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 2 in film

The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese, 2013)
Excited, a new Scorsese! And yes, it is a good one. Think of Goodfellas but then for the 'modern mafia'. DiCaprio is great as Jordan Belfort whose fast tongue makes him rich in no time giving him everything he wants. Women, a boat, a massive house and drugs, a lot of drugs. Scorsese turns this story in a crazy ride for the first two hours, the last hour was a bit too 'risen star falling' which we've seen so many times before. Some criticize this film for glorifying superficiality. I believe the final scene tells us the opposite. Not a masterpiece but a welcome addition in Scorsese's impressive oeuvre. And how great are Jonah Hill and Matthew McConaughey ("Do you jerk off?").  8/10



My Darling Clementine (John Ford, 1946)
So far I am not that impressed with John Ford his films. This one, about Wyatt Earp, is not bad at all but feels a bit by the numbers. Can't see how this should be one of the finest westerns ever.  7/10

Short Term 12 (Destin Cretton, 2013)
Missed this in 2013 but it would definitely have made my year's top 10. A very honest and gripping story about two adult foster children who are working in a shelter for teens who have problems at home or with themselves. Impressive to see how they manage to take on such a hard job after their own troubled youth especially when they are challenged the most. For Grace (Brie Larson) things become too much when a young girl with a resembling background walks in. The kind of film that makes you feel sympathy for its characters instantly.  8.5/10

Basic Instinct (Paul Verhoeven, 1992)
One of my all-time favorites. Probably the most entertaining and best Hitchcock-imitation I can think of. Has everything that could be great in 90's film: suspense, snappy one-liners, a twist (gave me the chills even for the 100th time...) and perhaps the best modern femme fatale imaginable. Love Sharon Stone, love Michael Douglas, love the genius Paul Verhoeven for his cynical and controversial contributions to Hollywood.  9/10


Kim Novak, anyone?

Le temps qui reste (Francois Ozon, 2005)
Ozon is one of those directors that never makes a bad film, he also never makes a great film (maybe Swimming Pool, i'll have to watch it again....). This one is on the bottom I would say. The story, about a gay photographer in his 30s diagnosed with terminal cancer, sounds promising but Ozon makes it a bit of a drag with some improbabilities regarding sexuality and sexual favours (or maybe they are typically French, I don't know). Despite some sad and potentially heartbreaking notions not very memorable. 6/10

Bulletproof (Ernest R. Dickerson, 1996)
Sandler was really funny in some of his films in the nineties. He disappoints as an 'action hero' as attempted in this film. 4.5/10

Carnal Knowledge (Mike Nichols, 1971)
I am surprised that this film isn't better known in the oeuvre of Mike Nichols. Nicholson is convincing as a sexual conquerer together with his friend, played by Art Garfunkel. Effectively shows the flipside of the sexual revolution by portraying the Nicholson character as someone who sees women as objects, physically desirable but as a potential threat to his freedom. 7.5/10

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