Le Film: 2005
Tian bian yi duo yun [The Wayward Cloud]
2005, Tsai Ming-liang
Another unsettling moving painting from Mr. Ming-liang. It is as much a medi-
tation on its subject matter - longing, shame, corruption, and love - as it is
on the medium of film itself. Tsai is so helplessly in love with his visuals
as he is with his characters. Lee Kang-sheng is back as Hsiao-Kang, and still
pitiful looking, yet captivating. The result is a gorgeous work. (I like the
little nod to Woody Allen's 'Annie Hall' - the scene with live crabs escaping
their pot never grows old for some reason).
La marche de l'empereur [March of the Penguins]
2005, Luc Jacquet
Although cute, and interesting, this docu is hardly the see-god masterpiece
people are making it out to be. One thing is for certain: I'll never look at
penguins the same way again. They're little friggin' troopers. Plays like a
great 90-minute National Geographic special, which by coincidence, it is. What
I want to know is: How did they get that crane shot in the middle of Antarctica?
I think a behind-the-scenes documentary would be just as interesting as the
film itself.
A Fei jing juen [Days of Being Wild]
1991, Wong Kar Wai
Wild meanders crazily as most of WKW's pictures do. I personally found
the Hemingway-esque fate of his characters somewhat ill fitting. Very strong
performances from the entire cast, including Leslie Cheung and Maggie Cheung,
anchor the picture down hard. Despite sound directions from Wong, it lacks the
hypnotic power of WKW's later films.
Grizzly Man
2005, Werner Herzog
Grizzly is an example of Werner being Werner - obsessing over obsession,
revealing madness, and worshipping chaos. This docu very thoroughly studies
the life of one very deranged pseudo-naturalist as he follows around, lives with,
and is eventually devoured by a grizzly bear. The best conversation piece of
the year.
Oldboy
2003, Park Chan-wook
Chan-wook's film is about perfect revenge, resulting in redemption and
misbegotten love. It reminds me of Takashi Miike. For all Miike's sins, I
believe he's having profound impact on cinema.
Sud pralad [Tropical Malady]
2004, Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Tropical is an avant garde meditation on the brutality of love. The
story is divided into two acts: the first is a straight-forward gay love story
about a soldier and the unemployed aim of his affections. The second act is a
surreal reproduction of Thai folklore about a soldier who hunts the ghost of a
shaman, which transforms into a tiger at night and haunts the jungle--killing
livestock and people. It's bizarre, slow, and challenging, but I'd re-watch it
in a heartbeat. Just don't ask me to pronounce the director's name.
Constant Gardener
2005, Fernando Meirelles
Ugh. Ralph and Rachel give fantastic performances. The cinematography is both
beautiful and painful--gorgeous shadowy landscapes of dunes and salt lakes and
rust colored skies intermingled with the dying, diseased, and suffering masses
of Africa. I grew weary of the white-man-saves-the-black-man premise and
constant imagery bombardment of poverty and suffering in Africa. I felt like
yelling at the screen: "I know! I know! You are starving and you have AIDS!
Use a condom! Eat a sandwich! For Christ sake!" Which is callous, I know.
That's how this film made me feel, I guess: like a callous, gluttonous jerk.
Broken Flowers
2005, J. Jarmusch
Jim succeeds in quieting his audience, but fails to whisper anything of value
in their ear. Murray's meditations leave no answers, and the picture lacks
the style of better meditational films. Its one truly redeeming quality is its
sense of humor - wry, quirky, and dry.
Barbarella
1968, R. Vadim
Jane Fonda jiggles around strange planets in tight, transparent outfits and
dodges bad special effects attacks in this super-campy, charming sixties flick.
Barbarella is both cute and bizarre. It has the appeal of a monster
movie and the protagonist's sexual escapades rival that of most afterhours
'Skinamax' features.
In the Realms of the Unreal
2004, J. Yu
This documentary about reclusive writer/artist Henry Darger is warm and
inspiring in its nonjudgemental appreciation for the man and his devotion to
his work.
Bin-jip [3-Iron]
2004, K. Ki-duk
Kim Ki-duk scores with another gorgeous, evocative, quiet, dream-like picture.
