Week 4-6 in film

Skipped 2 weeks because of a holiday and only watching a few films. I made up for it this week :-).

25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)
The saddest news: Philip Seymour Hoffman died. Perhaps the best of his generation, he was my favorite for a couple of years already, so I had to (re)watch a good role (basically each of his films would do). 25th Hour is great, not only Hoffman, but Norton, the whole pace and direction of the film are great. The mirror scene is mind-blowing. Hoffman is a decent part of the whole, as he was so often, just as often as he lifted a mediocre film to a higher level. 8.5/10



Otto e Mezzo (Federico Fellini, 1963)
I love Fellini but not this film that much. Hailed as his masterpiece by many. I find it too fragmented and it fails to grab my attention except for some of the beautiful cinematography. I understand the story but I just don't think it is interesting enough to make it a masterpiece, it exhausted me eventually.  7/10

Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
After watching The Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle I couldn't resist to go back to watching the Scorsese classic. Yes, this one is better. I saw it about 5 years ago and I could remember a couple of strong scenes and not so much the overall story or mood which is exactly describing the strong and weaker points of this film. 8/10

Two Mothers (Anne Fontaine, 2012)
Two mothers falling in love with each others sons. Really? Unfortunately the romantic constructions in this film are not very plausible. Love the scenery, however.  5/10

Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)
Entertaining, sure, and a hell of a closing scene, but not a masterpiece. Therefore it feels too much like 'The Dukes of Hazzard'.  7/10



X-Men: First Class (Matthew Vaughn, 2011)
Its great cast made me watch this and I don't regret it. In the big pool of comic-action-hero films one of the better ones. Especially the first hour had quite a good built up of tension and story. Lawrence is good, as ever, Fassbender is too much 'himself', I couldn't help seeing his Shame-character instead of Magneto. Nevertheless worthwhile.  7/10

The Lonely Voice of Man (Aleksandr Sokurov, 1987)
I love Russian cinema, but not this one. Perhaps I am missing the point, but still, how slow and boring can film become. Beauty can't save this one. 4.5/10

Oh Boy (Jan Ole Gerster, 2012)
Germany's Frances Ha? Is Niko,the protagonist weird or crazy? Or is everyone around him? I like this notion, and I somehow symphatize strongly with our Niko. Charming film and well shot. And how hard is it to get a cup of coffee? :-)  8/10

Week 52 in film

Christmas + lousy weather = cinema overdrive!

It's A Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946)
Another classic I still had to watch. Christmas felt like a good time to do it. James Stewart is endearing as ever and the fantasy angle in a very sweet and sappy Christmas tale is original and more compelling than I expected. The moral is impossible to miss, but more relevant than ever. 8/10



Star Trek Into Darkness (J.J. Abrams, 2013)
Amongst all the action-scifi crap made these days Abrams proves to be a good action-director. I liked the third Mission Impossible, Super 8 and this one, which surprised me, to be honest. The balance between action and plot is a bit off at the end, but thanks to a great start very sufficient overall.  7/10

The Quick and the Dead (Sam Raimi, 1995)
Raimi honours all these Western classics with some 'comic-book-like' action and directing. The plot development is not surprising or original but I couldn't help enjoying it for its full length. 7.5/10

Tabu (Miguel Gomes, 2012)
One of the most original films of the year comes from Portugal. The history of an old Portugese lady is told by her ex-lover whom she met when living in Africa. Beautiful black and white photography, poetic undertones and a relaxing pace. 8/10

Juliet and the Spirits (Federico Fellini, 1965)
Giulietta Masina seems to be playing herself in this visual treat from Fellini. Keep in mind: Fellini loved women. He was dreaming the biggest boobs and asses you can imagine, as visible in last years Eye-exhibition. He also loved Masina, who was always by his side. Knowing this makes this film very interesting. Giuletta her husband is cheating on her and she struggles with the thought of sexual freedom haunted by memories and (beautiful) visions. A very personal film by the Italian master. Did he 'borrow' the shot shown below from that other Italian master? 8/10



Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)
A hiatus in my film knowledge (there are a number of them...): the sword-and-sandal-genre. I decided to dedicate 4 hours to what is supposedly the best film in this category. Reminded me why I am not a fan. After two hours of sand and camels I felt bored. Of course the cinematography is stellar, and the ending makes up for a lot, but still, not a masterpiece if you ask me. 7.5/10

Paradies: Hoffnung (Ulrich Seidl, 2013)
Third and last film in the Paradies-trilogy. The worst. A group of teenage girls at fat camp are more boring than Seidl may have considered. Stays on the surface pretty much the whole film, there are a lot of possible angles here, the doctor-girl relationship is not the best one. 4.5/10

Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939)
A very young John Wayne in a film that is more classic than good. The chase with the Indians is great, some of the characters are funny but the whole love-interest-angle didn't work for me at all. 6.5/10

Miracle on 34th Street (George Seaton, 1947)
Week of the (Christmas) classics. This one is just as endearing as It's A Wonderful Life. Due to a simpler plot and mediocre acting not in the same league, though. 6.5/10

Week 34 in film

A lot of films this week, a selection:

Roma (Federico Fellini, 1972)
After visiting the Fellini exposition in EYE Amsterdam I had to watch something of the Italian master. Roma shows fragments of Rome how it was in Fellini's early adolescence and how it is in the early seventies. I am usually not very excited about the fragmented and plotless approach, in this case it works partly (in fragments ;-)). The priest fashion show is by far the best scene of this film and shows how good Fellini can be. The observant viewer notices how Fellini criticizes 'modern' Rome, not in the last place in how he portrays it. Nevertheless, I prefer his earlier work (50's and 60's) above what he made in the 70's so far.  7/10


Spoorloos [The Vanishing] (George Sluizer, 1988)
Solid and for Dutch standards good film after Tim Krabbe's book (obligatory in high school). Having most of the dialogue in French and most of the events in France feels ' undutch' most of the time. I like how the ending 'disappoints'.  7.5/10

Ginger & Rosa (Sally Potter, 2012)
Wow. Elle Fanning delivers a stellar performance as the young Ginger in the roaring sixties. The world is about to be bombed, her father is an influential writer 'impressing' her best friend Rosa while Ginger already has a hard time dealing with growing up. This beautiful stylized coming-of-age story will rank as one of the best of the year.  8.5/10


Salo, or the 120 days of Sodom (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1975)
Yeah, well. I had to watch this according to some of the critics and their toplists. After more than two hours I haven't learned much except some nazi's were really sick, which isn't exactly a brilliant insight. As disgusting as the film is it managed to interest me for maybe half an hour, the remainder felt repetitive. I think the point of the film was made clear.  4.5/10

Idi i Smotri [Come and See] (Elem Klimov, 1985)
If there is one specific type of film I am avoiding it is anything confronting me with the horrors of WWII. I guess I use film mainly to escape from reality not to be confronted with one of the worst periods of human history. I heard about this film a couple of years ago already and wasn't reluctant to watch it. Somehow now I found myself in the right mood, knowing what to expect. Horrible imagery, but being a Russian film I was hoping for some cinematic poetry as well, this film delivers both. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, and I will probably not watch it again soon. It is, however a stunning film, which left me silent and impressed on multiple levels, all in all I am happy to have found the guts to finally watch it.  9/10


Playtime (Jacques Tati, 1967)
Considered classic and I can see why. Tati creates some intelligent jokes through smart cinematography. The chaotic situations in the highly stylized and symmetrical sets work but this film consumes your energy fast. There is hardly any audible dialogue and so much going on. Nevertheless I can appreciate Tati's, who clearly critizes modern society, style but 90 minutes would have been sufficient.  7.5/10

The Age of Innocence (Martin Scorsese, 1993)
The story (from Edith Wharton's novel) is pretty standard with a lawyer in upper class New York in the late 19th century who is married but has a weak spot for the unconventional and scandalous countess Ellen. Not very special maybe but this film is made by Martin Scorsese and has Daniel Day-Lewis. This is a combination that lifts the film to a higher level, the cinematography, sets, editing and acting are all above average and a beautiful wrap on a powerful story about romance and life choices.  8/10

Le Passé (Asghar Farhadi, 2013)

Not as compelling as A Separation but the Iranian director shows that he masters the drama genre. Every emotion and nuance can be felt and therefore Farhadi and his perfect actors (the kid is awesome!) deserve credit. Hollywood can only dream of portraying so many emotional layers and motivations so skillful. I do believe that this film tries to incorporate too many characters and therefore lacks the focus and impact of its predecessor, which was a masterpiece, of course.  7.5/10

Week 22 in film

La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini, 1960)
Somehow I never took the time to watch the entire film as I knew a lot of individual scenes (the fountain obviously). Great film that deserves its status. Never have I seen so much energy and glamour unable to cover up true sadness and emptiness. Ironically enough the protagonist is carrying his actors name, Marcello. The real Marcello led a similar life, something that gives this film an extra charge in retrospect. As ever with Fellini, the ending is superb.  9/10



Freaks (Todd Browning, 1932)
The use of a wide range of 'freaks' makes this a unique and at times touching film. Flipside of the coin is bad acting performances and a plot that feels secondary  7/10

Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)
Most fun I had this week. Tailor chases playboy who owes him and is introduced to the family as a Baron. Of course he falls in love with a high society girl. Leads to some hilarious scenes. Made me nothing but happy. Who can resist lines like: "I fell flat on my flute" ?  8.5/10 



In Time (Andrew Niccol, 2011)
Time is money, actually time is time. Take away this intriguing concept, which brought up a lot of questions and improbabilities, and you end up with a standard Bonnie and Clyde goes Robin Hood kinda formula without any true depth. I expected more from someone who directed Gattaca and wrote the screenplay for The Truman Show. Justin Timberlake doesn't help much either.   5.5/10

Sliver (Phillip Noyce, 1993)
Written by Joe Esztheras and with Sharon Stone. In a lot of ways derivative of Basic Instinct. Lacking Paul Verhoeven, Michael Douglas and a good ending. Started off alright, ended as quite a deception. 5/10

Childhood of Ivan (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1962)
Tarkovsky's dreamlike first full feature is an anacrusis to his later masterpieces. Beautiful cinematography that  only lacks colour, maybe. On the other hand, the grim and dark feeling that goes with war is maybe better off without.  8/10