Naomi Repace as Lizabeth Salandar as the title character in “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” a wildly popular Swedish thriller.
by Sam Juliano
WitD site traffic this past week was at his highest level since nearly one year ago, (the biggest day was Friday with 2,100 hits) and a combination of factors, including the superlative contributions of Jim Clark, Joel Bocko, Dee Dee, Marc Bauer, Jamie Uhrer, as well as the peak essays of Allan’s rightly celebrated silent countdown, all contributed to an unexpected flurry of activity and some stellar comments from site regulars and newbies. Readers who haven’t yet cast ballots in that long-running silents polling are urged to enter then under the proper tab under the site header, although ballots will be accepted till around April 6th. There has been a short break in the action at Dave Hicks’s “GoodFellas” blog and Jeffrey Goodman’s “The Last Lullaby” place in the film noir countdown and annual examination of the greatest films, respectively, but both are due to continue to this morning.
A weekend horror convention was held at the nearby Jersey City Loews, featuring screenings of Night of the Living Dead and creepshow, a three day ‘Twilight Zone’ marathon, and various costume contests and the presence of directors George Romero and Tom Savini among other dignitaries, but the prohibitive $25 ticket fee kept us aways, and for seven (including resfreshments) would have had us mortgaging our home. But I’m sure this was quite a venture, and I hope to hear more about it this week.
Theatrically, this past week I managed three films:
Greenberg ** 1/2 (Saturday night) Angelika Film Center
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo *** 1/2 (Friday night) Landmark Cinemas
The Green Zone ** (Monday night) Edgewater multiplex
Ben Stiller plays a narcissistic neurotic named Roger Greenburg, who movies from Lost Angeles to New York after a mental breakdown, and you know that director Noah Baumbach is on solid Woody Allen turf here. But Stiller’s character is uninteresting, nothing really happens (both dramatically and psychologically) and the almost-romance is rather painful to watch. Greta Gerwig is wholly endearing, but Stiller is really a major annoyance, in a film that is only intermittantly funny. Some of the observation are trenchant, but it all really adds up here to very little, and all is forgotten a day later.
The biggest problem in THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO is that the plot turns are continuous, leaving very little room for any character development. But there’s no question this is a dizzying thriller with some terrific individual scenes, and a terrifying denouement. The title character, played by Naomi Repace, and the two male leads, are superb, and the film is strikingly lensed. It’s exorbitantly long, but I can’t really say it’s not riveting. It’s interesting to see the Swedish take on what has traditionally been an American genre, and it’s likely we’ll be seeing a re-make on these shores soon enough.
THE GREEN ZONE is a bombastic and frenzied movie with neither a heart nor a soul, and some high-profile performers, could have been effectively replaced by your next door neighbors. There’s little here that surprises us, and after a while you just want to get up and leave, with nothing on display here to engage the mind intellectual, despite some considerable technical prowess. (for whatever that’s worth)
Lucille and my two daughters Melanie and Jillian took a look on Saturday afternoon at THE RUNAWAYS at the Edgewater multiplex, but I needed to stay back with the three boys to complete some domestic chores here. It seems that all three of them had good things to say.
Anyway, I have some very interesting links to add here, so I suspect time will prevent me from going as far with it as I usually do:
As mentioned earlier, Dave Hicks and Jeffrey Goodman will be back in action first thing in the morning, so head on over!
Actually Dave has just posted a magnificent essay on a legendary boxing film, Body and Soul for his #34 choice:
My very dear friend, Dorothy Porker, has been quiet as of late since the Oscars, but she has som egreat thing sahead in her life, and I am smiling just thinking about here. Here’s her new site:
http://filmcheer.com/
Marilyn Ferdinand has another another of her first-class essays up, on this month’s TOERRIFIC choice,
The Rapture, that’s a must-read, as is the second post, a great comparison piece by Roderick Heath on
Brief Encounter and
500 Days of Summer, that has a great comment section to boot:
http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/
Once again Just Another Film Buff goes in yet another (specialized) direction, and he produces a review of wide scope, authority and critical acumen with an Indian film by Dibakar Banerjee. I found this a fascinating read, and was starled at the Godard homage:
http://theseventhart.info/2010/03/20/band-of-insiders/
Longman Oz is not exactly running around Dublin telling veryone to see
The Green Zone, and his perceptive review here explains why, though it appears he may like it a bit more than I did:
http://noordinaryfool.com/2010/03/22/greenzone/
Stephen has a project on the cinematic “image” that is gaining quite a bit of well-deserved attention at his place. I am eager to see the final display:
I’d love to hear what you all did this past week and everything’s on the table!
Thanks so much. Sam, for the mention.
Not a great week at the movies, eh? It’s got to be like this some week or the other. Was expecting Green Zone to be good. But your superb review has turned me away from the film.
I did catch up with a bunch of films this week, including two westerns that I always wanted to see:
RIO BRAVO: Excellent cinema. If you’re targetting entertainment, this is how it’s gotta be done. Having said that, I still rate HIGH NOON higher.
THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE: Is pappy John Ford the greatest action film director ever? Possibly. THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE is a text book to today’s filmmakers on how to write, light, shoot and cut a film. One of the greatest Westerns ever made. I was trembling with emotions at the end. Nolan and Co. Seem to have borrowed much from this film for THE DARK KNIGHT. A Masterpiece. And god, that man called JOHN WAYNE!
Thanks so much JAFB!
Well, the Swedish film was reasonably decent, with some issues of course, but I have already forgotten about the other two, even if GREENBERG has some modest insights. But Baumbach’s THE SQUID AND THE WHALE is a far better film from him.
