The Filmcake

April 5th – April 11th

Extract – Mostly underwhelmed with this one. I love, love, love Office Space. It probably gets quoted or referenced at least once a week in our house. And, as they say, Idiocracy is flawed but does have its moments. So, I was looking forward to Mike Judge’s latest. Despite an excellent cast, the film just flops around the factory floor like some gasping fish. There are some moments. David Koechner is annoyingly funny as the persistent neighbor. Ben Affleck’s druggie bartender was a pleasant respite. And Mila Kunis’ con-woman story had some potential. But in the end, a few laughs here and there don’t add up to a whole hell of a lot.

The Thing From Another World – The sixth and final installment of our Sci-Fi Horror Marathon. This one from 1951. A familiar premise that can be seen throughout the horror genre. A group of people take refuge from a monster-creature in an outpost of some type. In this case, a group of military men, scientists, and a newspaper man take refuge in an arctic outpost from an extraterrestrial “carrot-like” monster. The horror is less about the monster and more about the fear of being trapped and of the unknown intruder and the dark and mysterious outside.

While working my way through the first season of The X-Files which just showed up on Netflix Instant Viewing, I ended up watching the “Ice” episode right after The Thing From Another World. That episode featured Mulder and Scully (along with a couple of scientists and a pilot) trapped in an outpost in Alaska desperately trying to survive a potentially extraterrestrial intruder. The Thing certainly lives on.

March 15th – March 21st

Coraline — The special effects were good, but they didn’t blow my mind. The stop-motion stuff wasn’t nearly as delicious as what Wes Anderson did with it in Fantastic Mr. Fox. It wasn’t as loved and lived in. And some of the CG effects just didn’t seem to mesh naturally with the more tactile stop-mo stuff. Good, but not special. The story was creepier than I expected. I think it would be scary for young children. And despite getting a little muddled at times and turning towards video game territory in the latter parts, it was still a refreshingly smart and interesting tale.

Phase IV – Last summer, we caught Brian Hearn’s live remix of this Saul Bass sci-fi film. That one was called Phase V and featured live actors dubbing new lines over an edited version of the film. I hadn’t seen the original work to that point. But I really enjoyed the remix. Well, now I’ve finally seen the inspiration which features some nicely filmed close-ups of ants. Unlike Them!, the other ant movie which I saw last week, these are real ants and aren’t shot to look bigger. Their size isn’t what is scary, it’s the evolving hive mentality that they develop which turns homicidal. The movie is a bit slow and veers off into 70′s sci-fi trippyland too much. But it’s still worth watching, if only for the fact that it’s the only feature that Bass directed. It also features an image that appears to be a direct homage to the Luis Bunuel/Salvador Dali short Un Chien Andalou (see below).

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) — Number five in our Sci-Fi Horror Marathon. Before this one and Them! last week, I expected the sci-fi horror of the 1950s to be nothing more than drive-in fluff. I was expecting mindless creature features, but in both of these I’m finding something more profound. In Body Snatchers particularly, it is science fiction that entertains with rising tension and thrills but also comments on the concerns of the times. It does not spell anything out and can be read in different ways, but fear (intentional or not) clearly transcends. I’m curious about the 1978 and 1993 remakes, but also a little wary. I really liked this one a bunch.

Aguirre, Wrath of God – Okay, I’m now officially a card-carrying member of The Church of Werner Herzog. After hearing his voice work in Ramin Bahrani’s Plastic Bag short last week and reading up Herzog in the AV Club, I had a Herzog itch. Plus, I needed to see what this Klaus Kinski was all about. I was not disappointed. Herzog, in five minutes, shows more passion and competency in filmmaking than many directors will demonstrate in their entire careers. And a crazed Kinski is quite definitely compelling in his own right. Kinski’s performance, the location shooting in the Peruvian rainforests and rivers, and Herzog’s direction add up to a truly gritty and dirty production. Herzog brilliantly immerses the viewer in the location. Watching this movie practically invites swatting away Amazonian insects from the comfort of your own couch.

That this movie was made with a stolen camera and stolen monkeys; that the dialogue was delivered in English, dubbed in German, to stand in for Spanish; that it has inspired cinematic legend (namely Kinski acting at Herzog’s gunpoint) and influenced Coppola’s Apocalypse Now and Malick’s The New World–these all demonstrate the true brilliance of its maker. Keeping on the Herzog/Kinski track, I’m going to attempt a Fitzcarraldo, Burden of Dreams, My Best Fiend triple-feature sometime very soon.

Un Chien Andalou – For some reason, it has taken me this long to get around to this one. It is, of course, the eye cutting scene that initially brought me to the movie. And having seen it, I’m just kind of shocked that it’s such a tiny piece of the film, albeit a very good shot. This Surrealist filmmaking is fun to watch, but admittedly leaves me a bit confused. I know that’s part of the point. But, I needs me some narrative, yo. Still, it was pretty damn cool noticing a shot in this one that was mimicked in Saul Bass’s Phase IV which we had just seen. The shots in question involved people with ants crawling out a hole in their hand. There is a shot in this one…and a roughly identical one in Phase IV. I assumed some Freudian connotation–of death or destruction, vaginal. But maybe Dali just really likes ants and Bass really likes Bunuel and Dali. Nevertheless, the unexpectedness of catching Bass quoting Bunuel and Dali quoting Dali was pretty cool.

