It is true that The General is Keaton’s most famous work and
is generally considered to be his best. For me though this is not the case.
While I admire much of it and enjoyed it, the film is more of a drama-comedy
than his earlier comedy-dramas and it is these that I prefer.
Wednesday 1 August 2012
The General
If you ask anyone who has heard of Buster Keaton to name one
of his films then chances are they’ll say The
General. By far his most famous film, Keaton stars as railroad engineer
Johnnie Gray on the eve of the American Civil War. Johnnie has two loves in his
life; his girl Annabelle (Marion Mack) and his engine, The General. When war is
declared Johnnie rushes off to enlist in the Confederate Army only to be turned
away as he is too important on the railroad. Annabelle doesn’t believe him
though and says she doesn’t want to see him until he’s in uniform. Meanwhile a
Northern spy plots to steal a Southern train in order to cut communications
before a big offensive. With Annabelle onboard, Johnnie has to save his two
loves at once.
Labels:
1926,
8/10,
Adventure,
Buster Keaton,
Clyde Bruckman,
Comedy,
Glen Cavender,
Joe Keaton,
Marion Mack,
Silent Comedy,
Silent Film,
The General
Tuesday 31 July 2012
Total Recall
"You were dreaming. Doug? Was it about Mars?"
It’s 2084 and bored construction worker Douglas Quaid (Arnold
Schwarzenegger) wakes from yet another dream featuring him and a mysterious
woman on Mars. Quaid is bored and dislikes his surroundings and tries to get
his wife Lori (Sharon Stone) to agree to a holiday on the red planet. She
declines. On his way to work Quaid sees an advert for Rekall, a company that
implants memories for a fee. He visits them and agrees to a two week implanted
holiday on Mars where he’ll also take on the role of a secret agent. While he
is being put to sleep but before the memories can be implanted Quaid has a
violent reaction, claiming that they have blown his cover. He escapes the
facility and after being attacked heads for Mars to uncover who’s trying to
kill him and indeed who he is.
I first saw Total
Recall about twelve years ago and certain things had stuck in my memory but
I couldn’t remember the ending. What I did discover is that my memory of the
film was much better than I now think it is.
Monday 30 July 2012
Triple Trouble
Charlie Chaplin’s final Essanay film is probably his most
controversial. Unlike the controversy his films created in the 1930s and 40s,
the controversy surrounding Triple
Trouble comes from its very existence. The two reel film was created in 1918;
two years after Chaplin left Essanay and was compiled by Chaplin regular Leo
White. White directed some sequences and took other scenes from Police as well as the ending from Work and some unused footage from the
never completed Life. The result is a
hodgepodge of half completed jokes, tired scenes and uneven continuity.
The plot (I think) involves Chaplin working in the house of
a scientist/Count (Leo White) as a janitor. Having got into his trademark trouble
and briefly bumping into a Maid (Edna Purviance) whose role is not expanded,
the janitor finds a bed for the night at a flophouse. While there a pickpocket
enters and starts stealing from the residents. The janitor attempts to stop him
and then for some reason runs away from the police. Later the janitor meets an
old friend who convinces the cleaner to help him to steal from his employers.
Labels:
1918,
3/10,
Bud Jamison,
Charlie Chaplin,
Comedy,
Edna Purviance,
Leo White,
Short,
Short Film,
Silent,
Silent Comedy,
Triple Trouble,
Wesley Ruggles
Sunday 29 July 2012
Cinema Paradiso
"Out of the fire of love come ashes. Even the greatest love eventually fizzles out"
Giuseppe Tornatore’s much heralded 1988 film Cinema Paradiso begins with a famous
film director in Rome
called Salvatore (Jaques Perrin) receiving news from his estranged mother that
a man called Alfredo has died. The director then remembers back to the mid
1940s when he was a young child in the Sicilian village of Giancaldo .
The young Salvatore (Salvatore Cascio), nicknamed Toto is a highly intelligent
six year old who becomes fascinated with cinema during his frequent visits to
the local picture house Cinema Paradiso. The boy develops a friendship with an
old projectionist called Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) and begs him to teach him
the art of film projection. Alfredo is hesitant at first, deeming it an unfit
job for the sprightly Toto but through charm and persistence the boy finally
becomes an apprentice. A few years later the now adolescent Toto (Marco
Leonardi) is running the Cinema Paradiso and begins messing around with his own
films. One day he spots a beautiful girl at the railway station (Agnese Nano)
and his infatuation and love of film becomes shared with his love for the girl.
The film follows Salvatore/Toto from a young boy, right
through to his middle age and is one of the most loving films I’ve seen in a
long time. This is not only a romantic drama but also a love letter to film
itself.