I also rate HIGH NOON ahead of RIO BRAVO, but its still a formidable work. And the Ford film (you nailed it with everything you say there) is practically a masterpiece. You make a very insightful point about THE DARK KNIGHT being indepted too!
great post. I’ll third the comments on HIGH NOON over RIO BRAVO but both are great films. I’ve actually been watching many westerns recently (it seemed like a genre I should dive into more), I’ve held myself more to the golden era (like late 40’s to 1960)… last week I saw THE GUNFIGHTER (which I absolutely ADORED), and WARLOCK. WARLOCK is also a pretty good film, I enjoyed debating it’s contemporary relevance with friends over beers. This idea of hiring bad dudes to clean up other bad dudes, then getting squeamish by the violence of the methods is very Blackwater/Iraq for me. Pretty timeless.
I watched some other films I’ll post below.
Great addition here Jamie. I am assuming though, that you might be inclined to rate one or more westerns above these. Is that right?
Yes, there are several old and contemporary westerns I’d rate higher then THE GUNFIGHTER and WARLOCK.
But nevertheless it’s fun to watch many old classics I had never seen.
I suppose that I’ll be the voice of reason, then, and set everyone straight on the fact that RIO BRAVO is in fact a far superior film to HIGH NOON! LOL… I’m kidding of course, but I definitely personally prefer Rio Bravo. I think it’s possibly the best western ever made!
But JAFB, great to see you enjoying these classic westerns. I agree that both Rio Bravo and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance are great movies!
Dave, if Ed Howard pull up on his horse in deeez parts, he’d be makin the same claim with pistol cocked. But I know there are a few others who value the Hawks film to the very highest level, and I certainly have no issue there at all.
Aha! Dave, although you might be the first to suggest that here, yous eem to be int he global majority.
The misfortune of HIGH NOON is that it has been brutally reduced to a Red Scare allegory, undermining its power and timelessness. It’s one of art’s greatest tragedies, up there with the likes of Shakespeare. Its question: What happens when all that you thought was right and fair comes down crumbling, just like that. Kane is a classic western character who has strayed into the comparatively modern film noir. It’s no country for old men, alright. HIGH NOON digs deep into the human condition and questions the very purpose of our living. Your morality is what makes the world around you. Kane learns the hard way what Woody has been throwing at us all his life – that the universe is haphazard, morally neutral and unimaginably violent. One of the greatest works of cinema
Brilliant response here JAFB. ==mouth open in awe==
And the shattering theme song conveys this existential crisis so eloquently, on multiple levels:
Do not forsake me O my darlin’
On this our wedding day.
Do not forsake me O my darlin’
Wait, wait along.
The noonday train will bring Frank Miller.
If I’m a man I must be brave
And I must face that deadly killer
Or lie a coward, a craven coward,
Or lie a coward in my grave.
The coinciding hands of the clock at noon itself becomes symbolic of a world where there is no demarcation between good and bad, a world that is self-annihilating. The westerns is no more morally black and white after HIGH NOON…
I am singing along right now as I type this response to you JAFB, and this song is one of the film’s most compelling components! I love your superlative exsistential discussion here, and I do remember enjoying Professor Suber’s comparable proposition on the excellent Criterion laserdisc of the film. But as always JAFB, you raise the tone!
JAFB
“THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALANCE” has been my favorite film of all-time since I first saw it in 1962. I am glad to see that you agree on it’s greatness.
I kind of knew you’d have a special sense of clairvoyance Angelo, to sense that your most beloved movie ever was being discussed here, and I can’t blame you for vocalyzing!
Angelo, glad to find company!
There is simply no denying its greatness. When Ford cuts from a wide angle to a medium or CU, there is a convuslsion within us as if we are inside the film. When he wants to notice the eyes, we notice the eyes of the actors, without him trying too much. And so much irony wihin and across the gestures in the film. Important, small moments galore that one will miss if one blinks. And a such an affecting tragedy at heart.
And Wayne’s performance, one of Farber’s termites I believe, is one of the greatest ever. None of this method acting nonsense. Wayne needn’t convince either himself or the audience that he is from the West. Be just believe him. And he just indulges himself. Brilliant.
“And Wayne’s performance, one of Farber’s termites I believe, is one of the greatest ever. None of this method acting nonsense. Wayne needn’t convince either himself or the audience that he is from the West. Be just believe him. And he just indulges himself. Brilliant.”
I love this paragraph, JAFB, and completely agree. Your passion on this one reminds me that just two weeks ago I picked up the 2-disc Centennial Edition DVD of Liberty Valance and have yet to put it in. I’ve seen the movie a number of times before, obviously, but I still like to re-watch them as I acquire new discs.
Fantastic friendly crossfire here on this celebrated Ford classic from JAFB and Dave!
Well Sam, I am a very careful thriller film watcher because I scare too easy. Some of David Lynch’s films I’ve watched half at a time so I could sit through them. I always say there is enough in my real life to scare the daylight out of me – I don’t need to entertain my imagination. But I think I will give THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO a try. Top of the week to you and thanks for the mention. Terrill Welch:)
Thanks so much Terrill, and for the correction on my comment at your place! I wouldn’t advise you not to see DRAGON TATTOO, as it does keep you glued, even if it didn’y stop long enough to lend some character insights that were surely in the novel I didn’t read. At some point I’d love to hear your reaction in view of what you said.
Again, thanks exceedingly for your kindness and ever-insightful comments here!
