The Week In Movies 1/8/11 - 7/8/11

So what you all been doing this week? Been watching movies? Of course you have. It's what we exist for isn't it. I feel like the recent Revelation Film Festival has revitalised me, in to seeing movies I would usually put off seeing due to their 'difficult' nature. By difficult I mean those movies that require a little more thought and are made with a little more subtlety than your standard blockbusters, or subtitled. Some subtitled films are made with as much subtlety as a brick in the face but I refer to those that are more art than film. Gosh I'm waffling a lot. A long week at work has left me feeling like the sofa is the best place for me this morning.


Did you see my reviews for The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension and Dance Party, USA this week? Both very unique movies and both could easily be tagged with that 'difficult' moniker, so not for everyone but thoroughly enjoyable. Don't forget to see Alex at Film Forager reviewing Buckaroo Banzai as they are the enthusiastic insights of somebody who can't stop recommending it. And thecynicalgamer has written an interesting piece on the history of the mumblecore movement if you want some background on the scene that brought forth Dance Party, USA.


Of the other three films I managed to finish this week there was one more new viewing and it was another 'difficult' film, Hal Hartley's Trust. It was my first experience of Hal Hartley and I was completely blown away by his method of storytelling. I particularly liked the delivery of the dialogue, it was quite reminiscent of Brief Encounter, one of my all time faves so that kind of reference always helps. I'd been meaning to watch something from Hartley since I first saw Clerks, my VHS copy had a trailer for another of his films, Amateur, and the other trailer was for Before Sunrise. Having seen both of those highly entertaining movies I knew Hartley was going to be a director worth watching. It's funny and quirky, the performances from the entire cast were pitch perfect, especially Adrienne Shelley and Martin Donovan. It made me very sad to see the talented Shelley in this role of a young girl and think how her talent has been robbed from us and it also made me want to watch Waitress again. I could probably talk about this movie for a very long time it was that good but instead I shall share yet another review from Alex at Film Forager who clearly has a deep love of this film and all Hal Hartley movie for that matter. She's wonderful that Alex.

Two easy to watch, thoroughly enjoyable movies close out my week. Easy A and The Boondock Saints. I've seen them both before and laughed all the way through, both are perfect viewing for a lazy night on the sofa with no need to really think about what you're watching. That's not to say that they're not intelligent pieces of cinema because they are. I'm sure you've all heard (or seen) just how perfect Emma Stone is in Easy A so I won't bore you but I think she deserved at least a nomination at Oscar time, it's a hard task to carry an entire movie and have such excellent comic and dramatic timing. Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson as her parents are priceless. Stanley Tucci co-starred with Oliver Platt in The Imposters and this fact was brought to my attention by CS in his recent Oliver Platt post, I think this may need to be seen asap based on how much I love Tucci in Easy A. There were some great reviews of it back when it hit the cinema, for those of you wanting more info I suggest The Duke Himself, Constant Visual Feast, Cinema Romantico and Stevee's Cinematic Paradox.

As for The Boondock Saints, it's a cult movie for a reason, it's a seriously flawed film but has so many great attributes that you can't help but watch it and watch it, any time that Willem Dafoe is on screen in this movie is a moment you shouldn't take your eyes from. It's a shame the director proved himself an asshole hack and the Irish accents were so variable. See Boondock Saints 2 for proof of his average abilities behind the camera. Or the great documentary Overnight which has some amazingly self destructive moments featuring those lovable guys The Weinsteins.

I turned some movies off this week too. Free-ish time indeed. Oh sweet relaxation. But seriously I am putting up for dismissal from the movie race the following: Hoodwinked Too (the original was enjoyable enough but this was terrible right from the off, no wonder the original cast abandoned it,) Absolute Power (possibly a controversial dismissal what with it being a Clint Eastwood but jeez it was a tedious opening 30 minutes from which you could see the entire plotting laid out in front of you) and The Conspirator (Andy Buckle said it wasn't any good but I just didn't listen and I got right up to the start of the trial before switching off despite my brain wandering from sheer boredom about 2 minutes in.)

Share the blah below people. I know some of you have seen these films. Will anyone own up to not enjoying Emma Stone in Easy A?

Dance Party, USA (2006)

Dance Party, USA is an Aaron Katz creation from the mumblecore movement of American independent film making. I can't believe as a wannabe film maker it's taken me until 2011 to hear about this movement, especially when I was at film school at just the right time to be jumping up and down screaming at my classmates to get in on this. But then when I pitched an idea for a series of love story vignettes in London, each one made by different directors they ignored it and made zombie shorts instead. So let's face it, nothing would have happened if I did!

From what I've read of mumblecore so far I can give you a brief overview of the movement for those not in the know. These are largely naturalistic films shot on micro budgets with next to no production values and most featuring a bunch of twenty somethings mumbling through half finished sentences as they work out what they want from life and relationships. Doesn't sound like it's for everybody does it? It's OK Custard, I know.

So to synopsisise this movie for you: Gus is a guy who lies about his sexual adventures, much like every guy ever, Jessica seems like a lost soul who is trying to connect with someone but having no luck. The pair meet at some terrible house party and a sparkle of light comes alive in both of them.

That's all I can share, it's a movie that is just over 60 minutes long, as with Small Town Murder Songs, that's hardly a real feature film in my eyes but in the short time you get to know these characters you feel like a lot happens, to go in to more depth about plot and storyline would be giving too much away I feel.

My first impressions were that it was a more accurate depiction of the behaviour of people in their early 20's than I remember seeing on film before. It had the feel of Larry Clark's Kids but without the delinquent storyline. As you may have realised from previous reviews I am a sucker for a bit of realism in film, the kitchen sink aesthetic being something I enjoy more than a lot of other viewers and whilst this doesn't reach the level of a Ben Wheatley movie for example it is sufficiently raw and true to suck me in from the very beginning.

Yes the quality of image is poor but you shoot a film with a standard digital camera it's not gonna look like Star Wars and it simply adds to the intended effect. Katz doesn't look at his equipment, think he's making a documentary and shake his camera about like we've all come to expect from every movie ever made, he does a strong job with what he has to hand and there are some beautifully framed shots throughout.

Sound as you would expect from a movie dubbed mumblecore isn't the crisp clear dialogue you get from a regular movie, characters talk over the top of each other, planes fly overhead, diegetic sounds interfere occasionally but not to the point where enjoyment is hindered or you need to use subtitles.

There's a lot of humour in the film, subtle but still there, watching Gus talk to his male friend Bill can feel like you're watching a live action Beavis and Butthead but I couldn't stop laughing all the same. So many terrible anecdotes are shared between characters, sentences are started and not finished, you've known people like this and been to parties where there's nothing but boring stories, at times it's like listening to your father-in -law talk about the internet but happily you can laugh in these people's faces. It's quite cathartic in that sense. And this is quite a different party to the one's we're used to seeing in American Pie and films of that sort. It's definitely closer to what I've experienced.

The character development is also small but then the story takes place over just a few days and I'm sure we've all complained at implausible character development in Hollywood film so this makes sense but what it does do is provide some wonderful moments with Gus trying to talk over his internal changes with Bill and a truly sweet ending to the film.

Overall despite knowing not all of you will enjoy I can't recommend this film enough. It's not perfect but it is enjoyable. I'm very much looking forward to Katz's followup Quiet City now.

Mumble something under your breath in the blahs below, go on, you know you want to.