felicityking

Newest to oldest, per usual.

Somers Town. A hobo an an immigrant become friends in inner city London. Despite it's slightly pretentious note, this film is quite likable. It felt genuine. I want to use the word literary to describe it, but that suggests it contained certain cinematic imagery when it didn't. It really had no plot but the vignette-like quality of the film gave it a realness that other "slice-in-the-life-of" films lack. I looked up the film, and apparently, the director is regional Midlands one who is reguarly on the film festival circuit. And, yet, the film didn't have the calculated feel that many indies have today (you know: the ones that clearly vying to get an Oscar...). I really enjoyed seeing this different view of England which isn't documented enough in films. I do recommend it.

Titanica. A 1995 IMAX documentary narrated by Leonard Nimoy. Dear James Cameron: it's very good to know that your idea of "research" consists of lifting a subpar documentary scene for scene. Seriously! Just watch this and then watch the film and you'll see how much Cameron plaguarized. Now why do I say it is subpar? Well, it doesn't put Titanic in the context of its time. It's basically boiled down "arrogant people with bad decision-making skills." When it was so much more than that. Ironically, nobody in this documentary comes off looking good either. The explorers pat themselves on the back even as they crash into the wreckage and try to lift luggage off the floor because it might have real gold in it or the shiplog or a valuable rare book. This is only worth watching to enjoy how spectacularly everyone--from explorer to historian--makes fools of themselves when discussing the ship. Only the survivors and the footage give this any dignity.

City Lights. I've watched several of Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp films and never once have I gotten a slash vibe from them. However, this one just gushes out the slash like there's no tomorrow. The Little Tramp befriends a millionaire who only remembers him when he is drunk: when sober, the millionaire only sees the Little Tramp as a stranger. This leads to many pratfalls and double entendres. The main story though involves the Little Tramp discovering a poor blind woman and falling in love with her and what he does to save her. Like all of Chaplin's films, there is social commentary. However, I will keenly admit all that captativated me was how much of a dandy the Little Tramp was, and all that slash. I mean, it's everywhere! Forget "Star Trek: TOS," Chaplin was the one who inadvertently discovered it.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Whatever PS lacks, this one makes up for it in spades. I dare say, it also benefits from the LOTR effect. There is more attention to detail and more details in both the set and costume design. The vistas are grander in scale and scape. n other words, the HP series no longer feels trapped in the 1990s. There is also a charm and enchanting quality that PS lacks. I think COS is helped along to in that is more closely adapted to the book but the changes made aren't haphazard. (Scenes actually flow and make sense: it doesn't feel rushed.) But I also think the kids actually own their roles now in a way they didn't in PS. (Watch and tell me you don't think Daniel Radcliffe is a BAMF! when he smirks against Tom in the COS.) The only miss in the film is the casting of Kenneth Branaugh as Professor Gilderoy Lockhart. Book! Lockhart is full of himself, but he manages to charming and funny by virtue of being so egotistical. Film! Lockhart is full of himself...but dignified. That said, I think the film did a great job capturing the loopy balls-always-up-in-the-air nature of the book with the introduction of Dobby, the COS, and Lockhart. Oh, and it wins a bonus point for a continuity callback: When Harry meets Voldemort in PS, Harry is wearing a red sweater. In COS, when Harry meets Tom Ridde, Harry is wearing ... a red sweater. I thought that was a nice detail.

Jungfrukällan (The Virgin Spring). One doesn't usually use the words "beautiful," "enchanting" and "meditative" to describe horror films--particularly ones that feature rape and unpleasant killing scenes--, but without a doubt, this film was all those things. But it is not just a horror film, it is also an examination of religious conflict, faith, and family. The costume and set design, and nature backdrop, contribute to the stark wonder that makes this film unique. Concerning a family in the Medieval times whose daughter is murdered and how they extract revenge on her killers. Apparently, The Last House on the Left is a remake of this film, and I ever do watch it (I don't like torture porn), it will only to see how this got remade.

