Day: March 17, 2012
2012 in Film: #70 – Night and Fog
2012 in Film: #70
Night and Fog (1955) | Directed by Alain Renais
Grade: A+
Thoughts: Arguably, the greatest documentary ever made. The short and concise nature of the film does not hinder its overwhelming power or pathos. Never has a half an hour been so poignant… or so depressing. This film is not for the faint of heart. But, even so, everyone should see it.
2012 in Film: #69 – The Royal Tenenbaums
2012 in Film: #69
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) | Directed by Wes Anderson
Grade: A-
Thoughts: What a gem of a film. I kind of suffered through The Life Aquatic during the summer, as I found Anderson’s trademark quirkiness insufferable in that film. But here, it makes sense, and it’s not nearly as overbearing. Visually, it’s eye candy, and script wise, it’s clever and fun and just as novel-esque as the novel it presents itself as. Great acting all around.
2012 in Film: #68 – Playtime
2012 in Film: #68
Playtime (1967) | Directed by Jacques Tati
Grade: A
Thoughts: Bringing Tati’s Chaplin-esque character M. Hulot to the newly monochromatic city of Paris, the film plays like a lighthearted, less vicious, but just as charming critique on society version of Chaplin’s own Modern Times. But I suppose it’s unfair to compare the two. They’re both elegant films. Though, here, though it’s designed as a “silent” film, Tati’s deft direction is at its height when the sound of the world is just as important as its silence. Wonderfully choreographed and very funny.
2012 in Film: #67 – Godzilla
2012 in Film: #67
Godzilla (Gojira) (1954) | Directed by Ishirō Honda
Grade: B+
Thoughts: Not the corny, ridiculous monster movie everyone thinks it is. The victim of franchise overload, like many a film these days, Godzilla is actually the smart, emotionally aware visual metaphor that serves as closure for the Japanese after WWII. Exciting, hilarious at times, but very well done nonetheless. The destruction scene is exhilarating.
2012 in Film: #66 – Y Tu Mamá También
2012 in Film: #66
Y Tu Mamá También (2001) | Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
Grade: C
Thoughts: A film that tries so hard to be a mediation on life and pleasure and desire, but comes off as a very bad coming-of-age story where no one actually comes of age. So much teen angst, but none of the tenderness or emotional potency to follow up with it. Its screenplay, despite the interruptions (which are, personally, reminiscent of Wes Anderson), is full of incoherent profanity, that just becomes obnoxious after a half hour.
I Like Things That Look Like Mistakes 