Insomnia | The ALASKAthon

I've decided to finish the left-up work and continue the ALASKAthon as a final installment on this blog. Maybe it's because I cut my toe and am thus excluded from most fun summer activities or maybe it's because I just don't want to leave my blog as a half-baked mess. Better to end things neatly if you really have to end them. 

Blind Spot Fixed: Rear Window

With the recent release of Grace of Monaco (2014), there has been more talk than usually of the immortal ghost of the fabulous Grace Kelly. I knew about Grace before I ventured into the art of film for my leisure time, since my favorite topic used to be fashion once. She's your go-to choice for random photo collages that are supposed to express 'glamour', 'timelessness' or simply 'the 50s'. Much like Marilyn Monroe, she's a confusing persona and most people would find it hard to determine what kind of celebrity she was. Apparently, she started a promising career in acting before venturing into princesshood by marrying the Prince of Monaco. When you type her name into the IMDB, it says 'Actress, Rear Window (1954)' in a smaller font below an attempt to capture her breathtaking beauty - it was shortly before she met the prince that my blindspot for this month, which is the film she is best known for, was filmed.

Despite James Stewart's charm, Grace Kelly is the dominating star in this light-hearted murder mystery: She plays Lisa, a New York socialite who is in an on-off, love-hate relationship with adventurous photographer Jeff (Stewart). Due to an accident, Jeff is bound to a wheelchair for a few weeks in the hottest time of summer, a time he fills by regarding the goings-on in the backyard of his apartment complex. Most of the evenings, Lisa goes to visit Jeff and tries to talk him into considering a more serious relationship with her. When Jeff thinks he has overseen dangerous happenings from his rear window, Lisa tries to help him figure out the mystery.

Blind Spot Fixed: Léon, The Professional

Life has taught me that it's always easier to just give your thumbs up to something than to back off and share your doubts on it. Add to that the fact that I can't really get angry - like, ANGRY angry - and think fighting is sort of useless, and you have me slightly afraid of the reactions to this post. Let's cut to the slack: I wasn't the biggest fan of Léon, my April entry to the Blind Spot series. It's a movie I've been aware of for a long time now and I've been close to picking it up several times on flea markets and the like. As all of the movies I chose for this blogathon, it's one of the highest ranked films on IMDBs Top 250 that I haven't seen until now - and this is a list I have only had good experiences with so far. Not that Léon was a bad experience. In fact, I acknowledge it to be a good, solid film with an unusual story and great characters. Still, I'm not a fan.

Blind Spot Fixed: American History X

I can't discuss American History X - which, just to give you an impression, should land somewhere up in my Top 10 films of all time - without discussing my initial expectations for it. Along with Once Upon a Time in the West, this was the movie from blind spot list that I expected least from, mainly because I knew the least about it. The title had always made me think of some slightly preachy yet solid, typical 'universally good movie' about Malcolm X and black oppression. At least I was slightly right about that last one, but surprisingly there is no trace of Malcolm X in this movie at all. Lincoln may have been mentioned, which brings me to my first point: Movie buffs have been talking a lot about racism in the last two years with Lincoln and 12 Years a Slave being released and overall cherished. These were two movies that left me very cold and didn't trigger much of the aspired emotional reaction in me, which has convinced quite a few people I talk to about movies that I am a racist (jokingly... I hope). For example, one of these people was very surprised when I told him that I had actually fairly enjoyed this year's Fruitvale Station, me being a racist and all. I can't wait to tell him what I think of American History X (hint: it begins with M and ends with ASTERPIECE)*.

Blind Spot Fixed: Memento

Memento was easily one of my blind spot films that I was most excited to watch. It's Stevee Taylor's favorite movie of all time, which in itself is worth a thousand reasons I should watch it, and in the top 10 of countless lists floating around the internet - including many an IMDB Top list. In contrary to many other of my blind spots, I actually knew about Memento a long time before I moved to the island of film lovers (as Ryan McNeil - sort of - puts it: the more movies you watch, the more blind spots you never even knew you had, you discover). I owe this knowledge to one of the sides of Indian cinema that I've always been critical of: it's affection for remaking films from other corners of the world (primarily Hollywood blockbusters). So Ghajini, a 2008 Bollywood hit remake of Memento, marked my first encounter with the Memento Mori story. Ironically enough, this movie was also a Hindi-language remake of the 2005 Kollywood (Tamil-language) film of the same name by the same director. At any rate, Ghajini was fairly enjoyable, mainly because of its cinematography and the man who turns iron into gold, Indian superstar Aamir Khan. However, it didn't ignite a burning desire to watch the original Memento in me.

