Friends finally came home and I haven't been watching quite as many movies these past few days. Nevertheless, I've got some catching up to do.
The Maltese Falcon is a detective mystery in which Humphrey Bogart finds himself caught up in a quest for a valuable statuette of a bird. Bogart's character is cool, calculated and clever--not until the end do you discover his motivation. Everyone in the film's got their own agenda and nothing is really as it seems. Thrilling and mysterious, unpredictable and gripping--another classic that I enjoyed, but didn't love. 7.5/10
Pirate Radio, also known as The Boat That Rocked, is a comedy set in the 1960s about a group of radio DJs who broadcast rock music from a boat off the coast of England despite the British government's disapproval. While not really based on a true story, the circumstances and climate were very real in Britain in the 60s. The great cast of DJs have wild, diverse, and hilarious personalities, and there's never a dull moment on board. Kenneth Branagh, who plays a British official intent on shutting down the radio station, is terrifically humorous and ridiculous. Very funny, even a little inspiring, and well worth a watch. 8/10
Directed by George Lucas, American Graffiti follows the crazy nights of four teenage friends before some of them go off to college. The film ranks 62 on the AFI's Top 100 Films list and is held in high regard by most critics--in fact, its commercial success made the making of Star Wars possible--but I wasn't a fan. It reminded me of Dazed and Confused, which I also didn't much like. I found the film a bit slow, the ending predictable, and the characters boring and not terribly likeable, with the exception of Richard Dreyfuss's. The ending was predictable and disappointing. In terms of praise, the story and characters are believable, and the film is a great snapshot of American teenage culture in the 1960s, or so they say. Maybe, not being alive then, I just didn't get it. 5/10
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