Cinemascope
for my own referenceWednesday, May 02, 2012
film list - 2 may 2012
autumn afternoon, yasujiro ozu- post war japan comes to terms with the trauma of war and what it does to a family through intertwining stories of the young, the middle aged and the old. military songs are played in bars and sung along with, marriages are arranged and broken. the camera moves in systematic perpendicular movements intercutting between the interiors of offices, restaurants and homes; and fragments of the city.
appunti per un film sull'india, pasolini - a 1968 film in which pasolini searches for a actors for a proposed film where a king sacrifices himself to a starving tiger. in sharp left wing rhetoric he conducts interviews with intellectuals and politicians and men on the streets.
phantom india, louis malle. also 1968 7 part documentary on india by a traveling Louis malle. gorgeously shot all over the country in color. we forgive the orientalism and understand the sarcasm and cant forget the images- dancers in chennai, bal thackeray in bombay, vultures plucking out the eye of a dead bullock.
l'eclisse, antonioni - a drifting story of a woman trying to find love or meaning in a new life- she moves from event to event, mother to lover. the film lifts to another level in the last few minutes when a deserted city waits for an appointment that might never come. the city is itself the narrative.
frost nixon, ron howard - biopic about the famous interview in which nixon admits he was mistaken. and david frost pulling the confession out of him. a war of words. entertaining.
tropic thunder, ben stiller - in which a crew filming a war film actually ends up in the middle of a war. silly and fun. robert downey jr plays a white man playing a black man.
cabaret, bob fosse - liza minelli in berlin in between the wars. complicated relationship issues and a need to be famous.
brief encounter, david lean- the railway station becomes the place for an illicit relationship to begin and swiftly end as the meetings become more and more public. rachmaninov piano concerto 2 plays gorgeously throughout.
the iron lady, phylidia lloyd - meryl streep does thatcher imitations and wins and oscar. where is sokurov when you need him?
fried fish, chicken soup and a movie premiere, mamta murthy- mamtas cinema city film is a making off in manipur. intelligent, fun.
the descendants, alexander payne- george clooney finds out about his wife's affair as she dies in a hospital room. at the heart of it all is ancestral land in paradise. a film about bourgeois american ideals. the american dream and its pastoral beauty.
extremely loud and incredibly close, stephen daldry- the son of a 9/11 victim searches the city for the owner of the lock of the key in a blue vase. warm fuzzy feel good american family dramas seem to be in.
the artist, michel hazanavicius- sentimental mirrors to hollywood's past. the conceit of the silent film only sometimes makes for interesting punctums in otherwise and entertaining but bland film.
hugo, martin scorcese - much better homage- this time an american returns the gift by paying homage to a french master. georges melies allows for some gorgeous images. the railway station in paris, the clocks...
beginners, mike mills - oscar winner christopher plummer in a soft romantic low fi drama about a father who comes out to the world after his wife for many years dies. ewan mcgregor is the son who eventually falls in love with a french actress visiting los angeles.
certified copy, abbas kiorastami- a day in the life of a traveling author and a single mother. they flirt and speak of originals and copies until their lives begin to reflect each other and possibilities. copy or original. intellectually might be interesting but actually a bore.
suddenly last summer, joseph mankievicz - tennessee williams over heated play gets cinematic treatment when the lines are delivered in as deadpan a sarcasm as katherine hepburns, and when the seductress cousin in as drop dead beautiful as elizabeth taylor. yet the film seems false. the sequence of the cannibalistic boys being the most memorable.
a dangerous method, david cronenberg- again the possible darkness of the exploration of sadomasochism, male chemistry and bonding- all seem tepid and safe. keira knightley makes faces quite a bit and the jung / freud love hate is not quite right.
naked civil servant, jack gold - a greta biopic about quentin crisp- gay icon of the 1930s to the 1970s. playful and fun. it rarely - if ever- gets into the sad gay life stories of so many such films.
grey gardens, maysles brothers - masterpiece observational documentary by the maysles in which a mother and her daughter go at each other in a fading mansion by the sea. objects are the residue of another life- longed for. another time.
raw deal, anthony mann – a man wrongfully convicted escapes to go claim the reward for taking the fall aided by his femme fatale girlfriend and her polar opposite- the sweet social worker. silly film.
mera naam joker, rak kapoor – raj kapoor indulging himself in this trudge through the women in his life. the sexuality fo the young rishi kapoor is rather nicely done- in misty hills and boys homes; the russian trapeze artiste story is the most forgettable and pointless- but the self reflexive song picturisation where he pulls bits from his earlier films is interesting; and the final half with padmini playing the boy woman is fun while the sex shift thing lasts. the end is of course made gorgeous only because of the incredible picturization of jaane kahaan… puppets and circus lights. scale shifts and melodrama.
maya darpan, kumar shahani- a illusory mirror? the rajasthani haveli is the prison where a woman listlessly walks through corridors and courtyards, takes long leisurely walks in the hot desert sun and flirts with a romance of sorts with an engineer from the city. dreams of assam and green fields haunt her days. she longs to escape but is held by tradition and duty. until she decides to throw it all away.
mirror mirror, tarsem singh – illusory mirrors from fairy tales- snow white recast as cool. julia roberts makes for a pretty good wicked stepmother. the visuals are stunning- especially the over the top costumes. the prince is cute too- becoming a puppy dog. the jokes are risqué enough for it not to be maudlin- and the end song- i believe i believe i believe i believe… is when tarsem singh lets his bollywood upbringing shine through.
golmaal, rohit shetty – ajay devgan, sharman joshi and tusshar kapoor in this comic caper about the boys running away finding shelter in a blind couples house. loud crass and watchable enough- though i cant really remember much.
the best of youth, marco tullio giordana – mega epic, 6 hours long about three generations of italian middle classes told through two brothers – one becoming a doctor the other a policeman. communist rebels, mafia and love, children and madness in one long long very watchable film.
memories of murder, bong joon-ho – korean dark murder comedy, where a serial killer in a small town has been killing and raping women in the fields when it rains. he plays a song on the radio every time he commits a crime. a small town detective and a city cop try (unsuccessfully) to find him. reminded me a little of the more recent turkish ‘once upon a time in anatolia’. but this was much darker and nastier.
avengers, joss whedon – a smash-up of all the biggest names in the marvel universe. the fun is in watching them fight each other as much as it is in the villains taking over the world. hulk is adorable, black widow hot, iron man is perfect as is thor. i did also not mind hawkeye. i don’t think it it possible for me to see manhattan being demolished by alien invaders without connecting it somewhat to 9/11. propaganda works. from both sides.
whos afraid of virginia woolf, mike nichols – on a saturday night demure college professor and his wife entertain their guests- a biology blonde profesor and his mousy wife, by playing vicious vicious games with each other. claustrophobic, terrific performances and some sharp writing.
don 2, farhan akhtar – farhan akhtar wants so badly to be hollywood- it makes you sad. the plot is a predictable bank robbery and has holes all over the place. shah rukh sneers his way through some terribly misplaced cool lines, poor priyanka scowls her pretty face and lara dutta’s natural warmth is flattened into happy moll-ness. none of the oomph or energy that made the original – i mean the amitabh bachchan one- so enjoyable.
a man escaped, robert bresson – bresson’s world war 2 prison escape drama. precise and exacting- every gesture is perfect. sharp. brilliant.
Le portrait de petit cossette – akiyuki shinbo – three part ova in which objects are haunted by the spirit of a girl murdered by her lover in 18th century france. The first part is disjointed fragments, the second more conventional in its structure with plot development, while the third is an explosion of images and sounds- none of which makes complete sense.
captain america, joe johnston - the world war 2 story, tesserats, frozen heroes and a evil leering villain- worse even than the nazis. the silly costume and the jingoistic patriotism is couched in innocence to make it palatable. it is no longer the age of rambo.
captain america, joe johnston - the world war 2 story, tesserats, frozen heroes and a evil leering villain- worse even than the nazis. the silly costume and the jingoistic patriotism is couched in innocence to make it palatable. it is no longer the age of rambo.
Labels: anime, bollywood, documentary, english, france, hollywood, indian documentary, indian experimental, iran, italy, japan, korea
Archives
February 2005 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 December 2011 March 2012 May 2012 July 2012
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]