January 2011

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (2009)

The third in the series that started with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. To be honest, I liked the third installment more than the first two, though all three films are solid, well-made mystery/crime thrillers. Not great films I'd insist on everyone seeing, but if it's your genre, don't miss them. It's rare that I see a film made with real skill that aspires to be nothing more than an interesting story. It's refreshing, in a way.

Ghost World (2001)

One of the rare cases where the movie is better than the book.

I was surprised by how hard it was to find a copy of this movie. Even the local Target didn't have it on the shelves--nor any of the video stores close by. I thought Ghost World was a fairly beloved "cult" movie at this point. Guess not. I need to own a copy before it evaporates entirely.

This was one of my favorite movies in high school, and yet I only saw it once on DVD when I was sixteen or so. I related to it then, but though I always loved it, I never watched it again until this week. This time, I was both a little horrified and a little pleased to find that it was even more resonant now. I guess it's really been searing into me lately how utterly weird I actually am and how utterly alone that leaves me in the long run of life, and that's exactly the right sentiment to be carrying around when you watch Ghost World. It's a movie about lonely, messed-up people, some of whom are teetering on the edge of hopelessness, but it manages to be all at once sweet and hilarious and sad, while being neither too morose nor twee. It's simultaneously funny and painful, which is hard to pull off, but given director Terry Zwigoff's other work, this combination may be one of his strengths.

The performances of the actors are much more subtle than I remembered, in some ways making the emotional center of the movie more tragic. Maybe I've just become more calculatedly observant of body language over the years. Seymour (Steve Buscemi) and Enid (Thora Birch) pretty much own any scene they're in. Their onscreen chemistry is fantastic, and though it would be easy to make both of their characters unlikable, it's testament to the actors' skill and charm that the people they depict are both people I'd like to be friends with.

On one of the DVD special features, Terry Zwigoff comments that every woman he knows "has a thing for Steve Buscemi." Which will be completely vindicating for every woman who (like me, circa age sixteen) watches this movie and feels a little weird about the sudden awareness that she has the hots for Buscemi. (Addendum: I still have the hots for Buscemi, but nowadays I don't feel weird about it.)

The Killers (1946)

A film noir based on a Hemingway story. A well-made film and an influential one, but one that suffers from plot twists that are occasionally a little too convenient. Certainly entertaining and effective, beautifully shot, and worth your time for both that and for historical purposes.

Next week:

• William S. Burroughs: A Man Within (2010)
• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)
• Inspector Bellamy (2009)
• The Man From London (2007)

I'm an introvert. Some of my college friends don't believe it--I suspect that's in part because they spent nearly all their time around me after I had discovered the social benefits of alcohol--but it's true. I take a long time to warm up to people, and I require time alone. In high school I was puzzled at accusations that I was "stuck up" or (a comment I remember specifically) "a jerk." I was a little relieved, reading this blog post by Jennifer de Guzman, to find out that it's a common sort of accusation to direct at introverts: we don't immediately engage, so we must think we're "too good" for everyone else. That is absolutely not the case, but it's a common line of thought for extroverts, I guess.

My friends--introverts and extroverts alike--may also find this essay to be of interest. If you are an introvert, it will be resonant. If you are an extrovert, you may find it enlightening.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Famous film full of amazing performances, but one I hadn't seen before. It's a long movie, and it is seriously heavy in a way that few films are these days. It's an emotionally taxing combination, which is fitting for the subject matter. I don't know if I have anything insightful to say about it--it really sort of steamrolled me and I haven't fully recovered from it yet. Feel like I need to see it again before I can really comment on it beyond saying that it is stunning in an almost-literal sense.

The Fighter (2010)

This one has been sitting on my Maybe List for weeks, but I'm glad I caught it before it disappeared from theaters. It's a solid film. One of those "based on a true story" sports pictures about the rise of an underdog, Micky Ward, but this one isn't scared of the complexity of real human relationships. Most of the people around Micky aren't supportive or even all that well-intentioned, his family in particular, but he loves them. And he insists on keeping them around even when all the level-headed people in his life are telling him to ditch them.

Christian Bale steals the show in every scene he's in as Dicky, a washed-up former boxer, Micky's older brother and "trainer" (though he's often too busy smoking crack to even show up). To be honest, Dicky is more compelling than Micky and has more of a story arc. I felt like he was the real subject of the movie. We want Micky to be a winner, of course, but we really want to watch Dicky.

Soon soon:

• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2009)

Still looking out for:

• The Illusionist (2010)
• Rabbit Hole (2010)

The Maybe List:

• The Company Men (2010)
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

You are tearing me apart, Lisa.

You can thank Cathy for showing me this.

Fido (2006)

A horror-comedy made back during that period when zombies were just about everywhere, but Fido takes an original approach to the material--it takes place in an alternate-universe 1950s that has been stabilized after a zombie apocalypse. In this world, zombies are used for all kinds of menial labor jobs and are even kept in households to do chores. They are kept in check by "containment collars" that, when activated, eliminate the zombies' natural desire to eat humans.

The filmmakers wisely keep the mechanics of how the zombie containment collars work entirely out of the picture. There's no explanation for such a device that would be satisfying. They are merely used as a vehicle to get us to the central conceit--there's a little boy named Timmy whose mother buys a household zombie, and he treats it something like a beloved pet dog, which might not sound very nice, but it's better than most people treat their zombies in this universe. It is also pretty fantastic to see a zombie taking the role of Lassie--"What is it, boy? Timmy is in trouble? You want me to follow you?"

