The owner of an extract (that's the name of a drink made of the juice of a fruit) manufacturing company hires a male prostitute to have sex with his wife, so that he may be guilt-free when pursuing extramarital affairs. His love target is a dangerous woman though.
Entertaining comedy; I laughed several times through it. And it provides a snapshot about the current situation of capitalism in the U.S..
Rating: 61
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Ernest Goes to Camp (1987)
A summer camp janitor aspires to be camp counselor. A mining company wants to buy the property.
Extremely low-brow comedy. One might compare its view of native americans with that of They Died with Their Boots On, and see they don't differ much.
Rating: 13
Extremely low-brow comedy. One might compare its view of native americans with that of They Died with Their Boots On, and see they don't differ much.
Rating: 13
Thursday, June 30, 2011
They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
A fiction very loosely based on the life of General Custer. First West Point, then the Civil War, then the Indian War and his defeat at Little Bighorn.
The West Point section has some interest and is entertaining; the rest of the film didn't really work for me as it seemed to be just a series of concoctions with the purpose of hiding the (for Hollywood standards) ugly truth.
Rating: 41
The West Point section has some interest and is entertaining; the rest of the film didn't really work for me as it seemed to be just a series of concoctions with the purpose of hiding the (for Hollywood standards) ugly truth.
Rating: 41
Monday, June 27, 2011
True Grit (2010)
A fourteen-year-old girl hires a bounty hunter to capture her father's murderer.
The Coens have by now proven that they can do any kind of picture. I wouldn't know the purpose of that, but I guess it would be for them to say, if it would be for anybody. Anyway there is nothing to drive a narrative like a good hunt. If there are killings in it (and you can bet there will be, in this kind of cinema) so much the better. Is there any evidence that there has ever been, in the whole history of the U.S.A., any real-life case of adults (let alone a child of 14) going to such trouble to bring "closure" (they like this word) to their lives? What does this all mean? Fiction here does not enact reality. Do they hope that reality will enact fiction? Or does this bring a higher sense of moral to the nation?
Rating: 65
The Coens have by now proven that they can do any kind of picture. I wouldn't know the purpose of that, but I guess it would be for them to say, if it would be for anybody. Anyway there is nothing to drive a narrative like a good hunt. If there are killings in it (and you can bet there will be, in this kind of cinema) so much the better. Is there any evidence that there has ever been, in the whole history of the U.S.A., any real-life case of adults (let alone a child of 14) going to such trouble to bring "closure" (they like this word) to their lives? What does this all mean? Fiction here does not enact reality. Do they hope that reality will enact fiction? Or does this bring a higher sense of moral to the nation?
Rating: 65
Thursday, June 23, 2011
L'amour à mort (1984)
English title: Love Unto Death.
A man is given as dead and resurrects after his girlfriend summons him back.
A film in two parts; they don't have much in common except the characters, apparently, and the death-related theme. It feels like an essay, or like a melodrama which was stripped of emotional excess. The film is thematically similar to La chambre verte (both had Jean Gruault as screenwriter), and to Portrait of Jennie.
Rating: 51
A man is given as dead and resurrects after his girlfriend summons him back.
A film in two parts; they don't have much in common except the characters, apparently, and the death-related theme. It feels like an essay, or like a melodrama which was stripped of emotional excess. The film is thematically similar to La chambre verte (both had Jean Gruault as screenwriter), and to Portrait of Jennie.
Rating: 51
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Victim (1961)
A respected lawyer gets involved in a blackmail case on account of his homosexual past.
This appears to be a much respected movie, a sort of heroic manifesto against the British anti-sodomy law, which, the lady in TV informs us after the movie, lasted another 6 years counting from the film's release (and this hardly speaks for the film's efficacy). Some viewers admit it is "dated", an obvious fact, but what few will admit is that it is outright absurd, and would be ignored if it weren't for its worthy cause. The premise is absurd (a blackmailer targeting the poorer end of a relationship, and the latter going to extremes to oblige him because of his devotion to a man with whom he hardly had anything going, and about whom he (absurdly) kept a news clips album); the investigation carried out by the lawyer is also absurd. Not to mention a fact which is rather common in "groundbreaking" films, namely that they are not all that groundbreaking and contain a lot of hypocrisy in the depiction of characters, especially in this case the protagonist (a struggling ex-homosexual who is moved by his would-be lover's quite implausible suicide).
Rating: 32
This appears to be a much respected movie, a sort of heroic manifesto against the British anti-sodomy law, which, the lady in TV informs us after the movie, lasted another 6 years counting from the film's release (and this hardly speaks for the film's efficacy). Some viewers admit it is "dated", an obvious fact, but what few will admit is that it is outright absurd, and would be ignored if it weren't for its worthy cause. The premise is absurd (a blackmailer targeting the poorer end of a relationship, and the latter going to extremes to oblige him because of his devotion to a man with whom he hardly had anything going, and about whom he (absurdly) kept a news clips album); the investigation carried out by the lawyer is also absurd. Not to mention a fact which is rather common in "groundbreaking" films, namely that they are not all that groundbreaking and contain a lot of hypocrisy in the depiction of characters, especially in this case the protagonist (a struggling ex-homosexual who is moved by his would-be lover's quite implausible suicide).
Rating: 32
Monday, June 20, 2011
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
An inventor buys an old car and fixes it, at the request of his two children. The rich daughter of a sweets maker is the romantic interest. They all go on an imagined journey in which the jalopy acquires new powers, such as flying and floating, and is coveted by an evil monarch.
Musical fantasy with excellent cast and excellent production design, but still a bit insipid on the whole. Certain narrative ruses are worth mentioning. One, the inventor is at a carnival and takes part in a music and dance number. This could be taken as following the specific conventions of musicals in which actors sing and dance even though their characters are not necessarily singers or dancers; here, however, we have a musical number which is part of the realistic context (a carnival), and furthermore the inventor uses the money received for his performance to buy the title car. Two, the core of the film's action is actually a story told by the inventor; the fantastic elements are present in this story-within-a-story only.
Rating: 50
Musical fantasy with excellent cast and excellent production design, but still a bit insipid on the whole. Certain narrative ruses are worth mentioning. One, the inventor is at a carnival and takes part in a music and dance number. This could be taken as following the specific conventions of musicals in which actors sing and dance even though their characters are not necessarily singers or dancers; here, however, we have a musical number which is part of the realistic context (a carnival), and furthermore the inventor uses the money received for his performance to buy the title car. Two, the core of the film's action is actually a story told by the inventor; the fantastic elements are present in this story-within-a-story only.
Rating: 50
Sunday, June 19, 2011
The Hindenburg (1975)
The famous disaster of the Hindenburg zeppelin in 1937 is fictionally explained. The film consists of this and also the several characters who are more or less suspect.
Extremely baloney, extremely well-made fictionalization of a true incident. Entertaining yet childish.
Rating: 51
Extremely baloney, extremely well-made fictionalization of a true incident. Entertaining yet childish.
Rating: 51
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Crioulo doido (1971)
The economic ascension of a black man in Brazil. The story begins in 1964, when he is a modest tailor. He marries a white woman. He later abandons the tailor profession and becomes a rancher.
Extremely low-budget comedy with a very personal style. Upon first viewing it strikes me as uneven; it is clear however that the director shows talent, which he would confirm in later films.
Rating: 50
Extremely low-budget comedy with a very personal style. Upon first viewing it strikes me as uneven; it is clear however that the director shows talent, which he would confirm in later films.
Rating: 50
Friday, June 17, 2011
The Landlord (1970)
A rich 29-year-old man who still lives with his parents buys a tenement house and starts interacting with his tenants.
Mildly amusing comedy which displays excellent technique. The a priori satirical framework consists of depicting the rich as prejudiced and insensitive and the poor as warm-hearted and rude. It is not a coincidence that the only two exceptions are the central romantic couple. A depiction of the fascination that the poor exert upon the rich, and thus the specular image of Brideshead Revisited.
Rating: 54
Mildly amusing comedy which displays excellent technique. The a priori satirical framework consists of depicting the rich as prejudiced and insensitive and the poor as warm-hearted and rude. It is not a coincidence that the only two exceptions are the central romantic couple. A depiction of the fascination that the poor exert upon the rich, and thus the specular image of Brideshead Revisited.
Rating: 54
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Brideshead Revisited (2008)
Charles Ryder is a freshman at Oxford. He makes friends with the aristocratic Sebastian Flyte, who invites him to his family's estate, called Brideshead. There he meets Sebastian's sister, towards whom he feels attracted. The Flytes are very Catholic. Sebastian has a crush on Charles, and is an alcoholic.
Having seen the miniseries, I have to confess that this film, although lacking the leisurely pace, is in certain crucial aspects an improvement over the miniseries. In particular, here, Sebastian is a more understandable character; in the miniseries I couldn't make sense of his actions and feelings (perhaps this is my fault...). In a smaller degree, I'd say the same about Charles. And the film version makes it easier to understand all the characters' behavioral dynamics. The central theme is the fascination that the rich exert upon the poor. There is also the motif of upper-class 20th century Catholicism.
Rating: 56
Having seen the miniseries, I have to confess that this film, although lacking the leisurely pace, is in certain crucial aspects an improvement over the miniseries. In particular, here, Sebastian is a more understandable character; in the miniseries I couldn't make sense of his actions and feelings (perhaps this is my fault...). In a smaller degree, I'd say the same about Charles. And the film version makes it easier to understand all the characters' behavioral dynamics. The central theme is the fascination that the rich exert upon the poor. There is also the motif of upper-class 20th century Catholicism.
Rating: 56
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
The Devil at 4 O'Clock (1961)
A plane stops at a Pacific island to drop a priest. It also carries three convicts in it, who must therefore stay overnight on the island. They are recruited next morning by the old priest (who is being replaced by the newcoming one) to work on a lepers clinic. Everything goes fine (well, not really) until the local volcano starts erupting.
Religious propaganda which is anachronistic even for the time of its release. Despite its ideological content, the film is watchable, and may be read as an allegory for sexual repression (the scene where the old priest nearly chokes a convict to death may be said to anticipate the eruption). The film is also an early example of the trend which postulates that new terms revoke the negative connotations of old ones (here, Hansen's disease replacing leprosy), an aspect which is perhaps metaphorically represented in the new priest replacing the old one.
Rating: 39
Religious propaganda which is anachronistic even for the time of its release. Despite its ideological content, the film is watchable, and may be read as an allegory for sexual repression (the scene where the old priest nearly chokes a convict to death may be said to anticipate the eruption). The film is also an early example of the trend which postulates that new terms revoke the negative connotations of old ones (here, Hansen's disease replacing leprosy), an aspect which is perhaps metaphorically represented in the new priest replacing the old one.
Rating: 39
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Any Which Way You Can (1980)
A professional fist fighter wants to retire, changes his mind after an irrefusable offer, is convinced by his close friends to change his mind again, but the fight promoters are gangsters who won't accept his backing down. He makes friends with his rival.
I found this sequel (to a film I remember nothing of) tedious from start to finish. I think the film is ultimately about itself, and film producers' incapacity of refraining to make an extra buck with a sequel that adds nothing to the original and will mostly hurt their artistic integrity (or what there is of it). Only this is not how it is shown in its fictional construction; in it greed is given a make-over to look as guts.
Rating: 11
I found this sequel (to a film I remember nothing of) tedious from start to finish. I think the film is ultimately about itself, and film producers' incapacity of refraining to make an extra buck with a sequel that adds nothing to the original and will mostly hurt their artistic integrity (or what there is of it). Only this is not how it is shown in its fictional construction; in it greed is given a make-over to look as guts.
Rating: 11
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Haunted Honeymoon (1986)
A man who is suffering from attacks of fear travels to a gothic mansion belonging to his aunt. He, his fiancee, and several of his relatives gather there for the weekend.
I detested this when I first saw it (and probably fell asleep at the cinema). It didn't improve much on second viewing. It is just an uninspired comedy which, while not unpleasant, lacks in cleverness. Christopher Mulrooney has the name of Walter Goodman of The New York Times wrong.
Rating: 34 (up from 15)
I detested this when I first saw it (and probably fell asleep at the cinema). It didn't improve much on second viewing. It is just an uninspired comedy which, while not unpleasant, lacks in cleverness. Christopher Mulrooney has the name of Walter Goodman of The New York Times wrong.
Rating: 34 (up from 15)
Friday, June 10, 2011
The Bells of St. Mary's (1945)
Father O'Malley is appointed director of a boarding school. His ideas sometimes clash with those of the Mother Superior (is that how they call her?). The great concern of the latter is the impending threat of losing the building to a businessman.
Whereas Going My Way could be dismissed as a religious propaganda film, The Bells of St. Mary's may be similarly dismissed, and preferrably avoided, as a sequel to a religious propaganda film. The ultimate calling of every sequel is to indulge in absurdity; while it is true that a few of them fail to heed that calling, this film heeds it enthusiastically.
Rating: 25
Whereas Going My Way could be dismissed as a religious propaganda film, The Bells of St. Mary's may be similarly dismissed, and preferrably avoided, as a sequel to a religious propaganda film. The ultimate calling of every sequel is to indulge in absurdity; while it is true that a few of them fail to heed that calling, this film heeds it enthusiastically.
Rating: 25
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Edge of Darkness (2010)
A policeman investigates the murder of his daughter and uncovers a conspiracy involving a corporation which manufactures nuclear products.
A really mediocre film; I only watched it out of a lack of other options in a specific occasion. Remake of a TV miniseries which, to be frank, I think is overrated.
