Februactivity

Features

Seven Psychopaths ***1/2
I Love You Again ***1/2
Rebecca *****
Cache ****
Bernie ***1/2
For Me and My Gal ***1/2
Argo ****
3:10 to Yuma ****1/2

Re-watched

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ****
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ****
Moonrise Kingdom ****

Television

Burning Love season 2
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Game of Thrones season 2
Hou$e of Lie$ (one episode)
Parks and Recreation season 5
Real Time with Bill Maher
Seinfeld seasons 5 & 6
Sherlock season 2
The Simpsons (various episodes)

Podcasts

How Did This Get Made?

Notes: I enjoyed SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS quite a bit. Martin McDonough is a smart, creative writer and the film is an excellent showcase of his skills and brilliance; I particularly enjoyed the Quaker's story and Tom Waits' story. Also, I would argue that the film offers more than just killing and cursing; while dognapping to get the reward money is pretty scuzzy, Christopher Walken's character does it so that he can pay for his wife's medical bills. And in general, I would say that Walken's character gets us to feel. His death is also one of the more emotional scenes in the film. A week or so after I watched this one, my older brother, Brent,  texted me and said that he was getting ready to sit down and watch SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS with his in-laws; he wanted to know if it was appropriate. I texted back saying that it was pretty violent, had a ton of swearing, and had one brief sex scene. Brent then replied saying that his father-in-law hated the F word. I wonder if he got through the whole thing.

I LOVE YOU AGAIN was enjoyable. William Powell is obviously a very talented actor and he's very capable of playing both a respectable man and a beguiling crook. Without giving too much of the ending away, I will say that it's well done. You really feel for Myrna Loy in that moment, even though she's standing over her husband, about to bash his head in.

REBECCA, again, was brilliant and perfect. It's a great mood film, completely aware of what it is and what it needs to accomplish. Hitchcock is in deft control, as usual, and it doesn't hurt to have Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine to direct. I loved Fontaine's performance; she's very meek and sweet.

CACHE is one of Haneke's best, if not, the best (in my opinion, from what I've seen so far). He's an intelligent filmmaker and storyteller and I like him for that reason. I don't know that I'd necessarily call myself a big fan of his or anything, though. His films are, at the very least, absolutely worth the time to see. There's a beautiful shift over the course CACHE; at a certain point toward the end of the film, the mystery no longer matters...as we are left with is a man who cannot face reality or own up to the slightest bit of responsibility. Also, before I watched, Jeff had mentioned something to me about paying attention to  last shot of the film but of course I missed it. When the last shot was revealed to me, I thought it was pretty interesting, to say the least.

BERNIE started off kinda slow for me, but once it picks up, it doesn't disappoint and is quite the interesting story. Of course most of it is based on actual events, and for whatever reason, that fact didn't fully register with me until around the time Bernie was given his life-sentence. From the little that I've read about the Bernie Tiede case, it would seem that Linklater altered some things to keep the audience on Bernie's side. At least, there's where I stood as the closing credits rolled. #freeBernie

FOR ME AND MY GAL pits Gene Kelly and Judy Garland together. While I watched it, I had the idea of chemistry on my mind, for whatever reason. Obviously Kelley and Garland were two of Hollywood's most talented singers, but I like the fact that the two are never really on the same page with regard to how they feel about it each other....at least not until we're pretty far into the second act.

ARGO is well done and full of tension. Like ZERO DARK THIRTY, I was aware of the final outcome of the story, but was never really briefed on the finer details. Granted, Ben Affleck and Chris Terrio take some liberties, but those liberties go a long way toward improving the film...simply because of the tension that it adds. You really feel for those hostages; how dangerous and terrifying that situation must have been. Of course, in my mind, it would've made more sense to give the Best Picture Oscar to something like ZERO DARK THIRTY, which is the better film. But as we talked about last weekend, who really cares what the Academy decides to call Best anything.

I know I wrote that 3:10 TO YUMA was a great western on Letterboxd, but really, what I should have written was that it's everything a western should be. It hits on its themes without beating you over the head or boring you. The performances from Glenn Ford and Van Heflin are subtle yet powerful. As John stated in his post, Heflin is given opportunities to get out of the dangerous mess he finds himself in, but turns them down to finish what he started...to complete something that he does have some control over. But it's also interesting to note that without Ford's help, Heflin would not have made it on the 3:10 train.

After re-watching LOTR: The Return of the King, I have say, it's beautifully done and I feel very comfortable making it my number one movie of 2003. The emotion is still there for me, even ten years later.

My mom loves to watch THE BACHELOR; on certain evenings I'll make my way past the living room and hear/see some of it as she watches...and I'll want to stab out my eyes and ears. Thankfully, someone decided to make a webseries, BURNING LOVE, that mocks the shit out of The BACHELOR and other reality shows. Even better, the people behind BURNING LOVE are Ben Stiller and Ken Marino. I have a feeling our Ben would enjoy this, considering his love for PARTY DOWN. Anyway, the second season started recently is up on yahoo. Hopefully the first season is up there somewhere as well, because I actually enjoyed that one more...though there's still time for season 2 to change all that. Anyway, it's still very funny stuff.

