The Best Films of the Double Ohs

Finally! After almost four weeks, I can finally put this damn decade behind me and move on to the next...already in progress.

As much as I really loathe this practice of compiling lists, I still manage to compile them year after tedious year since the inception of this here blog o' mine. But now that the first decade of the formerly new millennium is now over and done with, I've found it rather...dare I say...rewarding in some fashion. As much as I bitch and moan about compiling these bloody things, I continue to do so, maybe because it's some sort of cheap therapy for me. After all, these things only reflect my tastes and no one else's, so the lists say more about me than the movies themselves. Or it's all just wanking at the keyboards. (Wasn't that the title of the Van Cliburn autobiography?)

At the top o' my list, my choice for the Best Film of the Decade: Wes Anderson's THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS

Delivering on the promise he showed with RUSHMORE, Anderson created this dysfunctional family circus, an absolutely perfect piece of cinema that I will cherish for years to come (thanks Max). I disagree with the knock on Anderson that his work is too precious and mannered, more style than substance. There is certainly both in this film, Anderson working on all cylinders. Anchoring TENENBAUMS in the most overlooked performance of the decade is the rascally Gene Hackman, the ringmaster of this saga. For me, this was one big smile from beginning until end, lingering long and often in my personal filmography.

Followed by:

Park Chan Wook's OLD BOY and Hayao Miyazaki's SPIRITED AWAY- Two films, complete polar opposites in both style and content, that catapulted my love for Asian cinema this last decade. Wook's extreme revenge tale resonates with each viewing and really launched the popularity of Korean film. Thanks to my grandson Sebastian, I was able to lower my resistance to Japanese anime with Miyazaki's masterpiece and discover the treasures this extraordinary filmmaker has to offer.

Martin Scorsese's THE DEPARTED

Oscar finally smiled on Uncle Marty and justice has been served at last.

Alexander Payne's SIDEWAYS

With a better track record than Wes Anderson, Payne really knocked one of the park with this comedy of friendship, wine and unpublished manuscripts. This hit me right where I live.

Danny Boyle's SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

See previous posting. I'm a willing sucker for this great fairy tale.

Andrew Dominik's THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD

Best goddamn western of the last twenty years. Period.

Peter Jackson's LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy

I still can't believe he pulled it off. To recall this accomplishment makes me forgive his KING KONG stumble.

James Marsh's WISCONSIN DEATH TRIP

Best goddamn documentary of the decade, much better than his MAN ON WIRE. Well worth seeking out.

Tomas Alfredson's LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

Brilliant vampire film that deserves to be seen. Right up there with NEAR DARK.

Pete Docter's UP

How do you really pick anything from Pixar? No studio has a better catalog. I could have easily substituted FINDING NEMO, RATATOUILLE, WALL-E, THE INCREDIBLES or MONSTERS INC. But UP, the simplest of the bunch, charmed my socks off.

Robert Altman's GOSFORD PARK and A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION

Perfect swan songs from the master, the former a surprise British treatise, the latter a Valentine to a dying art form.

Also: CITY OF GOD,MEMENTO, PAN'S LABYRINTH,Steven Spielberg's sci-fi trilogy (AI, MINORITY REPORT, WAR OF THE WORLDS), ELECTION/TRIAD ELECTION, O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU?, JUNO, MULHOLLAND DRIVE, SEABISCUIT, AMERICAN SPLENDOR, MYSTIC RIVER, MILLION DOLLAR BABY, QUILLS, PAPRIKA, MILLENNIUM ACTRESS, UNITED 93, HERO, CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON and LANTANA

Worst Movie of the Last Ten Years

No movie fills my mouth with more bile than the horrible botch job known as Bryan Singer's wretched SUPERMAN RETURNS. Way to ruin a franchise for the next twenty years, Bry.

Finally Thoughts

The first ten years of this century also renewed my passion for film itself, a project I conceived in 2002 when I wrote myself a "bucket list" of sorts of 52 cinematic classics I had never seen. (Kind of like 10001 Films to See Before You Die...only shorter) 52 was the goal I set, at least one great film a week for a year. Eight years later and I'm still a couple shy, but I made up for in volume in substitutions. I'll write in length about this in a future installment but here are the original 52:

BLACK NARCISSUS, THE RED SHOES, RED DESERT, SPARTACUS, THE GREAT DICTATOR, METROPOLIS, THE CROWD, THE 400 BLOWS, ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, FURY, RAN, THE SEVEN SAMURAI, MEPHISTO, NIGHTS OF CABIRIA, OPEN CITY, THE ASPHALT JUNGLE, NAKED CITY, THE CINCINNATI KID, THE HUSTLER, GIANT, 8 1/2, LA DOLCE VITA, PICKPOCKET, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL, BREATHLESS, JULES AND JIM, DOUBLE INDEMNITY, THE LOST WEEKEND, PURPLE NOON, KING OF HEARTS, THE TIN DRUM, THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING, A FACE IN THE CROWD, A PLACE IN THE SUN, THE APU TRILOGY (PATHER PANCHALI, APARIJITO, THE WORLD OF APU), WEEKEND, DIABOLIQUE, THE FIREMAN'S BALL, BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET, LE SAMOURAI, THE MYSTERY OF KASPER HAUSER, THE MARRIAGE OF MARIA BRAUN, LOLA MONTES-all of which I did see