Hmm, well the dismissing of Green Zone goes against the vast majority of UK reveiws, but then again, I remember you have a disliking for Paul Greengrass’ work as much as Christopher Nolan’s, so I’ll wait and see. Both Brits in Hollywood, impudent upstarts.
There were also a sizable number of scathing appraisals, and I’m afraid I must agree with those. I have nothing against Greengrass, just for his lamentable flirtation with Hollywood here.
Hey Sam. Thanks for the link to my Green Zone review. I know that you have to fly through such posts if your Monday round-up is ever to get written, but I thought that I was slating the film pretty badly! On the other hand, I may just need to get fresh ink for my poison pen! Just one point on your “next door neighbour” quip, I read somewhere that most of the minor roles were played by actual combat veterans! A nice touch and one I had not known about when I wrote my review.
As you perhaps saw on Joel’s site, I thought that Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo was very predictable and something in me died following the turgid first encounter between the male lead and the guy whose niece was missing. Having watched British TV dramas such as Taggart, Prime Suspect, and Wire in the Blood over the years, I really had seen all of this before and some of the clues were painfully obvious. Equally, I felt that the title character was convoluted rather than complex.
This leaves me with Greenberg. While I do appreciate where you are coming from with your remarks above and this is not a film that I would die in a ditch over, I thought that the chief gag was the fact that the titular character was so uninteresting! In other words, here is this guy who is so absolutely full of his own obsessions and neuroses who is rendered anonymous by the crushing size of LA and the fact that most people barely have two minutes for him. Therefore, while I agree that Squid & Whale is the better film, I think that I enjoyed this one more than you.
Hmmm… hopefully that all comes across okay! Feeling a bit grouchy this morning and the grey and wet Monday morning weather here is really not helping! 🙂
Longman: I actually read your review more closely than you might rightfully think, as this movie has been on my mind this week, and not in a good way. I realize your did diss it pretty good, but I put my own reaction even lower, though I am probably wrong, as if you used star ratings I bet you would have gone with * or * 1/2 here. I didn’t know that some of the minor roles were played by veterans, but that makes sense, I agree.
I completely respect your position on THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, and am getting closer to your position the more I think of it. That simply tried to cram in too much here, and without any substantial character development, there was no emotional connection to anything.
No doubt you make a lot of sense what you say about GREENBERG too, but such a conscious artistic decision still doesn’t make the cahracter of the film any more fascinating nor something I’d want to see again. There was some interesting insights, but much of it was an excrutiating bore.
I see you have like three posts I am extremely interested in at your place, but as I am at school, and this is Monday (the diary answers take up some time) and I have another opera in Manhattan tonight, I’ll have to figure out a way to get over there during breaks. But it does look like great stuff.
As always, thanks for the meticulous, thoughtful response!
You are a gent Sam. If I get 3-4 comments a week, I am pleased! So please do not feel under any pressure to respond to a fraction of my output. I write those reviews mostly as aide-memoires for myself. It just pleases me when others get something from them too.
My apols for doubting your snake’s belly opinion of Green Zone also! You are right, it was passably diverting for me, so your superior degree of odium is well noted this time around!
My review of the Girl and her Painted Back is due for publication in T minus 2.5 hours, so I will say no more on that subject!
I liked Greenberg. Not loved it. Liked! Less to do with Stiller and more just the kooky offbeat romance (for which I am a touch of a sucker) of it all. It worked for me and I would watch it again, so long as it did not cost me any money to do so!
Thanks again, Longman! I will definitely be checking out your official review at your place of THE GIRL, and of some others there, particularly that review you have up of Tchaikovsky’s glorious SWAN LAKE!!!!
Thank you for the kind comments, Sam.
The gallery is coming along nicely. It has no definitive deadline as yet so, if anyone would like to contribute…
No films watched this week (the horror!)
Thanks Stephen. I do check your site every day, looking for the final post, but I understand you are making sure to accomodate all the participants, which is most understandable. Some great stuff on the cusp there!
Sam, I’ve posted the gallery but it is an ongoing, neverending project – always open to new submissions.
Admission is £10.
Hi Sam. Good to be able to chime in. Of course, with plans of going to China I had to get stuff done around the house and finished up at work. We expected to be going NEXT week, but alas, we aren’t leaving until May now…sad. It does give me some time to pick up on my blogging again this week, though, as soon as I catch up at work.
No movie watched, yet again.
As for THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, I saw that a few months back and found it good, but pretty typical as far as thrillers go. I did like the character of Lisbeth and thought the actress who played her did quite well and it was photographed better than I imagine the American version will be (American thrillers have such a generic style to them now).
Troy: I look forward to reading your eventual review of THE GIRL, and hadn’t realized you had seen it already! But at thi spoint in time, you have much bigger fish to fry, and I’m franly surprised you had time to get over here. Much appreciated as always my good friend! And yes, an American version looks imminent, and what a travesty it will likely be!
Thanks again Troy. Please keep me abreast of the “movement.”
Tricia and I watched GIRL a few months back, before I knew it would be making it’s way into US theaters, via a downloaded copy, that looked to be fan-subbed (lots of grammar and spelling errors in it — hopefully this didn’t deprive too much from the film). She had read the book and was excited to see it and we both had the same middling view of it, about **1/2 worth.
I’ll keep you informed on things as they go on, Sam. Looks like we will be leaving around May 5th as of right now, with a good shot at picking up our daughter ON Mother’s Day (which is a nice touch, I think).
Troy, I’m curious. Are you fluent in Swedish, or are your parents? Did you feel the film had a distinctly European feel, and do you know anyone who has read the novel? Sorry for all these questions.
You a little over a month to go before your big day, and that Mother’s Day scenario would be priceless!!!
Oh, no. No Swedish spoken here. It WAS subtitled, I just don’t think they were “official” subs. It looked like a Swedish fan who spoke English had done them.
The most European thing about the movie to me was the environs and (obviously) the language. And although it still had that look of Hollywood slickness to it (similar to the look of films like THE BAEDER MEINHOFF COMPLEX and FLAME AND CITRON) there was still a more cerebral component to it that would likely be missing was it made in Hollywood (I keep coming back to junk like HANNIBAL and ALONG CAME A SPIDER when I think of these kind of thriller/mysteries).
I guess when I think of a European film now, my mind goes straight to arthouse stuff, like a Dardenne Brothers film. This was definitely not that.
My wife is the only person I know who’s read the book. But it does have a Dan Brown like following to it and I seem to see it front and center in every bookstore I wander across, so I assume it’s quite popular. I’m actually curious to see what happens with the future of the book series — it’s quite a cash cow and it will be interesting if the estate will milk it for all it’s worth with some posthumously written sequels (similar to what happened with Robert Ludlum, for instance, having other authors come in and tell further tales of his characters).
God, what an absolutely brilliant answer across the board Troy!
Those two example (BAEDER MEINHOFF and FLAME AND CITRON) are excellent and the real European feel as conveyed through the Dardenne’s brothers’ work, is to me the most perfect reference point in contemporary cinema. I think the best European thriller I’ve seen over the last 15 or 20 years might be Geoerge Sluizer’s THE VANISHING, but that one is so disturbing that I can never watch it again. But Hanecke’s CACHE and a few by Chabrol are up there, while Von Donnersmarck’s THE LIVES OF OTHERS is near the top. If it has the Brown kind of popularity, well, it will indeed be seen as a cash cow, and I would bet money some kind of sequel is imminent!
Sam, thanks so much for the words! That’s so wonderful to hear about the traffic this past week at WitD. It’s certainly well deserved.
A little less eventful week for me in terms of film watching. I believe the only thing I was able to see was Edmund Goulding’s NIGHTMARE ALLEY, one of the most unhinged and fully committed noirs I’ve ever seen. I was glad to finally catch up with it.
Thanks, Sam, for all your great work!
Thanks very much Jeffrey. I know it can be seen as improper to boast, but all of us have probably had those moments, and I thought the timing here was a bit odd, though several of the site’s writers have really stepped to the plate as of late. And what will Joel’s ELEPHANT essay due to post tomorrow, and Jim Clark’s ERASERHEAD very soon (and another by Marc Bauer) I am hopeful the exposure will be sustained.
Ah, NIGHTMARE ALLEY. That’s one of the greatest of noirs, and Dave recently penned a fantastic review for it as you know (in fact I bet his review pushed you forward here!)
Thanks as always for the enthusiastic response my friend.
Thanks for the prominent mention. For an interesting discussion of Green Zone’s factual peccadillos, I would point people to Tony Dayoub’s takedown of the film, followed by a lively conversation:
http://www.cinemaviewfinder.com/2010/03/movie-review-green-zone.html
I enjoyed it, but was somewhat troubled by its liberties with the record, which seemed ultimately to subvert its very purpose (so much of what it presents was true, however streamlined, up until the conclusion).
Thanks Joel! I definitely will be checking out Tony’s review. I have a rare Monday night opera at the Met tonight (ATTILA-Verdi) but I will look at it afterwards. I appreciate your astute appraisal there of THE GREEN ZONE too, though for me Greengrass never got beyond the ‘Hollywood’s-interpretation-of-real-events’ stage. Surprining, when one considers UNITED 93.
Sam thanks again for the mention.
In the theater, we saw “Ghost Writer” which finally opened here though only in a couple of theaters. I am still mulling over my thoughts on the film. Overall, I liked it, visually stunning, and after what I thought was a slow start turned interesting, Polanski is a brilliant filmmaker and a perfectionist. Hope to write something up for “Watching Shadows on the Walls.”
At home, I watched “Black Legion”, a Bogart film with our man Bogie joining a Klu Klux Klan type organization. Unusual role for HB and a film way ahead of its time. Also watched the HBO movie “Taking Chance” with Kevin Bacon, a powerfully emotional film. A fine tribute to the men and women who sacrificed their lives at war and their families. It has no political bent so whether one is against or for the Iraq war is irrelevant. Finally, I watched Jacques Becker’s “Casque d’or”, a wonderful film with great performances and superb photography, that you along with some others have praised and rightly so. Thanks!
John, I will certainly be keeping my eyes open at your seond site there for the planned review of GHOST WRITER, which seems to be an inexaustible piece that a high number of bloggers have been tackling. I would venture to speculate that this one will improve on subsequent viewings, as it’s a challenging work. I can’t seen to remember the Kevin Bacon film, though your description there makes it most appealing, and of course I do like that Bogart! But best of all is Becker’s CASQUE D’OR. Your rection has made my day!
As always thanks for the spirited response on this weekly round-up thread!
Thanks for the link, Sam, much appreciated! As you know, I was out of town for a few days, visiting my brother for what is our annual March Madness marathon… meaning basically three days of basketball, food, beer, and whatever else comes along! We’ve been doing it since middle school (although, at the time obviously, minus the beer!) so it’s a fun tradition. For anyone interested in the basketball aspect of things, it was a great weekend of the tournament and I had a blast. Today, I am recovering!
So with that in mind, movie watching obviously was on the back-burner. Hopefully I’ll get to my usual amount of films this week.
On the book front, I started one called “Love and Hate in Jamestown” by David A. Price, which concerns the Jamestown colony and the story of its struggle. I just started it, so I can’t really comment much on it, but it has received very positive reviews. With my love of the Malick film, I was inspired to read some of the actual story, so we’ll see how it goes.
Dave, no issue at all with the R & R, as you deserve it probably more than anybody. Very happy to hear it was a blast! And a steady diet of movies and writing without some foray into the real world does leave one spent. I’ve felt that way too, but against my better judgement I have pushed on. But the noir countdown has really tabbed some masterful films over the past two weeks, and I see the activity reaching a frenzy now!
You know that Jamestown colony book does intrigue me, and I was all ready to chime in with Malick, but you beat me to the bunch! Thanks so much!
Thanks for the mention, Sam. I’d like to invite everyone over to my place to follow The Rapture discussion and participate.
I didn’t see much this week, but enjoyed Gentlemen Prefer Blondes as the fun diversion it is and caught a bit of Yentl until I cracked down on myself to finish The Rapture post.
My favorite viewing was a mated pair of buffleheads in a pond at the Maple Syrup Festival near my home. We got a great explanation of a maple tree’s circulatory system, how tree tapping is done, and of course, got to sample the sap and then the syrup hot from cooking. It was great fun.
I plan on getting over there Marilyn, for what is sure to be a fabulous THE RAPTURE discussion!
I absolutely LOVED THIS:
“My favorite viewing was a mated pair of buffleheads in a pond at the Maple Syrup Festival near my home. We got a great explanation of a maple tree’s circulatory system, how tree tapping is done, and of course, got to sample the sap and then the syrup hot from cooking. It was great fun.”
Great stuff!!! I do wish I were there!
GPB is (agreed) a fun diversion as is YENTYL. Thanks for bringing a smile to my face Marilyn!
If I’ve made you smile, then you’ve made MY day!
Thanks for the shoutout, Sam. I’ve always overrated films a tad when it comes to assigning star ratings to new films, but I’m already wondering if, for all the effusiveness of my praise for the film, I kept it back from the full five (which I don’t reserve for the truest of masterpieces because I just don’t see the point of setting such stringent restrictions on the loose guidelines of the rating of films) just because it’s early in the year and I don’t want to box myself in. But I’ve been thinking about this film for a solid week with nary a thought for another movie. I even added in a few quick additions to my review that weren’t substantive enough for a second post but little tidbits that I just had to share.
I spent a month waiting to see it and was thrilled to find it in a theater when I went to Tampa for spring break, and when I stopped by my parents’ house before heading back to college I noticed that it had just opened up at the theater near them. My initial feelings of “Well that figures” dissipated pretty quickly because now I can see it again, which I will be doing in the very near future.
Thanks so much Jake for your maiden submission on this weekly thread, and for a number of other superlative comments on some of Allan’s silent countdown reviews. Your input here is deeply appreciated. I know giving out ***** is difficult, as you always feel ‘now how can I top this?’ Your review did scream out for the Big Five, but you are probably better off not even dealing with ratings that in the end are so restrictive, and definitive. Part of me would rather not even go there, but I still play that game anyway. I completely agree that GHOST WRITER is a movie that must be seen several tuimes, as seeing it once seems only scratching the surface. The fact that you’ve been thinking about this film for a week now really says something.
I actually had an interesting discussion with an online buddy recent about ratings attached to reviews. I was talking about how I could spend so much time waffling over how many stars and half-stars to give a film than I did proofreading even though I don’t care about ratings at all, and he said that he requires ratings of some sort now because of the high influx of writing on films thanks to the explosion of blogs and film sites. I argued that seeing a rating is no indicator at all of the quality of the writing, but he had a point when he said that he always felt like he wasted his time when he read those reviews that never really establish what the writer thinks of the film in question and don’t provide any rating to give a clue. I of course look for reference points, observations, analysis and style over opinion, but I have to admit it is maddening to read a review that basically spins its wheels the whole time.
“I of course look for reference points, observations, analysis and style over opinion, but I have to admit it is maddening to read a review that basically spins its wheels the whole time.”
Aye Jake. This is my own rationale for staying the course with the star ratings. Some essays make their position so obvious that you could almost affix the proper summary judgement yourself, yet some other reviews, even superlatively-reasoned and written ones- don’t present a compelling case for the final verdict. The best of course is a situation where the rating fully corroborates the writing.
Thanks for the link, Sam! That’s a shame about GREEN ZONE. I’ve kinda gone from anticipating this film to waiting until it shows up on cable/DVD. It doesn’t sound like it’s worth the full price o’ admission at the local multiplex. It’s a shame because it seems like Damon and Greengrass had their heart in the right place but just weren’t as successful in the execution. Oh well…
J.D. I also saw The Green Zone, and found it sophomoric. It’s so busy trying to score in technical terms, that it’s message is lost in the debris.
Thanks for your thoughts on this as well. What a bummer!
J.D.: There’s always a possibility you’ll find it differently, but yeah, I would not recommend seeing this at full price. Maybe as a sneak in once you are in and have paid for another movie? Ha! It’s loud, and convoluted and utterly pointless, as we’ve seen this material done so much better in other feature war films and documentaries. I agree that this wasn’t a misfire that was actively sought, but one where Greengrass played by the Hollywood rules, which up until now he has not. it’s a shame.
Thanks as always J.D. for your always valued submission here!
