Friday, March 30, 2012

Coffee and Cigarettes (2003)


A series of short films connected by the presence of the titular vices.

*      *      *

All filmmakers (regardless of skill) have recurrent themes, images and ideas in their work. Alfred Hitchcock's films often center around guilt and mother issues, Michael Bay's work centers around explosions and breasts. Due to the the unavoidable years that elapse between films, these commonalities often go unnoticed by most audiences. But when a filmography is viewed in somewhat rapid succession (say over the course of a week or a year) the similarities become glaring. By placing these 11 shorts back-to-back within a single film, director Jim Jarmusch effectively laid bare all of his interests and obsessions for the world to see.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

My Cinematic Obi-Wan, my Dad.


In May 2006 I begged my dad to take me to a screening of The Poseidon Adventure in San Pedro, CA. Stella Stevens and Carol Lynley were going to be there and I was VERY excited. He kind of laughed and asked why I was so obsessed with the movie. I pointed out to him that the only reason I knew anything about the film was because of him. In fact, the reason I’ve seen many great films and come to cherish them is because of him: my unofficial film mentor, my Obi-Wan, if you will.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Dogma (1999)


A woman working in an abortion clinic (Linda Fiorentino) discovers that she is descended from the same lineage as Jesus Christ and it's up to her to save the world from total annihilation.

*      *      *

During my sophomore year of high school, we had to read a book called "Sophie's World". It's about a young girl who receives anonymous messages in her mailbox which lead to her learning about numerous famous philosophers. A pretty brilliant way to teach kids philosophy, couch it within the context of a mystery narrative. Like they say: A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down. Interestingly enough, the film Dogma was also released that same year. Though the finished film leaves much to be desired visually, the screenplay is a work of genius. Like "Sophie's World" it is able to take a lot of complex/thought provoking ideas and make them palatable by inserting them into an interesting narrative - filled with dick and fart jokes. The perfect movie for an hormonal high school kid with big questions.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

One Year: Looking Back

So as you may have guessed from the title of this post, today marks the one year anniversary of this blog. Well not technically THIS blog since the blog that began on March 27, 2011 was called Cinema Nerds and you're reading this on a blog where the header reads, "This Cinematic Life" - but you get the point. A lot has happened in 365 days. Obviously there's the name change and the re-design. There's also the Twitter, the Pinterest and the Facebook. But that's all surface. What this has really always been about is the films. We love Cinema (capital C) and this blog is our love letter to it. From Asian shoot-em-ups to Astaire & Rogers, we love it all. And while this may not be the greatest film blog running, it sure as heck is one of the most personal. We only write about what matters to us. There is no way someone can read this blog and not get a sense of who we are as people. Objectivity is for the birds. The fact that a wonderful core of people out there keep coming back to this blog day after day is heartening because it means we're doing something right. Thank you all. Here's to many more years of highly personal writing.



Monday, March 26, 2012

The Last Temptation Of Christ (1988)


A very human take on the life of Christ (Willem Dafoe) as he comes to terms with his destiny.

*      *      *

Growing up in Little Italy, young Martin Scorsese found himself caught between two worlds. On one side there was The Church and on the other side there was The Street. This conflict was the focus of many of his early films such as Who's That Knocking At My Door and Mean Streets. Scorsese aspired to a pious life and even pursued the idea of becoming a priest, yet as the saying goes: The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. The Last Temptation Of Christ is a unique film in that it chooses to grapple with the idea that Jesus likely faced that same conflict. It's right there in Luke 22:42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” He knows what must be done, but deep down he also yearns to live a normal human life. Without this conflict the film would simply be a story about a Super Human who always said and did the right things. With this conflict, it becomes an inspiring story about overcoming your inner demons in order to do what needs to be done. Personally I prefer the latter.

Double Bill: Wish Fulfillment

The Purple Rose Of Cairo and Midnight In Paris

Friday, March 23, 2012

Listening to Chocolat (2000)




I wrote about this film almost a year ago (you can read it here), and hesitated to write about the soundtrack because I already sang its praises. But I thought I'd do it again anyways!

I love film scores that immediately place you into the context and mood of the film. Rachel Portman did an amazing job of taking you to that quiet, quaint, and uptight little French town. The music is unassuming, modest. Nothing ruffles this town's feathers...until everything does.