3-Iron is easily my favorite film of the year. Think: Terrence Malick shooting
and casting in Korea, Wong Kar Wai meddling with the script, and Tsai Ming-liang
setting the tone. Funny, touching, and hypnotic.
Pickup On South Street
1953, S. Fuller
Sam Fuller's no-nonsense direction and a stellar cast including Richard Widmark,
Thelma Ritter, and Jean Peters together turn a quick-and-dirty crime caper into
a shadowy, timeless classic picture - full of fisticuffs, cold blooded murder,
and serious smooching. Widmark makes a perfect thief with the not-so-golden
heart. He's conniving and unscrupulous, yet very likable.
À bout de souffle [Breathless]
1960, J. Godard
I can see how this rogue little picture inspired generations of filmmakers,
including Wong Kar Wai, Antonioni, Coppola, and Scorsese. Recognized Seberg
from The Mouse That Roared. She's quite the Barbie doll.
Down With Love
2003, P. Reed
Cute, funny, dumb. A fine date movie or light faire for a groggy day.
Ewan and Renee fill the shoes of their vapid characters thoroughly.
David Hyde Pierce has a shining moment in a tired character.
Enron: The Smartest Men In The Room
2005, A. Gibney
Gibney & company give their audience a monorail ride through corporate
mayhem. It whets the appetite for anyone with a brain, anyone who is morbidly
curious, or anyone who was unaware that crooks are running our country.
Trois couleurs: Bleu [Three Colors: Blue]
1993, Kieslowski
I was warned off from Blue - told it was terribly boring when compared to Red
and White. I did not find this at all to be true. I found the film poetic,
mesmerizing, and beautiful. I think the entire trilogy is a masterpiece of cinema.
Binoche apparently turned down a role in Spielberg's Jurassic Park to be in
this film.
Fanny och Alexander [Fanny and Alexander]
1982, I. Bergman
This is a strange, strange picture. There's no ending. Apparently all the
characters are caught in a land which hovers in between a ghostly, hellish
voodoo and sublime light and laughter. It's gorgeous to look at, rife with
emotion, and fascinating as hell.
National Treasure
2004, J. Turteltaub
The young boy in me who fell in love with Goonies at the age of 11, was
delighted to have similar feelings revived for this ridiculous picture.
War of the Worlds
2005, S. Spielberg
War is gripping and gruesome, but like Signs ends in an anti-
climatic and unintelligent manner. WTF.
Star Wars: Episode III
2005, G. Lucas
Episode III comes as half-relief, as in, thank god this damned series is
over, and half-disappointment, as in, it's a shame ... he's just starting to
get the hang of this. For once Lucas seems to say, "To hell with a PG rating,
let's get some beheadings in here!" This final installment contains the whipped
cream and the cherry too - robots with 4 light sabres and massive battle
sequences are enough to make the inner child giggle with glee.
The Collected Shorts of Jan Svankmajer: Vol. 1
2003, J. Svankmajer
Svankmajer could be a major influence on someone like Michel Gondry. His off-
kilter and kitchy experiments in filming technique appear to expand boundaries
artistically and conceptually ... possibly even technically. Very unique.
The Mouse that Roared
1959, J. Arnold
Even a bad Peter Sellers picture is guaranteed to delight. With a dated charm,
Seller's multi-role comedic antics, and the seductive smile of one Jean Seberg,
I'm glad I took the time.
Hauru no ugoku shiro (Howl's Moving Castle)
2004, Miyazaki
Not as focused or original as Spirited Away or Totoro, but still gorgeous to
look at and deeply moving. Watching a bad Miyazaki film is like winning a
small lottery - you're still applauding and smiling.
Tamala 2010
2002, t.o.L.
Like FLCL, Tamala 2010 is a pointless, postmodernistic and amusing animated
mess with an ass-kicking soundtrack. From what I can gleen from a Babelfish
translation of their web site (www.tamala2010.com), an art group led by t.o.L.
(whoever the hell that is) put together this oddball, black-and-white full
length Flash film over the course of 4 years, and then set it to music. It is
supposedly being followed up by an animated series and supported with mulitiple
soundtracks, toys, comics, and a huge array of merchandising. The main
character - Tamala - is a tiny punk space cat with huge eyes. The people
behind this deranged venture are surely making a truckload of dough off her
Hello Kitty appeal.
