Monday, July 26, 2010

159) Scandal Sheet (1952)

159) Scandal Sheet (1952) Dir: Phil Karlson Date Released: January 1952 Date Seen: April 30, 2010 Rating: 3.75/5

While I intermittently got a kick out of this film's staunch belief in the vital role newspapers play in informing and educating the public, not to mention its screwball dialogue and quirky noir plot, what I really took away from Scandal Sheet was Broderick Crawford's performance. This was the first role where I noticed Crawford, though now I'm sure I must have seen him many times before. He's kind of unmistakable, thoroughly uni-faceted in his acting but excellent in portraying a thuggish bluecollar bully mentality.

Crawford's a bear of a man and his tough but mercurial persona makes you want to root for him as an underdog even when he's the one you're meant to root against. The scene where he confronts an old acquaintance of his early on in the film and kinda accidentally kills her especially stands out, not just because it's winningly lurid but because it leaves you with mixed feelings. Crawford's character is trapped by circumstances he never really controlled and from that point on, is forced to play the hand he's been dealt in order to save his own skin. He's not really a bad guy here, just an understandably cowardly one, one that doesn't want to lose everything he's worked for because he wasn't always the man he wanted to be. It's a pretty intriguing quality and one that I find compliments what I have since come to identify as the character type that Crawford constantly played.

158) Shock Corridor (1963)

158) Shock Corridor (1963) Dir: Samuel Fuller Date Released: September 1963 Date Seen: April 30, 2010 Rating: 4.25/5

In a very weird way, it's fitting that I saw Shock Corridor as part of Film Forum's "The Newspaper Film" series. In spite of the fact that its protagonist is an unscrupulous opportunist, Shock Corridor is a psychodrama about being affected by The Truth about post-war America. That Truth, as our hapless investigative reporter finds out, is that irrational fear and prejudice is the psychotic fuel that secretly fuels our nation. It frequently drives men and anyone that seeks that Truth will become corrupted by it by proxy. Because bigotry is a highly contagious disease that sometimes results in attacks by nymphomaniacs, visions of your girlfriend dancing on your shoulder or a spontaneous indoor rain shower. And as naive and reductive as that kind of Truth sounds, Fuller expresses it with such vehemence and such a devotion to cinematic experimentation, that I can't help but fall hopelessly in love with his polemically provocative Truth. Forget the restored director's cut of The Big Red One: this is my real introduction to Fuller's world of tortured men that carry the world's troubles on their shoulders. More, more, gimme, gimme.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

156) My Brothers (2010), 157) Tetsuo the Bullet Man and 160) Zonad (2009)

156) My Brothers (2010) Dir: Paul Fraser Not Yet Released Date Seen: April 29, 2010 Rating: 3.75/5

157) Tetsuo the Bullet Man (2009) Dir: Shinya Tsukamoto Not Yet Released Date Seen: April 30, 2010 Rating: 3.75/5

160) Zonad (2009) Dir: John Carney and Kieran Carney Not Yet Released Date Seen: April 30, 2010 Rating: 2.75/5

The (second to) last of my Tribeca 2010 review dispatches for the New York Press. See also my interview with Tsukamoto (note: only included are my questions. I asked two at a round table and the rest afterwards 1:1).

Saturday, July 24, 2010

153) Gainsbourg (Vie heroique) (2010), 154) The Killer Inside Me (2010) and 155) The Arbor

153) Gainsbourg (Vie heroique) (2010) Dir: Joann Sfar Not Yet Released Date Seen: April 27, 2010 Rating: 3.75/5

154) The Killer Inside Me (2010) Dir: Michael Winterbottom Date Released: June 2010 Date Seen: April 28, 2010 Rating: 4/5

155) The Arbor (2010) Dir: Clio Barnard Not Yet Released Date Seen: April 28, 2010 Rating: 4/5

My favorite batch of capsule reviews at Tribeca. Maybe. For the New York Press.

150) Loose Cannons (2010), 151) Dream Home (2010) and 152) The White Meadows (2009)

150) Loose Cannons (2010) Dir: Ferzan Ozpetek Not Yet Released Date Seen: April 25, 2010 Rating: 2.5/5

151) Dream Home (2010) Dir: Pang Ho-Cheung Not Yet Released Date Seen: April 26, 2010 Rating: 4/5

152) The White Meadows (2009) Dir: Mohammad Rassoulof Not Yet Released Date Seen: April 26, 2010 Rating: 4.25/5

More Tribeca review capsules! Featuring my two favorite films at this year's festival. At the New York Press. Also check out my interview with Ozpetek at GreenCine.

149) The Company of Wolves (1984)

149) The Company of Wolves (1984) Dir: Neil Jordan Date Released: April 1985 Date Seen: April 25, 2010 Rating: 3.75/5

Now I know why Dario Argento admires this thing. Mostly naivete for naivete's sake in its presentation of fairy tales but filmed with a flair for the weird and the unsettling so I can't complain. That last dream sequence where the wolves pounce through that window is pretty amazing. See my interview with Neil Jordan for the New York Press where I compare The Company of Wolves and Ondine.

148) The Blue Dahlia (1946)

148) The Blue Dahlia (1946) Dir: George Marshall Date Released: April 1946 Date Seen: April 24, 2010 Rating: 3.75/5

I honestly and truly don't remember very much about this Raymond Chandler-scripted film noir save that I was kept guessing about the identity of the killer until the very end and am still not sure whodunnit. I like that about it a lot and Chandler's flinty dialogue, too. Hardly ground-breaking in the way it treats post-war trauma as potential psychosis but a sufficiently convoluted and plenty engaging plot.

One of the things that I do remember distinctly and finding fascinating was the way that at the beginning of the film, returning G.I.s come home to find a whole other world. This means new jobs, apartments and prospects but it also means your wife's now a drunken tramp that throws crazy parties when nobody's looking.

I also remember being impressed by Alan Ladd's performance, two-dimensional as it no doubt is. Can't help but compare it with his titular role in Shane as the avenging white-hat-wearing loner. The Blue Dahlia proves that while he didn't have too much range, Ladd did have some.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

145) Saturday Night (2010), 146) Ondine (2009) and 147) The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009)

145) Saturday Night (2009) Dir: James Franco Not Yet Released Date Seen: April 22, 2010 Rating: 2.5/5

146) Ondine (2009) Dir: Neil Jordan Date Released: June 2010 Date Seen: April 23, 2010 Rating: 3.25/5

147) The Disappearance of Alice Creed (2009) Dir: J Blakeson Date Released: August 2010 Date Seen: April 23, 2010 Rating: 3.75/5

A mixed bag. Duh. See my Tribeca Film Festival capsule reviews for the New York Press.

144) Anton Chekhov's The Duel (2009)

144) Anton Chekhov's The Duel (2009) Dir: Dover Koshashvili Date Released: April 2010 Rating: 4/5

Gorgeous, sensuous, funny and exceptionally well-conceived. See my review for the New York Press.

143) The Fugitive Kind (1960)

143) The Fugitive Kind (1960) Dir: Sidney Lumet Date Released: April 1960 Date Seen: April 21, 2010 Rating: 3.75/5

Stunning in parts with some great performances but mostly feels like leftover material from Tennessee Williams. See my DVD review for Slant Magazine.

141) The Losers (2010)

141) The Losers (2010) Dir: Sylvain White Date Released: April 2010 Date Seen: April 19, 2010 Rating: 1.75/5

Really losing patience with cocky by flagrantly mediocre contemporary action films. Ditto for comic book movies. See my review for Slant Magazine.

140) 44 Inch Chest (2009)

140) 44 Inch Chest (2009) Dir: Malcolm Venville Date Released: January 2010 Date Seen: April 18, 2010 Rating: 3/5

Another play that thinks it's a movie. See my review for New York Press.