Saturday 28 July 2012
Police
Charlie Chaplin’s penultimate film for Essanay is regarded
as amongst the best of his output for the company. The film was actually
released after his first film for the Mutual Film Corporation The Floorwalker, over five months after
his previous Essanay film Burlesque on Carmen. Another interesting release related fact is that Police released over two years before
his finally Essanay film Triple Trouble which
was created in part by Chaplin regular Leo White by piecing together unused
shots from other Chaplin films including this and the unfinished feature Life.
Police stars
Chaplin as a recently released convict trying to make it in a cruel and hostile
world. The initial plot follows along the same lines as much of Chaplin’s work.
There were portions of Police that
reminded me of Modern Times and the
idea of the Tramp struggling to survive was used by Chaplin time and time
again. It has been suggested that Chaplin borrowed the plot from Broncho
Billy’s His Regeneration for which he
had an uncredited cameo and I agree that the character development at least is
shared between the two.
This is Spinal Tap
"Dozens of people spontaneously combust each year. It's just not really widely reported"
Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Spinal Tap, Iron
Maiden, KISS, Black Sabbath. Some of the greatest rock bands in history, but
there’s an odd one out. Spinal Tap, a band formed by actors Michael McKean,
Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer aren’t really a band at all. Spinal Tap are
a fake band, created for the 1984 film This
is Spinal Tap, a documentary, or rockumentary about a fictional aging
British rock band embarking on their first US tour in six years. We follow
their story from their landing in New
York , through mishaps and mistakes as they struggle
to deal with diminishing audiences, problems with the record label and inter
band tensions. The film has become and iconic cult hit with the band still
performing regularly today and has been credited by Ricky Gervais as one of the
biggest influences for The Office.
The band has even appeared in The
Simpsons.
Friday 27 July 2012
Beautiful Lies
"I don't want to love someone else.
Understand? I
just want to be sad"
Known in some countries by the titles Full Treatment or De vrais
mensonges, Beautiful Lies is a
French romantic comedy starring Audrey Tautou. Emilie (Tautou) is the co-owner
of a new Salon in the beautiful seaside town of Sète . She receives an anonymous love letter
which is actually from the Salon maintenance man Jean (Sami Bouajila). Jean is
head over heels in love with Emilie but besides the anonymous letter hasn’t let
his feelings be known to anyone. Emilie briefly reads the letter but throws it
away then meets her mother Maddy (Nathalie Baye). Maddy has lost her spark and
is depressed about her failed marriage. Emilie decides that to cheer her mother
up she will take the love letter from the bin, type it up and post it to her
mother’s address. This brings Maddy back to life and she begins her quest to
discover its sender. What follows is a series of confused misunderstandings as
the man ends up caught in a love triangle with mother and daughter.
Beautiful Lies is a frothy and often very funny romantic comedy
which features some great performances from the principle cast.
Wednesday 25 July 2012
Sunrise
"We're going for a trip across the water, I may not be back for quite some time"
I’d never heard of this film until a couple of weeks ago
when I was searching for Silent Films that I could watch for Eternity of
Dream’s Speechless Blogathon. I searched the IMDb Top 250 and found that this
was one of the few silent films I hadn’t seen. And boy am I glad I found it. It
is not surprising that Sunrise remains so highly regarded today as it
is a truly magnificent film.
Labels:
10/10,
1927,
Blogathons,
Drama,
F. W. Murnau,
George O'Brian,
Janet Gaynor,
Mararet Livingston,
Romance,
Silent Film,
Sunrise
Tuesday 24 July 2012
Movie Confessions Blogathon
I don't usually do these Q and A type things as I like to stick to reviews but as I was browsing some of my favourite blogs I noticed that Eternity of Dream had taken part in this Blogathon created by 2012 Lammie Best Blogathon runner-up My Film Views, a blog I wasn't familiar with but is also very good and worth checking out. So here are my confessions...
Which classic movie don’t you like/can’t enjoy and why?
I'll probably get a few negative comments for this but I don't like Blade Runner. I thought it was really boring. I wanted to like it because I'd always heard how great it was and I like Ridley Scott and Sci-Fi. One day I'll go back and reassess it. I'm also not that keen on The Godfather but love The Godfather Part II.
Which ten classic movies haven’t you seen yet?
Going off the IMDb Top 250 in order I haven't seen...
Casablanca
Sunset Boulevard
North by North West
Citizen Cane
M
Ameile
Chinatown
Some Like it Hot
The Lion King
Rashomon
I admit there are some pretty big omissions in there and trust me I'm trying to rectify it. I only saw Psycho for the first time this week.
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it"
High School senior Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick)
decides he doesn’t want to go to school so tricks his parents into believing he’s
ill. Having a day off, Ferris persuades his hypochondriac friend Cameron (Alan
Ruck) to join him in downtown Chicago
for the day and the two of them pick up Ferris’ girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara) on
the way in Cameron’s dad’s ‘borrowed’ Ferrari. Hot on the tails of Ferris and
his friends are Dean of Students (Jeffrey Jones) and Ferris’ sister Jeanie
(Jennifer Grey) who is angry that Ferris keeps getting away with skipping
school.
