Little Miss Sunshine
Revisiting Little Miss Sunshine (2006) I was struck by how much, just like Juno (2007), the reception of the film has cooled in light of the pale imitations that studios started pumping out to cash in on its success. This is a shame, because as a crowd-pleaser of a film, with something for pretty much everyone, it is bloody hard to beat.
The film is a simple, but not sentimental, long distance journey taken so that the youngest member of a family can compete in a beauty pageant. The family is a bunch of misfits, from a foul mouthed grandad, a prick of a father through to a teenager who has taken a vow of silence. The car is a bright yellow, mechanically questionable kombi van which adds to the misfit feel of it all. The results of the film, like any great team, are far superior to the constituent parts that it is made up of. Along the way, there are little moments that give the film such charm – a homophobic old dude spotting a suicidal gay Proust scholar for a porno, and a note advising ‘go hug mum’. It’s a comedy that does credit to its road film roots, having the characters overcome a range of barriers, from the comical to the heartfelt. It also does not shy away from the fact, actually it totally embraces it, that kid’s beauty pageants are the weirdest thing in the history of the world. And the whole film is topped off by a dance sequence that may be the greatest and certainly most incisive in cinema history.
You know why both Little Miss Sunshine and Juno are really good films and all the shitty pale imitations are shitty pale imitations? Both of them have really exceptional and most importantly original scripts. This one is a weird script in some ways. It is simultaneously really artistic, no one would ever say a lot of these things, but despite that it also manages to be incredibly true to life. The film is also boosted massively by the fact that the cast is exceptional, and many of the cast are giving if not career best performances, then pretty close to it – Toni Collette, Abigail Bresnan, Steve Carrell (he has never been in the same ballpark of awesomeness as he is in this film), Paul Dano and Greg Kinnear for example. Carrel’s character is an interesting one to consider the film, and its merits through. There is a lot going on there, but really his character is a peripheral figure. It says a lot about the film and the script that a fringe character is so three dimensional and well written. That is also true of Dano’s character, who aside from one big (and crushing moment) is really in the background with Carrell, adding so much colour and surprising depth to the film. Even caricature characters like that of Alan Arkin are not only expertly written, they also manage to some how sit with the tone of the film with no jarring.
Little Miss Sunshine is hilarious filmmaking that also manages to make you both care and feel. If you think about it, there are not that many films you can say that about. If you have never seen this, then you are missing one of the truly great post 2000 films. And if like me you have not checked this out since its release, then it is well and truly time to take another look.
Verdict: Longneck of Melbourne Bitter
2014 Progress: 12/101
Progress: 108/1001
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Planet of the Apes (1968)
Planet of the Apes (1968) is a film that has become a really central part of pop culture. Not just through The Simpsons, though yes that did totally ruin the film’s ending for me some years ago. I hadn’t seen the film for a whole bunch of years, so thought I would revisit it to see if it still held up as a sci-fi classic for me.
I actually watched Planet of the Apes a good 10 years ago, long before I was into classic film. I recall being really impressed by it and blown away by the ending even though I knew what was coming. It starts exceptionally well, combining thought provocation like all the best sci-fi with some nice futuristic visuals. The exploration of the mental and philosophical issues of exceptionally long space journeys is really good stuff and it leads into a spectacular crash sequence. The camerawork here is one of the highlights of the film as the camera swirls wildly while the spaceship tumbles to the ground. There is an early sense of exploration and a final closing off of the initial ideas that the film is concerned with, particularly in the manner that George Taylor played by Charlton Heston reacts to the fact that everyone he knew has been dead for millennia and he will almost certainly never get back home. These are all great questions to ponder, especially today with manned missions to Mars possibly looming, and the very real probability that one day people will have to sign up for one way space missions. The discussions between Taylor and his rather more perturbed crewmates are really well scripted and bring all of those ideas out. Unfortunately once the three men were captured by the apes, the film really flattened out for me. Aside from that capture sequence, the action is all pretty lacklustre and the narrative never particularly goes anywhere. Most of the elements of the film that work later on have very little to do with the apes actually, which are obviously the focus of the action. Rather, it is the hallmarks of the environment that have the timeless prescience of all the best sci-fi that hit the mark. The soil is totally ruined, nothing at all will grow and much of the planet is a total wasteland.
