by Sam Juliano
The countdown to 2012 has led to wild celebrations in Times Square and all around the world. Here in the NYC area, television junkies can indulge in 18 hours non-stop of the original The Honeymooners while the good part of having the holiday fall on a Sunday is that the next day (today) in a legal holiday. So while a most unwelcome return to work for many tomorrow is a reminder of how short-lived the break was, there was at least a breather to follow the domestic festivities. With the beginning of the new year, many cinephiles are putting the finishing touch on ‘best of’ lists, including Yours Truly, who will be posting his next Monday, January 9th. The site’s Maurizio Roca will be publishing his own two days later on Wednesday, January 11th, with others including Jamie Uhler and Bob Clark contemplating their own presentations. Allan Fish usually completes his own list some time in March.
As the site prepares for projects on John Ford and Stanley Kubrick, an extended lull has taken hold during the holiday season. As such only the continuing series work from Jamie Uhler, Bob Clark and Jim Clark has faithfully appeared
Typically for the week leading up to New Year’s Day, Lucille and I (and the family in some instances) have been spending much time in the movie theatres with one major title seen at home. Over the past week we saw:
Mission Impossible 4 ** (Tuesday afternoon) Edgewater multiplex
We Bought A Zoo ** (Tuesday evening) Edgewater multiplex
Sherlock Holmes * 1/2 (Tuesday evening) Edgewater multiplex
Pariah *** 1/2 (Friday night) Landmark Cinemas
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close ** 1/2 (Friday night) Union Square
The Iron Lady *** 1/2 (Sunday night) Union Square Cinemas
Mysteries of Lisbon ***** (Tuesday morning) DVD screener on plasma
The Turin Horse **** 1/2 (Wednesday morning) DVD screener on plasma
The Camerman (1928) **** 1/2 (Monday night) Film Forum
I also watched two important older films on DVD, both of which reach masterpiece status: Victor Erice’s ‘La Morte Rouge’ and Ken Loach’s ‘Days of Hope’.
PARIAH is a socially explosive drama of an African-American family and the budding lesbian daughter that must weather the storm of conservative parents. In one sense it recalls “Precious” with the cruel mother, but it’s a far more polished and honest work. EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE nearly exploits the 9-11 tragedy with it’s heavy-handed approach to grief, but Max Von Sydow and the young actor who plays the lead prevent it from sinking under the weight of it’s shamelessness. A real downer of a Christmas Day release. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE eventually wears thin, even if if it’s action sequences engage early on’ SHERLOCK HOLMES is as trashy as the first film; WE BOUGHT A ZOO is maudlin and contrived; MYSTERIES OF LISBON is a sweeping masterpiece that is Dickensian in scope; THE TURIN HORSE is a mesmerizing Bela Tarr film that is still gaining in my affections; Buster Keaton’s THE CAMERAMAN is one of his great feature films.
As far as THE IRON LADY, which I just saw minutes ago, overall it’s a bit better than some reviewers are contending. Yes, it could have utilized more newsreel footgae and Maggie Thatcher in her glory years (rather than the preponderance of onset dementia, even if that was a narrative device to memories) but Meryl Streep’s performance was absolutely electrifying -the best by a lead female actress this year!, and the film succeeds on other counts.
The blogosphere offers mant year end/new year treats:
Laurie Buchanan’s ‘2011 in Review’ at Speaking From The Heart includes many fascinating statistics at one of the blogosphere’s essential daily stops: http://holessence.wordpress.com/2011/12/31/2011-in-review/
Just Another Film Buff (Srikanth) has posted a spectacular Top 10 at The Seventh Art that raises the bar in every sense: http://theseventhart.info/2012/01/01/favorite-films-of-2011/
Tony d’Ambra seeks out film noir influences at FilmsNoir.net: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/film-noir-influences-the-replicant-is-d-o-a.html
John Greco has penned a buffo piece on Martin Scorsese’s masterful “Hugo” at Twenty-Four Frames: http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/hugo-2011-martin-scorsese/
Pat Perry recaps the past year at Doodad Kind of Town with an engaging look behind and forward: http://doodadkindoftown.blogspot.com/2012/01/looking-forward-looking-back.html
R.D. at The Movie Projector Finch proudly announces a “month of Vertigo” at an affiliate site: http://themovieprojector.blogspot.com/2012/01/month-of-vertigo.html
Roderick Heath at Ferdy-on-Films offers up his brilliant year-end round-up, titled “Confessions of a Film Freak-2011”: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/?p=12675
Judy Geater at Movie Classics announces the release of William Wellman’s “A Star is Born” on Kino blu-ray in February: http://movieclassics.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/a-star-is-born-1937-comes-to-blu-ray/
Jaime Grijalba offers up thanks to Wonders in the Dark for posting his fabulous essay on the writer Vargas Llosa at Exodus 8:2: http://exodus8-2.blogspot.com/2011/12/miercoles-de-cuentos-critica-de-la-casa.html
Ed Howard and Jason Bellamy again raise the bar with another installment of their acclaimed ‘Conversations’ series focusing on celebrated director Alexander Payne at The House Next Door: http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2011/12/conversations-29-alexander-payne.html
Joel Bocko offers up “Highlights For the Holidays” at The Dancing Image, which showcases some of the great posts from the past year: http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/2011/12/highlights-for-holidays.html
Dee Dee has posted a wonderfully informative and engaging piece on the origin of lobby cards at Darkness Into Light: http://noirishcity.blogspot.com/2011/11/holding-auctiontaking-look-at-eleven.html
Jon Warner at Films Worth Watching has penned an excellent essay on the seminal sci-fi classic “Blade Runner”: http://filmsworthwatching.blogspot.com/2011/12/blade-runner-1981-directed-by-ridley.html
Kaleem Hasan’s Satyamshot blog offers a New Year’s greeting to all readers: http://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2011/12/31/happy-new-year-folks/
At Roderick Heath’s solo movie blog “This Island Rod” the great writer offers up a classic takedown of “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”: http://thisislandrod.blogspot.com/2011/12/tinker-tailor-soldier-spy-2011.html
At Heath’s literature blog, English-One-O-Worst, the great writer takes on the Bard’s “King Lear” and the result is a scholarly masterpiece: http://englishoneoworst.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-he-rightly-is-king-lear-as-king.html
Craig Kennedy’s always engaging Watercooler post is leading the way at Living in Cinema: http://livingincinema.com/2011/12/18/catching-up-is-hard-to-do/
After a brief hiatus Ed Howard has returned with a mighty essay on the all-time Carol Reed classic “The Third Man” at Only the Cinema: http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2011/12/third-man.html
Murderous Ink, in Tokyo examines ‘Nuclear Noir’ in a brilliant new post at Vermillion and One Nights: http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2011/12/nuclear-noir.html
At Patricia’s Wisdom, our friend and proctor of the same name has authored a tremendous review of Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life”: http://patriciaswisdom.com/2011/12/the-tree-of-life/
At Scribbles and Ramblings Sachin Gandhi has penned a brilliant piece on ‘Three Films by Mohammad Al-Daradji”: http://likhna.blogspot.com/2011/12/three-films-by-mohamed-al-daradji.html