Ferris Bueller is
one of those films which when I tell people I haven’t seen they look at me like
I’ve just called their grandmother a whore. It seems to be one of those film
which a lot of people absolutely adore and now I’ve seen it I agree with them
that it’s very good but I wasn’t enamoured with it as much as many people are.
Monday 23 July 2012
Burlesque on Carmen
Charlie Chaplin’s 13th Essanay film is loosely
based on Georges Bizet’s famous opera Carmen
and stars Chaplin as Darn Hosiery, a Spanish Officer on watch at a popular
smuggling point. Local barman Lillas Pastia (Jack Henderson) persuades an
attractive gypsy girl, Carmen (Edna Purviance) to distract the guard while they
smuggle their goods. Despite having no interest in the man Carmen uses her
charms to distract Hosiery who ends up in a love quartet for the gypsy’s heart.
Burlesque on Carmen is
an above average Essanay picture and features some nice subtle comedy as well
as the usual trips, kicks and pokes. It also features the first noticeably
decent performance from Chaplin regular Edna Purviance.
King of New York
"You guys got fat while everybody starved on the street. Now it's my turn"
A
Featuring an impressive cast which alongside Walken includes
gangsters Laurence Fishburne, Steve Buscemi, Giancarlo Esposito and Theresa Randle with Cops Wesley Snipes, Victor Argo
and David Caruso the film is a tale of good vs evil, but as you’d expect the
lines between the two are blurred. Although not in the same league as the likes
of Scarface, Carlito’s Way or Serpico all of which share themes with
this, it is a decent gangster picture.
Sunday 22 July 2012
Psycho
"A boy's best friend is his mother"
Having embezzled $40,000 from her employers, Secretary Marion
Crane (Janet Leigh) flees in her car. After narrowly escaping the clutches of a
suspicious Police Officer she pulls into a quite motel during a heavy
rainstorm. The owner Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) greets her warmly and
explains that they don’t receive many guests due to the freeway being moved.
After offering Marion supper at the house he
shares with his mother, Norman
has to then retract the offer following an off screen argument with the old
woman… A few days later when Marion ’s
disappearance in noticed a Private Detective (Martin Balsam) tracks her
movements to the motel but he too goes missing. Fearing the worst Marion ’s boyfriend Sam (John
Gavin) and sister Lila (Vera Miles) head to the motel to search for the missing
woman.
Psycho contains
one of the most famous scenes in all cinema history as well as one of the most
recognisable scores and most unexpected and shocking twists. Even without these
three key elements though it would still be a five star film.
Labels:
10/10,
1960,
Alfred Hitchcock,
Anthony Perkins,
Janet Leigh,
John Gavin,
Martin Balsam,
Mystery,
Psycho,
Thriller,
Vera Miles
Intolerance
"The cradle endlessly rocking"
Having come under attack following the release of his 1915
masterpiece The Birth of a Nation
D.W. Griffith wanted to show in his next picture that intolerance of people’s
views was just as bad and created one of the seminal early silent movies, Intolerance. The story follows four
completely unrelated but thematically linked stories, each with the theme of
intolerance. The story given the most screen time is a contemporary story of
crime and suffering. Perhaps the most famous strand is the fall of Babylon
while a story of Jesus’ crucifixion and one revolving around a 16th
century French massacre are given less time but are nonetheless integral to the
story.
Despite its age and overlong runtime the film remains one of
the great classics of the silent era and is frequently mentioned alongside some
of the greatest films ever made.
Saturday 21 July 2012
In Time
"For a few to be immortal, many must die"
In the near future the human race has managed to genetically
engineer itself to stop aging at 25. Once you reach 25 though you are given one
year of time until your death. As a result time becomes currency with people
able to exchange, rob and work for it. Society has been divided by social class
into various time zones and it is in one of the poorest zones that we find factory
worker Will Salas (Justin Timberlake). Salas lives day to day in the ghetto,
never having more than a few hours to live. After the death of his mother (the
totally hot Olivia Wilde) Will saves the life of a 104 year old with a death
wish. The old man gives Will all of his time he but is then hunted down by Time
Keeper (Cillian Murphy) under suspicion of murder. Will travels to the
prosperous New Greenwich where he meets heiress Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried).
When the time keepers catch up with him, Will kidnaps Sylvia and the two go on
the run.
There is a very interesting idea somewhere in this film and
occasionally it attempts to shine through but is often hampered by poor
dialogue and an obvious, much told story.
