Two movies I caught on dvd this weekend. The high school film-noir Brick was excellent. Loved the dialogue and great casting of Richard Roundtree as the school police chief or whatever. Wouldn't want him kicking my homeroom door in. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was perfect as the teen Bogart, knocking around the pie house rats. Seems like I once knew a character similiar to Laura in my own burg, but that was way-once.

Also watched They Came Back. The dead have returned to earth in this French film. The recently-within-10-years-dead, that is, and they haven't got a handbook. They're perfectly fresh dead, too, not rotted flesh zombies. They reunite with loved ones or walk around aimlessly (sounds like me at work). A thinking persons zombie flick as these zombies won't eat your brains.

What I've seen recently:

TRAIN MAN: This is a Japanese movie that played in one theatre for one week that received fairly good reviews. Basically the story is about an internet geek who falls for a woman he assists on a subway. The woman had been harassed by a drunk. This leads to a relationship. His geeky internet buddies act as a Greek chorus, cheering him on and giving him advice along the way. I didn't quite buy this woman attracted the geek, who didn't need a girlfriend as much as he need a psychiatrist, but it had a certain sweetness. I didn't like the film enough to recommend it, so I'd give it a C.

The New York Film Festival opened on Friday, but they raised ticket prices this year to $20 per film so I scaled back my attendance and only bought six films, all of which don't have commercial distributors. And after sitting through two of them yesterday, I can understand why the two films I caught didn't get picked up by a U.S. distributor.

The first of the two was THE GO MASTER, a bio pic of a master of this game, which is the Japanese version of chess. Tian Zhuangzhuang or Zhuangzhuang Tian directed. The eponymous title master was Chinese, but moved to Japan before WWII and became a master of the game and the picture focuses on his trials and tribulations, including being a Chinese National in Japan during WWII. In any event, the film was too abstruse and slow moving for my tastes, but it was a beautifully shot film. Rating: D.

I'm a huge fan of Korean cinema and some of the best films I've seen in recent years have come from Korea, so I jumped at the chance to see WOMAN ON THE BEACH, the story of a dissolute film director who gets involved in various romantic entanglements -- actually two of them -- on a beach. He uses the emotional turmoil as fuel to write his script. I just found the film, long, boring and talky. Rating D.

THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP. I have mixed feelings about Michel Gondry. I hated HUMAN NATURE, but liked ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND so I didn't know what to expect from this film. Gondry does have a fertile imagination, but he doesn't quite know how to harness it and tell a coherent story. I'm not even sure I followed what was real, what was dreams, what was what. A bit of a disappointment. Rating: C-.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE. In recent years -- even since I saw Francois Ozon's EIGHT WOMEN -- I've had a mad crush of the French actress Emmanuelle Beart. For whatever reason, it wasn't until that movie that she really popped off the screen for me. It was probably due to the fact that she was surrounded by seven other French beauties and she was the most attractive one of them all. I learned that Ms. Beart was in the original MISSION IMPOSSIBLE, but I must confess I didn't even remember her performance. Since Brian DePalma is my favorite director and since I liked the film on its original release, it didn't take much arm twisting to sit through another viewing on DVD. The film held up pretty well and that set piece set in the CIA headquarters where Tom Cruise, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames and the lovely Emmanuelle, break into the computer is just terrific film-making. Rating. B.

ANDROID. This film has been on my want-to-see list ever since I went to watch it on tape, but found the film wasn't there. It finally came out on DVD, so thanx to Netflix, I finally got around to watching this low-budget sci fi film that was headlined by the always interesting Klaus Kinski. I had a good time with this film. Not great, not bad. Rating. B.

Guilty By Suspicion. I caught this on its original theatrical release back in '91 and liked it quite a bit. It was the debut film by producer-turned-directer Irwin Winkler, who has had a spotty record as a director ever since. If memory serves me correctly, the film only received middling notices on original release and it receives only 2 stars in the "Maltin Film Guide." I took another look at GBS on Laser Disc and felt the movie held up well. Robert DeNiro toplines as a hotshot director who gets caught up in the blacklist. I thought it riveting and well done. Rating: B+.

Cria Cuervos. In conjunction with the New York Film Festival the Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center is running a retro of films released by Janus Films, the legendary art house film distributor. This film screened in the series and I felt it was pretty good. Directed by Carlos Saura, whose films don't find U.S. theatrical distribution anymore, made this one in '76. It is basically the story of a dysfunctional Spanish family told through a little girl's eyes. Not bad, not great. Rating: C.

