December 2008
Pink Flamingos (Waters, 1972) 5.5
The story has a remarkable simplicity and Waters' screenplay is surprising in its expressiveness. The contrast made between the non-territorial, non-intrusive, convivial (to those who understand her way of life) and principled and self-respecting Divine and the imposing, fascistic, materialistic Marbles has an almost brilliant clarity. The sort of defensiveness implicit in Waters' all-in championing of the private agency of the extra-ordinary outsider (and the support of those of exclusive good nature) does have a poignancy and one that comes through in the vivaciousness of the film.
5.5, though, because it's a lot of juvenile antics and stunt repulsiveness to take, and, like, zero effort seems to have been made by Waters toward any formal directorial craft. Good set design. The film is complete trash filmmaking, so maybe it does deserve a lower score... but the meaning and sensibility behind the film's story is there, and it's damn funny sometimes. Divine's proceeding over the Marbles' trial and fielding of the press is expert comedy.
Southland Tales (Kelly, 2006) 4.5
The Fall (Tarsem Singh, 2006) 6
* The Mist (Darabont, 2007) 7.5
Le Petit Soldat (Godard, 1963) 8
Elephant (Van Sant, 2003) 7.5
Tropic Thunder (Stiller, 2008) 5
The Squid and the Whale (Baumbach, 2005) 7
Me and You and Everyone We Know (July, 2005) 6.5
Wings (Shepitko, 1966) 8.5
* Re-Animator (Gordon, 1985) 6
* The Long Goodbye (Altman, 1973) 8.5
* The Elephant Man (Lynch, 1980) 6
* Dogville (Von Trier, 2003) 9
* Heavenly Creatures (Jackson, 1994) 9
* Frenzy (Hitchcock, 1972) 6.5
Walkabout (Roeg, 1972) 8.5
* Red (Kieslowski, 1994) 7.5
* Blue (Kieslowski, 1993) 9
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
November 2008
NOVEMBER 08
Quantum of Solace (Forster, 2008) 4
Rogue (McLean, 2008) 5.5
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (Darnell and McGrath, 2008) 4.5
* The Funhouse (Hooper, 1982) 6.5
Happy-Go-Lucky (Leigh, 2008) 8.5
* Sleepaway Camp (Hiltzik, 1983) 5.5
No Lies (short) (Block, 1974) 8
The Double Life of Veronique (Kieslowski, 1991) 7.5
Rachel Getting Married (Demme, 2008) 8.5
Suzanne's Career (Rohmer, 1963) 8
The Bakery Girl of Monceau (Rohmer, 1963) 7.5
Imitation of Life (Sirk, 1959) 8.5
Decalogue: VIII (Bear False Witness) (Kieslowski, 1989) (TV) 8.5
* Christine (Carpenter, 1982) 7
Let the Right One In (Alfredson, 2008) 6
I don't think it's empty, and I'm glad this sort of emotionally lofty and patient horror film is being embraced by all sorts of people, but the film is a bit lethargic and dull around the edges, and when it does finally perk up, it's usually for some easy morbidity.
The Decalogue: IV (Remember the Sabbath Day) (Kieslowski, 1989) (TV) 7.5
The Decalogue: II (God's Name in Vain) (Kieslowski, 1989) (TV) 8
* Joshua (Ratliff, 2007) 7.5
Quantum of Solace (Forster, 2008) 4
Rogue (McLean, 2008) 5.5
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (Darnell and McGrath, 2008) 4.5
* The Funhouse (Hooper, 1982) 6.5
Happy-Go-Lucky (Leigh, 2008) 8.5
* Sleepaway Camp (Hiltzik, 1983) 5.5
No Lies (short) (Block, 1974) 8
The Double Life of Veronique (Kieslowski, 1991) 7.5
Rachel Getting Married (Demme, 2008) 8.5
Suzanne's Career (Rohmer, 1963) 8
The Bakery Girl of Monceau (Rohmer, 1963) 7.5
Imitation of Life (Sirk, 1959) 8.5
Decalogue: VIII (Bear False Witness) (Kieslowski, 1989) (TV) 8.5
* Christine (Carpenter, 1982) 7
Let the Right One In (Alfredson, 2008) 6
I don't think it's empty, and I'm glad this sort of emotionally lofty and patient horror film is being embraced by all sorts of people, but the film is a bit lethargic and dull around the edges, and when it does finally perk up, it's usually for some easy morbidity.