How I Learned to Stop Worrying

a HOW I LIVE NOW review

Growing up 21st century's Europe has its perks - technology redefines the limits of communication, consumerism and culture, we can travel without having to do little more than showing our passports and politicians seem busy sustaining peace in our own little world as well as the Middle East. It becomes difficult to differentiate between documentations of the World Wars and movies like Independence Day, both depicting horrible, life-threatening situations and ending on a happy note (more or less). I for one find it incredibly hard to believe that my own grandmother fled (mainly by horse waggon) from what was once Pommern (the eastern part of Germany) to the north, and had to work under more or less slavery-like conditions for the Russians. Hell, I can't even fathom there was once a great wall separating Eastern and Western Germany - that fell only 6 years before I was born! However, once in a while, I am reminded of the actual danger that still surrounds every living creature in this world; the animal-esque war of survival that is hidden beneath health care, unemployment benefits and supermarkets. Watching How I Live Now was one of those experiences that made me realize there is a threat of war in my life and the lives of the people surrounding me, and that our little bubble of peace, equality and freedom of the mind could burst any day. 

OBSTRUCTION 2/5: A Revienterview

The 5 Obstructions Blogathon continues and I'm as late as one can possibly be, but I am here with an ultra-last-minute review of a movie I recently re-watched with my sister. She's also the one I interviewed and if you like what came out of that, tell me. (I have plans).

Obstruction #2: Write a review of a movie but also include an interview about it.

Back in the early days of my obsession with cinema and all things related, one of the rare occasions of me watching something valuable in theaters came up. What made it even better was the fact that my whole family - mum, sis' and myself - went to watch it. A female power night!

Joe Wright's movie is entitled after its main character Hanna (Saoirse Ronan), who lives in the forest of Alaska with her father who teaches her everything you need to survive in the world. From hunting to languages to cooking, Hanna is prepared to be let out into civilisation as a teenager. When the time comes, she has to let herself be found by CIA agent Marissa in order to kill her and then reunite with her father in Berlin. But something goes wrong and Hanna has to go on a long journey that includes many unexpected conflicts.

My love for this movie was strong enough to keep it in my 100 Favourite Movies list for two years without having re-watched it in all that time, and mentioning it whenever I can, be it in one of my own lists, a comment on someone's post or even in real life. And it has only become better with age. Soundtrack, cinematography and direction are all top-notch and the movie is one hell of a stylish ride with the (teenage!) female action hero being only the tip of the iceberg. Despite her sometimes unfortunate choice of roles (cough The Host cough), I still have high hopes for Saoirse Ronan who still appears besides names such as Jennifer Lawrence in lists of the most promising up-and-coming actresses. The girl can portray anything from pitiable loner (Atonement) to brave revolutionary (City of Ember) to the ass-kicking killing machine that is Hanna. Cate Blanchett is a tough opponent and both underline the talent of the other. The action itself is gritty and stylish at the same time and filmed in a way that makes you feel you were actually in there yourself. And then there are also some tender and humourous moments that build a nice contrast to the rest of the movie, especially in the middle part of the movie. I always like when an action movie does that, so it doesn't become too heavy. 

Bottom line: Hanna has still got it.

And as the obstruction demands, I present to you my first interview on this blog. I went down the easy path and had a cosy chit-chat with my sister - if I had been smart enough to check out obstruction #2 at the beginning of the month, I might have had the opportunity to interview someone film-related. But then again, I really liked this interview, we had a lot of fun watching the movie so... enjoy!

The first time we watched Hanna was back when it was released - do you remember your first reaction towards it?

My first reaction was that I was really impressed by the idea of Hanna being so strong and independent. I nearly don't remember though... but what I remember is that I really liked it and that I liked the soundtrack.

