by Sam Juliano
Christmas Day is practically upon us, and one must wonder how the time has flown by to bring it up so quickly. With the holiday comes a well-earned break for many, and for others the chance to catch up on lost-delayed projects. Right. We’ll be right where we were before the break when the off time expires. That’s the way it always was and that’s the way it always will be. In any case it is always an ideal time to spend in theaters, concert halls, museums or libraries, and of course to put together your own year-end lists
In any event, par for the course December for me always involves some kind of nagging malady. No sooner did the ear infection subside, than my issues with gastritis, hiatal hernia and gerd emerge again. This is a condition that affects just about every adult member of my family in force, so I will have to again get some doctor’s attention this week.
I want to extend the heartiest congratulations to our good friend Paul Bartell (John Grant) for the publication of his new short story collection “Tell No Lies” on Alchemy Press:
Happy Holidays are extended to all our good friends and readers. Let’s toast to the best year ever in 2015.
This past week Lucille and I saw three films in theaters:
Wild **** (Sunday night) Starplex
Inherent Vice * (Friday night) Angelika
The Hobbit 3 **** (Saturday) **** Starplex
THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES provides a satisfactory conclusion to Middle Earth adventure, with some rousing combat sequences and a potent emotional underpinning. May well be the best of the three installments, though not on the level of the “Lord of the Rings” Trilogy.
WILD features Reese Witherspoon in the best performance of her career in a harrowing personal adventure dram about a long hike along the Pacific coast that brings about healing through trial and tribulation.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s INHERENT VICE is the worst film of his directorial career. Maddeningly incoherent
(deliberately, but who cares?), lame and overlong, it all adds up to nothing, and in the end is tragic because it burned up two and a half hours of your time during the holiday season. Ugh.
I’m sorry to hear that Inherent Vice disappoints. I was hoping for great things from it.
Here’s hoping that the gastritis et al. succumb easily to treatment, and that your holidays are happy and gastritis-free.
Many thanks for the gratuitous plug!
Best wishes for the holidays to Julianos one and all.
John, you may like it much better. I don’t think my own opinion will change, but I’ll give another crack at some point. I am in good measure to blame for the recent return of the gastritis. It does come down to what you eat, and I was going way off. This was a wake up call. Best Holiday season to you and Pam my friend!!! 🙂
Congratulations to Mr. Grant!!! Quite an achievement!
Great to hear Wild was sturdy. And I am planning to see that final Hobbit installment.
Frank, I see John has thanked you below!! And yes a major achievement, though he’s written some other gems! Wild is well done, and THE HOBBIT does have some big moments. Thanks as always my friend!!
I’ve been dragging my heels about seeing WILD; Oprah-endorsed odysseys of personal discovery and Reese Witherspoon playing against type are two things that don’t much interest me. I’ll probably give in and see it at some point, but it is not high on my list of year-end cinematic priorities.
INHERENT VICE, on the other hand, is high on that list. It has not opened here yet, and I’m not sure it will before the end of 2014. As a PT Anderson fan, I can’t not see it, although I will keep your advisory in mind.
I’m in ‘year-end’ cramming mode here, catching up on earlier, missed 2014 releases via streaming. MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT was anything but – painful to watch with one of the worst least inspired screenplays Woody Allen has every written. It did look lovely though, thank to the luminous cinematography. THE SKELETON TWINS was nothing special either. I did however, enjoy THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU, in spite of myself; it’s predictable, but the talented cast (especially Jason Bateman) made it pleasantly watchable.
As for new releases, I did see ANNIE which started out enjoyable enough but kept getting worse and worse as it dragged on. I found Quevenshane Wallis to be a charming and appealing lead when she wasn’t singing (or, more accurately, being auto-tuned.) Cameron Diaz was WAY too far over the top. I have no objection to updating the story to the present day or even to the re-working of some of the songs (in fact, I quite enjoyed the new take on EASY STREET), but it wasn’t done thoughtfully or consistently. The early scenes promised an injection of pointed political commentary, but that was abandoned far too quickly. A mess of a a movie.
