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

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...