R.I.P. Mike Nichols

I haven't posted a non-Weekly Round-Up post in a long while but this merits one. Director Mike Nichols passed away today of a heart attack. He was 83. He had a distinguished career in comedy, the stage, television and of course the movies. My personal favorites of his works are Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, The Birdcage, the HBO miniseries Angels in America and the film featured above, The Graduate. The final scene is probably one of the most iconic scenes ever on film. He will be missed.

Weekly Round-Up (11/9/14 - 11/15/14)

Big Hero 6 (Don Hall/Chris Williams) **** - *insert smart-ass joke about not remembering seeing Big Hero 1-5* Okay, that's out of the way. This is a terrific film. Disney Animation is on a roll. A teenage robotics genius mourning the accidental death of his older brother discovers someone stole his microbot invention to be used for less-then-honorable reasons and so he "upgrades" his brother's health care robot Baymax. The movie has everything: It is actually very funny, lots of clever, great jokes in it. It's visually eye-popping, lovingly designed. It's got some great action sequences. It also has a big heart and dramatic heft to create a terrific piece of pop cinema. I have to say that this is the third film this year so far that tackled the subject of grief and loss through genre and did it very well. (The other two are The Babadook and John Wick. Someone should write an essay on that or something). 

Chushingura (Hiroshi Inagaki) *** - This is one of film versions of the famous story of the 47 ronin, a group of samurais who take vengeance against the lord who caused the death of their master. It is 3 and a half hours long, only slightly shorter than the 4-hour Kenji Mizoguchi version. It's been a while (IT'S BEEN A WHILE!) since I've seen that version so I can't really compare. This particular version has a great first hour and a great last half-hour (the final battle scene does not disappoint). It's the two hours in between that is sadly a mixed bag. For every good moment, there's a dull, repetitive and meandering moment that could really have used a trim. But it's beautifully designed, shot, directed and acted and it's worth sitting through everything for the great parts.

Relaks, It's Just Pag-Ibig (Antoinette Jadaone/Irma Navarro) *** - The title means, "Relax, It's Just Love" in full English. This is a Filipino teen romantic comedy about a quirky with a capital Q teenage girl (the Filipino equivalent of the dream pixie girl from American indie movies, complete with purple hair) who drags a teenage boy from an upper-class private school to go to a certain beach so they can witness true love under a blue moon. Normally, I run as far away as I can from most romantic comedies. Filipino romantic comedies are particularly insufferable. The fact that I didn't roll my eyes or wanted to kill myself in this is testament to the strength of this film. Co-written and co-directed by Antoinette Jadaone whose film Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay is one film I absolutely loved infuses this film with enough intelligence, bite, depth and great filmmaking to keep me interested. It's still a romantic-comedy through and through but it is one of the better ones. 

Nightcrawler (Dan Gilroy) ***1/2 - A sociopathic petty thief decides to become a "nightcrawler", or videographers who go around taking crime/accident footage for local morning news outlets. This sort of feels like a somewhat updated version of Network for our time where people's voyeuristic tendencies and thirst for sensationalism equals a network's ruthless chase for ratings but there's so much more there. It's also a biting social commentary for the contemporary economic conditions combined with the cold logic of a capitalistic society to be financially successful no matter what the cost. All this is wrapped in a supremely entertaining, darkly comedic crime thriller. It pulls it off quite brilliantly. It doesn't hit you over the head with the message but it's there. It's anchored by Jake Gyllenhaal's fantastic performance. His normally kind, puppy-dog eyes is transformed here into a menacing, calculating creep. This is a terrific film. 

Yoyo (Pierre Etaix) **** - I'm a huge cinephile but even I didn't hear of the name Pierre Etaix until relatively recently when his films have finally been released on DVD/Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection after years of languishing in the vaults due to some legal problems. Based on this film alone, I will have to say thank God his films are now more accessible because I absolutely loved this film. This film is about Yoyo, a clown who grew up in the circus and his quest to regain his father's fortune. This film is Buster Keaton meets Jacques Tati with plenty of clever, funny gags, jokes and sequences. It even shifts styles and sometimes tone but it all somehow worked. I think this movie will be watched repeatedly by me. Check this film out. This should not remain obscure.
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Weekly Round-Up (11/2/14 - 11/8/14)

I Killed My Mother (Xavier Dolan) ***1/2 - I guess it's finally time for me to see what all this fuss is about. Ever since this came out, people have been comparing this then 20-year-old enfant terrible to Orson Welles. Not quite Orson Welles but I will say, pretty damn close. It is an impressive first film. This is concerns a tempestuous love-hate-love-hate relationship between a gay teenager (played by the young director) and his single mother. I can't help but wonder how much of this is autobiographical. In any case, it's a terrific film. Somewhat self-consciously artsy since it's very art-directed with off-kilter framing but it's charming here instead of annoying. The performances of the two leads are impeccable. I'm looking forward to exploring Dolan's filmography. 

