Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Movies 2005
See January for: ^Closer; ^The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou; ^Finding Neverland; ^The Aviator
See February for: ^Male and Female;
^Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; ^Love; ^Sunrise; ^Ray
See March for: ^Millions ^Being Julia ^Million Dollar Baby
See April for: ^Melinda and Melinda
See May for: ^ Look At Me ^Enron: The Smartest Guys In the Room ^Chinatown; ^ Born Into Brothels
See June for: ^Cote d’Azur ^5X2 ^Sabah ^Inlaws and Outlaws ^Peach Girl ^2046
See July for: ^Pick-up ^Batman Begins ^Mad Hot Ballroom ^Heights ^My Summer of Love
See August For: ^ Two Kinds of Women ^ Me You and Everyone We Know
See September for: ^ Broken Blossoms
See December for: ^Safety Last ^ Our Hospitality ^ The Navigator ^ The Aristocrats ^March of the Penguins
See February for: ^Male and Female;
^Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; ^Love; ^Sunrise; ^Ray
See March for: ^Millions ^Being Julia ^Million Dollar Baby
See April for: ^Melinda and Melinda
See May for: ^ Look At Me ^Enron: The Smartest Guys In the Room ^Chinatown; ^ Born Into Brothels
See June for: ^Cote d’Azur ^5X2 ^Sabah ^Inlaws and Outlaws ^Peach Girl ^2046
See July for: ^Pick-up ^Batman Begins ^Mad Hot Ballroom ^Heights ^My Summer of Love
See August For: ^ Two Kinds of Women ^ Me You and Everyone We Know
See September for: ^ Broken Blossoms
See December for: ^Safety Last ^ Our Hospitality ^ The Navigator ^ The Aristocrats ^March of the Penguins
Safety Last (1923)
Director: Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor
Safety Last has remained a part of pop culture and movie history on the strength of its final scene – Harold Lloyd perilously climbing the side of a multi-story building to escape from the cops. (And most iconicly hangs from the face of a clock.) By the time I left the theater I had forgotten most of what had come before the climbing scene, I had just about forgotten why Lloyd was climbing the building in the first place. But no matter, watching this amazing final scene is reason enough for Safety Last to exist. It is still breathtaking. I can only imagine what seeing Lloyd climb and stumble and climb some more felt like in 1923.
The film is simultaneously a throw away and a must see for film lovers.
Safety Last has remained a part of pop culture and movie history on the strength of its final scene – Harold Lloyd perilously climbing the side of a multi-story building to escape from the cops. (And most iconicly hangs from the face of a clock.) By the time I left the theater I had forgotten most of what had come before the climbing scene, I had just about forgotten why Lloyd was climbing the building in the first place. But no matter, watching this amazing final scene is reason enough for Safety Last to exist. It is still breathtaking. I can only imagine what seeing Lloyd climb and stumble and climb some more felt like in 1923.
The film is simultaneously a throw away and a must see for film lovers.
Our Hospitality (1923)
Director: John G. Blystone, Buster Keaton
Well worth seeing if you can see it in the magical time traveling setting of the Paramount in Seattle with Dennis James on organ. (see The Navigator for a longer discussion of the Paramount’s Silent Movie Monday’s).
This film however did not hold up as well these 80 years as The Navigator and many other Keaton films. There are ingenious gags, such as the train sequence which takes Buster from New York to the south and the hilarious situation where Keaton tries like crazy to not the leave the house of the McKay family intent on killing him as soon as he does. (Their manners will not allow them to kill a guest.) Perhaps the problem is there is more melodrama than frantic physical comedy – Keaton’s comedy always holds up while very little melodrama translates over the decades.
Still, enjoyable.
Well worth seeing if you can see it in the magical time traveling setting of the Paramount in Seattle with Dennis James on organ. (see The Navigator for a longer discussion of the Paramount’s Silent Movie Monday’s).
This film however did not hold up as well these 80 years as The Navigator and many other Keaton films. There are ingenious gags, such as the train sequence which takes Buster from New York to the south and the hilarious situation where Keaton tries like crazy to not the leave the house of the McKay family intent on killing him as soon as he does. (Their manners will not allow them to kill a guest.) Perhaps the problem is there is more melodrama than frantic physical comedy – Keaton’s comedy always holds up while very little melodrama translates over the decades.
Still, enjoyable.
Saturday, December 17, 2005
The Navigator (1924)
Director: Donald Crisp, Buster Keaton
First I must urge all Seattle residence to go to Silent Movie Monday’s at the Paramount. No matter the film showing the experience of watching 80-year- old silent films in a gorgeous silent movie palace with the original organ being played masterfully by Dennis James is transportative. It is magical to imagine you are in the 1920s participating in the still new phenomena of watching feature film in a luxurious theater. I cease every opportunity to be apart of this refreshing time-travel to the near-beginning of cinema and modern culture. I bet you’d like it too.
