Movie #112 Diabolique *1955*

Simone Signoret - Nicole Horner
Vera Clouzot - Christina Delassalle
Paul Meurisse - Michel Delassalle
Henri-Georges Clouzot (Director)

What a great surprise!  I was in the mood for some modern, light horror tonight.  I have had this film on my Netflix Streaming account for a while.  For some reason I was thinking it was an American horror film from the 70's.  Boy was I wrong.  I guess I should pay more attention to the synopsis.  But in this case I am glad I didn't or I wouldn't have selected this film.  As a matter of fact after the first 5 minutes I almost shut it off.  Not because it was bad, I just wasn't in the mood for a foreign film.

This film, made in 1955, is a French production.  It is less horror than psychological thriller.  It is the story of an abusive boys school principal.  Both his wife and his mistress work at the school and they are fully aware of each other.  The male, Michel, is not only abusive to the children, but to both of the women in his life.  Headed by the mistress, Christina they make up and follow through on a plan to murder Michel by drowning him in a bathtub then disposing the body in the murky school pond.  When the pool is drained however the body is missing!  Strange events begin to happen around the school and the town within.

This is one creepy, scary film.  I would whole heartedly recommend this movie to any horror enthusiast.  Now I might loose a few friends in doing so (not all my friends take kindly to 1950's French cinema).  I loved that at the end of the film there is a plea to please not tell your friends what happen during the movie.  It is a film that is centered around a major plot twist.

One issue for me was the pace at which the sub titles appear and disappear on screen.  I am a slow reader and there is a lot of talking.  This means that I spend a lot of time reading and not as much time appreciating the shots and camera work.  I was able to notice all types of scenes that must have been totally stolen by later films from this one.  I really enjoyed one shot in particular from inside the empty pool shot upwards at Nicole.

WOW!  I was surfing IMDB just now and saw that there is a remake of this film with Sharron Stone as the wife and Chazz Palminteri as the abusive principal.  I've never seen that movie, but it sounds horrible.  Kathy Bates, Spalding Gray and JJ Abrams all have small roles in it.  That is simply bizarre.

This film is available through Criterion Collection.  Gotta love it when you are totally and pleasantly surprised.  I give this film a 4/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #111 Black Swan *2010*

All last week I spent with my girlfriend while I was on vacation.  That is how I managed to cram about 12 films into a week span.  Friday night we went to see Black Swan.  I saw this film a few months ago (Movie #59).  I went back and read my review of the movie and I have to say that it is one of my better reviews.

My special lady enjoyed the film up to one point where *minor spoiler alert* Natalie Portman's character, Nina goes through a physical transformation involving her legs.  This scene/effect made my girlfriend laugh out loud.  Other than that she seemed to be totally into the film.

There was something about watching the movie with my girlfriend in attendance that made the sex scenes seems racier and tawdry, but in a good way.  I think that is what Aronofsky was going for.

None of the performances really stood out anymore upon a second viewing.  I still think Portman will take home the Oscar for her performance.  I guess Barbra Hershey was even more sadistic when I really think back about it.

I spent the rest of the time looking in all the mirrors for signs of the camera.  It is AMAZING that there is no camera anywhere in this film. I am sure that they had to be taken out digitally, but I couldn't see where they did it at all.

My original rating or 4.5/5 stars stands for this film.

I just saw the trailer for Kevin Smith's "Red State". It looks.....interesting?

Cold Weather Trailer 2011 HD

This is the first movie of 2011 that I am really excited to see. Check out the trailer and let me know what you think.

Movie #110 Open Range *2003*

Robert Duvall - Boss Spearman
Kevin Costner - Charley Waite
Annette Bening - Sue Barlow
Michael Gambon - Denton Baxter

A few weeks ago MSN.com listed its Top 10 Greatest Westerns of all Time.  I suppose this is in response to the surprise popularity of The Coen Brothers True Grit.  Open Range made their list.  It was the only one of the ten that I hadn't seen.  I have to say that I think the people at MSN should be drug out in the street and shot like they would do in the western films of yesterday.

Top 10 lists are difficult to formulate.  It is made even worse when it is done by committee (which is how I think the MSN article was formulated).  You should take into account the entire body of work that you plan on ranking (many of which you haven't seen).  Do you try to appeal to a broad audience?  If that is the case you need your list to be varied and broad.  Is it a list of favorites, or a true list to the "best".  Here is the MSN list:

True Grit *2010* Too soon to see how this film fits in to such a rich catalogue of westerns.
Stagecoach - Belongs on the list
My Darling Clementine - They are showing how well versed they are by adding this little seen film by John Ford.  It is the retelling of the shootout at the OK Corral.  Tombstone was better.
Shane - The quintessential western.  It contains all the themes and commentary of the western genre
The Searches - Belongs on the list
The Wild Bunch - They had to get a spaghetti western on the list, or close to it
McCabe and Mrs Miller - They had to add a revisionist western
Dances with Wolves - Not even a western
Unforgiven - Great film.  Belongs on the list
Open Range - Good movie, but shouldn't be anywhere near a top 10 list.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - One for the art house crowd. "Look at how smart we are".

Here are my opinions on their list are the comments in red.

As for Open Range it is a solid movie, but not great.  Costner and Bening didn't work for me as old west characters and their romance sub plot felt injected.  Robert Duvall is one of American greatest treasures.  Take a look at his IMDB profile.  The films he was in and the roles he has played helped shape the better part of the last 50 years.  He does not disappoint here.  He is a cowboy.

The film is about cattlemen that allow their stock to run free and graze.  This angers a local rancher who owns the town sheriff and enough gunmen to cause trouble for Costner and Duvall and their 2 young cattle hands.  Bening is the sister to the town doctor.

At first I thought this was going to be a paint by the numbers western.  It does evolve above that.  The scenery is nice, but it looks too clean and staged.  Costner is the director of the movie.  I think he wanted everything to look pretty.  I prefer my westerns gritty.  There is a shootout at the end of the movie that was well staged and executed. 

The movie starts slow and ends slow but I would say there is enough in-between to make this a worthy film.  I would give Open Range a 3/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

I guess I would be amiss if I didn't list my Top 10 Greatest Westerns after all the guff I gave MSN.  So here we go:

Unforgiven
Tombstone
The Searchers
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Once Upon a Time in the West
Rio Bravo
The Magnificent Seven
Shane
Red River
Hud
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The Wild Bunch
Duck you Sucker

LONG LIVE JOHN WAYNE!

Movie #109 The Maltese Falcon *1941*

I'm going to start trying something new.  I am sick of trying to decide how to discuss who is in every film I watch.  So I am going to start beginning my blogs with a quick rundown of the major players.  From then on I can refer to them in my actual review however I want.

Humphrey Bogart - Sam Spade
Mary Astor - Brigid O'Shaughnessy
Peter Lorre - Joel Cairo
Sydney Greenstreet - Mr. Gutman
Elisha Cook Jr - Wilmer Cook

The Maltese Falcon is an iconic movie about the gumshoe detective Sam Spade.  A role Bogey made famous.  This is a Raymond Chandler-esque story based on the book by Dashell Hammett.  The film is directed by the great John Huston.  These old films don't have a uniquely significant photographic style, but that doesn't mean that they are in any way of lesser quality. Nor should it mean that the direction isn't top notch.  Huston chose not to make the camera a character the way newer film makers do.  Wes Anderson I'm looking at you

Falcon is a twisting, turning tale of deceit, murder and false idols.  There is not much behind the scenes in these old yarns.  The story is all up on the screen.  This isn't a meditation on love and false ideology.  This is a straight forward chronicle, but it is one where no one can be trusted.  There is no narrator and if there was to be one you would have to assume that he would be as unreliable as every other character in the film.

At the movie's surface it is a story about a missing bird statue that is of significant value.  In reality the bird is really a mcguffin.  That is to say that the bird is the plot device that the actual story revolves around.  That is one of a Brigid putting Spade on the case of a missing person.  Because of this his partner gets murdered and he gets swept up in a world of international intrigue and betrayal.

For the most part the performances are good.  I found Brigid a little difficult to get a real read on.  Maybe that was the point, but would of appreciated a little more to hold on when it came to her.  Of course Bogart was perfect.  Personally I love Peter Lorre.  I have never seen a bad performance from him.  The supporting character that really stood out to me was Cook. 

This is a must see film.  I give The Maltese Falcon a 4.5/5 stars.  Time flew by when I watched this film.  I could have actually stood another 30 minutes of the movie.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #108 The Kings Speech *2010*

When it comes to Old English I prefer the malt liquor over the films. 

That is to say films about the royal family or the monarchy in any way.  It's just topic that I have very little interest in.  I am pleased to say that The Kings Speech was able to lure me in and keep me interested through out.

The Kings Speech is about King George VI.  Or at least the man that would be king.  Bertie as he was called by his family, had a sputter.  Not quite a stutter, but a serious speech impediment.  He was to take the throne as just the beginning of the rise of Hitler and his Nazi Party.  England needed a king that could bond and inspire.  Bertie and his wife decided to seek the assistance of a quirky speech therapist that would eventually become an aid and friend to the king.

I am not sure what it is that keeps me at an arms length when it comes to films about royalty.  Maybe it's that I can't relate to the privilege or the divine right.  These movies are generally lush, lavish costume dramas.  The Kings Speech does not rely on its setting to interest its viewers, although I did find the stripped down sets and locations a refreshing change of pace.  It is the performances that really shine in the movie for me.

I have heard a lot of buzz about Colin Firth and his portrayal of Bertie and for good reason.  He is fantastic.  I don't know much about his condition, but the sputter seems well crafted.  Helena Bonham Carter is wonderfully understated as his wife.  Geoffrey Rush shined more than anyone to me as the Australian therapist.  A role that isn't getting the accolades that I think it deserves.  Yes, he plays it for laughs.  But I don't think that should be a negative.  He helps keep the tone and pace of the film just right.  That is something that I don't think was written into the script.

The film is directed by Tom Hooper.  A name that I was not familiar with.  he has mostly done British television.  His other major film credit is the director of 2009's The Dammed United.  A film that I haven't seen, but heard good things.  I am looking forward to what he does next. 

The Kings Speech is getting a lot of focus around awards season.  It does have all the qualifications.  The Academy loves costume dramas, over-the-top performances, stories about people overcoming physical disabilities, and so forth.  I was aware of this as I was watching the film, but I felt that it overcame that stereotype and was a fully realized and executed film.

In closing, this movie only strengthened my resolve against The Church.  Towards the end of the movie The Catholic Church begins to play a more important role in the film.  I don't think the intent was to frustrate or enrage the viewer, but it certainly did just that for me.  Overall I give The Kings Speech a  4/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #107 Enter the Void *2010*

I am apparently more of a masochist than I thought.

First Dogtooth then this.

Enter the Void is the third film from director Gaspar Noe.  I reviewed Irreversible (Movie #88) his second film and declared it a masterpiece.  I stick to that comment.  Noe has again returned to the visual well that made that film so successful.

Unfortunately it didn't quite work me me as much this time around.  I thought at first that he was just recycling the same camera techniques in a new surrounding.  But that was not the case by the end of the movie.  Enter the Void is about a young American man living in Tokyo making a living as a drug dealer.  He gets enough money together to move his sister in with him.  She arrives and gets a job as a stripper working for a sleaze bag to her brothers chagrin.

The two of them were being driven around by their parents when they were children when the car was hit head on by a semi truck and they witnessed first hand their parents brutal death.  After that they were taken to separate foster homes. 

During a drug deal gone wrong the protagonist get shot by the police and killed.  The last 90 minutes of this movie is being told through his "souls" perspective as it floats over Tokyo watching all of the filth and repulsive behavior.

The entire movie is shown through the first person technique.  Complete with blinking and acid trips.  Once Oscar dies, his soul has flashbacks where the camera is placed behind him and her relives the events of his youth.  Mostly the negative ones.

During the early part of the film Oscars friend gives him a copy of "The Tibetan Book of the Dead" which deals largely with the existence of the soul and reincarnation.

The last hour of this movie is a meandering mess.  I was bored out of my mind.  I kept checking the clock to see when it was going to end.  There is A LOT to look at.  Noe's Tokyo is a neon psychedelic wonderland.  But that was not enough for me to over look the total lack of a plot.  I usually like a film that dissects the traditional narrative structure (Irreversible is a great example) but this film became rambling and incoherent.

The acting was really weak as well. The good friend of Oscar is decent, but that is about all I had to hold on and he doesn't demand a lot of screen time.  There was a lot of pestilence for pestilence sake too.  There is a graphic abortion scene and segments of explict and taboo sex acts that didn't do anything to move the film along.  Shock should not be a substitute for sustenance.

***SPOILER ALERT***  At the end of the film, Oscar's soul decided to be reincarnated as his sisters and best friends baby.  This point is driven home by the camera moving into the woman's vagina.  At this point we can see the head of the friends penis being shoved in and out until ejaculation is reached.  We then follow the stream of fluid through her anatomy until we reach an egg where it is penetrated and we are whooshed out of the womb as a baby ready to suckle at the tit of Oscars sister.

In closing, this movie has moments of genius.  From a visual and special effects standpoint Noe can not be touched.  However, he needs an editor.  This movie is almost 2.5 hours long.  at least an hour longer than it needed to be.  I have mad respect for Noe's bravery and vision, but I also have ZERO intentions of every watching this movie again.  I give Enter the Void a 2.5/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

And a total side note:  The opening credit sequence is an assault on the eyes and ears of the viewer.  I highly recommend checking them out on YouTube!

Movie #106 Dogtooth *2010*

My Big Fat Greek Messed Up Family.

Dogtooth is a Greek film that is in competition for the Best Foreign  Film Oscar this year.  When I read that yesterday my eyes almost fell out of my head.  This is not the typical Oscar film.  Pardon me if my review of this film is weak.  It is a difficult movie to discuss and sometime even watch.  I did enjoy this movie, but in a twisted way.

Dogtooth centers around a family that lives in an isolated location in Greece.  Their home has a large wooden fence around it.  The only way in or out is through the main gate.  The family consists of a father that drives everyday to a generic factory where he has a generic job.  A house mother, two daughters that are not twins, but look very similar, and a son.  The children are in their late teens.  So far so good.  Nothing out of the norm. 

The children have never been outside the houses perimeter.  The parents have told them that the outside would is evil and disease is rampant.  They are completely cut off from any and all exposure to the world around them.  No TV, no radio, no computer or Internet, no print media, nothing.  No one enters the house with the exception of a coworker to the father that he brings in to satisfy his sons sexual desires.  All this seems to be an attempt to shelter their children from "bad" things.  As I have explained this film to my girlfriend and another friend their comment was "kind of like The Village".  This movie makes M. Night Shyamalan's The Village look like a Disney film.

This rouse goes so far as to assign false names to things that they might deem unacceptable.  For example; when the daughter asks what a knife is the mother tells her a knife is a bright shiny light.  Like a tiny light bulb.  When asked what a phone is (in an attempt to hide the existence of telecommunications) the father tells the children that a phone is a salt shaker.  The son later asks the mother to pass the phone over diner.

The down side to sheltering children from all evil is that they have no conscience of bad behavior.  At one point the son steals a small plane toy from one of the daughters.  She in return grabs a large kitchen knife and slashes his arm open.  As you can imagine this plan starts to fall apart.  The sexual surrogate begins to trade goods for oral sex with one of the daughters.  She in turn then silicates oral sex from her own sister for the right to play with toys. 

This is a sick and twisted movie.  It has moments of parental approved incest, vicious beatings with bloody outcomes, child abuse both mental and physical, as well as a cat murder, moments of pornography and dementia.  The daughters play a game where they both take a cloth, douse it with anesthesia, and cover their own faces.  The first one to wake up wins! 

Even with all the madness and perversion, it managed to charm and intrigue me.  This is not a movie that I am in a rush to watch a second time and I would not recommend this film to anyone, but that doesn't mean that I didn't like it.  I did.  And I give the Academy credit for selecting a film not in their wheelhouse to award a nomination to.  I can't wait to see the montage on Oscar night.  I give Dogtooth a 4/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #105 His Girl Friday *1940*

His Girl Friday is a movie staring Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell as a divorced couple.  He the editor of a newspaper and her a former reporter for that paper.  At the start of the movie Russell (Hildy) informs Grant (Walter) that is planing to marry the sweet and simple insurance salesman Bruce, played by Ralph Bellamy.  Walter then puts all his resources to making sure that doesn't happen.  It is unclear if he still possess true feelings for her, or if in the cut-throat world of newspaper journalism, he doesn't want to loose his best writer.

This movie is written in a rapid paced vernacular that is often imitated but rarely duplicated.  The banter between Grant and Russell has no equal in my opinion.  It is zinger after zinger.  It's not just the pace of the speech either.  It is what is being said.  They reveal their true feeling for each other thought flirty side comments and almost hidden cue's.

Another reason this is a great film is the way it represents journalism, particularly in the 30's and 40's.  I mentioned before that it is cut-throat, that statement is not to be taken lightly.  You get a feeling that some of these reporters would literally sell their mothers for the scoop.  As a matter of fact Hildy allows her fiance to be incarcerated 3 times during the course of the movie as well as allowing her would be mother-in-law to be kidnapped.  All this for the story.  It reminded me a lot of what celebrities, athletes and politicians go through both professionally and personally.

This movie is directed by the great Howard Hawks.  It has a few visual flourishes, but for the most part Hawks stays out of the way and lets Grants charm, Grant and Russell's chemistry and a wonderful script do the talking for this movie.  I give His Girl Friday a 4.5/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #104 Killers Kiss *1955*

Killers Kiss is a Stanley Kubrick film. 

That is almost a review in its self.  If you know me or you have read some of my blogs you probably know that I consider Kubrick to be one of if not the greatest director of the 20th century.  His films set the golden standard in almost every kind of genre there is.  2001, Dr. Strangelove, Full Metal Jacket, A clockwork Orange, The Shining, Barry Lyndon, ect.

Killers Kiss is a film noir that centers around a down and out boxer that meets a beautiful blond and falls in love with her.  They plan on skipping town and getting away from their miserable lives.  They only have to collect their final paychecks from his manager and the owner of the dance club where she works.  Of course at this point there is some mistaken identify, missing money, a murder, a kidnapping, a anti-heroic rescue and all the other tropes of the noir genre.

The difference is the distance that Kubrick keeps from his characters .  You aren't really meant to feel a real drive to see these two succeed.  The story is told in flashbacks from the perspective of the boxer while he waits for a train to take him out of town alone.

This is Kubricks first feature.  Is all his mastery present?  No.  But glimpses can be seen.  He improves a great deal with his next film.  Another noir called The Killing staring Sterling Hayden.  Killers Kiss is only 70 minutes long.  You can probably watch it while your special lady is getting ready to go out.

It reminded me a lot of a movie I like a little better called Requiem for a Heavyweight staring Anthony Quinn and a great performance from Jackie Gleason.  It is the story of a boxer that is down on his luck and with the help of a woman he tries to improves his life.  This movie is a downer, but I love it.

Killers kiss is a totally adequate movie.  That is pretty sorry by Kubrick's standards.  I will give Killers Kiss a 3/5 stars.  It is worth seeing to get just a glimpse of the master gaining his footing.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #103 Samurai Rebelion *1967*

I love Samurai films!

*SPOILER ALERT* This is not a samurai film.  Well, that is not entirely true.  Samurai Rebellion is a late comer in the samurai movie genre.  Directed by Masaki Kobayashi and staring a Toshiro Mifune that is in the Autumn of his years, Samurai Rebellion is a kitchen sink drama set in imperial Japan.  This is royalty melodrama.  The Lord of the community kicks a woman out of his castle due to insubordination despite the fact that she bore him a son.  She is commanded to marry a commoner although neither party wanted to.

Once the woman and man get together they find that they love each other deeply.  A wonder to the man's husband.  He who himself was forced into a planned marriage and who never felt love from or for his wife of 20 years.  The young couple also produce a daughter.

Two years after the marriage of the common man and the lords refugee, the oldest son in the castle dies unexpectedly.  The lord then attempts to force the common family to hand over the very woman it dis-guarded 2 years ago in order to have the new heir to the throne's mother in the castle.  The young husband and his father refuse to hand over the woman despite the wishes of the rest of the family and community.  This will bring a battle to the front steps of their house. 

