O Lucky Man!

Finally watched O Lucky Man!, the second film in the trilogy by Lindsay Anderson; a casual follow up of If.... . An excellent film, a workable, watchable, piece of art; Refreshingly pointed without being preachy or ridiculous or overly frought like Ken Loach's repetitive offerings.

Having limited funds I have been happily torrenting films from trusted sources for many years; However, being on a limited connection for the time being and certain changes in the lay of the digital land, mean I've been looking out for other resources. So far the best I've found is a brilliant online film resource called "Movies Found Online" that locates other websites streaming films, like youtube, googlemovies, etc and puts them into a tagged, easily searchable, browsable and viewable forum. Nice clean layouts, very few ads and nice connection. No login details needed either. The content is quite varied, and don't expect to find too many blockbusters, but plenty of public domain and intriguing flicks; What attracted me was Lilya-4Ever on the front page; Going through the collection, their informational section is a real gem: 50's propaganda, 70s sex-ed flicks, even 80's childrens warning videos! Excellent place to find free entertainment for an evening in. Let me know what you think.

I'm still loving The Auteurs, please add me if you've signed up! While they only have limited free movies, their catalogue is vast and awesome and no films cost over £3! Again, feel free to leave feedback with your thoughts here.

"My art is a miracle"

Last night I watched Bronson; A spectacular film by Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn. Refn takes a unique approach, drawing on dazzling the works of Baz Luhrman to give a very highly stylised approach to what could've been a dull documentary about Britain's most famous prisoner.
Mirroring Charles Bronson's talent for art, it shows his violence and brutality almost as an expressive dance, with a soaring soundtrack that has everything from Puccini, to Scott Walker and Kraftwerk. Tom Hardy, an actor clearly overlooked for too long, oozes charm and testosterone in a brilliant performance as the lead, aside from the physical dedication needed for such a role, his acting was magnificent - truly award-winning stuff; I look forward to seeing more from this very magnetic man.

I also discovered the website "The Auteurs"; A website that seems to combine everything cinephile with social networking. Ultimately, I like it because it focusses on auteurs, which, as I follow auteurs, makes it easy for me to find news, information and rumours about directors and films I'm interested in! Feel free to follow me, my user name is Square Glasses.

"I know how to do it now"

I've waited since Cannes 61 to see this film and it was worth the wait. In true Kaufman style, this is a story of a play about himself and the elements within - actors playing actors playing themselves, doubles, and all sorts of sneaky metaphysics, most importantly a beautiful brave view of the world, with revelations coming thick and fast. Phillip Seymour Hoffman plays a man obsessed with death and his own decay, a lonely failure of a man who just wants to create something important and true as his legacy. Fantastic sets, warehouse within a warehouse within a warehouse, a lady who lives in a house that is always on fire... And mirroring the story itself, all the soundtrack was written by Kaufman and performed by the players themselves.


"There are nearly thirteen million people in the world. Try to imagine that many people! None of those people is an extra. They're all the leads of their own stories"

Burn Coen Brothers after watching

It's been a good week for my film viewing! I've watched, Full Frontal, In Bruges, Slumdog Millionaire, The Wrestler, and Choke. These were all fantastic!

Choke lacked the dirt and grime of the book, while Sam Rockwell did an excellent job, I don't think he really captured the sleaze of the protagonist, moreover the direction lacked the build-up that the book had; In the book the tension builds as Victor's digestion gets more and more backed up, leading to a moment of great release with the death of his mother and the inevitable exit of the missing anal-bead. It was a moment of real transformation in the book, which the director failed to capture.

The Wrestler is a fascinating tale. It was shot superbly in hand-held like camerawork, to make it seem a little voyeuristic. A real triumph of both great writing and excellent direction. As a wrestling aficionado I wasn't shocked by the revelation of the grimy truth about professional wrestling - the blades hidden in wristbands, the careful crowd manipulation, the orchestration, the drugs, the politics... but it was an interesting angle to show the struggling aging wrestler, lonely, living in a trailer, estranged from his family - pushing himself to continue in the only thing he knows and the only thing he has. Beautiful.