Rating: 38
A really mediocre film; I only watched it out of a lack of other options in a specific occasion. Remake of a TV miniseries which, to be frank, I think is overrated.
Rating: 38
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The Bad Lieutenant - Port of Call: New Orleans (2009)
A cop with chronic back pain becomes addicted to drugs, and from then on his life and career spirals down into a cesspool of corruption and violence.
Although the information is absent from the film credits, this is a remake of a 1992 Abel Ferrara film called simply "Bad Lieutenant". That film may be considered to be a bit of an oddity in its director's filmography, being as it was the product of an unusual collaboration between him and three actors turned screenwriters; the origin of the film's concept is to be credited, if I am not mistaken, to a late actress and writer named Zoë Tamerlis, also known as Zoë Lund. Ferrara's "Bad Lieutenant" was an account of the Christian religion as a monster bred out of irrationality: a religion of despair masquerading as one of hope. This remake is a stylistic variation on the earlier film which somehow reflects the spirits of our times. All the Christian elements were removed from it, a decision which defused all the philosophical content from the story and left it floating in the void, so to speak. Well, considering that this very de-christianization may be thought of as the necessary aftermath of an earlier crisis of which the earlier "Bad Lieutenant" precisely is an instance, the remake is both a natural outcome and a tautology. It is also a tautology in what regards its main actor's screen persona, evoking such similar predecessors as "Vampire's Kiss" and "Leaving Las Vegas". In a less intelectual apprehension, though, the film has something going for it, in terms of a certain ability to conjure up some humor from the situations it explores.
Rating: 53
Although the information is absent from the film credits, this is a remake of a 1992 Abel Ferrara film called simply "Bad Lieutenant". That film may be considered to be a bit of an oddity in its director's filmography, being as it was the product of an unusual collaboration between him and three actors turned screenwriters; the origin of the film's concept is to be credited, if I am not mistaken, to a late actress and writer named Zoë Tamerlis, also known as Zoë Lund. Ferrara's "Bad Lieutenant" was an account of the Christian religion as a monster bred out of irrationality: a religion of despair masquerading as one of hope. This remake is a stylistic variation on the earlier film which somehow reflects the spirits of our times. All the Christian elements were removed from it, a decision which defused all the philosophical content from the story and left it floating in the void, so to speak. Well, considering that this very de-christianization may be thought of as the necessary aftermath of an earlier crisis of which the earlier "Bad Lieutenant" precisely is an instance, the remake is both a natural outcome and a tautology. It is also a tautology in what regards its main actor's screen persona, evoking such similar predecessors as "Vampire's Kiss" and "Leaving Las Vegas". In a less intelectual apprehension, though, the film has something going for it, in terms of a certain ability to conjure up some humor from the situations it explores.
Rating: 53
Sunday, May 01, 2011
How Do You Know (2010)
Lisa, a baseball player who has been cut from the team, has a relationship with Matty, who is also a player and can't adjust to monogamy. She meets George, an executive who is in serious legal trouble.
Although the general lines of this follow the romantic comedy paradigm, with an underlying praise to weddings and babies, it has a few interesting things in its construction and in several individual sequences which make for a pleasant viewing. The three main characters exemplify distinct attitudes regarding one's own interests: Lisa has a hard time seeing where her interests lie, George, after a history of confusion, suddenly has a clear idea about his, and Matty simply doesn't need to care about the issue at all.
Rating: 51
Although the general lines of this follow the romantic comedy paradigm, with an underlying praise to weddings and babies, it has a few interesting things in its construction and in several individual sequences which make for a pleasant viewing. The three main characters exemplify distinct attitudes regarding one's own interests: Lisa has a hard time seeing where her interests lie, George, after a history of confusion, suddenly has a clear idea about his, and Matty simply doesn't need to care about the issue at all.
Rating: 51
Monday, April 25, 2011
Wolf (1994)
A book editor is bitten by a wolf and becomes a werewolf. Concurrently to that, he is facing professional and conjugal problems.
The main reason to watch this film is its excellent score. Aside from that, it is a moderately interesting drama about Art versus Capitalism, developed in terms of a blend between The Wolf Man and La belle et la bête.
Rating: 52
The main reason to watch this film is its excellent score. Aside from that, it is a moderately interesting drama about Art versus Capitalism, developed in terms of a blend between The Wolf Man and La belle et la bête.
Rating: 52
Friday, April 22, 2011
The Big Sky (1952)
A group of hunters go up the Missouri river challenging the monopoly of a fur company. They have a Native American woman with them as hostage who will help them to sell their furs to her Native American friends.
It seems I did not like this as much as everybody else did. To concentrate on the good things, the film is reasonably entertaining and well acted. It is also visually pleasant (although I saw it in an awful TCM copy, mutilated to boot). It's essentially just a juvenile adventure movie, though.
Rating: 53
It seems I did not like this as much as everybody else did. To concentrate on the good things, the film is reasonably entertaining and well acted. It is also visually pleasant (although I saw it in an awful TCM copy, mutilated to boot). It's essentially just a juvenile adventure movie, though.
Rating: 53
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Love Affair (1994)
Sports commentator meets singer/musician/decorator on a plane. Plane makes an emergency landing and they board the same ship. Both are engaged to somebody else. They vow to meet three months later.
A second remake. The film's plot is clever, but could only appear right in 1939, when the first version came out. The second version (1957, I think) already seemed stale, but had the color novelty as a justification. This third version is an altogether mad enterprise. The first section is perhaps the better part of the film and has a light comedic tone. The middle section with the aunt tries hard to "update" the material, making said aunt speak in candid terms (a "fuck" is uttered) about monogamy and its alternative. The remainder of the film does not offer anything new, and is therefore a complete bore.
Rating: 31
A second remake. The film's plot is clever, but could only appear right in 1939, when the first version came out. The second version (1957, I think) already seemed stale, but had the color novelty as a justification. This third version is an altogether mad enterprise. The first section is perhaps the better part of the film and has a light comedic tone. The middle section with the aunt tries hard to "update" the material, making said aunt speak in candid terms (a "fuck" is uttered) about monogamy and its alternative. The remainder of the film does not offer anything new, and is therefore a complete bore.
Rating: 31
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Forced Vengeance (1982)
A casino employee avenges the murder of the casino owner, ordered by a mobster whose buying offer was refused.
I guess some people go for its marginal comicity (which some of these people will claim is not marginal at all). Others will only be fully awake at the fighting sections. Being human, I am not totally insensitive to either of those aspects. But I am not very enthusiastic about them.
Rating: 31
I guess some people go for its marginal comicity (which some of these people will claim is not marginal at all). Others will only be fully awake at the fighting sections. Being human, I am not totally insensitive to either of those aspects. But I am not very enthusiastic about them.
Rating: 31
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
The Three Stooges: third batch
Back to the Woods (1937)
Pardon My Scotch (1935)
Oil's Well That Ends Well (1958)
The Three Troubledoers (1946)
Fuelin' Around (1949)
Hugs and Mugs (1950)
I Can Hardly Wait (1943)
Cash and Carry (1937)
Pardon My Scotch (1935)
Oil's Well That Ends Well (1958)
The Three Troubledoers (1946)
Fuelin' Around (1949)
Hugs and Mugs (1950)
I Can Hardly Wait (1943)
Cash and Carry (1937)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Alice's Restaurant (1969)
It chronicles the lives of a group of friends. Arlo is a musician. Ray and Alice buy an old church and open a restaurant in it. There is another guy who has psychological scars from the time he was in the Vietnam war. And Arlo's father is in New York, with a serious illness. They throw a huge lunch on Thanksgiving day. Arlo is drafted to serve in Vietnam, but will he pass the selection exams?
This is best seen as a chronicle of an era, I think, or the end of an era. The dullness in it is a consequence of its realism. And this realism, up to a point, transforms the dullness into emotional empathy. A mise-en-scene highlight is a wedding ceremony which is marvelously staged, with some awesome scenes of odd-looking characters. Reinforcing what I had said, the main character here is not Arlo, it's the late sixties in the U.S.. But even with great effort I don't see a great movie here.
Rating: 50
This is best seen as a chronicle of an era, I think, or the end of an era. The dullness in it is a consequence of its realism. And this realism, up to a point, transforms the dullness into emotional empathy. A mise-en-scene highlight is a wedding ceremony which is marvelously staged, with some awesome scenes of odd-looking characters. Reinforcing what I had said, the main character here is not Arlo, it's the late sixties in the U.S.. But even with great effort I don't see a great movie here.
Rating: 50
Funny Girl (1968)
Musical biography of someone named Fanny Brice. After watching the movie, I know almost as little of that real-life person as I did before watching the movie. Consulting the wikipedia article as I write this, I see that the film has nothing to do with reality, so I feel better.
The first half-hour or so of this is kind of cute, and definitely watchable. After that, the film proceeds to be a mediocre romantic story with very little distinctive features. The central dramatic point seems to be that Fanny feels ugly. A theme such as this is a very tough nut to crack, meaning that it would take a lot of talent and honesty to turn it into a good movie. This is not the case here and the musical numbers are mediocre too, with a few exceptions.
Rating: 31
The first half-hour or so of this is kind of cute, and definitely watchable. After that, the film proceeds to be a mediocre romantic story with very little distinctive features. The central dramatic point seems to be that Fanny feels ugly. A theme such as this is a very tough nut to crack, meaning that it would take a lot of talent and honesty to turn it into a good movie. This is not the case here and the musical numbers are mediocre too, with a few exceptions.
Rating: 31
Monday, March 28, 2011
Invictus (2009)
After the end of apartheid in South Africa, the newly elected president gives a lot of thought to the rugby world cup.
This is just unbelievably bad.
Rating: 1 (just because of the professionalism of the performers, otherwise it would be zero)
This is just unbelievably bad.
Rating: 1 (just because of the professionalism of the performers, otherwise it would be zero)
Sunday, March 27, 2011
The Three Stooges: second batch
.. including the following shorts:
Hula-La-La (1951) [actually a cut version of only 7 minutes of length]
Uncivil Warriors (1935)
Grips, Grunts and Groans (1937)
So far all the shorts I have (re)seen are good.
Hula-La-La (1951) [actually a cut version of only 7 minutes of length]
Uncivil Warriors (1935)
Grips, Grunts and Groans (1937)
So far all the shorts I have (re)seen are good.
Mononoke-hime (1997)
English title: Princess Mononoke.
An iron foundry plant situated in a forest area faces the opposition of the forest spirits.
This fantasy animation has a few marginal qualities, of which the most prominent one is the depiction of the characters in the foundry. Also, the design of the forest creatures is imaginative. As for the idea of "nature's revenge", it's a good one in principle. The film, however, becomes progressively dehumanized as it goes along. I found it engaging at first, but was bored at the end.
Rating: 45
An iron foundry plant situated in a forest area faces the opposition of the forest spirits.
This fantasy animation has a few marginal qualities, of which the most prominent one is the depiction of the characters in the foundry. Also, the design of the forest creatures is imaginative. As for the idea of "nature's revenge", it's a good one in principle. The film, however, becomes progressively dehumanized as it goes along. I found it engaging at first, but was bored at the end.
Rating: 45
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Hour of the Gun (1967)
The film begins with the gunfight at the OK corral. Wyatt Earp goes to trial and is acquitted. Then begins a treacherous war that Ike Clanton wages on Earp. Their rivalry is founded on Clanton's opposition (and Earp's support) to a law that gives Easterners 'free range' or something of the sort. Earp's friend 'Doc' Holliday stands by him all the way through.
Austere Western about the difficulties of abiding the law in times of lawlessness. It's also about friendship and the loyalty it entails.
Rating: 53
Austere Western about the difficulties of abiding the law in times of lawlessness. It's also about friendship and the loyalty it entails.
Rating: 53
Friday, March 25, 2011
La vie est un roman (1983)
Three narrative lines are intertwined. In 1917, a man conducts an experiment in a castle with the goal of imbuing his guests with a new mindframe. Sixty five years later an education symposium is held at the same castle, now turned into a school. The third narrative line is a fairy tale which may or may not be the product of some children's imaginations.
A second viewing of this film serves to refresh my memory. The film has beauty and intelligence, but I am not sure it could not profit from a more elaborate musical section. Its points are hammered down onto the viewer, through repetitious lyrics and suchlike devices.
Rating: 66 (unchanged)
A second viewing of this film serves to refresh my memory. The film has beauty and intelligence, but I am not sure it could not profit from a more elaborate musical section. Its points are hammered down onto the viewer, through repetitious lyrics and suchlike devices.
Rating: 66 (unchanged)
Thursday, March 24, 2011
The Three Stooges: first batch
Saw the following shorts:
Pals and Gals (1954)
Termites of 1938 (1938)
Three Loan Wolves (1946)
Hokus Pokus (1949)
A Pain in the Pullman (1936)
Gents Without Cents (1944)
When it comes to the Stooges, I can't say what I have or haven't seen when I was a kid. I certainly am seeing them with the original audio for the first time.
Pals and Gals (1954)
Termites of 1938 (1938)
Three Loan Wolves (1946)
Hokus Pokus (1949)
A Pain in the Pullman (1936)
Gents Without Cents (1944)
When it comes to the Stooges, I can't say what I have or haven't seen when I was a kid. I certainly am seeing them with the original audio for the first time.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Panic Room (2002)
Some robbers break into a house and the house dwellers get into the "panic room" - an inviolable room designed for just such an occasion.
