Movie #51 Shampoo

The more things change...

After watching Shampoo the other night I read up a little about it.  The AFI (American Film Institute) has it ranked as one of the 50 funniest movies of all time.  I found myself laughing at it a fair amount, but not nearly enough to make it one of the funniest movies ever.  The humor reminded me a lot of another 70's movie Harold and Maude.  The comedy comes for places of discomfort.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised.  Both Harold and Maude and Shampoo were directed by Hal Ashby.  At least in title anyway.  According to the book Raging Bulls and Easy Riders Ashby is credited as the director but everyone knows that Warren Beatty was really the man putting the show together.  The book goes on to discuss how this was a passion project for Beatty.  Not only did he basically direct, he also basically wrote it although Robert Towne was giving top writing credit.  It is known that the premise was Beatty's idea entirely.

Shampoo is a time capsule of a movie.  It is about a male hairdresser who is sleeping with every woman he makes contact with.  The film opens with him having sex with a married woman.  He has to leave her post coitus to visit his "girlfriend"(Goldie Hawn).  Beatty wants to start his own salon so the married woman suggests he talks to her banker husband.  At this time we find out that the husband has a mistress (the beautiful Julie Christie {who Beatty was dating in real life at the time of filming}).  We also find out that Beatty is screwing her too.  In one scene Beatty goes to the married woman's home to wait for her.  While he is waiting he has sex with her late teenage daughter.  This is a late sixties movie for sure.

The performances are all top notch.  This film has all of these actors at the top of their games.  Beatty is one of the most honest male actors I can think of.  I made a comment on my Stagecoach review that John Wayne never told a lie on screen.  Beatty is right up there with him.  The script is close to perfect as well.  Again I shouldn't be surprised.  Towne had writing credits on many of the most influential films of the 60' and 70's.

Another thing of note about the film is the soundtrack.  Hal Ashby was a hippie and there is no other way to say it.  This film has 2 Beatles songs, The Beach Boys, Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Carrol King and The Monkees.  Today the rights for that soundtrack would be in the 10 of millions of dollars.  If there is one complaint I have it is that the films backdrop is LA during the Nixon presidential race of '68 against Herbert Humphrey.  I think this was meant to help symbolize a shift in the political contentiousness that was happening at the time.  It seamed a little tacked on to me.  Beatty is well know for his political opinions. 

The movie is playful and touching.  It never talks down to it's viewers and it knows what it is doing.  This is a very well though out and well constructed film.  No surprise.  Beatty has a reputation for being a perfectionist.  I enjoyed this film and I give it a 3.5/5 stars.  Check out The Trailer Park and see for yourself.

Banksy's Exit Through The Gift Shop

This looks really amazing. December 14th it is available on Netflix streaming. Review to come soon after that!

Check out the Trailer Park for all the reviews trailers!

Movie #50 Valhalla Rising

"You need a name.  And you only have one eye".

That is the funniest moment in Valhalla Rising.  Matter of fact it is the one funny line in the movie.  Valhalla Rising is a 2010 film about an one eyed, mute slave.  His owners are Vikings that are being threatened by the Christian crusades.   One Eye escapes his slave masters and they all pay for the inhumane treatment they levied towards him. 

Valhalla Rising is a bloody, gory movie at times.  One Eye is an animal.  He shows no regard for human life.  He is a loner with the exception of a young boy that follows him.  The boy becomes his voice.  Not that One Eye has that much to say.  When propositioned with joining the crusades he agrees more or less.  The Christians ask where he is from and the boy says "He is from Hell".  The boy explains that hell is on the other side of the ocean.

While on their quest to make it to Jerusalem the crusaders, the boy and One Eye get lost in a mist and end up in North America where they clash with the natives and each other.

Valhalla Rising is directed by Nicolas Winding Refn.  One of my favorite working directors.  His films aren't always the best, but you know you can count on his to show you something you have never seen before.  Last year he introduced the world to Tom Hardy in the title role in the film Bronson.  The world should be thankful.  He is also the director of the Pusher Trilogy.  A uneven yet sometime brilliant series of films about the pros and cons of drug dealing.

I said Refn provides things you have never seen before.  Valhalla Rising does not disappoint when it come to originality.  But it is not without some clear influences.  The most obvious to me is Terrence Malick's The New World.  Others would be the fictional works of Werner Herzog.

One Eye is played by Mads Mikkelsen.  In my not so humble opinion he is my generations Klaus Kinski.  He is a mad man.  He is electric and unstable.  The comparison between Mads and Refn to Kinski and Herzog is not a difficult one to make.  Refn can really pull brilliant performances out of actors.  Hardy as Bronson was my #1 male performance of last year.

I was expecting a bloody violent picture through out.  It is painful to watch some of the scenes but not always because what is on screen.  The film has a Michael Heeke feel to it as well.  I was not however expecting an anti-Christian message or an anti-American message either.  And the film pulled no punches or was in no way trying to hide it's opinions.

As a whole Valhalla Rising is a challenging view.  There are long stretches of no dialogue.  There is a lot of shots of people in nature not really doing much.  There is madness in the air of this movie and Refn brings it front and center.  It can wear on a person after a bit though.  Refn is not for beginners.  I give Valhalla Rising a 4/5 stars.  Largely for Mads performance and the first 30 minutes of the film.  Check out the link below for the trailer and a new feature click the link to view the DVD at Amazon.com.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcFOSfaCNec

Guest Blogger!!! You Can't See Them All

I read on Facebook the other day that a friend of mine saw and enjoyed the new Christina Aguilera vehicle, "Burlesque".  I sent her a message asking if she thought I would enjoy it.  In response to that she sent me a full review of the movie.  I thought it was very well written so I got her permission and Jennifer will now become my first ever Guest Blogger!

My guess is to answer your question - no, you won't be very impressed.

The dancing was really good. And any numbers performed by Christina Aguilera (Ally) completely showed off her vocal skills and made me love her voice that much more. She's an awesome singer and that carried her through the movie. Her voice also overshadowed her dance skills, which are less impressive than her vocals and her not-so-great acting skills. I do think her acting could be developed, but she really is a singer first. There were a few songs performed by by Cher (Tess), but were just okay and not fantastic. She's seen her better singing and performing years in her 50s and 60s. Her acting, was normal Cher in my opinion. It was just okay; not impressive and felt forced. Sean, Tess's best friend, played by Stanley Tucci, and Jack, the bartender, played by Eric Dane were the comic relief through the movie. Eric had a little bit of physical comedy towards the end of the movie that had some similarity to Jim Carey style comedy. And Stanley Tucci just does well in the supportive comedian actor role.

The plot was disconnected and had too many sub-plots inner-laced into it. A country girl from Iowa wants to make it big. She leaves Iowa, moves to L.A., finds an apartment, then looks for a job that includes singing and dancing. She ends up at Burlesque and gets turned down by the owner to dance, so she basically takes it upon herself to replace the current "bad" waitress, the same day she walked in. Within 48 hours, she develops a mother-daughter relationship with Cher's character. Within Burlesque, she's the enemy of the star of the show, of course, and is the apple of the engaged bartender's eye. And then there's also another story line of financial problems for the club. I'm sure I'm missing another theme in there too. It's just too many plots and unfortunately, they're all diverting attention from the main attraction of the movie, Christina Aguilera. After two hours nearly of dancing and singing, all problems are resolved and of course, Christina's character fixed nearly all of them.

However, I went for the main attraction, Christina.  And I left feeling inspired to plug in more to my own talents and to start going to see Vegas Shows, the Rockettes live, and possibly see a show at the ShadowBox in Newport, KY.


And that, my friend, is Burlesque, in my opinion.


Wonderful review Jen!  I love it that the film inspired you to further your interest in musical theater.  Thank you for allowing me to post your review.  Check out the link below for the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2r_8l1c2nQ

Movie #49 La Femme Nikita

Luc Besson is an interesting man.  He is the director of The Professional (Leon), and The Fifth Element.  Leon is in my Top 100 movies of all time.  When I type these blogs from home I am facing posters of Bonnie and Clyde and Leon is that tells you anything.  Besson's first film to garnish a lot of attention was 1990's La Femme Nikita.  The movie is about a French female street thug / cop killer.  She is sentenced to death then given a chance to live if she dedicates herself to a secret government program that will turn her into a covert assassin.  She obliges them receives her training then is released into the world.  She meets a man, then has to balance home life with her dirty little secret.

Nikita is played by Anne Parillaud.  She has an Amelie meets Juliet Lewis quality about her.  Innocent and playful one moment and insane and emotionless the next.  The rest of the cast is rounded out by solid French actors.  I guess I mention that the film is entirely in French.  The is a great cameo by Jean Reno as "The Cleaner".

Besson stages action in a way that is recognizable and unique.  I can't really describe it.  The camera isn't stationary, but it is not all over the place either.  There are quick cuts, but you always know where you are in the action.  I think back to the shoot out in the beginning of Leon.  Where he is lurking in the shadows.  You don't know where he is, but you know where you are and that intensifies the action.  His camera movements can be flashy, but they are in service of the story.  Technically he is a very good director.

Watching this movie now 20 after it's release it feels a little dated.  Not so much the wardrobe or settings (although they both have a just post Madonna feel) it is more a sense of detachment that was a common theme in movies around that time period.  The late 80's and early 90's were really a low point for creativity in Hollywood.  That was post the resurgence of the studios and computer enhancement, but prior to the uprising of the independent film movement.    I suppose one could say that films like this helped usher in the indy's.

If you are a fan of hitman movies this is a must.  It is not the first, or the best female assassin movies, but it is a major player in the genre.  If you are a fan of Besson's then you have probably seen this film already.  If not then you should. If neither of these things interest you then you won't be missing out by skipping this film.  I will say that if you are not a fan of Besson, check out Leon.  It might change your mind.  I give Le Femme Nikita a 3/5 stars.  Check out the link below for the trailer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=167URLa-On0

Paul Thomas Anderson Looks To Adapt Thomas Pychon’s ‘Inherent Vice’ With Robert Downey Jr. The Playlist

This could be freaking awesome!

Paul Thomas Anderson Looks To Adapt Thomas Pychon’s ‘Inherent Vice’ With Robert Downey Jr. The Playlist