Merry Easter, Atheists
Films seen recently:
Take the Money and Run (Allen, 1969): 6/10
Up and Down (Hrebejk, 2005): 6/10
Sense and Sensibility (Lee, 1995): 9/10
The Upside of Anger (Binder, 2005): 6/10
Downfall (Hirschbiegel, 2005): 8/10
Lone Star (Sayles, 1996): 8/10
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Ok everyone -- it is here. It is that time of the year when Spring is dawning and the bunny rabbits are hopping all over the yard as the squirrels scurry about and freak me out. It is a religious and spiritual time of the year when the first promising films of the year are beginning to be released. So -- I've seen 7 films "officially" released in 2005 and the year seems to be a bit mixed so far.
1. Nobody Knows: B+
2. Downfall: B+
3. Oldboy: B
4. Off the Map: B-
5. The Upside of Anger: B-
6. Up and Down: B-
7. Gunner Palace: C
Last night I put off my three Netflix films because I was in a Woody Allen mood. I needed to prepare for Melinda and Melinda (which I will be seeing later today).
In fact, I was so driven to rent 'The Purple Rose of Cairo', 'Radio Days' and 'Play it Again, Sam', that I drove to four different DVDs stores within a 30 mile radius (one was a Barnes and Noble, where I decided to blind buy one -- but none were in stock). Two hours and a quarter of a gas tank later, I'm sitting here with the only Woody Allen film released before 1990 (that I haven't seen) that any of those stores had (and only one did): 'Take the Money and Run'.
The funniest part (and by that I mean the most frustrating part) was when the manager of Hollywood Video tried to convince me that none of his films before 1992 were released on DVD yet.
Take the Money and Run seems to take the advice in the title, but replaces "Money" with "Joke". The film is filled with running jokes (the 'stomping of his glasses' bit is the best in the film) and run-on jokes (which lose their effect before the joke has actually ended). There is a gag nearly every 2 minutes, and while most hit their mark, some regrettably miss. Make no mistake, this is an early Woody Allen film -- full of slapstick scenes, ironic humor and moments of complete silliness. Unfortunately, a scene which had the potential to be brilliant (when he first meets a girl and falls in love) is distorted by a fuzzy voiceover. I guess his budget back then didn't allow him to buy a tape recorder with clear sound. B-
I saw both The Upside of Anger and Downfall (a film about the last days of Hitler) last Sunday -- and the former seemed surprisingly more misanthropic. At first the film made me feel hatred for men (which were mostly perverted and stoned), but then I sensed it becoming borderline misogynistic (they were such bitches) -- then I realized it was pure hatred for mankind. Luckily, it was easy enough to watch and marginally enjoyable, even if it did have a rather awkward "twist" ending. The performances (Joan Allen in particular) deserve more credit than I'm giving them in this minor sentence (Costner not SUCKING was a pleasant surprise). Costner's performance as a bumbling has-been drunk is so good that it makes me believe that he has been practicing method acting for the past 5 years (have you SEEN Dragonfly?). B-
I admired Downfall very much for it's skill in weaving together accurate history and a tricky narrative. The performances were all effective, with much credit being directed towards Mr. Ganz and his ability to flip out and believably shake his hand without overacting. It takes a little while to intruige you and I found certain moments to be much more enthralling than others (which could be rather uninteresting). However, I'm sure that is bound to happen in any film with a grand scope and this dexterous film is no exception. B+
I have not seen many films which match the loveliness of Sense and Sensibility. Why aren't films with articulate characters made anymore? This sophisticated and refined tale of love and manners shouldn't have enthralled me as much as it did. I feel a bit embarrased for enjoying it as much as I did. A-
My current favorite thing to do is wake up early on the weekend (by "early", I mean 11:30) and go to a matinee showing. Today I was treated to an empty theater at my local arthouse (I'm back home for the holidays). I was the only one -- and somthing about that just made me feel all individualistic and warm (even though the theater was friggin' freezing!). Anyway, the film was more underwhelming than the theater experience. Up and Down is a mildly amusing and sardonic mix of two and a half loosely interconnected plots in the post-communist Czech-Republic. However, the whole time I couldn't help but feel like something was being lost in an awkward translation. B-
Narrative hasn't impressed me as much as it did in the extremely well-crafted Lone Star in a while. However, Sayles creates a depiction of a small town and through coincidence, takes the phrase "It's a small world after all" a bit too far. That is just a minor complaint. I enjoyed the film and realize that it was about being "connected" in a small town, but the way in which almost all the characters were related just seemed a bit implausible. Sayles creates a close-knit town and treats it like there are only 10 people living there. Luckily, the film's narrative and sarcastic humor is very strong and no character goes underdeveloped. I just couldn't help but flinch near the end when everything seemed to fall into place. However, the last scene was quite interesting in a slightly disturbing way. B+
I hope you get some goodies in your Easter basket -- and I'm not talking about that obnoxious plastic grass. I've heard spoiled kids are demanding presents in their baskets now. They claim that candy isn't enough and they want the Citizen Kane DVD. And if it isn't in their basket Sunday morning they will be pissed.