Why did you decide to buy the DVD and re-watch it?

I decided to buy it because I was at the store with you and I walked past it and then I just thought like, hey, I haven't watched that for a long time and how I was really impressed by it the first time we watched it. And I couldn't really remember much from it except that I liked it, so I just... well, decided to buy it.

So how do you feel about the movie now?

I still like it, I'm still impressed by the skills Hanna has... and what I noticed was the cinematography. It was different but it was really, really good. I also like the ending, that it's a bit open... but yeah, you can imagine what Hanna's going to do now. A little. 

What is she going to do?

Well, I think... she said that she didn't want to kill people anymore. So I think she's just going to see the world now. Because she was kept in that little house in, what was it, North Pole? And I think she really wants to see things now.

Can you identify with Hanna?

Yeah, a little bit, because she's really strong-minded... and well, she likes her father and wants to do things that he wants her to do. But she's also... she'd rather make her own decision. I don't know, like, the fighting stuff is something she learned so it's nothing I could identify myself with.

What do you think of the acting in general?

The acting was really good, I think. Especially from Cate Blanchett as Marissa, because she's this psycho CIA hunter, and she's really strict. She really did a good job with that. Hanna's father was also very good. Well, you didn't see much of him, but I liked it. Especially his fighting scenes were impressive. I think Saoirse Ronan did a really good job too. She was quite young when she did the movie, but she could mimic the accent pretty good...  and she had to learn all these sentences in Arabic, Spanish etc. so that was really good.

What do you think of the way Germany and being German is presented in the movie?

I think that there's a little bit prejudice in it still. The one guy Marissa knows always has two Nazis with him. Otherwise it's presented pretty well. Well, they shot the movie in Germany, so you see that city as it is. Otherwise the movie's not very German.

Would you classify the movie as an action flick or a thriller?

I'd say it's more of an action movie. But it has also has, like, strings of a thriller. So it's kind of hard to tell.

You haven't seen Kick-Ass yet, but do you think that there needs to be more female action heroes and do you think they work for the mainstream audience?

I think it works, but not like... if they're too typical. If they're always dressed in sexy costumes, I think they wouldn't really be respected as... not role models, but well, as action heroes. Then they'd just be like many other female characters in movies. But generally I think it would work really good, and there should be more female action heroes.

What's your favorite scene?

My favorite scene is when Hanna escapes from the CIA... and the other is when she tells that girls she meets that she can't tell her everything, and that they're friends and stuff, the one in the tent.

And what do you like most about this movie?

I like that Hanna's mother, not her biological mother, but the one that steals her, I like that she says "She'll never be yours", and then that's really true. That's cool.

So do you think the DVD was a good investment and you'll re-watch it again?

Yeah, definitely. And I already have a couple of friends that have to see it.

Thank you for the interview!

As for you guys, I hope I pass obstruction #2 despite my very late post, so you can read the next post in August.

Bully - Be Nice or Die

The embarrassing discovery of a misspelling on the banner for this months' LAMB MOTM, whose name I mistook for being "Buddy", could be seen as a foreshadowing of my experience of actually watching this movie. Bully, although only one consonant away from it, is anything but a movie called "Buddy".

Based on a real story and the book written by Jim Schutze, BULLY centers around a group of lazy teenagers that do little less than sleep with each other. One of the kids is Bobby, who treats his "friends" like s*it, especially his childhood best friend Marty. One day, Marty's new girlfriend Lisa decides that the Bully must die. No one disagrees.

