Films I Watched - October, 2006
Submitted by lbangs on Wed, 10/11/2006 - 12:14
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- 10/6 - The Science of Sleep - Here’s the story of a kooky couple, Stéphane and Stéphanie. He has a problem; his dreams continue spilling over into his waking life, confusing his sense of reality and complicating his efforts to hold a job or woo a woman. He is lucky enough, however, to be played by Gael García Bernal, one of the most charismatic rising stars in the celluloid universe. Director Michel Gondry does a crack job capturing the flights of fancy, and if the script seems a bit more random and less-structured than his previous Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, it still manages to involve viewers in the loopy yet not ultimately silly love story. *** 1/2
- 10/8 - After Hours - I checked this one out from the library. I first caught this quirky spasm of a black comedy when I was thirteen, and I loved it. I am thrilled to report that twenty years later, I still do. Tracing the worst nightmare of New York's neurotic class through the course of a dark night in a pre-ATM and pre-cell phone world, Scorsese the ex-Catholic creates a new Inferno for his main character to sink into, and the results are dire, frightening, and hilarious. *** 1/2
- 10/10 - The Departed - Thank God the idiot Academy didn’t give the masterful Martin Scorsese a pity Oscar for either of his last two films, because when the year is up, he will most likely earn it for this masterpiece. Remaking the Hong Kong Infernal Affairs, Scorsese is on fire and in control here with a dose of precise voltage he hasn’t quite conjured up in decades. His cast does not let him down, riding every wave of the wild current. Nicholson, Damon, even the good if erratic DiCaprio all shine here, and the rest of the supporting cast follow suit. A glance at the plot, an Irish gang story involving police moles and double-crossings, might hint that this is simply a rehashing of old material or a pathetic attempt to recapture faded glories, but don’t be fooled. This is one incredible movie, and this is Scorsese at the peak of his powers. Upon release, it frankly obliterates every other film from 2006. ****
- 10/10 - The House of Sand - I can understand while the idiot reviewer for Tulsa’s newspaper dislikes this slow, deliberate film. This is for adults with adult attention spans, not for kids. Eye-popping shots of devouring sand dunes dominate this tale of a woman stranded by her deceased husband in the deserts of Brazil. As time passes, two actresses play multiple women in the family. The two Fernandas (Torres and Montenegro) provide impressive performances forming the core of this story of isolation where the sands stand for much more than sand. Kudos to director Andrucha Waddington for believing in the material and not dumbing this down to the level of the morons like Michael Smith in the world. ***
- 10/10 - Factotum - Bent Hamer’s adaptation of Charles Bukowski’s novel is a cult film waiting to happen. Fine performances and funny individual scenes beg for a fervent if limited appreciation. Unfortunately, these scenes are cobbled together into a formless mass, a muddled mess, and while this unstructured story may indeed mirror the life of its main character, it also limits the film’s success just as it does the man’s. **
- 10/12 - Heading South - I seem to be one of the few people who enjoyed Time Out rather than leaving the film bored stiff. Still, I wasn’t expected a follow up from director Laurent Cantet nearly this strong. Using a cast of complex, subtly colored characters, this script recalls the best of John Sayles; the penetrating character studies somehow, through a few thoroughly believable twists, end up saying at least as much about an entire society as it does the few people hogging the limelight. Dumb guys should stay far away; nearly all the main characters are women past fifty, and not an explosion goes off anywhere in the film. Smart people, on the other hand, are in for a rare treat - an intelligent, penetrating, and revealing adult movie, one that heralds the full arrival of a previously promising director to boot. ****
- 10/20 - Marie Antoinette - Some folks never hear how Joy Division could be the seed for New Order, and some folks prefer the Best of New Order set, with those poppy singles, over the deeper, more underground-dance-oriented Substance collection. Sofia Coppola doesn’t dwell in either of those camps. She approaches this film like an extended dance mix rather than a jukebox single. This film is not stripped down to the essentials of a riveting plot; it returns to a certain tone and groove and wraps endlessly addictive embellishments around it. This is a movie to spin inside of and get lost within, not to ride from beginning to end. No, it is no surprise that Kirsten Dunst is not quite up to the task of tackling the title character, but she nearly is, and that is something of a shock. And yes, Coppola does heavily lean on a symmetrical mise-en-scène, but again, it works and provides the steady pulse to act as a spine for the rest of the work. This isn’t a masterpiece on the level with Lost in Translation, but it has a great beat, and you can dance to it. Most folks will hate it, perhaps searching for more substance instead of just enjoying the Substance. ***
I'm rating the films on a zero to four star basis. ** 1/2 is average.