#223. Manhattan

"They probably sit around on the floor with wine and cheese, and mispronounce allegorical and didacticism."

Isaac, a divorced New Yorker, is dating a 17 year old girl. He soon finds that he is more interested in his best friend's mistress, and decides to try and pursue her instead.

I really liked this movie in some ways, and in other ways I didn't. For one, the views of Manhattan were absolutely stunning. I visited NY about two months ago, and loved seeing landmarks such as the Museum of Natural History and Central Park again in this film. It just goes to show how timeless New York City is. What I didn't like about this film was that watching it was pretty much a waste of time, because I didn't learn anything from it or get anything out of it. Sure, it was somewhat entertaining, but I doubt that I will remember anything about it five years from now.

I thought the characters were really interesting, Isaac and Tracy being my favorites, and Mary being my least favorite actually. I don't think that it was Diane Keaton's acting that was the issue, but more so the trite personality and cheesy lines she had to say through out, as she played the character of a woman with "problems" or whatever. That scheme has just been done too many times for it to still be endearing. However, I thought Mariel Hemingway's character as Tracy was fantastic in this movie. She was so charming, and her emotion during the break up scene was heart breaking, and really showed her ability as an actress.

My immediate rating is a 7/10.

Characters: 7/10

Acting: 7.2/10

Storyline: 6.4/10

Entertainment Value: 7.3/10

Immediate Rating: 7/10

Total Score: 27.8/50

#224. Planet of the Apes

"Take your stinking paws off me, you damned dirty ape!"

Astronaut Taylor and two others' ship crashes on an unknown planet that is ruled by smart apes that are able to talk and reason. A primitive race of humans are regularly hunted by them, and Taylor soon finds himself among them. He is then locked away, and his efforts begin as he tries to prove his intelligence and worth as an individual to the unforgiving apes.

This movie was definitely not what I expected. It was way way better. I didn't expect the apes to be as intelligent as humans are now, or for the classic evolution theory to be presented vise versa, etc. I thought it would be more of a thriller between the astronauts trying to escape from monkeys that took over the planet and bla bla bla. Eh, I was wrong, but thankfully so. The special effects in this movie are pretty laughable compared to today's (plane crashing into the water scene, the "lightning"), but of course, this movie is from 1968, and not much is to be expected in that aspect. I do admit that the makeup is very impressive, and I loved how the apes looked. What I didn't like about the movie was that the other two astronauts were killed off very quickly, and there were a few characters who were just undeveloped.

But what really got me the most was that I didn't understand how the big twist at the end was such a shock, and neither did my boyfriend who was watching it with me. I realize now that it's not the movie's fault at all, but it's because the main picture for "Planet of the Apes" on the IDMB page (as well as the DVD cover) is of the last scene, giving away everything. I never really paid attention to the picture much because I didn't know its significance at the time, but subliminally, I think it spoiled the whole movie for us. I was reading some other reviews online about this that say the shock value is what makes the movie so great, and now I'm just kind of pissed because we got gypped out of the surprise ending. Thanks again, IMDB!

Besides that, I did really enjoy this movie, and thought it had a really unique concept. My immediate rating is a 7.5/10.

Characters: 6.6/10

Acting: 7.5/10

Storyline: 7.3/10

Entertainment Value: 7.5/10

Immediate Rating: 7.2/10

Total Score: 36.1/50

#225. La Strada

"I don't know for what this pebble is useful, but it must be useful. For if its useless, everything is useless. So are the stars!"

A girl named Gelsomina (Giulietta Masina) is sold to the traveling artist Zapanò (Anthony Quinn) when her journey on the road begins. She helps Zapanò with his circus shows, but is constantly finding herself feeling abused and neglected by him. She later meets a tight rope walker known as "The Fool", and falls in love with his charm and compassion for her. She must choose between the two, as her life in the circus continues.

I didn't expect to like this movie at all, because I'm not really into foreign films and having to read captions for a long period of time, but I found myself pleasantly surprised with this movie. I became quite into the story and how it would end as the movie progressed. Gelsomina's character completely touched my heart with her innocent and curious spirit, and the final scene of the film was very touching as well. Anthony Quinn does a fantastic job at playing Zapanò, a strong and animalistic man that barely shows any concern for others. He does unveil emotion in a few parts of the film, namely when he's jealous of "The Fool" and Gelsomina's connection and at the very end where he finally learns his lesson.

I thought that the beginning scenes where somewhat slow and uneventful, but as I kept watching, I got used to director Federico Fellini's film style and found that simplicity is what makes this movie what it is. It's not what I find state of the art entertainment, but I can see why other movie watchers see it as that. My immediate rating is a 6.9/10.

Characters: 6.8/10

Acting: 7/10

Storyline: 7/10

Entertainment Value: 6.8/10

Immediate Rating: 6.9/10

Total Score: 34.5/50

#226. Patton

"Now, an army is a team - it lives, eats, sleeps, fights as a team. This individuality stuff is a bunch of crap."

The movie "Patton" is a biography of General George S. Patton, who was a well-respected tank commander in World War II, known for his bad temper, as well as his overbearing but likable personality.

