Tag: film

Two-Lane Blacktop

~ Mark

Two-Lane Blacktop. There’s not a lot of explicit plot motivation or dramatic arc. The characters are enigmatic drifters, and with one exception, don’t really talk a lot (there’s definitely some Western genre flavor here). I can totally see how someone might hate it. But not me. Besides the novelty of seeing James Taylor and Dennis Wilson acting, it’s got: surprisingly great photography, Warren Oates playing one of my new favorite movie characters, a nice slice-of-life/picture-of-an-era thing going, and the commitment to do its thing all the way through.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

~ Mark

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It really is really good. Best of the Star Treks I’ve seen so far, for sure. Parable aside, one thing I’m growing to appreciate in this universe is the space battles. There aren’t always hordes of TIE fighters and X-wings buzzing in frantic clouds. Just a couple gigantic-ass ships lumbering around. You’ve got torpedoes, phasers, shields, and engines. Pick one, because you can’t go full power on everything. Every choice has a cost.

Thunder Road

~ Mark

Thunder Road. It’s not amazing, but it’s fun, funny and memorable, which is close to the same thing. Good music. Nice engine roars. There’s one car crash that’s just amazing. Lemme spoil it: the car spins out, and skids off the road. Okay, no big deal. Then, wait, now it’s going downhill. And gaining speed. And then it catches fire! And tumbles end over end! And THEN it plunges into a waterfall! Exhilarating. Also, how could Mitchum’s character not go for Roxy?

The Long Goodbye

~ Mark

The Long Goodbye. It’s all mood and meandering. I’m often okay with that sort of thing, but this one didn’t totally click with me. Gould is an excellent Marlowe, though. I think this is the only Robert Altman movie I’ve seen.

Oldboy

~ Mark

Oldboy. A lot of energy. It’s a revenge flick and a couple other genres, too. I’m not thrilled with the ending and various revelations, but I can’t complain when the journey there is so good. At the very least, watch the corridor fight scene. Ridiculous, but just real enough that it doesn’t feel like a total put-on. And how about that soundtrack? I watched on Tyler Cowen’s recommendation. I’ll have to look up some more good Korean movies, as I know basically nothing.

Grizzly Man

~ Mark

Grizzly Man. What some call crazy, others call really living. Herzog and I disagree, but that’s totally fine. Too long, but interesting, outside most everyone’s experience, and I can’t think of any comparable nature films.

The Girlfriend Experience

~ Mark

The Girlfriend Experience. Gotta admit, I loved this one. It’s a people film, not a plot film. Specific people, not symbols. How they manage their own fictions. I read a lot of negative reviews after watching, and it seems that many folks were 1) hoping/expecting this movie to be about something else or 2) didn’t like the way it was about what it was about. Watch it and draw your own conclusions. Definitely thought-provoking for me.

Time for updated Steven Soderbergh rankings:

  1. Haywire
  2. Out of Sight
  3. The Girlfriend Experience
  4. Solaris
  5. Contagion
  6. The Informant!
  7. Ocean’s Eleven
  8. Ocean’s Twelve
  9. Ocean’s Thirteen

Midnight in Paris

~ Mark

Midnight in Paris.

That’s what the present is. It’s a little unsatisfying because life is unsatisfying.

I really liked this one. Fun exploration of nostalgia, heroes, joie de vivre, being true to yourself, etc. And I love our hero’s giddy, can’t-believe-his-luck enthusiasm. This might be my favorite Owen Wilson performance ever. There’s a few characters who are only light caricatures for purposes of contrast, but that’s Woody Allen for you. I do love how the elements of scifi/fantasy here are a given, accepted, no explanation required.

It’s been a while since my last Woody Allen film. My updated rankings, though maybe it’s been too long a time for this to be definitive:

  1. Manhattan
  2. Annie Hall
  3. Midnight in Paris
  4. The Purple Rose of Cairo
  5. Vicky Cristina Barcelona
  6. Sleeper
  7. Match Point
  8. Scoop

The Night of the Hunter

~ Mark

The Night of the Hunter. So strange and so cool. This is the most German Expressionist film made by an American I’ve ever seen. I love the shifting between naturalistic location shoots and the strange, surreal sets in dramatically lit interiors and highly staged outdoors scenes later. Strange biblical dialogue and a few main characters you never quite become easy with. Some things aren’t right in this neighborhood. Perfect horror.

Mystic Pizza

~ Mark

Mystic Pizza. The ‘80s were a golden era for coming-of-age movies like this one. Really great job at undercutting the drama with humor and twisting some of the scenes and characters in really smart, unexpected ways. Also features a wee young Matt Damon in a small role!

Warrior

~ Mark

Warrior. Some plot points are about subtle as a kick to the head, but the power is there, too. Much, much better than I expected, thanks to a great cast (A.O. Scott: “These are tough guys, but you can only care about them if you believe that they can break.”) and a great pace. Ebert:

This is a rare fight movie in which we don’t want to see either fighter lose. That brings such complexity to the final showdown that hardly anything could top it — but something does.

The Terminator

~ Mark

The Terminator. I find it interesting mostly as a historical artifact. It’s adequate, but I’ll take T2 over it any day if I’m just looking for fun. It is amazing to see the progress in special effects we’ve made. A lot of the stuff in this movie looks really clunky now. Contrast with Aliens, where pretty much everything is still perfect. What a difference two years can make!

Iron Man 2

~ Mark

Iron Man 2. It’s really pretty when things are blowing up. Admittedly, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a movie with a lot of ‘splosions, so I’m behind on the state of the art. Lots of eye candy, though. The main villain face-offs felt really low-stakes and awkwardly paced. Really erratic writing. I felt like the first one was funnier? Captain America is still my favorite of the few Avengers movies I’ve seen.

Payback

~ Mark

Payback. Well, no, it’s not particularly inventive. It’s noir-ish and singlemindedly goofy, if a bit one-note, with bonus points for creative violence. Mel Gibson is such a good blend of comedian and tough guy. (There’s a little bit of an aggrieved Bill Murray in there, mixed with something else). Shame that, with all his talent, he managed to torpedo his career of late.

Compliance

~ Mark

Compliance. Man. I have never been so uneasy in a movie theatre. (Not even during the (spoiler!) C-section in Prometheus.) A sustained hour of dread, not entertainment. Powerful stuff. I love when art can make you feel something so strongly, even if what you feel isn’t pleasant. Excellent score, too.

Public Enemies

~ Mark

Public Enemies. It’s a good ride, and it’s greatest charm and greatest flaw is that it doesn’t have a big arc to it. It’s not dramatic. Fine by me. This is a movie about a single-minded, short-sighted guy, told directly. I’d love to see Johnny Depp in more movies like this (i.e. non-comedy, non-Burton). Not sure about the very last scene, but I’ll give it to him.

Time for updated Michael Mann rankings. The top 3 are set, for sure. The others fluctuate day to day:

  1. Heat
  2. Thief
  3. The Last of the Mohicans
  4. Public Enemies
  5. Manhunter
  6. Miami Vice
  7. Collateral