Journey To Italy (1954)

Alex and Katherine Joyce (Sanders and Bergman) are a couple from England who have traveled to Italy to sell a large property near Naples that they have recently inherited.

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Some of the most fascinating scenes in Roberto Rossellini’s Journey to Italy are the driving ones. Inside the car you have two iconic Hollywood stars discussing their marital woes and moving the faux-steering wheel far too much. Outside the car is living and breathing Italy. The contrast is rather startling: Artifice juxtaposed with reportage. Separated only by a thin metal shell. And once that shell is punctured, there is no going back. The chemistry of this couple cannot help but be altered by this outside influence of this ancient land where the past and the present commingle. Each voyage out yields new revelations. Revelations that cannot be simply brushed aside. Revelations that must be confronted. As in many of the best narratives, the two characters at the end of this film are not the same ones we met at the beginning. They have been forever changed. Only here, it's not the work of some contrived plot you've seen a million times before. Here it's something far more ineffable. And that's precisely what makes this a journey worth taking.

Double-Bill: Relationships Are Hard Work

Journey To Italy and Before Midnight

Friday Quote: Ed Wood

"They don't want the classic horror films anymore. Today it's all giant bugs. Giant spiders, giant grasshoppers... Who would believe such nonsense?"

Ed Wood (1994)

Reincarnation!

There is no point to this post except to say that I think these actors resemble each other. Cue Twilight Zone music!

Ann Blyth and Rachael Leigh Cook

Katharine Houghton and Lindsay Lohan

Or rather...what Lindsay Lohan USED to look like.

Priscilla Lane and Hayden Panettiere

Virginia Mayo and Laura Linney

OK, these two look so much alike to me that it's freaky.

Josephine Hull and Rip Torn TELL ME THAT'S NOT RIP TORN IN A WIG.

Video Days (1991)

Growing up in Southern California in the 90’s it was impossible to avoid skate culture. Though I never became a skater myself, I always found myself on the periphery of that scene. I loved spending time in skate shops. So many interesting things to look at! Reservoir Dogs posters next to Hook-Ups shirts with anime girls on them? Window stickers of Calvin as Spaceman Spiff!? I was in aesthetic heaven. Oddly enough, the one thing I never bothered to get into was skate films. Sure there was always playing on a screen somewhere, but I was too busy rummaging through posters to notice. To me they were all the same: fish-eye lens shots of kids grinding to Pennywise songs. Seen one, you've seen ‘em all right? Apparently not.

Directed by Spike Jonze and released in 1991, Video Days is something of a revelation. While there is nothing overly remarkable about the skating on display (says the guy who can’t even ollie) what sets this film apart from the others is the soundtrack. War? The Jackson Five? John Coltrane? Yes, please!

While “Low Rider” over the opening credits is pretty standard, hearing “I Want You Back” kick in while Guy Mariano sails through the air is a thing of sheer beauty. And Red Garland’s piano intro to “Traneing In” sounds fits so well you’d swear it was composed for the express purpose of accompanying Mark Gonzalez’s skating. Of course in true punk rock fashion, none of this music was legally licensed. Fortunately the whole 24 minute opus can be found on Youtube…at least for now.

Love Story (1970)

The story is a simple one. Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy marries girl, boy loses girl. We all know how it goes, and the famous line, "Love means never having to say you're sorry," is almost a parody at this point. But this film, although simple, has a lot going for it. Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw as the two lovers have great chemistry and it's fun watching them verbally spar with one another. They fight and make up and share heartbreak like many couples, but there's a sincerity in this story that sets it apart and makes this film stay with you. There's a reason why this has become a classic.

Double-Bill: Grindhouse to Art House

Easy Rider and Targets

The Rep - A Documentary (2012)

A heartbreaking documentary about how difficult it is to run a repertory cinema in this day and age.

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As a cinephile of some distinction, I've watched more than my fair share of movie docs. Most of them amount to little more than glorified clip-reels that coast on the nostalgia you have for the films under discussion. Some of the better ones at least have fascinating anecdotes to glom onto. This doc is something else entirely.