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist – Not a great teen comedy (very few are), but a pretty good one. For me, it was special for breaking out of the mold and introducing some new things to the genre, especially the gay guy friends (who aren’t there just to be made fun of) and the sex scene (which seemed to be all about getting her off). The fact that the leads are Michael Cera and Kat Dennings sort of instantly subverts the genre. Although at this point, neither Cera or Dennings can be described as weird or off-beat, they are the popular kids now.

Pineapple Express – James Franco is the man. We can all agree on that. Now I wonder if he can edit. Because that’s exactly what this movie needed. Like Apatow’s Funny People it was overly long. A tighter movie would have been better for everyone. In several sequences, I found myself wondering why I was getting bored in a movie full of gags and chase scenes. It’s time for this Apatow family of players to find someone who has the ability to reign them in on occasion.

March 8th – March 14th

Under Great White Northern Lights  — See review.

Academy Award Nominated Animated Short films – Managed to catch 4 of the 5 nominees in online videos (unfortunately missed out on the Wallace & Gromit short). The Oscar winner Logorama took a clever concept that ties pervasive marketing with cinematic conventions to create a cop chase turned ad-pocalypse. French Roast, Granny O’Grimms Sleeping Beauty, and The Lady and the Reaper were all adequate animated shorts. But none of them rose above my standard for animated shorts this year–the Ellie and Carl scene at the beginning of Pixar’s Up.

Paper Bag — As part of the FUTURESTATES project, Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart, Goodbye Solo) has created a brilliant short film about a plastic grocery bag. A comment on both excessive pollution and consumerism, the movie also manages to be something more. With his voice work contribution, Werner Herzog allows the film to also be a touching piece of existentialism.

The FUTURESTATES project has tasked “11 renowned and up-and-coming filmmakers to take the current state of affairs in the United States, and extrapolate them into stories of the nation in the not-so-distant future.” I can’t wait to check out the other ten.

The Breakfast Club – Another one of those movies that I could say I’ve seen countless times but in reality have not seen in an un-cut, from beginning to end, way in quite some time (at least since I last had a working VCR). It certainly inhabits a Hughesian world where the “criminal” can hook-up with the “princess” by the end credits. It’s all a bit hokey and stupid, but there are enough hints at honesty and genuine nostalgia to allow the film to hold up after twenty-five years.

Hamlet 2 – An okay movie with some genuinely hilarious moments that didn’t add up to much. Steve Coogan is great. And there are some really funny scenes. And a wonderful song–”Rock Me Sexy Jesus.” But, I was underwhelmed with the film as a whole. I was wanting it to be something that it was unable to live up to.

Them! – The fourth installment in our Sci-fi Horror Marathon. This one was released way back in 1954. New Mexico State Police are soon joined by the FBI after one of the Bureau’s own goes missing in a mysterious attack. The two agencies are joined by a father-daughter team of scientists from the Department of Agriculture. After pursuing the various leads, the investigators finally discover that the attacks have been perpetrated by giant ants which have mutated as a result of recent atomic weapons testing. Eventually supplemented with military firepower, the group tracks the giant ants to the Los Angeles storm sewer system where they are eventually destroyed.

This movie was surprisingly well paced and plotted. The eventual appearance of the giant ants does provoke a modern chuckle. By today’s standards, the thing looks a bit silly. After that initial appearance though, I did not have a problem with the ant monsters. They were photographed nicely and used sparingly enough to not be off-putting.

I thought the catatonic girl who starts screaming upon smelling the formic acid was particularly creepy and added to the initial suspense of the film. The female scientist, Pat Medford (Joan Weldon), was an interesting role. While it wasn’t a major role, the fact that this female character was both a doctor and scientist and not simply shoehorned in as a romantic foil was a true surprise. There was a sexist remark made her way (something along the lines of: if she’s the kind of doctor that makes house calls, I could develop a fever real fast). If anything, the line just makes the man saying them seem like a pig.

The film obviously plays against the very real fears of the atomic age. The giant ants suggest a scary outcome to this atomic tinkering.

When Man entered the atomic age, he opened a door into a new world. What we’ll eventually find in that new world, nobody can predict.

The ants also suggest the spread of communism in the age of McCarthyism. The monster ants suggest both a domestic spread of communism as well as the fear of a global march of communism. Destroy the queen, and you destroy the colony. It is the policy of Containment used to prevent the domino-like spread of communism. Bonus: an early Leonard Nimoy appearance.

The Princess Bride – A personal favorite that I haven’t seen in quite a while (also since I had a working VCR). It’s also one that my wife has never seen in its entirety. Now that it is available on Netflix Instant Viewing…she still hasn’t seen it in its entirety (falling asleep about two-thirds of the way through). Perhaps it’s one that you just have to fall for at a younger age.

I still have a great time with it. The movie has everything. Wallace Shawn. Andre the Giant. A six-fingered Christopher Guest. A princess. Romance. Sword fighting. Poison. Pirates. Torture.

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 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.