Actors: James Gandolfini, Tom Hollander
Director: Armando Iannucci
In The Loop is an exceedingly British film. Not that people are jamming toffees down their throat while discussing the latest footie match, but its humor is alternately understated and bombastic - most of what is funny comes from what is said.
A political satire mostly in name, In The Loop is more a showcase for its one-liners, callbacks, and call-forwards - it's a dense knot of recurring jokes. There's not any Dr. Strangelove-esque heavy-handedness - in this film, politicians are largely vain, stupid people. There's also not many better targets for satire than vain, stupid people.
I suspect this film gets better on second watch. The punchlines are in no discernible rhythm, and there's just so many of them.
Monday, May 31, 2010
District 9 - 2009 - 3½ Stars
Actors: Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope
Director: Neill Blomkamp
District 9 asks a real simple question, and it asks it from its moderately inventive faux-documentary opening - What if aliens landed on Earth, and instead of being malevolent and powerful or all-knowing or beautiful, they turned out to be merely squatters? What would we do with them?
Unfortunately with such a solid setup, the film loses the ambiguity of the question along the way, shedding it for gore, propulsive action sequences, and black-and-white morality. It also employs a trick that I can only accept in science fiction films, coming up with one deus ex machina after another. That's the great thing about technology that never existed - all you have to do is invent it in the script, and voila. There's nothing Independence Day bad (the aliens don't use the same OS that we do), but the astute viewer is certainly left with a few questions.
Director: Neill Blomkamp
District 9 asks a real simple question, and it asks it from its moderately inventive faux-documentary opening - What if aliens landed on Earth, and instead of being malevolent and powerful or all-knowing or beautiful, they turned out to be merely squatters? What would we do with them?
Unfortunately with such a solid setup, the film loses the ambiguity of the question along the way, shedding it for gore, propulsive action sequences, and black-and-white morality. It also employs a trick that I can only accept in science fiction films, coming up with one deus ex machina after another. That's the great thing about technology that never existed - all you have to do is invent it in the script, and voila. There's nothing Independence Day bad (the aliens don't use the same OS that we do), but the astute viewer is certainly left with a few questions.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The King Of Comedy - 1982 - 4 Stars
Actors: Robert Deniro, Jerry Lewis
Director: Martin Scorsese
Having everyone know your name - blessing or curse? It's not hard to figure out where Martin Scorsese falls in The King of Comedy. Deniro stars as Rupert Pupkin, the up-and-coming comic whose name people always forget, Lewis as the established late-night talk show host who is harassed by fanatics. Deniro is unbelievably creepy - his permanent cheeriness and amusement, aping those of a talk show guest, are even creepier than his general demeanor in Scorsese films. His character is obsessed with being a stand-up comic on Lewis's show, even though it appears that he's never actually performed his act to a live audience.
Scorsese and writer Paul Zimmerman play around with delusional behavior and the power of fantasy - the notion that fame compensates for the slings and arrows we might suffer in our youth. We're not treated to actual scenes from Pupkin's youth, but to build up into such a steeled lack of self-awareness, it must have been awful indeed. We're often told about famous people who have terrible childhoods - what if you have a terrible childhood and you dream of being famous.. but you're totally untalented?
Director: Martin Scorsese
Having everyone know your name - blessing or curse? It's not hard to figure out where Martin Scorsese falls in The King of Comedy. Deniro stars as Rupert Pupkin, the up-and-coming comic whose name people always forget, Lewis as the established late-night talk show host who is harassed by fanatics. Deniro is unbelievably creepy - his permanent cheeriness and amusement, aping those of a talk show guest, are even creepier than his general demeanor in Scorsese films. His character is obsessed with being a stand-up comic on Lewis's show, even though it appears that he's never actually performed his act to a live audience.
Scorsese and writer Paul Zimmerman play around with delusional behavior and the power of fantasy - the notion that fame compensates for the slings and arrows we might suffer in our youth. We're not treated to actual scenes from Pupkin's youth, but to build up into such a steeled lack of self-awareness, it must have been awful indeed. We're often told about famous people who have terrible childhoods - what if you have a terrible childhood and you dream of being famous.. but you're totally untalented?
