Last of 2016 winners The Salesman, along with Alice in Wonderland and Saving Private Ryan

8/11/17 The Salesman, Best Foreign Film, 2016

It took me so long to watch The Salesman, I think I had it at my house for over a month (ugh) and I wish I could say me delay or wait was rewarded with an inspiring or moving film...and I wasn't. The Salesman was surrounded by controversy because it was an Iranian film and the President of the United States (god that makes me gag) signed an order banning citizens from Iran and six other Muslim countries, and director Asghar Farhadi threatened not to attend (and he did not). In 2012, Farhadi's film A Separation won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film (I liked A Separation much more than this film). The main characters are Emad and Rana, a married couple who are acting together in a production of Death of a Salesman, which is supposed to act as a frame for the film. Rana is raped by an unknown assailant, and in addition to the stigma of being raped, Rana has to deal with Emad trying to find her rapist. I found the utilization of the play to be a distraction and unnecessary to tell the story. I didn't think this was the best foreign film of the nominees, I think Land of Mine, A Man Called Ove or Tanna were better. 

8/19/17 Alice in Wonderland, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, 2010

Tim Burton makes movies that are wonderful to look at, sometimes he makes movies that are also fun to watch, and Alice in Wonderland is one such movie. The visual components are so striking that they can overwhelm the story, but I don't think that's true here, it's close, but the Lewis Carroll's story of that impertinent Alice and her friends in Wonderland is engaging, with fun and sometimes nonsensical dialog. Mia Wasikowska is Alice; Johnny Depp is the Mad Hatter, decidedly over the top, eccentric and definitely mad; Helena Bonham Carter (one of my favorites) is the tantrum-prone Red Queen; Anne Hathaway is the White Queen; Crispin Glover is the Knave (Jack) of Hearts the late Alan Rickman is the Caterpillar; Stephen Fry is the Cheshire Cat; and that's just some of the cast. I will admit that sometimes I get distracted trying to keep track of who is doing what voice, but that's not just for this movie. Alice is desperately unhappy about the imminent proposal of Hamish Ascot to be his lovely, quiet and well-behaved wife, and she is lucky to escape down the rabbit hole where she meets the above mentioned cast of characters and has many mind altering adventures. The actors seem perfect matches for their roles; it's hard to imagine anyone else but Johnny Depp as the Hatter or Rickman as the voice of Absolem. I think Lewis Carroll and Tim Burton were made for each other. If you're looking for a family night movie, and you haven't seen this in a while, or at all, I recommend making a double feature with this and Alice through the Looking Glass which did not fare as well critically, but I liked it.

Alice in Wonderland display at Minnesota State Fair 2017

Alice in Wonderland display at Minnesota State Fair 2017

8/19/17 Saving Private Ryan, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Cinematography, Best Director, 1998, #71 AFI, National Film Registry

Here's another film that I'm a little behind the times on, like twenty years or so, but in fairness to me, I have tried on and off for the past three years to watch it, but either the DVD wouldn't play or some other reason. Anyway, the good news for YOU is that I finally watched it and it's off of three lists. BAM! Being serious for a second, I felt more compelled to watch Saving Private Ryan, directed by Steven Spielberg, after my disappointment with Dunkirk. I definitely got what I was hoping for in this case. The movie opens with US forces landing on Omaha Beach as part of the D-Day invasion in Normandy, France. Tom Hanks stars as Captain Miller of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, Tom Sizemore as Sergeant Horvath, and a cast of familiar faces, including Giovanni Ribisi, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper and Vin Diesel. The first 27 minutes are incredibly intense and chaotic and you get some small (very small) sense of what it was like to be on that beach. It was interesting to read some of Spielberg's comments about how he decided to film those shots. Once the men get to relative safety, Captain Miller is given another assignment, to find Private James Ryan (Matt Damon), who has been airdropped but nobody is sure where he is, and bring him back so he can be sent home. This is in response to his three brothers being killed in action. The movie follows Miller and his hand-picked team as they move across France, encountering different obstacles along the way; almost like Odysseus and his men. Spielberg paints a pretty horrific picture of battle, nothing is sugar-coated, men, boys really, cry out for the moms as they are dying on the battlefield; men vomit with nerves, seasickness; death is not some peaceful endeavor, although it gives a permanent respite to the bullets and bombs. The acting was more of an ensemble piece as opposed to a starring vehicle, even though Hanks was probably the biggest name in the cast, and Damon doesn't show up until over an hour into the movie, but you really needed all of the different characters to tell the story. I'm glad I finally watched it, and not just because of the lists.

National Film Registry - Looney Tunes, Frank Capra's Why We Fight, Greed

National Film Registry

7/15/17 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies

I watched a few Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, you have probably seen at least the first two. 

