Mouchette (rewatch)

This is the first Bresson I’ve seen three times (four, if you count watching it with commentary).  I know this is a useless statistic, but I had to think of something to say after writing about this movie twice before.  One of the things I love about Bresson is how original he is.  There are those who have been influenced by him, and some who outright emulate him, but I can’t think of anyone before him who made films quite the way he did.  Like Aki Kaurismaki (who is blatantly influenced by Bresson), I tend to rate his films slightly lower than my true enthusiasm for them… something I need to think about, because I’m not sure why I do that.  Rating: 8

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All That Heaven Allows (rewatch)

Sirk’s brilliant melodrama still holds up beautifully, as both a subversive counterculture statement and as a wholly satisfying tearjerker.  Not to mention the gorgeous Technicolor.  Makes me want to revisit the other Sirks I’ve seen, and seek out the ones I haven’t.  Rating: 9

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Band of Outsiders (rewatch)

The first time I saw this, I figured it had opened up Godard to me.  After a long string of mostly unsatisfactory viewings, I had finally found one that really swept me off my feet, and suddenly I understood what he was all about and from that point on I’d adore all his films.  It didn’t work out that way.  This is still my favorite Godard… and still one of a very small handful that I enjoy.  He makes every scene interesting or playful or unusual.  He does that in other films too, but the difference here is he never annoys you with his smarty-pants didactic blah blah blah lectures.  He just has fun with it.  So I’ll probably never be a Godard fan, and I’m sure all the true Godard fans are sneering at me right now because this is most “accessible” film, but at least I have one that I can love.  Rating: 9

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Diary of a Chambermaid (rewatch)

One thing I’ve found with Bunuel’s films so far is that they all get better on a second viewing (even when they were brilliant the first time, like The Exterminating Angel).  I was rather unkind to this film 4 years ago, but now it doesn’t seem bad at all.  As Michael Atkinson says in his essay, there’s nothing wrong with it.  And yet it still lacks a lot of spark, and one expects something more daring, more unusual from Bunuel… especially during this period, which produced so many outstanding works.  Except for a scattered few moments (the old foot fetishist, the butterfly getting blown to smithereens) there’s not much to make you go, “THERE’S the Bunuel we love”.  Good as a movie on its own merits, but a bit weak considering its creator.  Rating: 7

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Tokyo Story (rewatch)

Do I even need to say it?  I’m all Ozu’ed out.  But even though buying these was a mistake, I can imagine wanting to see them again at some point.  Just not for a long, long time.  Rating: 8

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Late Spring (rewatch)

Same story here.  I like the movie, appreciate its finer points, but it’s simply not a favorite and I shouldn’t have bought it.  I also don’t like Hara’s character too much in this one.  I’m on her side, but she’s too passive-aggressive.  Rating: 8

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Early Summer (rewatch)

I’m battling a kidney stone, so I watched this movie in brief spurts between Percocet-induced naps.  My mantra on Ozu has consistently been “like him, don’t love him” and so I can’t explain why I decided to buy three of his movies on DVD.  Even this one, which is one of my favorites by him, is the kind of thing I would only want to watch on very rare occasions.  I do enjoy it, but it’s just not something I would ever reach for, unless I needed a Setsuko Hara fix, I guess.  I’ll have to see how I feel about rewatching the other two.  Rating: 8

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Naked (rewatch)

I had this DVD pegged as one that I shouldn’t have purchased, because the Jeremy character really does almost ruin the film.  In a story populated with believable and generally multi-faceted people, he sticks out like a sore thumb.  His sole purpose is to provide unnecessary contrast to Johnny, as if Leigh doesn’t trust his audience enough to pick up on Johnny’s good qualities.  However, his role is small enough to overlook his presence, or at least consider it as the one truly rotten part of an otherwise excellent whole.  The bleakness would be overwhelming if not undercut so frequently with the humor of Johnny’s rants.  Rating: 9

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Stardust

We have the book on our shelf because my wife is a big Neil Gaiman fan, but I’ve never read it.  Nor have I ever read “The Princess Bride” or “Howl’s Moving Castle”, but this film seemed like a hybrid of those.  It’s generally a fun time, with a few clever surprises.  Even though you know exactly how it’s going to end up, it’s the journey that counts.  But it’s far from perfect.  It’s usually slightly embarrassing when Americans try to speak in British accents, especially when it’s from a rather poor actress like Claire Danes.  Far more embarrassing is Robert De Niro mincing about, which is only supposed to be funny because it’s De Niro.  A lot of the effects are cheap-looking, and the appearance by Ricky Gervais is entirely too brief.  Still, there is a childlike charm to the proceedings, and Charlie Cox is a charismatic lead (kind of Brendan Fraser-ish, but without the bad movie baggage).  Rating: 7

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One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (rewatch)

Although not at all to be considered a substitute for the novel, it’s still one of my favorite adaptations.  Very memorable, with Nicholson at his most entertaining.  The new Blu-Ray looks pretty good, although the accompanying booklet sounds like it was written by a college freshman.  Rating: 10

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