This has been a weird week. As I mentioned on Monday, last weekend I was Mr. Movie. Between theaters and home from Thursday through Sunday, I watched nine films, four in a little marathon at the AMC on 42nd. (Time of the Wolf, Exodus, Man Bites Dog, Underworld, Wonderland, Napoleon Dynamite, The Notebook, Zatoichi and Donnie Darko: The Director’s Cut.) And then Wednesday night, I got to Garden State. But I just haven’t been able to get around to writing much about any of them yet. Maybe it’s because I’ve been a bit distracted by my little project for next week when I’ll be helping take over the “Interview” feature over at Gothamist. My friend Lily and I have partnered to create a scintillating series of five interviews with varied interesting New Yorkers. And see, you can all rest assured; since I’m not doing this alone, and since Lily actually gets paid for the things she writes, these might actually be interesting.
But what’s that got to do with this site? You’re right. Not all that much. And while I’m sure most of you couldn’t care less about Exodus and might still be staring in disbelief at the fact that I went to The Notebook, being an active participant in the blogosphere means it is imperative that I comment on Napoleon Dynamite, Donnie Darko and Garden State. Being an active participant in the film niche of the blogosphere probably also requires me to discuss Time of the Wolf. Of course, maybe I’ll blame my lack of critical writing on Time of the Wolf, a movie that I think I may still be processing. I’ll also blame it on being completely blown away earlier in the week by Ultragrrrl’s simply incredible analysis of how the specific parts of the Donnie Darko soundtrack fit and enhance the film. (I know. Is that three Ultragrrrl mentions in one week. I swear, this isn’t a TCM fansite, nor is it an Ultragrrrl fansite, even if I am a big fan of both.)
Basically what I’m saying is that it’s easier to spend a couple minutes writing absolutely nothing (see above) than actually allowing my brain to work. But you’re reading this, so obviously you know what I mean.
So in addition to finishing up the interviews for next week, I’ll be working on getting up to speed with my fascinating insightful comprehensive … ah screw it … with some movie chatter. Meanwhile, there’s a lot of movie-stuff to do in New York this weekend. Sure Michael Mann’s Collateral opens today with Tom and Jamie, and while I’m not a huge Michael Mann fan, I am encouraged by the fact that he kept the running time on this one to a reported 2 hours. If you want some lighter fluff, there’s Little Black Book. I do worry that the most clever element of the movie is the title since it refers to a PDA (ooh, look at as being all modern). But Stephen Holden’s negative review combined with his apt description of the movie’s star actually encourages me to see this bubblegum crappy romantic pop film. But if you want more substance and a smaller movie, you’ll probably be happy with either Open Water or Stander, the latter of which I’m really looking forward to. On the coasts, we also get to take a peak at the latest from Michael Winterbottom, Code 46, as well as the movie Filmbrain gushes over any time its title is mentioned: Last Life in the Universe. And lastly, the anti-Fox News Channel doc Outfoxed gets a limited theatrical release too, however you can also pick-it-up on DVD. And whether or not you check-out Stander, you should definitely try to get your crime-film fix by hitting Film Forum in the next week to see one of the all-time great police dramas: Serpico.
Personally, I’ll be at Pier 25 tonight for an outdoor screening of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I’d appreciate it if only a few people came so my girlfriend and I can get a good spot. Thanks for your consideration.
And speaking of TCM (you know, a couple paragraphs ago), don’t forget that their “Summer Under the Stars” month continues, this weekend featuring a brilliant triumvirate of Lucille Ball, Katharine Hepburn and Clint Eastwood, with Ava Gardner following on Monday. If you like, you can revisit my original post here. If you just want to see the bits about those four, they’re after the jump.
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Aug. 6 — Lucille Ball: I will admit to being no great expert on many things, and one of those is the movie career of Ball. However, before I Love Lucy premiered in 1951, she appeared (at least according to IMDb in about 80 films. I’ve seen some of them – like Stage Door, not included in TCM’s schedule – and it’s fascinating to see Ball a) much younger and b) in a role other than the one she’s so famous for. One Ball picture TCM will show is Yours, Mine and Ours, a nice little family comedy about a widower (Henry Fonda) and a widow who get married. The catch? He has 10 kids, she has 8. And then she gets pregnant! In case you’re wondering, the answer is yes. This film was the inspiration for the sitcom that I know way too much about: The Brady Bunch.
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Aug. 7 — Katharine Hepburn: I would suggest you watch everything. The day includes several of her classic parings with Spencer Tracy, including the film that started it all, Woman of the Year at 10:30 AM. But the definite “don’t miss” entry in the program is the all-time classic The Philadelphia Story at 6 PM. It is both one of the greatest and possibly most influential romantic comedies of all time.
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Aug. 8 — Clint Eastwood: This is why TCM is so fucking brilliant – their programming. If you watch the movies at 8 PM and 10 PM, you can see exactly why Eastwood is such an icon, especially of the more modern western. (You also may indirectly catch a glimpse of why I’m dying to see Kevin Costner in a western directed by Eastwood and not himself. If only Open Range … sigh ….) At 8 PM is A Fistful of Dollars, the first of Sergio Leone’s “Man With No Name” trilogy which also includes most famously The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. It also was the film the popularized the “Spaghetti Western” and really made Eastwood into a Western hero. He had appeared in the TV series Rawhide, but before Leone’s trilogy, he couldn’t get starring film work. At 10 PM, TCM follows with Eastwood’s Oscar-winning Unforgiven, the last great Western to hit movie screens. In Dollars you see the tough, unafraid, menacing Western loner of Eastwood in his youth; in Unforgiven you see the nearly broken and depressing future of a similar man, almost a film noir hero in the guise of a Western cowboy. It’s awesome moviemaking, and a fabulous contrast.
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Aug. 9 — Ava Gardner: If you know Gardner best because of her one year stint in the mid-80s on primetime soap Knots Landing, for shame. If you recognize her name because of her long-standing relationship with Frank Sinatra, well … less shame. But even so, you should get to know Gardner, one of the sexiest women to ever grace the silver screen, even if she wasn’t always the most talented. You could have some mid-50s costume-drama fun at 10 PM with her turn as Quinevere in Knights of the Round Table, but if you want to see a great (yet often unrecognized) film and probably one of her best performances, stay up late (2 AM) and watch her in John Huston’s film of Tennessee Williams’ extraordinary play, The Night of the Iguana.
Out of Focus 