Friday 20 July 2012
The Dark Knight Rises
Spoiler Free
The final part of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy finds
Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) broken, physically and mentally, eight years on
from the events of The Dark Knight. Wayne has become a
recluse, staying away from the limelight both as a Billionaire playboy and
masked vigilante. Wayne
is temped out of retirement though through a combination of curiosity about a wily
cat burglar called Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway) and the threat of a powerful
anarchist named Bane (Tom Hardy).
I’ve never been as much of a fan of Nolan’s Batman films as some
people although I did like Batman Begins and
really enjoyed The Dark Knight. Going
in I’d avoided all spoilers and reviews but expected that I would enjoy the
film. I was wrong though. I didn’t just enjoy it but thought it was one of the
best, if not the best film I’ve seen so far this year. Nothing prepared me for
just how good this film is.
Wednesday 18 July 2012
Project Nim
"Nim Banana Eat"
I remember studying Nim for A Level Psychology and being
fascinated with the idea that Chimps could communicate in this manner. Since
that time I have become interested in anthropology and primatology and while I’m
no expert, I wasn’t shocked or surprised by any of the incredible things that
Nim was capable of. Had I come to the film with no knowledge of Nim or the
study I expect I would have enjoyed the film more than I did.
Tuesday 17 July 2012
The Debt
"The truth stays in this room, between us"
In 1997 an Israeli journalist is at the launch of her new
book. The story is based on her mother’s (Helen Mirren) first assignment as a
Mossad agent in which she and two other agents captured the Nazi War Criminal “The
Surgeon of Birkenau” (Jasper Christensen). The plot then shows what happened in
East Berlin in 1965 and reveals there is much
more to the story than the published account.
The film goes back and forth from 1965 to 1997 but stays in
1965 for the most part. We watch as Rachel Singer (Jessica Chastain) arrives in
Berlin and takes up her role as a field agent along with David Peretz (Sam
Worthington) and Stefan Gold (Marton Csokas). The trio successfully track down
the old Doctor and capture him before a problem with his extraction means that
they have to bring him to their apartment and find a new means of escape. The
film is full of surprising twists and revelations which along with some great
acting and terrific script make a dramatic thriller.
Sunday 15 July 2012
The Amazing Spider-Man
"Do you have any idea what you really are?"
Just ten years after the first of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy the series is rebooted with English actor Andrew Garfield actor taking over from Tobey Maguire
as the masked vigilante Spider-Man/school kid Peter Parker. Parker is a normal
teenager living in New York .
He lives with his aunt and uncle (Sally Field and Martin Sheen) due to his
parents unexplained late night desertion of their son when he was a child.
Peter is in love with fellow classmate Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) and shunned by
most of his class. After discovering his father worked with Dr. Curt Connors
(Rhys Ifans), Peter helps the scientist with a regenerative formula which could
help Connors to re-grow a lost limb. While at Connor’s offices, Peter is bitten
by a genetically engineered spider and gains new strength and skills. Following
a harrowing personal loss, Peter uses these skills to track down a criminal
before turning his attention to a new threat – The Lizard.
Before watching Raimi’s trilogy again recently I thought
that it was far too soon for a Spider-Man reboot but after watching and reviewing
them for GB Posters I came to the conclusion that I was ready for a fresh look
at the series; a more grown up and modern look. The Amazing Spider-Man definitely feels more grown up than Raimi’s
trilogy and it has overcome many of the problems that those films had. That
being said, it is far from perfect.
A Night in the Show
For Chaplin’s 12th Essanay film he turns to
familiar ground by partially recreating a sketch he first performed in Fred
Karno’s theatre company. Chaplin takes the part of two characters. The first is
Mr. Rowdy, a working class theatre attendee who turns up drunk. The second is
Mr. Pest, an upper class theatre attendee who also shows up inebriated. Both
characters get in the way of other audience members and impact on most of the
on stage action before one ends the show for good.
The film begins very promisingly with some superb ‘business’
from both of Chaplin’s characters. Rowdy walks down the isle of the dress
circle and continues to walk off the edge, having to be hauled back up by other
audience members while Pest first cuts in the ticket queue before changing
seats much to the annoyance of those around him and finally has a fight with
the musical conductor. Unfortunately the rest of the film doesn’t quite live up
to the opening five or ten minutes and the volume and quality of the jokes tail
off slightly before a return to form in the final minutes.
Somewhere
A newly famous actor Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) spends his
days drinking, taking pills and having casual sex with a string of beautiful
women while residing at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles . Occasionally he will be called
to give an interview or sent to a photo shoot with a co-star but usually he has
his days to himself, sometimes hanging out with his school friend Sammy (Chris
Pontius). One day he receives an unexpected visit from his eleven year old
daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) whose stay challenges his lifestyle.
The film can be seen in a semi autobiographic sense as director
Sofia Coppola spent much of her childhood following her father Frances Ford around
the world for film making and press. Cleo can be seen as a version of herself
while Johnny is the archetypal star for whom life has become easy and boring.
The main problem with the film is that we, the audience, are meant to feel
sorry for Johnny but I did not.
Labels:
2010,
6/10,
Chris Pontius,
Drama,
Elle Fanning,
Michelle Monaghan,
Sofia Coppola,
Somewhere,
Stephen Dorff
Saturday 14 July 2012
Meek's Cutoff
In 1845 a small band of settlers travel across the Oregon Desert
under the guidance of Stephen Meek (Bruce Greenwood). What was meant to be a
two week journey is stretched to five as the group begin to wonder if Meek
actually knows the way. With food and water scarce and tensions running high,
the settlers’ chance upon a local native, capture him and attempt to get him to
lead them to water. Will they find it? Will he actually lead them to it? And,
will they ever make it across the desert?
I’ve become quite a fan of modern Westerns recently and have
really enjoyed the likes of The
Assassination of Jesse James, There
Will Be Blood and True Grit
amongst others. Meek’s Cutoff shares
little with those films though other than its time in history and genre. This
is a film about the isolation of the old west and the physical and mental pain
that one must go through in order to continue the expansion west. Unlike most
other Westerns, this is also told from mostly the female perspective.
Friday 13 July 2012
His Regeneration
A tough criminal gets in to an argument in a dancehall which
escalates into a fight. When the criminal is shot he is aided by a mysterious
woman and recovers. Once he recovers he burgles a house but gets a surprise
which puts an end to his criminal path.
3/10
This is a bit of an oddity amongst my Charlie Chaplin –
Essanay box set in that it isn’t a Chaplin film at all. Instead Chaplin has a
credit as ‘slightly assisted by’ and has a very brief cameo in front of the
camera too. The film was actually directed, written and starred in by Chaplin’s
boss and co-head of Essanay Gilbert M. Anderson (Broncho Billy).
For a Charlie Chaplin fan this is one to ignore as Chaplin
is on screen for all of thirty seconds. He tries to push his way to the front
of a queue, is sent back and then gets pushed around when people start dancing.
The film itself is forgettable and features a confusing and slightly dull
storyline. Its saving grace though is its acting which feels remarkably real
and natural compared to Chaplin’s regular cast. It is this that saves it from
the depths of being a one star movie.
3/10
Labels:
1915,
3/10,
Charlie Chaplin,
Gilbert M. Anderson,
His Regeneration,
Short,
Silent Film,
Western
Thursday 12 July 2012
Seven Samurai
"I've got nothing out of fighting; I'm alone in the world"
During the late sixteenth century a poor farming village
hires seven masterless Samurai to help to combat a group of forty bandits who
return each year after harvest to steal their crop. After much searching the
farmers eventually discover a wise and experienced Samurai called Kambei (Takashi
Shimura) who agrees to not only help them but also find six more Samurai to
protect the village.
Along with Kambei the villagers recruit a band of warriors
which includes the young and untested Katsushiro (Iaso Kimura), a skilled
archer called Gorobei (Yoshio Inaba), Kyuzo (Seiji Miyaguchi) – a solemn and stone
faced master swordsman and my favourite, the drunk and unpredictable Kikuchiyo (Toshirō
Mifune). Along with Heihachi and Shichirōji
they become the Seven Samurai. I hadn’t seen this film before now but had
always been aware that it was considered one of the best films of all time.
While I’ve definitely seen a lot of films that I prefer, I can understand why
it is held in such high regard.
Tuesday 10 July 2012
Shanghaied
A ship owner intends to scuttle his ship and asks his
Captain to round up a crew. The Captain in turn hires a Tramp (Charlie Chaplin)
to help him ‘Shanghai ’
(forcibly conscript) some sailors. This backfires for the tramp though as he
himself is Shanghaied. On board ship the Tramp attempts to help out with a
variety of different tasks but unsurprisingly is useless at all of them.
Meanwhile the ship owner’s daughter (Edna Purviance) has stowed away aboard
ship in an attempt to stop the crime of scuttling and save her lover, the
Tramp.
After the wonderful highs of The Bank, this film was a huge come down. It is by far my least
favourite Charlie Chaplin film to date although there are inevitably some good
moments to be found.
Monday 9 July 2012
Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
"Andy... that's Mom and Dad's store"
Two brothers (Phillip Seymour Hoffman & Ethan Hawke) in
very different situations but both desperately in need of money decide to rob
their parents Jewellery store. As you’d expect the heist goes wrong and leaves
one family member dead while the others try to come to terms with the
consequences.