If you're searching for a discomforting and unsettling experience, with anything in it that could be described as sick, inhuman, immoral or similar - except cannibalism - you'll hit the jackpot with Bully. It's a story that has a lot of ingredients I love in movies, some I like, and some that make for interesting, challenging watches but I know will upset me in a bad way. The first group (ingredients I love) are the teens and the splash of coming-of-age. In this case however, they don't really come of anything, although they go through some typical coming-of-age phases and actions. There is also the crime element - who doesn't love a good crime story? In this case however, we already know who did what, why and how, so it's more of an insight scoop on the crime. Ingredients I like are the psychologically disturbing elements and character treats, the social commentary/ criticism and Los Angeles setting. But now to get to the core of it all: ingredients I do like but don't enjoy. These are thought-provoking and discomforting in a great way, something I need to experience once in a while but really rather wouldn't sometimes. That's hard drugs, a loooooooot of sex including rape (I'm not prude or anything, The Dreamers is one of my all-time favorite movies, but I don't think anyone would really enjoy the scenes in Bully), teenage pregnancy and prostitution. And we're not talking Pretty Woman prostitution, but the Mysterious Skin/ Christiane F sort of thing. 

So where does all of this leave me with Bully? This is not a movie I enjoyed. It's a movie that made me want to dig a big black hole in the garden and hide in it - either that or surround myself with sunshine, rainbows and innocent little children for a month. I would want to re-watch Bully anywhere in the vicinity of the next, say, 10 years. That being said, I do think it's a great movie, and in that way, it was an enjoyable experience. One that tested and probably crossed my boundaries and made me face some conflicts and perceptions of life that I don't usually consider. It's a well-directed, well-scripted, well-acted movie and I have nothing to complain about it whatsoever. So in the end, I appreciate the fact that this depressing and thought-provoking indie got chosen to be the LAMB Movie of the Month, because I got the chance to watch something I had never heard of and maybe would've never seen otherwise.

BULLY

2001 • USA/ France • English

dir. Larry Clark (1st watch of mine) 

written by David McKenna & Roger Pullis

★ Brad Renfro, Bijou Phillips, Rachel Miner + more (incl. Michael Pitt)

FINAL FRAME: STRAWBERRY

Let Me Tell You a Story: Kahaani

IMDB | TRAILER

Another movie that dares to center its story around a strong female character, Kahaani was a surprise hit that Indian audiences loved even more than similarly "daring" English Vinglish. 

The female hero, Vidya Bagchi, is played by one of India's most talented actresses of our times, Vidya Balan. The London-based NRI (non-residant-Indian) computer programmer is searching for her husband, who has been missing ever since he went to Kolkata/ Calcutta for an assignment. Advanced in pregnancy, Vidya roams the streets of the crowded city that is busy with preparations for the yearly celebration of the goddess Kaali. Even though she finds a helpful companion in police inspector Rana, - who soon falls for the stubborn beauty - Vidya finds that it's not going to be easy to find her husband: there is no trace of him in the city whatsoever.

 

Surely, Kahaani wouldn't have been the same movie without the strong performance of Vidya Balan, just like English Vinglish couldn't have worked as well as it does with any other actress than Sridevi in the lead. Vidya brings just the right amounts of strength and vulnerability to her character, who seems both lost and determined in the narrow streets of Kolkata. No supporting character or actor stands a proper chance beside her, although Parambrata Chatterjee is sweet in the role of the innocent police inspector. The brilliant character actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui also has a small role that manages to capture the viewer in his short screen time. But what really makes Kahaani stand out, especially among other Indian films of the thriller/ mystery genre, is the well-told story. We don't know more than Vidya does, and the short flashback clip rather confuses than helps solve any of the mysteries. There's also a twist that I dare say nobody ever saw coming, which makes the female hero even more special - but no spoilers at this point. People have praised Kahaani for delivering a surprisingly exact and realistic portrayal of the city of Kolkata itself, which is often depicted in a less coaxing way. The movie doesn't conceal the flaws and the dirt of the city, but it gives a more multisided impression of the city and thus is very far from the so-called "poverty-porn". Indian mythology is cleverly woven into the plot yet there's no patriotism - a welcome exception. This way, Kahaani finds a balance between many extremes that Indian movies like to use and finds a good balance between a suspenseful plot with western inspirations and an Indian "soul". The only drawback is the still rather long running time of two hours - I felt that some parts could've been edited out in order to keep up the pace.

STRAWBERRY

Kahaani is a must-watch for fans of Indian cinema, since it delivers a felicitous mixture of many currently trending elements of the industry. The lack of song-and-dance and the Hollywood-inspired narration may also please an audience outside the Indian film scene. 

This post is part of the "2012 Bollywood Essentials".

