quo vadis?

The Naked Prey

2012-02-22T08:11:00.002-05:00

Cornel Wilde

Zinger chase flick from 1965. Wilde plays a safari boss who runs afoul of a certain tribe in Africa in the 1800's and spends the next hour and a half running for his life. Well thought out, staged. Great landscapes. Filler shots of wildlife work to make it real.

I saw this upon release, loved it then and am pleased that it has held up so well. Wilde had a middling career in B movies in the 40's and 50's. He produced, directed and starred.

Inside the Perfect Circle

2012-02-21T07:26:00.002-05:00

documentary

Routine bio of avant-garde composer Joel Thome. He came across as a decent, if obsessive guy who creates music some enjoy experiencing. He achieved fame by collaborating with Frank Zappa in several rock/orchestral performances.

Interesting but I don't think the kids can dance to it.

The Deep Blue Sea

2012-02-20T07:32:00.002-05:00

England Rachael Weisz d/ Terrence Davies

Typically sumptuous-looking effort by one of England's best filmmakers. This story is about a woman who obsessively loves a man who doesn't love her and treats her badly...not because he's mean...but because he can.

I found following a heroine around who is so craven irritating after a while. I wanted to slap her and tell her to wake up...get over him. But, of course, in matters of the heart it's easier said than done.

Still I appreciated the great skill on display here...beautiful lighting, compositions, camera movement. I'll willingly watch anything this guy does. And here he does touch truth.

A Useful Life

2012-02-19T09:11:00.002-05:00

Uruguay

Minimalist film about the manager of an art cinema which is sinking into oblivion. The lead was a schlubby, likable sort of guy who has lived for the movies and is unprepared for any other kind of life.

The big climax is him asking a woman for a date...to a movie.

Not ready for the world stage.

Beautiful Boy

2012-02-19T06:57:00.002-05:00

Michael Sheen, Maria Bello

How would you react if it was your son who committed a Columbine-like slaughter?

Realistic, intelligent script, well acted and staged...painful to watch as this tormented couple go through the various stages of attempting to deal with the unknowable.

Solid film.

The Artist

2012-02-18T08:52:00.002-05:00

France

Wonderful re-creation of silent-era films. The story was a tried-and-true melodrama formula, the male lead perfect for the role...music, cine, framing and story structure spot on.

This film has received acclaim all over the world, tapping into a nostalgia for a cinema from and for what is now perceived as a simpler time...and it deserves it. A rare and precious cinematic jewel.

The Light Thief

2012-02-18T08:45:00.002-05:00

Kyrgyzstan

Interesting, somewhat primitive film about the travails of a rural village fighting to retain it's sense of community in the face of encroaching modernity. The hero is the local electrician whose main job is helping neighbors steal electricity from the grid.

The film is saved by the lead. He has a cherubic face, is helpful, lovable, always smiling...the kind of guy anyone would like to have around. He represents the best of the common folk. His life and, by extension all our lives, takes a nasty turn when he thwarts the plans of the local big man.

Worth it.

Kansas City Confidential

2012-02-17T07:23:00.002-05:00

John Payne

Post-war noirish crime/thriller. Strong story with Payne as a patsy trying to clear his name. His character is morally ambivalent which leant some depth to an otherwise soundstage-bound melodrama.

Helped by some classic hollywood character actors...Jack Elam, Lee van Cleef, Neville Brand.

Routine but a bit above the usual B movie of the time.

The White Meadows

2012-02-16T08:05:00.003-05:00

Iran

An extraordinary film. A middle-aged man rows his boat on a placid inland sea, visits small islands where he listens to peoples' woes and collects their tears in a glass bottle.

Engaging, poetic, beautifully photographed, enigmatic. A multi-layered metaphor that by the end seemed to summarize the human condition. As rich as any work of literature. This deserves to be seen.

The Invisible Eye

2012-02-15T13:17:00.002-05:00

Argentina

Slow-building powerful film. A 23 yo woman working in the rigidly militaristic national school becomes obsessed with one of the male students. She also has to fend off the attentions of her superior. She handles both badly.

The film ends up being a political metaphor. Set in 1982 during the period of military rule and just before the Falklands War.

Brilliantly acted. Great locations, pacing. It succeeded beautifully in drawing me in, making me feel for this character, then broadening my perspective to the larger message.

Good stuff. No commercial potential.

Winter in Wartime

2012-02-14T05:40:00.003-05:00

Holland

January 1945. The war is nearing an end. We follow a 14 yo boy after he discovers a downed British pilot and shelters him. He is well-meaning but naive-all sorts of complications ensue.

This film held me for an hour or so but then it took a disastrous turn toward a Disney-like sensibility which made it seem like an after-school special. It didn't help that the lead was directed to hardly speak...he spent most of the film staring at the floor. This may have had some justification...this was a young boy dealing with forces beyond his ken...but it came across as a black hole at the center of the story.

And either this character was uniquely blessed by fate or the Germans stationed in this town were unusually stupid...somewhere on the level of the ones in Hogan's Heroes.

Overall...not good enough for anyone over 15.

Goodbye Mr Chips

2012-02-12T07:08:00.003-05:00

Robert Donat, Greer Garson

Wonderfully done British schmaltz from just before the war. Donat shines as he moves from young Latin scholar to doddering master emeritus. Chips spends 63 years at a "public" school - at first scorned by the student body, later a much-beloved institution.

His romance with GG is hopelessly cute but mercifully short...the treacle would have been unbearable without some leavening.

The down side of this educational system is ignored...loneliness, beatings, buggery. It's all presented as hail-fellows-well-met. But it works...beautifully. It is widely seen as a classic and deservedly so. A sentimental favorite.

Oscar Nominated Shorts - Documentaries - 2012

2012-02-10T14:42:00.002-05:00

Another solid program.

The second and longest film dealt with the practice in Pakistan of men throwing acid into the faces of women who have angered them...I found this very hard to watch. The specter of mutilated women trying to carry on in a culture which denies them any freedom or justice became too painful after a time.

The third film - The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom - was outstanding and, for me, the pick of the lot. The aftermath of last year's devastating tsunami was interwoven with the Japanese spring celebration of the cherry blossoms and all it means to Japanese culture. Poetry, music, interviews, photography all were used to give deep insight into that culture. As fine a doc as any I have ever seen.

