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APRIL...
Two for the Road 4.1 Tuesday, April 1, 2003: I went to the Castro
with Jenny for an Audrey Hepburn double feature as part of their The Big
Picture: The 50th Anniversary of Cinemascope program. Both of these films
are entertaining, and very 60s. How to Steal a Million is light
caper comedy romance; a little long. Two for the Road is more
mature, about a middle aged (nearly middle aged anyway) couple's rocky
marriage, told via clever flashback sequences. Also a picaresque road
movie.
Two for the Road. 7:00 Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn drive
through France and their past present and future in this tribute to love
and relationships. Directed by Stanley Donen from a superlatively intelligent
script by Frederic Raphael. With William Daniels and Eleanor Bron. (1967)
111m.
How to Steal a Million. 9:10 Forger's daughter Audrey Hepburn
enlists Peter O'Toole in a plot to steal a statue from a Paris museum
using a magnet, a boomerang and their wits in this frothy caper comedy.
Old pros William Wyler (director), Charles Lang (cinematographer), and
Alexander Trauner (production design) aid and abet the fun. With Charles
Boyer and Hugh Griffith. (1966) 123m.
Bend It Like Beckham; with my friend Jenny;
Embarcadero; 12:10pm; $7.00; 4.3; ticket purchased at 12:11.
This sleeper hit is a British comedy about soccer-playing girls, and
one girl's cultural issues with her family and bla bla bla. Similar to,
but much better than Big Fat Greek Wedding. One annoyance with
this movie, was a cop out ending. The girl figures -- oh, I'm giving away
the ending here, beware -- since her Indian family finally gives in and
lets her play soccer, she can't also ask them to allow her to date a Caucasian
boy -- a decent fellow who is also her coach. So, she's going to dump
him. She's going to choose to stay with and support cultural prejudices
and not rock the boat, even though, she's apparently in love with this
guy. So, I forget what happens, but the guy does something real nice for
the family or something and they're okay with him dating her? I don't
know.
The "Beckham" of the title is David Beckham, captain of England's national
soccer team and star of the Manchester United squad -- the equivalent
of Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods in America. He's also known as Mr. Posh
Spice, husband of Spice Girls singer Victoria Adams. "Bend It" refers
to his signature curling free kicks, which rack up goals from far afield
by curving around would-be defenders. http://www.foxsearchlight.com/benditlikebeckham/
April 3, 2003: Casino Royale at the
Castro. See here for full review and
rare exclusive photos!
Stanford Noir Series! Apr 6 -- Another Hot Anthony
Mann Double! 83 & 94 minutes! Border Incident (1949) @ 7:30 &
Side Street (1950) @ 5:55. I saw these with Pete. Two tight,
efficient noirs from director Anthony Mann.
Side Street Tagline: Where temptation lurks! Plot Summary from
imdb: Joe Norson, a poor letter carrier with a sweet, pregnant wife, yields
to momentary temptation and steals $30,000 belonging to a pair of ruthless
blackmailers who won't stop at murder. After a few days of soul-searching,
Joe offers to return the money, only to find that the "friend" he left
it with has absconded. Now every move Joe makes plunges him deeper into
trouble, as he's pursued and pursuing through the shadowy, sinister side
of New York. Cast: Farley Granger, Cathy O'Donnell, James Craig, Paul
Kelly, Jean Hagen, Paul Harvey, Charles McGraw, Harry Bellaver, Whit Bissell,
King Donovan, Don Haggerty, Herb Vigran. Written by Sydney Boehm. Produced
by Sam Zimbalist. MGM; 83 min; Black and White.
