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)

Flims Viewed (February 2011)

Bone, an exploitation film from the early 1970s, was an interesting grab from the Cult section of Video Americain. A situational drama in which a black man holds a wealthy white couple for ransom in Beverly Hills. Could have been formulaic. but was instead redeemed by a literate/literary script and excellent perfomances by the cast, most notably Jeannie Berlin and Yaphet Kotto.

I now understand why Zombieland was such a powerful phenomenon among my students when it hit theaters. Just a great post-apocalyptic thrill ride, conscious of itself and genre in good ways. Bill Murray's cameo steals the show, but Jessie Eisenberg, Emma Stone and Abigail Breslin are no slouches either. A weekend night well spent.

It was great to see Nightjohn in and of itself, but to spend time listening to filmmaker Charles Burnett speak on his decades of experience making independent film was a unique opportunity and a memorable experience. Add this African-American filmmaker's movies to your Netflix queue and prepared to get schooled. Start with Killer of Sheep.

Another Year was another Mike Leigh film. Quite a lot of ink was devoted to it in Film Comment without a single mention of how much it is reminiscent stylistically of some of the films of Yasujiro Ozu. A steady, happy aging couple bears witness to the trials and tribulations of their damaged friends and crumbling extended family. Much more accessible than the aforementioned Japanese director's work, at least to me.

Smiles of a Summer Night never fails to impress with its sexual frankness, mirthful bawdiness and rather jaundiced views of relationships. Seen on a trip to Philadelphia at a screening series being curated at International House. A nice print, well projected. Always bet on Bergman.

Troll 2 may be, in fact, the "best worst movie." It is a truly terrible film, but something about it is so odd and surreal that it fascinates. A boy goes to the town of Nilbog with his family. The "people" of the town (who are actually trolls) are attempting to turn them into troll food. Baffling undercurrent of anti-vegetarianism throughout. A fever dream, truly craptastic. A documentary about the film is currently making the rounds.

Rome, Open City felt like homework for grad school I kept avoiding. I decided to rent it from Video Americain after Netflix Instant pulled it down. A great Italian neorealist masterpiece with an interesting production history. Many excellent moments and one iconic scene.

Micmacs was the usual bag of grewgaws and whirlygigs from director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Never really came together for me. The lukewarm reviews on this one were, to me, fairly spot on. When JPJ hits, he hits big. When he misses, he winds up over the barn.

Key
The Charles
The Rotunda
The Senator
The Landmark Harbor East
Video Americain/ Johns Hopkins/ International House
Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD
(Please note: All releases are linked to their pages on the Netflix website)
Total: 8 features (3 in theaters)

Films Viewed (January 2011)

Unforgiven was as good as I have heard it is. I remember seeing posters for it at Golden Ring Mall cinemas during the summer of 1992 and saying "That movie looks badass!" It was and is. A classic (new) Western. Thanks, True Grit, for inspiring a newfound interest in this genre!

I Love You, Phillip Morris comes across an audacious satire yet is based on a true story. Jim Carrey made me forget he was Jim Carrey for a while while still allowing me to enjoy his Carrey-ness. An average Joe discovers he is gay, leaves his wife. becomes a con man, falls in love in prison and... I think you better just see it.

Home was one of those flicks that sits there on the Netflix Instant queue and then, one night, the time is finally right. A French family keeps an uneasy peace in a house next to coming superhighway. When the cars start whizzing by, things begin to unravel. An interesting exploration of the impact of the modern urban environment on those who deal with it. Baltimore in the summer suddenly seemed more bearable after seeing this film.

Blue Valentine is receiving well-deserved hype. The closest I have seen in film to portraying the tortured nature of working class love and relationships in post-industrial America. Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling both turn in masterful performances, bringing into sharp relief characters that we all know but who rarely receive a proper treatment on the big screen.

I was told that The Green Hornet was terrible, but the slams seemed personal and vindictive. I checked it out anyway, had a good time, and recommended it to others who also seemed to enjoy it. Flawed in the way that all Michel Gondry films are flawed, but still a good time. Christoph Waltz was superb once again as an arch-criminal trying to get with the times. Rent it and have fun. I had no issues with it in 2D.

"The Great Ectasy of the Sculptor Steiner" was a short film from Werner Herzog's prime time. The story of extreme "skifliers" gorgeously shot, both in triumph and wipe-out. Like some Bizarro World episode of Wild World of Sports.

The King's Speech is receiving rave reviews, and deservedly so. A stuttering king needs to speak in public, and a man who knows how tries to help him. The king fights him like hell, as a king would. Great performances in a film that can please both mother and son, Joe Popcorn and Joe Arthouse. Good for it, and good for The Senator!

"How Much Wood Would a Wood Chuck Chuck" was on the same disc as the Herzog doc above, and was a lesser affair for me. I enjoyed finding out about the odd art of cattle auctioneering, but lost interest during the endless run of cattle call after cattle call.

"La Soufriere" rounded out the disc of Herzog docs, and was enjoyable. Nothing beats the daredevil thrill of Herzog getting footage on an island about to be annihilated by an angry volcano. Nature in all it's violence and disease.

Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures was a thorough and quietly artful documentary about the life and (mostly) work of Stanley Kubrick. A nice review of his body of work and an excuse to re-visit the box set sometime soon.

Valhalla Rising was just freakin' awesome. A slave who is good at killing named One Eye (!) kills people and trucks with Vikings and Christians to various degrees of success. As if a Conan movie was co-directed by Bergman and Malik. Wow.

Alien: Director's Cut was screened as part of the Gunky's Basement series and was a scary thrillride gross-out once again. There are so many good things about this movie that I forgive it for giving me nightmares. Unfortunately,the film works every time in this way.

42nd Street Forever: Vol. 4 was another curated grindhouse trailer compilation. To my point of view, the trailers are often better than the films, I am now especially interested in Americathon, as I do love a good satire. Since the trailer was included, the film probably wasn't one, but oh well... I will give it a spin sometime.

Somewhere was just great, if you like that sort of film, and by that sort of film I mean the work of director Sophia Coppola. Another filmgoer's comment that "Jeez! Nothin' happened in that movie!" was a sign that something, in fact, did. Closed yesterday at the Charles. I would say to look for it on home video.

Key
The Charles
The Rotunda
The Senator
The Landmark Harbor East
Video Americain
Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD
(Please note: All releases are now linked to their pages on the Netflix website)
Total: 11 features, 3 short films (6 in theaters)

Films Viewed (December 2010)

Repo Man was, as always, a scorching punk blast. It was great to see a nice print projected on the big screen with the audio cranked. Many thanks to the Maryland Film Festival and the Gunky's Basement crew for making this happen.

The Fighter could get lost in the year-end prestige-film Oscar-bait shuffle, but I say give it a chance. Not so much a sports film as a story about one particularly dysfunctional working-class Boston clan. I had a good time, but I grew up amongst such characters.

To re-watch Mickey's Christmas Carol, an enjoyable viewing memory from my childhood, was an experiment. Has my appreciation of Dickens' A Christmas Carol been ruined forever by Robert Zemeckis? The answer: No, not really. Also, I am not eight years old anymore.

I have turned watching the first episode of Fanny and Alexander: The Television Version into a Christmas-eve tradition. The turn-of-the-century Swedes celebrate Christmas sumptously, are also dsyfunctional and sad. I always enjoy checking in.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World still ruled upon a second viewing. I feel that one day this film will get its due, perhaps now that the DVD is available to the young people? Of course, I am also a huge fan of Pootie Tang, so maybe I will remain in the minority on this one.

True Grit was a rough and ready adaptation of a book I have not read that stands in the shadow of a film of the same name that I have not seen. A young woman seeks revenge, hires a sozzled Dude, meets a fancy-pants guy. People get killed. The Coen Brothers continue to rule, and long may they reign. Watching and enjoying this has sparked my interest in the viewing of more Westerns, I genre I take in only sparingly.

Black Swan scared the hell out of me, leading to night wracked with nightmares filled with the images and ideas presented in the film. A young woman makes it to the top of the ballet game, at great cost. My sleepless night following my viewing is the sign of an effective psychological horror film, as well as a reminder of why I don't watch too many of them.

Home Alone capped off the year. I dismissed the film at the time of its release, watching the beginning and ending sequences on the pay channels when the film was in heavy rotations after its run as a box office juggernaut. To be in a theater surrounded by others who were clearly more impacted by the film, listening to them recite the dialogue verbatim, added to my appreciation, not to mention the realization that Home Alone is a John Hughes movie.

Key
The Charles
The Rotunda
The Senator
The Landmark Harbor East
Video Americain
Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD
(Please note: All releases are now linked to their pages on the Netflix website)
Total: 6 features, 1 short film, 1 portion of a television program also released in truncated form as a film (5 in theaters)

Films Viewed (November 2010)

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest was the "oh, okay" last installment of the Millennium Trilogy. The narratives were seen through to the end dutifully. Not as absorbing as the first two films, but still engaging. I saw a special-edition hardcover set at the chain bookstore yesterday that makes the books look more literary. Sure, fine. But you should really buy them here.

Hereafter was a Clint Eastwood directorial effort. Sad real-deal psychic retires, but they keep pulling him back in. I feel Eastwood's films are hit or miss and will watch his avowed masterpiece one of these days. He is an old man who makes movies in the old style. Sometimes there is a comfort in this.

Hot Bubblegum is a Hebrew-language sex farce from 1981 in the style of American Graffiti and Porky's. One night, Netflix Instant was throwing some crazy suggestions my way. Who am I to say no the gods of random?

Bill Murray Life Lessons 2009 was another filmic effort from local upstart Ann Everton, who once cut my hair on the stage of the Senator theater. Watch her take on Meatballs here. Read her interview on the City Paper here.

Logorama won the 2010 Oscar for Best Animated Short and can be seen right here. Worth your time.

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill has been the subject of inside jokes between my girlfriend and myself for some time. The ending truly had us soaring out of the living room. No, he doesn't eat the parrots.

Tropical Malady shows the promise of director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, but I prefer his later films. One that sends you running to the Internet for assistance. With help, I figured out what in the heck happened in the second part.

Dogtooth remains the talk of the Baltimore arthouse circuit. Perhaps better the second time around, as you can put things together more thoroughly. No matter how hard a helicopter parent will try, the outside world will eventually seep in to even the most hermetically sealed household.

The Secret in Their Eyes as just fine. The one the spoiled all the Oscar betting pools earlier this year. I am with those who feel it was essentially an episode of Law & Order, but a really good episode of Law & Order.

Possession has been the talk of the Baltimore arthouse rental circuit in recent times. A couple's relationship deteriorates due to adultery in 1980s Berlin, but hoo boy, there is more to it than that! Let us just say that Isabelle Adjani's character is having one monster of an affair. A psycho-sexual blend brought to boil. If enough people add it on Netflix, maybe someone somewhere will get the message that this needs a proper re-release.

House (1977) is me playing catch-up to the movie-going talk of the town this past spring, after a new print had a limited engagement run at the Senator. A group of young girls visit a ghost house in the country. Wonderful lunacy, highly stylized and very Japanese, ensues. Not scary, still gory.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One was the first film seen at the newly re-opened Senator theater. The theater has been stripped to the bone by the prior tenant, but it is good to have it opened. I have a feeling this little film that is mostly about some teenagers camping in the woods and being angsty and sad is going to go far!

Bright Leaves chronicles documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee's family's involvement with the tobacco trade in North Carolina, but is much more than that. I am very forgiving of his films with their many side-trips and rambles. Not a good as Sherman's March, but I found it very absorbing.

Hideaway (Le Refuge) was a "one week wonder" at the Charles. A woman addicted to drugs discovers she is pregnant with her lover's child after she and her lover overdose, resulting in the death of said lover. And that is just the first ten minutes or so! Suprising throghout, there was a plot twist that had the audience reacting like they caught something I didn't. Clearly, I need to see more Ozon.

Heart of Glass is a prime Werner Herzog film that I have been meaning to give my viewing attention to for some time. The secret of making ruby glass is lost in a Bavarian village, a shepherd has visions of the future, and things slowly go horribly awry, descending into madness. Herzog hypnotized the majority of the cast before each take. You know, because he's like that.

American Grindhouse was a thorough and informative overview of the different types of films that played the grindhouse circuit in the American heyday of such movie houses. Of the "DVD supplement" school, but not terribly so. I would love a doc on the actually movie theaters and what it was like to go to them, perhaps focusing on the more infamous ones.

Key
The Charles
The Rotunda
The Senator
The Landmark Harbor East
Suburban Mulltiplex/ Video Americain/ DVD/ Online
Netflix Instant/ Netflix DVD
(Please note: All releases are now linked to their pages on the Netflix website)
Total: 14 features, 1 short film, 1 anthology collection of short films (5 in theaters)