Well worth it.

The Arbor

2012-02-10T06:56:00.002-05:00

England

Depressing tour through the lower reaches of Merrie Olde England. The focus is on one family living in a council estate (low-income public housing). The matriarch wrote a popular play in 1980 which was turned into a film (Rita, Sue and Bob Too) but she was a drunken bum and her eldest daughter, born of her union with a Paki, ends up having a horrible life. She is the main subject of the film.

The technique used here was fresh. Actual interviews were lip-synched by actors...who were easier on the eyes than the real people. The story was told in jumbled-up time. This helped to maintain interest...for a time. But the problem was that, minor details aside, life stories of the extreme lower class have a monotonous sameness to them. In the immortal words of Spiro Agnew...if you've seen one slum you've seen them all.

Once I had it sorted out it became a mego. Too bad. Kudos for the effort but this paled beside last year's Fish Tank.

Oscar Nominated Shorts - Live Action - 2012

2012-02-09T16:52:00.002-05:00

This was an exceptional program. Films ranging from 7 to 31 minutes long from all over the world. Some were amusing, some touching, thought-provoking...There wasn't a weak entry in the lot.

This form is alive and well. I hope that with the new methods of distribution...primarily streaming via the internet...that those who have a 20 minute story to tell can find an audience and not be frozen out.

Oscar Nominated Shorts - Animated - 2012

2012-02-09T08:08:00.002-05:00

anime

The usual assortment of creative/provocative works. Two really stood out...a Canadian entry about a British immigrant to Alberta in 1910 and a magical story which becomes a tribute to books and those who read them.

Several nice entries financed by the Canadian Film Board...makes me wonder why this country isn't doing something similar...

Mesrine pt2

2012-02-09T07:56:00.003-05:00

France Vincent Cassel

This completes the story of one of France's most notorious criminals. His success gave Mesrine an enormously swelled head and his behavior became more and more outrageous. By the end of his life he wanted to overthrow the government...for personal reasons. He foresaw his fate...how else could it end?...but played out his predetermined role.

Cassel shines in this film. He has a limited range but within it...like here...he towers over the other performers. In this half of the story he changes his body language, voice tone, his whole bearing to reflect Mesrine's megalomania.

Powerful film...well presented.

Warrior

2012-02-07T08:26:00.003-05:00

Nick Nolte

Crowd-pleasing variant on the BIG GAME model of filmmaking. This one dealt with a type of fighting that includes boxing/wrestling features conducted within a wire mesh cage.

There was professional skill on display here on all levels but it was just another film using a formula that's been over-used. A button-pusher.

Incendies

2012-02-06T08:40:00.002-05:00

Canada

Very powerful film. A mother's will starts a pair of adult siblings on to a trip into her past with devastating results.

The quest was presented with minimal information to the audience which was OK but I never did learn what country they started from or where most of the action took place. Perhaps it was intended to be generic but I did find it frustrating. The mother was badly mistreated in several parts of the narrative...almost to the point where I wasn't willing to watch any more. Torture, suffering get old fast.

Still this was a major production with a complicated story, set in different parts of the world that came together brilliantly at the conclusion.

Mesrine Pt 1

2012-02-05T06:59:00.002-05:00

France Vincent Cassel

Biopic of one of France's more notorious criminals. Great role for VC and he nails it. The story ranges far and wide and reminded me of Carlos in its overall excellence, look and pace.

For fans of this kind of story this is a winner.

Craptastic

2012-02-04T07:24:00.002-05:00

documentary

Vermont filmmaker casts Anna Nicole Smith in his low-budget film...and then his troubles begin.

He thought he would benefit from all the tabloid publicity she generated but she was a nightmare to deal with during the shoot...during post her son died of an overdose...and then she did too. An object lesson...get too close to the fire and you'll get burned.

Interesting, sad and well done doc.

The Ides of March

2012-02-03T05:13:00.002-05:00

George Clooney, Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman

Topical, realistic political drama set during a presidential campaign. There was nothing cartoonish about the sell-outs and chicanery here...it was people losing their integrity, their pride, one small step at a time, hoping for a chance at the golden ring.

Solid script, performances, direction.

La Pivellina

2012-02-02T09:09:00.003-05:00

Italy

Wonderful film. An itinerant circus family find a toddler abandoned in a winter playground, take her in in spite of their fears of official consequences if they are found out, come to love her and dread the time when her mother returns to take her back.

An astonishing performance by this 2 year old. How in the world did they get this child to do this stuff? She seemed completely in sync with the story line.

I also liked the focus on the lower reaches of Italian society and how their warmth and solidarity gets them through. But this film is primarily a human drama and it succeeds superbly.

Mighty Joe Young

2012-02-01T16:19:00.002-05:00

Terry Thomas, Ben Johnson

Cornball follow-up to King Kong by the same Cooper/Shoedsack team. Essentially the same story. All soundstage - with one very good set. Good ape effects by Ray Harryhausen.

The film was crippled by the doofus-level material. I loved it as a child and should have left it as a fond memory. I did enjoy the re-make done in 1998.

Who Killed Pixote?

2012-01-31T14:47:00.002-05:00

Brazil

Fictionalized treatment of the story of the young actor who played a street urchin in the 80's hit film only to see his life turn sour after he had outgrown child roles. He turned to crime and eventually was murdered.

The film was carefully done but the arc of the story was obvious from the beginning so it lacked dramatic impact. Sad story. All Brazilian society played a part.

A Dangerous Method

2012-01-31T07:24:00.002-05:00

Viggo Mortenson, Keira Knightly d/ David Cronenberg

Freud and Jung at the dawn of the 20th century...when psychoanalysis was emerging onto the world scene. Some of this was focused on the theoretical or procedural differences between them but most of the film centered on KK's character and her relationships with the two men.

KK played a Russian who at first was raving and for me she was acting out of her range. I was never able to see her as a person...she was always an actor trying to pretend. This was true even when she was just being a Russian woman. This was a fatal blow to this film since she was on screen most of the time.

