100 Movies, 100 Quotes, 100 Numbers

This seems to be making all the blogs, but it's way too good not to include. I first saw a link to it from the most excellent Sergio Leone And The Infield Fly Rule but the credit goes to Alonzo Mosely's Acrentropy blog.



A listing of all 100 movies that the quotes come from can be found here. I counted 66 that I knew offhand.

Ocean's Twelve - It's Not A Heist Picture

This is my contribution to The Misunderstood Blog-A-Thon.


There seemed to be almost unanimous disdain and even hatred of Ocean's Twelve upon its release a few years ago. Those who loved Ocean's Eleven as a fun heist picture thought the sequel completely missed the target and that the thefts and timelines made no sense.

Well, first off, everything did make sense and the timelines match up fine. And second, it wouldn't have mattered if they didn't.

Ocean's Twelve is not a heist picture. It's an Art Film.

Although Steven Soderbergh uses film techniques to tell his story in an interesting manner, it feels like he's actually done the reverse - the story is there to serve his playing around with the techniques. That's fine by me as Soderbergh is a master at creating great looking visuals (the "Film Couleur" of The Underneath, the different film stock of Traffic, the recreation of a 40s film in The Good German, etc.). Style over substance? Well, for me, the style (at least in this case) IS the substance.

The above opening frame sets things up. Brad Pitt has just run out on Catherine Zeta-Jones while she sleeps. In a steal from the famous rain on the window scene from In Cold Blood, the shadows of rain falling by a window fall over her face like tears (hard to see in the screen capture - trust me on this one). And from here, just about every chance Soderbergh gets, he uses filmic devices: freeze frames, chopped timelines, black and white to colour transitions...


...on screen titles describing time or location changes (in this case, we see the first 4 half second shots introducing the city of Amsterdam)...


...tilted camera angles...


etc. But my favourite devices employed in the film are the colour filters and the terrific music throughout.

The contrasting colours of orange and blue seem to be the predominant ones used during much of the film. Why? I really don't know. But it looks terrific.


Let's go back to that fifth image in the above set. The dance through the lasers during The Night Fox's theft of the Faberge Egg. Orange and blue is the colour scheme of course, but the scene is made by David Holmes' accompanying music. It's a great match of the visuals to the music as it truly feels like the master criminal is dancing through those random laser beams while that music plays in the museum. The scene, of course, is absurd if you read the film as a heist picture. Physically impossible. And yet it brings a smile to my face every time because it is such a joy to watch how artful it is.

Indeed the other thefts in the picture are pretty nonsensical. The gang probably would've had to spend more on the entire set of equipment necessary for the raising of that building then the value of what they would've stolen. And the last heist involving Julia Robert's character? Ludicrous to even conceive of it (though perfectly valid for the overall plan hatched at the "6 days left" mark).

But it doesn't matter. Soderbergh is using the medium and a fun story to play. To create a work of art that can be rewatched and enjoyed time and again for all of its styles, techniques and composition. Ocean's Eleven and Twelve are two different movies to be savoured in different ways. And when Ocean's Thirteen comes out in a few weeks and the reviews start proclaiming how it's a return to form after the disappointing middle picture (I'm just assuming that it will be more like Eleven), it'll be yet another case of people projecting their desires for what Twelve should have been in their minds (a heist picture) instead of regarding it as what it was (an art film).

But that's just me.

Esoteric Picks Of The Week #15 (05/14/2007)

Tunes

Euforquestra - Explorations In Afrobeat (2004)


Looking for more Afrobeat in a Fela Kuti vein but with a bit of a Cuban spin on it? Look no further then Iowa. Yes Iowa. Specifically Iowa City. These farmboys (I have no idea if they grew up on a farm or not, but they come from Iowa so isn't that a given?) put out some great driving rhythms that seem to perfectly blend the addictive shake of afrobeat with the hip swivelling dance of old style Cuban music. Long grooving tunes swamped with percussion of all types and sharp horn lines make this a supreme toe-tapper - I defy you to keep your feet still.



Classic English Language Film

The Loved One (1965)


A few months back I read someone's list of great satires and searched out a bunch of their choices on zip.ca. First to arrive was "Little Murders" which I've talked about here before. Next were two disappointments: "Lord Love A Duck" and "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" - neither bad, but just not overly sharp or pointed in their barbs. The tonic for these misfires was "The Loved One". Billed as the movie with something to offend everyone, it offers very black and biting comedy with brillant subtle performances by John Gielgud, Jonathan Winters and Rod Steiger (as the embalmer Mr. Joyboy). With much of the film based around the upscale Whispering Glades funeral parlour, there was plenty of raw material from which to work.



