Films I Watched - June, 2003
Submitted by lbangs on Fri, 05/30/2003 - 04:15
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- 6/30 - A Passage to India - When David Lean operated with all his powers, few directors could touch him. While not his masterpiece, A Passage to India is much closer to Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai, or Great Expectations than it is to, say, Doctor Zhivago. A VERY young and nearly unrecognizable Judy Davis is the character that sets this film's central conflict into motion, that's easy enough to figure out, but pinpointing which conflict here is central is a much tougher task. Of course, this difficulty arises out of one of Lean's greatest abilities; at his best, he makes even the epic stories of national conflict incredibly personal. Characters embody the struggles without being reduced to simple symbols or allegorical straw men. Sure, Lean's visual powers still awe here, but more importantly, even with an out of place Alec Guinness, A Passage to India tells a grand story in small, intimate details, and the film achieves a personal power most epics can only dream of. It certainly wasn't the first time, but unfortunately, it was the last time Lean would conjure up this miracle.
- 6/28 - Spirited Away - I have been a Miyazaki champion for some time, but even I was taken aback by Spirited Away. Sure, he has shown an amazing ability to tap into a young child's view of the world before, as in My Neighbor Totoro. He has exhibited an incredible imagination and power of imagery in films such as Kiki's Delivery Service, and with Princess Mononoke, he proved that his animation ability was up to the challenge of any computer. I'm not really shocked that he swirled all these streams together in his latest offering; I am stunned, however, by what seems to be a quantum leap of brilliance from a man who has already shown himself one of the few masters working today. Like Almodovar's Talk to Her, Hayao Miyazaki's take on a magical wonderland in Spirited Away is an amazing, surprising masterstroke that leaves even those of us who expect excellence from this fantastic director dumbfounded. With his careful yet never boring pacing, his startling, creative imagery, and his observant, daring directing that would be a highlight even in a live-action film, Miyazaki has not just created the greatest animation film in the last few years. He has created a timeless masterpiece for the ages.
- 6/22 - Little Voice - Dgeiser13 keeps an excellent list of films with incredible casts, and while most of the actors in this film are hardly huge box office draws, I propose Little Voice as a candidate. Just look - Brenda Blethyn (you've seen the excellent Secrets & Lies, right?), Jim Broadbent, Ewan McGregor, Michael Caine, and Jane Horrocks. What, you say, Jane who? Well, she may be Bubbles to all us AbFab fans, but here, she is Little Voice, a painfully shy girl who never recovered from her dad's death and her dominating mother and is lost in a world of diva show tunes. The incredible secret of LV (as she is called) is that she can belt those show tunes sounding just like her idols, from Marilyn Monroe to Judy Garland. Horrocks does her own vocals here, and she will blow your mind. Watch the credits closely, and you'll even catch that Sam Mendes directed the original stage production of this film. The plot isn't likely to change your life, but the cast is terrific. I am a sucker for good dramas, and while you'll never confuse Little Voice with a masterpiece, it offered enough modest pleasures to keep me happy. Oh, and Jane Horrocks really *is* incredible. Catherine Zeta-Jones, watch with envy.
- 6/20 - The Changeling - This one's not for everybody, but me, I tend to dig moody, atmospheric thrillers, and this one was pretty good for the genre. Of course, casting George C. Scott for the lead is never a bad move, and he manages to carry this film through all the strange happenings with gravity and grace. Peter Medak also does a sharp job directing; he knows when to kill the incidental music (as in the opening scene), and he can creep his camera slowly along hallways while maintaining a visual composition most directors would kill for. The plot is not too difficult to guess, but this gem is going for sustained suspense, not shocks or twists. The wheelchair will creep you out, and I swear the makers of The Others must have seen this at some point. This is not a classic, but it is certainly a respectable entry in the often-horrible haunted house canon of films.
- 6/8 - Blade Runner - Oh, some films we perhaps should never watch twice. This was my umpteenth time to watch this old favorite of mine, but this was also my first time to revisit it in around a decade or so, and the truth is, this rewatching hurt a bit. The visuals are still beyond belief, knocking 99 percent of all this modern CGI crap on its ass, but then, Douglas Trumbull is the greatest SFX guy ever to live. The story ain't bad, though the much-heralded 'Director's Cut' is a rather lame twist to the original. The pace is still captivating, even if it seems to put some to sleep, and the cast we would all see again in thousands of productions, from Raiders of the Lost Ark to Newhart, is great. So what's the problem? Well, some parts are just a tad more forced than a young man might pick up on. Christ imagery may be quite evocative when one first encounters it, but after awhile, you realize it easily slides into cliche, and here, it is rather forced. In fact, this film simply seems just a few years short of maturity. The ideas are interesting, but they are a bit unsubtle and explored with a little less depth than one might hope. Still, Blade Runner is a great film, make no mistake. It just isn't quite as great as it was when I was ten, and that's a damn shame.
- 6/6 - House of Games - David Mamet's first time to step behind the camera created a terrific, twisty thriller that shocks you by sidewinding into a philosophical meditation towards the end. If you are a Mamet hater, this film surely will not convert you. In many ways, it is the mold of a typical Mamet film, with the odd rhythms, the deadpan deliveries, the sterility, the chill... But, these all are very important to the final, lingering impressions this film wishes to press into you. Of course, approaching a film titled House of Games as the straight-forward puzzle it appears to be would be somewhat foolish, wouldn't it? It is a trap. You think you have it figured out ahead of the curve, and then, boom - It doesn't matter that you figured it out. You weren't even on the right plane, and that twist you were so proud of yourself for seeing up ahead doesn't really even matter. Hitchcockian? Not really, though it wants you to think it is. Unless, of course, you're thinking of Rope, and then, you're half of the way there... Sort of....
- 6/3 - Altered States - Ken Russell has ruined many a film with his indulgent splashes of hallucinations and imagery, but oddly enough, this time around, it is that very tendency to produce eye candy that saves Altered States from complete silliness. With a plot that allows him to work his flights of fear and fancy into the actual plot, Russell is armed with a sense of purpose he seldom has at his disposal, and while the melodramatics (even with game performances all around from the likes of William Hurt, Blair Brown [who will probably always be Molly Dodd to me], Charles Haid, and Bob Balaban) threatened to do this flick in, the frequent trips of light, primal visions, and, especially, ear-bending sound keep this film just above water. You probably won't want to watch it twice, not unless you blinked and missed the quick shots of a young John Larroquette and a very young Drew Barrymore, and you will be completely forgiven if you catch yourself humming a-ha's Take On Me at the end, but the experiments should keep you dazzled long enough to survive the film's brisk 103-minute running time. A little thought might even peel back Russell's intentions to reveal Paddy Chayefsky's interesting intentions buried under it all, but really, I wouldn't bother. Chayefsky left production because Russell obviously didn't care about those concepts, and watching scenes performing 2001 tricks from the early 80s really won't do much to make you care either.
- 6/1 - Monsoon Wedding - My wife had yet to see this film, so a rental was certainly in order. I've already reviewed this film on my Best of 2001 list, so I won't add too much, except to say that now, in the light of the incredibly disappointing My Big Fat Greek Wedding, this film shines even brighter and continues to underscore Hollywood's (and yes, regardless of the company logo on the box, Greek Wedding is very much a Hollywood film) continuing inability to create hardly any dramas worth sitting through. I am still especially pleased to find fully-drawn parent characters rather than the typcial wise saints or foolish jokes we usually see. The father in this film is one of the best and most realistic characters 2001 had to offer us. This is a joyous movie alive and throbbing. The story is suprisingly moving, the vivid colors are beautiful, and the soundtrack is glorious to boot.
:-) Can't wait!
No it's not - it's 31st May.
Excellent! I love seeing updates to this list, especially since I was starting to fear it had fallen off your radar. I somehow missed your Bladerunner review until today, but I completely related to it. Sometimes I think I'd be wise not to revisit ANY movie I remember loving in my youth (well, except Breaking Away I guess :-). I haven't seen Bladerunner in a dog's age. Despite my bad luck in such revisitations, I really do own that one a rewatch.
This list hasn't fallen off my radar. Films have. I have been so busy with side projects lately that I had quite a gap in movie watching!
I still love Blade Runner, just not as much as I did. I am curious now, though, how much my response was due to the director's cut rather than the original film I watched growing up. I am going to have to find a copy of the original and check. I do know that I am not a fan of the changes I recognized in this new cut.
My wife and I have A Passage to India from NetFlix sitting at home. I bet I won't get to watch it until the weekend, if then... Busy times.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Yeah, I'm thinking my movie watching might fall off a bit this summer as well, as the side projects stack up. My wife is starting graduate school in the fall, so there's lots of stuff we want to get done around the house before then!
Regarding Bladerunner, I only vaguely remember the director's cut, but wasn't the primary difference in removing some of the ambiguity from the ending?
From Netflix, I'm sitting on Happy Times and Steamboat Bill, Jr. at the moment. I think my wife is going to see Spellbound this evening with some friends (I'm jealous!), so maybe I'll sneak Happy Times in. I'm a bit worried about it though, as I've always found Chinese humor and desserts to be the cultural gaps I have the hardest time bridging. I also read that Zhang was disappointed in this one. We'll see...
I anticipate your thoughts on Happy Times!
one of these days, I will drag myself away from my work long enough to check out Finding Nemo...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Great Spirited Away review! And not just because I agree with it. :-) I find, as more time goes by, that it is the movie I'm most looking forward to rewatching. There are so many DVDs I'd like to pick up (including the long-wished-for Homicide seasons), but I'm currently under a self-imposed spending moratorium for luxury purchases. We'll see how long I last!
I've also realized from your list that the only David Lean movies I've seen are Lawrence of Arabia and Dr. Zhivago (I saw Bridge on the River Kwai too long ago to count it). I'm going to have to add the other films of his that you mention to my queue.
Glad you're feeling better!
Thanks! My wife and I really enjoyed Spirited Away, and so did the eight year old who watched it with us!
I haven't bought a new DVD in ages due to budget constraints. The last new DVDs I added to my bookshelf were birthday presents (including The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance :) ). I also crave the Homicide seasons, and hopefully I'll save up some moolah between my used record store trips to nab a copy!
Your comments on David Lean inspired me to creat a David Lean list elsewhere on the site. When he was good, few could touch him.
Oh, and I also am very glad to be feeling better. Thanks! I went jogging yesterday and today for the first time in nearly a month, and that felt great. Quite a nice change from the last few weeks.
Great to hear from you! I hope all is well!
(BTW, you have my email address - can you email me the address for your blog? I think I currently just have your public one...)
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Excellent! Your David Lean list just became the basis for my latest Netflix queue additions.
My latest DVD aquirements were Sleepy Hollow (birthday), Amelie (Father's Day), and Futurama, which I bought out of pocket. I've been buying episodic stuff for exercise purposes, and that's worked out okay, since I can justify it as a substitute for a gym membership fee. But I think using a couple of my Netflix slots is more effecient, particularly since my movie watching has flagged under the deluge of summer projects we have going at the house. I'm currently exercising my way through season 1 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it's not bad. I just finished the first four episodes and I'm not hooked yet, but it's good enough that I'll keep going with it. I assume it's like most good TV and it gets better in subsequent seasons. As an added bonus, the episodes are twice as long as Futurama episodes, so I'm getting into much better shape. It's also nice because the possiblities really open up once you start considering the "hour long timeslot" shows for consumption. Unfortunately, since those only translate into 45 minutes of actual show after the commericials are subtracted, I'm not quite ready to make the leap to HBO programming, which would represent a level of fitness I'm not prepared for. :-) But once Buffy whips me into shape, perhaps I'll get back to The Sopranos...
All is well, thanks for asking, and the blog links are on the way!
Hey you Homicide freaks;
I have a real strong recommendation for you. Whenever HBO's The Wire hits DVD snap it up. It is the least heralded of HBO's dramas but I am not sure it isnt the best.
Its set in Baltimore and it does a wonderful job of character development which is what I always loved about Homicide. Real strong characters on both sides of the law.
I can not recommend it enough. Just be warned you need to watch it from beginning to end or you will be totally lost.
Howdy, and thanks for the recommendation! I've read some great stuff about the show, so I will just sit here resenting everybody who has HBO and wait for the DVD... ;)
Great to hear from you. I hope all went and is well!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs (who is a bit excited that Boomtown, a show I've often heard compared to Homicide, will be claiming NBC's Homicide slot on Friday nights next season - maybe I'll catch it now!)
Excellent, I've added The Wire to my "exercise fodder" list. Hey, I should create an actual exercise fodder list. Ah, there, that's better.
On Bladerunner, I found it interesting that you didn't enjoy the film as much this time around. I rented it about a year ago to watch for the first time in about a decade and it was the director's cut. I think it's Harrison Ford's best work ever, I love the role he has in this movie and the hinting at the fact that he maybe a replicant himself and he even wonders about this fact. The ending in the director's cut is better in my opinion than the theater cut's ending, again this version that Scott put out is good, but his director's cut of Legend is a much better improvement than is seen here. Legend is much better by the way in the director's cut it flows better, is darker, and more fairy tale esque. I suggest it as well, but on Bladerunner, I found it interesting that you didn't enjoy it as much, I love all the dark visuals, how it's always raining, trips to Mars, the indifference of the people of L.A. to violence, the pollution, the fake animals, I could go on and on, but I suppose over time these things are surpassed by other visual treats, that's enough for now.
Yeah, I know I am in a very small minority in favoring the original to the director's cut. Truth? I usually don't favor director's cuts, especially in the DVD age where nearly every film has one. I usually find them over-indulgent, and the 'Dekard is a replicant' emphasis of the new cut is one case in point. To me, it feels forced and tacked on, as if the film is striving for a deeper significance than it already has earned. In fact, on last viewing, I was struck by just how much the film strives for depth, and I'm not sure if I think it suceeds quite as much as I used to.
I also confess that I miss the narration. It added a noir feel I liked. Laugh if you must. :)
Don't read too much into this, however. If you check my list, you'll see it is still one of my favorite films from the decade...
Maybe I'll get brave enough to check out Legend. I confess I hate the original, enough that it may be my least favorite Scott film, but if you say the director's cut is better, perhaps I'll get brave at some point...
Thanks for the comments. Quick question: Has the theatrical version of Blade Runner ever seen video light of day? I remember the VHS copy I would rent as a kid stated that some scenes were added or lengthened from the original. Anybody know?
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
I linked over to this because on your "Horror Film Hall of Fame" you mentioned it in a discussion we had several years ago about The Changeling. I agree with your review completely--the haunted-house genre often is terrible, but when a good one comes along, I'm a sucker for it.
Anyway, I'm also looking at your review of A Passage to India--I saw the flm years ago and loved it, but after reading the novel for the first time a couple of months ago, I now want to rewatch the film. Your review whets my appetite.
And if I'm not mistaken, are you falling behind on your ongoing movie reviews? Hop to it!
Johnny Waco
I need to get a-hoppin'! Maybe if time allows today; I did see In Bruges over the weekend...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs