Pleasantly Surprised

Rushmore review
Jordan Rochelson

Let me preface by saying that Wes Anderson is not a director that all viewers will, “fall in love with.” Director Wes Anderson’s unique style of blunt realism is one that is lost on many people, and admired by others. The former group dismisses Mr. Anderson as pompous, while the latter heralds him as a genius and innovator. I find myself leaning towards the first group. In the films in which his style is shoved in the face of the viewer, such as Darjeeling Limited (2007), the viewer feels lost and a tad insulted – as if we must be stupid if we didn’t understand the humor. However, there are occasions in which Anderson manages to curb his directness slightly, and it is in these occasions that Mr. Anderson flirts with greatness. Rushmore is a prime example.
The charming film tells the tale of Max Fischer, played by Jason Schwartzman: a prep school student on academic probation who falls in love with a first grade teacher at the school – Rosemary Cross (Olivia Williams). Fischer finds himself completely enticed by Ms. Cross – as he adoringly refers to her – and he spends most of his time trying to impress her and make her fall in love with him. Despite Fischer’s intelligence, he fails to see the obvious complication: he is a fifteen-year-old boy, and she is a teacher of thirty years (roughly). Both Schwartzman and Williams offer charismatic performances, as conflicted people without complete comprehension of their situation. A hilarious Bill Murray flanks the two, as the depressed millionaire Herman Blume who ends up falling in love with both Cross and Fischer it seems: Cross, because of her intelligence and beauty, and Fischer because he sees in him what he wants his hooligan sons to be. It is a hilarious story line, with very dramatic undertones.
It is true, Wes Anderson has a tendency to act sardonically in his scripts, mocking everyday life by trying to find comedy in places where no jokes are made. Anderson thrives on the kind of awkward situations that one would encounter on a daily basis. I would be hard pressed to find an occasion, in any of Anderson’s movies, in which a character makes a blatant joke. He tries to find the comedy in every day occasions. His issue is that he looks to far for them: in Darjeeling Limited he needed to take his characters on a wacky adventure in India, in Life Aquatic he takes his characters to the high seas in matching outfits on an exhibition to find…..god-knows-what. When Anderson tries to hard, he ties himself up in trying to explain what is going on. When he finds comedy out of basic stories – like a basic love story (Rushmore) – he manages to find that comedy that he is searching so ardently for. That is what is truly great about Rushmore, it is somewhat realistic and believable, that is why we can laugh, and feel for the characters at the same time.
If you are looking for the kind of film that makes you laugh and feel intelligent, then this movie is for you; if you want a movie that will show tell you jokes – then Rushmore will disappoint. I leave this movie with a feeling of intelligence and a recession in my hatred for Wes Anderson Films……for now.

Chunking Express

This movie is...........interesting?


Despite Quentin Tarantino's rave review of this movie by Kar Wai Wong, i was not entertained.

The movie tells the tale of two cops and their love lives.......................that is really all i could say for the plot. This is because the movie tends to ramble on and on without truly explaining to the audience its purpose. It is possible that i did not enjoy it because i am american, and americans liked cookie-cutter beginnings, middles, and ends.

Express one redeeming feature, i felt, was its focus on time. The expiration dates, the shifts of the cops, Faye visiting a cops apartment the same time every day. Every moment felt as though it could all fall apart, or drastically change, with the ticking of a clock. I don't know if that was the primary purpose of Wong's movie, to emphasize the importance of time, but that is what i found the most intriguing about the film.

Other than that, i felt that both the plots and the characters were horribly underdeveloped with no motives or purposes.

i try to be open-minded, but this film closed me off.

Before the Devil Knows You're dead

This movie is a masterpiece!

Sydney Lumet really went above and beyond in directing this intellectual thriller about familiar crime. With an allstar cast including Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, Albert Finney, and Marisa Tomei, it is hard to go wrong.

What i found most interesting about Lumet's direction was his ability to highlight the inner-passions and thoughts of each particular character. Lumet does this using a technique of flashbacks and flashforwards all of which revolving around one occurence entitled: "the crime. " Each scene revolves around what one specific character was doing at one point, be it four days before, 2 weeks after, etc. We find through these sporadic scenes that Hoffman is not as cool and collected as he puts on, Hawke is constantly neurotic and his troubles are piling up from every angle, Finney is wracked with pain and anger over what happened in "the crime," and Tomei is tired of being a sex object (fun fact: she is naked in almost half her scen

I believe that what makes a good film is that indefineable characteristic that makes you leave the theatre still thinking about what you just witnessed. This feeling came within seconds of seeing the title opening sequence which quotes something that is seemingly biblical: "Let you be in heaven for half an hour, before the devil knows you're dead." This is an incredibly appropriate title in the confines of the movie - which is dedicated to revealing the title of "perfect crime," from all peoples' dictionaries. "May you think you're in the clear for two seconds, before your past catches up with you" That's how i interpreted this movie.

Phenomenal directing and acting work together to produce this great piece of art. I highly reccomend it.

HE LOVES GOLD!!!!!!!!!

I love this movie.

Although a blunt statement, it is the truth. And, i believe the reason i love it is the same for why every other man in the country loves it. It is a complete Fantasy.

James Bond is the epitome of what every guy wants in his life: beautiful women, fast cars at no expense, unlimited money of an unknown source, and the ability to be bullet-proof. I find it hard to believe that undercover spies actually live this kind of life but is nice to dream.

What i found interesting about this movie is that the script was not especially strong, it was filled with cliches and clunky dialogue, but the actors have a way of making it seem completely natural. Or how at the end when James and Pussy Galore are under the parachute and James says: "This is no time to be rescued." In any other circumstance, a person who just jumped out of a crashing plane after almost being shot would consider this a good time to go to a hospital - not stay in the jungle. But these platitudes in the script and unbelievable moments are really what are the foundations for the quintissential bond movie.

I'll admit, I overlooked the dramatic/cinematic elements of this movie while watching to the extent of remembering every detail. But in a way, that's what makes it a great Bond Movie: Goldfinger completely envelops the viewer into this alternate reality of secret spy missions, fast cars, and beautiful cars. The entire watching the movie, i wasn't thinking:"I Love This Movie;" I was thinking, "I Love James Bond."

Double indemnity

"Straight down the line, all the way."

This ironic train reference sets the tone for this incredibly innovative movie of the film noir Genre.

Double Indemnity is the riveting tale of an insurance salesman, named Walter Neff, who ends up in a corrupt murder for accident insurance pay-offs and the girl of dreams, neither of which he got.

I believe that what makes this film so quintissentially noir is the character of Phillys Diedrichson. Throughout the entire movie, Phillys - as played by Barbara Stanwyck - emulates a feeling of double trust. To trust or not to trust? Her words sound meaningful and sincere, they speak of pain and love for Walter; while her eyes emit a feeling of deceit, of an inability to trust, and more than anything - an innate evilness. The Noir - darkness - of this film - more subtly than the dark rooms and dark plot - lies in the shadows of Stanwyck's character.

I found that the focus of this movie was in the emotions more than the plot. Stanwyck's femme fatale persona, Neff's naivity, or Keyes disappointment. Each of the actor emits a feeling of deceit and suspicion, and is expertly captured by Billy Wilder.

The bantinage was an important factor of the movie that was comically overlooked. It is because of Neff and Diedrichson's quick speaking that they are able to keep each other at an arms length - it unfortunately ends up being Neff's undoing...he should've gotten closer.

Darjeeling doody

I recently saw Wes Anderson's latest film, Darjeeling Limited, with two friends, who shan't be named. Anywho, as i do for most Wes movies, i loathed this piece of trash. Yet with the new cinematic eye that i am developing in Art of Film, i have been able to put into words why i despise anything that comes out of Mr. Anderson's putrid cameras.

It is his direction

Mr. Anderson has a tendency to make arbitrary mistakes with camera movements on purpose. This is a technique that i believe he thinks will allow for a more personal,intimate feeling, between the audience and the characters. I think that this is an unjustified, and therefore unintelligent, decision. The occupation of a director is story teller, they can ornament and edit to add aesthetic beauty or even opinionated statements; but, it is never the position of the director to act as a character. The director is supposed to be the fourth wall, a communicator, a medium for art. Not an extra opinion.

Wes Anderson's overly personal camera techniques ruin all of his films for me.


I hate your work Wes Anderson


I hate it

Set in late 80's early 90's brooklyn, "Do the Right Thing," gives an inside look at the boiling racial tensions on a blisteringly hot day in the borough. The reason why i truly loved this movie, is because it valued the thoughts of the viewer, constantly asking the audience quesitons. "Who was in the wrong in the end?" "Why can't we just get along?" "Is violence the answer to any problem?" Spike Lee is a great director in his ability to present a risque issue in an almost completely objective fashion. One could interepret his position in a million ways- he supports mookie in the end, he supports Sal, he supports violence, he hates violence.

