Wrapping it up: May

Another month, another wrap-up post full of this month's viewings. Not much to add here so lets get to the movies of this month...

May

Departures(2008): I had never heard of this film for a long time and I probably never would've if I didn't go digging into Best Foreign Film winners list but I am so glad I did because this is a beautiful film. It's about a rather unpleasant business - a guy working as encoffineer, preparing dead for funerals and it easily could have been very sad or disturbing. But most of it is rather funny and all of it is a delicate and touching story. I kept on thinking that something will go wrong or might get weird at some point but it was so beautifully handled that it warmed my heart.

Day for Night(1973): I haven't been a big fan of either Godard or Trauffaut. Godard is bit better; at least there are couple I can say I like. As for Trauffaut, I have only seen three but I found even getting through two of them to be a task. Things they do never seemed anything more than gimmicky to me. And first film I see them going back to almost conventional film making is one I like almost unconditionally. Lot of people consider it to be the best film about films. Well, it is no 8 1/2(1963) but it is still a damn fine competition. And Jacqueline Bisset looks divine!

Do the Right Thing(1989): I haven't seen many of Spike Lee's films but his films come with a specific agenda and he tries too hard to shove it down our throat. This one is bit different because here he only gives us a perspective. That's the best thing you can do - leave a viewer with perspective and let him take choose a side. Another thing I like here is Sal is a nuanced, well developed character. Probably the most developed and that makes what goes down even more troubling. I respect this film for making me introspect many such things.

In a Lonely Place(1950): I have never seen a Nicholas Ray film before but I have a reason for it - I usually have problem liking stories with despicable lead, however good story might be. And his movies are known to be sympathetic of his troubled leads. This film, which I had heard a lot about and hence was anticipating it quite highly, however, proved to be an exception. Probably because it never sugarcoats how troubled Bogart's Dixon Steele is. And mystery that comes with is what makes it worth it.

End of Watch(2013): I came back from a wedding that day and didn't want to watch anything overly dramatic. I chose this because from what I knew, this felt like a lighter choice. I was completely wrong but I loved this one. So I am happy, I finally saw it. Right from the way it is shot, it is very different and I loved the path this story takes. Both Gyllenhaal and Pena make it even better and if anyone doesn't already know or has forgotten, let me remind everyone. Anna Kendrick. She. Is. Awesome!

Highway(2014)(Hindi): Randeep Hooda isn't bad, certainly not as bad as I thought he would be but lets admit - this was Alia Bhatt show. She looked really good in 2 States(2014) promos as well but there is no chance in seven hells that I am going anywhere near that film. So I will be content with judging her from this. She fell short in the most important couple of scenes at the end, yes, but I think she did a good job for the rest of it. And this is just her 2nd movie, man! Who knows, maybe one day with little more experience, she will even own those scenes as well.

Safety Last(1923): This month's Blind Spot. As I mentioned in the post, Lloyd is the last of classic comedians I was exposed to. About year and half ago was the first time I heard his mention in relation to Safety Last and that iconic climb of Bolton building in the end. First of all, I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly it got over. It's just 70 minutes long and secondly, even though Mark Harris does mention this in his documentary, I was rather surprised by how much time it gives to that climb.

Nashville(1975): I have seen a few Altman films by now to know about his style of large ensemble pieces and multiple overlapping story lines. There is no doubt that he can handle them really well and he does it here as well. I like what he does with this one, handling multiple aspect of this city at once - political, musical, personal - from multiple point of views. But I still feel like I haven't really 'got' this. I am not sure if there is supposed to be something common, other than Nashville off course, that brings them together. Is there anything Altman trying to tell us?

Paris, je t'aime(2006): I have been meaning to watch this one for too long. My only real complaint is they were too short; some because I really wanted to see more of and some because I felt like nothing happened at all. Gurinder Chadda, Coen Brothers, Wes Craven, Cuaron and Isabel Coixet fall in first, Bruno Podalydes, Christopher Doyle, Vincent Natalie and Chomet in second. But the real star was Margo Martindale. Sure, Payne deserves part of credit but what she was able to do just with her eyes was incredible!

The Counterfeiters(2007): Another one of films I had not even heard of until I picked it up watch from Best Foreign Film winners list. Another reason I chose this over others was I always feel like I haven't seen many German films. It's rather strange - I probably have seen most of the notable ones and there are many more languages I have seen less films in than German, I am sure, but for some reason I always like that about German films. None other! It was a good film to check out from both the lists, that's for sure.

Ninotchka(1939): Billy Wilder is one of my absolute favourite directors and obviously most of it is due to his astute writing. Since he considered Ernst Lubitsch to be his Guru in that area, I was pretty excited to watch some of Lubitsch's own movies. I did go for one of his best films or well-known films to start off but he did not disappoint me. Having Wilder himself with him writing for him might have helped as well. It was little simplistic perhaps but it is such a beautiful and heartfelt story.

All That Jazz(1979): First of Bob Fosse's duo I wish check off the list. I chose this over Cabaret(1972) just because it won Palme d'Or and Cannes was this month. It was really good. Sure, lot of them appeared in second half but at least earlier, most numbers were blended so well, I didn't even realize it was a musical. Second half dragged a lot once it starts going down or it would have been a bracket higher. I don't know anything about Fosse himself but I like that despite being such a dick, at least he can be so self critical.

A Serious Man(2009): Have you ever liked a film but hated every single character in it? It might be Coen Brothers doing their thing and doing it quite well but I think I just did. Coens have always at there best when they are handling dark comediy but this is completely another level of it. There was not a single character in this film that I wouldn't love to beat the living shit out of, including Larry Gopnik, but I think this polarizing reaction is what Coens must be going for because they never try to dial it down for even 1 minute. 

 

A Place in the Sun(1951): After watching An American in Paris(1951) last month, I checked out it's competition this month and though I had problems with this one as well, there is no denying that this was far superior than less than ordinary Best Picture winner. I liked it quite a bit but my only problem with the film was it felt like running on little below full throttle. Every time it seemed like reaching its peak, it would lose its steam and settle on idling mode. I usually love Liz Taylor but she mostly felt like wasted here.

Cheap Thrills(2014): I actually do not have a whole lot to say about this film. It seems to be sort of medium budget indie film that started with an idea that looked great. It keeps on climbing till the end and that part was interesting enough though it did gross me halfway through. And when it does aim for the peak in the end but for some reason, it didn't really hit me hard enough, or at all for that matter. The 3 pointer buzzer beater to win it all was just an air ball for me. NBA Playoffs are going on right now. So I think you will allow me that reference.

Out of Sight(1998): There are many things I liked about this film, like great chemistry between George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez that hardly anyone ever talks about, and there is only one thing that I have problem with but it kept me bugging throughout this film. I have problem with sort of minimalist presentation of this film. I am pretty sure that is exactly what Soderbergh was going for as I was reminded of Haywire(2011) time and again but it kept me taking out of the film. Anyone will tell you that's never a good thing!

Godzilla(2014): It was exactly what I expected it to be. I wasn't expecting story to make whole lot of sense. Hell, even to have someone that resembles it would asking be a lot. I wasn't expecting any high class acting, though Elizabeth Olsen did stand out especially against Aaron Taylor Johnson who looked like he had no clue why he's there, or much else for that matter. All I wanted was none of it to suck too hard and a visual treat. Some thrills would be nice too! And it delivered all of that. Last big fight was so bitching, I loved it!

 

The Lego Movie(2014): The only thing I can say about this film, I guess, is it so wasn't for me. I never got into this movie for even a second. Checking your watch every two minutes gets really boring after a while. I know there are many people who liked this movie a lot, all age groups alike and it got lot of praise at the tile of its release but it was too childish and superficial for my taste. I literally started rolling my eyes in first 5 minutes and it only got worse; so much that there was serious danger of it being first film I walked out on.

Total Count: 18. 18 First Time Watches and 0 Re-watch .

2014 YTD Count

Total Count: 87. 80 First Time Watches and 7 Re-watches.

Considering it was another hectic month away fro this blog, I am quite happy with the tally for this month. If it was anything, it was a month of themed weekends. Almost all the weekends of this month, I went on small binges with some theme in mind. First, I saw three 2014 films in a week. Next week was Best Foreign film Oscar winners which, with inclusion of Departures and Day for Night, was definitely the most successful of all binges. Third was rather unsuccessful but I was planning on watching Palme d'Or winners because of the Cannes film festival that took place this month but all I managed was All That Jazz. I gave up on watching Underground(1995) after couple of attempts were interrupted multiple times.

So, how was your month? Did you see anything interesting? What do you think of the movies I saw? Any favorites?

Che: Part One and Two

I am sure that all of us have heard, read and in case you are a fellow movie blogger, in many cases, even wrote about Steven Soderbergh and his alleged retirement from film making after Side Effects(2013) earlier this year and a HBO movie, Behind the Candelabra(2013). I have seen few of his movies and I really like some of them like Traffic(2000) and Sex, Lies and Videotape(1989). Moreover I really appreciate the way he goes from genre to genre, never confining himself to any particular type of films. However I am also aware that there is a whole lot of his work that I haven’t seen yet. While reading all the retrospective or top 10 posts about him, two films that I had not seen then jumped out to me – Out of Sight(1998) and Che(2008).

Che is a biopic of Earnesto ‘Che’ Guevara, an Argentine by birth who went on to become one of the closest people to Fidel Castro and one of his generals in his fight that eventually deposed the US-backed dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista. It consists of two feature-length films in which Part One talks exclusively about the Cuban revolution starting with the very first time he meets Fidel Castro in Mexico till the climactic battle of the two forces in Santa Clara where two armies go against each other for one last time. Impressed by Castro’s ideology and vision, Guevara joins Castro's 26^th of July movement and travels to Cuba with him on a yacht. As a learned man himself with his own ideology and a medical student before joining the revolution, Che quickly finds his footing in the organization and makes himself useful wherever he is needed. Shortly, he begins his steady ascent to become one of the most important and trusted people around Fidel Castro. He also plays a pivotal role in the final battle against Batists's forces in Santa Clara and after that in various roles in Fidel Castro's government

Guevara was an expert in Guerrilla warfare on which he went on to write many books. Various battles that we see throughout this film are a great example of this Guerrilla style, giving whole film some more authenticity. Narration of the film works on two fronts, first the revolution and second, his interview with Lisa Howard in 1964 while he was in US, for addressing the UN.. Their conversations give us a chance to know him better, to give his character more depth. We learn about his personality, his ideology and his work while he held many important positions in Castro’s government. While answering one of her questions, Guevara talks about his idea of a real or ideal revolutionary. He says an ideal revolutionary is the one that never stops, that always keeps on working. He probably thought of himself as one. So after Cuba settled under Castro’s leadership, he thought it was his duty to go and help others who might need it. Part Two concentrates on his efforts to bring about similar revolution in Bolivia.

In 1965, Guevara lands in Bolivia under a false name to help the Bolivian revolutionaries to take over the government. Right from the start, he faces opposition not only from the government but also from his own organization as they don’t want to take the arms and he feels it necessary for any coup to be followed by an armed insurgence if you want to stay in control. Slowly he starts to lose all his resources that made them successful in Cuba and government, once again with CIA help, tightens their grip around him. In comparison to first, Part Two is rather slow, grim and maybe even uneventful. But it also had something that kind of validated the existence of both these films for me.

After watching Part One, most important question I had in my mind was what’s so great about Che Guevara that he warrants a 4+ hour biopic? All I knew about him then was what we see in the film. Of course, there is no rule that decides whether a person is worthy of making a biopic or not. But still, there must be something about him that must have caught Soderbergh’s attention, something that made him important enough to be made a biopic of. In part one; he is one of the most trusted people of Castro, one of the top generals that fought with him from start and even the person who gives him that all important final victory. But when he went to Bolivia, in a spirit of a true revolutionary by his own definition, that act certified him ‘biopic worthy’ to me. Unfortunately, all his efforts elsewhere did not produce the desired efforts anywhere after Cuba but the fact that he left everything behind just to lend his expertise, reflected him in another light to me. Now I wanted to know as much as I can about this guy.

As I said earlier, Out of Sight and Che were two movies from Soderbergh’s line of work that caught my attention and both for different reasons. Out of Sight is a movie that almost everyone I know has praised. People seem to love this movie. On the other hand, Che had a curiously polarizing reaction. People either love it or hate it but what attracted me more towards it was the political background of this movie. After having seen it, I can understand why people might not like this film. It is a long, in many cases slow and over analytical film, especially second one, and if you are not interested in the political side of it, it might bore you. However I went over some of the Netflix reviews for the film and a lot of people seem to think this is an undeserving biopic because Guevara was a communist. I don’t agree with this reasoning, even resent it but I do understand where it comes from. As I tried to learn more and more about this guy, I observed that it is not just film that it’s not just the film that divides people but the man himself. He seems to be as respected, loved as he is hated. Given the kind of life he led, I wouldn’t expect any other outcome.

The only problem I had with the film was the lack of real relatable character other than Guevara. There are hundreds of characters that come and go during the span of two movies but except for Che, none of them left any kind of mark on me. Not even his wife who, before getting married, fights alongside him as his guide in Cuban revolution or even Fidel Castro, played by Damien Bichir, who probably had the second most screen time but has just a fleeting presence. Che, however, was brought brilliantly to life by Benicio Del Toro. It was an absolute delight watching him in that role. From meeting Castro till the end in Bolivia, Guevara goes through a lot during the course of the two movies and majority of credit for making him believable or mildly interesting even in the dullest parts of story goes to his constrained but powerful performance. Apparently Soderbergh spent a lot of time researching before he took this project on and it pays off handsomely as the authenticity of the film can be seen right from the word go. Perfect locations, settings and decision of shooting in Spanish go a long way to help as well. Second part does suffer from pacing issues and could also have benefited from some trimming. However for anyone with any interest in the politics, ideology behind it, this should serve as a great reference.

Rating(out of 5) for both Part I and II: