What classics did you watch this week? (8/22-8/28)

Routine Pleasures (Jean-Pierre Gorin, 1986) - I don't know much about Jean-Pierre Gorin besides that he collaborated with Jean-Luc Godard in the '70s in the Dziga Vertov Group. I think I've seen a film or two from that era, but it's been forever. This documentary is post-that, a while, apparently, after Gorin had moved to the United States (which I'm assuming broke Godard's heart!). This is kind of reminiscent of the documentaries people like Errol Morris or Werner Herzog would make. The subject here is train/model train enthusiasts. I've heard it said that "buffs" are only interesting to others who may be interested in their particular interests. I don't think that's really true at all myself. I love watching people who are truly excited about things. Most of the time I am, anyways. These people, though? They are truly boring. They seem like perfectly nice people, but Gorin is unable to get them to seem even remotely interesting. The film seems to have come about from a dare by his friend Manny Farber, a famous film critic himself. A chunk of the film is devoted to Farber and his art - he had moved on to being a visual artist by this point in his life. Gorin makes himself the center of attention a lot of the time, too. All this seems like a ploy to mix things up and give the doc some life, but it doesn't work. All in all, it's too small and unassuming to be an awful film, but it's pretty dull. 5/10. no.

Demolition (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2015) - Jake Gyllenhaal plays a man who loses his wife in a car accident. Afterward, he feels a numbness take over his life. Pretty soon, he realizes that that numbness started a long time ago and he tries to figure out why. Helping him in his emotional journey is his new friend, Naomi Watts, whom he meets after writing a series of complaint letters to a vending machine company, and her sexually ambiguous teenage son (Judah Lewis). Meanwhile, Gyllenhaal's unlikable father-in-law (Chris Cooper) gets angrier and angrier at his behavior. It's a pretty decent film, but it never really rises above that. I'm not entirely sure why. I think it's sometimes a little too cutesy, especially with the narrated letters to the vending machine company. The film doesn't want to be too depressing and tries to be kind of funny instead, but that doesn't really work. The relationships Gyllenhaal develops with Watts and Lewis are great, though, and all three actors are very good (I'd give Watts the MVP). 7/10. yes.

Don't Breathe (Fede Alvarez, 2016) - Excellent little thriller/horror film. Three small-time burglars (Jane Levy, Dylan Minnette and Daniel Zovatto) think they have an easy target when they find a blind, old veteran (Stephen Lang) who supposedly has a bunch of cash in his house. Not so. Lang hasn't lost any of his Avatar muscles and he has fewer qualms with killing anyone who gets in his path than the three crooks are. There are a few things you could pick apart with the plot, but the filmmaking is exceptionally good. Alvarez already proved himself to me with his remake of Evil Dead a few years ago - that shouldn't have been good, but it was great. I wouldn't quite put this one at its level, but it's a very good follow-up. See this one in the theater if you can. 8/10. yes.

Southside with You (Richard Tanne, 2016) - Once you get over the weirdness of the fact that you're watching a movie about Barack and Michelle Obama's first date, this is an utterly charming and smart movie. I'm not sure how much of this is based on fact and how much of it is imagined (I assume most of the biographical details were fished out of Obama's autobiographies), but it imagines the two in their late 20s in Chicago in 1989. She doesn't want it to be a date, but he clearly does, so they do the dance. The film characterizes both Barack and Michelle beautifully - it's easy to momentarily forget who these people will become and just see them as complex human beings. The film is also one of the best about race in America - it doesn't shy away from those issues at all, and has a lot of intelligent discourse on the subject (it's quite disappointing that the writer/director is a white man, but thankfully he is a smart, sensitive white man). Saving the best for last, man, do the two leads, Tika Sumpter and Parker Sawyers, knock it out of the park. Sawyers nails not only the way the future President speaks, but also his fantastic charisma. Sumpter may not quite come off as a perfect copy of Michelle, but she builds the character beautifully. Definitely one of the year's best films. 9/10. YES.

