by Sam Juliano
We are about two weeks away from ho ho ho but there are some among us who still haven’t switched to that shopping mode. It’s always the same year in and year out. Halloween blends into Turkey Day, and then the outdoor lights and tree are set up for their month long window. While there are a number of holiday-related events and responsibilities to negotiate, it always seems that time goes by much too quickly to allow for completion of those tasks. Movie fans of course can indulge in their favorite hobby at a time when the quality is at a peak, before abating midway through January. The various award sites are hopping, and to this point both the New York Film Critics Circle and The National Board of Review have given their ‘best picture’ prize to the same film: Katherine Bigelow’s purportedly harrowing Zero Dark Thirty, a film about the manhunt to kill Osama bin Laden. The docudrama opens on December 19th. Other imminent openings include Amour, Tabu, Any Day Now (seen at Tribeca), Les Miserables and The Hobbit. On Sunday the LA Film Critics gave their own best picture award to the Palme d’Or winning Amour, while both Boston and New York Critics Online went for Zero Dark Thirty.
The long-running comedy countdown is down to the Top 10, beginning with today’s post. The remarkable project has been moving along since it’s August launching, and will conclude on Friday, December 21. Some of the site’s finest essays have been written for this venture, and many regular commentators have made some marvelous additions in the lively comment threads.
Congratulations to David Schleicher!!! Filmmaker/writer Frank LaLoggia placed a lengthy comment under David’s review of his 1988 horror film The Lady in White at The Schleicher Spin. David posed some questions to LaLoggia, and sure enough the famed director responded: http://theschleicherspin.com/2012/12/08/did-you-ever-see-a-dream-walking/
Our very good friend Judy Geater has a fantastic ‘Dickens December’ series running this month at Movie Classics that deserves the attention of those who have a special interest in cinematic adaptation for the work of this beloved author.
Lucille and I (and the whole family for the Burton and Sammy and Broadway Bob for another) watched the following this week:
The Central Park Five **** 1/2 (Saturday night) IFC Film Center
Hitler’s Children ** (Thursday night) Quad Cinemas
Wagner and Me **** (Sunday afternoon) Quad Cinemas
Edward Scissorhands (1990) **** 1/2 (Friday night) Jersey City Landmark Loews
At the very end of the documentary WAGNER AND ME actor Stephen Frye who narrated and was the central focus, proclaimed that he would “never surrender his hero to Hitler” even if he is a Jew and is well aware that the great German composer Wagner was a notorious anti-Semite, and by all accounts a reprehensible human being. Directed by Patrick McGrady, the wonderfully engaging documentary follows fanboy Frye to Nuremberg, the Marinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, and to Germany’s Wagner mecca, Bayreuth to give a scenic backdrop to some telling interviews with various authors of Wagner volumes and biographies, and with an elderly female Holocaust survivor who tells Frye that she would never submit to a five hour opera, especially one with so much noise. Frye is endearing throughout and periodically questions if as a Jew he is “doing the right thing” but in the end his irrepressible passion for Wagner’s majestic music wins out. It could be argued that the film includes a Wagner 101 crash course that might bore the real adherents, but it’s done with feeling and a ravishing burst of some of this genius’ most beautiful music. Frye may not be exclusive in his love for this titan of world culture, but he’s as genuine and as animated as anyone in the fan club, and it’s fun seeing his care-free, humorous yet intense immersion.
Celebrated documentary filmmaker Ken Burns and his daughter Sarah and husband David McMahon collaborated on THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE, a mesmerizing powerful work about judicial malfeasance and the guilt shared by city officials and police, who issued false arrests and indictments that led to jail time for five young African-Americans and Hispanics in what then-Mayor Ed Koch dubbed “the crime of the century.” The crime was a vicious assault and rape of a jogger, who was dragged into the brush in the northern end of the Big Apple’s famed park space. Far less attention was paid when a serial rapist named Matias Reyes admitted to the crime, and the DNA evidence corroborated his admission. The film is a scathing indictment on injustice, prejudice and disregard for reparations in a city where fear and paranoia reigned supreme. It’s one of the most powerful documentary features of the last several years.
HITLER’S CHILDREN takes a look at the ways in which family members of high rank senior Nazi officers from Hitler’s inner circle struggle with the burden of carrying a terror-inducing surname. During detailed interviews, families such as Goering, Himmler, Hoess amongst others, share the feelings of guilt and responsibility that accompany them in their daily lives. The framework is noble but the exploration is all surface, relying on a manipulative score and predictable reactions from everyone connected to one of the world’s worst calamities, and one is left with little to ponder.
It was a great joy watching Tim Burton’s ever-endearing and imaginative EDWARD SCISSORHANDS on the 70 foot screen at the Jersey City Landmark Loews on the Friday night of the weekend holiday festivities and the kids were on Cloud Nine, what with the film being one of their all-time faves.
I copied last week’s link scroll, and made some updates. I will make more updates ASAP and will revise:
Judy Geater’s magnificent ‘December Dickens’ series continues to gain glorious traction at Movie Classics with daily updates, the most recent of which are two Dicken snippets from 1901: http://movieclassics.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/2448/
Jon Warner has penned a fabulous essay on Spielberg’s “Lincoln” at Films Worth Watching: http://filmsworthwatching.blogspot.com/2012/12/lincoln-2012-directed-by-steven.html
Samuel Wilson at Mondo 70 has the latest entry in his terrific ‘Pre-Code Parade” series up with “Winner Takes All,” an early Cagney: http://mondo70.blogspot.com/2012/12/pre-code-parade-winner-take-all-1932.html
Laurie Buchanan is leading up at Speaking From The Heart with her final post about her unforgettable Mexican trip, titled “I Saw the Face of God”: http://holessence.wordpress.com/2012/12/04/i-saw-the-face-of-god/
Joel Bocko at Lost in the Movies is leading up with a superlative post on “Neon Genesis Evangelion, Episode 6, Rei II”: http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/2012/12/neon-genesis-evangelion-episode-6-rei-ii.html
At Twenty Four Frames John Greco has posted a great piece on 1933’s steamy pre-coder “The Story of Temple Drake”: http://twentyfourframes.wordpress.com/2012/11/30/the-story-of-temple-drake-1933-stephen-roberts/
Pat Perry has posted a superlative trio of capsule reviews at Doodad Kind of Town on “The Loneliest Planet,” “Sound of My Voice” and “Price Check”: http://doodadkindoftown.blogspot.com/2012/11/beat-crowds-three-good-movies-you-can.html
At Ferdy on Films Roderick Heath is now leading up with a master class essay on 2012’s “Sound of my Voice”: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/2012/sound-of-my-voice-2012/16860/
At The Cooler Jason Bellamy has penned a brilliant appreciative essay on Ron Fricke’s “Samsara”: http://coolercinema.blogspot.com/2012/11/shiny-and-new-samsara.html
Laurie Buchanan’s latest post at Speaking From The Heart asks readers to identify that moments when everything has you stretched to the limit:http://holessence.wordpress.com/2012/11/27/when-women-gather-on-the-rim/
Shubhajit Lahiri has penned a superlative capsule treatment of “The Battle of Algiers” at Cinemascope: http://cliched-monologues.blogspot.in/2012/12/the-battle-of-algiers-1966.html
Tony d’Ambra leads the way at Films Noir.net for a terrific piece on the little-exposed Italian noir ‘La Bionda’: http://filmsnoir.net/film_noir/la-bionda-the-blonde-italy-1992.html
Jaimie Grijalba has officially launched his fantastic new site “Overlook’s Corner” with a buffo piece on Chilean cinema: http://overlookhotelfilm.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/chilean-cinema-2012-12-miguel-san-miguel/
