La Vie En Rose (2007)

While I definitely celebrated the demise of the biopic thing that happened in 2007 and 2008 I don't really dislike the genre. It just got really really old after a while. For me, a little of this lingering bad taste in my mouth colored the way I saw this film a bit. 

I really enjoyed it though. The acting was, of course, absolutely phenomenal, the cinematography was gorgeous and the story was interesting enough. I liked the idea of flashing back and forth between where she came from and what she had become. 

The film, in general though, just tried to accomplish too much. It tried to tackle the whole broad scope of her life and in the process a lot was lost in translation. There were too many characters, the story got a bit muddled, and things that would seem important never made an appearance (like World War II for instance). It seems to me that if someone had an interesting enough life to make a film about it, a filmmaker probably could not fit the scope of their whole life in one film. A movie that did the whole biopic thing exceptionally was Capote. It did well, in part, because the filmmakers found one of the most interesting, if not the most interesting piece of Truman Capote's life and focused on that. Because of this, it turned out to be a tight film with a narrow focus that managed to get across a message or two. This was really hat La Vie En Rose lacked. 

So, in the end, I enjoyed the film. It definitely managed to capture my attention for two plus hours (which is really not easy) but without its exceptional performances, I don't feel that I would be a all enamored with it. 

8/10

Priscilla Queen of the Desert (1994)

"I've said it before, and I'll say it again: "No more fucking ABBA!" 

I really hate ABBA. It is an unnatural burning hate. So the fact that I had to listen to it in this movie may have had some impact on my opinion of it. Even though the total run time was only 104 minutes, the movie felt really loooooong to me. After a while, the plot just seemed to drag (pun totally intended!). There were some great one liners and, at first, I found the jokes really funny. As the movie wore on though, all of the drag queen/transsexual material got kind of old and stale. By the end of the film I just wanted to yell, "Yeah we know that you like to dress up as girls and dance around, I get it haha."

While there were definitely some interesting points in the film, overall, the relationships between the characters never truly caught my interest. I thought that the love story between Bernadette and Bob was nice and the idea that Tick had a wife and a son where they were going was an interesting curve ball. It just never quite came together for me and I just ended up being confused as to exactly what kind of statement they were trying to make about these relationships. 

There were, of course, some visually beautiful moments in the film. I loved the moif of the long reams of fabric flying behing the bus as it drives through the desert. Even this though started to wear on me after I had seen it over and over again. The desert theme did not help this feeling (and yes that is what they were going for). It just made me feel somewhat isolated and trapped during the film and in the end I walked away with more of an overall sense of desperation than an idea that everything worked out in the end.

Yes, I liked this film. I didn't love it. I feel that I have seen it before and that I have seen this same idea done better (Hedwig and the Angry Inch). I was very surprised to see that this movie was on the list to be quite honest. I know that it made a big splash in the indy world when it come out but I just don't think that, for me, it ever lived up to the hype. 

7/10

Deliverance (1972)

"Insurance? I never been insured in my life. There's no risk. "

Let's just get this out of the way at the beginning. Burt Reynolds is a man amongst boys. Now that I have discussed that, we can get on with business. 

I got pretty much what I was expecting out of this film. An overall disturbing sensation, people running for their lives, characters wondering what to do once they have killed someone, and a little bit of rape. All of that and I didn't even really know that much about the film. I think that overall Deliverance had the elements that the filmmakers wanted to convey but I think that they should have gone further with some of the themes and cut out others. 

In the moment that they realize that they will also have to bury Drew in the lake along with the others, Bobby makes the observation that it will never end. This is a really great theme to explore and while they touched on it I don't think that they ever dove into this theme which is unfortunate because it would have been the most interesting parts of the film. 

It would have been a good decision to get rid of most of the initial canoeing down the river and use that time to explore more so what happened to the three men once they got out of the river. This is a much more interesting topic than a bunch of city dudes and one Davy Crockett testosterone pumped guide floating on some water.

This was an absolutely beautifully photographed film though. I had no idea when it was made until I asked about it. The colors were vibrant, the shots were not totally innovative but always interesting, and overall it really did make you feel like you had been dropped in the Georgia woods (which may not be such a great thing now that I think about it). In addition to that I thought that the sound mixing really stood out (and no, I am not being facetious). I find that a lot of times, when there is running water in film (particularly older films) it can overwhelm the soundtrack but it was done very nicely here. There were also a lot of nature sounds mixed in a more subtle manner than is per usual. The music is, of course, iconic and I can see why. It is not only very interesting, but mixed in the right parts at the right noise level. 

Overall, I thought that this film was pretty good. I don't know that I will be screening it at my next movie night or anything but it is iconic and I'm glad that I finally saw it. I think that many of the ideas in the film have been rehashed and done a lot better (A Simple Plan) but there is something to say for it being the original (if it is in fact the original). 

A final thought before we wrap up our January movies. I don't know if anyone else has realized this but, for some reason, this month's movie picks have mostly given an elaborate argument for not living in a given place:

Mulholland Dr. - don't live in L.A. you will get shot at and find rapidly decomposing bodies (that you later become and then tiny old people make you kill yourself?)

The Last Picture Show - don't live in rural Texas. Nothing will ever go right in your life, ever. 

Deliverance - don't live in rural Georgia, you will probably not make it out alive and unraped.

Manhattan - well I guess that it's ok to live in Manhattan, if you can deal with Woody Allen.

7/10 

The Last Picture Show (1971)

I can't say that I liked this movie. I can't say that I hated it either. I also can't say anything negative about the current South Korean Prime minister. So there we go.

For whatever reason it just didn't seem to capture my interest at all. There were some interesting characters but way too many of them and because of that you really didn't get to know most of them. It really only made the movie seem disconnected and muddied. There were definitely some central themes and, you know, universal truths and things but for the most part, the movie was either jumbled or predictable.

Also, I have no problem with a sex scene or two but seriously, how much awkward sex can be crammed into two hours? I understand that sexuality and coming of age was one of the biggest, if not the biggest themes in the film and I have no problem with lingering on a scene of really stiff awkward sex for a long time if it proves a point but to have to sit through that many scenes of it just became excruciating after a while.

I honestly don't have too much more to say about the film. It was overall just kind of bland to me. I liked the idea of Sam holding the town together and after his death everything started to crumble. In the end though, the film just seemed mediocre at best to me. I guess that maybe it just didn't click.

Oh also, I never want to live in rural Texas.

7/10

Mulholland Dr. (2001)

"Now you will see me one more time, if you do good. You will see me, two more times, if you do bad. Good night."

This is a film that I would never fault anyone for not liking and yet almost everyone I know inexplicably enjoys it. I, am of course, included in this category of person. Even though I have no idea what the hell is going on most of the time, it somehow remains entertaining all of the way through. For a movie that is pushing two and a half hours, that is quite a feat. For a movie that, at least on a first viewing, made no sense to me, that is nothing short of fantasmic.

Much to my surprise though, upon viewing it a second time, it actually did make a lot more sense to me. I don't know if this is due to the weakened state of my mental health now that I teach young children all day or the fact that I was expecting a lot of the craziness and was able to look past it this time. I will forgo giving any of my half hearted theories about what really happened and which dream sequence took place during which fantasy in an alternate reality and all of that. Honestly I kind of feel like thinking about it too hard is missing the point.

The undeniable fact was that there was a very powerful love story happening and weather or not it happened in the "real world" or in a plastic blue box it is extremely compelling. The Rita character is always somewhat angelic and mysterious and by the end of the film the audience falls in love with her too. It compels the viewer in a way that they are not just rooting for Diane's relationship in a third party type of way but in a way that they personally have a vested interest in the state of the relationship. As much as they clunky dialogue and surreal fantasy world in the first half are meant to take the viewer out of this film, this is how the second half of the film pulls the viewer in.

But these are just a few reasons why I enjoy this film. I think that the bulk of why I find something like this fascinating is just intangible. Frankly, I would rather not have someone sit down and explain to me exactly what happened and why or give a break down of the film in different time-lines and things, it just works more for me that way. Mulholland Dr. is about letting go and allowing yourself to step into David Lynch's brain for a little while, and yes, it is a scary place.

8/10

Manhattan (1979)

Generally watching a Woody Allen film makes me want to drop kick a toddler. This one however, was not half bad.

I honestly don't know what it is that people find funny about Woody Allen, he is a whiny guy with an annoying accent that relies way to much on Jewish humor. Not to insult anyone who likes him or anything, but I just don't get it. Sure, he says some funny things, even some hilarious things every once in a while ("Years ago I wrote this short story about my Mother called "The Castrating Zionist"). The amount of bumbling bullshit you have to sit through though just makes it not worth it for me.

Having said all that, I would have to admit that overall, I enjoyed Manhattan. I think that it was a really honest story about relationships and it was neat to get to see New York from the perspective of someone who loves it so much. There were some definitely funny moments in the film and Woody Allen only kind of annoyed me (the toddlers of Korea are safe for now). While I did like it, there is not much else for me to say about its merits other than "it was nice."

There were some things that bothered me though. Like who decided that Woody Allen is a highly attractive man that should be able to date not just one but two different beautiful women? The thought of Woody Allen and sex in the same film makes me want to become a nun. I'm not trying to have impossible standards for beauty or anything but really? really? Also, the man has no real redeeming qualities in the film, he is self conscious, whiny, oh and unemployed. I mean good for him and all but it was just kind of hard to believe from my perspective.

Also, the fact that he was a forty-two year old man dating a seventeen year old girl was just flat out creepy. Even so, the other characters barely commented on it. I think that the correct reaction should be "WTF do you want to go to jail?" not "Oh Issac, so silly dating a seventeen year old. Oh, haha you are older than her father? That's cute." Blegh. Gross.

Well anyway, Manhattan was much better than I expected (especially after seeing the disaster that was Annie Hall). I laughed, I enjoyed, I tried not to vomit in my mouth a couple of times, but overall I'm glad that I saw it.

7/10

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

I tend to have a very love-hate relationship with Steven Speildburgh and generally for reasons that are rather inexplicable, but I do love this movie. It showcases a darker side of his sensibilities. Sure, there are family issues in a lot of his movies and, of course, this isn't the only darker film he has made but generally his movies don't revolve around a dysfunctional family that is completely falling apart.

Of course, the film is remembered as an alien film and it is in a sense but I think that the family drama often gets overlooked. I makes a statement that is not usually made anywhere is Hollywood. That perhaps, everything is not going to be all right. Something that people don't often think about is the fact that in the end Roy Neary abandons his wife and children t go live with aliens and it is set up in a way that he audience is cheering him along.

But, of course, there are aliens, and the effects are pretty stunning for 1977. I really do wish that they never gave us a clear picture of the aliens though, because as usual, what we can individually imagine in our own minds is generally more interesting than what they put on screen.

In the end, this is a film about Roy trying to find happiness, by any means necessary. His journey is very engaging and I think that most everyone can find a bit of their own search within his. We are lead to believe that he does in fact find what he was searching for all along but left to think about the question, "at what price?"

8/10