Month: October 2005

Albert Brooks

I bought a comedy album by Albert Brooks when I was 12–“A Star is Bought”–and was absolutely amazed and confused. I laughed really hard, but I couldn’t share its punchlines at school; unlike Steve Martin, say, or Richard Pryor or George Carlin, who if nothing else came with value-added profanities, and who always drew an appreciative laugh from the kids who might otherwise have punched me, Brooks…. well, how could I explain that his parody of the “Mr. Jaws” records was about the funniest damn thing I’d heard?

I was able to find on video at a local hole-in-the-wall Real Life, his and Harry Shearer’s absolutely brilliant send-up of reality television made thirty years ahead of its time (riffing on the contemporaneous PBS documentary ‘inside’–and destructive of–a family’s home). Mauer and Bruns have rhapsodized about that wonder elsewhere on this blog.

And although I got almost none of the specific angst pervading his next two films–Modern Romance and Lost in America–I got the existential genius of the arrogant, doomed-to-failure character “Albert Brooks.”

I’m kind of just gushing here. I’ve watched everything since–and even relished The Mother–but haven’t seen anything close to that early genius.

So, with great trepidation but also great hopes, I thought I’d post the trailer for his new flick, Looking for Comedy in the Moslem World. The trailer hits a couple high notes, and squawks awkwardly (and sounds almost Catskillsy, in the worst way) in a few instances. But…. here’s hoping I have a devil of a time talking to my colleagues, those ones who might otherwise punch me, about why this movie is funny.

bad education

watched this last night. it was recommended by someone who reads the blog but doesn’t comment (and i’m hoping that perhaps she will now). i liked it very much but am not sure if i agree with the ny times et al that this is a perfect film and almodovar’s best. some of these reviews focus on almodovar’s take on genre, noir, in particular, and yes, this is a very cleverly done noir. or more accurately it is a blending of the noir with high melodrama (almodovar’s great preoccupation). of course these two genres do seem like mirror images–the cynicism of the noir being perhaps the flipside of melodrama’s immersion in pure emotion–but maybe this wouldn’t have occurred to me if i hadn’t seen this film. the film isn’t just a formal exercise in genre re-invention–it explores desire, narrative desire in particular (again the territory of noir and melodrama) and cinematic desire. at the centre of all this desiring is gael garcia bernal (who everybody desires). however, i felt that the film, which has this glossy sheen that all of almodovar’s recent films seem to have, ends up holding the audience out–i didn’t feel emotionally drawn into this narrative the way i was with all about my mother. others?

another note: the film was rated nc17. however, there’s no sexual activity here that seems to merit this rating. i’m assuming that it is the mere fact that the activity in question is homosexual that drew the rating. but we don’t see genitalia any more than in a history of violence and that film’s sex scenes (especially the oral sex scene) are far more protracted and explicit. sexual organs are occasionally outlined against cloth, but far more innocently than in the average beer commercial.

when father was away on business

watched this in two sessions–not because the film is so long but because one of us has trouble staying awake to watch anything that isn’t a korean soap-opera. i am a big fan of the kusturica films i’ve seen (arizona dream, underground) and had been meaning to get around to seeing his early stuff for quite some time now. this is really very good. it helps to know something about yugoslavian history (which i took a crash course in between sessions) for without it the political allegory doesn’t quite come across, but as kusturica says in an interview included on the dvd, it is a poetic-political film and i think would be affecting even without much historical knowledge. but i would recommend doing some brief reading online at least before watching. i’ll note a few random things briefly:
Continue reading when father was away on business

Sisterhood

I’m not going to make a huge case for Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants–it is what it is and nothing more. Its three-hankie girlpower shtick was affecting primarily due to the young actors playing the central roles (in particular, America Ferrera and Alexis Bledel). Still, Nicola and I enjoyed it and recommend it to those few reading this blog who enjoy, on the rare ocassion, a solid unassuming genre flick.

oldboy

Because this movie was a commercial success in Korea, I had imagined it to be very different. I had anticipated the humor, which was certainly there (although I’m not sure if it was as funny in translation), but the “serious” subject matter was a surprise to me. Overall, I thought the film was an interesting mixture of fantasy and a cautionary tale, with a sci-fi/comic book visual aesthetic.

If you haven’t seen it don’t read any more.
Continue reading oldboy

Baumbach

Okay, I am now officially very intensely waiting for The Squid and the Whale. While waiting, I got thinking about Noah Baumbach’s earlier films, and thought I ought to write something about them here. Matt Feeney beat me to it, at Slate, so I’ll just point you to him. That said, he doesn’t mention Highball, a strange little film about a cocktail party, which seems like a throwaway, except for some great dialogue and some glorious scene-stealing by Peter Bogdanovich, who keeps doing impersonations of various filmmakers and actors.

The best thing in both of Baumbach’s first two movies–despite the always brutally funny Chris Eigemann–is the strangely sincere earnest silliness of Carlos Jacott. But Feeney nails how good Jacott is, so, again, I’ll cop out and let his piece stand alone.

One small bit of dialogue, though, spoken by Baumbach and his brother in Kicking and Screaming, to the hero. They pester the protagonist about which animals he’d fuck, basically haranguing him into choosing an animal just to shut them up. But when he says, exasperatedly, “Cow,” they look bitter and hostile and call him “Cowfucker” for the rest of the movie. That, my friends, is comedy. Even the Hungarian will have to admit that.

The Penguin Short

It seems appropriate that a post on Rob Zombi should be sandwiched between posts about animated films about bunnies and penguins.

I forgot to mention that even better than the Wallace and Gromit film was the Madagascar Penguins “A Christmas Caper.” It was funny, engaging, and damn those penguins are adorable. Since it was only 10 minutes long, I’m not going to write any more.

House of 1000 Corpses / Cocksucker Blues

Just watched House of 1000 Corpses and Cocksucker Blues. The first half-hour of House of 1000 Corpses is fantastic. I watched it twice and could have watched it again. The dialogue between Sid Haig and Michael Pollard (Scrooged, Roxanne, Bonnie & Clyde) is hilariously vile. If the whole film had been them talking and occasionally slaughtering some people I’d have ben thrilled. The rest of it is not as good, but pays tribute to the old 1970s American International exploitation drive-in flicks in fine form. It’s also beautifully shot, and fantastically colored. Some of the between scene cuts in negative and orange and blues are too much, and distracting, but I wouldn’t want Rob Zombie to be overly restrained… I eagerly look forward to the relase of the sequel on DVD soon.
Continue reading House of 1000 Corpses / Cocksucker Blues

Plasticene on the Big Screen

We went to see Wallace and Grommet: Attack of the Were-Rabbit on Saturday. I enjoyed it. I suppose if it takes you five years to make the clay move, you have plenty of time to think of a story. It wasn’t original, but it was solid with nods to the genre. I felt a little ripped-off that the bunnies (whence the were-rabbit) looked so slapdash, I mean, they had five years to make them. It scared the kids, and there are a couple of funny double entedres that indicate it’s not really for them anyway. The best part is that I now know how to revive Pete should he die.