At the always-spectacular Creativepotager’s blog, artist Terrill Welch offers up a new post for the new year that will ravish the senses in an ocean of blue: http://creativepotager.wordpress.com/2012/01/01/mayne-island-dawn-of-2012/
Writer extraordinaire Samuel Wilson, has penned a superlative review of Jules Dassin’s “Rififi” at Mondo 70: http://mondo70.blogspot.com/2011/12/rififi-du-rififi-chez-les-hommes-1955.html
At The Long Voyage Home, Peter Lenihan offers up an incredible list of “key films” that screams out “essential” in every sense: http://thelongvoyagehome.blogspot.com/
The gifted and always brilliant Jason Bellamy takes a fascinating and perceptive look at “J Edgar” that in some measure differs from the majority stand. It’s at The Cooler: http://coolercinema.blogspot.com/2011/11/solid-weight-j-edgar.html
Filmmaker Jeffrey Goodman at The Late Lullaby has posted a stupendous round-up of the best cinematic experiences he’s enjoyed in 2011: http://cahierspositif.blogspot.com/2012/01/my-top-10-or-so-films-for-2011.html
Again Stephen Russell-Gebbett offers up a wholly audacious position with some brilliantly perceptive writing in his announcement at Checking on my Sausages that “Sucker Punch” is his #1 film of 2011: http://checkingonmysausages.blogspot.com/2011/12/sucker-punch-film-of-year.html
At The Schleicher Spin our very good friend David frames expectations for 2012. take a look: http://theschleicherspin.com/2012/01/01/are-you-ready-for-dun-dun-dun-2012/
At Cinemascope Shubajit Laheri has penned a fantastic capsule on the overlooked noir “Quicksand” (1950) with Mickey Rooney: http://cliched-monologues.blogspot.com/2012/01/quicksand-1950.html
Adam Zanzie at Icebox Movies has penned a passionate essay on “War Horse” that’s an essential read for the film’s fans: http://www.iceboxmovies.blogspot.com/2011/12/war-horse-2011.html
Michael Harford, the erstwhile ‘Coffee Messiah’ offers up an engaging video about the beverage’s worldwide popularity: http://coffeemessiah.blogspot.com/2011/11/coffee-break.html
Troy Olson announces plans to commence with his Robert Bresson project at Elusive as Robert Denby: http://troyolson.blogspot.com/2011/11/argh.html
Jason Marshall has penned a terrific essay on “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” at Movies Over Matter: http://www.iceboxmovies.blogspot.com/2011/12/war-horse-2011.html
At Radiator Heaven J.D. has penned a superlative piece on 2005′s “Mirrormask”: http://rheaven.blogspot.com/2011/12/mirrormask.html
At Petrified Fountain of Thought Stephen Morton offers up three terrific capsules on “50/50″, “Moneyball” and “Ides of March”: http://petrifiedfountainofthought.blogspot.com/2011/11/recent-movies-5050-moneyball-ides-of.html
Fritz Lang, Joseph Losey and Jean-Luc Godard all figure in Drew McIntosh’s latest post “I’ll Be Damned” at The Blue Vial: http://thebluevial.blogspot.com/2011/11/ill-be-damned.html
Kevin Olson offers up a postscript to his recent Horror Blogothon at Hugo Stigliz Makes Movies: http://kolson-kevinsblog.blogspot.com/2011/11/italian-horror-blogathon-postscript.html
Tony Dayoub at Cinema Viewfinder offers up an interview with the Self-Styled Siren: http://www.cinemaviewfinder.com/2011/11/gone-to-earth-conversation-with-self.html
At The Man From Porlock Craig takes down both “War Horse” and “Melancholia” with his usual impressive analytical prose: http://themanfromporlock.blogspot.com/2011/12/tears-for-fears-war-horse-and.html
Hokahey has penned a terrific review of “War Horse” at Little Worlds: http://hokahey-littleworlds.blogspot.com/2011/12/spielbergs-war-horse.html
Dave Van Poppel is gearing for some updates at Visions of Non Fiction, but presently is still leading up with his very fine review of “Project Nim”: http://visionsofnonfiction.blogspot.com/2011/08/project-nim.html
At The Reluctant Bloger Jeff Stroud has offered up some stunning beautiful images in a post titled “Autumn Leaves”: http://jeffstroud.wordpress.com/
Hey Sam Happy New Year to you and thanks for the mention! I myself am planning my own recap of my 2011 watching films which I’ll post this week and will provide a list of my favorite finds of older films that I saw for the first time. I’ll get to my own list of my favorite 2011 films probably in a few months as it takes me time to catch up. Sounds like many of the new releases you saw this week are about what I would have expected you would say, although I guess I was expecting Iron Lady to be better perhaps. Hmm. Streep giving the best performance of the year by a lead actress? Wow that’s saying something although she is rather tremendous in most things. If I had a vote it would go to Michelle Williams, but we both know where I stand with her. 😉
I really liked Young Adult. I found the script kept me on my toes and Cody’s writing is more mature in this film than in Juno, even though it concerns characters who are perhaps more immature. Theron and Oswalt are tremendous and I found the film struck so many true moments. It was dark, comedic and filled with a tragic humanism that I found irresistible. It’s not quite a masterpiece for me, but very very good.
The Descendants was a disappointment. Payne’s film was a bit too soggy and seemed to try too hard to pull me in. I wasn’t biting. Clooney as a father was also a bit of a stretch and the plot was very predictable to me. This film is ultimately a forgettable blip.
In older films, Ophuls’ The Earrings of Madame De… was magnificent. I had never seen it before and was quite surprised by how the film won me over with it’s blend of opulence and subtlety. Darrieux is magnificent in that film.
Anways, I hope you have a tremendous week my friend and looking forward to your best of 2011 and also can’t wait to see the Kubrick and Ford series!
Jon—
I greatly look forward to your final listing!!! I know a good number of people will put Williams ahead of Streep, and I suppose the Oscar will come down to those two and Viola Davis for THE HELP. I will admit I did like THE DESCENDANTS a lot more than you did, and normally I don’t warm to Clooney so much. This was an exception. But fair enough. MADAME DE in indeed a masterwork. Glad to hear that YOUNG ADULT worked so well for you, I liked it too, though somewhat less. It was great enjoying your friendship, and I wish you and your lovely family the best year ever in 2012!
Oh same to you and your family Sam! I wish you all the best in 2012 and it’s been great getting to know this past year.
Sam, I am a Meryl Streep fan through and through and can hardly wait to see this movie. Mayne Island New Year celebrations were quiet at la casa de inspiracion but the dawn by the sea this morning was most splendid! Thank you for bring the post of seascapes captured before and at the rising of the first light on our shores. I haven’t been watching many movies the last few days but that will change as the even quieter days come to our island. Many of the year round residents leave on vacation at this time of year and only a hardy few stay for the post Christmas – waiting for spring days of January and February. We will be among those few. All the best of 2012 to you, your family and to Wonders in the Dark friends.
‘Creativepotager’ I concur with your estimation of Meryl Streep. She seems to transcend the weaker material she too often agrees to negotiate, but she’s so dominant that she at least in part takes her films further because of her involvement.
Terrill and Meryl……………two of the classiest ladies around, and I’m grateful for having one as a great friend! I’ll content myself with being ravished by Meryl’s artistry, and her latest performance, which is certainly greater than the decent film she stars in. I look forward to another year of astounding creativity from Mayne Island and of being inspired by some of your spectaculat posts at Creativeppotager. Best to you and David for 2012 and many thanks as always!
