Thursday 5 August 2010

The Testament of Doctor Mabuse

dir. Fritz Lang
Germany, 1933

Eerie, at times terrifying mix of supernatural chiller and police procedural drama. Amazing special effects and many portentous lines, given the year it was made.

Zizek!

dir. Astra Taylor
USA, 2005

Very funny portrait of Zizek. And very good at communicating his key ideas, too.

Wednesday 4 August 2010

When A Stranger Calls

dir. Fred Walton
USA, 1979

Scary film interesting primarily for its exploitation of the "acousmatic voice", the voice the source of which cannot be identified, which is almost by definition terrifying.

Un Homme Qui Dort

dir. Bernard Queysanne
France, 1974

Very well done adaptation of Georges Perec's novel. Speaking of philosophically interesting, this is a film that manages, within its tight conceit and formal constraints, to provide a fantastically acute analysis of late capitalist societies. Lil loves it for its use of language, and whilst I cannot comment fully, there were some wonderful alliterative passages.

Inception

dir. Christopher Nolan
USA, 2010

Not as mind-boggling as reviewers would have you believe. Still interesting, and depending on your viewpoint, philosophically brave/exciting - for a Hollywood film. Indie actors - Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page - steal the show from a somewhat subdued Leonardo di Caprio, although he's a hugely interesting actor - an important one of his generation, certainly, along with Matt Damon.

Rewatch: Beau Travail

dir. Claire Denis
France, 1999

Part of Claire Denis season at GFT. Still wonderful. One of the best films of the 90s, if not ever.

White Material

dir. Claire Denis
France, 2009

Interesting, if, in the end, a little disappointing. A truly irritating, morally dubious central character, played well by Isabel Huppert, but a strange atmosphere. Potentially iffy politics too, with the vast majority of speaking parts those of white parts/actors, with the many black actors and parts generally silent. If they're the real subjects of the film, why not focus on them, rather than the plantation owner who's a throwback to colonial times?

Greenberg

dir. Noah Baumbach
USA, 2010

Very very good performance from Ben Stiller.