wet streets [a film blog]

Teeth (Mitchell Lichtenstein, 2007)

2008-07-15T22:23:00.003-05:00

Watch out anonymous commenter, I'm about to get into "pretentious Women's Studies grad student" mode again

Maybe if the term "feminist horror film" hadn't been thrown around so many times in regard to Teeth, I could have enjoyed it more. I did a paper for a senior seminar about feminist avengers in 70s European/Japanese exploitation films, so I was expecting Teeth to be a modern update of what is a classic exploitation framework. Teenage Dawn, star of her high school's abstinence movement, realizes one day that she has teeth in her vagina. She doesn't actually find this out until over halfway through the movie; the first half is a really expanded set-up. We see Dawn preach, get a preachy boyfriend, we meet her slacker stepbrother and sick mother, and we finally get to the point where Dawn and boyfriend Tobey's hormones get the better of them, and they decide to have sex. Dawn decides, halfway through the act, that she wants to go back on it, but Tobey, totally against everything we've seen about his character so far, ignores her, hits her head on a rock, and rapes her. This does not go well for Tobey, and is the point at which the movie turns for me. The first half of the movie is almost Cronenberg-esque body horror; the audience knows what's wrong with Dawn far before she does, and we are all waiting tensely for her to discover it. After her encounter with Tobey, the film mostly depends on weak humor and shot after gratuitous shot of cut off penises. What would have really shocked me would have been some sort of revelation of Dawn's affliction, but that, of course, didn't happen.

And that's partly Lichtenstein's point, it seems. Near the beginning of the film, Dawn's biology class is allowed to study a diagram of an erect penis, but their textbooks have giant stickers over the vaginal diagrams. (In fact, the scene where Dawn soaks away the sticker and discovers the vagina for the first time is my favorite of the film.) We're not allowed to see, or even to talk about or acknowledge, the vagina in our culture, and here, Lichtenstein (half-heartedly) takes on one of our deepest fears, that of female sexual power and violence. But isn't it a little presumptous for Lichtenstein to write and direct a film about a girl's relationship with her vagina (would I, for instance, write a similar script about a penis)? And why does he have to fall back onto gross-out sight gags and weird humor? It's as if the second half of Teeth can't decide whether it wants to be a drama, a comedy, or a horror film, so it tries to do everything.

Not to say I didn't like the movie -- it's a great premise, and even when it falls short, it's way more thoughtful than most movies released in any given year. Plus, Jess Weixler as Dawn is a great breakthrough performance, and I really expect and look forward to seeing more from her in the future. But all these little cracks in the movie add up by the end, and when Dawn finally realizes that she can use her vagina as an avenging weapon, it made me more uneasy about its implications than want to cheer out loud.

6.5/10

Stills from new Gaspar Noe film

2008-07-15T19:27:00.005-05:00

So, I am a full two months late to this scoop, but after talking with Adam about how great I Stand Alone (and Gaspar Noe in general) is, I decided to do a little research into when in the hell his next full-length film is coming out. It's been six years since Irreversible, and I've been holding my breath waiting since I saw both his movies in 2005. Well, I unearthed this Quiet Earth post, which has both a rough synopsis for Enter the Void and some amazing stills. I hope it's well worth the wait (IMDB has its release date as sometime in 2009, which means at least 5-6 more months of waiting), but knowing Noe, it will be.

ETA: Apparently, there are rumors that Daft Punk will be doing the music for the film; I enjoyed, yet was incredibly disturbed by, Thomas Bangalter's score for Irreversible, and I'm excited by the prospect of this being an ongoing collaboration with these two forces.

New Choke trailer!

2008-07-14T22:52:00.003-05:00

Man, I love red-band trailers. Especially this one: Clark Gregg's Chuck Palahniuk adaptation, Choke, has a new, restricted trailer here. I was a bit worried from the looks of the first trailer that they had sanitized the book to make it your run of the mill indie comedy, but this one has a lot more that reminds me of the novel. It looks dirty and hilarious, and although there's still no real mention of the weird second half plot of the book, I'm not worried, because of how hard that would be to show in a 2 minute trailer. And I, of course, love Sam Rockwell so much, and he looks just perfect as Victor Mancini. I can't wait for Choke's late-September limited release.

Celebrating Meet Dave's bomb

2008-07-14T21:30:00.002-05:00

It may be kicking a man while he's down, but since it's Eddie Murphy, I think it's pretty well deserved. Best Week Ever's blog has a list of 50 movies that grossed more than Meet Dave's paltry $5.3 million opening weekend. A few hilarious picks, and almost all are shocking: remember Baby Geniuses?! If this means that the Brett Ratner, PG-rated Beverly Hills Cop 4 is cancelled, then I couldn't be happier.

Food for thought

2008-07-10T22:23:00.002-05:00

The Nines was one of my favorites from 2007 (that I didn't actually see until this year), but was almost completely ignored, not only by major theater chains, but independents and even the indie film fan mobs (the most disappointing part of all). Now, over a year and a half since The Nines's first Sundance buzz, writer/director John August has written a post-mortem on his blog, which not only touches on the failures of his film (commercially, because he rightfully stands by its artistic merits), but of the "independent" film market in the US, and Sundance in general. He basically puts into well-written words, from an experienced perspective, what I've been fearing was the case with the American independent film market. He's overall pessimistic, and even ends the article with the question of if anyone should even bother making indie films.

This might be the time to start a new film movement; films like Little Miss Sunshine and Juno aren't representative of true independent film, nor are ones like There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men (both of which I loved). There are two schools of so-called indie films; the cuddly, vaguely sarcastic but with a heart family comedies, or the films made by established directors that have a built-in audience. None of those four films are actually independents, having been financed by major studios (although the "independent" wings, whatever that means). Before I start ranting, I just think that a very clever, well-acted, intriguing movie like The Nines should have some sort of audience, but like every other movement, American independent film is being bought out by major studios and theater chains. There's got to be something to be done. (Note: I know this comes dangerously close to the "selling out" debate, which I refuse to participate in, because it's silly, but it's interesting to hear a director with a minor amount of clout spea his mind so freely about such a hot topic.)

And thanks to Ode to Azia for the tip that there are storyboards available for Alejandro Jodorowsky's King Shot here. The site's in Italian, but the drawings are amazingly cool -- OtA says the film is supposed to be in the same style as Sin City (score!), with enough sex and violence to garner it an NC-17 rating. Otherwise, I have no idea what the movie's about; this is the synopsis from IMDB at the moment: Gold. Gold. Gold. Gold. Gold. Gold. Gold. Gold. Gold. Gold. Gold. Gold. Gold. Gold. Gold.. Hrm. But Jodorowsky, Asia Argento (one of my favorites), Udo Kier, Marilyn Manson, and those creepy yet intriguing storyboards? SOLD.

Suburban Nightmare (Jon Keeyes, 2004)

2008-07-09T01:15:00.003-05:00

There's a really interesting premise buried somewhere in Suburban Nightmare: a couple who loves to murder (and eat!) people are also having marriage problems. Plus, the movie is more or less in real time, which is a device I usually love in movies. But almost everything else about the movie is wrong, unfortunately.

First of all, and this isn't the filmmakers' or the movie's fault, I was lead to believe it was a typical gory horror movie (see those flesh masks on the cover? Yeah, the couple never wears them). But beyond that, the script, while it has its moments, is almost uniformly bad & boring; the actors are bad; the plot twists are visable from a mile away; and everything is just so darn melodramatic as to just be annoying.

Not to mention the myriad of unanswered questions at the end - why do they kill people? Why haven't they gotten caught (there's a brief reference to having moved across the country, but that's it)? What's the deal with their daughter (it's kind of discussed at the end, but before that)? Why the hell do they eat people? The juxtaposition of horrific subject matter and the mundanities of everyday married life is a clever one, if done well. It wasn't here. If a more talented writer and crew could get their hands on this material, we could have had a winner; as it stands, this movie leaves me wanting much more than it delivered.

4/10

Sherlock Holmes movie in the works

2008-07-04T16:53:00.003-05:00

If you know anything about me, you should know that this news made me inexplicably happy. Written by the guy behind the hilarious-looking Tropic Thunder, check. Judd Apatow producing, check (I guess, although I haven't been impressed with him lately it does mean this movie will get made stat). Sacha Baron Cohen as Sherlock Holmes, check. Will Ferrell as Watson, check. Oh dear. I wish they would start filming this tomorrow.

A few short ones

2008-07-03T23:15:00.004-05:00

The Promotion is in limited release right now -- I was lucky enough to catch it, and can't recommend enough that you do the same. Seann William Scott plays Doug Stauber, an all-around nice, normal guy who is an assistant manager at a Chicago grocery store. He works hard, busts his ass, and has a wife with whom he's hoping to buy a house and start a real life with. Doug is finally in line for a promotion to manager at a store that's opening up across town. Enter Richard Wellner (John C. Reilly), a manager from a Canadian sister store who is up for the job as well. Richard is a good guy as well, with a kid and a wife and a troubled Canadian past. Both men need this job in order for their lives to get out of their respective ruts, so, they begin competing more and more ruthlessly. This film, more than probably any other I've ever seen, shows what happens when good people do bad things. There are moral consequences, but they're both hilarious and not overdone. Doug and Richard are completely people we all know; their flaws are both very funny and very sad. The second half of the film, especially the scene where Richard tapdances to unliscensed 80s rock on a motivational tape. You have to see it to understand. Do see it. Extra fun fact: the movie was filmed very near the apartment in Chicago where i lived for 6 months!

8.5/10

Beware: Children at Play would have been just another mediocre-to-bad-yet-enjoyable Troma film if not for its plot. It's probably the only B-horror movie of all time to have a main plot point be based on the plot of a classic of English-language literature. Yes, this film is about a gang on children who are kidnapped (sort of) from a small Bible-thumping town and are taking revenge on the adults, but these kids are also abducted and kept in line through the Beowulf myth. Seriously. The main evil child, Glenn Randall, has fashioned himself as Grendel to a group of outcasts who have turned into cannibals. Is this all too ridiculous to believe? It almost is, but the incredible weirdness of the plot makes it a little smarter than your average bad movie, and more worth checking out.

7/10

A feminist classic? Maybe. Interesting to watch? Definitely, up to a point. I'll explain the film like this: once, a friend compared herself and I to Czech and French New Waves. She has adventures, can talk/write at length about almost anything, and has a sometimes bizarre or surreal sense of humor. I like to brood, smoke, and talk about how bad I feel. She's the Czech New Wave, and I'm the French. Czech filmmaker Vera Chytilova's movie doesn't make much sense, but it's not supposed to. Two girls named Marie (although I could have sworn one was named Julie?) decide to be bad, because society is bad. So they go on dates with old men, march around looking for attention, and finally trash a banquet hall (with a food fight that made me a little squeamish). They're both incredibly gorgeous (with amazing clothes, if that matters to anyone but me), and Chytilova's direction can be really remarkable, especially when she experiments with colors. But other times, I got the feeling it was surreal to be surreal, with no real point or redeeming value. This is grating. The film should be seen by those who are interested in the progression of global feminism in film, but don't expect, uh, a plot. Or characters. Or any traditional moviemaking techniques.

7/10

Finally!

2008-07-02T23:36:00.002-05:00

At last, Fritz Lang's original full-length edit of Metropolis, one of the best films ever made, has been found in Argentina, of all places! According to AICN, this print runs 210 minutes, while the longest print seen so far runs 118 minutes. That's over an hour and a half more footage! Apparently, the extra time really helps the film run a lot smoother and makes everything make that much more sense. I can't wait to see it, as I'm hoping there will be a DVD release or, even better, a theatrical run ASAP!

Wanted (Timur Bekmambetov, 2008)

2008-06-29T22:30:00.003-05:00

My summary review of Wanted (which managed to pull in over $50 million at the box office this weekend -- pretty darn good for a hard R-rated action movie): the first half is truly awesome. Woah! pretty much sums it up. Shootings! Angelina Jolie's butt! Car chases! Way more shootings! The second half greatly loses momentum when it starts taking itself seriously -- the kiss of death for any over-the-top action movie about killing. It starts to drag, gets a conscience (of sorts), and becomes a little too ridiculous, in a boring way (RAT BOMBS?!). But altogether, definitely worth seeing. It just reminded me how much I loved Shoot Em Up. Oh, and if this movie does a lot to raise James McAvoy's profile in this country, I wouldn't be mad -- he does a really great job.

7/10

Greencine's list of 8 most disturbing French horror films

2008-06-27T22:14:00.003-05:00

Hat tip to Dreaming at 24 Frames Per Second on this one: Netflix alternative Green Cine has released a list of the 8 Most Disturbing Films of the New Wave of French Horror. Quite a mouthful, but they couldn't be more right on when they spotlight France as the new center of global horror. I've see all the movies on the list but a few -- Sheitan (which I'd never even heard of!), Frontier(s) (which I have at home right now), and Inside (which is coming soon!). Ordeal is one of the creepiest films I've ever seen, with a truly amazing performance by Laurent Lucas. Of course, Gaspar Noe is probably in my ten top directors -- his films are so raw and painful, and while I wouldn't classify them as horror films, they are really terrifying. So move over, Japan -- France has got the market on truly disturbing stuff now.

Gods of the Plague (RW Fassbinder, 1970)

2008-06-26T22:36:00.002-05:00

With Gods of the Plague, RW Fassbinder's sequel to his Love is Colder Than Death, the director showed that he was more than a master storyteller and atmospheric director; this is one of the first (chronologically) Fassbinder films that is absolutely gorgeous. I'm sure you could pause the film at almost any moment and have a still that's worthy of any photography exhibition.

Franz is out of jail, but instead of returning to his life with Joanna, he hooks up with a beautiful young waitress he met in a cafe and goes back into a life in petty crime. Although Joanna (Hannah Schygulla, luminous as always in Fassbinder films) is the scorned lover, it's hard to feel any sympathy for her, because Franz does not try to deceive her about their relationship, yet she actively tries to destroy him anyway. The cast of petty thieves and gamblers that populate the film are at once repulsive and compelling, such is Fassbinder's gift at portraying the lower class of criminal.

But Gods of the Plague is so much more than just its plot. Every scene is a tableau of sorts, a visual playing field from which Fassbinder seems to take inspiration for the plot actions. Characters sit around in silence, walk around, stare at nothing for extended periods of time -- so much, in fact, that it seems the term ennui was derived from these aimless characters. But, as in the first scene, where Franz walks in front of a brick wall after leaving jail, it's almost hypnotic. There's nothing not visually stunning (in its own quiet way) in this film.

Gunther Kaufman, playing a fried of Franz's with whom he goes back into crime, has a beautiful line near the end of the film, as things are going totally wrong: "Life is precious, even right now." This could be the final line in every Fassbinder film; his recurring theme about the importance of even the smallest, pettiest life perhaps began in this film. Reccommended for those at all interested in Fassbinder's films.

8/10

Watchmen news

2008-06-25T11:25:00.002-05:00

There's very little that makes me want to return to regular blogging than Watchmen news. Apparently, a trailer will be attached to The Dark Knight. Now, I'm as excited for The Dark Knight as just about anyone (except my brother, who is almost unfathomably excited), but this makes me certain to go first day. And Nite Owl's ship landing at Comicon?! Oh Zack Snyder, you really know how to treat a fangirl right.

Bitter Moon (Roman Polanski, 1992)

2008-06-08T20:37:00.003-05:00

For Roman Polanski apparently being a well-respected director (he is, isn't he?), I don't think I've ever seen a film of his that I've really liked. Bitter Moon was not to be that film, either. The story of an incredibly stereotypical upper-crust British couple Nigel and Fiona (Hugh Grant and Kristin Scott-Thomas) who are taking a cruise to India to save their marriage (apparently?) and meet wheelchair-bound Oscar (Peter Coyote) and his young, sexy wife Mimi (Emmanuelle Segnier). Oscar notices that Nigel really wants to screw Mimi, and begins telling the couple's long, sordid tale. Oscar apparently is a "writer," but one who was never published or accomplished anything, so he revels in telling this staid, polite man the at times disgusting tale of how he and Mimi arrived on this ship.

In short: on a Parisian bus, Oscar passes Mimi a ticket when she doesn't have one, and gets kicked off the bus. He puts it in one of his trite novels, as getting a piece of heaven and then losing it immediately. After searching for her, they find each other and fall madly in lust. They fuck. A lot. Eventually, they get tired of each others' bodies and start doing increasingly extreme things, starting with BDSM, up to golden showers and an incredibly weird, uncomfortable scene where Oscar pretends to be a pig. Yep. Even after all that, Oscar gets tired of Mimi, and tries to dump her; she, being a young girl who is blindly in love for some God knows reason, begs him to stay, so he lets her, but also decides to make her life as miserable as possible in order to make her leave.

The scenes where Oscar is deliberately torturing Mimi, making fun of her in front of their friends, to the ultimate test he puts her through, made me incredibly uncomfortable to watch. And not the good kind of "My boundaries are being tested" uncomfortable, but more like the "Ohmygod this is so misogynistic and disgusting" uncomfortable. Even when Mimi reenters his life and exacts revenge, I never once felt the same disgust for her that I had for Oscar, nor did I ever have an ounce of pity for him (although he is pitiful). Not to say that Coyote and Segnier don't deliver good performances, because they do, especially Segnier (Polanski's lover at the time), who, although she isn't given much to do other than be sexy, really commands your attention every time she is onscreen.

For a film that is apparently supposed to push boundaries and be about (sexual) ethics and fidelity, it really is a bore. No characters are really anything more than easily predictable stereotypes, especially Nigel and Fiona, for whom I found nothing to care about. And then there's the ending (spoiler ahead, in case you want to tackle this beast); Mimi and Fiona find themselves, obviously, making love with one another. Because, according to Polanski, that's what unfulfilled wives will do, lesbian out with one another! It's a disgusting ending to a male gaze-filled film that was just Polanski's wet dream about his lover put to celluloid. Even the poster above is filled with men looking at Mimi; she might as well not be a woman, just a pair of legs and a vagina. This movie never should have been made, at least in this sloppy form. It's pseudo-intellectual, incredibly sexist crap that wasn't worth almost three hours of my life.

3.5/10

Lots of new trailers!

2008-05-30T11:28:00.003-05:00

Three brand new trailers for three movies I can't wait to see.

The Coen brothers' follow up to No Country For Old Men is, of course, something completely different: Burn After Reading, the story of a former CIA agent (John Malkovitch) who leaves a digital copy of his tell-all memoirs in a gym run by Frances McDormand and a hilarious-looking Brad Pitt (guys, he actually used to look like this). It looks like a return to teh balls-out funny Coens of The Big Lebowski -- this red band trailer really delivers. The final shot of Pitt dancing on the treadmill sold me.

An embeddable one for Choke:

Now, from reading about the movie, it seems pretty faithful to Chuck Palahniuk's book, but you wouldn't know that from the trailer. It looks like a romantic comedy, albeit one with a dark edge. The trailer hardly goes into Victor's choking or his mother situation, much less the weirder stuff that goes on in the book. This is probably a case of a studio not knowing how to market a movie, which is almost always disastrous, business-wise. Not that I figured it would be a box-office smash, but still. The trailer does show that Sam Rockwell was the perfect choice for Victor, despite being a little old; he has the look and the sensibility that I pictured reading the novel.

Finally, what is probably my most anticipated movie of the summer has just released a red band trailer (these things are everywhere now). Step Brothers stars Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as the titular siblings, and I shouldn't have to say anymore to make you watch it. The gratuitous swearing, the attempted live burial, the bunk bed collapse. All these things make for a movie that I will love.

New Watchmen image!

