What is Best in Life

Here are some two sentence reviews of the movies I watched in January.

Stats

• Movies watched – 33
• Movies that were new to me – 27
• Remakes and Sequels watched – 5 (counting Avatar)
• Monthly Masterpieces - Chloe in the Afternoon, La Collectionneuse, Pauline at the Beach, Viridiana

January 29

• Viridiana (1961)- Very deserving of its “all time best” status (they really don’t make em like this anymore), this is also one of the most cynical movies from a very cynical director.  I was constantly snorting in impressed disbelief at Bunuel’s thematic chutzpah.

January 28

• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) – I suppose it was interesting to take the comedic idea of spouting ridiculous one liners about “whore island” to a feature length extreme, but I found this pretty painful to get through.  I felt like it was one of those movies where those “in the know” assure you it really is funny, but when evaluated objectively it reveals itself to be pretty weak.

January 25

• A Serious Man (2009) – My initial reaction was that it was rather one note as it was pretty much just a movie about a spineless man watching his life slowly unravel.  But there was some interesting stuff going on with the Job story, the uncertainty principle and a truly cinematic final shot–or I could just be saying that because I hate admitting that I didn’t really ”get” a movie.

January 24

• Still Waiting… (2009) - Just like Waiting… except lazier and without all the characters that made the first one watchable. Unfunny and to make matters worse, the “unrated” version only had one shot of boobs.
• The Lady Vanishes (1938) - Fantastic early Hitchcock, probably second only to The Thirty Nine Steps out of his British work.  The story pushes plausibility at times (even though it all adds up at the end), but it’s never less than a rip roaring good time as Hitchcock effortlessly weaves together his brilliant set pieces and scintillating dialog.

January 23

• Waiting… (2005) - Sure, it’s just a bunch of spitting in food/dick jokes, but the male urge to show their genitals to one another has never been so fully explored.  Also, it’s pretty funny and Ryan Renolds has a real knack for taking an unlikeable character and making him likeable.
• Something Wild (1986) – It kind of played like a sweeter version of Scorsese’s After Hours, and was similarly well done.  The narrative might have wandered a bit, but it was always entertaining.

January 22

• Limits of Control (2009) - I’ll admit I probably didn’t get everything Jarmusch was going for here, but the narrative still felt rather thin.  There was some magnificent camerawork, and the film really did have a very nice dreamlike quality, I’m just not sure it needed two hours to get its point across.
• Aelita: Queen of Mars (1924) - Pretty minor silent film, of note for being an early science fiction film (though not the first by any means, Meles was doing “sci fi in funny hats” 2 decades earlier) and because of the hilarious workers revolution that was instigated among the martians.  Otherwise this was cinematically almost a decade behind the times, which made the Russian films of the next few years that much more impressive considering the late start Soviet cinema had (as evidenced here).
• El Alamein (2002) – Fairly standard war film, though it captured the feel (or at least what I assume was the feel) of the desert front from an Italian perspective quite well.  I found the day to day on the front lines stuff more compelling than the actual battles which were mostly chaos and explosions: realistic maybe, but not especially cinematic.

January 20

• Bad Lieutenant (1992) - A disgustingly seedy gem of a movie, I must admit I was rather blown away by this one.  And I’m not just talking about Keitel’s jaw dropping performance; as a film this was as daring a narrative as I have seen in recent years–helped to no small degree by the masterstroke ending that elevated the movie above mere voyeurism.

January 19

• Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009) - It played like a Herzog directed episode of The Shield as dreamt by David Lynch and starring a mugging Nicholas Cage, which is to say it was a bit of a thematic mess.  I have to admit I was pretty entertained anyway–there were some admirably bold moves, but unfortunately Herzog has lost too much of the narrative brilliance he once had to pull it all into a completely coherent whole.

January 18

• School of Rock (2003) – Two hours of Jack Black can be a bit much (I kind of prefer him in supporting roles like High Fidelity), but he really kind of grows on you in this above average (but still routine) “teacher and kids help each other find themselves” movie.  And don’t take the “routine” comment as a knock: aside from a few scattered shaky moments, I really had a pretty damn good time watching this.

January 16

• 2046 (2004) - Though full of much of the same magic as In the Mood For Love, I was a bit less impressed with this one due to its relative lack of focus.  Great stuff, but I suspect that (in this case at least) it might have been a bit better if Kar Wai had used a script.
• Pauline at the Beach (1983) - Probably Rohmer’s most accessible film (though European attitudes towards teenage sexuality will undoubtedly be offputting to American viewers), this was a supremely entertaining look at the games people play with their relationships.  My only complaint is that the insight is not quite as deep as in some of his other movies, but since no other director really comes close anyway, I suppose I can’t complain too much.

