Less shaky since I've seen the obvious top three choices more recently.
2003
1. Lilya 4-Ever(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
2. Pistol Opera(dir. Seijun Suzuki)
3. Le Cercle Rouge(dir. Jean-Pierre Melville)
4. Platform(dir. Jia Zhang Ke)
5. Millenium Mambo(dir. Hou Hsiao-Hsien)
6. What Time is It There?(dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
7. Lost in Translation(dir. Sofia Coppola)
8. 28 Days Later...(dir. Danny Boyle)
BLAH...
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Oh Brangelina...
A Mighty Heart(dir. Michael Winterbottom)
Taking an opposite approach to the material than the one he took on for 24 Hour Party People, he employs a deliberately bland style in an attempt to hide the fact that the thing is a film. Too bad this attempt at appearing more "honest" and "real" is undermined by Angelina Jolie's performance. All her character is is simply an accent and a pregnant belly. You never for once believe that this is an actual person. Jolie performs in a way as if she is asking the audience to love her character when there's nothing to love. The narrative is only somewhat effective with the flashbacks with her husband since he's easily the most sympathetic character in the story and the film would have benefited if it at least gave a snippet of what his experience was like during his brief time being detained. The film's narrative is incredibly uninteresting. I'm not saying this type of story needs to be exciting or anything, but it lacks insight and doesn't bother to examine anything around this situation in any type of profound way, making the film seem utterly pointless. The only logical reason in my mind for this movie to exist is to simply get Jolie an Oscar, which it might very well do. It was mediocre.
** out of ****
Taking an opposite approach to the material than the one he took on for 24 Hour Party People, he employs a deliberately bland style in an attempt to hide the fact that the thing is a film. Too bad this attempt at appearing more "honest" and "real" is undermined by Angelina Jolie's performance. All her character is is simply an accent and a pregnant belly. You never for once believe that this is an actual person. Jolie performs in a way as if she is asking the audience to love her character when there's nothing to love. The narrative is only somewhat effective with the flashbacks with her husband since he's easily the most sympathetic character in the story and the film would have benefited if it at least gave a snippet of what his experience was like during his brief time being detained. The film's narrative is incredibly uninteresting. I'm not saying this type of story needs to be exciting or anything, but it lacks insight and doesn't bother to examine anything around this situation in any type of profound way, making the film seem utterly pointless. The only logical reason in my mind for this movie to exist is to simply get Jolie an Oscar, which it might very well do. It was mediocre.
** out of ****
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Oh 2004...
Even more shaky.
2004
1. Goodbye, Dragon Inn(dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
2. Last Life in the Universe(dir. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang)
3. Springtime in a Small Town(dir. Tian Zhuangzhuang)
4. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou(dir. Wes Anderson)
5. Twentynine Palms(dir. Bruno Dumont)
6. Spider-Man 2(dir. Sam Raimi)
7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind(dir. Michel Gondry)
8. Collateral(dir. Michael Mann)
9. Kill Bill Vol. 2(dir. Quentin Tarantino)
10. Dogville(dir. Lars von Trier)
Honorable mentions: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Before Sunset, I <3 Huckabees, Hero, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Million Dollar Baby, Mean Creek, and more...
Need/want to see: Sideways, Crimson Gold, Blissfully Yours, Birth, The Aviator, Vera Drake, Moolaadé, Maria Full of Grace, The Incredibles, Bad Education, House of Flying Daggers, The Return, A Very Long Engagement, The Motorcycle Diaries(maybe?), Ray(maybe?), Hotel Rwanda(maybe?), Infernal Affairs, Closer, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, The Dreamers(maybe?), Finding Neverland(maybe?), [Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring], The Manchurian Candidate, The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, Garden State(maybe?), Saddest Music in the World, Kinsey(maybe?), The Passion of the Christ(maybe?), Primer(maybe?), Shaun of the Dead, Undertow, Dawn of the Dead(maybe?), Coffee and Cigarettes, Baadasssss!, The Brown Bunny, and more...
Dishonorable mentions: Notre Musique(only movie I could think of that I didn't like) and more...
Moving on up....
2004
1. Goodbye, Dragon Inn(dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
2. Last Life in the Universe(dir. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang)
3. Springtime in a Small Town(dir. Tian Zhuangzhuang)
4. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou(dir. Wes Anderson)
5. Twentynine Palms(dir. Bruno Dumont)
6. Spider-Man 2(dir. Sam Raimi)
7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind(dir. Michel Gondry)
8. Collateral(dir. Michael Mann)
9. Kill Bill Vol. 2(dir. Quentin Tarantino)
10. Dogville(dir. Lars von Trier)
Honorable mentions: Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Before Sunset, I <3 Huckabees, Hero, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, Million Dollar Baby, Mean Creek, and more...
Need/want to see: Sideways, Crimson Gold, Blissfully Yours, Birth, The Aviator, Vera Drake, Moolaadé, Maria Full of Grace, The Incredibles, Bad Education, House of Flying Daggers, The Return, A Very Long Engagement, The Motorcycle Diaries(maybe?), Ray(maybe?), Hotel Rwanda(maybe?), Infernal Affairs, Closer, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, The Dreamers(maybe?), Finding Neverland(maybe?), [Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring], The Manchurian Candidate, The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, Garden State(maybe?), Saddest Music in the World, Kinsey(maybe?), The Passion of the Christ(maybe?), Primer(maybe?), Shaun of the Dead, Undertow, Dawn of the Dead(maybe?), Coffee and Cigarettes, Baadasssss!, The Brown Bunny, and more...
Dishonorable mentions: Notre Musique(only movie I could think of that I didn't like) and more...
Moving on up....
Oh 2005...
Kind of shaky on this list since a lot of the films that are going to be on here are ones that I haven't seen in ages.
2005
1. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid[2005 Cut](dir. Sam Peckinpah)
2. The New World(dir. Terrence Malick)
3. Pride and Prejudice(dir. Joe Wright)
4. Wolf Creek(dir. Greg McLean)
4. 2046(dir. Wong Kar-Wai)
5. Tropical Malady(dir. "Joe")[definately need to rewatch]
7. Batman Begins(dir. Christopher Nolan)
8. Land of the Dead(dir. George A. Romero)
9. Sin City(dir. Robert Rodriguez)
10. The World(dir. Jia Zhang Ke)
Honorable mentions: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Grizzly Man, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Café Lumière, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Munich, Capote, Brokeback Mountain, The Squid and The Whale, A History of Violence, Walk the Line, Match Point, Syriana, Me and You and Everyone We Know, and more...
Need/want to see: Last Days, Keane, The White Diamond, Hotel Rwanda(maybe?), The Intruder, Memoirs of a Geisha(maybe?), March of the Penguins(maybe?), Cinderella Man(maybe?), North Country(maybe?), The Beat My Heart Skipped, Tsotsi(maybe?), Kung Fu Hustle(kind of), Transameria(maybe?), Murderball(kind of), Caché, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride(maybe?), Howl's Moving Castle, Oldboy(kind of), The Best of Youth, Nobody Knows, The Devil's Rejects, Kairo(Pulse), and more...
Dishonorable mentions: King Kong, The Constant Gardener, Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and more...
Ehhh, I'll work on it some more...
2005
1. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid[2005 Cut](dir. Sam Peckinpah)
2. The New World(dir. Terrence Malick)
3. Pride and Prejudice(dir. Joe Wright)
4. Wolf Creek(dir. Greg McLean)
4. 2046(dir. Wong Kar-Wai)
5. Tropical Malady(dir. "Joe")[definately need to rewatch]
7. Batman Begins(dir. Christopher Nolan)
8. Land of the Dead(dir. George A. Romero)
9. Sin City(dir. Robert Rodriguez)
10. The World(dir. Jia Zhang Ke)
Honorable mentions: The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Grizzly Man, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Café Lumière, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Munich, Capote, Brokeback Mountain, The Squid and The Whale, A History of Violence, Walk the Line, Match Point, Syriana, Me and You and Everyone We Know, and more...
Need/want to see: Last Days, Keane, The White Diamond, Hotel Rwanda(maybe?), The Intruder, Memoirs of a Geisha(maybe?), March of the Penguins(maybe?), Cinderella Man(maybe?), North Country(maybe?), The Beat My Heart Skipped, Tsotsi(maybe?), Kung Fu Hustle(kind of), Transameria(maybe?), Murderball(kind of), Caché, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride(maybe?), Howl's Moving Castle, Oldboy(kind of), The Best of Youth, Nobody Knows, The Devil's Rejects, Kairo(Pulse), and more...
Dishonorable mentions: King Kong, The Constant Gardener, Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and more...
Ehhh, I'll work on it some more...
Oh Windows...
The Thing(dir. John Carpenter)
First movie by him that I've seen. I feel like a dumbass for calling myself a film buff without seeing any of his movies beforehand, but here I am. It's mildly scary but totally awesome. It seemed to drag with them just basically freaking out when there were no signs of "the thing," but once "the thing" finally shows itself again, you easily forgive it. While the ending isn't as satisfyingly haunting as one would like, it's still a good conclusion to the narrative. I will most likely check out Halloween, Escape From New York, or Assault on Precinct 13 next. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
First movie by him that I've seen. I feel like a dumbass for calling myself a film buff without seeing any of his movies beforehand, but here I am. It's mildly scary but totally awesome. It seemed to drag with them just basically freaking out when there were no signs of "the thing," but once "the thing" finally shows itself again, you easily forgive it. While the ending isn't as satisfyingly haunting as one would like, it's still a good conclusion to the narrative. I will most likely check out Halloween, Escape From New York, or Assault on Precinct 13 next. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
Monday, October 29, 2007
Oh 2006...
Going to do the same thing as the Oh 2007... post, but have it be 2006 instead.
2006
1. Miami Vice(dir. Michael Mann)[Original cut]
2. Little Children(dir. Todd Field)
3. Marie Antoinette(dir. Sofia Coppola)
4. INLAND EMPIRE(dir. David Lynch)
5. The Science of Sleep(dir. Michel Gondry)
6. Clean(dir. Olivier Assayas)
7. Scoop(dir. Woody Allen)
8. The Proposition(dir. John Hillcoat)
9. L'Enfant(dir. Dardenne Brothers)
10. The Fountain(dir. Darren Aronofsky)
Honorable mentions: Somersault, Deck the Halls, Casino Royale, The Descent[needs a rewatch], Half Nelson, The Good Shephard, Borat, The Departed, Flags of Our Fathers, Letters From Iwo Jima, A Prairie Home Companion, Children of Men, Babel, The Black Dahlia, Little Miss Sunshine[need to rewatch]
Need/want to see: Manderlay, Tideland(kind of), Volver, Battle in Heaven, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, Neil Young: Heart of Gold, Army of Shadows(re-release, whatevz), Bubble, The Good German, The Queen, The Lives of Others, The Devil and Daniel Johnston, 49 Up(maybe?), Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing(kind of), Hard Candy, The Last King of Scotland[don't really have a desire to see it, but feel obligated to], Blood Diamond(saw some of it, seems like a worthy candidate for dishonorable mentions once I see the whole thing), Notes on a Scandal, Thank You for Smoking(kind of), Dave Chapelle's Block Party(kind of), Cache, The Road to Guantanamo(kind of), Old Joy, Curse of the Golden Flower(kind of), Venus(kind of), The Illusionist, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, V for Vendetta(kind of), Find Me Guilty, Mutual Appreciation, and more...
Dishonorable mentions: Bobby, The Wild, The Pursuit of Happyness, and more...
Best Performances:
Danny Huston, The Proposition
Laura Dern, INLAND EMPIRE
Kirsten Dunst, Marie Antoinette
Gael Garica Bernal, The Science of Sleep
Jeremie Reiner, L'Enfant
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
2006
1. Miami Vice(dir. Michael Mann)[Original cut]
2. Little Children(dir. Todd Field)
3. Marie Antoinette(dir. Sofia Coppola)
4. INLAND EMPIRE(dir. David Lynch)
5. The Science of Sleep(dir. Michel Gondry)
6. Clean(dir. Olivier Assayas)
7. Scoop(dir. Woody Allen)
8. The Proposition(dir. John Hillcoat)
9. L'Enfant(dir. Dardenne Brothers)
10. The Fountain(dir. Darren Aronofsky)
Honorable mentions: Somersault, Deck the Halls, Casino Royale, The Descent[needs a rewatch], Half Nelson, The Good Shephard, Borat, The Departed, Flags of Our Fathers, Letters From Iwo Jima, A Prairie Home Companion, Children of Men, Babel, The Black Dahlia, Little Miss Sunshine[need to rewatch]
Need/want to see: Manderlay, Tideland(kind of), Volver, Battle in Heaven, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, Neil Young: Heart of Gold, Army of Shadows(re-release, whatevz), Bubble, The Good German, The Queen, The Lives of Others, The Devil and Daniel Johnston, 49 Up(maybe?), Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing(kind of), Hard Candy, The Last King of Scotland[don't really have a desire to see it, but feel obligated to], Blood Diamond(saw some of it, seems like a worthy candidate for dishonorable mentions once I see the whole thing), Notes on a Scandal, Thank You for Smoking(kind of), Dave Chapelle's Block Party(kind of), Cache, The Road to Guantanamo(kind of), Old Joy, Curse of the Golden Flower(kind of), Venus(kind of), The Illusionist, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story, V for Vendetta(kind of), Find Me Guilty, Mutual Appreciation, and more...
Dishonorable mentions: Bobby, The Wild, The Pursuit of Happyness, and more...
Best Performances:
Danny Huston, The Proposition
Laura Dern, INLAND EMPIRE
Kirsten Dunst, Marie Antoinette
Gael Garica Bernal, The Science of Sleep
Jeremie Reiner, L'Enfant
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
Oh Vampires and Cowboys...
The Addiction(dir. Abel Ferrara)
It's hard to resist a film that compares vampiric blood lust to heroine addiction and to sin. We're human so obviously we sin, but what do we do about it? Like the responses Kathleen's victims give when she threatens to harm them if they don't say some variation of "go away," we're usually passive and evasive. We try to brush it off. The film suggests that forgetting about your sins is about as bad as letting an addiction go uncheck even when the addiction involves other people's blood. The film is basically Ms .45 minus the .45 and feminist undertones. In their place are vampire fangs and Catholic and existential undertones. The similarities in story and structure between the two are uncanny especially since they're both written by the same guy. This film, however, ends on a much better note than that film and doesn't contain any extremely annoying neighbors for the protagonist and the audience to be pestered by. Unlike Ms .45, this film has a somewhat pretentious vibe given all it's philosophical banter, but that might mainly be because I didn't understand most of it. It also felt like it wasn't going anywhere until it's redemptive conclusion that made all the ennui one might experience worthwhile. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
The Tin Star(dir. Anthony Mann)
An average western with Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins. While I'm not that big of a fan of Mann's westerns(the ones I have seen) outside of The Man From Laramie, they at least had a sense of immediacy to them to make them entertaining. This just slowly inches it's way to a predictable happy ending. There are some scenes that you could picture being memorable if Mann added an extra oomph to them, but he doesn't and they end up being fairly generic. The appeal of the film(for me at least) comes mainly from the two leads. The relationship between their characters is quite clichéd, resembling something along the lines of "The Sheriff Kid," and they both end up giving clichéd performances because of it. Overall, it's bland and uninteresting.
** out of ****
It's hard to resist a film that compares vampiric blood lust to heroine addiction and to sin. We're human so obviously we sin, but what do we do about it? Like the responses Kathleen's victims give when she threatens to harm them if they don't say some variation of "go away," we're usually passive and evasive. We try to brush it off. The film suggests that forgetting about your sins is about as bad as letting an addiction go uncheck even when the addiction involves other people's blood. The film is basically Ms .45 minus the .45 and feminist undertones. In their place are vampire fangs and Catholic and existential undertones. The similarities in story and structure between the two are uncanny especially since they're both written by the same guy. This film, however, ends on a much better note than that film and doesn't contain any extremely annoying neighbors for the protagonist and the audience to be pestered by. Unlike Ms .45, this film has a somewhat pretentious vibe given all it's philosophical banter, but that might mainly be because I didn't understand most of it. It also felt like it wasn't going anywhere until it's redemptive conclusion that made all the ennui one might experience worthwhile. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
The Tin Star(dir. Anthony Mann)
An average western with Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins. While I'm not that big of a fan of Mann's westerns(the ones I have seen) outside of The Man From Laramie, they at least had a sense of immediacy to them to make them entertaining. This just slowly inches it's way to a predictable happy ending. There are some scenes that you could picture being memorable if Mann added an extra oomph to them, but he doesn't and they end up being fairly generic. The appeal of the film(for me at least) comes mainly from the two leads. The relationship between their characters is quite clichéd, resembling something along the lines of "The Sheriff Kid," and they both end up giving clichéd performances because of it. Overall, it's bland and uninteresting.
** out of ****
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Oh 2007...
Going to do a top 10 list of movies released in 2007 in the US of A. It's obviously going to be a work in progress. I'm going to try to do other top 10 lists for each year.
Official End of the Year List
2007
1. Fay Grim(dir. Hal Hartley)
2. Offside(dir. Jafar Panahi)
3. Death Proof(dir. Quentin Tarantino)
4. Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End(dir. Gore Verbinski)
5. Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters(dir. Dave Willis and Matt Maillero)
6. Red Road(dir. Andrea Arnold)
7. Broken English(dir. Zoe R. Cassavetes)
8. Gone Baby Gone(dir. Ben Affleck)
9. The Darjeeling Limited(dir. Wes Anderson)
10. Southland Tales(dir. Richard Kelly)
English Language Films:
1. Fay Grim(dir. Hal Hartley)
2. Southland Tales(dir. Richard Kelly)
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End(dir. Gore Verbenski)
4. Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford(dir. Andrew Dominik)
5. Death Proof(dir. Quentin Tarantino)
6. We Own the Night(dir. James Gray)
7. The Darjeeling Limited(dir. Wes Anderson)
8. Redacted(dir. Brian De Palma)
9. Red Road(dir. Andrea Arnold)
10. The Game Plan(dir. Andy Fickman?)
Foreign Language Films:
1. Election(dir. Johnnie To)
2. Syndromes and a Century(dir. "Joe")
3. Exiled(dir. Johnnie To)
4. Golden Door(dir. Forgot)
5. Offside(dir. Jafar Panahi)
6. The Wayward Cloud(dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
7. Triad Election(dir. Johnnie To)
8. Drama/Mex(dir. Forgot)
Honorable mentions: 28 Weeks Later..., The Game Plan, Election, Exiled, We Own the Night, Triad Election, The Wayward Cloud, I Am Legend, Live Free or Die Hard[Unrated Cut], Drama/Mex, Ratatouille, The Simpsons Movie, Zodiac, Eastern Promises, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Blades of Glory, Superbad, Knocked Up, Hot Fuzz, Vacancy, Waitress, Redacted, Juno(kind of), Ocean's Thirteen(kind of), Rush Hour 3(kind of), Tears of the Black Tiger(kind of), Black Snake Moan(kind of), and yeah...
Need to see: 2 Days in Paris, The Host, The King of Kong, I Don't Want To Sleep Alone, The Boss of It All, Persepolis, Into Great Silence, 12:08 East of Bucharest, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, The Savages, This Is England, Youth Without Youth, Smiley Face, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, La Vie en Rose, Private Fears in Public Places, Regular Lovers, Breach, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, and Lust, Caution
Dishonorable mentions: 300, TMNT, Wild Hogs, 1408, The Bourne Ultimatum, Premonition, License to Wed, A Mighty Heart, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, I'm Not There, The Hunting Party, Rendition, The Brothers Solomon, Transformers(kind of), Spider-Man 3(kind of), and maybe more?
Noteworthy Performances by an Actor:
Michael Cera in Juno
Casey Affleck in Gone Baby Gone
Will Smith in I Am Legend
Tony Curran in Red Road
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in The Game Plan
Noteworthy Performances by an Actress:
Parker Posey in Fay Grim
Parker Posey in Broken English
Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone
John Travolta in Wild Hogs
Sandra Bullock in Premonition
Guilty Pleasure of the Year:
The Game Plan
Unguilty Pleasure of the Year:
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
All Films Released in 2007 Seen:
3:10 to Yuma
28 Weeks Laters
1408
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Move Film for Theaters
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The
Atonement
Awake
Away from Her
Bee Movie
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Black Book
Black Snake Moan
Blades of Glory
Bourne Ultimatum, The
Bridge to Terabithia
Broken English
Bug
Charlie Wilson's War
Control
Dan in Real Life
Darjeeling Limited, The
Day Night Day Night
Death Proof
Drama/Mex
Eastern Promises
Election
Enchanted
Evan Almighty
Exiled
Fay Grim
Flanders
Game Plan, The
Golden Door
Gone Baby Gone
Heartbreak Kid, The
He Was a Quiet Man
Hoax, The
Hot Rod
I Am Legend
I'm Not There
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
In the Valley of Elah
Into the Wild
Juno
Kingdom, The
Knocked Up
License to Wed
Live Free or Die Hard(+ different cut)
Lookout, The
Margot at the Wedding
Martian Child
Meet the Robinsons
Mighty Heart, A
Mist, The
Mr. Brooks
Nanny Diaries, The
No Country for Old Men
Offside
Once
Paprika
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Planet Terror
Premonition
Ratatouille
Redacted
Red Road
Rescue Dawn
Rush Hour 3
Simpsons Movie, The
Southland Tales
Spider-man 3
Stardust
Sunshine
Superbad(+ different cut)
Syndromes and a Century
Tears of the Black Tiger
There Will Be Blood
Transformers
Triad Election
Walker, The
Wayward Cloud, The
We Own the Night
Zodiac
Total Amount of Films Seen(excluding different cuts): 84
Total Amount of Films Seen(including different cuts): 86
Official End of the Year List
2007
1. Fay Grim(dir. Hal Hartley)
2. Offside(dir. Jafar Panahi)
3. Death Proof(dir. Quentin Tarantino)
4. Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End(dir. Gore Verbinski)
5. Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters(dir. Dave Willis and Matt Maillero)
6. Red Road(dir. Andrea Arnold)
7. Broken English(dir. Zoe R. Cassavetes)
8. Gone Baby Gone(dir. Ben Affleck)
9. The Darjeeling Limited(dir. Wes Anderson)
10. Southland Tales(dir. Richard Kelly)
English Language Films:
1. Fay Grim(dir. Hal Hartley)
2. Southland Tales(dir. Richard Kelly)
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End(dir. Gore Verbenski)
4. Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford(dir. Andrew Dominik)
5. Death Proof(dir. Quentin Tarantino)
6. We Own the Night(dir. James Gray)
7. The Darjeeling Limited(dir. Wes Anderson)
8. Redacted(dir. Brian De Palma)
9. Red Road(dir. Andrea Arnold)
10. The Game Plan(dir. Andy Fickman?)
Foreign Language Films:
1. Election(dir. Johnnie To)
2. Syndromes and a Century(dir. "Joe")
3. Exiled(dir. Johnnie To)
4. Golden Door(dir. Forgot)
5. Offside(dir. Jafar Panahi)
6. The Wayward Cloud(dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
7. Triad Election(dir. Johnnie To)
8. Drama/Mex(dir. Forgot)
Honorable mentions: 28 Weeks Later..., The Game Plan, Election, Exiled, We Own the Night, Triad Election, The Wayward Cloud, I Am Legend, Live Free or Die Hard[Unrated Cut], Drama/Mex, Ratatouille, The Simpsons Movie, Zodiac, Eastern Promises, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Blades of Glory, Superbad, Knocked Up, Hot Fuzz, Vacancy, Waitress, Redacted, Juno(kind of), Ocean's Thirteen(kind of), Rush Hour 3(kind of), Tears of the Black Tiger(kind of), Black Snake Moan(kind of), and yeah...