Aside from brief glimpses of the films being screened in various rep houses, this film focuses exclusively on the cinephilic dreamers insane enough to open a theater in this age of streaming video. Their passion alone is what pulls you in. And once you're in, you're in. As a result, your heart breaks at every shuttered or demolished cinema you see on screen. In the end this is really an advocacy doc more than anything else. It's a cinematic rallying cry. Will you heed the call?

Now playing nightly at The Frida Cinema through June 26th!

Friday Quote: I Walked with a Zombie

"It's easy enough to read the thoughts of a newcomer. Everything seems beautiful because you don't understand. Those flying fish, they're not leaping for joy, they're jumping in terror. Bigger fish want to eat them. That luminous water, it takes its gleam from millions of tiny dead bodies. The glitter of putrescence. There is no beauty here, only death and decay. Everything good dies here. Even the stars."

I Walked with a Zombie (1943)

Don't Look Now (1973)

Shortly after the accidental death of their daughter, a couple (Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie) go to Venice as they both deal with grief in their own way. Oh and there might be a killer on the loose too.

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Back in the silent era the Russians were obsessed with editing. They developed all kinds of theories and tested them in very scientific ways. Sergi Eisenstein in particular was obsessed with examining how the order in which we see images can alter our emotional reactions to them. Shot A + Shot B = X, but Shot B + Shot A = Y. Such a subtle change in order can yield wildly different results. What might have been humorous before, can suddenly become suspenseful. As English director Nicolas Roeg's filmography has shown time and again: the same applies to the order of scenes.

By cutting freely between past, present and future, Roeg is able to weave tension into even the most mundane scene because we already know what lies ahead. And when you are never certain where the next cut will take you, every cut is filled with suspense. Something as simple as the color red can be either a harbinger of impending doom or a reminder of unspeakable grief. It's all about context.

Though the common consensus is that the horror genre is without artistic merit, Don't Look Now goes to show that in the hands of the right filmmaker, anything is possible.

Favorite Child Performances!

Last Sunday I had the immense pleasure of seeing To Kill a Mockingbird on the big screen, and it was amazing. It had been quite a few years since I'd seen this classic, and I've always loved the acting, especially of the children playing Jem and Scout. They're so natural. Their performance got me thinking of other child performances I like, so here's a list of my favorites! I recommend all these movies, if only for these performances!

Mary Badham and Phillip Alford as Scout and Jem Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird

   

Anna Paquin as Flora McGrath in The Piano

Double-Bill: Under Her Spell

I Married A Witch and Something Wild

Solaris (2002)

A troubled psychologist (George Clooney) is sent to investigate the crew of an isolated research station orbiting a bizarre planet that makes you see things.

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As much as I love Steven Soderbergh, I have never considered him to be a particularly emotional filmmaker. The way he talks about film combined with the way in which he covers a scene gives me the impression that he looks at a film as though it were an equation to be solved. Now I don't mean this as an insult (currently 16 of his films reside in my collection) but I am saying that while consistently beautiful and smart, his cinema always seems to hold me at a distance emotionally. It stimulates me mentally but tends to steer clear of my heart. The exception to this rule is Solaris.

Though based on the Stanislaw Lem novel, I don't think it is at all coincidental that Soderbergh chose to write the screenplay himself. If you look at his filmography you'll find that is hardly ever the case. And with the foregrounding of humans and faces over the tech and science of this near future wold, you cannot help but get taken in by all of the emotions at play. While I'm not exactly sure what in Steven's life prompted the creation of such a clearly personal work, I can definitely say that I am glad for it.

Short Term 12 (2013)

Grace (Brie Larson) is a staff member at a foster care facility. While she is confident and effective in her role helping the young people staying at the facility, her personal life with her boyfriend and coworker Mason (John Gallagher Jr.) is less than perfect, as she struggles to open up to those closest to her about the nightmares from her past that she keeps bottled up inside.

