Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Out of the Past: The Week In Film







The Banal, the Blah, the Banausic:
1. The Third Voice (1960) Dir. Hubert Cornfield - US
2. Bronze Venus (1938) Dir. William Nolte - US

Astounding Cinema:
5. Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005) Dir. Darnell Martin - US
4. Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) Dir. H.C. Potter - US
3. Old Joy (2006) Dir. Kelly Reichardt - US
2. Death In Venice (1971) Dir. Luchino Visconti - Italy
1. One Deadly Summer (1983) Dir. Jean Becker - France

Theatrical Screenings:
4. Harry Brown (2009) Dir. Daniel Barber - UK 8/10
3. The Secret In Their Eyes (2009) Dir. Juan Jose Campanella - Argentina 8/10
2. I'm Here (2010) Dir. Spike Jonze - US 10/10
1. Please Give (2010) Dir. Nicole Holofcener - US 10/10

Friday, May 14, 2010

Out of the Past: The Week In Film







The Banal, the Blah, the Banausic:
1. The Reeds (2009) Dir. Nick Cohen - UK
2. Hardware (1990) Dir. Richard Stanley - US

Guilty Pleasure Cinema:
1. Hellraiser (1987) Dir. Clive Barker - US

Astounding Cinema:
8. Kontroll (2003) Dir. Nimrod Antall - Hungary
7. Ministry of Fear (1944) Dir. Fritz Lang - US
6. Delta (2008) Dir. Kornel Munruczo - Hungary
5. Nuts (1987) Dir. Martin Ritt - US
4. Mammoth (2009) Dir. Lukas Moodysson - Sweden/Denmark/Germany
3. The Consequence (1977) Dir. Wolfgang Peterson - West Germany
2. Sylvia Scarlett (1935) Dir. George Cukor - US
1. Mississippi Masala (1991) Dir. Mira Nair - US

Theatrical Screenings:
2. The Human Centipede (2009) Dir. Tom Six - Netherlands 6/10
1. Ajami (2009) Dir. Scandar Copti & Taron Shani - Israel 9/10

Rewatched:
1. It's Complicated (2009) Dir. Nancy Meyers - US 5/10



The Reeds (2009): Part of the After Dark horror series, The Reeds is about a group of young Londoners that go away for the weekend to get drunk on a boat in the swamp, only to discover a terrible secret in the reeds! While the first half hour pulls you in effectively, the second half of the film's lack of credibility leading into fantastic ridiculousness may infuriate you as much as it did me. While this series of films tends to be hit or miss, this is definitely a miss, from a director whose previous film was called Voodoo Lagoon (2006).


Hardware (1990): I can't say for sure why I thought this newly released, remastered edition of this pitiful early 90's sci-fi flick intrigued me, but let me just say that if I didn't have a reason to despise Dylan McDermott, I do now. It's the future, the world has fallen apart and people are being sterilized while a wandering soldier/scavenger finds a robot head in the desert which he brings back to his scrap-metal artist girlfriend (the epitome of early 90's B-acting in a performance from Stacey Travis). Well, the robot turns out to be a self-assembling mechanism designed to kill humans---that's just some bad luck for them. And Iggy Pop apparently plays some radio DJ named Angry Bob, though I can't recall if he got any screen time. What makes this boring, tepid film even worse is realizing that filmmakers like Paul Verhoeven and James Cameron were making excellent sci-fi epics at this time. Hardware isn't worth the reboot.


Hellraiser (1987): I can't say I cared much more for the acting in Clive Barker's infamous Hellraiser, but there's some interest there. By the second half of the film when it gets all weird/overthought/Clive Barker-ish I lost interest, but I can see why this was so frightening to people upon release, and Pin-Head is creepy. But the best part of the film is the adulterous drama angle about a woman who help's her husband's dead brother basically escape from a sadomasochistic hell while some creepy demons chase after him. Helping him means bringing stray men that want to have sex with her into the attic so that her brother-in-law can reconstruct his human form. But that's not to say it's a good film.


