Movie #179 Mona Lisa *1986*

Bob Hoskins - George
Cathy Tyson - Simone
Michael Caine - Mortwell
Niel Jordan (Director)

I love when a film takes you in a direction you were not expecting.  I read the synopsis about Mona Lisa and it said that George is a small time criminal fresh out of jail that begins working as a driver for a high price call girl.  I was expecting a gangster story mixed with a hooker with a heart of gold subplot.  Wow was I off base.

First off, I love Bob Hoskins.  He is a big discovery for me with the Year of Film experiment.  I love how he can blow his top in one scene and by the end of the scene be calm and polite without apologizing and we love him for it.  He has a very naturalism about him.  Here he is a grunt for Mortwell.  The lovable looser.  A role perfectly fitted for him that he played to the nines!

Michael Caine plays Mortwell, a role like I have never seen him in before.  I always think of him as the good guy or at least a suave ladies man.  Here he is a low life scumbag leading even lower life, even scummier people.

This film was quirky with the addition of Robbie Coltrain as Thomas.  Geroge's best friend and confident.  They share mystery stories and make odd post modern sculptures.  Then the film goes down the rabbit hole and into the gutter.  Simone (the high class call girl) used to work the streets and had a friend that she shared a pimp with.  She got out of that abusive life but the friend never did.  She asks George if he would help her find the friend. 

There are other surprises that I won't dare to spoil, but several time my jaw fell wide open.  This film deals with a few sides of society (if you can call it that) that are not commonly addressed in film and especially not in "popular movies".

I really enjoyed this movie.  The script and acting was top notch, the camera work had moments of brilliance without being showy.  Music was used in a strange and interesting way.  There is a lot of Nat King Cole songs in the film (Mona Lisa being one), but there is a Genesis song that I thought wasn't going to fit in at all, but it worked great and made the scene 10X better. The movie reminded me a lot of Scorsese's Taxi Driver in a lot of ways. I give Mona Lisa ★★★★.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #142 Nights of Cabiria *1957*

Reason 1.  The most expressive female face I have ever seen, Giulietta Masina.

Reason 2. Frederico Fellini.

Reason 3. I hated the end of this movie.  I fell in love with Cabiria and wanted to take care of her.

Rating: ★★★★1/2

Movie #133 Ten *2002*

Mania Akbari - Herself
Amin Maher - Himself
Abbas Kiarostami (Director)

Abbas Kiarostami is a director that I have been wanting to check out for a long time.  He started making waves in the international film circuit in the early 90's even though he had been making film for almost 20 years at that time.  He is an Iranian film maker who makes Iranian films.  A sometimes dangerous profession in that country.

Ten is an interesting film.  That is a terrible way to start off a review, but I don't know how much I can speak about this movie.  It is a documentary of sorts.  The entire films is shot on the dashboard of a car.  The only shots are of either the driver, Akbari or her passengers.  The passengers range from her brat of a child, to her sister, a friend, an old woman she gives a ride to and a prostitute that gets in the car when she isn't looking.

I say this is a documentary of sorts because you can tell some of the situations are staged.  One thing I will not forget for a while is the son, Amin.  Mania is a progressive Iranian woman, standing up for herself, working, divorcing Amin's father because he didn't treat her well.  Amin (I think) is used to represent the traditional Iranian male.  He is very abusive towards his mother.  He calls her horrible names and talks back and is totally disrespectful towards her.  A position that is allowed and encouraged by many Iranian men.

The opening shot is 17 minutes of dialogue between mother and child.  I wanted to beat the crap out of the kid and I didn't know if I was going to be able to finish the films if it were only about their relationship.  But fortunately Kiarostami gives his viewers a break from the family drama, but not for long.  We then get a parable about falling in love from a friend that has lost a man and is a wreck, a sister that lost a man and shaves her head to reveal a beautiful / strong woman, and a prostitute that has a different man every 30 minutes.  We can contrast all these relationships and their concepts of "love".

As a whole there is only so much you can do with 2 digital cameras mounted on the dashboard of a car.  I will say that I enjoyed the movie and I am interested in seeing more of the directors work, but I need a little more visually.  I enjoy minimalism as much as the next guy, but this film pushes the limits.  I give Ten ★★★.  Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.

Movie #24 The Killer Inside Me

I managed to squeeze another film in this week.  2010's The Killer Inside Me.  The movie is directed by Michael Winterbottom and stars Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Elais Koteas and Simon Baker.  The film is based on a pulp novel by Jim Thompson.  I was really looking forward to seeing this film.  I was upset when the nearest  theater to show the film was 5 hours away.  Even after reading the lukewarm reviews I wasn't detoured.  Well, I should have listened to the critics.  The film is not a wash, and there are some really good elements and performances, but as a whole I was sadly disappointed.