2008-05-27T11:24:00.003-05:00

Thanks to AICN, we've got a picture of the golden-age Minutemen from Zack Snyder's upcoming Watchmen, and I can't think of a better way to start off this week. It's goofy, it's silly-looking, but that's how it is in the book! Then again, this is probably at their holiday party. But this image is another sign that Snyder is on the absolute right track, and I have no idea how I am going to be able to wait another year for this movie.

Betty Blue (Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1986)

2008-05-26T18:24:00.002-05:00

In French, Betty Blue's title is 37°2 le matin, which roughly translates to "37.2 Degrees in the Morning," a far better title than it got for its American release. 37.2° C is the body temperature of a pregnant woman first thing in the morning; when I learned this, after watching the entire movie, it was really a really touching and beautiful cherry on this depressing sundae.

The film opens with Betty (Beatrice Dalle) and Zorg (Jean-Hugues Anglade) making love; they met three days before, and are in total lust at Zorg's shanty, where he serves as his community's handyman in exchange for his rent. She shows up once during the day with all her bags, and Zorg brings her in. Within days, she's dumped a bucket of paint on his boss' car and set his house on fire, and they leave for a friend's place. This is the beginning of an epic love affair that isn't particularly pretty, but is incredibly passionate and, well, French.

Dalle is absolutely radiant as Betty. Her first acting job, she was involved with director Beineix, and his love for her shows through the camera (although, aren't films with the director's lover in it often the best ones?). She is incredibly beautiful and tough, but there's a side to her that's damaged and broken. As time goes on, that side becomes less vulnerable and more dangerous, and the last hour of the film is spent watching Betty's mental breakdown. It's heartbreaking, as Zorg tries to save her. He is absolutely convinced that he can save her, and even attacks a doctor who says they can help her with medications and electro-shock. Betty is possibly a schizophrenic, more likely a bipolar with incredibly high highs and low lows. Dalle almost hypnotizes the viewer in the beginning with her beauty and raw sexuality, and lulls you into a sense of security about she and Zorg until it is too late.

The photography is beautiful; as I said, Beineix' camera really loves Dalle. The movie, at almost three hours long, drags for the first half. In fact, if you just watched the beginning, you'd have no idea of the emotional depth the movie achieves at the end. But as much as I think the film could have been cut by about half an hour, I also see why it was made this way, and appreciate the mundanity of this ridiculous love affair leading up to their ultimate tragedy. If you have patience, both for the length of the film and for a movie revolving around a not-always-likeable crazy French girl, Betty Blue is something I can't recommend enough.

8/10

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button trailer!

2008-05-24T21:55:00.002-05:00

A first preview of David Fincher's upcoming film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has popped up on Twitchfilm.net (I wish I could embed it here, but no dice). Despite the fact that it's in Spanish, I think you get a pretty good idea of what's going on. Fincher, as always, seems to be on top of his game aesthetically; plus, Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are infinitely more likeable (and, in my view better actors) than almost anyone in Zodiac (Robert Downey Jr excluded). Pitt-Fincher collaborations have always been solid, and I'm sure this will be the case as well. Enjoy!

(More/better reviews coming soon, I promise!)

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007)

2008-05-16T22:33:00.003-05:00

If 2007 hadn't been the year of There Will Be Blood, The Assassination of Jesse James would have been both the best and the most beautiful film of last year. Criminally underrated, both by audiences and award ceremonies, Andrew Dominik's film is often described with words like "ponderous" and "epic." I stayed away from the film for just that reason; I have a short attention span at times, especially for movies that are slooooow and almost three hours long. But once I finally put this film into my DVD player, I couldn't stop it. It's epically gorgeous, including some of the best cinematography I've seen in American film in a long while. There's a scene near the beginning of the film, where the James gang is robbing their last train, and as the train approaches the roadblock in the middle of the night, the intensely bright light from the train cuts through the bare trees, and it was so beautiful I don't think I will ever forget it. The entire train robbery scene is beautiful, even when the gang boards the train and Jesse especially is brutally rough with the passengers. The film moves from the claustrophobia of the train to the intensely wide-open spaces all over the America of Jesse James. Another scene has Jesse and a member of the gang standing on the threshold of a giant ice field, symbolizing the desolate nature of this huge country.

Not only is the film incredibly gorgeous, the performances are all career-best. Brad Pitt is really remarkable as James; it's a testament to his performance that after a few minutes, you forget about Brad Pitt, movie star, and think of him as James. His James is all over the place: paranoid, insomniac, jumpy, tired of a life that has never allowed him to have a real home. Enter Robert Ford, Casey Affleck in a rightfully Oscar-nominated role (in fact, I might like this performance better than Javier Bardem's winning one. Might.). Ford is a real loser, someone who has been made fun of his entire life, idolizes James, and has dreams and plans for himself he will never live up to, even after his famous murder. Since the conclusion of the film is foregone, we're never in suspense as to what will happen, just when, and what will provoke it. Somehow, Robert Ford and his brother Charley end up in the James Gang, getting closer and closer to Jesse. But things happen along the way, and Jesse knows to keep his friends close and his enemies closer. The interplay between James and Ford, neither sure what the other knows or knows they know, is fascinating to watch.

There's so much I could talk about in regards to this film; just about every scene has something I could probably write 500 words about. It's gorgeous, engaging, and superbly acted, and it's a shame that this movie didn't get the attention or acclaim that There Will Be Blood did. In fact, these two would make a good (if 6 hour) double-header, as some of the themes are shared, and the view of America is similar. Both movies have a superb score, as well -- Nick Cave did Jesse James', and even makes a great little cameo appearance. Everything about this film is really well crafted, and often breathtaking. A quiet little movie that will get in your mind and stay there.

9/10

Mister Lonely trailer

2008-05-11T21:37:00.002-05:00

The movie I've been hearing about & anticipating for years now, Harmony Korine's Mister Lonely, starring Diego Luna & Samantha Morton as celebrity impersonators who go to a commune full of their peers, finally has a trailer out. The trailer says the film is in competition at Cannes, which means that we'll hopefully see it out before the end of the year (especially if it does well). I can't wait for the film, and the trailer even made me tear up a bit. Check it out!

A Good Old Fashioned Orgy

2008-05-09T15:46:00.002-05:00

In what might be the best titled film of all time, Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, and Leslie Bibb have all signed onto A Good Old Fashioned Orgy, about a 30 year old (Sudeikis) who decides to have one last party at his family's old summer home -- an orgy.

Plot sounds hilarious, plus my two favorite current SNL cast members? Sign me up! Unlike one of the ComingSoon commenters, I think this has way more potential to be funny than Zack & Miri Make a Porno. Hopefully we can look for it next winter!

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (Fritz Lang, 1933)

2008-05-03T11:03:00.002-05:00

Was The Joker based on Dr. Mabuse? After seeing Fritz Lang's masterpiece, I can't help but think that he was (the modern incarnation, at least). Both Dr. Mabuse and The Joker are institutionalized evil geniuses who control a mob of criminals from inside (although Mabuse has some help), both have hypnotic powers, and both are ridiculously creepy. That being said, it shouldn't be surprising that The Testament of Dr. Mabuse creeped me out in a way that few films ever have, especially considering it's over 70 years old. Dr. Mabuse (about whom Lang made an earlier and a later film, both of which I want to check out) was a criminal mastermind until he saw something during a police standoff that drove him insane. Since then, for ten years he'd been locked up in an insane asylum, where he was silent until he started writing the instructions for a legacy of crime.

In the meantime, Inspector Lohmann is investigating the disappearance of a disgraced colleague who has figured out the secret of a counterfeiting ring. There's also Tom, a member of said counterfeiting gang, and his girlfriend Lili, who has no idea about Tom's actual job. All these pieces come together in what we would consider today to be relatively obvious ways, but its the way that Lang, an obvious master, fits all the pieces together that makes this film worth seeing. It's exciting, with a believable love story (Lili is my favorite character in the film; her response when she finds out about Tom's life is really amazing for a "good" female character at the time), as well as some truly terrifying moments. Dr. Mabuse's ghost is something that will haunt my subconscious for some time. Check out the Criterion DVD, with its (as always) wonderful transfer and special features.

8.5/10

The Red Shoes (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1948)

2008-04-29T18:02:00.002-05:00

No, I'm not reviewing this movie again; actually, these two probably couldn't be further apart in every aspect, except for the fact they're both loosely based around the same Hans Christian Andersen story. This The Red Shoes stars Moira Shearer as Victoria Page, a young ballerina who gets an audition with famous company owner Boris Lermontov half through her pluckiness, and half through nepotism. She joins Lermontov's company, and he sees something in her no one else does and makes her the lead in his new ballet, an adaptation of the titular Andersen story. At the same time Victoria is hired, so is young composer Julian Craster, who writes The Red Shoes and becomes as much of a protegee in his field as Victoria does in hers. Of course, Julian and Victoria fall in love, and Victoria has to eventually choose between love and career.

Before we get to the melodramatic plot twists of the last hour of the film, there's plenty of absolutely gorgeous dancing to feast your eyes on. I'm not a ballet fan, but even I was hypnotized by Shearer's performance in the ballet-within-a-film, as a young woman who can't take off her haunted red shoes. The costumes and sets are wonderful, and the optical effects (which I was unsure if they were happening onstage or not) give the ballet a surreal, dreamlike feel.

But of course, there's the last part of the film, and Victoria's choice between dancing (and Boris, although he doesn't show any real physical/sexual attraction to Victoria, just a possessiveness of her talent) and love (and Julian, whom I just found creepy and disconcerting the whole film for some reason). Of course -- this is 1948, of course -- a woman can't have both, and the only reason she can't is because Julian won't let her. That's right -- he leaves the opening of his opera to berate her for performing after a long absence in Monte Carlo. Boris asks Victoria if Julian would give up his love of music for her, and she (as well as we) know the answer. If there's ever been an example of a woman forced to give up her ambitions to be a perfect wifey, this is it. And then, instead of choosing dancing like I hoped she would, Victoria throws herself off a bridge in order to ensure she would never dance again. And then, she doesn't even die, just breaks her legs and asks Julian to take the red shoes off of her. Vomit rose in my throat. Could this have been any more obvious? Sure, Boris is trying to control Victoria as well, but there were certainly situations where she could have been a dancer and not under the control of either of these men. But his is 1948, so of course not. Barf again. So this movie was ruined for me by the last 15 minutes, but if you can swallow that, it's a beautiful movie about dancing.

7/10

Vagabond (Agnes Varda, 1985)

2008-04-24T22:51:00.002-05:00

I'm working my way piece by piece through Criterion's Agnes Varda box set, and although Vagabond (or, its French title, Without Roof or Rule, which I actually like better) doesn't quite live up to the promise of Le Bonheur, it's quite a good film in its own right. Sandrine Bonnaire, whom I loved in A Nos Amours, plays Mona (formerly Simone), a young drifter about whom we know almost nothing. We never learn about her past, or what (except hating life as a secretary) made her abandon normal life and live on the road; this is a breath of fresh air, as most films would have become overly bogged down in the past and sentimentalization of the road. There's no sentamentality here; the first scene in the movie is Mona frozen to death after sleeping in a ditch. She's never identified, and is buried in a potter's field. But from there, we go back to the past few weeks in her life, and find out the effect she's had on all the people she's recently met on the road.

There's the former drifter and his wife and children, who now run a sheep farm, who want to give Mona a parcel of land to farm for herself and are bitterly disappointed when she doesn't want to take up a solitary existence. There's the tree researcher, who treats Mona alternately as a freak, a pet project, and someone to whom she looks up as an example of freedom. There's the researcher's protegee, and his elderly aunt and her maid, and the Tunisian migrant worker who teaches Mona how to clip grape vines and provides the central heart of the film. Mona is up front about what she wants from people: money, food, a ride, a place to stay. But all these people take something from her, and they are much more conflicted and conventional about it. It takes almost everyone she meets a long while, if ever, to realize that Mona is someone who has something to offer, although she might not be conventionally a teacher. This is a wonderful portrait of a young woman with so much to offer, who lives how she wants (or does she?) and dies young. The Criterion transfer is beautiful, as is to be expected, and Varda's script and direction are wonderful.

8/10

Two French films

2008-04-22T20:06:00.003-05:00

As a recap of what I've been watching lately, I thought I'd demonstrate how wildly different contemporary French film can be. Regular Lovers, my first experience with director Phillipe Garrel, is a war story of a different kind. Set in 1968 Paris during the student uprising, Louis Garrel (the director's son, and one of my favorite French actors) plays Francois, a 20 year old poet who is, for the first hour of the film, involved with some revolutionary groups. We see stunning front-line footage, but nothing really ever happens. Garrel is trying to demystify what has become an epic myth about that time; his characters randomy flip cars over and have a hard time organizing anyone to do anything. As can be expected, the group's political efforts fall apart rather rapidly.

And yes, I did say the first hour. This film clocks in at nearly 3 hours, but the pace is so incredibly slow that it might seem like 6. There are long, unbroken shots of almost nothing happening, and while this can be beautiful under a trained eye like Garrel's, it's often frustrating as well. Francois falls in love with Lilie, a young, ambitious, beautiful sculptor, and the next two hours explore their relationship, as well as the lives of the tangential characters that share their lies, including more artists and a young man with a hefty inheritance and an opium addiction. Francois and Lilie's relationship isn't really tumultuous, although Francois does have problems with Lilie's insistance on non-monogamy( ones that he doesn't express, but you can see it in Garrel's expressive face). When they say they are going to be together forever, some people mean it more than others. The dramatic ending is a bit much, but mostly, the film is gorgeously shot and acted, if a little trying on the patience.

7/10

On the other side of the spectrum is Them, directed by The Eye's David Moreau and Xavier Palaud. A quick, not-even-80-minute horror film, the setup gets to the point, gets intense and scary, and stays that way. A French couple living in Romania (apparently because the boyfriend is working on a book), half an hour outside of Bucharest, is terrorized by a group of home invaders. That's it, although the story gets really scary. The girlfriend and boyfriend are more or less the only characters in the story, and while there's not much in the way of character development (but not in that way that shitty PG-13 horror movies put each character into a stereotype box), you honestly do care about the characters and do want them to get away. If you rent it, don't read the Netflix description, because, in that subtle Netflix way, it kind of gives away the ending. Nothing that will ruin the story, but still, come on!

I wasn't paying too much attention to the direction in The Eye, but where Regular Lovers is classically beautiful, Them is horror movie beautiful. Mostly taking place in the dark, there are some really scary moments, and the film is shot on grainy digital film, giving it a real documentary-type feel. If you want a quick, intense thrill ride, Them is for you.

8.5/10

Le Bonheur (Agnes Varda, 1965)

2008-04-16T12:49:00.003-05:00

The first thing I felt after watching Le Bonheur (Happiness) was an overwhelming sense of awe. How could this movie have been all but forgotten today? It's as good as the best Godard (A Woman is a Woman, in my estimation), a beautiful, emotionally resonant piece of French New Wave filmmaking. Then, I, of course, got angry. Agnes Varda, who, in the special features of the Criterion DVD looks like the nicest French grandma you could ever hope to meet, has been neglected by film history, and why? Because she's a woman? Because she was married to Jacques Demy? Well, nevermind why, because hopefully this Criterion box set's release will change that.

Francois is happily married to Therese, with two young children. All is fine (and dull) until he meets Emilie, a post office worker who connects his phone calls and takes him to get coffee. He falls in love with Emilie, but not to the detriment (in his mind) of his marriage to Therese. In fact, rather than falling out of love with either woman, or becoming secretive or surly, he is, as he says, more himself every day, becoming a better husband and lover at the same time. What a revolutionary vision of marriage, of non-monogamy! And then something changes, but not in the melodramatic way you'd expect.

The film is revolutionary in its portrait of marriage between two real equals. But Francois is an interesting character, and not nearly as progressive as he seems at first. On one hand, he believes in free love -- he's not guilty about having an affair, and even tells his wife about it in a completely different way than I've ever seen in a movie. It's really the most interesting portrait of "infidelity" I've ever seen. But on the other hand, Francois is a very typical chauvinist; when Therese tells him about a movie she wants to see, and asks if he prefers Brigitte Bardot or Jeanne Moreau, he says, "I prefer you." He wants it all! He deserves it all! He can have Bardot and Moreau, and Therese and Emilie!

The movie is visually stunning, with a host of motifs that really stand out: Brigitte Bardot (as a stand-in for female sexuality?), bright colors (blue & orange the most pronounced, especially in the opening sequence), flowers, and female hands (there are two stunning, parallel sequences of Therese's and Emilie's hands that are incredibly poignant in the context of the film). Varda, not only having written a beautiful, subtle script, directs it to absolute perfection. It was written & directed by a woman, but isn't necessarily feminine. It's just life.

9/10

Sorry for the absence; for some reason, Blogger had flagged this as a spam blog. Hrm.

Leatherheads (George Clooney, 2008)

2008-04-11T23:19:00.003-05:00

If there are two actors who can charm the hell out of me, they are John Krasinski and George Clooney. I'm a huge fan of The Office, and Clooney is pretty much the suavest actor out there. But he also is a pretty talented director, as we've seen with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (a really underrated film in my eyes) and Good Night and Good Luck. But if he has one problem with directing, its editing himself. All of his films have been just a tad too long, and that's Leatherheads' problem as well. The story of the legitimization of professional football in the mid 1920s, via an aging playboy with a good mind for cheating (Clooney) and a young World War I hero who's also a dynamite football player (Krasinski, playing a little young but who cares). Renee Zellweger plays Lexie Littleton, Chicago Tribune reporter who's sent to follow Krasinski, because something about his war story stinks a bit.

The good: Leatherheads really swings along on the charm of the two leading men. It's funny, it's cute, and, at times, it succeeds at being more than it really is. This movie has something to say about what it means to believe in something, and what professional sports were like before commercialization. But more than that, the witty 20s repartee is more than enough to see the movie. Zellweger and Clooney have lots of snappy back-and-forth, and you even forget that she's squinty and annoying.

The bad: yes, Leatherheads is about 20 minutes too long, and drags a bit in the last third. Also, there's been a lot of talk about how much Clooney revised the 17-year-old script (so much so that he resigned from the WGA proper because he wasn't acknowledged as screenwriter for the film), and it really shows. Krasinski's character Carter is a totally likeable, all-American boy in the first half of the film, but when Lexie gets too close to his story, something in him changes. In a great interview this week with the AV Club, Krasinski comments on how he and Clooney changed the character of Carter from an unlikeable guy to just a misunderstood one. While I think that was a good call, the last third seems to have slipped Clooney's mind, and when Carter changes, it's never really explained. The same goes for the relationship between Lexie and Carter; it's laid out in the first half, and then just dissolves in the second.

So while there are a few inconsistencies in the movie, they're nothing that take away from enjoying the movie in the moment. Two charming men, a quick, funny script, and a love triangle is enough to spend 2 hours with this movie.

7/10

Strange Circus (Sion Sono, 2005)

2008-04-10T22:34:00.002-05:00

If the trailer for Tokyo Gore Police freaked you out, then Strange Circus certainly isn't for you. The movie begins as a story about a young girl who is forced into a sexual relationship with her father, until the entire family dissolves. In the meantime, she fantasizes about a circus atmosphere where she's accepted in her death.

Then the plot twists, and it's revealed that the first story is actually being written by popular Japanese author Mitsuko, who is flanked by syncophantic editors and one new guy, who seems un affected by her charms. From there, the movie takes you places you thought you'd never go, both plot-wise and visually. Although topics like child abuse (sexual and physical), murder, incest, self-mutilation, mutilation of others, disembowlement, and more, it's much more than it seems.

At its core, I believe Strange Circus is a film about the strange relationship that exists almost universally between mothers and daughters. Mitsuko, through narration, often equates herself with her mother, especially when she talks about how she's been waiting to be executed since she was born, or was she born on the executioner's slate. The relationship between Mitsuko and her mother is an eternally complicated one, including sexual jealousy and even abuse when the father begins sleeping with both females. Of course, most mothers and daughters never take their natural rivalry this far, but there are naturally twinges of competition in most relationships that close.

Sion Sono takes these existential themes and wraps them in a Japanese shock exterior. Many people who've seen it will say that Strange Circus is the most disturbing film they've ever seen, and I can't really argue with that. But much like other shock auteur Takashi Miike, this is shock with a purpose. If you can stomach it, Sono's Strange Circus is a shocking, thought-provoking watch. But it's definitely not for everyone, or even most.

8.5/10

Insane Tokyo Gore Police trailer

2008-04-08T22:12:00.002-05:00

Without one word of dialogue in the trailer, I know Tokyo Gore Police is going to be awesome. In this five minutes of ridiculous footage, there is more blood than culd possibly be measured, plucked eyeballs, a woman with a crocodile head as her bottom half (??!), awesome fighting school girls with sword arms, and more gore than you can shake a stick at. It's so awesome, it makes me use phrases like "shake a stick at." All I can say is check it out. (Thanks to Twitch for hosting the video.)

Towelhead clips!

2008-04-08T21:52:00.003-05:00

Having just finished Alicia Erian's novel Towelhead (and loved it), I came to search out any news on Alan Ball's (American Beauty, Six Feet Under) adaptation. No trailer or release date as of yet, but IESB has some clips of the film that get me more excited for the movie.

But will it be called Towelhead, as the novel is and the working title was, or Nothing Is Private, the name under which it premiered at last year's Toronto Film Festival? If I had to guess, even though right now it's being called Towelhead, I'd put my money on Nothing is Private, because the original title is just too controversial. If you thought the outrage by conservative radio/tv hosts over movies like Stop-Loss and Rendition was ridiculous (and I do), then just wait until this movie comes out, non-offensive title or not. Yikes.

First Watchmen video blog!

2008-04-06T21:05:00.003-05:00

Thankfully, Zack Snyder and company aren't going to keep us completely in the dark about Watchmen leading up to its May 2009 release (I still have no idea how I will be able to wait). Comingsoon.net has the first of 12 monthly video blogs from the set. This one is pretty basic, about the set and how almost everything was built up from scratch, but it makes me optimistic to see the amount of work going into making every single thing exactly like the graphic novel. What do you think -- excited about the movie?

Snow Angels (David Gordon Green, 2007)

2008-04-06T19:53:00.002-05:00

Most reviews I've read of David Gordon Green's delayed (it premiered at Sundance 2007!) Snow Angels remark upon how Green seems uncomfortable, out of his element in the movie. I'm starting to suspect that reviewers just read previous reviews and then parrot them, because I didn't see that at all. One review, I can't remember where, said that the movie is like watching these people from the inside of a car, to the detriment of the film. I agree and disagree; Green is detached from the film because the characters are detached from their lives. No one in the movie, save perhaps the teenaged couple of Michael Angarano and Olivia Thirlby (who can stop playing the quirky teen friend any day now), have a hold on their lives. Everyone in the movie seems to just be moving with the tides, and where their emotions and circumstances take them. In that respect, Green got it completely right.

Angarano plays Arthur, a teen who works at a Chinese restaurant with Annie (Kate Beckinsale), who used to babysit him. Annie is separated from the mentally unstable Glenn (Sam Rockwell), with whom she has a 4 year old daughter, Tara. If that drama wasn't enough, Arthur's parents are in the middle of a separation themselves, and Lily (Thirlby) is a new girl with a huge crush on him. But none of this is frivolous (some have called the movie humorless, which I again couldn't disagree with enough -- I found myself laughing at some moments, usually as the only one in the theater). In this movie, everything means something. In the half-ridiculous, half-revelatory opening scene, the high school band, including Arthur on trombone, is marching and playing a distorted version of "Sledgehammer." In a monologue that mirrors exactly every school band director I've known (band geek here), the band director tells his band fervently that every move is based on the person next to and in front of you, and every move is precisely what it needs to be. This is the most important speech in the film; it lets you know where Green is coming from in this portrait of small-town malaise.

Sam Rockwell continues his reign as my favorite working actor. His task in the movie is a really tough one; Glenn could end up just being a pathetic psycho, which he certainly is in some scenes, but Rockwell endues Glenn with something else, something that makes the audience feel sorry for him, and sincerely empathize with him. Kate Beckinsale is very good as well, and again, reviews have called her a hothouse plant just put down in the middle of this environment, that she doesn't belong there, but I think that's a lot of Annie's tragedy. I think I missed the point where Beckinsale became a "real" actress, but I like it a lot. Amy Sedaris also delivers a surprisingly solid performance (for someone known for comedy) as Annie's friend and coworker. If Snow Angels is playing near you, don't let the mediocre reviews stop you from seeing it. It's a beautiful, agonizing portrait of regular people and regular tragedies.

8.5/10

White women with different kinds of problems

2008-04-03T21:34:00.002-05:00

I've been away for the last few days, and while I usually like to blog while on vacation, this was more of a trying to find a goddamn job-stressful trip, so no dice. But I did watch a few movies with friends, and a few of them were about white ladies with problems, to varying effect.

The Hours won Nicole Kidman abest actress Oscar for her performance as Virginia Woolf, but I wasn't impressed. In fact, I wasn't impressed with the movie much at all, except for the section starring Julianne Moore as a repressed 50s housewife. In fact, I found Kidman as Woolf and Meryl Streep as the contemporary version of Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway incredibly selfish and irritating. I understand the feminist interpretation of mental illness, but I don't think it was explored in any meaningful, interesting way in this film. I was bored while watching it; I think my liberal arts education ruined for me any possible enjoyment of anything with rich white people constantly complaining.

4/10

This Girl's Life is the flip, more interesting side of the coin. Juliette Marquis, who looks, acts, and just seems like Angelina Jolie (in a good way), gives a fearless performance as major porn star Moon, who is caring for her Parkinson's-afflicted father and considering getting out of the business. She's not afraid to appear naked, to simulate sex, to talk dirty, and to show real emotion and vulnerability. This really should have been an it-girl-making performance for Marquis, so I'm unsure as to why she's falled off the map. The other actors in the film are solid as well: James Woods as the father, who one moment is shaky and unsure of what's going on, and another is telling dirty stories about visiting Morocco as a lawyer; Kip Pardue as a sweet, understanding new boyfriend; and Michael Rappaport as an obsessive man who comes into strange contact with Moon. This is a strong, fearless film about a strong woman who isn't sure what she wants, and one that I recommend for those interested in the adult film industry or just offbeat character studies.

7.5/10

The Cranes Are Flying (Mikhail Kalatozov, 1957)

2008-03-29T20:33:00.002-05:00

I fond the above poster at Stale Popcorn, on the list of best film posters ever. I agree that the poster is gorgeous: effortlessly beautiful and symbolic, and still distinctly Soviet. That poster succeeds in portraying the film in a way that the American poster really doesn't. But no matter how beautiful the poster is, and how beautiful the movie itself is, I never felt myself particularly moved or swayed by the movie's actions.

Veronica and her fiancee Boris are torn apart by World War II, when Boris heroically enlists to help save his country. Veronica also loses her parents (in the one really emotionally resonant scene for me in the movie), and moves in with Boris' family, including his cousin Mark, who is hopelessly in love with Veronica. He's also a scumbag who won't take no for an answer, and tries to force himself time and time again on Veronica. The feminist/progressive defense of accepting a man because you can no longer hold your own in the world is an interesting and provocative one, but alas, Kalatozov doesn't really go that route. Veronica instead becomes a heroine of the war, working in a hospital with Boris' father. When the inevitable happens, it's sad, but not unexpected nor emotionally engaging. This seems more like a Soviet melodrama than a profound statement on war and female engagement in the world. The propagandist ending, with Veronica handing out flowers to her comrades and looking forward to a brave new world, was so ridiculous I actually laughed. For resonant drama, look elsewhere, but The Cranes Are Flying is beautifully photographed and has beautiful actors.

7/10

Another Day In Paradise (Larry Clark, 1997)

2008-03-28T23:20:00.002-05:00

Larry Clark is really a love or hate director for most people. I personally love him, a lot. When I worked at a university library one summer in special collections, I would hide in the air conditioned rare books basement and read dirty books; particularly, old issues of Playgirl, High Times, and Larry Clark photography. I love the maligned Ken Park -- it's a film with no real plot to speak of, but short vignettes about how hard it is to be a teenager. That's what most of Clark's films are about, the in-between period when you're not an adult, but certainly not a child, and what sex and love and fun means to you then. In Another Day In Paradise, Clark takes on adulthood, or at least two adults who are in a state of arrested development, and two young people who want to be adults. James Woods and Melanie Griffith (with whom I was surprisingly impressed) play Mel and Sid, two junkie thieves who end up hooking up with Bobbie and Rosie (played by Vincent Kartheiser and Natasha Gregson Wagner, who both give wonderful performances but seem to have fallen victim to the strange young actors of the 90s curse), two teenage junkie hoods who want to become big time. Mel and Sid become like parents to Bobbie and Rosie, but, like most things, the good times only last so long.

The plot isn't so much what's important about Another Day In Paradise; rather, it's the movie one can point to when detractors try to claim that Clark isn't a director, but instead is an exploiter of underage sexuality. This film has lots of beautiful and occasionally poignant moments. All four of the leads are remarkably well acted, and in all these people at the bottom of society, we see glimpses of failed dreams and vulnerability. But it wouldn't be a Clark film without some sex, and although this was the director's cut, there was some of the most straightforward sex talk I've seen in film in a while. Wagner in particular is fantastic as Rosie, who wants to be rich and have her fun like with Bobbie, but also wants to settle down and be a mother (hard with a heroin addiction), but fails in the end. The only real problems I had with the movie is that there was no way that Wagner plays for a teenager, as she was almost 30 at the time of filming; and I could see where the plot was going long before it got there. But like I said, plot isn't the most important thing in this film, but rather the actors' reactions to the situations. Those are all amazing. Not Clark's best film, but certainly a really good one, no matter who the director.

8.5/10

Death Sentence (James Wan, 2007)

2008-03-26T21:52:00.002-05:00

James Wan is really underrated, I think. While watching Death Sentence, I thought back on his previous directorial efforts, Saw and Dead Silence, and realized that basically everything he's done, I've been a fan of. I'm not saying he's the next Scorcese or anything, but he's a great genre director. In that vein, Death Sentence is a great piece of exploitation action; what Grindhouse would have been if the directors didn't take themselves so seriously (though I still prefer Grindhouse, this is just the Death Wish to their sexploitation-horror films). Kevin Bacon plays the father of a promising youth athlete who is murdered in a gas station gang initiation ceremony. The gang member is caught, but Bacon is shocked that he would get 5-7 years in jail at the most, so he purposefully ruins the case and decides to take revenge.

The change from white-collar businessman to no-nonsense vigilante is a really genuine seeming one; it really could happen to someone you know. In particular, one chase scene, which goes from the streets to a parking garage, is done for several minutes in one continuous shot which is really impressive. It brings you into the action and is just an impressive directorial feat (there's even a bonus feature on the DVD about the making of that particular scene). So while it may seem like a far-fetched premise, Bacon, the writing, and Wan's direction really bring it to life. Not to mention, John Goodman has an incredibly badass role as an arms dealer and gang leader. James Wan really pulled this modern day Charles Bronson movie off, and not least because he understands that a double-barrelled shotgun is the most badass weapon there is.

7.5/10

2 in brief

2008-03-24T21:29:00.004-05:00

Infinitely better and more sophisticated, both in plot and in cultural implications than Princess Tam-Tam (strangely enough, since this was the year before), Zouzou is another Josephine Baker star vehicle that has improbable musical numbers with outrageous costumes (Baker as a bird in a cage!) and a hidden love story. Baker and Jean Gabin play orphans who were raised as brother and sister by a circus barker, and have stayed close ever since, even though Baker has fallen in love with her not-brother. Problem is, he falls for a friend of hers, and then he's arrested for murder (wrongfully, of course). It's nothing remarkable, but is really a pleasant yet surprisingly deep (a few moments of real moral quandaries) way in which to watch Baker in her element. Plus, her Parisian cheapie vogue style of the happening 30s is one of my new style icons.

7/10

The award for most inventive plot ever definitely goes to Bubba Ho-Tep. Perennial awesome guy Bruce Campbell plays Elvis who, years after trading places with an impersonator, is living in a Texas nursing home where an Egyptian mummy is sucking the souls from fellow residents and shitting them out. Oh, and he has to team up with Former President Kennedy, played by Ossie Davis, to defeat the mummy. I have no idea how one would even come up with that story, but it's both a fun and funny, yet oddly touching movie. The first half of the movie lays out the premise, but also has some real truth and poignancy to it about aging and the meaning of life. The second half is a gross, funny, ass-kicking Campbell spectacle. Fans of b-movies have undoubtedly already seen it, but if my description piqued your interest at all, there are far worse ways to spend 90 minutes.

7/10

Beyond the Darkness (Joe D'Amato, 1979)

2008-03-22T21:45:00.002-05:00

From the first few minutes, with its thrilling footage of the main character driving a van and some other random things happening, my main thought about Beyond the Darkness was that if Mystery Theater 3000 had watched and mocked gory horror movies, this would have been one of the first they would have done. Frank's girlfriend dies within the first few minutes of the movie (because his creepy maid had a voodoo doll of her), and then he totally snaps. Or maybe he was crazy to begin with, we never really know. He digs up her corpse (after injecting her with...something that I really thought was going to bring her back to life), takes out the organs, and keeps her at his house. But that's not enough for him -- he starts inexplicably killing local girls as well, with, of course, the help of the creepy maid, who is now his fiancee (or thinks she is).

But the movie isn't actually as bad as it might seem -- there are some moments of horror, and some really intense gore (the scene where Frank takes out his girlfriend's guts is brutal, even if it's obviously fake). And the movie doesn't make sense until afterward, when you really think about it. It's a fun, weird horror movie with some incredible WTF moments, but I just can't see why all my Netflix friends who have seen the movie have loved it.

6.5/10

A few site updates

2008-03-21T22:12:00.002-05:00

If you're wondering why I haven't been posting much, it's because I've been thoroughly engrossed in Michael Apted's Up series -- I'm through the first three, and want to see the rest as soon as possible. They're a wonderful mixture of the mundane and the universal, and I find myself really invested in these people, for good or for bad. I'll certainly be writing about the series when I finish it.

For now, a few things. Please tell me your favorite film blogs that I'm presumably not reading. I feel pretty isolated from other film bloggers, and I want to change that! Help me!

Second, thanks to Adam, I've become preoccupied with StumbleUpon. If you have Firefox and don't use it, I recommend you get it now. And if you do, I've put a handy SU button on each post. If you really like something I've written, or if you just feel like being nice, click it and share it with the world! I would appreciate it. (And if you read this on the LJ feed, come by and see the blog -- SU buttons and all -- once in a while! Because if you comment on the LJ feed, I have no way of seeing it. If you comment here, I will almost surely read and respond!)

My Blueberry Nights (Wong Kar-Wai, 2007)

2008-03-18T15:44:00.002-05:00

Like Michael Haneke, my relationship with Wong Kar-Wai is one where I really go against the grain. Most people I know who love film love his films, citing how beautiful and romantic they are. Instead of romantic, I find them melodramatic, and, at their worst, trite and boring. I've never seen a Wong film that I really, truly love, and My Blueberry Nights, his first English-language effort, didn't change that. The film starts with about a half hour of the main character, Elizabeth (Norah Jones, in her first acting role which I'll get to soon) complaining to cafe owner Jeremy (Jude Law, who looks sort of dead behind the eyes) about the unseen man that's left her for another woman. She stays at his cafe past closing to talk with him and eat blueberry pie, since Jeremy explains that it's always almost all left at the end of the night, but he keeps making them anyway because someday, someone will want some. These overwrought metaphors (get it? Elizabeth's the blueberry pie!) might sound romantic and lovely in Chinese through subtitles, but when we actually hear this dialogue in English coming from these actors, it just doesn't work. Another Wong trademark, slow motion, is used to complete excess here and seems to be just padding when there's nothing else to show; it's distracting rather than masterful.

Every review I've read of the film pretty much hinges on the performance of Norah Jones -- people either commend her bravery for taking her first acting role as the lead in a prominent director's first English feature, or dismiss her outright with little acting and emoting talent. I'm in the second camp. Half the time, Jones seems checked out of the role, as if reading from a cue card or having her lines read to her. Especially when put up against such grade-A talents as David Strathairn and Rachel Weisz, Jones is almost wince-worthy at times. The entire movie is based on the premise that Elizabeth (who goes by Beth and Liz at times in her journey) is someone to whom you can really connect; why else would Straithairn's alcoholic police officer or Natalie Portman's obsessive gambler open up to her like they do? I saw nothing in Jones' portrayal of Elizabeth that made this at all plausible. Her innocence and wide-eyed naivete could have been endearing, but instead were ridiculous and unrealistic. Elizabeth is someone who believes used car salesmen. Seriously.

But for all these faults, the film is saved from total disaster from the middle section, with Straithairn as the cop and Weisz as his soon-to-be ex-wife. This story is told masterfully, and is telling that the movie is at its best when not about Elizabeth. The small tragedies are often the most painful ones, and these people, while they pretend they're not damaged, are vulnerable and broken. Both Straithairn and Weisz give fantastic performances, and might even be Oscar-worthy come next awards season. All in all, it's not surprising that My Blueberry Nights got such polarized reactions when it premiered at Cannes, nor that it's taken so long to get it out since. The script is wooden and the performances are, for the most part, vacant. I think the biggest problem here is that My Blueberry Nights tries so hard to convince you of its heart, when there's none to be seen.

6/10

Breaking: Anthony Minghella, dead at 54

2008-03-18T12:13:00.003-05:00

Sad news today: director Anthony Minghella died today, at the age of 54. Apparently, he had tonsil surgery last week, with no apparent ill effects, but had a brain hemmorhage and died this morning. Minghella, who won an Oscar for The English Patient, had just finished work on an adaptation of the Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency which is to run on HBO. Jude Law, who worked with the director on three films, has a touching comment in the Guardian article linked above. A truly talented individual, and a shocking loss for film.

Why I'm not going to see Funny Games U.S. this weekend (or ever).

2008-03-13T12:29:00.005-05:00

Apparently, director Michael Haneke recently thought about his 1997 film Funny Games and thought that it was even more applicable to American culture in the 21st century than it was to German society right before the milennium. For most directors, the answer would have been a sigh and an "Oh well." But not for Haneke. 10 years after the fact, he decided to remake his revered (in certain circles) film for American audiences, in English, with stars like Naomi Watts, Tim Roth, and Michael Pitt, and it's opening this weekend.

But this is no ordinary remake. No, it's a shot-for-shot remake. Literally nothing is different about the film except the actors and the fact that the dialogue is in English. Let's ignore the fact that I hated the original for a second; this is the height of self-promotion for an artist. If Haneke could just admit that he's looking to break through past just the American art-house audience into a wider one, that he's looking for some sort of notoriety with his brutal remake, I could respect that and move on. But Haneke apologists on IMDB are insisting that he remade it because it's so meaningful for today's American culture, what with the Iraq war and the political climate. Really. Really? I highly doubt it.

Now let's go back to the fact that this is a shitty, pretentious movie in the first place. I (obviously) have no problem with unlikable characters, or brutality, or violence in movies -- much of the criticism I've read focuses on the brutal, "I want to take a shower after" nature of the movie, but I don't mind that. My problem is that some of the tactics used (and if you've seen the movie, you know exactly what I'm talking about) are the height of directorial ridiculousness. When said moment happened, I literally yelled at my TV screen. I wanted to throw the DVD across the room. It's not post-modern, it's utterly lazy and a big wink to the audience. I almost always hate when movies are self-aware, and this is the most self aware of them all. That moment defines why I just don't like Haneke as a filmmaker.

So screw you, Michael Haneke. I'm not paying a second time to see a movie I hated the first time through, and even if I had liked the movie (which I have been assailed by almost every film fan I know for hating, by the way), why in God's name would I want to see the exact same fucking thing again? It didn't work for Gus van Sant, and I hope to high heavens it doesn't work for Haneke, although it appears that critics are already eating out of his hands.

Suspicious River (Lynne Stopkewich, 2000)

2008-03-12T21:27:00.003-05:00

The last time director Lynne Stopkewich and star Molly Parker collaborated, it was the 1996 film Kissed, which I had decidedly mixed feelings about. While I liked that it was an exploration of alternative female sexuality, I didn't like much else about it. Suspicious River is a decided improvement over that film. It's as if the protagonist of Kissed grew up, stopped having sex with corpses, but stayed in the same depressing town and somehow ended up in a depressing marriage. Parker plays Leila, motel clerk in Suspicious River who has a boring, repetitive life. While she seems like a smart, bright woman, she moves aimlessly from unskilled job to unskilled job. She stands behind the desk at this small, deserted motel, doing nothing all day, then goes home to her neglectful, anorexic husband who is no longer interested in sex.

All that changes until one day when a motel customer comes onto her, and she goes to his room. Not only does she give him oral sex, she demands money for it. He tells some of his friends, and soon, Leila has more or less a second job. There's one scene in particular where Leila walks out of a motel room and it suddenly hits her that she's a prostitute. But no moral judgements are made on her -- Leila does it because she's sexually unfulfilled, bored, and self-destructive. That's just what it is. But one man sticks out among others, and she begins a Belle de Jour-esque affair with one of her clients. But this is a movie that is better the less you know (thanks, Netflix, for one of the most revealing plot descriptions ever), but things don't go well.

Both Stopkewich and Parker matured greatly in the 4 years between their two collaborations, and it shows. The direction is often achingly beautiful, and Parker really gives a tour de force performance. Why this film isn't more revered in independent circles, not to mention as a fine piece of feminist filmmaking, is beyond me. By the way, does anyone know why Lynne Stopkewich apparently isn't directing features anymore? It's sad to lose a distinctively talented female directing voice. This film is certainly recommended, even despite the ending that's not up to the level of the rest of the movie.

8/10

Raging Bull (Martin Scorcese, 1980)

2008-03-11T23:22:00.003-05:00

Talking about Raging Bull at this point is kind of silly - I'm guessing everything that I want to say has been said thousands of times before and better. Two main points, though.

While I certainly liked the movie, I didn't love it. This is probably because of the intensely masculine nature of the film. I've never thought much of boxing in the first place, but Scorcese, the visual master that he is, really brought out the poetry and the beauty in it. I wish I had taken some stills of it, because it really is a gorgeous movie, especially the boxing scenes. The opening sequence, when DeNiro is hopping around the ring and the steam is rising from it, is one of the most beautifully photographed scenes I've ever seen. But the characters are, for the most part, so utterly unlikeable, and while that is never a problem for me liking a movie, it is their unsympathetic natures that really get me. LaMotta ends up a fat, pathetic slob, but it was by his own doing.

And strangely enough, the first/last scenes (with LaMotta at the mirror, practicing his terrible act) really impressed me with how great Paul Thomas Anderson is. I shot straight up and knew that this is where the final, infamous scene in Boogie Nights came from. The way Anderson reappropriates this scene (which was, ironically enough, reappropriated by Scorcese from On the Waterfront) is really a great statement on post-modern cinema. So Anderson is this generation's Scorcese, I say.

8/10

Terror's Advocate (Barbet Schroeder, 2007)

2008-03-10T23:03:00.002-05:00

You probably haven't heard of Jacques Verges, but you almost definitely have heard of some of the people he's defended in court: Djamila Bouhired, Algerian nationalist bomber; Klaus Barbie, Nazi "Butcher of Lyon"; Magdalena Kopp, Baader-Meinhoff gang member; and Slobodan Molosevic, former president of Serbia and Yugoslavia. Verges earned the titular nickname defending all these people, though not because of some idealistic notion that everyone needs defending. In fact, director/narrator Barbet Schroeder (whom I really admire) doesn't force the question, and instead, Verges gives a few vague answers, mostly tied to French atrocities in the Algerian war. Schroeder's ridiculously passive approach to this film is really its downfall, although it does also lead to some intriguing moments.

Verges gets involved as a French law student in communist action, then is recruited to defend Bouhired, among others, from killing French citizens in a series of bombings. He becomes very sympathetic to the cause, and outrageous in the courtroom. The first half or so of the film is dedicated to the Algerian cause, and we see first-hand the events from Battle of Algiers. Verges also has a hero complex, it seems, as he marries (and eventually deserts) Bouhired, and does the same later in his life with Kopp. Patronizing heroism aside, Verges is deeply passionate about his beliefs, and in present-day interviews, still comes off as so. But once we get past about 1970 chronologically, Verges all but refuses to talk about anything in his life. He disappeared from 1970-1978, but won't say where he was or what he was doing, even after 30 years. Some suggest he was with Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, and Verges admits being friends with Pol Pot, but, again, Schroeder never calls him on this. It would have been fascinating to see this confident, articulate man defend what we now know was a brutal regime. Neither will he really say why he defended Barbie (except to remind the court, in the 80s, about French atrocities in Algeria), and when we find out he defended certain people who were directly against his beliefs (an African warlord, notorious terrorist Carlos the Jackal), still no explanation. Verges just sits behind a huge desk, smug after all these years. He actually infuriate me for the most part.

Schroeder really lets Verges off the hook in this film, refusing to ever make him face his mistakes. Perhaps Verges just refused to have these things discussed, but it really takes away from what could have been an amazingly revealing documentary. One more minor problem I had: although the political situations around the people Verges defended were complicated and intricately interwoven (one of the most interesting things about the film is how every "terrorist" network in the world is interconnected, especially the Nazi-Palestinian connection, which I never considered and makes me uncomfortable in my beliefs), there was far too much backstory in this film for it to have any flow whatsoever. This is a great disappointment from the great Schroeder, even more so considering what this film could have been.

6/10

Two new international Speed Racer trailers

2008-03-09T21:17:00.003-05:00

Via AICN comes the news that two new international trailers for what promises to be one of the summer's biggest movies, the Wachowski brothers' Speed Racer have been released. These make me even more excited for the film -- while in plot, it might just be any other family movie, the visuals are so crazy that I get psyched just watching the trailer. I really can't wait for this one!

The Hamiltons (The Butcher Brothers, 2006)

2008-03-06T20:23:00.001-06:00

Something that irritates me more than a mediocre-to-bad horror movie that start with a ridiculous premise and go nowhere is a mediocre-to-bad horror movie that starts with a relatively good premise and goes downhill from there. The Hamiltons, an entry in 2006's After Dark Horror Fest, is certainly in that second category, and it's far more of a disappointing experience than an amusing one. The story of a constantly moving family who have some pretty dark secrets has a few good twists, but the terrible pacing, dialogue, and general unravelling of the plot really ruin this movie.

The Hamiltons move into their new neighborhood after their parents' mysterious death (never really explained, even though a big deal is made about it). The youngest member, Francis, doesn't fit in and hates his peers and family -- we don't get any interaction with anyone except the family and their social worker, however; I think the movie would have been well-served with at least one scene of Francis in school. His oldest brother, David, tries to be the father of the family, with varying results. There are also two middle siblings, twins Wendell and Darlene, who are the most interesting parts of the movie. They're hedonistic, not ashamed of who they are, incestuous, sociopathic, everything you want in juicy horror movie characters.

But when random hitchiking girls, along with a friend of Darlene's and who knows how many other women, start disappearing...no one cares. That's right, with one small, awkward exception, there's no sign that the Hamiltons will ever be caught, or if anyone in the community even cares. There should be at least a little outside tension, but there's none. The movie is incredibly low-budget, and while I obviously don't think that a big budget solves everything (it usually ruins more than it helps), The Hamiltons could have used a little more money. There's actually no gore in the movie, despite what the poster and trailer tells you, and you get the sense that it's because The Butcher Brothers ran out of money, rather than a stylistic choice. The script should have been tightened and expanded at the same time, because there's a bit of dead space, but also lots of holes in the plot. Holes you could walk through. The little twist at the end was a bit clever, but felt too much like they were pulling it out just for the ending and not part of the story at all. Had they involved that little (heh) twist in the entire movie, it would have made more sense. All in all, if The Butcher Brothers were to remake this movie with a bit of money and quite a bit more attention to the script, this could be a good movie. As of now, it's not quite worth watching.

4/10

Paranoid Park (Gus van Sant, 2007)

2008-03-05T19:41:00.002-06:00

Les Cahiers du cinema, France's premiere film journal, named Gus van Sant's Paranoid Park their favorite film of 2007. It also won the 60th Anniversary Prize and was nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes last year. Those amount to a pretty darn good pedigree for this film, but I have a love-hate relationship with van Sant. At his best (Elephant, To Die For), he documents the dark side of the outsider; at his worst (Last Days, parts of Drugstore Cowboy and My Own Private Idaho), he's boring and pretentious. So where would Paranoid Park fit into this rubric? Thankfully, it's his best film ever.

Like with Elephant, van Sant used almost all amateur actors to portray the inhabitants of this teenage world. Alex, played near-perfectly by Gabe Nevins, is a Portland high school skateboarder who is invited by his friend to Paranoid Park, a skateboard park where the punk kids, the homeless kids, the kids who are unwanted go (Alex has a wonderful interior monologue about however bad your family situation is, these kids have it worse). When he goes on his own one Saturday night, he decides to go freight train-riding with a guy he just met. When a security guard tries to stop them, Alex accidentally kills him, and then spends the rest of the movie trying to cope with his actions, accidental though they were.

van Sant tells the story through the framework of Alex's writings about the event. He's not particularly brilliant, or eloquent, or even that good at showing his emotions. Alex is a normal teenage boy, and Nevins' lack of emoting is perfect for the role. When Alex does break down, then, it's even more devastating. The plot is thin, but not to the detriment of the movie. There are long, slow-motion, lyrical shots of skateboarding and kids walking down their school's hallways, among other things. Some have (perhaps rightfully so at times) called these boring; I think they were hypnotic and illuminating. van Sant has taken the exploration of one's interior life that he stalled with in Last Days, and perfected it here. All the teenagers are natural, even when they seem unnatural. The progression of guilt from Alex's insides to his relationships with his family and friends is devastating, and emotionally resonating. van Sant has made his best film 20 years into his career; I hope he keeps it up. But knowing him, he'll make a completely different film next time. I expect no less.

8.5/10

Graveyard of Honor (Kinji Fukasaku, 1975)

2008-03-04T16:17:00.003-06:00

Kinji Fukasaku's 1975 film Graveyard of Honor isn't your usual yakuza film. There's no glorification of the yakuza lifestyle; instead, we get the story of one man who takes it too far. It's more like a Scorcese or other American gangster picture where there are almost always a renegade who feels the consequences of his actions, rather than a Japanese yakuza picture, which usually shows the yakuza as the hero, rebelling against status quo society. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we saw an American remake one -- Takashi Miike already remade it, and I have read alternating account that it's one of his best or most boring pictures.

We learn, from a lengthy voiceover introduction, that Rikio Ishikawa ran away from home at 15 and joined the Tokyo yakuza. When we first see him, he's an impulsive young man, straight out of juvenile detention, who attacks some small-time yakuza who are operating a shoe-shine business in his gang's territory. His boss tries to warn him that unless someone is a genuine threat, there's no need to attack them and make things worse. But Rikio is impulsive and arrogant, and because he can't keep his temper in check, causes lots of problems for his gang. He's eventually banished from Tokyo for ten years and goes to jail, but when he gets out, things are worse than ever.

Fukasaku, a director of considerable talent (he directed Battle Royale, among others), shows here that he's a visual master. Some of the shots are sideways, and in the fight scenes, it's often hard to get a hold on what's happening. The cinematography is often disorienting, a wonderful look inside of Rikio's head. Even though some of the plot is overdrawn and confusing (why does his gang keep forgiving him?), it's a good movie and well worth a watch, if only to see where modern Japanese directors like Miike got much of their yakuza inspiration.

7.5/10

Hot three-way (review) action

2008-02-29T15:57:00.004-06:00

The opening scene of Belle de Jour is one of the most clever scenes I can remember seeing. At first, it's a normal scene of marital discontent; then, it's a horrifying scene of domestic abuse, as the woman's husband has the coach drivers carry her into the woods, tie her up, and then (presumably) rape her; it gets a lot more interesting when the woman seems to be into it; and finally, it's revealed that this is all a dream (or a fantasy) by the wife. Director Luis Bunuel seems to have tapped into the forbidden nature of transgressive female sexuality in the 60s -- a wife wasn't expected to like sex, much less have hot dreams about being tied up and raped by strangers.

But the rest of the film sorely fails to live up to the promise in the first scene. The young wife, Severine (played by a radiant Catherine Deneuve -- she's always beautiful, but her skin seems exceptionally smooth and bright in this film), won't have sex with her husband, but after she hears about a brothel in the middle of Paris, she goes there and gets hired as Belle de Jour in order to live out her fantasies. It's never quite explained why she won't have sex with her husband, but nevertheless, the movie turns into an episode of Law and Order: SVU after Severine falls for a young thug who comes to see her at the brothel all the time. It's almost as if she's punished for expressing her sexuality the way she does, a move I would expect from a morality piece, but not from Bunuel. The final scene moves away from that moralistic judgement of Severine, but not enough to turn my opinion competely.

7/10

There's no way I could try to defend The Gore Gore Girls as a good movie. Instead, it's relatively entertaining and the epitome of all things H.G. Lewis. The story of a strip club (sort of, the girls are almost never topless and certainly never bottomless) that's being tormented by the brutal murders of their dancers, reporter (maybe? maybe he's just a gent who likes solving mysteries?) Abraham Gentry is recruited for $20,000 by young, hot Nancy Weston from a local newspaper to solve the mystery. I could have sworn that Gentry was supposed to be gay, because he seems really averse to women and is quite the dandy in mannerisms, but the final scene begs not.

Anyway, you don't watch a H.G. Lewis film for plot or believeable characters or any of that. The gore is here in full-effect, the goriest Lewis film ever (one of the first rated-X horror films, apparently), and even though it doesn't look real, there's still face-ironing, bare asses being tenderized, an eye gouged, put back in the head, and then taken out again, and much more. It's funny and gross at the same time. So if you can bear some of the worst acting ever (I prefer the ridiculous over-acters to the ones that don't seem like they know they're in a movie) and definitely the worst stripping ever (weirdo dancing to circus music for five minutes that isn't remotely sexy), The Gore Gore Girls is for you.

5/10

By the same token, there's no way I can defend I Know Who Killed Me as a good movie. Maybe there's something about horror movies about strippers that just doesn't work? But for the same reasons I didn't mind watching The Eye remake, I had a good, mindless time watching this one -- and I even watched it all at once (which I don't often do, to be honest). Reason one: I like Lindsay Lohan. I don't know why. I always have, and I was sincerely disappointed when she had that bad summer last year. But she seems to be (more) on track these days, even if she did just win the Razzie for worst actress. I didn't think she was terrible here, a bit out of it in some scenes, but mostly pretty competent. Plus, the girl is pretty hot. Reason two: when it comes to horror/thrillers, I am pretty easily entertained. This movie has some of the biggest plot holes I've ever encountered, and is truly one of those films that's best if you don't think about it at all after you watch it, but there's still some thrills and some really gross gore. So if you're like me, and you can zone out to just about any horror film, get yourself a double bill of The Gore Gore Girls and I Know Who Killed Me. It'll be a fun night (especially with a few beers).

5/10

Hour of the Wolf (Ingmar Bergman, 1968)

2008-02-26T16:47:00.002-06:00

The other film I've seen lately that's left me unsettled was directed by, of all people, Ingmar Bergman. After Persona, Bergman kept going with his creepy portraits of people's inner lives with Hour of the Wolf, the story of artist Johan (Max von Sydow) and his wife Alma (the always fantastic Liv Ullmann) who live in a secluded house on a virtually empty island. The film starts with Bergman stating this is a true story, written from Johan's diaries and talking to Alma; it also starts with a stunningly beautiful scene of Ullmann (who was pregnant with Bergman's child at the time) talking straight to the camera.

In that way, it's a typical Bergman film for the first half: people talking about their thoughts, their fears, their infidelities, with the small exception that all the talking takes place late at night, as Johan is terrified of the dark and refuses to sleep before dawn. Two stories of Johan's are particularly important: one, told through Johan's narration only, about the time when he was a child he was locked in a closet as a punishment by his father, and the other, acted out, an encounter he had with a young boy on some cliffs overlooking the water. Bergman's decision about what to show the audience and what they only hear is really brilliant, and keeps you intrigued about this complicated, troubled man.

But the second half goes off the deep end when Johan and Alma are invited by the only other residents of the island to a dinner party at their castle. Johan's inner demons are released, and the results are hallucinatory, intense, and scary.

Leave it to Bergman to make a highly intelligent, visual horror film. Some of the images really stick with you, and the ending is both open-ended and gives you a sense of closure, somehow. With every film I see, I really believe that Bergman is one of the greatest masters ever; even in one of his "lesser" films, there's so much to take in.

8/10

Joshua (George Ratliff, 2007)

2008-02-25T21:33:00.002-06:00

I have had the pleasure in the past few days to watch two movies that really creeped me out, something that doesn't happen too often anymore (after watching too many horror movies, I suppose). George Ratliff's followup to his 2001 documentary Hell House, Joshua, was the first of those. The titular ten-year-old boy, played to a t by Jacob Kogan, is the most straightlaced kid you've ever seen. His hair is always perfectly parted, his shirts tucked into his pants, his room immaculate, his piano routines practiced constantly. But he's the son of two more, uh, liberal parents, played by Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga. Even though he's in the stock market (I believe), he seems like a laid-back, cool guy. It's incomprehensible how these two people made this child, and so the movie opens with the birth of the couple's second child, an adorable, happy baby named Lily. Predictably, Joshua gets pretty jealous of Lily, and that's when the trouble begins.

Without giving too much away (because all I really knew about when I watched the movie was that it was about an evil child), this movie deals with post-partum depression, evangelical Christianity, and the power of creativity over one's life. Sam Rockwell is, as he always is, really likeable and sympathetic, even when his character is doing some questionable things, to say the least. Vera Farmiga is in full-on hysterical mom mode, but not in a campy way. And Kogan is just terrifying, in the best possible way. The script is actually well written, and there's a twist that I didn't see coming, but also isn't ridiculous. The movie ends with one of the creepiest freeze frames I've ever seen; I went back and watched the last scene with director's commentary on, and he said that he was skeptical about the editor's choice to end with a freeze frame at first, but he came to love it as a tribute to all the 70s psychological thrillers. That's what this film is at its best; a throwback to the 70s thrillers, like The Omen or Rosemary's Baby, but never a ripoff.

7.5/10

Post-Oscar thoughts

2008-02-25T18:26:00.002-06:00

Well, my predictions were wrong. Even though I was off-base on a lot of the categories, I still didn't find the ceremony very suprising at all. Marion Cotillard was a good win, and makes me a little more likely to see La Vie En Rose, but overall, it went how I thought. I really, really wish there had been a few more wins for There Will be Blood, though -- No Country took screenplay, direction, and picture, and I was hoping TWBB would get one of those. I would pay obscene amounts of money to see the inevitable hissy fit Paul Thomas Anderson threw after the awards, but at least it would have been well-deserved. Overall: meh (although it was funnier than most years).

