Damn, I only have time to watch movies on weekends part 18: the incredibly strange Listologist who stopped living and became a mixed-up zombie!!?
Submitted by AJDaGreat on Thu, 02/05/2009 - 11:31
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- 1. The Visitor (2007)
- I decided that given how much I love The Station Agent, a viewing of this film was past due. Besides, Jenkins was nominated for Best Actor, and I had to see what all the fuss was about. I will say that the set-up of The Visitor seems kinda hokey and requires every party involved to be far too trusting. For that reason and for the fact that the film seems to borrow the character tropes of the three main characters of The Station Agent (the shy but kind introvert; the gregarious ethnic romantic; and the conflicted, world-wearied woman), I think this falls short of McCarthy's earlier film. Once we get past all that, though, the movie definitely has a certain low-key charm. It may have seemed like a political statement if not for the well-developed characters. Indeed, it's the people that drive the film and that make the film work, and Jenkins handles it all terrifically, easily earning his nomination. Of course, the whole cast is great, making for a very solid film.
- 2. Yi Yi (2000)
- Yi Yi is about as far away from a high-concept film as you can get. It's like a no-concept film. It doesn't have much of a plot, and it's not aiming to go for "big" moments of high drama, high comedy, shocking surprises; nor is it trying to be the most gorgeous film you've ever seen. Rather, it is at times story-driven, at times dramatic, at times funny, at times surprising, and at times gorgeous. It is a family of interesting, well-drawn characters realistically going through their lives, with many scenes that feel true-to-life and insightful. I will say I generally kinda hate when movies contain a scene in which characters talk about films and specifically argue in favor of the aim of the film they are in, but in this case the dialogue is realistic enough. All in all, this is quite a wonderful film, full of many poignant lines and images that will surely stick in my memory.
- 3. Cries and Whispers (1972)
- Ingmar Bergman can often be kind of a Debbie Downer, but most of the Bergman films I've seen still retain a certain sense of good-natured whimsy to them. Cries and Whispers seems to have to have poured all of those efforts into its vibrant cinematography, showcasing a screen that explodes with color as its characters stick to dealing with their internal demons. This is the most intensely dramatic Bergman film I've seen, replete with appallingly selfish characters, cancer, adultery, mutilation, and absolutely exquisite cinematography. It's a disturbing and highly affecting experience that I would highly recommend if you know what you're getting into. Rarely is a director's grotesque pessimism on such unfettered display.
- 4. Suspiria (1977)
- Can garish cinematography and an intrusively shrill soundtrack create enough style to make up for weak acting and uninteresting characters? In many ways, yes, surprisingly. It may be a testament to my fickle taste, but even while plenty of horror films leave me cold, Suspiria (which even has a reputation for being dated, ridiculous, and/or total style over substance) cast me under its odd spell. It is great to see a film that can both build suspense extremely well and feature scenes of no-holds-barred, freakish gore. While I would probably have found its aesthetic irritating a few years ago, today I found it genuinely, intriguingly horrifying.
- 5. Seconds (1966)
- A middle-aged man stumbles upon a company that fakes his death and lets him start a new life as Rock Hudson. As you can probably tell, this doesn't go as well as it probably should. It's a chilling genre-combination of sci-fi thriller and midlife crisis drama, and elements of each genre complement each other quite well, but what really elevates this film to new heights is the neo-German-expressionist-style cinematography, that features bizarrely distorted quick shots as well as long sequences that allow the unsettling atmosphere more room to breathe. This isn't my favorite visually surreal nightmarish thriller replete with dark social commentary directed by John Frankenheimer, but it's up there.
- 6. The Palm Beach Story (1942) (watched again)
- Preston Sturges is really one of the great auteurs of Hollywood's early sound era. Like Orson Welles, he had a troupe of actors who he liked to cast over and over, and also like Welles, he liked to write his own work when that was far less common than it is today. Sure, he wasn't the visionary that Welles was, but he knew what he could do and did it terrifically: screwball comedies full of wild energy, witty dialogue, charming romance, and social commentary. This is one of the best examples of Sturges's work, anchored by a wife who thinks she and her husband might be better off if she romanced a generous millionaire and a husband who, well, disagrees; and supported by a cast of hilarious characters, particularly the Wienie King, who steals every scene he is in. I think I'm still partial to Hail the Conquering Hero, but I think a few Sturges films are overdue for a rewatch, so I'll let you know.
- 7. Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
- One thing I'll say for Howard Hawks is that he has a great eye for quality control. This is a lesser film by Hawks, but that's not because there are parts that don't work; it just didn't wow me the way Bringing Up Baby or Rio Bravo do. I guess it makes sense given his oft-repeated quote that a great film means "Three great scenes, no bad ones." I think it's arguable whether Only Angels Have Wings contains three great scenes, but I don't think it has any bad ones. It's a very solid film that really makes you wonder, "Uh-huh, and where did they come up with THAT one?" when you realize it's a romance that takes place in a small airport where pilots deliver mail to a dangerous mountain range in South America. The romance and adventure are top-notch and blend together well; Cary Grant of course never disappoints, nor does the beautiful Rita Hayworth. I also think this movie invented more than a few pilot movie conventions (and of course does them better than anywhere else), but I'm not familiar enough with pilot movies to say that definitively.
- 8. Weeds: Season 1 (2005)
- Wait, you mean to tell me there's a dark side to suburbia? OMG WHO KNEW??!
- Kidding, kidding. What could've ended up another tired show deflating our notions of the perfect suburban life actually springs to life thanks to well-drawn, multi-layered characters and clever, incisive writing. I love how Mary-Louise Parker totally nails every element of her character, I love how Weeds can make me alternate between loving and hating Celia episode by episode, and I love how a show about a drug that makes you stupid can be so damn smart. And I have already picked up season 2.
- 9. The Celebration (1998)
- a.k.a., Festen, the first Dogme 95 movie
- I don't often consider myself to be a big fan of Dogme 95 ideas (whether they are being used in a film that is actually a part of Dogme 95 or not) in general. Sure, it's nice to watch a film that has an artistic philosophy, but I generally would sacrifice the raw, natural style in favor of a film that feels more perfectly composed. The Celebration, however, is one of the better arguments in favor of the philosophy, showing that combining the style with truly worthy material can create a really terrific film. A few scenes play awkwardly, but the majority of The Celebration is an emotionally harrowing blend of shocking dramatic moments and moments that almost make you want to laugh but don't. There is no profound soul-searching, no overtly deep character moments, because this family passed that point long ago, and they are left to feebly wallow in the mess they've created as best they can. And no, that's not a film for everyone, but I thought it was very well done.
- Need to play some catch-up...
- 10. 25th Hour (2002)
- Strange that Spike Lee's films seemed to me like they had more or less stopped getting much attention by this point, and then he started making movies about white people. In this film and Inside Man he clearly shows himself to be a master craftsman, even working with material he doesn't seem to have as much personal connection to. This film is a more moody, character-driven piece than Inside Man, and the result is a really fantastic film with some cleverly complex characterizations and a lot of poignant moments.
- 11. Closely Watched Trains (1966)
- This film didn't do a whole lot for me. Some parts were funny but mostly it just meandered about aimlessly.
- 12. The Thing (1982)
- I think the most horrifying concepts for a scary film is a villain that can impersonate even that which we find familiar and trustworthy. I think this is part of why I love Terminator 2. I thought I might dig The Thing for the same reasons, but it doesn't really take advantage of this premise until about an hour in. So for the first hour I was pretty bored by the paper-thin characters and drab dialogue, but then the last 45 minutes were totally enthralling, and the ending is terrific. The non-CGI effects were also masterfully done. I'm not sure how to rate a movie that had this sort of impression on me. Maybe I should cut it some slack, based on the theory that I'm just impatient, but maybe I'd be more patient with horror film set-ups if more interesting things were happening before the pay-offs.
- 13. Little Caesar (1931)
- Everyone's heard people make fun of those stereotypical old-timey gangster movies, and now that I've seen Little Caesar, I've seen the embodiment of all those cheesy stereotypes. It's ridiculously over-the-top, and by this point it ceases to really work as a legitimate crime drama, but it's pretty fun nonetheless.
- 14. Traffic (2000)
- A really long time ago, I criticized The Limey's bizarre French-New-Wave-esque filmmaking that I felt didn't really work with its story. I guess Soderbergh was on a 60s/70s auteur kick around the turn of the millennium because similar direction is on display here, albeit not as extreme. I think the style here is actually kind of distancing and Traffic might be more powerful otherwise, but I admire Soderbergh's auteur spirit. The stories are fascinating and blend together well to create a larger picture of the drug war, and the acting is uniformly excellent.
- 15. Mouchette (1967)
- Simple, beautiful, and depressing.
- 16. Coraline (2009)
- At first the 3D animation proved more distracting to me than anything else, as I found myself constantly thinking about how cool every effect was rather than getting engrossed in the story. Luckily I got used to it quickly enough and greatly enjoyed this charmingly creepy tale. The scenes featuring the game she plays are really silly and uninspired, though; as one of my friends said, "I feel like I'm playing Zelda."
- 17. The Wire: Season 3 (2004)
- Brilliant as usual. Watching a season of this is like watching a twelve-hour movie, and all of it is captivating. I am still in awe of the mind-blowing quality of the talent behind this show.
- 18. How I Met Your Mother: Seasons 1-3 (2005-2008)
- I watched all these three seasons in an overlapping fashion, so I decided to review them all together. I didn't think this was a show for me because my exposure of it extended to a few of the third season's worst episodes (No Tomorrow, which has a fine Ted plot but a horrible Lily/Marshall subplot; and a few episodes towards the end of the season featuring a lame plot arc that I won't go into here, but I will mention that one of the episodes starred Britney Spears). My roommate convinced me to give the show another chance, and I eventually grew to realize I hadn't seen a representative sample. This is actually a very funny, insightful show. It does veer off to a place that's more silly and high-concept than I prefer every now and then (Everything goes wrong at Lily and Marshall's wedding! Hilarity ensues!), but the heart of the show is in the right place and it's quite successful most of the time. Some favorite episodes include Okay Awesome, Game Night, Brunch, World's Greatest Couple, Swarley, Slap Bet, Showdown, How I Met Everyone Else, Slapsgiving, and Ten Sessions.
- Ted: I mean, I don't even know you people. I don't even know how you met.
- Ted's Dad: I never told you how I met your mother?
- Ted: No.
- Ted's Dad: Oh, great story. At a bar!
- Ted: That's it? That's what passes for communication in our family? When I have kids, and I tell them how I met their mother I'm gonna tell the everything. The whole damn story.
- Ted's Dad: (pause) I think it was an Irish bar.
- 19. Ace in the Hole (1951)
- A terrific film-noir by the great Billy Wilder, examining how a corrupt press and a public hungry for sensationalism can constantly feed off each other. If I may nitpick, the dialogue doesn't snap, crackle, and pop quite as well as in some of Wilder's other works, and it would probably be stronger if some of the gawkers were more developed characters (it focuses almost entirely on the corrupt manipulators), but this is still a great film. Kirk Douglas plays a badass with a really awesome character arc, but Jan Sterling almost steals the show.
- 20. The Third Man (1949) (watched again)
- The best films fully transport you to another time and place, and there are few environments as well-developed as postwar Vienna is here. Everything from the scenery to the eerie score to the preponderance of non-English dialogue contributes to a moody feeling that things aren't quite right in this city of exquisite beauty. Also, while much has been made of the "reveal" shot that comes about an hour into the film, the carnival scene is the one that really does it for me. Still the masterpiece that I remembered.
- 21. 49 Up (2005)
- I watched all the other films in the Up Documentaries series a couple years ago, and while it was a great experience to go through decades of these people's lives in a matter of a couple weeks, it was also quite a pleasure to rediscover this series years later. Indeed, now the constant flashbacks to clips from earlier films in the series seems more useful since I hadn't seen the previous film a few days beforehand. In any case, the years between 42 and 49 don't seem like particularly formative years in these peoples' lives, so in terms of the life updates, it's not the most interesting entry in the series, but it's still a great film. The film does try to explore how the interviewees feel about the purpose of the film series and its role in their lives, and interestingly, all of them seem to regard the project with varying levels of loathing. I wonder if it says something about the differences in British and American culture that the interviewees seem to think of the series as a necessary burden whereas in America we can't make enough reality TV shows for all the people who want their lives displayed on camera.
- 21. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
- Speaking of British culture... this is one of the most highly-regarded classics of British cinema and one that I've finally watched after it's spent years gathering dust on my DVD shelf. I think I should come clean and say that I actually find all of these Ealing comedies more admirable than enjoyable, although this wildly acclaimed film is almost - but not quite - an exception to this rule. I appreciate the wit and the darkly subversive nature of this film, and I certainly laughed, but when you realize the acclaimed classic status this film has, I feel like I'm missing something. Still, this is a delightful film, the best Ealing comedy of the bunch IMHO.
- 22. Breathless (1960) (watched again)
- Rewatching Breathless, what struck me was not the sights and sounds that create a moody, jazzy atmosphere that pervades the entire film; not the revolutionary, innovative style that proved Godard to be one of the greatest auteurs to grace the silver screen; not the brilliant way that the film plays with the conventions of Hollywood movies and minimalistically remixes them into something completely fresh and new. No, even though I haven't seen the film in five years, none of these things struck me because that's what everyone talks about when they talk about Breathless. What I didn't remember is how effortlessly breezy, how down-to-earth, how cool the film is. The film can be picked apart endlessly by avant-garde critics spouting pretentious dissertations, but what is really awesome about Breathless is how accessible it is in spite of all that. Why? It just plain works. It's a crime drama about a criminal who just lies around with a woman, yet never once did I want him to leave the bedroom.
- 23. A Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
- Oh, Buzz and Woody, how you've spoiled me! Thanks to you and other Pixar creations, I've gotten so used to animated films that appeal remarkably well to both kids and adults, and it's easy to forget that some films just... don't. This film was a fondly nostalgic childhood memory of some of my friends, but it was not a part of my childhood, and I figured I'd check it out given my great enjoyment of Coraline... but this film is, honestly, a mess. The kids will probably like it, but it's ultimately just a shallow, uninspired trip through the secular iconography of two holidays, complete with a deliciously creepy visual style but not much else. For the most part, the songs feel like a watered-down, cliche version of Les Mis or Sweeney Todd, and a couple of them have such shoddy lyrics it seems like someone cranked them out in about 10 minutes. Even the visuals begin to feel video-gamey and/or ripped off of John Kricfalusi by the end (actually the production design seems most similar to this wonderful computer game released in the same year, and as a big fan of the game, I must say I felt Nightmare suffers in comparison). Really, though, the visuals are the best thing the film has going for it; they almost make this film interesting to a post-pubescent audience, but for my money, they can't pull it off.
- 24. The Green Mile (1999)
- Five years after making a hopeful, inspiring, dramatic Stephen King adaptation about the relationship between a white man and a black man in an early-20th-century prison, Frank Darabont got up, dusted off his pants, and did it all again. And someone must have been doing something right, because there's no other reason why this film should work as well as it does. The quirky subplot about the inmates' love for a mouse, the long digressions from the story in order to watch Sam Rockwell just act like a mischievous asshole, the obvious retelling of the Christ story in the form of a timid but enormous black man; hell, this film ought to be a mess. It does become a bit silly at times and quite hokey at others, but along the way it manages some moments of great power and warmth. Indeed, it's hard not to be charmed by The Green Mile, rough-edged though it may be. I actually give a lot of credit to Michael Clarke Duncan, who took a character that could have existed as pure, ham-handed allegory and transformed him into a human being.
