Man on Wire

Man on Wire (2008)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1155592/]

The Gist:
Man on Wire is a documentary that speaks to a sort of simple poetry, whereby walking on a wire hundreds of feet in the air is exalted as a spiritual experience, as a overwhelming purpose in the life of our protagonist. Immediately, then, we have one of the key components for an excellent documentary, a subject of innate interest. However, I also enjoy how the entire film works as a sort of slow build to the event, taking the audience pace by pace through the preparation and anxious moments until finally we arrive at dawn to this crazy French fucker doing tricks on the rope held taut between the two now nonexistant trade towers, avoiding the police and even mocking them, staying up on the rope for forty five minutes before finally coming down as the wind starts to pick up. This documentary technique was done with a greater pace and a stronger affect in The Cove (which unraveled like a heist film), but what Man on Wire lacks in suspense it makes up for with whimsical spirit.

Full Metal Jacket

Full Metal Jacket (1987)
IMDB #83 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093058/]

The Gist:
Oddly, this film has a similar feel to From Dusk Till Dawn in that the first half and the second half feel like two completely separate movies that just happen to exist on one chronological plane. Granted, with Full Metal the shift isn't quite as severe but it is quite notable from the boot camp scenes to the leap forward to the thick of the Vietnam War. For my taste, I thought the second half of the film was expertly crafted, very very well done war film. The first half, on the other hand, felt a little uneven and a little dated. I think the whole hard as nails asshole drill instructor was probably a novel concept at the time, in fact I think this film has helped perpetuate the role. However, at times I would think to myself "yes, you're an asshole drill instructor who uses lots of dirty words, I get it". The most interesting thing about the first half was to see the progression of Joker and Pyle, which was good but overshadowed by the taut brilliance of the second half.

From Dusk Till Dawn

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116367/]

The Gist:
From Dusk Till Dawn is really two films in one smooth running time. The first half is a brilliant Tarantino dialogue driven post-heist escape to Mexico in the vein of something like Reservoir Dogs, only more twisted. Tarantino's character in particular is so demented in such a fascinating way that I pretty much fell in love with the film instantly. However, after Mexico the film takes up a different tact and it is this half that the film is known for. Essentially, what had started as a film with some depth and legitimacy somehow transitions into a highly stylized exploitation satire with vampires. I think that some who watch this film might find the shift disconcerting, but honestly both half of the films are awesome. They're just two films that fit together pretty well. Besides, any film that has a guy shooting a machine gun from his crotch has to be worth watching, right?

The Rules of the Game

The Rules of the Game (1939)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031885/]

The Gist:
This is my first Renoir film and having not seen any more of his work I have a difficult time saying if The Rules of the Game is a good deal like Robert Altman films or if Altman films are a good deal like Renoir films. Never-the-less, this film balances a large cast who all struggle with the enervating and at times superfluous nature of love. Often, the way characters interact with each other are desperate and pleading and occasionally vapid but are always entertaining in a helter skelter sort of fashion. The camera picks up long winding one takes that flow from one character to the other and the depth often picks up multiple planes of action. All that being said, the relationships in this film are pretty hollow (although great intense burning love and affection are often purported by the characters). However, if you juxtapose that with the cruelty of the noblesse hunt that takes place in the film, the obliteration of the rabbits and game hen that inhabit the forest all to satisfy a bored over privelaged upper class...well then you can extend the tepid relationships and philandering as another symptom of the ennui of the rich, which is in its own way sort of tragic.

Week Forty

Gah, so late... New queue:

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) - check
Man On Wire (2008) - check
Full Metal Jacket (1987) - check
The Rules of the Game (1939) - check

Spaceballs

Spaceballs (1987)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094012/]

The Gist:
To be honest, I think I enjoyed this movie more because I'm an intense Star Wars fan (the originals, oi) and less because I think it was one of Brooks' better parodies. Simply put, it's pretty weak if you put it side by side with his classic films (ie Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, and even Robin Hood: Men in Tights). That's not to say it's a bad film, in fact it has some great moments. I loved Rick Moranis as Dark Helmut, particularly the scene where he plays with his dolls; I loved the moment when they put the videotape of spaceballs in the VCR (ah I remember VCRs) to find out where the Princess had escaped to; I also really liked the whole merchandising spoof poking fun at the whole Lucas merchandising phenomenon. However, John Candy was completely wasted in this film with a plainly unfunny character, the film relies a lot on jokes it had done better in the past, and honestly it just kind of stays the course with safe jokes for most of the film.

