Listmaker At the Movies

Bill Cunningham New York

2012-02-09T21:15:00.001-05:00

Until I saw this movie, I've got to admit that I didn't really pay that much attention to Bill's photos in the Sunday Times. I always would give it a cursory glance before powering onto something else in the paper.

I didn't quite get the brilliance of the photographs until I understood the brilliance of the man himself. Whether or not you know anything about the man or not, this is a must see documentary. It's so good that I wanted more. I could have watched at least another thirty more minutes of the man in action. He's a relic of another era - a New York treasure. And I can't believe I didn't know anything about him until now.

Plus there are at least two or three people in this that deserve their own movies.

I just wish someone could convince the man to wear a helmet while riding his bike from event to event.

Check out out the trailer and you'll be hooked.

Directed by Richard Press

2011

DVD

Manhattan

2012-02-08T22:24:00.001-05:00

This is one of those movies that I pretty much know every line to but it doesn't matter because every line and every moment is worth watching over and over again.

I hadn't seen this film in at least ten years but my love for it came rushing back pretty quickly. It was fun watching it with Sujan who had never seen it before. It was interesting watching it shortly after watching the PBS doc about Allen where he talked about how he didn't really like the film that much. And despite how much I love it, I can kind of see why. It looks great, yes. And the Gershwin score is something else. But the characters really aren't terribly likable. And the story is pretty pedestrian (at least that's probably what Allen was thinking at the time) especially when sandwiched between Interiors and Stardust Memories.

But he's wrong - this really is one of those great films from his classic era. And while it still makes me cringe to think that his 42-year-old character is dating a 17-year-old girl (especially with the knowledge of later events) it still somehow works due to the incredible performance by Mariel Hemingway. And that ending gets me every time.

And is there any other movie that makes New York look so great? I'd love to watch this back to back with Taxi Driver to really get the full flavor of 1970's New York.

Directed by Woody Allen

1979

HBO

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

2012-02-07T22:08:00.000-05:00

I know a movie is good when I'm pretty confused most of the time but I'm still really into it. That was the case with this film. I love good spy movies. I love spy movies set during the Cold War. I miss those days. Bring back the Soviet Union. Today's terrorists are so boring as a plot device.

I suppose I should read some of John le Carré's books considering how much I liked the vibe of this endeavor. I hear the first movie based on this book starred Alec Guinness. I love that guy. I should see that too.

I also didn't realize until I was writing this that the guy who directed this directed Let the Right One In. I knew I liked the look of this film for a reason.

Who wants to rent Spies Like Us with me soon?

Directed by Tomas Alfredson
2011
Times Square 25

Out of Sight

2012-02-02T21:57:00.001-05:00

I hadn't seen this movie in 14 years. What the hell? 14 years? Where does time go? And I'm embarrassed to admit that when I look at my 1998 Best of List, this movie wasn't even in the Top 15. But somehow There's Something About Mary was. Yikes.

Anyway, I was surprised by how much I remembered about it. It's a fun time. I'd like to see Jackie Brown again but I can't imagine that Tarantino found a way to beat Soderbergh on the Elmore Leonard front. I haven't read the book on which this was based, but Soderbergh really nailed the essence of Leonard pretty well. Makes me even more sad that he didn't get a chance to direct Moneyball. He would have made a movie more similar to Michael Lewis' book than Bennett Miller did.

The film felt dated in a good way. Clooney was Clooney but younger. It looked great, was scored great, and was paced great. Just an all around good time. And I'm also proud to have gotten the reference to Three Days of the Condor that Jennifer Lopez made in the trunk of the car that I didn't get the first time I saw this movie.

Oh 1998, where have you gone?

Directed by Steven Soderbergh
1998
HBO

Dead Alive

2012-02-01T22:46:00.000-05:00

How the hell had I never seen this before? This has got to be one of the craziest movies I've ever seen.

It reminded me at first like Sam Raimi directing a remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Then it felt like a fun homage to the first Evil Dead. Then the non-stop goo fest reminded me of Drag Me to Hell. It was so melodramatic at times that it felt like a zombie Douglas Sirk movie. The score and some of the 50's aspect reminded me of Twin Peaks. There was a bit of Child's Play in here as well with the baby zombie. In general, it reminded me of some of the out of control low budget 80's horror films that I loved to watch when I was 14 - unfortunately I can't even remember any of the titles.

It got to the point that the gore seemed so neverending that I just had to tip my hat to the genius of Peter Jackson. It was so gory in a ridiculously fun way though. There need to be more movies made like this now. The world would be a better place.

At one point, I wanted to write down some of my favorite gory moments but then I would have missed another one.

Was it the baby in the blender? Or the zombie with the lightbulb head? Maybe the delinquent who kept getting torn to shreds? Or maybe the nurse with the head that hung on by a thread? Or the guy who just had part of his head that kept getting kicked all over the place? It's hard to beat the preacher with the lawnmower.

But I guess it had to be dear ol' mom. She was the only one of all the zombies that devoured a dog.

I need to watch this movie again. Right now.

Directed by Peter Jackson
1992
Blu-ray

Withnail and I

2012-01-29T22:23:00.000-05:00

This was amusing. I was expecting more though for some reason. Maybe it was because both Jeremy and Chris Larry mentioned recently how much they liked it. I think if I had seen this closer to the year it came out, I would have liked it more? I don't know - I also get the impression I would have like it more if I watched it a second time. Or at least if I were to watch it with Chris Larry. Hell, watching a movie with that guy makes even pretty bad movies a lot of fun.

I liked the meandering pace of it. I liked the look of it. I liked the actors quite a bit. Richard Griffiths is always funny. So I don't quite get why I didn't get more into watching this film. Perhaps I hate the British?

Does anyone know what the hell Bruce Robinson was up to between 1992's Jennifer Eight (Jennifer Eight????) and last year's Rum Diary?

Directed by Bruce Robinson
1987
Blu-ray

The Adventures of Tintin

2012-01-26T21:49:00.001-05:00

Jeremy convinced me that I should see this by stating that it was "the rightful fourth chapter in the raiders saga - 100 times better than the crystal skull mumbo jumbo" in my review of the insufferable War Horse. He was right, this movie was a good time.

I didn't think I was going to like the animation much but after awhile I got used to the performance capture aspect. There were times that I even felt like this could have been made without the animated aspect. But then the fun action stuff started and I'm glad that it was filmed the way it was. Part of what was so bad about the last Indiana Jones opus was that the computerized special effects looked ridiculous next to the real people. With this hyperrealistic animation, it all looked right and thus I could pay attention to the fun action and not be distracted by how bad it looks a la Crystal Skull.

I didn't know much about Tintin at all but now I do and I know that I like the kid. And I liked his dog. And I liked those bumbling policemen. And I think that I love Spielberg again even though he hadn't made a good movie in almost ten years before this one.

Bring on the sequel!

Directed by Steven Spielberg
2011
Times Square 25

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

2012-01-23T21:59:00.000-05:00

For the first 3/4 of this movie, I was thinking that this was one of the best movies I'd seen all year. Crazy, right? Then the last 1/4 dragged a little. It wasn't terrible or anything but the bar had been set so high in the first 90 minutes. I think that part of the problem might have been that the Jeremy Renner hovering in the air thing was referencing a scene from the first installment of the series that I've never seen. Maybe I just didn't get the joke? Then again, there were some interesting parts in the last 30 minutes so why am I complaining?

But oh man, that first 90 or so minutes. There were at least two or three moments that I was genuinely surprised by the turn of events. There were at least three or four moments where my jaw dropped in amazement at the sheer audacity and fun in the filmmaking. Just look at that poster, dude! And I haven't even mentioned anything about that incredible duststorm. What a movie!

A few other thoughts and comments:

- This was the first live action film from Brad Bird (The Iron Giant, Ratatouille, The Incredibles) and I think I will make the commitment to watch any other movie he ever directs. The man's got chops.

- I love that the Russians are kind of sort of the nemesis. But not really. It's 2012, you know.

- Tom Cruise is looking old, weird, and a wee bit droopy. And he's kind of the weak link to the movie. Which is kind of a drawback to the overall chances of this film truly being great I suppose. Then again, I guess he was fine - I'm just tired of the guy in general.

- I loved the music - especially the Dean Martin song at the beginning.

- This movie was funny. Are all of them this funny?

- I think this might be the first ever feature film I've ever seen on on IMAX screen.

- I now have seen the second and fourth installments of this franchise. I had no interest in the time in seeing the first. I saw the second in Seattle with Sam and about three minutes of the third on a plane. Philip Seymour Hoffman seemed really oddly cast in that one. I guess I should just go ahead and see, at the very least, the first one.

Directed by Brad Bird

2011

Times Square 25

Panic in the Streets

2012-01-18T21:35:00.000-05:00

Bart fell asleep during parts of this movie. I stayed awake but I can't say this was as good as I was hoping. Still, it had its moments.

Some thoughts:

- I think I need to see all of Kazan's films from the 40s through the early 60s.

- The cinematography was great. I love the noirish shadows, the scenes on the docks (foreshadowing Kazan's later film On the Waterfront perhaps?)

- Shortly after this film was made, Zero Mostel was put on the commie blacklist which made Bart and I wonder if Kazan had anything to do with that. A quick Wikipedia search was vague but Kazan apparently loved Mostel so who knows?

- I liked Richard Widmark as a good guy but I think I prefer him as a sniveling scam artist or a conniving lowlife.

- So the film was about a murdered guy who is found to have pneumonic plague and the clock is ticking to find the killer so he can be immunized. Otherwise, the whole country could be in danger. It's like 1950's version of trying to stop Contagion.

- As far as ticking clock movies from this era go, the original D.O.A. is better.

- Bart and I think this movie could easily be adapted for 2012. James Franco would play the Richard Widmark character.

- Holy crap - Jack Palance was one scary dude. I was wondering who would possibly be cast as that crazy killer giant dude in the 2nd and 3rd parts of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy. Someone that looks as angularly creepy as Palance would be good.

- And then there was this great exchange between Widmark and the doubtful police captain.

Widmark: You know, my mother always told me if you looked deep enough in anybody ... you'd always find some good, but I don't know. (He was talking about appealing to the murderer's good sense to turn himself in if he knew the danger.)

Police Captain who reminded me of William Bendix: With apologies to your mother, that's the second mistake she made.

Zing!

Directed by Elia Kazan
1950
TCM

Frontrunners

2012-01-17T21:40:00.000-05:00

This is the third best movie about a school election I've seen in the past few years. Too bad, I've only seen three. Granted, one was a great one about a Chinese class election so it isn't really a fair comparison. But a better comparison would be to this movie.

Sujan and I were thinking this movie would be interesting because the high school in question is a renowned, top public high school in the city. We assumed the kids running for office would have a lot to say. Unfortunately that wasn't the case.

Plus, the footage is repetitive and not that interesting. How many shots do I need of high schoolers passing out fliers?

And I like an indie rock score as much as the next person who owns Dusk at Cubist Castle but I hated the soundtrack. So loud and jarring and unnecessary.

Don't waste your time on this movie. That is, unless you really liked the redhead from that Todd Solondz movie Palindromes. She's one of the students running for office. And even then, maybe just watch that movie again.

Directed by Caroline Suh
2008
Sundance Channel

Jar City

2012-01-16T22:15:00.001-05:00

This movie is super strong on the atmosphere aspect and good enough on the story aspect. I can't get enough of long shots of the Icelandic countryside. I really need to visit that place.

The film is about a murder in a small town that might or might not be linked to another murder years earlier. The film focuses on the police investigation and the secrets he exposes.

The director's earlier film, 101 Reykjavik, is supposed to pretty good but I've never seen it. After briefly reading what it's about, it almost sounds like it could be an early David O. Russell film, but in Iceland. I might just have to give it a shot.

