Celluloid #154

In Home

Calendar (1993) Egoyan - Strange little film where most of the time we follow a photographer in Armenia with his wife and a tour guide, taking pictures of historical monuments for a brochure. These scenes are interspersed with evidently present-day scenes where the photographer is on a bunch of dates with various women. All the dates take place at his house, and every time he pours the wine, this becomes the cue for the women to ask to use the phone. Their calls are always in a foreign language (probably Armenian?) and seem to be erotic in content. Once the calls begin, the photographer takes out a notepad and begins writing. 3/5

3-Iron (2004) Kim - We meet a young man who breaks  into peoples' homes while they are on vacation, but instead of robbing them, he cleans things up, maybe takes a bath, looks at photo albums, or masturbates. At one house, it turns out that the wife is still there. It also turns out that she is abused by her husband, and finds herself strangely attracted to this intruder. The young man gets sent to jail, but the connection has already been made. 4/5

Wages of Fear (1953) Clouzot - Some town in Central America is suffering from extreme poverty. A fire breaks out at an oil field where many people have died. A reward is offered to the first truck that can deliver a shipment of nitroglycerin. It's an extremely dangerous job that requires two people per team. The liquid is very flammable and cannot be shaken around too much or it will explode and kill everyone around. Some poor men from the town and a couple of has-been gangsters take the job...but I think you know how this saying ends. 3.5/5

Celluloid #153

In Theaters


the Dark Knight Rises (2012) Nolan - I've always liked this franchise, but I don't love it. I go for the spectacle, and this delivered on that front. Batman is getting old, and doesn't want to help out Gotham anymore, however, once Bane comes on the scene, someone must put a stop to it so he limps out of retirement. I like Tom Hardy a lot in films like Warrior, Inception, and Bronson, but here he has to wear a ridiculous mask and have a voice that is somehow reminiscent of the giant turtle mountain from the Neverending Story. I think the most welcome addition was Anne Hathaway as Cat Woman. Anyway, I would think you would know by now whether this is your kind of deal. 3.5/5

In Home


Bad Boy Bubby (1993) de Heer - Bubby is 35 and has been locked up in an apartment with his mother for his entire life. She abuses him in the worst ways. Besides never allowing him to leave the house, go to school, or even become a little socialized, she also engages in incest and beats him occasionally. Then she reconnects with Bubby's father and essentially kicks Bubby out. Alone on the streets, people surprisingly take good care of the weirdo. He eats a lot of pizza, ends up singing in a band, and has a fair amount of sex for a gross-looking idiot. 3.5/5

Broken English (2007) Cassavetes - Parker Posey's recent appearance on Louie and my recent viewing of Party Girl made me want to seek out more of her work. She plays Nora, a 30 something who cannot get it together when it comes to relationships. Everyone else in her life is coupled up, but she just keeps meeting the wrong guys. Then she meets a younger French guy at a party, and the two hit it off. The relationship hits a snag when he decides he has to move back to France. He asks her to come with, but she's too afraid, and doesn't feel like they know each other well enough. After more time passes, she takes a huge longshot and tries to find him in Paris. The movie and tone are all quite fine, but why does Nora wear the worst clothes?? 3.5/5

Imitation of Life (1959) Sirk - A struggling actress takes in a black woman, Annie, and her daughter Sarah Jane, even though she doesn't really have money to pay them. Sarah Jane can pass for white and struggles throughout the movie to distance herself from her mother and her black identity. Meanwhile, Lora does become famous and almost gets involved in a love triangle with her daughter and a man - Thankfully we don't get into some Mildred Pierce territory. Tragedy is the only logical ending for this very melodramatic (not in a bad way!) film. 4/5

the Red Balloon/the White Mane (1953-1956) Lamorisse - These two short French films are incredibly charming, and I think would be ideal to show children (and adults) to introduce them to world cinema because there's barely any dialogue, and instead you get a series of beautiful and memorable images. I think I probably liked the Red Balloon a little more - a young boy starts getting followed around by a balloon. Other boys get jealous and try to steal it and later to destroy it, but the balloon and the boy keep getting reunited as he walks around the city. In the White Mane, a wild horse escapes capture by a bunch of French cowboys, but gets nabbed by a young boy. Both are worth 30 minutes of your time. 4.5/5