These movies keep popping up on my gazillion free movie channels (gotta love the Dish!), and I am always sucked into watching them again:
1. V for Vendetta (2006) - this really should have made my TOP TEN list (not as a measly 'honorable mention.') Sure, it has two strikes against it:
1) it's based on a comic book -- excuse me, "graphic novel"!!; and 2) it hides its political message in a loud, action-packed, mass-market entertainment vehicle.
But a message it does have: and like a 'serious' movie that came out during award season and garnered much more praise ("Children of Men"), it is a strong indictment of Post-9/11 governments running amok over civil liberties and the Constitution. Great cast, too.
2. "The Weather Man" (2005) - Nicolas Cage seemingly makes five movies per year, and four of them are pure crap ("Gone in 60 Seconds" and "Ghost Rider" come to mind), but The Weather Man was the 1 good one! At first glance, he's playing another hapless, sad-sack character that he should have patented by now. But instead of covering that familiar ground, the movie is a perceptive character study, with a well-written voice-over narration, and a clever soundtrack. What's surprising is the creative team behind it all: director Gore Verbinski (the 'Pirates' dude!) and composer Hans Zimmer (the old boy has some originality in him still!).
3. Stay (2005) - I'm going to beat this particular drum until someone tells me they have actually seen it! It lasted a nanosecond in theaters (poor marketing: the ads make it out to be a horror movie), despite its pedigree: directed by Marc Forster, fresh off "Finding Neverland;" starring Ewan Magregor and the lovely Naomi Watts (and the lovely Bob Hoskins, for that matter!). And in a break-out performance, Mr. 'Half Nelson' himself . . . RYAN GOSLING!
Sure, it is experimental: scene do not cut so much as they morph into different ones; backgrounds change at will; and the flashbacks and flash forwards are dizzying. But the disorienting effect is intentional, and masterful. And the music and end-credits are hypnotic. Worth a rental and repeat viewings (but PAY ATTENTION, people: don't 'Netflix it' while you fold the clothes!!) (you know who you are).
4. "Kingdom of Heaven" (2005) - not one of Ridley Scott's best efforts (but nowhere near his worst!) this historical epic is more historically suspect than "Becoming Jane" (the screenwriters may have made-up her romance out of whole cloth, but at least they didn't turn Jane Austen into a blood-thirsty murderer of non-Christian civilians, as Kingdom did to real-life figures Guy de Lusignan and Raynald of Chatillon... thank you, wikipedia, for the history lesson). [I hope I haven't provided some Hollywood hack the idea for his next 'pitch': "Kingdom of Jane".]
But the movie is beautiful to watch. I didn't like Edward Norton's portrayal of the leprous king of Jerusalem on first viewing, but it grows on me every time I see it; and Liam Neeson and Jeremy Irons should be cast in every historical epic for as long as they continue to work. Along with the French-lovely Eva Green ("Casino Royale"), for that matter! I'm looking forward to seeing it one more time, because I just learned that "Rome" star Kevin McKidd (Lucius Voernus, for you fans) is also in the cast. Gotta love the Dish!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Additions to my CLASSICAL MUSIC faves list
(I can't believe I left them off in the first place!)
She's DUTCH!
Look at her cradling her violin!
Here she is lounging (after a concert, no doubt).
Anna Netrebko
The red-hot Russian Soprano!
[Appearing December 15th, 2007 as Juliette at the MET!]
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
"Black Book": or, the vulgarity of a Paul Verhoeven film
This is not the vulgar part (in fact, it's my favorite scene in the movie!)I'll never forget Roger Ebert's reaction to David Lynch's "Blue Velvet": He was critical of the director for leaving his actress (the fearless Isabella Rossellini) so exposed and vulnerable (as if he owes a duty to his actors to honor the trust they have placed in him). She was definitely exposed, if you remember: but at the time I thought Ebert overreacted, and I still do: Rossellini's faith was rewarded in a shocking, memorable performance. (Much like Laura Dern in "Inland Empire" -- she put it all on the line for that movie. Would any actress do that for, say, Michael Bay (to cite the most obvious Hollywood hack)?
Lynch can get away with such things because he is an artist. Paul Verhoeven, on the other hand, is a crass, mass-market entertainer: and Elizabeth Berkley is still trying to overcome "Showgirls" as a result. So the lovely Dutch actress Carice van Houten had little chance to emerge from "Black Book" unscathed.
The things this cinematic sadist Verhoeven puts this poor beauty through is unforgiveable.
Let's get one thing straight: I've got no problem seeing the supple Ms. van Houten slip out of her clothes at the slightest provocation. But the escalating degradation she is forced to endure throughout this movie is prurient and unseemly, especially since the movie strives for nothing more than popular entertainment!
The apotheosis of this degradation is blatantly telegraphed: why else would a scene begin with a close-up of a communal bucket of shit? ("Oh, I wonder if that will play a part in the upcoming scene?") True to form, Verhoeven first strips and taunts the main character, Rachel Stein, before, oh so predictably, dumping the entire bucket of shit on top of her. Subtle, Paul .... ohsofuckingsubtle!
I won't dwell on the endless improbabilities and false endings that make this movie such a chore to sit through: at that point, I didn't care how it ended, I was just praying it would end--both for my sake and Ms. van Houten's.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
"Once"
I have just seen (for the second time) the most-perfect movie with music ... I cannot call it a "musical" because it is light years away from "Hairspray" or "Dreamgirls." "Once" is the latest Sundance darling that (for once) lives up to the hype that annual designation brings --oftentimes regardless of quality. This indie Irish gem of a movie stars two talented singer-songwriters that I had never heard of: Glen Hansard (of the Irish group "The Frames") and his newest collaborator, Czech sensation Marketa Irglova. For non-actors (as most of the cast apparently are), they are naturals in front of a camera.
The story of their friendship -- an always awkward journey of getting to know someone of the opposite sex, stepping through that sexual minefield along the way -- is refreshingly real (they don't even 'meet cute.') This is due in large part to Ms. Irglova's directness: like a true foreigner (in my experience), she immediatley asks the most personal questions to a street singer who, admittedly, was baring his soul in his songs.
The camerawork and street scenes of working-class Dublin add to the movie's verisimilitude (a Spelling Bee word I've always wanted to use). But the movie stands or falls on the music itself -- and fans of the music will not be short-changed. [Count me in that camp: I cannot predict what non-fans will think of the movie overall -- the two are inextricably linked.]
For critics who charge that there is too much music, not enough story or dialogue, I say: The music IS the dialogue! Character is revealed through music in a way that a conventional musical only scratches the surface (of). [As I wrote that, I thought of a number of classic Broadway exceptions to that statement, most involving Stehpen Sondheim, but who would accuse him of being 'conventional'?]
I do appreciate the traditional movie musical ("Chicago" and "Moulin Rouge" being recent notable achievements in the genre). But "Once" is a different animal entirely: not a movie with music as an over-produced diversion but a movie with music as integral as any language.
The story of their friendship -- an always awkward journey of getting to know someone of the opposite sex, stepping through that sexual minefield along the way -- is refreshingly real (they don't even 'meet cute.') This is due in large part to Ms. Irglova's directness: like a true foreigner (in my experience), she immediatley asks the most personal questions to a street singer who, admittedly, was baring his soul in his songs.
The camerawork and street scenes of working-class Dublin add to the movie's verisimilitude (a Spelling Bee word I've always wanted to use). But the movie stands or falls on the music itself -- and fans of the music will not be short-changed. [Count me in that camp: I cannot predict what non-fans will think of the movie overall -- the two are inextricably linked.]
For critics who charge that there is too much music, not enough story or dialogue, I say: The music IS the dialogue! Character is revealed through music in a way that a conventional musical only scratches the surface (of). [As I wrote that, I thought of a number of classic Broadway exceptions to that statement, most involving Stehpen Sondheim, but who would accuse him of being 'conventional'?]
I do appreciate the traditional movie musical ("Chicago" and "Moulin Rouge" being recent notable achievements in the genre). But "Once" is a different animal entirely: not a movie with music as an over-produced diversion but a movie with music as integral as any language.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Halfway to my TOP TEN List
I know we are more than halfway through the year on the calendar, but in Hollywood terms, we have barely reached the halfway point in the 2007 movie calendar (the Fall is the 'serious film season' after all!)
So here's a look at the highlights and lowlights of my movie year (post-Oscars).
