What's In Your Queue?

What a shocking surprise. Netflix calls this a horror movie. It isn't. It is a fascinating look at a dysfunctional Italian family, and how they consider themselves "uncurable." There's murder, class issues, hinted at incest, and other things. I gave it five stars on the Netflix rating system. I put more recent (movie was filmed in 1965) stuff from the director Bellochio on my queue.

The Secret in Their Eyes (Spanish)

2010-11-11T20:31:00.001-08:00

Romantic and hard-boiled, "The Secret in Their Eyes" (Spanish) is an old-fashioned movie in the best sense. The actors are effective, the story has too many plot twists (I'm okay with that), and the direction feels like a big budget Hollywood movie. This won the Foreign Language Academy Award in 2010. Highly recommend.

Unconscious (Spanish)

2010-11-05T18:03:00.000-07:00

Charming, clever and funny, "Unconscious" (Spanish) is a Freudian romantic comedy. It reminds me of Mike Leigh's "Topsy-Turvy" in it's period splendor, of Woody Allen and Pedro Almodovar comedies.

October

2010-10-24T17:58:00.001-07:00

A moving tragicomedy, Sofia Coppola's "The Virgin Suicides", brings a light touch to a dark subject. I'll probably rent "Marie Antoinette" as a result of this and "Lost in Translation".

Recently released by Criterion, Jean Pierre Melville's "Le Deuxieme Souffle" (French) is well plotted, well paced and well acted. It's kind of long, but it doesn't feel that way. More like a novel you don't want to end.

I like Alain Delon. I like Jean Gabin. "Two Men in Town" (French) appears to be a caper movie. Part of it is, but it really is an indictment of the parole system and of capital punishment. The movie moves at it's own pace, and the end is moving.

The Boys in the Band

2010-10-03T12:20:00.001-07:00

A little dated, kind of stagey, and the dialogue is too clever by half. But, the acting is superlative and watching "The Boys in the Band" is still a moving experience.

The Cry of the Owl (French)

2010-09-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

When I first read Patricia Highsmith's "The Cry of the Owl" (French), it seemed like it could never be a movie. This version by the Claude Chabrol who passed away last week showed how wrong I could be.

Let The Right One In (Swedish)

2010-09-19T20:48:00.000-07:00

"Let the Right One In" (Swedish) is a movie about how hopeless you feel when you are twelve. Sad, slow and moving, it's moderately bloody but not violent. The American remake is out soon. I don't see any reason to see that one yet.

Recent stuff

2010-09-10T15:30:00.000-07:00

When I saw “City Island” in the theater last Spring, I howled – sometimes in recognition, sometime at the slapstick. It is still one of the funniest movies of 2010, maybe for the past few years.

Classic “A Fistful of Dollars” is the original Spaghetti Western. A remake of “Yojimbo”, it gave us Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood as a movie star, and Ennio Morricone.

Speaking of Ennio Morricone, he scored “Four Flies on Grey Velvet” (Italian / English), an Italian slasher thriller from the 1970s. Not bad.

I love Lauren Cantet’s movies. “Heading South” (French / English) is different from his other movies, but it’s a well made and thoughtful reflection on class, sex and racial differences. In the 1970s some women over 40 would go to Haiti and other third world countries for a little r&r: pampering and easy sex with local young men.

“Memories of Murder” (Korean) was the first full-length movie by Bond Joon-ho who also directed “The Host” and “Mother”. It’s a police procedural, but broader and more poetic. Really good.

“Performance” is from 1972. James Fox from “The Servant” and “King Rat” plays an English gangster who hides out from the mob in Mick Jagger’s London mansion. Pretty good.

Program – Wit and Wisdom of Mia Wallace

2010-08-23T21:00:00.000-07:00

Three tomatoes are walking down the street - a poppa tomato, a momma tomato, and a little baby tomato. Baby tomato lags behind. Poppa tomato gets angry, goes over to the baby tomato and smooshes him - and says, "Catch up."

So it's time to catch up -- maybe in chronological order.

It really is a beautiful movie. Made in occupied France, in black and white, Jean Cocteau's "Beauty and the Beast" (French) isn't a children's movie. It is a fairy tale, and if you saw the animated musical, you'll get it.

Cocteau adapted his novel, "Les Enfants Terribles" (French) for the screen. Jean Pierre Melville produced and directed it. Melville made a variety of movies before he specialized in gangster and war movies. "Les Enfants Terribles" is stylized and poetic. Classic.

To keep the deal rolling, you'll find Melville featured in Godard's first full-length movie, the masterpiece, "Breathless" (French). It's been 50 years since this was released. Melville allegedly suggested to Godard the "jump cut" technique that is still fresh. "Breathless" is so cool. You don't like these people, but you want to hang out with them.

Arturo Ripstein's "La Perdicion de los Hombres" (Spanish) is the last movie he directed that is on American dvd. Ripstein who also directed "Deep Crimson" (Spanish) is a mainstream Mexican moviemaker. "La Perdicion de los Hombres" looks like an low budget eastern European movie. It moves a little slowly, a little strangely. By the third act, the movie opens up and moves you.

"Zombieland" is a nice road comedy zombie movie. Charming young people. Kind of reminded me of the 1980's movie, "Night of the Comet". It features Woody Harrelson. It has a fun cameo by Bill "Groundhog Day - Ghostbustin' ass" Murray.

"The Ghost Writer" is the latest from Roman Polanski. It's good Roman Polanski, not perfect Roman Polanski. If you choose to watch Roman Polanski movies, you can watch this. It won't change your life or anything, but it's well made.

Program - Armenia/Russia

2010-07-23T22:13:00.001-07:00

The woman who cuts my hair is Armenian, and I asked her if she knew of any good Armenian films. She didn't, so googled it. I came up with Vodka Lemon. Bleak, funny. Lots of snow and a cemetery.

The other two in this program are Russian and feature young boys and their not-so-great father figures. Bleak in a different way, and yet compelling.

I've Loved You So Long

2010-07-21T22:49:00.000-07:00

Understated. The plot slowly opens, but the pace never drags. Emotional. It was in my Instant Queue on Netflix, but I chose to watch it today because it won't be streaming next week. Maybe it's a chick flick, but maybe not.

Recommended.

Broken Embraces (Spanish)

2010-07-17T15:14:00.000-07:00

Good movie. Worth watching. Rent it.

If you like Almodovar, this is his "Vertigo": in mood, in having a worthy male lead, even as the director uses his color palate.

Yeah yeah, Penelope Cruz, sexy, melodrama, lurid mystery, all the other stuff are there as well. This is a more mature movie for Almodovar.

Brand Upon the Brain!

2010-07-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

This sat unwatched next to the tv for over three weeks. I didn't know if I wanted to see it or not. All that I read about Guy Maddin, the director, was off-putting.