When the gypsies arrive in town, they are armed with guitars and robust and energetic music. The soundtrack includes the oh-so-amazing "Minor Swing" Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli, and yes, Johnny Depp performs some of the amazing songs on the soundtrack as well. It just makes you want to get up and dance!

One of my favorite musical moments is the use of Erik Satie's "Gnossienne No. 1" in the scene where they are telling the story of their ancestors and the magical properties of the chocolate they sell. Being a pianist myself, I've always been fond of Satie's Trois Gnossiennes and the surreal mood of the pieces. They're mysterious, very free in tempo, and definitely set the sensual tone in this scene.

Below is a very sexy version of "Caravan" from the film soundtrack...enjoy!





Thursday, March 22, 2012

Blade Runner (1982)

Deckard (Harrison Ford) is a Blade Runner charged with hunting down and killing a group of rogue cyborgs known as Replicants.

*      *      *

I know this might make me sound like a heretic (especially with everyone (myself included) fawning all over the Prometheus trailer) but I don't really worship at the altar of Ridley Scott. While I do find his work consistently beautiful and beyond reproach in technique, rarely do I find myself giving a shit about any  of his characters. Once the movie is over, it's over. I don't really think about it anymore. Blade Runner is a notable exception. Though in an interesting twist, the characters I feel for are the non-humans. I empathize with the Replicants. These poor guys and gals are already cursed with a drastically limited lifespan, and then along comes angel-of-death Deckard to make their lives even shorter. They just want more life. Is that really so bad? Isn't that what we all want? What would you do to live another day?

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

The Adventures of Tintin (2011)



Young journalist Tintin (Jamie Bell) finds himself sucked into a perilous adventure after he purchases a model ship that holds a secret. He meets the lovable drunk Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis) and together (with Tintin's awesome dog Snowy) they set off to uncover the mystery.

The first time I tried to watch this movie, it was in the theater and this kid behind me kept kicking my seat and yelling "ESTE TINTIN MOMMY ESTE TINTIN!" Nevertheless, I enjoyed it immensely. (By the way, cinema-goers, TRAIN YOUR DAMN KIDS.) We just got the Blu-ray and I enjoyed the second viewing just as much. This movie has ADVENTURE. It's been a very long time since I could honestly say that about a movie. It's what the 4th Indiana Jones should have been. John Williams was a perfect choice to compose the original score (and yeah, I'm kind of a John Williams fangirl) and with all of the amazing music, exotic locations and action scenes combined with comedy, it totally reminded me of the thrill I get from Spielberg's earlier films.

Also, yay motion-capture! I love that they were able to capture the look of the characters from the original Hergé drawings. Tintin needs that hair, Haddock needs that nose, Thomson and Thompson need to look almost exactly the same. It's amazing how far we've come with this technology...by far the best use of it I've seen.

So if your life is feeling a little yawns-ville, go on an adventure with Tintin and wake up!

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Grace Of My Heart (1996)


A young woman (Illeana Douglas) navigates her way through the male-driven world of pop music in the 60s on her quest to express herself as both a singer and a songwriter.

*      *      *

I've wanted to write about this movie since the blog began, but was continually holding out for a great high-quality screen-shot to accompany my piece. As you can see, no such shot exists. And I guess that is a reflection of the fact that people either don't know about or remember this movie. And that's a real shame because this film is AMAZING! The music is catchy, the actors are superb, the period details are spot-on and to top everything off, it tells a beautiful story about overcoming adversity and following your dream. I know this sounds weird coming from a fella, but seriously this movie is touching. Now go watch it! It's not hard to find. You can get it as a disc from Netflix or you can rent it from Amazon for a mere $2.99. Get on it people!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Double Bill: Small Press

Ghost World and American Splendor

Friday, March 16, 2012

Psycho (1960)


A young woman (Janet Leigh) steals a ton of cash in hopes of starting a new life with her boyfriend (John Gavin). On her way out of town, she decides to spend a night in the Bates Motel...