- 25. The World of Apu (1959)
- Man, is there any trilogy in the world as viciously bloodthirsty as the Apu Trilogy? I picture the trilogy like the plant from Little Shop of Horrors, demanding more dead bodies. "Feed me, Apu!" Spoiler: Highlight to viewAfter killing off every loved one in Apu's life, the trilogy began to thirst for blood again, but given that it was only allowed to kill people Apu loves, it decided it had to introduce Apu to someone new. Because Apu loves his wife, we know she is doomed, and yet, her death seems to have more gravity than the previous deaths in the films, so it was interesting to see the impact it had on Apu's life. The last moments of the film really make watching the trilogy all worth it, though. Apu's encounter with his son seems strange and stilted, yet it has an odd elegance to it, producing a moment that is sweet without being sentimental. Of course, all I could think was: It's a good thing this isn't a quadrilogy, or that kid would be dead by the next film. "Feed me!"
- 26. All That Heaven Allows (1955)
- I honestly admire these Technicolor melodramas more than I actually get invested in them, but this is certainly one of the better ones. It might be Douglas Sirk's best work as well as his most iconic, since it pretty directly encapsulates the themes that such films explore: what do you do when what you want is at odds with what society approves of? This essential idea is explored by the modern-day examinations of this style (Far From Heaven, Revolutionary Road, etc.) as well as, say, High School Musical. Unlike the latter, Sirk has a clear skill in getting this theme across; there is high drama, intrigue, and a little action in all this, as well as exquisite Technicolor cinematography. My favorite part of the film was the dynamic between the mother and her kids though. Seeing the way they interacted provided a subtle added layer, and sets up the most brilliant image I've ever seen in a Sirk film: .Spoiler: Highlight to viewthe TV shot
- 27. Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
- It was only a matter of time before Kevin Smith got in on all the fun that Seth Rogen et al. were having. Smith has always loved combining excessive crudeness with sweetness and heart, and now that Judd Apatow is finding popular and critical success doing so, it makes sense that here Smith would make his most mainstream film yet. I like Smith's films, but he has a cult following that I am not a part of, and here is no exception. Here he finds himself falling into the same traps as always IMHO (i.e., shock value without wit behind it, and believing that his buddies goofing around is funnier than it actually is). Some parts are hilarious, and other parts clunk to the ground, but Smith can be counted on to make a pretty funny movie. As for the drama, I found it to be quite solid, with very relatable, familiar characters (although I thought the obsession with who's sleeping with whom became rather tiresome). All in all, a pretty good movie, but if Kevin Smith had Judd Apatow's knack for quality control, he might be more than a cult figure today.
- 28. Silence of the Lambs (1991) (watched again)
- Sixteen entries ago, you heard me lament about the state of horror film characterizations, which is honestly a rather cliché and uninspired thing to say. It seems like a given, a paradigm, that horror films are supposed to be scary without worrying too much about character development, so it seems silly to yearn for it. I guess what I'm trying to say is I wish every horror movie were as good as Silence of the Lambs. Here the truly creepy moments come from knowing and understanding the characters too well, because to this film, nothing is scarier than what lurks in the darkest recesses of the human mind. And yet the plot is not ignored either, creating a tense, suspenseful web that is heightened by the character development rather than existing separately from it. When this film places Jodie Foster in an action sequence, she is panting. Jittery. Overwrought with anxiety. And it makes perfect sense not just because of the situation but also because of everything we know about her character. It seems like a simple thing, but few thrillers manage to blend plot, character, and style so thoroughly and so effectively, that this film is a true marvel. And look, I haven't even mentioned Hannibal Lechter yet, one of the greatest characters ever put on film, and whose chemistry with Clarice is a real feast for the eyes and ears. Is it any wonder this film swept the Academy Awards despite its February release date? The film is just that terrific.
- 29. Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder (2009)
- I think Bender's Big Score, with its twisty (albeit somewhat predictable) plot, is my favorite of these straight-to-DVD Futurama movies, but this one would probably rank second best. It's a solid story, but one that tries to do too much in only 90 minutes, including a go-nowhere Bender romance plot that is dropped after half an hour, and a Fry plotline that includes endless amounts of exposition, which the writers tried to make interesting in other ways, but it just comes across as the movie trying awkwardly to make exposition interesting. Still, much of the film is quite well-done and clever. I liked seeing the women rebel against their male counterparts (even further developing the newscasters!), I enjoyed the parody of Las Vegas, and the ending is really pitch-perfect. It's also quite funny, including some great Bender and Zoidberg moments, but my favorite being the Purim reference. Anyway, DVD sales have been good (or so I hear), so perhaps Futurama will be re-re-revitalized against all odds, and you'll hear me reviewing it once again. If so, catch you next time; if not, this definitely strikes me as a good note to end on.
- 30. Downfall (2004)
- I had heard this film sparked some controversy by giving some humanity to Adolf Hitler, but honestly I was actually surprised at how little time this film spent humanizing Hitler. Sure, he has some moments where he seems like a charming enough guy, but the opinions he spouts throughout the film truly make him seem like a madman just barely managing to keep it together. Not only that, but Hitler also had much less screen time than I was expecting, as the film focused on many other Nazis in the bunker. I personally felt they should've explored Hitler (or anything, really) more deeply instead of trying to cover so many different things, but this is still a very good movie with an interesting perspective on WWII.
- 31. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) (watched again)
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is the ultimate in 1970s counterculture cinema, the film that best encapsulates that anarchic, rebellious spirit of the movies of this period. It features a brash, impetuous thrill-seeker rallying a group of men against a cold, stone-faced leader imposing a sense of brutal bureaucracy on her subjects. I think the younger we are, the more frustratingly pointless rules we have in our lives, which may be why this film has timelessly spoken to youths from the 70s to the present. It’s #8 on the IMDB’s top 250 list, but if you look at the “Aged under 18” score, there is only one movie rated higher (The Dark Knight). In some ways it’s ironic that most of the rebels are relatively old compared to the average age of those who subscribe to youth culture (Nicholson being in his late thirties when the movie was filmed), but the film does a great job of establishing how the patients of all ages are treated like children, so it really makes a lot of sense. I must confess that while I’m certainly still fairly young, the film did not quite resonate with me as it did when I was a teenager. Nonetheless, it is still a masterpiece of cinema, and if at times it feels a little too much like a self-aware parable of revolution, the well-realized characters keep the story feeling plenty concrete and grounded. This is passionately tragicomic filmmaking at its finest.
- 32. The Larry Sanders Show: The Complete First Season (1992)
- I certainly didn't dislike this show, but I must admit that I feel misled by all the superlative terms that caused me to look into it in the first place. It's amusing, but it never really seems to be biting or hilarious enough to have much of a lasting impact. Perhaps the idea of skewering the insecure, egotistical behavior of those Hollywood types seemed ground-breaking at the time, but this show doesn't do so nearly as effectively as, say, Extras. Still, it's watchable. Does it get better later on? Seriously, I'm asking.
- 33. Mr. Show: The Complete Third Season (1997)
- This show continues to provide heaping helpings of immensely satisfying hilarity. Easily the highest good joke to bad joke ratio of any sketch comedy show I've seen. Any time you want to watch it with me, I'll bring the mustmayostardayonnaise.
- 34. Day for Night (1973)
- At first this film seems like it will become Loose Change with filmmakers instead of children: a light-hearted, charming, funny, episodic film. At some point the character drama comes together for a somewhat more substantial plotline, which is just as engaging as the vignettes, if not more so. Most films about film-making seem to have this attitude that the cinema itself is a noble, powerful institution (cf. Man with a Movie Camera, Cinema Paradiso, 8 1/2), whereas the world of making movies is a corrupt enterprise that turns many people into attention-hungry scumbags (cf. Sunset Boulevard, The Player, The Bad and the Beautiful, even Singin' in the Rain). Day for Night on the other hand focuses both on the creation of movie magic and the drama of its characters' lives, and it's, well, rather even-handed. It embraces the foibles of the people involved, creating flawed but ultimately relatable characters. I think this is ultimately a more realistic view on the world of moviemaking (even if this isn't quite as interesting as Sunset Boulevard's universe).
