The Best Way to Walk (1976; Claude Miller) 7.5/10
At a boys summer camp in 1960, two counselors (Patrick Dewaere, Patrick Bouchitey) become involved in a tense game of humilation and desire. Even at 86 minutes, it's still perhaps a little too lengthy, but also still very involving, especially thanks to the superlative performances of the two leads; Dewaere, particularly, is magnetic.
Last Seen Movie - The Latest Movie You Have Seen; ratings
Back in 1982, people really hated Shoot The Moon, probably because of its unrelenting tone. It was highly touted Still Keaton was talked up as a possible Best Actress nominee. I think Finney is even better.flipp525 wrote:It's hard to see how this film was so ignored by the Academy at the time of its release. The only thing I can think of is that it was covering ground similar to what Ordinary People had two years earlier, although that seems too flimsy of an excuse. I definitely would've supported nominations for Keaton and Hill in lead and supporting, respectively.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
Mister Tee wrote:One quibble: is my memory failing after all these years? I'd have sworn the Beatles' If I Fell was the song Keaton was singing in the tub. Do I have scenes mixed up?
No, you're totally right, Tee; it was the Beatles song -- she and Finney even talk about it earlier in the film. Was the Stones' song placed elsewhere in the film? Regardless, that was absolutely Keaton's money scene. Just wonderful.
Edited By flipp525 on 1256677212
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flipp, I agree almost to the letter with your comments on Shoot the Moon. The scene with Weller stood out for me in the era as one of the few to convey the tentativeness of lovers coming together -- Raggedy Man had a similarly delicate one, but, for the most part, in the movies people fell into bed far more effortlessly than they do in life. In a more general sense, the film struck me as a rarity: showing what a violent rupture a divorce inflicts on an entire family. It was somewhat brutal -- like an extended version of that first Winslet/DiCaprio fight in Revolutionary Road -- and I think that has alot to do with why the film was passed over by Academy voters. (That and the fact that it didn't do much business, plus came along VERY early in the year -- January, I believe)
Omitting Keaton was the prime sin: she's wonderful in the role (during that stretch, she gave a number of stretchy, non-dithering roles -- in this, Manhattan, and Mrs. Soffel -- for which she got sadly little recognition). There was no way she, a recent winner, was going to compete for the Oscar in a year which already was dealing with two "would have won any other year" performances from Streep and Lange. But the fact that she was kept from a nomination was enraging.
One quibble: is my memory failing after all these years? I'd have sworn the Beatles' If I Fell was the song Keaton was singing in the tub. Do I have scenes mixed up?
Omitting Keaton was the prime sin: she's wonderful in the role (during that stretch, she gave a number of stretchy, non-dithering roles -- in this, Manhattan, and Mrs. Soffel -- for which she got sadly little recognition). There was no way she, a recent winner, was going to compete for the Oscar in a year which already was dealing with two "would have won any other year" performances from Streep and Lange. But the fact that she was kept from a nomination was enraging.
One quibble: is my memory failing after all these years? I'd have sworn the Beatles' If I Fell was the song Keaton was singing in the tub. Do I have scenes mixed up?
Pusher (dir. Nicolas Winding Refn) - 6/10
Not bad. I enjoyed the story within the clear limitations presented. Nothing that special but of merit and displaying talent.
(RE: TRAFFIC - and minor spoilers!)
I think my charges of hopelessness is an overstatement only in the sense that Benicio Del Toro uses the system to create something for future generations. As a whole, Catherine Zeta-Jones (d)evolves into one woman cartel, Michael Douglas bails on his policy, Erika Christensen becomes a year-long drugged-out casualty in a week...the most you can say about Traffic is that it acknowledges that the cycle of substance and abuse can be manipulated for some good only by playing the game, like Del Toro's character does. This may be true, but Traffic has crafted a mold this decade that is becoming tiresome. Traffic is better than most but it's pretty simplistic. Soderbergh elevates the material.
Not bad. I enjoyed the story within the clear limitations presented. Nothing that special but of merit and displaying talent.
(RE: TRAFFIC - and minor spoilers!)
I think my charges of hopelessness is an overstatement only in the sense that Benicio Del Toro uses the system to create something for future generations. As a whole, Catherine Zeta-Jones (d)evolves into one woman cartel, Michael Douglas bails on his policy, Erika Christensen becomes a year-long drugged-out casualty in a week...the most you can say about Traffic is that it acknowledges that the cycle of substance and abuse can be manipulated for some good only by playing the game, like Del Toro's character does. This may be true, but Traffic has crafted a mold this decade that is becoming tiresome. Traffic is better than most but it's pretty simplistic. Soderbergh elevates the material.
