tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60998001679209244162024-02-21T05:33:33.429-08:00The Double FeaturetteLixianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11271496141867475515noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-36450857071899049102014-02-08T14:47:00.001-08:002014-02-08T15:35:56.576-08:00That Awkward Moment: Notes on Ms. 45, The Act of Killing<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">"Shame on you for laughing at a rape victim!" This line is not heard in <i>Ms. 45</i>, NY cult director Abel (<i><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLvi01UW3vk">King of New York</a></i>) Ferrara's second feature; it was spoken by a young woman in the front of the theater, chastising the very packed crowd at The Brooklyn Academy of Music screening of (God bless the) Alamo Drafthouse's new restoration last night during the end credits. People were just finishing their ovation and were so jazzed up that many asked the woman to speak up and repeat herself above the din. Once the statement was made clear, a strong murmur erupted, everyone starting to wonder if they'd all seen the same movie and/or reacted shamefully or inappropriately.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> A tone is set for <i>Ms. 45</i> from the get-go -- scene one introducing a buffoonish male boss at a garment factory as he shows off sherbet-colored, "only in the '80s" patterned wares to a client; scene two, the team of women who work for him filing out from work for the day, last being our mousy-haired, mute heroine Thana (a wonderfully observant performance by 17-year old Zoë Tamerlis Lund, resembling Anne Hathaway from certain angles and who later co-wrote Ferrara's infamous <i>Bad Lieutenant</i>) patted awkwardly on the head like a child. These scenes are where most of the chuckles in the crowd began.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Not long after this introduction, she is made to withstand a harrowing assault in a requisite back alley, followed by another sexual assault in <i>the very next scene</i> in her broken-into apartment, which sets the rest of the film in motion. Nobody laughed, and the shift in tone speaks to the mechanics of exploitation filmmaking. Ferrara clearly took the time to distinguish between these catalytic scenes, the ones at the very beginning, and the rest of <i>Ms. 45</i>. At no point are we made to feel insensitive to the terrible circumstances that befall Thana. <i>Ms. 45</i> does not lewdly linger over her traumatic event(s); rather, the exploitive elements are saved solely for the revenge plot of the movie. The audience laughs with her, as she picks off one man after another at the first sign of offense or insult (the use of No Wave guitar & saxophone to cue her awakened wrath is period perfect). The running gag of Thana having to parcel bags of "trash" out of her apartment throughout the movie is especially satisfying. The "laugh at" moments seemed more to do with the cheesy '80s setting and the general over-the-top yet just-right piggish behavior of just about every man we see onscreen. The basic irony and subversion of guys getting killed because "they were asking for it" probably garnered the most audible laughter among the crowds.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> Yet was the statement made by the audience member wrong? It's an interesting moral implication and gets at the heart of what revenge movies are meant to do -- create a fantasy that gets you rooting for the antihero beyond rational points of order </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and lawful reciprocity </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">(it's telling that not a single cop shows up in the movie until the nosy landlady everyone-who's-ever-lived-in-an-apartment-building-knows calls them in towards the end). Most citizens of society would immediately say they would not condone such behavior in the real world, and <i>Ms. 45 </i>(which also contains dashes of <i>Psycho</i>, <i>Repulsion</i>, <i>Taxi Driver</i>, <i>Carrie</i>, plus a notable upending of a famous shot from <i>Manhattan</i>, to name a few of the movies directly alluded to throughout) serves as a gold-standard for wish-fulfillment. Unlike other movies with similar drives (especially from the '80s), where the heroine is either killed soon after her ordeal (<i>Death Wish</i>) or completely fades into the background for the rest of the movie (<i>The Last House on the Left</i>, <i>Unforgiven</i>) to make way for strong, vengeful men, <i>Ms. 45</i> permits it's female victim to seek her own revenge, succeed, and be protected from any further violation by men. She's not even judged for enjoying her role as angel of death. It's a testament to the movie's ability to speak to a 2014 audience who seemed more shocked by the filth, garbage and fashions of 1981 than by the politics and reaction of female characters to the atmosphere of male violence implicit throughout the New York City of <i>Ms. 45</i>. But maybe all this is irrelevant where the subject matter is concerned. Spike Lee stated at the end of 2012 how he would not see <i>Django Unchained</i> because he felt applying a spaghetti western form to a slave narrative was offensive. Slavery is slavery, rape is rape, and no amount of fantasy wish fulfillment will be able to make that OK for everyone. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Last night's unique retort stayed with me and called to mind my favorite movie of 2013, <i>The Act of Killing</i>, a documentary (up for an Academy for Best Foreign this year and, coincidentally, another Drafthouse Film) which presents Indonesia almost as an alternate universe where the bad guys won and are treated as national heroes. As the title implies, most of the movie is spent describing in detail the way hundreds of thousands of people were killed during the anti-communist purge in the mid '60s, told by the very individuals who performed the mass killings. Our main "character", Anwar Congo, personally killed (by his own admission) as many as 1,000 of these people. The movie does a magnificent job of mixing fantasy and reality, allowing the revered murderers to not only tell their own stories but be given the opportunity to revisit and playact them in their own films within the film. It's sick, twisted, truly horrifying, and one of most surreally amazing movies I've ever seen.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> But the most absurd part of the experience of watching this was the gentlemen sitting two seats next to me, who kept chuckling at scene after scene. I was mortified -- did he not understand that what he was watching was a genuine documentary? It took everything in my power not to slap this guy in the face and convince myself that this was the nervous reaction of someone not prepared to believe what was happening on screen (and/or maybe he was on the most ill-advised first date ever). It made me think way back to seeing <i>The Celebration</i> with a friend, my first and, shamefully, last seen film that was part of the official Dogme '95 movement. During the famous scene <b>(spoilers, I guess)</b> where a son, established in earlier scenes to have been working up the nerve to this moment, exhorts the guest of honor by speaking of his father raping his sister, my friend erupted in laughter. I was embarrassed -- how could someone laugh at such a statement? Again, the absurdity of the moment took control, and I understood that it was a reaction to discomfort, much like the way people laugh at jump-out-of-your-seat moments in horror movies. I loved<i> Ms. 45</i>, but some horrors are not so comfortably consumed.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ms. 45 <i>is playing at BAM through Sunday, Feb. 9. </i>The Act of Killing<i> can be seen on Google Play or YouTube. </i>The Celebration (Festen)<i> is widely available online.</i></span></div>
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-</style>When I studied film in college, there was a great deal of
emphasis on the role of film as both a chronicler and example of
modernity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And when I say modernity, I
mean the twenties and thirties, the railroad, telephones and large art deco
skyscrapers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Film, this new medium, was
both a great symbol of modernity (moving pictures! Talkies!!) and also the way
that this modernity was captured for all to see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of the best films of all time, F. W. Murnau’s
<i>Sunrise</i> with its contrast of city and country life and that amazing shot of the
wife running across the trolley filled street, and of course Fritz Lang’s
<i>Metropolis </i>are part of this conversation about and obsession with “modernity.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See also: anything by Charlie Chaplin. </div>
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<i>Her</i>, the latest by Spike Jonze, explores our new digital “modern”
age and what it means to be awkwardly and painfully human within it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know he is not the first director to do
so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as Chaplin and Lang were part
of a greater dialogue about modernity, other filmmakers are exploring our own
modern age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A film that always comes to
mind even though it has nothing to do with computers or anything “digital” is <i>Millennium
Mambo</i> by Hou Hsiao Hsien, which to me has always perfectly captured the bright
neon look and pulsing house beat feel of the early 2000s. (Side note:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My favorite film in this vein, of course, is
and always will be <i>Hackers</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I feel
the need to point out that during <i>Her</i> there is a shot that was pretty much
stolen from <i>Hackers</i> at which point the guy in front of me said, very loudly
“Cool shot!” and I wanted to smack him.) </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">I can't find the shot I am talking about. So this will just have to do. YAY HACKERS!!!</span></div>
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So what does <i>Her </i>contribute to this larger conversation
about the self in a digitized society?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
think it is tempting to simply look at <i>Her</i> as a fantastical story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a kind of future world more akin to
<i>Minority Report </i>or <i>A.I</i>. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of those
films that shows us that terrible things happen when we give our lives over to
computers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is tempting to see the
reality it paints as a cute, funny, and yet completely implausible story about
a man who falls in love with his computer operating system. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Granted, the look of the film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">is</i> fantastical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jonz creates world of hazy primary colors,
high waisted tweed pants and an always perfectly curated soundtrack where
hundreds of people are employed writing fake handwritten letters and operating
systems have souls. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most fantastical of
all is the presence of a Los Angeles fully accessible by subway! From beach to
downtown Joaquin Phoenix travels via a pristine subway (OH IF ONLY SUCH A
FUTURE WERE POSSIBLE!!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But behind the impeccable
art and design is a very simple question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“In the digital age, what does it mean to be human?” The cartoonish
scene that Jonz paints disguises an exploration of what it means to be alive
right now: In present day earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
present day Los Angeles where I never once took the subway because in the 70s
Santa Monica said there were some kind of methane of sulphur deposits or
something and squashed plans to extend the subway to the sea. </div>
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At the end of the day, <i>Her</i> is just as much as story of a
divorce from a human being as it is a love story about a man and his
computer<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> (Slight spoiler: the scene in which Phoenix and his wife (played by Rooney Mara) sign their divorce papers is really heartbreaking and wonderful). </span>Yes, there is a commentary on
how much we are relying on our computers at the expense of our relationships
with other people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But it is also simply
a celebration of the part of being human that transcends technology and
whatever “age” we choose to live in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That part of us that is awkward and flawed and wonderful at the same time. That part of us that is so lonely and looking for a connection that we do fall in love with our operating system. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Similarly, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sunrise</i>,
can be viewed as a commentary on the dangers of a modern world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The husband (George O’Brien) is tempted to
kill his wife (the Oscar winning Janet Gaynor) by the evil woman from the
city (her character is literally called "the Woman From the City").<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And the troubled couple are thrust
out of their country life into the scary big city. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a warning in the film: do not give up
what makes us good people in this rush to modernize and move to the city!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But <i>Sunrise</i> is also a simple love story about
a couple who have disconnected and fall back in love. </div>
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Both <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Her</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Sunrise</i> are about periods in time that
will probably be looked back at soon as antiquated and quaint (trolley
cars…hah!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Operating systems…hah!)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And they are both part of larger conversations about the dangers of losing one's humanity in those time periods. But I think just like <i>Sunrise</i>, <i>Her</i> is one for
the ages, because it is also about something fundamental that does not seem to
change with the height of one’s waistline.</div>
Lixianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11271496141867475515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-72806456679604029412013-10-30T21:47:00.003-07:002013-10-30T21:47:11.409-07:00"The end of you."<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><i>Shutter Island / The </i>(old!)<i> Wicker Man: Final Cut</i></span><br />
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Happy Halloween, everyone! Let's start by talking about the great Dante Ferretti, Italian production designer extraordinaire who currently <a href="http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1396">has a beautiful exhibition of his work on display</a> at The Museum of Modern Art here in NYC (through February 9). This sweet little old Italian man (at least that's how he came off when he introduced the first film screening at the opening ceremony) began his career working on Pier Paolo Pasolini's later work, including the notorious<i> Salò, or</i> <i>120 Days of Sodom </i>(hell, all Pasolini's later movies were pretty notorious), and has since made several movies for Martin Scorcese, starting with <i>The Age of Innocence</i>. If you live in the area and are a fan of movies, take a look. Along with great big portions of set pieces arranged through the museum showcasing his work, MoMA is screening many of his best realized movies (still on deck: <i>Interview with the Vampire, Casino, Hamlet</i>). It is so worth your time.</div>
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Also worth your time is the little movie Scorcese released in 2010 between his Oscar winning <i>The Departed</i> (yawn) and the well received (and among the more engaging 3D features made thus far) <i>Hugo</i>. <i>Shutter Island</i> is just shy of being anomalous among the works of Scorcese: It has nothing to do with NY, does not involve a single made-man, and does not star Leonardo DiCaprio (hahaha, just kidding -- of COURSE it stars Leonardo DiCaprio). I initially dismissed it as a thriller with a [Well...now I have to stop right here for <b>the spoiler announcement.</b> OK? I'm gonna go ahead now. You've been warned.] twist you can see from miles away (you will, too) and didn't bother going to see it in the theater. When I saw it later that year on video, I felt foolish, because the so-called "twist" was somewhat superfluous -- the story told was still rich, heartbreaking and maybe one of the few Scorcese movies I've found genuinely moving. As such, I took the opportunity to see it again at MoMA on the big screen.</div>
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In terms of visual style and building a sense of dread, its closest relative might be<i> Cape Fear,</i> arguably Scorcese's weirdest and most disturbing movie to date. I don't think <i>Shutter Island</i> is as operatically bizarre (although there is a drowning scene that rivals the one at <i>Cape Fear'</i>s close), but the tone and atmosphere call back to that strangeness. <i>Shutter Island, </i>written for the screen by Dennis Lehane ("The Wire", <i>Mystic River</i>) from his novel, evokes an interesting mix of prior Scorcese pictures you may not expect -- <i>Cape Fear</i> for sure, but also the visual texture of <i>Kundun </i>(full disclosure: I am that asshole that sincerely likes <i>Kundun</i>) and, maybe strangest of all, the warmth (a rarity in his movies) and sympathy for characters not seen since <i>The Age of Innocence</i> (though one does later feel the "hug" in <i>Hugo</i>, too).</div>
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<i>Shutter Island</i> opens in mist and fog, a shot held eerily long with no immediate music cues present until one sees something of a ghost ship emerge from its cloudy depths. This opening is only one of the first metaphors for fractured memory that haunts the rest of the story. No sooner are we introduced to our primary characters, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his new partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo), then are we thrust into a series of jarring shots, cut with such speed (and alarming, freaky freeze frames thrown in for good measure) that we're immediately as disoriented as the seasick marshal. [Nerd alert: It took me a little while to figure out that what was throwing me off in this scene was shot after shot of total 180º rule breakage; nice one, Marty & DP Robert Richardson!] Following some brisk exposition we move to the action proper: An investigation into the disappearance of a violent patient (Emily Mortimer) on the eponymous prison island. Ostensibly a floating asylum for the criminally insane, the island leads our hero, already dealing with Dachau liberation-level PTSD on top of a tragically dead wife (Michelle Williams in fever dream sequences), to spars with head shrinking medical professionals (including a pitch-perfect as always Ben Kingsley) and psychotic patients alike for the duration of the story as he pursues his missing quandary (along with "Prisoner" style clues -- "The Law of 4", "Who is 67?", et al.). As the spectre of his wife warns "this would be the end of you" while he walks through the facility's wards and rocky terrain (which include portentous, persistent images of smoke and water), so too do we move along Daniels' broken psyche, until it finally intertwines inextricably with the island and the inhabitants therein.<br />
It's a credit to Lehane's writing and Scorcese's direction that, whether you figure things out immediately or not until the end, the story still manages to satisfy, never completely misdirecting from what it completely hints at from the get go. It benefits from relying on our main character's subconscious obsessions -- memories of his wife's death by arson (and as he specifies, "not the fire, but the smoke"), an SS officer he would not grant a final mercy to, the deaths of countless Nazi guards punished for their acts -- and consequently establishing that the viewpoint we're most privy to is unreliable at best. Some of the most truly terrifying horror comes from realizing you can't even trust the person telling the story.</div>
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It was during the moment where the ship approaches the dock of the island that I shuddered and realized how much it reminded me of another creep fest (tis the season)<i> </i>I'd just rewatched on the big screen for its "final cut":<i> The Wicker Man</i>. Please, not the one with Nicolas Cage! The ORIGINAL one with Christopher Lee, Edward ("The Equalizer") Woodward and, uh, the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMSFSG7NVIo">songs.</a> Sergeant Neal Howie (Woodward) is also called to a remote island in pursuit of a girl mysteriously vanished, only to be faced with his own personal demons and a potentially malevolent patriarch with ulterior minded islanders. Both our heroes also bear witness to their original purpose evaporate into smoke right at the moment it's too late for them to turn back, bricking themselves into their own emotional prisons along the way; both movies have emotionally devastating ends. I'd originally watched <i>The Wicker Man</i> as a double feature preceding<i> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUWB-Kw4FiM">Don't Look Now</a></i>, which in turn had it's own grief-soaked protagonist whose perception of the world had been warped beyond self-preservation. This new cut of <i>The Wicker Man</i> disposes of a tongue-in-cheek intro text thanking "the people of [the] island", restores the original order of scenes, adds a sequence mid-way to provide another cohesive clue, a shot or two added to a montage of Howie making further investigations into his missing person, and a chilling coda to the finale. While these changes create greater narrative cohesion, something is dissatisfyingly lost -- while they help in making better sense of character development throughout, it stifles the rhythm of the picture and takes away from the overall feeling of disorientation, weirdness and dread the viewer experiences; for example, meeting Lee's Lord Summerisle sooner in this version gives greater credence to his having pulled strings all along, yet defangs the impact of not seeing him until almost half-way through the shorter version. Much of how one follows the previous version relies on picking up bits of business as you go; having this version be more explicit takes much of the fun out of keeping up with the narrative. This intended version is still worth seeing whether you're familiar with the material or not, but like both Marshal Daniels and Sergeant Howie, it leaves you pondering so much for the best intentions.</div>
Kennethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17915029241885950243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-84538174151486171622013-10-22T14:16:00.000-07:002013-10-22T16:06:34.028-07:00There will be blood.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light';">Notes on the new CARRIE, TROUBLE EVERY DAY.</span><br />
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<b>[Spoilers.]</b> I wasn't especially excited for a remake of CARRIE, a movie which is easily one of my top five favorite Brian De Palma movies of all time, but I was intrigued when I found out it was to be directed by Kimberly Peirce. I ultimately had not loved BOYS DON'T CRY (for much the same reasons I didn't enjoy PHILADELPHIA the first time I saw it -- too "importantly" preachy and compromised), but I'd found it a very strong debut for a first-timer. Only the third feature Ms. Peirce has made in 14 years, I thought of another director just as prolific and got even more interested. [I'm gonna stop right here and mention this other director -- Jonathan Glazer -- because have you seen the teaser for his new movie? <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvuDDzgZHEI">You should see it now. </a> I'm not even sure when this comes out, but it must be amazing, right? How can it not be? If it's not as good as I'm hoping, I may have to stop watching movies. Maybe. Sorry for the digression.] The new remake of CARRIE hews closer to De Palma's vision than the source material of Stephen King's, apart from one scene towards the end where a formal hearing is conducted regarding the events of the prom-night conflagration, alluding to the narrative structure of the original novel. While Peirce is to be commended for trying out new things in this version, particularly in conceiving a story in which we have much more sympathy for Carrie White than with the townspeople in prior tellings, remaining so close to De Palma's take may leave you missing the bits he did so well the first time.</div>
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What Peirce does get right and in some cases improves on deserve noting: A better sense of Margaret White's (Julianne Moore, just a tad heavy-handed) mental illness (nice, albeit excessive touch having her be a cutter) instead of simply being a Bible-wielding nutbar; the mercy shown to Ms. Desjardin (Judy Greer), despite her fruitless efforts at being a surrogate mother for Carrie White (Chloë Grace Moretz, playing the role with more self-protective suspicion than Sissy Spacek's gawky, guileless weirdo); and a greater emphasis on the tragic weight of Carrie's circumstances -- urgently, clandestinely learning all she can about TK and magic, she comes off as a stray mutant sadly undiscovered by the school-as-sanctuary of the X-MEN stories, or a Harry Potter that took a wrong turn for the worse adult guardian. Speaking of which, there are definite "origin story" elements that dovetail appropriately with this century's glut of superhero narratives (possibly owing to co-writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, a notable major comic book writer), but those remain subtle as the horror beats accumulate throughout the rest of the picture. There are wisps of commentary on the proliferating arsenal of instant bullying methods via social media, along with echoes of class and self-worth a la THE BLING RING, but seem quickly abandoned for overstating Sue Snell's (Gabriella Wilde) guilt over the opening group assault on Carrie's unfortunate public discovery of her womanhood (there's even a late-story reveal of a blessed event, almost completely and awkwardly unnecessary to the story). You also see this in the dimension given to Chris' (Portia Doubleday) bad-little-rich-girl character (with an uncredited <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cBsdgJcT28">Hart Bochner</a> as her dad), further evidence of the director and writers' attempts at giving every character just a little more depth and motive. </div>
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It may help not being overfamiliar with the screen's original version; one can't help keeping a running tab of all the scenic snapshots this version stops to take note of and reminisce over how they've been done better (many of the sardonic notes of the original are thrown over for standard, hamhanded horror ones; the moments of pure ecstasy many of the characters experience just before death, sadly excised for overburdened demises; the wonderful shock of the ending of the original (though probably best left untouched); John Travolta). You may say this is endemic of remakes in general until you stop to consider at least two this century which managed to transcend their predecessors -- both VANILLA SKY (derived from Spain's ABRE LOS OJOS) and LET ME IN (from Sweden's LÅT DEN RÄTTE KOMMA IN) took approaches that, despite other flaws they may have, made me forget (almost) all about their prior and at least equally brilliant incarnations (the latter was also based on a sprawling, multi-perspective novel). Both also managed to tell thoughtful, personal versions of same and additionally placed them in a unique, American context, a telling contrast to a CARRIE remake that plays merely as horror movie of the month. Perhaps doing an American remake of an American classic is ill-advised (yes, I'm definitely thinking of THE BAD NEWS BEARS).</div>
