Celluloid #11

In Theatre

So I finally saw The Dark Knight this week while may parents were in town visiting. The second in this particular Batman franchise, Dark Knight picks up where Batman Begins left off. This film seemed to me to contain many more action scenes than the previous film and obviously less character development. Everyone has been raving about Heath Ledger's performance, and I will say that he makes a great Joker...the Oscar buzz is a little far-fetched to me. While crazy action films aren't usually my thing, this film has enough story, darkness, and imagery for me to enjoy and I think the action scenes are well done. My only problems were that the Two-Face transformation didn't seem very believable to me (and the coin flipping thing was a little too similar to No Country For Old Men's gimmick, but better done in that film...I'm sure it's just coincidence) and the whole scene involving cell phone-sonar-multiscreened technology was pretty dumb if not confusing, but these are minor quibbles. Overall, my parents and I were all satisfied. 4/5

In Home

3 Women (1977) Altman - An oddball of a movie, even for Altman. Reportedly based on a dream that Altman had while his wife was in the hospital, this is a loose story about a woman who works at an assisted living center, a new employee who idolizes her and becomes her roommate, and a pregnant woman who paints graphic Egyptian/Greek styled murals depicting lots of genitals. Sissy Spacek and Shelley Duvall play the main ladies, and this is probably the most attractive either one of them has looked in a film. As far as plot or meaning goes, a lot is open to interpretation. 4/5

the Birds (1963) Hitchcock - Classic film where birds begin to fatally attack the residents of a small coastal town for no apparent reason. I understand that this film was pretty scary back in the day, and while I can't imagine present day audiences being frightened, I personally appreciated the "special" effects used to portray the bird-attack sequences for their style/aesthetic rather than believability. 4.5/5

Blood Simple (1984) Coen - The first Coen brothers film takes place in Texas and features a very young Frances McDormand. Abby is cheating on her husband, Marty, with one of his employees, Ray. Marty has hired a private detective to follow Abby and then later to murder the adulterous couple. As the title implies, there is a fair amount of blood, however, there are also a fair amount of twists. I had seen and loved this film before, and had re-watched it as something to do with my parents, and they also enjoyed it. 5/5

Cleo From 5 to 7 (1962) Varda - A young french singer believes that she has cancer and is waiting her hospital results. In the meantime, we see her prance around town, buying hats, feeling sorry for herself, meeting a nice soldier, meeting with her songwriter, etc. In one way it seems like she is questioning the meaning of her life, but on the other, she seems like a spoiled rich girl. 3.5/5

I Vitteloni (1956) Fellini - A group of friends are prolonging their adolescence as long as possible. They are bachelors, enjoy drinking and dancing, flirting with ladies, and some are persuing creative ambitions. Then, one of the friends gets his girlfriend (and sister of one of the other friends) pregnant and is forced into marrying her. He does care for her, but is reluctant to give up his lifestyle and rides the fence between these two worlds for some time. 4/5

the Tenant (1976) Polanski - Polanski actually stars in this film about a man seeking an apartment to rent in Paris and moves into one where the previous tenant had attempted suicide by jumping out of the window. The neighbors are very finicky about noise and company, and the protagonist undergoes a fairly implausible transformation. Also, this film features many scenes with Polanski in drag. 3.5/5

In News

* The Coen Brothers have a new movie coming out in September called, Burn After Reading. Labelled as a crime comedy, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, John Malkovich, and Frances McDormand all act. The story has something to do with information from a CIA agent and some employees at a gym.

* For more upcoming Tilda Swinton and Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Is finishing up. David Fincher (Zodiac, Se7en) is directing and it's a story about a man who ages backward.

* If you need any updates about the upcoming (as in next March) Watchmen film about the "greatest graphic novel of all time", you should check my friend Roman's page..there's a lot of comic nerdery there.

Celluloid #10

In Theatres

This past weekend I finally found a theatre in the East Bay screening My Winnipeg. I've heard about this film for the past year and have been curious about the apparently newly created genre: "docu-fantasy." It's an apt description as this film interperses facts and recreations of Winnipeg's history, with dramatizations of scenes from the director's (Guy Maddin) own childhood.

I have to admit that for the first fifteen minutes or so, I was quite worried about the direction the film was heading in (something along the lines of bad poetry combined with repetitive images). Thankfully, what follows is much more enjoyable. On one hand this is a story that embodies the "myth" and "legend" that one's hometown holds. It's also a nostaglic (but not always loving) look at an era that has passed, signaled by the demolition of buildings that once played roles in Winnipeg's myth. Lastly, I find it pretty ingenious to cast actors to play one's relatives in recreating childhood stories. This film is not perfect, but I did laugh out loud at times, and often found myself thinking or wondering about the stories of my own hometown. 4/5

In Home

Black Narcissus (1947) Powell & Pressburger - A group of nuns go to the Himalayas to start a school/hospital/community center. They find difficulty with the "natives" and with a pompous British soldier stationed there. Oh yeah, and one nun is crazy. This film is a technicolored, dramatic music epic, complete with plenty of racist and sexist lines, scenes, characters, etc. However, it's pretty to look at, though that hardly makes up for the other stuff...3/5

Diary of a Country Priest (1950) Bresson - This film is about a young priest who is not entirely welcome in his village, has tuberculosis, and often seems to have difficulty with his own faith, much less being able to advise those in his congregation. While I found the concept interesting enough and I did like the main character/actor, overall I found the film somewhat boring. 3.5/5

Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (1962) Enrico - A short based on story about the Civil War, specifically a confederate supporter sentenced to be hanged from a bridge, and literally we see his life pass before his eyes, and then it seems like he might be lucky after all...A really cool-looking half hour film. 4/5

The Silence (1963) Bergman - Part of Bergman's "trilogy of faith," this is a story about two sisters of very opposite temperaments on a trip, as seen mainly through the eyes of the young son of one of the sisters. While travelling, one sister falls ill, and the other tries to get some ass. Remarkable acting, beautifully shot, sensual and thought-provoking...as the best Bergman is..5/5

the World (2004) Zhang - A take on modern capitalism in a China struggling between communism of its past and capitalism in its (reluctant?) future/present. The story is very lyrical but narrative can be found surrounding the employees of an amusement park that features scaled-down monuments from around the world. Lushly saturated colors and epic in scale. 4/5

In News

*If you need a Steve Coogan fix, you will not have to wait much longer as Hamlet 2, a story about a failed actor who becomes a high school teacher and puts on a politically incorrect musical sequel to Hamlet, will be released on August 27. (All though...it's not getting the best reviews ever)

* Spike Lee is working on a bunch of stuff including a sequel to Inside Man, a documentary about Michael Jordan, and his upcoming release Miracle at St. Anna, a war story about four black american soldiers, etc. (I doubt I will ever watch this) However, did you hear that Clint Eastwood recently told Spike Lee to "shut his face"? Spike called Eastwood out on the lack of black actors in his films, and that was Eastwood's response. (oh shit!)

* And in other Spike news, Spike Jonze is finishing up his version of Where the Wild Things Are, but there have been massive rumors about reshoots and issues with the studio, so who knows when it will actually be released.

Celluloid #9

In Home

All the President's Men (1976) Pakula - Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford play two reporters at the Washington Post trying to figure out who is connected to the Watergate scandal. The film definitely glorifies the role of a journalist and gathers quite a bit of tension for a story that most people know the outcome of beforehand. The ending is a little weird/rushed, but probably necessary since the movie already nearly reaches the 2 1/2 hour mark. 4/5

Baby Doll (1956) Kazan - Tennessee William's story about a desperate man named Archie and his young bride whom everyone calls "Baby Doll." Baby Doll and Archie had an agreement in their marriage that no sex would happen until her 20th birthday (which happens to be tomorrow in the film). Archie is also struggling with his cotton gin business and resorts to burning down a rival gin. The owner of that gin is forced to bring his cotton to Archie and tries his hardest to take Baby Doll's virginity in the process. Such maniacal great expressions...really fun and even made me nervous at times. 5/5

In Cold Blood (1967) Brooks - Based on Truman Capote's nonfiction story, we follow Dick and Perry as they set across Kansas to a farmhouse where they believe a safe with a lot of money can be found. However, they cannot find the safe and end up killing the entire family, only coming away with $43 and a radio. The film goes a little overboard at times in its examination of psychological reasons to commit murder and then later with capital punishment. 3.5/5

Shadows (1959) Cassavetes - Cassavete's debut is a jazzy, New York, black and white film centered around the concept of "passing." Lelia lives with her two brothers, Ben and Hugh. Lelia and Ben are quite light and often pass as white, but Hugh is much darker. Lelia sleeps with this white dude, but when he meets her brother Hugh, visibly becomes uncomfortable with the whole situation. 5/5

Spirit of the Beehive (1973) Erice - Spanish film that takes place post- Spanish civil war. The girls see a screening of "Frankenstein" and the younger sister becomes fascinated with the Frankenstein character. Her older sister says she has seen his spirit in an abandoned building closer to town. Ana (the younger girl) begins hanging out there and eventually mistakens a wounded man as the spirit. A very deliberately paced, beautiful, if slightly vague film. 4/5

Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? (1977) Fassbinder - The title is a joke, as Herr R.'s life is full of routine...work, parent-teacher meetings, coffee/tea with visitors, etc. His mom is too nosy, his son can't pay attention in school, and his wife is preoccupied with her expensive materialism. Herr R.'s life is starting to get to him...4/5

In News

*Wes Anderson is working on his next project based on a Roald Dahl story, Fantastic Mr. Fox. Anderson is a big fan of Dahl and the film is set to star George Clooney and Cate Blanchett, but one should also expect appearances by Anderson favorites, Bill Murray and Jason Schwartzman.

* This isn't really film related, except that Alan Ball wrote American Beauty, and perhaps more importantly the beloved tv series "Six Feet Under." Anyway, Ball has written and is expected to start producing a new HBO series entitled "True Blood." I'm interested but very skeptical considering the lead will be played by Anna Paquin and according to the site charlainharris.com:

"Set in small-town Louisiana, series follows the world of vampires, who are able to co-exist with humans by drinking a Japanese-manufactured synthetic blood. While spooky, the show also contains a dose of humor alongside the horror"...we will see...

Celluloid #8

In Theatres

I almost saw a movie this week.

In Home ... all pretty good movies...

4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (2007) Mungiu - "The Romanian abortion movie." While that is basically the story (well mainly about a girl who needs an abortion, and her friend/roommate that helps her), the film is also about the oppressive communist government in Romania in the 1980s and how that affects the people who live there. The visual style is really cool, and while the premise is pretty heavy, still recommended viewing. 4.5/5

Drugstore Cowboy (1989) Van Sant - Early Gus Van Sant about four people living in Portland and feeding their drug addictions by robbing pharmacies. Nadine (Heather Graham) ODs and causes Bob (Matt Dillon) to reevaluate his life. Aesthetically beautiful and also features an old William Burroughs as an aging ex-priest junkie and Portland before the condos crept in. 4/5

Fanny and Alexander (1982) Bergman - Ingrid Bergman's mainly autobiographical film about his childhood. After Alexander's father dies, his mother remarries an austere priest who forces her to leave behind her family and all her possessions. This new joyless existence causes problems between the pre-teen Alexander and his stepfather that also touches on religious rejection. 4.5/5

Fat City (1972) Huston - An extremely unglamorous film about a couple boxers in Stockton, CA. Billy Tully is a has-been boxer trying to get back into the game while making ends meet by working as an agricultural day laborer. Ernie (played by an extremely young Jeff Bridges) is 18 and just starting out as a boxer after Tully's encouragement. Tully sometimes acts as a mentor and other times as an example of what not to become to Ernie. All of the boxing matches seem realistic and tiring. 4/5

Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) Roeg - David Bowie plays an alien who has coming looking for water for his home planet and invents, patents, and distributes a photographic product that makes him rich. I wanted to love this movie. It's really cool looking, David Bowie is actually a decent actor, and it's totally campy and weird. However, after already suspending plenty of disbelief, sometime towards the end (probably around the 2 hour mark) things really don't make any sense anymore. Also Candy Clark as the female lead, Mary Lou (?), has got to be on of the most annoying characters ever. Oh yeah...and some of the most awkward sex scenes you will ever see (I haven't decided if that's a positive or negative characteristic). Definitely worth checking out if you are remotely interested in Bowie, campy sci-fi, or cult classics. 4/5

Straight Time (1978) Grosbard - Dustin Hoffman plays Max Dembo, a recently released convict who quickly gets caught up in his old lifestyle after a short attempt to live honestly. The robbery scene is good, and you may end up yelling at the TV for Dembo to "hurry up."Harry Dean Stanton, Gary Busey, and a younger, thinner Kathy Bates all play characters. Based on a novel by an actual convict. A total anti-hero film. 4/5

In News

* Quentin Tarantino will soon be making another movie. Currently titled Inglorious Bastards, Tarantino reportedly would like Brad Pitt to star. It will probably be another 2 part film (like Kill Bill) and involves Nazi-occupied France.

* Gus Van Sant's latest film is in post-production. The film, Milk, stars Sean Penn as Harvey Milk the famous gay elected supervisor of San Francisco. Josh Brolin plays Dan White, the disguntled blue-collar cop who kills Milk and then uses the famous "Twinkie Defense" to avoid his sentence.

* In anticipation of The Pineapple Express, New York Magazine posted an early David Gordon Green short from his days as student at North Carolina School of the Arts. You can watch it here. Along the same lines as George Washington...

Celluloid #7

In Theatres

you tell me...

In Home

Bubble (2006) Soderbergh - Low-budget film about three people who work at a doll factory in a dead-end, thoroughly depressed/depressing, poor town. Martha is middle-aged and takes care of her aging father. Kyle is in his early 20s, never graduated high school, and smokes a lot of weed. Rose is also in her early 20s, never graduated high school, has a two year-old daughter, and is the newest employee at the factory. Martha considers Kyle her best friend and is a little hurt when Rose and Kyle start becoming close. Drama ensues. 4/5

Harlan County, U.S.A. (1976) Kopple - Documentary about coal miners in eastern Kentucky in the mid-1970s. Mainly centers around the union workers' strike that lasts 13 months. Some pretty epic southern-style, gun-toting feuds between the strikers and the scabs happen. You may not think that a labor union documentary would be all that engrossing, but in this case you would be wrong. Especially in regards to the union presidental elections, which are handled in a very mafia-like manner. 4.5/5

High and Low (1963) Kurosawa - While Kurosawa may always be associated with his samurai epics, High and Low plays more like a noir crime story. Gondo is trying to save his position as a corporate big wig of a shoe factory by buying out shares from investors. Meanwhile, a kidnapper attempts to nab Gondo's son for ransom, but the boy turns out to be the son of Gondo's chauffeur. Gondo is forced to choose between saving his livelihood or the life of a child that is not his own due to the large size of the ransom asked. I think this film is even better than some of the "epics." 5/5

Mon Oncle (1958) Tati - So, we get to bumble around with M. Hulot again as he gets confused about modern gadgets in a France that is quickly becoming very alien to the one he grew up in. He hangs out at his sister's very modern house and manages to mess a lot of things, but entertains his nephew who also doesn't function very well in such a sterile, strict, and rigid environment. I liked this film better than Playtime even though both essentially tackle the same themes. 4/5

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) Cameron - This was actually my first time ever seeing the "Terminator" in any form. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a modified terminator from the future sent back in time to protect John Connor, who in the future, is an important military person for the humans in the fight against the terminators. However, another evil terminator who can morph into anything he touches, has also been sent back in time, but his mission is to kill John Connor. A pretty ridiculous action film, but as far as action films go, I liked the themes and the cheesy interaction between John and his father-figure robot, and overall had a good time with this film. 4/5

Young Torless (1968) Schlondorff - The film is about a group of adolescent boys that attend boarding school. One boy, Basini, ends up stealing money from another boy in this group, but instead of being reported, the boy whose money is stolen decides that he would like to have Basini as his personal slave. Earlier this year, I happened to read the novel by Robert Musil, that this film is based on, but I think if you just watched the movie, a lot of things would not make any sense. One of the main themes in the book was an undercurrent of sexuality being manifested in homosexual actions (it's an all-boys' school). Sometimes the sexual acts were linked with torture and cruelty, but for Torless they were more genuine if not rooted in confusion. Nearly that entire aspect is missing from the film, making the overall story far less interesting. 3/5

In News (the South Korea edition)

* Park Chan-wook, probably best known for Oldboy or Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (I've only seen Oldboy which I thought was really good), is filming a new movie titled Thirst. Not a big surprise that it's going to be a horror film, but this one is going to involve vampires!

* Bong Joon-ho, who made the likable The Host, is currently working on a couple projects. One project is called Transperceneige; an action film dealing with apocalyptic themes in the form of a socially-stratified train trying to escape from an impending Ice Age. The other is a film being called Mother and all I know is that it's a murder thriller. Also, a sequel to The Host is in the works, however, Bong Joon-ho is not directing it.

Celluloid #6

In Theatre

Once again, I barely left my apartment

In Home

Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987) Malle - A story about students at an all-boys Catholic school in France during WW2/Holocaust action. The head of the school is "hiding" a number of young Jewish boys amongst the students to protect them from French collaborators and Nazis. The film is also just a story about adolescent friendship as a French boy befriends a Jewish boy, even after he discovers the Jewish boy's secret. 4/5

the Double Life of Veronique (1991) Kieslowski - A lushly gorgeous movie of reds, greens, and golds that tells the story of Weronika and Veronique. Weronika is a singer and Veronique is a music teacher, but both are played by the same actress and essentially represent two paths that could have been taken by the protagonist (like a more artsy Sliding Doors or something). However, each character seems to "feel" the presence of the other or the loss of that presence. 5/5

