Ladies and the Lens

I was chit chatting with a new friend about female directors and wanted to list some of my favorites from the past few years.

Celine Sciamma





Catherine Breillat








Marianna Palka





Andrea Arnold

Ms. Arnold has a new movie coming out called Fish Tank that made some people pee their pants with excitement at Cannes. You can also check out her short Wasp on Cinema 16 or the youtuberie.

District 13: Ultimatum

I can't fully recommend this movie since I haven't seen it, but the first film (with a shockingly different name, District B13, its hard to even make a connection between the two) was awe-fully fun to watch. The story eats away at itself half way through and the acting is on the weak side, which doesn't really matter since the film is in French and subtitled. The stunts are amazing (its a form of street gymnastics called parkour) and in most cases completely real. If you like action even a little try out District B13 before you waste any money on Ultimatum.

A Single Man

For You

A well made, poignant, little movie. Its not so little, since it stars Colin Firth with Julianne Moore trailing behind him, but it is a first film from a first time director. A Single Man is based on the book (same title) by Christopher Isherwood, and is considered to be a lynchpin in the canon of gay fiction. The story is short. It takes place in the mind of the main character George, which means the script couldn't function without a narrator resulting in minimal dialog and an overload of perfect images. Is it a Gucci ad? Yes. Is it good? Yes. You'll love the performance by Colin Firth and one scene in particular, between himself and Ms. Moore, that sums up the confusion between straight and gay partnerships. Its worth the watch. I recommend the theater—its too pretty to pass up.

For Me

I hate narrators (unless its Woody Allen or Julie Delpy), and flashbacks—there is no getting around this—are cheating. The script was so bare that Mr. Firth is positively forced to give an over the top performance. That said, this was a great first film from Tom Ford. (Think he'll do another?) I can't give him a pass just because this is his first foray, but it was strong and well made. Since the script was weak, the dialog was sparse. Thank you producers! With more time to look and think it added a level of thoughtfulness to A Single Man. The performances are good (some better than others), but the shining moments of this film will come from the conversations to follow. My main talking point has been that A Single Man captures a time when we knew gay men existed, but couldn't tell if it was the person sitting next to you on the bus, your neighbor, even your college professor. Its about a secret world that I was more than happy to have been given a peek of.

A Single Man Trailer

Anthony Lane Ponders Michael Haneke

Michael Haneke's new film The White Ribbon won the Palm d'Or this year at Cannes. Here is a snip from Anthony Lane's article about Mr. Haneke from the New Yorker.

"As a rough rule, cinema can be sundered into two halves: six-o'clock films and nine-o'clock films. Most movies are nine-o'clock affairs, and none the worse for it. You get home from work, grab something to eat, head to the theatre, and enjoy the show. And so to bed—alone or entwined, but, either way, with dreams whose sweetness will not be crumbled or soured by what you saw on screen. A six-o'clock movie requires more organization: prebooked tickets, a restaurant table, the right friends. You're going to need them, because if all runs according to plan you will spend the second half of the evening tossing the movie—the impact and the substance of it—back and forth. So "Persona" is a six-o'clock movie, though it wont leave you with much of an appetite. As is "The Deer Hunter," whereas "Platoon," for all its sound and fury, works fine for a nine-o'clock. "The Reader" is a nine-o'clock movie that thinks it's a six-o'clock. "Groundhog Day" is the opposite. And "The White Ribbon"? A six-o'clock movie, if I ever saw one." —Anthony Lane, The New Yorker

My favorite Haneke movie? The Piano Teacher. Everything else by him takes superhuman strength to watch.

The Piano Teacher Trailer

Shopping

Cinema Revolution, a local video rental shop in Minneapolis, went out of business last week. This was promptly followed by a liquidation sale (five dollar entry fee) on of all of their foreign, cult, and classic collections. My roommate and I woke up real early today to get there on time for the 9 am opening. In retrospect, I should have grabbed a coffee and brought my camera.

We arrived at 9:12 am. Already one man had a box with more than thirty DVDs inside (I imagine he made giant swiping motions with his arms upon entering the building). When my friend took a peek inside, with his eyes, not his hands, the man immediately reminded him that "those were his." He also had a printed list of what he was looking for the length of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

In line, we were startled by the woman behind us when she asked if "we could please hold her place." She sprinted to the front, her trench coat flailing behind her. "Someone is looking in my box!" No one was.

I followed a man around for seven whole minutes before I worked up the courage to ask him if he would be willing to give up his copy of Head-On. He explained that he was Turkish, and hadn't seen it yet, but if I gave him my work address he would bring it to me (after he had watched it, of course). How reassuring.

I bought two movies:
- The American Friend
- Oldboy

I'll forever feel cheated because:
- That dude had never seen Head-On and got to it first
- As soon as I said out loud that I hadn't seen The Decalogue for sale, the person standing in front of us walked up to the counter, grabbed the box set, and bought it

Moral of the story: watch Cinemania.

Dead-Alive

For You

Don't kid yourself, this is a genre film. Directed by Peter Jackson, and released as Braindead (why rename it?), this movie is about a hilarious rat-monkey who bites and old woman, and her son who tries to cover the whole thing up. When people say its gross (pretty much the only word I'd ever heard sandwiched next to Dead-Alive), they mean its over the top ridiculous. I was imagining Saw II type gore, but its delightful, fun, and completely unbelievable. No nightmares.

For Me

Even watching alone, I laughed out loud and at one point just stood up I was so shocked by how far Peter Jackson was willing to go. I often rant about how stunted the Zombie genre is (completely enjoyable, but impossibly hard to escape the ending), and Dead-Alive really challenges this. Maybe because its more a horror-comedy movie than a zombie one, but its structure truly surprised and refreshed my wary mind. I also liked that the allegory being told was front and center. I'd rather not have a film take itself completely seriously while trying to convince the audience that the "meaning" was an accident. Ooops!

(Does anyone else remember seeing this at the rental store when they were twelve and having a seizure?)

Dead-Alive Trailer

Good Dick

For Us

This is my new developmentally inappropriate obsession — I haven't been able to watch any other movie for three days. All you need to know is that its a tale about a boy who is crushing hard on a girl. Original? Yes. Watch the trailer (it'll give you a good sense of who these people are), then forget you ever saw it. The characters aren't what you think, and even though the back stories are a teensy bit weak, this is Marianna Palka's first movie. That she directed, wrote, produced, and starred in. What a slacker.

PS Good Dick is being independently released (even on DVD), so if you like it, buy a copy right away from this site. Limited amounts.

Goodbye Lenin!

For You

Goodbye Lenin! was nominated for about eighty billion awards. Which one did it win the most of? Audience! People went ape shit for this movie. Its quirky (coasting on the success of Amelie), makes for great talking points, and has a happy ending. Watchable with EVERYONE, even the people listed in your phone who you never remember meeting. And Moms. My public service announcement is that it takes place in Berlin, between 1989 and 1990. If you are space cadetting on what was happening then, look it up for Christ's sake.

For Me

Cute. Not cute enough. The two plot lines:
1. Family
2. Country
never quite meet. One needed to win the battle, and instead they accidentally collide, both of them feeling unfinished and sloppy. During the "precious moments," when you are supposed to really FEEL something (kill me), what I felt was the need to clip my toe-nails. This is because I'm a BRAT. Honestly, audience award! It'll only be the die hard compulsive alone movie watchers like myself that see wasted potential. And this is because I've seen more movies than you. Which basically means I qualify for Mensa.

Inglourious Basterds

For You

That rumor about Brad Pitt only being in the movie for thirty-seven minutes? Its true. This is also how much of the film is spoken in English. This isn't Quentin Tarantino's WWII movie, its his foreign film. Most of the things you love about his movies, if you do love them, aren't there, and its his weakest "story" to date. If you aren't willing to drink wine coolers with Tarantino, you might as well skip it and have a martini with your friends.

For Me

Tarantino dialogue is BRILLIANT when read! This is not a joke. I heart Death Proof, but I could barely stand the monologues. Too talkie talk talk. Inglourious Basterds is one giant conversation (yea, its violent, but only for twenty minutes and they're spread out like bread crumbs) and I never once got bored. Reading is fun! The Jew Hunter is fab — best thing in the movie, not counting my new lady crush Shosanna — and the opening scene is well worth putting up with Brad Pitt. I hate to say it, but Tarantino is basically a genius, and although this is not my favorite of his films, there is nothing truly wrong with it. Except the story. That's a little bunk, but I already said that. I will fo sho see it again. Preferably in a movie theater. (This will make sense once you see the movie. I hope. Does that put too much pressure on you?)

