Parting Shots...

Sukiyaki Western Django – Takashi Miike. Midnight Madness. Should have been a blast, but it was just okay. The movie was too long and it tried to have it both ways as a semi-serious western and all-out Miike freak-out. So at times the movie felt oddly restrained (only one castration and it was implied but not shown). The movie is Miike’s first English-language film—and I use the term loosely because the actors all spoke as if they were reading from a language instruction manual. Apparently this is intentional but the gimmick wears thin after, I don’t know, five minutes.

The crowd reacted pretty well, but I have to say it seemed forced especially at the end when after the hero kills the final baddy in the climactic scene, we all just sat there silent for a few moments before someone let out a “yeah!!!” and then everybody sort of started cheering as if they had been waiting for the prompt. Not bad, but not great. Quentin Tarantino had an extended cameo and he didn’t suck. So I guess that’s something.


Paranoid Park – Small film from Gus Van Sant. It’s a Dostoevskian tale set in the Pacific Northwest. A skateboard kid wrestles with his conscience and hangs out with his boys, grinding around the city. I dug it. I admire Van Sant. Here’s a guy who followed up the biggest success of his career (Good Will Hunting) with a shot-for-shot remake of Psycho. Sure it sucked, but just the fact that he even wanted to try it is impressive. I need to go rent Elephant now.


Across the Universe – I enjoy Julie Taymor’s work. I thought Titus Andronicus had some really potent visuals. I felt the same about Frida. Across the Universe is a musical set to Beatles songs taking place in the late sixties. If you’re not into the Beatles, I don’t know how you’ll react. I knew most of the songs and some of the new arrangements were quite inspired. Taken as a whole, I think it works for the most part. I got involved in the story despite knowing how it would turn out. I had to miss the last fifteen minutes or so, meaning I didn’t get to hear the finale which I’m guessing was “Hey, Jude.” (The main character is named Jude; his girlfriend is named Lucy; his best friend is named Max; there’s a girl named Prudence…you get the idea.) I guess I’ll go back and watch it when it comes out in the theaters. Not as bad as you might think, but didn’t grab me like Once.


Redacted – Brian De Palma’s Redacted isn’t really a good movie, but I’d recommend people watch it anyway. The acting feels amateurish which works against the gravitas of the subject. If you aren’t familiar with the story of Abeer Qassim Hamza then you should read it. It’s horrifying on every level. I understood what Mr. De Palma wanted to do here. The film is a bit experimental in that it attempts to incorporate new media such as blogs and YouTube-style sites as a means to deliver its narrative. George Romero’s Diary of the Dead does the same thing, but to much better effect.

Still, I’d say see this movie, because this story is so important. Of course it isn’t representative of the troops, but it does have something interesting to say about this war. The best parts of the film deal with the daily stress the troops endure and how debilitating it can be on a psychological level. It loses its footing once we get to the actual crime. The way the characters behave afterwards just doesn’t seem believable, particularly during their depositions/debriefings.

On a related note, a woman at the screening who said she represented an organization based here in NY that has been following the case said that these animals will most likely only see 10 years jail time. That makes me absolutely ill.

Top Five Films I Watched
1. No Country for Old Men
2. Juno
3. Rendition
4. Jihad for Love
5. Persepolis