Filmyear 2009: 365 films in 365 days

Day 100

2009-04-10T07:56:00.001-07:00

And I'm very, very behind. I seem to recall that I got behind the last time I did this, but I'm not sure how practical it'll be to catch up. I still want to see a _lot_ more films this year, though, and this 365 challenge is a prompt, at least, to see more foreign films and documentaries. So I'd better stop with the BSG, and get back to screening films!

#54: Ratatouiile

2009-03-30T19:03:00.001-07:00

#53: Synecdoche, NY

2009-03-30T18:55:00.001-07:00

#52: Hello, Dolly

2009-03-30T18:54:00.000-07:00

yay for Wall-E reminding me of this great old musical!

#51: Outsourced (2006)

2009-03-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

When his department is outsourced to India, customer call center manager Todd Anderson (Josh Hamilton) heads to Mumbai to train his successor (Asif Basra). Amusing culture clashes soon ensue as Anderson tries to explain American business practices to the befuddled new employees -- and in the process learns some important lessons about globalization … and life. Director John Jeffcoat's delightful comedy also stars Ayesha Dharker and Matt Smith.

lovely. Recommended for an easy afternoon viewing.

#50: The Puffy Chair

2009-03-25T08:39:00.001-07:00

When Josh (Mark Duplass, whose brother Jay directs) finds the perfect birthday present for his father, he decides to deliver it in person. But with his high-maintenance girlfriend Emily (Kathryn Aselton) and granola brother Rhett (Rhett Wilkins) along for the ride, Josh's simple road trip turns into a much bigger journey than anyone anticipated. This indie romantic dramedy was an audience favorite at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.

#49: Superbad (2007)

2009-03-23T20:08:00.000-07:00

40-Year-Old Virgin veterans Judd Apatow and Seth Rogen team up again as producer and co-star/co-writer (respectively) of this high school comedy starring Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as best buddies facing separation anxiety as they prepare to go off to college. Attempting to score alcohol for a party (believing that the babes will follow), the boys' evening quickly dissolves into chaos. Bill Hader ("Saturday Night Live") co-stars.

#48: Goldfish Memory (2003)

2009-03-23T13:49:00.001-07:00

In this comedy set in contemporary Dublin, Clara (Fiona O'Shaughnessy) is stunned when she finds her boyfriend kissing someone else (Fiona Glascott), setting in motion a string of romantic mishaps for the heartbroken woman and several other lovelorn characters. Marriage, casual encounters and everything in between are explored by this group of relationship-challenged people who ultimately just want the same thing: someone to call their own.

I kept seeing this, but never picked it up. Mildly entertaining.

#47: Dead Like Me: Life After Death (2009)

2009-03-23T13:47:00.001-07:00

A new assignment hits home for grim reaper Georgia (Ellen Muth) when her latest reaping, Hudson Hart (Jordan Hudyma), turns out to be the secret love of her sister, Reggie (Britt McKillip). Meanwhile, Calvin Kane (Henry Ian Cusick) takes over as Head Reaper, but he's not highly regarded by his undead underlings Daisy (Sarah Wynter), Roxy (Jasmine Guy) and Mason (Callum Blue) in this feature follow-up to the short-lived Showtime cult hit.

enh - like a decent episode, really.

#46: Penelope (2006)

2009-03-23T09:38:00.000-07:00

Penelope Wilhern (Christina Ricci) is cursed, and the only way out of it is to fall in love with someone of suitable stock. But how can she possibly find her soul mate when she's sequestered inside her family's sprawling estate with only her parents (Catherine O'Hara and Richard E. Grant) to keep her company? Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon co-produced this unconventional fairy tale about a girl who bucks convention to make her own happy ending.

Kinda ok. Presumably set in England -- though accents were all over the place (I'm assuming they filmed in the UK, and just didn't bother establishing the location as a real place -- maybe for the fairy tale theme?)

Day 82 - Time for a Catch-up Week!

2009-03-23T07:52:00.001-07:00

I'm a little behind, as I expected would happen in February-March. Lots of driving, lots of prepping for class, and lots of writing for work. And the truly-free free time spent either dyeing, planning to dye, or spending time with my sweetie.

Lots of interesting looking things in the queue, though:
Elegy (Ben Kingsley)
Dead Like Me: Life After Death
Dear Zachary
Batman & Robin
Buena Vista Social Club
SLC Punks

But today: Penelope

#45: Happy Go Lucky

2009-03-23T07:46:00.001-07:00

#44: Rachel Getting Married

2009-03-14T14:28:00.000-07:00

When drama queen Kym (Anne Hathaway, in her first Oscar-nominated role), a former model who's been in and out of rehab for 10 years, returns to her parents' home just before the wedding of her sister, Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt), long-standing family conflicts begin to resurface. Directed by Jonathan Demme, this touching and humorous drama co-stars Debra Winger and was nominated for a Best Feature Independent Spirit Award, among others.

Debra Winger takes just one bite -- albeit a big one -- out of the scenery here. A lovely movie, really one of the best I've seen so far this year.

#43: What Just Happened (2008)

2009-03-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

Harried film producer Ben (Robert De Niro) juggles a lunatic director, a temperamental actor (Bruce Willis) and an out-of-control production while courting a studio head (Catherine Keener) and dealing with his ex-wife (Robin Wright Penn) in Barry Levinson's funny and poignant exploration of the movie business. The all-star comedy is based on the sharply observed novel by veteran Hollywood producer Art Linson.

#42: King Corn (2007)

2009-03-11T05:18:00.000-07:00

In Aaron Woolf's thought-provoking documentary, friends Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis move back to America's Corn Belt to plant an acre of the nation's most-grown and most-subsidized grain in an attempt to follow their crop into the U.S. food supply. What they discover about genetically modified seeds, powerful herbicides and the realities of modern farming calls into question government subsidies, our fast-food lifestyle and the quality of our food.

90 minutes

#41: Who's Camus Anyway?

2009-03-06T17:56:00.001-08:00

#40: Flash of Genius (2008)

2009-03-05T19:22:00.000-08:00

#39: Outing Riley

2009-03-04T18:40:00.000-08:00

#38: Bottle Shock

2009-02-13T20:25:00.000-08:00

France's position as the world's top wine producer was unchallenged until 1976, when the Montelena Winery put California wines permanently on the map. Director Randall Miller's film chronicles the heady early days of Napa Valley's rocket to success. Alan Rickman, Chris Pine, Eliza Dushku, Bill Pullman and Freddy Rodriguez star in this tale of dreamers who dared to challenge the establishment.

Though I wanted to love this film, all I can muster is appreciation that I read the book, and disappointment that the film didn't fully respect it. Just go read the book (Judgment of Paris): it's more educational and entertaining.

#37: The Order of Myths

2009-02-10T18:21:00.001-08:00

Dating back to the 1700s, Mobile, Alabama's Mardi Gras celebration is the oldest in the country -- and it's still going strong today. With the annual event as its focus, this documentary explores the city, its mystical societies and race relations. Tens of thousands of enthusiastic revelers descend upon downtown Mobile each year to take part in a variety of colorful parades, balls and festivities. Margaret Brown's work was nominated for Best Documentary for the Independent Spirit Awards.

I've really never been to the south, other than some very short work trips. But I am interested in learning more about the details of life in these old Southern cities. The film's opening tells us that Mobile had the country's first Mardi Gras, 15 years before New Orleans was founded as a city.

It's a city with roots, and plenty of issues. Not more than a few minutes in, it's clear that drawing a picture of White Mobile and Black Mobile is one of the themes here. And the deep, deep family histories associated with the history of Mobile. "My people were on her people's ship," one of the Mardi Gras queens tells us, referring to the white Mardi Gras committee's queen, whose family brought the last slave ship into the U.S., in Mobile. It's more than a little uncomfortable watching the lead-up to the festivities, with no prior understanding of this culture. Two parallel systems in place, but not equal by any stretch. Men in hoods and masks, girls dressed up like dolls. Uneasy detente.

#36: Slumdog Milionaire

2009-02-09T18:51:00.000-08:00

BRILLIANT.

#35: 2 Days in Paris (2007)

2009-02-03T19:23:00.000-08:00

34: Kinamand

2009-02-02T18:28:00.001-08:00

In this poignant Danish tale, hapless plumber Keld (Bjarne Henriksen) finds his world crumbling when his wife of 25 years (Charlotte Fich) walks out on him. The dejected Keld soon falls into a routine of eating at the neighborhood Chinese grill, where he befriends the owner -- who offers Keld a sizable sum to wed the restaurateur's sister (Vivian Wu) in a marriage of convenience. Will love bloom despite the language barrier and clash of cultures?

Sweet.

#33: Please Vote for Me

2009-02-01T17:38:00.000-08:00

Though China's government is Communist, the third grade election for the prestigious position of Class Monitor at the Evergreen Primary School in Wuhan is being decided by a democratic vote. In this enlightening documentary, filmmaker Weijun Chen captures all the action as the three candidates -- two boys and a girl -- go all out to win: performing in a talent show, debating each other and delivering speeches to their classmates.

WOW. This is a puppet show in so many ways, but it's still compelling. I don't believe children are pure as puppies, but they are highly suggestible -- and the combination of parental suggestion and pressure to excel, on the one hand, and what looks like sheer manipulation of elementary school cliques (by teachers, parents, filmmaker?), makes it difficult to tell what's really going on. What the kids say is certainly a reflection on their values -- the values of their parents. And it's interesting to listen in on that.

