Movies watched in August 2013
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34 titles
- DirectorGuillermo del ToroStarsIdris ElbaCharlie HunnamRinko KikuchiAs a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse.Some good action sequences and compelling supporting characters, but ultimately more spectacle than substance.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMichael J. FoxChristopher LloydLea ThompsonMarty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the maverick scientist Doc Brown.One of my all-time favorite movies: I've seen it countless times and I still find new things in it to love.
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsKeiji SadaKeiko KishiMinoru ÔkiA talent scout moves sharply, dead-set on signing a promising athlete to his team.One of the strangest, and most cynical, baseball films I've ever seen.
- DirectorShane CarruthStarsShane CarruthDavid SullivanCasey GoodenFour friends/fledgling entrepreneurs, knowing that there's something bigger and more innovative than the different error-checking devices they've built, wrestle over their new invention.This feels like half of a film with a bunch of scenes missing, and I resent that it makes me feel stupid for not 'getting it.' Also it's dull.
- DirectorJudd ApatowStarsAdam SandlerSeth RogenLeslie MannWhen seasoned comedian George Simmons learns of his terminal, inoperable health condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship causes him to take a relatively green performer under his wing as his opening act.A bit overlong, but an intriguing insight into the world of stand-up comedy, with some highly amusing performances (especially Aubrey Plaza and Jonah Hill).
- DirectorChris SmithStarsMark BorchardtMike SchankTom SchimmelsDocumentary about an aspiring filmmaker's attempts to finance his dream project by finally completing the low-budget horror film he abandoned years before.Hilarious (and at turns unsettling) portrait of a young man's obsession with filmmaking, and how it affects the people around him. 'Everybody make happy!'
- DirectorRex IngramStarsLewis StoneAlice TerryRobert EdesonWhen the king is drugged and abducted by his ambitious brother, a lookalike relative must take his place to keep the evil sibling off the throne.Fine performances all around in this adaptation which drags in spots but is worth a look.
- DirectorAlexander PayneStarsMatthew BroderickReese WitherspoonLoren NelsonA high school teacher meets his match in an over-achieving student politician.Intelligent comedy with several outstanding performances; adapts and improves upon Tom Perrotta's already very good novel.
- DirectorHenry LehrmanStarsCharles ChaplinEmma CliftonChester ConklinAn out-of-work swindler takes a job as a reporter. After witnessing a car go over cliff, he grabs a rival reporter's camera and races to the newspaper office to enter the photo as his own. His rival is delayed when he gets caught in a woman's bedroom by her jealous husband. The swindler follows the distribution of the paper containing his 'scoop' around town where he is once again chased by the rival reporter. Both end up on the cow-catcher of a streetcar.Charlie Chaplin got his start in this short, which is mostly run-of-the-mill for the Keystone Studio but occasionally allows Chaplin's comedic abilities to show.
- DirectorHenry LehrmanStarsCharles ChaplinHenry LehrmanGordon GriffithThe Tramp wanders into and disrupts the filming of a go-kart race.This introduction to the Little Tramp character is as interesting to watch for the 1914 racetrack background shots as for the character's own antics.
- DirectorPál FejösStarsBarbara KentGlenn TryonFay HoldernessTwo lonely people in the big city meet and enjoy the thrills of an amusement park, only to lose each other in the crowd after spending a great day together. Will they ever see each other again?Criminally underrated gem that bridges the silent and sound eras of film, with great cinematography and a sparkling performance by Barbara Kent.
- DirectorRawson Marshall ThurberStarsJason SudeikisJennifer AnistonEmma RobertsA veteran pot dealer creates a fake family as part of his plan to move a huge shipment of weed into the U.S. from Mexico.Somewhat predictable romp about a ragtag group of misfits involved in a drug smuggling operation, but the comic talents of the four main actors are well-used here. Sudeikis is great in this smartass role which is reminiscent of Joel McHale's character in Community.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJacqueline BissetJean-Pierre LéaudFrançois TruffautA committed film director struggles to complete his movie while coping with a myriad of crises, personal and professional, among the cast and crew.One of the best movies about making movies ever made. Jacqueline Bisset is fabulous.
- DirectorFred C. NewmeyerSam TaylorStarsHarold LloydJobyna RalstonBrooks BenedictA nerdy college student will do anything to become popular on campus.Harold Lloyd is at his best as naive yet determined college student "Speedy" with the beautifully subtle performance of Jobyna Ralston to support him. I laugh every time Lloyd does that crazy little dance whenever he meets someone new.
- DirectorGeoffrey SaxStarsPaul McGannEric RobertsDaphne AshbrookThe newly-regenerated Doctor takes on the Master on the turn of the millennium, 31 December 1999.Paul McGann should have had a better chance at the role of the Doctor than this missed opportunity of a Doctor Who revival.
- DirectorPaul Thomas AndersonStarsJoaquin PhoenixPhilip Seymour HoffmanAmy AdamsA Naval veteran arrives home from war unsettled and uncertain of his future - until he is tantalized by the Cause and its charismatic leader.Very interesting and affecting film with outstanding performances by Hoffman, Adams, and especially Phoenix.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsDaniel Day-LewisSally FieldDavid StrathairnAs the Civil War rages on, U.S President Abraham Lincoln struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on his decision to emancipate the slaves.Too much emphasis on the politics of the 13th Amendment, not enough emphasis on the life of the man himself. Daniel Day-Lewis's performance as Lincoln, however, is near-perfect.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsLinda ArvidsonJohn R. CumpsonFlora FinchSet in an early cinema house, this comic short illustrates the problems with the gals' hats obscuring the movie patron's line of vision.How to deal with moviegoers who block the screen.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsArthur V. JohnsonMarion LeonardHenry B. WalthallA king exacts vengeance upon his faithless mistress and her lover.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsFrank PowellGrace HendersonJames KirkwoodAn unscrupulous and greedy capitalist speculator decides to corner the wheat market for his own profit, establishing complete control over the markets.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsArthur V. JohnsonLinda ArvidsonGladys EganIn this story set at a seaside fishing village and inspired by a Charles Kingsley poem, a young couple's happy life is turned about by an accident. The husband, although saved from drowning, loses his memory. A child is on the way, and soon a daughter is born to his wife. We watch the passage of time, as his daughter matures and his wife ages. The daughter becomes a lovely young woman, herself ready for marriage. One day on the beach, the familiarity of the sea and the surroundings triggers a return of her father's memory, and we are reminded that although people age and change, the sea and the ways of the fisherfolk remain eternal.
- DirectorKen FinklemanStarsRobert HaysJulie HagertyLloyd BridgesA faulty computer causes a passenger space shuttle to head straight for the Sun. Can Ted Striker save the day and get the shuttle back on track - again?
- DirectorStan DragotiStarsMichael KeatonTeri GarrFrederick KoehlerAfter he's suddenly laid off, a husband switches roles with his wife. She returns to the workforce, and he becomes a stay-at-home dad, and he has to take care of three young children, a job he has no clue how to do.
- DirectorVictor FlemingKing VidorStarsJudy GarlandFrank MorganRay BolgerYoung Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneYûzô KayamaTsutomu YamazakiIn 19th-century Japan, a rough-tempered yet charitable town doctor trains a young intern.