The two male leads were OK but their conflict was so restrained it seemed to evanesce into nothingness. By the end I just didn't care about any of this and was glad when it was over.

Boy

2012-01-30T08:34:00.002-05:00

New Zealand

Maori comedy. That alone makes it fresh...sort of...but once you get used to the players' appearance and the setting it became just another trite attempt to be silly enough to be amusing.

It wasn't.

And to think that these people once were warriors...

Wah Do Dem

2012-01-29T07:36:00.002-05:00

amerindie

Silly, lightweight amateur production. A 20-something guy wins a cruise ship tour, his girl bails on him, he ends up in Jamaica where a pair of scammers steal his stuff and leave him to fend for himself among the natives.

The screenplay was a bit thin, the lead was just barely OK, the footage of Jamaica interesting, ditto the cruise ship faux luxury...

Watchable...but right on the edge...

In A Better World

2012-01-28T07:20:00.002-05:00

Denmark d/ Susanne Bier

Compelling story of two 12 year old boys who are embedded in troubled families and as a result spin off into a destructive direction. Excellent performances by the two boys.

All aspects of this film...with the exception of a clumsy plot contrivance...were first rate and deserve to be seen by a world-wide audience.

All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace

2012-01-27T08:29:00.002-05:00

documentary Adam Curtis

His latest analysis of the forces that shape world events. Done for the BBC and, unfortunately, crippled by accepting as truth the "news" put forward by the corporate media. Still, as always, he assembles a provocative bunch of facts and couples them with the whiz-bang rapid-fire visuals that create interest and disallow reflection.

Worth watching but not good enough to serve as the first draft of history.

Monsieur Lazhar

2012-01-25T15:29:00.002-05:00

Quebec

Really fine, sensitive, intelligent film about an Algerian refugee in Montreal who finds work teaching at a school...replacing a teacher who had committed suicide.

Many issues are touched on...usually obliquely, always in an understated way. Remarkable performances by the children...who were 11 or so.

You would think nothing new could be done with a classroom drama. But this film felt fresh, insightful and quite moving. First rate work.

Hypothesis

2012-01-23T06:55:00.002-05:00

documentary

Straightforward piece on Steven Jones, the Utah physicist who became the first world-class scientist to publicly question the official explanation for the collapse of the three towers in Manhattan in 2001. Of course he was labeled a nut, crazy, a conspiracist but no one was able to challenge the data he developed to support his hypothesis-that pre-planted explosives were what actually brought the buildings down.

It took courage and intellectual conviction to do what he did. He lost his professorship at BYU and was ostracized by the mainstream but history may judge him very differently.

This doc was too short and by itself won't be enough to persuade believers in the OCT but it does serve as a nice supplement to other films created in recent years.

The Making of West Side Story

2012-01-21T07:35:00.002-05:00

documentary

In 1984 Deutsche Grammaphone asked Leonard Bernstein to re-record the entire score to his classic 1957 musical. He hired Kiri Te Kanawa and Jose Careras to sing the leads. This film records the four-day session.

Fascinating view of the remarkable musical genius in action. No wonder he was so revered by his contemporaries. Hearing the music done by such talented performers brought it to life again...made it seem fresh and timeless. A great project...a great film.

Macbeth

2012-01-20T06:35:00.003-05:00

Roman Polanski

Very fine treatment of the great tragedy. Shot in Wales, the film feels gritty, muddy, grungy...a realistic portrayal of a more brutal time. From 1971. Financed by Hugh Hefner of all people.

Import/Export

2012-01-20T06:27:00.002-05:00

Austria w/d Ulrich Seidl

Another extremely unpleasant film from this guy (Dog Days). Here we follow two immigrants...a woman who moves from Ukraine to Austria and a man who reverses this path. Both have degrading work experiences at home, move to a land they hope holds promise and discover even more humiliation, mistreatment and degradation.

Slow story development, long, static shots, many scenes that make the viewer cringe in sympathy for the actors. What exactly is the message here? Life sucks and then you die?

This bozo needs to wash out his mind with soap.

Bridesmaids

2012-01-18T14:42:00.002-05:00

Kristen Wiig

Considered by some to be the comedy of the year.

I found it mean-spirited, vulgar and not funny.

Oh well...

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

2012-01-17T07:04:00.002-05:00

Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison

Sweet, unusual love story from the late 40's. Although the arc of the story was very predictable it didn't matter...the two players were both interesting to watch and their chemistry together worked. I found the resolution perfect.

George Sanders played his usual slimy cad in a supporting role. Film is widely considered a sentimental classic...justifiably so.

Contagion

2012-01-16T18:07:00.002-05:00

d/ Steven Soderbergh

Nicely done mainstream what if? drama. All star cast. Realistic portrayal of how people would react to a virulent pandemic. This kind of story has been done several times before which didn't really detract from this one.

Solid, engrossing.

Carnage

2012-01-15T11:51:00.003-05:00

Kate Winslet, Jodie Foster, John C Reilly w/d Roman Polanski

A four-hander adapted from an award winning play. Two couples begin to deal with a confrontation their sons had with calm and civility and gradually the thin veneer of civilization gets peeled away and we see the ugliness lurking within. And it really was the funniest film I've seen in a long while. Laughed out loud several times.

Masterfully directed by Polanski. His framing and pacing kept interest high in the confines of one apartment. Excellent writing and each of the four players got a chance to shine using every emotion in the actors' box of tricks.

Short, fun and sweet.

The Eclipse

2012-01-14T02:28:00.002-05:00

Ireland Cieran Hinds

This was sort of a ghost story. A widower dealing with two children and a literary festival begins hearing/seeing things that may or may not be there. He sort of hooks up with the author he's driving around...but not really. In fact that was the central problem with this film...it was all a bit too tentative. It lacked commitment.

There have been many ghost stories made that were genuinely scary or creepy and forced the viewer to consider the possible reality of the spirit world. This wasn't one of them.

The City of Life and Death

2012-01-13T08:51:00.002-05:00

China

Fictionalized treatment of the horrific Rape of Nanking, China's capitol city, in 1937 by the invading Japanese. Although this was intended as propaganda the film actually soft-peddles the range of atrocities committed in fact as documented in Iris Chang's book. But enough was included to cause the same head-shaking bewilderment at the behavior on display here that the Nazi phenomenon evokes.

