Regular Lovers

Regular Lovers (Philippe Garrel, 2005) [8]

I have been eagerly awaiting this film to be out on DVD and kudos to Netflix for actually getting it out there. There has been no film in the last couple of years I've been waiting for, mostly on the basis of The Hack's glowing review. While not as big of a fan, this film does paint a vivid picture of a certain time and place (Paris, May 1968) and does it with equal parts reverence and disappointment. It's a picture of big ideas and revolutionary zeal that ends up taking a back seat to a more personal struggle of a relationship. The film begins with a extended sequence of the May '68 upheaval, and Garrel lets the camera do all the talking, panning and meditatively focusing on the events. It's not trying to explain ideology; it comes across more as an intense study of that time. While Garrel wraps up a lot of thought into these events, it drags a bit. The film for me really finds its foundation in the aftermath, when the young idealists' revolution has been squashed and the main characters fall back into opium and broken dreams. This film works when the focus goes to Francois and Lilie as they grow deeper in their relationship as well as attempt to reconcile their failed dreams of revolution. For Francois, his relationship has for the moment, staved off he and his comrades inability to change the system. It's the sad reality that the old system won in 1968 and by the end of the film, those who tried to make change come to abandon all thoughts of anything positive occurring. Francois's support system is gone; Antoine, the friend he's staying with goes to Morocco, and even Lilie leaves for New York, leaving him exposed against his failures. Regular Lovers is a film of a filmmaker looking back and seeing the sad reality that begat the ardent ideology of youth.

The physical look of the film, shot in black and white is remarkable in that it looks like it was actually shot in 1968, not 35 years later. A lot of this could be credited to the lighting and aspect ratio, which give the film the look of being shot on old 16mm. It certainly adds to the overall effectiveness of the film.

A Change In the Works...Hopefully

I know this site is for the most part irrelevant. Reviewing films that have been out for months before doesn't really have any positive benefits, mostly it causes a backlog in my viewing seeing that I have to get everything through Netflix. Hopefully, that will all change. The Art Mission here is Binghamton has finally opened their Art House theatre but the bad news is that they still don't have any projectors. According to the article in the Press & Sun-Bulletin, projectors should be arriving soon, and that means I will be able to review films within a relatively close time of their U.S. theatrical release date. It's been a long time coming and hopefully, the Art Mission will actually get the projectors (it's never a safe bet to assume around here.) So, hopefully, some more relevant reviews will show up here in the near future, though I know no one really visits here anyway.

On a completely unrelated note, Bonnaroo is two weeks away and I got my tickets today. I'm always psyched about the trip, especially since I'm going VIP, but this year's scheduling leaves a lot to be desired. I know some of it is out of Superfly's hands, but there seems to be a lot of similar bands playing against each other, most notably being the Decemberists/Wilco/Feist clustef*&k on Sunday evening. I've been every year since '03 and I can't remember having as many serious conflicts as this year. Still, even though I said last year was going to be my last, I just can't keep away from the best music festival in the country.

Half Nelson

Half Nelson (Ryan Fleck, 2006) [7]

A lot has been made of Ryan Gosling's performance here, and while very good, the film for me really hinges on the subdued yet nuanced performance of Shareeka Epps as the student struggling to find a kind of father figure in her teacher. (Side note: Epps happens to go reside here in Binghamton, and sadly, the film was never shown in theatrical release here, nor did any media pick up the story until she started to receive awards. Just goes to show how culturally inept a place Binghamton still is in regards to film.) Anyway, the film really succeeds in that it offers no real redeeming ending. A film of this nature, heavy-handed at times in its liberalism, all too easy could have made an uplifting ending to make everyone feel good that these characters were able to rise above their struggles. But it goes much beyond that. The film talks a lot about dialectics and the struggle for change, and it leaves us with these characters still struggling. It's refreshing to see this film portray the white teacher in a inner-city neighborhood not as a savior but as someone going through as many problems as the students around him. Gosling as Dan Dunne is someone who while talks of change is someone who is caught in his own struggle. He has no willpower to bring about change. This brings out a theme that Dunne's kind of liberalism hasn't really done much to help or empower the situation of the inner-city. It would have been all too easy for him to clean up his act and help Drey in her situation, but life in these situations is rarely that clean-cut. Epps, in her performance, goes much farther in her character, raising it out of a simple caricature, as a young girl wrestling with her place and where her future lies. Half Nelson doesn't go for simple answers or resolutions. It succeeds in that it doesn't fall into the cheap manipulation that films with a similar message all too often do.

The Last King of Scotland

The Last King of Scotland (Kevin Macdonald, 2006) [5]

The string of mediocre films continues with this over-praised one. All talk gravitates towards Forest Whitaker's performance as Idi Amin but I'll admit I didn't find it overly spectacular. I had seen Barbet Schroeder's documentary on Amin before this, and the man's performance in that as himself trumps Whitaker's imitation. Unlike Helen Mirren in The Queen, Whitaker never really embodies the role of Amin and give it any dimension; it feels more like simple mimicry. Beside that performance, the James McAvoy character of the Scottish doctor really pissed me off. At the beginning, he comes across as an over-eager boy just wanting to do good only to get wrapped up in a situation going steadily out of control that he had no idea of anticipating. My main issue with this (and I'm sure it's been mentioned in other reviews) is that we see all this violence and chaos in Africa through the eyes of a white man, who is justifiably horrified by the savagery of "the other." I don't want to get into a deep discussion on race and viewpoint, but while not done overtly or on purpose, the whole idea of this film has a hint of racism. Not derogatory racism, but there is clearly a difference in the thoughts and morals of the Garrigan, the educated white, and the savage and frankly, black society around him. Telling this story through the eyes of an (white) outsider doesn't feel right. What saves this film partly is Kevin Macdonald's direction, which while being unable to decide if I really like it, is definitely interesting. His use of extreme zooms and herky-jerky style are reminiscent of 70s era film, appropriate for the era of the film. Something similar was done in his documentary, One Day In September. The interesting aesthetics, however, don't outweigh the questionable choices Macdonald made in storytelling.

American Hardcore

American Hardcore (Paul Rachman, 2006) [5]

First off, let me state that I'm not a fan of punk rock or hardcore in particular. I am, however, a huge fan of music documentaries and I will watch one no matter what musical genre they happen to be covering. The problem with this film, while it tries its best to cram the entire hardcore movement that sprouted up in the 1980s, its scatttershot history doesn't really reveal anything to those not familiar with the scene. A lot of time is focused on Southern California and Washington D.C., the two epicenters of the movement, but it never goes really in depth with any particulars. Black Flag could be the exception but then again, I don't remember much more than a couple of segments on them. The film briefly mentions bands like Husker Du and The Replacements, both out of Minneapolis, but never goes in depth. While musically this isn't my particular taste, the one facet of the film I found interesting is the sociological context of the movement. Hardcore was more or less a direct response to the Reagan revolution, and while most music of the era was glossy and frivolous, the hardcore scene was one of the few effective counterculture groups of the 80s. I would have liked to seen a little more of that than footage of concerts where teenage boys jump and wail on each other.

Monthly Listening Post - May 2006

With Bonnaroo only three weeks away, this month's listening post is going to be heavy on the bands that are appearing there. Still, this month has seen some highly anticipated releases on my part. Here they are:

Wilco - Sky Blue Sky (I've posted on Stereogum, Jambase, etc. that I think this album is being overlooked in
its so-called "straightforwardness" and "simplicity." Simply, I really like it.)
Feist - The Reminder (Right now, appears to be frontrunner for best album of 2007.)
The National - Boxer
The Black Angels - Passover
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Baby 81 (Not quite what I hoped for considering I thought Howl was the best
album of 2005, but it still has some good moments.)

On an unrelated t.v. note (again), I thought that the Gilmore Girls finale was well-done in its subtlety, and it makes me realize how much I'll miss that show. It was so refreshing to see something that had humor but also addressed its audience with a respect and thoughtfulness that too few television shows do. Also, NBC renewed Scrubs for a seventh and probably last season. I may almost have to take back all the bad things I've said about NBC in the past.

The Notorious Bettie Page

The Notorious Bettie Page (Mary Harron, 2006) [5]

This film is a valiant effort, but still left me unfulfilled and/or questioning the choices being made. Gretchen Mol gives a stand-out performance of Bettie Page but the story itself leaves me wondering where the story is. It's not really that interesting. What is interesting is the stylistic choices that Mary Harron uses. The film succeeds in re-creating the look of a 1950s film, from the black and white that composes most of the film, down to the Super 8 footage and splashes of bright Technicolor of the era. I'm not sure if I like this though; I'm certainly impressed with the detail and effort put into creating the look but I find no real strong aesthetic reason why Harron chooses to do what she does. But let's get back to the story. The film isn't so much about Bettie Page herself as a film about sexuality in the 50s. The film plays into the thought of how ridiculous and obsolete sexual mores in the 50s would become with the sexual revolution, as well as all the overblown censorship issues. It comes as a last gasp of innocence and naivety before a more realistic portrayal of sexuality becomes the norm. At least that's how I see it. Bettie herself is the living embodiment of this: a naive (this could be debated) Southern girl willing to do bondage pictorials because it will make somebody happy. That appears to be the outgoing message of the film, but Mol, by her performance makes more of it. She plays Bettie as innocent and just wanting to please, but there's an underlying slyness in her performance in that Bettie seems to know what she's doing is much more than that. The film also makes a point of Bettie's spirituality but another dichotomy lies here to. While no means promiscuous, Mol as Bettie certainly knows how to use her new found sexuality and power to enjoy herself. It's only at the end when everything comes crashing down around her that Bettie finds her true way to me. That very well be true in essence but in the world of the film, it feels unearned. A good performance by Mol almost gets wasted by the confusing nature of the rest of the film.

On a very special Hannity & Colmes...

I know I'm breaking two rules I made for this site by posting on politics and television, but this is too good to pass up. Knowing that Jerry Falwell, who was always a shining figure of compassion, had just passed away, I just had to see how the fair and balanced "journalists" at Fox News would canonize him. I happened to catch Hannity & Colmes at just the right moment, as the Irish gorilla and Colmes were interviewing Christian toady Ralph Reed and noted prick and anti-theist Christopher Hitchens about Falwell. What transpired may have been the single most gleeful television event I've ever seen. Hitchens, who normally I'm no fan of, teared Falwell apart. While some make scoff at treating a recently deceased man so poorly, there's probably no one that deserved it more than Jerry Falwell. Hitchens then destroys an indignant Hannity by arguing (rightly) that he was invited on the program to give his opinion on the man, which he certainly does. Hannity then dissolves into babbling incoherently until Colmes finally gets his nerve up to go to commercial. Watch it here. Television gold.

The Queen

The Queen (Stephen Frears, 2006) [6]
I have the belief that sometimes a great performance of an actor or actress can sometimes obscure the flaws of the film in general, my feelings about Zooey Deschanel in Winter Passing for example. Helen Mirren's performance as Queen Elizabeth in Stephen Frears' much lauded docudrama plays the same way for me. It is a little surprising to see such a restrained, inward performance such as the one Mirren gives receive so many awards since the Academy especially seems to award over the top performances. This film clearly rests on Mirren's shoulders and she completely carries it to being watchable. Her turn as Elizabeth never borders on mimicry; it goes well beyond that as she embodies both royal stoicness but all the while letting little pools of her character's real emotions bubble up. The issue for me is that there's nothing much anywhere else in this film that rises to Mirren's level. The rest of the royal family is portrayed as less than assertive or downright clownish; James Cromwell as Price Phillip gets some points on the unintentional comedy scale. I think why I don't like this that much is that it is essentially dealing with a subject that I could care less about. Frears and screenwriter Peter Morgan take a media-saturated event and dissect even more, making a discourse on the role of the monarchy in the modern world, how out of touch they became with Britain over Diana, and how the young, charismatic Tony Blair came to save the day as well as to be there to re-enforce that Britons still love their Queen. I say, so what? That doesn't mean the film doesn't have some merit. But it rests squarely on Helen Mirren's shoulders.

Volver

Volver (Pedro Almodovar, 2006) [7]
This film somehow manages to continue and break with the darkening path that Almodovar has taken with his last two film, Talk to Her (fantastic film) and Bad Education (solid, but not great). It is much more light-hearted and affectionate in tone, but it still has darker undercurrents laying underneath its glossy exterior. Incest, abuse (psychical, mental, and sexual), and murder all play a role here but they never are as menacing as they could have been. Almodovar uses these themes to help underscore the strength of the woman in the film, and like all Almodovar films, he writes fantastic parts for his actresses (even though I could make the argument that Talk to Her focuses more on its male characters, but that's here nor there..). Almodovar's films always contain somewhat trashy or taboo themes, but this is the first film that really plays those off as almost inconsequential. That doesn't mean that they shouldn't be taken seriously; even though Raimunda, expertly played by Penelope Cruz, murders her husband, it comes across in a way that makes her a stronger woman. Of course there's the parallel between her and her mother, but that acts as a bonding between the two, an attempt to mend their fractured relationship. It is the character of Raimunda that holds the film together, as its doesn't really succeed in the scenes where she is not present. Cruz's portrayal defines the film, not so much the story, which is why I still feel a bit underwhelmed by it. The visuals still are strong as always in Almodovar films, the bright colors and his construction of images are nearly seamless. There were just times it seemed like Almodovar removed all the sharp commentary that I really enjoy. While not a throwaway by any sense, I would have liked to see this film be just a little more daring.

The Useless Film Snob Talks Television (Somewhat Reluctantly)

I never talk about television much because simply, I don't watch that much television. I'm not one of those people that like to brag that they never watch television; the simple fact is that there isn't much that I find interesting. When I say this, I mean network television; there's always something to be found on cable that I would probably like. But there are other things that I do with my evening, mostly watching films, that are infinitely better than a good majority of television.

The main reason I'm writing about t.v. now is that one of the few shows I do happen to watch is ending after seven years. That show is Gilmore Girls, and yes, it took me a while, but I'm finally ready to admit that I watch Gilmore Girls. And I thoroughly enjoy it. I will admit that I started watching it after stumbling upon it during Season 2 for purely superficial reasons but I ended up getting sucked into the storylines, which were much more clever and better written than 99% of what was on. Over the years, it has been one of the few shows that I never miss and I will be sad to see it go. But the show had clearly been hit or miss for that last 2 or 3 seasons, not just this year. I will say that I was never a huge fan of Amy Sherman-Palladino's over-caffeinated, look-how-clever-I-am-referencing-so-many-hip-indie-references writing but she always put enough emotion with a connection to real world that always made it worth watching. I will be in the minority that says this season isn't that bad, especially the last few episodes, even though it looks like the series will end on the same tired cliches of marriage and birth that t.v. shows always lazily fall into (it's one of the main reasons I don't watch network t.v.). Even so, a good show will be going off the air, but unlike Arrested Development, Freaks & Geeks, or Undeclared, it had time to show that good t.v. is out there. And while I'm babbling about t.v., here's the short list of what I regularly watch:

Scrubs - Another show that's perpetually in danger of cancellation, it's another show whose, sadly, its best days are behind it. This show has fallen into the marriage/baby laziness for a while, but even so, I'm going out on a limb and saying that last week's episode was the best Scrubs episode maybe ever. There isn't a sitcom that mixes comedy and melancholy any better, and they even though it's a sitcom, it has more grounding to medical and emotional reality than trite garbage like Grey's Anatomy or House. I hope it comes back next year.

The Simpsons - Who are we kidding? It's been at least five years since this has been consistently funny. I never thought I would ever say this, but I think it's time that Matt Groening & co. hang it up. For the past couple of seasons, every episode has only one or two laugh out loud jokes. Man, I miss seasons 5 & 6. At least I have my DVDs.

Good Eats/No Reservations - Cooking can be interesting if you have more personality beyond yelling "Bam!". No Reservations is interesting because Anthony Bourdain is basically a dick, and the locales he visits but at times it feels too scripted. Good Eats works because it goes beyond cooking into science, which is surprising since I don't really like science. The problem is saturation overload; it's on too much.

Mythbusters - See Good Eats.

South Park/The Daily Show/The Colbert Report - When I remember it's on, I'll watch but it's not like I never not miss them. The first ten minutes of Stewart and Colbert are always the best.

Family Guy - The strangest thing: I don't think Family Guy is that funny and it's structure is pretty stupid and a cheap way to fall into jokes (see the South Park episode), but for some reason I never miss an episode. I'll even watch the repeats on Adult Swim. I don't know what's wrong with me.

The Office - Simply, the best show on television. Nothing is more consistently funny. It's amazing a network as inept as NBC didn't cancel it after season 1 and now it's it flagship show.

Side note: congratulations for Ithaca on naming today Grateful Dead Day in the city on the 30th anniversary of the band's epic show at Cornell University. If you're interested, it can be downloaded here. It's been called one of Bob Weir's best shows, but Jerry's on fire during 'Not Fade Away.' That's the difference between Ithaca and Binghamton: Ithaca has Grateful Dead day and Dark Star Orchestra re-creating the show (I wish I could go) while Binghamton gets Larry the Cable Guy and Ted Nugent. I hate this city.

Old Joy

Old Joy (Kelly Reichardt, 2006) [9]
This film has been much praised in the cineaste community, and if anyone has been coming to this site with any sort of regularity, they should figure this would be right in my wheelhouse. Well, you're all right, as this short, lyrical gem is one of the few films I've been yearning to see lately that hasn't let me down in any way. Reichardt's debut is lyrical and minimalist in its flow yet still has a depth and meaning that goes well beyond its relatively short running time. For a film that's only 76 minutes with relatively no action, it captivated my attention for the entire time, making it feel like a half hour, leaving me wanting more. But what is most refreshing about this film is that Reichardt has the nerve to let her simple setup go and work and either you're going to get it or you're not.

The premise is simple enough: two friends, one yuppieish, one hippiesh, head out into the forest in Oregon searching for some hot springs and hopefully to re-kindle a friendship that seems frayed with years and minds apart. The film captures the simplistic beauty of the the woods with simple landscape shots that are allowed to speak for themselves. The biggest key to the film are its silences, something that seems antithetical to most moviegoers. There is little interaction between the two main characters, Mark and Kurt, other than some quick blurtings and explanations. The silence between these passages reveal more about the two than any lengthy conversation could. While to many this silence seems like nothing is happening, it really focuses on the mannerisms of people, their reactions, and the way that time and distance can strip a friendship. It appears that time has caused a rift between Mark and Kurt, in the way they live, they way they think, etc. that cannot be repaired, something far beyond a couple of days camping and visiting hot springs. Daniel London and Will Oldham give subtle yet nuanced lead performances, especially Oldham as spacey, needy Kurt (it's hard to remember with his music career, but Oldham was an actor first). Their jagged, mostly awkward interactions, while sparse, show all that needs to be said between the two. The landscape shots, prolonged and meditative, help to enforce the distance that has crept their way into their friendship. Old Joy is a film filled with silence and minimal action but that should not be taken as this is a film where nothing happens. It's lack of action is its most important feature.

The Black Dahlia

The Black Dahlia (Brian DePalma, 2006) [4]
First things first: I think Brian DePalma is a hack. I've never cared for anything he's done and I think he lifts too much from other director like Hitchcock that he has no real personal style. There is never any originality in DePalma's films; they always remind me of this film or that film. That's not exactly the case with this film. It doesn't exactly recall any film but it seems that DePalma's goal was to re-create the classic film noir of the 1940s. It really is a big disappointment seeing that I'm a big fan of film noir and this film is muddled, boring, and shabbily acted. The film is based on a James Ellroy novel (I've never read Ellroy so I don't have anything to say on his style) but that book is based on a real, gruesome murder in Los Angeles in the 1947. The novel takes liberties with the Black Dahlia case and that's a major issue with me in the film. The film goes ahead and solves the crime when in fact it's still an unsolved case. It's not that I have problems with taking creative license; it's just that it's really not the way I would have liked to see it handled. In fact, the murder case itself only plays a small roll as most of the film seems to be concerned with the two former boxer detectives and their relationship with a woman caught in the middle. The real problem of the film lies in the performances, especially with the Josh Hartnett robot, who couldn't be any emotionless and wooden and still be a living, breathing human being. Same goes for Scarlett Johansson, who has never impressed me in anything. Aaron Eckhart gets all fiery and excitable (Fire & Ice, get it? - like being hit over the head with a sledgehammer) but seems ridiculous more than serious. Hilary Swank gives a credible performance, and it took me forever to realize that it was actually her in the film. And while the Dahlia herself doesn't play that strong a role, when she is featured in screen tests, Mia Kirshner makes her the only character with some real feeling. I'll say that no actress does more solid acting without wearing clothes as she does. I didn't go into this film expecting much. For once, I wasn't disappointed.

Monthly Listening Post - April 2007

The hours of my new job have made it difficult to watch anything, so the film reviews will be sporadic for the next couple of weeks. But I can still recommend some music for this month. Here's what I've been listening to for April:

Bright Eyes - Cassadaga
Kings of Leon - Because of the Times
Great Lake Swimmers - Ongiara (this isn't for sale in the US until May8 but for some reason it's available for
download at ITunes.)
Amos Lee - Supply and Demand
Brightblack Morning Light - Ala.cali.tucky (their first album produced by Will Oldham. It's a tough find but I
prefer it to their self-titled release last year.)

This week also sees the reissued and remastered albums of Sly & the Family Stone and Leonard Cohen. I suggest to anyone who hasn't listened to either check out 'Stand' by Sly and 'Songs From a Room' by Leonard Cohen. Two fantastic albums.

The Proposition

The Proposition (John Hillcoat, 2006) [7]
This western, transplanted to the harsh outback of Australia, is quite an interesting film in terms of its dichotomies. A film that wrestles with the issues of savagery and violence, as life in the 19th century Australian outback was versus the need for British/colonial imposed order and civility. The film also has an interesting collision of images, with the vast, brutal desert these characters are dropped into, a land of desolate danger and quiet, only to be interrupted with intense outbursts of violence. Hillcoat does an admirable job of handling such complex issues and still getting the story out. Captain Stanley, solidly played by Ray Winstone, has been sent to be the enforcer of British law and order, both on the murderous Irish Burns Gang, but on the Aboriginal people that populate the unforgiving land. Stanley's character is the most impressive in the film; he's not prone to overly poetic meditation or lonely introspection as some of the other characters are. That's not saying that there's something wrong with introspection here. It's definitely fitting as a rebuke to the world surrounding the characters, but at times it feels off rhythm. The film works best when it lets the images do the talking for it. Most of the time, the film grapples with the tedium that comes with being in a desolate land only to be occasionally broken up with intense violence. But the violence never overshadows the film; it is an inevitable part of life in the surroundings these characters have been placed in. The story, written by Nick Cave, probes into revenge, family, and the meaning of law. Hillcoat balances the story and the images to create a film that knows what moments it needs to be effective.

Fast Food Nation

Fast Food Nation (Richard Linklater, 2006) [4]
Eric Schlosser's book was a fantastic piece of muckraking journalism, highly engrossing and yet disturbing at the same time. For the film, he and director Linklater have tried to translate the basic facets of the book and made a narrative out of it. Sadly, this film doesn't come anywhere close to the book in terms of skill as well as impact. Linklater focus is on three main character threads: the fast food company suit, the teenage employee of said fast food chain, and an illegal immigrant who ends up working in the meatpacking plant that supplies the fast food company with their beef. The problem with this is that even though it shows the interconnectivity of all three even though each has no direct contact with the other, each character and their story seems to really have no consequence on the other. There has to be something to thread them together, which almost comes together with Greg Kinnear as the executive and Ashley Johnson as the teenager both coming to an enlightenment of the "evilness" of the fast food industry. But that still leaves out the Mexican workers who always seem too distant from the other stories. The performances are o.k. but nothing spectacular even though Kinnear is interesting as a dim bulb. The Amber character is problematic in her transformation from good worker to young idealist. She ends up in some kind of symbolic idealism, a group of college students who seem to act in the way older people (in this case, Linklater and Schlosser) want them to. I don't believe a minute, not because I'm cynical about what is being discussed; it just seems to be taking the easy way out. Clearly, even after this film and the book, many people have chosen to ignore the disgusting facts and still frequent McDonald's and their ilk. It's hard to muster righteous indignation in a film when it seems its own characters are resigned to basic hopelessness. Linklater and Schlosser have taken all of the force out of the book and end up with a film that is too defeatist in its outlook.

Jonestown: The Life and Death of the Peoples Temple

Jonestown: The Life and Death of the Peoples Temple (Stanley Nelson, 2006) [8]
This is a spellbinding, engrossing documentary that is just as frightening as any good horror movie. The story of Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple is a familiar one to most people, at least the aspect of the mass deaths at the Temple's compound in Guyana. Nelson digs deeper to give a thorough journalistic coverage to the story, going back into Jones' troubled childhood in Indiana and the Temples early, idealistic days in rural Northern California. The most interesting coverage the film gives is to the idea of The Peoples Temple itself. Jones was preaching a forcefully integrated, pro-socialist message that appealed to the poor (and mostly African-American) by offering them some glimmer of hope. What's fascinating is how Jones adapted the black Pentecostal tradition and adapted it to fit his church. It can be seen as a very shrewd move in terms of attracting African-Americans as well as using the socialist message to attract whites. The film really focuses on the character of Jones himself, as he starts off as an idealistic, admirable preacher and ends up an authoritarian and completely paranoid of losing all the substantial power he has gained over his followers. I get the feeling that Jones used his philosophy of hope purely as a way to put himself in a position of power and influence. Jones often used his congregation as instruments in political protests and was involved in political decision making in San Francisco. It's clear by the Temple's end in Guyana, Jones was more concerned with hanging on to his power than actually caring about his congregation or the original message he preached to them. As for Jonestown, it's been told so many times that it's hard to get much new out of it, but from the interviews Nelson conducted, a frightening picture of the church's final days is shown which should leave many viewers disturbed and shaken.

Two issues always brought up with Jonestown and the Temple are should they be considered a cult and was the ending at Jonestown a mass suicide or murder? This is where the film still leaves questions but my personal opinion is divided. Many people joined the Peoples Temple in true hope that what Jones was preaching was to come about. It's hard to argue against what he was saying, but by Jonestown it's clear that his personality was more important than the message. That to me makes the Temple a cult. About the mass suicide? From the interviews of those who escaped, it sounds like the people were surrounded by armed guards with no choice but to drink the cyanide laced Kool-Aid. That to me sounds like murder. But there is no clear answer to both, as the film shows. But it still is an informative and disturbing look at its subject.

Children of Men

Children of Men (Alfonson Curon, 2006) [9]
It's sometime in the near future and the entire world in a disintegrating chaos. Women have become infertile. Something akin to a fascist police state has been set up, with the forced relocation and torture of illegal aliens. Through all this, a young woman has mysteriously become pregnant and an unsuspecting man is thrust into a situation to save the future of mankind. That's essentially the plot of Children of Men, and while story and ideas-wise, it leaves a few holes, there is no doubt that Alfonso Curon's latest effort is dazzling filmmaking. I really don't want this review to get into nitpicking political viewpoints and ideas, of myself and the film, mostly because the film's politics exist in some cloudy middle. Curon's source material, a novel of the same name by P.D. James is a right-wing Christian allegory. Curon twists the notions present, most notably the idea of the miracle birth, but skews the perspective to reflect a more modern reflexive allegory. The political ideology to me is a bit confusing. For instance, the importance of the miracle birth is never really explained in depth for me to really get an idea of its importance. Why the character of Theo is chosen for his path also has questions; he clearly has no political motivations, and that may be the point. The world the film is thrown into is in total chaos, and that may be purposeful. It's a society so far down into chaos and beyond repair, that any clear definition of politics or a worldview may be impossible to find.

Sometimes, holes in a film's story can be overlooked. The sheer breath of Curon's filmmaking here is enough to outshine any lingering questions I may have had. Emmanuel Lubezki's cinematography is absolutely perfect, dark and devoid of color but still striking. The world that Curon has created is perfect in portraying a world that has no future. One quick scene sums it up: a spot of graffiti says, "Last one to die turn out the lights." Curon shows a huge amount of virtuosity but never lets it get too showy. It took me until almost the end, at the refugee camp, to realize how long Curon's takes were, and how seamless and perfect they worked, especially when Theo is following after Kee in the camp. The camerawork never overshadows what's happening in the film; in fact, I feel it intensifies the action, making a more thrilling film. The performances are solid without being showy or spectacular, most notably Clive Owen and Michael Caine. This is the most skillfully made film of 2006 and will definitely have a place near the top of my list (which should be almost finalized sometime soon).

For Your Consideration

For Your Consideration (Christopher Guest, 2006) [5]
I wouldn't consider this a total disappointment but it certainly not of Christopher Guest and company's better efforts. I don't usually take this into effect when judging a film but I think this could have been better if it was a little longer and a had a bit more character development. As they stand in the film, I feel the characters are too thin, with only the Catherine O'Hara character reaching any sort of depth. There is a hint of pathos in her that I would have like to seen more of. Then again, this is a comedy and treading down a more dramatic path could take away from the laughs. That's the problem I see here however. The characters and all the plot being wrapped up in the anticipation of receiving an Oscar nomination only to be let down leads to more pathos in this film than previous Guest efforts. It's hard not to feel bad for these actors who get completely wrapped up in a whirlwind only to be greatly let down. The laughs here come from these actors being completely out of whack, but I feel bad laughing at their naivete and gullibility. The redeeming laughs come from Fred Willard, who as in every Guest film, steals every scene he's in. That and the Love It/Hate It show segments. Outside, the laughs come too infrequently for me to really recommend this film. Perhaps Guest's focus is on too narrow of focus. The hype and politics surrounding Hollywood awards doesn't seem like it would translate to great comedy; at least here it doesn't.

Beerfest

Beerfest (Jay Chandrasekhar, 2006) [3]
As the title of this blog says, I'm a film snob. Still, I try to make an effort to once and a while see something outside of what parameters I have for film. Usually, that means comedies since their laughs cover up things I would pick apart. Comedy troupe Broken Lizard don't make great films to be sure, but they could do a lot better than this. Super Troopers had its moments that were really funny, but nothing in this beer-soaked bore is that funny. The plot is half-baked and stupid, revelling in humor that would appeal to any meatheaded frat boy that spent college playing beer pong and being a jackass. Since I spent my college experience wholeheartedly avoiding situations and people like that, it's no wonder I found the adolescent humor in this film to be less than hilarious. Outside of that audience, I can't see how this film would be appealing to anyone else. It may be a little unfair that I hold this film to higher standards than what it's aiming for, which appears to be the lowest brow possible. But if you want to waste my time, add some better jokes.