This is, on the whole, not a bad movie. Several people have complained about plot holes, and some of them make valid points. Most of these impossibilities are functional in the proposed diegesis. One of them is certainly not. It was pointed out at a user review on IMDB. Here it goes, word by word:
-beginning of quote-
A major flaw!, 11 March 2003
Author: delm from Vancouver
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Plse note: spoilers below! I would have considered this movie to be a mediocre to fair thriller if not for one major flaw which ruined the whole movie for me. This flaw was the injection scene. Anyone who knows anything about diabetes knows that when someone is suffering from low blood sugar and verging on going into a coma the last thing you would do is inject them with insulin (which would just cause them to go into a coma that much faster and very likely kill them). Even if the syringe contained a sugar solution the film-makers should have known that to be the least bit effective this would have to have been injected directly into the blood stream not into stomach tissue. Not only is it insulting to diabetics everywhere that the film-makers couldn't even be bothered to get the facts right about this deadly disease, but this depiction could conceivably result in a tragedy. Anyone using this scene as a basic for trying to help someone who is suffering from low blood sugar could end up killing them. Other minor flaws with the movie: how could Forest Whitaker's character have know what Jodie Foster's character was doing when she was trying to ignite the gas, how likely is it that Jodie Foster's character would know how to reconnect the phone, pushing a light sofa in front of the door is not terribly effective in blocking the door which is made clear when Jodie Foster's character had no problem later in the movie in getting the front door open, etc., etc., etc. Very poorly thought out and executed. Shame on you guys.
--end of quote--
This is my second viewing of this movie. My previous rating was 35. I would gladly raise it a bit, but not after reading what this guy wrote (the medical facts of which, believe it or not, I knew, but was deceived by the movie all the same).
Rating: 35 (unchanged)
This is, on the whole, not a bad movie. Several people have complained about plot holes, and some of them make valid points. Most of these impossibilities are functional in the proposed diegesis. One of them is certainly not. It was pointed out at a user review on IMDB. Here it goes, word by word:
-beginning of quote-
A major flaw!, 11 March 2003
Author: delm from Vancouver
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Plse note: spoilers below! I would have considered this movie to be a mediocre to fair thriller if not for one major flaw which ruined the whole movie for me. This flaw was the injection scene. Anyone who knows anything about diabetes knows that when someone is suffering from low blood sugar and verging on going into a coma the last thing you would do is inject them with insulin (which would just cause them to go into a coma that much faster and very likely kill them). Even if the syringe contained a sugar solution the film-makers should have known that to be the least bit effective this would have to have been injected directly into the blood stream not into stomach tissue. Not only is it insulting to diabetics everywhere that the film-makers couldn't even be bothered to get the facts right about this deadly disease, but this depiction could conceivably result in a tragedy. Anyone using this scene as a basic for trying to help someone who is suffering from low blood sugar could end up killing them. Other minor flaws with the movie: how could Forest Whitaker's character have know what Jodie Foster's character was doing when she was trying to ignite the gas, how likely is it that Jodie Foster's character would know how to reconnect the phone, pushing a light sofa in front of the door is not terribly effective in blocking the door which is made clear when Jodie Foster's character had no problem later in the movie in getting the front door open, etc., etc., etc. Very poorly thought out and executed. Shame on you guys.
--end of quote--
This is my second viewing of this movie. My previous rating was 35. I would gladly raise it a bit, but not after reading what this guy wrote (the medical facts of which, believe it or not, I knew, but was deceived by the movie all the same).
Rating: 35 (unchanged)
Friday, March 18, 2011
Umi wa miteita (2002)
English title: The Sea Is Watching.
Correct translation of the Japanese title: The Sea Was Watching.
Life in a brothel in old Japan. One of the prostitutes falls in love repeatedly. Another has an affair with a man who exploits her; she is courted by an older man.
Touching chamber drama about the difficult sentimental lives of prostitutes. The screenplay quite seamlessly joins and adapts two stories by Shugoro Yamamoto, who also provided source material for Red Beard, Dodesukaden, and Sanjuro.
Rating: 61
Correct translation of the Japanese title: The Sea Was Watching.
Life in a brothel in old Japan. One of the prostitutes falls in love repeatedly. Another has an affair with a man who exploits her; she is courted by an older man.
Touching chamber drama about the difficult sentimental lives of prostitutes. The screenplay quite seamlessly joins and adapts two stories by Shugoro Yamamoto, who also provided source material for Red Beard, Dodesukaden, and Sanjuro.
Rating: 61
Paris, je t'aime (2006)
A series of very small films, each set in a different part of Paris.
Most segments were nice. The film fails to embody its title. Paris does not come across as particularly lovable, or, for that matter, even particular. Maybe the idea was "Paris, I love you, despite...", except it doesn't especially succeed at that either.
Rating: 50
Most segments were nice. The film fails to embody its title. Paris does not come across as particularly lovable, or, for that matter, even particular. Maybe the idea was "Paris, I love you, despite...", except it doesn't especially succeed at that either.
Rating: 50
Saturday, March 12, 2011
The King's Speech (2010)
This is about a man with a stammer problem and all the royal affairs which lead him into kinghood, and then all the problems that his stammering causes him in his kingly duties. And, most of all perhaps, about the therapy he goes through.
I can't give a perfectly sure opinion about the cinematography of this film. What I saw was a horribly darkened, bluish thing, which for all I know may have been caused by a projection problem. My country is not very serious in what concerns the quality of services that the citizen pays for, so this is the sort of thing we are used to expect now and then. Now for the other aspects of the film. I would have watched it anyway, because the theme of stammering is a favorite of mine, and may in a broad sense be said to be the only theme I actually care about, aside from the one of laterality, which is related to it, and is covered in a very fleeting way by the movie. Other than that, it is an obviously silly production, not to be taken seriously either in the historical sense (read the wikipedia article and check out its "minor" historical inaccuracies) or as a dramatization of a medical problem and its therapy, or as anything else one might want to construe it to be. As a side note mostly to myself, I point out that the choice of the Hamlet soliloquy at one of the therapeutic sessions is thematically interesting, since it links stammering to indecision. Some other references (Othello, Richard III) are perhaps farther removed from the theme, but all three Shakespearean characters deal with some sort of personal inadequacy.
Rating: 48
I can't give a perfectly sure opinion about the cinematography of this film. What I saw was a horribly darkened, bluish thing, which for all I know may have been caused by a projection problem. My country is not very serious in what concerns the quality of services that the citizen pays for, so this is the sort of thing we are used to expect now and then. Now for the other aspects of the film. I would have watched it anyway, because the theme of stammering is a favorite of mine, and may in a broad sense be said to be the only theme I actually care about, aside from the one of laterality, which is related to it, and is covered in a very fleeting way by the movie. Other than that, it is an obviously silly production, not to be taken seriously either in the historical sense (read the wikipedia article and check out its "minor" historical inaccuracies) or as a dramatization of a medical problem and its therapy, or as anything else one might want to construe it to be. As a side note mostly to myself, I point out that the choice of the Hamlet soliloquy at one of the therapeutic sessions is thematically interesting, since it links stammering to indecision. Some other references (Othello, Richard III) are perhaps farther removed from the theme, but all three Shakespearean characters deal with some sort of personal inadequacy.
Rating: 48
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Iron Eagle (1986)
A teenager rescues his father who was taken prisoner in a Middle East country when he flew in a contentious zone.
Ludicrous yet dull. Or vice-versa.
Rating: 35
Ludicrous yet dull. Or vice-versa.
Rating: 35
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (2009)
A road show takes its customers on a psychedelic ride of sorts. One day they rescue a man from death and he accompanies them. Also, the owner must fill a contractual obligation with the devil.
Not much to say. The plot is weak. The film is all about the eye-candy sequences.
Rating: 20
Not much to say. The plot is weak. The film is all about the eye-candy sequences.
Rating: 20
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Mary and Max (2009)
A lonely 8-year-old girl living in Australia picks a random name out of a New York phone book and writes to him. He happens to be a 44-year-old man who lives alone and can't relate to anybody.
A grim yet amusing film, with a remarkable visual design.
Rating: 69
A grim yet amusing film, with a remarkable visual design.
Rating: 69
Disgrace (2008)
In South Africa, a professor gets involved with a student. He is forced to resign and goes to live with his daughter in a dangerous country place.
An intelligent movie about a man who has to move from an unreal world (the University) to a real one. The film is mostly well done and it is hard to name one responsible for its merits. Both direction and screenplay seem very competent to me, and I haven't read the Coetzee novel, so I can't really say how good it is. This is probably a happy confluence (hope this word exists) of talents.
Rating: 75 (so far the best 2008 movie I have seen).
An intelligent movie about a man who has to move from an unreal world (the University) to a real one. The film is mostly well done and it is hard to name one responsible for its merits. Both direction and screenplay seem very competent to me, and I haven't read the Coetzee novel, so I can't really say how good it is. This is probably a happy confluence (hope this word exists) of talents.
Rating: 75 (so far the best 2008 movie I have seen).
Rosemary & Thyme: In a Monastery Garden (2006) (TV)
In this episode, the duo is hired to reform the garden of a monastery for a visit of the queen. The monastery is ridden with corruption and a series of crimes occur.
This is one of the nicest TV series ever.
This is one of the nicest TV series ever.
Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935)
The comic misadventures of an alcoholic man who has a dull job and is henpecked by his wife. He wants to see the wrestling match one afternoon and gets in a lot of trouble on the way.
A masterpiece of humor. This is pure Fields, he rules the entire film.
It is critic Dale Thomajan's 10th favorite movie of 1935.
Rating: 75 (5th entry on my favorites list of 1935)
A masterpiece of humor. This is pure Fields, he rules the entire film.
It is critic Dale Thomajan's 10th favorite movie of 1935.
Rating: 75 (5th entry on my favorites list of 1935)
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Ruggles of Red Gap (1935)
An Englishman gambles his own personal valet on a poker game against an American millionaire and loses. The poor chap is made to travel to the U.S. with his new owners, sorry, I mean employers.
I think one can't help to make a distinction between the first half-hour and the remainder of this film. That initial part of it is very remarkable in its comicity; that comicity is not sustained, not in the same intensity anyway, afterwards. We, as viewers, are left in the following situation: if we find the situation of a servant being treated as something he is not - something of a higher value in the social order - comical, we are, in a way, being complicitous in the kind of prejudice and social organization which the film purports to denounce. Therefore, we are forced to take the film seriously, only allowing ourselves to find certain accessory elements comical. (The preceding considerations only give the directions for an analysis which should be developed further.)
This is the 7th entry in critic Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1935.
Rating: 56
I think one can't help to make a distinction between the first half-hour and the remainder of this film. That initial part of it is very remarkable in its comicity; that comicity is not sustained, not in the same intensity anyway, afterwards. We, as viewers, are left in the following situation: if we find the situation of a servant being treated as something he is not - something of a higher value in the social order - comical, we are, in a way, being complicitous in the kind of prejudice and social organization which the film purports to denounce. Therefore, we are forced to take the film seriously, only allowing ourselves to find certain accessory elements comical. (The preceding considerations only give the directions for an analysis which should be developed further.)
This is the 7th entry in critic Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1935.
Rating: 56
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Grey Owl (1999)
Based on the real story of a man who lived in the Canadian wilderness as a hunter, then became an ecological activist. The time is the 1930's.
The story per se is my idea of fascinating, and I think I would watch a much worse film just to get acquainted with these facts. But an objective assessment of the film itself leads to only moderate praise. The romantic element is hipertrophied and not done in the most convincing manner, in my opinion. The lead performance is quite satisfactory, on the other hand. And there are several moments of good cinema in it, especially near the end.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Rating: 55
The story per se is my idea of fascinating, and I think I would watch a much worse film just to get acquainted with these facts. But an objective assessment of the film itself leads to only moderate praise. The romantic element is hipertrophied and not done in the most convincing manner, in my opinion. The lead performance is quite satisfactory, on the other hand. And there are several moments of good cinema in it, especially near the end.
Saw it dubbed in Portuguese.
Rating: 55
Monday, February 21, 2011
Annie Oakley (1935)
Biography of a country girl who was an extremely sharp shooter, and became a show woman in Buffalo Bill's Wild West traveling show. There is a romantic entanglement with a fellow shooter.
Although it doesn't stray from biopic conventions, Stevens is remarkable for his perfect attention to details. Oakley's life per se I don't find particularly interesting, but the Wild West show as a phenomenon is interesting. Also interesting is the fame cycle, in each individual case and in each era. Cody's point of attraction was his real-life past. Thus, he became a famous star because he had done noteworthy exploits which had already bestowed him an amount of fame. The same goes for Sitting Bull. On the other hand, the contrast between Oakley's special talent and her former obscurity was a kind of point of attraction. The logic behind this film, however, is different: it awakens interest because these people were famous show stars of the past. It is show business feeding show business. In recent times, the Buffalo Bill phenomenon is reversed: people assume real life positions because of a show business career (for example, see some actors who become politicians).
Critic Dale Thomajan's number 5 of his 1935's top ten movies.
Rating: 61
Although it doesn't stray from biopic conventions, Stevens is remarkable for his perfect attention to details. Oakley's life per se I don't find particularly interesting, but the Wild West show as a phenomenon is interesting. Also interesting is the fame cycle, in each individual case and in each era. Cody's point of attraction was his real-life past. Thus, he became a famous star because he had done noteworthy exploits which had already bestowed him an amount of fame. The same goes for Sitting Bull. On the other hand, the contrast between Oakley's special talent and her former obscurity was a kind of point of attraction. The logic behind this film, however, is different: it awakens interest because these people were famous show stars of the past. It is show business feeding show business. In recent times, the Buffalo Bill phenomenon is reversed: people assume real life positions because of a show business career (for example, see some actors who become politicians).
Critic Dale Thomajan's number 5 of his 1935's top ten movies.
Rating: 61
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
A fox gets in trouble when he returns to his life of stealing.
This is a film with serious identity problems, even though it displays artfulness and humor on occasion. Several screenplay elements have a distinctly ad hoc feeling. The writers have used family themes as counterpoint to the action sequences, yet the joining of the two strands seems forced. It's a real mystery to me why someone would be willing to make a comedy with adult situations using anthropomorphic animals. Maybe the filmmaker enjoys creating problems to himself all the time which cannot be satisfactorily solved (such as, what human characteristics should these characters have and what specifically animal ones?). The film had a favorable reception, it seems. It seems that people like what is quirky, even though it's for quirkiness' sake alone. Anyway, in a capitalist environment who can tell a stupid move from a smart one? Mr. Anderson's self-consciousness, conspicuous in the replacement of cursing words by the word 'cussing', exemplifies the above dilemma in a dismal way.
Rating: 44
This is a film with serious identity problems, even though it displays artfulness and humor on occasion. Several screenplay elements have a distinctly ad hoc feeling. The writers have used family themes as counterpoint to the action sequences, yet the joining of the two strands seems forced. It's a real mystery to me why someone would be willing to make a comedy with adult situations using anthropomorphic animals. Maybe the filmmaker enjoys creating problems to himself all the time which cannot be satisfactorily solved (such as, what human characteristics should these characters have and what specifically animal ones?). The film had a favorable reception, it seems. It seems that people like what is quirky, even though it's for quirkiness' sake alone. Anyway, in a capitalist environment who can tell a stupid move from a smart one? Mr. Anderson's self-consciousness, conspicuous in the replacement of cursing words by the word 'cussing', exemplifies the above dilemma in a dismal way.
Rating: 44
Sylvia Scarlett (1935)
Father and daughter living in France move to England after the former commits embezzlement. She disguises herself as a man in order to impose more respect from people (I hope memory serves me right here). In their new country they get mixed up with a con man and smuggler, and the three become traveling showmen. They meet a rich artist and his friends.
A very unconventional film. More than one reviewer describes it as "ahead of its time", yet there are picaresque elements in it which date back to the sixteenth century. It's easy to see why it flopped, too, since its plot is slightly absurdist and wanders from comic events to tragic ones without noticeable change of register. The key plot element turns out be to the romantic afflictions of the heroine, but this is not your typical romantic comedy, by any means. Hepburn suits the part, and is made to look like Parker Lewis Can't Lose's title character.
This is critic Dale Thomajan's fifth entry on his 1935 top ten list.
Rating: 83 (third entry on my favorites list for 1935)
A very unconventional film. More than one reviewer describes it as "ahead of its time", yet there are picaresque elements in it which date back to the sixteenth century. It's easy to see why it flopped, too, since its plot is slightly absurdist and wanders from comic events to tragic ones without noticeable change of register. The key plot element turns out be to the romantic afflictions of the heroine, but this is not your typical romantic comedy, by any means. Hepburn suits the part, and is made to look like Parker Lewis Can't Lose's title character.
This is critic Dale Thomajan's fifth entry on his 1935 top ten list.
Rating: 83 (third entry on my favorites list for 1935)
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Os inquilinos (2009)
English title: The Tenants.
A working class family's routine is disturbed by the arrival of three new tenants next door. There is a growing suspicion that they lead a criminal life. The tenants are imposed on the house's owner, an elderly man, by his ex-wife, who shares ownership of the house.
A film with an interesting plotline and which is harmed, but perhaps not completely ruined, by silly psychological and sociological characterizations on several occasions. The film seems to want to make a statement about what he expects from his main character, and which the latter cannot fulfill. In interviews the director claims nonpartisanship and absence of manicheism, in very contradictory terms. The film is a variation on Straw Dogs, examining the alternative to that film's development. It is based on a short story which can be read online (in Portuguese).
Rating:46
A working class family's routine is disturbed by the arrival of three new tenants next door. There is a growing suspicion that they lead a criminal life. The tenants are imposed on the house's owner, an elderly man, by his ex-wife, who shares ownership of the house.
A film with an interesting plotline and which is harmed, but perhaps not completely ruined, by silly psychological and sociological characterizations on several occasions. The film seems to want to make a statement about what he expects from his main character, and which the latter cannot fulfill. In interviews the director claims nonpartisanship and absence of manicheism, in very contradictory terms. The film is a variation on Straw Dogs, examining the alternative to that film's development. It is based on a short story which can be read online (in Portuguese).
Rating:46
Thursday, February 10, 2011
High Anxiety (1977)
A new director arrives at a psychiatric institute, after his predecessor dies in mysterious circumstances.
A spoof on Hitchcock movies. This is my second viewing. Although I found it better than on my previous viewing, I am still not impressed. Maybe a third viewing will make me embrace it fully. I see it as a film which takes no chances; it does what you expect from it, with little in the way of surprise.
Rating: 40 (up from 28)
A spoof on Hitchcock movies. This is my second viewing. Although I found it better than on my previous viewing, I am still not impressed. Maybe a third viewing will make me embrace it fully. I see it as a film which takes no chances; it does what you expect from it, with little in the way of surprise.
Rating: 40 (up from 28)
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
The Devil Is a Woman (1935)
Instead of giving the plot summary for this film, I shall give the plot summary for the novel on which it was based, "The Woman and the Puppet", by Pierre Louÿs, published in 1898. It is taken ipsis litteris from the site CritiquesLibres:
-beginning of quote-
la femme et le pantin de Pierre Louÿs
Catégorie(s) : Littérature => Francophone
critiqué par Hiram33, le 30 septembre 2006 (Bicêtre, Inscrit le 31 juillet 2006, 41 ans)
La note:
Moyenne des notes : (basée sur 3 avis)
Cote pondérée : (17 276ème position).
Visites : 1 099 (depuis Novembre 2007)
Duel de pervers
Au cours du carnaval de Séville, un jeune Français André Stévenol tombe amoureux d'une jeune espagnole inconnue. Il lui déclare sa flamme lui envoyant un oeuf sur lequel il a eu le temps d'écrire "Quiero". A grand peine, il suit la trace de la belle et se présente au domicile de celle-ci. Il se fait éconduire par le domestique mais un commerçant voisin lui donne le nom de la Sévillane : Conception Perez. Rentré chez lui, il reçoit un mot de la belle lui proposant un rendez-vous. Les heures qui séparent André de sa rencontre galante le taraudent, il décide de se ballader et croise une ancienne connaissance, Mateo Diaz. Diaz lui demande de soulager son angoisse et apprenant qu'il est éperdu d'une certaine Concha, il est pris d'effroi, ne serait-ce pas Concha Perez ? La femme qu'il a connue et qui a causé ses pires tourements ? Oui, c'est bien elle. Alors commence le récit de Mateo. Il va tenter de convaincre son ami de ne pas venir au rendez-vous. L'Espagnol a rencontré la belle dans un train, il a été séduit par sa beauté et par son chant qui accompagnait avec ironie la danse d'une gitane. Puis plus rien jusqu'au hasard des retrouvailles. Là, démarre un crescendo où l'ancien Don Juan jette son dévolu sur Concha. Alors qu'il s'est servi des femmes comme d'objets sexuels c'est lui qui se transforme en pantin dans les mains de la belle Sévillane. Elle va le manipuler, lui laisser croire qu'elle l'aime. L'embrasser, et même entrer dans son lit mais munie d'une "cuirasse" de tissu empêchant les ébas. Humilié, insulté, Mateo en redemande pourtant et il cède à tous les caprices de Concha. Elle disparait de sa vie pour réapparaître et lui, se laisse encore prendre au piège. Elle dit être restée vierge pour lui, n'avoir aimé que lui et Matéo d'y croire naïvement. La belle est danseuse dans un cabaret se qui excite la jalousie du Don Juan jusqu'au paroxysme quand il s'aperçoit que Concha danse nue devant les "Inglès", il le découvre par hasard. Mais Concha réussit une fois encore à le convaincre qu'elle est toujours sans amant. L'humiliation atteint son apogée quand Concha repousse Mateo devant la grille de son appartement et appelle un homme qu'elle embrasse devant le "pantin". Il aura sa revanche en frappant Concha comme pour vider sa colère emmagasinée pendant des mois. Mais, comble de l'ironie, c'est Concha qui en redemande, avouant qu'elle l'a toujours aimé et que s'il elle a tout fait pour le rendre jaloux c'est pour qu'il la batte car elle aime se faire frapper. Mateo obtient ce qu'il a toujours recherché, Concha devient sa maîtresse mais elle l'oblige par tous les moyens à céder à la violence et aux coups. Elle torture psychologiquement Mateo en lui interdisant tout contact avec une femme, toute sortie au théâtre et tout lecture alors qu'elle ne se gêne pas pour le tromper. Elle va jusqu'à le provoquer lui écrivant pour lui donner rendez-vous là où elle se trouve avec son amant, espérant qu'il arivera au moment de l'étreinte. Un duel entre les deux rivaux s'en suit. Résolue à sortir de cet enfer, Mateo fuit à Tanger puis en Italie. La fin du récit du "pantin" aurait dû convaincre le jeune Français d'éviter la manipulatrice mais il n'en est rien. Et comble de la déchéance Mateo lui-même cherche à retrouver la belle...
Pierre Louÿs sert dans ce roman les amateurs de sensulalité mais c'est surtout un récit psychologique. Si Mateo est manipulé et Concha manipulatrice, le couple est égal dans la perversion. Il s'instaure une relation sado-maso physique et psychologique. Personne n'est vraiment coupable et victime, le jeu est partagé par les deux amants qui semblent y trouver un plaisir malsain. Ce roman a inspiré Julien Duvivier pour un film avec Brigitte Bardot et Von Stenberg [sic] pour un film avec Marlène Dietrich.
-end of quote-
The difference between the above and the film's plot is that the masochistic inclinations of 'Concha' are eliminated in the film. I would venture the opinion that this modification - and otherwise it seems to be a faithful rendering - makes the film an improvement over the novel. The dynamics of the relationship is purer in the film, in the sense that it is closer to a Masochian relationship. That is, the woman plays a purely sadistic part and the man a purely masochistic one. The novel, when it "justifies" Concha's behavior, seems - although this is just guessing without having read it in its integrality - to add a melodramatic element which fortunately the filmmakers chose not to include. The film is splendid, a visual dazzlement graced by a literate screenplay.
This is critic Dale Thomajan's fourth entry in his 1935 top ten list.
Rating: 95 (first in my list of favorites for 1935)
-beginning of quote-
la femme et le pantin de Pierre Louÿs
Catégorie(s) : Littérature => Francophone
critiqué par Hiram33, le 30 septembre 2006 (Bicêtre, Inscrit le 31 juillet 2006, 41 ans)
La note:
Moyenne des notes : (basée sur 3 avis)
Cote pondérée : (17 276ème position).
Visites : 1 099 (depuis Novembre 2007)
Duel de pervers
Au cours du carnaval de Séville, un jeune Français André Stévenol tombe amoureux d'une jeune espagnole inconnue. Il lui déclare sa flamme lui envoyant un oeuf sur lequel il a eu le temps d'écrire "Quiero". A grand peine, il suit la trace de la belle et se présente au domicile de celle-ci. Il se fait éconduire par le domestique mais un commerçant voisin lui donne le nom de la Sévillane : Conception Perez. Rentré chez lui, il reçoit un mot de la belle lui proposant un rendez-vous. Les heures qui séparent André de sa rencontre galante le taraudent, il décide de se ballader et croise une ancienne connaissance, Mateo Diaz. Diaz lui demande de soulager son angoisse et apprenant qu'il est éperdu d'une certaine Concha, il est pris d'effroi, ne serait-ce pas Concha Perez ? La femme qu'il a connue et qui a causé ses pires tourements ? Oui, c'est bien elle. Alors commence le récit de Mateo. Il va tenter de convaincre son ami de ne pas venir au rendez-vous. L'Espagnol a rencontré la belle dans un train, il a été séduit par sa beauté et par son chant qui accompagnait avec ironie la danse d'une gitane. Puis plus rien jusqu'au hasard des retrouvailles. Là, démarre un crescendo où l'ancien Don Juan jette son dévolu sur Concha. Alors qu'il s'est servi des femmes comme d'objets sexuels c'est lui qui se transforme en pantin dans les mains de la belle Sévillane. Elle va le manipuler, lui laisser croire qu'elle l'aime. L'embrasser, et même entrer dans son lit mais munie d'une "cuirasse" de tissu empêchant les ébas. Humilié, insulté, Mateo en redemande pourtant et il cède à tous les caprices de Concha. Elle disparait de sa vie pour réapparaître et lui, se laisse encore prendre au piège. Elle dit être restée vierge pour lui, n'avoir aimé que lui et Matéo d'y croire naïvement. La belle est danseuse dans un cabaret se qui excite la jalousie du Don Juan jusqu'au paroxysme quand il s'aperçoit que Concha danse nue devant les "Inglès", il le découvre par hasard. Mais Concha réussit une fois encore à le convaincre qu'elle est toujours sans amant. L'humiliation atteint son apogée quand Concha repousse Mateo devant la grille de son appartement et appelle un homme qu'elle embrasse devant le "pantin". Il aura sa revanche en frappant Concha comme pour vider sa colère emmagasinée pendant des mois. Mais, comble de l'ironie, c'est Concha qui en redemande, avouant qu'elle l'a toujours aimé et que s'il elle a tout fait pour le rendre jaloux c'est pour qu'il la batte car elle aime se faire frapper. Mateo obtient ce qu'il a toujours recherché, Concha devient sa maîtresse mais elle l'oblige par tous les moyens à céder à la violence et aux coups. Elle torture psychologiquement Mateo en lui interdisant tout contact avec une femme, toute sortie au théâtre et tout lecture alors qu'elle ne se gêne pas pour le tromper. Elle va jusqu'à le provoquer lui écrivant pour lui donner rendez-vous là où elle se trouve avec son amant, espérant qu'il arivera au moment de l'étreinte. Un duel entre les deux rivaux s'en suit. Résolue à sortir de cet enfer, Mateo fuit à Tanger puis en Italie. La fin du récit du "pantin" aurait dû convaincre le jeune Français d'éviter la manipulatrice mais il n'en est rien. Et comble de la déchéance Mateo lui-même cherche à retrouver la belle...
Pierre Louÿs sert dans ce roman les amateurs de sensulalité mais c'est surtout un récit psychologique. Si Mateo est manipulé et Concha manipulatrice, le couple est égal dans la perversion. Il s'instaure une relation sado-maso physique et psychologique. Personne n'est vraiment coupable et victime, le jeu est partagé par les deux amants qui semblent y trouver un plaisir malsain. Ce roman a inspiré Julien Duvivier pour un film avec Brigitte Bardot et Von Stenberg [sic] pour un film avec Marlène Dietrich.
-end of quote-
The difference between the above and the film's plot is that the masochistic inclinations of 'Concha' are eliminated in the film. I would venture the opinion that this modification - and otherwise it seems to be a faithful rendering - makes the film an improvement over the novel. The dynamics of the relationship is purer in the film, in the sense that it is closer to a Masochian relationship. That is, the woman plays a purely sadistic part and the man a purely masochistic one. The novel, when it "justifies" Concha's behavior, seems - although this is just guessing without having read it in its integrality - to add a melodramatic element which fortunately the filmmakers chose not to include. The film is splendid, a visual dazzlement graced by a literate screenplay.
This is critic Dale Thomajan's fourth entry in his 1935 top ten list.
Rating: 95 (first in my list of favorites for 1935)
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
My Zinc Bed (2008) (TV)
This is my second viewing of this film. The summary I wrote exactly one year ago (a creepy coincidence) is good enough:
'A love triangle consisting of the owner of a business software company, his ex-alcoholic, ex-druggie wife, and a recovering alcoholic poet, who is hired by the businessman to do publicity work.'
I am sad, however, at how brutally dismissive I was back then. Here is what I wrote:
'The theme here is addiction and the role of support groups in recovery. The text possesses a modicum of refinement which keeps it watchable, although it is nothing particularly strong or memorable.'
In the first place, I should have remarked how very well directed it is. And after watching it for the second time I have to admit that it is stronger and more memorable than I supposed then. The plot is a bit of a dud, no doubt, and with a length of 1 hour 13 minutes it was unlikely to be otherwise. But for as long as it can it draws the viewer into it.
Rating: 53 (up from 39)
'A love triangle consisting of the owner of a business software company, his ex-alcoholic, ex-druggie wife, and a recovering alcoholic poet, who is hired by the businessman to do publicity work.'
I am sad, however, at how brutally dismissive I was back then. Here is what I wrote:
'The theme here is addiction and the role of support groups in recovery. The text possesses a modicum of refinement which keeps it watchable, although it is nothing particularly strong or memorable.'
In the first place, I should have remarked how very well directed it is. And after watching it for the second time I have to admit that it is stronger and more memorable than I supposed then. The plot is a bit of a dud, no doubt, and with a length of 1 hour 13 minutes it was unlikely to be otherwise. But for as long as it can it draws the viewer into it.
Rating: 53 (up from 39)
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Crossing Delancey (1988)
A bookstore worker has a crush on a novelist. Her grandmother, using the services of a matchmaker, fixes her up with a pickle merchant.
An important topic of discussion when it comes to films which deal with prejudice is the question of how in some of those films prejudice is constructed by the film itself, in order to be subsequently deconstructed by it. For example, Crossing Delancey only works if the viewer accepts that prejudice against a pickle merchant is something which naturally occurs in intellectual circles. One question is whether this assumption stems from social observation or from the same kind of prejudice it tries to fight. Another question is whether the film could not be guilty of the reverse prejudice, that is, prejudice against intellectuals as a class.
If one abandons the above line of analysis, and focuses on individual drama and issues such as loneliness and affective life, the film becomes simpler. Consider the title it received in Brazil: "Love at Second Sight". It's a good indication of how it is perceived, or maybe even of how it is supposed to be perceived. And yet I don't see any love between the bookstore worker and the pickle maker. No, love is probably too wild an assumption to be made based exclusively on what the film actually shows us. Accommodation is more like it. But who would watch a movie called "Accommodation at Second Sight"?
Summing my considerations up, this is a nice little film about accommodations, with little conscience of the social dimension of the drama it presents.
Rating: 51
An important topic of discussion when it comes to films which deal with prejudice is the question of how in some of those films prejudice is constructed by the film itself, in order to be subsequently deconstructed by it. For example, Crossing Delancey only works if the viewer accepts that prejudice against a pickle merchant is something which naturally occurs in intellectual circles. One question is whether this assumption stems from social observation or from the same kind of prejudice it tries to fight. Another question is whether the film could not be guilty of the reverse prejudice, that is, prejudice against intellectuals as a class.
If one abandons the above line of analysis, and focuses on individual drama and issues such as loneliness and affective life, the film becomes simpler. Consider the title it received in Brazil: "Love at Second Sight". It's a good indication of how it is perceived, or maybe even of how it is supposed to be perceived. And yet I don't see any love between the bookstore worker and the pickle maker. No, love is probably too wild an assumption to be made based exclusively on what the film actually shows us. Accommodation is more like it. But who would watch a movie called "Accommodation at Second Sight"?
Summing my considerations up, this is a nice little film about accommodations, with little conscience of the social dimension of the drama it presents.
Rating: 51
Black Swan (2010)
A ballerina is chosen for the leading role in Swan Lake, despite the fact (which no one seems to notice) that she is stark raving mad.
The plot summary above may be disputed by some who will argue the film to be a fantastic tale. Whatever way I look at it, its ideas seem sophomoric and a proof that any half-baked film-school weirdness is Oscar material in these our sad days.
At any rate the leading actress does a good job.
Rating: 37
The plot summary above may be disputed by some who will argue the film to be a fantastic tale. Whatever way I look at it, its ideas seem sophomoric and a proof that any half-baked film-school weirdness is Oscar material in these our sad days.
At any rate the leading actress does a good job.
Rating: 37
Saturday, February 05, 2011
Mr. Majestyk (1974)
A watermelon farmer is unjustly arrested, and gets in trouble with another inmate, a vicious gangster.
Second viewing. I mysteriously didn't like this on first viewing. The fact is that, in strictly formal terms, it is very carefully worked out from beginning to end. I am still not overenthusiastic about some plot details, though. For instance, why does the Kopas character get mixed up with the Renda character? And why is Renda willing to risk so much just to get revenge on Majestyk? Of course, without these choices of behavior there would be no film, or rather not this one anyway.
Rating: 55 (formerly 39)
Second viewing. I mysteriously didn't like this on first viewing. The fact is that, in strictly formal terms, it is very carefully worked out from beginning to end. I am still not overenthusiastic about some plot details, though. For instance, why does the Kopas character get mixed up with the Renda character? And why is Renda willing to risk so much just to get revenge on Majestyk? Of course, without these choices of behavior there would be no film, or rather not this one anyway.
Rating: 55 (formerly 39)
He Was Her Man (1934)
A thief rats on his partners and flees. One of them escapes and wants revenge. He travels to a fishing village with a woman who is engaged to a fisherman. The place looks like the perfect hideaway for him.
Mostly it's a good film. The final section is especially good. The characterization of the Portuguese family is not so good, especially in what concerns the accent. And they have an Italian name, for Christ's sake (Gardella). Cagney is sublime (I'm beginning to think that he always is). On the whole, an engaging story about the ironies of fate. Or, if one prefers, about nothing at all, and engaging all the same. Understanding the dialogue, once again, was a problem for me.
Critic Dale Thomajan's 10th entry on his 1934 top ten.
Rating: 56
Mostly it's a good film. The final section is especially good. The characterization of the Portuguese family is not so good, especially in what concerns the accent. And they have an Italian name, for Christ's sake (Gardella). Cagney is sublime (I'm beginning to think that he always is). On the whole, an engaging story about the ironies of fate. Or, if one prefers, about nothing at all, and engaging all the same. Understanding the dialogue, once again, was a problem for me.
Critic Dale Thomajan's 10th entry on his 1934 top ten.
Rating: 56
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Death Proof (2007)
A deranged stunt man uses his car to kill young women.
I suspect that down deep it's a self-referential film that promotes second unit to first, using women as a metaphor for the transition from victim to empowered. This reminds one of what Guillermo Cabrera Infante, the renowned novelist who also wrote the screenplay of Vanishing Point, said in an interview:
What the spectator sees on the screen is the mirror image of my screenplay. Vanishing Point is my script as seen on the white mirror of the screen, in De Luxe color, at an aspect ratio of 1:85, running at twenty-four frames per second, in stereo sound—much more than I ever wrote or could write. That’s a movie. I just wrote the screenplay. Thanks to John Alonzo, a cinematographer of genius, my screenplay is now a piece of Americana, a cult film, and a very successful movie. I wrote a motion picture about a man with a problem in a car. My director made a movie about a man in a car with problems. Cars in the film are actors and the movie may be taken as a paean to cars or to death by car. By the way, I don’t drive.
According to Gore Vidal, another renowned novelist who wrote movies, the decline of the importance of screenwriters which happened in the late sixties coincides with the rise to eminence of cars and car chases, replacing human beings, on the big screen.
I guess one can't blame postmodernists for growing up in exciting times.
Rating: 40
I suspect that down deep it's a self-referential film that promotes second unit to first, using women as a metaphor for the transition from victim to empowered. This reminds one of what Guillermo Cabrera Infante, the renowned novelist who also wrote the screenplay of Vanishing Point, said in an interview:
What the spectator sees on the screen is the mirror image of my screenplay. Vanishing Point is my script as seen on the white mirror of the screen, in De Luxe color, at an aspect ratio of 1:85, running at twenty-four frames per second, in stereo sound—much more than I ever wrote or could write. That’s a movie. I just wrote the screenplay. Thanks to John Alonzo, a cinematographer of genius, my screenplay is now a piece of Americana, a cult film, and a very successful movie. I wrote a motion picture about a man with a problem in a car. My director made a movie about a man in a car with problems. Cars in the film are actors and the movie may be taken as a paean to cars or to death by car. By the way, I don’t drive.
According to Gore Vidal, another renowned novelist who wrote movies, the decline of the importance of screenwriters which happened in the late sixties coincides with the rise to eminence of cars and car chases, replacing human beings, on the big screen.
I guess one can't blame postmodernists for growing up in exciting times.
Rating: 40
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Romance (1988)
After the death of a leftist intellectual, a journalist investigates his life; meanwhile the dead man's wife tries to cope with her loss, and his male lover has to cope with AIDS.
A blend of naive political pamphlet, serious exposé, farce, free-form modernistic rambling, and self-indulgent semi-pornography. Not great cinema on any on those shapes it takes.
Rating: 41
A blend of naive political pamphlet, serious exposé, farce, free-form modernistic rambling, and self-indulgent semi-pornography. Not great cinema on any on those shapes it takes.
Rating: 41
Mandalay (1934)
In Rangoon, a Russian refugee is abandoned by her lover who sells her to a cabaret of which she is made the hostess by its owner.
The milieu is practically the same as in The White Countess, but storywise it has little in common with that film. It' hard to separate, in Mandalay, the genuinely honest depiction of human relatioships and emotions, from sensationalist melodrama. One could perhaps chance a generalization about pre-code cinema, saying that the freedom under which it was made entailed these two different outcomes: frankness and the abuse of cheap thrills. Mandalay's main feminine character starts out as someone we are willing to sympathize with, and ends as a monster and a martyr, improbable at both counts. There is a core of truth which persists throughout the film, though, sometimes belying the plot itself, and this makes it a marginally fascinating film.
(Number 9 in critic Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1934.)
Rating: 58
The milieu is practically the same as in The White Countess, but storywise it has little in common with that film. It' hard to separate, in Mandalay, the genuinely honest depiction of human relatioships and emotions, from sensationalist melodrama. One could perhaps chance a generalization about pre-code cinema, saying that the freedom under which it was made entailed these two different outcomes: frankness and the abuse of cheap thrills. Mandalay's main feminine character starts out as someone we are willing to sympathize with, and ends as a monster and a martyr, improbable at both counts. There is a core of truth which persists throughout the film, though, sometimes belying the plot itself, and this makes it a marginally fascinating film.
(Number 9 in critic Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1934.)
Rating: 58
Saturday, January 29, 2011
HealtH (1980)
The goings-on during a convention which will pick the president of HealtH organization.
A funny film which is usually not very consequential. It deals surprisingly little with health issues, and seems to be rather cynical about them.
Rating: 50
A funny film which is usually not very consequential. It deals surprisingly little with health issues, and seems to be rather cynical about them.
Rating: 50
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Baarìa (2009)
The story of a boy in Sicily, from the 1930's to the 1960's. When he grows up he becomes a communist politician.
