Oh Injuns...

Cheyenne Autumn(dir. John Ford)
He used this film as a way to atone for some of his sins as a filmmaker relating to the portrayal of Indians in his previous work and ended up making probably his most politically incorrect and offensive film to most viewers and fans today. I wasn't offended, but it's easy to understand how someone would be offended by the film and be unable to defend it as wholeheartedly as his earlier work because of the use of Latino actors for the roles of Indians. Maybe, during the time when films like Guess Who's Coming to Dinner were considered cutting edge socially conscious cinema, this was considered noble and important, but now, it's hard not to look at it with disdain for such a ridiculous move on the filmmakers' part. However, I can't look at the film too negatively mainly because of recent examples in cinema(Memoirs of a Geisha, I'm looking at you) that are even more offensive and ridiculous in their casting and given the time it was released, it's hard to criticize Ford's sentiment, even if the Indians are predictably portrayed as noble victims instead of full-rounded characters in the film. Being a Ford fan, the idea of a film directed by him with a truly epic running time is especially enticing and even if this film doesn't rank among his best work, it's still a fascinating watch much in the same way as a film like Southland Tales is. As a cohesive whole, it might not work as well as one would like, but for the sum of its parts like a memorable comedic interlude with James Stewart playing an amusingly apathetic Wyatt Earp, it definitely warrants a watch. I recommend.
*** out of ****

Oh 1964...

1964
1. Woman in the Dunes(dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara)
2. Pale Flower(dir. Masahiro Shinoda)
3. Dr. Strangelove(dir. Stanley Kubrick)
4. The Pawnbroker(dir. Sidney Lumet)
5. The Naked Kiss(dir. Samuel Fuller)
Band of Outsiders(dir. Jean-Luc Godard)

Need to see: I Am Cuba, Mary Poppins(rewatch), The Red Desert, Marnie, A Hard Day's Night, Blood and Black Lace, A Fistful of Dollars, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Onibaba, Kwaidan, Intentions of Murder, Goldfinger, Fail-Safe, and more...

Oh Bob Dylan and Some Japanese Composer...

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid[2005 cut](dir. Sam Peckinpah)
I wasn't a big fan of The Wild Bunch, which is the only film directed by Peckinpah I've had the pleasure to see. Much like Seven Samurai, a film I personally feel is overrated, it's overlong and contains a group of individuals that are never feel fully fleshed out even when all the time spent before their respective "showdown" is supposed to be time for "character development," but their characters never end up making a dent presence-wise so the time spent "developing" them mainly numbs the mind. This film, however, is simply incredible. It's the best revisionist western I've ever seen. I'd imagine seeing an earlier cut might change my mind about Peckinpah's genius with this film since this cut was made by people "following" Peckinpah's wishes even though they essentially overrode "his vision" and constructed, from what I've read, a tighter and better film. While The Wild Bunch was mainly an ugly vision of the old west, this is an elegiac vision filled with both beauty as well as ugliness, but mainly beauty. I dare anyone to watch Slim Pickens' character's death and not be moved by it's awe-inspiring poetry. The picture is nihilistic but in a more subtle and invigorating way than say No Country for Old Men. Both films focus on death, but this film's ability to make a peripheral character's death like Slim Pickens' seem monumentally tragic yet inevitable shows what's truly wrong with that film. I fucking love this.
**** out of ****
Pale Flower(dir. Masahiro Shinoda)
It doesn't come close to some of Seijun Suzuki's yakuza masterpieces, but that doesn't mean it's not invigorating and plus it doesn't even attempt to operate in the same realm as his films. It mainly plays ike Albert Camus' The Stranger with a hint of In a Lonely Place and Kiss Me Deadly set in Japan and with a yakuza instead of some French dude. I don't know why I was reminded of Kiss Me Deadly. Maybe all the car imagery? I guess In a Lonely Place is more apt with it's car imagery especially in concern with the whole speeding scene in this film reminding me of Bogart's character's speeding scene in that film except the one found here is more playful and harmless. This film is also nihilistic much like the picture above, but it's nihilism is viewed through the prism of a doomed and unfulfilled romance instead of a man trying to adapt to his harsh environment by basically selling his soul. It's not nearly as tragic as In a Lonely Place mainly because their romance never truly blossoms and disintegrates like the one found in that film, just the chance of it disintegrates. The main characters in this film and the one above both use killing almost as a form of spiritual suicide and subsequently a form of survival and coping. While the film above is more moving, it's hard to look at this film and label it as a minor work of any kind. Sure, it's not as intense and memorable as Double Suicide or the film above, but it still makes for a really good watch. I highly recommend.
***1/2 out of ****

Oh "Charlie"...

The Naked Kiss(dir. Samuel Fuller)
Utterly cinematic. Great moments throughout. The scene where we find out the secret to her fiance is extremely haunting and actually handled amazingly well by Fuller, who steers to almost camp with other situations similar to this one. "Charlie" gives an especially nuanced performance. It kind of gets clunky near the end, but it still remained highly compelling.
**** out of ****
Happy Feet(dir. George Miller)
Too long. Animation shouldn't run this long because the stories are usually very simple and can't really last an almost two hour running time. It had moments that were nice and the political message was quite refreshing in an animated film. If it was shorter, it would have been way more enjoyable.
**1/2 out of ****