The blog of Logan Tyler Smith

"Spartacus" is about a young slave in Ancient Rome leading an uprising of fellow slaves against the Roman Empire. When all hope seems lost, the slave must come to terms with the decisions he’s made as both a legend and a martyr.  Spartacus is what big-budget spectacle should aspire to be; epic in scope and scale, filled with magnificent production design, and anchored by great performances by powerful movie stars. The film succeeds on all these accounts and proves itself ahead of its time in all these ways - and let’s not forget the exciting and intense battle scenes where the stakes are high.  Kirk Douglas yet again knocks it out of the park in terms of inspirational character performance as the eponymous hero. Spartacus inspires all around him to rise against the slaves and we feel for him in victory and in tragedy.  I do admit that by today’s standards, the film could seem overlong and slow-paced. However, the film packs a lot in those hours in a way that’s satisfying ...

  In "The Devil's Backbone" an orphan is sent to a school with other orphans during the 1930s. However, supernatural happenings combined with the abusive school staff leads the boy and his superiors to take action. The film is surprising; namely, I thought I'd be going into a generic Spanish horror movie and what I got was like Home Alone in the school setting (with Spanish language speakers and ghosts, of course). The horror elements are obviously on display in the form of a ghost boy murdered by the unlikable, evil groundskeeper of the school.  Speaking of the groundskeeper and other characters, the film makes it very clear who the villain and who the heroes (the children and the well-performed head of the Orphan school) are. All the performances are knockout, even if you are unfamiliar with the actors on screen.  In addition, the film does have genuinely well-staged horror set pieces filled with suspense, as well as a phenomenal ending cat...

In "21 Jump St" two former high school rivals become friends and partners in their local police force. After a big bust fail, they are sent to uncover a high school drug ring as part of a special police unit.  The film is first and foremost a comedy, and a reboot second. The TV show the film is based on never comes into play in any meaningful way (save for a cameo by the show's lead star and a cheeky reference near the beginning of the movie).  The film, even deviating from it's source material, is a fun gut-buster of a movie; every few minutes is something so outlandish you can't help but laugh. Of course, it's the characters who are the ultimate joke, and all the actors own their parts so completely (especially the star leads, Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum).  That being said, the film's humor (while witty) can occasionally be a little crude for more sensitive viewers. This barely even mentions a brutal maiming of the film's bad guy by ...

In the 1989 Batman movie, a vigilante exacts his justice upon criminals in the fictional Gotham City. However, a crazy clown comes to match him, leaving the vigilante to stop his plan of chemical warfare.  The film is a bit narratively lax, unfortunately. The film rarely has a central character; bouncing back between the titular character and the clown antagonist and the human journalists without much care.  The film is undeniably visually effective though; the production design and matte paintings are top notch. Despite the narrative problems mentioned earlier, the film does feature some surprising acting performances (Michael Keaton appears miscast at first glance, but does a solid job, and Jack Nicholson is great as always).  The narrative problems might be enough to dissuade most serious cinema experts, but the brand of Batman might arguably be enough to carry it. It does also deviate from it's source material if only mildly (Batman's a killer here...

  In "Child's Play" a young boy really wants a special toy for his birthday. However, things are complicated when it turns out the toy contains the soul of a dangerous serial killer.  The film is actually pretty terrifying for something coming out in the 1980s - it's visceral and has a variety of well-staged horror set pieces (the final act has many layers to it's tension. The idea of a children's toy coming to life to try and kill you certainly adds one of many layers to the tension.  A children's toy being a serial killer is super effective, especially considering (until the toy comes alive in the final act) most of the adults around the kid simply think the kid is disturbed. While this is proven false, it seems to add vague psychological layers in addition to the effectiveness of the horror set pieces.  Being a niche horror movie, it's definitely not going to be for everyone (keep out of reach from children, of course). However, there is a...

  In "The Godfather" a military veteran returns home to his criminal organization-owning family. When an attempt on the patriarch's life is made, the veteran must step up to take his father's place; changing him irrevocably as result.  The Godfather is consistently rated as one of the best movies of all time - and I think that's for a good reason. The film is a cinematic masterpiece; expertly shot while features narrative drive and impeccable acting.  The film is directed by Francis Ford Coppola...but the true stars of the movie are (of course) Al Pacino and Marlon Brando. Marlon Brando gives a phenomenal performance as the aging yet intense mafia don, and Pacino is very believable as the military veteran son coming back and wreaking havoc on those who wronged his family.  The film's runtime and violence are the greatest criticisms I can come up with, and even those aren't detrimental to the film that m...

 In "Bonnie and Clyde" a young woman runs away with a bank robber as a means of adventure. As she and him become a full-fledged robbery team, not everything goes according to their runaway plan.  The film was polarizing for it's glamorous portrayal of crime and it's potential style-over-substance approach. However, the style is so good and full of otherworldly substance all can be forgiven.  The film features terrific performances and contains even better narrative heft. While undeniably simplified (especially in comparison to the true story it's based on) it has an energy to it that's hard to ignore.  The violence and datedness of the time period could be a turn off for some people (after all, it's the 60s looking back on the 30s). Overall the film succeeds (commercially and critically) in spite of said flaws and a simplified narrative.  It may seem like homework, but Bonnie and Clyde is undoubtedly the type of movie you should watch at least once - eithe...

  In “Chungking Express” two separate stories of young police officers either in love with or loved by ladies in Hong Kong are on display. They learn important lessons about love and life through their seemingly benign interactions.  Beauty is the best way to describe the film; both visually and philosophically. That and the circumstances in which it was made the way it was and is still coherent is surprisingly impressive.  Writer-director Wong Kar-Wai usually has a vague idea of a story and shoots his film like a documentary - following his actors until he edits it into something resembling a movie (which this is!). Honestly, I did not expect a film shot that way to be both visually beautiful and narratively coherent.  Despite this, I can see how some people might find the story (however compelling) to meander at parts; as well as be turned off by the use of Chinese dialects (it’s worth noting the film originated in Hong Kong). However, much like Rashomon, I do beli...

In "A Nightmare on Elm Street" several teenagers are picked off one-by-one while having terrifying, similar nightmares. As it turns out, a monster from their neighborhood's past is out to take revenge on this neighborhood, it appears at any cost.  Iconic is the best word I could use to describe this movie; whether or not it's good to you it's certainly iconic. This is mostly for the electrifying, thematically terrifying villain: Freddy (or "Fred') Krueger.  You probably know the name if not the context; he's a former child murderer who haunts and kills his victims in their sleep, often in the form of a nightmare (pun partially intended). He was believed dead and actually lives inside a story that's hard to tell from the character's reality or their dreams (it admittedly leaves the doomed character's fates to the audience's imagination).  For that terrifying premise alone, it definitely won't resonate with everyone. Horror movies ar...

 In "Rashomon" the story of a crime against a samurai in feudal Japan is retold many times to a curious onlooker by people involved in the investigation. However, the more details get added, the more complicated and unreliable the story gets.  The film is an excellent exploration of memory; how flawed and imperfect in can be but also how self-serving it often is. The film's astonishing craft and expertly choreographed sword fights just add to this exploration all the same.  The film may be densely thematic, but it's also an astonishing piece of cinema; the camera work never draws attention to itself and yet is expertly composed. The black-and-white may not be for everyone, but when you're roped into the story and scenes all is forgiven.  The aforementioned black-and-white might not work for some, not to mention the fact that it's a foreign-to-America (Japanese) film. However, as a piece of cinema I do believe it generally can transcend to an American audience....

  In “Apocalypse Now”, a soldier is sent on an epic sojourn through Vietnam to complete an assassination mission. The more he reads his target’s dossier, however, the more he realizes he relates to him.  Apocalypse Now was memorably difficult to make - it went well over-budget and resulted in negative coverage of director Francis Ford Coppola’s perfectionism. However, if you look at the finished product (an effortless-looking performance magnet that accurately if psychedelically portrays the Vietnam War) you wouldn't immediately know that Coppola put his blood, sweat, and tears into this project.  Everything I said is true and I’ll restate it here; the film feels effortless and features a plethora of good performances from the cast; Martin Sheen is believable as the soldier on a mission. Marlon Brando (who had previously worked with Coppola on The Godfather) shines in his part as sheen’s possibly narcissistic yet charismatic target on route to assassination.  All of ...