Movie #262 Beginners *2011*

This is what my blog looks like in 2011.
This is what it looks like when I write a post like everyone else's.

The first two sentences of this blog is a reference to a narrative device used in Mike Mills Beginnings.  The film opens on Ewan McGregor packing up things at his recently deceased fathers house.  We find out quickly that his mother had died about 6 years earlier.  We also find out that right after his mother died, his father announced that he has cancer AND that he is gay.  He is also ready to start living his life as a gay man.

The father is played wonderfully by Christopher Plummer.  He joins many "gay pride" organizations and begins going to clubs and even finds a boyfriend.  I have more to say about the boyfriend later.  I don't want to make to big a deal out of the gay issues.  Mostly because the film doesn't.  I appreciated the the film took a fresh approach to the father being gay.  It was a topic, but it was not played for jokes.  There was little to none of the stereotypical, over-the-top, super gay writing that unfortunately pervades too many Hollywood films.  The cancer issues was handled fairly too.  Having a father that just fought cancer I was pleased that they didn't use that to try and manipulate people.  This is a very honest film.  Much like The Kids are All Right from last year.


Then there is the Ewan McGregor character.  He is having to deal with all these things going on.  The movie jumps around in time, but mostly we are presented the years after his mother has died and before his father passes away.  He has been unlucky in love.  Unlucky may not be the right word.  He is passively destructive.  We spend time with his character, Oliver as he battles mild depression.  He meets Melaine Laurent's character Anna at a costume party.  She has laryngitis and can't talk.  Can you say manic pixie dream girl?

The movie borders on the edge of indy preciousness, but I don't think that it crosses that line.  Although there is a dog that has subtitles so......  I also like that device that I badly stole at the beginning of this blog.  It could come off as quirky and artsy fartsy, but I thought it was a great way of presenting back story and character development and motivation. 

Now about the boyfriend.  I really don't know how to feel about this guy.  He seems very child like and immature. I am not sure if that is a result of being cast against Christopher Plummer or if the role was written that way.  It made me really dislike him.  Also he was overly assertive and defensive about his sexual orientation.  I think he was being shown as a character that was not comfortable in his skin, but I'm not sure.  I don't know what the writer / director was trying to portray with this character.  I won't that he wasn't effective because I still enjoy pondering this character.  I would love to have a conversation about his role.

I enjoyed Beginners very much and I look forward to seeing what Mike Mills has in store next.  Also this is a great soundtrack with classic American tunes.  I give Beginners ★★★★.

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 #35 The Rocky Horror Picture Show

This past Saturday night I got to mark another thing off my bucket list.  I attended a midnight showing of the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show.  For some bonus points I went on the night before Halloween.  In attendance was my girlfriend, an good friend, his girlfriend, and about 200 other freaks. 

We waited in line for about an hour in the freezing cold.  The line wrapped around an old dilapidated theater that looks like it should have been condemned years ago.  The line was populated with people dressed as characters from the film and if you have ever seen the movie you can imagine what a sight that was.

If you haven't seen the movie allow me to attempt to summarize it.  Two virginal newlyweds get stranded roadside and make their way to a castle in the woods in an attempt to get help.  To their surprise the master of the house is a flaming transvestite mad scientist in drag creating male lovers to fulfill his sexual desires.  There seems to be a party going on consisting of bizarre onlookers and perverts.  The party is seemingly to celebrate his (Dr. Frank N Furter) newest creation "Rocky", a muscle bound Aryen dream that is replacing his past creation "Eddie" played as a cryogenicly frozen rock star by Meatloaf.  Did I mention that the house is a space ship and that the inhabitants are aliens?  Did I mention that it is a musical?  Sound like a cult classic huh?

Needless to say the movie sucks.  Tim Curry is brilliant as the good Dr. and the music is cheesy and insane but definitely catchy.  The most recognizable of the songs is "Let's do the Time Warp Again".  What really makes showings of Rocky Horror famous is an entire second script that is yelled out by the viewers.  Along with shouting at the screen those in attendance are encouraged to use props to enhance the experience.  Things like rice, toilet paper, flashlights, news paper, noise makers, and toast are all part of the fun.  It is different than the Lebowskifest in a big way though.  While watching The Big Lebowski with a group of "Achievers", it is common place to shout out lines from the movie.  In RHPS participants shout out and entirely different script.  Also Lebowski is a lighter, laid back atmoshpere.  Rocky Horror is a sex filled seemingly angry crowd.  Many of the things shouted during RHPS are insulting to the characters.