- 35. The Gondoliers (1982) (TV-movie) / 36. Ruddigore (1982) (TV-movie)
- These are the Acorn Media DVDs. I watched these more to become more familiar with these operettas than to enjoy the filmed recordings on their own terms. In terms of the operettas, I loved both. Although G&S is decidedly formulaic, I really enjoy seeing the subtle ways they tweak their formula in different shows. Ruddigore is the one whose material dazzled me from the very first viewing and proved just as enjoyable the more I listened to it. I wasn't as impressed with Gondoliers (perhaps because it starts slow, IMHO), but it really grew on me, and I now love it quite a bit. In terms of the Acorn Media performances, both are fair. Of course, these shows come to life much more on stage than on a DVD, but for DVDs, these aren't bad. The most notable thing about them, though, is that Vincent Price plays Sir Despard in Ruddigore. Price has only played one character in his entire career, of course, and played it quite hammily, but he hams it up here and it really seems to fit. He can't sing though, so really his role is a hot tranny mess that is not to be missed.
- 36. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
- I've been lagging behind on my reviews lately, but I think I've been putting off this review in particular because I always annoy myself when I really love a movie but can't think of anything new or interesting to say about it. So here's something new: the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon DVD is delicious and goes well with a buttery Béarnaise sauce. Additionally, it happens to be an incredibly gorgeous film, with fight scenes that convey imagination and elegance rather than simply fighting. It's not just a pretty film to look at, though - the plot and characters have some serious weight to them, making for a film as moving as it is gorgeous. And it goes well with some roasted potatoes.
- 37. Gomorrah (2008)
- This film is in the tradition of artsy foreign directors telling a story through stark realism, and to that end, Gomorrah is a pretty interesting film, particularly from a visual perspective. Nonetheless, don't listen to those silly reviews declaring this the greatest mob film ever made. It is certainly a very good film, but for a film that purports to have such a commitment to realism, it too often falls victim to stereotypical characters and plot elements, resulting in a somewhat predictable film. Very early on, I decided to try to guess the ending of each storyline as specifically as possible. I got three out of five right, and I felt dumb for missing the other two. But c'mon, you see certain characters and how can you not think, "Wow, how can they not end up dead by the end of this film?" Speaking of the end of the film, I'm kind of sick of seeing all vaguely political films take up lengthy amounts of soapboxing just before the end credits. Seriously, just show me a damn movie and let me move on without making me sit through a barrage of facts. If you want to say something brief, say it and get to the credits.
- Anyway, I don't want to sound so hard on Gomorrah because it really is quite good. It's just not as good as the critics are saying.
- 38. The General (1926) (watched again)
- I finally rewatched this film, which never really clicked for me the first time I saw it, but on this rewatch I rather enjoyed it. This is easily Keaton's most acclaimed film, and it's easy to see why: compared to his other works, it spends less time being slapstick-y funny and more time setting up the action-packed story and the romantic elements. The beginning of the film has nary a pratfall, instead focusing on rather subtle and understated moments that are only occasionally comic. Nonetheless, this section works better than the lengthy train chase sequences, which admittedly are often inventive and thrilling but honestly become repetitive after a time. Everyone knows Buster Keaton had a huge hard-on for trains, but let's face it: there are only so many ways one can attempt to derail a train before it becomes boring. That said, I'm actually impressed with how much fun the film still manages to be given how much time it spends on train chases, but this rewatch has solidified my opinion that this film is overrated. Sherlock Jr. and Steamboat Bill Jr. are better (although I prefer Chaplin anyway).
- 39. M (1931) (watched again)
- If you want to see the bridge between the grotesque German expressionism of the silent era and American film-noir, look no further than M, a dark, twisted glimpse into the underbelly of a society where the cops and the criminals seem all too similar. Yet M functions on a grander scale than most film-noir, because instead of focusing on a few individuals driven to destruction by their excesses, it gives us a look at all the factions of society on a macro level, without sacrificing a number of brilliant character moments along the way. Like most film-noir, it's also just a well-constructed story and an incredibly engaging film, especially for the early sound era, which was sort of a creative dry spell for the cinema, a time when not many people were making films that were any good. Leave it to Mr. Lang.
- 40. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)
- I always love watching Charles Laughton, and he is easily reason alone to watch this adaptation of Victor Hugo's classic novel. Laughton is in top form here, creating a Quasimodo both physically unpleasant and totally endearing. The novel may have been written over 100 years before this adaptation, but its themes are timeless and its high drama is exquisitely captured here, in a film that is both thrilling and heart-breaking all at once. Easily better than the Disney version.
- 41. Star Trek (2009)
- I entered this movie a total Star Trek virgin who hadn't seen a single movie or episode of any of the TV serieses, and I came out a fan. Mission accomplished for J.J. Abrams. Like Iron Man last summer, it proves that you don't need to be all gloomy and dire to create a great blockbuster.
- 42. I Love You, Man (2009)
- I had heard that this was pretty much just about watching Paul Rudd and Jason Segel hang out, so imagine my delight to find that they play actual well-developed characters here, and not just the "stoned loser with a good heart" archetype. Not all of it works - the filmmakers apparently think repeating the phrase "Slap that bass" is a lot funnier than I do - but for the most part this is a sweet, funny film. Watching the film made me realize how few movies are about adult friendships. Sure, there are buddy action movies, and there are movies about friendship that leads into romance, and there are movies about childhood and teenage friendship, but there aren't enough movies that are actually about adult friendship.
- 43. Sunshine Cleaning (2009)
- I think the good-not-great reviews indicate that some critics are just sick of sweet, quirky indie comedies, even well-made ones. I'm not, so I really enjoyed this film. Although to be fair, I am madly in love with Amy Adams, so...
- 44. The Lion in Winter (1968) / 45. A Man for All Seasons (1966)
- Decided to go for a 60s-movie-about-medieval-England double-feature. Historical dramas often get a reputation for being boring and stuffy, and as a result, I've never particularly thought of them as my favorite genre, but I actually loved both of these movies. Both feature brilliantly passionate acting giving heart and soul to characters in interesting situations. The latter movie is a sight to behold, because it's hard to imagine a more gripping movie that is essentially about a man not talking. The Lion in Winter, however, was more impressive to me because unlike A Man for All Seasons, it totally eschews conventional structure and concepts of heroism, in favor of a full-on display of the dynamics of a family of self-serving yet relatable bastards. Everyone there is a seething scoundrel spitting out venomous dialogue, and you can't help picking your favorites and rooting for them. But both films feature masterful performances and tremendous production values, and made me wonder if I'm not a fan of historical dramas after all.
- 46. Spaced: The Complete Series (1999-2001)
- I like what these guys do in Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, so I decided to check out the original. This show is a little too frenetically silly for me, but it does have its heart in the right place, and when it works, the laughs are huge. And of course it's always nice to see such a vibrant celebration of geek culture.
- 47. Adventureland (2009)
- It's been said before, but this film has been completely mismarketed as a raucous comedy. It's really a teen romance/drama with a few comic relief characters (the most successful ones being Kristen Wiig and Martin Starr). Taken for what it is, though, it's a really fantastic film about the sort of complex relationships and friendships that teenagers have. This is best demonstrated by the dynamic between Jesse Eisenberg and Ryan Reynolds, two friends interested in the same girl, which is the best part of the movie. It would be easy to make Reynolds into a villain and have him and Eisenberg become enemies, but the film avoids these simplistic choices and goes for a much more rewarding, more true, and more bittersweet experience.
