Week 21 in film

Busy week, so just a handful of films...

Le Feu Follet (Louis Malle, 1963)
Has everything Wilder's The Lost Weekend is lacking. Intense portrait of a guy who has been in rehab for his drinking problems. Follows our protagonist on his trip where he meets a lot of people from his past. Being a French picture he meets a lot of (ex)-lovers as well. Study of a depressed loner, life can be a struggle for some people. Subtle and touching with a great lead performance.  8/10



Paycheck (John Woo, 2003)
Yeah well, here's a Philip K. Dick story that's butchered. Ben Affleck as an engineer who has his memory erased after a secret operation. And guess what, he got ripped off but gave himself clues in the future. Poorly executed, even the action scenes were boring, Woo was in bad shape I guess. Affleck doesn't help either and I am not even talking about all the causality problems, which may be present in the original story?   3.5/10

Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)
Like some other classics I only knew the key scenes of this film (the stairs!) but never saw the whole thing. Being able to see it on the big screen with live music I had to watch it, of course. Yes, it is good. The one scene I knew best again impressed me most. Some parts are simply hilarious nowadays.   8/10

Safe in Hell (William Wellman, 1931)
One of the cornerstones of pre-code, at least in its main theme. For my full review in dutch click here...8/10

Week 20 in film

Norwegian Wood (Anh Hung Tran, 2010)
What I remember best is the music by Jonny Greenwood and the Beatles. The rest of the film is, although on occassions beautifully shot, forgettable. The second hour is too dull in its narrative, where the first managed too grab me at times. Too bad.   6.5/10



All God's Children Can Dance (Robert Logevall, 2007)
Boy is told to be the son of God. When he is an adult he sees a guy with a weird ear, who he believes could be his father. Feels a bit like a Wim Wenders film, it certainly isn't. Ends up being an empty shell.   3/10

The Bitter Tea of General Yen (Frank Capra, 1933)
Un-Capra like story of a woman (the great Barbara Stanwyck) who is kidnapped by a Chinese dictator. Pretty racist to have a Chinaman played by an American actor.    7.5/10

Headhunters (Morten Tyldum, 2011)
This film about an art-thief is about a lot except the theft of art. Lots of improbabilities. Not everything from Scandinavia can be a success   5.5/10

The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)
With a new film from Malick upcoming I had to re-watch his masterpiece again. It overwhelmed me even more than before this time. Goosebumps on multiple occassions, especially during the first hour. The editing is superb, pure poetry. Very hard, almost impossible for To The Wonder to live up to my expectations.   10/10



True Grit (Coen Brothers, 2010)
Good old 'the dude' Jeff Bridges delivers a good performance again. Entertaining, witty and probably better than the original, which I haven't seen. Not the best and not the worst Coen-film.   7.5/10

Izgnanie [The Banishment] (Andrei Zvyagintsev, 2007)
Russian cinema almost never disappoints me. This dense picture has a slow pace, as we know from this director and it is beautifully crafted. Clearly quotes Tarkovsky, almost even literally. Is this a bad thing? Not at all.   8.5/10

The Lost Weekend (Billy Wilder, 1945)
Disappointing 'classic' from one of my favorite directors. The acting is great, but somehow the plot isn't moving forward and keeps repeating itself. Perhaps this is the point, but how to explain the un-Wilder-like ending? No, I expected better.   6.5/10



The Killer (John Woo, 1989)
Great action from Hong Kong. Woo would never deliver this kind of quality in Hollywood. Not even with Face/Off. Chow Yun Fat is supersolid. A film with 'the usual' friendship, snipers and one-bullet-left situations.  7.5/10

Week 19 in film

Sisters (Brian De Palma, 1973)
One of the early chapters out of De Palma's "How to imitate my favorite director". Derivative of epic is still good enough.   7/10

Soldaat van Oranje (Paul Verhoeven, 1977)
This two and a half hour Dutch classic somehow failed to amaze me. Based on a true story but never as compelling or intense as many other WWII pics. Nevertheless a well acted and interesting enough film. Not Verhoeven's best, not his worst.   7/10


Criss Cross (Robert Siodmak, 1949)
An unreliable romance, suspense, bars filled with witty men and cigarette smoke. This film has all the elements that make me a noir-lover.   8/10

Another Earth (Mike Cahill, 2011)
This science fiction film feels realistic not because of the concept but because the concept is just on the side. Well acted and intimate drama where the 2nd earth should be seen mostly as a metaphor before people start complaining about scientific inconsistencies.  The last shot is simply awesome.   7.5/10

Werckmeister Harmoniak (Bela Tarr and Agnes Hranitzky, 2000)
My second encounter with the Hungarian master and this film proves why he is considered a master. It has a very slow pace but where other films might put you asleep, his extremely long takes start to fascinate me more and more. The black and white cinematography is extraordinary, same holds for the musical score by Mihali Vig. The plot is secondary, but a clear metaphor for the repression in Eastern Europe. Regardless, Bela Tarr is a unique filmmaker and I love his style.   9/10



Lockout (Stephen St. Leger & James Mather, 2012)
It's like Die Hard in space with a hint of The Rock. Not very original...    5/10

Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
Supposedly the version Spielberg always had in mind now it's in 3D, yeah right....3D, as usual, doesn't add a thing accept to the price of your ticket. On the other hand, pretty cool to watch this classic on the big screen.  7.5/10

Platinum Blonde (Frank Capra, 1931)
Typical Capra. Rich girl falls in love with 'normal' guy who has a hard time adjusting to his new-found class. "Like a bird in a golden cage". Not bad, but I was hoping for some more pre-code, which I couldn't spot to be honest, despite Jean Harlow's presence.   7/10

Week 18 in film

Ok, a decent selection of my filmweek:

Il grido (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1957)
Man gets dumped by his girlfriend and starts tramping into a handful of different lovers. Feels way too straightforward for an Antonioni, not too bad though.   7.5/10

Serpico (Sidney Lumet, 1973)
Solid Pacino. Solid Lumet. Not as good as the later collaboration Dog Day Afternoon. Breathes the comforting and rich atmosphere of the cinema of the seventies.   7.5/10



Repulsion (Roman Polanski, 1965)
First film out of Polanski's apartment trilogy. Catherine Deneuve is as beautiful as dangerous in this 'descend into madness' horror. A film that proved to be very influential in later decades and combines the best of nouvelle vague and horror. Probably the darkest film out of the three (others being The Tenant and Rosemary's Baby). I enjoyed all three of them but Mia Farrow giving birth to Satan's baby still ranks best.   8/10

Force of Evil (Abraham Polonsky, 1948)
Capitalism cannot be good for the world. This notion was already clear in the 40's. At least according to this noir, which feels a bit too short.   7/10

Cellular (David R. Ellis, 2004)
Not even William H. Macy can save this crappy film...or can he?   3.5/10

Rushmore (Wes Anderson, 1998)
Second viewing of this early Anderson which is just about as fun as Moonrise Kingdom. Extremely light and entertaining. Bill Murray rocks as always!   8/10

Miller's Crossing (Coen Brothers, 1990)
As much as I like most of the Coen films this one never really grabbed me. Not a bad film, a lot of talking, neo-noir, not sure what turned me off. Gabriel Byrne perhaps?   6/10

Different concept...weekly overview

Alright, it's been quiet for a couple months here. Since I am a working class hero nowadays and I am still writing for a Dutch filmsite my blog became priority nr. 23765.

My resolution: a short weekly overview of what I watched and how I experienced it in a short review, sentence or quote. And if I feel like it I might still write the incidental review or analysis perhaps.

Let's see how it works out...