Need to see: 2 Days in Paris, The Host, The King of Kong, I Don't Want To Sleep Alone, The Boss of It All, Persepolis, Into Great Silence, 12:08 East of Bucharest, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, The Savages, This Is England, Youth Without Youth, Smiley Face, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, La Vie en Rose, Private Fears in Public Places, Regular Lovers, Breach, The Wind That Shakes the Barley, and Lust, Caution
Dishonorable mentions: 300, TMNT, Wild Hogs, 1408, The Bourne Ultimatum, Premonition, License to Wed, A Mighty Heart, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, I'm Not There, The Hunting Party, Rendition, The Brothers Solomon, Transformers(kind of), Spider-Man 3(kind of), and maybe more?
Noteworthy Performances by an Actor:
Michael Cera in Juno
Casey Affleck in Gone Baby Gone
Will Smith in I Am Legend
Tony Curran in Red Road
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in The Game Plan
Noteworthy Performances by an Actress:
Parker Posey in Fay Grim
Parker Posey in Broken English
Amy Ryan in Gone Baby Gone
John Travolta in Wild Hogs
Sandra Bullock in Premonition
Guilty Pleasure of the Year:
The Game Plan
Unguilty Pleasure of the Year:
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
All Films Released in 2007 Seen:
3:10 to Yuma
28 Weeks Laters
1408
Alvin and the Chipmunks
Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Move Film for Theaters
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The
Atonement
Awake
Away from Her
Bee Movie
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
Black Book
Black Snake Moan
Blades of Glory
Bourne Ultimatum, The
Bridge to Terabithia
Broken English
Bug
Charlie Wilson's War
Control
Dan in Real Life
Darjeeling Limited, The
Day Night Day Night
Death Proof
Drama/Mex
Eastern Promises
Election
Enchanted
Evan Almighty
Exiled
Fay Grim
Flanders
Game Plan, The
Golden Door
Gone Baby Gone
Heartbreak Kid, The
He Was a Quiet Man
Hoax, The
Hot Rod
I Am Legend
I'm Not There
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
In the Valley of Elah
Into the Wild
Juno
Kingdom, The
Knocked Up
License to Wed
Live Free or Die Hard(+ different cut)
Lookout, The
Margot at the Wedding
Martian Child
Meet the Robinsons
Mighty Heart, A
Mist, The
Mr. Brooks
Nanny Diaries, The
No Country for Old Men
Offside
Once
Paprika
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Planet Terror
Premonition
Ratatouille
Redacted
Red Road
Rescue Dawn
Rush Hour 3
Simpsons Movie, The
Southland Tales
Spider-man 3
Stardust
Sunshine
Superbad(+ different cut)
Syndromes and a Century
Tears of the Black Tiger
There Will Be Blood
Transformers
Triad Election
Walker, The
Wayward Cloud, The
We Own the Night
Zodiac
Total Amount of Films Seen(excluding different cuts): 84
Total Amount of Films Seen(including different cuts): 86
Oh Werewolves & Authors...
An American Werewolf in London(dir. John Landis)
When you think about the film after viewing, you realize how forgettable and lightweight it all was. The film is torn between whether it's a comedy or a horror movie creating a forgettable quality since it doesn't really contain any moments that are truly scary or funny. It has a cool transformation scene, though. The end is easily the worst aspect since it just reminds the viewer of it's genre confused nature(?) with how the narrative ends, which is relatively serious, and the song that is played over the end credits, which is completely unserious. It makes the whole movie seem like a joke except it didn't really play out as one. It was entertaining but frustrating. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Tenebre(dir. Dario Argento)
First movie I've seen directed by him. To satisfy my need to compare "auteurs" to other "auteurs," he's what I would call the John Woo of horror with his imaginative and elaborate horror set pieces. The story, which becomes extremely interesting in it's last 10 minutes or so, is basically an excuse for these violent murders and boy, they're awesome. It's not particularly scary, but it's hard to write it off since it's still highly compelling(especially towards the end) despite this. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
When you think about the film after viewing, you realize how forgettable and lightweight it all was. The film is torn between whether it's a comedy or a horror movie creating a forgettable quality since it doesn't really contain any moments that are truly scary or funny. It has a cool transformation scene, though. The end is easily the worst aspect since it just reminds the viewer of it's genre confused nature(?) with how the narrative ends, which is relatively serious, and the song that is played over the end credits, which is completely unserious. It makes the whole movie seem like a joke except it didn't really play out as one. It was entertaining but frustrating. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Tenebre(dir. Dario Argento)
First movie I've seen directed by him. To satisfy my need to compare "auteurs" to other "auteurs," he's what I would call the John Woo of horror with his imaginative and elaborate horror set pieces. The story, which becomes extremely interesting in it's last 10 minutes or so, is basically an excuse for these violent murders and boy, they're awesome. It's not particularly scary, but it's hard to write it off since it's still highly compelling(especially towards the end) despite this. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Oh Tommy & Elina & Bruno...
Mission: Impossible III(dir. J.J. Abrams)
It's an effective yet impersonal action thriller. The high tech gadgetry in the film has more personality than the characters. Some of the action set pieces were entertaining like the ones set in Vatican City and Shanghai at night, but they're simply no match to the set pieces in an action movie like Live Free or Die Hard. As a spy movie, it's quite cumbersome and dull especially when compared to a film like Casino Royale, which is infinitely more engaging due to it's non-paper-thin characters. That film also allows it's audience to view the action without the overly shaky camera work and cut cut cut nonsense that plagues this film. You could easily make the mistake of thinking that Michael Bay directed this. It's still decent in it's soulless machine-like nature.
**1/2 out of ****
Amateur(dir. Hal Hartley)
When Hal puts emphasis on story instead of characters, his films suffer. This is definitely one of those cases. It expects the audience to have interest in this film about an amnesiac by having them ponder who is he? At least, that's what it seems to suggest with how the narrative plays out. Since this mystery isn't very mysterious, it's hard to really get involved with it. It definitely has it's moments, but much like The Unbelievable Truth, it doesn't really register emotionally or intellectually. I still recommend checking it out, though.
*** out of ****
Twentynine Palms(dir. Bruno Dumont)
It's one of those movies that you're glad you watched but probably won't ever want to watch again. That's not to say it's bad despite what most people will say. It just becomes excruciating before it's climatic and terrifying conclusion. While it starts off fine, there's just so much one can take of basically watching a couple burn time in the middle of the Southern California desert doing nothing much. Most scenes start off relatively sweet and turn hideously sour much like the film itself. It's hard to really describe the film preceding the last 20 minutes as sweet, but compared to those last 20 minutes, sweet doesn't seem that horrible of a description. Those last 20 minutes, which could be dubbed the "pay off" even though that makes me sound like some sadistic freak, are some of the most horrifying last 20 minutes I've ever seen. It makes the "build-up" seem worth it in some sick and deranged way. This is definitely a film that's hard to embrace due to it's unlikeable characters and extremely slow pacing, but it's still a film worth watching if you have the patience and stomach for it. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
It's an effective yet impersonal action thriller. The high tech gadgetry in the film has more personality than the characters. Some of the action set pieces were entertaining like the ones set in Vatican City and Shanghai at night, but they're simply no match to the set pieces in an action movie like Live Free or Die Hard. As a spy movie, it's quite cumbersome and dull especially when compared to a film like Casino Royale, which is infinitely more engaging due to it's non-paper-thin characters. That film also allows it's audience to view the action without the overly shaky camera work and cut cut cut nonsense that plagues this film. You could easily make the mistake of thinking that Michael Bay directed this. It's still decent in it's soulless machine-like nature.
**1/2 out of ****
Amateur(dir. Hal Hartley)
When Hal puts emphasis on story instead of characters, his films suffer. This is definitely one of those cases. It expects the audience to have interest in this film about an amnesiac by having them ponder who is he? At least, that's what it seems to suggest with how the narrative plays out. Since this mystery isn't very mysterious, it's hard to really get involved with it. It definitely has it's moments, but much like The Unbelievable Truth, it doesn't really register emotionally or intellectually. I still recommend checking it out, though.
*** out of ****
Twentynine Palms(dir. Bruno Dumont)
It's one of those movies that you're glad you watched but probably won't ever want to watch again. That's not to say it's bad despite what most people will say. It just becomes excruciating before it's climatic and terrifying conclusion. While it starts off fine, there's just so much one can take of basically watching a couple burn time in the middle of the Southern California desert doing nothing much. Most scenes start off relatively sweet and turn hideously sour much like the film itself. It's hard to really describe the film preceding the last 20 minutes as sweet, but compared to those last 20 minutes, sweet doesn't seem that horrible of a description. Those last 20 minutes, which could be dubbed the "pay off" even though that makes me sound like some sadistic freak, are some of the most horrifying last 20 minutes I've ever seen. It makes the "build-up" seem worth it in some sick and deranged way. This is definitely a film that's hard to embrace due to it's unlikeable characters and extremely slow pacing, but it's still a film worth watching if you have the patience and stomach for it. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
Friday, October 26, 2007
Oh Smokey the Bear...
