Every 10 years, a British magazine (Sight and Sound) organizes a huge poll of directors and critics to rank the 10 greatest movies ever. The 2012 lost just came out! Here's the link...I have some movie watchin' to do:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/sight-and-sound-2012-top-ten
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Monday, July 30, 2012
Two "Man of Steel" Trailers
So I was lucky enough to see a trailer for the new Superman movie, "Man of Steel", before the "Dark Knight Rises". I came to find out later that there are actually two versions of the same trailer. The footage is all the same, but one of them is narrated by Superman's Earth father (played by Kevin Costner) while one is narrated by his Krypton father(played by Russel Crowe). Check 'em out...fun stuff:
Saturday, July 28, 2012
July Movie Quiz Answers
For those of you who didn't just look up the answers after sending them, here are the answers to the trivia quiz...the winner was my friend Susan from Trader Joe's. I got a total of 12 entries, and in the end, there were a lot of people near the top. Susan scored 35 out of 40 points. We'll do it again next month! Congrats to Susan!!!
1) "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." Clark Gable, Gone With the WInd
2) "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse" Marlon Brando, The Godfather
3) "I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender." Marlon Brando, On the Waterfront
4) "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." Judy Garland, Wizard of Oz
5) "Here's looking at you kid." Humphrey Bogart, Casablanca
6) "Go ahead, make my day." Clint Eastwood, Sudden Impact
7) "All right, Mr. Demille, I'm ready for my close up." Gloria Swanson, Sunset Blvd.
8) "May the force be with you." Harrison Ford, Star Wars-Most guessed Alec Guiness, but Harrison Ford uttered it first
9) "Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night." Bette Davis, All About Eve
10) "You talkin' to me?" Robert DeNiro, Taxi Driver
11) "What we have here is failure to communicate." Strother Martin, Cool Hand Luke
12) "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." Robert Duvall, Apocalypse Now
13) "Love means never having to say your sorry." Ali McGraw, Love Story
14) "The stuff dreams are made of." Humphrey Bogart, Maltese Falcon
15) "ET phone home." Henry Thomas or Patti Walsh (voice of ET), E.T.---I had to be lenient with this one
16) "They call me Mister Tibbs!" Sydney Poitier, In the Heat of the Night
17) "Rosebud" Orson Welles, Citizen Kane
18) "Made it Ma! Top of the world!" James Cagney, White Heat
19) "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore." Peter Finch, Network
20) "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Humphrey Bogart, Casablanca
1) "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn." Clark Gable, Gone With the WInd
2) "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse" Marlon Brando, The Godfather
3) "I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender." Marlon Brando, On the Waterfront
4) "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." Judy Garland, Wizard of Oz
5) "Here's looking at you kid." Humphrey Bogart, Casablanca
6) "Go ahead, make my day." Clint Eastwood, Sudden Impact
7) "All right, Mr. Demille, I'm ready for my close up." Gloria Swanson, Sunset Blvd.
8) "May the force be with you." Harrison Ford, Star Wars-Most guessed Alec Guiness, but Harrison Ford uttered it first
9) "Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night." Bette Davis, All About Eve
10) "You talkin' to me?" Robert DeNiro, Taxi Driver
11) "What we have here is failure to communicate." Strother Martin, Cool Hand Luke
12) "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." Robert Duvall, Apocalypse Now
13) "Love means never having to say your sorry." Ali McGraw, Love Story
14) "The stuff dreams are made of." Humphrey Bogart, Maltese Falcon
15) "ET phone home." Henry Thomas or Patti Walsh (voice of ET), E.T.---I had to be lenient with this one
16) "They call me Mister Tibbs!" Sydney Poitier, In the Heat of the Night
17) "Rosebud" Orson Welles, Citizen Kane
18) "Made it Ma! Top of the world!" James Cagney, White Heat
19) "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore." Peter Finch, Network
20) "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Humphrey Bogart, Casablanca
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
The Royal Tenenbaums
It has been one month since my dad died. The reality of it still is settling. I don't think that the reality of it will ever really settle in me. Why? How could something so real be so hard to grasp? How could an unavoidable reality seem unreal? I am not really sure. But, I think this movie may partly explain it.