Murderous Ink at Vermillion and One Nights has written a wholly fascinating essay on anew volume about Japanese acting icon Setsuko Hara, who is still living at age 92 in relative seclusion: http://vermillionandonenights.blogspot.com/2012/11/all-about-setsuko-hara.html
Dean Treadway’s new post “Cinema Gallery: 30 Scenes of Loneliness” is essential for all passionate film lovers. It’s over at Filmicability: http://filmicability.blogspot.com/2012/11/blog-post_6.html
At the magical Creativepotager’s blog Terrill Welch is leading up with a sumptuous post titled “Reef Bay Mayne Island Observation to Painted Experience.”: http://creativepotager.wordpress.com/2012/12/09/reef-bay-mayne-island-observation-to-painted-experience/
History teacher Hokahey has written a marvelous, thought-provoking review essay on “Lincoln” at Little Worlds: http://hokahey-littleworlds.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-morning-of-vote-spielbergs-history.html
Ed Howard has penned a fabulous essay on Douglas Fairbanks’s “The Black Pirate” at Only the Cinema: http://seul-le-cinema.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-black-pirate.html
Sachin Gandhi offers up a fabulous report on the Calgary Latin Wave Festival at Scribbles and Ramblings: http://likhna.blogspot.com/2012/11/calgary-latin-wave-festival.html
Paddy Mullholland offers up a splendid capsule takedown of “The Man with the Iron Fists” at Screen on Screen: http://screenonscreen.blogspot.com/2012/12/review-man-with-iron-fists.html
David Schleicher has authored a magnificent essay on the new James Bond movie “Skyfall” at The Schleicher Spin: http://theschleicherspin.com/2012/11/15/i-fall-you-fall-we-all-fall-for-skyfall/
Weeping Sam offers up some thanks in his latest post Thanksgiving feature “Giving Thanks for Friday Music” at The Listening Ear: http://listeningear.blogspot.com/2012/11/giving-thanks-for-friday-music.html
A treasure trove of priceless reviews and listings can be accessed on the pages of The Last Lullaby, director Jeffrey Goodman’s indispensible site: http://cahierspositif.blogspot.com/
Dee Dee offers up petition co-founder Lori Moore’s own take on a John Garfield classic over at Darkness Into Light: http://noirishcity.blogspot.com/2012/09/john-garfield-in-nobody-lives-forever.html
Roderick Heath offers an excellent review of Oliver Stone’s latest film “Savages” at Ferdy on Films: http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/2012/savages-2012/16614/
R.D. Finch has written a splendid essay on 1965’s “The Spy Who Came in From the Cold” at The Movie Projector: http://themovieprojector.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-spy-who-came-in-from-cold-1965.html h
Kaleem Hasan offers an engaging post at Satyamshot titled “Shahrukh in Conversation with Yash Chopra”: http://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2012/09/27/shahrukh-in-conversation-with-yash-chopra/
One of the net’s finest writers, the exceedingly talented Jason Bellamy has written a fantastic essay on Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master” at The Cooler: http://coolercinema.blogspot.com/2012/09/touching-void-master.html
At Patricia’s Wisdom our friendly host has penned a terrific book review of “Televenge”: http://patriciaswisdom.com/2012/11/televenge-pamela-king-cable/
The comment section under Kevin Olson’s superlative essay on “The Master” at Hugo Stiglitz Makes Movies makes this presentation a must read for film fans: http://kolson-kevinsblog.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-master.html
At the Coffee Messiah’s blog the indominable Michael Harford features a collage on cultivation: http://coffeemessiah.blogspot.com/2012/09/cultivate.html
Craig Kennedy has penned at terrific review on “Frankenweenie” at Living in Cinema: http://livingincinema.com/2012/10/05/frankenweenie-2012/
Stephen Russell-Gebbett has posted another thought-provoking piece, this time on ‘images inspired by paintings’ at Checking on My Sausages: http://checkingonmysausages.blogspot.com/2012/11/images-inspired-by-paintings.html
David Lawrence, thjat erudite and personable educator from the U.K. features a poster of a Hammer classic at his new site Musings and Meanderings: http://1mouth2ears.wordpress.com/2012/08/12/movie-posters-1-dracula-has-risen-from-the-grave-1968/
Brandie Ashe happily announces a “Singin in the Rain” giveaway at True Classics: http://trueclassics.net/2012/08/10/singin-again-plus-a-giveaway/
Roderick Heath has posted a terrific new review of the reteaming of John Hillcoat and Nick Cave for this year’s “Lawless” at This Island Rod: thisislandrod.blogspot.com/2012/10/lawless-2012.html
J. D. LaFrance has penned a terrific piece on Tony Scott’s “The Last Boy Scout” at Radiator Heaven: http://rheaven.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-last-boy-scout.html
The esteemed Film Doctor, a professor on Film Studies at a southern university, has written a fascinating piece on P.J. Anderson’s “The Master” at The Film Doctor: http://filmdr.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-master-s-whip-lash-8-notes.html
Adam Zanzie has posted a terrific “alternative Sight and Sound list at Icebox Movies: http://www.iceboxmovies.blogspot.com/2012/08/my-alternative-sight-sound-list.html
Jason Marshall has continued his superb coverage of 1942 at Movies Over Matter with a wonderful post on his Best Actor choice for that year: Chishu Ryu: http://moviesovermatter.com/2012/08/09/chishu-ryu-in-there-was-a-father-best-actor-of-1942/
Peter Lenihan has written a superlative essay talking about two films: “Dredd” and “Savages” at The Long Voyage Home: http://thelongvoyagehome.blogspot.com/2012/09/double-feature-dredd-savages.html
At The Blue Vial Drew offers up “w/o” and some intriguing Fordian parallels: http://thebluevial.blogspot.com/2012/10/wo_5.html
At The Last Lullaby, the ever delightful filmmaker Jeffrey Goodman takes a look at part sixteen of his long running quartet series: http://cahierspositif.blogspot.com/2012/04/favorite-four-part-sixteen.html
Stephen Russell-Gebbett at Checking on my Sausages again offers up a brillinatly-creative feature on ‘Sport as the Perfect Fiction”: http://checkingonmysausages.blogspot.com/2012/08/sport-is-perfect-fiction.html
Tony Dayoub takes a look at the summer’s Barnes and Noble 50% off sale for Criterion collectots at Cinema Viewfinder: http://www.cinemaviewfinder.com/2012/07/criterion-summer.html
Greg Ferrara at Cinema Styles talks about the Colorado shootings in a moving feature: http://cinemastyles.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-dark-knight-shooting-in-colorado.html
Jeopardy Girl talks about her “least favorite film” at her wonderful new series at “The Continuing Saga of Jeopardy Girl”: http://jeopardygirl.wordpress.com/2012/09/03/2-my-least-favourite-film/
Dave Van Poppel has a tremendous batch of short reviews up at Visions of Non Fiction on the Toronto Film Festival:
Weird Sunday with no Boardwalk Empire and The Walking Dead. Watched In Bruges from start to finish for the first time ever. Always assumed it was a Tarantino rip off, but actually think it’s better than anything Quentin has ever made. Caught up with more 2011/2012 films for my year end list. What I saw this week…
Hitchcock **1/2
Holy Motors **
Killer Joe **
In Bruges ****1/2
The Deep Blue Sea ***1/2
Beasts Of The Southern Wild **
I’m also patiently waiting for some of those films you mentioned Sam. Amour and Zero Dark Thirty at the top…
Maurizio:
That is odd that neither of those shows are airing tonight, but my son Sammy is a huge fan of the latter and told me that the mid-season finale was seen last week. I must say I quite agree with you on IN BRUGES, which I had at 4.5 when I reported back to the site two years back. It is in my book better than anything Tarantino has done as well. You are pretty much right on the money with HITCHCOCK, and certainly with SOUTHERN WILD, which I also gave two stars to, against an enraptured critical majority. I’m happy to have an accomplice! Ha! KILLER JOE has a perverse appeal, though in ways it’s dire, so can’t argue there. However I like HOLY MOTORS far more and would give another star to THE DEEP BLUE SEA, one of my favorite films of the year. Quite a round-up there my friend! Many thanks for posting it here!
