Snow Angels (David Gordon Green, 2007)

Snow Angels (David Gordon Green, 2007)
Rating: 7.7

Snow Angels is David Gordon Green's first adaptation (of a novel by Stewart O'Nan), and features his biggest name cast to date with Sam Rockwell, Kate Beckinsale, Griffin Dunne, and Amy Sedaris. Despite these small changes the film is undeniably true to David Gordon Green's style. Tim Orr once again takes care of the photography and Jeff McIlwain and David Wingo contribute the score. Technically speaking the film has a lot of problems, some of which it manages to get away with due to the lo-fi indie nature of it, and others that are too glaring to write off such as the scene where Arthur (Michael Angarano) brings his girlfriend, Lila (Jeanetta Arnette), a plate full of pancakes for breakfast only to magically transform into waffles in the subsequent shots. The cinematography wasn't as impressive as I remember some of Green's other films being and there are some soft focus issues, however there are still a lot of beautiful shots, particularly of the snow covered wooded areas and frozen lakes. The most noticeable problem was the overmodualated production audio, especially during scenes where character's yelled or raised their voices. Even though this is obviously a low budget film, it is still a professional project and there is really no excuse for such a blemish.
Like Green's other film's the story takes place in a small town, with working class characters and the camera captures the natural beauty and ugliness of nature and humanity. The writing and the acting comes across as very naturalistic and believable, and despite the overall serious tone there are quite a few awkward moments of humanistic comedy, perhaps even more so here than in his previous work. The narrative explores several different relationships including two young teenage lovers just getting to know each other, Arthur's parents who have recently separated and are attempting to cope with that, and Annie (Kate Beckinsale) and her Husband Glenn (Sam Rockwell) who have been a child, but have been separated for some time. Although Rockwell, Beckinsale, and Angarano are the most flushed out characters, Snow Angels works as a great ensemble piece, and shifts focus between the different characters fluidly and unforced. The youthful couple serves as a foil as well as a reminder of what Glenn and Annie once were. Although this film has more of a central story to it than Green's first two efforts, it still has that meandering feel to it, as the tragic story is almost secondary to the joy, pain, confusion, ambitions, and suffering of the characters. The tonal shifts are impressively handled and probably what I enjoyed most about the film it's just a shame at how amateurish parts of the film come across as due to technical flaws.

Gone Baby Gone (Ben Affleck, 2007)

Gone Baby Gone (Ben Affleck, 2007)
Rating: 5.5

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007)

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007)
Rating: 7.2

Great score, great performances, and some of the most dazzling cinematography I can recall in recent years. Casey Affleck was very good and deserving of his Oscar nomination, but my favorite character/performance was from Paul Schneider as Dick Liddil

Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry, 2008)

Be Kind Rewind (Michel Gondry, 2008)
Rating: 7.3

As a fan of director, Michel Gondry and his unique visual art and creativity I must admit that I carry a bit of a bias. Gondry follows up his eccentric Science of Sleep with a more accessible comedy with a brilliant premise in which a the protagonists (Mos Def and Jack Black) accidentally destroy all of the tapes in their Boss's small video/thrift store and attempt to recreate the films themselves. The character's and the situations are a bit over the top and even illogical at times, and the general plot points are pretty formulaic, however Gondry's flare for the unique and quirky still manages to capture the spotlight and make up for the flaws. I was displeased with some of the continuity in the editing, and wasn't a big fan of parts of the soundtrack that sounded like royalty free music; writing isn't Gondry's strongest point either. The script mostly seems contrived in order to showcase Gondry's aesthetics. Like any other generic script the conflict is introduced in the first 15 minutes. Mr. Fletcher's store is on the verge of being demolished and replaced by condos. The initial 15 minutes left me skeptical, but once the remakes began production or "Sweded" films as the characters dub them, I started to get into it. Jack Black provides some comical remarks throughout, but I was mostly amused by the inventive visual tactics used to recreate the films. On top of the captivating visuals, and comedy, Be Kind Rewind has a heart. I found the final scene to be very touching; almost the same sort of earnest sense of community A Wonderful Life evokes. The resolution consists of the community uniting to make their own memories and interpretations of the past from scratch. The film champions the independent filmmaker showing that money shouldn't be a limitation to creating art, however Gondry also addresses the harsh reality that the little guy rarely wins as he portrays bureaucrats and big business as the bullies.

