Film Log 2011

Yes. I still like movies. So let's keep discussing them!


Days of Heaven (1978) Terrence Malick's most famous film does not fail to impress. This is easily, easily one of the most beautiful films I have seen. The montage of classic photos over the opening credits not only sets the spell, it's a challenge that Malick has apparently made for himself to match, which he does with stunning confidence and simplicity. I marvel at how well his images do so much work. You won't find too many cuts or alternative shots in Malick -- one well-placed shot usually does all the work in telling the story. Great eye. This film is more similar to his later movies Thin Red Line and The New World. The camera drifts more, somewhat lackadaisically, and the voiceover becomes more pronounced. It occurs to me that Malick's vision (which he spent 2 years honing in post-production of this film through painstaking editing) is about giving equal space to the inner world and outer world, with maybe more space given to the inner world. The characters are always reflecting upon their world, a shade removed from it. Perhaps that's why the imagery is so beautiful -- it's idealized. This is a majestic memory of the world. While he doesn't inspire nearly the level of pondering that Tarkovsky does, I'm nevertheless struck by his similar drive toward poetic/philosophical takes on existence. But in his favor this is still an interesting story about class. Does the young girl really go back to her roots at the end? Is she doomed to stay there? There was a seeming fatality in the message, or a message that good things cannot last. It wasn't just the days of heaven for the poor folk welcomed into the rich rancher's house and estate, it was the same for that rancher. He had a woman he loved, borrowed time so it would seem to live, but then the biblical locust come and all goes to shite. 8.0


Carnival of Souls (1962) I'd been intrigued by the Criterion cover of this for a long time. It's so well done, so evocative, and gets my imagination going. Well, the film itself -- at a nice 75 min length -- is pretty good. Without giving too much away, the story is basically of a young woman who moves to a town to be the organist in the local church. She is continually freaked out by this ghoulish dude that reminded me of the Mystery Man in Lost Highway who pops up in windows and other places. Meanwhile, she is drawn to this carnival pavilion by the lake (and eventually goes there in one of the movie's cooler scenes) There is that constant sense that she's on the run, or isn't where she's supposed to be. It's vaguely like the beginning of Psycho. There are interesting sequences where she cannot hear anything or communicate with anyone, effectively invisible. You have a creepy organ score, that finds a neat compromise between sci-fi theremin and bluesy purgatory (in other words, an interesting comment on 50's culture). It was interesting how the "fast and wild" aspects of the 50s (drinking, dancing, rock n roll, speeding, casual sex) were in contrast to her politeness, reticence, and chosen profession. This all seems to get summed up -- quite nicely -- in a scene where she becomes possessed and starts playing the spooky score on the church organ, much to the minister's displeasure. Ultimately the film almost suggests that her indecisiveness -- one foot in the youth culture, one foot in religion (and tradition) -- is why she occupies this haunted limbo. Well worth a watch. 7.0


Faces (1968) Watching this, I started wondering if anyone has posted an internet poll on the best fight scene in a Cassavetes film. His actors hold back no punches, full speed ahead, let it out. Catharsis may or may not be attained, but emotional release will be guaranteed! I'm wondering who else in the 60s was making films about this kind of self-destructive behavior in the middle class. Cassavetes wanted to document his time, no matter how ugly it was, and I love him for that. Cause, frankly, it is timeless. This is a Friday night, and more than likely this drunken partying is going on somewhere, insincere men on a mission to score, lonely women looking for a gallant gentlemen to dance and carry a tune. This is the first of Cassavetes films that reminds of Carney's encouragement to capture the feeling of life unfolding, the spontaneity, the unpredictability. Life in the moment. It's liberating. But also harrowing and sad. It's all worth it to get to Seymour Cassel's speech on being "mechanical" and never being allowed to be "vulnerable," that was truly classic. But, wow, the morning sun could not wash away the pain. And what are the answers (beyond quitting smoking)? 8.0


Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986) A possible candidate for my guilty pleasures list. Tobe Hooper forgoes the tense build-up horror of the first film in favor of a goofy black comedy. The jokes are quite juvenile but quite funny too. Still, there is one helluva jump scare in this one. And, overall, the gore and creepiness factor is fairly successful. In particular, Bill Moseley gives a great performance as Chop Top, a pale Vietnam Vet hippie (and cannibal) with an unsettling habit I won't repeat here. Leatherface lives up to his fame and there's a weird love subplot that Hooper exploits well for laughs. Quite a few funny lines. The only kinda disappointment was Dennis Hopper. He's good but you expect something more. Maybe he needs more direction -- when you compare this to Blue Velvet, he feels positively restrained. Perhaps, it's more in line with his character here, an uptight Christian cowboy. But when he starts tearing down "the devil's playground" and proceeds to engages Leatherface in chainsaw duel, you know it was worth a Youtube visit. 6.0


Blind Beast (1969) This one really lingered with me. It's an example of pink film, a curious genre of Japanese cinema that flirts with softcore porn and exploitation. I expected this and it kinda delivered (at least in a particularly kinky massage early on), but it's mostly an understated horror film. Basically, you have a blind sculptor who wants to coin the art of "touching." He picks out a suitable chick, but of course it doesn't go swimmingly (false imprisonment and all). The set design was quite good, pretty surreal. And the sculptor explains his motivations quite well, making for an interesting morality. The film's final act is quite unsettling where they become closer and closer and live off giving pleasure to each other. In fact, I had a hard time watching it. It's not that gory or anything, but the implications got to me. It has to do with addiction, I think, the way an addict needs more of the bad stuff to get the same feeling he had from less. That makes this a body horror, perhaps, but even more so psychological. It got to me. 7.0


The Hospital (1971) Very intelligent black comedy about a dysfunctional hospital. George C. Scott plays the protagonist doctor to perfection. No one chews someone out quite like Scott, and no one call pull off resignation or subtle humor like him either. One of the great actors I think. Paddy Chayefsky, the brilliant screenwriter of Network, wrote this and you can tell. He's almost an auteur in his own wright. The dialogue is remarkably verbose and detailed -- he has a way of getting all the jargon down solid, then writing NY Times op-ed worthy sarcasm/wit over it. This is a guy who digs "big words" and knows how to use them with rare precision and nuance. A few lines made me laugh out loud. Granted this could be a drawback of his works, since most people don't talk this way in real life (that dreaded limitation on artistic imagination) but they ring true and that's what counts. I wasn't too happy with the third act -- it seemed like a poor man's Network by that point, and I was hoping for more day-to-day stuff since it captures the ineptitude and pure grouchiness of the hospital so well. Plus, Scott's character was far too interesting to sum up in just one drunken scene of despair. But as a satire of the times, it's quite good. Maybe a metonym for America on the whole, but more likely a devastating attack on simplistic notions of the Left. As Scott says, "someone has to be responsible." 7.0


The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989) Visceral, colorful, allegorical, cynical -- even comical. This is a savage black comedy and, according to the popular interpretation, a satire of Thatcherism: wherein, the thief is Thatcher, his wife is Brittania, her lover is the Intellectual Left, and the cook is the Public Servant. But, anyway you slice it, Peter Greenaway's film is a rich meal that keeps you seated and hungry most of the way through its several courses. You see, almost the entire film takes place within a stunningly designed restaurant set, and the camera simply pans from the parking lot, to the kitchen, to the dining room, creating an epic form of theatre. In fact, the film starts out feeling like a stage play, with the actors and mise en scene very well choreographed. Michael Gambon gives an awesome performance as a sociopath you love to hate, and Hellen Mirren was in good form and actually pretty sexy. I really enjoyed it, though the recurrent vulgarity/violence started to tire me out, and honestly the Thatcher interpretation makes this more interesting than it might have been otherwise. Still, you have to check out the infamous ending, and films this lavish and theatrical and uncompromising are hard to pass up (though perhaps not on a full stomach!) 8.0