Those remaining from the original 52: DAS BOOT, HEART OF GLASS, TRISTANA, THE TESTAMENT OF ORPHEUS

I'll get around to these soon enough, but I've had ten times as many viable substitutions to make up for the incomplete grade I've given myself.

There is an entire world of film out there that is yours for the asking, the taking, the viewing. If you have any love for movies at all, you owe to yourself to open your eyes and see what else is out there. You never know what you might find, whether it be an Italian western, a Danish crime film, a Brazilian love story, an Australian sci-fi or even a Russian cartoon. And don't ignore American film history either. You'll never know where you're going until you know where you've been.

Trust me. The thrill of discovery is a joy to experience and you'll want it again and again.

Open your eyes. You'll be amazed what you'll see.

Bah-dump-bump!

How about that Barbara Walters doing the beast with two backs with the very married Senator Edward Brooke? Here's an exclusive transcript from their den of sin:

"So, Senator Bwooke, what kind of twee would you like to be? (zipppppp!) Oh, it's twue, it's twue! It's twue!"

Yep. That's our Baba Wawa, the original Lily von Shtupp.

What a twamp.

Bah-dump-bump!

Josh Brolin is George W. Bush in the new Oliver Stone movie. So you're telling me that Timothy Bottoms was too busy?

Bah-dump-bump!

Beyonce Knowles is preggers! By this time next year, she will be the proud mother of a Beyonce baby boy.

Bah-dump-bump!


I've got a hundred of 'em...

So let's segue from Bah-dump-bump to Bada-bing...(ew)

With THE SOPRANOS long gone, my appetite for gangland drama has been voracious as of late. THE DEPARTED filled the void for awhile and I find myself drawn to its flame like a retarded moth everytime it hits cable, which lately has been daily. Still, I need more more more as Andrea True once sang, so I've delved into the international market. Yakuza (the Japanese equivalent of the Mafia) films always foot the bill, particularly those by Kenji Fukasaku whose work includes SYMPATHY FOR THE UNDERDOG and the five part saga BATTLES WITHOUT HONOUR AND HUMANITY. I've been gaga for French crime mellers since the late great Jules Dassin's RIFIFI. My favorites among these have been Jacques Becker's TOUCHEZ PAS AU GRISBI (the English translation being DON'T TOUCH THE LOOT. Love it.) and Jean-Pierre Melville's LE CERCLE ROUGE.

But lately, I've been caught up in Chinese director Johnny To's films about the Triad gangs, ELECTION and its immediate sequel TRIAD ELECTION. These two cold-blooded tales are intricate in their story telling as well as crash courses in modern Chinese culture, particularly since the end of the British occupation. They are also extremely devious by nature. At one point, you're almost led to believe that a main protagonist is quite benign and almost humane in his depiction as the story unravels until he suddenly becomes the most sadistic character of the bunch. Chilling, thrilling and always fascinating, Johnny To's movies always delivered. Also check out To's FULLTIME KILLER with Andy Lau. And if you haven't seen THE DEPARTED because for some dumb damn reason you don't care for Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and/or Jack Nicholson, then at least watch the orginal Chinese version, INFERNAL AFFAIRS, directed by Andy Lau and Alan Mak. It's still a good story. Scorsese just improved on it because, well, he's Martin Scorsese.

Lame comedy mixed with excellent recommendations.
What more do you want out of a blog?

2006-The Year in Pix

2006-The Year in Pix

I am not a film critic nor do I play one on TV. This is my outlet (and this is my gun), therefore the rules of engagement do not apply to me, meaning I don’t have to adhere to any timeline. That said, here is my list of favorite films that I saw in 2006. Whether they were released this year or not means nothing to me. It’s like the adage about an old joke. If you’ve never heard it before, it’s new to you.

The year 2006 was pretty much of a wash for me personally, but movie-wise, I basked in the glow of the Great God Cinema. The total of films came to 118. That’s basically a movie every three days, not counting those that I had seen again. Since I had made a conscientious effort not to watch as much crap as I had in years past, my film diet consisted of a lot more protein and less trans fat, so the percentage of good product versus bad weighed heavily in my favor.

