The Big Sleep... also unfortunately belated

The Big Sleep is film noir and what is known as "classic cinema" at the very top of its game. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall (who, I contend, has to be a tenor) star. Bogey is a private detective and has that exact same office setup you've seen copied in parodies and cartoons of film noir stuff. Bacall is the rich old guy's rebellious and slightly shady daughter. It's great.

On top of being one of the movies that everyone copies, The Big Sleep is also one that is just very good. It's funny a lot, heartbreaking at times, and full of savory mysteries and intrigue. There's no analysis to be made. Every frame of it just makes you happy because you know that amidst grotesque wastes of time and energy like Norbit and Epic Movie, sometimes, sometimes people make incredible movies.

A Very Belated 21 Grams

You know how you can watch a Tarantino movie and without being told know who the director was after five minutes (tops)? It's the same way with this director - the amazing and wonderful Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu. He loves to mess with time and sequencing, which makes for a great movie-watching experience piecing together an entire story.

This year's Babel, which was unfortunately disappointed several times at the Oscars on Sunday, is his third such piece, and it's amazing. Amores Perros (2000), one of my favorite movies, is also his. On a side note, Babel and AP both feature the most gorgeous man of all time, Gael García Bernal. Between the two films was 21 Grams (2003, for those keeping track), undoubtedly the most shocking (in terms of subject matter) of the trilogy. It is also the one that most mixes up the sequencing.

Out of the three characters' stories, Benicio del Toro's was, I thought, the best, partially because it was the most unpredictable. This opinion also might have been affected by the fact that there were more people involved in his story and therefore more characters to develop. It also was interesting to see what has to be the inspiration for a Spielberg scene in Munich. Towards the end of the movie Eric Bana's character has painful flashbacks about the terrorism while he's going at it with his wife. Benicio del Toro's character does the same thing, but two or three years earlier and done better, if you ask me.

Amores Perros is still my favorite Iñárritu film, but I'm definitely a fan of 21 Grams. It's emotional and riveting, with lots of character development. Also known as a recipe for a Rebekah movie.

Oscars

Congratulations, of course, go to Martin Scorsese and The Departed. They had my vote this year (I called the victory a month ago). I’ve always respected Scorsese and actually prefer him to someone like Spielberg.

There is a new trend at the Academy Awards - they are increasing different from the once reliable predictor, the Golden Globes. The Departed marks the third year in a row that the Oscar winner for best picture did not win the Golden Globe for best picture. The three previous times that occurred where in 1995 (Braveheart), 1992 (Unforgiven), and 1991 (Silence of the Lambs). To find the fourth occurrence you have to go all the way back to 1978 (The Deer Hunter). And, though I haven't done the research, I'm willing to bet that when you add in Little Miss Sunshine's win at the SAG's, you have the unprecedented event of three different movies taking home the top prize at the Golden Globes, SAG's, and Oscars.

The biggest upset that speaks volumes about how very worthy movies can easily slip through the craps is The Lives of Others beating out Pan’s Labyrinth for Best Foreign Language film despite Pan’s Labyrinth earning more nominations than The Departed. This is because while nominations are based the film recommended by Academy members, the winners are supposed to only be chosen by those who have seen all five nominees in a given category. So, what much have happened was, The Lives of Others was relatively unseen by voters until after the nominations came out, just enough to earn its nomination. But once the voters watch all the foreign nominees, they realized it was better than even Pan’s Labyrinth. That makes me think it’s quite likely that if the Academy were to call for another vote to pick nominations, the list of nominees would be remarkably different than it was, not just in the foreign film category.
Anyway, just a thought.

Bring on the best of ’07.

The queen of the Oscars?