I'm glad I finally saw it. It isn't for most people -- an hour and a half silent movie deliberately filmed with some scenes overexposed to look like an aged print. The style is melodramatic, and Isabella Rossellini tells the story we're watching. However, it's very compelling look at memory and repression.

I'm putting other Maddin movies on my queue.

Impromptu Double Feature

2010-07-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

Not for the faint of heart... an impromptu double feature curated by circumstance and consensus. We like violent films. First we watched White Dog. The images and dialog form an unrelenting barrage of heavy symbols. I loved it. I love cheeze when its backed up by so many ideas and ethical questions. Zero boredom during the first act. The racist attack dog is totally real; we only wish it was fiction.
We also wish Henry Lee Lucas was a fictional creation. Henry is a perverse romp through a world without reverence for human life. Movies have taught us something very important about insanity: after your first murder the aversion decreases exponentially. Spooky! "Psycho" by the Sonics really makes it.

Le Corbeau (French)

2010-07-04T11:15:00.000-07:00

Clouzot's most famous movie is probably "Les Diaboliques". This was made in occupied France and was not popular with anyone either in authority or with influence -- apparently, it hit close to home for some.

While it's more domestic and low key than his later movies, "Le Corbeau" (French) builds tension well. The closest counterpart would be either Claude Chabrol -- especially in it's look at French bourgeoisie, or Alfred Hitchcock -- with his American counterparts such as "The Wrong Man."

Program – Catching up

2010-05-22T11:20:00.000-07:00

Haven’t posted in so long, I need to catch up.

Classic nouveau vague, the first Truffaut movie – "The 400 Blows" (French) – demonstrates empathy for our protagonist and his tormentors, especially mom and stepdad. Even the cold and rule-bound schoolteacher is shown to be a victim of his circumstance before his bullying side comes out.

Is “The Brown Bunny” as bad as its reputation? Only kind of. The sex scene is explicit enough, but it has enough emotional weight that it works if you don’t mind that stuff (fellatio, not sexy, but very real). What bothered me more was that The Brown Bunny is one of those movies where the plot twist at the end is designed to provide a different resonance to the whole movie – similar to “Memento”, or more recently, “Shutter Island”. If Vincent Gallo had given us some foreshadowing earlier in the movie, we might have made an emotional investment in him and in the spare and flat manner in which the movie is filmed.

I don’t know why I placed “Hands Over the City” (Italian) on my queue, but it was a good watch. A 1960’s take on neo-realism, “Hands Over the City” is essentially a left vs. right face-off that takes place on the street, in offices and in city hall. Good movie.

In the 1960’s Jerry Schatzberg took photos for fashion magazines, and shot the cover of Bob Dylan’s Blonde On Blonde. He made a number of movies mostly in the 1970’s and 1980’s. He doesn’t have the critical acclaim he deserved. His second feature, “The Panic in Needle Park” is a love story in a sad and bleak milieu. The acting is fabulous, photography seems ahead of its time. The screenplay, by John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion, doesn’t let up. This movie needs some investment from your side to get its power across.

The 1957 movie, “The Strange One” featured a cast and director all from New York’s Actors’ Studio. It is a little stagey, and the psychosexual underpinnings take over the real conflict within the plot, but overall it’s worth watching if you like that kind of thing – you know, 1950’s Elia Kazan-ish stuff.

I’m working through Laurent Cantet’s movies, and saw “Time Out” (French) in April. It’s another of his movies such as “Human Resources” and “The Class” about a person’s identity wrapped up in one’s job and career. Also it’s a meditation on family secrets and driving (not since “Play It As It Lays” has a character done so much aimless driving).

Alex Cox who made “Repo Man” and “Straight to Hell” allegedly ruined his career with “Walker”. It was an old-fashioned epic with big name stars and a screenplay by Rudy Wurlitzer – author of Monte Hellman and Sam Peckinpah westerns. But it was an Alex Cox old-fashioned epic, so there was a twist or two. I really liked it, but I tend to like this kind of stuff. A little too hear-on-its-sleeve left-wing, but what the hell; left wing action pictures always have some level of contradiction about them.

Pineapple Express

2010-04-20T00:01:00.000-07:00

Not just funny (and it is funny), but an action movie as well. James Franco and Danny McBride are hilarious. Seth Rogen as the straight role (eh). And Bobby Lee and Ken Jeong as "Asian" gangsters. Classic Spring rental.

Program – More human resources

2010-04-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

Paul Simon sang:
"I don't know a soul who's not been battered.
I don't have a friend who feels at ease.
I don't know a dream that's not been shattered
or driven to its knees.
But it's all right, it's all right,
for we lived so well so long.
Still, when I think of the road we're traveling on
I wonder what's gone wrong."

If you've not been put out of work, or don't know someone who's been out of work, here are two amazing movies that shows what it's like.

So Jason Reitman makes funny movies about serious stuff. "Up in the Air" is a bit more serious than funny, but that just makes this a better movie.

Laurant Cantet's "Time Out" shows one of those shattered souls. The feeling is real.

Kinamand

2010-03-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

This Danish film, subtle and charming, tells the story of a Danish plumber who, upon being left by his wife, slowly becomes a part of an immigrant Chinese family. The contrast of cultures, the understated and thoughtful portrayal of these characters make this movie well worth your time.

Program – The Decalogue (Polish)

2010-03-22T00:01:00.000-07:00

Ten suggestions about renting and watching Krzystof Kieslowski's "The Decalogue." This is a three disc set featuring ten one-hour movies filmed for Polish television back in the late 1980's.

I. Put this on your movie bucket list. This is the real deal. If you love filmed stories, or real untidy life or great movie making, get past the Polish language, and give each hour your attention.

II. Read Roger Ebert's essay before you start. Some critics think that Roger got some of it wrong. More important than what he thinks of one movie or another, you'll find his enthusiasm a good deal before you begin the series.

III. For goodness sakes, do not watch all ten hours in one (or two) sittings. They're too heavy. Take your time with these movies.

IV. Consider watching it with others, and talking about it.

V. Curate movies made by current film makers as a counterpoint. I think "Thank You For Smoking", "Juno", and "Up in the Air" -- Jason Reitman's output to date -- would work, Watch them in the order they were made after you watch each DVD. Reitman's tone provides relief from the weight of Kieslowski's. It also allows you to realize that Reitman's movies deal with real dramatic stuff in spite of their humor. You could do the same with other directors, or just watch another movie after you watch each of the movies in this series.

I think we're in a new and not-yet titled golden age of movies. We have guys like Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood at their peak. We have the Coen Brothers and Wes Anderson creating some new way of looking at movies. We have European directors like Tom Tykwer who can go back and forth between thrillers and thoughtful and deep movies. All of these directors deal with the issues that Kieslowski did in new ways.

VI. Realize that Kieslowski did not make each film to relate exactly to its ten commandment counterpart. If you get hung up on that, some of the movies actually lose some of their power.

