On the weekend, B.W.E. and I lay in bed and watched Shadowboxer with Helen Mirren and Cuba Gooding Jr. Also starring Stephen Dorff and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Oh and that chick that used to be on CSI:NY. And Mo’nique. Two assassins are hired to kill the wife of a criminal kingpin, and one of them has a sudden change of heart that leads everyone down a very unusual path. While this movie did not make me question the existence of all creatures great and small, it was surprisingly enjoyable with some solid performances from everyone.
Except Mo’nique.
Just be prepared for a fair amount of nudity. Of the male variety.
Baadasss! the retelling of Melvin Van Peebles’ struggle to make Sweet Sweetback’s Baadasss Song, with his son playing the lead. I usually find Mario V.P. too clean-cut to play the kinds of roles he gets, but he’s rather convincing as the tough and desperate revolutionary filmmaker. Probably from his closeness to the source and finally being able to externalize the influence of his domineering dad.
I love this along with Sweet Sweetback…so glad BFI treated them well.
Be With You was my last and while I don’t avoid movies which are typified with terminal illness as the constant means to tugging on the old heartstrings, I tend to go in with a few muffled reservations. Yuko Takeuchi is no Pat Swayze and oh all the better for it in this little charmer that’s nestled somewhere between fairy tale and fanciful romance. It’s the rather tepid story of Mio, deceased Mother of Yuji and struggling Husband Takumi being granted one last chance through the rainy season to return to her family via the Akaibu Star. Unfortunately she returns with the old and sticky amnesia bit and simply must trust in her family in order to make the most of the time they have together. Affluent plot devices aside there’s a whole lot to enjoy here, most notably all the key performances handled extremely well…avoiding the temptation of hamming it up when such would have been par for the course if not fully expected by those who know their way around the leading asian brand of melodrama histrionics. Instead the quietly affecting nature of the film tends to creep up on you with grace and a naturally expressed tone which shifts effortlessly to make you really want for the characters that which you know doesn’t seem possible. A nice change of pace if it’s something you wouldn’t care to look at under normal circumstances.
The wife and I watched BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON. First time for her, second for me; I found myself less impressed with the picture the second time around - the performances seemed weaker, the humor flat - I really dug it the first time I saw (a little over two weeks prior)... I dunno. She enjoyed it, which was good.
The wife and I watched BEHIND THE MASK: THE RISE OF LESLIE VERNON. First time for her, second for me; I found myself less impressed with the picture the second time around - the performances seemed weaker, the humor flat - I really dug it the first time I saw (a little over two weeks prior)... I dunno. She enjoyed it, which was good.
Heh. I noticed this myself, it came across a bit more smart-alecky the second time around. I treasure the first viewing and stand by my review of the film, but it was indeed diminishing returns on second viewing.
Memories of Matsuko - Copious amounts of candy coated razzle dazzle splashed across the screen and at that level it’s a joy to behold. Unfortunately the narrative that tags along has it’s share of flimsy standards to uphold, most of which are steeped in old school traditional values that don’t ring so alarmingly loud or true in your modern Japonesque society. Save for the misgivings of Matsuko’s endless plight (she REALLY needs a man you know) this is one very attractive collage of pop video matter that I enjoyed a whole lot…the scores of hodge podge suffering at least make way for Miki Nakatani’s scorching performance, which is surely up there with the bsst on a global order where recent female aces are concerned.
Frozen Land - Uncompromisingly grim nights in Helsinki with the morning light bringing little hope to the downtrodden souls on screen. This isn’t as much the companion piece to Aku Louhimies’ Frozen City as it is the more pronounced and less volatile vision of bad karma between friends and subsequent enemies. As far as feelbad movies go you’d be quite hard pressed to find many that wear you down in such a gloriously heavy way… Louhimies doesn’t seem to want to settle for quick jolts that manipulate the audience into a drawback frenzy. Instead much of the mastery is pocketed into the methodical style of editing, where we revisit many key scenes from different characters perspectives…all in a bid to anchor you into that sense of hopelessness. On top of that there’s just something about these Sandinavian flicks that have them stamped all over with a far reach of authenticity - a credit to the environments and many moods that help shape these fully convincing performances. One to bring you back down after the Cheetos and Transformers for sure.
I also watched Tsuruta’s Premonition…which was just a total washout.
Saw Shane Carruth’s “PRIMER” and was really impressed by it.