An in-depth write-up on Side Street can be found here; worth
a look if you're at all interested: http://members.aol.com/MG4273/mann.htm#SideStreet
They also offer an in-depth look at the other film I saw, Border
Incident: http://members.aol.com/MG4273/mann.htm#BorderIncident
To penetrate a gang of murderous criminals exploiting illegal Mexican
farmworkers, whom they are smuggling into California, Mexican federal
agent Pablo Rodriguez (Ricardo Montalban) poses as an ignorant bracero,
while his American counterpart Jack Bearnes (George Murphy) works from
outside. Soon, both men's lives are in danger from the head of the nasty
outfit: rancher Owen Parkson (Howard Da Silva). Hiding and spying in the
border towns and ranches at night leaves one open for silver blade to
enter a white shirt in a black alley way, and come out covered in charcoal
blood. Black and white noir!
Cast: Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, Howard Da Silva, James Mitchell,
Arnold Moss, Alfonso Bedoya, Charles McGraw, John Ridgely, Arthur Hunnicutt,
Sig Ruman. Directed by Anthony Mann. Written by John C. Higgins, based
on a story by George Zuckerman & John C. Higgins. Cinematography by John
Alton. Musical Director AndrÈ Previn. MGM; 94 min; Black and White.
Nowhere In Africa; with Jenny,
Amy, Cobb, Marnie; Castro; Mon 4.7. Good movie. From the Castro program:
"Academy Nominee for Best Foreign Language: Nowhere In Africa.
A love story spanning two continents, Nowhere In Africa is the
extraordinary true tale of a Jewish family who flees the Nazi regime in
1938 for a remote farm in Kenya. Abandoning their once-comfortable existence
in Germany, Walter Redlich, his wife Jettel (Juliane K–hler, of Aimee
and Jaguar) and their five-year-old daughter Regina each deal with
the harsh realities of their new life in different ways. Attorney Walter
is resigned to working the farm as a caretaker; pampered Jettel resists
adjustment at every turn; while the shy yet curious Regina immediately
embraces the country-learning the local language and customs, and finding
a friend in Owuor, the farm's cook. As the war rages on the other side
of the world, the trio's relationships to their strange environment become
increasingly complicated as Jettel grows more self-assured and Walter
more haunted by the life they left behind. As they eventually learn to
cherish their life in Africa, they also endeavor to find a way back to
each other. Winner of five 2002 Golden Lola (German Film) Awards, including
best film, director and cinematography, Nowhere In Africa was
written and directed by Caroline Link (whose Beyond Silence was
nominated for a 1996 Best Foreign Film Oscar), and based on the best-selling
autobiographical novel by Stephanie Zweig. http://www.nowhereinafrica.com/"
The Good Thief; Bridge; ticket sold
by Elisabeth; Fri 4.11; 9:40pm; $9.50. "A stoned Nick Nolte lumbers through
Monte Carlo in Neil Jordan's dazzling, free-spirited remake of a French
crime classic." -- Charles Taylor, salon.com.
I just saw The Good Thief at the Bridge on Geary. It was good.
A remake of the French noir gambling/heist movie, Bob le Flambeur
("Bob the gambler"). Nick Nolte, Ralph Fiennes, Tcheky Karyo. Directed
by Neil Jordan.
I was in LA for my sister's 30th birthday. I left Saturday, around 3
or 4. I got there around 9 I think. Party was fine. Although cloudy skies
turned to heavy drizzle and at times, actual rain. It was part outside.
Saw Joanna (sister), met her boyfriend (Phil), saw my old friend Tony
G, and Deana and her boyfriend Brad, and Lisa, and Ramin and some other
people I used to know. But then I went back to Joanna's apartment and
ordered pizza around 1am. I was thinking of leaving on Sunday, but then
Joanna was like, "no stay longer!" So I was going to go back on Monday
instead.
Spun; Laemmle's Sunset 5 in LA; $6.00; Mon
4.14; 12pm; ticket purchased from Lyle - Station 2 at 11:50am. All I can
remember thinking about Spun was that Brittany Murphy was born
to play a speed freak; and that I was a little antsy for it to end. A
little bit of stylization over substance.
After the movie I went to the Virgin Megastore. I looked around for a
little while. I was looking at this rack of New Release CDs and I turned
around and Ben Stiller was standing behind me looking at the same rack
of CDs. He had a baseball cap hat on and had his sunglasses off and on.
