dir. Carl Theodor Dryer
Denmark, 1955
Saturday 18 May 2013
Tuesday 14 May 2013
Friday 26 April 2013
Saturday 13 April 2013
Wednesday 3 April 2013
Monday 25 March 2013
Tout est pardonné
dir. Mia Hansen-Love
France, 2007
The first film by the director of The Father of My Children and Goodbye, First Love. All the components of these later films are there, in unsurprisingly less polished or controlled ways: long temporal periods, often with a "before/after" structure, here it's Vienna 1995, France 2006; the way the film eventually comes round to its central concern, the coming-of-age of a teenage girl, but how her 6 year-old self is peripheral in the first half except somehow you realise she's also central; the use of British folk music, somehow as a soundtrack of maturation; absent or problematic fathers. One day I'll write about this properly.
France, 2007
The first film by the director of The Father of My Children and Goodbye, First Love. All the components of these later films are there, in unsurprisingly less polished or controlled ways: long temporal periods, often with a "before/after" structure, here it's Vienna 1995, France 2006; the way the film eventually comes round to its central concern, the coming-of-age of a teenage girl, but how her 6 year-old self is peripheral in the first half except somehow you realise she's also central; the use of British folk music, somehow as a soundtrack of maturation; absent or problematic fathers. One day I'll write about this properly.
Tabu
dir. Miguel Gomes
Portugal, 2012
Literally a film of two halves. First bemusingly dull, the second - a silent film with a voice-over - a wonderful piece of cinema, as intoxicating as the first was confusing.
Portugal, 2012
Literally a film of two halves. First bemusingly dull, the second - a silent film with a voice-over - a wonderful piece of cinema, as intoxicating as the first was confusing.
Tuesday 19 March 2013
Wednesday 27 February 2013
Gregory's Girl
dir. Bill Forsyth
Scotland, 1980
Far odder than I anticipated, but very funny. Somehow has the best bits of Scotland and some bizarre European sensibility.
Scotland, 1980
Far odder than I anticipated, but very funny. Somehow has the best bits of Scotland and some bizarre European sensibility.
Rewatch: Mean Girls
dir. Mark Waters
USA, 2004
Still as good as I remember it, and uncannily prescient. Burn Book.
USA, 2004
Still as good as I remember it, and uncannily prescient. Burn Book.
Friday 15 February 2013
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
dir. Woody Allen
USA, 2008
Only slightly less excruciating than Midnight in Paris. Possibly the most anti-feminist film I've ever seen, made even worse by its banality. The best scenes were the ones when Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz were arguing; I could watch them do that for hours. That's what Allen's film should've been, just those two arguing in Spanish for an hour and a half.
USA, 2008
Only slightly less excruciating than Midnight in Paris. Possibly the most anti-feminist film I've ever seen, made even worse by its banality. The best scenes were the ones when Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz were arguing; I could watch them do that for hours. That's what Allen's film should've been, just those two arguing in Spanish for an hour and a half.
Friday 8 February 2013
River's Edge
dir. Tim Hunter
USA, 1986
This is a very strange film indeed, from the slow pace of the first third where despite a high school kid killing another high school kid, no-one seems too bothered, to Crispin Glover's manic/melodramatic acting that someone described as like he's in an entirely different film. Keanu Reeves is in it too, making lots of huffy gestures with his hands and putting his hands in his jean pockets a lot.
USA, 1986
This is a very strange film indeed, from the slow pace of the first third where despite a high school kid killing another high school kid, no-one seems too bothered, to Crispin Glover's manic/melodramatic acting that someone described as like he's in an entirely different film. Keanu Reeves is in it too, making lots of huffy gestures with his hands and putting his hands in his jean pockets a lot.
Rewatch: Fast Times at Ridgemont High
dir. Amy Heckerling
USA, 1982
This was the first of the new season at film club - teen movies, a season Al is suspicious of, though he chose this. When I saw it before, I was quite shocked at how seriously it pitched itself, stemming from the scriptwriter Cameron Crowe's underground reportage etc. That serious intention and the shock of serious - yet still recognisably "teen" - treatment still affects. It holds up well.
USA, 1982
This was the first of the new season at film club - teen movies, a season Al is suspicious of, though he chose this. When I saw it before, I was quite shocked at how seriously it pitched itself, stemming from the scriptwriter Cameron Crowe's underground reportage etc. That serious intention and the shock of serious - yet still recognisably "teen" - treatment still affects. It holds up well.
Saturday 26 January 2013
Written On The Wind
Reposted as it didn't seem to be viewable before. Should go - chronologically - before the rewatch of Fantastic Mr Fox.
dir. Douglas Sirk
USA, 1956
On New Year's day, we - film club - watched five films in a row, with just a break for dinner. This was the first, after we'd all loved All That Heaven Allows (1955).
This was even more melodramatic, if possible. More lurid, and the acting more extravagant. Rock Hudson was in this one too, though he was a more conventional guy here - not the Waldenite in the earlier film. His pal's sister was a great baddy, and while there weren't as many great scenes or memorable moments as in All That Heaven Allows, there was a marvellously edited scene featuring this sister dancing as someone else dies:
The setting - the Texas oil fields, a rich family - and the melodrama made me wonder if this wasn't a key precursor to the TV soap Dallas.
dir. Douglas Sirk
USA, 1956
On New Year's day, we - film club - watched five films in a row, with just a break for dinner. This was the first, after we'd all loved All That Heaven Allows (1955).
This was even more melodramatic, if possible. More lurid, and the acting more extravagant. Rock Hudson was in this one too, though he was a more conventional guy here - not the Waldenite in the earlier film. His pal's sister was a great baddy, and while there weren't as many great scenes or memorable moments as in All That Heaven Allows, there was a marvellously edited scene featuring this sister dancing as someone else dies:
The setting - the Texas oil fields, a rich family - and the melodrama made me wonder if this wasn't a key precursor to the TV soap Dallas.
Classe Tous Risques
dir. Claude Sautet
France, 1960
One of those great French gangster films from the postwar era. Stars Jean-Paul Belmondo as a very smiley semi-gangster, helping out full-on gangster Lino Ventura (who always plays these roles and always does it amazingly) when he goes on the run with his two young kids. What's so great about the French gangster film, especially of this period, is the layer of existential dread that lies underneath the subject matter - in this film, Ventura's character is at his most powerful and happiest at the start of the film, and from then on it's downhill. I can't remember what other Ventura film I saw in which he plays a gangster on the run (or was it someone from the resistance?) but the scenes where he's alone in a dull room in a boarding house, hiding out from the world, not leaving his room were almost carbon copies of whatever that other film was. They verge on iconic. The human - ie: dull, lonely - side of being a career criminal.
France, 1960
One of those great French gangster films from the postwar era. Stars Jean-Paul Belmondo as a very smiley semi-gangster, helping out full-on gangster Lino Ventura (who always plays these roles and always does it amazingly) when he goes on the run with his two young kids. What's so great about the French gangster film, especially of this period, is the layer of existential dread that lies underneath the subject matter - in this film, Ventura's character is at his most powerful and happiest at the start of the film, and from then on it's downhill. I can't remember what other Ventura film I saw in which he plays a gangster on the run (or was it someone from the resistance?) but the scenes where he's alone in a dull room in a boarding house, hiding out from the world, not leaving his room were almost carbon copies of whatever that other film was. They verge on iconic. The human - ie: dull, lonely - side of being a career criminal.
Hara-Kiri
dir. Masaki Kobayashi
Japan, 1962
A patient sort-of detective film - repeated stories, changed slightly, parallels between present and future. Restrained, so that the violence seems worse than it is. Very well composed.
Japan, 1962
A patient sort-of detective film - repeated stories, changed slightly, parallels between present and future. Restrained, so that the violence seems worse than it is. Very well composed.
To Catch a Thief
dir. Alfred Hitchcock
USA, 1955
Perfect Christmas film. As Al put it: Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, jewel thieves, the Mediterranean.
USA, 1955
Perfect Christmas film. As Al put it: Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, jewel thieves, the Mediterranean.
Attack the Block
dir. Joe Cornish
UK, 2011
Best film of the day by far - did what it set out to do perfectly, and is subtly and powerfully political at the same time. 5 stars totally.
UK, 2011
Best film of the day by far - did what it set out to do perfectly, and is subtly and powerfully political at the same time. 5 stars totally.
Date Night
dir. Shawn Levy
USA, 2010
First post-dinner film. Competent - Tina Fey and Steve Carrell are good actors regardless of the film - but the script could've been better and it never really lifted off, despite having a supporting cast that included Mark Wahlberg (who is good when rightly cast) and James Franco.
USA, 2010
First post-dinner film. Competent - Tina Fey and Steve Carrell are good actors regardless of the film - but the script could've been better and it never really lifted off, despite having a supporting cast that included Mark Wahlberg (who is good when rightly cast) and James Franco.
Up
dir. Pete Docter
USA, 2009
Strange, strange film. Not sure the animation style did it any favours. I kept thinking that the visual imagination cried out for a live-action film - the balloons and the house would've been rendered so much better that way. When it got into the parallel world or whatever it is I lost interest. The real heart of the film seemed to have been abandoned - the man missing his wife and the city's and the developers' threats to his house.
USA, 2009
Strange, strange film. Not sure the animation style did it any favours. I kept thinking that the visual imagination cried out for a live-action film - the balloons and the house would've been rendered so much better that way. When it got into the parallel world or whatever it is I lost interest. The real heart of the film seemed to have been abandoned - the man missing his wife and the city's and the developers' threats to his house.
Rewatch: The Fantastic Mr Fox
dir. Wes Anderson
USA, 20-
I didn't have good memories of this, but it was on TV so we watched it. Much better than I remembered, although I still wouldn't say it was great.
USA, 20-
I didn't have good memories of this, but it was on TV so we watched it. Much better than I remembered, although I still wouldn't say it was great.
Written On The Wind
dir. Douglas Sirk
USA, 1956
On New Year's day, we - film club - watched five films in a row, with just a break for dinner. This was the first, after we'd all loved All That Heaven Allows (1955).
This was even more melodramatic, if possible. More lurid, and the acting more extravagant. Rock Hudson was in this one too, though he was a more conventional guy here - not the Waldenite in the earlier film. His pal's sister was a great baddy, and while there weren't as many great scenes or memorable moments as in All That Heaven Allows, there was a marvellously edited scene featuring this sister dancing as someone else dies:
The setting - the Texas oil fields, a rich family - and the melodrama made me wonder if this wasn't a key precursor to the TV soap Dallas.
USA, 1956
On New Year's day, we - film club - watched five films in a row, with just a break for dinner. This was the first, after we'd all loved All That Heaven Allows (1955).
This was even more melodramatic, if possible. More lurid, and the acting more extravagant. Rock Hudson was in this one too, though he was a more conventional guy here - not the Waldenite in the earlier film. His pal's sister was a great baddy, and while there weren't as many great scenes or memorable moments as in All That Heaven Allows, there was a marvellously edited scene featuring this sister dancing as someone else dies:
The setting - the Texas oil fields, a rich family - and the melodrama made me wonder if this wasn't a key precursor to the TV soap Dallas.
Return
I haven't done this for a long time and I regret it, so with the New Year not to far advanced, I'm going to try to update it regularly again.
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