Random Film Thoughts: If anyone's gonna piss on him, it's gonna be me!

[lazarus]

Yesterday I finally watched my R2 DVD of Wim Wenders' Kings Of the Road. I had been looking forward to this for quite some time as I've been a long-time supporter of this director, am partial to longer films, and had heard great things about this one.

I was not disappointed. The easiest way to describe this is a combination of Easy Rider and The Last Picture Show. It shares the bromance and wandering road trip of the former, the requiem for the decline of small town life (and cinema) of the latter, and the depiction of changing times of both. To fully appreciate the film, I imagine one would have to at least be somewhat familiar with the depressing economic/cultural state of East Germany in this time period. And yet the story is far from a slog. The two main characters have in a sense removed themselves from the main stream, and are drifting in avoidance (or in protest) of what's around them with a bit of a sardonic shrug. And the American culture which is noted as slowly taking over much of the region, is regarded from both sides: Hollywood exports contributing to the fall of the local film industry, but also in the rock and roll that enlivens the travelers' spirits and gives the film a lot of its energy.

It's a very human film, with none of the turns (from the two leads or the gallery of people they briefly meet) coming off very actorly or studied. The nudity is frank and not sensational although an on-screen defecation certainly surprised me , and the turns of the plot feel equally arbitrary and non-forced.

The black and white photography from Robby Müller is stunning, and Wenders makes great use of the geography of his locations (both interior and exterior).

While I find myself partial to the extended cut of Until The End Of The World, it's very possible this is Wenders' greatest work, and the only 1976 films I'd put above it are Taxi Driver, Bertolucci's 1900, and maybe Rivette's Noroît. Yes, I think it's a greater triumph than Network.

[Jonathan]

I’ve commented in the Argo thread how much of a perfectly-efficient-but-lifeless movie I think it is. Well, My Sister’s Sister (Shelton, 2011) is exactly the opposite. A very imperfect movie that however has more life and humanity in each page of its script than in the entirety of Argo.

The main imperfection is that, at one point, the really weird situation that’s been set up becomes everything the movie is about, becoming more a funny vaudeville than the insightful character study it was in the beginning. It’s as if it becomes too enamoured with how shocking and potentially funny a couple of plot revelations are, and it doesn’t know where to go from there. It also taints a bit, in retrospect, what came first, as if it was a bit too studied to reach that situation.

The other imperfection is that poor Emily Blunt, an actress I normally like a lot, simply isn’t in the same amazing level her two co-stars, Rosemarie Dewitt and Mark Duplass. This, people, this is true naturalism and realness. This, Rosemarie Dewitt, is what a true actors’ actor looks like and, most of all, acts like. What a stream of pure, unadulterated naturalism, what an immersion in her characters, what lived-in work. She’s amazing and I worship at her, and this Duplass guy I had never heard of isn’t behind her. Only poor Blunt is behind them. It’s only a bit, she’s quite good too, but when your co-stars are at the highest level an actor can aspire to be, the smallest imperfection becomes glaring, and she just seems to be “acting” a bit more, slightly more aware of the camera.

But the whole thing is still very funny and interesting, and raises good questions despite trivializing them a bit in the last act. The direction is slightly TV-ish, with an over-abundance of close-ups in scenes that don’t really need it, but it’s still perceptive, attentive to detail, relaxed, lively.

I was much more positive towards the film than you were (It's currently my #4 film of the year), but otherwise I agree with most of this. I even see your point about certain plot developments, but this is the kind of movie that hooked me so well early on that I was able to roll with just about anything the movie threw at me, so long as it didn't get too ridiculous.

Granted, the plot here IS pretty ridiculous, but it's a testament to Shelton as a writer and director I think that she makes it all feel so real and honest. She's far from an amazing visual director, but her style allows the characters so much breathing room that whatever happens feel real and earned. Even a well-worn stereotypical scene like "Oh, the vegan is making her icky vegan pancakes!" feels new and funny and real here. A lot of that is definitely the actors, and despite being essentially a three-person film I'd love to find room for this in Best Ensemble on my final ballot, because all three jive so well together. Blunt is the weak link, but only by default - Duplass and DeWitt are both fantastic, and I wish I could find room for Duplass on my Actor ballot. The two girls are weird category-wise, but I guess I can roll with whatever category you place them in.

If you liked this a lot, look for Humpday from the same director. It doesn't reach the heights of this film, but it takes a similarly ridiculous plot (Even more so, possibly) and makes it work through sheer naturalism. I'm really interested to see where Shelton takes her career from here.

[Markku Palo]

Hey, I said "and yes, entertaining, ackowledging that you had already conceded the "entertaining" part!

But I maintain you don't know DeMille if you think the laughs are unintentional.

I'll say this much: I did wonder at some occasions (re: Baxter's surfer dude male servants, Vincent Price's drooling pervert gleefully whipping Joshua) whether no one on set cracked a smile.

[Jeff Beachnau]

I saw Ten Commandments for the first time from beginning to end two years ago and my roommate and I played a drinking game to it. You can get wasted just by drinking everytime they say "Moses, Moses".

[Markku Palo]

Another good one: have a drink every time you see a shot or a special effect Steven Spielberg appropriated for one of his early-career films.

[Jeff Beachnau]

Another good one: have a drink every time you see a shot or a special effect Steven Spielberg appropriated for one of his early-career films.

Thank god you don't include Prince of Egypt in that list or you'd be dead.

[cdmc]

I was totally not expecting this since I was just dragged into watching it, but I was impressed by Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. It is actually a body horror tale masquerading as a conventional action movie. It starts out as two separate stories (which balances each other) that ultimately merge (collide?) into a gruesomely operatic action-packed denouement. Displaying a great sense of atmosphere and balletic use of motion and space, I am quite surprised that this never received a theatrical release. Lynch and Cronenberg fans will definitely have something to appreciate in this. And that final scene completely astounded me both in its audacious subversiveness and of its contemporary relevance. Dayum!



:RRA:

Yesterday I finally watched my R2 DVD of Wim Wenders' Kings Of the Road. I had been looking forward to this for quite some time as I've been a long-time supporter of this director, am partial to longer films, and had heard great things about this one.

I was not disappointed. The easiest way to describe this is a combination of Easy Rider and The Last Picture Show. It shares the bromance and wandering road trip of the former, the requiem for the decline of small town life (and cinema) of the latter, and the depiction of changing times of both. To fully appreciate the film, I imagine one would have to at least be somewhat familiar with the depressing economic/cultural state of East Germany in this time period. And yet the story is far from a slog. The two main characters have in a sense removed themselves from the main stream, and are drifting in avoidance (or in protest) of what's around them with a bit of a sardonic shrug. And the American culture which is noted as slowly taking over much of the region, is regarded from both sides: Hollywood exports contributing to the fall of the local film industry, but also in the rock and roll that enlivens the travelers' spirits and gives the film a lot of its energy.

It's a very human film, with none of the turns (from the two leads or the gallery of people they briefly meet) coming off very actorly or studied. The nudity is frank and not sensational although an on-screen defecation certainly surprised me , and the turns of the plot feel equally arbitrary and non-forced.

The black and white photography from Robby Müller is stunning, and Wenders makes great use of the geography of his locations (both interior and exterior).

While I find myself partial to the extended cut of Until The End Of The World, it's very possible this is Wenders' greatest work, and the only 1976 films I'd put above it are Taxi Driver, Bertolucci's 1900, and maybe Rivette's Noroît. Yes, I think it's a greater triumph than Network.

I absolutely adored this, laz! I saw it back to back with the equally wonderful Alice in the Cities.

[Largo]

Well, I was enjoying the remake of Fright Night from... 2010? I think so. It was on TV and I was really liking a lot of the character touches in it... but my goddamn TV shorted out right after the woman in the blue tankini vaporized . Fucking TV.

[RRA]

I was totally not expecting this since I was just dragged into watching it, but I was impressed by Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning. It is actually a body horror tale masquerading as a conventional action movie. It starts out as two separate stories (which balances each other) that ultimately merge (collide?) into a gruesomely operatic action-packed denouement. Displaying a great sense of atmosphere and balletic use of motion and space, I am quite surprised that this never received a theatrical release. Lynch and Cronenberg fans will definitely have something to appreciate in this. And that final scene completely astounded me both in its audacious subversiveness and of its contemporary relevance. Dayum!



:RRA:

You should also check out the previous UNIVERSAL SOLDIER movie REGENERATION that the same director John Hyams also shot (along w/ JCVD and Lundgren) that for a low budet, DTV actioneer release, is pretty fucking impressive. Easily the best (and so far above competent) DTV action picture I've seen yet. Exciting, impressive bang for your buck production values smartly shot and crafted, a ridiculous good sense of geography (a lost art in modern action filmmaking) and from the get-go with that car chase you realize that this is free of post action, aka shakey cam. He also got good performances from JCVD and Lundgren, or at least minimized their lack of acting talent and made them come off as gold. I wholly recommend it.

[bryan1311]

It's a shame that critics/awards groups have completely ignored Emily Blunt and especially Rosemarie DeWitt in Your Sister's Sister. They give, quite easily, two of the finest performances of the year. That first scene of the two of them together in bed was just a masterclass of acting, writing, and very subtle visual direction. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the last twenty minutes, but the actors sell the hell out of it.

[Dally]

Oh my gosh, finally catching The Prince and the Showgirl. It's been on the DVR since the summer! Marilyn Monroe is damn wonderful.

[Eternal]

You should also check out the previous UNIVERSAL SOLDIER movie REGENERATION that the same director John Hyams also shot (along w/ JCVD and Lundgren) that for a low budet, DTV actioneer release, is pretty fucking impressive. Easily the best (and so far above competent) DTV action picture I've seen yet. Exciting, impressive bang for your buck production values smartly shot and crafted, a ridiculous good sense of geography (a lost art in modern action filmmaking) and from the get-go with that car chase you realize that this is free of post action, aka shakey cam. He also got good performances from JCVD and Lundgren, or at least minimized their lack of acting talent and made them come off as gold. I wholly recommend it.

I haven't seen his film "JCVD" yet but I am surprised to see Van Damme's performance was called 2nd best of the year after Ledger's Jocker in 2008 by TIME saying "deserves not a black belt, but an Oscar". Plus he got Torono critics awards nomination too.

[haqyunus]

TIME's movie critics' have often, recently ventured into semi-trollism or generating more-webpage-clicks journalism.

[Howard Beale's Toothpaste]

It's a shame that critics/awards groups have completely ignored Emily Blunt and especially Rosemarie DeWitt in Your Sister's Sister. They give, quite easily, two of the finest performances of the year. That first scene of the two of them together in bed was just a masterclass of acting, writing, and very subtle visual direction. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the last twenty minutes, but the actors sell the hell out of it.

VOTE Emily Blunt for Looper and Rosemarie DeWitt for Your Sister's Sister at the INOCAs.

[Largo]

Okay, I finally watched 21 Jump Street. Considering how much it'd been talked up to me, I was a little disappointed that it was merely "funny" and not "riotous". Still, props have to be given to everyone involved for making what could've been a staid retread of a stupid premise into something genuinely funny that touches into a nice Apatow-like emotional vein. Weirdly, I felt the last third of the movie was way stronger than the first and second thirds, particularly the first, which works well as a summation of how Tatum and Hill got to be cops, but isn't particularly funny or inventive.

[Cricket]

Yesterday I finally watched my R2 DVD of Wim Wenders' Kings Of the Road. I had been looking forward to this for quite some time as I've been a long-time supporter of this director, am partial to longer films, and had heard great things about this one.

I was not disappointed. The easiest way to describe this is a combination of Easy Rider and The Last Picture Show. It shares the bromance and wandering road trip of the former, the requiem for the decline of small town life (and cinema) of the latter, and the depiction of changing times of both. To fully appreciate the film, I imagine one would have to at least be somewhat familiar with the depressing economic/cultural state of East Germany in this time period. And yet the story is far from a slog. The two main characters have in a sense removed themselves from the main stream, and are drifting in avoidance (or in protest) of what's around them with a bit of a sardonic shrug. And the American culture which is noted as slowly taking over much of the region, is regarded from both sides: Hollywood exports contributing to the fall of the local film industry, but also in the rock and roll that enlivens the travelers' spirits and gives the film a lot of its energy.

It's a very human film, with none of the turns (from the two leads or the gallery of people they briefly meet) coming off very actorly or studied. The nudity is frank and not sensational although an on-screen defecation certainly surprised me , and the turns of the plot feel equally arbitrary and non-forced.

The black and white photography from Robby Müller is stunning, and Wenders makes great use of the geography of his locations (both interior and exterior).

While I find myself partial to the extended cut of Until The End Of The World, it's very possible this is Wenders' greatest work, and the only 1976 films I'd put above it are Taxi Driver, Bertolucci's 1900, and maybe Rivette's Noroît. Yes, I think it's a greater triumph than Network.

I absolutely adored this, laz! I saw it back to back with the equally wonderful Alice in the Cities.

Yes! I love Kings of the Road, a beautifully understated film that has an extraordinary sense of place. It's a film in which not much is said and not much "happens", and yet, by the end, it feels like you've witnessed a series of small epiphanies.

It's no surprise that it's one of Hou Hsiao-Hsien's favorite films. Much of Hou's oeuvre is about time, movement, change. And you can detect Wenders' influence in Hou's use of naturalistic long takes and scenes of minimal dialogue.

[haqyunus]

The scene where the lead character tries to console, market and offer herself to the parents of the just deceased teenage girl, to be the just deceased daughter is disturbing, sad and brilliant at the same time Alps.

[lazarus]

I absolutely adored this, laz! I saw it back to back with the equally wonderful Alice in the Cities.

Did you wind up skipping the middle installment of Wenders loose "road movie" trilogy, Wrong Move as I did? I have it somewhere on my computer but was in too much of a rush to see Kings. Alice was also great.

Yes! I love Kings of the Road, a beautifully understated film that has an extraordinary sense of place. It's a film in which not much is said and not much "happens", and yet, by the end, it feels like you've witnessed a series of small epiphanies.

So well-put. I'm very underversed in Hou. I loathed Flight Of The Red Balloon, but I got cheap used DVDs of Flowers From Shangai and Millennium Mambo and need to watch them soon.

The scene where the lead character tries to console, market and offer herself to the parents of the just deceased teenage girl, to be the just deceased daughter is disturbing, sad and brilliant at the same time Alps.

One of many great scenes, but that may be the best.

[bryan1311]

I'm doubting that anyone else here has seen it and, were it not for the fact that it has a perfect RT score (albeit from only 8 critics), I would think that maybe I was being a bit too easy on it because of how close to home the subject matter hit, but I really think The Wise Kids is one of the best films dealing with faith and lack thereof that I've ever seen. That it does so with neither the righteous piety or the righteous disdain that so many movies approach the subject with is all the more impressive. I'll try and open a thread for it tomorrow and expand on my thoughts, but I really liked this one.

[RRA]

I haven't seen his film "JCVD" yet but I am surprised to see Van Damme's performance was called 2nd best of the year after Ledger's Jocker in 2008 by TIME saying "deserves not a black belt, but an Oscar". Plus he got Torono critics awards nomination too.

JCVD will never be confused with a good actor, but he was terrific in JCVD, and I suppose only in the way that Rourke was in THE WRESTLER. Not as great as that performance mind you, but I suppose there is something to be said about going beyond your own thespian limit by a role that hits too close to home. I liked JCVD the movie.

I think of that EXPENDABLES sequel JCVD did where as the villain he intentionally plays him as so spacey (is he an oddball or on drugs?) he was actually surprisingly intriguing. (I liked that scene when he has a henchman hover a knife over a future victim's heart, which then JCVD jump kicks it in for the kill. Such a gratuitous, if awesome, way to dispatch somebody.)