Movie 17: From Russia With Love

From Russia With Love (1963) by Terence Young
starring Sean Connery

In a nutshell: Still has rough edges, but good

Well, it took me a full week, but I finally finished from Russia With Love. It is definitely better than Dr. No, but it's still a bit sloppy. Although, considering it was made in 1963, perhaps its rough edges should be overlooked.

Connery has a bit more character to him than he did in Dr. No, but it's still very hard to call Bond complex. In Dr. No, all too often he looks so unnatural standing around in a scene. There is less of that here.

I especially liked the supporting cast in From Russia With Love. Romanova is a trademark Bond girl through and through but I can't call her a cliche simply because she was the starting point and the later cliches were based partially on her. I would not have recognized Robert Shaw if I hadn't been alerted to his presence in advance. His big showdown with Bond was worth the long buildup. Blofeld makes his first partial appearance, and Rosa Klebb is an strange villain because she never seems terribly fearsome.

I know that it gets worse in later movies, but we see the first example of a villain "monologuing", i.e. spilling his entire plan to bond before killing him, giving Bond time to escape. I can let it slide because Shaw is supposed to be a derranged homicidal maniac, not exactly someone with a distinct evil plot other than to kill people.

Bond gadgets start turning up, although there is just a simple briefcase with a few secrets. It is still cool to see Q demonstrate one of his creations for the first time though.

Interestingly, Bond is clearly fallible in From Russia With Love, a trait that I believe will fade in later movies. He doesn't notice Shaw following him around for most of the movie.

The biggest problem I have with Connery through the first two movies is his tendency to look so awkward in action scenes. For example, the fight at the gypsy camp looked pretty ridiculous. There is chaos happening all around him while he kind of wanders around shooting. I don't have much else from the time period to compare it to so maybe that's just the way it was in the early 60's. But at least the fight on the train was very good compared to everything else i have seen thus far.

It's nice that the plans of SPECTRE are still reasonable. They just want to steal a decoding machine, not blow up the moon or anything like that. I expect the plans to grow more and more ridiculous as the series progresses.

One of the best things about the movie was actually the opening credits, which were phenomenal.

Overall, it's still a fun Bond movie despite its flaws. You can't go into this film expecting a well made film with artistic merit (you have to wait for Casino Royale for that). As long as you know this going in, I see no reason for this film to disappoint.

Rolling Rankings:
1. Pulp Fiction (#8)

2. LA Confidential (#14)

3. A Prairie Home Companion (#11)

4. Raising Arizona (#13)

5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (#16)

6. The Last Kiss (#15)

7. The Illusionist (#9)

8. From Russia With Love (#7)

9. Little Children (#12)

10. Fahrenheit 9/11 (#10)

A Few Recent Favorites

Here's a few of my favorite underappreciated films of the past few years:

Overall, I think the past 2 or 3 years have been very good. Among the successful films that I have liked are 300, Knocked Up, Ratatouille, Children of Men, Pan's Labyrinth, The Prestige, Borat, The Departed, Sin City, and others. However, there has been plenty of recognition for these film. I want to give some recognition to a few that deserve it equally.

2005 - Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
I LOVE this movie. Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr have some serious chemistry going. Michelle Monaghan is very easy on the eyes. This is an action/comedy on par with pretty much anything that has come along. It was written and directed by Shane Black who is most famous for writing Lethal Weapon. This is his directing debut. The story revolves around a small time crook from New York who is shipped off to LA to learn how to play a detective for an acting job he accidentally stumbled across. Kilmer is the private investigator that he is tagging along with, nicknamed Gay Perry. This movie could have easily been a huge hit. I am hoping that its popularity eventually picks up through DVDs, but it hasn't yet. I would classify it as a comedy first, and a crime mystery second. It's definitly a film that you can watch repeatedly, and is very quotable...If only more people had seen it. Downey Jr and Kilmer are flat out hilarious in their interactions.

2006 - Brick
Brick will appeal to a smaller audience than Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, but I hold it in equal regard. The film takes a classic film noir story and places it into a modern high school. However, all the characters speak and act as if they were in a classic noir, and somehow the whole thing works. It might take a little patience, and I definitely had to use the reverse button on my dvd remote a few times to make sure I caught some of the best dialogue, but it's a knock-out film. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Lookout, Mysterious Skin, 10 Things I Hate About You, 3rd Rock From The Sun) should be a leading man within a few years...think the next Heath Ledger.

