MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY
The Seattle Public Library
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's Completed Shelf
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SuburbiconSuburbicon, DVD
DVD - 2018DVD, 2018
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Aug 06, 2018
WeinerWeiner, DVD
DVD - 2016DVD, 2016
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Aug 06, 2018
Comment:
This film documents Weiner's doomed run for New York City mayor in 2013 following his 2011 resignation from Congress due to a sexting controversy. No one is appealing here. Not Weiner, his power player wife Huma, the big shot talking heads, Sydney Leathers, or even his constituents. Issues are not even mentioned in the race besides Weiner's trustworthiness. It shows how barren our politics have become. Everything is ego. Everything is surface. Nothing of substance matters.This film documents Weiner's doomed run for New York City mayor in 2013 following his 2011 resignation from Congress due to a sexting controversy. No one is appealing here. Not Weiner, his power player wife Huma, the big shot talking heads, Sydney…
RootsRoots, DVD
DVD - 2016DVD, 2016
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jul 30, 2018
Comment:
Much better than I anticipated, particularly the young actor, Rege-Jean Page, who plays Chicken George. The series does what it should -- put the present-day viewer in touch with the abomination that was slavery in the history of the United States. Can a nation built on the African slave trade have any other destiny but that of destruction? That's the question I have.Much better than I anticipated, particularly the young actor, Rege-Jean Page, who plays Chicken George. The series does what it should -- put the present-day viewer in touch with the abomination that was slavery in the history of the United States.…
StandoffStandoff, DVD
DVD - 2016DVD, 2016
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jul 30, 2018
Comment:
The screenplay is preposterous, filled with completely artificial devices -- a funeral service at a remote rural cemetery that is the launchpad for the plot but is never explained at all, for instance -- and there is the unfortunate fact that 80% of the movie takes place with Thomas Jane sitting at the top of a farmhouse stairway. Lions Gate specializes in low-brow entertainment, but this scrapes the bottom of the barrel.The screenplay is preposterous, filled with completely artificial devices -- a funeral service at a remote rural cemetery that is the launchpad for the plot but is never explained at all, for instance -- and there is the unfortunate fact that 80% of…
Bone TomahawkBone Tomahawk, DVD
DVD - 2015DVD, 2015
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jul 27, 2018
Comment:
A treat, if you like good dialogue and gore dished up by cave-dwelling cannibals. Zahler knows how to deliver a satisfying movie.
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jul 24, 2018
GeniusGenius, DVD
DVD - 2016DVD, 2016
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jul 24, 2018
Comment:
A movie about novelist Thomas Wolfe and his Scribner's editor Maxwell Perkins. A must-see if you are a Jude Law or Colin Firth fan. I wonder if people still read LOOK HOMEWARD, ANGEL. Probably only American Lit grad students. The Beats were advocates for Wolfe's work. But do people still read Jack Kerouac novels? Anyhow, this movie explores the craft of writing and American romanticism. Worth checking out.A movie about novelist Thomas Wolfe and his Scribner's editor Maxwell Perkins. A must-see if you are a Jude Law or Colin Firth fan. I wonder if people still read LOOK HOMEWARD, ANGEL. Probably only American Lit grad students. The Beats were…
DownsizingDownsizing, DVD
DVD - 2018DVD, 2018
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jul 23, 2018
Comment:
As other commentators note, DOWNSIZING is not a comedy. There are one or two laughs. It tells the story of a thoughtful occupational therapist, played by Matt Damon, who decides, along with his wife, to downsize -- a recent breakthrough technology pioneered by Norwegians researchers -- and go live in a planned community in the Southwest. This is a social commentary film that tries to make the medicine -- a critique of our hyper-capitalist consumer culture -- go down easy by packaging it as a light comedy. Matt Damon is excellent as the every-man sad sack, and the message at the end is pretty much unassailable, but overall I wouldn't consider this movie a success.As other commentators note, DOWNSIZING is not a comedy. There are one or two laughs. It tells the story of a thoughtful occupational therapist, played by Matt Damon, who decides, along with his wife, to downsize -- a recent breakthrough technology…
Professor Marston and the Wonder WomenProfessor Marston and the Wonder Women, DVD
DVD - 2018DVD, 2018
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jul 18, 2018
Comment:
Marston's DISC theory is interesting, as is his career in the World War Two era comic-book industry, but sadly the film mostly devotes itself to shopworn menage a trois eroticism. It is a snoozer.
