Crimson Screens tries to solve the mystery of "The Black Dahlia"... and more podcast news...
Crimson Screens tries to solve the mystery of "The Black Dahlia"... and more podcast news...
Ok, I was semi excited for this movie. Not because of the hip name stars that are in it and not because I care about the actual Black Dahlia case. I was excited for it because it was directed by Brian DePalma, director of a lot of great movies. He made Carrie, the best Stephen King adaptation, in my opinion. Also, he directed Scarface, which in the last few years has become a huge money machine, with toys, tshirts, posters and everything else imaginable made based around the characters. I mean, you can't go out in public without seeing some faux gangster wearing a Scarface shirt. But hey, it's a good movie. He also made some personal favorites of mine, Body Double and The Untouchables. And don't forget Casualties Of War, one of the best war movies there is. So, when I saw this was directed by him, I knew I would see it.
Well, the first thing that threw me off was that a lot, and I mean alot, of this movie doesn't really even deal with the case. A lot of it involves the characters involved in it more than it involves the actual case. Second, the movie has some big name actors in it, which could be ok. Scarlett Johannson is here. She is sort of acclaimed actress, but I don't think she would be so acclaimed if her boobs weren't so big. I think her work here is dry and not too exciting. She does have talent, see Lost In Translation, but I do think she is overrated.
A lot of the reviews I have read for this mention its film noir style, and I do agree with that. And it is visually pretty cool at time, but there is something missing. It moves from being exciting and interesting to dreadfully boring and plain. But what I noticed most was that it uses the Black Dahlia mystery as a backdrop for another story and I guess I didn't even expect it to be soley about the Black Dahlia, but sometimes that mix takes away from the movie. I won't lie. Sometimes I hated this movie, but then there would be a cool scene or two and I would be like, "Hey, this is kind of cool!"
There are a few grisly scenes, but the violence is not the point here.
Overall, this ends up being in the middle of Brian DePalma's work. It is definately not a classic, but it isn't horrible either. It is a noble attempt, but sometimes it falls short. I give it a C.
On another note, horror movie season starts soon, with a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie and a new Saw movie and some other ones that I am forgetting. I'm hopiing at least one of those will be good.
I am still addicted to podcasts. My current favorite is Night Of The Living podcast. It is both informative and funny at the same time. The Pickled Embryo is another good one, lots of jokes and they talk about a lot of the more underground stuff sometimes, which is always good with me. The Infested Sound is a good one too, and it has switched to the VideoCast format a couple few months ago. I think that is good, but I miss the old hour long shows and the stuff that came with them, the extended movie reviews and Four Minutes With Phil. Mondo Movie is another good one, more informative than funny. it takes a while to get used to the British acccent, but that isn't too hard to get over.
Ok, I will be back soon with more video reviews from the archives.
Ok, I was semi excited for this movie. Not because of the hip name stars that are in it and not because I care about the actual Black Dahlia case. I was excited for it because it was directed by Brian DePalma, director of a lot of great movies. He made Carrie, the best Stephen King adaptation, in my opinion. Also, he directed Scarface, which in the last few years has become a huge money machine, with toys, tshirts, posters and everything else imaginable made based around the characters. I mean, you can't go out in public without seeing some faux gangster wearing a Scarface shirt. But hey, it's a good movie. He also made some personal favorites of mine, Body Double and The Untouchables. And don't forget Casualties Of War, one of the best war movies there is. So, when I saw this was directed by him, I knew I would see it.
Well, the first thing that threw me off was that a lot, and I mean alot, of this movie doesn't really even deal with the case. A lot of it involves the characters involved in it more than it involves the actual case. Second, the movie has some big name actors in it, which could be ok. Scarlett Johannson is here. She is sort of acclaimed actress, but I don't think she would be so acclaimed if her boobs weren't so big. I think her work here is dry and not too exciting. She does have talent, see Lost In Translation, but I do think she is overrated.
A lot of the reviews I have read for this mention its film noir style, and I do agree with that. And it is visually pretty cool at time, but there is something missing. It moves from being exciting and interesting to dreadfully boring and plain. But what I noticed most was that it uses the Black Dahlia mystery as a backdrop for another story and I guess I didn't even expect it to be soley about the Black Dahlia, but sometimes that mix takes away from the movie. I won't lie. Sometimes I hated this movie, but then there would be a cool scene or two and I would be like, "Hey, this is kind of cool!"
There are a few grisly scenes, but the violence is not the point here.
Overall, this ends up being in the middle of Brian DePalma's work. It is definately not a classic, but it isn't horrible either. It is a noble attempt, but sometimes it falls short. I give it a C.
On another note, horror movie season starts soon, with a new Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie and a new Saw movie and some other ones that I am forgetting. I'm hopiing at least one of those will be good.
I am still addicted to podcasts. My current favorite is Night Of The Living podcast. It is both informative and funny at the same time. The Pickled Embryo is another good one, lots of jokes and they talk about a lot of the more underground stuff sometimes, which is always good with me. The Infested Sound is a good one too, and it has switched to the VideoCast format a couple few months ago. I think that is good, but I miss the old hour long shows and the stuff that came with them, the extended movie reviews and Four Minutes With Phil. Mondo Movie is another good one, more informative than funny. it takes a while to get used to the British acccent, but that isn't too hard to get over.
Ok, I will be back soon with more video reviews from the archives.
posted by Crimson Screens at 6:49 AM
1 Comments:
I actually loved the original James Ellroy novel 'The Black Dahlia', so I knew that the murder was just a backdrop for the main story. But the way everything was handled in the film just made it confusing. I agree with you, about a C overall.
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