Zoolander 2 (Ben Stiller, 2016) - Totally miscalculated comedy sequel. It's not awful, but it's hugely disappointing. It definitely had potential. The big problem is there's just way too much plotting and just not enough jokes. Stiller really could have used a couple of gag writers behind the scenes to pepper the thing with some laughs. It has a few here and there, and some fun cameos and a lot of fun, goofy fashion. Stiller himself is kind of weak in the lead role, but returning cast members Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell have some good fun. Penelope Cruz is hot but mostly wasted as Zoolander's new partner. 5/10. no.

You know who else was just following orders? HITLER!

I have Demolition at home. It looks like a good role for Jake so I can't wait to finally catch it. It played only 1 week in Chicago after a huge build-up. Southside with You will have to wait until next week for me. We ending up seeing a revival screening of The Sting, a film I hadn't see on the big screen since I was 9 years old!!!

I should rewatch The Sting myself. I didn't like it much the one time I saw it.

Yeah, Demolition came and went pretty quick. It was a huge dud. Wrong time of year for a film like that, although I don't think it's good enough to compete at the Oscars.

You know who else was just following orders? HITLER!

Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991) (3rd+ viewing) 7/10

In Cold Blood (Richard Brooks, 1967) (rewatch) 7/10

Den goda viljan / The Best Intentions (mini-series) (Bille August; written by Ingmar Bergman, 1991)
24. Episode 1 6/10
25. Episode 2 6/10
26. Episode 3 6/10
27. Episode 4 5/10
overall: 6/10

Flickorna / Girls (Mai Zetterling; written by Aristophanes and friends, 1968) 7/10

Screwballs (Rafal Zielinski, 1983) 1+/10

Gods of Egypt 3D (Alex Proyas, 2016) 7/10

Mystery Science Theater 3000: "The Sword and the Dragon" (1994) 7/10
Ilya Muromets (Aleksandr Ptushko, 1956) (rewatch) 5/10

Mystery Science Theater 3000: "Space Travellers" (1992) 5/10
Marooned (John Sturges, 1969) 7-/10

Snowtown (Justin Kurzel, 2011) [CuM SWAP] 4+/10
http://www.imdb.com/board/bd0000007/nest/260825660


- RiffTrax Shorts -

Parade of Aquatic Champions (1945) 2/10
Individual Differences (1950) 4/10
Understanding Your Ideals (1950) 2/10
Primary Safety: In the School Building (1955) 3/10
The Trouble with Women (1959) 2/10
One Got Fat (William Dale Jennings, 1963) 8-/10
Telephone for Help (1968) 3/10
Reading: Who Needs It? (1981) 2/10


- Other -

One Got Fat (William Dale Jennings, 1963) (rewatch) 8-/10

Beavis and Butt-Head: Another Friday Night (Mike Judge, 1995) (rewatch+) 6/10

South Park: "Sexual Healing" (Trey Parker, 2010) (3rd viewing) 7-/10


- Raising Cain extras -

Have You Talked to the Others?: An Interview with Paul Hirsch (2016)


- Didn't finish -
Victoria (Sebastian Schipper, 2016) [ca.17 min]


- Notable Online Media -

Top 10:
Repeat Stuff [by boburnham]
Tommy Wiseau's 127 Hours [rewatch]
Oh Hi, Mark! An Evening with Greg Sestero: Me Underwears Scene
The Philosophy of Kanye West – Wisecrack Edition
The Room - Party Scene - Live Script Reading w/ Greg Sestero @ MOCA Philly 11/08/13
Oh Hi, Mark! An Evening with Greg Sestero: The Disaster Artist
Oh Hi, Mark! An Evening with Greg Sestero: Chris-R Rooftop Scene
Amazon Echo - Tommy Wiseau Voice Pack (Parody)
Tommy Wiseau full interview - April 20, 2015 - CineSnob.net
Opie & Anthony - Greg Sestero In Studio (05-29-2014)
rest:
Perception In Film - Video Essay
Video Essay: Powder, Outside Appearance
Victoria: The Power of a Single Shot
Is CG Ruining Anime?
Kermode Uncut: Mark Cousins
Kermode Uncut: Proops On Point Break
Episode 2: How Do You Know When You're In Love? [by TommyExplainsItAll] [umpteenth viewing]
Lisa and Denny from The Room Q&A 6/8/10
Werner Herzog on Virtual Reality, the Future of Humanity, and Internet Trolls
Daniel Day Lewis breaking character in There Will Be Blood (Outtake)
Scatman Crothers Sings a Song for Kubrick: "Stanley (Does it All)"
The "natural" label on your food is baloney
[Louis CK stuff]
Hand Me A Beer - Cyanide & Happiness Minis
Ow, My Dick - Cyanide & Happiness Shorts