Short Term 12 is easily one of the best films I've seen this year. Brie Larson is fantastic and the supporting cast is equally good, especially Keith Stanfeld as Marcus, a young man staying at the facility who is having anxiety over having to leave. The film is heartwarming and heartbreaking, raw and real, and I can't recommend it enough. I laughed, I cried, I felt every raw emotion. A beautiful film, truly.

Friday Quote: Clue

"Well, someone's got to break the ice, and it might as well be me. I mean, I'm used to being a hostess, it's part of my husband's work. And it's always difficult when a group of new friends meet together for the first time, to get acquainted. So I'm perfectly prepared to start the ball rolling. I mean, I-I have absolutely no idea what we're doing here. Or what I'm doing here, or what this place is about, but I am determined to enjoy myself. And I'm very intrigued, and, oh my, this soup's delicious, isn't it?"

Clue (1985)

Closer (2004)

In my college Theater class we watched the film adaptation of David Mamet's Oleanna which has only two speaking roles. As you watch it, you gradually start to feel like all the extras populating the hallways have gags over their mouths, that is not the case with Closer. Here, Mike Nichols and his collaborators are able to make you feel like these people actually live in the real world. This is no small feat. But then again we are  also talking about the man who began his film career with the masterful adaptation of the play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? so of course it works. In fact I think this film completes a triptych which began with that film. Virginia Woolf, Carnal Knowledge and Closer. A trilogy of gut-wrenching examinations of interpersonal relationships? What could be more fun?

Obviously this film isn't fun, but damn is it riveting! The first time I saw this was at someone's house. It was a late night get together and I didn't know the people. The movie was still in theaters and they had a bootleg copy that they decided to put in. A little bit over an hour into the movie, the friend who had brought me decided it was time to leave. I threw the biggest hissy fit of my adult life!

Mercifully it was only about a month or two before it came out on video and I was able to see how it ended. And doubly mercifully, the ending actually lived up to the front half. All of the actors are at the top of their respective games and as a result every single line is able to sting with brutal emotional honesty. This film really and truly takes it out of you. But it's definitely worth the ride, and even worth a hissy fit or two. Oh, and it also has Natalie Portman as a stripper if that does anything for you.

Indiana Jones Party!

This past weekend we threw our annual outdoor movie party, this year's theme being Indiana Jones! We had friends over to swim, eat "bad dates" and "chilled monkey brains," and watched Raiders of the Lost Ark under the stars! We had a lot of fun with the theme, and drew inspiration from the first three Indiana Jones films, as well as the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull can go take a hike! Photos below!

Oh, and a video too! There were copyright laws preventing us from using the theme from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, so we sang it instead. And it's terrible. Enjoy!

 

Double-Bill: Heil-arious!

The Great Dictator and To Be Or Not To Be

After these messages...

Prior to binge watching Battlestar Galactica a few years back, I had not given much thought to commercial breaks as a narrative device. But faced with the wholesale removal of the actual commercials themselves, one cannot help but take note of these sporadic cuts to black. I started thinking about the decision of when to cut out and when to cut back. Do you cut back to the very next moment? To a few moments before the cut out? To a completely different scene altogether? With the prevalence of digital streaming, binge viewing is now the norm and people accept this convention countless times a day without batting an eye.

For years I have been waiting to see this convention turn up in a narrative feature film. I've often wondered what the context would be. Would it have to be a film about media? Would it be in a commercial film? Would it be some arty indie or foreign film? Turns out I had already missed the race.

At roughly 43 minutes into Krysztof Kieslowski's Three Colors: Blue, Juliette Binoche's character Julie is asked a difficult question. As she ponders her response, the music swells and the film cuts to black for a few seconds before coming back for her response. Though it's not exactly a commercial break, it's pretty close. But then I remembered the blackouts between scenes in Stranger In Paradise. And who knows, this was probably already done back in the silent era as well. I guess in the end, it just goes to show you that everything that can be done, already has been done. So stop worrying about being original and just make something awesome and personal.