Damn, I only have time to watch movies on weekends part 21: so long, fake ID!
Submitted by AJDaGreat on Mon, 09/13/2010 - 09:16
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- 1. Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)
- For a while, this seems like a comedy with no jokes, like Bergman took the structure of a comedy and forgot to add the laughs. Eventually it picks up, though, and it becomes a fairly enjoyable farce with some real emotional integrity to it. Bergman has said that at this point in his life, he had to either make a comedy or commit suicide, so I'm glad he chose wisely, but I think his darker films are generally more successful.
- 2. Pierrot le Fou (1965) (watched again)
- I forgot how much meandering occurs in this film, but Godard's style keeps things interesting. He likes to take Hollywood genres and deflate them, and that's on fine display here.
- 3. Moon (2009)
- Well, now in addition to Sharlto Copley and Matt Damon (in The Informant!), I'm adding to my list of great alternative Best Actor nominees of last year: Sam Rockwell, who pulls off a near-impossible task here with skill and grace. This film is a Sam Rockwell fan's wet dream, and thanks to top-notch filmmaking, the narrative's mystery gripped me as well. Don't listen to the reviewers saying this film is slow. It's a tense nail-biter with terrific drama, one of the best films of last year.
- 4. Nashville (1975) (watched again)
- I admired this film on my first viewing, but this is the first time I really loved it. I enjoyed it as I rewatched it and it's grown in memory, as initially I thought of saying it was uneven, but then I was hard-pressed to remember segments or characters that don't really work. Sure, some stick out in my mind more than others - Sueleen Gay is almost a tragic figure in her level of self-delusion, and Tom Frank is one of cinema's greatest schmucks - but all the pieces merge beautifully to form one vibrantly cynical complete film. I still don't think this is Altman's best film; it's a terrific portrait, but so are some of his other films, and they have stronger narratives as well. However, I do think I've underrated Nashville, which really is a fantastic movie.
- 5. All About Eve (1950) (watched again)
- ...of course, as stinging satires of entertainment fields go, All About Eve still bests Nashville easily. A sharp-tongued examination of show people, their egos, and how their egos blind them to the dubious intentions of fawners, All About Eve succeeds in large part because it's working with one of the cleverest scripts ever written. It's all about smart people, it was written by smart people, and hence wit and intelligence just burst off the page and onto the screen. The cast is sublime, and Bette Davis makes us both hate and love Margo Channing, which is a true accomplishment. In fact, the whole film runs the gamut from snark to pathos and back again - a bumpy night, indeed, but all the better for us.
- 6. Duck, You Sucker (1971)
- Sergio Leone's last Western was recommended to me despite the fact that it's not really as acclaimed as those other five films he made, and you can see why if you watch it. It's a fine film, sure, but while it seems like every scene in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West is lovingly crafted to be visually arresting, Duck, You Sucker just isn't that consistent. It opens well, but then it sort of drifts off. It also has way more explosions and killings than his previous two films, which almost looks like a sign of desperation, as if he knew that this film wasn't as well-made as OUATITW so he decided to crank up the volume instead of improving it. Don't get me wrong, this is a good movie, but I know Leone can do better.
- 7. Amarcord (1973) (watched again)
- A film that escaped my memory not long after I saw it for the first time, I decided to take another look at these nostalgic snapshots and once again really liked what I saw. I can't promise I won't have re-forgotten about this film within a year again, but I do think it is a wonderful movie.
- 8. Diner (1982) (watched again)
- Speaking of nostalgic snapshots, Diner has got it all: a wonderful cast in the prime of their youth, good humor, naturalistic characterizations, and a love song to my hometown of Baltimore. There has been much talk of my generation's suspended adolescence, but leave it to Barry Levinson to remind us that even in the 50s, boys will be boys, even when they're twentysomething. Grappling with leaving behind their immaturity (to mixed success), these guys are fully realized characters who also represent a generation past. But more importantly, you gotta see where that dude puts his penis.
- 9. Get Low (2009)
- Get Low is an okay but wildly overrated movie about a man who's been a hermit for 40 years. He's supposed to be an enigma, a total mystery, but one of the movie's two big flaws is that the man has a very simplistic key to unlocking him, and seeing how the whole film's story is about getting to the point where he can unveil that key, the whole thing feels a little paint-by-numbers. The second big flaw is the fact that there's a scene that basically tells us everything we need to know about fifty minutes into the movie, which makes the ending even more anticlimactic. I will say that great fun is to be had in the journey (if not the destination), which is bolstered by some great dry humor and fine performances by Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, and Bill Cobbs. Duvall adds heart to some of the scenes in dire need of it, and while his acting is wholly successful, the script certainly is not.
- 10. Way Out West (1937)
- Though not as great as my beloved Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy are a very consistent comedy team, which makes this film difficult to review. In every film they make, they throw together some good-natured, character-driven laughs - more than enough to recommend the film, but not enough to find the film brilliant. I honestly didn't find this film much better or worse than Sons of the Desert or, indeed, the next Laurel and Hardy film I'm about to review. I suppose I can commend this film for probably having the strongest plot of any L&H film I've seen, and it features some catchy songs that are actually funny (unlike the Marx Brothers' romantic subplot songs, which are generally dreadful). So perhaps it is indeed superior to...
- 11. Block-Heads (1938)
- Block-Heads starts with a clever premise (a man doesn't realize that World War I is over, so he hangs out in the trenches for twenty years after the war ends) and then sort of follows its way into general silliness, which I was fine with. Amidst great character humor, there are some terrifically surreal jokes here: the window shade and the tobacco stick out in my mind. Sure, some jokes are groaners, but in general these boys are definitely good for a few laughs.
- 12. Vagabond (1985)
- Like a totally stripped-down Citizen Kane, Vagabond is an examination into the life of a woman who has died, but without the joy of seeing the elaborately constructed scenes which shroud the wealthy man's life in drama and mystery. Instead, we get stark drama as we investigate this female hobo. Her death is tragic, but I think it is to Agnes Varda's credit that the woman isn't too sympathetic. She's actually kind of a bitch. Yet her death is still sad, since it's only through her eyes that we see life going on about her; through her, we are able to peer into the daily lives of the other characters, who come from all walks of life. A very compelling film.
- 13. Marathon Man (1976)
- This gloriously deranged thriller from the 70s is probably no masterpiece, but it's too exciting and strange to be forgotten about. Sure, it's a bit uneven: the early romance scenes don't really work for me, and some of the mechanics of the stunt work seem taken from a lesser film. But no matter, for a handful of scenes in here that showcase the movie's batshit crazy charm elevate it above plenty of colorless thrillers. Witness the birth of Steadicam as we run with Dustin Hoffman through this movie's weird pleasures.
- 14. Speedy (1928)
- Watching a Harold Lloyd film is like eating a box of Tic Tacs: sweet and refreshing while you enjoy them, and then they're gone from your system within twelve hours. I can't review his films anymore. This is fun enough, and in addition to the slapstick, it's a fairly interesting glimpse into contemporary life in the 20s, but Safety Last! is Lloyd's only real standout.
- 15. Ghost Town (2008)
- Despite the best efforts of Judd Apatow to ground mainstream comedy in some realism, today it's mostly pretty loud, frenetic, and full of wacky characters. It's nice to see a comedy with the sort of low-key sweetness that some films had in the late 80s, a sort of When-Harry-Met-Sally-esque wit that isn't so in-your-face that it takes center stage before the characters and story. Ricky Gervais never disappoints, Kristen Wiig steals every scene she's in, and the film satisfyingly rides a clever premise to its charming conclusion.
- 16. The Age of Innocence (1993)
- As with Shutter Island, Martin Scorsese experiments with genres outside his comfort zone and proves his directorial mastery is not limited to crime pictures. The film is a feast for the eyes, which is lucky because the story is lacking something. What it is, I'm not sure. The humor that the source material possessed? Sharper teeth on the social satire? Characters exhibiting a greater range of emotion than "subdued restraint"? I don't know. I felt that it dragged and overstayed its welcome, but hey, it's still a good film.
- 17. 8 1/2 (1963) (watched again)
- After I watched this film with a friend, she asked of me, "I really liked it, but what does it mean?" I've been putting off writing this review because I'm not sure I have any answers. Although 8 1/2 is a profound, acclaimed film that thrives on rich symbolism, there aren't really concrete keys to unlocking its meaning, and I'm not sure Federico Fellini really intended there to be. Instead, he's given us a film to get wrapped up in, to appeal to the senses, an exquisite blend of comedy and drama, fantasy and realism, sexuality and religion. Perhaps the point to be made is that when you're a director doing an autobiographical film about a director who wants to do an autobiographical film, it's easy to get lost in the resulting composite of memory and pure imagination. Which is true, but what a pleasure it is to get lost in this film!
- 18. Slacker (1991)
- A non-narrative day in the life of Austin, Texas, where everyone has their own personal agendas, conspiracy theories, and other opinions just waiting to bust out on the soapbox. It communicates this point early on and eventually grows repetitive as we cycle through scene after scene of yet another wacky nonconformist spouting some crazy theory. This kind of film is tough to do well. The best scenes are great, but since they're painting basically the same picture of Austin as the weaker scenes, the weaker scenes are particularly non-essential and hence feel tedious. Would've made a great short film; as it is, I think it's a good film, but just barely.
- 19. Winged Migration (2001)
- A nature film with barely any narration, the film is content to sit back and let the bird photography do the talking. Some of these birds are majestic, some are quite silly, but I was rarely bored.
- 20. Dersu Uzala (1975)
- I feel that somewhere around the 70s, Akira Kurosawa forgot how to pace his movies well, and this film shows the start of that decline, even though it's not as languid as Kagemusha (IMHO, of course). It lingers too much on too many of its shots, and though the core relationships of the film are often quite touching, it often veers towards "magical native" syndrome, particularly in the predictable bottle-shooting scene. Still, it is a fascinating film in many respects, in part because it transposes Kurosawa from his usual milieus into early 20th-century Russia. The scenery is exquisite, of course, and the action scenes are very effective. Top marks go to the sequence where Dersu and the Captain get lost on the plain with nightfall impending. This is far from the best of Kurosawa, but it's still quite good.
- 21. The Ruling Class (1972)
- Peter O'Toole headlines a film that skewers the British class system, religion, hippies, and everything else under the sun, veering from wacky broad humor to truly bizarre black humor. O'Toole is terrific (as always) playing a man who's playing a hilariously flighty version of Jesus, but the rest of the cast shines just as brightly in their manic supporting roles. Thanks to them and a very clever script, I actually liked this caustic satire more than I thought I would, and though its second half's descent into really dark-tinged insanity doesn't play as well as one might hope, I was willing to follow it there because I was enjoying the film so much.
- 22. Jack Goes Boating (2010)
- I usually feel Philip Seymour Hoffman can do no wrong, so I was excited to hear about his directorial debut. Indeed, is direction is assured yet modest, leaving room for the performances to breathe in this small character-driven indie film. The stylized theatrical dialogue of the play remains, and I really enjoyed the tone that it set, but the script falters in other ways, especially in some of the third-act plot developments, which feel very been-there done-that. It's hard to argue with the film's quiet charms, though, especially in the real chemistry between Hoffman and Amy Ryan: great writing elevated by terrific performances.
- 23. Easy A (2010)
- A high school comedy that feels surprisingly fresh. I may not have seen enough John Hughes movies to understand them, but I think the Hughes comparisons I keep hearing are unfair. Is any high school comedy automatically in debt to Hughes? It's rare to see a high school sex comedy toplined by a girl, and rarer still to see the film gives her the opportunity to be an excellent comedienne. Emma Stone has been in comedies before, but she hasn't been allowed to be particularly funny in them, so it was great to see that she's completely up to the task. It's also pretty novel to see a teen movie with original story ideas instead of one that just rehashes the same old plotlines and character tropes over and over. I particularly loved the unique family life on display here, brought to the big screen by two indispensable actors (Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson), playing two parents who are too wrapped up in their effervescent dynamic to be stereotypes. Furthermore, a film that understands - and ridicules - the obsession with maintaining the right reputation in high school is all the more more relevant in these past couple months when we've seen a spate of bullying-provoked suicides. I dare not call Easy A an "important" film, but it certainly is smart, and I enjoyed it much more than I was expecting.
- 24. Malcolm X (1992)
- Emotionally affecting agitprop that almost made this pasty nerd want to go out and join the neo-Black Panthers. It's passionate filmmaking, and this passion is both its greatest strength and greatest weakness, because sometimes it gets too wrapped up in Malcolm X's speeches to create a cohesive movie. Towards the middle, there are endless stretches of time lingering on Malcolm X speaking, and it does start to drag there. Elsewhere, of course, the fiery passion helps make the film as rousing as it is, and Denzel Washington's terrific performance makes for a great centerpiece. Yeah, it's another biopic, but it's bursting with energy.
- 25. The Damned United (2009)
- The rare sports movie that I actually enjoyed. I think that's because it's not really about the athletes, or about winning for the sake of winning, or about being the best you can be for the big climactic final championship. It's about the management of the soccer teams and how they can be petty, but they're likable mainly in how realistically flawed they are, set in the stirring backdrop of 60s-70s London. In the realm of current actors whom the average Joe hasn't heard of, Timothy Spall and Michael Sheen are two of the greats, and they're both terrific here, sparking great character drama from their foibles and basically creating anything BUT an inspirational sports story. We're better off for it.
- 26. The Cove (2009)
- The Cove is an interesting film with a compelling ex-dolphin-trainer at its center and a running time that just flies by, and some of its images are really traumatic. Ultimately, though, I think it's not as intelligent as it is emotionally effective. I mean, it points out that 70% of the world depends on seafood as its main source of protein, and then says that the Japanese advocate killing whales because they eat too many of the fish that humans need. But the film never explores how true this claim is or offers counterarguments besides "Look at all that dolphin blood!" I guess this point is made to demonstrate that the world is too dependent on seafood, but it's not like the film offers alternative solutions, so it actually just convinced me that the food chain is much more fragile than I had thought and, well, maybe we ought to be killing more large whales for the sake of human health. Given that the film is trying to prove the exact opposite point, I think its effectiveness is questionable. Of course, it's hard to argue with all that dolphin blood.
- 27. Let Me In (2010)
- I'm not really convinced that the tale of Let the Right One In, a Swedish film that garnered a good amount of buzz upon its American release, really needed to be remade two years later, even if they're really just two different films based on the same novel. But Let Me In is a good adaptation in its own right, with different rises and falls and strengths and weaknesses. The scenes that don't focus on our two lead children are honestly stronger here than in the Swedish film, in part because there aren't any deranged cats here and in part because of the terrific performance by Richard Jenkins, a highly underrated actor. On the other hand, I hate to say it, but Chloe Moretz is wrong for this part. She's too conventionally cute and sweet to play the little girl, and it reinforced that this character was perfectly cast in the original movie. Lina Leandersson was kinda cute, but in a weird, unnerving way, lending an unsettling edge to the adorable 12-year-old. Another thought: This film features the most dramatically intense wedgie scene ever put on celluloid, which sparked lots of unintended laughter. Did the filmmakers really think they could wring actual tension out of a wedgie?