VII. Forgive the Facets people for some of the less-than-perfect transfer to the DVD format.

VIII. Appreciate how many roles had to be cast for this series. Acting was almost always perfect.

IX. Recognize that Kieslowski was not a believer, but that he understood the power of the ten commandments in ways that those with a more self-centered faith cannot.

X. Forgive me for being so cutesy about this posting.

Program – Out Of My Skin

2010-03-06T13:27:00.000-08:00

This month I get to make the selection for book club (my books are not always well received). It's Out of My Skin by James Haskell. The book is about identity and choice. The principal character has the same name as the novelist. He uses movies as a reference for different events and feelings in his life (go figure). I thought it would be fun to curate an Out of My Skin program.

For some reason, Haskell (the character who shares the same identity as the author), watches an old film noir “Detour”. “Detour” is a noir classic, cheaply made, that resonates deeply with its dark sensibility and pared back style. The principal character, Al Roberts, contains classic noir contradictions – cynical and sentimental, thoughtless and feeling – that get him into deep, deep trouble.

Last March, I posted an entry for "North By Northwest". Cary Grant is one muse of Haskell's in this book. Haskell not only comments about this movie, but about Cary Grant's identity as Cary Grant when he is really Archie Leach. Again, if you never watched "North By Northwest", take this festival as opportunity to watch one of the best movies ever made.

Another Cary Grant movie in the book is "Notorious". Cary is a manipulative spy handler for Ingrid Bergman. Like "North By Northwest", "Notorious" is a masterful Alfred Hitchcock movie. When I was younger, I used to take Alfred Hitchcock for granted -- like Orson Welles, he was known at that point in his life for being known, Watch this and "North By Northwest", and you'll know why the French New Wave directors looked at him as perhaps the greatest movie director of all time.

The character Haskell embarks for a short time as a Steve Martin impersonator (don't ask, just read the book. Out of My Skin is actually a great book.) He references Steve Martin's movie, "Roxanne", a retelling of "Cyrano de Bergerac". This is of the "L.A. Story", "My Blue Heaven", "All of Me" Steve Martin, not the "Father of the Bride", "Cheaper by the Dozen" Steve Martin. In other words, smart and funny.

At one point, our character Haskell thinks of himself in the same way as Guy, the Cassevetes character in “Rosemary’s Baby”. He adopts another mask (of the devil), and believes that he has taken the identity of the masked character. “Rosemary’s Baby” is a wonderful horror film, scary and cerebral.

Finally, Haskell compares himself to Joe Gillis, the protagonist of "Sunset Blvd." Like Gillis, Haskell relates that he would like to "get free of a situation in which he's found a certain comfort, but lost any connection to what he is."

I loved this book. The movies explore the notion of who we are and how we relate to others. They ultimately ask when we behave differently than we normally do, if that means we are changed, or if we change the personae we inhabit. Good book, great movies.

Program – Employee Relations (French)

2010-02-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

One is serious, the other is a comedy. Here are two movies about the workplace, and about what going to a job does to us as people.

Laurent Cantet makes reflective and considerate movies. He uses non-professional actors for the majority of the roles, and the movies have some documentary feel to them in that they seem "real." In "Human Resources" Franck, a management intern assigned to the human resources department where his father and sister work in factory position, has an assignment. He brings his education and values to the job. When he realizes that senior managers intend to use his work to reduce the workforce -- perhaps including his dad in the layoff -- Franck has to make a difficult choice in his work and in his career decisions. "Human Resources" almost gets melodramatic as the third act unfolds, but it's strong and moving.

Besides two classic television comedies, "Beavis and Butthead" and "King of the Hill", Mike Judge has made three movies before his came to "Extract" in 2009. His second movie, "Office Space" is a cult favorite, and deals with the issues of working in a soulless, mindless office. Judge returns to the world of work in "Extract". He pares back the everything but the kitchen sink approach that worked in "Office Space" but didn't work as well in his next movie, "Idiocracy." It works well, and in its own way is just as thoughtful about the boredom of work, and the effect that a routine job has on people.

Best characters are the supporting ones. Beth Grant, who steals every movie she's in, is hilarious as the bigoted, lazy line worker. Dustin Miller is winning as the idiot gigolo. Ben Affleck does well as the bartender friend of Joel, the factory owner, (Jason Bateman), even though there's maybe too much of his Holden character from the Kevin Smith movies in this portrayal. Lead actors have a tougher job, being normal. Bateman and J.K. Simmons act like the characters they play in other movies. (by the way, does J.K Simmons get to act in every Jason Bateman movie out there today?)

Work needs to be done. When the work is disconnected from the worker, tragedy occurs -- maybe small tragedy, maybe big tragedy. Fodder for good movies, though.

Super Fly

2010-02-09T00:01:00.000-08:00

As good as any introduction to black exploitation movies of the 1970's, "Super Fly" has all the right elements: handheld cameras, unmatched film stock, an amazing custom Cadillac El Dorado (borrowed from a pimp who played the part of a [get this] pimp).

Old plot -- our man Priest wants to do one last deal before he takes the money and gets out of the life. Curtis Mayfield revived his career with his wonderful soundtrack (maybe better than James Brown's soundtrack for "Black Caesar" and much better than Isaac Hayes' soundtrack for "Shaft").

If you like it, there are so many more like this. I still like this one the best.

The Class (French)

2010-02-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

Laurent Cantet makes empathetic movies that don't allow people easy ways out of their situations. "The Class" takes place in an inner city middle school in Paris. You know the teachers, students and their families only from what you see at school.

Lead actor and co-screenwriter, Francois Begadeau, plays a newish and idealistic teacher, passionate and informal with his students. This is not always the strength the teacher thinks it is.

I've got two other Cantet movies in my queue. I have seen "Human Resources", which was equally good, if a little melodramatic towards the end. I recommend even if you aren't applying for Teach for America or have an interest in Parisian public education (and those of you who are).

Stone Reader

2010-01-30T16:19:00.000-08:00

This is a movie for all bibliophiles. At first I thought it was a made-up documentary, but it's all real. Parts of the 130 minute movie drag, but most of it is quite thoughtful. And, it streams on Netflix.

Jules et Jim (French)

2010-01-26T00:01:00.000-08:00

Recently saw "Jules et Jim" for the first time in over thirty years. Goodness, what a fine movie. Both personal and epic, deep and funny. Moving, but not cheap. Everything works.

Remembering Kate McGarrigle

2010-01-20T20:46:00.001-08:00

Nothing to do with a particular movie, but Kate McGarrigle passed away on Monday. Her lyrics were inspirational -- even for here:

"Let's make a date to see a movie

Some foreign film from gay Paris

I know you like to think you've got taste

So I'll let you choose the time and place"

Inglourious Basterds

2010-01-19T00:01:00.000-08:00

Over-the-top violence and too many plots make it less than perfect. Of course you could say the same thing about "Kill Bill" or "Pulp Fiction". A couple of scenes are breathtaking in their audacity and Tarantino's ability to pull it off.