"How's the despair?"
Crossfire (1947; Edward Dmytryk) 8/10
Taut, interesting combo of noir thriller and earnest social drama as police detective Robert Young investigates a hate crime. Richard Brooks' novel was original about the killing of a gay man, but RKO changed it to the killing of a Jewish man; yet, the film retains aspects that makes you think all this is happening precisely because of homophobia and Robert Mitchum's character, in particular, struck me as being gay (and comfortable with it). Some of the dialogue is a bit trite and forced, but the actors really make it work and it's probably Dmytryk's best film.
Taut, interesting combo of noir thriller and earnest social drama as police detective Robert Young investigates a hate crime. Richard Brooks' novel was original about the killing of a gay man, but RKO changed it to the killing of a Jewish man; yet, the film retains aspects that makes you think all this is happening precisely because of homophobia and Robert Mitchum's character, in particular, struck me as being gay (and comfortable with it). Some of the dialogue is a bit trite and forced, but the actors really make it work and it's probably Dmytryk's best film.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
Dogville (von Trier) - 9/10
1) It's gorgeous. DP Anthony Dod Mantel shoots the soundstage in an incredibly pleasing manner. He understands the limits of handheld digital cinematography and the Sony F-900. The way that he covers the performers in the soundstage with backdrops of alternately blinding white and black is something we haven't seen before on film.
2) The soundstage is pointed. Beyond being something we haven't seen before, it serves to emphasize the arbitrary limitations placed upon Kidman. When Nicole Kidman traipses through Lauren Bacall's gooseberry bushes as if they weren't there, her consternation that she hasn't earned the use of the short-cut emphasizes how much this is a town built of cards. Who cares if she uses the short-cut? Who cares when it's not really there in the first place? It's a world without walls where molestation can occur in clear view of the others as they go about molestations of a different sort, one unaware of the other but feeding. In Dogville, there is double-meaning in every notion of privacy.
3) Kindness misconstrued for blind willingness is something that has concerned Lars von Trier for sometime in film. Dogville is the first time that I can remember that he does not stack the deck endlessly against her protagoness cast down from God. There is retribution in Dogville, which coincides with this being the first time that he has created a wide-range of characters who, if not conglomerated together in one stage, would all individually be deserving of judgment and condemnation. So because von Trier tackles them all, he has been condemned.
4) To continue, I think what frustrates viewers the most is his willingness to condemn Paul Bettany's ineffectual idealist, who gives in my opinion the strongest performance in the film. What is more loathsome than spinelessness? Than the pretense of importance and integrity not for a moment backed-up with action. Part of this is because he is jilted in love because Grace does not have sex with him while is raped by others. Grace would be in his arms more were Thomas not so timid in his initial advances. Women do not want someone who pussyfoots around, slowly bolstering courage. He has an opportunity to kiss her and he does not seize it, and then he is alloted kisses for his kindnesses; beyond this, he would find more perhaps if she was not so goddamn tired, which she would not be if he would stand his ground for her and demand her status validated. We desire pardon for Thomas Edison because he at least would imagine himself as something different, stronger, wiser, at least not the same part of the problem as the rest. von Trier views ineffectual idealism as apart from justice as a sadistic child is from a blind, grab-happy old man. This is not without merit. Nor is his criticized portrait of a young boy who only desires punishment. It's seen as a critique on all children as being capable of sadism, not that the child is raised in a small world of punishment that it can be the only thing he knows. It's a dark joke but also a very sad one.
5) It's incredibly well-acted. This should be no surprise. von Trier may be a world class asshole, but he's a fine director of talent. This ensemble is one of the most superb of the decade. This is a high-wire act that one false note could disrupt. I'm certainly biased by the fact that I don't outright loathe the film like some queerly, but this is a great acting ensemble. Every time I view it, I find new subtleties in the cast. Those who hate Dogville find it monotonous. I understand this but I don't subscribe to it. Grace's subjugation is organic and if there's one instance that feels manufactured and not thematically set-up, I didn't catch it.
6) Dogville is many things, as a town and as a film. And as a reaction. To watch Dogville is to be confronted with our notions of America, or certain American ideals. Lately a string of American nihilist self-critiques have begun to enter and leave fashionability. Traffic, Syriana, and the sort bemoan the endless cycle already set-up and see no escape. They believe in nothing but hopelessness. They exist as template for a fashionable bitching between Americans, whereas Dogville believes in something: fraud and action.
7) The credits suck.
