Andrew’s Four-day Film Festival
As I’ve gotten older, Thanksgiving has quickly become my favorite holiday. I do nothing for four days. I leave the city and escape to the great north woods. Sure I put up some Christmas lights, I eat a boatload of food, split some logs for me pa, eat some more food, take a lot of naps and build the occasional bon fire, but mostly I just watch movies. Many movies. So here is a chronicling of the last four days for me and this is what I’m truly thankful for (or not):
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (1.5/5)
Being one of the biggest Star Wars fans on the planet, I couldn’t ignore this one forever. Although maybe I should have - or maybe I just should’ve seen it in IMAX while I had the chance. But take all the battle scenes from the last two Star Wars movies (episodes II-III) and cram all of them into two hours. Admittedly some of it did look nice and it was well directed for an animated film, but the characters and story line were so hollow that for the last 45 minutes of the movie it just turned into an episode of MST3K for my sister and I. We mocked it mercilessly. When it was over and quiet and my dad stepped into the room, my sister reviewed the movie better than I ever could by simply saying, “Dad, you just missed Jabba the Hutt’s gay uncle and his son… which they called a ‘Huttlet’.” So, yeah.
Maria Full of Grace (4/5)
Here’s a quietly harrowing story that I’ve been meaning to catch up with for years and finally got around to it. A young Colombian girl discovers she’s pregnant, which doesn’t stop her from quitting her crappy job at a flower “factory.” Soon enough however, she finds work smuggling drugs into the United States along with a bunch of other “mules” by swallowing pellets and then flying into the country illegally. Of course nothing goes quite exactly to plan and what she had hoped would be easy money quickly descends into a whirlwind of problems and close calls. I think it is these close-calls that really keep the character of Maria interesting and watching her make compromises and big moral decisions on the spot is what is so compelling. Maybe it could have benefited from a little higher budget, but on some levels, it’s that rawness to everything that keeps it fresh and real. This is a little bit lighter version of 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days meets Blow.
Enchanted (4.5/5)
This is the third time I’ve seen this film but the first time I’ve seen it outside of the theater. It has lost a bit of its luster by the third viewing but it sill works incredibly well and is loads of fun. Amy Adams works sheer magic bringing an animated Disney Princess into the real world and the screenwriters took great pains to ensure they lovingly mock all that is Disney in a completely delightful way. Great songs (yes, lots of Oscar nods for those) and wonderfully fun characters, it has got to be one the most adorable (yet enjoyable for all) films of all time.
Becoming Jane (3.5/5)
Continuing with my Anne Hathaway kick as of late I come to find more and more that I really like her in nearly everything. I keep discovering these hidden gems that I avoided like the plague after only knowing her from such filth as Princess Diaries I & II or Ella Enchanted (though I haven’t seen those so maybe they’re not filth after all). This isn’t nearly the film that Pride & Prejudice is, but it’s still intriguing for a “slow”, period piece. James McAvoy, who I always forget about (but shouldn’t), is just as great here as he is in everything else. Knowing generally how things will end up doesn’t really help the enjoyment of the film, but it’s sort of like the Casino Royale for Jane Austin. Learning how she becomes the woman and writer that makes her famous is part of the “fun.” Though a bit on the depressing side and not exhibiting much in the way of originality, I’m still a sucker for a well made, period drama with nice acting (Cromwell, Maggie Smith) to boot. And Hathaway is gorgeous as always - even when they make her old.
Deception (1/5)
I knew this was junk food for the brain when I picked it up from the video store. I thought it might be something good to just throw on around midnight and just sort of halfway pay attention to. Turns out, you don’t really need to do much paying attention at all. The film is so full of obviousness that it was easy to call every move minutes (even an hour) before it happened. It is the most trite of any thriller I’ve seen… ever? I’m not a huge fan of either Hugh Jackman or Ewan McGregor. Now there is half naked Natasha Henstrigde, Maggie Q and Michelle Williams. That’s almost enough to make it worth the 2 hours, but not quite. The end is not only predictable, but absurd. It crosses the limits of my intelligence in the wrong direction and I have to say I’m almost offended.
