Celluloid #89

In Home

Days of Being Wild (1991) Wong - York treats ladies badly. He breaks Su Lizhen's heart when she asks him to marry her. Then he turns around and breaks Mimi's heart when she proposes that he pick her up from the club regularly. York also wants to track down his biological mother. 4/5

the Naked Kiss (1964) Fuller - Apparently the title refers to a tell-tale sign of perverts. Kelly was a prostitute, but after entering a new town she decides to change her ways (after sleeping with the sheriff). She starts working at the hospital for disabled children (where she also records a creepy song with the kids) and gets engaged to a prominent person. Unfortunately, people have a lot of secrets to keep, and as a result Kelly is made to suffer. 4/5

the Princess Bride (1987) Reiner - A childhood classic for most of my peers, but recently I watched this with some of my friends and a five year-old. The five year-old hated it and chastised us for making her watch a "scary, violent movie" which of course the rest of us brushed off because it's so silly and rarely does one even see a little blood. (All though I will concede that the swamp scenes with the ROUS- "rodents of unusual size" probably freaked me out as a kid as well). It was nice to revisit Buttercup & Wesley, the Spaniard hellbent on avenging his father's death, and of course lovable Andre the Giant. 4/5

Repulsion (1965) Polanski - Carol is fragile and a little off mentally. When her sister goes out of town for a couple weeks, Carol loses it. It doesn't help that guys will not leave her alone...Polanski was really great in the 1960s with his thrillers involving crazy people (I'm also thinking of Knife in the Water) and so good at ratcheting up the tension. 4.5/5

Tony Manero (2008) Larrain - Raul is obsessed with "Tony Manero", the John Travolta character from Saturday Night Fever. The film is Chilean and takes place at a time when Chile was in huge political upheaval. I though the premise sounded entertaining; Raul's main goal is the perfect the ideal disco routine. However, this film is surprisingly really dark and Raul is up there for the prize of "worst person ever." 4/5

the Trial (1962) Welles - Appropriately creepy and stylish representation of Kafka's famous novel. Josef K gets charged with an unnamed crime. He gets tangled up in all kinds of bureaucracy without ever finding out the details of his case, along the way getting obsessed with acquittal. My favorite scene is a surreal moment of a multitude of little girls trying to get at Josef while he's behind bars. Making out on a huge pile of papers is also pretty good..4/5

Zombieland (2009) Fleischer - Columbus and Tallahassee are a mismatched pair teamed up for survival in a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies. Columbus is anxious, neurotic, and makes mention several times of his social awkwardness and how that has prepared him for a lonely life. Tallahassee is more interested in obtaining the "zombie kill of the week" and finding some twinkies. Along the way the run into a couple of girls to provide drama and love interest. I wish this film was scarier or more gory...all the references to "the rules" got a little tedious after a while. 3.5/5

Celluloid #88

In Theaters

the Killer Inside Me (2010) Winterbottom - Casey Affleck essentially reprises his role from the Assassination of Jesse James.., but he's so good at playing the soft-spoken creep. Graphically violent, but maintains the feeling of Jim Thompson's novel. All around the acting is pretty strong, including Jessica Alba- even though half her performance involves getting her face bashed in. 4/5

Micmacs (2010) Jeunet - Silly, silly movie about a bunch of misfits who essentially start an arms war between two rival weapons companies. One is responsible for the bomb that killed Bazil's dad; the other for manufacturing the bullet lodged in his brain. Aesthetically, Jeunet is recognizable and enjoyable, however, this movie was not his best since it felt like watching a live-action cartoon. His other films always incorporate quirk and silliness, but there's usually another genre or element to add substance. 3.25/5

Winter's Bone (2010) Granik - White trash mountain people are so in! Ree is 17, raising her two younger siblings, tending to her mentally unstable mother, and tending their house when the local sheriff informs her that the house was put up as part of her father's bail. If he doesn't show up for court, then their little family will be homeless. Her dad has been absent most of her life, but especially in recent months, so tracking him down becomes quite a problem. 4/5

In Home

the General (1927) Bruckman - Keaton is not nearly as funny as Chaplin in this Civil War film where "Johnny Gray" is essentially trying to impress Annabelle by enlisting in th Army. A lot of the scenes take place on his train, and the scenery is quite beautiful. However, the story gets a little tiresome since it's really just Johnny chasing or being chased by other soldiers on a train all day. I will say that a one really cool image exists involving a train on a burning bridge. 3.5/5

My Night at Maud's (1969) Rohmer - Kinda boring film where two men run into each other after not seeing one another for 14 years. One is a devout Catholic (but still sleeps with women) and the other agnostic. The two spend Christmas with the agnostic's friend Maud. Maud and the Catholic have a love connection and spend most of the film philosophizing about religion and love. 3/5

Pepe le Moko (1936) Duvivier - For two years, the cops have been trying to capture the notorious thief and gangster, Pepe le Moko. Not only is he a criminal, but he's pretty rotten to his girlfriend and drops her when a Parisian girl enters the picture on her vacation to the Casbah. People who pretend to be Pepe's friends try to set him up to get caught by the police. Basically, he can't trust anyone, and he really wants to see the Parisian girl before she heads back to France. 3.5/5

V for Vendetta (2006) McTeigue - I don't know why I expected anything different, but this film was TERRIBLE. V is seeking revenge on those who have played a negative role in his life, but somehow he's doing it in the name of revolution against the government. Natalie Portman plays "Evey" and her character is incredibly stupid. Why does she go along with everything so easily? Maybe this film is supposed to be a warning against religious extremism, and I would have been fine to go along with that, except the love story is too ridiculous, the lines wooden and cheesy, and basically I felt like I had wasted a couple hours of my life. 1/5