Movies in August
34 movies from 1932 to 2009.
New Movies
The Celluloid Closet (1995) - I read the book about a year ago, and wanted to check out the documentary. It was interesting - this is one case where I think talking heads were used very well. Also, that Red River scene is even more blatant out of context.
Jungfrukällen (The Virgin Spring) (1960) - Okay, so sadly the thing I will most remember from this movie is that I finally get why ravens play such an important and creepy role in mythology. That bird was FREAKY. The things that I wanted to happen didn't, but all the same I didn't expect them to.
French Kiss (1995) - Booooring.
Giulietta degli spiriti (Juliet of the Spirits) (1965) - Liked this SO MUCH more than the other Fellini movies I have seen.
Drugstore Cowboy (1989) - 1) Matt Dillon is absolutely beautiful in Drugstore Cowboy; 2) he is really good; 3) it's kind of like In Bruges plus The Wire, as done by Gus van Sant. It's layered and darkly funny and tragic (but not pathetic).
The Americanization of Emily (1964) - I'm pretty sure this is the first anti-war movie I've seen that deals with WWII. Usually it is WWI or Vietnam or something. It's also pretty funny, not flawless but definitely thought-provoking. The characters are often unscrupulous.
Basquiat (1996) - Seriously, if you see this for no other reason then see it for Jeffrey Wright.
Advise and Consent (1962) - Not what I expected. Still, it's long enough that it could both upset my expectations and then disappoint me for a couple of reasons (like, I think, American politics). However, Walter Pidgeon talks a lot and that's always good, right.
A bout de souffle (Breathless) (1960) - O-o-oh! I liked A bout de souffle very much. I think it's hilarious how La Nouvelle Vague was so nuts for American cinema, and there's something really American (in a Gatsby way) about Michel - he's completely artificial but he'll never realize it. I haven't read Catcher in the Rye, but I'm pretty sure Holden Caufield would call these people phonies and be right. Probably my favorite bit was when she slapped him. A+++ would watch again!
A Star is Born (1954) - Liked this a bit more than the original (but, for starters, Cukor > Wellman x1000000000) even though I think it is kind of a ridiculous and stupid story. Weirdly, pairing Judy Garland and James Mason TOTALLY worked for me, which seems like such a ridiculous thing to say. Maybe I got hit on the head just before watching?
G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra (2009) - Christopher Eccleston and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are in this movie, and I was 100% certain that Lee Byung-hun would take his shirt off at some point, okay. Don't judge me.
Cléo de 5 à 7 (Cleo from 5 to 7) (1962) - Especially since I came right back and watched this movie! WHICH I LOVED, OKAY. I LOVED IT 100%. It felt so completely true.
Raising Arizona (1987) - The pre-credit sequence is so flawless and experience for me that unfortunately the rest of the movie kind of falls flat. But I do like how straight they play everything. Except, then I got bored.
Prêt-à-Porter (1994) - Apparently, I will put up with a lot for Anouk Aimée.
Darling (1965) - Hmm. My sister complained that Dirk Bogarde wasn't as pretty as she likes him to be in this movie, but as my go to Dirk Bordarde role is The Servant, where - well, more on that later - anyway, he seemed plenty pretty here. I'm pretty sure he plays my ideal boyfriend, our would if he weren't the sort of person who get fooled into thinking Julie Christie's character is at all desirable. Anyway, this movie is way too long - not that it feels long while you're watching it, but it does feel bloated.
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) - First of all, this adaptation has an amazing pedigree (Max Reinhardt, Bronislava Nijinska) and is wonderful to look at. But, uh, the performances are really, really irritating.
Blood Simple (1985) - I'm not exactly head over heels for this movie - I couldn't figure out why anyone did what they did, although I love the end. So I guess I like it more than No Country for Old Men, less than Fargo and Miller's Crossing.
Passion in the Desert (1998) - WHY DID I WATCH SO MANY BORING MOVIES THIS MONTH?!
Red Dust (1932) - Jean Harlow is almost enough to redeem the incredibly stupid characters and the disgusting race/gender problems, because she is amazing and I love her. Almost. I think I like Mogambo a little better. Even though I don't exactly love Mogambo.
Intermission (2003) - Even though I don't think this movie really holds together, I recommend it and I enjoyed watching it. It was kind of a fluke, because I only accidentally found out who was in it.
A Cock and Bull Story (2005) - Heeeeee! I like Michael Winterbottom and Steve Coogan teaming up. It's very like 24 Hour Party People but also very different.
Tsotsi (2005) - I think my expectations were too high. Or maybe there's a reason they tapped Gavin Hood for Wolverine. This is basically a Hollywood movie.
Zong heng si hai (Once a Thief) (1991) - Oh my god! SO MUCH FUN. It's completely ridiculous, since they apparently did the whole thing in 10 weeks. There's a scene with lasers which is, I mean, this is 1991 so the special effects are just okay and obviously it will never be as good as (the only redeeming part) Ocean's Twelve's laser scene with . . . sorry, I got distracted. But it's funny. Also, Leslie Cheung is both sexy AND adorable (he has the best introduction ever, I'm pretty sure). Chow Yun Fat is very like a silly Cary Grant (think of the funny faces he makes in Charade), which added to the fun. Even though it has a much higher body count than a Cary Grant movie.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) - I'm pretty sure I was supposed to love this movie, but I feel the same way about it that I do about Velvet Goldmine, which is basically: the music is nice and I like the soundtrack a lot, and hey that's some very nice photography there. Now if only the characters and plot would go away.
A Foreign Affair (1948) - Hmm. Definitely did not like this as much as I wanted to, because of a) John Lund and b) Marlene Dietrich and Jean Arthur hardly interact at all. Bad move, Billy Wilder.
Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) - Yes! I enjoyed this so much. I really liked this review/analysis of the movie. It's a lot of fun, and I think people who haven't seen it should give it a try.
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934) - They cut ALL the interesting bits of the book. I do like Leslie Howard as Percy, though. He does a nice job.
A Passage to India (1977) - Oh, David Lean. How do you do it? The book was not nearly as homoerotic as this adaptation. I think David Lean misjudged the point of the book, by the way, when he adapted the movie, which is very emotionally streamlined. It resolves the muddle (or at very least wraps it up), when the muddle was kind of the point. On a shallow note: Roshan Seth is dreamy.
La ronde (1950) - Yes.
Repeats
Sleeping Beauty (1959) - I do like this movie very much, and I think it definitely bears rewatching (I haven't since I was a kid) because the interesting and magical things are still interesting and magical.
Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993) - Still a very smart movie.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) - <333
Sabrina (1954) - I watched this with some friends from high school and even though it was a viewing that involved a great deal of conversation, we all pretty much sighed over Audrey Hepburn. Seriously, it's not fair. Other people are described as Audrey Hepburn-like, but I think that's only because you can't hold onto the real thing long enough to remember why no one is really like Audrey Hepburn.
The Servant (1963) - I think this movie might be even creepier on a second watching. But it's the kind of creepy I enjoy.
New Movies
The Celluloid Closet (1995) - I read the book about a year ago, and wanted to check out the documentary. It was interesting - this is one case where I think talking heads were used very well. Also, that Red River scene is even more blatant out of context.
Jungfrukällen (The Virgin Spring) (1960) - Okay, so sadly the thing I will most remember from this movie is that I finally get why ravens play such an important and creepy role in mythology. That bird was FREAKY. The things that I wanted to happen didn't, but all the same I didn't expect them to.
French Kiss (1995) - Booooring.
Giulietta degli spiriti (Juliet of the Spirits) (1965) - Liked this SO MUCH more than the other Fellini movies I have seen.
Drugstore Cowboy (1989) - 1) Matt Dillon is absolutely beautiful in Drugstore Cowboy; 2) he is really good; 3) it's kind of like In Bruges plus The Wire, as done by Gus van Sant. It's layered and darkly funny and tragic (but not pathetic).
The Americanization of Emily (1964) - I'm pretty sure this is the first anti-war movie I've seen that deals with WWII. Usually it is WWI or Vietnam or something. It's also pretty funny, not flawless but definitely thought-provoking. The characters are often unscrupulous.
Basquiat (1996) - Seriously, if you see this for no other reason then see it for Jeffrey Wright.
Advise and Consent (1962) - Not what I expected. Still, it's long enough that it could both upset my expectations and then disappoint me for a couple of reasons (like, I think, American politics). However, Walter Pidgeon talks a lot and that's always good, right.
A bout de souffle (Breathless) (1960) - O-o-oh! I liked A bout de souffle very much. I think it's hilarious how La Nouvelle Vague was so nuts for American cinema, and there's something really American (in a Gatsby way) about Michel - he's completely artificial but he'll never realize it. I haven't read Catcher in the Rye, but I'm pretty sure Holden Caufield would call these people phonies and be right. Probably my favorite bit was when she slapped him. A+++ would watch again!
A Star is Born (1954) - Liked this a bit more than the original (but, for starters, Cukor > Wellman x1000000000) even though I think it is kind of a ridiculous and stupid story. Weirdly, pairing Judy Garland and James Mason TOTALLY worked for me, which seems like such a ridiculous thing to say. Maybe I got hit on the head just before watching?