I also liked “The Squid in the Whale.” But I have a bad feeling on this one. of course, typically those who appreciated it will try and argue that the lead character’s being a jerk was exactly the way it was planned. That’s an excuse for the failure to engage. Thanks but no thanks.
Yes Peter, backers of this film for the most part are trying to set aside the issues people have with teh film as not understanding that the central character was written as a bore. We all know that, we’re not idiots! We just reject the lack of engagement on aesthetic terms! I agree with you on THE SQUID AND THE WHALE.
Thanks as always Peter for the perceptive additions!
Sam, thanks a lot for the mention. Congrats for the high number of hits, WitD deserves that and much more.
I was really looking forward to getting hold of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and the positives mentioned in your review was just the impetus I was in need of 🙂
Anyway, had a staid time in terms of movie viewing – watched just 2 over the last weekend:-
1. A Bengali movie called Sanjhbatir Rupkathara (Strokes & Silhouettes) – a melancholic yet emotionally soothing movie which, I felt, offered less than what it had promised.
2. The French film Kings & Queen – structurally and stylistically a brave and challenging film, but a bit of an uneven effort in my humble opinion.
On the books’ front, I’ve been reading some Bengali novels from the since I completed In Cold Blood.
Shubhajit:
Thanks for the very kind words on WitD’s performance this week, and for not holding me to task for the shameless boasting. But sometimes I like to say when things are better than the norm.
I do love Despletchan’s KINGS AND QUEEN, and rate it among the great films of the past decade, and I fully understand what you are saying there, as it does have for good or bad an episodic structure. I actually didn’t care all that much for the director’s A CHRISTMAS TALE, but others have raved over it. I don’t know STROKES AND SILOUETTES, but it seems you were generally impressed and had your emotions jogged. I am assuming that one didn’t play in theatres outside of India though. Too bad so many excellent films don’t make it here.
I remember when you completed IN COLD BLOOD–a powerful novel, and the Bengali stuff you are reading must be lighter in tone.
Thanks as always for the great wrap Shubhajit!
Strokes & Silhouettes isn’t a very recent movie, it released in the early 2000’s. So I watched it on dvd. Nonetheless, its now my turn to assure you that leave alone playing outside India, I’m quite certain that it didn’t even play outside Calcutta in particular and Bengal in general.
The thing is, unlike in the US where a major percentage of Americans have a common mother tongue, an umpteen number of mutually indecipherable languages spoken in India. So the audience of a Bengali movie outside Bengal are either non-resident Bengalis and those who like Bengali movies. But that has one big advantage. I can not just appreciate Bengali films, but also English & Hindi films as I know these 3 languages pretty well. And I also can decipher with varying degress of ease a few other Indian languages like Oriya, Asamese, Marathi, Gujrati, Punjabi, etc. A bit of an effort and I’m sure I’ll be able to appreciate movies made in those languages as well without the aid of subtitles. Its another matter though the ‘effort’ is the keyword there 🙂
And well, though the Bengali stuff that I’m reading now are detective novels, they aren’t really light reads. On one hand, they have strong socio-political undercurrents, and on the other, the books have seamlessly revealed the darker and uglier (even grotesque) facets of human nature. The language and terrific wordplays too very subtly borders on cynicism. The plots thus often take a backseat, even though they are very good themselves.
Shaubajit, thanks so much for that fascinating cultural overview, with does put things in proper perspective. And the language disparity is telling. I am thinking that some Indians, who aren’t Bengali can’t even properly appreciate Ghitak (perhaps even S. Ray) though I am not sure if Gopalakrishnan is Bengali. His film RAT-TRAP is simply one of the greatest Indian films I’ve ever seen. Mukarjee had wider appeal I presume in the language sense.
Thanks as always Sam for your compliment on my “frank short essay” about The Yes Men. As it happens I couldn’t better describe your thoughts on Green Zone:
“after a while you just want to get up and leave, with nothing on display here to engage the mind intellectual”
Bingo. I went into GZ with lowered expectations, but even those weren’t met. What a misfire. What was the purpose of this movie?
Anyway I over the weekend I saw:
Fish Tank – liked it very, very much though I can’t quite articulate my thoughts on it. I didn’t actually like the third act very much but I did hooked into the story pretty quickly.
Police, Adjective – wow, what a mindbender this was. “Slow” would be the most understated adjective you could use, and yet it would be unfair to call it plodding or boring; the penultimate scene was great and pulled it all together.
And last night I saw the premiere of the new Life series on the Discovery channel – beautiful and truly awe-inspiring!
“I went into GZ with lowered expectations, but even those weren’t met. What a misfire. What was the purpose of this movie?”
LOL!!! Good one Dan! I am at a loss to answer that question, but with Greengrass at the helm you would really have hoped for something other than this train wreck of a movie that was hoisted on us. I even tried to close my eyes and take a snooze, but the deafening soundtrack prevented even that! Ha!
Ah, we are completely on agreement on the wekest part of FISH TANK, which is nonetheless a very good film, one that my site colleague Allan Fish rates with ***** (highest rating) But I went with 4/5. The lead was superlative.
And with POLICE ADJECTIVE (my #6 film of 2009) I hear ya. But I was in an odd way riveted to the film, and glued to the cultural observations on display. As you say that stunning denouement made it worthwhile all by itself!
The LIFE series does sound great!
Thanks as always for the terrific wrap here, but one of the net’s most engaging bloggers, and one of my very good friends.
Cheers, Sam – right back at ya.
lol, yeah no sleep was to be had during Green Zone, Sam, though had you fallen asleep you wouldn’t have missed much plot-wise anyway. It’s the same regurgitated story we’ve seen a million times.
