Towering Inferno (1974)

Nominee

It has been almost a year since I last posted and in that time I successfully completed my undergrad! While I am looking forward to new exciting things I am so very happy to once again have some time to watch films for pure enjoyment.

I think two things I value most in great films are their timelessness and exceptional special effects. However these two forces are constantly at odds with each other, for although the effects may have been extraordinary for their time they later have a tendency to date the film. I mean, even films from a decade ago now look, well, old. Don't get me wrong films can overcome this dating issue by their sheer impact on the industry or cultural scope. (Think King Kong (1933) or Lord of the Rings) However, this particular film does not achieve that, which is unfortunate because it had a lot of potential.

Take for instance the cast: Paul Newman, Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, William Holden, and Fred Astaire, just to name a few. I was floored when I saw this line up by the sheer magnitude of what they could accomplish. Not to mention the film is scored by John Williams! Perhaps all this good karma was negated by the suspicious number of wife murders also in the cast (OJ Simpson and Robert Wagner, I am looking at you). But more likely it probably was the horrible script writing, coupled with the a 165 minute run time.

Ultimately, the film turns into a nearly three hour advertisement for what not to do in a fire while in a skyscraper. The dialogue is stilted and underdeveloped making the characters, well, stilted and underdeveloped. And when these flat melodramatic characters haven't garnered your empathy their deaths end up laughable.

I do applaud the film for the spectacle it must have been for the time, but this was the same year as Godfather: Part II, and Chinatown, I expect complexity and intriguing plot lines.

Overall: As my sister said: "This film could probably be used in schools as a prolonged advertisement for fire safety." But, as long as you know to stop, drop and roll, and that you are supposed to leave a building when the fire chief tells you, feel free to skip this one.

The Butler (2013)

                Any medium of expression may be used to provide a venue for catharsis of the collective imagination. Our nation's history, although proud, is also riddled with fading memories of extreme violence and segregation, making it of the utmost importance that these topics are engaged in the mainstream media today so that the necessary discussions are neither lost nor forgotten. Lee Daniel's The Butler takes on the momentous task of grappling with recent black history through the eyes of Cecil Gaines, a man who serves on the White House Staff through many a presidency, and his son Louise, who joins various black empowerment movements against the counsel of his father.

The film accomplishes a number of things worth lauding, but ultimately comes up a little short. The positive aspects can be seen in the acting of this ensemble cast, the reflection of the themes in the editing, and the honest brutality with which it addresses its content. With Oprah reemerging into film, and names like Forest Whitaker, Terrence Howard, Vanessa Redgrave, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Lenny Kravitz, Robin Williams, Alan Rickman, and Jane Fonda,  the viewer expects skillful performances, and they are delivered. Whitaker gives us Cecil with a strength and subtlety that makes him incredibly accessible to the audience, which is precisely what he needs to be. The film rides on our understanding how fragile his circumstances are: he serves his country faithfully, but his country does not serve him. This is echoed visually through crosscutting throughout the film, as the imagery frequently juxtaposes Cecil and his son. In one instance, Cecil sets the table for a White House reception, while his son is abused at a diner for refusing to sit in the section designated for blacks.  This cruelty, particularly when interlaced with the refinement of life in the White House, is quite striking, as is much of the imagery throughout the film of the violence that was instigated against the African American community. Daniels has shown in both this film and his 2009 film, Precious, that he is willing to push the limits of his audience to provoke real emotions in them.

Yet, the film was also not without its shortcomings. For one, it suffers from the classic issues faced by all bio pics. The screenplay was, overall, not exceptional. Relaying just the necessary details, it merely results in predictability and falls quickly into an easily identifiable narrative pattern. In addition, the way the movie depicted the presidencies seemed rather gimmicky. Feeling akin to  Forrest Gump, the presidents are only there to place time period, in essence becoming somewhat superfluous to the actual plot. Which in turn makes the film feel unnecessarily long.

Overall: I applaud the film for attempting to engage an important topic through extraordinary circumstances. However, the writing just did not match the magnitude of the film itself, and the shots  were formulaic to the bio pic genre. This is a film that needed to be made but was not groundbreaking in its approach. This story deserves to transcend into historical importance but this film may not have been the vehicle for it.

And Again.

MOVIES I HAVE SEEN BEFORE:
(Most of which deserve more than a blurb but so it goes...)

Casablanca (1942)
Academy Award Winner, AFI TOP 100:3
What can I say that hasn't been said? An incredible script full of emotion and real humor executed by some of the greatest. Bogart's got his gritty leading man going, and I love it. This may not be Inglorious Bastards, but beating the Nazis is definitely a plus. It is always worth a re-watch. SPECIAL WARNING: You will be quoting for days.
5/5 Stars

Dr. Stangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Nominee, AFI TOP 100:39
Another Kubrick classic that directly satirizes its time period. It's an important historical film, while also being quite funny. It drags a little at times, but Peter Sellers makes up for it. Now get your cowboy hat and go ride a bomb! YEE-HAW!
3.5/5 Stars

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Nominee
This tense little family made up of losers is perfectly flawed. They find their way into your heart because they are so messed up, and they stay their because they make you laugh. They may fail at being a family, they may even fail at being themselves, but it's fun and touching to watch them keep trying. Also I promise you will never forget the ending.
4/5 Stars

Pulp Fiction (1994)
Nominee, AFI TOP 100:94
The film that made Tarantino Tarantino. He showed that an audience can be held with a non-linear narrative and we will not only stay but rejoice. Quirky, and edgy this film is one of my all time favorites. Taratino puts the everyday moments in ridiculous situations, and makes a style all to his own.
5/5 Stars

And Now for Something Different...