Miami Vice(dir. Michael Mann)[Original Cut]
The only differences that are readily apparent between the two cuts are the beginning and the music that is used in the final shoot out. The beginning in the original is much more abrupt given that it doesn't gradually let you fall into this world but ends up throwing you in the middle of it, expecting you to grasp what's going on. The viewer is forced to play catch up instead of simply sitting there passive. While playing catch up, the viewer might not ever grasp what's going on because a lot of the affairs and the story can be viewed as either painfully simple or painfully complex. The movie plays more of a deconstruction of itself with it's murky yet beautiful DV and giving the viewer action set-pieces that feel like another day of routine for it's protagonists. It's an anti-action action movie. One criticism that seems to be lobbed at this film often is the underdeveloped nature of it's characters. It's a criticism definitely worth noting especially since it was a problem that plagued my first viewing of the film in it's unrated form, but looking at the film now, it doesn't seem like a hindrance at all. These men are so involved in their careers that personality or character elude them since they're so preoccupied with going undercover and taking down drug lords to really care. Comparing these characters to other action characters like John McClane or James Bond shows the film's unsympathetic and honest portrayal of it's protagonists. It doesn't try to dress these characters up as smart or charming but as merely men doing their jobs. The level of professionalism in this film is downright intoxicating not just to this viewer but to the characters themselves. The romantic entanglements in the film don't seem to be really based on any traditional idea of attraction or love. The characters might find their lovers sexually attractive but that's clearly not what they find the most attractive. It's obviously an appreciation and lust for the other's professional mastery. Gong Li's businesswoman(forgot her name) barely knows Sonny before subsequently having sex with him. These type of quick sexual encounters happen all the time, but given the character's rather conservative demeanor, it feels like it must be a rare occurrence for her. The romantic encounters in this film practically play out as professional circle jerks. Mann not only uses these romances to create a sexual tension in this world of professional professionalism but to show the interchangeability and parallel nature between his two protagonists. He definitely gets this point across by having both protagonists have sex in the shower with their respective lover. Outside of the romance, the story could be viewed as fairly routine, but that's exactly what the film needed to be. It needed to feel routine since this type of work is supposed to be routine for it's protagonists so if it was super exciting in an action movie sort of way, it would feel false. A perfect example is the final shoot out in the film. If the intensity was notched up to match a film like say Live Free or Die Hard's intensity in that final shoot out sequence, this world of professional professionalism would basically fall apart. It's almost mundane in it's construction. Let's compare this scene to a scene in a film by a director that obviously has influenced Michael Mann, Jean-Pierre Melville. The heist scene in Le Cercle Rouge is comparable given it's low-key nature compared to other movie heists just like how the shoot out in this film compares to other shoot outs. The characters in that film don't scream or make a big fuss while performing the heist, they simply do it much like the characters in the shoot out of this film. Mann doesn't try to create false tension since it's a fairly routine occurrence for these characters. The film is a perfect match for it's characters' cold and precise demeanor up until the end, which is absolutely emotionally penetrating. This is where the underdeveloped nature of the characters turns into a blessing since the ending hints at development. They start appearing more human and graceful in their world of cold and precise professionalism. As you can tell, I fucking love this movie now. A rewatch was definitely beneficial, and I recommend everyone that didn't dig it the first time to give it another try. It's a masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Gone Baby Gone(dir. Ben Affleck)
Has easily one of the most haunting sequences of the year. If you haven't seen the movie yet, once you see it, you'll know exactly what I'm taking about. His approach to the material is impeccable, but the material itself isn't so impeccable. It's hard for me to stomach how this story leaves it's central mystery unresolved, moves on and then comes back to resolve it all nice and neatly. There is still moral baggage for the viewer to think about after viewing, but it's not nearly as engaging and honest as it could have been if it had ended relatively soon after the sequence mentioned above. Stories like these usually don't end on as happy of a note like this and it's narrative construction becomes readily apparent when it starts to initiate it's resolution when it was practically seamless before. I am looking forward to see what he directs next. I recommend.
*** out of ****
Planet Terror(dir. Robert Rodriguez)
The build-up is really fun, but once the action starts, it becomes increasingly tiresome. I have no idea whether Rodriguez wants the viewer to gawk at his creation or laugh at it. It doesn't matter since he's not successful when you approach his film from both ways. It's not nearly ridiculous enough in it's action to actually be fun. Give me Bruce Willis going off a jump with a snowmobile screaming any day of the week over this mediocre shit.
** out of ****
The only differences that are readily apparent between the two cuts are the beginning and the music that is used in the final shoot out. The beginning in the original is much more abrupt given that it doesn't gradually let you fall into this world but ends up throwing you in the middle of it, expecting you to grasp what's going on. The viewer is forced to play catch up instead of simply sitting there passive. While playing catch up, the viewer might not ever grasp what's going on because a lot of the affairs and the story can be viewed as either painfully simple or painfully complex. The movie plays more of a deconstruction of itself with it's murky yet beautiful DV and giving the viewer action set-pieces that feel like another day of routine for it's protagonists. It's an anti-action action movie. One criticism that seems to be lobbed at this film often is the underdeveloped nature of it's characters. It's a criticism definitely worth noting especially since it was a problem that plagued my first viewing of the film in it's unrated form, but looking at the film now, it doesn't seem like a hindrance at all. These men are so involved in their careers that personality or character elude them since they're so preoccupied with going undercover and taking down drug lords to really care. Comparing these characters to other action characters like John McClane or James Bond shows the film's unsympathetic and honest portrayal of it's protagonists. It doesn't try to dress these characters up as smart or charming but as merely men doing their jobs. The level of professionalism in this film is downright intoxicating not just to this viewer but to the characters themselves. The romantic entanglements in the film don't seem to be really based on any traditional idea of attraction or love. The characters might find their lovers sexually attractive but that's clearly not what they find the most attractive. It's obviously an appreciation and lust for the other's professional mastery. Gong Li's businesswoman(forgot her name) barely knows Sonny before subsequently having sex with him. These type of quick sexual encounters happen all the time, but given the character's rather conservative demeanor, it feels like it must be a rare occurrence for her. The romantic encounters in this film practically play out as professional circle jerks. Mann not only uses these romances to create a sexual tension in this world of professional professionalism but to show the interchangeability and parallel nature between his two protagonists. He definitely gets this point across by having both protagonists have sex in the shower with their respective lover. Outside of the romance, the story could be viewed as fairly routine, but that's exactly what the film needed to be. It needed to feel routine since this type of work is supposed to be routine for it's protagonists so if it was super exciting in an action movie sort of way, it would feel false. A perfect example is the final shoot out in the film. If the intensity was notched up to match a film like say Live Free or Die Hard's intensity in that final shoot out sequence, this world of professional professionalism would basically fall apart. It's almost mundane in it's construction. Let's compare this scene to a scene in a film by a director that obviously has influenced Michael Mann, Jean-Pierre Melville. The heist scene in Le Cercle Rouge is comparable given it's low-key nature compared to other movie heists just like how the shoot out in this film compares to other shoot outs. The characters in that film don't scream or make a big fuss while performing the heist, they simply do it much like the characters in the shoot out of this film. Mann doesn't try to create false tension since it's a fairly routine occurrence for these characters. The film is a perfect match for it's characters' cold and precise demeanor up until the end, which is absolutely emotionally penetrating. This is where the underdeveloped nature of the characters turns into a blessing since the ending hints at development. They start appearing more human and graceful in their world of cold and precise professionalism. As you can tell, I fucking love this movie now. A rewatch was definitely beneficial, and I recommend everyone that didn't dig it the first time to give it another try. It's a masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Gone Baby Gone(dir. Ben Affleck)
Has easily one of the most haunting sequences of the year. If you haven't seen the movie yet, once you see it, you'll know exactly what I'm taking about. His approach to the material is impeccable, but the material itself isn't so impeccable. It's hard for me to stomach how this story leaves it's central mystery unresolved, moves on and then comes back to resolve it all nice and neatly. There is still moral baggage for the viewer to think about after viewing, but it's not nearly as engaging and honest as it could have been if it had ended relatively soon after the sequence mentioned above. Stories like these usually don't end on as happy of a note like this and it's narrative construction becomes readily apparent when it starts to initiate it's resolution when it was practically seamless before. I am looking forward to see what he directs next. I recommend.
*** out of ****
Planet Terror(dir. Robert Rodriguez)
The build-up is really fun, but once the action starts, it becomes increasingly tiresome. I have no idea whether Rodriguez wants the viewer to gawk at his creation or laugh at it. It doesn't matter since he's not successful when you approach his film from both ways. It's not nearly ridiculous enough in it's action to actually be fun. Give me Bruce Willis going off a jump with a snowmobile screaming any day of the week over this mediocre shit.
** out of ****
Monday, October 22, 2007
Oh Natassia Kinski...
Cat People(dir. Paul Schrader)
As a horror film, it simply falls flat. The film is incapable of creating a terrifying atmosphere outside of a pool sequence that was pretty much directly lifted from the original(only portion I've seen of that film). As a movie viewed on it's own terms, however, it's actually quite good. It's mythology of "cat people" is quite perverse and fascinating due to the freeing yourself from being a "cat person" through incest aspect of it. The film is definitely more sexual than gory even though there are some scenes that will surely please the gore hounds in the audience. Seeing Natassia Kinski prance around naked a bunch isn't exactly a bad thing, but it dwells on it's sexuality for far too long without really going anywhere with it. Thankfully, it does go somewhere with it near the end in a scene that's certainly interesting given it's zoophiliac undertones and use of bondage. The scene afterwards is more compelling since it's plays as an extremely unusual homage to Pickpocket's ending with the chick as a fucking cat and the guy as the non-prisoner of the two. By the end of it, you get the sensation that the film went on for too long and it ultimately suffers because of it. There's also the dated nature of the special effects that might not have been a problem in the original given it's reputation for suggesting the presence of cat people instead of actually showing(I could be wrong). Other than those gripes, I recommend.
*** out of ****
As a horror film, it simply falls flat. The film is incapable of creating a terrifying atmosphere outside of a pool sequence that was pretty much directly lifted from the original(only portion I've seen of that film). As a movie viewed on it's own terms, however, it's actually quite good. It's mythology of "cat people" is quite perverse and fascinating due to the freeing yourself from being a "cat person" through incest aspect of it. The film is definitely more sexual than gory even though there are some scenes that will surely please the gore hounds in the audience. Seeing Natassia Kinski prance around naked a bunch isn't exactly a bad thing, but it dwells on it's sexuality for far too long without really going anywhere with it. Thankfully, it does go somewhere with it near the end in a scene that's certainly interesting given it's zoophiliac undertones and use of bondage. The scene afterwards is more compelling since it's plays as an extremely unusual homage to Pickpocket's ending with the chick as a fucking cat and the guy as the non-prisoner of the two. By the end of it, you get the sensation that the film went on for too long and it ultimately suffers because of it. There's also the dated nature of the special effects that might not have been a problem in the original given it's reputation for suggesting the presence of cat people instead of actually showing(I could be wrong). Other than those gripes, I recommend.
*** out of ****
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Oh Decade Lists...
Going to do Top 10's for decades and put it on here:
2000's(one film per director with some either or's since I feel I need to rewatch some of these)
1. Lilya 4-Ever(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
2. Miami Vice(dir. Michael Mann)
3. Fay Grim(dir. Hal Hartley)
4. Pistol Opera(dir. Seijun Suzuki)
5. The New World(dir. Terrence Malick)
6. Platform(dir. Jia Zhangke)[Not sure if I should put this here or below Mulholland Dr.]
7. Mulholland Dr.(dir. David Lynch)
8. The Royal Tenenbaums(dir. Wes Anderson)
9. Millenium Mambo(dir. Hou Hsiao-Hsien)[It feels strange rating one of his films higher than Tsai's, but Tsai's 90's output easily trumps Hou's best]
10. What Time Is It There? or Goodbye, Dragon Inn(dir. Tsai Ming-Liang)[Not sure which is better because I feel Time is overrated and Goodbye is underrated]
Honorable mentions: Last Life in the Universe(dir. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang), Little Children(dir. Todd Field), Marie Antoinette or Lost in Translation(dir. Sofia Coppola), Kill Bill Vol. 2(dir. Quentin Tarantino)[maybe?], George Washington(dir. David Gordon Green), Morvern Callar(dir. Lynne Ramsay)[maybe?], 2046(dir. Wong Kar-Wai)[maybe?], and more...
