movies in feb.
Twenty-five movies, all new to me. Earliest: 1926. Latest: 2009.
Recurring themes:
- Greta Garbo's love life
- Grown men crying
- Derek Jarman, but sadly not really
A Face in the Crowd (1957) - This movie is brilliant and frightening. I think more people should watch it.
Feng yue (1996) (Temptress Moon) - Leslie Cheung spends so much time crying, I almost suspect Karan Johar's involvement. It's not very good - it's soapy and unsuccessfully manipulative. But Leslie and the Christopher Doyle cinematography are gorgeous . . . and so are the clothes.
Towelhead (2007) - Oh my God, I don't even want to talk about this movie. It's terrible.
La moustache (2005) - This movie is a mindfuck. I liked it a lot.
Madame de... (1953) (The Earrings of Madame de...) - OMG, HEARTS AND KISSES. It's brilliant. Derek Jarman also likes it, which only cements my belief that Derek Jarman and I would be best friends. Or at least movie going BFFs.
Torrent (1926) - Um. It's a Garbo silent. There's really not much to say about it - it has a lot of the flaws of silent films, although of course Garbo is incandescent.
Dil Chahta Hai (2001) - Things I learned from this movie: white girls have a chance with Saif; it's hard to be rich and male! But seriously, this is quite good - it's funny ("We'll go anywhere to eat cake.") and touching (reunited and it feels so good!) with a great soundtrack (except that one song . . . sorry, Ashkaye). I does kind of provoke an, "Oh, boys" reaction but . . . in a good way? IDK - there are problems with it, but in other ways it's so perfect and lovely, and a great look at friendship. There's at least one unconventional love story (although it ends tragically). There is also a scene in a discotheque . . . with silver trousers (oh, Saif). But I liked it.
Ta'm e guilass (1997) (A Taste of Cherry) - You guys, Roger Ebert famously hated this movie. I liked it - it raised questions without feeling compelled to answer them, which I think is a brave choice.
Emma (2009) - Awww, adorable!
Hombre (1967) - My affection for Westerns is well documented, but I also love subversions of the genre, like Hombre. It shares a director with The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, which tells you most of the things you need to know about it, I think.
This Is England (2006) - I have such a girl crush on Vicky McClure you guys. Who else could pull off that haircut? No one. OH BUT I REALLY LIKED THIS MOVIE A LOT OKAY. It's about 1980s England, athough sadly Daniel Day-Lewis and Gordon Warnecke don't have sex in it. Apparently there's a TV show in the works, and I think that is a good move. I know, I know, it sounds like a terrible move. But I think it could be very neat.
The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926) - This movie gave me 1926-clothing envy. And, hello there, young Gary Cooper.
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933? you don't say) - Surprisingly dirty! But also very fun, and I think the sort of thing I'd want to watch in a recession. It never drops the ball, I guess. And it's really, really funny. The songs are just okay, but the banter is superb.
Welcome to Sajjanpur (2008) - This starts out bitter and satirical, and then it softens as it gets sadder. Shreyas Talpade is so good, seriously. This is my first Shyam Benegal movie, and I'm looking forward to investigating more of his work. The songs are terrible - or really, the picturizations are terrible (they feel out of place), the songs are nice. It pretends to be a comedy about village life in India, and it never lets up the pretense - which actually makes it more disturbing. I thought the portrayal of the hirjas was very interesting. Also interesting was the way government officials were portrayed. (Genuinely attempting to do some good.)
Outrage (2009) - Huh. Thought-provoking. There's a weird editing choice, though, where some of the interviews fade out instead of cutting off, and I didn't like it. I wish this had gotten an earlier release.
The Hurt Locker (2008) - OMG. OMG. Shallow note: Ralph Fiennes is so sexy in this movie, it's crazy. But it better win all the Oscars for which it was nominated.
Our Dancing Daughters (1928) - Joan Crawford has better chemistry with women than with men. There are some interesting notes about femininity, and there are also a few scenes that somehow escaped the censors. Maybe they served them cocktails during the viewing? A lot of cocktails?
Haepi-endeu (1999) (Happy End) - This movie starts out subversive and then arguably (I'm not so sure) degenerates into a pro-patriarchy, bloodthirsty thriller . . . and I think the two halves don't really congeal. If it had turned more French-mind-bender (like La moustache) it would have been a better movie.
Little Dorrit (1988) - Roshan Seth is in this, and he's very nice to look at. I was never absorbed in the action (unlike the miniseries), and it's a much slower adaptation. It's also more muted (although beautiful to look at, with careful and elegant performances) and less humorous. I'm pretty sure there was plenty of humor in the original novel, and it seems odd to cut that out while retaining what I'm guessing was Dickens' dialogue (he has an idiosyncratic style of dialogue). I don't think the way the movie was constructed really worked: it's two very long movies, the first from Arthur's POV and the second from Amy's. Alec Guinness plays Mr. Dorrit. Derek Jacobi is Arthur. Sarah Pickering is quite good: her Amy Dorrit was delicate without being fragile. It didn't really feel Dickensian, which I thought was odd.
