Derailed

I wasn't expecting much...mainly a chance to watch Clive Owen for 2 hours. That's absolutely worth the price of a lame movie. But something weird happened. My lame movie that started out feeling like a Harrison Ford reject, turned out to be a very entertaining thriller. Clive was great to watch as always (really enjoyed watching this uber-man play a wimp who has to find his inner uber-man) and Jennifer Aniston was charming and fun. The further she gets away from that annoying tv show she was on, the more talented she appears. A great supporting cast with the always fun RZA and the intense Xzibit. It takes place in Chicago and would have loved to have seen more of the city. The film also has some rather funny moments for a story that is pretty dark.
Favorite moment: Clive trying to hide a car.
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The Libertine

Stunning. Probably one of the best crafted films I’ve seen in years. Like Rob Roy I loved this film for its backdrop of political and social themes in the age of Enlightenment. But it’s more than just that. What other film in recent memory opens with a compelling monologue which not only introduces the upcoming drama but also uses a theatrical device in a film which is as much about the mystery of the theatre as it is about the Earl of Rochester. Johnny Depp, Samantha Morton and John Malkovich are amazing in the leads and the supporting cast is terrific. The lighting is striking especially the use of candlelight. For me a milestone in filmmaking in an age of empty blockbusters.
Favorite moment: Rochester’s first entrance into the theatre and the revolving camera capturing all.
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Lady In the Water

Oh no! Or as some of my friends might say.. it's about time! I've finally fallen out of movie-love with M. Night. My expectations of this film set me up for a fall, it's true. But his lack of storytelling sealed the deal. I had tons of fun trying to figure out what the possible Twlight Zone twist would be...it's Little Red Riding Hood updated, it's a mass of traditional fairy tales descending on an apartment complex to be played out, the Lady is really evil and she tricks the tenants into helping her spread evil. Oh the possibilities! I saw the film opening night because I didn't want the ending to be spoiled for me but truth is seeing the film spoiled it for me. I was bored and then annoyed at some of the nonsense in this film, and at other points embarassed that I was watching great actors do stupid things. The film is exactly what it appears to be in the trailer, about a lady in the water who is stalked by a wolf like creature and is saved by a maintenance man. Except that what you don't see in the trailer are all the lame plot points he makes up to explain the story. M. Night uses repeated, and really not worth repeating, images from "Signs" (laying on of hands, cradling a dying loved one, a family man who has lost members of his family brutally) and "The Village" (creatures made of straw like material). See Brotherhood of the Wolf for the obvious inspitation for this. BTW "Brotherhood" is a much more scary and entertaining film about a community under siege by the unknown. And what's up with people in LITW spending an awful lot of screen time sitting on the floor without the director making the perspective intriguing... it was just annoying!
Favorite moment: Bob Balaban's face as he stares at a newly introduced female tenant. Is it horror or lust? Only he knows!
Least favorite moment: It's a tie between the only child in the film seriously interpreting the mystical messages on cereal boxes or the three giant straw monkey beasts beating up the wolf straw beast. Even my love of B movies could not justify this!
65

The Edge of the World

I heard Thelma Schoonmaker on Fresh Air recently speaking about her late husband Michael Powell and the influence he had on Scorsese. I knew and loved the work of two of these people so I had to check out the third. I ordered up a copy of one of Powell’s early films called "The Edge of the World". Really loved seeing this work and the place/time it captured Fictionally it takes place among a Scottish island community which is coming to its end. The film is harrowing and heartwarming. Powell took his cast and crew to a real Scottish island and he captures the essence of that hard life but even more captures the responsibilities individuals have in a community. The images are wonderful in black and white. The DVD includes a color film Powell made in 1978 in which he and some cast and crew return to the island.
Favorite moment: Putting Grandma out on the lawn to hear the church service below.
64

A Scanner Darkly

Not sure how I really feel about this film… well I guess ambivalent is how I feel. Not bad, not great, not boring, not interesting. The animation form of the film definitely works considering one needed a sense of reality and the ability to produce hallucinations but it lacked an impact for me. Cronenberg in Naked Lunch pulled off the reality/hallucination scenario very well with real actors and lots of goo. The performances in Scanner are interesting especially Robert Downey Jr. Don’t know the source material so have no gripe with the interpretation.
Favorite moment: Bruce in the field.
63

Rana's Wedding

Film three in the Palestinian Film Festival. Story is a little flimsy but it is basically a device to get us driving and walking around Jerusalem and Ramallah. It takes us on a journey of what Palestinians deal with on a daily basis just trying to get through the day. At least according to one filmmaker's point of view. Reminded me very much of Wim Wenders’ “Lisbon Story” which takes the viewer on a journey around Lisbon as our protagonist searches for a friend. Film as travel device.
Favorite moment: The opening sequence where Rana’s family pictures tell her life story.
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Intimacy

Holy crap this film is explicit. It is raw physically and emotionally, and it is good. But very uncomfortable at times to watch. First because of its very explicitness and then in the second half because of the raw emotion and dialogue. Superb cast with an astonishing Mark Rylance in the lead, Kerry Fox as his Wednesday visitor and Timothy Spall as the cuckolded cabbie. It’s based on a story or stories by Hanif Kureishi and directed by Patrice Chereau who has made a living as an opera director among other works. Almost feels like a stage work transferred to the screen but it works.
Favorite moment: Jay and Claire accidentally swap the lead when stalking each other.
61

Cinderella Man

I had no plans to see this film…. I couldn’t stand “A Beautiful Mind” and basically thought Ron Howard had peaked with "Apollo 13." Then I saw an interview with Howard and he was so thoughtful about the Depression backdrop of the film that I thought why not give it a chance… and then a friend who hates period pieces and films with costumes said he loved it. Loved it? How’s that possible? So I finally took the plunge and yes the film is great. Russell Crowe immediately stands out. He became this guy physically and it is astonishing. The drama plays out at a nice pace (with a few story flaws that are forgivable) and the boxing is riveting. Renee Z is solid even when she squishes her face up. The strength of the film comes from Crowe both in front of and behind the camera. He nursed the script for years and brought it to Howard. I’d love to see what Crowe would do with a dramatic feature in the director’s chair some day
Favorite moment: Jim telling his son they would never abandon him.
60

My Beautiful Laundrette

Early Stephen Frears, Hanif Kureishi and Daniel Day-Lewis. A classic in some ways but not in the timeless sense. Really love the humanity of Frears’ films but parts of this one seemed stilted and forced. I had trouble following the motivations of major characters but at the same time just enjoyed the ride. I am probably just too far away from that period of time in that country. Loved the twist of the immigrants taking advantage of Thatcher’s Britain to rise in the system. Preferred Kureishi’s “My Son the Fanatic.”
Favorite moment: Selling drugs in the nightclub.
59

History of Violence

Great! Never heard of the comic it’s based on and don’t care. Cronenberg has crafted an entertaining fantasy drama about identity and violence. Viggo Mortenson and Maria Bello are great as the happy son to be unhappy couple. Ed Harris and William Hurt are scary and fun as the mean guys. Cronenberg has an awesome talent for quiet dramatic moments buried in gorefest. Very effective score. So nice to have a mature score that adds to the drama and feels natural for the film.
Favorite moment: Richie fumbling for his keys to get back in the house.
58

Superman Returns

Ugh! Empty and unmemorable. Even Kevin Spacey is wasted as the editor keeps chopping his scene-chewing in half.
Favorite moment: The poster - it is more compelling than anything in the movie.
57

Private

So I decided I would do a Palestinian Film Festival after seeing "Paradise Now." I found this film about a Palestinian family under siege as imagined by an Italian documentary filmmaker. It is “based on true events” but I have no idea the extent of the facts. This film is compelling and terrifying. A Muslim family lives half way between an Israeli settlement and a Palestinian settlement. The husband refuses to leave in despite threats from Israeli soldiers. He is a pacifist through and through. His home is invaded and occupied by Israeli soldiers and he and his family confined to one room at night and free to live their normal life during the day. Whether it’s a recounting of facts or a parable it’s effective cinema. Though I did find the device used to show what was happening upstairs with the soldiers a bit unfeasible.... but it's just a movie after all!
Favorite moment: Mohammad reading with his youngest daughter.
56