#32: Bigger, Stronger, Faster (2008)

2009-02-01T10:00:00.000-08:00

In sports, winning is everything, and the pressure to succeed can drive some athletes to start taking banned substances. Filmmaker Chris Bell points the camera at his brothers and himself, all users of steroids. By exploring the reasons behind and effects of steroid use within his family, Bell calls into question the win-at-all-cost attitude so prevalent within American society.

Interesting, really really interesting. Surprising. Though I shouldn't be surprised. Demonize the drug, make lots of after-school specials about it, ban the use of enhancements in professional sports -- all to keep the game smaller (to some degree). You can get strong without steroids; you just can't be the strongest, the biggest.

The aesthetic doesn't appeal to me, nor does the need to be bigger/stronger/faster; but clearly it appeals to a lot of other people. It seems like the behavior -- getting that big -- is what society objects to (at least at some level), and yet it's the drug that we focus on, just the drug. We want the biggest/strongest/fastest, but we want to make it fair, or not about who has the most money (?) Or maybe most guys don't really want to see guys who look like that playing our sports -- seeing their physique moves the upper bar, making us all feel further away from "best". People who don't take the drug, don't have the pressure chamber at home, they feel like they've been cheated, that there's a way around the rules that they didn't have access to. But it seems like everyone's looking to get to the best in pro sports, everyone's trying to get as close to the line as they can without having it ruled as cheating. We want it, but we say we don't -- hey, it really is the all-American drug! Let's put out a million messages and images in advertisements and other entertainment media that communicate just how great it is to be big and cut and unrealistically perfect -- but then demonize the supplements, the steroids, or else pathologize the body dysmorphia, the anorexia and bulimia. The comment about ours being the only country where direct advertisement to the public is allowed is a solid hit. We live in a terribly screwed-up culture.

#31: Strange Culture (2007)

2009-01-27T05:40:00.000-08:00

On the eve of his new exhibit, artist and professor Steve Kurtz was shocked by the news that his wife had died of heart failure. The medics on the scene became suspicious of Kurtz's artistic media, which includes genetically modified foods, and the FBI accused him of bioterrorism. This disquieting true story is brought to life by actors Tilda Swinton, Josh Kornbluth and Peter Coyote in Lynn Herschman Leeson's chilling dramatic documentary.

Chilling and terrifying and almost too much to watch and take in. The technique of reenacting some scenes in the documentary is interesting -- and works, completely. Interviews with the actors, film running while they talk about the real people they're playing, all contribute to the large mosaic they're building about the artist and this case.

As the opening line reads:

"Steve Kurtz is unable to comment on events that occurred immediately prior to his arrest. Actors have interpreted his story."

Hence the reenactions. Because he has a story, and has told it at various points (and others have pieces of the story to tell, as well), but while he can give interviews on events occurring after the arrest, he can't tell the substantive part of the story on camera.

This easily surpasses "Jesus Camp" as the most terrifying movie I've seen in the last year.

#30: Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day

2009-01-26T03:15:00.000-08:00

After losing yet another nanny position because of her gruff demeanor, Guinevere Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) mistakenly lands an assignment as the assistant of an American starlet (Amy Adams) and finds herself swept up in a dizzying world of glamour and high society. Based on the novel by Winifred Watson, this charming 1940s-era tale also stars Ciarán Hinds, Lee Pace, Shirley Henderson and Mark Strong.

Cute and fun.

#30/25

#29: Meet Bill (2007)

2009-01-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

Beleaguered bank employee Bill (Aaron Eckhart) has his hands full with his wife's (Elizabeth Banks) infidelity with a local television reporter (Timothy Olyphant), his oblivious father-in-law (Holmes Osborne) who runs the bank, and his own frustrated attempts to change careers in this screwball comedy. But when he's persuaded to mentor a teenager known as the Kid (Logan Lerman), things just might turn around for Bill. Jessica Alba co-stars.

#28: Red Without Blue (2007)

2009-01-19T17:59:00.001-08:00

This provocative and insightful film documents three years in the lives of identical twins Mark and Alex Farley as they come to terms not only with their homosexuality, but also with Alex's decision to physically change his gender. Haunted by a troubled past --including divorced parents, discrimination and a joint suicide attempt -- the brothers struggle to affirm their identity and learn what it means to be a family outside of traditional norms.

This is not a film about any of the subjects referenced above -- it's really a film about growing up and figuring out who you are, who you're supposed to be, and the journey of life. That the subjects are identical twins -- gay identical twins -- is just a detail that begins the story and breaks the ice.

It's a little bit of a jigsaw puzzle in terms of time, but it's not too distracting. Just don't expect to be able to get a timeline of the twins' relationship with each other or with their family.

#27: The King of Masks (1999)

2009-01-19T11:35:00.000-08:00

Nearing the end of his life, Wang -- a locally renowned street performer and wizard of the venerable art of mask magic -- yearns to pass on his technique. But custom prescribes that he can only hand down his craft to a male successor. Anxious to preserve his unique art, the heirless Wang buys an impoverished 8-year-old on the black market. When the child divulges a dreaded secret, Wang faces a choice between filial love and societal tradition.

Lovely and kinda plot-heavy, surprisingly. The summary above really only captures a piece of the film -- there are many little twists and turns, nearly all revolving around Wang's desire for a male heir to whom he can teach his art. So many things about these lives are hard: the selling of children, the lack of value placed on girl children, the need for a male to inherit knowledge and name, life on the street, infant/child mortality, et cetera.

A couple things that struck me while viewing:
There was something about the score and cinematography seem very melodramatically Western to me at moments, but that's likely an artifact of my own limited film knowledge. Is there a parallel with Sichuan opera? (which has a minor role in the film)

Calling the boy "doggie" was more than a little odd, though -- it would be interesting to hear from someone who can offer an alternate translation of the actual dialogue.

And hm... with King of Kong and King Corn, this is kind of a humorous run I'm having here (though I had to abandon King Corn for now due to audio problems). I wonder what else there is... the Last King of Scotland (which is already in the queue), the King of Comedy (haven't seen for a LONG time), the King of New York, King of California (Michael Douglas), and Ping-pongkingen (the King of Ping-Pong). The last is now at the top of my queue.

#26: Free Zone (2005)

2009-01-19T05:30:00.001-08:00

Hana Laszlo won a Cannes Best Actress award for her portrayal of Hanna, an Israeli taxi driver, in this drama. Headed to the Free Zone to collect money owed to her husband, Hanna picks up Rebecca (Natalie Portman), a frazzled American who begs to come along. But retrieving the money won't be easy; the two wind up on a strange journey with a Palestinian woman (Hiam Abbass) who reveals that Hanna's debtor has vanished, along with all of his loot.

Disappointing, but still interesting. The film feels long, as if this very long day in the film is compressed only slightly to bring the viewer along. The purpose and details of the journey are revealed over time, along with the situation of Rebecca, who is still not terribly clear to me by the end of the film. There's some superimposed footage at times, of things each woman was remembering. The technique was effective, and seemed to fit the rest of the mood of the film. And all the performances were understated but intense (these are three powerhouse actors), and the nuanced look at life in this tumultuous part of the world was interesting. But in the end, I'm not sure it's a satisfying way of telling a story.

#25: Sherrybaby

2009-01-18T19:30:00.000-08:00

Golden Globe-nominated Maggie Gyllenhaal stars in director Laurie Collyer's feature film debut about a young woman's struggle for normalcy. After being released from prison, Sherry Swanson (Gyllenhaal) returns to the realities of life, visiting with her parole officer, finding a job and being a mother to her 5-year-old daughter. But complications arise when Swanson learns that in her absence her brother and his wife have become surrogate parents.

With the always-excellent Maggie Gyllenhaal, it's hard to go wrong -- but the writing is also fantastic and detailed, but not sentimental.

25/18 -- yes, time is catching up to me.

#24: Conversations With Other Women

2009-01-18T19:02:00.000-08:00

Conversations with Other Women

Sparks fly at a wedding reception when a man (Aaron Eckhart) and a woman (Helena Bonham Carter) with a mysterious past are reunited in this bittersweet tale inventively shot in split screen. The complex layers of their past relationship are slowly revealed as the pair rekindles their flirtation. One thing leads to another and the old flames leave the party for a private hotel room, but passion gives way to regret when the champagne wears off.

Another split screen film, though I really didn't mind it. It's largely used as a device to allow flashbacks, but it's also a welcome relief from the intensity of shooting in one room (mostly), with only two people (mostly), just doing a lot of talking. More unusual, I thought, was the casting of Aaron Eckhart as a lawyer with a terminal case of nostalgia. I'm used to seeing him as the King of Asses (and a mighty king he is).

Though it's structurally similar, this is a much more engaging piece (imho) than Yes, and definitely more grown-up than Before Sunrise/Sunset (the non-Fiddler kind).

84 minutes, and not too long at all.

#23: Jesus Camp

2009-01-15T20:28:00.000-08:00

This riveting Oscar-nominated documentary offers an unfiltered look at a revivalist subculture where devout Christian youngsters are being primed to deliver the fundamentalist community's religious and political messages. Building an evangelical army of tomorrow, the Kids on Fire summer camp in Devil's Lake, N.D., is dedicated to deepening the preteens' spirituality and sowing the seeds of political activism as they're exhorted to "take back America for Christ."