- 48. Blade Runner (1982) (watched again)
- I liked this better than last time I saw it, perhaps partially because I've begun to better appreciate truly unique cinematic visions in addition to well-told stories. I must confess, the ending still just doesn't work for me. I've heard multiple explanations of it, and they make sense rationally, but watching the film, the characters' behavior just rubs me the wrong way. Still, it's growing on me.
- 49. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (1966) (watched again)
- Once Upon a Time in the West is loads of fun, don't get me wrong, but it also has a certain melancholy beauty to it, and in some ways it's like listening to a gorgeous piece of classical music. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly is like listening to a rock opera: rough around the edges, more fast and furious, and phenomenally entertaining. I rewatched both of these fairly recently to try to determine which I preferred, and I'm going to have to give it to Once Upon a Time in the West, as its characters are better developed. But both films are among the most watchable, best directed films ever made.
- 50. Gun Crazy (1950)
- Very solid film-noir whose characters could have been the cardboard cut-outs you see in a lot of old crime movies. Instead, we get a movie that really captures the anxiety and tension of going on a crime spree. There's one sequence where they nervously wait in the car before running into the bank that's just brilliant.
- 51. Romeo and Juliet (1968)
- Well-done Shakespeare adaptation. Pretty much what you would expect.
- 52. Cool Hand Luke (1967) (watched again)
- For now I'll just say it's still as brilliant as I remembered, but I should write a better review of this at some point.
- 53. Up (2009)
- Let me say for starters that for my money, this isn't as brilliant as WALL-E. Much has been made of the film's heart-wrenching opening sequence, which tells the ups and downs of about 75 years of a man's life in ten minutes, and of the humor, which is really top-notch here. So much of the first half of the film is just so great, that it's sad that the second half sticks out as merely good. I won't give anything away, but I just felt like the film would have been a real masterpiece if the second half had gone in a different, and less random, direction. Still, an uneven Pixar film still hovers around the "really good" quality level, and if it doesn't match the company's best work, it's still in good company as a middle-tier Pixar film.
- 54. The Hangover (2009)
- I think this might be one of the hardest types of films to make: a pure-entertainment film that is actually both popular and good. The Hangover shows virtually no signs of depth, artistry, or even emotional resonance, and yet somehow it still manages to be a good movie. Sure, nit-pickers may say that it would be a better movie if it did have those things, and they may be right, but I'm just impressed that they managed to make a good movie without relying on those things whatsoever. It can't be done without being pretty damn funny, and The Hangover is. Not every joke works, and the events unfold with too many coincidences, but the central conceit is actually quite clever, and when the laughs work, they are big, deep belly laughs. Nice work, team.
- 55. Goldfinger (1964)
- Speaking of movies that work despite a lack of depth or emotion, here we come to a real classic of the genre. That might not actually be fair, seeing as Bond movies seem to display a unique artistic style all their own, which is something that few action movies can say, so that's a certain artfulness the film has going for it. But mainly the film is just pure popcorn fun. I haven't seen too many Bond films, but this one makes me want to see more of them.
- 56. Bachelor Mother (1939) (watched again)
- I saw this on TCM ages ago and loved it, so when it came back on, I wanted to see if my love was still strong. Indeed, it is a hilarious, light-hearted film, perhaps somewhat notable for the screwball comedy genre because it relies on wacky situations but not wacky characters. I had previously called it the best film of that highly celebrated cinematic year 1939; to confirm that statement, I might have to rewatch Stagecoach and Rules of the Game, but Bachelor Mother is definitely up there. Definitely one of the films most deserving of a DVD release.
- 57. Weeds: Season Two (2006)
- More dark comedic fun in Agrestic, California, this time with the great Martin Donovan, the lovely Zooey Deschanel, and surely one of the best end-of-season cliffhangers ever. I'm already more than halfway through the third season. This set is more twisted than the first season, which of course is always a good thing.
- 58. The Brothers Bloom (2008)
- News flash: Rian Johnson actually gives us a unique take on the con movie! Of course, this may be expected given that he already gave us a unique take on the high school movie. Like Brick, The Brothers Bloom's plot is a bit too convoluted in the middle and its style a bit self-conscious at times, but also like Brick, you stop caring about those things because the film is just so simultaneously original and entertaining. The film basically uses the art of the con as a surrogate for the art of storytelling, which is actually a pretty brilliant concept that totally works with the storyline but also allows the film to take on the added depth of being about creating narratives. The acting is terrific, the ending wondrous, and if Johnson keeps making films this engaging, I'll keep seeing them in spite of his excesses.
- 59. Battlestar Galactica: Season One (2005)
- For the past few years, people couldn't stop recommending this show to me. I finally caved, and I'm glad I did. It's kind of like 24 set in outer space, which is high praise coming from me. I don't have much more to say, but maybe I will after next season.
- 60. Gattaca (1997) (watched again)
- Truly a movie that grew in memory in the few years since I've seen it, and rewatching it confirmed that it was better than my first impression. The romance elements played much better today, and if some parts are still a little hokey, the flaws are minor compared to the cleverness and beauty of this film. Definitely one of the best scifi films of the past couple decades.
- 61. Stalag 17 (1953)
- You might not expect a film about a P.O.W. camp to succeed at being so damn entertaining, but if Billy Wilder made a bad film, I haven't seen it yet. I think this is the movie MASH was trying to be: a story about people who get through the horrors of war through constant wisecracking and tomfoolery. Stalag 17 is funnier, though, and it's kind enough to ground the wackiness with an exciting story and distinctive characters. Wilder fan that I am, I'm surprised I didn't see this terrific film earlier.
- 62. The Hurt Locker (2008)
- Most war films make macrocosmic statements, utilizing character development as a tool to make us care for the people in the film, so the statements carry more weight when these people die. Some have said that The Hurt Locker avoids making statements, and I don't entirely agree; more accurately, The Hurt Locker's character development is its statement. Its examination of the affect bomb disarming has on its characters fascinated me, all the more because I tend to grow bored easily of manic combat scenes, which this war movie has none of. All the action is precise. Focused. In fact, the film is so focused on its three leads that if you blink, you'll miss the more famous supporting cast (Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse, Evangeline Lilly, etc.). I'm okay with that, though, because the three main actors are terrific. The movie's main flaw was probably unavoidable: since it tries to depict the repetitive, episodic monotony of this job, it occasionally grows repetitive, episodic, and monotonous. I think it could've been about 20 minutes shorter. This is forgivable, though, because ultimately The Hurt Locker is a bold, original work of cinema.
- 63. Weeds: Season Three (2007)
- After that season 2 cliffhanger, I had to jump right in to season 3, only to find the plotline continue building. I began to worry, and I think my fears were right: they built it up too much. It had nowhere else to go and merely fizzled out with a whimper. This was sort of indicative of the rest of the season; it showed a lot of promise, but a few miscalculations kept it from soaring as high as the terrific first and second seasons. I still enjoyed it though, and I'm sure I'll watch the fourth season too, even though many people have told me it's worse than the third.
- 64. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) (watched again)
- Watched with some friends over July 4th weekend. I don't have much to say except that it was even better than I remembered, perhaps because I've gained a true appreciation of Jason Segel through Freaks and Geeks and How I Met Your Mother since I saw it the first time. But Paul Rudd steals every scene he's in.
- 65. Animaniacs: Volume 2 (1993) (watched again)
- More fun revisiting my childhood.
- 66. Wonderfalls: The Complete Series (2004)
- One of these days Bryan Fuller is going to create a somewhat dark, uber-quirky, comedy/romance/drama TV show about a ridiculous fantasy scenario and turn it into a huge success. I think Wonderfalls may be my favorite of his attempts so far. I gave up on Dead Like Me early on, and while I liked Pushing Daisies, I felt that its formula had begun to wear thin by the time it was canceled. Wonderfalls is much less predictable and a little less formulaic, but I was honestly starting to get tired of it too. Maybe his particular overwhelmingly quirky style just doesn't work for more than a full season's worth of episodes. So it may be uneven and drag out the Jaye/Eric romance waaayyy too long, but it's still a very good show. Many of the twists and a lot of the dialogue, especially early on, are very clever, and for the most part it's quite cute. The leads are charming enough people, and if it's not the best show on TV, it certainly deserved to have more than four episodes air.