Oh yeah Sam, I knew The Walking Dead was in the middle of a break (and BE concluded last week). I was simply commenting on not being accustomed to having such free time on Sunday night.
And, TELL ME ABOUT it…
AGHHHHHHH!!!!!
I was so thrown off by not having either show on the air last night that I resorted to watching the latest installment of FINDING BIGFOOT-when are they gonna realize he doesn’t wanna get found?-and rewatching blu rays of BREAKING BAD just to get my fix in. But, hey, if you have to watch re-runs, then I guess it’s not all that bad (no pun intended) to spend it with Jesse and Mr. White, yo!
Maurizio and I are in total agreement that both THE WALKING DEAD and BOARDWALK EMPIRE really hit their strides in their third seasons (BOARDWALK finally becoming the operatic and engaging show the second season hinted at, while DEAD vies for a slot as one of the MUST SEE shows on American television right now. The emergency operation episode on DEAD was unforgettable and one of the single most emotional hours of TV I can remember on the US airwaves…).
Now, it’s a matter of waiting till February for DEAD to return and all the way to August to find out the fate of Walter White (although I saw on Aaron Paul’s-he plays Jesse Pinkman on BB- Twitter page that he recently read the script for the series finale and all he could say was “HOLY SHIT! IT’S AMAZING!!!!!”).
NO matter… Television this good is worth the wait.
I agree with you on The Walking Dead Dennis, but I still think that the second season of Boardwalk Empire was better overall. Either way BE did come on strong in it’s final (third) batch of episodes.
Loved IN BRUGES. Better than Tarantino? Maybe in some ways, but not in any cinematic fashion. HOLY MOTORS, KILLER JOE, and BEASTS are severely underrated (especially the Zeitlin and Carax films). THE DEEP BLUE SEA is great for its performances and writing, but why was Davies’ pacing so staid? And I love all his other movies. Maurizio, your tastes are so incredibly hard to define. Is this your motive?
Would you admit to it if it were?
Dean, I am a huge fan of Terrence Davies to add to this discussion. Obviously you are as well. THE LONG DAY CLOSES is my favorite film of the 90’s.
Better because In Bruges has an actual point/theme. It’s not some shallow meaningless exercise in trash/grindhouse pop culture name checking (plus it’s quite lovely cinematically to boot). I made my views on Holy Motors clear in an e-mail to Sam, Jaime, Bob, Dennis, and Joel. Weird for weird’s sake. Other than one or two scenes of inspired bits, I found the film trite and pretentious. If the director didn’t babble on about Holy Motors being his failed attempts at making movies the last 13 years, no one would have a clue what the fuck was going on for two hours. On top of all that, I just don’t think the film works in the way someone like Bunuel could make it work. My opinion on the Davis film is the same as yours actually Dean. And Beasts Of The Southern Wild is basically the opposite of my taste… just watch it and think in reverse.
In Bruges is nice for the performances of Gleeson, Fiennes and even Farrell, but it’s almost in love with itself at times and it shallow, if not in the junky way all post PF Tarantino is. ***½ absolute tops. Boorman’s The General and the recent The Guard are better Irish films with Gleeson. They would be ****.
Pulp Fiction is as shallow as it gets.
I’ll jump on board with In Bruges to the extent that it’s good – but that’s all as the writer, whose name escapes me at the moment, seems to be a little too aware of the writing for its own good. Killer Joe I thought was quite good in its trashy perversity and odd morality. Beasts — a great first-time effort, I thought – quite novel and poetic. I liked Holy Motors; it kept my interest and I was moved at the end despite the talking cars. Deep Blue Sea – haven’t seen it so the jury is out.
Davies’s pacing was so staid because it forced me to wallow in Hester’s self-hatred and self-pity, which was exactly where she was and couldn’t get out of. The pacing forced me to understand this woman and her state of emotional/spiritual paralysis. I loved the pacing and it was one of the reasons the film moved me so deeply. The writing, music, acting from Weisz and the cinematography were absolutely unforgettable.
Welcome to the In Bruges fan club! It’s about time 🙂
Yeah I falsely assumed it was a Tarantino/Richie kind of film. I’ve heard large swats of people praise it endlessly, but always assumed the worst. Finally received it on Netflix and watched it with initial serious reservation… but it really worked for me. Up there with Mesrine, The Hurt Locker, Flame And Citron, Man On Wire, and Che for the year.
Yeah I love In Bruges as well since it came out….one of my favorite films of that year.
Thanks Sam for the mention.
Zero Dark Thirty has me really interested – more so now that you’ve mentioned that it has already picked up 2 prestigious awards. Tabu is another movie that has me interested, as a number of cinephiles that I know are already going ga-ga over it, and even placing it above Amour in their personal year-end lists.
I watched the following movies in the meantime (of course, you’re already aware of the 1st two):
– Life & Death of Col. Blimp
– The Battle of Algiers
– Le Mepris (Contempt) – Godard’s excellent subversion of the medium of cinema
– The Mother & the Whore – a marvelous 3.5 hour look into life after the May ’68 protests
– A Brighter Summer Day – Edward Yang’s exquisite & ambitious 4 hour portrayal of rootlessness & youth culture in 60s Taiwan
By the way, I recently read the hardboiled novel The Big Clock, by Kenneth Fearing, which was the source for the famous film noir by John Farrow. It made for a much lighter follow-up to Seal Bellow’s Herzog – which, of course, is every bit the masterpiece it is made out to be. I’ve also just begun reading Alan Moore’s iconic graphic novel, V for Vendetta.
Shubhajit—
ZERO DARK THIRTY is plowing through all the critics awards this year (much as THE ARTIST did last year) and to this point has won five of the six groups who to this point have announced (New York, Boston, National Board of Review, New York Online, Boston online) with only the Los Angeles Critics going elsewhere with their pick of AMOUR yesterday, though the latter did still go with Bigelow as Best Director. Do ZERO has now won 5 of 6. I’ve heard nothing by great things about TABU as well! Our Film Forum friend Allan Hardy has been issuing effusive praise non-stop since he saw it in advance nearly two months ago. I see you had a modest week watching movies, eh? LOL!!! Nothing much. just FIVE MASTERPIECES!!! And that list is so irrefutable that I don’t we’d get a single person to contest even one. Ha! Eustache’s THE MOTHER AND THE WHORE is the one of the group that does need wider exposure. Great job with THE BIG CLOCK, which I have not read (but did read HERZOG) and good luck with V, which was made into a film I liked quite a bit. Have a great week my friend! many thanks as always.
Congrats to Dave…LADY IN WHITE is a great movie…nice to get a comment from the autuer!