Kontroll (2003): I absolutely loved Nimrod Antal's Vacancy (2007)---sadly, I think I loved it more than his breakout hit, Kontroll, though there's a lot to like in this first feature a group of train inspectors in Budapest's subway system. It tried to do a little much for me, mostly with a bizarre love story that seemed out of place, but basically, not everything is as it seems. Consistent in tone, the film is energetic but drab, but most of all, I know that I never would want to be a ticket inspector. A huge box office smash in Hungary, it's worth a look.


Ministry of Fear (1944): Man, I love Fritz Lang. While this was not my favorite Lang film, I'm quite happy I was able to find a copy of this flick, available only on VHS and starring Ray Milland as a man barely released from serving two years in a WWII era asylum in England before basically being involved in bizarre espionage by the next frame. Marjorie Reynolds stars as a rather ill-fitting love interest while Milland has to find out who wants a strange piece of information wanted by a spy ring that had been hidden in a cake. Oy, yoy, yoy. Based on the novel by Graham Greene.


Delta (2008): The debut of Hungarian filmmaker Kornel Mundruzco, I liked this film much more after I had time to think about. It's rather slow going at first, mostly because our portagonist is a man that doesn't like to speak. After having returned from making huge amounts of money doing god knows what in the city, a man returns to the small village he was born in to greet his mother, step-father, and a half sister he has never met before. Well, half sister takes quite a liking to half brother, and they, umm, bond over the construction of a home on the river delta, which was property his father had owned. And, of course, the townsfolk don't quite like the nature of their forbidden love and you all must just know a Hungarian incest drama isn't going to end like a Mackenzie Phillips bio.


Nuts (1987): While it sometimes becomes obvious that this is clearly based on a play material, Babs Streisand gives it her all as a high-class call girl fighting for her right to be declared mentally competent to stand trial on manslaughter charges. High-court melodrama ensues with a bevy of award-winning heavyweights supporting Streisand's flashy, angry turn, including Karl Malden and Maureen Stapleton as her estranged parents, Richard Dreyfuss as her altruistic lawyer, Eli Wallach as an evil, ignorant psychiatrist, and Leslie Nielsen (yes, Leslie Nielsen) as the john that got a lot out of control for Bab's tastes. A downright emotional little potboiler, with excellent helmsman Martin Ritt (Sounder, 1972; Norma Rae, 1979) at the wheels.


Mammoth (2009): Let me just preface this with the fact that I think Lukas Moodysson is one of the the most interesting, thought provoking and wonderful directors working today---and I don't understand why this mega-transnational production centering on the difficult theme of globalization garnered such harsh criticism, because quite simply, I loved it, and I feel like it kicks the hell out of what celebrated Babel (2006) was also going for. Michelle Williams and Gael Garcia Bernal star as NYC upper class parents with a Filipino nanny whose own children are still in her native country. When Bernal travels to Thailand for work, all three central characters discover that perhaps some things may need to be reevaluated. The title, which quite uniquely addresses the far-reaching thematics, is borne from a 3,000 pen Bernal receives inlaid with the ivory of a wooly mammoth, a creature that once could have been considered a ruler of the earth, travelling across continents before finally becoming extinct.

The Consequence (1977): It's sad to see that German filmmaker Wolfgang Peterson has been reduced to the master of Hollywood Box Office schlock in the past decade (The Perfect Storm, 2000; Troy, 2004; Poseidon, 2006), but even before his renowned Das Boot (1981), which I've yet to see, Peterson helmed this beautiful and distressing film that aired on German television in 1977 called The Consquence. Filmed in a striking, beautifully stark black and white, Jurgen Prochnow (who would also be cast in glossy H-wood productions as a Euro-baddie in productions like Dune, 1984; The Seventh Sign, 1988; and In the Mouth of Madness, 1995) stars as an actor recently imprisoned for sleeping with an adolescent boy. Putting on a play in prison, he meets and falls in love with the warden's son. Upon release, the two attempt to start a life together but are virtually thwarted at every turn. I found this film completely believable and completely distressing---and I can't wait for there to be a day when someone will watch subject matter like this and feel like we've truly come a long way.


Sylvia Scarlett (1935): One of a pair of films from the 1930's featuring Katharine Hepburn in a cross-dressing scenario (the other being Christopher Strong, 1933, directed by lesbian auteur Dorothy Arzner) Sylvia Scarlett is a strange, bizarre and funny 30's comedy helmed by "woman's director" George Cukor. Hepburn stars as Sylvia, who must pose as Sylvester when forced to leave France with her father due to his large debts. The pair canoodle with a con-artist played by Cary Grant and when her father (Edmund Gwenn) falls for a maid they attempt to swindle, the four set up a travelling circus-type caravan and travel the countryside---until Sylvester falls for a man (Brian Aherne), who can't quite tell why he's so attracted to Sylvester---however the resolution (much like Shakespeare's Twelfth Night) finds its heteronormative solution since Hepburn is revealed to be female. Fans of Hepburn, Grant, and classic queer thematics should eat this right up.


Mississippi Masala (1991): Mira Nair's followup to her stunning debut, Salaam Bombay (1988) makes the number one pick this week, with a wonderful, beautiful, moving and extraordinary film starring Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury. Choudhury stars as a young Indian woman who has grown up in Mississippi after her family was uprooted from Uganda during Idi Amin's notorious regime. Her father still hopes to regain his Ugandan property and has never stopped longing to live in the country he truly loved. However, conflict arises when Choudhury falls in love with carpet cleaner Denzel Washington, exploring interracial subtexts often left untouched in a theme that seems to stop at a dialogue between black and white. Incredibly moving and completely romantic and realistic, I loved every minute of Mississippi Masala. Also starring Charles S. Dutton, Nair's masterpiece is not to miss.


The Human Centipede (2009): A recent splash in the shock cinema circuit is this surprisingly tame feature from the Netherlands directed by Tom Six. So, this creepy surgeon specializing in the separation of conjoined twins living in an isolated house on the Austrian/German border has an obsession with conjoining things together, mouth to anus, in order to create his sick centipede fantasy. We don't know why this is his fantasy or what is truly accomplished besides someone that's simply misanthropic having too much time on his hands, but he did it with dogs (that didn't survive for long) and now two American girls lost in the woods have given him an opportunity to realize his dream of creating the Human Centipede! Thankfully, the director leaves a lot to the imagination, perhaps depending more so on the implied. And that's about it. I wouldn't call it entirely sensational, and perhaps not even very exploitative (I found it certainly more tasteful than any of the atrocious Saw entries) but in the end, I feel it will simply end up being a curio piece and nothing more---but Dieter Laser as the creepy doctor is chillingly effective.


Ajami (2009): Nominated for Best Foreign Language film for 2009, Ajami (the name of a Tel Aviv neighborhood) has received rave reviews. Concerning Muslim and Christian conflicts, gang and drug related violence, Ajami is, at times, completely engrossing and moving. However, I found the narrative to be confusing at times, and a tad long in the tooth. And while I'm usually one that's all for a melodramatic twist, I felt the very end of Ajami was completely unnecessary and manipulative---and based on all of the preceding events, not half as hard hitting as it could have been. However, I did give the film 9 out 10 as there is a lot here to enjoy. Was it one of the 5 best foreign films from 2009? Hell no, but then, I don't get a say. Directed by Scandar Copti (who also stars as Binj in the film) & Yarin Shani.

It's Complicated (2009): I rewatched this because I bought it for my mom for Mother's Day and also the husband hadn't seen it. I'm proud to say that I was able to keep verbal criticisms to a minimum while we watched this (my 20 year old sister, on the other hand, wasn't so polite, but I was thankful to see a female that hated this tripe as much as I did). Let me just say this doesn't get any better with a second viewing. I can see plenty of reasons why Meryl Streep wanted to play this role---I really can. There's a slim, slim markety for 60 somethings like Streep, my lady Weaver, Sarandon, Lange, Keaton, etc. But I will just think that one day, mainstream features with 'mature' women leads won't be so damn sloppy and annoyingly trite.

Monday, May 10, 2010

Out of the Past: The Week In Film (x3)







Well my lovelies, what with moving to a beautiful new apartment, the Minneapolis Film Festival and (Gasp) getting married, the past 3 weeks have been hectic and fabulous, meaning I've gotten a bit behind on my cinema coverage. You might have assumed that with all these major events, I was unable to watch any cinema at home. Wrong! In fact, you see, it was quite the contrary (I actually completed two major cinematic trilogies). However, since I am three weeks behind, I will limit what I have to say about everything......