Unglamorous Indie Rock 'n' Roll of 2012: Wild Girl Waltz and Gut

It's been a while since my last proper review and I thought I'd use the occasion to write about two films that I've been meaning to write about for a while. They've both been sent to me by two different indie film makers, who funnily asked me to review them almost the same time. That was one of the first times I felt that blogging actually has some material advantages, something you can touch. Like a free DVD. That's pretty cool for a poor student.

Wild Girl Waltz

Written and directed by MARK LEWIS

www.wildgirlwaltz.com

    

WILD GIRL WALTZ is a light-hearted comedy set in the middle of nowhere, centering around three friends who have an exceptionally messy time together. It also strikes some more profound notes in the middle of all the madness and despite some technical "flaws" I thoroughly enjoyed this movie.

Hype: Deserved

1994, USA

Pulp Fiction

Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Written by Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary

★ John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson

            

 Pulp Fiction is an english description for "dirty" literature - this I just found out, and it makes me appreciate the movie even more.

What else is Pulp Fiction?
It was, to me, one of the biggest cult films, one of the 1001+ movies, one of the highest rated movies on IMDB - to put it shortly; one of the greatest blemishes on my List of Shame (which exists in my head only). Things like that kind of raise the expectations.
Many movies, ones I loved and ones I hated, have made me lower my expectations for movies to see - especially highly acclaimed ones. But whenever one of those cultural-heritage-movies crosses my path, all these precautions are wiped out of my head. And then there's only one thought left: "I've gotta love this movie, I simply must".

All this introductory rambling is supposed to build up to this important statement:
"I actually do love Pulp Fiction - STRIKE!"

Now I could say something like "Well, how can one not love Pulp Fiction?", but I won't because I actually know someone (ahem, not personally, it's a blogger) who didn't love this movie. And I'm sure there are many more. Why? Because Pulp Fiction is not a movie for everyone, it's just not a second Shawshank Redemption.
Surely, most people of our generation will love this movie, if only for the soundtrack and sudden outbursts of we're-so-cool-we-don't-even-care-we-look-stupid-being-it. But many I know, especially people that are less into intellectual films or art, will probably be confused by the non-linear narrative, the awkward characters and so on.
By the way, don't let me get started on parents - I tried watching The Graduate with my mom once. Although there must be movie-interested parents somewhere out there.

There is, however, one reason to watch Pulp Fiction, no matter who you are, and that I have already mentioned: cultural heritage.
If you haven't seen Pulp Fiction, you won't sound convincing quoting it nor will you be able to dance convincingly to the magnificent soundtrack. You won't understand many references in newer films, perhaps not even recognize them (I'm sure I've already unawarely passed hundreds)... you will have what we call a "Bildungslücke" in German - a gap in education. And not only if you're a movie buff, if only you just "like" movies, you will have this Bildungslücke.

Hopefully,  I have convinced you to want to watch or re-watch Pulp Fiction as soon as possible. For those who have already seen the movie, I guess I didn't make you wallow in sweet memories of its amazingness - the reviewer's classics-doubt has caught me. I simply feel that I have nothing interesting to say about Pulp Fiction that hasn't been said yet.
Hopefully this video will suffice to re-aflame the feeling of the strawberry explosion.

FINAL FRAME

The Cate Blanchett Essentials, #2 / 5

Notes on a Scandal (2006) Richard Eyre

IMDB: 7.5 - RT: 87% / 81%

The reason

„I watched the making of a long time ago and thought it sounded extremely intriguing. Okay, maybe I have a weakness for films like this - they are just so interesting, psychologically - but I've actually heard that this one is supposed to be very good.“

The Cate Blanchett Essentials, #4 / 5

Read more about The Cate Blanchett Essentials

The Gift (2000) Sam Raimi

IMDB: 6.7 - RT: 56% / 56%

Why I selected this film as one of the Cate Blanchett Essentials

„Many people have recommended it for Cate's great performance (though this probably counts for all of these films), and... that's it, I think. I also like the title. My only fear is Katie Holmes, whom I've never liked in anything.“

Wiggling big toes. Samurai swords. Awesomeness.