Sam, you’re almost a unique voice of skepticism re: Mission Impossible, which everyone else seems to have celebrated for unpretentious fun. The second one so annoyed me that I haven’t looked at any since. Anyway, I just finished pounding out a War Horse review and will say no more on that subject until I read yours. Otherwise still catching up with DVR recordings and may work up a collective review of three 1934 films with William Powell and Myrna Loy; The Thin Man, of course, along with Manhattan Melodrama (both by W.S. Van Dyke) and William K. Howard’s Evelyn Prentiss. They’re interesting episodes from the year of Code Enforcement and stages in M-G-M’s domestication of the two leads.
The minor Pauline Kael mania in publishing inspired me to grab an old paperback of Reeling for a buck and take Deeper Into Movies out of the library. Interesting to see how much of a skeptic and/or reactionary she was regarding Seventies Cinema. She really saw cinema as the slave of literature, but movies have to be more than that, don’t they? There has to be an ultimate extra-literary standard that lets the image trump the word, or montage trump narrative, when the image and montage justify it, or else we may as well take the moviemaking art all the way back to 1929 — and no further, since everyone may as well talk. Don’t mistake me, Kael’s a brilliant writer and often nails films that fail on their own terms, but her terms often seem wrong to me. Just a thought to get the year started.
Samuel—
It’s true that my resistence to MISSION IMPOSSIBLE is in the extreme minority, but one can only get so much of the death-defying antics, lous explosions and pyrotehnics that this soulless movie bandies around. The first 30 minutes engaged and then it became a torture to sit through. I will DEFINITELY be reading every word of your WAR HORSE review, and based on what you have said under my own, I’m optimistic of a fair enough assessment from you. But I can well imagine what creativity in observation you will display!
Great news on the planned 1934 viewings, including THE THIN MAN, and must completely agree with your findings there on Kael (I own those two volumes and refer to then here and there) who was way too cynical, even with her brilliance and incomparable writing style. I will soon acquire her newest volume, which I was previously reading in the book store.
Thanks so much for the multiple comments here my great friend. You can count on one from me later today at your WAR HORSE essay.
I will be seeing GREED tonight at the Film Forum with some of my family.
Hello Sam and Happy New Year to you and all the WITD staff.
Sounds like you had a less than stellar week of viewing. I’m highly ambivalent about seeing THE IRON LADY myself, but will keep your positive words in mind.
I’ve been (happily!) off work since the 22nd, and with my out-ot-town company all gone by the 28th, I’ve had time to make an almost Sam Juliano-worthy run through year-end and missed 2011 releases. In the ,ast five days, I’ve seen YOUNG ADULT, MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, THE ARTIST, MEEK’S CUTOFF, BARNEY’S VERSION and JANE EYRE, with at least one more film to get in before returning to work on the 3rd. I’m tentatively aiming to get my own “Best of 2011” post up on January 16 (or as close to that date as possible) as I rush to finish seeing the major films of the year.
Of the above list, surprisingly, BARNEY’S VERSION was my favorite – brilliant performances by Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman, plus a really fine, revelatory one by Rosamund Pike, plus an engrossing and emotionally nuanced story covering nearly four decades in the title character’s life. It’s the kind of movie that’s rarely made anymore, and I loved it.
YOUNG ADULT was very well acted, but ultimately just too dark and unpleasant for me to be enthsusiastic about. I thought Diablo Cody’s script showed a greater maturity than JUNO’s, but there was still an undercurrent of mean-spiritedness I didn’t much care for. MY WEEK WITH MARILYN – worth it for Michelle Willams, but as a whole doesn’t amount to much. THE ARTIST was charming and beautifully made, but I’m still puzzled as to who its target audience is meant to be; as sweet as it was, my impulse was to strongly prefer the films it references (A STAR IS BORN, SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN and so on.) Those films are superior to this homage, not to mention widely and cheaply available, so why not just see the originals? MEEK’S CUTOFF was slightly disappointing to me. JANE EYRE was wonderful; I think Michael Fassbender may be the best Mr. Rochester on film.
So tomorrow, it will either be A DANGEROUS METHOD or THE DESCENDANTS, or possibly POETRY (the latter of which is available on Netflix Instant.)
So many movies, so little time!
Have a great week, Sam!
Hell Pat, and thanks so much for the holiday greetings in behalf of the family and everyone here at Wonders!
I do agree with you that the dark element in YOUNG ADULT mitigated against the appeal at least in this instance, and that yes, Dody’s work was definitely more mature than what he showed in JUNO. Completely agree with you on MY WEEK WITH MARILYN–good but not great with Williams transcending teh material. Who is the target audience of THE ARTIST? Initially I think, silent film lovers, but it seems everyone is now falling for it. It’s charm and beautiful music and performances really won me over, but I do hear what you are saying about the films it homaged. Thrilled, thrilled, thrilled to hear what you think about JANE EYRE, which I deeply adore (yes Fassbender is better than some are crediting him for) and I must confess i din’t care at all for the shallow MEEK’S CUTOFF though I know others will want to behead me for saying that. can’t wait to hear what you say about THE DESCENDANTS, A DANGEROUS METHOD and/or POETRY, all of which to varying degrees are wonderful.
Happy to hear too of that sterling regard for BARNEY’S VERSION!
You have a great week too my friend! Enjoy those planned viewings and best to you and Marlon!
The Turin Horse is easily one of the great films I’ve seen this century and, if it weren’t for his 7 hour epic Satantago, would be the defining film of Tarr’s career. I plan on watching mysteries of Lisbon this week as part of my year in review post. However, because it was technically a 2010 film, it won’t be on my official best of list. Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close and The Iron Lady both look like trash and am not surprised of the negative reviews. The Iron Lady, at best, looked like oscar bait and the fact that the distributors used the same music that was used in trailer for the King’s Speech for their trailer says a lot. At worst, the film looks like it actually creates a sympathetic character out of Margret Thatcher. I expect Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close to be an oscar contender and get Daldry another nomination for best director. the film looks bad enough to persuade viewers.
I have continued to watch more films from 2011 to create my comprehensive end of the year list, and am feeling that I was right when I stated last week that this was a weak year for films. I still have a few more films to tackle however, and hope to track down a copy of Once Upon a Time in Anatolia and House of Tolerance (really need help finding these) before making my final list though.
Anu—
THE TURIN HORSE is surely a great film, but yes, compared to SATANTANGO it is diminished. I don’t fault you at all for revering Bela Tarr, that’s for sure. EXTREMELY LOUD is hugely problematic, not quite worthy of the ‘trash’ label you speculate, but rife with exploitation. The use of music in the trailer of THE IRON LADY does not in my view make any definitive statement on the worth (or lack thereof) of the film, but as I stated it’s focus was somewhat faulty. It’s an impressionistic piece that amply presents teh contradictions in Thatcher’s character, mitigating against the position that it’s hugely sympathetic towards Thatcher. I am a left wing liberal who abhored her policies, but I looked at the film from a neutral perspective. It was ultimately elevated by Streep’s stupendous performance, which deservedly won her the Best Actress prize from the New York Film Critics Circle a few weeks ago.