How could an obviously civilized nation carry out such acts? What hope does this leave us for the future of mankind? Stay tuned.

Nostalgia For the Light

2012-01-13T08:46:00.002-05:00

documentary Chile

Very fine doc which examines three different searches for the truth in the past history in the Atacama desert: the deep past using telescopes which take advantage of the clear sighting, the archeological study of glyphs left by passing shepherds in rock formations 1000 years ago and the search for bodies dumped in the desert by the Pinochet regime.

The film skillfully weaves these threads together into a compelling meditation on man's continual search for truth.

The Light Bulb Conspiracy

2012-01-12T08:08:00.002-05:00

documentary

Well done German screed against planned obsolescence and the throwaway society. This system was a conscious decision reached by capitalist leaders in the 1920's to ensure a continuing flow of profits. It worked beautifully for them...for us...not so good.

In a finite world an economic plan that relies on infinite growth cannot last.

Mystic Ball

2012-01-12T08:05:00.002-05:00

documentary

Interesting piece on the national sport of Burma...similar to hacky-sack it involves standing in a circle and keeping a reed ball in the air using only feet and knees. It is non-competitive and allows for some amazing feats of skill and agility.

Happy, Happy

2012-01-12T05:42:00.002-05:00

Norway

Title is ironic. Two couples, one newcomers, live in adjacent houses in rural Norway. Their lives become intertwined in predictable ways. Early on we learn of tensions in their marriages which leads to cheating, family disruptions, recriminations, reconciliations, etc.

It seems the whole of the human drama is enacted on screen in miniature. The focus on these four people is so close that we get no sense of what the community is like or the other people in it.

One of the players...Agnes Gittelson...lights up the screen. This film should serve as a break-out role for her internationally. A sub-plot involving their children clunks badly and should have been cut.

Other than AG there was nothing fresh, innovative or interesting about this film.

Attack the Block

2012-01-10T16:43:00.002-05:00

England

Scruffy war-against-the-hairy-aliens film. Off-putting at first because we follow around some street scum who mug a young nurse in the opening scenes. Gradually (too gradually) we come to see these jerks as not as repulsive as they first appeared. But they're still kids and the righteous fight is theirs alone since the police, and apparently every other adult in London are elsewhere that night.

By the end I was liking it...but just barely.

Another Earth

2012-01-10T09:11:00.002-05:00

amerindie

Proof that sometimes less is just...well less. Another planet is approaching Earth but other than some nice shots of it in the sky it's superfluous to what's going on here. The focus is on a young woman who caused a fatal car accident and her weak attempts to atone several years later.

Scuzzy look hurt...made it seem like an amateur production. The story, its arc and resolution were OK but I kept feeling that there wasn't enough going on here to justify my time. And the notion that the other earth was populated by all the people here on this one - with maybe little differences - was an asinine attempt at metaphor.

Not bad but not good enough either.

The Boy Friend

2012-01-10T09:07:00.003-05:00

Twiggy, Tommy Tune w/d Ken Russell

Wonderful tribute to the stupid musicals that dazzled rubes in the early thirties. Twiggy is adorable (and a good dancer), the tone is appropriately hokey, the costumes incredible (done by KR's wife), the elaborate choreography a fine tribute to the best of Busby Berkeley.

Fast-paced, wildly colorful, silly...this is one of his best. A treat for all cinephiles...

Columbiana

2012-01-09T08:27:00.002-05:00

Zoe Saldana

This is the latest in the female superwoman/action hero genre (Hanna, Salt). All these characters perform skeins of just-barely-possible stunts while eluding bad guys and continue unscathed on their mission to deliver justice...as they see it. Large numbers of bodies are strewn along the way but no one particularly notices or cares about this collateral damage.

I'm sure these films say something about our times...as we become more oppressed and controlled by forces we can't even name the desire for revenge and retribution will produce more of these wish-fulfillment outlets.

That said this heroine was easy on the eyes and skilled in what she had to do on screen. This was a very professional production but the whole phenomenon is troubling.

You Got To Move

2012-01-08T11:25:00.002-05:00

documentary

Outstanding doc on the Highlander School in Tennessee which has provided learning and seminars for poor people throughout the South and has served as a stepping stone for local activists working to make their communities better places for all people. Opened in 1932 it has been on the right side of major social issues ever since and serves as inspiration for those of us today who are faced with militarism and monstrous inequalities.

Maybe, just maybe there is hope...

Gainsbourg

2012-01-08T05:19:00.002-05:00

France

Biopic of the French singer. Lavish, expensive production. Some clever, imaginative features...especially in the first half hour.

Gainsbourg may have been a colossal egotist, self-centered jerk and extremely obnoxious person to be around but one thing you can say for him...he really could smoke. And he did...or at least the poor actor portraying him did...non-stop for the entire film.

It would be hard to conjure up a more repulsive human being. He epitomizes the idea that unwarranted celebrity destroys decency in a person. Getting through this film was an ordeal.

Savage Messiah

2012-01-07T06:29:00.002-05:00

England d/Ken Russell

Typically over-the-top portrait of wild, free-thinking, extremely emotive, unstable, all around asshole sculptor Henri Gaudier-Brzeska in 1914. After spending 1 1/2 hours with this guy as portrayed here I was willing to put a bullet in his head...it turned out someone did on the Western Front in 1915. The last scenes were a slow pan over some of his work left behind...which was marvelous.

I suppose the message is that the most interesting, creative work is produced by folks who make poor dinner guests and even worse domestic partners. No surprise there.

Meticulously done, as always by Russell...in 1972.

Creation

2012-01-06T08:34:00.002-05:00

England Paul Bettany

Well-meaning but hopeless treatment of the agony endured by Charles Darwin before writing and publishing his monumental work. Bettany spent two hours angst-ing, whimpering, mewling, wringing his hands, caving in to the demands of his wife and minister... It may all have been true but who wants to follow someone like this around for two hours? After ten minutes I wanted to slap him in the face and tell him to develop a backbone.

Nice-looking production but very irritating to experience.

Empire of Passion

2012-01-06T08:29:00.002-05:00

Japan Nagisa Oshima

Unsuccessful amalgam of several disparate film themes/styles. Beautifully lit and shot. Over-the-top acting style which hurt. James Cain-like storyline done in a very primitive way. Ghost story with dead characters appearing in white face. Nudity...unusual for a Japanese film.

Although it won an award at Cannes in 1978 for its look this mishmash ached for a little subtlety.

Hit So Hard

2012-01-05T07:53:00.002-05:00

documentary

Doc on the gay woman drummer for the punk band Hole. Sordid story of self-abuse, addiction, suicide, drug overdose, shitty music, useless, wasted lives. This kind of story was done best in the film Sid and Nancy 20 years ago. This is just a more recent generation doing the same tired stuff and thinking they were oh so cool. But...as John Lennon wrote...they're still fuckin peasants as far as I can see...

Not worth it.

An African Election

2012-01-04T08:43:00.002-05:00

documentary

Straightforward doc on Ghana's 2008 election. It is one of the few countries in Africa to transition to some semblance of democratic rule but as is the case everywhere chicanery and corruption are always ready to foul the process. This begins in Ghana as here with a 2-party system. Are there really only two competing interests in a nation of 20M?

Still, they largely avoided violence and that was seen as a success. They will learn, as former president Jerry Rawlings hints at, that once the international economic vampires sink their teeth into your country's vitals you will never escape.

Elena

2012-01-03T06:49:00.002-05:00

Russia

Wonderfully intriguing film. We follow a frumpy grandma as she tends to her somewhat domineering husband and her feckless son and his brood of low-lifes. She moves between these two worlds easily...maintaining the same stoic affect in each. The drama begins when hubby has a heart attack.

Clean, nice-looking production. Some sociological hints here but the focus is primarily on the human drama. Slow to develop it became more and more intriguing as it went along. At the end I was filled with admiration for the intelligence, sophistication and maturity that went into its production.

The Price of Sex

2012-01-02T17:18:00.002-05:00

documentary

Sad piece on the sex trafficking of women from Eastern Europe to Turkey, Dubai etc. This is about as low as man gets...these women were duped using economic promises, forced to prostitute themselves with violence and threats of violence and then dumped back home when they were used up.

The Lincoln Lawyer

2012-01-02T08:15:00.002-05:00

Matthew McConnaghey, Marisa Tomei

This film is just ridiculous. The drama is so speeded up it felt like everyone on screen had overdosed on speed. This is a lawyer who operates out of his car since he's in such a hurry at all times...he is superman without the flying part. He's always right, figures out every twist and resolves what really was a complicated story in record time...even takes a bullet from the bad girl and recovers before the two hours are up.

American TV and film have continually moved to a faster and faster pace in recent years...this film is stark evidence of that. But now they're at the level of absurdity. Where do they go from here? I know where I'm going...to films from other countries...

Too bad...there was a good cast here...wasted from my perspective...

Anton Chekhov's The Duel

2012-01-01T06:12:00.002-05:00

Andrew Scott

Boredom, fecklessness, ennui among the Russian upper middle class in the Caucasus in the 19th century. Our protagonist(?) is a disaffected bureaucrat who has come to despise his mistress, wants to dump her but is trapped by social pressures. He behaved like such a jerk toward her and everyone else I found it inexplicable why anyone would associate with him.

Eventually he is challenged to the titular duel which leads to a bafflingly unreal happy ending.

Sumptuously photographed...both interiors and exteriors. Scathing portrait of a people and a place/time. In spite of all the beauty on display we're left with the question...what is all this for?

What indeed...

Super 8

2011-12-31T09:26:00.003-05:00

d/ JJ Abrams

Spielberg-like junk...fast-paced, loud, kid heroes, obnoxious adults, too much CGI, evil military, alien who comes to see the kids as pals...

Manna for ten year olds and their adult equivalents. I just don't have the patience for this drivel anymore.

This is Not a Film

2011-12-30T14:51:00.002-05:00

Iran d/ Jafar Panahi

Panahi has been forbidden by his government to make films so he filmed himself in his apartment talking about not being able to make films. He also tried to enact the last film he was forbidden to make. Oddball project which at first seemed like a one-note but as it went on I came to accept it as a crie de coeur by an artist raging against the machine in the only way he knows how.

Unforgettable but unlikely to start a genre.

Of Time and the City

2011-12-30T07:45:00.004-05:00

documentary d/ Terrence Davies

Interesting nostalgic piece on Liverpool England in the 40's and 50's...the time of Davies' childhood. Much use of period footage helps to strip away the golden glows of remembrance...the past shown here was dirty, poor and cramped...row houses, children playing in streets, etc.

The film used a voiceover read by an actor with a stentorian voice which gave the project an odd tone. At first I was put off but the things he was reading were clever and insightful...mostly poetry and literature...so after a while I was willing to accept it. This serves as an off-kilter comparison to Canadian Guy Maddin's similarly oddball opus My Winnipeg.

Conversations With My Gardener

2011-12-29T06:54:00.002-05:00

France

About what you'd expect from a movie with a title like this. A disaffected Parisian artist returns to his roots manse, hires a local guy as gardener and achieves sartori. Or something. Mostly he seems to enjoy hanging out with him and re-grounding his world view...contaminated by a lifetime in the big city.

Not overdone...which helped...but the predictable death ending was pretty mawkish. The two actors didn't seem to me to really click...I got no sense of real rapport between them. And what the hell did he plan on doing with all those vegetables?

A mixed bag.

Daybreakers

2011-12-27T08:03:00.002-05:00

Australia Ethen Hawke, Willem Defoe

In the near future a plague has turned 95% of the world's population into vampires. Now they are faced with the dwindling supply of human blood. It's always something...

Some of this was interesting...stylish, noirish look, extreme vamp deaths...but the structure was so conventional and predictable I found myself losing interest half way through. Nothing was really bad...but nothing was really good either. Might be better for young people who are still fascinated with the whole vampire thing. I'm at the point that I see it as pretty stupid.