In my opinion, "The Royal Tenenbaums" is Wes Anderson's finest film. The reason I feel this way is that I feel that this film digs into some deep issues, depicts a vast array of human emotion and experiences, and tells its story better than any of his other films. Along the way, we see the touching story of a father's journey to redemption. We can see in this story that fathers, whether they are good or bad, present or absent, are indeed connected to us. There are, I suppose, certain exceptions to this. But the reason this film works so well is how universal its story is, however much or little the viewer relates directly to what is on the screen.
Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) is the patriarch of the Tenenbaum family. The family lives in New York in a nondescript neighborhood. His wife Ethyl (Angelica Huston) and 3 children Chaz (Ben Stiller), Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Richie (Luke Wilson) soon becomes estranged with him. He shows himself to be an insensitive and overly critical father. His children all turn out to be prodigies, but instead of encouraging them in their work, he criticizes them. As his infidelities unravel his marriage, he ends up leaving their home and taking up residence in a nearby hotel. As the years go by, it becomes clear to Royal that he must find a way to rebuild the relationships he has with his family, particularly with his 3 children. He makes up a story about having cancer in order to have an excuse to reboot their relationships. His son Chaz is particularly hostile to him, but all of the kids exhibit behaviors that are the wreckage that he has left in his wake as a miserable father.
Royal begins to realize that he has been a major source of pain to his children and his wife. This is made more real to him when his wife (they never divorced) begins to court a new man (Danny Glover), and he feels jealous. He is also very interested in getting to know his two grandsons. At the same time, the grandsons' father Chaz is desperate to keep his sons from getting hurt by the man who was the source of so much pain to him. Chaz is living a life of deep paranoia, as his wife has recently died in a plane crash. As Royal begins to get to know his grandsons, it is clear the Chaz is grappling with his relationship with his father. His son Richie is dealing with being in love with his sister Margot. This is made possible by the fact that Royal always made it clear to everyone that Margot was adopted. Richie's life has been marred by the pain of his love for Margot, and the inability to live up to his father's standards, even though Richie is clearly his father's favorite child. Margot is living a life of depression. She spend most of her hours in the bath watching movies. They are forced to deal with each other once again as Royal fakes cancer and Ethyl gets engaged.
All of the typical Wes Anderson eccentricities are on display. He brings deep thought to each shot in the film, and to each set. His quick cuts which seem like non sequiturs often get huge laughs, and there are several here. My favorite is the scene in which it is explained that Royal has taken his grandsons out for some fun, and then it quickly cuts to the three of them watching a dog fight. Royal is truly a rascal, and even when he is trying to be tender, he still comes across that way. Witness also his trip to the cemetery to visit his mother's grave. While on the visit, Chaz reminds him that his wife is also buried there, to which Royal replies, "Oh yeah, I forgot we have another body buried here." So tender.
Now, you may be wondering why I feel any of this relates to my dad. For those of you who don't know me, I had a wonderful relationship with my father all the way to the end. We loved discussions, baseball, music, and many other things. So why does this movie help explain the fact that my dad's death seems surreal? It is because no matter what kind of parent you have, they are such a part of you that when they die, it is almost as though part of you has died as well. In this film, the impact that Royal has has on his children is so great that everything they do is affected by it. That is their reality. So also, my reality has been informed by my first 37 years with my father. It is so real that it seems unreal that he could be dead. This film shows the depth of damage that a parent can do, and thankfully, it also shows deep possibilities of redemption. SPOILER ALERT Everytime I watch this film, I am moved to tears by the one thing that Royal does which seals his reconciliation with his son Chaz. On Ethyl's wedding day, a Tennenbaum friend and drug addict Eli Cash (Owen Wilson) crashes his car into the Tenenbaum home. In the crash, Royal saves the lives of his grandsons, though the boys' dog is not so lucky. In the wake of the crash, as the firemen arrive on the scene, Royal purchases a new dog from the firemen to give to his grandsons. As he presents the dog to Chaz, Chaz is overcome with emotion. As he receives the gift, he thanks his father. Then, this exchange happens: "Your welcome." "I've had a rough year Dad." "I know you have Chazzy." This exchange between them is all Chaz needed. He needed his dad to recognize his pain and affirm him. As Royal passes away, Chaz brokered a new peace with his father.
