Dreams (rewatch)

This was the first Kurosawa I ever saw.  I liked it a lot at the time, but having seen many more of his movies since then, I realize how much it pales in comparison.  The post-nuclear story is the worst of the bunch.  Didn’t care much for the Van Gogh bit either, or the city in flames.  The one in the snow was decent, but it took way too long.  The rest of the segments are pretty good.  Rating: 6

IMDb

Focus

Well.  Hmm.  I don’t know what to say.  It didn’t leave much of an impression.  I don’t think it made its point very well, but at least it was a unique way of doing it.  It wasn’t very believable, though I’m sure stuff like this has happened.  Rating: 6

IMDb

Frenzy (rewatch)

Not my favorite Hitch, but I found it cheap.  Better than I remembered it, actually, but it kind of feels like someone else doing an imitation of Hitchcock.  And the documentary on the DVD definitely paints Hitch as much less involved than he was on his best movies.  Rating: 7

IMDb

The Core

The Bore.  The Snore.  The Totally Implausible Paint-By-Numbers Hollywood Epic.  This movie is almost artful in its use of every cliché in the book.  Almost.  Rating: 5

IMDb

The Day the Earth Stood Still

Don’t believe the hype.  At the time, I’m sure this was groundbreaking, both in terms of effects and its message.  Today it’s old hat, in both respects.  Rating: 6

IMDb

Ran (rewatch)

I originally had put this down as a 10, but to be honest, it’s not one of my favorite Kurosawas.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s brilliant, with tons of great moments (especially any scene with Lady Kaede) but it doesn’t quite add up to a masterpiece in my eyes.  Regarding the extras on the “Masterworks Edition” DVD: the Stephen Prince commentary is worthwhile, but the Peter Grilli commentary is mostly pointless.  Rating: 9

IMDb

Kurosawa

Solid but dry documentary.  I wouldn’t have bought this if it wasn’t part of the Kurosawa box set.  I can’t imagine watching this again.  Rating: 7

IMDb

Madadayo

I had low expectations for this, but I was pleasantly surprised.  I loved this movie, very moving.  Sure, it’s overly sentimental, but so was Ikiru, and no one complains about that.  Rating: 10

IMDb

Yi Yi (A One and a Two)

Interesting but ultimately unmemorable movie.  So unmemorable that I can’t think of anything to say about it.  Rating: 6

IMDb

The Hunted

Looking back now a few months later, my opinion of Willard has faded a bit.  A rating of 9 would usually indicate a must-buy movie for me, but with the DVD release on the horizon, I don’t feel very compelled to buy it.  I don’t know if I would call it stagey like Elizabeth does, but it is deliberately campy to a degree that I now find off-putting.  I’m changing my rating to 7.

IMDb