The Filmcake

August 24th – August 30th

The Strangers – I frankly didn’t think the shock moments were earned. Sure, there were moments where I jumped. But it wasn’t because of the story, or the acting, or rising tension brought about by good screenwriting. There weren’t any real surprises, only crashes of too loud sounds (brought about by having to turn up the volume in order to understand Scott Speedman’s mumbling). I do appreciate that it wasn’t as gory as it could have been and that we never get to see the faces of the killers, but those seem too little. Sure, I jumped. In that respect, it worked as a thriller. But it felt too manipulative than was necessary.

Food Inc. – Basically, a movie version of Michael Pollan’s work. The documentary was filled with a bunch of good information which I do think people need to see. Foraging for food these days is not as simple as it once was. I did have a few problems with it though. The unquestioning devotion to organic food (and localvorism to a lesser extent) was a little disappointing. A movement whose greatest enemies are “chemicals” and “multi-national corporations” will naturally gain a lot of followers; I just hope it doesn’t do it at the expense of logic and science (and empathy for the less affluent). That being said, the movie does shed some much needed light on the food industry. And Joel Salatin is every much the hero he was in Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma. I love that guy.

Seed, Postal, 1968 Tunnel Rats – Three movies for our “Kicked in the Bolls” celebration of the cinematic “genius” of Uwe Boll. Seed, frankly, was most notable for the PETA footage that appeared in the opening. Unlike the dramatized violence that occurs in the film, this violence was all too real. It was certainly disturbing. It asks us how much we can really enjoy the violence in cinema. If Uwe Boll’s movies are generally ridiculous and we can chuckle at the campiness of its violence (among other things), then how are we to react when real violence (albeit against minks) occurs onscreen? Aside from this potential meta-commentary about violence, the rest of the movie simply lived up to my usual Uwe Boll expectations–bad, but not quite bad enough to be good, yet still somehow enjoyable.

Postal had its moments. On occasion, Mr. Boll attempted to comment on his own critics (as well as the War on Terrorism?). It was kind of funny with moments of intelligence. But its underlying juvenileness kept me distant. It was throwing too much in with the kitchen sink. It was one of those movies that pokes fun of so much that you wonder if you can possibly be offended by any of it. Because everybody is a target, then there is no need to be upset, as the reasoning goes. Except in this movie, the white male remains relatively unscathed. Freed from the burdens of morbidly obese wife and/or bimbo followers, the white man is free to pursue his destiny.

The last movie of the night, 1968 Tunnel Rats, was the best. It may simply be the restraint with which Mr. Boll approached this Vietnam movie that made it stand out from much of his other work. The sobriety of the topic, perhaps, made it seem better than it actually was. If only a competent editor had been employed, then the movie could have been quite good. Still, I was surprised to learn that Mr. Boll could indeed make something relatively poignant. A surprise indeed.

August 17th – August 23rd

Plan 9 From Outer Space (RiffTrax Live) - This was pretty cool. The RiffTrax guys (formerly of Mystery Science Theater 3000) did a live Riffing of Plan 9 that was broadcast in theaters throughout the country. I wasn’t super blown away with it. It was funny enough. But I’ve seen funnier MST3K’s. That being said, I hope this becomes a regular occurrence (with a different movie getting Riffed). It was well worth the $12.

The Room – A movie so hilarious it doesn’t even need to be Riffed (though it was; slightly better but still not great upon a second listening). This time, we had the pleasure of introducing The Room to my brother-in-law who absolutely loved it. It just doesn’t get old. I think the thing that sets it apart from other horribly bad movies is that it’s very well paced. There aren’t too many boring stretches, which can make a good or bad movie go south quickly.

Inglourious Basterds - Tarantino’s latest. Don’t know if it’s his greatest. And saying it’s “up there” isn’t saying much because he’s only directed 6 films (and they’re all great). It’s offensive, sure. But it’s delightful. It’s a QT classic.

Grindhouse – After Inglourious Basterds, we all needed some more QT brilliance (w/ Robert Rodriguez). And since my DVD Tarantino collection is lacking (I have 2 copies of Reservoir Dogs on DVD, but nothing else), we went with a copy of Grindhouse I’d DVR’ed a few weeks back. This is the first time I’ve revisited the movies in their original Grindhouse format since the movie opened. I like all of the trailers and the back-to-back movies, but I do miss Vanessa Ferlito’s dancing (which appears on the DVD).