All three of the Tenenbaum children's realities were informed by their father. His inability to relate to them caused many of their problems. But the depth of their problems did find a certain antedote in his acts in the film. My dad never saw this movie. I doubt he would have liked it all that much. But he would have appreciated what it had to say about the role fathers have in their children's lives. My dad was good to me. He loved and respected me, and I him. That reality is still with me. It is such a part of me that it seems completely unreal to be without him. As the Tennenbaums bury their father in the movie, there was a certain peace they had achieved. The acts of reconciliation of their father had rebuilt some horribly fractured relationships. Our parents inform so much about who we are. I am incredibly blessed to have had the father I did.
In my opinion, "The Royal Tenenbaums" is Wes Anderson's finest film. The reason I feel this way is that I feel that this film digs into some deep issues, depicts a vast array of human emotion and experiences, and tells its story better than any of his other films. Along the way, we see the touching story of a father's journey to redemption. We can see in this story that fathers, whether they are good or bad, present or absent, are indeed connected to us. There are, I suppose, certain exceptions to this. But the reason this film works so well is how universal its story is, however much or little the viewer relates directly to what is on the screen.
Royal Tenenbaum (Gene Hackman) is the patriarch of the Tenenbaum family. The family lives in New York in a nondescript neighborhood. His wife Ethyl (Angelica Huston) and 3 children Chaz (Ben Stiller), Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Richie (Luke Wilson) soon becomes estranged with him. He shows himself to be an insensitive and overly critical father. His children all turn out to be prodigies, but instead of encouraging them in their work, he criticizes them. As his infidelities unravel his marriage, he ends up leaving their home and taking up residence in a nearby hotel. As the years go by, it becomes clear to Royal that he must find a way to rebuild the relationships he has with his family, particularly with his 3 children. He makes up a story about having cancer in order to have an excuse to reboot their relationships. His son Chaz is particularly hostile to him, but all of the kids exhibit behaviors that are the wreckage that he has left in his wake as a miserable father.
Royal begins to realize that he has been a major source of pain to his children and his wife. This is made more real to him when his wife (they never divorced) begins to court a new man (Danny Glover), and he feels jealous. He is also very interested in getting to know his two grandsons. At the same time, the grandsons' father Chaz is desperate to keep his sons from getting hurt by the man who was the source of so much pain to him. Chaz is living a life of deep paranoia, as his wife has recently died in a plane crash. As Royal begins to get to know his grandsons, it is clear the Chaz is grappling with his relationship with his father. His son Richie is dealing with being in love with his sister Margot. This is made possible by the fact that Royal always made it clear to everyone that Margot was adopted. Richie's life has been marred by the pain of his love for Margot, and the inability to live up to his father's standards, even though Richie is clearly his father's favorite child. Margot is living a life of depression. She spend most of her hours in the bath watching movies. They are forced to deal with each other once again as Royal fakes cancer and Ethyl gets engaged.
All of the typical Wes Anderson eccentricities are on display. He brings deep thought to each shot in the film, and to each set. His quick cuts which seem like non sequiturs often get huge laughs, and there are several here. My favorite is the scene in which it is explained that Royal has taken his grandsons out for some fun, and then it quickly cuts to the three of them watching a dog fight. Royal is truly a rascal, and even when he is trying to be tender, he still comes across that way. Witness also his trip to the cemetery to visit his mother's grave. While on the visit, Chaz reminds him that his wife is also buried there, to which Royal replies, "Oh yeah, I forgot we have another body buried here." So tender.
