"Safety Last!" (1923)

One of silent cinema's most iconic images is Harold Lloyd precariously hanging from the minute hand of a building clock in Safety Last!. The moment comes at the end of a lengthy, exciting sequence involving Lloyd climbing up the side of a twelve-story building. Since this was made in an era before almost any kind of special effects, it all actually happens. Lloyd is actually climbing the building and doing exceptional, highly dangerous physical comedy and slapstick. It's simultaneously one of cinema's most thrilling and funniest scenes, but it comes as the cherry on top in a film that continually shows off Lloyd's genuine comedic talent. Lloyd plays his Glasses character as a constantly beleaguered indvidual who has no idea how he's managed to stay afloat one incident to the next. We're not quite sure how he does it but neither does Lloyd. Lloyd moves constantly from a squirming, baffled facial expression to a can-do attitude covering for a lack of confidence or any clear idea what he's doing, including climbing up a building for a PR stunt.

Grade: ★★★★

"Prisoners" (2013)

Prisoners is a film that feels haunted in just about every frame. Set in late fall, the film features a rich autumnal color palette (reminds me of Halloween) which sets the tone for the film. It's a bleak story about children kidnapped and the father (Hugh Jackman) and police officer (Jake Gyllenhaal, a great performance in a less than great film) who take very different yet equally ceaseless approaches to find them. There are overt but appropriate tinges of post-9/11 anxiety around the corners of the film -- in the desperate, questionable measures of justice enacted. Jackman's character crosses several lines in his search for answers, and his actions continually push us to feel uncomfortable rooting for him. The film takes storytelling routes that make us really feel the devastation of the families -- sometimes far too bluntly in the case of Jackson's character. However, the kidnapping never seems to exist as a convenient plot device for thrills. Even when there is tangible results and justice doled out, it's never fully rewarded -- trauma lingers, and life keeps going on as best as it can. Though more than a little rote, Prisoners delivers the goods: it's consistently thrilling, and the production is well-mounted under director Denis Villeneuve, who creates a textured environment that feels worth langouring in.

Grade: ★★★

"Blackfish" (2013)

Blackfish is a message movie that somehow transcends being a message movie. All the film has to do is convince you of the negligence, greed and horrors of Sea World, and yet there's more at work in the film. The documentary deals with the vicious, atrocious track record of trainers killed or injured by the famed sea park's killer whales -- stretching back to the earliest days of the company in the 1970's but only really gaining attention in the past decade. But the film is more broadly about the way capitalist structures and interests cause people to do awful things in the name of money and appearances, and why people tow the company line even when they consciously know that line of thinking is unjustifiable. The latter point matters because, as the film notes, there is a deeply moral quandary at its heart. Sea World has mistreated its killer whales for decades, abusing them and turning them into the very killers their name implies. On top of this, they've covered up these abuses and sold a rose-colored image of themselves. Blackfish is one-sided but it really has no intent to see Sea World as anything other than inhumane, potentially deadly and unjustifiable. The film passionately argues its point of view and leaves us shaken enough that we can't help but agree with its sentiments.

Grade: ★★★

"Exiled" (2007)

Exiled is a fascinating look at male social bonds and the ways codes of honor manifest themselves amongst male friendships and ... Oh, who am I kidding! Exiled is an exceptionally well-crafted genre thriller. The film does it best impression of urban Leone-Peckinpah. Exiled is heavy on atmosphere and minimal on plot and theme, and in director Johnny To's capable hands the film becomes a seductively moody and tense piece of gun-play. The film is essentially a series of a wonderfully mounted action setpieces pulled off with panache, and there's just enough plot to get from action sequence to action sequence. There's a hit out on the gangster Mr. Wo, but the men who come to take him out can't go through with it -- turns out they're childhood friends and they just don't have it in them. Wo says he'll leave town if he can get enough money to support his wife and newly born son. So the team gets back together for one last score. This is complicated by the mob boss who put the hit out on Wo, and throws a kink in their plan to get Wo a nest egg. Exiled is lean, deftly told, fluidly paced, and directed by someone with a deep affection for this genre and who hopes to offer up nothing more than a damn good time -- boy, does To ever succeed.

 Grade: ★★★

My 2013 Year In Film

 

New Year's resolutions are almost inherently designed to fail. They're drunken, stupid false promises to ourselves, trying to make us feel better about the soon to be over year's stumbles, setbacks and shortcomings. Realizing this I made a resolution that I was certain I could keep. When I inform other people about my resolution, they take it as a pleasant, chuckle-worthy joke. Coming into 2013 after a lull in watching movies frequently, I decided I wanted to make up for some lost time and watch more movies, and so this became my, admittedly slightly comical, resolution for the following year: To watch more films.

I already watched movies often enough and I figured I'd actually make something of substance out of it. Thus sprung out this blog here, which already existed but had become woefully underused. My intention was to write about every film I watched and to make as many of those films seen and written about as possible films that were new to me -- of course, I've since failed to achieve this, feeling burned out at points or being too busy to write reviews or write-ups. Some of the films I watched, for cinephiles, at least, will seem like massive embarassments that I'm only just getting around to them -- and I absolutely agree -- while others were recent releases, and still others were personal choices specific to my tastes.

If you look back at some of the earliest reviews, they're a bit -- well, they make me a little red in the cheek just thinking of them. Some of them are woefully underwritten while others have poorly articulated opinions or pretty awful or underdeveloped critical analysis. There's largely a clear progression in my writing I'm mostly quite proud of. I still have a long way to go before I can stand by my work entirely. However, there are gems here and there that I believe perfectly captured what I wanted to say.

I'm aware not many people visit this blog and read what I have to say, but I'm really grateful if you have and for the occasional feedback I've received. Writing about films is often unexpectedly rewarding and I've been able to write about a number of excellent films, both old and new. In the process of writing and reading more about film, I've discovered more films I never would have otherwise -- visiting the canons of directors and actors after seeing a great film -- and I've strengthened my affection for the medium.

I used to write television reviews but I've mostly learned I'm not exactly cut out for episodic tv reviews. God love those who can come up with something to say episode after episode but I typically don't have that capacity in me. I love television and watch it voraciously but I have a harder time conveying my thoughts in long-form writing. My tv reviews are often even more hit and miss than my film reviews -- and I hesitate posting my film reviews as is. But perhaps I'll write some more general pieces in the future if I have the time.

I apologize for my grammatical errors. Some of the stuff I overlook is unforgivable, but in the rush to get things posted as quickly as possible errors - at times, very regrettable ones -- are made. I hope the content of what's written rises above my lapses and mistakes. (I feel like I'm apologizing for this all the time in posts like this, but it's because I find myself to be a pretty lousy editor)

2013 was a great year for new releases and old discoveries. Anyone who argues that films are dead is looking in all the wrong places. There are more good films out there than I know how to begin to even tackle. It can honestly feel overwhelming. If you love films or enjoy thinking deeply about films, it's a great time to be alive -- in terms of access, in terms of dialogue, in terms of restoration, among many other reasons.

However, I mean being alive not just in terms of viewing films but being a human being on this planet in 2013. After all, this blog came out of a resolution to make more of my year in 2013, utilizing films to enhance what I was getting out of my year. 2014 looks to be another great year and I look forward to what it has in store -- films or otherwise.

"Hard Target" (1993)

 

There are action films and then there are John Woo films. Action films often feel like pale imitations of Woo's work and that's because the genre has since absorbed his flamboyantly excessive style. Woo's films invented much of the ridiculous internal logic action films thrive on -- single gun shots instantly causing explosions, people improbably avoiding flurries of bullets. But Woo never seems to do it because it looks cool but because he actually believes in his stylistic exercises and the heightened emotional drama (more familiar to Asian audiences than Americans). Hard Target is a pretty good example of this, despite some bland Hollywood genericness at work, especially in the first half of the film. Sure, the central story about a Most Dangerous Game-type scenario in which rich people hunt down homeless people for sport and the man who seeks to put an end to it (Jean-Claude Van Damme, still unable to give a believable line reading but, in Woo's hands, more plausible than he has any business being) is mental, but Woo gives it a style suitably as over-the-top as the premise. In its best moments, Hard Target is a dizzily balletic dance of practical effects. Don't deny yourself the simple pleasures of an action film done with no greater pretensions or intentions than to blow up its own excesses with yet more excesses.

Grade: ★★ 

"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" (2013)

When the trailer for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was released, it was widely praised for how great it was. Now having seen the film, it's easy to see why the trailer was so effective. Walter Mitty is a trailer designer's wet-dream. This is a film filled with so many moments and scenes almost willfully designed to play well in trailer form. Beautiful scenic sights, highly inspirational codas, a sweet romance, a journey of self-discovery -- all the makings of something worthy of being set to the sounds of Of Monster and Men's "Dirty Paws".

Walter Mitty is so very nice. It looks really nice, and the story is oh-so-pleasant. But it's all so hollow. Walter (Ben Stiller), a shy daydreamer, pines for Cheryl (Kristen Wiig), a new co-worker at Life magazine's offices. Walter works with the negatives that become Life's fantastic covers. The company is producing their last printed issue and their famous photographer Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn, an ingenious bit of casting) has left the final issue's photo in Walter's care, which Walter promptly loses. In his efforts to recover the photo, Walter ends up taking adventures as gorgeous and memorable as anything he has cooked up in his head.

To underline this point, the film makes it unclear early in Walter's initial journey to find himself, or whatever else nonsense, whether it's another one of Walter's exuberant fantasies. Walter zones out constantly, in order to cope with failing to live up to his full potential, or something exceedingly dull like that. In these moments, Walter finds himself transported to the great, worldly plans he always intended for before life reared its ugly head.

Between his daydreams and his real madcap adventures, the film crafts a number of gorgeous scenes. Through anamorphic widescreen compositions, the film creates cool, crisp, painterly images. Walter Mitty looks extraordinary, but under its lovely to look out surfaces is a far too ordinary story. Walter is a deliberately boring character. The thing happening around him are wonderful to behold but we could care less that they're happening to him.

Grade: ★★