patathomas Reviews

Tom and Huck (1995)

Visually, Tom and Huck is eye-pleasing

[7/10 · 11 June 2005]

Visually, Tom and Huck is eye-pleasing, and Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Brad Renfro make a good pair as Tom and Huck. Other cast members fit their parts.

That the film did not strictly follow Mark Twain is no problem if you let the film story stand on its own. It is entertaining just for what it is.

Tom and Huck is an interesting enough film, but the transformation of Eric Schweig in his portrayal of Injun Joe compared to his characterization of Uncas in The Last of the Mohicans, is the most fascinating thing about it. In the body of his films, he seems to be able to alternate between utterly noble and utterly disgusting (e.g., Missing). Great acting.

The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003)

The most entertaining movie I've seen in a while.

[10/10 · 15 March 2005]

I'm not an Asian movie expert, or any kind of movie expert, and there are not many movies I bother watching. Most of them are boring dribble. However, I have a few Asian movies (Roshomon, Yojimbo, Raise the Red Lantern, Ten to Chi to), and I plan to add this one. I enjoyed the music, especially when it was synchronized with work movements and other actions. Mainstream humor is not usually funny to me. The humor in "Zatoichi" made me laugh out loud throughout the movie. And, I laughed the longest and hardest during the dance scene at the end because it was such a great ongoing parody of different musical genres and periods, involving 60 dancers and including a lot of the cast. It transitioned from Shintu performance, to river dance, to Hollywood 30s-like tap extravaganza, to the 3 out-front tap dancers in green (a la the Stepp Brothers - an act that performed in early Hollywood musicals, and I think maybe on the Ed Sullivan Show, as well), to a wrap-up with the look and style of a Bollywood musical production number (camera angles & smooth, flowing, synchronized movements). I was howling by then. That, in itself made watching "Zatoichi" worthwhile. But, I just really liked the whole movie, and I can't explain exactly why because the blood and gore were a bit over the top for me. There were many reasons, and then again, maybe it was just the anticipation of seeing what surprise would come next.

Lolly-Madonna XXX (1973)

Still has an impact.

[10/10 · 18 August 2002]

After the first viewing, movies don't hold much interest for me. Lolly-Madonna XXX is one of the exceptions. I first saw it about 15 years after its release on late-night TV, and was very surprised at the way the plot held my interest, and the absence of even a slight awkwardness in any of the performances, given the potential for some of them to be taken over the top. I see it whenever there is a chance, and it still has an impact. I wish it were available on tape or DVD so I could choose the times to watch it, and not have to wait for it to show up on late-night TV, whenever someone decides to run it.