February 2011 Movies

By A.R. | Published: September 20, 2011

Going back through my Netflix history and various records, I was more than a little surprised to find but one movie listed for February, a schlocky B picture called Zombie Strippers.  This seems…strange, but I can’t really argue with what the record shows.  I seem to recall watching a fair amount of Venture Brothers, borrowed from a friend, around the same time, though it is possible I have my time table screwed up there.

So what is there to say about a movie that features Jenna Jameson as an evil stripper who becomes a zombie?  Not much.  This movie is certainly not going to win any awards for feminist enlightenment, but it’s hardly the worst movie of its kind.  Moreover, it delivers on the promises made in the title.  There are strippers, and there are zombies.  There is some hasty setup of a military-manufactured zombie virus unleashed on an unsuspecting town, coupled with the cliche backstage drama of a naive smalltown girl trying to raise money for Granny’s operation through stripping.  A zombie shows up and the zombie virus spreads via the strippers.  The zombies are not entirely unconscious, and it turns out that being a zombie has a strangely erotic charge, which gives the strippers some advantage in their work.  Soon, they’re all clamoring to become zombies, while the owner of the strip club works on hiding the zombie infestation from customers.  Sprinkled throughout are some Philosophy 101 existential quandries, which at least show some effort on the part of the writers.  The look of the film is pretty cheap, the makeup is just good enough, and there’s plenty of blood and dismemberment to satisfy zombie and gore fans.  As far as cheesy horror is concerned, you could do a lot worse.

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January 2011 Movies

By A.R. | Published: September 6, 2011

Well, much to my chagrin, I’m running a few days behind on my monthly review project.  Since I’d like to have a new post by Friday or Saturday, I decided to go ahead and use the bulk of the text I originally wrote for January, with only minor modifications.  The movie I chose to tackle in the drawing was the iconic Rocky, which I must admit I rushed through and could thus be better.  Ah well, hopefully my work will improve as I continue with this series.  You can read about the process of creating this drawing on my main website.

In the meantime, here are the movies:

Avanti!

Late Billy Wilder comedy starring Jack Lemmon.  I’ve been told that late Wilder lacks much bite, but this film has its scathing moments, often saving its best jabs for obnoxious American tourists in Europe.  This might be reflective of the time, since the 70′s were not really a high point of pro-US fervor within the US.  Lemmon plays what is a surprisingly unlikable character, who over the course of the film evolves from a cynical traditional focused only on business to a man willing to enjoy life and possibility of a secret affair.

Gor

I’ve never read any of the books on which this was based, nor do I have any great desire to do so.  This is a pretty awful B-movie version with few of the visceral camp delights one enjoys in the form.  It also severely downplays what is of primary concern in the book series, which is the social system employed on Gor of which slavery (specifically of women) is an integral part.

Mad Men, seasons 2-3

I don’t normally cover TV on this blog, primarily because I don’t watch very much of it and also because the medium itself and narrative concerns are so different from cinema (which overall I find more interesting and challenging as a storytelling medium).

BUT…

I want to acknowledge the fast that I’m totally hooked on Mad Men and spent the end of 2010 and the beginning of this year catching up with the series on DVD.  There are numerous things to recommend about this series, from the depth of the characterization to a visual style that is more cinematic than TV-esque.  The detail of the period re-creation–costuming, sets, dialogue, character histories–is also quite impressive.  If there is anything that doesn’t work about the series, it’s that sometimes the over-arching story lines move at a very slow pace, requiring a great deal of patience for the eventual pay-offs.  While I have seen criticisms of the use of melodrama, I find the attempts to actually grapple with the issues of identity and morality elevate the series overall.

Rocky

I grew up with Rocky and the subsequent 80′s sequels, but when I noticed it on the AFI 100 list, I realized that I’d never actually see the movie in its entirety.  So on New Year’s Day, with nothing better to do, my significant other and I decided to watch it on Netflix streaming.

It’s not a perfect movie by any stretch.  While Adrian is perhaps the most likable character in the film, the plain spinster who takes off her glasses (and leaves them off) for a guy is stereotypical, even a bit silly (Hollywood “plain,” yay!).  And the inspiring underdog story has a Capraesque earnestness and simplicity that can be grating.  What strangely works is the gritty realism of the cinematography, which heavily utilizes location shooting and steady cams, along with the fact that few of the characters are easily likable.  Certainly not the greatest movie ever, but it has a certain charm that has not gotten old.

