England Susannah York
Unusual, compelling film from 1966. A plane carrying six passengers crashes in the desert. The bulk of the film deals with the tensions which gradually build up as water and food become scarce. One of the party is a avid (rabid?) hunter who kills everything he sees.
Ms York is the only female which creates tensions of its own. She latches on to the hunter...a decision which becomes problematic as their ordeal goes on.
I found myself exasperated with this story at times but it was genuinely compelling with clearly defined characters and a good level of suspense. Strong, if moralistic ending.
7
Saturday, October 31, 2015
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Black Sea
Jude Law
Attempt at a submarine thriller crumbled because of all the idiotic, unnecessary conflicts the screenwriter jammed into the story. It might have worked as a caper flick but now we'll never know.
Splitting the crew between Brits and Russians, who hate and distrust each other from day 1, made no sense. The sets and exteriors were fine, ditto the quality of the players. This was one which tripped all over its screenplay.
3
Attempt at a submarine thriller crumbled because of all the idiotic, unnecessary conflicts the screenwriter jammed into the story. It might have worked as a caper flick but now we'll never know.
Splitting the crew between Brits and Russians, who hate and distrust each other from day 1, made no sense. The sets and exteriors were fine, ditto the quality of the players. This was one which tripped all over its screenplay.
3
Saturday, October 24, 2015
The Martian
Matt Damon d/ Ridley Scott
Nice looking but hopelessly formulaic crowd-pleaser. While we were following the solitary actions of our hero the film was interesting. Once we got back to everybody else (crew, NASA) the movie sagged.
But not to worry. The third act played like an amped-up version of the Perils of Pauline...unfortunately reprising the style and tone of Gravity, heretofore the most overwrought film of the decade.
Everybody here was OK. It was too long, used hollywood beats, was cliched, eventually became tedious. Pure product.
4
Nice looking but hopelessly formulaic crowd-pleaser. While we were following the solitary actions of our hero the film was interesting. Once we got back to everybody else (crew, NASA) the movie sagged.
But not to worry. The third act played like an amped-up version of the Perils of Pauline...unfortunately reprising the style and tone of Gravity, heretofore the most overwrought film of the decade.
Everybody here was OK. It was too long, used hollywood beats, was cliched, eventually became tedious. Pure product.
4
Tangerines
Georgia
Fine meditation on war, its artificial rivalries, the power of human connection. Set in the 90's, war is raging near an elderly woodworker and his tangerine-raising friend. They are ethnic Estonians, displaced there years before. Most have fled home. These two stay. A fragment of the war comes to them...the story plays out.
Slow-paced, great lead actor, sound structure...overall a very good film.
8
Fine meditation on war, its artificial rivalries, the power of human connection. Set in the 90's, war is raging near an elderly woodworker and his tangerine-raising friend. They are ethnic Estonians, displaced there years before. Most have fled home. These two stay. A fragment of the war comes to them...the story plays out.
Slow-paced, great lead actor, sound structure...overall a very good film.
8
Friday, October 23, 2015
Black Hat
Chris Hemsworth d/ Michael Mann
For some reason Mann put the biggest obstacle to appreciating this film right up front: who the hell casts CH as an ultra-nerdy computer genius? This guy stands 6'4", is impossibly handsome...in a movie largely set in the Far East he towers over everybody around him. Will anyone really accept this actor as a pasty-faced cellar dweller?
Other than that the film was a bundle of re-hashed tropes that might work for really young boys...lots of running, shooting and fighting...but for me it was a big yawn.
Mann's a long way from Heat with this one. Pure product.
3
For some reason Mann put the biggest obstacle to appreciating this film right up front: who the hell casts CH as an ultra-nerdy computer genius? This guy stands 6'4", is impossibly handsome...in a movie largely set in the Far East he towers over everybody around him. Will anyone really accept this actor as a pasty-faced cellar dweller?
Other than that the film was a bundle of re-hashed tropes that might work for really young boys...lots of running, shooting and fighting...but for me it was a big yawn.
Mann's a long way from Heat with this one. Pure product.
3
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Hitchcock/Truffaut
documentary
First rate translation to the screen of the book project done by Truffaut in 1966. Two great filmmakers discussing their work in an informal setting of collegiality...pretty easy set-up for a great doc. And this one doesn't disappoint.
