Films I Watched This Week — Jan 27 – Feb 2, 2025
American Splendor (2003)
You would never think by looking at the guy that Harvey Pekar, the minimum wage file clerk at a V.A. hospital in Cleveland would have had a widely released theatrical movie made about his life. Then you watch clips of him on the Letterman show, and you realize this guy was anti-establishment in a way that you don't quite see anymore. All throughout his life, the always frustrated Harvey Pekar learned to redirect all his built-up negative energy and pessimism into writing stories in a comic book, stories about the daily life frustrations of the everyman. American Spendor is brilliant, a visually constructed and creatively inventive indie masterpiece that blurs the lines between documentary and dramatization with a incredible performance by Paul Giamatti.
The Zone of Interest (2023)
In one of the most upsetting and challenging films of the 2020s Jonathan Glazer's The Zone of Interest is a disturbing look at how easily immoral acts can be normalized demonstrating the ease in which people, given the right circumstances, can become complicit in evil. Since the atrocities are occuring off-camera, Grazer chose to focus on the sounds rather than the visuals of the Holocaust, making the film more about what the audience hears than what they see. The ambient sounds that are subtly placed throughout the film are distant screams, gunshots, babies crying, the marching of guards, and the arrival of loaded trains, all while the characters in the film live seemingly normal lives near the camp.
The Bounty (1984)
A great remake of the 30s classic starring Laughton and Gable and much superior to the 60s Brando version. Anthony Hopkins played Captain Bligh more empathetic than Laughton's straight out villain portrayal. It also had a outstanding cast including young Mel Gibson, Daniel Day Lewis and Liam Neeson. Even Laurence Olivier has a small role as a judge on the court of inquiry.
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
Woody Allen's love letter to jazz, while also being an artists search for self-worth and redemption. Film buffs will love the homage to Fellini's La Strada, in how he represents the power dynamics of the two lovers, the abuser and the abusee, including Sean Penn's emotional breakdown at the end which immediately brings to mind actor Anthony Quinn in the tragic end of Fellini's picture.
Mo' Better Blues (1990)
With its lush photography and stylish camerawork, this is a beautifully shot film with great music and all around excellent performances. Even though the symmetry of time passing in both the beginning and conclusion might sound intriguing on paper, Lee doesnt seem to pull it off just right, as it feels too neat and tidy for the usual Spike Lee picture. Aside from its flaws this might very well be one of Spike Lee's most underrated films.
Beauty and the Beast (1946)
"I ask of you a little of this childlike simplicity, and, to bring us luck, let me speak four truly magic words, childhood’s open sesame: ‘Once upon a time…'”
Those are the touching words from the great French surrealist artist Jean Cocteau in the beginning of one of the most magical and enchanting fantasy films of all time, La Belle et la Bête. This was before the classic story of Beauty and the Beast became a household marketing name by Disney, where every little girl around the world knew the character of Belle, bought the toys and games, and its characters were signing autographs in Orlando. Cocteau adapted the classic tale at a time shortly after the suffering of World War II, where people wanted to escape from the bleak horror’s of reality. Those who are familiar with the 1991 Disney cartoon will recognize some of the basic elements of the story, but the tone is completely different. This is not a “children’s movie,” as Cocteau uses bold and haunting images along with striking Freudian symbols and themes that delve into the darker repressed emotions of its characters. Cocteau’s version of Beauty and the Beast isn’t just a fairy tale, but more a deeper and surrealistic poem which explored the complex emotions Cocteau felt, through flamboyant images rather than simple words, and how true beauty can be in the eye of the beholder. With the use of practicle effects and creature makeup, Cocteau magically brought the classic story to life, most famously with Cocteau’s devised camera trickery, which was done by reversing the film reel. These astonishing special effects give spectators extraordinary moments of wonder and awe, such as: The castle’s enchanted candelabra’s which are held by livelike arms and hands; Living statues with piercing eyes that follow Belle past swaying white curtains; Invisible forces which glide characters through hallways and corridors; Magic mirrors that transform into pools of water; and gloves that can immediately transport a character wherever they so wish.
La Belle et la Bête (1946) is on MY TOP 300 FILMS OF ALL TIME LIST
Dodge City (1939)
A lavish and rousing technicolor western directed by the legendary Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia De Havilland in their 5 of 8 pictures that they appeared in together. The explosive shootout on a burning train is an incredible action sequence but many of the decisions that were made by some of the characters were quite foolish, made simply to carry the preposterious story along.
The 400 Blows (1959)
François Truffaut’s The 400 Blows is the most powerful films about childhood adolescence. Inspired by Truffaut’s own early life, it is one of the great coming of age stories that portrays a boy growing up in Paris and apparently dashing headlong into a life of crime. Told through the eyes of young Antoine Doinel, the film unsentimentally re-creates the personal trials in Antoine’s life, as his distant parents and oppressive teacher can’t seem to reach him. François Truffaut loved the character of Antoine Doinel so much, in fact, that he decided to use him again and, again, and followed Antoine for over a span of about 20 years using actor Jean-Pierre Leaud in four more films. In a short film called Antoine and Colette, Antoine is sixteen years old; in Stolen Kisses, he is twenty-two; in Bed and Board, he is twenty-four; and in Love on the Run, he is thirty-three. As touching as those installments were, the 400 Blows was in a class of its own. It was revolutionary in its storytelling, and it was raw, painful, and real. It was a film that made us remember what it was like to have our innocence, and then to have it stripped away from us once again.
The 400 Blows (1959) is on MY TOP 100 FILMS OF ALL TIME LIST
Executive Suite (1954)
Executive Suite is a story of the high rise corporate jungle where on a daily basis it’s a Darwinian experiment not only pitting company against company but, on a microscale, man against man. After all, in the most cynical sense, that’s what free market capitalism is. A magnificent motion picture about intrigues, competitive leadership and power struggles in the business world, determining who and what meets the standard of greatness on almost every count. Brilliantly acted by a distinguished cast of all-time legends including William Holden, Barbara Stanwyck, Fredric March, Shelly Winters and Walter Pidgeon, Executive Suite holds the viewer from the opening scene, building absorbingly to a thrilling climax.
The Square (2017)
The Square (2017) is a satire of the modern art world, exploring the empty gestures of humanitarianism that are given from the high culture to the low culture. The Square, placed on the floor, where everyone is deemed equal and must act responsibility, is what they call the new art exhibit that has opened in Stockholm. The artist, Lola Arias, states that the Square is a social commentary about people in the modern age who do or do not step out of their safety zones to help others in need. The curator of the art exhibit is the smug and snooty Christian, an artist who presents himself as a man of virtue, when in fact, his own politics contradict everything he stands for within the art community, including personal prejudice and abuse with position of power. Similar to the works of Luis Buñuel, Swedish director Ruben Östlund portrays society in a cynical light, while using awkwardness and unease as a way to illustrate human nature as both spineless and cowardly. Also, like Buñuel, Östlund is a master at social comedy, and feeling awkward and uneasy naturally creates laughter as a way to diffuse the tension.
No (2012)
After 15 years of systematic abuse for his torture and crimes, the dictator Augusto Pinochet announces that a referendum shall be organized in July 1988, whereby the citizens of Chile can vote Yes or No to another 8 years with him as the president. Leaders of the "no" movement recruit a young advertising executive to spearhead their campaign. With few resources and constant threats by the dictator's minions, the team hatches a bold plan to win the election. Pablo Larraín's "No" is both a passionate and educational true story that shows how something so simple as modern advertising can defeat a murderous dictator and run him out of office. Inspirational and empowering, the film will make one believe Democracy can still prevail, even at ones most desparing times, while the films uplifting resolution will have you take to your feet and cheer.
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