Why doesn’t someone make a movie about Andrew?
Just kidding. But since many here know that particular Quiet American, I thought I’d point out that he got a Jazz Pick of the Week in this week’s LA Weekly.
you can read it here:
http://www.laweekly.com/calendar/picks/index.php
In the paper there’s a picture of Andrew – looking quiet – but it’s not on the web, because I am lazy. And not particularly good at my job.
It’s a good thing AFI didn’t do the “Top 101 Quotes” because of course number 101 was from Roadhouse.
“I used to fuck guys like you in prison.”
This is easily the best film I’ve seen in some time. A French comedy–and lo these many years I’d assumed that beast to be mythical–about tastes aesthetic and romantic. Every character displays some worldview or some kind of love which collides with some other character’s, and the film is a dry sometimes cruelly blunt evocation of how we don’t understand one another. But it also studiously avoids taking sides–almost no character is simply mocked for bad taste.
In my favorite scene, a crass businessman is trying to woo an actress he’s fallen for, sitting in a crowd of her artsy friends, telling crude jokes which all involve shit or vomit. He completely misses their scorn, so rapt in his infatuation…. And although the actor never betrays the crassness of the character, never seeks our sympathies by softening his character’s faults or making him more likable, there is such compassion for his desire, such appreciation for his appreciation.
I also loved the speed of the film–scenes of 2 minutes, or less, and crosscutting between a host of characters. It feels like a farce in form, but plays much more subtly as a character study.
Highly recommended.
Unlike Mauer, who practices his anti-blockbuster sneer in front of a mirror every May, in preparation for quick scornful dismissals in every conversation he has all Summer, I actually continue to dream the dream of the grand great Hollywood extravaganza. I get suckered in every year, or, rather than suckered, I willingly suspend my scorn thinking–well, at least one of these previews has to portend something marvelous. And, of course, like Saturday morning cartoons and burritos at Taco Bell, the preview hype and expectation is almost always better than real life.
This film isn’t the holy grail. It is, though, what a blockbuster ought to be, could be: generally exciting, often surprisingly moving, smartly executed. Fun.
Continue reading Summer
http://www.adultswim.com/promos/12ozmouse/
The new animated series on Adult Swim debuted the other night. I lucked into taping it and have watched it a couple of times now. Drawn with a #2 pencil in the style of a 6 year old, it’s the story of an angry drunk mouse.
I’ve no idea if it’ll have the traction of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, but I hope so. It’s certainly starting better than the Bob Odenkirk-blessed Tom Goes to the Mayor.
They are running it again Thursday night – or Friday night. I can’t be bothered to check.
The link is to a short clip of the show. Enjoy.
since no one else seems to be watching any movies (no new discussions in a week) i’ll start a thread on non-mainstream, yet not quite arty bombay cinema. in the u.s these might be equivalent to indie’s or studio-indies:
“company” and “naach” (both by ram gopal varma). varma is an interesting young director who formally and thematically works out his ambivalent relationship to the bollywood aesthetic in a number of his films. “naach” in particular seems to be very much about the question of relating to and functioning in an industry with a history of formulaic pandering to audience expectations. it also shows he’s been watching a bit too much of wong kar wai.
“haasil”–mentioned this earlier, will repeat the recommendation so someone watches it.
“yuva”–mani ratnam’s most recent. more within the bombay mainstream than the above but may warrant inclusion here. ratnam may be the most technically adept director working in bombay (he’s really a tamil filmmaker), certainly the flashiest. “yuva” is about the intersecting stories of three sets of young people in calcutta and their life-choices etc. some stunning set pieces, including a particularly violent opening game of kabbadi in a prison and the climactic fight scene in traffic on a bridge. should be quite accessible to americans.
will add more as they occur to me.
Inspired by the uninspiring “Mr. and Mrs. Smith”–
What’s the meanest funny comedy ever made? And/or the funniest mean comedy?
A short list, off the top of my head:
Happiness
Little Murders
Where’s Poppa?
Prizzi’s Honor
Unfaithfully Yours
Shoah
After Hours; King of Comedy; Goodfellas
Smile — and The Candidate? A shout-out to Michael Ritchie, in his heyday
Being There
Okay, one of those is a gag. A special honorable mention for W.C. Fields. I can’t say all of his films really hold up as mean/funny narrative, but he’s perhaps the model protagonist. In “It’s a Gift” (I think it was “It’s a Gift”) he made me laugh as hard as I’ve ever laughed at a film just by turning to a co-worker and muttering “I hate you.” No punchline, no set-up, no shtick–just “I hate you.” Now that’s comedy.
Not bad. Not good. Too long. At least occasionally witty and reasonably well-edited and shot. But too often assumes that lots and lots of shooting equals rip-roaring fun. (There’s one fine fight sequence between the two ridiculously-sculpted stars that’s kind of fun–at least compared to Cinderella Man, but then the film ends with a bloated half-hour gun battle, and if you’re not John Woo and Chow-Yun Fat and Tony Leung, don’t bother.)
Can say this: made me want to see Fight Club and Made again. Jolie’s never been in a good movie, has she? She’s got pluck, though–hang in there, kid! The pictures are a tough business!
I’m going to jump-start Mauer–I want to hear what he has to say about this flick.
My own thoughts: certainly it’s recommended. If for no other reason, to see Christian Bale, who couples the stunt starvation with some interesting performance choices. Sure, he’s got the sunken, haunted look down pat, but I was even more surprised by the strange smarmy falsity of his interactions with a waitress who might (or might not) be a romantic interest… it was an odd and off-putting bit of swagger, that seemed way out of keeping with the character–but, like much of the movie, made sense as it went on. (And it reminded me of Nicolas Cage, of lore–the Vampire’s Kiss Cage whose weirdness amplified a film’s potential surreality.) But the flick is also well-structured, well-shot, and always pretty gripping. (Even if not all that surprising, and not as spooky or disruptive as Brad Anderson’s last sort-of-ghost-story, Session 9.)
Continue reading The Machinist
watched this last night on a friend’s recommendation. this is a low-profile bombay movie from a few years ago that is set mostly at a university in a smaller indian city (allahabad). there are no major stars in this but it is a wonderful little film. actually, it is like two films: the first half is a spot-on profile of the criminalized politics at pretty much any indian university, with a nicely observed and detailed love-story woven in; the second half becomes a little more formulaic but is still rousing stuff–the finale, which is set against the backdrop of the maha kumbh mela in allahabad (millions of people descend on the town for this festival that occurs every 12 years,) is not as exciting as the netflix dvd sleeve makes it out to be but is still very good. it is very well shot as well–very atmospheric (the credits sequence in particular is one of the best i’ve seen anywhere in years). and the performances are all amazing. as non-hindi speakers you guys will miss out on most of the nuances of dialect and accent (and how they further detail the characters) but i think you’ll like it very much anyway. this is more solidly in the bombay tradition than something like “company” but don’t let that stop you. now i need to find out more about this director.
one note, if you do decide to see it: in the subtitles you’ll see the two student-leaders constantly being referred to by their hangers-on as “boss”. the literal word being used is “bhai” or “(elder) brother” (as in the kitano film), and i don’t know why they didn’t use that.