Once again, the Criterion Collection offers me something I've been meaning to see for years but never gotten around to it: Federico Fellini's Amarcord an Italian slang-term of some sort meaning "I remember", the film is supposed to be a semi-autobiographical account of Fellini's life as a child growing up in facist Italy. Filled with numerous moments of fantastic imagery, some wacky characters, and a heartfelt pastoral atmosphere, Amarcord is a very interesting look at the genius of Fellini and how he brings his ideas to life on the screen. Rather than superfluously elaborate on the different vignettes in the film, I will say that one must experience it for themselves, as the somewhat nonexistant story lends itself to personal interpretation.
As my first foray into Fellini's work, I must say, I was quite pleased. The lack of a linear story peturbed me a bit, at first, but I got used to it, and eventually became intrigued at Amacord for its interesting visuals and the often hysterical performances. There's several funny moments involving coming-of-age where the boys of the village are sent to the church to confess their carnal sins. They also play great pranks on their teachers, and one of them has an ironic encounter with a buxom tobbaconist. At the heart of the film, is a story about family, patriotism, and appreciation of life in Italy that must be something I will never be cognizant of. But in Amarcord, Fellini does a wonderful job of sharing that love of his country with this love letter to his homeland. If the dictionary put films underneath it's definitions, one would find Amarcord under "pleasant".
Crime stories always interest me, whether it's the inception of how their subjects fell into their dirty deeds, or just the lurid subject matter itself, it's always great material for entertaining storytelling. Bonnie and Clyde was something I'd been meaning to get around to for awhile. Notorious for it's level of violence back in the 60s, I can assure you, they weren't kidding! Bonnie and Clyde is probably the bloodiest, bullet-riddled film I've seen that's not a western (I can assure you, in my opinion, The Wild Bunch is more comfortably the Scarface of the 1960s, in terms of violence). What some may not know is, it also happens to be a pretty interesting character study, about it's two notorious subjects.
In the 1930s, Clyde Barrow meets Bonnie Parker, after she foils his attempt to steal her car. On a rash decision, Bonnie joins Clyde on several of his bank heists and becomes infatuated with her two new loves - Clyde, and a life of crime. What begins to complicate matters between them involves Clyde's obnoxious brother and his equally grating wife coming along for the ride. Despite the obvious pressures placed on their relationship, Bonnie and Clyde somehow manage to make a decent living out of becoming cultural icons of crime...for a while, anyway...
In a way, Bonnie and Clyde can almost be seen as a dysfunctional romance/drama with tommy guns. Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty bring so much charisma and life to their characters that I became riveted the minute they stepped onto the screen. It's no wonder this film was so popular when it came out, the way director Arthur Penn glamorizes the gangster life almost makes the sins of crime seem like an idyllic fantasy in itself. At times, I couldn't decide though if I felt the pace of the film was too quick, because I didn't know if I was getting enough of a sense of character development in the film. However, the hedonistic tone, and the acting easily made me forgive this. And for a 60s film, the violence is fierce, with several sustained shootouts and enough bloodshed which probably paved the way for such graphic depictions like that of The Godfather. While Bonnie and Clyde is also a tragedy, it's an extremely riveting look that enthusiastically romanticizes the gangster life of the 1930s.
Well, this was an interesting surprise. Matthew McConaughey in a movie that's not a romantic comedy, and where he doesn't play a half-baked meathead. Enter The Lincoln Lawyer, where McConaughey plays a shady criminal defense attorney, whose main clientele is the typical street scum of Los Angeles. Obviously a substantial departure from what he's done in the past, he carries the film with unquestionable charisma and the way he manifests his character. The actual movie itself...well...
Mickey Haller, a criminal defense attorney, conducts his consultations out of the back of his Lincoln sedan and away from the scrutiny of the office environment. One day, he is given the opportunity to defend the playboy son of a wealthy Beverly Hills mogul, who has been accused of murdering a prostitute in a bar. Through a series of contacts, Haller works his way into trying to manipulate the jury without having to let Roulet, his client, walk the green mile. That is, of course, when he realizes the linking role Roulet originally played in a case that didn't go so well for one of his earlier clients...
I really wanted to enjoy The Lincoln Lawyer, but honestly, I thought the way the director executed the project was...lackluster. The investigation versus the cross-examination courtroom scenes almost feel like they're coming from two completely different films. Needless to say, I was interested at the investigation aspect of the story, but when it came to the actual courtroom scenes, it just felt like perfunctory melodrama that ultimately drove the film into predictability. On the other hand, the acting was fine, and I think McConaughey actually managed to outshine the rest of the cast as the swaggering Haller, it's just a shame they couldn't tighten up the script and make the scenes with testimonials interesting. So yeah, I was a little disappointed with the way the film turned out, but at least I enjoyed the aspects that worked for me.
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost never let me down as writers. They are also my favorite British comedy duo, mocking everything from films, nerd culture, to the occasional lack of common sense in humanity. Their latest, Paul, is a love letter to alien visitation, government conspiracy, and road films. Action-packed in some moments, and touching in others, on top of it all, it happens to be gut-bustingly funny. The humor is sharp, and filled with numerous references to sci-fi movies, as well as comic-culture.
Graeme and Clive, a nerd duo from Britain, travel to Los Angeles for Comic-Con and a road-trip across the Southwestern US to tour alien visitation sites. One night, they encounter Paul, a stranded extraterrestrial who pleads to hitch a ride, much to the interest of Graeme and chagrin of Clive. They learn that Paul is being chased by men-in-black from a shadowy government agency, and gradually about Paul's unique alien abilities, and the influence he's had upon science-fiction pop-culture (given his "familiar" appearance). The quick pace of the feds closing in on Paul and his friends are the only thing increasing their urgency to help Paul find his way home.
Paul exceeded my expectations for a comedy: it has a great cast, and a pretty original take on the alien visitation story. While there were a couple of the usual cliches associated with the genre, from time-to-time, this was wonderfully balanced out by anything hilarious that managed to rear it's head. Seth Rogen brings an amazingly fresh presence as the voice Paul, himself. Rather than play him as drunk, clumsy, or perpetually foulmouthed, as we've seen in films like this before, his portrayal of Paul is more akin to the slacker-type. Paul is much more laid-back, headstrong, and doesn't come off as a mere special effect, he's easily the most interesting character in the whole film. I wish we got to learn a little more about his backstory, but sequels can always change that. Paul is sure enough to be my vote for funniest movie of the year, unless The Hangover Part II, manages to change that.
Clerks is one of my all-time favorite films. It is the 1990s answer to The Graduate, and a minor time-capsule of that decade, in it's depiction of American slacker-culture and New Jersey; where I live. This film spoke to me in such an honest, crude, dorky, and philosophical way during my adolescence that it made me realize director Kevin Smith and I truly are pseudo-intellectual soul mates. When it comes to the overaching message on life Clerks preaches, one can interpret it as nihilism punctuated with absurdity, but I see it as growing the balls to be proactive in life, and that things can always be worse for the average, American, young-adult, male.
In Leonardo, New Jersey, 22 year-old Dante Hicks works as a cashier clerk in a low-rent Quick Stop convenience store. His life is going nowhere, and the toils of work are eating at his patience and self-esteem. Dante frequently butts heads with his opposingly self-motivated college girlfriend, Veronica. He also still has a thing for his loose, and engaged ex, Caitlin. His best friend, the snarky, sarcastic, movie-buff Randall works next door to him in a video store, and is his main foil in life as well as his philosophical counterweight. As customer after customer walks in and continually serve as an extra source of irritation for him, Dante realizes he's having the worst day of his life - the day he "wasn't even supposed to be here, today!".
Beneath the cheap black-and-white film, twisted characters, and vulgar humor, Clerks has a mind and soul that defies it's slacker trappings. Not to say this film had a huge influence on my life, but I relate very strongly to certain aspects of each of the characters, which makes the film a treat for me to watch. Despite being an amateur (at the time), Kevin Smith makes himself out to be a naturally talented writer/director. Citing influences as Jim Jarmusch and Richard Linklater, among others in the credits, their influences become very apparent upon certain glances. Anyone who has been in the position of being condescended for their job, youth, or intelligence should find solace in Clerks. I had the opportunity of seeing Smith's first cut on the blu-ray. While it is a little rough-hewn and features some subtly different scenes, along with a darker ending, I prefer his final version with the more careful spit-and-polish. Either one is worth seeing.
Oh, and here's my favorite scene, infamously known as #37 -
How to Train Your Dragon is one of those movies you dismiss upon first glance after seeing the ugly title trailing numerous cartoony antics in the previews. So, of course, nothing else compelled me more to see it than after it started gaining a certain amount of buzz in the past year. It's not the next Shrekand it wasn't anywhere near as compelling as Toy Story 3, but it was damn fine entertainment than most kids movies I'm coerced into watching, from time to time.
In the ancient times when vikings pillaged the Nordic seas, dragons were once their only foe. And for vikings, hunting dragons was a celebrated (and inescapable) pastime, due to the rash of dragon attacks affecting their lands for years. Unfortunately, for young Hiccup (who's a hilarious dead-ringer for Justin Bieber), dragon-hunting is not his forte. Hiccup decides to change things when he proves his worth for dragon-fighting school, after incidentally shooting down a young dragon. However, when Hiccup begins to bond with the dragon, who he names "Toothless", he discovers there's more to the fractitious relationship between humans and dragons than he originally believed.
Dragon is a meaningful story about learning acceptance for others and following one's dreams. Yet in true Hollywood fashion, it's cleverly disguised as a vivid, CGI fantasy tale for kids. The pace is brisk and the voice acting is stellar. Not quite sure why all the vikings speak with Scots-Irish brogues, but it amused me for sure. At least they didn't have them go all-out "Swedish Chef", or something horribly stereotyped towards Scandinavians. The story does unearth some of the typical good-versus-evil cliches every now-and-then, especially towards the conclusion. But there is actual pathos in Dragon, rather than a cop-out happy ending for sentimentality's sake. There's lessons to be learned for each of the characters, and that's what makes the film most significant amongst the crop of kids flicks of the past year.
David Lynch has always been a weirdo, in my opinion, as far as his treatment of film goes. However, he has a cult following that's just as strong as that of someone like Stanley Kubrick. While his work is strange, there's a certain poetry to his cinema that I find very engaging. After ten years of hearing nothing but how great it is, I finally got around to seeing Mulholland Drive. And while it is quite an epic story at length, it is well-worth watching if you are interested in good mysteries.
A car accident on Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles results in one surviving woman, who makes her way into an isolated apartment. Betty, a young, up-and-coming actress moves in and finds the woman in her new home, who has now taken on the alias "Rita". It turns out, Rita has amnesia, so Betty resolves to help her get back on her feet and find out what happened to her before accident occured on Mulholland Drive. What starts out as a conventional mystery/thriller, takes some interesting turns and subplots, before throwing convention completely out the window in a fascinatingly ambiguous finale.
Amidst the idiosyncratic characters that populate the film, Mulholland Drive has a wonderfully hypnotic, almost dreamlike quality that really drew me in. There's a lot of interpretations going on out there, as far as what the story means, but I'm personally with the camp that believes in dreams playing a huge role in the story. David Lynch apparently is keeping his mouth shut on the matter, as is evidenced through many interviews I found. While he definitely leaves a lot of the film up for open interpretation, I have slight concern over this technique being a bit divisive. Acting-wise, it's all good. Laura Elena Harring is mesmerizingly beautiful, and I wish she did more movies. Being my favorite performance, she brings a great noir-like quality to Rita, in the film. Although I'm not a huge fan of the ambiguity put in place by the film's final act, I respect it as a creative choice, as it brings about a unique quality to the film's story. If you can muster the will-power to handle the hypnotic nature of Mulholland Drive, this is a film definitely worth seeing again.
