wonga's filmblog

my Telluride Film Festival 2008 list

wonga — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:28:36 GMT

i don't have time to write reviews but i pretty much liked everything i saw. unlike apparently everyone else who's seen it, i'm not such a big fan of "Slumdog Millionaire" and thought it was just OK. i loved the silents and the film noirs best, especially "The Last Command." we had a good year this time and were only shut out of one movie all weekend. i was sorry i didn't get to see the tributes and i would have liked to see the other film noir.

Mary Pickford: The Muse Of The Movies
Happy-Go-Lucky
The Last Command (with the Alloy Orchestra)
Nightmare Alley
Kisses
The Rest Is Silence
With A Little Help From Myself
Italian Straw Hat
You Must Remember This (part 2)
On Dangerous Ground
Slumdog Millionaire
Laughing 'Til It Hurts (5 silent shorts)
O'Horten

in the last month i've seen...

wonga — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 19:06:12 GMT

SWEENEY TODD: DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (A) - i put off seeing this until the very last day it showed here! i'm a big Depp and Burton fan but all the rumors of horror and graphic blood-letting had me spooked. finally after all the nominations and watching the trailer a few times i screwed up my courage and went to a matinee. i've never seen the previous stage musicals and so i can't compare but this was wonderful! very operatic and moving. i liked the singing and the songs. yes, it had bushelfuls of blood but it was sort of like Monty Python blood if you know what i mean...it didn't seem really real. there have been comparisons of Sweeney Todd to Depp's Scissorhands character but he reminded me of an older pissed-off Gilbert Grape. nobody does brooding better! Helena Bonham Carter was also fabulous.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD (B-) - i also put this off but my husband wanted to go and actually i'm the easiest person ever to talk into going to a movie. i will see almost anything with just about anybody! DDL i thought was amazing but i didn't really enjoy the movie that much. i appreciate that it's a beautifully told story and i liked the cinematography (maybe not the music so much) but i had a constant sense of dread and was ready to go when it was over. put me down for more of a Magnolia fan.

THE GOLD RUSH (A+) - this movie never ever disappoints. i saw it with a live orchestra and theatre organ. they don't make them like that anymore i'm afraid!

OSCAR-NOMINATED ANIMATED SHORT FILMS (A-) - five shorts, most of which i really liked. my favorites were I Met The Walrus and Peter And The Wolf (which won the oscar). by the way, it looks like most of the oscar shorts (animated and live action) can be downloaded from iTunes.

OSCAR-NOMINATED LIVE ACTION SHORT FILMS (B-) - five shorts, some of which i liked. my favorites were The Substitute and Tangi Argentini. The Mozart Of Pickpockets won the oscar but i didn't think it was that original.

PERSEPOLIS (A) - i can't believe this was in competition with Ratatouille for an oscar! it should have been in the foreign film category. kind of long but i liked it a lot. i'd like to know what happens next. it was an interesting point of view that isn't heard from much.

lately i've seen...

wonga — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 20:30:44 GMT

TEN CANOES (B) - i liked it. i probably wouldn't have gone if i hadn't heard such good things about it first on FilmCouch. what's there not to like about lots of little people with no clothes on running around in the woods, building canoes, hunting, and telling stories.

CHARLIE WILSON'S WAR (B+) - liked it a lot. Tom Hanks is at his best when he's funny and charming (instead of sentimental). very entertaining, and Philip Seymour Hoffman was awesome. don't know how the facts stack up but it's a great story. one of my favorite scenes is when they are shooting down Russian helicopters to the music of Handel; it's just perfect.

THE SAVAGES (B) - supposed to be an "adult comedy" but it's really not funny. i liked it but i'm not sure i'd want to see it again. i loved the opening surreal scenes from Sun Valley. there are moments in this movie that are absolutely perfect and it's well worth checking out. i could see the end coming but i liked it anyway. Laura Linney does find her inner dog person and gets an Oscar nomination but i don't see her winning.

SOUTHLAND TALES (B) - i'm not going to pretend that i know anything about what is going on in this movie! i did think it was really funny. the cast is fun to watch and the special effects, especially at the end, have to be seen on the big screen. i think it will turn out to be a huge cult film and down the road everyone will say that they loved it from the beginning.

my 2007 movie lists

wonga — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 17:19:35 GMT

i have a wonderful picture of all my movie ticket stubs from this year in a pile but i can’t get it transferred to my filmblog (yes, i save my ticket stubs and scrapbook them at the end of the year…i know, it’s sad really)! armed with discount movie coupons, i saw 118 movies this year at the theater and, as usual, it was really hard to narrow them down but here’s my list, for what it’s worth. some are from 2006 that i didn’t see until later.

my 15 favorite movies at the theater in 2007

honorable mention (alphabetically)

2007 movies i still want/need to see

king of kong
the savages
sweeney todd
there will be blood

2007 movies I didn’t like so well

before the devil knows you’re dead
feast of love
i now pronounce you chuck and larry
la vie en rose
martian child
old joy
ratatouille
spider-man 3

other movies (on video) that I fell in love with this year

"capsule" movie reviews

wonga — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 20:51:35 GMT

wow - i am SO behind. before i list my top movies for 2007 here are some capsule ratings of movies i've seen in the theater the last couple months.

Into The Wild (B) - i liked this a lot, more than i expected. i put off seeing it because it didn't sound like something i would be interested in but actually it was very involving. i don't think the movie really makes him out to be a hero, he's just an unfortunate guy who screws up. cinematography was beautiful. loved the music. great supporting performances.

Wristcutters: A Love Story (B) - very original and different from anything else i saw this year (which is good)! incidentally, i have a black hole under the front seat of my car too.

Lars And The Real Girl (B) - very different kind of movie than you'd think from the premise. very heartwarming and sweet. unbelievable toward the end but still worth seeing.

Martian Child (D+) - poor screenplay that jerks the audience around. tries to be funny/quirky and fails miserably (i'm the only one i know who didn't like it, however, and everybody else around me was crying at the end - go figure).

Dan In Real Life (C) - i know a lot of people liked this movie but i didn't much! the family was so strange with all their "activities" and i thought the slapstick parts were not funny. i liked the actors but not the writing.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age (B-) - i know, it's not historically correct, but i just loved watching Cate Blanchett and all the extravagant sets and costumes, not to mention Clive Owen.

Ira And Abby (C+) - funny but ultimately somewhat forgettable.

The Darjeeling Limited (A) - i know this has gotten mixed reviews but i absolutely loved it. as soon as i saw Adrien Brody's long legs running in slow motion for the train i just knew that it was going to be a great movie. i like all of Wes Anderson's movies but this is now my favorite. my favorite scene: the three brothers are meditating with their mother when they conjure up a train-full of people, memories, and animals. not just quirky and funny but also moving and insightful.

Bella (B-) - this is somewhat of a food movie, which part i liked. i also liked the performances but the story was not very coherent and there were some stereotypes that detracted. i was the only one in the theater and what i remember most is that i had to go find the projectionist as the movie was out of frame and i couldn't read the subtitles.

August Rush (B-) - this movie was so weird, how could i not be sucked in. i did like the music and acting but the story was pure fairy tale or maybe science fiction, with alien-like people who communicated by music tones and read each other's thoughts with no need to speak. completely over-the-top corny and almost constantly improbable (including a black church that seemed to house homeless people and also had a gigantic cathedral pipe organ).

The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (A) - this was so wonderful! i still think about it. it's not what i thought it would be at all from the previews. it was dream-like yet seemed so authentic. i felt almost like a time-traveler. i could see how people lived and things really looked back then, with scenes like pictures from a history book. it would have been the absolute perfect movie if there were completely unknown actors. everybody was so familiar - from other movies, TV shows, and just being famous i guess. anyway, i'm really looking forward to reading the book it was based on.

No Country For Old Men (B+) - this movie was a puzzle, to me anyway, and i don't think i'm the only one. maybe it's not supposed to be understood so easily. after reading comments about it from others i know i really need to see it again! great performances, especially Josh Brolin and Tommy Lee Jones. i liked that it was such a quiet movie but that amplified every noise and whisper in the theater, mostly the people behind us who commented out loud about everything (they didn't like it). i'm notoriously squeamish but it wasn't that scary (to look at anyway)!

The Bible Tells Me So (A) - not perfect by any means but one of my favorite documentaries this or any other year. the stories of these families are completely engaging and by the end when everything comes together it is really moving. i wish more people could see it.

White Christmas (B) - it was fun seeing this on the big screen. i forgot how much fun Danny Kaye can be.

Enchanted (C+) - this was OK up until the end, when things got a little big and strange. i hope this leads to people who like Amy Adams watching Junebug (and that there's not a sequel).

Gone Baby Gone (B-) - everything about this was great except the story. the story was so improbable that it undermined the rest of the movie for me. and yes, Amy Ryan is fabulous.

Michael Clayton (A-) - i'm not much of a thriller person but i really enjoyed this. great character development and story. the music was somewhat intrusive but otherwise i loved it.

Before The Devil Knows You're Dead (D) - i'm sure this is a masterpiece and one of the best movies of the year but it was so depressing and so soul-sucking that i couldn't wait for it to end!

Atonement (C) - this was such a huge disappointment. it's gotten awards and nominations, critics love it, and i was all ready to be caught up in the story and suffer along with these young lovers (just like The English Patient everybody said, which i love), but i felt - nothing! i kept waiting for something and then it was over. it was beautiful but all on "the surface," with no heart or whatever that special something is that makes you care. i haven't read the book but it must be better than this!

