November 9, 2015 – November 15, 2015
Monday, November 9, 2015
1) The Little Deputy (2015)
Why I watched: MUBI’s film of the day
Impression: This short is an effective look at regret and missed opportunities. It’s a clarion call for saying the things you need to say to those you love before it’s too late to do so.
3 stars.
2) Cross Creek (1983)
Why I watched: Rip Torn was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and Alfre Woodard was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Impression: Based on the memoir of Majorie Kinnan Rawlings, this film has a few worthwhile moments, but never finds an identity. Frustrated novelist Rawlings leaves New York to run an orange grove in Florida. Inspired by the people in rural Florida, she writes her most important novel, Jacob’s Ladder and The Yearling. Steenburgen, whom I normally love, is not believable as the rugged, determined novelist. Rip Torn is great as an alcoholic father, but I would have liked to have seen more of him. Alfre Woodard does a fine job as a poor black woman befriended by Rawlings, but their chemistry was not very good.
The film implies it was Rawlings independence which led to her becoming a successful novelist, but undercuts this with her marriage at the end. The romantic plot was an unnecessary diversion. The film is simultaneously about female empowerment and reaffirming traditional views. Never a good mix.
2 stars.
3) Throw of the Dice (1929)
Why I watched: Included in the book, 1001 Movies to See Before You Die.
Impression: Two Indian kings, Ranjit and Sohan, play a game of craps to decide who will marry Sunitra. Sohan uses loaded dice to rig the game. but when Sunitra discovers the deception and she winds up with the honorable Ranjit, who she loves.
It’s a very pretty film which captures the exotic beauty of the Indian countryside, but it’s an awfully flimsy film, and its straightforward narrative doesn’t really care very much for creating memorable characters.
1 ½ stars.
4) Shen nu (1934)
Why I watched: Included in the book, 1001 Movies to See Before You Die.
Impression: A despondent young woman turns to prostitution to provide for herself and her son. She sends her son to school so he can have a better life, but when other parents learn her profession, they force her to withdraw her son. When she learns her paramour has stolen the money she had been hiding for herself, she kills him and is imprisoned. She arranges for someone else to raise her son and asks he never be told about her.
It’s a powerful film about the cruelties of a harsh view of traditional morality. The star of the film, Ruan Lingu, became massively popular in China. Sadly, after unrelenting tabloid press regarding her personal life, she took her own life one year after this film premiered. She was 24 years old. Her life story retroactively imbues this story with a far greater poignancy.
3 stars.
5) Fatty and Mabel Adrift (1916)
Why I watched: I want to watch at least ten movies in every year of the twentieth century.
Impression: Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle and Mabel Normand had a very real and easy chemistry. This was far better than I anticipated, and the image of the two of them in a house that had been set to drift in the ocean is indelible. Very funny.
3 stars
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
6) Lancaster, CA (2015)
Why I watched: MUBI’s film of the day.
Impression: A meandering waste of ten minutes. It was just video of two guys in a car with one of them possible admitting to some embarrassing things.
½ star.
7) Panic Room (2002)
Why I watched: The only film directed by David Fincher I hadn’t seen.
Impression: The premise was a little too convenient. A freshly divorced woman (Jodie Foster) buys a home with a panic room and moves in. At the same time, the designer of the room in question (Forest Whitaker), breaks into the home to steal a substantial amount of money hidden in the panic room.
During the break-in, she goes to the panic room and locks herself and her diabetic daughter (Kristen Stewart) inside. There’s a tense standoff.
David Fincher knows how to make his films visually arresting and can create tension from even mundane situations. However, Jodie Foster has gone to the “peaceful woman forces to take violent action to defend herself” well too many times. Jared Leto was good as the grandson of the former owner, and Dwight Yoakam was fun as the member of the arresting group with the most violent tendencies. However, the most interesting thing about the film was seeing a young Kristen Stewart before Twilight-mania had turned her into a household name. Fincher’s a good enough director, his homage to claustrophobia wasn’t a complete waste of time.
2 ½ stars.
8) The Exorcist III (1990)
Why I watched: Included in the list of the top 500 horror movies of all time.
Impression: I’m a huge fan of The Exorcist. This sequel is a capable continuation of the original film, but does not quite capture the spiritual unease of its progenitor. I did like George C. Scott, taking over the role of Lt. Kinderman from Lee Cobb in the original film. This film reveals Father Karras survived and has been living for eleven years in an insane aslyum. Now, he’s possessed by the same demon which possessed Regan McNeil. Every night, the demon possesses another one of the patients in the war and kills someone in the style of the Gemini Killer.
I enjoyed this film, but wish it had been a little more tightly edited. I was happy they chose to foreground some of the spiritual questions which made the original film such a great one, but despite a great performance from Scott, it lacked the passion and fire of the original.
2 ½ stars.
9) Black Mass (2015)
Why I watched: Johnny Depp’s supposed return to form.
Impression: Johnny Depp does a good job transforming himself into White Bulger. It is the most unrecognizable he’s been in a very long time.
However, the movie should have focused on John Connolly and his rationalization of the evils Whitey committed. The movie comes close to this and Egderton and Depp are essentially co-leads, but because of Depp’s star power, the film gravitates back to him a little often. The more interesting story is the corruption of the FBOI agent and how he was able to keep his enabling of Whitey a secret for so long. Solid, not great film.
3 stars.
10) Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (2015)
Why I watched: I’ve seen the other four films in the series, and it’s one of the highest grossing films of 2015.
Impression: It felt like a remake of the previous film in the series. The credibility of IMF is at stake and Ethan Hunt must act quickly and decisively to uncover the conspiracy. I like Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Alec Baldwin, and Tom Cruise. Some of the action pieces were very well put together, but overall, I just can’t pretend to care.
1 ½ stars.
11) Chasing Tyson (2015)
Why I watched: A part of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series.
Impression: Evander Holyfield is now best remembered as the man who got his ear bitten by Mike Tyson. This documentary reminds us he was a pretty good boxer as well. In fact, he is the only person to win the heavyweight belt on four different occasions, but because he was not as charismatic as Tyson, his career is often overlooked. Which raises an interesting question, what qualities do we use to determine success? According to this film, charisma and personality are at least as important as talent, and the film speaks to the power of the press to develop a narrative, to define individuals in the public consciousness. I wish it had explored these issues more, but that wasn’t the purpose of this film.
3 stars.
12) The Mouse that Roared (1959)
Why I watched: I love Peter Sellers.
Impression: When the tiny duchy of Grand Fenwick is faced with bankruptcy, their leadership decides the best way to remedy the situation is to declare war on the US, then immediately surrender, anticipating the US will offer an aid package comparable to the Marshall plan or its rebuilding of Japan. Despite their very small military force, their invasion goes much differently than planned.
Peter Sellers is hilarious in multiple roles as the Grand Duchess Gloriana XII, Prime Minister Count Rupert Mountjoy, and Tully Bascombe. It was intriguing to see First Doctor William Hartnell in something else. I’m fascinated this was directed by Jack Arnold, the guy who made a living directing classic sci-fi in the 1950s like The Incredible Shrinking Man and The Creature of the Black Lagoon. A sophisticated political satire does not appear to be in his wheelhouse, but he did a great job.
The complexity of the mysterious Q bomb and its ability to destroy a continent reminds me of Ice-9 in Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle which helps put a smile on my face.
4 stars.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
I didn’t watch any movies.
Thursday, November 12, 2015
13) The Imposter (2012)
Why I watched: Jamie Porter’s recommended film of the week.
Impression: Frédéric Bourdin is a genius and a very sick man who’s spent much of his life impersonating other people. This film documents an incident when he impersonated Nicholas Barclay, a Texas child who had disappeared at thirteen. Bourdin didn’t resemble Barclay at all, but the child’s family was either fooled or willing to go along with the charade until a private investigator and the FBI uncovered the truth.
