Inglourious Basterds

Saw Inglourious Basterds. So that's how the war ended. The climax in the theater was so awesome. Sweet and terrible. Interestingly, I found myself laughing with glee until I remembered how, just a few seconds earlier, the ugly Germans were laughing in their own schadenfreude at the bad guy slain. So po-mo.

Stalker

Saw Stalker. It was interesting but slow. I could kind of grasp the low-hanging fruit it offered, but in my weakness I feel cheated by the magical realism of the film. I was hoping for flashes and bangs, instead of conversations and compositions. There were some excellent sequences though, and I loved all the water. A meditative sci-fi. Be warned, fans of the game.

White Zombie

Saw White Zombie. It was old-timey fun. A lot of very nice backgrounds. The plot and acting... a little dated.

The Philadelphia Story

Saw The Philadelphia Story (Thanks, Nina Parzr!) It was a screwball, but one that surprised me in ways that count. I was a bit confused by various characters' assertion that the central female was frigid or stuck-up when no evidence of such was ever shown. Was this Hayes-code-lingo for lesbian? Or did I just miss the point? Only time (and my reading competent analysis) will tell.

The 25th Hour

Saw The 25th Hour. I liked it a lot. The storyline is fairly straightforward but there were three scenes that really struck me: a monologue about the ugliness of new york city, another montage about the beauty of new york city and a wistful plan to escape a jail sentence. Those three scenes are dynamite. There's some stuff about 9/11 (this movie came out in 2002,) but despite being integral to the staging of many scenes, it almost feels tacked-on. I don't know what to think about those scenes. A lively film.

Die Hard 2

Saw Die Hard 2. It fulfilled wishes I do not have.

Chimes at Midnight

Saw Chimes at Midnight. It was marred by the faults common to all Shakespeare adaptations: an audience of onlookers whose only purpose is to laugh whenever an obscure joke is uttered, women who are beautiful in an anachronistically modern way, persistent dryness. All this aside, in its focus on Falstaff it contains Orson Welles' recurring theme of the nature of lies that are more interesting than the truth. I suspect Orson sees a part of himself in the habitual liar Falstaff, whose only source of livelihood is a golden tongue. Orson's acting is superb as a disgusting, foul, loveable old man.

Life is Hot in Cracktown

Saw Life is Hot in Cracktown. Last time I asked for grit and by golly I got it. A fairly dismal movie (it opens with a rape (ffs)) but its punches are inadvertently pulled by the unrelenting misery of it. As soon as I saw two adorable moppets I knew they were doomed. I was right. There's no shock in that, only tedious inevitability. This amount of despairing hopelessness is anyway uninteresting in its completeness. If there's no hope at all, then the only thing I'm watching for is creative suffering. Perhaps there's some neat meta-level commentary going on that I'm supposed to understand that the true tragedy is that the people in these situations are locked into their fates just as their film-counterparts are, but I think it's really just shoddy shooting. Plot aside, it's a tense film, well-acted, well-shot and terribly exciting, if fairly lurid. There are movies that have left me far more shaken (I'm looking at you, Come and See.)

The Notebook

Saw The Notebook (Thanks, Kim Gero!) It was as pretty and gentle as a Thomas Kinkade painting. There was only one kind-of tough scene in the third act, but we are prepared for it well in advance. I wish there had been more ugly realism in the film, but this would be like adding sand to a sunday. As it stands, it is totally sweet and soothing. In this respect, it is the diametric opposite of Pink Flamingos.

The New World

Saw The New World. I was feeling kind of sleepy throughout it though and although it's very pretty and has some spectacular shots, I kept nodding off. I should have made myself something caffeinated. Disappointed in myself.

Pitch Black

Saw Pitch Black. Not bad, but not really interesting either. I liked the moderate-budget stab at sci-fi but disliked all the action-movie trappings. Whatever happened to contemplative sci fi? At least there's Moon and Primer.