I remember seeing Police, Adjective as one of your tops of last year and in fact sought it out partly because of your praise of it. Thanks for the tip as you always get ahead of those movies out east!
“Thanks for the tip as you always get ahead of those movies out east!”
Ah Daniel that’s true for some openings, but I’m sure the west coast and even some in your neighbood get the jump in some instances.
Not much to report… Burnt the shit out of some CD’s Sammy lent me (copying). Spent most of my free time doing SPRING CLEANING and boxing up winter clothes in exchange for lighter fare. Aside from the usual same-ol-same-ol, I spent time banging through ALLAN’s ALMOST SILENT COUNT DOWN. With today’s showing of NOSFERATU in the No. 7 position, I am ABSOLUTELY POSITIVE what his FINAL SIX will be. I have the remainder of his lists choices represented in my own TOP 15 (posted in the voting section here at WITD). As to what order they will show on Allans count I cannot say (with the exception of No 1 which I’m TOTALLY CERTAIN). This started as a count I was dreading and turned slowly into my favorite so far!!!!!
Dennis, don’t be so fast to put that winter garb in moth balls, as you know full well what could happen in April in these parts! I don’t blame you for being excited over the silent poll. The period, the treatment, the anticipation all adds up to the greatest achievent (by Allan) since this site started. But that’s a no-brainer.
Thanks very much for the plug, Sam. I must confess I haven’t watched much this week as I was on night shifts, my kids had a lot on, and also we actually had some spring sunshine in the UK, so I was getting out and about during the day making the most of that after the long cold winter! Glad to hear that WitD is doing so well – well deserved.
Judy, our weather patterns this past winter have apparently been comparable, as we endured one of the coldest and snowiest seasons on record. And I know you’ve had the same, so I can’t blame you for taking advantage of the beautiful weather. We had a few days in the low 70’s and mid 60’s, so we got a taste of what we hope will dominate April. But don’t I know, a break from the theatres, the DVDs and the PC is a must to maintain your sanity! Thanks for the very kind words my friend.
Hi! Sam Juliano, Allan and WitD readers,
Sam Juliano, I noticed that the films with the colour “green” in the titles didn’t do to well…as far, as you are concerned…
Greenberg, received ** 1/2
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo received *** 1/2 and…
(Sam Juliano and WitD readers, here goes his translator website if you would like to communicate with him…I have communicate with him (Reg) before he seems like a very nice man.
Reg- Stieg Larsson’s Translator… )
…The Green Zone, received only ** stars.
Sam Juliano said,”Lucille and my two daughters Melanie and Jillian took a look on Saturday afternoon at THE RUNAWAYS at the Edgewater multiplex, but I needed to stay back with the three boys to complete some domestic chores here. It seems that all three of them had good things to say.”
Sam, I now wonder if you and your three sons, plan to go and view the film the Runaways…Unfortunately, I’am not familiar with the film Greenberg and the Runaways yet, but I’am familiar with the filmsThe Green Zone and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
Thanks, for sharing the “mini” synopsis of each film with your readers.
Now, I digress… as far as my movie viewing and future purchases goes …I plan to purchase CoCo (COCO) Before Chanel, The Sell-Out, So, Evil My Love, Metropolis, Highway 301 (I still don’t have a copy of Highway 301 yet…with “yet” being the operative word.)
I watched Cry Danger and Gaslight (1944).
I am still reading Beetner’s and Kohl’s book…One Too Many Blows to the Heads, Hollywood Heroines:Women in Film Noir and the Female Gothic Film, and Eddie Robson’s Film Noir… Right now, these are the only book on my shelf.
Arts…No comment…
Theatre …No comment…
Music…No Comment Food … Hmmm…a very light touch…as usual.
Sports… No Comment…Once again, Oh No!
Politics…No Comment…Once again, Oh No!
Sam Juliano, I guess that about wrap up my week in review for this week…as usual.
Take care!
DeeDee
Dee Dee, thanks again for the kind of submission on this thread that always brings a smile to my face, and makes me cognizant of the real joys of blogging. You are most welcome as to your ‘thank yous’ and you make a good point about the ‘green’ movies taking a nosedive this week, though I know that both have their advocates too, especially the Baumbach film. What I have posed in the past, is that a film with engaging lead characters makes for more enjoyable entertainment, though I’ve taken the opposite position with other films that featured deplorable characters (Von Trier’s ANTI-CHRIST for example) But I did like Baumbach’s THE SQUID AND THE WHALE, which possessed a more free-flowing screenplay.
Thanks for adding that fascinating link to Larsson’s translator; I just took a look! It’s always great to have the perspective from the inside.
As far as seeing THE RUNAWAYS with my three boys, I may be able to negotiate that over the upcoming weekend during the day if they’re game. In addition it appears that the reviews was fairly solid, so it would make sense to check it out.
That’s a pretty impressive lot of films you plan on acquiring, though as you know COCO can be negotiated from this end, as it’s on netflix now. Marvelous costume design in that one! It might be best to wait for the extended version of METROPOLIS to come out, before purchasing anything that might be inferior down the road, (which will almost certainly be the case) The noirs you have plans for are all most worthwhile.
As far as GASLIGHT (1944) I do of course know you’ve seen it recently and have checked out your excellent post on the Hollywood favorite at “Darkness Into Light” and CRY DANGER of course is classic Dick Powell, and dialogue to die for!
I look forward to your final estimation of Beetner and Kohl’s volume!
Thanks once again for this exhaustive and delightfully engaging round-up my very dear friend.
