Introduction
Ah, University! Work has now fully returned to interrupt all the lazing around and film-viewing I so enjoyed before; of course, studying a film module does mean there's a guaranteed one or two new films every week, and probably quite unusual ones too. "Hurrah" cry the statistics! "Ooh" cry... erm... anyone who likes more unusual choices...
I do feel a tad arty this week, actually. Of the six films listed below, two are French, one German, one Japanese, two are shorts, and five are between 77 and 94 years old! That's two weeks at the start of a University film module for you, eh!
Weeks Forty-One and Forty-Two
We begin with the two oldest of all those, both made 94 years ago! That's no guarantee of anything mind... well, except no spoken dialogue...
105) Fantomas: Juve Versus Fantomas (1913, Louis Feuillade, DVD) 4/5
Second installment of the early French film serial, adapted from a long-running series of pulp novels. Fantomas is a criminal adept at disguise and avoiding capture by police inspector Juve. It's full of crazy schemes and action set pieces, which means it's actually a great deal of fun, relatively fast-paced and densely plotted, exciting and deliberately amusing (though, as with anything this old, there are things to point and laugh at if you're so inclined). It also looks stunning for its age, with a stable and crisp picture, which incidentally makes great use of colour tinting (for example, turning from blue to yellow when someone switches on a light). It's not for everyone, but if you're interested in early cinema this is one of the most entertaining examples I've seen. As you may have guessed, we were shown this as part of my degree; off the back of it I've ordered the DVD of the full serial.
106) Traffic in Souls (1913, George Loane Tucker, VHS) 2/5
Silent movie (Universal's first feature-length release) about white slavery in America. You don't expect that from a 1913 film, eh? Of course, the issue is handled in a suitable way for the period: why the women are kidnapped is never alluded to (in reality it was for prostitution) and all the Bad Men are brought to justice. It's not all bad: in a surprising move for the time, the main villain is an apparently-respectable society gentleman who publicly campaigns against white slavery; by a similar token, the kidnappers are made up of women as well as men. The first half zips along an intricate multi-stranded narrative covering several groups of unrelated characters, but as they come together it begins to slow: what seems to be the climax takes half the film to play out its immediately-obvious events. It sadly ruins something that was initially rather promising.
107) Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997, Hideaki Anno & Kazuya Tsurumaki, DVD) 3/5
Eight weeks and sixteen films later than I'd've liked, I can finally complete the Evangelion story! (For my review of the first film, check out week 34.) First off, don't even attempt this if you haven't seen all of the (excellent) TV series -- it won't even vaguelly make sense. Sadly, if you have seen the series, it's a disappointing climax. Promising a clearer ending than the original arty philosophical one, it winds up delivering something that's almost as bad. It's somewhat redeemed by what leads up to this final confusing half hour: some proper story, resolutions for some outstanding plot threads, and a few instances of decent action too. As a conclusion it's far from satisfying though. One can only hope the new four-film remake of the whole story (the first of which was recently released in Japan), which promises another fresh conclusion, can come up with something more comprehensible. I wouldn't count on it though.
108) Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (1927, Walter Ruttman, download) 2/5
German silent movie depicting a day in the 'life' of Berlin, part of the 'city symphony' genre that was popular around the 1920s. This makes it one of those films that is in some way important, but sadly it's still a bit, well, boring. Essentially it's a documentary showing many facets of city life and industry, though with no kind of narration and often edited in an artistic fashion (fast cutting and crazy angles to represent the chaos of a busy junction, for example). It has its moments (the opening train journey being the highlight for me) and I'm sure some would find the footage of '20s life fascinating, but it's the sort of thing that's just too dull for my tastes. For something similar which I enjoyed a bit more, try the Russian Man With a Movie Camera. (Berlin is available for legal download and streaming at Google Video.)
108a) A Propos de Nice (1930, Jean Vigo, download) 3/5
Short film about the French city of Nice, mixing documentary-style footage of people with shots of the architecture, as well as clearly staged scenes (a man getting sunburnt, for example). There's a certain playful edge to it all, not just with content such as a garish parade and crazy dancing, but with amusing tricks (again, the sunburning), camera tomfoolery (for example, moving it to follow the loops of arches at speed; or using slow motion and sped-up shots), and picking out shots of pedestrians apparently for their annoyance at being filmed. It's an interesting amalgamation, then: part art, part documentary, part sketch show. (Available for legal download and streaming at Google Video.)
108b) Skyscraper Symphony (1929, Robert Florey, download) 2/5
Another 'city symphony' film, this time a short one of skyscrapers in New York. It's probably hard to 'appreciate' this without getting a little pretentious; certainly, it's much more aimed at creating the feeling of a city, or a visual representation of it, or something like that, than it is with, say, showing pretty views of New York's buildings. That said, in between the meaningful mucking about, there are some fairly impressive sights to be seen. (Available with mildly dubious legality, and a live score by "experimental sound artists" Ampersand, on YouTube.)