Astounding, and terrifying.

Just a couple thoughts at the moment:

I suppose the filmmakers found it necessary to situate this in a particular time, but given the fall of Haggard and a variety of other events leading up to the recent election, the appointment of Justice Alito hardly seems like a pivotal moment in recent history. Still, it's a reminder to viewers that this is a pre-Obama film, if that makes a difference.

I'd love to believe that most of these kids will grow up and have children and live and work in the town where they grew up and won't bleed their hate out onto the world around them any more their parents did. But who knows -- the leader of the camp sees this as the tip of the iceberg. God help us all.

#22: Paper Clips

2009-01-12T20:40:00.000-08:00

Whitwell Middle School in rural Tennessee is the setting for this documentary about an extraordinary experiment in Holocaust education. Struggling to grasp the concept of 6 million Holocaust victims, the students decide to collect 6 million paper clips to better understand the enormity of the calamity. The film details how the students met Holocaust survivors from around the world and how the experience transformed them and their community.

#21: Following Sean

2009-01-11T15:18:00.000-08:00

In 1969, writer-director Ralph Arlyck filmed an intimate conversation with 4-year-old Sean Farrell -- the son of free-spirited parents living in San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district -- who talked openly about smoking marijuana and walking among speed freaks. Revisiting his subject 30 years later, Arlyck finds a much-changed man with thoughtful reflections about his childhood, his parents and the contradictions of the 1960s.

Fantastic.

Progress

2009-01-11T07:55:00.000-08:00

End of month 1, so I suppose it's time to make a note on my progress so far. As I knew would happen, my large early lead slipped as the semester began, and I'm back to being basically just on target for the month now.

I don't know that I've seen anything really fantastic (shout to all my friends kind of fantastic) this month, but there were some that stayed with me a while. Most memorable this month: Jesus Camp, Wall-E, Anytown USA, The Bothersome Man, 4 Months...
The only thing I really disliked was Marilyn Hotchkiss School of Ballroom Dancing. Uck. And I really don't plan on seeing Benjamin Button.

Progress on some goals:

Film Movement: 6 (Arranged was particularly good)
Foreign: 9 (Men at Work, The Bothersome Man, and 4 months all very memorable)
Documentary: 15!! (I'm liking the political ones, as well as the other conspiracy-lite ones, like The Business of Being Born, and Strange Culture)

#20: The Forest For the Trees

2009-01-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

Naive educator Melanie Pröschle (Eva Lobau) leaves her small town behind to teach at an upscale metropolitan high school in this engrossing character study. Determined to make a good impression, the socially inept Melanie instead commits one faux pas after another -- unwittingly alienating nearly everyone she meets. As she struggles against a tide of loneliness, aloof colleagues and disorderly students, she slowly begins to melt down.

This film had good reviews by Netflix members, and I've rarely disliked a Film Movement title. But it was hard to get through -- partly just because of the way it was shot (on DV, in harsh lighting).

20/10

#19: The Business of Being Born

2009-01-10T06:16:00.001-08:00

Director Abby Epstein's controversial documentary takes a hard look at America's maternity care system, juxtaposing hospital deliveries against the growing popularity of at-home, natural childbirths that many expectant parents are now opting for. Former talk show host Ricki Lake was inspired to produce this compelling exposé after a dissatisfying birthing experience with her first child left her with many unanswered questions.

Informative, interesting, and important to see.

87 minutes.

19/10

#18: Brother Born Again (2001)

2009-01-09T20:07:00.001-08:00

Seeking to renew her relationship with her born-again Christian brother, documentary filmmaker Julia Pimsleur traveled to a remote Alaskan island, where brother Marc has lived for 10 years with his spiritual family. The resulting film captures Pimsleur -- a bisexual Jewish New Yorker -- as she searches for an understanding of her sibling's chosen life path, and in the process, delves into the definition of family and explores family dynamics.

Very nice. I so appreciated the tone of the film, and the patience and courage of everyone involved. In other hands, this could have been incredibly messy. It's clear that Pimsleur has great respect for ideas and people, for dialogue and intellectual sparring, but her affection for her brother is also clear. And his distance must be painful, and yet the film isn't about pain, it's about the quest to understand and find a new way to relate to each other.

A perfect way to end the evening.

18/9

#17: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)

2009-01-09T18:21:00.001-08:00

In the last days of communism in Romania, Gabita (Laura Vasiliu), a young college student, wants to end her unplanned pregnancy. With the help of her best friend, fellow student Otilia (Anamaria Marinca), she seeks an abortion, illegal under the oppressive Ceaucescu regime. Director Cristian Mungiu's searing portrait of life under dictatorship received a slew of film festival awards as well as a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film from the Golden Globes. 113 minutes.

Intense. ~~This'll take a few days to comment on.~~

By now, I'm sure most anyone reading this has heard about the lack of added sound on this film (Palme d'Or winner at the 2007 Cannes festival) -- no music, no effects, just dialogue and any additional sound the mics picked up. It makes for an intense experience, and one without the usual breaks to remind you that you're just a viewer, watching a film. It's bleak and hard and completely unsentimental. The hard work just of living, let alone the work to obtain an abortion (punishable as murder, if the pregnancy has progressed to 4 months) isn't a romantic sort of struggle, it's just a struggle.

#16: I Like Killing Flies

2009-01-09T11:48:00.000-08:00

Documentarian Matt Mahurin peers into Shopsin's, a hole-in-the-wall Greenwich Village restaurant that's been dutifully serving comfort food to satisfied customers for more than 30 years. Lording over the eatery is hilarious, ersatz philosopher/owner Kenny Shopsin, who caters to such regulars as writer Calvin Trillin. Shopsin dispenses tough love with his okra chowder and is just as likely to throw out customers as take their food orders.

A true New York poet-philosopher -- with an incredibly foul mouth. The film mostly gets a running narrative from Shopsin as his family and their East Village restaurant prepare to gut the place and set up shop in a new neighborhood further west in the Village. Leaving his place is clearly traumatic, for Shopsin and his customers, but the film is about this unique group of people and Shopsin's take on the world. He's crude and loud and doesn't suffer fools, but he still seems like a good guy -- and an honest one.

Words of Wisdom from Kenny:
- respect everyone, even people who don't deserve it, because you never know who's just temporarily undeserving. That's the mark of high civilization.
- don't be so nice. you shouldn't be nice to people.

fyi: The place moved again after this movie came out, to the Essex St. market just around the corner from Babeland.

#15: Dolls (2002)

2009-01-08T19:48:00.000-08:00

Director Takeshi Kitano demonstrates his masterful storytelling technique with this movie that interweaves three somber love stories featuring three star-struck protagonists. Young Matsumoto is chosen by his company's president as a fitting man to marry the president's daughter, but complications arise. An aging Yakuza boss keeps a date and takes a fateful chance. And pop idol Haruna Maraguchi realizes how deep fan obsession can become.

Lovely. The summary above doesn't really do it justice. The film is told as if it were a traditional puppet play brought to life (and begins/ends with the puppets themselves). The pace is slow, but it didn't bother me. Actually, slow isn't really accurate; there's a rhythm to the varying tempo, and it's easy to settle into it. I have a feeling it would have been a better experience in the theatre, though, or at least on DVD. I watched on Netflix' streaming service, and it has its limits (not to mention the limits of my 15" screen).

Definitely recommended.

Random thought alert:
I wonder how much of the filmgoing experience is dependent on (and how much the filmmaker relies on) shared culture? Presumably, my experience watching this is going to be very different from a Japanese viewer, and very different from a Norwegian viewer, etc. An American with knowledge of Japanese culture and film would bring even different things to the film, as well.

15/9

#14: Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing (2005)

2009-01-07T17:43:00.000-08:00

Buzz: "Writer-director Randall Miller's heart-achingly sweet drama finds at its soft center Frank Keane (Robert Carlyle), a baker deeply despondent over the death of his wife. Frank finds redemption and hope in tragedy after he helps a stranger (John Goodman) who's sidelined by a fatal accident. It appears the man was on his way to a fateful reunion, so Frank, sparked only by good intentions, decides to show up for the rendezvous in his place."

I don't know where this came from -- I'd never heard of it before, I don't remember putting it in my Netflix queue, and I don't know how it got to the top of the queue without my noticing. The cast list is leggy: Mary Steenburgen, Sonia Braga, Sean Astin, Marisa Tomei, Adam Arkin, David Paymer, and Donnie Wahlberg are all packed in there, and it's not really an ensemble piece. But that's not an upside -- they're mostly wasted.

The story is implausible, and even more implausibly told, but it's all just an excuse to get Carlyle's character into these social situations, and give us a chance to get to know him. I could forgive it that, if the story was more compelling, but it's just not. I can't say whether it failed more in plan or execution -- there are lots of movies that have fantastical plots, but work nevertheless because of something deeper. Not that I tend to like those movies, mind you. I still can't get anyone to explain to me why Forrest Gump was such an Academy favorite. Or Cast Away, for that matter.

Anyway, this isn't a winner. Steenburgen seems out of place, even if she is lovely to watch, but it's almost like she's in a different movie. Robert Carlyle is intriguing, but nothing else really supports him well enough, including the script. Yuk, overall.