I can't wait for the 31st of this month when the third season of GAME OF THRONES premiers. Jeff and I have been re-watching the second season in preparation. Although I have a feeling that when the third season does arrive, it'll pass by far too quickly.

I only watched one episode of Showtime's HOUSE OF LIES; I honestly couldn't bear to watch another. I hated it; nothing about the show interested me. Consulting firms aren't compelling. And what's worse, Don Cheadle is asked to go out there in the first episode and completely dumb down the language so that the viewer can get caught up to speed in the shitty, awful world that consulting companies inhabit. For me, Cheadle was a reason to check the show out, but I hate his character. I was also interested in seeing Ben Schwartz but his character wasn't given much to do. I know if I stick with it I'll eventually see more development with his character, but I guess I just don't care enough. The sex in the show is a bit much as well, and seems forced into the script for the purposes of keeping morons and creeps alert. Hell, Don Cheadle has sex with three different women in one episode. I know he's a good-looking guy and all, but goddamn. One of those women is his ex-wife, by the way, and I believe the first line of the series is, "Never fuck your ex." For me, that tells you everything you need to know about this show. Stay away from the things that eat your soul....like bad tv shows. And honestly, it sucks to write all of this because Cheadle, Schwartz, and even Kristen Bell (who I didn't mention, but is pretty good in the one episode I did see) are all great and they deserve better too...not just the audience. I'm sure there's a chance that the show improves as it goes along, but honestly, the first episode is terrible.

It's okay, though...SEINFELD also cures my television blues. As with THE SIMPSONS, I could watch the same episodes every day and still laugh.

It took me a while to start watching SHERLOCK, but I'm all caught up now and I realize what I had been missing out on. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman make a great team. But honestly, I was mostly impressed by Andrew Scott playing the role of James Moriarty. Brilliant stuff. Really looking forward to season 3.

Jeff recently brought the podcast HOW DID THIS GET MADE? to my attention. Despite it being a discussion about awful movies, I still find it fun and intriguing. I like the way Paul Scheer, June Diane Raphael, and Jason Mantzoukas handle each film. It's more than just a small group of people shitting on a shitty film. And as I tweeted to John and Ben a few weeks ago, listening to HDTGM has me thinking more and more about a CR5FC podcast; I'd love to do it even though I probably wouldn't say much on it...given how little I say in conversation. Oh well, I think it would be a hell of a lot of fun though. Perhaps someday.

Top Ten Best Picture Winners

1. Rebecca
2. On the Waterfront
3. Bridge on the River Kwai
4. Lawrence of Arabia
5. No Country For Old Men
6. Annie Hall
7. It Happened One Night
8. Casablanca
9. The Godfather
10. The Apartment

* I watched ALL ABOUT EVE many years ago; I could've listed it but I don't really remember it too well. I should really re-watch it soon.

Agreed, John, it's tough to get excited about the list of Best Picture Winners. And as Brandon wrote about, the Academy's concern for ratings absolutely cheapens the whole thing. When a movie like AVATAR racks up nine Oscar nominations, you know it's shit. Granted, AVATAR did not take home the most coveted award of the night. The Best Visual Effects win was probably deserved, though.

But despite The Oscars being a bit of sham, I can't remember the last time I didn't tune in. I'll be watching tonight and will watch next year (live tweeting tonight, John?). I can't say that I care too much about who wins and who doesn't (though I do have some favorites here and there). Admittedly, I used to care. When CRASH won I was very annoyed; when THE DEPARTED won, I was very happy for Marty.

The host of the Oscars obviously plays a pretty big part in this as well. I'm not looking forward to seeing Seth McFarlane at all. As you all know, I hate his work. I hope Jon Stewart gets another shot at hosting soon. Jeff and I were talking earlier and agreed that it would be brilliant if Stephen Colbert were to host the show--be it the real Colbert or his character from The Report. I loved what Tina Fey and Amy Poehler did at the Golden Globes this year; it'd be great to see them get a shot at the Oscars in the near future.

Concerning the lists of John and Brandon, I haven't seen THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES yet, but I'd like to. Ditto for A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS and UNFORGIVEN. At some point here, I will check all three of them out. Good lists, and no arguments otherwise. And great write-up, Brandon; I enjoyed reading it. 