The film is a little frustrating because it implies someone in his family murdered Nicholas, but never really pushes or explores this, instead choosing to focus on Bourdin’s deception. Because of this, it feels somewhat incomplete. Bourdin is fascinating, but by bringing up the possibilities of what actually happened to Nicholas and the family’s bizarre behavior, it left me with more questions than answers.
3 stars.
14) Police (1916)
Why I watched: Still trying to watch at least ten films released every year of the twentieth century.
Impression: A tamed down version of Charlie Chaplin’s zaniness. With a few exceptions, most of his shorts don’t hold up as well as his later feature-length films. In this one, Charlie, released from prison, hooks up with a career criminal who convinces him to help in a robbery. There’s just not enough going on to really recommend this.
1 star.
15) Storm Over Asia (1928)
Why I watched: Included in the book 1001 Movies to See Before You Die.
Impression: In this Soviet film about cultural colonialism, British officials use a descendant of Genghis Khan to advance an anti-Soviet agenda. It’s brilliantly, subversive and a ballsy piece of propaganda. In actuality, the British were never in Mongolia, and by all accounts the Soviets were the ones doing the very things alleged of the British in the film. Now, we’re all hyper-sensitive to diverse cultures and bend over backwards not to misappropriate them in any way. This nearly ninety year old film shows a unique awareness of these underlying issues and a deftness in exploiting them.
2 ½ stars.
16) Land Without Bread (1933)
Why I watched: Included in the book 1001 Movies to See Before You Die.
Impression: Luis Buñel is one of the most versatile directors. From the radical surrealism of Un Chien Andalou (1929) to the sexual politics of Belle du jour (1967), his works defy easy characterization. Here, he makes a documentary about the Las Hurdes region of Spain, renowned for the intense poverty of its inhabitants. However, in typical Buñel fashion, it’s not enough to show the brutal conditions of these people. By utilizing a flat and disinterested narrator, he reminds us of Western indifference to the suffering of marginalized people. It’s an odd, almost comic effect, but draws attention to the stark difference in his tone compared to the images of suffering.
3 stars.
17) Gigante (2009)
Why I watched: MUBI’s film of the day.
Impression: In this Uruguyan film, a security guard stalks a cleaning worker, before working up the courage to approach her. It’s boring and meandering.
1 ½ stars.
18) Tose (2015)
Why I watched: Part of ESPN’s umbrella program 30 for 30 shorts.
Impression: Somehow, I’d never heard of Leonard Tose before. He purchased the Philadelphia Eagles in 1969 for $16 million dollars, then was forced to sell the team in 1985 for $65 million to pay off his substantial gambling debt. He freely admits to losing as much as $1 million in a night gambling. Tose was an extremely generous man, who’s personal excesses led to a humiliating fall. The love of his former players and associates is obvious. This short was a passion project for Eagles fan Mike Tollin. He wants to make a feature film about the life of the flamboyant owner and this is presented as a pitch. I hope he’s able to see his passion project come to pass.
3 stars.
Friday, November 13, 2015
19) The Dragon Painter (1919)
Why I watched: Included in the National Film Registry.
Impression: Sessue Hayakawa stars in this silent film with his wife Tsuru Aoki. He plays an artist who’s convinced his fiancée has been transformed into a dragon. The pain he feels as a result of his loss provides him inspiration to become a great painter. When he meets Ume-ko and is told she is his lost love reincarnated, he loses his inspiration. Without the pain, he is incapable of creating his art.
This film suggests all creative inspiration is derived from pain. I’m not sure I agree with the premise, but it’s a fascinating concept.
2 stars.
20) Cujo (1983)
Why I watched: In a list of the top 500 horror movies.
Impression: The first three-quarters of this film are a boring domestic drama that I couldn’t have cared less about. Then the big bad monster is revealed: a rabid dog which traps the world’s most annoying mom in a beat up Pinto with her equally annoying son. The film took way too long to get to the “horror” portion of the film and then forgot to make it scary.
1 ½ stars.
21) Who is Harry Kellerman and Why is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me? (1971)
Why I watched: Barbara Harris was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for he performance in the film.
Impression: In this noble attempt to emulate the literary technique of stream of consciousness, Dustin Hoffman is George Soloway, a music composer who spends the day reflecting on his life. It’s too disjointed and the attempts at dark humor are cringe worthy. Hoffman gives it everything he has, but it’s not enough.
2 stars.
22) Los Bastardos (2008)
Why I watched: MUBI’s film of the day.
Impression: Two illegal immigrants are hired as contract killers. The first 80 minutes are dull and boring, but the final ten are among the most intense I’ve seen in some time and help make the film slightly more interesting.
2 ½ stars.
23) Hell’s Hinges (1916)
Why I watched: In the National Film Registry.
Impression: This early western starring William S. Hart as Blaze Tracy is a brutal film which, apparently, took Thomas Hobbes’s admonition that life was brutish and short to heart. A weak minister, Rev. Bob Henley, arrives at Hell’s Hinges with his sister, Faith. The local gangs resist his attempt to evangelize the community and manufacture a scandal with a local prostitute to discredit him. Inexplicably, the distraught pastor aids the outlaws in burning the church. During a gunfight, the pastor is killed and the entire town burns. Blaze and Faith leave behind the destroyed town to start a new life.
It’s just a tad shy of total nihilism and fascinates me that a move like this could have been made one hundred years ago.
3 stars.
24) Love and Anarchy (1973)
Why I watched: MUBI’s film of the day.
Impression: When his anarchist friend is killed before he can assassinate Benito Mussolini, Tunin (Giancarlo Giannini) offers to finish the job. Salome, a prostitute, helps him plan the attack, but when he falls in love with another prostitute, Tripolina, things get complicated. This is a beautiful film about the intersection of life, love, and politics. This Lina Wertmüller films really surprised me.
4 ½ stars.
Saturday, November 14, 2015
25) The Seduction of Mimi (1972)
Why I watched: MUBI’s film of the day.
Impression: Mimi (Giancarlo Giannini once again) is a poor laborer who’s coerced into voting for a mafia candidate. When he refuses, he’s fired and flees to Turin. While attempting to find work, he becomes reluctantly involved in communist politics, and has several affairs. However, when he learns his wife is pregnant with another man’s baby, he seduces the wife of her lover as revenge. Lina Wertmüller continues to impress. While not as great as Love and Anarchy, this is a very good film which compares sexual politics to actual politics very effectively.
3 stars.
Sunday, November 15, 2015
26) Story of My Death (2013)
Why I watched: MUBI’s film of the day.
Impression: Albert Serra mixes two prominent 18th century semi-historical figures: Casanova and Dracula. It’s a slow, dimly lit film and often features extended philosophical arguments about the nature of love and desire. Casanova dominates the first half as he articulates his worldview and motivations. In the second half, Dracula arrives. This version of the famous vampire is close to a mountain man in appearance. There’s little sexually appealing about him in a traditional sense, and his attacks are blunt and straightforward almost matter of fact. Not everyone will enjoy this strange, melodic film, but I did.
3 ½ stars.
27) Crimson Peak (2015)
Why I watched: I like Guillermo del Toro.
Impression: This gothic romance looked good. The costumes and the sets were dazzling. Sadly, the plot was paper-thin. Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) is courted by the nefarious Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) and must deal with his equally nefarious sister Lady Lucille (Jessica Sharpe).
The supernatural elements to the film felt forced, and the tension produced by the various romantic entanglements was virtually nonexistent.
I respect del Toro as a filmmaker and I’m a huge fan of Hellboy and Pan’s Labyrinth. In those films, the amazing visual effects serviced an intelligent and well crafted story. Here, they’re just eye candy to distract us from the nonexistent plot.
1 ½ stars.
Best movie I saw this week: Love and Anarchy (1973)
Worst movie I saw this week: Lancaster, CA (2015)