First the bad news:
'300' == what a puerile, juvenile, and completely offensive treatment of history! I don't know what to be more offended by: the disrespect for historical figures (here the enemy is not just demonized--they are literally turned into monsters (if I were Persian, I'd be really pissed!)/ Or the adolescent sensibility towards sex and marriage: sex in the depiction of the Greek oracles as naked, nubile, drug-addled babes -- who are being groped, even licked, by pustule-covered, leprous old priests (sublety is definitely NOT in the vocabulary of Frank Miller); marriage in the relationship between the main character and his wife: "Have your way with me, Spartan! -- not like those boy-loving Athenians!!")
But even more offensive is the movie's glorification of war and battle: totally out of touch with this country's mindset, three-plus years into this Iraq fiasco. Get a clue, you clueless punk director! (Zach somebody)...
Now for the good news, my provisional TOP TEN:
Foreign films:
Indigenes (France/Algeria) -- a compelling WWII film in a season of many.
The Lives of Others (Germany) -- a worthy Oscar winner.
Once (Ireland) -- now THIS is the summer movie to fall in love with! So much more genuine than last summer's indie darling: Little Miss Crap-shine.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (UK) -- this movie makes all the same parallels to our 'war on terror' , and makes them more effectively, than the obvious and simplistic "Goya's Ghosts."
U.S.:
Breach and Zodiac -- see previous post.
Sicko -- Michael Moore does it again! (and I never thought much about health care before. Now I am prepared to say "The French do it better!").
... and the BEST MOVIE I've seen so far this year ???????
LA VIE EN ROSE (France)
Anyone who doesn't know the story of France's favorite singer might not believe everything that happens in this movie, but it's all true! It makes "Ray" and Johnny Cash's life look like a cakewalk! And anyone who compare this movie with those two is quite simply an idiot (I'm talkin' to YOU, A.O. Scott!)
The haters out there might say this movie is as much a mess as Piaf's life--but it's chaotic for a reason: and it works! The sequence where she learns of a lover's death is priceless. And you learn more about Paris from this movie than in all the other disappointing, so-called love letters to that city that have reached our shores this year ("Avenue Montaigne"; "Paris, Je t'aime"; "The Valet"--I've seen them all).
Marian Cotillard Rules!
So here's a look at the highlights and lowlights of my movie year (post-Oscars).
First the bad news:
'300' == what a puerile, juvenile, and completely offensive treatment of history! I don't know what to be more offended by: the disrespect for historical figures (here the enemy is not just demonized--they are literally turned into monsters (if I were Persian, I'd be really pissed!)/ Or the adolescent sensibility towards sex and marriage: sex in the depiction of the Greek oracles as naked, nubile, drug-addled babes -- who are being groped, even licked, by pustule-covered, leprous old priests (sublety is definitely NOT in the vocabulary of Frank Miller); marriage in the relationship between the main character and his wife: "Have your way with me, Spartan! -- not like those boy-loving Athenians!!")
But even more offensive is the movie's glorification of war and battle: totally out of touch with this country's mindset, three-plus years into this Iraq fiasco. Get a clue, you clueless punk director! (Zach somebody)...
Now for the good news, my provisional TOP TEN:
Foreign films:
Indigenes (France/Algeria) -- a compelling WWII film in a season of many.
The Lives of Others (Germany) -- a worthy Oscar winner.
Once (Ireland) -- now THIS is the summer movie to fall in love with! So much more genuine than last summer's indie darling: Little Miss Crap-shine.
The Wind That Shakes the Barley (UK) -- this movie makes all the same parallels to our 'war on terror' , and makes them more effectively, than the obvious and simplistic "Goya's Ghosts."
U.S.:
Breach and Zodiac -- see previous post.
Sicko -- Michael Moore does it again! (and I never thought much about health care before. Now I am prepared to say "The French do it better!").
... and the BEST MOVIE I've seen so far this year ???????
LA VIE EN ROSE (France)
Anyone who doesn't know the story of France's favorite singer might not believe everything that happens in this movie, but it's all true! It makes "Ray" and Johnny Cash's life look like a cakewalk! And anyone who compare this movie with those two is quite simply an idiot (I'm talkin' to YOU, A.O. Scott!)
The haters out there might say this movie is as much a mess as Piaf's life--but it's chaotic for a reason: and it works! The sequence where she learns of a lover's death is priceless. And you learn more about Paris from this movie than in all the other disappointing, so-called love letters to that city that have reached our shores this year ("Avenue Montaigne"; "Paris, Je t'aime"; "The Valet"--I've seen them all).
Marian Cotillard Rules!
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