Happy Oscar Day!

2008-02-24T15:04:00.001-06:00

Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry, 2008)

2008-02-23T22:37:00.004-06:00

I've always admired Michel Gondry's childlike sense of imagination and wonder. The Science of Sleep's dream/fantasy sequences were the best part of that wonderful movie; stepping into Stephane's mind was clearly stepping into Gondry's, and it was wonderful what you found there. Be Kind Rewind takes all of the wonderful, sweet aspects of Gondry's filmmaking and distills them into the real world. Mos Def plays Mike, who works at Mr. Fletcher's (Danny Glover) Be Kind Rewind video store -- "1 Video, 1 Night, 1 Dollar, Every Night." Jerry (Jack Black, in surprisingly non-annoying mode) is Mike's best friend who accidentally becomes magnetized after trying to sabotage the power plant he thinks is controlling his mind. His newfound magnetization erases all the tapes in Be Kind Rewind's all-VHS stock, so when customers come in asking for movies, they decide to remake them themselves.

That's a plot that could get old quickly, but Black and especially Mos Def are so darn likeable that it doesn't. They remake Ghostbusters first, then Robocop, The Lion King, Rush Hour 2, and more. It's knee-slappingly hilarious at times, and sweetly touching at others. The Onion's AV Club described it as completely apolitical, but I think that it's subersively, personally political in its message that your own entertainment and happiness should come from yourself, not what you have or can get. Plus, there's that stuff about the New Jersey town the video store is in kicking the black-owned store out to the projects, but it's not made an issue. The AV Club also described Mos Def as Danny Glover's son in everything but name, and once I thought about it, I realized it's definitely true -- both men are incredibly talented in both comedy and drama and are so darn likeable. Be Kind Rewind is a great, sweet movie about the importance of creativity and friendship. It's nothing earth-moving, but there's no better time at the movie theater right now.

8.5/10

Official Oscar predictions

2008-02-23T22:23:00.002-06:00

So, since I know you've been waiting for it, here are my official picks for tomorrow's awards.

Best Picture
No Country For Old Men (although, as I have discussed with several people, I wouldn't be suprised if any of these movies won, really.)

Best Actor
Daniel Day-Lewis, There Will Be Blood -- Clearly the winner. The performance of a lifetime.

Best Actress
Julie Christie, Away From Her -- A really tight race, I could see either Ellen Page or Marion Cotillard winning as well, but I really think it'll go to Christie for her gentle, exquisite performance in Sarah Polley's wonderful film.

Best Supporting Actor
Javier Bardem, No Country For Old Men -- Clearly.

Best Supporting Actress
Ruby Dee, American Gangster -- A surprise nominee, but I think she'll win because of how AG got the shaft in every other category, especially best actor.

Best Director
Joel & Ethan Coen, No Country For Old Men -- I would love, LOVE to see PT Anderson or even Julien Schnabel win this one, but I don't see it happening.

Best Original Screenplay
Diablo Cody, Juno -- Clearly the winner, although I will cringe when they have to read that stupid fucking pseudonym on the podium.

Best Adapted Screenplay
PT Anderson, There Will Be Blood -- I think the Coens might win this, but I'm guessing Anderson because TWBB won't win picture or director and PT has to get something.

So there you have it! I may or may not liveblog the damn thing, but probably not, because the ceremony is always interminably boring.

3 items of note

2008-02-21T18:13:00.003-06:00

Is Spike Jonze's Where the Wild Things Are in trouble? If the film is actually as it seems to be -- a dark, art-house film about a child on a monster's island -- I'm not surprised at all. It definitely sounds like an amazing movie, but if they have to reshoot the entire thing, including recasting the young lead, I doubt it will ever get off the ground again.

But in better news, David Fincher is in line to direct a film version of Charles Burns' graphic novel Black Hole. The graphic novel is really beautiful, but never completely captured me story-wise. While I'm surprised that Fincher is taking this movie on -- it really doesn't seem like his style -- I'm really glad he is, and am definitely looking forward to the final product (although with Fincher's perfectionism, it might be years still).

And I'm not sure how I missed this a month ago, but here are some clips from the upcoming Chuck Palahniuk adaptation Choke, starring Sam Rockwell. Rockwell is one of those actors I'll see in just about anything, and I'm reading Palahniuk's book right now and am liking (but not loving) it. The cast seems pretty well chosen, except that Vincent Mancini is supposed to be about 25 (but at least they raised the age of everyone, then), and much of the dialogue is taken straight from the novel, a good sign. In fact, I laughed at the scene with the woman who wants him to rape her, while the comedy was not laugh-out-loud in the book. Palahniuk's work is great for film adaptation, and this is one of my most anticipated 2008 films.

Camila (Maria Luisa Bemberg, 1984)

2008-02-20T20:36:00.004-06:00

Camila is a film that is much more important as a historical artifact than as a good film in and of itself. The story of Camila O'Gorman and Father Ladislao Gutierrez, who ran away after falling in love in 1840s Argentina, and who were eventually arrested and executed without a trial, Camila was released in 1984, after Argentina returned to democracy and their free speech laws had been reinstated. As a political piece of work, it's a moving reminder of that country's past and how far they had come -- a commenter on Netflix remarked that it's pretty obvious that, although it was nominated in 1985 for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, it was made for Argentinian consumption. And that's true -- I didn't understand many of the exact references made to Argentinian history, but I understood the gist of the film. What happened to these two people was tragic, especially since Camila was pregnant at the time of her death (stated in the film, although wikipedia tells me she was 8 months (!!) gone at her death).

What's not shown in the film, but I found out afterwards, is that the execution of Camila and Ladislao was a catalyst to bring down the reign of the dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas, who is debated about so passionately in the film. That's a fitting, touching end to the film, that argues that love and humanity should come first. I think Bemberg should have put a post-script to her film, but I can understand why she didn't. A good film about a tragic historical event.

7/10

The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966)

2008-02-19T17:33:00.002-06:00

It was discomforting, almost disturbing, to watch The Battle of Algiers as a 21st-century American. It's as if the American military watched Gillo Pontecorvo's movie, and then decided, "That's how we're going to run the war in Iraq." There are so many similarities between the Algerian conflict with France, as portrayed in the movie, and the US' involvement in Iraq: the controversy over dubious "interrogation" techniques, the division of the native population by the occupation of a Western country, and the use of women and children by the population in suicide attacks. The Rialto re-release trailer of the film says that it was screened for the Pentagon before the invasion of Iraq; but apparently, no one learned anything, and history is doomed to repeat itself.

Pontecorvo's film portrays the struggle for an independent Algeria, mostly from the Algerian point of view. It is so sympathetic to the Algerians that at times, it seems almost like propaganda. The filmmakers are quick to say that all the footage was filmed for the movie; good thing they said that, because much of it is so impressive, so realistic, that I would have thought it was archival footage. The story focuses on the FLN, the Algerian liberation movement, and, if it focuses on any person in general, it's on Ali, a young leader of the group. But unlike most war films, there's no real focus on people or personalities; it is almost totally a documentary-like timeline of the important events in the revolution. This is both a good thing and a bad thing; there's certainly no melodrama, as a movie now would undoubtedly be, but there are also no real characters to cling to emotionally.

If you want to see how we might be looking at the current Iraqi conflict in 50 years, check out The Battle of Algiers. This was one of the first major films made after Algerian independence, and makes me look forward to the day we see a lot more films from Iraqi filmmakers, probably some about this current war.

8/10

3 quick ones

2008-02-18T21:59:00.003-06:00

You know, this wasn't actually that bad. Especially if you fit one or both of these qualifications: you can see bad horror movies in the theater and generally be entertained (especially if you are with a friend who gets scared easily), and you like Jessica Alba. Thankfully, I am in both categories. There are actually some pretty good jumps, and creepy imagery. Obviously, there could have been more, but for a PG-13 horror movie, you really couldn't do too much better than this. Well, you probably could. But still.

5.5/10

The Experiment, based on the Stanford Prison Experiment (even though a confusing screen at the beginning says it's not based on anything whatsoever), starts out really tense and enjoyable. Twenty men volunteer to take part in a psychological study where 8 are made prison guards and 12 are prisoners for 14 days. Things start lightly enough, with the prisoners making fun of the guards, but when everyone starts taking their roles seriously, things go really wrong. The first half of the film is intense, especially when you consider that this is a German film, and the Germans have an interesting (to say the least) history with follow-the-leader mentality. But the second half just goes over the top and loses its grip on reality. Sure, it would be less spectacular if things didn't become so explosive, but it also could have been more of a creepy, subtle character study.

6.5/10

Considered to be Fellini's masterpiece, I was a little...underwhelmed. It's not that it's not a great movie, because it is. Rather, I found myself less emotionally invested in these shallow people than in, say, Nights of Cabiria. Marcello Mastroianni is predictably fantastic as Marcello Rubini, a jaded gossip journalist who wanders around 1960 Rome, cheating on his suicidal girlfriend with a friend and then a Swedish actress (even though they don't really speak the same language). You can't take your eyes off of Anita Ekberg as the actress, but you don't feel for her, either. I did, however, find the last half hour incredibly depressing and touching; Marcello has lost touch with any sense of humanity he might have had -- is it the soul-crushing nature of his job, his alcoholism, his inability to be faithful to one woman, or something else? Certainly a film that has to be seen, but let me down a tiny bit.

8/10

The Diving Bell & the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007)

2008-02-15T21:05:00.003-06:00

I decided to take advantage of being on vacation in the Big Apple to see The Diving Bell & the Butterfly, which hadn't opened in my town as of yet. Despite the sticker shock of a mid-afternoon movie costing $12, Julian Schnabel's masterpiece was completely worth it. The story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, an Elle magazine editor who, at age 42, had a stroke that left him completely paralyzed, except for his eyes. One of them, however, has to be sewn shut almost right away, for fear that it wil get infected. The movie begins from Jean-Do's perspective, from which much of the movie is shown. Jean-Do can speak, but only in his mind. We can hear his internal dialogue, and he is a real, fully-formed character in every way.

Mathieu Amalric plays Jean-Do with remarkable empathy. We understand the pain and frustration Jean-Do is going through -- when he, with the help of his speech therapist, finally get down the complex way of allowing Jean-Do to communicate with the outside world, the first thing he says is that he wants to die. It's a heartbreaking moment, for audience and therapist alike. But soon, Jean-Do decides to stop pitying himself, realizing that his imagination and memory are still intact; he takes his editor up on the offer he had pre-stroke to have a book published. The rest has to be seen.

Jean-Do learns to survive as best he can with the help of four really remarkable women -- his speech and physical therapists, his ex-wife, and the "translator" from his publisher. Instead of being completely isolated through his condition, these women help him to remember the outside world, and live a little bit outside of himself. He does have other friends who come to visit him, but his former life (girlfriend included) seems to have forgotten him completely. Even though all these hurdles come up for Jean-Do, this is never a melodramatic, Lifetime channel-style weep fest. In fact, my tears only came in the last half hour of the movie. All the performances are truly stellar, and Schnabel's incredible direction brings the film into the realm of art -- the fuzzy shots from Jean-Do's early perpective and the sense of claustrophobia in Jean-Do's diving bell are among the most beautiful directorial moments I've ever seen. I'm still picking the Coens to win the best director Oscar, but Schnabel really, truly deserves it. One of the definite best films of 2007.

9/10

Dispatches from vacation

2008-02-12T22:00:00.002-06:00

THE WGA STRIKE IS OFFICIALLY OVER!

HOORAY!

(notes on a few movies when I get home tomorrow/Thursday).

Fudoh: The New Generation (Takashi Miike, 1996)

2008-02-04T18:33:00.000-06:00

Are there many filmmakers as diverse as Takashi Miike? Just the other day, I wrote about his 1997 noir effort Rainy Dog, and today, I'm writing about Fudoh: The Next Generation, an ultra-violent, crude, and no-holds-barred yakuza revenge film from just a year earlier. In fact, his wikipedia entry mentions the fact that Miike has one of the most confusing career paths ever; he is becoming both more and less mainstream at the same time. But back to Fudoh. Riki Fudoh, as a little boy, secretly witnesses his father kill his brother in order to solve a rivalry with another gang. Ten years later, Riki has acquired a gang of classmates and children, and decides to take revenge on his father and their entire yakuza organization.

The fact that children are used as killers isn't used as a funny or silly thing; in fact, they are pretty creepy, and really effective. Fudoh's bodyguards are two female classmates, one with powerful vaginal muscles and, uh, a little something extra. Some of the things in the movie are so crass that they're hilarious, and some are just weird and a bit disturbing. Plus, I think this film takes the prize for using the most fake blood in one scene ever -- a car is literally flooded with it. Shocking, but not outside of Miike's realm. A good, brainless time.

7.5/10

The Red Shoes (Yong-gyun Kim, 2005)

2008-02-03T19:27:00.000-06:00

The Red Shoes' first impression is its confusing misnomer. The shoes are actually pink -- was this laziness on the translators' parts? Confusion? Is the Hans Christian Anderson story on which the movie is loosely based about red shoes, and could the filmmakers just not find any? In any case, these shoes appear in a specific subway station, and the woman who takes them is condemned to having those around them violently covet them. Of course, as happens in Asian horror movies, the shoes once belonged to a wronged ballerina who has come back in ghost form to haunt through these shoes for...some reason.

The first half of the movie is really great -- truly atmospheric, and Kim does a great job of directing. It's beautiful and creepy, like the best kind of ghost stories should be. But in the second half, and, in particular, the last half hour, the movie falls apart, as is the fate of so many horror movies. The plot suddenly takes so many twists and turns I wasn't quite sure what was going on, and even after the final twist was revealed, I was still like, "Huh?" And not in a good way. I think the movie should have kept the focus on the family dynamics, as the main character (Hye-su Kim) and her daughter Tae-su (Yeon-ah Park) have great, realistic chemistry, and scary children are usually really creepy (both as shown in the great Korean poster - the Tartan DVD art is good, but I prefer this image). But too much is made of the ghost/back story angle, even after it seems to be resolved. Worth seeing for the first half, but don't expect too much. How long before we see an American remake, I wonder?

7/10

This Is England (Shane Meadows, 2006)

2008-02-01T20:02:00.000-06:00

12-year-old Shaun is bullied at his school because he's small for his age, because he has the wrong kind of pants, and because he doesn't have a dad. One day, on the way back from being picked on, he encounters a group of young skinheads who take him in completely, like him for who he is, and, with his lack of father and hard-working mother, become his de facto family. The group, lead by Woody (Joe Gilgun, who is singularly great and very attractive), accept and come to love Shaun as well -- even though he looks like he's about six years old, soon, he's hanging out with them, drinking beer and making out with girls. Until Combo returns; Woody's old friend went to jail without snitching on him three years ago, but prison has changed him into a vicious, angry, racist guy. Shaun falls under the spell of his beliefs, and the group is divided in two, with devastating results.

I honestly had to look up skinhead on wikipedia, because in popular culture, skinhead means nothing more than neo-Nazi now. But in 1983 England, when This is England takes place, it was a West Indian rude boy-inspired lifestyle and fashion style. In fact, one of the members of Woody's group, Milky, is Jamaican, a fact that leads him to be torn between his family and his lifestyle. Meadows' autobiographical movie portrays skinheads as more of a family culture than anything, but one that can and did go wrong with the wrong people. Combo and Woody's split is emblematic of a greater split in the culture as a whole. Shaun is swayed by Combo's political manipulation of the Faulkland War, where he lost his dad.

Everyone in the film gives a great performance, especially Thomas Turgoose as Shaun, who made me tear up more than once with his loneliness, and then with his absolute elation at having found a family. Vicky McClure, as Woody's girlfriend Lol, the mother of the group, is also outstanding. I actually could go on about every performance in the movie; if there's one movie that should have been nominated for a best cast performance SAG award, this is it. This is a touching, political, real movie about what it's like to be lonely, and what it takes to solve your loneliness. Highly recommended.

8.5/10

Casting news: Gentlemen Broncos

2008-01-31T08:37:00.000-06:00

Jared Hess' new project Gentlemen Broncos has attracted some pretty darn good talent. The film is about a teen who goes to a fantasy convention with his manuscript, only to have the manuscript ripped off by a famous fantasy author. The teen will be Michael Angarano, who starred in Snow Angels, which I am still excited to see; the author will be Jemaine Clement, and the main character of the book, who comes in book-to-life sequences, will be played by Sam Rockwell.

I really couldn't be more excited about this news -- Flight of the Conchords and Eagle Vs. Shark were two of my favorite comedy projects of the year, and I absolutely love Clement, and Rockwell is one of those actors I will go to almost any movie if he's the star. Angarano, though I don't know him, seems like a rising star with some talent. It looks like, from the talent, that Hess is moving away from Nacho Libre and back to legitimately funny, quirky comedy. I can't wait for this one!

Behind the scenes footage from Step Brothers!

2008-01-28T22:02:00.000-06:00

Courtesy of Movieweb comes this hilarious video of b-roll footage from Step Brothers. Starring my two favorite actors, Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly, as two rivals whose parents get married, but then split up because of their sons' constant bickering. The two then obviously have to hatch a plan to get them back together.

With Semi Pro and then this, I'm so excited for the return of R-rated Will Ferrell in 2008. And seeing John C. Reilly attack him in skinny jeans, calling him a fucker, made me laugh big time. Step Brothers is the movie I'm probably looking most forward to this summer.

Rainy Dog (Takashi Miike, 1997)

2008-01-28T17:42:00.000-06:00

I don't have too much to say about Rainy Dog - Takashi Miike is one of my favorite filmmakers, and this, his experiment in noir, is hit and miss. It's marginally confusing in places, and devoid of almost any dialogue; as a matter of fact, one of the main characters is a mute child, and another is a prostitute who lies about herself on the internet. Miike does an admirable job stripping away the layers of these people, and revealing them for who they really are, or, at least, who they really want to be.

I wanted to blog about this film, because I found in it yet another scene "homaged" in Kill Bill. In the last scene (spoiler!), when the brother-in-law kills Yuji, and Ah Chen looks on, he tells the child that when he grows up, if he's still mad, he should come and kill him. Ding ding ding! Sounds like the exact same thing the Bride tells Vernita's daughter in the first volume. When I first saw Kill Bill, I was amazed at its ingenuity; four (right?) years later, after I've seen a lot more exploitation and Asian films, I realize that Tarantino really co-opts a lot of shit. More than any filmmaker should without acknowledging it. So while I appreciate Tarantino still, I think more people should be aware of that. Hey, just watch the originals that he stole his ideas from instead!

But back to Rainy Dog: 6.5/10

A little more on Heath Ledger

2008-01-24T17:51:00.000-06:00

Here's where I get a little livejournal on everyone (this is actually an abridged version of something I did post in my livejournal), but I had a really visceral reaction to Heath Ledger's death, and thinking and writing about it really revealed a lot.

So I've had about 24 hours to think about this, and I'm ready to process why the death of Heath Ledger so profoundly bummed me out. There has been this sudden outcrying of "Why do you care?" Some have tried to play the socially conscious card (There are so many child soldiers dying in Africa every day!, I actually read someone comment on Gawker), and others, the plain old cooler-than-thou "You're stupid if you care" card. Let me address both of these seperately.