From a cinematic angle, this movie was really a great success. Lee's use of canted angles, close-ups, and low and high angles fully show the passions that these people are experiencing living in these extreme conditions. What really enticed me was the scene where various characters are alone on the screen yelling racial slurs and the camera is zooming in on them. What surprised me about this point in the movie is that all of the rants were asides. These werent said directly to people, they were said to the camera - purposefully breaking the fourth wall. What made this an exelent cinematic choice is the bluntness: rather than have the viewer interepret characters' facial expressions, and subtelties, Spike Lee puts it right on the table how certain people feel about others.

Dramatically i was captured by Sal's character. A sad man who has undying faith in the people who he cooks for, ends up being the victim of a riot. It is like biting the hand that feeds you.....literally. The actor - Dan Aiello, who recieved an Oscar nomination for this role - really captured the sad rejection that Sal is experiencing. His performance moved me.

Another aspect that i thought was vital to this movie was Spike Lee's choices in music. Sticking with the theme of showing the vibrant culture of Brooklyn, Lee puts jazz, gospel, and soul music into this movie. What is interesting is that sometimes he puts it at moments where it makes the least sense. For instance: a sad gospel during a happy scene, an upbeat jazz piece during a time of morbidity. It was an interesting contrast that i dont completely understand, but i appreciate.

MMMMMMMMMMMM

This was certainly an enticing movie. However, althouth this does fall under the category of German expressionism which houses more extreme expansions of the mind in the cinematic sense, i found this to an exemplary movie based on its dramatic elements - mainly Peter Lorre's contribution.

Lorre did an outstanding presentation of the psychotic child murderer Hans Beckert. It is my sense that most actors during that era were of the method acting school. I find it hard to believe that Lorre acted like a child murderer for the months leading up to this movies produciton......which makes his performance all the more remarkable. The quick but detailed mental breakdown of Beckert is not best expressed through Lang's mastery of film - which should be mentioned, are present throught the movie and are not to be left out - but through Lorre's mastery of human emotion and psychology. It takes a true virtuoso to make an audience feel for a murderer - a child murderer at that, yet that is what Lorre is, a master of his craft.

I think the name of Lang's game is simplicity. This being his first sound-movie, i find it amzaing how seamlessly Lang integrated the sounds - diagetic and non - with the movie. It added intensity, fear, and captured the audience fully. Yet Lang did nothing huge, nothing ostentateous, nothing that would bring the word "expressionism," to most peoples' minds. Lang finds beauty and emotion through his actors, and through subtle backround indications of symbolism.

A great movie and an important step in the future of crime-dramas. I believed it to be a masterpiece. I give it four out of four replays.

Once

I saw this movie last week entitled: Once. Which, despite being horibly annoying when asking people if "they had seen the movie Once" they would almost always reply "Yeah, it was so good i saw it twice. " Not funny. Unfortunately not that many people saw this documentary exploring the sidewalk singer/poet. This heart-warming tale tells the story of a man - Glen Hansard - and how he is trying to break into the music world. Starting from a sidewalk singer, and ending with selling records in London. However, he does not do this alone, he finds this muse in the form of a Czech woman named Marketa Irglova. She helps him take his mind of his ex-girlfriend, and then writes songs for her. I probably did an incredibly subpar job of doing the plot description. I hope i do a better review.

All in all, this was a pretty great movie, i really loved the incorporation of music to really express the feelings of the main character - Glen, at first it is disturbing, brash, unrefined. yet by the end it is beautifully constructed and appreciated by all around him. The seamless incorporation of the music into the movie really made the movie personal, which made it all the more moving.

The style it was shot in could best be described as mainly medium shots. It is almost entirely done as natural shots, very little cinematographic aspects incorporated. Which, again, made the movie the more personal. It allowed the watcher to be viewing it like it is just a passer-by - it is best described as being in the Third person narrative. Excelently directed in its lack of direction. if that makes any sense.

Either Way! it was an incredibly touching movie and i reccomend it to all. Especially if your looking for a romantic date movie. I really liked this song from it entitled "Falling slowly," check it out!

Excited for the new week!

its a new week of art of film and that means only one thing- a new movie! I'm psyched to see what Daz has in store. A comedy? a Drama? A Dramedy? who knows? only time will tell!

Witness

We are two days into Witness, and i have to say it's pretty OK so far. I don't really dig the story that much, but directorilly its pretty good. That one scene where the kid was pointing at the picture of McFee - that was really cool. It was like the whole room stood still except for Harisson ford and the kid.

So far I'm really liking this class, it's nice to know that at least one period in a day, you get to watch a movie