Starting Out In The Evening (A) - great underrated and understated movie that deserves more recognition. i really cared about these people. i loved seeing Lili Taylor portray someone other than a whacko and look actually beautiful doing it. Frank Langella was so great and the ending was just about the most perfect ending of any movie this year.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (C) - about what i expected, with uneven funniness (i did like the Beatles).

Margot At The Wedding (A-) - this has also gotten mixed reviews but i really liked it. Jennifer Jason Leigh is one of my favorite actors and i wish she worked more. the trailer (once again) makes it look more like a comedy than it is. very knowing about complicated family relationships and that family stuff you can't even put into words!

king of california

wonga — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:50:19 GMT

it feels like this movie was based on a book or a play and that something important was left out. very improbable story but Michael Douglas is fun to watch. the not so subtle theme of modern society being evil (fast food, urban sprawl, etc.) got a little preachy.

in the shadow of the moon

wonga — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 22:27:36 GMT

in 1970 our whole family piled in the car and did the vacation thing, driving to NYC, Washington DC, etc., (a big deal, since we lived in Colorado). one very memorable highlight was a stop at the Smithsonian/Air and Space Museum, where we saw the Apollo 11 capsule and rocks that the year before had been on the moon. this documentary brings all that back and how awesome it was. most of these Apollo astronauts are in their 70s now and i'm so happy that they've been given the chance to share their experiences and stories. great stuff, with footage that hasn't been available before.

what i saw at Telluride this year (2007)

wonga — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 13:51:00 GMT

we (my husband and i) had a really good time in Telluride this year, even while waiting in the rain. we did pretty good with getting into programs and i guess we were lucky since we were ticket-buyers (the lowest caste of all filmgoers…we don’t get a chance to even buy tickets until all the passholders are seated). our strategy was to try and guess what everybody else wanted to see and do the opposite...we also stuck mostly to the larger theaters. almost everyone we talked to, though, was complaining of not getting into movies. there was even a man with a patron pass who showed up 20 minutes before a screening and couldn’t get in, which is unheard of. i think some of the problems might have been with scheduling, as it seemed that everything was either overflowing or half full.

FRIDAY

THE DAWN OF SOUND: HOW MOVIES LEARNED TO TALK -- very interesting documentary about how sound in movies came about. lots of Vitaphone clips and interviews.
BRICK LANE -- directed by Sarah Gavron (U.K.) story about an unhappy Indian woman living in London who finally figures out what she needs and how to make her life meaningful. beautiful cinematography but i thought the story could have been better developed. based on a book by Monica Ali.
I’M NOT THERE -- the infamous Bob Dylan movie directed by Todd Haynes. it played twice on Friday and our screening wasn’t full. i know a lot of people were down on this but i thought it was fun and interesting. very impressionistic. maybe if I knew more about Bob Dylan I would have felt differently (i’m more of a Jakob Dylan fan)! i didn’t recognize most of the music but it was great and I’m all psyched to learn more about BD, like what’s the deal with Billy The Kid? the director mentioned that it was kaleidoscopic and some of the pieces fit better than others but it was altogether interesting. Cate Blanchett was the best Dylan and was riveting. it reminded me of "John From Cincinatti," the late HBO show. people were talking and doing inexplicable things and although i had no clue what was going on i liked it anyway. the whole thing was a mystery but in a good way, where just watching was enough.

SATURDAY

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY – directed by Julian Schnabel (France). i went into this blind and was blown away. just a beautiful heartbreaking movie. thinking back, I had heard of this book/memoir but wasn’t interested as it sounded really depressing. although the movie is from the viewpoint of a man who has had a devastating stroke, it is not depressing! Schnabel won best director at Cannes for this and I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of it’s awards. it’s hard to summarize, so I’ll quote the program…"celebration of the hero’s two remaining assets, imagination and memory…shot from a single fixed camera position, with Schnabel transferring the subjective strategies of Brakhage’s poetic cinema with astounding grace and skill…all the uplift you’d expect, but so much more: cognitive science, unexpected bursts of lyrical imagery, and giddy black humor." an absolute must-see movie!
CALLING CARDS (SHORT FILMS) – liked all of these, some better than others. at the beginning they made an announcement with regards to graphic sex and violence and they weren’t kidding! a) Rotten Apple – Petrova Ralitza-U.K. b) Screening – Anthony Green-U.S. c) Joburg – Thabo Wolfaadrt-South Africa. d) Pathways – Hagar Ben-Asher-Israel. e) Rabbit Trouble – Mitovski & Kalev-Bulgaria. f) Sasha Et Desire – Cecile Vernant-France.
HATS OFF – documentary by Jyll Johnstone about Mimi Weddell, a NYC actress who is still working at age 92. it was a little long but she was a great subject and appeared at the screening in person. they showed many of her clips and she has been in everything, including one of our favorite movies, "Student Bodies."
CHRIS & DON: A LOVE STORY – documentary by Guido Santi & Tina Mascara. i would have enjoyed this more if I hadn’t been falling asleep. i don’t really know much about Christopher Isherwood but i’m a fan of Don Bachardy’s paintings (he was at the screening). they had a fascinating life together in Hollywood and what i can remember of the movie was interesting.

SUNDAY

A TRIBUTE TO MICHEL LEGRAND/THE YOUNG GIRLS OF ROCHEFORT -- i really, really wanted to see this and it was even better than i’d hoped for. He has written some of the world’s most beautiful music and i’m a huge fan. he’s in his 70s now but he came out after the movie and did a Q&A while sitting at the piano. he sang "What Are You Doing The Rest Of Your Life" and brought down the house. he’s known more for his movie music but he has really done everything, including collaborations with Miles Davis and other famous jazz artists (i’ve already ordered some of his CDs)! loved the movie too…very convoluted operatic story with over the top singing and dancing.
MAN IN THE SHADOWS: VAL LEWTON – i’m not much of a B-movie fan but i was surprised how many of these movies he produced and how many i'd seen. i’ve already made a list of some i need to see.
GEORGE KUCHAR, MOVIEMAKER/PROGRAM B: i admit to not being very excited about this, especially after reading the article about him by John Waters, but it fit our schedule so we went. of course we loved it (Telluride doesn’t have bad movies, with the possible exception of Gummo!) i was sorry i didn’t get to see Program A (a big thanks to Karina, who in the Spout Blog gives a link to see some of his other films on-line for free). he was really funny in person and loved to talk…they had to kick him out at the end so they could start the next movie. we saw 4 videos: a) Video Album 5: The Thursday People – 1987. b) Oasis Of The Pharoahs – 1997. c) Supercell – 2004. d) Hell Hole Hostage – 2005.

MONDAY

THE STORY OF THE KELLY GANG – this was a documentary about the restoration of an Australian silent film from 1906. it was interesting but after watching the bits and pieces they’ve put together over the years there is still not much there! it’s thought to be the first ever feature film. somewhat underwhelming for me.
JUNO – this is the movie that we heard the most buzz about. it’s a comedy/drama from Jason Reitman, the director of Thank You For Smoking. everybody wanted to see it, couldn’t get in to see it, or was raving about it. We loved it too and it really is just about a perfect movie. great cast and great screenplay. you think you can tell what’s going to happen but it’s completely original. i’m sure it’s "destined for greatness."
THE COUNTERFEITERS – directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky (Austria) there was a lot of buzz about this and someone even compared it to Lives Of Others but it didn’t do much for us. i could tell by the director’s introduction that it was a very personal film for him and the story was interesting but we just never connected with it. i did like the different portrayals of good, evil, and every shade in between.
FOR THE LOVE OF MOVIES – documentary about the history of film criticism which i enjoyed very much. i read a lot of reviews and blogs it was fun to learn more about the critics and see what they actually look like. lots of interviews from a wide range of critics (including Karina from Spout)! they also talked about the future of film criticism, blogging, etc.
THE BAND’S VISIT – directed by Eran Kolirin (Israel). this was an audience favorite and a good way to end the weekend. very simple, somewhat comic story of eight Egyptian policemen (the Alexandrian Police Orchestra) who are on a band tour and lose their way, ending up in the middle of nowhere. they spend the night with a restaurant owner who takes them in and the experience is a life-changing one for everyone.

there were so many things we didn’t get to, but that’s how it always is. although we didn’t make it to his tribute, we did see Daniel Day-Lewis (and his wife) around town two or three times. i was too chicken to talk to him but a woman in front of us just walked up and shook his hand. she said he was very charming and nice (of course)! there are always people in line that we know from years past but this time it seemed like there was more of a chance to talk and we had some good conversations and met a lot of interesting people. we’re already looking forward to next year…

superbad

wonga — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 15:38:36 GMT

this very funny movie has a subversive streak, on the surface being a typical teenage movie surrounding predicaments with obtaining liquor and getting laid, but underneath exploring universal themes of friendship, insecurity, etc. it really is a sweet movie (the R rating seems to be for language only, with no nudity) and it's also very much a cautionary tale with regard to the consequences of underage drinking. it's definitely a classic and i'm sure we'll soon see millions of McLovin T-shirts!

talk to me

wonga — Tue, 21 Aug 2007 14:28:00 GMT

this is one of my favorite movies so far this year. i'd never heard of "Petey" Greene, and the typical biopic rise-and-fall story was overly familiar, but Don Cheadle was again awesome. i can definitely see him receiving awards/recognition for this role. the movie was fun, moving, and totally involving. i also thought the girlfriend (Taraji P. Henson) was pretty great and a total scene stealer (great hair)!