius and Voss. I can only imagine what science fiction filmmaking would look like if this movie had been made instead of STAR WARS - the mind boggles. If you are a fan of science fiction movies, Jodorowsky or just fascinating cinema you owe it to yourself to see this documentary. 

CABIN BOY (1994)- 8 (hysterical, absurd comedy)

CALIBER 9 (1972)- 8 (excellent Italian crime film)

THE FIVE MAN ARMY (1969)- 5 (mediocre Spaghetti western)

CRIME OF PASSION (1957)- 7 (interesting noir)

DISCO ROJO (1973)- 6

STOKER (2013 - 10 (amazing)

THE EYES OF CHARLES SAND (1972)- 6 (good TV-movie/failed pilot)

THE INITIATION OF SARAH (1978)- 4 (not very good TV movie)

THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT (1996)- 3 (sad evidence that a Shane Black script is not foolproof)

CAPTAIN AMERICAN: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014)- 8

VIOLENT BLOOD BATH (1967)- 7 (interesting murder mystery from Spain) 

HARD TARGET (1993)- 7 (rewatch)

THE WOLF OF WALL STREET (2013)- 9 (amazing!) 

HOLMES & WATSON: MADRID DAYS (2012) - 3 (Overlong and deadly dull Spanish Sherlock tale)

TALES THAT WITNESS MADNESS (1973)- 6 (rewatch)

DRACULA- PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1966)- 8 (rewatch)

TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY (2011)- 8

COUNTESS PERVERSE (1973)- 6 (Franco's tale made up of part sex, part Most Dangerous Game and part cannibalism)

JODOROWSKY'S DUNE (2014)- 9