- just another film blog -
http://perception-de-ambiguity.tumblr.com

The Siege (1998) - 7

Blood Diamond (2006) - 7

Defiance (2008) - 7

Legends of the Fall (1994) - 9

À propos de Nice (1930) – Jean Vigo – 10/10 – Yes

Chelovek s kino-apparatom (1929) Man with a Movie Camera – Dziga Vertov – 9/10 – Yes

The Little Foxes (1941) – William Wyler – 8/10 – Yes

Les grandes manoeuvres (1955) – Rene Clair – 7/10 – Yes

Pale Rider (1985) – Clint Eastwood – 6.5/10 – Yes

The Naked Jungle (1954) – Byron Haskin – 6/10 – Yes

Sausage Party (2016) – Greg Tierman, Conrad Vernon – 4/10 – No

jj

LITTLE MEN

Directed by Ira Sachs, U.S., (2016), 85 minutes

American philosopher William James said that, "Reality, life, experience, concreteness, immediacy, use what word you will, exceeds our logic, overflows, and surrounds it.” This statement is especially true for children whose goals and dreams are subject not only to the real problems they face but are in part determined by their parent’s ability to handle their own life. Ira Sachs affecting drama, Little Men, looks at life from the point of view of two young men on the cusp of adolescence whose friendship is threatened by a family squabble that has no easy solution. Co-written by the director and Mauricio Zacharias, the film follows on the heels of Sachs’ 2014 Love is Strange, the story of a gay couple and how they are forced to vacate their New York City residence as a result of gentrification, a theme that plays also role in Little Men.

13-year-old boys, Jake (Theo Taplitz), a non-observing Jew and Tony (Michael Barbieri), who goes to Catholic school, are drawn together when Jake’s parents, Brian (Greg Kinnear) and Kathy (Jennifer Ehle), move into an apartment in Brooklyn vacated by the death of Jake’s grandfather. The apartment is located above a dress shop owned by his grandfather’s long time friend, Chilean seamstress Leonor (Paulina Garcia, “Gloria”), who has been paying a lower rent as a result of their friendship. The boys possess exceptional artistic talent. Jake is a painter who hopes that his portfolio will land him in the LaGuardia School of the Performing Arts, even as his drawing of yellow stars against the background of a green sky is dismissed by his middle-brow, middle-school teacher.

Compared to the sensitive Jake who keeps to himself and has few friends, Tony, an aspiring actor, is outgoing with excess energy to burn, a dynamo whose best scene is a back and forth exchange with his drama coach, an exercise in letting go of restraint and reaching for full self-expression. Speaking rapidly with a Brooklyn accent, Tony, who wants to join Jake in the LaGuardia School, puts on a good act of being on top of things but the sadness stemming from the lack of a father in his life is visible. One is reminded of the Nigerian poet and novelist Ben Okri’s reflection that, “the need to create art is often connected to a need to heal something.”

Brian informs Leonor that he has to triple her rent because his acting roles bring in little money and he does not want to have to completely rely on his wife’s income. Though he tries to reach an amicable agreement, his position strengthens Leonor’s intransigence and encourages Brian’s sister (Talia Balsam) to push for her eviction in order to bolster the family’s income. As their families bicker, Jake and Tony try their best to stay away from the conflict, riding their roller blades and scooters around the neighborhood with joyous abandon to the energizing score of Dickon Hinchliffe suggesting that this moment of their youth will last forever. Unfortunately, however, their parents only dig in their heels, Leonor snarkily asserting that she was closer to Brian’s father than he was and Kathy tells Leonor that she is trained in conflict resolution though she does not offer any such resolution.

As Jake and Tony’s friendship becomes strained, they embark on their secret weapon - the silent treatment - but the children’s weapons against their more powerful parent’s ends, as it often does in heartfelt tears. Little Men is a thoughtful and moving film that contains some of the year’s most honest and nuanced performances from Taplitz, Barbieri and Kinnear. There are no villains in the film and each character has what is on the surface a reasonable position, but what is lost is the compassion to step back and see things from a broader perspective, one that transcends immediate needs.

Brian shows some awareness of this when he breaks down in tears while alone, suggesting that looking out for one’s own self-interest while admirable in many respects may cut us off from relationships we cherish. Little Men operates on several levels. It is about gentrification and class interests, but its most potent message is about the miracle of friendship and coming to terms with growing up. Jake and Tony have found the kind of friendship that is rare for any age. Though they are different people with different interests, they have a bond that is akin to love, one that, like other attachments in life, will not last even though it will always contain moments so real that they may forever remain etched in the core of their being.

GRADE: A

JEAN SIBELIUS: THE EARLY YEARS; MATURITY AND SILENCE


Directed by Christopher Nupen, U.K., (1984), 111 minutes

Winner of the Silver Medal in the Music Category at the 1984 New York International Film and Television Festival and the Special Jury Award at the Banff Television Festival 1985, Christopher Nupen’s two-part look at the life of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius is both a musical tribute and a poetic statement about the creative process. Separated into segments, Jean Sibelius: The Early Years, and Jean Sibelius: Maturity and Silence, the film traces the composer’s life from its beginnings in rural Finland to his death at age 91 in 1957 using excerpts from Sibelius’ writings and those of his wife Aino, old photographs, performances of some of his best known works conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy, and gorgeous scenes of the Finland’s forest, lakes, and clouds.

After an introduction by the director, Sibelius is seen in 1939 in his last public appearance conducting a performance of the Andante Festivo, one of his most deeply felt works. Discussed in the film is Sibelius’ goal to be a virtuoso violinist, his bout with a throat tumor, his struggles with alcoholism and self-confidence, his retreat from the city to a secluded country home, his musical silence during the last thirty years, and his failure to produce the Eighth Symphony that musicians and critics all over the world desperately wanted.

Excerpts are heard of Sibelius major works including Finlandia, Tapiola, Kullervo, Karelia Suite, the Violin Concerto, and each of his seven symphonies (with the unexplained exception of the Sixth) but not always to their advantage, stirring crescendos trumping Sibelius’ tender, lyrical passages. The works, conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy, unfortunately often with too much focus on the conductor’s dramatics, are enhanced by Sibelius’ own words. As Nupen describes them, “they are extremely telling words, extremely poetic words, extremely deeply felt words. This man cared more than anything else that he had to compose music, and that he wanted to reach people with that music …… It’s telling the story, but it’s the story of the work and what it has to tell us today.”
Unfortunately, there are no interviews with musicologists and artists who might provide a deeper appreciation of the music, as in Phil Grabsky’s In Search of” series. Deficient also is the expressive and searching narration of the Grabsky films. Here the British narrator talks in a soporific monotone without the expressiveness needed to sustain interest. What does come through, however, in spite of the film’s flaws, is the sublime music of one of the twentieth century’s great masters. Listening to Sibelius’ Second and Fifth Symphonies especially as performed by Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra is an unforgettable musical experience.

Although Sibelius was considered as the greatest symphonist of the twentieth century during his peak creative years, his reputation began to suffer during the 1960s but documentaries such as this will help to reestablish his greatness. According to director Christopher Nupen, "His music has lasted and I believe that it will continue to last, whatever fashion may do...his voice is inimitable, unmistakable and for me unforgettable. My first encounters with it opened up a whole new world that remains with me." In the words of Ralph Vaughan Williams, "You (Sibelius) have lit a candle in the world of music that will never go out." If you are a lover of Sibelius’ music as I am, I would recommend this documentary for a broad overview of his life and, if you know little or nothing about him, this is a good introduction.

GRADE: B+

"Some other faculty than the intellect is necessary for the apprehension of reality" Bergson

Little Men opens here next week. I'll read your review after I see it. I did see that you gave it an A. Cannot wait! I liked the director''s last two films quite a bit.