Britannia Hospital (Lindsay Anderson, 1982)

Britannia Hospital (Lindsay Anderson, 1982)
Rating: 5.1

Heart of an artful satire, but execution and production values of a B-movie.

The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)

The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)
Rating: 8.2

A hilarious Sturges film starring Barbara Stanwyck and Henry Fonda. Although I found Fonda's performance to be pretty vapic, Stanwyck is fanstastic. Eugene Pallette as the father of Charles Pike is hilarious as well.

The Great Dictator (Charels Chaplin, 1940)

The Great Dictator (Charels Chaplin, 1940)
Rating: 9.2

Links are to clips of scenes referred to:

Some complain that Chaplin was struggling to adapt to the sound era when he made The Great Dictator. There are a few instances where I think the film could have been cut down as it gets a bit too talky, but overall I found the film to be a lovely hybrid of silent and early sound aesthetics that was far ahead of it's time in terms of dark comedy and political satire. It's hard to believe the film came out in 1940 before the United States had even entered WWII. There are times where I think that the film could have just as easily been entirely silent, however there are certainly scenes that make me think otherwise such as the riveting final speech which is just as relevant now as it was then. Scenes such as the one where Hynkel plays with the balloon globe, the scene in which the men are eating cake with coins in them, or when the barber shaves along to the score play like Chaplin's classic silent pieces. Conversely the film also makes audio gags that work well too. For example when the crowd applauds Hynkel's speech only to be instantly muted by his hand gesture or the jingling of the coins in the jewish barber's belly as he hiccups. My favorite scene has to be the upside down plane bit which only gets more hilarious as they run out of gas and apathetically embrace death as the plane crashes.

The Great McGinty (Preston Sturges, 1940)

The Great McGinty (Preston Sturges, 1940)
Rating: 7.4

A pretty solid script that won an Academy Award and an overall impressive debut film for Sturges considering the severe budget constraints. This is the third film I've seen from Sturges and they all involve the lead characters pretending to be someone they aren't and the character arcs lead them to epiphany, which seems to work well, however I'd like to see a different formula from him in the future.

Stalag 17 (Billy Wilder, 1953)

Stalag 17 (Billy Wilder, 1953)
Rating: 8.3

Billy Wilder's film is an interesting mishmash of tension and comedy. A WWII prison camp was a bold location for such a film with so much humor, especially in 1953, less than ten years after the war, and it almost feels like two separate films at times because of the dynamic range of tone shifts from scene to scene. Animal and Harry make up a frequently used for broad humor that I could have done without, however there are a few pretty good gags such as the German's giving each barrack a copy of Mein Kampf and a mini evergreen as a Christmas gift, and the letter from a mother who is convinced that her son is fairing well in the prison camp which she hears has a tennis court which is frozen over in the winter and used as an ice skating rink. The German's are portrayed more as simple minded caricatures speaking in broken English who are easily duped, while the real villain is backstabbing American's ratting out their fellow comrades. Like most Wilder films, Stalag 17 has a pretty direct message. This time around he seems to be disturbed by the rampant Mcarthyism that ran wild during the late 40s through the late 50s. In 1947 Hollywood began blacklisting employees and people were anonymously being accused and interrogated based purely on hearsay in many cases. The film parallels these activities as the main character, Sgt. Sefton, the cynical swindler, played by William Holden who won an Academy Award for this role, is falsely accused of being the rat and Dunbar is sold out to the Germans and sent to be interrogated for his act of sabotage without any evidence. With a running time of just about 2 hours, I felt that the film was a little too long and became redundant towards the end, but still a very solid film.

Prosperity for 2008 (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2008)

Prosperity for 2008 (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2008)
Rating: 7.0

Le Scaphandre et le papillon (Julian Schnabel, 2007) aka

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007)
Rating: 9.4

A truly beautiful film to look at with a painterly touch as the cinematography seems to reflect the impressionist art movement. Much of the camerawork is a blurred first person perspective of the one eyed protagonist who suffers from "locked-in" syndrome following a sudden stroke. The flashy editing effects compliment the stylistic camera work, although I was confused by the occasional and seemingly nonsensical jump-cuts. The film is based on a moving true story, and it succeeds for the most part, however I was disappointed when the film abruptly cut away from an emotional sequence. Perhaps that was the point, but I didn't want to be taken out of those moments.