G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra (2009) - Christopher Eccleston and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are in this movie, and I was 100% certain that Lee Byung-hun would take his shirt off at some point, okay. Don't judge me.
Cléo de 5 à 7 (Cleo from 5 to 7) (1962) - Especially since I came right back and watched this movie! WHICH I LOVED, OKAY. I LOVED IT 100%. It felt so completely true.
Raising Arizona (1987) - The pre-credit sequence is so flawless and experience for me that unfortunately the rest of the movie kind of falls flat. But I do like how straight they play everything. Except, then I got bored.
Prêt-à-Porter (1994) - Apparently, I will put up with a lot for Anouk Aimée.
Darling (1965) - Hmm. My sister complained that Dirk Bogarde wasn't as pretty as she likes him to be in this movie, but as my go to Dirk Bordarde role is The Servant, where - well, more on that later - anyway, he seemed plenty pretty here. I'm pretty sure he plays my ideal boyfriend, our would if he weren't the sort of person who get fooled into thinking Julie Christie's character is at all desirable. Anyway, this movie is way too long - not that it feels long while you're watching it, but it does feel bloated.
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935) - First of all, this adaptation has an amazing pedigree (Max Reinhardt, Bronislava Nijinska) and is wonderful to look at. But, uh, the performances are really, really irritating.
Blood Simple (1985) - I'm not exactly head over heels for this movie - I couldn't figure out why anyone did what they did, although I love the end. So I guess I like it more than No Country for Old Men, less than Fargo and Miller's Crossing.
Passion in the Desert (1998) - WHY DID I WATCH SO MANY BORING MOVIES THIS MONTH?!
Red Dust (1932) - Jean Harlow is almost enough to redeem the incredibly stupid characters and the disgusting race/gender problems, because she is amazing and I love her. Almost. I think I like Mogambo a little better. Even though I don't exactly love Mogambo.
Intermission (2003) - Even though I don't think this movie really holds together, I recommend it and I enjoyed watching it. It was kind of a fluke, because I only accidentally found out who was in it.
A Cock and Bull Story (2005) - Heeeeee! I like Michael Winterbottom and Steve Coogan teaming up. It's very like 24 Hour Party People but also very different.
Tsotsi (2005) - I think my expectations were too high. Or maybe there's a reason they tapped Gavin Hood for Wolverine. This is basically a Hollywood movie.
Zong heng si hai (Once a Thief) (1991) - Oh my god! SO MUCH FUN. It's completely ridiculous, since they apparently did the whole thing in 10 weeks. There's a scene with lasers which is, I mean, this is 1991 so the special effects are just okay and obviously it will never be as good as (the only redeeming part) Ocean's Twelve's laser scene with . . . sorry, I got distracted. But it's funny. Also, Leslie Cheung is both sexy AND adorable (he has the best introduction ever, I'm pretty sure). Chow Yun Fat is very like a silly Cary Grant (think of the funny faces he makes in Charade), which added to the fun. Even though it has a much higher body count than a Cary Grant movie.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) - I'm pretty sure I was supposed to love this movie, but I feel the same way about it that I do about Velvet Goldmine, which is basically: the music is nice and I like the soundtrack a lot, and hey that's some very nice photography there. Now if only the characters and plot would go away.
A Foreign Affair (1948) - Hmm. Definitely did not like this as much as I wanted to, because of a) John Lund and b) Marlene Dietrich and Jean Arthur hardly interact at all. Bad move, Billy Wilder.
Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) - Yes! I enjoyed this so much. I really liked this review/analysis of the movie. It's a lot of fun, and I think people who haven't seen it should give it a try.
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934) - They cut ALL the interesting bits of the book. I do like Leslie Howard as Percy, though. He does a nice job.
A Passage to India (1977) - Oh, David Lean. How do you do it? The book was not nearly as homoerotic as this adaptation. I think David Lean misjudged the point of the book, by the way, when he adapted the movie, which is very emotionally streamlined. It resolves the muddle (or at very least wraps it up), when the muddle was kind of the point. On a shallow note: Roshan Seth is dreamy.
La ronde (1950) - Yes.
Repeats
Sleeping Beauty (1959) - I do like this movie very much, and I think it definitely bears rewatching (I haven't since I was a kid) because the interesting and magical things are still interesting and magical.
Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993) - Still a very smart movie.
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) - <333
Sabrina (1954) - I watched this with some friends from high school and even though it was a viewing that involved a great deal of conversation, we all pretty much sighed over Audrey Hepburn. Seriously, it's not fair. Other people are described as Audrey Hepburn-like, but I think that's only because you can't hold onto the real thing long enough to remember why no one is really like Audrey Hepburn.
The Servant (1963) - I think this movie might be even creepier on a second watching. But it's the kind of creepy I enjoy.