Hello all. A busy week for me, so I only have a short list that was loaded into the early portion of the week. Nothing game changing this week but a decent round nonetheless. A throwback selection, from 1991 and earlier. So enjoy the quick update this week and stay tuned for future updates.
Thief (June 15th, 2014)
Director: Michael Mann
Starring: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Robert Prosky, and Jim Belushi
Michael Mann is a great visual film maker. He has a look and it usually works. It didn't really work in Manhunter, and he didn't really do it in Ali. But right out the gate, he brings his visual style in the debut Thief. The movie is a typical yarn about a great thief being roped into a situation he normally wouldn't be in. Instead of the last job typical to the genre, it's working for a boss that is too grandiose. It works in the same way, trying to make enough money to be done with the work. But it is a nice wrinkle to it that seems fresh, even for a movie made more than 30 years ago. Caan is great and adds a real toughness to the character, bringing that street tough thing he's known for. This is really his movie. The supporting cast is ok, but they are very out classed by Caan. The movie suffers a bit from a common Mann problem, which is that it's too long. Some judicious editing could have done wonders. But there are other cases where it feels too short. It's an odd dichotomy that Mann fell into with Heat, although the highs of that movie outshone the lows in a much higher degree than this movie. This is a good enough movie that won't insult your intelligence or bore you to death. For a good look into what Caan can do and to see where Mann got his start, the movie is luckily not bad.
Rating: 8/10
Annie Hall (June 15th, 2014)
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen and Diane Keaton
It was funny. I really wish I had a stronger opinion that that. But it didn't hit me hard and it hasn't stuck with me since watching it. It had it's moments but in the end it just didn't do it for me the way Manhattan did. Following Woody at his most Woody (ie, the same role he always plays) as he falls for Keaton as the first ever manic pixie dream girl. She's immature but not dumb, and when he broadens her mind she realizes what a shit head he is and splits. That's it. Following that arc from the honeymoon phase to her realizing there's literally any other man better to be with than whiny Woody. The movie is more interesting in the way it plays with form and breaking of the fourth wall. That is still felt to this day, with Louis CK trying very hard to be Woody on his show Louie. This movie will totally depend on how much of this guy you can handle. I'm indifferent with him so I could take it. But for those who think he diddles kids and believes he's the only person who worked on the movie, you won't really like it. It's not bad, just not really my cup of tea.
Rating: 8/10
Slacker (June 16th, 2014)
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Half of Austin it seems
It shouldn't be surprising that Linklater is one of, if not, the best directors at chronicling everyday life. Yeah, sometimes an director will make a quick indie about nothing and go off to other things. But Linklater has stayed in this wheelhouse throughout his career, even with forays into more Hollywood fare. Seeing this, his debut, is a very interesting experience. It shows what he was gonna go off to do later on, but in a much more experimental way here. It has no plot at all. There are no main characters. Hell, there's barely any characters. He just follows a giant ensemble of people in Austin, Texas for a few minutes at a time, than shifts to the next. We start with a guy coming from an Airport, and get to know him quick. Then we shift to a car accident he passes by, and off we go. Constantly shifting. This movie almost shouldn't work for someone doing this for the first time. But he handles it with aplomb, making every single one of these people real and fleshed out. It's a tough thing to do and he nails it. Now, with the plotless nature of the beast, it plays like an anthology in a way and not every character will do it for everyone. So you may daze out of one, but then be entranced in the next three. Very talk, very experimental in a unobnoxious way, and very real, this is a creative jolt to the soul. Filmed for $23 thousand, this shows anyone can make a movie with the right ideas and the drive. As fitting a debut for a filmmaker as I've seen.
Rating: 8.5/10
Annie Hall (June 15th, 2014)
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen and Diane Keaton
It was funny. I really wish I had a stronger opinion that that. But it didn't hit me hard and it hasn't stuck with me since watching it. It had it's moments but in the end it just didn't do it for me the way Manhattan did. Following Woody at his most Woody (ie, the same role he always plays) as he falls for Keaton as the first ever manic pixie dream girl. She's immature but not dumb, and when he broadens her mind she realizes what a shit head he is and splits. That's it. Following that arc from the honeymoon phase to her realizing there's literally any other man better to be with than whiny Woody. The movie is more interesting in the way it plays with form and breaking of the fourth wall. That is still felt to this day, with Louis CK trying very hard to be Woody on his show Louie. This movie will totally depend on how much of this guy you can handle. I'm indifferent with him so I could take it. But for those who think he diddles kids and believes he's the only person who worked on the movie, you won't really like it. It's not bad, just not really my cup of tea.
Slacker (June 16th, 2014)
Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Half of Austin it seems
It shouldn't be surprising that Linklater is one of, if not, the best directors at chronicling everyday life. Yeah, sometimes an director will make a quick indie about nothing and go off to other things. But Linklater has stayed in this wheelhouse throughout his career, even with forays into more Hollywood fare. Seeing this, his debut, is a very interesting experience. It shows what he was gonna go off to do later on, but in a much more experimental way here. It has no plot at all. There are no main characters. Hell, there's barely any characters. He just follows a giant ensemble of people in Austin, Texas for a few minutes at a time, than shifts to the next. We start with a guy coming from an Airport, and get to know him quick. Then we shift to a car accident he passes by, and off we go. Constantly shifting. This movie almost shouldn't work for someone doing this for the first time. But he handles it with aplomb, making every single one of these people real and fleshed out. It's a tough thing to do and he nails it. Now, with the plotless nature of the beast, it plays like an anthology in a way and not every character will do it for everyone. So you may daze out of one, but then be entranced in the next three. Very talk, very experimental in a unobnoxious way, and very real, this is a creative jolt to the soul. Filmed for $23 thousand, this shows anyone can make a movie with the right ideas and the drive. As fitting a debut for a filmmaker as I've seen.
- Tom Lorenzo
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