jjgittes

Member since 7/26/2006, last signed in awhile ago.

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13 Conversations About One Thing

13 Conversations About One Thin ...
By jjgittes in jjgittes Blog
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"A college professor once told me that “cynicism was the death of art”. If that is truly the case, then Thirteen Conversations About One Thing is DOA. There is no joy in Mudville, or in this case, director Jill Sprecher’s vision of modern-day New York City. The film follows four or five different characters in intersecting, depressing short stories that seem to be constructed in the tradition of the Greek morality play (which hardly ever works out well for the protagonists). However, for the most part, moralizing on screen tends to fall flat, particularly with the way Sprecher and her sister Karen execute this in the screenplay, letting the characters all wax poetic on their different theories on the human condition in the 21st Century. Lots of chatting, let alone overt philosophizing, usually interrupts the momentum of a piece and Thirteen Conversations is no exception. To some degree, the writing is also heavily overwrought – with a handful long monol ... " [More]

Annie Hall

Annie Hall on Reel 13
By jjgittes in jjgittes Blog
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"Quite simply, ANNIE HALL is one of my top ten favorite films of all time, even higher on the list than CASABLANCA, the other Reel 13 film this year to have that honor. It is a perfect, soaring example of “modernism lite” – a cinematic movement that borrowed creative filmmaking ideas from European Art Cinema, but made them more accessible by utilizing them within a traditional Hollywood-type narrative. Modernism lite made its debut stateside in the seventies with the rise of the film school generation. Other examples of this might include AMERICAN GRAFFITI, MEAN STREETS or THE CONVERSATION. ANNIE HALL also started a genre of its own to some degree, which I like to call the “neurotic romantic comedy”, which is mostly typified by the idea that the obstacles for couple in question is really just themselves and their own hang-ups and psychological issues. This is a tradition that filmmakers like Nora Ephron and company would continue many years later with f ... " [More]

All the Real Girls

All the Real Girls on Reel 13
By jjgittes in jjgittes Blog
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"ALL THE REAL GIRLS is the third and latest David Gordon Green film to air on Reel 13 Indies this year. As good as GEORGE WASHINGTON is, it is also probably the best. ALL THE REAL GIRLS is the most heartfelt of all this films and as a result, the most effective. The plot itself is nothing new – boy meets girl, they fall in love, but can’t be together for various reasons and their struggle to deal with that. However, the application of David Gordon Green’s lyrical style to the redundant narrative elevates it to something special. The style I speak of is a strong, stark sense of verisimilitude without the device and convention of handheld camera. Characters and situations within the film feel very real even in carefully composed frames, though I would argue that perhaps Green holds on some of the frames a little long, almost defiantly so. Green also does a great job of finding the beauty in every day life around us, both in nature and manmade architecture/design. He ... " [More]

Laura

Laura on Reel 13
By jjgittes in jjgittes Blog
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"Interestingly enough, LAURA is the oldest film to have aired on Reel 13 this year, coming all the way from 1944. I'm not sure why the Reel 13 programmers have so vigorously avoided the 30's and such gems like BRINGING UP BABY, IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU, etc., especially given the strength of the older films they have showed. LAURA, for example, hardly feels dated. It is as evocative and mesmerizing a mystery as it must have been sixty plus years ago. The only thing that might be less effective to a modern audience is the surprise twist that occurs half way through. It was groundbreaking and the talk of the town in its day, but has been ripped off countless times since then. So, it might feel familiar to younger folks watching it today, but the film can hardly be blamed for the effect of subsequent copycats.All of the elements of Laura are outstanding and work in concert for maximum impact. Otto Preminger, who parlayed the succes ... " [More]

Team Picture

Team Picture on Reel 13
By jjgittes in jjgittes Blog
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"Mumblecore rears its ugly head (and I do mean ugly) once again on Reel 13 with TEAM PICTURE, which proves just how interchangeable the films within this emerging genre tend to be. Just change the city (here, it's Memphis, TN) and the protagonist and then use the same formula – drifting twentysomething deals with a potential romance and a lack of career or direction. While the plight of the aimless does have implicit dramatic tendencies, the trend is getting to be disturbingly repetitive, especially given how TEAM PICTURE takes the aimlessness to an extreme, mirroring the character's meandering with its narrative structure. At least a film like QUIET CITY had an objective – to find the friend that the girl was supposed to meet. TEAM PICTURE, conversely, is as lost as its main character.As far as that protagonist is concerned, director/star Kentucker Audley (Kentucker?) seems perpetually high (as in, on drugs) and the film seems to hope that we would mistake his quirk for ... " [More]

Lifeboat

Lifeboat on Reel 13
By jjgittes in jjgittes Blog
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"I saw LIFEBOAT for the first time this summer at the outdoor Bryant Park Film Festival and therefore didn’t need to watch it again when it aired on Reel 13 last week. This is not to suggest that it was painful to sit through. On the contrary, it was a revelation. Once again, a talented director takes on the challenge of directing an entire movie in a single location, in this case, a lifeboat drifting in the middle of Atlantic. Similar to Sidney Lumet in 12 ANGRY MEN from October, Hitchcock rises to the challenge and creates a taut, exciting, in-depth, human film. Granted, Hitch was aided by the intrinsic danger that comes along with floating in the Atlantic during WWII. In that sense, there are similarities and connections with Wolfgang Petersen’s 1982 film DAS BOOT, only LIFEBOAT might actually be more tense given that a) they are mostly civilians and b) they are totally exposed.Actually, the performances in the film don’t help much. Mary Anderson is pretty usele ... " [More]