This was my second venture to a RHPS viewing.  I have to say that the first time was better.  It was in a much nicer theater.  Most of the people there didn't know all the alternate lines so when they shouted the lines out it was more clear.  At this viewing everyone was yelling different things at different times.  It was very difficult to understand the dialogue.  The building was filled with a loud white noise.

The cool thing about this viewing was that there was a local acting troupe actually performing the film below the screen.  I was in the back of the room and couldn't see or hear if they were reciting lines or not, but they had the pantomime down pat.  It was very cool to watch.

Ranking this movie is somewhat irrelevant.  People don't go to Rocky Horror to see a great movie.  They go for the experience.  The movie is a 2/5 stars.  This experience is one that I will remember for years to come.  Check out the link below for a trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHNFkqPFBko

Day #5 - I Love You Phillip Morris

It isn't every day that I get to experience something new in film making.  I have been an avid film fan for over 15 years now.  I have seen movies from dozens of countries, in almost every genre and sub-genre.  I'll watch any type of movie as long as it is well crafted.  I've traveled upwards of 5 hours by car just to watch a movie by a favorite director because that is the closest theater showing his work.  I've been to Drive-In theaters for shlocky double features, I've been to midnight showings of Rocky Horror Picture Shows (in full drag no less), I've seen movies on planes, my phone, projected on a sheet in a friends backyard, and so on.  Last night however I did something that I have never done before.  I watched a movie on DVD before it has been released in American theaters.

A friend of mine had been abroad in a country where there "I Love You Phillip Morris" has been in theaters for a while now.  This friend picked up a copy of the movie on DVD while there.  I can't comment on the legality of this transaction, however it is packaged very eloquently, and the video and sound were top notch.  If this isn't an official DVD release it would have definitely fooled me.

Seeing as how the Americans won't have a change to see this for a couple of months, I won't spoil the movie for anyone.  Apparently this movie has been "in the can" (watch the movie and you will find how great that pun is) for almost 2 years now.  My understanding is that it is having trouble finding an American distributor.  I can see why.

I Love You Phillip Morris, directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, is the story of a gay con man who falls in love with his cell mate while in prison.  Once out of prison they find that old habits are hard to break and that lies beget lies beget lies. The gay prisoners are played by Jim Carrey and Ewen McGregor.  The movie also contains some wonderful supporting performances that really flush out and support the story.  Lesslie Mann as Carrey's ultra christian ex-wife is especially good. 

The reason that this movie might struggle to find an American distributor is that theaters will be afraid that the movie will alienate too many people.  Much of the typical movie going sections of the US (the South, I'm talking to you) still won't go see a movie about gay people (although TV seems to have a gay character on nearly every show now a days). And there are a few moments of some pretty explicit gay interactions. So then you turn to the gay crowd.  This film doesn't always portray the gay community in the best light.  There are some very blunt plot twists involving AIDS that I can see scaring off what would be a strong demographic.  So who is left?  Jim Carrey fans?  His performance is comedic, but this is no Fire Marshall Bill.  He is a sad clown in this movie and I have seen fans of his stay away from movies where he does anything higher brow than Ace Ventrua.

One of my common complaints about movies are that they can be uneven.  Usually this means that a director had a solid vision.  He makes his movie to that vision.  Then the studios see it, and realize they can't sell it like that so they change it.  This happens a lot with movies intended to be rated "R", then the studio makes them more accessable to a wider crowd and it gets  a "PG-13" rating (Ironman 2 anyone).  Usually the directors vision is also gone with the old rating.  I have to say, to its credit, this isn't the case with I Love You Phillip Morris. This movie reminded me a lot of a film from last year.  The Informant! with Matt Damon.  Both in tone and in theme.  The Informant! perhaps pulled it off a little better, but I would say that I Love You Phillip Morris kept me guessing the entire time.  I never knew where the film was going and that is a good thing.  It pulled the rug out from under me about 9 times. Good performance, well directed, the cinematography was kind of hit and miss with me along with the set design and art direction.  I couldn't tell what they were going for (a problem I never had with The Informant!).  Overall this was an interesting, surprisingly touching movie.  Please FBI, don't arrest me.  I give it a 3.5/5 stars.  For more check out the link below for the trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoFANivV44g