Films Viewed (September 2011)

Attack the Block was a rollicking good time, a perfect film to close out the summer. A rag-tag band of British public housing toughs contend with an alien invasion. Well executed and an eerie echo of what happened in England this summer.

Cluny Brown was a return to more classic Charles theater revival fare. The films remains unavailable on DVD and was Ernst Lubitsch's last completed film. In pre-World War II London, a plumber's niece falls for a Czech refugee. Smart, sophisticated, and tonally askew. Jennifer Jones gives a memorable performance, her odd energy quite modern for a film released in 1946.

Rango was an odd duck plucked from the Netflix queue. An example of the kind of film I used to see in the movie theater when I went to the movie theater more often. Johnny Depp voices a chameleon who goes on an epic journey through the desert. As the wiki page says, a "computer-animated Western comedy-drama film." A visually stunning, smartly crafted crowdpleaser.

I was warned away from Cedar Rapids during its local bow, but I still found value in it. I think you have to have spent a lot of time around Midwest corny earnestness to really enjoy this film. A small town insurance agent loses his naivete in the big bad city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa during an insurance convention. A strong ensemble keeps the film afloat. No masterpiece, but I did not find great fault with it.

Elevator to the Gallows was another classic finally checked off the list thanks to the Charles theater revival series. Moody and prone to almost improvisatory excursions, I found the film to be live up to its reputation. A contract killer gets stuck in an elevator following a job, but there is much more to the story. The Miles Davis score is also notable.

Good ol' Starship Troopers capped off the month thanks to the Gunky's Basement crew.. The debate continues over the film, but I continue to find it a dark satire on the dangers of Fascism (a good article on this is here).

Key
The Charles
The Rotunda
The Senator
The Landmark Harbor East
Suburban Multiplex
Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD
(Please note: Whenever possible, all releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)
Total: 6 features (4 in theaters)

Films Viewed (August 2011)

Cowboys & Aliens employed an ampersand in its title. I saw it with my father. We both agreed it was "all right."

"Proud Flesh" was a short film made by two experimental filmmakers and musicians (Chiara Giovando and Jenny Graf Sheppard) which featured several of my friends as actors. A Western of sorts. I was happy to have an opportunity to see it so many years after its completion, as it has not been commercially released and was only screened locally a few times. A trailer can be seen here.

Beginners was a bit too precious for its own good at times, but had a compelling, (based on a true) story at its core. A man discovers his father is gay after the death of his mother, continues to have problems emotionally. It was a pleasure as always to watch Melanie Laurent and Christopher Plummer on the screen. I enjoyed director Mike Mills' art films, and have watched his progression into more mainstream fare with interest. Netflix confuses him with the bass player for REM, but that is not him.

Jaws remains a good time at the movies. Having seen it so many times as to have borderline memorized it, one is allowed to notice smaller details, especially when a 35mm restored print is on the big screen. The film also marked a welcome return to the Charles theater revival series, which will continue into the fall (for details, go here).

Tabloid was a lesser Erol Morris documentary, but still told a bizarre and compelling story comptently. A beautiful but unstable woman falls instantly in love with a young Mormon man. Things get decidedly complicated (and tabloid-worthy) from there.

Crazy, Stupid, Love. has title-punctuation problems but was otherwise a sharper variety of romantic comedy from an indie directing team. Of all the rom-coms this summer, I chose this one. Great cast and pleasingly complicated. The ending was improbable, but I must forgive it that flaw.

During a trip to Chicago, I saw The Future. Here, it is clear that is a movie. Miranda July manages to stay true to the vision and voice of her debut film, but takes things in a much darker and despairing direction. A couple in their mid-thirties realizes that they are in their mid-thirties. Let us just say, in some ways, the film was a direct hit on the creeping dread of someone born in 1976. Should be playing at the Charles theater in the coming weeks.

The Man Who Fell to Earth was another Roeg to check off the list, and was not the space fantasy I expected. Far from Ziggy Stardust: The Movie, what transpired on screen was much more realistic and cynical. A perfect snapshot of mid-seventies rock star excess and post-Watergate cynicism/paranoia.

