When I'm in the mood I write brief thoughts on films in notebooks which then get transferred to my bag where they get forgotten. Well, I dug them out and I'm going to transcribe and tidy up those thoughts because I'm sure it'll be worth it...maybe.
Hud (1963)
The photography! The acting! The themes! The key scenes! All faultless. This was a big Oscar winner in its time (but, bizarrely, not for Paul Newman) but I still thought it was great. You could see the Oscar bait in the form of Mervyn Douglas but since he gave a deeply moving performance, I don't care.
However, it is Patricia Neal who is brilliant. She is tough, smart, vulnerable and sensible, and knows when to leave.
When I'm in the mood I write brief thoughts on films in notebooks which then get transferred to my bag where they get forgotten. Well, I dug them out and I'm going to transcribe and tidy up those thoughts because I'm sure it'll be worth it...maybe.
The Hours (2002)
Usually I detest films like this: worthy films that win Oscars. The Academy voters haven't got a clue about subtlety and think films like Crash and Brokeback Mountain are profound and groundbreaking but I reckon if this was in Swedish, it would be on many people's best film ever lists.
It is an intelligent film and the cinematic equivalent of a literary novel which, in fact, it literally is and there is quite a lot in this film that I find weak:
Clarissa is unnecessarily unhappy and it is annoying that she can't appreciate what she has - after all her partner is CJ, I mean Allison Janney, so what is the matter with Clarissa?
Virgina's nose is distracting. Actually the nose is okay, it's really the makeup hiding the prosthetic on Nicole Kidman's face that is distracting. The ageing makeup is pretty ropey too.
The kiss between Virginia and Vanessa freaks me out. They're sisters!
But what makes The Hours brilliant is Laura Brown's story and the stunning performance by Julianne Moore (honestly, this woman is wonderful - in part because of the range of roles that she takes - I hate the word brave when applied to actors but I think she is often just that). With the scene with Toni Collette (another amazing actor) factored in, Laura's story is the most compelling, moving and heartbreaking in 21st century cinema. The Oscars are nonsense - long gone are the days when I thought they were a sign of quality - but when you think that Catherine Zeta-Jones (who I like) won an Oscar over Julianne then that proves the Oscars are UTTER nonsense. And...ha ha...Chicago was voted best picture over this as well - oh dear, oh dear.
When I'm in the mood I write brief thoughts on films in notebooks which then get transferred to my bag where they get forgotten. Well, I dug them out and I'm going to transcribe and tidy up those thoughts because I'm sure it'll be worth it...maybe.
The First Born (1928)
Good things:
Madeleine Carroll throwing and catching a ball of paper a couple of times
the use of superimposed subtitles in the crowd scene
the plunge down the lift shaft
somebody naked in a bath
the handheld camera
the editing
All wasted in a film that was boring with unlikeable characters and a plot that I did not care about at all.
When I'm in the mood I write brief thoughts on films in notebooks which then get transferred to my bag where they get forgotten. Well, I dug them out and I'm going to transcribe and tidy up those thoughts because I'm sure it'll be worth it...maybe.
Underground (1929)
I loved this. It became one of my favourite films straight away. I think it's fabulous that I can get to my forties and still find previously unknown films to love.
I'm a fool for London locations (which explains why the first few minutes of The Bourne Ultimatum set in Waterloo Station are riveting and the less of film less so, so much less that I turned it off) and London locations that include the Underground are like catnip to me. However, as the Bourne film demonstrated, interesting locations aren't enough if you aren't engaged by other aspects of the film and this was full of fascinating stuff such as a love quadrangle, a hungry boy in a park, and the best shot in cinema ever: the most amazing crane shot that moves up from a woman running alongside a power station and swings out to the front. I can't find it on YouTube so you'll have to make do with this chase:
More thoughts: I loved the performances; the humour; the thrills (see the above chase); more amazing camerawork; the good use of borrowings from German cinema; the social commentary; recognisable people (as in flawed, funny, sly, shy, assertive) and rounded characters e.g. the villain isn't just deceitful, manipulative and arrogant, he is also amusing, thoughtful and hard-working; the clever editing; the use of mirrors, etc, etc. Maybe the live score intoxicated me but I immediately adored this film and can't wait for its release on DVD.
