A collection of my idiosyncratic thoughts & film reviews. I find spending time sitting in the dark watching far too many films back to back a deeply relaxing experience. International, Indy, Hollywood, Vampires - I have very flexible tastes...
Slow day today - maybe which is why I sat down and entered the complete list (I hope) of films showing at Palm Springs. By my count I get 191 films, not including the new secret screening entry. As befitting the "international" part of the festival's title 62 countries are represented. A histogram counting the number of films from each country is included with the post (just click to blow it up to readable proportions). The top contributing countries with at least 5 films are listed below. Not a lot of huge surprises - though I think India may have fared better than in years past. If for some reason you're looking the list of films by country in a simple format (I typed the whole mess into Excel) just shoot me a note by email or in the comments.
Wow, it's been a while since I've attended a festival where preparation is a must. With the schedule out several weeks before I arrive in Palm Springs and only the ability to see 4 films a day I feel I really need to put some research in. First off I compiled an initial cut of things that sounded interesting from the festival description and the limited buzz I've heard about some of them. Then I painstakingly tried to find a review on Variety.com for each of them. That certainly wasn't made any easier by the new pay wall Variety thinks is a good idea for them. One can argue about whether it makes sense for them to erect such a barrier or if it's a road to lessened relevance in today's world. But I won't get into that here. Thankfully in short order I figured out a few simple ways to get the info I needed for now. That resulted in the way too big list of 56 films that caught my attention.
With this list of reviews and a few gut feelings (yes, I'm looking at you Artois the Goat) I culled things resulting in a shorter list to try to build my fest plans around. At 22 films it's almost do-able. Though when I look at the actual timing of the schedule I'm sure a good chunk of it won't be possible. Seen any of the films? Would love your insight in the comments - or what you're thinking is can't miss in the second half of the fest (even if you like me are just guessing).
Here's my shortened list. First link is to the Palm Springs site, second is to the Variety review if available.
Of course, the funniest part is that almost as soon as I arrive I'm at least 60% likely to shred the well laid plans and have me running off to something I never even thought to attend.
If you're curious - here's a list of the films that made my first big cut. All are in the second half of the festival when I'm planning to attend.
On Thurs tickets went on sale (at least for members) for the Palm Springs International Film Festival. Going through their website I found a number of films I've seen earlier in the year. This post contains a short description of each and a recommendation where appropriate. Hopefully these notes may prove helpful to folks selecting their films. Just be sure to take a look at some of my past festival favorites on the right hand side of the blog to ensure your tastes are at lease somewhat aligned with mine.
Looking at the daily schedule grids it appears that in a repeat from last year it'll be hard to fit more than 4 films in most days. That's sort of sad for everyone traveling in from out of town. The choices tend to wind down earlier in the evening then many other festivals, which might have something to do with the local demographics. At least it's possible to get a full nights sleep in between the end of one day and the start of another. But still, I'd rather have the choice of staying up to catch another film. Maybe just me?
From the list of things I've seen, here are my top recommendations:
The White Ribbon (Germany) - From the director of Cache this gorgeous black and white film set in pre WW-I Europe kept me glued to the screen even at a 10:30pm Telluride screening after a long day of film. Easily one of my top 3 films seen in 2010. I don't think its appeal is universal as I've met some folks who didn't like it at all. But I loved it.
Will Not Stop There (Croatia)- Well calibrated romance/comedy/tragedy. Set in the continuing aftermath of the wars in the Balkans we're introduced to the story by the semi neutral narrator. As someone of Gypsy heritage he puts himself somewhat outside the conflict between Croats and Serbs. He's found a certain measure of financial security in the porn business due to his "anomaly." A seriously devoted family man except for the career his wife doesn't know he's asked to help find a former female co-worker by a man who appears from the blue. Why this Croatian man is looking for the wife of a former Serbian officer slowly unravels itself. As does the an involving, sweet and often funny story. Saying a lot more would probably take something away from it.
Red Riding Trilogy (UK) - Based on a set of four books condensed into three films the collection forms a coherent whole that's best watched together. Sharing a screenwriter but varying in directors (one for each of the three outings) each film's feel is visibly different. A series of child murders confound the Yorshire police department. Both the crimes of the killer and those of the police department are brutal and hard to watch. But the story pulled me into this extremely gritty police procedural and I just wanted to know what happened. The final film gives solid closure, without wrapping things up so tightly that your brain is given a free pass. It's not a pretty picture - but a darn good one. If you ever enjoyed Prime Suspect this will likely work for you.
About Elly (Iran) - one of the better films I saw at SIFF this past year. A group of upper class Iranians head off on vacation. The married couples bring along a young woman they're trying to setup with a single member of their long standing group. Some things go terribly wrong and a variety of lies and related deceits come to the forefront. Like many Iranian films it seems like it probably works at other levels as well.
Other films I've seen that will be screening at the Palm Springs 2010 festival (roughly alphabetical order) are listed below with my thoughts.
Air Doll (Japan) - breaks what appears to be a basic rule of films about life sized sex dolls. Whether the dolls in question come to life or not, I thought these works were supposed to be light romantic romps. Not existential treatments of what it means to be alive and the loneliness of humanity. But I suppose I shouldn't have expected Lars and The Real Girl go to Tokyo from the director of Still Walking one of my favorite films from 2008. When we first meet Nozomi (the air doll of the title) she's a companion for a middle aged salaryman who lives alone and comes home to dress her up, share his day with her, and yes use her for her intended purpose. After we have some time to understand the rythyms of the household Nozomi magically comes to life. The story (and the underlying allegory) goes from there. It is not a fun, light film but is well acted and at least visually interesting. Didn't love it - sort of felt neutral while watching. It's possible the urban loneliness and the destiny Nozomi seems to fight of being created for a specific purpose may have resonance with modern Japanese city dwellers that I don't fully have the background to understand.
Different from Whom? (Italy) - Not altogether unpredictable I still enjoyed the bright photography, good chemistry and easy humor. Piero is a councilman in Italy who at the start is primarily focused on gay and lesbian issues. He's a sharp dresser, articulate and seems to have an extended loving group of family and friends. His partner is concerned that he's a bit of a playboy, but other than that he seems to have a solid if unexceptional political life. Due to some wacky local (and possibly uniquely Italian) politics he ends up his parties surprise candidate for Mayor. He's paired in the election with a more "family oriented" candidate. The pair start off frosty but after some compromises and a shared love of shopping (I said it was amusing, not stereotype free) they hit it off. Their improved tolerance for each other and a series of events grossly misinterpreted by the press send their candidacy soaring. But the strange bedfellow's closeness threaten both Piero's relationship and everyone's world views. This won't be winning an Oscar anytime soon, but I think you could do worse. I laughed, didn't think excessively and liked the fact that the ending was slightly different than what you might think reading the description.
Fish Tank (UK)- A coming of age story about a 15 year old girl from what I guess you can call an 'at risk' background. Raised often neglectfully by her single mom her only refuge is her personal time with hip hop dance. When a man comes into her mom's life and offers some positive reinforcement she seems to be on a more positive track. Will things go dark? - well that's pretty clear if you read the description or have ever seen a movie with a 'nice guy' and a sexually awakening teen in the house. Well played across the board it's a pleasure to watch. Except when it's not. Can't say I "enjoyed" it but it worked for me.
Fortapasc (Italy) - The film follows the last four months in the life of a young journalist whose reporting on the Camorra resulted in his assassination. Based on a true story it was described at the screening I attended by the director as a sad story, but not necessarily a sad movie. The movie almost forces you to compare it with Gomorrah though they really are very different films. It's not quite the sweeping vision that Gomorrah is, instead focusing on the one reporter's life which is just taking off when he's tragically murdered. As based on true events slice of life biopic the film generally worked for me.
Garbage Dreams (USA) - It seems that up until recently Cairo, Egypt had no centralized municipal garbage service. Instead the work of garage collection was performed by a community of poor residents who made their living picking up and recycling trash. This documentary profiles three young men involved in the trade specifically and the community around them in general. It's an interesting film and I definitely learned about a world I didn't know existed. My only (small) complaint is that I actually would have liked to learn more about how they do what they do in a deeper way. But overall it held my attention and taught me something. So not a runaway fantastic doc but worth adding to your list if the subject interests you.
Home (Switzerland) - A case study of why you never, ever, ever want to buy a house alongside a major freeway. More directly it's about a family that lives in a house at the end of a never completed highway. They seem incredibly happy and close. All is well. Then the project which has been on hold for 10 years is suddenly completed. Cutting them off from their lifestyle and causing both the family and the individuals to go into a cycle of decline that just gets worse and worse. It's listed as a comedy - but I don't think that's the most accurate description. I thought it was interesting for the first half - but as the problems mounted I started to become a bit less interested. By the end - where everything is pretty much falling I'd realized that I watched a well acted, well put together story that left me a little less than satisfied. Not bad - just not a standout for me given this year's field. But definitely something different than the norm.
Involuntary (Sweden) -Before I went I'd heard some pretty negative stuff about this film - so it was with some trepidation that I gave it a try. But surprise, surprise I sort of liked it. There are a series of interwoven plot lines - but not in the sense that there's a web of coincidence that truly ties everyone together. Also important to know is that these are scenes - rather than complete stories. I think the dynamics/dialog are the film - not the destination of each plot line. If that sounds horrible this probably isn't the movie for you. I thought it worked and it was one of those films that you could have a conversation about afterward.
Kimjongilia (France) - Horrifying personal stories from people who've escaped from North Korea. Technically well done documentary that did fill in some gaps in my knowledge about the history of North Korea. And managed to make it sound worse than the news stories about the same facts did. Guaranteed to make you feel worse about the world for letting such a regime exist, and for the fact they've got the bomb. How you'll feel about the use of interpretive dance in the film is harder to predict.
Last Station - A biopic on the last year of Tolstoy's life. With a coming of age/romantic subplot between his male secretary and a carefree follower. I felt I learned a reasonable amount about Tolstoy's social movement and watched an enjoyable relationship film. Helen Mirren is wonderful as Tolstoy's wife who loves his even though she violently disagrees with him on almost every one of his social principles.
North (Norway) - guy recovering from depression/anxiety goes on a road trip. Except without a road - instead using a snowmobile, skies, etc. on trip to meet the son he didn't know he had, meeting quirky characters along the way. Very pleasant to watch, maybe not in my top ten of the year but a solid film. Just don't leave the main character alone in your domicile with a stove...
North Face (Austria) - Germans try to climb never before reached mountain peak around 1936. Either for the spirit of adventure, to be famous, or to glorify Hitler. Personally I think it's better when folks just risk their lives for more traditional reasons, like to get laid. This whole for the glory of the third reich makes me uncomfortable and took me out of the film. Though it based on a true expedition, so I guess it can't be avoided. Beautiful scenery and a fair amount of interesting stuff to learn about the mechanics of climbing. They do try to cover the "politics" of the time, where the heroes aren't quite comfortable with it - but their need to climb mountains rather than deal with being in the army still is at best distracting. It is probably worth seeing, and doing so on a big screen if you can. As far as climbing movies go it's a good one - especially if like me you have no idea about the expedition's outcome.
OSS 117 - Lost in Rio (France) - The sequel to a hilarious French spy spoof this one falls short of its predecessor. I caught this as the closing night film at this year's Seattle festival. At that point the director introducing it explained that if you liked the character previously - you'd probably enjoy him this time. Given that previously he was a misogynist, racist, jerk - who was now also anti-semitic as well. The movie, like a lot of sequels wasn't quite as funny as the first one. But I still laughed often enough to enjoy myself. There was perhaps a little too much running around "adventure" type stuff thrown in. The action is better used in smaller doses as the best laughs come when the character is speaking - or especially trying to untangle himself from saying something that's offended those around him.
Samson and Delilah (Australia) - interesting near silent film from Australia following the (mostly) horrific trials of a teen aboriginal couple. Liked it - though often painful to watch.
Shameless (Czech Republic) - follows the lives of a husband and wife as their marriage unravels. Pretty directly given the husband's shameless chasing of their au pair due to a serious case of seven year itch (and perhaps an unmet need for engaging in an act with a woman that he tells his friend about with perhaps more relish than seems believable). Plus he suddenly realizes his wife does have a prominent nose - seems as good a reason as any. Directed by the filmmaker who helmed Divided We Fall and Beauty in Trouble. A nice enough film (with at least one or two serious laughs) - though not as good as Beauty in Trouble.
Terribly Happy (Denmark) -The oddest thing about this film is that I saw it in Palm Springs at last year's festival. No idea what it's doing back. The film is a bout policeman who's sentenced to penance at an out of the way town. There's a bit of an off kilter Twin Peaks property to the endeavor from the get go. Complete with the little girl pushing a stuffed animal laden pram about town, the three prominent citizens playing cards in a barren room, and the ominous "we handle things ourselves here" intro from the townsfolk. Of course as every good law man the new officer arrives with his own "past" to be dealt with. Throw in a femme fatale, people mysteriously gone missing, a voice over about problems being disposed of in the bog and away things go... Reading the description I was hoping for something truly great such as Adam's Apples of a few years ago. This is less outright funny and more ironic black comedy. It's not at all bad, but I can't put it in the "must see" camp.
The Other Bank (Georgia) - 12 year old Georgian refugee searches for his father. With an occasional life affirming moment thrown in this well directed film was overall still pretty depressing. It's an interesting film with what I believe is a fair amount of symbolism that was too subtle for me unfortunately. Nothing is wrong with either of these things - just wasn't quite what I was looking for on the day I saw it.
The Sicilian Girl (Italy) -Based on true events drama about a case where a Sicilian girl testifies against the local mafia. The director who did this film made a documentary of the same events about 10 years earlier. I found it compelling to watch, especially as I had no clue as to the real world outcome.
The Swimsuit Issue (Sweden) - An out of work man and his friends turn their floor hockey group into a male synchronized swim team. I'd heard this film described has a hilarious comedy. After seeing it that (for me at least) comes across as slightly misleading. There are some funny parts (the audience was laughing) but for me not enough to carry it as a straight comedy. But there are other aspects, the relationship with his daughter and the adoption/subversion of sports movie cliches that add additional dimensions. I wouldn't say this is one of the best films I've seen, but it was interesting and generally enjoyable to watch. Though you might not expect it from the write up it does take synchronized swimming somewhat seriously, showing the difficulty and some of the beauty of the sport - some of the maneuvers they do were surprisingly impressive.
Welcome (France) - A boy arrives in France from Iraq with the goal of getting to London to meet up with his love. He tries without success to make the illegal crossing into England. Stuck back in France he hits upon the idea of swimming the English channel. Taking lessons he develops a friendship with his instructor. The film is both a story of friendship/love/choices but also provides a window into the mixed feelings on immigration within France. I was pulled in enough to care about the characters. Didn't completely fall in love with the film - but was a solid effort in my book.
OK - that's it for recommendations at this point. Back to looking at the scheduled screenings and making my own personal picks. If you've seen anything you recommend would love to see your thoughts in the comments.
Update (12/27): Just remembered I should add a link to Ken Rudolph's list of all films he's seen in 2009 - it's one heck of a list and likely will have a lot of overlap with the Palm Springs offerings. As always you'll want to read some reviews of things you have seen to get calibrated - but I think that goes without saying.
OK - it's official - having seen two trailers I now seriously am looking forward to Kick-Ass. I hadn't heard much about it's earlier buzz - just that most recently it was the most well received film at the recent 24 hour movie marathon Butt-Numb-A-Thon. Then I caught a trailer ahead of Avatar (I think) - just hope I'm not heading towards serious disappointment in a few months driven by high expectations. As opposed to Youth in Revolt where I'm avoiding all trailers until I can see the movie (read all three books so I figure I already know enough about the story) in this case I figure at least two is OK at least to whet the appetite. First is the one playing in theaters for general audiences,
The second below is definitely NSFW and shows the film to be significantly darker than you'd guess from the general preview trailer. Plus it suggests the possibility that Nicholas Cage may have nailed two in a row.
I probably should be thinking more about the serious cinema options coming up in Palm Springs in a few weeks - but at least for tonight I'm pretty psyched to see Kick-Ass.
Updated 1/1/2010: Found another trailer lurking around YouTube so adding it into the mix.
I'd missed this film at SIFF 2009 and had heard good things from those who did watch it then. So I was very pleased to see it making its way back through Seattle. While it wasn't 100% what I expected I thought it was a very solid film and worth checking out if the material appeals to you.
Set during WW-II the film introduces us to two rather different men working as a team for the Danish resistance. Their main task appears to be the execution of locals working with the Nazi occupation. Flame is a younger man (around 23) whose code name presumably comes from his bright red hair. He's mainly the trigger man of the pair working through several killings a day in some cases. He almost always presents as relatively calm - towards the cold and methodical end of the spectrum. The older partner, Citron more often than not is the driver and looks perennially haggard, often dripping sweat - but still very dependable. They have a significant support network up to and including the local police (in voice over Flame says that everyone who's not scared assists them). Their leadership consistently wants to restrict their targets to Danish citizens fearing repercussions if they attack any of the German leadership. On the other hand Flame and Citron would very much like to ignore these orders and assassinate the head of the local Gestapo. That underlying tension of goals persists throughout the film.
Stressful as the basic situation must have been there's more intrigue afoot. Add into the mix the source of their orders which at some points causes the pair to begin to question the motivation of some of the targeting, political calculations from several interests about how to run the resistance, and a femme fatale whose allegiances are uncertain. Based on a true story about the Danish resistance Flame and Citron are portrayed as men who struggled to do a job they viewed as necessary to take their country back. Heroes to the Danish people who wanted the Nazi's out and feared by the occupiers (who'd put a large bounty on their heads). As much of the tension comes from trying to understand who is trying to take advantage of who during wartime as from the fear of them being caught.
In the end everyone involved (and the viewer) senses that their most likely reward for the efforts will be a violent death. The film opens with a scene of Flame preparing to go to work, part of which is clearly to ensure he has a poison capsule at the ready, presumably to avoid being taken alive. This very dark backdrop reminded me of a similar feel present in the 1969 Army of Shadows about French resistance fighters - a new print was released to theaters sometime in the last few years.
It's not a fun film, but it is gripping at many points, well acted and an interesting view of a part of WW-II that I'd really never thought about before. I'd read this is one of the most expensive films made in Denmark. That money shows through in a positive sense in the backdrops, wardrobe and overall well done period look of the film. Perhaps most positively, Flame & Citron doesn't present a dumbed down sense of the world - as the film ended I realized I still had questions about who exactly had done what and why. But I suppose that's perhaps the most realistic aspect of it all...
I've been having mixed feelings about the new Sherlock Holmes film since I first saw a trailer for it. On one hand, I have to admit it looked like it could be a lot of fun. At the same time I worried that one of the cooler cerebral story lines could be co-opted into a meaningless action film. Exhibit A of that dreadful phenomena being Mission Impossible. If you're not sure what I mean just go back and watch the original series (or even to some degree the first Mission Impossible movie before it got panned for being "complicated"). Then I caught on that Guy Ritchie was directing the film - so I figured it at least had to have something interesting going for it. Robert Downey Jr. was another plus in my book, and I'm starting to finally get used to Jude Law being in a film - so I decided to give it a try. Overall I found the movie visually capable of holding my attention, possessed a few fairly rewarding spots (both verbal and physical) yet lacked a certain oomph in terms of story to really make me love it.
This version stars Downey as Sherlock Holmes and Law as his companion Dr. Watson. Both are presented as significant detecting minds and skilled in a variety of physical arts. That latter part may come as a surprise to some of the more traditionally minded. As a friend remarked at the end, "I didn't realize Sherlock Holmes was so bad ass." The action was pretty well done, and the fight scenes in the trailers were equally entertaining in their entirety. I wouldn't say the film really built up any great dramatic tension around the action though - at least nothing that moved me more than other similar films. There's less action than the trailers would have you believe and time is spent to allow for the famed Holmes brilliance at deduction to take some time on screen as well. Meaning it's not a totally dumbed down experience - while perhaps not rising to the top of any detective movie list.
1880's London is fleshed in with a large amount of CGI that gives a good sense of the greater metropolis (even though the eye knows part of it is fake). It's painted with a dark pallete befitting some of the conditions in the city at the time (and the storyline), though we also see a fair amount of upper class splendor as well. Holmes and Watson spend much of their onscreen time bickering in a way akin to the odd couple - with some free time mixed in to solve crimes. Oh, there's some romantic interests mixed in as well - it is Hollywood after all - and without that the studio might be concerned someone could mistake Holmes for gay (not that there's anything wrong with that). The banter between the two men is at least lightly amusing most of the way through - Holmes and Watson have decent chemistry, though the jibes between Holmes and Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan) have a bit more bite to them. The plot revolves around a Lord Blackwood who has the annoying habits of ritualistic murder and not staying dead after being hanged. Not to mention surprisingly sore feelings over the whole American Revolution thing (no, not kidding). At some point I started to notice a similarity between the story here and the average episode of Scooby-Doo. That's not entirely a bad thing - I just spent most of my time hoping they went old school Scooby where the supernatural event always turned out to be an old guy in a mask vs. the newer films where there really were ghosts. I won't tell you how things turn out in this one - only to say the film is relatively consistent in its logic. Sherlock Holmes is mostly fair with the audience in that nothing is invented at the end we haven't had a chance to be privy to (within reason). I've purposely been vague about the story itself, who appears and when as I think knowing more in this sort of situation is not a good thing. Oh, and I'm also lazy...
Overall I had a decent time - for a holiday blockbuster it's fairly reasonable. Just don't skip seeing The Hurt Locker in a theater this week on it's pre-Oscar pass in favor of Sherlock Holmes.
Screening Notes: The screening started late (30-40 minutes). Thankfully I had good company to chat with. But even if I didn't I think the theater should get points for having the most interesting (and specific) reason for running behind. Seems after getting the print put together the guys transporting it got stuck in the elevator requiring the intervention of the fire department. I'll be sure to take the stairs at that particular Regal establishment no matter what.
The bigger downer of the evening was the jackassery going on in the row ahead of me. Last week when I read an article about how we as a society should decide that pulling out your phone during a movie makes it public property (and the public response ought to be to hurl it at the nearest wall) it seemed slightly extreme to me. But after last night when I asked twice for someone to stop texting only to have them laugh at me with their buddies I'm starting to reconsider my position. Actually what I'm most shocked at is that no one else seemed to care. What you're doing in a movie that makes you want to write an email or text to someone, yet stay in the film I will never understand.
To say there's been a lot of hype surrounding the film Avatar would be putting it very, very mildly. Interestingly enough, the most commonly heard tag line promoting the experience, "Nothing will ever be same" is the same over the top bravado printed onto the souvenir sweatshirts handed out as favors at my cousin Harrison's Bar Mitzvah party a few years back. Here, as it was in that case I believe it's a tad of an overstatement. That said, the film is still a staggering example of technical and artistic achievement - which thankfully James Cameron doesn't ruin with a completely horrible story.
The tale is pretty straightforward. In the future (around 2154 I believe) humankind has made their way across the universe without managing to shed neither our irony when naming things nor our worst instincts of corporate imperialism. The film takes place on the planet Pandora where corporate interests have taken up residence to mine for the (what did you expect when you named it that) element Unobtanium (which is some sort of magic superconductor - not that it really matters). Life on this planet is hard - everything is dazzlingly beautiful though has a tendency to want to kill you (insert your own model/sparkly vampire joke here). In the mix are the local humanoids, the Na'vi who are blue, very tall (10-12 ft) and deeply in tune with nature. They're not super fond of the human interlopers either. The corporation trying to keep bad publicity down is temporarily resisting the urge to kill them all while attempting to negotiate with one of their clans for mining rights. Seems their home rests inconveniently atop one of the richer veins of the mineral of interest. As part of these diplomatic efforts the earth folk have produced artificial Na'vi (aka Avatars) who can be remotely controlled by human operators. Our hero Jake is an ex-marine who has lost the use of his legs. These avatars are grown as a genetic match to a single person. When his twin brother dies suddenly he's given an opportunity to go to Pandora in his place. Lured by the change and the possibility to make enough money for the operation to restore his ability to walk Jake makes the trip.
When Jake arrives on Pandora he's provided basic local training and heads out into the field. Before you know it he falls ass backwards into an opportunity to immerse himself with the local Na'vi tribe. During this immersion he's supposed to be spying for the human interlopers but he's gradually seduced by the world and the Na'vi's nature loving ways. In the eyes of his chain of command that means he's "gone native." This only turns out to be a problem because the humans are even worse than your standard caricature of military industrial complex evil - ready to kill freely to get what they want, without even the subtly of handing the villagers smallpox enriched blankets.
In case you've been in a media free cave I should mention that Cameron has been working on this film for a very, very long time. A ton of money has been spent on it and its been designed from the ground up to be in 3D. Thankfully you can see all that money up on the screen. The "world" that Cameron and company have created is visually rich and impressive. With any number of new animals and fauna it's truly something to behold. Technically it's a major triumph of computer graphics animation - huge parts of the film are computer rendered and it's extremely hard to tell what's real and what's not. The Na'vi are especially mind boggling. They're clearly not actors in suits, but there's a realism (without being creepy) that allows for individual "performances" without you feeling as though this is a very expensive cartoon. My ability to describe is way below the iridescent fantasy work that's been created - you do want to see this while it's still on the large screen.
As mentioned the movie is in 3D, though there are theaters showing it in the more traditional 2D format. I'm not entirely convinced that seeing it in 3D adds that much to the movie going experience beyond the occasional head pain when things don't fully sync up with your brain. By the end I'd gotten used to it and able to appreciate the 3D effects without explicitly noticing them. It's just that the imagery might have been just as beautiful and impressive without it. In short I don't think every movie really needs to be in 3D, and I hope we're not heading in that direction. But Cameron uses it well and avoids the worst abuses of the form, most notably things are not constantly flying off the screen and at your head.
So visually, this thing is off the charts. But what about the story? Well, there things are a little less than stellar. It's relatively stock sci-fi material with a love story between Jake and a native princess (much like in past live situations no one ever seems to fall in love with the hired help). The one with nature, Native American tending towards New Age vibe is less than subtle - deeply carving it's way through the story. As written this certainly makes sense for the plot. I think it's just that the extremes of good and evil presented in the film are at the level of Star Wars simplification that keeps this from being the film of the decade the hype machine was predicting. Much as though no one worried when they were blowing up the Death Star about innocent blue collar tradesmen working on the construction project (credit owed to Kevin Smith) we're completely encouraged to be 100% on the side of the Na'vi regardless as to the outcome to the humans involved. Every once in a while the depth of the simplification pulled me slighlty out of the story.
This is of course entertainment (and nothing wrong in my book with the green message) and I don't really ding the film much for the lack of shades of grey in its moral universe. Cameron's last film was Titanic and this film exhibits dialog and emotional range similar to (if somethimes short of ) that blockbuster. Which for me means I occasionally groaned, but then often was still sucked in by it. And then I groaned again. I strongly suspect repeat viewings of the dialog would not be kind to my perception of the film's story and acting core.
All said and done, it's a very solid piece of entertainment. Not the second coming of the messiah, but I suspect they'd charge more for that. So I do seriously recommend seeing it and not on video. Just don't expect Shakespeare coupled with the (soon to be) award winning visuals and I think you'll have a fine old time. For all the differences you'll definitely recognize this universe. Gotta love the part that even on Pandora showing up with a sweet, pimped out ride goes a long way towards getting the girl.
Though why he has to end this film with a song that sounds like a clone of the one from the end of Titanic is beyond me. So anyway - just go see it - just do me a favor and leave your infant at home. At least two people at the screening I went to didn't heed that basic rule of etiquette, and it was not appreciated by those around them.
Every year I struggle a bit with this whole top ten list thing. Film shouldn't be a competition - so crowning one "best" seems sorta lame. And even choosing ten "favorites" is a struggle when I've seen over 200 movies in a theater over the course of a year. Not to mention the various rules about what year a film is actually eligible in. At the same time I understand the impulse to choose the best and the exercise of looking through and trying to recall everything I saw is fun. So once again I've made the best attempt I feel like bothering to make.
I've played fast and loose with the "standard" rules. A film is a 2009 entry if I saw it in a theater in 2009. Also, don't count the number of entries in my top ten list too closely if your a stickler for numeric accuracy. ;-)
As always I retain the right to randomly update the list over time - though I will always clearly note when doing so. In a perfect world I'd also wait until the year is actually over. I'll do a final update in 2010 - but I think I'm reaching the end of the releases for the year so things aren't likely to change much. Some of the most promising things I haven't seen include Broken Embraces and Crazy Heart. I've also heard decent things about Sherlock Holmes which I'll try to see Monday. Also, I haven't seen Did You Hear about the Morgans? - not thinking I will - though as I suspect it'd make my top ten worst films I'm slightly tempted.
To give myself a big of wiggle room I've actually produced a series of lists. None are ordered in any particular way. I'll admit to some selection bias with a goal over getting a cross section of my favorite types of films into the mix. I've linked to my main review if there's anything of substance there. Some of the ones I caught at festivals have never been properly reviewed in the blog. Don't let that stop you though. Favorites
A Prophet - for me this was an absolutely pure expression of cinematic entertainment. Both raw and fun at the same time - with a great lead performance. A Rags to riches prison drama that flew by even though I believe it's well over 2 hrs. Other that it's in French I think it'd be competing for the best film Oscar. Even then it truly should be.
The White Ribbon - From the director of Cache this gorgeous black and white film set in pre WW-I Europe kept me glued to the screen even at a 10:30pm screening. I don't think its appeal is as broad as that of A Prophet but I'd be very pleased to see either win the Foreign Language Oscar.
The Hurt Locker - you've probably heard about the hype on this Iraq war thriller. It's all true - a very realistically shot pure adrenaline ride.
A Serious Man - My favorite recent Coen brothers movie. It's black comedy that does a fine job being both dark and truly funny - a very hard line to walk in my experience. Forget to bring your favorite Jew for deeper post-film insight at your peril.
Gigante - Another top ten entry I saw at Telluride this year. Absolutely the best heavy metal themed stalking = love story I've ever seen. 'nuff said.
Inglourious Basterds - I did not expect to like this film. Morally question its subject matter all you want - I dug this film.
A Single Man - Colin Firth and great visuals make this movie about a pivotal day in the life of a grieving in the closet professor into something special and very watchable. Not perfect still very good.
Castaway on the Moon - Weird quirky voyeuristic love story out of South Korea. Maybe I've rated this higher than I would have had I not seen it on a day that started with a screening of Antichrist. But I was pulled into this crazy little world where a guy could be a castaway on an island within sight of a major city and enter into a long distance relationship with a shut-in living in distant skyscraper.
Humpday - Not putting this on a top list for the comedy. I laughed, but I more often found the film slightly painful to watch. Makes the list for Shelton's continued ability to nail the male psyche in dialog and make watchable films on human scaled budgets.
Kisses - Irish film with a sweet relationship between a boy and a girl built over some rather dark background. Simply worked for me - if you're similarly inclined likely will work for you too.
Laila's Birthday - This Palestinian film is understated but manages to make its points dead on about fatherhood, the horrible situation for residents there, and the benefits keeping one's cool (up to a point)
Honorable mention - and possible to move up depending on how my thinking evolves over the next few days is Avatar. Mainly for the technical accomplishment and not ruining it with a completely horrible story.
There were some films that either made me very sad to have wasted the time, want to flee during the presentation, or just felt the movie shouldn't have been made on principle. Sometimes all three.
Least Liked
Baby Formula - Bad even for a mockumentary. It sounded relatively promising but it went from bad to worse, to worse, and then to me leaving before the end. Folks who stayed then it just got horrible. It's hard to really do it justice in words.
Last Chance Harvey - On second thought, even if they added zombies this probably still would have sucked.
Spring Breakdown - I can reproduce my entire review here. Friends don't let friends see Spring Breakdown.
The Limits of Control - This will likely be on your top ten list if you either (a) want to mainly see films that are artistic experiments and not character/story/plot driven or (b) really enjoy saying "what the fuck?" over and over again. Sorry, I didn't get it.
Final Arrangements - Covering similar territory to Departures this film would have been equally unexciting. Not truly awfull - just at the bottom of my list for the year - I suppose a positive testament to my picks in 2009.
Every year I like to include a few "guilty pleasures." I know these aren't great films - but I got a kick out of them at the time. Ordering is strickly alphabetical.
Guilty Pleasures
Bandslam - Too embarrassed to even make a case for it. But I enjoyed this silly teen film.
Bart Got a Room - Colorful, filled with stupid movie cliche's and the worst hairdo in movie history it still held my interest right to the point we finally see Bart after the credits. At least my own iffy prom experiences weren't quite this bad.
Cold Souls -On the list in large part due to a joke about shipping your soul to New Jersy for tax purposes.
Four Boxes - also wins my award for best low budget mind-fuck of the year. By a wide margin.
Hachi - A Dog's Tale - Manipulate my emotions all you like. If there's a cute dog I'll happily come along for the ride.
Julie & Julia - Still haven't read the book that's been sitting on my shelf for years, but watching Streep was a hoot. Even liked the "Julie" segments.
Sexykiller - Over the top genre fun at it's near best via Spain. "More of everything" is the spirit and it totally delivers.
The Bad Lieutentant - Port of Call New Orleans - Nicholas Cage and Werner Herzog deliver the goods in this zany take on the banality of evil. Or something about iguanas. Who cares? It's a hoot.
The Hangover -Come - on.... Did you really think this wouldn't make anyone's 2009 guilty pleasures list?
Zift - Luscious black and white, Bulgarian film noir version of Crank. But WAY better.
ZMD: Zombies of Mass Destruction -If you enjoyed Zombieland I think you'll love ZMD. Lower budget but far more ooomf - not to mention substance. Not 100% sure about the 9-11 related metaphor stuff - but a very entertaining ride.
If you're wondering what my larger favorite's list included that I selected my not quite top ten from - here's the details without additional comment. There are a lot of great films in this list too - narrowing it down was a pretty arbitrary process in many ways. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.
Today the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) published a significant set of films that will be gracing the desert community in January. For those who haven't been before PSIFF is a great opportunity to be somewhere warm and usually sunny in January and watch some great films at fairly plush venues. It runs from Jan 7 through the 18th this year. There have been multiple announcements from the festival to date, though previously all about the various stars being honored at this year's gala. More important to many folks are the actual films that will be playing. The full schedule will be announced soon - today's press release is part teaser - but has a lot of meat as it's calling out the important first in the world (and first in the US) premiers. All the details are - here. I've tried my best to parse through the announcement and create a single list of films and their main contributing country. I've included a table below. As is my geeky custom I've done a quick analysis as well on the number of films (89 - though really 91 as I counted the Red Riding Trilogy only once) and unique countries (43). This is not that meaningful as a large number of the films haven't been announced yet.
I've already seen this year's gala The Last Station (at the Telluride festival). It's fairly good, especially for the sort of broad appeal film typically chosen for opening night festivities. As the initial list is biased towards premieres I've seen very few of the films. Noteworthy though is the inclusion of the Red Riding trilogy of films. A bit brutal, but very good. And yes - seeing all three is worthwhile. Otherwise you won't get the full experience.
Also - do not miss The White Ribbon. It's bound to make the foreign film Oscar short list - but more importantly it's fabulous cinema. Which reminds me - another reason to head down to Palm Springs is that they have especially good coverage of the films submitted by each country for the foreign film Oscar category. And did I mention how warm/dry it is there. :-)
OK - that's all for now. Here's the list of films to to get you started. Once the official list of films is available (on the 24th I believe) I'll write up some suggestions if there's anything else I've seen.
The Last Station - UK
The Lightkeepers - USA
Dark Resonance - Bangladesh
Dumbstruck - USA
Expecting Mary - USA
Is it Just Me? - USA
The Making of Plus One with Kate , Cate and George: the Story of a Hollywood Nobody - UK
Paulista - Brazil
ltiplano - Belgium
Dev. D - India
Dzi Croquettes - Brazil
Forgotten Transports: To Poland - Czech Republic
The Happiness of Kati - Thailand
In My Father's Country - Australia
A Matter of Principles - Argentina
Medal of Honor - Romania
Reverse - Poland
The Sun Behind The Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom - India
Sometimes there are cues at the start of a film that signal you're unlikely to completely enjoy it. For me it seems that involves opening slow panning shots over a sumptuous estate and/or coastline with nothing especially memorable for musical backing. Followed by zooming in on people having a discussion at a party with a backdrop overlooking the ocean/estate/orchards. It's a bad, bad, sign. Measured against that standard It's Complicated is better than I expected after the first 5 minutes of viewing. But not but a large margin.
