Stranger than Paradise

Stranger than Paradise – July 19, 2007

There's a mysterious allure that keeps one (semi) focused on "Stranger than Paradise," Jim Jarmusch's austere second film. The characters, a small-time swindler from Brooklyn, his dopey pal and his Hungarian emigree cousin who serves hot dogs in Cleveland, are unambitious people who live desperately blah lives. Their pettiness, aloofness and lack of any sort of motivation whatever is funny, but, as uncomplex as they are, a lot seems to be happening on a deeper level. Why does Willie seem to resent his being Hungarian? Why is Eva in America? Why do the guys pursue her and act protective of her as though they are the responsible big brothers to a thirteen-year-old? Is there any lust to their attraction to Eva? Are they content with their listlessness? As in "Broken Flowers," it's the unuttered thoughts and unanswered questions that make the small characters whole and one's imagination enriched. The conclusion, somewhat improbable, seems contrived - especially when compared to the stark realism of the rest of the movie. But any open-ended denouement would suffice; to depart the movie with any traditional sense of resolution would be a cheat.

First Batch

Crash (1996) – July 18, 2007

A pervy pleasure--that is, "Crash," a flick about people getting hot over traffic accidents, is enjoyable if watched ironically, which - I hope - it is at least half-way meant to be. Otherwise, it's an amorphous mess of escalating fetishes that the blase characters just seem to tack on, as though adding them to their resumes. The movie's greatest feat is by Elias Koteas as a long-time crash-erection veteran who manages to out-creep James Spader, who plays his apprentice. Also, for those of you who've seen "Empire of the Sun," it's funny to think that the kid in that movie-memoir (J. G. Ballard) grew up to write the book on which this is based. At the very least, this film is more fun than the 2004 "Crash."

Sicko – July 17, 2007

Michael Moore's newest documentary is not as much of an agit-prop rabblerouser as its predecessor, "Fahrenheit 911," was. "Sicko," though alarmist, was made with the skeptical Middle American moderate in mind; I suppose Moore took it for granted that liberals and - according to a recent survey - the youth already believed in universal health care. Maybe because I am a youth, I found some of it a bit mawkish--inoffensively so, but still yawn-producing. More importantly, though, I found some of the material dubious (France, where riots took place last year, seemed like a veritable utopia). And I can only take so much of Moore acting as a dumdum devil's advocate. But maybe genteel soft-headedness with a few moments of genuinely affecting drama is exactly what the polarizing "left-wing elite" director needs to entice red staters who'd otherwise be liable to assault the screen with handfuls of rotten tomatoes.

Reno 911: Miami – July 16, 2007

The police in "Reno 911: Miami" may only be a modern equivalent of the Keystone Kops, but the movie - like the TV series - is successful because they approach the scatological and inane with a clinical deadpan. It's not challenging humor, but it's clever and the troupe has talent; each character can see each other's quirky smugness and idiocy, but none can see their own, and the conflict that arises from the rival fatuity makes it entertainingly absurd. Yeah, there's stuff that's downright dumb - on occasion, too dumb - but it's mostly rectified by the characters' dynamic of self-righteous ineptitude. The actors have no humility, but no pretension either, which is what made the "reality" of "Borat" seem superficial. "The Da Ali G Show" didn't transfer to the big screen as well because Cohen's schtick became too unspontaneous and too purposeful; outside of getting laughs, there's no purpose for this, but who'd want one?

2046 – July 10, 2007

The title and the advertising were both misnomers; "2046" is not really a sci-fi film. I wish I'd seen "In the Mood for Love" - purportedly its prequel - first, but this works on its own as Tony Leung finds himself going in and out of romances, but always maintaining a cool distance that makes his women despondent. Unable to escape his past, he is lovelorn too, and he channels it through his lurid science fiction. Wong Kar Wai traps his characters in his cramped, but stunning compositions; he has a great aesthetic eye. The visuals, including those tongue-in-cheek ones that represent Leung's futurist tales - a train that goes from the present to 2046 (either the year or apartment number of his first girlfriend, you decide) and has never carried back any passengers, save himself - are a cross between "2001," "Blade Runner" and "Last Tango in Paris." "2046" runs a bit overlong, but it is sensual and touching and forlorn without being cold.