Recent English Language Film

Heart Of The Game (2005)


It's easy to call this "Hoop Dreams for girls" because it does indeed follow years of ups and downs in the lives of several different Seattle girls high school basketball players. But it's not a knockoff...With an additional focus on the team's coach and his methods as well as the introduction of the film's main "character" a couple of years into filming (and after some already pretty amazing stories), the film has a lot to offer in just over a 100 minutes. And it's all extremely compelling, honest and sometimes uplifting stuff. When you finish a film like this and you feel somewhat sad that you can't spend any further time with the people who were on screen (and have an overwhelming urge to know what happened to them afterwards), it's a sign the filmmakers have told their story well.



Foreign Language Film

The Hidden Blade (2004)


There isn't anything really groundbreaking in this tale of a samurai torn between doing the right thing and staying true to his duty and traditions. But it's the quiet honour with which the main character holds himself throughout the film, as he wrestles with both his forbidden love for his maid and the task of killing a former friend, that captivates the viewer. Though mostly character driven, the story is never too slow and never loses interest. Indeed, it's because the character is so true and honest that you care so much about his story and for those around him.



WTF?

After Life (1998)


In contrast to last week's pick (the Swedish "Songs From The Second Floor"), the depiction here of possible after death experiences is a much calmer and lovelier state. Each week a new batch of people who have just died show up at a facility where the staff walk them through their past and their favourite memories. Each person will pick a single memory which will be filmed by the staff and will then accompany the individuals into eternity to be played over and over. It's as bittersweet as you might expect, but is leant an additional beauty as some of the interviews feel as if they are real documents of non-actors walking through their lives. Of course you can't help but do the same thing...What memory would you pick to stay with you into eternity? It's a thought that stays with you a long time after the film is over.

Animal rocks the joint

My cuz Nelson directed me to this. Funny stuff and Rita Moreno is fabulous.

This is for you Dad:




While I'm here, more Animal goodness with Buddy Rich (Bonus: In Spanish!):

Hey, wait your turn! Let's make this a fair fight...

One of my favourite blog posts of late is this one from Daily Film Dose discussing long takes and tracking shots with YouTube examples. I'm a sucker for extended shots where the camera moves and follows different characters and events all without any edits.

One specific scene referenced and embedded in the blog is this one from the recent Thai action flick The Protector:



It's a tremendous and very well choreographed scene and made me decide to rent the movie. But it, as well as several other fight scenes in the film, suffer from the One Man At A Time syndrome. In other words, the guys attacking our hero may be vicious criminals who enjoy the act of killing, but they just can't stand the thought of being seen as unfair...So they attack one at a time. Even though our hero is obviously enormously strong and has wiped out plenty of people already, you just can't gang up on him! That would be uncouth!

Now contrast that to this sequence from the great Korean vengeance film Oldboy (also mentioned in the Daily Film Dose post - the single shot starts about 30 seconds into the segment):



They attack him from behind, kick him on the floor, hit him with sticks, etc. And all at once if possible. Even when it's one at a time it's made to look realistic because everyone's had a chance at that point and been somewhat beaten down.

And the thing is, in "The Protector" Tony Jaa is a hell of an imposing guy. Not necessarily by his figure, but just his presence and the way he carries himself and walks. Right at the start of that scene when he walks into the lobby - he just owns it. And as he fights you can see the quickness and forcefulness of each move. They could have bunches of guys jump on him at the same time, have him woop them all and you would buy it. They didn't have to resort to the One Man At A Time crutch. Especially in a later fight where he decimates 40 guys - one at a freakin' time.

"Oldboy's" Dae-su is less imposing, but his intensity and the fact he has absolutely nothing to lose carries him through and allows you to buy his eventual thrashing of the whole lot of 'em.

In the end, both of these specific scenes are very well served by the single take.

Chick Monk - Roadie for the Defense

SCTV was one of the greatest TV shows ever. Full stop. No argument.