- 67. Terms of Endearment (1983)
- Pretty much what I expected: a charming, mainstream comedy/drama that takes a boring, melodramatic turn towards tearjerker territory in the third act. The moments that feel like the Oscar-baiting money shots feel very, very forced. It would be worse if not for the talents of Debra Winger, who is wonderful throughout. The first 90 minutes or so are quite good though, which is no surprise, as James L. Brooks ain't no slouch.
- 68. The City of Lost Children (1995)
- I expected to really love this film, so I was honestly pretty disappointed to find that I merely liked it. It's a convoluted story with a huge cast of freakish characters, with everything imbued with as much stylistic bizarreness as possible. I can't identify when I began to feel it was just overkill, but it was all a bit much for my tastes. It's so strange and distancing that it's pretty difficult to really engage with the film, which left me just trying to appreciate the visuals as examples of grotesque surrealism. Maybe I should give this another shot someday.
- 69. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) (watched again)
- A true gem of the studio system, The Adventures of Robin Hood represents a rare example of Hollywood making a film focused just on thrills, romance, and entertainment, and getting everything pitch-perfect. The visuals look gorgeous, the romance scenes sparkle, the cast is great, and it may have some of the best fight scenes on film. They're hectic without using incomprehensible editing; natural yet perfectly choreographed. Really, a film about Robin Hood couldn't have been made in a better way. You can't make Robin Hood intellectual, because this is how he exists: in fables of almost 1000 years ago, in wide angles and glorious Technicolor. In this film, he's such a brash figure, toying with both enemies and strangers to show off or have a bit of fun, that in reality he would have been killed a hundred times over. But you can't kill him, because he's a legend. He's fucking Robin Hood.
- P.S. One of the DVD's special features is a blooper reel for Warner Bros. films of 1938, featuring lots of classic stars flubbing lines, babbling, joking around, and uttering mild profanities, exactly the way that blooper reels look today. It's one of the most intriguingly surreal things I've ever seen.
- 70. Solaris (1972)
- I honestly couldn't really get into this film, but let it not be said that I am put off by slow, pretentious, three-hour-long Andrei Tarkovsky scifi films, because I loved Stalker. While every scene in Stalker was bursting with eerie, low-key tension, however, I found most of the build-up in Solaris to be kind of lifeless, laying flat instead of grabbing me into its web of intrigue. There are a lot of cool ideas in the film, though, and I did really like the last 45 minutes or so, once the story started paying off.
- 71. Bruno (2009)
- Sacha Baron Cohen follows up Borat with a movie in a similar vein that is just as gut-bustingly hilarious. I honestly never found Bruno the character as funny as Borat or Ali G on Da Ali G Show, but the filmmakers avoid the blander moments of the sketches, choosing instead to keep hitting below the belt. Parts of the film incisively skewer America's obsession with fame and many of its citizens' willingness to do anything it takes to become famous and stay famous, no matter how depraved. I think the film would actually have been better if it had gone even farther with this topic, because funny as it is, I couldn't help feeling that it wasn't as smart as Borat. It spends a lot of time having Bruno engage in homosexual behavior that shocks and appalls his unsuspecting victims, which definitely brings in the shock-value laughs, but I feel like Borat actually shed light on our nation's prejudices in a more clever and more judicious way. Bruno the character, on the other hand, could make anyone homophobic.
- 72. Away We Go (2009)
- Much of Away We Go is really heartfelt, truthful, and funny, so it's a shame that overall the film plays as a little uneven and not very well paced. Don't get me wrong, it's a very good film, but not a great one. The best part of the film is the chemistry between John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, who play a couple adrift in a bizarre world but who completely resist becoming dull everyman "observer" characters by the sheer charm and personality they bring to the parts. They are well-written characters, and these two who are essentially comic TV actors translate very well to the big screen. Rudolph is especially impressive, as I've only really seen her in sketch comedy, and she proved quite effective at playing a character with a heart and soul. Their last few scenes together are incredibly poignant. On the other hand, I was not in love with the episodic structure of the film that basically found our couple bounding across America to meet with one fucked-up set of characters after another, but I'm willing to accept it. What I'm not willing to accept is how resoundingly the film grinds to a halt in the Madison section (the one with Maggie Gyllenhaal). Energy vanishes (intentionally) from the film, and one joke after another falls flat. Yeah, the ending payoff is funny, if a little mean-spirited, but I think maybe the audience was laughing harder because they were relieved the film had stopped being so boring. So I've told you about my favorite section and my least favorite section, and the rest of the film has its hits and misses, but overall, this is a solid, cute little indie film.
- 73. Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
- A fine film, and often hailed as the best of the Star Trek series, but is it blasphemous to say I preferred the 2009 reboot? Yeah, the acting is a little over-the-top and the art direction a little dated-looking, blah blah blah, what did you expect AJ? I dunno, I just had more fun at the reboot. I certainly enjoyed this film, though, and its ending is more touchingly emotional than anything in the 2009 film.
- 74. Great Expectations (1946)
- At this early stage of his career, the director known for his epics was thinking smaller. At two hours and a 4:3 ratio, David Lean hadn't achieved the length or the width of his later work, but he had certainly mastered the depth. This is a Great Adaptation of the Dickens classic, one that captures both the whimsy and the heart-breaking moments of the book while infusing it with an exquisite visual atmosphere. Never a stuffy literary adaptation, the film is brought to life by a breezy pace and a richly detailed environment. The macabre sections could've been a little more macabre, in my opinion, but that's a mere quibble.
- 75. Black Orpheus (1959)
- This film was premised on a brilliant concept: take a classic, compelling Greek myth and set it in modern-day Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. The story execution is not perfect, but the sights and sounds overwhelmed me, causing me to lose myself in its vibrant environment. Why don't more films use this setting?
- 76. Diary of a Country Priest (1951)
- I must confess, aside from Pickpocket, I find Bresson's work difficult to become invested in. His films are well-made and thought-provoking and I admire that, but few of them leave lasting impressions with me because I don't really find myself engaged. Diary of a Country Priest is no exception, but it comes closer to Pickpocket than any other Bresson film I've seen. Perhaps his films demand rewatches to get into the stark realism of them all, so maybe I will discover a better appreciation of Bresson later on.
- 77. Life Is Beautiful (1997) (watched again)
- There are some people for whom life is a joke, a total game. They can turn the sorrows of life into pure fancy. Such is the case with both Roberto Benigni and his character in this film, and there are people who found this trait insufferably annoying. I have a certain fondness for these kinds of people, though, and for me, rewatching Life Is Beautiful was just as enchanting and affecting as when I saw it many years ago. It may seem strange to compare this film to the Italian master Fellini, but I think it's interesting how both Benigni and Fellini deflate our images of whimsy. Fellini sets stories of struggle against a background of playful circus images; he made a film that translates to "The Sweet Life." Benigni took it a step further. For him life isn't just sweet, it's beautiful. And his is the film set in the Holocaust. With both his character and the doctor who is obsessed with riddles (who I think serves as an interesting foil), Benigni asks questions about how seriously we take the un-serious moments in life. His unspoken desperation as he clings harder and faster to the game he has created for his son is much more poignant than straightforward angst would have been. Still, I think the public is embarrassed for praising this film ten years ago, which is completely unjustified. Entertainment Weekly conducted a "Recall the Gold" poll last year where "Hollywood's elite" could vote on Oscar do-overs. Voters determined Benigni's performance hadn't held up as well as Edward Norton's in American History X. Sorry guys, that movie is far more hokey than this masterpiece. Norton was good, sure, but let's be honest: Oscar got this one right the first time.
- 78. Pinky and the Brain: Volume 3 (1997-1998)
- Rewatching a show I loved in my youth once again. The late episodes of Pinky and the Brain started to reuse a gimmick over and over: Brain devises some absurdly expensive world domination scheme, and the episode becomes about them raising money instead of coming up with some convoluted way to conquer the world. It may have been a cop-out, but it was probably a wise decision, as it allowed more variety with the stories: the writers could have Pinky and the Brain pursue any means of earning money. Indeed, a lot of my favorite moments of this series are in this last set, including the inventive "You Said a Mouseful" where Brain is undone by tongue twisters; the hilarious "Your Friend: Global Domination," a parody of old educational videos; various plots that involve Brain sitting out and almost conquering the world purely by accident; "Dangerous Brains" which has Pinky become educated and actually comes up with some pretty poignant moments in the meanwhile; "The Pinky POV" where the story is hilariously seen entirely from Pinky's viewpoint; the brilliant three-parter "Brainwashed" which is an epic mindfuck; and of course "You'll Never Eat Food Pellets in This Town Again," which posits that as much as it sucks to constantly fail at taking over the world, it doesn't suck as much as trying to catch a break in Hollywood. True story.
- Two things struck me while finishing up this series: (1) It is astounding how many catch phrases this show created. Also, almost all of them were used in Animaniacs as well, so ponder just how many catch phrases originated in that show as well. Dozens and dozens. (2) Because of this spin-off and the many Pinky and the Brain cartoons from Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain are by far the most prolific Animaniacs characters, much more so than Yakko, Wakko, and Dot Warner. Which is somewhat strange because they are far more constrained by formula than the Warner siblings. Think how hard it must be to always be coming up with unique plots for world domination. With the Warners, you could basically do anything. You could put them anywhere and in any time period, have them meet anyone, give them any goals you wanted. They could spend the whole episode helping someone, or spend the whole episode annoying someone, or spend the whole episode just hanging out. Perhaps it is indeed limits, not freedom, that fosters creative thinking.
- 79. Le Million (1931)
- Like A Nous La Liberte, this is honestly more amusing than laugh-out-loud funny, but I had a good time. Another charming work from Rene Clair.
- 80. The Letter (1940)
- A great, suspenseful melodrama showcasing impressive work by the always-terrific Bette Davis. Underrated and well-made, if not quite as impactful as some other classic films.
- 81. Battlestar Galactica: Season 2 (2005-2006)
- Nope. Still don't have anything to say besides this show is cool. Check back with me after the third season.
- 82. 500 Days of Summer (2009)
- This is a fun, refreshingly entertaining romantic comedy masquerading as something more offbeat. Don't get me wrong, it's a very good film, but it's conventionally entertaining, with a few sequences/jokes that honestly feel like rehashes from pretty standard fare. The overall 500-day structure is its sole source of originality, and it's a great idea to use this structure as a way to haphazardly put together the pieces of a broken romance, but even this concept is a little underutilized. Yeah, I loved the references to the Smiths, the Pixies, the Clash, Fellini, and Bergman, but that's just window dressing to make the film look more artsy than it really is. I guess my point is that it's not too far off from a conventional but well-made romantic comedy, but critics are tired of conventional romantic comedies even when they're made well, so the filmmakers dressed it up as a more unique work in order to get the critics to shower it with praise, and it worked. They have the right opinions for the wrong reasons.
- 83. Withnail and I (1987)
- This film is an odd beast, a British comedy/drama that would be incredibly depressing were it not populated with bizarrely loopy characters. The characters strike a perfect balance in their dynamic, as all are very precisely performed by some terrific British character actors. Richard E. Grant is the real standout though; as Withnail, he is a totally bizarre force of nature.
- 84. Dazed and Confused (1993)
- If today's very pop-culture-reference-based sense of humor is any indication, people like to get references. Recreate something they're familiar with and they're likely to appreciate what you're doing. Sure, Dazed and Confused is on a higher level than quoting a popular YouTube video, but I think the basic concept is the same. It reminds you of what life was like when you were growing up in the 1970s, and referencing that mindset is why you like it. Of course, if you're like me and didn't grow up in the 1970s, you're S.O.L. Not much about this film is familiar to me, and I honestly found it pretty boring. Kinda like you feel when you're on the outside of an inside joke. Sure, some (thought not all) of the performances are good, and the film is quotable at times, but it's really not interesting enough to hold up as a film when you strip away the nostalgia. Especially not as the masterpiece this has been praised to be. Sorry, Linklater.
- 85. Dial M for Murder (1954)
- Many of Hitchcock's best films are breathtakingly cinematic, so watching this overwhelmingly theatrical film is actually kind of an absurd experience, because Hitchcock seems so incredibly intent on not instilling it with a sense of cinema. Dial M for Murder is a very theatrical narrative; virtually all the action takes place in one room, and the story is told almost entirely through dialogue. There's so much flat exposition in this play, so many stories the characters tell about the events they have been involved with, that it's hilarious to think that Hitchcock didn't try to create scenes out of the speeches. To me it seems almost like this pretentious dick move. It was Hitchcock's way of saying, "Look at me, I'm the mothafuckin' master of suspense, and I can use monologues instead of visuals if I want to and the film will still be compelling." And you know what? He's right. The drama and the suspense glue your eyes to the screen even though in theory the film seems defiantly anti-visual. It is a testament to a good play and a great director. In most directors' hands, this film would've sucked.
- 86. In the Loop (2009)
- A fun political satire that works mainly on the strength of its character actors. It drags in spots and could stand to be a little funnier, but it's still a good movie.
- 87. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) (watched again)
- The 50s saw the release of many thinly-veiled political allegories in the shape of surreal scifi nightmares, often designed to warn about the dangers of communism, but the makers of this film knew that what was truly scary was not the unknown (be they communists or monsters), but the human beings in our own backyard who tried to exploit the situation with fear tactics. The only thing we have to fear really is fear itself. Hence, what unfolds is a chilling political thriller that invokes expressionistic horror even while its grounded characters function purely in the human world. Unlike the 2004 remake which rids the story of all its quirky details, this film bursts with style in every frame and line of dialogue, effortlessly developing well-rounded characters and eerily blending the real with the surreal. The actors are uniformly excellent; John Frankenheimer's set-pieces are astonishingly well crafted; and it all comes together for one of the greatest films ever made.
- 88. The Shining (1980) (watched again)
- A very good horror film, but one that doesn't quite deserve the reputation it has.
- 89. Casino (1995)
- A few things rubbed me the wrong way about this film early on (a cheesy opening credit sequence, the multiple narrators, an overuse of slow motion, etc.) but it grew on me and reminded me why Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest directors ever. A fascinating companion piece to Goodfellas that tells of the full, down-and-dirty history of Las Vegas. Interesting to see De Niro's slow-burning anger here when it comes to his wife's misdeeds, as opposed to the explosive temper of his Raging Bull character.
- 90. Funny People (2009)
- This film may seem quite similar to the Tom Hanks vehicle Punchline, which I actually rather enjoyed: A depressed seasoned comedian tries unsuccessfully to romance a married woman, all while imparting some wisdom on a budding comedian. However, Funny People seems like such a much better developed version of Punchline that rather than seeming like a rip-off, it instead seems to render Punchline irrelevant. Many have complained that the film is too long, and it would be easy to come up with a list of cuts (the peanut butter game; some of the many celebrity cameos; some of Adam Sandler just being Adam Sandler; and the Cats thing, which IMHO plays like a too-easy device), but I think the arc by which the film develops produces some extremely satisfying emotional payoffs. The film blends drama and comedy very well, keeping the sweetness and the realism of Judd Apatow's other work. I think too many people were expecting an all-out comedy, but I would definitely call this an artistic success. If Judd Apatow wants to keep making comedy/dramas, that is okay with me. However, I too am hoping to have a career in the entertainment industry, so if he wants to just make straight comedies instead of reminding me how depressing it is to try to find your footing in this field, that is cool with me too.