Sang sattawat (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2006) aka Syndromes and a Century

Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2006)
Rating: 9.7

Very few directors utilize the film medium in such a way Apichatpong Weerasethakul does. Of course Tarkovsky comes to mind, and perhaps a handful of others, but there is something about eliciting feelings and recreating dreams and memories that I find more engaging than narrative filmmaking. Syndromes and a Century is an exploration of memory and reflection for the director himself as well as the audience. The film is divided into two parts. As the Apichatpong explains, the first part recollects his parent's courtship. However this pretext isn't necessary for enjoying and understanding the film. To simplify things it's about different lives intersecting, and triggering memories and emotions through everyday seemingly innocuous events.
The first half of the film takes place at a small clinic where newly hired Dr. Nohng falls in love with another doctor. His confession of love to her sparks the story of her past love with an orchid expert. We are also introduced to a dentist who befriends a monk. As they get to know one another we discover the dentist is also a singer, while the monk once dreamed of being a DJ. In a touching scene the dentist asks the monk if he is the reincarnation of his brother who died when he was 8 years old. The dentist feels responsible for his death and wants a chance to apologize. The dentist offers the monk a toy horse that belonged to the his brother, however the monk explains that he was not a human and his past life so therefor cannot be his brother. So the dentist offers him his new album instead.
The setting and space evokes a certain warm emotion, as we see the sunshine beaming through open windows, lush greenery, and the comforting sounds of chirping birds. Occasionally the camera strays from the characters entirely and we are left with images of an open field or an eclipse. In the first half of the film the camera is mostly static with few very minimal movements in contrast to the second half of the film which includes a much more mobile camera reflecting the transition into a more modern environment. The second half of the film includes the same characters we met in the first half, and in fact some of the same events reoccur almost verbatim, except for the fact that the sequence of shots as well as the setting has changed, which in turns affects the relationships the characters have with one another. The setting becomes a large Metropolitan hospital with a much colder feel to it as machinery and the white walls replace the colorful palette created by the greenery and sunlight.
The environment is much more impersonal. This is most overt when the dentist and the monk reenact their meeting. Instead of forming a close bond, their is only awkward silence as the dentist performs his tasks. Only phrases like "open your mouth" and "rinse" are spoken between the two, leaving a sad emptiness when reflecting upon their relationship in the first half. Similarly Dr. Nohg never pursues the female doctor as they both have lovers already. The reflections the film triggers is the magic of it in my opinion. Syndromes and a Century is a film about memory that creates memories for the viewer to recall and compare these fractured scenes, making for a very cerebral experience.

Lost and Found (Ryan Slater, 2007)

Rating: 10
An epic masterpiece!

Seul contre tous (Gaspar Noé, 1998) aka I Stand Alone

I Stand Alone (Gaspar Noé, 1998)
Rating: 6.3

I Stand Alone continues from where the nameless butcher left off in Noe's short film Carne. He is now 50 years old, bankrupt, separated from his mentally challenged daughter, and completely unhappy with his life. His despair and confusion is expressed to us through his nihilistic monologues and anger filled violent fantasies. Unfortunately I find the editing and stylization of the film to detract from the social issued being addressed and the realistic nature of the butcher's suffering. I also didn't like the opening of the film which looked like a power point presentation summarizing the prequel. The final 20 minutes and most memorable part of the film is preceded by a 30 second title card warning the audience that this is their last chance to abandon the film. I suppose Noé wants his films to be associated with a sort of shock gimmick, using the nameless butcher/common man's story as and incestuous relationship as a means to convey a universal statement about creating one's own personal morality and justice.

The French Connection (William Friedkin, 1971)

The French Connection (William Friedkin, 1971)
Rating: 6.7

Although I'm sure during the time this film was made it wasn't as tired and played out as it seems today with the barrage of television crime dramas and dozens of police thrillers released every year. The story itself is pretty unengaging, as it follows a fairly insignificant drug bust. The film also is pretty racist, and especially portrays African Americans in a negative light without any sort of redeeming qualities. Obviously the car chase sequence is great, and there are a few impressive shot setups and rack focuses and zooms, but I suppose I was just too dissatisfied with the story and the characters. The direction and on location setting of the streets of New York are enjoyable, but it's basically like a sequel to The Naked City, which I personally prefer.

