Out of the Past: The Week in Film

Guilty Pleasure Cinema:
1. The Last of England (1988) Dir. Derek Jarman - UK

Astounding Cinema:
6. Blood and Wine (1996) Dir. Bob Rafelson – US
5. Party Girl (1995) Dir. Daisy Von Scherler Mayer – US
4. La Grande Bouffe (1973) Dir. Marco Ferreri – Italy/France
3. Brief Crossing (2001) Dir. Catherine Breillat – France
2. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) Dir. Werner Herzog – West Germany
1. The Blue Angel (1930) Dir. Josef Von Sternberg - Germany

Theatrical Screenings:
4. Dirkie (1969) Dir. Jamie Uys – South Africa 6/10
3. The Room (2003) Dir. Tommy Wiseau – US 6/10.
2. Shutter Island (2010) Dir. Martin Scorsese – US 9/10
1. Brighton Rock (1947) Dir. John Boulting – UK 10/10

Rewatched Goodies:
1. Village of the Damned (1995) Dir. John Carpenter – US 8/10

The Last of England (1988): Derek Jarman was an amazing trailblazer, both as an experimental filmmaker and an openly gay director making movies about overtly gay subjects. Having seen several of his films at this point, I’ve discovered that he can sometimes be a difficult director to enjoy, with his most accessible work being the magnificent Edward II (1991). As his protégé was the talented and wonderful Tilda Swinton, it’s always enjoyable to see her pop up in Jarman’s works, and the 1988 experimental apocalyptic treatise on England under Thatcher’s rule, The Last of England, is no exception. Except that my mind kept wandering after the first ½ hour or so---but the film does take on a strange eloquence when you realize it’s like beautiful blank verse on film. Tilda pops up towards the conclusion, screaming and writhing in a wedding dress that she cuts up with scissors. Unfortunately, the film is a bit difficult to sit through---or maybe I just have a short attention span.

Blood and Wine (1996): I’m still on the fence about putting this film in the top tier rather than as a mere mediocre film. It plays like a sweaty B noir film so there’s much to appreciate----I think I just find it hard to believe that Jennifer Lopez would fall for anyone as seedy looking as Jack Nicholson and her ‘cubano’ accent is a bit distracting. Set in Miami, Bob Rafelson’s film focuses on Nicholson, a wine seller and two bit crook who concocts a plan to pilfer a diamond necklace from the rich folks employing Lopez as a nanny. Nicholson’s partner is the wheezing, emphysemic Michael Caine, the highlight of the film. Sprinkle some tension on with Nicholson’s battle ax wife (the always enjoyable Judy Davis) and her hot tempered surfer dude son, Stephen Dorff. While the end result is a bit trifling, Blood and Wine is still an enjoyable film if you leave all your expectations at the door.

Party Girl (1995): I love Parker Posey, so I’m not sure why it took me so long to get around to seeing Daisy Von Scherler Mayer’s Party Girl, one of the best lead mid 90’s performances from Posey this side of The House of Yes (1997). Basically the plot centers around Posey as a hard partying New York City gal who knows how to throw one hell of a get together. Ending up in jail upon being busted by the police, Posey is forced to reach out to her godmother, a prim and proper librarian, to bail her out. The deal is, Posey must take a job at the library to pay her back. Along the way, Posey discovers that there’s more to her than just the next best party, and she falls in love with a Turkish street vendor. Liev Schreiber stars as a British love interest and Guillermo Diaz (in his second film) is her DJ roommate. A lovely Posey and a flash back to mid 90’s NYC party scenes make this a treat indeed, even if the plot becomes a bit innocuous--- while some of Posey’s wardrobe has notably gone out of and back into fashion since. It’s just too bad that Mayer’s subsequent directorial features (this was her debut) never made her a major player (from Woo, 1998, to Madeline, 1998 to The Guru, 2002).

La Grande Bouffe (1973): While many cite Peter Greenaway’s The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989) as owing a lot to bizarre Italian director’s most notorious film, La Grande Bouffe, I personally find Greenaway’s piece to be a distant cousin at best (and a superior film to boot). However, Ferreri’s strange picture features a group of four bourgeois friends that get together one weekend to eat themselves to death and engage in lurid sexual, orgiastic acts. Signifying a decline of capitalist society and the dangerous decadence of consumerism, La Grande Bouffe is indeed an interesting metaphor, and is a tad disgusting at times (though I hardly find it worthy of an NC-17 rating, but then I’m not a prude conservative with his asshole sewn together, now am I?). And the film is exactly that----four men that eat themselves to death that all debauch a curious schoolteacher they invite over for a weekend of sumptuous feasting. French stars Michel Piccoli and Philippe Noiret join Italian stars Marcello Mastroianni and Ugo Tognazzi while Andrea Ferreol stars as said teacher. A must see for cinephiles seeking intriguing and controversial fare.

Brief Crossing (2001): Catherine Breillat happens to be one of the best directors of all time in my book. Ms. Breillat takes a lot of criticism for her darkly, graphically sexual films. Well, she’s much appreciated in my book. Brief Crossing was made the same year as my favorite Breillat film, Fat Girl (2001), and it happens to be her least sexually explicit affair, focusing on a young French teenager (Gilles Guillain) and an older, bitter, British woman (Sarah Pratt) who has seemingly just left her husband. The film is set almost exclusively set on an ocean liner, and focuses solely on the shifting power struggle between an inexperience young man and an embittered woman fed up with men. A few drinks leads to some heightened sexual tension, which leads to sex. However, you’ll be so lost in Pratt’s excellent bitterness and Guillain’s spot on portrayal of inexperience that the ending will come before you know it. And if you’ve become involved at all with the characters, you’ll not forget the truthful and painful conclusion.

Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972): The first union of one of cinema’s strangest and bizarrely beautiful pairings, actor Klaus Kinski and director Werner Herzog happens to be a beautiful, dark, and daring picture, the very famous Aguirre, the Wrath of God. Set in the 16th century, the film focuses on Aguirre, a Spanish explorer that takes command of an expedition to find the fabled city of El Dorado. Brutal, insane and viciously unstable, Aguirre leads his fellow men (and his daughter) through a mutiny and then forces them to face the elements of the jungle, which slowly but surely reduces their numbers to oblivion. The images, the soundtrack and deliberate pacing create a mood of intense madness, which was much more akin to the feeling I had after reading Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness,” than Coppola’s more famous film, Apocalypse Now (1979). A magnificent piece of artistry from the creepy Kinski and brilliant Herzog.

The Blue Angel (1930): The film that made an overnight sensation of screen legend Marlene Dietrich, and also director Josef Von Sternberg----the first pairing of another of cinema’s most glamorous and memorable pairings. The Blue Angel tells the tale of a Weimar era cabaret singer named Lola Lola, a sexually unbridled fire cracker of a woman. A local professor, (Emil Jannings) is both sexually repressed and completely naïve, stumbling upon the nightclub The Blue Angel by accident and becoming instantly attracted to the beautiful Lola Lola. He becomes so infatuated with her that he loses his job and convinces Lola Lola to marry him, following her troupe around Germany. Eventually she loses interest in him and to support himself he is forced to don a clown outfit for an act of his own, which literally ruins him in a moving and brilliantly filmed sequence when the professor is forced to perform in his hometown to a sold out crowd that came to ridicule him. Dietrich’s famous song from the film is “Falling In Love Again,” which is most chilling when she casually performs the song for a second time at the film’s conclusion. A depiction of obsession and honest sexuality way before its time, The Blue Angel gives us one of the most beautiful women that ever lived for the first time----the ultimate film of degradation and humiliation.

Out of the Past: The Week in Film

Cess Pool Cinema:
1. Passionada (2002) Dir. Dan Ireland - US

The Banal, the Blah, the Banausic:
1. Mad Dog and Glory (1993) Dir. John McNaughton - US

Guilty Pleasure Cinema:
1. The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001) Dir. Larry Blamire - US
2. This Is It (2009) Dir. Kenny Ortega - US

3. The Night Walker (1964) Dir. William Castle - US

Astounding Cinema:
5. Things We Lost In the Fire (2007) Dir. Susanne Bier – US
4. Advise and Consent (1962) Dir. Otto Preminger - US
3. Blind Date (2007) Dir. Stanley Tucci – US
2. Obsession (1976) Dir. Brian De Palma – US
1. It’s My Party (1996) Dir. Randal Kleiser - US

Theatrical Releases:
2. The Wolfman (2010) Dir. Joe Johnston – US 5/10
1. 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967) Dir. Jean-Luc Godard – France 10/10

Rewatched Goodies:
1. Leave Her To Heaven (1945) Dir. John M. Stahl – US 10/10
2. An American Werewolf In London (1981) Dir. John Landis – US 10/10

Rewatched Atrocities:
1. Boxing Helena (1993) Dir. Jennifer Chambers Lynch – US 2/10

Passionada (2002): It’s been a while since I’ve actually sat through a torpid romantic dramedy, and this has to be one of the least appealing I’ve ever seen. Starring Jason Isaacs as the romantic lead, not only is he an unappealing chronic gambler, but he looks as soft, cuddly and romantic as a velociraptor. The film’s focus is a Portuguese woman, Sofia Miles (who is actually Swiss), widowed years ago by her fisherman husband who died at sea, and whose daughter is now trying to hook her mother up. The daughter is played by the atrociously annoying Emmy Rossum, who is neither proficient at acting or even remotely Portuguese. What led me to the film was my strange desire to watch scene chewer Theresa Russell, who is actually overshadowed considerably by the perturbing Rossum, stale Isaacs, and blank Miles. Director Dan Ireland also directed the debacle called The Velocity of Gary (1999), starring Thomas Jane, Vincent D’onofrio, and Salma Hayek, which also stretched my patience. It hurts me that this director somehow got to direct a vehicle starring Joan Plowright, Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont (2005), which I was actually excited to see. At one time.

Mad Dog and Glory (1993): Well, when your best directorial effort happens to be Wild Things (1998), it comes as no surprise that everything else would most likely be a considerable disappointment. Scorsese produced this strangely celebrated clunker directed by John McNaughton which stars Robert De Niro as a passive cop, David Caruso as his tough guy partner, Bill Murray as a mobster/wannabe comedian, and Uma Thurman as mob property/De Niro love interest. Not only boring, but also just flat, flaccid and nonsensical, the film fails to be a black comedy and a drama. Apparently the big fight scene was re-cut after test audiences disapproved of the outcome, but in hindsight would have made the film a touch better, but not much. Basically, De Niro’s mild manner cop happens to save the life of droll mobster Murray. After an awkward male bonding drunken scene, Murray decides to befriend De Niro and sends a woman to De Niro’s to “hang out” for the week. Thurman is the “hooker with a heart of gold” archetype and of course, they fall in love—but Murray wants her back. Blah, blah, blah. For some reason, Kathy Baker has a small role as De Niro’s neighbor that’s involved in an abusive relationship with a cop.

