Le Doulos -- Jean-Pierre Melville
I've spoken highly of Melville in this space before, and while not my favorite of his films, Le Doulos is still pretty great. One criminal seeks vengeance on another criminal who ratted him out, but there's much more than that. It explores themes of loyalty and friendship, but the viewer rarely knows where the characters stand in relation to those ideas. There's one hell of a continuous shot that you keep thinking is going to cut, but keeps going and a very Night of the Living Dead element to it (which sounds weird, but I don't want to give away too much... and yes I know NotLD came out years later). I wouldn't start with this if you haven't seen any Melville yet (Le Samourai is where I'd start), but if you dig his films, you'll dig this.
Mystery Team -- Dan Eckman
Mystery Team gets by mostly on my enthusiasm for Donald Glover (Troy in Community). Everything he does is hilarious (he has one of the best screams I've ever heard in this movie). The rest of the film is kind of dull and not too funny. It belongs to that genre of stupid/naive people getting in over their heads (Dumb and Dumber, The Brothers Solomon) but isn't nearly as good. Still, it's got some good chuckles and is available on Netflix Instant View. There are worse ways to spend your time (and I know people who love it, so maybe I'm just a funburgler).
The Road -- John Hillcoat
Hillcoat's The Proposition is an amazing film. Beautifully shot and acted and harrowing as anything I've ever seen. If anyone should make a post-apocolyptic film, it's him. But The Road was only OK. I haven't read the book, so I can't say much about that, but three things really bugged me. First, I didn't buy anything in the flashbacks. There didn't seem to be any real emotion tied into them and it didn't feel like the stories were developed enough for me to care or believe anyone's actions (mostly Charlize Theron's). Secondly, the cinematography of Javier Aguirresarobe is oppressive. I know they changed the skies after the fact for the mood, but it gives the film an artificial film which takes me out of something that should be gritty and realistic (and gritty doesn't mean shot all cinema verite style). Lastly, I wanted the son to die or run off or disappear forever. It's just one bad position after another. I know he's young and doesn't understand everything, but he doesn't have to be that naive. Still, it was cool to see some places I'd been here in Oregon (the beach and the waterfall, both with the same visiting friend). If you come visit me, I'll take you there, too!
Dark Star -- John Carpenter
This is a weird sci-fi comedy from Carpenter and Dan O'Bannon (writer of Alien, writer/director of Return of the Living Dead). It's a little too bizarre to assess what I thought. It's not entirely funny and the clawed beach ball antics go on way to long with little purpose (apparently, O'Bannon restructured that into Alien), but it has some inspired moments that recall Douglas Adams (the conversation with the nuclear bomb). For Carpenter's first film, it's definitely impressive and it's interesting that his first film is a comedy given the rest of his career. Also, this has nothing to do with the Grateful Dead. Finally, I don't know if the original version had the opening scroll, but the DVD I watched had one, which would be interesting since it came out two years before Star Wars.
Lost Highway -- David Lynch
I was WAY into Lost Highway up through the early points of Balthazar Getty's appearance. The home invasion/video tape stuff is incredibly creepy (admittedly, I'm digging on the home invasion genre right now) and Robert Loggia's rant about safe driving is epic. However, the more time I spent in the Getty segment, the more impatient I got and wanted to return to the Bill Pullman stuff. That said, it's everything you'd expect from Lynch, so if you like that, then you've probably already seen this... But, I can't not like any movie that introduced me to this:
And for good measure, the Robert Loggia scene:
Open House -- Jag Mundhra
I like the idea of people going to view houses and never leaving (get it? Because they were murdered), but Open House really missed the boat (or more appropriately, it didn't close the sale. Oh yes. That just happened). A lot of that has to do with a pretty stupid radio show plot line. I'd love hate on it more for having a killer that leaves more evidence laying around a messy roommate (not that what messy roommates leave laying around is evidence, but it might be. Anyway, the killer is messy), but the fact that the killer isn't caught using any of the makes sense with the rest of the film. The biggest thing I got out of Open House is that I have a second person I can compare my hair to (the first is Art Garfunkel): former wife of John Carpenter, Adrienne Barbeau (but, as a coworker noted, she has bigger breasts).
The China Syndrome -- James Bridges
I've liked several of the paranoia-thrillers of the '70s (The Parallax View, The Conversation), but Oscar nominations be damned, The China Syndrome was a bit heavy-handed. The "bad guys" are a little too cavalier in their ignoring of safety precautions. The film made me want to get up and defend nuclear power and I don't really have any strong affiliation to either side. The message is a little too in-your-face to be effective. I mostly liked the way the films resolved and there is lots of good stuff along the way, just be prepared for a STATEMENT (and it's pure coincidence that this showed up so close to the current nuclear disaster).
Winter's Bone -- Debra Granik
I'd been looking forward to seeing this film for a while. I missed it at my theatre, but I'd heard nothing but good things and the trailer looked great. Imagine my disappointment when I was severely underwhelmed. The biggest problem is that I don't believe any of the character's motivations outside of the main character. My summary of her quest: "you best not come 'round here... hell, no, I won't help you!... I'll help, but you won't get anywhere... get the hell out of here or we'll kick your ass!... grudgingly, I'll help you." I understand why it's structured that way, I just don't by that the entire community would treat Ree like she's her father. Certainly they would know as much about her as she seems to know about everyone else. At least we know that the redneck mafia is a thing now.
Sabotage -- Alfred Hitchcock
My favorite thing about Sabotage is that the proprietor of the theater featured in the film lives in the same building. There's something very appealing about going downstairs after hours for a late-night private screening. I don't have much experience with much of Hitchcock's really early work, though this certainly encourages me to go further (The Man Who Knew Too Much [non-Jimmy Stewart version], The Lady Vanishes, and The 39 Steps are the only ones from the '30s or earlier). I especially love all of the scheming and how the ending plays out. Plus, I learned that one wasn't allowed to transport film reels on public transportation due to its flammable nature (at least in England).
The Man Who Fell to Earth -- Nicolas Roeg
This would have fit in better last week during my bizarre and naked movie marathon. David Bowie plays the part he's played before: an alien. There's a lot of cool imagery, but the movie is very weird. I was left a bit confused at times, though I think I ultimately put it together (kind of, just don't ask me about it or I'll get lost again). I suggest you watch Roeg's Walkabout or Don't Look Now before giving this one a shot, but I know some of you Bowie fiends out there will ignore that advice, perhaps rightly so.
Three... Extremes -- Fruit Chan, Park Chan-wook, Takashi Miike
I don't really know how to discuss an anthology film in this space. Chan-wook's is, not surprisingly, my favorite of the three efforts, though Chan's may be the ickiest and Miike's the most suspenseful. Chan-wook's just featured a blissfully dark sense of humor (and a protagonist who's not much of a problem solver). I have to give Miike credit, though, even though his segment is very deliberate, he milks a lot of tension out of minimal tricks (it helps that his reputation precedes him). I'm looking forward to Three... Extremes II, especially since Kim Ji-woon is involved.
The Vampire Lovers -- Roy Ward Baker
Yet another Hammer Horror movie that falls right in the sweet spot of "not-really-scary/interesting" and "it's fun and look, pretty ladies (and boobs)!" I'm starting to feel like I'm just watching the same movie time and again with Hammer, but that's partially my fault since I've been sticking with mostly vampire movies. Methinks it's time to branch out. There is something that keeps drawing me back. Maybe it's the set design or the artwork or the boobs, but I don't want to stop watching them and would actually love to do a Hammer program at the theater.
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