In a year that boasted triumphant turns from Lars Von Trier, Martin Scorsese, Raoul Ruiz, Terrence Malick, Steven Spielberg, Asghar Farhadi, Steve McQueen, Thomas Winding Rfen, Michael Havinicius, Alexander Payne, Kenneth Lonnergan, Chang Dong-Lee, Denis Villenue, Xavier Beauvois, Cary Fukanaga, Celine Sciamma, Wim Wenders, Werner Herzog, Ray Fiennes, Abbas Kiarostami, Tom McCarthy, Lech Majewski, Andrew Haigh, Michelangelo Frammartino, Jeff Nichols, Kelly Reichert, David Fincher, Woody Allen (the last three directors helmed films I wasn’t myself a fan of, true enough, but I was in a severe minority), T. Sean Durkin, Martin Koolhoven, James Marsh, Aki Kaurismaki, Lynne Ramsay, Patricio Guzman, Bennett Miller, Chuan Lu, Pedro Almodovar, Ji-woon Kim, Semih Kaplanoğlu, Radu Muntean, Bertrand Bonello, Koji Wakamatsu and Michael Winterbottom, I am aghast that anyone could possibly consider 2011 as anything but a banner year for the cinema, comparable to the best of any since the beginning of the new millenium. It’s a given that junk pervades the screens regularly, but the ratio of very good to excellent films is as high this year as any in memory.
But fair enough, you have your own sense of aesthetics, which I greatly respect. You have always been tasteful and discerning since I first read your writings.
I will be giving THE TURIN HORSE a second viewing perhaps as early as this afternoon, as (like Maurizio) I can honestly say the film hasn’t let go since the initial screening last week. It is a very great film and does admittedly deserve some follow-up scrutiny.
Sadly many of the great films this year, I had the fortune of seeing last year. Uncle Boonme, Poetry, Of Gods and Men, FIlm Socialism, Honey, and Certified Copy are all films that deserve to be viewed as modern masterpieces and almost all of them made it on my top ten list last year. This year it’s a little harder to find films like those (but trust me I’m looking and am going to tirelessly make up for what I missed this year).
The Turin Horse may be one of the finest darkest masterpieces I’ve seen in years. The way Tarr relies on repetition and his beautiful long shots to create a haunting atmosphere is brilliant. It reminds me of Sohrab Shahid-Saless’ equally brilliant Still Life from 1974.
Anu, you are more than fair in your response here. It’s true I do remember your strong responses last year to POETRY, OF GODS AND MEN, HONEY and UNCLE BOONME, though of course my own time line of assessing films is the one used by virtually all USA critics. But removing those from the well here does impact the quality a bit. But you may yet find some others that may elevate the general perception of 2011, yet.
Thanks for being a sport my friend.
Wow you put in some serious time in the movie theater this week Sam. I look forward to your list next Monday. I gave The Turin Horse **** stars last week, but it has been gnawing at me for another viewing. That score and BW cinematography just keeps calling me back for another go. Something about all of Tarr’s films have that affect on me. I will watch it again before the eleventh to make a more complete assessment. What I saw these past seven days….
A Separation *****
Pina ***
Of Gods And Men ****
Le Quattro Volte ****
Harlan: In The Shadow Of Jew Suess ****1/2
Maurizio–
Yes this was an unforgettable week, and it continues tonight at the Film Forum with a showing of Von Stroheim’s GREED. Yes the score and the cinematography were both stunning. Tarr’s film are hypnotizing. I agree with the top rating for the dramatically arresting A SEPARATION, and applaud your strong regard for OF GODS AND MEN and LE QUATTRO VOLTE. Most interesting response there to JEW SUESS, though I am sorry you didn’t connect all that much to PINA, an avante garde dance film that definitively employed 3D. I am greatly looking forward to your final list on Wednesday, January 11th at the site!
Hvae a great week my friend!
And Happy New Year to you and everyone else, Sam! Let’s get this crappy year behind us and move on to a year of ….. oh god… a presidential election. I’m already depressed about the nonsense we have to look forward to.
It’s been a slow movie week for me. Finally made it out to Hugo. I broke my no 3D rule for Scorsese and instantly regretted it. 3D added nothing to this movie, though I did enjoy the film.
I am making my way back out to the movie tomorrow to catch up on some things I’ve missed like War Horse and The Artist so I’ll be sure to let you know what I think of them. I can’t argue with your own thoughts on Mission Impossible and Sherlock Holmes. I marginally enjoyed both, though I acknowledge Sherlock Holmes is not a good movie. I just gave it some extra credit because it didn’t annoy me. It is not a movie I would want to watch again though.
Unfortunately I have spent the past four nights being awakened by circling helicopters and sirens. For those of you who don’t live in Los Angeles, you probably aren’t aware that the Hollywood area is being plagued by a serial arsonist who has been setting anywhere from 6 to 13 fires a night. Luckily no one has been hurt. They have mostly been within a three mile radius of my house. And if the helicopter I hear hovering over my apartment right now is any indication, I will spend another night of restless sleep. Let’s hope they catch this fool soon so I don’t have to worry about my car or apartment catching on fire and I can get a good night sleep again.
Jason—
I’m not sure of what you are saying is crappy, (the year in general or the movies we were offered) but I’m guessing you meant the former. I agree that with a presidential election ahead of us, it will be insanity in every sense. Yeah, I found both MISSION IMPOSSIBLE and SHERLOCK HOLMES rather tedious to sit through, no doubt about that. But I am really looking forward to your opinions on WAR HORSE and THE ARTIST.
Oh I have heard all about your LA crisis there, and I can’t blame you for being more than a little concerned. It’s sad that the choppers have been keeping you awake, and fearful that this has been going on in nearby places. My heart goes out to you. Hope the New Year will bring about the apprehension of this psychopath. The news here in the NYC has indeed given it full coverage.
I did think that Scorsese knew how to bring the maximum worth to the 3D form (as did Wenders and Herzog) but more important I hope you relished the film.
Again I hope you will soon be spared all the mental agony you have had to endure my friend.
I wish you the best year ever in 2012.
Happy New Year to thee and thine, Sam. I was so immersed in my labours on the Confession piece that I didn’t realise until some time around 7:30 in the evening that it was actually New Year’s Eve.
Happy New Year to you too Rod!
Your CONFESSIONS piece is spectacularly comprehensive (as it always is) and I’ll be registering my reactions and opinions on it today! I’m not surprised you lost track of time preparing it! Ha!
Many thanks as always my friend!
Happy New Year to you, Sam, and to all at Wonders. I’m really looking forward to the Ford discussions here – I have been trying to catch up with his films for a few months now, and yesterday watched ‘The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance’, which may just be my favourite of those I’ve seen of his so far. John Wayne, Jimmy Stewart and Lee Marvin are all excellent.
I also saw classic screwball comedy ‘My Man Godfrey’ this week and loved that too. At the cinema, I let my son persuade me to go and see ‘Puss in Boots’, in 3D what’s more – Antonio Banderas has fun but it’s not very different from all the Shrek movies. The big disappointment of the week for me was the BBC’s new ‘Great Expectations’ mini-series, which I’d say was a very loose/weak adaptation and much too short, though Ray Winstone was good as Magwitch. I’m hoping the Mike Newell film will be better!
Agree on Great Expectations, Judy. Bloody feminist adaptation which turned Estella into a plain Jane who was basically kind and Pip into a dashing tin soldier type who needed a big swift kick in the pants, while making Miss Havisham a little girl lost (Gillian Anderson did it well, but it’s not Miss Havisham). Ray Winstone was excellent and nice to see Harry Lloyd playing a nice character for once, his Herbert may have been the best thing in it.
Allan, I agree that Harry Lloyd was excellent as Herbert, noticeably far better than the actor playing Pip. Also agree that Gillian Anderson’s Miss Havisham was nothing like Dickens’s character – “little girl lost” is a perfect description for how she was made to appear, though, as you say, she did it well. A pity, since Anderson was chilling as Lady Dedlock cold in the BBC’s ‘Bleak House’, but that had a far better screenwriter in Andrew Davies. To be honest this version hadn’t really struck me as a feminist adaptation, though I do think the book might offer scope for that kind of interpretation, but missing out a major female character like Biddy isn’t the right way to go about it! Anyway, I do hope that the BBC ‘Edwin Drood’ is better than this.
Judy—
Interesting enough in the upcoming Mike Newell version of ‘Great Expectations’ Pip will be played by none other than WAR HORSE’s Jeremy Irvine, who played the central character Albert Narracott, the young man in Spielberg’s horse epic. I’m hearing much more positive reports on this version.
As to your other comments, first off I wish you and your lovely family a great 2012. It’s been a real joy communicating with you all year and reading your wonderful writings both here at at MOVIE CLASSICS. Your excitement for the upcoming Ford retrospective (which is tentatively scheduled to launch soon on every other Wednesday, with Peter Lenihan at the helm) ha smade me excited to! Yes, any discussion of the iconic director would broach LIBERTY VALANCE comprehensively! Puss n Boots in indeed a Shrek re-tread!!! And MY MAN GODFREY is one of the priceless comedy classics.
Have a great week and the best year ever for you all in 2012! I can’t thank you enough for all you have done here!
Some interesting and perceptive comments on ‘Great Expectations’. Pocket was the only character that worked here for me too. Hated Magwitch, seemed like he had wondered off the set of the soap ‘East Enders’.
Visually it’s superb in it’s photography and the soundtrack was very good too. And their were directorial compositions that seemed excellent with an opening in which had an almost dreamlike otherworldly surrealness – the type one feels underwater. But the mood was off, it was far too morose to the point of being one dimensional, as if the spirit of the dreadful and grim afore mentioned ‘East Enders’ had infected it. There was no joy in the lives of the characters, no warmth, no amusement, no wonder (such as Pip’s first entry into London in Lean’s version).
Was really thrilled to see the NY TIMES and there 1st of the year movie section. As always, the paper featured essays on it’s two best films of the years and, as I suspected, screen caps from Terrence Malick’s THE TREE OF LIFE and Lars Von Trier’s MELANCHOLIA appeared hand-in-hand…
As for MELANCHOLIA? Well, I have to agree. After finally seeing this film on my big screen TV at home I have to agree with the times. This dazzlingly visual stunner from the director of BREAKING THE WAVES just missed my number 1 position by a hair. Easily one of the BEST films of 2011.
THE ARTIST (which I saw with Sam) is a one-note gimmick film that has staying power because of the joy and charm of it’s setting and theme. However, while some of the performances, cinematography, music and editing are all terrific, I cannot help think that it’s a film you take in once and really don’t think too much about after seeing it. The NEW YORK FILM CRITICS gave this film BEST PICTURE of the year and I have no idea why.
THE DESCENDANTS proves that Alexander Payne is one of the more thought provoking and earnest writer/directors working in the big leaque these days. This brilliantly scripted look at the delayed reactions of grief and trauma and the mirror images it projects towards us perfectly balances the tensions and the humor that arise from a precarious predicament. I was hard pressed to find a flaw in this film and the central performance byGeorge Clooney is spot on (and also his best work as an actor since Soderberg’s OUT OF SIGHT). Of the three films that I saw this week in theatres, I was very pleasantly surprized to find THE DESCENDANTS the one I fell in love with and enjoyed the most. But, thinking about it… When has Alexander Payne really fouled out? Despite the methodical pacing of his ABOUT SCHMIDT, Payne has pretty much hit home runs with every cinematic outing (ELECTION is still my favorite though).
Dennis,
I may be the only one who doesn’t like The Descendants. I found it soggy, overlong, and tried way too hard to win me over. It was also very predictable. I didn’t buy Clooney as a father and think he did far better work in Syriana or even Up in the Air. I saw it 2 days ago and have already forgotten it.
Jon – I’m with you on The Descendants. I found it hugely disappointing and rather drab and pointless. It’s a shame as I normally really like Payne.
Dennis–
The New York Film Critics and about a dozen other critics’ groups around the country gave THE ARTIST their Best Picture prize. While some will play the “the critics are idiots and don’t know shit, but I John Smith am smarter than all of em” card, I choose to sit back and marvel at the ravishing components in that film that washed over so many with indellible artistry. The film’s style and exuberant energy are in and of themselves laudable, and help to make THE ARTIST one of this past year’s most pleasuarble films to sit through.
I agree with you on THE DESCENDANTS, though I see Jon and David aren’t fans which is fine. MELANCHOLIA is a Top 10 for me too.
Thanks as always my excellent friend for the fabulous report!
Happy New Year to you Sam, to all the Juliani and to all those who gather here like planets about the sun!
Thanks for the mention. I haven’t posted anything for a while but hope to get back into it soon.
This week I saw
4 ***1/2 A strange Russian film, part v. good (esp. a 25 minute conversation) and part over the top.
Thanks so much Stephen!
I have indeed noticed that you have pulled back from acticity at CHECKING ON MY SAUSAGES as of late, but I well know you have quite a bit on your plate presently. That’s most understandable. In a few weeks I will be contacting you about the next installment in an ongoing WitD project. This Russian film you mention here is not one I am at all familiar with, but I’ll do some research on it presently.
Thanks as always my very good friend, and have a great 2012!
Happy New Year Sam and to all. Let’s hope it’s a good one. Thanks again sir for the shout out. I will be posting my annual 10 Best Classic Films viewed for the first time this week. I have avoided the new Sherlock Holmes film after the debacle of the first and am not surprised by your negative response. I did get to the theater three times this week and liked all choices to some degree. As for New Year’s Eve, it was maniacal thanks to watching a couple of the Marx Brothers film.
War Horse (*****) One of Spielberg’s best films. Yes, it’s emotional, but it is honest, and the filmmaking is excellent. He uses the camera takes you into the story without ever being intrusive or showing off. First rate cinematography adds to the overall ambiance. Toward the end there is an exquisite shot when the now young man comes home with his horse, the war over, he is met by his mother. The scene brings to mind the iconic image of John Wayne framed in the doorway returning from the war in Ford’s “The Searchers.”
The Girl in the Dragon Tattoo (***1/2) I liked this better than you did Sam, a decent pulp fiction thriller though it is in need of a pair of scissors, way too much is thrown into the pot. In this case less would have possibly made this an even better film.
The Artist (****) – A charming time capsule done with love and emotion. Wonderful performance by Jean Dujardin (only outshined by the dog). Dujardin captures the flavor of silent screen icons such as the swashbuckling Douglas Fairbanks. His smile is worthy of Gene Kelly.