1984

Not entirely sure what to think of this movie, as it is a very close adaptation of the book (even, perhaps to its detriment).  I like the idea of it being shot in run-down parts of then-contemporary London and find the visual manifestations of Big Brother interesting.  There’s a retro-futuristic feel that invariably delights me on a personal level.  And I certainly don’t mind watching John Hurt.  On the other hand, it is often slow and unrelentingly bleak, the latter of which could be said of the book on which it’s based.  There’s definitely something lacking that’s rather hard to pinpoint, though I’ll give this film a mild recommendation.  Personally, I find Gilliam’s Brazil a more interesting, even more terrifying take, on Orwell’s classic totalitarian dystopia.

Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights

Has there ever been a truly successful adaptation of Wuthering Heights?  There are so many misses in this version that I don’t even know where to begin.  The dual casting of Juliette Binoche as both Catherine/Cathy is perhaps most problematic.  Not only because of her poor English accent but also for her failure to really convey the wildness and cruelty of Catherine.  And while Ralph Fiennes is quite easy on the eyes, his version of Heathcliff highlights only the sad, tortured elements, glossing over the obsessive vengefulness and hints of sociopathy.  And while I was glad to see that Lockwood was actually included, I’m not sure the framing with Bronte really worked.  Oh god, what else?  Is it possible to make an adaptation of the novel where Ellen Dean actually matters or propels the narrative?

Bah, there are so many things wrong I see no reason to recommend this one.

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Here’s the plan…

By A.R. | Published: August 22, 2011

Lady From Shanghai 2

Readers have probably already noticed that I haven’t bothered to update this blog in the last six months.  I swear I have not yet abandoned this blog, I have just been distracted by real life, busily searching for a fulltime job and feeling a general lack of motivation in creative pursuits.  I have still been watching movies as regularly as ever, reading a few blogs, and leaving comments here and there.

Back around February-March, you might have also noticed the re-design of this blog.  Since 2009, when I began the initial stages of redesigning my main website, I’ve been working to hone my WordPress design skills and decided it was high time to apply those skills to this blog.  The image used in the design is from a drawing I did based on a still from The Lady From Shanghai, one of my favorite noir films and certainly one of Orson Welles’s best (if not one of his weirdest).  The drawing above is the second installation from the series.  The idea of the current design was to integrate an image from a movie, along with my illustration style.

With that in mind, I’ve been toying with an idea for these last 6 months that would combine the two and give this blog a stronger focus.  Along with the usual reviews and rambling ruminations, I’m going to include drawn interpretations of stills of particular films.  Right now, there’s a long back-log of films I’ve seen, so I’d like to post monthly watch lists to make things easier.

Starting next week, this is the plan:

Every Friday I will post a list of movies seen for each month, along with capsule reviews or just general thoughts.  Each entry will include a drawing for my favorite film out of each batch–or the film that left the strongest impression.  The first 8 months should be complete by Halloween, leaving me the rest of the year to cover everything else.  I’m hoping this new regular format will bring some sort of consistency to this much-neglected blog and that it will offer some added interest for regular readers.  As always, comments are welcome!

(I’m also hoping that posting drawings in this venue will give push me to produce more and hopefully give my work some greater exposure.  Drawings will be made available for sale unframed.  Depending on interest, check my main site in the next few months for more info!)

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2010: End of Year Review

By A.R. | Published: February 2, 2011

2010 was a busy year for movie viewing, as I attempted to get through every pre-1960 selection in my AFI 100 project.  While there are still a handful of films I’ve yet to see, I can safely say that I managed to see most of them and am far better verse than when I began.  I’ll be posting a full report in another week or so.

Otherwise, I managed to see a few movies released since 2008 and even one release from 2010.  Grand total of features viewed was 52, 12 more films than last year.  This figure is not exact, considering that I often forget what I’ve seen on “bad movie nights” with friends.  It’s pretty close, nonetheless.

While I can’t say much about 2010 in terms of new releases, I can say that it wasn’t difficult to select a bunch of films I thought were pretty good.  What was much harder was whittling that list down to 10 films I really adored.  Of the 10, there are perhaps only five I can honestly say I connect with on a very deep level.  The rest are films that simply stick out from the rest of the quality films as being memorable and possibly worth seeing again.

Top 10 Movies of 2010:


The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946)

This is the sort of film I go back and forth on, and I’m still not entirely sure if it belongs on my Top 10.  What makes it so memorable for me is the cinematography of Gregg Toland, who presence elevated many films, and who Wyler put to very good use.  The depth of the visual storytelling in many pivotal scenes is impressive, and it is simply a lovely movie to watch.  Even aside from that, the performances by Frederic March, Dana Andrews, Myrna Loy, and Teresa Wright are all deft and believable.  And the script is well-written, dealing honestly with the after-effects of war.  While I do find it at times overly sentimental (especially toward the end), and I don’t particularly are for Harold Russell’s amateur performance, it is nonetheless solid movie-making.