Take Shelter

2011-12-26T19:33:00.002-05:00

Michael Shannon, Jessica Chastain

Intriguing character study. An ordinary blue-collar guy, living in Ohio, starts having troubling dreams, seeing, hearing things that aren't there. He has a family history of schizophrenia and fears he's losing his mind. Or is he seeing real premonitions? Of a storm, a monstrous storm coming...

Slow-developing story builds patiently and held my interest all the way. Both key players were excellent...realistically portraying the confusion and turmoil called for. Unusual and provocative film.

All That I Love

2011-12-26T18:16:00.002-05:00

Poland

Nice coming-of-age drama set during the Solidarity movement. Poles wanted to be free from the Russian boot on their necks...but this urge created turmoil in families locked into the old system.

Our focus is on a teen musician whose punk band rattles the cages of the powers-that-be. His family suffers, ditto his relationship with his first real girlfriend. We get an acute sense of these people just trying to get through a fractious time.

Some nice cinematography but too much wavering camera bullshit as per the current fad. Still...a nice film with sympathetic characters.

The Projectionist

2011-12-25T19:43:00.002-05:00

amerindie Chuck McCann, Rodney Dangerfield

Neat film from 1970. A cross between Walter Mitty and The Projectionist. A schlubby guy lives out his fantasies through films he has worked or seen...silents, talkies through to when the film was made. Lots of clever editing of old footage was great. A super-hero thread used throughout wasn't. But overall the delight I found watching this out-weighed the bad.

Oddball project...preserved by MOMA.

My Week With Marilyn

2011-12-24T06:45:00.002-05:00

Michelle Williams

Wonderful film with a knockout performance by MW. With this role she cements her position at the top of her profession. When I look back at the roles she's had this year...Blue Valentine, Meek's Cutoff...and last year's Wendy and Lucy and Mammoth...no one else is in her league. All these roles are wildly different from each other...all require completely different body language, voice, personalities.

If she doesn't win Best Actress for this it will be further proof that the oscars are deeply flawed as a vehicle for recognizing achievement.

The film was charming, touching, sad, heartwarming...a multi-dimensional portrait of a complex, troubled woman struggling to stay above the surface of the turmoil she has created about herself.

Natural Selection

2011-12-22T19:30:00.002-05:00

amerindie

A failed attempt at a comedy. Lower class Texas morons do some really stupid stuff...exaggerating their ignorance (Jesus bullshit) for laughs that never came. Lots of crude violence, filthy rutting around in the lower reaches of the American heartland, theft, break-ins, lying, etc.

An hour in there was an attempt to make us care about these cartoon characters by baring life secrets but by that point they had squandered any connection with reality so the attempt came up a mile short. After all you can't hurt a toon...

The female lead...Rachael Harris...had some winning qualities but she'd need a better vehicle than this to let them show.

Tony Manero

2011-12-22T19:21:00.003-05:00

Chile

Really unpleasant film. We follow a scuzzy 52 year old guy whose sole ambition in life is to win a cheesy TV contest for a John Travolta look-alike circa Saturday Night Fever. White suit, stupid disco dance moves, etc. Now there's a worthy ambition.

On the way he steals, murders, cheats...fucks his wife's daughter. He is a man with no moral values. He's also completely inarticulate...affecting a dead-eyed stare throughout. Truly disgusting scenes are enacted on screen...degrading the actors and the audience. To what purpose? I guess so we'll know there are some real losers out there. Oh goody.

Bad.

Les Diaboliques

2011-12-21T17:14:00.002-05:00

France d/ Henri Clouzot Simone Signoret, Vera Clouzot

Great thriller/horror film from 1955. Often compared to the work of Hitchcock it draws you in and keeps you hooked all the way. Marvelously paced/constructed with one of the best endings in classic French cinema.

Well deserved reputation as a classic.

Nausicaa

2011-12-20T07:43:00.002-05:00

Japan anime Hayao Miyazaki

Early work by the Japanese master storyteller brings forward most of the themes he has used throughout his career: strong female heroine, visualization of ancient folk myths, the depredations man has caused to the land. This film also used violence and war as the only legitimate means to stop the dark forces intent on destroying the world.

So here was have a heroine who is a pacifist but who must fight to re-establish harmony in her world.

Beautifully drawn, well-realized characters, non-stop movement...this film helped establish HM as one of the greatest animators we have ever seen. He has gone on to be recognized as a world treasure who continues to produce first-rate work to this day.

Rebel Without a Cause

2011-12-19T16:44:00.002-05:00

James Dean, Natalie Wood d/ Nicholas Ray

Explosive film when released today it still packs a punch. The whole mixed-up teen problem seems quaint from here but this was a high quality production with nice use of color and widescreen. The chicken race was very powerful. The scenes in the old mansion fit perfectly into the flow of the story.

JD was undeniably charismatic...riveting when on screen yet tender and sympathetic. The explanations for his torment seem facile but he managed to engage the audience in it even if they didn't know why.

Not many films from this era hold up today. This one does.

Harold and Maude

2011-12-19T08:36:00.002-05:00

Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort d/Hal Ashby

This was a trip back to a time when we thought we could make major changes in the system we slave under...wipe away the stultifying conformity that drove us to living a shallow, materialist life.

We have a young, baby-faced rich kid, obsessed with death, suicide and funerals who meets the ultimate free spirit who helps him break free and teaches him to fly without a net. Wickedly satiric, completely unrealistic, fun in spite of itself. The role of a lifetime for Ruth Gordon, veteran character actor.

She eventually leaves him but he has been transformed...like many of us were in those days...and we last see him playing his banjo as he saunters over the hill.

Dated but fondly remembered by those of us who were there.

Mammoth

2011-12-18T07:04:00.002-05:00

D/ Lukas Moodysson Michelle Williams, Gael Bernal

Very fine English-language film by the maker of Together and Lilya Forever. This deals with the human-scale problems of globalization...particularly the disruption in emotional lives caused by large-scale physical separation.

Extremely well written/edited...at two hours it felt perfect...long enough to give us a true sense of the characters...but not so long we get tired of them and their problems. MW continues to shine in every disparate role she tackles...

Carefully crafted. A worthy entry into the ranks of world cinema.

La Ronde

2011-12-16T17:16:00.002-05:00

Simone Signoret w/d Max Ophuls

Lavishly photographed evocation of Vienna, 1900 done on a soundstage in 1950. Taken from a novel, it features an Our Town-ish narrator who leads us from one story to another...each one dealing with sex. We keep switching focus from one character to another until we end with the woman with whom we started. It's usually called the Circle of Love but I saw very little love in here.

Knowing, wry, sophisticated, adult...visually splendid, heavily atmospheric, exquisite tracking shots... This film is considered a classic of modern French cinema...deservedly so.

Marvelous.

The Housemaid

2011-12-16T07:45:00.002-05:00

Korea

Stylish, carefully-paced re-make of a classic 1960 Korean film. Strong lead actress leads a talented ensemble in a twisted melodrama guaranteed to emotionally engage the viewer. We follow the fate of a young working-class woman who begins work at the home of a rich family and is completely unprepared for the depths of their selfish depravity.

Film is more sexually explicit than most films from the East. I found the eventual resolution unsatisfying but undeniably startling and unforgettable. Class/morality issues were sharply defined and memorable.

Korea has emerged recently as one of the leaders in the forefront of world cinema...this continues that skein.

Aviator

2011-12-15T07:15:00.002-05:00

L. deCaprio, Kate Blanchette d/ Martin Scorcese

Slick, expensive, hollywoodish, superficial take on the life and times of Howard Hughes. Many admirable, elaborate shots and sets disguised the hollowness of this production. KB mostly pulled off her imitation of Kate Hepburn but LdC, with his trademark pinched eyebrows, came across more as a petulant teenager than a mega-tycoon who commanded a vast fortune.

Marty has the means and the chops to do great things with film but he needs to find topics that merit such lavish attention. This seemed more like splashy indulgence than art.

Tabloid

2011-12-14T18:36:00.002-05:00

documentary Errol Morris

Here he tells the remarkable story of Joyce McKinney...kidnapper, former beauty queen, S&M mistress, dog cloner and all around self-absorbed nut. The British tabs had a ball with her in the 70's...she got her full 15 minutes and then some. Since then she's been chillin...with her five identical dogs.

An amazing story...well told.

Moog

2011-12-14T08:57:00.002-05:00

documentary

Pretty mediocre doc on the guy who invented the popular musical instrument in the 60's. I think the central problem is that he isn't very interesting...a semi-articulate engineer...and the topic itself is an extremely minor chapter...even in the history of pop music. Could have been adequately covered in 20 minutes for those who care.

Chico and Rita

2011-12-13T07:28:00.002-05:00

anime

Cuban film which begins in 1948 and traces the relationship between the titular characters to the present. They live through changing times...he is a jazz pianist, she a singer...for Cuba, the US and themselves.

The early scenes contain some cartoonish stuff but as the film develops the story becomes more and more adult and ends being sadly reflective and elegiac. At one point it included a sex scene which actually worked. Definitely not Disney

Nicely drawn.

The Invasion

2011-12-13T07:22:00.002-05:00

Nicole Kidman

This is the fourth adaption of Jack Finney's book Invasion of the Body Snatchers. All of them have been good films and all reflect the times in which they were made. My favorite is the first...by Don Siegel...which scared the shit out of me as a ten year old but there's clearly something primal this idea taps because even though I no longer get frightened by the emotionless pod people I still find these scenarios engrossing.

This version did credit to the string...it raced right along with more effects than the others and featured an excellent performance by NK...one of the best, most versatile actors working today.

Straight, No Chaser

2011-12-12T06:06:00.002-05:00

documentary

Routine bio of the jazz pianist Thelonius Monk...the man with a great name who made "music" some people seem to like. I find it stripped of melody and rhythm, discordant and irritating.

As a man he went slowly mad and had to be institutionalized. Laughingly inarticulate he would wander around the stage while his band members were playing their solos, often turning round and round like an over-sized ballerina with a silly hat.

Melancholia

2011-12-11T07:14:00.002-05:00

Kirsten Dunst w/d Lars von Trier

This film asks the question...is melancholy, or depression, tied to the ability to foresee the increasingly dismal future and thus is a sane, reasonable reaction to this knowledge? Or does it presage the literal end of the world? LvT's triumph here is making those questions seem legitimate.

As a metaphor Melancholia works brilliantly...forcing any thoughtful viewer to walk out thinking, turning ideas over and over in his mind. As a human drama it fails almost completely. The behavior of all the characters is stupid and inexplicable...I found them irritating throughout...even given the obvious skill of the players.

The film starts with ten minutes of striking images shown in ultra-slow motion. Loved this opening. The next hour strongly resembles Celebration in its embarrassing airing of ancient family grievances at a public gathering. We then move to the end of the world.

The entire film is crippled by the constantly wavering camera syndrome LvT and some pals inflicted on the world of cinema in 1995 (dogme) and in which he is now trapped. It was idiotic in this film and worked as a continual distraction.

Still...as impatient and irritated as I was for nearly two hours...when the extended final sequence got cracking I found it riveting. And never has a film ended with such a glorious bang.

Liverpool

2011-12-10T06:50:00.002-05:00

Argentina

This was another modern minimalist film that has drawn praise from apparently jaded European festival programmers. A sailor leaves his ship to travel back to his home town. Almost no dialogue. No drama. I had no idea where this was taking place. After watching it I went to IMDB and learned it was Tierra del Fuego. Really? Just knowing that would have created a glimmer of interest.

The film seems to act as a rorschach test...because it is so vague and formless reviewers project all sorts of meaning onto it...which says more about them than it.

I found it boring and pointless. If I were conducting a filmmaking class for high school students and this was submitted I'd tell the kid to find another career.

Paul

2011-12-08T19:43:00.003-05:00

Simon Pegg

Silly fun about two English comic nerds who happen upon an alien in the western US desert and have an adventure. Lots of film references...Sigourney Weaver, MIB's...helped me appreciate it. No out-loud laughs but a continual subliminal chuckle...just what the doctor ordered.

Vengeance

2011-12-08T07:11:00.003-05:00

Hong Kong Johnny Hallyday d/ Johnnie To

I don't expect much when I watch a HK shoot-em-up but even by those low standards this film was pretty stupid. Stylized look couldn't come close to making up for the idiocy of the "human" behavior on display here. eg...in a gunfight the combatants all stand there ten feet apart and shoot.