Directed by Baltasar Kormákur
2006
Sundance Channel

Elite Squad

2012-01-12T20:40:00.000-05:00

Marc gave this DVD to me two years ago or so. He told me it was supposed to be good but I never got around to watching it.

Fast forward to a night at Sidecar two years later. Bart was extolling the virtues of the sequel to this movie to anyone who would listen. I told him I had the first movie on DVD and a future Tuesday with Bart had been planned.

Unfortunately, nobody told Amy the plan. And she rented it from the local video store just a week before the planned December Tuesday with Bart. No matter. Bart is a mensch. He watched it with Amy and then a week later, watched it with me. That's how much he likes this movie.

He described it to me as The Wire meets City of God. I see the latter but not so much the former. He admitted that the sequel is much more like The Wire than this one.

I liked this one quite a bit though. It was co-written by one of the City of God writers. And even though, it's not nearly as good as that film (but what is?) there's still a lot to like about this film. I really can't get enough of movies or TV shows set in the slums of Rio to be honest. All hail the slums of Rio!

Directed by Jose Padilha
2008
DVD

Margin Call

2012-01-11T21:06:00.000-05:00

All in all, I have no complaints about this movie. There aren't any Glengarry Glen Ross moments like I had been led to believe but no matter. It was fascinating to watch the shit hit the fan from the inside. There was some evil stuff going on in this film. But there was also a lot from the perspectives of people just trying to cover their asses and/or get ahead. You don't leave the film feeling bad for any of these people but I did leave it having a little bit more of an understanding of the clusterfuck that is Wall Street.

Jeremy Irons was scary! It was nice to actually enjoy watching Kevin Spacey in something again. And I can't remember the last Stanley Tucci film I'd seen. And welcome back, Demi Moore!

I was intrigued by all of the scenarios, the characters, the rationalizations, and the sad reality personified by Zachary Quinto that our best minds (hell, even our rocket scientists) are drawn to Wall Street rather than doing something a little bit more constructive for society. How could you Spock?

Directed by J.C. Chandor
2011
BAM

While the City Sleeps

2012-01-10T21:31:00.000-05:00

I wish the movie was as good as the poster. I was pretty bored. Granted, the direction by Fritz Lang was great. And the serial killer aspect was entertaining. But the newspaper stuff was dullsville. And I love movies about newspapers.

Directed by Fritz Lang
1956
TCM

The Artist

2012-01-09T22:10:00.000-05:00

This was fun. I liked the nods to classic scenes from the silent films of the 20's. I liked the vibe of it. Jean Dujardin as the star was perfectly cast. He kind of reminded me of my grandfather which I loved. John Goodman was great. It was clever when it needed to be. It almost got too cute at times but it knew when to pull back.

I'll predict right now that this is going to win Best Picture this year. It is a throwback and an homage to the glory days of Hollywood which isn't a bad combination to stroke some egos and gain some votes.

This is no Singin' in the Rain but what is? The pacing was good and it ended well - again - clever but not too clever.

Directed by Michel Hazanavicius
2011
BAM

Our Idiot Brother

2012-01-08T22:37:00.000-05:00

I can almost see this as maybe being kind of good. Paul Rudd was charming but isn't he always? Zooey was as adorable as ever. But why did Elizabeth Banks look like Parker Posey the entire movie? The tone of the whole thing was uneven and quite strange.

At one point, Sujan said, "I can't even believe this is a real movie."

Afterwards, she tweeted, "Our Idiot Brother did the impossible: made @listmakerdan & I wish we hadn't quit watching Hot Tub Time Machine."

Don't get me started on Hot Tub Time Machine. Wow.

Directed by Jesse Peretz

2011

Blu-ray

A Dangerous Method

2012-01-04T21:59:00.000-05:00

This was pretty good I suppose but not even close to being one of my favorite Cronenberg films. Hell, it wasn't even the best Michael Fassbender kinky sex movie of the year. Viggo as Freud was interesting. And Vincent Cassel in his brief role was memorable.

But good God, Keira Knightly was annoying. I'm not sure who could have pulled off the role but she wasn't it. Just because you can jut your jaw out really far doesn't make you a good actress. And as Matt pointed out, the shifting accents of most of the actors was disconcerting to say the least.

I didn't know anything about this moment in history. I think I'd like to know more but I was kind of bored by parts of this movie. Maybe one naked fight scene to the death would have enlivened this a bit.

Directed by David Cronenberg
2011
BAM

War Horse

2012-01-03T21:00:00.001-05:00

I might have liked this a lot when I was 14. But I'm not 14 so I was kind of nonplussed.

MAJOR SPOILER ALERT!!!!! BUT YOU DON'T CARE. READ THIS ANYWAY!

So there's this horse, see. And this mean landlord loses out in an auction to a well meaning drunkard.

The drunkard's son loves this horse. And teaches him how to plow a field and save the day!

And then forces beyond our control lead to war. And the horse gets conscripted. And becomes a WAR HORSE!

He goes from the English to the Germans to a farm house. Back to the Germans. And then he runs around a bit. And then he gets caught in a fence. And then there's this heartwarming scene between an English soldier and a German one. Humanity bonds over a beautiful horse, dude.

Then he's back to the English. Then there's a reunion. And then some tears. And some hugs.

The End.

P.S. I'm a sucker for war movies so I liked the fight scenes. And that plow scene looked super cool. But the sky looked weird and the movie was kind of dumb.

P.P.S. This is hilarious!

Directed by Steven Spielberg
2011
Time Sq. 25

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

2012-01-02T22:04:00.001-05:00

I always found this part of the trilogy to be the weakest and having now read it and seeing two film adaptations, I'm done with it. I liked this quite a bit more than the Swedish version though.

The Rooney Mara portrayal of Salander is much closer to what I pictured her as than the Noomi Rapace version from the Swedish version. Daniel Craig is definitely not what Blomkvist is supposed to be but that didn't diminish from the story too much.

Some of the scenes were definitely thrilling - especially that brief escalator scene. But it still suffers from what the book suffered from - way too much exposition before things really get going and a pretty standard and not very compelling plot. I liked the Trent Reznor score though.

I hope this does well enough to make the rest of the trilogy because I don't plan on seeing the Swedish versions.

I also want to see what Matt has to say about two more film versions.

Directed by David Fincher
2011
Silver Spring 20

Smash His Camera

2011-12-31T16:47:00.001-05:00

Before seeing this movie, I didn't know anything about Ron Galella - the original famous papparazi. Now I know a lot and I'm glad that I do.

I hadn't seen a Leon Gast doc since When We Were Kings and it was nice to become reacquainted. While Galella is no Ali, he is definitely fascinating enough to be the subject of a 90 minute documentary. What a weirdo.

The movie mixes in archival footage and new interviews and is pretty darn entertaining. It's got it all - the skeevy stalking of Jackie O, the getting punched by Brando, the Dick Cavett reminiscing.

And it made me sad that our celebrity culture is nowhere near as cool as it was in the early 70's. If you don't have the patience to watch this whole movie, at least check this clip out.

Directed by Leon Gast
2010
HBO

Shutter Island

2011-12-29T22:46:00.000-05:00

Fresh off of being super into Hugo, I read a review that compared this film to Shock Corridor. So I took the leap.

First of all, this is no Shock Corridor. Second of all, if I had known it was by the same doofus who wrote Mystic River, I might have steered clear.

This wasn't bad or anything. It looked great. Leo was good. The storytelling kept me interested. I liked the score. But come on, really?

Although I will say the last scene is so silly that it almost turned the whole movie around for me. In fact, if I were to watch it again (all 140 minutes of it) as a comedy, I might like it more.

My old pal Terry Crummitt would have loved this movie and would have found innumerable aspects of it to imitate and make fun of.

Directed by Martin Scorsese
2010
Blu-ray

The King's Speech

2011-12-28T21:33:00.000-05:00

This movie should have been called How the King Stopped Worrying and Learned to How to Speak (So He Could Save the World From Hitler).

This was by no means a bad movie.

Firth, Bonham Carter, and Rush were oh so Oscar worthy, weren't they?

It looked good, it told an interesting story. It was mannered yet not too mannered for a 2010 audience. What's not to like?

So, it was fine, wasn't it? Yes, very very fine.

I was kind of bored.

Directed by Tom Hooper

2010

Blu-ray

Valhalla Rising

2011-12-27T22:51:00.001-05:00

What the hell was this movie? Amazing is what it was. All hail Nicolas Winding Refn. What a badass.

Let's see. I'm not sure how to describe this film. How about a mix of Aguirre: Wrath of God, a Terrence Malick film, and Conan the Barbarian?

I love the violence, the main character One Eye, the almost complete lack of dialogue, the hallucinations, the historical theory. This movie is nuts. I'm dying to know what Chris Larry would think of it.

Directed by Nicholas Winding Refn
2010
IFC

Shame

2011-12-11T21:06:00.000-05:00

Some thoughts:
- This is The Lost Weekend of sex addiction movies. That's not a bad thing.

- It must suck to be a sex addict and not look like Michael Fassbender.

- Fassbender's character kind of reminded me of Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. I kept expecting him to ax someone to death while listening to Hip to Be Square. Instead, there was just a lot of fornication.

- I found it interesting how obsessively clean Fassbender's character was.

- The cinematography was beautiful. I liked how New York felt mostly real but slightly off. Give the city just 8% of a blurred fantasy feel to it and it really changes quite a bit.

- Shame is obviously a good title. This wasn't arousing at all. Just incredibly sad.

- This wasn't as explicit as I thought it would be. It was pretty explicit of course but it was no Shortbus or Brown Bunny.

- I hope the buzz of this movie leads people to go see McQueen's first film, Hunger, which I liked more than this one. Not that I didn't like this film.

Directed by Steve McQueen

2011

Sunshine Cinemas

Miracle

2011-12-07T22:07:00.000-05:00

How had I never seen this before? This movie was as much fun as I was hoping it would be. It didn't matter that I knew the outcome of this movie from the beginning. It's all about the details in getting there.

Did I know I was going to believe in miracles? Of course. Did I know Sujan would succumb to sports emotions a few times before the movie's completion? Definitely.

Oh yeah - one more thing. Kurt Russell!!!

Directed by Gavin O'Connor
2004
Blu-ray

Hugo

2011-12-04T23:18:00.001-05:00

F James Cameron. Avatar gets credit for being a good reason that 3D exists. Blah. The 3D in that movie is what made that movie almost bearable to watch. This movie though is more than enough reason for 3D to exist. Up to this point, I had grown a bit weary of the technology. Not anymore.

From the first moments where the snow flurries add such an incredible texture to the movie to the last frame, I can't even imagine this film in 2D. The 3D is so integral to the story. I read recently that Scorsese said that he was considering only making movies in 3D from here on out. I could be done with that.

The movie itself is pretty darn good. Any movie aimed at children that attempts to tell the story of the early filmmaker Georges Melies is A-OK with me. Throw in references to Safety Last and I'm sold.

The sense of wonder in the storytelling, in reveling in the film history, in the living out one's dream or the sorrow in not ... I liked all the themes. They all add up to some fun times.

Directed by Martin Scorsese

2011

Chelsea Cinemas

The Descendants

2011-11-30T21:35:00.000-05:00

This was my favorite Alexander Payne film since 1999's Election. Granted, that doesn't mean that much considering he's only made two other films in that time - About Schmidt and Sideways. Still, almost everything about this film works for me.

I liked the tone of it. I liked Clooney and thought he pulled off being kind of a klutzy rich guy. Both of his daughters were great. I thought at first that maybe the boyfriend (or whoever he was supposed to be) was going to be annoying in a silly Little Miss Sunshine kind of way, but he turned out not to be. The movie was subtle when it needed to be, laugh out loud funny at others, and touching throughout.

I love how important the setting is to Payne's films. I liked the narration right from the beginning about how Hawaii is actually a real place where people have real problems. That doesn't change my mind though - I need to visit that place soon.

Directed by Alexander Payne

2011

Chelsea Cinemas

Melancholia

2011-11-29T22:46:00.000-05:00

There was a time (shall we say 2003?) where I would have ranked Lars Von Trier as one of my favorite directors. I really liked Dancer in the Dark, both parts of The Kingdom, Dogville, and The Five Obstructions. Breaking the Waves was interesting enough (if not a bit tedious) and I really enjoyed pretending to understand Zentropa while watching it at Grafton Stovall.

But I hadn't even seen one of his films since Dogville. I don't even think most of them even came out in the U.S. And I didn't have much interest in seeing Antichrist. When the glowing reviews of this film came rolling in, I was quite excited to see it.

I can't say that I disliked this film per se but I was definitely disappointed after the positive reviews. I liked the concept. I liked both Kirsten Dunst's performance and her (ahem) dazzling beauty. In fact, all of the acting performances were great. Kiefer Sutherland's character was so absurdly funny at times.

But with any Von Trier movie, I sort of felt like maybe the whole thing was a joke. And with his other films, they were so unique that the whole thing worked for me. This one seemed like a collection of other films which I'm assuming was intentional but I just don't know what to make of it.

As far as awkward wedding movies go, The Celebration and Rachel Getting Married are better. As far as end of the world movies go, I prefer the late 90's Canadian film Last Night. Hell, even this year's other sci-fi film about the discovery of another world and how it affects us Earthlings, Another Earth, had more ideas in it than this one. Granted, this is better than that movie. But still, I wanted this one to be better.

The absurd behavior of many of the characters just seemed so unrealistic. The sisters were well-written but most of the other characters were incredibly cartoonish to me.

That isn't to say I didn't like it. It was quite good. And quite claustrophobic in a good way. I liked the soundtrack from Tristan and Isolde. I liked some of the more surreal painterly touches. I loved the ending. It just didn't all come together for me like I was hoping it would to be the masterpiece I was hoping for.

Directed by Lars Von Trier

2011

Brooklyn Heights Cinemas

The Muppets

2011-11-28T21:52:00.000-05:00

My review: It was pretty good and a fun way to spend Thanksgiving morning.

Sujan's review: The songs were terrible but the bits that were reminiscent of the old Muppets stuff was good.

I asked Otis if he liked it. He said yes. I asked him what his favorite part was. He said, "The Muppets."

Sam said he didn't like the movie. But he did like leaving the theater for a few minutes to go to the bathroom with Mom.

Despite repeatedly saying he didn't like it, he did request that we watch this the next day. To be fair though, he did keep saying at the theater that he likes watching things at home - on the iPad.

Directed by James Bobin

2011

34th St.

The Orphanage

2011-11-21T20:42:00.000-05:00

I had meant to see this when it first came out but somehow missed it. Then Jeremy raved about it a year or so later but it still took me awhile to actually get around to seeing it. For some reason, I thought it was going to be a rip-off of The Others.

This one has all the hallmarks of the genre. The ghosts, the freaky children, the masks, the scary old lady, etc, etc. But it all comes together quite beautifully. There aren't cheap scares in this either. It is shot in a non-horror film kind of way if that makes sense. No tricks. Just scariness.

Don't think of this as The Others, Spanish style. Perhaps it can be thought of as fun elements of that movie, The Shining, Coraline, The Devil's Backbone, Poltergeist, and Drag Me to Hell all mixed up in a fun stew. And those are just a few off the top of my head.

Directed by Juan Antonio Bayona

2007

Blu-Ray

Last Train Home

2011-11-20T21:36:00.000-05:00

This and Up the Yangtze are two great documentaries about the radically changing Chinese landscape and culture. This one is about a married couple (part of the 130 million people who live in big cities away from their families) who work in a factory in the city of Guangdong, far from home. Once a year, they make the long journey back home for the New Year.

It is an insane scene as people desperately try to secure tickets for the long train ride home. This film follows the couple over the course of a number of years. We get to see many different aspects of the journey and the arrival home over the course of a number of years.

Like the best documentaries, this film really gives a sense of what it's like for the millions of Chinese in a similar position (or any migrant separated from their families for most of the year) who only get to see their families once a year. It's heartbreaking enough to see the toll the whole endeavor has taken on the family. But it becomes almost unbearable to watch as their children become increasingly bitter at the parents' absence over the years. It sounds awful. And it is. But it makes for a compelling film.

2009, Year of U.S. Release: 2010
PBS
Directed by Lixin Fan

Blue Valentine

2011-11-17T22:55:00.000-05:00

This movie had all the indie darling press but it was only the second best breakup movie behind this one that came out last year.

I liked the structure of the film but it just didn't pack the emotional punch I wanted it to. The beginning of the relationship scenes just didn't resonate with me. So if those scenes aren't going to work, who really gives a crap about the relationship falling apart scenes?

Still, I always love Mr. Gosling and Ms. Williams.

And any movie that is able to introduce me to a song as good as You and Me by Penny & the Quarters can't be too bad, can't it? You can listen to the song as part of the trailer. And you should.

Directed by Derek Cianfrance
2010
Blu-ray

Martha Marcy May Marlene

2011-11-14T20:07:00.000-05:00

I am kind of shocked about the rapturous praise this movie has gotten in some parts. At the same time, I don't think I disliked it quite as much as Sir Balgavy.

While I was watching it, I had a number of thoughts.

- the movie looks good.
- that Olsen girl is easy in the eyes.
- cults are awesome.
- cults are creepy.
- Big Love should have been more like this.

- i like the pacing of the movie.

- this is getting a little boring.

- how much time is left?

- oh, i like the house break-in scenes

- this movie is trying so hard to be subtle that it isn't as good as it could be.

- there are so many things this movie could have done to be a bit better.

- John Hawkes is awesome though.

- ok, I liked that ending.

Then I met up with Marc later in the evening and got into a major negative loop.

A day or so after that, I listened to an Elvis Mitchell interview with the director. I spent the first 5 minutes thinking I had misjudged the movie and then spent the next 23 minutes realizing that I hadn't.

A number of days later, I'd like to officially proclaim that I'm solidly behind this movie as being okay. Perhaps even a solid B-. It will entertain you. It might annoy you. It will make you think a bit. But it sure as hell isn't close to being one of the year's best as way too many reviews make it out to be.

Directed by Sean Durkin
2011
Time Sq. 25

Underworld U.S.A.

2011-11-13T21:22:00.000-05:00

So violent and so pulpy. So Sam Fuller.

Cliff Robertson plays a guy who watched his father get murdered in front of him as a child. Years later, he's out for blood. But there's so much more.

There's the steely cold killer who always put on his sunglasses before running over little girls. There's the salty older woman to help him. There's the love interest named Cuddles. There's the fat boss who sits around his indoor pool pulling the strings of his puppets. There's just a lot of fun.

While this isn't top top Sam Fuller, it's still pretty damn good. Some of the violent scenes don't pack enough of a punch but I guess you've got to tread carefully when you run over little girls in a movie. Some of the camerawork is incredible though. Very Sam Raimi, very Miller's Crossing era Coen Brothers. Perfect.

Directed by Sam Fuller
1961
TCM

House of Bamboo

2011-11-10T21:45:00.000-05:00

I had thought I had seen this a number of years ago, back when I first moved to New York. But within the first minute of the film, I had realized that I had confused this with another Sam Fuller film, The Crimson Kimono. And then I was really excited to see a great Sam Fuller film that I had never seen.

As it turns out, this is probably one of my all time favorite Sam Fuller movies. It's got it all. It's got the tough guy Sam Fuller thing going on. It's got some great camera angles and shots. It's got Robert Ryan as a badass bad buy. It's got Robert Stack. It's got the World War II themes. It's got the anti-racist message.

Plus, the climax is one of the more memorable ones I've seen in awhile.

Directed by Sam Fuller
1955
Film Forum

Clash by Night

2011-11-08T21:42:00.000-05:00

Pretty standard potboiler but Ryan, Barbara Stanwyck and Fritz Lang bring it to a higher level.

Ryan plays a swaggering hothead playboy who just can't get keep his paws to himself. Bad things happen. The fun is in the getting there. And in seeing a young, sizzling hot Marilyn Monroe in full-on ditz mode.

And I love that Robert Ryan is a film projectionist in this. Which leads to this great exchange between two other characters as they talk about him.

Jerry D'Amato: Earl, he's one of the smartest men I know. He's in the movie business.
Mae Doyle D'Amato: An actor?
Jerry D'Amato: No, but I bet Earl could be if he wanted to. He works at the Bijou theatre, in the projection booth.
Mae Doyle D'Amato: That's your idea of being in the movie business?
Jerry D'Amato: Running movies, what other business would you call it?

Directed by Fritz Lang
1952
Film Forum

Caught

2011-11-02T22:09:00.001-04:00

Robert Ryan really is the best. Film Forum recently did a retrospective of his films and I was glad to see three that I hadn't seen before. First up - this one as part of a double feature.

Ryan plays a Howard Hughes type, drunk on power and completely batshit bonkers. You want to root for the guy but you are damn afraid of the guy too. He's so darn menacing under the placid surface.

He marries and then terrorizes Barbara Bel Geddes just for the fun of it. She eventually befriends a kind doctor played by James Mason but will he be able to free her from her crazy husband?

I'd love to see this in a double feature with Hangover Square as a study of tortured men and their attempts to bring the world down with them.

Directed by Max Ophuls
1949
Film Forum

Mr. Mom

2011-10-17T20:50:00.000-04:00

I hadn't seen this in at least 25 years I'm guessing. But I'm kind of surprised by how much of it I remembered. I think the thing I thought was the funniest at the time was when Keaton made a grilled cheese sandwich using the iron. THAT is funny!

I had forgotten Jeffrey Tambor was in this. Hot!

I can't believe that no one wore seatbelts in this movie. Definitely a different time.

Other than the silly overlong soap opera parody, dare I call this movie absolutely 198o's perfect? I can't believe I didn't watch this while actually being Mr. Mom myself.

Sujan commented that they should remake this film with Mr. and Mrs. Coach as Keaton/Garr. Sign me up!

Directed by Stan Dragoti
1983
HBO

How to Train Your Dragon

2011-10-16T23:11:00.001-04:00

I could tell that this would have looked fantastic in 3-D. In 2-D though, I was pretty bored. As was Otis. The boys and I watched this in three installments. Sam liked it all but I think he just liked snuggling with me on the couch while it was on. Otis spent the first third playing with Legos. The second third he spent running back and forth between watching the movie and listening to Nick Lowe and other favorites in his room. By the final installment, he was actually watching it but it almost felt like it was out of a sense of obligation.

Basically, my main problem with it was I didn't care about anything that was going on and Jay Baruchel really can't carry a movie even if in theory, the dragons were carrying him.

Directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders
2010
HBO

Drive

2011-10-13T21:47:00.000-04:00

Wow. Wow. Wow. And then some more wow. This movie had me hooked from the first frame. That first scene was crazy good. Gosling was incredible. Albert Brooks was incredible. Bryan Cranston was incredible. I loved everything about this movie. Perlman. Mulligan. The car chases. The scary mask. The gloves. The scorpion jacket. The score. The pop music. The cinematography. The whole Nicolas Winding Refn-ness of it all.

I loved how it felt a bit like Mulholland Drive, the recent David Cronenberg films, and even a bit like Two Lane Blacktop. I liked how the seediness of some of the lowlifes in their track suits felt like a nod to the Pusher trilogy. I heard the film described as "brutal yet serene" and I think that is an apt description. I've read some criticism that the film didn't amount to much other than a lot of fun style. Ok. That's fine with me when the movie is as fun and stylish as this one.

The one thing I don't see in this though is that it's like a John Hughes movie. Someone please explain that one to me.

So ... now that I'm back to loving Nicolas Winding Refn after not liking Bronson that much, I'm wondering if I should give a shot to his insane looking Viking movie. Or has anyone else seen any of his other movies?

I just noticed that he's slated to direct a remake of Logan's Run!!!!

Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

2011

Chelsea Cinemas

Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance

2011-10-11T22:40:00.000-04:00

After seeing 13 Assassins, I decided I needed to rededicate myself to samurai movies. That lasted for one movie. Not because I'm tired of the genre or anything - just sometimes things happen that way.

This movie was completely insane. It starts with a young child getting beheaded and gets crazier from there. It's so much fun in a dated early 1970's kind of way. Apparently, there is a whole slew of films in this series. Maybe one rainy day, Sam, Otis, and I will have to delve further. For now, one was enough for me.

If you want to know what the film is about, the poster sums it up well. A ronin walking around the countryside with a boy kicking ass as he goes. What else do you need for a good samurai movie?

Directed by Kenji Misumi

1972

DVD

13 Assassins

2011-10-06T21:26:00.000-04:00

I saw this back in the spring and absolutely loved it. I knew immediately that this movie had the inside track on being my favorite movie of the year. But then I never wrote about it. This happens to me sometimes with movies that I adore. I'm so overwhelmed by the greatness of a movie that I don't even know where to begin in my review. I'll just come right out and say it though. This movie deserves an A+

I love Westerns. I love samurai movies. I love how similar they are. As great as some of the old school samurai films are, this one definitely takes its place as one of the all time best. None of the navel gazing of the somewhat recent samurai film, Twilight Samurai. No, no. This one is all fun, all fighting, all craziness, all the time. But what else would you expect from Takashi Miike?

The plot doesn't matter too much. It was based on a true story. It features (you guessed it) thirteen assassins. It's about a sadistic, ruthless leader and the folks that aim to stop him. It's got incredible fight scenes. But yet, it wasn't nearly as bloody as I was expecting from Miike. I loved that we get to know each of the thirteen assassins a little as the movie goes along. They each have their own little quirks and calling cards.

And did I mention the flaming boars? FLAMING BOARS!!!!

Oh - and for the record - I really liked Twilight Samurai as well.

Check out the trailer to get a glimpse of the fun that awaits you if you see this film.

Directed by Takashi Miike

2011

IFC Center

In a Lonely Place

2011-10-05T21:43:00.000-04:00

I loved this movie when I saw it a number of years ago at Film Forum. It was perfect fodder for the second and final Tuesdays with Bart this summer. Bogart! Nicholas Ray! And tons of drunken wittiness.

I love the films that are really just dark commentaries on the depravity of Hollywood from this era. It isn't equal to Sunset Boulevard but it is still pretty darn good.

Bogart plays a washed up Hollywood drunk who invites a young wannabe actress to his apartment to read him a script. Too bad she ends up murdered shortly after leaving his apartment. Is Bogart's character, Dixon Steele, guilty? It doesn't seem like he is at first but he's such a sarcastic prick that doubts creep in.

I love this exchange between Steele and the police captain asking him questions about the girl.

Capt: You're told that the girl you were with last night was found in Benedict Canyon, murdered. Dumped from a moving car. What's your reaction? Shock? Horror? Sympathy? No - just petulance at being questioned. A couple of feeble jokes. You puzzle me, Mr. Steele.

Steele: Well, I grant you, the jokes could've been better, but I don't see why the rest should worry you - that is, unless you plan to arrest me on lack of emotion.

Zing!

Movies like Barton Fink and The Player definitely were inspired by this film in one shape or another.

And the line, "I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me," inspired this mid 80's Smithereens ballad.

The most interesting aspect of the movie though is that director Nicholas Ray and his wife Gloria Grahame (Bogart's neighbor) in the film were going through a nasty separation during the filming but they didn't let anyone know. He would sleep on the couch of his office each night but would pretend that he was going home. Apparently, he had caught her in bed with his 13-year-old son from an earlier marriage. She ended up marrying her former stepson a few years earlier. Crazy!

Directed by Nicholas Ray

1950

TCM

Inside Job

2011-10-04T22:30:00.002-04:00

I knew this was going to be good but it was even better than I was hoping it would be.

1. Even though I really liked Ferguson's definitive documentary about the lead-up to and the initial bungling of the Iraq War, No End In Sight, I wasn't expecting this one to be so darn entertaining.

2. No matter how many times I have this financial nonsense explained to me, I begin to tune it out. Not so with this movie.

3. The problems are even more insidious than I has previously understood. Holy mackerel.

This and Food, Inc would make a good extreme horror film double feature. Yikes.

Directed by Charles Ferguson
2010
Starz

Moneyball

2011-09-29T22:21:00.001-04:00

Soderbergh would have made a good movie. Despite having fun elements, this movie was not particularly good. I don't particularly mind that a lot of the intricacies of the book and also the real story weren't touched upon or were fudged for dramatic purposes. So what rubbed me the wrong way so much?

Since this was a baseball movie, here are the three big strikes against it.

Strike One: The baseball scenes are way clunky - think Naked Gun.

Strike Two: The movie tried to have it both ways. It treated the 20th victory in a row as sweet vindication for Beane and featured lots of slo-mo and cliche sports movie excitement. But the A's still lost and the streak didn't really matter to Beane anyway. One conversation between Beane and Jonah Hill's character after the victory felt like a halfhearted attempt to make that clear.

Strike Three: That song that Beane's daughter sings to him in a special father-daughter moment. As I was watching it, I just knew that it would make its way back into my ears before the credits. Unfortunately, I was 100% correct to have that fear. Unless Beane's daughter actually wrote and recorded the song back in 2002 (she didn't), this is a horrible misstep for the movie. Why is this even in the movie other than to show that Beane can do more than stomp around the place while spitting into a cup?

Some other thoughts:
- If I were Art Howe, I'd be a bit annoyed that they made me look super fat in the guise of Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Howe was not a fat guy.

- If I were who Jonah Hill was based on (Paul DePodesta) I'd be annoyed. DePodesta is a good looking dude. Jonah Hill is Jonah Hill.

Were they just trying to make Brad Pitt look that much more handsome by surrounding him by non attractive sorts?

- If I were Scott Hatteberg, I'd be honored to have Chris Pratt portray me. Pratt nailed it.

- If I were David Justice, I'd be annoyed that I wasn't asked to play myself.

- This film is a pretty big disappointment to me. The people who are calling it 2011's The Social Network are misguided. I never really got the sense what drove Beane. Countless flashbooks to him as a young hotshot prospect don't really add much.

I understand that the book must have been hard to adapt but forcing a book about ideas into a conventional story line didn't work. It's not smart enough, it doesn't develop enough interesting characters or relationships amongst the characters, and it doesn't work as a rousing sports underdog movie either.

No hustle either, Skip.

Rebecca and I definitely left this film in a negative loop and it continued on throughout the day.

Since she wasn't familiar with what some of the real people in the movie looked like, I sent her some links. I also sent her the link to this movie review I found that details all the excruciating details behind the story of the song Beane's daughter sings. Apparently, it's from a 2008 Old Navy commercial?

She wrote back:
OH MY GOD. Why did they take this away from Soderbergh and give it to the Capote kid? That seems like such a huge mistake.

The origin of that song is so much worse than I ever thought it could be. Also, I wonder why everyone else was really people but Jonah Hill did not really play Paul DePodesta? Also, Paul DePodesta is very handsome and Jonah Hill is (was) very fat.

I mean, would it have KILLED Phillip Seymour Hoffman to lose a little weight to play a relatively trim Art Howe?

The more I think about it, the more Chris Pratt was the only thing worth watching in this movie.

I have said this eleventy billion times, but Brad Pitt just CANNOT be a leading man. He is one of the greatest character actor/weird quirky side part players in the world, but he can't carry a whole movie. I don't know why I tricked myself into thinking this would be different.

I just re-watched the trailer and it made me mad all over again. The trailer is 100% better than the whole movie was.

Directed by Bennett Miller
2011
Kips Bay

Catfish

2011-09-28T22:00:00.001-04:00

I went into this a bit skeptical. I didn't know much about it other than that there had been some whispers that maybe this wasn't as true as it was made out to be. But my skepticism was misplaced. I liked this film quite a bit. And I don't care how true it actually is.

It works for me on many levels.

If it was true - then it's a fascinating document of how modern technology and social networking have shifted the way we communicate with each other. And how easily new personas can be created. And about gullibility. And about believing in things that we know we shouldn't. All that stuff.

If it's only partly true - so what? It still gets at the deeper truths (what Herzog has called the ecstatic truth) that I wrote about in the previous paragraph.

If it is all a hoax, then even better. It's like The Blair Witch Project but about lonely people rather than witches. I almost wish it was completely made up.

Directed by Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman

2010
HBO

Better This World

2011-09-26T17:55:00.000-04:00

Our government is f-ed up. Basically, don't go protesting anywhere near a Republican national convention. Bloomberg arrested everyone in sight in 2004.

In 2008, two twentysomething friends from Texas were arrested on domestic terrorism charges that pretty much were about FBI entrapment by a former leftist turned right wing commentator.

Ugly stuff. Really good doc though.

Directed by Kelly Duane and Katie Galloway

2011

PBS

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

2011-09-25T15:59:00.000-04:00

Uncle Boonmee is dying. But before he goes, he's visited by the ghost of his late wife as well as his estranged son in the form of a jungle spirit. I had no idea what was going on half the time but I still was kind of enthralled by this film. I've seen a couple of other films by this filmmaker and all three are similar in that respect to me. They all are heavily steeped in the spirit world and people taking the form of other animals and the like.

I spent a night outdoors in a rural area outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand back in 2000. Our guide spoke a lot about ghosts and the spirits that lived in the woods in the form of tigers and other animals. I don't know enough about Thai culture to know how prevalent this line of thinking is. All I know is that I was scared that night and that I really like the mysteries of the films of Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

Directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2010, U.S. Release: 2011
Blu-ray

Warrior

2011-09-22T22:37:00.000-04:00

Jim was hoping that there would be at least one reference to The Warriors. There wasn't.

I was hoping there would be at least one good Nick Nolte drunk scene. There was. One.

Jim was hoping that there would be some hot dudes in this. There was but apparently the MMA action in this wasn't as homoerotic as it is in real life. At least according to Jim.

I was hoping for some super fun fight scenes. There were.

We both were hoping for Clubber Lang or Dolph Lundgren to show up to fight. They didn't.

We both were hoping to wanna stand up and cheer. We didn't but I kind of felt like it at times.

I would have loved to seen what this movie would have looked like if it had been directed by Darren Arnofsky or David O. Russell. Instead, the director of Miracle directed this and the movie made a lot of sense in that context. And I don't mean that as an insult.

Directed by Gavin O'Connor
2011
34th St.

Summer Hours

2011-09-21T22:05:00.003-04:00

Am I done with these sort of frenchy talkfests? Perhaps. I didn't like this nearly as much as the previous Juliette Binoche film I had seen or even the most recent Assayas film. In fact, the most recent French film I can even compare this to was better than this.

I'm not sure what it was. I like family dramas as much as the next guy. Maybe not as much as Sujan does but I like them. But I just couldn't get into this particular bunch of white people's problems. I think that might be the only insight I have about this film. French, American. It doesn't matter. Sometimes WPP just don't resonate with me.

Directed by Olivier Assayas
2009
Sundance Channel

A Town Called Panic

2011-09-20T21:22:00.001-04:00

Holy mackerel. What a great movie! See it right now! It even gets Double Trouble approval. And they don't even speak French or know how to read subtitles!

But it doesn't stop them from calling out "Horse!" "Cowboy!" "Indian!" "Penguin Tractor!"

It's not really worth even getting into what this is about. Ostensibly, the film is about a cowboy and indian who live together with their horse and decide they want to buy some bricks to build a barbeque for the horse's birthday present.

But it also involves a whole host of other absolute craziness. There's the aforementioned penguin. There are these bizarre thieves who hide underwater. There are crazy scientists who like to have their penguin tractor/tank creation throw gigantic snowballs at anything near it.

This is really one of the most fun, most inventive, silliest, strangest, awesomest movies I've seen.

Not to mention - the stop motion animation is perfectly not perfect.

Directed by Stéphane Aubier & Vincent Patar
2009
Sundance Channel

Contagion

2011-09-18T21:49:00.000-04:00

First of all - this is the creepiest poster of the year by far.

Second of all, poor Gwyneth.

Other thoughts.

- I loved the first half. The mundane beginnings of the catastrophe were fascinating to watch unfold.

- I loved the last minute. Answers are awesome.

- The second half overall though wasn't nearly as good as the first half. I think Soderbergh was so worried about making a cliche disaster film that the whole society starts falling apart section seemed a bit muted. Some of it worked, some of it didn't. And the dialogue is a bit hokey at times.

- Judging by this movie, all government officials are incredibly courageous and honorable. Non-traditional media on the other hand are all evil scamming liars. Silly. Plus I think the whole Jude Law plotting to do bad stuff while on a park bench was thrown in just to remind us how cool the 70s conspiracy thrillers were.

Overall, I liked this movie quite a bit and can't stop thinking about it. Cover your mouth please.

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

2011

Chelsea Cinemas

Attack the Block

2011-09-12T21:04:00.000-04:00

Hell, yes! Screw Super 8! This is the alien movie to see this summer. The tagline of Inner City vs Outerspace says it all. But what it doesn't full let you know is how awesome this movie is in a late 70's Assault on Precinct 13/The Warriors kind of way.

The dialogue is hilarious. The action is sillily stupendous. The aliens are so low budget that it is incredible. They look like people wearing black fur outfits with humongous glow-in-the- dark teeth. The social commentary is great -- the block is being attacked by aliens but no one wants to call the police because they know they will get blamed somehow.

I'm looking forward to seeing this film again. And hopefully soon.

Directed by Joe Cornish

2011

Times Sq. 25

The Future

2011-09-08T22:22:00.000-04:00

I really should have known better. I hated the previews but I was hoping that maybe the movie itself would be better. I really liked Me and You and Everyone We Know.

In 2005, I wrote, "This film captures so many little, fascinating moments of life (the goldfish on the roof of the car to name one). July incorporates so many universal themes in this film in a new, very unique way. This film got the big arthouse push over the summer and I was worried that I would be saddled with another cloying Napoleon Dynamite fiasco that strained too damn hard to be quirky. Instead, I was pleased to find this heartfelt, tender, charming film. And as far as I know, there aren't any Me and You and Everyone We Know lunchboxes as of yet."

I disliked this movie so much that I now wonder if even that movie was any good. Or have I just changed and can't appreciate a movie like this anymore? Things I liked about her last movie were not evident to me in this one. I didn't find it charming at all.

I remember that movie being cute and quirky and all that "twee" stuff but at least it was grounded in reality. As if the talking moon wasn't bad enough, the talking cat voiced by July almost killed me.

I'm all for exploring themes of aging, loneliness, relationships, etc in a cutesy way. Sure, why not? But I disliked the two main characters to the point that I couldn't give a crap what came of them. The daughter of the suburban dad was somewhat interesting as was the old man. But the woman in the window that July kept staring at was supposed to be a comment on what? Something terribly important, right?

And that scene with her boyfriend in charge of the waves was laughably bad. I wanted to punch everyone in this movie in the face. I think that might have been the point, and if so, July succeeded.

Directed by Miranda July

2011
IFC Center

Somewhere

2011-09-06T22:52:00.000-04:00

I watched this awhile ago and I don't quite remember that much about it. It was pretty good. Nice and mellow. I didn't like the ending much though. But I liked the subtleties of most of the movie. I liked the depressing stripper stuff. Hilarious.

Stephen Dorff was Stephen Dorffy.

I also loved Jim's quote while watching the movie, "I could get into this lifestyle."

Directed by Sofia Coppola
2010
Blu-ray

Enemies of the People

2011-09-05T21:48:00.000-04:00

Filmmaker Thet Sambath lost most of his family during the Pol Pot reign. Then his mother was forced to marry a Khmer Rouge soldier. As an adult, Sambath became obsessed with documenting as much as he could. He interviewed anyone that was willing to talk including former soldiers who spoke candidly about the people they killed on camera.

But the real coup was gaining the trust of Brother Number Two (Pol Pot's second in command) over a three year courtship. Days before he was arrested for his crimes, Sambath got him to talk about the murders on camera.

The movie plays as an important historical document as well as a suspenseful drama. To gain Brother Number Two's trust, he deliberately delayed telling him the truth about how his family had died. The question looms over the entire movie - will Sambath ever let on to the truth? And if he does, how will Brother Number Two react?

This is one of the best documentaries of the past few years in its levity, uniqueness, and storytelling drama.

Directed by Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath

2010

PBS

Tabloid

2011-09-01T22:02:00.000-04:00

I loved this movie. Wow. This is one of those films that I need to see again soon to fully savor all of the crazy stuff in it.

I don't even want to go to what this is about but it does involve phrases like "Mormon sex in chains" and the idea of dog cloning. It also has a dog in it named Booger Hong.

After a few films about serious stuff, Morris goes back to filming whackadoodles and eccentrics. Welcome back Erroll to the world of fascinating nutjobs and those who love to write and talk about them! Amazing movie.

Directed by Erroll Morris

2011

IFC Center

A Film Unfinished

2011-08-31T22:15:00.000-04:00

Yet another good movie proving the theory that there are still an innumerable amount of Holocaust stories out there to be told.

This documentary attempts to piece together footage that the Nazis filmed of the Warsaw Ghetto to be used as propaganda. The film alternates between the footage, and of survivors and historians trying to piece together what the footage really shows. Illuminating, harrowing (of course) and damn good.

Directed by Yael Hersonski

2010

PBS

My Perestroika

2011-08-30T22:53:00.000-04:00

This is a solid documentary - well worth seeing for anyone who grew up when I did or has any interest in the Cold War.

The film focuses on five classmates who grew up in the 80's in the Soviet Union as their country went through tremendous changes and, of course, eventually suffered political collapse. The film weaves current interviews with the classmates about their lives with home movies of them from the era. It also includes great historical footage from the time as well.

The found footage is great - it almost lends the film a bit of a 7 Up, 14 Up etc. type feel to the film. As a kid, I often wondered what kids my age were like in the Soviet Union. This film goes a long way in answering some of my 9-year-old questions.

Directed by Robin Hessman
2011
PBS

Bridesmaids

2011-08-30T00:18:00.000-04:00

A breath of fresh air in so many ways. Clearly, there are not enough chick buddy films. Hopefully, there will be more now. And maybe it won't even have to be part of the Judd Apatow factory.

Things I liked:

- Sookie I've missed you! Melissa McCarthy needs her own movie.

- The Wilson Phillips gag was funny.

- Some really funny slapstick moments.

- The whole vibe of the movie.

So what didn't I love?

- Too long as usual, Judd Apatow style.

- The Richie Rich characters were so boring and poorly written.

- Even with the gag scenes, it felt a little too safe for me.

- A lot of it was very awkwardly (in a bad way) set up and some of it just wasn't as funny as it thought it was - case in point was the excruciatingly not funny scene with Kristin Wiig and Rose Bryne trying to one up each other with their speeches at the party. I would have expected Paul Feig, the Freaks and Geeks mastermind, to shoot awkward scenes well.

All in all, I'd give this a solid B to B+ rating but I wanted something in the A territory. I hope this doesn't mean I hate women. I mean, that Jon Hamm was such a jerk, right? Right?

Directed by Paul Feig

2011

Battery Park

The Man in the White Suit

2011-08-28T22:27:00.000-04:00

I love me some Alex Guinness. That is a proven fact. I also love darkly comic 1950's films. This movie fits the bill on both counts.

Guinness plays a chemist who invents a fabric that is so perfect that it never needs to be replaced. The corporate powers-that-be recognize how bad this could be for the clothing industry so they set out to make sure his invention never sees the light of day. And it turns out, the laborers don't seem to like his idea too much either. Poor Alec.

MacKendrick went on to direct one of all my all time favorite movies a few years later - The Sweet Smell of Success.

Directed by Alexander MacKendrick
1951
DVD

Midnight in Paris

2011-08-21T22:31:00.000-04:00

Since I finally gave up on seeing every Woody Allen film about ten years ago, I've only seen three of his films - the obvious ones - Match Point, Vicky Christina Barcelona, and this one. I love seeing a good Woody Allen movie every three years or so. You've got to hand it to the man - he keeps plugging away.

I liked this movie for what it was, a silly little romp that's smart enough to make you feel kind of smart while watching it. Owen Wilson, where have you been? So good in this film - especially since he wasn't trying to mimic Woody Allen too much - although that might be interesting to see in a train wreck kind of way.

This was like Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure for grownups. I think Allen should make a series of these films going back to different eras. Why the hell not? That could carry him for at least five more films. If not, I'm looking forward to 2014 when I see my next Woody Allen film.

Directed by Woody Allen

2011

Chelsea Cinemas

Cave of Forgotten Dreams

2011-08-18T21:02:00.000-04:00

I feel like kind of a jerk for not loving this. Just like I feel like kind of a heel for not loving his last documentary either. Just like Encounters at the End of the World, I was ready to be blown away and instead, I just merely liked it a lot. Have I set the bar too high for Herzog's films?

I wanted more of the ending stuff with the albino mutant crocodiles. That stuff was awesome. And I loved the Fred Astaire clips to illuminate some of Herzog's thoughts. I'd love to see a sequel to this if and when the plans for a theme park type place is opened near the caves.

The 3D looked great. The score was hypnotic and worked well with the footage. I found myself thinking about this film for weeks afterwards. And who am I kidding? I'll really like any movie Herzog makes. I love that guy.

So I guess what I'm saying is that I want every one of his docs to be an A+ and anything less than that disappoints me slightly. The problem is mine, not his.

Directed by Werner Herzog

2011

BAM

Another Year

2011-08-17T21:57:00.000-04:00

Yet another great Mike Leigh movie. Why haven't I seen them all? I really like every single one that I see.

This one is one of the most realistic and saddest portrayals I've ever seen of loneliness. The Mary character kills me. Every character in this film is well written and well acted. Every single character - no matter how minor could easily be the main character of their own movie.

The story is told over the course of four separate days spread out over each season during one year. When the film ended, I wanted a sequel - Another Another Year perhaps?

This is definitely a film told by an expert filmmaker at the peak of his powers. Brilliant.

Directed by Mike Leigh
2010
Blu-ray

Beginners

2011-08-16T23:25:00.000-04:00

Yet another movie about dying - this one about a guy in his 30's and his father who is dying of cancer. Why don't I just go see Rise of the Planet of the Apes or something? Obviously, there's a lot more to this than just that though. Alex J told me about this movie a few months ago and I was looking forward to its release. I was not disappointed. Ewan McGregor and Christopher Plummer were great. And so was Melanie Laurent who I first saw as the cinema owner/Nazi killer in Inglorious Basterds. In fact, the first scene she was in is one of my favorite scenes of the year.

I liked the flashback nature of the storytelling as well as the asides about what life was like during certain years. These flourishes added to what was already a great script. I wasn't a huge fan of Mill's first film, Thumbsucker, but I really liked this one. That film was adapted from a book - this one was an original screenplay partly based on his own 75-year-old father's story of coming out of the closet after the death of his wife.

This film is about all those big things - loss, regret, loneliness, love, etc. But it never feels melodramatic. It's just darn good.

Directed by Mike Mills
2011
Chelsea Cinemas

The Tree of Life

2011-08-15T22:30:00.001-04:00

This was the movie Terrence Malick was born to make. It's got all the hallmarks - the big questions, the alternating narrators, the jump cuts, the majestic soundtrack, the nature - the glorious nature.

This film put me in a trance. Every movie I see these days that deals with life and death is hitting me in the right spot. I need this catharsis. And this movie gave me space to marvel as well as think about what's going on in my life. I really liked it.

The acting was great - all the kids were incredible. Every frame of the film looks perfect. And did I mention that there is a dinosaur in this?

Directed by Terrence Malick
2011
Times Square 25

Rabbit Hole

2011-08-14T20:52:00.001-04:00

I had a feeling I would like this but I liked it even more than I thought I would. Maybe it was just the right, cathartic time for me to see it. I had just come back from visiting my dad. I had just gotten the boys to bed. I was in the midst of drinking a few beers. I almost decided not to watch this because of everything that was going on but it had arrived in the mail so I figured why the hell not? And I'm glad I watched it. It was a good release for me. It felt good to cry.

And the movie isn't nearly as bleak as I was afraid it might be. Yes, it is set eight months after the death of a 4-year-old boy. But it isn't about the accident itself as much as it is about the parents of the boy trying to figure out how to move on with their life. I think this movie would have moved me no matter what but since I was already feeling so fragile, it moved me even more.

This movie is moving, subtle, and hopeful. A parent can never get over such a tragedy but this film shows how to begin to carry on. Just as long as you don't order a birthday cake from Lyle Lovett right before the accident, it is possible to move forward.

Directed by John Cameron Mitchell
2010
DVD

Out of the Past

2011-08-11T23:40:00.002-04:00

This movie confuses me. The first time I saw it, I had taken my sister and perhaps my mom to see it in Fells Point. I don't know what I was thinking taking them to see a film noir. Obviously, it wasn't their cup of tea and I had a difficult time enjoying it because I felt so guilty taking them to a movie they hated.

A few years later, I saw it again and was blown away by it. So when Bart came over to watch it, I was convinced we were going to love it. Instead, we both had a difficult time staying awake and thus were confused by the many twists and turns.

But I'm convinced that this movie is great and can't believe that two of the three times I saw it, I was disappointed. I vow that the fourth time will be the best. It's going to take the others ones off my chest.

I mean this movie has it all. Kirk Douglas. Robert Mitchum. Hot broads. Great locales. Great director. And killer lines.

Such as:

- You know, a dame with a rod is like a guy with a knitting needle.

- I sell gasoline, I make a small profit. With that I buy groceries. The grocer makes a profit. We call it earning a living. You may have heard of it somewhere.

- My feelings? About ten years ago, I hid them somewhere and haven't been able to find them.

Joe: I often wondered what happened to him. Then one day I'm breezing through here, and there's his name up on a sign.
Marny: It's a small world.
Joe: Yeah. Or a big sign.

Kathie: I don't want to die.

Jeff: Neither do I, Baby, but if I have to, I'm going to die last.

Maybe the fourth time is going to have to be soon. What are you doing this coming Tuesday, Bart?

Directed by Jacques Tourneur

1947

TCM

American Graffiti

2011-08-10T23:23:00.000-04:00

This was always one of my favorites when I was a kid. I remember watching it with my dad and I remember he loved it. The music is great and any movie that somewhat led to the 50's/early 60's nostalgia, and by extension, Sha Na Na and Happy Days is A-OK in my book.

So does it hold up? Yes and no. It's good, no doubt. But watching it in a post Dazed and Confused landscape lessens the novelty of this film I think. Still, there are some great moments in this and every character is pretty funny so what the hell am I even talking about? I've changed my mind. The answer to the question at the beginning of this paragraph is YES!

It's crazy to think that the time that this film was nostalgic about was only eleven years earlier. But 1973 America was a much different place than 1962 America. Would a movie set in 2000 seem so nostalgic now? It seems crazy to think about but it was pre War on Terror, pre text messages, pre social networking. So maybe ... but no - that's crazy talk, right?

Directed by George Lucas
1973
HBO

Another Earth

2011-08-09T23:13:00.000-04:00

The premise of this film is pretty interesting if not a little bit hokey. Another earth is discovered. A teenage girl (after a night of drinking) is trying to look out her car window to see it after hearing about it on the radio. She crashes into another car and kills a mom and son. The father barely survives.

Four years later, she gets out of jail and tries to apologize to the man. But she can't bring herself to do it and lies to him, saying that she's there to clean his house. She also has applied to be a contest winner to take a voyage to Earth II which is an exact replica of our Earth right down to all of the people.

The film is low key and low budget and pretty good. Not great. But worth seeing. And I like William Mapother (of The Others on Lost) fame quite a bit in this. And the "What do you do after you find out that there is another you on another earth, let's play some Wii boxing" scene is A-MAZING.

Directed by Mike Cahill
2011
Time Square 25

Winnie the Pooh

2011-08-08T21:17:00.000-04:00

The best thing I can say about this movie is that it was just what Winnie the Pooh always is. As Sujan pointed out, "Isn't every Pooh movie the exact same thing?" Although she also did comment that she was surprised by how fraught with anxiety Piglet was and wondered if that was always the case.

Things of note:

- The boys enjoyed eating popcorn for the first time.

- Sam stayed awake the whole time in the theater for the first time.

- Sam farted really loudly near the end of the movie and then acted all nonchalant about it.

- They were pretty silent during the entire movie except for one word - bumblebees.

- If Sujan had any more reason to dislike this film, she found it in the vocal stylings of Zooey Deschanel.

- After the movie, I asked the boys if they wanted to ever watch Winnie the Pooh at home and Otis emphatically said no. He only wants to watch Despicable Me at home. A boy with discerning tastes and he's not even two and a half. Nice job, O.

Directed by Stephen J. Anderson and Don Hall

2011

Cape Cod

Despicable Me

2011-08-07T22:49:00.000-04:00

After not showing any interest in non Toy Story movies recently, I was pleased that Double Trouble really like this movie. They love the dancing at the end. They love when Jason Segal's character Vector was calling out "Oh Yeah." They loves the cookie robots. They love all the vehicles. They loved Gru (Steve Carell) and his car which they insist is a train. I love listening to them try to say the title of the movie.

Sam also really likes the cute little girls in the movie. And everything about this film is nice and clean and streamlined visually. It's colorful, fun, and easy to follow. It was a lot of fun watching this with them. And oh yeah - Carell's yellow minions are very similar to the aliens in Toy Story so that doesn't hurt either.

Directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud
2010
HBO

Super 8

2011-08-04T15:57:00.001-04:00

I loved the whole Spirit of '82 feel to this. I liked the beginning quite a bit. I loved the zombie movie within the movie. I thought the kid actors were all very good. Yet ... yet ... I just couldn't get into this by the end.

First of all, Kyle Chander - completely underutilized! The greatest actor of our generation needed more to do! Secondly, it was so implausible at times that it lost me. For example, how the hell is a guy going to drive his pickup truck on the tracks causing an incredible explosion and train crash, yet not die himself - all while clutching the all important map? I mean, come on!

But I did like it more than Jim who sent me this e-mail when I inquired about why he disliked the movie so much. He wrote, "I hated the last 10 minutes. So much sappiness: the jerk dad getting all huggy with his son -- I didn't care about their relationship at all or need it to become suddenly lovey-dovey -- couple other things I don't remember around then, and then the clincher, the necklace escaping from his hand and being the last piece the alien ship needed to take off. That absolutely killed it for me. Also didn't like the fact that you couldn't see what the alien looked like until the end; that was unnecessary. Oh yeah: ALSO how the alien picked him up in its hand and listened to him saying "You can go..." or whatever, after it had just eaten a bunch of other people. All that annoyed me."

Two minutes after reading that e-mail, I read Kip's glowing review on Facebook and almost lost it: "Super 8 is SUPERB!! Go see it!! It's amazing."

So you be the judge. Who do you trust more? Me who gives it a lukewarm review. Jim who hated it. Or Kip who LOOOOOOOOVED it?

Directed by J.J. Abrams

2011
Court St.

The Killing Fields

2011-08-03T14:33:00.000-04:00

I can't believe I had never seen this - especially since I'd really wanted to see it since visiting Cambodia in 2006. The movie didn't disappoint but in some ways, I'm almost more interested in learning more about the story of the actor Haing S. Ngor who was murdered in LA in the mid 90's, possibly because of his political activism about his home country.

I loved the mid 80's score. I did not love the ridiculous use of Imagine at the very end of the film though. I loved Spalding Gray's small role and now I feel like I need to re-watch Swimming to Cambodia soon.

Everything about this film (except the aforementioned John Lennon song) worked well. It made palpable for American audiences what had happened during the Khmer Rouge reign of terror without getting too bogged down in the gruesome details. Later films like Hotel Rwanda definitely have followed the template of this film.

Now all I need to do is actually watch what is supposed to be a great documentary, S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine, about a place where Jason and I visited back in '06.

Directed by Roland Joffe
1984
TCM

City of Life and Death

2011-06-08T21:09:00.000-04:00

This movie is like a punch to the gut. But I can't possibly recommend this any higher. If you can handle intense war type films, see this.

It is about the 1937 Japanese invasion and brutal occupation of Nanking, China. I had seen the documentary a few years about the subject so I knew the basic facts. But it is one thing to hear about what happened and another quite different thing to see it unfold. And it is unbelievably horrifying.

This kind of reminded me of Schindler's List but better. I kept thinking that it couldn't get more bleak but somehow the director Lu Chuan found a way to end it on somewhat of a hopeful note. Like Schindler's List, there is a person of influence who tries his best to save as many people as possible from certain rape and slaughter. It is fascinating that the person in question in this case was a Nazi official.

This is a movie that will be etched in my memory for years to come and a must see for anyone remotely interested in the subject. It is also the second film I've seen by Lu Chuan. The first one Mountain Patrol: Kekexili, was one of my favorite films of 2006.

Directed by Lu Chuan
2009, U.S. Release: 2011
Film Forum

The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia

2011-05-12T20:49:00.002-04:00

When I was watching Meek's Cutoff, I kept thinking how incredibly different it would have been if it had been made by the Coen Brothers or Quentin Tarantino. For some reason, I kept picturing what this documentary would have been like if it had been made by Albert Maysles or Werner Herzog. For Meek's Cutoff, I want to see all three versions. And the same goes for this one.

Albert Maysles definitely would have made much more of a Grey Gardens type film, right? And it is easy to imagine Herzog's narration discussing the vagaries of the White family.

I definitely liked the Jackass treatment the family got in this though. They are completely insane. I couldn't get enough. They definitely need their own reality show. I haven't watched a reality show in years but that would be one I'd need to watch every minute of.

There's really no way to fully describe the craziness of this family. You just have to see it for yourself. Check the trailer to get a taste. And thanks to both Jeremy and Chris Larry for recommending this to me - it wasn't even on my radar before they mentioned it.

Directed by Julien Nitzberg
2010
DVD

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2011-05-10T21:06:00.000-04:00

Eh. I liked the book but this adaptation was kind of just okay.

I did like some of it though. I thought that the filmmakers did a good job streamlining some of the dull setup of the novel. I also was a bit confused by a lot of the novel (mainly because I read it over way too many months while Double Trouble were infants and I was sleep deprived). But the way the film was shot made all of the connections between the characters very clear. So I did like the visuals quite a bit at times.

But big key moments in the novel were kind of lackluster in this adaptation. And while I did like a lot of the casting - I'm not sure how I feel about the Salander casting yet. She just doesn't do that much for me.

I think that the first novel was my least favorite so I'm wondering if I should give the other two films a chance. Or should I just wait for the David Fincher film later this year? That will definitely be better than this. Who has seen the whole trilogy?

Directed by Niels Arden Oplev
2009, U.S. Release: 2010
Blu-ray

Win Win

2011-05-09T21:06:00.000-04:00

I don't remember The Station Agent that much but I remember liking it. I didn't love The Visitor so I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. But I shouldn't have been worried. I really liked this film to the point that I might even like it more than The Station Agent. I also had no idea or had forgotten that McCarthy was a co-writer of Up.

I just finished listening to a good interview McCarthy did with Elvis Mitchell where Mitchell pointed out that the theme of loneliness runs throughout all four films that McCarthy has written. McCarthy mentioned that he also really likes writing about characters that find themselves in life changing situations with people they wouldn't necessarily spend time with because of seemingly random events. The interview made me like the film even more.

I found The Visitor a little too contrived at times. This film was just a straight up solid drama. The usual suspects were good of course - Giamatti, Ryan. But I also find Bobby Cannavale funny as hell in whatever I see him in. And any movie with Burt Young AND Jeffrey Tambor in it can't be bad. And the wrestling kid was great. Kind of like Spicoli but with the wrestling moves!

Everything about this film rang true - from the interplay between Giamatti and Ryan at the beginning about her saying shit in front of the children (Hey SHR - stop cursing!) to every facial expression Burt Young or Tambor made to the hilarious secretary was perfect. And the scenes of Giamatti buying a whole pack of cigarettes just to smoke one next to the dumpster behind the convenience store is one of the funniest/saddest moments I've seen in awhile. Perfect.

There's nothing terribly unique about this film but it's a very good one. See it.

Directed by Tom McCarthy
2011
BAM

Certified Copy

2011-05-01T22:33:00.002-04:00

I saw this movie six weeks ago and I still can't get it out of my head. It is that good. Think Before Sunrise meets Memento and you kind of either get what I'm saying or I've just pitched a fake movie a la The Player.

Juliette Binoche is a French antique store owner in a village in Tuscany who falls for a visiting British academic. He is in town promoting his book about his theory that it doesn't matter if a piece of art is the real or a copy if it has the same emotional impact on the viewer.

There's a lot of beautiful countryside. There's a lot of fascinating conversations while in a car. There's so much intrigue going on between the two. And then halfway through the movie, things shift. A lot. To the point, that it is hard to say which half of the film is the original and which is the copy.

It is amazing that such a seemingly realistic film about a couple turns into such an intriguing mystery about the true nature of their relationship. I don't want to give away too much more other than to say that I need to see this again to try to pick up the clues to figure out what was really going on. In fact, a co-worker saw the film after I did and her take on the story was the exact opposite of mine.

This is the first Kiarostami film I've seen in years other than re-watching Taste of Cherry last year. But this film (his first one made in Europe) fits in perfectly with the themes and tone of the others of his I've seen. This is a great film.

Directed by Abbas Kiarostami
2010, U.S. Release: 2011
IFC Center

Meek's Cutoff

2011-04-25T22:22:00.001-04:00

There really aren't nearly enough awesome historical dramas being made these days. This film makes me even more sad about that fact. I want more. But until more good ones come out, this one will have to tide me over for awhile.

First of all, this might be my favorite Kelly Reichardt film and I've liked the last two a lot (Old Joy, Wendy and Lucy). I don't really know all that much about the Oregon Trail but this makes me want to learn more.

Other thoughts:
- Bruce Greenwood was great as Meek, the arrogant, ill-mannered guide of three families on the Oregon Trail who promptly gets them lost without enough water to last. He fits in well with some of the characters on Deadwood and Rooster Cogburn in the recent version of True Grit. I loved his speaking style and his whole demeanor. Brilliant.

- Michelle Williams was also great. And what a poster!

- I loved the sound of the squeaky wagon wheels amidst the silent walking. A brilliant detail.

- It never really occurred to me how annoying it was to get a covered wagon down a steep hill.

- The Native American character that Meek captures is perfectly played. The interplay between him, Meek, and Michelle Williams in the second half of the film really brings this movie from simply very good to downright brilliant. Kill him or hope he leads everyone to water is the question.

- Finally - a movie about white people's problems that I can definitely get behind.

Directed by Kelly Reichardt
2011
Film Forum

Woman in the Dunes

2011-04-24T22:15:00.001-04:00

Whoa! This movie is crazy. I loved it. Everything about it is unique and fascinating to watch.

The premise:
A schoolteacher is on vacation. He misses the last bus out of town. "Helpful" villagers recommend that he spend the night with a woman on the outskirts of town who lives in a house at the bottom of a sand pit. He's excited by the adventure of it all so he agrees.

It isn't until the next day when he realizes that the rope ladder has been pulled back up that he's in big trouble. What the hell is going on? And why is it that the woman wants him to help her shovel the endless piles of sand?

Some thoughts:
- This has to rank up there with The Wicker Man as the film with the creepiest rural village. There's also an element of The Others in Lost in this. Definitely a Twilight Zone episode vibe as well.

- The opening scenes remind me of Gerry. I wonder if that was intentional on the part of Gus Van Sant?

- Some of the scenes near the end reminded me of some of the tense scenes in Wages of Fear. I'm not sure why other than they are both great 60's films?

- I'd love to see a remake of this written by Haruki Murakami (some of the stuff in this reminded me of some of the more demented stuff in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle) and directed by Terrence Malick who clearly had to have been inspired by this film's many closeups of insects. Right?

- I loved the shifting closeups between faces and the shifting sand.

- Tuesdays with Bart, Spring Break style!

Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara
1964
TCM

Cedar Rapids

2011-04-20T18:15:00.000-04:00

It really is amazing that a movie with this kind of formulaic plot can still work so well. Everything about this movie is entertaining. And while I would have liked Ed Helm's character to be little less of a rube, I guess his naivete added to the comedic situations.

What I liked:
- Isiah Whitlock Jr. (Clay Davis) doing his best impersonation of Omar.

- Sigorney Weaver's character was f-in hilarious. I want a whole movie with her in it.

- John C. Reilly really was unbelievably great. I know he won't be considered for a Best Supporting Actor nomination for this but he should win the damn thing.

- While not nearly as awkward as Arteta's earlier film Chuck and Buck, this film skirted along some quite hilariously tense moments. While that movie was depressing as hell, this one is a lot more fun.

For some reason, both SHR and I thought this was going to be a Hangover type ripoff. I'm glad it wasn't.

Directed by Miguel Arteta
2011
BAM

Your Highness

2011-04-11T17:28:00.000-04:00

This is exactly what you'd expect out of a movie like this. And that's not a bad thing at all. I think I enjoyed Pineapple Express more at the time but I'm not sure if that movie would hold up at this point. I remember that movie dragged on a little too long. But it did have a Huey Lewis song. Then again, this one had Natalie Portman in her skivvies and Zooey Deschanel without either M. Ward or Ben Gibbard mucking things up.

This makes me want to see The Beastmaster again and super quick. The silliness quotient couldn't have been higher and that's good. Kenny Powers in a medieval fantasy adventure? I think that definitely would make a great season 3 of Eastbound and Down - it would be much better than Mexico.

Basically, I think the highest compliment I can give this movie is that I'm pretty sure Daniel Desario's Dungeons and Dragons character, Carlos the Dwarf, would have loved this movie. And if not, Sam, Neal, Bill, Harris, and Gordon Crisp definitely would have loved it.

Directed by David Gordon Green
2011
Battery Park

Animal Kingdom

2011-04-06T21:53:00.000-04:00

Is there an Australian New Wave brewing? Between this and The Square, there's definitely something going on down under. Both are near the top of my 2010 list. I loved this movie and am convinced I'd like it even more upon a second viewing.

The humor is so dark, the violence so realistic and sudden, the intricacies so fascinating, the family dynamics so crazy - I really don't think I've seen a movie quite like this.

Yet, it shouldn't be that original - it's just a movie about criminals. But it is so much more than that. I listened to an interview with the director who described this film as being like the last 1/3 of Goodfellas - meaning this whole film is about the depressing downfall of the glory days. Yet, it is hard to imagine this family ever really reaching great heights. If anything it kind of reminded me a bit of the messed up family in The Fighter.

And speaking of messed up moms, Jackie Weaver's performance is even better than Barbara Hershey's in Black Swan and Melissa Leo's in The Fighter. Her performance kind of reminded me of the crazed, devoted mom in the Korean film Mother.

One suggestion though - watch this film with the subtitles on.

Directed by David Michod
2010
Blu-ray

Still Walking

2011-03-31T21:05:00.000-04:00

This is only the third Hirokazu Kore-eda film I've seen but all three have been great. Nobody Knows was one of SHR's favorites from a few years ago and I still think about 1998's After Life occasionally and it's been years since I've seen it.

This film is about one day in the life of a family. Ryota, the youngest son is visiting his elderly parents with his new wife and his stepson. His sister is also visiting. It turns out that they visit once a year on the anniversary of the drowning of Ryota's older brother. It has been 15 years since the death and his parents still haven't gotten over it.

This movie has everything SHR would want in a movie: cute kids, great cooking scenes, family drama. Granted, this film is no The Family Stone. But then again, what is?

This movie's pace reminded me a little bit of some of the later films I've seen by Shohei Imamura, including parts of Dr. Akagi. I definitely need to see more of both Imamura's and Kore-eda's films. And maybe The Family Stone again.

Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda
2008, U.S. Release: 2010
Blu-ray

Rango

2011-03-30T21:34:00.000-04:00

This movie is notable for being Sam and Otis's first ever movie experience in a theater.

Sam fell asleep 30 minutes into it but loved what he saw. Otis stayed awake until the credits started. He ate a lot of pretzels and cookies while watching. They loved the previews and kept calling out "More movies" as each one ended. When a new preview began, they cheered.

The movie itself was a bit of a letdown for them.

I enjoyed it enough though. Not the best thing I've ever seen but I respect how weird it was. First of all, how many Hunter S. Thompson references are there in kids' movies? I liked the Western aspect of it as well. The beginning was great. The Man With No Name reference was interesting. Otis was upset though that the producers cast Timothy Olyphant in that role rather than Clint.

This movie clearly was not made for 6-year-olds let alone toddlers. But I knew that going in. I just wanted to take the boys to a movie. And they passed with flying colors. They were respectful moviegoers and darn cute as well. What will be movie # 2?

Directed by Gore Verbinski
2011
34th St.

Carlos

2011-03-07T16:27:00.001-05:00

There have been quite a few films in the past number of years about 60's and 70's era revolutionary/terrorist figures and organizations. I haven't seen all of them (I still plan on one day seeing Che) but they all kind of blur into one confusing movie for me.

The Baader Meinhof Complex was a perfect example - everything felt rushed. Two and a half hours just wasn't enough time to do that story justice.

Carlos definitely does not feel rushed. At five and a half hours, Oliver Assayas gave himself ample time to tell the story of Carlos the Jackal. And he needed every minute. Yes, things slow way down in the third part but I was expecting that. Things slowed way down in Carlos' life so why not in the movie? His fall wasn't as dramatic as I thought it would be - just a bit frustrating for the dude as his important role in the world had become slowly eroded.

But how about that first incredible part? And the 1st half of the 2nd part continued the fun. Very Three Days of the Condor 70's fun. Unbelievable how lax security used to be.

Other thoughts:
1. I loved the soundtrack. SHR saw a few minutes in passing here and there and thought that the music was a little distracting. The only song that really took me out of the movie was the late 80's sequence scored to the Lightning Seeds. But the Wire songs were perfect for the scenes they were in as was the Feelies' Loveless Love - easily the best use of that song in a movie since Smithereens.

2. At times, the globetrotting adventures reminded me a bit of the Bourne movies. And there was at least one reference to The Conformist that I caught.

3. Never ever open a door without looking to see who it is. It could be someone ready to shoot you as soon as you open the door. And for that matter, never ever walk down a dark stairwell. You will definitely be waylaid. And finally, don't ever go into your apartment without being heavily armed. Someone is definitely behind the door waiting for you.

4. When is a movie about the Red Army Faction going to be made?

Directed by Oliver Assayas
2009, Year of U.S. Release: 2010
Sundance on Demand

Exit Through the Gift Shop

2011-02-26T16:05:00.000-05:00

God, I hope this wins an Oscar tomorrow. I've been intrigued by Banksy since first reading about him six years ago. This documentary or "documentary" only furthers the legend of the man while making him even more mysterious. What will happen if he wins? Will he send up Marlon Brando's Native American to claim the prize? Who the hell is Banksy? Hell, it could be anyone.

The more I think about this film and the many layers of it, the more I like it. I don't even really want to get into the description of it because that will ruin the fun. I'll just say that it's a brilliant document of a modern art movement while also (perhaps) being the ultimate example of it. Either that or it's all utter bullshit.

Either way, the film is fascinating.

Directed by Banksy
2010
DVD

A Prophet

2011-02-22T21:05:00.000-05:00

I never get sick of good prison films or good gangster films. End of story. So I might not be the best one to judge this film since I was pretty much guaranteed to like it.

The film is about a young Arab nobody who ends up becoming a Mafia kingpin while in prison. It seemed a little farfetched how quickly he was able to rise to such dizzying heights but it was still fun to watch. A good shanking always makes a movie more entertaining, doesn't it?

Directed by Jacques Audiard
2009, U.S. Release: 2010
Blu-ray

Everyone Else

2011-02-21T20:55:00.000-05:00

I still haven't seen Blue Valentine but I can't imagine it's more realistic than this film. Perhaps it is more wrenching and it is probably more entertaining. But this film gets so many details right about a doomed relationship that it is like watching a car crash in excruciatingly slow motion.

Both of the characters come across as incredibly unlikeable and shallow at first but it wasn't until the end that I realized that they both are bringing out the worst in each other. It is hard to say if there's anything to like about either character though because we never really get to see a good side from either. There's jealousy, apathy, anger, love, hate - everything you'd expect from a movie about the end of a relationship. Good times, right?

Directed by Maren Ade
2009, U.S. Release: 2010
Netflix Streaming

Mother

2011-02-17T21:11:00.000-05:00

You know a movie has to rub SHR the wrong way if she's going to give up on a Korean flick. But give up she did. I stuck it out and I'm glad I did.

Like Bong Joon-ho's other films that I've seen (Memories of Murder, The Host), this one looks great, feels completely unique, and adds bizarre little touches that add up to making a memorable film.

The film is about a not-so-bright twentysomething man and his doting, devoted mom. The son is accused of committing murder and she is convinced that he is innocent. So she takes it upon herself to investigate the truth. There are many twists, turns, and surprises along the way. SHR missed out.

Directed by Bong Joon-ho
2009, Year of U.S. Release: 2010
Blu-ray

Restrepo

2011-02-13T20:50:00.001-05:00

A war doc has to be really good for me to feel like it's a notch above a really good Frontline episode. This one did that for me. If you have any interest at all in the war in Afghanistan, this is a must see.

The film is about a platoon in the Korengal Valley, known as the deadliest spot in Afghanistan. Their mission is to take the high ground in the valley and build a small base so they can control the valley. They fairly quickly take the necessary spot (and name the outpost after a fallen buddy) but it only gets worse from there.

The battle scenes are intense, the cinematography great, and the interviews illuminating. All told, this is a very good documentary.

And speaking of great and disturbing Frontline docs about Afghanistan, it doesn't get crazier than this one.

Directed by Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington
2010
Blu-ray

Dogtooth

2011-02-09T18:09:00.002-05:00

This has got to be one of the strangest movies I've ever seen. I'm kind of in shock that it's been nominated for a Best Foreign Film Oscar at this year's Academy Awards.

The movie is about a family of five who live on a large estate. The parents have never let the children leave the compound. Ever. Plus the parents completely mislead them and give them deliberate misinformation to keep them in the dark. Some make sense to keep control of the children so they won't want to leave like making them completely terrified of cats by telling them that they are the most evil and vicious beast ever.

But others are just bizarre like teaching them that the word zombie means yellow flower. The two daughters and the son range in age from the mid teens to early 20's. Obviously, the children are all just a wee bit messed up and confused. The only contact any of them have with the outside world is a woman who works with the father that he pays to come to the house to have sex with the son.

This outsider clearly has issues of her own and her presence leads to more sexual experimentation and tension and finally some darn courage to see the outside world. Everything about this movie is completely off in a great way. I really can't think of anything I've ever seen quite like it. Some of it reminded me of some of the early Francois Ozon films from the late 90's/early 2000's in its air of sexual freedom/repression/dark comedy aspects. But other than that, the whole thing was completely and utterly original to me. Crazy stuff. A completely memorable and bizarre film. See it.

Watch the trailer to get a feel for what I'm talking about.

Directed by Giorgos Lanthimos and Yorgos Lanthimos
2010
DVD

When You're Strange: A Film About the Doors

2011-02-07T20:33:00.000-05:00

I didn't know that much about The Doors so this documentary definitely was informative to me. I've never been a huge fan but I definitely like some of their hits as much as the next Apocalypse Now fan.

The footage in this film is pretty astounding. It also features some of a short film that Morrison shot in 1969. Johnny Depp's narration kind of annoyed me at first but it won me over by the end.

This almost makes me want to see the Oliver Stone Doors movie for the first time. Almost.

Directed by Tom DiCillo
2010
Blu-ray

Race to Nowhere

2011-02-03T22:30:00.000-05:00

I saw this as part of a Professional Day at my school. I'm glad to have seen it and found the discussion amongst the faculty quite illuminating. However, the movie just isn't that good. It is manipulative, doesn't present a full enough picture of the problem of forcing students to be overly pressured to succeed, and is downright tedious at times.

I appreciate that this film and, on a larger scale, Waiting for Superman (which I haven't seen) are bringing the topic of education to the forefront of our national discourse. However, the latter film draws incorrect conclusions I believe and this one is too stacked in one direction to really be anything more than a discussion starter.

I'd like to see someone like The Inside Job's Charles Ferguson take on the topic - someone who can actually make a good film about it.

Directed by Vicki Abeles
2010
DVD

The Kids are All Right

2011-01-20T20:27:00.001-05:00

I was entertained by this while I watched it. I liked the premise. Annette Bening was great. SHR commented that she had the perfect Park Slope lesbian look. Mark Ruffalo was fantastic as well. I also really like the daughter played by Mia Wasikowska who was also great in In Treatment.

But the more I think about it, I'm not sure how much I liked this film. First off, it is shot in a really boring TV movie of the Week style for a lot of it. And some of the plot developments are so obvious and so not necessary. I think I would have preferred some of the issues raised by being reunited with one's sperm donor be further explored without it turning into a soap opera.

But I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I thought that the previous Lisa Cholodenko film I saw (Laurel Canyon) was a shallow film as well.

Three other thoughts:
1. Between this and Please Give, I think that I hate rich white people this year.

2. This is nowhere as good as The Kids Are Alright.

SPOILER ALERT

And last but not least, Mark Ruffalo's character got screwed.

Directed by Lisa Cholodenko
2010
Blu-ray

The Square

2011-01-13T21:17:00.000-05:00

I really liked this movie but I guess that isn't that much of a surprise. I love almost anything noir related except for dumb movies.

This reminded me a bit of Blood Simple, a little of last year's excellent Austrian film Revanche, and also a bit of the story line about Leo and Shelly from Twin Peaks. And of course there is the whole story line of greed, love, and unrealistic hopes all converging to destroy you. And it is all set in a small Australian town that is actually kind of intrigued by all the excitement - house fires, accidental deaths, and missing people.

The characters are well-written and three dimensional. You can actually understand why they do most of the things they do.

And there's a dog love story! Unfortunately, since it's a noir, that doesn't work out too well either.

Directed by Nash Edgerton
2008, Year of U.S. Release: 2010
Blu-ray

The Illusionist

2011-01-12T20:10:00.000-05:00

I've only seen one Jacques Tati film and it was years ago. I remember not knowing what to make of it and it seemed so very French. This film, based on a Tati screenplay, makes me want to at least make sure to give Mon Oncle a chance. In fact, there's even a clip from that film used to great comedic effect in this one.

I liked a lot of this movie. It is quiet, understated, and charming. It looks fantastic. I loved the Tati character and also the fey rock band that prances around in many scenes. But I didn't like it as much as The Triplets of Belleville. But that isn't necessarily the fairest comparison to make since that film is one of the best animated films in recent memory.

Perhaps, I wanted a bit more craziness from this or perhaps I was just a bit tired. And as SHR pointed out - the girl was kind of annoying. Plus it was hard to tell exactly what was going on with her and how old she was.

In theme, it kind of reminded me of the Chaplin film I had just seen the day before - a young girl being taken under the wing of a fading old entertainer.

Directed by Sylvain Chomet
2010
Sunshine Cinemas

Limelight

2011-01-10T19:15:00.000-05:00

In this late era Chaplin film, he plays a washed up comedian in 1914 London who befriends a young suicidal ballerina and nurses her back to health back physically and emotionally.

Much of the film is clearly autobiographical. Just like his character in the film (the Great Calvero) Chaplin's comedy was a relic of the past. But Chaplin gets to have it both ways in the film. He gets to make a serious film about aging and being discarded by an unsophisticated modern audience while at the same time getting to film a number of scenes reminiscent of his classic work. There are a number sequences in the film that play off of his old silent comedies. It's a nice touch.

And Buster Keaton is in it! He plays Calvero's assistant. As far as I know, it was the only time, the two appeared in a film together.

Despite being a little too long, the film is a nice mix of the classic Chaplin hallmarks of comic poignancy and a more modern sensibility. Still, if you are looking to see a late era Chaplin, make sure to start with the better Monsier Verdoux instead.

Directed by Charlie Chaplin
1952
TCM

Toy Story 2

2011-01-09T21:21:00.001-05:00

I loved the first movie but it was the sequel that made me realize that these films were modern classics. However, apparently in 1999, I didn't like this movie as much as I liked Go (this came in number 8 for the year - right behind the Katie Holmes vehicle). But I suppose it's not really fair to hold the father of twins Listmaker accountable for the young man of yesteryear, is it?

The first one was clever of course. But the sequel ramped up the existentialism and somehow improved on the formula. The boys didn't seem to love this one as much as they did the first but I'll give them time - they aren't even two yet! Although to be fair, they did get off the couch at one point, stand in front of the TV, and repeatedly call out Buzz, Woody, and wow!

The first one definitely had a more simple plot and a bigger whizz bang ending. But this one had Newman as the sleazy comic book guy, Buzz fighting Buzz, Mrs. Potato Head, a Barbie party, and a minefield of Cheetos. Brilliant.

It also perfectly sets up the third film with its ending of the toys making peace with knowing that one day Andy will outgrow them. It is one thing to say but an entirely different thing to live.

On another note, is the Jessie gets tossed aside by her former owner montage the saddest thing Pixar did before that incredible montage in Up? Or is the scene where Nemo's family gets wiped out the saddest?

Directed by John Lasseter, Lee Unkrich, and Ash Brannon
1999
Blu-ray