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Gosford Park - 2001 - 3 Stars
Actors: Maggie Smith, Clive Owen
Director: Robert Altman
Gosford Park is a charming film about whose characters I really didn't care at all. There's some pretty standard Altman stuff here - the fact that there are around 20 characters and they are breezily introduced. Gosford Park is ultimately about class warfare in Britain before the fall of the British Empire, which, again, is not a subject I particularly care for. The film does make an interesting study of upper-class society - in this film, it's the servants who know everything and gossip endlessly about their masters; their masters are so reserved and polite that they try not to divulge anything about their true feelings to anyone besides those who must know them most intimately.
Altman makes perfect use of the camera in his study of secrets - the camera tends to move all the time, as though we're there - he is fantastic at making us really seem like an observer to the action.
Director: Robert Altman
Gosford Park is a charming film about whose characters I really didn't care at all. There's some pretty standard Altman stuff here - the fact that there are around 20 characters and they are breezily introduced. Gosford Park is ultimately about class warfare in Britain before the fall of the British Empire, which, again, is not a subject I particularly care for. The film does make an interesting study of upper-class society - in this film, it's the servants who know everything and gossip endlessly about their masters; their masters are so reserved and polite that they try not to divulge anything about their true feelings to anyone besides those who must know them most intimately.
Altman makes perfect use of the camera in his study of secrets - the camera tends to move all the time, as though we're there - he is fantastic at making us really seem like an observer to the action.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Satantango - Part 1 -1994
Actors: Mihaly Vig, Putyi Horvath
Director: Bela Tarr
Satantango opens with a five-minute shot of cattle - and it's at this point that you know you are settling in for the long haul. Tarr loves exceptionally long takes with the camera sweeping around the action or following behind or ahead of our characters as they walk.
Like other long-take directors (e.g. Fassbinder, Tarkovsky), sometimes Satantango shows us something that other films will pass over, and other times it's just plain dull. The story is told in parts - the first disc of Satantango has 3 vignettes, all of which concern each other - the characters in Vignette 2 are mentioned in #1, and #3 concerns an observer of all the action. Tarr's story concerns a rather dim and despondent farming community in Hungary - it's a difficult slog, and I guess I'll have to see if it's worth it, as there are still nearly 5 hours left.
Director: Bela Tarr
Satantango opens with a five-minute shot of cattle - and it's at this point that you know you are settling in for the long haul. Tarr loves exceptionally long takes with the camera sweeping around the action or following behind or ahead of our characters as they walk.
Like other long-take directors (e.g. Fassbinder, Tarkovsky), sometimes Satantango shows us something that other films will pass over, and other times it's just plain dull. The story is told in parts - the first disc of Satantango has 3 vignettes, all of which concern each other - the characters in Vignette 2 are mentioned in #1, and #3 concerns an observer of all the action. Tarr's story concerns a rather dim and despondent farming community in Hungary - it's a difficult slog, and I guess I'll have to see if it's worth it, as there are still nearly 5 hours left.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story - 2007 - 3 Stars
Actors: John C. Reilly, Jenna Fischer
Director: Jake Kasdan
Walk Hard was not a successful film at the box office, and I suspect that's because it was just a little too good at what it does. A send-up of recent biopics, it skewers the genre without love; it reveals how hollow and silly all of the tropes in these films are. Of course, I've never actually seen these films.
The jokes that don't work are the ones that seem to refer directly to those films - Walk the Line and Ray, for example - these references instantly make the film dated. Still, Walk Hard has some fantastic laughs, and shows the absurdity of trying to capture a person's entire life story in 2 hours.
Director: Jake Kasdan
Walk Hard was not a successful film at the box office, and I suspect that's because it was just a little too good at what it does. A send-up of recent biopics, it skewers the genre without love; it reveals how hollow and silly all of the tropes in these films are. Of course, I've never actually seen these films.
The jokes that don't work are the ones that seem to refer directly to those films - Walk the Line and Ray, for example - these references instantly make the film dated. Still, Walk Hard has some fantastic laughs, and shows the absurdity of trying to capture a person's entire life story in 2 hours.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
A Serious Man - 2009 - 3 Stars
Actors: Michael Stuhlbarg, Sari Lennick
Director: Coen Brothers
Note: Spoilers Ahead
Horrible things are always befalling the characters in a Coen Brothers' film. So when we see a character who happens to be holding an ice pick at the opening of the film, we know that that's going to end up in someone's neck or chest by the end of the scene.
The Coens are so meticulous that they almost certainly nail all of the period details from 1970s Minnesota, as well as all the Jewish family foibles. Tremendous, too, is the way the children swear in this film - they're terrible at it, and yet they do it constantly. The Coens are always spectacular in the details.
However, I'm often left confused by Coen films on first watch - I do suspect there's a lot of symbolism that passed over my head. Larry Gopnik's troubles made me wince, not laugh, nor do I think I was supposed to be laughing. But nor did I really care, it's a Coen brothers film, so I figured he'd continue to be tortured, and I'd have to sit there watching it.
Director: Coen Brothers
Note: Spoilers Ahead
Horrible things are always befalling the characters in a Coen Brothers' film. So when we see a character who happens to be holding an ice pick at the opening of the film, we know that that's going to end up in someone's neck or chest by the end of the scene.
The Coens are so meticulous that they almost certainly nail all of the period details from 1970s Minnesota, as well as all the Jewish family foibles. Tremendous, too, is the way the children swear in this film - they're terrible at it, and yet they do it constantly. The Coens are always spectacular in the details.
However, I'm often left confused by Coen films on first watch - I do suspect there's a lot of symbolism that passed over my head. Larry Gopnik's troubles made me wince, not laugh, nor do I think I was supposed to be laughing. But nor did I really care, it's a Coen brothers film, so I figured he'd continue to be tortured, and I'd have to sit there watching it.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Quantum of Solace - 2008 - 3 Stars
Actors: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko
Director: Marc Forster
The title Quantum of Solace narrowly beat out other choices, 'Jot Of Relief' and 'Iota of Comfort'. It's a terrible, terrible title. Quantum of Solace also happens to be the first Bond film in 20 years which I didn't see in the theater; this is unfortunate because it draws heavily on the plot of Casino Royale, which I saw 4 years ago and don't really remember at all. As a result, I was lost for a lot of the film.
Quantum of Solace also suffers from Tony Scott syndrome - the action sequences have as many cuts as possible. This technique is supposed to make things more manic and action-packed, but to me it's just disorienting. I suppose this more adequately replicates the actual feeling of e.g. being in a speeding boat and shooting at guys while being shot at and navigating through a busy harbor, but my inability to actually follow what's happening causes me to give up on the scene and wait until it's done to see who's alive and who's dead.
Director: Marc Forster
The title Quantum of Solace narrowly beat out other choices, 'Jot Of Relief' and 'Iota of Comfort'. It's a terrible, terrible title. Quantum of Solace also happens to be the first Bond film in 20 years which I didn't see in the theater; this is unfortunate because it draws heavily on the plot of Casino Royale, which I saw 4 years ago and don't really remember at all. As a result, I was lost for a lot of the film.
Quantum of Solace also suffers from Tony Scott syndrome - the action sequences have as many cuts as possible. This technique is supposed to make things more manic and action-packed, but to me it's just disorienting. I suppose this more adequately replicates the actual feeling of e.g. being in a speeding boat and shooting at guys while being shot at and navigating through a busy harbor, but my inability to actually follow what's happening causes me to give up on the scene and wait until it's done to see who's alive and who's dead.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Closely Watched Trains - 1966 - 3½ Stars
Actors: Vaclav Neckar, Josef Somr
Director: Jiri Menzel
In most films, we are provided with a kind of logic for what our character is doing. We are therefore able to understand his motivations. Closely Watched Trains does nothing of the sort. Our main character is a blank slate from whose whims we are removed. At the outset, we are told that our protagonist comes from a long line of do-nothings and seeks to follow in their footsteps - one of those hilariously sad Eastern European existences that Gogol and Dostoyevsky captured perfectly. Instead of 'doing nothing', our protagonist does quite a bit, but I at least had no real idea why.
The other characters, on the other hand, are perfectly drawn - the officious Nazi, the pompous station master, the lecherous train dispatcher Hubicka, and his shameless consort Zdena - it is almost as though our protagonist doesn't even inhabit the same world with these people, so withdrawn and odd he turns out to be. In all, though, Closely Watched Trains is a film I enjoyed but that I certainly didn't 'get'.
Director: Jiri Menzel
In most films, we are provided with a kind of logic for what our character is doing. We are therefore able to understand his motivations. Closely Watched Trains does nothing of the sort. Our main character is a blank slate from whose whims we are removed. At the outset, we are told that our protagonist comes from a long line of do-nothings and seeks to follow in their footsteps - one of those hilariously sad Eastern European existences that Gogol and Dostoyevsky captured perfectly. Instead of 'doing nothing', our protagonist does quite a bit, but I at least had no real idea why.
The other characters, on the other hand, are perfectly drawn - the officious Nazi, the pompous station master, the lecherous train dispatcher Hubicka, and his shameless consort Zdena - it is almost as though our protagonist doesn't even inhabit the same world with these people, so withdrawn and odd he turns out to be. In all, though, Closely Watched Trains is a film I enjoyed but that I certainly didn't 'get'.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
The Road Warrior - 1981 - 3½ Stars
Actors: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence
Director: George Miller
The Road Warrior is both silly and tense, as any good post-apocalyptic film should be. An apocalypse is silly, and predicting what comes after it sillier still - thus we get a blasted desert filled with people fighting over remaining gasoline stockpiles.
Mel Gibson's Max carries on a proud tradition of action heroes who don't say much. Any scenes with exposition are chopped down to their barest essentials, so we can get to scenes with leather-clad, vaguely punk-ish marauders. Questions like, 'How do people find water in this desert?' go happily unanswered, since that's both boring and hokey and doesn't involve people dressed like a Gwar cover band. This would rank high on a list of must-see films for 13 year old boys, where heavy action, gratuitous nudity and a slightly askance view of human nature are needed - all are represented here.
Director: George Miller
The Road Warrior is both silly and tense, as any good post-apocalyptic film should be. An apocalypse is silly, and predicting what comes after it sillier still - thus we get a blasted desert filled with people fighting over remaining gasoline stockpiles.
Mel Gibson's Max carries on a proud tradition of action heroes who don't say much. Any scenes with exposition are chopped down to their barest essentials, so we can get to scenes with leather-clad, vaguely punk-ish marauders. Questions like, 'How do people find water in this desert?' go happily unanswered, since that's both boring and hokey and doesn't involve people dressed like a Gwar cover band. This would rank high on a list of must-see films for 13 year old boys, where heavy action, gratuitous nudity and a slightly askance view of human nature are needed - all are represented here.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
The Hurt Locker - 2008 - 4 Stars
Actors: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie
Director: Katheryn Bigelow
Note: Spoilers ahead
I don't generally like war movies. They're always too long - first we have to be introduced to our characters, then some of them have to die, then some of them have to yell in slow motion while carrying other wounded soldiers, etc. I generally find them to be a gigantic downer with little redeeming value - I'm not entertained.
The Hurt Locker sidesteps some of these problems by not even having a plot. As a result, we're treated to a film that's only 130 minutes, instead of the requisite 160. There's not really scenes where higher-ranking officers call into question the actions of lower-ranking officers, or likewise, and the moral questions raised by war are mostly raised as practical questions in the heat of battle. I don't think this is a film I will ever watch again - its value lies in its superb creation of tension, which obviously dissipates on a second viewing - but it demonstrates that we don't have to know our characters intimately to care about them.
Director: Katheryn Bigelow
Note: Spoilers ahead
I don't generally like war movies. They're always too long - first we have to be introduced to our characters, then some of them have to die, then some of them have to yell in slow motion while carrying other wounded soldiers, etc. I generally find them to be a gigantic downer with little redeeming value - I'm not entertained.
The Hurt Locker sidesteps some of these problems by not even having a plot. As a result, we're treated to a film that's only 130 minutes, instead of the requisite 160. There's not really scenes where higher-ranking officers call into question the actions of lower-ranking officers, or likewise, and the moral questions raised by war are mostly raised as practical questions in the heat of battle. I don't think this is a film I will ever watch again - its value lies in its superb creation of tension, which obviously dissipates on a second viewing - but it demonstrates that we don't have to know our characters intimately to care about them.
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