Pat—-
I am not sure what you will think of WILD. First I thought you’d connect with this resilient woman, but you might on the other hand consider some of this over the top. The reviews were strong, but heck I have discovered with FOXCATCHER, THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING and INHERENT VICE that taste disparity can be rather drastic! 🙂
INHERENT VICE might float your boat, especially as you admit here that you are a huge PT Anderson fan. I do remember your glowing regard for THE MASTER (I had issues with that, but nothing like what I have with this newest film) and know well he is one of your favorite American directors. Stil, this one is quite unlike anything he’s done. I won’t say anything more, as I don’t want to compromise your discovery.
Your take down of ANNIE was well deserved, and love the way you tracked the downward arc!!! Ha! I agree it was a train wreck. i also am no fan of MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT, but I did rather like THE SKELETON TWINS. Not ten best of the year like, but nicely done.
Great to hear that about THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU! I hope to get the chance to see that. Just tonight we all saw INTO THE WOODS. I certainly liked it, but perhaps a bit less that I anticipated. Definitely look forward to what you will deduce, as a big musical aficionado and active performer. Planning to see SELMA and LEVIATHAN in the coming days.
Have a great holiday weekend my friend!!!
Sam,
Sorry to hear about your continuing problems. I actually have Gerd myself, but fortunately medication has been keeping it pretty much under control, so far. My own cold that I had last week got worst and I finally succumbed to calling the doctor for some medication. To make it worst, I passed it on to Dorothy, so both of us have been under the weather. Glad to hear you like WILD. Someone I know caught and did not like but I trust your judgment more than hers.
On the film front, I watched the following…
Annie – (**) The only highlight in this messy remake is the young Ms. Wallis as Annie. She has screen presence. However, there were bad decisions in making the film. There is a musical number involving Cameron Diaz and Bobby Carnavale, both of who I felt were miscast, that is just plain badly edited. You sit wondering, what the hell? I didn’t mind them modernizing the story and I like the use of NYC but that alone is not enough.
Under the Skin (*****) You are going to either love this film or hate it. True, it is slowly paced. It is also moody, dark, imaginative and has a predatory, seductive femme fatale; the most alluring extraterrestrial to ever grace the screen. There is a remarkable opening scene, that is as cinematic as it is mysterious and original.
Repeated watches included…
Crazy Joe (***)
Trading Places (****)
The Shop around the Corner (*****)
Once Upon a Honeymoon (***1/2)
Side Street (****)
Here’s wishing you, Lucille and the kids a very Merry Christmas.
And Merry Christmas to all!
John—–
You keep your GERD under control because you eat well, and don’t embrace all the pro acid-reflux foods as I have been doing as of late. I have drastically changed my diet as as a result I am feeling much better now. I am sorry to hear that both you and Dorothy are under the weather, though by the time I have responded to you here now, I am thinking you are better. isn’t that the way it always is? Holiday blues! Ugh.
Thanks for the confidence in my opinions. WILD is definitely worth seeing. Yes there are some minor issues, but it is engaging, and Witherspoon is excellent. I agree that ANNIE is poor, even with Wallis impressive. As I mentioned to Pat, who also did not care for it- it is a train wreck. Wow, a five star rating for UNDER THE SKIN, eh? Well, I quite agree with what you say in your excellent capsule, and have always thought a dismissal was too easy and not the result of concentrated film watching. Johannson is amazing too. Agreed that SHOP and TRADING PLACES were definitely your best repeat viewings this week! But now I can say I trust you had a great day, are feeling better and are ready for the New Year!! The best to you and Dorthy always! Will be comparing further notes soon! 🙂
Hope you feel better soon Sam. One star for Inherent Vice…wow. I’ll be viewing it sometime after X-mas to see for myself. No doubt its been getting the full spectrum of opinions by moviegoers.
What I saw in the last few weeks….
A Most Wanted Man **** Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s last notable film was better than I was expecting. Anton Corbjin lost my faith with his terrible The American, but he does well here. For a John Le Carre adapted work, this is pretty easy movie to follow.
Regarding Susan Sontag ** More like watching paint dry. I guess one must be a fan of the subject in question to a higher degree than I am to get complete enjoyment out of this. Essentially this is a puff piece to make us all marvel at the awesomeness of Susan.
Ida **** Solid movie that is perhaps a touch overrated. Aesthetically, it borrows too much from both Bergman and Bresson to be truly phenomenal. In many ways this is as formulaic a film as any marvel superhero movie. All the art house cliche’s can be found here from years past. Nevertheless, its still a very engaging piece of international cinema.
Tim’s Vemeer ** Watching paint dry…the sequel. Wow this was a slog to get through. And it incorporates a subject that I find incredible fascinating. Unfortunately, the filmmaker was not able to make the topic for this documentary translate on the screen for me.
Manakamana * Like Leviathan (the documentary) from last year, this is an experiment that has been gaining traction with some viewers, but left me completely cold. How long can I stare at people doing nothing for long periods of time. Could not even make it to the end unfortunately.
Merry Christmas Sam and a happy New Year to you and your family. I would also like to wish happy holidays to everyone else at WITD.
I too found Ida overrated. Solid but nothing to rave about. I felt I’d seen it before. Overall, I am finding 2014 to be a very weak year compared with the last few years. There hasn’t been one film I’ve seen that I’ve called a masterpiece. Now I haven’t seen Boyhood yet or Birdman, but even if those were flat out ***** films, 2014 would still be a disappointment for me.
I haven’t seen a masterpiece this year either so far Jon. Nightcrawler and The Immigrant come the closest for me. Its hard to call 2014 disappointing though because I still haven’t watched Winter Sleep, Force Majeure, Mr Turner, Leviathan, Inherent Vice, A Most Violent Year, American Sniper, Foxcatcher, Two Days, One Night, Interstellar, and Far From Men. My viewing is incomplete at this present time. All it takes is 3 or 4 of those films to be *****, and my opinion will change.
I saw both Boyhood and Birdman already. The latter is a total gimmick film like The Artist. I have no doubt you will see through it. Boyhood is a much better film, but I personally wasn’t as enamored of it as everyone else on the planet lol. If you like Linklater (and I know you do), then its basically a can’t miss movie for you.
Okay this is true I do have many films to see yet as you allude to. Seems like by this time last year I’d seen 4-5 masterpieces already though. Still more to see yet. I liked Interstellar. Not to the degree that Sam does though. Mr. Turner was another well made Leigh film. Didn’t blow me away, but nothing else has this year either.
I just don’t want to make a definitive statement with a new Ceylan film out there. Or one by Anderson. Sam gave Inherent Vice one star, but he also disliked The Master, which I thought was brilliant. I always thought Andrei Zvyagintsev had some masterpiece films in him (I consider The Return and Elena very good), and he seemingly made one this year. Coupled with the great reviews Force Majeure and Mr Turner are getting etc…I will wait before any declarations are made.
Jon (and Maurizio), I have read your arguments here as related to the overall quality of 2014. I, myself, have found it no different than previous years when you gauge how many great films or “masterpieces” have fallen within this twelve month span. Our friend Sachin Gandhi just today has proven to everyone that when all the stops are pulled and one is committed, opportunity withstanding, there is no such thing as a “bad” year–everything is relative. To complain of a bad year is tantamount to admitting that you simply haven’t seen enough films. No year is “bad” and no year is “good.” They are all proportionate to what one can claim to have actually seen. The chance to attend film festivals (Sachin a few, and myself Tribeca) has also upped the ante. I am not here to ‘defend’ 2014, just to set the facts straight as to what did come out and to what was actually great in that grouping. Our friend Paul Clark will again be running the Muriels this year (I will be casting my vote) and the entire group are always ever-scrutinizing, yet I’d be shocked if I heard from any that the year was sub-par. Case in point, let’s talk masterpieces. Here are the ones I would say fall into that bracket. I am counting near-masterpieces with them, as any day of the week one could elevate depending on mood. The following film are either 5.0 or 4.5 by my rating system. And considering the number of films i have seen, I do not at all think I am being generous.
Interstellar 5.0
Boyhood 5.0
Force Majeure (Sweden) 5.0
Stranger by the Lake (Canada/French) 5.0
Mr. Turner (UK) 5.0
The Grand Budapest Hotel 5.0
Ida 5.0
Bad Hair (Venezuela) 4.5
Keep on Keepin On 5.0
Pride 4.5
Starred Up (UK) 4.5
Human Capital (Italy) 4.5
The Overnnighters 4.5
The Immigrant 4.5
Calvary (UK) 4.5
Stand Clear of Closing Doors 4.5
Happy Valley 4.5
Belle 4.5
Regarding Susan Sontag 4.5
Broken Hill Blues (Sweden) 4.5
Brides (Georgia) 4.5
Whiplash 4.5
Under the Skin (UK) 4.5
The Imitation Game 4.5
Black Coal, Thin Ice (China) 4.5
In Order of Disappearance (Norway) 4.5
Gone Girl 4.5
Nightcrawler 4.5
Five Star 4.5
Silenced 4.5
Snowpiercer 4.5
Frank 4.5
That is 32 films that in my view deserved either the highest rating or the next highest rating. 32 films. To say that 2014 is a weak year is not taking into account what has actually come out. It is a statement made without the facts.
