The Filmcake

July 21st – July 27th

“Mad Men – Season 1″ (AMC) – As the Season 2 premiere approached, the critical esteem coalesced and the Emmy nominations were announced, I felt lost not having seen a single episode of this series. And the “very long wait” warning on Netflix wasn’t very promising. Luckily, the entire first season was available OnDemand. So we watched the 13 episodes of the first season over the course of the week.

I’m hooked. It continues the tradition of the HBO dramas, like “The Sopranos”. It’s full of the deep themes and complicated characters. But the thing that has impressed me most are the details. There are little details in the set dressing, in the costumes, the hair, that really pull you into the period. I love it.

The Werewolf of Washington – Dean Stockwell as a Werewolf in Watergate era Washington. This movie is perhaps only watchable because of its sure awfulness. There are some things that certain cheaply made horror movies have that lift them into the realm of camp or even cult status. This movie lacked most of those things. The film made a few failed attempts at parodying the then timely Nixon presidency and Watergate scandal. And there wasn’t much else–acting, special effects, cinematography–to redeem those failures. Most strikingly, this film was the polar opposite of the next film I would watch.

Bad Taste – Where Werewolf of Washington was a jumbled mess of awfulness, Bad Taste was clearly the work of a talented filmmaker (Peter Jackson’s first film). While it was obviously cheaply made in terms of cost, this movie had the eye of someone who could make something out of nothing. It was so much better than Werewolf. The special effects were infinitely better. The cinematography was infinitely better. The direction was infinitely better. What a surprise.

For me, watching Bad Taste right after Werewolf of Washington was a symbol of a lot of the amateur art you see whether it be writing, music, or film. You don’t need Final Draft to write a screenplay. You don’t need a Les Paul and your own PA system to make music. And you don’t need a big budget to make a movie. You really just need passion and talent. If you don’t have that to begin with, you’re really just wasting your time & money. I saw plenty of passion and talent in Bad Taste…not a whole lot of it in Werewolf of Washington.

Batman Begins – Had to watch this one again in preparation for The Dark Knight. Man, I must’ve been drunk or asleep the first time I watched this. There was so much of it that I didn’t remember. What I was really watching for most of all was the Joker card reveal at the end.

Control – Rock photographer and music video director Anton Corbijn’s bio-pic of Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis. This is no Ray or Walk The Line. This one was very nicely directed without the tired bio-pic cliches, excellently photographed in black & white, and stellarly acted by Sam Riley in the lead role.

The legendary Sex Pistols gig of June 4, 1976 was supposedly only attended by about 30-40 people. But that handful of people would shape the Manchester music scene. Morrissey was there. Members of the Buzzcocks and The Fall were there. And of course, members of Joy Division attended the show separately and are said to have become a band as a result. That’s enough right there for a good movie. Watching this one with the very enjoyable 24 Hour Party People would make for a great double-feature.

This film traces Curtis’ life from a kid listening to records in his room through a miscalculated marriage and to his final struggle with epilepsy. To see Riley transform this character…to see Riley/Curtis’ stage dancing evolve into a commentary on his own ailment…and to see where fear and uncertainty can finally lead someone. Man. The performance was certainly convincingly heartbreaking if it wasn’t entirely sympathetic.

The Dark Knight – I have to admit that this one lived up to the hype that I had created for myself. I’m not a huge superhero fan. I am a fan of good movies though. And this one was pretty damn good. The greatest compliment I can give it is that as I’ve talked about it and thought about it, I realize that I must see it again. I’ve created so many questions that can only be answered through a second screening. Heath Ledger’s performance is certainly Oscar worthy. And his makeup was perfect. That seems weird for me to say. But the simple detail of seeing the pores on his nose through the makeup added this weird level of realism that made him all the more creepy. This one will have to be one that I come back to later. And thanks to just finishing Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, I’m seeing her philosophy in lots of other stuff…including Batman (and, more overtly, in “Mad Men”). More on that later…