138) The Ape (2009) and 139) Frostbite (2005)

138) The Ape (2009) Dir: Jesper Ganslandt Not Yet Released Date Seen: April 16, 2010 Rating: 3.75/5

139) Frostbite (2005) Dir: Anders Blanke Not Yet Released Date Seen: April 16, 2010 Rating: 2.75/5

Bork bork bork is the new zeitgeist. See my piece on Neu Svedish Cinema for da Neu Yurk Priss.

137) The City of Your Final Destination (2009)

137) The City of Your Final Destination (2009) Dir: James Ivory Date Released: April 2010 Date Seen: April 14, 2010 Rating: 2/5

I think that rating is rather generous. See my review for the New York Press.

136) Silvestre (1982)

136) Silvestre (1982) Dir: Joao Cesar Monteiro Not Yet Released Date Seen: April 13, 2010 Rating: 4/5

I especially appreciate this film considering that I rewatched Bluebeard fairly recently. See my piece on Monteiro's cinema for CityArts.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

135) Loves of a Blonde (1965)

135) Loves of a Blonde (1965) Dir: Milos Forman Date Released: October 1966 Date Seen: April 12, 2010 Rating: 3.75/5

Not my favorite Forman but a very good one. See my review for Slant Magazine.

134) Tiptoes (2003)

134) Tiptoes (2003) Dir: Matthew Bright Date Released: January 2004 Date Seen: April 11, 2010 Rating: 0.75/5

I went into this movie kicking and screaming or as close to that as I get when it comes to movies I want to rubberneck to. And what I got was so much worse than I could've imagined. This thing is so obliviously horrid, so cluelessly stupid, so malignantly insensitive that it caused inner turmoil within me the likes of which I haven't felt since I first stumbled upon the original live-action Captain America movie. It hurt me. Deep inside. No one should have to suffer through this indignity silently. I'm Simon Abrams and I was raped by Tiptoes. Share your stories and support in the comments section, please.

133) The Slammin' Salmon (2009) and RV!: Taxidermia (2006)

133) The Slammin' Salmon (2009) Dir: Kevin Heffernan Date Released: December 2009 Date Seen: April 11, 2010 Rating:

RV!: Taxidermia (2006) Dir: Gyorgy Palfi Date Released: August 2009 Date Seen: April 12, 2010 Rating: 4.25/5

Yeah, it was a weird week. See my DVD round-up for the New York Press.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

132) Best Worst Movie (2009)

132) Best Worst Movie (2009) Dir: Michael Stephenson Date Released: April 2010 Date Seen: April 8, 2010 Rating: 3.75/5

A very entertaining and thoughtful fan-made doc, though it does have its problems. See my review for Slant Magazine.

131) World on a Wire (1973)

131) World on a Wire (1973) Dir: Rainer Werner Fassbinder Date Released: April 2010 Date Seen: April 7, 2010 Rating: 3.5/5

I love the sumptuousness of it but the story just isn't that striking. See my review for Slant Magazine.

129) The Good, the Bad and the Weird (2008)

129) The Good, The Bad and the Weird (2008) Dir: Kim Ji-Woon Date Released: April 2010 Date Seen: April 5, 2010 Rating: 3/5

A big, in more ways than one, missed opportunity. See my review for Slant Magazine.

128) The Small Back Room (1949)

128) The Small Back Room (1949) Dir: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger Date Released: February 1952 Date Seen: April 5, 2010 Rating: 4/5

Was there anything Powell & Pressburger couldn't do? I mean, the espionage overplot in The Small Back Room is a bit flat-footed but its really not the focus of the film. Powell and Pressburger's consummate drive to experiment and their unparalleled ability to succeed at whatever they tried to do is the real engine of the film. In fact, I remember distinctly that the film's plot had a tendency towards exploring one tangential subplot after another until the viewer begins to want a a return to some semblance of normalcy just as much as the film's alky of a protagonist does. And it works because you want to be lost in Powell and Pressburger's charming patter for as long as you can. The film's depiction of addiction is quaint by today's standards but it makes for good drama. I'll be damned if that nightmare sequence isn't great.

127) The Runaways (2010)

127) The Runaways (2010) Dir: Floria Sigismondi Date Released: March 2010 Date Seen: April 4, 2010 Rating: 2/5

Who even remembers this shitty thing? Its creators love for Joan Jett's formative band doesn't translate beyond its stale and utterly dispensable biopic story. At all. I just didn't care and wasn't really given any good reason to except for the standard biopic line about how "These girls changed rock by making their troubled personalities their art." Blah blah blah alcoholism blah blah blah vampish narcissism blah blah blah lesbian kiss scene blah. Blah. Bleh. Yeah, yeah, Michael Shannon's great, yeah, yeah. But that's because A) he's Michael Shannon B) he's allowed to cut loose and have fun by popping up periodically and exploding while the rest of the actors are shackled to truly dull characters that get more face time because...well, I don't really know. Who gives a flying fart? So glad I brought my flask to this.

126) How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

126) How to Train Your Dragon (2010) Dir: Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders Date Released: March 2010 Date Seen: April 4, 2010 Rating: 4/5

Specific details of How to Train Your Dragon's plot have left me many moons ago because, let's face it, the film's ideas are hardly original. But I distinctly remember being thoroughly disarmed by the film all the same. Its jokes don't always hit home but its genuinely affecting, almost totally immersive and the filmmakers use of 3D is top-notch. If I had to guess, I'd say I connected with Dragon because it was a standard story done very well, the kind of thing that doesn't get enough praise because many dismiss it as very good generic junk. Which is misleading because a film is only really generic if it doesn't do anything with its stock plot. This film does and it makes for a very convincing bildungs roman. With dragons. And vikings.

Saturday, July 3, 2010

Half-Time Fun-Time

As of the Halfway Mark:

Top 10:

1) Dogtooth (2009) Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos


2) The Ghost Writer (2009) Dir: Roman Polanski

3) Life During Wartime (2009) Dir: Todd Solondz

4) Lourdes (2009) Dir: Jessica Hausner

5) Anton Chekhov's The Duel (2009) Dir: Dover Koshashvili

6) The Eclipse (2009) Dir: Conor McPherson

7) The Human Centipede (First Sequence) (2009) Dir: Tom Six

8) The Crazies (2010) Dir: Breck Eisner

9) Mid-August Lunch (2009) Dir: Gianni Di Gregario

10) The Paranoids (2009) Dir: Gabriel Medina



Bottom 10:

1) Birdemic: Shock and Terror (2008) Dir: James Nguyen

2) Jonah Hex (2010) Dir: Jimmy Hayward

3) The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) Dir: David Slade

4) Remember Me (2010) Dir: Allen Coulter

5) Videocracy (2009) Dir: Erik Gandini

6) Valentine's Day (2010) Dir: Garry Marshall

7) Stolen (2009) Dir: Anders Anderson

8) Alice in Wonderland (2010) Dir: Tim Burton

9) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2009) Dir: Niels Arden Oplev

10) Creation (2009) Dir: Jon Amiel



Repertory Top 10:

1) Metropolis (1927) Dir: Fritz Lang

2) House (1977)

3) Orlando (1992) Dir: Sally Potter

4) Shock Coridor (1963) Dir: Samuel Fuller

5) Zodiac (2007) Dir: David Fincher

6) The Prowler (1957) Dir: Joseph Losey

7) Wake in Fright (1971) Dir: Ted Kotcheff

8) Who Killed Teddy Bear? (1965) Dir: Peter Cates

9) Eastern Condors (1987) Dir: Sammo Hung

10) To Die for Tano (1997) Dir: Roberta Torre