Exterminating Angel

Saw Exterminating Angel. It was awesome. A dinner party goes awry when the guest don't leave at the right time and are trapped in one living room for days on end. Almost science-fiction-like in the obsessive exploration of a single simple idea. Reminds me of the comic-book artist Shintaro Kago's work. Society within the room breaks down as society outside of the room is utterly baffled by everyone's inexplicable inability to enter or leave the room. Great stuff.

I Kina Spiser de Hunde

Saw I Kina Spiser de Hunde. It was very fun but marred by terrible subtitles. So frustrating. There was a car-crash in the beginning where two cars collide and a whole city block explodes in flames. The movie never really tops that awesome awesome scene.

Silver Linings Playbook

Saw Silver Linings Playbook (thanks, Leannasaurus Rex!) It was very fun. It was somehow utterly riveting to me. Exciting at first and then increasingly sweet even unto treacle. It was a bit twee at parts and more and more impossibly perfect by the end. My black heart desired more histrionics and turbulence. I thought all of this and yet I felt only love. This scoop of sugar nicely balanced out the movie-diet of rue I've been on lately.

L'Emploi du Temps

Saw L'Emploi du Temps. It was about a man who is fired from his job and is too embarrassed to tell his family or friends. A sorrowful movie. There is a recurring image of the protagonist standing outside at night, looking at people living secure lives through windows. I was unfortunately confused by the ending. Was it supposed to be a cruel glimpse of the job-interview that ultimately lead to him being fired, or was it hopeful vision of things to come. Or was it meant to be delightfully ambiguous?

In the Loop

Saw In the Loop. A darkly humorous political thriller. A bit too chilly for my mood, but good, and funny, and depressing.

Vivre Sa Vie

Saw Vivre Sa Vie. As is often the case with Godard, it was a very movie-movie. The main character talked about wanting to be in movies, went to see Dreyer's Joan of Arc, drives by a poster for Jules et Jim nearly before the end of the movie. Some commentary on actresses prostituting their talents and women being exploited. Dense and kind of obscure.

Krull

Saw Krull. It was fun but silly. It delivered on exotic images, so that's good.

Putney Swope

Saw Putney Swope (Thanks, Nina Parzr!) It was interesting and surreal. It left me with a feeling of exhaustion as many surreal films do. The film attacked the by-now hoary bugaboos of the military-industrial complex and corporate greed. There's a lot of (I hope) ironic super-racism and reverse-racism. I loved the advertisements. They're fun and grotesque and wry. Like the fake ads in robo-cop, but not as obvious. Nicely done. I think I didn't 'feel' this one correctly, but it was interesting nonetheless.

Before Sunset

Saw Before Sunset. It was an interesting sequel. Also quite romantic. Less so than the first, but more realistic and open-eyed. Also, there was a much less noodling to the conversations. I think I could identify what they were really driving at always. The protagonists' loves are aged, slightly curdled, slightly rotten, but much more rich and sophisticated. I feel this is a more cynical movie, but then I may see it again when I'm 4 years older than the characters and see the same swooning excitement I loved in the first one.

Pandorum

Saw Pandorum. Didn't really like it. It had an interesting premise (though nothing I haven't read before in short stories) but everything interesting about the premise was immediately ignored for creatures, fight-sequences, pointless mind-games, and incongruous scares.

Ashes and Diamonds

Saw Ashes and Diamonds. I enjoyed the whistling noise it made as it sailed over my head. I understood the central tension of a simple life versus action of uncertain value. I understood the desire for change confounded by indecision. But that's all. Some movies are tough.

Aliens

Saw Aliens. Two down, two to go.

Con Air

Saw Con Air (thanks, Leannasaurus) It was a stupid movie. No. It was a gloriously stupid movie. As full of flashing lights and wailing guitars as a classic-rock-themed pin-ball game. Also as full of cool-looking stuff that happens for no damn reason. Completely free of any subtlety or moral ambiguity. The protagonist is a kind of holy idiot who doesn't know much, but knows what right, dag nab it. The bad guys are literally murderous psychopaths. I usually don't like action movies, but when they're this gloriously outrageous, how can you not be caught up in it? Awesome dumb movie.