unclefestering

Under discussion:

American Psycho  (2000)

Like all true satires, American Psycho isn't afraid of being misunderstood. It is a deeply black comedic looks at the shallow lives that first became truly available in the 1980s. It was a time when the growing backlash against sexual liberation was teaming up with corporate prosperity.

This movie captures all those ideas in a twisted allegory. Patrick Bateman is the perfect embodiment of style over substance. He does hundreds of crunches to have the perfect body. He shows that perfect body off in the best tailored suits. He makes sure that the body and suits are seen by the right people by eating in the most exclusive restaurants. He affords all of these luxuries by holding down a Wall Street job in Murders and Executions. Or is it Mergers and Acquisitions? But what does all of that mean to him? Nothing.

Why should it mean anything to him when his friends and coworkers are interchangeable? At one point in the movie he passes himself off as one of his victims, not because they look alike, but they are all so alike in attitude and vapidness that no one pays any attention to which of the Pierre Cardin suits they are dealing with.

The perfect embodiment of the young Reagan Republican corporate warrior doesn’t feel anything. He doesn’t get any satisfaction from his job, his friends, his apartment or his lifestyle. He does find satisfaction in killing. He feels calmness and relief in the flow of blood…

And Huey Lewis.

Possibly Phil Collins too.

This movie carefully balances the moods of the scenes. It slides silkily from tension, to humor; from horror to confusion. It doesn’t matter to him who he kills. Coworkers, girlfriends, rivals, strangers all fall victim to his killer sense of fashion and then his killer sensibility.

Christian Bale is always amazing to watch as the eerie tension builds or in the outrageously funny scene where he is dancing behind one of his victims, while she is being bored by his explanation of how commercially accessible his favorite 80s pop group is.

Reese Witherspoon and Chloe Sevigny are interesting as the two main women in Patrick Bateman’s life. They are dependant on him for the same reason but by different means. Reese Witherspoon plays his fiancée who is willing to put up with what she believes are Patrick’s “infidelities” as long as it is going to lead her to a life in the Hamptons. Chloe Sevingy is hard-working and wants to be independent but her economic future depends on making sure that Patrick looks like he is actually doing work.

This movie works on so many different levels.

Bateman is a monster and like all the best monsters he is the product of his culture taken to an extreme. He is commercialized masculinity. He is feminized by his interest in fashion grooming and décor. He hates in others what he perceives as his perfections. He is a beast hidden among the lambs. Disguised as one of their own, but with a ravenous hunger that can’t be contained.

Under discussion:

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon  (2000)

House of Flying Daggers  (2004)

First let me say that House of Flying Daggers is an incredibly beautiful film. The cinematography is breathtaking. Every time I woke up, I was awestruck at the images on the screen. And therein lay the problem: the languid pace and convoluted plot kept putting me out.

 I’ve seen plenty of foreign films. I have no problem with subtitles. I own plenty of Chinese, Japanese, German, French and Spanish films. I have never fallen asleep through any of them other than this movie. Just to be sure, the third time I tried to watch this movie, I watched the dubbed version. No help there.

It tries to be another Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) but the acting failed and the plot failed. All that was left was special effect and incredible scenery. This movie was hollow to me.

Under discussion:

Pi  (1998)

Primer  (2003)

Primer isn't a movie that tries to reach the lowest common denominator in terms of audience. It expects you to meet its concepts. And for those that do there is a great payoff.

Four engineers in a tiny startup realize that they have built something amazing, but don't quite know what they have. Two of them figure out they have built a time machine and manage to buy out the others.

At that point they start going back in time to make money on the stock market, always careful to avoid interfering with themselves or anyone they know. But eventually the temptation to interfere in their own lives becomes too great and the repercussions grow greater and greater.

This harkens back to when science fiction movies were about ideas and not just explosions. There is a lot of tech talk, but is easy to follow and actually has meaning, unlike the techobabble in most science fiction movies.

It isn't boring, but the deliberate pace of this movie may put some people off if they are expecting and action adventure movie. That pace is important because it gives you a chance to catch up with some of the moral and ethical dilemmas this movie sets up.

This is one of those movies that calls for multiple viewings. Each time you can see new implications of the ideas explored in this movie. Although distinct from Pi, this movie has a very similar feel.

Under discussion:

The Greatest Show on Earth  (1952)

Ok. I was on a trip to Florida and we went to the Ringling Museum (Incredible works by Rubens). On the property there is housed a circus museum. (Last aside: the docents wear the same uniforms as the art museum. Nobody in clown shoes and tiny cars.) One of the main sections of the circus museum is dedicated to how the Ringling Brothers Circus helped make this movie.

So that was the hook. and I fell for it like a mark at the target booth. Chuck Heston is extra stiff as the circus manager "with sawdust in his veins." Betty Hutton overacts as the trampy trapeze artist who tries to make Heston jealous of her affair with Cornel Wilde.

And would anybody anywhere feel threatened by Jimmy Stewart, even if he took off the clown makeup?

Under discussion:

The Commitments  (1991)

Fame  (1980)

Pink Floyd: The Wall  (1982)

The Commitments bring together two of Alan Parker's favorite themes: music and class. Both elements are well servied by this funny and touching story of a man with an unlikely goal: to create the next U2. It doesn't matter that he doesn't know anybody in the music business. He gets a motley crew together and forms them into a great soul band. He wheels and deals, doing whatever he has to, in order to get his band on stage.

The final concert scene is one of my favorite musical moments in the movies. Alan Parker may have first staked out his rock credentials with Fame and Pink Floyd: The Wall, but nine years later, he reaffirmed them solidly with this movie.

Under discussion:

Aria  (1987)

Ken Russell  (1973)

Derek Jarman: Life is Art  (2005)

Aria is a movie composed of 10 short films, each centered around a different aria from whatever opera the directors wanted. Some are haunting and beautiful, like Franc Roddam's Tristan und Isolde set in Las Vegas. Some are funny, Julien Temple's take on Rigoletto where a husband and wife each check into the same sex motel with  different partners.

Others that stand out are Ken Russell's Nessum Dorma and Derek Jarman's Depuis le Jour.

Some just don't work. Sadly, Robert Altman's Les Boreades never came together for me with its view from the stage into the audience. Jean Luc Goddard's Armide also fails to engage on almost every level.

I like the short film format because even the ones that don't work take chances that you will never see in full length films.

Under discussion:

Eat Drink Man Woman  (1994)

Big Night  (1996)

Mostly Martha  (2001)

No Reservations  (2007)

No Reservations is the American remake of the German movie Mostly Martha (2001). It has all the right plot points, but as the saying goes if it doesn't gel, it isn't aspic. This movie tries to make the point that cooking is about passion, but the passion never seems real. Other than cooking there doesn't seem to be anything that bonds Catherine Zeta Jones and Aaron Eckhart.

Many movies link food and passion. Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) shows that life without love and passion is like a life without taste. Big Night (1996) shows that skill and passion turn food into art. No Reservation tries to make those same points, but fails to be convincing about them. I would reccommend either of those before suggesting you see this.

Under discussion:

North by Northwest  (1959)

To Catch a Thief  (1955)

For those who only think of Hitchcock as the master of thrillers, To Catch a Thief is sometimes considered a disappointment. But this movie has all those pure Hitchcock moments pulled off with his deft touch. This is a Hitchcock romance, so while there are dark touches here and there, it is light and fun.

Jesse Royce Landis is a great scene stealer as she would go on to prove with only a few scenes in North by Northwest (1959).

But the heat and tension between Grant and Kelly is the highlight of the film. She wants to love him but is afraid to trust him. He wants to clear his name and first see her a potential target, then a distraction and then as the main attraction.

Under discussion:

The Man Who Fell to Earth  (1976)

David Bowie is perfect for this role. He is a distant and seemingly disassocated man who makes millions and then wants to use his money to save his family on another planet.

The strange editing and cinematography of this movie help craft the eiree feeling of this movie. I really liked it and yet...

Something is missing from this movie. I can't put my finger on what it is.

I saw a remake of this movie and don't bother with it. It is far too literal and strips away the lyrical imagery that this version has.

Under discussion:

The Asphalt Jungle  (1950)

The Big Sleep  (1946)

Double Indemnity  (1944)

Gun Crazy  (1949)

If you listen to the Filmspotting podcast you are familiar with their marathons. One of their recent marathons was on the Film Noir classics. After watching some great movies like Double Indemnity (1944) and the The Asphalt Jungle (1950) and some much lesser Noir films like Gun Crazy (1949) , I was burned out on the style for a while, but I was inspired to see The Big Sleep.

I waited a couple weeks for my batteries to recharge and am I ever glad I did. In many films that star real life couples, the characters they play often seem like burned out versions of themselves. Not here. Bogart and Bacall are simmering in every scene together.

The bodies pile up as William Faulkner's screenplay tries to make sense of Raymond Chandler's macguffins and red herrings, but in the end it is all good. We get the ending we want.

Under discussion:

Dazed and Confused  (1993)

Before Sunrise  (1995)

A Scanner Darkly  (2006)

Fast Food Nation  (2006)

I have to admit that I think Richard Linklater’s work runs hot and cold for me. I loved his early works like Dazed and Confused (1993) and Before Sunrise (1995). I love some of his more experimental work like A Scanner Darkly (2006). But some of his movies just fall completely flat. Sadly, Fast Food Nation is in this last category.

I think part of it is that the subject is just too big for a dramatic movie like this. He just didn’t find a way to get a plot in his polemic against the fast food industry. Also some poor casting choices like Greg Kinnear hamper the movie. It almost seems that Linklater agrees, since his character disappears in the second half of the movie.

I wanted to like it. The subject of the movie is right up my alley. Unfortunately, the plodding pace and painful exposition just made me keep checking my watch.

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