The Gore Gore Girls - The last of Herschell Gordon Lewis’s films until (30 years later) 2002′s Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat. It’s offensive and gross and disgusting. But its so offensive and gross and disgusting that it’s kind of wonderful. For me, the offensiveness of a movie like this (or even Inglourious Basterds) is something completely different than the offensiveness of a movie without a brain for people without brains. The clueless violence and misogyny of mainstream fare approaches a level of offensiveness that truly repulses me. This movie is particularly notable for the bizarre chocolate milk scene and the appearance of Henny Youngman, the rapid-fire comedian most famous for the classic “Take my wife–please” joke.

August 10th – August 16th

Phase V - We caught Brian Hearn’s (Film Curator at OKCMOA) remix of Saul Bass’s Phase IV at Mainsite Art Gallery in Norman on Friday evening. Hearn cut out all the dialogue and all the shots showing the actors talking from the original. Then on Friday night he presented his remix with actors providing wonderful live dialogue for the three main roles backed by a live musical score. While I’ve never seen the original Phase IV, I still had a bunch of fun with this remix. As it started, I briefly thought it might veer off into pretentious, art-installation territory. But before long the line readings were bringing in the laughs. This presentation wasn’t just for the art crowd, but for people who love movies both good and bad.

The Room – Speaking of bad movies…This one has been called the “Citizen Kane of bad movies.” It’s awful. But I totally recommend it. Occasionally, one person’s singular vision and self-delusion is all that is needed for a hilariously painful cinematic disaster. It’s not so much that people make bad movies; it’s that they think they’re doing it brilliantly (see also Audience of One and the occasional deadCENTER film or many student films). I’m still not quite sure how intentional the awfulness is though. Director, writer, and leading man Tommy Wiseau is either brilliant or earnestly incompetent. In the end it doesn’t matter because he’s made an entertaining movie. Perhaps brilliance and earnest incompetence are simply two sides of the same coin. Note: Don’t bother with the RiffTrax commentary. It’s seriously lacking in the funny. Usually, they get it right but not this time. Instead, just put The Room back in your DVD player and press PLAY again.

August 3rd – August 9th

Julie & Julia- I had a really good time with this one. While a lot of critics have decried the Julie Powell half of the story in hopes for more Julia Child, I have to say that I think both halves work well together. Sure, it’s not a perfect movie. And Julie Powell (Amy Adams, as cute as ever) is certainly no Julia Child (Meryl Streep, amazing once again). And Adams is certainly no Streep. But I did like the Julie half of the story. Julia Child was very much bigger than life. The Julie portion of the story acted as sort of a bridge to that largeness. Maybe it was the blogging thing, or having also felt rudderless, but I found that storyline compelling. There was a normalcy there that made me appreciate the Julia Child half of the story even more. Sure, a script could have been written that focused entirely on Julia Child. Maybe it would have been a better movie. In the absence of that movie, I really liked this one.

At any rate, it certainly made me hungry. As it happened, we hit a few bookstores after the movie and finally ended up with our own copy of Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. And last night’s dinner came out of the book–Carbonnade a la Flamande. Yum.

The Hurt Locker- I quite expect this one to be among the ten nominees for a Best Picture Oscar when awards season rolls around. I also wouldn’t be surprised, or at all disappointed, if Jeremy Renner gets a Best Actor Nomination. And Kathryn Bigelow is deserving of accolades as well.

The action elements are very competently executed. It doesn’t ever seem to be trying to glamourize war through beautiful explosions. Nor does it ever seem to be trying to politicize war through pedantic exposition. Without being too glitzy or wordy, it reveals quite a bit about the American war effort and our relationship with it.

Before Sunset – This one comes nine years after the first movie, Before Sunrise. I saw that one for the first time a couple of weeks ago and I wasn’t too crazy about it. But this one I really liked. The first one seemed too rambling, too idealistic, and too naive. This one was more mature, more rooted, and more compelling. As Sarah suggested to me, it would have been a different experience had we seen Before Sunrise back in 1995. Likely, we were rambling, idealistic, and naive back then as well. Perhaps it would have worked better for me back in that moment in time. Also, in the coincidence-spotting department, this was the second movie in 24-hours to feature Paris and specifically the bookstore Shakespeare & Company (which also made an appearance in Julie & Julia).

July 27th – August 2nd

Breathless - I think this is the first Jean-Luc Godard movie I’ve seen. I know. I know. Shameful. I wish there were more hours in the day and more days in the week. I want to start with an Italian neorealism marathon, then a Hollywood Big Studio noir marathon, then a French New Wave marathon.

This was Godard’s first feature-length film. And it kind of blew me away. Jean Seberg was absolutely adorable. I was smitten. And I could see the ties to Italian neorealism–the slow scenes of everyday life. But, the Brechtian influence, moving away from what is real, was decidedly apparent as well. You can certainly see Godard’s influence on more modern filmmakers. Perhaps because I’ve recently had Magnolia on the brain, I could sense a shared sensibility between Godard and Paul Thomas Anderson. Now, I’m not saying that PT Anderson is another Jean-Luc Godard. For one, Godard is prolific. But, the meandering camera paired with the filmic homages and inside jokes that could only come from a serious cineast seemed to indicate a convergence of the two.

Network - What a great movie. Again, I’m ashamed I’ve never seen this before. A truly great script. If I were to ever take a stab at screenwriting, I would first read this screenplay over and over and over again. The actors (William Holden, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway, Ned Beatty) were all superb. The Ecumenical Liberation Army–Mao Tse-tung Hour–scenes were hilarious. The scene where Max (Holden) confronts his wife about his adultery is powerful and honest. And the “mad as hell…” sequence is just about as good as cinema gets. It is a scene for all times. Network is as old as I am (33-yrs old) but it stands up eerily well. This scene in particular seems fit for this post-George W. Bush era and the uncertainty that we collectively share:

Year of the Dog – I love this movie. It certainly hits really close to home on occasion. I see a lot of myself–both the good and the bad–in Peggy (Molly Shannon). This is a movie to reaffirm your love for whatever it is that you love. While it’s a movie about a dog lover, more to the point it’s a movie about accepting people despite their differences. That sounds horribly trite, I know, but director Mike White does manage to balance the funny with the sad and the emotional for a really nice movie. This movie also makes me want to try and find the time to get back into volunteering at OK Humane (again, if there were only more hours…).

The Third Man - More foreign noir. Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles. God, I love movies.  I would be lying if I said that part of my curiosity for seeing this film didn’t come from Jack White (though I did love Citizen Kane before I’d even heard White Blood Cells). And it’s the second movie in two weeks I’ve watched that takes place in Vienna. And like Before Sunrise, this one also featured a Viennese cemetery and the Ferris wheel, although something altogether different is happening on Vienna’s streets in this one. Still, I did have my own Vienna landmark moment. During the cemetery scene at the beginning of the film, I noticed this shot in particular:

Trevor Howard & Joseph Cotten near the Dr. Karl Lueger-Gedächtniskirche at Zentralfriedhof in Carol Reed's The Third Man

When we went to Vienna a few years back, my favorite photograph I shot from the trip was of the same church:

Dr. Karl Lueger-Gedächtniskirche

And, this shot that I took better approximates the angle at which the scene from The Third Man was shot:

Dr. Karl Lueger-Gedächtniskirche (back)

It would seem that the scene was filmed amongst the trees in the middleground. I wish I would have known about The Third Man back then so I could have explored more of the film’s locations (apparently they offer walking tours…though I would have found my own way…I hate group tours).

Wendy & Lucy - What was I saying about not enough hours and days? I could waste hours upon hours on Netflix’s Instant Viewing feature. I needed something (not too long) to watch so I settled on this, which I’d seen first at the Noble Theatre back in March. Michelle Williams. Amazing. I love, love, love this performance. After Year of the Dog earlier in the day, and Umberto D. several days ago, I am truly spent. Luckily for my own dogs, I have a renewed and invigorated love for them.

The Storm (TV) – Wow. This was worse than Meteor. It was as if someone conceived of a weather-based disaster movie without actually putting in any menacing weather, aside from a few “accurate” lightning strikes and moderate to heavy rain. Oooohhhh, scary. I did, however, learn that James Van Der Beek runs like a girl. So, there was that.