Stay – July 10, 2007

Marc Forster may very well be the greatest hack director of his generation. He works in the Starbucks upper-middle brow with films like "Finding Neverland" and "Stranger than Fiction" in his repertoire, and he does quite a good job bridging the gap between the multiplex and the art house. "Stay" is no exception; it plays like David Lynch lite. There's a core mystery involving a seemingly supernatural Ryan Gosling who plans to die Saturday at midnight, something that his interim psychiatrist (Ewan MacGregor) is going through a labyrinth to thwart. The solution isn't too much of a surprise, but there's a little extra depth added to the been-done ending that prevents it from being too much of a cop-out. It renders explanation for the fluky twists and turns of the middle section unnecessary, but I wasn't too bothered; Forster's machinations were brilliantly engineered.

8 ½ – July 6, 2007

It's easy to see how this movie is beloved by so many film students; it depicts the foibles of moviemaking in Homeric proportions - and this is something very attractive to the film student's natural sense of self-importance, a very powerful force that I can vouch for. But "8 1/2" is also a lot of fun, and although it gets a little sentimental at the end (Fellini's influence on Woody Allen's eighties work is evident), it is always technically superb, breezy, witty and silly. You can forgive Fellini for his narcissism, and even his showbiz caricatures - which modernized and made hip the Old Hollywood images of producers and stars, but unfortunately created a new breed of movie-people stereotypes that remains pervasive today (think "Entourage") - because it's generally lightweight and wacky. The autobiographical epic can only be taken half-seriously, and the sappy, baroque end makes up for any cruelty toward the archetypes. (I'm sure "La Dolce Vita" is the same way, but I've yet to see that film.)

M – July 2, 2007

Fritz Lang's early talkie is kind of slow at first, especially because there are no characters you can truly identify with (this becomes part of the theme later on), but the meat comes deeper into "M", when the city's underworld confronts Peter Lorre as the child murderer in its own version of a tribunal, which may or may not be as just as one of the state's. The movie is full of ambiguities, including the comparison between the police and the crooks, but especially in Lorre's excellent performance; except for a twitch at a cafe about half-way through, it's hard to perceive that this man who lures little girls with candy and balloons and then mutilates them is troubled by a conscience until the end. Unlike his decidedly creepy persona during his Hollywood period, he's pudgy here and baby-faced. Even despite his mammoth eyeballs, in another context he wouldn't seem like a pervert at all. "M" is aided by its time period; the low-fidelity or non-existent sound, along with the lurid Expressionist sets, adds an extra air of eeriness. It all serves Lang's latent socialist message, which manifests itself subtly and only on occasion seems preachy.

The Seventh Seal – June 28, 2007

Although this film is considered a hallmark of Scandinavian gloominess (a knight challenging Death to chess amid the Black Plague), people rarely mention just how high on goofballs "The Seventh Seal" is. Sure, there's thick allegory, intriguing exist...(read more)entialism and agnostic musings, but there is also a scene where an actor uses reverse psychology on a dummy while a wry squire narrates the foibles in the background, and I couldn't but think that Bergman had been inspired by "That's So Raven." Old Deathy Poo was actually a pretty funny fellow through most of the film - his parts were probably my favorites - but I felt that the movie's philosophizing on our mortal coil seemed undercut when the Grim Reaper acted like Bugs Bunny.

Evan Almighty – June 28, 2007

At one point, Steve Carell, playing a freshman congressman who has been physically transformed into the Biblical Noah by divine intervention, gets asked by a superior who it is that's telling him to make that crazy ark. Evan is embarrassed to say "God," and when he does, he's derided by the entire House of Representatives. To make a scene like that in a movie today, the makers of "Evan Almighty" must be crass, condescending or ignorant - or, possibly, some fun combination thereof. Of course, when the flood does come, everyone realizes that the one wackjob in Congress who claims to be a theist was right all along. And, as a corrupt Southern statesman, does John Goodman's character really have to be named after Huey Long? Does that even count as an allusion? The movie is moderately funny thanks to Carell, and a wee bit scary thanks to an imperious Morgan Freeman - certainly frightening enough to give Christopher Hitchens, the "anti-theist," nightmares. I'm not criticizing this film's belief in God, only its carelessness. I don't think they know what they're selling, though implicitly: the falsehood that religiosity is frowned upon and victimized by today's government and that non-believers had better learn the errors of their ways. Faithfulness aside, that's a dubious philosophy to be peddling, even in "harmless" claptrap like this.