One Froggy Evening, 1956
You may recall One Froggy Evening: a man, down on his luck, finds a frog...a frog who can sing. Hoping to make his fortune, he takes the frog to different agents or theater people, only to have the frog stubbornly refuse to sing. The man opens his own production, promising free beer to his all male audience (this doesn't seem kid friendly, does it?), and still the frog refuses. That's pretty much how it goes. It's funnier than my little explication may lead you to believe.

What's Opera, Doc?, 1957

"Kill the Rabbit, Kill the Rabbit" as sung by Elmer Fudd in full opera regalia is possibly one of the most memorable scenes from What's Opera, Doc? This may encourage you to give opera a try. Elmer and Bugs Bunny are antagonists until they become lovers...? What? Yeah, opera is funny that way. It's clever in its incorporation of opera, and it has a 'tragic' operatic ending. It's only seven minutes long and I've probably told you too much.

Porky in Wackyland, 1938

Porky in Wackyland is probably very innovative in several ways, its animation techniques, maybe the concept. I really didn't like it; it seemed stupid and annoying. It's very surreal and has a thin (to me) story line of Porky hunting a rare bird, and he goes through these strange and exotic locales. Eh. Two out of three isn't bad.

Luxo, Jr., 1986

Luxo, Jr. was the second animated short from Pixar, and its first to receive an Oscar nomination. Luxo, Jr. was a small desk lamp that is trying to play with a larger lamp, but seems to be annoying it. The smaller lamp, which had the characteristics of a little kid, was 'kicking' a ball, and bouncing it, and ultimately, deflating it. This brings a 'look' of disapproval from the 'older' lamp. The film was only two minutes long, but it was paired with the first Toy Story and went on to have a significant impact on animated films for years.

Duck and Cover, 1951

If I was reviewing this short film a year ago, funded by the Federal Civil Defense Administration and released shortly after the end of the Korean Conflict, it would be a 'fun' piece of nostalgia from the early nuclear age. Unfortunately, it seems eerie as we seem on the brink of some kind of pissing contest between the US and North Korea that may or may not involve nuclear armaments. 

Let's All Go to the Lobby, 1957

This may be the shortest 'film' on any list at 38 seconds. It's a commercial for the concession stands at movie theaters. Let me put this earworm in your head "Let's all go the lobby, let's all go the lobby" (imagine dancing popcorn boxes and cups of soda). 

8/8/17 Greed, 1924 #22 BBC and National Film Registry

Directed by Erich von Stroheim, Greed tells the tale of love: love of money and romantic love, but mostly love of money, and how it can destroy one's humanity. According to Wikipedia, the original version of Greed was seven hours long...seven hours. He was forced to edit it down to a little over two hours (which is the version I watched); there is a restored version, but that is still only about 3 1/2 hours ('only'). The story is about McTeague, Trina and Schouler; an unholy trinity; originally Schouler and Trina are engaged, but somehow and for some reason, Schouler lets McTeague date Trina, and they get married. Trina has also bought a lottery ticket, which is a winner, but instead of sharing the money, or at least spending the money, she keeps it away from McTeague, who, in turn, gets violent with her. Schouler thinks he should get some of the money since he was engaged to Trina at the time she purchased the lottery ticket. Schouler and McTeague are not very likeable, but Trina is unlikeable and very creepy; you can almost see the greed eating away at her soul, and I'm not exaggerating. It's an age old story, and Stroheim tells it to great effect. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but the film itself is a piece of cinematic history that might make a great movie one day.

8/11/17 Why We Fight, 1943-1945

Like Duck and Cover, my timing in watching this collection of documentary/propaganda films was unintentionally prescient given the events of the past weekend in Charlottesville, Virginia. Why We Fight is a series of films that provide some historical context for what would become known as World War II, but given seventy years of hindsight, there is also obvious propaganda and some pretty uncomfortable stereotyping of our 'enemies' who are now our allies. The world has been turned on its head. The films are broken up into the different theaters of war: China, Russia, England, Europe, and the United States. Up until Pearl Harbor, the US was maintaining a stance of isolationism, and there is a film dedicated to presenting the reasons why the US ultimately got involved. The films are interesting from a historical perspective and what they must have meant seventy years ago. I was telling a friend at work that while the films could have some valuable educational content, in these days when it seems few people have any ability to perform critical thinking, I would be concerned they couldn't understand the difference between someone reporting something and someone endorsing the anti-Semitic or racist comments that were included in the films. There is value to be found, but I would say handle with care.

Lacking some enthusiasm for Dunkirk, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Days of Heaven

The blog will soon be celebrating its fifth birthday. I was thinking about a day out at Chuck E. Cheese, but that might be a little strange. Or, I could actually get back to writing. That's less strange. For some reason, the writing is a little labored and it's been a struggle, but damn the torpedoes and full speed ahead.