1) It's gorgeous. DP Anthony Dod Mantel shoots the soundstage in an incredibly pleasing manner. He understands the limits of handheld digital cinematography and the Sony F-900. The way that he covers the performers in the soundstage with backdrops of alternately blinding white and black is something we haven't seen before on film.
2) The soundstage is pointed. Beyond being something we haven't seen before, it serves to emphasize the arbitrary limitations placed upon Kidman. When Nicole Kidman traipses through Lauren Bacall's gooseberry bushes as if they weren't there, her consternation that she hasn't earned the use of the short-cut emphasizes how much this is a town built of cards. Who cares if she uses the short-cut? Who cares when it's not really there in the first place? It's a world without walls where molestation can occur in clear view of the others as they go about molestations of a different sort, one unaware of the other but feeding. In Dogville, there is double-meaning in every notion of privacy.
3) Kindness misconstrued for blind willingness is something that has concerned Lars von Trier for sometime in film. Dogville is the first time that I can remember that he does not stack the deck endlessly against her protagoness cast down from God. There is retribution in Dogville, which coincides with this being the first time that he has created a wide-range of characters who, if not conglomerated together in one stage, would all individually be deserving of judgment and condemnation. So because von Trier tackles them all, he has been condemned.
4) To continue, I think what frustrates viewers the most is his willingness to condemn Paul Bettany's ineffectual idealist, who gives in my opinion the strongest performance in the film. What is more loathsome than spinelessness? Than the pretense of importance and integrity not for a moment backed-up with action. Part of this is because he is jilted in love because Grace does not have sex with him while is raped by others. Grace would be in his arms more were Thomas not so timid in his initial advances. Women do not want someone who pussyfoots around, slowly bolstering courage. He has an opportunity to kiss her and he does not seize it, and then he is alloted kisses for his kindnesses; beyond this, he would find more perhaps if she was not so goddamn tired, which she would not be if he would stand his ground for her and demand her status validated. We desire pardon for Thomas Edison because he at least would imagine himself as something different, stronger, wiser, at least not the same part of the problem as the rest. von Trier views ineffectual idealism as apart from justice as a sadistic child is from a blind, grab-happy old man. This is not without merit. Nor is his criticized portrait of a young boy who only desires punishment. It's seen as a critique on all children as being capable of sadism, not that the child is raised in a small world of punishment that it can be the only thing he knows. It's a dark joke but also a very sad one.
5) It's incredibly well-acted. This should be no surprise. von Trier may be a world class asshole, but he's a fine director of talent. This ensemble is one of the most superb of the decade. This is a high-wire act that one false note could disrupt. I'm certainly biased by the fact that I don't outright loathe the film like some queerly, but this is a great acting ensemble. Every time I view it, I find new subtleties in the cast. Those who hate Dogville find it monotonous. I understand this but I don't subscribe to it. Grace's subjugation is organic and if there's one instance that feels manufactured and not thematically set-up, I didn't catch it.
6) Dogville is many things, as a town and as a film. And as a reaction. To watch Dogville is to be confronted with our notions of America, or certain American ideals. Lately a string of American nihilist self-critiques have begun to enter and leave fashionability. Traffic, Syriana, and the sort bemoan the endless cycle already set-up and see no escape. They believe in nothing but hopelessness. They exist as template for a fashionable bitching between Americans, whereas Dogville believes in something: fraud and action.
7) The credits suck.
"How's the despair?"
Shoot the Moon (dir. Alan Parker, 1982)
I rented this film because I was curious to see why dws1982 rated Diane Keaton's performance so high for that year (the year of your birth as well, dws?). And now I can see why. Shoot the Moon presents what is probably one of the most realistic portrayals of what can happen to a family torn apart by affairs, separation and divorce. And Keaton's mercurial, earnest performance as Faith Dunlap is what makes it succeed. She has so much to do in this film and she does it all so whole-heartedly: lambasting her husband for abandoning their family, attempting to move on with another man (the scene where she succeeds in seducing Peter Weller is very successful), protecting her children, etc. It ranks up there with some of her best work. The scene where she's singing The Rolling Stone's "Play with Fire" by herself in the bathtub is just stunningly heartbreaking.
While there were some verisimilitude issues for me in the second half of the film (the entire dinner sequence between Keaton/Finney was laughably bad and seemed like it was lifted from some cheap screwball comedy), I think there was a believability about the family's dynamic that overcame some more shallow concerns I had with plot. Albert Finney never recovers for me as a character to root for after one particular scene about halfway through the film, but he also turns in a very good performance. Karen Allen takes on the unbelievable role of sex goddess here and somehow pulls it off; she is almost perfectly cast.
The three kids played by 80's sit-com familiars Tina Yothers, Tracey Gold and Viveca Davis are good at portraying the varying emotions of children in this situation, but end up pretty indistinguishable from each other. It's the late Dana Hill (European Vacation) who will break your heart. A fantastic performance that I'd rate with some of the best juvenile work of the decade.
It's hard to see how this film was so ignored by the Academy at the time of its release. The only thing I can think of is that it was covering ground similar to what Ordinary People had two years earlier, although that seems too flimsy of an excuse. I definitely would've supported nominations for Keaton and Hill in lead and supporting, respectively.
And, damn, if that Eagles song "I Can't Tell You Why" isn't just perfectly placed during the devastating, yet beautiful conculsion. Wonderful stuff. Well worth seeking out.
Edited By flipp525 on 1256677398
I rented this film because I was curious to see why dws1982 rated Diane Keaton's performance so high for that year (the year of your birth as well, dws?). And now I can see why. Shoot the Moon presents what is probably one of the most realistic portrayals of what can happen to a family torn apart by affairs, separation and divorce. And Keaton's mercurial, earnest performance as Faith Dunlap is what makes it succeed. She has so much to do in this film and she does it all so whole-heartedly: lambasting her husband for abandoning their family, attempting to move on with another man (the scene where she succeeds in seducing Peter Weller is very successful), protecting her children, etc. It ranks up there with some of her best work. The scene where she's singing The Rolling Stone's "Play with Fire" by herself in the bathtub is just stunningly heartbreaking.
While there were some verisimilitude issues for me in the second half of the film (the entire dinner sequence between Keaton/Finney was laughably bad and seemed like it was lifted from some cheap screwball comedy), I think there was a believability about the family's dynamic that overcame some more shallow concerns I had with plot. Albert Finney never recovers for me as a character to root for after one particular scene about halfway through the film, but he also turns in a very good performance. Karen Allen takes on the unbelievable role of sex goddess here and somehow pulls it off; she is almost perfectly cast.
The three kids played by 80's sit-com familiars Tina Yothers, Tracey Gold and Viveca Davis are good at portraying the varying emotions of children in this situation, but end up pretty indistinguishable from each other. It's the late Dana Hill (European Vacation) who will break your heart. A fantastic performance that I'd rate with some of the best juvenile work of the decade.
It's hard to see how this film was so ignored by the Academy at the time of its release. The only thing I can think of is that it was covering ground similar to what Ordinary People had two years earlier, although that seems too flimsy of an excuse. I definitely would've supported nominations for Keaton and Hill in lead and supporting, respectively.
And, damn, if that Eagles song "I Can't Tell You Why" isn't just perfectly placed during the devastating, yet beautiful conculsion. Wonderful stuff. Well worth seeking out.
Edited By flipp525 on 1256677398
"The mantle of spinsterhood was definitely in her shoulders. She was twenty five and looked it."
-Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
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All About Steve (2009) Phil Traill 4/10
Whilst it is a terrible film as has everyone who has seen it seems to be saying, I found it to be a guilty pleasure. And it's one truly hilarious scene helps too and Sandra Bollock's red boots help too.
An Education (2009) Lone Scherfig 7/10
Hard Labour (1973) Mike Leigh 8/10
One of the very good of Mike Leigh's made for TV films of the 1970's. A prelude to Vera Drake in some respects.
Edited By Precious Doll on 1256469164
Whilst it is a terrible film as has everyone who has seen it seems to be saying, I found it to be a guilty pleasure. And it's one truly hilarious scene helps too and Sandra Bollock's red boots help too.
An Education (2009) Lone Scherfig 7/10
Hard Labour (1973) Mike Leigh 8/10
One of the very good of Mike Leigh's made for TV films of the 1970's. A prelude to Vera Drake in some respects.
Edited By Precious Doll on 1256469164
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)
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We Won't Grow Old Together (1972) Maurice Pialat 7/10
Frisco Jenny (1932) William Wellman 4/10
She Wouldn't Say Yes (1945) Alexander Hall 5/10
Astro Boy (2009) David Bowers 6/10
Frisco Jenny (1932) William Wellman 4/10
She Wouldn't Say Yes (1945) Alexander Hall 5/10
Astro Boy (2009) David Bowers 6/10
"I want cement covering every blade of grass in this nation! Don't we taxpayers have a voice anymore?" Peggy Gravel (Mink Stole) in John Waters' Desperate Living (1977)