(500) Days of Summer (2009)

4.9/5

Marc Webb's (500) Days of Summer has an infuriating title. It's annoying typing all those parentheses while organizing an outing to see the movie; or while adding, deleting, and re-adding it to Google Calendar when plans change; or while talking about how good it is with friends. And I would bet money on the fact that the parentheses don't even mean anything. They're just flourishes to make the movie seem indie-cool. Luckily, that's the worst part about the movie. Everything else is perfect.

Starring two of the leading indie actors working today (Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel), you can tell this is going to be an indie film. And it is. From the hipster outfits to the eclectic soundtrack, from the quirky habits to the unique sensibilities, this is indie to a T. But not the original independent of the 70's, the now-mainstream, now-conventional independent of contemporary cinema. Being what it is, it's not always original. In fact, most of the filmmaking techniques are repackagings of those found in Annie Hall (which is incidentally my favorite romantic comedy of all time). But what it copies, it copies well. It is polished and pristine. And most importantly, it works. I've seen characters break into song and dance before, I've seen unorthodox or broken timelines before, and I've seen brilliant use of split-screen before, but it all comes together here to create a compelling, fulfilling, emotional whole.

The story is a typical boy-meets-girl tale, but the narrator warns us that it is not a love story. And he's right. To a romantic, every girl you fall for is the love of your life. And since the movie is told from the guy's point of view, it seems like she really is "the one." And in that tender moment where he finally realizes that she isn't right for him, where he accurately pinpoints her role in his life, the movie peaks. You get that warm, fuzzy feeling in the film's bittersweet finale that every romance aspires to. You cherish the film, realizing that all the special effect gimmicks, all the "experimental" styles, all the editing, the cinematography, the acting, the writing--all that was there for the sole purpose of sending your heart aflutter. And like I said, it works. If you liked Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind or Garden State, don't hesitate to watch this movie. You will fall in love with it.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1022603/

Bed and Board (1970)

4/5

François Truffaut's Bed and Board is a playful and touching exploration of the life of a young married couple, Antoine (Leaud) and Christine (Jade), and their continual learning and maturing process. It examines the joys of a new child, the trials of adulterous desires, and the aches of separation. It is a simple yet well-made film that is filled with vivacity and infused with love for its inhabitants.

The editing is efficient, almost too efficient, never letting us take a breather from the whirlwind that is this couple's new life. The acting is capable, but the script often feels a bit written or staged. And some audiovisual quirks and idiosyncrasies stand out as bizarre or strange to people unfamiliar with Truffaut. This is in part due to Truffaut's history with New Wave, although here it is more refined and less experimental than in his earlier works. Truffaut does not always make good movies--and he has in fact made some terrible movies--but his Antoine Doinel ones are fantastic. And trust me when I say that this is one that I fully enjoyed from beginning to end and highly recommend.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065651/

Los Olvidados (1950)

4/5

Luis Buñuel's Los Olvidados, which translates to The Forgotten, tells the story of a young boy named Pedro who is caught up in a life of crime in the festering slums of Mexico City. He is friends with a gang of ragamuffins, including the recently escaped Jaibo, but wants to go straight. He tries returning to his mother for help, but she doesn't believe he has good intentions. Still, he presses on, finding legitimate work at a blacksmith, and then at a carnival. But at every opportunity for success, Jaibo is there to pull the carpet out from under his legs and flip his life upside-down again.

You feel for Pedro, you root him on, and you feel the pain he feels every time he bumps into Jaibo and things turn from bad to worse. It is gripping and depressing; it is not, as the intro tells us, optimistic. In fact, the intro tells us that there is no hope for the characters because there must be social change to cure the ills depicted in the film. But it failed to convince me of that premise because every obstacle Pedro encounters originates not from society as a whole, but from Jaibo as an individual.

The film is fairly mediocre on technical terms. The shots were conventional, the editing was shoddy, and the sound seemed perpetually off. Everything felt somewhat staged. The strength is in the film's quasi-surrealist images and ideas: a boy throwing an egg at a chicken to make it go away, a boy sucking milk straight from the udder of a donkey, a group of boys tossing mud and stones at a blind man. They are images that are difficult to ignore or forget. But they are images that hold power, value, and meaning. And they are images you should see.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042804/

La Dolce Vita (1960)

4/5

Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita, The Sweet Life in English, tells the story of journalist Marcello (Mastroianni) and the wild, extravagant bacchanalias he shares with international actresses and other wealthy women. The movie is adept at showing the striking disconnect between how the celebrities appear and how they truly are. Through Marcello's eyes, we see the excessive, endless parties lasting well past sunrise that inevitably result in his unconsummated lust. We see their paparazzi-bloated image twist his mind into thinking he's experienced unrequited love; only on the following day do we see what kind of lives they actually lead. We realize we really have no idea who these people are, and neither did Marcello, which only causes him to drown his sorrows in more drinking. In part a condemnation of sensationalist media (Fellini actually coined the term paparazzi in this movie), in part an exposé on the lifestyles of the rich and the famous, this film is astute and meaningful, absorbing and immersing, and above all aesthetically mesmerizing.

La Dolce Vita is visually intoxicating from start to end. Something about the cinematography, the movement of the camera, the movement of the characters, makes the whole film seem so alive. The film itself dances to Nino Rota's score. That is not to say that the 2 hour, 45 minute film is without flaw. It takes a while to make its message known; it seems to espouse the vapid lifestyles at first and only at the end are we meant to realize their inadequacies. It has its fair share of boring parts. In fact, the parties themselves turn boring quite quickly--an intended effect, I presume--and the parties form the bulk of the film. Also, it was sometimes confusing trying to orient yourselves to time, place, and person because of the repetitive nights Marcello spends wandering the streets of Rome. Still, La Dolce Vita is well worth watching and well worth remembering.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053779/

Monsoon Wedding (2001)

4/5

Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding is a touching movie about the somewhat rushed marriage of an Indian family's only daughter and the numerous other intricately connected subplots on the days leading up to the wedding ceremony. New love blossoms as old secrets are revealed. The story is poignant, the filmmaking is active, and the costume and set design are colorful and vibrant. The acting feels natural and real, and I especially liked the integration of English and Hindi. Nair paints a very convincing portrait of modern Indian culture, right down to the earthy hues, and she does it in a way that doesn't alienate people like me who aren't fans of Bollywood cinema.

Nair's later film The Namesake is not nearly as good, in my eyes. It sprawls too much. Monsoon Wedding is contained to a few days, which helps for the narrative's structure and the audience's expectations of where they are in the movie and when it's going to end. All in all, this movie is an excellent example of non-Bollywood Indian cinema and is a fun--but not shallow--movie on the ties that bind us together, whether through love, family, or culture. Highly recommended.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265343/

Dersu Uzala (1975)

2/5

Akira Kurosawa's Dersu Uzala follows the friendship between Russian explorer Arseniev (Solomin) and Goldi hunter Dersu Uzala (Munzuk). There is no real story to speak of--it is instead a series of short adventures the two share while exploring--and there is no real end in sight, which makes the 2.5 hour runtime feel that much more painful and soporific. His use of long takes felt like wasted time in the already long and boring movie. He would have had to cut a lot more than an hour off to make this movie interesting and compelling enough for me to recommend.

The characters feel simple, superficial, and contrived. The acting isn't that great and is thankfully left mostly in the background. The cinematography was surprisingly underwhelming. Maybe I just expect too much of Kurosawa's camera, but this does not look like a Kurosawa picture. Not by a long shot. His black and white films reveal his acute eye, but in this movie I see only bland, washed-out colors reminiscent of generic 70's films. If I could go back in time and meet up with Kurosawa, I would have suggested he avoid Russian writing, because this film and The Idiot are by far his worst ones. I find little to value in this picture, and cannot imagine many people will either.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071411/

The King of Kong (2007)

4/5

The King of Kong is an utterly engrossing, utterly captivating documentary on the world of competitive classic gaming. It follows newcomer Steve Wiebe in his attempt to beat the classic Donkey Kong champion Billy Mitchell. The players are absolutely fascinating; they are humanly complex with richness and depth that resonate with honesty. They don't fully reveal themselves to the camera and so you get the sense that they have lives outside of the movie, which is the ultimate goal of any film. Character studies are always vastly more interesting in documentaries than any traditional narrative could be, and The King of Kong is a prime example.

The structure of the film is brilliant. It sets up the story perfectly, from the greatness of the champion to the genius of the challenger. The editing is effective and efficient. It builds up the tension and excitement far better than most action blockbusters or mystery thrillers have been capable of. Watching it on Netflix Play Now, the film occasionally stopped due to poor buffering, and I just yelled at the screen, giddy to know what happened next. I can't imagine doing that for any other documentary. This movie is a true piece of entertainment, and despite the low-quality camerawork and simple special effects, I highly highly recommend it.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0923752/

Winter Light (1962)

4/5

Ingmar Bergman's Winter Light follows a pastor who begins to lose his faith in God after his wife dies. Much like Through a Glass Darkly, it examines religious doubt and God's silence during trying times. Except here we have a much more coherent message and powerful story that leaves you in breathless anticipation for its entire second half. What makes this movie so good is that the pastor's ultimate decision on whether to maintain his faith is entirely left up to the viewer. It can be interpreted either way, depending on the viewer's own beliefs. This is a difficult feat that Bergman has accomplished, and would be considered magical if the whole movie weren't so depressing. But depressing is what it is, which may turn some people away from this thought-provoking film.

As I said before, this movie shares a lot with Bergman's earlier film. The dialogue is rich with depth and thematic meaning; he even reuses several quotes and images from his previous film to much greater effect. The cinematography is even crisper and more beautiful than before and the editing is vastly improved. The use of sound and silence is intelligently conceived and effectively carried out. The acting is underplayed the right amount and the characters and their relationships are complex without being incomprehensible. However, it may not appeal to people with little interest in religion or faith. And it can be a bit boring at times (although it is also relatively short, at 80 minutes). Regardless, this is a fascinating study of man's faith during times of apparent abandonment, and can be a potent discussion-starter if you ever find yourself in the mood to think about such topics.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057358/

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)

2/5

Creature from the Black Lagoon is about a group of marine scientists in the Amazon who find a fossilized claw and try to dig out the rest of the prehistoric amphibious humanoid creature. During their expedition, they discover that the species did not die out 15 million years ago as they suspected; there is a lone survivor in the lagoon that starts to harass and kill them. It is unclear if the monster is trying to protect his habitat against the intruders, or if it is simply a violent, horny fish-man that enjoys killing men and capturing women. Many people love these classic Universal monster movies, extolling their ability to go against expectations by showing that the monster is capable of love and beauty. Unfortunately, this message was perfected 20 years prior in King Kong and is frankly not that novel or profound anymore.

The acting was expectedly hammy, with equally bland characters to match. The men are manly and fight over the woman, whose only job is to scream when she turns around at the last second and sees the creature approach. The creature is actually pretty spooky, shot in a way that emphasizes the good costuming and makeup. The underwater shots are surprisingly impressive as well. They are as impressive as the above-water shots are unimpressive, which is to say: very. The blaring trumpet that serves as the creature's musical theme/motif, on the other hand, was just repetitive and annoying. Don't bother with this film unless you already know you're the kind who will like it.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046876/

Red Beard (1965)

4/5

Red Beard would be a laudable movie by any other director, but is somewhat disappointing coming from Kurosawa. It follows a small town doctor nicknamed Red Beard (Mifune) and his arrogant new intern Dr. Yasumoto (Kayama), who would rather serve as the shogun's personal doctor instead of working in the free clinic. Through the few months of his training, he witnesses several life-altering and humbling stories that convince him to stay. Much like MASH, the film feels extremely episodic and there is neither a typical story arc nor a predictable end point. Each individual vignette is quite satisfying, exposing the human motivation behind seemingly malevolent or cruel actions, but they don't really cohere into a satisfying whole. I can easily see this being turned into a sappy melodramatic TV series by money-hungry producers.

The technical aspects of this film are of the highest caliber. Kurosawa's camera is impeccable. It moves naturally and smoothly through long takes to effortlessly compose scenes of stunning beauty and power. The editing, for the most part, is practically invisible. In combination with his camerawork, you never feel like you're watching a movie--you're simply watching events happen before your eyes. But there were also a few times where the editing was striking, jarring, and altogether confusing; luckily they were few and far between. His use of music is exciting and appropriate without going overboard, although it did approach that fine line several times. The acting by all parties is pitch-perfect and worthy of praise. Not a single player disappoints. I am always impressed by Mifune, and here he lives up to my high expectations. All in all, this is a terrific film on technical grounds with inspiring short stories. But the stories, when taken together, are below par for Kurosawa. This is worth watching, but know that it isn't among Kurosawa's best.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058888/