One aspect of this film that really stands out, especially given its vintage, is that it is really quite a dark film both narratively and especially thematically. The plight of the astronauts is bleak, basically from start to finish and there is a certain meanness to much of what happens. For such a mainstream film, some of the technical elements are quite bold. There are long segments with very little dialogue, the spaceship is intricately designed, there is an almost handheld sense to some of the camera work and the soundtrack is full of (at times annoying and intrusive) electronic bleeps and bops. The ape costuming work, whilst possibly revolutionary at the time, is exceptionally dated now, just looking terrible and basic. At times, I found them to be so bad that it was actually distracting. Planet of the Apes is quite famous for a number of the philosophical messages it examines. This is cleverly done by inverting the roles of humans and apes that currently exist. Humans are used for ‘animal testing’, talked down to and generally treated abhorrently. In some ways it is a very forward argument against human exceptionalism, at least that is a reading I made of the film. Unfortunately though whilst this inversion of roles is clever, there is only so much you can achieve simply by inverting the roles. The ideas needed to be, or at the very least could have been, pushed a lot further. I guess one advantage of the limited approach of the inversion of ape and human roles is that it makes the film’s messages quite universal and open to interpretation. But I still think that overall the script needed to go further with the ideas.
I was definitely less impressed with The Planet of the Apes this time around. My impression is that if you look at various elements of the film, especially the themes and some of the design, it should be a lot better than it actually is. As a whole though, I found this to be a merely good experience rather than a truly satisfying one.
Verdict: Stubby of Reschs
2014 Progress: 11/101
Progress: 107/1001
Related beermovie.net articles for you to check out: Upside Down and Ben-Hur.
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Blackmail
Alfred Hitchcock is the filmmaker with the most entries on the 1001, and the first of those chronologically is Blackmail (1929). The film was far from Hitch’s first though, he had already made nine silent features before this one. Whilst it is definitely minor Hitchcock, Blackmail is notable for being not only the director’s first sound film, but Britain’s too. My understanding is that the film began production as a silent film, before the decision was made part way through production to make it a sound film instead. A silent version was completed, but I m not sure that it is available and this review is of the better known sound version.
Like many films of the period, including from Hitch, Blackmail is based on a play. Some of these early films, Number 17 (1932) springs to mind, really struggle to escape their source and come off feeling more like filmed plays rather than being at all cinematic. For the most part, this film succeeds in convincing you that this is definitely a film not a filmed play. Early on though, it struggles to escape it’s beginnings as a silent film moreso than its theatrical roots. The early part of the film just feels like a silent film sans intertitles. I suspect that these sequences were already filmed when the decision was made to convert the production to a sound one. Plot wise there is nothing too intriguing to report. The film is a crime story and a pretty straightforward one, at least after being pretty difficult to follow over the first section. The most important part of the plot is of course the Hitchcock cameo and I can happily report it is a cracker. One of my favourites actually, as Hitch rides a train and gets bugged by a little kid. After what is a frankly pretty boring first half, this film thankfully picks up a fair bit over the second and third acts. Part of the issue early on is that it takes a long time for the pieces to fall into place. But once there is a murder and a scramble to cover it up, we are in familiar Hitch territory – blackmail, knives, jilted cops, mistaken identity and so on – and it is a nice place to be in this master’s hands.
