It’s so hot outside today, it makes the perfect excuse tostay inside and watch a movie. And while I was rather disappointed by Ten Shimoyama‘s ninja movie Shinobi, I did like today’s 100 Years movie, The Mask of Zorro. In short, he’s like the Spanish Robin Hood, defender of the weak and poor, crusader against … Continue reading
Category Archives: Movies
100 Years of Movies in 100 Days – Day 10 – Broken Blossoms (1919)
I’m so exhausted today. With no time to recover from Nisei Week’s opening festivites, I ground thru a nine-hour work day and then had to sit thru the true epitome of silent movies; D.W. Griffith’s Broken Blossoms. There is no music, minimal dialouge or exposition. It’s literally sitting and watching an hour and a half … Continue reading
100 Years of Movies in 100 Days – Day 9 – Shoulder Arms (1918)
OK, I have a new favorite Charlie Chaplin movie. Move over Modern Times and say hello to Shoulder Arms. The flooded bunkhouse being my favorite sequence in this movie along with the Looney Tunes-style chase thru the forest with Chaplin dressed up as a tree. The movie takes place during WWI, with the Americans and … Continue reading
100 Years of Movies in 100 Days – Day 8 – The Immigrant (1917)
Nisei Week, the anual week-long Japanese festival held in downtown L.A. began today. Among the highlights were the ribbon cutting on the newly renovated Japanese village (it looks REALLY nice), the usual assortment of martial arts and anime enthusiasts and a special appearance by The Nocturnes, a kick ass surf rock band who’s origins date … Continue reading
100 Years of Movies in 100 Days – Day 7 – 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916)
I must say the first thirty minutes of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea are really entertaining. It starts out as an action adventure movie but then after about a half hour, it morphs into a romance/marine documentary type of movie. The romance comes from a lone woman who dresses like a female version of Tarzan, … Continue reading
100 Years of Movies in 100 Days – Day 6 – A Night in the Shows (1915)
Charlie Chaplin’s A Night in the Shows is a tale of two halves. The first half is incredibly tedious. The second half, however, is quite entertaining. Chaplin, who wrote and directed this silent comedy, plays two roles, The Pest (who can’t seem to find his seat in the beginning and ultimately ends up sitting off-stage) … Continue reading
100 Years of Movies in 100 Days – Day 5 – Tillie’s Punctured Romance (1914)
It’s only been five days, but I’m already eager to get into the era where there’s actual dialogue between characters. But since I’m still over a decade away from that moment in cinematic history, I guess I’ll have to grin and bear it, much like the actors in Tillie’s Punctured Romance. The bulk of this … Continue reading
100 Years of Movies in 100 Days – Day 4 – The Bangville Police (1913)
I was expecting much more out of this movie, specifically because it marks the first prominent appearance by the Keystone Cops. Evidently, back in the early-1900’s, the made an excellent first impression on audiences, as they would go on to become a popular and often-imitated source of comedy. The Bangville Police begins with a girl … Continue reading
100 Years of Movies in 100 Days – Day 3 – The Girl and Her Trust (1912)
I’m grateful that today’s viewing is only a mere fifteen minutes. It’s been an emotionally fatiguing day with my dad back in the hospital. Since all I can really do now is wait, I’ve decided now was the opportune time to go forward with this 100 Days project. That been said, I really liked this … Continue reading
100 Years in 100 Days – Day 2 – L’Inferno (1911)
I’m not gonna kid you, L’Inferno bored me to tears. Well, bored me to take a half hour nap is more like it. And the new age soundtrack composed by Tangerine Dream didn’t help matters. The jist of the story goes that two guys – Dante and Virgil – are on a quest to hell … Continue reading
100 Years of Movies in 100 Days – Day 1 – (1910) Frankenstein
So here we go. What will undoubtedly be an interesting and memorable challenge. 100 years of movies in 100 days. Today, I begin with the 1910 production of Frankenstein, which I viewed on YouTube. The entire movie is just twelve and a half minutes long. Probably the most notable thing here is that Frankenstein isn’t … Continue reading
100 Years in 100 Days
With the James Bond project completed, it’s time to move on to a new endeavor. A colleague at Fandango is currently wrapping up a monumental project of watching 100 movies in 100 days and blogging every day. You can view the movies he’s watched here. This gave me an idea. A crazy idea, but those … Continue reading
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