November 2, 2015 – November 8, 2015
Monday, November 2, 2015
1) Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
Why I watched: It is on a list of the 1000 best reviewed films of the 21st century.
Impression: A very good movie about the horrendous treatment of Aborigines in 20th century Australia.
3 ½ stars.
2) Mabel’s New Hero (1913)
Why I watched: I’m trying to make sure I’ve seen at least ten films released every year of the twentieth century.
Impression: I like Fatty Arbuckle and think his story is one of the greatest tragedies in early Hollywood, and Mabel Normand is very good. Other than some nice set pieces with a hot air balloon, this was one of their least inspired collaborations.
1 star.
3) If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle (2010)
Why I watched: MUBI’s film of the day.
Impression: A part of the Romanian new wave. This film about a trouble youth and his stint in a correctional facility was okay, but not particularly memorable.
1 ½ stars.
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
4) Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
Why I watched: In a list of the top 500 horror films; one of the few Spielberg films I haven’t seen.
Impression: The prologue with Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks is interesting because of who they are. The first segment, directed by John Landis is decent, but takes on a macabre quality when you know about the death of Vic Morrow. The other three segments are more directly inspired by episodes of the acclaimed TV show. The Spielberg segment, “Kick the Can” is cute and sweet, but feels like it’s in the wrong movie. The Joe Dante segment “It’s a Good Life,” is where the film picks up, a weird mash-up of vintage cartoons and Village of the Damned. The final segment, “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” directed by George Miller is the closest to horror offered in the film and is an effective, atmospheric set piece anchored by a phenomenal performance from John Lithgow.
3 stars.
5) Aliyah (2012)
Why I watched: MUBI’s film of the day.
Impression: French drug dealer Alex get a job in Israel and has to tie up loose ends before he moves. It was fine to watch, but forgettable.
3 stars.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
6) The Ladykillers (2004)
Why I watched: One of the few films from the Coen brothers I hadn’t seen. Also Tom Hanks.
Impression: The first quarter is really uneven and the racial tensions are uncomfortable. But at the half way point, the Coens find their groove, right the ship, and turn this into a really fun, dark farce. JK Simmons and Hanks are excellent. The weakest part of the film is Marlon Wayans, but this is expected.
3 ½ stars.
7) The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)
Why I watched: In Empire’s list of the 500 greatest films.
Impression: The plot could easily inspire an episode of Law & Order. A few detours make it worth watching, including the slightly bizarre scene with an enigmatic artist. The end is a let down and the mental illness explanation seems trite. Worth watching because you can see its influence all over modern horror films, but it doesn’t hold up well.
2 stars.
8) Intolerable Cruelty (2003)
Why I watched: One of the few Coen brothers films I hadn’t seen.
Impression: George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones have amazing chemistry. The scene where they first go to dinner together is amazing. I love Richard Jenkins, and he’s great as a witless divorce attorney. The structure and plot are pretty generic romantic comedy stuff, but the fantastic chemistry of the leads and a dash of patented Coen dark humor elevate the material.
3 ½ stars.
9) Free Men (2011)
Why I watched: MUBI’s film of the day.
Impression: I’m not sure how I hadn’t heard of this film. It’s an amazing story of how Si Kaddour Benghabrit, a prominent Parisian Muslim, worked to save Jews from the Nazis in World War II. He falsified records to indicate and went so far as to fake a funeral plot to “prove” one of his wards was of Muslim heritage. One of the men he saved was Salim Halai, a world-famous Algerian Jewish singer. At a time when we believe all Muslims want the extermination of every Jew, it’s astounding to see a story about compassion between the two groups. It reminds me a great deal of Schindler’s List. This story of faith and decency and doing the right thing deserves to be told.
4 ½ stars.
Thursday, November 5, 2015
10) The Gospel According to Mac (2015)
Why I watched: A part of ESPN’s excellent 30 for 30 series.
Impression: Bill McCartney is a controversial figure and it’s odd for ESPN to produce such an optimistic portrayal of him. It doesn’t shy away from his more controversial positions and statements, but it doesn’t disassociate from them either. McCartney’s work turning around the Colorado football program is legendary and his efforts to bridge the significant racial gap from white liberal cocoon of Boulder with the realities of inner city black kids is inspirational. The film glosses over his later career work with Promise Keepers and other conservative religious groups, but it’s being made for a sports network. A fine documentary, but, considering the subject matter, it could have been more probing.
3 stars.
11) Paris, je t’aime (2006)
Why I watched: The Coen brothers directed one segment.
Impression: This film, inspired by the 20 different arrondissements of Paris, contains 18 short segments, each directed by someone else. Two of the films didn’t make the final film for some reason. The Coens segment, featuring longtime collaborator Steve Buscemi is okay, but some of these segments are excellent. I loved the one where the boy tells how his mime parents met. The segment featuring Bob Hoskins acting out an argument with his long time wife in front of a prostitute was intriguing. Wes Craven directed a lovely segment with Oliver Wilde (played by fellow director Alexander Payne) giving love advice from beyond the grave. It was nice to see older and underrated actors Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara getting a chance to work together again. And the final segment, directed by Payne, features one of my favorite character actresses, Margo Martindale acting like a typical American tourist, including speaking in choppy, awkward French. There’s more good than bad here.
3 ½ stars.
12) Circle (2015)
Why I watched: Recommended by my friend, Jamie Porter.
Impression: Aliens are apparently conducting an experiment to determine human values. Fifty people wake up in a room surrounding an odd device in a circle. Every two minutes one of them dies. Eventually, they discover they can vote on who is next. If they don’t vote, it’s random. The dialogue is clunky in places, and the characters are more archetypes than people, but it does a good job hashing out real world implications of firmly held beliefs. How do we determine the value of an individual? The film raises some interesting questions and in the end and deserves kudos for not pulling punches. None of us are saints, and in a high stress situation, fighting for our own lives, our ugly qualities will come through.
3 ½ stars.
13) The Book of Life (2014)
Why I watched: It was nominated for a Golden Globe, and I’m a sucker for animated films.
Impression: This was a fun, sweet family movie. Riffing on the Mexican holiday, The Day of the Dead and incorporating Mexican traditions such as La Muerte and Xibalba, this is an excellent way of introducing Mexican cultural traditions to a wider audience via a story of lost love.
3 ½ stars.
14) Desistfilm (1954)
Why I watched: Released by the Criterion Collection.
Impression: I’m not a huge fan of Stan Brakhage’s work. I understand why experimental film is important to expand our knowledge of what cinema can be, but I don’t like this.
½ star.
15) Wedlock House: An Intercourse (1959)
Why I watched: Released by the Criterion Collection.
Impression: Slightly better than Desistfilm, but not much. This is apparently meant to invoke a wedding night conjugal incident, but feels like the negatives of a very poorly produced home porn video.
½ star.
16) Watchtower (2012)
Why I watched: MUBI’s film of the day.
Impression: A brutal film about two people facing unbelievably difficult circumstances. Nihat’s family was killed in an accident and he’s withdrawn from society to work in a remote forest tower. Raped by her uncle, Seher hides her unintended pregnancy as long as possible and then gives birth alone. She’s going to abandon her child, until Nihat intervenes. The pair form a tentative friendship, demonstrating how important human contact is and how crucial it is for healing.
3 stars.
Friday, November 6, 2015
17) Child’s Play (1988)
Why I watched: In a list of the top 500 horror movies.
Impression: I was very familiar with the concept, but had never seen the film. It’s a ridiculous, but it’s actually pretty good. I had no idea Catherine Hicks (from 7th Heaven) was the mom.
3 stars.
18) Salem’s Lot (1979)
Why I watched: In a list of the top 500 horror movies.
Impression: I like Stephen King and director Tobe Hooper. Sadly, This collaboration did not live up to my expectations. It has some nice moments, but I was confused why Fred Willard was in it. I love James Mason and he does what he can, but he can’t rescue it from mediocrity. There’s enough good things that it’s not one of the worst movies, but not enough to make this updated vampire film recommendable.
2 ½ stars.
19) The Act of Seeing with One’s Own Eyes (1971)
Why I watched: Released by the Criterion Collection.
Impression: This is not for everyone. Stan Brakhage went to a morgue in Pittsburgh and filmed the procedures. It’s graphic, brutal, and uncompromising. But it possesses a sort of poetic beauty to it and serves as a reminder of how fragile our hold on life is.
2 ½ stars.
20) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916)
Why I watched: Attempting to watch at least ten films released every year of the twentieth century.
Impression: Good adaptation of the Verne story. I liked the additional back story to Captain Nemo which gave him a motivation. Impressive camerawork for the time period.
3 stars.
21) Cosmic Scat-tastrope (2015)
Why I watched: It was shown before The Peanuts Movie.
Impression: It was cute and made me chuckle once or twice, but I don’t find the continuing adventures of Scrat very interesting.
1 ½ stars.
22) The Peanuts Movie (2015)
Why I watched: I wanted to make sure my son grew up with Snoopy. Plus, he’d recently seen the Snoopy Thanksgiving episode at school and thought it was funny.
Impression: It was cute and really funny in a few places. My five-year old laughed out loud several times (apparently he has a deep love of slapstick). However, it felt like a greatest hits compilation and offered a lot of the same material we’ve seen in several other Peanuts specials. Good, but could have been great.
3 ½ stars.
Saturday November 7, 2015
23) Cat’s Cradle (1959)
Why I watched: Released by the Criterion Collection.
Impression: Random images of a cat and its owners.
1 star.
24) Tu dors Nicole (2014)
Why I watched: MUBI’s film of the day.
Impression: Recent college graduate Nicole returns home to an empty house for the summer. Listless and rudderless, her friend, Veronique, to go to Iceland, but these vague plans are derailed by an unexpected infatuation. This film captures the anxiety and fear of transitioning to adulthood. It’s a close approximation of the realities of young adult indecisiveness in the 21st century.
3 ½ stars.
25) Censored (1944)
Why I watched: No real reason. It aired on Turner Classic Movies.
Impression: Chuck Jones directed this short cartoon commissioned by the army during WWII to get instructional points across. This is about the importance of not telling secrets to loved ones.
2 stars.
26) Red Road (2006)
Why I watched: MUBI’s film of the day.
Impression: While driving Jackie recognizes Clyde, the man who killed her husband and child in an accident. Furious he’s been released from prison, she plots an elaborate scheme to extract revenge. This film is tough to watch and there’s a particularly graphic sex scenes which is extremely disturbing, but the end (if you can make it through) is a nice statement about the power of forgiveness and the fallacy of revenge.
3 ½ stars.
Sunday, November 8, 2015
27) Window Water Baby Moving (1959)
Why I watched: Released by the Criterion Collection.
Impression: Experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage filmed a birth and the immediate after effects. It’s graphic and gross, but fascinating. I will never watch this again, but I’m glad I watched it once.
2 ½ stars.
28) Mothlight (1963)
Why I watched: Released by the Criterion Collection.
Impression: Another short by experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage. This is getting more abstract and less connected to reality.
1 ½ stars.
29) The Wold Shadow (1972)
Why I watched: Released by the Criterion Collection.
Impression: Yet another short from Stan Brakhage. This is basically a static shot of a forest.
½ star.
30) The Garden of Earthly Delights (1981)
Why I watched: Released by the Criterion Collection.
Impression: Another abstract piece by Brakhage which consists of random images. Apparently, it was a big deal when he starting scratching the film and writing directly on the film stock in his movies.
1 star.
31) Kindering (1987)
Why I watched: Released by the Criterion Collection.
Impression: As close as we’ll get to a Brakhage home video. He shows his children and glimpses of his life with them, albeit in a highly stylized and impressionistic way.
1 ½ stars.
31) I… Dreaming (1988)
Why I watched: Released by the Criterion Collection.
Impression: Brakhage attempts to show us inside his mind. It’s cool in places, but a little pretentious.
1 star.
32) Halloween II (1981)
Why I watched: The only film featuring Michael Myers I hadn’t seen and in a list of the 500 best horror movies.
Impression: A weak entry in the series. Stuck between the low-budget grungy aesthetic of the first film and the slick, gore-filled Friday the 13th series. They don’t really explain why or how Michael is seemingly immortal.
1 star.
33) Trust (1990)
Why I watched: Included in the book 1001 Movies to See Before You die.
Impression: It riffs on many of the tropes of the romantic comedy genre. Clearly we’re not supposed to like or sympathize with the characters. The problem is, I didn’t feel anything for them, they were too boring. I really like Martin Donovan and I’m sad Adrienne Shelley was murdered, but this was not very interesting.
2 ½ stars.
Best film I saw this week: Free Men (2011)
Worst film I saw this week: The Wold Shadow (1972)