Threads (1984) One of the most disturbing movies I've seen and the first to scare me in a long time. Back in the 80s, the threat of nuclear war had reached a fever pitch. There was public interest in the consequences of such an event, and filmmakers responded. In the USA, we had The Day After, which was too much of a disaster/adventure flick to make a real impression. In fact, it seems somewhat corny. In the UK, there was a much different film, a bleaker and more unrelenting look at doomsday. Threads introduces us to principal characters and mildy gets our hopes up, but the march to war is inevitable and gripping. Each event falls into place, while the film almost mocks us with comforting images (the pub, the grocery store, a humble government servant saying goodbye to his wife). When the attack finally comes -- in a sequence of rare economy -- it hits you harder, because it somehow feels random (though expected) and somehow more cruel (than expected). The remainder of the film is a downward spiral of civilization toward a post-industrial dark ages. No sun, no crops, radiation poisoning, working for food -- true survival of the fittest horror. Though devastating, this film is definitely a reminder of the fragility of our habitat and existence. 7.0


Earrings of Madame de... (1953) This was my first Max Ophuls film and I thought it was very good. In fact, not a bad pick for Valentine's Day. It's one of the more romantic films I've seen. It has this warm and elegant glow to it. Very gentle and charming. Plus, Vittoria De Sica is one talented dude. Director and actor apparently. What a package. 7.5


Play Time (1967) I've heard this summed up as the Sims invading Sim City, and I think that's spot-on. So wonderfully weird. Tati seems like the missing link between Charlie Chaplin and Larry David. I love subtle humor like this, especially in the service of mocking humanity and technology at large. Yes, technology can be funny. Awesome film. 8.5


Abagail's Party (1977) Great ensemble cast for sure and pretty funny. I don't know if I could call this a favorite, but it's definitely intriguing how each character dealt with denial and escape. In other words, varying degrees of passive-aggressiveness, rigid politeness, and creepy friendliness. I want to check out the rest of Mike Leigh's catalogue for sure. 7.0


Ace in the Hole (1951) Billy Wilder is such a consistent director. One of the best Hollywood talents I think. I'm not entirely sure if he qualifies as an auteur, but his film noirs have excellent pacing and storytelling and have something to say. He quite simply nails it. This is one of the more cynical films of that era I've seen and pretty resonant today. I like how even the femme fatale can't stand in the way of Kirk Douglas's ambition. Michael must have studied his father's character and performance before doing Wall Street. Wilder kills many birds with one stone by having this indictment of America take place at an Indian burial ground. And no one really gets off easy (except maybe that unimaginative news editor who preaches the truth). Leo, after all, is a grave robber, even as you really start to feel bad for him. And even the young lad chooses wrongly when he sticks with Douglas. Or was he so unwise? Wilder seems to suggest this is America, this is how it works. Success over ethics at all costs. Just don't get caught. That's a troubling conclusion that kept this puppy off the video store shelves for decades. But you can't say you're entirely surprised by the crowds. The carnival rides might be an artistic touch, but this is rubberneckers en mass. 8.0


The Hitcher (1986) Compelling action flick with a horror/sadist edge. Rutger Hauer is great as a psychopath hitchhiker who plays a highly elaborate cat and mouse game with a hapless dude just trying to cross-country a car. The first 15-20 minutes of this movie are intense, the worst situation you could hope to find yourself in. The way the driver rises to the occasion is part of the interest, one of the few villan-driven movies where you're equally invested in the protagonist and hope he succeeds. (it is kinda like Spielberg's Duel tbh except you see the bad guy) Some of the violence is sudden and realistic and has a "wow" factor. The scenes are filmed in a visceral and creative way that set it apart from quite a few 80s action flicks. The suspense keeps flowing and it leads up to an infamous scene involving Jennifer Jason Leigh and two trucks (best leave it at that). The ending seemed somewhat anticlimactic but maybe it just shows the exhaustion of both guys, not to mention the film's ideas. 7.0


Death Wish 3 (1985) One of the many reasons why you should watch Death Wish 3.


American Werewolf in London (1981) Some scenes of insanity but overall it feels dated.


Basketcase (1982) A real hoot! Gritty, sleazy, gory, and unintentionally funny in the right proportions.