For a film buff...a
10
First rate translation to the screen of the book project done by Truffaut in 1966. Two great filmmakers discussing their work in an informal setting of collegiality...pretty easy set-up for a great doc. And this one doesn't disappoint.
For a film buff...a
10
Daughters of Anatolia
documentary
Outstanding doc which displays for the audience the daily lives, practices of a small family group of goat herders who migrate twice a year from coastal Turkey to summer mountain meadows.
This filmmaker has a thorough understanding of cinema, how it's shot, edited. Every shot has a point, shows us something about these peoples' lives. Every shot contains movement. Almost no verbal exposition. We get an unobtrusive peek into a lifestyle alien to most of us. The people are hardworking and likable.
This is how to make a doc.
8
Outstanding doc which displays for the audience the daily lives, practices of a small family group of goat herders who migrate twice a year from coastal Turkey to summer mountain meadows.
This filmmaker has a thorough understanding of cinema, how it's shot, edited. Every shot has a point, shows us something about these peoples' lives. Every shot contains movement. Almost no verbal exposition. We get an unobtrusive peek into a lifestyle alien to most of us. The people are hardworking and likable.
This is how to make a doc.
8
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
The Haunting
Julie Harris d/ Robert Wise
Still one of the great scary movies. The dialogue is pretty creaky now but the sheer excellence of the direction, use of music, editing rhythms shone for me. Wise was the editor of Citizen Kane...here he uses all the techniques dreamed up by Welles and Greg Toland to make this film sparkle.
The psychological layers of meaning in Shirley Jackson's story give the film a richness unusual in so-called horror films. And all the fright, all the scares are in the minds of the audience. This will be a classic forever.
8
Still one of the great scary movies. The dialogue is pretty creaky now but the sheer excellence of the direction, use of music, editing rhythms shone for me. Wise was the editor of Citizen Kane...here he uses all the techniques dreamed up by Welles and Greg Toland to make this film sparkle.
The psychological layers of meaning in Shirley Jackson's story give the film a richness unusual in so-called horror films. And all the fright, all the scares are in the minds of the audience. This will be a classic forever.
8
Saturday, October 17, 2015
The Soloist
Robert Downey Jr
Well-produced but very formulaic treatment of an actual story. A columnist for the LA Times comes across a black homeless man playing violin in a city park. The guy is looney tunes but his violin playing (on 2 strings) is heartfelt and moving...so he becomes a story. Turns out he had studied at Juliard but left because of incipient madness.
The story, when printed, generates a donated cello, the story grows, the film is a hollywoodized account of the triumphs and difficulties of bringing this guy into the modern world.
Attempt at a crowd-pleaser which may have worked for a general audience...but not for me.
5
Well-produced but very formulaic treatment of an actual story. A columnist for the LA Times comes across a black homeless man playing violin in a city park. The guy is looney tunes but his violin playing (on 2 strings) is heartfelt and moving...so he becomes a story. Turns out he had studied at Juliard but left because of incipient madness.
The story, when printed, generates a donated cello, the story grows, the film is a hollywoodized account of the triumphs and difficulties of bringing this guy into the modern world.
Attempt at a crowd-pleaser which may have worked for a general audience...but not for me.
5
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Eight Legged Freaks
amerindie Scarlett Johansson
This film was a gift from heaven tonight. I've been having a hard time lately and this silly, outrageous gem was just the ticket.
A nicely produced mock up of all those cheesy sic-fi monster flicks done in the 50's, this had me chuckling all the way through. Sometimes a healthy dose of nonsense is just what the doctor ordered.
6
This film was a gift from heaven tonight. I've been having a hard time lately and this silly, outrageous gem was just the ticket.
A nicely produced mock up of all those cheesy sic-fi monster flicks done in the 50's, this had me chuckling all the way through. Sometimes a healthy dose of nonsense is just what the doctor ordered.
6
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Steve Jobs
documentary
Alex Gibney's take on the extraordinary life and influence of the tech visionary. Like most (all?) high achievers, Jobs is revealed here as an absolute prick in his personal and business dealings. But in spite of that his products were much beloved and have changed the way millions of people live their daily lives. And masses of people mourned his passing.
Jobs saw himself connecting people, which was true. His gadgets have also served to alienate people from each other, also true. The sight of groups of people all staring into their phones has become a common sight. I even saw it at the screening last night.
This was done with the high level of care and balance I've come to expect from Gibney. It will serve as the definitive doc on Jobs for the foreseeable future.
7
Alex Gibney's take on the extraordinary life and influence of the tech visionary. Like most (all?) high achievers, Jobs is revealed here as an absolute prick in his personal and business dealings. But in spite of that his products were much beloved and have changed the way millions of people live their daily lives. And masses of people mourned his passing.
Jobs saw himself connecting people, which was true. His gadgets have also served to alienate people from each other, also true. The sight of groups of people all staring into their phones has become a common sight. I even saw it at the screening last night.
This was done with the high level of care and balance I've come to expect from Gibney. It will serve as the definitive doc on Jobs for the foreseeable future.
7
Monday, October 5, 2015
The Shooting
Warren Oates, Jack Nicholson d/ Monte Hellman
The first existential western...from 1966. We follow a small group as they conduct a revenge-driven manhunt into the deserts of southern Utah. The details of the plot line were left deliberately obscure - the real meaning of the film was the folly, cruelty and ultimate meaninglessness of human striving.
Beautifully shot using the majestic landscape to full advantage. One shot - the sight of the tiny people scrabbling on the towering mountain - perfectly encapsulates the insignificance of their quest. They will shoot, die and their bodies will rot. The mountain won't notice...any more than it notices the ants which run around on its flanks. It will endure...unlike the people...regardless of their sense of self-importance.
A landmark film which intrigues today, fifty years after its making.
9
The first existential western...from 1966. We follow a small group as they conduct a revenge-driven manhunt into the deserts of southern Utah. The details of the plot line were left deliberately obscure - the real meaning of the film was the folly, cruelty and ultimate meaninglessness of human striving.
Beautifully shot using the majestic landscape to full advantage. One shot - the sight of the tiny people scrabbling on the towering mountain - perfectly encapsulates the insignificance of their quest. They will shoot, die and their bodies will rot. The mountain won't notice...any more than it notices the ants which run around on its flanks. It will endure...unlike the people...regardless of their sense of self-importance.
A landmark film which intrigues today, fifty years after its making.
9
Sunday, October 4, 2015
The Last Winter
Ron Perlman d/ Larry Fessenden
This film represents a new horror genre: ecological horror. An oil extraction outpost in the arctic is beset by creepy crawlies and things that go bump in the night. We begin with a cast of a dozen or so and watch them dwindle down to...maybe none.
Pretty effective. A bit slow-paced in the middle section but the time was spent developing some of the characters so we got to care while they were eventually dispatched. Good miss-en-scene, sound design. LF has been making good quality scary movies for decades with little money...this is another.
6
This film represents a new horror genre: ecological horror. An oil extraction outpost in the arctic is beset by creepy crawlies and things that go bump in the night. We begin with a cast of a dozen or so and watch them dwindle down to...maybe none.
Pretty effective. A bit slow-paced in the middle section but the time was spent developing some of the characters so we got to care while they were eventually dispatched. Good miss-en-scene, sound design. LF has been making good quality scary movies for decades with little money...this is another.
6
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne
France d/Robert Bresson
An early (1945) effort which didn't work for me at all. Very contrived plot about a rich, scorned woman who comes up with an implausible scheme to punish her ex, who, on the evidence shown here was a weak-willed nincompoop. But rich too. Which of course raises the question...why? Why would she care about losing this worm?
I couldn't see any sign of his later mastery of framing, use of close-ups, etc. This came across as a drawing room melodrama which would have embarrassed contemporaries like Noel Coward.
2
An early (1945) effort which didn't work for me at all. Very contrived plot about a rich, scorned woman who comes up with an implausible scheme to punish her ex, who, on the evidence shown here was a weak-willed nincompoop. But rich too. Which of course raises the question...why? Why would she care about losing this worm?
I couldn't see any sign of his later mastery of framing, use of close-ups, etc. This came across as a drawing room melodrama which would have embarrassed contemporaries like Noel Coward.