*      *      *

As commercial of a filmmaker as Alfred Hitchcock was, he also held a strong affinity for the avant-garde. He loved to try new things. The film Lifeboat was set entirely in the eponymous vessel, Rope was shot in a series of long takes to give the illusion of being all one shot, Dial M For Murder was in 3-D and Spellbound featured a dream sequence designed by none other than Salvador Dalí. But perhaps his most daring experiment was the narrative gamble he took with Psycho and the decision to kill off his main character 30 minutes into the film. I can't believe the studio let him do it. Who is the audience supposed to identify with and root for with Marion gone? Well as the saying goes: "Any port in a storm." And thus, we as an audience find ourselves rooting for Norman Bates! We become complicit in his cleaning up of the crime scene. We desperately want that car to sink into the marsh. We want Detective Arbogast and everyone else to just go away and leave poor Norman alone! None of this is his fault! It's that damn MOTHER of his! He wouldn't even harm a fly! But when the "big reveal" comes, we are suddenly forced to accept the fact that we have been rooting for and empathizing with a psychotic murderer all this time. And what does that say about us? Well played Mr. Hitchcock!


Thursday, March 15, 2012

The Sting (1973)





This is THE con movie. Paul Newman and Robert Redford play Henry Gondorff and Johnny Hooker, two grifters on the biggest con of their lives. The mark? Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw), a heartless mob boss who had their fellow grifter killed on account of some cash they conned out of one of Lonnegan's money runners. With their team of accomplices, Gondorff and Hooker set out to exact revenge the best way they know how.

This is one of those films that you wish you could have that "first time" viewing experience every time. Redford and Newman are great together (of course!) and Lonnegan is such an amazing villain. That stare could kill you on the spot! The thing that's so enjoyable about this film (aside from the great acting performances and ragtime soundtrack) is just watching the art of the con. They're always one step ahead, and it's amazing to watch the con unfold.

Oh and two words: poker game. The poker scene is probably my favorite scene in any movie ever. I don't want to spoil it so I'll just leave it at that. Please go see this movie if you haven't! Go have that "first time" viewing experience that makes the film so special.

(Nerd confession: for years I used "Kid Twist" as an Internet alias, taken from Harold Gould's character in this movie!)

Happy viewing, and don't forget to place it on Lucky Dan! ;)

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Back To The Beach!


Well it looks like we won't have to sublet This Cinematic Life HQ for the summer to attend the Alamo Drafhouse's Summer of '82 series -

'CAUSE THE LONG BEACH CINEMATHEQUE IS DOING SOMETHING EQUALLY AWESOME  AND FREE!

They'll be screening classics like Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Grease, Casablanca, E.T., Annie Hall and Jaws RIGHT ON THE BEACH! Obviously it costs something to put on an event like this, so please do your cinematic duty and head over to their Kickstarter to chip in a couple bucks to help make this happen!

The Descendants (2011)


Matt King (George Clooney) has a lot to deal with. Not only does he have an important decision to make regarding some prime real estate, but he also has to come to grips with the fact that his wife is in a coma, is about to die...and cheated on him.

*      *      *

Though he has been twice nominated for Best Director, people tend to think of Alexander Payne as primarily a writer. Critics love to focus on the characters and the consistant world view in his work, yet rarely seem to address his equally distinct visual style.

Though the actions and dialogue have already been worked out in advance, and despite the very deliberate framing and movement, Payne's films are able to somehow retain a sense of documentary. His fascination with the world these characters are living in, can be felt in every frame. Getting the details of dress and decor right is important to him. Like Jonathan Demme before him, Payne is a visual anthropologist, and he deserves to be recognized as such.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

The Ten Commandments is Hilarious (or, Thou Shalt Laugh Endlessly at Edward G. Robinson)




I actually enjoy this movie, and have seen it many many times. It's colorful, over-the-top, has some impressive-for-the-time special effects....and it's kind of hilarious. I can't help it! This overblown spectacle gets me giggling every time! Here are the five main reasons why I just can't keep it together...

5. 1950s Hollywood's version of Egypt...the big sets, blue-screens, glamorous slave girls and even more glamorous Egyptians, the acting. This is serious drama, people!

4. Everybody saying "Moses" twice. Seriously. "MOSES MOSES!" The entire movie.

3. The verbal bitchslaps, mainly between Anne Baxter and Yul Brynner as Nefretiri and Rameses.

Nefretiri: I could never love you.
Rameses: Does that matter? You will be my wife. You will come to me whenever I call you, and I will enjoy that very much. Whether you enjoy it or not is your own affair. But I think you will...

Ouch!

2. Moses' hair once he "sees" God.













The higher the hair, the closer to God....right?

1. The funniest thing ever: Vincent Price in this getup.


AHAHAHA I can't! As soon as he opens his mouth I go into stitches every time!
Oh, and here's an amusing faux-trailer for the film.


Watch out for the plagues!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Moon (2009)


After three years alone on a moon base, Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) might be starting to lose it.