The whole film seemed to be shot in slow motion. And attempts to include some softening scenes were childishly simple=minded.

One thing became clear...this guy's no John Woo. Take a hike, pal.

Women of the Sixth Floor

2011-12-07T16:58:00.004-05:00

France

A wealthy bourgeois gets involved with the Spanish maids who live on the top floor of the building which belongs to the people they all serve.

Never particularly realistic the film had a charming, fairy-tale-ish quality I found endearing in spite of my better judgement. Once or twice it slipped into farce...groan...but came right back out and sauntered along to the very predictable happy ending.

Pleasant, amusing.

Paul Goodman Changed My Life

2011-12-07T08:36:00.002-05:00

documentary

Straightforward treatment of the radical lefty whose books and lectures had a profound effect of what we now call "the 60's."

Growing Up Absurd rang a bell that resonated with that generation. For good? For ill? From this perspective it seems to have been a mixed bag. Hopes/expectations for a better world were ignited...the failure to achieve them led to disillusionment and an abandonment of even the idea that society can be changed by the idealistic young.

O Henry's Full House

2011-12-06T14:38:00.002-05:00

Charles Laughton

Portmanteau collection of the writer's stories done in the early 50's. Stellar casting...Richard Widmark, Farley Granger, Jean Peters, Oscar Levant, Fred Allen...nice B/W period look. The style and delivery was dated by today's standards but still fun to watch.

Each story was introduced by John Steinbeck.

Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner

2011-12-06T07:06:00.002-05:00

England Tom Courtenay d/ Tony Richardson

Kitchen-sink drama from 1962. A working class teen regularly steals, gets caught and ends up in a boys' reformatory. There he becomes a competitive runner.

This film is typical of the genre...an angry screed at the unfairness of the British class system. Quite realistic...no one here is particularly likable or sympathetic...they are all just playing out their roles in an unequal set-up. Lead character does have in him a streak of rebelliousness but his futile gesture asserting himself is swiftly squashed...the implication at the end is that he will take his place eventually as just another cog in the machine.

Memorable work.

The Turin Horse

2011-12-05T09:06:00.002-05:00

Hungary Bela Tarr

For two hours I sat there laughing at this film...wondering what the hell he thought he was doing...didn't he have any understanding of what people are willing to sit through?

And then the last two reels snapped the whole thing into focus with enough clarity to set my mind racing with possible interpretations. It takes courage, intelligence, maturity and vision to produce a work like this. Tarr is widely considered one of the world's great master filmmakers. After watching this brilliant film I agree.

Not for everyone...but for those with the patience to let a cinematic genius slowly unfold his mysteries...this was a triumph.

Without Limits

2011-12-04T08:23:00.002-05:00

Billy Crudup, Donald Sutherland

Fictionalized treatment of the incredible story of Steve Prefontaine...the champion American runner.

The role of a lifetime for Crudup who looks and runs like an athlete...while skillfully acting the self-confidant boor who manages to be likable. Excellent racing scenes were genuinely thrilling. The treatment of the murders at Munich 1972 was simple-minded but that wasn't important.

As good a biopic of an athlete as it gets.

Mugabe and the White African

2011-12-04T08:16:00.003-05:00

documentary

Very powerful story of the plight of a white family in Zimbabwe who are being systematically pushed from the land they have farmed for thirty years. They pursue a legal case while being threatened daily by armed thugs determined to rid the land of all whites.

Of course the story is one-sided and deals not at all with the history of European imperialism and the subjugation/humiliation of indigenous blacks but even so the crass corruption and use of violence by Mugabe's minions is hard to witness.

Strong film...well done.

Afternoons With Marguerite

2011-12-02T19:44:00.002-05:00

France Gerard Depardieu

Charming love story between a barely literate handyman and a 95 year old woman he meets at the park. She is lonely, he is unloved...together they form a bond which meets their needs.

Filmed in sparkling sunshine in the south of France. Luminous, fresh, clean-looking. Germain has a young lover...which clunked a bit. He's forty years older and 300 pounds heavier...it seemed too much of a stretch. But the town...village really...was lovely, the cafe was a place we all wish we had available and the love story was very touching.

Pale Flower

2011-12-02T17:01:00.002-05:00

Japan M. Shinoda

Nifty noir from the New Wave in 1964. Low level gangster hooks up with a society princess looking for thrills. They gamble, race cars, wallow in the demimonde...all at night, with deep shadows, jazz music, artfully placed light.

The story wasn't engaging but I enjoyed the film as an artistic effort. A bit dated by today's sensibilities but avant-garde at the time.

The Makioka Sisters

2011-12-01T07:25:00.002-05:00

Japan Kon Ichikawa

Long, elaborate soap opera which traces the changes in the heirs of a wealthy family before and during the war years. All the problems of life surfaced and determined their fate. Much Like The Magnificent Ambersons .

Beautifully filmed in the various seasons but as the film wound by I found my attention wandering and ended up not really caring what happened to these characters. Hurt by some unfortunate 80's style music.

Cold Weather

2011-11-29T16:30:00.002-05:00

amerindie

Very slick, entertaining low-budget film. A former forensics student comes back to Portland and gets involved in a mystery involving his former girlfriend. He uses his knowledge from school and reading Sherlock Holmes to get deeper into the labyrinth.

Schlubby-looking lead who underplayed his character was perfect. Everybody looked and acted real. No melodrama. Reminded me of The Zero Effect.

Nice job.

Oranges and Sunshine

2011-11-29T14:10:00.002-05:00

Australia Emily Watson

Fictionalized treatment of yet another monstrous government program from the 40's and 50's. Social service agencies in England took children away from poor parents and shipped them en masse to Australia where they were placed in orphans' homes and badly mistreated. They told the parents the children had been adopted by good people; the children were told their parents were dead. The rationale seems to have been some sort of slum-clearance idea, giving the kids a better chance in life, etc.

This film follows a British social worker as she tries to deal with this humanitarian mess forty years later...with no help from either state.

It's enough to make you want to quit the race...the human race.