Match Point -- Woody being Woody

Very entertaining and well acted, but the philosophic underpinnings of the movie I found to be unsophisticated and cynical. It's the same outlook on life that Woody Allen has had since Sleeper and Annie Hall -- existence is meaningless, there is no reward for moral behavior, what we think is love is only obsession, and sex is merely a way to exorcise our inner demons. Here's to life!

The 40 Year Old Virgin

The 40 Year Old Virgin -- now out on DVD! I know, I know, a shameless plug for a film about a man who has never had sex and the woman he falls in love with...a woman who is a Trading Assistant on eBay! This movie is available to rent at your local Blockbuster or via Netflix. It's one of the funnier movies to come along in recent years. You'll laugh, I promise. You may even laugh so hard you cry. You may even cry so hard you have to pause the movie while you compose yourself. And you may even have to watch the movie a second or a third time b/c you didn't hear all the jokes the first time....because you were laughing and crying so much.

What is the movie about? Well....rather than tell you and ruin a critical plot point...I'm going to abstain. Yes, I'm abstaining....get it? Like Andy abstained from having sex, I'm abstaining from revealing the movie's plot to you.

But I guarantee you'll enjoy it. And after you see it, remember to take your old junk (or your recently purchased iPod which you would like to trade in so that you can buy the new Nano) to a Trading Assistant on eBay (check us out at www.ebay.com/ta)

Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia

Its 1973-74 and you're writer/director Sam Peckinpah. You've made The Wild Bunch, The Getaway, Straw Dogs, and Ride the High Country. You're a genius filmmaker. You despise all authority figures. You hate yourself. You think the only thing that matters in life is the movies you make.

And so you decide to make Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. The story of a bartender in who-knows-where Mexico who agrees to find and kill Alfredo Garcia in return for a terrific bounty paid for by a Mexican jefe, this film is also an exploration a lowly man's odyssey to make something out of his miserable life (not kidding here).

Critics consider the film an expression of Peckinpah's personal angst toward life and his role in it. He battled w/ the Hollywood establishment all the time (and was blacklisted at one point...because no one wanted to work w/ such an unpleasant guy!). Not only was he not a family man, but he barely saw or spent time w/ his children. Later in life, he became addicated to cocaine and the quality of his films declined severely. He died young at age 59.

All of these feelings come through in full force in Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia. It's a difficult film to watch -- it feels like Peckinpah is treating the audience like his personal dartboard. Instead of darts, he's throwinig his problems directly at us. And oh yeah, he's doing it while blindfolded (well, actually, he's probably also drunk or high). Have you ever seen a more desperate, ineffective form of psychoanalytic relief? Well, anything for art, I suppose.

As the film's hero Benny (Warren Oates, looking positively frightful) goes on a killing spree in his effort to deliver Alfredo Garcia's head to the jefe so as to claim his prize, the viewer begins to feel as low and dirty as the characters in the film. Artists -- directors, especially -- are often great manipulators, and certainly Peckinpah is one of the greatest. The depravity and violence depicted in the film is unrivaled, and yet, I found myself wanting to see the darn thing through to the conclusion. One suspects early on that Benny's journey is actually a death wish. It's a wish that takes 2 gruesome hours to be granted.

A film like this will force you to re-examine your own life, the goals you set for yourself, and whether or not you're satisfied. And it will make you so unbelievably thankful that no matter how down you get sometimes, you're not living life at Benny's level...and you never want to be.

French Kiss -- 2 hrs w/ a neurotic Meg Ryan

French Kiss. Lawrence Kasdan's lazy mid-90s film about Kate (Meg Ryan) who travels to Paris to win back her fiance, a doctor who has fallen in love w/ a french "goddess" while on a business trip. She becomes acquainted w/ Luc (Kevin Kline), an unkempt vagabond who hides a necklace in her purse and follows her on various misadventures in order to retrieve it.

That's the premise. Is the movie any good? Roger Ebert has pointed out that the movie is flawed b/c it tries to be both a romance and a comedy and ends up unsatisfactorily somewhere in the middle. I agree, and would add that the bigger flaws are the story is flat and actionless. We're observing the lives of immature individuals (Kate is obsessive and neurotic; Luc is obnoxious, lacks self-discipline, and lies) who run around France in search of a deadbeat fiance and a piece of expensive jewelry, respectively. The simple story would be acceptable if the screenplay contained one ounce of wit or creative conversation. Sadly, it offers mere crumbs to an audience starving for a tasty baguette.