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001): While Lost Skeleton has minor moments of comedic greatness, I recommend watching it in two sittings. An homage to those low budget 50’s sci-fi flicks, the film is “purposefully” a hammy endeavor, full of plot holes and nostalgia. Fans of MST3K might be intrigued, but then you’ll wonder why you’re not just watching something that’s unintentionally bad and not intentionally made to be awful.

This Is It (2009): The most successful documentary of 2009---but only because it’s the last thing you’ll see the legendary Michael Jackson in. As far as docs go, it’s pretty sparse, and is basically the cobbled together footage of Jackson’s last concert tour he had nearly finished completion on. Had Jackson lived, it may have been one of the most memorable concert events in the history of music. Unfortunately, fans are left with this light, but loving final tribute to one of the greatest performers of all time.

The Night Walker (1964): Gimmick director William Castle is pretty hit or miss. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for him in honor of the Joan Crawford B vehicle, Strait Jacket (also 1964) but some of his fare is rather disappointing (like The Tingler, 1959 and especially Let’s Kill Uncle, 1966). The last motion picture that would star the fabulously awesome Barbara Stanwyck (she would work in TV exclusively after this film) is kind of middle of the road, extremely campy, and poorly written. In fact, I would only really recommend it for fans of Stanwyck, who gets to be melodramatic and hysterical, having some splendid moments screaming at the top of her lungs. The plot basically centers around the fact that Stanwyck has an active fantasy life in her dreams, married to a monstrous looking blind man. When he dies in a tragic fire, she has nightmares that she thinks are truly happening. While no time is wasted in proving that there’s a plot to make her go crazy (she inherited lots of money) the rather stiff Robert Taylor gets to play romantic lead---which is doubly ironic because Stanwyck used to be married to Taylor----and she was purportedly a lesbian (I’ve heard rumors about Edith Head being a lover of hers, but then, I wasn’t really there to substantiate it).

Things We Lost In the Fire (2007): While Danish director Susanne Bier’s English speaking directorial debut was regarded somewhat as a disappointment, it’s really quite a good film---it’s just that it pales in comparison stylistically and thematically to her previous work. Halle Berry stars as a woman whose husband (David Duchovny---an intriguing pairing) has been shot in a freak accident (he was one of those types that got in the middle of some violent couple’s random dispute, one of those situations that causes a murder or a film noir). Attempting to deal with the loss of her husband, Berry reaches out to Duchovny’s best friend from college, a recovering heroin addict played by Benecio Del Toro, who elevates this film beyond anything mediocre. Basically the film is about their friendship that develops as they help each other grieve for a man that made life better for both of them. Alison Lohman and John Carroll Lynch also pop up in notable supporting roles. However, anyone who has seen Bier’s superior Brothers (2004) – which was just remade last year for American audiences, would probably see Things We Lost in the Fire as disappointingly similar.

Advise & Consent (1962): Otto Preminger’s 1962 political thriller is most often remembered as one of a pair of films that was first to directly address issues of homosexuality after the Hays Code officially dropped the ban of homosexuality that year (the other film was The Children’s Hour, 1961). Preminger assembled a dream cast for his adaptation of the sensational Allen Drury novel: Henry Fonda, Charles Laughton (in his last film role, who was also gay), Don Murray, Walter Pidgeon, Peter Lawford, Franchot Tone, Lew Ayres, Burgess Meredith, and Gene Tierney (her first role in 7 years after battling a bout of depression). Politically incorrect by today’s standards, the film is an excellent conspiracy film, concerning the President’s (Tone) nominee for the Secretary of State (Fonda), who lies about Communist ties from his youth, causing a sub committee investigation headed by Don Murray, who, it is revealed, has an incendiary secret from his own past that will destroy him. Laughton is particularly despicable as the Senator that, ironically, causes all the commotion.

Blind Date (2007): Originally one of the works of assassinated filmmaker Theo Van Gogh, (actor Steve Buscemi adapted Van Gogh’s Interview also in ’07) Blind Date is a powerful little film depicting the complicated end of one couple’s relationship after the catastrophic death of their daughter. Directed by actor Stanley Tucci, the film stars Tucci and the always excellent Patricia Clarkson as a husband and wife who continually place ads in the personals to role play blind date scenarios (in a bar owned by Tucci) as they are seemingly unable to communicate as themselves. And perhaps regain a touch of that moment when they realized they loved each other when they met years before. Before you know it, you’ll realize the film is more heavy and heartbreaking fare than you’d known you were in for---but it’s an excellent film to seek out, especially for some wonderful performances from Tucci and Clarkson.

Obsession (1976): God I miss the director that Brian De Palma used to be. He was the kind of hysterical, over the top stylist that any cinephile should love, with vintage work with Sisters (1974), Carrie (1976), and Dressed To Kill (1980). His 1976 film Obsession is meant as an homage to Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1946), which apparently many claim is more of a rip off than an homage. Whatever, it’s still an atmospheric, bizarrely perverse motion picture, with melodramatic scoring from Bernard Herrmann (who scored many of Hitch’s films) and excellent pacing. Cliff Robertson, Genevieve Bujold and John Lithgow star in this film about a New Orleans businessman whose wife and child are kidnapped for ransom in 1959. When the police shakedown goes bust, we fast forward 15 years, and everything, of course, is not what it seems to be. De Palma’s 1984 flick, Body Double is also accused of being a Vertigo rip off, but I believe Obsession stands fine on its own as a film that “shares” many of the same themes. I Loved Obsession.

