Pink Floyd: The Wall (rewatch)

Now here’s one I probably could have done without, only because I’ve seen it so many times.  This was my favorite movie in the universe when I was a teen, and every second of it is burned into my brain.  I guess it’s nice to trot it out every few years and relive the memories, though.  Also, this is my first time seeing it since watching The Dam Busters (a rather clever choice, I now realize, since it’s a movie all about breaking down walls), which gives it kind of a new spin.  Alan Parker had a string of good-to-very-good movies, many of them cult classics to some degree: Midnight Express, Fame, The Wall, Birdy, Angel Heart, Mississippi Burning.  But he never churned out a masterpiece or developed his own style, and eventually went downhill (culminating in the awful Life of David Gale).  However, I think this one comes closest to greatness.  But maybe I only feel that way because it’s so personal to me.  It’s the first record I bought, the first videotape I owned, and it was the first time I walked out of a theater feeling like I’d just seen something that would change my life.  It didn’t, of course, I was just obsessed with Pink Floyd, but it was a cool feeling nonetheless.  The film is really unforgettable and stunning in some ways.  The Gerald Scarfe animation, the overall production value, the various juxtapositions between past and present.  It wasn’t the first time a movie had been based on an album, but for my money, it’s the best realization of the concept (and I wish there were more like it… how cool would it be to have an adaptation of “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway”?).  Oh, there are flaws.  A few moments are silly, and I actually hate the entire trial scene, and it’s a bit hard to swallow Roger Waters’ relentless self-pity.  But it’s so close to my heart I can’t help but love it, even after some 50-odd viewings.  Rating: 9

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Unforgiven (rewatch)

I’m down to only 34 movies left to watch, which sounds like a lot but not long ago it was well over 50.  Hopefully I can make a big dent in the stack this weekend (probably not, though, because I intend to watch Blade Runner and there’s many hours of bonus crap on there).  Anyway, this is one of several from my recent shopping spree that I wasn’t sure I should have bought, but it turned out to be a good decision.  Really an incredible, layered film that occupies a full spectrum of morally grey area.  Beautifully shot, scored and performed (except for Saul Rubinek) as well.  Rating: 9

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Rebels of the Neon God (rewatch)

This was the only Ming-liang Tsai film that didn’t strike a chord with me or linger in my memory, so seeing it again was a bit like watching it for the first time.  Parts of it felt familiar, of course, because many of Tsai’s usual elements (which I don’t think I need to go into again) are present.  Still, this is the least Tsai-esque of his films, especially in how it avoids his trademark minimalism.  You could easily lump it in with other “restless youth” movies by Wong Kar-Wai,  Hsaio-hsien Hou or Edward Yang.  So it’s not that distinctive, but it’s done very well and lays the groundwork for his future films.  Rating: 8

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The Story of Qiu Ju (rewatch)

Just amazing for such a simple film, and the perfect illustration of how a small story can reveal volumes about life.  There isn’t a sour note in the whole thing, everything about it is wonderful and immersive.  Very warm and funny and all the cultural details are fascinating, and the ending just blindsides you.  Zhang really shines with this kind of movie, and I’m starting to think I ought to give The Road Home another chance.  Rating: 10

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Calamari Union

About 15 guys (all named Frank, except one) embark on an epic journey to get to… the other side of town.  It’s not as easy as it sounds.  It reminded me a lot of Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.  And like Kaurismaki’s later film, Leningrad Cowboys Go America, it’s essentially an absurdist travelogue, with a little more “absurd” and a little less “travel”.  Not quite as funny, as some of the monologues call a halt to the comedy.  But otherwise a really fun time.  Rating: 8

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Juno

I was really, really surprised to find myself enjoying this.  Everything I’d heard about the dialogue and the indie-by-numbers script had me dreading it.  And there is some merit to those criticisms.  After all, you have to expect a certain degree of forced quirkiness when it’s written by someone who calls herself “Diablo Cody”.  But if you take away the Rainn Wilson scene (one of the most painfully overwritten scenes I’ve ever heard) then it’s really just Juno who embodies those characteristics, and that could even be expected from a high schooler.  Yes, lines like “honest to blog!” made me wince, and the hipster music references were pretty bad, but I was still won over by the depth of the characters, and the genuine warmth of the film.  It even made me like The Moldy Peaches a little bit.  Rating: 8

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Salesman

Very compelling doc about four door-to-door Bible salesmen.  I have to wonder if this was an inspiration for David Mamet while writing Glengarry Glen Ross, the similarities (especially in the lingo) are hard to ignore.  What’s most remarkable is how invisible the Maysles are, one never feels that the camera is influencing the action (although I’m sure it did, at least a little bit).  Rating: 8

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The Good German

Soderbergh’s tribute to noir… most prominently The Third Man but also notable nods to Casablanca and others (including, rather anachronistically, Chinatown, with a lead character named Jake who spends half the movie with a bandage on his ear).  He does wonders with the photographic style, the film looks absolutely beautiful.  But it’s all too self-conscious and gimmicky, and even on paper sounds like a bad idea.  Peppering the film with nudity and the f-bomb (it’s odd to hear so much profanity tumble out of Tobey Maguire’s mouth… the boy cannot swear convincingly) is pretty much a no-win situation.  Doing it in a movie SET in the 40′s is one thing, but when you’re trying to emulate a movie FROM the 40′s, it not only shatters the illusion but calls far too much attention to the novelty of the project.  When you remove the gimmick, what’s left?  Well, not a bad story at all, but not a great one either.  A pretty good thriller with some interesting commentary on the war.  Not really worth watching, but the cinematography is very nice.  Rating: 6

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Atonement

Okay at best.  The story contains a couple of interesting twists, but doesn’t really explore its themes very well.  I only cared about Briony; Cecilia and Robbie were very bland characters portrayed by very bland actors.  The scenes of Robbie in France were largely unnecessary.  They seemed designed primarily so Wright could squeeze in his long tracking shot, which has apparently become the cinematic shortcut to being considered a great director.  I liked the ending, but I thought it was a dreadful choice to have Redgrave spell it out so plainly.  The score was horribly overbearing, really obnoxious (no wonder the Academy nominated it) .  Also, Knightley’s style of rapid mumbling can be difficult to comprehend.  The film did look nice, but then again, so do most movies nowadays.  Rating: 6

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The Man Who Loved Women

Another unimpressive (but not bad) film by Truffaut.  I think he makes his point rather early on and then continues to revisit it over and over again.  Some of the anecdotes are amusing but mostly they just kind of flutter by without leaving much of an impression.  It definitely could have been about 30 minutes shorter.  Perhaps I’m setting the standard too high for Truffaut, but I really expected something more interesting.  Rating: 6 

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