Current music: Unwound - "Negated"
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Eh, so, I've seen a lot of other films, but I needed to get something up, and up now, or it wasn't going to happen. The rest will have to follow shortly. Of course, I said that with my last post..
I'm so glad this is finally coming out! - Super.
STOKED: THE RISE AND FALL OF GATOR (2002) - d. Helen Stickler
I didn't grow up in a pro-skating environment, but I was still a pretty big skate rat, and while 'Dogtown and Z-Boys' is a better film, I enjoyed 'Stoked' because it's such a flashback; kind of like watching 'The Search for the Animal Chin' while eating something rich in bran and vitamins. Lance Mountain, Kevin Staab, and almost every other late-80s skate star shows up in this film to weigh in on Mark 'Gator' Rogowski, the skating boom of the 80s, and Gator's final star turn, the rape/torture/murder/etc. of, Jessica Bergsten, a party girl whose only crime was growing up with Gator's ex-girlfriend. The film does an excellent job of painting the heady days of skating circa-1986, the rockstar rise of guys like Christian Hosoi, Tony Hawk, Mark Gonzalez, and Steve Caballero, and the economic and social forces which brought the walls crumbling down. It does an even better job of telling us about Mark Rogowski, the celebrity, about his partying, his wild side, his demons, and the spiral of events which led to his crime. But it falls off just when it should be hammering its final nails, introducing the murder and its victim, far too late in the telling and leaving Bergsten's story untold, unresolved and unsatisfying.
One thing that would have helped is a better sense of where Gator came from. While family members more than likely refused to involve themselves with the film, more needed to be done to reconstruct the life that Mark Rogowski led before his professional skating career. Even just a sliver of background. But, again, the biggest failing is getting absolutely nothing on the victim, Jessica Bergsten. If it's the same routine where the family doesn't want to talk, fine, but you've got to give us more, because, when the credits roll, she's still completely faceless, and that's just lazy.
If for no other reason, see the film for Jason Jesse, taking the concept of 'unintentional comedy' to a whole new level, and the footage of Rogowski trying to street skate, which is almost as funny.
Finally, the film leans heavily on 'Village Voice' writer Corey Johnson's 1992 article on Rogowski, 'Free Fallin'', which you can find here, if you're curious. If it disappears from there, someone let me know, and I'll post it in my own link.
LICENSE TO KILL (1992) - d. John Glenn
I'm planning on watching 'The Living Daylights' again sometime soon, and maybe then I'll unleash my treatise on why, after Sean Connery, Timothy Dalton was the best James Bond. Before anyone freaks out, take a deep breath.. 'License to Kill' is a terrible movie, James Bond as unfun 'Miami Vice' ripoff; it's been forever, but I can only assume that 'Daylights' will be more of the same. But it isn't Dalton's fault that the era didn't demand better from its Bond movies. It's not Dalton's fault that MGM was undervaluing its marquee franchise by recycling hack Bond director John Glenn for the umpteenth time. Dalton is an excellent actor and was a terrific Bond, and though I've never actually read the books, I bet he's as close to Fleming's ideal as anyone short of Connery. If I'm feeling up to it, I'll give you more reason to think I'm stupid in a couple of weeks. The end.
SO CLOSE (2002) - d. Corey Yuen
Three asian babes, Shu Qi, Karen Mok, and Vicki Zhao, get tangled in a web of post-John Woo hi-tech chop-socky naughtiness. Wire fighting and gun battles, ridiculously skimpy outfits, and a brainless plot which still manages to satisfy, due to some vaguely compelling twists. My vote is for Vicki Zhao, Japanese flag dress and all.
LEGALLY BLOND 2: RED, WHITE AND BLOND (2003) - d. Charles Hurman-Wurmfeld
Someone is never being allowed near the TiVo again.
JUMP TOMORROW (2001) - d. Joel Hopkins
I rented this because sometimes I fall into these weird pools of murky water where things get so esoteric that I end up discussing the merits of 'The Flight of the Navigator' vs. 'Clockwatchers'. Sometimes, I need something easy and fun that isn't in a foreign language, isn't for kids, and isn't trying to keep my laughing the whole time (nothing depresses me like bad comedy). And, no, 'Legally Blond 2' doesn't fall into this category.
'Jump Tomorrow' is soft, only marginally clever, and I hated its sets, but it was just what the doctor ordered. I'm going for the huggable Billy routine lately, which involves renting a lot of romantic comedies and trying to be both more social and more considerate, and while the latter two aren't going smoothly, there've been an awful lot of rom-coms in the mailbox. This one was on the list mostly because it stars Tunde Adebimpe, who is better known to trendy-types as the lead singer of TV on the Radio, they of the terrible moniker and excellent tunes. Adebimpe cuts it as an actor, eschewing rockstar histrionics in favor of a comedic performance where the primary joke is that this man couldn't possibly be more reserved. Anyhow, you're either going to like the film because it has a big heart, appealing leads, and pays homage to the tenets of screwball comedy, or you're going to be down on it because you can constantly see the seems in the narrative (start with the 'meet cute', add water..), the sets fucking suck, the supporting cast isn't up to the task, and it doesn't live up to the standards set by the screwball era (do any modern films?). I vote 'Yes' on 'Jump Tomorrow', but don't quote me on it, and definitely don't look for a miracle.
WHEN THE CAT'S AWAY (1996) - d. Cédric Klapisch
You would have to be exceptionally stupid to dislike this movie. Oh la la! A distinctly Gallic, distinctly Parisian comedy without the sentimentality of 'Amelie'! And the lead could never appear in a Swimsuit Issue! And is still a babe! Quelle Horreur! It's so fluid, curious, and good-hearted, I'll never understand the antipathy it generates in some quarters. Ease up and/or fuck yourself.
1942: A LOVE STORY (1993) - d. Vidhu Vinod Chopra
When I wrote about 'Kuch Naa Kaho' and I said that, under the artifice of your average Bollywood film, there's plenty of space for ideas writ large, I was ignoring films like this, or 'Lagaan', which are overtly political, polemical epics. This wasn't my favorite film, not by any stretch, but it has its value, and - as always happens in Bollywood film - it got a lot better by the end. I hope that I don't seem close-minded, or bigoted, but I often have a hard time sympathizing with the leading men in Indian cinema. It seems - and I've only seen maybe 12-15 features from the sub-continent, so don't quote me - like a lot of the favored leading men are extremely soft, not feminized, but certainly not what most Westerners think of when they imagine 'Men'. The Bachchans don't fit my too-broad stereotype, and Amitabh is one of the most popular figures in Bollywood history, so it's possible that it's just the films I've seen. Anyways, I'm going to call it Luke Skywalker Syndrome, and it may just be that I've seen too many Anil Kapoor movies.
Actually, there are similar themes at play between '1942' and the first of the 'Star Wars' films. You've got an Evil Empire (the British), a total pussy of a leading man (Kapoor), a kickass chick (the radiant Manisha Koirala), and the badass whose badass ways turn the kickass chick on. Turns out they aren't brother and sister, though, and Koirala doesn't end up in a metal bikini with a leash around her neck, but the corollary exists. 1942 was a pretty important year in Indian history and, by film's end, I definitely wanted to hand the British their collective asses meself.
The best thing about '1942: A Love Story' is its wonderful music, which was written by Rahul Dev Burman (or R.D. Burman, who'd be kind of like a Leonard Bernstein here) just before his death. The film's score includes what has to be one of the most beautiful songs in the Bollywood canon, 'Ek Ladki Ko Dekha'. My friend Bobby turned me on to the song, and found a translation of the lyrics, which are fantastic. If I can figure out a way to get a link to it on mp3, I will. This song is so good, it's a joke.
EK LADKI KO DEKHA
ek laDakii ko dekha to aisa laga...
jaise khilata gulaab
jaise shaayar ka khvaab
jaise ujalii kiran
jaise ban me.n hiran
jaise chaa.ndanii raat
jaise naramii baat
jaise mandir me.n ho ek jalta diya
ek laDakii ko dekha to aisa lagaa...
jaise subah kaa ruup
jaise saradii kii dhuup
jaise viiNaa kii taan
jaise ra.ngo.n kii jaan
jaise balakhaaye.n bel
jaise laharo.n ka khel
jaise khushbuu liye aaye THa.nDii havaa
ek laDakii ko dekha to aisa laga...
jaise naachataa mor
jaise resham kii Dor
jaise pariyo.n ka raag
jaise sandal kii aag
jaise solah si.ngaar
jaise ras kii phuhaar
jaise aahistaa aahistaa baDHta nasha
ek laDakii ko dekha to aisa laga...
When I saw this girl, she seemed to me like...
like a blooming rose;
like a poet's dream;
like a glowing ray of light;
like a deer in the forest;
like a moonlit night;
like a soft word;
like a candle burning in the temple.
When I saw this girl, she seemed to me like...
like the beauty of the morning;
like winter sunshine;
like a note from the lute;
like the essence of all color;
like a twisting vine;
like the play of waves;
like a cool scented wind.
When I saw this girl, she seemed to me like...
like a dancing feather;
like a silken thread;
like a fairy melody;
like the fire of sandalwood;
like the sixteen (traditional) ornaments of beauty;
like a refreshing mist;
like a slowly growing feeling of intoxication.
When I saw this girl, she seemed to me like...
I should also note that, in the last 10 years or so, Indian cinema has made major strides in terms of production values, and those leaps happened after this film was made. Oh, and also, ignore the title, and the theme; this is not the kind of movie to watch with the little Ms. or little mister unless you're absolutely sure that they can handle Bollywood. You either have the stomach for it, or you don't have the stomach for it; there is no in-between and unleashing a film like this on the uninitiated is a felony offense in certain states. Go with something more recent and, even then, think twice.
A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935) - d. Sam Wood
I am not the world's biggest Marx Brothers fan. They are funny, yes, but I generally hate American musicals, and the musical sequences here, aside from the 'last night of the cruise' scene where Harpo and Chico both go off on the piano, don't make me like musicals any better. I'm maybe weird in preferring Chico and Harpo's comedy to Groucho's, but he gets on my nerves at times. This movie deserves its classic status, though, funnier than hell when no one's singing.
MODERN TIMES (1936) - d. Charlie Chaplin
I've been wrong about Charlie Chaplin. Back in junior high, I decided that I needed to see some silent movies. I figured Chaplin was the safest bet because they were comedies. I rented this one and probably the 'Navigator' and quickly lost interest in the silent era. So, I was wrong, as I discovered when I watched these next two movies.
This isn't the best film I've ever seen, not by any stretch, but most of its problems stem from it being a 'big budget comedy'. And, as stated by Hollywood Commandment #7, 'Big budget comedies don't work' (need proof? See the directing career of one Barry Sonnenfeld or Altman's 'Popeye'. What's wrong with 'Modern Times' is overshadowed by what's right, but it would be nice if it wasn't so damned episodic. If all else fails, you can admire it for its politics.
THE GOLD RUSH (1935) - d. Charles Chaplin
This is supposedly Chaplin at its peak, and if this is the best the man can do, well, that's pretty fucking swell. Even though it precedes 'Modern Times' by eleven years, the storytelling is much more nuanced, and the jokes pack a much harder punch. It sure looks like the whole of the 'Looney Tunes' era was a riff on this film. This is where I should've started in the first place, because it's close to perfect.
THE GENERAL (1927) - d. Buster Keaton
I like Buster Keaton a lot more than Chaplin; always have always will. Keaton is ten times the filmmaker Chaplin could ever hope to be, and even if he doesn't deliver the big laughs quite as often, his inventiveness, style, and sense of magic will never be equalled. I got called-out for saying 'I don't remember if I've seen this before' in my last post. I lied. I can tell you exactly where and when I saw the film, but I couldn't tell you half of what happened because I was 'under the influence'. The truth is out. Hopefully I may be forgiven. Anyways, 'The General' is terrific and, more important, coherent - something I'm not sure you can say for a Chaplin narrative.
COUNTRYMAN (1982) - d. Dickie Jobson
Generally considered 'the other Jamaican film', and that's sad, because there's a big quality drop between 'The Harder They Come' and this. I'm not saying that 'Countryman' doesn't have its moments, it does, but it's a pretty minor pleasure. Chris Blackwell was the money man behind this one, which spells good production values, if nothing else. Just like 'The Harder They Come', 'Countryman' owes a huge debt to the 70s exploitation era, but manages to surpass the vast majority of films in the blaxploitation genre. Still, the plot, performances, and pacing are slack as hell, and I vote for watching it for the documentary elements (and mostly very accurate and highly detailed portrait of rural Jamaican life) and its killer soundtrack. And I would get really excited (read: stoned) when the Countryman has to whip up on at least ten guys at the same time. That scene is worth the price of admission alone. Having finally seen it, I regret not bothering to rent it during my prime pothead years.
SHORTS
RUNNING WITH THE BULLS (2003) - d. Adam Goldberg
Eew. All it said was '2003, Documentary' when I decided to DVR it, no director, no plot description, nothing. Adam Goldberg makes a 45 minute documentary about himself traveling in a car in the hopes of fulfilling his emptiness. I gave it four minutes, which was generous.
AFRO DEUTSCH (2002) - d. Ayassi
From Das Motherland, about being both black and German. In first person, a man speaks in spoken word (sometimes rapping), which sounds bad when you consider that it's in German, but the narrative works. Easily one of the best looking films I've ever seen shot on a DV format, the visuals far outstrip a lot of features.
A BLINK OF PARADISE (1992) - d. Karen Young
Self-righteous maternal issues GARBAGE. Whiny, whiny, whiny. How Young convinced an actress of Martha Plimpton's caliber to star in such a thankless role is anyone's guess. What a waste of my time.
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