Miles Messervy 007
Posts: 6870
Joined: 11/2/2009
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I have seen quite a few films since my last appearance here:
Features:
3. Rashômon [In the Woods] (1950, Kurosawa)
My original review of this still holds up quite well even though I don't write like that any more, for better or worse.
If you want a really bad example of my writing, look no further than this:
Mad laughter. Awesome medium scene. Amazing ending. The villager kicks ass. The cinematography rocks. The music is amazing. The acting is great, especially the face expressions. Truth. Vanity. Gender. Faith.
39. La nuit américaine [Day for Night] (1973, Truffaut)
Amazing. The ensemble cast is fantastic, particularly Baye, Leaud, and Truffaut himself. It's full of memorable lines, funny, human, great musically, and seems a fair depiction of the film-making process with all its ups and downs. The downs are actually quite emotional, but the most revealing stuff is in between, showing the boredom and repetition of film shoots. A film which depicts boredom successfully without being boring is usually great, and this applies here.
48. The Virgin Suicides (1999, S. Coppola)
This film is atmosphere, pure and simple. Trying to read into it just spoils the magic, really. Perfect soundtrack, amazing cinematography, natural performances, and confident direction (speaking of which, it better end up on the debuts list). I probably prefer LiT, but only just. Somewhere is the only film coming out in 2010 I really want to see.
51. Speed Racer (2008, Wachowski/Wachowski)
It's up to you to decide whether I'm being an ironic hipster bandwagon douchebag or genuine. The truth is neither, as the film cannot and should not be taken seriously. It's dazzling visually, funny if you know what kind of humour to expect, and somehow makes predictability awesome. I would equate this to going to a candy store, getting all the candy you want, eating all, and not feeling sick afterwards, which is pretty much a dream of every child. The film is that bad metaphor, and I am this child.
61. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010, Yates)
Fanboy alert! Not as great as Half-Blood Prince, and probably infuriating to someone who hasn't read the books, and a part of an ingenious but immensely irritating money-making scheme, but still bloody wonderful. That scene with Harry and Hermione and Nick Cave and the animated segment are brilliant beyond belief.
Sorry for all the annoying alliterations.
74. Written on the Wind (1956, Sirk)
Fantastic. That climactic dance scene is one of the best things committed to celluloid, the cinematography and the set design are gorgeous, the performances are amazing, and Hudson's sexuality plays into it perfectly. I think this may have converted me to Sirk.
80. Only Angels Have Wings (1939, Hawks)
This, in turn, may be the beginning of my conversion to Hawks, a film-maker I've until this been at best lukewarm on (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes really soured on me, Scarface is chasms away from the remake, His Girl Friday is an atonal mess with squandered perfect potential and The Big Sleep would be great if it wasn't a total travesty to the novel). Friendship, love, sacrifice are treated effortlessly and elegantly, Grant, Arthur, Hayworth, and particularly Barthelmess shine in their roles, and though it doesn't live up to the promise of its opening (which has amazing inexplicable atmosphere), it's a great film for sure.
88. Fahrenheit 451 (1966, Truffaut)
Haven't seen this in ages, but love the book and the director. Predictably, Truffaut's weakest film I've seen, but the bad things about it actually kinda add to it (the hilariously bad special effects, the weirdness of the dual casting choice, Werner's accent), and the good things are numerous as well (Herrmann's score might be his best, the ending is astonishing, and the scene with the old woman is, too). Not a patch on the book but good anyway (and I know this makes my response to The Big Sleep seem hypocritical, but I think that might improve on a re-watch when I know what deviations to expect as I did here). To be honest, the omission of The Mechanical Dog isn't that missed, though some other things are, but that's to be expected.
92. A Man for All Seasons (1966, Zinnemann)
Not very reliable historically, particularly the convenient omission of the fact that More liked burning protestants, but like Joan D'Arc, impressive even to an atheist as a display of human spirit (and stubbornness, but these two go hand in hand). And it has amazing production values (the theatrical origins aren't obvious apart from the scenes length, which is always a good sign) and a cast to die for. Also, the screenplay is amazing, with some brilliant intellectual back-and-forth which never feels forced or too confusing. Not quite as good as the other Oscar-nominated play adaptation from 1966, but certainly an Oscar winner I have no qualms with whatsoever.
116. El mariachi (1992, Rodriguez)
My first Mexican film, apparently. Solid high concept action film, made on an astonishingly low budget but still exciting. The love story is so-so, and the music is not as affecting to me as it is to the characters, but there is some funny black humour and it's thankfully short. So while Rodriguez' career became a bit of a mess (well, I still love Sin City, and Spy Kids is one of my nostalgia films, but still), this is a pretty great debut.
This review makes no sense whatsoever, whatever.
119. Buffalo ’66 (1998, Gallo)
Really funny, hits the right notes on awkwardness. The lies, the repetitions, the fragility all work. Good cast, cinematography, and music, too. It's a bit too ridiculous and has too much ego fellatio (lol) to be a masterpiece, but a great film for sure. The two he made after this don't look that good though.
125. Ronin (1998, Frankenheimer)
A bit of a mess, I suppose, but an engaging one. Lots of double-crossing and car chases (one of those is justly acclaimed), and pretty lame gunfights. The Bond fan in me appreciated the three villains in one film. It's also ghost-written by Mamet, so it's nice to watch professionals at work, making it akin to a Mann or a Melville. On that note, it has a nicely muted colour palette, with extras not wearing any bright colours whatsoever. The characters make a lot of stupid decisions, the McEllhone-De Niro romantic subplot is not entirely necessary, and Witt's Russian is awful, but I'm satisfied. I bought The Train which looks like it's going to kick ass.
131. Götter der Pest [Gods of the Plague] (1970, Fassbinder)
Totally misogynistic and pretty empty, but still somehow mesmerising, His worst I've seen, mostly because it's a retread of Love Is Colder Than Death but brings less to the table. Some typically awesome non quotable Fassbinder lines though and as usual with his early ones, fantastically stark static cinematography/mise-en-scene. In short, this dude was a dude to top all dudes.
143. Pokolenie [A Generation] (1955, Wajda)
A short, average technically and uneven otherwise portrayal of youth during the Nazi occupation of Poland. The night-time scenes are shockingly lit (and the Arrow release seems really inferior to the Criterion one), and it occasionally slips into propagandist melodrama, but the vignette approach works, the supporting characters are well drawn, and the central relationship is moving. Also, Polanski in an early role. Expect more from Wajda's further stuff (got the other two from the trilogy here), but this is a more than solid introduction.
Oh yeah, my first non-Kieslowski Polish film (though Possession is by a Polish director, of course), here's to many more to come.
144. L’atalante (1934, Vigo)
Didn’t meet my (albeit astronomic, given that it’s in the top 20 of any self-respecting ‘greatest ever’ list) expectations. A nicely (especially in terms of visuals) told and influential love story, but only affecting episodically and never really that amazing. I was never bored, but the poetic realism/naturalistic approach never allow either the plot or the atmosphere to develop (and despite Simon’s character, it wasn’t nearly as funny as Nice or Conduite).
169. Grandma’s Boy (1922, Newmeyer)
My first Lloyd feature. Doesn't have the frantic pace of his two shorts I've seen, but is much more coherent and touching. Dumbo-style (of course this came first and there are loads other stories like this, but Dumbo is the archetype for me since I saw it first) tale of believing in yourself, with some great slapstick, inventive chase scenes, and a great (fake) flashback. Plus the romance is absolutely believable for some reason, hmm. Not as commonly admired as Safety Last!, but this was Lloyd's favourite film of his and that's gotta count for something.
184. Ivansxtc (2000, Rose)
First time in ages that I find about a film and watch it on the same day instead of keeping it on my shelves (or hard drive) for ages, which is nice. Watched in class because my film teacher is a fan.
Very interesting. Very ugly DV look, more Dogme than Mann, not aided by the pixelated quality of the avi we watched. But it suits the film, because it strips away any notion of glamour from Hollywood. And yet it is not against Hollywood, it is more concerned with its characters, most of whom are vapid vain assholes, and the location suits it perfectly. It's adapted from a Tolstoy novella, so Hollywood is really more of a setting (though brilliantly used) than a theme.
The theme is mortality, and how we spend our lives, and how we grin when people congratulate us on a job well done. For something so gratuitous it has some nice black humour (not going to quote because it's not as good out of context). It is powerful, with great central performances (Merendino is hilarious, Weller predatory, Huston unsympathetic and so real), though some of the supporting ones lag, most notably the sister's and girlfriend's (who is played by the writer/producer so that partly explains it).
It also has some pretty crap TV-style editing at the beginning, feeling like In the Loop without the self-awareness or the excuse of being adapted from a TV series.
Still though, this is a grower and I want to see more Rose now.
189. Wall Street (1987, Stone)
Greed is good, film is too obvious, but offers a nice snapshot of the time, good performances (Hannah is the worst though I don't get why she was that hated), and an aria from Rigoletto and a Talking Heads song are neighbours on the soundtrack, which has my respect anyway.
Kinda exhausted, so will finish the features and list the shorts and do the November round-up tomorrow.
< Message edited by Miles Messervy 007 -- 11/12/2010 1:19:16 AM >
_____________________________
quote:
jamesbondguy:
Miles is clearly the finest film theorist of his generation
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Deviation:
if it isn't ham, I'll eat a living pig.
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RE: Top 100 Films I've Watched This Year: 2010 - 
) and the weird "Crow Ghost" baddie backflipping from atop an elephant's head, landing on the tusks and simultaneously stamping on Tien's (Tony Jaa's) bonce, dislodging him from his tuskular position. 
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