Movie Reviews (20)14: Modern Times Edition

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I loved the hell out of Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie, but I have no idea why. I love Forte when he works with those two, but not much otherwise.
 
Forte's one of the oddest performers to have been on SNL. I looked forward to the 12:50 skit mostly for the promise of one of his bits making it on the air.
 
The Vincent Price thing is easily a highlight of post-2000 SNL, not that I usually even watch that crapfest anyway. But of the viral stuff I've seen it's my favorite.
 
This has gotta be the dress rehearsal version since the line-readings are different than I remember, slightly for the worst. Either way, the Forte love needs to continue:

Potato Chip Thief
 
More like MEHbraska.

Nah I liked this one. Nothing earth-shattering though. Performances a bit overrated with regard to awards buzz. Forte really is kind bad. That final shot is killer though.
 
The strength of it to me lay in the inferences made between father and son, especially in how so much of it was and continues to be defined by alcoholism. It hits a lot of familiar emotional beats and with another tone could descend into Fox Searchlight-level indie pablum. I think that there's a lot of truth in how it shows a particular type of extended family dynamics and a nifty cross-generational text and subtext that evokes Bogdanovich's Last Picture Show. Plus the mom is funny as fuck.

In other news, watch the Cage joint Zandalee as soon as possible.

a commitment to Tennessee Williams-esque absurdity, aggressive sex, and intermittent Cajun accents barely tether Zandalee to reality. A mustachio'd Judge Reinhold has given up a writing career, and with it any chance of giving good sex to his wife -- because writers make the best lovers. Good thing former childhood pal and current artist Nic Cage comes in to fill the void. While it's impossible to get past Reinhold's strained attempts at trying to act hard, Cage imposes a palpable sexual danger into the central love triangle. Only he could treat 9 1/2 Weeks-level sexy garbage as if it were The Glass Menagerie.

Within the first five minutes, there's hilariously unnecessary full frontal nudity, Cajun Reinhold wearing a fez, and Cage spraying whipped cream on a stripper's vagina while Reinhold opines "he always had a sweet tooth." Steve Buscemi, Marisa Tomei, and Billy from Gremlins all pop up in small roles; Joe Pantoliano's sassy cross-dressing shopkeeper runs away with the supporting actor MVP here though.
 
In other news, watch the Cage joint Zandalee as soon as possible.

a commitment to Tennessee Williams-esque absurdity, aggressive sex, and intermittent Cajun accents barely tether Zandalee to reality. A mustachio'd Judge Reinhold has given up a writing career, and with it any chance of giving good sex to his wife -- because writers make the best lovers. Good thing former childhood pal and current artist Nic Cage comes in to fill the void. While it's impossible to get past Reinhold's strained attempts at trying to act hard, Cage imposes a palpable sexual danger into the central love triangle. Only he could treat 9 1/2 Weeks-level sexy garbage as if it were The Glass Menagerie.

Within the first five minutes, there's hilariously unnecessary full frontal nudity, Cajun Reinhold wearing a fez, and Cage spraying whipped cream on a stripper's vagina while Reinhold opines "he always had a sweet tooth." Steve Buscemi, Marisa Tomei, and Billy from Gremlins all pop up in small roles; Joe Pantoliano's sassy cross-dressing shopkeeper runs away with the supporting actor MVP here though.

Did you make this up, cos it reads like you did.
 
It's barely worth talking about.

The cinematography was lame, too, compared to other modern B&W works.

For the life of me, I really can't understand why this film was in B&W...I really can't.

BTW, I really, really, really can't believe how awful Missy Doty's acting was in this film. The ex-girlfriend? I mean...she was really...really...really awful.
 
I like the decision to shoot it in B&W. I wish more films would take advantage of the ability to do so, especially so easily now with digital options. The problem with Nebraska is that it looks like an unfinished job. Shot on state of the art Arri cameras, I'm assuming converted to B&W in post, but the contrast is kind of all over the place from scene to scene and it has blown highlights for god's sake. Generally just an uneven picture and it only really comes to live in the outdoor night scenes or darker interiors. Something like Frances Ha on the other hand, to use a contemporary with similar workflow, was shot on a five year old, comparatively difficult to use DSLR which cost a minuscule fraction of the price and manages to be beautiful and evocative of 16mm film stock through similar post conversion. Both films really well suited to the format and B&W, but the DP of Nebraska going by his sheet hasn't shot a single interesting film in his career, so there you go.
 
Great observations there. And it's funny, despite knowing Phedon Papamichel's name, I also looked at his filmography and couldn't find anything with noteworthy photography either.

Funnily enough, his most interesting visuals might be on The Million Dollar Hotel.
 
A Woman Is a Woman is endlessly delightful. Close to Contempt & Pierrot le Fou as my fave Godard.

Tracked down Every Man for Himself and it's one bizarre introspective piece of self-loathing.
 
A Woman Is A Woman is up there as my favorite Godard with Band Of Outsiders.

I thought Pierrot Le Fou was pretty but shallow trash, and Contempt was frustrating to watch due to the redundant, idiotic arguments between the couple, and the overblown score.

Not a big fan of the director.
 
I can't remember why I pegged ya as a Godard fan since I recall you bringing up those points beforehand.

Band of Outsiders I wasn't too crazy about but I'm eager to revisit it.
 
Desplechin's Jimmy P was stunning, I thought, which surprised me given the somewhat cold response it received. I don't think it is as good as A Christmas Tale or Kings and Queen, but it doesn't necessarily aim that high, given its intimate scope. It's definitely amongst the best portrayals of psychoanalysis in film (at least that I know of), and the interplay between Amalric and Del Toro is fantastic.

Desplechin continues to be one of my five favorite working filmmakers, even not being too prolific. One of the things I like the best about his films is how he actually loves each of his characters, from protagonists to minor roles. This certainly remains true in Jimmy P. It's a shame his earlier films are not available in the US in particularly good quality.
 
Yeah, so Sam Fuller's White Dog is pretty goddamn legit. Too legit to quit, some might say.
 
I went on a big Fuller tour years ago. And his autobiography A Third Face is a majorly entertaining read, from the early journalism years to WWII to his film career.

In addition to the well-known/Criterion releases (which are all essential), I'd prioritize:

Park Row
Forty Guns
Underworld U.S.A.
Fixed Bayonets!
House Of Bamboo
The Crimson Kimono
Verboten!
Run Of The Arrow
 
Got to catch a print of The Crimson Kimono at LACMA a few years back. Felt like a killer 2nd tier noir and proto-buddy cop joint.

Everything else you've mentioned is really high on the list for me, particularly Park Row, Forty Guns (#Stanwyck) & House of Bamboo (Fuller in 'scope & Technicolor must be a delight).
 
You don't even want to know how long it took me to hunt down Park Row. I think Turner Classic Movies wound up showing it one time in the middle of the night. Now there's a DVD which shouldn't be too hard to find.

It really is some kind of mini-masterpiece.

I was also lucky enough to catch Crimson Kimono at a revival house back in Boston. Not top-level Fuller as you said, but nice to see something shot on location in Little Tokyo here in Los Angeles, plus the interracial romance element. I screened Forty Guns for friends last year and it was a real hoot. The sexual innuendo is so over the top but also intentionally funny. And the 'scope B&W is to die for.
 
I tracked down Park Row at a video store here and haven't had a chance to watch if. Hopefully can before SXSW but who knows, really?
 
Enough Said

I really enjoyed it, although her big fuck-up was painful to watch unravel. I loved the humor between JDL and James Gandolfini. The ending was sweet. I even almost cried when she was saying goodbye to her daughter at the airport.
 
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