35 Shots of Rum (2008)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

35 Shots of Rum (2008) – C. Denis

Somehow Claire Denis has managed to create a warm moody film, one that ruminates about the positive aspects of our closest relationships (in this case between single dad and daughter), even as it signals the changes that must occur without ever making them too sad.  In this way, Denis has taken her cues from Ozu, particularly Late Spring (1949) which also sees a father contemplating his daughter’s future life without him.  Alex Descas plays the dad as a man of few words but deep feeling.  His life is complicated by romantic pursuit from a neighbour, a chain-smoking taxi driver, who has long been treated as part of the family.  Another neighbour provides a romantic interest for Josephine, the daughter (played by Mati Diop).  The relationships between these four principals and a few others make up the heart of the film and Denis allows the richness and complexity of real life to infuse the film.  At the same time, her eye for composition (including Ozu-like still lifes), her ear for the way that the soundtrack can evoke moods (courtesy of the Tindersticks), and her thoughtful script that leaves ambiguities everywhere, such that we don’t really know anything about the backstory of the characters except what we can infer, elevate the film beyond an ordinary drama.  In the end, Alex drinks the 35 shots of rum to mark a special occasion, though we are left to guess at what has happened (but the second rice cooker gives it away). Rich and satisfying without ever threatening to be a major statement.

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Straight Outta Compton (2015) – F. Gary Gray

I spun N.W.A. a few times at WCWM in the ‘80s, but Public Enemy was more my bag at the time and then I drifted away from rap/hip-hop altogether.  So, I only knew part of the story of the rise and fall of the gangsta rap supergroup featuring Eazy-E., Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre (among others).  Director F. Gary Gray follows the contours of the usual biopic – however, tracking several major characters unavoidably results in giant ellipses in their personal stories (particularly when it comes to the women in their lives).  The fact that this is yet another cautionary tale about the perils of fame and bad business deals makes it feel familiar even though Paul Giamatti executes the villain role with some aplomb and at least one protagonist (Ice Cube, of course, played incredibly by his own son) is able to defy the usual arc. So, in the end the music itself carries the picture (as it should) and just as I was wondering why I didn’t remember the N.W.A. reunion that finally seems to be coming together, everything falls apart with Eazy-E’s death from AIDS.  Reflecting now, it’s depressing to think that N.W.A.’s bravado focus on police brutality in the black community had no effect at all. If anything, the problem seems even worse these days but that’s probably just a function of the new availability of viral videos when previously things stayed hidden (and/or were ignored). 

  

Invasion U.S.A. (1952)

☆ ☆ 

Invasion U.S.A. (1952) – A. E. Green

A curio or an artefact – but a chilling paranoid one that details how the enemy (assumed to be the Soviets) might attack the U.S. by way of Alaska.  Perhaps unrealistically they drop 4 or 5 atomic bombs in the Pacific Northwest and then parachute their troops right into the radiation.  In fact, the shock and horror of the attack is minimized by the screenwriters in favour of a look at several people in a bar and how they cope with the incipient war.  Compare this to Peter Watkins’ 1965 pseudo-doc, The War Game, where Britain suffers an A-bomb dropped on London and you can see the difference between a quickie exploitation flick and the contemplation of real horror.  Almost 50% or more of Invasion U.S.A. is stock footage, which sometimes evokes the horror of war on its own (given its status as real footage) rather than serves the plot here.  Given that most of the tragedy in the film is revealed through TV reporting (with the station occasionally going off air), the nearest resemblance is to Night of the Living Dead (or was it Dawn of the Dead?).  But those films are far superior, if somewhat less realistic (given the potential for President Trump). For the record, the Americans retaliate by dropping even more nuclear bombs on Russia in the film. All we can hope is that no one has their finger on the button ever again.    

It (1927)

☆ ☆ ½

It (1927) – C. Badger

My consumption of silent film has primarily been composed of the amazing classics (Murnau, Keaton, Eisenstein, and so on).  So, stumbling into more run-of-the-mill fare is a bit of a let-down.  Of course, “It” was a big hit and helped to spur along the stardom of Clara Bow, a free and easy sex symbol of the 1920s.  She is rather vivacious here but the film is hardly lurid or ribald.  Bow plays a shopgirl with designs on the wealthy boss and she manages to snare him.  En route, there is a bit of a problem when he accidentally believes she is a single mother to a “fatherless” child.  The stigma is palpable but Bow actually manages to get the cad to propose to her even though he thinks she has a baby to support before she tells him the truth.  Nothing too flash here in the direction or acting (apart from Bow’s obvious star turn).  Bow went on to a series of scandals and her popularity declined (Kenneth Anger tells all in Hollywood Babylon). 

  

Dillinger (1945)

☆ ☆ ½

Dillinger (1945) – M. Nosseck

Lawrence Tierney’s starring debut as the titular bank robber is a no frills bio pic (of sorts) shot for Poverty Row studio Monogram.  Highlighted by an early script from noir specialist Philip Yordan – best known for Johnny Guitar – the film is concise at 70 minutes and keeps its action to a minimum, favouring blunt talking instead.  However, Tierney would snarl more, with more wicked charm, in Born to Kill (1947) and, of course, Reservoir Dogs (1992).  So, if you are looking for Film Noir or heist films, this isn’t the place to start but it’s not bad for a B genre film if this is your bag.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) – G. Miller

There is no question that this film is a thrilling ride, firing on all cylinders from nearly the very first frame.  It is beautiful to look at and art-directed to high heaven with that post-apocalyptic Australian-outback feel (though it was filmed in Namibia). There are also female characters in some key lead roles (a welcome thing for an action movie), including Charlize Theron as bad-ass one-armed Furiosa who starts the plot rolling by escaping with the creepy bad guy’s five wives to a remembered matriarchal outpost across the desert (which turns out to be decimated by climate change but with a small band of bikies still led by some very tough old ladies).  So, the movie is an endless chase at top speeds in phantasmagorical hot rods and super-trucks taking in a variety of vistas and oddly-dressed tribes along the way – but that’s all it is.  In other words, a gloriously well-realized moment in an imagined dystopic future populated by brutal characters that we never really get to know (particularly Tom Hardy, who has taken over the role of Max from Mel Gibson). So, take a deep breath, hold on, enjoy the rush, and then it is over, not unlike your increasingly sophisticated roller coaster experience.  

Deadpool (2016)

☆ ☆ ☆

Deadpool (2016) – T. Miller

I’ll admit that I haven’t been interested in watching any of the comic book franchise films that are everywhere of late.  I also never got into comics as a kid – although I do remember pondering alternate universes and who belonged to which league/world when I borrowed some from other kids at summer camp.  I don’t think I could name you any of the X-Men (except Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart). And I don’t recall this guy Deadpool at all. My first reaction to him was that he is just another wise-cracking American dick dropping cultural references to show the audience how smart the writers are – and there is a lot of that in this film.  There’s also ultra-violence, swearing, and some sex/jokes (hence, the R rating). My usual reaction to these kinds of slam-bang CGI-laden action films is blah.  But after sleeping on it, I think this one actually captures a sort of comic-book charm (for adults) that isn’t far off my hazy recollection of the complexity and confusion and sheer WTF-ness of those handful of superhero rags I actually read.  Perhaps just watching this one movie out-of-context isn’t too far from those odd experiences at camp that gave me just a taste.  So, I guess I’ll wait another couple of years before I try this experiment again so the element of bewilderment doesn’t wear off.