The Devil's Backbone

Uh, exactly the same as Pan's Labrynth. Since The Devil's Backbone was made first (right before Blade II. ouch), and doesn't have creatures fighting for screen time, I guess they're not EXACTLY the same. Here are some of the similarities:

- protagonist is a kid (but a boy)
- takes place during the Spanish Civil War (Del Toro is Mexican. WHAT is going on here. . .)
- able bodied men make me nervous
- creepy supernatural shit

During the first twenty minutes I couldn't stop obsessing about how the two movies were twinsies, but The Devil's Backbone really takes off, turns into a bit of a mystery for a while, and ends by neatly tying up all of its shoelace plot lines. I liked it, I'd recommend it, and you should watch it. Yes, it has subtitles. The movies I like to watch are foreign. Get over it.

Tetro

Its been three days and my final answer is I don't know. When someone asks what I think, I pause. . . (thats me, still paused, annoying myself). . . and wind up answering a question with a question. "Have you seen Buffalo 66?" This question MAKES NO SENSE and has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MOVIE. So, I don't know if I liked Tetro—there is something redeemable in it for the film student or historian; or found it to be a waste of time—the story meanders and ends up overblown; or a work of genius that is so far over my head its floating away like the red balloon. Writing a review would be a waste of both our time, so good fucking luck at the theater. And stop looking at me like I ever know what I'm talking about.

On the other hand, I do want to see Tetro again (at home) to catch some things I may have missed. I also liked how disorienting it was, which seems to happen less and less in American cinema.

If you haven't seen Buffalo 66 yet, now is a great time to play catch-up or revisit it. Vincent Gallo is always fun to watch. He wrote, directed, composed the soundtrack, and starred in Buffalo. He really must have liked this guy "Tetro" to trade him in for fits of control.

The Hurt Locker

I'm putting on my hipster gladiator goddess sandals right now to go see this movie.





"If “The Hurt Locker” is not the best action movie of the summer, I’ll blow up my car." — A.O. Scott

Ghost Town

Nope. Sorry Ricky Gervais, but no one wants to see you kiss Téa Leoni. And No kissing plus romantic comedy equals torture. I laughed a lot when you touched the mummy though.

Ghost Town Trailer

Love Songs

Frustrating. One, I don't want people singing when they're having sex. Two, unless Paris really is experiencing a spike in threesome relationships, this premise was devised for horny Americans. Three, what a waste of my favorite actors. I love Louis Garrel and Ludivine Sagnier, but their performances were overdone and fakey. This homage to Godard just left me wanting to watch old Godard, and nothing more by Christophe Honore. What happened to the director of Ma Mere?

Love Songs Trailer

The Conformist

I can't remember who reccommended this to me, or where I first heard of The Conformist, Bernardo Bertolucci's seventh film. It truly surprised me since I felt that The Dreamers was a movie left unfinished (even though I love Louis Garrell). The Conformist is a visual explosion set in 30s Italy and France. At times I thought I was watching a long lost Felini film, (but not La Strada, more Juliet of the Spirits) although this might have been the fact that its also a dubbed movie in which no ones lines match their lips. Overall, I think I'd tell almost everyone to see it.


I was a little nervous that I liked this movie too much, that perhaps it won me over by cheating somehow. Here is a clip from Pauline Kael's review to back me up.

"Bernardo Bertolucci wrote and directed this extraordinarily rich adaptation of the Alberto Moravia novel about an upper-class follower of Mussolini. It's set principally in 1938. Bertolucci's view isn't so much a reconstruction of the past as an infusion from it; the film cost only $750,000-Bertolucci brought together the decor and architecture surviving from that modernistic period and gave it all unity. Jean-Louis Trintignant, who conveys the mechanisms of thought through tension, the way Bogart did, is the aristocratic Fascist-an intelligent coward who sacrifices everything he cares about because he wants the safety of normality. Stefania Sandrelli is his deliciously corrupt, empty-headed wife, and Dominique Sanda, with her swollen lips and tiger eyes, is the lesbian he would like to run away with. The film succeeds least with its psychosexual approach to the Fascist protagonist, but if the ideas don't touch the imagination, the film's sensuous texture does. It's a triumph of feeling and of style-lyrical, flowing, velvety style, so operatic that you come away with sequences in your head like arias. With Pierre Clémenti as the chauffeur, Gastone Moschin as Manganiello, and Enzo Tarascio as the anti-Fascist professor (who resembles Godard). Cinematography by Vittorio Storaro. In Italian." —Pauline Kael

O Amor Natural

Lordy, this was cute. After the well known Brazilian poet Carlos Drummond de Andrade passed away, they (I think his wife or lover and his publishers) found piles and piles of erotic poetry, which he had never shown to anyone. O Amor Natural is a collection of touching interviews. The filmmakers asked a variety of Brazilians to read aloud from an erotic collection of Carlos Drummond de Andrade poems, and all of them are over the age of sixty-five. They follow up with their own beliefs about sexuality along with some saucy personal histories. Plus, O Amor Natural is short—a quick seventy minutes. And there's a butt montage. Perfect for after dinner on a Monday night.

The Hairdresser's Husband

This was a movie that a friend recommended to me ages ago. It only recently became available on DVD, so thank you Netflix for being on the ball. There isn't anyone terribly famous in The Hairdresser's Husband, it's only 82 minutes, and you'll never figure out exactly what is going on, but it was fun to watch and very poetic. Frenchies make the best romances. If you like Jean-Pierre Jeunet (it's hard to image that he didn't see this movie and instantly love it - in fact, The Hairdresser's Husband, Amelie and The Double Life of Veronique prove that there was some sort of movement happening in French cinema in the early nineties), Bergman, Bunuel, even David Lynch, give The Hairdresser's Husband a shot. In short, if you love movies and watch them all the time, all the time, you'll really enjoy it.

The first three minutes of this movie are fantastically sweet.

Director Fatih Akin

No, his name is not Faith, it's Faa-tee. He's a German director with Turkish blood and his films usually take place in multiple countries, with multiple languages. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I had to ask someone exactly what was going on between these two groups, and this is more or less what I found out. In the 1960s Germany created a visa for "Guest Workers," allowing people from foreign countries to enter and earn money legally, but only for a certain amount of time. Most immigrants planned on moving back to their home country, except they started having children and planting roots. Now there is a huge Turkish community in Germany, but they are looked upon as secondary citizens. This happens all over the world, but I like seeing little pockets of cultural layering, especially when it takes place generationally within families. It makes for great drama, and Akin uses this to his advantage, while also being truly gifted at guiding performances. I could just sit and watch the faces of his actors for hours.

Head-On won the Golden Bear in 2004, along with a slew of other awards. Probably my favorite movie about marriage ever made. I really enjoyed watching it, but found myself to be seriously depressed and effected days later.

Edge of Heaven really captures the existential connections that Kieslowski and Fellini gravitated towards in their work. It's not like Inarritu (Babel, 21 Grams), who thinks that we just bump into one another without reason and create chaos, it's very nuanced and has a sense of purpose.

UP

I feel silly even recommending it, since I'm pretty sure everyone has already seen the new Pixar film UP. I liked it a lot (better than WALL-E), loved it even, and wouldn't mind seeing it again. Tomasz saw it twice, once in 3-D and once in regular fashion, and he recommends seeing it with the forty dollar red and blue lenses. At the same time, some reviewers reported 3-D to be distracting. My guess is that most people will see it two or three times, so for the first time spring for some depth perception. Then see it at the two dollar theater when the temps reach ninety and above. Free air conditioning!

What's with Pixar movies and the crying? I was strong willed enough to make it through WALL-E without shedding a tear, I found the sympathy for him to be a little forced, but I'll be damned if I made it six minutes into UP without balling. Bring a hankie with you or something.

A Fun New Game to Play

The next time you see a movie, try and guess if it was shot digitally or on film. You'll be surprised by the answers if you look them up.

Exhibit A: Superbad

Sceen Unseen

Scene Unseen is the best radio program about movies right now. Chris sees a movie, Jimmy doesn't. Then they make fun of each other. It's actually a podcast, which means you can listen to them for free when you're doing things like working or ordering hovercrafts online.

Scene Unseen Website

Summer Times

If you're trying to spend less money this summer, put together your own film festival and tell your crew to bring some popcorn.

The Sandlot













Summer Rental











Space Camp


















Mr. Hobbs Takes a Vacation


















Stand By Me














Little Darlings

Looking for films that won either the Palm d'Or or the Golden Bear also works great when picking in a pinch.

Inglorious Basterds

Usually WWII films are politically correct - artsy, moving allegories with poignant atrocities - so the Inglorious Basterds trailer has made me nervous. This seems like a lot of violence in a genre where the evil of mankind is typically handled gently. Can we think of other WWII movies with large amounts of gratuitous violence?

Inglorious Basterds Trailer

Interested: I Love You Man

For those of us that loved Forgetting Sarah Marshall (and if you haven't seen it, don't rent it, just buy it) this might be a way to hold us over until Jason Segel directs the new muppet movie. Caution: The director John Hamburg has only made one movie. Along Came Polly. He did however, direct two episodes of Stella so we all have a fifty-fifty chance here. 

I Love You Man Trailer

Milk

Milk, the newest film from Gus Van Sant about the charismatic force that was Harvey Milk, will leave you feeling inspired, touched, and full of life. It might come with a few tears, there is no secret about the ending, but every one of them is earned and elicited from perfect execution. 

I liked Milk more than I thought I would for a few reasons. One, Gus Van Sant is not what I would consider consistent filmmaker. By this I mean his approach and story choice, not his talent. (Wes Anderson, too gifted for his own good, keeps making the same movie, so I'm not knocking Van Sant, I just don't go running around watching movies because he directed them.) I was uncertain about what what the film might be like. Two, bio pics get under my skin with their formula — rise to power, abuse of power, demise — and since you almost always know how they will end, I feel as if I never need to see them again, let alone finish them. Milk lets these issues flow behind it like paper streamers; they're attached, but the film is much too far ahead for them to get in the way.

Milk is what you'd expect, only better. If you think it will be okay, it will be good, great, perfect even. It is a gorgeous representation of a time, city, and legend. Harvey Milk was a man like any other, so his utter perfection in this film (he's never mean, unpredictable, or wrong), is surely an exaggeration of the truth, but if you're bogged down by fact this may not be the movie for you in the firs place.

I'm curious about how straight men will feel about Milk. It's so full of love and romance, and all of it between guys. As a viewer, I was equally engaged watching men kiss and roll around in bed, as I am when a guy and gal, or even two women (I'm talking about cinema here) do the same. Let me know what you think.

On a side note I would like to recommend a little film called The Assassination of Richard Nixon. The main character Samuel J. Bicke, played by Sean Penn with astounding awkwardness, seems related to his Harvey Milk somehow, minus the super powers. Nixon also comes with a tape recorder and an art department dedicated to the seventies.

Milk Trailer

Assassination of Richard Nixon Trailer

Waltz With Bashir

If I had to choose one word to describe Waltz With Bashir it would be: profound. Everyone should see this film. I’ll admit I walked away a little more confused than when I went in, but the point of a documentary is to excite the brain into doing some research, entice it away from passive viewing. Bashir is at times hip and foreign (techno music is alive and well everywhere but the United States), while still maintaining the sense of gravity that is necessary for stories about death and war. It proves that other countries are using animation to tell tales of historical significance and sorrow (I’m thinking of Persepolis here), while America (with the exception of The Chicago 10) is stuck in the stigma that is following Wall-E like the plague. Animation is for kids, not best picture Oscars. Waltz With Bashir does some serious damage to the concept of the cartoon (this movie is NOT for children, or it is depending on how you want them to see the world) and when the director Ari Folman breaks from the form at the end, he does it to remind you that what you just saw may have looked like a fantasy land, but is in fact a very real and disturbing place. Did I mention that I thought everyone should see it?

The Wrestler

I completely understand why Mickey Rourke won a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and possibly an Academy Award for his performance in The Wrestler, the newest film from Darren Aronofsky (Requiem For a Dream, The Fountain). It’s also the first movie I’ve seen in a while that actually felt ‘independent’. (Although there’s really no such thing anymore.) Marisa Tomei bares all in this one. Her performance is very subdued, but just as realistic and moving as Mr. Rourke's, and although Evan Rachel Wood tries her best, it was this relationship that moved the least. With all this emotion flying around, I’m curious whether or not our feelings for Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson come from the film or Mickey Rourke, who we also know to be a washed up and tired old man. This is a case of perfect casting and amazing talent, but it is also a case of mistaken identity. Are we watching a story about an actor or a wrestler? A little of both, I guess, because what makes Mr. Rourke’s performance so amazing is it’s degreeing levels of honesty. He bares his very soul to us in some terribly awkward scenes (exercise, tanning, bleaching) almost as if this whole movie were some sort of personal penance of his. I don’t know if he deserves to go to heaven, but I’m more than satisfied with an award or two.

The Wrestler Trailer

Go See: Waltz With Bashir

Waltz With Bashir opens this weekend in Minneapolis — January 30th at the Uptown Theater. (It's already playing in select cities just in case you live in one.) Bashir is an animated pseudo-documentary about the Israeli-Lebanon conflict of the nineteen eighties. Go see it.

Waltz With Bashir Trailer

Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is the perfect blend of Eastern and Western cinema. Danny Boyle adds some grit and realism to this romantic fairytale (it's just barely believable) that no one will be able to leave unsatisfied.

The love that blossoms between the main character Jamal (newcomer Dev Patel who doesn't do much to hide it) and Latika (Indian sweetheart Freida Pinto) becomes harder and harder to swallow as the film progresses and the story adheres strongly to formula, meaning the whole thing feels like a setup and you can see what's coming around the next corner, but Slumdog Millionaire is a welcome return to the old Danny Boyle. Although moments in his films may be bleak, as a director Boyle has always dabbled in destiny — it's hard to forget the chain of events that made A Life Less Ordinary possible — and this film is an exciting achievement for him.

Slumdog Millionaire does Indian cinema a great justice. It's saved from exploitation and is redefined for a western audience. Wes Anderson tried not so long ago to take us to India in The Darjeeling Limited and although his film was a beautiful vacation, as viewers we felt like sight-seers in a foreign country. This film has translated Bollywood for us (even if it's on a superficial level) and I left the theater ready for the real thing. And believe it or not, it makes a great family movie. Parents will feel informed and inspired, so formula or not Slumdog Millionaire is a winner. Getting anyone to voluntarily experience the slums of Indian is an achievement indeed.

Slumdog Millionaire Trailer
A Life Less Ordinary Trailer
The Darjeeling Limited Trailer

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

If you're going to see it (and I suggest that you do) take the time and invest in a theater experience. Benjamin Button makes gorgeous use of digital format and although the story isn't new the point of view is. Screenwriter Eric Roth made a name for himself with Forest Gump, which is unfortunately a little too similar to Benjamin Button, but he also wrote Munich and his scripts are moving in a very romantic way. This is life as magical realism.

Don't worry too much about the romance between Cate Blanchet (radiant as always) and Brad Pitt. It's difficult to see Benjamin Button as anyone other that Pitt, which has less to do with his acting than it does with his persona. I think the stardom that we have afforded him is hurting how we watch him. He is aptly cast, beautiful and adoring but he simply cannot escape his household name. I would recommend that he disappear from the public eye, just for a bit, so that we may view him in a different light. That said, the lifelong bond between Daisy and Benjamin is a necessary element, but it doesn't carry the film and it doesn't need to. The first few acts are mesmerizing, and they refrain from romantic pandering. Movie posters and trailers made us think that The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is about something it's not, and this time I didn't mind. Love is an easy ploy, and if it gets people into the theater to see this film, I am more than satisfied.

Keep in mind that this film is based on the idea of F. Scott Fitzgerald's short story, not it's plot synopsis. What David Fincher found fascinating was the ennui. The same goes for the film; it's overall effect is terribly emotional, but the performances (while strong) are only part of a much bigger picture. In this version, it's the film that steals the show.