Oops!
Sam Juliano said, “WitD site traffic this past week was at his highest level since nearly one year ago, (the biggest day was Friday with 2,100 hits) and a combination of factors, including the superlative contributions of Jim Clark, Joel Bocko, Dee Dee, Marc Bauer, Jamie Uhrer, as well as the peak essays of Allan’s rightly celebrated silent countdown, all contributed to an unexpected flurry of activity and some stellar comments from site regulars and newbies…”
Sam Juliano, Congratulation! on WitD site traffic numbers and most definitely, thanks for the mention…
…as usual.
DeeDee 😉 🙂
You are most welcome Dee Dee. I know all sites have their ups and downs, but we did have a big week for some reason. Ironically yesterday (Monday) was an even bigger day than that banner week. But it’s all in the name of fun.
Thanks Sam. Big highlight of the week was seeing Week End for the first time on the big screen. Like Play Time, the other great French comedy of ’67 (and I mean that, Week End is a very funny movie), I think this is the only way to see it, with a room full of people you don’t know. Also saw a fascinating film called The Passion Of St. Tony. A surreal comedy with plenty of Tarkovskian imagery, I definitely recommend it. Among other things, it calls attention to how car commercials and arthouse cinema share specific aesthetic concerns. Oh, and I’m with Rio Bravo any and every day. I’m not a big Gary Cooper guy, but his best western is not High Noon (by a long shot) but Man Of The West.
Just wanted to second the claim that Gary Cooper’s best western is MAN OF THE WEST, a film that simply blows away HIGH NOON.
Well, I am outnumbered here by two very good friends so I’ll zip it! Ha! Mann fans particularly would have it no other way, but I do go back a long way with my extremely favorable regard for HIGH NOON, as economical a Western as has ever been crafted, but it’s just that aspect that doesn’t endear it to everyone to the same level. MAN OF THE WEST? A very great film, no doubt. I’m intrigued by THE PASSION OF ST. TONY Donophon, but this is the first I’ve head of it, sad to say. I’ll do some research this afternoon, as any film with an abundance of Tarkovskian imagery is a must-see. Seeing WEEKEND on a big screen is a heavenly experience! Kudos to you. And yes, I agree the interaction for the comedic elements can never be negotiated at a home DVD viewing. It’s one of the master’s greatest films.
Thanks as always for the superlative, much appreciated round-up.
Sam, you might have trouble tracking down The Passion Of St. Tony, as it apparently doesn’t exist. The movie I saw was The Temptation Of St. Tony (Õunpuu, 2009).
My big film watching experiences of this past week or two were (other then the few westerns I already listed earlier): ‘The Scarlet Empress’, ‘A Serious Man’ (though I had seen this at the theater), ‘Broken Embraces’, and the first time I ever saw this on DVD ‘Rebel Without A Cause’.
I obviously liked all these, but I must say, having never seen the von Sternberg I was quite wowed by that. The marriage sequence alone I think I’ve watched about 5 times. Obviously it’s sent me scurrying to see any of his I have not already.
‘Rebel’ on DVD was fun, I know the film pretty well so see it in widescreen was great. I’m an ardent Ray fan, as many know around here, but one camera moved really left me in a loving mood. At the end during the climax, the camera lingers over Plato’s back then when he’s shot there is a sudden tilt maybe 15 to 20 degrees… to match his shoulders. I had noticed it before on the tape I have but seeing it ‘for real’ really made me happy for some reason. If anyone has access to this film and can’t recall what I am talking about pop it in. I can’t explain why it affected me so, but it did.
Oh and Roethke’s been what I’ve had my nose in.
THE PURE FURY
Stupor of knowledge lacking inwardness–
What book, O learned man, will set me right?
Once I read nothing through a fearful night,
For every meaning had grown meaningless.
Morning, I saw the world with second sight,
As if all things had died, and rose again.
I touched the stones, and they had my own skin.
The pure admire the pure, and live alone;
I love a woman with an empty face.
Parmenides put Nothingness in place;
She tries to think, and it flies loose again.
How slow the changes of a golden mean:
Great Boehme rooted all in Yes and No;
At times my darling squeaks in pure Plato.
How terrible the need for solitude:
That appetite for life so ravenous
A man’s a beast prowling in his own house,
A beast with fangs, and out for his own blood
Until he finds the thing he almost was
When the pure fury first raged in his head
And trees came closer with a denser shade.
Dream of a woman, and a dream of death:
The light air takes my being’s breath away;
I look on white, and it turns into gray–
When will that creature give me back my breath?
I live near the abyss. I hope to stay
Until my eyes look at a brighter sun
As the thick shade of the long night comes on.
(Wow).
Aye Jamie, your affinity for Ray is well known in these parts, and I can certainly see why the camera movement during the climactic sequence in REBEL affected you as it did. And the Von Sternberg is a masterpiece for sure, methinks. A SERIOUS MAN may well be the Coens film down the road that is held in the highest esteem. In so many ways it’s their most philosophically most profound work. BROKEN EMBRACES is another fine Almodovar, but perhaps not among his best as it seems too episodic.
Great round up as always!
Sam, many thanks for linking my piece. I know you wrote something on The Ghost Writer yourself (or was it Shutter Island?) and I’ll be sure to read it.
Thank you Adam! I didn’t write full reviews for either, though I did report on both on a past Monday Morning Diary, and I have entered some longer comments on other blogsites, especially on SHUTTER ISLAND. Bob Clark wrote the review of the Scorsese for the site, a comprehensive essay, though not nearly as positive as my position (and yours.)