It's a sweet, thoughtful little movie, though a little heavy-handed about morals at times. People who are the most hardened about killing zombies are completely unattached to human beings, willing to kill a living person, and those willing to give the zombies some kindness and understanding (if not necessarily humanity) are more connected to their families, friends, and neighbors. There's a direct correlation, which seems a little simplistic, but it goes along well with the film's explorations into what constitutes humanity. The question of whether or not zombies are still human is posed early, and the answer, as we go through the film, seems to be that, yes, they have feelings and thoughts, and part of who they used to be remains in them. Which is perhaps all the more horrifying.

Blue Valentine (2010)

A film exploring the beginning and end of a marriage. If you've ever been in a long-term relationship--not necessarily a marriage--and had it slowly disintegrate to a point where you had to wonder how you got there from where you started, Blue Valentine will probably hit you pretty hard.

It intersperses scenes from a couple's dying marriage with scenes from when they first met and fell in love. Hard to describe much more than that, because it is much less about plot and more about feeling. It's beautiful and heartbreaking, and some of my fellow theater-goers commented on the way out that it was depressing, though I'm not sure that's quite right. If you can relate to the film, it isn't depressing. Certainly it's bittersweet, but approaching both falling in love and falling out of love at the same time serves as a reminder that, even if a relationship breaks, it doesn't mean it was a mistake, or that it was never good, or that it wasn't worth experiencing.

Soonish:

• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2009)
• The Fighter (2010)
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

Still looking out for:

• The Illusionist (2010)
• Rabbit Hole (2010)

The Maybe List:

• Season of the Witch (2011)

It's the January lull--time to watch a lot of DVDs and wait for the diabolically good IFS winter schedule to start up.

Actually, there's a lot of legit good stuff on in theaters right now. If you haven't hit True Grit, Black Swan, or The King's Speech yet, get on that.

This Is It (2009)

The documentary cobbled together from extensive footage shot during preparations for the huge series of concerts that Michael Jackson was planning before his death. I had intended to see this when it came out in theaters, but for some reason or another I missed it. It may be for the best--I was in a sort of moderate funk about his death for months, and in that context this movie is the saddest thing.

Though middle-aged and not exactly looking well, Michael Jackson still owned the stage completely in 2009. This is Michael Jackson at his most "normal"--he knew his music, he knew how to perform and amaze his audience, and he was completely comfortable and professional both performing and directing. Despite the decades of speculation about the guy and his sexuality, I was struck by how overtly sexual his stage presence was. It has always been so since Thriller, I guess, but man, it says something about his stunning level of skill that, after all the public scandal, he could still sell the idea that he is barely-restrained around the female singers and dancers that he shares the stage with.

It's hard to say what was cut out, but the Michael we see in this film is a humble man, happy to share the spotlight and still occasionally unsure how to respond to fawning after a lifetime of it (unfortunate for him, because all the people he works with range from awestruck to simpering in their dealings with him--he's best with his fellow musicians and dancers, who were perhaps easier to engage as equals).

Part of the sadness of the documentary stems from seeing what we missed out on, as most of us never saw Michael Jackson perform live in concert, but part of it comes from the nature of the tour--a great musician and performer re-hashing his greatest hits. In one segment the film reveals that there were plans to include some Jackson 5 songs in the setlist. There is an unimaginable pathos in watching a fifty-year-old rehearse performances of songs he originally sang when he was a child. It honestly almost feels like he knew he was on his way out, and he had to find a suitable ending for the narrative of his life. Hard to say if all this work was a contributing factor in his death or if it kept him going longer having some project to focus on, but though it sounds cynical to say, the sad way things panned out suited the rest of his life. He worked very hard, created amazing things, suffered a lot, and he died before he could give the world a proper so-long.

The King's Speech (2010)

My knowledge of British monarchs is woefully inadequate, so before this movie came out, I had no idea that King George VI had a stammer and was terrified of public speaking. The King's Speech is a solid historical drama about how he overcame that impediment. After going unsuccessfully through multiple therapists, the king (Prince Albert, Duke of York, at the time) found an Australian speech therapist named Lionel Logue who uses silly and unconventional methods to great success. This film is largely about the prince's struggle against himself--against his stammer, his general fear stemming from childhood--but it is also about his growing friendship with Logue, a commoner and a foreigner, and not normally the kind of person a prince puts so much trust into.

The acting and filmmaking is all solid, and it is uplifting while at the same time being painstakingly historically accurate. It's not a dour film--it has a sense of humor--but it gets very tense every time Albert attempts to speak. Anyone who's had experience with a stammer knows exactly what this feels like, and the movie portrays it perfectly.

This movie also epitomizes one of my pet peeves with the MPAA rating system: The King's Speech is rated R exclusively for a scene in which Logue suggests that, since Albert doesn't stutter when he swears, that they try an exercise in which, whenever he feels about to stutter, he belts out curse words instead. It is a fantastic scene, a complete delight, but the presence of multiple "fuck"s makes it unsuitable for unaccompanied teenagers, I guess, despite the fact that it is otherwise inoffensive, and is a very good movie besides.

Soon, with luck:

• The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (2009)
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)
• The Fighter (2010)

Keeping an eye out for:

• The Illusionist (2010)
• Rabbit Hole (2010)

The Maybe List

• TRON: Legacy (2010)
• Season of the Witch (2010) (despite the reviews saying otherwise, tempted to see this on the off chance that it might still be bad in a good way)

It's surreal and disorienting to remember that we live in a world where Michael Jackson is dead. Just watched This Is It the other day. I'll be posting a review on Sunday, but until then here's a little something to help you remember why the world has been a darker place since June of 2009:

Went to Toronto for New Year's again this year to hang out with my buddy Sam. We went to the zoo!

Lookit that handsome fellow there.

Never leave a loaded Polaroid in your checked suitcase.

The camera's flash is definitely gone at this point.

Christmas day with the family.