Recently Watched Films 2011

[MRS]

Southern Comfort (Walter Hill, 1981)

Caveat emptor: Powers Boothe in any world-weary militant manifestation can do little wrong. A couple close friends' reports from basic at Fort Polk back in the early 90s, talking to them I asked how muggy it must be and they countered with how brutally cold it was in the wee mornings. The bald cypress knees throughout (and that science still has no idea what they're for) are boss, at the least Hill nails the oft caricatured landscape, demographic and demonym of the swamp; "coon ass" arguably derives from WW2 French soldiers' reaction "connasse" upon hearing Cajun troops converse. Cooder's laconic slide soundtrack is strong, like Loren Connors' airs almost. Carradine is quick and convincing, honestly I don't know him from anything else. Listening to Carradine and Boothe's characters gradually deconstruct the company's insanity and by turns stir the pot felt like I was listening to Glanton and the Judge, yet on the aft of the column instead of the front. Still unsure how Cpl. Hardin's cigarettes stay dry, precursor to John McClane's European cigarettes perhaps. Memorably weird wildlife sounds help out yet with no more than maybe three colors throughout, it's a bit cartoon. Delegation of power seems to be a big deal in early Hill, to the point of a Jack Welch fascist lesson in leadership at times. You would expect the company to thin out more rapidly than it does (of course T.K. Carter gets the spikes). I had no idea the captive Cajun was the late Brion James until the credits, what a face. The tense bayou festival scenes at the conclusion are spot on, again without caricature, without Detective Dennis Quaid lunching at Antoine's or washboards or voodoo. This movie left me with an uneasy feeling in the stomach, bad dreams and such.

[grant]

Have never seen this, but it's on the want list.. how is it? Bronson à la française is tempting.

Bronson called it one of the two best films he's starred in. Francis Lai is exquisite on the soundtrack.

It helps to look at the film from a dualist perspective. Displacement and subconscious desire in the female protagonist. There are some jarring inconsistencies, and the film gradually loses its initial enigmatic quality over time.

But, the rapport between Bronson and Marlène Jobert is a real treat. You'll be uttering 'Love, Love' for a good week afterward.

[Dan Warburton]

Terry Gilliam, Tideland, 2005

"Alice in Wonderland meets Psycho" is how Gilliam described this merry romp through the long grasses of death, drugs and madness, but you can add The Shining (imaginary conversations with your finger) and Days Of Heaven (dead giveaway from first shot) to the list. Terrific performances from nine-year old Jodelle Ferland (who not only has to cook up heroin shots for daddy - none other than Jeff Bridges: imagine the Dude gone old and off the tracks - but do the four voices of her doll head companions) and Brendan Fletcher as the retarded epileptic Dickens. Weird stuff indeed. Favourite line: "he looks like a burrito" but can't tell you where that comes in the film without spoiling it for you.

[presquepartout]

nicolas winding refn's drive

[billygomberg]

nicolas winding refn's drive

but what do you think of refn's use of cinematic devices such as OMG RYAN GOLSING IS SO DREAMY

[presquepartout]

RYAN GOSLING'S BLOOD STAINED SATIN JACKET

(he's no alain delon)

[billygomberg]

(he's no alain delon)

I would say he actually came damn close in this one, tho, if only as an American reflection of Delon's prime '60's roles.

[free math]

RYAN GOSLING'S BLOOD STAINED SATIN JACKET

that jacket made for a nice metaphor for the movie, the improbably attractively stylized blood splatters

[presquepartout]

(he's no alain delon)

I would say he actually came damn close in this one, tho, if only as an American reflection of Delon's prime '60's roles.

i think his performance does a good job approaching delon's style.

however, he's nowhere near as dreamy as delon.

[Dan Warburton]

Bertrand Blier, Tenue de Soirée, 1986

Started out quite fun, with the same touches of Bunuelian surrealism that worked well in Buffet Froid, but runs out of steam after about 25 minutes, trying (and failing) to find the same magic of Les Valseuses. The acting is impressive, but the dialogue gradually loses its shine and eventually feels gratuitously vulgar, the plot falls apart, with pointless murders and a closing scene that makes no sense at all (and which takes place presumably years after the rest of the action of the film). And the Gainsbourg music, such as it is, is awful.