2000's(by year)
2000. Platform(dir. Jia Zhang Ke)
2001. Mulholland Dr.(dir. David Lynch)
2002. Femme Fatale(dir. Brian De Palma)
2003. Lilya 4-Ever(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
2004. Goodbye, Dragon Inn(dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
2005. The New World(dir. Terrence Malick)
2006. Miami Vice(dir. Michael Mann)
2007. Fay Grim(dir. Hal Hartley)
1990's(no limit per director)
1. Henry Fool(dir. Hal Hartley)
2. Simple Men(dir. Hal Hartley)
3. Trust(dir. Hal Hartley)
4. Show Me Love/Fucking Åmål(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
5. The Hole(dir. Tsai Ming-Liang)
6. Heat(dir. Michael Mann)
7. Lessons of Darkness(dir. Werner Herzog)
8. Chungking Express(dir. Wong Kar-Wai)
9. First Comes Love(dir. Su Friedrich)
10. Small Deaths(dir. Lynne Ramsay)
Honorable mentions: Wonderland(dir. Michael Winterbottom), Dead Man(dir. Jim Jarmusch), The Wind Will Carry Us(dir. Abbas Kiarostami), The Sweet Hereafter(dir. Atom Egoyan), Rebels of the Neon God(dir. Tsai Ming-Liang), Magnolia(dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)[maybe?], The Player or Short Cuts(dir. Robert Altman), The Lion King(dir. Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff)[maybe?] Light Sleeper(dir. Paul Schrader)[maybe?], Clueless(dir. Amy Heckerling)[maybe?], Little Dieter Needs to Fly(dir. Werner Herzog), The Big Lebowski(dir. Coens Brothers)[slightly?], King of New York(dir. Abel Ferrara)[maybe?], Hard-Boiled(dir. John Woo)[maybe?], Barcelona(dir. Whit Stillman), Clueless(dir. Amy Heckerling), and more...
1990's(one film per director this time)
1. Henry Fool(dir. Hal Hartley)
2. Show Me Love/Fucking Åmål(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
3. The Hole(dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
4. Heat(dir. Michael Mann)
5. Lessons of Darkness(dir. Werner Herzog)
6. Chungking Express(dir. Wong Kar-wai)
7. First Comes Love(dir. Su Friedrich)
8. Small Deaths(dir. Lynne Ramsay)
9. Barcelona(dir. Whit Stillman)
10. The Player(dir. Robert Altman)
1990's(by year)
1990. Die Hard 2: Die Harder(dir. ?)
1991. Trust(dir. Hal Hartley)
1992. Simple Men(dir. Hal Hartley)
1993. Short Cuts(dir. Robert Altman)
1994. Chungking Express(dir. Wong Kar-Wai)
1995. Heat(dir. Michael Mann)
1996. Dead Man(dir. Jim Jarmusch)
1997. The Sweet Hereafter(dir. Atom Egoyan)
1998. Henry Fool(dir. Hal Hartley)
1999. Show Me Love(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
1980's(no limit per director)
1. L'Argent(dir. Robert Bresson)
2. The Sacrifice(dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
3. Damned If You Don't(dir. Su Friedrich)
4. The Ties That Bind(dir. Su Friedrich)
5. Choose Me(dir. Alan Rudolph)
6. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters(dir. Paul Schrader)
7. Down By Law(dir. Jim Jarmusch)
8. Paris, Texas(dir. Wim Wenders)
9. Landscape in the Mist(dir. Theo Angelopoulos)
10. Do the Right Thing(dir. Spike Lee)
Honorable mentions: Day of the Dead(dir. George A. Romero), Dekalog Six(dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski), Full Metal Jacket(dir. Stanley Kubrick)[maybe?], White Dog or The Big Red One(dir. Samuel Fuller)[maybe?] and more...
1970's(one film per director)
1. A Woman Under the Influence(dir. John Cassavetes)
2. Hospital(dir. Frederick Wiseman)
3. The Mirror(dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
4. M*A*S*H(dir. Robert Altman)
5. Days of Heaven(dir. Terrence Malick)
6. Suspiria(dir. Dario Argento)
7. Aguirre, the Wrath of God(dir. Werner Herzog)
8. The Passenger(dir. Michelangelo Antonioni)
9. Killer of Sheep(dir. Charles Burnett)
10. Lancelot of the Lake(dir. Robert Bresson)
Honorable mentions: Apocalypse Now, The Marriage of Maria Braun
1960's(one film per director for now)
1. Titicut Follies(dir. Frederick Wiseman)
2. Woman in the Dunes(dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara)
3. Masculin, feminin(dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
4. Branded to Kill(dir. Seijun Suzuki)
5. The Battle of Algiers(dir. Gillo Pontrevico)
6. Double Suicide(dir. Masahiro Shinoda)
7. Scorpio Rising(dir. Kenneth Anger)
8. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance(dir. John Ford)
9. 8 1/2 or La Dolce Vita(dir. Federico Fellini)
10. Mouchette(dir. Robert Bresson)
Honorable mentions: Harakiri(dir. Masaki Kobayashi), Rocco and His Brothers(dir. Luchino Visconti), Winter Light(dir. Ingmar Bergman), Andrei Rublev(dir. Andrei Tarkovsky), The Pawnbroker(dir. Sidney Lumet), 2001: A Space Oddysey or Dr. Strangelove(dir. Stanley Kubrick), Psycho or The Birds(dir. Alfred Hitchcock), The Naked Kiss(dir. Samuel Fuller), and more...
1950's
1. In a Lonely Place(dir. Nicholas Ray)
2. Ace in the Hole(dir. Billy Wilder)
3. On Dangerous Ground(dir. Nicholas Ray)
4. Shadows(dir. John Cassavetes)
5. The Searchers(dir. John Ford)
6. Ashes and Diamonds(dir. Andzrej Wajda)
7. The Killing(dir. Stanley Kubrick)
8. Rear Window(dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
9. Vertigo(dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
10. Diary of a Country Priest(dir. Robert Bresson)
Honorable mentions: The Big Heat(dir. Fritz Lang), Kiss Me Deadly(dir. Robert Aldrich), The Steel Helmet(dir. Samuel Fuller)[maybe?], The Seventh Seal(dir. Ingmar Bergman), Hiroshima, Mon Amour(dir. Alain Resnais), and others that I most likely forgot about...
1950's(by year)
1950. In a Lonely Place(dir. Nicholas Ray)
1951. Ace in the Hole(dir. Billy Wilder)
1952. On Dangerous Ground(dir. Nicholas Ray)
1959. Shadows(dir. John Cassavetes)
1940's
1. My Darling Clementine(dir. John Ford)
2. The Lady From Shanghai(dir. Orson Welles)
1930's
1. You Only Live Once(dir. Fritz Lang)
2. Vampyr(dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer)
3. The Grand Illusion(dir. Jean Renoir)
4. Rules of the Game(dir. Jean Renoir)
UPDATE:
2000's(excluding 2008 release):
[i]The New World[/i][Extended Cut](dir. Terrence Malick)
[i]Miami Vice[/i](dir. Michael Mann)
[i]Fay Grim[/i](dir. Hal Hartley)
[i]Pat Garett and Billy the Kid[/i][2005 Cut](dir. Sam Peckinpah)
[i]George Washington[/i](dir. David Gordon Green)
[i]Mulholland Drive[/i](dir. David Lynch)
[i]Femme Fatale[/i](dir. Brian De Palma)
[i]Marie Antoinette[/i](dir. Sofia Coppola)
[i]Punch-Drunk Love[/i](dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
[i]Pistol Opera[/i](dir. Seijun Suzuki)
[i]Lilya 4-Ever[/i](dir. Lukas Moodysson)
[i]INLAND EMPIRE[/i](dir. David Lynch)
[i]Death Proof[/i](dir. Quentin Tarantino)
[i]Platform[/i](dir. Jia Zhangke)
[i]Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy[/i](dir. Adam McKay)
[i]Twentynine Palms[/i](dir. Bruno Dumont)
[i]L'Enfant[/i](dir. Dardenne Brothers)
[i]The Girl From Monday[/i](dir. Hal Hartley)
[i]2046[/i](dir. Wong Kar-wai)
1990's:
[i]Henry Fool[/i](dir. Hal Hartley)
[i]Trust[/i](dir. Hal Hartley)
[i]Simple Men[/i](dir. Hal Hartley)
[i]Heat[/i](dir. Michael Mann)
[i]Clueless[/i](dir. Amy Heckerling)
[i]The Hole[/i](dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
[i]Vive L'Amour[/i](dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
[i]Rebels of the Neon God[/i](dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
[i]Show Me Love[/i]/[i]Fucking Åmål[/i](dir. Lukas Moodysson)
[i]First Comes Love[/i](dir. Su Friedrich)
[i]Small Deaths[/i](dir. Lynne Ramsay)
[i]Chungking Express[/i](dir. Wong Kar-wai)
[i]The Big Lebowski[/i](dir. Coen Brothers)
[i]Hard Boiled[/i](dir. John Woo)
[i]King of New York[/i](dir. Abel Ferrara)
1980's:
[i]Choose Me[/i](dir. Alan Rudolph)
[i]Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom[/i](dir. Steven Spielberg)
[i]Paris, Texas[/i](dir. Wim Wenders)
[i]L'Argent[/i](dir. Robert Bresson)
[i]The Sacrifice[/i](dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
[i]The Ties That Bind[/i](dir. Su Friedrich)
1960's
[i]Titicut Follies[/i](dir. Frederick Wiseman)
[i]Woman in the Dunes[/i](dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara)
[i]Branded to Kill[/i](dir. Seijun Suzuki)
[i]Tokyo Drifter[/i](dir. Seijun Suzuki)
[i]Double Suicide[/i](dir. Masahiro Shinoda)
[i]The Wild Bunch[/i](dir. Sam Peckinpah)
[i]The Battle of Algiers[/i](dir. Gillo Pontrevico)
[i]Masculin, feminin[/i](dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
[i]Pierrot le Fou[/i](dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
[i]Andrei Rublev[/i](dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
[i]Scorpio Rising[/i](dir. Kenneth Anger)
[i]Harakiri[/i](dir. Masaki Kobayashi)
[i]Rocco and His Brothers[/i](dir. Luchino Visconti)
[i]Mouchette[/i](dir. Robert Bresson)
[i]Through a Glass Darkly[/i](dir. Ingmar Bergman)
1950's
[i]In a Lonely Place[/i](dir. Nicholas Ray)
[i]Ace in the Hole[/i](dir. Billy Wilder)
[i]The Big Heat[/i](dir. Fritz Lang)
2000's(one film per director with some either or's since I feel I need to rewatch some of these)
1. Lilya 4-Ever(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
2. Miami Vice(dir. Michael Mann)
3. Fay Grim(dir. Hal Hartley)
4. Pistol Opera(dir. Seijun Suzuki)
5. The New World(dir. Terrence Malick)
6. Platform(dir. Jia Zhangke)[Not sure if I should put this here or below Mulholland Dr.]
7. Mulholland Dr.(dir. David Lynch)
8. The Royal Tenenbaums(dir. Wes Anderson)
9. Millenium Mambo(dir. Hou Hsiao-Hsien)[It feels strange rating one of his films higher than Tsai's, but Tsai's 90's output easily trumps Hou's best]
10. What Time Is It There? or Goodbye, Dragon Inn(dir. Tsai Ming-Liang)[Not sure which is better because I feel Time is overrated and Goodbye is underrated]
Honorable mentions: Last Life in the Universe(dir. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang), Little Children(dir. Todd Field), Marie Antoinette or Lost in Translation(dir. Sofia Coppola), Kill Bill Vol. 2(dir. Quentin Tarantino)[maybe?], George Washington(dir. David Gordon Green), Morvern Callar(dir. Lynne Ramsay)[maybe?], 2046(dir. Wong Kar-Wai)[maybe?], and more...