I say this is a kitchen sink drama like those of the British new wave of the 60's because there is a lot of talking and not much action.  The final 20 minutes of the film contains the only battles or sword fighting.  At first I held this against the film.  I wanted to see more sword play from a film called Samurai Rebellion.  But as I look back on it I wish that more current films (and especially American movies) had this much well written drama with stakes this high.

Allow me to sing the praises of Toshiro Mifune for a moment.  I will have to join the back of a long line of film critics and cinephiles in order to do so.  Mifune is the protagonist of many of the great Kurasawa films like Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Throne of Blood and Roshomon.  Usually I find his acting style a little too "kabuki" for me.  That is to say a little to theatrical or big.  The characters I have see him portray have always been larger than life and that put me off a little.  In this film however I felt that he was perfect.  A henpecked, sad sack of a man that finally sees what love looks like through his son's eyes.  At this point both father and son have an epiphany and in a way they both become "men" at the same time.

This is a great movie for a snowy or rainy day.  Get some popcorn, plop down on the couch and enjoy a Shakespearean story told through the eyes of a samurai.  I give Samurai Rebellion a 4/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #102 Flame and Citron *2008*

Flame and Citron is a Danish film released in 2008.  It is a WWII film.  It deals with a group of Dutch civilians that form a united resistance to Hitler's Nazi party.  This group is lead by two men who's code names are Flame and Citron.

This film is based on actual events and the two title character are considered hero's in Denmark.  This film reminded me of the German film "The Lives of Others".  It had a very similar visual style.  The colors were bright, but soft on the edges.  The cinematography is great in this film.  As are the locations.  It is a beautiful film to look at and it is carefully directed. 

I really enjoyed this movie.  The lead actors are Thure Lindhardt as Flame (the red haired assassin) and Mads Milkkelsen as Citron (a family man disgusted by National Socialism).  Mads has been in several films that American audiences can see him in.  Lindhardt no so much and that is a shame.  Both actors were great in their roles respectively.  Another great performance came from Stine Stengade as a femme fatal that you never really can tell who's side she is on.  She is a true beauty on screen.  I instantly added a few of her films to my Netflix queue.

That is one of the great things about this movie.  You never know who is telling the truth and what is right and what is wrong.  I have never been a war situation, but I think this film captures the confusion that goes along with wanting to do the right thing, but not always knowing how to.  In that matter it reminds me a little of last years The Hurt Locker.

At worst this is another WWII film, but one told from a perspective I had never seen before.  At its best, it is a spy thriller for the ages.  I give Flame and Citron a 4/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #101 Fearless *1993*

This movie really hooked me from the start.  It is about Max Klein (Jeff Bridges) and how he not only survives a plane crash, he helps several other passengers survive.  The movie opens just at the aftermath of the crash.  max is seen holding a baby in one hand and the hand of a small child in the other.  The scene is made all the more surreal by an erie score.  Max then feels like he may have died in the crash.

The film also stars Rosie Perez as a passenger that lost her child in the crash.  She become excessively depressed and almost has to be institutionalized.  Max meets up with her and the two bond an awkward and sorta inappropriate relationship.  Max now believes that he has lost all his fears.  He thinks that he is being totally honest.  This clashes with both the psychologist assigned by the airline and the ambulance chasing lawyer.  Both are side plots that never really clicked with me despite a solid performance from John Turturro as the doctor.

Max's new found philosophy and "friendship" causes trouble at home as well.  Isabella Rossellini plays his wife.  She is the master of emotional struggles and she stays true to form here.  This movie is directed by Peter Weir of Dead Poets Society and The Truman show among others.  It is a little preachy and sappy at times, but for the most part it is an engaging film.  It is worth a viewing for Jeff Bridges performance if nothing else.  I forget sometimes that he is such a good actor.  Also there is a really strange use of the U2 song "Where the Streets Have No Name".  I would be curious to hear what anyone else thought about that sequence.

I said the movie hooked me at first.  But by the end I was feeling a little drained.  I think once we got away from supernatural elements and it became a family drama I lost some interest.  I give Fearless a 3.5/5 stars.  Also Peter Weir died recently this week, so I am catching up with some of his films out of respect for a good film maker.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #100 The Princess Bride *1987*

This film holds a very special place in my heart.  It is the first movie I ever watched with my girlfriend.  The first night we met we watched Rob Reiner's best movie.  Little did I know at the time that she and I would still be battling the struggles of a long distance relationship.  I also wouldn't have thought that I would be blogging about every film that I watch. None the less, here we are.  It is 365 days later and I am sitting on the same couch watching the same movie with the same beautiful woman.  I even have the same butterflies in my stomach.

The film is a classic.  It is one of the rare date movies or romantic comedies that it is ok for guys to admit to liking.  Not only that I know several large bruiting men that willingly quote this film.  I suppose having Andre the Giant makes it a little more macho.  The movie is told to a young Fred Savage by his father played by Peter Falk.  The story is a fairytale of epic proportions.  At it's core though it is about true love.  This kind of thing doesn't happen everyday.

The Princess Bride is endless quotable.  Not just the lines in the film, but even the locations (The Cliffs of Insanity and The Fire Swamp) the creatures (The Screeching Eels, The Rodent of Unusual Size) the props (Holocaust Cloak, Iocane Power, The Machine).  Almost every word of this movie is iconic.

The performances are wonderful.  My personal favorite is Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya.  He plays a Spaniard thirsty for revenge for the murder of his father from the 6 fingered man.  His big dramatic line "Hello.  My name is Inigo Montoya.  You killed my father.  Prepare to die" gives me goose bumps every time I hear it.  The afore mentioned Andre the Giant is mega charming as Fezzik the gentle giant with a gift for rhyme.  Robin Wright is wonderful and the love struck Princess Buttercup.  Cary Elwes has never been better than as Westley.  There are great supporting performances from Wallace Shaun as Vizzini, Christopher Guest as the 6 finger man and Billy Crystal and Carol Kane as an old village couple of miracle workers.

You don't even know how hard it is for me not to just type line after line from this movie.  If you want to know how popular it is, watch it and find your favorite quote, then post that quote as the status on your Facebook page.  I would wager that you will get more responses to that then almost anything.

I will spare you me gushing over this film anymore.  It is one that I could watch dozens of times a year and never grow tired of.  Watching it with my girlfriend only makes it that much more special.  She could ask to me watch this with her anytime and all I would say is "As you wish..."

I give The Princess Bride a 5/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #99 The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo *2009*

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first film in the millennium trilogy.  Tattoo (as I will now be referring to it) is based on a book of the same name.  It is the story of an abused orphan who works as a private detective and a publisher that has been convicted of a crime.  They end up working together on a missing person case at the estate of a rich excentric family.

The book is an airport book.  By that I mean that it is the type story that fills an international flight or great for relaxing at the beach.  I of course haven't read it, but I am told that the film is a good representation of the source material. 