2
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
Robert Mitchum
Solid wiseguy flick adapted from the novel by Denis Lehane. RM always delivers good value. The story was sleazy (what else?), the Boston area locations a minor thrill for me.
Character study of the lowlife underbelly of the Athens of America.
5
Solid wiseguy flick adapted from the novel by Denis Lehane. RM always delivers good value. The story was sleazy (what else?), the Boston area locations a minor thrill for me.
Character study of the lowlife underbelly of the Athens of America.
5
Only God Forgives
Ryan Gosling w/d Nicholas Winding Refn
Set in Bangkok film focuses on the criminal dealings of a truly repulsive family of vicious drug dealers. The pace is glacial, the doings horrific. Nothing here was engaging or even interesting. This turkey was brought to us from the maker of the demented Pusher trilogy, Valhalla Rising and Drive. He seems to be hooked on the old ultra-violence. Pity he can't create a drama about actual humans.
For ten minutes the production design intrigued but when the lack of drama or substance of any kind became clear I lost all interest.
2
Set in Bangkok film focuses on the criminal dealings of a truly repulsive family of vicious drug dealers. The pace is glacial, the doings horrific. Nothing here was engaging or even interesting. This turkey was brought to us from the maker of the demented Pusher trilogy, Valhalla Rising and Drive. He seems to be hooked on the old ultra-violence. Pity he can't create a drama about actual humans.
For ten minutes the production design intrigued but when the lack of drama or substance of any kind became clear I lost all interest.
2
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Moneyball
Brad Pitt
Nicely done adaptation of the book about Billy Beane and the Oakland baseball team. Everything about this production was solid, engaging.
6
Nicely done adaptation of the book about Billy Beane and the Oakland baseball team. Everything about this production was solid, engaging.
6
Monday, September 28, 2015
Ordet
Denmark d/ Carl Dreyer
Stark, spare film concerned with religion...specifically the enormous importance residents of a rural community place on which imaginary god is the correct one. And woe betide those who make the wrong choice.
Very hard for me to look upon idiotic behavior like this with anything but contempt. This centuries-old preoccupation with unprovable nonsense strikes me as the worst of human behavior. I found it impossible to care about any of this. A plague on all their houses.
3
Stark, spare film concerned with religion...specifically the enormous importance residents of a rural community place on which imaginary god is the correct one. And woe betide those who make the wrong choice.
Very hard for me to look upon idiotic behavior like this with anything but contempt. This centuries-old preoccupation with unprovable nonsense strikes me as the worst of human behavior. I found it impossible to care about any of this. A plague on all their houses.
3
The French Connection
Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey
Popeye Doyle again...borderline psychotic cop who uses violence with great relish to terrorize...just about everyone. This film made a big splash at the time. Now it looks to me like the fever dream of a closet warrior. Brutality, violence, murder without check or reason.
The central car/subway chase is still mind-bending and is probably the real reason for the film's original popularity. It still impresses as a technical achievement. But Doyle's crazed persona and behavior cast a very dark shadow on this story for me. This posits the law of the jungle as the only way. Really???
6
Popeye Doyle again...borderline psychotic cop who uses violence with great relish to terrorize...just about everyone. This film made a big splash at the time. Now it looks to me like the fever dream of a closet warrior. Brutality, violence, murder without check or reason.
The central car/subway chase is still mind-bending and is probably the real reason for the film's original popularity. It still impresses as a technical achievement. But Doyle's crazed persona and behavior cast a very dark shadow on this story for me. This posits the law of the jungle as the only way. Really???
6
Friday, September 25, 2015
Shinobido
Japan
A secret clan of warriors try to remain hidden from the rest of society but...well...
Film features female warriors as principle characters; the lead looks around 22, gorgeous and deadly. Scant dialogue in the film which adds to the mysterious nature of the clan. A push-your buttons film that was beautifully enough shot to make it work.
6
A secret clan of warriors try to remain hidden from the rest of society but...well...
Film features female warriors as principle characters; the lead looks around 22, gorgeous and deadly. Scant dialogue in the film which adds to the mysterious nature of the clan. A push-your buttons film that was beautifully enough shot to make it work.
6
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
'71
Britain
Harrowing, well done thriller taken from the time of the Troubles in Belfast. A young soldier is left behind by his unit after a riot. He doesn't know where he is or how to get back to his barracks...must make his way through hostile territory.
Tight, taut drama with enough quiet moments to humanize some of the characters and provide relief from the non-stop tension. Mostly shot at night, this was a solid, effective film with no background or exposition at all; you had to know what the conflict was going in.
7
Harrowing, well done thriller taken from the time of the Troubles in Belfast. A young soldier is left behind by his unit after a riot. He doesn't know where he is or how to get back to his barracks...must make his way through hostile territory.
Tight, taut drama with enough quiet moments to humanize some of the characters and provide relief from the non-stop tension. Mostly shot at night, this was a solid, effective film with no background or exposition at all; you had to know what the conflict was going in.
7
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Unfriended
amerindie
Surely one of the most irritating films ever made. And to what purpose? So we can pretend that a dead girl can infect the computers of her 'friends' to torment them and one by one somehow murder them in their homes.
Starting 20 min in the five teens on the single computer screen get hysterical and maintain that pitch the rest of the way, whilst they get picked off. It was impossible to read the text on the screen, which formed the major source of exposition, because of the poor resolution. So I couldn't tell what was being typed. But really I didn't care. There was no way to make this movie work. It stunk to high heaven.
1
Surely one of the most irritating films ever made. And to what purpose? So we can pretend that a dead girl can infect the computers of her 'friends' to torment them and one by one somehow murder them in their homes.
Starting 20 min in the five teens on the single computer screen get hysterical and maintain that pitch the rest of the way, whilst they get picked off. It was impossible to read the text on the screen, which formed the major source of exposition, because of the poor resolution. So I couldn't tell what was being typed. But really I didn't care. There was no way to make this movie work. It stunk to high heaven.
1
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Ponette
France
A four yo girl loses her mother in a car accident; we watch her trying to come to grips with the loss. She's not helped by adult religiosity. Her father leaves her in a boarding school, her classmates are uncomprehending, unhelpful and occasionally mean as hell. She seeks answers but they're not forthcoming, In fact not for any of us let alone for a four yo girl.
This is the most remarkable performance by a child actor I've seen. It's likely never to be matched let alone topped. Film should be watched by film students forever. If you can't do it this well, don't do it.
9
A four yo girl loses her mother in a car accident; we watch her trying to come to grips with the loss. She's not helped by adult religiosity. Her father leaves her in a boarding school, her classmates are uncomprehending, unhelpful and occasionally mean as hell. She seeks answers but they're not forthcoming, In fact not for any of us let alone for a four yo girl.
This is the most remarkable performance by a child actor I've seen. It's likely never to be matched let alone topped. Film should be watched by film students forever. If you can't do it this well, don't do it.
9
Saturday, September 19, 2015
Miyamoto Musashi
Japan
Beautifully done story set in medieval times about the titular legendary swordsman. Very high quality production. remarkable since it was released in 1944, when Japan was being devastated by American bombs.
The samurai embodies the bushido code in every respect...his demeanor, art practices, all of it. This must have been an attempt to buck up the population in trying times. A look back to the legendary time when real warriors stalked the earth.
Lighting, cinematography, especially the music were superb. A lovely surprise.
8
Beautifully done story set in medieval times about the titular legendary swordsman. Very high quality production. remarkable since it was released in 1944, when Japan was being devastated by American bombs.
The samurai embodies the bushido code in every respect...his demeanor, art practices, all of it. This must have been an attempt to buck up the population in trying times. A look back to the legendary time when real warriors stalked the earth.
Lighting, cinematography, especially the music were superb. A lovely surprise.
8
Goebbel's Diaries
documentary
Nice production. Kenneth Branagh reads passages form guess what while archive footage plays on screen. For someone like me who has read vast amounts of material about WW2 this was catnip. I knew what was happening around each quoted passage; this enriched my understanding by cluing me in to the knife fighting going on among the Nazi leadership.
Good job.
7
Nice production. Kenneth Branagh reads passages form guess what while archive footage plays on screen. For someone like me who has read vast amounts of material about WW2 this was catnip. I knew what was happening around each quoted passage; this enriched my understanding by cluing me in to the knife fighting going on among the Nazi leadership.
Good job.
7
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