109) The Paleface (1948, Norman Z. McLeod, DVD) 4/5
Bob Hope and Jane Russell star in this Wild West comedy, in which Calamity Jane (Russell) has to stop a group of men smuggling rifles to the Indians. It's clearly designed as pure entertainment, mixing styles in a way no film would dare attempt today -- there's broad comedy, gunfights, horse chases and even a song or two! It works too. OK, so the direction may be a little flat and some of the comedy old fashioned... but it was made in the '40s and there's still a good number of laughs, so it seems churlish to complain.
Monday 22 October 2007
Monday 8 October 2007
Weeks 37-40
Introduction
This entry we move right from the start of September on into October -- under three months of the year left!
As I mentioned last time, my 8-day trip to New York has brought about the first multi-week entry in almost two months; couple that with moving in to a new place and all the associated sorting, plus having almost two weeks' worth of TV to catch up on (and that taking up most of my viewing time), plus starting my final year at University, and this is a four-weeker! Actually, it's pretty much a one-weekender -- I didn't watch a new film until Thursday 4th!
And so, following that 'accidental' almost-four-week break, I'm finally getting on with moving past the aim of 100 and into the grounds of "let's see how far I can get". This entry I make it to... well, read on and see for yourself!
Weeks Thirty-Seven to Forty
It's an all-action extravaganza this entry, with no less than four films with a distinctly violent centre. But don't think it's all the same, oh no no -- between them they cover several continents, even more countries, and spread out from the ancient past to the distant (or, at least, alternate) future, via the present day of course. There are spears, swords, guns and fists causing pain left, right and centre... and a few more unusual objects too. If you thought "action movie" meant endless bullets and slow motion... well, it does tend to involve at least one of those... but still, have a look and see that there is room for some variety!
We begin with what will likely be the first in an on/off series I like to call "Films From This Year That I Missed At The Cinema And Am Finally Seeing When They Hit DVD"... with one that's technically from 2006. But it didn't arrive over here until March 2007, so, y'know, still counts...
101) 300 (2006, Zack Snyder, DVD) 4/5
Highly stylised (and praised) adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel about the battle of Thermopylae. It's very much a Man's Film: long graphic battles, esteemed warrior values, mostly-naked women, heavy soundtrack... This doesn't mean it's without virtue: it looks stunning, and while the slow motion may be overused it creates some beautiful tableaus. There's even room for characterisation among the soldiers; these arcs may be familiar, but for once the filmmakers seem aware of that and keep such scenes to an appropriate, deftly handled minimum. The slight plot may be stretched a bit thin and the closing speech is sadly over-written, but 300 is nonetheless an enjoyable and surprisingly pretty minor epic.
102) Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005, Tetsuya Nomura, DVD) 3/5
For those who don't know, this isn't the seventh Final Fantasy film -- it's the second; though it's not a sequel to the first; though it is a sequel, to the game Final Fantasy VII (which isn't related to the preceding six). Just to be confusing, eh? Advent Children is far from standalone then, but with the help of a DVD featurette and some concentration it's possible to have an idea what's going on. It almost doesn't matter anyway: the main point is clearly the action, which is pretty spectacular; if you can bear the dense, plot-heavy first half (which does also contain several good sequences), the second is non-stop action, only occasionally marred by overactive camerawork. From a technical standpoint the CG is endlessly impressive (don't expect it to be lifelike, just extremely good) and the freedom afforded by the format is well used. I don't know how satisfying fans would find this (I'm sure they've all seen it by now anyway), but for us lay-people, if you can ignore the plot (or put in some effort to follow it) and enjoy impressively executed fights and chases, there's definite enjoyment to be had.
103) Transporter 2 (2005, Louis Leterrier, DVD) 3/5
Sequel to 2002's low-key, disposable but fun actioner. The plot is almost senseless and thoroughly familiar from the likes of Man on Fire or M:i-2, but that doesn't matter: the action's the focus, and on that promise it mostly delivers. In spite of the odd bit of CG-aided silliness, or the lack of anything as inspired as the first film's oil fight, the fights are still a lot of fun; one involving a fire hose is especially well executed. There's also a good number of amusing moments (both intentional and not, it must be said). It may not quite reach the first movie's simple highs, but there's still enough to like. More films in the series wouldn't go amiss.
104) Miracles (1989, Jackie Chan, DVD) 3/5
I've always been a bit wary of Chan's films: he's renowned for using comedy in his action (to help break away from the frequently-applied "new Bruce Lee" label), which isn't really to my taste; but after we were shown an impressive clip from this in a lecture I felt I had to give it a go. It's 1930s Hong Kong and Chan accidentally becomes the head of a mafia-like gang. The film follows a "gang war" plot for about 40 minutes before abruptly changing tack to become an identity-based farce! It's all a bit messy and most of the genuinely funny bits are still in Chan's excellent action sequences, which are mind-bogglingly impressive feats of acrobatics and choreography. Of course, it's these that we've come for, and the film would benefit from less pointless farcing about, a shorter running time, and more evenly distributed action sequences. Enjoyable, but flawed.
This entry we move right from the start of September on into October -- under three months of the year left!
As I mentioned last time, my 8-day trip to New York has brought about the first multi-week entry in almost two months; couple that with moving in to a new place and all the associated sorting, plus having almost two weeks' worth of TV to catch up on (and that taking up most of my viewing time), plus starting my final year at University, and this is a four-weeker! Actually, it's pretty much a one-weekender -- I didn't watch a new film until Thursday 4th!
And so, following that 'accidental' almost-four-week break, I'm finally getting on with moving past the aim of 100 and into the grounds of "let's see how far I can get". This entry I make it to... well, read on and see for yourself!
Weeks Thirty-Seven to Forty
It's an all-action extravaganza this entry, with no less than four films with a distinctly violent centre. But don't think it's all the same, oh no no -- between them they cover several continents, even more countries, and spread out from the ancient past to the distant (or, at least, alternate) future, via the present day of course. There are spears, swords, guns and fists causing pain left, right and centre... and a few more unusual objects too. If you thought "action movie" meant endless bullets and slow motion... well, it does tend to involve at least one of those... but still, have a look and see that there is room for some variety!
We begin with what will likely be the first in an on/off series I like to call "Films From This Year That I Missed At The Cinema And Am Finally Seeing When They Hit DVD"... with one that's technically from 2006. But it didn't arrive over here until March 2007, so, y'know, still counts...
101) 300 (2006, Zack Snyder, DVD) 4/5
Highly stylised (and praised) adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel about the battle of Thermopylae. It's very much a Man's Film: long graphic battles, esteemed warrior values, mostly-naked women, heavy soundtrack... This doesn't mean it's without virtue: it looks stunning, and while the slow motion may be overused it creates some beautiful tableaus. There's even room for characterisation among the soldiers; these arcs may be familiar, but for once the filmmakers seem aware of that and keep such scenes to an appropriate, deftly handled minimum. The slight plot may be stretched a bit thin and the closing speech is sadly over-written, but 300 is nonetheless an enjoyable and surprisingly pretty minor epic.
102) Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005, Tetsuya Nomura, DVD) 3/5
For those who don't know, this isn't the seventh Final Fantasy film -- it's the second; though it's not a sequel to the first; though it is a sequel, to the game Final Fantasy VII (which isn't related to the preceding six). Just to be confusing, eh? Advent Children is far from standalone then, but with the help of a DVD featurette and some concentration it's possible to have an idea what's going on. It almost doesn't matter anyway: the main point is clearly the action, which is pretty spectacular; if you can bear the dense, plot-heavy first half (which does also contain several good sequences), the second is non-stop action, only occasionally marred by overactive camerawork. From a technical standpoint the CG is endlessly impressive (don't expect it to be lifelike, just extremely good) and the freedom afforded by the format is well used. I don't know how satisfying fans would find this (I'm sure they've all seen it by now anyway), but for us lay-people, if you can ignore the plot (or put in some effort to follow it) and enjoy impressively executed fights and chases, there's definite enjoyment to be had.
103) Transporter 2 (2005, Louis Leterrier, DVD) 3/5
Sequel to 2002's low-key, disposable but fun actioner. The plot is almost senseless and thoroughly familiar from the likes of Man on Fire or M:i-2, but that doesn't matter: the action's the focus, and on that promise it mostly delivers. In spite of the odd bit of CG-aided silliness, or the lack of anything as inspired as the first film's oil fight, the fights are still a lot of fun; one involving a fire hose is especially well executed. There's also a good number of amusing moments (both intentional and not, it must be said). It may not quite reach the first movie's simple highs, but there's still enough to like. More films in the series wouldn't go amiss.
104) Miracles (1989, Jackie Chan, DVD) 3/5
I've always been a bit wary of Chan's films: he's renowned for using comedy in his action (to help break away from the frequently-applied "new Bruce Lee" label), which isn't really to my taste; but after we were shown an impressive clip from this in a lecture I felt I had to give it a go. It's 1930s Hong Kong and Chan accidentally becomes the head of a mafia-like gang. The film follows a "gang war" plot for about 40 minutes before abruptly changing tack to become an identity-based farce! It's all a bit messy and most of the genuinely funny bits are still in Chan's excellent action sequences, which are mind-bogglingly impressive feats of acrobatics and choreography. Of course, it's these that we've come for, and the film would benefit from less pointless farcing about, a shorter running time, and more evenly distributed action sequences. Enjoyable, but flawed.
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