I am surprised to realise that with the notable exception of "Lovers Walk" and this, that season 3 has been a drag. The thought of watching "Amends" next is hardly cheering me up either. I don't remember it being like this. I actually thought it was one of my favourite seasons. I remember more Faith and more of the Mayor, I remember less Angel, I remember it being more entertaining.
"The Wish", however, is excellent. I was excited to see Emma Caulfield's name because I appreciated the consistent high standards she gave to the role of Anya over the next four seasons.
The alternate universe is dark and disturbing though I doubt just how satisfactory vampires would find factory farming their food supply. Whatever, the whole episode pays off with a gut-wrenching scene where all our heroes get killed or kill the one they love in the "real" universe. Buffy getting her broken neck is just awful, horrible. And earlier, Cordelia's demise is equally shocking, and something unexpected because it is her wish we are seeing.
A cracking episode that brings to a head a storyline I really wasn't enjoying. Poor Cordelia (and poor Oz too but it seems less awful for him since I know what happens...), she did give up so much for Xander and it's not as if he is even worth it.
Spike (and James Marsters) are fantastic - his moments with Joyce are a series highlight - but throughout he is funny, scary and not a little perceptive.
Willow sets a pattern (why, it's a Willow Pattern) - she turns to magic to help herself out of a problem. I love the way she says "there, there" to Spike - it is almost sincere. The episode is full of nice little moments like this: Buffy checking her make up in one of Giles' gadgets; the Mayor musing on mixed metaphors; Spike getting set alight; Cordelia's fake death - no, scratch that one, it's a bit of a cliche...
I have to agree with Cordy, Oz being able to smell Willow is disturbing, though I am surprised it wasn't just fear he could smell.
Even when the actor is English, English characters always sound fake in the Buffyverse; consequently anybody from or purporting to be from the Watchers' Council automatically puts my back up. I like that the writers try to get English colloquial language right and, while Post says she's knackered in the correct context, it doesn't seem like anything her character would say.
It is a peculiar feeling when Xander is right but I don't mind because he is still pompous and obnoxious at the same time as not being wrong. There is so much lying going on at the moment, a real Scooby Gang weakness. Poor Giles.
I love Buffy, Faith and their stunt double fights so much. They look awesome together.
Rewind [I wrote a lot about this episode and I clearly cared more back then about the shenanigans going on. Now, I think I just want the soppy, soapy stuff to stop so I can enjoy great episodes like "The Wish" and "Doppelgangland".]
That was a bit of a break, wasn't it? Too much soppy Angel and Adam lost interest so we watched other things but I missed it so much that here I am again.
This episode was derailed by shirtless Tai Chi Angel, and by Willow and Xander playing footsie: both events disturbed me more than Buffy was by her elders' behaviour.
In general, this was moderately amusing but I feel it is thoroughly over-rated. So, ironically, after all this time not blogging Buffy, I don't have much to say. Sorry Jane.
Today, Andy and I ran around Elthorne Roughs and a bit of the canal under the influence of Laura, the NHS, and Couch to 5k. The actual running lasted about 8 minutes while the walking part was 22 minutes. It's hard to envisage the time when the ratio will be the other way around.
I think New Year's resolutions are a bit pointless because they tend to be quickly forgotten but I will make just one and that might be to blog more often. I may even start watching Buffy again.
2011's Hootenanny might have been awful but at least it reminded me of where this blog got its title from. (Though I still prefer "Overhelping" or "F International".)
So, this is a clip from Romy and Michele and is the best "improvised dance" scene in a film ever - no exaggeration...