The Passion of Joan of Arc

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0019254/]

The Gist:
This film is the first completely silent film I've seen. No music, no random sound effects, just completely silent where the only thing I had to accompany it are the birds and the cars and so on outside the window. I do think that when there's no music to underscore an emotive response, the film's performance gain a nuance that is otherwise impossible, and in retrospect this is crucial to the film. For almost the entirety of the film we see frames of close ups along with title cards that actually transpose the transcript of the real historical Joan's trial. The effect is sort of memorizing, particularly the woman who portrays Joan who pours so much emotion into the role that somehow an entire movie trained largely on her face becomes riveting.

Kind Hearts and Coronets

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
IMDB #187 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041546/]

The Gist:
Kind Hearts is a witty, or I guess I should say "cheeky", little British film that features a plot of gleeful revenge against a family whose members are killed off one by one. Each member of the family, eight in total, are all played by Alec Guiness who I like more and more with each stuffy British role I watch of his. Generally, it's hard to get behind the protagonists revenge plot because while most of the family are intolerable rich snobs, there are a couple who are genuinely nice people, and it seems to make little difference to the protagonist who is only focused on destroying them all in order to become duke. Then of course you have a dispassionate love triangle between the unsuspecting widow of one of the nicer men he's killed and his childhood crush that married someone else and now fools around with him on the side. Honestly, if it wasn't for great writing, for dry wit and an interest in how things played out, there's really not a lot to root for in this film. Credit that writing for how much I ended up enjoying the whole thing.

Youth in Revolt

Youth in Revolt (2009)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0403702/]

The Gist:
I have to say, I enjoy Michael Cera. Yes, he's sort of eternally type-casted but the character that he is type-casted as is very enjoyable and thankfully he's starting to break out of the awkward teenager role a bit as well. Here we see him play two characters, one is the sort we're used to seeing (virgin, awkward, verbose, etc), the other is his alter-ego which works pretty well. I'm glad that this movie got made because it allows Cera to start to evolve in the roles he takes, however the film itself is just a passably enjoyable diversion. I think there are moments where it's pretty funny, I think Cera is good, but I think the writing is a bit too witty at times and the relationship a bit too oh...mechanical? Anyway, despite the film's faults it will help ebb my monstrous anticipation for Scott Pilgrim vs the World.

Week Thirty-Nine

I'm more behind on my posts than I am my movie viewings. New queue, again already finished:

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) - check
Youth in Revolt (2009) - check
Spaceballs (1987) - check
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) - check

Evil Dead 2

Evil Dead 2 (1987)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092991/]

The Gist:
Ah Bruce Campbell, you campy bastard. You even have the word "camp" in your last name! Anyway, Evil Dead 2 is something of a remake of the first Evil Dead which apparently was supposed to be serious but turned out so bad that it became a campy cult film. This film, on the other hand, is fully aware of what it is and is all the better for it. Unlike Army of Darkness, which is imminently quotable, this film succeeds more on its ridiculous stop motion low-fi CG and it's odd plot that at times seems bafflingly nonsensical (at one point Bruce Campbell is flung across the forest by evil forces, turns into a zombie, and then turns back to normal again with really no story prompt at all). For the select few that can make this sort of exaggerated filmmaking really work, who are aware of the kind of film they are making, films like Evil Dead 2 can transcend into brilliance.

On Another Note:
Best part of the film: dead girlfriend skeleton dance.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
IMDB #242 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061184/]

The Gist:
Ah, the transposed play into film, with all its dialogue and theatrics and secrets. That's the way really good older plays work after all, you revolve the entire play around a secret that your probing dialogue plays with without revealing until the end, creating conflict through deflections, creating depth. It's a whole style, honestly, and pretty much all of the classic American plays do this. Virginia Woolf, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Death of a Salesmen, and even Streetcar to a certain extent. Anyway, Virginia Woolf was peculiar because for a great part of the film I found Elizabeth Taylor's performance a bit overacted. I instead latched on to Burton's performance and the brilliantly contentious dialogue. Richard Burton killed this thing in every scene he was in, and by the end of the film when Taylor had to show some vulnerability I began to warm to her performance too. I love how the story not only reveals the nature of their son but also the nature of the relationship and how all this infighting is a carefully balanced "game". All those third act revelations and their ramifications on the institution of marriage lifts the film from an enjoyable bitter exchange of banter into something poignant.

Stray Dog

Stray Dog (1949)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041699/]

The Gist:
This is an early film by Akira Kurosawa, essentially a detective piece that often slips into a smooth workable formula. However, there are constant moments in this film where you realize you are watching a Kurosawa film. The film starts out with an anonymous voice over that sets up the action (the theft of a policeman's gun) and as the film goes on it turns into a desperate pursuit of the criminal who has ended up with the gun and has put it to terrible use. There are some complex themes at work here, namely the guilt of the younger police officer who tries to take responsibility for the bad his gun has wrought. However, what really makes the film shine are these spontaneous moments of beauty, like how the older policeman takes the rookie to his house and gets toasted on sake, shows him his family sleeping, laments about the nature of being cop. There is something about these quiet moments that makes Stray Dog feel more powerful than some of his other masterworks, because here they felt beautifully unpredictable, not so deliberate.

