Millenium Mambo-Theater

Millennium Mambo (2001), Dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien

A friend of mine was very excited for me to see this film. "You'll love it," he espoused. Perhaps I didn't love it as he does, or as much as he thought I would, but it was fantastic.

This film takes us into the lives of a troubled young couple, Vicky and Hao-hao. Hou guides us through the milestones in their relationship, but mixes them up as if recalling them at random. They are often recalled through voice-over narration, then quietly pop up later as you realize you are seeing the recollection first-hand, but always from Vicky's point of view.

Hou never judges his characters, or favors one over the other. It is merely the telling of a story. He also keeps the camera movements quiet, seeming to mimic the movements of someone sitting in the room with them, watching. Oftentimes, its only movement is back and forth. Simple. It tends to get somewhat claustrophobic because of this, but this also mimics the feeling of the characters as being "trapped" together.

Altogether, Hou paints a portrait of lives that are very complex, with no beginning or end. The characters meander in and out of the story, as if he is making the point to tell us that their lives are bigger and involve much more than a simple boyfriend/girlfriend relationship.

A quiet, beautiful film. Only for those who are serious about great films.

Little Black Book-DVD

Little Black Book (2004), Dir. Nick Hurran

Ok. This movie was awful. Why people are still casting Brittany Murphy in anything is beyond me. She is annoying to watch as she pulls out the same looks, same laughs, and same uninspired performances that she dumps into every movie. Aside from that, this film is chock full of cliches that find their way into every major motion picture Hollywood cranks out. These cliches and just for laughs jokes do nothing to advance the story (what little there is of it) or flesh out the characters to more than one dimension.

On top of that, the costuming in this picture sucked. I normally don't fret about the chosen wardrobe in present-day pictures, but in this case, I'll make an exception. Holly Hunter and Brittany Murphy are clothed in the most godawful ensembles throughout. It only makes it even more difficult to pay attention to this gruesome train wreck.

In my opinion, if you have to choose between watching this and going to the dentist, teeth are the better choice.

Zorba the Greek-DVD

Zorba the Greek (1964), Dir. Michael Cacoyannis

Anthony Quinn stars as Zorba, the impetuous Greek that befriends a buttoned-up Brit on the island of Crete. This film shows us so many things, but mainly that people are people. Cacoyannis lets us see every side of every character, and then declines to pass judgement on any one of them. From the histrionic Madame Hortense, to the private Widow, our heroes go through life and death in genuine and human ways. We know their faults, but we care about them anyway, just as they do each other.
Sometimes things work out, and sometimes they don't. And that's ok. That's life.

That's what is great about this film. We don't have to take sides or make decisions. We only have to let them be who they are. A bit wallowing at times, but definitely worth it.

Dreams-DVD

Dreams (1990), Dir. Akira Kurosawa

Ah, the darling of Coppola, Scorsese, Lucas, and Spielberg. Did he ever make a bad film? Well, if he did, I haven't found it yet.

Dreams is fantastic. It gives us a stunning array of visual ideas, with vibrant color, fantastic colors, and rich sets. Kurosawa's imagination seems boundless. Even though this film is really a series of short films, they all seems to meld together somehow. There is a vast array of subject matter in each one, from fable-type stories to the mythological to the terrible fears surrounding nuclear holocaust. Each is fully developed, and moves along at its own pace. There is no feeling of urgency in any of them, and the viewer is invited to revel in each story fully before being asked to move on to the next one.

Another winner.

Garden State-DVD

Garden State (2004), Dir. Zach Braff

For a hipster film, I must say I approve. I look forward to more Braff films in the future. His wittiness, sense of exaggerated reality, and keen visual style make this film infinitely more palatable than its kin.

Garden State gives us a look at a Generation X loner in a homecoming to a town he left behind so long ago, he seems to need to rediscover it. Throw in a comulsive liar love interest, and you have a quirky hipster film. Braff keeps it understated, though, and seems to prefer to make his points visually and let you connect the dots at your own pace. He does, however, occasionally err on the side of overcompensation. He needs to give his audience a little more credit in figuring out the small stuff rather than holding their hands through it. Besides, it's often not that important to the overall story anyway.

Regardless, this film is one that is smart AND easy to watch. Even the MTV generation can pay attention to this. Maybe they'll even learn something. But I wouldn't bet on it.

Il Postino-DVD

Il Postino (1995), Dir. Michael Radford.

A nice "feelgood" film. For anyone wanting to make a foray into the world of foreign film, this is a nice choice. Director Michael Radford gives us a sweet look at a young Italian islander who seems to be a bit lost in life. Since the traditional fisherman's way of life is obviously not for him, he's a misfit in a small town. He forges a friendship with the town celebrity, Pablo Neruda, the Chilean poet who was exiled from his home country for being a communist.

One of the wonderful things about this film is the casting. Radford opts to go in a pseudo-Neorealist direction and choose actors that look like everyone else. They are not particularly ugly or beautiful, but each is endearing in their own way. Through this, Radford is able to allow his characters subtle glances, smirks, and touches. They don't need to explain what's going on; it's written on their faces. They present themselves openly, as people that are fully dimensional on this remote island.

The film seems to meander around the idea of the metaphor quite a bit, as if this is the key to everything, and maybe the film is a gigantic metaphor itself. However, it seems easier to not get to worked up about the whole idea, because the film is really about the people and their interactions with one another.