It's clear to me that if the director wasn't graced with the talents of Meryl Streep,Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin I'd probably be getting settled in to write a far worse (though perhaps more personally satisfying) review. To be clear - this isn't in the same category of train wreck I'm expecting based on the ads for Did You Hear About the Morgans? Just not as awesome as I'd hoped. The skills of these actors helps everything rise above an uninspired script. It's funny at times, boring at others and interesting enough to keep me from indulging my weird compulsion mid-show to throw my plastic beverage bottle into the audience just to see what would happen (not kidding about that). There's not a particularly interesting story at the heart of the film but put enough likable people put together and a decent movie you can make. I don't think anyone is likely to hate it, but overall a tad shy of memorable in my book.
Streep and Baldwin are a couple that were married for 20 years and more recently divorced for ten. Baldwin has remarried his far younger mistress and Streep is finally getting used to being without him. Both appear to be ridiculously successful financially. Together they have three well adjusted adult children. The level of material success is almost a caricature. Even Streep's vegetable garden is like something just a little too nice to make into into Martha Stewart living as there's only so inadequate they want to make "normal people" feel. But of course in the movies money can't buy happiness, or at least satisfaction (yes, I know that's true in life - though I suspect this amount of money helps cushion the pain). So there's issues to be dealt with. You've probably seen the commercials and these cover all you need to know. Streep ends up in an adulterous affair with Baldwin. Steve Martin is her other love interest. Complications and partial hilarity ensues. Mixed in are some stretches where I wasn't particularly interested. But I did laugh - nice enough light entertainment for the holiday week. Unlikely to offend anyone you're going to the movies with either. The film will win some points for portraying a love story between folks over 30, and sexual attraction where the older woman wins out. That is one of the semi-unusual (in a good way) aspects of the film - though perhaps points off when the older people are Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin.
I've been wondering what's on the agenda at SIFF Cinema after the new year. While the full winter guide doesn't seem to available in any convenient form online poking around their web does seem to yield up most of the scheduled films into the beginning of March. If you can't wait to plan your movie watching here's a sneak peak. All of this information is from what appear to be live pages - but given that they're not exactly clearly linked (though all discoverable) I'd imagine it's possible some things may change.
The first grouping seems to be archival French offerings including:
Mixed in is the more recent Eyes of Danger (2009). March has a somewhat smaller selection of films announced. Actually, just one the well reviewed documentary Prodigal Sons (2008) .
More one sided than even Michael Moore's work at times, this documentary explores the history of the Seattle Sonic's move to Oklahoma City. Even if you disagree with some of their positions I'd have to say it's hard not to get swept up here and there. And perhaps more importantly hard to comprehend some of the final political / legal calculations made. This is not a film that pretends to tell both sides of the story. The basketball fans I saw it with clearly appreciated that (and even I enjoy a good Midwest joke at the expense of some of the bad guys in this story). So you can go to have your own view of the matter validated. But for me, most of the positive was in seeing something reasonably well put together and shot completely from a perspective that I don't fully share. Giving much the same cross-cultural benefit I derive from seeing foreign films - it's just that this foreign culture is set in the city I live in.
Even though I was in Seattle during the key years of this story I have to admit I wasn't really paying much attention. So I did learn a lot about the goings on that I'd only been peripherally aware of. The film contains a fair amount of material that' likely to be lost on non NBA fans. Towards the beginning of they zip through the Sonics history - flashing name after name of players on the screen . By the end of the film I decided that following the history actually isn't really that important to understanding the story, so it's not a big deal to have trouble following who's who. The main point is that the Sonics had been a Seattle institution for 40+ years, and one of the more successful local franchises. Later in their life cycle the team was sold to a consortium headed by Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz. After some time running the team he began to make noise about wanting a "better" stadium. It's not at all clear that there's anything really wrong with the stadium if your goal was playing or watching basketball. What was "wrong" with the stadium according to the league and owners is that it wasn't a large enough facility in terms to getting fans in and keeping them spending money on-site. Though not super clear on why they thought fans would spend money at in-stadium restaurants/shopping when the place is located in a neighborhood filled with lots of businesses. Or why exactly they needed the extra capacity for fans if they weren't selling out the current configuration. But apparently the NBA has decided that such amenities are needed otherwise there's no hope of running a profitable team. So Shultz spent a bunch of time doing what appeared to be pretty half-assed job lobbying every legislative body that would let him in for a bucket of public cash to "upgrade" Key Arena (the home of the Sonics). Not surprisingly, given the description of the effort onscreen (no groundwork, no willingness to put in any of their own money) and the political climate (people if I recall were already pretty pissed at the two nearly $500 billion stadiums built next to each other for baseball and football) no public money was forthcoming. So Shultz and company sold the team to another consortium of business folk from Oklahoma. There was talk of the team remaining in Seattle, but why anyone would have believed that to be the new owners intent that baffles me.
The Oklahoma group (now the clear villians of the story in the film) theoretically lobbied for the same public funds Shultz had been chasing. As they used the same pitch as Shultz (give us some money or we'll leave) it's not shocking they had the same level of success in convincing local politicians. As some pretty interesting internal memos from this out of town group point out (and anyone with even a minor dose of realistic thinking can see) the Oklahoma group clearly wanted to bring the franchise back home with them from the start. In the final act of the movie the city of Seattle pulls together a possible alternate funding plan and tries to wreck the new owners plan to move the team out of state - by the "crazy" demand that they honor their unambiguous lease to play in Key Arena for another two years. That's when we get to see some more ridiculous drivel from the NBA about how the lease should be rendered void. Not because of any breach by the city. But by the simple fact that the economics of professional basketball have changed and therefore the new owners shouldn't have to abide by a lease that caused them to lose money. Try using that one with your landlord if your job circumstances change - good luck. I won't completely spoil the ending if you're going to see it - let's just say the trial over this issue ends with a pretty impressive (and seemingly pointless) capitulation by the city in the final hours. I'm not particularly convinced about the merits of spending hundreds of public millions of dollars to keep the team - but even so it's hard to understand the theory at work driving the decision by city's former mayor.