Yes, Ledger's death is no more or less meaningful than every single other person that dies every single day of the year. But did I have a (seemingly) personal connection with every single other person that dies? I did not. And personal connection is what this is about -- the more I explored my reaction to the death of one of my favorite actors, the more I realized that for someone who cares about and loves film like I do, the personal connection between actor and spectator is the most important, vital part of the experience. If there's no personal feelings for the character, and by proxy, the actor, film means almost nothing. And that's why I felt like there was something beyond celebrity worship behind my intense reaction to Ledger's death. One thing I resent about the cooler-than-thou crowd is, contrary to my belief that his death was no more important than the death of anyone else, they seem to think that because Ledger was famous, his death is far less important than the death of someone else. That's not right either.

After all, he was a public person whose livelihood depended on people liking him, or at least respecting him. I did both.

RIP Heath Ledger

2008-01-22T16:32:00.000-06:00

Heath Ledger dead at 28, from an apparent drug overdose.

I've spoken several times about how Ledger, with his performances in Brokeback Mountain, Candy (now I could never watch that movie again), and most recently, I'm Not There, was one of the best actors of this generation. What a waste of talent, what a deep loss for the film community. Rest in peace.

2008 Oscar nominations

2008-01-22T12:47:00.000-06:00

As you've inevitably heard by now, the Oscar nominations were announced this morning. A few not-surprise surprises, mostly they're either boring or just kind of silly. My thoughts:

Best Picture: Obviously the not-surprise surprise is Juno, which is most certainly this year's Little Miss Sunshine in case we start to take ourselves too seriously with the other nominees. My personal feelings aside, if it does win over two of the best movies in years (There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men), I might faint. My pick: There Will Be Blood Likely winner: Atonement (to make up for the lack of Joe Wright nomination)

Best Actor: Does Daniel-Day Lewis have this thing wrapped up? I hope so. But Tommy Lee Jones, not for No Country but In the Valley of Elah?! Jesus, Academy voters have a Haggis fetish. My pick and likely winner: Daniel Day-Lewis

Best Actress: I really, really think Julie Christie should win this business. Her performance in Away from Her was so powerful and painful and true that, being the grandaughter of an Alzheimer's patient, I almost couldn't watch. As much as Day-Lewis's performance is a loud, brash tour-de-force, this is a quiet, painful one. I'm predicting Christie (My pick and likely winner), but I wouldn't be shocked at an Ellen Page upset (making her, in the words of a Defamer commenter, "this year's Marisa Tomei").

Best Supporting Actor: Again, an actor (Javier Bardem) with a rightful near-lock on this award -- he's my pick and likely winner. But another upset could happen; I could see Casey Affleck getting it, both for his nominated work in The Assassination of Jesse James... and for the almost criminally neglected (so I've heard) Gone Baby Gone.

Best Supporting Actress: Let's just make it another one where my pick and likely winner are the same: Cate Blanchett for I'm Not There. I'm so mad that Haynes wasn't even nominated in original screenplay, at least. There was so much great writing and imagination in that movie, most of which came from the script.

Best Director: Jason Reitman?! Again, personal feelings aside, everyone's said that the movie's power is in its script and performances, not direction. Another feel-good pick, I suppose. I didn't like Thank You For Smoking (the few minutes I saw), either, so I'm not thrilled by this pick. My pick: Paul Thomas Anderson, likely winner: It's a toss-up in my mind between the Coens and Julian Schnabel. I'll narrow it down closer to awards time.

Best Original Screenplay: No real surprises here, except maybe Brad Bird (Ratatouille). My pick: I haven't seen any of them, so I can't really choose. I am interested in The Savages, though. Likely winner: Diablo Cody, Juno.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Again, no real surprises, except Sarah Polley, who I am ecstatic for. My pick: Paul Thomas Anderson, likely winner: the Coens.

And those are the major categories! It makes me want to vomit that Norbit was nominated, even if only for makeup, and that three songs from Enchanted were nominated and not one from Walk Hard (yes, the movie is a comedy, but those are seriously good songs). And even though I have strong feelings toward Diablo Cody/Juno, it truly warms my heart that four of the ten nominated screenwriters are women. We're getting somewhere!

But all in all, Radar is right: boring.

News on PT Anderson's next project?

2008-01-22T11:01:00.000-06:00

Even though this Bloody Disgusting news piece is disappointingly void of specifics, apparently they've learned that PT Anderson is considering making a horror film for his next project. At first glance, this might seem like a total WTF? moment, but at its core, There Will Be Blood was definitely a horror film about the effects of greed on the human soul. I hope this vague rumor is true, because he's already conquered the ensemble drama, the romantic dramedy, and the period piece. This might be a challenge, but one he's certainly up to.

Cloverfield (Matt Reeves, 2008)

2008-01-21T21:13:00.000-06:00

By now, everyone (or at least $40 million worth of people) has seen this thing, so there are spoilers abound in my review. Be forwarned!

By now, there's been over six months of buildup for this movie. Strange that people (including myself) got so excited about a movie from the director of The Pallbearer and a writer from Lost, which I've never gotten into. But the viral campaign was so great, and so successful (at least at first), that plenty of people were inevitably disappointed in the movie. There are plenty of people on the imdb boards complaining about how the movie has no plot, how you don't see the monster enough, how there needs to be more explosions, etc. But that's exactly what I like best about Cloverfield: it's a horror/monster movie from the first-person perspective. We see what people on the ground see, not what the scientists or heroes fighting the monster do. At first, the hand-held camera motions make you sick on the big screen, but you get used to it ], even when it obscures the action and makes this almost too intense to bear.

The movie does actually have a plot, contrary to naysayers; Rob is leaving for Japan the next day, and his brother Jason, future sister-in-law Lily, best friend Hud, Hud's crush Marlena, and Rob's friend/lover/whatever Beth are all at a surprise party to say goodbye to Rob. Things start exploding in Manhattan -- at first, everyone thinks it's an earthquake, but when the Statue of Liberty's head comes flying at them on the street, it's pretty clear it's not. Rob becomes fixated on the task of finding Beth, who he fought with at the eginning of the night but got a phone call from saying she was really hurt in her apartment, and Hud, Lily, and Marlena end up going with him. It seems nonsensical, but I can completely understand why they would follow Rob instead of the military out of Manhattan. Rob has a plan, he's determined, and the rest of them are so confused and terrified that following Rob seems only natural. So their group wanders through the subway tunnels (rats! baby aliens! Both are terrifying), runs through the street, and generally just tries to avoid the monster in order to find Beth.

The monster! I had read beforehand that you get disappointingly few looks at it, so I was actually surprised at the amount of close-ups of the monster we get from this supposedly hand-held camera. It's terrifying, worth the price of admission alone -- when you get the closeups of it right before it devours Hud, I almost couldn't look. Not only is the monster scary, but it drops lots of baby monsters, and their bite apparently makes you bleed from your eyes. Or something. (The imdb faq is very helpful on this account -- the monster's venom could cause the pressure in the body to become too much to bear, or it could be that the monster is like the alien from Alien, and tries to replicate through humans.) The entire movie, save the first 20 minutes, is so intense. It's the most intense experience I've had in the theater since Hostel. How was this thing not rated R?

Many reviews have brought up the inevitable September 11 connections, and while I did think of that when the first shots of buildings on fire were shown, the movie does such a good job of wrapping you up in this monster attack that I didn't think about it again. There is quite a bit of character development, or at least introduction, in the first 20 minutes, but I was more impressed by the growth of Rob's character throughout the movie. It's a hard situation in which to have a character "learn something," but Rob does, and not in an unbelievable way. The actors are all very authentic, which might have had something to do with the fact that they were all relative unknowns.

I'd definitely like to see it again, but I might wait for the second-run theater. It was almost too intense to take in again right away. And if you've seen the movie, but didn't catch the little surprise in the final scene with Rob and Beth on the ferris wheel (I did, I was too busy crying!), check out the imdb faqs. And apparently, after the credits, there's a whisper of "help me" that, played backwards, is this:

boomp3.com

Sounds like a sequel is likely. I'll be waiting.

8.5/10

Cloverfield in brief

2008-01-20T20:55:00.000-06:00

Awesome. Not surprising it was the highest-grossing January opening ever (but boo for beating out Hostel, which I think had the record beforehand).

More soon!

Husbands & Wives (Woody Allen, 1992)

2008-01-19T20:50:00.000-06:00

I often end up watching movies in two parts, because my usual viewing time is before bed, but as I age, I can't stay up late every night anymore. The joys of having a real job. So last night, I watched the first half of Husbands & Wives and really wasn't enjoying it. I used to consider Woody Allen one of my favorite filmmakers (Manhattan still remains in my top 20 of all time, probably), but he hasn't made a good film in years (Match Point was about the time I gave up on him, and the fact that he's made the no-talent Scarlett Johansson his current muse isn't helping). As I watched the beginning of this film about upper-class married couples, I was completely turned off. Maybe a few years ago, I would have liked it a lot, but I've become less interested in the thinly veiled autobiographical whinings of a rich white man since then.

Today, I gave the second half a chance, though, because I do still have a soft spot for Allen. The second half isn't nearly as irritating as the first, but it's still not one of his better films. Allen and Mia Farrow and Sydney Pollack and Judy Davis play married couples who are good friends. Pollack and Davis decide to split up and begin dating younger people, something that effects both couples, and people around them, in myriad and profound ways. Well, sort of. It mostly effects them in the disenchanted rich people ways, which can certainly be entertaining to watch. Farrow in particular, as the passive-aggressive, seemingly nice Judy, is a pleasure to watch, although it's almost uncomfortable at times, knowing now that Farrow and Allen's relationship would go so sour so soon after, and that Judy is probably based on Farrow herself. How can an actor play a character written by someone they're close to, that's obviously based on themselves? That's a challenge all in itself.

But if you like Allen movies, with their snappy dialogue and hot young women (in this case, Juliette Lewis) throwing themselves at Allen, this movie is for you. It is certainly more grown-up in some ways than his 70s masterpieces -- divorce and infidelity are both here -- but in many ways, it's exactly the same. Not particularly great, but not a waste like I was afraid.

6/10

There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)

2008-01-18T21:35:00.000-06:00

I saw There Will Be Blood this past Sunday, but I've been hesitant to blog about it. Not that it was bad - completely the opposite. It's too good that I really can't say too much about it. The film deals with almost every single universal theme: greed, family, power, you name it. The only thing the film doesn't deal with in depth is romantic love, but unlike other male-centric films, this one doesn't suffer from the lack of female presence. Daniel Day-Lewis is Daniel Plainfield, turn of the century oil prospector who has a habit of coming into towns, sucking them dry, and not paying what he promised. The first fifteen minutes of the film, which some have compared to the beginning of 2001, are wordless and transcendant. Daniel, on his own, tries to mine oil, even falling down a shaft once, breaking his leg, and dragging himself back to civilization on his back. This is truly a man discovering a new world all for himself.

Skip forward 10 years, and Plainview is now a rich man with a real operation, trying to branch out to more communities. He meets Paul Sunday, who tells him about the oil on his family's land for $500. Plainview visits the Sunday ranch under the auspices of quail hunting, and meets the family, including burgeoning pastor Eli, twin of Paul (both played by Paul Dano). From there, the Sundays and the Plainviews are intertwined through tragedy and triumph, until the explosive ending. It would be a crime to spoil any of it for you, so I won't.

All I can really say is that Day-Lewis gives one of the best performances I have ever seen. In the latest issue of Rolling Stone, Peter Travers likens this performance to Orson Welles' in Citizen Kane, and while at first, I thought that was a little ridiculous, now I agree. Day-Lewis, like Welles before him, completely loses himself in the role, until you forget it's a movie at all. Here's one Academy Award that will certainly have been earned. But in all the deserved praise for Day-Lewis, almost no one has mentioned the also great performance of Paul Dano. He shows a great deal of growth from even Little Miss Sunshine, and I think, with a few more meaty roles like this, he could grow into one of the better actors of his generation.

Of course, I can't not mention PT Anderson's writing and direction. The movie is epically beautiful, and on account of the breathtaking, epic landscapes, I can't recommend seeing this on the big screen enough. This is Anderson's masterpiece -- I really can't praise it enough. After seeing the film, my friend and I were unable to make meaningful conversation for about half an hour - it's that powerful. It's definitely the best film of 2007, and probably the best film of the decades. See it!

9.5/10

Marcus Theaters not showing Cloverfield

2008-01-16T19:22:00.000-06:00

For those of you in the midwest like me, Marcus Theaters won't be playing Cloverfield. This is a giant blow, as in the Milwaukee area, where I am, Marcus has a giant monopoly over theaters. There's probably 15 Marcus theaters, 2 Landmark Theaters, 1 big AMC theater, and then only one or two independently owned theaters.

Marcus has a problem with what Paramount charges for movies, as they refused in December to show Sweeney Todd. I obviously have a problem with a studio charging a theater exorbitantly for big movies, but I have a bigger problem with the theater chain, especially one with such a ridiculous monopoly as Marcus, basically dictating what movies most people in Milwaukee can and can't see. The only theaters that are showing Cloverfield this weekend are ones in pricey suburbs where everyone obviously can't go/isn't welcome. So both sides are wrong, but I'm angriest at Marcus Theaters, especially since I definitely want to go see Cloverfield this weekend (everything I've read said you've got to see the movie the first weekend in order to not ruin the surprise).

Les Bonnes Femmes (Claude Chabrol, 1960)

2008-01-15T19:12:00.000-06:00

That poster prepares you for a summery romp with some girlfriends. The director, Claude Chabrol, prepares you for a mystery, as most of his films (none of which I have been particularly enamored with so far) have been tense, Hitchcock-ian thrillers. The first half of the film prepares you for an exploration of the lives of 60s Parisiennes, all seeming shallowness. But nothing in Les Bonnes Femmes prepares you for the sum of its parts, a feminist (?!) commentary on the lives of young girls in Paris that even has a murder in it, and ends on an incredibly depressing note.

Click on the picture to see my entire post of stills.

Jane, Jacqueline, Ginette, and Rita are Parisian shopgirls who live apparently different, but essentially the same, lives. Jane (seen above, played by the stunningly beautiful Bernadette Lafont) is a party girl, and in the first scene, takes Jacqueline with her while she goes to a restaurant, a nightclub, and eventually, the apartment of two creepy strangers. Maybe they're not so creepy, though -- in the first scenes, they seem that way, but as the movie goes on and we're introduced to more men, they're more annoying than anything else. Ginette lives with Jane, and has a secret life as a nightclub singer. Rita is a normal girl who is trying to escape the banality of the shopgirl life by marrying up in class, even though her husband-to-be is snobby and condescending (so are his parents -- in one great moment, Rita meets his mother, who is wearing a giant diamond ring outside of her gloves. "I would have worn it on the inside," she says, "but it was just too big."). Jacqueline believes in true love, and is being followed around town by a man on a motorcycle by whom she is equally afraid of an intrigued by.

Men are terrible, pretty much. Jane bounces between men, using whomever she can to buy her a drink and give her a good time. This was the beginning of the 60s, and girls had the choice not to believe in love, and to believe in themselves instead. This implied promiscuity is not what makes Jane's (and Ginette's) life so unfulfilling; instead, it's the life in the store (9am-7pm doing nothing, it seems), the way men don't take her seriously (no didn't always mean no quite yet), the way everything in the world is set up for a different person than her. The first half of the film is quite boring, but on purpose. It's boring because these girls' lives are boring. I love the tactic of making a film boring on purpose to make a point.

But then Jacqueline meets the man on the motorcycle, and the film's tone changes significantly. (If you haven't seen the film but want to, here's where I suggest skipping to the end of the review) He seems sent from heaven at first; he saves the group from the two creeps at the public pool (by the way, why aren't there pools open until all hours of the night here?) and takes Jacqueline on a romantic motorcycle ride into the country and out to dinner. That's where things start to take a sinister turn. He begins acting erratic and weird during the meal, and during their walk afterward, tries to warn Jacqueline that he might not have been following her out of pure love. Jacqueline, being pure of heart and completely naive, replies that she doesn't have any money, what else could he want from her but love? Now, it seems ridiculous that a girl would completely trust and fall in love with a guy who has been following her around for days, but Jacqueline is so desperate for attention and love that she will take anything that comes her way. And she dies for it -- not, I think, as punishment, but as what Chabrol sees as the obvious ending of a life that's been taken for granted. Jacqueline's death is sad and scary and shocking, but it's not surprising. And that's the worst part.

The film ends with another random girl, waiting on the side of the dancefloor for a man to get her. We never see the man's face, and the girl looks directly at the camera, confronting the audience in our participation and voyeurism in this episode. Who would have thought such a striking attack on the Parisian status quo and feminist statement would have come from Chabrol? By far my favorite Chabrol film, and one of my favorites of the French New Wave. If I were teaching a feminist film class, this might be one I would start with.

8.5/10

Smiles of a Summer Night (Ingmar Bergman, 1955)

2008-01-13T21:12:00.000-06:00

Think all Ingmar Bergman films are depressing looks into humanity? This picture, one of Bergman's first internationally recognized films, is a light-hearted, witty look at the affairs of a group of people in turn of the century Sweden. Lawyer Fredrik Egerman is married to the much-younger Anne, and also has a son, Henrik, who is Anne's age and just finished his studies at the seminary. Desiree Armfeldt is an actress with whom Fredrik had an affair after the death of his first wife, and who he still has feelings for. Her other lover is Count Malcolm, who also has a wife, Charlotte, who's friends with Anne. The Egermans also have a maid, Petra, who is sort of having an affair with Henrik. Whew!

All these characters come together at a weekend get-together put on my Desiree, in order to sort all this romantic confusion out. And it does all get sorted out, rather neatly, but not before a lot of seriously witty banter is exchanged. Seriously, anyone who wants to write sexually tense dialogue needs to watch this movie first. After a 2007 of being disappointed by weakly wrought female characters, this was a definite upgrade, especially Petra. She's a sassy 18-year old maid who flirts with all the Egerman men (she even shows her breasts -- nipple included! -- to Henrik while trying to seduce him), at the same time keeping her dignity. She's not a hussy, she just knows what she wants and tries to get it. The scene of Petra and Anne rolling around on the bed, giggling about how terrible it would be to be a man, is one of the most honest, endearing portraits of female friendship I've seen on film.

Sure, Bergman is one of the best filmmakers of all time because of his searing portraits of individuals and couples, but Smiles of a Summer Night shows his brilliant lighter side as well. Check this out for a laugh-out-loud Bergman experience (I never thought I'd use that phrase ever!).

8/10

More on Cloverfield

2008-01-10T20:48:00.000-06:00

So, the time for Cloverfield is almost here -- man, I remember when January 18, 2008 seemed interminably far into the future! Harry Knowles from AICN has seen the film and has a write-up here. I know that Knowles has a knack (to say the least) for going overboard about projects that he likes, no matter what, but damn, does his review make it sound good. Like, better than it has any right to be, being directed by the guy who did The Pallbearer and only produced by JJ Abrams, whose work I haven't really liked to this point anyway.

I guess I'm just a sucker for movies that take the typical (the monster movie) and show it from a different point of view (in this case, as Knowles puts it, in the eyes of the people running away from the monster, rather than the people trying to save the world). It's a much more populist view on the monster movie, and, in real life, would we even have any heroes like there are in most movies?

I'm going next weekend, for sure.

Day Watch (Timur Bekmambetov, 2006)

2008-01-09T19:51:00.000-06:00

The bottom line on Day Watch (and the first movie in the trilogy, Night Watch, to a certain extent) is that it took me a long time understand what the hell was going on, but it was still a trippy, gorgeous ride. The story picks up where Night Watch left off, and, in fact, you pretty much need to see the first movie to understand anything at all about this one. There's none of the recapping that goes on in so many (every) Hollywood sequel, and for that, I'm both grateful and a little frustrated. I saw Night Watch in the theater way back sometime in 2006, so the details were a little fuzzy, but they came back (more or less) as I watched this movie.

Anton is back, working for the Light Side in upholding the truce between Light and Dark. He's joined by Svetlana, the woman from the end of Night Watch, who is now a trainee under Anton, but destined to become a great witch. They are also in love with each other, but won't admit it -- the ways in which it's revealed are clever and void of sentimentality, and I won't ruin it for you, but it involves people switching bodies and a shower scene. Anton's son Yegor has become the most important piece of the Dark side, and he is the one that could break the truce and start a war that could end the world.

I'm a sucker for a wrapped-up ending, and this movie definitely has it (how are they going to make a third?). The visuals are often beyond amazing, and most of the reason I recommend seeing this movie. Plus, it doesn't have any of those gimmicky subtitle tricks that Night Watch had, which I'm grateful for. This is the highest-grossing movie in post-Communist Russia, and even though it's really confusing and problematic, I only wish Hollywood made more awesome looking movies like this.

7/10

French Sex Murders (Ferdinando Merighi, 1972)

2008-01-07T21:39:00.000-06:00

Produced by schlock-master Dick Randall, French Sex Murders has the funniest name of almost any movie I've ever seen -- if there was ever a movie that laid it out on that line as to what the film contains, this is it. It's also one of the worse giallos I've ever seen. I read the special feature "About the movie" on the DVD before watching it, and I'm glad I did. It explains, in no-holds-barred text, how several different B-movie stars were hired, and all had different purposes in the film, thus why there's no sense of cohesion whatsoever. Anita Ekberg (who had appeared in, among other things, La Dolce Vita) was hired because she wasn't getting any work and she had a name for the marquee, Rosalba Neri (whom I was shocked to see after just being impressed with her in 99 Women) was hired to be sexy, and Robert Sacchi was hired because he bears an uncanny resemblance to Humphrey Bogart -- as a matter of fact, an alternate title for the film is The Bogeyman and the French Murders. Perhaps some viewers were fooled as to the film's actual star, and only after they had spent their money would they realize that Bogart would never be in a movie like this.

The plot is virtually nonexistant, but what is there, is this: girls in a brothel are getting murdered. Who's doing it? I have never seen a movie stretch for time this much (even at only 85 minutes) -- there are scenes where Sacchi makes several phone calls, but doesn't say anything until the final, important one. There are outdoor shots that are 15 seconds long when they only need to be 5. Seriously, it's pretty ridiculous.

But I don't want to necessarily discourage anyone from watching this. If you love giallo like I do, there are far worse ways to spend 90 minutes. Be forewarned, though, there's no real gore anywhere in the movie. There are terrible-looking effects that are repeated in five different colors. Trippy and cool-looking, but completely unnecessary. Watchable for only diehard fans of the genre.

5/10

Favorites of 2007

2008-01-06T19:42:00.000-06:00

It's here! But I was looking at the spreadsheet I made of movies I watched in 07 (I know, nerdy), and there really isn't a solid top-10 list there. Sure, there are plenty of movies I enjoyed watching, but surprisingly enough, not 10 I could say were bar none the best. So I give you, my favorite movies released in 2007 (click on the poster for my previous review):

Smokin Aces (Joe Carnahan)

It seems like this movie was so long ago, but it was indeed January of 2007. There's so much vitriol for this movie, but I think it's a wham-bam, funny, violent action picture. Jeremy Piven is great, as is Ryan Reynolds (this is the role that made me realize I don't hate him).

300 (Zack Snyder)

Again, lots of recent backlash toward this one. I honestly think that Snyder only meant to make a cinematic, epic film that was as close to Frank Miller's graphic novel (as xenophobic, homoerotic, etc, as it might have been) as it could have been. In that, he definitely succeeded. I have no idea how I am going to hold out for another year and a half for Watchmen.

Planet Terror (Robert Rodriguez)

I decided to limit myself to the better of the two films of Grindhouse, but that was the best experience I've had in the theater last year. Until the two films are released together on DVD (with the trailers intact), Planet Terror is the one I would recommend. Plus, bonus points for these films being the inspiration for Eli Roth's next project, Trailer Trash.

Hostel: Part II (Eli Roth)

Speaking of Mr. Roth, this was the most memorable film experience I had in 2007. Eli Roth is such a cool, friendly, smart guy, and the box office failure of this movie (paired with that of Grindhouse) really disheartened me.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters (Matt Malliero & Dave Willis)

I can't believe I didn't review this at the time, but for my money, this was the most laughs per minute in any movie this year. Sure, WTF-worthy laughs, but laughs nonetheless. A great DVD, as well, one certainly worth buying.

The Ten (David Wain)

Second-funniest movie of the year. I can't remember many of the jokes, it's a DVD that's definitely on my list to buy. It was so nice to see most of the members of The State back on screen again (twice, if you count Reno 911!: Miami).

I'm Not There (Todd Haynes)

The first "serious" movie on ths list! A great experimental indie film, and definitely American at its core. Plus, I like this (Italian?) poster way better than any of the American ones I've seen.

Black Book (Paul Verhoeven)

I still can't believe that this film, and Carice van Houten's performance in specific, are being so passed over in this awards season. They was robbed!

More about Diablo Cody

2008-01-06T18:10:00.000-06:00

This article from Cinematical about Diablo Cody (I have such a love-hate relationship with Cinematical; on the hate side, they're often abjectly misogynist -- remember the Katherine Heigl debacle? -- and they kiss Cody's ass more than any other blog I currently read) give me even more reason to wrinkle my nose at everyone's fawning over Juno.

In short: Diablo Cody, even though she came to fame through her blog about her experiences stripping, and subsequent book deal about the same subject, is no longer allowing people to ask her about her time stripping during interviews. Actually, it's questionable whether it's Cody's decision, or Fox Searchlight's. In any case, this gives me pause.

On one hand, Cody's made her career on her sexuality and stripping, even though I have even more problems with that; she's admitted that she only started stripping so she'd "have something to write about," and her writing on the subject reeks of slumming (how disrespectful to women who actually have to strip to live). She brought to a broader public that a woman can be in-your-face sexual and still talented and smart.

But now, she won't talk about it. Apparently, there are Fox Searchlight handlers at all her interviews, and if you get even close to the topic, they shut the interviewer down. I've heard talk that there were even nude photos of Cody on her blog, but they mysteriously disappeared once she got a book deal. So apparently, a woman can be sexual and smart, but only if she refuses to talk about her sexuality once she makes it big. I don't at all agree with the ine of questioning AMC's Peter Bart put to Cody ("When are you going to be a normal woman and have children?" among them, according to Cody), but why should she be so offended at the questions about stripping? It's salacious and borderline dirty for a male interviewer to ask her about it, to be sure, but she has admitted that she would only be in her current position because of her blog/book. Where is the line between shame and modesty? Diablo Cody honestly seems like a cool, talented woman; I just wish she wouldn't keep giving me reasons to dislike her.

Crazy Love (Dan Klores, 2007)

2008-01-05T21:46:00.000-06:00

I have seen few documentaries about stranger, more compelling people. To tell the entire story would be to ruin at least part of the joy of watching this movie (the utter disbelief in some of the actions), but I'll just introduce these people to you in the hopes you'll want more.

Burt Pugasch is a big deal in 1950s New York - he's a lawyer, film producer, and a night club owner. He sees Linda Riss one day, and decides she's going to be his. He woos her, and eventually, they do date, although as some of Linda's friends say, she seems to be more impressed with him than she is in love with him. He flaunts his wealth by taking Linda to New York hot spots (with Johnny Mathis, among others), and even getting she and her friend on a private plane ride with him, something unheard of at the time. But after a while, Burt's riches just aren't enough for Linda, and then she breaks up with him. Burt is absolutely heartbroken, to the (literal) point of insanity.

And then the strangeness begins. I hadn't heard at all of the story of Burt and Linda before watching the film, and I'm glad I hadn't. There were several points in the film in which I audibly gasped out loud. This film isn't particularly disturbing, although there are some shocking points, but instead a commentary on the often strange nature of love. Dan Klores does a pretty good job in pulling some punches; he keeps the right things secret until they have to be divulged, and the second half of the film is riviting. The first half, however, is a little dull, and brings down the movie as a whole. But for a look at two truly interesting people, I recommend watching Crazy Love

7/10

Jesus Camp (Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady, 2006)

2008-01-04T22:48:00.000-06:00

Fittingly enough, I watched Jesus Camp, a documentary on middle/southern American children who go to an Evangelical summer boot camp, only days before Mike Huckabee took America by surprise and won the Iowa Republican Caucus. But after watching Ewing and Grady's movie, I wasn't really that surprised at all; Huckabee's smiling face of evangelism is growing more and more powerful in this country, but after all, he is really more similar to the fanatics in this film than he would have us believe. As in their previous film, Boys of Baraka, which I truly loved, Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady present a cultural phenomenon dealing with children, one that is overlooked in popular culture.

Youth pastor Becky Fischer holds the summer camp for youths of evangelical (born again) Christians, most of whom seem to be home-schooled (no suprise). This is a sort of training camp for "the army of the Lord," a disturbing phrase that is used more than once. Fischer is quite a character; one moment, she is condemning Muslim countries for making their children into suicide bombers and radicals for Allah, but the next, she says that Christians in American need to be more like them in order to flourish. In this way, she and others teach the kids at the camp how to be a solider for Jesus, which includes praying for "righteous judges," praying to end abortion, praying to never be hypocritical in their faith, and pretty much praying and crying about everything. If you've read this blog before, you can probably tell I'm a hardcore feminist, so the section where the pastors were blatantly lying to children about abortion really got under my skin. News flash: a fetus isn't a tiny, perfectly formed baby like they told the campers. The amounts of misinformation and propaganda thrust at these children before they're even old enough to understand the nature of religion, or any complex political issue, is astounding. This might as well have been a reeducation camp.

Fischer calls in to liberal Christian Air America host Mike Papantonio (who provides liberal balance to the evangelicals, in the absence of any narration) and tells him that she isn't aware of any political bias to her camp at all. Apparently, we didn't see the camp the way she did. And maybe that's at the heart of the matter; evangelicals could look at this film and be proud, while liberals like myself could be totally horrified. True, there is no narration, but you can pretty easily guess Ewing and Grady's slant through editing and music choice. And because I agree with them that this is a scary, underestimated force in American politics. I am glad to have seen this film as a wakeup call of sorts, and am more confused than ever as to the political future of this country 10-20 years down the road.

8/10

Black Book (Paul Verhoeven, 2007)

2008-01-03T20:36:00.000-06:00

When I finally get my act together and make my best of 2007 list (this weekend!), Paul Verhoeven's Black Book will certainly be on there. It's marvellously photographed and epic in scope, but the best part, above all, is the performance of Carice van Houten in the role of Ellis (formerly Rachel), the Dutch Resistance fighter during World War II whose task it is to seduce a member of the gestapo, in order to learn the Nazi's secrets. van Houten as Ellis is smart, wily, brave, and incredibly sexy, in an almost every day kind of way. She's a woman you want to be; when she flashes her legs at the Dutch soldiers near the beginning of the film, it's one of the most endearing gestures in recent film mystery.

Rachel is hiding in the Dutch countryside from the Nazi occupation, but when she gets a chance to escape with her family, they all take it. There are terrible consequences, and brunette, Jewish Rachel has to become blonde Ellis to hide herself in plain sight. She falls in with the Dutch resistance, and agrees to seduce Ludwig Muntze, Nazi officer. She does so, with ease, and soon gets closer and closer to Muntze, as well as to Hans, another member of the Resistance. van Houten fills Ellis with life, with relatable, though paradoxical, emotions and decisions, and makes her one of the most memorable characters in 2007 film.

One thing I did notice, however, was the nagging similarities to Lust, Caution. Both films star beautiful, talented women, have these protagonists fall in love with questionable men on the other side of morality, and have graphic but not exploitative sex scenes. Ang Lee's film is based on sexual tension, but Verhoeven's tension explodes rather quickly (no pun intended) and then the rest of the film explores the results of the sexual and emotional connections. How strange that two high-profile sexy espionage epics came out in 2007, but they're both great movies.

Verhoeven did a remarkable thing in this movie: made a sexual, fierce, amazing female protagonist who certainly has flaws but is still remarkable and believable, and van Houten does a near-perfect job playing her. In a year that's been riddled with dubious portrayals of women, van Houten's is a performance that is being sadly ignored in this awards season.

8.5/10

99 Women (Jess Franco, 1969)

2008-01-02T21:25:00.000-06:00

Whether they know it or not, 99 Women is certainly what Tarantino and Rodriguez were trying to emulate with Grindhouse. Certainly my favorite women-in-prison flick I've ever seen, 99 Women centers on a remote Spanish island prison, where all the inmates have been wronged or were simply revenging themselves. Marie (Maria Rohm) is the newest, titular inmate, who gets punished and pushed around and eventually decides she can't take it anymore. Throw into the mix some truly gorgeous fellow inmates (especially Rosalba Neri as Zoe, a former stripper who killed her jealous boss in self defense), a corrupt superintendant and governor of the island, and a new, idealistic superintendant sent in by the goverment after too many deaths at the jail, and you've got an exploitation classic.

But the thing I like best about Jess Franco is that he truly is an auteur -- he can take the most commonplace women-in-prison plot and make an underground classic out of it. Some of the shot composition is as good as you'd see in any "serious" foreign film of the time. The sex scenes are erotic, but never sleazy in a bad way. In an interview on the DVD, Franco talks about how this movie was financed and written on the fly, which makes it even more impressive that it's anything more than campy. But Franco sometimes pulls genius out of his ass. Check out this trailer and tell me you really don't want to see this movie (and that it just as easily could have played in between the Grindhouse movies).

8/10

364 days of posts

2008-01-02T18:44:00.000-06:00

Welcome to 2008, readers!

One of my resolutions this year is to make this thing bigger and better, and that mainly means posting at least once every single day (except in extenuating circumstances, like being 300 miles from home with an all-day hangover, as yesterday). That means more reviews (another, lesser goal is to watch 365 movies -- we'll see), lists (my best of 2007 is coming this weekend!), rants, news, and lots more.

I'm finally going to really figure out this damn film blogging thing. Stick around.

To start things off, Sacha Baron Cohen, one of my favorite actors, is apparently set to star as Abbie Hoffman in an upcoming Steven Spielberg movie about the Chicago 7. Cohen is hilarious (and a hottie, hah), but can he do dramatic? And didn't Vincent D'Onofrio already do this? I think it's a good, if risky, move for Cohen from the comedy ghetto to "real" acting.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (Jake Kasdan, 2007)

2007-12-26T20:44:00.000-06:00

On the other side of the surprised-by-Americans spectrum from Sweeney Todd is Walk Hard, the hands-down funniest comedy of the year that couldn't make more than four million dollars on its opening weekend. Sure, it was a holiday weekend, but National Treasure 2 made 100 bazillion dollars or something. Seriously? SERIOUSLY?

But enough overestimating the moviegoing public. Walk Hard is a spoof of the recent rags-to-riches musical biopics that are sure Oscar favorites. In fact, Reilly himself has been nominated for a Golden Globe for his performance as Dewey Cox, who chops his brother in half during a machete fight and spends the rest of his life trying to be "super-great" for both he and his brother. Along the way, he gets married at 14, makes a slew of hits, takes acid with The Beatles, wants to record an army of digeridoos, has a 70s variety show, hits rock bottom, and finds redemption (sort of). Everything you'd expect. Reilly is absolutely perfect in the role; hilarious and spot-on as Cox -- he's even a great musician. Kristin Wiig (who has grown on me in her last few years on Saturday Night Live) is hilarious as Cox's first wife; she delivers probably my favorite line in the movie ("It would if it never rained!" I almost choked laughing).

Of course, Dewey leaves his wife when he gets famous, and eventually hooks up with his June Carter (Jenna Fischer, looking cute even though there's not much else to do). They have the most ridiculously tumultuous relationship in film history. Also pitch-perfect are Dewey's backup band, Tim Meadows, Chris Parnell, and Matt Besser, who all get a few big laughs. Lots of the Judd Apatow regulars (he produced it, after all) show up, like Paul Rudd, Jonah Hill, Jane Lynch, and more.

The fact that this was such a box office bomb while Knocked Up and Superbad were such hits disappoints, but doesn't surprise, me. America just isn't ready to see John C. Reilly in a leading role, I suppose. For me, though, he is just wonderful -- I'd put him in my top 5 favorite actors, I think. I hope we see more big roles for him in the future, and America grows to love him like I do. But for now, all I can say is go see Walk Hard if you love to laugh. And who doesn't.

9/10

Sweeney Todd (Tim Burton, 2007)

2007-12-25T18:39:00.000-06:00

Sweeney Todd is the antithesis of the traditional holiday movie; dark, bloody, and almost completely sung. But here it was, the weekend before Christmas, and Tim Burton's adaptation of the Broadway play came in fifth at the box office. For once, this was a happy surprise. While not Burton's best film, it is probably his most realized vision yet. Burton teams yet again with Johnny Depp in the title role of the man wronged by a lecherous judge (Alan Rickman, who is, as always, great), put in prison, and had his wife and child taken from him. 15 years later, he's bak in the guise of Sweeny Todd, and he's looking for revenge.

But it's not just the judge Todd is looking for revenge on; it's the entire world, as shown in the very first song, in which Todd describes London in the most pessimistic terms possible. But since this is basically Dickens' London, it is a filthy, poverty-stricken place. Burton's London is a place where the sun never shines, there are rats and roaches everywhere (even in the meat pies), and people are poor and getting poorer. The only time we see the sun in the film is during Mrs. Lovett's (Helena Bonham Carter, of course) fantasy sequence of her and Todd's imaginary life. This is one of the most pessimistic films in recent memory.

That being said, all the performances are fantastic. Some have said that Depp is a lock for a best actor Oscar, and while he wouldn't be my first choice, I certainly wouldn't be disappointed by it. Carter is a mix of Burton's corpse bride and a strung-out Marla Singer, a truly creepy and opportunistic businesswoman who finds a way to make murder profitable (quite the commentary on the beginning of the industrial revolution. The supporting cast is solidly good, especially Sacha Baron Cohen as Todd's rival barber, the only comic relief in this bleak film. Much has been said about the gore in the film, but the blood doesn't look realistic at all. It's theatrical gore, and while it's shocking in context, it certainly isn't disgusting. Sweeney Todd may not be the feel-good movie of the season, but it sure is a good one.

8/10

Somersault (Cate Shortland, 2004)

2007-12-20T10:30:00.000-06:00

Somersault is exactly the kind of film I want to make, and exactly what I picture a film written and directed by a woman about being in that in-between stage of childhood and womanhood to be. Heidi (Abbie Cornish, in the role that first brought her international attention) kisses her mother's boyfriend and then, having been caught, runs away from home to Jindabyne, the Australian skiing city. From there, she gets an apartment, tries to get what she wants through her sexuality, and eventually connects with a young local who is trying to figure himself out as well.

Heidi is at once self-destructive and incredibly brave. At 16, she leaves home (when she doesn't need to) and goes to live on her own, but at the same time, she drinks heavily and gets herself into situations that aren't smart. She depends both on other people to take pity on her and help her out, but also on her own internal resources to figure out how to use people. In short, Heidi is a loveable and a contemptable character, an amazingly accurate representation of what it's like to be a teenage girl of a certain kind in today's society. Shortland doesn't particularly judge Heidi, and in fact, she shows a kind of empathy for her. Heidi is one of the most realistic characters I've seen on film in a long time.

The cinematography in the movie is gorgeous. Much of it seems like a dream, as it's shot in hazy blue tones. The making-of documentary on the DVD shows the actual colors of the Australian landscape as compared to the lushness of the actual movie, and it's like night and day. Shortland uses colors like a pro to portray the inner workings of Heidi, and her confused quasi-boyfriend Joe. The sequence portrayed in the above poster, where Heidi searches for herself in the mirror, is stupendous. The interplay between Heidi, who doesn't understand normal human interactions and can only express love through sexuality, and her coworker's brother, who has Asperger's Syndrome and can honestly not understand human interaction, is so touching, although it's totally from afar. When the boy's mother teaches him about emotions, Heidi watches on with a look that shows she wishes she could have that direct kind of instruction. It's heartbreaking.

Somersault is such an accurate depiction of a confused teenage girl who doesn't know the difference between sex and love that I cannot recommend it more. It's confident and a clear vision from a first-time director, a woman who knows what she wants to show and isn't afraid to do so. With her performances here and in Candy, Abbie Cornish has shown some real promise. Definitely rent this movie.

9/10

I'm Not There (Todd Haynes, 2007)

2007-12-18T12:06:00.001-06:00

In order to avoid the first family holiday blowup this weekend, I ran away ~~to the circus~~ to the movies and finally saw Todd Haynes' I'm Not There, the pseudo-Bob Dylan biopic that utilizes six actors of different races and genders to portray the man in the different phases in his life: Marcus Carl Franklin is Woodie Guthrie (Dylan as a young, boxcar-riding man, based on what he told people about his mysterious background), Ben Whishaw is Arthur Rimbaud (the early artist, when he was fond of answering interview questions with Rimbaud quotes), Christian Bale is Jack Rollins then Pastor John (Dylan the young star, and 20 years later, the born-again Christian), Heath Ledger is Robbie Clark (Dylan the asshole, more or less), Cate Blanchett is Jude Quinn (Dylan gone electric), and Richard Gere is Billy the Kid (Dylan in exile).

The movie, then, has an obvious hook or gimmick. But this is so much more than its parts might suggest. All the actors are stupendous in the role, even though the demands are varying on each part. Whishaw and Bale have the least interesting, in my mind, roles, but even those are well-done. Whishaw, shown only in black and white, at a table being interviewed, has a film-long monologue about the nature of poetry and fame. But really, the movie belongs to Cate Blanchett. Her androgynous portrait of angry Dylan, just gone electric to England, is a bright self-destructive spark in the film. Quinn and his band take out guns rather than electric guitars; they might as well have, how angrily the audience reacted. Quinn is falling apart, physically and mentally, and even though he hangs out with an Edie Sedgwick-type (whose heart he has broken) and Allen Ginsburg (David Cross, whom I could almost take seriously), his life is in disarray. Ledger, Franklin (a true find by Haynes), and Gere are also remarkable in their roles. Ledger has the juiciest role, a real asshole, getting a divorce from his wife (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and spouting misogynistic views.

There's really quite little I can say about this movie that really explains the experience of I'm Not There. I recently read a review that I can no longer find that said the problem with the film is that because it doesn't deal with Dylan as one person, it neglects to address the issue of how these constant transformations take a toll on the person. In the same review (and others), it says that only Dylan fans will be truly interested in the film. I'm no real fan of Bob Dylan, so I took this movie as both a loose biography of the man, but also just as a collection of remarkable stories and performances from one of the real visionary directors of our time. This is Todd Haynes' best work (visually, it is breathtaking), and one of the best films of the year.

8.5/10

Fido (Andrew Currie, 2007)

2007-12-16T18:12:00.000-06:00

I'm not using the traditional poster art for Andrew Currie's surprisingly wonderful film because, as has been said better than I could, Lionsgate really screwed the pooch with their marketing of this film. Seriously, you've got to figure that they know there's already a built-in (weirdo) audience for a zombie family film/social satire of American culture, and, with a little smart marketing, this could have been a small breakout surprise. But alas, that didn't happen. That rarely happens.

Fido is the story of an alternate reality America, date unknown, that is premanently stuck in the ultra-perfect, stereotypical 50s America. Mom (Carrie Ann Moss, in an absolutely wonderful performance) wears beautiful dresses (of which I am eternally jealous -- I want her wardrobe in this film so badly) and bakes roasts; Dad (Dylan Baker, who is great in everything) is removed from his wife (physically -- two beds -- and mentally) and his son; and son Timmy (K'Sun Ray) gets bullied at school until his loyal pet stands up for him. But his pet Fido isn't a dog, it's a zombie. Since the zombie wars, cities have been fenced in and zombies are controllable via an omnipotent company ZomCon, who invented a collar to make zombies obedient. Billy Connolly is Fido, in an amazing performance, considering he doesn't have one single line. His entire performance is dog-like actions and expressions, and he does a great job at conveying the kind of love between a family pet and a human.

Fido was a smoker!

But more than a sendup of 50s America, this is a story about family, and about love. The last half hour, while the weakest part in the film in some ways, has some of the most touching, sincere displays of familial love I've seen in a while. Mr. Theopolis (Tim Blake Nelson), is in love with his zombie, Rammy, and treats her better than most of the human husbands and wives we meet. The quasi-romance between Mrs. Robinson and Fido is a very clever pastiche of All That Heaven Allows, and the zombies echo the plight of immigrants and the unseen in American culture, even today. But above all, this is a family story, about what keeps a family together, even through a zombie war, head coffins, and kids with pistols. Expect to see this in my best of list in a few weeks.

8/10

Pretty Baby (Louis Malle, 1978)

2007-12-13T21:48:00.000-06:00

All 95% of people know about Pretty Baby is the fact that a 12-year-old Brooke Shields appeared naked in the film as a child prostitute in 1910s New Orleans. There, I've acknowledged it, though I'll come back to it, and now I can say a little bit more about the movie. Violet is the daughter of prostitute Hattie, who was the daughter of a prostitute as well. At the beginning of the film, Hattie, offscreen, is making gutteral moans that could only be from sex or childbirth. Hattie is giving birth to a baby boy, another child to be brought up in Nell's brothel, a lush, extravagant place of fabricated good times. Men come in and out, and some women, like Hattie, have regulars. The dream of all the women is to have a rich man swoop them up and take them away from this place; that's why these women deal with the occasionally violent and almost always insensitive johns.

One day, photographer Bellocq comes to the brothel to take pictures of Hattie. No one understands it, but they indulge him because he pays. The more and more time he spends at the place, the more enraptured he becomes with first Hattie, then Violet. Even though she's so young, her virginity is ultimately sold to literally the highest bidder, so she becomes a girl just like any other in the house. In this way, it's not that unusual that Bellocq falls in love with Violet, especially since she play-acts as a woman all the time. But in many other ways, it's incredibly unusual, especially when we see her naked.

Violet, played precociously by Shields, is always swinging wildly between womanhood and childhood - on one hand, she tells the other girls she knows what to do during sex and talks like a prostitute, and on the other, she throws wild tantrums and scratches out the faces on some of Bellocq's negatives. That's why it's so disconcerting to finally see her naked; it's not sexy, in any way. It's a reminder that Violet is, indeed, a child.

This film could never, in any way, be made today. Remember the vague controversy around Hounddog from last year's Sundance Festival? If I remember correctly, Dakota Fanning isn't even close to being naked in the film. Now, there are people all over the IMDB boards screaming self-righteously about how Malle and Shields' mother (against whom Shields does apparently hold this) and everyone else on the film should be thrown in jail. Thankfully, simply showing a child nude, for non-sexual reasons, isn't against the law in this country. And Malle's film simply doesn't show Violet naked for sexual reasons. It's just the opposite; it's as if Malle puts this in front of us to remind us that she's a girl, how could anyone take her otherwise?

It's not a great film, but it is beautiful and well-acted. I give it brownie points for being so brave, but it's probably not a film I would watch again. Pretty Baby represents the best in American (although Malle was French, this was an American production) filmmaking creativity, but the worst in the current political climate in this country. You can disagree with Malle and screenwriter Polly Platt's choices, but there's no crimes here. If you're interested, photos from the real E.J. Bellocq can be found here.

6/10

On Juno

2007-12-05T10:30:00.000-06:00

I am afraid to see Juno. I'll admit it.

Why? Unless you've been living under a film-blog rock (and I assume you haven't, since you've stumbled here), you know that Juno is this year's...well, Little Miss Sunshine, I guess, but I don't remember even that movie getting this ridiculous amount of hype. Everyone is sweet-talking Ellen Page's performance as Juno, the (of course) precocious pregnant teen (by Michael Cera, whom I obviously adore) who is giving her baby up to Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman. Directed by Jason Reitman (whose first film, Thank You For Smoking, I didn't care to see either) and with a screenplay by it-girl-of-the-moment Diablo Cody (we'll get to her in a moment), even the poster advertises the "whip-smart" dialogue: it seems as if the actors are performing Cody's dialogue on a tightrope! The dialogue crackles with wit!

I usually hate movies like that, movies that are consciously trying to be witty. Wit, in my eyes, is something that isn't forced. It just happens. And when reviewers describe a movie as "whip-smart" and "crackling," to me, that usually signals forced wit and totally unnatural speech patterns. Juno just seems cute. And hip. The two things I hate most in a movie. I would often rather watch a stupid movie than one that's cute.

Diablo Cody has this public persona of being not hip but actually really hip -- here's a girl who had a sex column and was a stripper and now writes cool movies and even Steven Spielberg wants to work with her! I'm not buying it. There's something in my character that dictates that I always root against the Goliath, even when, in this case, the Goliath is actually a Hollywood David. If I had not seen Little Miss Sunshine right away, before all the hype, I almost certainly wouldn't have liked it as much.

So, like Pitchfork and Stereogum and their ilk are doing their unintentional part to kill indie bands by over-hyping them, so, I believe, film bloggers are doing with Juno. I could have gone to see it and enjoyed it perfectly fine, but not now, with everyone and their mother telling me it's by far the best film/screenplay/performance (I haven't even mentioned how I don't like Ellen Page -- well, I don't like her, the terrible movie that was Hard Candy and her performance there ruined her for me, at least for the moment) of the year. I'm predestined to not like it, to not give it a fair shot. And that stinks.

Girl 27 (David Stenn, 2007)

2007-12-04T12:13:00.000-06:00

As long as I'm ranting about sexist things that make me angry, I thought I'd make it two days in a row with Girl 27, David Stenn's documentary about Patricia Douglas, who, in 1937, was tricked into "performing" at a party for MGM sales executives from all over the country and was subsequently raped by one of the executives. Although she was bold enough for the time to actually bring civil and federal suits against the man that had raped her, everyone was in MGM's pocket: the sole witness, the judge, the hospital (where they immediately gave her a douche to get rid of all the evidence), Douglas' public defender (who didn't even show up for the trial, three seperate times), the press, even Douglas' own mother, everyone. This is the story of a woman who chose to stand up for herself, and for that, she was deliberately destroyed by a huge corporation that basically owned Los Angeles at the time.

But the movie is as much about Patricia Douglas after the fact as it is about the crime itself. Because this story was buried by the press, never to be heard of again until Stenn brought it into the light, Douglas became a recluse, a woman who had three husbands and a daughter but says she's never been in love. There are several legal experts (including Greta Van Sustern, which is ironic, considering how if Fox News had existed in 1937, they certainly would have been a news outlet trying to defame Douglas) who say they'd never heard of the Douglas case, and considering how, for a short period in the late '30s and early '40s, this case was all the rage, that's considerable evidence for how well oiled MGM's machine-liked control over Los Angeles was.

Many have and will criticize the film for Stenn's placement of himself in a central role in the film; there are some cringeworthily self-lauding scenes, as when Stenn recounts telling Douglas' story to Jackie Onassis and having Jackie tell him he's the only one who could tell her story right (gag). But since the movie is about Douglas' retreat into obscurity, I think it's important and right that Stenn tell his part in the saga, about how he spoke to Douglas on the phone for countless hours before she'd even begin telling him about that night, and how even more time had to be spent slowly but surely convincing Douglas that this is an important story that she has to tell in front of the cameras. In fact, Stenn and Douglas' recountings of the first time they met is one of the most heartwarming moments in the film.

There are some truly heartbreaking moments in the film; Douglas, whose mother was married eight times, was eventually bought out by MGM for her testimony and spent the rest of her life trying to make it up to her daughter. When the daughters of the witness who was bought out by MGM speak about how they want to at least help one woman by speaking out about what their father did, a lump formed in my throat. I haven't even begun talking about the weird, warped relationship between Douglas and her daughter (whom I found rather contemptible, but understandably so).

Douglas died shortly after getting her story recorded for all to her; the final minutes in the film, when she speaks about how she'll be vindicated about the truth, because it always comes out, is heartbreaking, because it's not true. Even with Stenn's documentary, not much has changed. It's as if Douglas was waiting for her chance to speak before she could die. The least we can do is listen to what she had to say, and be glad that times are (at least a little) different today.

8/10

An open letter to Katherine Heigl

2007-12-03T18:57:00.000-06:00

Dear Katherine Heigl,

Today, news came that you think that Knocked Up was a little sexist. Now (male) film bloggers all over the internet are saying exactly what I expected: you're a money-hungry hypocrite, not a woman with actual opinions about your body of work! And what about MEN in romantic comedies?!

You know what I say? GOOD FOR YOU, GIRL. You are 100 fucking percent correct, and I applaud your bravery, as the main actress in one of this year's biggest movies, to come out and publicly air your concerns about the female role in said movie. Instead of calling you a hypocrite, I think you're a great role model for women. Why should we have to hide our feelings, even if it's on something we were involved in? Why can't we have honest, candid thoughts about these things without being called every name in the book?

Honestly, Katherine, between you and I, I think the backlash against you from these male bloggers has been so harsh because they know Knocked Up is "a little bit sexist," but that conflicts with their beliefs in general, so they choose to knock you down for acknowledging the elephant in the room, rather than actively, honestly taking what you said into consideration. There's no discussion here, just (sexist!) name-calling.

It's not sexist to like Knocked Up, not if you understand what's problematic in the movie (in case you forgot, I outlined it here) and work toward understanding why women are always presented this way in the media. So Katherine, even though you're going back to sappy romantic comedies, I'll always hold a little place for you in my radical feminist heart.

Jeez, things like this almost make you want to punch all men in the face. Almost.

XOXO,

Dana Danger

Fast Food Nation (Richard Linklater, 2006)

2007-12-02T12:01:00.000-06:00

Fast Food Nation, the book published in 2001, is one of my all-time favorites. I think Eric Schlosser is a great writer in the tradition of the Upton Sinclair school of muck-raking. So I was intrigued about Richard Linklater's adaptation of the book (the screenplay was written by Schlosser and Linklater together) as a fictional story, rather than a non-fictional documentary. While there are the foreseeable problems, this is a pretty effective movie with some really strong performances.

There are about five stories in the film, all revolving around the Mickey's restaurant and the products that go into making their new Big One burger. Greg Kinnear is the Mickey's executive who came up with the Big One, and who is now assigned to go to the meat packing plant where the Big One patties are made to investigate the high percentage of, ahem, fecal matter in the meat. Amber (Ashley Johnson) is a high schooler who has to work at Mickey's to support herself and her mother, but who undergoes a crisis of conscience when she learns facts about the environmental and humanitarian effects of Mickey's. Catalina Sandino Moreno, Wilmer Valderrama, and Ana Claudia Talancon are Mexicans who recently illegally crossed the border and thus are forced to work in the meat packing plant, and also get involved with meth and sexual harrassment on the part of the girls' manager at the plant. So there are plenty of social issues to be dealt with in the film, and sometimes it does feel like the movie is overstuffed with Schlosser's pet causes. Some smaller characters, such as Ethan Hawke as Amber's uncle and Kris Kristofferson as a rancher who shows Greg Kinnear the darker side of the meat packing industry, are used as mouthpieces to get the facts about these issues across through vaguely awkward monologues.

But Johnson and Moreno especially give great performances as young women who are in similar, yet widely divergent situations: both need the jobs that they have to support themselves, even though they hate them. The interesting part of the film comes when Johnson can quit her job, while Moreno can't. In this way, it's a liberal fairy tale and nightmare, all at once: the upper/middle-class whites (Johnson, Kinnear) can afford to speak their consciences, even though it means losing their jobs, but the illegal immigrants are without a voice in this country, even though their jobs might be infinitely more dangerous and ethically wrong.

The IMDB boards are, predictably, crazy over this film - vegans vs. meat eaters, left vs. right, all over the map, people are fighting about this film. While some call this film liberal propaganda, I think it's a refreshing, fictional film that forces us to take a closer look at what we eat and what the cost is. But during the cow slaughterhouse scenes (and all the discussion of the shit in meat), all I could think was I'm so glad I'm a vegetarian.

7/10

No Country For Old Men (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, 2007)

2007-11-28T12:14:00.000-06:00

There is no film, at least right now, that is getting more best of and awards buzz than No Country For Old Men (with the exception of possibly Juno, on which I'll discuss my feelings soon). At the earliest show in a Saturday afternoon, the weekend it opened in Milwaukee, the huge auditorium I saw it in was 3/4 of the way full, and with a refreshingly diverse crowd (not just old white people, as it usually is at this patricular theater). All the buzz had me expecting the best movie of the year, and while I wasn't disappointed, I was not completely bowled over, either. It's a very good movie with some great performances, but it's not perfect.

Javier Bardem, however, is perfect as Anton Chigurh, the cold-blooded killer and thief who my family decided was one of the worst killers onscreen ever. But aside from all the killing he does - and there is a lot - he is also one of the only men in the film with an actual set of values, ironically enough. He does what he says, and says what he does. He's not a killer who traps you through lies and conniving; he is straight-up and brutal. That's terrifying. I hope this role finally brings Bardem the breakout success he so deserves in this country, as well as an Oscar for the finest acting I've seen all year.

The rest of the cast is certainly solid, with Josh Brolin (he's having one hell of a year) as Llewellyn, the man who unfortunately finds Anton's briefcase full of money, Tommy Lee Jones as Sherriff Bell, who tries to protect Llewellyn, but is always one step behind, and especially Kelly MacDonald as Carla, Llewellyn's wife who is smart-mouthed but deeply caring and affected. My brother contends that Brolin's performance was as perfect as any actor could be in this role, and maybe he's right and I just don't get the character. Llewellyn is a man who finds ten brutally murdered bodies and doesn't panic, keeps calm, and takes a briefcase of money that he knows someone is going to be looking for. He shows no human emotion throughout the story. Cormac McCarthy's novels are all about the new west, so maybe Llewellyn is just a new version of the old west's cowboys, but I couldn't fathom the lack of shock in his character.

The photography is absolutely beautiful, with plenty of long, sweeping shots of the Texas deserts. In a lot of ways, the photography and landscapes reminded me of Badlands, only more depressing. The silence in the movie was a great choice, and served the film well. One decision that the Coens made that I was unsure of, but now definitely appreciate, is their decision to omit the one scene that is arguably the most important, anticipated in the story (if you've seen the movie, I'm sure you know what I mean). The big event just happens, with no flashback to explanation. This is how life is; it just happens, there's no warning. Also, sort of related: there are theories floating around IMDB that Sheriff Bell and Anton have a confrontation in the motel room that the Coens also leave out - probably involving a coin toss and Bell getting his freedom. This is what I thought happened, but my brother and father thought that Anton was long gone from the room before Sheriff Bell arrived. So why that shot of Anton hiding? This would make sense in the context of the film, as most of the scenes in that room are deliberately not included. Did Bell somehow get the money? Why else would he be able to retire so suddently after? Thoughts?

So while this is a very good movie, I couldn't feel myself emotionally connect to it. Maybe that's the point; life is cruel and harsh and quick. Expect this to get tons of award nominations, and rightfully so. But maybe I was spoiled by the trailer before the film for There Will Be Blood (which gave me shivers).

8/10