It’s My Party (1996): And so it is that this week’s top flick is this 1996 drama I neglected to watch for so many years. This came out when I was a young teenager and I remember uncomfortably watching the previews with my parents---uncomfortable because I was just beginning to discover that I was gay. Add to that, I remember the marketing for this film to be extremely pointed at towards its core audience, and with plenty of gay melodrama and touchy AIDS issues that seemed completely alien and distasteful to my Midwestern parents from a small town. Now, nearly a decade out of the closet myself, I’m glad I watched it at this point in my life, finding it to be a high quality film that everyone should see, a tender portrayal of one man’s farewell party due to his AIDS complications. It stands up as a “gay” classic, similar in theme, scope and importance to the equally excellent and timely Longtime Companion (1990). Amazingly, the director of this film is Randal Kleiser, responsible for the mega hit Grease, 1978. This film is the story of his ex-partner Harry Stein’s farewell party from 1992, with Eric Roberts in a wonderful performance as the party host. A majority of the actors also attended the real farewell party, which may explain some of the genuine emotion seen in this touching film. Notable names include Olivia Newton-John, Lee Grant, Sally Kellerman, Bruce Davison, Gregory Harrison, Marlee Matlin, Roddy McDowell, Bronson Pinchot, Margaret Cho, and George Segall. At a point in time where I’ve been lucky enough to be with someone I love and make it legal (in certain states, of course) this film is important both in terms of how far we’ve come and how far we’ve regressed, in some ways. As my own husband has pointed out, It’s My Party is one of those ‘90s LGBT themed films that commonly showed gay people coming together and sticking together---in fact, there’s a passage in the film that talks about how gay people are lucky in that they get to ‘pick’ their families (assuming their biological ones abandon or fail to understand them), whereas, over the course of the past decade, it feels like the LGBT community has become more isolated and polarized, perhaps due to a gradually rigid acceptance by a heternormative culture. Whatever social impact used to credit or discredit, It’s My Party is basically the story of one man taking an opportunity to say goodbye to those he has loved before he leaves behind this life forever. It’s My Party is uncomfortable, touching, realistic, and made with love.

Out of the Past: The Week In Film

The Banal, the Blah, the Banausic:
1. School Daze (1988) Dir. Spike Lee - US

Astounding Cinema:
5. The Fallen Idol (1948) Dir. Carol Reed – UK
4. Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994) Dir. Alan Rudolph – US
3. Scarlet Street (1945) Dir. Fritz Lang - US
2. Set It Off (1996) Dir. F. Gary Gray – US
1. Chocolat (1988) Dir. Claire Denis – France

Theatrical Screenings:
4. Frozen (2010) Dir. Adam Green – US 8/10
3. The Last Station (2009) Dir. Michael Hoffman – UK 8/10
2. India Song (1975) Dir. Marguerite Duras – France 8/10
1. Made In U.S.A. (1966) Dir. Jean-Luc Godard – France 9/10

School Daze (1988): After my mini Spike Lee renaissance a week or two ago, I was eager to watch one of his first films, School Daze from 1988. And it’s not that Lee’s film is bad, it’s just more of a sounding board for themes he would go on to explore in his later work to better effect. Based on his own college experience, School Daze is set at an all black university where a variety of issues are explored between men, women, frat houses, sorority houses, etc. Light skinned vs. dark skinned, being Black in the Greek system, educated vs. non educated blacks, there’s a lot of important issues experienced in School Daze---if only it didn’t lose steam about half way into it. On a personal note, I can only watch the frat boy experience for so long before becoming utterly bored. The tone of School Daze also feels a bit uneven, sometimes dipping into musical numbers (which are entertaining) between some broad comedy and even more broad drama. But it’s worth the watch, especially for fresh faced Laurence Fishburne (who is still a bit old to play a college student here), Tisha Martin Campbell, and Bill Nunn. And it’s always a joy to see Ossie Davis.

The Fallen Idol (1948): Of the three collaborations between author Graham Greene and director Carol Reed, The Fallen Idol seems the least remembered (though Criterion has released a lovely DVD edition), especially when measured next to the masterpiece that is The Third Man (1949)---and my personal favorite of their efforts is the comedy/noir Our Man in Havana (1959). But The Fallen Idol explores plenty of dark themes with Reed’s typical masterful flair. Set in the French Embassy in London, the story focuses on the French ambassador’s young son, a character that may work your nerves, but who looks up to Baines (British star Ralph Richardson), the butler, as a friend and father figure. However, the butler’s wife is a shrewish bitch of a woman, hated by the young child, and suspecting that her husband may be cheating on her (which he is). And in the cinematic realm, these situations often end in disaster, and here we have no exception. Mrs. Baines takes a long dive down the stairs, it seems, and the young boy is convinced that his father figure pushed her, setting off a chain of events meant to keep us on edge, which the film effectively manages to do.

Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994): Directed by Alan Rudolph (and produced by his friend Robert Altman), Mrs. Parker tells the story of author/screenwriter Dorothy Parker, a boozy genius that, as the tagline tells us, is most definitely a woman ahead of her time. Parker was the founder of a now forgotten group of authors referred to as the Algonquin Round Table, and Rudolph’s film follows Jennifer Jason Leigh in an amazing portrayal of a drunken, bitchy, witty woman through love affairs, abortions, and the sad realization that she would never have the love of her life, Robert Benchley (Campbell Scott). Rudolph’s film is a fine period piece (with a lot of dialogue) and an almost unintelligible lead character---she is drunk most of the time. Apparently, the first screening of the film prompted Rudolph to re-edit Leigh to be less slurred. Leigh was nominated for a Golden Globe, and the rest of the fine cast includes Scott, Jennifer Beals, Peter Gallagher, Wallace Shawn, Martha Plimpton, Heather Graham, Matthew Broderick, Andrew McCarthy, Keith Carradine, Stephen Baldwin, Lili Taylor, Gwyneth Paltrow, and many others (including Nick Cassavetes and Rebecca Miller, who would go on to direct their own films). If you love Jennifer Jason Leigh, you shouldn’t miss this film.

Scarlet Street (1945): Joan Bennett was one of the most fabulous and famous femme fatales of classic noir, and mostly because Fritz Lang cast her in some of his best work. Previously I’ve had the pleasure of watching The Woman In the Window (1944), which also paired Bennett with Edward G. Robinson. Scarlet Street is a bit darker and features Bennett as a curious femme fatale – she’s really not after money or status, but rather intent on doing whatever her abusive boyfriend (Dan Duryea) tells her to do. Robinson stars as a bank cashier married to the oppressive widow he was renting an apartment from. Sad and lonely, he stops Bennett from getting beat down in the street by her paramour, and thus becomes enamored with her. Upon discovering that Robinson has been writing Bennett love letters, Duryea convinces her to swindle him. Robinson happens to be an artist on the side and Duryea and Bennett begin to sell his paintings for lofty prices under Bennett’s name. Of course, all goes awry in a rather violent fashion, and Bennett’s dim bulb femme fatale, though very entertaining, has to be one of the least intelligent fatales I’ve ever seen due to her utter lack of brains or problem solving skills. Needless to say, it makes for an entertaining film.

Set It Off (1996): Director F. Gary Gray may not have a very good track record in my book (he’s responsible for that abortion Be Cool, 2005) but his directorial debut about four African American female back robbers feels just as timely, hard nosed and intelligent (while packing a pair of huevos that puts any male studded action themed film to shame, especially in recent memory) as it must have upon its release. Notoriously, Queen Latifah was cast as a lesbian, though it’s probably Vivica A. Fox that shines the most as spurned bank teller. Jada Pinkett also stars, along with a very young Kimberly Elise as the more reluctant crew member, goaded into joining the robberies upon becoming desperate to raise cash to get her child out of Social Services. While the film may not always be particularly realistic about limited options afforded or denied African American women in this country, what’s most surprising is there’s little that seems to have dated the film now in 2010. And while we’re made to witness a completely unrealistic romance between Pinkett’s character and the manager of a bank, played by Blair Underwood, there’s plenty to appreciate in Set It Off, as a touching drama and a pretty damn good action flick.

Chocolate (1988): The 1988 directorial debut of French auteur Claire Denis (and not the 2000 pan European romantic film from Lasse Hallstrom) is based on her memories as a child growing up in Cameroon. Starring Giulia Boschi and Francois Cluzet as her parents stationed at an outpost in colonized West Africa, the film is basically told through the eyes of a young girl named France, played by Cecile Ducasse, and her close friendship developed with the house servant Protee, played brilliantly by a young Isaach De Bankole. Protee shares quite the mutual sexual tension with France’s mother, but due to the obvious class and racial tensions within which they live, you can virtually see their hopes and dreams dry up in the desert, their lives strained and exacerbated when a plane of colonialists crashes nearby and they take up residence with France’s family for a short while. Denis’ film doesn’t offer any answers or solutions to how people treat each other, but basically it made me think about small, tendrils of green foliage that sprout through severely charred landscapes. A very subtle, brilliantly fascinating film, with gorgeous cinematography, I loved this movie, and began the career of one of the best director’s cinema has ever known.

Out of the Past: The Week In Film

Cess Pool Cinema:
1. Whiteout (2009) Dir. Dominic Sena - US

The Banal, the Blah, the Banausic:
1. Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005) Dir. Darren Grant - US
2. Surrogates (2009) Dir. Jonathan Mostow – US
3. Children of the Damned (1963) Dir. Anton Leader - UK

Guilty Pleasure Cinema:
1. Race with the Devil (1975) Dir. Jack Starrett - US

Astounding Cinema:
7. Clean, Shaven (1993) Dir. Lodge Kerrigan - US
6. Village of the Damned (1960) Dir. Wolf Rilla - UK
5. Streamers (1983) Dir. Robert Altman - US
4. Menace II Society (1993) Dir. Hughes Bros. – US
3. Next Day Air (2009) Dir. Benny Boom – US
2. Vacancy (2007) Dir. Nimrod Antal – US
1. Julia (2008) Dir. Erick Zonca – France/US

Theatrical Screenings
2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) Dir. Jim Sharman – US 10/10
1. The White Ribbon (2009) Dir. Michael Haneke – Austria/Germany 10/10