104 minutes.

#13: Stone Reader (2002)

2009-01-05T16:41:00.000-08:00

Buzz: "Eighteen-year-old Mark buys a novel by a little-known author and starts reading it, but is unable to get through the whole thing. Twenty-five years later, Mark decides to give the book another try and finds the story absolutely spellbinding. When he tries to buy more copies of the book, he finds that it's out of print and no one seems to know where the author can be found, sending Mark on a yearlong search for the elusive writer."

129 minutes.

What a great little film... I wasn't sure at first if I was going to like this. But eventually I became almost as interested in finding this writer and listening to what he had to say as the filmmaker was -- he makes a compelling case for the book, but he also continues to press the idea of what a writer's career trajectory can and should look like, why someone might only write one novel, etc. The film drags at times, and there were definitely moments when I tuned out because someone was going on and on about a book I wasn't interested in, but it's a big long fan letter to writing and to great books, and I didn't mind that.

I read after watching that Ebert included this film in his Overlooked Film Festival, which is held here in Champaign-Urbana every spring, and that the author attended. I wonder what he was like, what kinds of stories locals could tell about meeting and talking with him. After seeing this film, I think he might even be more interesting to talk to than Sam Shepard (not that I'm a regular at Fat Jack's).

13/5

#12: The Tracey Fragments

2009-01-05T05:32:00.000-08:00

Buzz: "On a quest to locate her missing brother -- who believes he's a dog after she hypnotized him -- Tracey Berkowitz (Ellen Page) traverses a city full of hazards. Meanwhile, her neglectful parents make plans to send her to an equally dysfunctional therapist. Unhappy and insecure, Tracey consoles herself with rock 'n' roll fantasies about the new boy at school, Billy Zero, in this quirky indie drama."

Quirky doesn't even begin to describe it... but it was interesting. Crazy split-screen stuff makes it a little hard to get into, but eventually I settled in.

12/4

Random thoughts

2009-01-04T15:10:00.000-08:00

This is a project I really love, and am quite happy about getting back to -- watching movies, keeping count, tracking various categories, and then talking/writing about them and talking to other people about things I've enjoyed (or not).

I've always loved movies, and was fortunate to come of movie-viewing age at a time when home video was just emerging on the scene, and even the kids in the square states had access to art films. Growing up mostly in a mitten-shaped state was a little boring at times, and the only movies I ever saw were those that made it to my single-screen downtown Main theatre. And then along came home video, and Roger Ebert with his encyclopedia full of films and instructions on how to get even the hard-to-find titles shipped to my door (Home Film Festival and Facets Multimedia... I can hardly find much mention of the former online anymore)... I thought it couldn't possibly last, it was too good to be true. Fast-forward to today, when I can browse the catalog of any one of a number of movie services (Netflix, Blockbuster, iTunes, Amazon Unbox, Hulu... take your pick) and download or stream a film instantly to my computer, even in Starbucks while I'm working on class prep. Not that I do that, but I could. Or I can still run by Blockbuster on the way home if a title isn't available for download/streaming, or tell Netflix what I like and just let movies stack up in my mailbox. The last time I did this project, I had to bump up my Netflix program to 8 at-a-time, but that's not even necessary anymore, there are so many choices for screening. Fabulousness.

The hardest thing about watching so many movies isn't what you might think -- it's picking what to see. I try to go for the first title from the list that grabs me (favoring foreign and docs). And if I hit a stinker this time around, I'll probably turn it off and blog it briefly, but not count it. No sense wasting time if I'm not enjoying something. But I don't miss series television, or channel-surfing, or news on tv (all of which I had to pretty much abandon in order to commit to 365 films). Not at all. Though, ask me again once Lost starts up again...

#11: Through Deaf Eyes

2009-01-04T10:10:00.001-08:00

Buzz: "Emmy-winning actress Stockard Channing narrates this documentary that chronicles the history of deaf culture in America from the 19th century to the present day. Interviews with actress Marlee Matlin, community leaders and other deaf Americans provide an up-front and diverse perspective of this segment of society. Short films created by deaf artists are interspersed throughout the in-depth program."

Wow. Very interesting, compelling, informative. Love (10).

It raises a lot of interesting issues within the deaf community; a panoply of perspectives that the filmmaker doesn't try to synthesize, but rather presents as a very understandable and realistic picture of the diversity of views within the community. It's a diversity very similar (it seems to me) to the diversity of views within the gay community, which I understand fairly well.

But upon viewing this, I'm angry that I didn't learn some things earlier in life. I'm angry at the world for continuing to evaluate people against something called "normal;" angry at the medical profession for continuing to medicalize (and pathologize) difference; and I'm more than a little angry at myself, for taking so long to understand that the simple struggle to live in this world -- as a common characteristic -- is more important than all these labels that just tend to divide us. A label tends to imply so much difference, other-ness: we must fit into different boxes, live different lives, how could we possibly relate to each other? One man in the film notes that when communicating with hearing people, he takes time to adjust for lighting, ambient noise, and positioning in order to create better conditions for communication. But he's describing the logistics of communication, not the subject of their conversation. It makes sense to me now, but I don't think I really got it until recently. People connect on common interests, common (or opposing!) views about the world, shared recollections, etc., not about the features that the world uses to divide us up into categories. I don't communicate with a deaf person about being hearing or about deafness (beyond some preliminary questions, perhaps)... we have conversations about food, or shoes, or global politics, or knitting, or McDreamy or whatever.

The other point I'm glad the film makes is that deaf people don't generally see their lack of hearing as a disability -- they're *proud* to be deaf, and proud of the community that they're part of. Which makes all the sense in the world to me, as I don't want to wake up tomorrow morning and be heterosexual. Simple as that -- I like me, and I'm proud of who I am, and I shouldn't expect anyone else not to have that same pride.

11/4

p.s. I have no idea why I'm on an alliteration kick, but I promise to stop.

#10: DIY or Die

2009-01-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

Buzz: "This 60-minute documentary profiles a fascinating group of independent American artists working in various media -- including print, film, graphic art, performance art and music -- and explores their methods and motivations. Features interviews with Ian MacKaye (Fugazi), Jim Rose (Jim Rose Sideshow), Jim Thirwell (Foetus), Lydia Lunch, Mike Watt (Minutemen), Ron Asheton (Stooges), Madagin Shive (Bonfire Madagin) and many others."

10/4

#9: Wall-E

2009-01-03T21:22:00.000-08:00

Buzz: "In a futuristic world, human beings have destroyed Earth and evacuated the planet, leaving the cleanup to an army of robots they've programmed to do their dirty work. Due to a mishap, the dutiful WALL-E is the only one left. But with the arrival of a female probe named EVE, the monotony of WALL-E's existence is broken -- and he experiences love for the first time"

LOVED this movie. Loved. Yes, it had a couple capital-M Messages, other than the usual eat-your-veggies and respect-your-parents stuff, but that doesn't bother me any. It's a kids movie, right?

As always, with Pixar films, the animation was flawless (and impressive beyond belief -- no detail, no texture left unattended), and the story is plenty interesting to hold grown-ups' interest as well. It's not a happy cheery story (what with the post-apocalyptic theme), but it's told in a generous, faith-in-humanity sort of way that inexplicably inspires some hope for the future of the inhabitants of Wall-E's world.

Some fun little bits: I particularly loved the use of the film of "Hello, Dolly" throughout (presumably just one videotape that survived, and Wall-E found in his work?), as it's also a sweet, hopeful sort of story of venturing out into the bigger world to find love. Also loved the sort-of-inside Mac jokes, too: Wall-E's happy-sound upon full solar charge is the mac startup noise, and Otto's voice is very reminiscent of the Mac's speech voice.

9/3

#8: Mondovino (2005)

2009-01-03T17:01:00.000-08:00

Buzz: "An Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival, Jonathan Nossiter's documentary examines the politics of the global wine industry and pits big business against the little guy. Nossiter toured Europe, South America and the United States for interviews with consultants from multinational corporations, "peasant" owners of family-run wineries steeped in tradition, and a variety of industry experts including influential wine critic Robert Parker."

I would much rather have been watching Bottle Shock tonight, but it's not out on DVD yet, and I don't think it came anywhere near me in the theatre. Not that I go out to see movies much, but anyway.

I wasn't thrilled with this -- it came off like a confused POV piece, with barely a coherent point to make for the general anti-Mondavi sentiment. Lots of implications, but not a lot of information for viewers to draw their own conclusions. And terrible dizzying camera work that seemed more interested in pictures on the wall (or crotches -- what was with the constant pan across middles?) than on the subject being interviewed.

As a total novice when it comes to wine, I would have appreciated some additional information in the form of statistics or history (other than from the interview subjects). Particulary if the filmmaker had a point to make -- about Americanization of the wine industry, the power of Parker or Mondavi and their Wal-Mart-ization of the wine industry, or even the conspiracy of marketing and winemaking. But I'm not sure the filmmaker's point really was terribly coherent. And I'm relatively friendly to arguments about big producers or distributors homogenizing products and running roughshod over individualization and quality, but I do have my limits. Let's say Mondavi wines aren't as nuaunced as terroir-centered French wines. Well then, buyers should choose. If people are sheep, then the French need better marketing people. But I'm not sold on an argument about the evils of a mass-producer simply because their product isn't as good (because it never is). I mean, who cares if McDonald's hamburgers don't taste as good as the burgers at my local diner? I prefer something a little more complex, but why should I care that my neighbor likes them? I'm not sure who would enjoy this, other than those who share the filmmaker's general sentiment about the wine business, and are fairly well-informed about the various players. 135 minutes.

8/3

#7: Street Fight (2005)

2009-01-03T09:35:00.000-08:00

Buzz: "Raising hard questions about American politics, democracy and race, Marshall Curry's incisive Oscar-nominated documentary takes viewers behind the scenes of the Newark, N.J., cutthroat mayoral race in 2002. The candidates: young Ivy League upstart Cory Booker vs. incumbent Sharpe James, an old-timer who's not above employing questionable tactics to achieve victory. The gloves come off as the contenders lock horns in their battle to win voters."

Very, very compelling. Another film that speaks to the sheer audacity and hypocrisy of power. Booker's fight in the 2002 election was literally Sisyphean; it seems there's little chance for a new (and, admittedly outside) candidate to challenge the incumbent when the police are quashing dissent and removing campaign signs. But the struggle is necessary, even if the outcome is somewhat predictable.

7/3

#6: The Way I Spent the End of the World

2009-01-02T21:35:00.001-08:00

"In 1989 Romania, plucky 17-year-old Eva Matei comes of age as she schemes to escape the country's tyranny with help from her recalcitrant neighbor. Meanwhile, as her parents endure the brutal dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu, Eva's 7-year-old brother plots to kill the despot."

Films like this always make me feel very inadequate in my knowledge of political history, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Cute kid, taciturn teen, and lots of heart all around.

6/2

#5: The Bothersome Man (2006)

2009-01-02T09:08:00.000-08:00

The Buzz: "Mysteriously deposited in a perfectly serene but colorless city where every need is met, Andreas soon realizes that not even a new lover can change the sterile banality drowning him. Is this placid life a dream come true or an inescapable hell? Is the lovely music coming from a crack in the basement his ticket out?"

My take: Though the plot conjures up films like Being John Malkovich, Dark City, and The Forgotten, this one holds its own as a very, very dark comedy. The cinematography is gorgeous (though intentionally monochromatic through most of the film), and our guy is compelling -- though not entirely sympathetic, really. 91 minutes. Also from the Film Movement (screened via Netflix watch-instantly).

5/2

#4: Men at Work (2006)

2009-01-01T20:39:00.000-08:00

The Buzz: "An allegorical comedy, this Iranian film follows the strange quest of four old friends as they return from a ski trip. When Sahar, Mammad, Moshen, and Jalil spot a giant rock jutting from the edge of a cliff, they become obsessed with shoving over the boulder. Repeated failures only push them to succeed, and their absurd efforts with the phallic stone begin to reveal some deeper issues."

My take: Funny times 10. It's such a treat to find comedy like this -- no tricks, no falls, no jokes, just people being people. Once again, Film Movement does not disappoint. And, at 75 minutes, it makes a very easy latenight viewing.
4/1

#3: Arranged (2007)

2009-01-01T16:39:00.000-08:00

The Buzz: "When Rochel (Zoe Lister Jones) and Nasira (Francis Benhamou) -- an Orthodox Jew and a Muslim, respectively -- meet as new teachers at a Brooklyn school, co-workers and students expect friction. But the women discover they have a shared expectation of entering into arranged marriages. As they experience tension between their traditional cultures and life in contemporary America, Rochel and Nasira form a special bond."

My Reaction: It's really not as annoying as the description makes it out to be, but it's hard to recap without putting the labels out there. The film addresses the problem of labels and difference in several scenes, though, from a patronizing principal who actually tries to give the women money to get a makeover, to a "unity circle" activity one of the women leads in the classroom. There's one scene where the two women meet in the park, each with a couple of kids in tow. One young boy asks each person in turn, "Are you Jewish?", full of skepticism and certainty about this similarity/difference thing he's learned about, and the expectation of exclusion. It's partly a treatment of space for tradition in the modern world, and partly about individual people overcoming difference, and that's about it -- it's nice, heartwarming, and not too preachy. From Film Movement.

3/1

#2: Anytown, USA (2005)

2009-01-01T14:31:00.000-08:00

Buzz: Documentary on mayoral election in Bogota, New Jersey. Small town quirkiness meets messy local politics.

My Reaction: I didn't set out to watch a bunch of documentaries all in a row, but that's how it turned out -- last night, Out of the Past and The King of Kong (both watched before midnight and thus pre-2009), and then #1 and #2 today. Overall, I was entertained by this one, but I wouldn't stop by your office to tell you about it. There were plenty of interesting things about it: that the challenger (an independent, write-in candidate known as a local sports hero) and the incumbent are both blind, and the way that issue is addressed (or not) by various people in and out of the campaign; the obsession in a small town with high school sports, football in particular; and just the total lack of content in the campaigns -- it really is just a popularity contest, and none of the three are particularly popular. Watching reminded me of many of the same themes as King of Kong -- ego, power, obsession, and living just a little on the fringe. All of politics is local, but only because everything is local in a small town.

film 2 / day 1

#1: Into Great Silence (2005)

2009-01-01T14:17:00.000-08:00

Buzz: Documentary of life in an isolated monastery in northern France. Very very very long.

My reaction: The film is gorgeous, but it's painfully slow and intense, and tested the limits of my cinematic patience. It wasn't a great choice for a day cooped-up in the house with a cold -- I'm already too aware of the time passing, and keeping this up for more than 2 1/2 hours was nearly unbearable (though I did... mostly out of a sense of loyalty and first-day-motivation re: the project). Though I can appreciate the film, that appreciation ended about 40 minutes in. Not exactly an exciting start to the project.

film 1 / day 1

Pre-season practice viewing

2008-12-31T20:13:00.000-08:00

Watched two films tonight to pass some time stuck at home with the ick. Out of the Past (1998) and The King of Kong (2007), both decent documentaries, both on DVD from Netflix. Watching these on disc reminded me that extras like commentaries, subtitles and featurettes are still limited to the DVD itself, and not available on the various download/streaming services (Netflix watch-it-now, Amazon Unbox on the Tivo, and iTunes rental or purchase). I'd imagine these will be made available online at some point, but I don't think anyone currently offers anything beyond the title film. Perhaps one reason that Netflix retains your online queue after watching, so that users can easily return to the site and add a DVD to the shipping queue for those extra features.

365 in 2005

2008-12-31T07:55:00.000-08:00

FWIW, this is my list of films from 2005. My rules at the time allowed tv series (the whole series counted as one film); subtracting these, the total is 356. Lots of great films, lots of fluff, and a few total UGHs. If I can rustle up the short blog entries on each, I'll add them to this post.

356. Locked Up
355. Memoirs of a Geisha
354. Big Eden
353. Kitchen Stories
352. Donnie Darko
351. Modigliani
350. Girl Play
349. Ray
348. All the President's Men
347. Walk on Water
346. Melinda and Melinda
345. The Sexual Life
344. Four and a Half Women
343. The Man Who Came to Dinner
342. P.S. Your Cat is Dead
341. Pickpocket
340. Apres Vous
339. Slipstream
338. The Holy Girl
337. Chinatown
336. My Summer of Love
335. Testosterone
334. The Family Stone
333. Better Luck Tomorrow
332. Employee of the Month
331. Kandahar
Dreadful character development and delivery, but it's beautiful. I turned off the sound through much of it, just to see what the country was like.
330. Best Man
329. Super Size Me
328. Tell Them Who You Are
327. War of the Worlds
326. Ladies in Lavender
325. Best Boy
324. Beauty Shop
323. Spare Parts (Rezervni Deli)
322. Millions
321. Morvern Callar
320. America Brown
319. Duck Soup
318. Agata and the Storm
317. Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
316. Saving Face
A very endearing love story, set in the Chinese-American community in Flushing, NY. A young surgeon's mother shows up on her doorstep pregnant, while at the same time she's trying to work up the nerve to come clean about a new relationship with a ballerina. Much of the dialogue is in Chinese, subtitled.
315. Prozac Nation
An adaptation of Elizabeth Wurtzel's best-selling, much-translated confessional/memoir of the same title, starring Christina Ricci. Ricci is a little short and puffy for this role, but she does a decent job of being convincing most of the time. The one note she tends to miss is the bright light that Wurtzel really is (inside the chaos).
314. Spun
313. Frida
The Frida Kahlo biopic, starring Salma Hayek (with Mia Maestro and Alfred Molina). I wasn't terribly interested in the subject, but it was watchable.
312. Savages
A very unusual, and very strange and experimental first American release from Merchant-Ivory, set in a remote country villa where a group of savages enter and gradually take on the roles of the former inhabitants. More of an art film send-up than anything else, I think.
311. An Angel at My Table
Jane Campion's biopic on New Zealand poet Janet Frame. The film is long, and spends quite a bit of time in Frame's childhood, presumably to better set up her young adulthood. A combination of shyness, passivity and being a bit of a loner led to some horrible experiences of being institutionalized, but Frame eventually emerges as a widely-published and well-respected poet.
310. Smiling Fish & Goat on Fire
A so-so little romantic comedy about two brothers (starring two brothers) with remarkably different outlooks on life and love.The assorted supporting characters are great.
309. Vertigo
Alfred Hitchcock's portrait of obsession and spiraling out of control, with James Stewart and Kim Novak (and a very young Barbara Bel Geddes!).
308. Empire Falls
307. The Human Stain
November
306. High Fidelity
One of my very favorite movies for a rainy day, or packing/unpacking, wrapping presents, whatever. If I had been born a boy, I probably would have been the guy in the film -- the obsessive record collector, who returns to every past relationship with musical references, organizing the history of his life by the album that best represents it. It's also a great (and accessible) intro to some fabulous lesser-known bands.
305. Rent
I'm a big fan of the stage musical "Rent" -- that has to be said first. And I know many reviewers have commented on the degree to which Chris Columbus stayed true to that source material. I have to disagree -- everything that doesn't work well about this movie is due to divergence from the material. The stage version is done as a rock opera, with the dialogue sung rather than spoken. This keeps you plugged-in to the music, you never have that "oh, now they're going to sing about it" feeling like you get with many musicals. Columbus took much of that out, and it really screws up the pacing. But everyone can sing, and the "new" cast members (Rosario Dawson and Tracie Thoms) are fantastic.
304. Annie Hall
303. Oasis
Korean film about two outcasts (a young man who has just been released from prison, and probably is mildly retarded; and a girl with cerebral palsy who has been left by her family in a nearly-abandoned apartment building) who fall in love. I'll confess, I couldn't watch more than 20 minutes of it -- it's just too difficult.
302. Tying the Knot
301. In My Country
300. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
299. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
298. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
297. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
296. Brother to Brother
The L Word: Season 2
295. Mostly Martha | November 18, 2005
294. A Shock to the System | November 18, 2005
293. Seven and a Match | November 17, 2005
292. Lordz of Dogtown | November 17, 2005
291. Happy Endings | November 16, 2005
290. House of D | November 14, 2005
289. Mind Hunters | November 13, 2005
288. Producing Adults | November 13, 2005
287. Crash | November 13, 2005"
Why do we all behave the way we do? You could say it's about what we believe (true or false), or about how we hate or love, but I think it's about control. We talk about situations being "out of control," as if our having control of people and situations were the normal state. White LAPD officers rachet up their power over a situation in order to assure that they maintain control, gangbangers go to threats of violence to assure that they maintain control, and white women walk the other way when they see black youths in order to assure that they maintain control. I don't know what the implications are, what we're supposed to do about it, but a film like this certainly gets you thinking about the world.
286. American Chai | November 13, 2005
285. Final Cut | November 12, 2005
284. Turtles Can Fly | November 12, 2005
283. Yes | November 11, 2005
No. Or not quite, at least. If you could turn off the dialogue, or replace it with nearly anything else, it could be great. But most of the dialogue between Joan Allen and her lover come across too much like poetry, and it's not helpful.
282. The Brown Bunny | November 10, 2005
I know there are some great reviews of this movie out there, but I don't see it. It's a study of one sad guy's journey back to the woman he loves (in a frightened, jealous, dominating sort of way). Oh, and it's apparently also a study of his big tool.
281. Palindromes | November 9, 2005
I watch this because I need to know what new crap Todd Solondz is up to. Maybe someday I'll get why he makes the films he does, but most of the time I think he's just going for thrill value.
280. Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical | November 8, 2005
279. David Searching | November 8, 2005
Random gay guy / fag hag flick #42. But, starring Anthony Rapp and Camryn Manheim (and Steven Spinella, and Kathleen Chalfant), so you'd think it wouldn't be awful. But you'd be wrong. I can't completely hold their bad locations against them, and there were some sweet moments, but it was pretty boring overall. And what's with the Walter Prior character? (Prior Walter being the role Stephen Spinell won a Tony for)
The Librarian: Quest For the Spear | November 7, 2005
278. Heights | November 7, 2005
A modern Altman-esque tale of entangled liaisons, ultimately at the expense of our observant heroine. I didn't dislike it, but I didn't love it. Though Rufus, yum.
277. Omagh | November 6, 2005
276. Harry + Max | November 6, 2005
275. Mystic River | November 5, 2005
With a stellar cast (Tim Robbins, Sean Penn, Laura Linney, Kevin Bacon), led by the brilliant Clint Eastwood, this movie could hardly do any wrong. But it's better that, turning what you think is going to be a murder mystery into a film about regret, family, power and revenge. It's an amazing film.
274. Layer Cake | November 5, 2005
A modern gangster/drug-runner movie told with a somewhat humorous tone. I could have used subtitles, since the dialogue is fast and the accents thick, and maybe I would have liked the film more if I had understood it all. It's just not my thing.
273. Born Into Brothels | November 5, 2005
A documentary not on the brothels in Calcutta, or even necessarily on how/why children come to live there, but on a photographer's struggle to help them get out. After spending a couple of years filming and photographing in some of the worst red light districts in Calcutta, Zana Briskie decides to start teaching the children about photography. She gives them cameras, holds critique sessions, lets them examine contact sheets to select from their photos, and somehow gives these kids something to believe in, other than their likely future as prostitutes. Her work to get them into schools is exhausting and mostly fruitless, but few may manage to escape.
272. Rock School | November 4, 2005
Real-life rock school founder Paul Green is crazy, but he's successful in getting a whole bunch of kids to learn to play serious rock music. The story is fairly flat, though -- it feels more like random cuts of film than a documentary.
271. Particles of Truth | November 4, 2005
270. Mysterious Skin | November 4, 2005
A Gregg Araki film about two boys molested by their baseball coach. Told in combination of extended exposition, present-day narrative, and quick flashbacks. I liked it, but it's hard to find words to critique or praise it. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is stunning.
269. Straight Jacket | November 3, 2005
October
268. Mercy | October 31, 2005
267. Nashville | October 31, 2005
266. The Weather Underground | October 30, 2005
265. Lisa Picard is Famous | October 30, 2005
Lisa Picard is a little psycho, a lot neurotic, and not at all famous. But she'd like to be, and seems clueless about just how long ago the famous train passed her by.
264. Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story | October 29, 2005
A documentary on fighter Emile Griffith, who (inadvertently?) killed opponent Benny Parets in the ring. I may have drifted in and out a bit, but I found the storytelling a bit flat. The interviews with Griffith and with Parets' son were great, as was the arranged meeting between the two in Central Park. It's an interesting look at New York City, as well.
263. Imaginary Heroes | October 29, 2005
This movie reminded me of so many others with similar themes (suburban angst and the tragedy of loss): The Ice Storm, Moonlight Mile, Wonder Boys. Golden boy son commits suicide, and younger brother is left with shattered glass for a family. Sigourney Weaver and some good writing keeps it from being ordinary.
262. Two Weeks Notice | October 28, 2005
261. A View From the Top | October 28, 2005
260. The Incredibles | October 24, 2005
259. Chicago | October 22, 2005
258. The Yards | October 22, 2005
257. Off the Lip | October 21, 2005
256. Mad Hot Ballroom | October 21, 2005
255. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants | October 20, 2005
254. Wilder Napalm | October 17, 2005
253. The Deviants | October 17, 2005
Low-budget sexy fun. The film makes one really common low-budget film mistake, though: acting as if everything that happens is the first time it's happened. Every conversation is the first time someone's asked the question.
252. Be Cool | October 16, 2005
251. Me and You and Everyone We Know | October 16, 2005
Miranda July is one of those people I always use to defend against in my head -- I couldn't understand why she had to be so odd, so off-kilter and goofy. I'm not sure why I cared, really. But I was intrigued by this film mostly because of those lingering puzzling thoughts. And I'm glad I saw it -- it's fantastic, and only slightly weird.
250. Elizabethtown | October 15, 2005
It's not about anything, really. There are a few really moving moments, but generally I didn't like this very much.
249. Kissed | October 11, 2005
An early Molly Parker film about death -- or, rather, about one woman's lifelong obsession with death. It plays most of the time like a dreamy macabre comedy, but works its way deeper as the film goes on. Also stars Peter Outerbridge, who shone as the MTF transsexual in 'Better than Chocolate'.
248. They Came Back | October 9, 2005
247. Look At Me | October 9, 2005
246. Lilies | October 8, 2005
245. Seven Girlfriends | October 8, 2005
244. Schultze Gets the Blues | October 8, 2005
243. Milwaukee, Minnesota | October 8, 2005
Really, really awful. Allison Folland is generally wo fabulous, but this was all kinds of raw. Troy Garity was relatively endearing, but the rest felt like a bad school play.
242. Sahara | October 7, 2005
241. Nobody Knows | October 2, 2005
It could have been called "Nobody noticed." Or "Nobody Cared." Four children left on their own by an unbelievably ditzy mom. The film is told in the children's world -- we don't really see what the adults see, or if they see; we don't really see how the money flows (or we do, but we don't understand the Japanese currency). An amazing piece. But it's very, very long and depressing as hell.
240. Kinsey | October 2, 2005
The film's a little crazy, but how else could you tell the story of Alfred Kinsey and his sex research? The light humor and glossy look, juxtaposed against Kinsey's dry examination of sex make for a result you can't help but take not quite seriously.
239. The Girl in the Cafe | October 1, 2005
Quite unexpectedly cute. Kelly MacDonald plays shy Scot Gina, who meets shy Brit Bill Nighy (who turns out to be a major player in the UK government), and things are nice, until they're not. It's ultimately about speaking out, and how one person can make a difference, but that part comes in a fairly propaganda-ridden package.
238. Winter Solstice | October 1, 2005
A little slow, but ok. Allison Janney brings a little sunshine into the home of a single dad. Making a film about people who move so slowly through life -- who don't have big revelations or heroic tasks to complete -- is a delicate business. Too much of a study of this sort and you end up with "A Taste of Cherry", which I couldn't even finish.
237. Childstar | October 1, 2005
Making kids act in films is bad. We make them into brats, idolized and hated and treated with kid gloves. But we knew that, and as much as I usually really love Don McKellar, I didn't think he had all that much to say in this film that was new.
236. Serenity | October 1, 2005
It's about belief -- it's what all the Joss stuff is about, I think. Not necessarily religion, or mystical forces, or good and evil, just belief in something. So the movie's about Mal and the crew of Serenity doing something because they believe in it, and are willing to die for it, not because of a paycheck. It was great -- lots of superfast action, some amazing movement from Summer Glau (who knew she was a ballerina ninja? who knew that was possible? Buffy on crack!), and all kinds of mind-fucking from Joss. That's why we love him. And curse his name sometimes. He does things he's not supposed to, and keeps us on our toes, but then doesn't get all satisfied with himself -- the movie doesn't ever take itself too seriously, and brings the funny just when it's needed.
September
235. Monster-in-law | September 28, 2005
234. The English Patient | September 25, 2005
233. Passion Fish | September 25, 2005
A difficult, gorgeous films by the incomparable John Sayles. I still don't understand how this man gets inside the minds of women, without making it a comment on women or some kind of tribute. He's a genius.
232. Undertow | September 24, 2005
Unbearably dull. I just can't manage to get interested in movies that watch people go on and on in a meaningless existence. There's enough of that in my own life, why would I want to take time out from that to watch something even more boring?
231. In and Out | September 24, 2005
I don't remember thinking about this before -- the film goes to an absurd side of comedy a little too often for me. The bad acting of Cameron, leaving the guy on the steps of the Supreme Court, Cameron stuffing Joan Cusack's face at the wedding. The heart is good, I think, but sometimes it's not where I would have put it.
230. Flightplan | September 24, 2005
I'm not a super-hard sell on thillers with a heart -- but somewhere in the third act, a gigantic hellmouth opened and unleashed plot implausibilities beyond belief, and it was just too annoying to be dealt wit.
229. I Love You, Don't Touch Me | September 23, 2005
Not a bad piece on dating and learning to deal with your stupid expectations.
228. Miami Blues | September 19, 2005
227. Waking the Dead | September 11, 2005
226. Happy Accidents | September 10, 2005
225. Just Visiting | September 10, 2005
224. The Hours | September 10, 2005
There are so many ways to interpret this film, I'd hardly know where to begin talking about it. But I really love it, agony and all.
223. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar | September 9, 2005
222. Smile | September 9, 2005
Terribly messy, but with a good heart, if not a bit sweet. If you put aside the myriad implausibilities, and cliches galore, and make it through the first interminable hour, the story of a girl volunteering for an Operation Smile-like project in China may resonate nicely
221. The Center of the World | September 6, 2005
220. Dancing at the Blue Iguana | September 6, 2005
219. Only You | September 5, 2005
218. Alexander | September 1, 2005
Way too bloody for my tastes, but the jumping back and forth in time was an interesting way to tell the story -- the idea that you have to have context before you introduce an epic hero.
August
217. The Stepford Wives | August 31, 2005
Not as awful as I'd been led to believe. Though with a Paul Rudnick script, it should have been wittier, sharper. The look was dead-on, and there were lots of great beats, but the story really sagged in the third act. They didn't do horror -- not really -- and the comedy didn't work completely without something more edgy.
216. D.E.B.S. | August 31, 2005
215. Mean Creek | August 30, 2005
214. My Son the Fanatic | August 30, 2005
A bit of a twist on the typical immigrant story, with parent immersed in the modern evil world, and child reaching for the old ways. Om Puri may not be the typical male romantic lead, but he's great here, with Rachel Griffiths opposite.
213. Touch of Pink | August 30, 2005
v. cute story of boys in London, and one boy's out-of-loop mom in Canada. And Kyle MacLachlan appears as the spirit of Cary Grant, which is interesting. It's a device to get us to understand why and to what extent the boy holds onto childhood, but mostly it's great comedy.
212. The Ballad of Jack and Rose | August 29, 2005
Though it might be impossible to put this group of actors together and not have a great film, I still have to give Rebecca Miller credit for an amazing narrative.
211. Bedrooms and Hallways | August 29, 2005
210. A Lot Like Love | August 28, 2005
209. This So-Called Disaster | August 26, 2005
208. Angela's Ashes | August 25, 2005
207. L.A. Confidential | August 25, 2005
206. The Cider House Rules | August 24, 2005
205. The Deep End of the Ocean | August 23, 2005
204. Joan of Arc | August 23, 2005
203. Off the Map | August 23, 2005
202. The Upside of Anger | August 22, 2005
201. Sin City | August 21, 2005
200. Mi Familia | August 21, 2005
199. Catch Me If You Can | August 20, 2005
198. Tokyo Story | August 19, 2005
197. Chasing Liberty | August 18, 2005
196. How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days | August 18, 2005
195. Bride and Prejudice | August 17, 2005
194. The Wedding Date | August 16, 2005
193. Ice Princess | August 16, 2005
192. Rick | August 16, 2005
Dead Like Me, Season 2 | August 14, 2005
191. Along Came Polly | August 10, 2005
190. Uptown Girls | August 9, 2005
189. Everyday People | August 6, 2005
188. The Laramie Project | August 4, 2005
187. Million Dollar Baby | August 4, 2005
186. Admissions | August 4, 2005
185. The Insider | August 2, 2005
July
184. Must Love Dogs | July 31, 2005
183. Casa de los Babys | July 30, 2005
182. Broken Hearts Club | July 30, 2005
181. Latter Days | July 29, 2005
180. The Island | July 28, 2005
179. Big Fat Liar | July 26, 2005
178. The Last Seduction | July 24, 2005
177. You'll Get Over It | July 23, 2005
176. The Girl From Monday | July 23, 2005
175. Vera Drake | July 23, 2005
Carnivale, Season 1 | July 20, 2005
174. Carrington | July 13, 2005
173. A Simple Plan | July 12, 2005
172. Easy | July 9, 2005
171. Living Out Loud | July 9, 2005
170. The Terminal | July 8, 2005
169. Close to Leo | July 7, 2005
168. Bride and Prejudice | July 6, 2005
167. Hotel Rwanda | July 6, 2005
166. Finding Neverland | July 4, 2005
165. Hitch | July 3, 2005
164. The Importance of Being Earnest | July 3, 2005
163. Better Than Chocolate | July 2, 2005
June
162. Logan's Run | June 30, 2005
161. The Jacket | June 28, 2005
160. Hedwig and the Angry Inch | June 26, 2005
159. Maybe Baby | June 23, 2005
158. 2046 | June 22, 2005
157. Imitation of Life | June 20, 2005
156. Saved! | June 20, 2005
155. In the Mood for Love | June 19, 2005
154. Wimbledon | June 19, 2005
153. Lost in Translation | June 18, 2005
152. Three Kings | June 18, 2005
151. The Ideal Husband | June 17, 2005
150. Saving Face | June 17, 2005
149. P.S. | June 16, 2005
Trevor | June 16, 2005
148. Cowboys and Angels | June 15, 2005
147. Master and Commander | June 14, 2005
146. Antares | June 13, 2005
145. Let the Church Say Amen | June 13, 2005
144. In Good Company | June 12, 2005
143. Intentions | June 12, 2005
142. The Corporation | June 11, 2005
141. Mr. and Mrs. Smith | June 11, 2005
140. The Cell | June 11, 2005
139. Pollock | June 10, 2005
138. Cold Mountain | June 8, 2005
137. Prick Up Your Ears | June 7, 2005
136. The Woodsman | June 6, 2005
135. The 24th Day | June 6, 2005
134. The Matchmaker | June 3, 2005
133. The Event | June 3, 2005
132. Bobby Jones, Stroke of Genius | June 2, 2005
131. Primer | June 2, 2005
May
Six Feet Under, Season 3 | May 30, 2005
130. Birth | May 28, 2005
129. Eulogy | May 28, 2005
128. Closer | May 28, 2005
127. Monsiur Ibrahim | May 27, 2005
126. Gone, But Not Forgotten | May 26, 2005
125. Robot Stories | May 25, 2005
124. Intermission | May 24, 2005
123. The Maltese Falcon | May 23, 2005
122. The Color of Paradise | May 22, 2005
121. East is East | May 21, 2005
120. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou | May 19, 2005
119. Enduring Love | May 19, 2005
118. Primer | May 19, 2005
117. Bread and Tulips | May 18, 2005
116. Noi the Albino | May 14, 2005
115. Invinvible | May 14, 2005
114. The Son | May 13, 2005
113. Sideways | May 12, 2005
112. A Beautiful Mind | May 6, 2005
111. Earth | May 7, 2005
110. Elling | April 30, 2005
109. Y Tu Mama Tambien | May 1, 2005
April
108. Come Undone | April 16, 2005
107. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) | April 15, 2005
106. Km. 0 | April 15, 2005
105. Rosenstrasse | April 12, 2005
104. Secret Things | April 11, 2005
103. Butterfly (La Lengua de la Mariposas) | April 11, 2005
102. Billy Elliot | April 10, 2005
101. Eat Drink Man Woman | April 10, 2005
100. My Own Private Idaho | April 9, 2005
99. The Cooler | April 2, 2005
98. The Color of Pomegranates | April 2, 2005
97. Lawrence of Arabia | April 2, 2005
96. Under the Tuscan Sun | April 2, 2005
95. Maria Full of Grace | April 1, 2005
March
94. Manito | March 31, 2005
93. Witnesses | March 28, 2005
92. He Died With a Felafel In His Hand | March 27, 2005
91. Falling Angels | March 27, 2005
90. The Quiet American | March 26, 2005
89. Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous | March 26, 2005
This was a random Netflix pick -- a title I'd never heard of, with a great cast and a story that sounded interesting enough for me to pick it up. I don't know how it did at the box office, but I'm probably way out of its demographic anyway. It comes off a bit like a novel that didn't quite get properly adapted for the screen (or a novel that was really a self-help book), but it's not awful. And little Jordan Mosely, the one obviously talented kid in Bravo's "Showbiz moms and dads" apparently won the part she had been auditioning for near the end of the series -- in this film. The film alternates between three stories: the present, with Michelle in prison talking with the preacher; the past, with Michelle's mother willfully ignoring the fact that her boyfriend was molesting her daughter; and the recent past, with Michelle recently paroled from a drug violation, trying to make a clean start at a three-day church revival. The film plays like a mystery, but there's not much to be solved, other than what's going to happen next.
88. Woman Thou Art Loosed | March 26, 2005
87. Not One Less | March 25, 2005
86. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason | March 25, 2005
85. The Incredibles | March 24, 2005
84. Buddy | March 23, 2005
83. Wolves in the Snow | March 21, 2005
82. Alexandra's Project | March 21, 2005
81. Wilby Wonderful | March 20, 2005
80. Word Wars | March 19, 2005
79. Almost Famous | March 19, 2005
78. Things I Never Told You | March 19, 2005
77. The Business of Fancydancing | March 18, 2005
In my 365-films-in-365-days year, it wouldn't have been right not to see this film. A documentary about a group of people who see a lot of movies. A LOT of movies. These are people who see 1,000 movies a year, not 365. None hold a regular job (though one does have something part-time, the others are on disability or living off an inheritance), and all are very, very quirky. Growing up in the theatre, I met more than my fair midwestern share of characters like this, and I have mostly really warm feelings about them. Here are people whose questionable mental health might just as easily have landed them on the streets muttering things, rather than in the movie theatres muttering things. And other than the occasional violent outbursts (most notably from the oldest of the group, the only woman), these folks seem pretty harmless.
76. Cinemania | March 18, 2005
75. Man of the Yaar | March 16, 2005
74. Raja | March 14, 2005
73. Elizabeth | March 13, 2005
72. Baadasssss | March 13, 2005
71. American Splendor | March 12, 2005
70. Owning Mahowny | March 12, 2005
69. George Washington | March 12, 2005
68. I Heart Huckabees | March 11, 2005
67. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring | March 10, 2005
66. The Middle of the World | March 9, 2005
65. The Rage in Placid Lake | March 9, 2005
64. THX1138 | March 8, 2005
63. Carol's Journey | March 8, 2005
62. Kill Bill, volume 2 | March 7, 2005
61. Kill Bill, volume 1 | March 7, 2005
60. Gun-Shy | March 6, 2005
59. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind | March 5, 2005
58. The Aviator | March 5, 2005
57. Constantine | March 5, 2005
56. The Party's Over | March 3, 2005
55. Yossi and Jagger | March 3, 2005
54. The Weight of Water | March 2, 2005
February
53. The Whole Wide World | Feb. 28, 2005
52. Cavedweller | Feb. 27, 2005
51. Waking Life | Feb. 26, 2005
50. Bark | Feb. 25, 2005
49. A Taste of Cherry | Feb. 22, 2005
48. OT: Our Town | Feb. 21, 2005
47. Morlang | Feb. 21, 2005
46. Ginger and Cinnamon | Feb. 20, 2005
45. The Republic of Love | Feb. 20, 2005
44. Minority Report | Feb. 19, 2005
43. Sunset Boulevard | Feb. 19, 2005
42. The Dish | Feb. 19, 2005
41. Hollywood Ending | Feb. 19, 2005
40. We Don't Live Here Anymore | Feb. 18, 2005
39. Down to the Bone | Feb. 16, 2005
38. Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself | Feb. 16, 2005
37. One Hour Photo | Feb. 14, 2005
36. Marion Bridge | Feb. 13, 2005
35. Long Life, Prosperity and Happiness | Feb. 13, 2005
34. Napoleon Dynamite | Feb. 12, 2005
33. Dandelion | Feb. 12, 2005
32. Finding Nemo | Feb. 12, 2005
31. The Company | Feb. 12, 2005
30. The Healer | Feb. 11, 2005
29. Amy | Feb. 10, 2005
28. Mean Girls | Feb. 10, 2005
27. Big Eden | Feb. 10, 2005
26. The Station Agent | Feb. 9, 2005
25. In America | Feb. 7, 2005
24. Japanese Story | Feb. 6, 2005
23. Virgin | Feb. 6, 2005
22. Bagdad Cafe | Feb. 5, 2005
January
21. Equilibrium | Saturday, Feb. 5, 2005
20. The Dreamlife of Angels | Jan. 24, 2005
19. Full Frontal | Sunday, Jan. 23, 2005
18. The Forgotten | Sunday, Jan. 23, 2005
17. Punch-Drunk Love | Sunday, Jan. 23, 2005
Significant Others (tv series)
16. Broadway Damage | Saturday, Jan. 22?
15. Dogville | Monday, Jan. 17, 2005
14. Silver City | Monday, Jan. 17, 2005
13. Angels in America | Weekend of Jan. 15, 2005
12. AKA | Saturday, Jan. 15, 2005
11. I've Heard the Mermaids Singing | Friday, Jan. 14, 2005
10. Ma Vie en Rose | Friday, Jan. 14, 2005
9. The Village | Friday, Jan. 14, 2005
I didn't go into this expecting much -- the fact that I continued to work on a crafts/organization project throughout is one sign of how seriously I didn't take this viewing -- but that made for a good start. Anyone who's seen much Twilight Zone or Star Trek (TNG, in particular), or read much of the Asimov sci-fi or spec-fi genre will guess the "secret" fairly early on. I pooh-poohed that when I heard someone say something to that effect after the release, but now I totally agree. But that's ok, really -- like the Sixth Sense, it's not a deal-breaker. But the problem is, so much of the wonder and tone of the movie is wrapped up in the facade, the truth, and the delayed revelation (to characters and audience) that there's not a lot of room for development after that -- and THAT'S what would have been interesting. The best part of the TNG episode where Picard lives another life in a day (the flute one... don't ask me the name of the ep) is the point where you see him deal with the huge weight of all this, and know the effect it will have for years to come. The Village would have been so much more interesting if there was at least some contemplation of how this life was to continue -- would the secret die with the elders? Would Ivy tell Lucius (who, curious as he is, might decide to leave)? This has been a short-term experiment -- so how did they get to have such a large population? All these things are important because the central story just isn't compelling enough. Oh. and Bryce Howard? Luminous, and just wicked scary talented.
8. The Five Obstructions | Saturday, Jan. 8, 2005
7. Born Rich | Saturday, Jan. 8, 2005
6. Love Actually | Sunday, Jan. 2, 2005
5. Lemonysnicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events | Sunday, Jan. 2, 2005
4. Abcd | Sunday, Jan. 2, 2005
3. Let it Snow | Sunday, Jan. 2, 2005
2. Code 46 | Saturday, Jan. 1, 2005
1. Garden State | Saturday, Jan. 1, 2005

Creating a wishlist

2008-12-30T20:06:00.001-08:00

There are a number of films I'd like to be sure and watch this year, beginning with most of the Film Movement's catalog. They've been in business for 6 full years, so that's 72 films (though I've seen about 22 of them).

I'd also like to be sure and see more classics, like Casablanca, On the Waterfront, All About Eve, and Midnight Cowboy. I don't know how I've missed them, but I'd like to fix that this year.

Though it's not one of the rules, I think I'd have to have a pretty good reason for including a film that I've seen before. Re-watching old favorites can be a lazy choice sometimes, and that's not what this project is about.

Any recommendations?

Prepping

2008-12-30T19:55:00.001-08:00

I've decided to repeat a film viewing challenge in 2009: watch 365 films. The challenge carries a number of rules to keep things interesting (though nothing in the Dogme range):

Only feature-length films count. No television series or shorts count as part of the 365 (though I may blog about them as extras).
Films may be screened in a theatre, on a television or computer, as live broadcast or on cable, via download, streaming or DVD.
Films must be screened in the state in which they were released for theatrical or DVD distribution, however; no scrubbed-for-tv versions may count.
At least 20% of the year's list must come from countries outside North America.
At least 8% of the year's list must be documentaries.
Films may only be counted once within the year (no repeat viewings).
Blog every film!