There's a thing about his movies: when I'm watching them the first time, my mind tends to wander during the endless movie homages and stylized acting. Later on, I realize how much I loved the other parts of the movie. Watch it twice; it's a great movie, better than the first time.

King Rat

2010-01-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

Dark. George Segal is intriguing as the American corporal in a Japanese POW camp, principally inhabited by British soldiers. He wheels and deals, flouts chain of command, and generally pisses everyone off. Since he seems to know how to create and control the camp's black market, he gets away with it like everyone's idea of an American gangster.

2009 Index

2010-01-06T20:00:00.000-08:00

2 or 3 Things I Know About Her
500 Days of Summer
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul
All That Heaven Allows

Big Night
The Brothers Bloom
The Burmese Harp

Butterfly's Tongue
Comedy of Innocence
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

The Darjeeling Limited
Death and the Maiden

Death at a Funeral

Far From Heaven

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Finding Neverland
Funny Games

Heartbeat Detector

Helvetica

The Haunting
The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting
I Know Where I'm Going
In Bruges
La Belle Captive
La Bete Humaine
La Moustache

Lars and the Real Girl
Manhattan Murder Mystery

The Man from Elysian Fields
Michael Clayton
Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
North by Northwest
Off the Map
Pickpocket
Pitfall

The Third Man
True Romance

Unforgiven
Vagabond

Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Vitus

Wag The Dog
The Willow Tree

Wolf

Wonder Boys
You Can Count on Me

Mad Detective (Cantonese)

2010-01-05T00:01:00.000-08:00

Another Johnnie To Hong Kong crime extravaganza. More far fetched premise than other movies of his (at least that I've seen), but a lot of fun.

A brilliant, disturbed and retired detective "sees" the personalities that others have within them. As a result, he seems to live in his own world. He also was able to solve the unsolvable crimes back in the day.

A younger detective who remembers him when, asks the mad detective for help in a particularly tough case.

500 Days of Summer

2009-12-29T00:01:00.000-08:00

Starts out just a little bit too precious, but gets good about halfway through. The Zoey Deschamel character moves from an object to a person. In a similar way that the director shoots the buildings -- quirky close ups -- the Summer character is shot, until she asserts herself.

For a movie that talks about dowtown Los Angeles architecture, it didn't show enough -- talk about the Fine Arts Building, but no shots of the lobby?
Anyway, worth watching (My office building is in the background of the dance sequence. Cool)

The Haunting

2009-12-22T20:16:00.000-08:00

In the same way that worked in "The Shining" the house itself is the scary entity, but one person gets the worst of it. Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Russ Tamblyn, and an English actor Richard Johnson (don't know his work) are fun to watch. Most importantly, its a scary movie with no gore, no slashers and only one "Boo!" moment.

2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (French)

2009-12-20T18:21:00.001-08:00

If you love that mid to late 1960's Godard, this is for you. Between "Masculin Feminin" and "Week End", this is in your face, but there is some concession to character and story. Not easy, but not that difficult. Worth you while if you like Jean-Luc Godard movies.

The Third Man

2009-11-28T08:55:00.001-08:00

Post WWII Vienna, Orson Welles, intrigue, murder, cover-up. Classic film noir of high order.

Sleep Dealer

2009-09-20T22:15:00.001-07:00

Futuristic, but recognizable Mexican landscape. Closed border between Mexico and So. Cal., but people crossing the lines through cyberspace. At one point the commentary says, just what Americans dream of - the work done by Mexicans without them being here. Thought provoking.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off

2009-09-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

This is one where we have to see it on a yearly basis. Funny, sentimental. Everyone (even the "bad guys") is a sympathetic character. Wonderful time to spend watching a movie.

There Will Be Blood

2009-08-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

I guess the point here is that Paul Anderson brought back the old fashioned epic movie at a time when that sensibility and style was pretty much obsolete. Think of a quality movie in the past twenty or thirty years that deals with the domestic drama of those who create history.

Daniel Day-Lewis does a spot-on vocal impression of John Huston’s character from “Chinatown” (the postmodern answer to the epic feature). It’s compelling, it’s well-made, and it describes a time in Southern California history that had an impact on my family. My grandfather and his brother were among those people who moved their families to the tent cities in the Ventura and Kern counties.

Rear Window

2009-08-04T18:26:00.001-07:00

I want to do something different. The movie blog has been up for a year and a half, and there are over 200(!) movies listed. Rather than go on and on about the movies I watch and like, I’d like this to be more interactive – a virtual film society.

August’s movie is “Rear Window”. It’s easy to find, it’s in English and it’s in color. Even if you never watched it, you’ve seen the movie through parody and homage.

Rules are:
1. Rent the movie.
2. Watch the movie before the end of August.
3. Write a paragraph or two or ten about your experience – anything you want.
4. Post it. Under separate e-mail, I’m sending you permission to post. If that is too big a commitment, then post a comment under someone else’s posting.

That’s it. Come on. It’ll be fun.

Wolf

2009-07-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

I've rediscovered Mike Nichols after realizing that I like his movies. I think that I lost it during his transition from enfant terrible to a mere talented and thoughtful filmmaker. Anyway, "Wolf" features an almost subdued Jack Nicholson as decent and kind editor who turns into a werewolf as the movie unfolds.

Good werewolf story, thoughtful, fun James Spader acting, every other actor doing well; "Wolf" goes where it needs to go, without bombast or surprise. Enjoyable, especially if you like horror without slashing and gore.

Butterfly's Tongue AKA Butterfly

2009-07-17T22:07:00.000-07:00

One thing I particularly enjoy about foreign films is that they don't fit any Hollywood mold. Butterfly's Tongue explores various threads, tying none of them up at the end. A young boy grows up and learns a wide variety of lessons from his teacher/mentor, the Spanish Civil War tears villages apart. The acting of the boy and mentor are especially good.

Program – Children of Heaven

2009-07-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

Last week we saw "All That Heaven Allows". This week, we look at two movies that were inspired by Sirk's melodrama. They're very different -- essentially movies of their own time and consciousness. Both are beautiful and worth watching together because their riffs on "forbidden love" are just the start of what you can take from them.

"Ali: Fear Eats the Soul" (German) is Fassbinder's homage to Sirk. There may have been close-ups within the movie, but I don't remember any. Instead, the shots are composed to frame the actors in their environment, and tell the story in a visual manner, more effectively than the dialogue alone. Fassbinder uses color differently than Sirk, but in a striking way.

"Far From Heaven" initally seems like it tries to outdo the originals. The color is more vibrant than the Technicolor of "All That Heaven Allows". The setting seems more glossy and artificial. Unlike the inspiration, but similar to "Ali: Fear Eats the Soul" the men suffer as much (if not more) for their love and identities. As is typical for her, Patricia Clarkson feeds the movie without stealing it in a supporting role. If you can, watch this one on the biggest screen you can see.