I watched this movie in December, so I don't remember as much of it as I would like to. I do remember though that it was about three hours long, which is a lot of time to invest into a movie. It wasn't the most interesting film I've ever seen, probably due to the fact that I'm a teenage girl who knows nothing about World War II except for what I learned in US History, but it's definitely a film that has major credibility and deserves respect from movie buffs of any age.

From the reviews I've read about this movie, George C. Scott was the perfect actor to play General Patton, and the film perfectly portrays Patton as the stubborn, not-so-politically-correct war general he really was. Even with that, Scott still doesn't fail to represent the likability Patton possessed, and channel that to viewers that may have not known who Patton was before seeing the movie. And that is why I think this movie is so highly rated and critically acclaimed; because it will preserve Patton's World War II persona for years to come, and Patton will always be remembered because of it.

Though I respect this movie, it wasn't exactly my cup of tea. A lot of times, how much I like a movie is based on how entertaining it is, and this one lost my attention many times during it. Maybe it's because I don't understand the significance of most war movies. Maybe I just have a short attention span. Either way, my immediate rating is a 6/10.

Characters: 7.3/10
Acting: 7.0/10
Storyline: 5/10
Entertainment Value: 2.5/10
Immediate Rating: 6/10

Total Score: 27.8/50

#227. The 400 Blows

"Doinel, if your paper is first today, it's because I've decided to give the results beginning with the worst."

The movie's plot centers around a young boy who acts up because his parents have ignored him all his life. It may have been a ground-breaking concept in 1959, but in this day and age, I don't feel it's anything new. There are so many cases of this happening in everyday life, and the movie didn't even dig deep into the subject. It was just bland and uninteresting, and I felt like it had no real point or meaning. After reading a couple reviews, I understand why it's critically acclaimed, but it honestly had no effect on me "emotionally".

I didn't care about any of the characters, or what happened to them. Though I probably should have felt bad for neglected Doinel, I never did because I simply wasn't interested in the story.
 On the surface, the film seems like it could have been an insightful representation of an awkward teenage adolescent, like the novel Catcher In The Rye, but it sadly wasn't that way at all. Because the movie was never really interesting from the start and I never connected with it, I'm not going to give it a very good score. My immediate rating is a 4.

Characters: 5/10
Acting: 7.5/10
Storyline: 4.7/10
Entertainment Value: 2.4/10
Immediate Rating: 4/10

Total Score: 23.6/50

#228. The Conversation

"He'd kill us if he got the chance."

A paranoid survellience expert is hired to record a young couple's conversation. He refuses to hand over the tapes after he suspects the couple could be in great danger because of them. As the story unfolds, Harry's paranoia and burning conscience make it hard from him to distinguish what's in his mind from reality.

To be honest, I found most of this movie confusing. After it ended, I had to read reviews online and basically do a research paper to understand what happened in it. Now that I've done that, it makes more sense, but that doesn't take away from the fact that it was entirely too slow. I don't see how anyone could understand what was going on until about half way through the movie. From watching the trailer, I could have sworn this movie was going to be an awesome psychological thriller like "The Secret Window" or something like that, but it was far from my expectations. Sure, there were a few some-what scary moments near the end, but not enough to classify it as a "thriller".

My favorite character was the protagonist Harry Caul. He was the one with all the psychological  problems, so it's pretty much a given; he was the most interesting. The couple was also significant, but I have to say, all the others did absolutely nothing for me. But since Harry was great, the "characters" score didn't plummet too much.

Overall, I thought the movie had a very interesting plot (after I understood it), and the end isn't something you'd expect, which I appreciate. It didn't hold my attention like some other movies, but it wasn't too bad. My immediate rating is a 6.8.

Characters: 6.7/10
Acting: 7/10

Storyline: 6.8/10
Entertainment Value: 6.3/10

Immediate Rating: 6.8/10

Total Score: 33.6/50

#229. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

"No growth without assistance. No action without reaction. No desire without restraint. Now give yourself up and find yourself again."

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is an Asian film in the Mandarin language that focuses on an epic quest. Li Mu Bai decides to pass on magical sword to a friend, but it is stolen by a mysterious martial arts master. Li and his love interest Yu Shu Lien have taken on the challenge to discover who the theif is and retrieve the sword.

I've never really been fond of Asian fighting movies, and to be honest, I especially don't get hype about this one. Sure, it was fun to watch (borderlining humorous...) and it had pretty good themes going for it like honour, love, and discipline, but the plot wasn't awe-inspiring enough to catch my undivided attention. And though the acclaimed film critics would think I was insane for this, I thought the fight scenes were extremely corny. I mean running up walls, and gliding on tree tops? They could have made at least a little bit realistic. Despite this, I do commend the actors in their talents for martial arts.

I didn't really have a favorite character while watching this. There were only about four that stood out to me, and they were of course the main characters. Dark Cloud and Jiao Long were a little bit more interesting than the other two, so my favor leans toward them.

The fact that I watch the English-dubbed version could affect my judgement of this film, but it was the only version I could find. To assess it in one word, I would say it's "decent". I could watch it again to catch some underlying meaning of the storyline, but this is not my kind of movie, so I'd rather not. My immediate rating is a 6.4.

Characters: 6.8/10
Acting: 6.4/10

Storyline: 6.5/10
Entertainment Value: 6.9/10

Immediate Rating: 6.4/10

Total Score: 33/50