This experience is even better when the film is wonderful; and The Navigator is wonderful. I would place in the top 10 silent films I have seen and near or at the top of silent film comedies. (Only Harold Lloyd’s Girl Shy may beat it in the comedy department.) It is in the class of films which once it gets going, which is the first 3 minutes in this case; you laugh yourself into a silly stupor until it ends. Also, it is in the class of films which cannot be described, as the brilliance is all the watching. (This of course is true for all films but to an even greater degree in a film like The Navigator.) The sheer genius of the comedy is breath taking at times and you are self-conscious of this genius in the moment; a number of times I found myself thinking in between breathes of laughter: “What a brilliant visual joke!” Such moments include Buster character Rollo Threadway and trying to make breakfast and his love Betsy O'Brien chasing each other all over the ship trying and failing to find one another, Buster’s fear of the portrait that keeps swinging by his porthole, and the underwater scene where Buster is trying to fix a hole in the boat. (I could probably list just about every scene on this list of visually brilliant comedy.)
My delight in watching The Navigator was increased by luck. I happened to sit between a 5 year old girl with her parents who giggled uncontrollably throughout The Navigator’s 80 minutes and a couple easily 80 years old who equally enjoyed every minute of the screening. This last bit, of course, cannot be replicated at home no matter the equipment you have – so get yourself out to The Paramount Seattle and go back in time with these cinema treasures.
A quick, irrelevant plot summary: Buster is an effete playboy millionaire who decides one morning he is going to marry the effete young woman millionaire across the street. She refuses. Through a ridiculous series of errors and misunderstandings they end up alone on a cruise ship floating abandon at sea. After some of film histories funniest visually and physical comedy Buster gets the girl.
First I must urge all Seattle residence to go to Silent Movie Monday’s at the Paramount. No matter the film showing the experience of watching 80-year- old silent films in a gorgeous silent movie palace with the original organ being played masterfully by Dennis James is transportative. It is magical to imagine you are in the 1920s participating in the still new phenomena of watching feature film in a luxurious theater. I cease every opportunity to be apart of this refreshing time-travel to the near-beginning of cinema and modern culture. I bet you’d like it too.
This experience is even better when the film is wonderful; and The Navigator is wonderful. I would place in the top 10 silent films I have seen and near or at the top of silent film comedies. (Only Harold Lloyd’s Girl Shy may beat it in the comedy department.) It is in the class of films which once it gets going, which is the first 3 minutes in this case; you laugh yourself into a silly stupor until it ends. Also, it is in the class of films which cannot be described, as the brilliance is all the watching. (This of course is true for all films but to an even greater degree in a film like The Navigator.) The sheer genius of the comedy is breath taking at times and you are self-conscious of this genius in the moment; a number of times I found myself thinking in between breathes of laughter: “What a brilliant visual joke!” Such moments include Buster character Rollo Threadway and trying to make breakfast and his love Betsy O'Brien chasing each other all over the ship trying and failing to find one another, Buster’s fear of the portrait that keeps swinging by his porthole, and the underwater scene where Buster is trying to fix a hole in the boat. (I could probably list just about every scene on this list of visually brilliant comedy.)
My delight in watching The Navigator was increased by luck. I happened to sit between a 5 year old girl with her parents who giggled uncontrollably throughout The Navigator’s 80 minutes and a couple easily 80 years old who equally enjoyed every minute of the screening. This last bit, of course, cannot be replicated at home no matter the equipment you have – so get yourself out to The Paramount Seattle and go back in time with these cinema treasures.
A quick, irrelevant plot summary: Buster is an effete playboy millionaire who decides one morning he is going to marry the effete young woman millionaire across the street. She refuses. Through a ridiculous series of errors and misunderstandings they end up alone on a cruise ship floating abandon at sea. After some of film histories funniest visually and physical comedy Buster gets the girl.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
The Aristocrats
Director: Paul Provensa
This is the only film I have ever walked out on. It was vile, disgusting and even physically nauseating.
And worse than all that I didn’t even chuckle once. It was profoundly unfunny.
I am more confused by the critics responds to The Aristocrats than any other film I have seen.
Simply wretched.
This is the only film I have ever walked out on. It was vile, disgusting and even physically nauseating.
And worse than all that I didn’t even chuckle once. It was profoundly unfunny.
I am more confused by the critics responds to The Aristocrats than any other film I have seen.
Simply wretched.
March of the Penguins (2005)
Director: Luc Jacquet
March of the Penguins was informative, adorable, emotional and fascinating. It documents the breeding behavior of the Antarctic Emperor penguins. That’s all it does and its wonderful.
As Mike pointed out to me, after you see it you cannot but be amazed that there is a single living penguin on earth.
March of the Penguins was informative, adorable, emotional and fascinating. It documents the breeding behavior of the Antarctic Emperor penguins. That’s all it does and its wonderful.
As Mike pointed out to me, after you see it you cannot but be amazed that there is a single living penguin on earth.
