The Movies of 2013*: One-paragraph reviews *third third only *feature-length only

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Well, I thought we might get out one more time to see one of the great-looking artsy films in theaters this month or watch one of the movies we impulsively picked up at a Blockbuster fire sale but maybe year?

In theaters:

Gravity (2013): Tell you what: space has just lost a lot of its attraction. But my opinion? It's as good as everyone's said. Sandra Bullock will be getting an Oscar nomination. And sitting close to the screen with 3D glasses? Awesome. I jumped and gasped when pieces of the ISS flew past me. And it was not a cheap thrill. It was part of a real and dangerous world. But seriously: I don't really need to go into space anytime soon.

Ender's Game (2013): If you haven't read the book, I say watch the movie first. The novel is so rich and deep. The movie necessarily simplifies, but I think it does a good job. Hard to say though as I know the novel fairly well (not great---I'm not ready for a tv-based Ender's Game Trivia shootout---just fairly well). But I did enjoy the movie and was even moved a couple times and now I really really want someone to attempt to bring Shadow of the Hegemon to the screen (big or---maybe better---small). It'll never happen of course (Peter and Valentine, necessarily, were underdeveloped; no Achilles; your first-movie lead has no role), but it would be cool. The other effect the movie had on me was a deep desire to reread Speaker for the Dead. Of course, you can read any of these books yourself.

The Muppet Movie (1979): I'm not employing hyperbole when I say that this was one of the greatest movie-theater experiences of my life. I've watched this movie a handful of times in my life---most of them in adulthood, most like---but I've listened to the soundtrack HUNDREDS of times. After graduating from high school, for some reason I bought the tape and it was on regular rotation the year before and the year after my mission when I logged endless commute hours driving from Tehachapi to Bakersfield and back. I know these songs as well or better than all other songs in the world. I don't know if I go through a week without singing lines from "Rainbow Connection" or "Movin' Right Along" or "Can You Picture That?" or "I Hope That Somethin' Better Comes Along or "I'm Going To Go Back There Someday" or "The Magic Store." The DNA of this movie has merged with my own DNA and I'm some sort of Muppet hybrid. Anyway, seeing it with an audience of adults who laughed at the Hari Krishna jokes and kids who laughed at Miss Piggy beating up badguys was a joy. I nearly wept for some reason when Big Bird said he was heading to New York City to try to break into public television. Holy smokes, this was great. I need a theater to do a singalong next. I mostly kept myself from singing along today, but not entirely.

Frozen (2013): Given the hype around this movie, I expected more. My bad. Still. Pretty good. Both Lady Steed and I agreed that sometimes the voices didn't seem to be coming out of the mouths on the screen. The songs were more Broadway than Disney and I don't think they'll age well. The character design was off at times. And while I'll give props for playing against some Disney-fairy-tale tropes, they played into others twice as big. So overall a win, but nothing to start an Oscar campaign over.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013): We went 3D on this one in order to get the higher frame-rate projection. The first movie was a headache to watch---the camera moved to quickly to make out anything. Everything was blurred. The higher frame rate solved this problem, though it did introduce the too-real problem. I don't really care how closely the movie followed the book; I liked the movie. Not a great movie like the LotRs tended to be, but perfectly enjoyable. It is getting a bit ridiculous how no dwarf can die though. Just saying.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013): First, it must be said again and again, Jennifer Lawrence is the real thing. A star. And not for today, but I suspect she would prove to be one of the all-time greats. That final look at her face is what Hitchcock said^{[citation needed]} is the greatest special effect: the human face undergoing emotional change. I liked this movie better than the first, which is remarkable when you consider the books started (in my minority opinion) merely okay and got worse. Good writing, pacing, casting. And Jennifer Lawrence.

At home:

His Girl Friday (1940): Although as rapid-fire and funny as I expected, I did not expect how dark it was. With constant undercurrents of crime and war and corruption, it's not a film that can be dismissed as pure fun. (Not that there's anything wrong with pure fun.) I have to admit I wasn't able to fully enjoy it as a movie because I was too busy studying how it---especially its dialogue---was crafted. It's not just speedily delivered---it's complicated and tightly rigged, that dialogue.

Waitress (2007): I didn't like what was done with music and I thought the medical details were a bit sketchy and that old Joe wasn't consistently imagined. Which might sound like a lot, but the film is pretty astonishing all the same. Keri Russell has true star charisma dialed into a small, small space now I really need to see Austenland). The writing was sharp in the way we associate with Diablo Cody or Quentin Tarantino, but it's a bit more honest and believable. I particularly was intrigued by the protagonist's imagining of pies. That's something I can learn from.

Swiss Family Robinson (1960): Sure it has some "flaws," but seriously: is there a more fun movie to watch with your family? I mean really? And frankly, some of those flaws could just as easily be taken as lessons in innovative storytelling. No need to connect the obvious dots, friend.

The Cheat (1915): After recognizing the pirate captain in Swiss Family Robinson, I went to IMBd to look him up. Of course: Bridge over the River Kwai (which I've never seen but have seen enough famous scenes from). But it ends up that Sessue Hayakawa was a major Hollywood star of the silent era. And this is the film that made him famous. Made him a major romantic lead. Before America got all racist against Asians and stuff. But if this is a preracist film, holy moly, I would hate to watch a racist one. (Note: I actually saw the 1918 rerelease version of the film.)

The Amazing Adventure (1936): Apparently the version I watched was the American cut, trimmed twenty minutes from the British original. Which is a shame, because I kept thinking that editing was absolutely amateurish and that a bit more room to develop would have served the characters well. Not that more minutes could fix the generally bad writing or flaky directing, but it wouldn't have hurt either. Anyway, that said, this movie is proof that Cary Grant can carry a film. Even with all its flaws, I rather enjoyed this mess. I would have loved to've seen him in vaudeville.

A Night at the Opera (1935): No chaos like Marx Bros. chaos. By the way, have you ever noticed that Chico in a gypsy costume looks a lot like Fred Armison? Fred Armison needs to do a Chico. Anyway, the crammed-cabin routine gets funnier every time I see it.

The Iron Giant (1999): Little Lord Steed's been bugging to watch this movie for a week. Large S started by saying it would be too scary and wanting none of it to wanting to watch it. Big O recalls liking it. All three spent much of the movie covering their faces or hiding under tables or leaving the room. Clearly, we're not ready for Jurassic Park yet. As for me? Well. No movie makes me sob like The Iron Giant makes me sob.

Elf (2003): A true holiday classic notwithstanding its third-act collapse (and absurd view of picture-book publishing), Elf may be the most important movie I've seen in the last ten years by virtue of introducing me to Zooey Deschanel's voice.

When Harry Met Sally... (1989): I see why everyone loves this movie so much. And like Casablanca that it references, it's so loaded with lines I just know, even though I've never seen this movie before. The interstitial interviews were more daring than they seem and worked quite well. Overall, so nice to see a good romcom. It's been a while.

The Indian in the Cupboard (1995): Wow. Intrusive score, poor acting, weak script. Not sad I missed this last time around. The kids really wanted to watch it though (don't ask me how they found out about it) so I complied. Alas, alas. Not Frank Oz's finest work. Some classid 90s hair on display though. So that's fun.

Sleepwalk with Me (2012): I've been wanting to see this movie since I heard some thing with Mike Brubiglia and Ira Glass on NPR when it came out. It was in a Berkeley theater at the time, but we weren't able to work it. How does it stand up to his radio work? Pretty well. It's a good movie, to be sure. When it ended, I blurted, "That's the end???" with three question marks and so I guess I'm left a tad unsatisfied, but now I want to see My Girlfriend's Boyfriend. So no too unsatisfied.

Elsewhere:

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) 2x: Such a well crafted movie from the words to the blocking. The closest thing I can think of to a complaint is the sometimes flexible sizes of things. A chicken, for instance, shrinks when a fox holds it.

A Bucket of Blood (1959): I'm happy to report if you can get 14yrolds past the opening few minutes, they totally dig this movie.

Monsters, Inc. (2001): Interesting this time to see how the storytellers dealt with Boo's scaring. It's not entirely consistent, but I've seen this movie so many times and never noticed before.

Now You See Me (2013): It's a hyper-hyphy heist! It's a crazy-cool caper! It's a lot of fun to watch! It also strains credulity. It features a cheap twist, logical holes, some really absurdly bad moments of screenwriting (I'm looking at you, romance, but not only you). Ultimately, it just kind of pissed me off. I can see why teenagers like it, but I'll not be watching it again.

Romeo and Juliet (1968) x2: I'm getting a bit tired of this. Haven't seen the new one (haven't heard much good), but I'm hoping for the best.

Corianton (1931): Is this a bad movie? Oh, yes. As bad as everyone says? Certainly. Was it worth watching? Oh, yes. Will I watch is again? Quite possibly. Were the costumes as sexy as Orson Scott Card suggested? Much more so.

Gentlemen Broncos (2009) x2: I love this movie more than I did at first. And it's terrific when discussing metafiction. But man is it weird.

The Princess Bride (1987) x2: I am enjoying teaching this book so much. And the movie never gets old.

Black Orpheus (1959): I can't say I really watched this. So much dancing I can't stay focused. Especially when showing it to a class that can't go five minutes without a shoving match. . . . That said, the last half hour is pretty cool, watched without other people.

A Christmas Story (1983): I never saw this movie through as a child, but it's now a seasonal favorite. I'm glad.

Feature films 2015: second quarter

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In theaters:

Romeo Is Bleeding (2015): This is a powerful film about kids in Richmond applying the Bard to themselves through the trauma that is everyday life in Richmond. We watched the world premiere of this doc in the theater where their play was originally produced and many of the people filmed and their families were present. And they felt the film even more than we did. They laughed harder and they sobbed---I've rarely heard sobs like these from adults. And sure, that enhanced the experience, but this film is moving and important and you shouldn't miss it. Look for screenings near you. (One postscript: watching the film and seeing how people react to poet Donté Clark, I could see his ability to communicate through words was real and community-changing. And I felt him as a fellow traveler. But hearing him wing responses live in the Q&A made me feel what the people around him already knew. He's an incredible talent. And if the culture's just different enough from mine that I can't feel it, that's on me to learn that culture. I mean---haven't I had to do that with Shakespeare?)

Tomorrowland (2015): I wanted to love this movie. I appreciate its optimistic goals and alleged worldbuilding and, come on, its Brad Bird. Not every movie has a Brad Bird. So I'm sad to say that even with George Clooney and Hugh Laurie and this crazy awesome little British girl, not with standing some cool visuals and futurey conceptions etc etc, ultimately the film does not quite work. Largely because it spends a lot of time undercutting its themes. For instance, we have to have big fights and kill innocent people and blow things up to make a happy future. And I can't remember the last time I was so browbeaten with product placement. Sigh. Still. I'm glad I voted with my dollars and by no means do I feel my day was wasted. I just wish I'd been given more. And not in a consumer way. In a philosophical way.

Inside Out (2015): How could was it? I was spontaneously weeping an hour after we left the theater. I may still spontaneously weep yet. (UPDATE: nine days later, still weepy.) We're going to buy and rewatch it every year to make it part of our family's vocabulary. You owe it to yourself. It's a movie made up of perfect details, that finds the epic in the small, and the tiny in the large.

Jurassic World (2015): Look: It's not a great movie. It has it's flaws. But all I really felt I was owed was a lot of fun and not to be talked down to. I got both those. The movie was utterly and wonderfully satisfactory. Do I need to spend all summer rewatching it? No. Would I go with someone if they asked? You bet. I could talk at length about details and choices, but the rest of the internet is taking care of that. I'm satisfied. That is enough. (Although, once again, the product placement was eye-gouging at times.)

At home:

Edge of Tomorrow (2014): When Lady Steed and I saw the trailer for this movie in theaters, it was probably one of the best trailers I've ever seen, from an advertising perspective. It sold the movie absolutely, gave nothing important away, and drove the title into our minds where we've never forgotten it: LIVE. DIE. REPEAT. Only . . . then it displayed the real title, Edge of Tomorrow---utterly forgettable and generic. I have a feeling it was a title the studio had owned for years and just slapped it on this film because it sounded cool. Generically cool, but cool. Marketing knew better, but couldn't shake it. Ah well. As for the movie? It's awesome. Don't dismiss it as Groundhog Day with guns and aliens, because it's more than that. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's "better" than Groundhog Day, but I would also say it's a dumb argument. They're both very good and they are utterly different save in one central conceit. One fascinating thing about this film is how it plays with sound design and score. When we first see battle with the aliens, it's that uberdramatic KwAHHHng! stuff with sweeping orchestration and so forth, telling us how to feel. Then he dies. And the music switches subtly to comedy and the over-the-top SFX go away. And as the move delves further away from "reality" the music becomes more of a partner in storytelling rather than a bully. Anyway, good movie. I would watch again with you right now were you here.

The Boxtrolls (2014): I'm not sure we're watched a movie before that had my five-year-old drawing me pictures of the characters before bedtime before. And rightly so. I'm not sure if this is the "best" Laika movie to date, but it's probably the one I enjoyed the most and the one I'm most looking forward to enjoying again. I thought I was in for a Jungle Book. It was more.

Freetown (2015): I expected to be more thrilled than moved. In fact, I was more moved than thrilled.

Chef (2014): The cast is incredible and a joy to watch. The food is incredible and a joy to watch. Who cares if the frame's a bit pedestrian? Who cares? Have you seen this cast? Have you seen this food?

Joe Versus the Volcano (1990): I've been aware of this movie for 25 years but I've never really been interested in seeing it. I can't remember why. But I was just reading about it in The Best Film You've Never Seen which tells me it was a flop. But I remember hearing about it more than the Tom Hanks hits mentioned (I don't remember hearing about Punchline as a kid at all)---certainly, other than Big, this was the film my friends talked about. But I was never sold until now. I'm so sad I waited so long. I loved the heightened reality and sense of play and seriousness within madness. And Meg Ryan playing three roles (which I didn't know before) is, as the book says, her Peter Sellers (or, as I would have it, her Alec Guinness role). I could dedicate a whole post to this movie, but I don't want to. So just one more observation, about the islanders. Although arguable racist, they sidestep the issue in an interesting way by their ancestry and by their being steep in Hollywood faux-island culture (eg, King Kong). I don't know what Polynesians think, and the islanders weren't my favorite part of the film, but if anybody cares what whitey thinks, I would give it a pass. Anyway. The film was great. Like a Coens comedy cranked up one more notch.

Wadjda (2012): For a look into another portion of the modern world, this film is invaluable. To see the life of a young Saudi girl and her school and her mother is pretty great. To see how the fundamentalist fear of sexuality leads to hypersexuality is insightful (note: not the point of this movie, but there whether it's meant to loom or not). But I'm pretty sure that some of the things I did not understand weren't cultural. For instance, the occasionally confusing chronology. Still though. Even when turns in the plot were obvious cliches, they worked. This is a charming film. Though I have a hard time imagining my kids sit through it. Definitely not paced rat-a-tat-tat.

Groundhog Day (1993): I haven't seen this movie in a long, long time. I'm so happy it holds up. It's still a great movie. And Edge of Tomorrow did not suffer in the comparison. Which is impressive. Because this film is an acknowledged classic.

Under the Skin (2013): This is a strange, strange film. Short-film strange, blown up big. It's a bit like THX 1138 (scroll down) at moments and a lot like Eraserhead in the middle. It reminded me more and more of Cat People as it went along and the way the shots lingered forever like sitting in front of a painting makes me think of what I imagine 2001 is like. I've never seen a monster quite like this one. So human and so alien. So impossible to fathom. And so predatory. What to make of it? I don't know. Filming in Scotland with amateurs wearing astonishingly opaque accents helps us understand some things. That the accents get more transparent as the film goes on is telling. The fades are so patient as to be poems in themselves. So much to say. So little to conclude.

Jurassic Park (1993): Holds up. Always always always holds up.

The Adjustment Bureau (2011): A pretty good movie, but the real key to why the movie isn't all it could be is contrasting the development of the Matt Damon character to the Emily Blunt character. He is very well developed. She is not. She doesn't even get to share a childhood story of her own. And her fiance? That poor guy is a 100% disposable nonhuman entity. Sigh. It was ambitious and new! If only the Pixar Braintrust had had a chance to give some feedback just before production started....

Godzilla (2014): Yeah, I suppose it deserved the hype. It was certainly awesome (not in the "good" sense but in the "awesome" sense). It was visually impressive and it's monsters were pretty terrifying (that spider-ape female thing!). The characters were a bit cliched but generic in a way that made them a bit more relatable. And not everything worked out the most obvious way (the Only Man Alive Who Can Help doesn't get to help . . . twice!). And the way the film dealt with the classic Godzilla themes of nuclear arrogance was way more timely and on-point than I had expected. Although it certainly was disaster porn, it wasn't ignorant of the millions of should-be-meaningful casualties. It's funny how weird things can throw you out of a movie (I can buy an absurdly tall monster, but he standing up in the Golden Gate? That's the deepest part of the Bay! And the Bridge is tall! And those currents! or: They're flying that warhead right over the City? Are you kidding me?) but whatever. Maybe I've lost my sense of wonder or something. In short, a dumb monster movie, but a really really good dumb monster movie.

Marwencol (2010): I learned of this from a This American Life episode but have only now finally got around to watching it. It was a pretty great movie. I think part of the reason is, as an arts-mag editor observes, Mark Hogancamp is utterly absented of irony. He means everything. That's pretty rare these days. And it can't be faked.

American Movie (1999): I remember reading about this film in Newsweek while in a doctor's waiting room. I've never forgotten about it, and always intended to someday watch it. Now I have. And although Milwaukee is pretty different from Montpelier, I think some of the pathos I felt came from the similarities that do exist. Anyway, it's about a dirt-low indie filmmaker trying to follow his muse, and the people who surround him. It's a mix of funny and horrifying and heartbreaking and hopeful.

From Up on Poppy Hill (2011): I usually watch foreign-language animation dubbed (I have my reasons, haters), but never have I been so sure that the story was taking a beating because of the translation. Still, I enjoyed the film and it earned a tear.

Elsewhere:

Looking for Richard (1996): Showing this alongside teaching Richard III is kind of great. It tells the story well while modeling actors and scholars struggling with the text's complexity. It's a fun watch. And I love the line by (I think it was) Barbara Everett, molaq, "Irony is just hypocrisy with style." What a great line. But is it true???

V for Vendetta (2005): Besides being a crowdpleaser with an easy-to-grasp theme, V holds up very well to repeat viewings. They really layered it in here, some obvious, some subtle, always something new to find. A great little flick to introduce film analysis.

THX 1138 (1971): A horrific future created mostly by the color white and sound design. And, for unfathomable reasons, now fiddled with by its creator with CGA add-ons that don't add on.

Casablanca (1942): Perfect films don't grow old. They grow richer.

Psycho (1960): Honestly? I don't think I'll ever tire of it. Though I think Ebert is right regarding cutting down the psychologist's scene. But I don't think he would have been right in 1960. Hitchcock himself told the actor he'd saved the movie. It was a different time. I can respect that.

The Iron Giant (1999): I think I've passed peak-cry for The Iron Giant, but I still certainly cry.

Spirited Away (2001): I agree with Roger Ebert that this is a film made with generosity and love.

Bambi (1942): Beautiful movie with one of my alltime favorite soundtracks. But it's such a weird movie. See 1 2 3 4 5.

Dazed and Confused (1993): A friend's every-year-last-day-of-school movie. And I can see why. But I just have a hard time relating to kids want to get drunk/stoned/laid. Parts of the Universal Human Experience ring true, but not enough. On the other hand, it's a picaresque and my understanding is it gets better each time as you pick up more details. That I can believe.

Previous films watched

2015

qu1 qu2

2014

qu1 qu2 qu3 qu4

2013

th1 th2 th3

The Blogger’s Dozen Best Animated Feature Films in the Thteed Collection

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Inspired by Time Out's deeply flawed (but very fun) top-50 list, Kohl Glass wrote his "Top 10 Underrated Animated Film List".

Wanting to get in on the fun, I've combed the Thteed Family Film Collection and curated a list of my own.

First, only animated films that are clearly features were deemed eligible. We own hundreds of animated shorts, some of which are among my favorite films of all time, but that's too hard a task, combing through those babies. So a film had to be animated, a feature, and excellent to qualify. And owned by the Thteeds. Those are the criteria. Then came the narrowing down to a blogger's dozen.....

Which was really hard. Getting from 15 to 14 was the hardest part. I love some films that didn't make the final cut. If I'd made this list a day earlier, it would have been a different list. Same with tomorrow. So I didn't bother ranking them --- this is just alphabetical order.

(The links go to the films' Wikipedia pages. My comments are in the rollover text.)

An American Tale: Fievel Goes West
Bambi
A Boy Named Charlie Brown
Dumbo
Finding Nemo
A Goofy Movie
The Incredibles
The Iron Giant
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
My Neighbor Totoro
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Spirited Away
Toy Story
Toy Story 2

X

Free bonus! The other animated features we own are listed below to help you kvetch that I chose the wrong fourteen. Again, when possible, I linked to the film's Wikipedia page. If there was none, then IMDb.

Aladdin
Alice in Wonderland
Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman
A Bug's Life
Cars
Chicken Run
Cinderella
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
The Curious Adventures of Mr. Wonderbird
Fantasia 2000
Jungle Emperor Leo
Kiki's Delivery Service
Lady and the Tramp
Shrek
Sleeping Beauty
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Surf's Up
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Yellow Submarine

I may not be doing much for my intellectual reputation, but some!

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109) True Grit by Charles Portis, finished December 9

We found this audiobook in a Little Free Library earlier this year and we finally took a trip wherein we could fit in, no problem, its Six hours.

SO WE DID.

It's still awesome. And even though I had forgotten how violent it is, I'm very pleased my kids got to experience it.

A great, nearly lost, American classic. And short. You have no excuses.

friday and sunday


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110) The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin, finished December 11

This was nominated for a National Book Award and somehow it caught my attention. The library hooked me up and I'm so glad it did.

The book alternates between three points of view: that of an omniscient narrator, a series of letter from the head of intelligence to the Elfin king, and a series of images, the provenance of which is not immediately clear; at first I thought they two were "omniscient" (pictures feel that way), but they most certainly are not.

In short, this book lied to me. And it did so remarkably well. At first I was confused by the lies, thinking there was a flaw in the craftsmanship. How did this get Nation Book Award notice, I wondered. Then the pieces began to fit together. And I began to realize I was being lied to. Not all these characters are who they seem---sometimes because they are lying and sometimes because they are being lied about.

I highly recommend this book if you want to see a genuinely innovative mix of words and images. I recommend this book if you would like to examine bias and prejudice and propaganda. I recommend this book wholeheartedly do your children. But I'll bet you have the more thought-provoking experience.

One last note: I don't have any idea how this novel could be turned into a film without simply throwing out all the elements that make it remarkable. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it was would take a dedicated (and brilliant) creative team. I would love to see what such a team would come up with. I would not love to see the lazy version of this book-as-movie which would feel derivative and pointless and boring, even if done excellently. Brangwain is a terrific example of how using the form of a medium well can make a work of art unique and wonderful.

almost three weeks


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111) Captain Marvel: In Pursuit of Flight by DeConnick/Soy/Rios, finished December 11

I think this might be my favorite of the Carol Danvers books I've read recently. It's got a bit of time travel, a bit of vintage girl power, a bit of true dialgue between characters....

Reading (most of) the small-time bio in the back of this volume helped me get a sense of the character's in-universe history which is long and complex and richer than I had known. Fine stuff.

But, all that said, I think I'm done reading Carol comics. I'll just wait for the movie now.

a few days


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112) Strong Female Protagonist by Brennan Lee Mulligan and Molly Ostertag, finished December 13

I think I picked this up, for some reason, because I was disappointed in Witch Boy. Now I'm disappointed because my library does not have volume two.

Although I love me a good Batman movie and much of Marvel's recent movie run, the fact is that what I really want is a superhero movie that does not obey the rules. I want an Iron Giant or an Unbreakable or a Chronicle. Something new and fresh. I also really want more media that explores the lives of regular people in a world with superheros.

This book gives me both. Although it's painted in Marvel/DC colors, it has some smart thinking about what a superhero world might really be like and it's found some new and startling issues I've never seen dealt with before. The book's art and writing get better as it goes along (the erstwhile mouseover text does not). Man. I hope someone makes this movie.

ELAPSE


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113) Why Art? by Eleanor Davis, finished December 18

To look at the title of this book, to look at its cover, to read its backcopy or reviews, you might expect a manifesto of some kind. And that's what it is, yes, but it doesn't take that many pages to lose the form of your typical manifesto and to then dissolve into something metaphorical and mad. Which may well make it all the more effective, but which does make it much more difficult to effectively quote in your own dissertation.

I'm still puzzling over just hat this manifesto has manifested to me. And, if I had figured it out, putting it into my own words to tell you would be a lie and a misrepresentation. To know just why art, according to Eleanor Davis, you would have to read the words and look at the pictures yourself.

bedtime


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114) Captain Marvel: Rise of Alpha Flight by Fazekas/Butters/Anka/Smith, finished December 22

Found another from the library lying around. It would be top half Captain Marvel-read.

maybe three days


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May We Movies?

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The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

This is not a good movie. Entertaining to watch? Sure. But it doesn't make a lot of sense. Clearly, they did not put the best people on it. (That girls been wrapped in her quilt for two weeks??) Which is a shame because the concept's not too shabby. And if they were old, it could have set up some pretty interesting sequels. [See sequel, below, for more comments.]

But of course, these movies are happy to pick and choose what they remember from the previous iterations. I guess before we could watch movies whenever we felt like it, we just had to take their word for it.

The most bizarre moment, however, was that final moment lifted straight out of Gone with the Wind.

And if the music was iffy before the denouement, this moment's music turned a mystifying choice into a laughline.

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Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)

This starts off as a pretty good wolfman movie. The hair-growing effects are better and Lon Chaney wields the pathos like a machete. Then the Frankensteins get involved and...the rest isn't quite as good.

(Telling: This movie came out of eight days before the year anniversary of the previous installment's release.)

Bela Lugosi's version of the creature is unintentionally comedic. I thought that might change one they brought him to full power, but no such luck. It doesn't help that the makeup makes him look like a cross between Herman Munster and Grandpa Addams.

Also---anyone else notice that no female character's ever played by the same actress twice?

Or that the head village meanie looks like my Face in Hat cohost?

Apparently, the creature was going to speak and be blind ala what Ghost set up, but they thought Bela's voice was too inadvertently amusing. That, and the fact that Bela was old and exhausted and the role was thus played by possibly four different people, help explain why the face just isn't consistent.

Maybe it wouldn't have been good, but I suspect the all-Bela version of this film would have been better.

That's the attitude, guys!

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Like Father, Like Son (2013)

I don't know what I expected if it wasn't this. Just...more and less? more emotional impact without seeming so long?

It's a heart-wrenching scenario---maybe impossible not be be running the numbers of one's personal life instead of giving the film your full attention, at least on first viewing.

What do you do when you discover your six-year-old was switched at birth?

I couldn't figure out what, thematically, the film was about making even metaphors with big flashing signs (those cicadas) confusing.

Yeah. The more I think about it, the more certain I am this film would approve with a second viewing--I'm starting to see how all the pieces fit together and how they might make an artful collage rather than sorted piles.

But I also think it'll feel just as long the second time. Maybe even longer?

I'm guessing I don't find out.

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Shanghai Noon (2000)

It's sort of a Jackie Chan film (with less consistently excellent action) with a lot of elements (besides just Owen Wilson) lifted from Wes Anderson movies (though hardly as sharp throughout). So it's no surprise I loved it so much in 2000 and can't quite love it as much now.

Still. The oldest two had a riot watching it and I had fun too. You can still, having had filet mignon, enjoy a salisbury steak.

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Shoplifters (2018)

Thought-provoking. Complicated. Unsettling.

There are lots of reasons to disagree with me, but this covers a lot of the same ground as Parasite but I don't think it was saying at all the same things. Both have, as surface text, that poor people are awful and will do whatever they can get away with. But that movie provided a big fat subtext blaming the rich. That doesn't happen here. This is about found family; that about birth family.

The connections to the directors previous film (Like Father, Like Son---see above) are also striking. Similar themes, very different things said about this.

Here, the found family is awful in many on-paper ways, but they are wonderful in others. And when the get found out, no one can understand or believe in what they had. And so it is dissolved. (Society would have dissolved it anyway, but this gets back to the eat-the-rich themes this film studiously avoids.)

The actress playing the little girl is astonishing. Not her alone, but she's so little and has to play such a nuanced role and does it so well. Maybe we can praise the director for this as well?

Sigh. I need time for another viewing before film club. It's a lot to unwind.

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Pride & Prejudice (2005)

Yes, it's merely a teaser when it comes to the riches offered by the novel (and misleading---I realized on this watch that IT is why I say a stupid wrong thing every time I teach the book), but it provides riches all its own in the editing, camera work, music, interactions, and Keira Knightley's face.

We watched it to mark the end of the AP test. Turn out was so-so but that's fine. I saved the chat! but I'm not sure it's really appropriate for me to share that with you. You?

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House of Frankenstein (1944)

Okay. This is a dumb one. There is a beautiful symmetry to Boris Karloff now playing the mad scientist (and he's great) but most of the rest of the movie is ... not.

The first act involves bringing Dracula back to life (with an actor so similar to Karloff it was a while before I could be sure it wasn't him) and then killing him off. It could have been a standalone Dracula film. Instead, it's a random addition to a Frankenstein film. (But it's not really a "Frankenstein" film either, in the sense of a monster film [he barely gets more screen time than the Bride in her eponymous film]---it's a Doctor Niemann film.)

Anyway, Lon Chaney's great as usual even though the movie respects him less than usual. The only kindness is letting him die. Though the accompanying tragedy is unclear since apparently they can't show blood in 1944? I guess?

Yeah. For completists only.

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Be Kind Rewind (2008)

This film wants to be the American Cinema Paradiso and it does have some moments that come close. It's also a Micael Gondry film and it does have moments of visual wonder but nothing like, say, Mood Indigo or Eternal Sunshine.

I think, ultimately, and I don't like saying this, but, ultimately, I think what's wrong with Be Kind Rewind is it wants to be an intensely American movie but it was written and directed by a French guy and it doesn't gel American.

Another issue might be that Gondry's largely playing it straight here. Sure, there's a magnetized Jack Black but outside that, the madness is kept within the sweded movies. This movie wants to be taken seriously to the point that it can never quite become itself. I don't know what that self might have been and I don't know who to blame.

In the end, it's so close. So close.

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The Great Dinosaur Discovery (1976)

While technically five and a half minutes too short for inclusion on this list, I loved it too much to ignore. And who could blame me? This "highly acclaimed landmark film broadcast nationally" about the discovery of new and giant dinosaurs at Dry Mesa Quarry by a BYU professor and his gang of diggers. It's both thrilling watching the disovering happen as it happens, and laughing at some of the dated filming choices---and gasping at some of the dated paleontology practices.

Anyway, this old dinohound thought it was great. I loved it. And the watermelon scene alone was worth the time spent.

(Unanswered question: who's the dude with the pipe?)

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Fences (2016)

Lady Steed's first time watching!

Not under ideal circumstances, I'm afraid. Kids, daylight, etc. But she was wiping tears away at the end, so the film worked its way through all those barriers.

I can't imagine not crying there at the end. Not from "Blue" on out.

It's just the right thing to do.

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Frankenstein (1931)

Now that the seniors have realized they're all passing no matter how little work they do, they're not even showing up for a just-for-fun movie. I may need to rethink my film-unit plans....

But hey---watching a movie with three people's also fun!

And this way, everyone who made it to the end said they liked it. Perfect 100% feedback!

It really is a lovely movie. The sets, camera, and Karloff being the most magnificent portions.

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Fantastic Mr Fox (2009)

The baby's been asking to watch this for a while and an excellent article I read made me realize she was overdue.

So, anyway, I love this movie. We didn't see it in theaters because the trailers made me skeptical about the animation. But the animation is great! And the vocal performances / writing combo is barnone.

It's a movie I can watch infinite times.

Don't leave me on a desert island with electricity, a dvd player, and just one movie; but if you must, maybe this one?

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Bambi (1942)

Baby suddenly remembered she loves Bambi and so she got this put on today. She's sneaky, too. After Bambi's mom got shot, she rewinded it just just before the first time she was shot at. I was confused for a moment---there are no flashbacks in Bambi!!(?)!.

I know I've said this before, but I just really love this movie. The colors are amazing. Because the cartoon characters---though largely pretty realistic---look like normal cartoon characters it can be easy to miss the richness of the work behind them. And how did they do the look of the fire from above the island? Were the backgrounds wet paint they manipulated between exposures? It seems like the most likely explanation, but I don't remember hearing about such a thing. (And it's been >15y since I've watched the special features.)

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)

We THOUGHT we were starting the Genndy Tartakovsky series, but then this weird, awkward CGI started---which is not what I thought it was supposed to look like. And at times it was a pretty good Star Wars movie. And at times it was not. (It was hard to get over the awkward animation and the oft-awkward voice acting.)

I mean---it was fine, but as the credits kicked in and Genndy Tartakovsky's name was not the first...nor the second...nor the third...nor any of the names, I realized, "Ah. Okay then." and "Why did I spend all this time?" and eventually the sinking realization that what I really wanted to watch does not seem to be streaming anywhere online. What a terrible, terrible feeling.

It's kind of amazing that the Genndy Tartakovsky series was a) 17 years ago, then b) followed up by a 2008 theatrical film I have utterly forgotten existed that c) was followed up by a second tv program of the same name that d) lasted more than twice as many seasons and e) is now considered Star Wars Canon while d) the Genndy series is not! How is this even possible? let alone reality?

Such a strange, strange, strange, strange, strange world we live in. It's almost like some god out there has set as his goal ruining Star Wars and every time someone does something compelling for that universe someone else must come along and...lessen it.

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Ratatouille (2007)

It's been so long since we've seen this that our thirteen-year-old has no memory of it. I still think it's pretty much just okay, although the emotions from the cook for the critic till the end are sound and maybe even great. Although every once in while you remember there is no way---none!---rat hairs are staying out of the food---and that lessens the potential impact. I mean: rats.

I think my favorite part of the movie (outside the physical comedy, which is hard to compare) is the critic's change of heart which was not an easy thing to pull off at all, let alone so thoroughly and well.

So it's a good movie and I'm sympathetic to those who consider it top-tier Pixar. I don't, personally, but I don't have any real complaints. Ultimately, they tried to pull of something ambitious (rats+food=good) and we should always celebrate that, even if it's just a double and not a home run.

And isn't that what Ratatouille's about?

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A Spaceman in King Arthur's Court (1979)

Note: the original theatrical title and the title under which it appears on Disney+ is the inferior Unidentified flying Oddball which I find appalling. The UK release was titled The Spaceman and King Arthur. The later American rerelease (I'm unsure of the year) got the title I knew it by from the VHS tape I assume we recorded off the Disney Channel.

This is the second movie in a row Lady Steed walked out on because the concept was just too ludicrous. She's not wrong, but the hero's naive charm (five parts Matthew Broderick to one part Tom Petty) keeps the movie alive. (Incidentally, he will go on to direct a host of Happy Madison movies, two of which I have seen: I liked one [but haven't seen it in almost twenty years]; the other was so abysmal I'm still suffering.) In another universe, he went on to become the next Dean Jones.

Anyway, it's fun to think how this fits into history. 2001's ten years old, Star Wars two, Monty Python and the Holy Grail four. I don't know just how much dialogue this film's interested in having with those films, but definitely some. I'm glad to say I got some jokes this time I had not gotten before (mostly Winston Churchill stuff).

The plot has some minor holes and betrays a late-'70s urge to be 'edgy' (most obviously with the robot's Playboy), but for a dumb movie aimed at a broad audience, it's still pretty good. The interplay between Arthur and Gawain is nice for instance, and all this era's live-action Disney---no matter how terrible---has great slapstick.

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The Fighting Preacher (2019)

This must be the funniest devotional movie I've ever seen. Because it is a devotional movie. And it is funny. The film has a guileless charm that makes it not really matter if it's a "great" movie or not (it's not) because it is good, in every sense.

I do wonder how it reads to a nonMormon audience---it makes no real effort to cater to an outsider audience---usually a good thing---but sometimes it nudges the audience (like how many times the camera lingers on a minor character with no lines, one "Elder Gordon Hinckley." The fun facts in the closing credits are great but some of them will no make sense if everything you know about Mormonism comes from this movie.

I quite liked the book it was based on and the whole family enjoyed this film. It's a swearfree delight, and you know there's an audience for that.

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Duck Soup (1933)

It's still so fresh and modern. There's a reason modern cartoons behave like this, and it's not just because the Marx Bros. are their great-great-great grandfathers.

It's because they are also their fathers.

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Rushmore (1998)

Beautiful and joyful and subtle. The camera tells jokes and the music debates and the details are layered like a cake.

What else would you be quoting?

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A Hard Day's Night (1964)

If you had asked me three days ago if I would laugh more at Duck Soup, Rushmore, or A Hard Day's Night, I would not have guessed the Beatles to win that race. Maybe it's just because this is the film I've seen the fewest times, but still! Impressive, Beatles! Well done!

The film is brilliant of course---it invented the future as much as the other two---not just in comedy, but in style and attitude and---more than other other two---use of music.

It's also a great film for making you feel part of the group of friends the movie is about---like early Scooby-Doo. You leave Hard Day's Night friends with Beatles; you could fist bump them on the street.

It must have been quite the experience in 1964.

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The Iron Giant (1999)

Is this a flawless film? I think it might be. I really can't point to anything wrong with it. The characters, the dialogue, the structure, the allusions, the emotional content---all perfect.

One thing that occurred to me this watch---I think for the first time---is that Jennifer Aniston is really good and I think I've only ever thought that watching The Iron Giant. Maybe every other time I've seen her I've been too distracted by the fact that it's Jennifer Aniston? Or maybe I've only ever seen her in https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343135/?thmazing?

(I just checked and that is wrong. I've seen Storks [irrelevant], Bruce Almighty [barely remember it] and, of course, Office Space [which she is good in, but it's not, like, a huge role or anything].)

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Fluke (1995)

I haven't seen this since it was in theaters back in 1995. I was recently our of high school and, I'm guessing, assigned to take my siblings to a movie. I assume this because I don't think I was interested in dog movies (and just look at that poster). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118570/?thmazing comes out two years later (meaning my mission was bookended with dog movies in theaters with my siblings) and it ticks all the dog-movie cliches so well I basically haven't watched one since.

This, however!

I was so blown away by its atypicality in 1995 I couldn't see its flaws (or maybe it's just because I was so young), but I was staggered by the originality of Fluke. Unfortunately, all remember about the film in 2020 is its two great innovations, so it's perhaps a bit too easy for me to see all the stuff wrong with it (it may also be that some aspects of the film just haven't aged as well as a body might hope).

I'm happy to say the rest of my family had the ??!?!?!??!?!?! experience I had in 1995.

I wonder what my kids will think of it in twenty-five years...?

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The Strongest Man in the World (1975)

The kids picked out one of the old Medfield movies from the Disney+ library---one I'm fairly certain I haven't seen before. (Related: how long until Disney+ releases a Medfield tv show?)

It's dumb and its fun and it has some racist music cues, so, you know, that's what it is. Because you've seen Disney movies from the era, you already know who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, who are the sycophants and who are the saps, who are the heroes and who'll just be in the way. Disney, 1975!

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