Flipside Movie Emporium

[the night watchman]

[The Third M?n]

[keyinblackman]

City of God

Fernando Meirelles

The film was ultimately a gangster tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, but it's episodic nature became too much of a conceit. Although a very novel conceit, it's initial freshness began to tarnish and seemed to detract from the actual plot. Also the transition of tones were too drastic and unbalanced. Now that I'm done with that, this was definitely one of the best film of last year (or the year before, or ever). Expertly paced, thematically complex and interweaving, and some of the best dramatic scenes (without an ounce of pretention or melodrama) ever shot. Often times beautiful imagery, and clever autobiographical juxtapositions. Although gangster film is a very broad generalization to place it under, I can vouch that this was the mst creative and interesting I have ever seen. A highly engaging and just pure great filmmaking.

Blow-Up

Michelangelo Antonioni

Although I had a general bias due to my disdain to Antonioni's well-known classic "L'Avventura". Solely, the concept sold me into intrigue. Firstly, I still hold my thesis that Antonioni is a better photographer than filmmaker, the film had many gorgeous and inspiring shots that set a very delicate tones and moods. But the first half of the film nearly bored me to death. I understood the dullness in correlation with the nameless protagonist's mundane and ironically uninteresting life, but truely, most of it consisted of nonsensical time fillers (antique stores, pointless diner banter--or lack there of). Although the first half did have an excellent solo photo shoot that was coldly erotic and exploitive. The film really picked up with a slow trip to the park (which actually enthralled me with its ominous serenity). After such, the film is like a dream, his life seems to fall apart and he gets even more delusioned by his mod england surroundings and this mystery that he involves himself in that has a myriad of possibilities. Although the film doesn't do much with it's great plot, it's meditation is at most an interesting approach. It doesn't give you answers and seldom a clue, but it's aesthetically haunting. I absolutely loved the ending sequence, it was as if watching a fench new wave film, it was refreshing, but this one had a touch of poignancy. All in all, there may be hope for me appreciating Antonioni's work.
_________________
Recently Viewed:

Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay) - ***.5

Blow-Up (Michelangelo Antonioni) - ***.2

City of God (Fernando Meirelles) - ***.7

[The Third M?n]

Touch of Evil (2nd) - 10

A Man For All Seasons - 9

Two great films.

[matt header]

02/13 - 02/20

The Dancer Upstairs (2003, Malkovich) C+ For a film containing marital infidelity, the fourth flame of Communism, gangland slayings, mass terrorism, and lots of stuff blowing up, not much seems to happen in John Malkovich's directing debut. Stylistically there are moments of great visceral power - visually, the faded scheme does call to mind sophisticated political intrigue, a la Graham Greene - but theoretically and especially emotionally the proceedings are much too cluttered to be very convincing. I imagine Nicholas Shakespeare's source novel would be a terrific read.

The Killers (1946, Siodmak) A-- Great noir, based on Ernest Hemingway's short story. Not even remotely outdated, the dialogue still packs a delightful punch and the lush, deep black-and-white cinematography makes you want to go out and see as many film noirs as possible. And oh, yeah, Ava Gardner is frickin gorgeous.

The Dreamers (2003, Bertolucci) B+ There are weak stretches, especially when the movie takes its title too literally and floats along on an out-of-place, desperate whimsy, but most of the time this is a simultaneously delightful and intense study of sexuality, cinema, and revolution. Bertolucci envisions those three intertwining themes as revolutions of sorts, as manifestations of inner passion -- he does so by throwing three film lovers together into a claustrophobic Parisian apartment, having them discuss Godard, Chaplin and Keaton, etc., play out games involving sexual humiliation, and wax poetic on Mao and the Red Guard. It's uneven, but it manages to achieve a French New Wave-like flavor, especially when intercutting scenes from Bande a Part, Breathless, and so on. I couldn't help but be entertained.

Desperate Living (1977, Waters) D Waters' brand of anarchic scatology as ironic entertainment is epitomized by this film, a celebration of vulgarity and the grotesquerie of American suburbia. Which is all fine and good, except that the movie is unwatchable and obnoxiously crude: it revels in its bad taste until it becomes sort of a desperate succubus, yelling at us to love it and becoming terribly annoying in the process. Mel Brooks said that his movie The Producers "rose below vulgarity"; Desperate Living trips over it.

They Say and Like All Bad Men He Looks Attractive (1998-2002, Smith) C-- & B A pair of found footage exercises by experimental filmmaker Michele Smith. While Like All Bad Men... is twenty minutes of delightful, if redundant, visual tomfoolery, They Say is 45 minutes of long-winded, unappealing, only intermittently creative bizarreness. Many shots of horses falling and animals being killed may suggest a theme of sorts, but if so, the movie's only theme seems to be Killing animals is bad!!!

[beltmann]

2/16 ? 2/22/04

Highly Recommended

Drunken Angel (Kurosawa, Japan 1948). Kurosawa?s first collaboration with Toshiro Mifune, and perhaps his first major work. The story concerns a cranky doctor (Takashi Shimura) who lives in a postwar Tokyo slum, partially to scold the miscreants but mostly to indulge his own vices. Mifune is a mobster diagnosed with TB, and the movie charts their testy doctor-patient relationship. The real subject, of course, is the decline of Japanese culture after WWII, capably symbolized by the massive, greasy cesspool in the middle of the slum, visible from the doctor?s front window. The acting is first-rate, especially Mifune, whose white-hot performance only intensifies as his hoodlum grows sicker.

Recommended

Imitation of Life (Stahl 1934)

Pickup on South Street (Fuller 1953)

Johnny English (Howitt, UK 2003)

West of Hot Dog (Pembroke and Rock 1924)

Eastern Condors (Hung, Hong Kong 1986)

Not Recommended

Sylvia (Jeffs 2003)

Portrait of Arshile (Egoyan, Canada 1995)

In the Cut (Campion 2003)

How to Deal (Kilner 2003) ? Michael, you got some splainin? to do.

The Sawmill (Semon and Taurog 1922)

Kid Speed (Semon and Smith 1924)

Jesse James Meets Frankenstein?s Daughter (Beaudine 1966)

Run, Run, Don?t Even Look at the Cover Art

Woman on Top (Torres 2000)

The Screaming Skull (Nicol 1968)

Of Historical Note

The Tree in a Test Tube (McDonald 1943). A wartime propaganda film starring Laurel and Hardy, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Eric

[mfritschel]

Yojimbo (Kurosawa) - Although I like how Kurosawa tryies to base his story a little more historically in the culture of Japan, I have to say I favor the Leone version.

Raising Victor Vargas (Sollett) - Another film focusing on coming of age and romance, I have to say relate and liked All the Real Girls much more. I really couldn't get into the first half of the movie, and it wasn't until he was almost thrown out of the house that the story and characters really formed a type of coherence, and became somewhat interesting.

Spider (Cronenberg) - I like how the story wove its way together, but the pace was just to slow, and the movie as a whole never really got going.

Finding Nemo (Stanton) repeat - One of my favorites of last year, just a well done feel good movie.

Alien (Scott) - It was the directors cut and based off the last time I saw the movie, which was many moons ago, I can't say any signifance was added. Which brings me to a question, of what director's cuts really do add more to one's viewing experience. For me personally the Lord of the Rings Extended Version really adds more just because of my love for the books and the stuff that had to be admitted.

As a post script, why I hate Paradise Theatre in West Bend. I went to see In America on Saturday night, which I have been waiting to see for some time and had just know gotten around to. I was also quite shocked that it was playing in West Bend. But anyway I got to the movie and the sound was so bad that I could barely understand the dialouge. After complaining twice, I proceeded to walk out of the theatre, got my refund and left in a very bad mood. I am rather disappointed to say that I had to walk out of a movie, but I would have gained nothing from it, because I could only understand about every third word being spoken. Needless to say my animosisty towards Paradise Cinema continues to grow.

[the night watchman]

[Danny Baldwin]

Catch That Kid (Freundlich, 2004) - Yeah, maybe I'm a crazed sucker for even walking into it, but for insanely forgettable kiddie crap, it wasn't a bad way to spend a Tuesday off from school, without anything else to do.

The Fighting Tempations (Lynn, 2003) - You know, all this time, I thought musical numbers had to tie into a movie, rather than being just there. It works better as a musical as a comedy, but it shouldn't, considering the talent and circumstances.

My Architect: A Son's Journey (Kahn, 2004) - Now I really only want to watch non-fiction, because with all the dumb early-year releases, there has been hardly anything good that's written. This film is a beautiful one; a tapestry of historical architecture in modern times. We realize that the architect it's about, Kahn, is a complete nut, whose planning was pretty insane, but we still care for his work. However, I plan on going to Osama and Miracle next week for some good historical fiction. Yeah. That should work.

The Lion King 1 1/2 (Raymond, 2004) - My brothers rented it, and I felt like I should play tag-along. Aside from a few scenes, it's completely mediocre, as all direct-to-video releases are. And the new musical numbers are ghastly. I may have a soft-spot for Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, but this is just plain wrong.

Welcome to Mooseport (Petrie, 2004) - It's really not that bad, but I didn't care who won the race between Hackman and Ramono, and this, my friends, is one big problem. I laughed a couple of times, though. It doesn't go down the route it should've, but this is okay. Similar to Catch that Kid, it's better than being bored--this time, just intended for adults. The damn Miracle showtimes aren't working in my favor this weekend and it's really depressing me.
_________________
Danny Baldwin

View My Reviews

[beltmann]

[beltmann]

[Danny Baldwin]

[beltmann]

[Danny Baldwin]

Well, that wasn't the projectionist's fault, was it?
_________________
Danny Baldwin

View My Reviews

[beltmann]