The Banal, the Blah, the Banausic:
1. Sex & the City: The Movie (2008) Dir. Michael Patrick King - US
2. I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) Dir. Keenan Ivory Wayans - US
3. The Daisy Chain (2008) Dir. Aisling Walsh - Ireland/UK

Guilty Pleasure Cinema:
1. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) Dir. Shinya Tsukamoto - Japan

Astounding Cinema:
10. Crimson Gold (2003) Dir. Jafar Panahi - Iran
9. Red Riding: 1974 (2009) Dir. Julian Jarrold - UK
8. Red Riding: 1983 (2009) Dir. Anand Tucker - UK
7. Peacock (2010) Dir. Michael Lander - US
6. Dead Man's Shoes (2004) Dir. Shane Meadows - UK
5. Pusher III: I'm the Angel of Death (2005) Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn - Denmark
4. Pusher II: With Blood on My Hands (2004) Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn - Denmark
3. Pusher (1996) Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn - Denmark
2. Red Riding: 1980 (2009) Dir. James Marsh - UK
1. White Heat (1949) Dir. Raoul Walsh - US


Theatrical Releases:
2. The Girl on the Train (2009) Dir. Andre Techine - France 8/10
1. The Eclipse (2009) Dir. Conor McPherson - Ireland 9/10

Rewatched Goodies:
1. Crazy on the Outside (2010) Dir. Tim Allen - US 7/10


Sex & the City: The Movie (2008) - Well, the hubby's a fan of the series and film, and an impending sequel comes out this month, so I made a point to finally watch this one. And the most I can say is that while I was far from impressed, I didn't feel the need to castigate. Basically, I found the four women of the popular series to talk and behave a lot like gay men and not very much like women at all (the Kim Cattrall character was my least favorite) and while SJP is one of the most awkward looking ladies I've ever seen, she doesn't offend me (though I must admit, I don't see what anyone sees in Chris Noth's Mr. Big, though my mother and the hubby disagree). The only genuine moment of emotion contained in this 2 1/2 hour epic antithesis is the moment involving Mr. Big and SJP before the marriage---fans will obviously know what I'm talking about.


I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988): While this film may be excellent in comparison to almost everything else the Wayans Bros. have laid their hands on, I couldn't help but find 90% of the humor quite flat---especially after watching 2009's excellent blaxploitation parody, Black Dynamite penned by Michael Jai White. Though props for the use of Antonio Fargas, Jim Brown, Isaac Hayes and Clu Gulager.


The Daisy Chain (2008): This little child horror/drama film never received a theatrical release in the US and I can see why---it's slow moving, dull, and a bit on the silly side. Which is sad for me because I am a Samantha Morton nut---the woman almost always reduces me to tears with her sad, sweet face in fare like Mister Lonely (2007), In America (2004), Control (2007) or The Messenger (2009). While the film most obviously suffers from mis-marketing, it's definitely an item of interest only for those interested in said thematics, cast or director.


Testuo: The Iron Man (1989): A landmark cult classic that is sometimes similar in feeling to Lynch's Eraserhead (1976), Tetsuo tells the tale of a metal fetishist that likes to stick scrap metal into his body, who is run over by another man who in turn starts becoming a piece of scrap metal himself, while the mutating metal fetishist attempts to enact revenge for the hit and run....yeah, it's out there. My favorite part is the pulsating, wonderful soundtrack while the film includes some intense and striking visuals.


Crimson Gold (2003): Iranian director Jafar Panahi was recently arrested and imprisoned in his native country, and since I never had seen any of his work, I sat down to watch this compelling and depressing feature about the social hierarchy in Iran told from the point of view of a pizza delivery man.


Red Riding: 1974 (2009): My least favorite installment of the excellent Red Riding trilogy, 1974 sets up the tale of the serial killer of young girls in West Yorkshire through the eyes of a naive but determined journalist (Andrew Garfield). I think my biggest problem with this installment were some of the directorial choices (I'm not a fan of Julian Jarrold, though I do also like Kinky Boots, 2005, but that's still not excuse for putrid films like Becoming Jane, 2007, or his awful take on Brideshead Revisited, 2008) but it's still a solid film on it's own, though it is both ehanced and integral to the trilogy as a whole. Rebecca Hall, Sean Bean, and David Morrissey add excellent, creepy support.


Red Riding: 1983 (2009): Again, my biggest beef is probably with director Anand Tucker (mostly because he helmed that 2010 drivel Leap Year with Amy Adams) but all in all, a damn fine conclusion to a dense trilogy, with David Morrissey's character coming off as a little more sympathetic than in the previous chapters.


Peacock (2010): Receiving a very limited theatrical run and suffering from a gross mis-marketing campaign, this directorial debut from Michael Lander is an intriguing and subtle little oddity about gender identity, split personalities, and childhood abuse. Cillian Murphy (who also made a pretty girl in one of 2005's best films, Breakfast on Pluto) stars as a bank clerk that has a secret personality named Emma that assumes control when he is at home. When a train accidentally crashes into his front lawn (they are in rural Nebraska) his secret is on the verge of being exposed as he suffers stress from a difficult boss (Bill Pullman), a mayor (Keith Carradine)that wants to use the train wreck as a launch for his campaign, and his wife that befriends Emma (Susan Sarandon), while a strange figure from his past (Ellen Page) come looking for help. Marketed as a horror/thriller, this unsettling film is more of a psychological drama that has some emotional significance. Definitely one of those eerie little films that falls through the cultural cracks only to be resurrected with a cult following decades later. Definitely worth discussion.

Dead Man's Shoes (2004): A revenge thriller/drama, Shane Meadow's Dead Man's Shoes is all about atmosphere and also packs an emotional wallop. Paddy Considine (who co-wrote) stars as a soldier returning to his home town to exact revenge on the mugs involved in the homicide of his developmentally disabled younger brother. As the past unfolds in grainy black and white to meld with the bloody happenings of the present, you can't help but be engrossed, perhaps horrified, and definitely entertained at Considine's hell-bent character.


The Pusher Trilogy
Pusher (1996)
Pusher II: With Blood On My Hands (2004)
Pusher III: I'm the Angel of Death (2005): In truth, I couldn't decide which entry in Nicolas Winding Refn's Pusher trilogy I liked the best, so they're ranked in chronological order. They get increasingly more fraught with tension and violence as the series goes on, each entry dealing with a different character involved somehow or other in the Danish drug underground. The first entry stars Kim Bodnia (an eerie dead ringer for Tom Sizemore) as a drug pusher who has the bad luck of being involved in a bad drug bust (or two). The second film focuses on his co-worker and "friend" played by Mads Mikkelson, as one of the most disgusting characters I've ever had the opportunity to feel empathy for. And the third film, perhaps the most sensational, focuses on Milo the drug lord (Zlatko Buric) as he struggles to cater his spoiled 25 year old daughter's birthday extravaganza, attend sessions of Narcotics Anonymous and also exact revenge on some dudes that screwed him over with a fake batch of ecstasy. I loved every minute of Refn's trilogy and am eagerly anticipating sitting down to watch my copy of Bronson (2008) while I am absolutely kicking myself for not making more of an effort to see Valhalla Rising (2009) at last year's Toronto Film Festival (I think if I had made it that would have been a six movie day).


Red Riding: 1980 (2009) - Director James Marsh gets credit for what I thought was the most innovative and intriguing portion of the Red Riding Trilogy with his middle segment starring Paddy Considine. Creepers Eddie Marsan and Warren Clarke ratchet up the tension as Considine is brought in to helm the investigation, discovering a network of police corruption, while an adulterous relationship with a fellow investigator (Maxine Peake) also adds additional tension. By far, the most engaging part of the trilogy, and the most cinematic (for my tastes, that is).



White Heat (1949): The number one film from three weeks worth of cinema goes to this James Cagney classic directed by Raoul Walsh. One of the best (and influential) gangster flics ever made, Cagney stars as a hot tempered asshole with one of the ickiest mommie complexes on the masculine side of Norman Bates. Virginia Mayo and Edmond O'Brien co star in this white hot little yarn that has an explosive ending to rival Kiss Me Deadly (1955).


