Since I haven’t been able to see any movies for a good deal of time, I decided I would write a critical analysis of one of the landmark albums in the indie-rock canon, Neutral Milk Hotel’s In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. In some ways analysis of this work seems even cliche, since it was created as something that was both embracing and endlessly interpretable. Nevertheless, I felt like writing something having recently read Anne Frank’s diary for the first time, and being a long time NMH fan. Here’s my interpretation, as seen through it’s fundamental unspoken symbol: Anne Frank.

And so you can listen along or whatnot, I’ve made a youtube playlist of all the songs on the album in proper order here: http://www.youtube.com/user/feedbackinhibition#grid/user/CF9B8AFD50493183
If you’ve never heard the album before I highly recommend listening to it as/before you read this.

Neutral Milk Hotel is one of the most mythical musical groups of the late 20th century. This can primarily be contributed to their short existence as a recording artist, releasing only two albums before disbanding. By the time they vanished from the world they had left behind the much cherished gem On Avery Island that plays like a somber and reflective ode to life through a mystical island in the sky, and a transcendent masterpiece called In The Aeroplane Over the Sea that would create a sustained buzz among musicians for years to follow. This work was introspective and self contained as an artistic message, but applied to emotion common to everyone. It was this album that would later be lauded as the fourth greatest album of the 1990’s (whatever the hell that means) by trendsetter Pitchfork Magazine, and the work that has ensured their immortality for countless years to come.

Their sound is singular among indie-rock circles of the late 90’s, and the contemporary lo-fi folk aesthetic seems to have been practically built around them. They sound like a funeral marching band on drugs, with heavy acoustic strumming that’s been around since Dylan in the 60’s, but with horns and fuzz as emotional counterweights that lift lead singer/songwriter Jeff Mangum’s voice through the clouds and into the celestial ether.

Jeff Mangum

Mangum’s lyrics are cryptic yet noticeably profound, even if you can’t quite figure out what the hell he’s trying to say. This lends the music the ability to fit anyone’s personal interpretation without seeming arbitrary, which is often seen as the hallmark of great art. It’s almost common knowledge, however, that Jeff Mangumhad an almost unhealthy obsession with Anne Frank while writing ITAOTS. For those who somehow were unaware, Anne Frank was the teenage girl living in a secret annex in her Amsterdam home with her family, while hiding from the Nazis during World War 2, who wrote about her experiences frequently in her diary. She was eventually captured two months before the liberation of Holland and died in a concentration camp of Typhus two weeks before that camp’s liberation. Her diary became an international best seller after the war and became standard reading for school children, although I believe it’s actually much better appreciated by an adult. Her voice is candid and enthusiastic, innocent and perceptive, making it easy to grow fond of her (as Mangumsurely did). Reading her diary now is one of the more affecting instances of dramatic irony; we see her mature as she ages and we see her relationships develop in much the same way as anyone’s does, and then it ends, as we know it will. It leaves a lasting impression of universal humanity that became a figurehead for the Holocaust remembrance of the decades after the war.

Anne Frank

The music within the album seems to sculpt a particularly universal and poignant message when analyzed within the Anne Frank framework. Mangum reflects on his own obsession with the dead Frank, while never explicitly mentioning her name, in a way that speaks to the truths that the emotion itself reveals. It’s not an “aw man the holocaust sucked” album, or even an album about Anne Frank; Anne Frank is simply the unspoken symbol used to convey Mangum’s reflection on the awkwardness of Youth in an adult world and the precious time it is which ends before we know it. By attaching Frank’s memory to it, his emotions have a physical manifestation that evoke an entirely new set of connotations to further express his own personal and occasionally overwhelming feelings. In her diary Frank reveals many of the same emotions that Mangumexpresses, but Mangum’s pain is of a different nature (since after all he wasn’t trapped in an attic for three years). This seems to both enhance the transcendence of Frank’s story as well as establish his own. His lyrics seem to be almost like his personal diary, containing concentrated and furious letters to himself in response to his incessant dreams of the girl. The emotions within apply to almost everyone, regardless of generation. Those with the memory of youth, the memory of Anne Frank, of the holocaust, of their own awkward past or their own personal story appreciate ITAOTS as a manifestation of these often untapped wells of emotion. I’ll now analyze the album sequentially, as each song acts to reflect and build upon this universal theme.

The album begins with the acoustic strumming of King of Carrot Flowers, a reflective message to a long lost lover written in the direct second person. After reading Frank’s diary I immediately drew a connection between the narrator of the album and Anne’s friend Peter who lived with her family in the secret annex and eventually fell in love with her. Mangum’s Peter persona seems to meld with his own, the Frank past with his personal past. Mangum sings of quarreling here, which was typical among the adults in Frank’s cramped quarters and was the source of much anxiety for her. He then sings:

“And this is the room One afternoon I knew I could love you
And from above you how I sank into your soul
Into that secret place where no one dares to go”

which fits perfectly with Anne’s reflection in her Diary. Peter lived mostly in the attic on the floor above Anne, as Mangumpeers down onto her from the future, from above, perhaps reading her writing. The “place where no one dares to go” regards Frank’s “real personality” which she describes at the end of her story as the Anne that people don’t know, with the exception of Peter whom she falls in love with. This is the good Anne, the real Anne that is only reflected when she writes in her diary. Peter’s love was cut short by their capture, and there was absolutely nothing he could do about it, just as many young romances often are (albeit this one ends in a far more terrible manner). Some of the most emotional portions of Frank’s diary concern her budding romance with Peter, and this is conveyed well by NMH; the song is reflective upon the past with a sense of tragic longing, but never regret, as if Peter is looking on from the Heavens at the life he once had.

Part 1 of The King of Carrot Flowers segues into part 2 and 3 which see the full addition of NMH as a backing band to the wail of “I love you Jesus Christ” and a bass heavy organ that feels more as though Mangum is simply adding emphasis to his undying love for Anne’s spirit (as in “Jesus Christ that was deep”) than as if he were calling out to the God who could have saved the Franks from their ghastly demise. This bleeds into an electric guitar fuzz-thrash of catharsis, a pounding of the walls with the fists of unfortunate acknowledgment, as Mangumpants in a fever dream about the ethereal ghost world he longs for. He then wakes up and the next song begins.
In the Aeroplane Over The Sea the song returns to sanity with one of the album’s more haunting melodies. It’s an affecting love song, which is probably why it’s one of NMH’s most popular moments, although it’s sung to a ghost, a memory in a dream that “flashes on the screen in a blink of an eye” and disappears as he awakes, in much the same way Frank flashed upon the screen of life before being erased from it. Mangum’s airplane flies over the eternal sea of time (could this be heaven, anyone?) with the ashes of the one he loved. NMH’s eerie whistle behind his piercing voice only add to the otherworldly quality of the surreal lyrics from this song of longing. It’s beautiful, tragic, caressing, and aware of the unusual dream that existence often is.

Then begins Two-Headed Boy, one of the tracks without any backing band. An intimate and personal song sung out to the wind. The two headed boy himself appears to be Mangum, stuck between the present he lives and the past he fantasizes about, both his personal past and Anne’s, his own head and Peter’s. He utilizes his own story in a way that plays off the emotion from Anne’s, although the details seem to be entirely his own; he interjects tender moments from close experiences in his own life as he “placed fingers in the notches of your spine,” etc. Mangum sings to his own intimacy in a way that exudes the loving emotion that can be seen in Frank’s diary. This fades into The Fool, which is entirely instrumental and plays like a funeral march through the streets of Mangum’s mind. The love he had is gone, his past is gone, the innocence of the youth he sings about is gone, leaving only memory in much the same way that Anne’s existence is but a memory for him, albeit a close and personal memory. In some ways it’s as if the ghost of Peter looks upon Anne’s funeral procession in the next world.

The tempo then shifts to the most blatant use of the Frank symbolism, Holland, 1945, a raucous lo-fi rock stomp that concentrates Mangum’s emotion and unleashes the building tension of the previous songs. Here the fire and enthusiasm comes through with ease as he sings with anguish:

The only girl I ever loved
was born with roses in her eyes,
But then they buried her alive
One evening 1945
with just her sister at her side
and only weeks before the guns
came down and rained on everyone

The imagery here is at its most palpable, conjuring scenes of Nazi mass graves and vegetation growing on the skulls of the dead. The sister he’s referring to in this passage is Margot Frank, Anne’s older sister, who died a few days before Anne in the same camp, and whose body was also buried in the same mass grave. Mangum appears to even be insinuating that fate played a role in Anne’s death, which could be expected from his dreams bleeding into reality to the point where her death becomes expected, as it does when reading her Diary. He is no longer ashamed of his self consuming obsession here; his love is too powerful that he admits that there was no other one he loved in the way he loved this ghost, the concept itself of the first real love of one’s life, the one which is often the most intense and keenly remembered. Anne was beginning to realize this near the end of her story through Peter, and Mangum recognizes this in his own obsession.
The attitude is becoming more optimistic and celebratory here, as love is certainly something to celebrate; he even sings of having to “pick up every piece / of the life we used to love / just to keep ourselves enough to carry on.” He is shifting his attitude as if it’s the natural thing to do, as if to move on guided by the strength of this love that once was. Then we begin to see that Mangum is probably referring to the afterlife as the source of his optimism:

And now we ride the circus wheel
With your dark brother wrapped in white
Says it was good to be alive
But now he rides a comet’s flame
And won’t be coming back again
The Earth looks better from a star
That’s right above from where you are

The stellar imagery conjures this great pervading ether that Mangum seems to evoke many times; a place that’s bigger than humanity on earth, a feeling that’s more real than reality. The line “The Earth looks better from a star / that’s right above from where you are” is perhaps the most memorable line of the whole album, acknowledging the immense power of Anne’s ghost and youth in general as if he can finally look down upon life from the next world as the dead would, yet with the light of the star providing a source of optimism in the darkness of space. Mangum’s outro is equally poignant:

And here’s where your mother sleeps
And here is the room where your brothers were born
Indentions in the sheets
Where there bodies once moved but don’t move anymore
It’s so sad to see the world agree
That they’d rather see their faces filled with flies
All when I’d want to keep white roses in their eyes

He ponders on the negative space left by those he held dear in his dreams and reflects on the sadness of a humankind that would harm what he holds so dear rather than cherish that love. It’s as if he is preferring the next life to the current one, and he’s filled with a great comfort to know that he will one day be able to fulfill that dream. Mangum’s mood is now hopeful, if tragic, but the high will soon wear off. His skill as an abstract wordsmith is in full form here, creating penetrating and symbolic verse that both fits the emotional mood of the song and the greater message(s) that run beneath.

The house "where their bodies once moved but don't move any more"

If Holland, 1945 was the party, the celebration of a surreal affection, then Communist Daughter is the calm period right after the storm of lovemaking. It’s a dramatic shift in tone to an acoustic memory of the younger age that was alive and new. His wording is still within a dream state; the protagonist is standing in the ocean of a surreal landscape and “semen stains the mountaintops” of his quiet and tormented mind, lost in a mix of memory from both Mangum’s life and the tragic but youthfully beautiful world in his mind. The entire song is like a reflective ode to making love for the first time, associating objects in the scenic landscape with the act itself. The underlying emotion carries over from before and his personal romantic experience is mixing with his longing for the youth that got away.  As the song ends it feels as if Mangum is landing from his trip over the sea of the eternal with his beloved ghost and then reality hits him with the next song.

Oh Comely feels like the most personal song on the album, clocking in at over eight minutes, it’s the second track to feature only acoustic guitar. He is aware now of the reality that means that the past is indeed gone and there is nothing he can do about it. Mangum is bitter now about the past that got away rife with anger against his personal rival (“Standing next to me / he’s only my enemy / I’ll crush him with everything I own”), that which took the youth away from him, both literally in Anne’s death, and figuratively as a symbol of the thrill that comes with the innocence he once had. His personal history more noticeably comes through here as he describes the body of a past lover who lived in a trailer park, clearly not in Amsterdam. This lover he describes without any touch of sensitivity as he would Anne:

All in your ovaries
All of them milking with green fleshy flowers
While powerful pistons were sugary sweet machines
Smelling of semen all under the garden
Was all you were needing when you still believed in me

He appears to be revealing to the listener the reasons for his turning towards the innocent and pure emotion as seen in the Diary, since the real life he’s lived has not given him any chance to have that which he feels youth could have given him. His pitch rises as he seems to slightly attack this lover for what she’s caused with him. He then shifts back to his dream with Anne

And I know they buried her body with others
Her sister and mother and 500 families
And will she remember me 50 years later
I wished I could save her in some sort of time machine
Know all your enemies
We know who are enemies are

This seems to conjure the fate concept again; just as Anne could do nothing to help herself from being captured, he cannot do anything to prevent it. No matter how hard he tries he cannot retrieve the youth he had, he cannot get his dream back into any sort of real world, it can only exist in his mind as a memory. At least he is aware of this limitation, he is beginning to accept the unreality of his love and the unreality of the unobtainable.

Anne Frank

Nevertheless, he will always embrace this other, pure, innocent world. It may not be real but it is preferable to reality. The dream is something he wants so he may as well live it. In Ghost the entire band returns as he calls out to his ghost Anne to retrieve his mind back to the ideal unreality. NMH grinds in and shouts his plea to his ethereal guardian and one “true” love. In doing so he resurrects the flight theme:

Ghost, ghost i know you live within me feel as
you fly in thunderclouds above the city into one
…
and she was born in a bottle-rocket 1929 with
wings that ringed around a socket right between
her spine all drenched in milk in holy water
pouring from the sky i know that she will live
forever she won’t ever die

The mounting noise and thudding drum beat kick in and gets his spirit on its feet. He’s reflected on his own life and his dream and has chosen to side with the youth he had lost. Mangum then describes a girl falling from a 14 story building in New York City and her spirit rising into the sky, where she becomes immortal. He is embracing the inevitability of death, as a return to the things that can never be returned. The funeral marching band blasts away in the back celebrating his coming into the next world where his dreams can become real.

As it does, the penultimate Untitled track kicks in as an instrumental cosmic orgasm of funeral bagpipes welcoming his spirit into the higher plane, as the rocky drums push everything along with gusto and a heavenly chorus permeates the background to welcome him. Ironically this is ITAOTS’s most optimistic moment, yet the listener can feels nothing but grand euphoria at this reunion between the lost and the present. Alas this is only a glimpse into better things to come, a reason for never giving up in the chaos of the world, a reason to live your life in hope despite whatever evils may occur. There will always be a place beyond with the emotions he has lost. This fades with a haunting reverberation into Two Headed Boy Part II, the final track. Mangum’s voice painfully reflects on the entire journey from a new place among the dream world:

And in my dreams you’re alive and you’re crying,
As your mouth moves in mine, soft and sweet.
Rings of flowers round your eyes and I love you,
For the rest of your life (when you’re ready)
He feels a final comfort in this new world that was with him all along:
Push the pieces in place.
Make your smile sweet to see.
Don’t you take this away.
I’m still wanting my face on your cheek.

Anne specifically refers to the sheer youthful excitement of holding her face cheek to cheek with Peter in her diary, and Mangum is taking his position with Anne in the next world as Peter, as himself, as the two-headed boy longing to comfort her and her vulnerability through the rough divide between reality and the after life. He eventually has to release her in his ‘physical dream,’ letting her go since he has not in reality died yet:

And when we break we’ll wait for our miracle.
God is a place where some holy spectacle lies.
And when we break we’ll wait for our miracle.
God is a place you will wait for the rest of your life.

He will forever take comfort in knowing that she is there, that the innocence and youth he left behind is there in the next life waiting for him, even though he cannot get it back now. All he can do is symbolically send her off in his mind where she can wait. The finally lines of the album are as if Mangum is letting her hand go off into the ether from whence she came, although it is only a temporary and bittersweet removal:

Two-headed boy, she is all you could need.
She will feed you tomatoes and radio wires,
And retire to sheets safe and clean,
But don’t hate her when she gets up to leave.

Mangum leaves it at that; he, the two headed boy has accepted that his surreal love is eternal and will take comfort through her from afar having acknowledged her and held her hand through the dream world into the next, where she waits for his day to come. The youth he once had may be gone forever, but it’s only a while until he can be reunited with it. Until then he can continue to draw strength from this mysterious and mystical relationship with the ghost of Anne Frank, and the innocent life she represents that has gotten away from him, whenever he contemplates his life and the sad state of the world. Her exuberant life cut-short acts as an emphasis and an impulse to Mangum’s personal longing for the awkward, but exhilarating days of yesteryear that now exist only in dream, when the quarrels of the adult world were nothing but quarrels and the only intense, real emotion was the love of another.

——-

I highly recommend that you listen to this album all the way through and ponder for yourself on its meaning. Mangum’s use of imagery and symbolism are pointed but broad to the point where it can be interpreted in a number of ways with equally profound results. The music and arrangement only further this poetry as a dirge through reality into the dream world where the past can return to bring comfort for all. Many great albums, even some of the best, do not even begin to breach the new depths of emotion and self reflective connotation that Neutral Milk Hotel consider in In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. It is an album that’s intensely personal, in the vein of Lennon’s John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band, etc., but with a veil of mystique unparallelled in much of modern music. It’s content, sound, attitude, and ambitions have since become very influential in independent music today, and In The Aeroplane Over the Sea, like Anne Frank and the themes evoked pass on into the eternal ether for the future to reflect upon.

After having read both Anne Frank’s diary and listened extensively to In The Aeroplane Over the Sea I discovered that youtube actually has the only moving film footage of Anne Frank. Seeing her move is strangely touching, showing that she was certainly a real being. Perhaps this speaks to the power that film as a medium has on us all..

* Now that I’ve written all that down I can finally stop thinking about it. God forbid I end up like Jeff Mangum..

The poll for this entry, just out of curiosity:

—

So there goes summer. What a bummer. Why rhyme, some of the time, I don’t know, dont’ say I told you so. Okay I’ll stop doing that, it’s annoying and contributes nothing to this here blog thing.

As of now I managed to watch 53 movies for the first time since school got out (probably going to be 56 or so by the time it starts again). I didn’t see many that I’d seen before, intentionally, except The Ring (horrible movie) which is because people at a party really wanted to see it for some reason (I think it was to watch girls squirm).

On the non movie front I managed to read a lot, learning some new things, especially the undeniable value of art to humanity. Science is one thing, a necessary thing I think, but art makes it all slightly more interesting. It’s like a celebration of human achievement. I think the first 20 or so pages of Marcel Proust’s Swann’s Way taught me this, as I honestly didn’t make it past that, but I certainly was astounded by the introspective power of his prose. His endless prose.

Marcel Proust, one of history's more prominent displayers of brilliant moustache

I feel more philosophically grounded now than at the beginning of summer. This combined with what I managed to acertain about J. Robert Oppenheimer’s cultured ecclectecism in Bird and Sherwin’s American Prometheus seems to make me want to be more open minded in order to really enjoy what is here, because it’s certainly much more interesting with some creative input. Some human creation. Humans are so undeniably rare in our universe.

What else did I manage to do this summer? I took a class on an intro to ethical philosophy at community college, which was probably the biggest waste of time since 7th grade PE. I got the flu for a week with a fever that lasted for a frightening 5 days (that’s the upper limit on flu symptoms according to wikipedia…!) which peaked at 102.9, only threw up once, and lost 12 pounds! I guess I could recommend getting the flu after your freshman year to everyone. I also like to brag/pretend that it was swine flu (for all I know it could have been). Of course when I inevitably get swine flu later this year I won’t be saying this.

In addition to all of this “mayhem” I also went to Washington DC and effectively walked around for a week, which was very interesting, and got a gig for my band, Feedback Inhibition. Shameless advertising, I know.

Wow, I’m not usually this talkative in my pre-review blog spiel. Sorry about that. Or is that a good thing. Doesn’t matter. Stay tuned for more reviews or musings about life or music or whatever it is I feel like doing with this blog. Feel free to give me input.

Anyway, school starts soon, my first semester without a single arts/humanity class (hooray!, for now). So here are some movies I’ve seen recently.

—-

- DISTRICT 9- (2009)

Dir: Neill Blomkamp; Star:Sharlto Copley
An alien spacecraft has hovered over Johannesburg for 20 years and its alien inhabitants have been placed in a shantytown separate from humans, although certain interaction does exist. Inspector Copley becomes infected with Alien DNA and finds himself in an unusual situation caught between military powers and their plans to remove the aliens from the shantytown. An interesting scenario that’s told in a mockumentary/survival hybrid style which highlights the odd social dynamics of such a situation. It’s a setup that feels entirely fresh and lends the film an edge of excitement and potential reality. The second half, unfortunately settles into a groove of mayhem that weakens the impact of the ending but probably satisfies the modern viewer’s gun lust. A unique take on the old alien contact idea that’s both thought provoking and entertaining.

- 500 DAYS OF SUMMER- (2009)

Dir: Marc Webb; Star:Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel
Indie-rock themed romantic comedy about Gordon Levitt who believes in true love and his relationship with Deschanel (her name is Summer, har har) who is a realist. Told in time shifted format to analyze his entire 500 days of knowing Summer, which essentially plays like the “where did it all go wrong?” from Woody Allen’s musings in Annie Hall, only without the cunning witt and ingenious screenplay. Stylistically, it plays like a normal romantic comedy with odd flourishes scattered throughout as if Webb was just sort of playing around. For instance, there’s a full out dance sequence to express happiness, and some parallel screens showing what could have happened and what really did happen simultaneously (very similar to the mental subtitles countered with Woody Allen’s actual dialogue in Annie Hall). This is all relatively entertaining, but the film only seems to flirt with these ideas occasionally rather than utilize them fully. By taking this approach they feel obvious, regardless of the fact that they really aren’t that original. But, American audiences have loved it (#105 on IMDB’s top 250 right now), like most other “Indie Rock” movies (you know, the ones with Belle & Sebastian and Feist on the soundtracks) falling for its quirks as if the movie was actually some sort of cinematic watershed. In the end it just seems too inconsistent, with a message that’s all too familiar (“true love” and reality are different! Go figure!) and key words like “destiny” popping up more than they should. It’s good to see Gordon-Levitt getting some popular attention though; I’ve been rooting for him since his thoroughly compelling performance in 2007’s  greatest unknown thriller The Lookout.

- PONYO- (2009)

Dir: Hayao Miyazaki; Star:Cate Blanchett, Noah Cyrus, Tina Fey, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson (voices)
Japanese animation wizard Miyazaki’s latest feature has all of his trademark elements (magic, food, ecology, old age vs young enthusiasm) as a young boy meets a magical goldfish who wants to be a real person. The simplified story seems like equal parts concession to a child audience and ode to the lost age of childhood, but the animation is a sight to behold. The seaside settings and vibrant water effects are astounding, helping to create that great sense of fantastical place that Miyazaki has perfected over the years. Joe Hisaishi’s triumphant score is a good accompaniment, but the song over the closing credits is annoyingly childish. Ponyo is most like Miyazaki’s earlier Kiki’s Delivery Service, but without the second half energy, in that it’s simply cute as hell. And that’s a rare thing in this slick new mellenium.

- FUNNY PEOPLE – (2009)

Dir: Judd Apatow; Star:Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Jason Schwartzman, Eric Bana
Famous comedy actor turned standup comic Sandler learns that he’s dying and enlists new comedian Rogen to be his personal aide. Along the way Rogen must help Sandler cope with his imminent demise. Naturally involves an ample dose of drama that suits Apatow’s work well and adds new emotional layers to the expected Apatow hilarity. Shifts tone in the second half and loses most of its funniness, due to a questionable story progression and a ridiculously long running length. Schwartzman and Hill reprise their “roomate” personas from Knocked Up with good comic effect.

- MOON – (2009)

Dir: Duncan Jones; Star:Sam Rockwell, Kevin Spacey (voice)
A lone mine engineer stationed on the moon in the future suffers an accident with haunting results. Rockwell plays multiple roles with ease, delivering great power to the part. This one plays like a classic Sci-fi movie, which it may soon become, with little emphasis on flash and total emphasis on possibilities, consequences, and dangerous reality that the future could hold. Slow moving at times, but it’s worth the effort. I guess it takes an independent production to bring actual brain work back to the genre, which this certainly does.

- TWO LOVERS- (2009)

Dir: James Gray; Star:Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow
Shy single Phoenix who lives with his parents is set up with a normal, but secure woman by his family, although he has fallen in love with an unstable, but exciting woman across the way (Paltrow). Phoenix’s outstandingly sympathetic performance and director Gray’s steady hand lend this film a unique aura of reality and nuance that makes it so easy to connect with that its final turns pack a tremendous emotional punch. A universal, and well developed theme of the interconnection between resignation, acceptance, and reality lies beneath. This is supposedly Phoenix’s “last movie,” we all remember his inexplicable appearence on Letterman to support this movie. Rest assured there’s none of that here, and his character is one of the most successfully embodied that I’ve seen in a while.

- CROSSING OVER – (2009)

Dir: Wayne Kramer; Star:Harrison Ford, Ray Liotta, Ashley Judd, Alice Braga
Obvious attempt to harness the success of Babel and Crash follows multiple characters including immigration inspector Ford and bureaucracy worker Liotta as they deal with various people relating to immigrating to the United States. Lacks any sort of focus, intelligence (cinematic, cultural, or otherwise), likable characters, or vivacity. By the end its message is just a disgusting thing thrown at you by the filmmakers with no worthwhile movie to properly support it. One thing I did learn from Crossing Over, however, is that Ray Liotta is one of the ugliest actors in Hollywood.

- CORALINE- (2009)

Dir: Henry Selick; Star:Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher (voices)
Claymation feature about little girl Coraline who escapes from her own boring reality into a fantasy dream world, which begins to collide with the real world. The story is relatively straightforward, but the animation is robustly stylized to create a surreal experience as fantastic as Coraline’s hallucinogenic dreams. A satisyfing and offbeat adventure.

Some more movie reviews.

Also, I’ve discovered the poll feature on wordpress, so I guess I’ll be including some somewhat relevant polls hopefully with each post that I hope you participate in (because polls are no fun if I’m the only one that votes!).

Today’s poll:

- HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE – (2009)

Dir: David Yates; Star:Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson etc
Sixth installment in wizard series about young Harry and company having to endure Voldemort’s return to power. Brilliantly paced alternating between ominous darkness and relationship building comedy, a balance that is sustained through to the end, making this entry compelling and very enjoyable. Yates’ direction here is crisper and more graceful than any of the other films, stylish and dark yet not overbearingly or indulgently so. Now that the characters and actors have matured it feels much easier to accept their various follies and emotions. New guest star Jim Broadbent is irresistable as Horatio Slughorn, and Tom felton is more odious (but in an elegant way) than ever as Draco Malfoy. The tone of the very ending however, felt unnecessarily light and sappy which really seemed inappropriate for its context, although the climax cracks like thunder. The best of the series so far.

- BRÜNO- (2009)

Dir: Larry Charles; Star: Sascha Baron Cohen
Baron Cohen follows the same formula as 2006’s Borat but with the gay Austrian fashion enthusiast Bruno heading to Los Angeles on a quest to become famous. Most of the comedy again stems from unaware participants reacting to Bruno’s antics, as well as the expected gross-out gags that push the limits of what everyone is comfortable seeing. It is at times very funny, at other times you can tell it’s just playing the same formula for more laughs. The main problems here are the non-cohesive social commentary that is only occasionally alluded to (whereas it was a fundamental aspect of Borat), the off putting aggressiveness of the title personality (Borat’s lovableness gave that movie an odd charm), and the fact that all of the jokes were basically based on either Bruno’s homosexuality or the fact that Austria was once part of Nazi Germany. This all leaves the movie lacking and second rate both to it’s superior brother Borat and as a comedy in general.

- THE HURT LOCKER – (2009)

Dir: Kathryn Bigelow; Star: Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie
A US army bomb squad in Iraq must put it all on the line in a seemingly endless series of encounters before their service rotation ends. They’re joined by a new, almost pathologically cavalier bomb defuser whose gung-ho attitude makes him the best and most frightening at what he does. It’s very suspenseful and edgy throughout but at its best when it combines this with insites into the defuser’s motives and personality. Unfortunately this doesn’t really come through until the very end, so it feels underdeveloped in that regard.  Still a fresh perspective on the war that provides an ample and effective dose of tension.

- THE GREAT BUCK HOWARD – (2009)

Dir: Sean McGinly; Star: Colin Hanks, John Malkovich
Washed up magician/mentalist/entertainer Buck Howard (Malkovich) continues to tour the nation (from Bakersfield to Akron!) with his out of fashion act when the bright but searching Hanks joins him as his road manager. Along the way he learns about managing Buck and more importantly about himself. A delightful comedy anchored by Malkovich’s disarmingly zany and quixotic performance and Hanks’ good intentioned normalness. An intelligent comedy for discerning adults that’s infectiously good natured and simply fun to watch.

- BLINDNESS – (2008)

Dir: Fernando Mierelles; Star: Julianne Moore, Mark Rufalo, Alice Braga, Gael Garcia Bernal
Bleak adaptation of Fernando Saramago’s novel about a global epidemic of “White Blindness” that spreads blindness virally and without a cure. The first afflicted are quarantined in a sanatarium to fend for themselves, including eye doctor Rufalo and his wife Moore who can actually see although she pretends to be blind to stay with her husband. The social dynamics within the sanitarium are interesting, and trouble arises when Bernal decides to rule the sanitarium with a ruthless fist. This would have been tolerable, but Moore’s character makes it simply frustrating since she has the capability do something about every situation yet she inexplicably does not, for the only apparent purpose of allowing the movie to continue to drag on. If she stopped being a panzy nurse for her husband she could actually utilize her eyesight, but then the movie never would have been made, although it would have made a lot more sense. Mierelles’ slick direction is inspired, but he fails to make this anything but mediocre.

- QUARANTINE – (2008)

Dir: John Erick Dowdle; Star: Jennifer Carpenter
Television reporter Carpenter spends the night documenting the lives of some local firefighters, accompanying them to a call at an apartment complex where a strange virus has broken loose, only to find that the city has placed the complex under quarantine and no one can leave. Then the infection spreads (via rabid zombie-like people no less). It’s all told through her cameraman’s lens a la Blair Witch Project or Cloverfield which works well to lock the audience inside the quarantine as well. I’m a sucker for these kinds of movies, and the horror/suspense is tangible for the first half, as are the frightening social dynamics, but this wears off by the second half as we begin to realize that it’s going to predictably end the same way all of these “handheld in-movie camera” movies end… That, and Carpenter turns into a whiny baby by then, which is just annoying. At least she’s relatively attractive.

- PUBLIC ENEMIES -(2009)

Dir: Michael Mann; Star: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard
Cat-and-mouse thriller that never ends, following John Dillinger (Depp) persistently pursued by blank faced fed Bale, who is always just one step behind. A lifeless, hollow shell of a movie that seems more like an excuse to use big names and violence to sell tickets. Features startling high definition digital photography that seems out of place with the period detail, but eventually you realize that this is probably going to be the industry norm from now on (at least until retro becomes fashionable again). Marion Cotillard can’t quite pull off the American accent, but it doesn’t matter since there’s no real reason to care anyway (at least she’s objectively gorgeous). Public enemies is likely to please the male 12-35 year old age group, but doesn’t really offer anything worthy of the long time investment.

- THE HANGOVER – (2009)

Dir- Todd Phillips; Star- Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianackis, Justin Bartha
Four guys go to Vegas for a bachelor party, the future groom gets lost and the other three must use clues from their forgotten night of partying to find him. Genuine, crude hillarity ensues. What makes The Hangover so successful at what it does are the four characters perfectly crafted and embodied by the leads. They fit moulds that are different from the usual comedy but still recognizeable enough to identify with. Galifanackis is great as the partying buffoon with hints of creepy weirdness, Helms is the schmoe trapped in the life of a respectable man, and Cooper is the authoritative glue that holds them together. Their plight is understandable yet outlandish enough to be greatly entertaining. A thoroughly funny movie from beginning to end, which is especially  noteworthy since Judd Apatow had nothing to do with it!

- HE’S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU – (2009)

Dir- Ken Kwapis; Star- Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Aniston, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Connolly, Drew Barrymore, Ben Affleck, Bradley Cooper, Justin Long
Star-studded romantic comedy about a group of women and their troubles with men, all hinting towards the title opinion, but following the predictable romantic-comedy formula. It’s easy to understand why this movie is so watchable, as its stars are all naturally radiating their glorious, glorious presence (the lesser known Goodwin is actually the best of the bunch here). Sometimes funny, sometimes emotional, sometimes observant, and always told from the perspective of female empowerment; it doesn’t amount to much in the end, other than an expectable conclusion, but it’s enjoyable enough getting there. Probably worth more to women viewers, but how could I be certain about that?

—-

I’ve also been introducing myself to the marvelous works of Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki (apparently he’s the Walt Disney of Japan). Here are star reviews for the three I’ve managed to see so far.

- CASTLE IN THE SKY – (1986)

The original Miyazaki masterpiece is one of his most simple (mythology wise), and one of the most exciting, timeless and breath taking animated films I’ve ever seen.

- PRINCESS MONONOKE- (1997)

This one actually gets lost in it’s mythology and by the end it’s hard to care. Still dazzling though.

- SPIRITED AWAY- (2002)

Miyazaki at the height of his powers creating an absolutely absorbing and charming parallel to Alice in Wonderland that’s so thick with beautiful design, mysticism and artwork that it’s almost universally enjoyable. Creative genius fully realized in a form so often misused.

So summer’s been underway and I’ve had a chance to catch up on a lot of movies, and have spent some time at the theater and all that good stuff.I also realized I never wrote a review for Watchmen which I saw long ago. I also managed to watch 3 of the films nominated for Best Foreign Film Oscars, so those are reviewed here also. Yeah.

- THE CLASS – (2008 – French)

Dir: Laurent Cantent  Star: Francois Begaudeau
Real life teacher Begaudeau plays a French teacher in Paris as he goes through a typical year at a rough and diverse middle school. Once there he must compete with his students for his own dignity and to succeed in educating the hard lot. A little film that’s made utterly compelling by its fiery, amateur teenage cast and the real life experience of the lead. Cantent’s approach feels like documentary, and the reality sears with truth. An enlightening glimpse into the teacher’s side of the classroom that shows that they surely don’t have it easy.  A one of a kind film about an often filmed subject.

- DEPARTURES – (2009 – Japanese)

Dir: Yojiro Takita  Star: Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosue
In Departures, the 2008 Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film, an unemployed cellist moves to the countryside with his wife where he is mislead into becoming an encoffiner, placed with the responsibility of putting dead people into coffins as per Japanese tradition. The job is scorned by the townspeople, and he leaves his wife in the dark as to his profession. Over time we begin to realize the beauty and necessity of such tradition as a bridge to further things. Motoki is emphatic in the lead, and Hirosue is delightfully ebullient as his ignorant but loving wife. The film is serious yet humanly warm thanks to the direction and cast, with an undeniable sense of humor and a beautifully memorable musical score by Joe Hisaishi. The only flaw is that its emotional climax seems to peak too early, leaving the ending predictable and less effective. Still, Departures feels like a film to cherish despite its serious nature, putting life into perspective while not diminishing the significance of death.

- WALTZ WITH BASHIR – (2008 – Israeli)

Dir: Ari Folman  Star: Ron Ben-Yishai
An Israeli film director tries to reconstruct his memories of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon, slowly revealing the horrors of that conflict and the civilian massacres that resulted. This staunchly anti-war animated film isn’t expressionistic enough to justify the use of animation. It’s essentially constructed like a live action film but with the extra animated layer that removes it from reality rather than augmenting it through artistic license. The only really inspired moment is repeated over and over and worn thin by the end (It’s also used on the poster above!). Had it been filmed in live action, it probably would have been much more effective in dealing with the intimate, personal nature of the story as it was affected by the brutality of warfare, rather than being hidden behind an underused mask of drawings.

- SIN NOMBRE – (2009 – Mexican)

Dir: Cary Fukunaga Star: Paulina Gaitan, Edgar Flores
A quiet Honduran girl tries to make the rigorous journey by train (…sitting on top of, that is) through Mexico to the United States with her father, but troubles arise when local gang strife interferes. A vibrant glimpse at an underappreciated journey made by thousands that is far more difficult than one would initially expect, as well as an organized streetlife that’s hard to ignore. A harrowing story of survival aided by brisk camerawork and field research by the director. A rivetting film.

Tom Hanks is just doing his job

- ANGELS AND DEMONS – (2009)

Dir: Ron Howard Star: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor
Dan Brown’s best selling novel and prequel (although the film treats it as a sequel) to The Da Vinci Code is a strictly standard treatment following Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon as he races to solve a plot to destroy Rome and kill Catholic Cardinals. It boils down to a long series of, “hey what’s this symbol? Oh it’s that, it points here, lets go there, hey what’s this symbol?” etc, with run of the mill production all around. It never ends, and it never really creates a true sense of intrigue. They don’t really do much with the shaky source material; the adaptation seems to make all the wrong decisions. Maybe if Ron Howard tried directing a little more outside of his narrow comfort zone…

- UP – (2009)

Dir: Pete Docter,  Bob Peterson Star: Ed Asner
Disney/Pixar’s 2009 entry is its most sentimental yet; an old man is off to South America on an adventure he had been planning with his late wife. The mode of transportation? His house lifted afloat by thousands of helium balloons! With the company of a boy scout he pursues his life goal in memory of his wife. This one reaches previously unknown depths of emotion for an animated feature, probing new aspects of life only apparent through those old enough to really reflect on it. On top of this is the usual great animation, sense of humor, and jubilantly entertaining adventure that one comes to expect with the Pixar studio. Everything you could want in an animated movie, and the third Pixar film I cried in (with Finding Nemo and Ratatouille).  And that’s saying something.

- TERMINATOR SALVATION – (2009)

Dir: McG; Star:Christian Bale, Sam Worthington
Latest entry in long running series on post apocalyptic earth where machines have taken over the world and humans hide in refuge to prevent their extermination. There are two main story lines here, following John Connor (Bale) and his attempt to destroy Skynet operations in California, and the other following Marcus Wright’s journey to discover his true nature. The story is far more meaningful with some prior Terminator lore knowledge, which fits well with the almost non-stop sci-fi action rendered with impressive CGI effects and wrenching sound editting. The main flaws are the seemingly weak climax (which actually improves before it’s over) and the unnecessarily mushy heart metaphors. Some people will knock this movie because it lacks “humanity,” but I didn’t think that was a severe problem; it’s the era of machines and there isn’t much humanity anyway, and the taut excitement more than makes up for it.

- WATCHMEN – (2009)

Dir: Zack Snyder; Star:Billy Crudup, Patrick Wilson, Jackie Earle Haley
Big, loud, ominously dark superhero movie about a group of “watch-men” investigating a murder and themselves, or something. All of this is set in an amusing alternate reality that is a mix of history and imagination. The universal philosophy at the end was just annoying. An overlong, scattered mess at times that is really best when it’s kicking ass to its great soundtrack, which it does quite a bit.

- RACHEL GETTING MARRIED- (2008)

Dir: Jonathon Demme; Star:Anne Hathaway
Drug addict Hathaway is let out of rehab for the weekend to attend her sister’s wedding, where she must endure the heat of her family member’s dissapointed, watchful gaze. Awkward situations and old conflicts ensue. Hathaway sinks her teeth into this complex character and gives a great performance, expressing her struggling angst and failed interpersonal relationships with ease. It is entirely watcheable, the wedding itself was entertaining a diverse, a good display of family unity that worked well with Hathaway’s troubled character. However, by the  time she goes back to rehab it doesn’t really add up to much other than a portrait of a character and a family in a tight situation.

- W. – (2008)

Dir:Oliver Stone; Star:Josh Brolin, Richard Dreyfuss, James Cromwell
Oliver Stone’s interpretation on the early life and presidency of George W. Bush and his relentless pursuit to please his father, despite all of his personal inadequacies. Stone takes a comedic angle to support his Bush commentary while also displaying the more serious implications of it. Of course, none of this is fair and there’s no way Oliver Stone could know the Bush family’s intimate thoughts and actions, but what’s there is an interesting and often amusing speculation. Filmed with good use of supplemental symbols to aid his message.

Now that school is out and finals are over I can continue to devote time to adding things to the good ole movie review blog. I’d also like to encourage all of the people who read this who feel like they have opinions about the goodness of movies they watch to start or restart or get working on their own blogs because movie reviews should be a community thing. With that said, The Dark Knight was a bad movie.

I would also like to take this time to hawk The Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion which is an amazing record that just came out, you should check it out, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. Yet its still recognizeably comforting. Check it out here.

—

I had the amazing opportunity to eat lunch with Ang Lee and producer James Schamus this semester. No, it’s not because I have a movie review blog, it was a raffle that I somehow won. In retrospect it was a good lunch, but I certainly regret not ordering more, as it was all paid for by the College of Letters and Sciences. I should’ve just ordered every entree. Or maybe see if they’d get me wine? Whatever, having free steak for lunch was pretty good. It was in the swank faculty club too, for all I know Robert Oppenheimer used to dine in the seat I sat in. Actually for all I know they just bought that chair. Whatever.

Yeahhhh!! Free food and Ang Lee and some other people. He had tandoori chicken for lunch, with tea, and cherry pie for dessert. I never figured Tiawanese movie directors would be into something as American as Cherry Pie…

And now some reviews

—–

- STAR TREK – (2009)

Dir: JJ Abrams; Star:Chris Pines, Zachary Quinto
JJ Abrams takes control over the long running series, steering it in a new direction with old characters, but with a new outlook. It’s as if the characters we’ve known and loved are simply re-realized with modern sensibilities. The story is clever and sets up an entire new series of films that are separate.. yet similar.. to those of the original series, so really the possibilities are endless. It essentially has to do with Romulans, and the rise of young James Kirk as he meets his friends who we should all recognize. Abrams and the cast really pull through and build off the characters who have already been developed to really build sympathy right from the start. The special effects are outstanding as expected, and Abrams actually tries to simulate the soundless-ness of space, for the first time in a Star Trek movie, although he folds to mainstream appeal and slowly has sound creep in. There’s a surprising amount of humor hear, which works well with the vivid, buoyant characterization and slam-bang action, all with enough back story and reintroduction of past elements that forshadow other episodes of the series. A high caliber entertainment and a great entry to the Star Trek Saga.

- MY WINNIPEG- (2007)

Dir:  Guy Maddin
Guy Maddin’s autobiographical self proclaimed docu-fantasia is really a look at his hometown (Winnipeg) and his childhood which he populates with myth and fantasy creating a sense of nostalgia akin to anyone’s nostalgic affection for their childhood home. Except Maddin’s nostalgia is dark, mystical, and vividly cinematic. A post-modern tour-de-force that blends archival footage, recreation, poetry, and a metaphorical train ride. Maddin tries to film his way out of the town where sleepwalkers walk and horses freeze in the river only to become the destination for star crossed lovers. He utilizes a slew of techniques from a variety of genres to make a film that’s equal parts film noir and surreal, all within the frame of documentary. In doing so Maddin has evoked emotion and mood as never before realized in film, where interesting embellishments are more fascinating than truth and the psyche is blurred with reality. My Winnipeg is a film like none other, one that astounds the mind with its persistent barrage of artistic imagery and determined narration, and one that provokes a mood of mysterious nostalgia that is strangely comforting. A genreless, timeless masterwork by a filmmaker at the top of his creative game.

- FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL – (2008)

Dir: Nicholas Stoller; Star:Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Russell Brand
Oh Judd Apatow, why are your movies soo good? This is of course no exception, with a perfect blend of comedy and sentimentality that is as fresh as writer/star Jason Segel’s presence here. Segel plays a guy whose girlfriend breaks up with him, so he goe sto Hawaii to recover only to find out that his ex is staying at the same hotel! Brand is fantastic as the ex’s new boyfriend, a silly charicature of British pop stars caught up in their ridiculous extravagance (dats terribOW!). Hits all the right notes, an undeniably funny movie.

- SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK – (2008)

Dir: Charlie Kaufman; Star:Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Postmodern, quirky, internal writer Kaufman takes his hand at directing here, following Hoffman who plays a struggling theater director who reanalyzes his life by producing a lifesize replica of New York City as a theater. Self reflexive as always, Kaufman delves further into the mind by bringing it to the cinematic world. Very interesting, when it’s not getting too lost in its own musings, it’s often hard to maintain interest or follow, but it will probably be more rewarding on repeat viewings.

- NICK AND NORA’s INFINITE PLAYLIST- (2008)

Dir:  Peter Sollett; Star:Michael Cera, Kat Dennings
I’m not quite sure why this movie was made.. It’s essentially about a teenager in New York City who breaks up with his girlfriend and finds a new one in one night while trying to find some band named “Fluffy” which is playing somewhere in the city (A band with that name would never be popular..). Sound like a good plot? No? Well, that’s because it isn’t, if you could even call it that. The characters are underdeveloped, shallow, and predictable, thanks mostly to the terrible screenplay. For all I can tell the film climaxes with a hand job, literally, no pun intended. That’s some good writing, guys.  Gooood writing. The best character here is probably New York City, whose vibrance is somewhat decently captured in this short night. It also features this -faux indie rock soundtrack that plays throughout, yes even over conversations, that makes it all feel like some sort of disgusting prolonged introduction. You can tell the producers were trying to tap into that “Indie”-core audience that Juno snagged last year, and this isn’t one twelfth the movie that was. A waste of time.

- TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE- (2007)

Dir:  Alex Gibney
Oscar winning documentary about the torture of prisoners in US detention camps during the War on Terror, revolving around an innocent taxi driver who was tortured to death in Afghanistan, although grand in its scope covering torture of all kinds and the abuse of human rights by US leadership. Supported by a slew of testimonials and cases that are relentlessly shocking. A frighteningly difficult film to watch that seems all the more so important because it is.

- RELIGULOUS- (2008)
Bill Maher’s documentary against religion attacks the issue by depicting an endless series of various religions at their most ridiculous, allowing his comedic wit to come through all in the effort to promote reason instead of blind faith. Pointed and well conceived, albeit a relatively standard treatment. Maher is equal parts funny and annoying, and the film itself may seem a little lax at times due to his style, but the message is sharp.

- AMERICAN TEEN – (2008)

Nanette Burnstein’s “documentary” following a few stereotypical kids (the jock, the nerd, the artsy girl etc) through their senior year in high school. There’s a certain level of contrivance and manipulation at play, but the emotions feel uniquely real, and the whole thing is compulsively watcheable. Their personalities are so varied but it’s the common bonds between the players  that hits the strongest. If you don’t go into this expecting a hardcore documentary, you’ll probably find it to be a rewardingly different experience.

So 2008 is over and I guess I’ll make a favorite movies list.

So here’s a list of my top 5 favorite movies of 2008:

1. Slumdog Millionaire
2. Let the Right One In
3. Milk
4. The Visitor
5. Encounters at the End of the World

All of these are movies that I think were genuinely “Great” from 2008, without any hesitation I would instantly recommend them to everyone.

Other Movies I Really Enjoyed from 2008:
Pineapple Express, Man on Wire, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Happy-Go-Lucky, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Wrestler, Frozen River

Movies From 2008 That I Think Were Really Overrated:
Wall-E, The Dark Knight, Iron Man

Most Underrated/Unnoticed Performances of 2008:
Richard Jenkins in The Visitor, Melisa Leo in Frozen River, Michael Shannon in Revolutionary Road, David Kross in The Reader

My Favorite Music Albums of 2008 (Completely Unrelated):

Vampire Weekend – Vampire Weekend, Los Campesinos! - Hold on Now Youngster; Jenny Lewis – Acid Tongue,  Weezer – Weezer (Red), Coldplay – Viva La Vida or Death and All his Friends, Stephen Malkmus – Real Emotional Trash

—-

2008 was a great year for independent film, I tried to see the ones with the most buzz or hype just to see what it was all about. It was kind of strange how many of these were told in a very matter-of-fact style, in some sort of realist eye to show little bits of life that we wouldn’t have usually considered before. Some documentaries and a foreign film as well. It’s interesting.  So here are the remainder of my late 2008 movie reviews. They’re shorter than usual because there’s a lot, most people haven’t heard of many of them, and it’s getting late..

Reviews:

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN

(2008 – Swedish) Dir: Thomas Alfredson; Star: Kare Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson
A modern vampire tale unlike any ever told on screen, this one follows the children Oskar, who is picked on in school, and his new mysterious friend next door. The lore here is as modern as it gets; the mythical have adapted to this new urban world and an unnerving realism pervades even the most bizarre. It’s genuinely frightening, comforting, and creepy with every cue. A cinematic delight from top to bottom, masterfully shot, lit, staged and realized. The climax is one of the most chillingly visceral and… satisfying moments in recent memory. Let the Right One In is a filmmaker’s film and a movie for the imagination to behold; a must-see.

MAN ON WIRE

(2008) Dir: James Marsh
Inspired documentary about french high-wire walker Philippe Petit’s quest to walk on a high wire between the two World Trade Center Towers, and his smaller scale preparations leading up to it. A skillful blend of heist-like recreation, home-made video, and personal recollection. Petit in particular is enthusiastically entertaining in his recollection. Film’s only flaw is the lack of actual video footage of the climactic wire-walk, although the images are astounding. A breathtaking ode to both this unique form of art and the thrilling act of self expression.

ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD

(2008) Dir: Werner Herzog
Outstanding documentary about the scientific residents of Antarctica and the jobs they do, the lives they live, and the land they study. It’s both an astonishing look at the human desire for exploration and a sheer admiration for the natural world. Herzog’s monumental love for nature shines through here, and the product is nothing short of awe-inspiring.

FROZEN RIVER

(2008) Dir: Courtney Hunt; Star: Melissa Leo, Misty Upham
Melissa Leo was nominated for an Oscar for her powerful performance as a single mom who turns to smuggling illegal immigrants across the Canadian border just to support her struggling family and to feed her dream of owning a “double wide” mobile home. A taut mix of suspense, personal struggle, family ties, desperation, and economic woe that seems all too apt these days; a harsh frozen winter surrounds it all. Leo’s performance anchors this superior, little movie.

WENDY AND LUCY

(2008) Dir: Kelley Reichardt; Star: Michelle Williams
Surprisingly memorable extended vignette following the enigmatic yet undeniably identifiable Wendy whose car breaks down and dog goes missing. Her only friend, the dog is her first mission, then the fixing of her car, all to get to Alaska where asylum from whatever she’s running away from waits. Ultra-simplistic, realist story that doesn’t do much, yet it’s somehow inescapably watchable and emotionally involving. Her search reveals something in her own character that we can all find in ourselves, much like Penn’s Into the Wild (although far more understated). William’s performance is perfectly tuned to this note. A bare bones, first rate self reflective meditation.

CHOP SHOP

(2008) Dir: Ramin Bahrani; Star: Alejandro Polanco, Isamar Gonzales
Neorealist piece following an ultra-resourceful kid in the chop-shop-laden Iron Triangle in Queens, as he saves up by using his street smarts for a Taco van for him and his sister. Not much happens, but the film does uncover a little known part of the world, right in our own back yard, that is as vibrant and exciting as any. There’s an inffective sense of optimism and spirit here that quietly beseiges the viewer.

THE WRESTLER

(2008) Dir: Darren Aronofski; Star: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei
Perceptive story of former star wrestler who must balance wrestling and his need for companionship, especially that of his daughter. We soon realize that perhaps wrestling is all he has ever had. A privileged look into the world of wrestling and the physical punishment that the performers go through all for the sake of entertainment. Rourke really is outstanding here.

DEFIANCE

(2009) Dir: Edward Zwick; Star: Daniel Craig
Remarkable story about a group of Jews in eastern Europe who go into hiding in the forests during world war II where they form an armed resistance in a fight for survival. By-the-numbers in most respects, but certainly entertaining for its well executed struggle and fight. It would’ve resonated more, however, without that all-too predictable deus ex machina… Still an enjoyable effort.

GRAN TORINO

(2008) Dir: Clint Eastwood; Star: Clint Eastwood
Eastwood directs himself as his classic bad ass persona, playing an old widower who doesn’t much like the way his Asian neighbors are being treated by a local gang, despite his old school racism. It’s great to see Clint teaching some bad seeds a lesson, but the finale is too predictable and its message feels too forced and standard.

ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO

(2008) Dir: Kevin Smith; Star: Seth Rogen, Elizabeth Banks
Best friend roommates, who have always avoided a sexual relationship, turn to producing a porn movie to make a quick buck, while learning that perhaps there is a romantic future for the two. Starts off decently but there are too many emotional holes, flat lines, false steps, and failed gags along the way. Kevin Smith’s screenplay tries to be something like ‘Knocked-Up‘ but fails on both comedic and sentimental fronts, so even the always-funny Rogen can’t keep it afloat.

Okay, so here it is time to finish up all of those mountains of movie reviews that I’ve been needing to do since break started, my god I’ve pretty much seen everything I wanted to… And I had a long list. So here’s part one of those, since it would take too much time to do them all now, part II will have (hopefully) a slew of like-minded independent films from 2008 as well as a best of the year list or something to those ends. School starts on Monday so from then on it’ll be back to the even longer breaks between entries, but who knows, perhaps I’ll revert to using the site here as an actual blog blog on which I will blog more blog like things, surely there’s always something to talk about, hopefully having to do with music or movies, or potentially having nothing to do with those. Feel free to comment on anything, it encourages me to use the site more.

So I won’t talk about anything in the news, even though Israel is tearing it up in Palestine, Barry O is about to be sworn in, and a US Airways pilot just made perhaps the first successful commercial airline crash landing in the Hudson River.. Yes these are exciting times, but we’ve got movies to go over! There are a lot of them, so I’ll try to be concise.

–

- THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON- (2008)

Dir:David Fincher; Star:Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton
Meticulous rendition of an F. Scott Fitzgerald short story following curious character Pitt who’s born with the body of an old man and ages backwards, falling in love and living his bizarre life emotionally detached from most of the world. Fincher creates and entrancing aura aided by first rate cinematography,  scoring, and cutting edge makeup and visual effects departments that bring this modern fairy tale to dreamy life. The entire cast is good, especially Pitt who’s role is anything but easy. It’s certainly long (nearly 3 hours), and a modern framing involving Hurricane Katrina at a New Orleans hospital seems unnecessary and contrived.  Essentially a cinematic dream that’s both thoughtful and meditative in examining the lasting effect of human relationships from a new angle, filled with imagery and production magic. An admirable accomplishment by all considering the risks in creating such a film, a lack of conciseness is the main fault here.

The suburban hell is pungently scary

- REVOLUTIONARY ROAD – (2008)

Dir:Sam Mendes; Star:Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio
Young couple moves to suburbia to raise a family and maintain a job, leaving former actress wife at home where she realizes here life isn’t turning out the way she had imagined for either of them. Husband wants to pursue both his prior ambitions and what’s best for his new family amid the conscious eye of the suburban onlooker. Mendes crafts this film beautifully, with an obsessive eye for detail and a masterful command over his players. The dialogue is so finely realized and depicted that this feels more like a stage performance where emotion is presented between characters and between them and the environment. Winslet and DiCaprio both give some of the best performances of their careers with such a gravitas that it makes the ’stage performance’ all the more astounding -every turn is raw and frightening yet somehow inevitable in the polished world of confinement to a social standard that doesn’t mesh with their young ambition. Michael Shannon’s performance is so good in the central role as the “mentally insane,” yet eerily reasonable son of one of the tidy suburbanites that everything seems to click with Mendes’ clear commentary on the harms of such a society. As the social chaos mounts one can revel in the absurdity of the situation, which is somehow humorous, as if it would be ridiculous to let ourselves lose this much control in the first place. These are strange and complex emotions that are rarely tapped so well on screen. Thomas Newman’s provocative score punctuates the tension perfectly, it’s utilized on cue yet infrequently enough to remain evocative. Revolutionary Road skates a fine line; its raw compulsion may be seen as melodramatic or forced by some, but they’re probably missing the key themes and motifs that make the entire work gel into a cohesive whole; a striking statement graced by some of the most powerfully dramatic performances of the year, and an artful work finely shaped into the frightening reality it represents.

'I have a keen Eye for opportunity.'

- VALKYRIE- (2008)

Dir: Bryan Singer; Star:Tom Cruise, Tom Wilkinson, Kenneth Brannagh
True story about a group of Nazi elites who plotted a coup d’etat to overthrow Hitler during World War II called Operation Valkyrie that both involved assassinating the Fuhrer and assuming control over the military. Despite the fact that they’re all supposed to be Nazi’s, the entire cast is British (with many familiar faces) and speaks with a English accent, except for Cruise who speaks with an American accent! Despite these blatantly out of place details the film is surprisingly absorbing, maintaining a good level of tension by the climax. If only we didn’t already know the ending.. it could have had a much stronger impact.

Clash of the Titans

- DOUBT- (2008)

Dir:John Patrick Shanley; Star:Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Viola Davis
Director Shanley adapted his own play about a Catholic school principal (Streep) in 1964 who suspects that the new liberal pastor (Hoffman) has formed an inappropriate relationship with a lonely African American student despite a lack of concrete evidence, and the young and impressionable schoolteacher Adams is on his side. A battle of wills and suspicions, motives and appearances, and the new and the old that presents an ideal opposition for two of the greatest actors alive to duke it out head to head, and when they do it’s absolutely magnetic to watch. Shanley doesn’t try to do too much, just enough to flesh out the roles and to provide the actors with a place to sink their teeth in. An interesting wind motif complements the themes of change, a conflict central to this intriguing drama.

'You're all gonna die..'

- THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL – (2008)

Dir: Scott Derrickson; Star: Jennifer Connelly, Keanu Reeves
Lifeless, pointless remake of the 1951 Sci-fi classic in which an alien.. giant robot.. thing lands on Earth and threatens to destroy it, that is if astro-biologist (*squirm!!*) Jennifer Connelly can’t convince the altruistic, ominous alien Reeves to help save Earth first. Starts with a bang and then becomes an unbearably long sequence of talking and escaping from things despite and potential human sense of reason or necessity, and then ends with some grandiose message about ecological health. Or something like that. A sheer let down for any fan of Cloverfield/Independence Day/I Am Legend type end of the world sci-fi scenarios, or anyone looking for anything else that might be good in a movie.  At least Jennifer Connelly has such pretty eyes. .

Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my GOD!

- BURN AFTER READING – (2008)

Dir:Joel & Ethan Coen; Star:George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Francis McDormand, John Malkovich
Zany CIA/gym employee farce about health nut Pitt who blackmails bad-ass Malkovich for his disc of “CIA shit,” and everyone everywhere gets in way over their heads in a way that only the Coen brothers could imagine. Everyone is completely moronic in an amusing way, Pitt is definitely the best and the most fun to watch due to his ridiculous demeanor which is over the top while remaining somehow natural.. Each character sort of has their own quirks that are good fun to watch in their own way but the movie itself never really amounts to anything. Then again it probably was never meant to.

- GHOST TOWN- (2008)

Dir:David Koepp; Star:Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Tea Leoni
People-hating dentist Bertram Pincus (Gervais) has a near death experience during a routine colonoscopy and can suddenly see ghosts of people in New York City who all want him to help them to resolve their unfinished business. One such ghost (Kinnear) wants Pincus to keep his widow from marrying a hotshot lawyer, comedy ensues.  Gervais, who is otherwise known as the face of the original UK Office series is a freshly welcome source of comedic brilliance that seems to finally be merging over to the US. The amusing situation itself is aided by a sturdy screenplay written by the director, an earnest cast, and an infectiously intelligent sense of humor. A first rate romantic comedy that’s as heartwarming as it is funny. Good stuff.

'I hate everyone.'

- TOWELHEAD- (2008)

Dir: Alan Ball; Star: Summer Bishil, Aaron Eckhart, Toni Collette
A Lebanese American girl goes to live with her single father who happens to be a hyperbole of evil over-controlling parents, which certainly isn’t a good thing for his young daughter who is becoming sexually curious. Add in the patriotic pedophile neighbor Eckhart and an African American boyfriend (god forbid…), toss it together and spit it out. Features an awful screenplay that is little more than an endless series of mercilessly awkward events and ridiculous dialogue that seems to show little real insight on anything. Toni Collette is the only likable character here, and she doesn’t really turn up until near the end! An attempt at something more that misses on all counts.

Okay, so with a break from school I’ve finally gotten the chance to catch up on all things art, especially movies and music! hooray you say? good. I got this absurd idea to write reviews from now on that are 100% sarcastic where I say the complete opposite of what I really mean for every movie I see, or some sort of exaggerated thing like that. That would be amusing wouldn’t it? Well I’ll keep that idea open for the future. As for now I feel compelled to get these reviews on cyberink so I can see some more without worrying about forgetting things etc. Regardless there’s a lot of good stuff this time of year both in theaters and now on video, so you should check it out I think. Look for a best of 2008 Movies and Music post soon, as that time of year is approaching and it’s fun to be reflective. Mirrors are exciting. It’ll be fun to do a music post soon to sort of mix things up around here, no? So here are some new reviews.

- SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE- (2008)   

Dir:Danny Boyle;   Star: Dev Patel
They do not make movies like this anymore.  Jamal Malik, an 18-ish tea server in India has just gotten to the final question on the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire,” but the police don’t believe that someone like Jamal, who was born and raised in the muck of India’s crowded slums without an education could have possibly done it without cheating. Jamal then reveals the story of his life as a boy through which he happened to learn the answers through experience  to the questions he had answered in order to clear his name for a chance to compete for the final question. This clever device is, however, only secondary to the story of Jamal’s troubled past in the slums and the true motives that drive his unlikely quest in the hot seat. The story is timelessly simple,  but the presentation is brilliantly arranged by screenwriters  Simon Beaufoy and Vikas Swarup. Director Boyle’s lightning fast camera brings undernourished India to vivid life like Fernando Meirelles did for Brazil in City of God, but with an eye for both the harsh conditions and the hope-inspiring adaptations to them. The culture presented is both vibrant and exciting, complimented by expert pacing that makes the story absolutely absorbing. The film presents a rapidly modernizing India that hasn’t really been seen before in western cinema, and the cast is littered with native Indian actors who are hardly recognized outside of Asia. This makes the characters all the more real and unpretentious; underdogs to root for the whole way. Slumdog Millionaire feels unlike anything that has hit America in the last 20 years, it’s heart renderingly genuine and blazingly empowering. The story, the characters, and the themes transcend the culture and feel out of time, forever existing and forever fueling the human heart, but it never feels cliche or oversimple thanks to Boyle’s stylish presentation, the marvelous editing of Chris Dickens, and the sincere performance by child and adult actors alike. It  reveals a slice of the world that everyone can relate to no matter how different it may seem. To quote Time Magazine, Slumdog Millionaire is a “buoyant him to life and a film to celebrate;” a movie that blends the traditional with the new in an excitingly real way that opens the eyes and touches the soul, all of which are trademarks of a pinnacle in modern film making.

–

Milk. It does a movie good.

- MILK – (2008)     

Dir: Gus Van Sant; Star: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Emile Hirsch
The roller-coaster true story about the rise of San Francisco city supervisor Harvey Milk in the 1970’s, as he became the first openly gay man elected to major public office.  Along the way we meet a slew of friends and ominous adversaries. Eventually his tumultuous, misunderstanding-laden relationship with fellow supervisor Dan White leads to his inevitable assassination. Milk’s personal relationships are paired side by side with his public campaign, working to give intimate depth to the characters as they play their roles in the movement for equality. It’s skillfully assembled by Van Sant and company with outstanding performances all around. Penn is however, the anchor to it all, giving an utterly convincing performance that garners unwavering sympathy and respect for the character and his alternative lifestyle, while showing that the iconic Harvey Milk was all but human. The performances and direction are so good that the homosexual relationships depicted come across as they have never before in mainstream cinema;  it presents homosexuality not as some deplorable or detestably bestial act but as a loving relationship equal to that between a man and a woman. It’s not some hidden relationship repressed in the characters’ minds (like in Brokeback Mountain), it’s out there and it feels tangibly real. This reality is something that the homophobic sphere of the country needs to come to grips with. Milk comes, coincidentally, at an extremely appropriate time in American history, with the recent passage of CA Prop 8 banning gay marriage among other acts throughout the country. It is clear that a significant portion of America looks down upon homosexuality to an extent where it encroaches on their civil rights. Because of this Milk the film seems to play its own part, however minuscule, in the larger movement that Harvey Milk the person acted upon. Regardless of current politics, Milk is an extremely powerful movie, superbly crafted and expressively realized with slick momentum and passion. The result is one of the best films of the year, and the emotional punch is nothing short of inspirational.

—

- FROST/NIXON – (2008)      

Dir:Ron Howard; Star: Michael Sheen, Frank Langella
Sharp adaptation of Peter Morgan’s award winning Broadway play based upon a series of interviews given by former president Richard Nixon to the young, inexperienced, hot shot journalist David Frost in exchange for a boatload of money in 1977 following the recent Watergate scandal and Nixon’s resignation. Langella towers as Dick himself, imitating with precision and bringing across levels of emotional depth absent from simple public appearance, and Sheen is also good as the popular and enthusiastic Frost. Both actors completely fill out their characters with skill and nuance, partially aided by the fact that both Langella and Sheen starred in the broadway play. Framed with “interviews” with characters in the film (played by their actors) after the fact that seem both informative and a little fake. It does a good job at showing that Frost and Nixon are not all that dissimilar despite their outward differences, drilling deeper into the two personalities as the film progresses. A small, well made character study that’s certainly interesting thanks to the inspired screenwriting, cinematography, direction, and performances.

So, It’s about the time of the year when we get to the goods cinematically, with all the production companies cranking out their heavyweights for Oscar season.  Unfortunately, all the reviews here don’t really reflect it. At least there’s always the reliably quirky British charm. So we can call this update the calm before the storm? They’re not all that badDon’t worry, they’ll get better I’m sure.

Thanksgiving break was an interesting opportunity to see some new movies. I stopped by Hollywood video back home to see what new releases they had, and it turns out that there is absolutely nothing worth renting right now. I don’t know if it’s because there are really just a bunch of bad movies out there from this year or I’ve just seen them all already. Probably a combination of the two. Then I went hunting for some movies to see in theaters hoping to catch Charlie Kauffman’s “Synecdoche, New York” or maybe even the rising star “Slumdog Millionaire,” but to no avail. The only things playing ANYWHERE were sequels to action movies no one gives a hoot about, the new Bond flick, and a handful of family Christmas movies. God I hate all this mainstream commercialism, with the studios telling us what we can watch. Oh well, here are these, soon there will be better times?

I'm in the desert, so I must wear shades.

- QUANTUM OF SOLACE – (2008 – pg13)     

Dir: Marc Forster; Star: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Judi Dench
2006’s Casino Royale was a breadth of fresh air for the long running franchise, injecting new layers of depth to the characters and new potential for the future. And in 2008 it all comes crumbling down. Daniel Craig still makes a great Bond, but the story tries to pick up where the last left off, yet only in theme. For instance, one of the great villains in the last movie was inexplicably killed prior to this release and substituted with a much less frightening or inspired Mr. White. It seems as though the screenwriters wanted to mix substance with explosion, but they got so lost in the process that  they figured there need not be any real reason for anything to take place in the first place. I still don’t know what the hell a Quantum of Solace is. Anyway, this is a no-go, the series has fallen on its face, and the filmmakers need to rethink their strategy before forcing millions to see it on label alone. There needs to be something there. After seeing Quantum of Solace I asked myself, what the hell just happened, and why does it matter? Without an answer to my question I drove home in a sad stupor of spoiled possibility.

Mmm Grey

- CHANGELING – (2008 – R)

Dir: Clint Eastwood; Star: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Jason Butler Harner
Clint Eastwood is STILL making high quality movies, and Changeling is no exception. It’s the fairly unknown true story of a Los Angeles mother who’s son is kidnapped, and ‘returned,’ although she is convinced that the boy that she’s given is not really her son. Eventually the LAPD tries to suppress her rather than lose face to the anxious media. Doused in a somber aura, like many of Eastwood’s recent works, the depressing plot revelations hit with force. Cinematographer Tom Stern’s visual style is becoming a trademark with Eastwood’s films, filling the screen with an ominously brooding, yet overly conventional veil of austerity. At times,  it seems almost like a vehicle for Jolie, who is great no less, but her scenes are framed in such a way that it feels at times as if it may spiral into ‘just a sequence of scenes of  Angelina Jolie freaking out,’ which seems a tad underintegrated. Butler Harner is also terrific as the genuinely terrifying man who abducted her son. Unfortunately the film never lets up, getting lost in its overlength while also trying to accomplish too much. It’s at its best when Jolie is confined to a mental hospital against her will -a move which echoes the ire of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, but this is only a sidenote in a much larger scheme. By the end some closure is reached but it really doesn’t feel as if anything definitive has been said; there doesn’t seem to be a message or anything to take away. In all, it seem as though it’s but a well crafted bit of LA lore and nothing more.

If it's about the child's perspective, we don't have to try!

- THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS – (2008 – R)

Dir: Mark Herman; Star: Asa Butterfield
Schindler’s List inspired the viewer with the truth, in the process giving them hope by showing what one person can do to resist a great travesty. It told its story with a brutally honest and harsh eye. Life is Beautiful inspired the viewer with fiction by giving them an irresistibly likable character and the innocent son he spared of the violent reality of the holocaust.  Boy in the Striped Pajamas does none of this. It may have worked as a novel, but as a film it’s clearly fictional and every plot device set up to drive a reaction is noticeable and contrived. There is no charm to its characters or reality to its stance. Of course the filmmakers could argue that since it’s told from a child’s perspective (the child of a Nazi concentration camp commandant),then this is all the visual depiction of his innocent viewpoint. This worked in E.T. because we were given great performances and nuanced production (read: genuine emotion). None of this exists here; the performances are either melodramatic or awkward as hell (the child actors’ conversations are as blocky and unnatural as bonfire made out of legos). The production values are on par with a weekend tv movie on the BBC and the son’s delusions with reality don’t seem to have any weight or signifcance. There is also a severe lack of attention to detail that is so glaringly obvious. Why, for example, does the interned Jewish kid who the son befriends appear to weigh a good 20 pounds more than a well-fed son of the commandant? Why aren’t there any guards in the guard towers? Why does the concentration camp look like nothing but a couple of buildings populated by a handful of extras instead of the steaming cesspool it should be? All of these annoyances help to detract from the reality of the film. It is all so calculated, it’s clear that we’re all watching a poorly made movie. This is what makes the shocking finale seem all the more loathesomly melodramatic and pointless. It’s the kind of ending that would ONLY work if the story were either true or we were absorbed enough to give a hoot about the characters. I would applaud the effort if only there were a greater one.

"Oh! What-chu-ma-call-it ding dang dilly dilly da da hoo hoo!"

- HAPPY-GO-LUCKY – (2008 – R)     

Dir: Mike Leigh; Star: Sally Hawkins
Enter the incessantly optimistic, cheerful, fun loving, life-living Poppy played to quirky perfection by Sally Hawkins. Give us a taste of her life and her irresistable outlook on the world. Give us some romance, some good times with the girls, some good old fashioned british charm, and throw in an angry pessimist driving instructor (played amazingly by Eddie Marsan) who never gives up on a student, least of all Poppy, who would rather point out the attractive men on the street than focus entirely on the road. Just as it seems that this Poppy may be too good to be true (in an annoyingly happy way), throw in layers of depth and maturity to reinforce the proceedings. We see that Poppy isn’t a child in an adult’s world. She’s a self aware adult who doesn’t care what other people think, and who is ready willing and able to live life with enthusiasm and gusto. It’s all uniquely entertaining, well written and acted, very British, and infectiously encouraging.

————————————–

- PERSEPOLIS – (2007 – pg13)
Animated rendition of Marjan Satrapi’s autobiographical graphic novels following her adolescence in and out of post Shah-Iran. A stunningly creative work and a high quality examination of the effects of a super conservative theocracy on both the free spirited and the female, and the dilemma between personal freedom and family comfort. Laced with disarming comedy and striking imagery. One of the more meaningful animated films to ever reach mainstream audiences.

-1408 – (2007 – pg13)
Writer braves night in haunted room 1408, which tends to cause people to die. Like most Stephen King adaptations it starts out with great intrigue and ends in some confused quest for some supernatural figment of a delusional imagination.