Birth
2004, Jonathan Glazer
Heavy, heavy stuff. The day after a woman announces her marriage engagement a
small boy enters her home and tells her he "is" the conscious reincarnated
spirit of her former husband. The casting here is smart, the direction is
fine, the cinematography is gorgeous, the music is sweeping, the story is
committed, and the performances are gripping. Affecting. One of the best
motion pictures to come out of 2004. Another sleeper surprise for Kidman (a la
Dogville).
The Essential Charlie Chaplin: Vol. 8
1916, C. Chaplin
This volume contains several shorter films by Chaplin. I will break them down
one-by-one and share my thoughts with you: The Vagabond is genius, One A.M. is
genius, The Fireman genius, The Count genius, and The Pawnshop genius. Read:
G-E-N-I-U-S.
Stone Reader
2002, M. Markowitz
Brilliant documentary about a "lost" work of literary genius, and one man's
search for its elusive author. A delight to watch, especially for anyone with
literary aspirations.
Slacker
198X, R. Linklatter
Thank you, Linklatter for showing me that you are human. Up to this point I
had only seen his good films. I was beginning to think he was disgustingly
perfect. Slacker is not my cup of tea - a chatty collage of scenes which piece
together to form absolutely nothing. They show craftsmanship, but when they
seem (to me at least) to go no where, I am left disappointed. Perhaps that's
the point, but even if so, my opinion of the work doesn't improve. Perhaps it
will over time.
Melinda and Melinda
2005, W. Allen
Cute. Odd casting choices. Will Ferrell was amusing in the part Woody would
ordinarily play himself. His delivery of several lines ("Did you shoot the
furniture too?") had me rolling.
Ocean's 12
200X, ?
Hilarious and ultra-cool in small parts. Painfully absurd ending.
Porco Rosso
19XX, H. Miyazaki
Light fare for Miyazaki. A technical masterpiece. Extremely delightful.
The Shape of Things
2003, N. LaBute
Paul Rudd and Rachel Weiss are fine. Labute's writing is, as usual,
confrontational and outlandish, and his characters nefarious and terribly
flawed. I enjoy watching his human cars wreck. His works are like human
demolition derbies, and his characters are lemons, needing a good bashing-in.
His work both explores and appeals to the dark side of human nature.
Coffee and Cigarettes
2003, J. Jarmusch
My new favorite Jarmusch film. The vignettes have a delightfully impulsive
feel to them, an immediacy which reminds me of the impromptu plays my sister
and I use to put on for my parents. Absurd and disjointed, yet pointed.
Blanchett earns her Oscar here.
Hotel Rwanda
2004, George
Don Cheadle tears up the screen as a successful hotel manager who struggles
to maintain order and save lives amidst the chaos and genocidal war of his home
country. A powerful story, and wonderfully performed, but cheapened in parts
through it's Hollywood-ification.
Westworld
1973, M. Crichton
Ahh, the classic Man Versus Machine story line spiced up with killer cowboy
robots. Crichton does a great job bringing his sci-fi vision to life.
The FX are dated, but have a wonderfully charming camp appeal. Great, great
stuff. Yul Brynner is Mechanical Death.
The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury
2004, P. Chung
Yay! Cartoons! I love animation. Especially animation from Peter Chung
of Aeon Flux legend. I also love watching (in this case listening to) Diesel
perform. So the combination here created a popcorn night at my humble landing
pad. It was fun little film and a nice little bonus for fans of the Riddick
films.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
2004, Conran
Neat visuals! (Poor casting.) I found it awkward and odd, but at times I
gaped at the TV like a big dumb kid, enthralled in the idea of gigantic robots
and flying aircraft carriers. Paltrow seemed terribly out of place.
The Chronicles of Riddick
2004, D. Twohy
Vin Diesel is the perfect action star of our time. The ambiguities of his
character (Is he a good guy? Will he rape and kill you in your sleep?) and his
larger-than-life persona are entertaining as hell. And per the requirement of
any good action star he seems to be able to take a ridiculous and terrible line
and belt it out like it's pure gold.
Léon
1994, L. Besson
I think I'm going to keep my copy of the American cut (The Professional).
It doesn't make me squirm as much. Still Portman's best film.
The Day After Tomorrow
2004, R. Emmerich
An abortion of intelligence.
Man On Fire
2004, T. Scott
Riddled with cliches, but fun to watch. Denzel is a bad, bad man.
Wicker Park
2004
Wicker is an oh so sappy, but well performed chick flick. Beyond that, I have
nothing of value to add about the film. However, and I should preface this
by saying: I'm the last person to criticize someone's looks because I resemble
a taller, younger, grungier Rick Moranis (on a good day), but will someone
please give whatshisface a damn set of tweezers. PLEASE.
A Million Dollar Baby
2004, D: M. Scorsese, S: C. Eastwood, M. Freeman, H. Swank
Two films. The boxing film was fair enough. The hospital drama felt like ... a
hospital drama (tiresome). Great performances.
Aviator
2004, D: M. Scorsese, S: L. DiCaprio, C. Blanchett, J. Rielly, A. Alda
Brilliant acting by DiCaprio, masturbatory but brilliant direction from
Scorsese, Oliver-Stone-esque fancy-free fictionalization of facts, and
Kubrick-esque cinematic nuances make this an engrossing marathon of a film.
Watching it made me want to bathe. But I think that's a good thing.
Kinsey
2004, D: B. Condon, S: L. Neeson, P. Sarsgaard, L. Linney, C. O'Donnell
Interesting. A well-executed dramatized tale of the famous sex scientist and
theorist. A bit theatrical for my taste. More brilliant acting from a
remarkable cast. Particularly Liam Neeson who played his part with balance
and finesse.
Anchorman
2004, D: A. McKay, S: W. Ferrell, C. Applegate, P. Rudd, S. Carell
Funny, in the way Old School was mindlessly funny. Ferrell isn't
interested in making anyone think. Which is okay, because there are time when
a laugh doesn't need to be justified by rational thought. At those times no
one is better than Will Ferrell. Loved the cameos for the street brawl.
Heaven
2002, D: T. Tykwer, S: C. Blanchett, G. Ribisi, R. Girone
I am ashamed to admit I've become a Cate Blanchett completist. I don't like to
be a completist of anything. I prefer to leave things as they should be:
incomplete. But time and time again I find myself picking up a film from the
rack at a video rental shack simply because Blanchett's name or quirky smile
appear on the cover. And time and time again I'm not disappointed. I can't
explain it, but when she's on-screen I'm completely absorbed. Colin Farrell
and Al Pacino have the same effect on me. Their screen presence is unreal.
Anyway, this film is beautiful. Forgettable, and dismissive, but beautiful.
Ribisi is also fantastic (again). Go figure.
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
2004, D: W. Anderson, S: B. Murray, O. Wilson, C. Blanchett
Quirky as all fucking hell. Some times delightfully so, other times I felt
embarrassed for the cast. Semi-charming, semi-funny, but overall a
disappointment (can he top Rushmore?).
Urotsukidoji
1989, D: H. Takayama
Jesus Mary and Joseph what is WRONG with these people?! 6 episodes of tentacle
porn is too much tentacle porn. The mind begins to unravel and one feels as
though one is becoming demonic. Depraved smut.
Alexander
2004, D: O. Stone, S: C. Ferrell, A. Jolie, A. Hopkins, V. Kilmer
Long, garish defense of colonialism and grandeur. Theatrical. Silly.
Confusing. A terrible misfire with great acting.
2046
2004, D: WKW, S: T. Wai, L. Gong, T. Kimura, F. Wong, Z. Zhang
At first I suspected Wong Kar Wai was cannibalizing himself. There were some
familiar characters (the brooding love-starved noir figures, the futuristic
long haired rock-star fuck machine). I felt as though I was watching a
combination of his video for DJ Shadow and In the Mood For Love. But as the
film progressed, it took on a life all its own. The characters became flesh,
their dilemma's unique, and the story and imagery swept me away. Gorgeous,
gorgeous, gorgeous.
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