Movies.com writer Dave Wright put it well: "The Queen is a very cool, very funny movie about death and grief and good manners, but it's kind of small and British...." It's very interesting, but a little bit dry. That said, I understand that a lot of the movie hinged on the fact that the queen did not believe in showing her emotions. The film succeeded in showing a stark contrast between the emotion of the British people and the reaction of the queen. It demonstrated well how living her life under a hundreds-of-years-old set of rules impacted how the queen handled an unprecedented situation, but in doing so lost a lot of potential emotion in the film. It was more about the politics, and about the eventual transition from the old ways to the new. I have to say, I found it a little disappointing that the most emotional part of the movie for me was the actual footage from the events surrounding Princess Di's death. I also understand that the film wasn't made to pander to an audience, and I respect that. However, there is a difference between pandering to an audience and captivating them. I wasn't really captivated.

This situation reminds me a lot of Capote. The movie was not what I would call vibrant, but the lead performance was acclaimed. I don't know that I quite agree with the rave reviews Mirren has been getting, but she was very good. Hers is just not a role I would consider a lock for an Oscar - or maybe it is just this year. Honestly, would Mirren stand a chance against last year's field? I have to think that the winning role in the best acting categories should be more of a role that really grabs the audience, like Reese Witherspoon's. For example, would Mirren have even gotten a nomination against the nominees of 2004 (Charlize Theron for Monster, Naomi Watts for 21 Grams, Samantha Morton for In America, Diane Keaton for Something's Gotta Give, and Keisha Castle-Hughes for Whale Rider)? I have my doubts.

Also, I must mention that I am in love with the performance of Michael Sheen as Tony Blair. Now that was captivating, and I'm sad that he isn't getting more attention for it.

Regardless, the Queen is an important movie to see. It's well done and while not the most exciting, still good. It also makes for the first time I've watched a movie about an historical event that I was actually alive for (which was nice). That said, it's definitely a one-timer.

Rome

I just finished watching the first season of Rome (thanks yet again, Netflix) and I love it. Granted, I'm a big fan of history in the first place and this show may not be for everyone, but it's hard to resist such flawed heroes and virtuous villains. We follow an ambitious Roman consul and general Julius Caesar, an arrogant Mark Antony, an unsure Brutus, a young (and future Emperor) Octavian, and a humble Cicero. But our protagonists are common soldiers Titus Pullo and Lucius Vorenus who, much like D'Artagnan and the musketeers or Forrest Gump, constantly find themselves thrust into historical events.

This show is so unapologetically brutal it makes Gladiator look like a Disney movie. It wisely pays no homage to previous depictions of Rome (sorry, Shakespeare, no "Et tu, Bruté" here) and paves a road to Rome we have never seen before.

Diabolique

Principal Michel Delassalle rules by fear and intimidation. When his wife and mistress conspire to rid their selves of him, a seemingly well thought out plan goes wrong. Is someone trying to blackmail them or is there something supernatural involved?

I didn't see this movie coming, a 50-year-old French film. It's by director Henri-Georges Clouzot who also gave us Wages of Fear. This film was as good as any Hitchcock movie I've seen. Clouzot is a master at building intensity without the aid of music. Raw, intense, and engaging - a great film.

Shenanigans

Posted on IMDb:

- Most Adults Blame Movies for Teenage Smoking

A new study indicates that 81 percent of adults believe that watching actors smoke in movies encourages teenagers in the audience to smoke. The study, conducted by Mississippi State University's Social Science Research Center for the American Medical Association, also reported that 70 percent of adults believe that films showing smoking should automatically be required to display an R rating. -

You will be hard pressed to find someone more anti-smoking than me. At the same time, I think those stats, particularly the 70% one, are flat out crap. I hate smoking more than, conservatively, 50% of the population does. And I think the idea of making a movie R because it shows someone smoking is ridiculous. They either asked the wrong 10 people or asked some seriously loaded questions.

Come on, Mississippi, do people not make fun of you enough for being stupid? Don't make them right.

Pan's Labyrinth

Last weekend I had the privilege of seeing Pan's Labyrinth in Columbia's old Missouri Theater. It's a very beautiful movie, with one of the greatest stories the film industry has seen in the past several years. The photography was wonderful and the special effects were amazing. It was very fun to watch.

The real-world story was sad, funny, and intense all at the same time. It would have made a good movie all by itself, and it set the escape to the labyrinth world up perfectly.

The intensity of the movie was pretty fantastic. They weren't afraid to show Ofelia's "father" get his mouth ripped open with a knife, and then show the man stitching himself back together. As if that weren't enough, the idiot decided he needed a shot afterward (with an open wound to the mouth, lest we forget) and they showed us that too.

I never became emotionally invested in this movie. I was sad for Ofelia, the little girl, but not that much. That is probably my biggest regret about an otherwise stand-out picture.

I loved the dual-story idea, but I felt like the labyrinth/imaginary world line was very underdeveloped, and the transitions between the two weren't always good. Ofelia would screw something up really badly, but it would end up not mattering later on - in either world. If she failed at a task, there was no sense of urgency that she needed to get back and fix things until the faun decided to reappear out of nowhere. There also was no regret over failing the task. So I guess my question is, are they trying to make her childish, imaginary world (I was under the impression that i was supposed to be real) underdeveloped and less vengeful because that is how a child would imagine it, or am I reading way to much into it? Probably the latter. I also thought the ending was a little ambiguous, but I'll stop there because someone doesn't like spoilers.

See, I'm not crazy

Anyone who has been to Wichita for a weekend or even a day has probably heard of some of my favorite things, the Warren movie theaters. Hands down, it's the best place to see a movie I've ever been. The old Missouri theater in Columbia is the only place that comes close to holding a candle to the Warrens (but after seeing Pan's Labyrinth there on Friday, I was reminded why it doesn't).

The Warren was recently featured in Flaunt magazine in an article called "Cinemachines" reviewing the nation's best theaters. The chain occupied three of the five or six photos in the piece, and a couple hundred words. They know what's up:

The world leader, except for a limited number of super-premium theaters in Tokyo, isn't Muvico, either, although their cinemas are certainly lavish and service-rich. Nor is it any other major chain. The best new-construction theaters in terms of added amenities and quality appointments are in Wichita, Kansas. Yes, Wichita.

Bill Warren of Warren Theaters is a man burning with a mission. He wants to build the best cinemas in the world. And he's doing it.

And that's just the beginning of the part about Wichita. Heck yes. Now maybe everyone in Missouri won't think I'm crazy. If anyone wants the full text of the article, let me know. :)

Oh baby, it's back (too short for spoilers, don't worry)

And oh my goodness, what an episode. We are in for an amazing second half, people. Also, to everyone hatin' on the first half: I vehemently disagree with you. Yes, that is a blanket statement. Different does not equal bad.

The one thing I ask of this show is that someday, someday Kate and Jack are together. Everything else has been pretty much awesome.

UNPRECIDENTED

I have just seen something I have never seen on IMDb:

A 9.9!

I don't care what the circumstances are, because I have seen every voting situation and have never seen something that high. This particular movie has only 45 votes, but they average out to a NINE-POINT-NINE.

Better news: it's a movie I was really hoping would be good and was really nervous might fall on its face.

It opens March 9:

Julia

The most significant thing about this movie was that watching it put me one movie away (curse you, the elusive Kiss of the Spider Woman) from seeing every Oscar Best Picture nominee since 1974.

It follows the relationship between childhood friends Julia and Lilly as their lives drift in different directions while they still stay loyal to each other.

Worth watching if you happen to come across it, but no need to go out of your way.

So I'm lazy

Congratulations to Richie for being such a stud and having all 6 posts in February thus far. I'm about to weakly attempt to steal your spotlight. Ha.

Meanwhile, I love MU Spanish classes and here's one reason why: we watch lots of movies, and they're almost always really good ones and sometimes they have awesomely-low vote counts on imdb. I love seeing stuff that hardly anyone else has. Anyway, this year my class is Hispanic Lit II, a.k.a. Hispanic Poetry. Naturally one of the first people we are studying is one of the first important writers to come out of America, Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Yo, La Peor de Todas is a movie about her life. Obviously some liberties have been taken with the story, since it's a movie and writers do that. Considering it only as a film, however, I thought it was pretty good. One of the few things that bothered me was the style of acting. It seemed a little unnatural at times - too much silent-movie-esque hand gesturing - but when that wasn't attempted it was pretty solid. The actress who played the Vicerine, Dominique Sanda, did a particularly good job and I think her relationship with Sor Juana was my favorite part of the movie.

I'm not sure how I feel about the lighting in this movie. I can't tell whether or not it is an attempt to be artistic or just a result of a horrifyingly low budget (I was shocked to find out that this movie was made in 1990). The ever-present darkness works in some scenes (for example, it was very appropriate for the mis-en-scene of the convent), but not as well in others. It could be that director María Luisa Bemberg was trying to direct our focus, but again, it's not consistent enough for me to be sure.

I guess the final verdict is that this is a great story with some wonderful characters, and that part was very well carried out. It is by all means worth at least one watch. Just don't expect much on the technical side.

Re-reading that sentence makes me realize exactly how attentive using a real video camera myself has made me to technical things.

Pan's Labyrinth

This is a very, very good movie, but it somehow left me wanting just a little more. Perhaps I just had the bar set so high for it. It deserves its 6 Oscar nominations and the likely lock for best foreign pic, but #66 (and climbing) all-time on IMDb is a bit of a stretch.

But I'm not being fair. It's original and fun and intense, three adjectives which probably haven't been pulled off this well since The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

It is equal parts fantasy and real life drama, and as Roeper and Scott pointed out, the real life drama is just as compelling and the fantasy side.

Brick

Film noir set in high school. What's funny is, I've never really been a big fan of noir (though a handful of my favorite movies do qualify), but this movie has sparked my interest in the entire genre.
The dialogue was just freakin' cool. I actually had trouble keeping up and had to turn on the subtitles (I was also at work which hurt). It wasn't even what they were saying, it was just how they were saying it (ie word choice ruling over content).

It wasn't necessarily a great movie, but I always award tons of bonus points for originality and this movie is one of a kind. Go see it.

Everything is Illuminated

Very interesting. This movie highlights the way everything and every person has a history and is important in some (thematically similar to American Beauty in this regard). It is narrated by a Borat-lite Ukranian who escorts an American (Elijah Wood) on a quest of family discovery. Good show.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape

A very real movie. No Hollywood polish, just a flawed hero (Depp) dealing with real life problems. A movie everyone can relate to. A must see.

Guillermo Arriaga

I am currently listening to a Q&A with Guillermo Arriaga, the screenwriter of Babel (as well as 21 Grams & Amores Perros - these movies are intended to be a trilogy of sorts). He is a genius and I'm gaining respect for Babel. The man doesn't write notes and doesn't research (he proudly notes he has never been to Morocco or Japan) and starts over each draft from page one. All this while writing in the out-of-order style you can see in these three films. He mentions being upset when someone commented on the amazing editing in 21 Grams, because that's exactly how he wrote it. Again, no notes means he doesn't have each storyline thought out ahead of time.

He sites Hemingway and Faulkner as his influences and that Amores Perros intentionally flows like The Sound and the Fury.

Movie Nerd

Oscar nominated movies rated 8.0 or higher on IMDb and/or in the top 250 of all-time:

10. The Last King of Scotland - 8.0
9. An Inconvient Truth - 8.3
8. The Lives of Others - 8.4
7. Letters from Iwo Jima - 8.4
6. United 93 - 7.9 #233
5. Little Miss Sunshine - 8.1 #207
4. The Prestige - 8.2 #176
3. Children of Men - 8.2 #156
2. The Departed - 8.4 #74
1. Pan's Labyrinth - 8.5 #71