*      *      *

Take out the sentient computer GERTY, and this film might as well be Clerks: a single location with two characters. Though George Lucas and Michael Bay might think otherwise, science fiction doesn't always require a big budget. All that you really need is a big idea, a talented director and a charismatic star. No CG characters or explosions necessary. Don't believe me? The numbers don't lie. Budget: $5,000,000 Gross: $10,000,000. To say anything else about this movie would spoil all the fun. Just watch the damn thing.

Double Bill: Obsessed With The Details

JFK and Zodiac

Thursday, March 8, 2012

In Theaters May 25th

Soundtracks Of My Life: Pulp Fiction


When it comes to juxtaposing image and music, Quentin Tarantino is a master. Time after time, he is able to find precisely the right moment to drop that needle. Who else but Quentin would have thought to set a gangster movie to mostly surf and rockabilly tracks? This isn't some slap-dash compilation of radio hits or a jumble of songs from the studio's music division. Each song is selected with the utmost care. The album therefore becomes an abridged version of the film. A necklace of little moments holding together the big ones. Peaks and valleys. Here it makes perfect sense for Kool & The Gang to lead right into Al Green. Oh and the dialogue clips are insanely useful when making mix discs for people.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Edward Scissorhands (1990)





We've all seen this move, right? Right? Go rent it immediately if you haven't. Hell, BUY IT. In case you haven't...

An old inventor (Vincent Price) makes a man named Edward (Johnny Depp), but dies before he can give him hands (how he ended up with scissor hands, I'll never know). An "Avon Lady" (Dianne Wiest) discovers him living alone in a crumbling castle, and brings him to live with her and her family in pastel-suburbia. The neighbors accept him with open arms...at first.

This film is so very very special to me. It really speaks to anyone who has ever felt like an outcast, like they didn't belong. Whenever I watch it I immediately feel reconnected to my high school self. I remember watching it at my friend's house when I was a freshman, and being so captivated by the images I was seeing: the groomed shrubbery, dogs, and women's hairstyles, Winona Ryder dancing in the swirling ice, the blades of Edward's "hands" catching the light as he tries to hold the girl he loves, the tears in his eyes when he tells her he can't. Edward is basically my generation's Frankenstein monster. He didn't ask to be created, he's just trying to figure out where he belongs and inadvertently causes destruction. A beautiful film, truly, I can't say much else about it.

I wish Tim Burton would read this. I miss the spirit of his older work so much, as I ranted about at length here. Hopefully his new Frankenweenie film will be a step in the right direction. I guess we'll see.

Happy watching!

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)


It's up to Hellboy (Ron Pearlman) and the gang at the BPRD to stop an all-out war between the human world and the world of magic.

*      *      *

A common truism in the world of film, is that the sequel is never as good as the original. It's really hard to repeat success. Everyone is trying to slavishly repeat the original while at the same time trying also trying to top it. Both paths often lead to failure. But sometimes there are exceptions. Comic book movies tend to be one of those exceptions. Sure there's stuff like Iron Man 2 that crashes and burns, but then there is also Superman 2, X2: X-Men United, Spider-Man 2 and of course, Hellboy II: The Golden Army. All the heavy lifting has been done by the first film. The characters have been set up and we understand the rules to the world our story takes place in. Now it's time to just have some serious fun!

Monday, March 5, 2012

My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)





I've got weddings on the brain! Some very near and dear friends got hitched over the weekend and I'm over the moon for them. So! Being that I'm still floating on clouds, I thought I'd give a little shout-out to one of my favorite wedding movies, My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

Toula (writer Nia Vardalos) is something of an ugly duckling, going through what she calls a "Frump Girl phase". Everyone in her Greek family wants her to marry a nice Greek boy, have kids, everything that she's "supposed" to do, and the clock is ticking. After gaining confidence and a new look, she meets a very nice non-Greek vegetarian teacher...something her family did NOT have in mind. Let the chaos begin!

I'll just say it: this movie is cute. Vardalos did an excellent job of making the film completely relatable to almost anyone, Greek or not. My family is Mexican and I found myself laughing at their quirks as I thought of my own family's weirdness. It's a feel-good film about life and celebration, and loving your family even when you want to strangle them!

Give it a watch! OPA!

Double Bill: Choose Your Illusion

Dark City and The Matrix

Friday, March 2, 2012

The Year of the Tiger

Throughout cinema history, there are certain years that people look back on in awe over the amount of legendary films released within those 365 days. 1939, 1975 and 1999 leap most readily to mind. If you are geekily inclined, the summer of 1982 also belongs in that pantheon. This is the year that brought us Conan the Barbarian, The Road Warrior, Rocky III, Poltergeist, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, E.T., John Carpenter's The Thing, Tron and Blade Runer!

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of this crazy summer, the fine folks of The Alamo Drafthouse are going to be showing all of these films in 35mm on the weekend of their original release! This is so cool it almost has me contemplating moving to Austin, Texas for the summer. Anyone got a couch to surf?

For ticket information, click this link. And as if you needed to be sold on the amazingness of this all any more than you already certainly are...

Don't Tell Me What To Do Deaux!

Last May, The Criterion Collection was nearing up on spine #600. The film-geek community was abuzz with speculation as to what that 600th title would be. We even took it upon ourselves to recommend 5 worthy titles. Well now that Otto Preminger's courtroom masterpiece Anatomy of a Murder has entered the pantheon as lucky #600, it's time to start speculating about #700!



Kundun
Scorsese's meditation on the life of the the 14th Dalai Lama would be a perfect addition to The Collection. It's a perfect companion piece to their other Scorsese religion film, The Last Temptation of Christ. Touchstone certainly isn't doing anything with this title and the already existing feature-length documentary In Search of Kundun with Martin Scorsese, would make for excellent bonus material.



Gas Food Lodging
The fine folks over at Criterion already seem to be pretty fond of director Allison Anders. In addition to releasing Border Radio (directed by Anders along with Kurt Voss and Dean Lent) they've also featured her in the bonus material for Magnificent Obsession and Two-Lane Blacktop. So it would make sense for them to release her solo-debut, which also happens to be the only title in her filmography to not have at least a commentary track on the disc.



Flaming Creatures
Criterion has never been one to shy away from controversy (Salò, Antichrist, I Am Curious), so why not release Jack Smith's Flaming Creatures? Can't you already just picture it? Beautiful cover design by someone awesome, an essay by J. Hoberman for the booklet, a featurette on how it was banned? Perhaps even an interview with Mario Montez AKA Dolores Flores! How is this not already a thing? Get on it people!


The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
This film has been out of print for far too long! And now with Blu-ray it can look and sound better than ever! Criterion has released plenty of Agnès Varda, so why not add her equally talented late-husband Jacques Demy into the mix as well? Guaranteed to be a top seller since this film is beloved by both cineastes and lovers of great music. Heck, they could even get some musical experts to expound upon Michel Legrand's beautiful score!


The Black Cat
Sure it's short (only 65 minutes), but that's never stopped Criterion before. Island of Lost Souls is only 5 minutes longer and The Most Dangerous Game is only 63 minutes! And this isn't your average Universal horror film. Not only is it the first cinematic pairing of Karloff and Lugosi, it's also the best! Oh and did I mention that it's directed by Edgar G. Ulmer who worked on German Expressionist classics like The Golem and The Last Laugh, in addition to co-directing the legendary People on Sunday?

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Resurrecting Tim?

When it was first announced that Tim Burton would be making a feature-length version of his classic short Frankenweenie, there was definitely some trepidation on behalf of us at This Cinematic Life HQ. Burton's recent output (espcially Alice in Wonderland) has been rather by-the-numbers and lifeless. 'Becca'lise even wrote a post lamenting this unfortunate turn in his career.

Well today the first trailer for the animated Frankenweenie "dropped", and while it might still be too early to celebrate, there do appear to be sparks of life!

Gun Crazy (1950)


Marksman Barton Tare (John Dall) and sharpshooter Peggy Cummins (Annie Laurie Star) set out on a passionate crime-wave, destined to end in tragedy.

*      *      *

When millions upon millions are on the line, everyone tends to play it safe. This is why most films through the 1960s were shot entirely on sound-stages. Hitchcock famously shot only the wide-shots on location and then retreated to a studio for the close-ups. God forbid reality enter the frame in any way. Absolutely nothing was left to chance. Director Joseph H. Lewis on the other hand, had a slightly different philosophy...


According to Lewis, Billy Wilder once called him begging to know how that shot had been pulled off. Billy's theory was that they had used at least three to four background-projection machines. When Lewis finally broke the news that they had just simply done it for real, Wilder's mind was blown.