Handing Out My 2012 Awards

FILM

Best Film: The Master

Best Director: Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master

Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix, The Master & Denis Lavant, Holy Motors

Best Actress: Emmanuelle Riva, Amour

Best Supporting Actor: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Master

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, The Master

Best Original Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson, The Master

Best Adapted Screenplay: David Cronenberg, Cosmopolis

Best Original Score: Jonny Greenwood, The Master

Best Soundtrack: Tabu

Best Animated Feature: Brave

Best Foreign Film: Holy Motors

Best Cinematography: Mihai Malaimare, Jr., The Master

Best Costume Design: Kasia Walicka Maimone, Moonrise Kingdom

Best Film Editing: Leslie Jones & Peter McNulty, The Master

Best Sound Editing & Mixing: The Master

Best Makeup and Hairstyling: Holy Motors

Best Original Song: "Who Were We?" from Holy Motors

Best Production Design: Adam Stockhausen, Moonrise Kingdom

Best Visual Effects: WIP Studio, Holy Motors

TELEVISION

Best Drama Series: Game of Thrones

Best Comedy or Musical: Parks and Recreation

Best Miniseries or TV Movie: Sherlock

Best Actor, Drama Series: Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad

Best Actress, Drama Series: Claire Danes, Homeland

Best Actor, Comedy or Musical: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock

Best Actress, Comedy or Musical: Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation

Best Actor, Miniseries or TV Movie: Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock

Best Supporting Actor, series, miniseries, movie: Andrew Scott, Sherlock & Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones

Best Supporting Actress, series, miniseries, movie: Lena Headey, Game of Thrones

Last year's winners can be found here.

My Top Ten Films of 2012

1. The Master
2. Holy Motors
3. Zero Dark Thirty
4. Moonrise Kingdom
5. Tabu
6. Amour
7. Lincoln
8. Killing Them Softly
9. Cosmopolis
10. Looper

Honorable Mentions: Brave, Seven Psychopaths, Argo, The Dark Knight Rises

Not Quite Honorable, but Notable Mentions: Django Unchained, Rust and Bone, The Hobbit, Safety Not Guaranteed

January

Features

The Killing of a Chinese Bookie ****
Touch of Evil ****1/2
Diary of a Country Priest ****
Tabu ****
Holy Motors ****
Beasts of the Southern Wild ***
To Rome with Love ***
Zero Dark Thirty ****
Rust & Bone ***1/2
Premium Rush ***
ParaNorman ***
Killer Joe ***

Re-watched

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ****


Television

30 Rock season 7
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Homeland seasons 1 and 2
Lookwell (pilot)
Parks and Recreation season 5
Sherlock seasons 1 & 2
The Simpsons (various episodes)
The Twilight Zone (1 episode) 
You Bet Your Life (1 episode)

Notes: John wanted me to review The Killing of a Chinese Bookie after logging it on Letterboxd. I'm afraid I'd only disappoint; I don't have much to say, but I did like it quite a bit. Ben Gazzara's performance is great; he really embodies his character, Cosmo. And one can't help but pity him; he's a decent guy (considering the fact that he's a strip club owner) who gets in way over his head. But really, he gets in over his head because he's awful with money. I really like the scenes early on in the film when Cosmo's celebrating the fact that he's paid off one of his long-standing debts - he dresses in a tuxedo and, accompanied by two of his girls, takes a limo to a card game...where he immediately falls back in the hole. Anyway, I enjoyed it and I really like Cassavetes' style now that I've seen two of his films (this and Shadows).

Touch of Evil is really good and I'd see it again if I had a copy of the DVD. It moves pretty fast initially, but because it's intriguing you never feel like staying lost in the details; it's a film that makes you want to catch up to speed. And once you do, it's a very enjoyable ride.

Diary of a Country Priest was Jeff's number one movie of all-time. I can understand why Jeff and others regard it so highly; it's very well done. But obviously my four star rating indicates that I don't exactly agree with Jeff on the film. Oh, well. Guess we have to disagree on something.

I have ratings for the 2012 films above, but I'm still going to remain silent on them for now. I want to post my top ten list (soon, I hope) without tipping my hand. I'm not sure how set in stone those above ratings are anyway. Maybe sometime in the near future, Ben and I will discuss To Rome with Love and Beasts of the Southern Wild. I ended up being somewhat pleasantly surprised by both.

I re-watched The Fellowship of the Ring because I bought the Lord of the Rings: Motion Picture Trilogy on blu-ray; I didn't really care about buying the extended versions and goddamn are they expensive. It had been a few years since I last watched the Fellowship; it's also the one I've seen the least amount of times (3 or 4 times...something like that). Still very enjoyable. Glad I now own the trilogy on blu-ray.

January saw the end of one of the funniest television shows I've ever watched: 30 Rock. It was a great seven year run. I was pretty critical of seasons five and six, but I really enjoyed the final season. Many of the episodes had me laughing from beginning to end. I'm really thankful for this show; it provided innumerable moments of fun and hilarity. Great cast, great characters, great writing...and like the The Simpsons seasons of the mid 90s, the show averaged a large amount of jokes per minute. I'm really going to miss this show, but thanks the DVD sets that I own, I'll continue to re-watch the show.

I moved through Homeland pretty quickly. It's an interesting show and was easy to marathon. It isn't the greatest drama I've seen but it's more than serviceable. I'll probably write more on this show in the future; it's between seasons right now, so no one's really talking about it anyway.

Lookwell is a pilot that Conan O'Brien and Robert Smiegel wrote in the late 80s/early 90s. I saw a link to the pilot (which is up on youtube) from AV Club. Anyway, it stars Adam West and he plays a washed actor, Lookwell, who used to star on a cop drama in the 70s. Now Lookwell spends his time teaching acting classes and trying to solve actual crimes, which he is quite inept at. It's worth checking out, and it would've been nice had it been picked up and more episodes had been made.

I'm enjoying Sherlock quite a bit. Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman make a good team. I only have one episode left to watch before I'm caught all caught up.

I've been slacking on the Twilight Zone stuff. I'm normally a procrastinator so it's tough for me to watch an episode before the deadline day of when everyone's supposed to have posted it. So when I did post for that first episode, everyone had already moved on the next one and I was left out of the discussion. I really blame John, though. He's a big meanie...or a blue meanie. My Beatles acid trips get me all confused sometimes.

I watched an episode of You Bet Your Life because I was desperate for some Groucho. It just might be time for me to re-watch a Marx brothers film. Maybe Duck Soup or Horse Feathers.

"Those are my principles, and if you don't like them...well, I have others."

Not ready for a 2012 list either...

I think I'll go ahead and steal John's idea. Here are my updated top ten lists for 2011 and 2010...

2011

1. The Tree of Life
2. A Separation
3. Drive
4. Take Shelter
5. Le Havre
6. Hugo
7. The Kid with a Bike
8. The Skin I Live In
9. Attack the Block
10. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

HM (listed in order): Damsels in Distress, Midnight In Paris, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Mill and the Cross.

Since I posting a list last year, Drive has overtaken Take Shelter for the #3 spot. I have re-watched both since posting my list and, over that period, I've grown to love and appreciate Drive a lot more than Jeff Nichols' film...which is still pretty damn good in my mind. Drive isn't #1 on my list because I don't think it is the best film of 2012, but it probably is my favorite film from that group.

The Kid with a Bike jumped The Skin I Live In for the #7 spot. I've re-watched TSILI but have yet to re-watch TKwaB. This change is do the fact that Almodovar's film lost some of its appeal now that I'm aware of the "twist" in the film's story. It's still a really good film, though.

I really wish I could get Damsels in Distress on there somehow. I'm tempted to bump Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. I should really re-watch both and then decide. And I know I could add Whit Stillman's film to my 2012 list (I won't, though, for consistency), because it would definitely crack my top ten. Still have plenty of lost for Midnight In Paris as well, John. ;)

2010

1. Certified Copy
2. The Social Network
3. Another Year
4. True Grit
5. 13 Assassins
6. Meek's Cutoff
7. Inception
8. Blue Valentine
9. Uncle Boonme
10. Winter's Bone

HM (listed in order): Shutter Island, The American, Toy Story 3, Black Swan, 127 Hours.

No changes since my last update...which, I don't even remember when that was.

I would really like to re-watch Certified Copy and Another Year. I don't own either, but the former is on NWI. I still stand by The Social Network; love that David Fincher.

Still standing by Inception as well; I still enjoy it. I can't say that I care too much about #'s 8-10 and my honorable mentions. I do like them and think they're better than the other films I saw from that year, but yeah, I admit that I'm not crazy about them either.

Before I make my 2012 list, I still want to see: Holy Motors, Tabu, Rust & Bone, and Zero Dark Thirty. Those are the films that I think would shake my list up. I still would like to see: Argo, Seven Psychopaths, Premium Rush, Silver Linings Killer Joe, Playbook, Life of Pi, though I have doubts that they would make it (for one reason or another). I probably shouldn't do that/view those movies in that way...but that's the way it is. I added Beasts of the Southern Wild to my queue, which is currently available on Netflix/DVD, but there's a good chance I won't get around to seeing it for a while.

Last year I wrote a post on my version of The Golden Globes with my own personal nominees and winners. I'll probably do that again after I post my top ten list.

More Django Thoughts

Brandon, you had my curiosity. But now, you have my attention...

Ha, I figured you'd get a kick out of me relaying that Jeff story. And he's probably in need of some taunting. Hell, I'm probably in need of some taunting. Either way, I always enjoy it when Jeff shares some of your text convos with me--fun and interesting stuff.

Agreed, the Blazing Saddles comparison is a tad easy/lazy. But I disagree (slightly) with the KKK scene; it made me laugh as well, but, in my opinion, Tarantino seemed to loiter in the comedy a bit longer than he had for any of the other scenes. And I respectfully disagree about the comedy not dulling the dramatic impact. I think it does for me a bit, but definitely not enough to completely hijack/ruin the film. There are bigger problems, as we've mentioned. Tarantino is gifted at jumping between the genres within his films.

I'll let Jeff handle the more in-depth analysis of the KKK scene. I pretty much agree with what he'll write. (He might finish his post before me, though). We're both typing away at the same time here.

Good points about whether we should ignore certain topics for fear of what the public might do with them. And I know we both agree on the answer...and Tarantino would agree with us as well. QT made the film he wanted all the while knowing that it would end up offending someone.

And right, I overlooked the fact the you mentioned the brilliance of the handshake scene. Great points in your original post and I like your interpretation of Candie's extended palm. And I'm starting to agree with you more on this film being much richer than I had previously thought. That's a credit to you and the Big Media Vandalism post.

One idea I forgot to include in my post yesterday was that I'm glad Tarantino made the dentist/bounty hunter character a German. Me thinking that Tarantino wrote the character as a German only because he wanted his movie to star the great Christoph Waltz is probably not fair to QT's intelligence. I mean, hell, his last movie was about WWII. Spike Lee called slavery in America a "holocaust." I agree, and like the Holocaust in Germany/throughout Europe, it's our country's most disgraceful, disgusting moment.

In the past, whenever I heard the words "German" or "Germany," I would instantly think of Nazis or make a Nazi joke in my head. Lot's of people do it. But as I got older, I learned to get over that. And as a country, Germany has moved on from Hitler. Compare that to the American South where the Confederate flag still hangs in front of certain government buildings, households, and as bumper stickers and decals on cars/trucks. The South refuses to let the Confederacy die, and plenty of racist assholes (in the North and South) continue to worship the 'stars and bars.' For the love of god, end it. I had the same thoughts when we were watching Lincoln. End rant.

Some Thoughts on Django Unchained

As I wrote in my December round-up post, Jeff and I have been talking about Django on and off for the past weeek, but I hadn't spent any significant time thinking about it on my own. That is, not until I stumbled upon this great blog post:

http://bigmediavandal.blogspot.com/2013/01/unchained-melody-two-troublemakin.html

I got the link from Roger Ebert on the twitter this morning (we're good friends). A bit later, I saw Hannibal Buress retweet it via someone else, so I'm sure plenty of people have visited/read that site today. And what a great read it is. If you haven't checked it out yet, I would encourage you to do so.

Anyway, first I want to focus a bit on Blazing Saddles. It's funny...when I saw those words in the Big Media Vandalism post, of course I immediately thought of Jeff. And then when I got home from work, Jeff told me that Brandon texted him to poke a bit of fun in saying that someone dismantled his Blazing Saddles argument. I'm pretty sure that was the only thing about the BMV post that I disagree with. I'm sticking with Jeff mainly because the Don Johnson/Jonah Hill KKK scene is pretty damn silly.

Now it's not as if the comedy in that scene came out of nowhere....both in terms of Django and Tarantino's other films--Inglourious Basterds is funny, Death Proof is funny, etc.--Quentin has a great sense of humor and he knows how to incorporate comedy into his films, no matter how dark the subject matter is. And there are a handful of humorous moments in DU before and after that aforementioned Don Johnson scene.

Also, I know no one is shitting on Blazing Saddles here, but I still feel like it should be said that comparing the two should not be seen as an assault on the work Tarantino has done with Django.

In Odie's round 3 post, he does make an excellent point about the differences between Blazing Saddles and Django Unchained. In the former, the people of Rock Ridge can't believe their eyes when they see a black man wearing a badge; in the latter, the people of (I forget the town's name) are stunned and angered by the sight of a black man on a horse. Fair enough, Tarantino's film resembles the zeitgeist a little bit more. But I still wouldn't say it accurately depicts what would've actually gone down back in the mid to late 1800s. The reality probably would've seen someone coming at Django to kill him, just for riding a horse.

So for me, unless I'm missing something, that's where the argument ends up--Quentin's movie isn't as much of a comedy as Mel Brooks' (there are clear differences), but they both handle racism and slavery with comedic gloves. And sure, both movies are funny. Though I admit that there were times, sitting in a theater surrounded mostly by white people, where it felt a little strange that everyone was laughing. This was mainly during the scene where the townspeople are scared and pissed because Django is riding a horse. (I thought the humor in the "how should I treat Django?" conversation between Big Daddy and Bettina was done very well.)

Here's a stupid Blazing Saddles/Django Unchained comparison...but I'll only make it because it'll serve as a segue for me--the directors both cast themselves in their respective films. I didn't really have a problem with Quentin putting himself in his movie; as we all know, he's no stranger to that. Sure his accent was terrible, but I didn't care too much about that either. What bothered me was, as Jeff wrote, how easy it was for Django to escape from him and Michael Parks. In a way, it ties in with what Django learned from Dr. Schultz--that he if speaks confidently and clearly, he can talk himself out of a jam. Fine, but really, the only reason why that scene exists (in my mind) is so that Django can get his hands on some dynamite.

