Recently viewed films

[Jack of All Parades]

Otis- I will let the iconoclastic Hazel voice my response and that of my wife:

http://youtu.be/Z7jeDbucjFo

[Otis Westinghouse]

Like the Al Jolson ref. That scene was hilarious! I don't get the idea that audiences are weeping away at it, I think that's in the Princess Diana category (we are dying for a public excuse to let our pent-up emotions out, etc. - maybe a particularly English thing).

I dispute the power ballad accusation above. I think many of the tunes are rather good, especially the main one used in I Dreamed a Dream and reprised all over the place. I agree with whoever said it was probably the strongest set of cinema musical songs since Oliver! If they make a Matilda film, that would change. The kids belting 'When I Grow Up' out in that brought tears to my eyes, so hey, we can all over our highly wrought sentimental musical moments.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Really enjoyed Lincoln. incredible to see how much DD-L occupies his character, I actually found it hard to think of him as DD-L the person. I had no idea that was James Spader! Excellent, as stated above. I loved the fact that it was far from your typical Hollywood/Spielbergian blockbusting approach (and not the biopic that would have involved) and was much more a detailed and intimate about the man, politically and personally, and the key event in his life. To me it seemed incredibly odd that all those scenes in Congress didn't involve Lincoln himself. Loved the way you saw the word spread, especially with TLJ and his housekeeper. I found the scene where the votes were cast to be truly moving, e.g. the speaker saying 'It may be unusual [for me to vote], but this is history.' I learned a lot about what is for me a pretty hazy area of history and was impressed by the immense list of museums, institutions and academics/specialists credited at the end. Underlined the sense of authenticity that permeated it, including a wonderfully undumbed down and non-anachronistic screenplay.

Will be cheering it for the Oscars.

[Jack of All Parades]

Great film. Great man. I have been studying Henry IV- Parts 1 and 11- DDL's Lincoln at times brings this speech to mind as he walks alone within the White House or the war room at the Army headquarters with the weight of his office and his thoughts upon him:

How many thousand of my poorest subjects
Are at this hour asleep? O sleep, O gentle sleep,
Nature's soft nurse, how have I frightened thee,
That thou no more will weigh my eyelids down,
And steep my senses in forgetfulness?
Why rather, sleep, liest thou in smoky cribs,
Upon uneasy pallets stretching thee,
And hush'd with buzzing night-flies to thy slumber,
Than in the perfum'd chambers of the great,
Under the canopies of costly state,
And lull'd with sound of sweetest melody?
O thou dull god, why liest thou with the vile
In loathsome beds, and leav'st the kingly couch
A watch-case or a common 'larum-bell?
Wilt thou upon the high and giddy mast
Seal up the ship-boy's eyes, and rock his brains
In cradle of the rude imperious surge,
And in the visitation of the winds,
Who take the ruffian billows by the top,
Curling their monstrous heads, and hanging them
With deafing clamour in the slippery clouds,
That with the hurly death itself awakes?
Canst thou, O partial sleep, give thy repose
To the wet sea-boy in an hour so rude;
And in the calmest and most stillest night,
With all appliances and means to boot,
Deny it to a king? Then, happy low, lie down!
Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.

My heart of hearts is pulling for "Silver Linings Playbook" and its memorable family.

[Jack of All Parades]

The end will come, hopefully not with the fury and indignities that hit the aging couple in Michael Haneke's "Amour". Maybe not with the dramatic busting open of a door and the sickly stench of decay but it will certainly come with the erosion of the qualities of life we have enjoyed for most of our lives. I sat in the theater last night and watched death overcome a person relentlessly. I have never seen the end of a person's days so baldly presented. It is not sugar coated. The couple on the screen have lived a full life in one another's company and in their shared love of music. They have had an impact upon the world with a star pupil who is now a classical music star. They have raised a daughter. But in their dotage, their world is shrinking and it is now primarily limited to the walls of their Parisian apartment which is aging just as they are. As the wife, played memorably by Emmanuel Riva, suffers her strokes, the deterioration in their lives is haunting and scary. The husband, played by Jean-Louis Trintignant, is loving in his attention but you see him struggle to deal with the vanishing of the woman he has long loved. When he slaps her in frustration towards the end you too feel his fear, anger and deep sense of humiliation. I hope I have the courage to act as he does at the end. I do not know if I will. It made for an interesting conversation with my wife as we drove home from the theater. Most sobering and frightening as I approach "sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything" my inevitable end.

* I enjoyed the usage of the two Shubert Impromptus in the soundtrack.

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant,
Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.
And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel
And shining morning face, creeping like snail
Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,
Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad
Made to his mistress' eyebrow. Then a soldier,
Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon's mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined,
With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,
Full of wise saws and modern instances;
And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts
Into the lean and slipper'd pantaloon,
With spectacles on nose and pouch on side,
His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,
Turning again toward childish treble, pipes
And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,
That ends this strange eventful history,
Is second childishness and mere oblivion,
Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything."

William Shakespeare

[Otis Westinghouse]

Yeah but surely Lay Miz is much more suitable for family entertainment on Christmas day?

