Netflix Round-up

It feels like an eternity since we last spoke. I guess that's what happens when one works a 40-hour work week like a real person. The movies are kind of all over the place for this entry, but I definitely fell into a Grindhouse groove for a while.

The Witches of Eastwick -- George Miller
My girlfriend really dug this movie and I enjoyed it quite a bit, but two thoughts rose above everything else going on in the film: that Joe Dante should've directed it and that I was very impressed with how mangled Nicholson let himself get. For the latter, I think of the story from Ghostbusters that Bill Murray wouldn't let himself get covered in the whipped cream during the climax (which is why he just has a tiny bit on his head). Nicholson is a hot-shot, too cool for anyone persona, yet he literally gets dragged across the ground (well, his character, anyway). I was very impressed with his willingness to go anywhere for the part. As far as the former, had Dante directed this, then we'd not have Innerspace, so I guess I can come to terms with that.

My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done -- Werner Herzog
Paraphrasing an observation I read somewhere else, leave it to Herzog to turn a little story about a son murdering his mother with a sword into an excuse to film in Peru and China. I love Herzog and find that even his weaker films have sort of a hypnotic grace to them. My Son, My Son, aside from having an awesome title relies heavily on Michael Shannon who is always incredible, but seem to be most at home portraying mental imbalance (see Bug for further illustration and because it's terrific). The film can be a little talky, but it's still quite good.

The Red Shoes -- Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
Black Swan took so much from The Red Shoes that I was kind of surprised. The central relationship between dancer and (in the case of The Red Shoes) producer is nearly identical to the dancer/director relationship in Black Swan. Superficial similarities aside, The Red Shoes blows Black Swan out of the water. Powell and Pressburger are masters of cinema and I urge you to not only check this out, but the rest of their films, as well. Jack Cardiff is an amazing cinematographer and set the standard for Three Strip Technicolor with this film (according to the founders of Technicolor!).

Fort Apache: The Bronx -- Daniel Petrie
If it wasn't for Paul Newman, I probably would have stayed away from Fort Apache: The Bronx. It doesn't really cover any territory I haven't already seen in Serpico and The Prince of the City (did Sidney Lumet have a monopoly on police dramas?). That said, it's not a bad movie. Newman is awesome. The film gets the viewer frustrated in all of the right ways and the ending is appropriately joyful. Still, it could stand to lose about 15-20 minutes.

Mad Hot Ballroom -- Marilyn Argrelo
Talk about overlong movies. Mad Hot Ballroom is a documentary about a ballroom dancing contest for elementary school kids. Three schools are followed through the competition. Unfortunately, the most entertaining school is eliminated early. The rest of the film goes through the levels of competition, but it's exactly the same every time. When the championship finally comes around, you're just kind of over it. The film has long lost it's point about extracurricular programs and is all about the winning. It is fun to see the kids that are fully formed personalities and will be that way forever (Cyrus). It's fun for a little, but a trifle in the end. Also, it sounds a bit like a crazy porno.

Danger: Diabolik -- Mario Bava
With a description like:

No loot is safe when criminal mastermind Diabolik (John Phillip Law) sets his sights on stealing it -- and that's bad news for harried Inspector Ginko (Michel Piccoli), his police force and a whole army trying to capture the slippery thief. Using his prodigious wit and gadgetry that would make James Bond envious, Diabolik always gets away -- with help from his shapely partner (Marisa Mell) -- in this stylish caper flick helmed by Mario Bava.

and filmed Mario Bava, I was expecting so much more. Instead it's a pretty dull caper with some fun kitchiness. I'm thinking that maybe I should stick with his horror outings.

Four of the Apocalypse -- Lucio Fulci
And speaking of sticking to horror, man is this a sorry film. I tend to agree with the assertion that the worst offense for a film is to be boring and not only is this film boring, the horribly dated music is practically coma-inducing. Naively, I never expected spaghetti westerns to be bad. I've been so very spoiled.

Machete -- Robert Rodriguez and Ethan Maniquis
Easily my favorite of Rodriquez' films. I'd initially been against the idea of turning the Grindhouse trailers into movies and even making movies that are supposed to emulate the Grindhouse feeling and Machete didn't win me over at the start. It has the fake film scratches in the pre-credit sequence and I was afraid the whole film would be like that. Fortunately, Machete drops the facade to become it's own beast. And Danny Trejo is a beast. I just love that he gets top billing in a film. Tons of fun and even though it's inspired by the Grindhouse experience, there's little winking. Plus, it's tons of fun to think about the effort it must have taken to hide Lindsay Lohan's boobs behind he hair.

Eugenie de Sade -- Jesus Franco
If all soft-core porn is this boring, then I've been greatly mislead by scrambled TV channels. There really isn't anything good to say about Eugenie de Sade. I wasn't expecting some kind of sexy Salo, but the Marquis de Sade was insane! I want some insanity!

Buried -- Rodrigo Cortes
The opening credits are clearly inspired by Saul Bass, and that's OK with me. The whole promotional campaign for Buried was pretty amazing. I was hooked by the poster:

and sad I missed it when it was showing at my theater. It probably would've been best served as a short film, but as far as filming entirely within one cramped location without any respite, I have to admire the courage of the filmmakers. That's a gamble. I kind of want to do a double feature with 127 Hours.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind -- Stephen Spielberg
Going in to Close Encounters, my dominating thoughts were that I'd get so many more references in pop culture and that I really wanted to like it because the Blu ray is way cheap. I wasn't sure about the latter, though, because I don't really care for Spielberg. I only actively like three of his films (Duel, Jaws, and Jurassic Park), but I'm happy to chalk up a fourth. Close Encounters is visually amazing and totally absorbing. I can't help but think Chris Carter took a lot of inspiration for The X-Files from Close Encounters, especially Neary's quest. I watched the original theatrical version and am looking forward to checking out the others. And it's always nice to see Melinda Dillon (the mom from A Christmas Story) pop up in other films.