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I'm about halfway through Sergei Bondarchuk's monumental film of War and Peace. It remains, on my third viewing, a gargantuan epic which is also distilled down to the slightest nuance and motivation. This may turn some off, but it's obviously a Russian Gone With the Wind, but at the same time, it recalls All Quiet on the Western Front. I have rarely seen a film so alive to all its cinematic and emotional possibilities. The music, both the score, and that provided by the various characters, is wonderful. The first four hours are worth at least an A, but I'll tell you more after the other four-and-one-half hours.

I've heard about that Russkie version of W&P, but I've never seen it. I wonder how it would translate on the small screen. Kind of like watching LAWRENCE OF ARABIA on TV.

In any event, I caught a few things the last couple of days:

A FISH CALLED WANDA. I caught this again yesterday for the third time, once on original release and about 10 years ago on video and it held up fairly well, though familiarity can breed contempt I guess. The humor was broad and it was a tad silly, but there were some funny pieces. I thought the best drawn character was Michael Palin and his stutter and all the attempts to murder the old lady. Rating: B-

FREEDOM-LIBERTE. This was a French film made a couple of years ago that didn't get commercial distribution on the U.S. Directed by Bruno Podyledes and starring his brother, Denis, who stars as the patriarch of a family that is on vacation at their summer home at the beach. It is one of those family vacation comedies where everything that can possibly go wrong does, particularly after Podyledes buys a boat. There were some surprisingly dark elements in an otherwise silly comedy. Rating: C

TOO LATE BLUES. This one is a real curio from director John Cassavetes where he was a director for hire on this film that focuses on the jazz life, specifically on Barry Darin's as a jazz pianist named "Ghost Wakefield." A surprisingly static film, it felt at times like a filmed stage play. A lot of verisimilitude though, particularly at one point where Darin is a kept man by this rich older woman. Not one of Cassavetes' more memorable efforts. Rating: C.

ARMY OF SHADOWS. This one is another curio, from my favorite French director, the formidable Jean Pierre Melville. He was making new wave films before they even invented the term. This film, earlier this year, received a belated commercial run and was brought back for a two-week run that ended last night. I had seen AOS at a Melville retro MoMA ran back in the nineties, but the film didn't leave much impact on me back then. Then the film was released commercially this year and reviews came out and some called it the best film of the year (it was made in the 1970s but wasn't picked up for distribution).

I decided to take another look at it -- I had remembered nothing about it -- and it is indeed terrific. Basically the story of some French resistance fighters in WWII, the *great* Lino Ventura toplined a cast that also included Simone Signoret and Jean-Claude Brialy. A couple of implausible set pieces involving derring do on the part of the French Resistance, but an excellent film by an excellent director at the very top of this game. Rating: A.

BE WITH ME. Currently in commercial release, this film from Singapore received some strong notices and is a tri-partite film focusing on three intertwined love stories: A young woman in her first lesbian affair; a fat security guard who has the hots for a white collar woman who works in his building; and the most fleshed out of the three vignettes, the story of a deaf-and-dumb woman, who shares her life story and may finally find romance. Not bad, but th director doesn't do a good job of connecting the stories. From Singapore. Rating: C.

Thank You For Smoking (Jason Reitman, 2006, Grade: B-)

First off, I found much to enjoy about this satire. The acting was top-notch, the story pretty interesting, and the relationship between father and son was an unexpected surprise. On the other hand, I just didn't think it was hilarious. It was amusing and smart, but for me, there were no big laughs. Also, there just weren't enough confrontations with somebody smart on the other side. I recommend it, but if you haven't seen it, I warn you not to expect to see a howlingly-funny flick. Needless to say, if you already think this is a super-funny flick, ignore my comments.

I saw "Thank you for smoking" yesterday and enjoyed it. Occasionally, I found the writing obvious, but, in general, it was as original as it was watchable. I would agree with Mark, wrt comedy, but I think that it may have lost a bit in translation had it set out to knock out the audience with laughter. 86/100

Over the weekend, I watched the Matrix series in succession, it was nice seeing the movies again and noticing how the tone changes from the first (Mainly placing concern on Neo) and the last (More about the existence of the entire human race). Overall 150/200

Also saw "Layer Cake." Simply put, this is a must see if you have a thing for movies similar to "Pulp Fiction" or "Reservoir Dogs."85/100

I liked THANK YOU FOR SMOKING a lot better than you two did. It will no doubt end up on my ten best list, though I suppose that is damning the film with faint praise since I will no doubt have trouble finding ten films to fill out a list. Aaron Eckart was much better in SMOKING than he was in the dreadful BLACK DAHLIA. I agree about LAYER CAKE, though. I thought the film was flat out terrific. In fact, I liked it so much I bought the DVD. James Craig -- the new Bond -- toplines in LC.