[Jack of All Parades]

Yeah but surely Lay Miz is much more suitable for family entertainment on Christmas day?

Oh no, Otis. That film is a slow, tortuous death.

[Otis Westinghouse]

I'm wishing I'd been in a soppier mood when I saw it and then I might have joined in the crying. I do find the signature tune kinda gets to me every time I hear it.

I'm keen to see Argo as it did so well on BAFTA night and I was barely aware of it previously, for some reason. Anyone got an opinion on it? Also wondering about the new Malick one To The Wonder, which has just opened.

[ice nine]

Saw two excellent movies this week.Quartet was very, very good. Good characters, good acting, a good story, a witty screenplay. A nice ensemble piece. Hyde Park on the Hudson is a good movie. Bill did a wonderful job as FDR. You may think that JFK had a stronghold as lothario of the White House, but this movie will surprise you about that fact.

[Jack of All Parades]

Ice Nine- I too liked Quartet for that well tuned ensemble performance but I found Maggie Smith's performance too reminiscent of her character in "The Best Exotique Marigold Hotel"- she is in danger of becoming a one note performer.

[Jack of All Parades]

"A Late Quartet" by Yaron Zilberman. Last night with the missus and the company of Beethoven's opus 131 the Quartet in C Sharp Minor and its seven movements with no break and a fierce 'attaca' pace. Rarely have I seen a movie about music and the people who make it as entertaining as this one. It is a satisfying study of the members of a world famous Quartet, "The Fugue", and the way they handle their 25th anniversary together and the devastating news that their founder and mentor, Peter, played by a riveting Christopher Walken, has been diagnosed with Parkinsons's and now has to confront the end of his long and illustrious musical career. The resolution of this diagnosis within the Quartet makes up the movie's action. It is handled with a skill and empathy by a very talented cast which also includes Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener and Mark Ivanir. It is a master class in ensemble acting just like the fictional Quartet members they play are a master class in ensemble playing. I have not seen Christopher Walken hold my attention like this in some time. There is a scene towards the end of the film where the camera pulls close to his tortured face and you can see the inner tension of his character by just observing the twitching cheek muscles on his face. This one was a most pleasant surprise.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Sounds great. Love the late quartets, great idea for a film.

[ice nine]

Saw Beasts of the Southern Wild last night. Really enjoyed it. I enjoyed Jennifer L.'s performance in Silver Lining Playbook, but I believe Quvenzhané was robbed. I understand that an eight year old shouldn't have an Oscar though. She will get her's in time.

[Jack of All Parades]

Untouchable. French hit of the year. beautifully done, very funny, and warmly life-affirming with it. Inspired by a true story. Super rich paraplegic and the black guy from the housing project who comes to be his helper, with their two totally different worlds colliding. The scene where they go to the opera is priceless. 'A singing tree!' See it if you can.

Cannot say I enjoyed this one as you seem to have. Watched it last night on DVD. I found it too cliched in its approach to race and social inequalities. Many of its scenes are pallid updates of some Moliere farce. How often have we seen the old standbye plot, the befuddled master and the clowning servant? I often found myself calling out future plot developments before they occurred, it was that predictable right down to the purloined Faberge Egg popping up at the end. What did keep me in the movie was the acting of the two main characters Francois Cluzet and Omar Cy. I was convinced there was a true warmth between them, in particular the near end scene involving shaving. Not a favorite for me. Would recommend Rust and Bone or The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

[Jack of All Parades]

"Peace, Love and Misunderstanding"- last night in the living room with the Mrs. An extremely slight and predictable comedy with all the cliches in full display. Premise is an uptight Manhattan lawyer played by Catherine Keener, is getting divorced and decides to flee with her children, the daughter played by Elizabeth Olsen, to her estranged mother's home[some twenty years] up in Woodstock, NY. Well the cliches just flourish from there- aged hippies and uptight urbanites, vegans against omnivores, the reviving powers of mother earth against the cynicism of urban dwellers- you name it, it has been seen before. But what has not been seen in many moons is the radiant Jane Fonda. She gets a chance to strut her stuff in this slight film and she makes the most of it as the aged hippie Grandmother with her unruly mopp of gray flecked curls and her tie die dresses and skirts and tees. She fills the screen with an unselfconscious glee as she chews up the scenery in all her moments on screen which fortunately is a good part of the film. When the camera swings to her at her potter's wheel at the beginning she just lights up from within. It is good to have her back. Nothing changes up in those magical mountians north of where I live. Just the bodies get older and the lines and crevices begin to carve the faces.

[Poor Deportee]

"A Late Quartet" by Yaron Zilberman. Last night with the missus and the company of Beethoven's opus 131 the Quartet in C Sharp Minor and its seven movements with no break and a fierce 'attaca' pace. Rarely have I seen a movie about music and the people who make it as entertaining as this one. It is a satisfying study of the members of a world famous Quartet, "The Fugue", and the way they handle their 25th anniversary together and the devastating news that their founder and mentor, Peter, played by a riveting Christopher Walken, has been diagnosed with Parkinsons's and now has to confront the end of his long and illustrious musical career. The resolution of this diagnosis within the Quartet makes up the movie's action. It is handled with a skill and empathy by a very talented cast which also includes Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener and Mark Ivanir. It is a master class in ensemble acting just like the fictional Quartet members they play are a master class in ensemble playing. I have not seen Christopher Walken hold my attention like this in some time. There is a scene towards the end of the film where the camera pulls close to his tortured face and you can see the inner tension of his character by just observing the twitching cheek muscles on his face. This one was a most pleasant surprise.

Saw this last night. Outstanding. And while the whole cast was excellent, Walken really distinguished himself with that burning intensity - a face that says more than a thousand words could. Really a moving piece of work.

[ice nine]

At about three hours long, Robert Altman's Short Cuts is difficult to sit through. The movie is at times slow and nothing really happens. It's a movie about a group of people living their lives the best that they can. For the first two hours I was wondering when will something spectacular happen. I was deliberating on taking it out of the DVD player, but I already had two hours of my time invested and so I would stick it out. All the actors were good, so for their sake I would stay until the end. I'm glad I did. The whole film surprisingly came together for me when looked at as a whole. The way Mr. Altman intertwined all the stories together was brilliant. I must read some of Ray Carver's short stories. I have never read him, but I have read, and enjoy, John Cheever. The two seem very similar.

The pairing of Lili Tomlin and Tom Waits worried very well.

[Jack of All Parades]

RIP- Roger Ebert. Easily one of the people I sought out for his usually insightful comments on a movie. Also the first movie critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for his criticism. That speaks volumes alone. He never steered me wrong with his choices.

[invisible Pole]

Very sad news indeed.
R.I.P., Mr. Ebert.

[Jack of All Parades]

"First Position"- a documentary by Bess Kargman. The film follows six aspiring dancers as they work hard to make an impression in the annual The Youth America Grand Prix where would be dancers compete for scholarships and jobs with the world's great ballet schools and corps. Many thousands enter but only 300 are chosen. The competition is hard and grueling. I am glad I got to see this through my wife's eyes as she strove for many years to be a dancer. The pain, the long hours, the torture the body has to endure. I have never seen such gnarled and damaged feet. My favorite had to be an eleven year old boy, Aron, who clearly has the natural talent and drive to be a very good classical ballet dancer, but who also clearly just loves to dance. You root for him and when he makes friends with a 12 year old Israeli girl who also aspires to be a ballerina you are pulling for both of them. They make for an engaging couple.

[Otis Westinghouse]

In The House / Dans La Maison. Latest comedy from François Ozon, whose last, Potiche, I enjoyed hugely. This is, if anything, better still. There's a distinct, vivacious flavour to his comedy. Based on a Spanish play I'd never heard of from the 90s by Juan Mayorga:
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Mayorga

Lots of clever playing with concepts of writing and reality, funny and moving, with a lovely Rear Window touch at the end. Kristin Scott-Thomas is great in French and looks delightfully chic in that beautifully preserved Frenchwoman way. the young lad playing the main character is also excellent. Totally recommended.

[Jack of All Parades]

I have tried to no avail to rent Potiche- maybe I will have better luck with the new one. Thank you for the heads up.

[Jack of All Parades]

Date night and dinner to boot last evening with my wife. The fare was "The Place Beyond the Pines" by Derek Cianfrance- his sophomore effort. Maybe too long but it packs a muscular narrative force. Its representation of manhood, class and non accidental interweaving of lives is most impressive as is Mr. Cianfrance's handling of his actors. He lets them stretch and luxuriate on the screen utilizing long closeups of their faces to propel the action. And he gets strong work from Ryan Gosling, Bradley Cooper, Eva Mendes, Rose Byrne and Ray Liotta. The interwoven three tales never quite mesh but you stay with them because the individual characters are struggling so with lives that are messed up by vanity and love. Gosling and Cooper stand out, particularly Cooper, who has become a real revelation for me along with his work in last years "Silver Linings Playbook". His character is one I know and have had some experience with- the charming and elegant 'winner' who is basically unlikeable. The opening scene at the carnival with the three stunt cyclists locked into a metal cage as they speed around held by centrifugal force and just barely avoiding one another like electrons speeding around a nucleus is a great usage of foreshadowing. This one had my wife and I talking in the car and later at home well into the night.

[Otis Westinghouse]

Seen it advertised and was interested as I enjoyed Gosling a lot in Drive but now I'm struck by something else, the name Cianfrance. My eldest's name is Cian, Irish hard C, like Ian with a K, but his his a soft 's', so 'See-an-France'. Made my son laugh, though. Now want to see this as well as Late Quartet, but I think the latter will win out on this week's outing.

[Jack of All Parades]

"Buck" a documentary from a few years back with my wife last night. It is about a real life "Horse Whisperer", Buck Hanrahann. He is a real 'character'. Greatly abused as a child by his father, he was taken away and put into a foster home where he found love. He could have been truly damaged but he managed to channel his pain into a tremendous empathy for horses and others. His skill at getting a horse to be trusting and to work with its rider is eminently watchable. He is literally one with the animal and he achieves this unity with a minimum of rough guidance or prodding. I have never met many cowboys- he is the real thing. A character and a memorable one at that.