Duck Soup (McCarey, 1933)

Honestly, this is just the funniest movie I watched in 2010.  While Duck Soup does manages to slip in some clever bits of political satire, it’s the pure silliness of the Marx Bros. and their anarchic hilarity that really won me over.  The editing, sound, and cinematography are really nothing special, but everything works well enough and the weak points are never too distracting.


The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Leone, 1966)

While I still need to re-watch A Fistful of Dollars and A Few Dollars More, I can comfortably say that this is one of my favorite Westerns.  Leone’s take is at times psychedelic and surreal, yet remains true to the period and to the form, even as it turns that form on its head.  If anything, it is one of the most stylish Westerns ever made and well worth its 3 hour running time.


High Noon (Zinneman, 1952)

It’s funny that I’ve included two Westerns on my list, considering that it’s not a genre I’m particularly into.  But High Noon is certainly one of the best, offering a more ambivalent heroism than the classic Ford/Wayne collaborations.  And unlike Ford’s influential visual style of broad expanses of Western landscape, Zinneman flattens the space and contains it with architecture.  It’s a pretty bold departure from the classic Western cinematic style.  One of Cooper’s best roles, too.


My Winnipeg (Maddin, 2007)

As a fan of Maddin, I must admit it doesn’t take much for his films to win me over.  His work from the last decade especially has exhibited a great deal of growth, and he continues to delight.  My Winnipeg is ostensibly a documentary about Maddin’ s hometown on Winnipeg, but threads of pure fiction and personal memories are seamlessly woven throughout.  It’s an entirely unique film that is often surprisingly funny and distinctly Maddin, one that perfectly captures the feeling of being trapped and entranced by place and the myths and memories therein.


Scarface (Hawks, 1932)

There was point at which I didn’t consider myself much of a Hawks fan.  And while I wouldn’t class him as one of my favorite Golden Hollywood directors, continued viewing has made me better appreciate his storytelling skills and contributions to cinema.  I’m no expert in gangster films, but Scarface is undoubtedly one of the best gangster pictures I’ve ever seen.  Certainly one of the best crime dramas.  It features a great central performance from Paul Muni, who is both childlike and monstrous in the role, and some highly effective visual storytelling to boot.


The Scarlet Empress (Sternberg, 1934)

After I saw this stylish Sternberg/Dietrich collaboration, I knew that it would end up on my Top 10.  While I hesitate at this point to call it one of my favorites, it certainly hits all the sweet spots and is very close to being a favorite.  Dark, yet flamboyant, it’s a high style affair that highlights Sternberg’s strengths as a visual director and Dietrich’s strengths as an often sexually ambiguous starlet.  A beautiful, weird film.


The Shop Around the Corner (Lubitsch, 1940)

I debated which Lubitsch comedy to include on this list, finally arriving at The Shop Around the Corner, a less risque affair than Trouble in Paradise, but no less charming.  The dialogue and film editing is snappy and full of wit, the story mature and morally aware, and Stewart and Sullavan are as adorable a leading pair as one could desire.  The 1930′s and 1940′s are as ripe a period for romantic comedies as you could want, so it’s hard to pick just one favorite.  This one definitely comes close.


The Steel Helmet (Fuller, 1951)

I decided to include this selection from director Sam Fuller because I was impressed by how he did so much with so little, believably conveying the feel of ground warfare in Korea on a limited studio budget.  Not only that, he tells an engaging story about war on the grunt level with a group of characters spanning age, race, and class–a striking accomplishment for the time.  Not a perfect film by any stretch, but a memorable and distinct contribution to the war movie genre.


Vicky Christina Barcelona (Allen, 2008)

This was another film I debated including on my list.  Though I enjoyed it a great deal, especially the writing, I wasn’t exactly blown away and thought Woody Allen could have made better visual use of the setting.  But no matter.  A lot of attention was drawn towards Penelope Cruz’s performance, which was very much in mold of her with with Almodovar; nothing new, but far better than one expects from most of her work in English language films.  The rest of the performances are all quite good, but I thought it was Rebecca Hall as Vicky who was given the greatest range to work with.   A mature, solidly made film with an ambivalent take of passionate love.

Complete List of Feature Films Viewed in 2010:
1984 (Radford, 1984)
2012 (Emmerich, 2009)
The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946)
Couples Retreat (Billingsley, 2009)
The Crazies (Romero, 1973)
Dial M for Murder (Hitchcock, 1954)
Duck Soup (McCarey, 1933)
From Here to Eternity (Zinneman, 1953)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Hawks, 1953)
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Leone, 1966)
High Noon (Zinneman, 1952)
The Human Centipede (Six, 2009)
Husbands & Wives (Allen, 1992)
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Gilliam 2009)
Indiana Jones & The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Spielberg, 2008)
Inland Empire (Lynch, 2006)
Intolerance (Griffith, 1916)
The Kids Are All Right (Cholodenko, 2010)
Land of the Dead (Romero, 2005)
The Lucky Ones (Burger, 2003)
Micmacs (Jeunet, 2009)
Meet Me in St. Louis (Minnelli, 1944)
My Winnipeg (Maddin, 2007)
Ninotchka (Lubitsch, 2939)
Our Town (Wood, 1940)
The Palm Beach Story (Sturges, 1942)
Panic in the Streets (Kazan, 1950)
Phantasm (Coscarelli, 1979)
A Place in the Sun (Stevens, 1951)
Redneck Zombies (Lewnes, 1989)
The Road (Hilcoat, 2009)
Rocky (Stallone, 1976)
Scarface (Hawks, 1932)
The Scarlet Empress (Sternberg, 1934)
Scott Walker: 30th Century Man (Kijak, 2006)
The Seventh Victim (Robson, 1943)
Shadows (Cassavetes, 1959)
The Shape of Things (LaBute, 2003)
The Shop Around the Corner (Lubitsch, 1950)
The Steel Helmet (Fuller, 1951)
Swing Time (Stevens, 1936)
Sylvia Scarlett (Cukor, 1935)
Terminator: Salvation (McG, 2009)
To Catch a Thief (Hitchcock, 1955)
Trouble in Paradise (Lubitsch, 1932)
Vicky Christina Barcelona (Allen, 2008)
Viva Las Vegas (Sidney, 1964)
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (Tashlin 1957)
Wise Blood (Huston, 1979)
The World of Henry Orient (Hill, 1964)
Wuthering Heights (BBC TV production, Giedroyc, 2007)
Zardoz (Boorman, 1974)

Feature Films Re-Watched in 2010:
The Big Sleep (Hawks, 1946)
Blood Sucking Freaks (Reed, 1976)

Posted in AFI 100, Cinema | Tagged | 4 Comments

High Noon & From Here to Eternity (Zinneman, 1952-53)

By A.R. | Published: August 13, 2010

highnoon

Two films directed by Fred Zinneman appear on the original AFI 100, High Noon at #33 and From Here to Eternity at #52.  On the 10th Anniversary list from 2007, the latter film shot up to #27, while the latter was dropped.  Both are undoubtedly classics, each released within a year of the other and iconic, reflecting the tenor of their time.  Like other German and Austrian directors who migrated to Hollywood in the 1940′s and 50′s (Lang, Wilder, Siodmak, Sirk, etc.), Zinneman brought an aesthetic sensibility influenced by German Expressionism, in addition to a seriousness and ambivalence the defines so many dramas of the period.  There is much to recommend in both film, though neither is by any means perfect.

High Noon stars Gary Cooper as Will Kane, a marshal set to retire after his marriage to young Amy Fowler (played by Grace Kelly).  After turning in his badge, he learns that Frank Miller (Ian McDonald), a criminal he brought to justice, has been pardoned and is due to arrive into town at noon to seek his revenge against Kane. While everyone in town encourage him to leave on the train with his wife, Kane decides to reclaim his badge and stand up to Miller.  Racing the clock, he scour the town for help, only to find that the townspeople, even his former deputy, are less than eager to volunteer.

The slow, deliberate pacing of the story and emphasis on Kane’s personal struggle to defuse tension separate High Noon from previous Westerns.  Zinneman purposely eschewed the grand, sweeping vistas favored by John Ford and others for minimal setups defined more by the architecture of the town.  The only noticeable camera movement occurs in the crane shot leading up to the climax, brilliantly edited to heighten the sense of urgency as Kane faces Miller and his gang.  Cooper was in his 50′s when cast as Will Kane and deemed too old for the role by some, but he’s arguably perfect in the role, with his mix of weariness, vulnerability and usual woodenness conveying an anxious and uncertain heroism that is rare in classic Westerns.  The moment when Kane, unable to round up a posse, realizes he must defeat Miller and his gang is heartbreaking, making the final victory that much more triumphant.