7/19/17 Sherlock Jr., 1924, #44 BBC, National Film Registry

I don't mind silent films, and some of them I have really enjoyed. Buster Keaton starred and directed Sherlock Jr. and it's counted among the best films, on several lists, including the BBC 100 and the National Film Registry. But, you knew there was a but coming, it did nothing to me. I think I'm more of a Chaplin fan. I was exceedingly bored, even though I know some of the stunts were quite difficult; I just could not muster up the appropriate amount of appreciation for this classic.

7/28/17 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004, Best Original Screenplay, #87 BBC

I tried watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind shortly after it came out on DVD and didn't make it longer than 30 minutes. I just couldn't. I even rated it on Netflix as "not interested" because I just didn't care. I'm not sure my feelings have changed all that much, except, because it's on two of my stupid lists, I had to finish watching it. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet are star-crossed lovers, Joel and Clementine. Instead of just moving on from a relationship that doesn't seem to be working, they seek out a specialist in removing memories, Dr. Mierzwiak (Tom Wilkinson). Except, it doesn't go quite as planned, when Joel's mind fights against the cleaning. It seems to turn into one kind of weird infinite loop; they fall in love, fall out of love, get memories wiped, fall in love, rinse and repeat. Charlie Kaufman wrote the script, and that might explain why I didn't like the movie and everyone else in the world did: very unintentionally, I don't like any of the movies he has done: Adaptation, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and most recently, Anomalisa. He doesn't write stories or characters that I care about, in the least little bit.

7/30/17 Dunkirk, not yet nominated, 2017

Exhibits from Churchill War Museum

I was so excited to see Dunkirk after seeing the trailers; a movie about an episode of World War II that not a lot of Americans know about, but is a critical part of English and French history. I liked it, but I didn't love it, and when some people asked me about it, I couldn't recommend it as enthusiastically as I have other movies, but I couldn't exactly say why. This was another movie with very sparing dialog, and we didn't know the names of many of the characters or any background. I think the idea was to be 'in the moment' and be connected to this experience rather than what village or town the character grew up in. Okay, I get that, and I don't think you need a lot of extensive backgrounds, that's what makes movies three hours long, but I needed something. The movie is not told in a linear, chronological fashion, but in three storylines beginning one week - Land/Mole , one day - Sea and one hour - Air; I liked the idea of the three perspectives, but I'm not sure the leaping timeline helped or was necessary. There was a lot of suspense, and I won't ruin it since it is still out in theatres, but I did get very choked up when the armada of recreational and fishing boats pulled onto the beach in Dunkirk. That was tremendous. The citizen sailors were represented by Oscar winner, Mark Rylance as Mr. Dawson, and his performance was tremendous. He brought the same quiet strength to this role that he did to Bridge of Spies, and I felt like I knew Mr. Dawson by the end of the film, and he was a man I would like to have known. Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy and Harry Styles also had roles in the movie. If you're a World War II buff, you've probably already seen it, but if you're not, and war movies aren't your thing, I think you're fine if you wait for DVD or skip it. It probably will be nominated for an Oscar or two, sound editing and mixing, possibly film editing and maybe a nomination for Rylance; if it's nominated for the bigger awards, I don't give it much chance, because to my recollection, those awards go to movies released in November and December. I'm sorry I don't have a more enthusiastic review for you.

8/6/17 Days of Heaven, 1978, Best Cinematography, #49 BBC, National Film Registry

In 2011, I had to watch The Tree of Life (for the list, pre-blog), also written and directed by Terrence Malick, and that was my first experience with his films, and it left me leery of his other movies. It was over two hours that I will never get back. So, I was not excited about watching Days of Heaven which is on three of my lists. Damn it. The movie features Richard Gere and the late Sam Shepard, along with Brooke Adams and Linda Manz in the main roles. Like in The Tree of Life, there is very little dialog supplemented by narration by Linda Manz's character, Linda. The movie is set in 1916, beginning in Chicago where Bill (Gere) kills his boss and he, his little sister Linda, and his girlfriend Abby (Adams) take off to Texas to work in the fields. In order to keep away the gossip, Abby and Bill pretend to be brother and sister; and all I could think of was, why didn't they pretend to be married, it's not like anyone would have asked for the paperwork. Except it would not have worked for the rest of the story, which is where Abby flirts with the lonely farmer (Shepard, his character is not given any other name) and the two get married. The farmer is given a terminal diagnosis and Bill and Abby plan for Abby to inherit the farmer's money after he dies. Sadly, for everyone involved, nothing goes as planned. The cinematography was stunning, but I didn't care at all about the story (similar to my not caring about The Tree of Life); I'm fine with limited dialog, but at least give me something to care about and get invested in for 90 minutes. I think improvisation can be great in a film, but other times it seems lazy on the part of the director/writer, and can lead to a sense of incoherence.

It really seems like this blog entry is a tribute to just doing it and getting it done. Looking forward to movies that I can strongly recommend.