Movies By Month: February 2012

Prisoner of Paradise:  2003 Canadian documentary directed by Malcolm Clarke and Stuart Sender.  Beautifully narrated by Ian Holm, it tells the story of Kurt Gerron, a Jewish movie director who was imprisoned at the Theresienstadt concentration camp and forced to make a Nazi propaganda film extolling the virtues of camp life.  Damn.  It was interesting, but didn’t really grab me.  I think perhaps I’ve seen too many World War II documentaries?  Is that possible?  When you know so much about a subject that even new details don’t much capture your attention?

The Good German:  2006 historical drama directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, and Dopey Maguire.  Postwar Berlin, Clooney is a war correspondent, Maguire is his skeezy valet, and Blanchett is the Jewish prostitute/former Gal Friday/Nazi wife that they’re trying to get out of the restricted zone to freedom.  But of course she’s not playing it straight with anyone, that’s the trouble with dames.

I liked this more the first time I saw it, when it was called The Third Man and didn’t involve Maguire (how I loathe him).  It’s overwrought, completely lacking in subtlety—and maybe that’s what Soderbergh is going for, with a new spin on the noir?  Doesn’t matter, it’s not effective.  It’s also at least an hour too long.  Skip it.  Not even a Clooney in uniform makes it worth your time.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy:  2011 spy thriller directed by Tomas Alfredson and starring just freaking everyone awesome.  Tom Hardy, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Gary Oldman, Toby Jones, Mark Strong, Ciaran Hinds, John Hurt, Stephen Graham godDAMN such a good cast.  OK, yes, the plot:  London, 1970s, the British secret service is looking for a Russian mole in their midst.  I don’t want to say anything else lest I spoil it, and you ARE going to see this movie.  The acting is stellar all around, the pace is exciting but not so fast you can’t keep up, and the ending is pretty much perfect.  I’d heard that it was hard to follow if you hadn’t read the book or seen the BBC miniseries, but as long as you’re paying attention it’s not difficult at all.  I wanted to watch it again immediately after it was over.

And something that won’t make sense until you see it, and you ARE going to see this movie:  I love that you never really see Smilie’s wife – his blind spot.

Nightwatch:  1997 horror/thriller directed by Ole Bornedal and starring Ewan McGregor, Patricia Arquette, Josh Brolin, Nick Nolte, and Lauren Graham.  Wow, how prototypically ‘90s is that cast?  McGregor plays a law student who takes what he thinks will be a cake job as a night watchman at the city morgue.  Totally easy, he can study all night and try to ignore all the strange noises and creepy nooks and crannies of the freaking MORGUE, right?  Unfortunately for him there’s a serial killer on the loose, bodies are piling up, and strange things start happening.  Dramatic pause for effect!  Is his best friend the killer?  Is he losing his mind?  Is someone playing games with him? 

It’s a pretty decent thriller.  I wasn’t too surprised by the twist, but it was sufficiently nail-biting.

Panic Room:  2002 thriller directed by David Fincher and starring Jodie Foster, Kristen Stewart (yes that Stewart, of the sparkly vampire movies), Forest Whitaker, Jared Leto, and Dwight Yoakam.  Foster and Stewart are a mother and daughter who just moved in to a fancy apartment on the Upper West Side.  Too bad so sad for them:  the deceased former owner left some treasure behind, and the snotty grandson wants to get to it before the Estate Tax does.  When they realize their home is being invaded they lock themselves in the panic room, which is unfortunately where the aforementioned treasure is hidden.

                Certainly not my favorite Fincher.  It was decent, but not great.  Mr. Yoakam is outstanding (SO underrated as an actor), and everyone else does a fine job.  If you’re on a Fincher kick or really have a thing for Jared Leto in corn rows, then give it a whirl.  Otherwise maybe skip it.

In the Loop:  2009 political satire directed by Armando Iannucci and starring James Gandolfini, Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Anna Chlumsky (moment of silence for My Girl), and a ton of other people I kind of recognize but not really.  The U.K. and U.S. are on the verge of invading the Middle East – shock!  Feuding factions of government officials on both sides attempt to start or prevent this new impending war.  It’s freaking hilarious.  There’s so much cursing.  And really inventive cursing, particularly on the part of the two Scots, one of whom is played by Capaldi.  Example:  “Don't get sarcastic with me, son. We burned this tight-arsed city to the ground in 1814. And I'm all for doing it again, starting with you, you frat fuck. You get sarcastic with me again and I will stuff so much cotton wool down your fucking throat it'll come out your arse like the tail on a Playboy bunny.”  Gandolfini is also really good, which totally surprised me.  I highly recommend.

Ballets Russe:  2005 documentary about the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, directed by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller.  Another day, another documentary about dancing, am I right?  I enjoyed the interviews with the now-elderly dancers, who range from adorable to adorable/batshit crazy.  It was fine.  If you like the ballet and have some time on your hands, then why not.

Drive:  2011 thriller-ish drama directed by Nicolas Winding Refn and starring Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Albert Brooks, Ron Perlman, and Bryan Cranston.  Ryan Gosling plays an unnamed stunt driver/getaway car driver/mechanic who befriends a young woman and her son who live in his apartment building.  When the woman’s husband gets out of jail and needs some help paying off a protection debt, Unknown Driver decides to help him out, which leads to complications in the lives of everyone in his small universe.

This is a pretty weak summation of the plot, I admit.  Honestly, the less you know about it, the better.  At first I thought it was just going to be a better version of The Transporter.  But after the initial excitement of the opening scene, the pace becomes slow and methodical, building to an amazing climax.  It’s just so damn good.  To riff on one of my favorite quotes from High Fidelity, it’s dark, violent, and the soundtrack kicks fucking ass.  Put your doubts about The Gosling aside, and see it as soon as possible.

The Crow: Wicked Prayer:   2005 horror film directed by Lance Mungia.  Yes.  I watched this movie.  But how could I not, given this line-up:  Tara Reid, Edward Furlong, Dennis Hopper, Macy Gray, and post-Angel, pre-Bones David Boreanaz?!?  There’s no need to explain how bad it was.  It was truly, truly awful.  I was just constantly giggling the entire time, marveling at the existence of it.  I will say, I watched the original again awhile back and it’s still deliciously ‘90s Goth. 

Mimic:  1997 sci fi horror film directed by Guillermo del Toro and starring Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, and Josh Brolin.  When cockroaches spread a deadly disease in New York City, entomologist Susan Tyler develops and releases a new breed of bug designed to kill them.  Turns out this Judas Breed of superbug reproduces and evolves rapidly, becoming giant and able to mimic the form of humans.  So the squad of scientists has to figure out a way to kill them before they spread throughout the world!  It was so-so.  The buggy-sciencey stuff was interesting, but it wasn’t scary.  Not enough there to keep my attention.