Review: Mean Streets (1973)

After seeing Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets, its easy to tell that his career was going nowhere but up. It really is a precursor to his entire body of work (an amazing precursor at that). Even though it is a spectacular film, I recommend that you watch his other classics before this one. It really makes it a better experience when watching it, because you understand how it all started (plus, its not as approachable as some of his other films).


This movie gave birth to many motifs and themes throughout his career (catholic guilt, strained romantic relationships, family ties vs. friendships, money problems, etc). The film can be described almost like jazz; its seems improvisational sometimes, but afterwards it feels very connected and thought out. The dialogue just flows, and (like most Scorsese films) an entire world is sprung, a community you are already involved in. Its like sitting back, and watching these people's lives take place. Undoubtedly, its a very complex film character wise, but the plot is very straight forward. This makes it easy to watch, and the characters, though hate-able, also very likable. How the friendships build, and fall apart, all help the film glide to the climax.

Review: 1408 (2007)

First and foremost, it has been a while since 1408 was in theaters, but it is coming out on DVD, so I think it is a good time to review it.



Good horror is hard to find these days. Theaters are constantly dogged with big budget crap (Saw and Hostel franchises), and recycled concepts (main character is an idiot who searches through a run down house in a creepy village only to be haunted by demented children). But there is hope, and it comes in the form of what could of been a disastrous film.
King stories have a bad reputation of being made into really good, or really bad movies. 1408 is one the few good. Yes, its is about a man going insane in a haunted hotel, but don't get put off by the resemblance to the Shining. Its a great horror flick for this day and age. It doesn't aim for cheap scares or excessive gore, only subtle eeriness that builds up along with some true fright scenes. Any person wanting good, modern horror should look no further than 1408.
The story itself seams barely workable, since half the movie takes place in one room with one actor (John Cusack's performance is amazing), but director Mikael Hafstrom pulls it off. I was lucky enough to see it in theaters, and it really shook up a lot of kids in the theater (that's pretty good considering how jaded kids are about scary movies after the grudge and the ring franchises).

First Post

This is the first post on my blog, Filmic. This blog is dedicated solely to the the reviewing of movies and sometimes the analysis of them. This is mainly an outlet for me to give opinions on the greatest art form in history: cinema.