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July 21, 2005

The Grapes of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath (1940), John Ford:
I love Steinbeck; East of Eden is probably one of my favorite books, ever. The migrant worker books don't quite for me reach that level, but there's still something about the Steinbeck universe that resonates emotionally on all registers. Grapes of Wrath is his masterpiece because the humanity exudes from the page, mixing joy, hope, outrage and raw anger.

I didn't get any of that in the movie. I thought they gutted the book, leaving a much more blah experience. It looked spectacular, and Henry Fonda was great as always (his final speech was one of the few great things that stayed intact in the transition).
5/15

Posted by bing at 12:11 PM | Comments (0)

The Sea Inside

The Sea Inside (2004), Alejandro Amenábar:
The irony of the Million Dollar Baby protests in the face of this was definitely a highlight of the last Oscar season.

Surpringly (to me at least), while the movie is ostensibly about euthanasia, it doesn't really delve into that subject as much as the nature of love and family. What comprises your family, how it functions, the roles of blood and outsiders, and in the end, what is strong enough to break those ties.
13/15

Posted by bing at 12:02 PM | Comments (0)

July 16, 2005

Jackie Brown

Jackie Brown (1997), Quentin Tarantino:
Finally got around to watching this one. I don't think it lives up either to the hype that it's a huge letdown to Pulp Fiction (what pressure, though), or that it's his best movie (which, depending on what you mean, is either Pulp Fiction or Kill Bill vol. 1).

It's very very good. I didn't know it was as much an homage to The Killing as blaxploitation (which I have absolutely no experience with), so the cinematic references weren't completely lost on me. It seems a little indulgent at times, and it's not balanced (DeNiro is way too big for his part) but it's stylish and slick and intellegent, which is all you need.
13/15

Posted by bing at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)

Field of Dreams

Field of Dreams (1989), Phil Alden Robinson:
Man, I didn't remember this being this good. Definitely one of the best sports movies ever; like The Natural and Hoosiers, it captures the essence of not only the game, but sport itself and the magic that surrounds it.
15/15

Posted by bing at 12:45 PM | Comments (0)

Safe

Safe (1995), Todd Haynes:
I remember watching a PBS special as a kid about unseen things in our everyday world, and the part about dustmites was creepy enough to make me worry subconsciously for a week. (To recreate that feeling, read all about eyelash mites)

This movie is full of that feeling. Instead of little critters, it's our modern environment, full of chemicals and pollutants. It borrows heavily from political thrillers, keeping our hero just one step behind the unknown assailant in the quest to track him down.

I didn't expect it to be so subtle, so being slightly distracted took a lot away from the movie. I'm not sure it's something that really can be rewatched, too, which is a shame. I feel it's something that can be transcendently creepy if watched under the right conditions.
7/15

Posted by bing at 12:32 PM | Comments (0)

July 13, 2005

The Road Warrior

The Road Warrior (1981), George Miller:
Less "leather bar" than Mad Max, but still a great post-apocalyptic environment. A lot of fun but not that great, it's the model that everyone else is trying to make.
12/15

Posted by bing at 09:52 PM | Comments (0)

July 08, 2005

The Rules of the Game

The Rules of the Game (1939), Jean Renoir:
I loved Renoir's The Grand Illusion, and also the upstairs/downstairs social ballet of Gosford Park (though the murder mystery sucked).

I just wasn't able to get into this. The movie seemed to have aged badly both as a movie and in regards to the surrounding moral environment. I guess this is another movie left to the cineasts, especially those who would use that word to describe themselves.
5/15

Posted by bing at 09:14 PM | Comments (0)

Hearts and Minds

Hearts and Minds (1974), Peter Davis:
Rounding out my Vietnam film education. I guess I have to finish out Oliver Stone's "trilogy", but this is definitely a major figure.

I don't think I've ever seen a documentary that so comprehensively covered a subject as expansive as the war. It serves primarily as a document of the war from ground-level Vietnam, which surprisingly resembles the romanticized movie version. Also very interesting were the people poising themselves to control post-war Vietnam, the burgeoning industrialists.

On the American front, we share an equally wide focuse, seeing the effects of current soldiers, veterans, citizen groups and military officials. There's a bit of Michael Moore-style campaigning, but like Gunner Palace, the events at hand swallow the politics.
14/15

Posted by bing at 08:45 PM | Comments (0)

July 06, 2005

Land of the Dead

Land of the Dead (2005), George A. Romero:
I'm not a big zombie-head Romero cultist, but Dawn of the Dead is a great great movie (and the remake was easily one of my top movies from last year). Day of the Dead, Romero's self-proclaimed favorite, wallows a little too much in B-movie values for me, though the zombies were pretty awesome.

All the dead movies are B-movies, but only this and the last one really feel like it. It just doesn't feel like a complete movie. There are some good horror-y bits and the zombies look good, but I feel like zombie movies are all about shedding light on the nature of humanity and when the human characters (and the zombies ones, for that matter), seem half-baked, it doesn't cut it.
7/15

Posted by bing at 10:07 PM | Comments (0)

The Adventures of Robin Hood

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Michael Curtiz:
So Olde England was really fey. They really had a way of putting their elbows akimbo and guffawing at any possible moment. I guess part of the fun is its overthetopness, but I don't know, the Disney Robin Hood is probably the definitive version for me.
6/15

Posted by bing at 07:56 PM | Comments (0)

July 01, 2005

War of the Worlds (2005)

War of the Worlds (2005), Steven Spielberg:
I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie, but not five minutes removed from the theater, the only things that stuck with me were gripes. Spielberg is still a great entertainer, but none of the characters warranted emotional attachments, nor was the human element very compelling (though the movie tries very hard). There are also a ton of super-annoying plot holes and unnecessarily fortuitous events. Still, the best War of the Worlds adaptation may be Alan Moore's second League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series.
5/15

Posted by bing at 10:40 PM | Comments (0)

Gimme Shelter

Gimme Shelter (1970), The Mayles Brothers:
So Salesman did nothing for me, but still got me excited for Gimme Shelter. I see now what Salesman was supposed to be, because Gimme Shelter is the same thing, just a different slice of the sixties.

It's all at once a Rolling Stones tour video, a murder mystery and a Hearts and Minds state-of-the-Vietnam-era documentary, excelling at all three. Footage of Hell's Angels killing Meredith Hunter at a free Stones concert is amazing enough on its own, but the Mayles brothers use it to frame the movie, without ever getting in the way of the movie's other facets. It's also infinitely more interesting than Salesman, however deftly created.
14/15

Posted by bing at 10:32 PM | Comments (0)