Films I Watched - February, 2010
Submitted by lbangs on Mon, 02/08/2010 - 11:45
- 2/8 - Crazy Heart (2009) - It is fitting that Robert Duvall appears in this film since it covers much of the same ground that Tender Mercies traveled decades ago. This isn’t quite as good as that film, but it does have a terrific performance by Jeff Bridges anchoring the common story to a fully realized character. The direction stays out of the way of the honest plot that doesn’t quite go down the paths you might think it will. This is not a great movie, but it is good, and that lead performance is worth seeing. ***
- 2/8 - The Lovely Bones (2009) - A movie about a raped and murdered teenager should not trigger snickering, but this tremendously awful misfire does just that. The decision to forego any terrifying glimpse of the murder and to travel straight to la la purgatory land where the teen lives in bliss while watching the world continue is one of the worst decisions I have seen in years. This feels like a light fantasy where it wants to be a serious drama, and the scenes where the otherworldly victim communicates with her family are unfortunately hilarious. There are no teeth to this tragedy. The cast is fantastic, and Stanley Tucci earned that acting nomination, but the film only succeeds on the level of camp. It is hard watching one decision sink a film, but this is just that; one idea renders the entire affair truly, truly wretched. Awful, awful, awful, awful… *
- 2/9 - La Nana (2008) - Writer-director Sebastian Silva manages a tight character study around a rather unlikable yet deeply sympathetic character. Catalina Saavedra plays a maid who has lived with a wealthy family for most of her adult life. In this time, she has grown to feel part of the family, yet develops an antagonistic relationship with the eldest daughter. She is also starting to experience severe headaches, and the family is considering hiring another maid, an idea she severely despises. The film wisely stays focused on the central character, even while allowing hints at the lives of the family around here. It is a simple story about complex characters told with the sharp ring of truth. *** 1/2
- 2/12 - Bonnie and Clyde (1967) - Sure, the violence caused a stir when this film arrived near the end of the summer of love, but that wasn’t the only element that scared the old folks and excited the kids. Sex, while not explicit, was part of the story, explored in a detail foreign to American films, but that still wasn’t quite it. It was that combined with the revival of the gangsters as sympathetic heroes (and the reciprocal idea of cops as villains) story that met those rebellious times on even ground, thrilling many and shocking more. The first wave of gangster films helped create the initial attempt in Hollywood to regulate objectionable content; this went a long way to create the second one still with us, the ratings board. Seen today, much of the violence seems tame, but that wild spirit still bucks, especially in Warren Beatty’s portrayal of the outlaw as awkwardly defiant yet sympathetic rebel. Dunaway fucks the film, as she always did, and it is hoot seeing the young Genes (Hackman and Wilder at work. As a young junior high student, I missed much of the humor running beneath the surface here, and it was a joy to dig into it. You can watch this for all its historical value and all the walls it hammered away at, but don’t, at least not the first time you watch it; watch it as the great, fun, and affecting movie it is, one of the better ones around. ****
- 2/14 - Me and You and Everyone We Know (2004) - First reviewed here, this film’s incorporation of an 80s experimental video vibe struck me strongly this viewing, as did its performance art roots. I confess I wasn’t quite as impressed with it this time around as I was the first, but I still have a soft spot for this strange, naïve yet knowing movie, and I can not wait to see what Miranda July has up her sleeve next… *** 1/2
- 2/18 - Bright Star (2008) - This film fails, stretching out long enough to drain most of the passion from the love story and failing to make the character of Keats more than a poetry-spouting sick man. Adding to the frustration is a fully realized, captivating lead played by Abbie Cornish (another actress robbed of an Oscar nomination) and the most memorable character in the entire affair, Paul Schneider’s brilliantly acted Charles Armitage Brown. There are the typical money vs. love motifs obligatory for romances set in the time period, and the cinematography and costumes are lovely to look at, but the film never moves beyond the pretty surfaces to the blood beneath the flesh the poetry hints at. **
- 2/19 - Shutter Island (2010) - I ain't saying nothing except I enjoyed it. ***
- 2/24 - The Outsiders (1983) - Some good acting (Dillon is great, but the real surprise is how good Ralph Macchio is) and an interesting story are nearly undone by some truly sugary directing from Coppola. Not all beloved childhood films stay gold; some fade quite a bit when viewed by adults. ** 1/2