Heavy week this week. I lost one of my best friends, my cat Marty (named after Scorsese). Those who know me on facebook know this…but his is few of you…so I offer my eulogy for this extraordinary being:
At 6:45 am on 12/5/12, I lost one of my best friends. I searched for a cat like Marty all of my life, and when I found him in 1995, we were instantly kindred spirits. He was given to me by my friend and co-worker Holly Harper, who’s cat had had four kittens: two grey, and two white. I had grown up with another grey cat, and knew very well of their uncanny intelligence, so I instantly picked Marty out, and she convinced me to take his brother (whom I named Angelo), as part of the bargain. The twins, as I called them, looked magnificent together, and throughout their lives, never spent many moments apart. Marty was the kind of cat who always came when you called, who spoke copiously, and who was always there when I went to sleep, and ready for a meow when I opened my eyes. He grew to be a tank–a 20-pounder–and only got thin in his last two years–but he was always beautiful. Marty was also exceedingly smart and well-behaved–never once did he make a peep as I took him to vet’s visits. And he and his brother were with me, uncomplaining, both on a plane up to NYC from Atlanta, and on a day-long car trip back home four years later. Rarely separated, they’d been southerners and northerners, on planes and trains, in small apartments and huge lofts, rooming occasionally with dogs and other cats, in holding cages and even in boxes together (as when I first got them…and they busted out of the box to get to me). When they walked to the food dish or towards me in the morning, they did it in exquisite tandem, like synchronized swimmers, making each move of the body and the head exactly like one another. Marty got lost once, for ten frantic days, but, of course, I found him once again. He was thankful to be back in my arms, I know, but at least he got to go outside and wander around a bit then and, much later on, I would take he and Angelo out on supervised sojourns in a little fenced-in park on the West Side of Atlanta, and they so enjoyed that! Marty was strong and protective of me–I could often find him, when I woke up, on my pillow right next to my head, looking like the regal and authoritative Sphinx. He and his brother enjoyed a complicated relationship, filled with a begrudging love, lots of wrestling, and the notable times when they were sleeping together, heads abutted or bodies entwined. Marty was insanely handsome–the Brando of the feline world, I used to say–and he loved being told this. He’s just look around, all proud and talky, as if to say “I know, I know…” I really never knew of a single cat like him, and I’ve had them my whole life. His death this morning was a graceful one, and I was there at the end when he gave me two final gifts–a gift of laughter when he reached up to Angelo and batted him softly on the face, as if to say “Let’s play again, buddy” (which Angelo was miffed at, but he took it as if he deserved it, after all the times he‘d swatted at Marty and Marty just stood there, taciturn). And then this generous cat gave me a final gesture of love as he pawed my hand so gently, like he was nursing again. This was his ultimate gift to me, as were his gestures of reaching an arm out to pull my hand in closer as I comforted him through his short but most trying time. The nursing gesture on my hand, he did a solid ten times–an extraordinary show of strength and love in his final moment–and then he tried to say something to me repeatedly, but no sound came out. And then I saw him take his last breath and he was off on his journey. I’ll go the rest of my life remembering how much love we were lucky to show to each other. And now I’m going to cuddle with Angelo, because we need each other more than ever.
Those of you who know movies know where I got Angelo’s name.
The movies I watched this week:
OSLO AUGUST 31ST — ***** (easily one of the best of this year, though it’s really from 2011…I hate this arbitrary release date shite…)
PITCH PERFECT — *** (quite charming, and much better than it had to be…but why the vomiting scenes? Why is there so much vomiting in movies nowadays? Is this a young person’s drinking rights of passage? I dunno. My cat died this week. I did not vomit. I don’t think anything upsetting could make me vomit. What gives? Still, a very entertaining and considerate movie.)
SLEEPWALKING WITH ME — *** (studded with tired indie tropes, but there aren’t many good movies about comedians, so this will suffice, especially for Ira Glass fans…)
PRICE CHECK — Nice to see Parker Posey in a well-written piece, but it’s also confused and dull and REALLY badly edited and photographed
ROSEMARY’S BABY — watched it in response to 1968 voting. It’s still great–maybe better than I remember–but why did Sidney Blackmer win Supporting Actor? Was this laziness? He’s barely in it.
I thank you all for any comment you may leave. I was also glad this week that my favorite movie of all time won the poll. How could 2001 be denied?
God Dean, you had me tearing up here at school. Like you Lucille and I are both big animal lovers (presently we are housing 2 labs, 1 pug, 4 cats and 2 parrots) and we have lost animals to many tears. Our black cat Iago, a kindred spirit and a pet of deep affection passed away two year ago at age 15. Your own beloved Marty, dubbed by you as the “Brando of the feline world” will no doubt be sorely missed by you for a long time, and I recognize today’s foggy, drizzling day as especially gloomy in your world. Your heartfelt description of his departure this morning will leave not a dry eye on this thread, and I offer you my deepest condolences. I know this experience, and can say there is nothing to match it. Allan lost a cat over two years ago as well, and he and his mum grieved for a long time. I know so many urge immediate replacement, and while that will hopefully diminish the heartache, it never quite erases the memories of a lifetime. All I can say from your testimony here is that I wish I had owned Marty. You have us crying Dean. I’m so sorry. That last paw gesture really got to me.
Like you I believe OSLO is a masterpiece, and I stubbornly stick to the 2012 release date as does virtually every USA critic. It will no doubt appear on many ten best lists, as well it should. I know Jon and Pierre aren’t the biggest fans of it, but every films in some measure will receive two sides of the coin. ROSEMARY’S BABY is another masterpiece, but I didn’t realize off hand that Blackmer was so fleeting. You appear to be right on with PITCH PERFECT and PRICE CHECK, but I haven’t seen SLEEPWALKING. Thanks again Dean.
You have really put things in the proper perspective. Movies are great but other matters are so much more important.
Thank you my friend. I know this will be a tough day for you, but do your best.
Thank you for understanding, Sam. You’re so kind.
I have two cats (sisters) as well so I understand the attachment Dean.
Forgot about KILLING ME SOFTLY, which is easily my biggest disappointment of the year, after loving JESSE JAMES so much. A bore at a single *
A lot of people found Jesse James a bore. We call them imbeciles…or AMPAS voters, which is pretty much the same thing.
Dean, needless to say I completely agree with you on KILLING ME SOFTLY, a film I have little regard for as I stated last week. I also think JESSE JAMES is a masterpiece.
I actually like Killing them Softly to the tune of a weak ****. Certainly not great, but still better than most American films not named The Master that I’ve seen in 2012. As for Jesse James… well I personally consider that the second best movie of the 00’s, so yeah I’m also disappointed in that respect when it comes to Dominik’s followup.
Sam,
Thanks for the mention.
Japanese love Christmas. We love illuminations, shopping, whole idea of exchanging presents and Santa Claus. Or should I say, we love being consumers, wasting money on things we really don’t need, in this time of the year? And I follow the suit.
Richard Wagner is never my favorite beyond some pieces, his opera being too grandiose for me. And his (supposedly) repulsive personality didn’t help, either. Still, the idea of the documentary about him and his works is interesting in itself.
I have been sick for a couple of days last week, annual winter sinus problem. Since I had nothing to do, except being bored on bed, I worked on my piece on Evangelion. As a rule, if I work on one particular piece for too long, it usually gets sucked into the dark void of chaos. And the Evangelion piece is going haywire. Well, I hope I will be able to squeeze out something sensible by the end of the week.
I’ve seen a number of films last few weeks, but two Polish classics were quite an experience. SHADOW by Jerzy Kawalerowicz (35mm print) and ASHES AND DIAMONDS by Andrzej Wajda (digital). These two were the part of “Polish Cinema Festival” at Image Forum, Shibuya. The place was packed to the ceiling in spite of being weekday afternoon matinée, to my surprise. I was appalled by ASHES presentation, though. There was very distinctive rainbow effects all over the place, indicating they are using 1 chip DLP projector with slow color wheel. The image was crisp, soundtrack was more than satisfactory, but I was distracted by this color spectrum floating around on the screen during the evocative upside down cross scene and assassination scene. I love ASHES more than anything else, but this was such a letdown. Is it because they cannot afford an decent equipment or because they just don’t care? Image Forum Theater is an integral part of Image Forum Film School, so one assumes that they care about raw quality of images. But this particular theater aside, I am afraid that this sort of poor projection may become the prevailing problem in classic film presentation from now on. Lack of funding and lack of interest. I wish I could experience Ashes with 35mm print again.