- 91. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
- Quentin Tarantino lost me with Death Proof, where I found his style stilted and awkward, but with this film, he is back in my good graces. This is the quintessential Tarantino style: putting genres in a blender (in this case, WWII films and Sergio Leone Westerns are the most obvious influences) and structuring a story around a few long dialogue-heavy scenes that bleed character out of every line. Some people told me this film was too long, and maybe this is the Tarantino fan in me talking, but I ask you: what scene, what line of dialogue didn't work? What should have been cut? He grabbed me with the first tense moments of the film and the rest just flew by. Granted, I felt this film was pretty thin in terms of character depth compared to Tarantino's past work, but it's not shallow: it's a commentary on its styles as well as, like many of Tarantino's films, the morality of revenge and violence. A film that truly grew in memory.
- 92. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
- A modern-day fairy tale told in sharp contrasts between the gothic Mr. Scissorhands and the absurd brightly-colored suburbia. Fun, visually inventive, and affecting at times, but ultimately the story and characters aren't really interesting enough to be a great film.
- 93. Taking Woodstock (2009)
- I think the problem with this movie is that it's an odd clash of styles. My sense is that Ang Lee should stick to the visual beauty and splendor of films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain, because the best scenes in this film are the visually arresting shots of Woodstock that convey a serene power (the motorcycle shot, the acid trip, etc.). None of the adjectives I would use to describe Ang Lee's work go well with comedy, though, and I don't think he really has an ear for it (at least not in English). The film's low-key quietness undermines its material, taking the guts out of the comedy. Sure, we laughed, but not as hard or as much as we should've. Then there's Imelda Staunton, playing a madcap character who sticks out like a sore thumb; if she were in an actual comedy, this wouldn't be a problem. This isn't a bad movie or anything, as the character drama is interesting and some of those shots I mentioned really are masterful, but the sense of a non-comedic comedy is a little unsettling and in the end, it feels like it doesn't add up to enough.
- 94. The Kid Brother (1927)
- A funny film from Harold Lloyd, although not as good as Safety Last.
- 95. District 9 (2009)
- A very creative scifi mockumentary that elevates itself beyond what could've been an obvious commentary on racism and apartheid, by virtue of an interesting story, a brilliant performance by Sharlto Copley, and terrific special effects. Actually, the effects are a double-edged sword, as the second half of the film spends too much time on them and left me thinking, "Okay, get on with it..." There are so many inventive elements of this film that to spend so much time on pure action scenes seems like a waste. Still, an impressive movie.
- 95. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
- I feel like I keep returning to the same criticisms every time a Harry Potter film rolls around, so luckily for you, there are only two more. I spend every review bitching about what they chose to cut out and what they chose to emphasize, and this will be no exception. In this case, the film spends way, WAY too much time bludgeoning you over the head with the Malfoy plot. It maintained much more of a sense of mystery in the book, but here they really feel the need to feature scene after scene of talking about what Malfoy is up to and showing us what Malfoy is up to. As for the cuts, I really think the film fails to contextualize itself as taking place at a school, when the only classes we ever see them take are the ones that feature major plot points. Would it kill them to simply have a quick montage of kids actually going to class?
- I do like David Yates's visual style; though it may seem to borrow some cutting and lighting tricks from contemporary horror films and music videos, he certainly breathes some life and creativity into this material. In terms of the plot structure, though, it could really use a more subtle touch.
- 96. 9 (2009)
- Well... it looks cool. The filmmakers certainly imbue the film with an interesting visual style. Unfortunately, they spent so much time ejaculating over their animation that they forgot to give personalities to the characters, and also failed at creating a story that makes a lick of sense. We start in this post-apocalyptic wasteland that resulted from a man vs. machine war. The script barely even attempts to distinguish its backstory here, as if the filmmakers just said, "Yeah, yeah, you know the man vs. machine drill. You've seen any Terminator movies, or Matrix movies, or hell, even WALL-E? It's kinda like that. The details don't matter, check out my cool CGI!" The film then takes its incredibly dull characters - voiced by a whole lot of actors whose talent is completely wasted - through an action-packed but mostly uninvolving story. It then gives us an ending that, again, looks cool, but makes absolutely no sense, as if they thought it was more important to have a visual payoff at the end of the film than anything that actually felt like a reasonable conclusion. What a disappointing endeavor, to have a terrific voice cast and great visuals wasted on a whole lot of nonsense.
- 97. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) / 98. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
- Well, I held out for a while, but I decided it was finally time to finish watching this trilogy. Overall, I would say that I am more fond of the series than I was when I watched the first movie, but I am still not as impressed as most are. I think for the most part it's fairly dry, overly dire, and lacking in subtlety. I haven't read Lord of the Rings in its entirety, but I've heard samples, and my impression of the books is that they brim with personality. The films, on the other hand, don't have much personality. If I told you a reasonably competent director was adapting this trilogy and spending $100 million on each film, this is probably pretty much what you would expect. They're better adaptations than they are films.
- Some parts engaged me more than others. I loved Gollum, an intensely emotional creature who adds a human face to the destructive power of the ring, and he is perfectly rendered by Andy Serkis and state-of-the-art graphics. Best CGI character in a live-action film ever? Quite possibly. Additionally, certain scenes in Return of the King (my favorite of the trilogy) stand out as more gripping than anything else in the series: the spider stalking scene and the last Denethor scene in particular. These scenes are intensely cinematic, drawing high suspense and drama from the framing and precise pacing.
- On the other hand, Merry and Pippin become such useless characters in the second installment; the denouement of Return of the King goes on way too long; and both films feature too much dramatic posturing that is really too self-important for its own good. Good films, sure, but highly overrated ones, in my opinion.
- 99. Heat (1995)
- I just realized I forgot to review this film! Review coming soon.
Author Comments:
Comments are always welcome, always have been, and always will be.
Hey AJ, really enjoyed your review of Cries & Whispers. Calling Bergman a Debbie Downer gave me a good chuckle (because its true!). I thought this line in particular was very well written 'Rarely is a director's grotesque pessimism on such unfettered display.' good stuff !
Ingmar, why are you so sad? Would an ice cream cone cheer you up? How about a ride on that nice roller coaster?
No? Okay...
Thanks for your comments! I'm glad you're enjoying the list (even as my backlog gets bigger by the day...).
How about a bicycle ride? Or a party with a scary clown! Ingmar, oh Ingmar, why so glum? How about exposing the incestuous brutality and fascist selfishness of everyday family life? *Ingmar suddenly nods through a thick scowl*
Hahaha! I think I'm overdue to see Smiles of a Summer Night, the comedy he said he needed to make because otherwise he would have killed himself.
I need to see it myself, it sounds interesting. I thought he made it later on in his career, but I see it's from 1955! The earliest film of his I've seen is Seventh Seal.
I used to think so too, and yeah, that's the earliest film of his I've seen too. I feel like most of his pre-Smiles work is rarely seen today, partially because few of the films are available on DVD.
...and he likes The Brothers Bloom!
I think that now makes two of us in the country...
Flawed, but my goodness, so much fun; I love it!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Excellent, excellent reviews of Breathless & M.
Thanks so much! I've been quite busy lately, a fact that I think has weakened some of my reviews, but for these recent rewatches, I'm trying to really communicate what I think makes these films so great.
Great review of Bruno! I've always hated fags myself.
(p.s. im joking. i didn't like your review)
Hahahaha! Elston, you crack me up.
Thank you AJ. Credit goes to my parents, who strove to instill the value of channeling my feelings of personal inadequacy onto individuals diverging from cultural norms. I am grateful to them, and God, for shunning introspection and self-awareness, opting for projection of fear and uncertainty onto others. Here's to not confronting our shadowy dark sides! (and to pretentious pseudo-subversive psychobabble!)