The Filmcake

March 1st – March 7th

Fireproof — So, so bad. Admittedly, I wasn’t surprised by this fact. I went into it knowing that it was going to be awful. The movie seemed like nothing more than some pastor had a sermon (How to Fireproof Your Marriage) that he thought he could turn into a movie in order to sell a book. And like so many Christian “rock” songs, its earnestness is unable to overcome its lack of guiding talent and artful subtlety. It’s predictable, preachy, and a little bit sexist. Surely this movie will be enjoyed by those people that eat up simplistic sermonizing, but one wonders why anyone requires Jesus in order to simply show respect towards another person.

(500) Days of Summer — I do like me some MPDGs. And Zooey Deschanel certainly leads the pack. But MPDGs are usually nothing more than some quirky eye candy. It’s male fantasy. It’s seeing only those parts that you want to see and ignoring the rest. It’s mistaking a fleeting Rene Magritte reference as an honest sign of character.

That being said, Deschanel as MPDG is not a total problem here. The movie is certainly from a man’s–Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)–point of view. The movie is precisely about him remembering what he wants. It’s not about a couple or a relationship; it’s about Tom. And the way the story is presented–in a non-linear fashion–works fine to illustrate the bumpy road of a relationship.

What puts me off about this movie was that one word in the opening credits. “Bitch.” It wasn’t immediate. Perhaps the character truly deserves to be called a bitch. There are bitches in this world after all. But after seeing the entire film, that word just seemed so incongruous. I was fine with the calling-out of the real girl for whom the film was based. It rooted the movie firmly in the personal. It was the bitch part that I had a problem with. It’s not what the movie ultimately ended up being about. For me, it was about Tom coming to terms with this relationship and its demise. Sure, it’s a rough moment when Tom finds out that Summer is engaged. Perhaps, to him, she is a bitch at that moment (in truth, Summer is not a bitch, she’s just not everything Tom wants her to be). The film concludes on a hopeful note with Tom seemingly putting this relationship behind him in favor of new experiences and relationships. In the end, it just makes director Marc Webb and writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber seem mean, petty, insufferably immature, and incapable of moving on. It also dampens an otherwise enjoyable movie.

MPDG Zooey and M. Ward with “In The Sun”:

Where The Wild Things Are — I had ranked this movie as my second favorite movie of 2009 after seeing it only once. So going into it again I was worried that I may have somehow overvalued it the first time. Nope. It was just as amazing the second time around. That it didn’t garner a single Academy Award nomination is ridiculous. This movie is like a gigantic hug. It brilliantly captures Max coming to terms with his parents’ divorce and his own bad behavior. It is truly wonderful.

Dead Snow — A nice surprise. I mean, Nazi zombies pretty much guarantees cinematic awesomeness. But this movie was a solid entry into the slasher-zombie genre. It didn’t break any new ground, but it was a solidly enjoyable installment in the genre.

Sleeping Dogs Lie – After being pleasantly surprised with Bobcat Goldthwait’s World’s Greatest Dad, I wanted to check out some of his earlier stuff. Again, Goldthwait delivers. He takes a shocking moment (girl-on-dog love) and twists it into a movie with a heart. The production values here are low at times, but the talent level all around does not leave you disappointed. I still need to see Shakes the Clown and I certainly can’t wait to see what Bobcat has in store next.

February 22nd – February 28th

Hunger – The Troubles in Northern Ireland are a fascinating period of (ongoing) history that I admittedly have a very limited grasp over. It suggests the sometimes vague differences between activist and terrorist. It’s about religion–and then again it’s not. It’s on one hand so foreign and on the other hand so familiar. Director Steve McQueen depicts the 1981 hunger strike with Bobby Sands in way that is both violently brutal and fecally artful.

Invention of Lying – A good idea that was ultimately poorly executed. The premise is an interesting one, and an inspired Gervais-as-Moses scene almost makes the flawed movie worth watching, but it just finally falls flat. Jennifer Garner’s character is so flatly written that she comes of as a stereotype and the film comes of as a bit sexist. Ricky Gervais is certainly better than this.