All That Heaven Allows

2009-07-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

It's beautifully directed and photographed. It's a great melodrama. It inspired some wonderful movies -- at least from the perspective of 50+ years later (see next week). Watch it. Realize, my friends, in melodramas, it is a man's world. Rock Hudson pays no price for his behavior, other than what the screenwriters and director lay on him in order to keep him in the story.

Michael Clayton

2009-06-30T00:01:00.001-07:00

Well made political-legal thriller. Showcases the actors. Could have been over the top, but never gets there. I really like and admire this one.

Heartbeat Detector (French)

2009-06-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

I hesitate in recommending this because of an almost fatal philosophical flaw in the story, where a parallel is drawn between corporate downsizing and Nazi extermination. It's drawn with more subtlety than that, but for me that nearly ruined a thoughtful and well-made movie.

That said, I admired and enjoyed this movie.. The hero is a human resources professional (woo hoo!) who is drawn into a conflict between his CEO and a subordinate executive. The HR psychologist ends up in the place where strategic decisions butt up against human consequences.

French movie star Mathieu Amalric plays the protagonist, the other actors are excellent, and the movie is beautifully realized. You may not have such a visceral reaction to the one story element as I did, and if so, you will probably enjoy it even more. If you think the corporate/fascist link is too heavy handed, I can only ask you to put that aside in order to appreciate an excellent rental.

Pitfall (Japanese)

2009-06-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

It's an existential crime movie with a social conscience. It's a ghost story. It's hard edged and cold. It breaks your heart. It's black and white realist drama. It's surreal. There's a real strange father-son vibe. It's hard to describe, but it's compelling

The Brothers Bloom

2009-06-14T13:06:00.001-07:00

Although this movie is set in the present, it has a real feel of earlier con men films like Paper Moon. Even if you can guess what might be coming around the corner, there are still a few surprises, and you can also enjoy the great acting and the international settings.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2009-06-09T00:01:00.002-07:00

The screenwriter of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" also wrote "Forrest Gump". The two movies share the same easygoing pace, amiable main characters, and, in spite of a number of action sequences, a passive quality. "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is intelligent and well-crafted, but it is neither smart nor clever. And that's why it's good.

Program – The World's Coolest Movie Star

2009-06-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

Thus was the prounouncement of the American Cinemateque last year when it titled it's Jean Gabin festival. They were likely correct. A proto-Bogart, Gabin paved the way for Belmondo, McQueen and other anti-heroes long before the word was in our vocabulary. Both were made in 1938 by Marcel Carne (Port of Shadows) and Jean Renoir (La Bete Humaine), and are classics.

In "Port of Shadows" (French), Gabin played an Army deserter who has to choose between doing the right thing for a young woman victimized by criminals or finding safety by escaping France. Acting, story, photography and lighting are poetic and moody.

Gabin plays a locomotive engineer with a violent nature in "La Bete Humaine" (French). His portrayal is realistic, yet sympathetic.

In Bruges

2009-05-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

Sad, funny, well acted gangster movie that takes place in Bruges (hence the title]. There's violence: if you don't like violence, you need to know that. I don't think I could do it justice by trying to describe it. Please, just rent it.

The Willow Tree (Persian/French)

2009-05-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Beautifully realized parable from Iranian director Majid Majidi (who also directed "Children of Heaven"). Yusef, a university professor who was blinded as an early teenager, regains the ability to see thirty some years later. Emotionally powerful and complex, "The Willow Tree" (Persian/French) suffers only slightly when the story needs to unfold.

Death at a Funeral

2009-05-14T19:49:00.000-07:00

At the recommendation of my daughter, we watched this movie last night. We have not laughed so hard in a long time. Just watch Alan Tudyk high on some hallucinogen was enough to keep us in stitches, but the rest of it holds its own, too.

Wag The Dog

2009-05-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

"Wag the Dog" has too many things going for it to not be a classic. It has more quotable lines than "Office Space" or "Caddyshack"; it cuts closer to the bone than "Manchurian Candidate" or any of Oliver Stone's presidential biographies; yet it's too cool and cynical and smart to achieve the popular cult that those other movies have.

Program – Mother's Day

2009-05-05T00:01:00.001-07:00

Wonderful movies about mothers who are people as well.

I missed this over the years and finally caught up. What a great movie: moving, unexpected. The two principal actors make their characters believable and heartbreaking. Laura Linney's portrayal of the mom is funny and sad and alive.

"Finding Neverland" is Johnny Depp's movie, but one reason it works because Kate Winslet finds the right way to play Mrs. Davies.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

2009-04-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

I probably think of Woody Allen movies as hit or miss based upon my feelings at the time of their release, rather than anything to do with Woody Allen's ability to create a hit or miss. This is mostly a hit. Rebecca Hall's performance affected me the most, with the Spanish travelogue and a strong supporting cast making the movie.

La Belle Captive (French)

2009-04-21T00:01:00.000-07:00

It's surreal, an homage to Magritte. It is so 1980's in style. It has a sense of humor about itself. It revels in its own pretentiousness. All in all, I enjoyed the movie, and if you like that kind of stuff, you may enjoy it too. If any of those qualities leave you cold, you will not enjoy it at all. If you don't know, try it.

Wonder Boys

2009-04-14T00:01:00.001-07:00

This year, rent "Wonder Boys" for your April 20 celebration. A rare, good performance from Michael Douglas, great acting all around, Bob Dylan original song on the soundtrack, plus wonderful late 1960's - early 1970's folk/country rock music on the rest of the soundtrack. Just a well written story warmly told. Fire up and watch it.

Program – 2 by Ruiz

2009-04-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

A Chilean director who moved to France after being targeted as a young filmmaker by the Pinochet regime, Raul Ruiz is both surreal and supremely rational. He is one of my new discoveries for 2009, even though he began his career in the late 1960’s, and continues to direct features today.

“The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting” (French) can be explained, but I shouldn’t do that. Made in 1978, it’s a dry, funny, and slightly creepy labyrinth, and makes fun of things you thought were profound when you were in college, but forgot about when you realized that they can’t make you more money, get you in a satisfying relationship, or bring you closer to your Creator. Watch this and be reminded that these are still powerful enough to parody.

In 2000, Ruiz made “Comedy of Innocence” (French). Think of how you would have reacted to the ending of “The Sixth Sense”, if it turned out to be that the Bruce Willis character was just a real quiet guy, and there never were any ghosts. That’s the feeling I got watching this movie. I liked it.

True Romance

2009-03-31T00:01:00.000-07:00

Christopher Walken meets Dennis Hopper. Everything else is just a treat. This is a junk food movie of the best kind.

North by Northwest

2009-03-24T00:01:00.000-07:00

A good example of a perfect movie that isn't a "serious" one. Too many things to love and admire, but most of them revolve around Cary Grant. If you never saw it, you have to.

