Celluloid #18

In Home

Black Orpheus (1959) Camus - A retelling of the myth of Orpheus set in Rio de Janeiro during Carnival. Very lively with lots of dancing and parades and bright colors. The character representing "Death" has a pretty cool geometrical one-piece. The film is a pretty liberal interpretation of the Greek myth, but well done. 4/5

F for Fake (1976) Welles - Orson Welles last film was a documentary about fakery, charlatans, and the art world. He focuses mainly on a man named Elmyr who became famous for producing fake Picassos and Matisses. However, attention is paid to Howard Hughes, Clifford Irving, and Welles himself. More of a visual essay than a documentary, a trend that Welles had hoped to continue if he had lived longer, and surprisingly a genre which hasn't really been revisited since. 4/5

Long Day's Journey Into Night (1962) Lumet - A dysfunctional family drama full of drunks, heroin users, and regrets. Unfortunately, clocking in at three hours, the dialogue just couldn't keep my attention, especially for a theme seen many times before. 3/5

Over the Edge (1979) Kaplan - Matt Dillon's debut is a film about what happens in suburban towns when the teenagers have nothing to do. Reminded me a lot of the Central Coast as told mainly through the tales of a few friends that grew up there. The teens and cops have plenty of run-ins. The parents seem to be clueless, and the only outlets for recreation are often under scrutiny. Eventually violence becomes the inevitable outcome. 4/5

Snow Angels (2007) Green - Perhaps David Gordon Green's last "serious" film (see "In News"), Snow Angels takes place in 1970s small town Pennsylvania. A teenage boy reconnects with a former babysitter as co-workers in a restaurant. Arthur's parents are in the midst of a separation, and Arthur himself just seems to try to live a normal teenage existence. Annie (the former babysitter) has a slew of her own problems, mainly centering around a suicidal estranged husband and their daughter. 4.5/5

In News

*David Gordon Green appears to be continuing down the path of comedy that he has forged by directing the debacle that was Pineapple Express. According to New York Magazine, Fox has picked up a comedy TV show by Green called Good Vibes, about surfer guys in SoCal. Disappointment.

*Italian horror aficionados will be pleased to hear that Dario Argento is finishing up a new film titled Giallo starring Adrien Brody and slated to come out sometime next year

*Last summer I read a book called Revolutionary Road, which I thought was okay, but a bit cliched, but seemed to be aiming for scandalousness. Anyway, Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet will be reunited to play the unlikable husband and wife character. (Thanks to Saxon for the reminder.)

*And finally, I was listening to the Mondo Movie podcast (two British dudes that talk about mainly horror and cult films) and was intrigued by the rave reviews they were giving to a new Swedish film making the festival circuit called Let the Right One In. On one level, the film involves a young girl who happens to be a vampire, and her neighbor who become friends. Supposedly more of a film about loneliness and alienation than anything else, and described at times as "touching."

Celluloid #17

In Home

After the Wedding (2007) Bier - A Celebration-like film about a family headed by a very wealthy and successful businessman, a melancholy man trying to get money to sustain an orphanage in India, and the strange ways that their lives have intersected in the past. Emotional, tense, but never cheesy. Highly recommended. 5/5

Better Luck Tomorrow (2003) Lin - Playing up a lot of stereotypes about Asians, this movie centers around a group of over-achieving, but bored high school students. Their boredom leads to petty theft, collusion, partying at first but later escalates to more violent events. 3.5/5

Face of Another (1966) Teshigahara - This film and the other film I have seen by Teshigahara (Woman in the Dunes) pretty much makes me want to watch everything this director has made. This film is about a man who has been in an accident that has scarred his face and left him in bandages, but is presented with an experimental opportunity to have a new face in the form of a realistic mask. Tons of interesting commentary on identity. 5/5

Mahanagar (1963) Ray - A Bengali family is struggling to make ends meet, so the wife decides to take a job as a saleswoman. Her decision is controversial because her family is pretty conservative and thinks she is responsible for many of the household duties. On top of that, she is really good at her job, and her husband ends up losing his job causing the traditional roles to shift somewhat. 4.5/5

