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| Keeper of the Plains, Wichita, Kansas |
Back to our regularly scheduled reviews and silliness.
9/6/13 Cabaret, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Song Score, Best Art Direction, Best Sound, 1972
There are so many cultural and cinematic references to Cabaret, I just wanted to see it. I do not know if I really liked it, but I can appreciate what it was trying to do as a movie and that it seems like it was groundbreaking in 1972 and holds up in 2013. There were more than a few moments where I swear Judy Garland was onscreen instead of her daughter, Liza Minelli, and that is not a bad thing. If you have not seen Cabaret, you may only know Minelli from some of the tabloid nonsense of the past ten or fifteen years; if that is the case, then you should really watch Cabaret because she really can sing and she does seem to embody the character of Sally Bowles (there is something that reminded me of Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's with her very egocentric actions). The movie starts in 1931 hinting at the eventual rise of Hitler and the abuse of the Jews. It also features the underground lifestyle that was characteristic of interwar period Berlin; depending on which side you stand, it was hedonism at its best or deviance at its worst. There is no denying that Berlin was the place to be. Perhaps the most well-known character from the film (which was a musical before a film, and a series of stories before that) is Joel Grey's character, the Emcee, and he is almost like a Greek chorus, popping up to make commentary or observations represented by songs performed in the Kit Kat Klub. I found him very creepy (perhaps that was the point). Michael York is Brian, an Englishman teaching English in Berlin. Bob Fosse directed and choreographed. This might be worthy of another viewing (after everything else is crossed off the list). This is on the American Film Institute's list of 100 Greatest American Movies (unlike When Harry Met Sally, which is not on the list).
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| Berlin, 1990 |
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| Berlin, 1990 |
9/5/13 Exit through the Gift Shop, nominated for Best Documentary, 2010
Huh? That was pretty much my reaction throughout this whole cinematic experience. The other reaction was, are people really that gullible/stupid/naive? If you watch this movie, you may be screaming 'YES!!!" more than you'd like. It's about graffiti artists, and more specifically Thierry Guetta who begins filming these individuals and eventually turns into one of them. I'm sure I sound like one of those cranky old ladies yelling at the kids to get off of the grass, but um, graffiti done on other people's property is kind of like vandalism, isn't it? If not, why do they do it at night with masks and stuff? I will grant you, some of it is very creative and really cool, and I would imagine some of the artists find that part of their creativity is fueled by the subversive nature of their actions. So, almost right off the bat, I was annoyed. I actually would have preferred more information on how the artists come up with some of their ideas because some work is fun to see. Thierry Guetta is really not about the art or any kind of artistic statement, he strikes me as the PT Barnum of the art world, a sucker really is born every minute. Some of the reviews of this movie called it 'joyous'; I don't know, we may have different definitions of 'joyous'. If you want 'joyous', watch Undefeated or Music by Prudence, but if you want callous and cynical, please watch this. The winner for 2010 was Inside Job which was definitely not joyous, but much more intelligent than this film. (You may be wondering where all my feelings of joy and happiness went from the first paragraph to now...me too.)
9/7/13 127 Hours, nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Song, Best Film Editing, 2010
I was really avoiding this film for no other reason than I'm a big baby and because I knew about the real Aaron Ralston and what happened, I did not want to watch it onscreen, and apparently, I'm a wee bit claustrophobic. But, I really wanted to work on the 'nominated' lists so I could get caught up heading into the next awards season (this is where you have to ask, am I managing the list or is the list managing me?). And I have a love/hate relationship with James Franco; but anyone who loves their grandma as much as he does can't be all bad (and she's from Cleveland, so it becomes a moot point). 127 Hours tells the story of Aaron Ralston who went hiking (alone) in Utah and has the unfortunate experience of falling and getting his arm stuck under a rock. The filming and editing are done so well, I really felt like I was stuck in that tiny space with him. Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire and the producer of the Opening Ceremonies at the 2012 London Olympics) does a great job of splicing scenes of Aaron as he is trapped, with flashbacks to his family and friends and hallucination scenes as Aaron experiences severe dehydration and hunger. If you are squeamish, there are some scenes that may make you look away (I did), but the movie is worth watching to see Franco embrace his role as Ralston and his fight to survive. The last five minutes are an incredible tribute to the power of the human spirit.
9/7/13 Gold Rush, originally released in 1925, re-released in 1942 and nominated for Best Sound Recording and Best Dramatic Score, AFI's 100
Most people would probably not be disappointed if a silent film turned into a film with sound, but I was. I thought I was getting the original silent version of the movie, but I got the 1942 version that had new narration by Charlie Chaplin and a musical score added (the copyright expired on the original, so Chaplin made an updated version). I was so disappointed, his narrative, which replaced the dialogue cards, seemed very intrusive, but because Chaplin is pretty much universally recognized as a genius of early films (through the 1950s, really) I watched it. The Gold Rush features Chaplin's most well-known character, The Tramp, looking for his fortune in Alaska. He has various encounters with other prospectors, fugitives, and dance hall girls. The Gold Rush has a few scenes that most movie goers have seen, probably in tributes or compilation videos; the one scene is where The Tramp and Big Jim were very hungry and Big Jim envisions The Tramp as a chicken; the other is where Chaplin puts two rolls (I always thought they were potatoes) on forks and makes them dance. I am glad I saw it, and it's not terribly long, so if you are interested in early cinema, and one of the greats, you should try to see it, otherwise, I think you'll be okay if you do not. This is also on AFI's 100 Films (as are a few other of Chaplin's works, which is a testament to his influence more than fifty years after his last film).
