Films I Watched - November, 2004
Submitted by lbangs on Tue, 11/02/2004 - 11:13
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- 11/28 - Breakfast at Tiffany's - My home town's Blake Edwards may have made his finest film with Breakfast at Tiffany's. The relationship at the center of this film is timeless and classic. It is both ridiculously romantic and sadly realistic. Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, and Patricia Neal all deliver career-high characters here, and everybody who only knows Martin Balsam as the gritty detective from Psycho will delight in his humorous, swinging O.J. Sadly, the film may have one too many subplots, and Mickey Rooney’s horribly racist Mr. Yunioshi provides cringes rather than laughs, but any moment when Paul Varjak and Holly Golightly stare at each other on the screen, Breakfast at Tiffany’s is a sweetly sad joy. *** 1/2
- 11/27 - Sideways - One always frets when entirely too much praise is lavished on a young director that has yet to deserve high accolades. Alexander Payne is a fine director, but he has not really produced work worthy of the high esteem in which many critics hold him. Sideways, however, is his finest film, and the laurel is looking a little more at home on his head. The screenplay is subtly sharp and insightful, piercing the tight surfaces of the characters and drawing real blood and humor from their cores. Forget about Jamie Foxx; Paul Giamatti gives a fantastic, Oscar-worthy performance as the sad sack central character, and Thomas Haden Church, all gusto, confidence, and stupidity, provides excellent Yang to Paul’s Yin. The direction provides lots of empty space for these actors to fill, and even the supporting casts give portrayals that live up to the director’s scheme. Miles Raymond is a fantastic creation, almost like a live version of the animated The Critic, and the laughs he and others provide are real, not to mention really funny. What do you know? Alexander Payne might just grow into his hype after all… *** 1/2
- 11/21 - A Clockwork Orange - A Clockwork Orange is an organic, juicy fruit reduced to a mechanism. Alex, played by the deliciously decadent Malcolm McDowell, is a human who is forcefully civilized by a Pavlovian experiment rendering him physically incapable of committing criminal or sexual acts. It also accidentally ruins Beethoven’s Ninth for him, thus rubbing out one of his only cultivated features. Is Alex still a man, or is he a clockwork orange, no longer organic but simply ruled by determinism once stripped of free will? Is that free will the element that separates humanity from the animal world, or is there any real separation of kind rather than degree? Many watch this film for Kubrick’s crispy-cold visuals and the bursts of ultraviolence, not to mention the science fiction elements running riot throughout, but that is simply the chilly surface (o, how Kubrick loves those surfaces). Underneath the frost and the cynical story full of selfish characters, some supposedly civilized more than others, all clamoring to use Alex as a means to their own ends, a real philosophical question warmly beats out a rhythm, demanding an answer. ****
- 11/19 - Red Lights - AKA Feux Rouges - I am a patient man. Many of my favorite films push the three-hour mark and can bore friends to tears. Andrei Rublev and 2001: A Space Odyssey rivet my attention, just to name a few. Why am I telling you this? So that when I tell you how slow and boring Red Lights is, even at less than two hours, you might believe me. Widely praised as Hitchcockian, Red Lights does reveal some traces of the suspense master. Unfortunately, the films that come to mind are Marnie and Topaz. The idea of the film is interesting, much more intriguing than the film itself; a troubled couple take a car trip that eventually winds up in tragedy. That car trip starts around fifteen minutes into the film, and tragedy hits well past the halfway point. There is plenty of driving (and drinking), but Duel this ain’t. The directing is competent, and the acting, especially by Jean-Pierre Darroussin, is superb, but the ending is predictable, and the destination just does not justify the ride. * 1/2
- 11/18 - It Happened One Night - First, let me praise the print Turner Classics is airing. It was easily the best I have yet seen. This papa of the screwball comedy still impresses me more and more with each viewing, and this viewing proved no different. Gable is more boyish and charming than ever, and Claudette Colbert can fall into my lap any day. IHON is funny, smart, and sexy as it got in 1934. ****
- 11/14 - The Searchers - Ford's grand Western is very grand on the big screen, even if I still don't seem to reach quite the same level of appreciation everybody else has for this one. ***1/2
