Cinema Cycle - Sex and the City, Season 1, Volume 1

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 03/30/2015

TITLE: Sex and the City, Season 1, Volume 1

FORMAT: VHS

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 41 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 22.1 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1375.8 miles

SYNOPSIS: (from IMDB.com)

Sex and the City

Columnist Carrie Bradshaw introduces her narrative style by a short story about a British girl who thought the Manhattan manner would be the same. Characters and extras on screen do some of the philosophizing about modern sex life and the life of both sexes she usually does off-screen in her column-style. Among the main cast of four best friends, PR executive Samantha bluntly stands for sex without relational crap, golden spoon-WASP Charlotte for the fairy tale-romantic ideal, while sensitive flirt Carrie herself and stuck-up pragmatic lawyer Miranda seek a middle way…

Models and Mortals

Miranda discovers she was invited at Nick's, where all guests are asked with which movie star in the prime they would have loved to do it, to make a change with all those brainless models he keeps dating. The girlfriends see models as a living nightmare as those terribly demanded competitors actually walk around in Manhattan, giving them socially imposed inferiority complexes, except man-eater Sam. Carrie's friend poor painter Barkley, a serial 'modelizer', treats models as things and secretly videotapes his sex with them; Sam sees him as a challenge for her as …

Bay of Married Pigs

Carrie is invited to stay with a married friend and her husband, Peter, at their beach house. Her trip is unexpectedly cut short when she walks in on Peter who is naked in the kitchen. Back in Manhattan, she contemplates whether there is a secret war going on between the singles and the married. Later on, she is introduced to a guy who's desperately trying to start a family. It seems that dating the marrying-type guy has suddenly made her a member of a club for married couples.

Valley of the Twenty-Something Guys

Carrie and Mr. Big keep bumping into each-other till they date (without that term) at Samantha's hot restaurant PR-opening, but he cancels last minute. The cook, just Jon, is reserved for Samantha's bed, but his hot friend Sam, also twenty-something (those always seem to know the right people) flirts with Carrie; Big turns up saying he was on time but couldn't find her, time to leave town. At a twenties club Sam takes Carrie on his lap and kisses really well, five hours long, and again while she helps him pick a shirt. Samantha eagerly reports on a night of sex with ...

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: The fantasy world of women.  There are no unattractive, overweight, underpaid single women in New York City.  Hedonism as an artform.  Women are all about the shoes.

PROS AND CONS: First of all, I like this series.  It is engaging, fun to watch and moves along at a quick pace.  It also gives the casual male viewer an insight into what women’s motivations are and how they think.  

That said, it is also a strict fantasy show.  Left out of the mix are all those things that reality throws at you like money issues and dealing with ex-spouses and children.  There is no having to actually ‘work’ in an office or deal with inlaws and family drama.  There is no incompetency in others or stupid employers...you get the picture.  Women dream of lives like these but in reality they can’t have them.  

Since women are the primary focus of the show, almost all of the men are shown as stupid or manipulative.  The woman of the show are always seeking out true love, but seem unaware of exactly what that definition entails.  

I would like to know where I can get the job that Carrie has, where she writes for a major newspaper about sex, seems to be pulling down a salary in the mid six figure range, is under 30 and never has to go to the office for work.  Must be nice.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - Closet Land

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 03/25/2015

TITLE: Closet Land

FORMAT: Laserdisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 34 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 19.9 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1353.7 miles

SYNOPSIS: A young woman author is questioned and tortured in an interrogation room. 

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: The police state and how it really works. If you control the minds of the populace then you control the population.  We can be a really, really cruel species sometimes.  Madeleine Stowe is hot.

PROS AND CONS: I thought this would be an interesting film when I queued it up, but was surprised by some of the twists and turns that it has.  

This is a one scene film, where all the action takes place in one (bizarre) room.  There are only two actors, the interrogator and the accused, so the acting has to carry this film, and it does.

While an entertaining and competent film to watch, it is more interesting in what it reveals about the concept of torture and mind control and how they are used to control the masses.  It also serves as a lesson on why data collection and government surveillance should be feared.  

Some films entertain and some films inform.  This film would be the latter.  Not a ‘fun’ film to watch (unless you are a sadist), but a film that all young adults should probably see in order to give them a broader view of the dark side of governance and power.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - The Sea Wolves

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 03/202/2015

TITLE: The Sea Wolves

FORMAT: DVD

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 50 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 27.5 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1338.8

SYNOPSIS: A retired unit of British cavalry is recruited to sabotage several German ships that lay at anchor in a neutral port during World War II.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: The last hurrah before we get to old to accomplish anything.  Aging movie stars don’t always have walk on parts in blockbusters.  Sometimes they make real stinkers later in their career.

PROS AND CONS: By looking at the dust jacket, this had all the making for an interesting film.  Alas it wasn’t.  Not even the talent of Gregory Peck and David Niven can salvage this WWII drama/comedy(?).

My impression from watching this, is that a bunch of aging British thespians wanted an excuse to take a holiday and make a movie while they were at it.  “Say, Johnny, want to spend a month in India and make a movie while we are there?”.  That sort of thing.  

Gregory Peck does his best Atticus Finch in uniform, Roger Moore is basically James Bond in uniform, and David Niven is just looking old and tired in this film.  The location shooting is interesting since it was primarily shot in India.  However the sound quality on this DVD was awful.  I had to put on headphones to understand what most of the dialog was.  Much of the time it sounded like the actors were talking at the bottom of a well.  

The film is based on a true story, about old retired cavalrymen boarding a freighter and sinking it.  Which comes off here as a bunch of rowdy old men getting drunk and playing with guns.  Hardly what I would hope for from Peck, Moore and Niven.

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - So I Married An Axe Murderer

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 03/16/2015

TITLE: So I Married An Axe Murderer

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 34 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 22.1 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1306.3 miles

SYNOPSIS: A well-to-do young Scottish San Francisco man falls in love with a beautiful woman that he comes to believe killed her previous boyfriends.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: To be young, cocky and extremely witty, while having eccentric parents and enough money to live very well in San Francisco.  When he was younger, Mike Meyers was hilarious.

PROS AND CONS: A better film than I thought it would be.  This film is like a Saturday Night Live sketch on steroids, with Mr. Meyer unleashed to do his bit for 90 minutes.  And he does his bit very well.  

You watch this movie more to see Mike Meyers than actually pay attention to the plot and the character development.  One of the elements that really moved this film along was the soundtrack.  The music in the film is direct from the early 1990s and dare I say it? … almost made me somewhat nostalgic for the heady days of my early 40s.  

There are parts to the film that don’t work well, and some scenes are a bit awkward, but overall it is a funny film to watch.  Much of the direction and camera work is panning and dolly work, some of it rather elaborate, which give the viewer that floating spirit feels as the viewer moves around the room listening and watching the actors.  The opening credit scene is a good example of this.  

The only really odd thing that was lacking in the film was exactly who Mike Meyer’s character was.  I mean, he appeared to have no job, but lived a lavish lifestyle in San Francisco.  A lifestyle that would have easily cost him a $1,000 a day.  So in that regard, this film is a bit of a fantasy-romantic comedy.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - Ace In The Hole

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 03/13/2015

TITLE: Ace In The Hole

FORMAT: Streaming (Google Play)

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 51 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 24.8 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1284.2 miles

SYNOPSIS: A newspaper reported comes upon a human interest story of a man trapped in an underground cave-in and manipulates the story to his own advantage.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: The media and its moral obligation to inform and entertain.  There is journalism and there is pandering to the masses to make a buck.  Something that is more relevant today than when this film was made.  

PROS AND CONS: A film I did not expect.  I am not sure how this made it onto my media list of films to watch, but I am glad it did.  

This film has two levels.  There is the visual level that shows the actors, staging and dialogue and there is the deeper message of how we as a society act given a specific situation and how the media can aid or harm all of us with their ‘use’ of the news.

There was a time in American media when it was a sacred trust to inform the audience of the proper ways to behave in a civilized society.  Social studies was something that you lived and not just read about.  The cinema was one of the prime movers in showing the audience what was acceptable behavior and what was morally right and wrong.  This film springs from that era.  

The first 30 minutes of the film were slow and somewhat painful to sit through.  There is  a lot of dialogue, bordering on monologues, by the main characters.  These long speeches  develop the personalities and motivations of the characters, but in this film they are a bit much.  

After about 30 minutes the film breaks open.  It goes from indoor scenes of dialogue and character development to huge Hollywood epic scenes with a cast of thousands (literally, no special effect here).  

The ending of the film, while somewhat painful to watch, is predictable.  The final scene in which Kirk Douglas’ character collapses on the floor of the small town newspaper office leaves the viewer wondering.  Did he die for his sins or does he survive to be tormented by his actions in the film?  It is left up to the viewer to decide.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - Gaslight

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 03/09/2015   

TITLE: Gaslight

FORMAT: Laserdisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 54 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 28.1 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1259.4 miles

SYNOPSIS: A manipulating husband tricks his emotionally fragile young wife into thinking she is insane in order to steal her family jewels.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Sociopaths are creepy people.  There are wolves that parade around in sheep's clothing everywhere.  One of the key lessons in life is learning how to spot and avoid them.  London was a very, very foggy place at the turn of the 20th century.

PROS AND CONS: This film was not what I expected.  I had never seen this work before and found it interesting and a bit creepy.  What I realized soon into the film was that this is basically an instructional video on how to manipulate and undermine people.  In essence, this is  ‘How To Be A Sociopath - 101’.  

Every young woman should see this film to learn how not to be manipulated by men or people in authority.  The fact that Charles Boyer is so sinister in this film makes it all the more uncomfortable to watch.  He plays the cold blooded, scheming, murdering husband very well.

That said, there are a few things that were odd about the movie.  Why Joseph Cotten’s character should take such an interest in solving the crime is questionable.  We assume he is a police detective, although it is never specifically stated that he is.  The entire film takes place at night and London was a very empty and very foggy place at the turn of the century, or so we would be lead to believe.

The final scene were Ingrid Bergman’s character finally confronts the man that has been manipulating and tormenting her is a little odd.  She toys with him and almost kills him, which seems a bit out of character, but does bring closure to her story.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.

Cinema Cycle - Like Water For Chocolate

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE VIEWED: 03/04/2015

TITLE: Like Water For Chocolate (Como agua para chocolate)

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 1 hour 46 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 23.1 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED: 1231.3 miles

SYNOPSIS: Three young daughters struggle with their dominant mother in a quest to find true happiness and love in turn of the century rural Mexico.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: The struggles and misdirection of love lost and love denied.  We should not live our lives for our parent’s sake, but for our own.  Food can be erotic drug as well as a deadly weapon.

PROS AND CONS:. If you strip this film down to the bare essentials, it is an Hispanic romance novel put on celluloid.  Basically, this is a chick flick.  Men could learn a lot by watching it, but the target audience is obviously women.  Specifically, women that have to deal with overbearing mothers.  Mother’s that are akin to Nurse Rachet meets Little House on the Prairie.

That said, the film had some interesting plot concepts and twists.  A lot of this film has to do with old world traditions and rural life.  The concept of being a good cook was highly regarded as was virtuous behavior and holistic healing.  

The film’s core theme is that of love and passion and how it is expressed and the pain that arises when it is denied.  So much so, that some of the story line is a bit hard to believe, such as the male lead (Pedro) marrying the sister (Rosaura) of the woman he loves (Tita) to be closer to her.  This is not very realistic in the modern western sense, but I suppose it is plausible in Spanish tradition when such a high regard and ritual were placed on relationships.  

The scene where one of the naked sisters escapes with a Mexican revolutionary on his horse is almost as unbelievable as the sister returning years later as a revolutionary general.  I mean really, when does Fabio make an appearance?

The concept of Tita’s cooking and the spell / effect that it has on those that eat it (lust, love, sorrow, death) is never fully explained and is left sort of nebulous.  We are left to believe that Tita’s emotions escape her into the food that she is preparing and then are transferred to those that consume it.  

So the core antagonist is the mother representing repression and her old world values with the protagonist daughters seeking to find their own life outside of their mother’s shadow.  Some do so by becoming their mother, some rebel and run away while others do so by subterfuge and unspoken passion that is forbidden.  Either way you look at it, it comes down to frustration and repression, which is a bit depressing in the end.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

 

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.