WFF ’10 – SUNDAY, DAY FIVE….part 2

A few final thoughts before I crash in bed….

After inhaling some truly awful cheese curds, we headed off to the SLIGHTLY UNSETTLING SPANISH SHORTS…

So there were 5 short films in this program, and while I enjoyed all of them, my thoughts are as follows:

CAN’T WALK ANYMORE–this film looked really good, and had a nice creepy set up, but it tipped its twist almost instantly by the order of events, so the ending wasn’t really a “shocker”

THE SPOOK HOUSE–this one was really well done.  The main actor had a very distinct character that you were with from his first line of dialogue.  The set up of a man taking part in a fear experiment was pretty cool, and a lot of good chills were built with only technique and sparse dialogue….lighting was very effective.  This one suffered a bit from one reveal or twist too many as things started playing out, taking the wind out of the sails for me by the end.

TERCERO B–this was a nice little thriller with a cool twist.  the film had very muted color that added a lot, and there were a lot of great visuals including a great shot through a swinging kitchen door.  This one kept you guessing from start to finish.  Nice

BEHIND THE CURTAINS–this was my favorite of the “horror” themed shorts.  this one was a bit grisly, and creepy, but had a lot of dark cynical humor to it throughout.  There were quite a few nice touches and twists that were reminiscent of old EC comics which really made this one very rich and fun for me.

7:35 IN THE MORNING–starring Nacho Vigolando of TIMECRIMES fame, this one was not what I expected, to say the least. Not unsettling in the way that the others were either, and what? A musical number?  This one was a lot of fun, with a couple really good laughs.

–My son took off to go and see TERRIBLY HAPPY and MOTHER, while I had a drink with friends, and took in WITHNAIL AND I at the Stage Door

WITHNAIL AND I

This is one of those movies that I had been meaning to see for a long time, and I really couldn’t pass up the chance to see it with a crowd.  I also wanted to end the fest with something a little lighter than some of the films I had seen in the past couple of days.  There were a lot of great laughs in this film as we watch these 2 20 something out of work actors barely function through life, and a holiday in the country.  A number of good, cynical bits of dialogue, a great comedic performance by Richard E Grant.  I loved their drug dealer friend Danny, quite hilarious.  And it was a hoot to see Mr. Dursley from the Harry Potter movies playing eccentric homosexual Uncle Monty, who is trying to get into bed with Withnail’s roommate.  Quite possibly the last movie I will see in the Stage Door before it is closed for good….

–Overall, 14 films in 5 days, and in spite of lack of sleep, I could do another 5.  I am sad to see it go, and want to give kudos to Meg Hamel, our very own Golden Badger, and to all of the people in front of and behind the scenes that make this happen every year.  Wonderful job.  Unbelievable festival.

WFF ’10 – SUNDAY, DAY 5

So, this is it.  The last day of the fest.  Exciting to have another 4 movie day, but sad to think that this whole thing is almost finished.  I could continue doing this for another 5 days….although my backside might take exception.  We started the day meeting some friends at the Orpheum for another Bong Joon Ho…

BARKING DOGS DON’T BITE

Another tonally twisted ride from Bong Joon Ho.  We watch characters lives as they intersect, driven by dogs that reside in a neighborhood apartment building.  Some want them to stop barking and try to make sure by any means necessary, some want only companionship, some want a meal.  Really.  The dogs are a jumping point for the examination of the desires of these characters, and how they interact.

There are some uncomfortable parts, some sad, and some really heart felt moments.   Lots of comedy sprinkled throughout too, including an absolutely hilarious chase scene across the rooftop and many of the building’s floors.  Again, like his other films, the camerawork is stunning, and you never know where the story is going, when you will laugh or be outraged.  As ridiculous as the storylines and events seem, somehow the beats and emotions that emerge seem strikingly real.  I enjoyed the hell out of this film, and the audience did as well.

–Son and I high tailed it across the square to get to the Monona Terrace for a screening of EGGSHELLAND.  We were excited to see this film due to the subject matter sounding totally awesome.  I told my son that I was a little afraid though, that it was going to be a bit like our experience with last year’s ROCK-AFIRE EXPLOSION.  A lot of laughing at the subject because it is kind of ridiculous, but feeling uncomfortable because the subject matter is so…well, ridiculous.

EGGSHELLAND

Wow.  Let me just say that this film is one of my highlights of the fest.  This completely caught me off guard…yes the subject is kind of ridiculous, and goofy.  But, the film really digs into the family, the Manolio’s who have been creating this egg lawn art for over 50 years.  They are some of the cutest and most delightful people you could ever hope to meet.  Their spirit and love for each other and their egg creations is absolutely touching and heart warming.

The egg art that they create with 10′s of thousands of painted eggs every Easter is something that brings their entire family together, another stunning accomplishment.  Listening to them talk about each other and how they put everything together, and watching them work together evoked memories of my own family. This film isn’t about the eggs but this family, and how a common experience creates lasting bonding memories.  I had tears…the emotion in this film is palpable.

And the eggs?  It is unbelievable how wonderful these creations are…the Finding Nemo and Lord of the Rings characters that they made in the film are gorgeous.  I totally want to drive to Cleveland next Easter.  This movie is simply amazing.  Kudos to the filmmakers.  Had I had cash, I would have bought a copy of the DVD on the spot.  Awesome.

…more thoughts later…

WFF ’10 – SATURDAY, PART 2

My son and I went back downtown for our last couple of movies, to see the line for GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO going down state st., wrapping around 2 corners to the parking ramp entrances.  Wild.  The house was completely packed, which was great.  We ended up with a couple of really good seats, both in terms of view, and the fact that the row of elderly women in front of us were all playing games on their iphones.

There were so many people going to the bathroom downstairs that the women were lining up in the men’s bathroom to go.  Many dudes confused.  Many thanks for urinals.

The crowd was huge, buzzing and completely electric.  Totally a blast….1000+ people watching a film, totally into it…completely intoxicating.

GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

I had been hearing a lot of buzz leading up to this movie, so we were pretty excited to be at the screening.  I was a little unsure as to whether or not I should be at something else, like RE-CUT, screening at the same time, since this was a little more high profile, and will be easier to see…by the end I was not disappointed in the least.

The film revolves around a really compelling female protagonist – Lisbeth Salandar – a mid 20s computer whiz who is a professional hacker, making her living investigation clients for a security firm.  She ends up contacting an investigative reporter whom she had been following, and gets involved in a 40 year old disappearance of a niece of a member of a very powerful family.  This investigation is the driving plot, but there a many threads interwoven in a very compelling mystery and character study.

Lisbeth has a lot of emotional baggage, and demons to go along with it, but she is never portrayed as victim.  She is strong while damaged, likeable but cold…and really fascinating.  I found myself really drawn to her more than anything.  The cold Swedish landscape is gorgeous, and really gives an added isolation to the proceedings as well as a metaphor for a lot of the emotional detachment that runs throughout.

The story evolves over the course of the runtime in a very organic and exciting way, and I really enjoyed it.  The film is brutal and violent at times.  There are themes and scenes of abuse and rape, that are hard to sit through.  None of it felt as exploitative to me, though.  One character does some despicable things, and later suffers a “revenge moment”.  The audience cheered.  It was pretty funny.  The other great audience moment that occurred was during a quiet tense scene of a character investigating a house at night, when someone moves past the camera, pretty classic jump moment (Lewton bus)…and ONE solitary woman screamed.  The crowd erupted in laughter.  Pretty fantastic.

–From there my son and I hiked toward the Cinematheque for our last feature INTO THE PIT, but were starving and needed food.  We ended up getting wraps from FAT SANDWICH, which we inhaled on the walk to Vilas Hall.  Most unsatisfying meal of the week…but hey I wasn’t hungry any more.

INTO THE PIT

This is a documentary made by a couple of local filmmakers, about a couple of guys in Kentucky, Aaron and Wes, who produce an internet radio horror show, for deadpit.com.  We basically meet these guys, kinda follow them around their town, and watch their relationship, how they work their show, why they do it, etc.  We meet their families, and hear them talk about their childhood’s, how horror helped shape them growing up.

Basically, it’s about 2 guys with a passion and what they do with it.  How they make it meaningful for them.  It was really well done and a nice watch.  I was probably drawn in instantly due to my own passion for horror, and a lot of their stories about watching these movies as teens, trolling mom and pop video stores, really triggered memories for me.  This was a really cool story.  Earthshattering? Hardhitting?  No.  Completely enjoyable?  Yup.

The Q&A helped to put a lot of things into context that weren’t in the film, like how they fit into the internet horror scene, etc., which was really a great addition from the filmmakers.

Can’t lie…it was hard to stay awake at 1am at that point after 4 movies…but glad I did.

WFF ’10, SATURDAY PART ONE

Halfway through my viewing today.  It has been a good one so far.

–Traffic was mighty crazy this morning, with the Farmer’s Market and everything else going on.  My early morning vow to not pay anymore for parking this weekend was thrown out the window instantly, in lieu of being on time for our first movie, MEMORIES OF MURDER….a short windy walk downtown and we got there no problem.

MEMORIES OF MURDER

This is a Bong Joon Ho film I had been meaning to see for quite a while now, and was thrilled to get the chance.  Inspired by Korea’s first serial killer in the 80′s this film is part murder mystery, part police procedural, part character study, part comedy, part thriller…all juggled with great skill.  There is never a clear delineation as to when a tonal shift will occur, but that is part of what makes Joon-Ho’s films unique and exciting.  The first time I saw THE HOST, this totally threw me, and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.  But, it totally works on all levels here.

The visual backdrop of the gorgeous countryside here really helps accentuate the horrors of the story unfolding around the characters who are, really, all unprepared for what they will end up having to endure.  Much like ZODIAC, there is a great examination of obsession with solving the case.  The main characters are like mirror images, both with different strengths and weaknesses, both ending up changed for better or worse through the entire ordeal trying to catch the killer.  There is quite a bit of humor too, which serves to help make the characters more human, while also helping relieve the tension and dread of many of the scenes.  Some memorable scenes include a woman on a late night walk in the rain by a rice paddy, a scene that takes place at the mouth of a darkened train tunnel as tensions are coming to a head, and a police re-enactment in a paddy with fast tracking shots taking us through the action of 2 separate groups, police and reporters/family as chaos begin to take over.

Bong Joon-Ho really uses everything at his disposal in telling a story, and this is a great example.  The audience was really into it…including a woman behind me who kept exclaiming “Oh shit!” periodically throughout the film.  Can’t wait for BARKING DOGS NEVER BITE tomorrow.

–My son and I went home to get the rest of our family, and zoomed back downtown to see A TOWN CALLED PANIC.  My 6 year old was told he had a month to learn French before we saw this movie.  He wasn’t interested.  I had hoped that the kinetic energy of the story would carry him along to where it really didn’t matter…and it didn’t.

A TOWN CALLED PANIC

This movie is complete surreal insanity captured in an animated film.  Cowboy and Indian decide to build Horse a brick barbecue for his birthday.  They accidentally order too many bricks.  This sends them through a ridiculous amount of adventures that include going to the center of the earth, a giant robotic penguin and swordfish used as arrows.  There is so much craziness and pure joy packed into 75 minutes, that trying to describe it much further would not do it justice.  Much like an episode of FAMILY GUY that crams so many jokes and gags into one episode that at the end you feel like you have just worked out in the gym…this film has the same philosophy.  The run time is just right…we laughed out loud pretty much throughout, it could have overstayed it’s welcome but didn’t…its’ whimsy was infectious.  Great stuff.

—So we are home for a break….and my older son and I are heading back down for coffee, GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, coffee, more coffee, and INTO THE PIT.

My son also took a digger on the way to line up at the Orpheum..he was turning to tell me something, stepped in a broken part of the sidewalk, tripped and did a barrel roll.  He was fine…and we all laughed and laughed…even some guys sitting on the parking garage got a good laugh.  It was my wife’s favorite moment of the afternoon.  Hopefully the night will keep getting better.

Quick Thoughts on WFF ’10 – First 2 Nights + Bonus Night

My family and I have been having a blast attending the many great screenings at this year’s festival.  Here are a few brief thoughts on the films I have seen so far…

THE ART OF THE STEAL

A documentary about the fight over the fate of the Barnes’ Foundation in Philadelphia and it’s immensely valuable collection of post-modern art.  The film chronicles the history of who Dr. Barnes was, how he acquired his art and what he did with it, and then the tug of war for what to do with it after he passed away.  He set up a trust document with the city to ensure that the art that he had collected would never be removed from the building he had housed it in.  The film follows what happened as various people of power and influence wanted to get their hands on the art and the control of such a valuable collection.

This was a well made documentary that tells its story well.  The talking head format is used pretty exclusively, and the film makers’ do have a side of the argument that they are trying to push.  I do admit that I was a bit caught up in the “Barnes good, Philadelphia/Board of Trustees bad” portrayal, but the film also takes some time to explore the art itself, and raises questions on the purpose of art, how it can affect people and what passionate people will do to preserve that.  I enjoyed this movie, and do recommend seeing it on Sunday if possible.

OSS117: LOST IN RIO

This is the sequel to OSS117: CAIRO, NEST OF SPIES with Jean Dujardin reprising his role as Hubert de la Bath (OSS117) French spy extraordinaire, at least in his mind.  He is completely clueless, arrogant and offensive, but also hilarious.  The satire is spread so thick everything is at the ridiculous level.  The spy genre is skewered, and James Bond in particular, but never in a mean spirited way.  Dujardin is likable even when despicable, a testament to a great comedic actor.  And many of his facial expressions are completely priceless.

This time around he is off to Rio to pay an ex Nazi officer to keep from publicizing names of French Nazi sympathizers during WWII. He becomes entangled with CIA and Mossad agents who are trying to influence or stop Nazi goings on in Brazil.  This leads to lots of insensitive comments about Jews and Nazis, women, hippies, you name it.  Most of it works, and some of the funnier gags involve Chinese agents constantly popping up to try and kill OSS, and an beach hippie orgy that he gets involved with.  This sequel was a lot of fun, I liked it a lot, though not quite as much as the first film.  There were some jokes that were a little flat, a gag with the American CIA agent who kept swearing in front of OSS because he “couldn’t understand him” that I didn’t find particularly funny, but when the jokes come so fast and furious, you don’t really have time to worry about it.  Very funny.

THE TRAIN

Tying together the themes of stealing art (THE ART OF THE STEAL) and Nazis (OSS) was John Frankenheimer’s THE TRAIN.  This is a slick WWII film about a Nazi colonel attempting to take a large collection of famous paintings he had saved from destruction during the war, into Germany, by train, before the Allies officially take France back from German occupation.  Burt Lancaster plays a French resistance fighter whose task it is to stop the paintings, the “heart of Paris”, from being lost forever.  That’s pretty much it.  A simple set up, but the execution is near flawless.

Frankenheimer’s direction keeps things moving in such a way that you constantly feel the time constraints the characters are working under.  Train needs to leave before a yard is bombed, the soldiers need to complete a task before the Nazi’s discover them, the paintings need to leave before the Allies arrive.  Everyone is on a deadline, keeping the suspense palpable, and the stakes everyone  is operating under very real.

There are some great set pieces including a train collision and a race against time to derail a train.  The black and white cinematography is stunning.  There is quite a bit of impressive camera work, like an extended tracking shot following German soldiers around their war room that puts us both in the action, and gives us plenty of exposition without any dialogue; aerial photography and high speed filming of train sequences impress, as well as a number of great shot compositions.

The main characters are very enigmatic: Burt Lancaster smooth and commanding, being drawn into the cause as the film continues, and Paul Scofield’s Nazi colonel, who is at times like Capt. Ahab, completely obsessed with the art on the train, often sacrificing war efforts to move his precious cargo.

As exciting as it is, it is also heartbreaking as a number of characters are lost.  The film ends on a somber note, as a character asks another if he even knows why he has been fighting.  Images cut between the boxes of art, to dead bodies, back to the art, then to the characters, etc. leaving the viewer with a clear sense of, “OK, but what did this all accomplish?”  Both this scenario AND the war.  It’s a great movie that gives you that little nugget, after thoroughly entertaining you for over 2 hours.

DUCK, YOU SUCKER

Keith Phipps from the Onion AV Club introduced this film, with a bit of info on Sergio Leone, and spaghetti westerns in general.  This is one Leone film I had yet to see, and couldn’t wait to see it projected.  Mr Phipps even mentioned that if you have the chance to see a Leone film projected “DO IT!”–and after seeing THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY and now this one on a big screen, I completely agree.

The opening shot of ants being peed on evokes the opening sequence of THE WILD BUNCH, where children watch as a scorpion is attacked and killed by a swarm of ants.  Both films take place near the end of an era during the Mexican revolution, and both use these metaphors to describe what is about to go on.  Basically, Rod Steiger’s Juan, a Mexican bandit, meets up with James Coburn’s John, an ex IRA demolitions expert, they become involved in the revolution, and along the way forge a friendship.  I won’t go into much, because I could probably ramble on all night.

This film, like Leone’s other westerns, is epic, both in scope and theme, and character…but also personal.  Much like THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY did with the American Civil War, this huge conflict is brought down to a more personal level, where you see how individual lives are affected.  There are some wonderful emotional moments that the main characters have, and they really draw you into the story.  Rod Steiger is as Mexican as my foot, and Coburn as Irish as my other foot, but they are both fantastic and utterly charismatic.  There is a lot of humor in this film, that helps to alleviate some of the horrors of the revolution put on screen.  There is a LOT of on screen killing, much to the chagrin of some people sitting in front of us.  But it serves to paint a complete picture of what revolutions are like, out of history books and with real people.

This is such a rich film.  The themes of the toll of war and friendship, duty, etc alone fill the nearly 3 hour run time.  Leone shows the contrasts between characters and causes, but also ties them together.  Ennio Morricone’s score ties events together with a repeating theme, but the context changes, and blurs the line of whether things are good or bad.  Actions of characters are deliberately shown or repeated to tie them together (eg teeth-John and Col. Gunther).  The camera work is amazing, like all of Leone’s work.  And there are glorious explosions.  The pacing does feel a little long in a couple spots, and there is a little bit of RETURN OF THE KING feel to the end, where it could end 3 or 4 times, but goes on.  Which is fine…you really don’t want to leave these characters.  A couple of the slo motion flashbacks with John kissing his girl, with this buddy RIGHT THERE watching got a little goofy.  But, really, those are just drops in the bucket.  This is a great epic film that deserves to be seen.

HARMONY AND ME

Getting tired…so gotta be brief…

We really enjoyed this low key film about a slightly strange man who has recently broken up with his girlfriend.  Well, she broke up with him.  And is still breaking his heart…she hasn’t finished the job.  This film is very funny, and very heart warming.  We watch Harmony go through life, interact with his family, co-workers, all of whom are, also odd, but in different ways.  Harmony slowly heals as he takes life one encounter at a time, with his heart, awkwardly on his sleeve.  Highly recommended.  Q&A afterward with the writer-director (also star) was great.  Not many revelatory questions asked, but his demeanor and wit were hilarious and a blast to listen to.  He seemed to really enjoy being able to see a crowd of 1000+ totally dig his movie.  Pretty cool.

A FILM WITH ME IN IT

This Irish dark comedy was a great way to end the night.  A down on his luck actor goes from having bad luck in his life to completely horrible luck as his ineffectual bumblings begin to be the cause of some pretty ridiculous events that he and his alcoholic friend aren’t sure they can deal with because they are both quite inept.  Sounds vague and obtuse, but I don’t want to give anything away, because part of the fun of this movie is not knowing what is going to happen next.  Very funny and darkly comic, at times a bit uncomfortable, this is a fun little piece of twisty entertainment.

Tomorrow is my fullest docket yet-

MEMORIES OF MURDER

A TOWN CALLED PANIC

GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

INTO THE PIT

…..can’t wait…

Quick thoughts on ANTICHRIST

So…I headed out again tonight to see ANTICHRIST. At the 9:15 showing I was the ONLY person in the theater!

I will write more in depth tomorrow, as I need to get to bed…but quick impressions:

Whoa….
This is an intense and stunning film
the imagery and camerawork are spectacular
the acting is unbelievalbe, esp. Charlotte Gainsbourg
There is a lot going on in this film…and I totally admire von Trier…
Some of this movie was excruciating to watch…not quite MARTYRS excruciating…but not far off….
so much to digest…so many images in my head that I HOPE will not make it into my nightmares tonight.

tomorrow………………

THWARTED! My attempt to see ANTICHRIST…

So, Lars von Trier’s ANTICHRIST opened here in town at the Orpheum Theatre this weekend. I was soooo excited I was a little giddy when I read the news. I had been intrigued on seeing the trailer, and then sold completely after hearing all of the Cannes festival buzz…and some subsequent reviews… Any movie that gets such a polarized reaction from audiences is exciting. I am a fan of von Trier’s, and this really seemed up my alley.

I immediately made plans to see it, and thought Friday would work, but life and a headache got in the way of that. Sunday night…I figured I would cap off the weekend with a treat…a chance to go to the movies and a chance to drop some $ into a local business and promote non-blockbuster programming. Win win.

I drove downtown and walked up to the ticket window, and lo and behold, the Orpheum had a concert scheduled, and there were no movie showings!!!!

Obviously this is my ignorance, and not the fault of the Orpheum…but I was totally dejected. I had gotten so worked up to see ANTICHRIST tonight, and my bubble was popped hardcore. I stumbled down the street to Four Star Video to see if I could find something to rent that could help fill the void…..and almost nothing I looked at seemed worth it. I couldn’t do it……I had gotten myself so ready for ANTICHRIST that I literally couldn’t go home and watch something else. Kinda sad….I will probably go down and see it in the next couple of nights, but still….

Has anyone else had this happen? Gotten so excited to see something and been denied? Or wanted one movie, had to settle for something else and nothing could replace the amount of expectation for your first choice????

HARVARD BEATS YALE, 29-29 (2008)

DATE:  4/3/2009   FIRST VIEWING

WHERE:  Wisconsin Union Theater, at the Wisconsin Film Festival…with Bryan

After hearing a filmmaker interview on NPR’s Fresh Air, I was pretty excited to see that this film was going to be showing at the film festival.  My son and I were in a nearly packed union theater, which was really hot…the audience consisted of Mayor Dave Cieslewicz…and a number of Harvard or Yale alums, some of whom were at the football game depicted in the movie.  It was a lot of fun.

THE GOOD:  filmmaker allows the story to tell itself

THE BAD:

THE WONKY: “Mister 75″; telephone Dixie

November 23, 1968…Yale was ranked in the top 20, both teams were undeafeated as they met to continue their heated rivalry on the final game of the season.  That is the backdrop as we watch one of “the greatest games ever played” unfold.

The film is essentially a “talking head” documentary with a good amount of game footage.  We are allowed to watch a good portion of the game as it happened, and then get to hear players’ perspectives on other players, coaches, the game, certain plays, the time in history.   Many of the interviewees offer up stories and explanations without a lot of hindsight coloring the events 40 years later.  A lot of these guys are characters anyway, so they are just entertaining to listen to [including Mike Bouscaren, who seems like a "villain"-the crowd really loved to howl when he would talk- ubt he had one of the most grounded comments of the game]

Besides the game, 1968 hangs over the film…there is the Vietnam war, protests, assassinations…but none of these things dominate.  In fact, they are brought up, to acknowledge them, and there is some talk, but it’s never the focus, which I think is a great decision for the story.  One of the Harvard players was in the game after a 3 year tour of duty…that he talks about, which is pretty powerful, but that becomes part of the story, and we move on.  Some players talk about police marching on Harvard to quell riots…

Besides the rivalry, there is an interesting class difference between the schools.  Yale players have many generations of family at the school, they talk about dating Meryl Streep and rooming with George W Bush.  They go on vacation to Maine summer homes.  Many of the Harvard guys talk about their parents not finishing high school, about how hard it was to even get in…very white collar vs blue collar.  It really adds some stakes to the game, but is never really beat over your head.

The movie is exciting and compelling, even though the title gives away the outcome.  Really well done.  Oh, and apparently Al Gore is a whiz at playing songs on a touchtone phone…

8 out of 10

GOODBYE SOLO (2008)

DATE:  4/2/2009   FIRST VIEWING

WHERE:  Orpheum theater, stage door…at the Wisconsin Film Festival

After seeing CHOP SHOP last year at the WI film festival, this was one of the films on the schedule that I was most excited about…that I knew I had to see.  CHOP SHOP was simple storytelling with a not so simple glimpse into its character’s complex emotional lives, one of the best movies I saw all of last year.  Ramin Bahrani has me hooked…

THE GOOD: simple storytelling;  Solo;  “Hey, Big Dog!!”

THE BAD:  hmmmmm??

THE WONKY: Solo takes a pee break

Ramin Bahrani does it again with a seemingly simple story that really carries a lot of emotional weight.   Solo is a Senegalese cab driver who befriends an old white man named William.  William asks Solo to drive him out to Blowing Rock in a couple weeks, leave him there, and he will pay him $1000.  Solo is afraid that William is going to try and kill himself – he decides that he needs to become William’s guardian angel.

This is set up in the first 5 minutes, after which we simply watch the lives of the 2 characters as the date of the drive approaches.  There is very little exposition filling in details…things are gradually revealed, like a real relationship where you don’t learn EVERYTHING about a person all at once.  It allows for surprises in the story, but feels real.  And maybe what really works is that these aren’t characters, but people.

Souleymane Sy Savane gives an unbelievable performance as Solo.  He is larger than life, full of life…a man with a huge heart who will stop at nothing to hlep friends and family.  What could be a caricature becomes a rich character, who has to weather adversity and pain…and figure out how that fits into his world and affects his optimistic outlook.  By constrast, Red West as William [another good performance], is almost completely devoid of emotion – the 2 end up revealing things to each other, and teaching each other (which sounds trite – it’s not).  That we care for both these characters is a strength of the film…and was evident in a scene where William suddenly punches Solo in the face.  It is quick and somewhat unexpected…and the audience I saw this with gasped out loud!

The cinematography here, like CHOP SHOP, is unassuming, but great.  Much of the movie is shot very close…many close ups of faces letting us see the emotions play out across their features…locales are kept close too, as we feel a part of the surroundings rather than an outside observer.  There aren’t a lot of wide shots in the city (Winston-Salem, NC) either which adds to the feel that the characters and locales are just a small part of a big city.  In contrast, once Solo begins driving across the state towards Blowing Rock, the camera opens up…showing us beautiful vistas and landscapes.  You’ve also got the contrast of the characters’ lives…in the city, they are constricted with nowhere to go, and at this point, things are opening up…they are moving forward.

The ending of the movie, uses similar imagery to that in CHOP SHOP – nature, flight, open air – lending an undercurrent of hope.  So much that happens before is colored with sadness…and although, you aren’t sure what will happen, it feels as if anything is possible.

This is a great movie, that is funny, uplifting, heartbreaking and heavy.  It is about the people in our lives and what the simple act of knowing them does to us, and to them.   Seemingly about so little, but ends up being about so much.

8.5 out of 10

ROCK-AFIRE EXPLOSION (2008)

DATE: 4/2/2009 FIRST VIEWING
WHERE: Bartell Theater, at the Wisconsin Film Festival, with Bryan

I race walked from the screening that I had prior to this one, as it got done when this starting.  6 blocks later I was about 5 minutes late…

THE GOOD: lots of archival footage; story of Creative Dynamics

THE BAD: uneven tone

THE WONKY:  dancing robots; Billy Bob tattoo

This was a movie that Bryan and I were really looking forward to.  It had promise of being interesting and completely ridiculous at the same time.  I had been to Show Biz Pizza growing up, so the idea of a documentary about the animatronic band from the restaurant, and people still obsessed with it today, seemed very entertaining.

It was…sort of.  It could have been my arriving late, or heightened expectations (about singing robots?) but this was probably my biggest disappointment of the festival.

The movie was made well enough, and for a while, I was enjoying it, and laughing/reminiscing.  But soon, I was a little uncomfortable, and I began to realize that a lot of it was sad, and kind of creepy.  The people who can’t let go of their childhoods…the woman who hooks up with the inventor of the robots (Aaron Fechter) because she has a “thing” for the band…

The story of Creative Dynamics was really interesting, the rise of the restaurants, the inventiveness of the company.  And then how quickly that spiralled into nothing, to where Aaron was firing his friends because the restaurants were tanking.  Very bittersweet.  He is a great character, who has tremendous optimism in the face of whatever comes his way.

But I just couldn’t decide throughout the film, whether I should be laughing or feeling bad.  The filmmakers throw a lot of stuff which, I thought, made it hard to navigate.  Chris Thrash – a super fan who has a Rock-afire show in his basement – is obviously obsessed, but he is very creative and smart, reprogramming the robots to sing contemporary songs and creating music videos.  But I couldn’t shake the feeling that the filmmakers wanted us to laugh at him.  Including a story about his wedding at the local skating rink…non-traditional…kinda silly…but it completely fit with he and his wife and their lives, so it was kinda sweet…but I don’t know, maybe it was me, but it felt like I was supposed to laugh at him.

A movie that I had hoped would bring me some childhood memories and a few laughs ended up making me kind of uncomfortable.  Too bad.

One of my favorite quotes of the weekend came from this movie though:

“Kids of today…don’t really relate to moving robots”   Hahaha…well, maybe that’s a good thing…

5 out of 10

RR (2007)

DATE: 4/3/2009   FIRST VIEWING

WHERE: UW Cinematheque, at the Wisconsin Film Festival, with Aaron.

My 5 year old likes trains.  There was a time when he would sit for hours and watch train videos and then play with trains…he’s not that into them anymore, but he still enjoys them.  I thought that a film that only features trains driving across landscapes might appeal to him.  I brought him along so that he and I could share a little part of the festival this year, since I was going to be gone for much of the weekend.

THE GOOD:  trains

THE BAD:  trains

THE WONKY:  trains

James Benning’s movie consists of 43 shots of trains.  The camera is set up, and we watch a section of rail as a train goes by, comes at us, etc.  That’s it…pretty simple.

The variations don’t come in the subject matter, but in the aesthetics.  The distance of viewing is different…far away, extremely close…landscapes are featured from all over the country, and there are beaches, deserts, plains, snow, swamps, salt lakes.  The durations of the shots vary….occasionally there is audio…the film is both hypnotic and rhythmic.

The shot composition is pretty impeccable…here is a website with a description of each of the shots used:

http://newfilmkritik.de/archiv/2008-02/rr-location-list/

Some of my favorites are:

#3 – a river bridge, the shot has nothing but the bridge (and boaters)

#4 – I swear that this is by my brother’s house in DePere…but looks like it is in Minnesota

#12 – a train going through snowy terrain past a river

#15 – one of my favorites, as a long train goes by and through a tunnel, another train starts to move above it on a bridge…as I watched I realized…that’s the same train doing a big loop…it was pretty cool

#17 – another river bridge with a single train car crossing, that as it approaches you realize, is a truck

#30 – a train seems to materialize out of nowhere coming across the Great Salt Lake

#42 -train moving past Wagner Mills…the camera is set up in such a way that the perspective line created by the roofs of the buildings completely line up with the train cars as they go past…wow

#43 – the last shot…a train moving past wind generators with old tires in the foreground…it looks cool, and I thought it set up a cool image, sort of a part (old tires) present (train) and future (wind generators) composite

This isn’t a movie for everybody…you have to be somewhat into it to enjoy it.  There was a woman sitting next to me who started counting when people were leaving…she got into the 30′s…and I heard more get up after she was long gone…so at least 40.  And my 5 year old fell asleep for at least half of it.  On artistic merit this film has a lot to hold your attention.  If  you are looking for some sort of a narrative flow…view at your own risk.  I find myself thinking of some of the shots days later…but this isn’t for everyone.

6.5 out of 10

SILENT LIGHT (2007)

DATE: 4/4/2009   FIRST VIEWING

WHERE:  Chazen art museum…during the Wisconsin Film Festival…with my wife.

Had heard lots of good things about this movie…from some of the people at rowthree.com, and on some best of lists…After sleeping through JCVD the night before, I was pretty well rested for the 11am screening.  I was not prepared, however, to drop my wife off near the door, spend 10 minutes looking for free parking, only to swallow my pride, climb a parking ramp…to the TOP…run down, and then have to navigate what seemed like 500 yards through fenced off construction to reach the museum, about 100 FEET in front of me.   I made it, albeit walking down the steps like a stork being blinded in the dark, looking for my wife and our seats.

THE GOOD:  cinematography; bright contrasting color scheme

THE BAD:  Johan’s “crying face”

THE WONKY:  “musical number” in the pickup truck

My first thoughts as this film unfolded…after a spectacular 5 minute (?) opening shot…was that it felt like a fusion between a Bergman film and a  Terence Malick film.  The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous and majestic, while the story is very deliberate and languidly paced, drawing you into the world and creates a meditative atmosphere.  It at once gives you a feeling for what the Mennonite way of life might be like, all while playing with how the passage of time is felt.

The story is simple – a family man with a loving wife and kids is having an affair with another woman.  He struggles with what he should do…follow his heart or follow his oaths, and the ramifications that his actions might have…he seeks guidance from his father, who tells him he is being deceived by the evil one (Johan feels God is showing him his true path) and that he needs to decide what to do soon, or lose both women.  And that plays out over the course of 2 hours…as we watch what seem to be scenes from a painting unfold.

Dialogue is sparse, background noises are amplified to fill the otherwise silent goings-on…crunching snow, slurping cereal…emotions throughout are completely understated…not so much held back, as turned down…often times you will see a character’s face for a minute as they react to something, and a single tear will fall down their cheek.

The camera work is wonderful…the framing of each shot is stunning.  The camera moves very little, so when it does it is really seems to speak.  The director also plays with holding a shot while continuing the scene with offscreen noise, and at times with focus of entire scenes, allowing the character to walk into focus rather than follow them.

A character stops a clock from ticking (very loudly) early on in the film, and from then on, time is not necessarily played out linearly.  Event s move forward, but one scene to the next can be completely different seasons, suddenly children are older, but the action that seems to be happening could just as well have been continuing from the night before.  It really is effective…and a character at one point mentions that they would like to be able to turn time back, to which another responds “that is the one thing that we humans can’t do”…

This speaks to the spiritual nature of the film too…all throughout the family is praying, there is talk of God’s will, and people being outside of events that have been written out long ago.  God’s presence seems to be hanging in the air throughout everything that happens…or at least it could be…

The ending is nicely open to interpretation…the image of the clock is brought back…and while I won’t spoil it…it would be a great discussion…it makes you think about all the events throughout the film…just what has gone on…what is really going to happen now that the clock is ticking again…and the film bookends with a reverse shot of the opener.

This really is a stunning film…to look at, to experience…I really enjoyed it and found myself lost in the world on screen.  Someone afterw the screening was telling his wife that the editor was the problem with the film, and that they EASILY could have chopped 45 minutes off of the movie.  I suppose that is true, but what we got was so much more rich than MTV’s version of a day in the life of a Mennonite family.

8 out of 10

Final 2 days of the Wisconsin Film Festival

Just a few thoughts on my last 2 days of the fest, and I hope to get more thoughts on the films out soon…too little free time with 14 films and too tired to type and stay awake…

Saturday…saw SILENT LIGHT at the Chazen with my wife…great film and I liked the screening room a lot, although the seemingly endless maze of fences around the construction weren’t helping anyone

Hung out at Barrique’s waiting for my son to finish watching BLIND LOVES and we headed down to find something to eat. We settled on getting burgers at Five Guys, where our order number ended up being 69, which gave my teenage son and I plenty of fodder for giggles. I know…

Saw the triple bill of SECRET SUNSHINE, SPARROW and GHAJINI at the Orpheum, pounding coffee between each to hope for survival, and to avoid a repeat of my JCVD nap.
SECRET SPARROW was kinda sparsely attended, but the audience seemed to really respond to it. It is a great film with a lot of tough question discussion points.
SPARROW had quite a few people, and it was a fun light hearted crime movie starring the smoking Kelly Lin and cool as hell Simon Yam, with lots of laughs from the crowd.
Got some popcorn for dinner, then settled in for GHAJINI. So over the top and ridiculous. So much fun. The audience was totally into it laughing and cheering along…total blast. And of course everything became hilarious after 1:30 am. It also contains quite possibly one of the craziest sounding lyric translations I’ve heard…

After only about 4 hours of sleep I was off into my Sunday, and a belly full of granite city helped prep me for STROSZEK (oh and more coffee). This was a thoroughly enjoyable, totally bizarre Werner Herzog film, that again the audience really responded to. There was a sing a long with the Film Fest trailer at the screening, but we sat by some of the most vocal movie watchers…reacting out LOUD or discussing things…from film locations to why someone would still have plastic on a mattress while sleeping on it, to discussing a friend’s plumbing problem. ??? Fit with the oddness of the film.
Son and I high tailed it to the Union for FEAR ME NOT…pretty packed…audience was very responsive. They were along with the characters and laughing, and when tension started to mount people were squirming all over the place. Well constructed thriller.

Then it was back down to the Orpheum to end the festival with SITA SINGS THE BLUES. Excited for this one after hearing a lot about it, and we weren’t disappointed. Completely charming and inventive storytelling combining Indian folklore, blues music and animation. Funny, thoughtful and beautiful.
I was on my last legs on the drive home, and am ready to collapse, and collect my final thoughts soon.

A BIG THANKS to all that made the festival happen…it really has become a great event for the city and the state. That’s why we like it here.

2nd day of the Wisconsin Film Festival

My second day down at the fest was pretty low key. I hope to write more detailed thoughts on the films themselves, but here are my general impressions:

I met my 5 year old down on campus and we trudged across the bridge to the Cinematheque to watch RR…an experimental film consisting of 43(?) shots of trains. That’s it. They were from all over the country, from differing perspectives, lengths, etc. I enjoyed it, though the 2 hour run time felt every bit of 120 minutes. My son fell asleep, and a woman in the front kept counting OUT LOUD when people left. There were at least 40 before it was done.
After dinner at State St Brats, by teenage son and I headed off to the Union to see HARVARD BEATS YALE, 29-29. The place was packed, and it was really hot. Mayor Dave was there, so there was a pretty good vibe in the air. A lot of Yale and Harvard alums were there, many of whom were at the game chronicled in the movie. It was a really well done, exciting documentary giving a lot of perspective to this major event in college football, and how it fit into American history.
Did I mention it was HOT in the union??? The screening of PACHAMAMA before hand looked like it was a lot of fun…

We headed down to the orpheum for the midnite show…JCVD. At this point, we were pumped…and thirsty. I decided on a soda rather than coffee because I was parched from the Union (it was hot in there) which was turned out to be a mistake. About 10 minutes in…I passed out, and would occassionally wake up. I saw a few parts, laughed with the crowd, but I was pissed that I missed what seemed like a fun experience.
We DID however get to meet one of our favorite volunteers from last year waiting in line…don’t remember his name, but he is always very chatty, and last year had his own personal microphone system. Awesome.

Today on the docket is SILENT LIGHT, and then a triple feature at the orpheum: SECRET SUNSHINE, SPARROW, and GHAJINI. I am loading up on the coffee as I type…

WIN OR LOSE – A SUMMER CAMP STORY (2008)

DATE:  4/2/2009  FIRST VIEWING

WHERE:  Monona Terrace at the Wisconsin Film Festival, with Robyn

Another “fill in” from the 500 DAYS OF SUMMER vacancy.  Excited to see a Wisconsin made film, and the summer camp angle seemed too incredible to miss.

THE GOOD: portrayal of the summer camp experience

THE BAD: length of the animated segments

THE WONKY: lots of shirtless tans;  box hockey!!!

This brief documentary about the uber-competitive “collegiate week” at Camp Ojibwa really captures the culture of summer camp, and oh yeah, the competitive nature of boys/men.  We get to met some of the boys, many of whom have been coming to this camp for a long time.  We hear their perspective on the events, and what the camp means to them.  And as the stage is being set, the stage becomes set for a sort of KING OF KONG like battle for the top.

See, Collegiate week is a 10 day experience where 12 teams of boys are chosen, and they compete against each other throughout the week in a variety of sports, earning them points and the highest point getter “wins the week”.  Which is something that means the world to many of these boys (and men at the camp).  One coach of the 12 teams, the larger than life A-Rob, wants to win so bad it hurts [Billy Mitchell?], and has had the worst draft pick the last 2 years.  He draws it again.  Another coach, Adam Korn,  is a former camper who didn’t fit in well, is more the everyman who is ok at sports, who just wants a shot [Steve Weibe?].  He ends up drawing the 2nd draft pick…and the stage is set.  Nobody with the 12 pick (the worst) has ever won…so A-rob is on a mission…and Adam wants to prove that he can win…and soon they find themselves battling for the top spot….

For anyone who has been to any type of camp, this will bring back memories.  I was having flashbacks of boy scout camp and competing…for those who haven’t, there is a gap of not quite understanding the fascination (just look at Adam Korn’s girlfriend when they talk about camp) but this movie is still enjoyable.

What I really liked was the window into these boys’ camp.  Their comraderie, their passion, and how much a part of their lives this is.  And the competitions are a blast.  There are a lot of hilarious moments.  The competition and coping with winning and losing, and taking what life gives you…really comes out as these kids don’t have time to think, just react as they are in the middle of heated competition…really teaches them a lot about themselves.  The whole experience is portrayed in a very engaging way, and the battle for first is edited together to create narrative tension. 

What I didn’t like, well, the animation bits that were thrown in…I appreciated the director needing to get his voice in there, to relay his summer camp experiences and how they fit in with the collegiate week madness…it just seemed like a big chunk of a movie that already wasn’t very long, and disrupted the flow for me a bit.  [and no it isn't confusing, as some audience members seemed to think...]  I am not sure how else he would have gotten that info in there without being intrusive on some level…we found out in the Q&A afterwards that he shot about 120 hours of footage to whittle it down to 1…but 5-10 minutes of that was the animation. 

I would have loved to spend more time with the kids outside the competition.  What made the games so compelling was putting faces and lives behind these kids.  Charlie (?) a team member who lost his last chance at 1st, completely blows up…and we find out that he cares so much because his dad has been out of the picture since his parents divorced…this is his male bonding/role modeling…he needed that affirmation…and he could take feeling like a loser.  You know this…it hurts.  And he comes back…and he has worked through it…and he is now modeling positive behavior for younger kids…awesome.  I would have loved to see more of that…more kids, more of their friendships, backgrounds, whatever.

I still enjoyed the heck out of this film.  A great look at the lives of (shirtless) boys jacked up on testosterone…where it is ok to be jacked up and let that out…one of the counsellors makes the comment that there are no real heroes today, and that here they can feel like heroes.  And as silly as it might sound…these boys are allowed to be heroes in many ways besides just sports at the camp…can’t wait to watch again with my boys

Nice work, Mr Lapat.

7 out of 10

THE BEETLE (2008)

DATE: 4/2/2009  FIRST VIEWING

WHERE: Memorial Union, Play Circle at the Wisconsin Film Festival

Once 500 DAYS OF SUMMER sold out, I suddenly had some time to fit in a movie or 2, and I picked this one.  It was a toss up between this and TOKYO SONATA…I picked this because I knew little about it…glad that I did.

THE GOOD: small, unassuming storytelling;  well placed humor and emotion

THE BAD: apparent messing with timeline/continuity for dramatic effect; some of the scenes felt “staged” for a documentary

THE WONKY: camel towing a Volkswagon

This film is a documentary about Yishai, a husband expecting his first child, who is hesitant to give up the things from his past as he enters into this new and frightening chapter of his life…most notably his run down Volswagon Beetle.  Instead of following his wife’s advice to get rid of it and get a safer car for the family, he instead goes on a quest to first, learn the history of the car by talking to the former owners, and then on a quest to do what he can to fix the car so that it is “brand new” when the baby arrives.

This film is very charming and engaging…Yishai and his wife really draw you in.  A lot of humor stems from their quarrels and situations (the pregnant wife helping to push the car home as it stalls at their ultrasound appointment).  Their relationship rings true as you watch with frustration Yishai clinging onto what seems to be the last piece of his “life before adulthood”.   It seems silly to everyone around him, but it eventually becomes filled with a lot of emotion, and it starts him on the road to maturing and prepping him for his role as a father.

There is an interesting dichotomy between German/Israeli history and the history of the car.  As Yishai learns the stories of the previous owners, it becomes clear that this is more than just an object, but it carries around with it history and stories.  Much like the Jewish  people, this sense of place and history is important to their identity.  We learn that the car has had a child born in the front seat, and in an emotional scene, a family who kept the car for their daughter who eventually died of cancer so that she had some joy in her life while she was sick….Yishua can’t let go of what the car carries with it.

there are a lot of great scenes here, the Goldstein’s interview, Yishua playing with Salam and the kites that they make together…and lots of humorous scenes…

In fact, scenes work so well, that the movie feels very cinematic in its style.  So much so, I had forgotten that this was a documentary for about 15 minutes.  Some of the shots and scenes do feel like they may have been staged, or enhanced to effect.  And the powerhouse scene where he interviews the Goldsteins happened before the chronology of the events being depicted in the story-they are looking at the car and it doesn’t yet have the “collectible” sticker in the window that we had already watched him get.  But, hey, I know that you need to create narrative flow in documentaries, and manipulate things (ahem, Michael Moore) sometimes…I’m just saying.  It is still very effective and engaging.  I was caught up in it so much that I was feeling good driving around looking for a parking spot afterwards, and laughed a little out loud when I happened to see a Volkswagon beetle parked on the street.

There is a pretty great payoff at the end, which I won’t spoil, but it really works after you have invested so much in this guy and his journey.  It really caps off a well told and heart felt story.

7.5 out of 10

First Night at the Wisconsin Film Festival

It was a great kickoff to the festival I must say. Racing downtown from work to get to my first screening on time, it was great to see that THE BEETLE, in the Play Circle at the Memorial Union was PACKED! There was a nice Q&A session with the filmmaker of WIN OR LOSE after the screening…where he did apparently need to explain the point of his film, not once but twice…and people seemed strangely confused by the animation bits that he put into the film.
Stopped at Michaelangelo’s for a coffee and a breather before truding out in the freezing rain to see GOODBYE SOLO at the Orpheum…where there was a drive by ticket seller…yup, dude hanging out his window asking those of us on the sidewalk if anyone wanted 2 free tickets to the movie. “Anyone? Anyone?!? Going once, going twice!!!”
Sat next to a guy who really wanted to talk about the film and the ending, but I had to race to my next film, so I felt bad about that. I speed walked from the Orpheum to Bartell, and passed my wife on her way home at a stop light…got to ROCKAFIRE EXPLOSION late a wet…and watched with a true fan wearing a Showbiz Pizza hat, Chuck E Cheese shirt….truth IS stranger than fiction, boy
Got to see a film with my wife, she saw another she really enjoyed…saw one with my son…and he got to see 500 DAYS OF SUMMER which he really liked, and stayed for the Q&A from fellow West High alum Marc Webb…all in all a pretty great night. Crowds were big, and buzzing…the atmosphere was pretty electric, I anticipate it to be bigger as the weekend rolls on…Round 2 starts tomorrow at

2009 WISCONSIN FILM FESTIVAL

So it is that time of year again…

The Wisconsin Film Festival starts tomorrow…and I have gone off the deep end this year.  Last year I saw a personal record 8 films, and remembered thinking while listening to people talk about the 10 or 12 they were going to see…how can they fit all of that in!??!

Well, the stars have aligned this year, and my son is in a high school film class…and our excitement going over the schedule got the better of me…and I have tickets for 14 films this year…with the possibility of getting to a 15th!!!

As always, the trick is finding the films that I will feel OK about missing, rather than trying to find those that I want to see…and there are so many that I just can’t because they are double booked with others I want to see.  So many choices…well, I am going to tweet and blog all throughout the fest, in hopes that I can get back into the writing game more consistently…but, in the meantime, here is the list of films I will be seeing (if my endurance can stay strong!)

Thursday, April 2

THE BEETLE–an Israeli documentary about a man’s quest to get rid of his Volkswagon Beetle, and what he learns on that quest

WIN OR LOSE–documentary about a summer camp competition in Eagle River, WI that sounded like way too much fun to pass up

GOODBYE SOLO–Ramin Bahrani’s latest…after seeing CHOP SHOP last year, this is one of the films I am most excited about seeing

THE ROCK-AFIRE EXPLOSION–documentary about the animatronic animal band of the same name that headlines at Showbiz Pizza, and the fans that still follow them.  Wow.

Friday, April 3

RR–experimental film by Milwaukee native James Benning, which consists of 43 shots of trains crossing the American landscape.  Sounds oddly compelling, and I am taking my 5 year old train lover

HARVARD BEATS YALE, 29-29–documentary about a famous football game in 1968 between these 2 schools.  Heard the filmmaker on Fresh Air, and knew I needed to see it.

JCVD–Jean Claude Van Damme…midnight showing…Orpheum…kick ass.  Plus I missed this when it played at Sundance.

FOOTBALL UNDER COVER (possibly)–German documentary about a German women’s soccer club playing the Iranian National women’s soccer team

Saturday, April 4

SILENT LIGHT–Carlos Reygadas’ film about a love triangle in a Mennonite community…have heard nothing but great things about this film, including lots of praise from the guys on Cinecast at rowthree.com on their end of the year show.

SECRET SUNSHINE–South Korean film about a woman moving into a community who endures tragedy…sounds complex and haunting, and stars the great Song Kang-ho

SPARROW–Johnnie To, Simon Yam, pickpockets…I am there

GHAJINI–Bollywood meets MEMENTO…the description in the film guide had me after the first couple sentences.  Sounds epic, awesome and ridiculous all at once.  Stars Aamir Khan from the also epic LAGAAN…

Sunday, April 5

STROSZEK–Werner Herzog directs a story of German immigrants coming to Wisconsin

FEAR ME NOT–Danish psychological thriller about a man taking an experimental drug that may or may not be responsible for his changing personality

SITA SINGS THE BLUES–filmmaker Nina Paley’s animated musical juxtaposing the classic “Ramayana” with her own breakup…also had lots of high marks from a number of the contributors at rowthree.com

Whew!  By Sunday, it may be more about survival than cinematic enjoyment…but I am up for the challenge.

My teenage son is also going to see:

ANVIL, THE STORY OF ANVIL (doc. about Canadian rock band Anvil)  BLIND LOVES (doc about blind people finding love in their lives)

JERICHOW (German update of THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE by writer/director of YELLA)

he is hoping to get into a screening of 500 DAYS OF SUMMER, romantic hit at Sundance, directed by Marc Webb, graduate of his own Madison West High…Marc has vouchers for West kids, so he is going to stand in line in hopes of getting one tomorrow night…and MR Webb is going to be at West High on Friday for a 2 hour Q&A, so he would really like to have seen the film.

My wife is also going to check out

BALLERINA (doc about Russian ballet dancers)

ELEVEN MINUTES (doc about Jay McCarroll from Project Runway)

So many films, so little time…I CAN’T WAIT!!!

[REC] (2007)

DATE: 12/28/2008   FIRST VIEWING
WHERE: in the youth room on projector, DVD from Four Star Video Heaven…with Bryan and friends

This had been on my radar for a while…I remember hearing about it from some festival circuits, and then talked about on Twitch…but being released only on Region2 DVD, and then withheld on Region 1 due to the remake QUARANTINE released in October of 08, there wasn’t much chance to see it.  I could have bought a copy, but lo and behold, our great video store Four Star had it in the new release section.  Man was I stoked!!!  Got it, watched it in our church’s youth room on a big projector, in a dark room with a small crowd for more immersion than I would have gotten watching this at home in the living room.

THE GOOD:   effective cinema verite style;  good unsettling scares;  claustrophobic atmosphere; last 15 minutes

THE BAD:  not much springs to mind

THE WONKY:  little kid zombies….sheesh!

OK, so I am going to say this right off…this is hands down one of the scariest movies that I have seen in a long time.  The quick setup to get the premise and the characters introduced, lightheartedly lets the viewer into the story, and from there on in, it basically twists the tension constantly until it is at a nearly unbearable level.  A TV crew is following a couple of fireman to a call for help in an apartment building, when suddenly they are trapped, not allowed out for some unknown reason…come to find out, the building may be the source of a biological outbreak turning animals and people into very violent…creatures…zombies…?!?!?

The story, not entirely original I suppose, the technique of “found footage” done before, and quite a bit in recent years, with CLOVERFIELD, DIARY OF THE DEAD, BLAIR WITCH PROJECT…but what makes this movie so effective is just that…it is a simple story, that doesn’t try to be too big or important, just a scary story.  It knows the genre it is living in, and the conventions of the genre, and it uses them almost perfectly.

Really, this movie is an exercise in technique.  It is going to live and die by the effectiveness of the hand held cam, and how “believable” it is, and how effective it is in creating what is meant to be a realistic feeling of real time events unfolding.  The believability is handled nicely – the crew of a reality show is filming events, first formally for the show, and then to capture events as shit hits the fan for the account of what is happening.  At some point, the camera needs to be used to see…reminiscent of scenes in BLAIR WITCH, and the night vision scene in SILENCE OF THE LAMBS…so that also makes sense.  And at all times, this is handled in a realistic way…shots are not always in focus, the framing is not always perfect (although quite good when it needs to be) which also adds…you can’t see everything even when you desperately want to…things move along so fast that you don’t really have time to stop and think…”wait…would he REALLY still be filming??!?!”

The filmmakers (Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza) know exactly what they are doing, and play the audience like a violin.  The pacing is great, as things build and build as things escalate more and more out of control, and the dangers mount with each passing minute.  As the outbreak of the infection spreads, there are less and less places to go…and the tension mounts….add to that a very believable “reaction” by the tenants…it felt quite real the way that the people in the building reacted to what was happening…how they reacted in different ways, tried to keep calm all the while all hell is breaking loose.  The decisions that need to be made are split second, which is next to impossible with a sizeable group…again, adding a sense of real suspense as bickering starts and indecisions create even more problems.

All of this simply creates a fast paced film that really delivers a lot of creepiness, good jump scares that aren’t cheap…and still scary even when you know that they are coming.  All of this is really, really good…and then you get to the end 15 minutes.  Let me just say that this was some of the scariest stuff I have seen…it propelled the movie from a good tense scare fest into disturbing as hell.  What is great is that…throughout the film, you really get very little explanation as to what might be the cause of the infection, which really works…it is impossible to know exactly how to fight something you don’t know how to stop.  BUT…some information is added in the final scenes shedding some light, and possible explanations…but not enough so that you know a whole lot more…but the information given…and the possible implications of what it could mean adds a whole new level to everything.  And the imagery at the end is so damned creepy…and once the night vision is on…well, I still can’t get those images out of my head…

A movie that dares you to keep watching…one that I want to watch again so badly, but at the same time…part of me is afraid to relive it…so good…so effective…I am getting chills again just typing this.  Damn.

I am interested to see how QUARANTINE is…but I am definitely glad that I held out for this one to see it first.

9 out of 10

THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX (2008)

DATE: 12/30/2008 FIRST VIEWING
WHERE: Star Cinema…with Aaron, Bryan, Robyn and Nana

Aaron was very excited to see this movie with EVERYONE…very cute…so we all met after work…in a small snow storm to watch the mice. We had just heard a report from my sister in law, who took her class to go see it last week, after they had read the book…or something like that. Basically, she said that it was really good, very different from the book, but good nonetheless.

THE GOOD: cat stadium fight; fantasy daydreams
THE BAD: voice acting; pace throughout is plodding
THE WONKY: magical vegetable man; festival of SOUP!!!

I can’t necessarily say that there is anything terrible about this movie, or even really that “bad”…but I was almost completely underwhelmed.
For a fantasy about a mouse who has to use his courage to prevail many trials and to save the kingdom, this thing really feels sluggish. I don’t know how many times I thought to myself while sitting there how un-exciting the movie was. I am not sure exactly how to put my finger on it…
Perhaps the voice acting plays a role. Almost across the board the voices and characterizations are milquetoast. They just sit there, not filling the character, not adding much inflection or excitement. Matthew Broderick is his usual quiet self, and Dustin Hoffman, as decent as he was in KUNG FU PANDA really falls flat here. Emma Watson is pretty good, but she has very little screen time. The other characters are pretty blah…so maybe, when something isn’t moving, they screech the film to a halt.
The look of the film is pretty, nicely detailed, and I really liked the design of Ratworld…but the people looked almost freakish. Not sure why in animated movies starring animals, people need to look like…other than people. At times they looked like Whos, just….weird.
There seemed to be a lot of plot lines that needed to be included to create a cohesive story, and did, but were still somewhat stuck together, not meshing…so perhaps that pulls at the pace…I don’t know.
The other kind of odd thing…so, the film has a number of themes…being true to yourself, having a brave and noble heart towards everyone, forgiveness. Forgiveness becomes a key component throughout the story, and in fact, much of the resolution concerns forgiveness and the capacity to forgive. Good stuff, I liked how it was handled, how characters saw what resulted as a cause of their inability to let go…however, with such a concern for showing the power of forgiveness, the characters sure are quick to let the head rat get eaten up by the rats crazy cat…as retribution for being “the bad guy”. No one thinks twice about forgiving him for…being a rat. In fact, it is played to make you cheer for his demise…in fact my 5 year old yelled out at the screen “Don’t save him!!!” Funny…but also…a little disconcerting. I mean…isn’t that the one character that NEEDS the forgiveness the most?
Sure…a nitpick maybe…but that kinda stuck out to me, in the face of the one thing that the movie was doing really nicely (as opposed to so many other bland things).
There was a really good line in it…the mice are trying to educate Despereaux to their ways…to cower and be frightened of things like a good mouse…and a school teacher says “they’re not born scared…they have to be taught…” indeed….

So…this is a fine movie…nothing offensive, nothing overly exciting…a couple of really odd things that are NEVER explained…my son liked it a lot…I wouldn’t lose any sleep if I never got to see this again. Maybe I am jaded in a year with KUNG FU PANDA and WALL-E…but…eh….
And Dustin Hoffman…making a “new” career in voice acting?? Not sure if that’s the best idea…

5.5 out of 10

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 (1981)

DATE:  12/27/2008

WHERE: at home, on DVD from Madison Public Library…with Bryan

Part 2…I think that I have only seen this one once before…probably in high school when, one summer, I was on a mission to prepare for part 8, and watched all of the movies, counting how many deaths there were in each movie.   It was my own personal badge of honor – however, most of my friends thought it weird, and a bit creepy…

THE GOOD: canvas masked Jason;  pace once the mayhem starts

THE BAD: a couple of the actors…and a bunch of the dialogue…;  low body count for the number of people at camp

THE WONKY: geeky guy telling terrible jokes;  huge hand held video games;  Scott looked just like Jonathan Schaech; Mama Voorhees not only has her sweater in her shrine…but her pants are laid out too

Solid follow up to part 1…and the first installment featuring Jason.  The set up is quick here, aided in part by some flashbacks via a dream by Alice who survived part 1…and we get to see what happens to her as a result of surviving.  Man…that’s a bad break…

Not much time is spent introducing characters, save a couple of sexpots, a jerk, a geek…the usual suspects.  Then you’ve got the great campfire scene relaying the message to all of the campers there for counselor training.  Now, supposedly this is taking place on the same lake, but not the same camp.  But it is close enough for the couselors to be doomed…thanks Crazy Ralph.  And crazy Ralph biting it in this one…too bad, but I think helped in part to usher in a new direction…cutting ties with the old, so to speak.  It is funny that his body is discovered in a pantry…as he was hiding out in a pantry in part 1, waiting to come out and tell everyone that they need to leave the camp.

There is a lot of good buildup to the character of Jason, stalking the campers with his POV cam, watching his boots appear and disappear.  Nice teases while ratcheting up tension because you know that it is only a matter of time before all hell breaks loose.  And it does…

My big complaint here, is that we’ve got a HUGE cast of counselors at the camp…which, I assumed meant there was going to be a high body count, but it wasn’t at all!!!  There were 9, with a possible 10th.  The original had 10 total…so there wasn’t a drop off, but seriously.  A number of them just disappear and don’t come back until the killing is done.  And the nerd with the horrible jokes never gets it…like I wanted him to get it.  Although, he actually had a CHARACTER while most of the others didn’t.  However, there were a couple of notable deaths…the machete to the face of Mark, after which he tumbles backward down a flight of stairs in his wheelchair…but ends in a freeze frame half way down…too bad….and then the famous double impaling on the bed of the 2 dopes having sex.  Mostly suggested, but creative.

The final showdown between Jason and Ginny is great.  Jason is finally done hiding, not afraid to show his canvas sack mask [which I can't help thinking of THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN every time I see it] and he is all over the place.  He is pretty relentless after an hour of sneaking around, and quite often will do the unexpected – grab through the unexpected window, ram a pitchfork through a door.  There is one shot in particular that is great where you can see through a window off in the distance as he is running closer to his shack as Ginny is trying to figure out what to do.   There are a couple goofy parts mixed in, but not so much that they take away from the fun.  It is also interesting to see the final girl sympathetic to Jason, and use her brain to work some psychology on him.

The film looks good and the directing is pretty tight.  There are what I thought were meant to be references to a couple prior horror films – THE SHINING when Jason is chopping a hole in the door to the room Ginny is hiding in – HALLOWEEN when Jason approaches Vicki to stab her, his knife looks like Michael Myers’, and he is holding it in his hand in front of the camera POV style like young Michael does in the beginning.  This also reminds me of the pillow fight in part 1 where pillows break and feathers fly everywhere…flying/floating feathers inside of rooms always remind me of the original TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE….

Fun, classic stuff…can’t wait to march on into Part 3!!!

7 out of 10

Blu-ray…what is up??

So…I have had my first taste of watching movies on Blu Ray…and I have to say…I am not sure that I like it.  At all…?? 

Staying at my brother in law’s, we watched parts of WALL-E which looked incredibly detailed and was pretty sweet.  It’s just that, the movements seemed kind of odd, but with the animation, I figured that was kind of how it was going to be.

Later on, I watched parts from his new LIVE AND LET DIE and FOR YOUR EYES ONLY Blu Ray DVDs, and I was having a hard time watching them.  It seeemed TOO clear…some of the scenes looked unrealistic because of the detail.  People moving look almost detached from the environments, and a couple car chases looked fake.  The clarity in some scenes does not match that in others, and so makes things look superimposed.  Backgrounds from car windows looked like blue screen when it was real.  A gun protruding from the camera to track Bond looked like it was coming straight from a video game.  Water looks fake.  Could this be artifacts seen from “upgrading” image on an older movie we are used to seeing as slightly grainy??  I don’t mind the picture, but all together something seems too overproduced, or fake-y.

We watched FRIDAY THE 13TH on it and some of the scenes with campers in cabins looked crazy…real, but at the same time not real.  Like video on a PC game maybe.  Jason floundering the water looked like the logo for Castle Rock pictures…very fake looking.  This I could probably explain away as an up-converted regular DVD, I suppose…not a Blu Ray DVD, just watched on HDTV…but the “artifacts” were similar to the Blu Ray Bonds.

I keep hearing people say “isn’t the picture amazing?!?!” and yeah, some times…but am I the ONLY ONE who notices things that don’t match, that look TOO digitized?  It is just me??

I don’t know if I am just trying to adjust to seeing super clarity, but I am not sure that I like watching Blu Ray movies.  I haven’t watched new movies, probably more conducive to the technology, or movies shot on DV, so that could be it…I don’t know…probably just an adjustment….on my part, but for now, I am not running out to convert my library to Blu Ray.

Which could save me some money…at least in the near term…

FRIDAY THE 13TH (1980)

DATE: 12/27/2008
WHERE: at brother in law’s on DVD from Madison Public Library, watched on HD TV with Blu Ray player…with Bryan

Hadn’t seen this for a long time, and thought about watching these again in order after starting our Nightmare on Elm Street series this summer/fall. What got me more excited was listening to the 4 part extravaganza covering the Friday the 13th series on the Horroretc podcast, which is quite good. Finally got the DVD from the library, and we decided to pop it in

THE GOOD: camera work; special effects; music
THE BAD: acting; goofy “cat fight” at the end
THE WONKY: the short tight denim shorts AND suspenders with no shirt holding up white pants; “kill her mommy!!”; strip monopoly!!

I hadn’t seen this in a while…and it was really great to see it again.  This really is a classic of the slasher genre…one that ushered in the phenomenon and created many of the rules and conventions.

The set up is simple…camp opening after many years of being closed…due to tragedy…and the young counselors frolic and do things they shouldn’t be doing…drugs, premarital sex…and get killed in bloody, creative ways.  By now, the mystery of what is going on, and why someone is killing the kids is pretty well known, even to people who are not necessarily horror fans…but that really doesn’t take away from any of the fun.

I am always kind of partial to poor Annie…the cute cook who arrives, trying to walk to the camp, and gets killed right away, never even making it to the camp.  Not only is she very cute, and spunky…she seems to be able to act!  Over all, the cast is not terrible, as slasher movies go, but they are cheesy.  Kevin Bacon spreading on the cheese with the rest of them.

The prologue…with 2 amorous counselors who get what is coming to them, really sets up a good mood…with the screaming, slow motion and stalking POV killer cam…oh, and the music…the Madnfredini music is so good…not only becoming a classic, but really putting you in the movie and delivering chills.  You’ve also got the ominous warning from the townspeople…good stuff.

The other star here are the effects…Tom Savini does great work, and most of the kills do not disappoint.  A number are off screen, and a few are cut off fast (begging the question what WOULD an uncut print look like?!?!  Which I believe is supposedly coming out to coincide with the remake/reboot in February).  The standouts are the arrow throught the throat and the axe to the face….oh yeah, and the decapitation. 

Bryan seemed to enjoy it…after hearing bits and pieces of what was going on, he was still able to get into it.  It was fun going over the vices that got the people killed…and it was amusing that Adrienne King, the final girl, picks up a guitar at one point and plays it…well, 2 other cast members tried and were obviously faking…and they were both killed.  And the guy who was doing the ridiculous rain dance with the Indian headdress and acting like a freak, well, he couldn’t get bumped off quickly enough.

Fun coda…which is a little bit of a cheap scare shock, but the aftermath in the hospital includes a great final line…”…then he’s still…out there!!!”   Nice…

Next up is part 2, hopefully tonight, I would really like to go through these again hopefully before the remake.  Not a stellar movie, but for a slasher film, you could do a LOT worse. (and I have…)

7 out of 10 

Merry Christmas

Wishing any readers a Merry Christmas!!

…and a Christmas confession…in this time of Holiday themed movies….I must confess….that I have still….never seen…A CHRISTMAS STORY….

No excuse I know…but there it is…and my brother for one, would absolutely kill me if he knew…don’t tell him please.

Merry Christmas

If I had to Run a Marathon – COLD/ARCTIC MOVIES

Sooo…I am cold. Really cold. Snow and winter were fun for a while, but the shoveling hasn’t stopped for a good week and a half now, and I am sort of starting to feel like the cleared sidewalks and driveways ATTRACT new snow…so I might try not shoveling ever and become the hero of winter by keeping all the snow away. And now…it is below zero…too cold to go outside…can’t have any fun…unless frostbite it fun…

I am listening to the audio book of “The Terror” by Dan Simmons about an arctic expedition in the 1840′s that gets stuck in the ice and what they are dealing with…and driving around in my car in subzero temps listening to this really puts me right there…..It that got me in the mood for movies about cold…and not just movies that feature snow, but where the snow is a character…it’s oppressive…it…IS.  Movies that almost transport you to that place where your toes are still a bit numb after watching them…

I brainstormed and came up with -

monster/horror themed

THE THING/THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD;  THE LAST WINTER;  THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN (Hammer studios);  ICE SPIDERS; 30 DAYS OF NIGHT;  THE SHINING;  DEAD BIRDS;  JACK FROST

ski/mountain themed

CLIFFHANGER;  VERTICAL LIMIT;  ASPEN EXTREME

train themed

RUNAWAY TRAIN;  TRANSSIBERIAN;  HORROR EXPRESS

animal themed

SNOW DOGS;  EIGHT BELOW;  MARCH OF THE PENGUINS;  HAPPY FEET;  ICE AGE;  NEVER CRY WOLF

war themed

A MIDNIGHT CLEAR;  JOYEAUX NOEL;  WHERE EAGLES DARE;  ICE STATION ZEBRA

“fantasy” themed

BATMAN-SUBZERO;   THE GOLDEN COMPASS;  THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW

Russel Banks/holy crap am I depressed themed

AFFLICTION;  THE SWEET HEREAFTER

Canadian themed

CAREFUL

reality themed

SHACKLETON/THE ENDURANCE

crime themed

FARGO; A SIMPLE PLAN; THE ICE HARVEST

 

OK, so if I had to run a marathon…a one day COLD/ARCTIC movie marathon…let’s pick 10…holing up in the winter, a 2 day 10 movie marathon sounds nice…

Day 1

WHERE EAGLES DARE

not "Arctic", but Clint and Richard Burton storming a Nazi castle high in the snowy mts., a fun way to kick things off without being too oppressive

CAREFUL

the strangeness of Guy Maddin, with a town living below so much snow that the people need to be careful not to make enough noise to cause an avalanche...now you've got your snow as a character...

AFFLICTION

hard hitting personal drama with great performances...lots of despair to be found...heightened by the wintery setting...

NEVER CRY WOLF

a favorite from my childhood, based on true events (if I remember right) as a naturalist living in Alaska to study wolves, understanding on a personal level what it is like to survive and live in the environment...and a nice story to pull you out of the despair from the last film

FARGO

 classic...one of the best Coen brothers films and nothing plays out WITHOUT the snow...humor, drama, blood and Arby's...send you to bed with a smile, and a bit of uneasiness...hopefully wanting more the next day

Day 2

ICE STATION ZEBRA

another fun war film to kick off the day, rebooting from the heaviness of day one (I haven't seen this one...)...Rock Hudson and Ernie Borgnine??? Come on!!!

RUNAWAY TRAIN

great ride on a train with no brakes through Siberia with Eric Roberts and Jon Voight...makes me cold just thinking about it...

EIGHT BELOW

from what I understand...both heart warming and heart breaking...and it has dogs!

THE THING

no Arctic marathon would be complete without this must see update of the 1951 classic...isolation...cold....paranoia....crazy monster FX....soooo good....

SHACKLETON/THE ENDURANCE

Finishing with the story of the expedition that got stuck in the ice (what started me thinking about this topic in the first place...), where you have survival in an unhospitable place...with a feel good story, happy ending that isn't scripted and cheesy. 

 

So there is it…a 2 day arctic marathon…and many of the movies I brainstormed could be plugged in…and I know I have forgotten many…

Comments?!?!  Love to hear from ya….

Also…check out a similar list at Kindertrauma about “Snowbound Horror”…Good Stuff…

THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME (2006)

DATE: 12/14/2008  FIRST VIEWING

WHERE: at home, on DVD from Four Star Video Heaven…with Aaron…off and on…

THE GOOD: nostalgia/adolescent angst; realistic charcters

THE BAD: time travel to see a…painting…??

THE WONKY: time travel device = walnut; fire extinguisher fight

This Japanese anime concerns a young girl who suddenly finds herself with the ability to go back in time…and on one of her most rotten days…this seems like a gift…

This movie really captures the feel of what it is/was like to be in school…when nothing and everything seemed of utmost you are importance…when figuring out who you are and being with your friends is all you want to do.  You want to grow up, but don’t want anything to change…that is almost perfectly displayed here.

What is also somewhat refreshing, the main character isn’t necessarily completely sympathetic.  She is very self serving, and wants to make things better for her…and who wouldn’t as a teenager who could suddenly go back in time and “fix” those most embarrassing times???…not paying attention to those around her.  It is the process of her learning to think outside of herself…and learning to live with her mistakes and regrets instead of trying to erase them or pretend like they didn’t happen.

The time travel device is not used in an over bearing way…you understand what is going on, and you can see the ramifications of Makoto’s actions and how she might be getting out of embarrasment, but the universe is correcting itself by using others instead…but the movie is about learning responsibility more than it is about GOING BACK IN TIME!!!  Nicely done.

It is also supposedly a sequel to a movie of the same name from 1983…with Makoto’s aunt (auntie witch) in this movie as the protagonist of that one.  Pretty cool…and even more cool…as I learned in some of the special features on the DVd…the voice actor who played Auntie witch here, was the woman who played the girl in the ’83 film.  Neat.

I did watch the film with the English dub (!!!) since Aaron was watching with me…mostly…and I have to say that it was really pretty good.  I went back and watched a couple of scenes in Japanese to get at least a taste for the real deal…but the English was decent.  Amusingly…the English actor who did the voice for Chiaki is none other than Vert Wheeler’s voice in the Hot Wheels World Race movies that are really popular here at our house.

Really nice story about growing up…complete with nostalgia, regret, time travel…but lyrical and gentle…not flashy…very well done

7 out of 10

ZATHURA (2005)

DATE: 12/18/2008  FIRST VIEWING
WHERE: at home, on DVD from Madison Public Library…with Bryan and Aaron

Aaron had recently seen this at day care, and was pretty excited about it…the cool robot, the space ships…and really wanted us to watch it. We checked it out from the library and he couldn’t wait…we had to watch it right away.

THE GOOD: special effects; sense of wonder
THE BAD: most annoying kids ever…they never stop screaming; kids act kinda dumb; frozen sister gags
THE WONKY: “get me a juice box…bee-otch!!”; goat with 4 eyes

Not as bad as I had sort of anticipated it to be…but not quite as good as the setup promises.  Continuing the “board games come to life” idea started in JUMANJI, ZATHURA focuses on 2 brothers from a recently split family who are home alone, begin playing a space adventure board game, and need to learn to move past their differences and hang ups to finish the game and get back home.

It starts off as cute, kind of fun…and kind of spirals out of control just enough to lose some enjoyment and cohesion.  We first encounter meteor showers and a robot chasing the boys around the house, which are kinda scary but fun.  And then the actions and the gags lose their fun, and become kind of annoying and overblown.  The kids are playing the game…and the problem there is that, you have to continue spending time with these kids.  They are so annoying and scream constantly, but not fighting scream so much as just yell and YELL about everything.  And, as things go along, they just get dumber and dumber.  They begin to suddenly just say or do things that are completely opposite to what they have done before, or what they know they need to do…just to set up “dramatic tension!” most of which never feels real at all…just an excuse to yell some more until the next loud explosion.

The overall message is nice…and there are some decent moments and fun set pieces…but nothing that couldn’t have been tightened up…a little bit shorter here, less talking/yelling there…and a lot of the images and scenes of peril (according to the rating) are pretty intense for young kids…some of which is ok…but once the fun starts to seep out…you are just left with intense…which isn’t always that fun for kids…

Overall, not terrible…fun in spots…looks great…but there are better kids movies out there…

5.5 out of 10

THE NINES (2007)

DATE: 12/17/2008 FIRST VIEWING
WHERE: at home, on DVD from Madison Public Library

THE GOOD: interesting twisting self referential premise; Melissa McCarthy

THE BAD: a few odd tonal shifts

THE WONKY: video game 9′s over people’s heads; Roy from The Office!!

The premise : 3 short vignettes starring the same actors in 3 different settings as different characters.  They seem unrelated, but are they?  Who are the characters, and what does the nature of the story have to do with what is going on???  And how does everything fit together?

And intriguing premise…sounds interesting…I wanted to find out…and I was glad I did…mostly…

1st portion has an actor (Ryan Reynolds) who in under house arrest for a number of PR nightmares and crimes…kept under watch by a PR expert (Melissa McCarthy)…during which he does crazy things to relieve his stir craziness…but then starts experiencing weird phenomena…which make him question his sanity or what he thinks is real…and there is more going on than the characters are letting on…

2nd portion has RR playing a screenwriter, MM playing herself as an actress in hollywood, and Hope Davis (also in 1st segment) as a studio exec.  RR is trying to get a show picked up for the fall schedule of TV broadcast, and is banking on the strength of the pilot starring MM.  There are overlaps to the 1st story…his house is the house that the actor is in under house arrest…the name of the show is on a bus stop wall in the 1st segment…and things start to fall apart, and certain things repeat themselves…

3rd portion has the 3 in different roles again…RR as a famous video game designer…MM as his wife…and this time they may or may not be in the pilot for the show from segment 2….

And then things are sort of explained and you start to say “ahhhh…I see…”

And for the most part…I was with this movie.  The set up is interesting, and as things start to unfold, and get weird, there really is a great sense of wtf is going on here?   And it is kinda creepy and fun to watch.  There are some weird overlaps and shift in tone, and some weird humor interspersed that kind of feel out of place.  The 3rd segment is almost throw away…used mainly to explain what is going on instead of following the interesting set up that it had…the 1st 2 had these different stories and characters that felt real and each reflected the characters…and what they are creating…the actor with his roles, the screenwriter with his show/characters…and the 3rd on has a video game designer, but unfortunately nothing is done with that, save for “oh you are famous” and “by the way…here is what has been going on in the past hour”.  So that was a little disappointing…

The movie takes a spiritual turn at one point, and there is a really nice conversation between Ryan Reynolds and Melissa McCarthy…some resonating questions and statements that kind of pulled me back from my initial disappointment from segment 3.  I won’t mention the twist/reveal…but it raises questions, and sets some explanations for what has been going on that are interesting to consider.  I won’t say it is uber-profound or anything once the interwoven threads have a purpose…but I would say….kinda neat.  Worth checking out at least.

6.5 out of 10

DRUNKEN ANGEL (1948)

DATE: 12/19/2008 FIRST VIEWING
WHERE: at home, on DVD from Madison Public Library

THE GOOD: Toshiro Mifune; climax of the story

THE BAD: Okada’s guitar playing…?

THE WONKY: doctor constantly throwing things at people

I have seen very few non samurai Kurasawa movies…and I have to say…this one is pretty damned good.  The story of 2 flawed people who come together to form a dysfunctional relationship amongst the backdrop of post WWII Japan – one a yakuza who needs help, the other a doctor who is compelled to help people more than he needs to, without necessarily caring for his own well being – is really compelling to watch.

Mifune is absolutely great here as a yakuza boss who is very head strong and not particularly smart, but very loyal who needs the doctors help, but doesn’t want to admit that.  He really is a gangster who probably shouldn’t be a gangster…he has too much of a conscience, and spends a lot of the movie trying to convince himself that he is a “bad guy”.   But he is also afraid, and unsure of what he should do.  He is also boxed in by his duty.

The doctor, also excellently played by Takashi Shimura, has contempt for Mifune’s character, but is driven to help him no matter what.  He himself is an alcoholic, but that never gets in the way…mainly to show his coping mechanism to all of the apathy and dirtiness around him.  He can’t not follow a patient to whatever ends to make sure that they are following his orders, and getting better.  He goes above and beyond…wanting not only to cure Mifune’s TB, but get him out of the gangster life that he sees killing him.

There are other subplots, which flesh out the story and the era…but the crux of the story is the 2 protagonists…how they interact, and take or leave what the other is giving to them.   And if nothing else, the strange turns that their relationship takes illiustrates the insanity of the time period…nothing is as it seems – nothing can be counted on to behave the way that it should.  Life can’t seem to get to normal…there is a recurring metaphor of a bubble cess pool in the center of town that helps remind us of this too…

The knife fight near the end of the film is slow and deliberate…and very captivating…and there is a moment where the participants become covered in white paint and wrestle on the floor that is really striking…

A glimpse into post war Japan, how people struggled to retain human contact amidst confusion and chaos…and the importance of having some one to stick up for you…no matter what.

7.5 out of 10

THE FACE OF ANOTHER (1966)

DATE: 12/19/2008   FIRST VIEWING
WHERE: at home, on IFC

Funny how this works…but I happened to see a copy of the Criterion DVD at preplayed last Sunday.  I had never heard of this movie, and thought that it sounded pretty interesting.  I checked out if our library had a copy, put it on my list of movies to see…and lo and behold!  What is playing on IFC tonight?  Less than a week later???  Almost creepy…

THE GOOD: wild premise/exploration of identity, etc; unsettling mood

THE BAD: oddly talky at times;

THE WONKY: girl with the yo-yo; sea of faceless people;

This film is a visually striking meditation on identity, morality, personal connection, reality, existentialism…and on and on.  There are a lot of ideas floating around here in this incredibly dense film..and I KNOW that I missed a lot of it, just trying to take it all in and wrap my brain around it.

The main plot concerns a man whose face is disfigured and is forced to wear bandages to conceal his wounds.  This creates a sense of isolation and despair in him…which drives him to accept an offer from a psychiatrist (?) to perform a revolutionary technology on him to create a mask from a stranger that is life like enough for him to re-enter society.  But will he re-enter it, or escape from it…or escape from himself?!?!

This is one of the avenues for exploring the many themes here…will the man be comfortable just being “normal” again, or will he become drawn in by the allure of being dis-connected from society, having no true identity?  It struck me as interesting that, early on, the man is talking and describing how others are shunning him, treating him poorly, not wanting to associate with him, when many interaction he has show quite the opposite.  It is as if he is creating his own reality from what HE perceives…not how things are.  Which adds another level to things…an existential flavor right away.  Other cues surface belying the notion that putting on the anonymous face creates a wholly new persona…

There is a secondary story exploring another identity crisis, the man’s wife has some great insights into love and personal connection…she’s got a great reveal near the end that throws a lot of the assumptions into question up to that point which is pretty great.

There is so much to chew on here, to just keep listing would become tedious…so I’ll quit…

While it seems to be very dense and too heady…the performances and the direction really add to the narrative, creating a compelling and creepy atmosphere throughout.  Some of the images are unsettling, some surreal, and overall the film’s look draws you in without being “too” showy. They fit with the subject matter and really weave together to fill in the gaps left out by the story telling.

One thing that was a bit of a drawback, at times, were some of the philosophical discussions the characters had.  The type of movie that it is, those are inevitable, but a couple times, they seemed to go on a bit much at least in the context of what was going on.  Although, that could entirely be because I was trying to catch up…

Lots of fun philosophical brain exercises, great tone and style…can’t wait to see this again.

7.5 out of 10