01. A Hole in My Heart
(2004, Sweden) Lukas Moodysson [2nd viewing, last viewing
September '04 Log; no change in rating]
02. Terrifying Girls' High School: Lynch Law Classroom (1973, Japan) Norifumi Suzuki -
a must see
03. The World (2004, China) Jia Zhang Ke -
Masterpiece - DVD
reviewed HERE
A perfectly harmless teen comedy about a pair
of young girls who befriend a Mermaid and help her to woo the local hunk,
this actually ends up being as air-headed as it sounds. Elizabeth Allen’s
shoddy direction manages to distract from what is a genuinely warm-hearted
story, her style of cutting upon every break in sentence is well suited for
cable television, but deserves no place on the big screen. I suppose some
credit should be given to the film for not so much as hinting of sex, which
considering the recent trend in Lindsey Lohan teen comedies is a feat unto
itself (sorry Dads). The only part worth remembering is the righteously camp
ending that features some of the most glaring and unmatched cross-cuts between
actual ocean locales and a soundstage water tank since TV’s Baywatch.
In 2004 comedian Dave Chappelle signed a $50
million dollar contract with Comedy Central. As a celebration (as well as
an apology of sorts) for his newfound success, he organized a free rap concert
for 5,000 people (mostly strangers) on an undisclosed Brooklyn block, and
funded the proceedings entirely out of his own pocket. Director Michel Gondry
(Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) films the proceedings with
a crew of cameramen and the results are nothing less than astonishing. What
we come away with is one of the sharpest documents on a community experience
ever to be captured on film. Gondry deftly edits between the event and its
preparation, so that we are left with not so much of a linear document of
the event, but a series of magical moments such as seeing a joke delivered
and then cutting to the rehearsal of said joke. It sounds flashy, but believe
me it works, and goes a long way towards summarizing Gondry’s approach
to cinema, as well as the creative processes of a comedic genius. Chappelle
shines as the concert’s emcee, and the film gives you a glimpse of a
man terrified of selling out and losing the respect of his audience. The musical
performances are equally intoxicating and I’ll wager right now that
you won’t find a more enjoyable documentary all year.
06. The Last House on Dead End Street (1977, USA) Roger Watkins -
worthless
07. Love Object (2003, USA) Robert Parigi [2nd complete viewing; no change in rating ****]
08. Shaolin Soccer (2001, Hong Kong) Stephen Chow [3rd viewing; no change in rating ***]
Wes Craven’s original horror film was
a below average movie, but it had a smart construction that lent itself to
academic analysis (see Robin Wood’s incredible "An Introduction
to the American Horror Film"). This updated version, which I confess
I had high hopes for, takes the interesting Craven premise and turns it into
one loud, unpleasant gore-heavy climax. No longer do we have two families,
one a stranded family of WASPs, the other a feral band of cannibals, with
the similarities between the two often surprising and disturbing us. In Aja’s
version it is a simple story of good versus pure evil, and the feral family
is reduced to a pack of prosthetic grotesqueries and are completely devoid
of any sense of character (Christ, even TCM’s Leatherface had
personality). Alexandre Aja knows his horror films and exactly how they should
function (cf. the masterfully flawed Haugh Tension), but as a storyteller
he is severely lacking. Not even Sam Peckinpah at his most intoxicated would
release the ending of Straw Dogs as a feature-length film, and that
is EXACTLY what this is. Gregory Nicotero’s kick-ass make-up effects
are the only thing people will be talking about for as long as this film is
remembered.
10. My Neighbor Totoro (1988, Japan) Hayao Miyazaki -
a must see
11. Riso Amaro (1949, Italy) Giuseppe De Santis -
a must see
12. Basic Instinct (1992, USA) Paul Verhoeven -
Excellent
13. Plan 10 From Outer Space (1995, USA) Trent Harris -
worth seeing
Not the surrealist masterpiece I was hoping
for, Lucile Hadzihalilovic’s debut feature has to stand as the year’s
best first film. Emerging from a small wooden coffin, a young girl finds herself
the newest member of a mysterious institute populated by primped young girls
clad in white uniforms and adorned with color coded ribbons. Nothing is definite
at the institute and from the Marker-like opening, to the Lynchian soundscape
of ambient mechanical rumbles, it is clear that we are occupying a world far
more sinister than the title would suggest. Most closely resembling the meticulously
crafted films of Matthew Barney, wherein the diegetic world of the film is
approached like a sculpture rather than a narrative, Hadzihalilovic’s
film is a boldly assured work of art. Benoît Debie’s scope photography
speaks wonders and allows you to let your imagination run wild amidst the
dazzling and dream-infused compositions (this is a film where a cigar is most
definitely never just a cigar). Had it not been for a meandering
middle passage where the film takes on different points of view and thus defeating
much of the mood that was achieved prior, this may have been a masterwork,
however that having been said, the final sequence is a knockout and marks
Hadzihalilovic as a bold new talent in world cinema. The film is dedicated
to Hadzihalilovic’s partner Gaspar Noé.
15. Darkman (1990, USA) Sam Raimi -
worth seeing
16. A History of Violence (2005, USA) David Cronenberg [2nd viewing; no change in rating ****]
17. Family Portraits: A Trilogy of America
(2004, USA) Douglas Buck - worth
seeing [breakdown below]
worth
seeing [breakdown below] Cutting Moments
(1997, USA) *** [short] , Home (1998, USA) * [short], Prologue
(2003, USA) ***
18. The Blob (1958, USA) Irvin S. Yeaworth Jr. -
a must see
19. Howl's Moving Castle (2004, Japan) Hayao Miyazaki [2nd viewing; no change in rating ****]
20. Return of the Evil Dead (1973, Spain) Amando de Ossorio -
a must see
21. Life is Sweet (1991, UK) Mike Leigh -
a must see
22. Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937, Japan) Sadao Yamanaka -
a must see
23. The Ghost Galleon (1974, Spain)
Amando de Ossorio - worth seeing
worth seeingIt's sad that nothing serious is written about
de Ossorio's work, the guy had talent. This film is about ten times better
than what any of the fan boy sites out there have to say about it. I almost
feel like giving it three stars just to emphasize how how effective the film
is in spite of its lack of tits and gore (which is what the majority of the
Internet got down on this for).
24. Blind Beast (1969, Japan) Yasuzo Masumura -
a must see
25. The Wild Goose Chronicles - Naked Reality (1996, USA) Trent Harris [short]
26. Strip Nude For Your Killer (1975, Italy) Andrea Bianchi -
worth seeing
27. Night of the Seagulls (1975, Spain) Amando de Ossorio -
has redeeming facet