Oh Shaving...

Film:
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle(dir. Alan Rudolph)
After the artistic misfire that was Welcome to L.A., I simply had to watch another film directed by Rudolph to wash away the sour aftertaste that film left and while it was successful in helping me forget about how horrible that film was, it still doesn't redeem my faith in the director completely. The film has some of the same problems that that film had like a narrative that is sometimes stagnant during long stretches of time and has so many characters that it doesn't really know what to do with all of them, but this film is much better acted and doesn't become as frustratingly redundant as that film. The film is very much centered on Jennifer Jason Leigh's performance, which I was not overly fond of. It's convincing enough and while I'm no expert on Dorothy Parker, it just seemed fairly surface-oriented. The whole story is probably supposed to be more tragic than I thought it was because I mainly didn't really have much sympathy for her character because she led a fairly superficial life and was a bit too mopey for my tastes. Out of all the actors in the film, Lili Taylor stuck out the most in terms of presence, which I find surprising since her character was about as minor as you could possibly get. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Escape From New York(dir. John Carpenter)
I wasn't really into the film until they introduced the spiked baseball bats and trashcan top shields in the "arena" scene, which definitely lives up to its promise. There's no denying that Snake Plissken is a bad ass, but throughout most of the film's running time, I was frankly bored. I, however, thought it made up for the boredom I experienced with its final 15 minutes or so. I recommend.
*** out of ****
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street(dir. Tim Burton)
There were kids in the screening of it I attended and it seemed like they had a better time with it than I did probably because it reminded me of something along the lines of a bloody version of a Disney cartoon with some of the most unlively musical numbers I've ever seen and I don't really "get off" on fake gushing blood like they most likely do. I think the film's biggest flaw was the fact that the musical numbers were dully staged and the lead actors don't have all that terrific voices. I'm sure the non-film version of the musical is a sight to behold, but Burton mainly shot his actors standing around singing instead of really attempting to do anything enticing visually with these numbers. It would have probably been better if it wasn't a musical at all. The best number was easily the one with Sasha Baron Cohen because the film has a wicked sense of humor and that was perhaps the most humorous portion of the film. I'm assuming that the film is a truncated version of the original musical since the story doesn't feel like it's all that fleshed out and therefore, not as engaging as it could have been. I slightly recommend.
**1/2 out of ****
Music:
Shout Out Louds - Our Ill Wills
Their sound is perhaps a little too indebted to The Cure. Nothing really striking about the album, but it's a decent enough listen.
**1/2 out of ****
The National - Boxer
What was all the fuss about? It's certainly listenable, but it's definitely no masterpiece.
**1/2 out of ****

Oh Oates and Carrandine...

The Shooting(dir. Monte Hellman)
I have never seen a film with expansive American desert as it's backdrop that felt so claustrophobic. The whole experience is one of disorientation with Hellman sometimes transitioning from a scene in an abrupt and perplexing manner. Much like the film's protagonist, the viewer has to always be on his/her toes since the journey is unexpected yet somehow feels entirely premeditated. The film's setting is really the star of the film and not Warren Oates, who still gives a good performance despite not being the star. It's shot in such a fashion that makes it so drab and unflattering that it makes all the recent films set in the desert look childish in comparison. The desert truly looks like purgatory, waiting to suffocate it's inhabitants. The editing of it's fatalistic ending is haunting in it's sun-drenched and off-beat rhythm. This is how you make an existential western. It's a masterpiece.
**** out of ****
Welcome to L.A.(dir. Alan Rudolph)
At first, it was sort of charming in it's romantic Altman-esque tapestry, but as it went along, you quickly realize how much of a master Altman was with juggling the characters and progressing the narratives in his films. The film just eventually became as aimless as its characters' love lives. Keith Carradine could be considered the main character and he essentially plays his womanizing character from Nashville in a less despicable manner with no mustache, just goatee. The whole film feels like a sub-par Nashville with characters that never feel wholly etched out and music that starts off fine but quickly becomes grating because of its repetitive sounding quality and it being overused past the point of tolerance. The film became repetitious and basically went nowhere. It has no idea what to do with it's vast repertoire of characters other than having them sometimes hook up with each other. It was bad.
*1/2 out of ****

Motherload...

Afterglow(dir. Alan Rudolph)
*** out of ****
Zorn's Lemma(dir. Hollis Frampton)
** out of ****
United 93(dir. Peter Greengrass?)
**** out of ****
Harlan County USA(dir. Barbara Kopple)
**** out of ****
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul(dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
*** out of ****
La Jetee(dir. Chris Marker)
**** out of ****
The Scarecrow(dir. Buster Keaton)
**** out of ****
Not sure(dir. Buster Keaton)
*** out of ****
Gates of Heaven(dir. Errol Morris)
**** out of ****
Diary of a Country Priest(dir. Robert Bresson)
**** out of ****
Harakiri(dir. Masaki Kobayashi)
Better than any Kurosawa I've seen.
**** out of ****
Cafe Lumiere(dir. Hou-Hsian Hsiang?)
Loved it.
**** out of ****
Killing of a Chinese Bookie[78 cut](dir. John Cassavetes)
**** out of ****
Shadows(dir. John Cassavetes)
**** out of ****
Down by Law(dir. Jim Jarmusch)
**** out of ****
The Marriage of Maria Braun(dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
**** out of ****

The Verdicts

The Sacrifice(dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
It achieved a dream-like feel better than probably any movie I have ever seen. The story is kind of vaguely told which helps create this feel. The way the lines were delivered were very soothing almost like music. They say this is his most Bergmanesque film which I kind of understand since the characters feel like they baring their souls and are very venerable. I however actually loved this film unlike any of the Bergman films I have seen.
**** out of ****
Little Miss Sunshine(dir. ?)
I think I realize now that I am a sucker for films about "dysfunctional" families. The Royal Tenenbaums is probably my favorite movie and thats all about a "dysfunctional" family. This film is amazingly funny, but in a way that is both intelligent and emotional. It shows a family coming together on a vacation through hardships and bad situations and plays it for laughs. It seems very honest and I loved it.
Night on Earth(dir. Jim Jarmusch)
Taxi Cab Confessions as done by Jim Jarmusch. This is my second favorite by him because the stories are interesting and funny. It is most like Mystery Train in the sense it is a collection of stories. This however has a constitent quality to it compared to Mystery Train where the first story was the best one and the others were lacking.
**** out of ****
The Long Goodbye(dir. Robert Altman)
This could be considered an anti-noir just like McCabe & Mrs. Miller is considered an anti-western. I have very similar feelings to this as I do for McCabe & Mrs. Miller. I thought it was really good, but its not as good as some of his other work. Elliot Gould is still the man so that makes it even better than McCabe.
**** out of ****
Choose Me(dir. Alan Rudolph)
Alan Rudolph was Robert Altman's assistant director on the film above. I thought that was interesting since it was unintentional that I would watch this movie after I've seen the film above. It feels like Altman made a romantic film and this is the product. It was definately alot better than his other film I saw called The Secret Life of Dentists. I loved it.
**** out of ****