2000's(by year)
2000. Platform(dir. Jia Zhang Ke)
2001. Mulholland Dr.(dir. David Lynch)
2002. Femme Fatale(dir. Brian De Palma)
2003. Lilya 4-Ever(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
2004. Goodbye, Dragon Inn(dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
2005. The New World(dir. Terrence Malick)
2006. Miami Vice(dir. Michael Mann)
2007. Fay Grim(dir. Hal Hartley)
1990's(no limit per director)
1. Henry Fool(dir. Hal Hartley)
2. Simple Men(dir. Hal Hartley)
3. Trust(dir. Hal Hartley)
4. Show Me Love/Fucking Åmål(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
5. The Hole(dir. Tsai Ming-Liang)
6. Heat(dir. Michael Mann)
7. Lessons of Darkness(dir. Werner Herzog)
8. Chungking Express(dir. Wong Kar-Wai)
9. First Comes Love(dir. Su Friedrich)
10. Small Deaths(dir. Lynne Ramsay)
Honorable mentions: Wonderland(dir. Michael Winterbottom), Dead Man(dir. Jim Jarmusch), The Wind Will Carry Us(dir. Abbas Kiarostami), The Sweet Hereafter(dir. Atom Egoyan), Rebels of the Neon God(dir. Tsai Ming-Liang), Magnolia(dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)[maybe?], The Player or Short Cuts(dir. Robert Altman), The Lion King(dir. Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff)[maybe?] Light Sleeper(dir. Paul Schrader)[maybe?], Clueless(dir. Amy Heckerling)[maybe?], Little Dieter Needs to Fly(dir. Werner Herzog), The Big Lebowski(dir. Coens Brothers)[slightly?], King of New York(dir. Abel Ferrara)[maybe?], Hard-Boiled(dir. John Woo)[maybe?], Barcelona(dir. Whit Stillman), Clueless(dir. Amy Heckerling), and more...
1990's(one film per director this time)
1. Henry Fool(dir. Hal Hartley)
2. Show Me Love/Fucking Åmål(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
3. The Hole(dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
4. Heat(dir. Michael Mann)
5. Lessons of Darkness(dir. Werner Herzog)
6. Chungking Express(dir. Wong Kar-wai)
7. First Comes Love(dir. Su Friedrich)
8. Small Deaths(dir. Lynne Ramsay)
9. Barcelona(dir. Whit Stillman)
10. The Player(dir. Robert Altman)
1990's(by year)
1990. Die Hard 2: Die Harder(dir. ?)
1991. Trust(dir. Hal Hartley)
1992. Simple Men(dir. Hal Hartley)
1993. Short Cuts(dir. Robert Altman)
1994. Chungking Express(dir. Wong Kar-Wai)
1995. Heat(dir. Michael Mann)
1996. Dead Man(dir. Jim Jarmusch)
1997. The Sweet Hereafter(dir. Atom Egoyan)
1998. Henry Fool(dir. Hal Hartley)
1999. Show Me Love(dir. Lukas Moodysson)
1980's(no limit per director)
1. L'Argent(dir. Robert Bresson)
2. The Sacrifice(dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
3. Damned If You Don't(dir. Su Friedrich)
4. The Ties That Bind(dir. Su Friedrich)
5. Choose Me(dir. Alan Rudolph)
6. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters(dir. Paul Schrader)
7. Down By Law(dir. Jim Jarmusch)
8. Paris, Texas(dir. Wim Wenders)
9. Landscape in the Mist(dir. Theo Angelopoulos)
10. Do the Right Thing(dir. Spike Lee)
Honorable mentions: Day of the Dead(dir. George A. Romero), Dekalog Six(dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski), Full Metal Jacket(dir. Stanley Kubrick)[maybe?], White Dog or The Big Red One(dir. Samuel Fuller)[maybe?] and more...
1970's(one film per director)
1. A Woman Under the Influence(dir. John Cassavetes)
2. Hospital(dir. Frederick Wiseman)
3. The Mirror(dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
4. M*A*S*H(dir. Robert Altman)
5. Days of Heaven(dir. Terrence Malick)
6. Suspiria(dir. Dario Argento)
7. Aguirre, the Wrath of God(dir. Werner Herzog)
8. The Passenger(dir. Michelangelo Antonioni)
9. Killer of Sheep(dir. Charles Burnett)
10. Lancelot of the Lake(dir. Robert Bresson)
Honorable mentions: Apocalypse Now, The Marriage of Maria Braun
1960's(one film per director for now)
1. Titicut Follies(dir. Frederick Wiseman)
2. Woman in the Dunes(dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara)
3. Masculin, feminin(dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
4. Branded to Kill(dir. Seijun Suzuki)
5. The Battle of Algiers(dir. Gillo Pontrevico)
6. Double Suicide(dir. Masahiro Shinoda)
7. Scorpio Rising(dir. Kenneth Anger)
8. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance(dir. John Ford)
9. 8 1/2 or La Dolce Vita(dir. Federico Fellini)
10. Mouchette(dir. Robert Bresson)
Honorable mentions: Harakiri(dir. Masaki Kobayashi), Rocco and His Brothers(dir. Luchino Visconti), Winter Light(dir. Ingmar Bergman), Andrei Rublev(dir. Andrei Tarkovsky), The Pawnbroker(dir. Sidney Lumet), 2001: A Space Oddysey or Dr. Strangelove(dir. Stanley Kubrick), Psycho or The Birds(dir. Alfred Hitchcock), The Naked Kiss(dir. Samuel Fuller), and more...
1950's
1. In a Lonely Place(dir. Nicholas Ray)
2. Ace in the Hole(dir. Billy Wilder)
3. On Dangerous Ground(dir. Nicholas Ray)
4. Shadows(dir. John Cassavetes)
5. The Searchers(dir. John Ford)
6. Ashes and Diamonds(dir. Andzrej Wajda)
7. The Killing(dir. Stanley Kubrick)
8. Rear Window(dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
9. Vertigo(dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
10. Diary of a Country Priest(dir. Robert Bresson)
Honorable mentions: The Big Heat(dir. Fritz Lang), Kiss Me Deadly(dir. Robert Aldrich), The Steel Helmet(dir. Samuel Fuller)[maybe?], The Seventh Seal(dir. Ingmar Bergman), Hiroshima, Mon Amour(dir. Alain Resnais), and others that I most likely forgot about...
1950's(by year)
1950. In a Lonely Place(dir. Nicholas Ray)
1951. Ace in the Hole(dir. Billy Wilder)
1952. On Dangerous Ground(dir. Nicholas Ray)
1959. Shadows(dir. John Cassavetes)
1940's
1. My Darling Clementine(dir. John Ford)
2. The Lady From Shanghai(dir. Orson Welles)
1930's
1. You Only Live Once(dir. Fritz Lang)
2. Vampyr(dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer)
3. The Grand Illusion(dir. Jean Renoir)
4. Rules of the Game(dir. Jean Renoir)
UPDATE:
2000's(excluding 2008 release):
[i]The New World[/i][Extended Cut](dir. Terrence Malick)
[i]Miami Vice[/i](dir. Michael Mann)
[i]Fay Grim[/i](dir. Hal Hartley)
[i]Pat Garett and Billy the Kid[/i][2005 Cut](dir. Sam Peckinpah)
[i]George Washington[/i](dir. David Gordon Green)
[i]Mulholland Drive[/i](dir. David Lynch)
[i]Femme Fatale[/i](dir. Brian De Palma)
[i]Marie Antoinette[/i](dir. Sofia Coppola)
[i]Punch-Drunk Love[/i](dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)
[i]Pistol Opera[/i](dir. Seijun Suzuki)
[i]Lilya 4-Ever[/i](dir. Lukas Moodysson)
[i]INLAND EMPIRE[/i](dir. David Lynch)
[i]Death Proof[/i](dir. Quentin Tarantino)
[i]Platform[/i](dir. Jia Zhangke)
[i]Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy[/i](dir. Adam McKay)
[i]Twentynine Palms[/i](dir. Bruno Dumont)
[i]L'Enfant[/i](dir. Dardenne Brothers)
[i]The Girl From Monday[/i](dir. Hal Hartley)
[i]2046[/i](dir. Wong Kar-wai)
1990's:
[i]Henry Fool[/i](dir. Hal Hartley)
[i]Trust[/i](dir. Hal Hartley)
[i]Simple Men[/i](dir. Hal Hartley)
[i]Heat[/i](dir. Michael Mann)
[i]Clueless[/i](dir. Amy Heckerling)
[i]The Hole[/i](dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
[i]Vive L'Amour[/i](dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
[i]Rebels of the Neon God[/i](dir. Tsai Ming-liang)
[i]Show Me Love[/i]/[i]Fucking Åmål[/i](dir. Lukas Moodysson)
[i]First Comes Love[/i](dir. Su Friedrich)
[i]Small Deaths[/i](dir. Lynne Ramsay)
[i]Chungking Express[/i](dir. Wong Kar-wai)
[i]The Big Lebowski[/i](dir. Coen Brothers)
[i]Hard Boiled[/i](dir. John Woo)
[i]King of New York[/i](dir. Abel Ferrara)
1980's:
[i]Choose Me[/i](dir. Alan Rudolph)
[i]Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom[/i](dir. Steven Spielberg)
[i]Paris, Texas[/i](dir. Wim Wenders)
[i]L'Argent[/i](dir. Robert Bresson)
[i]The Sacrifice[/i](dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
[i]The Ties That Bind[/i](dir. Su Friedrich)
1960's
[i]Titicut Follies[/i](dir. Frederick Wiseman)
[i]Woman in the Dunes[/i](dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara)
[i]Branded to Kill[/i](dir. Seijun Suzuki)
[i]Tokyo Drifter[/i](dir. Seijun Suzuki)
[i]Double Suicide[/i](dir. Masahiro Shinoda)
[i]The Wild Bunch[/i](dir. Sam Peckinpah)
[i]The Battle of Algiers[/i](dir. Gillo Pontrevico)
[i]Masculin, feminin[/i](dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
[i]Pierrot le Fou[/i](dir. Jean-Luc Godard)
[i]Andrei Rublev[/i](dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
[i]Scorpio Rising[/i](dir. Kenneth Anger)
[i]Harakiri[/i](dir. Masaki Kobayashi)
[i]Rocco and His Brothers[/i](dir. Luchino Visconti)
[i]Mouchette[/i](dir. Robert Bresson)
[i]Through a Glass Darkly[/i](dir. Ingmar Bergman)
1950's
[i]In a Lonely Place[/i](dir. Nicholas Ray)
[i]Ace in the Hole[/i](dir. Billy Wilder)
[i]The Big Heat[/i](dir. Fritz Lang)
Oh John "Badman" & Jia...
Evan Almighty(dir. Tom Shadyac)
I have to admit that I was eventually won over by it's cheesy family-friendly nature. It stopped being horrible when it finally stopped using Steve Carrell essentially the same way as Wild Hogs used William H. Macy and had animals help him build his ark. After that point, the film became relatively funny in a campy way much like Full House except less cringe-inducing. This is a work of ARK.
**1/2 out of ****
Platform(dir. Jia Zhangke)
I'm not even going to attempt to analyze and criticize this film due to it's lack of an apparent narrative structure and it's pretty impossible for me to articulate how I felt while watching it. All I can say is that it's a masterpiece and definitely check it out.
**** out of ****
I have to admit that I was eventually won over by it's cheesy family-friendly nature. It stopped being horrible when it finally stopped using Steve Carrell essentially the same way as Wild Hogs used William H. Macy and had animals help him build his ark. After that point, the film became relatively funny in a campy way much like Full House except less cringe-inducing. This is a work of ARK.
**1/2 out of ****
Platform(dir. Jia Zhangke)
I'm not even going to attempt to analyze and criticize this film due to it's lack of an apparent narrative structure and it's pretty impossible for me to articulate how I felt while watching it. All I can say is that it's a masterpiece and definitely check it out.
**** out of ****
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Oh Matthew "Smells Like a Man" McConaughey...
We Are Marshall(dir. McG)
The underdog I was rooting for while watching this was not the team but the movie itself. I was hoping it would overcome it's overly sappy and formulaic nature and become a genuinely good movie, but it simply didn't happen despite what looked like a touchdown of an ending that quickly became a trite and sentimental one that you see in practically every "inspirational sports" movie known to mankind. I have respect for the movie for actually giving the audience information about what happened to the "real" people that were involved with this "story" even though it's not exactly uplifting. Despite having a solid beginning, some amusing bits with Matthew McConaughey, and a relatively decent side-story concerning a fiancé of one of the players, I simply can't recommend seeing this. It was merely average.
** out of ****
The underdog I was rooting for while watching this was not the team but the movie itself. I was hoping it would overcome it's overly sappy and formulaic nature and become a genuinely good movie, but it simply didn't happen despite what looked like a touchdown of an ending that quickly became a trite and sentimental one that you see in practically every "inspirational sports" movie known to mankind. I have respect for the movie for actually giving the audience information about what happened to the "real" people that were involved with this "story" even though it's not exactly uplifting. Despite having a solid beginning, some amusing bits with Matthew McConaughey, and a relatively decent side-story concerning a fiancé of one of the players, I simply can't recommend seeing this. It was merely average.
** out of ****
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Oh Carolyn Farina...
Metropolitan(dir. Whit Stillman)
Amusing but not nearly as amusing as Barcelona due to it's trivialness being set in a fairly trivial setting instead of, well, Barcelona. Barcelona had a larger scope given the events that transpired so it's trivial conversations felt out of place and were more amusing because of it. The acting and writing also felt more assured in that film compared to this. This was still amusing, though.
*** out of ****
Amusing but not nearly as amusing as Barcelona due to it's trivialness being set in a fairly trivial setting instead of, well, Barcelona. Barcelona had a larger scope given the events that transpired so it's trivial conversations felt out of place and were more amusing because of it. The acting and writing also felt more assured in that film compared to this. This was still amusing, though.
*** out of ****
Monday, October 15, 2007
Oh Adam and Hiroshi...
Reign Over Me(dir. Mike Binder)
Why 9/11 and why this character? Those were the thoughts initially running through my head while I watching this. The only answers I could come up with is having a protagonist that is a little off his rocker and having him become more "normal" by the end is a real crowd-pleaser even though that doesn't heal the character's wounds from losing his whole family to the events that occurred on 9/11 or at least it shouldn't and since 9/11 is still fresh in our minds, why not exploit the event by using it to get the audience to sympathize with a character that stemmed from a screenwriter's imagination? It's ultimately frustrating since you wonder why they didn't make a film about someone dealing with loss in a rather "traditional" manner instead of Charlie's "amnesiac" approach of coping. The film is pretty much a mess in terms of what it wants to be. It tries to be light-hearted one moment then the next moment, it tries to be a tear-jerker. This tonal confusion comes to a head with a particularly awkward speech that Charlie delivers to his parents-in-law about why he's handling the situation the way he is. You're not sure if you're supposed to be laughing or crying. The light-hearted moments definitely work better since the sad moments are so obviously designed to manipulate that they fail to take effect. That's not to say that Sandler's performance is bad since he was able to create some emotional involvement from this reviewer. It's just that the material he has to work with is not so hot. The film hits it's low point with a court room scene that's absolutely cringe-inducing in it's grotesque nature and it's attempt at creating a love interest for the protagonist that is equally as crazy was pretty laughable. Two crazy peas in a pod. I still don't know why the movie attached itself to 9/11 since it just makes it easier to criticize it to high heaven. It was ultimately average.
** out of ****
The Face of Another(dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara)
So stylistically bold that it verges on completely alienating it's audience and that's precisely what makes it bitching. Much like Hiroshima Mon Amour, it's philosophical to a fault, but the psycho-analytical nature of it's dialogue is easier to stomach due to the presence of a psychiatrist character. If I was reviewing the story with the woman that appears to be scarred from nuclear exposure by itself, this would easily be deemed a masterpiece by this reviewer, but since I'm reviewing it as a whole, it's merely a near-masterpiece. It quickly becomes tiresome in it's "the mask will take over" philosophical banter. It's not nearly as hauntingly beautiful as Woman in the Dunes, but it's definitely no slouch either. Any movie that uses a recording of a Hitler speech for no apparent reason is A OK in my book.
***1/2 out of ****
Why 9/11 and why this character? Those were the thoughts initially running through my head while I watching this. The only answers I could come up with is having a protagonist that is a little off his rocker and having him become more "normal" by the end is a real crowd-pleaser even though that doesn't heal the character's wounds from losing his whole family to the events that occurred on 9/11 or at least it shouldn't and since 9/11 is still fresh in our minds, why not exploit the event by using it to get the audience to sympathize with a character that stemmed from a screenwriter's imagination? It's ultimately frustrating since you wonder why they didn't make a film about someone dealing with loss in a rather "traditional" manner instead of Charlie's "amnesiac" approach of coping. The film is pretty much a mess in terms of what it wants to be. It tries to be light-hearted one moment then the next moment, it tries to be a tear-jerker. This tonal confusion comes to a head with a particularly awkward speech that Charlie delivers to his parents-in-law about why he's handling the situation the way he is. You're not sure if you're supposed to be laughing or crying. The light-hearted moments definitely work better since the sad moments are so obviously designed to manipulate that they fail to take effect. That's not to say that Sandler's performance is bad since he was able to create some emotional involvement from this reviewer. It's just that the material he has to work with is not so hot. The film hits it's low point with a court room scene that's absolutely cringe-inducing in it's grotesque nature and it's attempt at creating a love interest for the protagonist that is equally as crazy was pretty laughable. Two crazy peas in a pod. I still don't know why the movie attached itself to 9/11 since it just makes it easier to criticize it to high heaven. It was ultimately average.
** out of ****
The Face of Another(dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara)
So stylistically bold that it verges on completely alienating it's audience and that's precisely what makes it bitching. Much like Hiroshima Mon Amour, it's philosophical to a fault, but the psycho-analytical nature of it's dialogue is easier to stomach due to the presence of a psychiatrist character. If I was reviewing the story with the woman that appears to be scarred from nuclear exposure by itself, this would easily be deemed a masterpiece by this reviewer, but since I'm reviewing it as a whole, it's merely a near-masterpiece. It quickly becomes tiresome in it's "the mask will take over" philosophical banter. It's not nearly as hauntingly beautiful as Woman in the Dunes, but it's definitely no slouch either. Any movie that uses a recording of a Hitler speech for no apparent reason is A OK in my book.
***1/2 out of ****
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Oh Daddy, don't you love me?...
1408(dir. Mikael Håfström)
It's basically the Haunted Mansion(the ride, not the movie) except less scary and fun. Compared to Vacancy, this film depends on it's hotel room setting to change and expand through supernatural means to "entertain" it's audience instead of embracing the claustrophobic nature of having such a minuscule setting for a majority of the running time to actually create a rather unnerving atmosphere to entertain it's audience with. There's a serious lack of danger in this film to make any of it thrilling or even mildly scary. Some aspects of the film are interesting, but seem to linger with very little examination or depth. The main character having lost a daughter to some unnamed illness and being haunted by the memory of her during his stay in 1408 is certainly interesting, but this aspect of the character's history is used to manipulate it's audience to sympathize with his character more instead of being used to create a layer of depth to the film. The character also has some daddy issues even though the film doesn't bother to dwell on this any longer than probably 2 minutes. I feel I might be overly harsh for giving this film the same rating as Wild Hogs, but John Travolta's train wreck of a performance was at least a little amusing to behold while this film is an absolute bore despite being less brain-dead.
*1/2 out of ****
It's basically the Haunted Mansion(the ride, not the movie) except less scary and fun. Compared to Vacancy, this film depends on it's hotel room setting to change and expand through supernatural means to "entertain" it's audience instead of embracing the claustrophobic nature of having such a minuscule setting for a majority of the running time to actually create a rather unnerving atmosphere to entertain it's audience with. There's a serious lack of danger in this film to make any of it thrilling or even mildly scary. Some aspects of the film are interesting, but seem to linger with very little examination or depth. The main character having lost a daughter to some unnamed illness and being haunted by the memory of her during his stay in 1408 is certainly interesting, but this aspect of the character's history is used to manipulate it's audience to sympathize with his character more instead of being used to create a layer of depth to the film. The character also has some daddy issues even though the film doesn't bother to dwell on this any longer than probably 2 minutes. I feel I might be overly harsh for giving this film the same rating as Wild Hogs, but John Travolta's train wreck of a performance was at least a little amusing to behold while this film is an absolute bore despite being less brain-dead.
*1/2 out of ****
Monday, October 08, 2007
Oh Harry and Naomi...
Bug(dir. William Friedkin)
Main problem with this movie is that in order to get maximum enjoyment out of it, you have to at least think what this couple starts saying and thinking might be true even though it's obvious that they're off the wall bonkers. When a "doctor" comes into the picture, he reinforces what most of it's viewers were thinking: these people are fucking cuckoo. There are instances where it's hard to watch with a straight face just because of how ridiculous it can get like Peter hitting himself and practically having a seizure from trying to get the bugs off of him. I have to respect the film for being so willing to have it's protagonists go nuts despite most likely alienating most of it's audience and there's something of interest in watching the mental disintegration of these characters, but you just wish the film didn't expect it's audience to take it so seriously. It was ultimately decent.
**1/2 out of ****
Mulholland Dr.(dir. David Lynch)
This movie is simply unexplainable much like Inland Empire even though my review of that film consisted mainly of me using and abusing a pool metaphor. I'll try to explain it with a bunch of adjectives because that's what film criticism is mainly composed of. It's erotic. It's insane, but not as insane as Inland Empire. It's divine. It's a dream. It's a nightmare. It's beautiful. It's amazing. Naomi Watts gives easily one of the best performances an actress has ever given on celluloid. Watching the auditioning scene is simply exhilarating because of how forceful her performance is. Thank God, this movie's ending felt like a natural outgrowth of what preceded it because it would have been a shame to see this film fall apart like Inland Empire did. It's a masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Main problem with this movie is that in order to get maximum enjoyment out of it, you have to at least think what this couple starts saying and thinking might be true even though it's obvious that they're off the wall bonkers. When a "doctor" comes into the picture, he reinforces what most of it's viewers were thinking: these people are fucking cuckoo. There are instances where it's hard to watch with a straight face just because of how ridiculous it can get like Peter hitting himself and practically having a seizure from trying to get the bugs off of him. I have to respect the film for being so willing to have it's protagonists go nuts despite most likely alienating most of it's audience and there's something of interest in watching the mental disintegration of these characters, but you just wish the film didn't expect it's audience to take it so seriously. It was ultimately decent.