Freeway (1996) Bright - On one hand, this film is a trashy modern update of "Little Red Riding Hood" where the wolf is a serial killer and Little Red Riding Hood is a white trash teenager. On the other hand, it's an extremely snarky take on the criminal justice system, social services, and Southern California. All of which sounds like a decent premise for a film, but I just could not get over the style and sense of humor...basically I thought it was irritating. 2/5

Persepolis (2007) Paronnaud - Marjane grows up in Iran while the country undergoes huge changes towards a more religious and repressive society. Her family is firmly against this new direction for the country, and for her safety, sends Marjane away to Austria at age 13. It's a coming-of-age story, and one of feeling like a misfit (her passion for punk rock, Iron Maiden, and secularness alienates her in Iran, her "Iranness" prevents her from ever fully fitting in while in Austria). The felt-pen animation is pretty incredible to watch and I really enjoyed a scene that involves "The Eye of the Tiger." 4.5/5

the Signal (2006) Gentry - The first installment of "movie club" happening at my work. This movie seems to take place in the near future when, for some reason, TVs, cell phones, and radios all start emitting a signal that drives people to kill other people for little to no reason. It's like a culty zombie film in some ways, but can't decide whether to be completely outrageous or not. 3/5

the Vanishing (1988) Sluizer - A youngish couple go on a roadtrip vacation and while at a rest stop, the woman goes missing. For three years the boyfriend searches for her, puts up posters, goes on television, all in an effort to try and figure out what happened to her. His obsession to know the truth overwhelms anything else that may be going on with him, and then her kidnapper offers to reveal that truth. 4/5

In News

* Saxon pointed out, and it's worth mentioning that David Gordon Green (George Washington, All the Real Girls) has directed the new Apatow (Knocked Up, Superbad, "Freaks and Geeks) extravaganza called Pineapple Express. Mostly all I've heard about it is that it's a stoner-related film (some dude has to go on a run with his dealer...) but I am curious to see how the Green/Apatow pairing works out, especially since Green seems to usually deal in more serious fare. Should be released in theatres very soon this summer.

Art Garfunkel Memorial Reading List (January - June 2008)

So to be clear, Garfunkel isn't dead...but the list that I put out every six months of the books that I have read is somewhat of a tribute to him. Art's been keeping track of every book that he's read since the late 1960s. I started at the beginning of 2007...

1. Confusions of Young Torless - Robert Musil (Jan 12)
2. Desire and Delusion - Arthur Schnitzler (Jan 15)
3. Crying of Lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon (Jan 20)
4. No Man is an Island - Thomas Merton (Jan 20)
5. Gang Leader for a Day - Sudhir Venkatesh (Feb 3)
6. Obscene Bird of Night - Jose Donoso (Feb 8)
7. Confessions of Nat Turner - William Styron (Feb 19)
8. Executioner's Song - Norman Mailer (Mar 22)
9. Death of Artemio Cruz - Carlos Fuentes (Mar 23)
10. The Fierce and Beautiful World - Andrei Platonov (Apr 2)
11. Lady With the Dog and Other Stories - Anton Chekhov (Apr 4)
12. the Giver - Lois Lowry (Apr 7)
13. Atonement - Ian McEwan (Apr 8)
14. If on a winter's night a traveler - Italo Calvino (Apr 16)
15. Why We Watch: The Attractions of Violent Entertainment - Jeffrey Goldstein (Apr 17)
16. Dream Life of Sukhanov - Olga Grushin (Apr 26)
17. Is Bill Cosby Right? Or Has the Black Middle Class Lost Its Mind? - Michael Eric Dyson (Apr 28)
18. Reeling - Pauline Kael (May 2)
19. the Dutchman and the Slave - Leroi Jones (May 5)
20. Oil! - Upton Sinclair (May 11)
21. Against Interpretation - Susan Sontag (May 12)
22. Coldest Winter Ever - Sister Souljah (May 16)
23. Heartsnatcher - Boris Vian (May 16)
24. Death of Adam - Marilynne Robinson (May 24)
25. Sheltering Sky - Paul Bowles (May 25)
26. Women, Race, and Class - Angela Davis (June 3)
27. Aura - Carlos Fuentes (June 4)
28. Journey to the End of Night - Louis-Ferdinand Celine (June 5)
29. the Disappointment Artist - Jonathan Lethem (June 7)
30. Play It as It Lays - Joan Didion (June 7)
31. Box Man - Kobo Abe (June 11)
32. Blood and Grits - Harry Crews (June 15)
33. Their Eyes Were Watching God - Zora Neale Hurston (June 20)
34. Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides (June 22)
35. Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole (June 28)