- 11/12 - Ray - In the opening hour of Ray, The Genius is young and in the studio recording some early sides. The producers are working for a break-through; they tell Ray that his music is terrific, but that it sounds too much like that of other artists. He needs to find his own voice. Movie, heal thyself! Despite the great music and fine performances, Ray never transcends the 'musical bio' template it is using. In fact, it seems much too sure of itself, as if the director realized the quality music and acting he was working with and decided they needed no help from the screenplay or the directing departments. The results are not tragic, but they are very disappointing. Foxx does well, though one wonders if his roots in lesser fare are leading critics to over-inflate the actual performance. The supporting cast is excellent, and the music serves as a terrific prop to the soggy story, but the directing is strictly pedestrian. While not a complete waste of money, Ray does not live up its inspiration. ** 1/2
- 11/10 - Shrek 2 - Shrek 2 boasts some incredible computer animation and the voice of Jennifer Saunders, one of the most supremely talented people active in the entertainment world today. Both of those elements can make up for slow spots and cheap shots, and while this sequel does not better its predecessor, it does entertain enough to justify its existence. I know for a fact loads of the young ones love it. ***
- 11/7 - Singin' in the Rain - The Circle had this on the big screen, and it was more glorious than ever. It was also well-attended, so that is nice. ****
- 11/5 - The Incredibles - Lots of fun, this one, although it contains a bit less for the kiddies than, say, Nemo did. I really enjoyed it. I'd type more, but I am in a very, *very* foul mood at the moment. *** 1/2
- 11/2 - In America - Jim Sheridan's memories of immigrating to New York City from Ireland make for a fine film. Oddly enough, given the gritty surroundings of Hell’s Kitchen and the true-life source of the story, the movie veers too often to the overly sweet and formulaic, but the performances ring realistic enough to save the day. True-life sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger play the Sullivan girls, and their natural performances steal scenes from the excellent Djimon Hounsou and Paddy Considine. With her close cut hair, the gorgeous, talented Samantha Morton has convinced me that any remake of The Passion of Joan of Arc that does not cast her in the starring role is misguided at best. The ending is too much, and the alien theme, although not forced, is still too obvious, but as a drama about tough times for new Americans, the movie is certainly worth a viewing. ***
- 11/1 - The Great Muppet Caper - You probably would not guess it, but this, the second film to feature the Muppets (and the first actually directed by Jim Henson), is one of the most successful comedies of the early eighties. Henson shows off incredible puppetry feats, the jokes fly at a brisk pace, and the frequent ventures into duplicating period film styles contain the perfect balance between tribute and spoof. Beyond the content, Henson simply does a great job directing the entire affair; he milks jokes for more laughter, he gets great performances from his cameos, and darn it all, he pulls expressions out of those darn puppets that should be simply impossible. Musical numbers, water ballets, heist scenes, and fashion shows all bubble around each other here, and all score. It is not only the best of the Muppet films; it is also one of the funniest (and most fun) films of its era and an overlooked comedic classic. ****
Author Comments:
I'm rating the films on a zero to four star basis. ** 1/2 is average.
Damn, a mood so foul even the contemplation of Singin' in the Rain and The Incredibles (a hoot by all accounts) can't lift you out of it? My condolences! Your cause for celebration a few days ago didn't fall apart, did it?
Nope, my new job (!) is still together.
My marriage, however... Yuck. It is over.
I am having a *really* nasty week...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Holy sh*t. That's awful. Taking this off-list now...
Ah, a pity about Ray, I had high hopes for that one. And you've confirmed (or at least seconded) one of my fears about the overestimation of Foxx's work merely because it was a break in form (although he's supposed to be quite good in Collateral too, so it's not looking like his good work is a fluke).
I had my doubts about Ray going in, despite my love of the man's music. Still, I was pretty disappointed with the film, which was run of the mill at best.
Foxx is fine, but no better than, say, Jim was in Eternal Sunshine...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Now I'm really wishing I responded with, "It's a Shame About Ray..."
;P
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Hey, does Brad Bird have a date with this list? How 'bout John Lasseter, for that matter?
Certainly! I will have to update that list soon.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs