Yeesh, if you think that's unfunny, I wonder what you'll think of Dogtooth. Incest is hilarious in that film! Funnier than Tootsie and Superbad combined. My exaggeration here is minor.

I missed out on seeing A Film Unfinished when it was in theaters here. I might see it over the next month.

I've been interesting in seeing that one since you and major have been raving constantly about it. Unfortunately, I don't think it ever played in the Phoenix area, or at least I was never aware of a screening. I see it comes out in late January, so that's when I'll probably be seeing it; that and Fish Tank are two that I wanted to track down but never got around to it. I don't have a problem with sensitive or risky subject matter (Enter the Void, despite its problems, is an incredibly interesting film); just something about that particular scene in Exit Through the Gift Shop really bothered me, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't influence how I viewed the material that followed.

Also, I'll mention one more film I saw in the last week here that annoyed me:

The Other Guys: Add this to the growing list of "I didn't find this funny." I've spent the last week trying to figure out why this didn't work for me at all, and I think I've come to the conclusion that 90% of the humor present in the film is very mean-spirited and uncomfortable. And when I say uncomfortable, I don't mean uncomfortable in a Ricky Gervais Office kind of way, but more in a "Why did the filmmakers think this was funny and why would anyone laugh at this?" kind of way. Eva Mendes shows up as Will Ferrell's wife, and the entire joke is that Ferrell is awful to her for absolutely no reason. Ferrell himself is actually fairly awful here, and he's given a strange backstory about his former life as a pimp that feels horribly misplaced. The only person to survive this is Mark Wahlberg, who gets a few mild laughs, but even he's not up to par. Then, at the end, after sitting through what seems like an eternity of unfunny comedy, you get a very strange political montage in the credits that, while somewhat interesting, feels completely out of place with the film that preceded it. I was really surprised by how much I didn't like this; it isn't even an average comedy, and Berardinelli's inexplicable *** rating of this and Grown Ups signals to me that I can't really trust his judgment anymore in this area. I loved Anchorman, and I like Mark Wahlberg, but this just felt incredibly lazy. If I want to watch an action-filled buddy comedy, I'll throw in Hot Fuzz, which is a masterpiece compared to this. 2/10.



Granted, I haven't seen every documentary this year. Perhaps I was just so relieved to watch a documentary that was actually, positively, a real documentary, focusing on real problems and real people. I'm extremely burned out on the whole is it/isn't it trend of recent documentaries.

Yup I get that. I have still not seen the Joaquin Phoenix I'm Still Here thing
Rob

To be fair, when Banksy made Exit Through the Gift Shop, I don't think his intention was to cause speculation of whether or not it was a documentary. It looks and feels like one and, to me at least, that's all that's important. If it has a script and isn't real, does that proceed to invalidate the numerous arguments that it makes? Does it make Thierry's fate any less depressing? F For Fake is more concerned with reality than Exit Through the Gift Shop is, in my opinion. The hoax argument was created by bloggers and film reviewers. The film was created by Banksy.

But I definitely see what you mean in contest of Restrepo. I need to see that immediately.

checked out a few films over the past week. I've been crazy busy, will be back with some thoughts on:

Exit Through the Gift Shop
Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Elf
Waking Sleeping Beauty

Ah, the joys of working in retail this time of year......

The Last Station (2009) rightly earned Oscar nominations for Helen Mirren (fantastic!) and Christopher Plummer (very good!), but apart from these performances the film wasn't very good. Mrs. Mirren's performance alone almost makes the film a must-see (almost) but it's just so...tired. 6/10.

The Baader Meinhof Complex (2008) - Unke has been fairly critical of the film trying to cram the complete history of the RAF into 2.5 hours, but for someone who was ignorant about this period of history I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. Even at 2.5 hours it's short on Drama and heavy on Action. Is it informative? Kinda, but it appears that you can do better. Is it entertaining? Yes! Though I'm not sure if a film about a terrorist organisation should be... 7/10.

A Christmas Tale (2008) - egads! How can a 150 minute French film about a dysfunctional family be this funny? And good! I dreaded seeing this one, but the tone and pacing of this multi-character ensemble is just about perfect. No melodrama, no cloying sentimentality, just an honest look at a family who does not put the "fun" in dysfunctional. The best description I can offer is to call this a French version of The Royal Tenenbaums. And what a neat ending too Good stuff and one of the better movies of 2008. 8/10.

Eyes Without a Face ***
Interesting, creepy French horror movie from 1959. It made me think of The Face of Another. This one isn't quite as good, but it has good atmosphere and some well done scenes. A mad scientist tries to fix his daughter's face after it is mangled in a car accident, by grafting the faces of others on it.

No Country For Old Men. A rewatch, obviously, but it retains all its power.

"All the time you spend trying to get back what's been took from you, more is going out the door."

The power of confused plotting

Now you need to see a cheesy b movie called
Fiend without a Face
Rob

You know better than this. If you're going to stir the pot, you have to follow through.

This is in my instant queue on Netflix. Summoning up the strength to watch a 150 minute French movie
Thanks for the helpful push
Rob

Not at all.

Over the past few days...

Tron: Legacy - 7/10

This tops Tron for effects, and the original tops this for story/concepts. Thus, the elder Tron wins, but this was still a fun ride that knew just how to use sound and visual fury to speed right through a pretty blah plot.

Natural Born Killers - 7/10

Yep, my very first viewing, and as fierce and dead-on as Oliver Stone's satire was, there were just as many scenes that gave me an effing headache. Really damn overboard on the stylish touches, but it worked for me more often than not.

Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation - 3/10

Go fuck yourself, movie.

Tangled - 7/10

A better Shrek movie than Shreks 2 through 4. A snarky fairy tale done the Disney way, which complements the wacky goings-on with a sweet undercurrent. This helped the story come through in better earnestness and resulted in likeable characters who weren't a bunch of smirking jackasses.

"Mystery Science Theater 3000": Bride of the Monster - no rating

The riffing was terrific, but I gotta admit, the movie itself doesn't look all that terrible. Maybe that's because it's an Ed Wood movie that looks like it has some coherence, but it can't be any worse a creature feature than Universal's Mummy sequels.

Cool Hand Luke ***
This falls into the category of 'slightly overrated classic' in my book. Paul Newman plays a criminal who seems to enjoy subjecting himself to all manner of abuse. Newman is very good, and the rest of the cast is strong too, but I think the story isn't quite as strong as some believe.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

My two sons and i watched this on Blu ray projected at 1080p on a 120" screen. This is as close to cinematic as you can get at home.

We all loved it with the kids rating it 10 and 9.5

I first saw this movie on it's original release and as enchanted.

http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Chitty-Ch ... 97/#Review

If you are prepared to suspend disbelief, tis is a good as family entertainment gets.

9/10
Rob

Bad Santa

I watch this one every Christmas. It's my favorite Christmas movie. Billy Bob Thornton is perfect as a drunken, foul-mouthed department store Santa Claus, and Tony Cox is his equal as his partner in crime. The entire cast is superb and hilarious, from the late Bernie Mac and John Ritter to Brett Kelly, who plays the role of the kid so damn well it's hysterical. Where did they ever find him? Bad Santa never fails to put a smile on my face.

Dirty Harry *** 1/2
Clint Eastwood as the iconic tough guy cop. This is a hugely influential film. Siegel's filming of it is incredibly dark. The film builds tension very nicely.

What do you think of the film's politics? Is it overly "fascist," to use Kael's loaded word?

I don't think so (note that I also think that that's an incorrect usage of the term 'fascist', but almost everyone who uses the term uses it incorrectly). I think that the more accurate charge, to paraphrase what Kael was probably thinking, would be authoritarian--is Dirty Harry an authoritarian?

Here's what I would say: Dirty Harry is concerned with justice, and seeing wrongs righted. If the rules get in the way of that, he'll break them. Does this make him an authoritarian? How is he any different than Robin Hood, or Winston Smith, or any other character that subverted the rules in order to seek justice? Are they all, in fact, authoritarians?

That being said, I think that Dirty Harry is certainly what one could call a 'right wing' movie. NR put it on its list of top conservative movies, in fact.