A Night at the Opera (****) Marx Brothers destroy the sanctity of the Opera. Hilarious stuff, the Stateroom scene is classic and the film’s ending “Opera” (Il Trovatore) sequence is a pure delight. Unfortunately, Kitty Carlisle ad Allan Jones are dull and duller dragging the film to a screaming halt every time they appear. Forced upon the MB’s by Irving Thalberg, the film remains one of their best but it was also the beginning of the end.
Monkey Business(****1/2) Hysterical surrealistic humor from the Marx Brothers who are stowaways on a cruise ship. The Chevalier imitations, Harpo’s brilliant puppet skit, Groucho’s puns, Thelma Todd, who Groucho gets to dance with and the great Margaret Dumont! One of their best.
The Owl and the Pussycat (***1/2) What makes this film worth watching is the chemistry between Barbra Streisand and George Segal. Too bad, they never made another film together. Think they could of been one of the great comedy teams.
Design for Living (****1/2) Directed by Ernest Lubitsch, this is one of the most witty, mischievous, sophisticated and daring of pre-code films. Ménage-a-trois, adultery, shades of bisexuality are all stated or at least implied. Screenwriter Ben Hecht apparently rewrote most of Noel Coward’s originally source material but he certainly kept the saucy flavor of the original. Romantic comedy the way it should be.
Fitzwilly (** 1/2) Lightweight comedy comedy/caper movie with Dick Van Dyke and Barbara Feldon both just coming off hit TV series which is what this plays like.
Pat and Mike (****) Though I’d rate WOMAN OF THE YEAR and ADAM’S RIB as their best films this one ranks up there as one of the best.
Swimming with Sharks(****) Dark funny wicked satire set in the world of Hollywood movie making, where oversized egos are the de jour of the day.
John–
This is a whale of a comment as the New Year begins, and I thank you for it exceedingly. The best to you and Dorothy for the best year ever in 2012! Ha, the Marx Brothers on New Year’s Eve is every bit as good as the Honeymooners!!!
You have made my day with your reaction here (and at my review) of WAR HORSE!!! The Ford reference is fantastic too. I think the fact that we are both animal lovers will impact our reactions even more passionately but I agree the craftsmanship here is astounding and speaks for itself. I am also pleased to see that strong 4 star rating for THE ARTIST, an utterly charming and exuberant film that is unfairly dismissed by some as “lightweight.” It’s a different in taste, no more, the stylistic film in it’s homage of a past era and in all the intricacies inherent in these fascinating characters is hardly a softball. Fair enough on DRAGON TATTOO John, I am actually in minority on that one. The site’s dennis Polifroni is about where you are on it, while Maurizio is much lower. The reviews were quite favorable. Loved the capsules on the Marx Brothers classics and the Lubitsh, (soon to be a Criterion blu-ray) And excellent reactionsa to PAT AND MIKE and SWIMMING, though I haven’t seen FITZWILLY.
I can’t thank you enough John for your steadfast and excellent input all year long! You are tops my friend!
Happy New Year, Sam! I hope you have had a great holiday season. It definitely sounds likes you absolutely have.
Thanks so much for the wonderful mention. I loved hearing that you caught THE CAMERAMAN this past week. Definitely one of my very favorite Keaton films. And reading your list from this week also reminded me that I still need to see the new Ruiz film.
My week was a little slower, unfortunately, in terms of movie-watching. I only took in EQUINOX FLOWER and Scorsese’s Dylan doc, NO DIRECTION HOME. I was extremely happy to see them both, the Ozu further proof that he was simply one of the greatest ever to work in the medium. The Scorsese doc really stood out, too, as possibly my favorite documentary ever on the great Dylan, and that’s saying a lot considering DON’T LOOK BACK.
Here’s to a fantastic 2012, Sam! Thanks so much for all that you do.
Jeffrey—
Happy New Year to you and your lovely wife! Yes, I must say that we all had a grand time over the past two weeks, even if much of that duration was spent sitting in darkened theatres. In fact even last night we were at the Film Forum watching Von Stroheim’s masterpiece GREED with piano acompaniment as part of the silent film festival. I know you would love to have been there as you would have for all the Keatons including THE CAMERAMAN last week. And as a sometimes betting man, I’d say that MYSTERIES OF LISBON will catch your fancy, as it’s filmmaking style is enthralling. You can no doubt see that from both sides of the divide, I’m sure. I completely agree with you on both the Scorses documentary you watched on Dylan, and on it’s comparison in a positive sense with Pennebaker’s film. As to EQUINOX FLOWER I am a big fan too, as I am with all of Ozu. I have always delighted in being on the same page with you on his defining humanist work in the cinema.
Again, thank you my excellent friend for all your support and glorious enrichment on these pages.
Thanks for the round up and the kind words, as ever (AS EVAH!), Sam.
I see it hasn’t been the best of weeks. Your strong support for WAR HORSE has just popped it high up on my to-watch list. (ANd I haven’t even watched TINTIN yet). I saw a bunch of films last week including J EDGAR (not half as bad as it is made out to be. And now I hear the French critical establishment is raving about it) and CRAZY HORSE (My first Wiseman, very interesting) . Waiting for the year-end post at WitD! .
Wishing you and your family a healthy and joyous year ahead. And also to all the readers and writers at WitD, which has become an essential film corner on the internet.
Cheers!
Srikanth—
Yes, almost ironically the year ended with a brace of duds after several weeks of pre-holiday bliss. I do hope my extravagent praise for WAR HORSE will serve its prime purpose, and convince you to see it. This is that rare “Hollywood” film that swings for the fences with the bases loaded, and clears all the bases, or if you will takes home the Triple Crown. Anyway, I must say it does comfortably sit with films like OF GODS AND MEN, POETRY, HONEY, A SEPARATION and MYSTERIES OF LISBON, in that it’s an exceeding artistic triumph. As I’ve said to others in the past ‘square can be beautiful too’. As far as TIN TIN I thought it bland myself, but let’s see what you think. I am amazed that the French critical establishment falling for J.EDGAR, but as of late I’ve been reading more positives responses to it. Is it possible Eastwood’s prolific run has just been tiring people out? I’m not sure, but as a dissenter on this film, I am nonetheless intrigued with your position and will see it a second time at some point.
My first Wiseman was TITTICUT FOLLIES. I’ll look for your writing on CRAZY.
Happy New Year to you and yours my great friend, and be rest assured that THE SEVENTH ART is one of the true online glories for the most tasteful and scholarly cineastes. You are sitting in the top rank. Thanks again!
Sam – Extremely Exploitative and Incredibly Dumb is one I plan to avoid! The trailers for that one made my skin crawl.
The quick holiday run-down of movie watching for me –
In theaters:
War Horse – ***1/2
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy – ***1/2
Might fit in a showing of The Artist today – but would just be sitting there wishing I was watching A Separation instead, so I might not.
On Netflix:
Andrei Rublev – *** – Contains all the reasons I love and hate Tarkovsky – I know it’s probably blasphemous, but I see this overlong “biopic” as one of his lesser works (not as arduous and confounding as Stalker – but nowhere near the magnificence of The Mirror, Ivan’s Childhood or Solaris).
Margin Call – **** – definitely an overlooked gem from this past year – excellent look at the mindset of those who caused the economic collapse of 2008.
Fright Night (Remake) – Negative 5 stars – words can not describe what a steaming pile of horse manure this film is. Completely uncalled for, unfathomably dumb, and a charmless abomination when compared to the original.
Also watched the Blu-Ray director’s cut of Almost Famous which I received as a gift – and god, I love that movie.
Okay, so I did see The Artist today and here is my instant spin:
David—
I love that name you give there to EXTREMELY DUMB, I mean EXTREMELY LOUD!!! You got me saying it now! Ha! I am pretty much with you on TINKER TAILOR which I gave a half star less to. I liked THE ARTIST, but sense you like it less, and will shortly check out your review on it. LOL on that FRIGHT NIGHT rating!!!!! But I don’t doubt it one bit. I do like ANDREI RUBLEV much more, but am still most interested in your take on it. (“all the reasons why I love and hate Tarkovsky”) I liked MARGIN CALL Less than most, but must give it another DVD viewing at some point. We already discussed WAR HORSE and I was very happy that for the most part you were positive. And many adore Cameron Crowe’s ALMOST FAMOUS.
Happy New Year to you my great friend, and the best 2012 ever. It’s been a real joy communicating with you, and look forwar dto more fruitful interaction!
Happy New Year to you Sam and to all the gang here at Wonders in the Dark. This past year saw some amazing posts and great debate about films on this website. Thanks for that. Looking forward to more great writing in 2012.
Sam you ensured your final week of the year was jam packed and you were able to sneak in some great films as well. I was hoping to see Mysteries of Lisbon in the final week myself but the Canadian DVD release date got moved to mid Jan. The wait will be over soon.
I look forward to all the 2011 lists that will be up here next week. I finished mine this weekend and it was another good year even though my access to good films was drastically reduced last year.
Sachin—
Thanks my very good friend for the exceedingly kind words and for your much-valued friendship. This has been for sure a particularly happy year for you and your lovely wife and oldest daughter, and I wish you all continued happiness in 2012 and well beyond! You’ve obviously been one of WitD’s biggest supporters too and I thank you for that. I am sure you will love MYSTERIES OF LISBON. I will heading over to SCRIBBLES AND RAMBLINGS to see what your list looks like. I am sure it will be fantastic.
Thanks again my friend!
Sam, I wanted to add a hooray for the Giants! As you know their big win yesterday over the hated Cowboys won them the NFL East title! I hope they can keep it going next Sunday against Atlanta.
I am most interested in seeing ‘Mysteries of Lisbon’ and ‘A Separation’. Seems that this past week was mostly forgettable, if you put aside ‘Mysteries’ and ‘Turin Horse’ seen on DVD.
I’m still interested in ‘The Iron lady’ as Meryl Streep is such a towering talent. Surely there was some worth in the film, as you seem to acknowledge.
Happy New Year to you, Lucille and the gang (and all the staff at Wonders!)
Frank—
I was indeed remiss for not mentioning the big Giants win! I heard the late part of the game on the car radio with Lucille and Bob after our movie screening of THE IRON LADY. Speaking of iron, I think the Giants defensive line proved their own fotitude with some great plays and quarterback sacks. Atlanta will be tough (I bet our friend Drew will be understandably putting his own hex on the New Yorkers, as an Atlanta native! Ha!) but the Giants are home again and have been winning the big ones. I do know that Tom Coughlin’s job is saved. Yes there is definitely some worth in THE IRON LADY, though it could have been so much better.
Wish you and Carol the best in 2012 my great friend!
Hello Sam and everyone and a HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012 for EVERYONE!!!!!
I have only words of good will to everyone here and I hope that all your dreams and wishes will come true!
A great new year’s eve is always a hint for a great year, so I hope everyone had a great time with your families or by yourself or with those you love. This is for a great 2012!
And wooooo Sam, you sure had fun this week… at least you went out quite a bit and that’s great, so let’ see what you saw, ho-hum. I’ve seen The Turin Horse, and I agree with your rating and appraisal here: ****1/2 it’s a great film, filled with deep imagery and much more. I also saw the second Sherlock Holmes film, and while inferior to the first one, this game of shadows still has neat action scenes winning a *** from me.
On the rest, I can say that Mysteries of Lisbon, We Bought a Zoo, EL&IC, The Cameraman and the latest Mission Impossible are on my list to look forward and see them whenever I can to form my own opinion.
This week was great, I had a great time with my family on both sides and I spent quite a lot of time with my girlfriend (including the passing of the new year’s sawn at her house watching a movie (Black Swan).
So, my week movie wise was:
– Black Swan (2010, Darren Aronofsky) ***** Still, the best movie of 2010 and great great great great. Also my last film of 2011, ending with a great note and a masterpiece even. This one deserves the accolades given by me about one year ago, as it hasn’t decreased its great force.
– Carnage (2011, Roman Polanski) **** Great four actors star in a great comedy that made me laugh out loud quite a few times, which is a lot that can be said regarding modern comedies. This one is greatly shot and greatly acted, as well as well written, but the ending made me go huh a bit, so that’s the reason for the four stars…. because I really liked it.
– Flowers of War (2011, Yimou Zhang) **** Good film about certain historical aspects of the rape of Nanking, as it has become known the invasion of Japanese army to the chinese country. Shot with certain beauty and a good story, the movie doesn’t achieve greatness just because of Bale, that does a lackluster work in the acting department in comparison to the rest of the asian cast.
– I Wish (2011, Hirokazu Koreeda) ***1/2 I did a review of this film on my blog here: http://exodus8-2.blogspot.com/2011/12/kiseki-2011.html My last entry of 2011.
– Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (2011, Guy Ritchie) *** Bombastic and without the same approach as the earlier installment, this one fails because of the lack of the Sherlock style that was early present in the 2009 version. The film itself has definitive highlights, like the inclusion of Mycroft Holmes played by Stephen Fry, and that is amazing.
Thanks everyone and have, again, a great 2012.
Happy New Year to you Jaime, your girlfiend Carol and your family! You have brightened this place up immeasuably with you ceaseless enthusiasm and energy, superb writing on literature and film, and an infectious and prolific regard for cultural in general. That you have done all of this while maintaining your good stead in University makes your work remarkable. I know I was overly harsh on SHERLOCK HOLMES, but I wasn’t much of a fan for the first one either. Great we see eye to eye on THE TURIN HORSE, which will be up for consideration at the end of 2012 for me, but for you I know it will apply for 2011. Fair enough. I still haven’t actually watched CARNAGE, but I did see the Broadway play, reporting back here on a MMD on it. I liked the play to a degree, but I know it was revered by so many (GODS OF CARNAGE) I’ll never forget that Lucille and I met our great blogger friend Pat Perry when she exited from seeing the play on a trip to NYC. Pat liked it quite a bit as I recall. i will definitely check out your review of I WISH and much appreciate your capsule of Yimou’s FLOWERS OF WAR, another i still have to get around to. I know you adore BLACK SWAN and take no prisoners on it! I may not be teh film’s biggest fan but I really dig your boundless enthusiasm for it, as I sopmetimes feel that way about films, and tune out the contrarians. I know the feeling well my friend. But that’s not to imply that you and I together have a patent on movie love, quite the contrary, just that we aren’t afraid to throw around the superlatives when they are appropriate. Ha! Yes I do know you need to see MYSTERIES OF LISBON most of all of recent releases and teh Kaetons are essential.
Have a great week and year my friend! You are the best!
