The Filmcake

September 22nd – September 28th

Wristcutters: A Love Story – A couple of small quirky movies for this week. Wristcutters takes place in a sort of way station for those who have committed suicide. Turns out this purgatory is mostly full of bores and eccentrics. How depressing. Luckily the movie itself is eccentric enough to remain entertaining. I’d found out about this one from its Spirit Award nominations. That awards show is always an occasion to add to the queue.

Eagle vs. Shark – There are plenty of funny moments in this one to be sure. The movie is one joke/gag after another. But, I found Jemaine Clement’s Jarrod to be too Napoleon Dynamite-ish. But instead of being an awkard dork, he’s an awkard dork who is also a dick. I much prefer Clement’s Flight of the Conchords stuff (can’t wait for Season 2!). I really enjoyed the performance by Loren Horsley (who also wrote the story from which the screenplay was based) as Lily. I found her to be charming and beautiful. What she saw in Jarrod I’ll never know. So goes life, I suppose.

September 15th – September 21st

Bananas – Woody Allen again. This one is described on the back of the DVD case as “an early example of what Allen called his slapdash approach to comedy.” Certainly, you can see the comedy here that eventually makes its way into Annie Hall, albeit much restrained in the latter. The Howard Cosell stuff is just great. Those scenes go to show how much of politics is stagecraft and how much of television news is hamming it up. I was reminded of the ridiculous live remotes that pop up during hurricane coverage. And, of course, the Cosell scenes also go to show how much of sexual intercourse is both stagecraft and hamming it up. While I still prefer the “smarter” comedy of Annie Hall, I’m surprised at how much smarter Bananas is compared to some of the comedies produced today. They don’t make ‘em like they used to.

September 8th – September 14th

Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession – A documentary from Alexandra Cassavetes (daughter of John Cassavetes & Gena Rowlands) about the cable channel whose status rose through the eclectic film scheduling by its head programmer Jerry Harvey. Harvey and the Z Channel championed unloved & unseen films, bringing them to a larger LA audience. Through this, it seems, they were able to introduce the “director’s cut” to the mainstream. At one point in the documentary, the talking heads discuss how Sergio Leone’s Once Upon a Time in America was panned when it was released in its original form. But after the longer director’s cut was championed by Harvey and Z Channel, the critics fell in love with it. Ahh, the importance of editing. I mention this because the discussion that followed this film centered on how much of this documentary should have been cut. I felt 30 minutes could have been lopped off, while Sarah suggested that a full hour should have been left out. I liked all of the clips from some of the movies that had appeared on the channel. And I enjoyed most of the talking head stuff. You got a sense that the programming was really quite eclectic, unique, and influential. But that’s about where it all breaks down.  Seeing these clips drawn from an eclectic group of movies made me want to explore more and more of the cinematic landscape. But whenever the film veered off into Jerry Harvey land, all I could do was to wait for the next set of clips. It’s hard to care about, much less celebrate, the programming creativity of a man if you know that he’s capable of so much violence. Still, the documentary rekindled my love for movies in a way–added a spark to the fire–for which I am grateful.

September 2nd – September 7th

Interiors – Another Woody Allen film on the heels of watching Annie Hall. And, also the film that came right after Annie Hall. A complete 180. There’s no neurotic Alvy Singer. There are neuroses for sure, but not nearly as funny. On the whole, I thought it was pretty solid. But, I’m not sure if it was a great movie, or if it was just because it was so completely different from what had come before. It does make me curious to see where this one fits in Allen’s oeuvre. I’m guessing it’s not exactly the archetype of a Woody Allen film.

August 25th – September 1st

2008 Sundance Short Films (Sundance Institute Art House Project @ OKCMOA)

Sikumi (Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking) – Beautifully shot and framed. The Inuit landscape is as beautiful as it is frighteningly isolating.

My Olympic Summer (Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking) – This one may have sparked the most discussion afterwards over sushi at Gaijin. While Sarah presumably took it as a more straight-forward documentary, I took it as a fictionalized account tacked onto found footage. Turns out it’s a little bit of each, which works just fine for us both. While there may be a line of deception that shouldn’t be crossed (and still honestly call it a documentary), I still think it’s all about the story. And, ultimately, it’s all about the subject. So, for example, if James Frey writes a memoir about his drug use with lots of embellishment, it’s not as bad as if a Presidential candidate writes a memoir with lots of embellishment. There’s a different standard of veracity. Still, some level of embellishment is human–memory is, essentially, fake. So, I’m on board with this one because it’s about relationships. If it were “about” the Olympic hostages, I’d have a different take.

Spider (Honorable Mention in Short Filmmaking) – A fun little “thriller” that had me jumping on more than one occasion. That’s more than most full-length thrillers usually get out of me.

W. (Honorable Mention in Short Filmmaking) – This one was quite funny. Even if it took me a while to fully absorb the punchline (because I’m, uh, a bit slow).

Yours Truly – Nicely animated film noir collage. Wouldn’t it be great if the big studios could get behind a feature length animated film that pushed animation beyond its comfortable limits?

FCU: Fact Checkers Unit – Funnier before Bill Murray shows up. Then everybody just seems to rely on his odd presence rather than the comedic timing and gags that show up in the first half.

I Love Sarah Jane – Zombies. And childhood crushes. How sweet. I, too, love Sarah Jane.

Dennis – Disturbing. But then aren’t all moms a bit disturbing eventually.

Man – The most traditionally narrative of the group. You could almost see this one expanded upon into a feature length film. Excellently acted by the two girls–Sarah Steele and Addison Timlin–whom I hope to see show up in other films.

Conventioneers – I moved this one to the top of the queue so it would coincide with the 2008 Democratic and Republican Party conventions. It was an interesting use of current events (the 2004 Republican Convention in NYC) as a frame for the broader story. Much like many left-wing protestors, the film was full of a lot that I liked but the arguments weren’t solid enough for me to completely get behind. Granted, this “weakness” is probably due in large part to the improvisational nature of the film. Maybe it’s not even a weakness at all and just a style preference. Who knows? I was turned off by the comments in the closing credits that stated how many hours some of the crew were detained for filming protesters at the World Trade Center site. For me, a strong argument is always much more persuasive than simple protestations. Speaking truth to power isn’t quite the same as filming without a permit.

Brand Upon the Brain! – After seeing BUTB! and The Saddest Music in the World, and anticipating My Winnipeg, I’m left both totally getting Guy Maddin’s vibe and not having a clue. I love it. It’s at once both derivative and original. It’s both something that you can let go and simply enjoy and something that can be a bit challenging. A movie like this is one that makes you love movies. And its a movie that makes you want learn about the movies that Guy Maddin loves.

Annie Hall – It’s been a while since I’ve seen this one. Like Guy Maddin, Woody Allen’s films show such a love of film. You can see how films of the past work their way into this one. But with this one, you can see how it has worked its way into the films that succeded it. It’s both influenced and influential. Strangely though, the one film that came to mind as I watched it this time was Doug Liman’s Swingers. I’m not sure what the connection was…perhaps some of the Alvy & Rob scenes reminded me of the Swingers dialogue. Oh, and my favorite of Annie Hall fashion was just the gray t-shirt and green cargo pants. Still fundamentally the unisex/androgynous “Annie Hall look” but not at all dated. I must see more Woody Allen. Maybe Vicky Cristina Barcelona and then on to some older stuff.