Movie Tab II

The Day of The Locust




When I first saw the title, I assumed it was a grotesque horror film. Then I learnt that it's about Hollywood in the 1930's. That title sure looked misleading.

The film starts with Tod Hackett (William Atherton), a young art director who falls in love with deluded aspiring starlet Faye Greener (Karen Black). With the jazzy music and the pretty thirties dresses, it all looks very like a Fitzgerald novel. Karen Black was also in the 1972 version of The Great Gatsby and one can draw parallels with Faye and Daisy. Both films are also very slow paced, with a lot of silences.

Anyway, initially this seems to be a straight-forward tragic romance- the guy who loses his girl to Hollywood- but there is more to it than that. Throughout the film, we are slowly introduced to a variety of grotesques- the petulant bratty child actor; Faye's father who relives his glory days as a vaudevillian but has been forced to become a travelling salesman; Faye shows herself to be a manic nymphomaniac and narcissist; and finally, Homer Simpson, a middle-aged man hopelessly in love with Faye (Donald Sutherland). You can see why Groening pinched the name- Homer is incredibly dumb and naive. He is also incredibly sexually repressed-a repression which causes a bubbling tension throughout the film.

A sinister tone creeps into the film about twenty minutes in. Though it's not clear what's going to happen, we know that the underlying creepiness of Homer Simpson and indeed the whole film, must lead to something. It does, in one of the most climactic and shocking scenes in film history. Some might think it's "over the top" or "ridiculous"- well, welcome to Hollywood. Director John Scheslinger relishes the gaudy epic surreal qualities of Hollywood and though the film does feel too long, it's haunting.

Mistaking the title for being a horror film about grotesque creatures isn't really a mistake at all. That's exactly what the film is.

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You cannot have it both ways. A dancer who relies upon the doubtful comforts of human love can never be a great dancer. Never. (The Red Shoes, 1948)

Casshern (2004) –
It’s not as emotionally effective as it set out to be, but it is an unusually picturesque amalgam of high-tech and steampunk-ish visuals. The plot starts off pretty strong with the revolt of the neo-sapiens, but it languishes from then on. One glimpse of the extremely fast-paced action makes it clear that its roots lie in anime. It also mixes in a heavy dose of melodrama throughout.

One Point O (2004) – +
Perhaps the thing that stands out most about films like Sin City, Eraserhead, The City of Lost Children, etc. is that they all create their own visionary worlds. One Point O follows that pattern by creating a melancholic portrait of its anomalous world by noticeably increasing the contrast of the picture and showing very little of its outside environment to give off a sequestered feeling, one that helps the viewer empathize with the main character’s reclusive personality.

For its US release, the film was renamed Paranoia 1.0. The name is apt, but the film captures quite an array of emotions with the study of its protagonist. The ambiguity and overall strangeness of the picture may not appeal to everyone, but for the select few that it does appeal to, it’s great.

Screamers (1995) –
Somewhat campy, somewhat western-ish, somewhat over-dramatic adaption of a short story by Philip K. Dick. The set design and setting look great, but it’s clearly the film’s high point. By the ending, the film grows a tad too overly-sentimental and clichéd for my taste, but for the most part, it's very entertaining.

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I definitely spend more time studying than sleeping lately, but looking at the number of films I've watched over the past few days, it's possible that films take up more of my time than sleeping.

The American (2010)


I watched this one, because Anton Corbijn directed it and he impressed me a fair bit with Control. This reminded me a bit of Bertolucci's The Conformist, as it builds more on the psyche of the character and the atmosphere created rather than on car chases and gun fights. As a result, The American is a fascinating, leisurely-paced, perhaps too serious arthouse thriller. There were some moments though when I thought Corbijn indulged himself a bit too long in the images he shot. Whenever George Clooney took yet another sip of his coffee, I couldn't help but expect the moment when "Nespresso, what else?" would appear on the screen.

+


Centurion (2010)

After the dissapointment that was Doomsday, Neil Marshall delivers another stinker. The myth of the lost ninth Roman legion is reduced to a long, predictable chase film, shot in a kind of Ridley Scott-ish grey-blue colour scheme. Oh, and it's very bloody.



Withnail & I (1987)

There is so much to like about this one. The biggest surprise is that I found it hilarious. I am notoriously hard to please when it comes to comedies. I guess it's due to the fact that I know that a comedy wants me to laugh, so I'm anticipating the comedic elements, which makes it difficult to actually make me laugh. I'm usually satisfied if a comedy manages to make me smile a handful of times. Withnail & I though, not only made me smile and grin countless times, there were moments of laugh-out loud fun.

The dialogue is top notch; the haughty, artistic tone of Withnail will have your laughing muscles working overtime and the sense of camaraderie that exists between these two unlikely protagonists seems entirely natural and believable. The soundtrack is also terrific. I can see why this was ranked pretty high on the MoFo top 100.

+

Can't be bothered writing anything up on the following:

The Omen (1976):
Brazil (1985): +
The Day of The Jackal (1973) :
Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky (2009):
Submarino (2010):
Un Flic (1972):
The Spy In Black (1939) :
Femme Fatale (2002) : +
Rumble Fish (1983) :

We will have to agree to disagree. I thought the film was a great addition to Marshall's resume. Sure Doomsday was lacking, but it made up for it in cheesy fun entertainment.

Centurion was (as I expected) a bloody, violent chase film.


Plainview-

Why such the low rating for Blue Valentine?