The Man from Elysian Fields

2009-03-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

This shows what can can happen when good writing and direction, combined with excellent acting gets put with the silliest plot. Very good, very likable movie. One you should rent.

Vagabond (French)

2009-03-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Compelling character study of a young woman who drops out of society in order to live a hobo's life in 1980's France. Sandrine Bonnaire portrays the vagrant who lives without grace or compromise. You have to work some in order to see the character as Bonnaire shows her.

Program – Painful

2009-03-03T00:01:00.001-08:00

Michael Haneke's "Funny Games" is a transgressive, wants-to-have-it-both-ways movie about violence. It really needs to be seen seen with something else to be taken as seriously as it wants to be. Thus...

Polanski's production of Ariel Dorfman's play, "Death and the Maiden" is good Roman Polanski and an decent thriller about a serious subject. A woman accidentally finds herself confronting a man she is sure tortured her many years earlier. She needs closure, and thinks that means revenge.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

2009-02-24T00:01:00.000-08:00

Very sweet (in a nice way, not a twee way) teenage romantic comedy. It has all the obligatory items: really smart kids, up-to-date soundtrack, a car so bad it has its own style. I enjoyed this movie, but all the while I kept thinking in the back of my mind, "How come these kids get served alcohol everywhere they go? I never got away with anything in high school."

2008 Index

2009-02-17T15:00:00.000-08:00

Alien
All That Jazz
American History X
American Psycho
American Splendor
The Americanization of Emily
The Anniversary Party
Apocalypse Now
Army of Shadows
Bad Lieutenant
Band of Outsiders
The Big Sleep
The Birds
Blow Up
Bob Le Flambeur
Boiler Room
Boondock Saints
Breaking News
The Bride Wore Black
Bringing Up Baby
Broken Flowers
Burn After Reading
The Business of Strangers
Cat People
Charlie Wilson's War
Cheech and Chong's Next Movie
Children of Heaven
Children of Paradise
Christmas In July
Cisco Pike
Citizen Kane
Citizen Ruth
Clay Pigeons
Clerks
Clockwatchers
The Comfort of Strangers
The Conversation
The Croupier
Crumb
Dead Man
Dead Ringers
Death in Venice
Death Proof
Death to Smoochy
Deep Crimson
Dinner Rush
The Dinner Game
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeousie
Dogma
Donnie Darko
Don't Look Now
Double Indemnity
Down By Law
Dr. Strangelove
Duck Soup
Edward Scissorhands
Election
Elevator to the Gallows
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Fear and Trembling
Flirting With Disaster
The Freshman
The Gambler
Ghost Dog
Ghost World
Go
God Said, "Ha!"
Gone Baby Gone
Grand Canyon
Grand Theft Parsons
The Grifters
Half Baked
Hard Eight
Hard Target
Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
Heaven
Heavenly Creatures
High Sierra
House of Games
The House of Mirth
I Shot Andy Warhol
I Walked with a Zombie
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
The In-Laws (1979 version)
Into the West
Jackie Brown
Jazz on a Summer's Day
Junior Bonner
Kill Bill, Vol. 1
Kill Bill, Vol. 2
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie
Kiss Me Deadly
Kung Fu Hustle
L’Avventura
La Ceremonie
La Femme Nikita
La Jetee
Lantana
The Last of Sheila
The Last Wave
Layer Cake
Le Boucher
Le Cercle Rouge
Leave Her to Heaven
Leaving Las Vegas
Les Diaboliques
Letter to Brezhnev
The Long Good Friday
The Long Goodbye
Lost in Translation
The Loved One
Lovely and Amazing
Made
The Magnificent Seven
Magnolia
The Maltese Falcon
The Man Who Wasn't There
The Manchurian Candidate (1962 version)
The Marriage of Maria Braun
Memento
Miami Blues
Mona Lisa
Morgan!
Mulholland Dr.
Murder My Sweet
My Dinner with Andre
National Lampoon's Vacation
The Night of the Hunter
Night Tide
Nightmare Alley
No Country for Old Men
No Man's Land
Nosferatu
Once Once Upon a Time in America
The Palm Beach Story
Parenthood
Paris, Texas
Peeping Tom
Pickup On South Street
The Player
Primary Colors
Raising Arizona
The Rapture
Red River
Repo Man
The Return
The Rules of the Game
Running On Empty
Rushmore
S.O.B.
Sex, Lies, and Videotape
Shadow of the Thin Man
Shallow Grave
Shaun Of The Dead
The Shining
Shoot The Piano Player
Small Change
Songs From the Second Floor
Songwriter
Southern Comfort
The Station Agent
Straight to Hell
Strangers On A Train
Suicide Kings
The Swimmer
Swingers
Sympathy for the Devil
The Thief of Bagdad
Touch of Evil
Touchez Pas au Grisbi
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
Twister
2 Days in Paris
Un Flic
Vampire's Kiss
Vertigo
Volver
Walkabout
The Wanderers
The War Room
Week End
What's Cooking?
The White Balloon
Who Can Kill a Child?
Who'll Stop the Rain
Yojimbo
A Zed and Two Noughts

La Moustache (French)

2009-02-17T00:01:00.001-08:00

Thoughtful psychological thriller; without crime or violence. Intriguing and compelling, "La Moustache" (French), features Vincent Lindon as a man whose sense of himself is slipping away, and he can't grasp why.

I Know Where I'm Going

2009-02-10T00:01:00.000-08:00

Lighthearted, but not lightweight movie about the rational pursuit of life goals. Then life gets in the way. A little dated (Wendy Hiller seems too old to be an ingenue, but her acting makes up for it.)

Lars and the Real Girl

2009-02-04T09:14:00.000-08:00

This is a sweet and funny film. What struck me was how a whole town of people rallied around a delusional man in a loving way, even when it would have been very easy not to.

Program – Brothers

2009-02-03T00:01:00.000-08:00

You could do a lot worse than spend your time watching these two movies. Both are warm looks at sibling rivalry and at great hopes based upon great needs.
Wes Anderson's "The Darjeeling Limited" is another shaggy dog story -- this time about three brothers on their own spiritual journey. Their conflicts seem to mean more to them than to us, but that's a strength in this movie.

"Big Night" with Stanley Tucci and Tony Shaloub is one of those charming ensemble pieces. Two people who love and respect one another, who are respectful and pleasant with one another end up having to work through life-long and contemporary conflicts with one another.

The Burmese Harp (Japanese)

2009-01-27T00:01:00.000-08:00

Inspirational, moving, majestic yet simple. This one of the world classics that doesn't get the attention it still deserves. Put in on your list.

Helvetica

2009-01-25T16:52:00.001-08:00

You might think that a documentary about a font would be boring - what can one possibly say about a font, after all? Plenty, and most of it is interesting. Especially about the most pervasive font since 1957. The film does lag in a few spots, but many movies do.

You can stream this one on Netflix.

