White women with different kinds of problems

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

Stumble It!

2 in brief

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

Stumble It!

Faces of Death: Close-Ups in The Rules of Attraction

When I read about The House Next Door's Close-Up Blog-a-Thon, I knew I had to do one of my favorites. I also knew that I already had a film from my top ten of all time capped and ready to go - The Rules of Attraction, Roger Avary's tragically underrated 2002 adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' debut novel. The story is about a group of young people at a liberal arts college in the 80s, all of whom are effectively dead or killed on the inside. The film opens on Lauren's face. "...it's a story that might bore you, but you don't have to listen, because I always knew it was going to be like that." Shannyn Sossamon's face in this still is one of the most memorable moments in film ever. Lauren, who has been saving her virginity for the boy of her dreams, is raped while drunk at a party, and thrown up on. She always knew it was going to be like that, you can see it in her eyes. James van der Beek basically says "Fuck Dawson" as Sean Bateman, Patrick's little brother who is almost as bad. His face bruised from a beating at the hands of his drug dealer, Sean is prowling the End of the World party in search of a freshman girl he can take advantage of. Rupert Guest, Sean's drug dealer, is a complete nutjob who sticks a gun in Sean's face when we first meet him. This shot is as much a closeup of the gun as it is of Clifton Collins Jr (who would go on to be great in Capote), a portrait of Rupert's amorality and plain old insanity. Lara, Lauren's roommate who also (presumably) ends up being raped, has leaky pipes and got off the pill because it made her gain weight. Dick! Dick's scene in the restaurant is the most memorable in the film, and it's worth a rent if only to see him tell off his mom and his mom's friend. "FUCK YOU, PRETTY BOY!" was a catchphrase at school. Dick is actually one of the most likeable characters, though, because even though he's a total asshole, he tells it like it is. The only actual death in the movie, the girl who had been writing Sean love letters, only he was too blind to see her, made Harry Nilsson's "Without You" a song almost too painful to listen to. The most upsetting suicide in a film, ever - it's made several people I've watched the movie with unable to look at the screen. Not graphic, just immaculately acted and photographed. Sean thinks he's trying to kill himself, but he's already dead. He's faking death, as he's faking any kind of human life.

Stumble It!

Spun (Jonas Akerlund, 2002)

In the world of drug movies, the meth-addled Spun is the polar opposite of the manic-depressive cocaine and heroin world of Darren Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream. Whereas Aronofsky's 2000 film is so bleak that I could barely watch it once, Akerlund's movie is a visual wonderland, an amoral playground that I can barely wait to visit again. Jason Schwartzman (who I have never really liked but absolutely adored here) is the centerpiece of the ensemble cast as Ross, young meth addict who becomes chauffeur for The Cook (Mickey Rourke, as great and sleazy as ever), major meth dealer, and his girlfriend Nikki (Brittany Murphy) and runs in and out of intertwining plot lines on the way, such as Spider Mike and Cookie, Frisbee and his mother, and reality-tv cops, as well as hilarious cameos by Debbie Harry (as Ross's super-butch neighbor) and Eric Roberts (as...well, I'll let you see that for yourself). The visual style is frenetic, with parts animated and lots of lighting and camera effects. As with Requiem, visuals are repeated (or echoed) each time a characters gets high; the world spins up or the character is in the sky or some other visual interpretation of drug use. You feel panicky and jumpy when the characters are, an accomplishment in both writing and directing. The movie is actually funny, too, something that is hard to manage in a movie about serious drug use. Meth isn't funny, nor is it a drug that makes people more likeable. But Ross and Nikki are two people that I really wanted things to work out for - they're obviously sleazy and morally bankrupt, but they're not unlikeable, for some reason. Even when Ross kept April tied up for four days, it really seemed like something a person would do, and not sadistic and crazy somehow. Another thing that's not easy to do in a movie about drug abuse. And while the movie is funny and the characters are actually likeable, meth use isn't glamorized in the least. I think the key in having the addicts be real people is the exclusion of people who aren't meth users (until the very end, in a terribly sad scene with Ross and his "girlfriend"). The audience gets wrapped up in this world with little alternative. Rourke and Murphy and especially Schwartzman are incredibly effective in that very act of audience inclusion. Akerlund is an extremely talented director (his music videos are fantastic) , especially considering that this was his first feature. According to imdb, his second feature, The Horsemen, is due this year, with a few Spun castmembers in tow; I cannot wait for it. 9/10

Stumble It!