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

127 Hours (2010)

Inception (2010)

The Social Network (2010)

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Yeah, I thought it sucked. The chase felt stretched, that could've been wrapped in half an hour. The "relationship" that formed out of nowhere between Michael Fassbender and that woman living in the woods was very forced, not to say downright ridiculous.

And the general's name was Titus Virilus for crying out loud. The Monty Python members couldn't have made up a more clownish name for a general...

I haven't gotten to post here in ages. So, I'm going to do some short and sweet things. Anything you'd like to hear me elborate, I'll try


High Noon:
Nice little western with an enjoyable cast and quite a bit of tension.

Madame Butterfly: +
The sweetest little love story, but I hate sad endings

This is the Night:
Somehow, this movie didn't really make me laugh, but I did enjoy watching it. A little odd, but the oldest movie I've seen yet.

The Toast of New York: +
Kept me entertained, although I have to admit I was a little distracted during this one. Nice casting, fairly interesting story that lags here and there, but could easily be boring.

Sunset: +
This movie is strange... It's comical, intriguing, well-acted, quirky, fun but dark. Overall, I think I'll be adding this one to my collection. Side note: Bruce Willis' flower sweater---Lmao.

Commando:
The perfect, perfect 80s action blockbuster. Only thing that bugged me was Arny's "sidekick/girlfriend". I was rolling my eyes at her. Plenty of explosions and great one-liners.

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The Green Hornet (2011)

The Maltese Falcon (1941)
I dont ushally give a film a 5/5 but this film is so amazing I cant resist.

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

Shardosh!

I think of it as more of a giant red nappy...

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"Critics are like eunuchs in a harem; they know how the Tatty 100 is done, they've seen it done every day, but they're unable to do it themselves." - Brendan Behan

Yeah, I mean it's a diaper held up by bandolier suspenders!

Yep, I gave that look up a few years ago when my six pack became a Watneys Party Seven.

The Tourist (2010)
The film The Tourist is both boring and predictable. Right from the get go the ending was obvious. I give this film two generous popcorns. I dont have much more to say about this film except to skip this one.

First Time Watch

The Kids Are All Right (2010)

A charming and funny comedy about a lesbian couple who live a happy life with their two kids. Until, the two teenagers track down the man who donated sperm and made their way of life possible. Excellent performances are the highlight from this, especially Mark Ruffalo, the best thing about this film.

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"George, this is a little too much for me. Escaped convicts, fugitive sex... I've got a cockfight to focus on."

The Kings Speech 2010

I really appreciate the plot, because I am really terrible at speaking formally to an audience. It's quite nerve racking and The King's Speech only captures some of that. My biggest complaint is that I've seen every part of this movie before. It's shamelessly formulaic, with great polish.



X-Men 2000

It's a very clever adaptation, but for a semi-action flick. Man do these fights suck big time. Gandalf's plan is crappy too.





The Green Hornet 2011

My first movie of 2011, which is a lot better than it's being made out to be. I've been waiting for this one for awhile, but haven't really been following it - so Waltz was an awesome surprise. Gondry handles the action end with ease and Rogen fits.



How to Train Your Dragon 2010

Gave this one another chance, it probably does have a lot more personality than every other cookie cutter animation coming out every month. Still it doesn't have an original story device to it's name, if Dreamworks puts out more animation on this level I would be impressed.

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Winters Bone

Pretty much worthless. Total lack of tension or emotion whatsoever.

5.5/10

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"Loves them? They need them, like they need the air."

You're starting to remind me of Robot Monster.



No, wait a sec, that actually has "emotion"... I mean, horniness.

It's amazing how half the people think that Winter's Bone is one of the best films of the year, and the other half think it's borderline "worthless". However, I have no idea how something worth more than half is worthless. If you pay me $100 for something and I give you back $55 change do you really feel that I gave you nothing?

The grading system in schools never made much sense to me (essentially 3/5 of the available grades reserved for degrees of failure), but when you grade your geometry students do you consider 55% a passing grade? This is not an attack on you or your grading system mark (I think mine might be even more lenient), but if you can understand how every other teacher in America grades their students I don't see how you can still "have no idea" how planet's grades work.

No, I do not believe that 55% is passing in geometry. That doesn't mean though that if a student scored 55 on every single test that I wouldn't pass him/her. It all depends on the student and how well I understand him/her and what else he/she has to offer to the class.

The grading system is based on something which has been determined for decades or probably more likely centuries. That has to do with what someone NEEDS to understand to be considered qualified in a certain subject. If you cannot answer a certain quota of questions after a certain amount of time then you may be considered a failure, whether right or wrong.

Nobody has to be qualified to understand movies or to grade how well a movie seems to understand its audience. It's just something which has been developed down through the years, and since I am a teacher, I find the two systems to have nothing to do with each other. In a movie, there are no correct answers or incorrect answers, so how can you grade it? I admit that means that I shouldn't grade movies, but since I've graded almost 30,000 different ones, it's hard not to do it. My point is that the grading system is not based on any test. How could it be? I've said this before and I believe that Yoda agrees: when you rate a movie you are telling more about yourself than you are about the movie. However, if all you do is rate a movie, then I'm not really sure what you think because when you don't explain it, it's a mystery. That's why I would never grade anyone based on their ratings alone. I need to understand the meaning behind the rating, and when I post even the slightest bit of comments, I hope that I'm making myself clearer about what I believe and feel about a movie.