Week 30 in film

Hot week, not a lot of films...

To the Wonder (Terrence Malick, 2012)
So, this is film is, just like The Tree of Life, beautiful. Extraordinarily beautiful at times, but for me it suffers from a lack of emotional involvement. Where the characters and their motivations absolutely struck me in his previous film, most of Malick's characters failed to interest me in this one. Especially Ben Affleck left me cold, the fact that he can't really act doesn't help, of course. In general it feels like Malick was using the plot and the people in it more as a device to ask questions, which we are used to from this director, than to actually fascinate or reach its viewer. Exception to this notion is Javier Bardem, who, as a modern priest, is suffering from a crisis. His character and his struggle did strike me but unfortunately his part is minor and farther from Affleck an Kurylenko than I was hoping for. The first half hour and final five minutes were outstanding in its imagery and editing (same formula as The New World, where this works better). In between it was hard to connect to this film. A Malick film about relationships should have had a bigger impact on me.  6.5/10


Napoleon Dynamite (Jared Hess, 2004)
Here's a Hollywood comedy that is totally different from the usual films in this genre. It feels more distant, raw and awkward and therefore it is funnier, I think. The odd Jon Heder is great and I laughed a great deal. Its weird and unfamiliair style has a flipside that the less funny parts starts to bore you quicker but all in all it is good enough.  7/10

Bob le flambeur (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1956)
Another great film from a director who looks like to be added to my list of favorites. Haven't seen a film of him lower than 8/10. Let's see if I can find one, I am expecting to have a good time. French cinema goes a long, long way.  8.5/10

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