Films I Watched - August, 2004
Submitted by lbangs on Mon, 08/02/2004 - 09:31
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- 8/1 - Before Sunset - Before Sunrise is quite frankly one of the most romantic films ever lensed, THE vision of love for intelligent, cynical Generation X viewers, so the notion of continuing the story inspires dread on the same level as learning of a sequel to Casablanca. This, though, defies expectations to an incredible degree. Not only is it a better film than the original, it manages to charm, enchant, and delight like very few films ever can. The characters basically talk for eighty minutes inside the always-beautiful Paris, and while that sounds like a shaky premise, the movie actually seems to coast by in half that time. Revisiting old friends such as Ethan Hawke's Jesse and Julie Delpy's Celine is rarely as refreshing and, damn it, downright magical as it is here, and I'll just be wreckless and tell you right now - this film has one of the absolute best endings in the history of cinema. That's right. This is that good. In a summer glutted with the usual sequel crap, who expected this tiny Part II to be so incredible? ****
- PS - Shakespeare and Company really does have a live-in loft upstairs. I roamed inside it on accident one day in Paris...
- 8/5 - Mission: Impossible II - I really love the entire concept of this franchise; make the entire series with different, respected directors and allow them to incorporate completely their own style and approach. Where most franchises work to sandblast each film of any itsy bitsy trace of individuality, stylistic or otherwise, this series revels in the uniqueness of each of its installments. Mission: Impossible II bears little resemblance to De Palma’s under-rated first mission; even Tom Cruise looks quite different, and he really is about the only link between the two movies. John Woo has gone gonzo with his typical touch, and the viewer can only rejoice at this, especially since there is very little else to dazzle here. The screenplay is wispy and dull, relying on prepackaged emotions and situations and even recycling a certain plot device to the point of predictability, implausibility, and monotony. The acting is simply there. Nothing stands out except for Woo and his wild work. This leads to a confession I probably should feel guilty about (but don’t). I tend to love Woo, and his giddy, kinetic race through stunning stunts and dazzling delights was enough to keep me in my seat for two hours. As a very nice bonus, this film suffers from little or no terrible CGI moments that fling one out of the film, and the stunt work is nearly flawless. It is hard to rate this sort of film, which really falls somewhere between ** 1/2 and ***, but the melodramatic ending somehow pushes this one over. ***
- 8/11 - The Phantom of the Opera - As many intelligent Listology regulars, so astute at reading between the lines, have probably guessed, I was an odd kid. My friends were digging on The Goonies (which I hated, and still do) while I was picking up this 1925 silent film from K-Mart for two bucks (ah, the public domain) and wearing that VHS tape down to nothing. Rewatching this classic, I am a bit baffled at the legion of critics who find this creacky and poorly aged; I find it incredibly entertaining, from the trap doors, heat chambers, lurid lighting, and gothic shadows to the still jarring unmasking and revenges. Certainly, it is much, much more fun that your average American silent film, and now, restored with a terrific soundtrack (on DVD, at least) and a rediscovered early Technicolor scene, it is even more of a giddy joyride. Sure, this was largely a retread of Lon Chaney's earlier The Hunchback of Notre Dame, but I can't help but find this all-out rip-off more thrilling and divinely delicious. I still love it. ****
- 8/15 - Grey Gardens - Edith and Little Edie Bouvier Beale are two rare, odd birds. This documentary simply starts the camera rolling and follows these two about their crumbling, isolated mansion, Grey Gardens, and captures them in all their fading glory. Somehow, watching these lives is like hitting your funny bone; it may feel funny, but it really isn't very funny at all. Under the strange trappings sleeps a sadness no amount of laughter can drown out, and recording both emotions is what makes this documentary work. ***
- 8/16 - Yojimbo - All doubts about Toshiro Mifune's coolness end here. All simplistic, misguided ideas about Akira Kurosawa being simply a Japanese classicist director die a dire death here. All desire to find some roots to the modern western and the Kill Bill series find at least some satisfaction here. Simply put, Yojimbo is Kurosawa's Touch of Evil, a wild, baroque explosion of style from a director who made his name in a more restrained vein of directing. While not quite the masterpiece the Welles' film is, it shares that film's sense of wired experimentalism and fun, and even adds its own dash of political commentary to boot. *** 1/2
- 8/17 - Casa de los Babys - This film should have left me speechless. Instead, it was rather disappointing. It is not bad, mind you, and it has a killer cast of actresses, but too often, the screenplay seems like a series of stitched-together monologues and forced expository characterizations rather than dialogue between real living people. Those monologues are quite good, but with art, context is often God, and this film just does not quite come together. Still, Casa is worth a watch, especially for anybody starved of drama during this summer season. ** 1/2
- 8/22 - Napoleon - Pure propaganda and patriotism, but my, Napoleon is such glorious, exciting propaganda! Abel Gance tore through this film with experiments galore, yet he not only seems to know how to push the envelope, but also when and to what effect. He straps cameramen onto horses, swings his cameras from pendulums, mounts cameras on the bellies of dancers, and basically sends the cinematic lens where nobody had sent it before. He even glues three screens together for some incredible vistas, and his editing is as fierce and kinetic (and more importantly, as effective) as Eisenstein's frenzied chopping and pasting. Without much effort, Napoleon stands out as one of the finest silent films ever. ****
- 8/24 - Haxan - Like Napoleon, Haxan also utilizes some extremely creative techniques, from stop-motion animation to primitive attempts at flying scenes. Sadly, Haxan lacks Napoleon's engaging narrative, and that's a fatal flaw. While it is fun to admire the leaps in film style here, it really is quite impossible to get too excited over them. On the positive side, the first devil to pop up is quite surprising, and the scene with the nuns going crazy is very (unintentionally?) funny. At least the Criterion DVD's print is amazing considering the film's age... ** 1/2
Man, I was going to see this film anyway, but now it will be the next film I see...and soon! Thanks for the great review!
Yes, I highly, highly recommend this film to anybody who doesn't cringe at the idea of a film with little action or few plot twists.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Wow, I'm glad you loved "Before Sunset" so much! I'm eager to see it, but do you think it will lessen the experience / spoil any parts of the first movie / otherwise generally be bad if I see "Before Sunset" before "Before Sunrise"? Just in case...
Well, I think the second film will obviously seem a bit richer if you have seen the first one, but no, I certainly do not think your situation will keep you from enjoying the film. You might want to check out a review of the first one just to know the playing field a little.
Yes, though, it will utter spoil what little plot the first one has, which really won't hurt too much at all. Neither of these films is really about plot.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
It's not really an issue anymore, but thanks for responding! :-)
Very cool...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Wow, I think you are the ONLY other person (besides me) here at Listology that didn't hate MI2! At least, if there's anyone else, I can't remember 'em.
Jim, that is because you and I are just too cool for school...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
People took their faces off in that movie one time too many for me (okay, maybe a few times too many).
Agreed. That would be that certain plot point I hammered above as lame. I guess for me, it boiled down to fun direction over script, and while that usually doesn't cut it, here Woo's hand was just crazy enough to make it work enough to enjoy. I can easily see where others found it too wanting on the other side of the scales. Even to these eyes, it is a pretty close call.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Yeah, but Woo loves that killer in you, killer in me stuff ("I am but a shadowy reflection of you. It would take only a nudge to make you like me. To push you out of the light"). He took this as far as manifestly possible in Face/Off, but the same (overblown, love 'em or hate 'em) themes and devices are here.
True, but this time around, he actually thinks he is fooling you with this trick when he obviously is not. Was anybody, even the most naive viewer in history, really fooled by the incident of this near the end? I think Woo thought we were, and that *really* kills that scene.
I certainly don't mind the device or theme (you're correct; Woo used both better in Face/Off), but he really bungled both here, IMHO...
Still, crazy fun...
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Excellent point. I now remember not being fooled, but I also remember not being bothered by that. The fact that the whole face thing is intentionally overt in Face/Off, but is *supposed* to be surprising in MI2 never occurred to me.
Oo, I'm enticed, I gotta see me some Napolean. There doesn't seem to be a DVD though. Fortunately, I'm a patient man (for some things).
I'm a bit more hesitant, as the movie is four hours long. My mere mortal attention span is never a match for lbangs's.