Meanwhile, I caught three more movies since my last post, including BACK TO THE FUTURE, which I hadn't seen since its original theatrical run back in the mid 1980s. The film is ok, kind of silly. I did like the Oedipal implications of the romance when Michael J. Fox travels back in time and his mother, Lea Thompson, falls for him. Michael J. Fox was way too old to be playing a high school student, though. Rating C.

JABBERWOCKY. I don't know if I'm not on the Monty Python troupe's wavelength, but I just find this film to be tedious. I supposed it was all right, but I just didn't warm up to it. Basically the story of Michael Palin in the Middle Ages. Some chuckles here and there. Rating C-.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT. This is just a series of sketches of the troupe. Some are hilarious, some not. Rating: C.

Just back from THE DEPARTED where I caught the first show the day it opened and if I can steal a line from someone on the Oscars thread who also saw it, "it is the perfect movie."

Wow. Marty Scorsese is back at the top of his game and THE DEPARTED can take its place right next to Scorsese's classic movies: MEAN STREETS, TAXI DRIVER, RAGING BULL and GOODFELLAS. THE DEPARTED is just as good. This is the cop film to end all cop films.

This is a film where everything worked: the crisp writing, the bravura direction, the music, the Boston setting and especially the to die for cast. Say what you will about Hollywood stars, but they must have checked their considerable egos and I assume paycheck demands at the door to all star in this film. Leo DiCaprio is simply amazing as an undercover cop. Matt Damon, a native of Boston, is DiCaprio's opposite. Jack Nicholson as a crime boss clearly modeled after the real life Boston Irish mobster Whitey Bulger is Mephistophalean.

I could go on and on. Ray Winstone, one of my favorite actors who hasn't gotten the breakthrough his peers Tim Roth & Gary Oldman have in Hollywood has a good supporting role as one of Nicholson's lieutenants. Vera Farmiglia, so good last year in the little-seen, but terrific DOWN TO THE BONE, has a career breakthrough as Damon's girl. Boston native Mark Wahlberg -- I'll never refer to him as Marky Mark again after his performance in this film -- is great as a bulldog cop in a relatively supporting role. Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin are flat out terrific as cops. Even Kevin Corrigan, who I haven't seen on screen much in recent years, is good as DiCaprio's addled-brain cousin.

Just an amazing movie with all sorts of twists and turns as Damon and DiCaprio battle wits. Just an amazing movie. The crime film -- in this case substitute the Irish for the Itals -- is clearly Scorsese's strength. Marty's DNA enables him to know these people and how they think.

It is a real complicated movie and I must see it again. My only minor quibble is that I missed some of the dialogue early on. I dont' know if the sound mix was poor or I just wasn't accustomed to the South Boston accents.

The best film I've seen this year. Only time will tell if this one holds up as a masterpiece, but if I were to bet you know where my money would be.

quote:

Originally posted by ChrisFromAstoria:
I liked THANK YOU FOR SMOKING a lot better than you two did. I agree about LAYER CAKE, though. I thought the film was flat out terrific. In fact, I liked it so much I bought the DVD. James Craig -- the new Bond -- toplines in LC.

Meanwhile, I caught three more movies since my last post, including BACK TO THE FUTURE, which I hadn't seen since its original theatrical run back in the mid 1980s. The film is ok, kind of silly. I did like the Oedipal implications of the romance when Michael J. Fox travels back in time and his mother, Lea Thompson, falls for him. Michael J. Fox was way too old to be playing a high school student, though. Rating C.

First off, Mike and I both recommend Thank You For Smoking. No, it won't make my Top 10, but it may well make Mike's.

Secondly, James Craig is the guy who sold his soul to Mr. Scratch in The Devil and Daniel Webster. The new Bond is Daniel Craig.

Thirdly, for me, Back to the Future remains one of the best films of the '80s or ever, for that matter. Tremendous writing, wonderful acting, laugh-out-loud hilarity, yet still poignant and an awesome sci-fi flick too. Much better than any movies I've seen this year. I'm checking out The Departed this weekend.

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I thought I would have to wait a decade or so before I would find a movie I'd like as much as THE DEPARTED. Well, I had to wait less than 24 hours when I caught THE QUEEN. I had thought the film was a period piece about Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen. I figured a bunch of English fops and toffs would be bustling about in powdered wigs and it would a Masterpiece Theatre type of film I would respect rather than fully embrace. I saw attending the film more as a duty or obligation than something I would enjoy.

Well, THE QUEEN knocked me off my feet. I was anxious to see it for a variety of reasons. First, it was the opening night selection of the prestigious New York Film Festival. Second, it received a score of 90 on the Metacritics scorecard, which topped the 88 THE DEPARTED garnered. And third, when Stephen Frears, the director, is good, he is very, very good indeed.

Well, first the current film is not about the Virgin Queen, but about the current Queen Elizabeth and deals with all the kerfuffle about Princess Diana's death and how the Royal Family handled the event. Lots of politics included including the tensions between the government and the royal family as well as a debate about why an anachronism like the Royal Family even exists int he 21st Century. Just sensational acting by not only Mirren in the eponymous title role, but the actor who plays Tony Blair is dead on. And the small roles are also terrific, including Blair's staff and Queen Elizabeth's various and sundry retainers. Just a magnificent movie.

I also took a look at EL TOPO the other night. This film came out in 1970, but, unfortunately, has dated badly. Basically, it is a Mexican film set in the desert about some guy who shoots a lot of baddies. There is some undeniable creativity on the part of the director, but I found myself checking my watch every five minutes after about the 35-minute mark. And since the film had a 125-minute running time, I was checking my watch an awful lot. It is a movie of its time and probably was best appreciated by an audience who dropped huge quantities of acid.

I also took another look at DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN, which is kind of looking at a time capsule of New York City, early 1980s. I saw this a couple of times on original release and once or twice on video in subsequent years and the film, more or less, holds up fairly well. Basically a story of doppelgangers: Madonna, in her first film role, playing a lower east side denizen and Rosanna Arquette, playing a surburban house mom who decides to take a walk on the wild side, if shopping on St. Marks Place, circa 1982, can be considered taking a walk on the wild side. What was most interesting about the film was seeing all the actors who had in some cases tiny roles, who went on to more substantive careers: Richard Edson (DO THE RIGHT THING, STRANGER THAN PARADISE), Giancarlo Esposito (DO THE RIGHT THING, MORE BETTER BLUES), Luis Guzman (THE LIMEY), et al. Also lots of East Side denizens cast in small roles, John Lurie of Lounge Lizards, punk rocker Richard Hell, the late Rockets Redglare as a cabbie.

The Departed (Martin Scorsese, 2006, Grade: B+)

I'm not sure what I should add about this movie. For a remake of a "classic" Hong Kong crime thriller, it's solid. For a mainstream Hollywood flick with a massive cast, it's well-done. For a Marty Scorsese flick, it's also quite good. The weird thing is that it just doesn't seem like a Scorsese flick. Sure, Michael Ballhaus is the DP and Thelma Schoonmaker is the editor, but there just seems to be less Scorsese here than most any of his other films.

Actually, if you haven't seen the original Infernal Affairs, I believe you will like it even better. This is Scorsese making a film which he hopes will make a lotta money. He's also not really going for any deep statements. He's just trying to make an old-fashioned police thriller with lots of twists and turns, especially near the end, and at that he succeeds.

I was entertained, found most of the performances compelling, and thought the film improved as it moved along. I think it's certainly one of the two best films I've seen this year, but I'm not sure how many Academy Award nominations it will snag. Even with good reviews and the Scorsese name, it seems a little lightweight for the Academy; at least looking at last year's "heavy" nominations.

I took a look at CAPRICIOUS SUMMER, a Czech film, via Netflix yesterday. Called a "new wave classic" by critic Dave Kehr, the film was made in the late 1960s and features three different men, who fall for a pretty ballerina. I kept thinking the film was some sort allegory, but an allegory of what I don't know. I guess I've gotta do a bit more reading about the film. The film was fairly well done and at 74 minutes or so, not a big commitment time wise. Rating: B-.

Via the New York Film Festival I took a look last night at THE JOURNALS OF KNUD RASMUSSEN, co-directed by Zacharaias Kunuk & Norman Cohn, the team that made the terrific THE FAST RUNNER a couple of years ago. This film doesn't have theatrical distribution lined up as far as I know and I can see why. I had lots of trouble following/understanding the film, which, like THE FAST RUNNER, is set in the Intuit community in Northern Canada. Basically the story of how civilization is encroaching on the Intuits in the early part of the 20th Century. Christianity is encroaching, the Intuits are converting and some people are unhappy about that. I'm not sure I got it and I didn't think the film was anywhere near as good as THE FAST RUNNER, so I'll give this one a score of D.

For some odd reason, I was under the assumption that I had already posted about the masterpiece that is "The Departed," but it appears the contrary. Anyway, this flick is one of the best I have seen in recent years, whatever you could want of it, is already there. One of my favorite features in the film is the spectacular usage of dark humor that seem to carry the slower parts. It starts off on somewhat of a slow note, then we are introduced to Mark Wahlberg in a role that he was born to play. The movie moves through several plot twists and finally comes to a stunning ending that will not be soon forgotten. My Score: 90/100

quote:

Originally posted by Mike:
For some odd reason, I was under the assumption that I had already posted about the masterpiece that is "The Departed," but it appears the contrary. Anyway, this flick is one of the best I have seen in recent years, whatever you could want of it, is already there. One of my favorite features in the film is the spectacular usage of dark humor that seem to carry the slower parts. It starts off on somewhat of a slow note, then we are introduced to Mark Wahlberg in a role that he was born to play. The movie moves through several plot twists and finally comes to a stunning ending that will not be soon forgotten. My Score: 90/100

Have you seen Infernal Affairs, Mike? If so, will there be anything in The Departed that surprises me?

It seems more loosely based on “Internal Affairs” than an actual remake of it. I would say the “The Departed” is more complex and intelligent than the former. Also, I feel that “The Departed” finds a little more middle ground and uses the duality of our main characters to its advantage. And, of course, the speed of the films contrast by leaps and bounds.

I caught my final film of the '06 NYFF last night by checking out an Austrian film called FALLEN/FALLING. The director, Barbara Alpert, directed a film called FREE RADICALS that played in '03 fest that I liked. This film was the best of the four I saw in the '06 fest, though that is damning the film with faint praise because I loathed the other three films I caught.

Basically the story of five 30-something woman who reunite at the funeral of a former teacher of the woman. The film focuses on their lives, relationships (or lack of) and desires. Not a great film by any stretch, but certainly an intelligent film made for adults.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike:
It seems more loosely based on “Internal Affairs” than an actual remake of it. I would say the “The Departed” is more complex and intelligent than the former. Also, I feel that “The Departed” finds a little more middle ground and uses the duality of our main characters to its advantage. And, of course, the speed of the films contrast by leaps and bounds.

Right on. I'm more excited to see it now.

I took another look at EXODUS last night at MoMA. I had seen it once, years ago, on video and this was a chance to see a print that was filmed in Panavision 70 so I probably caught about half the movie when I watched the pan 'n scan version on video. This was the first time to see the whole movie.

I didn't remember much about EXODUS, but this was an "important" film directed by Otto Preminger, another one of those directors who you could say that when he was good, he was very, very good indeed (i.e., LAURA, ADVISE & CONSENT, IN HARM'S WAY) and when he was bad, well he was very, very bad (SKIDOO, THE CARDINAL, ST. JOAN).

EXODUS, about the founding of the state of Israel, was made in 1960 and it is almost 3.5 hours long and feels like it. I found it ludicrous in spots, but, highly watchable in other spots, particularly when it dealt with the historical aspects of Israel's founding. In light of everything that has happened in the more than half century since, it was fascinating on a certain level.

The film, though, is bloated, static with leaden dialogue that makes you laugh. Lots of stereotypical characters stand around an pontificate and speechify so the film just kind of sits there. And the whole character of the blonde shiksa godess, Eva Marie Saint, was completely ludicrous. Why not put a halo over her head? She plays a recent widow who is a nurse, who decides for some reason to vacation, alone, on Cypress, which had a refugee camp for Jewish refugees. She volunteers to work at the camp as a nurse -- she's on vacation mind you -- and bonds with and plans to adopt a female Jewish teenager. I won't go into all the details, but Eva ends up on a ship bound for Palestine. While on ship she meets the film's lead, a badly miscast Paul Newman, who plays a political/guerilla leader, who had engineered the escape of the refugees on the ship, affecting a bad British accent in the process. Eva & Paul, in the middle of everything, manage to find the time to have a romance. In any event, an interesting film, if not a very good film.