A late update - including catching up on a skipped month. We've been watching a lot of movies, but many that aren't on the 1001 list. We're up to 470 movies watched, so since the end of June (our last update month), we've watched a whopping 8 movies.
Never fear, I'm always up for recommending the documentary, King of Kong - it was one of the all-time top grossing documentaries in the United States. Plus, you will get to know that there are villains and heroes to be had in the world of retro competitive video gaming. (Who knew?) But these are the kind of non-1001 movies I've seen of late.
Of the eight movies I've watched, here were some gems:
High Plains Drifter - It's vintage badass Clint with a score to settle. This is one of those movies where they could have taken an extra hour with back stories, legends and a precocious child or someone pure of spirit to explain the particulars to anyone that was really slow in the audience. Not necessary in this version. Just the vengeance. Excellent.
Trust - Smart and witty banter, a bit of a throwback to the screwball comedy and a few twists on the whole subjugated daughter fairy tales. Best of all, it is a film that rewards characters interested in real growth instead of the ease of rescue - so it sort of kicks the whole "ode to" stories in the teeth.
Evil Dead - Oh, sure, we all love Sam Rami now, but do you love Sam Rami then? When his special effects were done with claymation and bad makeup? When trees did unspeakable things? When Bruce Campbell still had two hands? If you don't, you're not really a fan - and you probably started with the rest of us at Army of Darkness.
15 August 2009
29 July 2009
Bringing Up Baby
Ah, the screwball comedy. It's long since been replaced by the gross-out comedy, but the basic idea is the same. Everyone and their brother will attempt to put out one of these comedies, but only a few will actually be any good. Most of them will just be a plodding mess of hastily-thrown together scenes held together with the stars of the moment. In a lot of cases, the best of them won't ever do that well in theaters - they'll only do well in the second run market.
Bringing Up Baby is one of those movies.
It was a flop. Got Katie Hepburn declared box office poison. Howard Hawks was going to be done in Hollywood. Cary Grant wasn't really a box office star. This is how big of a flop this film was at the time. Thankfully, memories are short - Cary Grant was really a star, Kathrine Hepburn was most definitely not box office poison and Howard Hawks gave us many more films.
Maybe it's the destiny of great films to be discovered slowly and after-the-fact. This is not to say that audiences can't be right and immediately rush out to see a fantastic movie and pour a hundred million dollars into box-office coffers at a record pace. It just doesn't happen all that often - those hundred million dollar takes seem destined to go into the pockets of movies where things get blown up by things that will be blown up by people who are sick of seeing everything dear to them blown up by people that only understand the art of blowing things up.
Back to my screwball comedy. First off, the plot itself is ridiculous. Cary Grant is a paleontologist inexplicably engaged to a dour woman we immediately know is all wrong for him. He has one last bone for his dinosaur and a woman he must personally charm for a large donation to the museum. I know, it makes no sense. Kathrine Hepburn is a well-to-do heiress and niece of said donor that's just been sent a tame leopard named Baby. This makes slightly more sense. Dog belonging to donor steals valuable bone needed by Cary Grant. Classic romantic game of hilarity ensues. And it is funny. Every bit of it - from pretending to be mobsters, to tromping through the woods in formal wear to her character dragging a feral leopard to a police station. Lots of physical comedy, great dialog and just enough reality in the situations to believe that this zany weekend was really continuing.
02 June 2009
Where I Stand, June Edition
Well, we watched 3 movies last month!
Look, sometimes you go off list. That's all I can really say. So we got the total up to 462. I'd name favorites, but that would just be embarrassing. Who really wants to be a top 3 movie in a field of three movies?
Look, sometimes you go off list. That's all I can really say. So we got the total up to 462. I'd name favorites, but that would just be embarrassing. Who really wants to be a top 3 movie in a field of three movies?
11 May 2009
Where I Stand (Way Late May Edition)
As of the end of April, 459 movies watched - while we watched quite a few movies last month, only 9 were from the list. But it was a quality nine, I promise. As to the favorites...
Dancer in the Dark: I know, I know, I've got it bad for Lars Von Trier. (I've even been watching his non-1001 movies!) As heartbreaking as Breaking the Waves was, this was just brutal. But it was beautiful - and it was a musical. This is how Lars makes me fall in love with him every single time while he toys with my heart. He knows that I'll be back for more. Bjork was unbelievable.
His Girl Friday: Someday, I want to be a fast-talking movie dame in a Howard Hawks film. Sure, I may be getting tricked into remarrying my ex-husband, but it's Cary Grant - and he is trying to tell me that I'm not going to be happy cooped up at home when I'm a great newspaper man (well, you know what I mean). Besides, I would be the one getting to break the big story...
The Big Heat: While watching this ex-cop anti-hero film, I half wondered why it hadn't been remade yet...and then I realized that just about every mob film has borrowed liberally from The Big Heat. The idealistic hero turned anti-hero after losing a family member? Corrupt police officials in bed with the mafia? The witness that comes forward only to be brutally killed after being promised their safety in return? The moll that looks to be on the verge of redemption that will ultimately make the bigger sacrifice? It's all there, but in a less than two hours and with far less hubris than some directors have given us over the years...
All in all, it was a good month for movies. With spring here, watching movies is getting harder, but we'll figure out something.
Dancer in the Dark: I know, I know, I've got it bad for Lars Von Trier. (I've even been watching his non-1001 movies!) As heartbreaking as Breaking the Waves was, this was just brutal. But it was beautiful - and it was a musical. This is how Lars makes me fall in love with him every single time while he toys with my heart. He knows that I'll be back for more. Bjork was unbelievable.
His Girl Friday: Someday, I want to be a fast-talking movie dame in a Howard Hawks film. Sure, I may be getting tricked into remarrying my ex-husband, but it's Cary Grant - and he is trying to tell me that I'm not going to be happy cooped up at home when I'm a great newspaper man (well, you know what I mean). Besides, I would be the one getting to break the big story...
The Big Heat: While watching this ex-cop anti-hero film, I half wondered why it hadn't been remade yet...and then I realized that just about every mob film has borrowed liberally from The Big Heat. The idealistic hero turned anti-hero after losing a family member? Corrupt police officials in bed with the mafia? The witness that comes forward only to be brutally killed after being promised their safety in return? The moll that looks to be on the verge of redemption that will ultimately make the bigger sacrifice? It's all there, but in a less than two hours and with far less hubris than some directors have given us over the years...
All in all, it was a good month for movies. With spring here, watching movies is getting harder, but we'll figure out something.
20 April 2009
I may be in trouble after this...then again, I think not.
1001 makes room on the list for Batman. Being that my edition was published in 2004, they're talking Michael Keaton's version. Yes this one:
No, not this one:
Now, are they both great movies? Sure. Is there room for both of them on the list.
No.
Would I replace the old with the new?
No.
I know, I know.
Breathe in, breathe out. I promise, I love superhero movies.
But this is the deal. Look at that first trailer again. In Tim Burton's Batman, you're seeing the best of the special effects. Yes, they're rivaling the wizardry of Team America, but in 1989, that was something great. In The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's trailer barely has to show up in order to smack the original Batman into the corner, steal his milk money and sully his sister's reputation.
At the same time, our Dark Knight could stand to turn around and shake Batman's hand. Sure, before Tim Burton, there had been plenty of Superhero movies and television shows - before that, radio had brought on more than enough action. Many an actor got their start in the business as a hero and made a fine living making movies for kids.
Tim Burton promised to take it a step further for the 80s shiny, super-synthed, computer-obsessed, greed-addled, materialistic, overly active brains. It had to be more than just a Super Hero movie back in the day - it had to be an event. And worse yet, it had to overcome the campyness of a television show that was better known for gargantuan KA-POW!! shots, bat-shark repellent, a crime fighting duo that always buckled up and practiced good grammar. Tim Burton also fought to take Michael Keaton and turn him into the brooding, conflicted Batman who was playboy by day and crime-fighting badass by night.
This was a tall order for anyone. Especially when CGI wasn't even a gleam in anyone's eye. And then you announce your caped crusader is going to be played by the star of Mr. Mom and Beatlejuice. Yes, that guy. Have I mentioned that you're putting him up against Jack Nicholson as the Joker?
Tim Burton was doing the first reboot before we even knew to call them reboots.
Yes, the effects are laughable and yes, the Batmobile looked a little too much like the campy car of old, but there was a roadmap being drawn that would become everything we know about our flawed Superheroes of today. No more mere flashes of doubt or an easily glossed over brush with mortality; Burton was ushering in the era of the flawed hero.
This is where Mr. Mom became sheer genius for the role - who better than someone who had previously been known for comedy to portray a boy struck by tragedy driven to protect a city from itself? Why would the guy previously undead seen trying to marry Wynona Ryder in a formal prison tux suddenly be a conflicted playboy trying to do good anonymously? It makes no sense.
Neither does Batman.
Any other director that's supposedly taken a casting risk on a hero is just pretending compared to what Burton did before him. And this is where Tim gets all the credit. Sure, there's been awesomeness since, but you have to give credit where credit's due.
1001 makes room on the list for Batman. Being that my edition was published in 2004, they're talking Michael Keaton's version. Yes this one:
No, not this one:
Now, are they both great movies? Sure. Is there room for both of them on the list.
No.
Would I replace the old with the new?
No.
I know, I know.
Breathe in, breathe out. I promise, I love superhero movies.
But this is the deal. Look at that first trailer again. In Tim Burton's Batman, you're seeing the best of the special effects. Yes, they're rivaling the wizardry of Team America, but in 1989, that was something great. In The Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan's trailer barely has to show up in order to smack the original Batman into the corner, steal his milk money and sully his sister's reputation.
At the same time, our Dark Knight could stand to turn around and shake Batman's hand. Sure, before Tim Burton, there had been plenty of Superhero movies and television shows - before that, radio had brought on more than enough action. Many an actor got their start in the business as a hero and made a fine living making movies for kids.
Tim Burton promised to take it a step further for the 80s shiny, super-synthed, computer-obsessed, greed-addled, materialistic, overly active brains. It had to be more than just a Super Hero movie back in the day - it had to be an event. And worse yet, it had to overcome the campyness of a television show that was better known for gargantuan KA-POW!! shots, bat-shark repellent, a crime fighting duo that always buckled up and practiced good grammar. Tim Burton also fought to take Michael Keaton and turn him into the brooding, conflicted Batman who was playboy by day and crime-fighting badass by night.
This was a tall order for anyone. Especially when CGI wasn't even a gleam in anyone's eye. And then you announce your caped crusader is going to be played by the star of Mr. Mom and Beatlejuice. Yes, that guy. Have I mentioned that you're putting him up against Jack Nicholson as the Joker?
Tim Burton was doing the first reboot before we even knew to call them reboots.
Yes, the effects are laughable and yes, the Batmobile looked a little too much like the campy car of old, but there was a roadmap being drawn that would become everything we know about our flawed Superheroes of today. No more mere flashes of doubt or an easily glossed over brush with mortality; Burton was ushering in the era of the flawed hero.
This is where Mr. Mom became sheer genius for the role - who better than someone who had previously been known for comedy to portray a boy struck by tragedy driven to protect a city from itself? Why would the guy previously undead seen trying to marry Wynona Ryder in a formal prison tux suddenly be a conflicted playboy trying to do good anonymously? It makes no sense.
Neither does Batman.
Any other director that's supposedly taken a casting risk on a hero is just pretending compared to what Burton did before him. And this is where Tim gets all the credit. Sure, there's been awesomeness since, but you have to give credit where credit's due.
