The Seven Year Itch. Good stuff, but there aren’t many things stage-to-screen that I’ve really, really loved. Brief Encounter is up there, though. (It also deals with adultery and features Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 prominently in the score… coincidence?). Grease and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof are other strong contenders.
Heat. Yeah, this is definitely going on my list of movies that are 1) more than 2.5 hours long, and 2) worth watching 3x or more. At the center are two guys who are both in lines of work that keep them from being normal people with normal relationships. And they know it. (Pacino’s Vincent Hanna would probably be jealous of Ford’s Dave Bannion). The female leads help round them out. Such a great cast. Nice action sequences, but thankfully not every confrontation is noisy or fast-paced or even violent. Although some, of course, are. But Michael Mann knows how to use silence, too. The end reminded me of Hanna with its perfect use of environmental light and sound. And I can’t forget to mention the L.A. synth-mood breaks a la Mann’s Manhunter, which I also loved (same cinematographer, too). Great, great film.
We Need to Talk About Kevin. It’s grim, but it’s good. Family horror? The cast is solid across the board. I didn’t see the ending coming, and it’s not even a twist. Smart use of color and food and interior design to suggest other details. Score by Jonny Greenwood. And good timing on this one, as it touches on, here and there, the dehumanizing backlash that follows horrific events and how we struggle to make them meaningful when even those who cause them may or may not know why.
The Big Heat. Here we see the repercussions of a righteous anger, an uncompromising pursuit of justice. I love that our hero has a strong marriage and family life when he’s not on his beat. I haven’t seen that in film noir before. I really like this Glenn Ford guy (see also: 3:10 to Yuma, Gilda). Metropolis is the only other Fritz Lang I’ve seen. I should probably watch M at some point.
Hanna. A blend of fairy tale and thriller-realism. I have some quibbles with premise, plot, and character, but a couple moments were pure cinematic delight for me. I’m thinking of the early chase in the bunker and the later one in the cargo container yard. The way that the natural ambient lighting, the camerawork, and the blocking all work in perfect sync… so cool. Great editing. I kinda wish Joe Wright had gone a little more in that style-over-substance/style-is-substance direction. Delightfully weird electronic-heavy score.
Haywire. I love when genre films are cooler than they need to be. There’s plenty of moments of playing color and camera angles and audio cuts. The long shots of just running or driving in reverse (!). Quiet fights. Shower-time rummaging. The house with the lights out. The sunset beach scene. The careful, cautious rooftop chase was a nice change from the insane parkour we often see. The use of moody soundtrack reminded me of Manhunter. Carano is a little bit of a robot. It fits, though. Dialogue isn’t too special, but there’s a certain magic that a recognizable ensemble cast brings. I need to see more Steven Soderbergh. Out of Sight was great.
The Fall. Storytelling narrated by an injured stuntman paired with visuals imagined by a young girl. The hokey melodrama and goofy costuming is perfect. Awesome, awesome location shooting and set design. This movie is a lot of fun.
Beasts of the Southern Wild. I loved this movie and recommend it to all living creatures. It’s about endings, and how we react to and prepare ourselves and others for the inevitable. What we leave behind. Best soundtrack of the year so far? I might have cried twice. YMMV.
Also, I read about aurochs after watching this and was intrigued to find the connection to the old rune Ur, which has also been used to mean water or rain. Cool!
Hustle & Flow. I was expecting a more formulaic rags-to-riches story, but got several wonderful surprises and setbacks in how this one played out. The main characters here are so, so, so well-done. Terrence Howard is great as he works through what’s basically a mid-life crisis. Damp, dumpy Memphis is the perfect backdrop and it’s just a generally nice change of scenery from most movies. Ludacris has a decent turn here as Skinny Black, but Big Boi’s menacing Marcus in ATL puts it to shame. Also, this one has Isaac Hayes.
The Prestige. Themes: obsession, sacrifice, craft, identity, showmanship, revenge, deceit, science as magic, etc. It’s a little mechanical and maybe overstuffed, but always interesting. Hugh Jackman is excellent. I expect viewers would either love or hate the ending, in which the inevitable is delayed while the story is re-told and all is explained. I kinda hate that, but I should have expected as much. I guess that’s Nolan’s own prestige moment? I get really annoyed when you watch a movie and then, near the end, the movie tells you about the story that happened that you didn’t know about. (Yeah, I know I complained about this recently.) Good twists are fine, but they always make me wonder how you could tell the same story in an engaging way while sharing more details with the audience up front. Isn’t it also fun when we know something the other characters don’t?
I’ve now seen all of Christopher Nolan’s feature-length movies. Here’s how they stack up for me right now:
Little Fugitive. An adventure in 1950s New York City seen through a child’s eyes. It’s got some genuinely charming moments, though they’re more rooted in the nature of children than any wonders of plot or technique. The camera is low and so are the stakes, but it forces you to take the kid’s perspective. Nicely done for most of its 75 minutes. You can see the influence on the French New Wave that followed overseas.
Love. Some parts I really loved, some parts I really did not. Such is the debut film experience. Excellent work on the sets and soundtrack.
The Godfather. Not much I can add to the well-deserved praise this one has gotten over the past 40 years. Incredible storytelling. I paid a lot more attention to Gordon Willis’ work here after learning more in Visions of Light.
Moonrise Kingdom. Wes Anderson is simply not my director. When I wrote about Bottle Rocket, I had the thought:
I wonder if I’d like his movies more if I’d seen them as serials?
I wonder about this because the structural repetition really wears on me over the course of a movie. Repetitive framing, symmetry, truck here, pan there, dolly now and then. It’s like a slideshow sometimes. I respect the precision and fastidiousness, but for most of it I just couldn’t sustain an emotion beyond “that’s kinda neat”. Because I have no heart, basically. Or I don’t function well with magical realism. Or because the script is on the bad side, and while there’s invention, there are no surprises. Everything tidy, labeled, anticipated. It’s not terrible, though. Just frustrating. I did LOL on multiple occasions. And using The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra to open the movie, and then mirroring that work, was clever. Kids run away (main theme), then we follow reactions by the group of scouts, the scout leader, the cop, the parents, and social services (variations). My rankings for Anderson’s films that I’ve seen:
Prometheus. My first draft for this post was longer, but it was turning into a pile-on. Prometheus is not all bad, but, still… it’s kind of a mess. No good when you find yourself laughing at a dark, mysterious, portentous movie. I was sold for the first 70-80 minutes, though. Mostly. A better script is a must, and serious editing would help. Too many cooks in this kitchen? I’m not sure what kind of movie it wanted to be. It’s also handicapped by a cookie-cutter score. Cue the French horn! Shame to see talent like Fassbender, Rapace, Theron, and Elba not put to full use. You’re definitely better off staying home and watching Alien again.
Out of the Past. Said it before, I’ll say it again:
OUT OF THE PAST. #greatestmovieofalltime
— Mark Larson (@mlarson) June 12, 2012
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Part of what sets it apart is an incredible script.
Ann: Every time I look at the sky, I think of all the places I’ve never been.
Jeff: Yes, and every time you look up, they’re all the same.
A: You’ve been a lot of places, haven’t you?
J: One too many.
A: Which did you like best?
J: This one right here.
A: I bet you say that to all the places.
I fear that my feelings about the rest of Jacques Tourneur’s work mirror my feelings about about Larry McMurtry’s:
I realized I can’t read another Larry McMurtry novel because it won’t be Lonesome Dove. #librarytweets
— Mark Larson (@mlarson) May 25, 2012
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To sum up, this is my reflex film. It’s what I turn to when there is no other hope. Though there are many very good reasons to love this film, my enthusiasm is now well beyond the bounds of rationality, and I won’t have it any other way.
Hereafter. The ending is way too cute and coincidental, but the journey there is decent and it has a good premise treated seriously. The opening tsunami scenes are rightfully praised, but the cooking scenes were the real stand-outs for me. Excellent acting and directing there. The two boys are a little wooden, but I probably shouldn’t pick on kids. I recognized that Clint Eastwood did the score within about 4 seconds. Speaking of, it’s been a while since I last saw an Eastwood film. Updated rankings for stuff he’s directed:
Another Earth. This was just slightly too melodramatic for me, and thus I found it better as a source of ideas and food-for-thought than as general dramatic entertainment. Strong acting from the leads, though, and I appreciate that focus on only a pair of charactrers. I would have like less handheld camera. Good soundtrack.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Nothing incredible, but it checks all the boxes. The pivotal moment is done really well. So is the final scene on the bridge.
Mark Larson 