The Filmcake

April 20th – April 27th

The X-Files: I Want to Believe- I really wanted to enjoy this second movie. And as a huge fan of the television series, I figured I’d like just about whatever they threw up on the screen. But this was kind of painful. It’s not like I’m some sort of X-Files fanboy who isn’t going to be satisfied unless the script plays narrowly on the series’ mythology. But, give me something. You’ve had 10 years to come up with something, and this is the best you can do?

Scully has to Google “stem cell research”? Really!!?? C’mon. Really? I get the Google product placement. But if they would have Googled “X-Files Fan Fiction” for some script rewrites then they’d probably have had a more compelling movie. While Gillian Anderson earned her paycheck, Chris Carter really let me down. All of the in-your-face visual and music cues were annoying at best, the fanboy candy that was tossed out was dumbed down, and the plot wasn’t even all that thrilling anyway.

Zack and Miri Make a Porno- Not the best from Kevin Smith, but okay. A couple of laughs, but nothing that really sticks with me. I think I’m officially sick of Seth Rogen though. It comes at a good time, because I have little desire to see Observe and Report.

Rachel Getting Married & Crooklyn – Two movies directed by men about girls trying to survive their families, dealing with tragedy, and then moving on. It was the second time I’d seen Rachel; the first time I’d seen Spike Lee’s Crooklyn. They both hover around families that are foreign to me–one multicultural and artistic, the other black and New York. Yet they both have so much familial familiarity. They’re both like a comforting hug and something you need to move on from.

April 13th – April 19th

Tulpan – Somehow this one missed out on a 2008 Oscar nomination for Foreign Language Film. What a shame. Director Sergey Dvortsevoy and cinematographer Jola Dylewska manage to capture some truly spectacular images. The landscape looks otherworldly, like a credible stand-in for Luke Skywalker’s childhood home on Tatooine. The farm animals put on spectacular performances, threatening to upstage their human counterparts. And a several minute-long lamb birth scene is at once both disgusting and beautiful. It would appear that life (from beginning to end) is both of these things.

Paranoid Park – I really like where the cinematography and soundtrack/score of this movies puts you. You’re caught somewhere between dreary desperation and dreamy escapism. It is both frustrating and soothing. It also happens to make me want to revisit Gus Van Sant’s oeuvre.

Perhaps I could start with what was my first introduction to Van Sant as director of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Under the Bridge” video, here literally interpreted:

Right at Your Door – There were a few head-scratchers in this one, such as a flat tire and a heavy accent that were magically and instantaneously resolved. But these goofs were minor and likely the expected detritus from a very small budget. Still, this was a fairly fun thriller that played on recent uneasiness of the color-coded variety but one that would have benefited from a tighter, trimmed-down edit.

April 7th – April 12th

Arusi Persian Wedding- This documentary about the filmmaker Marjan Tehrani’s Iranian-born brother and American-born wife returning to Iran for a traditional wedding was itself nicely shot and structured. As a travelogue, it even had me wanting to travel to Iran. The brother and groom, Alex, left me a little cold though. He seemed to relish in the exotic nature of Iran, as if it were little more than a nice locale for a gritty photo shoot. While there was justified criticism of Bush and American foreign policy, there was little criticism of the misogynistic government and Islamic religion (of which the bride is forced to convert in order to travel). On the topic of head scarves, the bride Heather at least sheepishly insinuates that the garment is oppressive. All her new husband can say is that she looks sexy in it. Eck. Both Alex and his filmmaker sister seemed complicit in the misogyny and oppression through their jaw-gaped admiration of Iran. At least, Marjan Tehrani could hide behind a well-placed camera.

Crimes & Misdemeanors – Another Woody Allen film and another for a potential Atheist Film Festival. It asks questions of both morality and the absence of morality. It does beg the question of how far one would go to maintain comfort and happiness. Watching it, I thought of the most convincing reason not to cheat on your spouse–realizing what lengths you might have to go to in order to keep it a secret and keep your spouse from getting hurt. That’s more convincing to me than “You shall not commit adultery.”

Cadillac Records- As the father of Chicago blues, Muddy Waters electric sound influenced all kinds of bands from The Beatles all the way to (presumably) Blues Hammer. This musical biopic (in regular musical biopic fashion) tells his and Chess Records’ stories in a fractured and incomplete manner. The music is great (Muddy, Willie Dixon, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, Howlin’ Wolf, Etta James), so in the end it’s worth it. A factual account might be better suited for a, uh, book. But of course a book wouldn’t come with Jeffrey Wright or Beyonce Knowles (“At Last” has wormed its way into my brain, dangit).

Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead- Basically a heist movie with all the expected ineptitudes, twists, and non-linearness. But instead of any law enforcement threatening to bring the perpetrators down, it’s familial dysfunction that seeks to destroy flimsily laid plans. On the surface, it’s a really solid movie. P.S. Hoffman is great. And, I’ve always had a fondness for Ethan Hawke. But I couldn’t stand the performances from Albert Finney and Marisa Tomei. I know Finney is a legend. But the scowl he occasionally wore couldn’t keep me from fearing that he might be suffering from a stroke throughout many of his scenes. And Tomei is a fine actress. But (dare I say) I’m getting a little bored with her breasts. Of course she looks good at 40. Of course, of course, of course. But, put a shirt on next time, okay? And, I know it becomes problematic to pin the misogyny pin on any one particular film, but this film didn’t do women many favors. Sure, the women in the film arguably fare better than their male counterparts (who aren’t shown any particular favors either). But all female characters don’t have to fall into one of the following archetypes: dead, stupid, weak, or bitch.

March 30th – April 6th

Slumdog Millionaire - Sure it was predictable, unrealistic, and not deserving of its Best Picture Oscar. But it wasn’t that bad. Is it exploitative? Maybe. Unrealistic? Of course. Did my eyes roll? More than once. But a lot of movies are exploitative, unrealistic, and induce eye-rolling. A lot movies worse than this one were made last year. While I can’t champion this one too much (it’s not going to make my Top Ten of 2008), I think much of the backlash and dismissal of it is unwarranted. At least the volume of the backlash and dismissal anyway.