It's the same kind of low-brow sentimentalism which is present in other films from this writer-director, only here somehow it's worse, more boring and triter.
Rating: 45
It's the same kind of low-brow sentimentalism which is present in other films from this writer-director, only here somehow it's worse, more boring and triter.
Rating: 45
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Death Wish V: The Face of Death (1994)
A gang uses a clothes company for money laundering purposes; the gang leader is the company owner's ex-husband and they have a daughter. The owner's boyfriend tries to defend both women against the bad guy.
Lousy story about crime and vigilantism. There isn't a single thread of realism in all this. I honestly don't see the point. If the purpose was to discuss the inefficacy of the justice system, the first thing required would be a minimum of plausibility.
Rating: 18
Lousy story about crime and vigilantism. There isn't a single thread of realism in all this. I honestly don't see the point. If the purpose was to discuss the inefficacy of the justice system, the first thing required would be a minimum of plausibility.
Rating: 18
A Christmas Carol (2009)
An old miser receives the visit of three ghosts who will make him see the error of his ways.
I have spent my entire life consuming cultural products and witnessing human discourse and behavior which were influenced by Dickens' tale, and never got around to reading it, or seeing a film adaptation of it. So it's just my luck that this is a faithful adaptation (at least that's what everyone who has read the short story says). The artistry here gets my OK; the imagery conveys a coherent set of ideas. Some things got stuck in my throat, though, and it seems that this is nearly always the case with me and films. So let's get them out of my system. Scrooge's profession is never explicitly dwelled upon, but it is inferred to be that of a moneylender. So, the first question is: why a moneylender? Is this an indictment of moneylending? I will have to answer my own question with a resounding 'no'. The story ends with Scrooge still a moneylender, but he is now deemed a reformed person merely by the changing of some habits. So, he is now a good moneylender, as opposed to the bad moneylender that he was. We are back to the original question: if not an indictment pure and simple, why must the character be a moneylender? I don't think the film can justify this choice of profession without making an admission of self-contradiction and hypocrisy. The subject is simply dodged. But this harms the film, as would be expected. Are we to believe that Scrooge's faults were simply related to not being attached to his family and not being a generous person? And what about his interest rates? Were they too high? And what is considered too high in the nineteenth century? Which leads us to another question: how relevant is all this to twenty-first century capitalism? Moneylenders are still a very profitable profession, except today they are called bankers. Among other things, they finance movies like this one. But I'm certainly straying off the scope of the movie, am I not? After all, how many bankers are moved by 'A Christmas Carol'? I guess not many. And what is the purpose of making a film about avarice to be watched by middle-class and working-class people? Is there a point somewhere to be made in these ramblings? I hope not.
Rating: 60
I have spent my entire life consuming cultural products and witnessing human discourse and behavior which were influenced by Dickens' tale, and never got around to reading it, or seeing a film adaptation of it. So it's just my luck that this is a faithful adaptation (at least that's what everyone who has read the short story says). The artistry here gets my OK; the imagery conveys a coherent set of ideas. Some things got stuck in my throat, though, and it seems that this is nearly always the case with me and films. So let's get them out of my system. Scrooge's profession is never explicitly dwelled upon, but it is inferred to be that of a moneylender. So, the first question is: why a moneylender? Is this an indictment of moneylending? I will have to answer my own question with a resounding 'no'. The story ends with Scrooge still a moneylender, but he is now deemed a reformed person merely by the changing of some habits. So, he is now a good moneylender, as opposed to the bad moneylender that he was. We are back to the original question: if not an indictment pure and simple, why must the character be a moneylender? I don't think the film can justify this choice of profession without making an admission of self-contradiction and hypocrisy. The subject is simply dodged. But this harms the film, as would be expected. Are we to believe that Scrooge's faults were simply related to not being attached to his family and not being a generous person? And what about his interest rates? Were they too high? And what is considered too high in the nineteenth century? Which leads us to another question: how relevant is all this to twenty-first century capitalism? Moneylenders are still a very profitable profession, except today they are called bankers. Among other things, they finance movies like this one. But I'm certainly straying off the scope of the movie, am I not? After all, how many bankers are moved by 'A Christmas Carol'? I guess not many. And what is the purpose of making a film about avarice to be watched by middle-class and working-class people? Is there a point somewhere to be made in these ramblings? I hope not.
Rating: 60
Monday, January 24, 2011
You're Telling Me! (1934)
An inventor meets a princess on a train, but, unlike everyone else, he doesn't know she is a princess. She decides to pay him a visit.
I didn't care much for the plot of this, it's one of those confusing social critiques where somehow the false nobility is extremely snob but the real nobility is not. This assumption is in itself a kind of snobbery, if you think about it. Anyway, the plot is substantially flexed (gee, what a word I came up with here) to make room to Fields' antics, which include, according to reports, the entire reproduction of his short film The Golf Specialist. And, because Fields' antics are funny, the film is funny. That much being said, I have to confess to not having understood much of the dialogue.
This is the 8th entry in critic Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1934.
Rating: 54
I didn't care much for the plot of this, it's one of those confusing social critiques where somehow the false nobility is extremely snob but the real nobility is not. This assumption is in itself a kind of snobbery, if you think about it. Anyway, the plot is substantially flexed (gee, what a word I came up with here) to make room to Fields' antics, which include, according to reports, the entire reproduction of his short film The Golf Specialist. And, because Fields' antics are funny, the film is funny. That much being said, I have to confess to not having understood much of the dialogue.
This is the 8th entry in critic Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1934.
Rating: 54
Sunday, January 23, 2011
The Tourist (2010)
The Interpol is after a guy who stole millions from a gangster. Their lead is the thief's girlfriend. A guy on a train is picked by said girl to distract the police.
Not very entertaining, and the premise is slightly absurd. It is watchable, I guess.
Rating: 45
Not very entertaining, and the premise is slightly absurd. It is watchable, I guess.
Rating: 45
A Kitten for Hitler (2007)
This is a short video released on the web. It's funny, sort of, but once you think about it, well, it's just not funny at all. Watch it at:
http://www.iainfisher.com/films/ken-russell-kitten-for-hitler.html
http://www.iainfisher.com/films/ken-russell-kitten-for-hitler.html
The Informant! (2009)
An executive reports his own company's price-fixing practices to the FBI and becomes a spy.
Interesting film. I don't see why people are calling it "unbelievable". Maybe I'm getting too old. Anyway it's a well-made and useful (and fairly entertaining) film. The performances are very, very good.
Rating: 62
Interesting film. I don't see why people are calling it "unbelievable". Maybe I'm getting too old. Anyway it's a well-made and useful (and fairly entertaining) film. The performances are very, very good.
Rating: 62
Friday, January 21, 2011
Six of a Kind (1934)
A couple intends to do a cross-country automobile trip during their vacation. The wife takes another couple in to ride with them in order to save expenses.
Very funny comedy. No comments come to my mind, it's a film to be watched and enjoyed for the numerous funny moments.
It's critic Dale Thomajan's number 7 of 1934.
Rating: 73 (9th of my 1934 favorites)
Very funny comedy. No comments come to my mind, it's a film to be watched and enjoyed for the numerous funny moments.
It's critic Dale Thomajan's number 7 of 1934.
Rating: 73 (9th of my 1934 favorites)
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
The Eiger Sanction (1975)
A retired assassin who is now an art teacher is summoned back into service. He is coaxed into assassinating the men who killed an agent. His task is made harder by the fact that he doesn't know who the second killer is; but he knows that he will be climbing a mountain with a team of climbers.
This is a spoof on spy thrillers, played absolutely straight. The result is weird beyond belief. This is my second viewing; I didn't perceive any humorous aspect in my first viewing. I think this kind of thing entails a long discussion. For instance, is the obvious homophobic content of the film to be taken as a satire on homophobia? Ditto on the topic of albinoes, ditto on sexism. To put it shortly, when is irony to be acknowledged in a work of art? And when is it justified?
Rating: 51 (up from 44)
This is a spoof on spy thrillers, played absolutely straight. The result is weird beyond belief. This is my second viewing; I didn't perceive any humorous aspect in my first viewing. I think this kind of thing entails a long discussion. For instance, is the obvious homophobic content of the film to be taken as a satire on homophobia? Ditto on the topic of albinoes, ditto on sexism. To put it shortly, when is irony to be acknowledged in a work of art? And when is it justified?
Rating: 51 (up from 44)
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Conspiracy Theory (1997)
A cab driver importunes a Justice Department attorney with his conspiracy theories. There are elements in their past lives which spell real danger for them though.
This is another movie which I view now for the second time and appears better than it did the first time. It is very well filmed, and that alone makes for a fine spectacle. The theme is resolved into a well-structured series of images, situations and plot elements which, while not exactly groundbreaking or deep, are interesting enough. Gore Vidal, the novelist and essayist, is perhaps the only one who expressed his displeasure with the present-day concept of conspiracy by stating that the powerful have no need to conspire, because, well, they have the power, exactly. This remark remains as a last attempt at clinging to the original concept of conspiracies. Now the word has become a paleonomy, that is, it has acquired a new meaning, which, in this case, refers to a plot devised by those who have power. This film is to a certain extent self-referential since narratives, at least conventional ones, are the product of a conspiracy (in the updated version of the word), in which the author "plots" (the word itself reveals the connection) the events, their unfolding and how they relate to one another.
Rating: 55 (up from 42)
This is another movie which I view now for the second time and appears better than it did the first time. It is very well filmed, and that alone makes for a fine spectacle. The theme is resolved into a well-structured series of images, situations and plot elements which, while not exactly groundbreaking or deep, are interesting enough. Gore Vidal, the novelist and essayist, is perhaps the only one who expressed his displeasure with the present-day concept of conspiracy by stating that the powerful have no need to conspire, because, well, they have the power, exactly. This remark remains as a last attempt at clinging to the original concept of conspiracies. Now the word has become a paleonomy, that is, it has acquired a new meaning, which, in this case, refers to a plot devised by those who have power. This film is to a certain extent self-referential since narratives, at least conventional ones, are the product of a conspiracy (in the updated version of the word), in which the author "plots" (the word itself reveals the connection) the events, their unfolding and how they relate to one another.
Rating: 55 (up from 42)
Sunday, January 16, 2011
The Game (1997)
A middle-aged investment banker on his birthday anniversary hires the services of a mysterious company to be part of a game. As a consequence his life turns into a nightmare.
Saw this for the second time. I can't understand why I hadn't liked it. It's all very entertaining and superbly directed. The only thing that is questionable (and therein may lie my former stumbling block) is the ending which is moralizing in a way. Any film which tries to pass judgement on a character must assume itself above that character, and that is not fine with me.
Rating: 57 (up from 31)
Saw this for the second time. I can't understand why I hadn't liked it. It's all very entertaining and superbly directed. The only thing that is questionable (and therein may lie my former stumbling block) is the ending which is moralizing in a way. Any film which tries to pass judgement on a character must assume itself above that character, and that is not fine with me.
Rating: 57 (up from 31)
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Kid Millions (1934)
An egyptologist's son inherits the fortune which his father found in his explorations in Egypt. He travels to Egypt to collect his inheritance, but is followed by two crooks and the guy who financed the egyptologist's expeditions. They all claim the inheritance.
Musical comedy who is delightful from beginning to end. It has a rather free style which may seem strange for modern viewers; sarcastic comedic bits are followed by ethereal musical numbers, and, while it doesn't all add to a completely coherent whole, is very amusing in its individual parts. The climactic finale in 3-strip technicolor is extremely cool, if one may pardon the double meaning.
Critic Dale Thomajan placed it in the 5th position in his top ten list for 1934.
Rating: 75
(8th position in my favorites list for 1934.)
Musical comedy who is delightful from beginning to end. It has a rather free style which may seem strange for modern viewers; sarcastic comedic bits are followed by ethereal musical numbers, and, while it doesn't all add to a completely coherent whole, is very amusing in its individual parts. The climactic finale in 3-strip technicolor is extremely cool, if one may pardon the double meaning.
Critic Dale Thomajan placed it in the 5th position in his top ten list for 1934.
Rating: 75
(8th position in my favorites list for 1934.)
The Social Network (2010)
About a guy who created a web site that was a tremendous success.
Entertaining tale about youth and business. I laughed out loud on several occasions (the beer bottle throwing was probably the best moment). This film is also about something deeper, namely, the contradiction - even incompatibility - which exists between a person and what he sells. Scarface (1983) was a previous handling of this theme. In that case, it was shown that a guy who sells drugs should not take drugs. In that film, he took them, and self-destroyed. In this film, the selling item is friendship. In the last minute or so of the movie, there is a line about being an asshole as opposed to trying to be one. This line is interesting, especially when compared with a very famous one by Husserl, which says that "to be reasonable is to want to be reasonable" (in "Cartesian Meditations").
Rating: 60
Entertaining tale about youth and business. I laughed out loud on several occasions (the beer bottle throwing was probably the best moment). This film is also about something deeper, namely, the contradiction - even incompatibility - which exists between a person and what he sells. Scarface (1983) was a previous handling of this theme. In that case, it was shown that a guy who sells drugs should not take drugs. In that film, he took them, and self-destroyed. In this film, the selling item is friendship. In the last minute or so of the movie, there is a line about being an asshole as opposed to trying to be one. This line is interesting, especially when compared with a very famous one by Husserl, which says that "to be reasonable is to want to be reasonable" (in "Cartesian Meditations").
Rating: 60
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Two plotlines which eventually converge: a secret platoon which kills nazis (really meaningless description, since that's what every allied soldier is supposed to do, but this seems to be what is implied in the movie) is to take part in a secret operation; a Jewish woman who owns a cinema in Paris is summoned to host a gala premiere.
Most of it is what you would expect from a 10 year old imaginative boy. It is not badly directed.
Rating: 39
Most of it is what you would expect from a 10 year old imaginative boy. It is not badly directed.
Rating: 39
Stephanie Daley (2006)
A teenager is indicted with the murder of her baby. She denies she knew she was pregnant and claims the baby died at birth. She is assigned a forensic psychologist to get at the bottom of things. Said psychologist is pregnant too.
The director shows real skill. As as screenwriter she has some ability to conventionally assemble multiple characters with some definition and at the same time make the plot advance through flashbacks. It's not exactly powerful cinema, but has some degree of attractiveness.
Rating: 50
The director shows real skill. As as screenwriter she has some ability to conventionally assemble multiple characters with some definition and at the same time make the plot advance through flashbacks. It's not exactly powerful cinema, but has some degree of attractiveness.
Rating: 50
Friday, January 07, 2011
Jimmy the Gent (1934)
This is about two competing heir chasers. These are people who, for a commission, find heirs (legitimate or fake) when someone dies and no one appears to collect the inheritance.
One-liner-fest graced by a perfect direction. The plot is overcomplicated but still fun. The theme is deceiving appearances. Or something like that. Cagney is good beyond belief. I should watch this again to get a better understanding of his lines.
Critic Dale Thomajan's fourth entry in his top ten list for 1934.
Rating: 78
(Number 7 on my own list of favorites for 1934.)
One-liner-fest graced by a perfect direction. The plot is overcomplicated but still fun. The theme is deceiving appearances. Or something like that. Cagney is good beyond belief. I should watch this again to get a better understanding of his lines.
Critic Dale Thomajan's fourth entry in his top ten list for 1934.
Rating: 78
(Number 7 on my own list of favorites for 1934.)
Thursday, January 06, 2011
The Story of Ruth (1960)
A priestess falls in love with a jeweller of foreign origin. She becomes influenced by the man's religion.
The beginning is absurd, especially in what concerns the main character's behavior. It gets better after Ruth moves to Judah, but the script is still plagued by psychological shortcomings. The backbone of the plotline is interesting (only after that initial part, I mean) and the film has nice visuals, but overall it is a rather vulgar film.
Rating: 35
The beginning is absurd, especially in what concerns the main character's behavior. It gets better after Ruth moves to Judah, but the script is still plagued by psychological shortcomings. The backbone of the plotline is interesting (only after that initial part, I mean) and the film has nice visuals, but overall it is a rather vulgar film.
Rating: 35
Il mostro (1994)
English title: The Monster.
A man is mistaken for a homicidal maniac. A female detective is assigned to act as bait.
This is my second viewing, with considerable lowering of rating. It's a slapstick comedy with a strong emphasis on sexual allusions. It's almost invariably based on visual humor, and becomes repetitive as it goes along. The level of hilarity is fairly high initially, decreasing gradually with the progression of the film.
Rating: 57 (down from 67)
A man is mistaken for a homicidal maniac. A female detective is assigned to act as bait.
This is my second viewing, with considerable lowering of rating. It's a slapstick comedy with a strong emphasis on sexual allusions. It's almost invariably based on visual humor, and becomes repetitive as it goes along. The level of hilarity is fairly high initially, decreasing gradually with the progression of the film.
Rating: 57 (down from 67)
Die Welle (2008)
English title: The Wave.
A teacher seeking for higher status in the school where he works devises an experiment with his students wherein they become members of a group under the leadership of said teacher.
The teacher as fascist (compare Madadayo). There are some who have criticized the shallowness of what they see as the film's political statement. They are probably right to the extent that every work of art does carry a little bit of ideology within itself, and this film is really not very deep. But on the other hand, a fiction work is mostly just that, and no character or utterance within it may be said to speak for its author or authors. The Wave is reasonably well constructed in narrative terms, and it does shed some light on collective human processes, but that's all it does. Anyone who wants more depth should read books.
Rating: 54
A teacher seeking for higher status in the school where he works devises an experiment with his students wherein they become members of a group under the leadership of said teacher.
The teacher as fascist (compare Madadayo). There are some who have criticized the shallowness of what they see as the film's political statement. They are probably right to the extent that every work of art does carry a little bit of ideology within itself, and this film is really not very deep. But on the other hand, a fiction work is mostly just that, and no character or utterance within it may be said to speak for its author or authors. The Wave is reasonably well constructed in narrative terms, and it does shed some light on collective human processes, but that's all it does. Anyone who wants more depth should read books.
Rating: 54
The White Countess (2005)
In the Shanghai of the 1930s, a U.S. blind ex-diplomat meets a Russian prostitute who supports her family. He starts a nightclub and invites her to be the hostess.
Formulaic drama which one watches with little difficulty but has few or no remarkable aspects about it except Fiennes who is always a very good actor.
Rating: 45
Formulaic drama which one watches with little difficulty but has few or no remarkable aspects about it except Fiennes who is always a very good actor.
Rating: 45
Madadayo (1993)
The relationship between a retired teacher and his adoring pupils during World War II and afterwards in Japan.
The fascist as teacher. Or, Dersu Uzala minus the objective correlative. Intensely hilarious at its dramatic interlude about a lost cat.
Rating: 36
The fascist as teacher. Or, Dersu Uzala minus the objective correlative. Intensely hilarious at its dramatic interlude about a lost cat.
Rating: 36
The Road (2009)
After a natural calamity, the Earth turns into a desert and the few surviving people engage in a desperate attempt at survival.
This tedious add-on to the apocalyptic genre seems to be concerned in showing that the fight for survival blurs the distinction between good and evil.
Rating: 33
This tedious add-on to the apocalyptic genre seems to be concerned in showing that the fight for survival blurs the distinction between good and evil.
Rating: 33
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
An account of Operation Market Garden, during World War II. The allies intended to seize three bridges in Holland, through a combined aerial and terrestrial operation.
I asked for The Bridge at Remagen at the video rental store, and when I got home I saw that I got this instead. It turned out I watched this for the second time and decided it was enough war for a while, so I postponed The Bridge at Remagen for some other time.
It's a tremendously complex film, in terms of plot, and the screenplay does not go out of its way to make things clearer for the uninitiated. At my level of understanding it was a fine spectacle, well made and historically interesting. There is a little bit of self-indulgence at the inclusion of the subplot about the soldier who rescues his superior because he made a promise to him. It has practically nothing to do with the rest of the movie. And to be honest I am flabbergasted at the recurring obsession of filmmakers with this kind of fantasy (compare Saving Private Ryan). Even ignorants like myself know that war doesn't afford this sort of behavior.
Rating: 61 (unchanged)
I asked for The Bridge at Remagen at the video rental store, and when I got home I saw that I got this instead. It turned out I watched this for the second time and decided it was enough war for a while, so I postponed The Bridge at Remagen for some other time.
It's a tremendously complex film, in terms of plot, and the screenplay does not go out of its way to make things clearer for the uninitiated. At my level of understanding it was a fine spectacle, well made and historically interesting. There is a little bit of self-indulgence at the inclusion of the subplot about the soldier who rescues his superior because he made a promise to him. It has practically nothing to do with the rest of the movie. And to be honest I am flabbergasted at the recurring obsession of filmmakers with this kind of fantasy (compare Saving Private Ryan). Even ignorants like myself know that war doesn't afford this sort of behavior.
Rating: 61 (unchanged)
Saturday, December 25, 2010
The Young Victoria (2009)
Victoria is the only heir to the throne. Her mother,controlled by her lover, tries to make Victoria sign a regency act relinquishing her right to rule. Concurrently to that, a cousin from Belgium courts her. Although he is part of another plan to control her, the two sort of get along.
Yawn for the story, wow for the costumes and sets. It's dumbed down history, excised of interesting subplots for the sake of pleasing today's viewers.
Rating: 42
Yawn for the story, wow for the costumes and sets. It's dumbed down history, excised of interesting subplots for the sake of pleasing today's viewers.
Rating: 42
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Little Man, What Now? (1934)
A couple expecting their first child struggles for survival in the Germany between wars.
Excellent film about the hardships of life, with hardly an unmemorable moment or performance. The type of realism displayed here should teach a lesson to young filmmakers who think that if you must film a house that's being painted, you must film the paint drying too.
This film is Dale Thomajan's third entry in his top ten of 1934.
Rating: 80
Number 6 among my favorites of 1934.
Excellent film about the hardships of life, with hardly an unmemorable moment or performance. The type of realism displayed here should teach a lesson to young filmmakers who think that if you must film a house that's being painted, you must film the paint drying too.
This film is Dale Thomajan's third entry in his top ten of 1934.
Rating: 80
Number 6 among my favorites of 1934.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
The Scarlet Empress (1934)
A fictional account of the rise of Catherine the Great, who was brought from Prussia to Russia to wed the idiot prince and produce an heir to the throne.
The plot's moral is very trivial and consists in that it doesn't take much brains to outsmart an idiot. As for the film's worth, it's all it's been said to be and more. I take it to be a representation of the essence of Russia, taken to be a balanced combination of West and East.
1st place in Dale Thomajan's top ten of 1934.
Rating: 95
1st among my favorites of 1934.
The plot's moral is very trivial and consists in that it doesn't take much brains to outsmart an idiot. As for the film's worth, it's all it's been said to be and more. I take it to be a representation of the essence of Russia, taken to be a balanced combination of West and East.
1st place in Dale Thomajan's top ten of 1934.
Rating: 95
1st among my favorites of 1934.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
The Slender Thread (1965)
A woman swallows an overdose of sleeping pills and then dials to a suicide-prevention service.
This is a quite sophisticated film, with an inventively designed screenplay which plays out in non-chronological sequence. The opening credit sequence is also worthy of mention with a stunning view of some sites in the city of Seattle. This is my second viewing, with my rating slightly increased.
Rating: 61 (up from 56)
This is a quite sophisticated film, with an inventively designed screenplay which plays out in non-chronological sequence. The opening credit sequence is also worthy of mention with a stunning view of some sites in the city of Seattle. This is my second viewing, with my rating slightly increased.
Rating: 61 (up from 56)
Footlight Parade (1933)
The film depicts a period in the life of a musical director turned "prologue" producer. Prologues were short musical films exhibited before features.
An interesting film, divided in two parts. First, we see a fairly realistic depiction of the troubles of producing musical films. Then we see their product, in the form of three Berkeley numbers.
Number 10 in Dale Thomajan's top ten of 1933.
Rating: 51
An interesting film, divided in two parts. First, we see a fairly realistic depiction of the troubles of producing musical films. Then we see their product, in the form of three Berkeley numbers.
Number 10 in Dale Thomajan's top ten of 1933.
Rating: 51
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Dinner at Eight (1933)
The film depicts a few days in the lives of several characters who are linked by a dinner invitation.
The depression among the wealthy (or, mostly, formerly wealthy). Smart writing and superb acting makes this an engaging, albeit a little conventional, spectacle.
Number 9 in Dale Thomajan's Top Ten of 1933.
Rating: 59
The depression among the wealthy (or, mostly, formerly wealthy). Smart writing and superb acting makes this an engaging, albeit a little conventional, spectacle.
Number 9 in Dale Thomajan's Top Ten of 1933.
Rating: 59
Monday, December 13, 2010
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
A new musical play gets financed by the hired songwriter, mysteriously. He doesn't agree to sing onstage, though, mysteriously. He is the leading lady's sweetheart.
The author of the play on which this is based was known as "Playboy Playwright", just to give an idea. The enigma of a final number about World War I is explained (probably) by the fact that the source play was written when the war was on (or just over, I do no know for sure). Berkeley's choreographies are dazzling as usual. Like much of pre-code stuff this occasionally operates on a pornographic level in which boldness walks hand in hand with puritanism (e.g. the musical number in which a promise of nudity is not fulfilled). The structure accomodates the musical parts in the extremities of the movie, framing the farce, which develops without interruptions. The plot is based on a misunderstanding, and the main thesis is that the rich are prudes and hypocrites (a recurring theme in thirties' cinema, it appears). The musical within the film is described by its producer as a depression story; it could have been Hallelujah I'm a Bum. Despite its frivolity, Gold Diggers of 1933 is quite watchable and well-done.
It's number 7 in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1933.
Rating: 54
The author of the play on which this is based was known as "Playboy Playwright", just to give an idea. The enigma of a final number about World War I is explained (probably) by the fact that the source play was written when the war was on (or just over, I do no know for sure). Berkeley's choreographies are dazzling as usual. Like much of pre-code stuff this occasionally operates on a pornographic level in which boldness walks hand in hand with puritanism (e.g. the musical number in which a promise of nudity is not fulfilled). The structure accomodates the musical parts in the extremities of the movie, framing the farce, which develops without interruptions. The plot is based on a misunderstanding, and the main thesis is that the rich are prudes and hypocrites (a recurring theme in thirties' cinema, it appears). The musical within the film is described by its producer as a depression story; it could have been Hallelujah I'm a Bum. Despite its frivolity, Gold Diggers of 1933 is quite watchable and well-done.
It's number 7 in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1933.
Rating: 54
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Hallelujah I'm a Bum (1933)
A series of incidents involving a hobo, the mayor, and the latter's girlfriend.