Many people have not seen any of Hitchcock’s extensive British filmography. I generally like this period of his career, with the films generally possessing a low-key charm that was not a part of bigger, ‘greater’ productions such as Psycho (1960) or North by Northwest (1959). Much of the enjoyment from watching this era of films is seeing the progress of Hitchcock’s development. Here there is little of the visual trickery and really noticeable camera movements that would be characteristics of his later work. But the young director already had the ability to frame a shot both perfectly and in a really interesting manner so that they did not feel at all staid. I often ponder the connections between Hitchcock and Tarantino as I think that they share some really interesting similarities and differences. Here, Hitch seems to be quite the forerunner of the contemporary superstar director. There is some really wink wink dialogue, especially about movies, that Tarantino himself would have been ultra proud of. Some of the other dialogue is strangely stuttering for a film from this great director, whose work is usually so sharp. The result is a film that feels more old fashioned than most of his other films. The female lead Anny Ondra gives a really excellent performance, especially in some of the more challenging scenes she is required to deliver. There is a rape scene, which is really quite forward for the time, and Ondra’s performance in the immediate aftermath is impressive, conveying the violation and confrontation she has just endured. Her performance is one of the reasons that the film remains relatively watchable today.
Some of Hitchcock’s earlier British films really only work as curiosity pieces, but thankfully not this one. After a slow start, the plot contains many of the tropes and themes that the director would continue to return to over the following decades. It is certainly not his best or even the best of his British films, but Blackmail is still worth checking out if you are a fan of the great man or just of crime cinema of this vintage.
Verdict: Stubby of Reschs
2014 Progress: 10/101
Progress: 106/1001
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Live Tweet Review: The Birds
When I ran a poll a little while ago on which three 1001 films I should live tweet, The Birds (1963) was the runaway winner. That was a pleasnant suprise, because even though I ama massive fan of Hitchcock, I have never seen this film. Until earlier today when I did the live tweet. Here are the results.
Related beermovie.net articles for you to check out: Live Tweet Review: Night of the Living Dead and My Favourite… Hitchcock film.
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Quick Review: The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994) is my fiancee’s favourite film in the entire world. So even if I didn’t like it, I would lie and say I did. But I did like it. And that is not a lie.
It is easy to see why the film has become one of the most popular ‘contemporary’ Australian films, hovering somewhere between being a cult classic and an all out mainstream one. The film follows three drag queens as they traverse Australia from Sydney to Alice Springs to put on some shows. Or so they think. As with any road film, as the journey unfolds, the reasons for it become more complicated. And as with all of the best road films the journey is not merely a physical one as all three go on major internal journeys as they travel along in their titular bus Priscilla. The film is simultaneously wonderfully rambunctious but also quite considered in both the narrative and how it is telling it. One of the major selling points of the film is the costumes and it deservedly won an Oscar for costume design. The costumes are totally over the top but also so well thought out and at the service of the character. It is not a case of just slapping the silliest, biggest, wildest drag queen costume on the actors. It is about reflecting the character, where their arc is up to and the current situation of the film. I heard the other day that they tried, but unfortunately failed to make a dress made entirely of Vegemite toast (do you guys even know what Vegemite is?). That would have been a real sight to see!
The performances are all excellent. Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce really launched there careers with this film, careers that would take them from an Aussie drag queen comedy all the way to blockbusters such as The Matrix (1999) and Iron Man 3 (2013). Without this film it is highly doubtful that they would have made it there. Both of them are excellent and they bring to life two totally different characters that thankfully illustrate that the film is more than happy to eschew drag queen cliche for three dimensional characters. Cast against type, Terence Stamp is along for the ride, helping no end to launch the careers of these two and make this film into the classic it is is. His character is probably the most minor of the three leads in terms of screen time but it is arguable that this character and this performance are the most important to the overall success of the film. The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a musical but it is far more than a collection of songs linked together with a little backstory. It engages with issues such as LGBTI rights and sets them against a specific time and place in Australia. Mind you there is a feeling watching this today that a lot of it is still more than relevant.
