RV!: Battle Royale (2000)

RV!: Battle Royale (2000) Dir: Kinji Fukasaku Date Released: December 24, 2011 Date Seen: March 22, 2012 Rating: 4/5

Some people think this movie, which was a big thing during my not-so-long-ago adolescence, is mature. PFFFFFT. See my review for Capital NY. 

RV!: The Sitter (2011)

RV!: The Sitter (2011) Dir: David Gordon Green Date Released: December 9, 2011 Date Seen: March 18, 2012 Rating: 3/5

Yeah, I still have a soft spot for this one. See my forthcoming piece on it for my nascent Movieline column, "Inessential Essentials."

Editor's Note: I got dis for you.

Bad Idea Podcast #12: Happy Madison and a Year of Bad Ideas

90) Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) Dir: Steve Carr Date Released: January 16, 2009 Date Seen: March 8, 2012 Rating: 1/5

91) Grandma's Boy (2006) Dir: Allan Covert Date Released: January 6, 2006 Date Seen: March 8, 2012 Rating: 3/5

93) Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo (2005) Dir: Mike Bigelow Date Released: August 12, 2005 Date Seen: March 9, 2012 Rating: 1.75/5

94) Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star (2011) Dir: Tom Brady Date Released: September 9, 2011 Date Seen: March 9, 2012 Rating: 2/5

96) Blissfully Yours (2002) Dir: Apichatpong Weerasethakul Date Released (DVD): May 8, 2007 Date Seen: March 11, 2012 Rating: 3.5/5

97) Jack and Jill (2011) Dir: Dennis Durgan Date Released: November 11, 2011 Date Seen: March 11, 2012 Rating: 0.75/5

A good episode, I think, though hopefuly all three of our listeners will be the judge of that....check out the forthcoming 12th episode of the Bad Idea Podcast for more (recorded today, will be released a week from tomorrow, I think).

Editor's Note: I got the hook-up, holler if you hear me (Wut?!).

RV!: Rampart (2011)

RV!: Rampart (2011) Dir: Oren Moverman Date Released: November 23, 2011 Date Seen: February 7, 2012 Rating: 3/5

Better. But still not that great. See my review for Capital New York.

51) A Separation (2011)

51) A Separation (2011) Dir: Asghar Farhadi Date Released: December 30, 2011 Date Seen: February 4, 2012 Rating: 4.25/5

The first third of this picture is its weakest portion. It's pure set-up but that's ok, since the rest of the film does so much with that set-up. In fact, I'd say that since that's the only almost-weak spot of the picture, A Separation is in pretty great shape (What a relief, right?). Its drama is as gutting as it is because of the cumulative weight of its characters' moral dilemma. This is a film where everyone's actions are being judged by almost everyone else. The judges, the protagonists and their daughters are all judging each other's decisions, sometimes discretely but mostly with just enough visibility that we can't help but see their furtive looks of distrust and unease. The scene where the entire sordid court case is about to be settled and the would-be house-keeper stammers, "I have doubts," is devastating because she's giving voice to all this unease with one meek protest.

That having been said: I can't help but wonder what native Iranian critics think of this film. Its implicit indictment of the Iranian legal system (ie: the court's judgment is only valid insofar as it will immediately affect protagonists; the judge's ethical compass is understood to be compromised) and its semi-loaded initial scenario regarding the religious doctrine that forbids married women from working in other men's homes suggest that Farhadi is reactively creating a worst case scenario based on the worst of Iranian social conventions. It's the system that's implicitly under attack here and that's essentially what fucks up the protagonists. So I wonder what film critics that are more familiar with those social and judicial codes think of A Separation. Because, and I could be totally off-base here, this seems like a film that's pleading for tolerance and understanding from an ideal Western audience. 

RV!: Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore (2010)

RV!: Herschell Gordon Lewis: The Godfather of Gore (2010) Dir: Jimmy Maslon and Frank Henenlotter Date Released: September 27, 2011 Date Seen: February 3, 2012 Rating: 3/5

Some very good anecdotes here but much of this "schlockumentary"* is just a skimpy version of what Randy Palmer had already chronicled in Herschell Gordon Lewis, The Godfather of Gore: The Films, a book that was published a decade before this film was produced. Maslon's work towards preserving Lewis's films should not be casually dismissed. But this doc is not much more than a good primer on Lewis and his film. Doesn't really give you a good idea of why he matters though. 

And that's where I come in, he said not-at-all modestly.