Cloverfield (Matt Reeves, 2008)

Cloverfield (Matt Reeves, 2008)
Rating: 7.3

Typically this sort of film wouldn't interest me, but because of the unique documentary style it was shot in along with the brilliant marketing campaign, I was intrigued, but still very skeptical. A concise pitch would most likely describe Cloverfield as "The Blair Witch Project meets Godzilla", however I think that the film is more inspired by the amateur footage collected post 9/11 as well as Paul Greengrass' United 93, among other things. The film is a unique and incredibly visceral experience as the setup is that we are literally watching a government owned footage from a single tape found at the site of the incident. We are first introduced to footage of a couple, Robert and Beth, who enjoy a romantic afternoon in Coney Island, only to be interrupted by footage from Robert's brother and his girlfriend as they plan for Rob's going away party. After a few cuts back and forth between the two different footage which show dates separated by nearly a month, we discover that the older footage is actually being recorded over, essentially acting as a sporadic flashback, serving as a brilliant bookend to the film as well as a back story and character development device. Hud, Robert's best friend, takes over the camera duties once the party begins, as he goes around collecting good look testimonies from everyone. As the mayhem begins, Hud appoints himself as the noble documenter and dutifully captures incredible first hand footage of the destruction and deaths of those around him. Hud also serves as comic relief, perhaps a little too often, with his often boneheaded statements and attempts at flirting with Marlena. Although there really isn't much to the narrative itself, and a lot of things are left ambiguous or flat out unaddressed, I found this supported the realism and immediacy of the film. I was worried the acting and the dialogue would come across as too phony, however I was pleasantly surprised, as it played out better than anticipated. although there are some lines I could have done without. The hand held digital camerawork obviously was the biggest factor in selling the reality in which such a fantastical situation was conveyed. Perhaps the most impressive part of the film is the choreography, especially with the cinematography and special effects, which I also found to work well. I wasn't as concerned with the monster, although a lot of people seemed to be preoccupied with it. I found myself more interested in the group of characters and their isolated experience. I saw the film in front of a packed house at the midnight showing at the Grauman's Chinese Mann theater, and have to say it was the most fun I've had at the movies in a long time, but the film is more than just empty entertainment and sensationalism; the monster itself could be considered an embodiment of our fear of terrorism, or the general unknown. In this modern age where everyone has access to media technology, as well as Youtube and the like, this film is very relevant. There is a great scene where people crowd around the Statue of Liberty's head and frantically take pictures with their cellphones. Most importantly it's a new way of experiencing cinema, and certainly a great way to start 2008. Granted Blair Witch did it first, but Cloverfield takes it to the next level and does it better.

Visions of Europe (Various 2004)

Visions of Europe (Various 2004)
Rating: 5.2

25 5 minute shorts from each of the 25 states of the European Union, dealing with political and social issues. Unfortunately most of the shorts are duds, although it's interesting to see films from some of the smaller, lesser known countries.

Fatih Akin (Germany segment "Die alten bösen Lieder")
Barbara Albert (Austria segment "Mars")

Sharunas Bartas (Lithuania segment "Children Lose Nothing")
This was by far my favorite. The cinematography and general feel for it reminded me of Tarkovsky's films. Maybe I'm just a sucker for children and woodland environments.

Andy Bausch (Luxemburg segment "The Language School")
Decent comedy about a pimp taking his prostitutes to language classes.

Christoffer Boe (Denmark segment "Europe Does Not Exist")
Francesca Comencini (Italy segment "Anna Lives in Marghera")
Stijn Coninx (Belgium segment "Self Portrait")
Tony Gatlif (France segment "Paris by Night")
One of several shorts dealing with refugees and aliens.

Sasa Gedeon (Czech Republic segment "Unisono")
Christos Georgiou (Cyprus segment "My Life on Tape")
Touching story about two men who were forced out of their home, but get a chance to return to visit.
Constantine Giannaris (Greece segment "Room for All")
Theo van Gogh (Netherlands segment "Euroquiz")
This was a very funny short, about a woman on a quiz show who begins revealing her alcoholism in the pregame interview and how it caused a car accident that killed her husband and child.

Peter Greenaway (United Kingdom segment "European Showerbath")

Miguel Hermoso (Spain segment "Our Kids")
Arvo Iho (Estonia segment "Euroflot")
Aki Kaurismäki (Finland segment "Bico")
Damjan Kozole (Slovenia segment "Europa")
Laila Pakalnina (Latvia segment "It'll Be Fine")
Kenneth Scicluna (Malta segment "The Isle")
Martin Sulík (Slovak Republic segment "The Miracle")

Malgorzata Szumowska (Poland segment "Crossroad")
My second favorite film of the bunch follows the adventures of a statue of jesus and the people who pass by it, including a man who pisses on a tree, a couple having sex in a nearby car, and 2 teenage boys who replace it with a cheerier more colorful statue, using a power drill rather than rusty nails.

Béla Tarr (Hungary segment "Prologue")
A continuous pan through a long line of haggard faces as they wait for food rations.

Jan Troell (Sweden segment "The Yellow Tag")
Teresa Villaverde (Portugal segment "Cold Wa(te)r")

Aisling Walsh (Ireland segment "Invisible State")
A Powerful monologue on the forgotten human cargo, refugees, aliens, slaves, etc. juxtaposed with moving imagery.

The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)

The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)
Rating: 7.0

I have enjoyed every film I've seen directed by Billy Wilder, and many people consider The Apartment to be one of his better if not his best film, so coming into this I had pretty high expectations. The film is formally and technically a great achievement, from the editing, sound, to the art direction, blocking, framing, etc. Jack Lemmon is excellent in his role and Shirley MacLaine is adorable. Unfortunately the story felt like something I've seen hundreds of times in romantic comedies and sitcom television, chalked full of stereotypical characters and familiar genre devices. Wilder brings a few tinges of darkness as usual with a suicide attempt and excessive infidelity, but nothing stood out enough for me to consider it great.

Shadows (John Cassavetes, 1959)

Shadows (John Cassavetes, 1959)
Rating: 8.6

In interesting experiment in improvisation as this mostly unscripted film reflects the characteristics of it's jazz driven soundtrack. The film brings up some interesting questions about intellect, existentialism, romantic inclinations, and more while also exploring an interracial relationship, familial bonds, and a look at the beat generation. Due to the low budget nature of the production, the audio suffers, and there are a few questionable edits among other minor technical issues.

All the Invisible Children (Various, 2005)

All the Invisible Children (Various, 2005)
Rating: 6.9

This film was made to benefit UNICEF and the World Food Program. It consists of seven shorts revolving around child protagonists and deals with different social issues. The reoccurring theme of bickering or nonexistent parents is seen throughout.

"Tanza" directed by Mehdi Chafer
Rating: 7.3

A beautifully shot story about an African boy toting a machine gun with a group of other children during civil war. The unforgettable final scene takes place in a schoolhouse as Tanza plants a bomb and longs for happier times with his family and classmates. Unfortunatley the children's acting is poor, but luckily there isn't much dialogue.

"Blue Gypsy" directed by Emir Kusturica
Rating: 5.3

This story follows Uros, a boy regaining his freedom from a juvenile prison, bur realizing being locked up is easier than life on the outside. Kusturica's film is a too light for my taste, as much of of the comedy is slapstick and the themes have been done to death. The cultural elements are the most interesting thing to take away from this one, although they are mostly rehashings of his more worthwhile feature films.

"Jesus Children of America" directed by Spike Lee
Rating: 3.1

The most didactic of the bunch, Spike Lee's film plays out like an after school special. Rosie Perez and Andre Royo play the drug addicted, AIDS infected parents of Blanca who is also infected. They deliver good performances, however the rest of the acting is embarrassingly bad.

Bilu and João" directed by Kátia Lund
Rating: 8.4

An adorable and optimistic story about a homeless boy and girl who venture through Sao Paulo with a wooden cart collecting recyclables to sell to a local shop in order to scrape by.

"Jonathan" directed by Jordan and Ridley Scott
Rating: 9.6

By far the most moving and interesting piece, Ridley Scott and his daughter Jordan examine a war photographer's imagination as he is haunted by his experiences. While walking through the woods to clear his mind, the protagonist envisions himself as a child, playing a fantasy war game with his friends. The film compares the middle class bliss of friendship and camaraderie with that of the war orphans struggling for survival. I could actually see this being expanded into a feature. It works well as a short too, but ends abruptly as the narrator quotes something about "friendship multiplying good and dividing evil." Kelly Macdonald and David Thewlis star in this.

"Ciro" directed by Stefano Veneruso
Rating: 5.8

Stereotypical thieving children anecdote ending with a gorgeous carousel scene.

"Song Son and Little Cat" directed by John Woo
Rating: 5.1

Cliché ridden comparison of a spoiled rich child and a girl living in poverty.