MI
If you can play UK Blu Rays, MI, Ashes is out now on a Blu Ray from Arrow. I’m waiting for Criterion to get off their arses and release the full trilogy on Blu, but I’m told by one who has it that it blows the Criterion DVD away.
You need to stage an uprising, MI, to get those fools in Japanese DVD distribution to subtitle the masterpieces of Kawashimna, Imai, Yoshimura, Masumura, Yoshida, Shindo et al so everyone can see there are masters beyond the accepted limited canons. Makes me sick.
MI—
Ha, I have that same consumer problem during the holidays, and always second-guess myself before it’s too late. I have been indeed aware that Christmas is a much appreciated time in Japan, though as you note induldence always comes at a stiff price. Wagner is rather a polarizing director, and while I can say I have adored his work for decades obsessively, I know that his work does not ravish everyone. Viewing any of his operas make for a marathon experience, and as you note most assuredly ‘grandiose.’ I always did find it more than ironic that a notorious anti-Semite and a man often derided for being abusive and nasty managed to compose some of the most beautiful music ever written. But what you say about liking some pieces but not the whole endless presentation makes a good amount of sense. Sorry to hear about the winter sinus problems, and know full way how that affliction can rfeally get you down. Hope you are already feeling better right now. The EVANGELION essay would indeed be intricate and challenging, and I see you have an introduction up at VERMILION right now. I know it can get hairy when one stays with one piece for a while, but I have never seen chaos with anything you’ve written! I know and have seen both SHADOW and ASHES AND DIAMONDS, and believe the latter to be a masterpiece. That’s great that attendance was fantastic, but bad luck what happened there with the print. What you say there about lack of funding and lack of interest for future classic showings is telling and a real danger to film as an art form. Thanks as always my friend! Have a great week.
Sam you need to firget the Fry documentary, which is two years old and been on DVD for ages in the UK, and watch the best thing done about Wagner, Syberberg’s Ludwig Requiem for a Virgin King. Trying to get you to watch that since 2007.
The “best thing” one can experience in regards to Wagner is the actual staging of the Ring cycle itself, which I have taken in at the Met on three separate occasions, meaning 21 and a half hours of opera spread over five days in each of the three instances. James Levine conducted all three cycles. I also saw and appreciated the excellent documentary WAGNER’S DREAM, which took a fascinating look at the staggering demands it takes to negotiate what is seen as the greatest traditional transcription of Wagner in the world. Frye’s documentary may be two years old, but this week it opened on US screens for the first time, and I was excited to render the glowing verdict. Be rest assured I will be remembering this one. But the Ring cycle is not the full measure of Wagner of course, and I was thrilled to get the chance in the late 90’s to take in DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NURNBURG, TRISTAN UND ISOLDE, TANNHAUSER, LOHENGRIN, THE FLYING DUTCHAMAN and the ravishing PARSIFAL, all multiple times and again in the Met’s unique traditional productions. I’d go as far as to say that the Wagner run was in an cultural sense the most towering experiences I’ve had culturally in my entire life. But you are right, I do need to see that Syberberg and will do so sooner than you think, what with this newfound Wagner inspiration.
Well, if you want to be a pedant, you need to see the Ring Cycle at Beyreuth, but for that you need a passport. But the Met is the next best thing without a shadow of a doubt. And yes, get to syberberg.
Passport? I had one when I traveled to Aruba, but now I must renew it for a planned summer trip to the United Kingdom.
Getting ready for the holidays is r-i-g-h-t. We’re going to have 16 people for a sit-down dinner on Christmas day. Sam, your family has been in our home and know first-hand how small it is. We’re going to turn the living area into a dining room with two tables of 6 and one table of 4. It should prove to be a very interesting day! If nothing else, Len’s wonderful cooking will serve to cover a multitude of sins.
Viewing EDWARD SCISSORHANDS on a 70-foot screen had to be some serious eye candy!
Laurie—
I am now visualizing your living room, and how you would expand the dining area, and admittedly your space is limited, as lovely a home as you have. But Len’s cooking will surely trump any mild inconvenience! And I bet you’ll have quite the smorgasborg, all within the boundaries of healthful eating! Ah it will be upon us soon enough my friend! Aye on SCISSORHANDS on that mega screen. The kids, who have always loved the film were captivated! Have a great week my friend. Many thanks!
Sam, the poll for 1969 gave me motivation to look at some movies from that year that had been on my shelves for a while. Z is the pioneer modern political thriller or conspiracy film and still sets a high standard for the rest after more than 40 years. Impressive ensemble work especially by Trintignant as the magistrate and Marcel Bozuffi as the scuzzy assassin. Dillinger is Dead is a fascinating exercise in individual and social breakdown held together by a great performance by Michel Piccoli. Eros + Massacre is a directorial tour-de-force that impressed me as a more mature, holistic and moving approach to Godardian dilemmas, and even if the story became a little repetitive the visuals were worth it.
But the weekend wasn’t all homework. Saw Lubitsch’s Loves of Pharaoh, now inescapably a work of camp but still fascinating, though the “touch” is applied here with a boxing glove, and with the horseshoe of Emil Jannings stuffed inside. After all his apoplexies you may feel like Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night. A more extreme subject, albeit handled with more intelligence, is Koji Wakamatsu’s Caterpillar, an astringent antidote to the wounded-vet-as-victim school of film and further proof that Wakamatsu’s death by accident was probably this year’s biggest tragedy in world cinema.
Happy holiday movie season all month long, folks.
Hope it was the full 220m version of Eros that you saw. Caterpillar was an excellent film on its level, sadly overlooked completely in the west, much like Wakamatsu in general, sadly.
It came in at 207, alas — wonder what I missed. And Wakamatsu had a great finishing kick, though I obviously haven’t seen his Mishima movie yet — too bad he didn’t really get to finish it.
In addition to what Allan astutely notes here Samuel, I’d have to say Wakamatsu’s death from a car accident was absolutely world cinema’s biggest calamity this past year. I did see CATERPILLAR at the IFC and also managed UNITED RED ARMY within the same year. It was a powerful, visceral work! Z is a masterwork, no question. I also think EROS is a very great film, though Allan is the biggest fan of all when it comes to that Yoshida that he ranked #1 of the 60’s. Excellent appraisal of DILLINGER IS DEAD and LOVES OF PHARAOH. And yes Samuel this is the big movie month for most of us! Many thanks as always and have a great week!
Hello Sam and everyone!
Christmas is coming, and with that new projects, family recollections, time to develop some lists and all that jungle-bungle, and specially a time for introspection and building new aims and goals for every day and new year that is coming ahead. It’s nice to hear you are having a good time Sam, and that you took advantage of that “Scissorhands” screening, I’m jealous, since it’s one of my favorite films of Burton and one of my favorites overall, ranking it at ***** myself.
Time has come, my time at university is coming to an end. I’m beginning my internship at a magazine today and I shall be doing some works for that during our summer (december-january-february), and this thursday is my last presentation in front of an audience that will hear me speak about my feature length script that I finished a few days ago. I hope that with time funding comes along and have the chance to make the film I’ve always dreamt about.