Japon (Carlos Reygadas, 2002)

After only two films (Japon and the equally wonderful Battle in Heaven), Carlos Reygadas is already one of the filmmakers I respect most. I saw Battle in Heaven earlier this year, and was taken aback by the utter patience and beauty Reygadas infused into the film. The long, meticulous shots, the unflinching view we're given of people's mistakes, and the sincere quest for salvation were all just shocking. I haven't seen many other films that were that pain-stakingly occupied with portraying a mood. Japon is the same way. The exploration of sexuality and religion that Reygadas expands upon in Battle is set in motion in Japon. The protagonist, an unnamed artist, probably from Mexico City, goes to rugged mountainside Mexico country to kill himself. The first scene, where the artist puts a bird out of his misery and then gets a ride from a hunter who takes the suicide plan in stride, brought tears to my eyes, as the truckful of men listen to classical music and Reygadas shoots this rough terrain with so much love. The audience can already see, as the artist may or may not come to, that the world is beautiful and worth living for. And finding the beauty in "ugly" things is another preoccupation of Reygadas' work. The artist eventually ends up staying with Ascen, an elderly woman who lives by herself in the mountains and is being taken total advantage of by her grandson. The artist is at first mildly annoyed by Ascen, but eventually finds something in her that he needs. The landscape really is a main character in this film, and the scene where the artist lays on a plateau with a dead horse is particularly gorgeous. I don't want to say too much more about the plot of the film, which picks up a little bit in the second half, because it's surprising and touching, and, most of all, completely real. Some have called Reygadas pretentious for his long shots and non-professional actors, but he does an amazing job at bringing out the beautiful and the important, for lack of a better word, out of the ordinary. I can't wait for Reygadas' Silent Light, due in 2007, and sounds like he picks up on his same themes again. Reygadas is really one of the best and most promising filmmakers in the New Mexican Cinema genre, and seems to be one that won't abandon Mexican film once he gets a bit of fame. 9/10 RIYL: Inarritu/Cuaron

Stumble It!

Ken Park (Larry Clark and Ed Lachman, 2002)

Larry Clark is one of the most divisive filmmakers in the independent world, I think. I mean, just look at this post I made of stills from the film, and how much controversy erupts from a film most people HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN. Now that's a divisive filmmaker. And most people haven't actually seen Ken Park, as it's never been released theatrically or on DVD in the United States; in fact, it more or less disappeared after its appearance at the Toronto Film Festival (I think). I believe that in the immediate post 9/11 climate in the US (although this film has absolutely nothing to do with terrorism, I know that), controversial art was pushed to the side, and no distribution companies wanted to pick this one up. If you've seen This Film is Not Yet Rated, you understand why the industry would be so hostile toward a film this sexually explicit. And explicit it is - everything you might have heard about the movie is true, there's sex in almost every scene, and none of it simulated. As well as graphic sex, there's incest, murder, suicide, drugs, and just general teen ennui. Again, no wonder this hasn't gotten distribution. But all the controversy around Ken Park, and around Clark and screenwriter Harmony Korine (who had a falling-out with Clark around this time) themselves, has shadowed the fact that this is actually a good, thought-provoking movie. Call it Kids for the new millenium; actually, it works pretty well as a sequel of sorts to the first Clark-Korine collaboration, looking at the same kinds of kids, only in a suburban environment, and ten years later. They're aware of things like AIDS and the dangers of partying too hard, but they don't really care. Or, if they do, they're hiding it well. Onto the movie itself: there are some stellar performances, especially from James Ransone as the absolutely insane Tate. Tate isn't in the least likeable in the movie, but Ransone kept me from hating him. Also pretty good is Tiffany Limos as Peaches, although there's so much drama on her imdb page that I wonder what the big deal is. Apparently she was dating Clark at the time of the filming. Hm. I love the framing of the story of a group of friends who marginally know Ken Park, but we never (really, except in one scene) see the kids hanging out. The movie beginning with the end of Ken Park's life (a brilliant scene) and ending with right before the end of his life ("Aren't you glad your mother didn't abort you?" is one of my favorite final lines) was a great stylistic choice. The performances are solid, the direction of Clark and Ed Lachman is solid, and Korine's screenplay is solid. The result is less than perfect, but much more than some would have you believe. 8.5/10 RIYL: Kids, Gummo

Stumble It!

Red Siren (2002, Olivier Megaton)

I will rent just about any movie if Asia Argento is in it. While I've made some mistakes in the past (Trauma, Love Bites), I keep coming back for more. I didn't expect Red Siren to be any more than an exploitative erotic thriller, but, much to my surprise, I got a highly stylized crime thriller, a sort of 2000s update of Leon. Asia plays Anita, a French/Italian detective who comes upon the case of Alice, a 13 year old girl who says her mother Eva killed her nanny. Through a sequence of completely unbelievable, but enjoyable, events, like a wicked car chase and shootout in a gas station, Alice escapes from her mother and hooks up with Hugo (Jean-Marc Barr, who does a great job), a former mercenary who makes it his mission to deliver Alice to her father (who may or may not be dead). Whew. The plot involves a huge shootout in an enpty hotel, an evil mother who enjoys snuff films, and explosions. The plot is, as I said earlier, pretty unbelievable, but that's the thrill in crime thrillers most of the time. Jean-Marc Barr is great as Hugo, who accidentally killed a child in war years before, and has been trying to atone for his behavior ever since. Argento is not quite as good, but still pulls out an interesting performance as a detective who may have more invested in this case than is on the surface. The real revelation of this movie, though, is young Alexandra Negrao, who plays Alice with conflicting and paradoxical feelings that make her much more relatable and complex than any young girl should be. Again, I recommend this film if you're looking for a stylized, modern crime thriller that doesn't plague the brain too much. 7/10

Stumble It!