Don't get me wrong, I wanted to see Candie Land blown to high hell and, but to tack on an extra twenty minutes just go it could happen seemed sloppy.

But I had no problem with the showdowns. This was something I've been thinking more about today--Dr. Schultz has to be the one to kill Calvin Candie and Django has to be the one who kills Stephen.

In Dr. Schultz's mind, Candie is the worst kind of scum. I love the scene where Schultz tells Candie that Alexandre Dumas was black. And I haven't seen much talk of that handshake scene. It was one of my favorites because in that moment, Candie becomes the unpredictable villain I expected him to be throughout the film. Granted, he does have a moment of unpredictable villainy when he threatens to bash Broomhilda's skull open with a hammer.

But I digress....was Candie just looking for a handshake? I asked Jeff after we saw it in the theater. I'm not sure if he's still sticking with this answer, but he told me that he thought Candie was going to kill them. It does make sense, and you'd almost expect it given, in his mind, the hell he'd been put through by Schultz and Django. But I disagreed and I wanted it to be the case where Candie was just looking for a handshake.

In that scenario, it gives more power to Christoph Waltz's character and to the decision he makes. All he has to do is shake Candie's hand and he's gone. He's safe. But no, Waltz loathes and is so sickened by this man that he cannot help himself; he must kill Candie.

In Django's mind, most people are the worst kind of scum. But then there's Stephen, a new kind of scum...a black man who, through spending his entire life serving a rich, white people, has grown to hate and destroy other black men and women. It's conceivable that through his upbringing, Stephen would grow to love the Candie family and hate anyone who would try to hurt or cheat them.

The feeling is mutual for Stephen. He sees Django on a horse with clean clothes and it tears him up inside. Stephen's mind has been so warped and polluted that he instantly identifies Django as his enemy. There's an obvious tragedy to that but the fact remains, Django has to be the one who kills Stephen..but not before he gets to witness Django walking out of the front doors of Candie Land to Broomhilda.

The ending is a spectacle (complete with dressage). It was the way to go, but it was dragged out far too long. And as the Big Media Vandalism post rightly points out, even though the credits roll, it'd hardly be the end for Django and Broomhilda; unfortunately they would be hunted for the rest of their lives.

So while the link at the top of this post got me thinking more on Django Unchained and got me to appreciate it a bit more, I still stand by the idea that it was ultimately disappointing. I've seen better from Tarantino and I agree with Brandon's thoughts about where he should go from here.

December

Features

Rio Grande ****
Lawless **
Killing Them Softly ****
Gaslight ****
The 39 Steps ***
A Separation (re-watched) ****1/2
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey ***
Harvey ****
Django Unchained ***1/2
Cosmopolis ****
Amour ****

Television

30 Rock season 7
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show
Dexter season 6
Downton Abbey season 2
Homeland (started season 1)
Parks and Recreation season 5
Sherlock season 1
The Simpsons (various episodes)

Notes: I watched She Wore a Yellow Ribbon at the end of November and watched Rio Grande at the beginning of December. That's two films from John Ford's cavalry trilogy down and I own a copy of Fort Apache so hopefully I can catch that soon. I had a top five John Ford list ready to go (the draft is still up on my blogger dashboard), but I didn't post it because it was obvious and similar to Jeff and Brandon's list. And maybe I'm still not sure which film I like more...The Searchers or The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. I know I included the former in my "best films of all-time" list but I'll be damned if I don't admit to being blown away by Liberty Valance.

Anyway, back to Rio Grande. I'd definitely rank it above She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (no offense to that film though).  RG offers a better story and a better flow. John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara make a great team, and their relationship was obviously one of the most important parts of the story; I didn't feel like John Wayne had enough to do in SWAYR. Anyway, my John Ford draft also had a line about how I wouldn't even try to do a write-up on Ford. Brandon said it all in his post. Beautifully done, my friend, if you don't mind me saying. 

I wrote the following about Lawless in another post that I never got around to submitting (I suck):

"I got Lawless in the mail from Netflix. Nothing about it stood out to me; it's very forgettable. And I'm sorry but there's nothing compelling about a relationship between Shia LaBeouf and Mia Wasikowska; I was bored just from typing that sentence. Tom Hardy and Jessica Chastain are just 'okay.' Maggie's relationship with the Bondurant brothers felt very forced and unnecessary. It made think a bit of Ida Lupino relationship with Bogart in High Sierra, but obviously that one was more developed and effective; the Maggie/Bondurant thing felt like a failed attempt at that.

And back to LaBeouf--I actually wouldn't mind him if he wasn't such a douchebag. People love Ryan Gosling, and part of the appeal is that he doesn't seem shamed by his Disney past. LaBeouf has failed miserably at trying to shake that off; he's trying way too hard to be taken seriously and he just comes off looking like an asshole. I was channel-surfing one day and I saw that Freaks and Geeks was on. Shia was in this particular episode and he played a weird little goofball (similar to his character on Even Stevens), and you know what, he was great and likable. He'd be so much more tolerable if he embraced who he really is and what he actually does well."