USA, 2003

Kill Bill: Vol. 1

Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Written by Quentin Tarantino, Uma Thurman

★ Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, David Carradine

    

There was a time when I thought Quentin Tarantino must be a good director since he is admired by so many film-loving people. By that time I had only seen Inglorious Basterds, a film that is surely unique and entertaining - maybe close to awesome - but not completely awesome to me.
Then I watched Kill Bill, and I finally understood.

Against the System

A Wednesday!

India, 2008

Directed and written by Neeraj Pandey

★ Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher, Jimmy Shergill

 The first half of A Wednesday seems like a mixture of the most basic, well-known, mainstream terrorism thriller elements; a police officer receives a call from a stranger telling that he has planted bombs in various places of a big city (Mumbai). The police officer wants a proof, he gets it. The stranger wants some terrorists with muslim names to be released.
And that's where the film gets interesting. I don't want to say much about the plot from that point on, except that this is not your typical Indian terrorism film at all.

Blood. Music. Ryan.

USA, 2011

Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

Written by Hossein Amini

★ Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston

        

Even though DRIVE has only been a moderate success at the box office, it's already considered a cult classic by its fans. Once they saw Ryan Gosling driving around in L.A. at night time to the blooming electronic beats of Kavinsky & Lovefoxxx, they were hooked. So was I.

While few films truly live out their ideas, DRIVE has its own spirit that shines through in every single scene. The extreme brutality may seem arty to some viewers, to me it was just perfect. A little shocking at times, but nevertheless perfectly right.
The complete contrast to the brutality is existent in many calm and slow scenes, and both sides are connected in the character of the Driver, who is a quiet yet two-fisted person. If you haven't been falling for Ryan Gosling yet, this movie will certainly make you. Ryan is the greatest star of the movie, taking the spotlight from every single one of the excellent supporting actors and actresses. His character is best described in the lyrics of one of the hyper-cool songs of the soundtrack: „A real human being, and a real hero“.
Though he shows traces of humanity by falling in love with Carey Mulligan's character and being wounded a few times, the Driver is an invincible hero. Maybe it's this utterly cool hero that I've been missing in many films of the recent times, at least he's one of the main reasons why I loved DRIVE. The way his silver jacket with the golden scorpion shines in the light, the dark sunglasses that hide his beautiful blue eyes, and his calm smile... absolutely everything about him is so perfect it hurts.

It is hard for me to write about a film I love, and therefore, this review isn't very long. I want to apologize for this, but the words just won't come... it's only emotions, sounds and images in my head. The pink letters, the short yet always perfectly fitting dialogue, the moment when me and my mum couldn't bear the absurd brutality anymore and were caught by a fit of laughter in the theater... which, in case you would like to know, was after one of the gangsters hit a fork into the eye of another gangster.

The haunting alternation of silence and slaughter, and the moment when everything was over and I realized how outstanding this movie is.

I always fear to be too impulsive rating movies, therefore the rating is a bit lower than I  would actually like it to be.

Why is Dil Se my favorite movie? or All the things I love about Dil Se..

"Philosophy is not about finding the answers, it's about asking the questions".

- My philosophy class book.

Dir. Mani Ratnam | India
★ Shah Rukh Khan - Manisha Koirala - Preity Zinta

          

Any great movie could be my favorite one, a thought that made me shiver of fear when I first tried to put together my 100 Favorite Films list. But it happened to not just be any movie, but a movie that had followed me through many years and that has never stopped intriguing me every time I watch it. 

Having finished the list, there was suddenly no other movie I could imagine, that could be my favorite. The thought surprised, even unsettled me - after all, I hadn't actually seen Dil Se.. for about two years. It was time to finally re-watch it with eyes that are quite different from the ones of my 13-year old predecessor. 

I was scared but also excited. And you know what? I feel I admire and love this film even more than I did before. Dil Se.. is not flawless, objectively speaking - so what makes it so special to me?

That's what I want to find out in this post, namely by listing all the things I love about this film. Of course I won't be able to fully understand and explain the greatness of this film, I know that - but it's an attempt that I have to do. And an excuse to make a lot of screencaps.

ALL THE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT DIL SE..