Film Club 2006 Volume 1

So, apparently Train has decided to become my editor when it comes to posting on this blog. He’ll see me typing away on my keyboard and dart over to inspect my work. It’s like having a backseat driver. Today for instance:

“You shouldn’t write about that movie, I’ve already seen it.” He says.
“So?” I respond.
“Uh…well, yeah I guess that’s cool. So what are you doing?”
“I’m going to do a review of all the movies I’ve seen so far this year.”
“That’s a good idea, we were talking about how you should do more stuff like that, so that’s perfect.”
“Uh-huh. Are you going to go away, or are you going to watch me type every word?”
“No, no, sorry man. Didn’t mean to be in your bubble. Hey, can I borrow a couple dollars?”

So anyway, here’s a review of the first 4 films I’ve seen this year:

Murderball

Holy crap this is a great movie. I love documentaries and the fact that this one slipped through my fingers in its theatrical run is tragic. Quad-Rugby. How completely intense is that? These guys have got to be the most hardcore athletes I’ve ever heard of.
But the sport of it isn’t the most intriguing part of the film. What I really respected was how head on this film handled being a quadriplegic. They don’t dance around topics like picking up girls, and sex.
Forget about March of the Penguins and Grizzly Man (Both great films); Murderball truly was the best documentary to come out last year.


Wolf Creek

My feelings toward this film are quite conflicted. There are parts of it I really, really loved. But I don’t think I could really recommend it to anyone outside of hardcore horror fans.
The film tells the supposed true-story of three friends on a road trip through Australia. They’re car breaks down and they’re picked up by a kooky loner, who inevitably tortures and kills them.
What worked:
The first 30-45 minutes of the film focus entirely on the three main characters. What’s great is that this really works to endear you to them. By the time things hit the fan you want them to get away (as opposed to something like “House of Wax” where I couldn’t wait for them to start dying).
The cinematography is spectacular. The film is shot digitally, and carries a great look to it. Australia looks amazing, and isn’t shot to look like every other film set in Australia (sunsets and kangaroos).

What didn’t:
The bad guy was only so-so in my opinion. My friends disagreed, but I didn’t care for him.
But the big critique is the ending. The movie cruises along, as we follow each character one at a time, and then suddenly the film ends in such an abrupt fashion that you’re just annoyed. Nothing is resolved, and this was intentionally done so. However I, and the audience I saw it with, were annoyed when the credits started up out of nowhere.

*****Train jumping in to edit it me****
“Another thing, you should use smaller pictures. When you do movie posts the pictures you use are gigantic.”
…I swear one of these days I’m just going to slug him.

Tape
This is kind of an old film that Richard Linklater made in between filming and animating “Waking Life” in 2001. It’s based on a stage play or the same name, and stars Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Robert Sean Leonard.
In a nutshell the film is about three friends from High School meeting up 10 years later, and finally bringing a dark event in their past to light.
This is probably the kind of film the lodge wouldn’t like, but I really enjoyed it. I love it when Linklater gets experimental, and this was a great example of that. The film is in real time and takes place exclusively in the confines of a dingy hotel room.
Ethan Hawke was brilliant, playing a type of character I’d never seen him play. But all of that is blown to the way side once Uma comes in. She suddenly swings the movie in a totally different direction, that I didn’t see coming.
If you just want to see 3 great actors spar with each other for 86 minutes, this is your film.

Worlds Fastest Indian

I got to see a preview screening for this film last night, and I was shocked by my reaction to it.
The film tells the story of Burt Munro, a New Zealander who broke the land speed record back in the 60’s (his record still stands today) on an old modified 1940’s Indian Motor Cycle.
Burt is played by Anthony Hopkins who gives easily one of the top 3 performances of his career, and in my opinion rivals even Hannibal Lector. Hopkins plays Munro so realistically, that I found myself forgetting I was watching an actor, and simply accepted character as being real. This is one of the finest performances by an actor I’ve probably ever seen.
This movie primarily focus’ on his journey from New Zealand to the salt flats in Utah, where he broke the record.
I had reservations going into the film, I was definitely given the impression that this was one of those “feel good” movies about man overcoming all odds, that Disney is so fond of making (this is NOT a Disney picture).
To be truthful, it is a “feel good” movie about a man overcoming odds, yatta yatta yatta. But it’s so well done, and Hopkins is just so good, that I found myself enjoying it immensely. Actually, I was completely enthralled.
And I know it wasn’t just me. The screening I saw was through the Seattle International Film Festival. This usually means that it’s kind of a film-snobby crowd that usually doesn’t dig this kind of fare. But there were parts of this movie where members of the audience actually cheered, which is something I had never seen at a SIFF screening before. That may not sound like much but believe me, for this type of audience that’s huge.

****Train update****
“Wow, you’re writing a lot”
“Yep”
“That’s cool”
“So…uh, can I finish up or are you just gonna read over my shoulder the whole time?”
“He man, that’s cool do whatever, I’ll go away.”

I swear, he’s like a puppy who wants attention….