My apologies for putting High Sierra and Lawless in the same paragraph.

I also started to write about Killing Them Softly shortly after I saw it at AMC. But I never finished it because that day also happened to be the Friday when the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy occurred. I couldn't bring myself to write about anything violent. At this time, I will say that I enjoyed Andrew Dominik's film quite a bit. And while Softly's overbearing political presence warrants a groan or two, I would argue that it does not hurt the movie at all. If the film had an identity crisis it would, but Dominik knows who his characters are and what they want. I also loved the juxtaposition between mob justice and bureaucratic justice. I wish I could watch the last scene with Richard Jenkins and Brad Pitt right now. Great stuff.

I enjoyed Gaslight, but unfortunately I don't have a lot to say about it right now. 

The 39 Steps had its moments, but mostly I wasn't a big fan. I'm not about to criticize Hitchcock or say anything hyperbolic (gonna keep this dull), but it's certainly not one of my favorites. I want to see The Lady Vanishes soon; I have yet to see it. 

A Separation was just as good the second time. I still stand by ranking The Tree of Life ahead of it though. Are Jeff and I the only two to see this one so far? I'd like to hear another man or woman's opinion.

I agree with everything Jeff wrote about The Hobbit (shocker). Neither of us have read the book and I will say that's probably the only way one can enjoy it. There's definite fat to be trimmed, but mostly it's a fun adventure story. I also liked seeing more of Middle Earth and its other inhabitants. We meet trolls, goblins, and mountains that can move and fight. We also get to see more of the Dwarves and their history. In the review John linked but now hates, the reviewer noted that the scenes between Bilbo and Gollum are the best moments in the entire movie. Agreed 100%; really well done. Say what you want about Peter Jackson, but he and Andy Serkis created such an iconic character in Gollum. I would liken him to Darth Vader because as soon as you see him on the screen (or even hear him breathing) it instantly stirs up certain emotions. I don't feel like I'm alone in thinking that. Anyways, hats off. And honestly, no large complaints, but I'd be insane to list it among the best films of the year. It's a fun time at the theater...nothing more. 

Harvey is delightful. Jimmy Stewart is a legend. A third obvious thing. I loved the mix-up at the psyche ward when Veta is committed instead of Elwood.

Jeff also happens to be right about Django Unchained as well (Brandon too). It was a bit disappointing, though there were many things about it that I liked. Loved the Waltz/Foxx partnership. And while Leo was quite good in it and had some shiny/bright moments, I was mostly let down at how little Tarantino challenged him. Agreed gang, the ending is sloppy. Jeff and I have talked about this quite a bit already and we definitely agreed that it feels as if Tarantino rushed this one out. The ideas are there, but the execution is lacking. 

Cosmopolis was very interesting. I watched this one the other day, so I don't think I've fully processed everything yet. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about it, but I know that I liked it. It's definitely top-ten worthy and even though I'm not too familiar with David Cronenberg's work, this was the kind of thing I'd come to expect from him based on what I've heard and read. A Dangerous Method was too safe and took no risks whatsoever. Cosmopolis is the opposite. And hats off to Robert Pattinson for no longer playing it safe either. Granted, starring in something as shitty as the Twilight saga isn't exactly great for one's legitimate acting career. But R-Patts actually does quite well for what he's asked to do.

I finished Amour yesterday and afterwards I immediately read what Jeff and Brandon wrote about it. Great stuff. I can't talk about this film too much without mentioning the performances of Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva; even if the script was boring (which it isn't) and the photography was awful (it isn't), those two performances would've elevated everything. And even with the film being as good as it is, those performances do elevate it and make it that much better. Hopefully a larger discussion will follow. 

Tabu, This Is Not a Film, Holy Motors, and Rust and Bone soon. Thanks for that flash drive, John/Ben.


Television...

started Homeland and Sherlock this month. Both are enjoyable and I'll be sticking with them.

Maybe I can finally finish the second season of Downton Abbey soon; it's been somewhat of a struggle...just not as good as the first season.

I enjoyed the Dexter season finale. Maybe that wasn't hard for the writers to achieve given how shitty the entire seventh season had been. And even though I had predicted the final moment of the season a few months back, I did like how Deb's decision was presented to her. One more season to go.

I never do New Year's resolutions, but maybe I should make one to post more in 2013. I know I'd certainly like to. You're going down, Ben Spacey.