Straight Time

2009-01-20T00:01:00.001-08:00

I forgot that Dustin Hoffman is one of the greatest actors in film history; he has been around so long. A performance like this lets you forgive "Meet the Fockers".

In this movie, you see what Hoffman's character, Max Dembo, is thinking, just by watching Hoffman. You don't hear him speak, you just watch him walk around Los Angeles, newly released from prison, and you just know what Dembo is thinking.

Features early or first performances by young Theresa Russell, Garey Busey and Kathy Bates. Scary Harry Dean Stanton part.

Manhattan Murder Mystery

2009-01-17T08:58:00.000-08:00

If you enjoyed Hitchcock's Rear Window and good Woody Allen, this is the movie to watch.

Off the Map

2009-01-13T00:01:00.001-08:00

"Off the Map" requires you to take it at its own leisurely pace, and savor the performances and the New Mexico settings. This is a generous and kind movie. Watch on a quiet weekend morning when you aren't rushed to do something else or are distractable.

Program – Outlaws

2009-01-06T00:01:00.001-08:00

There's something about Clint Eastwood's movies [those he directs, more than the wide variety of those in which he acts] that reminds me of international "art house"movies from the 1950's and 1960's. He holds up against Antonioni, Bergman, Goddard, or Truffaut in having a thoughtful and meaningful vision and style. Watch this movie at the same time as Bresson's "Pickpocket", and you'll see.

"Unforgiven" may be the best serious western since "Red River". It beats "The Searchers" and the westerns of Sergio Leone and Sam Peckinpah, in its maturity and depth. Among the many themes [so as to juxtapose this with the next movie], is that of identity, behavior and motive. It's very violent, it moves at the same measured pace as other Clint Eastwood movies -- that is, slow -- but you need to see this.

Paced about the same, and with the same reserve as the Eastwood movie, Robert Bresson's "Pickpocket" (French) is a good introduction to his movies. He shows us the soul of a young, amoral man, who wants to hone his technical skills as a criminal rather than use his talents for some more elevating activity. I can't describe the movie well, but you will be a better person for having watched it.

Vitus (German)

2009-01-01T21:38:00.000-08:00

This movie has several things I enjoy - a wunderkind on piano and subtitles. The plot twists more than your typical "what do we do with this little genius" story, and the boy actors are great. I also adore the grandfather/grandson relationship, not to mention the soundtrack.

Deep Crimson (Spanish)

2008-12-30T00:01:00.000-08:00

Here's one you probably haven't seen. From Mexico. Director started working for Luis Bunuel in the early 1960's. Based on a real case, "Deep Crimson" (Spanish) should be completely a downer. Lots of energy and edge keep you in it.

What's Cooking?

2008-12-28T22:00:00.001-08:00

Even though this is a Thanksgiving flick, it has truths for any family holiday get together (err...family headache). Very LA. Very generational. Almost as good as Tortilla Soup. It's fun to try to piece together which character is whom between the four families.

I had thought that it would be another redemption through food movie, and for a brief interlude in the middle, it seems as though it might be.

Burn After Reading

2008-12-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

When this movie came out, it received cold to lukewarm reviews. Most of the critics complained that it wasn't funny. Odd, the audience in the theater I saw it in were howling. If you need your characters "likeable" don't rent it. It's funny and mean-spirited and snotty and a little sad and a little violent -- a Coen brothers comedy.

Songs From the Second Floor (Swedish)

2008-12-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

This could be a future classic movie that, if discovered, people will talk about and write about for a long time. Droll, demanding, and dark meditation from Swedish director Roy Andersson. It's funny, just not in the usual movie manner. Prescient in its view of this year's economic crisis.

Program – Good Time Charlies

2008-12-09T00:01:00.001-08:00

Two studio-made movies -- both with strong writers and directors and top-shelf actors. Both take a wry look at the military and government, without letting the humor leak into the tragedy of war. In other words, entirely conventional. However, these are good movies, and you should see them.

Arthur Hiller's "The Americanization of Emily" stars James Garner and Julie Andrews. It has solid 1960's black and white photography, a Paddy Chayefsky screenplay, and plays it both ways around the two themes of the movie -- cowardice and exploitation of women in wartime. Dark, but not too dark.

Without Mike Nichols' touch, "Charlie Wilson's War" would have turned out worse than a dog like "The Bonfire of the Vanities". A light and deft view of how American funding of the mujahedin turned the tide in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the acting is almost seamless [Philip Seymour Hoffman does a little shtick]. Most importantly, one scene was filmed in Casey's, an Irish bar in downtown Los Angeles. I've obviously spent too much time spent at Casey's.

Elevator to the Gallows (French)

2008-12-02T00:01:00.000-08:00

Lots of things to appreciate and enjoy in this movie -- French film noir with an improvised score by Miles Davis. And Jeanne Moreau is fantastic.

All That Jazz

2008-11-25T00:01:00.000-08:00

This is the kind of musical a guy can enjoy. It concerns death, drug use, smoking, womanizing and its effect on all the star's relationships with women -- even his daughter. It's a salute to self-destructiveness and unchecked ego. Who couldn't love a movie like this?

Breaking News (Cantonese / Mandarin / English)

2008-11-18T00:01:00.000-08:00

Johnnie To directs solid Hong Kong gangster movies. This has a wicked subtext about the police manipulating the news media, smart, yet implusive cops, and the challenges of underestimating one's adversaries. Strong movie.

The Return (Russian)

2008-11-11T00:01:00.000-08:00

This is a must-rent. It's a beautifully realized tragic parable about son - father relationships. The first feature directed by Andrei Zvyagintsev, "The Return" (Russian) is simple and haunting.

Program – Too Smart by Half

2008-11-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

Nice enough people making bad decisions while believing that the inevitable consequences won't apply to them.
Danny Boyle's first feature, "Shallow Grave", was also the first movie for Ewan McGregor. It's a clever and spooky thriller.

The characters in "Suicide Kings" are more engaging than the three roommates in "Shallow Grave". But, they are clearly over their heads when they decide to kidnap Christopher Walken's character before they think their plan through very well. It's another Walken tour de force, where he carries the movie while bound to a chair.

Program – Tragic beauty

2008-10-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

One day, try and find something by the English band, "The Legendary Pink Dots."

I first saw "Death in Venice" (Italian, English, Polish, French) when I was in college, and it blew me away. Not quite so moving now that I'm older, but still a great movie.

My dad and a friend of his saw "Leaving Las Vegas"as a very dark comedy. Too bleak for me. Nicolas Cage's and Elizabeth Shue's performances elevate the movie past the deep depressing story.

Program – Culture Clash

2008-10-21T00:01:00.001-07:00

What happens when a couple fall in love somewhere where one is a native and the other is a "foreigner".
Julie Delpy turns channels classic Woody Allen in "2 Days in Paris" (English/French). Her foil is Adam Goldberg. Very funny.

A romantic musical, "Once" (English/Czech) takes place in Dublin where a young musician meets an attractive Czech street vendor. They both love music, and well, you know.

Program – Show Business

2008-10-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

Do you ever watch the tv show, "Entourage" and think, "Why them? What gives these idiots the right to be so pampered and still have so much drama?" Two funny and underappreciated movies about show business people thinking, "Why me?"

In the opening scene of "Songwriter", Kris Kristofferson and Willie Nelson sing out, "Who do you screw to get out of this place?" The plot is simple, but the story is subordinate to Kris and Willie's characters, as well as great performances by Rip Torn, Melinda Dillon, and Lesley Ann Warren.

Blake Edwards' "S.O.B." was ahead of its time. If you thought "Burn After Reading" was funny, you'll laugh through this.

Program – Shame and Scandal

2008-10-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

So, the new hired girl arrives to the household. Does she fit in? Does the family accept her? What secrets will she discover?

"I Walked With A Zombie" is another smart Val Lewton produced horror (but not really horror) movie from the 1940s. It riffs on "Jane Eyre", the near slavery of sugar cane plantation workers, and of course, the undead. There are a few frightening moments, but the movie is about a culture where births are mourned as another soul comes into the world of misery and deaths are celebrated as the soul's delivery to heaven.

Claude Chabrol described "La Ceremonie" (French) as "the last Marxist film." An upper class family living in the country hires Sophie (Sandrine Bonnaire) as their new housekeeper. After many mistaken assumptions and misunderstood communications, abetted by the quirky local postal worker Jeanne (Isabelle Huppert), mayhem ensues. Chabrol doesn't allow us to be entertained by this. He wants to confront us with it instead. Effective and moving.

Program – Business Time

2008-09-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

Lots of movies deal with the idea that to be successful in a competitive business world, you have to give up some of your integrity. Two takes with good acting.

Stockard Channing and Julia Stiles provide intensity and energy to what could have been a filmed stage play in “The Business of Strangers”. It begins as a straight ahead examination of what it’s like to get older and live out of a suitcase for your company. It gets weirder.

“Boiler Room” gave us Vin Diesel and Giovanni Ribisi early in their careers. It’s more melodramatic, but with flashes of humor and homages to “Wall Street” and “Glengarry Glen Ross.”

Program – Silly Men

2008-09-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

In these two movies, the victim/heroine Little Red Riding Hood is played by a grown up adult man, who is blind to the situation in front of him. Both movies take place in Venice, where the maze of alleys stand in for the woods. Both are cerebral horror movies. Good to watch together.

In Nicolas Roeg’s “Don’t Look Now”, the grieving father played by Donald Sutherland, actually chases a red riding hood, similar to one his daughter wore. Deliberately slow and building to the climax, you need to work a little to get the fright.

“The Comfort of Strangers” builds its tension as well. But, here you have Christopher Walken and Helen Mirren taking you in very strange places. You will say, “Ew!” a few times before the movie is over.

Both use explicit sexual images to establish the intimacy and love that the protagonist couples have for one another. Definitely not one to watch with your kids.

Program – He has tasted good and evil, in your bedrooms and your bars

2008-09-16T00:01:00.000-07:00

What was it about Los Angeles in the 1970’s? Our anti-heroes were so jaded and weak, yet likeable and identifiable. As these two movies begin, we see how the principal characters worked so hard to redeem themselves. Then we watch them struggle with their demons.
Neither movie was popular when they were released. Both are good cult movies and worth the time to watch the acting and the different looks of L.A. thirty years ago.
John Cassavetes’ “The Killing of a Chinese Bookie” stars Ben Gazzara as a strip club owner who runs up large gambling debts that he can’t pay. Dark and brooding.
In “Cisco Pike” Kris Kristofferson shares the movie with Karen Black, Roscoe Browne, Gene Hackman and Harry Dean Stanton. We watch someone with not much of a moral compass try and navigate himself out of a dilemma. Filmed in Venice when it was where you went to buy pot, but didn’t feel comfortable staying.

Program – Disturbed Meals

2008-09-09T00:01:00.000-07:00

Two movies about people just trying to enjoy their meals and the interruptions that challenge a good evening's repast.

Please don’t try to make sense of Luis Buñuel’s “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie”. You’ll only wreck any possibility of enjoying it. It’s surreal and over the top, and enjoyable as well.

“Dinner Rush” director, Bob Giraldi is principally a commercial and video director. He also owns restaurants, like the one where this movie was filmed. It’s a gangster movie and a restaurant docudrama and a relationship movie and a comedy and a thriller. Worth watching.

Program – Women Who Love Too Much

2008-09-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

No namby-pamby tales of co-dependency here, the women of these movies really go too far for their special guys.

"Leave Her to Heaven" features Gene Tierney as a femme fatale who just wants to have some alone time with her husband. Everyone else wants him as well. She'll show them. Classic noir-melodrama.

In Fassbinder's "The Marriage of Maria Braun", Hanna Schygulla portrays an ambitious and street-wise woman during and after the second World War. I didn't know what to expect from this before I saw it. Now it's a favorite.

Program – Bill "Groundhog-Day, Ghostbustin'-ass" Murray!

2008-08-26T00:01:00.000-07:00

Maybe it is what we bring to him, but the hangdog, morose Bill Murray is even more winning than the quick, wiseacre Bill Murray.
Wes Anderson's second movie, "Rushmore" is based in part on his high school. Murray and Jason Schwartzman are clever foils for one another.

In "Broken Flowers", we get another Jim Jarmusch road movie, but less deadpan than some of his others. Bill Murray doesn't ask for any sympathy for his character, but somehow he earned it anyway.

Program – Defiance of fate

2008-08-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Who woulda thought that the 1970's was Dostoyevsy's decade?
James Caan and Paul Sorvino's performances elevate "The Gambler" from melodrama to very watchable.

"Grand Theft Parsons" is a wonderful guilty pleasure. Johnny Knoxville is amiably goofy, and it has Gram Parsons' music.

Program – No Morals

2008-08-12T00:01:00.001-07:00

Two movies that don't require kids around for you to watch them, but are suitable for children over the age of 8 or 9. Except for the overall message -- explicit in "Small Change" -- that children are vulnerable to the whims of adults, there are no Aesopian morals to these stories. Perfect for kids, enjoyable for everyone else.

When I first heard an audio clip from "Into the West" played during a radio movie review, I teared up. The movie is even better.

I saw "Small Change" (French) when it first came out. It stands up just as beautifully thirty-some years later.

The Thief of Bagdad

2008-08-07T21:09:00.001-07:00

This movie has a little of everything you would expect from Hollywood in 1940: wish-granting genie, magic carpet, flying horse, beautiful princess (white actress), hero (white actor), evil dictator (dressed in black), lush orchestrations during every moment of the movie, cast of thousands (or hundreds), views of Utah, corny special effects, and a happy ending.