- 28. The Social Network (2010)
- Right from the verbal sparring in the rousing opening scene, The Social Network is telling us that even though it deals with exceptionally modern subject matter, it is styled after the films of Hollywood's golden age, where there was a concerted effort to infuse wit into every line and then fire away at a mile a minute. In fact, the whole film feels like an entry into the best of Hollywood, combining that glistening dialogue with high drama, sharply drawn characters, legal suspense, stylish direction, and no small share of sexuality. It's that rare film that critics and audiences love equally, yet isn't a popcorn genre picture. Instead, it's a brisk, intelligent take on the man who helped shape how we interact with other people, by showing how he interacted with other people. The interwoven threads of the story work together astonishingly well; we get the sense that whether Mark Zuckerberg is trying to get into a club, coding a web site, or dealing with a deposition, he is trying to fit in and find his place in an uncharitable boys' club. Zuckerberg's characterization is standoffish, blunt, and probably has Asperger's, yet everyone should find something to relate to in him. It's like nothing Jesse Eisenberg has done before, but it's certainly a mature, fully-realized character. Andrew Garfield is terrific as well, and Armie Hammer steals every scene he's in. This is probably David Fincher's best film, and it's a shame that I doubt it will walk away with too much Oscar gold. At its heart it is a very youthful film, both in the actors' ages and in the content. I can't imagine this playing well to the Old Guard of the Academy, who will probably see it as a film about a flash-in-the-pan with a fast pace that flies over their heads. That doesn't sound like a timeless Best Picture winner, does it? Like Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, and countless others, I think it may go down as a great film that was just too cool to win Best Picture.
- 29. From Russia With Love (1963)
- I'm not really the biggest James Bond fan, but if all his films had From Russia With Love's brand of 60s mod British style to them, maybe I would be. In particular, the opening credits here are among the best I've ever seen (it may sound weird to be praising a film for its opening credits... unless you've seen these), but the film is really dripping with style throughout, a great backdrop to its fun action plot. Sean Connery owns the character already, and Pedro Armendáriz makes a terrific sidekick. I don't think the machinations of the scheme are as memorable as in Goldfinger, but no matter, it's still a very charming, enjoyable film.
- 30. Point Blank (1967)
- Lee Marvin's badass performance and John Boorman's creative, unnerving direction are the highlights here, but they don't do enough to make this ho-hum story and its flat characters interesting. Sorry, I didn't really see the appeal of this one.
- 31. Alexander Nevsky (1938)
- I love Sergei Eisenstein's silent film The Battleship Potemkin, but I felt his sound films (both parts of Ivan the Terrible) were hammily acted and overly bombastic. I liked Alexander Nevsky more than Ivan because the people feel more true-to-life here, but I still think it pales in comparison to Potemkin. The film feels packed to the brim with interminable battle scenes, in service of a decent story without too much substance. This was meant to be a rabble-rouser to inspire the Russians to take on Germany just prior to WWII, and I'm sure it stirred their sentiment back then, but it didn't play as well to this 2010 American.
- 32. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) (watched again)
- This is one of Steven Spielberg’s best films and it’s also sort of an odd duck in his oeuvre, a (relatively) big-budget science-fiction film that’s moody and low-key, with more focus on visuals than plot points or action scenes. How many sci-fi films end up with Best Cinematography as the only Oscar they win? Francois Truffaut plays a supporting role, which is appropriate, since this film almost has more in common with Truffaut’s easygoing character dramas than with other sci-fis by Spielberg like, say, Jurassic Park or War of the Worlds. Granted, there are some truly stirring action sequences, made all the more thrilling by the fact that they arise from long stretches of tone-focused drama, and the film certainly wears its budget on its sleeve, as if Spielberg wants you to know that he got a LOT more money for this film than for Jaws. Anyway, this isn’t the popcorn entertainment that some of us expect from Spielberg’s non-war films, but I fell in love with its eerie power years ago and this rewatch just confirmed that love.
- 33. The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
- Better than the 1940 remake, but ultimately less memorable, The Thief of Bagdad somehow manages more seamless special effects than they achieved sixteen years later, and dazzles with its sheer spectacle. A very fun silent film adventure.
- 34. Dark Victory (1939)
- As brain cancer melodramas go, I’d say this is the pinnacle of the genre, which all-in-all makes this a very good movie. Bette Davis has enough spunk and vivacity to keep this from falling into treacle, and the writing is sharp (as brain cancer melodramas go). Humphrey Bogart appears, not yet a star, in a role that doesn’t really utilize his talent. Often called a classic, but of course not quite up there with the all-time greats.
- 35. Citizen Kane (1941) (watched again)
- My third (or fourth? I can’t remember) viewing of this superlative film was partaken in order to check out Roger Ebert’s DVD commentary. He does a great job of analyzing certain shots and telling us why their awesome, as well as filling in a lot of background information. Top-notch commentary for one of the all-time masterpieces. I’m honestly also really interested to check out Peter Bogdanovich’s commentary on the same disc, so hell, maybe I’ll watch this again soon.
- 36. Waiting for Superman (2010)
- Davis Guggenheim structures this film after Michael Moore’s style and, really, most other politically charged documentaries, because that is what works: narration, graphics, and interviews to illustrate a social problem; a series of individual stories to humanize the problem; and some animation and pop cultural references to lighten the mood. He uses these techniques extraordinarily well here, though, and makes his points effectively without seeming cloying or manipulative. In a way, he has out-Moored Moore, creating a better movie than Michael has ever made, and possibly the best political documentary I’ve ever seen. I don’t know if I’m becoming a more emotional person or if it’s the films’ fault, but this is the second movie in the last six months that made me legitimately sob, the other being Toy Story 3. I’ve shed a tear or gotten choked up at films before TS3, but I’m talking about real bawling here. Of course, how could one be unaffected by this tale of the corruption in our educational system and how it crushes the dreams of intelligent, optimistic children? Typical film depictions of inner-city classrooms focus on the prevalence of misbehavior, discipline issues, drugs, crime, etc. Teachers taking on a class of unruly villains. This film is about the other half, the (perhaps younger) students who are actually eager to learn, but who get shafted by the system. The teachers’ unions take the lion’s share of the blame here, and though that may seem controversial, I’ve spoken to a number of people who have either worked in education or studied education, and they all acknowledge that teachers’ unions are absurdly corrupt organizations that gum up the works. We examine this sad fact and get to know a few victims of the calamity, in this amazingly affecting and important film, one of the best of the year.
- 37. The Town (2010)
- The Town is a good, if overrated, romance/thriller that has its ups and downs. Ben Affleck’s direction is tense and involving, and he manages a pretty good performance as the prototypical hardened-thug-with-a-sensitive soul that we’ve seen in all too many movies where the protagonist is a criminal who needs to be sympathetic. The character is too naïve at times, and as a result, the romance scenes aren’t entirely believable. Rebecca Hall does her best to make it so, giving a terrific performance, the best in the cast. Jeremy Renner is excellent too; Jon Hamm takes an underwritten character and makes him deliciously Draper-esque; Blake Lively, on the other hand, hit all the wrong notes for me. Overall, the film sort of plays like a mash-up between an exciting action movie and the bank-robber version of Good Will Hunting, which is fine, but I think it has become over-praised.
- 38. Vera Drake (2004)
- Basically all I knew about this film before I saw it was that it was about abortion. That’s true, but it addresses the politics of its subject matter only subtly and implicitly, in the way that we truly feel for the plights of these working-class women. Imelda Staunton’s indefatigable performance as the old abortionist, full of boundless sweetness and energy, provides the centerpiece for our sympathy, as certainly nothing as well-intentioned as this kindly lady’s actions can possibly be wrong, can it? Her arc is gripping at times, harrowing at times, but exceptionally well-crafted throughout, and many of the film’s delights come in the subtle details. Another winner from Mike Leigh.
- 39. The Dreamers (2003)
- A part of me feels that the critics’ lukewarm reaction to this calmly erotic film is further proof of America’s inherent Puritanism. Another part of me feels that, well, perhaps the film really does deserve the critical apathy, as sometimes its characters’ cinephilia feels a little masturbatory and on-the-nose, and its ending feels a little hammy and forced. No matter, this is a fun movie for film buffs, a tribute to classic cinema as well as a crowd-pleaser for anyone who enjoys a little erotica every now and then and isn’t put off by the incest.
- 40. Superman (1978)
- This is the movie that Spider-Man should have been, a gloriously cheesy pastiche of all the over-the-top superheroics of the golden age of comic books. Rough around the edges, just as it should be, with corny jokes and eccentric characters, but without the terribly cloying and superficial attempts at emotional resonance or depth. Also, unlike Superman Returns, this is reasonably fast-paced and features a nefarious plot that actually makes some semblance of sense. This film does silly fun the right way, and as such, it works.
- 41. Queen Christina (1933)
- The great Greta Garbo plays a fine Queen Christina, maddened by the lifestyle imposed upon her and the war she inherited, but the film doesn’t really take off until she dresses like a man and meets up with Antonio. After that point, the film smokes until its electrifying final shot. Yeah, the whole reluctant-queen thing can be a little unrealistic, but the film is good enough that I bought it here.
- 42. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) (watched again)
- This is the greatest epic film ever created because it avoids all mawkish sentimentality and places the focus squarely on one troubled, heroic, brilliant yet flawed character, played to perfection by one of the greatest film actors in history, Peter O’Toole. Then add its shatteringly gorgeous landscape cinematography and its many tensely directed action scenes and you have a four-hour film that just flies by, a work of cinema that just fucking works all the way through. I’m afraid the film hasn’t particularly inspired an articulate review out of me, but there you have it: Lawrence defies explanation, and simply must be seen.
- 43. The Apartment (1960) (watched again)
- The Academy gives out Best Picture honors to comedies once in a blue moon, so when one wins, you know it had to have done a lot of things right. In this case, the film was directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, one of the most brilliant filmmakers in history, and it provided a great vehicle for Jack Lemmon’s performance. Lemmon could always get away with giving caricatured performances without making the character seem corny or superficial, and this is one of his best. Shirley MacLaine and the plethora of skeevy businessmen all add to the final product, a film that made us love screwball comedy again, some twenty years after the genre was in vogue. Of course, there’s a much darker subtext here than in past screwballs, and the film was controversial for its time, forcing us to confront the fact that infidelity and divorce were becoming more and more widespread, just when America (like C.C. Baxter, at first) was eager to sweep these issues under the rug. Add to all this the fact that the film’s whole second act is about recovering from a suicide attempt, and you start to see the many shades of gray that bedeck the last totally black-and-white Best Picture winner. The film makes comedy from tragedy and tragedy from comedy, and it all amounts to a real crowd-pleaser as well as a true classic.
- 44. Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (1931)
- Sorry Murnau, I found this one kinda dull. I honestly can only think of two or three black-and-white films I would say this about, but it would be more effective in color. The film needs its vibrant tropical images, after all, to distract from the tired plotline.
- 45. Sanjuro (1962)
- Another incredibly entertaining and simultaneously thoughtful film from Akira Kurosawa. I don’t have much else to say.
- 46. The Pawnbroker (1964)
- Wow, who knew that surviving the Holocaust was preferable to the alternative? This chilling, tortured film about Holocaust survivor Sol Nazerman is probably even more depressing than films about the actual Holocaust, and it doesn’t end with any glimmers of hope either. Of course, because it’s directed by the inimitable Sidney Lumet, it’s also terrific, a powerful film where the aforementioned survivor must deal with his demons on the dismal streets of Harlem. A Quincy Jones jazz score helps this film congeal into a certain mad genius, as the trauma of the constant flashbacks and the hard-boiled grit of the street thugs contrast with Nazerman’s emotional numbness until things start crashing down one by one. It makes for a truly great character study.
- 47. Chop Shop (2007)
- A very good film about the slums and their residents, complete with surprisingly effective child performances and vibrant cinematography. Some have ascribed it with contemporary-classic status, and I think that got my hopes up too much, as I was hoping for something a bit more insightful. Still, this is a strong character drama that I really did enjoy.
- 48. 127 Hours (2010)
- I have to give James Franco a hand (pun intended) for his gut-wrenching portrayal of an adventurous goofball literally caught between a rock and a hard place. He’s fantastic the whole way through, but like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, the film’s performances are eclipsed by highly ostentatious direction that is a constant entertainment for the eyes and ears. The action stays on one person and one setting, and Danny Boyle tries his best to distract from that fact with a barrage of camera tricks, flashbacks, and fantasies, from family drama to Scooby-Doo. This is consistently enjoyable, but I wonder if the film could’ve been even more effective if it had done more to harness the power of the horrifyingly claustrophobic silence and isolation that Aron Ralston faced in those 127 hours, instead of assaulting us with a whirlwind of stylish panache. Still, this is a very good film by a masterful director, and I’m not complaining about that.
- 49. Fair Game (2010)
- This is a well-made film that, I think, may have had more impact if it had come out a few years from now. It’s a film that delineates the events that lead to the Valerie Plame scandal and wants us to stir up our passionate rage for the administration that committed these atrocities, but I feel like I just got mad about this stuff five years ago and I don’t see why I would get mad about them all over again in this constructed-narrative format. Of course, this story is one with a human element to it, and that’s probably the best part of this film: reminding us that in the heat of this scandal is one family who suffered the most through its turmoil. That mostly happens in the last half-hour, of course, and beforehand we mainly get well-made governmental drama, told through overexposed lenses that create an icy veneer to the whole proceedings. It’s good, but not incredibly engaging.
- 50. Brief Encounter (1945) (watched again)
- The man who owns epic filmmaking directs a small character drama about unimportant people, proving that you don’t even need much of a premise to make a brilliant film; sometimes you just need a brilliant director and a brilliant writer. Some may be compelled to make parallels showing how this film predicted David Lean’s later mastery of the epic, but I think it just proves his versatility, shows that he’s perfectly comfortable filming a dingy train station just as well as a desert vista; a woman’s interior monologue just as well as a stirring lecture; a fragile kiss just as well as an explosion. It certainly helps to have Noel Coward in your corner, and the uniformly excellent cast falls into place to create a film that ought to be anything but a timeless classic, yet it is.