Whiteout (2009): Director Dominic Sena’s catastrophically bad 2009 feature Whiteout has about as much to do with the eponymous weather condition as I have sexual attraction to women. In other words, nothing whatsoever. With a plot about as intense as a late series Nancy Drew installation, the film should have been called “Antarctic Murder Mayhem.” With a subplot involving drunken Russians smuggling something or other as they fly and crash over Antarctica in 1957 (yeah, right), Kate Beckinsale (apparently considering this to be part of her professed ‘serious’ work she will now lean towards) stars as a U.S. Marshall with some severe aversions towards certain duties of the position (like dealing with stress or getting over a partner double crossing her years ago in a drug bust in Miami) who is mired in a murder or two (what may be the first in the region!) and dealing with what’s supposed to be sexual tension with a UN operative (Gabriel Macht, that annoying lead of the dismal The Spirit, 2008) and bonding with a doctor, her mentor, Tom Skerrit. Nothing surprising, exciting, relevant or realistic occurs and brief mention is made of severe Antarctic weather conditions that can culminate in a WHITE OUT, which doesn’t happen, though futile tension is built around the fact that they might get stranded for six months as the last plane is leaving, etc, etc. Bleh. Of course it becomes painfully obvious who the double crossing baddie must be and you’ll want to ask why the people involved in the making of this wanted to make you suffer through such blandness. Dominic Sena, a director of quite of few Janet Jackson music videos, had a compelling feature debut with Kalifornia (1993), before going on to direct abortions like Gone In 60 Seconds (2000), and Swordfish (2001). Though I’m strangely intrigued by his upcoming Season of the Witch (2010), I can’t understand what he was thinking concerning this venture.

Diary of a Mad Black Woman (2005): Oh, boy, the film that started it all, the one that gave us Tyler Perry and his drag queen persona, Madea. Having endured more than one cankerous cinematic pustule from Perry over the past few years, I finally visited the 2005 feature that made him a force to reckon with, one that I had missed oh so long ago. While it’s interesting to note that Perry did not direct this first feature (Darren Grant gets the director cred) the schizophrenic cacophony is vintage Perry. With a cast featuring the talented Kimberly Elise and legendary Cicely Tyson, I couldn’t help but mourn the fact that even from the beginning, Perry’s films serve as coffins rather than vehicles for the talented actresses he’s been lucky enough to get to star in them (he would somehow convince women like Angela Bassett, Alfre Woodard, Kathy Bates, Taraji P. Henson, Mary J. Blige, and Janet Jackson to star in his pictures). Besides Elise appearing much too young to have been the victim of a terrible marriage that lasted 18 years, the film casts Shemar Moore as Elise’s new love interest---with a corn row wig and a different colored bandana to coordinate with whatever outfit he’s wearing, making him look like a cross between Andre Agassi and Bo Derek from 10 (1979). The film appears to hold itself together a bit better than most of Perry’s work featuring the Madea character until the last 15 minutes or so which culminates in, guess what? A gospel blaring showdown in a church where a little sub plot girl and her crack whore mommy are reunited mid song with every character appearing to smile and mouth words to songs they don’t know.

Surrogates (2009): I think the reason I’m not quite classifying this as cess pool cinema is because the concept is quite intriguing. Concerning a world in which humans interact via the use of beautiful robots called ‘surrogates,’ this is the type of film that Terry Gilliam, Ridley Scott or Steven Spielberg could have done wonders with. Instead, Jonathan Mostow, whose last theatrical release was 2003’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines gives us a mediocre handjob of a film. Bruce Willis (who is right behind Nicolas Cage with creepy fake hair in bland and hammy action flicks) stars as a cop who must save man kind from a plot to destroy not only surrogates but also the operators while they’re using them. Conflict with the wife at home (Rosamund Pike) his boss (Boris Kodjoe) a rapscallion (Jack Noseworthy) a Rastafarian dreadlocked prophet man (Ving Rhames) and his completely forgettable partner (Radha Mitchell) will force you into forgetting what the hell is going on since the film fails to address basic concepts of what would really happen to the human body if we sat in a chair all day and all night while telepathically operating a simulated being.

Children of the Damned (1963): One of those irritating sequels where some schmo says “hey I have an idea similar to this highly successful film. I can write it as a sequel but it will fail to acknowledge anything from the previous film because it’s not really a sequel.” Kind of like how Open Water 2: Adrift (2006) has nothing to do with Open Water (2003), Children of the Damned (1963) has nothing to do with Village of the Damned (1960) except that it concerns an ethnic smattering of telepathically inclined super children that gather together from their respective countries in Great Britain. In true British fashion, they attempt to politely annihilate the children. Boo.

Race with the Devil (1975): As Peter Fonda alludes to on the disc’s commentary, this is basically a straightforward chase movie involving a devil cult. Two couples (Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, Lara Parker, Loretta Swit) witness what appears to be your typical virgin sacrifice to the dark lord and rather than be quiet and unobtrusive about their witnessing, someone screams and the cult is alerted and have to chase the couples through the countryside in their camper. While I’m not part of a Satanic cult, I feel I would have double checked the landscape before lighting a tree on fire and stabbing a naked blonde woman---but just for those pesky liabilities like campers and other people that might alert, you know, the world. You can just tell that Peter Fonda thinks he’s super cool just because he’s Peter Fonda and thinks that just because he had fun riding a motorcycle and shooting at people from atop a camper we should enjoy the film, too. Well, the film is a little too straightforward---to the point where I really just wanted faceless cult members to catch up with the two screaming chicks and their idiot husbands (stopping to swim at a camper resort and gallivanting around country western bars with persistent camper losers isn’t exactly a good idea when legions of Satan want your hide). All in all, this is an entertaining film and has one or two key scenes (one involving rattlesnakes) that might pique your interest, but it falls far from being original or entirely satisfying.

