FILMS WATCHED TODAY:

- Castaway on the Moon (200) - KOREA

- EXAM (2009. UK) The cover led me to believe this was going to be a bloody torture porn style horror flick, but I was pleasently to discover a more suspense heavy affair with no gore to speak of. The actors do great work and the only major misstep is a never ending final explanation. Highly recommended.

- Kiss Me Deadly (1955): Iron fisted noir from Robert Aldrich that has nothing but mean bones in its body. Very loosely based on Mickey Spillane's novel Mike Hammer in the film is more of a dunder headed cypher then the series' hard hitting detective.

TRON LEGACY (2010) - FILM

Perfectly designed from a visual and aural perspective (thanks to the Daft Punk Score) TRON: LEGACY sadly has no real engrossing conflict to carry the viewer through its narrative. It starts strongly for its first half hour - with the son Jeff Brides character from the original being introduced and quickly getting sucked into the digital world. Sadly, once you get past the 'Fish Out of Water' business that generates its own internal momentum, the film comes to a screeching halt. Everything literally stop for 20 minutes as exposition and background elements are dolled out before slowly jumping back into defeating a threat that's disappointedly vague in its intent. It doesn't help that the film's two show stopping best set pieces are sandwiched together within the first half hour. The Club Battle that happens latter is too short and the Arial battle that ends the film is impressive, but feels like its missing a final punch. Lead actor Garrett Hedlund is charming at first, but is quickly relegated to a reactionary character that doesn't have much to do but throw in a quip here and there. Olivia Wilde is cute and attractive. Jeff Bridges hippies it up and is filled with rage doubling it up as a creepy young CGI version of himself. Recommended.

OUR HOSPITALITY (1923) - FILM

Buster Keaton's films have such good comedy set pieces that it hurts - the film as a whole and my side from laughing so hard. Keaton puts together some of the best comedy you have ever seen, but at the same time it's quite a slog of nothing to get to that point sometimes. Still, this film has a great performance, a cracker jack plot (Keaton has to stay in the house of people that want to kill him, because they won't kill him unless he's outside) and that comedy I keep talking about. Must see.

The Natural (1984) - FILM

Just look at that poster. Take it in. Could it be more cheesy? Well, I guess you could have some puppies running along with him, or some kids, maybe an angel lifting him up to catch that pop fly.

To accept a film like THE NATURAL you have to consciously let your intellectual guard down. The place of realism has no pace in the underdog story of Robert Redford as a baseball player that enters the majors late in his life and starts a winning streak. This film is a painterly portrait of a fictional Americana where the Good Guys (TM) are GOOD and the Bad Guys (TM) are BAD. The director has no qualms about the fact that he's painting a straight faced mythology for the audience. The picture doesn't cleverly states that Robert Redford is Christ like figure - it goes out of its way to show you in a number of different way: Redford affects weather, he hits impossible balls and he never quits. If you don't believe, you won't make it. If you're a cinema goer you're aware of the tropes that come with the Sports Story you're also aware that they can be done well and done badly. In THE NATURAL they're done wonderfully. Director Barry Levinson knows the film he's making and he sticks to those roots. No matter how syrupy the on screen action gets, the audience can go along without being torn out of it, and that's the most important part of all.

It

SHERLOCK JR (1924) - FILM

A classic comedy with a series of jaw dropping gags that will astound you no matter who, what, where you are. t takes a little while to get going (about 15 minutes before the funny really starts to set in) but its undeniably awe inspiring. No one did Physical stunt like Keaton. No one. He even broke his neck during one of the takes in the film.

SEVEN BRIDES AND SEVEN BROTHERS (1954)

Yes this film has a disturbing plot line that happens half way through: Seven woodsmen kidnap seven women to make them their brides and they all get stuck in the cabin. What's even more disturbing is that the women seemingly go stir crazy and start lusting to be married and pregnant. They don't even get to know their soon to be husbands, they just abstractly want to get knocked up by the first thing that steps into their path. Up until the odd immoral shift in tone, the film is a breezy back lot musical in all its fake glory.

From a musical production standpoint, it's not exactly my cup of tea because most of the numbers are of the stand around and sing variety. It gets dull fast, no matter how nice people's voice are. The biggest disappointment is that halfway through the film there's a crazed ten minute display of gymnastic fortitude from all the brothers...the most famous moment of the film...and nothing before or after even touches on it.

The Fighter (2010) - FILM

Fantastic moving film with average boxing scenes but an absolute killer performance by Christian Bale. David O. Russel is a filmmaker I wish was less of a dick...only because he'd probably get more movies done that way.