**1/2 out of ****
Mulholland Dr.(dir. David Lynch)
This movie is simply unexplainable much like Inland Empire even though my review of that film consisted mainly of me using and abusing a pool metaphor. I'll try to explain it with a bunch of adjectives because that's what film criticism is mainly composed of. It's erotic. It's insane, but not as insane as Inland Empire. It's divine. It's a dream. It's a nightmare. It's beautiful. It's amazing. Naomi Watts gives easily one of the best performances an actress has ever given on celluloid. Watching the auditioning scene is simply exhilarating because of how forceful her performance is. Thank God, this movie's ending felt like a natural outgrowth of what preceded it because it would have been a shame to see this film fall apart like Inland Empire did. It's a masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Sunday, October 07, 2007
Oh Mary Elizabeth Winstead...
Death Proof(dir. Quentin Tarantino)
This could be considered a religious movie if car chase-ism was considered a religion. In this film, speed is considered divine and cars are considered as holy vessels. The morality in this film is fairly simple: whoever is going fast is God and whoever tries to stop one from going fast is The Devil. There's only two chases in this film, but both are deeply emotional for the individuals involved much like a religious epiphany. Some could view this film as dull or boring because there's a lot of talk in it for a film that's sole purpose seems to be to have a kick ass car chase, but if car chases are to be considered religious epiphanies in this universe than it makes sense why there would be some build-up. Tarantino doesn't seem to strain too hard to make his dialogue "hip" in this, which might take some people off guard. Well, in the beginning with the first batch of girls, he seemed to strain, but after that part, it felt surprisingly natural. Sure, the dialogue is probably Tarantino's fantasy of what girls talk about when there's no guys around, but it's still refreshing to see him not trying too hard to impress his audience with "cool" dialogue. The first half with the first batch of girls feels like a totally different animal from the second half with the second batch of girls. It's going for a smutty feel, almost like a fully-clothed porno, but fails to titillate since the actresses aren't particularly good or attractive. Quentin Tarantino's cameo role is surprisingly not as horrible as you would expect given that his cameo role in Pulp Fiction almost completely ruined that movie. The whole love story with Jungle Julia and some record producer(not totally sure) through text-messaging was easily the dumbest portion of the film and I'd imagined wasn't given any focus in the Grindhouse cut because of it's stupidity. This part with the first batch is still watchable despite it's flaws especially since Kurt Russell's Stuntman Mike, who is charmingly creepy and sadistic, is given more focus in this portion. The second part is easily the better of the two since it's batch of actresses can act and are actually attractive. It's kind of amazing how Tarantino can make a bunch of girls just talking about nothing much actually compelling. It's easy to see how some didn't take to liking this film, but I found it invigorating. The role reversal near the end was relatively awkward since it happened so quickly. It's surprising to find Stuntman Mike a sympathetic character through this portion of the film given his actions. The end's apparent cheesy punching and kicking was off-putting because the rest of this portion was relatively grounded. Other than that, I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
This could be considered a religious movie if car chase-ism was considered a religion. In this film, speed is considered divine and cars are considered as holy vessels. The morality in this film is fairly simple: whoever is going fast is God and whoever tries to stop one from going fast is The Devil. There's only two chases in this film, but both are deeply emotional for the individuals involved much like a religious epiphany. Some could view this film as dull or boring because there's a lot of talk in it for a film that's sole purpose seems to be to have a kick ass car chase, but if car chases are to be considered religious epiphanies in this universe than it makes sense why there would be some build-up. Tarantino doesn't seem to strain too hard to make his dialogue "hip" in this, which might take some people off guard. Well, in the beginning with the first batch of girls, he seemed to strain, but after that part, it felt surprisingly natural. Sure, the dialogue is probably Tarantino's fantasy of what girls talk about when there's no guys around, but it's still refreshing to see him not trying too hard to impress his audience with "cool" dialogue. The first half with the first batch of girls feels like a totally different animal from the second half with the second batch of girls. It's going for a smutty feel, almost like a fully-clothed porno, but fails to titillate since the actresses aren't particularly good or attractive. Quentin Tarantino's cameo role is surprisingly not as horrible as you would expect given that his cameo role in Pulp Fiction almost completely ruined that movie. The whole love story with Jungle Julia and some record producer(not totally sure) through text-messaging was easily the dumbest portion of the film and I'd imagined wasn't given any focus in the Grindhouse cut because of it's stupidity. This part with the first batch is still watchable despite it's flaws especially since Kurt Russell's Stuntman Mike, who is charmingly creepy and sadistic, is given more focus in this portion. The second part is easily the better of the two since it's batch of actresses can act and are actually attractive. It's kind of amazing how Tarantino can make a bunch of girls just talking about nothing much actually compelling. It's easy to see how some didn't take to liking this film, but I found it invigorating. The role reversal near the end was relatively awkward since it happened so quickly. It's surprising to find Stuntman Mike a sympathetic character through this portion of the film given his actions. The end's apparent cheesy punching and kicking was off-putting because the rest of this portion was relatively grounded. Other than that, I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Oh William Talman...
The Hitch-Hiker(dir. Ida Lupino)
It starts off fine with showing the hitch-hiker killer's crimes that precedes the central crime, but it quickly becomes reluctant in it's doom and gloom. This man is ruthless in these crimes, but the central crime of taking these two men hostage almost seems to be conducted by another man. He's not ruthless, just coyly sadistic. He's easily the most memorable aspect of the film since the desert locales aren't exactly beautiful and the other characters are fairly one-dimensional, it's just that he's not as threatening as you would like. The film is suspenseful to a degree, it's just that you could easily imagine the film being much better if he was as ruthless as he was in the beginning. His idea of entertainment is particularly sadistic, but there's not enough of that in the picture to seem satisfying. The best moment could easily be the scene where he tells one of his hostages to drop a rock down a shaft, giving him the idea that is where he's going to dump his body after he kills him. It's this sense of doom that makes the film compelling, but as it ends, you feel it didn't go all the way with it's concept. There's very little sense of danger throughout the picture as scene after scene shows the killer doing everything in his power not to kill these men. This film is highly watchable, it's just disappointing. Now excuse me while I go reread A Good Man Is Hard To Find.
*** out of ****
It starts off fine with showing the hitch-hiker killer's crimes that precedes the central crime, but it quickly becomes reluctant in it's doom and gloom. This man is ruthless in these crimes, but the central crime of taking these two men hostage almost seems to be conducted by another man. He's not ruthless, just coyly sadistic. He's easily the most memorable aspect of the film since the desert locales aren't exactly beautiful and the other characters are fairly one-dimensional, it's just that he's not as threatening as you would like. The film is suspenseful to a degree, it's just that you could easily imagine the film being much better if he was as ruthless as he was in the beginning. His idea of entertainment is particularly sadistic, but there's not enough of that in the picture to seem satisfying. The best moment could easily be the scene where he tells one of his hostages to drop a rock down a shaft, giving him the idea that is where he's going to dump his body after he kills him. It's this sense of doom that makes the film compelling, but as it ends, you feel it didn't go all the way with it's concept. There's very little sense of danger throughout the picture as scene after scene shows the killer doing everything in his power not to kill these men. This film is highly watchable, it's just disappointing. Now excuse me while I go reread A Good Man Is Hard To Find.
*** out of ****
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Oh John & Lynne & Lynne & Jose...
Kill the Day(dir. Lynne Ramsay)
It tried to be compelling in it's vagueness, but it was more dull than mysterious. A junkie character can be interesting, but since he barely does anything remotely interesting, he's not interesting. The most interesting aspect about the character is the guilt-ridden memories he has from childhood. The film was still interesting in it's elliptical way. I recommend.
*** out of ****
Small Deaths(dir. Lynne Ramsay)
Pretty much perfect. It's amazing that this short film was made in the same year as the one above since this is much more accomplished artistically. I never understood why short films always have to be some gimmicky piece of shit or a condensed feature-length film. This shows that a truly great short film is one that is extremely simple yet mysterious. I loved how you see this girl's childhood and it all of a sudden jumps to her much bleaker present life. Highly recommended.
**** out of ****
Gasman(dir. Lynne Ramsay)
This is probably more technically accomplished than the previous film, but the previous film is still better. The concept of a child meeting her father's other family seems strangely intriguing and scary. The bit with the rock near the end seemed to be a little heavy-handed. It's as if it was trying to show the young character has learned to accept her previously unknown half-sister, but it felt like a cheap attempt at suspense. Other that that, it was really good.
***1/2 out of ****
Whirlpool(dir. Otto Preminger)
It felt fairly routine until the murder plot/case came around. Jose Ferrer is an intriguing villain. So charismatic that he has to be evil. He's easily the most compelling character in the picture. Without him, this would have only been decent. Gene Tierney's housewife is a little too housewife-y and Richard Conte's dedicated and respectable husband is a little too dedicated and respectable husband-y. Jose Ferrer's character brings a cynically Social Darwinistic outlook to the film that it really needs. This world needs a little corruption, without it, it might as well be Leave It to Beaver with kleptomania as it's subject of the week. Obviously, I have never seen an episode of Leave It to Beaver, but I've seen this. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
It tried to be compelling in it's vagueness, but it was more dull than mysterious. A junkie character can be interesting, but since he barely does anything remotely interesting, he's not interesting. The most interesting aspect about the character is the guilt-ridden memories he has from childhood. The film was still interesting in it's elliptical way. I recommend.
*** out of ****
Small Deaths(dir. Lynne Ramsay)
Pretty much perfect. It's amazing that this short film was made in the same year as the one above since this is much more accomplished artistically. I never understood why short films always have to be some gimmicky piece of shit or a condensed feature-length film. This shows that a truly great short film is one that is extremely simple yet mysterious. I loved how you see this girl's childhood and it all of a sudden jumps to her much bleaker present life. Highly recommended.
**** out of ****
Gasman(dir. Lynne Ramsay)
This is probably more technically accomplished than the previous film, but the previous film is still better. The concept of a child meeting her father's other family seems strangely intriguing and scary. The bit with the rock near the end seemed to be a little heavy-handed. It's as if it was trying to show the young character has learned to accept her previously unknown half-sister, but it felt like a cheap attempt at suspense. Other that that, it was really good.
***1/2 out of ****
Whirlpool(dir. Otto Preminger)
It felt fairly routine until the murder plot/case came around. Jose Ferrer is an intriguing villain. So charismatic that he has to be evil. He's easily the most compelling character in the picture. Without him, this would have only been decent. Gene Tierney's housewife is a little too housewife-y and Richard Conte's dedicated and respectable husband is a little too dedicated and respectable husband-y. Jose Ferrer's character brings a cynically Social Darwinistic outlook to the film that it really needs. This world needs a little corruption, without it, it might as well be Leave It to Beaver with kleptomania as it's subject of the week. Obviously, I have never seen an episode of Leave It to Beaver, but I've seen this. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****
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