As Hurricane Irene approached, I spent a weekend watching various Netfilx items of interest. First up, Jim Jarmusch's break-out film Stranger than Paradise, which reminded me of the attitude and interests of the art and music underground denizens I encountered in the 1980's, when I was just getting started out trying to be cool. Two NYC toughs go on the make with a newly-arrived Hungarian woman. Gritty yet mannered, cool to the touch and deadpan, the film marks the beginning of the Jarmusch style, which I have greatly admired for some time.

Pale Flower popped on and off the Netflix Instant as the storm raged outside. A tough-as-nails Japanese Noir from a director I have yet to explore. A hardened killer recently released from prison meets a highborn lady looking for excitement in the gambling dens of early 1960s Tokyo, and the two begin a run through the urban jungle. Guess how it turns out? Not too well.

Bananas is an early Woody Allen film. Things are schticky and Mad magazine anarchic as Woody's protagonist gets mixed up in the politics of a Latin American country. Fun, diverting, and about to expire on the Netflix Instant queue, so why not?

Trash was also about to expire in more ways than one. A junkie hustler wanders through the New York City of the 1970s and becomes involved in various capers and misadventures. Andy Warhol "produced", Paul Morrissey directed. So trashy and insane and non-acted it became somewhat compelling. Here is an article about other underground films that have been streaming on Netflix Instant.

Something Wild was a successful 1980s re-invention of the romantic comedy road movie from director Jonathan Demme. Three actors (Jeff Daniels, Melanie Griffith, Ray Liotta) are so on-point and in their moment it is astounding to watch. A professional man is "kidnapped" by a wild woman who asks him to pretend to be her husband. A joyride that soon spins out of control. Blink and you will miss a cameo by Baltimore's own John Waters.

Key
The Charles
The Rotunda
The Senator
The Landmark Harbor East
The Music Box Theater(Chicago)
Suburban Multiplex
Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD
(Please note: Whenever possible, all releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)
Total: 12 features, 1 short film (7 in theaters)

Films Viewed (July 2011)

Transformers: Dark of the Moon was an awful film.

Frownland was a paranoid, claustrophobic low budget nightmare of the highest order. It truly achieved something very sweaty, creepy, and mean. A loser continues losing both his mind and his ability to survive as he stumbles further and further down the rungs of New York City.

I became interested in Videocracy due to the recent Rupert Murdock mess. What has happened in Italy is truly frightening, a country ruled by a television/media cult of personality. The film itself was flawed and got going slowly, but improved over the course of its run-time.

Page One: Inside the New York Times, although not revelatory, was a diverting hour and half probing the seeming end times of the newspaper business. I particularly enjoyed/despaired over the coverage of the looting of the Tribune Company by Sam Zell and his cronies, which was the last nail in the coffin of my subscription to the Baltimore Sun.

Uncles Boonmee who can Recall his Past Lives popped up suddenly on Netflix Intstant, being available for streaming before it was released on DVD. Another intriguing meander through the filmed worlds of Apichatpong Weerasethakul. This was a film I was conflicted out of seeing at this year's Maryland Film Festival.

Captain America: The First Avenger won me over for being made "correctly" to someone whose sensibilities were formed as a child in the 1980s. Managed to covey a simple story well. Like with Pokemon, you gotta see'em all when it comes to the Marvel movies.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two was the end of a saga I began following with mild interest with the release of the first film. I'm such a dilettante that I skipped one of the films and only made it to the first Quidditch match in the first book. Others were clearly much more invested in the phenomenon. I just like watchin' a a good wizard movie, I guess.

Terri had a brief a six-day run at the Charles. A film that captured the sad awkward misery of middle school/ early high school perfectly. A young misfit passively rebels as his living situation deteriorates. Notable performance by John C. Reilly as a well-intentioned lunkhead of an assistant principal.

Rabbit Hole was a dark journey of grief and loss made somehow "safe for filmic consumption. All about moments of emotional acting. A couple approaches middle age and ponders the tragic accidental death of their young son. The Netflix envelope sat there by the television for a long while before my girlfriend and I were ready to plunge in.

Key
The Charles
The Rotunda
The Senator
The Landmark Harbor East
Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD
(Please note: Whenever possible, all releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)
Total: 9 features (5 in theaters)

Films Viewed (June 2011)

The Hangover, Part Two was the kind of film you watch and are saddened by due to its non-existent cast chemistry and high budget pointless seediness. Then you leave the theater and think "that was okay." I am pretty sure there was some sort of hypnotic suggestion in the last five minutes that made me think that. Of course, I bought the ticket, so I can't complain. another foray into "movies my students are going to see this summer" cinema.

X-Men: First Class was X-Men, Mad Men style! Diverting and unafraid to re-write comic book mythos to make for a better story, this prequel got in and did its job of selling popcorn well.

Who is Harry Nilsson (and why is Everybody Talkin' about him?) was a solid documentary about an artist to which I am underexposed. A bit too defensive of his obvious substance abuse issues, but otherwise engaging,

Biutiful was a huge downer, the first time I have seen Barcelona, Spain painted in such a harsh and ugly light. A man on the margins realizes he is dying, trying to finish up his life correctly. Innaritu needs to make a new sort of movie soon.

Super 8 was another slick summer popcorn-selling machine, this time humming along as a straight-up tribute to all things summer and Spielberg. Young people make a movie in 1979 as mysterious events unfold around them.Fleshed out correctly for maximum nostalgic impact with some solid performances.

Midnight in Paris is the highest grossing Woody Allen film of all time. A man falls in love with the Paris if the 1920s, gets a chance to go back in time to visit it. Found myself having many fond "English major" flashbacks as Owen Wilson's character converses with Hemingway, Fitzgerald, and the rest of the expatriate gang.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg has been on the list for a while, and I am glad to check out Cahterine Denuve being young and falling in love, especially in Jacques Demy's jarringly realistic 1960's French musical. From that part of the early summer when I harbored the illusion of spare time and restful evenings.

Submarine was rushed into theaters before people could think too much and would just go see it. On paper, it sounded good. A British "coming of age" film written and directed by a rising British comic writer and actor. In execution, things remained tonally off and minor key, the emphasis placed in the wrong places. Maybe next time around?

The Spirit of the Beehive was a last minute "Oh... rent two get one free?" choice at Video Americain. Very difficult to encapsulate. Stunningly beautiful and hypnotic. A young girl living at the dawn of Franco's reign in Spain is powerfully moved by an encounter with James Whale's Frankenstein. Very much a film from an imaginative child's perspective, if you can remember what is was like to be eight years old.

Warrendale was a Canadian verite documentary set in a school for emotionally disturbed children. Very powerful and very close to the bone. I watched it the morning my films were due back at the video store. Maybe not the best start to my day, but powerful regardless.

Overlord was an odd duck, sitting there about to expire on the Netflix Instant queue, so I went for it. An intermixing of archival footage and new material, both focusing on the movements of a British soldier in the second world war. Came off stuck between a conventional war film and art-house fare.

Quiet City was a happy surprise, showing up off of the Netflix queue due to some shuffling around. A boy and girl meet entirely randomly and accidentally and spend a weekend together. Held in place by the brave and open performance of the leads actors Erin Fisher and Chris Lankenau, Quiet City works wonders with very little. You can watch the entire film on Google Video right now.

Green Lantern 3D was the beginning of my stumbling through the summer movie season, the promise I made myself in May getting harder and harder to keep. Ryan Reynolds becomes a galactic guardian. This is a "B" movie dressed up in "A" special effects, which makes it less fun. I was raised on the fun of the Million Dollar Movie, and this movie cost three hundred million and managed to have half as much fun as the carpet barn monster

The Virgin Suicides was fun to revisit, remaining an auspicious directorial debut for Sophia Coppola. Grown men reminisce over a fabled and doomed group of sisters that lived next door, just out of reach. I think when I first saw it I didn't get the teenage awkwardness was intentional. I guess a decade of being around it has made me fluent in it.

Bad Teacher was a good premise executed too broadly, standing in a pale shadow to Bridesmaids in terms of summer comedy fare, but still passably funny. A very talented supporting cast definitely kept Cameron Diaz afloat. An aspiring gold-digger gets sidelined into another year of teaching and becomes caught up in a "race to the top" in terms of standardized test scores, all in the hopes of using her cash bonus to purchase breast implants.

Loulou has been floating around my VHS piles for some time. A woman gives up her bourgeoisie existence to pursue a life on the run with charming thug Loulou. The role was a breakout for Gerard Depardieu. I enjoy the works of director Maurice Pialat but they remain hard to find in the US. His films were so far ahead of their time I feel like we are only now catching up with them.

Key
The Charles
The Rotunda
The Senator
The Landmark Harbor East
Suburban Multilpex/ Video Americain
Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD
(Please note: Whenever possible, all releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)
Total: 16 features (7 in theaters)

Films Viewed (May 2011)

Super was a dark journey through the underside of the superhero psyche. Scuzzy and brutish, even for me. Somehow, I was won over by the end, but I hope I never spend too much time dwelling in the murky depths of sadness, vitriolic anger, and isolation this film plumbs.

The collection of Maryland Film Festival Opening Night Shorts was a nice beginning to a busy weekend of film. For more info on the four shorts, go here.

We Were Here was a wrenching documentary about life in San Francisco through the AIDS crisis. Well done work with super heavy material.

My Joy was another grim slog (you may be noticing a trend in my film-watching). A truck driver in the Ukraine travels through what America will be like shortly. Then, after an encounter with a prostitute, the story takes a decided turn, drifting into unknown territories and other, seemingly unconnected narratives. I thank the festival for bring such challenging and edgy work to the big screen in Baltimore.

I must recuse myself from reviewing Green as it was one of the films I hosted at the Festival. For more information on the film, go here.

Small Pond was the first feature from Josh Slates, a filmmaker with Baltimore ties. It chronicles the titular misadventures of a misanthrope living in a small college town, working at the pizza place and going nowhere fast.

The Oregonian was a film which derived much of its aesthetic from the later work of David Lynch. A woman attempts to piece together what is happening during a surreal journey following a car crash. A film like this is supposed to stick with you, to haunt your dreams. In my case, it did not.

I must recuse myself from reviewing the double feature of Convento and Hilvarenbeek as I hosted the screening. For more on both. go here.

Thor kicked off the summer blockbuster season correctly, the right mix of palace intrigue among the gods and "fish out of water" situations for those same gods on earth. Nothing mindblowing, but still a good time. This is surprising considering how "echh" the first stills make the film look. Pulling off a rainbow bridge on film is not the easiest task.

I had a lot of faith in Bridesmaids, going to see it by myself on opening weekend as part of a vow I have made to see all of the many 2011 summer films of note. Now that the film has caught on and found its audience, I am happy for its success. Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and the rest of the cast put in stellar ensemble work in a very funny (and very raunchy) comedy.

The Illusionist was minor but very visually beautiful. An aging illusionist comes to small town, takes on a young female stowaway, and navigates the paternal/platonic relationship between them as best he can. Bittersweet and poignant.

Manos: The Hands of Fate (Mst3k version) is the perfect blend of a beyond-bad movie and the gang in top heckling form. This particular episode of the show is alchemical for me, creating something somehow greater that it's combined parts. During a month where I really needed it, I laughed so hard it hurt.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was checked off the summer movie list without great fanfare. I enjoy pirates. There were pirates in the film. And also there were mermaids.

The Ten was a Netflix Instant "oh sure why not," an uneven collection of sketches in film form from David Wain and company based around the Ten Commandments. Not as bad as I heard it would be. Didn't catch it during its one week run at the Muvico (pre-Cinemark). Then, four years later...

Accattone was a gritty early Pasolini, the story of a charismatic but woefully inept pimp trying to survive in postwar Rome. Came up favorably in an article on Italian neorealism so I went for it before it disappeared from the Instant queue.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams 3D invariably takes some explaining, as I had to travel to Georgetown in Washington DC to see it. Werner Herzog is given unprecedented access to film a cave cut off from the world for aeons to capture the oldest known pictorial creations of humankind. Excellent, magical. Looks like it opens in the Baltimore area this month, so my long and expensive day-trip may have been a folly. Oh well, I've gone further for less.

"Jazzoo" was a 16 millimeter short film projected on the side of a wall in West Baltimore in honor of a friend's birthday. A trip to the zoo scored to jazz (get it? Jazz? Zoo? Jazzoo). A nice backyard time as the sun went down on a scorcher of an afternoon.

Cocaine Cowboys is an excellent marriage of an unbelievable story and well done documentary filmmaking. The men behind the "cocaine pipeline" in Southern Florida in the 1970s and 1980s (and the ensuing skyrocketing murder rate) tell their darkly enthralling tale. Hard to mess this one up.

Key
The Charles
The Rotunda
The Senator
The Landmark Harbor East
2011 Maryland Film Festival
Suburban Multilpex/ Georgetown AMC 14
Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD
(Please note: Whenever possible, all releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)
Total: 15 features, 7 short films (16 in theaters)

Films Viewed (April 2011)

Animal Kingdom has been on "the list" for a while as I missed it during it's "one week wonder" run at the Charles despite the sizeable critical buzz surrounding this Australian import. In a genre as worked over and picked over as the "crime family" film, to see something new and interesting being conveyed is a marvel to behold. A young man comes of age and must decide whether or not to join the family business. Many strong performances and a plot that keeps you guessing until the very end. Bravo.

Meek's Cutoff was the first of a series of films seen on a weekend trip New York. The screening preceding ours at the Film Forum included a Q and A with Michelle Williams herself, but my traveling companion and myself were not so lucky. Another winner from director Kelly Reichardt in which some pioneers become lost on the Oregon Trail (and, no, this has nothing to do with the beloved PC game). Revisionist Western? Feminist critique? Too slow and "nothing happens"? I am more with the former and less with the latter, but I dig on Antonioni. so...

Blank City at the IFC Center was an excellent document/documentary of the No Wave and Cinema of Transgression scene of the bombed-out and broke NYC of the late 1970s and the early 1980s. Typically, the music of No Wave overshadows these filmmakers. In this case, the elements were balanced out nicely without losing the interconnections.

Bill Cunningham NYC was just a treat, a warmly humanist film documenting the work of the New York Times "street photographer." An untold story I am glad I didn't miss on my second trip to the IFC Center. Yes, I went to New York City and "all I did was see movies." Are you surprised?

Jayne Eyre took a while to get into for me, as I have taught the novel and seen a few of the many adaptations which preceded this one. Once properly adjusted, it was clear that things were beautifully shot, effective narrative strategies were employed, and performances were convincing. A worthy addition to the "subgenre" of Jane Eyre adaptations.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was as good as it has ever been. A cartoon rabbit implores the help of detective in this technically groundbreaking pre-CGI Noir riff. Of course the sub-plot was about a real estate scheme! An excellent conclusion to the first installment Gunky's Basement revival series..

Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs was the last Futurama movie I got through without drifting off. The third and forth films did not hold my attention enough for me to count them on this list. Funny for 21 minute episodes, not so much for 90 minute movies. Kudos to David Cross and his voice characterization of Yivo, an alien with relationship issues. It saved the film for me.

"Successful Alcoholics" is a short film included in the thirteenth issue of Wholphin in which two people enjoy life as drunks. So do we until the hammer comes down and it is clear that reality is about to encroach.

The Town was a solid caper film which will live forever in the shadow of Gone Baby Gone. The film kept one's interest and made some surprising moves. Still, it ended a little bit convoluted and implausible, but the crowd must be pleased. Ben Affleck seems like he has returned from the wilderness, and if he keeps doing work like this, I will remain on board.

Four Lions is a British comedy about four terrorists. There, I said it. Effective and pioneering satire from comedy writer and first-time director Christopher Morris, whose work I have followed with some interest. Certainly controversial, a bit half-baked, the film still manages to turn terrorism into slapstick, no mean feat.

Key
The Charles
The Rotunda
The Senator
The Landmark Harbor East
New York City Screenings
Video Americain/ Suburban Multilpex
Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD
(Please note: All releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)
Total: 9 features, 1 short film (5 in theaters)

Flims Viewed (March 2011)

Beetlejuice remains a cultural touchstone of my formative years. The film, about newlydeads "living" in a pictureesque New England town invaded by both the spirit world and the rich and jaded from the big city, still holds up. It was interesting to watch the film as an adult. The character of Beetlejuice is a lot more lecherous than I remember, for example, and I never really thought of the film in terms of it being a narrative about the co-opting of (literally) underground artists and gentrification. Thanks to the Gunky's Basement crew for putting another great screening together.

Putty Hill has been mentioned here before, and I stand by my original observations. Truly wonderful and challenging new American underground filmmaking. As of this weekend, the film is still playing at the Charles theater.

The Adjustment Bureau was an odd, half-realized kettle of fish. A man discovers that the world is controlled by a celestial bureaucracy. He falls in love with a woman and goes against this organization. Too mild, too safe, and a waste of some great potential in terms of premise and acting talent. Too bad.

Hot Rod was recommended to me by one of my students, a freshman in high school. I found it amusing and wound up laughing out loud twice. A young man tries to prove his worth to his stepfather by jumping on a motorcycle over a great distance. Andy Samburg is talented and I am excited for when he can pull off in a feature what he does so well in his digital shorts.

Gentleman Broncos, savaged by critics, is, in my opinion, a fine Jared Hess film. It was oddly scatological and too quirky at times, sure, but I think I "got it." It boils down, perhaps, to this question: Have you ever been a nerdy little dude bullied and snookered by older nerds when spending your afternoon in the comics shop? If so, this film's premise will make perfect sense to you.

Drive Angry 3D was absolutely ridiculous, a mash-up of all the "good parts" of a certain specimen of ultraviolet foulmouthed action film. Nicholas Cage plays a character back from hell (yes that's right... actual, literal hell) seeking vengeance on the man who murdered his daughter. This is the kind of "grindhouse" film I wish Quentin Tarantino could manage to make. The film also has the dubious distinction of having the lowest-grossing opening of a 3D film ever widley released in theaters in the United States. Thanks to "the guys" for tagging along!

Tamara Drewe was great. A modern riff on Hardy's Far from the Madding Crowd, the film, based on a newspaper strip turned graphic novel, follows the romantic misadventures of the title character after her return to the English countryside of her origin. A refreshing film from a female author's perspective expertly brought to the screen by Stephen Frears, a director whose work I enjoy. Another "one week wonder" I missed at the Charles.

Enter the Void was a hard slog of an arthouse movie, a film meant to transport that would up mostly being just vexing to this viewer. By the end, I felt like I had had a tolerable time, but director Gaspar Noe appeared trapped in his own drug trip. Admittedly, a fun film to watch with a friend who works in film production. The phrase "bad boy provocateur" was exchanged quite a bit in our protracted conversation as the film digitally spooled out before us.

Futurama: Bender's Big Score counts, technically, as a film, right? I enjoy television programs, but I choose not to talk of them here. If you enjoy television programs, you may want to check out this great new blog I just found out about, Rabbit Ears. I am big fan of the author!

Get Low lived up to my fears, a movie just not for me, really. Bill Murray was great (of course). A hermit faces up to his troubled past as he prepares to die. Inspired by a true story, uplifting and touching, so you know I didn't like it that much. Sorry, gang.

Key
The Charles
The Rotunda
The Senator
The Landmark Harbor East
Video Americain/ Suburban Multilpex
Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD
(Please note: All releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)
Total: 10 features (4 in theaters)