At the same time, I’ve been listening to some new music that I haven’t heard before in preparation for something special. At the same time I was invited to vote at the Muriels, one of the most influential online awards made by film fanatics from all over the world (principally from the US). Anyway, my week in terms of movies I saw:
– Amour (2012, Michael Haneke) ***** This must be my favorite Haneke film of those I’ve seen, and right now my choice for the best film of 2012. I’ve liked Haneke films before because of the stupendous filmmaking and his ability to show the harsh side of the human being… but with this film, he still manages to have great filmmaking, great acting, he manages to discover a facet of the human being, but in doing so he manages to discover a facet that I haven’t seen before in his film: feelings and sensations that are traspassed to the audience through empaty. He, for the first time I’m guessing, is not afraid to make its audience cry not because of the harsh situations, but because we are caring about the characters and we feel what they feel. Simply masterful.
– Cirque du Soleil: Journey of Man (2000, Keith Melton) *** My uncle recently bought a 3D tv, with a 3D bluray player, a bunch of 3D blurays and 6 3D glasses, and once we visited his house we were witness of many wonders, including the only way to endure and admire “Avatar” (in 3D) and we saw this short experiment fully. It’s primitive in its use of 3D, since it’s quite old, and the film has many obvious metaphors as well as lessons for those who watch it, maybe it’s a bit too preachy.
– In Another Country (2012, Sang-soo Hong) **** South korean film protagonized by Isabelle Huppert, I’ll have more to say about this one soon.
– The Man with the Iron Fists (2012. RZA) *** I’m dissapointed, but I guess I had what I was looking for, a movie directed by a rap artist. Nothing against them, but it’s obvious that there is a sense of pacing in this film that feels akward and making it not interesting to watch at many times. It’s far from being a good film and far from being a bad one, because there are so many elements in it to keep watching it that you don’t feel that you are wasting your time. The chinese setting, the action scenes, the special effects, the fights, the crazy characters and Russel Crowe make it interesting at many parts.
– Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones) ***** I was watching this film as I was writing the essay, and yes, it is the greatest comedy ever made.
– Paris-Manhattan (2012, Sophie Lellouche) *** A french romantic comedy about a woman who is obsessed with Woody Allen films. She is in between two guys who try to marry her off, after all, she is old enough to marry, or so the film tries to tell us constantly. It’s not that funny, but the best parts are those who feature Woody Allen’s own voice as the voice of conscience for the protagonist, and his own cameo at the end elevate this to what could’ve been forgettable in the first place.
– Suspiria (1977, Dario Argento) ***** I rewatched this on DVD after some time of not visiting, and I decided that I definitively need to watch this once every few months, it’s that gorgeous and pretty and overall frightening and amazing.
That’s all Sam, have a good week!
Jaimie—-
You need to take a bow after your successful time at University! You accomplished so much as you attest here with that pructive scroll. Best wishes for the screening and congrats on the clearance to vote on the Muriel Awards. Looks like quite a line-up of films this past week with some well-deserved masterpiece labeling for SUSPRIA, MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL and AMOUR. I won’t see the latter until next week, but I am expecting something quite special, as your terrific capsule can attest. And I am not at all surprised to hear that you also go the distance with EDWARD SCISSORHANDS. Your uncle has quite the 3D set-up too! I’m sure you’ll be taken advantage of that excellent set-up! All the best with your new intership my friend! Thanks again for the fantastic round-up and have a good weekend my friend!
Well you know Sammy I remember when the girl got raped in the park and you know she was hit over the head with a blunt object and left for dead if two men were not walking through the park alone in the middle of the night they wouldn’t have found her until morning and she might have been dead so fortune smiled on her in a really bad circumstance but the five from the park were not angels. They were in the park harassing innocent people and were wilders so while they might not have done this whose to say they didn’t do something else terrible that was not reported because I remember when I worked for probation do you know what the statistic was about how many people get caught for crimes? One crime out of ten gets caught. So if they were in the park acting like wilders and we know about a few things they did multiply that by ten and that’s probably what they really did so if they didn’t do one thing they might have done a lot of other terrible things and it was proven, when they cracked down on youth crime everyone started to visit New York and the city made money and Juliano cleaned up Times Square and got rid of the pornography. But Sammy how can you make a blog and not talk about the physical drop because it’s coming and it’s going to effect a lot of people. Obama thinks he has a mandate but he won in a close election, the people didn’t give him the support to have a blank card so he has to budge, Boner can’t budge because if he does he won’t have a party to go back to, and they know it’s a cycle it’s deja vu like 2008 all over again because Obama is riding high now but everyone knows there will be a Republican surge in 2014 when the midterm elections come so the people in office now they can’t compromise or else they won’t get the future support. And if we fall off the physical drop the economy is going to double dip and people’s savings will be in jeopardized again and it’s an important issue but people are distracted by the holiday season but you need an economy to make a holiday season enjoyable so you should pay attention to it. And in Egypt things are getting bad again and they’re saying that this time if they lose control of the people they’re gonna start going after the pyramids, and if they ruin those then that’s it, it’s all over because that’s their economy from tourists what else do they have to export? Peace and Blessings.
Oh for God’s sake. Jack Marsh does not exist. It’s a hoax and about as funny as whoopee cushions on an electric chair. Just send these to Sam as he’s the only one who finds them funny.
Jack Marsh most assuredly DOES exist, and he lives in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Yes, this is a hoax and a bad one at that. However, while Jason’s hoax comments are enough to make us sway from their stupidity, I can say this…
If the real Jack Marsh were here in Jersey to make comments (and I assure you they’d be far dumber than Jason’s), I’d have surely been arrested for bashing the man’s skull in with the sharp edge of a broken cinder block. For as repelling as Jay can get with these failed attempts at levity they are, assuredly, not one iota as annoying and repulsive as the words, thinking and physical presence of the real deal. Sam once scolded me once when I threatened to douse the real Jack in gasoline and light him on fire for eating meatballs with his bare hands and wiping them on Sams kids. The real deal is one of the most repulsive human beings I have ever had the displeasure of meeting and, as for cleanliness and social graces, mot up to par with Sam’s dogs .
There hasn’t been a single Jack Marsh entry over the past year that I haven’t laughed myself silly over. Jack, who does live in Florida is a very unique person. He was quite a memorable fixture at my Oscar parties, and his babysitting at my home when the kids were only a few years old resulted in the kids relating some remarkable stories. Nobody would ever accuse him of extravagence, that’s for sure, and I can never forget him telling Lucille with great enthusiasm that if you agreed to “bag your own groceries you’d get a discount of 2 cents on every bag.” He relayed this important news with great satisfaction.
Jack’s comment above is often hysterical and captures the singular essence of the man, an essence that often infuriated anyone who crossed his path, Dennis included.
People.
Raiding.
Pyramids.
I think this is the comment that wins the prize in the end for best troll comment of the year. Amazing in every sense and so, so wrong in any other nonsense.
It’s just Sam’s friend Jason Giampietro-or-something-or-other continuing an inside joke between them Jaime. Yeah it’s not funny to the rest of us, but who cares. Just ignore it and let them enjoy themselves I guess. As the countdown has bore out quite a few times… comedy is an entirely subjective experience to each and every individual/group.
Yeah. There’s spam comments made here that are more informative and entertaining. The “Jack Marsh” bits are just boring. Nowhere near pretty well worth sufficient.
Psychic Source Coupon Queen.
Jack Marsh is sorta the Libby Gelman-Waxner (“If You Ask Me . . . ” film reviewer in the now-defunct Premiere magazine) of the male geriatric set.
hahahahahahahaha Pierre!!!!!!!!!!
Today’s announcement by the AFI of their Top 10 American films of the Year, presented alphabetically.