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After the disappointing returns of CARRIE, it was just a hop, skip, and a jump from Kaufman-Astoria to the Museum of the Moving Image (ain't Queens magic?) for the brand new 35mm print of TROUBLE EVERY DAY. I remember originally looking for this at Mondo Kim's in the East Village years ago and finding their copy with one of their classic, written-on messages in the margins of the box: "Not that it matters, but this copy has no English subtitles!" Indeed, much of the movie's dialogue is kept at a minimum, and much of what's said in Claire Denis' cult classic is spoken in English by the film's protagonist, Shane Brown (Vincent Gallo, with his usual eerie, "I haven't slept in days" presence), or heard briefly in the lyrics of the soundtrack, provided by Tindersticks (a regular collaborator of Ms. Denis). Many of Claire Denis' movies have focused on human desire, and TROUBLE EVERY DAY is no exception. What sets it apart from the rest of her work is the full dive into a sci-fi/horror genre presentation (my apologies to the director, for I know she's taken pains to avoid this too-obvious association), where bloodletting very literally becomes the organizing priniciple of the main characters -- Coré Samuels, as played by a dialogue-free Beatrice Dalle, and the aforementioned Mr. Gallo, on honeymoon in Paris with his new bride June (Tricia Vessey) and in search of the former for reasons kept satisfyingly mysterious (insert DRACULA allusion here). With the lack of dialogue, the human sounds you hear most are sighs -- arguably the most universal sound of ache and longing, heard here when characters are at rest, exhausted from sexual intercourse, or tired simply from some existential malaise (how very French). All consuming need, lust, desire, and what in modern parlance has come to be referred to as sex addiction all come to the fore in TROUBLE EVERY DAY, as it forays into a not-quite vampire/cannibals story. Shane and Coré's inevitable reunion (they are familiar with each other in 16mm flashbacks) is also offset by a subplot concerning Coré's doctor husband (Alex Descas), searching desperately for a cure to his wife's "affliction". Shot in the usual, beautiful low-lit style of Denis' regular DP Agnes Godard, there are images of the Seine at dawn/dusk, wonderfully imagined shots in and out of an airplane as it flys over Denver (!), surreptitious views of a recurring chambermaid (Florence Loiret-Caille) washing her legs at a sink after a day's work, and blood, so much blood everywhere. After this and CARRIE, one may become queasy over the slightest sight of anything red and wet for some time.</div>
Kennethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17915029241885950243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-23517523718332234502011-01-23T09:04:00.000-08:002011-01-23T14:50:22.207-08:00Ken's Double Featurette Awards, 2010<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyajk0aiKayHKsspSw5_khZeClJLxqyTEhqjpribBgsBm2_BRIXUMobcy4CKugvZ1c5Bi8Mj9Ryr9Nuy_2v4u5cnGsXGM1hJ8HomaXmXd98sYxrgKczlnlEZgDNjoZxO8sf5GSFzwUfdo/s1600/toy+story3.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyajk0aiKayHKsspSw5_khZeClJLxqyTEhqjpribBgsBm2_BRIXUMobcy4CKugvZ1c5Bi8Mj9Ryr9Nuy_2v4u5cnGsXGM1hJ8HomaXmXd98sYxrgKczlnlEZgDNjoZxO8sf5GSFzwUfdo/s320/toy+story3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565514323165745314" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXFpPaBBlCz8m2SkCzPJ72wZvYXVehQEQ6l4rGumc4ogBD4-xj-a_5J_DmokNsrhPN-wpFwuggXxOmFdSf3zLcq6Wewe4XjoKImkLD2ALgjg__x0KX60QRTUUQPzYFkbZFEAow6DnSHJI/s1600/Let-Me-In-29-550x366.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXFpPaBBlCz8m2SkCzPJ72wZvYXVehQEQ6l4rGumc4ogBD4-xj-a_5J_DmokNsrhPN-wpFwuggXxOmFdSf3zLcq6Wewe4XjoKImkLD2ALgjg__x0KX60QRTUUQPzYFkbZFEAow6DnSHJI/s320/Let-Me-In-29-550x366.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565514055922870066" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura"><br /></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Best Double Feature 2010: <i>Let Me In/Toy Story 3</i></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Futura; min-height: 19px; "><i></i><br /></p><p style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 14px/normal Futura; ">Runners up to the above:<i> Winter's Bone/Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1</i></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Futura; font-size: 14px; "><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Futura; font-size: 14px; ">Best Cage Match Double Feature: <i>Kick-Ass/The Sorcerer's Apprentice</i></span></div> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Best Complete Nonsense Double Feature: <i>Alice in Wonderland/Hot Tub Time Machine</i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><i></i><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Best Directed: <i>The Social Network/Scott Pilgrim vs. The World</i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><i></i><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Best double feature score heard in the same weekend:<i> Let Me In/The Social Network</i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><i></i><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Best First Feature: Banksy,<i> Exit Through the Gift Shop/</i>Lena Dunham<i>, Tiny Furniture</i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><i></i><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Best Harris Savides makes L.A. look inhabitable Double Feature: <i>Greenberg/Somewhere</i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><i></i><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Best non-American double feature: <i>Un prophète(A Prophet)/Io sono l'amore(I Am Love)</i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><i></i><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Best Liam Neeson can make anything watchable double feature: <i>Clash of the Titans/The A-Team</i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><i></i><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Best inadvertently seen this year double feature set in the same state (New Mexico): <i>Charley Varrick/Let Me In</i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Best non-Pixar double feature:<i> Despicable Me/Tangled</i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Best Pepsi Throwback double feature: <i>The American/The Romantics</i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Best use of pop songs: "O Children", Nick Cave, <i>Harry Potter 7a</i>/"1 Thing", Amerie, <i>Somewhere</i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Favorite male supporting performances: Pierce Brosnan, <i>The Ghost Writer</i>/Maximus, <i>Tangled</i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Favorite pair of totally different scores by the same composer: <i>A Prophet/Harry Potter 7a</i>, Alexandre Desplat</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Most perpetually anticipated double feature I can't seem to see: <i>Dogtooth/The Fighter</i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">"OK, bored now" double feature: <i>The King's Speech/Never Let Me Go</i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Overrated double feature:<i> Black Swan/Inception</i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><i></i><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Still bringing it: Michael Douglas, <i>Solitary Man</i>/Woody Allen, <i>You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger</i></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura; min-height: 19.0px"><i></i><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Futura">Underrated double feature: <i>Shutter Island/The Ghost Writer</i></p>Kennethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17915029241885950243noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-30376651986596686282010-12-12T15:31:00.000-08:002010-12-12T15:34:44.916-08:00LINKAGEFrom today's Economic Times: How to finance your film via <a href="http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/media/entertainment-/entertainment/FB-Status-Need-money-making-my-film/articleshow/7085280.cms">The Social Network</a>.Kennethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17915029241885950243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-82019385692168290612010-08-28T18:24:00.000-07:002010-08-28T18:42:36.731-07:00A Double Feature 5 Years After Katrina<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/14297273" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/14297273">Soft Cat - It Won't Be Long</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user3840450">Friends Records</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p><br /><br />My friend Fred posted this amazing music video animated by his sister Miranda Pfeiffer. So firstly, a big congrats to her. I am not sure if she meant the release of the video to coincide with the anniversary of Katrina but the images of the water swelling and engulfing everything + all the news coverage there has been of late about the Hurricane got me thinking. <br /><br />In particular I thought about The Music Room (1958) by Satyajut Ray. Which I programmed a long way back in a series about Crumbling aristocracies. It's a wonderful mediation on the end of an era, as the lord of manor entertains his friends one last time in his famous music room even as the river threatens to take back the land his castle sits on. Hopefully in the next few days I will think of a double feature about rebirth and rebuilding... so that this Katrina anniversary can end on a slightly more hopeful note.Lixianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11271496141867475515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-42023848307415689442010-08-25T15:17:00.000-07:002010-08-25T12:17:56.765-07:00Linkage: For the day (possibly the week or month).<span style="font-size:100%;">(Maybe) Something on <span style="font-style: italic;">Scott Pilgrim vs. the World</span> vs. Fatih Akin's<span style="font-style: italic;"> Soul Kitchen</span> pending, but first: From this past Sunday's NY Times, we have a piece from Arts & Style reporter Ms. Melena Ryzik on an interesting development regarding film distribution, "D.I.Y. Music Labels Embrace D.I.Y. Film":<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /><br /><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/movies/22indie.html?ref=music">http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/movies/22indie.html?ref=music</a><br /><br />Read and be merry.</span>Kennethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17915029241885950243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-45105842276524910592010-07-18T08:00:00.000-07:002010-07-18T14:41:12.176-07:00SCIENCE FICTION/DOUBLE FEATURE<img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 142px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINy-jAj1OkowcG4ISETCwHDEAxmAbMcHxoMZy5scNpK6zuNxYbs4xdjhTMih1GQFNOhyphenhyphen5RPgNkG1qPnTukId7ZYGyp5EF_Qtf8i0_kwHpbUPVi336UB4lXf5i4d_C3T2P7p0fn-9F9b4/s200/SorcerersApprentice-thumb-550xauto-12052.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495356607168562370" /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsR5VMd0-NNuFhs0uQRQKIkcWm0pqumg0NAHJ61JM7hUSNiHU79lOieXHpxoTFjh3gnTl7soGdLgolu0hPsWlwEXa7lP62mysqioWSPfCQSp94LacigXia53LiV76nqjeaTTBqSL6ntvY/s1600/500x_inc-03509.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 133px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsR5VMd0-NNuFhs0uQRQKIkcWm0pqumg0NAHJ61JM7hUSNiHU79lOieXHpxoTFjh3gnTl7soGdLgolu0hPsWlwEXa7lP62mysqioWSPfCQSp94LacigXia53LiV76nqjeaTTBqSL6ntvY/s200/500x_inc-03509.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495356597713658098" /></a><br /><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">Both<i> Inception</i>, the new movie by Christopher Nolan, and Jon Turteltaub's <i>The Sorcerer's Apprentice</i>, involve physics</p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica">and the human brain's capacity for perception. Both succeed on different levels.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><i></i></p><i><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><i></i></p><i><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><i>Inception</i> is the first movie by Chris Nolan conceived as an original story since his 2000 hit, <i>Memento</i>, which had the heady premise of presenting your standard neo-noir in backwards order; since then, Nolan has cut his teeth on adaptations -<i>- Insomnia</i>, the two recent <i>Batman</i> movies, and <i>The Prestige</i>. I'm not sure that his storytelling chops have evolved, but what's there can certainly be identified as a personal style, which always seems to involve spinning tricky stories with some sleight of hand and some admittedly charming old fashioned movie magic. In <i>Inception</i>, we're immediately thrust into a world where the invasion of a person's dreams and unconscious mind is a given, a la <i>The Matrix</i> or <i>Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind</i>. At the same time (not unlike Nolan's previous efforts), the plot follows that of a basic heist genre picture, set up as protagonist Cobb's (Leonardo DiCaprio) one "last big score" to get him reunited with the kids he hasn't seen since having to flee "Stateside". He recruits a crew for the job -- an Arthur (loyal partner Joseph Gordon-Levitt), an architect (Ellen Page, also doing extra work as a psychologist in some scenes), a forger (a lively and entertaining performance by Tom Hardy), and a chemist (Dileep Rao), all bankrolled by a new employer (Ken Watanabe) who can guarantee his future amnesty. Lurking in the shadows is a femme fatale in the form of Mal (Marion Cotillard and yes, that is one heavy-handed character name), who may or may not gum up the works. What sets this basic plot apart is that the majority of the action takes place in what are essentially several floors (and a basement) of Cillian Murphy's subconscious house of a mind (which also brings us into <i>Being John Malkovich </i>territory). The movie toys with this, has its fun, and keeps the audience engaged, albeit on an intellectual plane rather than an emotional one. While a lot of talky talk exposition gets unpacked (one of the drawbacks of sci-fi in general), it's kept to a minimum; the filmmakers are confident enough to rely on their visuals, which are enjoyable in details big (such as Page's quick read of what she can manipulate via the physics of the dream world) and small (the joke of explaining "the kick" by subjecting Gordon-Levitt's character to successive pratfalls, or Hardy's transformation into Tom Berenger via clever cutaways to various mirrors). JG-L gets to perform some of the more exhilarating effects work, in a scene -- probably the movie's best -- that moves from a fist fight in a rotating corridor to free-floating in the same environment to solve yet another dream conundrum (take that, 3-D!). Overall, it's an entertaining and refreshingly imaginative movie, inventively dazzling while being bereft of any real feeling. The prime example is the explanation of Cobb's angst over his relationship with Mal: You get the impression that our hearts are supposed to go out to this doomed affair, but like so much of the narrative not directly dealing with the main event, it only serves as more distancing backstory. The best you're going to get is the chemistry teased out between Hardy and Gordon-Levitt's characters, who seem ready for their own <i>Oceans </i>series. In line with the rest of Nolan's oeuvre, you're better off not overworking the 10% of your brain used in regard to the big dreamy ideas (or the length -- a James Bond ski chase sequence taxed my watch-glancing resistance) and just enjoying the small spinning top.</p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><br /></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><i>The Sorcerer's Apprentice</i>, while being of more modest means (and, as the latest Cage/Bruckheimer co-lab, that speaks volumes), may arguably be the more rewarding experience: After an awesome voiceover intro by Ian McShane (can we just have him introduce everything from now on?), an unlikely "I make music with my Tesla coil" genius Dave (a winning Jake Cherry at 10 years old, then Jay Baruchel at 20, giving Michael Cera and Jesse Eisenberg some much needed competition) gets recruited by "Merlinist" magician Balthazar Blake (but really, they could've just named him "Nicolas Cage"), discovers he is -- wait for it -- "The Prime Merlinian" (LOL), and learns how to use more than 10% of his brain not to manipulate dreams but to blow shit up and get the girl. How does physics get explained in <i>this</i>, you may ask? Physics = Magic. Done. Seriously, Nic and the writers (based on a Goethe poem!) make it that easy for the audience. The rest is Alfred "Horvath (<a href="http://my.spill.com/profiles/blogs/the-sorcerers-apprentice-1">whore bath?</a>)" Molina relishing his role as the baddie and forcing several Cage matches to ensue, involving floating sword fights, an urn with a ten year imprisonment expectancy (to the day), a dragon, a Russian nesting doll, an ashy Alice Krige and a Chrysler building gargoyle that knows how to get to Paris. Oh, and I forgot -- broomsticks. It's Maaaagic! All you have to do is get past the complete implausibility of a WNYU dj playing a Jonas Brothers-esque song on the New Afternoon Show. While the best magic is performed in getting our hero from Washington Square Park to the Chrysler Building in mere seconds, <i>The Sorcerer's Apprentice</i> makes the perfect palate cleanser to the high concept ambitions of <i>Inception.</i></p></i><p></p></i><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p>Kennethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17915029241885950243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-92096837426124973802010-03-28T08:39:00.000-07:002010-03-28T10:15:19.957-07:00"Double Take" and "Mundane History"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixiEF3JPD6JwR69VXYGwug5QG_bD2MA7ZIVe1CGM1AZxL-pAWeEAaPo8ad-i1nAguC0jg9cVFf1h934goUlRsrm3FNenCT4CboVje6qyCm2hI_7mtAhGkr3SHjMuLjSb9nEIbPFmY8H_W0/s1600/double+take.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 225px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453726831884236786" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixiEF3JPD6JwR69VXYGwug5QG_bD2MA7ZIVe1CGM1AZxL-pAWeEAaPo8ad-i1nAguC0jg9cVFf1h934goUlRsrm3FNenCT4CboVje6qyCm2hI_7mtAhGkr3SHjMuLjSb9nEIbPFmY8H_W0/s400/double+take.jpg" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Double trouble</strong> Hitchcock meets himself in this allegorical satire</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">D</span></strong><em>ouble Take</em> begins with Alfred Hitchcock explaining, in the footage of his 1966 interview with François Truffaut, the term "MacGuffin":<br /></span><br /><blockquote><span style="font-family:courier new;">It might be a Scottish name, taken from a story about two men in a train. One man says "What's that package up there in the baggage rack?", and the other answers "Oh that's a McGuffin". The first one asks "What's a McGuffin?". "Well", the other man says, "It's an apparatus for trapping lions in the Scottish Highlands". The first man says "But there are no lions in the Scottish Highlands", and the other one answers "Well, then that's no McGuffin!".</span></blockquote><span style="font-family:courier new;">Turns out Hitchcock himself - here either played by a famed look-alike (the late Ron Burrage), or assembled from amusing fragments of his TV and other public appearances, and is pitched against a double of himself (a character that "he must kill" in an imaginative re-edit of <em>Psycho</em>) - is <em>the</em> McGuffin, in what turns out to be an impressionistic, insightful, and all-too-often hilarious commentary on Cold War politics.<br /><br />Belgian filmmaker Johan Grimonprez's mockumentary charts the fierce relationship between America and Russia like a TV show: with Nixon and Nikita Khrushchev essentially cast as the fictional Hitchcock double, while, by some inspired combination of montage and voiceover, Folgers instant coffee is paralleled with murder poison, and <em>The Birds</em> the Cold War threat. It all culminates into Donald Rumsfeld's infamous McGuffin metaphor. Oh, who'd have thought?<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-size:180%;">O</span></strong>n a similar if totally unrelated note, Thai director Anocha Suwichakornpong's feature debut, <em>Mundane History</em>, is another movie that only takes its synopsis as a jumping board to something much more profound. In this Tiger Award winner at the recent Rotterdam Film Festival, what started out as a simple story between a rich, young man (paralysed from the waist down in an accident) and his male nurse (who gradually comes to break down his patient's resentful facade) eventually turns on its head and becomes something entirely different.<br /><br />While its disjointed timeline may appear gimmicky at first, <em>Mundane History</em> slowly reveals its (literally) cosmic scope, spinning off into a philosophically perplexing take on personal emotions and illusions, traditional family structure and class distinction, political history of power and bloodshed, as well as a shockingly hynoptic double take on life and death. The young protagonist's injury remains unexplained - the McGuffin amid Suwichakornpong's meditation of an incomparably greater scope.<br /><br /></span>Edmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864518083085582379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-16554731646737945772010-01-20T07:05:00.000-08:002010-01-20T07:34:11.842-08:00Their top 10s of the 2000s<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05YTwPLnvHJG0Vrn5B_1gL41rx8Re5opYTd-g8zsHsSd2xOAvcFmPTPh_e20BAUU3r7Lc-Aehs4XyaqGYVPxroQCE95i9A74vkX0gjHGSIPRCCQLipiVjo0MlHBk9MrpZn3waeCv468d_/s1600-h/millenium_mambo.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 224px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428843913016812434" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg05YTwPLnvHJG0Vrn5B_1gL41rx8Re5opYTd-g8zsHsSd2xOAvcFmPTPh_e20BAUU3r7Lc-Aehs4XyaqGYVPxroQCE95i9A74vkX0gjHGSIPRCCQLipiVjo0MlHBk9MrpZn3waeCv468d_/s400/millenium_mambo.jpg" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></div><span style="font-size:85%;"><em><span style="font-family:georgia;"><strong>Ennui <span style="font-family:arial;">x</span> 10</strong> Jia's list shows us how much he likes his movies slow</span></em><br /></span><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">In the January 2010 issue of <em>Les Cahiers du Cinéma</em>, a range of filmmakers were asked to give their 10-best lists of the last decade. Here are a few:<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Jia Zhangke:</span></strong><br />01 Colossal Youth<br />02 Elephant<br />03 Millenium Mambo<br />04 Nobody Knows<br />05 Yi Yi<br />06 Secret Sunshine<br />07 Uzak<br />08 I Don't Want to Sleep Alone<br />09 Summer Palace<br />10 Syndromes and a Century<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Kiyoshi Kurosawa:</span></strong><br />01 War of the Worlds<br />02 A History of Violence<br />03 Mystic River<br />04 Notre Musique (Dir JL Godard)<br />05 L'enfant<br />06 Eureka<br />07 Death Proof<br />08 Platform<br />09 The Host<br />10 The Bridesmaid (Dir Claude Chabrol)<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Bong Joon-ho:</span></strong><br />Zodiac<br />A History of Violence<br />No Country for Old Men<br />Still Life<br />Jellyfish<br />Woman on the Beach<br />Punch-Drunk Love<br />The Class<br />Hunger<br />A Brand New Life (Dir Ounie Lecomte)<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Shinji Aoyama:</span></strong><br />Jean Bricards' Itinerary (Dir Huillet & Straub)<br />Our Music (Dir Godard)<br />War of the Worlds (Dir Spielberg)<br />Death Proof (Dir Tarantino)<br />Woman on the Beach (Dir Sang-soo)<br />Merde (Dir Léos Carax)<br />Gran Torino (Dir Eastwood)<br />The Darjeeling Limited (Dir Anderson)<br />Four Nights with Anna (Dir Skolimovski)<br />Romance of Astree and Celadon (Dir Rohmer)<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Asia Argento:</span></strong><br />Irréversible<br />Werckmeister Harmonies<br />The White Ribbon<br />Fuck Me<br />Visito Q<br />Tarnation<br />Zodiac<br />There Will Be Blood<br />Elephant<br />Apocalypto<br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Quentin Tarantino:</span></strong><br />01 Battle Royale<br />(Then the rest in alphabetical order)<br />Anything Else<br />Audition<br />Before Sunset<br />Cabin Fever<br />Lost in Translation<br />Shaun of the Dead<br />Team America<br />There Will Be Blood<br />Unbreakable<br /><br />And finally, <em>Les Cahiers</em> critics' top ten:<br />01 Mulholland Drive<br />02 Elephant<br />03 Tropical Malady<br />04 The Host<br />05 A History of Violence<br />06 The Secret of the Grain, Abdellatif Kechiche<br />07 Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks, Wang Bing<br />08 War of the Worlds<br />09 The New World<br />10 Ten</span></div>Edmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864518083085582379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-26133352957727860372010-01-14T11:19:00.000-08:002013-10-21T13:01:57.423-07:00Ken's 10 will get you 20 in 2010:<a href="http://hollywoodjesus.com/movie/you_can_count/05.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://hollywoodjesus.com/movie/you_can_count/05.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,serif;"> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica,serif;">00: <i>Mission to Mars</i> & <i>You Can Count on Me</i></span></div>
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Two movies where subtext is everything, and key scenes are used to communicate devastating emotional turning points. De Palma captures the very American "can do" spirit of astronauts in what seems like a gung-ho story illustrates the real significance of loss. Lonergan turns the giddy anticipation of the reunion of two siblings into a painful argument once one reveals where they've been in the absence of time. Both also have great tones set by Ennio Morricone's score for the first and Steve Earle's songs in the second.</div>
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01: <i>Last Orders/Waking Life</i></div>
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Two that philosophically contemplate the meaning of life, the first through the death of a friend, and the next in the realm of dreams. Not much more to say, really, but both did so in visually inventive ways.</div>
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02: <i>Punch-Drunk Love</i>/<i>25th Hour</i></div>
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A pair that are probably my favorites by their respective directors. Paul Thomas Anderson somehow finds a way to make me like and even understand "Adam Sandler" in the context of his almost movie musical. Spike Lee dives headfirst into telling an early post 9/11 story and makes it to the end without drowning. Both also present interesting narratives on what it is to be "a man".</div>
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03: <i>X2/Oldboy</i></div>
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My favorite and most fully realized action movies of the decade (yes, more than <i>Iron Man</i> (<i>X2</i> got there first) and definitely more than Nolan's <i>Batman</i>s). Both are fun spins on revenge and sacrifice, but it's the big scenes that really stick with you: Magneto's escape from his elegant, plastic prison, Dae-su Oh's from a mob den armed only with a hammer and single-pan shot; a genuinely frightening plane descent in the former, and a truly terrifying live octopus in the latter.</div>
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04: <i>Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind</i>/<i>Before Sunset</i></div>
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In a year where the majority of my favorite movies of the decade were released, <i>Eternal Sunshine</i> was the first and best, while <i>Before Sunset</i> is the one I've most often thought about. The former is the first work of Charlie Kaufman's that I think comes out perfect; the latter, an unexpected surprise -- when do you ever get a sequel for a zero box office indie movie <i>nine</i> years after the first one? Both explore the entangled relationship of love and memory as far as anything can, and both end with appropriate ambiguity. They're also well served by the great performances of Kate Winslet, Jim Carrey, Julie Delpy, and Ethan Hawke. The work of Richard Linklater and Michel Gondry & co. is nothing to sniff at either.</div>
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05: <i>Junebug</i>/<i>The New World</i></div>
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Two about exploration, and what happens when you want more. Oversimplified, I know. I still need more time to think about Malick's movie, which has occupied a big space in my brain since I finally saw it just after Thanksgiving, but I think it's easily the best in its year. I've had loads more time to think on<i> Junebug</i>: I like that you can't really be sure of Madeleine's character -- is she the villain of the piece, and/or simply awkwardly doing her best with the in-laws she barely knows? I've spoken to people who find the whole movie insultingly condescending in the presentation of its characters, but I feel completely opposite in the depiction of North Caroliners and their prodigal son, and Amy Adams is amazing in it.</div>
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06: <i>Children of Men</i>/<i>Pan's Labyrinth</i></div>
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In what I recall being sort of a lame year, these two have sparked the most personal arguments. Some people charge that the "single takes" in the first are so blatantly fake that you're taken completely out of the movie, while others (me, obvs) felt so sucked in that it translated into hyperreality, a constant buzz of terror increased by the lack of cutting away in those scenes. In the latter, I completely bought into Ofelia's ignited imagination; what more does a girl need than a magical forest in the middle of fascist Spain? The special effects are deployed in a magnificently mundane way, so you never know if what she's seeing is real or just all in her desperate mind. Both films can also be read to have either abundantly happy, hopeful endings or as cruel, sick jokes. Muchas Gracias, Mexico!</div>
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07: <i>The Diving Bell and the Butterfly</i>/<i>Ratatouille</i></div>
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The first restored my faith in movies at a period where I thought they were being wildly overrated (yes you, <i>There Will Be Blood</i>, and you,<i> No Country for Old Men</i>, and I'm not forgetting you, <i>The Savages</i>). The second is my personal favorite from the kingdom of Pixar. Both tell stories from the viewpoint of unlikely perspectives -- a paralyzed man left with only the use of one blinking eye, and the beautiful taboo of a rat in a kitchen -- and rapidly succeed over the course of their running time to place you in their heads. Both movies also make the most of flashbacks, and <i>Ratatouille</i>'s may be the best, ever.</div>
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08: <i>Happy-Go-Lucky</i>/<i>Let the Right One In</i></div>
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Two movies where I felt the desire to be protective of the main characters, only to discover that they'll do fine all on their own. Both have a hopefulness about humanity that'll make you feel right about the world; cleverly, both are also structured so that, depending on your perspective, you can almost feel the exact, pessimistic opposite.</div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Futura,serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #551a8b; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Futura,serif; font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">09: </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Fantastic Mr. Fox</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">/</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">Summer Hours</span></span></i></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">"Pensez-vous que l'hiver sera rude?"</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span">Ah, just go and see these last two, since they were out so recently. Done.</span></span></div>
</span>Kennethhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17915029241885950243noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-45644261496945196482010-01-06T09:36:00.000-08:002010-01-07T07:19:42.349-08:00The Double Featurette Awards 2009 (Edmund's picks)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zBumUdaw9lyH2UkPNi6DsyefaTqA2dK9j9znr83Zpz7AIent1L8e6loaKLMKyuty9_dqZy-blsjsJug0ZH3mMVSbZuNTpt7jlRVimY3z-JmIwmrZDlmJ15zhZCzpWkIzXB3PmWNQl-y6/s1600-h/broken-embraces.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 400px; HEIGHT: 294px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5423693109517452610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6zBumUdaw9lyH2UkPNi6DsyefaTqA2dK9j9znr83Zpz7AIent1L8e6loaKLMKyuty9_dqZy-blsjsJug0ZH3mMVSbZuNTpt7jlRVimY3z-JmIwmrZDlmJ15zhZCzpWkIzXB3PmWNQl-y6/s400/broken-embraces.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDiQc1jAfTCNqFWI3ssK3UGe7NfkGwjcz_jZcRM_LMsBlR_NHPokE5on0c6GxrwtjaXMWls0Ae5LJ5Fwoi_ofhf0zCpeEc6fHBnOQ0dp26Wy-n49nqejFm3woPKcuzqRGv9ONzVqtV9Rcq/s1600-h/broken-embraces.jpg"></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><em><strong>Playing cool</strong> Penélope Cruz can't take her eyes off the coveted award</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong><div><br />Best Feature Film:</strong><br /></span></div><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong><em>Still Walking</em> & <em>Let the Right One In</em></strong></span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Best Documentary:</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong><em>The Beaches of Agnes</em> & <em>Anvil! The Story of Anvil</em></strong><br /></span><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Best Director:</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:courier new;">Claire Denis for <em>35 Shots of Rum</em> & Lu Chuan for <em>City of Life and Death</em></span><br /></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Best Performance by an Actress:</span></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:courier new;">Penélope Cruz in <em>Broken Embraces</em> & Charlotte Gainsbourg in <em>Antichrist</em></span><br /></strong><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Best Performance by an Actor:</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>Michael Stuhlbarg in <em>A Serious Man</em> & Nicolas Cage in <em>The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call - New Orleans</em></strong></span><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:arial;">...and now for the special awards that take some explaining:</span></div><div><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Best Performance by an Animal:</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>The iguanas in <em>Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans</em> & the pink flamingos in <em>My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done</em></strong> </span><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;">They manage to leave an indelible mark on your memory without even acting; now that's what I call screen presence. (Side note: this category was set up because I can't tell the genders of iguanas. And flamingos.)</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Biggest Unintended Joke in a Feature Film:</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong>The Sigur Ros reference in <em>Ondine</em> & Aaron Kwok in <em>Murderer</em></strong><br /><em>Ondine</em> has something to do with gibberish and mermaid... while Cantopop singer-turned actor Aaron Kwok gives an over-acting masterclass.</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Most Underrated Feature:</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong><em>Broken Embraces</em> & <em>Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky</em></strong><br />It's not Almodovar's fault that his excellent film features the same plot elements as every other film on his CV (he's a fucking auteur!). Just as it's not Jan Kounen's fault that he's making an atmospheric mood piece instead of an old-school biopic with his two famed protagonists.</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Most Overrated Feature:</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong><em>Avatar</em> & <em>The White Ribbon</em></strong><br />Not that I didn't consider these decent movies. But how innovative can you call a rehash of <em>Pocahontas</em>, <em>Dances with Wolves</em>, and <em>Princess Mononoke</em>? And does hinting at your film's opening that you're adressing the roots of extremism necessarily mean that you're addressing the roots of extremism in your film?</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Most Uncanny Combo:</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong><em>Orphan</em> & <em>Murderer</em></strong><br />Opening in Hong Kong within a four-week period, each of these two horror flicks features an utterly ridiculous and outrageously incredible plot twist. You want to know what's truly amazing? The two big twists are the same.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><strong>The Guiltiest Pleasure:</strong><br /></span><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong><em>Slumdog Millionaire</em> & <em>Love Exposure</em></strong><br />I thought it was bad enough to be thoroughly entertained by a poverty porn. And then I fell hopelessly in love with a four-hour epic teenage love story on transvestite, religious cult, incest, ultra-violence, and upskirt photography.<br /></span><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Most Pointless Feature:</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong><em>Nine</em> & <em>Blood: The Last Vampire</em></strong><br /><em>Nine</em> is a film adaptation of a Broadway musical adapted from an all-time classic movie - minus all the elements that made the latter great in the first place; while <em>Blood</em> is a live-action adaptation of an animated short film - whose newly added plotlines are so mind-numblingly nonsensical they actually contradicted the original premise. Quite a feat.</span><br /><br /><strong><span style="font-family:arial;">Biggest Disappointment:</span></strong><br /><span style="font-family:courier new;"><strong><em>Face</em> & <em>Trash Humpers</em><br /></strong>Does it not tell you something that I had as little fun watching Laetitia Casta dance around naked as I did seeing Harmony Korine hump trash in a creepy mask? Honourable mention goes to Lou Ye for the relentlessly dark <em>Spring Fever</em>. In fact, his film is so dark I couldn't even tell an actor's face from another's.</span></div></div>Edmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864518083085582379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-52248907704229711092009-12-29T09:02:00.000-08:002009-12-29T18:21:47.152-08:00The Double Featurette Awards 2009 (Ken's Picks)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWsMnFckbFspyygs2tyRSo2UNTFCIO38PLIp3SUYi1q58PpnA1mjJZzDOVWoo-TB3iwSS6BanyPbY-TdraMsaLfXtA1jeKPEfVcExo1ZRov4umnyOvMayG1w77EsQhStd-bE4aIhbFkc/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 309px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHWsMnFckbFspyygs2tyRSo2UNTFCIO38PLIp3SUYi1q58PpnA1mjJZzDOVWoo-TB3iwSS6BanyPbY-TdraMsaLfXtA1jeKPEfVcExo1ZRov4umnyOvMayG1w77EsQhStd-bE4aIhbFkc/s400/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420847865880626770" border="0" /></a><br /><br />From Ken:<br /><br /><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:85%;color:black;" ><div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-size:18px;"><div style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span style=";font-size:85%;color:black;" ><div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Best Features:</div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>Summer Hours</i> & <i>Fantastic Mr. Fox</i></span></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />if I could pick a second pair:</span></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><i>Bright Star </i>&<i> Coraline</i></span></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-size:18px;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br />runners-up:<i> Still Walking </i>&<i> Star Trek</i></span></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 25px;"><br /></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-size:18px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best women's doubles match: </span><br />Jane Campion & Abbie Cornish, <i>Bright Star</i> v. Lone Scherfig & Carey Mulligan, <i>An Education</i></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 25px;"><br /></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-size:18px;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Most memorable performance:</span><br />Dakota Fanning, <i>Push</i> & Rosamund Pike, <i>An Education</i></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-size:18px;"><br />runners-up: Christoph Waltz, <i>Inglourious Basterds</i> & Lorna Raver's teeth, <i>Drag Me to Hell</i></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 25px;"><br /></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Most Underrated:</div> <div size="18px" style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><i>The International</i> & <i>Push</i></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 25px;"><br /></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Most Overrated:</div> <div size="18px" style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><i>Where the Wild Things Are</i></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 25px;"><br /></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">I Liked but Won't Recommend to You:</div> <div size="18px" style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><i>The Watchmen</i> & <i>The Road</i></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 25px;"><br /></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Best Short Films within a Feature Film:</div> <div size="18px" style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">The opening sequences for<i> Up </i>& <i>Inglourious Basterds</i></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 25px;"><br /></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Best Character Theme Songs:</div> <div size="18px" style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-size:18px;" >"HELVETICA!" </span>from <i>Shorts</i> &<span style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;font-size:18px;" > </span>Marvin Hamlisch's score for <i>The Informant!</i></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 25px;"><br /></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Best (narrative within a) piece of film narrative criticism:</div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">RedLetterMedia's <i>SW: TPM</i> review -- <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxKtZmQgxrI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?<wbr>v=FxKtZmQgxrI</a></span></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 25px;"><br /></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Favorite pair of new Scottish band names: </span><br />Dananananakyroyd & We Were Promised Jetpacks</div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; min-height: 25px;"><br /></div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Best BTW of 2009:</div> <div style="margin: 0px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 18px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal;">Tim Robbins & Susan Sarandon<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Remix</span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">:</span></div></span><span style="font-size:85%;"> <a style="font-weight: normal; font-family: arial;" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVxe5NIABsI" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?<wbr>v=JVxe5NIABsI</a><br /></span></div> <div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div><br /></div></span>Lixianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11271496141867475515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-23778551602733250742009-12-28T15:12:00.000-08:002009-12-28T19:29:20.831-08:00The Double Featurette Awards 2009Its the end of the year, its the end of a decade. Thus it is time for the first ever <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />The Double Featurette Awards: </span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">What do these fine films win? </span><br />Honor. Glory. Bragging Rights.<br /><br />If you are a filmaker who has won this year. Pls feel free to print out the following picture on sticker paper and stick to your DVDs (and just watch those sales SKYROCKET).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dro8SJMv4bGXdbylqrXWylFwmBzgN4cqqlTSswV4GLmKUZFIclHf9GyIPP71hTYSFKFo22nIgL2HZvPErBlrXZhbajRyzC_neNcg3mrxKZzwKFZPrVAOU1b-yCgrKr-_kfHdTqpPxXU/s1600-h/Picture+1.png"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 332px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1dro8SJMv4bGXdbylqrXWylFwmBzgN4cqqlTSswV4GLmKUZFIclHf9GyIPP71hTYSFKFo22nIgL2HZvPErBlrXZhbajRyzC_neNcg3mrxKZzwKFZPrVAOU1b-yCgrKr-_kfHdTqpPxXU/s400/Picture+1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5420436316872070770" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Several of us here at the Double Featurette will be presenting our end of year lists. Here is mine:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Picture:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Fantastic Mr. Fox</span> & <span style="font-style: italic;">Bright Star</span><br /><br />Honorable Mention : I would like to yet again plug Zhao Ye's <span style="font-style: italic;">Jalainur</span> which as it has never actually been released (only a handful of festivals) I took out of the running. It is one of the best films I saw this year.<br /><br />Also, Pixar's <a href="http://www.redbalcony.com/?vid=24992"><span style="font-style: italic;">Partly Cloudy</span></a> may not be a full length feature but it is hands down one of the best films of the year.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Director:</span><br /><br />Hirokazu Koreeda for <span style="font-style: italic;">Still Walking</span> & Wes Anderson for <span style="font-style: italic;">Fantastic Mr. Fox</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Performance by an Actress:</span><br /><br />Mo'Nique in <span style="font-style: italic;">Precious</span> & Abbie Cornish in <span style="font-style: italic;">Bright Star</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Performance by an Actor:</span><br /><br />Dug the Dog in <span style="font-style: italic;">Up</span> & The Jeff Koons Dog in <span style="font-style: italic;">Night of the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Best Song:</span><br /><br />"Helvetica" by Robert Rodriguez for the Film <span style="font-style: italic;">Shorts</span>. & "Done All Wrong" by Black Rebel Motorcycle Club for (no kidding) <span style="font-style: italic;">The Twilight Saga: New Moon</span> (the list of artists on the soundtrack is actually quite impressive... I have to say... oh hi Thom Yorke...you can print out the sticker if you really want to)Lixianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11271496141867475515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-42514473678182102262009-11-30T12:02:00.001-08:002009-12-05T09:18:10.193-08:00Team Sheen: "New Moon" & "Underworld: Rise of the Lycans"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtV-u5oZvSXx5mjUbTkrcD9sYEP8jORS69ptYsMo-xgBM_GUQ_wbOBC2knJBWUlnaIif0-Ote_6ytRmchbE_eob6BQJq3GrJPumaFvmqQCWli2MVfgtqzcL6bwK3eZsSozIrbmBFi9tk/s1600-h/new_moon_58.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 252px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtV-u5oZvSXx5mjUbTkrcD9sYEP8jORS69ptYsMo-xgBM_GUQ_wbOBC2knJBWUlnaIif0-Ote_6ytRmchbE_eob6BQJq3GrJPumaFvmqQCWli2MVfgtqzcL6bwK3eZsSozIrbmBFi9tk/s400/new_moon_58.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5411802189611701282" border="0" /></a><br />Lets face it. What I have to say about <span style="font-style: italic;">New Moon</span> is not going to make a difference to you anyway. Either you were super super excited about it and have already seen it, or you would see Robin William's new film <span style="font-style: italic;">Old Dogs</span> before you would see <span style="font-style: italic;">New Moon</span> (aka never).<br /><br />If you happen to be on the fence, I can't really help you. The film is pretty much as you would expect. Copious lack of shirt wearing. Slow motion walking towards camera (while taking shirt off). Voice over. Plot. More Plot. Though I do have to say that whoever picked Robert Patterson's lipstick shades should probably reconsider their career choice - Ronald McDonald much? The first Twilight film I actually found interesting, Catherine Hardwicke seemed to be trying to do something more than just please thirteen year old girls. There was style there, a certain adherence to a film style I think of as "Pastoral": shots of nature interspersed with action for no reason other than to evoke a certain mood, and through these kinds of shots a placing of mood above plot. In contrast, Chris Weitz's film is pretty simple. It tells the story well enough, but that's about it.<br /><br />But really the $64,000 question is Team Edward or Team Jacob? Right? How about option C? How about Micheal Sheen who has played both werewolves and vampires?? Can I be on his team?<br /><br />So in honor of Micheal Sheen and if you haven't had enough of vampires yet, try <span style="font-style: italic;">Underworld: Rise of the Lycans. </span>Granted, the first Underworld film is the best, but this prequel which stars Sheen as he starts the thousand year war between the werewolves (lycans) and the vampires is just a lot of fun. In the <a href="http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/01/24/movies/24unde.html">NY Times review of the film</a>, Manola Darghis writes:<br /><br />" Tricked out in leather and heavy metal hair, the British actor <a href="http://movies.nytimes.com/person/200781/Michael-Sheen?inline=nyt-per">Michael Sheen</a> takes a lively break from his usual high-crust duties to bring wit, actual acting and some unexpected musculature to the goth-horror flick 'Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.' "<br /><br />So yeah. TEAM SHEEN!!! *Scream* *Faint*Lixianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11271496141867475515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-84836735874341233572009-11-23T11:05:00.001-08:002009-11-23T11:14:05.537-08:00A.O. Scott's "Precious" Double Feature<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFq-WUcIcCfzcAKhZ_eiZEwWM0kjd50uwgs7CrB8VCPLkEWRl9_SAoQk09L8EwjXoyTtihQoMYFxELRnhnJRRBsLlScrSX9gxKfZ3TUBJjcJKr3CycuPExRxuPIxU7dJl3PUg35zNiWuA/s1600/370.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFq-WUcIcCfzcAKhZ_eiZEwWM0kjd50uwgs7CrB8VCPLkEWRl9_SAoQk09L8EwjXoyTtihQoMYFxELRnhnJRRBsLlScrSX9gxKfZ3TUBJjcJKr3CycuPExRxuPIxU7dJl3PUg35zNiWuA/s400/370.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407378548726999426" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I was going to write a little something about Precious, which was better than I expected (and surprisingly did not require the giant mound of tissues I had expected). Lee Daniels really does a good job walking the fine line between exploiting the subject and glossing over issues. But A. O. Scott beat me to it <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/movies/22scott.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hpw">(read it!)</a> and discusses much of the soul searching this film has caused. All I will say is that Mo'nique was truly amazing and deserves all the hype. ( and maybe I should have included the hug it out kitten again....)Lixianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11271496141867475515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-89836172220026512572009-11-19T12:32:00.000-08:002009-11-19T13:00:01.862-08:00A letter from Ken: The Road, or, The End.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2IOmBhHHvFOkS0pzEbSg7GRX7vVMUCPFPXiMMqF_xFxF3qIH6-jSl4Q-8r6Fx8bv9Qn0j6lJIZPohIf05B09wwFA_jE3FWwgs3cLRrk-RB3o0jUb0yZo6ylm2MpsEBjifUwnaIYCplM/s1600/Screen+shot+2009-11-19+at+3.29.42+PM.png"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 318px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2IOmBhHHvFOkS0pzEbSg7GRX7vVMUCPFPXiMMqF_xFxF3qIH6-jSl4Q-8r6Fx8bv9Qn0j6lJIZPohIf05B09wwFA_jE3FWwgs3cLRrk-RB3o0jUb0yZo6ylm2MpsEBjifUwnaIYCplM/s400/Screen+shot+2009-11-19+at+3.29.42+PM.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405921675547619666" /></a><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" border-collapse: collapse; font-family:arial, sans-serif;font-size:small;"><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">[Should I mention that I'll now proceed to talk about this movie? There's this word I'm supposed to invoke at this point; although I'm resistant to deploy it, here it is -- <b>spoilers.</b>]</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "> </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "> <i>The Road</i>. I saw it.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "> And it was bleak. We all die, except for an unlucky few among the human race, who meander about a desolate landscape of perpetual fires in a blisteringly cold climate. The sound one most often hears are petrified trees cracking to pieces, echoing like distant, dried out glaciers (if such a thing is even possible).</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "> How did it come about in this particular post-apocolyptic narrative? If one of the early trailers is to be believed, it's from a mess of environmental disasters brought about by human ignorance, apparently by not listening to Al Gore and not building proper levees, etc., etc. (I actually thought I was watching the trailer for <i>Blindness</i> again). It's actually incredibly misleading -- without the benefit of having seen the current tv ad campaign or read the book beforehand, the cause of what is basically the end of the world in<i> The Road </i>is never explained. Ever. And like much else in the movie, it helps to keep everything off-kilter.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "> Directed by John Hillicoat, whose last outing was the terrific Oz land western, <i>The Proposition</i>, and adapted for the screen by Joe Penhall from Cormac McCarthy's novel, <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style=" ;font-size:small;"><i>The Road</i></span></span> pulls no punches. "The end of humanity" is pretty much the most depressing thing out there, and the filmmakers do a really intelligent job of never relenting <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style=" ;font-size:small;">from this </span></span>tone. You can find your bearings in the story of a father ("The Man") and son ("The Boy"; the characters are never given Christian names) keeping it together for the sake of each other, but then you always hear those trees cracking. Fine: Even this, you tell yourself, you can get used to, as it is a neat design of sound, but then there's the fact that there are no identifiable signs of color in this world; the whole palette seems intended to tell you no color exists. It got killed or died or was maybe eaten by whatever killed everything else. The color. But, OK: Again, cool, stylistic choice, and even in this you can distance yourself somewhat. But, oh<span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style=" ;font-size:small;">,</span></span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style=" ;font-size:small;"> right</span></span>...most of the remaining people encountered in this journey, well...they eat each other. Like zombies, except they're still recognizable as human beings, they're still speaking to each other in those terms, yet what they really want to do is eat you. Even if you manage to survive all of this (at least just for the sake of your kid, like "The Man" that Viggo Mortensen portrays), what really starts to get to you are the dreams you've been having of the life you had with your wife (Charlize Theron) and how those were definitely in color and you got to go with her to the symphony and wear nice, expensive clothes and got to sneakily feel up your hot wife's thigh. Before it all went to shit.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "> I try to convey all this, because I'm having a hard time thinking of a way to really recommend this movie to you. Somewhere in the first ten minutes, the Man reminds the Boy how to put their only pistol with two lone bullets to the temple of his kid-sized head, just in case he needs to. That scene is done in full-close up on the child<span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style=" ;font-size:small;">:</span></span> The <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style=" ;font-size:small;">Boy </span></span>has tears in his eyes as he's resisting, then showing his dad that he can do it and that he's prepared. I mean, it really is fucking depressing.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><i><br /></i></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "> <i>The Road</i> was amazing to watch, and certainly compelling as you parse out the purpose of all this tragedy. Not that it's particularly tragic; I wouldn't want to oversell it. But really, what is the point? The movie obliquely refers to the fact that a good chunk of the population that likely survived the "event" that caused all this checked themselves out at some point, because it started to become plainly obvious that sticking around only meant that you were a potential meal or that you were in denial that any semblance of "happy days" or "good times" would ever return.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "> And that's it. The question of "Why go on living?" is never really explicitly answered. There is something at the end that is pretty much the definition of "speck of hope", but even this seems like cold comfort (it even struck me as being somewhat unbelievable in the context of everything else that happens, and I was honestly surprised that this was the ending in the book, but there it is).</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "> What it does have is a visual consistency that is stunning. A bolder move might've been to just film it all in black & white (you know, "stark"), but cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe really makes perfect choices in what he does choose to keep in the color scheme of the picture, and it's enough to convince you of some warmth that keeps you involved in the experience of what the Man and Boy go through. It's there in the can of coke they discover in a resistant vending machine of a long abandoned building, and it's there when they open a tin of peaches in one of the happier moments in the movie. Yes, there's some happy times.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "> The performances are tremendous -- the entire story is carried on both Mortensen's and the unaffected, unpretentious Kodi Smit-McPhee's strong yet sickly shoulders (an aside<span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style=" ;font-size:small;"> --</span></span> the digital effects used throughout are effective in that they only ever seem necessary but never so obvious: Mostly in leeching out the color of the images, but then, as the Man and Boy strip naked to take their first bath in too long a time, we really get a sense of how ravaged and starving they really are. It's a testament to their performances that by the time this scene comes around, you believe the actors really stopped eating, too). Everyone else in the cast really only amounts to walk-on performances, but those shine brightly -- Charlize Theron as "The Woman" (whose face time in the trailer also seems to make you think she's in it for awhile; she's not), Garrett Dillahunt ("Deadwood"!), an almost unrecognizable Robert Duvall, poor Michael K. Williams ("The Wire"!!!) near the end, and then Guy Pierce and Molly Parker ("Deadwood"!!) at the very end.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "> For fans of the book, I can tell you that I read it after seeing the movie and that it's pretty much verbatim. (That arguably single most disturbing scene in the book where The Man breaks the lock to the first cellar and finds the, um, people? It's in the movie, and it's there pretty vividly.) For everyone else, I have to tell you that it's worth seeing, that I liked it immensely, but I can also tell you that the crowd immediately around my section of the screening left wondering how they could even release something like this. Who could watch it? Who would want to? On Thanksgiving weekend, no less!? It does put our economic woes in perspective. It makes you want to give everyone you love in this world a hug<span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style=" ;font-size:small;">.</span></span> <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style=" ;font-size:small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style=" ;font-size:small;">A</span></span>nd then maybe everyone else<span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style=" ;font-size:small;"> after that</span></span>.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "> I mostly just wanted to write <i>something </i>about how I felt watching this movie, but I did want to put it in the classic context of this blog, so to that end, you have a few options for a celluloid tango:</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><br /></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">1) The movie I actually thought of initially was <i>Children of Men</i> -- a similar combination of dread and a sense of loss is conveyed throughout, and like the first third or so of Alfonso Cuaron's movie, the entirety of <i>The Road</i> has the feel of an elegy for the world, and what it may feel or look like to be witness to the end of everything. There's even that twinge of hopefulness at end. Or something.</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">2) <i>WALL*E</i>. You'll feel a lot better afterwards no matter what. Maybe especially if you don't even like <i>WALL*E.</i></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><i></i>3) Once I gave this some serious thought, it occurred to me that <i>The Road </i>most resembles Kon Ichikawa's (OK, I'll say it) masterpiece <i>Fires on the Plain</i>, which is a little more specific in terms of what is happening and why, but also conveys the same sense of desperation in a world that is ending but not quite soon enough, and the almost absurd yet mundane facts of life (among these, cannibalism) under the circumstances. They even share similar plot points -- the encounters with people along the road, the fires in the distance that are sometimes only heard, and what sometimes seem to amount to illusions of hope: The soldiers in<i> Fires</i> that fight to get to the coast, much like <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style=" ;font-size:small;">t</span></span>he Man's determination to do the same, and that things will get better for he and the Boy once they achieve this goal. Probably the most comforting thing about <i>Fires on the Plain</i> is that it ends with a definite feeling that this was the end of <i>someone's</i> world, and the <span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style=" ;font-size:small;">rest of the </span></span>world has moved beyond that (and hopefully evolved) with all of us still on it. Maybe you should watch it <i>after</i> watching <i>The Road.<span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style=" ;font-size:small;"> <span style="font-style: normal; "> And then buy a kitten. To hug.</span></span></span></i></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks to Ken Tan for contributing this post!!</span></div></span>Lixianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11271496141867475515noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-12343001638903386422009-11-14T10:00:00.000-08:002009-11-15T06:40:12.444-08:00"The Clone Returns Home" and "Solaris"<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzoPAieSCWyq27smBTQxx1PaBErE-lPUoHaub3mziiuvalxgPozp30xIBD-x0HuiwGd3S40r9yh3UbsPqNki9NWV72zCq1K-I2UEQ2mOcbJPKpYDN3CMEasUrA-xHAzPsOjT9-VUJY6az1/s1600-h/clone.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 282px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzoPAieSCWyq27smBTQxx1PaBErE-lPUoHaub3mziiuvalxgPozp30xIBD-x0HuiwGd3S40r9yh3UbsPqNki9NWV72zCq1K-I2UEQ2mOcbJPKpYDN3CMEasUrA-xHAzPsOjT9-VUJY6az1/s400/clone.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404340129631928834" /></a><br /><br />Among the year's most widely ridiculed statements in the cinema world, Lars von Trier's dedication to Andrei Tarkovsky before the end credits of <em>Antichrist</em> ranks right up there at the very top. Having seen von Trier's film myself, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's a prank on the part of the Danish provocateur, although, at the same time, I'm also not quite sure that Tarkovsky would welcome such an irrelevant mention.<br /><br />In the November issue of <em>Sight & Sound</em>, editor Nick James, when discussing the tastes and selections of film festivals worldwide, observes that many of the prominent filmmakers of today - from Bela Tarr to Bruno Dumont and Apichatpong Weerasethakul - are "all unified by a post-Tarkovskian idea of poetic cinema", and "the reverence with which much of this cinema is regarded is ... too often uncritical".<br /><br />I don't know. If James' statement is accurate, a film like <em>The Clone Returns Home</em>, written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Kanji Nakajima, would most certainly deserve a bigger audience than it has so far. By juxtaposing a sci-fi premise (cloning, space mission) with highly philosophical musing on such ideas as memories, family, identity, death, and the nature of the human soul, the film looks like something that you might get if <em>Solaris</em> and <em>Stalker</em> were ever rolled into one. (There's even a bit of indoor water-dripping!)<br /><br />The wife of <em>The Clone</em>'s astronaut protagonist is faced with a similar moral dilemma encountered by <em>Solaris</em>' protagonist. Her husband has volunteered for an experimental cloning program that will 'regenerate' his body and memory after any accidental death during his missions. When it actually happens, the scientists meet with her to relate the plan, opening by stating that they're not there to offer condolescence. The wife is, rightly, furious with the offer - you don't replace your beloved partner with a clone; although, when she's countered with the matter-of-fact reply, "In that case, we'll have to offer you our condolescence", her resistence crumbles.<br /><br />All in all, yes, Nakajima's film is almost as boring as Tarkovsky's (excuse me). But then again, anyone who's willing to last the 110-minute distance will be justly rewarded with a highly cerebral, and strangely touching, journey into the afterlife.Edmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864518083085582379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-26125973227959967402009-10-11T21:00:00.000-07:002009-10-11T21:20:01.683-07:00"Bright Star" and "Twilight"<div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-riUByaO05g_6iGhnpJ0DCdyTQY8yWKEAp01tzdiK7hqLjtAsgiDZwpTvMlMjlYqTjztNuI4FjoBPgHpj5qqsPgxleUJcGDkx7PmBAaWiuD7sMkH_TedEulom_YxBZwvm9z6lWIFKb1w/s1600-h/bright_star-movie-poster.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-riUByaO05g_6iGhnpJ0DCdyTQY8yWKEAp01tzdiK7hqLjtAsgiDZwpTvMlMjlYqTjztNuI4FjoBPgHpj5qqsPgxleUJcGDkx7PmBAaWiuD7sMkH_TedEulom_YxBZwvm9z6lWIFKb1w/s400/bright_star-movie-poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391562594969765426" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxoHgpdX8dnu0XU814z-TaII3U8cNpSe7IfymRO4ygVueouG1GfwDgBYiASew46XH1w6cVAShMXSNGfGJTZTBDmkgWr7LEHLmo1XgkAN95AY3JWOYRhxG-_tRMoRuyyQ0kONnBnt-iIU/s1600-h/twilight-teaser-poster.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxoHgpdX8dnu0XU814z-TaII3U8cNpSe7IfymRO4ygVueouG1GfwDgBYiASew46XH1w6cVAShMXSNGfGJTZTBDmkgWr7LEHLmo1XgkAN95AY3JWOYRhxG-_tRMoRuyyQ0kONnBnt-iIU/s400/twilight-teaser-poster.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5391562678576823442" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br />No I wasn't kidding. Yes I said Twilight. (and its not just because the above posters are so similar) Now, I am not saying that <span style="font-style: italic;">Twilight</span> comes ANYWHERE CLOSE to <span style="font-style: italic;">Bright Star</span>, which was restrained, minimalist, beautiful. Buuuuut... when I saw <span style="font-style: italic;">Twilight</span>, it struck me as not merely a film for 13 year olds but a indie movie watching 101 training for 13 year olds. When was the last time that you saw a tween film move so slowly, focusing on scenery and mood, long takes of the characters as they lay in the grass gazing into each other eyes? Voiceover.... Its like Terrence Malick with training wheels... Maybe when these 13 year olds hit sixteen they will be so used to this slow pace they will not fall asleep in films like <span style="font-style: italic;">Bright Star</span> but will savor the beauty. It was a welcome change from quick fire speed of most tween fare these days.<br /><br />There is a scene in <span style="font-style: italic;">Bright Star</span> in which John Keats, played by the up and coming Ben Whishaw, describes poetry as something which should not be dissected: You do not jump in the lake of poetry to just immediately get to the other side. You let yourself stew in the waters/ experience, take it in. That is how I feel about Terrence Malick and was definitely a mantra that Jane Campion was channeling in Bright Star. Instead of a story, you get almost a series of vignets, flashes of a mood.<br /><br /><br /><br />In Brief: <span style="font-style: italic;">Coco Before Chanel</span> & <span style="font-style: italic;">My Brilliant Career</span> - Strong independent feminine women (the characters and the actresses). The opening sequence in which the young Coco is being taken with her sister to the orphanage in a cart is one of the best openings I have seen in a while. The point of view shots we get from between the slats of wood on the cart are reminiscent of the framing being adjusted on a projector...beautiful.Lixianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11271496141867475515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-36320336458576420482009-10-01T12:24:00.000-07:002009-10-01T12:27:02.346-07:00"Shorts" & "The Good Enough Revolution"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlhPxBjIr73lsmnleLRnQl_WYJIhCKp6TNZP24a0uaMcM2tSpQ6wGkLviXYAeb2hizvIor1Lqi2K0wga6yWsr6keiLQ7ZHOvaeR4AQ5sqS9VxOMioVM0ozyi0mkrVZM4k8ZJRfZrwXVo/s1600-h/48575834.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 280px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlhPxBjIr73lsmnleLRnQl_WYJIhCKp6TNZP24a0uaMcM2tSpQ6wGkLviXYAeb2hizvIor1Lqi2K0wga6yWsr6keiLQ7ZHOvaeR4AQ5sqS9VxOMioVM0ozyi0mkrVZM4k8ZJRfZrwXVo/s400/48575834.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387714884523965682" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />Leave it to me to post this AFTER the film is leaving the theaters. But lets face it, you weren’t going to go to the theater to watch Robert Rodriguez’s new kids film <span style="font-style: italic;">Shorts</span> anyway.<span style=""> </span>But maybe once you read this you will put it on your Netflix queue.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p>I was actually having a hard time coming up with a double feature for Shorts.<span style=""> </span>I didn’t feel like it was fair to pair the film with anything that Rodriguez has done in the past, though I feel like seeing <span style="font-style: italic;">Shorts</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Spy Kids 2</span> (well, anything with <span style="font-style: italic;">Spy Kids 2</span> really) is a good idea.<span style=""> </span>Then on the subway, I was catching up on my backlog of Wired magazines and I read an article on “good enough” tech <a href="http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/magazine/17-09/ff_goodenough?currentPage=all">(The Good Enough Revolution: Why Cheap and Simple are Just Fine)</a>.<span style=""> </span>And it occurred to me that this article, though discussing technology (cameras, military planes etc) actually articulated much of what draws me to Rodriguez’s children’s films. <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The main gist of the article, which I highly recommend you read is that sometimes the simpler and more rudimentary the technology the better.<span style=""> </span>For example the original Flip camera did not shoot in HD, or even have a optical zoom.<span style=""> </span>And yet it was good enough. It was easy to use and it got the job done, whether that be recording rants to upload to Youtube or recording quick memories from vacations.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Rodriguez’s kids films are likewise “good enough”.<span style=""> </span>Now, I love <span style="font-style: italic;">WALL-E</span> and the rest of the Pixar clan, whose animation is outright beautiful, but when did high tech, special effects become a necessity of “good” childrens films?<span style=""> </span>Kids are creative, more so than adults, they fill in blanks.<span style=""> </span>Anyone who has ever seen a child’s drawing of their house (squiggles), knows that Kids are capable of using their imaginations to smooth over differences between what is represented and what is on paper. <span style=""> </span>Rodriguez realizes this and thus the stories and jokes focus on being fun rather than being snazzy.<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Rodriguez makes his kids films on the cheap (if you can get your hands on the special features of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Spy Kids 2</span> DVD, I will lend it to you! There is a great little snippet on how he creatively saves on production costs).<span style=""> </span>He does not strive for realism or hyper realism (dazzle).<span style=""> </span>He tells stories and jokes that kids get (like a giant booger that turns into a monster and terrorizes the home of the Noseworthy family - see pic above ew).<span style=""> </span>He has fun with his films. And I would venture to say that his films, in being “good enough” are actually better.<span style=""> </span>The plot, the “fun” does not get lost amidst all the add-ons.<span style=""> </span>His films are the equivalent of really good traditional 2D animation.<span style=""> </span>Hi Spongebob!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">So that being said, I thoroughly enjoyed <span style="font-style: italic;">Shorts</span>.<span style=""> </span>As I write this I am still humming the theme music for the wonderfully named character of Helvetica Black.<span style=""> </span>A theme that Rodriguez wrote himself I might add.<span style=""> </span>The loose story centers around a magic wishing rock that wreaks havoc among a small suburban community and it is told in a series of shorts because the storyteller, young Toe Thompson, can’t remember the order in which events happened (eat your heart out Memento).<span style=""> </span>John Cryer and Leslie Mann are hilarious as Toe’s parents, who are competing against each other at work.</p>Lixianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11271496141867475515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-68421239612400966892009-07-05T23:39:00.000-07:002009-07-05T23:42:11.122-07:00Linkage: Now about that ticking clock....You can almost hear Viacom sighing with relief:<br /><br />http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0861925/<br /><br />True HD Streaming Likely Years Away, Says Report<br /><br />It is likely to be at least five years years before high-definition movies can be streamed to home theaters with the same resolution as Blu-ray discs, according to a study by PriceWaterhouseCoopers and reported on the Video Business magazine's website. Although millions of homes are already connected to video services that claim to offer HDTV titles, via streaming, the quality doesn't even match that of standard DVDs and the "flow" is sometimes jerky. The problem in many cases is that most consumers' broadband connections are too slow to stream HD video which ideally requires an 18- to 20-megabits-per-second connection. (The average broadband subscriber's connection is about 2.5 mbps.)Lixianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11271496141867475515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-34386850892801853822009-06-14T16:15:00.000-07:002009-06-14T16:35:13.186-07:00"Night at the Museum 2" & "The Incredible Paintings of Felix Clousseau"<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0XDHwnGKR2R2aA57Iu_nLACAVjzpay0uNCBkpHxrNAFYb762jh2xdiTAnJHsuXJ0hcfu0Fd72C0qKkB3m8J0rwSpMM6fPV-bUMrCM3Nhfj2OSTHnFhmZM6IrkVYsPmSe077uuE4UVbHI/s1600-h/11389091_gal.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0XDHwnGKR2R2aA57Iu_nLACAVjzpay0uNCBkpHxrNAFYb762jh2xdiTAnJHsuXJ0hcfu0Fd72C0qKkB3m8J0rwSpMM6fPV-bUMrCM3Nhfj2OSTHnFhmZM6IrkVYsPmSe077uuE4UVbHI/s400/11389091_gal.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347330628203408466" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">I have a very scattered taste in movies, which sometimes leads to</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> disbelief and guffaws from my more snobby film friends. For example,</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> a fellow film programmer in college came over to my house for the</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> first time, and seeing the Spy Kids 2 DVD on my shelf ( I have, and</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> still do claim, this is a masterpiece and rRod’s best) said “Oh. You</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> weren’t kidding.” So it will surprise no one that despite my meager</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> Chinese salary at the moment, I paid to go see <span style="font-style: italic;">Night at the Museum 2:</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-style: italic;"> Battle of the Smithsonian</span> on the big screen.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Now, I am not going to say that this film is on par with Spy Kids 2.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> This is no masterpiece (though having the Giant Jeff Koons balloon dog</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> bounce around the Smithsonian art galleries happily for half the film</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> is a stroke of genius). It is however, a piece of unashamed fun.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br />Even more than the first film, NATM2 threw in every possible exhibit</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> imaginable. Tuskegee Airmen, Amelia Earhart, General Custer… the list</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> goes on and on. You could almost hear the cheers of elementary school</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> history teachers in the background. Not to mention the cheers of the</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> Smithsonian board: the film was literally a giant infomercial for the</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> Smithsonian itself. There were of course some genuinely un-funny</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> catering to the kids jokes. I could have done without the singing</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> cupids for example (but yes Hank Azaria and his lisp were amazing).</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">But these moments are not really what gives the movie its “fun”.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <br /><br />What is so nice about the Night of the Museum franchise is the</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> unabashed enjoyment of good old-fashioned imagination: the idea of</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> things that we already suspect are, and wish were, alive coming to</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> life; and the resulting wonderful chaos. This kind of chaos is</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> portrayed as a good thing, not something to be controlled or stopped.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> In many ways, despite the fancy schmancy Smithsonian website and the</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> heavy use of CG, the film’s message is very anti-technological (see</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> the last scene of the film for example and what becomes of all Larry’s</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> exhibit friends in the end). Larry’s </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">(Ben Stiller’s character) </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">dissatisfaction with his success</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> is crystallized in his being chained to his blackberry. All the old</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> exhibits are going to be replaced by very hollow holograms (the</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> horror!). These days with Tickle me Elmo and all kinds of think</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">-</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> for-</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">you, you-don’t- need-imagination toys, its nice to see a message</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> encouraging imagination and the chaos that comes with creativity and play. The advice of Amelia Earhart (played by Amy</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> Adams) to Larry to just have fun, is almost</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> a message to the audience. The film is less a movie about the</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> suspension of disbelief and more about belief itself. It is a giant</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> “What if?” What if you had a magic tablet that made everything come to</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> life? What would it be like? It is the child’s version of fantasy</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> dinner party.</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <br /><br />As a pairing, I actually suggest a book. One of my all time</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> favorites: </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> by John Agee.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> It tells the story of a man who paints pictures that come to life. His paintings, as long as they remain contained are lauded, but as soon as they begin to misbehave and cause chaos, Clousseau is thrown into jail. Like with NATM2, the chaos that creativity creates is treated as something to be contained by the rest of the world but something to be cherished by the hero of the story.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><br /><br />We all know that</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> paintings cannot “actually” come to life. But I like to think that</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> the best paintings create a world that we feel as if we could dive</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> into. Just as the best history books make us feel (if not wish) to</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> travel back in time to participate in historic battles and events. It</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">is nice for once to not be reminded of the restraints of reality and</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> be encouraged to imagine a world in which one can dive in and out of</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> paintings and worlds and not worry about "real world" consequences. So for all you film snobs out there: you used</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> to be kid. Remember?</span>Lixianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11271496141867475515noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-43841545590659942652009-05-31T10:11:00.000-07:002009-05-31T12:04:14.958-07:00"Blood: The Last Vampire" (2009)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJWSXQrrwWLPh00jK5DXmQn9kYZCS8CnGRVEjv99OR5um8aVxZ_ptc6zlJieFRZOqaUZwubHrS_sgq7Wc6BDXqwN06VyY5enKGeCctgnkiV1PXEzuacMV8xbkGst8n81G5HyVtlmXB4cUJ/s1600-h/poster_372_c_1243658773.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 274px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJWSXQrrwWLPh00jK5DXmQn9kYZCS8CnGRVEjv99OR5um8aVxZ_ptc6zlJieFRZOqaUZwubHrS_sgq7Wc6BDXqwN06VyY5enKGeCctgnkiV1PXEzuacMV8xbkGst8n81G5HyVtlmXB4cUJ/s400/poster_372_c_1243658773.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5342065851178797090" /></a><br />Edmund here:-<br /><br />Vampire fans alert!<br /><br />Just back from a preview screening of the live-action adaption of Hiroyuki Kitakubo's intriguing but over-brief animation from 2000. (The original was intriguing not only because the signature costume of its heroine stems from a joke, but also from its dubious racial, political and religious undertone.) While Gianna does look exceptionally hot here as Saya the non-smiling demon slayer (who also happens to be a vampire - don't ask), I'm sad to report that this film makes even less sense than the original despite doubling its runtime.<br /><br />Let me put it this way: the parts based on the anime are mostly pretty awesome, but the back story that the filmmakers supplied to Saya is embarrassingly cliched AND non-sensical. Casting Allison Miller as Saya's sidekick is a misstep into teenage drama territory (although I can see the reasons they replace the ordinary-looking schoolteacher character in the original), while Koyuki's involvement as Saya's nemesis - without elaborating further, because of how incredibly ridiculous the final twist is - is nothing short of a joke.<br /><br />So if you like the original and wish that it was longer... well, stop wishing and just stick with it.<br /><br />(This is meant more as the ranting of a disappointed fanboy, rather than a proper review...)<br /><br />Finally, a fact that's probably funnier than the film itself: in Hong Kong, <em>Blood: The Last Vampire</em> is scheduled for a June 4 theatrical release, i.e. on the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre, under the Chinese title of "血戰新世紀". Talk about irony.Edmundhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03864518083085582379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6099800167920924416.post-1327589342387618122009-05-31T01:07:00.000-07:002009-05-31T01:15:17.717-07:00From Behind a Great Wall of FireHey Guys, Hi Edmund!<br /><br />Sorry to have been MIA for a while but blogger is still very much blocked here in Beijing (ehem.. oh hey June 4th). I will not go into detail about how I am getting around it because I don't want THAT to get blocked. But needless to say, I have found a way and will begin to post again very very soon.Lixianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11271496141867475515noreply@blogger.com0