Keeping Track (December 1, 2011)
by HELEN GEIB
I’ve been keeping a written log of the movies I watch for more than 15 years now. Just this week, nearly five years into writing for a movie blog, the obvious question finally occurred to me. Having no good answer, this post inaugurates a new weekly feature, published on Thursdays. What I watched last week, what I plan on seeing next week- and the same questions posed to you.
Last Week at the Movies
Unusually… none
Last Week at Home
More than usual thanks to the long weekend:
The Peacemaker- some might think it an odd choice for Thanksgiving night
Italian for Beginners- invited some friends over to watch this because it’s a favorite that hardly anyone I know has seen
Johnny English- nowhere near as fun as Reborn
Onmyoji- I love it so much, it’s my version of comfort movie
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham- ditto
New in Theaters This Weekend
Nada at the multiplex. Hollywood is giving the big Thanksgiving movies a second weekend to play themselves out. Nothing new on the arthouse circuit either (here in Indianapolis anyway), but I’ll be catching up with The Skin I Live In.
What have you been watching? What are you looking forward to?
I kind of like this new feature. It is an interesting idea. Because I am trying to catch-up on the screenplay I am working on I am trying to cut down on my movies for the next few weekends. I get a 3-day weekend, so I usually like to watch at least 3 movies. Last weekend I watched ‘Planes and Trains …” and ‘Under the Yum Yum Tree’ with Jack Lemmon. This weekend I plan to watch ‘The Nanny’ from 1965 that stars Bette Davis as a psychotic nanny that terroizes the ten year-old boy that she is in charge of looking after.
By the way Helen I’m surprised you’re interested in seeing ‘The Skin I Live In’ as it is directed by Pedro Almodovar who I thought would maybe be in a little to far out of a filmmaker for you. Although I could be wrong. Did you see ‘Woman on a Verge of a Nervouse Breakdown’, which is one of his earlier films? A great movie and funny movie, but also very weird. How about ‘Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down’, which was considered quite controversial at the time of its release in 1990 although I found it to be increidably plodding.
Almodovar + Banderas + excellent reviews = must-see
I’ve seen a few of Almodovar’s films. “Bad Education” and (especially) “Talk to Her” are excellent. I also enjoyed “Women on the Verge”.
Yes, I should have figured that Banderas would attract the female viewers. What was I thinking.
I loved Talk to Her, All About My Mother, and Volver. I find Almodovar to be an excellent filmmaker and storyteller. But I can wait for The Skin I live In. What I have to see in theatres before the year’s up is Take Shelter.
I read a couple days ago that the New York Film Critics Association named The Artist (another film that I have to watch sometime this month and have been waiting watch it for a year) Best Picture, and also claim that it has the Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress. And the film with the second most nominations is Take Shelter. I REALLY need and want to see it.
So Take Shelter is what I’m going to watch this or next week. I don’t ever make plans but it’s going to happen soon. :O)
Last Week at the Movies:
Immortals
Last Week at Home:
Rise of the Planet of the Apes – pretty darn good but the CG was too often good and bad simultaneously.
Cowboys and Aliens Extended Cut – pretty good, also. Quite bloody in the last 30 minutes, maybe that’s the unrated extended cut, then.
Bad Teacher – not terrible, not very good either. Had a few chuckles.
Melancholia (Blu-ray) – Amazing film.
Another Earth (Blu-ray) – you know that I love it.
The Future – written, directed, and starring Miranda July and it was awesome.
Warrior – superior to The Fighter in every way. Likeable characters that are relatable and sympathetic, amazing performances by Hardy and Nolte, terrific fight choreography, and a well shot film.
What I’ve watched this week (so far):
Fright Night (2011) – not bad. Fun but eventually takes itself too seriously in the final 30 minutes.
Drive – love that movie. Best film this year, so far.
Rampart – Woody Harrelson will be nominated for an Oscar for his performance in this film, from the writer and director of The Messenger (2009). But his performance in this film is just okay, nothing special. Nothing compared to his in The Messenger, or even in Natural Born Killers. And the movie is all over the place and uninteresting. Terribly misleading trailer, too.
What I’ll watch next week: no clue. No plans as of yet but we’ll see. :O)
At the theater: nothing
At Home:
Clubbed
Biutiful
Kingdom of Heaven Director’s Cut
Coming Week
Days of Heaven
???
‘Days of Heaven’ is a fantastic film and well worth repeated viewings.
If you can, watch the Criterion Blu-ray release. It’s one of the best looking films ever shot and Criterion’s Blu-ray release shows that film’s powerful imagery like only Blu-ray can. And it’s like Richard said, it’s fantastic.
It’s funny, the Thanksgiving long weekend is huge for Hollywood, yet even though I’m an inveterate moviegoer I stay home because I can’t face the mall parking lots.
What is “Clubbed”? You’ve stumped me with that one.
I’ve already kicked myself a few times for missing “Take Shelter” when it blasted through town.
I enjoyed “Cowboys & Aliens” (per my review) but I don’t feel any need to see more of it, which puts it in good company with the great majority of these “unrated because if we say it’s unrated we can sell a few extra copies” DVD director’s cuts.
I hadn’t heard of it either, but:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0856778/
‘Clubbed’ is a gritty British film that has gotten rave reviews. It deals with a father who gets beaten up and humiliated in front of his children and decides to join his local gym to learning boxing skills and how to stand his ground. From there he befriends a group of men who work as doormen to a local night club and he soon gets a job as a doorman as well.
In theater:
Melancholia
The Muppets
My Week with Marilyn
Film Group:
Night of the Iguana
It was a great week at the movies for me. :)
So you also liked Melancholia (aside from the digital cinematography)?
I did, indeed, Nir. The visuals in the opening sequence were gripping, and reminded me why I go to the movies. Some of the rest of the film is what I classify as “hard to watch,” but in the positive sense of making me grapple with the characters and themes. I am a person who enjoys walking out of the theater saying, “Wow. What did I just see?!” so I love Melancholia.
I fully realize that many people will hate the film, as did the friend who went with me, but when I got home, I called another friend who had seen it as well, and we chatted for hours about it. To me, that’s a good sign!
One last thing I’ll say about it is that Kirsten Dunst is hit and miss with me, but she works her rear off in this film. I have a great respect for her performance here.
Dito on the film and Dunst, although I always thought that she was a good actor. She just hadn’t chosen tough roles to portray and movies to play in and consistently.
And I find that Antichrist, a far more difficult film to endure, is still the better of the two. There are finally two Lars von Trier films that I like. :O)
Also, I love how Melancholia’s 10-15 minute prologue is essentially a taste of things to come and I like that the film wasn’t unpredictable. I like that, even though the prologue told us what would happen throughout the entirety of the film, ahead of time, I was still entertained and enthralled.
I agree. I need to see his other films, as this was my first. :)
Oops, I commented instead of replying! See below. ;)
Be warned. Lars von Trier has been labelled “anti-American” for a reason. His movies usually concern depression and human cruelty, and I dislike his most popular films because they DO NOT feature the human condition properly. His films’ characters do not act like real people would, and in his films they’re supposed to (prime example: Dogville), so I feel that you need a little warning. :O)
Duly warned. :)
I actually liked ‘Dogville’. Granted there was a lot of cruelty, but it was in a metaphorical sense. I thought some of his assessments of the way smalltown people act had a grain of truth to it. I was born and raised in a smalltown and my lasting impression of it was that it was oppressive and everyone made it their business to be in your business. I agree though that his ‘anti-American’ stance that he had in it at the end was uncalled for because the behavior of smalltown people is similar no matter where it is.
The reason that I hate the film, I do mean to use that word, is because of the “second plot point” segment and all the way to the end of the film. None of it made any sense to me. I still don’t see how those people acted the way that they did, given the situation. It was too outrageous, too cruel, and don’t find that people think that way at all. It just didn’t make sense to me.
Then there’s Dear Wendy, which I remember nothing about except that I was bored throughout.
But Antichrist (rated a very strong NC-17 for a very good reason) and Melancholia are excellent films.