Clean, Shaven (1993): While you may balk at some of the aesthetic aspects of Lodge Kerrigan’s debut feature, you just have to remember that filming took two years because he kept running out of money. Criterion released this feature as part of their enduring collection, and it’s not difficult to see why. Peter Greene gives the most noteworthy performance of his career as a schizophrenic recently released from an institution who goes on a search for his young daughter. While nearly all the other actors are bit players, they are consistently wooden, which is only exacerbated by Greene’s amazing presence. Kerrigan uses sound as a landscape of eerie pain and confusion to brilliant effect, while some of the visuals are also memorably disturbing. Meanwhile, an ongoing murder investigation of a young girl coincides with Greene looking for his own, with some devastating results. Greene (who I annoyingly couldn’t place until I realized he was Cameron Diaz’s asshole boyfriend from The Mask, 1994) is definitely the most memorable part of the film, while Kerrigan has gone on to be considered an auteur after releasing Claire Dolan (1998) and Keane (2004).

Village of the Damned (1960): While John Carpenter’s 1995 remake will always be a personal favorite of mine, the original is pretty damn good as well. I’ve always believed there are a lot of creepy social issues going on in this tale of a small village whose inhabitants all pass out one day and all the fertile women wake up pregnant giving birth simultaneously to a clan of silver haired evil children that turn out to be an alien race that thinks and acts collectively. The original novel by John Wyndham was called “The Midwich Cuckoos,” so named because cuckoo birds lay their eggs in other birds’ nests. The other birds raise the cuckoos as their young. Tell me that’s not just incredibly creepy in reference to a woman’s womb. Pointing to motherhood as nothing more than woman as host, the story also deals with social issues concerning raising children that will only end up harming you, while also touching on issues of race. But more on that when I finally write an academic article on this wonderful movie. George Sanders and beautiful British scream queen Barbara Shelley star in this original classic directed by German import, Wolf Rilla.

Streamers (1983): The only issue with Robert Altman’s Streamers is that it’s obviously based on a play, albeit it an excellent one by David Rabe. A claustrophobic little potboiler set in an army barrack’s, the film deals with four very different young men, two black, two white, two straight, two gay, and how their fears concerning homosexuality lead to the dramatic conclusion. Matthew Modine and David Alan Grier are the two straights, while Mitchell Lichtenstein and the new guy, a very volatile and misunderstood Michael Wright may share an attraction. Vito Russo hated Altman’s Streamers, particularly criticizing the obviously flamboyant Lichtenstein, claiming the original play circled around masculine fears about masculine men being homosexual. While I can see his point, it’s nonetheless a compelling film and subject matter, especially considering plenty of flamboyant men still enter the military even with “don’t ask don’t tell” still being a policy. In a wizened world, you almost always can tell. While the four leads are all compelling, the film is a bit talky and suffers from two overbearing monologs from drunken officers played by George Dzundza and Guy Boyd.

Menace II Society (1993): The only real problem with Menace II Society (1993) is the fact that it feels like Hughes Bros. simply took Boyz N the Hood (1991) and it made it even more dramatically dire, even though they cite their debut film’s influence as mainly being Goodfellas (1990), which is also evident. Add to that an unlikeable protagonist played by Tyrin Turner and you have a shocking and moving tale concerning gang violence on the streets with little chance of hope or redemption. Larenz Tate costars as a young man seemingly without a conscience while Jada Pinkett Smith turns in a moving performance as the only beacon of hope as a friend of Turner’s attempting to get out of Watts, CA and into a job in Atlanta to raise her baby boy.

Next Day Air (2009): A surprisingly dark comedy about a delivery man (Donald Faison) that delivers a drug package to the wrong address, I was surprised at how comic and bloody this film ended up. Faison fares alright as a stoner deadbeat, but the show belongs to deadbeats Mike Epps and Wood Harris as two inept criminals that receive the package and set off the film’s chain of events involving the Mexican mafia. Darius McCrary (Eddie Winslow from “Family Matters”), Mos Def, and Debbie Allen also turn in entertaining performances, but my favorite had to be the beautiful Yasmin Deliz as one of the intended recipient’s of the package, a ballsy, breathtakingly gorgeous and funny woman.

Vacancy (2007): I had avoided the English speaking debut of Hungarian director Nimrod Antal because it looked like your typically mediocre American thriller that starred half baked talent like Kate Beckinsale and Luke Wilson. But I’m thrilled to say that Vacancy is the first time in a while that a mainstream American film had me on the edge of my seat, uncomfortably tense. The tale focuses on a bitter, married couple on the verge of divorce, stranded at an isolated motel in the middle of nowhere. In between their bitter arguing, they start to realize that something creepy is going on with the room next to them. A short while later, they pop in the random VHS tapes into the VCR by the TV and realize that they are about to become the victims of a snuff film. Completely realistic and intense, the only misfit part of the film, I have to agree with the husband, was Frank Whaley as the suspiciously campy front desk clerk. I liked this film so much, I just may watch the awful looking Armored (2009), also helmed by Antal.

