movies in january
33 movies. Earliest: 1925. Latest: 2009
Themes this month:
- Tony Leung Chiu Wai.
- Hit men.
- Hindi classics.
- Play adaptations.
- World War II.
New Movies
Dor (2006) - I would watch this movie again in a HEARTBEAT. It's beautiful and vibrant, with gorgeous characters. The story is about two women who meet because one of them needs the other to forgive her husband for a crime he . . . may have done. Shreyas Talpade helps her, and I'm glad that my interest in him from Om Shanti Om was justified. He is not the best part of Dor, but he certainly helps. If you don't like musicals, I would say that this is an Indian movie you could watch anyway; it's not a musical.
The Go-Between (1970) - A Harold Pinter+Joseph Losey collaboration, although very different from The Servant. I thought it was interesting, although not as interesting as The Servant.
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988) (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) - Um, I liked this way better than Hable con ella, although to be fair I did like that movie a lot. But this one is hilarious, without sacrificing anything for the laughs. Oh man, young Antonio Banderas. Wow.
Duel in the Sun (1946) - I'd seen parts of this movie, and you know . . . movies often don't work if you don't watch them from the beginning? Well, this movie is bad no matter how you watch it. Poor Butterfly McQueen.
Mother India (1957) - You guys, I wanted to slit Sunil Dutt's throat for most of this movie, even though I'm pretty sure we're supposed to sympathize with him? Whatever, I still liked it, but I guess I would like anything that opened with lots of Nehru jackets and continued with an amazing performance from Nargis. Seriously, you guys: Nargis. Amazing! <3 Superlative! And oh, I just wanted her to be haaaapppy. But no, no, no . . . men ruin everything.
Bombay Boys (1998) - I watched this for Roshan Seth (and we are going to have to have a talk, Mr. Seth) and Rahul Bose, who I think is a potentially intriguing actor. Please, please, please: do not make the same mistake. I don't care how pretty you think the cast is. This movie had no budget, and for once that did not arouse my sympathy.
The Wrestler (2008) - Hmm. I'm unable to make up my mind.
Chung Hing sam lam (1994) (Chungking Express) - Well, I already shared my favorite scene, which is perhaps the best advertisement for the movie I can find. The first part is quite different: a kind of film noir, with Takeshi Kaneshiro as a young cop you just want to hug. It's much weirder than the Tony Leung story line, and I wish the two stories had joined up a little more. Partly because I think that would have been more interesting, but also because I think the second story is more compelling and better executed than the first, and so the first story line suffers in the (inevitable) comparison during the credits sequence.
You Kill Me (2007) - I'm not sure recovering from alcoholism really works this way, but I found the movie enjoyable any way.
The Island (2005) - Had to watch this for my sci-fi class. It's terrible. The only interesting thing is the product placement, which is so blatant it's almost funny. ALMOST.
Kumonosu-jö (1957) (Throne of Blood) - Kurosawa's (kind of) reimagining of Macbeth. I dunno. I like Mifune when he goes crazy, but not as much as when he is in a western, and I don't know enough about Noh to appreciate those aspects. So I was kind of bored for a lot of it.
Miracle at St. Anna (2008) - Oh, Spike Lee, whyyy.
District 9 (2009) - This movie really fell off toward the end, and I found the action sequences very, very distracting. Especially the body parts splattering on the camera. That sort of thing wears thin very, very quickly.
Sholay (1975) - Sholay is the Biggest Bollywood Movie Ever, and justifiably so. I got to watch the director's cut, which has a much more morally ambiguous ending, although part of the end (if you have seen it, you will know what part) REALLY UPSET ME. Like, yelling at my TV and the characters upset. I am still pretty upset about it. So even though it's really good, how could I ever watch it again? I will never be prepared to reopen those wounds. :( It's a nice adaptation of the western, including a revenge plot and epic bromance.
Long Life, Happiness, & Prosperity (2002) - Watched on a whim, because of Sandra Oh. I like Sandra Oh, and she's good in the movie. But. I dunno. Mixed feelings.
Flammen & Citronen (2008) (Flame and Citron) - This is kind of ever WWII movie ever, in that it has a stupid love story inserted . . . although the love story is fairly central to the plot. But that is only so because they decided that Thure Lindhart was the more interesting actor (FALSE). If it had been more evenly focused, it would have been better. Also: I should have watched it in a theater. The momentum of the movie seemed really important, and outside of a theater that is too easy to disrupt. Especially if you are me. Um.
Return to Cranford (2009) - Hey, Cranford producers and writers, what is up with the no Dr. Harrison and giving Mary such a small part? WHAT IS UP WITH THAT? And aaagh, I forgot how they kill off characters so easily! But still, I was happy to be back, and the love story was OMGadorable and Judi Dench is OMGbrilliant.
