Films I Watched - Late September / October, 2008
Submitted by lbangs on Tue, 09/30/2008 - 11:32
Tags:
- 9/28 - Burn After Reading - Again, the brothers bounce back from a serious drama with a goofy comedy. Again, they deflate the ending, they subvert the genre, and they inject silly humor into the story. Unfortunately, even they seem to be getting bored of this formula; the humor is random but often forced, the first thirty minutes drag like you wouldn't believe, and slapping a 'ain't government kooky?' theme on the end fails to redeem the trudging affair. There is some great work from the cast, but it can't carry this tired affair. **
- 9/30 - Choke - I've read some folks found this shocking. The more this film aimed for that effect, the more boring it got. Luckily, this didn't happen too often - the worst offender is the been-there-done-that opening voice-over the movie should have done without - but even more fortunately, somebody in charge cast Anjelica Huston, Kelly MacDonald, and the oft overlooked Sam Rockwell in the leads, and that proves the saving grace. Rockwell manages to mold the creepy Victor into both an object of disgust and sympathy, with enough charisma to help an audience understand how he gets by in life. Kelly MacDonald, with a sexy nose and a oddly-addictive voice, is also perfect in her pivotal role. In fact, despite multiple moments of forced raunch and affectations more smug than clever, the actors pull this one off and carry it over, patching up numerous potholes of implausibility in the script. Once it gives up trying to offend you, it actually involves you, and you just don't see that coming. ***
- 10/3 - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - Micheal Cera and Kat Dennings are two terrific young actors and an adorable couple, Ari Graynor plays a great drunk, and the kooky story of how the titular two meet makes for a great opening thirty minutes. The film stretches on, unable to find much to do afterward, but the nice sweet taste of the first bite lingers. ** 1/2
- 10/5 - The Good, The Bad and the Ugly - I'm not kidding; line up any Western's director's best along side the cream of Sergio Leone's crop, and the other party's leaving in tears. We Americans love to think we mastered our own genre, but this Italian whips it to a plane all its own (watch it; some bimbo's gonna claim I just offended America). This isn't quite the masterpiece Once Upon a Time in the West is, but that's a little like saying The Lady From Shanghai's no Citizen Kane. Clint is young, lanky, and transformed into an icon before you eyes (despite the winking label of The Good), Lee Van Cleef oozes charm while rotting from the inside as The Bad, and Eli Wallach is the goofy and The Ugly. They all, of course, want gold, and while they all hold a certain key to its location or the power needed to get it, they all want it all. The direction is a paintbrush in the hand of a master. Quentin Tarantino has called this the best-directed film in history, and while he's wrong, he's not all that wrong. I saw this on the big screen, the way it should be seen, and I am one very lucky lad... ****
I'm rating the films on a zero to **** basis. ** 1/2 is average.