The Girl on the Train (2009): Andre Techine's latest offering gives us a chance to see Catherine Deneuve as the mother of an intensely passive young woman (Emilie Dequenne) that lies about being attacked on the subway for being Jewish. Of course, the film offers an unorthodox set up as we see our young protagonist become wrapped up with a wayward youth (the creepy creepy creepy Nicolas Duvauchelle) and keeps us completely in the dark about where, when, and what is happening, making for a compelling and uncomfortable film. The gorgeous Israelian born actress Ronit Elkabetz also stars.


The Eclipse (2009): I've been wanting to see this ghost story/romance since Ciaran Hinds won Best Actor at the Tribeca Film Fest last year---and I wasn't disappointed. Aidian Quinn costars as an egocentric, alcoholic author, while the object of Hinds' affection is none other than Iben Hjejle (who I haven't seen in a film since High Fidelity, 2000, and who I totally blinked out in Cheri, 2009). Hinds stars as a widower tasked with taking care of two children and lots of bad dreams. Convinced he starts seeing ghosts, he becomes entranced with Hjejle, an author of a best selling ghost story currently in Ireland for a literature convention (Hinds drives all the authors around as a chauffeur for the convention). There are several instances where I jumped in my seat, but this isn't, overall, that kind of film. It's very subtle, and it's one of the films that is meant to be watched several times. While it's received some lukewarm press, it's definitely worth a look, if not several, at least for a very good performance from the very talented and underrated Hinds.


Crazy On the Outside (2010): Ah, it doesn't really get any better on a re-watch, but I still insist that Tim Allen's directorial debut is worth watching solely for a very cute and funny performance from Sigourney Weaver playing Tim Allen's sister. Sadly, rewatching it made me realize how lackluster or stale the remainder of the cast is (specifically a very unpleasant and awkward romance between Tim Allen and Jeanne Tripplehorn). Oh well. See it for Siggy.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Minneapolis Film Festival 2010


Around this time last year, I had some bitter words for the travesty known as the Minneapolis Film Festival. This year was not without its grossly unfortunate moments either (i.e. showing up for a screening of Swedish drama The Girl only to learn that Sweden had sent the wrong tape; and worse, the head of the festival deciding against acquiring a copy of the awesomely wonderful film Dogtooth for fear of angering the Greek community---don't even get me started on bullshit censorship tactics). But all in all, this was a much less tumultuous year than the last, perhaps because the festival began during the two weeks I had to change addresses and I wisely decided to attend less screenings (last year I saw 17 films, this year I saw 14 films and one short, haha). Also, I only intensely disliked two of the films, while I quite liked the additional 13 (and the top 7 I would absolutely rave about). Without further ado, here's my list of screenings from this year's Minneapolis film festival:


15. Open (2009) Dir. Jake Yuzna - US 5/10
14. The Forbidden Door (2009) Dir. Joko Anwar - Indonesia 5/10
13. Mid-August Lunch (2008) Dir. Gianni Di Gregorio - Italy 8/10
12. Northless (2009) Dir. Rigoberto Perezcano - Mexico 8/10
11. Bluebeard (2009) Dir. Catherine Breillat - France 8/10
10. Shirley Adams (2009) Dir. Oliver Hermanus - South Africa 8/10
9. Night Catches Us (2010) Dir. Tanya Hamilton - US 8/10
8. The Square (2009) Dir. Nash Edgerton - Australia 8/10
7. Reykjavik-Rotterdam (2008) Dir. Oskar Jonasson - Iceland 9/10
6. Spider (2007) Dir. Nash Edgerton - Australia (Short Film) 10/10
5. Leo's Room (2009) Dir. Enrique Buchichio - Uruguay 10/10
4. Letters to Father Jacob (2009) Dir. Klaus Haro - Finland 10/10
3. Home (2008) Dir. Ursula Meier - France/Switzerland 10/10
2. The Bone Man (2009) Dir. Wolfgang Murnberger - Austria 10/10
1. Air Doll (2009) Dir. Hirokazu Koreeda - Japan 10/10