Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder

And so the “Futurama” series ends (again), at least for the time being.  Nothing to say, really… none of these movies have been anything special, none of them have outright sucked ass either.  They’re all just… okay.  The first one was the best, I don’t like how all the others have tried to take on massively epic tales.  I prefer it when the stories are on a smaller scale.  So, anyway, whatever… I was in a bummer mood when I started watching, and the movie didn’t really lift my spirits but I guess there were a few good moments.  Rating: 6

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Simon of the Desert (rewatch)

One of Buñuel’s greatest moments, tragically cut short for budgetary reasons but still wholly satisfying.  Rating: 9

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The League of Gentlemen

Coming out right around the same time as Ocean’s Eleven, this is the story of eight ex-military men plotting an elaborate robbery.  Two minor complaints… it takes a little too long to introduce all the characters, and the ending lacks a little punch.  Otherwise, a good heist film… not exceptional, but should please any fan of the genre.  Rating: 7

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The Spy in Black

Apparently the first meeting of Powell (as the director) and Pressburger (as the screenwriter).  A decent spy thriller that rises above the usual rah-rah wartime propaganda and allows a (sort of) human face for the Germans.  You can definitely see the beginnings of that P&P touch,  although there is also an annoying inconsistency in when they have Germans speaking English or German.  It makes the early parts of the film rather confusing… also the music often drowns out the dialogue.  The plot is kind of hackneyed too, but heck, it’s entertaining enough.  Rating: 7

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The Exterminating Angel (rewatch)

My favorite Buñuel, but it’s awfully hard to watch with your in-laws sitting there commenting on how weird it is.  Nice to have good subtitles, though.  Rating: 10

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Amadeus (rewatch)

I still love this movie to pieces, but I really wish the theatrical version was included on the Blu-Ray.  The director’s cut does go on too long.  I would keep the scene between Salieri and Constanze, but a lot of the other added material could be removed.  Also, criticisms of the hi-def transfer have some merit.  Maybe I wouldn’t have noticed it if it hadn’t been pointed out to me, but the look is really soft and faces look a bit waxen.  Rating: 10

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Funky Forest: The First Contact

Goddamn it.  At first I thought this was going to be a movie I’d LOVE.  In the spirit of Monty Python, Survive Style 5+ and the better aspects of Phantom of Liberty, it’s a series of loosely connected absurdist skits.  Very unpredictable, very stylish, very fresh and for the most part very funny.  But I got turned off when things got all Cronenbergian with the grotesqueries and such.  That’s just not my bag.  And parts of it were either too self-consciously random or too repetitive.  But I really did like most of it, and if I could trim out about 20-30 minutes it might be one of my favorites.  Rating: 8

IMDb

A Scene at the Sea

Maybe I’m just getting crankier, but I think this is one of Kitano’s weakest films.  Yes, it has a tranquil poetry to it, mixed with very light comedy that makes it almost like a Tati film.  And yes, I cared for the main characters (is it me, or does Kuroudo Maki look like an Asian Rock Hudson?).  And yes, the ambiguously tragic ending is moving.  But man, a lot of it is really boring.  I understand that it’s about Shigeru’s self-discovery through surfing, but there is WAY too much surfing in this movie, and way too much sitting on the beach.  Not quite deep enough for a character study, not quite engaging enough for a meditative piece.  Hisaishi’s tinkly score gets annoying, too.  Kitano’s following film, Sonatine, is far better.  Rating: 6

IMDb

Love Conquers All

This feature by Tan Chui Mui is much like her shorts, in tone and pacing.  The message is very cynical, although the ending could be interpreted as either a message of hope or a prelude to more of the same.  Your appreciation of the film depends on how much you’re willing to accept and sympathize with the main character’s major decision.  I didn’t view her as naive so much as she was locked into her narrative doom.  I think the emotional issues involved are more complex than they appear at first glance.  The “lone palm tree” motif (you’ll understand if you see it) was a particularly clever touch.  However, it could definitely be argued that the film could be half the length.  Although most scenes add something, many of them are repetitive and/or unnecessary and/or too long.  And this is coming from a Ming-liang Tsai fan.  Rating: 7

IMDb

Les Amants (The Lovers)

I’m in a rut.  I’ve seen some good movies lately, even a few great ones, but I can’t remember the last time I got really excited about something.  It’s been a couple of months.  This one is merely good, at best.  Malle can typically be counted on for a watchable, well-crafted film, but he’s really one of the less compelling directors of the nouvelle vague.  The story plays out somewhat like a Harlequin romance novel… bored bourgeois housewife with a boring bourgeois lover finds true love in a moonlit night of steamy, unexpected passion.  Jeanne Moreau brings a small amount of complexity to the role, which is really the film’s saving grace.  I found myself disliking the character… despite the attempts to gain my sympathy in her rebelling against her conventional lifestyle, she still struck me as tremendously selfish and thoughtless.  But in the end, there’s a hint of self-awareness, a fatalistic realization perhaps that you can take the girl out of the bourgeois, but you can’t take the bourgeois out of the girl.  Besides this interesting nuance, I was mostly unimpressed although mildly intrigued.  But I am getting tired of these 6- and 7-point movies.  I need to find myself a new diamond in the rough to get jazzed over.  Rating: 7

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