The Movies of 2010, Part XXIII
Kind of a mini-binge, as my Internet was out and I didn't know what else to do with myself.
52. Short Cuts (1993) - The Robert Altman film. That's about as good a description of it as anything. It's very Altman, huge ensemble cast, meandering plot, interweaving story lines, long, overlapping dialogue, peculiar sense of timing and emphasis. That may sound like hell to a lot of movie lovers, but I enjoy it. I really like Altman. Even when he completely blows it and you have no idea what he's aiming at (which happens roughly every other film), I at least find him unique, and sort of admirable as a defiant artiste.
One thing that was kind of dismaying: one of my favorite movies of all time is Magnolia, and Short Cuts is so much like Magnolia I now must accept the criticism that Magnolia just flat out rips it off. But while Magnolia is extremely passionate, and makes you sympathize with the character's lives, Short Cuts is dispassionate, you're just supposed to observe these people and judge them. I prefer Magnolia, but it's kind of like arguing about pizza. We've got two great pizza chefs here who made two excellent goat cheese and black olive pizzas that are really distinct from each other. Nothing wrong with that. Short Cuts is a great movie if you're in the mood for a long night of art.
53. Pitch Black (2000) - I was pretty unhappy this past weekend, and I needed to watch something with some mayhem in it. Pitch Black was a good choice. I hadn't seen it in quite a while, so it all seemed fresh to me. I was surprised how little I remembered from the first time I saw it. Scary monsters who hate light, and Vin Diesel with shiny eyes, that was about it.
54. It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) - I was still unhappy though, and still in the mood for mayhem. So this time I went the comedic route. I've never been as sold on this comedy classic as most of its cultists are (one thing I'd change: no crowds screaming in terror during the big slapstick bits), but I've certainly watched and enjoyed it plenty of times.
55. Layer Cake (2004) - British gangster drama that was essentially Daniel Craig's audition reel for James Bond. I like British gangster movies. They seem to err on the side of just showing a bunch of bastards being bastards. Or maybe I just relate better to British tough guy posturing, than to Italian or Irish tough guy posturing. I don't know. It's very good and you should see it.
56. 1941 (1979) - chebutykin and I had been planning an evening of revisiting this movie for a couple of months, and we finally got a night nailed down for it. I've long lost count how many times I've seen it. One of those indefensible movies that's still a big personal favorite. I can't believe it was actually made. I mean, holy crap, the cast! Toshiro Mifune and Christopher Lee in the same movie, doing screwball comedy. We'll never see an American farce on this kind of a scale again.
52. Short Cuts (1993) - The Robert Altman film. That's about as good a description of it as anything. It's very Altman, huge ensemble cast, meandering plot, interweaving story lines, long, overlapping dialogue, peculiar sense of timing and emphasis. That may sound like hell to a lot of movie lovers, but I enjoy it. I really like Altman. Even when he completely blows it and you have no idea what he's aiming at (which happens roughly every other film), I at least find him unique, and sort of admirable as a defiant artiste.
One thing that was kind of dismaying: one of my favorite movies of all time is Magnolia, and Short Cuts is so much like Magnolia I now must accept the criticism that Magnolia just flat out rips it off. But while Magnolia is extremely passionate, and makes you sympathize with the character's lives, Short Cuts is dispassionate, you're just supposed to observe these people and judge them. I prefer Magnolia, but it's kind of like arguing about pizza. We've got two great pizza chefs here who made two excellent goat cheese and black olive pizzas that are really distinct from each other. Nothing wrong with that. Short Cuts is a great movie if you're in the mood for a long night of art.
53. Pitch Black (2000) - I was pretty unhappy this past weekend, and I needed to watch something with some mayhem in it. Pitch Black was a good choice. I hadn't seen it in quite a while, so it all seemed fresh to me. I was surprised how little I remembered from the first time I saw it. Scary monsters who hate light, and Vin Diesel with shiny eyes, that was about it.
54. It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963) - I was still unhappy though, and still in the mood for mayhem. So this time I went the comedic route. I've never been as sold on this comedy classic as most of its cultists are (one thing I'd change: no crowds screaming in terror during the big slapstick bits), but I've certainly watched and enjoyed it plenty of times.
55. Layer Cake (2004) - British gangster drama that was essentially Daniel Craig's audition reel for James Bond. I like British gangster movies. They seem to err on the side of just showing a bunch of bastards being bastards. Or maybe I just relate better to British tough guy posturing, than to Italian or Irish tough guy posturing. I don't know. It's very good and you should see it.
56. 1941 (1979) - chebutykin and I had been planning an evening of revisiting this movie for a couple of months, and we finally got a night nailed down for it. I've long lost count how many times I've seen it. One of those indefensible movies that's still a big personal favorite. I can't believe it was actually made. I mean, holy crap, the cast! Toshiro Mifune and Christopher Lee in the same movie, doing screwball comedy. We'll never see an American farce on this kind of a scale again.