January 15

• The Falls (1980) - This was an incredibly impressive achievement that was like a hundred (well, 92 at least) movies crammed into one movie, with more than enough ideas to keep them all interesting. While it was kind of a chore getting through such a surfeit of information all at once, this has really stuck with me. 

January 14

• The Westerner (1940) -  Brennan was indeed great, but I felt like the portrayal of Judge Roy Bean was far too sympathetic in a movie that seemed unsure what tone it wanted to take.  A lot of good stuff made by a team of masters, but too thematically conflicted to really rise to the top for me.

January 13

• The Romance of Astrea and Celadon (2007) - Rohmer is very much in Smiles of a Summer Night (or Midsummer Night Sex Comedy) mode–not so much in story, but mood.  Of course, that’s right down my alley, and this turned out to be one of his best “historical” pieces–proving that at 87, the old dog still has it.

January 12

• La Captive (2000) - What a strange movie:  a man and a woman who both seem to have borderline mental illnesses shuffle through a bizarre, disconcerting relationship.  It was interesting, good points were raised about possession, trust and love, but overall I was not drawn in enough to completely recommend it.

January 11

• A Skater’s Debut (1905) - I am curious if this really was made in 1905, as this Max Linder short was sophisticated enough to have been created in the teens.  American Silent Comedy might have reigned during the teens and 20’s but this proved that France probably had the edge until then.
• La Collectionneuse (1967) - Rohmer’s first full length is definitely one of the all time great debuts as he effortlessly tells the story of two intellectuals who discover they are in over their heads with the “easy” nymph they share their house with.  The story was fascinating, the naturalistic performances amazing, and the girl absolutely mesmerizing.
• Chloe in the Afternoon (1972) - A simple story of a man’s urge to stray from his wife becomes a tale of what it is to be human and remain true to yourself.  Rohmer films inadvertantly inspire morality more than any work of art I can think of, and they are superlative cinema to boot.

January 10

• Ginger Snaps (2000) – I only got halfway through this before I had to leave, and I can’t say I was upset that I was going to miss the end.  I know this kind of film isn’t my thing, but it felt rather stupid and lazy– while the attempts at “artsy” camera stylistics and what I’m sure the filmmaker thought was a very clever “commentary” on puberty only made it more annoying.

January 9

• Four Months, Three Weeks and Two Days (2007) – Harrowing account of an illegal black market abortion in 1980’s Romania is about as fun as it sounds.  The insight was deep, the craft and performances flawless, but it’s yet another unpleasant movie that I can’t see myself wanting to watch again anytime soon.

January 8

• In the Loop (2009) – Kind of like those frantic newsroom comedies (and almost as cynical as His Girl Friday), this was pretty great.  The dialog was very clever if you were quick enough to catch it, and the film never stumbled once as it raced through the fast and furious conversations.
• Take Aim at the Police Van (1960) - Not as stylistically daring as Suzuki’s best work, but this was still a fine Japanese Noir with a lot of nice stylistic touches.  Interesting to see such a relaxed attitude towards portraying the seedier side of noir, which was also surprising since it was coming from a Japanese film.

January 7

• I Shot Jesse James (1949) – Fuller’s first film, and you can already tell he was destined for great things.  The first half was much stronger as Robert Ford dealt with the fallout of a very bad life decision, but I felt the final act was weaker when the story moved to Colorado for a silver mining interlude that wasn’t as compelling as the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

January 6

• Nine Queens (2000) – This take on the “con artist” movie was a whole hell of a lot of fun.  I can’t say there was anything original about it, but the script never paused for a breath and always kept you guessing.

January 4

• Avatar (2009) – The plot and dialog were only about average for a Hollywood action movie (which isn’t saying much), but the special effects were easily the best I’d ever seen making this at least worth checking out if that’s your thing.  Unfortunately the 3D, in addition to feeling distracting and gimmicky, constrained the depth of field to such a narrow range that it ended up feeling more 2D than a “normal” movie.

January 3

• Sherlock Holmes (2009) - Downey was good, the Watson characterization was a lot more measured than the trailer suggested and the fight scenes at least didn’t *completely* dominate things.  Still “just an action movie”, but an entertaining one at least.
• Up in the Air (2009) – Really quite good, a mainstream movie that never looks for an easy out to any of the questions of human interaction that it addresses.  If I had a complaint, it was that there were a number of minor climaxes towards the end that made the narrative seem to wander a bit.

January 2

• Shaun of the Dead (2004) – Quite funny, thought I suspect a “zombie movie” fan would appreciate it a lot more.  Still, the fart jokes alone were worth the price of admission.

January 1

• The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) - Beautifully shot, and at every moment it reminded you of the unquestionable genius and creativity of Orson Welles.  Which made it almost as heartbreaking as the story when it flew wildly off the rails in the final 20 minutes as the editing (at the hands of the studio attempting to cut 70 minutes from the movie) began to move like it was at the whim of a two year old intermittently pushing a fast forward button.