Julia (2008): In a role that most actresses may only ever dream about getting, Tilda Swinton stars as an alcoholic mess of a woman used to waking up in random men’s beds, continually in between jobs and a sponsor that’s lovingly infatuated with her and keeps her going to AA. But Julia seems to love being a mess. When a suspiciously infantile AA member and neighbor (Kate del Castillo) approaches Julia in a scheme to kidnap her child back from the tyrannical millionaire grandfather that has possession of him, Julia agrees to be involved for the price of 50,000. As she begins to plan to kidnap the child for herself to demand even more money, she learns at the last minute that the mother has no money anyway----but the grandfather does. Kidnapping the child, Julia crashes into Mexico, somehow able to live through moment by moment by the seat of her pants. Completely dark and hilarious, Swinton’s drunken, crusty performance is brilliant, beautiful and enormously entertaining. If she’s an actress you enjoy at all, then you can’t miss Julia. This is the third feature from French director Erick Zonca, whose 1998 debut was the much hailed The Dreamlife of Angels.

Best 2009 DVD Releases

The following list of titles are the best films of 2009 that I missed in theatrical release, either due to an extremely limited theatrical run, they were not granted one, or, I was being lazy and never made a point to see it. Without further ado, 10 excellent films that deserve love and attention.

10. Grace - US

Director: Paul Solet

Stars: Jordan Ladd

9. Next Day Air - US

Director: Benny Boom

Stars: Donald Faison, Mike Epps, Mos Def

8. Before the Fall - Spain

Director: F. Javier Gutierrez

Stars: Victor Clavijo

7. Downloading Nancy - US

Director: Johan Renck

Stars: Maria Bello, Jason Patric, Rufus Sewell

6. The World's Greatest Dad - US

Director: Bobcat Goldthwait

Stars: Robin Williams

5. The House of the Devil - US

Director: Ti West

Stars: Joceyln Donahue, Greta Gerwig, Dee Wallace

4. The Children - UK

Director: Tom Shankland

Stars: Rachel Shelley

3. In the Electric Mist - France/US

Director: Bertrand Tavernier

Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Peter Sarsgaard, John Goodman

2. The Headless Woman - Argentina

Director: Lucretia Martel

Stars: Maria Onetto

1. Julia - France/US

Director: Erick Zonca

Stars: Tilda Swinton

Top 35 Theatrical New Releases 2009

Perhaps a month later than most everyone else's "Best Of" lists for 2009 comes my gallant list of my top 35 theatrical screenings. The reason for this delay is basically because I was waiting with extreme anticipation for the release of Michael Haneke's latest masterpiece, The White Ribbon, which snagged the Palm D'Or at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival (and I just couldn't fit it in to my ambitious Toronto Film Festival schedule, which topped me off at 33 screenings). And I wasn't disappointed (it snagged the number 6 slot on my list). This year, my list was comprised of my favorite film screenings of films that met the following criteria: they were newer releases (accounting for some releases only touring the fest circuit) and I saw them in a theater setting (hence the separate list I will publish of 2009 favorites I viewed on DVD either because they didn't come to a theater in my area or receive a theatrical release in this country).

35. A Serious Man - US

Director: Joel & Ethan Coen

34. Fantastic Mr. Fox - US

Director: Wes Anderson

33. Everlasting Moments - Sweden

Director: Jan Troell

32. Lorna's Silence - Belgium

Director: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne

31. 500 Days of Summer - US

Director: Marc Webb

30. District 9 - South Africa/New Zealand

Director: Neill Blomkamp

29. Don McKay - US

Director: Jake Goldberger

28. Where the Wild Things Are - US

Director: Spike Jonze

27. Skin - UK/South Africa

Director: Anthony Fabian

26. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans - US

Director: Werner Herzog

25. Treeless Mountain - South Korea

Director: So Yong Kim

24. White Material - France

Director: Claire Denis

23. The Chaser - South Korea

Director: Na Hong-jin

22. Rec 2 - Spain

Director: Jaume Balaguero & Paco Plaza

21. The Loved Ones - Australia

Director: Sean Byrne

20. Chloe - Canada

Director: Atom Egoyan

19. The Box - US

Director: Richard Kelly

18. Sin Nombre - Mexico

Director: Cary Fukunaga

17. Lemon Tree - Israel

Director: Eran Riklis

16. Antichrist - Denmark

Director: Lars Von Trier

15. The Messenger - US

Director: Oren Moverman

14. The Road - US

Director: John Hillcoat

13. The Disappearance of Alice Creed - UK

Director: J Blakeson

12. Just Another Love Story - Denmark

Director: Ole Bornedal

11. A Single Man - US

Director: Tom Ford

10. Inglourious Basterds - US

Director: Quentin Tarantino

09. Dogtooth - Greece

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

08. Enter the Void - France

Director: Gaspar Noe

07. Drag Me to Hell - US

Director: Sam Raimi

06. The White Ribbon - Austria/Germany

Director: Michael Haneke

05. Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire - US

Director: Lee Daniels

04. Thirst - South Korea

Director: Chan Park-wook

03. I Killed My Mother - Canada

Director: Xavier Dolan

02. My Son My Son What Have Ye Done - US

Director: Werner Herzog

01. Avatar - US

Director: James Cameron