2005 - A History of Violence
This got a little more publicity than the first two and even received an oscar nom for best supporting actor. Nevertheless I would still classify it as underseen. It's about a family man in a small town who's life is turned upside down after foiling a robbery attempt in his diner. His face is put on tv as a hero and some mysterious men show up in town claiming that he is not who he says he is. I had never seen a Cronenberg film before and didn't really know what to expect. What I found was beautifully subtle, yet intense direction. He keeps your eyes glued to the screen and doesn't let you off until the credits roll. Viggo Mortensen, Mario Bello, William Hurt and Ed Harris are all great. I can't wait for his follow up, Eastern Promises.

2006 - The Death of Mr. Lazarescu
By far the most obscure title on this list, The Death of Mr. Lazarescu is a Romanian film about the last night of Mr. Lazarescu Dante Remus's life. It is a heartbreaking film about a sick old man and a terribly screwed up health care system. He is carried by ambulance from one hospital to the next as his condition worsens. Similar to Apocalypse Now's voyage into madness, this film's trip into sickness is marked by progressively worse conditions at each stop. I normally shy away from subtitles, but I would whole-heartedly recommend this film to almost anyone. It is an examination of human selfishness and the bounds of how far people will go to help a stranger.

2006 - Wordplay
If anyone that enjoyed 2003's minor hit about the spelling bee, Spellbound, hasn't seen this, they should really do so immediately. And if you haven't seen either, try one. It's a documentary about crossword puzzles.

Hopefully this gives you a little more insight into my tastes. Eventually I will make a list of my favorite films to give you an even better idea, but that list will look a little more standard. These choices are a bit more exotic.

Movie 16: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) by Michel Gondry

starring Jim Carrey and Kat Winslet

In a nutshell: Wildly creative, very indie, never quite strays too far into the depths of pretentiousness

Quick synopsis: A twisted story about a relationship gone bad and modern technology that allows for memories to be selectively erased.

I'm back after a bit of a break. It's not that I haven't been watching anything, but I've been spending my time on TV shows. I am well into the only season of Freaks and Geeks and the 3rd season of The Office, so when I finish either I will post my thoughts/reviews. I also attempted to make progress on my attempt to make it through the Bond catalog (see movie #7: Dr. No) by watching From Russia With Love late at night but I fell asleep two different times in the process. You can expect that review to come up soon though.

I also managed to squeeze in Eternal Sunshine. It is a film that has been in my short list of "films to watch" for a looonnnnggg time, however I knew that it would require 100% concentration, so I always wnded up watching something else. I did see the film once before but didn't pay complete attention, and didn't really remember many details. Thus, watching it again was like watching it for the first time in that I had completely forgotten every key twist and most of the last half of the film completely.

Charlie Kaufman, the films writer, deserves all the credit in the world as hollywood's most creative writer. Just compare his films to the unimaginitive crap that hollywood usually turns out (how much creativity does it take to make sequels and remakes). However, a Kaufman script in the wrong hands could be disasterous and unwatchable. Luckily he has forged working relationships with two directors (Gondry and Spike Jonze) that can aptly handle his imagination.

Here, Gondry uses a variety of film techniques to put us inside Joel's (Carrey) head. scenes melt into each other in fantastic and surreal ways. Images flash across the screen and at times the viewer is meant to have difficulty determining what is actually happening and what is being imagined by Joel. All these techniques combine to effectively give the viewer an experience that is at times disorienting, yet always coherent from a story point of view.

It would have been easier for Gondry to turn in a film that would have been a critically acclaimed arthouse masterpiece, yet have no commercial appeal. But he manages to strike a stunning balance with Eternal Sunshine. There is a reason that it currently ranked in the mid 40's on imdb's top 250 list, right around the likes of To Kill a Mockingbird, Chinatown, and A Clockwork Orange.

