Hearing a Charlie Chaplin character crack a quick quip to cap off a conversation can take some getting used to. It’s a somewhat jarring experience, and it’s understandable why The Great Dictator, Chaplin’s first true talkie, feels a bit awkward as it starts out, as if it’s trying to find its footing in an attempt to balance the new norms of sound pictures with the classical, timeless techniques and traditions of Chaplin’s best silent and physical comedies. But the 70-year-old film doesn’t struggle for long.
Partially to blame, I suppose is the viewer (or maybe just this viewer), trying to adjust his past biases and expectations of what a Chaplin film should be to allow the comedian to showcase something different.
→Back in March, to commemorate Akira Kurosawa’s centennial birthday, Criterion held a number of contests, one of which asked readers to succinctly “convince a friend who is unfamiliar with Kurosawa to watch one of his films.” The winning entry (which may or may not have been plagiarized) simply stated, “He’s your favorite director’s favorite director.”
→The same characters may be around from the Italian film The Last Kiss, but they’re highly unbearable in its sequel, Kiss Me Again:
→Admittedly, I quite enjoyed Gabriele Muccino’s 2002 effort, The Last Kiss, finding it entertaining despite its pretentiousness and derivative style.
Sitting in the theater before Iron Man, I noticed that the trailers, aimed towards the “superhero crowd,” were particularly good this evening. Indiana Jones, the latest Dark Knight trailer—I’d seen them all before, but it was good spectacle on the big screen.
→Is Rob Zombie a hack? Does Eli Roth have any sort of moral compass? Or does the “Splat Pack” specialize in making gory garbage? Today I put Mr. Roth and Mr. Zombie on trial for Crimes Against Cinema. Don’t worry, the rest of the “Splat Pack” will have their day as well.
→Recently, when a Dallas sports radio host celebrated a milestone show, he was surprised when a special guest phoned in for a live congratulatory call. It was President George W. Bush.
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