M. Butterfly (1993) - Oh, I don't even know. The movie is kind of bland, and the play is so not. The interview with Cronenberg on the DVD was more interesting than the movie itself, which is weird to me because I actually think that this play fits really well with Cronenberg's mental aesthetic, and usually he is such an interesting director. Oh well. Can't have everything.
The Duchess (2008) - What's that? A movie where I didn't want to kill Keira Knightley even once?! That is kind of amazing, right? Progress! But still: Bess Foster is a much more interesting character than Georgiana, especially this whitewashed version, and Hayley Atwell is a better actress.
Vivacious Lady (1938) - As charming as you would expect from a pairing of Jimmy Stewart and Ginger Rogers, and as essentially mediocre as you might expect from a movie you have never heard of. It's not bad or anything. It's just not good, although it is better than I was lead to believe (by someone who'd only seen part of it, so hah).
King Lear (2008) - Ian McKellen is quite good, although I didn't like all the edits they made and I especially wasn't crazy about Cordelia. Also, Slings and Arrows has definitely ruined me for a lot of Shakespeare adaptations, because the whole time I was thinking: "If the audience will believe that Lear has one BLACK DAUGHTER . . . "
Sita Sings the Blues (2008) - This is another movie I would much prefer to have seen in a theater, but I am 100% in LOVE with the animation.
Mou gaan du (2002) (Infernal Affairs) - I knew that this movie would be good, but OMFG. Where to start? I should say, however, that . . . the cinematography was so nice I sometimes forgot to actually watch what was going on . . . and that was a mistake. Oh, and I think something was up with the subtitles. Like, they cut out whole sentences. But, seriously, so good. The performances are so restrained, and the entire movie is so tense and exciting and I guess what I am saying is that its reputation is Quite Well Deserved.
The Merry Gentleman (2008) - Kelly Macdonald. <3 Probably every review of the movie described it as "promising," so I hate to be a cliché but I think that is a fair assessment. It's a non-sexual love story, which is a great choice because the focus is really on the way Kelly Macdonald's character escapes her abusive relationship, and the way that relationship finds some parallels even in her new life. She gets to keep her accent, too, which is a good decision I think. This is another restrained movie. I think one of the big slip ups is that it doesn't ever really decide how it wants to mix the genres, so sometimes it feels a bit too much like a Law and Order episode. But mostly not.
La Gran Final (2006) (The Great Match) - Three groups of people - indigenous people in the Amazon, a nomadic family in Mongolia, and a Tuareg group (plus or minus some additional people and groups) - try to watch the World Cup. It's funny, sometimes in a sitcom-y way, but I think I liked that about it.
The Fall) (2006) - Many people love this movie. I am not one of them.
The General (1927) - Aw, I defy you to watch this movie without wanting to give Buster Keaton a hug. It is funny, although I think that it provokes laughter less than it does a sense of satisfaction at the way the jokes develop. It's like putting a puzzle together, or doing a crossword.
Chi bi (2008) and Chi bi xia: Jue zhan tian xia (2009) (Red Cliff, I & II) - Epiiiic. The definition of EPIC. Suck it, Ben-Hur. The second part is a bit better than the first, although it has the weird cutting technique that isn't in the first and doesn't make sense . . . but whatever. It never felt long, I have to say, and although I always zone out a bit during battles, these battles kept my interest. Potentially distracting thing: Tony Leung's voice is dubbed (I really thought he spoke Mandarin for Lust, Caution, but I guess not?) and the actor who dubs him - not a criticism of that actor! - sounds NOTHING like Tony Leung. That's okay, because you will probably be looking at Takeshi Kaneshiro. No, seriously. You try watching the movie without feeling a bit moony.
The Merry Widow (1925) - Directed by von Stroheim, with only the slightest resemblance to the opera. Still, a lot of fun. Although, you know, I don't know if von Stroheim would be pleased to hear that I thought so.
Old Movies
Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982) - This movie is better than the first one. The characters felt more real and more comfortable. Also, you guys, why do the bad things always happen to Chekov?
Sunshine (2007) - As good as I remembered. That's always nice.
Lola Montès (1955) - In some ways, this is a movie you could point to as the embodiment of "European cinema," because I mean, really. But that makes it sound, I don't know, clichéd or boxed in or easily defined and actually it isn't. It's a very complex movie - more difficult to pin down than any other movie I watched this month, I think. It's often unpredictable in a way most movies never bother to be (the end is perhaps the best example of this). If I had to compare it to something, then maybe the Barbara Stanwyck movie Baby Face would do, although of course Lola Montès is a very different kind of movie. But it shares that kind of pragmatism.
Themes this month:
- Tony Leung Chiu Wai.
- Hit men.
- Hindi classics.
- Play adaptations.
- World War II.
New Movies
Dor (2006) - I would watch this movie again in a HEARTBEAT. It's beautiful and vibrant, with gorgeous characters. The story is about two women who meet because one of them needs the other to forgive her husband for a crime he . . . may have done. Shreyas Talpade helps her, and I'm glad that my interest in him from Om Shanti Om was justified. He is not the best part of Dor, but he certainly helps. If you don't like musicals, I would say that this is an Indian movie you could watch anyway; it's not a musical.
The Go-Between (1970) - A Harold Pinter+Joseph Losey collaboration, although very different from The Servant. I thought it was interesting, although not as interesting as The Servant.
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios (1988) (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) - Um, I liked this way better than Hable con ella, although to be fair I did like that movie a lot. But this one is hilarious, without sacrificing anything for the laughs. Oh man, young Antonio Banderas. Wow.
Duel in the Sun (1946) - I'd seen parts of this movie, and you know . . . movies often don't work if you don't watch them from the beginning? Well, this movie is bad no matter how you watch it. Poor Butterfly McQueen.
Mother India (1957) - You guys, I wanted to slit Sunil Dutt's throat for most of this movie, even though I'm pretty sure we're supposed to sympathize with him? Whatever, I still liked it, but I guess I would like anything that opened with lots of Nehru jackets and continued with an amazing performance from Nargis. Seriously, you guys: Nargis. Amazing! <3 Superlative! And oh, I just wanted her to be haaaapppy. But no, no, no . . . men ruin everything.
Bombay Boys (1998) - I watched this for Roshan Seth (and we are going to have to have a talk, Mr. Seth) and Rahul Bose, who I think is a potentially intriguing actor. Please, please, please: do not make the same mistake. I don't care how pretty you think the cast is. This movie had no budget, and for once that did not arouse my sympathy.
The Wrestler (2008) - Hmm. I'm unable to make up my mind.
Chung Hing sam lam (1994) (Chungking Express) - Well, I already shared my favorite scene, which is perhaps the best advertisement for the movie I can find. The first part is quite different: a kind of film noir, with Takeshi Kaneshiro as a young cop you just want to hug. It's much weirder than the Tony Leung story line, and I wish the two stories had joined up a little more. Partly because I think that would have been more interesting, but also because I think the second story is more compelling and better executed than the first, and so the first story line suffers in the (inevitable) comparison during the credits sequence.
You Kill Me (2007) - I'm not sure recovering from alcoholism really works this way, but I found the movie enjoyable any way.
The Island (2005) - Had to watch this for my sci-fi class. It's terrible. The only interesting thing is the product placement, which is so blatant it's almost funny. ALMOST.
Kumonosu-jö (1957) (Throne of Blood) - Kurosawa's (kind of) reimagining of Macbeth. I dunno. I like Mifune when he goes crazy, but not as much as when he is in a western, and I don't know enough about Noh to appreciate those aspects. So I was kind of bored for a lot of it.
Miracle at St. Anna (2008) - Oh, Spike Lee, whyyy.
District 9 (2009) - This movie really fell off toward the end, and I found the action sequences very, very distracting. Especially the body parts splattering on the camera. That sort of thing wears thin very, very quickly.
Sholay (1975) - Sholay is the Biggest Bollywood Movie Ever, and justifiably so. I got to watch the director's cut, which has a much more morally ambiguous ending, although part of the end (if you have seen it, you will know what part) REALLY UPSET ME. Like, yelling at my TV and the characters upset. I am still pretty upset about it. So even though it's really good, how could I ever watch it again? I will never be prepared to reopen those wounds. :( It's a nice adaptation of the western, including a revenge plot and epic bromance.
Long Life, Happiness, & Prosperity (2002) - Watched on a whim, because of Sandra Oh. I like Sandra Oh, and she's good in the movie. But. I dunno. Mixed feelings.
Flammen & Citronen (2008) (Flame and Citron) - This is kind of ever WWII movie ever, in that it has a stupid love story inserted . . . although the love story is fairly central to the plot. But that is only so because they decided that Thure Lindhart was the more interesting actor (FALSE). If it had been more evenly focused, it would have been better. Also: I should have watched it in a theater. The momentum of the movie seemed really important, and outside of a theater that is too easy to disrupt. Especially if you are me. Um.
Return to Cranford (2009) - Hey, Cranford producers and writers, what is up with the no Dr. Harrison and giving Mary such a small part? WHAT IS UP WITH THAT? And aaagh, I forgot how they kill off characters so easily! But still, I was happy to be back, and the love story was OMGadorable and Judi Dench is OMGbrilliant.
M. Butterfly (1993) - Oh, I don't even know. The movie is kind of bland, and the play is so not. The interview with Cronenberg on the DVD was more interesting than the movie itself, which is weird to me because I actually think that this play fits really well with Cronenberg's mental aesthetic, and usually he is such an interesting director. Oh well. Can't have everything.
The Duchess (2008) - What's that? A movie where I didn't want to kill Keira Knightley even once?! That is kind of amazing, right? Progress! But still: Bess Foster is a much more interesting character than Georgiana, especially this whitewashed version, and Hayley Atwell is a better actress.
Vivacious Lady (1938) - As charming as you would expect from a pairing of Jimmy Stewart and Ginger Rogers, and as essentially mediocre as you might expect from a movie you have never heard of. It's not bad or anything. It's just not good, although it is better than I was lead to believe (by someone who'd only seen part of it, so hah).
King Lear (2008) - Ian McKellen is quite good, although I didn't like all the edits they made and I especially wasn't crazy about Cordelia. Also, Slings and Arrows has definitely ruined me for a lot of Shakespeare adaptations, because the whole time I was thinking: "If the audience will believe that Lear has one BLACK DAUGHTER . . . "
Sita Sings the Blues (2008) - This is another movie I would much prefer to have seen in a theater, but I am 100% in LOVE with the animation.
Mou gaan du (2002) (Infernal Affairs) - I knew that this movie would be good, but OMFG. Where to start? I should say, however, that . . . the cinematography was so nice I sometimes forgot to actually watch what was going on . . . and that was a mistake. Oh, and I think something was up with the subtitles. Like, they cut out whole sentences. But, seriously, so good. The performances are so restrained, and the entire movie is so tense and exciting and I guess what I am saying is that its reputation is Quite Well Deserved.
The Merry Gentleman (2008) - Kelly Macdonald. <3 Probably every review of the movie described it as "promising," so I hate to be a cliché but I think that is a fair assessment. It's a non-sexual love story, which is a great choice because the focus is really on the way Kelly Macdonald's character escapes her abusive relationship, and the way that relationship finds some parallels even in her new life. She gets to keep her accent, too, which is a good decision I think. This is another restrained movie. I think one of the big slip ups is that it doesn't ever really decide how it wants to mix the genres, so sometimes it feels a bit too much like a Law and Order episode. But mostly not.
La Gran Final (2006) (The Great Match) - Three groups of people - indigenous people in the Amazon, a nomadic family in Mongolia, and a Tuareg group (plus or minus some additional people and groups) - try to watch the World Cup. It's funny, sometimes in a sitcom-y way, but I think I liked that about it.
The Fall) (2006) - Many people love this movie. I am not one of them.
The General (1927) - Aw, I defy you to watch this movie without wanting to give Buster Keaton a hug. It is funny, although I think that it provokes laughter less than it does a sense of satisfaction at the way the jokes develop. It's like putting a puzzle together, or doing a crossword.
Chi bi (2008) and Chi bi xia: Jue zhan tian xia (2009) (Red Cliff, I & II) - Epiiiic. The definition of EPIC. Suck it, Ben-Hur. The second part is a bit better than the first, although it has the weird cutting technique that isn't in the first and doesn't make sense . . . but whatever. It never felt long, I have to say, and although I always zone out a bit during battles, these battles kept my interest. Potentially distracting thing: Tony Leung's voice is dubbed (I really thought he spoke Mandarin for Lust, Caution, but I guess not?) and the actor who dubs him - not a criticism of that actor! - sounds NOTHING like Tony Leung. That's okay, because you will probably be looking at Takeshi Kaneshiro. No, seriously. You try watching the movie without feeling a bit moony.
The Merry Widow (1925) - Directed by von Stroheim, with only the slightest resemblance to the opera. Still, a lot of fun. Although, you know, I don't know if von Stroheim would be pleased to hear that I thought so.
Old Movies
Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982) - This movie is better than the first one. The characters felt more real and more comfortable. Also, you guys, why do the bad things always happen to Chekov?
Sunshine (2007) - As good as I remembered. That's always nice.
Lola Montès (1955) - In some ways, this is a movie you could point to as the embodiment of "European cinema," because I mean, really. But that makes it sound, I don't know, clichéd or boxed in or easily defined and actually it isn't. It's a very complex movie - more difficult to pin down than any other movie I watched this month, I think. It's often unpredictable in a way most movies never bother to be (the end is perhaps the best example of this). If I had to compare it to something, then maybe the Barbara Stanwyck movie Baby Face would do, although of course Lola Montès is a very different kind of movie. But it shares that kind of pragmatism.