About an hour in to the film, one begins to wonder -- will Meg Ryan ever grow out of her neurosis? Or will it be a lifetime shtick....as it has been w/ Diane Keaton. Occasionally, Ryan tries to broaden her range and descends into more dramatic material (Addicted to Love, In the Cut, Against the Ropes), but not many of her deeper dives as an actress have warranted any special acclaim (though I found her capable in Courage Under Fire) . So let's say she limits herself primarily to romances and comedies in the future. Does she have room to grow as a comedic talent? Sure. Does anybody think she can grow as a comedic talent? Well, anything's possible if you set your mind to it. Clearly, to do so, she needs to play a character w/ self-confidence, personality, and determination. Please spare us a third lackadaisical "Kate" (she was Kate in French Kiss and Kate in Kate and Leopold). I think a truly classic romantic comedy w/ Meg Ryan will occur at some point. I just hope she's still looking cute and perky when it arrives in theaters.

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada -- anyone heard of this movie?? The high level summary is that director/producer/star Tommy Lee Jones is going to swim w/ the fishes until he figures out a way to make a coherent movie and not mush together two short stories (told in the vein of a New Yorker short story w/ the requisite obscure details, rambling narrative, and random psychological/spiritual metaphors).

Guillermo Arriaga is the writer (of 21 Grams and Amores Perros fame) and he certainly packs a ton of interesting ideas into the film, but what does it all mean at the end of the day? We look to the director and editor to help add coherency and vision to the enterprise but they unfortunately fall short of the goal.

As a result, what we have is a beautifully shot film (by famed cinematographer Chris Menges) and a smattering of exciting scenes. But Tommy Lee Jones doesn't leave the viewer w/ any clear takeaways. Ultimately, his film will slip out of your mind within hours/days b/c of this failure on his behalf. It's a shame. Maybe Tommy Lee will learn his lesson next time around? I can only hope -- we need some good westerns these days.

Walk The Line (doesn't)

An average flick. Here's why...

The Good?
- Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon are talented and they did everything they possibly could w/ thinly defined characters
- How can you not love Johnny Cash's music?
- I'm a history buff -- always love the historical flicks
- It's a story about true love

The Bad?
- Too much like an extended episode of Behind the Music
- The songs are not the original Cash versions -- but new versions w/ Phoenix and Witherspoon singing. They're not as good as the originals of course.
- The story is cookie cutter. Very standard plot -- poor guy who grows up w/ nothing, traumatic childhood experience (brother dies), rises to fame and celebrity, can't cope w/ celebrity so resorts to drugs/booze, finds love and redemption when he needs it most, perseveres and emerges a hero. The end.
- No character arc and no real insight into characters. Who is Johnny Cash? Did the childhood death of his brother really have that big an impact on his life??
- No interest in really understanding where Cash's music came from. What was he inspired by? Does the music comment on current events at the time? What did Cash hope to accomplish (if anything) through his art?
- Movie's too long.

The Result
- An only average movie. Competently directed by James Mangold who seems to be capable of a much bettere movie but unfortunately seems unable to figure out how to make it.

The Bridges of Madison County

Clint Eastwood in Bridges of Madison County is incredibly old (65!) and Meryl Streep is no spring chicken herself (she's 46). But I repeat, Clint is 65! And though his face shows his age, he does look like he's been staying fit, lifting weights and working out. His character -- National Geographic photographer Robert Kincaid -- is also quite charming and self-confident. Clearly, Streep's character, housewife Francesca Johnson (an Italian immigrant), is attracted to him despite his age and gray, thining hair. But what exactly does she have to compare him to? Her husband, I suppose. He's a simple, plainspoken Iowa farmer whose idea of a good time is entering the family hog in a state fair. Hmm....not the most romantic thing in the world.

This modern verison of "Brief Encounter" keeps the viewer's attention in the first half of the film, as the lovers discover their feelings for each other and realize that they will have to give into their passions. But then....this romance has only so far to go. And since Kincaid is more myth than man and Francesca's unhappiness is much less interesting than the film would have us believe, one eventually becomes bored and contemplates how the inevitably sorrowful conclusion will play itself out.

The question is, is the movie more interesting than living on a farm in Iowa? Don't know, that's a toughie.

To Live in a Noir World

originally written for Brown University/RISD College Hill Independent

The political/socio-economic structures governing our lives do not work for everyone, and thus happiness is not universally possible. The world is a frightening, dark place filled with sin and corruption. We are subject to base desires, and our inability to control them is often fatal. Selfishness and tension between the sexes can produce isolated individuals who die sad deaths utterly alone.

This is the world of the film noir, an American cinematic style that flourished in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The term “film noir” was coined by French cineastes in the mid-40s and literally means “black film.” This style of filmmaking was born from post-World War II anxiety and confusion felt by returning American soldiers, existential fears of how the world would re-arrange itself after the chaos of total war, and the dissatisfaction felt by those who sensed the collectivist policies of Roosevelt disintegrating in Cold War America. In the years just preceding Eisenhower’s election in 1950 and the subsequent endorsement of conservative values and a materialistic, corporate-controlled culture, the practitioners of film noir often created leftist works of art that pointed out cracks in the American system.

Nearly half a century since the heyday of film noir, filmmakers continue to package liberal political beliefs in the guise of movies that are strikingly reminiscent of the film noir mindset. Most commonly identified as post-noir, they are not always as politically-minded as their predecessors, but occasionally style is blended with substance to create a wickedly pointed cocktail. Such is the case with three films that were in the theaters and video stores this past summer.

Gritty, Classy Things

Dirty Pretty Things journeys through of the world of London’s lower class immigrants. Hotel concierge and part-time cab driver Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is an illegal Nigerian immigrant sharing a room with Senay (Audrey Tatou). One day, while investigating a broken toilet in the hotel, he discovers a human heart and stumbles upon the dirty scheme of hotel manager Sneaky (Sergi Lopez): he convinces illegal immigrants to trade vital organs (a dangerous, likely fatal procedure conducted in his hotel rooms) for fake visas. Every character in the film is an immigrant and the film deftly depicts their daily struggles. The lives of these characters, unrecognized and ignored by mainstream culture, are rift with secrets, lies, and manipulations.

Like Robert Altman’s British class drama Gosford Park, Dirty Pretty Things argues that the actions of the lower classes are in fact more complex, exciting, and relevant than those of the upper classes because people such as Okwe and Senay are struggling to simply live another day. The director of Dirty Pretty Things is the noted British filmmaker Stephen Frears, who has long shown a proclivity for liberal-minded stories with films such as My Beautiful Laundrette and Hero. With Dirty Pretty Things, Frears makes vital points about the brutal treatment of the lower immigrant classes in a capitalist structure and the common humanity shared by all the members of a society.

Come in Berlin

Buffalo Soldiers is a raucous satire on the American military set in Germany in 1989. The film argues that behind the patriotic exterior, callousness, self-interest, and ignorance are widely prevalent in our armed services. U.S. troops are shown shooting heroin, selling weapons illegally, and cruising on the Autobahn. When the Berlin Wall falls, soldiers admit that they aren’t even aware of whether they are in East or West Germany.

Unfortunately, the film as a whole is a failure, repeatedly falling back upon unbelievable plot devices when a more subtle approach is much needed. But individual scenes still make potent criticisms. At one point, troops are playing a game of indoor football in a mess hall. A young man goes up for a catch, but as he is falling down, knocks his head on the corner of a metal table and kills himself. His friends note that he missed the ball, but doesn’t seem to notice that he’s lying unconscious in a pool of blood. Later, company clerk Ray Elwood (Joaquin Phoenix) and Col. Berman (Ed Harris) discuss the blatantly fictitious official obituary letter that will sent home to this young man’s family, deciding that they will not only fudge the cause of his death, but also that he had several illegal drugs in his blood at the time.

Such an incident might not be too far off from the truth. In fact, similar stories gave the U.S. military a bad reputation throughout the 70s. It was only in the 80s-90s that the military cleaned itself up and became the lean, mean machine that we know today. The film’s decision to attack an outdated military structure sadly weakens its ability to serve as a liberal political tool for today. But the timing of its release, so soon after the War in Iraq, certainly imbues an otherwise fair movie with edge and importance.

Steal This Movie

The Good Thief is writer/director Neil Jordan’s masterful remake of Jean-Pierre Melville’s classic 1955 French noir Bob le Flambeur. Jordan’s tale stars Nick Nolte as Bob, a down-on-his-luck art thief, heroin addict, and a creature of the underworld of Nice, France, who must go sober so that he can successfully pull off a major art heist in Monte Carlo. The early scenes set in Bob’s world are startling – like Dirty Pretty Things, The Good Thief reveals a vast multi-cultural immigrant milieu, unknown to the upper classes, rich in pimps, druggies, and thieves. That Bob and his friends are able to beat the odds and rise above their surroundings is accurately portrayed as a tremendous
victory.

Although The Good Thief is not as overtly political as Jordan’s past efforts The Crying Game and Michael Collins, the thieves’ uses of intelligence and gustiness to strike back against the system (and rise above their dark, nihilistic origins) should instruct lower class individuals in the importance of unity, craftiness, and boldness when challenging the dominant status quo.

Turn the Lights On

Dirty Pretty Things, Buffalo Soldiers, and The Good Thieffilm noir are recent examples of that serve as liberal attacks against a close-minded conservative culture that ignores difficult truths and abuses the poorer, defenseless members of our societies. Furthermore, these films should inspire other artists to recognize that the medium of film will eternally be one of the most potent propaganda tools available. In viewing or making a film, it is important realize the underlying message behind this supposed entertainment. Film can and should be used to fix the ills that plague the noir world we live in.