Review of The Thief of Bagdad (1924) by Milhouse V — 18 Feb 2005

[b]The Thief of Bagdad[/b] is old, silent, cheesy, and long. It doesn't exactly mesh well with modern tastes in film. Douglas Fairbanks looks partly like he's having a great time, and partly like he's overracting his ass off. You can also see his junk through his pants quite frequently. Yes, this is one of those classic movies that is famous for being old and groundbreaking, but not necessarily good. However, it is not without merit. The sets are admittedly astonishing, and some of the special effects hold up surprisingly well. Plus, I saw it with live accompaniment by a pianist, and damned if the guy wasn't playing continuously for over two hours. You rock, man.

[b]Ong-Bak[/b] is not a well-made movie. The color is sometimes washed out, and the lighting is really bad during one fight scene. The plot and dialogue are ridiculous, though for a martial arts movie, that's obligatory. For some reason, Tony Jaa can get hit with tables and chairs and fists and not seem very hurt. But I didn't pay $7.50 to see him take a couple punches and be knocked out. I payed $7.50 to see him jump over cars and hit people with his elbows. And damn straight he does. Over and over again. And awesomely. In fact, he's still kicking my ass. If you're bored of wire-fu but still want to see people get beaten up a lot, then Ong-Bak is the movie for you.

[i]Tom Jones[/i] the book is surprisingly not very enjoyable. For starters, it's over 600 pages long. Like most books written in the 1700s, the writing style is different (and that's an understatement). But its biggest fault is that it's too cinematic. It's a book about lusty women, slapstick, and outrageous situations, a kind of humor that really needs to be seen to be appreciated. That's why [b]Tom Jones[/b] the movie works much better. I don't know why it won Best Picture, but it's a lot of fun nonetheless. Albert Finney is perfectly mischevious, and Hugh Griffith (who was reportedly drunk during most of the filming) is a dead-on Squire Western. The score is pitch-perfect, too. Yes, sometimes the movie is better than the book.