Category: likey

First, I’ll just plug the comedy troupe: Amy Poehler, Matt Besser, Matt Walsh, and Ian Roberts. They had a short gig on Comedy Central, and now pop up seemingly everywhere in small roles (or, for Poehler, bigger billing on SNL). They–the shows–are damn funny.

I am doubting anyone else even has this on their radar, so I’ll post it: saw Walsh & Roberts’ film Martin & Orloff last night, and it’s a lower-key funny, analogous to Brain Candy‘s relation to Kids in the Hall: fun for fans but perhaps not particularly effective at trying to win over new fans, strangely intent on a more narrative form but also often wholly unconcerned with that narrative, and full of some fine, small, absurdist moments. I laughed out loud a number of times. The plot: Martin designs character costumes for an ad agency, but is struggling with the guilt of not putting eye-holes on suits–leading to a horrible eggroll mishap, and a subsequent suicide attempt. Orloff is, ostensibly, the therapist assigned his case. Comedy hijinks ensue. Continue reading Upright Citizens

Less flashy but more substantial than The Constant Gardener, I found Syriana to be intelligent and provocative—an unassuming and impassioned yet labyrinthine melodrama. Though it flirts with moral ambiguity, the film is very clear about who the bad guys are and who the good guys are. The fact that some of the good guys are perceived to be, at first, bad buys doesn’t make their purity of intent any less romanticized. The film requires great patience but the rewards are there . . . indeed, the film’s climax is quite exciting and suspenseful. I will also point to the fine ensemble work among the actors (in particular, the young man who played the Pakistani terrorist in training).

recently watched: the duellists (for the first time) and fitzcarraldo (for the second time after many, many years).

i liked the duellists quite a bit, even if visually it seemed somewhat like barry lyndon-lite. scott always seems more interested in images than narrative, and i think comes closest in this film to fusing them. ferraud’s obsessive revenge on d’hubert is mirrored by the film’s obsessive interest in costume and the trappings of chivalry–and the general fussiness of day to day life during the napoleonic wars throws into relief the simplicity of ferraud’s mania. i don’t know how many of you have seen it or remember it clearly, but i’m interested in your take on the feud that drives the narrative.

*spoiler alert for those who have not seen it.*
Continue reading obsessive behaviour

Finally I’m getting around to writing something about Herzog’s latest film. I’ll say first of all that I was surprised at the number of good reviews for this film, and that it seemed to do well on the art-house circuit. Having seen the film, I’m even more surprised.

Herzog has been cranking out decent documentaries for years now on all manner of obscure topics, and no one has taken much notice. His last feature film had been the disturbing Cobra Verde in ’87, though he did make a feature film a few years ago; the sweet Nazi-circus drama Invincible with Tim Roth. I’ll stop adding “which you should see” b/c this is Herzog, and it should go without saying you should see it. Continue reading Grizzly Man

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.

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

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.