He was there with what appeared to be a buddy/bodyguard. He's not very
tall. More grey hair than you might expect.
Later I told Joanna and Phil about this and they were just staring at
me, blank faced. "Yeah, I know, celebrity sightings, if you live in LA,
aren't worth much," I said.
I also bought some books at my favorite LA bookstore (I used to always
go there -- sort of a refuge) Book Soup, across the street from Tower
Records, on Sunset Blvd.
Books I bought: Zeno's Conscience by Italo Svevo, Niagara
by Mary Woronov (mainly because I love the name Woronov), GaudÌ Afternoon
by Barbara Wilson, Bliss Jumps the Gun by Bob Sloan. Heard of
any of those? Actually the last three I bought at Skylight Books at 1818
N. Vermont (skylightbook@earthlink.net).
Also got some clothes.
I went there before I went to dinner at this really good diner, Fred
62. I went there for breakfast (waffle, orange juice) before I left also.
I hope you are enjoying this travelogue.
Phone Booth; with my friend Jenny;
UA Metro; 12:30pm; Weds 4.16; $7.00; Rated R; 12:22pm. Jane asked me,
"is Phone Booth that movie with the incredibly promiscuous, drunken
Irish guy in it?" I said, "Colin Farrell. Yes. He was doing a weird accent
where he was Hispanic part of the time and Irish part of the time and
NYC part of the time." After the movie Jenny and I got ice cream. Then
I bought cigarets. I am going to quit on Easter. I need a big day like
that. It's going to be great.
A Mighty Wind; Empire 3; 2:00pm; Fri
4.18; Star - 2:00pm; $6.00. Mild. Christopher Guest's previous films Best
in Show and Waiting for Guffman had me thinking A Mighty
Wind was going to be pretty good. It wasn't; it was by far the weakest.
Not bad, just not that many laughs. This movie lost track of whether it
was satirizing folk music or offering up some kind of a lovefest, so it
wasn't very funny, and it was just kind of pointless sentimentality; a
little too sweet in a surface level, cheesy way. More of an open embrace
of the topic (folk singing) than a spoofing satirization of it. Rendered
the film a bit dull. Some very funny bits; some good performances from
the Guest Repertory.
Better Luck Tomorrow; with
my friend Jane (actually this was our second date); 1 hour 41 minutes;
rated R; AMC Van Ness - Aud #7; 5:30pm; Mon, 4.21; tickets purchased at
5:14pm; $7.50.
"Justin Lin made this dazzling debut with a fistful of credit cards and
his UCLA film school thesis. That won't happen again. He'll get all the
money he needs for his next project. An effortless tour de force, Lin's
tale of high school over-achievers who are too smart for their own good
is deft, confident and wise. The cast is Asian, and the movie was originally
pitched to an Asian audience, but everyone will be hooked by the slick
plot twists and turns. Lin is a budding superstar." -- C.W. Nevius, SF
Chronicle. Full
review.
Sure, sounds about right. I was concentrating too much on the "date"
than on the movie maybe. But it was kind of good. But the ending seemed
a little unrealistic/out of nowhere. Seemed a bit amateurish at times.
But it was, so that considered it was pretty good. Jerry Mathers (Leave
It to Beaver) has a very nice cameo as a school teacher.
After the movie we went to this crepes place on Fillmore at about 7:30.
Then we went to coffee. Then I took her to meet Mr C. We can end this
film review here I guess. Good times, good times...
La Turbulence Des Fluides; with my
friend Jenny; at the Kabuki, as part of the SF Int'l Film Festival; Sponsored
by the Ritz-Carlton; 6:45pm; Thurs, 4.24. As I write this on July 30,
2003 this is still my favorite film of the year so far.
Here's some IM dialogue:
Ted Strong: "I really really
liked La Turbulence des Fluides by the way." I've seen a lot French films, but not many French-Canadian ones, and
I was completely unfamiliar with Pascale BussiËres (although I did know
Julie Gayet) -- she was amazing. She also seemed to get more beautiful
as the film went on. I loved the heat wave aspect, it seemed to make everything
quieter or something, more concentrated (it felt like it had a magnetic
power to bring people together)?
When I was watching the film, which was so beautifully shot, and contained
some great music (I found out that the song that's playing when the title
credit appears and another song that appears at the end of the film [both
songs I thought great and intriguing] were by Goldfrap from an album called
Felt Mountain -- if you're at all interested) -- well, when I
was watching it, I just loved being IN it so much -- I felt like I was
in that world, in that town, and I loved it and didn't want to leave...
I rarely feel this way. Even a really brilliant movie often doesn't make
me feel so happy to just be watching it.
The director spoke before and after the film in SF too, and she seemed
really down to earth and cool.
Saw French-Canadian film, La Turbulence des Fluides (aka Chaos
and Desire -- although the translated title is pretty much the same
thing, The Turbulence of the fluids [water]) with my friend Jenny at the
Kabuki last night, it was part of the SF Int'l Film Festival. I really
liked it...
Seismologist Alice Bradley is dispatched to her home town of Baie-Comeau,
Quebec, (from Japan, where she now lives and works) to investigate why
the tides have stopped flowing there. She is reunited with an old college
friend, reporter Catherine Rolland, and meets roguish pilot Marc Vandal.
It soon becomes apparent that the problems with the tide coincided with
a variety of odd behaviour amongst the Baie-Comeau residents, and Alice
gradually realizes that the solution to the mystery may be stranger than
she ever anticipated... Dunt Dunt DUN!
Genre? The imdb says Drama / Mystery
/ Romance -- it's all of those things, plus there's a lot of funny parts
too. My favorite part like this was when the girl goes back home and is
introduced to some of the scientists working out by the tides. They are
all in this large trailer in front of computer screens with seismic activity
and stuff like that on them, and the camera pans along and we hear one
guy saying each person's name by way of introducing them to girl. So he's
just saying names, and then he says "Hans-Peter playing Donkey Kong" and
we see his computer screen and Donkey Kong (old video game) is on there.
It was funny, the way it was done. You maybe needed to see it. It was
also funny because Hans-Peter was like your age.
The lead actress, Pascale BussiËres, is strangely attractive (I think
it might be her breasts). I guess she's a big star in Canada. I know Julie
Gayet from somewhere too, I think she's more of a French star, but not
sure. Written and directed by Manon Briand, who was there and spoke before
and after the movie. She seemed pretty cool.
Cast: Identity; with my friend Jane; Presidio;
2:45pm; Sat 4.26; tickets purchased at 2:52pm from Jimmy; $9.25.
Did you like Identity? Hold on, don't read any further, unless
you want the ending and everything given away.
Did you see the twist coming? I didn't really, I wasn't trying to figure
it out, but since Pruitt Taylor Vince was at the beginning of the film,
then not around, I knew something was up. I also knew something jus' weren't
quite right with that little kid. Plus whacked little kids have become
a popular movie fixture since the popularity of The Sixth Sense.
I don't like John Cusack as much as many other people do, but I thought
he was particularly good. The very end with the psychotic "Bad Seed" child
was laughable -- I don't know if they were going for that ("Whores Don't
Get Second Chances" was the original title -- kidding).
I felt like when it was all in the guy's head, the film kind of lost
something, like we the audience didn't care so much about the characters
because they didn't really exist. Ray Liotta tends to overplay his various
roles, but he was somehow effective here. Jake Busy is Gary Busey's son.
I thought Amanda Peet (the "whore") was good, I don't really like her
much. She was in that movie with Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry -- The
Whole Nine Yards. I was glad when the irritating character played
by Rebecca De Mornay was killed off first.
Who directed Identity? James Mangold. Heavy. Copland. Kate
and Leopold. Girl Interrupted. Mangold brings back PTV (from Heavy)
for a bit of eye rolling. Cusack was good. Amanda Peet was decent. I was
glad that DeMornay was killed early, her character was really annoying.
Liotta was better than usual, until he turned killer-crazy. Identity:
Okay. Kind of lost something by it all being in one guy's head. The character's
became less important or something.
Ted: Now I know why they
changed the original title. Ted: Dude aren't you afraid
of a possible four hour comedy headache shit bag of Old School and
Anger Management? Make sure you bring some Extra Strength Excedrin. Confidence -- Jane; AMC Van Ness -
Aud #3; 2:20pm; Sun 4.27; 2:25pm; $7.50.
At Identity at the Presidio, Jane and I held hands and I put
my arm around her etc. It was nice. Later I was like, that's another first
for me. And she was like, oh, we should go see some bad movie sometime
and just make out through it. So, the next day we went to the Van Ness
(moveable armrests) to see Confidence at like 2:20. We went to
Absinthe for dinner Friday. Mel's Drive-In for breakfast Saturday; Giorgio's
Pizzeria for dinner Saturday; Mama's on Washington Square for breakfast
Sunday. Lots of eating out that weekend.
In re Confidence, thought this was funny: "Confidence
isn't much but at least it affords the chance to hear Rachel Weisz call
Edward Burns 'a raving pussy.' There's a cruel pleasure in that, for those
of us who have never been able to buy Burns as a leading man... In this
con game, Dustin Hoffman chews gum (and the scenery) and Ed Burns does
his regular-guy shtick. Again. And we're the marks." -- Charles Taylor,
Salon.com.
PS I just got back from breakfast and Mr C is watching some shit Chuck
Norris movie co-starring Stuart Pankin.
The Sea -- Amy, Jenny; Kabuki - SFIFF;
10pm; Weds, 4.29.
From an email I wrote my friend, Jane:
Just got back from the movie. It's 12:35am now. The movie was...
"The Sea. A family reunion adds fire to the cold of Iceland
in Baltasar Korm·kurís intense followup to 101 Reykjavik, set
amidst an isolated fishing community on the brink of economic collapse.
Family patriarch Thordur gathers together his simpering brood to straighten
out who gets what; their mother's inheritance is at stake, and the family
fishery that made him a fortune. Prodigal son Agust returns from France
with two surprises: his French girlfriend FranÁoise, and the confession
that he's been studying songwriting, not business. Eldest son Haraldur
seems better equipped at taking over the fishery, especially after he
joins forces with his sisterís banker husband Morten, but once everyone
reunites all bets are off, as concealed hatred, lust and bitterness rise
to the surface under the watchful, brandy-tinged gaze of Grandma Kata.
Based on an acclaimed play by Olafur Haukur SÌmonarson, it broke all Icelandic
box office records during its theatrical release. Directed byÝ Baltasar
Korm·kur. In Icelandic and English with English subtitles. 4/29; Kabuki,
10:00. Country: Iceland / France / Norway. Run Time: 110Ýminutes. Cast:
Gunnar EyjÛlfsson, Hilmir Snaer Gudnason, HÈlËne de Fougerolles." (From
the SFIFF Program.)
It was good, funny in parts, but pretty dark. I originally got tix for
this one because I loved the director's previous film, 101 Reykjavik.
That film was funnier, and, well, just plain great.
I was thinking about you during the movie and thought that it would have
been cool to see 101 Reykjavik with you, and then I thought it
would be cool if we were to see some great old/older movie that I love
in the theatre together sometime. Will keep an eye open for some retrospective,
if you're interested...
Nada+; with Jenny; Kabuki - SFIFF; 10pm;
Weds, 4.30. This is just the worst film of the year so far. Lauded for
being fresh and original and funny and from Cuba, this film is unbearable.
It's kind of a rip-off of Amelie, but it's not funny. It's a little like
Sabado Gigante.
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