Jarhead (2/5)
The second of only two films over this mini-festival that I’d already seen one other time (on the big screen). It was as I remembered it perfectly. I think in my original review I mentioned something about 20 year old dumb-shits playing grab ass on screen for 75 minutes. That’s about all this film amounted to a second time as well. The filming aesthetic is gorgeous - especially in the final 30 minutes or so of the film when the platoon is out on patrol through raging oil fields. But until that point, showing the mild psychotic state of these “jarheads” during the first Gulf War is not only tedious, but frankly annoying. The film tries to show a different side of the horrors of war - one that most people don’t think about - but in doing so, it’s a 2 hour dick tug that doesn’t really show me anything I don’t already know. Guys get antsy, depressed and horny when away from the girlfriends and wives for 6 months and forced to run around in field gear in 120 degree heat. Big surprise. And again, boring.
Picnic at Hanging Rock (2.5/5)
I’m not exactly sure what this film is or what it is trying to say. I’m also hard pressed to assign to it a genre. I had expected sort of a haunting creep fest, but instead got a sort of a messy drama piece. Three girls disappear during a picnic outing from a group of girls of a turn of the century girls school. With no trace of their whereabouts, the movie becomes sort of a mystery, but with nary a clue for the audience to follow. Instead, the film all but forgets about the disappearance of the girls and follows another plot involving a different girl who is unable to pay her tuition. This plot line develops seemingly out of nowhere and changes the film’s storyline for no reason. I don’t necessarily need an ending that is tidily wrapped up with a nice, neat bow, but by the end, the movie hasn’t even given me anything to think about. It is shot gorgeously however and well acted and I’m not surprised that once director Weir took to the States to make his films, things look up considerably (Witness, Mosquito Coast, Dead Poets Society). All in all for this film however, I’m not a big fan.
Don’t Come Knocking (2.5/5)
Without getting into specifics of this story, lets just say that something is missing. Despite the fact that this writer/director duo won a Palme d’Or at Canne 20 years ago, they don’t seem to have much magic anymore - or it feels like it was rushed together or something. For starters, the whole thing is entirely miscast. Sam Shepard has cast himself in the lead and it doesn’t seem to be the right fit for him. All of the other characters all seem equally out of place as well (save for Jessica Lange who is perfect here). No, it has a nice idea at its core of a washed up western movie star heading back to his home town after 30 years and what could be a heartfelt family drama is left to the absurd and unemotional. The sub plot of a security agent, played by the great Tim Roth in usual odd way, feels forced and unnecessary. I give the film points for trying, but in the end, I just didn’t care.
The Straight Story (5/5)
What a way to end the festival! One of the best movies I’ve seen all year and it’s directed by none other than David Lynch of all people. Had I not known better and someone told me it was Lynch after the viewing I’d call them a liar. While the gimmick of a man riding cross country on his lawn mower was the initial attraction, the deeper inner working of an old timer are far more interesting and insightful. The wise anecdotes, the painful past and the hopeful future are captured so vividly by the late great Richard Farnsworth that it’s hard not to go back and watch the whole movie all over again straight away. Perhaps it is fate that this was Farnsworth’s farewell film and it feels like it. An old timer’s last hoo-rah as he ponders his life and passes on that knowledge and advice to others. Directed spectacularly by Lynch to give us the feel of this journey right along side Alvin in his cross country ride, I’m considering calling The Straight Story Lynch’s finest film. Certainly my favorite.
second, A Straight Story is great, and its funny you watched it during the holidays, because the last time I saw it was Christmas, and it was when my grandmother was over and its the strange challenge of finding something on the tv that would not offend her puritan values while at the same time be semi-enjoyable. Usually she complains to me that the story is too complicated, and with ever scene there are three or four questions as to what just happened, with me responding ‘I saw the same scene as you grandma’… but anyways, a couple years ago we happened across a Straight Story on tv… well my god if she wasn’t dead silent and RIVETED by that film. To say the film works at a grandma pace is pretty accurate. While I wouldn’t go so far to call it Lynch’s greatest, it is very good.
Comment by rot — November 30, 2008
“The film works at various levels and certainly sparks discussion, as people attempt to figure out what they’ve just seen.” - an accurate review by John Nesbit
Comment by Andrew James — November 30, 2008
Oh… the one teacher though… the French one? Super hot.
Comment by Andrew James — November 30, 2008
Life is boring. Some artists tell the truth at the expense of seducing their audience, and you should appreciate it.
Comment by Henrik — November 30, 2008
Actually, this is the type of film that hits better when one is in the right frame of mind. It may not click right away, perhaps on subsequent viewings. How can one not love the eerie first trip up the rock with the great Zamfir on the soundtrack, or when the other little girl returns and the gaggle of girls have a classic horror film moment. Excellent stuff, and a great way to make a film about the unfathomable entity that is nature (and for that matter, large uninhabitable spaces in nature).
Comment by Kurt Halfyard — November 30, 2008
Nothing in that statement is accurate.
I’m not denying the film has its moments, but on the whole it leaves a lot to be desired and doesn’t seem to have any direction. Also, it isn’t clear that nature had anything to do with it. There is a hint at the supernatural (which is never explored beyond one sentence of dialogue) and there is a hint of possible rape/murder - which is also not explored beyond one sentence. NOTHING is explored. That’s the problem here. Three girls walk away in broad daylight and are never heard from again and the film doesn’t even pretend to care.
Comment by Andrew James — November 30, 2008
Comment by Henrik — November 30, 2008
By this standard, a McDonalds security tape is a better documentary than Man on Wire. My eyes are so open now.
Comment by Goon — November 30, 2008
I’ll go ahead and defend The Princess Diaries. I was about 16 when it came out, but I didn’t start to develop a sophisticated taste in film until I was about 20. It’s not a masterpiece, and it’s definitely not in the same league as Enchanted, but if you’re a fan of Hathaway, it’s worth a look. Julie Andrews is an added bonus. The sequel is a waste of time, I only managed to catch it on late night TV in Denmark last year after sleeping off my jet lag all day. I never bothered with Ella Enchanted, but I think Anne Hathaway sings a Queen song in that one. Strange …
Comment by Ashley — November 30, 2008
Comment by Goon — November 30, 2008
Comment by Henrik — December 1, 2008
The film’s a lot like Mean Streets.
Comment by Rusty James — December 1, 2008
Maybe this explains why you turn off great movies halfway in and then spend double that time bitching about what they should have been.
And Rusty, I understand that but you could have still had the conundrum without the expense of the story. My ‘revised’ version still has plenty of room for the conundrum.
Comment by Goon — December 1, 2008
Straight Story would be Lynch’s best movie if it weren’t for his experimental genius in other movies.
Comment by stump — December 1, 2008
Comment by Goon — December 1, 2008
“The Straight Story” had been on my list of movies to watch for a few years and finally caught up with it earlier this year - I too loved every single moment of it. And it even made me cry. And man - Richard Farnsworth is awesome.
I wasn’t a big fan of “Becoming Jane”. I saw it a few days after re-visiting P&P and the whole thing seemed fumbled badly. The music seemed all wrong and it just felt really heavy and awkward. I have been meaning to see it again but haven’t gotten around to it yet. The one scene that sticks out for me is the library scene. Really understated but I love the chemistry between McAvoy and Hathaway in that scene.
Comment by Marina — December 1, 2008
(see: http://www.rowthree.com/2008/10/13/31-days-of-horror-day-13-picnic-at-hanging-rock/
and: http://www.rowthree.com/2007/12/20/finite-focus-labyrinths-pan-pipes-picnic-at-hanging-rock/ )
Comment by kurt — December 1, 2008
Comment by Andrew James — December 1, 2008
Comment by Kurt Halfyard — December 1, 2008
Comment by Marina Antunes — December 1, 2008
Anyways, making such a judgment to me is akin to Anne Hathaway bashing based on Get Smart and Bride Wars.
Comment by Goon — December 1, 2008
Comment by Kurt Halfyard — December 1, 2008
Reese Witherspoon is interesting in that one as well. Dinklage was kind of wasted though if I remember correctly.
Need to get back and watch Atonement again.
Comment by Andrew James — December 1, 2008
Huh?
Comment by Henrik — December 1, 2008
Comment by Andrew James — December 2, 2008
I’m warning you now though, because it may piss you off to find out after the fact, as it did with me, that the story in LKOS is pretty much bullshit/made up. Another movie whose after-the-fact revelations ruined everything: Road to Guantanamo.
Comment by Goon — December 2, 2008
As for McAvoy, I think he is rated fairly by most people - a solid actor right now, but not outstanding. He’s reminds me of a much more talented Orlando Bloom.
Comment by Jonathan B. — December 2, 2008
the ‘false based-on-true-events’ thing never bothers me (See also: The Hurricane, A Million Little Pieces (book), Fargo, pretty much every biopic ever made, etc. I find fiction informs my world-view of things greater than ‘facsimile of real story’ stuff.
That being said. Man on Wire does indeed rule, and noticeably it is told and framed like a genre piece, which actually gives it a ‘fiction’ vibe rather than a regular doc vibe.
Comment by kurt — December 3, 2008