I tried to keep track of what happened but towards the end I got sent completely into the woods of course, just as I should.
But you don’t need to understand all the details to realise just how BIG a can of worms these characters have opened with their machine. Watched it again and saw boatloads of stuff specially there to be spotted only on repeat viewings. This film is basically its own extra!
I totally believe it when people say they watched this ten times to see if they could figure it all out. I might not be doing that: like I said you can enjoy the picture fine enough without solving the whole puzzle, you only need to see that the puzzle is there. But it gets easier on the eyes every time I see it and I marvel at what was achieved here.
Maybe the best no-budget movie I’ve ever seen. Shows that having a good script rules…
Saw Shane Carruth’s “PRIMER” and was really impressed by it.
This film is basically its own extra!
Hah. Nice observation.
Typically in movies (even art films and high-brow stuff) the plot is simple and surface, and the themes are somewhat more buried. I found Primer to be the opposite. The themes of technology out-pacing morality and corporate/business trust and whatnot are worn on the films sleeve. The plot is damn near impossible to unravel without the use of a white-board or flip chart to map out the nested time loops. It’s fun to figure out the puzzle (if one is so inclined) but really, hardly necessary.
Overall viewing Primer is a testament to ones open-mindedness and faith that if you fall behind a movie, to keep going and maybe you will catch up enough at one point or another, or that the texture, tone and thematic grist is enough to hold interest.
Have to say I’m impressed. I expected a slightly better director’s cut, but it was basically a different movie compared to the original Superman II. The Richard Lester scenes kind of gave that version a campy feel, but this new cut feels much more serious and dark. It’s still not perfect, and at some points you can tell this cut was put together using unfinished footage, but overall I have to say that for me, from now on, the real Superman series goes as follows: Superman, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, Superman Returns… and looking forward to Superman: The Man Of Steel.
Just caught ONCE - the very pleasant and quite moving verite musical. A movie that advances the emotional thrusts of the story via the songs, but keeps the character drama satifyingly low key. Bloody good music in there too.
Fighting Delinquents - Now if you’ve done your fair share of Suzuki you’ll come to realise that Delinquents is a Nikkatsu flick that cuts between the divide of the studio formula and the man’s need for distinction rather neat. It’s worth mentioning only because the filmic footwork middles between the splashes of style and the restricted medium so often that it might be worth avoiding unless you’re a completist or curious about the brim of Suzuki’s full ‘emergence’ with Youth of the Beast. The b-movie vibe is prominant but in knowing how his craft continued to develop, the pop art vignettes and musical interludes are quite positively akin to his own desires rather than that of the studios. The most interesting correlation between the creative powers and the finished product comes in under the rather interesting balance between the traditional values and the western trade ideals on show. The hero Sadao is all about embracing the influx of new culture, the noise of rock & roll and disregarding the etiquette of the family clan. His Grandmother naturally can’t take the noise or the antics but is so bound by her duty to retain her heir to the Matsudaira Clan that she’ll put up with anything and even take on board western style breakfast in bed! The film’s pace is brisk however there is an awful lot of backtracking that feels unnecessary - the parental unit yo-yo act in particular seems a touch forced for the sake of length…even at that the film clocks in at a breezy 80 mins! Overall it’s not an essential pick from the catalogue of Suzuki but it does a fair job of entertaining you if you’re in the mood for a Little Transistor Chick and some Capitalist thrashing fun.
can someone tell me the name of the film i saw on Twitch awhile ago about a serial killer who had a crew doing a documentary on him while he was killing and if it’s available on dvd. thanks!
Cure - My first time watching it in about five years or so? I know it was one of those ‘asia extreme’ type of titles that started me off. Holds up pretty well too!
Hana & Alice - I think I’ve all but given up on the notion that I can really enjoy anything by Iwai without forcing myself to. A nice crisp start that soons finds itself floundering and unable to commit to the role call of the plot - which is the Iwai standard when he starts over-indulging in the delineation of aspects that might otherwise be considered interesting if he were harder on the cutting room floor. Shinoda once again captures all the space and ambience beautifully, Iwai’s chamber score fits neatly and both girls are cute as a button as well as providing a fairly engaging camradery. But when it’s stretched too thin, colouring outside almost all the necessary plotlines in favour of random quirky shit then much of what I really want to like is lost somewhere inbetween all the patchwork details.