Yoidore tenshiYoidore tenshi, DVDDrunken angel
DVD - 2007 | JapaneseDVD, 2007. Language: Japanese
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jul 17, 2018
Comment:
A study of poverty, vice and thug life set in a swampy black market neighborhood of post-war Japan. Mifune plays an up and coming Yakuza captain who is actually on his way down. Takashi Shimura, the head samurai from SEVEN SAMURAI, plays a drunken doctor devotee of science who serves the poor. Watch the supplementary documentary interview with a European academic who discusses how Kurosawa jousted with the U.S. military censors.A study of poverty, vice and thug life set in a swampy black market neighborhood of post-war Japan. Mifune plays an up and coming Yakuza captain who is actually on his way down. Takashi Shimura, the head samurai from SEVEN SAMURAI, plays a drunken…
The DeuceThe Deuce, DVDThe Complete First Season
DVD - 2018DVD, 2018
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jul 12, 2018
Comment:
If you like David Simon series like THE WIRE and TREME, you'll like THE DEUCE (slang for 42nd Street in Manhattan). It features pimps, wise guys, street walkers and cops. But what the show is really about is the last major cultural revolution in this country -- the massification of bohemia in the early 1970s when the courts began to look the other way on the old obscenity laws and freak culture went mainstream. James Franco is terrific as is Maggie Gyllenhaal.If you like David Simon series like THE WIRE and TREME, you'll like THE DEUCE (slang for 42nd Street in Manhattan). It features pimps, wise guys, street walkers and cops. But what the show is really about is the last major cultural revolution in…
Last Flag FlyingLast Flag Flying, DVD
DVD - 2018DVD, 2018
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jul 12, 2018
Comment:
An exhausted buddy movie about three Vietnam vets reunited to bury a son killed in Iraq in 2003. Middle-brow entertainment a notch below Linklater's usual product. It'll probably work for you if you're a Bryan Cranston fan, but not if you come to the movie looking for some heavy bass from Larry Fishburne or some Steve Carrell tomfoolery. It's a big disappointment to think that this is the sequel to THE LAST DETAIL. The illumination of the ambiguous American attitude toward the military -- hate it for what it does but proud to belong to it -- has merit but somehow the film fails to find this focus.An exhausted buddy movie about three Vietnam vets reunited to bury a son killed in Iraq in 2003. Middle-brow entertainment a notch below Linklater's usual product. It'll probably work for you if you're a Bryan Cranston fan, but not if you come to…
Red ArmyRed Army, DVD
DVD - 2015DVD, 2015
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jul 09, 2018
Comment:
If you want to understand what was lost with the break up of the Soviet Union watch this film. There is a moment during one of the interview segments with Viacheslav Fetisov where he is asked, "What was the cold war about? Wasn't it about national security?" And Fetisov replies, "Bullshit. It was about business." In the context of the documentary it is a kick in the eye to the viewer. This viewer at least.If you want to understand what was lost with the break up of the Soviet Union watch this film. There is a moment during one of the interview segments with Viacheslav Fetisov where he is asked, "What was the cold war about? Wasn't it about national…
Reality BitesReality Bites, DVD
DVD - 2004DVD, 2004
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jun 26, 2018
The SnowmanThe Snowman, DVD
DVD - 2018DVD, 2018
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jun 26, 2018
Comment:
You used to be able to dismiss this kind of film as a "made-for-TV movie." But now since television, at least some cable, is so much better than it used to be, it's not a pejorative anymore. This is an awful film. It's tacky, tired and threadbare. The only interesting thing -- and I'm a Michael Fassbender fan -- is how unusual looking Val Kilmer has become.You used to be able to dismiss this kind of film as a "made-for-TV movie." But now since television, at least some cable, is so much better than it used to be, it's not a pejorative anymore. This is an awful film. It's tacky, tired and threadbare.…
George BestGeorge Best, DVDAll by Himself
DVD - 2017DVD, 2017
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jun 25, 2018
Comment:
This is a terrific documentary. It looks great. It moves briskly. It's worth watching for the footage of the 1968 European Cup finals, Manchester United vs. Benfica, alone. Best, like Jordan in his prime, operated in a different dimension. That's George Best at his zenith. Then there is the long descent. Alcoholism and the NASL, which is where I, who grew up in 1970s California, remember him. This film both captures the magic of sport and the self-destructiveness of the Irish.This is a terrific documentary. It looks great. It moves briskly. It's worth watching for the footage of the 1968 European Cup finals, Manchester United vs. Benfica, alone. Best, like Jordan in his prime, operated in a different dimension. That's…
3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman3 Films by Roberto Rossellini Starring Ingrid Bergman, DVD
DVD - 2013DVD, 2013
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jun 22, 2018
Comment:
STROMBOLI is the film most people think of when they think of Bergman-Rossellini movies. I saw it several years ago, but what struck me this go-round was how could I have missed the heavy emphasis on class. Bergman's character is an upper-class Latvian caught in an Italian camp for displaced persons. She gains her freedom, after her petition to emigrate to Argentina is denied, by marrying an Italian soldier on his way back home to the volcanic island of Stromboli. The rest of the film is Bergman's misery -- over her marriage, her surroundings, the villagers, etc. Both EUROPE '51 and JOURNEY TO ITALY are also about class. EUROPE '51 is the best of the bunch. Rossellini captures the human spiritual sensibility brilliantly.STROMBOLI is the film most people think of when they think of Bergman-Rossellini movies. I saw it several years ago, but what struck me this go-round was how could I have missed the heavy emphasis on class. Bergman's character is an upper-class…
Welcome to LeithWelcome to Leith, DVD
DVD - 2015DVD, 2015
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jun 18, 2018
Comment:
Chronicle of the absurd attempt by a white supremacist to take over a tiny town in North Dakota. He buys plots at low prices and gifts them to other white supremacists. His idea is that the town, Leith, is in driving distance of the Bakken Formation oil fields. So plenty of jobs, plenty of land, a genuine Lebensraum, no? No. You have to watch the documentary to see how the wheels come off. It's a well-made movie.Chronicle of the absurd attempt by a white supremacist to take over a tiny town in North Dakota. He buys plots at low prices and gifts them to other white supremacists. His idea is that the town, Leith, is in driving distance of the Bakken Formation…
Brawl in Cell Block 99Brawl in Cell Block 99, DVD
DVD - 2017DVD, 2017
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jun 18, 2018
Comment:
Mesmerizing movie about a big, tough working class guy who ends up back in the drug trade as a mule. Vince Vaughn known as a funny guy in blockbuster comedies delivers a bravura performance here. Film does not need a lot of fireworks and CG to pack an action punch, but good writing helps.Mesmerizing movie about a big, tough working class guy who ends up back in the drug trade as a mule. Vince Vaughn known as a funny guy in blockbuster comedies delivers a bravura performance here. Film does not need a lot of fireworks and CG to pack…
The RockThe Rock, DVD
DVD - 2001DVD, 2001
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jun 18, 2018
Comment:
One wonders why this movie merits a Criterion Collection edition. It's an adolescent fantasy which requires too great a suspension of disbelief. Nicolas Cage does his way over the top 1990s thing. Sean Connery is good, as is Ed Harris. But other than those two the only interesting thing about this two-disk set is the interview with Jerry Bruckheimer.One wonders why this movie merits a Criterion Collection edition. It's an adolescent fantasy which requires too great a suspension of disbelief. Nicolas Cage does his way over the top 1990s thing. Sean Connery is good, as is Ed Harris. But other…
Come and Find MeCome and Find Me, DVD
DVD - 2017DVD, 2017
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jun 15, 2018
Comment:
The engaging part of this movie is the idea that an everyman like Aaron Paul's character, a regular guy who likes playing video games and making dinner for his girlfriend, could survive in a battle of wits and guts against government intelligence operatives. It's the premise of great films from the 1970s like THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR and THE PARALLAX VIEW. Unfortunately, COME AND FIND ME cashes out the last 30 minutes and settles for the cliched.The engaging part of this movie is the idea that an everyman like Aaron Paul's character, a regular guy who likes playing video games and making dinner for his girlfriend, could survive in a battle of wits and guts against government intelligence…
