I had been slacking on my movie watching this month but had a very movie intense weekend. I was able to sit down and watch four movies this weekend and figured I would put together a quick rating and review for each one.
The Enemy Below (1957)
This is a classic WW2 naval battle movie that sees Robert Mitchum as a captain of a Navy vessel charged with sinking submarines. After they make radar contact with a submarine, Mitchum and his crew ensue in a battle of cat and mouse with the venerable but weary German submarine captain.
They filmed this movie in cooperation with the US Navy which means there is some really great real footage of depth charges going off. The acting in the movie is really good. The story moves along well and at no point was it lagging or full of itself.
I have a penchant for submarine movies, and this is one of the greats. I give The Enemy Below 87 potatoes and rate it as a fresh!
The Mist (2007)
I’ve seen this one several times since it came out almost 20 years ago. I lied it when I first saw it and I have to say it holds up very well. The movie was based on the Stepehen King novella of the same name.
Essentially, a mysterious mist rolls into town and brings chaos and murder with it. The local townsfolk are trapped in a grocery store and struggle to figure out what to do as they are picked off one by one.
The movie is highly entertaining, and the acting is very good. This may be Thomas Jane’s best role and Marcia Gay Harden was excellent. She is underrated as a performer in my opinion.
Anyway, the ending is a little shocking and didn’t make a whole lot of sense. They had zero patience (which is a theme in this movie) and the characters in this movie suffer from being, let’s say just a tad bit hasty.
Other than the iffy ending, I say this story/movie are terrific, and this is a movie I plan to watch again someday. It’s creepy and the special effects held up very well too. I give this one 87 potatoes as well.
Stigmata (1999)
Rupert Wainright directs this eerie supernatural thriller set in Pittsburgh, Pa. A young woman is tormented by a spirit and suffers wounds that resemble those suffered by Jesus at the crucifixion. Gabriel Byrne is sent over to the Steel City by the Vatican to investigate. If you are making a spooky movie in the 1990’s which involves religious and horror themes, Gabriel Byrne is #1 on your speed dial. He gets all these parts and turns in a consistent yet single-dimensional role every time.
The directing style used in this film has never been one of my favorites. It’s that Ridley Scott late 90’s type of directing where there are a ton of quick cutaway shots and over-screen effects. It’s the same editing and directing style you see in the movie Man on Fire. It’s annoying to me and is hard for me to look at the screen at various points.
Patricia Arquette was pretty good in this. She is really cute and her performance was convincing. The end of the movie sort-of comes apart a little bit and I’m not totally sure why or how the spirit of a priest from Brazil can inflict stigmata on a person but that is what the story boils down to.
The film is entertaining enough, and the performances are solid enough to give this one a passing grade, but just barely. I give Stigmata 60 potatoes out of 100.
The Ninth Gate (1999)
This is back when Johnny Depp was doing smaller movies with more interesting roles (before he took that Disney money). He is really good in this role of a sleaze bag rare books dealer.
I first saw this movie decades ago and have watched it probably about 5 or 6 times since. I like seeing it every several years. The performance by Frank Langella is very good too.
Langella’s character hires Depp’s character to chase down a couple copies of a very rare and evil book. The contents of the book are all about the devil and apparently it can be used to summon him as well. Yikes.
The movie is executed very well, stays on track and delivers a solid story. The ending starts awesomely but the very end is a little weak for my personal taste. It really is the only blemish on the story/movie.
For some reason I find this movie very comforting. When I go back to watch it every few years it’s like visiting an old friend. I realize a movie about a demonic book shouldn’t have that effect on me but that’s just the way it is. The pace and winding storyline pulls me in every time. This is a classic late 90’s thriller/horror film to me. I give this movie 88 potatoes (out of 100).