Walkabout (1971) Roeg - Another weirdo film from Roeg. This time a family appears to be going on a picnic in the Australian outback when the father starts shooting at his two children and after missing them, lights himself and his car on fire. All of the sudden the kids are left alone in the middle of nowhere and have to find their way to civilization somehow. 4/5

In News

* A new Danny Boyle film should be coming out soon called Slumdog Millionaire about an Indian teenager who goes on a game show to prove his love to a girl

* Ewan McGregor is working on a shitload of stuff including Amelia (about Amelia Earhart), I Love You Phillip Morris (with Richard Gere), Ron Howard/Dan Brown vehicle Angels & Demons, Men Who Stare at Goats (with Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, & Clooney), a film with Ben Kingsley called Number 13, something called The Great Pretender and I, Lucifer all of that, and he just recovered from a bout of (very treatable) cancer

Celluloid #16

In Theatres

So I finally saw a not terrible movie with Chris this week, Jiri Menzel's I Served the King of England. The basic plot revolves around a waiter who dreams of becoming a millionaire while enduring the many changes in Czechoslovakia including Nazi occupation and later communism. The film fell into a cycle of repetition during the first half of the film and switching between the old man and his younger self became somewhat tedious. However, this movie is quite beautiful and full of quirky enjoyable imagery (all though I personally was actually a little tired of exposed boobies by the end) and the story does pick up once the Nazis get into the picture. A good film, but nowhere near the greatness of Menzel's previous work (not that that was really the expectation going into this film anyway). 3.75/5

In Home

Chop Shop (2007) Bahrani - A newish independent film about a young boy and his teenage sister living in Queens. Alejandro doesn't go to school but uses his time working at an auto repair shop and selling candy bars. His sister works at a taco truck and also makes some money on the side. Together they work towards saving up to buy their own taco truck and to hopefully move out of the single room they occupy in the auto repair shop. 4/5

the Kingdom (1995) von Trier - Back in the '90s, Lars von Trier created a television miniseries about a Copenhagen hospital that experiences a variety of supernatural and just plain fucked-up occurences. The storyline itself is fine, but it's really ugly looking and seriously has the worst theme song ever. Plus, von Trier addresses the audience during the credits of each episode and he is so irritating. Anyway, X-Files lite. 3/5

Lord of the Flies (1963) Brooks - So the book that nearly everyone read as a high school freshman was made into a film in the early '60s. Black and white and feels stiff and polite towards the beginning, but as the boys' and their makeshift society start to deteriorate, the scenes and film shots get much more interesting. 4/5

the Seventh Seal (1957) Bergman - Probably the most famous and most parodied of Bergman's films. Death comes to take people away while the plague is running rampant throughout Sweden. Max von Sydow buys himself a little more time by engaging in a game of chess with Death and a circus troupe travels around. Still masterful and interesting, but nowhere near my favorites of Bergman.

In News (Scandinavian edition)

* Susanne Bier, one of the Dogme directors (#28 Open Hearts) is working on a new project supposedly featuring Hugh Grant and Anjelica Huston titled Lost for Words

* Max von Sydow (a tie-in to Seventh Seal) is currently 79 years old and has not one, but 3 films in post-production! A fantasy adventure called Solomon Kane, a french film called Un homme et son chien, and a Scorcese-directed project called Shutter Island.

* Lastly Swedish filmmaker Lukas Moodysson is nearly finished with a film called Mammoth starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Michelle Williams having something to do with a businessman and his Filipino maid...

Celluloid #15

Busy couple weeks in real life makes for very little movie-watching..