- 51. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010)
- David Yates’s best entry into the series so far, which makes it pretty okay. The bisection of the final book has allowed the story more room to breathe, which makes for more subtlety and eliminates the pacing issues that some of the last few films have suffered from. The cinematography is great, and the kids have really come into their own as actors, playing their characters charmingly. Of course, the bifurcation also means that this film must only deal with the first half of the book, which (you may recall) mainly concerns itself with a lot of waiting, arguing, and running around the woods, which is a little irritating. Worse, there are a few really awkward moments, including that stupid dance scene. Still, it’s a pretty good entry into the series, even if my favorite part was the animated sequence that Yates didn’t even direct. :-)
- 52. Unstoppable (2010)
- This half-decent piece of popcorn entertainment has gotten astoundingly good reviews it doesn’t deserve, but it’s an okay film. I normally find myself wishing for more character development in films like this, but in this case, that was handled in such a humdrum, formulaic way, that I just wanted the film to get back to the unstoppable train action. Thankfully, it did, and if the film is heavily conventional, I can certainly say that I haven’t seen a film about a runaway train since The General.
- 53. Murder, My Sweet (1944)
- A breezy film-noir that’s a bit lighter than the genre usually is, so perhaps it should be called a film-gris. I actually thought its somewhat optimistic tone worked well with Dick Powell’s take on Philip Marlowe (probably a more moral, upstanding rending than film-noir detectives can be, but hey, this guy’s a musical actor!), and I found the film no less enjoyable for it. Indeed, the dialogue snaps like it’s fresh off the frying pan, and we are treated to heaping helpings of the other elements of the genre: a femme fatale, a convoluted and fiendish plot, and an array of hard-boiled thugs. It even features a trippy dream sequence! It may not make you think about morality as much as some other films in this genre, but it’s certainly incredibly entertaining and well worth seeing.
- 54. Brand Upon the Brain! (2006)
- I won’t even try to describe this film’s plot. Let’s just say somehow the film manages to be extremely off-putting yet bizarrely engaging throughout, and I got hooked on this film’s mad brilliance, a silent-film study of tyranny and sexuality, and I really wanna check out more Guy Maddin as a result.
- 55. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981)
- Less plot, less character development, and less emotional resonance than the original, this film takes a larger budget and places the focus squarely on the action. Luckily, its futuristic dystopian setting lends enough style for this to work, and it makes up for its lack of plot/character by avoiding the flawed messiness of the original Mad Max. It’s tighter filmmaking, and for that, it’s probably better than the first.
- 56. Lessons of Darkness (1992)
- The only sci-fi documentary I’m aware of, Lessons of Darkness mainly shows us harrowing images of the post-Gulf-War flaming Kuwaiti oil wells and has Werner Herzog intone a mildly science-fictional narration. It’s not really a story per se, but the disturbing power of these visuals cannot be denied.
- 57. Black Dynamite (2009)
- A more faithful blaxploitation parody than any other, this film does an awesome job of evoking the grit and the panache of those films. It’s a send-up just as much as it’s an inspired entry into the genre.
- 58. Ponyo (2008)
- Definitely skews younger than past Hayao Miyazaki films, and it’s far from his best work, but there’s a lot to like here in the trippy visuals and cute characters. Disney’s English dubbing is great as usual even though it includes one of the Jonas brothers, and I loved being able to transport myself once again to the magical world of Miyazaki.
- 59. My Left Foot (1989)
- This film features the fractured storytelling of most biopics, which places the entire weight of the film on the flat-out brilliance of Daniel Day-Lewis. Day-Lewis portrays cerebral palsy with a pitch-perfect performance that makes us care deeply about Christy Brown while still not making the character too sympathetic. In fact, Christy Brown is flawed like the rest of us, and oftentimes he’s selfish and oftentimes he’s a jerk, and we can relate to his foibles. The film is humorous, which takes the edge off what could have been a very melodramatic movie, and ultimately becomes one of the best conventionally-structured biopics I’ve ever seen.
- 60. The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
- This offbeat, funny, surprisingly dark film flies through its 80-minute running time with very little dialogue, but with much communicated through its sounds and images. It’s unique and enjoyable, though no masterpiece.
- 61. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
- A lot of superlative adjectives have been applied to this very good film. It imaginatively envisions a brightly-colored world based around a constant battle between dragons and Vikings. I loved the ways that Hiccup figures out how to manage dragons without attacking them, through his knowledge of his pet, and I also liked how all these Judd Apatow veterans have iconic voices that are effective and recognizable here. All in all, the film makes for some cute entertainment.
- 62. Inside Job (2010)
- Michael Moore’s documentary Capitalism: A Love Story tried to appeal to my emotions without showcasing any real intelligence. Now for the brain instead of the heart is Inside Job, an attempt at explaining the financial crisis to reasonably smart laymen. It barely focuses at all on the plight of the little people; rather, it commandeers Matt Damon to explain to us just how many people predicted the downfall of the markets. The Wall Street guys couldn’t hear us because their ears were clogged full of cocaine and prostitutes, drunk on the power that comes from gambling with blue-collar life savings. The film explains this through graphs, facts, and plain language, and it does appeal to the emotions a bit because it’s hard not to get riled up by all this callousness and lack of foresight, but it is pretty dry at times, and one can’t help thinking that if Charles Ferguson and Michael Moore had teamed up, they could’ve made the ultimate movie about the financial crisis to appeal to both the brain and the heart, instead of two different sides of the same coin.
- 63. The King’s Speech (2010)
- Rarely does a biopic tell such a strong, focused story, and rarely is a British ruling class period piece this much fun. The film never veers into melodramatic angst; instead, it tells its story with charm and good humor while occasionally meandering in bittersweet nostalgia. The centerpiece of the film is two brilliant performances by Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush. They have a wonderful natural chemistry, and their dynamic makes the film as good as it is. Also, Tom Hooper isn’t a big enough name (yet) to be discussed as a contender for directing awards this year, but major kudos to him for his stellar work here. He nails the rhythms of the screenplay and pulls a few neat visual tricks without letting them become too intrusive. I find it a real joy to see such great filmmaking and acting on display, and if all British period pieces were this entertaining, you could label me a diehard Merchant-Ivory fan.
- 64. Somewhere (2010)
- This film has been compared to the work of the great European directors, but it strikes me as more along the lines of Yasujiro Ozu or Tsai Ming-Liang in the way that it consists of many lengthy shots that focus much more on framing than on narrative. Unfortunately, much as I love Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola isn’t enough of a visual stylist to pull off such a meandering film. It’s almost like she wanted to take Lost in Translation and strip away (1) the intrigue of the foreign setting (the film is set mostly in Hollywood), (2) the sexual tension of the main characters (for, while similar to the dynamic of Bob and Charlotte in many ways, Johnny and Cleo are father and daughter), (3) the humor, (4) the fame of its lead actors, and (5) what little plot that film had, and see what was left. That is a very big gamble that places all the weight of the film on her ability to create interesting visuals, and sadly I don’t think Coppola was up to the task.
- 65. I Love You, Phillip Morris (2009)
- No, this isn’t an ode to tobacco, it’s a gay prison love story with Ace Ventura and Obi-Wan. Strangely, this reminded me of the last Ewan McGregor laugher I saw (Men Who Stare at Goats), so maybe he’s starting to focus his career on messy, unfocused broad comedies. In spite of its flaws, I kind of enjoyed this, more than Goats; it’s sweet and sometimes clever, and other times it makes up for its lack of cleverness with some shock-value jokes that did make me laugh. The film should’ve (and probably could’ve) been a lot better considering its interesting subject and top-notch actors, but it’s a pretty good little oddity.