Unless you live in Oklahoma there's probably a lot of things that'll rile you up. There's several set of folks to choose from depending on your perspective. For example the douchebag attitude of the NBA officials who play one city against each other (OK, I know it's their right - but it's still obnoxious) to feed their own sense of entitlement or the local "villains" who mismanaged the team and dumped them when things got more expensive than expected. For me though what was most frustrating were the interviews some of the political players. That's perhaps not what the film makers intended. More specifically the patronizing comments from local officials who suggested that Seattle area voters just didn't understand what they were doing when they repeatedly and clearly voiced opposition to plans to build half billion dollar stadiums at the public expense (often with no owner contribution and no plan to share profits). Probably the same logic that drove local politicos to build a stadium in Seattle after folks had explicitly voted against it. Given all the history I'm slightly surprised that the Washington legislature didn't cave and fund a new stadium.
Anyway ... I'm not sad to have caught the film. I learned a few things even if it didn't change my opinion of professional sports funded by public money. I did leave feeling bad for the fans who'd been hurt by this - more than I probably would have otherwise. It's pretty well put together - though as I mentioned nearly completely one sided. And like I said, a childish Midwest haircut joke goes a long way to bringing folks together. If you're a Sonics fan (or a sports fan who's been jerked around by the pay us or we'll move threat) you'll probably want to check this out. It's not going to lose much on the small screen - and you can watch the whole film online - on the film maker's website. So if you're interested there's officially no excuse to skip it. If you're not a natural constituency of the film maker's line of argument it's still an interesting documentary - even if not necessarily one of the best I've seen.
Nine is a musical. And as such I'm unsure whether you should really listen to anything I have to say about it. Unless you don't generally like musicals. In which case our thinking may in fact be aligned.
Just to be clear, my lack of love for the musical form is not arrived at without experience. I've seen a fair number of musicals over the years. To this date, I'm not sure if my parents really believe they're not my cup of tea. Or perhaps they just keep hoping. From early experiences at Annie, The Tap Dance Kid, and Brigadoon to later ones at Cats I learned that I appreciate neither the production nor the home "prep" beforehand that involved listening to the soundtrack album more times than a potential terrorist being softened up for torture. I never could get my head around why people would just suddenly break into song - and such flamboyant ones at that. Yes, there are exceptions. Avenue Q is one. Maybe like zombies adding porn to anything just makes it better. And I did find The Producers tolerable. But that may be the end of the list. [Update (12/11/09): after somewhat implying I may have slandered him a bit with this post my father reminded me I also liked Little Shop of Horrors . Which is true, so maybe I'm up to three then.]
So you can probably see why I was skeptical about Nine - but free tickets on a work night changed my mind enough to get me out the door.I really knew very little going in. Just that it was loosely based on 8 1/2. Now that I've seen it I can report on the basic plot lines. Daniel Day-Lewis stars in the role of Italian super director Guido Contini attempting to make a new film. He'd had a good run, but his last two films had been flops. Tormented by the stress of his constant womanizing he can't quite make a movie, and can't quite get the women out of his head. Though to be fair these are some pretty tough choices he's wrestling with, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, and Nicole Kidman (not to mention assorted other random beautiful women).
In short - even the preternaturally beautiful people and slick hipster Italian set/costume design couldn't get me much above bored. So that's me. The weird thing is though that I suspect that even admirers of the form are going to find quite a few nits to pick. Perhaps including;
The numbers are fairly cut up into small pieces. I suspect that's partly because it's easier to stage big fancy routines if you only do them a bit at a time. But perhaps equally or more likely because while many of the folks can belt out a tune well, few seemed to be as good as dancers. Seemed to be some working around that, and it's noticeable if you've seen the real deal.
The songs were not particularly memorable. Before I went I joked that after seeing the trailer I hoped they had a song other than "To Be Italian." Well, turns out there's not a lot likely to be stuck in the head on the way home beyond that. As it's a musical that seems problematic.
The transitions from music to dialog seemed awkward. It's hard for me to put my finger on exactly why, but it was a far from seamless transition between the two parts. Almost as though there was a prescribed amount of melodrama which would then be followed by some singing - and not necessarily a full song of such in between.
Character development doesn't tend to be the strong suit of a musical. But after a while, no matter how smooth, beautiful and tortured Daniel Day-Lewis's character seemed it just felt like we were watching the same mannerisms over and over again. One review I read before sitting down to write made an observation along the lines of, he looks great but running one's hands through their hair can only get you so far. That's basically what I was thinking.
The visual style of this film though is impressive. And I'm not just talking about Penélope Cruz (though she does look fantastic). The entire thing has a 60's Italian era of cool look that does make you want to keep your eyes on the screen at all times. But a great look and a few laughs does not necessarily make for a fun time.
Again - I'm the last one to recommend or not a "good musical." And if you like musicals this cast is definitely going to be tempting (or if you don't and like Penelope Cruz - yes there is a theme at work there). I'm not attempting to talk anyone out of seeing the film - I'm actually fairly curious to learn what people who like this sort of thing think about Nine. There's been a lot of buzz about this maybe being a top contender for Best Picture. Now though having watched the film, that would truly surprise me.
After seeing the film I noticed it's MPAA rating was 'PG-13' for "sexual content and smoking." So if you're going to be upset that cool characters who get women by the truckload smoke like chimney's - you might also want to stay away. ;-)
Slow day today - maybe which is why I sat down and entered the complete list (I hope) of films showing at Palm Springs. By my count I get 191 films, not including the new secret screening entry. As befitting the "international" part of the festival's title 62 countries are represented. A histogram counting the number of films from each country is included with the post (just click to blow it up to readable proportions). The top contributing countries with at least 5 films are listed below. Not a lot of huge surprises - though I think India may have fared better than in years past. If for some reason you're looking the list of films by country in a simple format (I typed the whole mess into Excel) just shoot me a note by email or in the comments.
