Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Celluloid #57



In Theaters

District 9 (2009) Blomkamp - An alien ship stops over Johannesburg, and once evacuated, the aliens are placed in refugee-style camps segregated from other South Africans. The first half of the movie sets up characters, history, and intersperses documentary-style footage with more traditional scenes. The second half gets a bit boring for me when the relentless gunfire and explosions take the forefront, but without much plot advancement. Many critics have tried to find an allegory regarding apartheid...a notion that makes sense given the setting, but a problematic correlation--the aliens don't outnumber the South Africans, they don't want to be in South Africa, and they are destructive to the point that it even makes sense for their segregation. I can go along with the idea that this film is smarter than your average blockbuster, but overall I found it lacking. 3/5

Inglourious Basterds (2009) Tarantino - A fictional tale about a group of misfit and Jewish soldiers and their plot the kill the most notorious Nazis. The "Basterds" are presented as an ultraviolent arm of the secret service. Brad Pitt is funny and the Nazi Exploitation is so over the top, that you can't help getting a little pumped. There are a few elements that seem really out of place (Mike Myers, I'm looking at you) but in general a really fun, silly, gory movie. 4/5

In Home

Beau Travail (1999) Denis - Stylish film about French legionaires stationed in North Africa. One soldier, Sentain, is a particular favorite of the troop and the senior officer, but not his immediate supervisor. Interesting use if the soundtrack, beautiful scenes, and a worthwhile climax after so much tension...plus any movie featuring a crazy dance scene brightens my day. 4/5

the Boys of Baraka (2005) Ewing - This is a documentary about a group of middle school boys from Baltimore chosen to participate in a program in Kenya. It's fun to see the boys act like boys (picking up lizards) rather than junior thugs. Unfortunately, the program was supposed to last two years, but the school closed after the first year due to security issues. This makes the documentary much less interesting and made me upset for the boys...adding one more disappointment to their lives. 3.5./5

the Brave One (2007) Jordan - A revenge vigilante film, much in the vein of Ms. 45, but takes itself way too seriously. Erica and her boyfriend are beaten up--she ends up in a coma for a few weeks, but he dies. She gets herself a gun, and instantly a ton of bad things begin to happen around her. Erica also intentionally places herself in dangerous situations where she inevitably ends up killing a bunch of criminals. 3/5

Kikujiro (1999) Kitano - A little kid wants to see his mother during his summer break. His retired gangster neighbor agrees to take him, but with plenty of detours along the way. The music is cheesy, and the movie most resembles a Disney live-action picture. A very disappointing and out-of-character movie for Kitano. 2/5

Manderlay (2005) von Trier - First off, this is basically the sequel to Dogville...and if you hated that, you probably won't like this either. It's filmed in the same basic style (no real set, houses marked by lines on the floor, looks like a play, etc.). The story this time deals with a slave colony in the Deep South in the 1930s. Grace, a young woman, decides to emancipate the slaves and write up deeds to the land. She thinks she knows best and is being helpful, but turns preachy about "democracy" and "liberation." Throw in a dose of fetishism on her part, and ultimately she proves to cause more problems than good. 3/5

Sweet and Lowdown (1999) Allen - Emmett Ray is a fictional character known as "the second best guitarist in the world." The film is set during the Depression and plays out like a biopic. Lots of oranges, browns, and reds, and a great couple of supporting actresses (Samantha Morton & Uma Thurman). 3.5/5

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Year in Film Retrospective: the 1990s

So, I've realized that I can't really play along any more with Filmspotting's "Top Films of such-and-such year" because before the year 2000, I wasn't even 18, and was barely watching enough current movies to fill up a Top 5, let alone a Top 10. However, I do have a certain appreciation for the '90s as they comprise my formative years (age 7 at the start of 1990 and barely 17 by the end of 1999, all though my first viewing of many of these films occurred years later)...so to finish up this feature, I present my top 50 for the entire decade...

All About My Mother - Almodovar (1999)

Audition - Miike (1999)

Babe - Noonan (1995)

Barton Fink - Coen (1991)

Beauty and the Beast - Trousdale (1991)

Being John Malkovich - Jonze (1999)

the Big Lebowski - Coen (1998)

Blue - Kielslowski (1993)

Bottle Rocket - Anderson (1994)

Boyz N the Hood - Singleton (1991)

Breaking the Waves - von Trier (1996)

Buffalo '66 - Gallo (1998) 

the Celebration - Vinterberg (1998)

the City of Lost Children - Jeunet (1995)

Clueless - Heckerling (1995)

Dark City - Proyas (1998)

Dead Man - Jarmusch (1995)

Delicatessen - Jeunet (1991)

Fargo - Coen (1996)

Fight Club - Fincher (1999)

Funny Games - Haneke (1997)

Gattaca - Niccol (1997)

Ghost Dog - Jarmusch (1999)

Glengarry Glen Ross - Foley (1992)

la Haine - Kassovitz (1995)

Hoop Dreams - James (1994)

the Iron Giant - Bird (1999)

Jackie Brown - Tarantino (1997)

Jurassic Park - Spielberg (1993)

Live Flesh - Almodovar (1997)

Magnolia - Anderson (1999)

the Matrix - Wachowski (1999)

Night on Earth - Jarmusch (1991)

Pi - Aronofsky (1998)

the Piano - Campion (1993)

