Kill Bill Vol. 2

I enjoyed this more than Vol 1.   It doesn’t have Vol. 1’s sustained kinetic energy, which was essentially sustained carnage, but it reminds us what we liked about Tarantino in the first place: the writing (the dialogue, the surprises, the way with narrative).   Like all of his stuff, it’s a movie lover’s homage to his favorites, and as in Vol. 1 the nods are chiefly to Asian exploitation and Westerns, with this edition a bit more heavily weighted toward the latter.   Everyone’s already pointed out the nods to Leone and the famous closing shot from ‘The Searchers’.   I saw Antonioni in the landscapes and long takes.   Vol. 1 was susceptible to the most accurate criticism of Tarantino, which is that his work doesn’t have much depth, but Vol. 2 dispels this charge thanks to, in one word: Uma!!!   She brings soul and amazing depth of feeling.   Vol. 2 fleshes out the relationships, giving context to her phenomenal work.

- Apr 30, 2004

Hellboy

Not a bad comic book action movie but nothing special.   The title character is a big red demon brought into our world by the Nazis but raised by the American good guys to vanquish whatever supernatural evil comes down the pike.   I liked HB’s attitude: he’s as resigned to his largely unpleasant lot in life as he is committed to doing the job well.

- Apr 26, 2004

Dogville

Von Trier returns! His latest provocation features a central character who suffers greatly at the hands of humanity (not unlike other films I’ve seen in the last couple months).   As you probably know, the story takes place during the Depression in a small town in the Colorado Rocky Mountains which Nicole Kidman (Grace) stumbles upon while fleeing the mob.   The town is populated by an all-star cast (including Lauren Bacall, Paul Bettany, Ben Gazzara and Philip Baker Hall).   At first the townspeople embrace Grace, but soon the cowardice, exploitation, and cruelty that are the hallmarks of humanity emerge.   The townspeople put Grace through brutal torments and all the while she forgives them, until a horrifying ending that I found exhilaratingly provocative.   The film was shot on a soundstage; the town is suggested by words/drawings marked on the floor and a few symbolic props.   It’s been taking a bit of a critical drubbing, having been called (among other things) cynical, deranged and sadistic.   It probably is, but I enjoyed it immensely.

- Apr 14, 2004

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I thought this was pretty brilliant.   It’s from a script by the endlessly inventive Charlie Kaufman (“Being John Malkovich”, “Adaptation”), whose work I try not to miss, and directed by Michel Gondry.   As you’ve probably heard by now, it stars Jim Carrey as a man who goes to a memory-erasing service in order to blot out the memory of his ex (Kate Winslett) after he finds out that she’s had him erased from her mind.   Much of the movie takes place inside Carrey’s mind.   It’s very surreal and furthermore, it’s got a challenging chronologically-scrambled structure.   It’s one of those films that resonates because while you’re watching the screen you think, “I know people like that” (or even, “I’m somebody like that”), to the extent that in a sense it seems to be telling your own story.

- Apr 7, 2004

Au Hazard Balthazar

I’d never seen this rarely-screened 1966 film and it’s not yet available on DVD, so I eagerly cued up when the new 35mm print came to town as part of the touring Bresson retrospective (a surprising large crowd had gathered, eager for a shot of Bresson’s brand of bracing austerity).   The titular Balthazar is a donkey.   The film tells the donkey’s story as he suffers at the hands of humanity, finds moments of fleeting happiness, and in the end dies for humanity’s sins.   (I’ve heard that this film was a big influence on Gibson’s ‘Passion’, but I don’t think Gibson truly got the point.)   The film confirms the corruptness of humanity and that only a non-human can truly be a saint.   As a dog lover, I heartily concur!   Still, Bresson’s vision isn’t judgmental; as one critic put it, this is “the cinema of empathy”.   Don’t miss it if the Bresson retrospective comes to your town.

- Mar 25, 2004