Much has been said about the politics underlying the story in High Noon.  During production, screenwriter Carl Foreman was summoned to appear at the HUAC and was subsequently blacklisted, causing many at the time to interpret the film as an allegory for the failure of many in academia and Hollywood to speak out against McCarthyism.  While it is likely that Foreman’s own experiences informed his script, Zinneman was more ambiguous about his intent, and High Noon‘s focus is broad enough to be interpreted from numerous angles.  In an article on the film at Bright Lights Journal, Manfred Wiedhorn suggests a possible interpretation that is far more conservative.  Indeed, High Noon never goes so far to entirely dismiss Western heroism in all its violence, even if its take is more ambivalent and nuanced.  John Wayne notoriously disliked the film, claiming that it was downright un-American for daring to depict the marshall as being in need of help or experiencing any self-doubt.  Personally, I find the approach in High Noon preferable to Wayne’s notion of Western/American heroism and would regard it as one of the best–at least most interesting–classic Westerns.

fromhere

Released roughly a year after High Noon, From Here to Eternity is a rather different film that also touches on the theme of the individual vs. the collective.  While today it’s probably best remembered for the sultry (and at the time risque) love scene between Deborah Kerr and Burt Lancaster on the beach, the film is a mature, slowburn drama in a similar vein to Kazan or Ray (albeit cooler tempered) and the films George Stevens began to make after WWII.  Based on a novel by James Jones, From Here to Eternity tells the story of life on an American military base in the months preceding the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Lancaster plays First Sergeant Milton Warden, a principled soldier committed to his job, who falls for the company captain’s wife, Karen, played by Deborah Kerr.  Karen comes with plenty of baggage, as rumors of her unfaithfulness at Fort Bliss abound, but she’s desperate to leave her unhappy marriage and suggests Warden apply for officer training so the two can run off together.  Alongside this struggle plays another story, this one starring Montgomery Clift as Private Robert E. Lee Prewitt, who has just recently been transferred to the base.  Learning of his reputation as a talented boxer, the captain recommends him to join the regimental boxing club, an offer that Prewitt refuses, having given up boxing after permanently blinding his last opponent.  His life on the base becomes more difficult, as he is harassed daily by the men in the company and given harsh punishments for minor offenses.  The only respite he finds is in his friendship with Private Angelo Maggio (Frank Sinatra) and a romance with nightclub “hostess” Lorene (Donna Reed).  Events come to a head with Maggio gets into a bar-room brawl with Staff Sergeant “Fatso” Judson (Ernest Borgnine), goes AWOL, and then is sentenced to the stockade.  Maggio dies after being brutally beaten by Judson, causing Prewitt to take his revenge and himself go AWOL.  The climactic attack on Pearl Harbor serves also as the pinnacle for both Warden and Pruitt, who like Will Kane in High Noon, must make the right choice for the sake of duty.

Like High Noon, which looks and feels quite different than most classic Westerns but is not particularly awe-inspiring in terms of aesthetics, From Here to Eternity sticks with a straightforward, not quite minimalistic, approach that places emphasis on the story and the characters.  Sergeant Warden is not one of Lancaster’s more interesting roles (despite the fact he was nominated for an Oscar), Clift does bring his unique blend of toughness and vulnerability to the role of Private Prewitt, and I daresay it’s my favorite of his performances thus far.  Like Brando and Dean, his presence made an indelible impression on the films of the period and certain reflect the underlying mood in post-WWII America.

Unlike High Noon, From Here to Eternity features a complexly structured story in which three different characters must navigate their individuality in the context of the collective (The Army, in this case), remaining principled and doing what is right.  Rather than show the military in a purely positive light, we see how it stifles and finally shuts down both Prewitt and Maggio and the harm it does to Captain Holmes’s marriage.  In the end, however, the principles of the institution remain, and Warden does what he can to defend the base, the base hat Prewitt ultimately returns to, leading us to a somewhat ambivalent conclusion.  The film ends with Karen and Lorene meeting, a fascinating scene that frames the film in a somewhat different light, while retaining that same ambivalence.  Though at times the film struggles under the weight of its story, it is nevertheless a very grown-up picture that remains honest about the difficulties of staying true to one’s self.

As noted above, I’d regard both films as deserving their classic status.  High Noon is arguably the more groundbreaking of the two, defying expectations within the Western genre at the time, but the somewhat lumbering From Here to Eternity did surprise me with its depth and complexity.  Top 100?  Maybe, maybe not.  But definitely worth seeing.

References for High Noon:
Commentary by Ted Goranson
Entry @ Film Reference
Twenty Four Frames Review

References for From Here to Eternity:
Entry @ Film Reference
Fifty Years Later, Village Voice review

Fred Zinneman:
@ Wikipedia
@ Senses of Cinema

Posted in AFI 100, Cinema, Fred Zinnemann, Golden Hollywood | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments