Death in Venice (1971)

Italian director Luchino Visconti brings Thomas Mann’s short novel to screen in a beautiful radiant way.  This is Visconti’s most gorgeous looking film, proof he was as great a director as most critics claimed.  I was in doubt, especially after seeing The Damned (1969).  But this one sealed the deal for me.  Gustav vacations in Venice.  While staying in a hotel he becomes infatuated by a young teenage boy staying there with his mother.  It’s as intense a crush as any I’ve seen in film.  Soon Venice falls under a cholera outbreak but even though he was planning to leave, he can’t resist staying so he might connect with the young teenager.  Using Gustav Mahler for his score to seduce us into the main character’s passion, Luchino succeeds in doing what most films fail to do and that’s recreate a novel’s inner spirit without feeling like you’re reading a book.   My only complaint is that it does run a bit long at 130 minutes.   I wonder if it could have been edited a bit tighter.  Grade: B+

The Last Metro (1980)

Truffaut makes one of his best films, taking us to a theater during the French occupation of WWII. Catherine Deneuve plays an actress who runs the theater after her husband fled the country, or so it is believed.  Actually her husband played by Heinz Bennent lives in the basement, writing and directing from behind the scenes.   Enter Gerard Depardieu, an actor who just joins their newest production where he plays opposite Deneuve.   Soon a love triangle of sorts unfolds and the dramatic rewards are tremendous.   I love this film.  It was like a better version of To Be or Not to be (1942).  I can’t help but wonder if this was this film that inspired Mel Brooks to remake the classic Ernst Lubitsch film.  It makes me sad that Truffaut would only go on to direct two more films.   At least we have films such as this one to inspire many future generations to come.  Grade: A

The Magic Flute (1975)

If you’re going to film a stage version of Mozart’s famous opera, you can’t really fail with a director like Ingmar Bergman at the helm.   He sets the mood by taking you into the audience as the overture plays, showing the faces of all ages, as if to say this is for everyone to enjoy, come with me.  Then you get to experience the magic of a fairy tale set to music by a genius.   I’ve never seen this opera before and knew nothing of the tale it’s based on but I did enjoy it.   I would recommend this for anyone who enjoys theater and especially opera.  Of course I’m not a huge fan of opera and I liked it so maybe you just need to be opened to older styles of entertainment.   Grade: B+

The Third Generation (1979)

I guess I can’t get enough Rainer Werner Fassbinder.  After finishing his mega film Berlin Alexanderplatz I decided to view this dark comedy that mocks the German terrorist group the RAF.   The RAF are not mentioned by name but if you know even a little bit about German history during the sixties and seventies it’s very much implied.  It’s not a particularly funny film but it does have a great sarcastic approach to its subject.   I can’t say it will stand the test of time, it feels old and unmade but it’s a great example of what kind of artist Fassbinder was.  Grade: B

The Conjuring (2013)

James Wan sure knows how to make spooky films but unfortunately for me, this one was really unsatisfying.   Without giving too much away, the ending left me gagging.   Was this a Hallmark Movie-of-the-Week or a horror film?   Is this Christian propaganda or am I too easily annoyed by such supposedly true stories?  Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are fantastic as husband and wife paranormal investigators who assist in helping Ron Livington and Lili Taylor’s family, the Perron’s with the haunted house they just purchased but in the end I felt beat over the head with scary effects and cheesy sentimentality.   Lili Taylor, an actor I love, gives one of her worst performances.  I felt bad for her because what the script was asking from her almost no actor could make believable.    In the end I’m tired of exorcism movies and here, while technically well-made, Wan failed at coming up with anything new to excite me.   If you’re overly religious and easily manipulated by teary faces and moaning mothers than this will probably succeed at entertaining you.  I just wanted something more menacing I guess.  Grade: C+

Spoiler Alert:
Not all horror films have to have unhappy endings but if you’re going to have one, please keep it mysterious and scary.  Poltergeist is a great example.   Everyone lives but not without being forever changed and emotionally scarred.   Here it’s all joy and we’re going to live happily ever after.   Yuck.

Harlan County, USA (1976)

For those who don’t understand the reason we have unions, watch this documentary which won an Oscar in 1976.  It puts the viewer right on the front lines of a strike between miners and the Coal Company (owned by Duke Power) in Kentucky.    Barbara Kopple directed the film while living with the strikers and you really get a sense of these people and their struggles.  Whether its black lung or the tactics to bring in scabs, the Coal Company is the villain in this historical document and I feel it’s an accurate portrayal.   Grade:  A

Playtime (1967)

Jacques Tati was a genius.   A visual master at creating humor by showing us the world in all its quirky silliness.   Very subtle but razor sharp wit, this guy’s work should be watched by everyone.  His fourth film was his most ambitious project yet.  He practically built a city block to make this movie and I’m glad he did because I don’t know how else he could have shot it.   Here he comments on the modern world and how it disconnects us and makes us robots.  I wonder what Tati would have thought of our world today with Facebook and iphones?   He certainly believed in keeping life simple and provincial as seen in his earlier films, especially Mon Oncle.   Just understand this isn’t laugh-out-loud humor, it’s humor with a grin of joy.   No one today comes close to making movies as smart and sly as Tati did.   I doubt any one ever will.   Grade: A

Of Mice and Men (1939)

John Steinbeck’s famous novel about drifters looking for work during the Great Depression, the smart one named George and his mentally challenged friend named Lennie, was first adapted in 1939 by Lewis Milestone.   Burgess Meredith is a sensation as George and Lon Chaney Jr. gives his best performance as Lennie.  The two have great chemistry and that just makes this tragic fable that much more memorable.   I don’t know why this film feels so genuine.   Maybe it’s because it was made so soon from when the book was published and the black and white imagery harmonizes with the story’s themes.   All I know is that this is a wonderful sad movie worth watching, especially if you’re a fan of the book.   Grade: A

La Femme Infidele (1969)

Claude Chabrol knows how to construct suspenseful thrillers.  Here he follows a husband who discovers his wife is cheating on him.  What transpired was remade by Adrian Lyne as Unfaithful.   I love the remake and was delighted to see that the original holds up just fine.  This is a really good film if a tad bit dated.    If you like Chabrol’s other films you’ll love this one, it’s a slyly told cautionary tale.  Grade: B+

Pacific Rim (2013)

What's the definition of a Summer movie?  How about giant robots battling giant monsters from the deep?   Oh yeah, that's what director Guilliano Del Tirro gifted us this July and it's been a while since I remember having this much fun in the theater.   I sat there giddy with geekiness as a simple but well-crafted plot took shape.   Like the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion and classic Japanese Godzilla movies, we have it all.  Cliches are tweaked.  The cast is international and the awesomeness is complete.  It's frustrating when such a blast of a good time loses the box office to Adam Sandler but I'm not surprised with today's audiences.  Hopefully this will pull enough of a following to grant us a sequel.  I want to see what Del Tirro has up his sleeves a second time around. Grade: A-

Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

Rarely does an author get a chance to write and direct the movie of his own book.   The reason why is because it rarely turns out any good.  Stephen Chbosky just proved that assumption wrong.    This is a wonderful coming-of-age movie that surprises on so many levels.   Charlie is a shy and emotionally troubled teen who becomes fast friends with two older high school teens, Sam (atha) and Patrick.  They introduce Charlie to their friends and before our eyes Charlie opens up, falling in love with Sam and confronting a dark secret that he needs to confront if he’s ever to truly mature.   I’ve always felt a good book adaptation will make you want to read the book and this is certainly the case.   Grade: A

Continuum (Season 1)

Time travel is such a great concept and it’s always fun to see it used for a television show.  This Canadian production stars Rachel Nichols as a police officer from 2077 who accidently gets sent back to the Present with a terrorist group.  Now with the help from a teenage genius played by Erik Knudsen who can connect to her brain from his home super computer via an implant she must pretend to be a government investigator so she can stop the terrorists from changing her timeline.   The production value is excellent and while the writing isn’t consistent, it’s still an entertaining work of science fiction.   Mrs. Nichols shows promise as the lead, reminding me of the last season of Alias when I assumed she’d be the next big star.   As with all time travel entertainments you can’t get too caught up in the details, over think all the possible paradoxes such a situation would create and you’ll forget to just have a good time.  This is escapist fare and worth checking out.   I’m looking forward to the second season which for any television show means its doing something right.  Grade: B+

L'Enfant sauvage [The Wild One] (1970)

Based on a true story, a late eighteenth century French doctor tries to tame an abandoned child found in the woods.   Without human contact, the child (named Victor) is basically an animal and many consider a helpless cause.   What I love about this film is its simplicity.   It doesn’t have any fancy music or flashy editing it’s just the story told in a naturalistic way.  Director François Truffaut casts himself as the doctor and services the film well, considering at times the doctor acts like he’s directing Victor instead of teaching him at first.  And the young actor, Jean-Pierre Cargol, who plays Victor does a sublime job, so much so it feels like you could be watching a documentary.  I’d have to include Jean-Pierre in the top ten best child actor performances of all-time.  There are many beautiful moments crafted by a master filmmaker in his prime and at 80 minutes it ends perfectly without overstaying its welcome.  Grade: A

Summertime (1955)

I consider this David Lean’s Venice Travel film.   Beautiful color cinematography captures the city in all its 1950s splendor.   I can imagine millions of Americans dreaming of taking their vacation to Venice after seeing this film.  Katherine Hepburn is on holiday, an unmarried woman on vacation who falls under the spell of a suave Italian shop keeper.  It’s a struggle for an independent woman to find herself in and I can see why such a role would have attracted an actress like Hepburn.   This was the ‘50s version of Eat, Pray, Love.  Grade: B+

Les Miserables (1935)

Victor Hugo’s massive novel is brought to life in this Darryl F. Zanuck production starring Charles Laughton as Inspector Javert and Fredric March as Jean Valjean.   Ignoring the musical being that it’s a different kind of adaptation, this is probably the best film version of the story to date.  Yes, the writers made changes but as a work of cinema it’s very well made.  I especially liked Charles Laughton’s performance which is how I plan to visualize the character when I someday tackle the reading of Hugo’s masterpiece.   Director Richard Boleslawski had a short Hollywood career, dying too young at forty-eight; this is probably his most known work.  Grade: B+

Romeo and Juliet (1936)

George Cukor directs Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer in an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s most famous love story.  First off, it’s hard to ignore that the principle actors are way too old to be playing young lovers.   Both Howard and Shearer are excellent but it’s a bit annoying seeing adults pretend to know nothing of sex.   While a fine example of early adaptations of Shakespeare, it’s really not worth seeing unless you like the nostalgia of films made in the ‘30s.   I’d suggest watching Zeffirelli’s version made in 1968 first if you’ve never experienced this legendary tragedy.  Grade: B

Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980)

While on many best films lists (because it was shown in some movie theaters at the time), this German television production is a landmark in Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s career, his great magnum opus.   I’ve heard complaints that it’s so long at 15 and half hours but if you watch this as you would binge on a season of any television program today it’s very manageable.    Yet it does take patience and an understanding of the many influences of Fassbinder to enjoy it.   For one, it’s a unique viewing experience, a hybrid of film and theater.   Experimenting with Brechtian concepts Fassbinder creates multiple layers both with what you see and what you hear.   Unfortunately being an English speaker much of this is lost in translation.   What might also challenge many non-German speaking viewers is that with all the long bouts of dialogue and monologues throughout the story you might feel like you’re reading a book (with the subtitles) instead of watching the many amazing performances from its cast.  Gunter Lamprecht’s tortured portrayal of Franz Biberkopf is epic and in my mind one of the great performances in film history.   Add Babara Sukowa’s unforgettable creation as Mieze to counter Gunter and then Gottfried John as the loathing Reinhold and you have a work any lover of great acting must see.  Still various cinephiles talk of this series as an endurance test, and to be honest I can understand why.  It’s a different kind of beast, but one I found very rewarding, not just because it’s a fantastic character study of a demented and unusual human being, but, because it’s a historical document of an artistic collaboration unlike anything else out there, a real gritty work of art that sadly will probably be misunderstood and avoided because of its radical style and deplorable characters.   Which inspires the question: did I like the film for its story or the accomplishment?   It’s not
a happy experience but I hold it in high regard regardless.   Grade: A

Spoiler Alert
Below is a breakdown of the story (for those of you curious and don’t care about spoilers).

Part 1 “The Punishment Begins”
Franz Biberkopf gets out of prison for killing his girlfriend, Ida.  What does a murderer to do once free for such a crime?   Well, visit the twin sister of your victim and rape her.  (I repeat this is not a happy work.)  He drinks with an old friend named Meck and then gets a new girl friend named Lina.   He almost has to leave Berlin but is able to stay because he signs up with the Prisoners’ Aid.

Part 2 “How is One to Live if One Doesn’t Want to Die?”
Franz tries to get work, first by selling ties and then Nazi newspapers.   He has a lengthy conversation with a Jewish friend and a communist about the literature he’s hawking.  He’s really just a guy down on his luck trying to get by, trying to start his life again.  Back at the bar he challenges a group of communists by singing a German song to counter the Internationale.   Max’s bar is one of the main set pieces of the show.

Part 3 “A Hammer Blow to the Head Can Injure the Soul”
Lina sets Franz up with Otto who sells shoe laces.   Franz has sex with a widow while on his route and when he tells Otto, Otto takes advantage of the widow by stealing from her.   When Franz finds out what Otto did he violently rejects the man.  Lina ends up with Meck.   I really liked Franz and Lina’s relationship and was at first disappointed to see it end but that’s Franz for you, a real woman magnet.  (Who would have thought a girlfriend killing ex-con could attract so many women?)

Part 4 “A Handful of People in the Depths of Silence”
Alone and depressed, Franz drinks himself into a stupor.   This was probably my least favorite section.  

Part 5 “A Reaper with the Power of Our Lord”
We meet Eva (a prostitute who’s part mother and part sister to Franz), Pum (the gangster) and then Reinhold (the villain of the story).  Here Franz seduces Reinhold’s girlfriends for him when this supposed friend tires of them.   It’s a very ugly business, trading girls like leftovers and it’s a perfect way to demonstrate Reinhold’s character and his relationship with Franz.  It’s here the story of Franz gets interesting and more engaging.

Part 6 “Love Has Its Price”
Now with Cilly (one of Reinhold’s exs) Franz joins Pum on an illegal job.  As they drive away, Reinhold tosses Franz from a moving truck.  What a nice guy. 

Part 7 “Remember—An Oath can be Amputated”
Franz is alive but lost his right arm.  Eva and her boyfriend Herbert help him out. 

Part 8 “The Sun Warms the Skin, but Burns it Sometimes Too”
Eva introduces Franz to Mieze, the woman who ends up being Franz’ true love. 

Part 9 “About the Eternities Between the Many and the Few”
Mieze works as a prostitute to support Franz.  Franz at first doesn’t understand but soon accepts her.  Now Franz is her pimp.

Part 10 “Loneliness Tears Cracks of Madness Even in Walls”
Eva wants to have Franz’s baby and Mieze is delighted.  Franz first thinks she’s leaving him and but she only leaves with a client.  Still Franz is very sad.

Part 11 “Knowledge is Power and the Early Bird Catches the Worm”
Reinhold and Franz meet up and Franz wants him to meet Mieze.  While hiding (to surprise Mieze) he witnesses Franz beat up Mieze for admitting she loves someone else.  Reinhold saves her and then Mieze and Franz make up.   This is an amazing scene.  It’s violent, shocking and beautiful in an insane kind of way.  Gunter and Barbara deserve acting awards for what they did here; but alas, being this was some obscure television program, no one would receive any such accolades.    

Part 12 “The Serpent in the Soul of the Serpent”
That snake Reinhold gets Meck to set up a meeting with Mieze.   Reinhold kills her.   Remember that Franz considers this guy his best friend.   How messed up is that?

Part 13 “The Outside and the Inside and the Secret of Fear of the Secret”
Meck takes the police out to Mieze’s body and Franz is overjoyed to learn that Maize is dead, not because she’s dead but because that means she loved him and had not left him.  

Part 14 “My Dream of the Dream of Franz Biberkopf by Alfred Doblin, An Epilogue”
Here we have the experimental theater aspect of the project with Franz dreaming of everything from being processed in a meat packing plant and another scene where he gets crucified.   It’s surreal and very theater of cruelty.  My only probably with this section is that it’s a bit long and uneven.   But still this section has many visuals to force one to think.  When awakened from his dream, Franz testifies at Mieze’s murder trial.  Reinhold is sent to prison and Eva has a miscarriage.  Franz finds work in a garage. 

The Awakening (2012)

This is one of those classic-style ghost stories like The Others or Woman In Black.   It has what you would expect and desire from such a tale: an eerie setting (a school), a creepy ghost child with a blurry face and a tangled mystery.  Rebecca Hall plays a respected educated woman who proves ghosts are hoaxes.  She's written a book on the truth about ghosts and yet a part of her would like to believe.  She's invited by a school teacher to investigate a ghost at the school he teaches.  Her job is simply to prove the ghost is actually one of the boys playing a practical joke, a joke that had gone horrible wrong after a student died recently.  What turns out to be a simple investigation soon becomes a dark journey into her own heart.   Less a scary film and more an artistic period drama, it's certainly one of the better classic ghost stories put to film in awhile.   I really enjoyed seeing the mystery unravel and while a bit of a stretch it's quite satisfying.  Grade: B+

Spoiler Alert:  This has one of those "open to interruption" endings that is supposed to get the audience talking afterward.  It's not at all as successful as Nolan's Inception but I didn't hate it.  Still I kind of wish the film makers would have just let us know if she's a ghost at the end or not.  I think she's alive but leaving it open kind of tainted the end.   I hope a lady-and-the-tiger syndrome doesn't become the next big trend.

Little Caesar (1931)

This is the film that turned Edward G. Robinson into everyone’s favorite gangster.   Like a cinematic version of Al Capone, Caesar “Rico” Bandello starts off small time only to rise up and become a crime boss.   It’s a story that’s been done a million ways but in 1931 no one had done it like this.   Sure it’s an old film but audiences back then must have jumped to the sound of machine guns.   Mervyn LeRoy directed it and would go onto to enjoy a brilliant career making other such classics as I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, They Won’t Forget, Madame Curie, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, Mister Roberts, The Bad Seed and Gypsy.  If you like pre-code films and want to see how Edward G. Robinson became a star you need to watch this one.  Grade: B+

Tristana (1970)

I’m a huge Luis Bunel fan and have been waiting years to finally get a chance to see this adaption of Benito Perez Galdos’ novel.  It’s the story of a respected gentleman who falls in love with his adopted daughter.   This father/daughter relationship is so bizarre and humorous under Bunel’s wonderful skills that you find yourself rooting for it in a weird way; it’s almost not shocking because it’s what you expect from this master storyteller of the surreal.  Fernando Rey who plays Don Lope is so matter-of-fact you take for granted that he’s a despicable person.  Then there’s Catherine Deneuve who gives one of her most strange and best performances.   You know she hates Don Lope but there’s some part of her who will always see him as her father.  If you like any of Bunel’s work you’ll recognize this signature moments spread about the narrative.   Grade: A-

The Impossible (2012)

What’s impossible to believe is the filmmakers of this dramatic disaster film didn’t shoot it during an actual tsunami.  This is an impressive film directed by J.A. Bayona, an emotionally grueling story about an unbreakable family bond during a horrific situation.  Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts play parents to three boys who take a Christmas vacation in Thailand.  While playing in the resort pool they experience the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.  The spectacle of waves slamming into people and then the following surge of water pulling and carrying off debris out into sea is fearful to behold, especially from the point of view of a mother trying to save her son.  Next to this amazing special effect are the remarkable performances from all involved, with Mrs. Watts and Mr. McGregor giving the kind of performances that I will never forget.  Juan Antonio Bayona even succeeds in helping his younger actors achieve the kind of performance that most veterans would envy.  A less connected cast under a less talented directed may have turned this true story into a sentimental sob story but instead we have a work of art that dramatically tells a story that honors those who suffered this tragic event.   I’ve read online about the artistic liberties the filmmakers took on Maria Belon’s story but none of them take away the brilliance of this film.  Grade: A

How to Marriy a Millionaire (1953)

Lauren Becall, Betty Gable and Marilyn Monroe star as three friends in search for love with lots of zeroes after it.  I didn't expect to enjoy this '50s comedy but it's actually a lot of fun if you ignore the whole gotta-need-a-man and my-man's-gotta-be-able-to-take-care-of-me crap.  Lauren Becall shows she's got comic timing and Marilyn Monroe continues with her dumb blonde routine in style.  Yes, it's predictable and cheesy but all in good fun.  Grade: B+ 

The Silence (1963)

Another Ingmar Bergman masterpiece anyone who loves cinema should see, that's what this is and I can't praise it enough.  Two sisters and the younger's son stay in a hotel of an unnamed country heading into war.  The elder sister is a writer and very ill.  As the boy explores the hotel, his mother goes on an adventure of her own.  Visually creative and inspiring on so many levels, this is one of those films that sticks to your mind and doesn't let up.  It's like a black and white Shining without the ghosts or the psychic abilities.  Yet plenty of real-life demons.  Grade: A