Octvember

Features (15) :(

Holiday Inn (1942) ****
The Lady From Shanghai (1947) ****
Looper (2012) ****
Ride the High Country (1962) ****
In Bruges (2008) ***1/2
The Master (2012) *****
Frankenweenie  (2012) ***1/2
I Walked With a Zombie (1943) ***1/2
The Leopard Man (1943) ****
Rome Open City (1945) ***1/2
Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) ***1/2
The Quiet Man (1952) ****
And Then There Were None (1945) ****
Bigger Than Life (1956) ****
Lincoln (2012) ****
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949) ***1/2

Television Shows

Dexter season 7
Boardwalk Empire seasons 1 & 2
30 Rock season 7
Parks and Recreation season 5
Seinfeld season 5
The Simpsons (various episodes...as always)
Real Time with Bill Maher
The Daily Show
The Colbert Report


Notes: 15 films in October and November...disgraceful. Despite both months lasting 31 and 30 days respectively, they seemed to move by at an incredible rate. John tweeted yesterday that he couldn't believe it was top ten time already; I agree. What a blur 2012 was. But speaking of 2012 top ten lists, I did at least catch five movies from this year in October and November. I still want to see Argo, Seven Psychopaths, Killing Them Softly, The Hobbit, Django Unchained, and somehow, someway I'll try and see Amour, Zero Dark Thirty, and Cosmopolis before making my list.

Anyway, moving on to the small list of movies I watched over the past two months...

Holiday Inn was a lot of fun. Had I not already been a Bing Crosby fan,watching this movie would've made it so. He's likeable (an undersell) and easy to root for when he's down. I also enjoyed watching Fred Astaire play a character who's a bit of a turd. The movie is great musical and one that's very appropriate for this month. And I wasn't going to mention this, but it's semi-related to our Lincoln discussion so what the hell. In celebrating Abraham Lincoln's birthday, Bing has his dancers and musicians dress in black face. Now normally that would lead me to be heavily critical of a film (even older ones, as you all know). While black face is never, ever okay, this particular number was celebrating Lincoln for the Emancipation Proclamation. So it's a very odd scenario, indeed. Anyway, I'm occasionally known as being the outspoken liberal in instances like these, but I have no large objections here, and again, I feel that the outspoken liberals who are attacking Spielberg's Lincoln should give it a rest.

I enjoyed The Lady From Shanghai. Film noir is fun. Rita Hayworth is beautiful. Orson Welles has a great Irish accent. And for a noir, the twists and turns are very satisfactory. I love the Fun House ending.

We booed about Looper...that was fun, but all that seems so long ago, doesn't it? Hopefully we get the chance to boo about another movie. And maybe we should do some booing for our Twilight Zone group, John. Just a thought. Anyway, now that some time has passed, I'm still high on Looper; it's still one of the better movies of the year in my opinion.

Overall, I liked Ride the High Country more than The Wild Bunch. I had only ever seen a young Joel McCrea as well so it was interesting to see him as an old man. But he and Randolph Scott are great together in this one. And I was kinda bummed out that Scott didn't look like this for the duration of the film:

I watched In Bruges in preparation for Seven Psychopaths, which again, I still haven't seen. In Bruges has enough to like/love, but I admit that there was nothing about the movie that really impressed me. Just me calling 'em as I sees 'em. But Martin McDonagh has my attention and I look forward to seeing 7P.

I watched I Walked with a Zombie and The Leopard Man; I hadn't seen either before. The former was all right; I definitely enjoyed The Leopard Man a lot more and I'd rank it just behind Cat People for the Lewton films I've seen. I like the shift in the character of Jerry Manning. It's just an effective, suspenseful horror/mystery story from beginning to end. The shot where the blood drips past the threshold of the door was great.

I wanted to see Safety Not Guaranteed because it actually looked like a sincere indie film to me. I largely avoid indie films because so many of them seem phoney and stupid. I'm still not sure how I feel about SNG. There are things about it that I really enjoyed and there are things about it that I wasn't crazy about. I can't say that there was anything about it that I hated, though; it is a good movie, but I don't know that I'd recommend it to anyone. I guess I need to let it sit with me more. Mark Duplass kinda reminds me of Matt Besser. I liked his performance. Aubrey Plaza is great and believable.

In Brandon's wonderful write-up on John Ford he lauds Ford's fight sequences. I can't think of a better showcase of that than the ending of The Quiet Man. I'll post a top-5 or 7 John Ford list soon and will offer a few thoughts on this one.

And Then There Were None was one of the more enjoyable movies that I watched recently. Murder mysteries are a lot of fun if they're done right; Rene Clair's film is. Great cast too. Wish I had more to offer.

***

The seventh season of Dexter has been terrible. I'm actually happy that there are only two episodes left this season. I was actually intrigued by the first few episodes, but everything has been downhill since then. The storylines are dull and trashy. I am, however, holding out hope that the writers will do something insane with the season finale. Maybe Dexter gets caught and spends the last season on death row...or maybe Deb will kill LaGuerta and Matthews. Fingers crossed for either scenario.

I re-watched seasons 1 and 2 of Boardwalk Empire and part of me wondered if I would see the season 2 finale any differently upon revisiting it. Not at all. Still hate it. Still don't understand it. Still have no real desire to watch season 3.