I don’t want to give anymore away than that as spoilers
are like a minefield with this film. It is presented in a non linier way with
scenes chopping back and forth through the narrative, often from different
perspectives. It’s never difficult to follow though. While the back and forth
storytelling was interesting I didn’t feel that the different points of view
made a difference. I had never heard of this movie and was recommended it by
our building’s concierge. As a result I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly
surprised when the excellent cast popped up on screen. Each time a new
character came on screen I was thinking “ooh its Hoffman, ooh it’s Hawke. Ooh Albert
Finney’s in this. And Rosemary Harris. Ahh, Marisa Tomei (with her contractual
topless scenes). Cool, Amy Ryan. Ah, nice one it’s Michael Shannon”. The cast
is excellent. The film however isn’t.
Sunday 8 July 2012
The Bank
A janitor in a bank (Charlie Chaplin) has a crush on a
secretary (Edna Purviance) who is in love with cashier (Carl Stockdale). Chaplin
mistakes a present sent from Purviance to Stockdale as being for him and when
his advances towards Purviance are laughed away he becomes depressed. Despite
being a terrible janitor, Chaplin becomes the hero (or does he?) when he foils
a bank robbery.
This film took me a little bit by surprise. I was expecting
a slapstick affair with Chaplin getting into the sort of trouble that Buster
Keaton did in his film The Haunted House but
this is a much more rounded piece than pretty much anything Chaplin had done
before. Chaplin spends more time off screen than in any of his previous Essanay films and instead of being in front of the camera, fooling around, allows his
characters and story to propel the film along. That isn’t to say that Chaplin
is a side character or not funny. He is still the central character and
produces some great comedic turns.
The Versatile Blogger Award
Gary at Head in a Vice recently, and very kindly chose me for The Versatile Blogger Award. I don't really know much about this but was flattered to be considered nonetheless. There are various rules that come with this award, some of which are fun, others less so. Here they are.
1. In a post on your blog, nominate 10 fellow bloggers for The Versatile Blogger Award; and link to them.
2. In the same post, add the Versatile Blogger Award.
3. In the same post, thank the blogger who nominated you in a post with a link back to their blog.
4. In the same post, share 10 completely random pieces of information about yourself.
5. In the same post, include this set of rules.
6. Inform each nominated blogger of their nomination by posting a comment on each of their blogs.
Here are some blogs which I've enjoyed over the last six months or so that I've been blogging.
The Goat
Buster Keaton is walking past a jail when he grabs the bars
and peers inside. On the other side of the bars is notorious murderer “Dead
Shot Dan” who is being photographed. Seeing that Keaton is behind him, Dan
ducks out of shot and once he escapes, a photo of Keaton, seemly behind bars is
published. As a result of this Keaton is forced to go on the run from various
police officers including a persistent Police Chief who just won’t give up.
I watch a lot of Silent Comedy but if I had to ask someone
to watch just one short silent picture it may well be this one. The Goat is packed full of wonderful
jokes, ingenious set ups and incredible stunt work. I laughed more at twenty
seven minutes of this film than I have during probably every comedy I’ve seen
so far this year combined.
Labels:
1921,
9/10,
Buster Keaton,
Comedy,
Joe Roberts,
Malcolm St. Clair,
Short Film,
Silent,
Silent Comedy,
The Goat,
Virginia Fox
Saturday 7 July 2012
Don't be Afraid of the Dark
"La Di Da Di, We likes to party, we don't cause no trouble, we don't bother nobody"
Sometime in the past, the owner of a large Rhode Island mansion summons his housekeeper
to the basement where he kills her and removes her teeth with a hammer and
chisel. The man offers the teeth to some unseen creatures inside a fireplace
and asks for the return of his son. He doesn’t get his wish. Fast forward to
the present day and a man (Guy Pearce) and woman (Katie Holmes) move into the
mansion along with Pearce’s estranged and reclusive daughter (Bailee Madison). Sally,
depressed at being separated from her mother discovers the now hidden basement
(which was somehow missed by surveyors, estate agents and owners but discovered
by an eight year old) and awakens whatever lies inside the old fireplace. Once
the creatures are out they want one thing; to take someone back down with them.
Considering this is a horror film it's less scary than when Nemo’s dad
loses his son. The slow and tedious opening lasts for half an hour, during
which time there is no atmosphere and little tension. One of the reasons that The Woman in Black was so successful is
that it created atmosphere and suspense. Here there is none. We just get
panning shots of what feels like quite a nice and not at all creepy house.
Red Riding Hood
"There's a big, bad wolf and someone has to stop it"
Following an unconvincing swoop through a CGI Medieval
landscape we somehow arrive in what appears to be an American Medieval village
that is being ravaged by a werewolf. Our heroine, Valerie (Amanda Seyfried) is
a young woman who lives in the village. She is in love with woodcutter Peter
(Shiloh Fernandez) but has been betrothed to the son of a wealthy blacksmith called
Henry (Max Irons). Shortly after the wolf returns from a long absence and
begins to kill, a (possibly) Dutch witch hunter called Father Solomon (Gary
Oldman) rides into town inside a giant metallic elephant with a retinue of some
African fellas and a Japanese chap. Solomon tries to hunt the wolf down while
Valerie, given a red hood by her grandma, and her two love interests track the
wolf as well.