As reviewer Charles Morrow (wmorrow) and others cleverly observed in the User Reviews section of IMDb, this has the looks of something previously designed to be a sort of cheering-up piece in times of depression, making poverty look charming, or at least bearable. If that was the case, it never achieved its goals. Take for example the bank sequence, which IMDb user Swift-12 described so well: this sequence is as fine an exposé of the contradictions of capitalism as any Marxist treatise. Finally, as IMDb user planetguy insightfully concluded, the initial set-up is gradually dismantled by the plot development until it becomes clear that being a hobo is no fun ride at all.
(This film is number 6 in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1933.)
Rating: 56
As reviewer Charles Morrow (wmorrow) and others cleverly observed in the User Reviews section of IMDb, this has the looks of something previously designed to be a sort of cheering-up piece in times of depression, making poverty look charming, or at least bearable. If that was the case, it never achieved its goals. Take for example the bank sequence, which IMDb user Swift-12 described so well: this sequence is as fine an exposé of the contradictions of capitalism as any Marxist treatise. Finally, as IMDb user planetguy insightfully concluded, the initial set-up is gradually dismantled by the plot development until it becomes clear that being a hobo is no fun ride at all.
(This film is number 6 in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1933.)
Rating: 56
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Zoo in Budapest (1933)
A zoo employee who steals the visitors' fur coats, a boarding school intern who is turning eighteen and is about to be "sold" as a cheap worker in a tannnery, a little boy who wants to ride the elephant, all three become fugitives hiding in a zoo.
Visually dazzling and genuinely romantic, this film comes to prove what an underrated director Lee was (he also made a very good The Count of Monte Cristo). On a deeper level, the plot and imagery have symbolic dimensions which are clearly Freudian. The zoo stands for the human mind, in a clever way. All those unleashed beasts are obviously expressing the fundamental drama of two young people who discover their sexuality after a history of confinement.
This film is number 5 in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1933.
Rating: 73
(Number 7 in my favorites list for 1933.)
Visually dazzling and genuinely romantic, this film comes to prove what an underrated director Lee was (he also made a very good The Count of Monte Cristo). On a deeper level, the plot and imagery have symbolic dimensions which are clearly Freudian. The zoo stands for the human mind, in a clever way. All those unleashed beasts are obviously expressing the fundamental drama of two young people who discover their sexuality after a history of confinement.
This film is number 5 in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1933.
Rating: 73
(Number 7 in my favorites list for 1933.)
Eskimo (1933)
The dramatic life of Mala the eskimo, how he lost his first wife to the perfidy of the white man, how the spirits granted him a new name and thus a new life.
A prodigy of realism, even with some fake superpositions in some walrus hunting scenes. The actors are reportedly all nonprofessional, and most of them do a perfect job. The film is entirely structured around oppositions such as superior/inferior, strong/weak, primitive/civilized. Mala is the "superior" eskimo, his hunting skills are unmatched, he is entitled to his friend's wives. The white man can't keep his word, and "a weak word makes for a weak man". The white man's moral code doesn't mean a thing to the huskies, they are "superior". And so on. As much a masterpiece as was possible in the circumstances.
This is Dale Thomajan's number four in his top ten list for 1933.
Rating: 81
(Number 4 in my list of favorites for 1933.)
A prodigy of realism, even with some fake superpositions in some walrus hunting scenes. The actors are reportedly all nonprofessional, and most of them do a perfect job. The film is entirely structured around oppositions such as superior/inferior, strong/weak, primitive/civilized. Mala is the "superior" eskimo, his hunting skills are unmatched, he is entitled to his friend's wives. The white man can't keep his word, and "a weak word makes for a weak man". The white man's moral code doesn't mean a thing to the huskies, they are "superior". And so on. As much a masterpiece as was possible in the circumstances.
This is Dale Thomajan's number four in his top ten list for 1933.
Rating: 81
(Number 4 in my list of favorites for 1933.)
Marius (1931)
Set in the coastal town of Marseille, the film is centered on the drama of Marius and Fanny, two childhood friends. He is a waiter in his father's bar and she works at her mother's cockle stand. She has been in love with Marius since the very beginning of their acquaintance. He'd rather sail away.
A very gripping and transcendent drama. It comes down to the fact that life cannot give you all, you have to choose, but in fact there isn't much of a choice at all, one's got to do what one's got to do. In other words boys will be boys, girls will be girls. The direction does a lot with very little. Most of it is a theatrical transposition and the inserts between the scenes are very eloquent images of the sea, etc. The performances are marvelous.
Dale Thomajan placed it on the top of his top ten list for 1933 (he must have taken into account the year of the film's U.S. release).
Rating: 80
(4th place in my favorites for 1931)
A very gripping and transcendent drama. It comes down to the fact that life cannot give you all, you have to choose, but in fact there isn't much of a choice at all, one's got to do what one's got to do. In other words boys will be boys, girls will be girls. The direction does a lot with very little. Most of it is a theatrical transposition and the inserts between the scenes are very eloquent images of the sea, etc. The performances are marvelous.
Dale Thomajan placed it on the top of his top ten list for 1933 (he must have taken into account the year of the film's U.S. release).
Rating: 80
(4th place in my favorites for 1931)
Thursday, December 09, 2010
Red-Headed Woman (1932)
An unscrupled working class woman tries to snatch her married boss.
The gold digger woman seems to be one of the main themes of the pre-code era. This film bears resemblances to The Greeks Had a Word for Them, which I saw previous. This one is more of a melodrama, though, and the leading character is more of a villain. She has no likeable features whatsoever. As manicheistic as that may appear, one just has to add two and two to see the reverse of the medal, namely, that social injustice breeds moral monsters. Not to mention the impossibility of complying with moral standards which are incompatible with man's (and woman's) biology.
Rating: 57
The gold digger woman seems to be one of the main themes of the pre-code era. This film bears resemblances to The Greeks Had a Word for Them, which I saw previous. This one is more of a melodrama, though, and the leading character is more of a villain. She has no likeable features whatsoever. As manicheistic as that may appear, one just has to add two and two to see the reverse of the medal, namely, that social injustice breeds moral monsters. Not to mention the impossibility of complying with moral standards which are incompatible with man's (and woman's) biology.
Rating: 57
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
The Greeks Had a Word for Them (1932)
Alternate Title: Three Broadway Girls.
Three friends who have no profession and no husband go through several adventures after one of them, an unscrupled manhunter, comes back from Europe without a dime.
Entertaining comedy whose plot doesn't live up to the cynicism which its initial caption implies; the different personalities of the main three female characters allow us to see the 'gold digger' through different angles. Only one of the characters is really embodying the gold digger in its stereotypical 'pure' state (that's 'Jean'); a second character, 'Schatzi', fits the pattern only partially since she does not resort to ethically questionable devices; and the third one, 'Polaire', is the farthest removed from the typical gold digger. Technically, though, they are all gold diggers, since all three are women who are financially dependent on men. The film poses the dilemma.
This is number nine in Dale Thomajan's top ten films for 1932.
Rating: 59
Three friends who have no profession and no husband go through several adventures after one of them, an unscrupled manhunter, comes back from Europe without a dime.
Entertaining comedy whose plot doesn't live up to the cynicism which its initial caption implies; the different personalities of the main three female characters allow us to see the 'gold digger' through different angles. Only one of the characters is really embodying the gold digger in its stereotypical 'pure' state (that's 'Jean'); a second character, 'Schatzi', fits the pattern only partially since she does not resort to ethically questionable devices; and the third one, 'Polaire', is the farthest removed from the typical gold digger. Technically, though, they are all gold diggers, since all three are women who are financially dependent on men. The film poses the dilemma.
This is number nine in Dale Thomajan's top ten films for 1932.
Rating: 59
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Jewel Robbery (1932)
A jewel thief and a rich woman fall in love with each other during a robbery on a jewel store.
Interesting movie. It's perhaps undecidable whether it is an indictment of capitalism or a celebration of it. In other words, it's hard or impossible to say whether it is an immoral film or a moral satire. Or, perhaps the right move is to steer away from Marx and to Freud; that way, the film would be construed as loaded with phallic symbology, viz., the act of forcing oneself into other people's property is tantamount to a display of male erotic power. Or, alas, maybe it's just a silly pre-code movie, a fossil of an era which lasted for a little while and never returned, for some reason. And here is where we should perhaps return to Marx, who said that history only repeats itself as farce, which, here, is probably the sixties.
It's number eight in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1932.
Obs.: I should watch it again if I want to understand better what the characters say.
Rating: 61
Interesting movie. It's perhaps undecidable whether it is an indictment of capitalism or a celebration of it. In other words, it's hard or impossible to say whether it is an immoral film or a moral satire. Or, perhaps the right move is to steer away from Marx and to Freud; that way, the film would be construed as loaded with phallic symbology, viz., the act of forcing oneself into other people's property is tantamount to a display of male erotic power. Or, alas, maybe it's just a silly pre-code movie, a fossil of an era which lasted for a little while and never returned, for some reason. And here is where we should perhaps return to Marx, who said that history only repeats itself as farce, which, here, is probably the sixties.
It's number eight in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1932.
Obs.: I should watch it again if I want to understand better what the characters say.
Rating: 61
Monday, December 06, 2010
Virtue (1932)
A reformed prostitute meets a taxi driver and falls in love with him. He doesn't know about her past. He asks her to marry him.
Ingeniously plotted, psychologically realistic, morally relevant. It' a little dated though, except for places where they probably would not watch it anyway.
Number six in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1932.
Rating: 65
Ingeniously plotted, psychologically realistic, morally relevant. It' a little dated though, except for places where they probably would not watch it anyway.
Number six in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1932.
Rating: 65
Sunday, December 05, 2010
The Heart of New York (1932)
A poor inventor is pestered by his wife, who complains that he needs to be more realistic. They are always in financial troubles until one day...
Nice comedy, with a good dose of ruthlessness in its depiction of human egoism and what one might call the superior man's burden.
I didn't always keep up with the dialogue.
This film is number 4 in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1932.
Rating: 63
Obs.: There's a Brazilian novel by Orígenes Lessa called "The Bean and the Dream" ('O Feijão e o Sonho', 1938), which has a slightly similar premise, only it's about a poet instead of an inventor.
Nice comedy, with a good dose of ruthlessness in its depiction of human egoism and what one might call the superior man's burden.
I didn't always keep up with the dialogue.
This film is number 4 in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1932.
Rating: 63
Obs.: There's a Brazilian novel by Orígenes Lessa called "The Bean and the Dream" ('O Feijão e o Sonho', 1938), which has a slightly similar premise, only it's about a poet instead of an inventor.
Love Me Tonight (1932)
A tailor gets involved with a bunch of nobles who live in a castle. He falls in love with one of them, a princess.
This is a fine example of collective work beautifully done. Everything is filled with the highest artistry, and one cannot look for more in a spectacle, except, perhaps, depth. Politically, it's still singing the glories of the French Revolution.
This is number three in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1932.
Rating: 83
(Number four in my favorites list for 1932.)
This is a fine example of collective work beautifully done. Everything is filled with the highest artistry, and one cannot look for more in a spectacle, except, perhaps, depth. Politically, it's still singing the glories of the French Revolution.
This is number three in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1932.
Rating: 83
(Number four in my favorites list for 1932.)
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Two Seconds (1932)
A man with a pure heart gets involved with a morally corrupt woman.
Greatly poignant drama, a triumph of screenwriting and mise-en-scène on every count. Robinson's performance is one of the best performances ever given by a movie lead. And the truth of the matter is that the whole cast is brilliant.
The funny thing is, I was only yesterday reading an essay by Nabokov called "The Tragedy of Tragedy" where he exposes his thesis that the rules of tragedy dictate its structure in such a constraining way that they practically dictate its contents as well. One of the things that are written down "in advance", so to speak, is that it must end in suicide. Considering that among the films I recently saw two are tragedies that do not end in suicide but in execution (Dishonored and this Two Seconds), I tried to come up with an explanation for the fact that this possibility is never considered in Nabokov's essay, and the only thing that occurred to me is that perhaps it isn't becoming to a play, whereas in a movie it can satisfactorily be depicted.
Two Seconds is number one in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1932.
Rating: 88
Number two in my list of favorites for 1932.
Greatly poignant drama, a triumph of screenwriting and mise-en-scène on every count. Robinson's performance is one of the best performances ever given by a movie lead. And the truth of the matter is that the whole cast is brilliant.
The funny thing is, I was only yesterday reading an essay by Nabokov called "The Tragedy of Tragedy" where he exposes his thesis that the rules of tragedy dictate its structure in such a constraining way that they practically dictate its contents as well. One of the things that are written down "in advance", so to speak, is that it must end in suicide. Considering that among the films I recently saw two are tragedies that do not end in suicide but in execution (Dishonored and this Two Seconds), I tried to come up with an explanation for the fact that this possibility is never considered in Nabokov's essay, and the only thing that occurred to me is that perhaps it isn't becoming to a play, whereas in a movie it can satisfactorily be depicted.
Two Seconds is number one in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1932.
Rating: 88
Number two in my list of favorites for 1932.
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Parlor, Bedroom and Bath (1931)
A sexually naive man is hit by a car and taken to a mansion where he is lovingly tended by the owner, whose younger sister won't marry until she does. The younger sister's fiancé has an idea.
Unappealing farce, with funny moments here and there. The younger-sister-won't-marry-until-older-sister-does part of the premise is from The Taming of the Shrew. (10th position in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1931.)
Rating: 40
Unappealing farce, with funny moments here and there. The younger-sister-won't-marry-until-older-sister-does part of the premise is from The Taming of the Shrew. (10th position in Dale Thomajan's top ten list for 1931.)
Rating: 40
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