It's nice to see a director choose simplicity as a main theme. There aren't any special effects, or glitzy camera movements. He even manages to keep the profound monologues to a minimum, thus avoiding the haughtiness that so many directors seem to love. However, this film seems simple to a fault. There's no real deep meaning, the characters aren't terribly complex, and the ideas are fairly straightforward. But I'd rather see a film that errs on the side of simplicity than one that falls over itself trying to make some sort of idiotic yet allegorically profound point.

The Aviator-Theater

The Aviator, Dir. Martin Scorsese

Supposedly this is the "Movie of the Year". Supposedly the Academy will swoon over this film. The Academy is slipping. They better change their ways before they become the baseball Michael Jordan of the film world (i.e. not all that). Any group of people who gives Best Picture awards to a sappy film like Seabiscuit is losing their collective edge, not to mention their powers of cognition. Anyway, on to the film.

One thing this film has going for it is its special effects. And that's about all. The rest is over-produced, over-directed, and certainly over-acted. Subtlety has apparently been erased from Scorsese's directorial vocabulary. From the very beginning of the film, it seems as though we are in some alternate universe in which everyone in California is on LSD (particularly the band at the Coconut Grove). Everyone moves big, talks big, wears big clothes, and even the flash bulbs get their own special effects. Oddly enough, the only time this cartoonish atmosphere subsides a smidge is when Mr. Hughes is at his lowest point, as if Scorsese is taking a moment of quiet to reflect on the tragedy.

Cate Blanchette is a perennial favorite of mine, and did a fine job (but not a fantastic one) playing Kate Hepburn. Her entrance in the film felt more like a freight train as she imitated Hepburn's distinct speaking style to the point of caricature. It settles down after a bit, but occasionally comes back up to remind us that this is someone *acting* like someone else. I hate that.

Leonardo DiCaprio is not a perennial favorite. Let me state for the record that I will never believe him as a character over the age of 25. It's just impossible for me. Aside from that, his over-acting was nearly unbearable. However, I have a sneaking suspicion that his overwrought scenes from the first minute are attributable more to the directing than Leo's shortcomings.

Speaking of which, I'm still trying to figure out what possessed Scorsese to edit this picture as he did. It seemed that every five or ten minutes, we were treated to an extreme close-up of Howard Hughes' face. That's a lot of close-ups in a movie that comes in at just under THREE hours. If I'd felt inclined to count, I could have told you how many eyelashes Leo has on each eye. Furthermore, these close-ups really lose their punch when not used judiciously. How are we supposed to know which ones are important revelations and which ones are just showing off with a camera?

This brings me to my next point. This film had so much extra crap in it that had nothing to do with the story. It should have been edited out. Period. Gwen Stefani could have been edited out also. Not that she did a bad job, mind you, but her appearance had little or nothing to do with the story. I can't help but wonder if she was thrown in to help draw the young crowd. If so, it didn't work. I was the youngest person in that theater by about 20 years, and overheard a woman asking her husband if he'd worked for Hughes Aircraft in Long Beach. (He said he couldn't remember, which is ironic at best, and funny at the very least.)

My other major gripe that no one else will ever notice was the music. Howard Shore was given credit for the score, but whatever he wrote was reduced to moments of the film that had nothing to do with music, and were not enhanced by it. In my opinion, the blame for this lies with the editors, not with Shore.(Tragic, really) The rest of the music was an odd mix of big band swing and classical strings. While I like both genres of music, they were poorly employed in this film. The swing music was employed to recall the '20's and '30's, but the time frame of this film goes almost twenty years past that. But yet the music stayed the same. Juxtapose this time-challenged jazz with string music reminiscent of the 18th Century, and you get a jerky aural experience.

I did, however, find something to like in this film. The lighting in this film was interesting, yet not distracting (usually). I particularly like the few times in the film where the lighting is done in a way similar to that of stage theater, with a spot on a main character, then other lights coming up or going down upon the entrance or exit of another character. Somehow, it gave a softer touch to the poignant and significant moments of Hughes' life, contrasting sharply to the heavy-handedness that jerks the reins for the rest of the film.

Round Midnight-DVD

Round Midnight (1986), Dir. Bertrand Tavernier

A must see for anyone who enjoys jazz or film even a little bit. The film follows an ailing tenor sax player to the Blue Note in Paris every night. By chance he meets an ardent Parisian fan, and their friendship infuses his life with one last creative burst.

Beautifully shot, with dark, smoky shots juxtaposed against the breathiness and soulfulness of the music; the film seems to own the music and cradle it, much like Francis, who strains to listen outside the club. The abrupt shifts in filmic time also echo the shifts in jazz time, letting the music meld the picture cuts together seamlessly. The mood carries through from day to night and back again, all the while keeping a mellow air with the sultry improvisation of the music hovering just above it.

The characters seem to live inside the music, and they emerge from the shadows of the film as three-dimensional faces breathing life into their instruments as beads of sweat meander to their chins. The sensuality of the playing, coupled with the subtle sensitivity of the visual leaves you straining to hear the last musical breaths as they move through the saxophone and out of your screen.

Despite awkward acting from a couple of secondary characters, this film lets you forget the production. It actually has to remind you from time to time that it is, in fact, a film, as you are probably lost in the blue riffs that keep oozing out of every frame.

Excellent.

End Credits: The Blog

This blog will contain reviews of films I'm seeing, both new and old.