The Decalogue: IV (Remember the Sabbath Day) (Kieslowski, 1989) (TV) 7.5
The Decalogue: II (God's Name in Vain) (Kieslowski, 1989) (TV) 8
* Joshua (Ratliff, 2007) 7.5
Thursday, October 30, 2008
October 2008
OCTOBER 08
* Hostel (Roth, 2005) 6.5
Hostel still exhibits a sober sort of plangency with its cinematic decor - from an ambitiously layered script, to a sober eye for cinematography, to moments of earthy, depressive gravity that pepper the film - but this second viewing (after three years since seeing it on its opening weekend) revealed the flaws in the film lies in Roth's callow sense of dramatic pacing. The film has sparkling moments of sensitivity, but they often seem too short, too concise. Instead of being woven into the film, they are just glimmers of the dramatic sense Roth has as a director, scattered smack in between moments that are rote and expositional. He doesn't realize that a great film breathes even the most purely utilitarian scenes with some ascendant aesthetic/dramatic sensibility united with the thematic core of the film, and thus creating a unified "great" whole - which Hostel is not, unfortunately. And he doesn't know how to give a buffer to his attempts at grace to allow them to breathe and proliferate with meaning. This makes the film just sort of sloppy. Its going from restrained to loud-mouthed, or emotionally striking to emotionally mundane, in the split of a second, and it is often really frustrating. I am still a relative proponent of the film, though, despite the new evaluation.
* May (McKee, 2003) 8
Damn good filmmaking, really frickin' sophisticated sometimes.
Chloe in the Afternoon (Rohmer, 1979) 9
Claire's Knee (Rohmer, 1978) 7.5
* Cat People (Tourneur, 1942) 8.5
Cat People's dialogue is dynamite. Upon this re-watch, I was actually kind of underwhelmed by Tourneur's directing (still great, though, probably just the 'Re-visiting with too-high expectations' effect), but the dialogue really never lets up. Really political and sociological, and its play with psychoanalytics is really "with-the-times." The only thing that (still) bugs me is that I just can't fathom Oliver being that patient with Irena, half a year past their wedding. Thankfully, the screenplay comes to the rescue, giving Oliver a moment to express to Alice (who came off as utterly shameless this time around) his irrepressible attraction to Irena's "foreignness," despite their considerable lack of intimacy.
My Night At Maud's (Roher, 1974) 7.5
* The Curse of the Cat People (Von Fritsch and Wise, 1943) 8.5
I can understand why someone wouldn't like 'Curse.' Plot-wise it is kinda "blah," nothing really happens, and its point of conflict with the old woman and her daughter is just really vague in an off-the-wall sort of way... but the film's just too fucking magical. To wit, it's magical, touching, ethereal, and damn beautiful to look at. Plus, its elevating of imagination and fantasy (and the dark and sad kind, even) over a general sort of traditionalism is a major plus for horror film fans like myself. This idea is presented with livid and arch beauty in the Christmas scene, where the dark specter sings the French carol Il le ne, le divin Enfant - with her fey, foreign lilt - in counterpoint to the self-satisfied singing of Shepherds Shake Off Your Drowsy Sleep by a flocking group of comfortable Anglos inside.
* Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960) 8.5
* Dawn of the Dead (Romero, 1974) 7.5
The Ascent (Sheptiko, 1977) 9
Synecdoche, New York (Kaufman, 2008) 6.5
* Hostel (Roth, 2005) 6.5
Hostel still exhibits a sober sort of plangency with its cinematic decor - from an ambitiously layered script, to a sober eye for cinematography, to moments of earthy, depressive gravity that pepper the film - but this second viewing (after three years since seeing it on its opening weekend) revealed the flaws in the film lies in Roth's callow sense of dramatic pacing. The film has sparkling moments of sensitivity, but they often seem too short, too concise. Instead of being woven into the film, they are just glimmers of the dramatic sense Roth has as a director, scattered smack in between moments that are rote and expositional. He doesn't realize that a great film breathes even the most purely utilitarian scenes with some ascendant aesthetic/dramatic sensibility united with the thematic core of the film, and thus creating a unified "great" whole - which Hostel is not, unfortunately. And he doesn't know how to give a buffer to his attempts at grace to allow them to breathe and proliferate with meaning. This makes the film just sort of sloppy. Its going from restrained to loud-mouthed, or emotionally striking to emotionally mundane, in the split of a second, and it is often really frustrating. I am still a relative proponent of the film, though, despite the new evaluation.
* May (McKee, 2003) 8
Damn good filmmaking, really frickin' sophisticated sometimes.