On the WaterfrontOn the Waterfront, DVD
DVD - 2013DVD, 2013
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jun 14, 2018
Comment:
One of the greatest films of all time, Elia Kazan's and Budd Schulberg's take on the corrupt longshore union of Manhattan's Westside, re-imagined across the Hudson in Hoboken. Marlon Brando is beautiful as is Eva Marie Saint (her convincing Catholic purity is what floats the film), but Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger and Karl Malden all deliver, as does Leonard Bernstein's testosterone-dripping score. These Criterion Collection editions are priceless. There are three disks, each has a different aspect ration -- widescreen, old-school boxy square, etc. -- and each disk is loaded with excellent supplements that delve into all the particulars -- Kazan's career, Kazan testifying in front of HUAC and naming names, the history of how ON THE WATERFRONT came to be made, etc. One of my takeaways from seeing the film again is how important the feeling of victimization is for the working class. That's the whole point of Brando's dialogue with Steiger, "You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am." The stab in the back. An important foundation for reactionary politics. Trump knows what he is doing.One of the greatest films of all time, Elia Kazan's and Budd Schulberg's take on the corrupt longshore union of Manhattan's Westside, re-imagined across the Hudson in Hoboken. Marlon Brando is beautiful as is Eva Marie Saint (her convincing Catholic…
Buster's Mal HeartBuster's Mal Heart, DVD
DVD - 2017DVD, 2017
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jun 14, 2018
Comment:
There are one or two decent scenes but the movie never hits a stride nor attains anything like coherence. It takes a real-life story about a guy who breaks into the vacation homes of the wealthy while they are away for the winter and it constructs a backstory of how that guy got there; along the way it weaves in a sub-plot of the character lost at sea in a small boat. Rami Malek is good but he is laboring on a dud.There are one or two decent scenes but the movie never hits a stride nor attains anything like coherence. It takes a real-life story about a guy who breaks into the vacation homes of the wealthy while they are away for the winter and it constructs a…
ChuckChuck, DVD
DVD - 2017DVD, 2017
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jun 12, 2018
Comment:
This is a boxing picture sort of stood on its head. Redemption is found not in the ring but out of it. If you're a student of that period of time, the middle seventies, when the American cultural revolution gave way to the cult of narcissism, you'll want to watch this movie. It does an excellent job capturing the "Let the Good Times Roll" vibe of the disco era and manages to illustrate our hunger for identity.This is a boxing picture sort of stood on its head. Redemption is found not in the ring but out of it. If you're a student of that period of time, the middle seventies, when the American cultural revolution gave way to the cult of narcissism, you'll…
Mark FeltMark Felt, DVDThe Man Who Brought Down the White House
DVD - 2018DVD, 2018
MICHAEL TAGGART MALONEY's rating:
Added Jun 12, 2018
Comment:
Dark, turgid, uneventful, Liam Neeson plays Mark Felt as if he were a mortician and the J. Edgar Hoover Building his funeral parlor. Tom Sizemore as William C. Sullivan is tossed in for a little pizzazz, but his screen time is minimal, as is the morose Diane Lane. The one interesting aspect of the screenplay, how Felt led the FBI black-bag effort against the Weather Underground, which, the movie alludes, is his hole card against the Nixon administration, and presumably the reason Nixon never purged Felt once Hoover died, is only hinted at. A connection the film doesn't make is that 45 years after Watergate it's more dangerous than ever to leak government secrets. So maybe Felt is a singular historical figure.Dark, turgid, uneventful, Liam Neeson plays Mark Felt as if he were a mortician and the J. Edgar Hoover Building his funeral parlor. Tom Sizemore as William C. Sullivan is tossed in for a little pizzazz, but his screen time is minimal, as is the…
Comment: