Month: July 2011 Page 1 of 5

50DMC #20: A Movie That Disappointed

The 50 Day Movie Challenge asks one question every day, to be answered by a few paragraphs and a clip, if possible. Click here for the full list of questions.

Today’s prompt: What’s a movie you thought you would love that disappointed you?

When I first saw Pennies from Heaven (the 1981 version) on the schedule for the TCM Classic Film Festival, I was a little surprised – it was probably the most recent film of the festival, and I was like, this is a classic? Really? But the more I looked at it, the more excited I got to see it. It’s a musical, and I love musicals. It’s set in the 1930s, and I love Depression-era stories. It has Bernadette Peters in it, and I love Bernadette Peters (and the chance to see her in a film is rare). It also has Steve Martin, who’s fine, but his presence in a movie doesn’t influence my excitement one way or another. In any case, I was pretty stoked when I sat down to watch it.

And as every second ticked by my enjoyment fell further and futher and further until I was fairly hating the film by the end. First, the film has a bleak reality/joyful dream structure to it that can be fine, but put me off here because they’re integrated so poorly into each other. It’s just drab drab drab oh, sunny dance number. Second, all the songs are from the 1930s setting time period, but not only that, the original recordings are used so Steve and Bernadette are lipsyncing to them. That’s offputting, though I can kind of see, in theory, where they were going with that. But really, you put someone like Bernadette Peters in a movie and make her lipsync to someone else? WHY?! Third, I hated everyone in the story. They’re all despicable characters with no redeeming features, they make decisions that make no sense, and I didn’t believe anything that any of them did. When the end came around (*SPOILER* it involves Martin being framed and executed for murder), I just wanted them to shut up with the singing and kill him already, even though he was innocent. I didn’t care. I wanted out.

I tried and failed to find a clip of the recreation of the Fred and Ginger dance number “Let’s Face the Music and Dance”, because it was the only part of the movie I kind of liked, but even then I would’ve liked it a whole lot better if I had just been watching Follow the Fleet. Instead, here’s the first number from Peters. It’s not bad, per se, but the tone is weird and again, it’s not Bernadette singing.

50DMC #19: A Movie I’m Surprised I Enjoyed

The 50 Day Movie Challenge asks one question every day, to be answered by a few paragraphs and a clip, if possible. Click here for the full list of questions.

Today’s prompt: What’s a movie you’re surprised you enjoyed?

There are quite a lot of these, actually, as I’ve been going through some filmographies and knocking off some classic “must-sees” that I wasn’t entirely looking forward to. Turns out most of those are “must-sees” for a reason, even if they didn’t initially appeal to me. Along those lines, I’m going with Nashville. It was the third or fourth Robert Altman film I got to in my New Hollywood marathon last year, and while I liked all the others, to one degree or another (more so The Long Goodbye and McCabe and Mrs. Miller, less so M*A*S*H), I still wasn’t particularly looking forward to Nashville. I mean, it’s about a bunch of Nashville-based country music performers converging on the city at the same time as a major political rally. I’d be generous if I described myself as apathetic towards both country music and politics.

But Nashville transcends its setting, weaving together stories of individuals with perfect balance and pacing, letting us into their lives, their joys, and their heartaches. Altman is known for his ensemble work, and though I admittedly haven’t seen all that many of his works yet, I don’t know that any of them will be able to surpass this. It’s incredible how well-drawn each of these characters are, despite the short amount of time the film is able to focus on any of them – none of them are caricatures, though all of them do represent some facet of the music scene (and sometimes stand in for real-life singers and musicians). In addition to being perfectly-crafted, it’s also a joy to watch throughout its extended running time. It was pretty easily one of my favorite films that I saw last year, and I look forward to getting even more out of it in the many times I will certainly rewatch it.

The aspect ratio isn’t quite right on this clip, but the sound is better than the other ones on YouTube.

50DMC #18: A Movie That Disturbed You

The 50 Day Movie Challenge asks one question every day, to be answered by a few paragraphs and a clip, if possible. Click here for the full list of questions.

Today’s prompt: What’s a movie that disturbed you?

I went through a few different options with this one, and almost put in Quills, one of the few movies I’ve ever seen that put me off so much I can’t separate myself from it enough to appreciate the good acting and stuff that I know it has. But I don’t necessarily think disturbing is bad; sometimes disturbing is exactly the right thing for a movie to be, and that’s what makes it good. (Some people might say that’s true of Quills; I don’t.) So instead I’m choosing A Clockwork Orange.

Kubrick’s dystopian film (based on Anthony Burgess’ novel) sets up Alex as an amoral sociopath whose only goal in life is to perpetuate a bit of the old ultraviolence, and proceeds to do so by brutalizing an elderly couple for no reason whatsoever. That’s already disturbing. You want someone to stop him, even as you find him weirdly charismatic. But in the second half of the film, he is arrested and subjected to behavior modification treatment, rendering him utterly passive and debased. And as horrible as Alex’s actions were, you basically end up feeling like the treatment is as inhumane as what he did to others, and you begin to sympathize with him, even as you remember what a terrible person he was. I still don’t ultimately know what I think about the film, but I can’t argue that it’s effective…and disturbing.

YouTube seems to have most of the clips unembeddable, so click here to see Alex being set up for the treatment.

50DMC #17: Funniest Movie

The 50 Day Movie Challenge asks one question every day, to be answered by a few paragraphs and a clip, if possible. Click here for the full list of questions.

Today’s prompt: What’s the funniest movie you’ve ever seen?

There are so many possible answers to this question, but I decided to arbitrarily go with Young Frankenstein, which ranks high on my list of most quotable and rewatchable movies. Maybe not all that arbitrarily, though. After all, not only is it supremely funny and makes me laugh almost all the way through, but it basically mines every type of humor. Absurd comedy, check. Slapstick comedy, check. Physical comedy, check. Wordplay, check. Deadpan comedy, check. Comedy of humiliation, check. Referential humor, check. It is, for my money, Mel Brooks’ most sustained and successful parody, combining the stories of Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein to make something almost even better than either of those great films. And also, it’s damn funny.

Best Music of 2011: So Far

I‘m well on my way to buying more new albums this year than any other year thus far. As such, I could not keep this list to five, but I’m not a big fan of arbitrarily limited lists anyway – even the ordering on this is fairly arbitrary. Theese seven albums have distinguished themselves in my listening habits far above anything else I’ve gotten this year, and I wouldn’t be surprised if several of them stuck around for my end-of-the-year list as well. Anyway, here they are, my favorite albums of 2011, released before July 1st.

#7 – The Joy Formidable – The Big Roar

Jonathan introduced me to this Welsh band via their half album about a year ago, but I only really listened to it and got into the band just before they released this full-length, so I was perfectly primed for this to go into repeat, and that’s just what it did. It’s a big bombastic album, with lots of layers in the orchestration to go along with the lead vocals.

#6 – The Raveonettes – Raven in the Grave

I didn’t fall in love with this album quite as hard as I did with The Raveonettes’ previous release In and Out of Control, but it has grown on me quite a lot since I first got it, and I do really appreciate the band’s ability to innovate their sound (here softer and more contemplative than their previous noise-heavy rock) without leaving behind who they are – there’s still plenty of fuzz to go around here, and I actually expect the more thoughtful approach here may eventually be the one that stays with me for longer.

#5 – Death Cab for Cutie – Codes and Keys

Somehow I missed out on really being a Death Cab fan back in the day – I managed to get into indie rock somewhere in between their releases, and even though their name is omnipresent and I’m plenty adept at dropping it whenever appropriate, I actually know very little of their music. I decided I’d check this one out, and lo and behold, I cannot turn it off. I didn’t expect that, but it’s addicting, and I really want to fill in the gaps of their other albums now.

#4 – Cults – Cults

I came close to putting Cults on my list last year on the strength of a 3-song EP, but I just couldn’t do it with that little to go on. Now there’s a full album (which incorporates at least some of the EP, including the hit single “Go Outside”), and I can say with very little doubt this will be on my year-end list this time. Every one of these tracks is irresistibly catchy – fair warning, they WILL get stuck in your head.

#3 – Lykke Li – Wounded Rhymes

I have Lykke Li’s 2009 release Youth Novel, but despite my best and repeated efforts, I have never been able to really get into it. Even seeing her live for part of a set at Lollapalooza wasn’t quite enough, even though she’s a charismatic performer. So it was with trepidation I picked up Wounded Rhymes…and loved it immediately. Still don’t love Youth Novel, but something about this new album is very nearly perfect. It’s strident and vulnerable, with a depth in the songs both musically and lyrically that I found lacking in the earlier outing. It’s a gorgeous and heartrending album that clearly cuts close to her heart, and that comes through in every song.

#2 – The Submarines – Love Notes/Letter Bombs

If the Submarines’ first album is about the dating process, breaking up and getting together again (which they did), and their second is about a young couple embarking into fully committed and joyful love together (which they did), then this third one is about dealing with the struggles and joys of married life (which they are doing). It’s more mature and more complicated than Honeysuckle Weeks, understanding that two people being a couple isn’t easy, but the happiness is worth the struggle. Not every song is autobiographical, but they can’t seem to keep the general trajectory of their lives out of their music, and when they’re able to capture their emotions as well as they are, I have no argument with that.

#1 – Dum Dum Girls – He Gets Me High EP

I usually don’t include EPs unless they’re exemplary. I guess this one is. It probably ranks high on my listening chart because I simply can’t turn it off when it starts and end up playing it on repeat forever. I had Dum Dum Girls’ full-length I Will Be on my year-end list last year, and I actually think this EP is better than that album. All three new songs are great, catchy in both music and lyrics, and the fourth now ranks a among my favorite covers, a pretty straight but really lovely rendition of The Smiths’ “There is a Light That Never Goes Out.” The band has another full-length due later this year. Will it top this? We’ll see.

Honorable Mentions: The Pauses – A Cautionary Tale, The Violet Lights – Sex & Sound EP, Vivian Girls – Share the Joy, Obi Best – Sentimental Education EP, The Belle Brigade – The Belle Brigade

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