Stage Fright (Alfred Hitchcock) ***1/2 - A husband of a famous actress is murdered. A young aspiring actress takes it upon herself to try and prove the innocence of the main suspect, a man she loves, by, what else, acting. Hitchcock made a lot of masterpieces and this is not one of them but it's still a damn good film that will keep you guessing. The performances are fun too. Marlene Dietrich (damn, I've been watching a lot of her films lately) and Alistair Simm are so good as the "femme fatale"-ish, probably murderess and the father of the young actress respectively. The rest of the cast is great too including Sybil Thorndike who provides quite a bit of the film's laughs. 

On the Town (Gene Kelly/Stanley Donen) **** - This is from the same team that made Singin' in the Rain. It is no Singin' in the Rain, but very few things are really. But it's close and that still counts as a win. Somewhat loosely adapted from the Broadway musical, this is about three sailors who go on a trip to New York on a 24 hour shore leave to see the sights and "meet some dames" (i.e. get laid). It's a wonderful musical filled with some genuine laughs and heart and you'd be surprised at how they got away with a little risqué humor as well. As expected, the musical numbers are fun and dazzling, as expected from Gene Kelly and company.

Interstellar (Christopher Nolan) *** - I wanted to see this film in 70 mm IMAX but the only IMAX theater showing it is kind of far away and a tricky (and headache-inducing) commute (and no, I don't drive). So I settled for a digital IMAX. I like Christopher Nolan films quite a bit. I like his vision and his ambition that he brings to blockbuster genre pictures. I've heard this film be compared to 2001 and Solaris. Nolan's a pretty good director but he's far from Kubrick and Tarkovsky. That said, a lot of things here remind me of those two films, only with a more delineated plot. So if your problem with those two movies is that you need a three-act structure practically free from any ambiguity and you find them too "artsy", well, Interstellar is the answer to this. That's not necessarily a bad thing. I admired and enjoyed this film quite a bit. Beautifully shot, excellent visuals, sound mixing, design, etc. The acting is splendid. I appreciate the fact that they ground this as much as possible in real, believable science. But ultimately, it's not the masterpiece that it hoped it would be.

Leviathan (Andrey Zvyagintsev) ***1/2 - This is the Russian entry to this year's Best Foreign Language Film Oscar race. This one is about a man who is being forced to sell his house and land way below its cost by a corrupt mayor and other drama ensue. A slow burn for sure but the drama unfolds beautifully so. Despite the deliberate pace, there's always seems to be an aura sprinkled through out. The film is known to be quite critical of the Russian government and from what I can tell, a lot of it seems to be similar to the situation here in the Philippines though I'm not familiar with the minute details of it. But still, it's quite an absorbing drama, beautifully shot and well-acted by a fine ensemble. 

Mommy (Xavier Dolan) ***1/2 - I recently saw I Killed My Mother and it's safe to say between this and that film, writer-director Xavier Dolan must have a lot of mommy issues. Well, I guess we really have his mom to thank because she raised a very, very talented young filmmaker who created this remarkable piece of work. Anne Dorval once again plays a flawed mother, this time of a teenage boy with severe behavioral, emotional and mental problems. They are befriended by a neighbor who happens to be a teacher with a stuttering problem. The three actors playing the principal are all outstanding. Dolan manages to mine quite a bit of the same themes with that other mom-themed film without feeling like he's repeating himself. I wasn't so sure about the entire changing of aspect ratios but I warmed up to it. I'm astounded that he's only 25 and is already ratcheting up a respectable filmography.

Weekly Round-Up (10/26/14 - 11/1/14)

The Changeling (Peter Medak) ***1/2 - I've often been told this is a rather scary haunted house horror film. Now, I finally saw it. It doesn't QUITE live up to the hype surrounding it but it's still a very well-crafted genuinely spooky ghost story about a musician (George C. Scott) whose wife and daughter is killed in a tragic roadside accident and moves into a house haunted by a ghost of little boy. There are genuinely chilling, creepy and disturbing moments in this one and is as usual superbly acted by George C. Scott. The mystery/plot keeps you on your toes and the pay-off is not disappointing. Highly recommended for Halloween.

Tarzan The Ape Man (W.S. Van Dyke) *** - I've seen a lot of adaptations of the Tarzan story both in film and TV yet I don't think I've ever seen this one which launched Hollywood's long and on-going love affair with the Edgar Rice Burroughs character and Johnny Weissmuller's acting career. It's no masterpiece but there are enough set-pieces that actually holds up. Maureen O'Sullivan is also wonderful as Jane. Pre-code so it's kind of violent and a bit racy and it was made in the 1930's so it's also VERY politically incorrect but once you get over that, it's fun.

Frank (Lenny Abrahamson) *** - An aspiring musician joins an eccentric band featuring a lead vocalist who wears a big giant paper-mache head...all the time, without ever taking it off. Based on that premise, you can tell it's a very quirky film. It really tows the line between annoyingly quirky and endearingly quirky all throughout its running time. It's held together by the fantastic performances, particularly that of Michael Fassbender who has to act without his face throughout most of the film yet still manages to create a wholly convincing, compelling, funny, sad character with just his voice and body movements.

Re-Animator (Stuart Gordon) ***1/2 - This is my Halloween night movie. I have to say this movie is sick, disturbing, disgusting and absolutely fucked up.....and I enjoyed it! Adapted from the work of H.P. Lovecraft, this concerns two young med students experimenting with reanimating dead bodies. I'm guessing a lot of people will be turned off by some elements of it. One scene near the end in particular was so gross and disgusting, I had to laugh at how outrageous it is. One thing I have to point out is the score. It VERY obviously heavily borrows from Bernard Herrmann's score for Psycho that I'm a bit taken aback that he wasn't credited for it. Oh, well. But still is a nice, fun, B-movie horror Halloween treat.

John Wick (Chad Strahelski) ***1/2 - There have been a lot of "revenge" movies lately, thanks to Liam Neeson, where assassins/secret agents "with a specific set of skills" usually played by an older actor is wronged then pretty much kicks ass. This is the BEST among them. This is Keanu Reeves' best work since, well, the first Matrix, I guess as a retired assassin who is wronged by the stupid-ass son of his former employer (played by Alfie Allen who is typecast here as a fuck-up). The action is fantastic and the story and the world is strong and believable with sprinklings of dark humor for good measure. It is one of pleasant surprises of 2014. Very refreshing since it's not based on any well-known property.

T'yanak (Peque Gallaga/Lore Reyes) ***1/2 - This is directors Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes' own remake/reboot of the 1988 Filipino horror film of the same title. I haven't seen it (though I do remember watching the trailers for it and being kind of scared) so I can't comment on how it compares. However, as it is, it's a pretty damn good horror movie. For those not in the know, a "tiyanak" is a ghoul-like creature that shape-shifts in the form of a baby. People hear its cries and when they pick it up, they pretty much eat you. There's quite an amazing balance of dramatic heft and self-aware camp that makes this quite a pleasure to watch. They use a surprising amount of practical effects in this one which is to its credit.

The Sign of the Cross (Cecil B. DeMille) **1/2 - Don't let the title and the Christian theme fool you! This is a violent and racy Pre-code swords-and-sandals epic set during the time of the Roman persecution of Christians. This time it's about a Roman official who falls in love with a Christian woman. The film is lavishly designed and has a truly epic feel. But at two hours, it does feel a bit bloated and the pious elements doesn't seem to jive with the exploitative sexual and violent content (quite graphic for its time, and there are still a few scenes here that will raise the eyebrows of a super conservative Christian despite it being a 30's movie). Fredric March is great as always but the film doesn't quite work.

Weekly Round-Up (10/19/14 - 10/25/14)

Oops. Forgot about this.


Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (Miguel Arteta) *** - This is surprisingly NOT a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad movie. It's actually quite entertaining, contains quite a few good laughs and for a PG-rated Disney family comedy actually pushes the PG-button. However, it's not a GREAT movie either. I can definitely see the potential for a wacky, kids' version of After Hours (which is what i heard this was described) but I think the screenplay needed to be wackier and more absurdist than it ended up being. As it is, it's still pleasant and quite enjoyable thanks to the excellent cast who actually sell the material. This could have been far, far worse than it ended up being but it's not.

The Most Dangerous Game (Irving Pichel/Ernest B. Schoedsack) *** - Before they gave the world King Kong, the same team gave us a warm up with this solid adventure/horror flick. It's about a big game hunter who gets shipwrecked on an island and stumbles upon a castle where a Russian count whose hobby is hunting down "the most dangerous game", i.e. humans. It's no masterpiece but it's still an entertaining B-movie. With stuff like The Hunger Games being popular, I can't help but wonder why there hasn't been a jacked-up glossy updated remake of this yet (apparently one is in development hell).

Sans Soleil (Chris Marker) **** - An extraordinarily beautiful film. This is probably what Terrence Malick film would look like without any form of narrative. Technically, it's a documentary but it's so much more than that. Footage taken from all over the world are assembled (primarily Japanese) and this beautiful narration read over it which is said to be a letter from the cameraman which makes it deeper, thought-provoking, personal and frankly, poetic. There's some really jaw-dropping imagery here that is simply mesmerizing (as well as some shocking, grotesque ones). I expected nothing less from the same man who managed to create a science-fiction film almost completely from still photographs. I'm gonna be thinking about this film a lot.

Fury (David Ayer) *** - This film contains five characters who are basically walking character tropes from war movies: The Leader Who Has Seen It All, The Religious Guy, The Token Minority, The Crazy Guy and The New Green Kid. The film basically plays out like a solid, World War II movie. No more, no less. It is superbly acted and well-crafted but doesn't really add anything new. Even the characters, though well-played by its cast, only follow the arc that you would expect from a film like this. There are intense moments and really good moments but not quite enough to make this any more than a very good, solid war picture.

Blonde Venus (Josef von Sternberg) ***1/2 - When a former stage performer goes back to her old line of work to help pay cure her mortally ill scientist husband, she gets seduced by a rich man. This feels sort of like a companion piece to The Blue Angel but with Marlene Dietrich playing a far more sympathetic character (and she remains sympathetic despite the fact she makes a lot of bad decisions along the way). It is not my favorite among the Dietrich-von Sternberg collaborations but it is still a terrific little melodrama that manages to be emotionally resonant, largely thanks to Dietrich who is terrific as always.

Weekly Round-Up (10/12/14 - 10/18/14)

Cure (Kiyoshi Kurosawa) **1/2 - Akira isn't the only notable Japanese director with the last name of Kurosawa, as it turns out. This is my first foray into the filmography of Kiyoshi Kurosawa. This is a horror film about a series of murders that were committed by people under hypnosis by a mysterious young man. It is an intriguing premise, kind of reminds of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari in a way. Koji Yakusho is as usual excellent in the lead role as the police detective. Despite all that, I found it way too much of a slow burn without real pay off. The intriguing premise and interesting ideas I felt never really reached their full potential within this film. Though Kurosawa is an intriguing director though. I will be checking out his other works.

Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian) **** - I think among the Maurice Chevalier musical comedies of the 1930's, this is by far my favorite. I loved this film. A lowly tailor barges into the chateau of an aristocratic family trying to find the wayward count who owes him a lot of money then finds himself unwittingly posing as a baron and falling in love with the princess. Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald make for an great on-screen couple. It's often laugh out loud funny (a lot of the jokes hold up well). The songs, courtesy of Rodgers & Hart, are consistently excellent (past old Pre-Code musicals are hit & miss in the songs department) and the direction is top-notch. I will be watching this again someday. "Isn't It Romantic?" is stuck in my head now, damn it.

The Book of Life (Jorge R. Gutierrez) *** - Guillermo del Toro helped produce this Mexican-themed animated feature and his fingerprints are all over it! The film, focusing on Mexico's Day of the Dead about a love triangle that goes beyond the grave is not a bad film. It's not a great film either. I hate damning it faint praise since it is gorgeous to look at and the animation is imaginative, very stylized in the most wonderful way plus the story had some potential. It has all the earmarks to make it great but it never quite achieves it. It is just very good. It's worth checking out but I'm not jumping up and down.

Whiplash (Damien Chazelle) **** - Whoah. This is an intense, exhilarating (just like the blurb in the posters say) film. An ambitious young jazz drummer gets tormented both physically, psychologically and emotionally by a brutal teacher who pushes him beyond his limits in order to realize his full potential and achieve greatness. What follows is not an emotional, feel-good inspiring tale (well, not-so-much) but a brutally honest examination of what it means to achieve one's ambitions. The buzz around JK Simmons' performance is well-earned, IMO (Mr. Holland from hell or the music teacher answer to R. Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket, take your pick) but something has to be said for Miles Tellers' impressive performance. He further planted his flag as one his generation's finest actors. Oh and great editing too. Damien Chazelle is definitely a talent to watch.

White Zombie (Victor Halperin) **1/2 - This is a Pre-code horror film/pre-George Romero zombie movie about an American (white) couple who goes and marries in the house of a friend who wants the girl and of course in his desperation, he asks Bela Lugosi to turn her into a zombie. There are some creepy moments here and Bela is great as the villain and the story has some potential but the two other leads are kind of bad (even in the context of early 1930's type acting) and the story potential was kind of wasted.

Weekly Round-Up (10/5/14 - 10/11/14)

Hari ng Tondo (Carlos Siguion-Reyna) **1/2 - Or in English, "King of Tondo" (though apparently the official English title is "Where I Am King"). Tondo is a place in Manila infamous for its poverty and high crime rate (a bit like our equivalent of Harlem or something). This is actually a musical-dramedy about a rich man who came from Tondo decides to move back in after much of his finances were wiped out, bringing along his two young adult grandchildren in hopes of toughening them up. The director of this film hasn't made one in a long, long while and it kind of shows. Despite the fact that it's set in modern times, a lot of it feels dated and tired since it pretty much repeats things that other filmmakers have done and in a not so interesting way. However, Robert Arevalo, the lead, gives a great performance and makes the film quite watchable.

Mon Oncle Antoine (Claude Jutra) ***1/2 - French Canadian film about a kind-hearted drunkard who owns the general store in a small mining town as well as being the town's undertaker as told from the point of view of his teenage nephew. This is a lovely little film that has genuine warmth and humor even when things become sad and tragic. It is marred slightly by a rather abrupt ending which I found kind of unsatisfactory. Though I might change my mind on that. As it is, this gets an enthusiastic recommendation on me.

Design for Living (Ernst Lubitsch) **** - This is actually one of the last of the Pre-Code films before the Hays Code crashed the party. It is a delightful (and rather racy) romantic-comedy about a woman completely torn between two men, who are artists who she helped make successful. Gary Cooper, Miriam Hopkins and Fredric March are all very much outstanding giving really great comic performances. Ben Hecht's screenplay (based on a Noel Coward play) is just brimming with crisp, sharp, witty dialogue (something I envy and aspire to). It is wonderful, just wonderful.

The Brood (David Cronenberg) ***1/2 - All I know about this film is the infamous scene where a kindergarten teacher is brutally murdered in her classroom in front of her students by the title creatures. But it's actually a lot stranger than that. A mentally unstable woman fight for the custody of her daughter with her husband while undergoing an unusual type of therapy from a radical psychiatrist. The creatures are somehow connected to her. I can definitely say that once the big pay off happens, it's going to lose some people while some people will embrace it. I embraced it. David Cronenberg created something outrageous, shocking and bizarre yet somehow still grounded and sophisticated which he will perfect in future films.

Il Sorpasso (Dino Risi) ***1/2 - A shy, timid law student is invited by a loud, domineering, hedonistic man who borrowed his phone for lunch and it turns into a two-day road trip. This is one of the earliest examples of a road comedy featuring a loud domineering character getting a shy, timid character to go out and have some fun. This is Ferris Bueller's Day Off if it was good. Though the comedy here is much less broad than the more contemporary examples of this particular sub-genre. I will say that the ending of this film will anger a lot of people. I'm fairly mixed on it myself. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing but the rest of the movie is well-worth watching.

Platinum Blonde (Frank Capra) *** - The plot is kind of blah. An ace reporter falls in love with a rich, society girl and finds the rich society life boring and stifling while the girl's family looks down on him. However, the performances by the great ensemble cast led by Robert Williams, Loretta Young and Jean Harlow as well as Frank Capra's direction makes this romantic-comedy fly. It's no Lubitsch, of course but it's still quite entertaining and often funny. Sad that Robert Williams passed away shortly after this film premiered. I would loved to have seen more from him.


Gone Girl (David Fincher) **** - This film is absolutely insane and totally fucked up and I mean that in the best possible way. I haven't read the best-selling novel it's based on and I managed to avoid most spoilers. Even though I kind of sort of guessed the second act twist, I still enjoyed myself and the film still manages to surprise me. It's pulpy trash, sure but David Fincher's filmmaking absolutely raises it up and turns it into a Hitchcockian-by-way-of-de Palma-type thriller. It also manages to be also a really solid black comedy satirizing sensationalism in the media. It's a film that is sure to inspire controversy for years to come specifically on its depiction of marriage and relationships overall. Ben Affleck was great (surely playing off his media persona as well) but Rosamund Pike was truly astounding. The hype around her performance is well-earned. I absolutely loved it. Can't wait to see it again.

American Graffiti (George Lucas) ***1/2 - This is one of those films that make me go, "Damn, why haven't I seen that one?" Okay, time to cross this film off that list. If I didn't know he made this film before the Star Wars franchise began to eat up his soul, I would be shocked at how great he was in making a really human film with excellent performances and really good dialogue. The ensemble cast filled with future stars (I often went, "Damn! They look so young!") beautifully brings to life a series of vignettes interwoven together into one big tapestry about a group of teenagers joy-riding around the night before one of them has to leave.