Best Film Ever Made???
Citizen Kane is supposedly the greatest film ever made. More people are probably aware of this fact than have actually sat down to watch it. My dad is one of those people who likes to watch a good movie. Mention No Country for Old Men or The Straight Story and he'll start chatting excitedly about why he loves those films. He decided to sit down and watch Citizen Kane and it didn't really do anything for him. Some might say that my father is too dense and unsophisticated to appreciate Orson Welles' masterpiece. Although there could be some truth to that, since there is a certain scientific approach to cinematography, editing, and acting that tend to make a good film, I don't think that's necessarily the case.
I think that the real reason my father couldn't get into the whole experience has to do with the elusiveness of the things that emotionally move us as individuals. Films tell their stories viscerally. The camera allows us to see and hear what the characters see and hear. Good books can accomplish this as well, but the nature of a movie lends it a greater amount of momentum to the whole experience. You can put a book down, it's harder to stop a movie because you get so caught up in the whole experience.
Film Review: The Hurt Locker
The Hurt Locker is a war movie, but not in the same way that Saving Private Ryan is a war movie. This film has an episodic structure rather than a large overarching plot, which places the emphasis on character. This is a very good thing. This isn't to say that you won't be left gripping your seat, because you will. The moments of heart stopping tension just pass by more quickly and come more frequently than in your typical war thriller drama.
The film follows a squad of soldiers in Iraq who are in charge of eliminating ordinances (explosives) by carefully diffusing them or bluntly blowing them up. The job is dangerous and survival isn't guaranteed. The film isn't afraid to make examples of some of its characters to prove this point.
Staff Seargent Williams (played by Jeremy Renner) is a fearless tech team leader, who's approach to eliminating bombs is unorthodox and reckless to say the least. Although Williams' character comprises the focus of the film, he comes onto the scene later after the viewer has been acquainted with the secondary characters first. This is a smart move on the filmmaker's part because it demonstrates to the audience the senselessness of the man's actions in comparison to those of his predecessor.
Williams could have easily been portrayed as a two dimensional superhero who's courage and skill allow him to do no wrong. Thankfully, both the script and Renner's solid performance prevent this from being the case. The Staff Sergeant makes mistakes, lots of mistakes. Even when he emerges from a situation victorious or alive, you can't help but wonder if his actions were the best way to go about things. At times we get glimpses into a deeply buried emotional core. Behind his cocky exterior is a man who feels fear and uncertainty.
The supporting cast puts in excellent performances as well. There's a good amount of chemistry that establishes a believable love/hate relationship between the team members and Williams. It is through them that the audience is able to relate to the often times alien Staff Sergent.
The cinematography is well done. As this is a war movie, a good portion of it is shot using hand held cameras. Still, there are some beautifully shot gratuitous slow motion explosions peppered throughout the film.
This had a limited release, so it can be hard or near impossible to find showings. Check local art house cinemas or wait for this to show up on DVD. This is an excellent and thought provoking piece that should be seen.
Film Review: Rachel Getting Married
In a recent interview concerning his upcoming documentary (Meeting Andrei Tarkovsky), Dmitry Trakovsky (not related) talks about the difference in approaches between contemporary films and the films of Tarkovsky. One of the most defining characteristic of a Tarkovsky film is its use of extended shots, which places an emphasis on the moment. In his interview Dmitry speaks of how he feels that many of today's contemporary films force the viewer to only be concerned with what happens next.
While Rachel Getting Married does not come close to approaching the look and feel of a Tarkovsky film, it does frequently possess a delightful sense of being in the moment. It is within these seemingly organic slivers of time that the wide range of human emotion is portrayed in a disarmingly authentic manner. Grief, anger, jealousy, joy, and love make their presence felt within the context of the celebration of a marriage and all without the taint of manipulation. Several times throughout the film I couldn't help but wince or crack a smile as I recognized parallels between my own loved ones and the characters on the screen.
Movie Review: Patton
I saw this based on the recommendation of my favorite movie critic, James Berardinelli, over at his reelviews site. This is listed as his number one favorite film. Since he and I have similar tastes, I thought I'd give the film a chance. The film was well received when it came out. It won seven Academy Awards in 1970, including best picture.
While I can perhaps understand why the film is so well loved by people like Berardinelli, I feel that the film's flaws ultimately mar the viewing experience from being either entertaining or intellectually stimulating. This film has not aged well.
George C. Scott does a fine job as the general, but his performance is weighed down by self-conscious dialog. Rather than organic, the dialog feels sterile and contrived. Much of the time it was obvious that the purpose of much of the dialog was to put in a humorous quip attributed to the famous general, rather than to reach any sort of understanding of the man's complex character.
Because of this general feeling of separation between the film and its subject matter, very little sympathy is generated for the General and his problems. This shouldn't be the case in a dramatic biopic such as this.
Despite the problems of the film, it does succeed in several instances. The opening sequence, where Patton gives his speech before a giant star spangled banner is perhaps one of the most iconic images in American film (not to mention having been parodied a countless number of times). The scene in the medical tent where Patton slaps a scared soldier senseless was also well done in that it helped to show a perspective of the event not often shared by history books or the public.
Patton isn't a bad movie, it's just not a great one. Certainly if you have an interest in the general then this film may interest you, but I'd be hard pressed to recommend it to anyone else.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L9FMBbFJZY]
The Bag Chase
This is a film I did Junior year of high school. My dad's been hounding me to get him a copy of it, so here it is. I really enjoyed making it.
Bringing Up Baby Review
"Bringing Up Baby" is a screwball comedy that features Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. Screwball comedies thrive on situational and physical comedy, a quality which has endeared me to the genre since I first came into contact with it. Mistaken identities, ridiculous chase scenes, and outrageous characters are all a staple.
That's no less the case here. Cary Grant plays a timid and nerdy scientist, David, who has spent the last four years working on the reconstruction of a brontosaurus skeleton and is engaged to his co-worker (who views their future marriage as an extension of David's committment to his work).
Katherine Hepburn plays an eccentric woman, Susan, who always seems to mistake other people's things for her own. She and Grant meet in a hilarious manner on a golf course and soon enough they're both entangled in a situation with a tame leapord named "baby". This all leads to a highly entertaining and ridiculous moment in the city jail that involves a hilarious exchange of misinformation.
Grant does a good job of playing the straightman. Hepburn however, steals the show. She expertly deals out fast paced dialogue and double entendre's with a crazy sense of charm that seems uncharacteristic of other more glamerous roles I've seen her in.
Despite the skill displayed by the actors the romantic ending seems far too contrived. In the superior, "It Happened One Night", sexual tension was a major underlying factor in much of the conflict. That's not the case in "Baby". Rather, David spends most of the picture irritated and annoyed with Susan, which causes his declarations of love at the end of the picture to seem tacked on rather than a natural result of the preceding events. Indeed I feel that the film would have been stronger had it ended with Susan's infatuation being unreciprocated.
Despite this major fault in the picture, it's still well worth seeing just for Hepburn's performance and the great use of situational and physical comedy. Just don't expect it to stick.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5Q17fepYdU&feature=related]
Rebecca
I just finished watching Alfred Hitchcock's film, Rebecca. It was a great film. I was somewhat skeptical at the beginning as it seemed to be your typical romance movie with all the cheese that entails. However the movie soon moved past this toward more meaty dramatic material that seemed to me like watching a trainwreck and a 40 car pile up all thrown together into a big pot with just a dash of intrigue thrown in for flavor.
In typical Hitchcockian fashion, curve balls are constantly being thrown at the viewer. Just as soon as I thought I knew what was going on, another factor came into play. It was a positively satisfying experience.
There's some great thought provoking stuff in there about the fallacy of comparing ourselves to others and how we're decieved by social displays of happiness in others. Go check it out.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3TgoekMV5Y]
Analyzing Beauty and the Beast
This past Sunday I was eating lunch with some friends from church and the topic of Disney movies came up. I think it branched off from your typical gender superiority discussion (you know, who's the better sex). Anyways, the conversation inevitably ended up with three women trying to psychoanalyze Disney movies. They talked about the tendency for Disney protagonists to have no mother. Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Snow White, Cinderalla, Lilo, etc.
Some Movies You may Have Missed
The Academy Awards were this past Sunday. I never watch the proceedings. I find the broadcasts long and boring. However, as a cinephile (lover of movies) I am fairly interested in what films win the awards.
I wasn't surprised that Heath Ledger won his posthumous award, though I feel like the award would have been better spent on boosting the ego of someone who's still alive. I didn't think his performance was all that special (I also felt like the Dark Knight was a mediocre film that didn't surpass Batman Begins). I feel like if he hadn't kicked the bucket the award would have gone to Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who's always a favorite.
Slumdog Millionaire raked in the most awards. It was an excellent film (that's totally undeserving of it's R rating). It's plot made a lot of references to Bollywood films, which probably went over the heads of American audiences. Still, if you're interested in a good love story where the "nice guy" gets the girl then I highly suggest seeing it.
I was really disappointed to see that Happy-Go-Lucky didn't get more recognition. The protagonist is a woman who is very upbeat (to the point of annoyance for some viewers). The film follows her through fairly normal days in her life as she interacts with the people around her. The film has a lot to say about living with fear. Fear of relationships, fear of criticism, fear of the future, fear of financial security. The foil to the protagonist is a driving instructor who is afraid of everything. You can see how this festers up in him, the driving force behind his anger at the universe.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdjb98LOuEw]
Bigger Stronger Faster is an excellent documentary that takes a good hard look at steroid use in the United States. It's very even handed about the issue, showing some of the moral issues with the drugs while also dispelling a lot of the negative stigma that has grown around it. Towards the end of the film it begins to pull out and look at how much medicated self improvement has become an ingrained part of our culture. Kids take ADHD medicine to gain an edge in education, U.S. pilots take speed, tons of people take anti-depressants.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D8nOKJTL6Tg]
Also, check out Appaloosa. Usually when a Western comes out now it's at least interesting if not good. I liked this a lot better than 3:10 to Yuma. The gunfights are intense but quick, rather than drawn out like in a spaghetti western. The two protagonists aren't morally perfect, but they are interesting studies in commitment and trust between comrades. It's a good movie, go rent it.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h57n6R9pbU0]