Michael Winterbottom has made some great pictures in the past 15 years or so.  24 Hour Party People, Tristram Shandy and Welcome to Sarajevo are among them.  The Killer Inside Me is about a psychopathic Deputy Sheriff in Texas names Lou Ford.  The story takes place during the 50's.  He develops a mutual sadomasochistic relationship with a prostitute that lives on the edge of town.  He helps her come up with a plan to rob one of her John's out of some cash.  Then all hell breaks loose.  The killer is played with a graceful ease by Casey Affleck.  He is as good here as he was in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.  He is also involved in rough sex relationship with his fiance and small town "good girl" Amy Stanton (Hudson). 

Allow me to say that this film is some what graphic.  That was one of it's big criticisms.  I didn't find it to be repulsive.  A few times I thought Winterbottom accomplished exactly what he set out for to show the brutality of these murders.  Some of those scenes left a chill down my spine and queeze in my stomach.  But in a good way.  I love visceral emotion from a film.  Regardless if it is a good feeling or a bad one.  And this movie did move me.

Now for some of the down side.  Jessica Alba as the hooker.  Sexy?  Yes.  Good actor?  No.  I'm sorry, but putting Alba up against Affleck is like a boxing match with Ali vs Urkel.  Kate Hudson was dull and lifeless on screen as well.  Ned Beatty was channeling John Huston from Chinatown and a slew of other performances that were labored and heavy handed.  One role with little screen time but that was played with integrity was Liam Aiken as the troubled teen.  I think that kid has a future.

Winterbottom's camera which has been electric in some movies was stagnent here.  There are a few shots and scenes that showed a lot of promise, but not enough.  The score was ok with 50's pre-rockabilly and earily country music songs.  This film should have been drenched in atmosphere.  It is ripe for a full blown noir, or even a noir run up / homage.  I would love to see Winterbottom tackle such a movie.  With the Killer Inside Me he setteled for a very straight forward approach to material that we have seen 1,000 times before without bringing enough of his vision to the project.  As a protrait into the mind of a sicko killer this movie is a success.  As a movie in it's own right, it is not.  I would give The Killer Inside Me 2.5/5 stars.  Take a look for yourself.  Click the link below to view the trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U2LUsfeMwg

Day #1 - Chop Shop

Well, I didn't watch Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  It was 2.5 hours long and I have been at work all day, and have to go back tonight.  It didn't take long for me to figure out how hard or near impossible this is going to be.  I need to balance a 60+ hour a week job, with the time I want to spend with my children and my girlfriend.  Finding around 14 hours a week to delicate to watching movies and another 7-10 researching and writing this blog is going to be a chore.  I am curious to see how many I can cram into a year though.

Although I didn't see what I was expecting, I did manage to squeeze in a film.  The 2009 movie Chop Shop.  Ramin Bahrani is the director behind the camera and a leading figure in what is being titled as a neo-neo-realism film movement.   This genre and it's practitioners (including Bahrani, Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck, and a host of others) strive to showcase original stories in real life settings generally using non-professional actors.  Most of the camera work in these films is hand held and generally shot digitally.   All in an attempt to capture "the truth".  These films blur the line between fiction and reality.  They could be described and quasi documentary.

In Chop Shop the male lead is a young boy named Alejandro.  He is growing up in the Iron Triangle area of New York.  He spends all day, every day working his butt off at the body shops that populate this region of the town.  He lives in what is basically a large closet above one of the shops.  His older sister is living there also.  Together they are trying to scrounge up enough cash to buy a food truck.  They have dreams and aspirations of getting out of the ghetto and making a better life for themselves.

Unfortunately dreams and aspirations are all they have.  This movie does an excellent job of simply presenting there struggle with making judgments or playing the sentimental card.  It is not in the least bit manipulative.  Bahrani lets his camera roll during the good times, bad times, and everything in between. 

The acting is flawless and completely non self aware.  I have no idea how he got this caliber performances out of non-professional actors.  but maybe that is how.  These young actors aren't coming to these projects with any preconceived notions or egos. 

All in all this is a great film and a wonderful way to start off my 365 days of film.

I need a rating system of some sort.  If I was to borrow Netflix's I would give this a 4/5 stars.  Follow the link below to watch the trailer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fUjusA87QI