Paradise Now

Awesome! Not fully realized and feels weak near the end, but I loved this film. Like a few before it (The Fast Runner and The Color of Paradise) it showed me a local view of a place in the world I am basically ignorant of. I might read the NY Times everyday but I know jack shit about what life is really like in the rest of the world. Yes I know this is a movie not a documentary but it’s filmed on the ground in Nablus, Nazareth and Tel Aviv. Writer/director by Hany Abu-Assad takes us to the physical and emotional places where desperation is part of daily life and where insane choices seem palatable.
Favorite moment: Said visits Suha to give her car keys back and ends up discussing movies.
55

Scarface (1983)

No I had never seen this. I finally bowed to peer pressure as this film seems to come up a lot at work. Thank God I did! This film is great and is nothing like the over the top splatter film I had come to imagine from the tidbits I had seen and heard over the past 20 years. De Palma crafted a great homage to the original while creating a new original character. Loved Al as Tony. Now I gotta see the original! Speaking of original, here's hoping the original De Palma makes his way back to crafting some solid films.
Favorite moment: Rebenga’s death scene early in the film.
54

25th Hour

I’ve waited three years to see this film. Being the first post 9/11 film actually shot in NYC I was hesitant to re-live the feel of the streets back then. But Spike Lee takes 9/11 and makes it a character as he shoots on the streets and over Ground Zero. He plays with the whole city landscape and reaffirms what is timeless of NYC: the melting pot, the ethnic conflicts, the greed, the lust, the race to success and the skyline in one form or another. The book actually pre-dates 9/11 but Spike does NYC zeitgeist like no one else so of course 9/11 would have to appear somewhere in his body of work. The film is solid, the cast is great and it’s awesome to have an opportunity to see a grown up drama not riddled by car chases or other Hollywood excess usually added to entertain the masses. Spike rules!
Favorite Scene: Outside the night club Monty talking his way in… one of the best lit shots I’ve ever seen.
53

New York Doll

Wow, wow, wow! I am so happy to have seen this film before I die. Someone at work recommended this (can’t remember who!) and it is by far one of the top films I have seen so far in this project. I knew next to nothing about the New York Dolls before watching this but this turned out to be a compelling heartwarming/heartbreaking story for me nonetheless. Thanks to Morrissey for making this guy’s dream come true and thanks to the filmmakers for telling his story!
Favorite moment: Arthur riding the bus back in LA after the concert.
52

Final Cut

This is an interesting film that is nowhere near fully realized. I liked the idea of a film made by friends who play themselves but not themselves at the same time. But the story is so ugly and twisted it overshadows everything else. See at your own risk.
Favorite moment: Not sure if there is one... this is one ugly film.
51

Brassed Off

It’s English so chances are I’d like it, and I did. This is a very sweet film whose back drop mixes brass bands and coal mining. Something apparently not unheard of in the UK. Ewan McGregor is great as usual but a standout is Stephen Tompkinson as the family minded miner whose family is falling apart. This subplot provides the highs and lows of what happens to a community under severe economic duress. The music is very, very good and never feels like an artificial gimmick.
Favorite moment: Basically Pete Postlethwaite shepherding his band through tough times.
50

The Producers (1968)

A classic of course, but I had not realized how much more risqué this original is. The musical version has a more dreamlike and quaint feel. The musical doesn’t feel as sordid especially when it comes to the idea of this scumbag seducing hundreds of little old ladies. In the musical it’s funny and makes for a cute dance number, in the original it is funny but sick. This one takes place in the real deal 1968 NYC streets and it’s cool to see the city as it was then. Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder are great together. The idea is absurd and hilarious and the “Springtime of Hitler “ musical number is eternally funny. Thanks Mel!
Favorite moment: "Springtime for Hitler" of course!
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