And still I have to see WINTER SLEEP, SELMA, INTO THE WOODS and a few others before the year ends. That will no doubt enhancing it even more.
I agree 100% Sam. My point exactly. I have not seen enough films to make a definitive statement either way. In fact, 2014 may end up being my favorite year of the decade for all I know. I’m working with incomplete information and can’t say either way at the present moment.
This is the typical period (with more free time during Christmas) where I start tackling all the late season movies. In a months time, I will better prepared to give my opinion on 2014.
Sam there are certainly many films to catch up with for me, but for some reason, I have not seen one masterpiece yet in 2014…..that’s all I’m saying. For me, I haven’t see one yet, so for me 2014 has been very weak. This includes the following 9 films that I saw on your list, but none of which made a 4.5 or 5 star rating.
Interstellar 4.0
Mr. Turner (UK) 4.0
The Grand Budapest Hotel 3.5
Ida 4.0
Calvary (UK) 3.5
Belle 3.5
Under the Skin (UK) 3.5
Snowpiercer 2
Frank 1
Hurrah! Someone else who was underwhelmed by Under the Skin! Pam and I have been feeling so Lonely out here.
We did love Mr Turner, though.
But, my final judgement is yet to be made of course, is what I should clarify. It’s just that I’ve normally seen 6-8 masterpieces by now, and what worries me is that many of the films that are getting praised on year end lists, are ones that I thought were good but not great. So, my hopes are dwindling a bit.
Jon—-Throughout this thread you are taking down one highly-praised movie after the other dismissing each and every one as “overrated.” Could it be that all the great and highly-praised movies of 2014 are ALL overrated? These observations, alas tell us more about your restrictive taste in contemporary cinema than they do about the actual films. When it comes to recent films I have long noticed you have a completely different criteria than you do with older films. You are harsh and difficult to please, on a level that even goes beyond Alan Fish, who at least adored IDA and UNDER THE SKIN, and considered both masterpieces. I have yet to encounter any single person who has taken down all of those films (regarding each and every one well under masterpiece status). I am skeptical when I read that anyone loves all the films or that anyone is dissatisfied with all of them. MR TURNER could well be Mike Leigh’s greatest film (sure looks like just about all the critics and all the film fans are saying as much) I just can’t understand how it is possible for anyone to be a Wes Anderson fan and say that his greatest masterpiece is “overrated.” That film has brought EVERYONE together–it has ravished his longtime fans, has made Anderson fans out of non-Anderson fans, has impressed the art house people, the laymen and well over 90% of the active film bloggers. It would not at all surprise me if it won the Muriels this year. Then we have IDA. Again you balk, and again use the term “overrated.” The film has received spectacular reviews and film blogger support (not every last one as you have read Maurizio and Marilyn had some issues) but EVERY film made has a few dissenters. Some dissent because they resent the high praise. You are giving the phrase “impossible to please” a completely different meaning this year. I have yet to come across this kind of disdain anywhere from any single person. You are even making the tough maurizio look like a cinematic Santa Claus. You are entitled to your opinion for sure, and I know you are being honest, but I am now pretty much certain that you will say BOYHOOD and BIRDMAN are both “overrated” and will draw blanks for the entire year. The failure of no five star films is laid at your feet not at the films in question. In any case that is my rant. I know you can take it and will at least get a laugh. You know well how much I think of you–this site could never have thrived then and now without you. You are a gentleman, a lovely person, a very dear friend, but once in a while we lock horns. With the movies that open (ed) this week (and I am thrilled that the Russian LEVIATHAN has opened at the Film Forum) you may yet pull together some favorites despite my wise ass contention. 🙂
Sam, this is a fair assertion that I’m hard to please, particularly with newer films, although I was over the moon with many films last year, which is what is so strange to me. I rated all of these at or very near masterpiece status. 9 of them were at 5 stars for me (or 4 stars on my old rating system).
11. Fill the Void
10. Short Term 12
9. To the Wonder
8. The Wolf of Wall Street
7. Blue Jasmine
6. Prisoners
5. Laurence Anyways
4. The Act of Killing
3. Gravity
2. Before Midnight
1. 12 Years a Slave.
I’m a huge Wes Anderson fan, and there is a buddy of mine who I saw it with who is also a huge fan, and neither of us found it to be as emotionally resonant as his 3 best works. For whatever that’s worth. I don’t know Sam, maybe I am losing touch with the cinematic medium this year. I just don’t see how I could have 11 films I adored last year, and none from this year. It’s so strange. This is probably having more to say about me than anything else I suppose. Part of this disappointment with finding great films has caused my blogging to dissipate. I just haven’t been inspired to write about anything. This isn’t to say I didn’t like Budapest and Mr. Turner or Interstellar. I liked them all. But they weren’t 5 stars.
I won’t start a row on this Sam. I didn’t mean it to be that way and I back off of this being a weak year. I will instead go with 2014 being a year that for me personally hasn’t struck a chord. You are a dear friend and I respect your opinion beyond compare. I wish you a Merry Christmas! 🙂
Jon, you are an absolute Prince. One of the truly finest people I’ve ever met online. Do not back off at all. You know how opinionated I can get sometimes, but really I had no business flying off the handle with you, especially over movies. Yes I did find it frustrating, as I liked a number of those films, but you may yet find some of the ones you didn’t yet see, of higher quality. But if not, it is just one of those years. 🙂 🙂 🙂 I trust you all had a great Christmas!!!
No worries at all Sam. I realize that without a massive amount of evidence, it’s hard to show that one year is a down year versus another. Sometimes it comes with hindsight too in certain years. It would be interesting if we got a bunch of other folks to comment on this topic to see whether anyone else is feeling the same thing as me or not. My guess is no.
Right now all I can say is that I haven’t had any epiphanies this year yet. So to say it’s a weak year isn’t really correct…..it’s just I haven’t connected with anything like I usually do. I will keep seeking out the others titles in hopes for something great.
The Wall Street Journal article mentions that great films were few and far between in 2014….
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-best-films-of-2014-boyhood-and-other-rare-gems-1419480616
Will look for others.
The WSJ link works for subscribers only. Luckily the article has been reprinted in Zimbabwe Today: http://zimbabwe-today.com/2014/12/entertainment/the-best-films-of-2014/
That’s funny I didn’t know I was a subscriber! Haha. Oh well.
Maybe you subscribe to some other Murdoch newspaper or something. Certainly it was behind a paywall when I tried to read it on the WSJ site.
Thanks for the very kind words Maurizio! I was a bit late getting back to this thread, mainly as it cross over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and yet it has been one of the most lively MMD’s in a long time. I am feeling much better as a result of drastically modifying my diet. Tough for an Italian as you well know yourself, but I must follow the rules.
I was a bit less enamored of A MOST WANTED MAN, but it did have its moments and Hoffmann was exceptional indeed. i think I went 3.5. As I recall it had some dead spots. In complete (unimpressed) agreement with you on TIM’S VEMEER, which you diffuse perfectly!!! **watching paint dry*** I have not seen MANAKAMANA, but your complete dissing is not going to bolster my resolve to say the least! 🙂 I do like IDA more for sure, and considered REGARDING SUSAN SONTAG as one of the bets films of this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. I posted a capsule review of it here at WitD. Still, I know that type of film and subject will not fascinate everyone, and I understand your own issues with it. INHERENT VICE is a far different film that THE MASTER, so I am not sure how you will regard it. Greatly looking forward to compare notes my friend! Will take soon. Thanks as always!
Sorry about the return of gerd. I know it goes and comes, depending on careful you are when eating. I’m sure it will subside.
Inherent vice was that bad, huh? The reviews appear to be divided.
Congrats to John Grant!
Thanks so much Peter! Yes it does in fact have way more to do with eating, and no sooner did I go to eating bland today in smaller portions, than I felt much better. No coffee, chocolate and tomato sauce (the last is a killer for me) and just giving those up alone and you feel better. But it has to continue. You may think differently on INHERENT VICE, but I found it torture to sit through myself. Yes the critics are divided on it. Thanks for the good words about John, and have a great week my friend!