In Home

Clean Slate (Coup de tourchon) (1982) Tavernier - Based on Jim Thompson's Pop. 1280 novel but transplanted to French-colonized West Africa. Lucien seems like a bumbling idiot struggling to receive respect from anyone in the small town where he serves as sheriff. His wife openly cheats on him, his superiors literally kick him in the ass, and petty criminals do not fear him...and one day he snaps. Isabelle Huppert also portrays another scandalous lady. 4/5

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (2000) Jarmusch - This was the first Jarmusch film I ever saw many years ago and I decided to revisit it while John and I were stranded at my old apartment. Forest Whitaker plays "Ghost Dog" a gangster/a-like assassin that lives by a complicated moral code. Very black humor and while I definitely still enjoyed this film a lot the second time around, I think it falls somewhere in the middle of Jarmusch's catalog. 4/5

Scenes From a Marriage (1973) Bergman - I watched the television miniseries version (as opposed to the theatrical version) and really enjoyed this examination of a relationship, even though it is incredibly hard to watch at times. I thought the dialogue and portrayal was honest and fairly realistic. While not a lot happens plotwise (Johann cheats on Marianne, they separate, get divorced, come to some sort of understanding), it's something that pretty much everyone can relate to. Not recommended for Chris Walters, as there is pretty much nothing besides emotionally intimate moments. 5/5

Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973) Dixon - A fictional film about the first black man to enter the CIA, and then after obtaining necessary information and training, takes his skills back to southside Chicago and trains a group of young black man in preparation for a revolution. The revolution centers around freedom from white oppressors. An interesting concept in theory, but not the most entertaining film. 3.5/5

Switchblade Sisters (1975) Hill - As far as trashy, campy, culty movies go...this one is pretty great. The Dagger Debs are an all-girl gang that wields knives and generally kicks the shit out of other girls and guys if necessary. Lots of gratuitous boob shots and those shirts seem to rip open all of the time. The main rival gang is a bunch of politically charged artsy kids, and the Debs (and later christened "Jezebels") have to team up with some commie black ladies in order to gain victory. 4.5/5

In News

* The Flaming Lips long awaited film spectacle (originally slated to come out Christmas 2003) Christmas on Mars is finally opening in New York this week

* Guillermo del Toro is expected to film remakes of "Frankenstein", "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", and "Slaughterhouse 5"

* NY Magazine is throwing around a claim that two co-producers from "The Office" are writing a script for Ghostbusters 3...oh boy..

Celluloid #14

In Theatre

Man on Wire: Phillipe Petit is a tightrope walker. Obviously he's a bit crazy, but also likably mischievous, enthusiastic, and infectiously passionate. This documentary about his "adventure" to tightrope walk between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in the mid-1970s, is beautiful and moving. My eyes welled up near the beginning just from a shot of a picture of Phillipe walking between two towers of the Notre Dame cathedral. It is remarkable how these images stick in one's head causing reflection and appreciation for being alive. While it is never mentioned, this film also serves as the perfect reclamation of the twin towers from the despair of 9/11. A passion for life replacing the images of death. 5/5

In Home

Atonement (2007) Wright - After reading the novel earlier this year and recalling that this film made its way onto many critics "Top 10 of 2007" lists last year, I felt that I should watch this film. I was surprised at how visually interesting it was. I like that the film and the book examine the power of the written word and the concept of perception, but my problem with both still lies in the ending. I will admit that the film is less tedious or cheesy than the book's version, but I still wasn't totally fine with it. Also, the standard complaint with any book adaptation usually has something to do with lack of detail or character development, and I think that exists here to the point, that I think I was only able to appreciate this movie as much as I did by having the knowledge obtained from the book. 3.5/5

Cria Cuervos (1977) Saura - I find little Ana Torrent's face so compelling to watch that I wish she had made more films in her youth. So sad and androgynous! This film is about three sisters coping with the death of their mother first from cancer, and then their father's death from a likely heart attack. Ana is the middle child and often has dreams or visions of her mother and has the hardest time with their aunt who has come to raise them. More mood than plot, and features a really cool (but sad) song by Jeanette called "Por Que te Vas". 4/5