Precious – You know, I actually ended up liking this one a lot more than I thought I would. I was expecting nothing but poverty porn, but I felt like I got something more than that. I admit that it was a bit of a struggle at first. But once I sort of gave in to the melodrama and the familiar Inspirational Teacher tropes, I felt myself going along with it more comfortably. But even that qualification seems qualified. I think there is probably a wide-spread tendency to view this film, and the monster that is Mo’Nique’s Mary Jones, and think of them as overly brutal and exaggerated. But after living with the movie for a little while, I am quite convinced that there are both Mary Jones’ and Precious’ out in the world everywhere.

A Single Man — The smell of a dog. A stiff drink. The beauty of another human being. Booker T’s “Green Onions.” Life is an island hop on the unpleasant ocean of existence. Tom Ford beautifully captures this sentiment. We’re bombarded every day with the notion that melancholy and depression are character flaws. Life is a big smile. But it just ain’t the truth. We live in a miserable world (see Precious). But it is a life worth living. The roses need smelling.

Colin Firth’s excellent performance is but another of those things that make life worth living. I may not be a fan of those movies in which his character is named Darcy and/or he sports a wet shirt, but I do love him here. That he is the one that transfixes me in a scene with Juliane Moore is a tribute to the charisma he brings to the role.

Groundhog Day, Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion, 10 Things I Hate About You — After Hunger, Precious, and A Single Man we just really needed something especially light and fun. These were three picks that fit the bill and would also allow us to test out our Roku player and Netflix Instant Viewing from the comfort of our bed. None of the three are great, but they’re all certainly re-watchable. Bill Murray alone makes Groundhog Day an instant classic and easily the best of the trio. And watching Murray only shows how much Ricky Gervais lacks.

February 16th – February 21st

Tyson – A compelling documentary from James Toback. Iron Mike is certainly a fascinating subject. That he is a more interesting figure than I had previously figured is still not enough to overcome the revulsion that I still possess towards him. A certain amount of innocent kindness towards pet pigeons is not enough for me to forgive the viciousness of his biting attack on Evander Holyfield nor his probable assault(s) on women. He will still always be a monster in my eyes.

Bright Star – A tragically romantic period piece from Jane Campion about John Keats and Fanny Brawne. A film about a poet would seem to be either excessively sweet or tragic. You expect either soft-focus romanticism or camera-shaken tragedy. While there is still love and death in this film, it avoids some of the most overt poet biopic cliches by devoting more attention on Fanny Brawne instead of the poet Keats. Abbie Cornish is wonderful as Brawne. In Stop-Loss and in this one, I just can’t seem to keep my eyes off of her. I am in agreement with A.O. Scott that she may just be the new Kate Winslet. Paul Schneider (Parks & Recreation) was also excellent as Keats’ smarmy yet protective best friend, Charles Armitage Brown.

Contact – A personal sc-fi favorite. After a long stretch with an unviewable VHS copy, it has re-entered our movie library in the form of the Blu-ray edition. while Contact broaches the relationship between religion and science, I ultimately don’t think the movie has much definitive to say about the topic. It presents the ideas, which make the movie a stronger piece of sci-fi, but it doesn’t pretend to be making an argument either way. I suppose it does say something about the dangers of fanaticism–both the religious and secular varieties. But, ultimately, the ideas don’t add up to anything particularly coherent. At least, not particularly preachy. That is a good thing–the movie remains quite satisfying to me. I still very much enjoy it. I was struck this time–perhaps because of the Blu-ray version I was watching for the first time–by all of the special effects that Zemeckis employs in the movie. For the most part, the fx is used competently and serves the story even if it is a bit conspicuous.

