Celluloid #68

In Theaters

Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) Herzog - The trailer for this movie made it seem like the film was going to be totally ridiculous, and potentially terrible. You've got Nic Cage setting off red flags, Xzibit rolling around like a pimp, and what could have been a glorified "Law & Order" episode. That being said, this is like the craziest, druggiest, and most bizarro "Law & Order" that I have ever had the pleasure to watch. Nic Cage is totally over the top and out of his mind as the shady protagonist and I loved watching him and laughing more than I have in long time in the theater. Herzog doesn't fail to deliver his "adequate images" including nearly serenading iguanas, close-ups of crocodile roadkill, and a hilarious scene of someone's soul dancing. It's a campy, cop genre movie, and the plot itself could be fairly forgettable, but you will have a hard time not enjoying what appears on screen. 4.5/5

In Home

Cocaine Cowboys (2006) Corben - Whatever documentary about Miami. During the 1970s, the drug trade ran rampant, mainly due to a large unprotected coast. In the 1980s, things started getting ugly to the point where Miami became the most violent city in the United States. The documentary focuses a lot on how drug money pretty much built present-day Miami, and kept that city safe from recessions in the past. 2.5/5

Solo Con Tu Pareja (1991) Cuaron - A slutty yuppie dude goes around trying to sleep with as many ladies as possible. He hooks up with his nurse, but she quickly finds out about his scheming ways. As punishment, she alters his test results to make it seem like he's tested positive for AIDS. Meanwhile, he has legitimately fallen in love with his neighbor. 3.5/5

Celluloid #67

In Home

Fear of Fear (1975) Fassbinder - A woman has just had her second child and feels as if she is going crazy. Her husband does not take her seriously, her in-laws criticize her constantly, and even her doctor only seems to recommend sex with him as a remedy. She's afraid of some feeling...basically the worst post-partum depression ever. 3.5/5

Gabbeh (1997) Makmalbaf - A young Iranian woman wants to get married, but her father keeps coming up with excuses for postponement. A very colorful, beautiful, and simple tale featuring nomadic rug makers. 3.5/5

Goodbye Solo (2009) Bahrani - Solo is a charismatic African immigrant cab driver. William is an elderly man, a former biker, and seems on the verge of being ready to kill himself. William is one of Solo's regular clients and the two become friends at Solo's urging. Solo is a part of a community, and William desperately needs one. 3.5/5

Gun Crazy (1949) Lewis - Precursor to Bonnie and Clyde, where a gun enthusiast falls in love with a sharpshooter. Laurie has a shady past and convinces Bart that they should engage in bank robbing to maintain her lifestyle. He has a conscience and feels terrible about their crimes, but can't turn back and can't leave her. 4/5

Humpday (2009) Shelton - Ben's old friend Andrew drops by unexpectedly one night. Ben is married and living a pretty traditional life. Andrew lives more like a hippie; traveling around and hanging out with artists. At a party with some of Andrew's new friends, Ben and Andrew start talking about an amateur porn festival. Unbelievably, but somehow believably within the context of the conversation, the two decide that they should not only enter, but that they should fuck each other. Some bizarre one-up-manship at work. 3.5/5

Irma Vep (1997) Assayas - Meta movie about making a movie. The boy from 400 Blows has grown up to become the fake director in this film, and he wants to remake a 1919 silent film about vampires thieves with Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung as the lead. Maggie plays herself and mostly walks around in a latex catsuit. A very stylish full of movie references that even manages to throw in some Sonic Youth. Very enjoyable, especially for anyone who knows a bit about the history of French cinema. 4/5

La Femme Nikita (1990) Besson - Very stylish French action film about a street punk girl sentenced to life in prison, but given the opportunity to work off her debt by becoming an assassin for the government. 4/5

Time Bandits (1981) Gilliam - A cross between Life of Brian, the Neverending Story, and Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (I probably would have loved this movie as a kid!). A boy gets captured by a bunch of midget robbers who can time travel. They start out searching for famous artifacts to acquire wealth, but their mission morphs into saving the world from evil. 3/5

Test Pattern #2

Time for another installment of television shows that I have been watching for the past few months!

Breaking Bad (Season 2) - Walter and Jesse are struggling to find a good way to distribute and sell their quality meth. Walter's wife is becoming increasingly more suspicious of how Walt is spending his free time. Meanwhile, their family is still coping with Walter's cancer in addition to a new baby. Jesse has had a rough time as a drug lord, but does have a love interest this season. Still my favorite drug dealers, and this season is even better than the first.

Dexter (Season 3) - Jimmy Smits plays Miguel, Dexter's adversary this season. (A huge improvement from Lila in Season 2). Miguel is a crooked lawyer that seems sympathetic to Dexter's activities and moral code. Also, Dexter's girlfriend Rita (one of the most boring characters on the show) becomes pregnant. 

Mad Men (Season 3) - This show has yet to really disappointment me. This 1960s are progressing, and it's even more clear that the ideals of the 50s will have to move aside. Marilyn Monroe and JFK both die, causing huge shake-ups. Don and Betty's marriage continues to crumble and Don's secret life is not as secret as it used to be. I miss Joan this season, but Peggy has really come into her own.

Oz (Seasons 1-6) - Jon and I devoured all six seasons of HBO's first hour-long drama in a matter of a couple months. The Oswald State Penitentiary resides in a fictional town in upstate New York. "Emerald City" is the experimental wing of the prison consisting of see-through cells and rehabilitation programs. The show was notorious for male nudity and graphic depiction of prison rape, but rapes happens on screen far less than you would believe. The philosophical monologues were quite annoying and heavy-handed, but eased up as the seasons progressed. Very rarely are any of the characters completely evil or good. I found myself rooting for several inmates even though they commit heinous acts on screen, and if I had to pick the most evil person on the show, it would have to be the governor.

True Blood (Season 2) - This season the town of Bon Temps, LA had to deal with far more supernatural entities than vampires and shapeshifters. The mystical stuff got a little ridiculous (but I think any viewer would have accepted the over-the-top style of this show by now), but a religious war between fundamentalists and vampires also contributed to the story lines. Eric is playing a larger role and Bill is not looking quite as moodily-attractive as he did first season. 

Guilty Pleasures

These shows are real guilty pleasures..things that I am semi-embarrassed to admit that I watch, but at the same time provide entertainment and I look forward to them even though I know they damage my perceived credibility..haha.

America's Next Top Model (Cycle 13) - I have not been a regular viewer of this show until last cycle. Cycle 13 tackles short (under 5'7" and under) models. The girls are always ridiculous and annoying (they usually are only 18 or 19), but I always find a favorite or two to root for. The photoshoots are usually pretty cool (except for the odd semi-racist hybrid ethnicity shoot...what were the writers thinking?) and I get sucked into the competition. I personally have no delusions about becoming a model (too old, too short-even for this season, and enjoy eating and drinking too much) but I still can't help but look forward to watching Tyra be totally out of control and griping about the bitchy girls, looking at the clothes, styling, and pictures. The finale for this cycle is this week, and my two favorites actually made it to the end.

the O.C. (Season 1) - Two friends in Portland, whose tastes I respect, and Ira Glass from This American Life have all watched the O.C., or at least the first season. I also have a thing for shows about teenagers, even those with predictable drama, so it's not a big surprise that I would enjoy this show. I grew up not too far from where it is supposed to take place, so I recognize that most of Orange County is nothing like the lifestyle portrayed in the show. The kids are spoiled and the adults have mostly forgotten how anyone but the upper class lives. However, Sandy, the surfer-lawyer husband-dad is totally likeable and takes in Ryan, and kid from Chino, starting off the premise of the show. I don't know if I will get through all four seasons, but for high school soap opera, this show hits the spot.

Celluloid #66

In Theatres

An Education (2009) Scherfig - Even on a superficial level, there's plenty to like about this film: the style, the clothes, the cool nightclubs. However, I also found myself relating to Jenny quite a lot...not the whole older man aspect, but her opinions about life. This movie takes place in early 1960s England, years before any semblance of a feminist movement, but you can easily see Jenny as a proto-feminist. On one hand she wants to go to Oxford, and on the other, she wonders whether a degree will do her any real good as a woman. She wants to read what she wants, see art, travel, listen to what she wants, and have fun if she isn't allowed to do anything significant. Peter Sarsgaard is super cute and charming, yet plays the role of a sleazebag perfectly. It's not hard to see how Jenny could become enamored with him as the older man. 4/5

