The Filmcake

November 16th – November 22nd

2012 - A fun disaster movie blockbuster. I could go on at length about the plot holes and the myriad of ways in which this movie is flawed. But I don’t really care all that much. This movie goes balls to wall with its utter destruction of our planet. It’s like a very polished version of a SyFy (nee SciFi) Channel Original Movie. And I mean that (mostly) as a compliment. It’s ridiculous to be sure. But it knows it and has a decent amount of fun with it. Still, I look forward in the future to an intelligent disaster movie more along the lines of The Day After (not Roland Emmerich’s The Day After Tomorrow). It’d be tonally very different than 2012 but still very much welcomed.

The Class (Entre les murs) - I was very much impressed with this film. I am especially impressed with François Bégaudeau–the actor who played the teacher at the center of this film. Bégaudeau not only played the lead, but also co-wrote the screenplay which was based on the novel he had written which was a semi-autobiographical account of his own experiences teaching at an inner city Parisian school. Whew. I am also impressed with how a lot of French film lately (or at least what I’ve seen of it) addresses the changing face of France. The generational and ethnic changes that are occurring in that country seem to be interestingly dealt with in a way that seems to be much rarer in American cinema. It seems like we’d rather get lost in spectacle (see 2012) than confront ourselves within. Although perhaps I’m just looking at too small of a sample…

November 9th – November 15th

In The Company of Men & Your Friends and Neighbors - Re-watching two from Neil Labute on the heels of catching the Ghostlight Theatre Club’s production of LaBute’s Fat Pig. As Scott Tobias said in his latest The New Cult Canon column, In The Company of Men ”isn’t a misogynistic film, it’s a misanthropic film. Big difference.” I think that is exactly right. I certainly mistook it for misogynistic upon its release and only came around with time. Things became a little clearer upon the release of Your Friends and Neighbors. But even then, it can sometimes take a bit of work and some level of caution when it comes to differentiating between a writer/director is misogynistic or misanthropic and a writer/director who is commenting on misogyny and misanthropy. That caution was admittedly still in place when I went to see a local production of Labute’s Fat Pig. It was truly only after seeing that play that I realized that Labute was, in fact, not the monster that he’d been portrayed as.

Election & Sideways - Two from Alexander Payne. Election is imminently quotable. And Sideways is in some ways a love letter to pretentiousness. Sometimes ALL we have are our idiosyncratic interests.

Ghost World - At this point, this movie just makes me feel a bit awkward. On the one hand, I’m totally infatuated with Enid. On the other hand, with age, I’m beginning to see myself more and more like Seymour. This Enid Problem conjures up sage wisdom proffered by one Matthew McConaughey: “I get older, they stay the same age.” Thus, the awkwardness.

Friday the 13th – It was after Halloween, but I did still manage to catch this one on a Friday the 13th. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen this but never before have I noticed how well crafted a horror movie it really is. Truly good stuff.

Up - This will likely be in my year-end Top 10. I’m also a little embarrassed that I’ve yet to see either of the Toy Story movies, Finding Nemo, or Cars. I’m a bad Pixar fan.

The Shape of Things – This was the most play-like of the three, especially in the performances. Apparently, the cast that premiered the play was the same for the movie. What it says about art (or what may be considered art) would blow the mind of Enid’s (from Ghost World) summer school art teacher. It does, quite interestingly, explore how far we go for love and sex (and how those lengths might change depending on how closely those things are shaped like Rachel Weisz’s ass). Interestingly, a production of this will play this weekend at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center.

 October 26th – November 1st

Antichrist - Perhaps it’s not a movie to enjoy or one that entertains in the Hollywood sense, but it is quite interesting nevertheless. And that is more than enough. Add to that a cinematic aesthetic that is often gorgeous but also sometimes repulsive and you’ve got something definitely worth watching. Some of the critical buzz seems to almost discount the film, and its director Lars von Trier, because of its alleged misogyny. I think dismissal is wrongheaded. The film contains many things. Misogyny is surely one of them.

I also wasn’t as shocked as I expected to be. Having read some of the critical conversation, I was prepared for the graphic imagery. But it wasn’t near as bad as I was expecting. And while I had also heard about the talking fox, I didn’t find the shot funny. I found it quite disturbing and sad. That being said, if I’d seen it in a theatre the herd mentality would probably have induced a laugh. I understand where the laughter and the claims of misogyny come from, I just don’t happen to buy into them quite yet.

After only one viewing, I’m conflicted about it. I would have to see it multiple times in order to offer any interpretation as to its meaning. Whether or not von Trier has approached Bosch or simply aims to provoke remains to be seen.