The films is a dark one that deals with issues like rape, Nazi's, torture, incest, self mutilation and other taboo topics.  The star of the film and the series is Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander.  She is excellent in a difficult role.  She has to play a detached , hard as nails vamp.  But she need to be a sympathetic character to the viewer or we wouldn't care about her story.  We have to love the woman that doesn't believe in love.

This film is a Swedish one and it is subtitled.  But if you watch this movie and the sub titles are the thing that bothers you most, you should probably seek professional help. 

I watched this over the Christmas break.  I just never got around to blogging about it.  My fondest memory will be of my girlfriend falling asleep on my lap while watching this.  I don't think that says much for the film, but I won't forget it for a long time.

Tattoo is a solid thriller in the vein of Michael Criton films.  It did make me want to see the rest of the trigiloy.  FYI:  David Fincher is remaking this in English.  I am excited about that, but I am excited for every new Fincher film.  I give Tattoo 3.5/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

I am proud to say that I am now totally caught up on my bolgs!  Vacation here I come.

Movie #98 Inception *2010*

Your mind is the scene of the crime.

Last night I watched Inception with the kiddos on DVD.  I took them to see the movie at the IMAX when it was in theaters.  I also saw it a second time in IMAX with my special lady and a good friend. There is a huge difference between watching it the IMAX and at home.  And I have a very large plasma TV and a good sound system.

The film is about a group of handsome men that enter your dreams in an attempt to either steal or plant and idea in your head.  It is a sci-fi corporate espionage thriller.  The movie is filled with with twists and turns that are designed to keep you guessing.  The plot is a twisting maze much like the worlds that have to build within your head in order for the thieves to navigate.

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page and Marion Cotillard.  It also has Joesph Gordon-Levitt, Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy (these 3 being Year of Film favorites!).  There is also a host of other great character actors.  Most of the performances are solid to good.  I do feel sorry for Ellen Page.  She is the surrogate for the viewer.  Her job in the film is she is the architect of the dreams.  But really she is only there to say things like "You mean that..." and "Are you telling me that...".  She is there just to make sure that everyone is on board with the story.  One of the flaws of the film is that it thinks that is it smarter than it really is.

Another flaw, and a way that the film makers (directed by Christopher Nolan of Dar Knight and Mememto fame) tries to explain the movie is that it is filled to the gills with exposition.  The movie largely consists of people telling you what they are going to do and then doing it.  Strange that a movie that was sold so much on its visuals, which are fantastic, should spend so much time telling and not showing.

More on those visuals.  The trailer shows a scene where the street and the building seem to be rolling up on themselves.  That was one of the most impressive shots of all 2010.  People wanted to compare TRON Legacy to Avatar.  I think this film has far more comparison points.  There are so many fantastic scenes of both actual locations and CGI blends in this film that I think it is one of the most satisfying films of the year based solely on images. 

This film is so packed with stuff I could blog about it for hours.  Not everything works, but it is a solid action thriller worth the time investment. 

I give Inception a 4/5 stars. Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #95 Vertigo *1958*

This is my first review of a Hitchcock film.  Vertigo was the second movie of his that I ever saw.  The first being Psycho.  I remember being amazed the first time I watched it.  I am happy to say that after several viewings that I am still amazed at the craftsmanship on display during this film.  I watched Vertigo today with my kids.  I am very excited to introduce them to all these wonderful movies that helped shape my life.

Vertigo is the story of a man who retires from his job in law enforcement due to his extreme case of vertigo.  He is contacted by an old school mate that hires him to follow his wife.  The man believes that his wife is possessed and that her life may be in danger.  Jimmy Stewart plays the would be detective.  He follows this woman Madeleine, played by the stunning blond (in traditional Hitchcock style) Kim Novak.  Stewart's character ends up falling in love with Madeleine.  Then while trying to break her of her possession she commits suicide by jumping off a bell tower that Stewart couldn't prevent do to his aliment. 

Stewart enters a stage of severe depression.  He wanders the streets aimlessly.  Constantly seeing reminders of his lost love.  Then he see's her.  Or maybe its her.  It definitally looks like her.  He approaches this woman and gets her to agree to date him.  The courtship is a bizzare and perverse one.  He constantly is dressing Judy up like Madeleine.  He makes her change her hair.  He only takes her to places that he and Madeleine went.  All the while she is passivly resistant to these changes.  She struggles and resists, but alway allows him to get his way.

The final sequences in the film explodes with not so much of a twist, but an explanation that the viewer already knows but Stewart's character doesn't.  The last 10 minutes of the movie is considered one of the best endings in film history.  I would agree whole heatedly. 

One side note: I find it wonderful that Hitchcock choose Jimmy Stewart to play this role.  He is mister wholesome.  I have always thought that Stewart was the image that America wanted to project to the rest of the world of the typical American.  He is tall, clean shaven, smart but goofy, sincere, well spoken, strong but vulnerable.  Jimmy Stewart has always been American Pin in my eyes.  Then in his role he is turned into a nearly sadist pervert.  He is truly one of the most creepy characters in film.  That was a bold choice for both actor and director.

Hitchcock is one of cinema's masters.  His technique is unparalleled by any other director.  He used his camera to tell his story better than virtually anyone else I can think of.  His influence can be seen in thousands of movies by hundreds of directors. 

Vertigo is set in San Francisco.  It has a mixture of actual locations and beautiful sets.  This film was shot in beautiful technicolor and Hitch took every advantage of that.  The dream sequence is hauntingly simple.  I can not praise this film and Hitchcock enough.  Vertigo is a great doorway into Hitch's films if that is a blind spot in your film catalog.  I give Vertigo 5/5 stars  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #97 Black Orpheus *1959*

Turner Classic Movies is the only thing  on TV worth watching.

Last night I watched their presentation of 1959's Black Orpheus.  This is a film shot on location in Rio de Janerio during the carnival.  It is a retelling of the Greek myth of Orpheus.  Orpheus was a mortal who was an expert lute player.  He was madly in love with Eurydice.  On their wedding day she was bitten by a snake and died.  Orpheus played a song so sad it made all the gods cry.  They allowed Orpheus to go into the underworld and confront Hades in an attempt to get Eurydice back.  He played a song for Hades and they agreed to allow Eurydice to leave on one condition.  Orpheus couldn't look back at Eurydice until they had both left the underworld.  The instant Orpheus exited the underworld he was overwhelmed with passion and looked back at his love, but she hadn't made it out yet.  She was cast back into Hades control and Orpheus never saw her again.

In this film the story is basically there with some changes.  Orpheus is sort of the village playboy.  He seems to have several girlfriends or at least girls that would like to be his woman.  He is actually engaged to Mira at the start of the film.  But once he lays his eyes on Eurydice he falls deeply in love with her.  He serenades her with his guitar.  The second act is spent trying to convince her to fall in love with him and keep the entire affair away from Mira.