- 66. Rabbit Hole (2010)
- Sort of like Revolutionary Road lite, this is a small film about small people that never quite achieves a big impact. The film has a blunt, straightforward tone, but don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad movie. Nicole Kidman’s plotline about forming a connection with the guilt-ridden teenager who ran over her son makes for strong drama. Aaron Eckhart’s plotline about forming a connection with Sandra Oh is less interesting. The acting is great across the board, the prime reason to see this film that is somewhat engaging but lacks the inspiration to become something better.
- 67. Fireworks (1997)
- An interesting film that methodically explores the somber rhythms of a former cop’s daily life when caring for his sick wife, intercut with scenes of brutal violence as the former cop gets revenge on behalf of his former partner. It’s very slow until it isn’t, and then it goes back to being slow, which makes for a unique tempo. I was fascinated by this film, although it certainly isn’t for everyone.
- 68. Down by Law (1986) (watched again)
- Still my favorite Jim Jarmusch film, Down by Law takes a simple premise and sets it against the jazzy ether of a New Orleans bayou, then spices it up with delicious dry humor. Jarmusch follows a well-defined three-act structure but focuses entirely on completely different things than most filmmakers would. Instead of showing us the trials that lead our characters into jail or the escape scenes that lead them out, we concentrate on the oft-mundane conversations that they have while in prison, and that’s where the film’s unique brilliance comes in. An exploration of the dry humor, the dialogue, and the cadences of life set amongst a reluctant friendship that is anything but, Down by Law is a true masterpiece.
- 69. Black Swan (2010)
- A major theme of Darren Aronofsky’s canon is the limits to which people are willing to go to pursue their physically demanding passions. He makes films about people who surrender their blood, sweat, and tears to everything from mathematics to wrestling to heroin. There’s a fine line between presenting a different take on the themes of one’s oeuvre and plagiarizing oneself, and Aronofsky stays on the right side of the line in his latest film, which manages to be astonishingly erotic and astonishingly terrifying, oftentimes both at once. In a way it seems like a culmination of his work, like Pi meets The Wrestler, in the way that it gracefully dabbles in mindfuckery in exploring a performance art that is taxing on both the body and soul. Unfortunately, it is not a perfect film; at times, it derives shocks not from its artfulness but from silly horror movie tactics, and its imagery is very heavy-handed. Also, I was often bored with the way that Vincent Cassell’s character would spout tired performance clichés in place of actual inspiration. Still, the emotional intensity of this film is undeniable, and the movie features some of the best female performances I’ve seen all year. Just like Nina’s portrayal of both white and black swans, the film is both raw power and grace all in one, and if that doesn’t make sense to you, then you’ll just have to see it for yourself.
- 70. I Am Love (2009)
- Tilda Swinton's appearance usually strikes me as unsettlingly entomoid, so it is much to this film's credit that it convinced me she was attractive and that her love scenes were erotic. The film's melodramatic 11th-hour twist is pretty forced, however, and only a handful scenes were as stylistically intriguing as I was hoping they'd be, but those scenes certainly are terrific, particularly the ending. They carried this slow-paced film well enough for me to enjoy it, even if not as much as some critics.
- 71. Inherit the Wind (1960)
- I really am a sucker for a courtroom drama. The trial setting is just such a perfect opportunity for grand theater, well-constructed dialogue, and clever turns of plot, and Inherit the Wind is no exception. Unlike many courtroom drama films, this case also deals with a crime of grand social import, and hence the battle is not just between two lawyers but also between the old God-fearing Southern ways and the new ideas of science and secularism - and, so I read, adapting the play in 1960 was intended to be a commentary on McCarthyism as well. In a larger sense, it deals with timeless themes, but it also hones in on the little details, such as the way the setting makes the characters all sweat their asses off (and some are more equipped to deal with this problem than others). I loved watching Tracy and the great Frederic March show off their terrific chemistry in bringing all this together, in this excellent Hollywood classic.
- 72. The Fighter (2010)
- Boxing films tend to focus either on plucky all-American underdogs or on violent men struggling with their internal demons. Mark Wahlberg in The Fighter is closer to the former, but he reminded me more of an ultra-realistic, blue-collar version of Woody Allen in his 1980s movies, an ever-beleaguered, neurotic straight man frustrated with having to manage the quirks of the nutty characters all around him. Actually, Wahlberg’s character never really seems to care about anything except pleasing his family members and girlfriend, all of whom are loud and boisterous but fully realized characters. This adds an odd dynamic to what is otherwise a fairly conventional, unfocused blue-collar underdog boxing film. Protagonist Wahlberg is like an annoying blank slate in many scenes while Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, Amy Adams, and hell, even some of the no-name sisters act around him and steal his scenes. Marky Mark’s kitchen-sink realism acting style feels like it comes from a totally different movie than the rest of the film’s eccentric inhabitants. But when you get right down to it, I enjoyed the film enough to recommend it. It’s certainly funnier than I was expecting, and Bale, Leo, and Adams are all cast against type (to some degree or another) and are all terrific.
- 73. Serpico (1973)
- Right off the bat this film smacks us with the moral relativism and half-assedness of its cop characters, just when I was hoping the film would give its story a little room to breathe. Then the film blends interesting scenes about getting by as a white knight or Christ figure in pre-gentrification New York City with boring scenes about bureaucratic red tape. The end result is a strangely intriguing film, not one of Sidney Lumet's masterpieces, but a very good film nonetheless.
- 74. Tangled (2010)
- As a kid, I actually remember being surprised that Disney hadn't tackled this particular fairy tale, but let's face it: the original story of Rapunzel is actually pretty thin. Girl's trapped in a tower, yeah yeah, what else you got for me? I'm impressed that Tangled deepened this conceit to give her both a specific motivation for wanting to leave, and a motivation for not leaving besides the fact that she's trapped. In no way is Tangled's princess physically trapped in her tower; rather, she's trapped by the years of emotional manipulation imposed on her by her presumed mother. So the film expands on the story's concept very successfully, and it has a lot of laughs and fun action scenes, although a few of the details really don't work, especially the music. There's one good song I liked ("I've Got a Dream") and the rest are somewhere between mediocre to abysmal. As a side note, can we talk about the fact that they spent 260 million fucking dollars on this movie? Where did that money go? Hiring A-list voice talent like, um, the guy from Chuck, and, uh, Everybody Loves Raymond's brother? Does Alan Menken command a $200 million salary these days? Did they rotoscope all the action in the entire film, trained chameleon and all? Help me out here.
- 75. True Grit (2010)
- It seems that the Coens are trying to balance out the economy of dialogue in No Country for Old Men by making True Grit a film full of idle chatter, some of which can barely even be understood. I liked Jeff Bridges's swagger in the movie, but he mumbles so much you have to strain your ears to catch every word, and the other grizzled cowboys aren't much better. Hailee Steinfeld, on the other hand, enunciates and gives a brilliantly fearless performance, and it's a shame she'll be relegated to the supporting category when and if she gets nominated for Oscars, because she's obviously a leading lady here. She's the protagonist that drives the action and she's in every scene before the epilogue, which is more than you can say about Bridges. Anyway, I feel that every movie that the Coens come out with nowadays is immediately dubbed their "most honest" film, and while I wasn't sure I believed that about A Serious Man, True Grit certainly does lack most of the ironic distance that Joel and Ethan are so fond of. In fact, I'd say the ending (pre-epilogue) has more emotional resonance than any Coen Brothers scene since Miller's Crossing. So take that as you will. I haven't seen the original with John Wayne, but I do think this remake is an impressive, entertaining entry into the Coens' canon.
- 76. Black Hawk Down (2001)
- This film starts strong with an unconventional plotline for a war film as well as legitimately good dialogue and cinematography. I soon grew weary of this overlong film's meandering combat scenes. Good, not great.
- 77. Amadeus (1984) (watched again)
- All biopics should be as brilliant as this film. It takes a unique perspective in examining a great man's life through the eyes of his rival. Everything about the script is pitch-perfect, and the performances are stunning.
- 78. Pirate Radio (2009)
- This film does a terrific job of evoking the swingin' 60s Britain atmosphere, and the film sticks it to the man by turning a real-life situation into a fun anti-establishment comedy, replete with sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. However, the film has a tendency to bring up tense dramatic situations and then dismiss them breezily, which may fit into its m.o., but I began to find it frustrating and unsatisfying. Sorry fellas, but I guess the 60s really are over.
- 79. October: Ten Days That Shook the World (1928)
- Nothing quite as compelling as in Battleship Potemkin, but a very good film that utilizes its montage techniques well. Much better than Eisenstein's sound films.
- 80. Pygmalion (1938)
- Excellent adaptation of a witty play.
- 81. Libeled Lady (1936) (watched again)
- Top-notch screwball comedy, just as I remembered.
- 82. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
- Would you believe I've never seen this? A little cheesy of course, but loads of fun. I'm a sucker for clever courtroom scenes.
- 83. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
- I really hope I'm the only person in the world who's ever watched Miracle on 34th Street and Salò consecutively. In any case, this film was intentionally repulsive as expected, but I'm not really convinced it's all that effective as an anti-violence study. You would think we would see more emotional reactions from the victims throughout if it really intended to impress upon us the horror of these actions, but for the most part the victims seem quite stoic (with a few obvious exceptions). Perhaps Pier Paolo Pasolini felt that that would be so much misery that it would leave the film with zero audience (not that there's much audience for this film as it is). I do think it's an effective study of fascism's ramifications, and certainly the film's grotesque visceral qualities are totally unique and push the envelope of taste more than almost every other film I've witnessed. I guess that's something worth applauding.
- 84. La Notte (1961)
- Very boring. I just can't get into Michaelangelo Antonioni. I actually did like the scenes with Tommaso in the hospital, but other than that, it's a snoozer.
- 85. Planet of the Apes (1968)
- An iconic film I'm finally seeing for the first time. I knew much of the plot beforehand, but I didn't know it was an overt allegory for Darwinism. Terrific visuals throughout. A lot seems stolen from The Time Machine, but hey, in Hollywood it's called homage, right?
- 86. Another Year (2010)
- This is a film about an older couple who have a few emotionally unstable friends, particularly Mary (an inimitable performance by Lesley Manville), who rely on them. As someone who is generally pretty happy and emotionally stable but who has some needy friends, I can definitely relate to this type of situation. You have a complicated mixture of annoyance and pity for the people who are taking up your time and sapping your emotional energy, and this dynamic is perfectly captured by the great Mike Leigh in Another Year. I was amazed at how riveting this film was, given that it's totally dialogue-driven and takes place almost entirely in the older couple's home and garden. Action scenes and important events occur offscreen to focus entirely on character development and the rhythms of speech. I can't fully endorse (nor denounce) the actions of any of the characters in this complex film, but I was certainly invested in them, and I think that's a great thing.
- 87. Barney's Version (2010)
- Clever and well-acted, if too long. Paul Giamatti very much deserved his Golden Globe, and I'm glad he won it over Depp squared.
- 88. Biutiful (2010)
- Alejandro González Iñárritu cuts out all his shifting chronologies and multiple storylines to zero in on one dying father who has his hands in a number of different criminal activities. The film's reviews have been mediocre, with the criticism being that it's too depressing, but a film with such dazzling artistry is never too bleak for me. The film's visuals are understated yet gorgeous, and Javier Bardem's soulful performance is one of the best of the year. Sure, the film inches a little too close to a standard melodrama at times, but it almost always brims with enough lovely detail to transcend that genre.
- 89. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
- A good, not great film from Hayao Miyazaki, this film seems like the practice swing before his brilliant Princess Mononoke. Nausicaä is fine, but it's packed with too much exposition and not enough character development, and Miyazaki hasn't quite honed the visual mastery that he perfected in the later stages of his career. As a result, the film's not as engaging as it should be. Still, it's pretty good, and I'll take a weak film from Miyazaki over a strong film from most directors any day.
- 90. Faces (1968)
- Call me an unintellectual clod, but I've never really been a fan of John Cassavetes's films. He purports to make these realistic slice-of-life dramas, but his characters come across as unnatural, histrionic archetypes who say things that no real people would ever actually say. Hell, some of the characters in this film are so over-the-top, they seem more suited to Looney Tunes cartoons than realistic dramas. Really this should've been a play... since it almost seems like a filmed version of a play anyway, except with far more close-ups on faces.
- 91. King Kong (2005)
- I want to see Peter Jackson direct a period drama that doesn't focus on his CGI creations. His loving recreation of 1930s New York City in King Kong was my favorite part of the film. Everything about it - the art direction, the cinematography, the costumes, the performances - was strikingly beautiful. Unfortunately, he lost me somewhere on Skull Island. I'm not sure if CGI technology has evolved so rapidly that films from five years ago look dated already, or if it looks better on the big screen, or if it wasn't convincing in 2005 either, but a lot of the special effects looked distractingly fake to me. When CGI interacts with CGI, it's great, and watching Kong beat up dinosaurs was fucking badass, but a lot of the scenes that involved both CGI and close-ups of human actors looked very patchy. I'm sorry, but I really could not believe that that crew was actually running in the middle of a dinosaur stampede. I tried to ignore this, but I couldn't, and it really took me out of the film. Which is a shame, because it certainly has quite a lot going for it aside from the rendering of New York City. The three leads topline a truly inspired cast, and the CGI is quite good at showcasing Kong's emotional arc in the film. A good film, but the flawed special effects took me out of its world.
- 92. Walkabout (1971)
- This is the first Nicolas Roeg film I've really liked. It kicks off with probably the most bizarre inciting moment in any film, and then proceeds through a moody journey of exploration as these two British kids get back to nature. Even though Roeg threw in some more randomness throughout, the film's simple pleasures had won me over, so it all worked.
- 93. Blue Valentine (2010)
- I always love to see a story with as little contrivance as this one, and it certainly helps when you have Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling giving the best performances of their careers thus far. We see this couple through happy times and sad times, and the film never gives us easy answers for why things happen the way they do. Unlike, say, Revolutionary Road, the characters are sharply defined and aren't just everymen, and we see the way these characters quirks evolve through the initial attraction and eventual arguments. Some of my friends warned me the film was depressing, I suppose because of how it ends, but to me the ending doesn't even feel like an ending. It just feels like life, and life goes on.
- I hate that I always do this to myself, but time to play some catch-up with some briefer reviews...
- 94. The Seventh Seal (1957) (watched again)
- Still brilliant. Amazing how compelling this cerebral, Medieval-set film can be, with the power of its dialogue, images, and performances.
- 95. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)
- I actually enjoyed this film far more than I was expecting. The film feels appropriately unsettling and eerie throughout as it follows the enigmatic Tom Ripley through a series of twisted exploits. The dialogue crackles in every scene, and Ripley's web of lies gets a little far-fetched in parts, it certainly hits every right note in portraying its complex character dynamics. The film's cinematography and production design are also stunningly gorgeous, making for a terrific, underrated film.
- 96. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009)
- A thriller that starts out raw and disturbing and ends clumsily, with a bit too much pat wrap-up and also with one of those terrible "talking villain" scenes. Still a good film, though, with great acting and a fascinating exploration of a family's history.
- 97. Please Give (2010)
- I think this film is about the difference between being moral and being nice, with four characters representing this structure: Catherine Keener is both moral and nice, Oliver Platt is nice but not particularly moral, Rebecca Hall is moral but not particularly nice, and Amanda Peet is neither. That oversimplifies things, though, so as a character drama, the movie is good but not great. I thought the Platt plot was underdeveloped and generally handled awkwardly; some of the other plotlines are better. I always like watching Rebecca Hall.
- 98. Local Hero (1983)
- A pretty entertaining film full of that dry British humor.
- 99. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
- This documentary about the aftermath of a murder is nerve-wracking, heart-wrenching, disturbing stuff. Many of the best documentaries feature narratives and characters that are as well-developed as any screenplay, and that is certainly true here.
- 100. Mary and Max (2009)
- A quirky animated film about two pen pals, one a neurotic, middle-aged New York man with Aspergers, and one a precocious young Australian girl. The film contains little dialogue aside from the narration and the recitation of the letters, focusing mainly on the letters and the imagery. It was a fun, heartfelt little film. Not all of it works, but certainly enough of it does.
- 101. Week End (1967)
- Tremendously acclaimed work of extreme chaos. Darkly humorous at times, dull at others. Sloppy, heavy-handed, and only sporadically entertaining.
- 102. Dead Man (1995)
- Jim Jarmusch's absurdist sensibilities and bizarre dry humor are transplanted to the Old West. It's an enjoyable film with a lot of poetic images that stick in the memory.
- 103. Throne of Blood (1957) (watched again)
- The high drama of MacBeth married to Akira Kurosawa's keen visual eye is a truly exquisite union. Thrilling and packed with tons of powerful, unnnerving images. The climactic scene here is probably the best scene Kurosawa ever lensed. Still as a whole, I prefer Rashomon and probably some others.
- 104. Fitzcarraldo (1982)
- The first third of this film is a work of masterful grandiosity with beautifully opulent filming of both the opera scenes and the jungle landscapes. The pace lags in the middle and I feared it would turn into a rehash of Aguirre. But the final third turns the film into something truly unique, more high-spirited than any Werner Herzog film I've seen so far, and with the same breathtaking magnificence as in the beginning. I would give the first and last thirds each an A, and I would give the second third a B, so I guess that averages to about an A-.
- 105. Limelight (1952)
- A film of soaring highs and crushing lows. Vaudeville is an art form that puts everything out there and begs the audience to get invested, and that's what this film is about. The comedy is elegantly performed broad humor, and the tragedy is melodrama that's just as broad. Hence the big drama scenes (which could've easily been far too blunt) blend seamlessly with the big comedy sequences and create a perfect mixture. I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the brilliant Charlie Chaplin was still making great movies this late in his career, but wow, he dazzles me once again.
- 106. The Red Balloon (1956)
- Incredibly charming. That balloon wins the award for Most Animate Inanimate Object in Film History. It has more personality than most Hollywood characters.
- 107. Cat People (1942)
- Solid classic horror film. You can always count on Jacques Tourneur for psychological tension.
- 108. The Lady Eve (1941) (watched again)
- Some think this is Preston Sturges's finest achievement, but this rewatch confirms I'll probably always prefer some of his other films. Many funny moments, but the whole second half, particularly the very end, is sort of oddly unsatisfying for me. Ah well.
- 109. Metropolis (1927) (watched again)
- I finally caught the new, "complete" Metropolis. For those who don't know, this new cut came about as a result of what is probably the biggest film restoration find of all-time: a half-hour of footage long thought missing from Metropolis was recently discovered in some vault in South America. The restoration isn't seamless, but it does wonders for making this masterpiece flow more smoothly. One climactic scene is still lost and may be lost forever, but with or without it, this is a flat-out brilliant film, an early testament to the power of the moving picture in the form of a fully-realized futurama, with both utopian and dystopic elements. It's action-packed and jaw-droppingly bizarre, not to mention extraordinarily influential. A political film and a fairy tale all in one, a revolutionary manifesto where both rich and poor show shades of gray, and a German expressionist horror film that wears its big ol' heart on its sleeve, there will never be another film quite like Metropolis.
- 110. Beautiful Girls (1996)
- What a cast! This is a movie starring the guy from the offensive Groupon Superbowl ad, the detective from There's Something About Mary, Brodie from Homicide: Life on the Street, the girl from Dumb and Dumber, Christian Slater's friend in True Romance, Jim Carrey's friend from The Truman Show, Queen Amidala, Courteney Cox's husband, Romy from Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, the mom from Raising Hope, that really fat patient from that episode of House, Rosie fucking O'Donnell, Mia Wallace, the Afghan Whigs (?!), the dad from A.I., and Drew's brother from The Drew Carey Show. They all support this nice little character drama about men and their messed-up attitudes towards women. There's a lot of great dialogue here, although there's also some that sinks like a stone. Still, a good film by a director who died far too young.
- 111. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) (watched again)
- I'm not generally a Wes Anderson fan, but this one is where everything clicked. It's a very humanistic film and yet it doesn't sacrifice the comedy. It brings together a stellar ensemble cast, a great soundtrack, and Anderson's cheeky sense of humor for one of the best films of the previous decade.
Author Comments:
Had to go with the self-referential title (see part 16 if you don't get it).
Comments are always welcome, always have been, and always will be.
"too cool to win Best Picture." Nice.
So much fun! I especially loved the reviews for The Social Network and the David Lean films.
I'm impressed you watched Fireworks (not too many do) and Salo (gulp!).
Your King Kong review hits on something very real. Those effects look worse on the television and DVD transfers I've seen than I remember them looking at the theater. I'm not sure if my memory or the transfers are to blame (maybe I don't want to know), but to my memory, the only effects that looked really poor on the big screen were the ones where the various tiny boats were sharing space with shore; all those land approaches looked bizarrely fake...
Now if I could only figure out how to get notified when you update this list...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Fascinating that you feel my pain on the King Kong effects. Do you remember the first time when you saw the TV or DVD transfer and noticed it didn't look right? I just wanted to test my "CGI has evolved rapidly" theory. Maybe we'll have to both see it whenever they do revival screenings of it and get more data points.
Many thanks for the comments! Especially for The Social Network, I was proud of that one too; it really communicated what I wanted to say. Of course, I'd love to see you jump back into the reviewing game too, whether video or print! :-)
I remember seeing it on one of the pay channels over my sister's house and thinking it looked quite bad compared to the theater.
Of course, I caught the movie around 11 PM and left much much later, so maybe fatigue ratcheted up my kindness and mess with my memory. I don't think so, but perhaps...
I suspect I'll have more free time in the future, so I'll try to get back into reviewing in one format or another...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Wow, good call on Dear Zachary, I'd never heard of it till I saw it here. Absolutely heart-wrenching.