Now, you may be wondering why I feel any of this relates to my dad. For those of you who don't know me, I had a wonderful relationship with my father all the way to the end. We loved discussions, baseball, music, and many other things. So why does this movie help explain the fact that my dad's death seems surreal? It is because no matter what kind of parent you have, they are such a part of you that when they die, it is almost as though part of you has died as well. In this film, the impact that Royal has has on his children is so great that everything they do is affected by it. That is their reality. So also, my reality has been informed by my first 37 years with my father. It is so real that it seems unreal that he could be dead. This film shows the depth of damage that a parent can do, and thankfully, it also shows deep possibilities of redemption. SPOILER ALERT Everytime I watch this film, I am moved to tears by the one thing that Royal does which seals his reconciliation with his son Chaz. On Ethyl's wedding day, a Tennenbaum friend and drug addict Eli Cash (Owen Wilson) crashes his car into the Tenenbaum home. In the crash, Royal saves the lives of his grandsons, though the boys' dog is not so lucky. In the wake of the crash, as the firemen arrive on the scene, Royal purchases a new dog from the firemen to give to his grandsons. As he presents the dog to Chaz, Chaz is overcome with emotion. As he receives the gift, he thanks his father. Then, this exchange happens: "Your welcome." "I've had a rough year Dad." "I know you have Chazzy." This exchange between them is all Chaz needed. He needed his dad to recognize his pain and affirm him. As Royal passes away, Chaz brokered a new peace with his father.
All three of the Tenenbaum children's realities were informed by their father. His inability to relate to them caused many of their problems. But the depth of their problems did find a certain antedote in his acts in the film. My dad never saw this movie. I doubt he would have liked it all that much. But he would have appreciated what it had to say about the role fathers have in their children's lives. My dad was good to me. He loved and respected me, and I him. That reality is still with me. It is such a part of me that it seems completely unreal to be without him. As the Tennenbaums bury their father in the movie, there was a certain peace they had achieved. The acts of reconciliation of their father had rebuilt some horribly fractured relationships. Our parents inform so much about who we are. I am incredibly blessed to have had the father I did.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Dark Knight Rises
There are series of movies that involve scope and vision. Jackson's "Lord of the Rings", Lucas' "Star Wars" films, and Coppola's "Godfather" films all come to mind. With each of these series, fans debate which entry was strongest, which entry was the weak link, but ultimately, the series in question works well because of the ability of the filmmaker to have a grand vision. Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" is actually one movie broken into three pieces, and that was the reason I thought it worked so well. Since all of the principals were together non stop for the making of all three pieces, there was a remarkable consistency to the parts. That makes what Christopher Nolan did with his "Batman" trilogy all the more remarkable. To have to assemble and reassemble the pieces three times seems like an impossible task. But with the release of "Dark Knight Rises" we see that the franchise was in good hands, as we expected after the first two entries.
The film takes place in Gotham City 8 years after the events in "The Dark Knight". The city has enjoyed a era of peace and prosperity. However, a storm is brewing that is being led by a menacing villain named Bane (Tom Hardy). Bane represents an extreme vigilante spirit which seeks to punish the wealthy city of Gotham for its excesses. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) grapples with whether or not to dust off the Batman suit and fight this new criminal element. The uprising of the underworld is also represented by Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), a cat burglar who is more than meets the eye. Batman is joined by Commissioner Gordon (Gray Oldman) and Detective Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as the city is forced to deal with apocalyptic threats of evil.
The plot is actually fairly standard comic book material. Yet somehow, Nolan and company make the material seem like more than that. The climactic scene of the movie made me feel more like I was watching a war movie than a comic book movie. Nolan infuses such reality into this comic book world that it feels as though the world before us is real. As I watched the film on opening night, perhaps I felt a greater measure of poignancy due to the troubling murders at the opening in Colorado. In any case, the film's climax provoked almost overwhelming emotions in me. I knew I was watching a movie, but it felt like more than that.