Pulp Fiction - Tarantino (1994)

Red - Kielslowski (1994)

Reservoir Dogs - Tarantino (1992)

Rushmore - Anderson (1998)

the Sandlot - Evans (1993)

the Shawshank Redemption - Darabont (1994)

Slacker - Linklater (1991)

Total Recall - Verhoeven (1990)

Toy Story - Lasseter (1995)

12 Monkeys - Gilliam (1995)

Underground - Kusturica (1995)

the Virgin Suicides - Coppola (1999)

White - Kielslowski (1994)

Wild at Heart - Lynch (1990)

Honorable Mentions to Kids (1995) and Gummo (1997)...both of which I find to be memorable, and to be appreciated on some level. However, both films also make me want to vomit.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Celluloid #56


In Theaters


Thirst (2009) Park - This film was a bit of a disappointment for me, considering how great Chan Wook Park's films are normally. A priest volunteers to get infected with a deadly disease in order to help people. He survives because his blood transfusion contains "vampire cells." Unfortunately for Park, this film suffers a bit just because of its timing; I'm already getting burnt out on vampires due to their increased exposure since last year's Let the Right One In, Twilight (which I haven't seen, but still permeates pop culture), and HBO's True Blood. Despite the possibly of oversaturation, I was interested in Park's Korean take on vampire mythology. What really turned me off about this film was its repetitive nature. The sex scenes are awkward (which was fine with me) but too numerous, and I lost count of how many times we see the priest noisily suck someone's blood. I get the point...I don't need to see variations on the same image twenty times. Lastly, this film is on the long side- somewhere around 2 hours and 15 minutes, only frustrating because the movie felt like it could have ended at two distinct times before it actually does. Aesthetically, it still looks great, and possibly I would enjoy it better at a time when vampires aren't the latest trend, but for now I think it's only okay. 3/5


In Home


la Commare Secca (1962) Bertolucci - A woman is killed and the various suspects are interviewed by the authorities. Each version of the story is played out on screen in an effort to discover the real murderer. 3.5/5


the Iron Giant (1999) Bird - In 1950s Maine, a boy makes friends with a giant robot of unknown origin. The late 50s were a time where Sputnik and the Bomb were part of the general zeitgeist. The government wants to destroy the robot for no reason other than the belief that the robot could not have originated in the United States, and therefore poses a threat. Strong humanistic themes of anti-gun, anti-violence, and anti-revenge. One of the best animated films I have seen. 4.5/5


the Reader (2008) Daldry - A 15 year-old boy has an affair with an older woman who turns out to have been an illiterate Nazi guard. He initially meets her years after the end of the Holocaust and doesn't discover her secret until he's in law school and she's on trial for her role in killing Jews. Supposed to be an emotionally charged film, but ultimately falls very flat. 3/5


Superfly (1972) Parks - I love Curtis Mayfield, but "Superfly" isn't even my favorite of his albums. Super low budget movie about a coke dealer trying to make one last score so he can quit for good. However, this is perhaps the slowest moving exploitation movie I have ever seen. 2/5


the Way of the Gun (2000) MacQuarrie - Two inexperienced criminals kidnap a pregnant woman believed to be a surrogate for a rich family. Very violent film that seems like it's trying to make some kind of point, but ultimately doesn't amount to much of anything. 2.5/5

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Year in Film Retrospective: 2000

10.) Little Otik (Jan Svankmajer)
9.) the Day I Became a Woman (Marzieh Meshkini)
8.) O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Joel Coen)
7.) Memento (Christopher Nolan)
6.) Amores Perros (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu)
5.) Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaki) & Wild Zero (Tetsuro Takeuchi)
4.) Sexy Beast (Jonathan Glazer)
3.) Werckmeister Harmonies (Bela Tarr)
2.) In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar Wai)
1.) Devils on the Doorstep (Jiang Wen)

Celluloid #55


In Home

the Circle (2000) Panahi - A group of women escape from prison for unnamed crimes. One is seeking an abortion, and they all run into numerous obstacles at every turn. Women are not allowed to travel or stay in hotels without the accompaniment of a man. A bleak portrait of fundamentalist Iran. 3.5/5

Hard Candy (2005) Slade - At first this movie seems like it was going down the path of an Internet predator taking advantage of a young girl. Instead the tables are turned a bit and could have ventured into Audition-like territory, but unfortunately has a heavy-handed agenda and takes itself way too seriously. It's stylish, but the dialogue is terrible. 2/5

Mysterious Object at Noon (2000) Weerasethakul - This Thai film takes inspiration from the Surrealist game "Exquisite Corpse," where one person begins telling a story and different people continue the story. This narrative happens to focus around a young crippled boy and his teacher, but the film itself often breaks the 4th Wall by showing the director, talking about shots, having characters break scene, etc. 3/5

Tears of the Black Tiger (2000) Sasanatieng - Another Thai film, but completely opposite in tone. Tears is full of saturated colors; and homage to technicolor and spaghetti westerns. At times, the set reminded me of "Pee Wee's Playhouse." Basically a silly, cartoonish love story about childhood friends who promise to wait for one another. The girl is upper class and her father wants to marry her off. The boy is from a lower class has to resort to a life as a gunslinger after his father dies. Hilarious the amount of times the girl needs to be saved. 4/5