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Sherlock Jr., a review by Danae Cassandra

Sherlock Jr.
Year of Release: 1924
Directed By: Buster Keaton
Starring: Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton, Erwin Connelly, Ward Crane
Genre: Comedy

Overview:
Widely regarded as one of the most visually inventive silent comedies ever made, SHERLOCK JR. offers fast-paced slapstick as well as a brilliant deconstruction of the filmmaking process. Keaton stars as a movie theatre projectionist who dreams of becoming a super-sleuth and, in one breathtaking sequence, literally steps into the screen to bring his fantasies to life.

My Thoughts:
A good friend gave this to me for my birthday, and I promised him I would watch it before the end of the year.  This was a great film! It's clever and imaginative, artistic, smart, and very funny. The gags and their timing are perfect, the stunts make you sit back in amazement, knowing that Keaton did his own stunts, and Keaton's sad little everyman is one of the best characters of the silent era. Yes, the technical aspects are dazzling, with all of the inventive special effects and camera tricks that Keaton employs here, but most of all it's a really good film. Did I mention funny? I'm sure I did - and I will again. It's a really, really funny film.  I'm not sure how it could be made better.  Highly recommended for any fan of silent comedy - or anyone who wants to try a silent comedy.

Bechdel Test:  Fail

Overall: 4.5/5

(From Sherlock Jr. on December 3rd, 2013)

Yabu no naka no kuroneko, a review by Danae Cassandra

Yabu no naka no kuroneko  (Kuroneko)

Year of Release:  1968
Directed By:  Kaneto Shindo
Starring:  Kichiemon Nakamura, Nobuko Otowa, Kiwako Taichi, Kei Sato 
Rated:  Not Rated

Overview:
In this poetic and atmospheric horror fable, set in a village in war-torn feudal Japan, malevolent spirits are ripping out the throats of itinerant samurai. When a military hero is dispatched to confront the unseen force, he finds that he must struggle with personal demons as well. From Kaneto Shindo, director of the similarly terrifying Onibaba, Kuroneko (a.k.a. Black Cat) is a spectacularly eerie twilight tale, with a shocking feminist angle, evoked through ghostly special effects and exquisite cinematography.

My Thoughts:
What a magnificent film!  The cinematography is so perfect, so gorgeous, the unconventional use of lighting, the play of darkness and shadow in the film, the eerie fog that heralds entering the supernatural realm.  The look of the film and its atmosphere are so wonderfully done, the use of black and white so appropriate that I can't imagine what this would look like in color.  The actors are all great as well.  Poetic, tragic, symbolic, chilling, I would highly recommend this for any fan of classic or Japanese horror.  Avoid only if you can't watch a subtitled film (in which case, I feel sorry for you).  Any other horror film I watch this month has a high bar set by Kuroneko.

Bechdel Test:  Fail

Overall:  4.75/5

(From Danae's 2012 Horror on October 8th, 2012)

The Flash Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

Guest Stars:
Richard Belzer as Joe Kline
Jason Bernard as Dr. Desmond Powell
Vito D'Ambrisio as Bellows
Biff Manard as Murphy
Lois Nettleton as Belle Crocker

My Thoughts:
This one I really liked a lot. I liked the whole previous masked man meeting and teaming up with The Flash. It made for a really interesting story... one I was glued to the set to watch!

My Rating:

(From The Flash Marathon on April 13th, 2010)