The Circus. This is the first silent film I've watched since I've graduated from college! Wow! That's 5 years! Shame on me! This is one of Charlie Chaplin's Tramp movies and it was really good. Even though it's from the early days of Hollywood, I couldn't help but see it as a metaphor the industry past and present: how fame is fleeting and how hits are always expected, but how the system tries to manage you. How in the end, all you have is yourself. Offtopic: say what you will about silents, but they do preserve the pantomime and vaudeville of the late Victorian era & Edwardian era. And while I don't consider myself a film snob, I adhor students of film who dismiss this genre. (I actually met one in college. He was very dismissive of the era, saying that "they were just learning how to made movies in those days" as a justification for why he ignored films of that era--as well as films of other eras.)

El Angel Exterminador (The Exterminating Angel). Part satire, part horror, this film chronicles what happens when several upper-class society members attend a dinner party, and then are unable to leave. Going through the tag on tumblr, I saw this comment 'it's like Lost set in a living room' and that aptly sums it up. Or Lord of the Flies meets Downton Abbey. I thought it was quite good. Remarkably scathing too in how it showed how things don't matter when you are starving and trying to survive. On that note, I will add, I was THIS close to having an orgasm the first 20 minutes of the film: the sumptuousness, the luxury, the opulence, is just breathtaking: both the set interior design and the costumes. It was truly cinematic porn! (But by the end, one is only acutely aware of the grossness.) Oh, and the ending.... just imagine if the film had gone that route. Apparently, Luis Bunuel was considered a controversial filmmaker and I have no doubt as to why!

Mitt liv som hund (My Life as a Dog). Lasse Hallstrom is like the L.M. Montgomery of cinema, and I don't mean that in a bad way because I love LMM, but basically: you see one Hallstrom film, you've seen them all. This was made in 1985, but it contains the hallmarks of his films to come: a not quite idyllic family living in a not quite idyllic time. A coming of age tale. The eccentrics. The beautiful scenery. Heartbreaking but not a wring-your-heart-out-will-ruin-you-forever tragedy. A story will a philosophical and semi-mythological event. I liked it, but it's typical of his work. The thing I liked best about this was its depiction of slower times without being sentimental. Also, the little boy kills me: "I always compare. Things could be worse."

Merlin 1.05

In the Bedroom. I hated this film. The characters only existed to serve the plot, nothing more. I found the ending to be quite farfetched as well: Richard would NOT have been acting like an innocent, lost puppy based on his actions earlier in the film. The only scene I liked was the "you're so unforgivable" scene because the characters seem to spring beyond the confines of the film. I will say the costumes, set design and Maine landscape all suited each other nicely. However, this film wasn't worth any of the Oscar nominations it got. I enjoy Miramax films but this one is clearly one of those only designed for the awards circuit. You can feel it in every scene. I don't mind carefully scripted films, but this one the "I want my awards" weight was clearly felt in every edit. Even the banter didn't care like banter. (Oh, and trivializing domestic violence? Making it look like it is secondary to a lover's triangle and blaming the female? So not okay in my book.)

Groundhog Day. I've watched this film dozens of times through the years but this is the first time I've ever reviewed it. A stuck-up, shallow weatherman has to repeat the same day over and over again. When I was younger, I didn't appreciate this film, but I've grown to love it over the years and I really like its message: all of us might be stuck living the same day to day life, but we can still grow and enrich our lives not just to kindness to others but also through learning about the world. Although the 'small town people are more real' line does annoy me and I'm from a smallish town!

Proof. Flawless. When I read or watch movies, I like to think of them having dialogues with each other, and this one makes an interesting one with Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Restoration. Like those films, it's about the power of the mind, madness and genius. Without intending to, it also has a feminist lense in regards women not getting recognized for their contributions in various fields. Gwyneth Paltrow is amazing. It's a pitch-perfect performance. John Madden also must be credited because while Patrow has a heavy role of being the drab, depressed--perhaps a genius--but burdened with the weight of the world--the film never feels overly down. It just zips along. I strongly rec this film (and have yourself a film fest and watch RotPotA and Restoration with it!)