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MOVIES IN THEATERS

Unzipped (1995)

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An extremely funny documentary on the world of fashion design and modeling. The film follows the life of designer Isaac Misrahi through some of the strangest situations ever captured on screen. He's getting prepared for a show, which will introduce his latest collection of clothes for the 1995 season. He meets such interesting celebs as Eartha Kitt (one of the Catwomen on the TV show "Batman") and models Cindy Crawford and Niomi Campbell, who will be part of the show. He talks a lot about Nanook of the North, a classic documentary film, and sings the theme to "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" all through the film.

Isaac is an interesting man, though the film itself tends to drag in various spots and the filmakers talk to people who seem rather bored with what they are talking about. Though the film does have a good climax, capturing how the show went, as well as the models' reaction to dressing and preparing for the show in front of a see-through background. Mizrahi is a man who is good at what he does and has a great sense of humor. Though the subject sounds uninteresting, there are plenty of moments that light up Unzipped.

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Rent

MOVIES ON VIDEO

Here are three films on video and/or laserdisc. I've thrown in a couple of very good foreign films and one bizarre horror film.

Evil Dead 2 (1987)

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I've decided to complete my Evil Dead reviews with this, the best in the series. Bruce Campbell is once again Ash. This is basically a spoof/rehash of the first film. Campbell and girlfriend come to a cabin, which turns out to be haunted by evil spirits. Things heat up when the daughter of the owner of the cabin shows up, along with three others. Campbell does what he did in the first film. Hack up everybody after they have become possessed by demons.

This may seem like a typical horror film, but it's actually a comedy thinly disguised as a horror flick. There are plenty of humorous moments, and, unlike Army of Darkness, they actually work at making you laugh. At the same time, using the typical slasher trait of gore galore, it makes you go ugh! Yet the violence is so exaggerated, that you can't help laughing at that too. The best Sam Raimi film is right here, though you should see it for yourselves to judge if it's a truly good film or not.

My Rating =

Rent

The Seven Samurai (1954)

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The best non-U.S. film I've ever seen, Akira Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai is action-packed and has become an item for countless directors, from John Sturges to George Lucas. The story is as follows. A small village hires Seven lone warriors to help them protect their village from murderous bandits. the warriors also teach the townspeople to fight and defend themselves. We meet each warrior and get to know what each of them is like. The two best performances come from Takashi Shimura as the eldest and wisest of the warriors, and Toshiro Mifune as a loud-mouth, who says he's a samurai, but is suspiciously hiding something about himself. The cinematography and settings are truly the most stunning things about this film, as is the action.

Kurosawa is one of the best filmakers in the film industry, and he has been studied by film schools across the globe. I have already done a review of a Kurosawa film, Ran, which is just as good as this. If you haven't seen Kurosawa films, but you'd like to, I highly recommend Ran and this film as the top Kurosawa films.

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Rent

The Four Hundred Blows (1959)

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Another great film from across the seas, Francois Truffaut's The Four Hundred Blows was the film that introduced him to the United States. The story follows a young boy (Jean-Pierre Leaud) who takes to a life of street crime. His mother knows what the boy is up to, but the father smothers his boy with so much love, that he doesn't realize until it's too late. In the mean time, Leaud skips school, steals items to pawn later and lies to everyone, just so he can get a little attention once in awhile.

This is a harrowing tale about troubled youth and is a good example of what some kids do to get attention. The last scene, in which he escapes from his boy's school and runs away to the beaches of Normandy, shows a close-up of the boy, showing the bruises he's suffered at society's hands. Though I must admit, I don't usually like French cinema, Truffaut paints an interesting portrait of youth and it's troubles. Leaud is no less than fantastic as the young boy, telling what he thinks of his life and the world in general. Truffaut's direction is quite good, and he keeps the film interesting, despite a slow pace. A excellent film, The Four Hundred Blows presents something that everyone can relate too, be they French, English, African or what-have-you. Troubled youth.

My Rating =

Rent

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