Lilies of the Field

Lilies of the Field
By jjgittes in jjgittes Blog
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"LILIES OF THE FIELD, last week's Reel 13 Classic, is famous for being the film that led the first African-American (Sidney Poitier) to a Best Actor Academy Award. However, as an overall product, it's something of a disappointment. The film is built around the conceit that Homer, Poitier's character, helps out a group of German expatriate nuns with some chores around the house and then can sever seem to leave. However, the manner in which they continually trick, guilt or goad him into staying on quickly becomes tiresome. It's like a handful of bad episodes of "Gilligan's Island" in which some mishap or hijinks prevent our heroes from escaping the island.One would then assume that Sidney Poitier's Oscar-winning work in the film carries it, but I personally didn't think he was all that great. He doesn't so much create a deep, three-dimensional character as he does rely on his strongest assets – his charm and charisma, those qualities that made him palatable to white audiences of ... " [More]

America So Beautiful

America, So Beautiful
By jjgittes in jjgittes Blog
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"From the opening moments of the 70's era AMERICA, SO BEAUTIFUL, the Reel 13 Indie from a couple weeks ago, the disco music envelops me in the mood, embraces me like an old friend that I haven't seen in years and I am somehow immediately hooked in for the ride that is the film. During those early moments, the filmmakers also adopt a seventies era style of filmmaking, particularly during the dance sequences – fisheye lenses, split screens, etc. All this helps to establish the illusion of the period.Though the flashiness dies down as the film goes on, the direction is confident and strong throughout – consistently good choices in terms of the camera work, design and blocking. If there is a problem with AMERICA, SO BEAUTIFUL, it would be in the screenplay itself with its flat dialogue, meandering narrative and over-the-top approach to its message against prejudice. The film is about Iranian immigrants in Los Angeles during the 1979 hostage crisis, which is a great premise, ... " [More]

King of Hearts

King of Hearts on Reel 13
By jjgittes in jjgittes Blog
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"I had never even heard of the 1967 film KING OF HEARTS before its airing on Reel 13 a few weeks ago, even though it has some sort of record for being one of the longest running films in theatrical release of all-time. I couldn't believe my ears shortly after it began to realize that the French film was DUBBED into English. Dubbing, as a practice, has been pretty much universally debunked (and almost mocked) stateside, though I know it is a common practice overseas for some reason. I'm pretty sure even in 1967, dubbing into English was pretty rare and yet here we were. Heck, even the scenes that were actually in English were dubbed into English (I suppose they wanted to match the voices, but it looked ridiculous). I spend a full paragraph on the dubbing because as it happens, I think it was probably the biggest detractor for me when experiencing the film. I never got used to it - it was constantly distracting and quite possibly undermined the director's vision.As much as Phillipe de ... " [More]

Psycho Beach Party

Psycho Beach Party on Reel 13
By jjgittes in jjgittes Blog
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"I was truly good and excited about the airing of PSYCHO BEACH PARTY (based on Charles Busch's one-man stage show) on Reel 13 on November 1st. I have a lot of good friends in the world of theatre and many of them are big fans of Charles Busch. I had heard great things about this film and the cast alone is enough to warrant excitement – Lauren Ambrose, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"'s Nicholas Brendan, Thomas Gibson and Oscar-nominee Amy Adams seems like a dream team for this sort of an endeavor. Unfortunately, the end result didn't come close to the hype.The material is pretty much there. I think the failure of PSYCHO BEACH PARTY is a failure of film direction. Firstly, the film is very empty (why is there no one ever on the beach?!?) and while I realize that is a budgetary issue, it is a costly problem, especially when trying to do a parody of this kind. If the film wants to ape Gidget, Frankie and Annette films, surfer movies, slasher movies, The Three Faces of Eve and Joan Craw ... " [More]

What's Up, Doc?

What's Up, Doc? on Reel 13
By jjgittes in jjgittes Blog
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"WHAT'S UP, DOC?, the Reel 13 Classic from November 1st, was a truly delightful surprise. Though it did fulfill my expectations of zaniness and mindless mayhem, it did so with zest, panache and also a very thorough understanding of film history. It's one thing to pay homage to the screwball comedies of the late 30's. It's another thing altogether to actually all-out make one in a modern era.Though the creative team smartly don't attempt to make the film a period piece (it takes place in the 70's – when the film was made), director Peter Bogdonavich and his collaborators nail the spirit and rhythm of its genre predecessors. Unlike others who have tried to ape the same set of films, Bogdonavich truly seems to understand the intelligence and sharp wit of the 30's films. There are several very inspired scenes and moments in WHAT'S UP, DOC? – the scene under the banquet table and the final fight in the house with all the modern art (pies in the face!) – that would make ... " [More]

Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her

Things You Can Tell Just By Loo ...
By jjgittes in jjgittes Blog
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"I actually saw NINE LIVES, Rodrigo Garcia's very similar follow-up to this film, a few months ago and so when I saw TTHINGS YOU CAN TELL JUST BY LOOKING AT HER on Reel 13 at the end of October, I was having déjà vu all over again. Both films are an anthology of short films that give us glimpses into the lives of women living and working in Los Angeles. The two films boast many of the same female actors (Glenn Close, Holly Hunter, Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman) and each film features some terrific performances (and one or two bad ones). Neither film is very upbeat or uplifting as they tend to focus on very sad moments in these women's lives. They are both mostly good and very accomplished and yet, I felt more connected with NINE LIVES. It has occurred to me that the reason for that is possibly that I saw it first even though THINGS YOU CAN TELL was chronologically first. Seeing THINGS YOU CAN TELL felt like rehashing old territory, which I think adversely impacted my view ... " [More]