- 2/25 - Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) - This is a beautiful snoozer. It never justifies its 145 minute running time, and a few isolated excellent performances (thanks, Richard Burton and Anthony Quayle) cannot make up for the fact that this story never achieves any emotional traction. It just unfolds before your eyes, and for a film covering such fascinating history, that is unforgivable. * 1/2
- 2/26 - The Last Station (2009) - Poor James McAvoy. He consistently gives great performances, often dominating a film such as he does here, and he never gets any recognition while his costars rack up nominations galore. Those co-stars are quite good here, and Hoffman puts some nice mischief into his best film yet, but one can not help but pity Mr. McAvoy who carries this film with gusto. The great writer and icon Tolstoy is shown as less prophet than human, and the struggle between idealism and human nature, both good and bad, makes for an intriguing plot. This is not nearly as revolutionary as the author it presents, but that might be part of the point. ***
- 2/28 - Fiddler on the Roof (1971) - The film never should have blared music over the ending credits, jarring viewers from a poignant ending that should have led to silence over the end credits. That, my friends, is absolutely the only negative criticism of this superlative film that comes to mind. This is easily one of the best musicals Hollywood ever managed, full of engaging music, inventive dance, wonderful acting, and a timeless story about the battle between tradition and radical ideas and how the demands of family often force one to find a truce between the two. Topol is phenomenally touching as a longsuffering Job, talking freely with God and yet never receiving easy answers to tough questions. This story is not complicated, but it is never simplistic, earning its humor and achieving remarkable emotional force over the absorbing three-hour running time. This is set in Russia around the dawn of the 1900s, but the attempts of old ways to deal with radical ideas, changing ways, and racial issues rang very true in an America still finding its way after the sixties. Triumphantly, this wondrous work has lost none of its power playing today. ****
Author Comments:
All ratings are on a four-star system.
I saw The Lovely Bones in a special screening that preceded a Peter Jackson interview, in which Jackson talked about (1) having a 13-year-old daughter himself and (2) altering the story to make the kind of film that he wanted to see. I think everyone began to realize that as a parent, he just couldn't bear to make the film darker than it was. I can certainly understand why someone wouldn't like the film, but I've honestly been surprised by the reviews that refer to Susie's afterlife as a state of bliss. To me she seemed uneasy about the whole In-Between world, generally perturbed by her surroundings and angry about some of the events still going on in her family's life.
Glad you liked Crazy Heart though. I liked it more, but then I haven't seen Tender Mercies. :-)
I understand his feelings, but he really should have handed the project off to somebody else. The refusal to go any darker just blew the film out of the water, and those scenes communicating between the worlds were just silly beyond belief...
You caught me writing very sloppily. Her afterlife was not a state of bliss, but the world she moved into seemed to be a blissful never-never land. She certainly remained conflicted and upset.
All in all, I hated the film... :(
Tender Mercies is well worth checking out.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Oh, I wasn't trying to defend Jackson, I just found that interesting. I didn't hate the film, but I do agree it would've been better if it had been darker. Truth is, the visuals dazzled me and I found the ending very affecting at the time, but the more I think about it, the worse it holds up. The Jackson interview didn't help, as he generally seemed too enamored of his own imagery. "You see, the rose is a symbol for Susie and the link that she has with her father," he uttered, as if he were explaining Tolstoy to 6-year-olds. And fair enough about the bliss. I was mainly baffled by Roger Ebert's review where he claims the film is offensive for positing that murder ain't all bad because the result is that Susie gets to live this carefree existence of frolicking through heaven: a viewpoint that IMHO doesn't hold water because she clearly spends her time in purgatory pretty distressed. I'm glad you're making a different point here.
I just realized at some point I watched Dirty Harry. I forgot to review it...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Curious to hear how it held up?
Very well. :)
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs