Black & White World
You can tell by the lines I'm reciting, I've seen that movie too.
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Saturday, April 16, 2005
Velvet Goldmine (1998)
What an odd little movie. It borrows bits and pieces from all kinds of different movies, including Citizen Kane, Grace of My Heart and Moulin Rouge!, not to mention several music videos, and yet manages to remain pretty unique. Unfortunately, it’s only about as deep as a music video—by the end of the movie I didn’t feel like I knew any of the characters very well, or by extension, cared much about them. It looks very slick, and there are some nice scenes, but ultimately it’s pretty empty.
DiG! (2004)
DiG! was highly recommended to me by my good friend Bet, who really loved it. And though I am always trepidatious when approaching a movie that a friend REALLY REALLY liked, and that they REALLY REALLY recommended to me—not so much because I don’t think they know what I like, especially in this case, but because I’m afraid if I don’t REALLY REALLY like it too, that I’ll have to make up some excuse. Or give it a dishonest four star rating so they don’t know that I didn’t like it all that much, like Bet did when she watched Shane.
But anyway, DiG!. My trepidations were unfounded; I loved this movie. I was afraid that since I wasn’t familiar with the two bands, The Dandy Warhols and Brian Jonestown Massacre, that I wouldn’t care too much about their story, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Instead it made me want to go out and buy their albums. I really can’t add much to what Bet wrote about this movie back in January. Really a fascinating portrait of two struggling independent bands who will never get their shot at a Behind the Music special. Anton Newcombe has that tortured unhinged genius thing going on, and Courtney Taylor’s condescending narration adds a whole great level to the documentary—at first I thought he’d be bad choice for the narrator, being a part of the story, but it ended up adding a great dimension to the story.
I’ll probably watch it again this weekend before it goes back to Netflix.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
This may be my favorite entry in the Harry Potter movie series so far, although the first one was a great treat. It would be easy to accuse the Harry Potter films of stunt casting, with such British luminaries as Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Dawn French, John Cleese and Robbie Coltrane popping up at regular intervals. But I enjoy all of those actors so much, and in particular it was a delight to see Alan Rickman, Gary Oldman and David Thewlis doing a scene together. Great fun. I’m looking forward to the fourth installment.
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
With the DVR finally empty and the Netflix movies all sealed and ready to go back, and the cable on the fritz, I really had no choice today but to start finally going through my Warner Bros. Gangster box set at long last. A few months ago I watched Public Enemy with the commentary on, but other than that I haven’t even touched the set yet. Today I settled in with this one, one of my favorites, with Cagney at the top of his game as Rocky Sullivan. I didn’t listen to the commentary, but I did watch the short films included. The Technicolor one is, well, rotten. But it doesn’t detract from the enjoyment of the main feature.
All or Nothing (2002)
Mike Leigh’s extraordinary film about ordinary people echoes his previous Secrets and Lies. The characters in Leigh’s films are always so utterly human that I always tend to forget I’m watching a movie. It’s like eavesdropping on people’s lives, sharing their miseries and, once in a great while, their joys.
Saturday, April 09, 2005
Miracle (2004)
This turned out to be an interesting companion piece to Reds, as it captures the political climate that the US was in when Beatty’s film was made (come to think of it, it’s surprising he was able to make it back then). I remember the 1980 Winter Olympic games, and I remember when the United States beat the Soviet Union. It really was a magic moment in sports, with so much more riding on it than just a simple David vs. Goliath. I still get goosebumps when I hear Al Michaels say “Do you believe in miracles? YES!” In fact, I got them just now typing it.
Kurt Russell really impressed me in this. I’ve seen him in a couple of movies and he’s never struck me as an actor with much depth to him, but he’s really good as Herb Brooks, he completely disappears inside the character—he was a lot better than I expected him to be.
Sunday, April 03, 2005
The Man With the Movie Camera (1929)
Wonder how I ever got out of film school without seeing this one? Visually stunning documentary showing everyday life in Communist Russia in 1929, the film covers industry, sports, politics, economics, work, play, birth, death, and just about everything in between. Just about every documentary made since then has borrowed editing and narrative techniques from it. Years ahead of its time.
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Tol’able David (1921)
Richard Barthelmess is surprisingly (for me, anyway) good in this melodrama about a young boy’s coming of age. As tragedy after tragedy besets his family and friends (and his dog), David Kinemon gets his chance to prove his worth and be seen in the eyes of others as a man instead of just a boy. Overly sentimental at times, but well played by all.
Applause (1929)
Rouben Mamoulian’s big soapy melodrama is at times overdirected, but given the limitations surrounding early sound film, Applause is really quite an astonishing achievement. His overhead shots pre-date Busby Berkeley by about four years, and fluidity and inobtrusiveness of the camera work is a good five years ahead of its time. This film set the bar for early talkies.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
Powell & Pressburger’s masterpiece about life and death and everlasting love. This film works on all levels but one, that being the England vs. United States portion. The arguments put forth in the film don’t really stand the test of time (from what I’ve read, the film was meant to foster post-war relations between England and the US)—which is not to say that there isn’t still a rivalry between the two countries today, but that rivalry is based on different issues today. Anyway—the whole UK/US section of the film only serves to slow down the “life and death and everlasting love” story, which is so much more timeless, and so much more interesting, and the real reason anyone would want to watch the movie. David Niven and Roger Livesey are both excellent.