This film is just an excuse for yet another tween Twilightified
love triangle story. This effort has added fairytale elements, silly dancing
and awful music. The plot is preposterous and the dialogue feels like it’s been
lifted from half heard conversations at a Californian mall. This is by far the
worst film I’ve seen in months, possibly all year.
Tuesday 3 July 2012
Breakfast on Pluto
"Well, fuck me pink with a hairy arse!"
A boy is born in conservative 1940s Ireland to a Priest (Liam Neeson) and an unknown
woman who flees to London
after the birth. Bought up by a strict Catholic foster mother he shows signs of
difference at an early age when he is caught in a dress and heels. By the 1970s
the teenage Patrick ‘Kitten’ Braden (Cillian Murphy) is a proud and open cross
dresser, still living in the small, conservative Irish town. As he gets older
he wonders about his mother and discovers that she fled to England . He
decides to try to find her and along the way joins a glam rock band, has
brushes with the IRA, turns to prostitution and comes close to death on a
number of occasions.
The entire film is set against the backdrop of the ‘troubles’
in Ireland
during the 1970s. Kitten comes face to face with both sides of the war on a
number of occasions and the conflict forms a major stand throughout the story.
Another stand is her struggle to fit in with a world that tends to reject her
choice of lifestyle and her difficulty with everyone taking life so seriously.
The film is cut up into thirty or so chapters. Each is numbered and titled but
the plot flows smoothly throughout. This mostly worked well to set up a scene
but did become a little tiresome after a while.
Monday 2 July 2012
The Five Year Engagement
"You ate the old doughnut"
Tom (Jason Segel) is a sous chef at a top end San Francisco restaurant but is forced to move to the mid
west when his fiancée Violet (Emily Blunt) gets a post graduate position at the
University of Michigan . This occurs shortly after the
couple’s engagement and they decide to put their wedding on hold for a couple
of years until they return to the West Coast. Their relationship is strained
though when Tom fails to fit in or find a satisfying job while Violet’s career
takes off and leaves Tom alone to ponder the career he left in San Francisco .
As soon as the film opens you are able to chart its plot
pretty much to a tee but the journey to the finale is both funny and intelligent.
The film is helped in no small way by two delightful characters played by two
very watchable actors, Blunt and Segel. They appear to have great chemistry and
Blunt in particular comes out of her shell and puts her comedic chops to great
use.
Friends with Kids
Six New York
thirty-somethings see their lives change over the course of several years as children
come into their lives. Alex and Leslie (Chris O’Dowd and Maya Rudolph) are a
married couple with two children, struggling to keep their heads above water. Ben
and Missy (Jon Hamm and Kristen Wiig) are a sexually charged couple who find
things difficult once a baby arrives while Jason and Julie (Adam Scott and Jennifer
Westfeldt) are best friends who know each other inside out. Fearing that they
are getting old and seeing how difficult managing a marriage and child can be,
they decide to have a child as friends with no emotional attachment. Both are
free to carry on with their separate love lives after the child’s birth and
agree to joint custody of the baby.
There have been comparisons to last years smash hit Bridesmaids but that is purely down to
casting. This is a completely different film. While Wiig, O’Dowd, Rudolph and Hamm all starred in Wiig’s
massively successful comedy, Friends with
Kids reminded me more of a Woody Allen film, only without the wit or
humour.
A Woman
Charlie Chaplin’s ninth Essanay film is perhaps one of his
most controversial. A Gentleman (Chaplin) is out walking through a park when he
comes across a family (Charles Inslee, Marta Golden & Edna Purviance). The
father, Inslee has his attention drawn towards a flirt (Margie Reiger). Reiger
blindfolds Inslee after suggesting a game of hide and seek. Chaplin meanwhile
discovers the blinded man and leads him towards a lake where he pushes him in.
Later Chaplin comes across Golden and Purviance who fall for the cheeky chappy
and invite him home. When Inslee arrives home soaking wet to find his attacker
in the house Chaplin resorts to disguising himself in an unorthodox manner.
This film is most famous for Chaplin’s cross-dressing,
something that must have been quite brave and scandalous 97 years ago. For a
twenty-first century audience it isn’t particularly shocking or even funny so
you have to imagine a late Edwardian audience’s reaction in order to understand
its significance.
Labels:
1915,
5/10,
A Woman,
Billy Armstrong,
Charles Inslee,
Charlie Chaplin,
Edna Purviance,
Film,
Leo White,
Margie Reiger,
Marta Golden,
Movie,
Review
Saturday 30 June 2012
Killer Joe
"Who's dick is it?"
A young man, Chris (Emile Hirsch) in debt to a drug dealer
and his father Ansel (Thomas
Haden Church )
decide to hire a contract killer known as Killer Joe (Matthew McConaughey) to
kill Chris’ mother in order to claim $50,000 life insurance money. Unable to
pay upfront, Joe suggests taking Chris’ innocent young sister Dottie (Juno Temple )
as a retainer, something that doesn’t sit easily with Chris.
This is a darkly comic and extremely violent film which is
likely to repulse some and delight others. There were several walk outs in the
packed screening I was in and many audible gasps as well as perhaps the biggest
laugh I’ve ever heard in a cinema. For an example of how it will polarize
people I turned to my girlfriend on the way out and said “what did you think?”
She replied “I hated it. It was awful. One star”. I on the other hand thought
it was excellent.
Bronson
"You don't want to be trapped inside with me sunshine. Inside, I'm somebody nobody wants to fuck with do you understand? I am Charlie Bronson, I am Britain's most violent prisoner."
Bronson is a
biopic of Charles Bronson, real name Michael Peterson, Britain ’s most
famous prisoner. After being sent down for seven years in 1974 for armed
robbery, Bronson got a name for himself by attacking guards, prisoners and
holding hostages. This film starts Tom Hardy in the title role and takes place
mostly during his incarcerated life (38 years and counting) but also briefly
touches on his childhood and a brief stint of freedom. The narrative uses both
a traditional plot account and a sort of talking head from Bronson in which he
comments on various parts of his life from the present. There are also some
quite superb and eccentric scenes in which Bronson is on stage, performing to
an audience.
I’d seen this film upon its release in 2008 and had bought
the blu-ray in about 2010 but hadn’t watched it again until last night when we
had some friends visiting. I remember being blown away by the violence and Tom
Hardy’s performances back in 2008 but don’t remember laughing so much. This
film is funnier than the majority of mainstream Hollywood
comedies.
Friday 29 June 2012
Work
Izzy Wake (Charles Inslee) a paperhanger and his assistant
(Charlie Chaplin) slowly make their way to the house of Billy Armstrong and Marta
Golden where they are due to hang wall paper. After experiencing difficulty
even getting to the house, once they get there things go from bad to worse.
This film made me laugh, a lot, but overall it was messy –
much like the on screen action. I didn’t really get any sense of who any of the
characters were and to be honest apart from inhabiting the house at the centre
of the story, Billy Armstrong and Marta Golden’s characters weren’t really
necessary. They and Leo White were only really used during the films frenetic
ending which is somewhere between a chase and a farce. That being said, there
is still much to like about this Chaplin Essanay effort.
Sunday 24 June 2012
Beetlejuice
"Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice"
A young couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) are driving
back from town one day when they crash their car and die. It takes them a while
to realise though as they end up back in their house but with a new family,
father (Jeffrey Jones), Step-mum (Catherine O’Hara) and Goth Daughter (Winona
Ryder) moving in. As they become aware of their death they try to haunt the
family in order to get them to leave but despite turning to the ‘Handbook for
the Recently Deceased’ for help, they are unable to be seen. Instead they turn
to a bio-exorcist called Betelgeuse, a crazed, perverted and unstable dead man
who agrees to help scare the family off.
Unbelievably I’d never seen this film before having confused
it in my head with Candyman, a film I
saw aged about seven which caused nightmares for months. I’m so glad I’ve
finally watched this bizarre comedy/horror. The film contains everything that
the best Tim Burton films do; odd characters and locations, unusual and
distinctive sets and darkly comic plotlines.
Saturday 23 June 2012
Red Lights
"How did you know that?"
"I'm psychic"
Psychologist and paranormal investigator Dr. Margaret Matheson
(Sigourney Weaver) and her assistant Dr. Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy) a physicist
travel around debunking supposed paranormal activity from bumps in the night to
stage psychics. Dr. Buckley wants to investigate their most challenging person
to date, Simon Silver (Robert De Niro), a redound psychic who is making a
comeback after a thirty year absence from the stage. Dr. Matheson warns Buckley
against this though after having come up against him in the 1970s and failing to
prove him a fraud. With the help of student Sally Owen (Elisabeth Olsen) Buckley
defies Matheson and begins investigating the illusive Silver.
As a radical atheist and sceptic the film’s ideas appealed
to me. I was delighted to watch the scientists make fun of and debunk people
who claim to see ghosts and be able to read minds. The script treats these people
with distain and isn’t afraid to mention how these people can be responsible for
giving stupid people false hope and can even cost lives. The cast is also
amongst the best of any film this year. With actors such as Signourney Weaver,
Cillian Murphy, Toby Jones, Joely Richardson, the delightful Elizabeth Olsen
and my all time favourite actor Robert De Niro, anything less than a great film
would be a disappointment. Well, this isn’t a great film but it isn’t terrible
either.
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