[Dan Warburton]

Alfred Hitchcock, Foreign Correspondent, 1940

Underrated and excellent - the assassination scene with the umbrellas is just one of several spectacular shots (check out the windmill, the escape from the hotel bedroom window and the plane crash!) in a well-paced and highly entertaining film. Joel McCrea and Laraine Day (we'll excuse her later enthusiasm for Richard Nixon - here she's a doll) make a good leading couple (even if Hitch originally wanted Gary Cooper and Joan Fontaine), and the supporting cast is great too, especially Herbert Marshall as the oily villain and the ever sardonic George Sanders as the unflappable British journalist.

[Dan Warburton]

Jay Roach, Austin Powers International Man of Mystery, 1997

Well, with a pic like that, were you expecting a review, or something? Be-have..

[leroysghost]

Actually, I was expecting a Natalie Wood joke.

[Dan Warburton]

OK - here's one for you --

[Dan Warburton]

Peter Brook, Moderato Cantabile, 1960

One of the forgotten early Nouvelle Vague highlights, except Brook was never really part of the club (as an expat Brit stationed in Paris I understand), too often criticised for not being as snappy as early Godard or Truffaut. Which is pretty dumb, really: with its Marguerite Duras nouveau roman script a more intelligent comparison would be with Resnais - Hiroshima Mon Amour or L'année dernière à Marienbad - and especially Antonioni, as Moreau plays bored bourgeoise to perfection here, as she went on to do in La Notte the following year. The wild card here is Belmondo, often criticised for underplaying his role, but Chauvin in the book is a mysterious character to start with (we only find his name out halfway through the novel).

[Gaendaal]

Animal Kingdom (dir; David Michôd, 2010)

Based loosely on real events, this has been pulling in awards and critical acclaim for the film as a whole and Jacki Weaver's portrayal of Janine 'Smurf' Cody. But I couldn't get into it, feeling that I've seen this 'crime family implodes' story far too often and was ultimately a bit bored. The pacing is glacially slow, over-using slow-mo to give a sense of gravitas, and the majority of characters seem, well, somewhat retarded (the plaudits for Weaver strike me as bizarre as she basically channels Eastenders' Peggy Mitchell). There's a few disturbing scenes featuring older brother Pope but nothing else sticks out as worth discussion...

[savantgarde]

I rather liked Animal Kingdom, although I can see that it can be perceived as somewhat superficial (Weaver's role was maybe a bit of a stereotype). That being said, I didn't mind

[Dan Warburton]

Sam Peckinpah, The Getaway, 1972

I know some Peckinpah fans who moan about this, but I've seen it 4x now and it still holds up well. Just read the book for the first time too, as it turns out, and believe me Doc McCoy is a much nicer cat in the film (the Jim Thompson original is worth a thread of its own, with its wild Kafka nightmare ending, as far away from the happy-go-lucky Slim Pickens finale above as you could imagine). I wonder if this isn't McQueen's best acting performance at times, and the supporting cast is pretty good too, especially Al Lettieri's foodfight in the back of his hijacked car. Walter Hill did a great job with the script, and, damn, I'm a sucker for Toots Thielemans so the Quincy Jones OST is fine by me.

[Dan Warburton]

Arthur Penn, The Miracle Worker, 1962

No, I didn't watch it in a double bill with the Peckinpah, just in case you get any odd ideas. Always amused by Anne Bancroft's on again off again Irish accent, and by how young Patty Duke - 16 when the film was shot - manages to look. Great choreography - the lunchtime showdown scene is superbly filmed, and even the famous scene by the water pump works without being mawkish. Except I spoiled it for my wife when I had an uncontrollable fit of the giggles, as Duke's famous line "wah wah" reminded me of a particularly dumb joke Edward Perraud once told me (and this won't make sense unless you understand French): what do you call a poodle with a jackplug stuck up its ass? Pédale wah wah.

[Lao Tsu Ben]

Quite dismayed, I'm French and you seem to overestimate so many French films that when you jibe at The Miracle Worker I feel personaly offended! And, as for the Getaway, it's a pity that they didn't feel up to keep the terrifying ending of the novel. Just to keep things straight.