The performances are all great. Christian Bale has inhabited this role better than anyone else. He is the right balance of strength and vulnerability. Anne Hathaway is wonderful in her role as Catwoman. Again, Nolan takes a comic book character and infuses it with an air of humanity and reality. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are their usual selves here, bringing believability to their roles. Gary Oldman proves to be the unsung hero of the trilogy. His performance as Jim Gordon in all three movies has been an essential element in this trilogy's success. I was also very impressed with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Police Detective Blake. He gives us a supporting character with a troubled background, and his haunted upbringing brings another piece of humanity to this film. He, along with Marion Cottiard's Miranda Tate, bring unexpected twists to this remarkable story.
To top it all off, the film also fits into the comic book genre. There are no out of place endings or anything of the sort. Instead, we see a reasonable closure to this epic saga. While I first was disappointed when I found out that New York and not Chicago would be featured in this film (Chicago was the place that the previous two films of this trilogy were made), I thought that the film being shot in New York proved to be amazingly provocative. To see some of these scenes of terror played out on the familiar streets of downtown New York seemed eerily appropriate. It proved that Gotham city is a sort of place that represents any big city, and that different elements of different cities have roles to play in our imagination of city life. For the first two films, the bowels of Chicago were a perfect setting for the criminal underworld of Gotham. But in this film, could any other American city stand in for New York when it comes to the mixture of greed and decadence, as well as an enduring symbol of not only what is wrong with America, but what can also be right with America? There was one shot in the middle of the film of a tattered Star Spangled Banner flying near the Stock Exchange. It was a gorgeous and haunting shot which captured a certain desperate tone in our country right now. This movie reflects how we feel as a country. We are divided, and since we have such diverse opinions and lifestyles, we never will be united. The film captures the ambiguity I feel toward my home country very well. Selina Kyle hates the decadence of the rich, but when Bane's judgment on the inequities visits Gotham, she doesn't feel comfortable with that either. It is a remarkable depiction of the relationship we have with wealth in our nation. We know we are wealthy. We enjoy our wealth. Some of us also recognize the inequity and evils that come from our wealth. What is the answer to that? No one really knows, and the struggle that Selina Kyle has reflects our national struggle.
The admiration I have for the vision of Nolan would be difficult to overstate. As to its faithfulness to the comic books, I have no comment. I have never read any comic book, let alone a Batman one. I suppose this frees me up to enjoy this simply as a movie, while others may be disappointed in certain liberties that Nolan may take. With that in mind, this trilogy is a unique thing in cinematic history. It is rare to make one classic movie, let alone three classic movies. This movie, like the two movies before it, stays firm within a genre but pushes the limits of the genre in which it is. As I mentioned before, there were scenes in this movie that reminded me more of a deep human drama film than a comic book film. To be able to work within genre and also supersede a genre is something special. The jazz great Duke Ellington thought that the best complement a work of art could get was that it defied categorization. I can't speak for Mr. Ellington, but I can borrow his phrase for this movie.
The film takes place in Gotham City 8 years after the events in "The Dark Knight". The city has enjoyed a era of peace and prosperity. However, a storm is brewing that is being led by a menacing villain named Bane (Tom Hardy). Bane represents an extreme vigilante spirit which seeks to punish the wealthy city of Gotham for its excesses. Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) grapples with whether or not to dust off the Batman suit and fight this new criminal element. The uprising of the underworld is also represented by Selina Kyle (Anne Hathaway), a cat burglar who is more than meets the eye. Batman is joined by Commissioner Gordon (Gray Oldman) and Detective Blake (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as the city is forced to deal with apocalyptic threats of evil.
The plot is actually fairly standard comic book material. Yet somehow, Nolan and company make the material seem like more than that. The climactic scene of the movie made me feel more like I was watching a war movie than a comic book movie. Nolan infuses such reality into this comic book world that it feels as though the world before us is real. As I watched the film on opening night, perhaps I felt a greater measure of poignancy due to the troubling murders at the opening in Colorado. In any case, the film's climax provoked almost overwhelming emotions in me. I knew I was watching a movie, but it felt like more than that.
