Into Great Silence

Once again, Jon and I were pretty much the only people under 60 in the audience. Why does that always happen?

This is a documentary about the Grande Chartreuse monks. They are the ones who make the Green Chartreuse Liquor, although, the production of it wasn't shown in this film. According to Wiki, they have moved the production of the drink to Spain, but it is named after its color which shares its name with the monastery, which is named after the mountains in which it is situated in the French Alps.

These monks are silent most of the time, except for on a weekly jaunt into the woods and some ceremonial occasions. So...you have three hours of pretty much silent images, except for footsteps, chopping, sawing, praying, bells ringing...you know, Monk Noises. But, that said, the hole left by the silence really puts you in their daily lives and it is rather peaceful and beautiful watching the seasons pass while the monks immerse themselves in work and prayer and play (they do play -- one particularly joyful scene showed the monks sledding down a steep snowy hill on a sunny day.)

The filmmaker was invited to come film, but only without a crew and without artificial lights so the documentary is reduced to basic natural elements: light, space, time.

Very calm and meditative. Very long. It left us asking some questions, such as, "Where do monks go pee?"

Colour Me Kubrick: A True....ish Story

John Malkovich carries this movie, no question, but it would be hard to go wrong with the subject matter: a gay, crazy, conman pretends to be Stanley Kubrick (for the seemingly sole purpose of staying drunk and getting laid by rich men) but he knows very little about Kubrick and seems to forget sometimes that he is pretending -- it's ripe for comedy.

That is, if you aren't Stanley Kubrick

Malkovich has a Jim Carrey quality to him in this role, which is neither compliment nor insult in my mind, just an observation. In that he is portraying a man who is portraying someone else, who keeps changing his approach to said portrayal, his body language and facial expressions are as much a part of the character as the affected accents, lines and costumes. Speaking of costumes, an honorable mention for fantastic costumes goes to Victoria Russell (who hasn't done movie costumes for 20 years -- since the wonderful, horrible Gothic!)

The back story can be read here -- but shouldn't be until after you've seen the movie.

I'll also say that while this movie was thoroughly enjoyable, all of us agreed that the execution wasn't top notch. A clearer storyline would have helped...what we have are hilarious vignettes, but they could use more structure and definition in and of themselves, or a more cohesive timeline to connect them all.

Fanny and Alexander

Bergman has directed over 40 movies and his career spans 7 decades. He is a movie force to be reckoned with. Fanny and Alexander is a tale of growing up in turn of the century Sweden. Multiple generations partaking in happy Christmas rituals at a well-to-do family's gathering are shown in gorgeous warm candlelit glow. The details of the house's holiday decorations are particularly enjoyable. We are treated to a closeup look at the goings on behind closed doors and an intimate portrait of a family. The first two hours of this movie progress rather conventionally. At first we wondered where the trademark Bergman closeups and bizarre Seventh Seal segues were. However as the characters' lives unfold before us, we are brought gently into Bergman's supernatural world. The final hour is a wonderful mix of brilliant and shocking scene transitions, ghosts and dreams, insane characters and the wonder of a child's imagination.

Gwoemul (The Host)

I am a huge fan of three-dimensional characters. In general, they will make any movie watchable and they can make a great movie sublime. I instantly loved the family which is at the center of this intense and hilarious monster movie. In a letter to Landmark's Film-Club members, Bong Joon-ho, co-writer and director of The Host writes:

...how important it is to balance the appearance of a monster with lovable, empathetic characters. For this, I devised a very “typically” Korean family who are by turns funny, inept, and heroic—like anyone’s family....The film shows how these exceedingly normal people, no different from our everyday neighbors, are transformed into monster-fighting warriors.

While the action was fun and the sub-text politically savvy, what I liked most about this movie were the moments of humor, sometimes slapstick, but also at times, brilliantly subtle. It comes back the characters who make that possible.

I also need to mention the monster, who, through fantastic special effects, is superbly executed and terrifying.

The Rules of the Game

Wow! This was such a great surprise! I expected slapstick and low-brow humor, but I was so wrong. A group of rich folks gather in the woods at an estate for a weekend romp, but lies are told and marriages crumble and the poor servants are just as wound up in it all as the rich bourgeoisie. It takes place just before the second World War. Reminded me right away of Gosford Park (highly recommended for fans of Altman). Well shot, well told. Humans haven't changed much in 70 years.

Zodiac

Scary, entertaining, great costumes, great dialog and acting. They did an amazing job of putting you in SF in the 70s and 80s.

Mafioso

This was billed as a black comedy, but it didn't strike me as particularly funny. Sure, there were moments to laugh at, but the main storyline is quite tragic and sad. Alberto Sordi was amazing. If you go see this movie, he is the reason to do so. It is a mafia movie and so fans of that will enjoy the great characters.

Tears of the Black Tiger

My favorite review of this so far said, "Unless you've seen this movie, you haven't seen anything like it." It's a Thai Spaghetti Western. It's Technicolor-overdrive. It's funny. There's a midget. Cowboys and robbers and gangs of bad guys. A sad Thai soundtrack. A sad bride-to-be. Betrayal. Fun!

Black Snake Moan

I can't decide what's worse: that this film wants to be taken seriously or that someone out there might watch this piece of shit and actually think, "Wow, two humans helping each other. How nice that one tames the savage sexual appetite (which is obviously always the direct outcome) of a woman abused in childhood and the other, a white woman, tames the sorrow in a black man's heart with her....uhm...savage sexuality."

This film races right by offensive and directly into ridiculous.

Two more words about why you should skip this film: Justin Timberlake.

The Aura

Ingredients: An epileptic taxidermist with a photographic memory, a wife-beating hunting buddy, a shack in the woods, a casino ripe to be ripped off and an incredible dog. Outcome: Exciting and unique thriller set in the gorgeous hills and forest of Argentina. From the director of Nine Queens. He died before (or right after?) this movie was released.