I need to say a few words about this film's use of a device that is frequently misused and can be very annoying: the chronologically out of order scene. Pulp Fiction made it cool, Memento proved that it could be necessary, and 21 Grams drove me absoltely crazy by using it without reason. However, aside from Memento, Eternal Sunshine might be one of the very best uses of this device. The movie opens with Joel and Clementine (Winslet) meeting on a train. However, we start getting hints that perhaps this was not how they first met, and eventually it all makes sense. Sure, this scene could have been placed after their memories are erased and it still would have made perfect sense, but to place it at the beginning was a fine artistic choice. It seems like it IS the beginning of their story which makes it seem perfectly in place, and we only find out later that it is actually a scene from the middle of the tale.

Great choices like this are found throughout the film. Some are purely visual, such as the way scenes that are taking place inside Joel's head are melded together, and others are storytelling choices like the one previously described. Furthermore, the film trusts the viewer and does not patronize them at all. It allows us to unravel the mysteries at our own pace and gives plenty of time to do so.

The story of the peripheral characters (Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst, Tom Wilkinson & Elijah Wood) seems like padding for an otherwise thin plot, but is eventually tied back to the story of Joel and Clem in intriguing ways. I especially liked the twist that involved Wilkinson and Dunst. I did not see that coming. And while it eventually does further the main story in a very indirect way, it also gives us some more insight into this science fiction world that we are watching.

The acting is solid, which may come as a surprise to the many Carrey haters that are out there. He is restrained and subtle, like Robin WIlliams in his good dramatic roles. Winslet is her usualy great self and even Dunst, who usually annoys me, was good. The only complaint I have with her story, is that I would have been interested to see her character react to the information she is given by Wilkinson after that scene. She eventually makes a decision that effects the end of the film greatly, but she does so off camera. In fact, after she makes that decision, we do not see her again in the film.

Eternal Sunshine is just such a hard film to pin down. In fact you can find it on lists of science fiction films, romance films, surrealist films, and dramas. Quite an accomplishment.

Finally, and surprisingly, the film's ultimate lessons, or at least the ones that I took away from it, are very simple for such a complicated film. Joel and Clem did not communicate which each other when in their relationship. It just took a wild, crazy, and futuristic series of events for them to hear each others thoughts that should have been communicated directly. We are left with the idea that they just might be able to learn from their mistakes, even though they have no direct memory of them. Sure, there are other lessons about how it is better to have loved and lost than never loved at all, but I found the comminication theme to be much more interesting (and buried).

Rolling Rankings:
1. Pulp Fiction (#8)

2. LA Confidential (#14)

3. A Prairie Home Companion (#11)

4. Raising Arizona (#13)

5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (#16)

6. The Last Kiss (#15)

7. The Illusionist (#9)

8. Dr. No (#7)

9. Little Children (#12)

10. Fahrenheit 9/11 (#10)

Movie 15: The Last Kiss

The Last Kiss (2006) by Tony Goldwyn
starring Zach Braff, Jacinda Barrett, & Rachel Bilson

In a nutshell: significantly better than I expected

Quick synopsis: a bunch of late twentysomethings don't know what to do with their lives.

My synopsis makes it sound boring, but it's not. This movie was a strange expereince for me. I will preface everything by saying that I have not seen the supposedly superior 2001 original version and, in fact, only just found out that it existed.

I recommended the movie to my girlfriend in blockbuster because I thought it was a romantic comedy. I watched the movie prepared to hate it and be embarassed to write about it in this blog. I was also prepared to hate Zach Braff without reason considering that I have never seen him in a movie, nor have I ever seen Scrubs. He just seemed like he would be annoying.

I enjoyed the story of The Last Kiss. The movie's seams were exposed from time to time with poor cuts and strange story patterns (which I will get into in a minute), but I related to many of the characters. I am only 25, but I was able to put myself in their shoes, and I think that the way they were acting was realistic. I think that I liked the movie more because I could relate so well to their feelings.

After finishing the movie, I would have been willing to bet that it was written by a guy, so I immediately hopped onto imdb. Much to my surprise, the name Paul Haggis turned up. I really don't know how I got the impression that it was just a crappy romantic comedy. Probably from the dvd cover and title. At least I was dead-on about it being written by a male (the original too).

Anticipating criticisms, I will pre-empitively address a few while explaining some things I really liked. Of course, it would have been a romantic movie cliche for the guy to realize that he wants to spend the rest of his life with his girl after cheating on her, but I don't think that's quite what happened. I think he panicked at the possibility of losing his girl and was basically saying what he had to say. He probably convinced himself that he believed it, but knowing his character as well as I think I do, he will be doomed to repeat his actions if the opportunity presented itself. I really think that Zach's acting was top-notch in this respect. He was not supposed to seem like the events had truly removed all doubt from his mind, and he didn't. But he did an excellent job at sounding like there was no doubt to Jenna and her father.

I loved the ending too. I didn't want a hollywood ending in which they get back together and everything is wonderful. I also didn't want a totally depressing ending. What I got was somewhere in between and provoked thought. We are led to believe that they are going to try to work things out, but the movie doesn't try to tell us whether this ending is a happy one or even if it is the best thing for the two characters and their unborn child.

The side stories complemented the main story well. Casey Affleck's character was splitting up with his wife but for very different reasons. Again, the movie is ambiguous whether or not the reason he gives is what he really thinks, or if he has just convinced himself of it because he wants to be free. There is a layer beneath the surface of characters and their actions, which is refreshing in a movie about relationships. You don't get that layer in too many films.

The weakest character was Rachel Bilson, because she didn't really have that second layer. She was mostly just eye candy and a plot device, although I reserve the right to change my opinion if I watch the movie again. She is not completely uninteresting however. She is painfully naive and a tad unpredictable. I recognized certain characteristics of her character, but couldn't really believe her relatively non-existant motives. This is just a small problem.

The story about Jenna's parents wasn't great, but did add a little perspective. It was interesting actually watching what the parents go through before they give relationship advice to their kids as they so often do in romantic movies. Usually, they just tell a story or are assumed to be old and wise and always right, but here we see that they are far from perfect and although we approve of the advice given, it isn't easy to practice what you preach.

The story problem I mentioned deals with the film's identity crisis. For a while, it can't decide if it wants to be a ensemble piece, giving equal weight to each of the troubled relationships, or focus on Braff's relationship. I specifically remember a point in the film at which they go back to Braff after spending quite a bit of time away from him that made me think "oh yeah! almost forgot about him." At this point I was beginning to think that Braff being the main character was another entry on the list of things misrepresented by the marketing of the film, until the last act focused almost exclusively on him. A film should never spend as much continuous time away from its main character as this one did. Again, this is a small problem and did not detract from the rest of my experience in the end.

This is the lowest movie (according to rottentomatoes - 46%) that I have whole-heartedly enjoyed since starting this blog. Most of the time when I like a critically panned movie, I agree with the flaws that are pointed out by critics and I like it because I like one particular aspect enough to compensate, like the story, the action or the source material. With The Last Kiss, I agree with the technical flaws, but flat-out disagree with complaints about the acting or writing. And to address another complaint, even priviledged good-looking people with good looking significant others have the right to be confused. Maybe only males in their mid-to-late twenties will be able to relate, but that's what I am, so I did.

Rolling Rankings:
1. Pulp Fiction (#8)

2. LA Confidential (#14)

3. A Prairie Home Companion (#11)

4. Raising Arizona (#13)

5. The Last Kiss (#15)

6. The Illusionist (#9)

7. Dr. No (#7)

8. Little Children (#12)

9. Fahrenheit 9/11 (#10)

10. Heist (#6)

TV Time: South Park Season 4

I decided to pick up a season of south park on dvd because the prices were pretty low ($25), it is highly rewatchable, and the dvd editions are fairly nice. I somewhat randomly picked season 4 because it was in the best condition of the season at Best Buy. It was a good choice.

South Park is one of those shows where I'm pretty sure I've seen most episodes, but I'm really not sure how many I haven't seen. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were several in Season 4 that were new to me. Matt and Trey are comic geniuses, there is no other way of saying it. I feel extremely lucky that this show persists, and has, to date, 160 episodes (with no signs of stopping). South Park has quietly become one of the most significant shows of the past decade.

Season 4 has some classic episodes. "Timmy 2000" marks the first prominent appearance of everyone's favorite handicapped boy (unless you prefer Jimmy). "Cartman Joins NAMBLA" features Cartman looking for more mature friends, and finding plenty of older men looking to befriend young boys. Here's a quick top 5 from season 4:

1. Timmy 2000
2. Helen Keller! The Musical
3. Trapper Keeper
4. Cartman's Silly Hate Crime 2000
5. Cartman Joins NAMBLA

Cartman is a character that I will remember long after this show has ended its run. Many of the season 4 episodes revolve around him (mostly about his many attempts to make $10M). Butters (my other favorite character) is also featured in several episodes.

Like most seasons, there are many episodes that could be offensive if misinterpreted. So, if you are easily offended, or are already a South Park hater, please try not to misinterpret them. They are not hatefully making fun of any protected groups. What they are parodying is the absurdity of our world and our society. Their shows usually have good message behind them.

There are groups that they do target from time to time (NAMBLA, PETA, scientologists, etc.), but they are usually extremists of some sort. I am not defending everything they do, but they are very careful with the messages that they send, believe it or not.

Oh, and the show is freaking hilarious.

Movie 14: L.A. Confidential

L.A. Confidential (1997) by Curtis Hanson

starring Russell Crowe & Guy Pearce

In a nutshell: a top-notch film that falls just a hair short of classic

Quick synopsis: L.A. cops investigate a shooting and unravel a much deeper plot, often blurring the lines between real-life-style crime-fighting and Hollywood-style crime-fighting.

Content: L.A. Confidential is a great ride, even if it's a tad too long. The sprawling cast includes Kevin Spacey, James Cromwell, Kim Basinger, David Strathairn, Danny DeVito, Ron Rifkin, & Simon Baker supporting the main protagonists, played by Crowe and Pearce in the film's best performances. Strathairn and Spacey stand out among the ensemble.

Crowe and Pearce are 2 highly regarded cops that get results with very different methods. In fact, they are polar opposites at the beginning of the film. To Ed Exley (Pearce), there is black, and there is white. To Bud White (Crowe) there are many shades of grey in between. Exley is the guy we love to hate because he would turn in every one of his peers for the slightest rule infraction to put himself ahead. White is the guy we hate to love because of his penchant for losing his temper and blindly following orders he knows to be questionable.

Naturally these men must learn to coexist if they are to solve the mystery of the night owl. This is where an inferior script can go horribly wrong and end up in hollywood cliche hell. But L.A.Confidential goes its own direction.

Without giving anything away, Vincennes (Spacey) plays a much larger role in the beginning of the movie than the end, and it is through his actions that the other 2 men realize that their cases are one in the same. The unification of Exley and White is handled subtley through their mutual acquaintance, Vincennes, who never feels like he is only a plot contrivance to bring them together.

What I have covered thus far could easily be enough to fuel an average cop movie, but this film has so much more to it. Danny DeVito is a headline hungry magazine editor, willing to trade free press to corrupt cops willing to help him catch young hollywood misbehaving. Strathairn runs a smut ring with models that are made to look like hollywood legends (leading to the best moment in the entire movie when Exley and Vincennes happen across a woman dressed like Lana Turner). Vincennes moonlights as an advisor to a television cop show.

The characters are brilliantly complex, each having their own vices. For a while, it is really difficult to distinguish the heroes from the crooks because everyone has their bad side, although the common viewer can relate to each of them. White's weaknesses are that he is used as muscle by corrupt senior officers, and he obeys their orders without question. He also has a wicked temper and a weakness for women in distress. Exley has no friends because he clearly thinks that he is the only cop that is not corrupt. He would pass judgement on his best friend and turn him in, if he had one. Vincennes is buyable for the price of fame; he clearly loves the spotlight. Nevertheless, he wants to do the right thing when presented with a deeper moral conflict.

Each of these characters is so well thought out. They each change noticeably, yet believably during the course of the film. Of course, I haven't even mentioned the major plot point yet because the film spends so much time with its characters. The mystery is a worthy one indeed, which makes the movie that much better. Although I have to admit, it took me 2 or 3 viewings to completely understand all that is going on.

In time, the movie could prove to be a classic, but for now I consider it just below that status.

Rolling Rankings:
1. Pulp Fiction (#8)

2. LA Confidential (#14)

3. Napoleon Dynamite (#5)

4. A Prairie Home Companion (#11)

5. Raising Arizona (#13)

6. The Illusionist (#9)

7. Dr. No (#7)

8. Little Children (#12)

9. Fahrenheit 9/11 (#10)

10. Heist (#6)

key:

masterpiece

excellent

good

mixed bag

more bad than good

garbage