Monday, April 30, 2007

Ossessione (Luchino Visconti, 1943)



Ossessione (Luchino Visconti, 1943)

This was the first movie adapted from James M. Cain's "The Postman Always Rings Twice." It's an interesting Noiresque indictment of Italian Fascism as the confinements of love, marriage, and greed allude to Mussolini's controlling regime. This film was pretty melodramatic as was the trend of the times and runs a bit longer than perhaps it should have, but it foreshadows the neorealist movement, and includes some beautiful camera movements and shot compositions.
Rating: 8.5

Tiger Beat Crush of the Week:
Dhia Cristiani:

C.R.A.Z.Y. (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2005)



C.R.A.Z.Y. (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2005)
Rating: 6.7

The themes are a bit heavy handed at times and I felt the film was trying to be a little too flashy for its own good at others, resulting in some major plot points feeling a little contrived. However the performances were solid, especially Michel Côté as the father, and I enjoyed the exploration of the unspoken love between family.

Sunday, April 29, 2007

RoboCop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987)



RoboCop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987)
Rating: 8.4

I'm ashamed to admit that this was my first viewing of this film. RoboCop is an interesting hybrid film with mainstream appeal as well as artistic merit. The story itself is relatively uninteresting and secondary to the more intriguing premise. I felt that a lot of the dialogue was pretty lame and derivative, especially the villain/cop interactions(trying to kick a cyborg in the nuts, and firing endless rounds at his metal armor with no sign of significant damage being done). Fortunately Verhoeven doesn't take his film too seriously, much in the same vain as Starship Troopers, which he would make ten years later, a lot of this is meant to be taken as tongue and cheek. He mixes in some subtle humor and satire, most overtly through the television news and commercial intermissions. Despite the seemingly watered down screenplay at times, the film manages to explore some significant issues, and the editing, shot selections and compositions throughout mark an incredible achievement in directing.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl (1919)




Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl (1919)
Rating: 7.7

Despite the racist connotations of the title and the references to the Chinese man as Chinky, given the historical context this film conveys a lot of sentimentality towards his character, while portraying the prejudice white man as the villain. Broken Blossoms was one of the first films to explore the taboo idea of inter-racial love. Griffith purveys his array of talents by composing a tragic yet simplistic story as opposed to another lavish epic which he has now become most well known for.

The Freshman (Fred C. Newmeyer, and Sam Taylor, 1925)



The Freshman (Fred C. Newmeyer, and Sam Taylor, 1925)
Rating: 8.3

Safety Last! (Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, 1923)



Safety Last! (Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, 1923)
Rating: 9.6

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (Todd Haynes, 1987)




Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987)
Rating: 9.0

A rare cult classic that is unavailable commercially...Click the link below to see it.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=622130510713940545&q=superstar+karen+carpenter+story&hl=en

Haunted Spooks (Hal Roach and Alfred J. Goulding, 1920)




Haunted Spooks (Hal Roach and Alfred J. Goulding, 1920)

Rating: 5.7

Friday, April 27, 2007

Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)



Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)
Rating: 9.7

The narrative is pretty mediocre and I'm not a fan of Heston's performance, but Orson Welles is amazing as an actor and director creating one of the most visually and aesthetically enticing American films ever made.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Wandâfuru raifu (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 1998) aka After Life



After Life (Hirokazu Kore-eda, 1998)
Rating: 8.7

I loved the concept of this film as I have always been intrigued with "memory", and it covers the most challenging issues of this world beautifully (what is life about? what happens after we die?). The film is pretty low budget, and the natural lighting cinematography is the only problem I had with it. The most stimulating part of the film is it's interactive ability to challenge the viewer to explore their own memories while watching.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Eri, Eri, rema sabachttani? (Shinji Aoyama, 2005)



Eri, Eri, rema sabachttani? (Shinji Aoyama, 2005)
Rating: 9.4

In the opening sequence of Shinji Aoyama’s My God, My God, Why Hast Thou Forsaken Me? two men wearing protective masks and goggles walk along a beach. For the first several minutes of the film, not a word is spoken between them. Using extreme long shots, Aoyoma shows the vast empty landscape the men are traveling across as the soundtrack plays somewhat eerie droning music over the sounds of the wind blowing and waves crashing. Soon a saxophone chimes in as the two men explore a tent. We see a shot of a kitchen table still containing food as flies buzz around it, another shot of exposed legs of a supposed corpse, a hole in the tent, and a photograph of a family. After exploring the tent the two men begin rummaging through the junk that is lying around. The next several sequences show the men interacting with different objects to create different sounds as they record them. Mizui releases a deck of cards into the wind while Asahara turns the dial of an old radio that can’t find a signal as static blares from it. They also discover a hose-like tube that creates a whistling hum when twirled around. In the following scene it is revealed that the men are noise musicians. Mizui attaches the pieces of the tubing to an umbrella and then attaches that to a fan, thus creating his own unique instrument.
Aoyama shows us the process by which these musicians manipulate their environment to create music which is equally important to the finished product itself and the ephemeral listening experience. Later we discover that an epidemic that is causing people to kill themselves, known as the Lemmings Syndrome is causing the deaths of millions of people worldwide. Despite the existence of this life altering disease, Asahara, who actually has the disease, and Mizui don’t seem to concern themselves with it much at all. The filmmaker doesn’t linger on this aspect of the film as much as we would suspect either. There are brief shots of dead bodies on the sides of the road, and hanging from telephone poles, but the major focus is really on the music. Aoyama gives us long extended scenes where the musicians are performing or composing their art. Natsuishi thinks that there is a link between the music of Stepin Fetchit and a cure for Lemmings Syndrome, so he takes his granddaughter Hana to their home to seek their help.
The idea of the music being a dreamlike transcendental experience able to cure a disease that causes suicidal tendencies and breeds on misery is an interesting concept. Following Asahara’s sudden death, Mizui explains to Hana that “it comes down to the will to recover.” Navi says she doesn’t think about death and has no fear of it. So how does the music factor into this? Perhaps Aoyama is inferring the interaction with and creation of art is a means of hope and distraction from death. During the final musical performance, there is a shot of Mizui playing his guitar which is overlapped by another shot of a bird flying in the air. This juxtaposition seems to be linking music with freedom. After his performance he tells Hana that “like music, you and I are a dream.” This film uses minimal dialogue, meticulous pacing, stark open landscape, and more to create an experience and mood, more than a strong narrative, much like dreams and music do.

Le Temps du loup(Michael Haneke, 2003) aka Time of the Wolf



Time of the Wolf(Michael Haneke, 2003)
Rating: 9.0

Saturday, April 21, 2007

The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)



The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
Rating: 9.9

I recently rewatched this film while it was broadcast on PBS. In my opinion this is perhaps the most significant and thought provoking melodrama to ever come out of Hollywood, not to mention a complex and intriguing character study of WWII veterans returning home.

Tiger Beat Crush of the Week:
Teresa Wright:

The Kid (Charles Chaplin, 1921)



The Kid (Charles Chaplin, 1921)
Rating: 9.5



Duo luo tian shi (Kar Wai Wong, 1995) aka Fallen Angels



Fallen Angels ((Kar Wai Wong, 1995)
Rating: 9.6



Another gorgeously photographed and stylistically engrossing Kar Wai Wong film about loneliness and alienation in Hong Kong.

Friday, April 20, 2007

Hail the Conquering Hero (Preston Sturges, 1944)




Hail the Conquering Hero (Preston Sturges, 1944)

Rating: 9.6

A brilliant screenplay satire written and directed by Strurges, that criticizes commodified heroism, politics, and family values. Eddie Brackens is terrific as Woodrow Lafayette Pershing Truesmith, a Marine dismissed for chronic hay fever before ever seeing action. He meets a group of Marines who encourage him to tell a little white lie about his heroics at war to his mother which in turn escalates to a statue being made in his honor and the townspeople insisting he run for mayor. Woodrow becomes the symbolic embodiment of untold stories of heroics. The beautiful Ella Raines with her captivating screen presence plays Woodrow's love interest, Libby.

Tiger Beat Crush of the Week:
Ella Raines:

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

The Cool World (Shirley Clarke, 1964)




The Cool World (Shirley Clarke, 1964)
Rating: 9.8

This is a remarkable American New Wave docudrama that perfectly captures the milieu of Harlem in the 1960s by exploring a group of adolescents involved in gangs and juvenile delinquency. The main character, Duke, is obsessed with acquiring a gun which symbolically represents his quest for manhood, power, and escape from alienation. The film resembles the Italian neorealistic style as the environment shapes the actions of the characters and become victims of their surroundings. The jazz soundtrack provided by Dizzy Gillespie and Yusaf Lateef, among others playing Mal Waldron's original compositions is an excellent thematic counterpoint as the narrative itself is improvised and free flowing like the music. This film is a rare treat that offers photographs of a history not often explored.

The Man Who Knew Too Much (Alfred Hitchcock, 1934)



The Man Who Knew Too Much (Alfred Hitchcock, 1934)
Rating: 8.4



I always enjoy Peter Lorre's performances and The Albert Hall scene is brilliantly edited and composed.

Sunday, April 15, 2007

Blades of Glory (Josh Gordon and Will Speck, 2007)




Blades of Glory (Josh Gordon and Will Speck, 2007)
Rating: 4.5

The story structure was actually much more thought out than Ferrell's previous comic smashes and I was impressed with the inventiveness of the skating scenes and surprised at how seamlessly the editing hid stunt doubles, but unfortunately this film didn't have any real memorable comic scenes. I did however enjoy the television skater spotlights parodies and the actual skating announcer's commentary and ridiculous puns.

Modern Times (Charles Chaplin, 1936)



Modern Times (Charles Chaplin, 1931)
Rating: 9.5





Tiger Beat Crush of the Week:
Paulette Goddard:

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Zui hao de shi guang (Hsiao-hsien Hou, 2005) aka Three Times



Three Times (Hsiao-hsien Hou, 2005)
Rating: 8.6

Vita è bella, La (Roberto Benigni, 1997)



Life is Beautiful (Roberto Benigni, 1997)
Rating: 6.5

A cute and hopeful film that would be great to watch with my family, but pretty generic and often cheesy. I love Benigni's performance as well as the young boy's, but I have to say this was a disappointment after so much hype and being on imdb's top #100 list.

Wednesday, April 11, 2007

La Maison de Himiko (Isshin Inudou 2005)



La Maison de Himiko (Isshin Inudou 2005)
Rating: 7.6

In his article “The Social Situation Facing Gays in Japan,” Sunagawa Hideki discusses how the young people of today seemingly have an easier time dealing with and accepting their sexuality than previous generations did. He goes on to explain that the Gay Boom, the proliferation of activist groups and human rights organizations as well as classroom education have influenced the public toward a more positive social outlook towards homosexuality in general. Hideki conversely discusses the flip side of the coin where oppression still exists, gay men are targets of youth gang violence, and young men face inner battles of self acceptance.
Isshin Inudou’s film La Maison de Himiko (2005) portrays varying representations of both old and young gay men and accepting and oppressive heterosexual members of society. Himiko, a former owner of a gay night club, retires and opens a retirement home for gay men. Perhaps with the exception of Yamazaki, the older men are very comfortable with their self identity and sexuality. We most obviously conclude this based on the costuming of the characters. The elderly gay men wear a colorful palette of bright robes, dresses, and other clothing to represent their self confidence. Ruby even adorns a pink wig. To contrast this, Saori, a heterosexual character wears mostly black, white, or earth tone colors throughout.
Yamazaki, however is an example of what Hideki was discussing. He has been embarrassed to wear a dress, even in front of his friends at the closed gay community they live in. Saori becomes the first person to see his bedroom which is lavishly decorated and contains several dresses he has designed. Yamazaki even comments that he will “wear a dress in his coffin which will be his first and last, so he won’t have to look in the mirror and regret how he looks.”
Saori goes through an interesting character arc in the film. Initially she is disgusted by the group of men at the retirement home, but eventually she warms up to them after getting to know each one as humanized individuals rather than part of a stigmatized group. She offers her nonexistent inheritance to help save La Maison de Himiko and be able to keep Ruby at the home after his stroke in one scene. In another scene when Yamazaki is being mocked by a former coworker after it is discovered Yamazaki is a “queen,” Saori yells at the man, demanding he apologize. Despite her friendships and understanding she still cannot fully accept their choices. In the end she accuses them of having selfish homo-egos for abandoning their families and causing suffering for their loved ones and never really allows
her father, Himiko to have any sort of redemption before his death.
Lastly the film represents a group of young juvenile delinquents who are constantly pestering the gay men and vandalizing the house. This subject is treated a little more lightly than it could be as Hideki mentions that a number of deaths occur from gang violence towards gays. In the film the young boys are comically chased off after being sprayed by a hose. Later Haruhiko repeatedly slaps one of the boys until they are scared away. This same boy later shows remorse for his actions and begins to work for Haruhiko.

Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967)



Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967)
Rating: 10

Monday, April 09, 2007

Friday, April 06, 2007

The Motel (Michael Kang, 2005)



The Motel (Michael Kang, 2005)
Rating: 7.0

"8 is great...you can die at 12 and live a full life...anything after that is just an insult."

Thursday, April 05, 2007

Tetsuo: The Iron Man (Shinya Tsukamoto, 1989)




Tetsuo (Shinya Tsukamoto, 1989)

Rating: 9.0

"Together, we can turn this fucking world to rust!"

Go (Isao Yukisada, 2001)




Go (Isao Yukisada, 2001)
Rating: 8.5

Sugihara is a second generation North Korean living in Japan, otherwise referred to as a resident alien, or zainachi. His father encourages him to “see the world” and figure things out for himself. Sugihara takes his father up on this offer as he opts to transfer from North Korean School to a Japanese High School where he faces discrimination. In the opening scene of the film Sugihama is playing basketball with a group of peers who begin taunting him as he dribbles the ball. After a shot of Sugihama dribbling, it cuts to the group of Japanese kids each dribbling basketballs themselves while shouting “zainichi.” They begin throwing the balls at Sugihama in an almost surrealistic fashion resembling a stoning. Following this assault, Sugihama reacts with violent aggression by yelling and then drop kicking the other players. This scene establishes the protagonist’s struggle, other’s perception of him as “other,” and also his rebellious personality. Although Go explores the plight of the Korean resident Japanese, the film is not limited to national identity and inequality in Japan, but also implies a universal ideal of self identity, originality, and embrace of other cultures.
Sugihara’s father trades in his North Korean passport for a South Korean one in order to travel to Hawaii and later to Spain, attempting to teach his son that documentation and perceptions of others can’t establish your identity, rather it is individually established. Kato, a friend of Sugihara’s, becomes a somewhat subtle example when compared to others, of how the film promotes tolerance towards diversity. Kato’s sexuality is somewhat ambiguous. Aside from his demeanor, and costuming, there is a specific scene during Kato’s birthday party when he attempts to kiss Sugihara, but Sugihara blocks his own face to prevent it from happening with the pineapple he brings as a gift. The most interesting case in the film is Sugihara’s friend from North Korean school, Jong-Il. Although Jong-Il doesn’t deny his North Korean heritage, or become a “traitor to his race” as their teacher put it, he is perhaps the most uniquely open minded character in the film. Jong-Il supports Sugihara’s shift into Japanese culture and eventually his sister decides to attend. He is also interested in traditional comedy, Shakespeare, and other Western literature as he quotes Billy the Kid at one point and Malcolm X at another. ‘The Works of Shakespeare” book, Jong-Il gives to Sugihara, is one of the most significant symbols. The film actually begins with a quote from Romeo and Juliet, “"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell so sweet?” This quote is reiterated throughout and is a salient theme. After the death of Jong-Il, we see a shot of Sugihara looking down at the book. The following shot shows, the passage circled as tears fall onto the page. Sugihara and his love interest, Sakurai only differ in name, (hers being so obviously Japanese and his Korean) but they look phenotypically similar, share common interests, and genuinely like each other; their names are irrelevant In the final scene Sugihara declares that he is neither Korean nor Japanese, “I am Me,” he says.