A Woman of Affairs (1928) - Uh, this movie is dumb - they changed the plot from the play, so Garbo's husband is hiding kleptomania instead of syphilis, but it just makes it seem like he was hiding an affair with her brother. IDK, knowing silent movies, they may have done that on purpose (but if they had, surely Barry Paris would have mentioned it). Some of the camerawork is amaaaazing, like, telepathic and prescient.
Hunger (2008) - This isn't a biopic! Which was kind of a relief! It's both a visceral and intellectual film, and it does some really neat things. It feels less pro-republican than anti-violence - I can't imagine seeing it without a experiencing physical reaction. (It is difficult to watch it without thinking of Derek Jarman, although it is less . . . given to philosophical arabesques?)
Laajo (1983) - Our neighbors lent us this (along with the Mirza Ghalib TV show). It's in Punjabi (I am not sure of Punjabi's relationship with Hindi, but I assume they have some similarities, because I definitely recognized some words), and there were either no subtitles (in which case the DVD case lied, imagine that) or the subtitles broke. I did watch all of it. It was kind of rage-inducing in some parts, but it was fun to make up story lines of my own. Later, I looked it up on IMDB so I have a slightly better idea of what went on. Uh, but only slightly.
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) - :/
Little Ashes (2009) - It felt like there were three different movies in this movie. IDK. Javier Beltrán is quite good, and I loved his Lorca (he made me want to read Lorca!) and his BFF was called Magdelena and she was brilliant (although she made a stupid, movie-cliché mistake, but then they recovered from it) so I think that is a good sign for our future relationship. Matthew McNulty got all the best lines and was stealthily hilarious . . . I did not know Luis Buñuel sneered and snarked so much! Nice one, Mr. McNulty. I really wish Jarman had directed it, because it would be 100% more daring and the art would be better and so would the cinematography (it is v. boring to look at) and there would be better sex scenes (or the presence of sex would be better, I'm not sure). However, it did provide a new subcategory for the, "Gay, or just European?" game. Namely, "Gay, or just a Surrealist?"
Easy Virute (2008) - I want to frame Colin Firth's performance and put it on the wall. The movie is not very good though (I don't want to blame Jessica Biel, but it really is her fault). Interestingly, we are made to sympathize most with Ben Barnes' character.
Recurring themes:
- Greta Garbo's love life
- Grown men crying
- Derek Jarman, but sadly not really
A Face in the Crowd (1957) - This movie is brilliant and frightening. I think more people should watch it.
Feng yue (1996) (Temptress Moon) - Leslie Cheung spends so much time crying, I almost suspect Karan Johar's involvement. It's not very good - it's soapy and unsuccessfully manipulative. But Leslie and the Christopher Doyle cinematography are gorgeous . . . and so are the clothes.
Towelhead (2007) - Oh my God, I don't even want to talk about this movie. It's terrible.
La moustache (2005) - This movie is a mindfuck. I liked it a lot.
Madame de... (1953) (The Earrings of Madame de...) - OMG, HEARTS AND KISSES. It's brilliant. Derek Jarman also likes it, which only cements my belief that Derek Jarman and I would be best friends. Or at least movie going BFFs.
Torrent (1926) - Um. It's a Garbo silent. There's really not much to say about it - it has a lot of the flaws of silent films, although of course Garbo is incandescent.
Dil Chahta Hai (2001) - Things I learned from this movie: white girls have a chance with Saif; it's hard to be rich and male! But seriously, this is quite good - it's funny ("We'll go anywhere to eat cake.") and touching (reunited and it feels so good!) with a great soundtrack (except that one song . . . sorry, Ashkaye). I does kind of provoke an, "Oh, boys" reaction but . . . in a good way? IDK - there are problems with it, but in other ways it's so perfect and lovely, and a great look at friendship. There's at least one unconventional love story (although it ends tragically). There is also a scene in a discotheque . . . with silver trousers (oh, Saif). But I liked it.
Ta'm e guilass (1997) (A Taste of Cherry) - You guys, Roger Ebert famously hated this movie. I liked it - it raised questions without feeling compelled to answer them, which I think is a brave choice.
Emma (2009) - Awww, adorable!
Hombre (1967) - My affection for Westerns is well documented, but I also love subversions of the genre, like Hombre. It shares a director with The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, which tells you most of the things you need to know about it, I think.
This Is England (2006) - I have such a girl crush on Vicky McClure you guys. Who else could pull off that haircut? No one. OH BUT I REALLY LIKED THIS MOVIE A LOT OKAY. It's about 1980s England, athough sadly Daniel Day-Lewis and Gordon Warnecke don't have sex in it. Apparently there's a TV show in the works, and I think that is a good move. I know, I know, it sounds like a terrible move. But I think it could be very neat.
The Winning of Barbara Worth (1926) - This movie gave me 1926-clothing envy. And, hello there, young Gary Cooper.
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933? you don't say) - Surprisingly dirty! But also very fun, and I think the sort of thing I'd want to watch in a recession. It never drops the ball, I guess. And it's really, really funny. The songs are just okay, but the banter is superb.
Welcome to Sajjanpur (2008) - This starts out bitter and satirical, and then it softens as it gets sadder. Shreyas Talpade is so good, seriously. This is my first Shyam Benegal movie, and I'm looking forward to investigating more of his work. The songs are terrible - or really, the picturizations are terrible (they feel out of place), the songs are nice. It pretends to be a comedy about village life in India, and it never lets up the pretense - which actually makes it more disturbing. I thought the portrayal of the hirjas was very interesting. Also interesting was the way government officials were portrayed. (Genuinely attempting to do some good.)
Outrage (2009) - Huh. Thought-provoking. There's a weird editing choice, though, where some of the interviews fade out instead of cutting off, and I didn't like it. I wish this had gotten an earlier release.
The Hurt Locker (2008) - OMG. OMG. Shallow note: Ralph Fiennes is so sexy in this movie, it's crazy. But it better win all the Oscars for which it was nominated.
Our Dancing Daughters (1928) - Joan Crawford has better chemistry with women than with men. There are some interesting notes about femininity, and there are also a few scenes that somehow escaped the censors. Maybe they served them cocktails during the viewing? A lot of cocktails?
Haepi-endeu (1999) (Happy End) - This movie starts out subversive and then arguably (I'm not so sure) degenerates into a pro-patriarchy, bloodthirsty thriller . . . and I think the two halves don't really congeal. If it had turned more French-mind-bender (like La moustache) it would have been a better movie.
Little Dorrit (1988) - Roshan Seth is in this, and he's very nice to look at. I was never absorbed in the action (unlike the miniseries), and it's a much slower adaptation. It's also more muted (although beautiful to look at, with careful and elegant performances) and less humorous. I'm pretty sure there was plenty of humor in the original novel, and it seems odd to cut that out while retaining what I'm guessing was Dickens' dialogue (he has an idiosyncratic style of dialogue). I don't think the way the movie was constructed really worked: it's two very long movies, the first from Arthur's POV and the second from Amy's. Alec Guinness plays Mr. Dorrit. Derek Jacobi is Arthur. Sarah Pickering is quite good: her Amy Dorrit was delicate without being fragile. It didn't really feel Dickensian, which I thought was odd.
A Woman of Affairs (1928) - Uh, this movie is dumb - they changed the plot from the play, so Garbo's husband is hiding kleptomania instead of syphilis, but it just makes it seem like he was hiding an affair with her brother. IDK, knowing silent movies, they may have done that on purpose (but if they had, surely Barry Paris would have mentioned it). Some of the camerawork is amaaaazing, like, telepathic and prescient.
Hunger (2008) - This isn't a biopic! Which was kind of a relief! It's both a visceral and intellectual film, and it does some really neat things. It feels less pro-republican than anti-violence - I can't imagine seeing it without a experiencing physical reaction. (It is difficult to watch it without thinking of Derek Jarman, although it is less . . . given to philosophical arabesques?)
Laajo (1983) - Our neighbors lent us this (along with the Mirza Ghalib TV show). It's in Punjabi (I am not sure of Punjabi's relationship with Hindi, but I assume they have some similarities, because I definitely recognized some words), and there were either no subtitles (in which case the DVD case lied, imagine that) or the subtitles broke. I did watch all of it. It was kind of rage-inducing in some parts, but it was fun to make up story lines of my own. Later, I looked it up on IMDB so I have a slightly better idea of what went on. Uh, but only slightly.
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) - :/
Little Ashes (2009) - It felt like there were three different movies in this movie. IDK. Javier Beltrán is quite good, and I loved his Lorca (he made me want to read Lorca!) and his BFF was called Magdelena and she was brilliant (although she made a stupid, movie-cliché mistake, but then they recovered from it) so I think that is a good sign for our future relationship. Matthew McNulty got all the best lines and was stealthily hilarious . . . I did not know Luis Buñuel sneered and snarked so much! Nice one, Mr. McNulty. I really wish Jarman had directed it, because it would be 100% more daring and the art would be better and so would the cinematography (it is v. boring to look at) and there would be better sex scenes (or the presence of sex would be better, I'm not sure). However, it did provide a new subcategory for the, "Gay, or just European?" game. Namely, "Gay, or just a Surrealist?"
Easy Virute (2008) - I want to frame Colin Firth's performance and put it on the wall. The movie is not very good though (I don't want to blame Jessica Biel, but it really is her fault). Interestingly, we are made to sympathize most with Ben Barnes' character.