Thanks for the kind words, Frank and Peter!
I was, by the way, a tad confused by your heading, Sam. When I first saw it I thought, It’s all very well Sam indulging in wild, inherent vice, but should he be writing about it on a public board?. It was only when I started reading the piece that things became clearer.
I’d never heard of gerd and have only just now discovered that it’s the new name for acid-reflux disease. Nasty. I do hope this responds really swiftly to treatment. All sympathies.
hahahaha John, love it!!!!!
Yes gerd can indeed be nasty, but only if you willingly allow it to be. If you eat heathfully and cautiously you can permanently hold it at bay. For awhile there I was overdoing with tomato sauce (heck, Italian blood runs through my veins!) drinking coffee with caffeine, and indulging in chocolate. These are absolute no-nos. I learned my lesson! Thank you so much for the kind words and concern my friend!!
Hello Sam and everyone!
Just in case we don’t message each other before, have a great Christmas in the next days! Wonderful times and spend it with your family!
These are the movies I saw last week:
– The Absent (2014, Nicolas Pereda) *** Contemplative piece that reminded me at times of “La libertad”, but… “La Libertad”, for lack of a better word, was fun. It follows a somewhat similar character with a thematically similar problem, but here given some contrast and edge. If you could say, this has more conflict, if there is such thing as that in the cinema of Nicolás Pereda. Any immersion in the plot at the same time strengthens the film and at the same time it weakens it. It gives it strength via finding some context to the silent and context-less shots that sometimes are way too long and unnecessary (in Lisandro’s films they are usually cut just when they don’t give any more information, as long as they are), and at the same time it grounds too heavily what could’ve been a mood piece. Maybe ill-conceived from the start, or maybe Pereda isn’t my taste. Who knows?
– Could See a Puma (2011, Eduardo Williams) ***1/2 I think that the last scene blew my mind enough for me to want to see it again, but besides that and some clever location scouting I don’t know what’s being said here.
– Rampage (2009, Uwe Boll) *** I was conflicted with this movie, not because it was by Uwe Boll, but because of how the violence carried out in terms of the reasons behind it. Then the twist comes. Then the whole thing goes down and it’s a great satire of certain type of people, and then I realize that Uwe does it wrong by putting some kind of sainthood around the main character, when he is just a crook that got what he want through a clever design of his own vengeance, and venting his own violence. But, Uwe fucks it up with the ending ‘statement’. Also, the camera never stops moving and that made me quite dizzy. Still, the best movie Uwe Boll has made yet.
– La Reina (2013, Manuel Abramovich) ***1/2 The torture of a body. A young woman forced to be a model.
– Tokyo Olympiad (1965, Kon Ichikawa) ****1/2 Beautiful composition of bodies in movement, sometimes against black backgrounds and still images to make us notice the positions, the flexibility of certain members. While institutional in the sense of how it has to portray most events and their resolution to an almost dizzying degree of speed towards the later part of the film, it still also manages to be a documentary about the rebirth of Japan, or the consolidation of the thought of Japan as a nation that isn’t alien anymore but one that is back from the ashes, and it does that with simple symbols and specific shots and moments that Ichikawa uses perfectly. Maybe the best of the Japanese documentaries that I’ve seen so far. Let’s see what’s on the horizon.
– Diary of Yunbogi (1965, Nagisa Oshima) **** Actually saddening portrait of the situation of Korea at the time after the war and the occupation. It was one of the poorest countries in the world in 1953, and now it blossomed. This is an exact portrait of an specific moment, done through pictures, Marker style.
That’s all. Have a great week Sam!
Jaimie—-This was one of your shortest round-ups ever, though it is longer than many people’s most extensive. Ha! I trust you had a wonderful Christmas with your girl friend and family. And I am sure you are gearing up for the New Year’s. I definitely am very interested in knowing what films with comprise your year-end list. I know we have one glorious common choice, and believe it or not I saw that films for a THIRD time this afternoon!!! Unfortunately, your round-up yields only two films I have seen, and they are the final two Oshimas. Absolutely SUPERB analysis of both films, and I actually agree with the ratings as well. TOKYO OLYMPIAD is indeed one of the greatest Japanese documentaries of all-time. Those fluid body movements are poetry in motion!!! Thanks again my friend. Happy New Year!!! 🙂
Hi Sam,
Getting ready for Christmas no doubt and I hope you are feeling better soon. It really sucks to be not feeling well, especially when trying to get together with family and friends. We had a get-together with my in-laws yesterday, and about half the crew didn’t make it due to illness. Tis the season I guess. I had read the book Wild after it had come out and really liked it. It was a gripping and moving story. Not sure the film will live up to it but we’ll see. I’m shocked by the damning review of Inherent Vice! After hearing several praise-worthy pieces on it too. I wonder if this is one of those dividing films that we’ll have around here at WiTD. We shall see. My daughter turned 7 the other day, so instead of going to see Annie (which I talked her out of), we went ice skating and had chinese food which was a big hit. I told her Annie didn’t get good reviews and she said “well we better not see it then”. Ha! We’ve got a future film snob on our hands here. 😉
Snowpiercer **: Ugh. Overrated and excessively gruesome in parts. I didn’t find much here to latch onto whatsoever. I especially didn’t appreciate all the slooooooow-moooooooootion. I got bored with this film.
Mr. Turner ****: Very solid Leigh film with great performances especially by Spall, whose droll and grumpy performance is really funny to me. I didn’t find it to be a masterpiece, but a very good entertainment for sure.
Frank * : OMG this film is insufferable! What a pretentious slog. Worst film I’ve seen from 2014.
Third Person ** : Overlong, self-righteous, pretentious…..I could go on. Haggis usually bites off more than he can chew and here’s another example.
I have picked up A Most Wanted Man and am hoping for a good viewing of that one.
Merry Christmas Sam! Hope you feel better.
I’m relieved to see someone else was disappointed in SNOWPIERCER. I might have given it a slightly higher three-star rating, but still found some of the violent passages to be both unbearable and unintelligible. Tilda Swinton was a hoot and the premise was inspired, but the final product was very uneven. For me, the far better adult dystopian drama of the year was THE CONGRESS.
I haven’t seen The Congress. Don’t even remember hearing about it, so maybe that’s a good sign!
Thanks for the very kind words Jon! Yes I am feeling better, as a result of being very careful of what I am eating. Gerd can be controlled indefinitely if you stay away from tomato sauce, caffeine, chocolate, and fatty dairy product. No sooner did I eat bland, then my acid reflux subside. I learned my lesson the hard way. Thank you! Well, I know you had a tough week with the movie watching. I guess the one we drastically disagree on is FRANK, which I thought pretty creative myself. Loved Fassbender’s work there. And I did like SNOWPIERCER more than you and Pat, but I noticed it is divisive. I’d like to see it again to see if it holds up. A MOST WANTED MAN is worth seeing, but not on any kind of a best list, still reasonably solid. As I’ve said I do feel MR. TURNER is truly exceptional -the cinematography vies for the best of the year- and as you note Spall is extraordinary. I am laughing aloud after reading about your daughter and theat story of ANNIE and the ice skating/Chinese food!!! hahahaha!!! She made the RIGHT decision, that much I can tell you!!! Thanks again my great friend!! We’ll be touch bases again soon!!!
Sam, again hoping you had a very wonderful Christmas. Wishing the happiest of holidays to your entire family!
I have a good bit of catching up to do on 2014 cinema but I continue to make my way through TV pilots. This week I caught up with:
WEEDS
THE AMERICANS
SILICON VALLEY
TRUE BLOOD
MASTERS OF SEX
THE NEWSROOM
IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA
THE GOOD WIFE
24
SONS OF ANARCHY
And the entirety of the podcast, “Serial”.
The podcast was an extremely interesting experience to see how compelling a purely aural narrative experience could be and the TV work continues to make me want to go deeper.
Thanks so much Jeffrey!! We all had a great time off, though as usual it all seemed to fly by, as always when you are having fun!!! 🙂 I trust all of you down in Bayou Country had a terrific respite as well! Wow, now that is an incredible number of TV pilots to negotiate, especially in view of what you attested to in the most the recent MMMD, where you went further with a few of these series. I’ve some of TRUE BLOOD -a favorite in my house, and 24, but not yet any of the others. THE NEWSROOM is one I really want to check out as soon as I can. I’ve heard of WEEDS too. So much to see, but you have really gone above and beyond! Utterly fantastic!! Have a great week, and many thanks as always!! Looking forward to a report at THE LAST LULLABY!! 🙂