As a massive proponent of Aussie film, I highly recommend you catch this one if you never have. It is a hilarious and touching classic not afraid to push boundaries and you can’t ask for too much more in a film.
Verdict: Pint of Kilkenny
Progress: 104/1001
2014 Progress: 8/101
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Quick Review – Grease
I generally write super long reviews, partly because I take a lot of notes whilst watching. But I don’t always feel like taking a whole bunch of notes and in those cases I will be writing these quick reviews for 1001 flicks from now on. They will be far less fully formed and detailed, but hopefully still interesting enough.
It had been a long time between viewings of Grease (1978) for me when the fiancee and I chucked this on a couple of weeks ago. I thought I knew the film pretty well, but aside from some of the better known songs, there was actually a whole lot in here that I had absolutely no recollection of.
The songs are what generally stick in the mind when thinking about Grease or at least they were for me . I remember “Grease Lightning” and some form of ‘supermix’ of all the tracks being played endlessly at high school socials. Events where teenage boys (not me of course) would attempt to sing the John Travolta part from “Summer Lovin” to impress a girl and end up looking like a tool and impressing no one. But watching the film now, it is clear that there a lot more to it than that. For starters, despite most of the actors looking 20 years too old to be in high school, the film quite accurately charts the feelings that high school brings. The desperation to fit in, to retain some sense of originality and to impress the one you like enough to score a date. Refreshingly, the main points in this regard are made not by the portrayal of the new to town, goody two shoes Sandy, but by the suave and cool Danny played famously by John Travolta. He is the one who is not comfortable enough in his own skin to be himself around her. Rather he has to put on a greaser facade so as to save face with his mates. As for the songs though, they still hold up really well and there are a couple of singalong classics in here. That said though, there are a couple of them that I had totally forgotten that are really quite flat and suck a lot of the momentum out of the film.
John Travolta is generally the actor who gets the most credit from this film. Either that, or it just seems that way because he is the one with the most prominent (though spluttering) ongoing career. The best performance though, and the one most integral to the film is from Olivia Newton-John as Sandy. It is her journey that the audience goes on, her conflicting emotions that we rollercoaster along with. And when both characters undergo a metamorphosis at the end, hers is by far the more meaningful of the two. She is changing and embracing the change happily whereas Danny is doing it begrudgingly (the character does most things begrudgingly throughout the film actually). Watching this film with my fiancee was a nicely interactive experience. This is one of those films best watched with a big crowd that is really into it I think, much like Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) in that regard. And I still got that experience even with just the two of us as she sang every word to every song and whacked my arm repeatedly to exclaim “oh my God, coolest car ever”.
Grease is actually a film that holds up better than I thought it would and is much more than some catchy tunes. The depiction of high school here felt pretty relevant to me, even though I attended high school on an entirely different continent, 25 odd years later.
Verdict: Pint of Kilkenny
Progress: 103/1001
2014 Progress: 7/101
Related beermovie.net articles for you to check out: Cabaret, A Few Best Men
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Live Tweet Review: Independence Day
I checked out Independence Day (1996) for the second of the live tweet reviews that you folk voted for. Gotta say, I liked this a whole lot less than the last time I saw it unfortunately. Chime in with your comments on what Roland Emmerich’s best film is below. Also, it’s still technically a ‘live’ tweet if I need to go to sleep for eight hours in the middle yeah?
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Live Tweet Review: Raiders of the Lost Ark
You guys are all apparently fans of Indiana Jones. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) was one of the three 1001 films that you chose for me to live tweet and until recently the franchise was equal leading the poll for what franchise to review next. Here is my tweet review, hope you enjoy. Aiming to get around to tweeting the other two that you voted for ASAP.
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Poll: Which 1001 film should I live-tweet?
King Kong says make your vote count
As you all probably know, this year I am aiming to review 101 out of the 1001 films to see before you die. I am a little behind with only four reviews posted so far. But I am still pretty confident of meeting my goal. I have a bunch more that I have watched and taken notes for, I just need to find the time to bash out my thoughts on them.