*Lewis's words, not mine

27) Dylan Dog: Dead of Night (2011)

27) Dylan Dog: Dead of Night (2011) Dir: Kevin Munroe Date Released: April 29, 2011 Date Seen: January 20, 2012 Rating: 2/5

A comic book adaptation with all of the excesses and none of the modest charms of the Judge Dredd-era of science fiction/horror films: irritating comedic sidekick not off-set by charismatic male lead (Brandon Routh really struggles here and it pains me to say that as someone that thought he was fun during his brief appearance in Zack and Miri Make a Porno); totally generic search for a whatsit plot not off-set by endearingly wacky plot tangents, like the zombie body part market (yawn; not quirky enough to be memorable); and lack of snappy dialogue not made up for by ludicrously excessive budget (budget was mid-range, I'd guess; certainly didn't look like a big production). 

Also: why do I get the feeling that the filmmakers didn't give a fuck about the source comics? Didn't even vaguely resemble a Dylan Dog story...

25) Love in Space (2011) and 26) Aftershock (2010)

25) Love in Space (2011) Dir: Tony Chan and Wing Shiya Date Released: September 9, 2011 Date Seen: January 16, 2012 Rating: 3/5

26) Aftershock (2010) Dir: Xiaogang Feng Date Released: October 29, 2010 Date Seen: January January 18, 2012 Rating: 3.25/5

Some of the better China Lion titles I've seen, certainly. See my think piece for Press Play.

24) Hugo (2011)

24) Hugo (2011) Dir: Martin Scorsese Date Released: November 23, 2011 Date Seen: January 16, 2012 Rating: 3.25/5

Something struck me as I watched Hugo's most striking scene, the one where Hugo Cabret learns about the cinematic tradition that followed after Georges Méliès made his pioneering films. The sequence, which is a hodge-podge montage of disparate films, is scored by a lilting section from Camille Saint-Saëns's "Danse Macabre," one of my favorite pieces of music. Saint-Saëns's piece is a playful but bombastic composition that celebrates the metaphorical ritual of the Dance of the Dead. In the song, the dead rise from the ground for a night and thunderously cavort around their headstones until the break of dawn. It's a lively piece and one I feel is put to good use in Hugo.

But what bothers me about the specific portion of the song that was sampled in this montage is that the sampled section is a very romantic and soft portion of St. Saëns's often raucous piece. "Danse Macabre" is an irreverent tribute to the unquiet dead! I didn't see that same irreverence maintained in Scorsese's scene-long homage to the power of films and I didn't see it in the rest of his film's sweet but sometimes sappy tribute to films. I quite enjoyed Ben Kingsley and Sacha Baron Cohen's performances though. And the Paris train station set was boffo, too. Still: more bombast, please.

23) The Butcher, The Chef, and the Swordsman (2010)

23) The Butcher, The Chef, and the Swordsman (2010) Dir: Wuershan Date Released: March 18, 2011 Date Seen: January 15, 2012 Rating: 2.25/5

A last gap for 2011 ketchup. Some endearingly nutty material, mostly during the food preparation scenes and the nuttier bits of the butcher's story (yes, the horse disembowelment sequence is kind of wonderful). But otherwise, I'll pass, thanks.

14) The Darkest Hour (2011) and 15) The Devil Inside (2012)

14) The Darkest Hour (2011) Dir: Chris Gorak Date Released: December 25, 2011 Date Seen: January 8, 2012 Rating: 2/5

15) The Devil Inside (2012) Dir: William Brent Bell Date Released: January 6, 2012 Date Seen: January 8, 2012 Rating: 1.25/5

In just a couple of hours' time, I saw the difference between a uniquely awful and a tediously awful film. And all it cost me was $25 or so. See my piece for Press Play.

11) Winnie the Pooh (2011)

11) Winnie the Pooh (2011) Dir: Stephen J. Anderson and Don Hall Date Released: July 15, 2011 Date Seen: January 7, 2012 Rating: 3.75/5

Another 2011 ketchup title. Just as good as I'd been led to believe, thankfully. Bouncy score and a nice reminder of how fun these characters can be. I'm convinced it doesn't take too much to make these characters fun. But hey, it's always nice to see something you consider to be a sure thing work after years of not thinking about it.

RV!: Drive (2011), 7) Modern Romance (1981)

RV!: Drive (2011) Dir: Nicolas Winding Refn Date Released: September 16, 2011 Date Seen: January 4, 2012 Rating: 3.5/5

7) Modern Romance (1981) Dir: Albert Brooks Date Released: March 13, 1981 Date Seen: January 6, 2012 Rating: 4.25/5

The former film has slightly diminished since I last saw it. But the latter film: wowee wow wow! See my piece on the future of Albert Brooks, then and now, for Capital New York.

4) Hostel: Part III (2011)

4) Hostel: Part III (2011) Dir: Scott Spiegel Date Released: December 22, 2011 Date Seen: January 2, 2012 Rating: 2.75/5

Far slicker than it has any right to be. By which I mean: I was impressed that a film this pointless was as superficially entertaining as it was. 

More Belated, Half-Assed 2011 Ketchup

508) Le Quattro Volte (2010) Dir: Michelangelo Frammartino Date Released: March 30, 2011 Date Seen: December 29, 2011 Rating: 4.25/5

510) Senna (2010) Dir: Asif Kapadia Date Released: August 12, 2011 Date Seen: December 30, 2011 Rating: 3.75/5

511) Cold Fish (2010) Dir: Sion Sono Date Released: July 6, 2011 Date Seen: December 31, 2011 Rating: 3.5/5

2) Contagion (2011) Dir: Steven Soderbergh Date Released: September 9, 2011 Date Seen: January 1, 2012 Date Seen: 3.75/5

Le Quattro Volte: This film feels a little stuffy at the start. But once we get to that one great take, the one where the goats are freed from their pen and the car crashes and everything seems to happen for a reason but you can't quite discern what that reason is? At that point, I was all in.

Senna: Good character study and rather dynamic. Still, a bit too neat. Had more specific thoughts but, as is often the case with films I don't have to immediately write about for $$ (let's be honest: I get paid peanuts and they're not even whole peanuts, either), my thoughts have left me by now. Which is why I'm scrambling to get caught up with my notes-taking. Because there's so much I want to say and if I don't get it all down when the getting is good, then...well, I don't want to think about that.

Cold Fish: Don't get the rancor against this film (Thinkin' about you, D'Angelo!). As Sono's most pitilessly cynical of his recent films, Cold Fish is thoroughly misanthropic. It's often facile depiction of human behavior is frustrating. But there are singular moments in this one that impressed me, like the disposal of the first body and also, the planetarium visit. In the latter scene, Sono establishes something that deeply disturbed me: we crave to know that we don't matter, basically. That's what that sliver of a scene suggests. And that suggestion is terrifying and its pitilessly bleak. But it's so pointed in its bleakness (Look at this man and see him looking to know how small he is compared to the universe. Look at this man trying to re-establish order in his life by trying to convince himself that he doesn't really matter. a\And know that you crave to be put in your place, too.) that this one scene almost made me want to cry. So yeah, monotonous, to be sure, and Sono often stacks the deck a little too neatly. But hahaha whyyyyy?!

Contagion: Ends on a soft note with Matt Damon and his kid and I don't think any of the post-outbreak stuff really worked. But yeah, pretty terrifying, innit?

507) Santa Stinks (1982)

507) Santa Stinks (1982) Dir: Jean-Marie Poiré Date Released: December 28, 2011 Date Seen: December 29, 2011 Rating: 3.75/5

Normally, the nasty nature of French comedies bug me. But this one is frequently inspired in its abject nastiness. See my piece for Capital New York.

506) Leap Year (2010)

506) Leap Year (2010) Dir: Michael Rowe Date Released: June 24, 2011 Date Seen: December 28, 2011 Rating: 3.5/5

Strangely enough, I found the existential haze surrounding this character study about a masochist to be most palpable when the film was trying to be titillating. It's sexy but in an unclean, need-three-more-showers kind of way. So I'd say that makes the film a success overall. But the turgid pace of Leap Year, which is nominally justified by its lead character's own depression, is frustrating. It's understandable, but yes, also very frustrating. 

505) The Last Circus (2010)

505) The Last Circus (2010) Dir: Alex de la Iglesia Date Released: August 19, 2011 Date Seen: December 25, 2011 Rating: 4/5

What soul-deadening drug do American critics take when they watch de la Iglesia's gleefully unsound and often more heady than gross black comedies? I mean, really: this is heady, crazy, needs-annotations-because-it's-so-dense satire. And it's funny! And mean! And out there! And strange! Like the white clown in this twisted lil flick, de la Iglesia deserves a better audience. 'Cause the one he's got sure as shit isn't paying attention.

504) Albert Nobbs (2011)

504) Albert Nobbs (2011) Dir: Rodrigo Garcia Date Released: December 21, 2011 Date Seen: December 24, 2011 Rating: 1.5/5

Oy vey. See my piece for Capital New York.

499) Mission: Impossible--Ghost Protocol (2011)

499) Mission: Impossible--Ghost Protocol (2011) Dir: Brad Bird Date Released: December 16, 2011 Date Seen: December 16, 2011 Rating: 3.75/5

Pretty fun except the bits that aren't. See my piece on Tom Cruises's glassy charms for Press Play.