Days of Heaven (rewatch)

Few films are better suited to a high-def presentation.  Absolutely gorgeous, and still a wonderful movie.  The first time I saw it, I thought Linda Manz’s narration was the biggest flaw, but with each viewing I appreciate it more and more, and now I think it’s the film’s strongest asset (besides Almendros’ and Wexler’s stunning cinematography).  Her observations – sometimes direct, sometimes non-sequitur — lend to the overall impressionistic feel.  Rating: 9

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Underworld U.S.A.

My judgment might be clouded on this one, I’m predisposed towards disliking Sam Fuller.  I tried to consider it on its own merits.  Still, I had some issues with it.  The performances and characters were very bland to me.  I just didn’t think any of these people were interesting and I didn’t get invested in them at all.  Also, and this is harder to put into words, but I got the feeling that Fuller was trying too hard.  The roughness, crassness and cynicism seem forced, or too on-the-nose.  As a late period (1961) noir, perhaps Fuller was just trying to push the boundaries.  But there are some excellent moments and touches: the “shadow murder”, the fate of Merkin’s daughter, Dolores Dorn, sucking on a piece of ice in the most suggestive manner possible.  I didn’t really enjoy it that much but I can see the appeal for some.  I’m on the fence between a 6 and a 7, so I’ll throw it a bone.  Rating: 7

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Fantastic Mr. Fox (rewatch)

I just reviewed this 6 weeks ago, so I’ve got nothing much new to add.  I picked up a few more amusing details this time (the “cuss” graffiti, Ash giving Kristofferon his shoe back after rescuing him).  A charming movie.  Rating: 9

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Vicki

A remake of I Wake Up Screaming, but since I barely remember that movie, we’ll ignore that aspect of it.  This movie has some okay noir elements, but would be pretty bland if not for one thing: Richard Boone’s riveting performance as Cornell the crazy cop.  It’s a very odd take on the usual “intuitive cop who always gets his man” role.  Another interesting bit of casting: Aaron Spelling in his first role.  The rest of the cast is rather underwhelming, although serviceable.  The story is decent as far as these things go… not too surprising, but not bad.  Overall it’s okay, but it really doesn’t do much to establish any kind of mood.  It kind of made me want to revisit the original, which has a better reputation and a better cast.  Although by all accounts this is nearly an exact remake, it’s odd that it didn’t ring any bells.  I guess neither one made much of an impression on me.  Rating: 6

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Undercurrent

Romantic/psychological melodrama with noir tones, not awful but leaning toward tedious and predictable.  Katharine Hepburn is the best thing about it, although it doesn’t make the most of her talents.  Robert Mitchum is pretty much wasted as well.  Watchable but forgettable, and rather long.  Rating: 6

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Sanjuro (rewatch)

This really isn’t as weak as I’d remembered.  It’s not quite as well-paced as its predecessor, but the immaculate framing and clever bits of business (camellias!) are still there.  Really where it falls short is the dearth of memorable supporting characters.  It might as well as be called Sanjuro and the Nine Deadweight Morons in regards to the young samurai that Sanjuro is trying to help.  Kurosawa even goes out of his way to keep them all in frame at the same time, as if they’re not worth considering as individuals.  And they aren’t, they’re boring.  And government corruption is a much less intriguing scenario than the one in Yojimbo as well.  Still, Mifune manages to carry the show well enough on his own.  And the captured guard is one of Kurosawa’s finest, funniest comic relief characters.  Rating: 8

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Yojimbo (rewatch)

I’ve been re-evaluating my stance on Kurosawa lately.  While I still love a lot of his work, he also did a number of films that aren’t all they’re cracked up to be, and I’ve been selling off some of the ones I’m not too crazy about.  But this will always have a proud spot in my collection.  It’s one of the most entertaining movies around, and moves like fucking gangbusters.  It’s got to be one of the best-paced there is, and makes 110 minutes feel like about half an hour.  It’s just so much goddamn fun, and Mifune is an absolute joy to watch.  Like most of the great action heroes, he relies on his skill as a warrior when necessary, but prefers to use his wits.  The technical aspects are impeccable, with perfect compositions (there are too many instances of genius framing to list) and a really enjoyable score.  There are only a couple of things that bug me.  The eccentric manner in which Tatsuya Nakadai waggles his pistol around from inside his shirt is… weird and wrong.  It’s definitely an unusual idiosyncrasy, but it just ends up looking silly.  Also silly: Daisuke Kato’s puffy-cheeked, buck-tooth expressions.  These are obviously miniscule complaints.  It’s still one of Kurosawa’s finest works.  Rating: 10

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Black Snake Moan

Although marketed as a trashy exploitation throwback, director Craig Brewer actually backs off from that fairly early in the movie.  What develops instead is tricky to classify, and yet nothing terribly new.  An offbeat redemption story with some folksy wisdom and troubled characters… I guess the best word I can come up is “Sundance-y”.  Kind of interesting and kind of not, simultaneously trying to embrace its characters and have ironic detachment from them.  After a while I wanted Brewer to just commit to being trashy instead of pussyfooting around it.  The weakest link is Christina Ricci.  Ricci can play this type of role (see Monster) but something about her performance here is unconvincing and a bit condescending.  However, the Samuel L. Jackson character is quite intriguing and he’s easily the best thing about the film.  Not a bad movie, I enjoyed it.  I just wish it had a little more edge, a little more insight, just a little more… something.  Rating: 7

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Witness

Here’s a movie I never had the slightest interest in, but I am still trying to tackle everything on the TSPDT 1000 list, and anyway it’s good to step outside your comfort zone once in a while.  It’s pretty much what I expected to be.  Like all of Weir’s post-70′s output, he has the skill to do everything right but lacks the heart to do anything great.  He even says in the interview on the DVD that he just wanted an “assignment”.  Everything about this movie is crafted well (except the horribly dated Maurice Jarre score) but nothing stands out.  It gets the jobs done and that’s about it.  Since I’ve got noir on the brain lately, it actually occurred to me that in the right hands, this might have made a good noir film, combining certain elements from On Dangerous Ground and Kiss of Death.  But as it is, it’s just purely functional and formulaic.  Kudos for not treating the Amish like a freak show, I guess, although I still think they’re silly.  Rating: 7

IMDb

Clash By Night (rewatch)

This movie is a lot better than I initially gave it credit for.  Terrific dialogue, good performances, and a boiling love triangle in a melodramatic style reminiscent of Sirk.  But it’s not noir, at least not in my book (more and more I’m learning that noir has a different meaning for everyone).  The noir I like requires high stakes: someone’s going to get killed, or going to jail for a long, long time.  Some might argue that love is the highest stake of all, and some of the best noirs use love as a lynchpin, but for me there has to be more than just romance on the line.  So it’s not film noir, but it’s still pretty good.  Except for the ending, which comes far, far too easily.  It’d earn another point if there was more of an air of doom or doubt to it.  Rating: 7

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