Chloe in the Afternoon (Rohmer, 1979) 9
Claire's Knee (Rohmer, 1978) 7.5
* Cat People (Tourneur, 1942) 8.5
Cat People's dialogue is dynamite. Upon this re-watch, I was actually kind of underwhelmed by Tourneur's directing (still great, though, probably just the 'Re-visiting with too-high expectations' effect), but the dialogue really never lets up. Really political and sociological, and its play with psychoanalytics is really "with-the-times." The only thing that (still) bugs me is that I just can't fathom Oliver being that patient with Irena, half a year past their wedding. Thankfully, the screenplay comes to the rescue, giving Oliver a moment to express to Alice (who came off as utterly shameless this time around) his irrepressible attraction to Irena's "foreignness," despite their considerable lack of intimacy.
My Night At Maud's (Roher, 1974) 7.5
* The Curse of the Cat People (Von Fritsch and Wise, 1943) 8.5
I can understand why someone wouldn't like 'Curse.' Plot-wise it is kinda "blah," nothing really happens, and its point of conflict with the old woman and her daughter is just really vague in an off-the-wall sort of way... but the film's just too fucking magical. To wit, it's magical, touching, ethereal, and damn beautiful to look at. Plus, its elevating of imagination and fantasy (and the dark and sad kind, even) over a general sort of traditionalism is a major plus for horror film fans like myself. This idea is presented with livid and arch beauty in the Christmas scene, where the dark specter sings the French carol Il le ne, le divin Enfant - with her fey, foreign lilt - in counterpoint to the self-satisfied singing of Shepherds Shake Off Your Drowsy Sleep by a flocking group of comfortable Anglos inside.
* Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960) 8.5
* Dawn of the Dead (Romero, 1974) 7.5
The Ascent (Sheptiko, 1977) 9
Synecdoche, New York (Kaufman, 2008) 6.5
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
September 2008
SEPTEMBER 08
Il Deserto rosso (Red Desert) (Antonioni, 1964) 6.5
L'Urlo (The Howl) (Brass, 1970) 5.5
* L'Eclisse (Antonioni, 1962) 8.5
* La Notte (Antonioni, 1961) 9
* The Return of the Living Dead (O'Bannon, 1985) 7
Blithe Spirit (David Lean, 1945) 6.5
* Night of the Creeps (Dekker, 1986) 5
* L'Avventura (Antonioni, 1960) 8.5
Forces of Nature (Hughes, 1999) 4
"The Decalogue": Adultery (Kieslowski, 1989) (TV) 8.5
The Girl at the Monceau Bakery (Rohmer, 1963) 8
What Dreams May Come (Ward, 1998) 5
Brewster McCloud (Altman, 1973) 9
Il Deserto rosso (Red Desert) (Antonioni, 1964) 6.5
L'Urlo (The Howl) (Brass, 1970) 5.5
* L'Eclisse (Antonioni, 1962) 8.5
* La Notte (Antonioni, 1961) 9
* The Return of the Living Dead (O'Bannon, 1985) 7
Blithe Spirit (David Lean, 1945) 6.5
* Night of the Creeps (Dekker, 1986) 5
* L'Avventura (Antonioni, 1960) 8.5
Forces of Nature (Hughes, 1999) 4
"The Decalogue": Adultery (Kieslowski, 1989) (TV) 8.5
The Girl at the Monceau Bakery (Rohmer, 1963) 8
What Dreams May Come (Ward, 1998) 5
Brewster McCloud (Altman, 1973) 9
Saturday, August 30, 2008
August 2008
AUGUST 08
Office Space (Judge, 1999) 4
Cat People (Schreider, 1982) 4
River's Edge (Hunter, 1986) 7.5
* Hostel: Part II (Roth, 2007) 5.5
* Popeye (Altman, 1980) 7
* The X-Files: I Want to Believe (Carter, 2008) 7
* Carnival of Souls (Harvey, 1962) 7
The Stunt Man (Rush, 1980) 7.5
Pineapple Express (Gordon Green, 2008) 6.5
Spontaneous Combustion (Hooper, 1990) 6
Inside (Baustillo, 2007) 5
Straw Dogs (Peckinpah, 1971) 8.5
Office Space (Judge, 1999) 4
Cat People (Schreider, 1982) 4
River's Edge (Hunter, 1986) 7.5
* Hostel: Part II (Roth, 2007) 5.5
* Popeye (Altman, 1980) 7
* The X-Files: I Want to Believe (Carter, 2008) 7
* Carnival of Souls (Harvey, 1962) 7
The Stunt Man (Rush, 1980) 7.5
Pineapple Express (Gordon Green, 2008) 6.5
Spontaneous Combustion (Hooper, 1990) 6
Inside (Baustillo, 2007) 5
Straw Dogs (Peckinpah, 1971) 8.5
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
July 2008
JULY 08
The X-Files: I Want to Believe (Carter, 2008)|||||6.5
Bruiser (Romero, 2000)|||||5
The Dark Knight (Nolan, 2008)|||||6
Season of the Witch (Romero, 1978)|||||8.5
Immortal Beloved (Rose, 1995)|||||6.5
Belle de Jour (Bunuel, 1967)|||||7
Two Lane Blacktop (Hellman, 1971)|||||7.5
Wanted (Bembaktov, 2008)|||||3.5
Mission to Mars (de Palma, 2003)|||||5
Hard Labour (Leigh, 1976)|||||7
You Can't Take It With You (Capra, 1937)|||||4.5
Magic (Attenborough, 1976)|||||8
Noriko's Dinner Table (Sono, 2006)|||||7
The X-Files: I Want to Believe (Carter, 2008)|||||6.5
Bruiser (Romero, 2000)|||||5
The Dark Knight (Nolan, 2008)|||||6
Season of the Witch (Romero, 1978)|||||8.5
Immortal Beloved (Rose, 1995)|||||6.5
Belle de Jour (Bunuel, 1967)|||||7
Two Lane Blacktop (Hellman, 1971)|||||7.5
Wanted (Bembaktov, 2008)|||||3.5
Mission to Mars (de Palma, 2003)|||||5
Hard Labour (Leigh, 1976)|||||7
You Can't Take It With You (Capra, 1937)|||||4.5
Magic (Attenborough, 1976)|||||8
Noriko's Dinner Table (Sono, 2006)|||||7
Monday, June 30, 2008
June 2008
JUNE 08
Wall-E (|||||7.5
All That Heaven Allows (Sirk, 1954)|||||8
* Diary of the Dead (Romero, 2007)|||||7
Winchester '73 (Mann, 1955)|||||7
* Charisma (Kurosawa, 2000)|||||8.5
O.C. and Stiggs (Altman, 1986)|||||8.5
30 Days of Night (Slade, 2007)|||||3
Lonely Are the Brave (|||||5.5
Retribution (Kurosawa, 2006)|||||7
The Man From Laramie (|||||8
Cleo From 5 to 7 (Varda, 1956)|||||8
After the Thin Man|||||6
Syndromes and a Century (Weerasethakul, 2007)|||||8.5
The Happening (Shyamalan, 2008)|||||5
Hannah Takes the Stairs (|||||6.5
The Third Mother (Argento, 2008)|||||4
Crocodile (Hooper, 2000)|||||2
Wall-E (|||||7.5
All That Heaven Allows (Sirk, 1954)|||||8
* Diary of the Dead (Romero, 2007)|||||7
Winchester '73 (Mann, 1955)|||||7
* Charisma (Kurosawa, 2000)|||||8.5
O.C. and Stiggs (Altman, 1986)|||||8.5
30 Days of Night (Slade, 2007)|||||3
Lonely Are the Brave (|||||5.5
Retribution (Kurosawa, 2006)|||||7
The Man From Laramie (|||||8
Cleo From 5 to 7 (Varda, 1956)|||||8
After the Thin Man|||||6
Syndromes and a Century (Weerasethakul, 2007)|||||8.5
The Happening (Shyamalan, 2008)|||||5
Hannah Takes the Stairs (|||||6.5
The Third Mother (Argento, 2008)|||||4
Crocodile (Hooper, 2000)|||||2
Friday, May 30, 2008
May 2008
MAY 08
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Spielberg, 2008)|||||5
Smiles of a Summer Night (Bergman, 1948)|||||8.5
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover (Greenaway, 1986)|||||8.5
* Pride & Prejudice (Wright, 2005)|||||8
Speed Racer (Wachowski Brothers, 2008)|||||5
Invaders from Mars (Hooper, 1986)|||||6.5
The Matrix (Wachowski Brothers, 1999)|||||5.5
Lifeforce (Hooper, 1985)|||||8
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Spielberg, 2008)|||||5
There's something bubbling underneath the surface of this one... I'm not surprised at various writers' attempts to extract something out of its clever self-reflexivity. There are striking considerations of the new era the series takes place in now: the depictions of youth, the use of knowledge for intimidation, the very pettiness of the quest, the occasional sense of vulnerability allowed its Commie villains (i.e. the drag race in the awesome opening credits, Blanchett's admirably emotive performance). The film also seems to be striving to distill the very nature of the Indiana Jones films, what with its plot points concerning academia and adventure, and the revisions and referrals to history (the adventure seems to amount to little more than an opportunity for Spilko and Jones to horde knowledge and combat their principles towards discovery, at the expense of the remains of cruel conquistadors and humble natives).
But yeah, otherwise the movie just isn't very good. Silly, inane, too glossy, and the end is the definition of anti-climactic predictability. I hate to say it, but the movie could've used some... stronger violence? Ray Winstone's last scene is mind-bogglingly strange. And the whole movie is just another victim of the CGI age.
Turbulence 2: Fear of Flying (TV broadcast) (Philippines) (|||||2.5Smiles of a Summer Night (Bergman, 1948)|||||8.5
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover (Greenaway, 1986)|||||8.5
* Pride & Prejudice (Wright, 2005)|||||8
Speed Racer (Wachowski Brothers, 2008)|||||5
Invaders from Mars (Hooper, 1986)|||||6.5
The Matrix (Wachowski Brothers, 1999)|||||5.5
Lifeforce (Hooper, 1985)|||||8
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
April 2008
APRIL 08
Standard Operating Procedure (Morris, 2008)|||||6.5
Standard Operating Procedure (Morris, 2008)|||||6.5
I got to see Errol Morris' new documentary Standard Operation Procedure at the SF International Film Festival with Morris in attendance and with Q&A. Morris' pedagogic approach is always a bit too lofty and post-modern chic, and this is no exception. Whether allegorizing his grand commentaries in character personalities, leaving his more barbed criticisms in the realm of semiotics (the film, when on the topic of his arrest, uses the act of slo-mo egg-frying to evoke the figure of Saddam Hussein), or restricting his film to the incessant blather of one particular perspective (here, those of the "bad apples" of Abu Ghraib, portrayed as clueless young'ns), Morris made his point about the irresponsibility of war-time systems much better in the Q&A than in the film itself. The film itself is rather droning and long-winded, spending too much time detailing in over-produced reenactments the crimes committed in the prison while his greater themes remain obfuscated by his love of creating irony through accessibility, but to the point of excess.
* Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1969)|||||8
* The Life Aquatic with Steven Zissou (Anderson, 2004)|||||7.5
* Killer of Sheep (Burnett, 1977)|||||9
Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (Morris, 1994)|||||6.5
Rashomon (Kurosawa, 1950)|||||8.5
The Thin Blue Line (Morris, 1987)|||||7.5
* Punch-Drunk Love (Anderson, 2001) |||||6.5
* L'Avventura (Antonioni, 1960)|||||8.5
Gates of Heaven (Morris, 1976)|||||6.5
The 400 Blows (Truffaut, 1967)|||||8
* Bonnie and Clyde (Penn, 1969)|||||8
* The Life Aquatic with Steven Zissou (Anderson, 2004)|||||7.5
* Killer of Sheep (Burnett, 1977)|||||9
Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (Morris, 1994)|||||6.5
Rashomon (Kurosawa, 1950)|||||8.5
The Thin Blue Line (Morris, 1987)|||||7.5
* Punch-Drunk Love (Anderson, 2001) |||||6.5
* L'Avventura (Antonioni, 1960)|||||8.5
Gates of Heaven (Morris, 1976)|||||6.5
The 400 Blows (Truffaut, 1967)|||||8
Sunday, March 30, 2008
March 2008
MARCH 08
Into the Wild (Penn, 2007)|||||8.5
The Shawshank Redemption (Darabont, 1994)|||||5
* The Royal Tenenbaums (Anderson, 2001)|||||6.5
The Ninth Configuration (Blatty, 1984)|||||7.5
Starship Troopers (Verhoeven, 1997)|||||8.5
Singin' in the Rain (|||||7.5
North By Northwest (Hitchcock, 1959)|||||9
The Convent (|||||4.5
* Cube (Natali, 1997)|||||6
Rescue Dawn (Herzog, 2006)|||||7
* Doppelganger (Kurosawa, 2003)|||||9
Into the Wild (Penn, 2007)|||||8.5
The Shawshank Redemption (Darabont, 1994)|||||5
* The Royal Tenenbaums (Anderson, 2001)|||||6.5
The Ninth Configuration (Blatty, 1984)|||||7.5
Starship Troopers (Verhoeven, 1997)|||||8.5
Singin' in the Rain (|||||7.5
North By Northwest (Hitchcock, 1959)|||||9
The Convent (|||||4.5
* Cube (Natali, 1997)|||||6
Rescue Dawn (Herzog, 2006)|||||7
* Doppelganger (Kurosawa, 2003)|||||9
Thursday, February 28, 2008
February 2008
FEBRUARY 08
Severance (|||||4
Michael Clayton (Gilroy, 2007)|||||6.5
Hiroshima Mon Amour (Resnais, 1960)|||||9
Margot at the Wedding (Baumbach, 2007)|||||6.5
The Bicycle Thief (de Sica, 1946)|||||8.5
Remembrance of Things to Come (Marker, 1993)|||||7
* The Mangler (Hooper, 1995)|||||5
Berkeley (|||||2
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Dominick, 2007)|||||8.5
Citizen Kane (Welles, 1944)|||||9
Sans Soleil (Marker, 1978)|||||9
Faces (Cassavetes, 1968)|||||8.5
The Lives of Others (von Donnersmarck, 2006)|||||7
Severance (|||||4
Michael Clayton (Gilroy, 2007)|||||6.5
Hiroshima Mon Amour (Resnais, 1960)|||||9
Margot at the Wedding (Baumbach, 2007)|||||6.5
The Bicycle Thief (de Sica, 1946)|||||8.5
Remembrance of Things to Come (Marker, 1993)|||||7
* The Mangler (Hooper, 1995)|||||5
Berkeley (|||||2
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Dominick, 2007)|||||8.5
Citizen Kane (Welles, 1944)|||||9
Sans Soleil (Marker, 1978)|||||9
Faces (Cassavetes, 1968)|||||8.5
The Lives of Others (von Donnersmarck, 2006)|||||7
The film has artful delicacy seen in its consistent peppering of cohering visual cues, many times evoking the film's central focus of "surveillance." The character Christa's final moment is particularly well-handled, utilizing the "head-on" shot of Christa, one of the film's most often used visual cues, to a devastating - and ironic (rather indelicately emphasized in my previous scare quoted turn of phrase) - effect.
The film is too long, though, and it lacks a forcefulness to it, whether regarding its politics or its very construction I do not know. The film is overall a bit rudimentary in its storytelling and character-centric approach.
The Boss of it All (von Trier, 2006)|||||7
Black Book (Verhoeven, 2007)|||||8
The film is too long, though, and it lacks a forcefulness to it, whether regarding its politics or its very construction I do not know. The film is overall a bit rudimentary in its storytelling and character-centric approach.
The Boss of it All (von Trier, 2006)|||||7
Black Book (Verhoeven, 2007)|||||8
*spoilers* Black Book is so close to being great, if it were not for its last minute plot twist, the very last double-cross heaped upon the previous doubles-crosses. It only served as overkill, forcing the film's incisive point - about war not being about good vs. evil, but a complex network of pricks screwing each other over - to a point more literalistic than, and less metaphoric as, it should have been. The Doctor had come in a hero, taken her away, allowed her finally the "Victory Jeep ride" we anticipated for her, yet he is all together unheedful of why she breaks down crying about the executed Mutze. That showed his soulless mechanization more than enough, but unfortunately the film had to go and make him a one-dimensional villain. If the film had ended with the moment where she breaks down crying, sobbing the phrase "Will it never end?", the film would have been superlative. That one moment so perfectly encapsulates the dashed expectations and irrevocable epiphanies and humiliations Ellis has had to endure as a wannabe Mata Hari.
Other than that, the film is exceptional and Verhoeven perfectly over-stylizes the film to fit Van Houten's romantic hopes of transgressing the Nazi regime. Throughout, he tinges the film with a very contemporary, matter-of-fact touch that puts various overly dour romanticizations of World War II Europe to shame. The best thing about the film is Ellis (or Carice Van Houten, no need to give-or-take distinctions between them). The vagueness of what exactly is the true fiber of her character, and Verhoeven's strange hints at an off-putting artificiality in the convictions she takes on, creates just the right balance to make her both involving and enigmatic: a surrogate heroine as well as a character to analyze and scrutinize.
Teeth (Lichtenstein, 2007)|||||5
The Rules of the Game (Renoir, 1939)|||||9
Gone Baby Gone (Affleck, 2007)|||||8.5
Shadows (Cassavetes, 1959)|||||8
* Bringing Up Baby (Hawks, 1938)|||||8
Enchanted (Lima, 2007)|||||5
12:08 East of Bucharest (Porumboiu, 2006)|||||7
The Company (Altman, 2003)|||||9
* There Will Be Blood (Anderson, 2007)|||||6
Exiled (To, 2006)|||||7
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (Cassavetes, 1976)|||||9
Teeth (Lichtenstein, 2007)|||||5
The Rules of the Game (Renoir, 1939)|||||9
Gone Baby Gone (Affleck, 2007)|||||8.5
Shadows (Cassavetes, 1959)|||||8
* Bringing Up Baby (Hawks, 1938)|||||8
Enchanted (Lima, 2007)|||||5
12:08 East of Bucharest (Porumboiu, 2006)|||||7
The Company (Altman, 2003)|||||9
* There Will Be Blood (Anderson, 2007)|||||6
Exiled (To, 2006)|||||7
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (Cassavetes, 1976)|||||9
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
January 2008
JANUARY 08
* Blackmail (Hitchcock, 1929)|||||6.5
Le Joli Mai (Marker & Lhomme, 1963)|||||8
* McCabe & Mrs. Miller (Altman, 1971)|||||8.5
Fat Girl (Breillat, 2001)|||||9
Los Olvidados (Buñuel, 1950)|||||7.5
The Koumiko Mystery (Marker, 1965)|||||9
La Jetee (Marker, 1962)|||||8
Night and Fog (Resnais, 1955)|||||8
Days of Heaven (Malick, 1978)|||||9
Across the Universe (Taymor, 2007)|||||5
Magnolia (Anderson, 1999)|||||6.5
Kids (Clark, 1995)|||||8
Big Bang Love, Juvenile A (Miike, 2006)|||||7
I'm Not There (Haynes, 2007)|||||7
Notorious (Hitchcock, 1946)|||||9
* Targets (Bogdanovich, 1968)|||||8.5
The Orphanage (Bayona, 2008)|||||5
This is England (Meadows, 2007)|||||8.5
The Taste of Tea (Ishii, 2004)|||||7.5
* May (McKee, 2003)|||||7.5
Cloverfield (Reeves, 2008)|||||5.5
Offside (Panahi, 2006)|||||8
Hot Fuzz (Wright, 2007)|||||7
Knocked Up (Apatow, 2007)|||||6.5
3:10 to Yuma (Mangold, 2007)|||||4
Red Road (Arnold, 2006)|||||7
Beloved (Demme, 1998)|||||7
* The Quiet Family (Kim, 1998)|||||7.5
* The Host (Bong, 2006)|||||7.5
The Lookout (Frank, 2006)|||||5.5
28 Weeks Later (Fresnadillo, 2007)|||||5
Thoroughly engaging, recurrently effective as an approximation of the demoralized atrocities of ill-defined militarism, fear, and warfare (whether in war, in the blood, or in the family)... but Jesus if that wasn't one of the more sloppy, slap-dash, and incohesively constructed big-budget mainstream films I have ever witnessed. The film is too frenetic in directing and editing, for the film maintains the same overbearing style throughout and thus loses dramatic coherence (which it does possess at some points) in the quagmire of stylistic excess and a deficient sense of the virtues of a varied pacing and also variance in stylistic composition. The director and editor seemed to only function on two modes: haphazard montage of beautiful imagery and incomprehensible action sequence.
* Blackmail (Hitchcock, 1929)|||||6.5
Le Joli Mai (Marker & Lhomme, 1963)|||||8
* McCabe & Mrs. Miller (Altman, 1971)|||||8.5
Fat Girl (Breillat, 2001)|||||9
Los Olvidados (Buñuel, 1950)|||||7.5
The Koumiko Mystery (Marker, 1965)|||||9
La Jetee (Marker, 1962)|||||8
Night and Fog (Resnais, 1955)|||||8
Days of Heaven (Malick, 1978)|||||9
Across the Universe (Taymor, 2007)|||||5
Magnolia (Anderson, 1999)|||||6.5
Kids (Clark, 1995)|||||8
Big Bang Love, Juvenile A (Miike, 2006)|||||7
I'm Not There (Haynes, 2007)|||||7
Notorious (Hitchcock, 1946)|||||9
* Targets (Bogdanovich, 1968)|||||8.5
The Orphanage (Bayona, 2008)|||||5
This is England (Meadows, 2007)|||||8.5
The Taste of Tea (Ishii, 2004)|||||7.5
* May (McKee, 2003)|||||7.5
Cloverfield (Reeves, 2008)|||||5.5
Offside (Panahi, 2006)|||||8
Hot Fuzz (Wright, 2007)|||||7
Knocked Up (Apatow, 2007)|||||6.5
3:10 to Yuma (Mangold, 2007)|||||4
Red Road (Arnold, 2006)|||||7
Beloved (Demme, 1998)|||||7
* The Quiet Family (Kim, 1998)|||||7.5
* The Host (Bong, 2006)|||||7.5
The Lookout (Frank, 2006)|||||5.5
28 Weeks Later (Fresnadillo, 2007)|||||5
Thoroughly engaging, recurrently effective as an approximation of the demoralized atrocities of ill-defined militarism, fear, and warfare (whether in war, in the blood, or in the family)... but Jesus if that wasn't one of the more sloppy, slap-dash, and incohesively constructed big-budget mainstream films I have ever witnessed. The film is too frenetic in directing and editing, for the film maintains the same overbearing style throughout and thus loses dramatic coherence (which it does possess at some points) in the quagmire of stylistic excess and a deficient sense of the virtues of a varied pacing and also variance in stylistic composition. The director and editor seemed to only function on two modes: haphazard montage of beautiful imagery and incomprehensible action sequence.
Too sloppy and overdone to be truly good - and the film's really sloppily crafted - but it has a striking thematic heft that makes me see the film as a too somber, too serious UK equivalent to The Host.
Eaten Alive (Hooper, 1977)|||||6.5
The Servant (Losey, 1963)|||||9
Appropriately high strung and scary in its portrayal of the perils of lethargy. One really feels the vapid complacence and subsequent torpor that entails the main character's downfall. Guaranteed to make one want to give up drug-stupored orgies and take control of one's own life!
Love Affair (McCarey, 1939)|||||8
Time (Kim, 2006)|||||6.5
A nicely edgy and upfront appraisal of cruel emotional politics ingrained in serious relationships, but I'm not sure shaky dialogue and overwroughtness assist much Ki-duk's spare directing.
Juno (Reitman, 2007)|||||6
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theatres (Maiellaro & Willis, 2007)|||||5.5
From Beyond (Gordon, 1986)|||||6
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (Altman, 1976)|||||8.5
The Burning (Maylam, 1981)|||||5
Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix (Yates, 2007)|||||5.5
Black Snake Moan (Brewer, 2007)|||||6.5
The Simpsons Movie (Silverman, 2007)|||||5
Away from Her (Polley, 2006)|||||6.5
* God Told Me To (Cohen, 1976)|||||7
* Death Proof (Tarantino, 2007)|||||9
Who Can Kill a Child? (Serrador, 1976)|||||7
Beautifully filmed, sometimes-silly-sometimes-brilliant low-budget Euro horror.
Killer of Sheep (Burnett, 1977)|||||8.5
Once (Carney, 2006)|||||6.5
Eaten Alive (Hooper, 1977)|||||6.5
The Servant (Losey, 1963)|||||9
Appropriately high strung and scary in its portrayal of the perils of lethargy. One really feels the vapid complacence and subsequent torpor that entails the main character's downfall. Guaranteed to make one want to give up drug-stupored orgies and take control of one's own life!
Love Affair (McCarey, 1939)|||||8
Time (Kim, 2006)|||||6.5
A nicely edgy and upfront appraisal of cruel emotional politics ingrained in serious relationships, but I'm not sure shaky dialogue and overwroughtness assist much Ki-duk's spare directing.
Juno (Reitman, 2007)|||||6
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theatres (Maiellaro & Willis, 2007)|||||5.5
From Beyond (Gordon, 1986)|||||6
Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson (Altman, 1976)|||||8.5
The Burning (Maylam, 1981)|||||5
Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix (Yates, 2007)|||||5.5
Black Snake Moan (Brewer, 2007)|||||6.5
The Simpsons Movie (Silverman, 2007)|||||5
Away from Her (Polley, 2006)|||||6.5
* God Told Me To (Cohen, 1976)|||||7
* Death Proof (Tarantino, 2007)|||||9
Who Can Kill a Child? (Serrador, 1976)|||||7
Beautifully filmed, sometimes-silly-sometimes-brilliant low-budget Euro horror.
Killer of Sheep (Burnett, 1977)|||||8.5
Once (Carney, 2006)|||||6.5
Pleasant, with engaging music. Characters are downtrodden in an admirably subdued way, and it's refreshing how they weigh their options and convictions like real adults, all without losing the sweeping romance that the more typical movie love story would usually throw all its dignity to the wind to achieve. But otherwise... meh? Not sure I find much to take away from this one, especially formally. Have I mentioned I hate musical montage?
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Fassbender, 1974)|||||8.5
Bless that turn of the screw a third into it. I should have seen it coming, but it pushed the movie up from good to great. Fassbinder's strange, ironical formal technique magically clicks when the film's relentless prejudice romance-drama is finally ambushed by realities like the nature of uppity old womanhood, rowdy and prideful young manhood, and stubborn cultural values and language-intelligence barriers. Then it is awesome how the film regresses back to melodrama, then does a back flip again at the last second to serve bummerific immigrant labor social realities.
Django (Corbucci, 1966) |||||6.5
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Fassbender, 1974)|||||8.5
Bless that turn of the screw a third into it. I should have seen it coming, but it pushed the movie up from good to great. Fassbinder's strange, ironical formal technique magically clicks when the film's relentless prejudice romance-drama is finally ambushed by realities like the nature of uppity old womanhood, rowdy and prideful young manhood, and stubborn cultural values and language-intelligence barriers. Then it is awesome how the film regresses back to melodrama, then does a back flip again at the last second to serve bummerific immigrant labor social realities.
Django (Corbucci, 1966) |||||6.5
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