I am desperately behind on my posts, so think of this like speed dating...but film criticism... 

MOVIES I HAVE NOT SEEN BEFORE:

Witness (1985)
Nominee
So what we have here is your standard Harrison Ford Action flick, that is at the beginning and the end. What's in the middle you say? Silent sexually tense stares complete with the Amish and 80's synthesizers.  Not a bad film especially if you have a Harrison Ford crush and, lets be honest, who doesn't?
3/5 Stars

Scent of a Women (1992)
Nominee
What??? AL PACINO IS AMAZING YET AGAIN??? Surprise!  Pacino gives a great performance as a blind Lieutenant Colonel who spends a weekend with a Prep School student in New York on what may be his last days alive. He's loud, crass, and I want to be his best friend. The script is sharp, although toeing at some cheesiness but overall well executed.
4/5 Stars

The Full Monty (1997)
Nominee
Whelp think Magic Mike? Except with older British men who are down on their luck and need the extra cash. I found the film actually quite human and charming, which I did not expect. No it's not a great cinematic creation but certainly worth an hour and a half of your time.
3.5/5 Stars

Love Story (1970)
Nominee
NO.
And I am not sorry because I don't have to be. (I am trying to tell you I love you.)

-2/5 Stars

The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)

Nominee

Whelp seems I am accidentally stalking Anthony Quinn...but it was fun to jump 20 years backward! 

I have never read this book so I am not sure this notion is entirely founded, but I don't believe it was translated well to the screen. It certainly encompasses a compelling situation, where the mob mentality results in the execution of three innocent men and the repercussions of such actions. However the film was almost entirely horse riding scenes with blatant moral debates which do grow tiresome. In addition, they market Henry Fonda as the protagonist and his character has no real purpose in the entire film, and his love plot even less so. 

However the film was not without some saving graces. Although I knew going in that the three men were going to be killed I found myself still some how believing that they were going to be saved, the film certainly drew out the suspense. And, I was also amused to see Margaret Hamilton as something beside the Wicked Witch of the West which caused me to sing the Miss Gulch biking song. Similarly, I had not seen Jane Darwell outside Mary Poppins in a while but she certainly wasn't feeding the bird this time.

Overall: It lost to Casablanca (1943) and to me it is almost unfathomable that that film, one of the greatest works of all time, and this one were made in the same year. If you choose to watch it, its only 75 minutes, but you can certainly skip it. 

Zorba the Greek (1964)

Nominee

This film is interesting to me because it does what I usually fault most 60's films for not doing, and fails at what most 60's films usually do best. That is to say, it found it's own visual creative niche, and had a very laudable performance from Anthony Quinn, yet came up short when it came to the plot itself.

I was impressed by the narrative motif of dance that was echoed back in some of the handheld camera motions throughout the film. It was surprising to see the camera sweeping with reckless abandon in some of the sequences and I appreciated it greatly. This sort of self awareness in the shooting was not very common in the time. 

In addition, I found that Anthony Quinn's performance as the vivacious and spirited Zorba was one that truly stood the test of time. He found a nuanced realness to this caricature of a person, and seemed to celebrate his flaws as what makes him accessible to an audience. 

My two qualms? The plot line was this sort of  muddled love story/failed entrepreneur pursuit. It never really found its footing in either, and perhaps only found a glimmer of success at the end when both stories end in failure. The other thing the film focused on is the relationship of Zorba and Basil, an English writer who is trying to revitalize his career. Yet while Zorba is extremely compelling, Basil is completely helpless and incompetent making his character completely foreign to me, and just not worthwhile.

Lastly, although the story itself was flawed, the screenplay had some true depth to it and set up some very human moments. And who doesn't love Greek Music? I mean really. 

Overall: Have you ever seen a more splendiferous film? Well maybe yes. But the risk taking the cinematography took and Anthony Quinn's performance make the film worth the watch. And it will certainly make you want to dance no matter how you feel. Opa! And Happy Watching! 

Becket (1964)

Nominee

Well we have another 60's costume drama. And it certainly has costumes and drama. As this screenplay is bellowed by Peter O' Toole we are taken back to the time of King Henry the II where his tumultuous homoerotic friendship with one Thomas Becket unfolds. 

The beginning is full of what I would call medieval "bro" banter, it is full of fast paced witty dialogue; which I must say is on the whole enjoyable. The film then turns from establishing this ill-fated friendship to problematizing it. And as soon as it takes this turn the film is suddenly riddled with repetitive conversations, and one existential crisis after another. Peter O'Toole will continue to bellow but now the only phrases are "I LOVE BECKET!", and "I NEED TO LEARN TO BE ALONE!!!". Where as Richard Burton is busy spiking candles to the ground to excommunicate sinful lords in his new found position of archbishop of Canterbury. 

The shooting is straight forward, although occasionally going in for the emotional close-up, but these shots feel awkward amongst the rest of the film. And although I love watching Richard Burton and Peter O'Toole this is not necessarily their best.

Overall: It is an average film, and very much a product of its time period. Some of the early dialogue is fun, but it fizzles out at the end. It's okay to skip this one.