In any case, one way to boost the number of reviews is to live-tweet a couple as these are very time effective ways for me to review films. Whilst I generally like to do these on lighthearted films I can take the piss of, I think the form still works when dealing with more serious fare as well.
So here is the deal. You get five choices in the poll below. I am letting you choose more, so hopefully I am more likely to review something you are keen on. The poll will be open for exactly one week. Then after that, I will live tweet review the top three choices, spread out over a two or three week period. If you don’t have twitter, don’t worry because I will also post the end results on this site.
Get voting, even if there is only one you are interested in. Of course feel free to chime in with what you chose and why in the comments section below.
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Run Lola Run
Tom Tykwer is a director who I have had mixed experiences with in the past. I thought the Cloud Atlas (2012) adaptation that he and the Wachowskis served up was a pretty incredible achievement, both story wise and visually. But the only solo film of his I have see in the past is Winter Sleepers (1997), which left me pretty underwhelmed. As a solo director thought, Tykwer is best known for the non-linear Run Lola Run (1998), which I have finally gotten around to checking out.
The titular Lola spends basically the entire film running around, trying to get her boyfriend Manni out of some trouble he has landed in with a bunch of gangsters. Lola needs cash and she needs it stat. That is pretty much it for storyline. With Run Lola Run the real guts of the film comes from the telling, not the story. There are a bunch of video game stylings in the film, something that I think is very hard to pull off effectively. These range from standard ones that we are used to such as editing and game style introductions of characters, to ones that I hadn’t seen before. Most notable of these I think is the narrative structure, which is quite literally that of a video game, with Lola having a number of ‘lives’ to complete her mission. The film is best when focusing on its tightly defined core narrative or to use a quite apt video game analogy, the ‘mission’ that Lola is attempting to complete. The film is not successful when it branches outside of that, which it does often when the futures of people that Lola passes on her run are told using still images. This conceit really does not work as it takes you out of the core narrative that the audience should be so caught up in. Not only that, but the fact that something utterly amazing happens to each of these people just after they cross paths with Lola is totally unbelievable. And even though the style and narrative of the film is hyper-real, this still jars. In the end these sequences just play like twee, ham-fisted attempted illustrations of the butterfly effect.
From the very beginning, time is a theme of the film, with gothic looking clocks looming over the screen. Thematically time is usually used in a broad sense – a person’s finite amount of time on earth and how they use it. Run Lola Run though considers time at a much more micro level, one that is relatable day to day. The rush of a work deadline or to try and catch a bus. Of course the film takes that notion to an extreme, helped along the way by pulsing, hyper techno music that drives you along the whole way through. Performance-wise, both Franka Potente and Moritz Bleibtreu are really good. Potente carries the film as Lola as she is in essentially every scene. She does a really good job of nailing the panic and determination of her character in helping out her boyfriend. I am a fan of a number of Bleibtreu’s other performances such as in Fatih Akin’s In July (2000) and Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (1997) which is one of my favourite comedies of all time. He impresses again here in a bit of a thankless role, at least convincing us why Lola would fight so hard for him. It is important that the both of them are good too, because in the end the film is a nice balance of relationship drama as well as action thriller. However I think unfortunately that some of the ending of the film muddles the message a little. What we are meant to take from the casino scene I am not sure – life is nothing but chance? Gambling is good? Always bet on #20 in roulette? No idea. It was always going to be a difficult film to bring to an entirely satisfying close. But I can’t help wish that Tykwer managed something a little more emphatic.
When it sticks close to its innovative narrative structure, intriguing video game flourishes and focused story, Run Lola Run is both interesting and at times innovative. The occasions where it goes outside of that structure were less successful for me, and it is perhaps not tense enough to be a truly great thriller, but this is still a film experience worth taking at least once.
Verdict: Stubby of Reschs
Progress: 100/1001
2014 Progress: 4/101
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