Tony Rosato was an early member of this Canadian show (coming from the stage of Toronto's Second City troupe) and this led to a 2 year stint on Saturday Night Live (1981-82, not exactly the prime years of the show). He created characters like chef Marcello Sebastiano, Chick Monk and Lou Grant (in a Mary Tyler Moore parody). Lots of additional TV work followed and though I had heard he had early troubles with cocaine, I expected that he was leading a reasonably comfortable life and possibly still acting occasionally.

So I was quite surprised this morning to see his picture on the front page of the Toronto Star with an accompanying story about his last 2 years - spent in jail. Since he hasn't actually been tried yet and there's a publication ban of some of the details behind the charges of criminal harassment of his wife, I could only speculate as to what has happened (and I won't). But to hold someone in jail without a trial for 2 years? Especially when his defense team have stated that they believe he suffers from a mental condition called Capgras Syndrome - a condition where you believe someone has been replaced by a double or an impostor (and no, you wouldn't be the first to think of "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers"). The story goes into further details about concern for his mental state and it certainly appears that he needed some help.

Again, I can't state whether Tony is guilty, not guilty or mentally unbalanced. I just think it's terribly sad...

In better times, here's Tony with fellow SCTV cast member Robin Duke:

Esoteric Picks Of The Week #14 (05/07/2007)

Here we are, returning to the Esoteric Picks feature after a break of a couple of weeks. I don't write with much ease or skill, so I think the effort I expended during Hot Docs to review all 10 of the films just simply took it out of me...B-)



Tunes

Monster Magnet - Monolithic Baby! (2004)


A return to an independent label for Monster Magnet seems to have rejuvenated the band and they may have found the perfect mix between the stoner-sludge of some earlier releases and their fondness for the perfect RAWK riff. On the surface the band may come across as butt-stupid ("Slut Machine" which kicks off the disc may cement that opinion if you don't look further), but the combination of head bobbing hooks and occasionally wickedly clever lyrics show that the band can throw you a knowing smirk while making you blast the car speakers just a little bit louder all the while singing "Shut your mouth you big f**king baby..."



Classic English Language Film

The Parallax View (1974)


Probably one of the best of the paranoia thrillers from the 70s, director Alan J. Pakula creates an international conspiracy that sucks in the viewer just as deep as the main character. Warren Beatty gives one of his best (at least for me) performances and you can really feel the walls close in on him - the cynical feeling of the times comes through loud and clear. The film wraps up with a perfect ending and does so without leading the viewer there by the hand. It's intelligent with realistic and well-defined characters that behave in ways that match their situations. I don't want to say that "they don't make 'em like this anymore", but I would need a few more examples of recent thrillers that would counter that statement.



Recent English Language Film

Anytown U.S.A. (2005)


I suppose I've been leaning heavily on documentaries for this category (8 of the 14 so far), but they just keep on coming - great stories being told in very interesting ways. This particular film is another case of documenting a particular mayoral race - this time in the small town of Bogota New Jersey. The current Republican mayor is falling out of favour with some of the residents but his Democratic rival seems to be sleepwalking through the election. Enter write-in candidate Dave Musikant who starts his campaign out of his Mom's basement and eventually gets the attention and services of a political consultant. Two of these three candidates are also visually impaired and the story of the race and subsequent election plays out in surprising and touching ways.



Foreign Language Film

Army Of Shadows (1969)


Jean-Pierre Melville makes awesome crime films. "Le Samourai", "Le Cercle Rouge", "Un Flic", etc. Great tension, cool characters and visual flair. So when his lost masterpiece "Army Of Shadows" was finally released in North America in 2006 with critics praising it to the skies, I was slightly disappointed to hear it was about the French Resistance during WWII. What? No heists or guys in trenchcoats? Well, that's true, but this film is still consistently fascinating and gripping throughout its 2 and a half hour running time. The constant blues and greys of the surroundings cast the proper mood over the ups and downs of the Resistance team's fighters and it also includes, go figure, great tension, cool characters and visual flair.



WTF?

Songs From The Second Floor (2000)


I debated whether I should recommend this film...It essentially has no narrative flow or relatable characters. But this Swedish film has some utterly beautiful, strange, unsettling and funny moments wrapped around what appears to be several people's journey through purgatory. Or maybe they're already in hell. Or it's a dystopian vision of the future. Whatever the case, there are myriad symbolic images scattered about in very static, but perfectly composed frames. The camera stays still the entire film (each scene is a single long take) except for a single instance. I can't admit to understanding it completely, but I really enjoyed trying to piece things together and I know that I'll return to the film again.