Slumdog Millionaire was astounding. Incredible sets, visions of the gorgeous and grotesque, fantastic editing - Richard Curtis move over, Danny Boyle is the new British superstar! Ultimately, this was a heartwarming tale, but it's very different. Never letting up, it keeps you jumping from story to story, unfolding the memories of one lad, showing the harsh conditions, but never wallowing or showing bias and just as you think you might shed a tear, reflects of some happier aspect, culminating in a lovely fuzzy ending and a random piece of Bollywood dancing at the credits!

In Bruges I watched on a recommendation of a friend having dismissed it originally, after hearing the words "hit-men" and "Colin Farrell" in the same sentence. Taking black humour to a new level, it sets up this truly bizarre comedic situations, which are masterfully executed by Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. The writing is what really stood out from this film - amazing dialogue, it even had some superficial unnecessary conversations which gave the film a sense of realism and believability to be able to pull of some of the crazier plot twists. Martin MacDonagh is a very gifted writer.

Continuing my way through Soderbergh's back catalogue I watched Full Frontal. usual Soderbergh mind-fuck, breaking forth wall, interviews throughout that turn into scenes that turn out to be on a film that's being shot by another character... Surrealism and mocumentary fun, unfortunately with no real plot. the story gets lost and culminates in an ending that doesn't really fulfill. Soderbergh is a film-maker, no film he makes is in the same genre or style, he seems to draw upon a wealth of knowledge of techniqu and use different ones appropriately and unreservedly. This film wasn't as good as others, but I still love Soderbergh.


I also watched Burn After Reading - it was shit. Worst film I've seen in ages.



If I had to suggest one of these films over all the others, I would say In Bruges, which surprises myself being a huge Aronofsky fan. The Wrestler is a very close second.

The Curious Case of Human Existence

While here in the 'States I saw 'Benjamin Button at the local 25 screen cinema. I went in with the knowledge it had had mixed reviews and was going to be a heartwarming tale, little did I know how much it perfectly illustrated the pointlessness of human existence! The screenplay is based on a short story by F Scott Fitzgerald, classic American author whose work had provided us with material for Forrest Gump. The authors tone is seen in certain mirrored aspects - a sea captain, a mother figure who runs a guest house with rose-tinted armchair psychology and a main character who does a short tour in a war. FSF once again shows Man's life in it's entirety, from birth to death, full of travels and trials and interesting characters - only in this work, the lead character starts old and ends young, a curious detail indeed, but ultimately, I feel, shows that independently of direction the travel is meaningless.
The film itself is a glowing, warm story with southern drawls and crickets heard in the background in most every scene. Shorter than Forrest Gump and with much more innocence, it plucks at heartstrings but snaps them back instantly, so you feel uplifted rather than sad coming out. Unless you instead of seeing the glory of a human life with its variety, see the endless repetition and similarity echoed through generations leading from and to non-existence, which itself is meaningless.

Humbug?

My Cambridge

Watched Guy Maddin's noir-documentary about Winnipeg aptly titled "My Winnipeg". It's a great gritty local-boy approach to an average city, his enthusiasm for the details playing out as a sinister tale of a sleepy snowed-in people steeped in mysticism. He talks about stores and buildings with love and hate and speaks of things that really matter, not just the history but the *real* history. It's a post-noir shot to make it look old (I don't know the name of film type) but with lots of actual historic footage you start not to know which is reconstruction and which is stock!
It's inspired me to tell my story of Cambridge as an eventually accepted outsider, the local people who have amazed me, the local legends, the local secrets, the places only locals know and the uni students don't even see, the local characters whose names and sayings are immortalised on the walls of pubs and in the hearts of the people who live here, the tales of village halls and village schools, of city six forms and bridges...

Enlightenment vs Tech-noir

Yesterday I watched Alphaville, which I have mixed feelings about. It's style doesn't match it's content to the point of making it feel awkward and disjoint. A film noir set in the future city of Alphaville, a technocentric city of oppression. The set and wardrobe reflects none of the things the film is about, which unnerves all the way through. They speak of machines and robots and a futurescape that does not surround them. I like the innovative cinematography, but feel that this plot did not carry it well at all.

Today I watched Milarepa, a strange and bittersweet tale of Tibetan Buddhist legend. It left me very thoughtful. One quote struck me "enemies are in the mind, just learn to control the mind". It's set me to reading about Buddhism - contains some interesting ideas! The film was well shot, and like Cave of the Yellow Dog, showed sign of much local cooperation and improv, allowing the true richness of culture to show without needing to be overt.