ARGO
BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
THE DARK KNIGHT RISES
DJANGO UNCHAINED
LES MISÉRABLES
LIFE OF PI
LINCOLN
MOONRISE KINGDOM
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK
ZERO DARK THIRTY
Note: Most are saying that LES MISERABLES is British, but the AFI apparently allowed it because of their concept of financing. in any case I am delighted to see it there. The big omission of course is THE MASTER, which seems to have almost as many detractors than boosters these days.
Funny enough Sam, Les Mis is starting to get a significant amount of bad reviews lately.
Maurizio, LES MIS started off with some bad reviews but over the last three days is coming strong with positive notices so that it is now moving into solidly favorable territory with the critics. I’m speculating it will end up in the 80’s when all is said and done. Not spectacular, but solid.
But the proof will be in the pudding on Christmas Day.
With all due respect to Argo, and as a Batman fan, a list that has those two and not The Master simply isn’t credible.
Thank you so much for the double mention, Sam, which is much appreciated. It must have been great to see ‘Edward Scissorhands’ on the big screen! I’ve mainly been concentrating on watching Dickens adaptations this week, and have watched four features – two silent versions of ‘A Tale of Two Cities’, from 1911 and 1917. The second of these directed by Frank Lloyd, who also made ‘Oliver Twist’ in 1922, another one I watched, and lastly I saw the 1935 British ‘Scrooge’ starring Seymour Hicks, who is brilliant, though sadly a lot of the story is cut out.
I thought all of the older Dickens movies were very good, unlike the new ‘Great Expectations’ which I saw at the cinema this week and found a disappointment. It starts with a bang, but then fizzles out and seems downright insipid compared to the book – plus it completely misses out the important character of Orlick, and with him much of the novel’s violence and class conflict. I did like Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch, though.
I also saw ‘Skyfall’ at the cinema and quite enjoyed it – certainly better than the previous Bond movie, though I thought the Scottish sequences at the end get a bit slow. Anyway, thanks again for the kind mention and here’s wishing you and everyone all the best for the week ahead.
Judy—
I know you are restricted this month with your viewings, but should be all be so restricted? Ha! I have been following along with all your early Dickens, and it’s such a fantastic reference tool. It will be great to make all the comparisons when you reach the end of this rapturous Victorian Age journey. Sorry to hear about the new GREAT EXPECTATIONS though. Bummer, though we at least have the good work from Fiennes. Haven’t seen that 1935 SCROOGE with Seymour Hicks. I did think you might enjoy SKYFALL, and apparently you did for the most part. I though Roger Deakins’s camerwork was gorgeous among other commendable aspects. It was quite a time to see EDWARD on that huge screen for us all. Thanks again Judy! Have a great week!
Several books and just one movie.
‘Days of Heaven’ — On late-night TCM. Achingly beautiful, but so opaque in theme you’re left wondering what it’s all about. Tiny man under the thumb of a giant, oppressive and capricious Fate? That reliable master Nestor Almendros (Rohmer, ‘Claire’s Knee,’ Truffaut, ‘Two English Girls’) did the photography with an assist from Haskell Wexler, another magician behind the camera. Linda Manz is no Dennis Price when it comes to voice-over, but I’ll give it 4 stars.
Mark—
Ha! Linda Manz is certainly no Denis Price for narration, quite right! Yes the cinematic poets are at work in full force behind the camera providing some ravishing visuals, and yet another Ennio Morricome film score masterpiece. It all adds up to a spellbinding experience despite the narrative vageries. The key is always to surrender! It is amazing when you ponder the films “the master of light” Almendros shot! Hope your reading was rewarding as well my friend. Many thanks as always!
I too am sharing Christmas with a very large gathering, so really pushed the limit this week to get my last post and a book review up and running so I can spend 2 weeks in preparation for the gathering. I am late to the party.
I have a book giveaway of my own choosing for the 17th post that is a fabulous fundraiser for an autism center in Portland, Oregon. It is quite the read about finding happiness.
It sounds like your movie week brought some happiness to your life – though I do not find shopping a very joyous experience myself.
I did not sing any Wagner in my singing days, and when in New York I only went to one performance and am afraid I did not develop a taste for his music, When I learned what a despicable person he was, I truly lost any interest.
Now Scissorhand was truly a family favorite here and we all enjoyed watching it several times. Your viewing sounded spectacular.
I did follow through on the LINCOLN movie problems I encountered and the theatre director said there were no changes or missing scenes in the movie and he thought it was “as is” . I would need to see it again and take notes I think to make my case – but the previews were very different, because none of those movies will be playing here at the same time as they would be in San Francisco. Les Miserables will not play until the New Year some time and the one about Roosevelt may just play in the Arts theaters in the bigger cities…so they would not list it as March.
I see that the author of Confessions of Joan Picked Lucille as the winner of the book – congratulations. I hope she enjoys it as much as I did.
Happy Hanukkah to all and I hope something wonderful comes to our theaters for the Holiday season. I need more movie time
Patricia—
Great to hear that you will be enjoying the holiday with a sizable crowd! And that’s quite a time windown you have planned to make sure the day comes off as planned! And yet another worthy cause by you in consideration of the Portland autism center! The book too sounds inspired. We did have quite an interesting week in the theaters this past week, but the rest of the month is expected to showcase some final excellent films, as per the annual custom. Yep, Wagner’s personal life was never a good selling point for his music, and while some can separate the two others just feel he is too reprehensible to overcome. The kids did indeed love the EDWARD SCISSORHANDS viewing on the huge screen and they have always been big fans of the film. Good to hear that in the end there weren’t any problems with LINCOLN. Perhaps the problem was resolved afterwards. No consolation of course. In behalf of Lucille thanks very much for the book my friend. She will be making every effort to read it. Thanks as always my friend!
Sam,
The Central Park Five most likely won’t play here and I will have to wait until a DVD release. Looking forward to it. Only two films were on tap this week. Hope all have a great week.
Hitchcock (***1/2) The great director gets a homage in this solid film if unexceptional film. Hitch is at a crossroads in his career, looking for something new, he comes upon Robert Bloch’s novel PSYCHO and begins an uphill battle to get the film made. This film is a definite upgrade when compared to the recent and exploitive HBO film THE GIRL. The cast, needless to say is very good. The scrip has some nice depreciative humor.
New York Confidential (***1/2) – Good solid crime film though I have a hard time calling this a film noir because the visual style of the film is very flat. Yet, like many noirs it does contain the voice over dialogue and a gritty if studio bound feel. lt does contain some superb performances from Broderick Crawford, who speed talks like he was a drop out from the cast of “His Girl Friday.” Richard Conte, Marilyn Maxwell and a young Anne Bancroft who manages to overcome some of the worst lines in the script. While Crawford has top billing, the film revolves around Conte who is deadly and cool.
John—
For all kinds of reasons THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE is your kind of film, and I know it would bring back more memories of the NYC locales. Alas you are probably right that it won’t be releasing all over. Sad. But yeah, there is the DVD option. Maybe because of the flat visual style you attest to here, I wasn’t the biggest fan of NEW YORK CONFIDENTIAL, but there is no doubt the performances are great and to a degree overcome the mediocre script. I completely agree with you on HITCHCOCK, a film that is taking its lumps from many, but one that I still found most entertaining. Definitely better than THE GIRL and Hopkins does a fine job as Hitch. Some excellent humor throughout. Thanks as always my friend! Have a very good week!
Both of those documentaries you rate highly have me intrigued Sam. Too bad you couldn’t pull the hat trick, but two of three and a big screen viewing of Edward Scissorhands spells success. Sue and I are really exciting about Amour and Les Miserables. Congratulations to David Schleicher!
Frank–I am very happy with two out three, and would take such a ratio any weekend, but yes it would have ben ideal to have three memorable documentaries over the past week. The viewing of EDWARD on the big screen did delight the entire family. And those are the two films that I would like to see as well more than any. This coming weekend it will be THE HOBBIT and HYDE PARK ON THE HUDSON. Thanks as always my great friend!
Hi Sam,
Well I’m back home for the rest of the year and took some time off yesterday to be with the family and play with the girls all day. It was a great day playing and relaxing. Sounds like you continue to catch more films. I’d heard The Central Park Five was good. I will have to check that out. I also liked Burns’s The Dust Bowl which recently appeared on PBS and of course his doc on the Civil War was epic.
I watched Monsieur Lazhar last week. It was a really nice film. Heartfelt and poignant for sure. I’m glad I watched it. I didn’t get to see Anatolia yet….but will be shooting to watch that soon. Also watched Duck Soup which is my favorite comedy of all-time.
The new releases are very slow to arrive here of late. No Silver Linings Playbook still. Am hoping that Zero Dark Thirty will arrive early next year. Looks amazing from what I’ve read….and of course having Miss Chastain in the film doesn’t hurt at all. 😉
Up this week for me is Fists in the Pocket and Fires on the Plain. Have a great week Sam! Talk soon.
Jon:
It is great news that you finally have some time to sahre with your family without the usual job-related interruptions. Having fun with the girls is pure bliss, I know. Agreed on what you say there about Burns. Both THE CIVIL WAR and BASEBALL are masterworks, and several others are exceptional. Do hope you get to see THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE, which is one of the best films of its kind. I have to see THE DUST BOWL myself. I completely agree with you on MONSIEUR LAZHAR. ANATOLIA (a huge Maurizio favorite) is now on DVD. ZERO opens on the 19th, so you may get it by you if that opening goes wide. At that point I’m not sure. And SILVER LININGS should be with you anytime now I would think. Yep Ms. Chastain is getting all kinds of praise for that perforemance! Can’t wait to hear what you say on FISTS and FIRES.
Have a most enjoyable week my friend! Many thanks as always.
Much venom is starting to be directed at Zero Dark Thirty Sam. Apparently some critics who saw it early are objecting to the film’s seemingly defense of water-boarding for gathering intelligence. Weird since most CIA operators have been adamant that the torture practice had no hand in catching Osama Bin Laden. Bigelow has defended the film saying no such reading should be gleaned from the movie. Either way, some of you Oscar groupies might be interested in the fact that insiders are calling ZDT 2012’s possible The Deer Hunter (which unbeknownst to me was a controversial winner in 78).
Much venom? Where did you read this Maurizio? I’ve read a blog posting and two reviews and nothing negative I found as of yet like that.
I’ve read here and there that some have criticized ZDT from both sides of the political spectrum. However, I haven’t noticed that these comments have been pervasive.
Just type in Zero Dark Thirty water boarding on Google and enjoy….
Not saying I have a belief either way on this possibility. I rather see the film first before coming to an opinion (especially since everything gets politicized these days by someone looking to be offended).
Not that this means anything, but Rotten Tomatoes has it at 100%, with 27 reviews in so far. I have found no negative reviews but would be curious to read one.
When I search for that, I see random low-rent articles from nobody of interest or from any credible critic that I can see. This just seems to be chatter and something to talk about on the huffington post etc.
And this article here wasn’t even written by a film critic.
You do realize that very few critics (or people in general) have actually seen the movie. If this backlash is already occurring now, with such a limited viewing pool, it’s fair to estimate/assume it will probably grow even further when mass release occurs. And I’m not trying to rain on your parade Jon, just sharing a tidbit with you that I came across this morning. I’m just as excited as anyone to see ZDT, and understand that in our polarized political climate someone will always be offended about something (whether right or left, especially with the subject matter at hand).
I’m not saying we can make exact comparisons here, but Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker also suffered from political criticism, and it went on to win the Oscar. Bigelow had always maintained that her earlier film wasn’t intended to take sides; she’s saying that about ZDT as well, though waterboarding, of course, is perhaps a more controversial, specific point than the overall subject matter of The Hurt Locker.
Yes I do understand that few people have seen it yet and of course we don’t know how much of a role it plays in the film. I don’t ever get too worked up about political issues in films. I can even enjoy or praise a film for which I do not share similar political views. I will be disappointed if there is a smear campaign thrown this film’s way because of this topic. I would like to believe that most critics will at least view something like that more impartially. As for Joe-Walmart, I don’t really care what he thinks.
Yeah Plume. And you just know that political (opportunist) pundits will try to make a mountain out of a molehill if they can. Again I have no idea either way about ZDT content-wise and won’t speculate. Just found it interesting that this bit of talk has started to surface suddenly. I do think that once more people see the movie, that this issue will inevitably start to generate more momentum/traction. In fact I just uncovered some article on a conservative blog called Big Hollywood (don’t know anything about it or it’s importance for conservatives) that praises the film for showing the positives of enhanced interrogation techniques.
Chris Matthews covered the topic today on his program. So, yeah. this is going to get interesting.
Very interesting point Maurizio and great follow-up discussion by Pierre and Jon. I honestly did not hear anything of this until I read your comment her tonight. While it is true that relatively speaking few people have seen the film, critic group after critic group continue to give this their Best Film of the year ward. Not so sure any of these voters are aware of these developments, and if they are they apparently are more concerned about the film’s artistry than they are about some dubious tactical implications. It will be interesting to see if anything serious does come of it. Jon is right that this far not a single negative review has yet been written, and Pierre makes a great point about THE HURT LOCKER not being seriously tainted by some revelations. We will have to see.
Sam –
A very belated hello! It’s now Tuesday afternoon and I’m just getting to the weekly roundup here. For choristers like myself and Marlon, this is our busy time of year. We both had performances over the last week and a half, and I have one more tomorrow before finally getting down to some serious end-of-year viewing (not to mention Christmas shopping!)
WAGNER AND ME played at the Siskel Theater here last week, and I was quite disappointed that I couldn’t make it. I’m only recently beginning to develop an appreciaiton of Wagner’s music, but I’m a great admirer of the witty, charismatic Stephen Fry. I hope to find this in Netlfix or on DVD in the near future.
My two films for the week were HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE and SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK. The latter has a pretty much guaranteed spot on my best-of-year list, and I’m working on a review right now. Very impressed with David O. Russell’s direction and all the lead performances. It hits on so many familiar tropes and story beats (romance between oddballs, triumph over menal illness, close-knit family squabbles) but it manages to feel not quite like any movie you’ve seen before.
Pat—
You are never late to this thread I assure you!!! That’s great news that you and Marlon are crooning away at this festive time of the year!!! I’m sure both of you have had agreat time too. Great to hear that you have been warming to Wagner in recent years. Once you get the bug there’s no turning back. Wagner is polarizing for sure, but I am firmly in the camp of reverence. Completely agree on Frye, who is every bit as delightful and charismatic as you make claim to here! I believe the DVD is already out there from what I’ve been told. Pat, you are in a strong majority with SILVER LININGS. I’m not a big fan of it myself, but it had it’s moments and Ms. Lawrence was exceptional. I will be keeping an eye out for your review to hear the specifics from you. Appreciate those astute points and agree it’s unlike any other film. I am looking forward to PLAGUE!! Thanks as always my friend. Have a great week!
Sam, it’s been quiet for me these last couple of weeks on the movie-watching front but I did want to at least hi!
Jeffrey, I completely understand. This is always a tough time of the year to do much of what you would like to. I have seen your wonderful site updates at THE LAST LULLABY. I can’t thank you enough for all your incredible support for so long. You are a Prince my friend!