Nearly three weeks since my last blog, so films are a bit backed up.
The most ambitious, moody film of the week, THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES, started out in a cliched, obnoxious manner, with a lot of hand held camera movements that I really don't enjoy or appreciate. but as the (long--2hour 20 minute) film progressed, it became much more complex and the filming became calmer, and I began to "enjoy" it more, if one can enjoy such a serious and sad theme. Basically a film about two men of opposites, one a screwed up and irresponsible motor cycle rider (a bleached blond, heavily muscled and tattooed bank robber Ryan Gosling)who tries to settle down when he discovers his casual girlfriend from a year ago had his baby, and the other a young cop who is trying to live up to the achievements of his judge father and who also has a young baby. There are a couple of surprises which I didn't expect but many times I felt about one step ahead of the dramatic progression. Still, one doesn't get a heady drama about father/son relationships very often, and the ironies created between class and race and destiny were intriguing. GRADE------B+
A feel good French Canadian comedy/drama about a 40 something slacker ( known by the code name of STARBUCK)who discovers that his two decades of visiting the sperm bank have resulted in hundreds of children, many of whom now want to know who their biological father is. The children file a lawsuit to force him out--in the meantime he gains access to their files, and hunts (stalks?) some of them down and befriends them anonymously. It's a lovely, funny film, so see it before it is remade and probably ruined by Hollywood. GRADE--------B+
Set in the low income housing projects of Paris, the multicultural drama MY BROTHER THE DEVIL is a marvelous understated character study of the older drug and gun selling brother trying to keep his younger brother out of the business, and wanting to get out himself. His opportunity comes when he befriends an older man who takes him on as an assistant (and more) but his younger brother thinks that he's become a terrorist. The film rides a delicate balance with dramatic tension, family drama, and the struggle to make it in the cold, cruel world of slums. GRADE-------B+
A low budget, experimental movie, filmed in sepia tones and evocative photography works well as a dramatized biography of the early start of a young James Dean just before he exploded in infamy. Titled JOSHUA TREE 1957: PORTRAIT OF JAMES DEAN, the film emphasizes the homosexual life that Dean probably led in his attempt to become famous, and the film is a curiousity that challenges and shocks and satisfies on many crudely artistic levels. GRADE-----B+
Another bio pic that is more entertaining and wholesome is the unofficial story of the first African American baseball player Jackie Robinson recruited by the Majors and his challenges in the locker room, on the field, and on road trips. The title "42" comes from his jersey number, which today has been retired from all Major league usage. Lead actor Chadwick Boseman gives an outstanding performance, and the rest of the cast is equally good. The film manages to be inspiring without sentimental hogwash clouding most scenes. GRADE------B+
The new Japanese anime film for Studio Ghibli called FROM UP ON POPPY HILL is spectacularly drawn, colored and detailed, which makes the odd, maudlin plot the main culprit here from keeping this film from becoming a classic like HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE and SPIRITED AWAY. The young girl keeps house for her grandmother (mom is mostly absent), goes to school, leads the clean up project of a dirty old fraternity for boys, and starts to fall for a smart student---who may turn out to be her step-brother. Yuk and Yawn, but the film is still fascinating to look at with stunning visuals that keep you interested. GRADE------------B
Another film that features quality visuals is OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL--viewed again by a timing default. The opening 20 minutes remains the difficult section. It is filmed in WIZARD OF OZ honoring black and white, but is very talkie as it tries to set up the various characters who will later appear in the land of Oz. Still, it is entertaining for lovers of WIZARD OF OZ and is very faithful and respectful in spirit and themes. GRADE------B
I went reluctantly to THE INCREDIBLE BURT WONDERSTONE, because, frankly, there wasn't much playing that week that interested me, so it could be a case of very low expectations being met and exceeded. It isn't socko, but the film has a gentle spirit, some delightful sight gags, a wacky out there performance by Jim Carrey as a violent magician, and the always witty Alan Arkin. It isn't very memorable, but it wasn't awful, either. GRADE--------B-
When I saw GIMME THE LOOT at SIFF 2012, I remember vividly the constant flow of profanity, especially every form, verb, adjective and noun of the F word----in every single sentence. Had all that profanity been cut, the screenplay would have been about 3 pages long. Two young teen friends want to "tag" (graffiti) at a baseball game, but getting there is the challenge, and the boy and girl try to ignore the growing feelings they have for each other. It's breezy stuff, and forgettable, but easy to watch if constant profanity doesn't offend you. GRADE-------C+
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My favorite DVD viewings of the past couple weeks are as follows:
This is the third viewing I've had of the Spanish thriller THE UNINVITED GUEST (EL HABITANTE INCIERTO) (2006). It's a clever, insinuatingly intense drama about an unstable arcehict who is recently single and living alone in a large new house in which he swears he keeps hearing someone moving about. His ex-girlfriend doesn't believe him, and neither do the neighbors or the police. He becomes so obsessed that he leaves the house and ends up............Well, the plotting is fascinating and the creepiness keeps growing. The film reminds me of Polanski's ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968) and THE TENANT (1976) (the lead even reminds me of Polanski, who starred in that classic....this might make a great double bill....). It's a wonderful subtle thriller with some great twists, and should please most thrill seekers. GRADE-------A-
I remembered seeing Neil Simon's CALIFORNIA SUITE (1976) when it was first released, and thinking that the best thing about it was Maggie Smith, and indeed she went on to win best supporting actress that year. She and Michael Caine play a bickering couple who travel from London to Los Angeles for the Oscar show that might result in winning her an Oscar. Jane Fonda plays the brittle ex wife of Alan Alda who flies into Los Angeles to discuss the custody of their teen age daughter--theirs is the SERIOUS plot in the quartet of stories. Walter Matthau plays a bumbling straight man who ends up in a drunken bed with a passed out prostitute just an hour before his wife Elaine May is to be joining him--a comedy drama section. The least effective, and very slapstick quarter comes from Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor as doctor cohorts who find jealousy and pratfalls as they struggle to out do each other, to the dismay of their wives. Still it is all fitfully amusing, and the cast makes the most of Simon's gags. GRADE---------B
I remembered the amazing twist ending of THE OTHERS (2001), but this second viewing 12 years later didn't impress me much. It's the old ghost story in the big house and perhaps knowing the end takes the punch out of the proceedings. Nicole Kidman is still impressive, and Fionnula Flanigan is quite effective too. GRADE---------B-
Loosely based on the life of Gauguin, this fictional account based on the novel THE MOON AND SIXPENCE (1942) by W. Somerset Maugham, features a wicked performance by George Sanders at his most silver tongued. He plays a business man who leaves his wife, family, friends, and lovers to paint the way he wants to paint. He ends up in the South Pacific, living with a native woman and dies of---not syphilis like Gauguin, but .......leprosy. The film is unpleasant to watch because of his callousness, yet it casts a curious spell. The black and white film has a startling sepia sequence near the end. Very curious. GRADE-------B-
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