The performances are all great. Christian Bale has inhabited this role better than anyone else. He is the right balance of strength and vulnerability. Anne Hathaway is wonderful in her role as Catwoman. Again, Nolan takes a comic book character and infuses it with an air of humanity and reality. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman are their usual selves here, bringing believability to their roles. Gary Oldman proves to be the unsung hero of the trilogy. His performance as Jim Gordon in all three movies has been an essential element in this trilogy's success. I was also very impressed with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Police Detective Blake. He gives us a supporting character with a troubled background, and his haunted upbringing brings another piece of humanity to this film. He, along with Marion Cottiard's Miranda Tate, bring unexpected twists to this remarkable story.
To top it all off, the film also fits into the comic book genre. There are no out of place endings or anything of the sort. Instead, we see a reasonable closure to this epic saga. While I first was disappointed when I found out that New York and not Chicago would be featured in this film (Chicago was the place that the previous two films of this trilogy were made), I thought that the film being shot in New York proved to be amazingly provocative. To see some of these scenes of terror played out on the familiar streets of downtown New York seemed eerily appropriate. It proved that Gotham city is a sort of place that represents any big city, and that different elements of different cities have roles to play in our imagination of city life. For the first two films, the bowels of Chicago were a perfect setting for the criminal underworld of Gotham. But in this film, could any other American city stand in for New York when it comes to the mixture of greed and decadence, as well as an enduring symbol of not only what is wrong with America, but what can also be right with America? There was one shot in the middle of the film of a tattered Star Spangled Banner flying near the Stock Exchange. It was a gorgeous and haunting shot which captured a certain desperate tone in our country right now. This movie reflects how we feel as a country. We are divided, and since we have such diverse opinions and lifestyles, we never will be united. The film captures the ambiguity I feel toward my home country very well. Selina Kyle hates the decadence of the rich, but when Bane's judgment on the inequities visits Gotham, she doesn't feel comfortable with that either. It is a remarkable depiction of the relationship we have with wealth in our nation. We know we are wealthy. We enjoy our wealth. Some of us also recognize the inequity and evils that come from our wealth. What is the answer to that? No one really knows, and the struggle that Selina Kyle has reflects our national struggle.
The admiration I have for the vision of Nolan would be difficult to overstate. As to its faithfulness to the comic books, I have no comment. I have never read any comic book, let alone a Batman one. I suppose this frees me up to enjoy this simply as a movie, while others may be disappointed in certain liberties that Nolan may take. With that in mind, this trilogy is a unique thing in cinematic history. It is rare to make one classic movie, let alone three classic movies. This movie, like the two movies before it, stays firm within a genre but pushes the limits of the genre in which it is. As I mentioned before, there were scenes in this movie that reminded me more of a deep human drama film than a comic book film. To be able to work within genre and also supersede a genre is something special. The jazz great Duke Ellington thought that the best complement a work of art could get was that it defied categorization. I can't speak for Mr. Ellington, but I can borrow his phrase for this movie.
Friday, July 20, 2012
The Straight Story
I have seen lots of movies that graphically show the horrors of war. I have seen movies that grapple with war's complexities, and deal honestly with the load that young men and women have to carry in war. In all of those films, I have never seen anything that honors that sacrifice better than a short scene in this movie. As Alvin Straight is making his way across the highways of Iowa and Wisconsin on a John Deere rider mower, he is forced to camp out in a hospitable stranger's yard. While staying there, he visits a local bar with a fellow WW2 vet. As they sit at the bar, they each recount their stories. We as viewers don't know if this is the first time these men have shared these stories or not. What we do know is that the memories are fresh and painful for these men in the sunset years of their lives.
This whole movie is a tapestry of deeply human moments just like that. They are not all that serious, but they are genuine. There are funny moments, sentimental moments and tense moments. The movie follows an aging World War 2 veteran named Alvin Straight. He is estranged from his only brother. He receives word that his brother has had a stroke. He is unable to drive the 240 miles to see his brother. He is too proud to let anyone else drive him. So, he decides that he will drive a riding mower all the way to his brother's place. Sissy Spacek plays his daughter who gives him loving and firm support. She has her own sad story involving her children that is masterfully depicted. As Straight makes his way to see his brother, the situations and people that he encounters along the way give his journey an almost epic quality. He dispenses wisdom to strangers, listens to people's brutal honesty, and ends up learning something about himself and his brother. He is humiliating himself because he loves his brother. Even though they haven't spoken in years, Alvin knows that this may be the last chance he has to sit under the stars with his brother, as he did as a child during all those warm summer nights in Minnesota.
The film was directed by David Lynch. I have only seen one other of his films. He typically makes surreal and somewhat nonlinear films. His films also tend toward the racy side in their content. In this film, he proves that he can tell a simple story yet also fill it with his own personal touch. The landscape of the midwest becomes a character in this film. Also, the film score seems to almost arise from the landscape in the film. Every time Stephanie and I get out of the city and into rural Minnesota, we cannot help but hum the musical themes from this film. The music along with the gorgeous shots of Iowa and Wisconsin in the fall create almost a meditation. The fall in the midwest is a thing of wonder, and this movie captures that so well.
But in the end, the movie works well because of the humanity of the story and the wonderful performance of Richard Farnsworth. He infuses the character of Lyle Straight with the proper balance of heart and crankiness. Witness the scene wherein he meets a young woman who is running away from home. Here, we see Straight's world weariness as well as his compassion. He seems to have seen stories like this girl's before, but he still is able to show genuine care for this girl. Farnsworth was nominated for best actor for this role, and he should have won. His performance here will stand forever as a wonderful example of acting. He seems to be playing close to himself, but he gives so much richness to the character. As he recounts his brutal experiences during World War 2, the viewer feels heartbroken. This character has been to hell and back. This character, who initially seems so cranky and agitated, is becoming not only sympathetic, but almost heroic. As he faces one last challenge, slowly making his way across the Midwest to see his brother, we can root for him because of the pain he has experienced. Farnsworth creates a complex character whose story is captivating. This movie will always be one of my personal favorites. It is a great example of the power of simple storytelling to move viewers.
This whole movie is a tapestry of deeply human moments just like that. They are not all that serious, but they are genuine. There are funny moments, sentimental moments and tense moments. The movie follows an aging World War 2 veteran named Alvin Straight. He is estranged from his only brother. He receives word that his brother has had a stroke. He is unable to drive the 240 miles to see his brother. He is too proud to let anyone else drive him. So, he decides that he will drive a riding mower all the way to his brother's place. Sissy Spacek plays his daughter who gives him loving and firm support. She has her own sad story involving her children that is masterfully depicted. As Straight makes his way to see his brother, the situations and people that he encounters along the way give his journey an almost epic quality. He dispenses wisdom to strangers, listens to people's brutal honesty, and ends up learning something about himself and his brother. He is humiliating himself because he loves his brother. Even though they haven't spoken in years, Alvin knows that this may be the last chance he has to sit under the stars with his brother, as he did as a child during all those warm summer nights in Minnesota.
The film was directed by David Lynch. I have only seen one other of his films. He typically makes surreal and somewhat nonlinear films. His films also tend toward the racy side in their content. In this film, he proves that he can tell a simple story yet also fill it with his own personal touch. The landscape of the midwest becomes a character in this film. Also, the film score seems to almost arise from the landscape in the film. Every time Stephanie and I get out of the city and into rural Minnesota, we cannot help but hum the musical themes from this film. The music along with the gorgeous shots of Iowa and Wisconsin in the fall create almost a meditation. The fall in the midwest is a thing of wonder, and this movie captures that so well.
But in the end, the movie works well because of the humanity of the story and the wonderful performance of Richard Farnsworth. He infuses the character of Lyle Straight with the proper balance of heart and crankiness. Witness the scene wherein he meets a young woman who is running away from home. Here, we see Straight's world weariness as well as his compassion. He seems to have seen stories like this girl's before, but he still is able to show genuine care for this girl. Farnsworth was nominated for best actor for this role, and he should have won. His performance here will stand forever as a wonderful example of acting. He seems to be playing close to himself, but he gives so much richness to the character. As he recounts his brutal experiences during World War 2, the viewer feels heartbroken. This character has been to hell and back. This character, who initially seems so cranky and agitated, is becoming not only sympathetic, but almost heroic. As he faces one last challenge, slowly making his way across the Midwest to see his brother, we can root for him because of the pain he has experienced. Farnsworth creates a complex character whose story is captivating. This movie will always be one of my personal favorites. It is a great example of the power of simple storytelling to move viewers.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
JULY MOVIE QUOTE QUIZ!!!!
One of the things I have heard about my contests is that they are kind of hard. I do try :)...
I thought I would try to be a little more mainstream this month. These are the top 20 entries in a list that the American Film Institute did some years back. These quotes were voted the top 20 American movie quotes of all time. The usual rules apply...the name of the movie from which the movie comes is worth one point, and the actor or actress who spoke the line (not the character) is also worth 1 point. This amounts to 40 total points, so there are many opportunities!! Feel free to team up with others, but only one prize will be awarded for the winner or winning team. I will take entries until July 28, so that gives everyone two weeks to get entries to me. PLEASE E-MAIL YOUR ENTRIES TO ME AT losbascoms@mac.com OR SEND ME A PRIVATE FACEBOOK MESSAGE. I WILL DELETE ANSWERS LEFT IN THE COMMENTS SECTION...ALSO, NO LOOKING THEM UP ON THE INTERNET :) The winner receives a $10 Trader Joe's card...if there is a tie, I will figure out a tie breaker later. Good luck, and have fun!!
1) "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."
2) "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse"
3) "I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender."
4) "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
5) "Here's looking at you kid."
6) "Go ahead, make my day."
7) "All right, Mr. Demille, I'm ready for my close up."
8) "May the force be with you."
9) "Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night."
10) "You talkin' to me?"
11) "What we have here is failure to communicate."
12) "I love the smell of napalm in the morning."
13) "Love means never having to say your sorry."
14) "The stuff dreams are made of."
15) "ET phone home."
16) "They call me Mister Tibbs!"
17) "Rosebud"
18) "Made it Ma! Top of the world!"
19) "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore."
20) "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
I thought I would try to be a little more mainstream this month. These are the top 20 entries in a list that the American Film Institute did some years back. These quotes were voted the top 20 American movie quotes of all time. The usual rules apply...the name of the movie from which the movie comes is worth one point, and the actor or actress who spoke the line (not the character) is also worth 1 point. This amounts to 40 total points, so there are many opportunities!! Feel free to team up with others, but only one prize will be awarded for the winner or winning team. I will take entries until July 28, so that gives everyone two weeks to get entries to me. PLEASE E-MAIL YOUR ENTRIES TO ME AT losbascoms@mac.com OR SEND ME A PRIVATE FACEBOOK MESSAGE. I WILL DELETE ANSWERS LEFT IN THE COMMENTS SECTION...ALSO, NO LOOKING THEM UP ON THE INTERNET :) The winner receives a $10 Trader Joe's card...if there is a tie, I will figure out a tie breaker later. Good luck, and have fun!!
1) "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn."
2) "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse"
3) "I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender."
4) "Toto, I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."
5) "Here's looking at you kid."
6) "Go ahead, make my day."
7) "All right, Mr. Demille, I'm ready for my close up."
8) "May the force be with you."
9) "Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy night."
10) "You talkin' to me?"
11) "What we have here is failure to communicate."
12) "I love the smell of napalm in the morning."
13) "Love means never having to say your sorry."
14) "The stuff dreams are made of."
15) "ET phone home."
16) "They call me Mister Tibbs!"
17) "Rosebud"
18) "Made it Ma! Top of the world!"
19) "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore."
20) "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
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