Film is Truth 24 Times a Second

One of old Hollywood’s most overlooked lions and a hero of film noir fans left us this week when Richard Widmark passed away at age 93.

Though he claimed to find the filmmaking process “irritating” towards the end of his life, Widmark appeared in more than 70 films between 1947 and 1991. In that time, he worked alongside directors like Elia Kazan, Jules Dassin and Samuel Fuller, crafting memorable and nuanced characters in mostly supporting roles for decades. His debut as demented murderer Tommy Udo in the film noir masterpiece Kiss of Death earned him his only Oscar nod, though his performance in Judgement at Nuremberg is thought by many to be his finest.

For this fan’s money, though, Widmark’s work doesn’t get any better than his turn as Harry Fabian in Jules Dassin’s classic noir Night and the City, released just before the director was blacklisted in 1952. Featuring an absolutely stellar performance by Widmark as as small time con man running a scam that’s out of his depth, it’s arguably Dassin’s finest work, and one that no cinema buff should miss out on.

New Releases:

• B.I.K.E.
• De Nadie (Border Crossing)
• The Detective
• Jimmy Carter Man From Plains
• The Kite Runner
• The Mark of Cain: On Russian Criminal Tattoos
• The Microscope Experiment
• The Mist
• Pu-239
• Robyn Hitchcock: Sex, Food, Death…and Insects
• Strange Culture
• Upright Citizens Brigade: AssssCat
• Wristcutters: A Love Story

(Control, originally scheduled to be released today, has been delayed until June 3.)

New Arrivals:

• Alain Delon: 5-Film Collection (Includes The Swimming Pool, Diabolically Yours, The Widow Couderc, The Gypsy, and Our Story)
• Black Legion (Gangsters Collection)
• Bob Dylan: The Other Side of the Mirror
• Brother Orchid (Gangsters Collection)
• Lady Killer (Gangsters Collection)
• Lost Highway
• The Mayor of Hell (Gangsters Collection)
• Picture Snatcher (Gangsters Collection)
• Smart Money (Gangsters Collection)

Having chipped away at a couple of more Criterion Releases recently, I have to mention and recommend The Honeymoon Killers, a 1970 film from one time director/full time composer, Leonard Kastle. I was immediately fascinated by the entire tone of the film itself, and the method it would use to expose the story. Shirley Stoler is the perfect choice for the troubled Martha Beck, a woman who eventually falls in love with Tony Lo Bianco’s Ray Fernandez, a con man who marries women and then steals their money and belongings. The couples cons escalate further and further, until murder becomes their only resort. For an American picture, the film has a completely different tone than you might expect, with a great deal of attention put on the movement of the camera and the interactions between these characters. Pacing, mood, environment; it’s all dealt with quite delicately.

There is an almost documentarian feel to the entire thing, putting us uncomfortably in the room with these tragic lovers and their exploits. Leonard Kastle shows us his obvious appreciation for classical music as the score is “instrumental” (yeah, i’m going there) to the film, with exclusive use of music by Gustav Mahler, overwhelmingly dramatic and perfect. I was surprised to learn that Scorsese was originally set to direct, but am thankful he didn’t get the chance. as Kastle proves his worth here, surprisingly. It’s unfortunate he never tried his hand at directing again, if this film is any indication of a potentially brilliant career.

The Honeymoon Killers is quite dark in many ways, but there is also a fragile romance in there somewhere, and while perhaps disturbing, it is in it’s own way just as touching.

One of our customers pointed me to an article written by her son, examining the roles played by Owen Wilson in the films of Wes Anderson.  Interesting stuff, although there are too many big words for me (contradistinction?  I had no idea that that was a word!).

Check it out here, on the interestingly-named 24 Lies a Second movie site.

New Releases:

• Atonement
• Enchanted
• Crazy Sexy Cancer
• Half Moon
• I Am Legend
• Lake of Fire
• Life After People
• Love in the Time of Cholera
• Revolver
• The Seeker: The Dark is Rising
• Songs From the Tundra
• Southland Tales
• Steep
• Tin Man

New Releases (TV Series):

• Battlestar Galactica: Season 3

New Arrivals:

• Antonio Gaudi (Criterion)
• Bull Durham
• Congo
• Don’t Drink the Water
• The Dragon Painter
• The Ice Storm (Criterion)
• Mafioso (Criterion)
• Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
• Tongues Untied
• 200 Cigarettes

“whew…wow…uh…huh?”

That’s really all I had to say after watching Southland Tales, the latest film from Richard Kelly, who gained notoriety for Donnie Darko in 2001. When the buzz of Southland Tales hit the newswire a couple of years ago, the task was ambitious to say the least. Tied into 3 graphic novel prequels, and a completely immersive internet campaign, Southland Tales was set up to be one of the most sought out films of that year. When it debuted at Sundance, it received some of the worst of reviews in the entire festival. Kelly would have to re-edit the entire thing, start from the beginning. That was in 2006. Here we are in 2008, finally able to see what all the fuss was about.

As minimally as I can describe, Southland Tales is essentially about the alleged “end of days” that is imminent after America becomes a police state under an uber-Patriot Act to fight the “war on terror” after being bombed. We find ourselves concerned with an actor, a porn star, and twin brothers who are all seemingly tied together in a strange and confusing way. Oh yeah, and Christopher Lambert (Highlander kids) is an arms dealer who sells guns out of his ice cream truck. Yeah, I know.

Honestly, I don’t know if the film is even remotely decipherable. For me, that was pretty irrelevant. Kelly is trying to follow Lynch in ways, granted not with as much “artistry” (or maybe just a different breed), but with some of the same intent and open-ended interpretations. First and foremost, for me, ST was a comedy. With so many cameos and the sheer insanity of the performances, I was laughing all over the place. Sure some of the funnier parts may have not been trying to be hilarious, but that made it even better. When I wasn’t asking myself, “WTF?” I was just enjoying the ride. Kelly has created something that has a lot of potential, and certainly to him, must make sense, somewhere, somehow. The idea of the story is enough for me to fill in the gaps, to buffer what I am given to somewhat make sense of it all. If some things were tweaked here and there, I’d see audiences embracing the story with more ease. But Kelly seems to push his audiences between a rock and a hard place, almost forcing you to hate it in many respects. I can’t tell if it’s just a complete train wreck, or just one that is so gnarly and completely awe-inspiringly awry that it becomes a beautiful tragedy.

This will certainly not be for everyone, and to some/many, will seem horrendously absurd and painfully awful. It made an impression on me, and although I don’t think it was much more beyond the experience/confusion/self-destruction of it all, it’s more than some films have given me recently, which says a lot. It’s hard not to compare it to Inland Empire, but the two are quite different. I am going to watch it again next week, if it makes even an nth of a degree of more sense, it’ll be worth it.

When you see Superman laying down on a psychiatrist’s couch you are going to be curious. Confessions of a Superhero has this image on their cover, and it’s pretty accurate. These are some semi-troubled people. Of course, it’s not the real Superman, it’s his Hollywood Boulevard impersonator. Allow for the explanations.

Anyone who has been to the Walk of Fame in L.A. will know the costumed “panhandlers” referred to. Outside of Grauman’s Chinese Theater, dozens of people dressed as characters await to have their picture taken, mentioning they work for tips, which is of course “optional”. The film looks at 4 of these individuals, all aspiring actors who for one reason or another found themselves on the strip. “Superman”, “Batman”, “Wonder Woman”, and the “Hulk”, all have their own stories. From Superman’s alleged $90,000 memorabilia collection to Batman’s anger issues and possible multiple homicides he committed (yeah, I know), the back stories are pretty interesting, if not slightly alarming. These aren’t successful people, but they still aspire to be. I will say that Superman really does look like Christopher Reeve in some strange, emaciated way.

Nonetheless, if you’re looking for a well-made documentary of random people, look no further.

I negated my responsibility to note a recent release that I highly recommend last week, and so I am remedying that fault. My Kid Could Paint That is a great documentary, not only in exploring the art world and it’s seemingly hypocritical mantra, but also looking at child celebrities and the so-called “prodigy”. The film begins looking at a 4-year-old girl, Marla, who has an incredible eye for color and shape. Her paintings, while originally sold as a half-joke, began to sell for thousands of dollars, when suddenly the family is under scrutiny and inspection. Is it a fraud, or the real deal?

I actually do enjoy the paintings of this little girl, and while I have my own reservations as to considering it professional/prodigious work, there is certainly something there. I’d argue that Marla doesn’t have the capability to “express” herself (how could any 4-year-old?), but she recognizes form, balance, and most importantly color, which certainly fulfills a majority of the criteria for “art”. The film does a great job of not only focusing on Marla and her family, but the media and how they handle “child prodigies” in general, and how quick they are to propose fraudulence. There were times when I felt sadness for Marla, caught up in this whirlwind that we can only hope doesn’t produce a future Britney Spears or the like. But there was also great fortune found, and in the end, it didn’t seem too insane of a situation. I could definitely see where things could go wrong very fast though.

Any fan of art, especially in a modern context, will enjoy this film, and at the very least force you to question your own notions of “art” and who can make it. And while I remain convinced that Marla is responsible for her paintings, there is room for doubt, which the film leaves you to decide upon. Check it out!

Be Kind Rewind is coming to Bellingham on March 14th! I’d like to think in my own arrogance/vanity that my brief review and noting of that fact this film wasn’t in Bellingham had something to do with it, but I think they are really just smart people and knew a good thing when they saw it.

Thanks Pickford!

There are so many well known strikes against the Fox Network that I don’t feel obliged to go into them here. You can insert you own gripe if you feel the need. Or if you’re feeling low on ammo, just come in and rent Outfoxed, a terrific documentary that will give you a whole new list of reasons not to like Rupert Murdoch. But no matter what you have to say about Fox, there’s one thing they’ve always done pretty well – cartoons. For all its warts, this is the network that nursed The Simpsons from a bit of rough time filler between psychiatrist jokes on the Tracey Ullman show to a pop culture leviathan that will surely one day devour us all. They had the good sense to swallow their pride and bow to popular demand, bringing back Family Guy after an early cancellation and letting the show become a short attention span classic in its own right. And despite their short runs, Fox shows like Futurama late Fox pick up The Critic have cemented their own places as cult classics of prime time animation.

And naturally, much of Fox’s best animation work was geared toward kids. They debuted the fondly remembered Animaniacs, a cartoon series that featured both a children’s song that named every single country in the world and a healthy dose of classic Warner Brothers cartoon violence. It also managed to simultaneously parody The Day the Clown Cried and Apocalypse Now in one episode, earning the show’s creators movie nerd points to the end of time. Also making its small screen debut on Fox was the film noir inspired Batman: The Animated Series. Moving swiftly from weekday afternoons to primetime, the show garnered a string of Emmys for its sharp writing and groundbreaking visual style. But what about Saturday mornings, the traditional bastion of sugar coated breakfast cereal and brightly colored moving pictures?

During the mid to late 90’s, Fox had some clever bunny executive working for them whose job it apparently was to buy the rights to some of the best and little known comics being produced and develop them into absolutely brilliant pieces of Saturday morning animation. I’d like to shake this person’s hand, because they’re responsible for some of the smartest, funniest and most subversive cartoon series ever created, like super hero parody The Tick and The Adventures of Sam and Max: Freelance Police, the entire series of which hit rental shelves this week. (more…)