Men Who Stare at Goats (2009) Heslov - Well, I suppose this movie is fun if not instantly forgettable. Ewan McGregor plays a journalist whose marriage has failed so he decides to go to Iraq to prove he's a man and not a complete failure. While in Iraq trying to get a story, he meets Lyn, a former member of a top secret unit of the military focused on New Age influenced-ideas about peace, "remote viewing", and walking through walls. Incredibly silly. 3/5

In Home

Brother From Another Planet (1984) Sayles - A black-skinned alien slave lands in Harlem. He can't speak, but understands when spoken to. He goes through a period of assimilation, but a group of black dudes in a bar take him under their wings, pretty much just because he's black and  seems to need help. When his masters come to take him back, they have to face numerous concerned friends in Harlem. 3.5/5

the Flower of My Secret (1996) Almodovar - A romance novelist gets a job at a newspaper under a pseudonym. Meanwhile she's in love with her husband who's obviously away at war because he doesn't care for her anymore. Typical Almodovar soap opera-inspired stuff, but still completely entertaining and enjoyable. 4/5

the Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978) Olmi - A long film about the lives of a group of peasants in Lombardy, Italy circa 1900. The conflicts range from issues surrounding the crops, to what to do about an excess amount of children, to the ritual of courtship. While the film does a great job of showing people taking pleasure from simpler things, it does not come off as saccharine. 4/5

Celluloid #65

In Theaters

Antichrist (2009) von Trier - I cannot really blame anyone for walking out of this movie. It’s disgusting in a way that I had to avert my eyes several times, containing legitimately shocking, potentially scarring scenes. Lars Von Trier also keeps up his ongoing theme of misogyny. In so many of his films, the women characters are tortured to incredible ends. This time around, for a while I thought that maybe the woman would finally get her revenge…and in a way she does, but not without reminding you how terrible/inherently evil ladies are. The first three chapters are incredibly slow. Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg are mourning the death of their child. She’s grieving and he’s a therapist in addition to being her husband, and comes off as arrogant in his pseudo-intellectual speak. THEN, the fox comes around and all hell breaks loose. You realize that the first three chapters have served to lull you into complacency before everything goes apeshit. I think this film is worth watching for how provocative and potentially thought provoking it is, but you should know what you are getting yourself into…I myself would rather watch this film because of its unique perspective than most films out there (and it makes a good conversation starting point), but its definitely viewing that would only appeal to a very small audience. 4/5

In Home

Romero (1989) Duigan - Raul Julia plays an archbishop in war torn El Salvador. He follows "Liberation Theology" which focuses on social justice and working with the impoverished. During the 1980s, El Salavador was suffering from widespread violence. Many left the country and many were killed, including priests. This film's release was important in informing and shaping public opinion in the United States, and as an indirect result, our government at least temporarily stopped supplying El Salavador with weapons. 3.5/5

Year in Film Retrospective: 2007

10.) Death Proof (Quentin Tarantino)

9.) Lars and the Real Girl (Craig Gillespie)

8.) Darjeeling Limited (Wes Anderson)

7.) Sunshine (Danny Boyle)

6.) Control (Anton Corbijn)

5.) There Will Be Blood (P.T. Anderson)

4.) 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu)

3.) Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik)

2.) Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel)

1.) No Country for Old Men (Coen Bros)

Year in Film Retrospective: 2006

10.) Away From Her (Sarah Polley)

9.) the Wind That Shakes the Barley (Ken Loach)

8.) Reprise (Joachim Trier)

7.) the Host (Joon-ho Bong)

6.) Brand Upon the Brain (Guy Maddin)

5.) Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro)

4.) This is England (Shane Meadows)

3.) the Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck)

2.) Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron)

1.) After the Wedding (Susanne Bier)

Year in Film Retrospective: 2005

I've been starting to think about my top films of this year, which got me thinking about Top Tens from years past...here's some that have been missing from my repertoire:

10.) A History of Violence (David Cronenberg)

9.) Jarhead (Sam Mendes)

8.) Squid and the Whale (Noah Baumbach)

7.) Brick (Rian Johnson)

 6.)Batman Begins (Christopher Nolan)

5.) Match Point (Woody Allen)

4.) Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog)

3.) Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee)

2.) Cache (Michael Haneke)

1.) the Proposition (John Hillcoat)