Week Thirty-Eight

Alright, I'm going to have to cheat a little (see week thirty-nine) but I'm getting through the month on time. New queue, already finished:

The Girlfriend Experience (2009) - check
Evil Dead 2 (1987) - check
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) - check
Stray Dog (1949) - check

On Another Note:
Changed my mind, not cheating like I was going to. The integrity of the project remains largely intact.

The Day the Earth Stood Still

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043456/]

The Gist:
The moment World War II concluded with the advent of the nuclear bomb, a subtle shift in our culture took place that we are now seeing coming to full force in our modern era. Namely, it's the idea that the path humanity has taken is intensely capable of future self-destruction, that our actions as a whole could lead to our unraveling, where our improbable stint of life in this vast cosmic desert will be snuffed out as soon as it began like a brilliant star that cannot contain the energy it emits. The Day the Earth Stood Still is an excellent allegory for all this, and leaves the viewer with only doubt as to our capacity to recover from our headstrong and ignorant and selfish and passive and defeatist and head-in-the-sand tendencies. Now, in a time where overpopulation threatens our natural resources and fisheries are being depleted from over fishing and climate change and oil is spilling into the Gulf of Mexico unceasingly and countries like Iran are trying to obtain nuclear power and a country like North Korea already has nuclear power and our political system still seems so corrupt and divisive that even with the good intentions of a president that I still have faith in its dubious whether anything significant can in fact happen to show a change as drastic as is needed and whales are dying and whooping cranes are dying and the Japanese are slaughtering dolphins and people are getting mercury poisoning from the fish from the pollution and the entire food industry is filled with cows eating cows and eating corn and then there's genetically altered chickens and then there's corn syrup in everything and...well, in these modern times, I find some odd personal connection to this film and regard it as something of a prophetic vision of our own collapse.

From Russia with Love

From Russia with Love (1963)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057076/]

The Gist:
From Russia with Love has all the markings of a sequel. They attempt a delicate game of repetition and variation, trying to capitalize on the success of Dr. No by creating a ritualized opening that the entire Bond series would eventually become known for. In particular, you have a mysterious opening scene that somehow will propel Bond in to action (Dr. No = conspicuous murder...From Russia = conspicuous murder of man wearing very convincing James Bond mask a la Scooby Doo), you have Bond being called away from schticking some British trollop, you have the meeting with M where the mission is laid out along with gratuitous flirtations with Money Penny, and so on. In short, the Bond films are exemplary at creating a familiar experience while offering enough change on the formula to draw viewers in. The only problem with this film is that the process hadn't been perfected yet, and the plot of the film suffers a great lull due to the whole mission seeming vaguely unimportant and meandering. The ending has a great action sequence in a train, but it couldn't make up for the movie as a whole.

Barton Fink

Barton Fink (1991)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101410/]

The Gist:
Oddly enough, when I watched Barton Fink devolve into chaos, an unlikely spiritual film descendant came to mind: Mulholland Dr. Both films skewer the surrounding area of Los Angeles, the insincere mock up of personalities and the ugly carnal beast that resides beneath the initial impressions of beauty and grace. Both films also take that atmosphere and try to make some kind of connection to the larger mystery of life (mind you, these are just my reads on highly interpretive works of art). With Mulholland Drive that mystery was of death and silence and the tenuous grasps we make at relationships to try and fill some void or overwhelm our senses so we don't feel the constant decay of time. With Barton Fink, that mystery is of our purpose in life, our inner nature, the capacity for good and evil with us. I left both films having strong emotional impressions that were confounded by some clumsy effort to understand "what it all means", and with Barton Fink I sat talking with my friend about possible interpretations for a couple hours after the film.

4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days

4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (2007)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1032846/]

The Gist:
I've never been someone who gets overly disturbed in films. With the rare exception, horror films and suspense films don't really engage me on a level where I fear for the characters lives, where I feel myself knotted up with anxiety. Those few films that manage to instill such emotion in me generally stay with me for a while, and I can honestly say that 4 Months is one of those films. The film is set in Romania, where a woman helps her friend get an illegal abortion in a 1980s setting that apparently was so conservative that the act could land them both in jail. The ordeals they have to go through and the general trama that the abortion inflicts by itself lends such gravity to the film that I felt a bit sick after watching it (more so than Irreversible, if you can believe that). Anyway, the acting, the careful minimalism, the beautiful ending scene where they sit in silence as you see cars pass through the reflection of the window...yeah.

Week Thirty-Seven

Alright, I'm pretty behind in the month. No excuse except that I've been working a lot. New queue for the week:

4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (2007) - check
From Russia with Love (1963) - check
Barton Fink (1991) - check
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) - check