A Hard-to-Find Film
Just a head's up.
If you're looking to watch Hal Hartley's Trust and you've got a subscription to Netflix, it's available this month on the instant-watch. The film isn't available on DVD right now (long out of print), so this is a pretty easy find if you're willing to go for the subscription.
02 April 2009
Where I Stand (April 1-st-ish Edition)
Ah, 449 movies watched. We actually watched a dozen movies this month and decided to take the plunge with a little outfit called Netflix to get those DVDs that aren't available through the library (inaugural checkout from the list - Five Easy Pieces). I've also discovered that I may have a list problem over at List of Bests. Of the 27 Lists I'm working on, 15 are related to movies. Everything from The Films of Marilyn Monroe to Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments to the IMDB top 250 to this list. Hey, there's crossover.
So, onto the favorites for March:
Dersu Uzula - Yes, when it comes to Akira Kurosawa, I'm picking the one filmed in the former Soviet Union with the all USSR cast! However, in our Kurosawa mini-film festival this month, this was the one that spoke to us the most. Sure, there was the sweeping King Lear spectacle of Ran and then there was the bleak realization that no point of view would ever make sense or right out of Rashomon - and while all of that was rolickin' good times, Dersu Uzula's story of an unbalanced friendship left the longest impression. In Dersu Uzula, there is much to be said about allowing the organic nature of friendship to exist and to let yourself be helped by a friend that is offering without worrying about future repayments.
Sleuth - Every single film where there's a con of some sort wants to be this movie. Including the remake. Two men in the cast and nothing but words and your imagination to carry you through their various games of one-upsmanship. I'd say that you'll find yourself rooting for one over the other, but really, both are cheaters and liars. At the same time, you really do want to know how it's going to turn out.
The Wild Bunch - Peckinpah. Guns. Bullets. Lots and lots and lots and lots of bullets. Really - over 90,000 blanks were fired during that movie (it's on IMDB, so it must be true!). All in all, this is not a throwaway story dependent on bullets. What starts as a deadly double-cross on a "one-last-heist" (aren't they all?) turns into a run-in with Warlords demanding that our survivors now try to figure out how to rob the U.S. Army...which wouldn't be a terrible problem if one of the posse members weren't looking to help out the rebels on the sly.
Here's to a few more movies from multiple outlets, figuring out a better posting schedule, and spending some time in the great outdoors!
So, onto the favorites for March:
Dersu Uzula - Yes, when it comes to Akira Kurosawa, I'm picking the one filmed in the former Soviet Union with the all USSR cast! However, in our Kurosawa mini-film festival this month, this was the one that spoke to us the most. Sure, there was the sweeping King Lear spectacle of Ran and then there was the bleak realization that no point of view would ever make sense or right out of Rashomon - and while all of that was rolickin' good times, Dersu Uzula's story of an unbalanced friendship left the longest impression. In Dersu Uzula, there is much to be said about allowing the organic nature of friendship to exist and to let yourself be helped by a friend that is offering without worrying about future repayments.
Sleuth - Every single film where there's a con of some sort wants to be this movie. Including the remake. Two men in the cast and nothing but words and your imagination to carry you through their various games of one-upsmanship. I'd say that you'll find yourself rooting for one over the other, but really, both are cheaters and liars. At the same time, you really do want to know how it's going to turn out.
The Wild Bunch - Peckinpah. Guns. Bullets. Lots and lots and lots and lots of bullets. Really - over 90,000 blanks were fired during that movie (it's on IMDB, so it must be true!). All in all, this is not a throwaway story dependent on bullets. What starts as a deadly double-cross on a "one-last-heist" (aren't they all?) turns into a run-in with Warlords demanding that our survivors now try to figure out how to rob the U.S. Army...which wouldn't be a terrible problem if one of the posse members weren't looking to help out the rebels on the sly.
Here's to a few more movies from multiple outlets, figuring out a better posting schedule, and spending some time in the great outdoors!
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