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
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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.