Happy New Year, Sam! Sounds you like you had an impressive week of movie-going. I liked both MI:4 and Sherlock Holmes, so I’m disappointed you didn’t, but I can understand. I thought We Bought a Zoo, Extremely Loud.. and The Iron Lady all looked lousy and don’t plan on seeing them. I am surprised you managed to catch The Turin Horse. I knew it had played at festivals, but it has shown up on so few top ten lists that I thought it wasn’t receiving an official release until next year.
I’ve watched several different movies in the last couple weeks. I suppose the most notable was It’s a Wonderful Life, which I’ve seen many times, but watching it again this Christmas I was struck by just how amazingly good it is. I already considered it a masterpiece, but this viewing bumped it up into top 10, even top 5, status with me. Don’t quote me a few months from now, but at the moment I think I’d put it above Citizen Kane. It just has such a mature, powerful view of real life, of the American dream, and of the compromises and unlooked for pleasures of growing up and growing old. And Bedford Falls must be one of the most fully realized towns in all of cinema–there are dozens of characters here, every one of which is distinct and memorable as a real person, most with their own little arcs, all interconnected in a community that makes even John Ford and Howard Hawks communities look kind of thin. Jeez, I’m still in awe.
Otherwise I saw The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, which I found pretty mesmerizing and great if a tad too lurid, Horrible Bosses, which wasn’t good, Raising Arizona which I’d seen before and is of course great, and last night Certified Copy, which I found intriguing but don’t know if I can express as much love about it as others. It’s certainly pretty great moviemaking, but I don’t know how much I understand it, and it’s hard to articulate what I think. Hmm.
I also have (finally) put up reviews at my blog on The Mill and the Cross, The Sunset Limited, and MI:4 and Sherlock Holmes. I hope to get a review of Melancholia up tonight (I didn’t like it), and then I’ve got a few other things half-written that I’ll hopefully get up before school starts again next week. Cheers!
Hmm, I seem to have screwed up the blog link in my name on that post. I think it’s fixed in this one.
Stephen—
You are a busy fellow, and as always you brighten the movie picture up immeasuarbly with your astute views and enthusiasm. I’ll definitely be over to your place to check out your reviews, especially as I am a passionate fan of THE MILL AND THE CROSS, As far as THE TURIN HORSE, the reason why you have seen it on so few lists is that it doesn’t get it’s official opening until the coming summer in the USA. So next December, you’ll surely see it show up on many Top 10s, methinks. I have seen it as you note and think it’s great (please reach me on this matter at —TheFountain26@aol.com— my friend, as I have a surprise for you that I want to send on by mail.) but I’ll hold it for next year’s list.
I don’t fault you for considering IT’S A WONDERFUL as great or greater than CITIZEN KANE. It’s timeless classic that seems to get better and better every year, and it’s Frank Capra’s most beloved film in a titanic career. I can even remember where I was and when I first saw the film. And for holiday viewing it’s as celebrated as A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1951). What you say about Bedford Falls, the American Dream and the film’s astonishing maturity speaks volumes.
I liked DRAGON TATTOO less than you, and liked CERTIFIED COPY more, but there will always be a degree of disagreement in what is mostly agreement between us. Thanks so much my friend for your generosity to this blog and for always being a sport. Your deep insights are greatly appreciated.
Happy the very best year in 2012 my friend! Please drop me that e mail.
Sam – Since my last visit to your blog we’ve seen “War Horse.” In my opinion it is BEYOND EXCEPTIONAL! And even though I cried my eyes out continually (I’m an emotional softie), it is quite possibly one of the best films I’ve EVER seen!
Next up to bat for us will be “The Iron Lady” — we are huge fans of Meryl Streep! (my favorite film of hers is “Dancing at Lughnasa”).
Laurie–
As I stated under your much-appreciated comment for my actual WAR HORSE review, I am beyond delighted at your thrilling response to what is surely one of the great epic films of recent years. I don’t think it’s unreasonable either, for you to issue that definitive praise!
THE IRON LADY has enough to warrant a viewing, even with it’s considerable flaws. Ms. Streep is extraordinary, and is worth the visit alone!
Coicidenatlly enough, Laurie, I may well be seeing the stage play of “Dancing at Lughnasa” this coming Saturday at the Irish Repetory Theatre in Manhattan. i’ll keep you abreast!
Happy New Year to a very special friend!
Thanks for the mention Sam!! I hope to catch a few more films before writing a best-of list of my own for 2011. Hope you had a great New Year’s celebration!!
Dave
I look forward to that list Dave, as I am a list junkie! Yes, the family had a mighty fine time at home the other night watching the Times Square festivities! The best year ever in 2012 to you and yours!
Happy 2012 to one and all!!! Having just returned from San Diego after spending the Christmas holidays with my husband and his family, I have to concur with Sam about Meryl Streep’s stellar performance….but don’t count out Glenn Close in ALBERT NOBBS. After watching it in the comfort of my SD home, Close’s performance was close to perfect (and a much better film than THE IRON LADY). But hands down the best film of the holiday season (and in my opinion of the year) is WAR HORSE. Sam’s intense and precise commentary says it all. Other CA viewings included MI: GHOST PROTOCOL (the best of the trilogy) and HUGO (better than I anticipated, but a bit of a let down after reading all of the terrific reviews). It will be another interesting Oscar season, and unfortunately once again I’ll be flying home on the red-eye during the telecast (God bless TiVo).
Thanks very much Bob for this great report. Well, you can be sure WAR HORSE will be at or near the top of my list, though I won’t have it ready until Monday. Great points there on ALBERT NOBBS, and happy that you at least found HUGO tolerable after some dire expectations! Thanks for the kind words on the WAR HORSE piece, and yes I know you will be airborn while they hand out those statues!
It appears that the at-home plasma came to the rescue this week with the theatres shooting blanks all over the place. I wasn’t expecting much from “The Iron Lady” so your decent reaction might coax me to give it a shot. Never planned to see “Sherlock Holmes” nor “Mission Impossible.”
Yes the plasma served me well this week David, with unforgettable reviewings of MYSTERIES OF LISBON and of THE TURIN HORSE, the latter counding for 2012. Don’t blame you for avoiding those other two! Ha! Thanks again my friend!
I have hunted all over for Iron lady and it did not come here – I so wanted to see it right away, We had car troubles to deal with and flooding so did not venture up the I-5 corridor to see it in Seattle. My mum watched Thatcher with great study and thought the USA needed a woman at the helm to stop the craziness. She also understood Thatcher’s errors and problems…but was so determined about women in leadership. Then to have Meryl Streep in the role…I hope I see it soon.
We tried to get in to see the Adventures of Tin Tin, but it was only here in 3D so I could not watch it…and Hugo has departed. My oldest and I did get seats to see Sherlock Holmes – not so exciting but good for both of us to visit a theater and do something…we also had a pedicure and that made for great fun all round
I am still trying to persuade hubs to go to War Horse and he keeps telling me about the great reviews he is reading, but is concerned about the bills so will not okay any expense extra right now.
Our newest multiplex had the roof cave in with water…so that is closed cutting out 14 theaters….but maybe will give Hubs the task of designing a new roof that is more energy efficient and better able to handle the rain…What do California Architects know about our kind of rain? and our goals…
I did watch Julia and Julie again to console myself and now am reading more books for review. Putting up a wee bit of entertainment for the post on the 5th and doing a bit of story telling….It is about a concert?