Before I begin, big thanks once again to Michi for getting me "Days" by Flow. I must have listened to it at least 30 times by now. xD
It is a new year, and therefore, I must start from the beginning in documenting my movie-watching habits. Don't know if I will watch as many as last year, but I'll give it my best shot. :O
Gaslight (1944): The acting, rather than the story, is the big draw here -- Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer create a ton of tension in the way Boyer's character subtly breaks down his wife, Paula (Bergman). Bergman won an Oscar for this (and rightfully so; near the end she is especially wonderful), but Boyer is just as good. He maintains a careful facade of love and humanity on the outside; however, the coldness and cruelty that makes up the core of who he is is always apparent in his eyes. Also notable is the first movie appearance of Angela Lansbury, who plays an amusingly rude, uncouth housekeeper.
The Last King of Scotland (2006): Good movie about the atrocities of Idi Amin's dictatorship rule of Uganda in the 1970s. Forest Whitaker nails the charm and charisma of Amin, and also his fearsome mood swings and random eccentricities. What's also interesting is how Amin uses his charm to get Dr. Garrigan (James McAvoy) to go along with him, and that is then extrapolated to relate how Amin used that charm to also fool the rest of the world into accepting his rule. Aside from that, the movie develops into a solid thriller of sorts near the end. The ending is particularly good, although harsh.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007): I don't know if it's because I have been more open to westerns in the past few years, but I loved this -- only There Will Be Blood is better from that year. The movie looks as gorgeous as any of the best westerns; it also has this cold tone to its appearance that fit well with the characters. Casey Affleck (Ben's younger brother, who is also excellent in Gone Baby Gone) earned tons of acclaim for his acting, but I like Brad Pitt just as much as the eccentric, depressed Jesse James. Although his performance admittedly comes close to overacting at times, Pitt is always able to reel it in, and he is brutally frightening during James' scariest moments and heartbreaking during James' worst moments. Sam Rockwell is also good as Robert Ford's dimwitted brother Charley, who idolizes James as much as Robert, but in a different (and much healthier, haha) way. It's a long movie (160 minutes), but stick with it.
The Darjeeling Limited (2007): I don't think I will ever not have fun watching a Wes Anderson movie. As flawed as the characters he creates are, they're also endearingly goofy people trying to find a way to fix how screwed up they are. The three brothers in this movie (played by Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman) are right in line with Anderson's other characters. My favorite of the brothers is the one played by Brody; his wannabe tough guy act is amusing, and the way he deliberately goes against his older brother (Wilson) is funny. The Darjeeling Limited also has maybe my favorite random Anderson character -- a train attendant who attacks a cobra with a spatula, and wins (!!!). That scene had me busting up with laughter. The last half-hour or so is also the best executed drama in any of Anderson's movies. Usually his drama feels somewhat forced, but it works well here.
This Film is Not Yet Rated (2006): Solid documentary about the hypocrisies and vagueness of the MPAA rating system. Some of the tactics are questionable (although I do think the MPAA's raters should be accountable to the public, hiring a private detective to root out their identities is an invasion of privacy), but I agree with the documentary's overall message -- the MPAA treats movies with sexual themes far harsher than movies with violent themes, and even within its strict intolerance of sexuality, there are double standards. The MPAA provides a good service, in theory -- helping parents become better informed about what their children are seeing is not a bad thing, clearly -- but in practice, the ratings do not always reflect the content of movies and what they are trying to achieve, artistically and morally.
On the queue for next week: Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Husbands and Wives (1992), Interiors (1978) and Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
Total Movies: 5 (Gaslight, The Last King of Scotland, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Darjeeling Limited, This Film is Not Yet Rated)