Certainly there were disappointments, no more so than in two supposedly blockbusters that landed like a pair of bombastic farts at a funeral. Peter Jackson’s King Kong seemed so calculated to be a companion piece to a video game that it became difficult to tell the two apart, a botch job unworthy of the Lord of the Rings master. But nothing really stunk up the joint more than Bryan Singer’s lame-ass Superman Returns, a turd barely better than Superman III or IV, only by the nature of its budget.

On the other hand, the reboot of the Bond series with Casino Royale was a welcome breath of fresh air, thanks to both director Martin Campbell and star Daniel Craig. Seeing Craig swagger about like a royal prick seemed rather off-putting at first until it came clear that he could back it all up in spades, He reminded me of the young Errol Flynn’s first appearance in  The Adventures of Robin Hood, entering a castle with a dead buck around his neck and acting like he owned the place (which of course, he did). Anyway, a worthy new beginning for Bond, James Bond. By the way, when was the last time you ever saw a Bond movie appear on a Ten Best list? Check it out. Royale appeared on many, including Owen Gleiberman’s film of the year in Entertainment Weekly.

One particularly putrid piece of work was Maniac, quite possibly the worst film ever made. Directed by Dwain Esper, the only guy who could make Ed Wood look like Antonioni, this 1930s exploitationer about untreated mental illness combined a couple of Poe stories with some gratuitous nudity and violence, including a duel with hypodermic needles. The cast is so supremely wretched that they seem to have not only never seen a movie before, but also have never seen anyone act either. It was like watching a dog try to ride a bicycle. Oh, by the way, I recommend this to anyone interested in really shitty cinema.

A few notable moments from this year’s crop:
The My Forgotten Man number from The Golddiggers of 1933-An ode to the homeless in the Great Depression that holds up even today. Not much has changed since then.

Hammy the Squirrel’s caffeine induced slow motion sojourn in Over the Hedge, the funniest sequence of the year.

Wildest Ride of the Year: Night Watch, the wild and crazy Russian vampire romp

Marlon Brando in A Streetcar Named Desire, a film I had been trying to catch up with for years now. Truth to be told, I consider Blanche DuBois to be one of the most irritating characters in modern literature, as well as with Vivien Leigh’s performance and felt uncomfortable most of the time Brando was not on screen. But once he was, I was hooked. Talk about living up to one’s reputation. I was also taken by Kim Hunter as “STELLA!!!!!!!!!!!”

Some movies that exceeded expectations:
Walk the Line (particularly Joaquin Phoenix), Tokyo Godfathers,The Bourne Supremacy, The Alamo(2004), Cars, George Romero’s Land of the Dead, Millions

Some great revisits:
Car Wash, Which Way is Up? (Richard Pryor’s funniest), Topaz (underrated Hitchcock), Brewster McCloud (overlooked Altman), The Hill (one of Sean Connery’s best), Lantana (one of the best films of last ten years), The Paper Chase, Casino Royale (1967) -a guilty pleasure to the Nth degree

Now the bestests:

Best Oldies:
Yojimbo,
Captain Blood,
Diabolique,
Pather Panchali,
Hitchcock double bill of Notorious and Shadow of a Doubt
Fellinii’s 8 ½
Melville’s Army of Shadows and Le Cercle Rouge
Lola Montes
 All Quiet on the Western Front –Again, a timeless message that still resonates.

The Ten Best (in no order except #1)

Altman’s A Prairie Home Companion-a fitting swan song to a class act
Brewer's Hustle and Flow- Terrence Howard elevates himself to the rank of one this country’s finest and, though damn near done in right at the very end, this film is hard to beat.
Miyazaki’s Howl’s Moving Castle-The animation genius of the modern age
Ki-Duk Kim's 3-Iron-Best love story of the year
Carol Reed and Graham Green’s The Fallen Idol –Uncovered jewel and finest classic of the year, so perfect to view it on the big screen
James Marsh’s extraordinary Wisconsin Death Trip-Best documentary of the year and possibly of all time
Chan-Wook’s Old Boy-the incredible brutal roller coaster experience
Scorsese’s The Departed-Marty, this is your year. Revel in it.

and the Best Picture of 2006

Paul Greengrass’ United 93
Not to get all PC about it, but there is no way I could ignore the impact of this incredible piece of filmmaking. I resisted this for the longest time, being one of those who believed 9/11 was too close, too open of a sore, too painful to relive, especially since the word on the street was how realistic the film is. After much hesitation, I watched it at home, wanting privacy and not a shared emotional experience as I would in the theater. Well, let’s just say, I was a wreck by the end credits. But it had been totally cathartic and extremely therapeutic. Many suppressed and dormant feelings have resurfaced since that viewing and while that’s a helluva thing to lay on just a damn movie, this what I’ve taken away from it. I really don’t want to be known as one of those idiots who uses that day as a metaphor for everything that occurs, especially since it has become both a cliché and an excuse for more self-indulgent pinheads than I can fathom. Perhaps if I didn’t have all this bottled inside me, I wouldn’t so introspective about the film. However, I will say unequivocally that Paul Greengrass is a remarkable filmmaker. There's an honesty that he brings to United 93 that makes this story compeling from first frame to last. His documentary approach to this and The Bourne Supremacy has energized recent cinema and I certainly look forward to any work by this director.