This movie is electric from start to finish.  The Brazilian music almost never stops through out the entire film.  It is almost like the pulse of the picture.  The performances are fantastic.  There is singing and dancing in the streets.  The attitude is through the roof even though the characters live in what is basically a slum.  The color in this films is so brilliant.  I would love to see and hear this on Blu Ray.  This movie must be what the inside of a pinata looks like.

Then the third act gets very serious.  There has been a man stalking Eurydice through out the movie.  He is dressed in a skeleton costume of sorts.  He wreaks havoc during the Carnival.  No spoilers here, but the third act totally breaks from the pacing of the rest of the film.  I didn't really like this at first, but once I saw what they were going for I fell in love with this movie.  The myth the film is based on is a tragic one of the lengths one will go to for love.  Black Orpheus embodies this with every frame.

It was written, directed and produced by a French crew, but this is a South American film 100%!  Black Orpheus won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1960 for France.  The director is Marcel Camus.  I am not familiar with any of his other films.  The Criterion Collection re-released this film on Blu Ray last year.  I think this is the first film on the year to get added to my wish list.  I give Black Orpheus a 4.5/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #96 Objectified *2009*

A movie about stuff.

Objectified is a documentary about the design of object in our everyday life and the people who design them.  I was really impressed with this doc.  It sounded like an interesting concept.  Something that I could see the like of Michael Gondry or Spike Jonez tackling.  But this is a very crisp, sharp film.  It is only about 75 minutes long so it is not much of an investment nor does it overstay it's welcome.

The film is mainly interviews with designers from all over the world.  You get to know these people and their philosophies on design and existence in general.  This movie really opened my eyes to the amount to thought that goes into everyday items that I take for granted.  From the time I wake up until the time I leave for work I have probably interacted with hundreds of items that were painstakingly designed.  The mattress, the bed frame, my alarm clock, the carpet, toothbrush, faucets, the list goes on and on.  It discussed form and function of design as well.

I really enjoyed the conversations that took place.  One of the designers said something to the effect of "Why are there still uncomfortable chairs?  We have been designing and manufacturing chairs for thousands of years.  Why is it that the world still allows for uncomfortable chairs?'  Another designer told a story about how 1,000 years ago things were designed to look like they served a purpose.  If you gave an alien a spoon they would be able to determine that it was a scooping or digging device.  The alien would be able to figure out that a chair was for sitting.  Today technology does not align with this philosophy.  You give an alien a iPhone and they wouldn't have any idea what it does or can do.  It is merely a slate.

The movie talked about the life cycle of products.  How nearly 95% of all things designed ever are probably have been in, are currently in or will end up in a landfill.  The movie discusses the development of a recycling thought process of design.  The doc talks about how humans interact with designed objects.  Think about how you interact with your car.  Is it merely a means of transportation or an extension of your personality?  Or are you trying to project an image with your belongs? 

I loved this doc and highly recommend it.  I give it a 4/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #94 Night of the Hunter *1955*

I have been waiting to write this review for a while now.  When I look back at my movie watching experience throughout all of 2010 there is one film that stands out head and shoulders over the others.  That is Charles Laughton's 1955 masterpiece The Night of the Hunter.

I had not seen Night of the Hunter before last year.  I received it through the mail via Netflix.  I don't remember exactly how I heard about the film, but I think it was mentioned on one of the podcasts that I listen too.  Once I had viewed it, I realized my life would never be the same again.  I know that sounds like hyperbole but I had a very similar reaction after having seen Pulp Fiction for the first time.  And Pulp is now my all time favorite film.  I have a feeling that Night of the Hunter will challenge Tarintino's breakthrough for that top spot for years to come.

Night of the Hunter is a film about a murderous psychopathic preacher who while in prison learns of a fortune hidden at the home of a recently widowed woman from his cell mate / her husband.  The catch? He doesn't know where the money is hid.  The only ones who do are the woman's children and they swore an oath to their father that they wouldn't tell anyone.

This demon of a preacher is played by Robert Mitchum.  He is perfect in the role.  He is sweet and charming when need be, but he is nefarious and perverse at the same time.  His dark side only serves to make his pretend good seem all the more sinister and manipulative.

The wife is played by Shelly Winters.  The first time I saw this film I remember thinking that she wasn't all the good, but now I have totally came around.  I think that she was doing exactly what was needed of her.  Lillian Gish plays a woman that takes in the children once they run away.  She is a strong holly woman.  She is the perfect adversary to Mitchum's character.  There are a few other supporting characters in the film and they all serve the plot well.

I would be amiss if I lead you to believe that this film lives and dies on its performance.  I consider Night of the Hunter a masterpiece because of its visual style and usage of the camera.  There are camera shots and movements in the movie that I have never seen before or since.  And they are not showy (most of them).  They truly help to set a scene or move the plot forward.  There are few, if any, establishing shots.  Everything is constantly providing the viewer with some new bit of information to chew on.

Some of the famous shots are of the kids in the boat floating down the river, an under-water sequence that still blows my mind, the framing when Mitchum and Winters are in the bedroom, Gish sitting in the rocking chair with her shotgun.  The style is very heavily influenced by the German Expressionist films of the 20's and 30's. There is also a southern Gothic look and feel to the movie.  This could have been a more pulpy Tennessee Williams play.  The music in the film is terrifying and permeates through out most of the film.  Mitchum singing "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" is one of the most disquiet versions of a hymnal I can think of.

The film is also known for the LOVE and HATE tattoos Mitchums character has on his hands and how he explains why a preacher has these blemishes. 

As I mentioned, this films was directed by Charles Laughton.  This is the only movie he would direct.  I have read that Hunter was not well received and Laughton said something to the effect of "If people can't appreciate my art then they won't get anymore".  He would die 7 years later.

My exquisite girlfriend got me this Criterion Blu Ray for Christmas.  It looks wonderful and it is chocked full of extras.  I could go on expelling the virtues of this movie but I expect to be watching and writing about Night of the Hunter several more times this year.  I give Night of the Hunter a perfect 5/5 stars.  Due yourself a favor and check out the Trailer Park and give it a look.

Movie #93 The Five Obstructions *2003*

The Five Obstructions is a Lars von Trier film.  So right off the bat you know you are getting into something that you have probably never seen before.  Such was the case for me and this film.  I guess you would call it a documentary.  In this picture von Trier invites a director he admires Jorgen Leth, to remake one of his films called The Perfect Man.  The catch is he has to make the film 5 times and each time he has to adhere to rules that von Trier will set for him. 

The movie that is to be remade is a minimalist short film out of Denmark.  It is in black and white and the only dialogue heard is by voice over.  In the film a man goes about his day in front of a white space.  It is every artsy fartsy film school experiment rolled into one.

In The Five Obstructions von Trier provides Leth with a series of obstructions in an attempt to make him uncomfortable and to view that uneasy in the remakes of his film.  The first series of rules are: 12 frames maximum (aprox. 3 shots per second.  The Perfect Human was done in long takes) and that he had to film it an a place Leth had never been.  The Second Obstruction was to make the film in the most dangerous or disturbing area you can think of and Leth had to to play The Perfect Human.  Third was "no rules".  Leth was to do a true remake, only 36 years later.  It was to be for the time now like it was then.  Fourth was to make it into a cartoon.  Both director hated cartoons.  Then the 5th and final obstruction was that he had to let go of control.  Von Trier shot and directed the final obstruction.  Leth only recorded the voice over without knowing what he was talking about.  Leth also had to accept the director creidt for the film he didn't make.

Von Trier used the documentary footage he had been collecting in the making of The Five Obstructions and edited it down and put the voice over work on top of the images.  The film is kind of a desconstruction of documentary film making as well as a little about the nature of man.  The hardest thing for Leth to do was to let go of a project that he was so passioniate about.  Then the true revel is that the fifth obstruction actually showed what von Trier was like more so than Leth.  It was von Trier that was the puppet master.   Von trier was the one causing (or attempting to cause) the pain and anguish.  Leth was mearly a lithmus test.

All and all this was an interesting study.  This is not basic watching.  Cinephiles only.  I give The Five Obstructions a 3/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #92 Sisters *1973*

Last night I started watching Le Cercle Rouge on Netflix streaming. I had to shut it off because the sub titles were too low on the picture and the bottom half of them were getting cut off.  I had a bit of the same problem with Rules of the Game this past weekend, just not as bad.

So, I instead watched Brian De Palma's Sisters.  This was the first film of his to really receive critical acclaim and some commercial success.  It is a murder mystery revolving around Siamese twin sisters that have been disconnected, and the pesky neighbor that thinks she saw the whole thing go down.

This is classic De Palma, but it didn't really take for me.  The thing most people talk about when this film comes up is his use of split screen.  I did find that technique really effective, impressive and satisfying without feeling to gimmicky.

The rest of the movie kind of fell flat for me.  There were a few moments here and there that stood out, but as a whole I found the pacing a little off and the ending too bizarre and disjointed. 

Margot Kidder played the twins.  She was good in the role, but her French Canadian accent really grated on me.  Jennifer Salt played the neighbor.  I think I liked her better in the movie at first, but as the film went on I got less and less interested in everyone involved.  William Finley had a role in this film.  Too tell you much about it would have to include spoilers.  Let's just say he was bat shit crazy in this thing.  A little too much in my opinion.  For a thriller movie his performance was comedic and it took me out of the picture.

I would recommend seeing this if for no other reason than the split screen.  Sisters has been released in a Criterion DVD.  I will give Sisters a 2.5/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

The Housemaid Trailer (2010)

This trailer looks amazing. South Korea is making some of the best films in the world right now. This is a total return to melodrama.

New Movie Marathon

Watching Shoot the Piano Player the other night has gotten me pretty jazzed up for the French New Wave.  So I have decided to do another movie marathon.  The last one that I did was back in the first part of September when I reviewed a bunch of the Coen Brothers films in anticipation of my trip to The Lebowskifest.

I am unsure of which exact films I am going to watch but when I have the definitive list I will post it on here.  If anyone has any suggestions I would be open to them.  Just post a reply to this post.

~walk the earth

Movie #91 The Fighter *2010*

This is a great movie!  This is the 2010 David O. Russell boxing movie about "Irish" Mickey Ward.  The film stars Mark Walhberg as Micky and Christian Bale as Dicky his crack addicted brother.  Dicky was at one time "The Pride of Lowell", a small Boston suburb where the film is set.  Now Dicky is Mickey's trainer.  Or at least he is when he can remember to get out of the crack house and show up the gym.  All this is based on a true story.

Micky is in the mist of a downturn.  His mother, played by Melissa Leo is his manager and she doesn't seem to always have Mickey's best interest in mind.  Micky also has 6-8 sisters all of whom seem to be living in the house with the mother and father.  The women are all one unit and the sisters are never seen individually.  They are a mob with the mother being the boss.

Micky meets and falls for a bartender named Charlene (of course) played extremely well by Amy Adams.  Charlene most of the time seems to want what is best for Micky, but can come off as a little selfish at times.  These are all very real characters with plot lines and stories of their own.  With the exception of the sisters.  My biggest problem with the movie is that I thought the sisters were too comical and exaggerated. 

Walhberg does a great job, but Christian Bale is a force of nature in this film.  True, he had the meatier role but he dug his teeth into like I haven't seen him do since The Illusionist.  True to his method acting ways, Bale lost around 100 pounds so that he could look totally cracked out.  Not quite as dramatic as his weight loss in The Machinist, but still pretty impressive.  Mark Walhberg also had to modify his body.  When he is at the height of his game he is bulky and ripped.  When he is pondering retiring he looks a little puddgy (I hope he doesn't read this).  And let's hear it for the ladies.  Amy Adams must have added a little weight for her role.  It worked too!  She is wicked hot (I'm trying to say that in Boston accent).

I don't want to get into spoilers but HBO is filming Dicky for a documentary that isn't what we are lead to believe it is at first.  When that reveal happened, my mouth fell open.  Another visceral moment for me was when Micky had to stand up to his mother and the nasty haired coven of sisters.  He had Charlene by his side but I felt every bit of his anxiety.   There are many other moments that hit you in your gut.  But the film is not all drama. There is a good bot of fun and humor in the film.

One nice little touch that I liked was that when the fights took place O. Russell used TV camera's from that 80's era to mimic the look of the fights as if we were watching them live.  I think they even spliced in clips from the actual fights. 

This is one of my favorite films of 2010.  As I look at my list and relive this film, I might have to bump it up a little.  I give The Fighter 4.5/5 stars.

Movie #90 The Mechanic *1972*

A good one is hard to find.

I saw a trailer for a "new" film the other day called The Mechanic.  This is a remake of a 70's film staring Charles Bronson and Jan-Michael Vincent.  Bronson plays a hitman working for a secret organization.  He kills a friend of his fathers as part of a contract.  He then befriends this mans loud mouth arrogant son and mentors him in the ways of being a professional killer.

The first 15 minutes of this films were great.  Bronson without a word spoken sneaks into a mans house and sets a trap that will allow him to "eliminate" the man from across the street.  This is great 70's cinema.  It all goes down hill from there.  The plot meanders around while we bask in the glory that was the 70's and all its excess.  Or at least what the establishment wanted America to see in it's films. 

We have The Charles Bronson dressed up in red silk pajamas (cause he is classy), in gray sweats when playing handball (to show off his youthful side while he was 50), SCUBA gear (no reason) and a karate uniform in a heavy handed lesson in right vs wrong and young vs old.

This movie had a ton of unintentional laughs.  Even outside of the costumes.  There was a dirt bike chase that ended *SPOILER ALERT* with Bronson intentionally crashing his bike so he didn't go over a 30 foot cliff.  The bad guy must not have seen it and he took a slight fall and the motorcycle blew up like an A-Bomb.  There there is the car chase scene at the end where *ANOTHER SPOILER ALERT* Bronson is so far ahead in his car that when he runs out of ammo, he gets out and hot wires a bulldozer and slams it into his pursuer.  He then pushes the car off a cliff and it falls for like 40 seconds.  It was the longest car plunge I have ever seen.

The acting is God awful throughout.  There are a ton of "yes..." and "ok..." and "what?".  Then there is line reading after line reading.  It is comical.  If I can find a particular scene I will post it in the Trailer Park.  Then there is the inevitable plot twist and the even more inevitable revenge double twist. 

The remake stars Jason Statham and Ben Foster, an actor I like a lot.  I hope they are able to bring a little more to the story than the original, but it looks like a run of the mill action flick.  Who knows, maybe Statham will rock a velvet robe and a pipe (to show he is classy).

I give The Mechanic a 2/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #89 Shoot the Piano Player *1960*

"As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster" ~ Henry Hill, Goodfellas

Last night I finished off a trifecta of French films with Francois Truffaut's 1960 Shoot the Piano Player.  This is one of my favorite films to come out of the French New Wave movement of the late 50's and early 60's.  The movement was distinguishable by its use of jump cuts, low budget ascetics, characters breaking the 4th wall, inner monologues presented by voice over and use of locations instead of sets.  This is the movement marked by the first use of the term auteur.  The Auteur theory claims that a director is the author of a film. He/she is responsible for the over look and feel of a film.  One of the first person to use this term was Francois Truffaut.

Shoot the Piano Player is about a man named Charlie who plays piano in a small cafe in Paris.  His bother has committed a crime and double crossed some crooks that are looking for him.  The thugs find Charlie and his new found girlfriend, Lena, and try to pump them for information as to the where abouts of Charlies brother.  They go as far as to kidnap Charlie's son Fido.  During the course of the film we find out that Charlie has lived two very different live to the life he now inhabits. 

This film is about as French New Wave as it gets.  This is a very fun film with homages to the works of John Ford and Alfred Hitchcock.  Charles Aznavour is fantastic in the lead role of Charlie.  I also found Michele Mercier breath taking as the prostitute next door who looks after Fido when Charlie isn't around and "looks after" Charlie when Fido isn't around, if you know what I am saying.

This script is lock tight.  I love the playfulness of it.  It is whimsical and totally without contrivance.  Other films in the French New Wave are: Breathless, Jules and Jim, Perot le Fou, Rififi, Le Samourai and Bob the Gambler.  The last two were directed by my favorite New Wave director Jean-Pierre Melville.  But I would say that if you want to get into the movement, Shoot the Piano Player is a great film to spark your interest.

Modern film makers that claim to have been influenced by the French New Wave are: Altman, Coppola, De Palma, Scorsese and Tarintino.  I love the movement and always look forward to expanding my mental catalogue of the films within.  I give Shoot the Piano Player a 5/5 stars.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

I forgot to mention SCUBA gear.

The Mechanic (1972) = Charles Bronson in red silk pajamas, handball sweets and karate uniforms.

Movie #88 Irreversible *2002*

A masterpiece?

I just finished watching Gaspar Noe film Irreversible.  I can honestly say that I have never seen anything like that in my life!  I really don't know what to say.  I am truly at a loss for words.  I am going to write a review of this, but there is a good chance that if I watch it again I might have a totally different take on the film.


The film opens with a camera technique like I have never seen.  The camera seems to be attached to a gyroscope of some kind.  It pans and wipes at 360 degrees without ever cutting.  It is fluid and dizzying.  The lighting is minimal and mostly natural.  Once the story begins it takes place outside a gay S&M club where there has been a murder.  The film then proceeds to play out in long, 10-20 minute sequences playing backwards to explain why the murder took place. 

The film revolves around a rape that occurs about half way through the film.  This rape sequence is about the first time in the film where the camera sits still.  It is about a 9 minute un-cut single shot of the most brutal anal rape sequence I have ever seen.  I don't know how to feel about this.  I kind of feel bad for having watched it.  This is not a film that I would ever recomend to anyone without a detailed description of what they would be getting into.

Irreversible is an assault on the senses.  It is terrorizing and beautiful.  As an example; The opening credits are printed upside down and backwards.  They are presented in a strobe light fashion.  They also scroll from the bottom of the screen up instead of the usual.  Then close to the end of the roll the credits start to slowly rotate counterclockwise.  This is not just a gimmick thought.  It really prepares you for the film and it's eccentric camera technique.   Then, the final shot is another fluid camera movement centering overhead on a water sprinkler.  The camera being to spin opposite of the sprinkler.  It moves faster and faster as the score grows louder and louder.  Then it fades into a whiteout that starts strobing.  Through the strobe we get glimpses of outer-space.  Then it cuts for the first time and the film is over.  Very reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey.  The music was done by one half of the band Daft Punk.  It is a techno sound scape.  This would have definitely made a spot on my favorite score of 2002. 

The films stars Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel.  Bellucci is probably best known for her work in The Matrix, and Cassel would be know from the Oceans 11 franchise or from this years Black Swan.  They are unbelieveably good in this movie.  I felt so bad for Bellucci having to be subjected to filming that rape scene. 

I gave Irreversible a 5/5 stars on Netflix.  I think I will hold true to that ranking.  I have a rule that I will only watch one David Lynch film a year.  I find his work so disturbing that I will only put myself through 1 of his films a year.  Even though I own three or four on DVD.  I love them that much.  I wonder if Gaspar Noe will be another director like that.  The closest film I can comapre my feelings to is the Michael Haneke film(s) Funny Games. 

I will attach the trailer for Irreversible if YouTube has one.  I will also add a link to the credit sequence of his new film Enter the Void.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #87 The Rules of the Game *1939*

The Rules of the Game is one of the films that I feel in no way adequate in reviewing.  It is required viewing by and cinephile.  Written and directed by Jean Renior who also plays a role in the film it is a French comedy.

The plot revolves around a hunting party in teh French countryside.  The cast of characters are all attracted to each other and having affairs left and right.  You have a hero pilot who loves a married woman.  This woman has feeling for both men as well as a long time friend of her families.  You have the husband who has a mistress.  A female servant who is married to a guard at the house.  A tramp who gets a job at the home and falls inlove for the female servant.  This is just to name a few of the main characters.

The film reminded me a lot of the works of Robert Altman.  He was a master of handling large intermingling casts.  I believe his film Gosford Park must have been highly influenced by this picture.  I was amazed at how accessible this films was.  It is briliantly shot and acted.  The script is perfect even if it is a little "talky" which made it tough to follow the sub titles at times. 

I also enjoyed watching the class and age differences and similarities.  Everyone has a set of rules that they have to follow, but they all love and hurt and morn the same way.  I have never seen a film that dealt with that premise in such a delicate way.  I can see myself watching this film again if for nothing else to spend more time watching the pictures as opposed to reading the titles.

I give The Rules of the Game a 4/5 stars and I look forward to seeing more of Renoir's body of work.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.