Sunshine – The third installment in our Sci-Fi Horror Marathon and one I’ve seen many times. This one is perhaps a little more overt than Contact in its atheism. It is, after all, the religiously fanatical Pinbacker who tries to destroy not only the crew of Icarus 2 but also all of Earth based on delusions he interprets to be the voice of god. Thankfully, the physicist saves the day. Yay, science! On this particular viewing, I was struck by the soundtrack. I adore it. And, I’m not sure why I don’t own it. Except that I might feel the urgent need to save mankind while listening to it. So that might be kind of awkward.

Mine; Home; P-Star Rising — Two docs and a short from PBS Independent Lens. Mine told the story of dogs left behind as a result of Hurricane Katrina. The documentary focuses on three or so dogs who were left behind as the result of the storm and eventually adopted to new families, but whose owners attempt to reunite with their pets after landing on terra firma. The doc is nicely balanced, putting its sympathies first and foremost behind the dogs caught in the middle. That Mine examined the uncharted territory between Katrina and the rightful home for its canine victims gives it a unique perspective. But, I sort of felt that a lot of this had been covered in previous documentaries, especially Tom McPhee’s An American Opera from 2007. Nevertheless, I’ll always watch a doc about dogs (and likely shed a tear or two as well).

Home was an excellent six-minute short by Matt Faust that morphed home videos and photographs into a personal and poignant memory of a home destroyed by Katrina.

P-Star Rising was a doc that admittedly I wasn’t too keen on sitting through. It purported to tell the successes and failures in the career of a 9-year-old rapper. I imagined that both the documentary and the child rapper would be too precious to bear. Ooh, it’s a kid! Ooh, she raps!! Too cute!!! Commence. Rolling. Eyes.

But, I was quite surprised by the documentary that I watched. It turns out that the child rapper, Priscilla Diaz (stage name, P-Star), is genuinely talented and not annoyingly precocious at all. That this child also seems to be the most level-headed, mature, and intelligent member of her family is what makes this documentary so compelling. The more I began to dislike her father, who comes off as a man-child in demeanor, actions, and dress, the more I began to like P-Star.

A Serious Man – I figured I’d like this one. It is a Coen Brothers movie after all. But, I ended up REALLY, REALLY liking it. It was so dark, ultimately, that it actually sort of ended up being kind of life affirming. Instead of worrying about other people and what they think, you have to take care of yourself first. And instead of worrying why things did or did not happen to you, you ultimately have to accept the mystery. You can’t blame the bad things that happen to you on anything else, nor can you credit the good things that happen to you on anything else. Things are what they are. For me, without a belief in God (and the corresponding evil), this is an oddly comforting thought even if I know that death is my ultimate reward. My only religion is film.

It did remind me of the questions A.O. Scott posed in his review:

So a question put before the congregation by A Serious Man is whether it makes the case for atheism or looks at the world from a divine point of view. Are the Coens mocking God, playing God or taking his side in a rigged cosmic game? What’s the difference?

Life sucks, and then you die. At least we have movies. What more is there to know?

February 8th – February 15th

The Headless Woman - I was VERY impressed with this film from Argentinian Lucrecia Martel. That being said, I’ve only seen it the one time and this is certainly a movie that might benefit from multiple viewings. While not as gimmicky as Christopher Nolan’s Memento, like that one this film does place the viewer at a confusing vantage point.

After Veronica (Maria Onetto) hits something with her car, she wanders around the film in an amnesic daze. As Veronica regains control of her world, so does the viewer begin to fill in missing pieces. Who are these people? Family? Friends? Staff? What’s with her hair? The pool? Is there a cover-up? What did she hit with her car? Did she, in fact, hit anything at all? Director Martel brilliantly doles out details with enough cinematic restraint to temporarily satiate us but still keep us in a state of confusion. I have some idea as to what I’ve seen but remain both slightly perplexed and quite eager to revisit it again soon.

On top of the mystery of it all, the film is ultimately about class. Too often, we suffer a voluntary amnesia when it comes to looking at the socioeconomic divide straight on. It is a painful reminder of the stupid diversion that is much of big Hollywood. We must rely on foreign-language films (and rare/small US independent releases) to get anything approximating social commentary with regards to the issue of class–lest we are tempted to remain with the Hollywood trickeration that wants us to think about anything but.

February 1st – February 7th

An Education – Upon seeing the trailer for this one, I was pretty certain that I was going to really like the movie. It was right up my alley. Upon seeing it, I have to say that I liked it more than even I expected. I was a little afraid that the story would devolve into a tired tale of male fantasy. A cute girl interested in interesting things (with a school uniform to boot) who fulfills the every desire of the older man. Even 15 minutes into the film, I was worried about this. Thankfully, the story didn’t turn out that way. Carey Mulligan’s Jenny is very much her own woman. Sure, she makes mistakes along the way. She is both teenager and human after all. Mulligan is wonderful and surrounded by an excellent cast.

Pandorum - The first of six movies in a Sci-Fi Horror Marathon. This is a 2009 movie starring Ben Foster and Dennis Quaid. The movie’s title refers to a form of psychosis suffered as a result of space travel and suspended animation. Unfortunately, this psychological condition doesn’t figure much into the film, except perhaps to shoehorn in a “twist” ending. If you’re going to name the movie after this psychosis, it’s my opinion that it should figure into the plot quite prominently and create a sense of psychological horror. If you’re not going to go that route, then there needs to be more monsters and more action. The monsters and spaceship here were fine. Not $40 million budget fine, but serviceable. They were adequate to support a more gory plot. I’m not sure if this director could have even pulled that off though. Some of the visual cues in the few action scenes we get are a bit confusing. There was a problem with the audio on this…although it may have just been the Blu-ray disc and/or my player. As it was, the dialogue was not in sync and the audio levels seemed improperly mixed. The score and/or fx music often drowned out Foster’s whispered dialogue. Finally, there is Dennis Quaid. I’m not sure what I think of The Quaid. I can’t tell if he’s genuinely horrible or just never quite totally invested. In this movie, he seemed to be phoning it in. In fact, he could have quite literally been phoning it in here (since half his dialogue comes off-screen through Bower’s headset).

Moon - The second installment in the Sci-Fi Horror Marathon. Much, much, much better than Pandorum. And apparently it was made with 1/8th the budget of the former. Like Pandorum, and many recent sci-fi movies, the story is predicated on the destruction of Earth’s resources. In this case, Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is sent to the moon to mine helium-3 for fuel. Just before reaching the end of his three-year stint on the moon, he crashes his rover which results in a series of interesting events. The succeeding events both allow Rockwell to shine as an actor in dual roles and explore free will and consciousness in a classic sci-fi sort of way.

While GERTY is an obvious homage to HAL from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, my favorite reference was to 2001’s computer monitors. I’ve always appreciated the design of 2001’s computer monitors…with the three-letter codes projected onto a flat screen. It always seem to hold up to the test of time much better than other “futuristic” movies where the immediately dated monochromatic and text-only monitors were employed, usually only to rapidly scroll a bunch of gibberish. The design used in 2001, and copied here in Moon, goes for something different enough to seem plausibly futuristic. On a side note, Benedict Wong who appears here briefly will figure into the third installment of this marathon.

January 25th – January 31st

I Spit On Your Grave, Peeping Tom – A couple of films I sought out after reading Carol Clover’s Men, Women & Chainsaws book. The first is a rape-revenge movie from 1978 that Roger Ebert described as a “vile bag of garbage.” In his 1980 review, he also described it as “so sick, reprehensible and contemptible” that he couldn’t believe respectable theatres were even screening it. He also equates the rapes in the film with the revenge that is taken. That was thirty years ago and there is no indication that he has had the inclination to revisit the movie. While I wouldn’t call this movie feministic, it’s also not as vile as Ebert (of 1980, at least) would have you believe. Identification of the audience with the rapists and the revenge-taker are more complicated. At any rate, Camille Keaton’s Jennifer is certainly an antecedent for Tarantino’s women of late–the girls of Death Proof, Kill Bill’s Beatrix Kiddo, and even Shosanna in Inglourious Basterds.

Peeping Tom was another film rich in controversial history. After its release, the movie was panned so harshly that it essentially destroyed director Michael Powell’s career as a director in the UK. Thankfully, Martin Scorsese championed both the director and the film to give them both a second chance. Watching it now, the movie seems so obviously “important.” It says so much about voyeurism, scoptophilia (“the morbid urge to gaze”) and the cinematic gaze. This is what viewing (and making) movies is all about.

Gomorrah – A mafia movie that quotes Scarface but doesn’t bother to be just another rip-off of The Godfather and Goodfellas. It is a slice of the horror that The Comorra has wrought. But ultimately it is a critique of capitalism and of Western notions of power (and more tangentially of the American wars in the Middle East). Success (or wealth) isn’t a matter of intelligence, or of good conquering evil. It is a matter of who has the more powerful gun. And all of us who participate, who share in its riches, are complicit. There is no escape.

Fight Club – There’s a lot that could be said about this movie. I find it kind of maddening myself. It’s about one thing. And then it’s about another entirely different thing. While it says something, I’m not sure thatsomething is consistent. Or maybe that inconsistency is what the movie is trying to convey–our identification and authenticity are as confused and fragmented as The Narrator’s (Edward Norton) mind.

Objectified, Scenes From a Parish - A couple from PBS’s Independent Lens. I was a little disappointed with Objectified, Gary Hustwit’s follow-up to his excellent Helvetica doc. This one wasn’t nearly as enlightening or entertaining as that one. Scenes From a Parish was a bit of a surprise. It was roughly about a priest’s attempt to bridge the gap between two different groups of parishioners whilst trying to get a soup kitchen built. If it weren’t for the religion and parishioners, maybe church wouldn’t be so bad…

The Room - Ahhh, it never gets old. I just hope I manage to attend a midnight screening of it at some point. In the meantime, kindly put your comments in your pocket.

Blindness - Eck. This seemed like a movie that was trying way too hard to convey a message. But what that message was is unclear. It just seemed like the work of a naive, untalented hack with a dangerous streak of earnestness. As soon as the surgical scissors were introduced I wanted nothing more than to stab out my own eyes. I’m guessing it was trying to say something about humanity (or government) or something. But since the messages it was sending out were conflicting and confused, it didn’t actually end up saying much of anything.

A Boy and His Dog – Now this was a genuine surprise…and almost made up for the awfulness that was Blindness. Up until a couple weeks ago, I hadn’t really been aware of this movie. Manohla Dargis’s made reference to it in her review of The Book of Eli, calling it another “post-apocalyptic fairy tale.” Give me a dog and a post-apocalypse and I’m SO there. I immediately added it to my queue. And, then last week I saw where it was going to be shown in Los Angeles as part of a double feature with the documentary Waiting for Armageddon (which I am also very eager to see). Well, that just shot it straight to the top of my queue. And what a delight! And with a young Don Johnson. Wow. I could certainly see a remake of this–if only so the female character (Quilla) could be better constructed. Not that every old movie needs to be remade…

Big Fan - A decent little movie starring Patton Oswalt as a devoted New York Football Giants fan. It’s not a great movie, but it has some nice moments. One thing I realized is how similar geeks are to sports fans. It’s all just a matter of what you geek out over. You could easily replace comic book guy with sports talk radio guy and still be talking about essentially the same person.

January 19th – January 24th

Jennifer’s Body - Kind of disappointed with this one. As far as teen horror movies go, it holds its own. But, I was hoping for a little more from the Diablo Cody-scripted and Karen Kusama-helmed project. It just seemed kind of flat. Not really horror. Not really dark comedy. Not really biting satire. All that stuff was lying just beneath the surface, I’m sure, but only in an impotent sort of way.

Still, the reviews of this movie did get me to buy Carol J. Clover’s Men, Women & Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film which I just finished reading. While it can be a little heavy on the Freud and psychoanalytic school of film criticism at times, it was still an excellent read. The first chapter, where she presents her “Final Girl” theory, is required reading. And a Tarantino fan can’t read the third chapter without thinking of Beatrix Kiddo.

The Messenger - While not a war movie, this one certainly belongs with The Hurt Locker among the best (so far) movies dealing with the Iraqi war. The movie takes place entirely in the United States and there are no war scenes–so it’s not a war movie. But, it does seem to say a lot about the soldiers’ experience. War changes a soldier so fundamentally that he or she see things differently than their civilian counterparts. I don’t know if it’s a question of for better or worse, just simply new and different eyes. And eye drops don’t always work.

The story revolves around a couple of soldiers who are tasked with giving notifications of deceased soldiers to their next of kin. The handful of scenes we get where the news is delivered, some of which work better than others, are truly heartbreaking. To imagine those scenes repeated 5,318 times (Operations Iraqi Freedom & Enduring Freedom, to this date) is almost too much to bear.

Woody Harrelson and Samantha Morton are both excellent here. And Ben Foster is a surprise after his creepy Russell in Six Feet Under.

In The Loop - A hilarious satiric take on the incompetency (both British and US) that lead us to war (and has resulted in–unhilariously–the 5,318 deaths, mentioned above). Peter Capaldi’s Malcolm Tucker is the insult king. I will not think of horses the same way again. This movie is worth watching for his insults alone. If you’re looking for good one liners, this is certainly a better pick than the Cody-isms of Jennifer’s Body.

January 11th – January 18th

Of Time and the City - A visual poem from Terence Davies about growing older in Liverpool. This film was a slow build for me. I went into it not knowing much about it, except that some critics including Michael Phillips had included it in there best of 2009 lists. As the movie started, I was a little unsure. Then I started liking it. Liking it more. By the end, I was in love. Through music, poetry, original narration and mostly found footage, Davies stitched together a moving story about the transitions of life and city over time. It was a lovingly nostalgic tale without the misfortune of pollyannaism. Life is what it is. For good and bad. It is the only one we get.

Know Your Mushrooms - A mildly interesting if unfocused documentary about the wonderful world of mushrooms. It should have either been about mushrooms (and the science behind them) or it should have been about mushroom devotees, but not both. As it was, the movie mixed science facts about mushrooms with ridiculous claims about them to result in a mess of information and a lack of direction. On a positive note, The Flaming Lips did provide the soundtrack music. Some of us enjoy our Flips and shrooms in the comfort of the real world.

35 Rhums (35 Shots of Rum) - I loved this movie. And seeing it at OKCMOA’s Noble Theatre was my quintessential movie-going experience. It was a good movie that only got greater with discussion afterwards at the pub. It is an experience that I live for.

Claire Denis presents the story in a brilliantly subtle manner. When a French director as great as Denis does it, subtlety does not seem guarded. It just seems normal. It’s such a striking difference to most Hollywood films which are exercises in the obvious and unambiguous.

That this is a French film with hardly any white characters is somewhat of a revelation to me. The immigrant story is certainly becoming a very relevant story. And a story about emotional inertia is a universal one and one that connects on a personal level.

I look forward to seeing Denis’ The Intruder and Beau Travail.

Arrested Development (Seasons 2 & 3) – Made it all the way through this hilarious yet too short series. While I still think the best television lies in dramas (still need to make my way through The Wire), this is easily one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen. All week I’ve been quoting the series (“Come on!” “I’ve made a huge mistake.”) and recalling my favorite moments with a giggle. I can now be counted among the many eagerly anticipating the upcoming movie.

January 4th – January 10th

Kill Bill Vols. 1 & 2 – While the second volume drags a little bit at times, this Tarantino epic is SO, SO, SO much fun. Sure, much like Inglourious Basterds it is self-indulgent. But it’s self-indulgence with a great deal of taste, an eye for the bad-ass, and a reverence for his women. Whenever I have some time, I’d like to delve into some of the films that inspired this one and Basterds.

Arrested Development (TV) First Season — I’m only about six years late, but I have finally seen the first season of the critically lauded Arrested Development. My problem with watching stuff (TV or movies) is that I MUST watch it in its entirety. Unless I watch something from the beginning all the way to the end, it hasn’t been watched. So, I can’t start watching a TV series unless I start with the first episode and commit to it for the long haul. A friend recently loaned us the entire series on DVD, so we leaped in and watched the entire first season this past week.

The show is absolutely hilarious. I doubt that any previous TV series has made me laugh out loud quite as much as this one. The cast is wonderful. Will Arnett certainly now has one more devoted fan. And, Portia de Rossi has one more male admirer. And, yes, I’m aware that she’s a lesbian. Why is it that all the good ones are gay?

I’d say the first quarter of the season started out a bit frantic. There was so much going on–so many asides and little gags–that it was starting to get a little exhausting (a little too Family Guy at times). But, the last three-quarters of the season were solidly paced.

Up in the Air – I’m still a little undecided on this one. It’s a solid, polished movie from Jason Reitman that maintains some ambiguity by refraining from answering all the questions it poses and by refusing to tie up all its loose ends. I love that about a movie. The possibility of multiple interpretations is usually a certain asset. Nevertheless, there was something about this movie that seemed incomplete. I’m not sure if it was me wanting more Ryan Bingham, or less Ryan Bingham but more Alex and/or Natalie. Clooney, Vera Farmiga, and Anna Kendrick were all great…as was the screenplay. I haven’t put my hand on it, but I left this movie wanting just a little more. I’ll have to come back to it on DVD to see how well it holds up on a second viewing.

Jack Frost – The 1996 movie featuring a killer snowman, NOT the Michael Keaton family film from two years later. This one isn’t quite a cult classic, although it may be a Christmas cult classic (for us at least). It’s bizarrely funny, knowingly campy, and a good amount of fun. The special effects aren’t so much primitive as they are nearly non-existent (e.g. puddles of water). This movie is pretty bad, but I don’t think I’d be going out on a limb by saying that I’d guess it’s a lot more watchable than the Michael Keaton film.

December 28th – January 3rd

World’s Greatest Dad - This one was a genuine surprise. And while a film should properly stand or falter based on its own merits, it can’t go without saying that this film was written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait. It’s sort of a slightly more demented version of an Alexander Payne film that is also one of the few films I’ve ever seen that could be credibly classified as Heathers-esque. To be clear, this movie is not as good as Heathers or an Alexander Payne film, but it is certainly a refreshingly perverse black comedy. I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I look forward to checking out the other two Goldthwait written and directed films: Shakes the Clown and Sleeping Dogs Lie (or Stay).

The Cove - A documentary that follows Ric O’Barry (the original Flipper dolphin trainer), director Louie Psihoyos, and crew as they delve into the Japanese town of Taiji in order to expose the dolphin drive hunting that occurs in a hidden away cove. It is a compelling documentary and certainly worthy of its place on the 2009 Oscar shortlist. It’s an effective piece of advocacy filmmaking. For all the people who attend Sea World and its ilk, or have ever paid to swim with dolphins, this is mandatory viewing. And even though the film is obviously one-sided, it’s hard to think that there exists a reasonable explanation for why the inhumane treatment of dolphins is okay.

Perhaps I am so firmly on board with the animal welfare argument this film makes, but part of me was underwhelmed with the horrors the movie espouses. The film itself claims about 23,000 dolphins are killed annually in Japan, with a tenth of those killed in the town of Taiji. Is that so much more horrific than the more than 100 million pigs slaughtered in factory farms in the U.S. each year? Are dolphins that much smarter and cuter that they deserve that much more of our sympathy? Perhaps dolphins are exceptionally intelligent–and an argument can be made for why it is more morally wrong to kill a more sentient and intelligent creature over one that is less so–but are pigs (not to mention chickens and cattle) so unworthy of a life free from cruelty and the horrors of captivity?