So there you have it. Stay tuned for 2007…

FILMAPALOOZA!

Have a nice life.

Over the River and Through the Woods

                                                                        
Happy Thanksgiving, y'all, from one turkey to another.

Seems I tweaked somebody's feathers with my last outing talking about the lack of balls in the political arena. Check out what Anonymous wrote in the comment section:

"Hmmmm. Balls. Well, that leaves out the majority of the population, but that may be your tired point. Please, leave Gore and Kerry alone. They've already endured enough abuse from those who choose to dwell on the trees rather than the forest. "

"Hmmmmm. Balls." Sounds like a gay Homer Simpson. Look, Ms. Onymous or can I call you An, to make another tired point, balls is (are) a state of mind. Sorry to make it so gender specific and I'm just not sympathetic to the plight of the castrated. If I were more PC, I'd have said "guts" instead. As for leaving Gore and Kerry alone, that ain't gonna happen until GW Dunderhead is out of office and we as a nation to begin to heal for the eight miserable years Al and Johnny Boy inflicted upon us by not kicking his sorry ass and allowing him not only to be elected not once but TWICE.

But this is Thanksgiving and thanks for writing.

Speaking of castrations, whack-job Tom Cruise is getting married this weekend and the world yawns. I don’t give a tinker’s dam about the TomKat nuptials this weekend. It’s doubtful that this will do nothing to gain Tommy any goodwill after his rave-outs last year. As to the speculation of the nature of this elaborate publicity stunt, folks have been a’wondering “Where’s the movie to promote?” Aha! Me gots an answer. TC just bought United Artists. He needs to stay in the public eye since he has nothing in the can for the next year. However, Cruisey is set to star in a movie with Robert Redford and Meryl Streep. Smart move. After all, he built much of his reputation on the coattails of other actors-Paul Newman in THE COLOR OF MONEY, A FEW GOOD MEN with Jack Nicholson, RAIN MAN with Dustin Hoffman-it’s time to rebuild and the best way for him to gain any footing is to latch onto another star. I think he’ll do it. He may not make to the stratosphere like before, but he will survive and for that, he can be thankful.

I am personally thankful that I live in the same world as Martin Scorsese. THE DEPARTED is the best goddamn movie of the year-bar none. Not only is this the finest crime drama of the 21st Century (C’mon! It’s six years into it. I can make that claim) but also an ensemble piece unmatched by any others in recent years. While it’s a tad flabby, perhaps ten minutes too long, I’d stack this baby up against anything and a definite improvement over the source material, the Chinese film INFERNAL AFFAIRS.

I also give thanks to NIP/TUCK for recharging its batteries this season and giving me an hour of pleasure per week, every Tuesday night. It’s a great double bill with HOUSE.

What’s that sound? Why it’s a gong…no, it’s the death knell for network television ringing off the hook. In their wisdom, NBC has announced a cutback on original dramatic programming, opting instead for more game shows and reality shows for the 8:00 hour in the near-future. These are the same geniuses who placed two-count ‘em-two separate shows about a late night comedy show on the same schedule and thinking that nobody would notice. Well, they haven’t. Neither 30 ROCK or STUDIO 60 ON THE SUNSET STRIP can get any ratings. Combined, they barely make as much as DEAL OR NO DEAL. I guess that’s their tired point, right, Annie? Maybe NBC should try a cross-over. Alec Baldwin could visit Studio 60 or Matthew Perry would try to pick up Tina Fey. Speaking of which, don’t Perry and Bradley Whitford seem pretty much interchangeable? Not a great casting decision, Mr. Sorkin. Maybe he’s so high all the time that he thinks they are the same person. By the way, for more smart moves, they scheduled FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS for every night but Friday. Sigh. Network TV will be pretty much over and done with by 2010. It will go the way of the Dodo bird and VHS tapes. They have already given up on Saturday nights and the 8:00 hour. Soon it will be whittled down to nothing. It you haven’t read it here first, you have read it here recently. (Huh?)

Two more things before I go:

After trans fat is banned, when will the second-hand trans fat lawsuits begin?

Is HAPPY FEET just FOOTLOOSE with penguins?

As Connie Chung sang so very horribly, nailing her coffin shut once and for all,

"We ttttttttttthhhhhhhhhaaaaaaannnnnnkkkkk yyyyyyooooooouuuuuuuu
sssssssssoooooooooo mmmmmmmmmmmuuuuuuuuuuccccccccccccchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"