Take the Money and Run (Allen, 1969): 6/10
Up and Down (Hrebejk, 2005): 6/10
Sense and Sensibility (Lee, 1995): 9/10
The Upside of Anger (Binder, 2005): 6/10
Downfall (Hirschbiegel, 2005): 8/10
Lone Star (Sayles, 1996): 8/10
------
Ok everyone -- it is here. It is that time of the year when Spring is dawning and the bunny rabbits are hopping all over the yard as the squirrels scurry about and freak me out. It is a religious and spiritual time of the year when the first promising films of the year are beginning to be released. So -- I've seen 7 films "officially" released in 2005 and the year seems to be a bit mixed so far.
1. Nobody Knows: B+
2. Downfall: B+
3. Oldboy: B
4. Off the Map: B-
5. The Upside of Anger: B-
6. Up and Down: B-
7. Gunner Palace: C
Last night I put off my three Netflix films because I was in a Woody Allen mood. I needed to prepare for Melinda and Melinda (which I will be seeing later today).
In fact, I was so driven to rent 'The Purple Rose of Cairo', 'Radio Days' and 'Play it Again, Sam', that I drove to four different DVDs stores within a 30 mile radius (one was a Barnes and Noble, where I decided to blind buy one -- but none were in stock). Two hours and a quarter of a gas tank later, I'm sitting here with the only Woody Allen film released before 1990 (that I haven't seen) that any of those stores had (and only one did): 'Take the Money and Run'.
The funniest part (and by that I mean the most frustrating part) was when the manager of Hollywood Video tried to convince me that none of his films before 1992 were released on DVD yet.
Take the Money and Run seems to take the advice in the title, but replaces "Money" with "Joke". The film is filled with running jokes (the 'stomping of his glasses' bit is the best in the film) and run-on jokes (which lose their effect before the joke has actually ended). There is a gag nearly every 2 minutes, and while most hit their mark, some regrettably miss. Make no mistake, this is an early Woody Allen film -- full of slapstick scenes, ironic humor and moments of complete silliness. Unfortunately, a scene which had the potential to be brilliant (when he first meets a girl and falls in love) is distorted by a fuzzy voiceover. I guess his budget back then didn't allow him to buy a tape recorder with clear sound. B-
I saw both The Upside of Anger and Downfall (a film about the last days of Hitler) last Sunday -- and the former seemed surprisingly more misanthropic. At first the film made me feel hatred for men (which were mostly perverted and stoned), but then I sensed it becoming borderline misogynistic (they were such bitches) -- then I realized it was pure hatred for mankind. Luckily, it was easy enough to watch and marginally enjoyable, even if it did have a rather awkward "twist" ending. The performances (Joan Allen in particular) deserve more credit than I'm giving them in this minor sentence (Costner not SUCKING was a pleasant surprise). Costner's performance as a bumbling has-been drunk is so good that it makes me believe that he has been practicing method acting for the past 5 years (have you SEEN Dragonfly?). B-
I admired Downfall very much for it's skill in weaving together accurate history and a tricky narrative. The performances were all effective, with much credit being directed towards Mr. Ganz and his ability to flip out and believably shake his hand without overacting. It takes a little while to intruige you and I found certain moments to be much more enthralling than others (which could be rather uninteresting). However, I'm sure that is bound to happen in any film with a grand scope and this dexterous film is no exception. B+
I have not seen many films which match the loveliness of Sense and Sensibility. Why aren't films with articulate characters made anymore? This sophisticated and refined tale of love and manners shouldn't have enthralled me as much as it did. I feel a bit embarrased for enjoying it as much as I did. A-
My current favorite thing to do is wake up early on the weekend (by "early", I mean 11:30) and go to a matinee showing. Today I was treated to an empty theater at my local arthouse (I'm back home for the holidays). I was the only one -- and somthing about that just made me feel all individualistic and warm (even though the theater was friggin' freezing!). Anyway, the film was more underwhelming than the theater experience. Up and Down is a mildly amusing and sardonic mix of two and a half loosely interconnected plots in the post-communist Czech-Republic. However, the whole time I couldn't help but feel like something was being lost in an awkward translation. B-
Narrative hasn't impressed me as much as it did in the extremely well-crafted Lone Star in a while. However, Sayles creates a depiction of a small town and through coincidence, takes the phrase "It's a small world after all" a bit too far. That is just a minor complaint. I enjoyed the film and realize that it was about being "connected" in a small town, but the way in which almost all the characters were related just seemed a bit implausible. Sayles creates a close-knit town and treats it like there are only 10 people living there. Luckily, the film's narrative and sarcastic humor is very strong and no character goes underdeveloped. I just couldn't help but flinch near the end when everything seemed to fall into place. However, the last scene was quite interesting in a slightly disturbing way. B+
I hope you get some goodies in your Easter basket -- and I'm not talking about that obnoxious plastic grass. I've heard spoiled kids are demanding presents in their baskets now. They claim that candy isn't enough and they want the Citizen Kane DVD. And if it isn't in their basket Sunday morning they will be pissed.