Sansho the Bailiff (1954) Mizoguchi - A story about a wife and her two kids who are travelling to the husband's new government post, but along the way are kidnapped, separated, and sold into slavery. The children work in the same place for ten years before attempting to escape and reunite with their parents. The father of the story has also instilled a deep moral code in his children regarding the importance of "mercy," which later plays a significant role in the film. 4/5

They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969) Pollack - During the Depression of the 1930s, dance contests of endurance were a popular form of entertainment and a way for people down on their luck to potentially make a little money. The dance marathon in itself has plenty of emotional and tense moments, but the sense of hopelessness is what really nags at you after viewing. 4/5

In News

* Jiri Menzel, the Czech director of my favorite film of all-time, Closely Watched Trains, actually has a new film being released in the U.S. I guess I just assumed he was dead, but instead he is offering up another adaptation of a Hrabal novel (much like Closely Watched Trains ) called I Served the King of England. This is news that I could pretty much pee my pants over. (Thanks to Saxon for the tip)

* Michael Haneke is filming his follow-up to Funny Games (US), a film being called Das Weisse Band (or "The White Bound" as best as I can figure). The description is about a rural school in 1913 and the ritual punishments enacted there...

* Gael Garcia Bernal and his best friend Diego Luna will be starring in Rudo y Cursi, a soccer comedy/drama slated for release (in Mexico at least) around the end of the year.

Celluloid #13

A day late, but I had an apartment to get and the end of "The Wire" to watch...

In Theatre

Nearly a week ago I saw Pineapple Express. I went in knowing that it would be a dumb comedy and probably typical Judd Apatow fare, but I was still very curious to see how David Gordon Green would influence the project with his directing style. First of all, I will admit that I am tired of Apatow-related films and Seth Rogen's face at this point, but despite those admissions, I think this movie is pretty terrible. I laughed during the first half, but as the story progressed any reason to laugh (at least for me) diminished. The fight scenes were long, boring, and unfunny. The gay shit...not funny. The racist (or more likely pseudo-racist) treatment of Rosie Perez and the Asian drug lords didn't do anything for me or the plot. Also, Green didn't really do anything with the material. In perhaps two scenes (where Saul and Dale are playing around in the woods and when they are running around the neighborhood trying to make it to Dale's girlfriend's house) one can see a glimpse of Green's visual aesthetic, but overall, I hope he just made this film to finance another indie project in the future. So yeah, maybe I'm just a hater of the "dumb comedy", but this film was way too stupid...2/5

In Home

Blood of a Poet (1930) Cocteau - Part of Cocteau's surrealistic "Orphic Trilogy," this film feels very much like Bunuel's L'Age D'Or which came out around the same time. A poet/artist climbs through a mirror into a strange world where statues come to life and anatomy can be rearranged. Beautiful and cool old-school special effects, making a comment on the artist's role in society. 4/5

Double Indemnity (1944) Wilder - Apparently I've been on a bit of a noir kick lately. This film is great. An insurance agent falls for a femme fatale housewife who wants to kill her husband to collect the insurance money. The two conspire since the salesman wants to become closer to the wife and knows enough about the insurance procedures to plan a seemingly flawless murder. A scandalous movie for the time, where the audience roots for the "bad guys," and still holds up today for entertainment value. 4.5/5

Jigoku (1960) Nakagawa - An early Japanese horror film where two men kill another man in a hit and run. The driver feels no remorse, but the passenger insists that they turn themselves in, all though he is worried about the fate of his pregnant girlfriend if he goes to jail. They decide to keep quite and this decision leads to a crazy downward spiral where eventually the setting of the film becomes Hell complete with all of the main characters. Really cool, and looks like something that would have been made much later than 1960. 4/5

Play Misty For Me (1971) Eastwood - The first film directed by Clint Eastwood is about a Carmel, CA disc jockey and the woman who stalks him. A fun film about a crazy woman that gets pretty cheesy at times (eg. weird "romantic" music montage featuring a sometimes nude Eastwood). And...the main actress is a young Jessica Walter who plays Lucille Bluth on "Arrested Development." 3.5/5

Winter Light (1963) Bergman - Similar in theme to Bresson's Diary of a Country Priest, but in my opinion, Bergman's is the more interesting of the films that center on priests struggling with their faith. A really intense movie that involves scenes where the camera does not move for minutes at a time from a close-up of someone's face. This film has plenty regarding the human condition even for those who care little about religious themes. 5/5

In News

* Man On Wire: Saxon likes it. Filmspotting likes it. I want to see it.

* A really outrageous cult film is going to be released this November. REPO! The Genetic Opera is decribed as "Rocky Horror meets Blade Runner," and features none other than Paris Hilton.

* John Hillcoat (director of The Proposition) is nearly finished with his film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's The Road, to be released this November as well. The next Nick Cave collaboration Death of a Ladies' Man is still in "pre-production"

* Not a film, but film-related, I just discovered a podcast called "Left Field Cinema." A British man called Mike Dawson releases a 10-20 minute episode every week. Topics range from the standard review of a new in-theatre release to categories such as "world cinema masterpiece", "contemporary obscurity", "asian avant-garde", and "misunderstood modern cinema." Dawson's analysis often gets pretty academic, but his takes are super interesting and the episodes are so brief. Plus, his accent is just pleasant to listen to...

Celluloid #12

In Home

Brick (2005) Johnson - While I liked the premise for this movie, I could easily see how it could be off-putting for other viewers. The concept is basically a old-fashioned detective-mystery story set in a present day high school. The "PI" character is played by a loner kid, Brendan, who is trying to figure out why his ex-girlfriend got murdered. None of the actors look like they could be high school students, and the dialogue is much more sophisticated than any 16 year olds'. In reality, the only aspect that seems to translate from an actual high school is the interplay and exclusivity of cliques. That being said, if one can accept the obvious stylization, I think this is a pretty entertaining film. 4/5

Hoop Dreams (1994) James - Siskel and Ebert could not stop raving about this film when it came out, to the point where Ebert named it as the best film of the 1990s (film...not even documentary) and their outcry over its exclusion from the Oscars that year actually caused the Academy to change some of their policies. While I don't believe Siskel & Ebert (or Roeper) should be trusted, it really is an amazing documentary about two high school students from southside Chicago who dream of making it to the NBA. We meet them in 9th grade when they are chosen to attend a prestigious private school, and follow them until graduation. I'm really not that into basketball, but this film also addresses the intersection of race and class in America as exemplified by the struggles that each of these families have to endure. Fathers that aren't around, welfare, slinging crack, trying to get their own education, living without electricity at times, etc. The documentary is 3 hours long, but I promise by the end, you find yourself wanting to follow them even longer. 5/5

If....(1968) Anderson - Part of the "angry young man" phenomenon in Britain, If... is a satirical story about the private school system. By the end, it's very clear that the film is tackling more than just school, but attacking the whole notion of nationalism and tradition. It was the late 60s and England was experiencing their counterculture too...4/5

Le samourai (1967) Melville - A really cool French gangster film. Jef Costello is hired to murder a nightclub owner and spends the remainder of the film evading police. Costello (played by Alain Delon) is such a great anti-hero with impeccable fashion sense. 4.5/5

O Lucky Man! (1973) Anderson - Another Lindsay Anderson film this week, once again starring Malcolm McDowell. This film begins with a young coffee salesman who is quickly promoted and becomes ever increasingly enamored with power, money, and sexual exploitation. Here, we have another satire, this time beating us over the head with the problems associated with capitalism, which is fine, but 3 hours worth!..not fine. Also, interspersed with cheesy Kinks/Beatlesque songs. 2.5/5

In News

*Shane Meadows, director of This Is England, has a new film coming out soon called Somers Town. The young boy from This is England (Thomas Turgoose) will be starring again

* I don't know how far along this is, but Edward Norton is directing and starring in the film adaptation of Jonathan Lethem's Motherless Brooklyn about a detective with Tourette's

* In the realm of animation, an Israeli film in the vein of Persepolis, is making the festival circuit called Waltz With Bashir