Knocked Up – June 28, 2007

Frankly, I went to see "Knocked Up" not because the setup looked funny, but because it looked conventional - completely, utterly conventional. And, yet, it had the blessings of critics and audiences, and I had to support something that could knock one of this summer's numerous sequel grotesqueries out of its number one spot. But "Knocked Up" was a genuinely good comedy; it lacks Steve Carell and Catherine Keener, who held together director Apatow's "40 Year Old Virgin," but it cuts back on the worst of that movie, too. This flick is more mature; it even looks sunnier and less plastic. I hesitate to say it's altogether funnier, but it is "better," and it's unique nowadays as a mainstream comedy with a personal angle and realistic approach. According to interviews with the cast and crew, the actors are basically playing themselves, and although that technique has its limits, it works in this situation and with these people; they are relatively ordinary, but quite likeable. Our primary surrogate is Ben, a seemingly boorish pothead who is really more like a nonintellectual Woody Allen who can't help but blather when real life surprisingly interrupts his dreamy wanderlust. He matures somewhat, but - fortunately - there's no real lesson for him to learn, so we don't see him conform to some "better" standard. He's a chummy dude throughout and willing to help rear his brewing mistake from the get-go. Although the hastiness with which Alison decides to not abort the baby is suspect - that option seems to be played off as selfish and materialistic - it's unfair for one not to dismiss that detail because, if drawn out, it would put a stopper on the plot. Nobody wants to be bogged down with REAL reality too much, anyway. But, other than that, I salute the movie for its lack of conformity; those regular movie preconceptions about the need for marriage and the stay-at-home-mom would be the kind of formula that's anathema to these filmmakers' style and, in fact, is expertly mocked by Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann (who was a highlight as the drunk driver in "Virgin"). "Knocked Up" is lithely written and surprisingly dynamically played.

Ladyhawke – June 19, 2007

Who knew the fourteenth century could be scored by synthesizer? And, I'd love to see the behind-the-scenes footage where Matthew Broderick vomits between takes after delivering every line. If you like idiotic fantasy-romance-bestiality, or just laughing at a ripe example of eighties blockbuster bullshit, this is your movie. I'll give it half a star, though, because the filmmakers didn't seem to grasp how insipid their product was. At least it's innocent enough to unite the entire family for a night of relentless ridiculing.

The 40 Year Old Virgin – June 19, 2007

Somewhat overrated and quite overlong, but - and it may almost be trite to say so - Carell transcends the gimmick by playing a likable, "realistic" guy that we can all project our frustrations onto; he's the straight man, but an offbeat one that's losing his nerve with self-consciously going through adolescence yet again. The movie has the decency not to rush Andy or prod him for his nonconformity, but it meanders with its hit-or-miss dirty talk and now-stereotypical vulgar Middle Easterners. Outside of Carell and Keener, the movie didn't feel very loose and the coy musical number at the end made me want to fast forward. But, don't get me wrong - condoms, a horny, butch boss, throw-away repartee about an ex-girlfriend, a tranny hooker, kids walking in on parents having "sex" - it definitely had its moments.

V for Vendetta – June 13, 2007

Even if the executives in charge of this production only made this movie out of a fiscal sense of liberal chic, the filmmakers themselves seem to have believed in what they were espousing with unabashed fervor. The Wachowskis, who adapted the screenplay from an unhappy graphic novelist, even have the guts to condone forms of "terrorism" if it's in the fair, egalitarian name of social justice. "V" is so naïve as to brush aside a long history of parody - they pull stunts like showing the evil "1984" chancellor as a talking head on a giant video screen - but it works as a humble admission that the filmmakers know that this is an exercise in kitsch. This is, by no means, a work of genius; it's almost a stretch to call it "smart." The tie-ins with today's political realities are heavy-handed and the plot is full of holes and stretches. But the Wachowskis and the director (James McTiegue), who is overlooked because of them, know how to entertain on a commercial level. That skill, and their romantic - if somewhat immature - idealism, keeps the movie afloat. In that way, "V for Vendetta" is like "Potemkin" for kids; there are explosions and fight scenes, alright, but some bona fide feeling behind them.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (2005) – June 12, 2007

It's pretty incredible to see current actors waltz around the expressionist sets digitally lifted from the classic German silent "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari," but other than the technology, this remake brings virtually nothing new to the table. It doesn't even use the many advancements made in the film medium since 1919 to make the offbeat old creeper more frightening to modern audiences the way that Werner Herzog did in his version of "Nosferatu." The actors trudge through the pedestrian, semi-anachronistic dialogue as though they are in an actual silent film - although, in fairness, it mustn't be easy to act in a green-screen void. Anyone who's seen the new "Star Wars" trilogy knows that. Nevertheless, if you're a fan of the original, or German Expressionist cinema in general, this little experiment is a worthwhile rent.

Pan’s Labyrinth – June 10, 2007

Though I defend the Academy's decision to award "The Lives of Others" best foreign language film over this, I don't by any means think that "Pan's Labyrinth" is an unremarkable movie. It's easier to appreciate than the German film because it can fall back on its visual imagination, but the fabulous look is more than mere gloss. This adult story about a child clutching onto a fairy tale amid surprisingly grotesque atrocities is deeper and more interesting than any of the "Lord of the Rings" films. In fact, the stupidity of the little girl protagonist in a few of the fantasy scenes was almost detrimental to the movie; the stark evil-ness of Sergi Lopez's fascist Captain Vidal was just as engrossing as the splendiferous mysticism. Allie should see it.

Buffalo 66 – June 7, 2007

Considering Vincent Gallo’s overwhelming pretension, this movie is embarrassingly shallow. When you boil down all of his intrusive over-stylization and superficial quirkiness, all you have left is a banal, unbelievable love story that could have easily been the subject of a Rob Reiner film. Because Gallo has “indie filmmaker” tattooed to his forehead it’s harder to appreciate the small moments of goofy pleasance that the film has to offer, but some – such as the main character’s father’s “musical number” – show through. Christina Ricci is the best part of this vapid, self-indulgent picture, even if it’s impossible to buy into her character’s motivations.

Hot Fuzz – May 30, 2007

"Hot Fuzz" was boisterously fun and consistently entertaining. The humor is never stupid, even when they parody the dumbest of Hollywood's action behemoths. Its filmmakers never fall into that usual trap where they end up making that which they are l...(read more)ampooning; but unlike some other unimaginative and blasé satires these days, they don't need to. "Hot Fuzz" is wittier and more engaging than its predecessors, without losing that happy spark of idiotic excess from the blockbusters that inspired its creators in the first place. My friends and I came out of the theater at midnight bristling with energy.

Lacombe Lucien – May 29, 2007

Like Horn, the French Jew who is only surviving World War II by serving the corrupt French arm of the gestapo, you can't quite bring yourself to hate Lucien Lacombe. When he helps the Nazis, he's not immoral-he's amoral. Lucien just doesn't get it wh...(read more)en he murders his countrymen at the behest of the invaders; he doesn't quite know how to react when he falls in love with Horn's daughter, either. Louis Malle, the director, tried admirably hard to make this an objective film - which it's not - and, because of the open-mindedness of that technique, the audience doesn't know what to feel, either. The movie may seem troubling and overly ponderous to some, but I never felt disengaged or apathetic once.

The Wind that Shakes the Barley – May 28, 2007

You get what you'd expect in a picture about revolutionaries and nationalism in a country like Ireland. The first part - with a few notable exceptions - is rather dull and slightly aggravating; one of the English commanders is ogre-like in his sadism...(read more). It picks up emotionally in the second act, though, when it takes on the murky issue of partition, and Cillian Murphy's relationship with his brother becomes the stuff of tragedy.