The White Sheik: The Films of Federico Fellini (Part One)

"The White Sheik"

1951

Italian

Directed by: Federico Fellini

This post is the first in a series of posts dedicated to Federico Fellini. In my opinion, Fellini is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, and is certainly the greatest to come out of Italy. He has directed masterpieces such as, "La Strada","La Dolce Vita", and "8 1/2" along with other timeless films. I first came across Federico Fellini while watching Woody Allen films. Woody referenced Fellini in most of his movies. I wanted to find out what the big deal about this guy was. I rented "La Strada" and was completely blown away by what I saw. Within a month I had viewed most of his films, and enjoy continued viewings. I decided I would love to review the films of one of the greatest filmmakers ever. I will be reviewing five or six Fellini films over the next few posts, beginning with his first solo project, "The White Sheik."

This was one of only a few Fellini films that I had never seen. This film was released in 1951 to not so great reviews. The plot of the film is about the comedic trials of a newlywed couple on their honeymoon. The husband plans a honeymoon for his wife in Rome with an itinerary that includes meeting up with his family to visit the pope. Right off the bat we notice that the bride is not at all interested in the honeymoon, but someone else, "The White Sheik." Sheik is a fictional comic book character that local filmmakers are making a movie about. She considers the character her prince charming. She sneaks away to visit the movie set and maybe a visit with her "White Sheik." It becomes an adventure for her. Meanwhile the husband begins a hilarious quest to find his wife. The story is unraveled in a heartwarming and satisfying conclusion.

I enjoyed this film greatly. It is not a masterpiece like "La Strada", or "8 1/2" but it is still a very engaging movie. This movie has a great screenplay full of wit and great characters. When the film was released the critics complained that Fellini's film was a failed attempt at gag comedy. I don't consider this film a gag comedy - it has too much heart to be just to be a gag. While watching this film I can see how it has influenced today's modern romantic comedies without the filmmakers even realizing it. The events that the husband faces are some of the most hilarious scenes that I have seen.

After the husband realizes his wife is missing, he frantically searches the hotel. While checking the lobby, he notices that his family is in the seating area to meet him and his new wife. When his family begins asking him about his wife, sweating begins, and he struggles to think of an excuse of why his wife is not with him. This scene just made me laugh so hard because it is full of awkwardness.

I recommend this film to everyone. Just remember that it is in Italian, so I hope that you won't mind subtitles.

"The White Sheik"

4 out of 4 stars

Choke (Super Quick Review)

I try not to waste my time writing about horrible movies. I started my "Super Quick Reviews" in order to write real quickly about these kind of movies. I loved Palahniuk's book, which is full of dark humor and wonderful writing. The movie is horrible! It throws away black comedy from the book with goofy humor. Could have been amazing. The only good thing in this is Sam Rockwell as the lead. Watch "Frost/Nixon." A great movie with him in it.

"Choke"

1 out of 4 stars

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince

I was really bummed out when this movies release date was pushed back. I have been a Harry Potter fan since the first book was released, and I for the most part have enjoyed all the movies. My only problem with each film is how much they leave out from the book. Don't get me wrong, I know how adapting books into movies work. It is nearly impossible to fit the story into a movie that is not six hours long, so along the way certain things have to be cut. But that doesn't mean I'm not annoyed by it.



With all that said, I really liked this movie. I saw it the second night of its release. I had really high expectations for this film, and was excited to see it. While I was walking out, I was really disappointed in certain areas of the film (For reasons why, re-read the first paragraph), but later I changed my mind. I was really impressed with this as a movie.



I really enjoyed the dark tone of the picture. It looks as if the colors were lightly saturated to give us a cold feeling. The promotional posters of the movie are very true to the look and the feel of the film. Though it wasn't a good adaptation of the book, it was a very good Harry Potter movie.



The acting in the movie was surprisingly amazing. The scene stealing star of this movie is Tom Felton aka Draco Malfoy. The intensity of the character is acted out well. I used to consider Tom a very annoying actor, but after this film I was greatly mistaken. The other actors are great, and are looking much older than they did in 2001.



Overall, this movie is very good. Full of wonderful acting, great scenery, nail-biting suspense, and romance, well kind of. See this movie if you are a Harry Potter fan. This movie really makes us look forward to the last two movies.



"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"



3.5 out of 4 stars

Paul Blart: Mall Cop (Super Quick Review)

Kevin James is funny in this. The problem is with everything else. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone. Not very good at all. The first 30 minutes are OK, but the last hour is terrible. I felt like I was hooked in to watching this because of Kevin James. I found my self being dragged through it.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop

1 out of 4 stars

"New In Town"

I went into this movie thinking it was going to be a simple romantic comedy. I'm of those guys that enjoys romantic comedies, but this movie was more then that. It was deeper then others of the genre. After my viewing of this movie I was somewhat disappointed. In most films the flaws are easy to get over. However, in this film they were not.

The plot of the film is very simple. A corporate, city girl is ordered by her boss to downsize a plant in a small town in Minnesota. The trouble is that she falls for the local union leader. This film could have been a very good movie, instead of a OK movie, but its flaws ruin it.

The main flaw for me is there are a lot of awkward scenes that are suppose to be funny but are not. I actually think the film worked better with its dramatic scenes then its funny ones. I thought the actual plot of the movie took far too long to get rolling, but when it did it was great. I actually forgave the film for its earlier flaws. That is until the end. The movie did not have the resolution it should have had. The film just kind of ended without us knowing for sure what was happening to the characters. I would have taken 10 minutes off the beginning and put it at the end.

I don't hate this movie. The film's more positive areas are very good. The casting is perfect. Renee Zellweger plays the lead roll. She comes off selfish but likable. Harry Connick, Jr. is also great as her love interest. The role that deserves the most praise is the role of the plant foreman, played by the hysterically brilliant actor J.K Simmons. Simmons is in my opinion one of the most underrated actors around, playing in TNT's "The Closer," and also in "Burn After Reading."

Overall this movie is very watchable, but not as good as it could have been. I recommend it for those who won't mind being a little disappointed.

New In Town

2.5 out of 4 stars

"Valkyrie"

I had looked forward to this movie for a long time, but ended up avoiding it because of negative reviews during its release. I decided to rent it and watch with an open mind. It wasn't a perfect movie, but it was very entertaining. While it succeeds as a history lesson, it also succeeds as a thriller. You are literally on the edge of your seat the entire movie, even though most people know the ending. Is it disappointing that the Germans have British accents? Yes. Is it annoying that Cruise doesn't even try and pull off a German accent? Yes. That still doesn't stop this movie from being the movie it was meant to be.

While this film does have its flaws, it is still pretty good. I recommend it!

"Valkyrie"

3 out of 4 stars

Tropic Thunder

I don't know why it took me so long to see this movie. I am so glad I did. I thought I was just seeing a funny movie, but it turned out to be a comic war-action extravaganza. Like great action movies, this movie contains great action sequences. Like a great war movie, the violence is relentless. Let's not forget that this was also one of the funniest movies of 2008

The movie contains many great performances, some even Oscar worthy. Writer-Producer-Director Ben Stiller leads this stellar cast. Jack Black plays a high strung white version of Eddie Murphy. Robert Downey Jr. plays the 5 time academy award winner, an Australian man who lives out his characters lives, actually surgically becoming an African American soldier. Lets not forget Matthew McConaughey, Nick Nolte and many other "A" list stars. The highlight performance in this movie isn't the lead actors, but a performance that is a total of about 10 minutes of screen time, Tom Cruise as Les Grossman. Les Grossman is the vile, rude, crude, and violent studio executive. He steals every scene he is in. Downey Jr. was nominated for an Oscar for this film, I believe Cruise should have been nominated also.

This film isn't a masterpiece, but that doesn't mean its not great Entertainment. It's full of action, comedy and great sets. Entertainment at it's best!

Tropic Thunder

4 Out of 4 stars